Tesla boss Elon Musk says he will cut back his role in Donald Trump’s administration after the company’s profits and revenues plunged during the first three months of the year.

Sales slumped and the electric carmaker faced a backlash as Musk became a political fixture in the White House.

On Tuesday, the firm reported a 20% drop in automotive revenue in the first quarter of 2025, compared with the same period last year, while profits fell more than 70%.

The company warned investors that the pain could continue, declining to offer a growth forecast while saying “changing political sentiment” could meaningfully hurt demand.

The recent dip in the company’s fortunes came amid an outcry over Musk’s role in Trump’s new administration, which he acknowledged had taken his focus off the company.

The tech boss contributed more than a quarter of a billion dollars to Trump’s re-election. He also leads Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency (Doge) initiative to cut federal spending and slash the government workforce.

Musk said his “time allocation to Doge” would “drop significantly” starting next month. He would, he said, spend only one to two days per week on government matters “as long as the president would like me to do so and as long as it’s useful”.

His political involvement has sparked protests and boycotts of Tesla around the world.

He blamed the “blowback” on people who would “try to attack me and the Doge team”. But he called his work at Doge “critical” and said “getting the government house in order is mostly done”.

• Who is Elon Musk?
• What is Doge and why is Musk cutting so many jobs?

Tesla brought in $19.3bn (£14.5bn) in total revenue in the quarter, down 9% year on year, according to the new numbers. That was less than the $21.1bn expected by analysts, and came as the company cut prices in a bid to woo buyers.

Trump’s tariffs on China also weighed heavily on Tesla, the company indicated. Although the vehicles Tesla sells in its home market are assembled in the US, it depends on many parts made in China. “Rapidly evolving trade policy” could hurt its supply chain and raise costs, according to the company.

“This dynamic, along with changing political sentiment, could have a meaningful impact on demand for our products in the near-term,” Tesla’s quarterly update said.

Musk has clashed on trade with other Trump administration figures, including trade adviser Peter Navarro.

Earlier this month, he called Navarro a “moron” over comments he had made about Tesla. Navarro had said Musk was “not a car manufacturer” but a “car assembler, in many cases”.

Georg Ell, who knew Musk and was director for Western Europe at Tesla, told the BBC’s Today programme that if the multi-billionaire “focuses on the companies where he is extraordinary, I think people will focus once again on the quality of the product and experiences.”

“I think Elon is not someone who surrounds himself with a great diversity of opinion to challenge his thinking, he’s a pretty single-minded individual,” added Mr Ell, who is now chief executive of translation software firm Phrase.

On Tuesday, Musk said he thought Tesla was the car company least affected by tariffs because of its localised supply chains in North America, Europe and China, but he added that tariffs were “still tough on a company where margins are low”.

“I’ll continue to advocate for lower tariffs rather than higher tariffs but that’s all I can do,” he said on Tuesday.

Tesla said artificial intelligence would contribute to future growth, though investors have been unconvinced by such arguments in the past.

Shares in the company had shed about 37% of their value this year as of market close on Tuesday. They rose by more than 5% in after-hours trading following the results.

Dan Coatsworth, investment analyst at AJ Bell, called expectations “rock-bottom” after the company said earlier this month that the number of cars sold in the quarter had fallen 13% to the lowest level in three years.

The firm faces fierce competition, Mr Coatsworth said, warning that potential disruption to global supply chains as a result of Trump’s trade war also created risks.

“Tesla’s problems are mounting,” he said.

If the sole predictor of who would become the next Pope was where the Catholic Church is growing fastest, then it is almost certain he would hail from Africa.

The continent’s Catholic population is expanding more rapidly than anywhere else, representing more than half of the global increase.

While there have been at least three pontiffs from Africa, the last – Pope Gelasius I – died more than 1,500 years ago – many would argue it is high time for another.

When the cardinals who vote for the leader of the Roman Catholic Church – known as the cardinal-electors – meet at the Vatican to choose Pope Francis’ successor, will these facts influence their decision making?

“I think that it will be great to have an African Pope,” Father Stan Chu Ilo, a Nigerian Catholic priest and associate professor at DePaul University in Chicago, told the BBC, arguing that the leadership of the Church should better reflect the make-up of the global congregation.

But the cleric admitted it was more likely that the cardinals would pick someone who already had a high profile – “someone who is already an influential voice”.

“The challenge is that you don’t have any senior African clergy holding any important position today at the Vatican, and that poses a problem,” he said.

“If you think about African cardinals who are potential popes, who is prominent in global Catholicism today? The answer is none.”

A contrast, he said, to 2013 when Ghanaian Cardinal Peter Turkson was a strong contender for the position and 2005 when Nigerian Cardinal Francis Arinze was a potential candidate in the conclave that led to the election of Pope Benedict XVI.

This is despite Pope Francis increasing the proportion of cardinals from sub-Saharan Africa from 8% when he was elected in 2013 to 12% a decade later, according to US-based Pew Research Center.

“How it has come to this point for the continent of Africa and the Catholic Church is still something that surprises many of us, given Pope Francis’s openness to Africa,” Fr Chu Ilo said.

Francis visited 10 countries in Africa during his pontificate – a time that marked a dramatic increase in Catholics on the continent. They now make up 20% of the worldwide congregation, with the latest figures showing how they surged from 272 million in 2022 to 281 million in 2023.

But some African Catholics do not like this emphasis on origin – like Father Paulinus Ikechukwu Odozor, a professor at Notre Dame University in Indiana.

For the Nigerian-born Catholic priest it just smacks of tokenism.

“It’s like people are saying, ‘OK, so Africans are growing in these numbers, so why don’t we give them a Pope,'” he told me.

“I have never been one to think that just because you come from Africa, or because you come from Europe, therefore you are prime candidate.

“No matter where you come from, as soon as you are elected, everybody’s issues become your issue. You have one concern, to build up the body of Christ, no matter where the people are, no matter how many they are, in whatever context they are.”

The most important thing, he told the BBC, was for the Pope to be “the chief theologian of the Church”.

“The Pope must be somebody who knows tradition very well” and was able to use that to give people direction, he said.

In his view, more needs to be done to ensure that matters affecting the faithful in Africa are taken seriously by those in positions of power at the Vatican.

He admitted that at times it felt “as if Africans don’t matter, or it’s as if their faith is seen as a little bit below par, or counterfeit, and should not be taken seriously”.

“When Africans feel that their issues are not on the table as they should be, then people begin to ask, well, maybe we can only get ourselves heard or seen if we have our own man there.”

Pope Francis has been praised for his understanding of the poor and marginalised – which made him particularly loved in Africa.

For example, he spoke out against what he saw as the plundering of natural resources in places such as the Democratic Republic of Congo, a vast country which is home to Africa’s largest Catholic community with almost 55 million believers.

His role as peacemaker has also been commended – he went to great lengths to heal divisions following the brutal civil war in the Central African Republic, famously giving a ride on his popemobile to the imam who invited him to pray at a mosque in Bangui in 2015 and kissing the feet of South Sudan’s rival leaders four years later.

But Pope Francis did face a backlash from the African Church for his stance on LGBT issues.

Africa bishops rejected his 2023 declaration allowing priests to offer blessings to same-sex couples.

The Vatican clarified that the blessings “neither approve nor justify the situation in which these people find themselves”, and that “in several countries there are strong cultural and even legal issues that require time and pastoral strategies that go beyond the short term”.

It is an issue that seems to unite the continent, where homosexual relationships are outlawed in many countries.

The three African cardinals, mentioned by observers as possible, if not top, contenders – Turkson, Robert Sarah of Guinea and DR Congo’s Fridolin Ambongo Besungu – are all clear in their rejection of a change on this issue.

The Congolese cardinal has said “unions of persons of the same sex are considered contradictory to cultural norms and intrinsically evil”.

Cardinal Sarah, an arch traditionalist, has been damning about the West’s liberal attitudes, telling a Synod in 2015: “What Nazi-Fascism and Communism were in the 20th Century, Western homosexual and abortion ideologies and Islamic fanaticism are today.”

And while Cardinal Turkson has been critical of Ghana’s move to impose harsh penalties on LGBT people, he toes the line that same-sex relationships are “objectively sinful”.

Nonetheless Fr Odozor agreed that despite an increase in the number of cardinals from the African continent, they lack real power in the Church.

And both clerics interviewed by the BBC pointed to an issue that could hinder efforts that Pope Francis had made to make the leadership of the Church more representative – and the possibility of getting a pontiff from Africa.

“There is still that question of racism in the Church that we never even talk about,” Fr Odozor said.

“That could undermine someone, no matter how papal he is or what he does, he will be seen simply as an African Pope.”

As Pope Francis appointed 108 of the 135 cardinals eligible to vote in the conclave, there is a good chance they will choose someone whose emphasis is also on reaching out to the poor and disenfranchised.

It is an approach Fr Chu Ilo called a “poor-first” outlook, with a focus on being “a listening Church”.

But, as when Pope Francis was elected, he said the outcome would be unpredictable.

“I will answer like a good priest,” he told me chuckling, when asked for his prediction.

“I would pray that God will give us a Pope who will continue with the outlook of Francis, and I’ll pray that such a person comes from Africa.”

• LIVE UPDATES: Follow the latest after the Pope’s death
• IN PICTURES: Symbolism on show as Pope lies in open coffin
• EXPLAINER: Key candidates in an unpredictable contest to be the Pope
• PROFILE: Acting head of the Vatican Cardinal Kevin Farrell

Lashed by an off-season typhoon, Pope Francis stepped out on a rain-soaked makeshift stage in front of hundreds of thousands of weeping pilgrims in the central Philippines.

Organisers had warned him to cancel the 2015 open air mass in Tacloban as the weather had worsened.

But Francis was not be put off: he flew through the typhoon from the capital Manila to hold the mass in memory of more than 6,000 people who had perished in Super Typhoon Haiyan in 2013. As he rode in his popemobile around the vast airport carpark waving to the crowd, palm trees swayed furiously in the storm.

In Asia’s largest Roman Catholic country, all Popes enjoy rockstar status. Here, religion brought by Spanish colonisers in the 16th Century has become woven into the very fabric of society, and given a distinctly Filipino intensity and colour. In some towns devotees are even nailed to the cross at Easter to imitate the suffering of Jesus.

But with his mass in Tacloban – along with his informal, down-to-earth manner and calls for justice – Pope Francis won particular affection among the Philippine’s 80 million Catholics.

Many have described Monday’s death of the man they called Lolo Kiko, or Grandpa Francis, as leaving them feeling like orphans. Masses to mourn him have been held across the country.

“So many of you have lost everything,” he told those who had gathered in the rain to listen to his sermon more than 10 years ago.

“I do not know what to tell you. But surely He knows what to tell you! So many of you have lost members of your family. I can only be silent; I accompany you silently, with my heart.”

And then tragedy struck.

A steel scaffolding collapsed, killing 27-year-old Kristel, an aid worker who was among the congregation.

Paul Padasas Jr was at home in Taguig, a suburb of Manila, when he received the news of his daughter’s death.

“I thought of questioning God, why did he let that happen to my daughter?” he told the BBC.

The next morning, he woke up to a flurry of missed calls, asking him to come to the Pope’s spartan accommodation at the Vatican’s diplomatic mission near Manila’s old Spanish quarter.

He got dressed immediately and brought along his wife and brother-in-law.

As he waited in a holding room at the Apostolic Nunciature, staff members asked him to listen to a radio broadcast of the Pope’s mass at the nearby University of Santo Tomas. There, the Pope mentioned Kristel and offered his condolences to her family.

At that point, Mr Padasas said he broke down. “I was feeling all kinds of emotions at that time.”

He said he felt extremely nervous as he was led to the Pope’s room a few hours later.

Beside the Pope was Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, then the Archbishop of Manila, who translated the Pope’s words into Tagalog for Mr Padasas.

Mr Padasas said the Pope told him that he was praying for Kristel. Then the pontiff placed his hands over Mr Padasas’ head and blessed him.

“My heart was beating out of my chest. Then I felt something like an electric current going through my entire body,” he said. “I told myself, that must be what the Holy Spirit feels like.”

Mr Padasas recalled feeling at peace.

“Our children are just on loan to us from God. Kristel has served her purpose.”

The rest of the Argentinian-born Pope’s visit, which took place just two years into his papacy, was a success.

His plane – codenamed Shepherd One – returned to Manila safely from Tacloban the next day, despite the stormy weather. Minutes later, a private jet skidded off the runway, shutting it down.

The following day, six million attended the open-air mass he held in and around Luneta, Manila’s main square at sunset – the largest congregation ever recorded by the Vatican. It unofficially exceeded the four-million strong crowd at John Paul II’s Luneta mass in 1995, officially recognised by the Guinness World records as the world’s largest papal gathering.

Everywhere Pope Francis went during his five-day visit, traffic stopped and the Catholic faithful scrambled for selfies as his popemobile drove past.

Rodrigo Duterte, who would assume the presidency the year after the papal visit, would make headlines after cursing the Pope for the traffic chaos he caused.

When he learned that Pope Francis had died at the age of 88, Mr Padasas said he reached for daughter’s photo at the family altar and said to her in prayer: “Please welcome Pope Francis in heaven.”

He said he still keeps the rosary that Pope Francis gave him as a gift. “I will not sell this, even for a million dollars.”

Across the country – where it is not uncommon for the smallest village to have a patron saint – church bells tolled and portraits of Pope Francis were hung inside churches as the faithful mourned.

“Pope Francis is special to me. He is my favourite pope. As an LGBT member, I saw in him love for all genders, whether you are rich or poor. He is truly the people’s pope,” 19-year-old nursing student Renzie Sarmiento told BBC News outside Manila Cathedral on Tuesday.

“As someone who wants to return to the Catholic Church, Francis is someone who represents the love of Jesus Christ,” he said.

Mr Sarmiento said he hoped Francis’ successor would maintain the Catholic Church’s openness to diversity.

“Love should not exclude LGBT members,” he said.

But even as the nation mourns, Filipinos are thinking about what happens next: at the Manila Cathedral mass for Pope Francis, mourners were saying the time has come for someone from one of the largest Catholic populations on the planet to be the church’s next leader.

In fact, the Philippines has five cardinals who are eligible to vote for – and also potentially be elected as – the next Pope, but many are pinning their hopes on Cardinal Tagle.

Luis Antonio Tagle was in Francis’ inner circle and is largely believed to be someone who would further his progressive agenda. Based in the Vatican, he is the pro-prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelisation, the office that promotes evangelisation and growth of new churches.

Widely known as the “Asian Francis”, Fr Tagle accompanied Pope Francis on his 11-day tour of South East Asia last year. He also constantly tries to make Catholicism relevant to younger Filipinos with a strong presence on social media platforms like Facebook, YouTube and X.

For ice cream vendor Reymond Clores, a Tagle papacy would be like a dream.

“I used to see Cardinal Tagle here all the time. It will be a very happy moment for Filipinos. It will make me very proud as a Filipino,” the 37-year-old vendor said.

Mr Padasas said Tagle would make a kind Pope, like Francis.

“If that happens, I will consider myself very lucky. How many people can say that they met two Popes at the same time?”

Abby Wu was just 14 when she had cosmetic surgery for the first time.

After receiving hormone treatment for an illness, Abby’s weight increased from 42kg (6 stone 8lbs) to 62kg (9 stone 11lbs) in two months.

The change hadn’t gone unnoticed by her drama teacher.

“My teacher said, ‘You were our star but now you’re too fat. Either give up or lose weight fast,'” recalls Abby, who was preparing for her drama exams at the time.

Abby’s mother stepped in, taking her to get liposuction to remove fat from her belly and legs.

Abby remembers her mother’s words as she waited in the clinic in a hospital gown, nervous about the impending operation.

“Just be brave and walk in. You’ll become pretty once you’re out.”

The surgery was traumatic. Abby was only given partial anaesthesia and remained conscious throughout.

“I could see how much fat was extracted from my body and how much blood I was losing,” she says.

Now 35, Abby has gone on to have more than 100 procedures, costing half a million dollars.

She co-owns a beauty clinic in central Beijing and has become one of the most recognisable faces of China’s plastic surgery boom.

But the surgeries have come at a physical cost.

Sitting in front of a mirror inside her luxury duplex apartment in Beijing, she gently dabs concealer onto bruises from a recent face-slimming injection – a procedure she undergoes monthly to help her face appear “firmer and less chubby” after three jaw reduction surgeries removed too much bone.

But she insists she has no regrets about the surgeries and believes her mother made the right decision all those years ago.

“The surgery worked. I became more confident and happier, day by day. I think my mum made the right call.”

Once seen as taboo, plastic surgery has exploded in popularity over the last 20 years in China, fuelled by rising disposable incomes and shifts in social attitudes, in large part driven by social media.

Every year, 20 million Chinese people pay for cosmetic procedures.

Overwhelmingly, it is young women who seek surgery. Eighty per cent of patients are women and the average age of someone receiving surgery is 25.

While appearance has always been important in Chinese culture, particularly for women, beauty standards in the country are changing.

For years, the most sought-after features were a blend of Western ideals, anime fantasy and K-Pop inspiration: The double eyelid, the sculpted jawline, the prominent nose, and the symmetrical face.

But lately, more disturbing procedures are on the rise – chasing an unrealistic, hyper-feminine, almost infantile ideal.

Botox is now injected behind the ears to tilt them forward, creating the illusion of a smaller, daintier face.

Lower eyelid surgery, inspired by the glassy gaze of anime heroines, widens the eyes for an innocent, childlike look.

Upper lip shortening narrows the space between lip and nose, thought to signal youth.

But much of this beauty is built for the screen. Under filters and ring lights, the results can look flawless. In real life, the effect is often uncanny – a face not quite human, not quite child.

Cosmetic surgery apps like SoYoung (New Oxygen) and GengMei (More Beautiful) – claiming to offer algorithm-driven analysis of “facial imperfections” – have been surging in popularity.

After scanning and assessing users’ faces, they provide surgery recommendations from nearby clinics, taking a commission from each operation.

These and other beauty trends are shared and promoted by celebrities and influencers on social media, rapidly changing what’s considered desirable and normal.

As one of China’s earliest cosmetic surgery influencers, Abby has documented her procedures across major social media platforms and joined SoYoung soon after it launched.

Yet despite having undergone more than 100 procedures, when she scans her face using SoYoung’s “magic mirror” feature, the app still points out “imperfections” and suggests a long list of recommended surgeries.

“It says I have eye bags. Get a chin augmentation? I’ve done that.”

Abby seems amused.

“Nose-slimming? Should I get another nose surgery?”

Unlike typical e-commerce sites, beauty apps like SoYoung also offer a social media function. Users share detailed before-and-after diaries and often ask superusers like Abby for their advice.

To meet surging demand, clinics are opening up rapidly across China.

But there’s a shortage of qualified practitioners and large numbers of clinics are operating without a licence.

According to a report by iResearch, a marketing research firm, as of 2019, 80,000 venues in China were providing cosmetic procedures without a licence and 100,000 cosmetic practitioners were working without the right qualifications.

As a result, it’s estimated that hundreds of accidents are happening every day inside Chinese cosmetic surgery clinics.

Dr Yang Lu, a plastic surgeon and owner of a licensed cosmetic surgery clinic in Shanghai, says in recent years the number of people coming for surgeries to repair botched operations has been growing.

“I’ve seen many patients whose first surgery was botched because they went to unlicensed places,” Dr Yang says.

“Some even had surgery inside people’s homes.”

Yue Yue, 28, is among those to have surgery that went badly wrong.

In 2020 she received baby face collagen injections – designed to make the face appear more plump – from an unlicensed clinic opened by a close friend. But the fillers hardened.

“My skin felt like there was cement underneath,” she says.

Desperate to undo the damage, Yue Yue turned to clinics she found through social media – well-known names – but the repairs only made things worse.

One clinic attempted to extract the filler using syringes. Instead of removing the hardened material, they extracted her own tissue, leaving her skin loose.

Another clinic tried lifting the skin near her ears to reach the filler underneath, leaving her with two long scars and a face that looked unnaturally tight.

“My entire image collapsed. I lost my shine and it’s affected my work [in human resources for a foreign company in Shanghai] too.”

She found Dr Yang through SoYoung last year and has since undergone three repair surgeries, including for her eyelids which were damaged during a previous operation by another clinic.

But while Dr Yang’s surgeries have brought visible improvements, some of the damage from the botched procedures may be permanent.

“I don’t want to become prettier any more,” she says.

“If I could go back to how I looked before surgery, I’d be quite happy.”

Every year, tens of thousands like Yue Yue fall victim to unlicensed cosmetic clinics in China.

But even some licensed clinics and qualified surgeons aren’t following the rules strictly.

In 2020, actress Gao Liu’s botched nose operation – in which the tip of her nose turned black and died – went viral.

“My face was disfigured and I was very down. It ruined my acting career.”

She had received the nose surgery at a licensed Guangzhou clinic called She’s Times from Dr He Ming, who was described as its “chief surgeon” and a nose surgery expert.

But in reality Dr He was not fully qualified to perform the surgery without supervision and had not obtained his licensed plastic surgeon status from the Guangdong Provincial Health Commission.

Authorities fined the clinic, which closed soon after the scandal, and barred Dr He from practising for six months.

However, weeks before She’s Times was officially dissolved, a new clinic, Qingya, requested to register at the same address.

BBC Eye has found strong links between She’s Times and Qingya, such as the same Weibo account and the retention of several staff, including Dr He.

The BBC has also learned that Dr He only obtained the licensed plastic surgeon qualification in April 2024, even though he was technically barred from applying for the status for five years from the date he was sanctioned in 2021.

Qingya now claims to have opened 30 branches.

Dr He, Qingya and Guangdong Provincial Health Commission did not respond to the BBC’s requests for comment.

The Chinese Embassy in the UK said: “The Chinese government consistently requires enterprises to operate in strict compliance with national laws, regulations, and relevant policy provisions.”

Four years and two repair operations later, Gao Liu’s nose remains uneven.

“I really regret it. Why did I do it?”

China’s Central Health Commission has been trying to crack down on the issue of under-qualified health practitioners performing tasks beyond their expertise in recent years – including ordering local health bodies to improve regulation and issuing stricter guidelines – but problems persist.

In today’s China, looking good is important for professional success.

A quick search on popular job recruitment platforms reveals many examples of employers listing physical requirements for roles, even when they have little to do with the actual work.

One receptionist role asks for candidates to be “at least 160cm tall and aesthetically pleasing”, while an administrative job demands “an appealing look and an elegant presence”.

And now that pressure is being exploited by a growing scam in some Chinese clinics in which vulnerable young women are offered jobs, but only if they pay for expensive surgeries carried out by their would-be employers.

Da Lan, not her real name, applied for a “beauty consultant” job at a clinic in Chengdu, south-western China, on a popular recruitment website in March 2024.

After the interview, she was offered the position that same evening.

But she says when she began her role the next morning, she was taken to a small room by her manager, who scanned her up and down and gave her an ultimatum – get cosmetic work done or lose out on the job.

Da Lan says she was given less than an hour to decide.

Under pressure, she agreed to undergo double eyelid surgery – priced at over 13,000 yuan (£1,330) – more than three times the monthly salary of the role – with more than 30% annual interest.

She says staff took her phone and used it to apply for a so-called “beauty loan,” falsifying her income details. Within a minute, the loan was approved.

By noon, she was undergoing medical tests. An hour later, she was on the operating table.

From job offer to debt and surgery – all within 24 hours.

You can watch the documentary on BBC Two at 23:00 BST on Wednesday 23 April.

Outside of the UK, you can watch the documentary on YouTube.

The surgery did nothing for her job prospects. Da Lan says her manager belittled her, shouting her name in public and swearing at her.

She quit after just a few weeks. Looking back, she believes the job was never real.

“They wanted me to leave from the beginning,” she says.

Despite having worked there for more than 10 days, she was paid only 303 yuan ($42). With help from her friends, Da Lan paid off the debt for her surgery after six months.

BBC Eye spoke to dozens of victims, and met three including Da Lan in Chengdu, a city that has set out to become China’s “capital of cosmetic surgery”. Some have been trapped in much larger debt for years.

The clinic Da Lan says scammed her had previously been reported by other graduates and exposed by local media, but it remains open and is still recruiting for the same role.

This scam isn’t limited to clinic jobs – it’s creeping into other industries.

Some live-streaming companies pressure young women to take out loans for surgery, promising a shot at influencer fame.

But behind the scenes, these firms often have undisclosed agreements with clinics – taking a cut from every applicant they send to the operating table.

In a bohemian-style café in Beijing, the perfect setting for a selfie, Abby meets her friends for coffee.

The trio adjust their poses and edit their faces in great detail – extending eyelashes and reshaping their cheekbones.

When asked what they like most about their facial features, they hesitate, struggling to name a single part they wouldn’t consider altering.

The conversation turns to chin implants, upper-lip shortening, and nose surgery.

Abby says she’s thinking about another nose job – her current one is six years old – but surgeons are finding it difficult to operate.

“My skin isn’t as stretchable after so many procedures. The doctors don’t have much to work with. You can’t give them enough fabric for a vest and expect a wedding dress.”

The metaphor lingers in the air, underscoring the toll taken by all of the operations.

But despite everything, Abby has no plans to stop.

“I don’t think I’ll ever stop my journey of becoming more beautiful.”

Nine people have been killed after a Russian drone hit a bus transporting workers in Ukraine, officials say.

The attack occurred on Wednesday morning in the south-central city of Marhanets.

Serhiy Lysak, regional chief of Dnipropetrovsk, said at least 30 people were injured, adding that “the number of victims is constantly growing”.

The attack comes as diplomats from the UK, France, Germany, the US and Ukraine are preparing to hold talks in London aimed at securing a ceasefire in the conflict.

Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022. It is estimated that hundreds of thousands of people have been killed or injured on all sides since then.

Russian President Vladimir Putin had declared a 30-hour ceasefire for Easter Sunday. Ukraine had said it would mirror Russia’s actions. Each side accused the other of breaking the truce.

Last month, Moscow came up with a long list of conditions in response to a full ceasefire that had been agreed by the US and Ukraine.

The US has been holding talks with Russia and separately with Ukrainian and European officials to broker a truce.

At al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, Alam Hirzallah resigns himself to a grim task: registering the deaths of the wife and two children of his grieving cousin.

His family brought the bodies here on an electric rickshaw or tuk-tuk. They found them in their house in eastern Gaza City after Israeli shelling hit the family home. Asma Hirzallah, Mayar, 5, and Abdullah, 3, were killed.

“The hospital asked for their full names and ID numbers,” explains Alam, referring to the numbers all Palestinians are given in a population registry administered by Israel.

“They gave us a paper to confirm they were martyred and told us to come back for the death certificate. Now we don’t know where to go to bury them as the cemeteries are in areas under Israeli control.”

At least 51,266 people have been killed in the 18 months since the Gaza war began, according to the Hamas-run Ministry of Health, with nearly a third of the dead aged under 18.

Israel has repeatedly challenged the accuracy of the Palestinian fatalities list – in terms of overall numbers, and in particular, the demographic breakdown – claiming it is used as Hamas propaganda. The figures are cited with attribution, by UN agencies and widely in the media.

The list does not distinguish between civilians and members of Palestinian armed groups who are killed in the war, and Israel has accused Hamas of inflating the percentages of women and children.

Recently, several media reports have raised questions about the reliability of the statistics by highlighting anomalies between the August and October 2024 and March 2025 lists of fatalities. The reports focus on how some 3,000 names of people originally identified as fatalities were removed from later revised lists.

A Gazan health official, Zaher al-Wahidi, denied to the BBC that victims had vanished or that there was a lack of transparency, insisting: “The health ministry works towards having accurate data with high credibility.

“In every list that gets shared, there is a greater verification and revision of the list. We cannot say that the health ministry removes names. It’s not a removal process, rather it is a revision and verification process.”

So how are the statistics gathered and how accurate are they?

Until the first months of this war, the number of people killed in Gaza was calculated from counting bodies that arrived in hospitals – like those of Asma Hirzallah and her children.

Medics could log data for all deaths into a centralised computer system, which was based at a Ministry of Health office at al-Shifa hospital, with a back-up at al-Rantissi hospital.

However, as conditions became more chaotic and medical sites repeatedly came under attack, this method became less reliable. During the war, Israel says it has targeted hospitals – which have protected status under international law – because Hamas has used them to hide its fighters and infrastructure – something the armed group denies.

From the start of 2024, Gazan health officials introduced online forms which relatives could use to report their loved ones dead or missing.

According to Mr Wahidi, the head of statistics at the health ministry, most of the names which were recently removed from the official list as part of a new checking process had originally been submitted using these forms. He says that names which are taken off may later be added back

“A judicial committee was set up and it looks into all of the cases received,” Mr Wahidi says. “To ensure credibility we verify the data so that it will be accurate.”

During investigations by the judicial committee, some people were found to have died of natural causes – not directly because of the war. When Gazans die from lack of medical treatment, malnutrition or hyperthermia, Mr Wahidi clarifies “these cases are indirect and do not get added to the lists.”

Other individuals were wrongly listed as dead but then found to have been among thousands of Gazans imprisoned by Israel.

Mr Wahidi confirms that in August and then October, a total of more than 3,000 names were removed from the list, saying this was a precautionary measure pending full checks.

For some pro-Israel groups, such as media watchdog HonestReporting, this was strong indication of “deliberate manipulation, not honest error”.

There had been a widespread presumption that only checked names were included on the online lists published.

“It seems like they’re actually updating the lists more in real time, as more information appears,” says Professor Mike Spagat of Royal Holloway College, chair of Every Casualty Counts, an independent civilian casualty monitoring organisation. “We should have regarded the previous lists as a little bit more provisional than I had assumed.”

However, he says he detects no attempt by health officials to mislead and sees the changes as “a big clean-up operation”.

He points out that the latest modifications to the list led to a small increase in the percentage of adult males among those killed, countering the idea that the original inclusion of the 3,000-plus names was done in an attempt to exaggerate the proportion of women and children.

The Gaza health ministry says it has also recently audited data in its official fatalities list from hospital mortuaries for errors and omissions.

When deaths were registered by friends or neighbours, it says, they often did not know the ID numbers of those killed or their full names – which include the father and grandfather’s names. In some cases, this resulted in the wrong people being marked as dead.

Thousands of bodies that are still under the rubble left by Israeli air strikes, as well as about 900 which are unidentified, are not currently included in the health ministry list, the ministry says.

However, the recent two-month ceasefire – which allowed hundreds of thousands of displaced Gazans to return to what was left of their homes – saw nearly 800 corpses being retrieved, identified and registered.

In late January, the BBC filmed workers from the Hamas-run Civil Defence agency as they set about retrieving human remains which had been left for months in Wadi Gaza – also known as the Netzarim Corridor – after a pullout by Israeli forces.

With no DNA testing available in Gaza, each corpse was given a serial number. Long forms were filled in to log the bones and clothing collected to try to identify the dead.

“We look for distinctive personal belongings: a watch, a necklace or an earring. When we search the bodies, it’s very possible that we’ll find a driver’s licence or ID card,” said Sameh Khalifa, who led the team.

“Even a broken tooth can be a distinguishing mark that will help a family recognise a missing loved one.”

Since the resumption of Israel’s military offensive in Gaza on 18 March, the numbers killed have risen daily.

Israel periodically estimates the number of Palestinian fighters killed. At the start of this year, it assessed that 20,000 members of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad were among the dead. In mid-April it said there had been “more than 100 targeted eliminations” in the past month.

Israel does not provide its figures for civilian deaths in Gaza and has not officially challenged any of the names on the local health ministry casualty list.

The war began on 7 October 2023, when Hamas led a cross-border attack on southern Israel, killing about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking some 250 people into captivity in Gaza. Since then, the Israeli military says that 408 of its soldiers have been killed in combat.

International journalists, including the BBC, are blocked by Israel from entering Gaza independently, so are unable to verify figures from either side.

We rely heavily on local Palestinian journalists working with us to access information about deadly attacks – interviewing witnesses as well as visiting bomb sites and hospital mortuaries to film footage, which is shared with us.

Overall, the numbers killed in the past year and a half dwarf those from previous rounds of fighting in the decades-old Israel-Palestinian conflict and yet, for the moment, there is no end in sight to the war.

A record-breaking tunnel is being built under the Baltic Sea between Denmark and Germany, which will slash travel times and improve Scandinavia’s links with the rest of Europe.

Running for 18km (11 miles), the Fehmarnbelt will be the world’s longest pre-fabricated road and rail tunnel.

It’s also a remarkable feat of engineering, that will see segments of the tunnel placed on top of the seafloor, and then joined together.

The project’s main construction site is located at the northern entrance to the tunnel, on the coast of Lolland island in the south east of Denmark.

The facility spans more than 500 hectares (1,235 acres), and includes a harbour and a factory that is manufacturing the tunnel sections, which are called “elements”.

“It’s a huge facility here,” says Henrik Vincentsen, chief executive of Femern, the state-owned Danish company that is building the tunnel.

To make each 217m (712ft) long and 42m wide element reinforced steel is cast with concrete.

Most underwater tunnels – including the 50km Channel Tunnel between the UK and France – burrow through bedrock beneath the seafloor. Here instead, 90 individual elements will be linked up, piece by piece, like Lego bricks.

“We are breaking records with this project,” says Mr Vincentsen. “Immersed tunnels have been built before, but never on this scale.”

With a price-tag around €7.4bn ($8.1bn; £6.3bn) the scheme has mostly been financed by Denmark, with €1.3bn from the European Commission.

It’s among the region’s largest-ever infrastructure projects, and part of a wider EU plan to strengthen travel links across the continent while reducing flying.

Once completed, the journey between Rødbyhavn in southern Denmark and Puttgarten in northern Germany, will take just 10 minutes by car, or seven minutes by train, replacing a 45-minute ferry voyage.

Bypassing western Denmark, the new rail route will also halve travel times between Copenhagen and Hamburg from five to 2.5 hours, and provide a “greener” shortcut for freight and passengers.

“It’s not only linking Denmark to Germany, it’s linking Scandinavia to central Europe,” states Mr Vincentsen. “Everybody’s a winner,” he claims. “And by travelling 160km less, you’ll also cut carbon and reduce the impact of transport.”

Towered over by cranes, the tunnel entrance sits at the base of a steep coastal wall with sparkling seawater lying overhead.

“So now we are in the first part of the tunnel,” announces senior construction manager Anders Gert Wede, as we walk inside the future highway. It’s one of five parallel tubes in each element.

There are two for railway lines, two for roads (which have two lanes in each direction), and a maintenance and emergency corridor.

At the other end enormous steel doors hold back the sea. “As you can hear, it’s quite thick,” he says tapping on the metal. “When we have a finished element at the harbour, it will be towed out to the location and then we will slowly immerse it behind the steel doors here.”

Not only are these elements long, they’re enormously heavy, weighing over 73,000 tonnes. Yet incredibly, sealing the ends watertight and fitting them with ballast tanks, gives enough buoyancy to tow them behind tugboats.

Next it’s a painstakingly complex procedure, lowering the elements 40 metres down into a trench dug out on the seafloor, using underwater cameras and GPS-guided equipment, to line it up with 15mm precision.

“We have to be very, very careful,” emphasises Mr Wede. “We have a system called ‘pin and catch’ where you have a V-shaped structure and some arms grabbing onto the element, dragging it slowly into place.”

Denmark sits at the mouth of the Baltic, on a stretch of sea with busy shipping lanes.

With layers of clay and bedrock of chalk, the subsurface is too soft to drill a bore tunnel, said Per Goltermann, a professor in concrete and structures at the Technical University of Denmark.

A bridge was initially considered, but strong winds might disrupt traffic, and security was another important consideration.

“There was the risk of ships crashing into bridges. We can build the bridge so they can withstand it,” he adds. “But this is rather deep water, and the biggest ships can sail there.”

So, adds Mr Goltermann, it was decided to go with an immersed tunnel. “They looked at it and said, “Okay, what is the cheapest? The tunnel. What is the safest? The tunnel.”

Denmark and Germany signed an agreement to build the tunnel back in 2008, but the scheme was delayed by opposition from ferry operators and German conservation groups concerned about the ecological impact.

One such environmental group, Nabu (The Nature And Biodiversity Conservation Union), argued that this area of the Baltic is an important habitat for larvae and harbour porpoises, which are sensitive to underwater noise.

However in 2020 their legal challenge was dismissed by a federal court in Germany, which green-lighted construction to go ahead.

“We have done a lot of initiatives to make sure that the impact of this project is as small as possible,” says Mr Vincentsen, pointing to a 300-hectare wetland nature and recreational area that’s planned on reclaimed land, which has been built from the dredged up sand and rock.

When the tunnel opens in 2029, Femern estimates that more than 100 trains and 12,000 cars will use it each day.

According to plans, revenues collected from toll fees will repay the state-backed loans that were taken out to finance the construction, and Mr Vincentsen calculates that will take around four decades. “Ultimately, the users are going to pay,” he says.

It’s also hoped the huge investment will boost jobs, business and tourism in Lolland, which is one of Denmark’s poorest regions.

“The locals down here have been waiting for this project for a lot of years,” said Mr Wede, who grew up nearby. “They’re looking forward to businesses coming to the area.”

More than 7 million Canadians have cast their ballots in advance, setting a new record for early voter turnout, Elections Canada says.

Advance polling stations were open across the country for four days, from Friday to Monday, over the Easter long weekend. Poll workers reported long lines, with two million people casting their ballots last Friday alone.

With less than one week to go before election day on 28 April, federal leaders are now in the final stretch of campaigning.

Voters will consider which party should govern the country amid an ongoing trade war with the US and President Donald Trump’s repeated comments about making Canada the 51st US state.

Elections Canada, the organisation which runs federal elections, said 7.3 million Canadians – about a quarter of eligible voters – had cast their ballots, marking a 25% increase from early votes in the previous 2021 election.

Mail-in voting is up as well, with over 754,000 returning their special ballots to the federal agency. That is more than the 660,000 that did so in 2021.

Latest polling suggests Liberals have a 5-point lead over the main opposition Conservative party, as campaigning enters its last stretch.

Liberal leader Mark Carney held events in Prince Edward Island and Quebec, while Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre had a rally in Vaughan, a suburb of Toronto, on Tuesday evening.

Carney, the former central banker of Canada and the UK, has touted his party as the best option to deal with Trump and his tariffs.

“Pierre Poilievre has no plan to stand up to President Trump,” Carney told supporters on Tuesday.

The US president has implemented blanket 25% tariffs on goods from Canada, with an exemption on products covered by the USMCA – a North American free trade deal.

Canada is also hit with global US tariffs on steel and aluminium, and cars.

The northern country does a majority of its trade with the US, and the tariffs have already resulted in thousands of temporary layoffs in Canada’s auto sector.

A win for the Liberals would mark a dramatic reversal of fortune for the party, which had been polling at just 20% when former Liberal leader and prime minister Justin Trudeau announced his resignation in late January.

Their main rivals, the Conservatives, have focused their campaigning on Canadians’ desire for change following nine years of leadership under Trudeau.

At rallies and events across the country, Poilievre has honed in on issues like housing, crime and the high cost of living, while criticising the Liberals for government overspending.

“It’s time for the government to start pinching pennies,” Poilievre said on Tuesday as he unveiled his party’s platform, before adding: “We can choose change. We can choose hope. We can choose our future.”

Polls suggest the Bloc Quebecois, a party advocating for Quebec separatism that only runs candidates in the French-speaking province, is in third place, with the left-leaning New Democratic Party trailing behind in fourth.

The Dominican Republic says it has arrested more than 130 Haitian women and children on the first day of a crackdown of undocumented migrants in Santo Domingo’s hospitals.

Many of the women arrested on Monday were pregnant and others had recently given birth.

The crackdown is part of the government’s plan announced last year to deport up to 10,000 undocumented migrants a week to stem migration from neighbouring Haiti.

President Luis Abinader’s government, however, has been criticised for its harsh treatment of Haitian migrants as many are fleeing extreme gang violence and poverty in the capital Port-au-Prince.

The immigration department said the women were “offered dignified treatment” after being taken to a detention centre where their biometric data and fingerprints were recorded.

A Haitian woman who had accompanied her pregnant friend to the hospital said the government’s actions will cause uncertainty for pregnant women in need of care.

“If a woman gave birth today, they can’t take her today, because they don’t know what will happen. And if she has a C-section, they don’t know what is going to happen either, because there is never a doctor with her to assist if something happens on the road, with the baby or with her,” she said.

Authorities said the women will receive medical treatment and any undocumented mothers will be repatriated.

Many Haitians have been crossing the shared border with the Dominican Republic to escape escalating violence and hunger, sometimes in several truckloads per day.

To clamp down those numbers, the Dominican Republic has deported more than 80,000 people to Haiti in the first three months of this year, according to AFP news agency.

President Abinader’s government has previously voiced its frustration at the international community’s failure to restore stability to Haiti.

India and the US need to work together successfully for a “prosperous and peaceful” 21st Century, US Vice-President JD Vance said in a speech calling for closer ties between the countries across sectors.

Vance, who is on a four-day visit to India, was speaking at a programme in the western city of Jaipur.

“But I also believe that if we fail to work together successfully, the 21st Century could be a very dark time for all of humanity,” he added.

The vice-president’s remarks came a day after he met Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and both countries said they had made progress in negotiating a bilateral trade deal which Delhi hopes will help it avoid higher tariffs.

India is among a number of countries rushing to negotiate trade deals with the US during President Donald Trump’s 90-day pause on higher tariffs, which ends on 9 July.

India was set to face 27% US tariffs before the pause was announced. Since then, Delhi and Washington have been working towards an early conclusion of trade negotiations.

In his speech in Jaipur, Vance said that the two countries had finalised the terms of reference for the negotiation.

“This is a vital step toward realising President Trump and Prime Minister Modi’s vision because it sets a roadmap toward a final deal between our nations,” Vance said.

He also called Modi a “tough negotiator” and someone “who drives a hard bargain”, drawing applause from the audience.

Modi and Trump share a warm personal relationship: the Indian prime minister was among the first global leaders to visit Trump after his second term began. But the US president has repeatedly taken aim at India’s high tariffs, branding it a “tariff king” and a “big abuser” of trade ties.

Even in the statement issued on Monday after Vance’s meeting with Modi, US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer highlighted the “serious lack of reciprocity in the trade relationship with India”.

India has already cut tariffs on a number of goods in the past few months and is reportedly considering more wide-ranging cuts to pacify Trump. But sectors like agriculture – where Washington wants greater access, but India fiercely protects – are still sticking points.

Vance also said in Jaipur that the US is seeking to sell more energy and defence equipment to Delhi. On Monday, in addition to trade, the two leaders had also discussed cooperation in defence, strategic technologies and energy.

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The Indian prime minister also said after the meeting that he was looking forward to welcoming Trump to India this year. Delhi is hosting the Quad summit later this year and the US president is expected to attend it.

The bilateral meeting was followed by delegation-level talks and a dinner hosted by Modi for Vance and his family.

Vance arrived in India on Monday morning, accompanied by his wife Usha and their three children. Usha Vance’s parents migrated to the US from the southern state of Andhra Pradesh, and some media reports have said that Vance and his wife are keen to introduce their children to their Indian heritage.

Photographs of the three children wearing Indian-style outfits – the two boys in kurta-pyjamas and three-year-old Mirabel wearing a lehenga – on their arrival in India were splashed across Indian newspapers and websites.

The rest of Vance’s visit is largely personal. After the meeting with Modi, the family visited Jaipur city, where they visited the historic Amer Fort on Tuesday.

The family is also set to visit the iconic Taj Mahal in Agra city on Wednesday before flying to the US the next day.

Pope Francis’s funeral will take place on Saturday in St Peter’s Square, the Vatican has confirmed, with hundreds of thousands expected to attend.

The head of the Catholic Church died of a stroke on Monday, aged 88, less than 24 hours after leading an Easter address. He had been in poor health after recently battling double pneumonia.

A host of world leaders and royals – including Sir Keir Starmer, Donald Trump, the Prince of Wales, and President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of Brazil, home to the biggest Catholic population in the world – have confirmed their attendance.

Thousands of mourners have already flocked to Vatican City, carrying flowers, crosses and candles and reciting prayers.

On Tuesday, the Vatican released further details of the Pope’s final 24 hours.

Francis, who had recently spent five weeks in hospital, was slightly apprehensive about appearing on the balcony on Sunday.

“Do you think I can do this?” the Pope asked his personal nurse, Massimiliano Strappetti.

Strappetti reassured him and moments later the pontiff appeared on the balcony, blessing the crowd gathered in St Peter’s Square below.

The following morning at around 05:30 local time (03:30 GMT), Francis began to feel unwell. An hour later, he waved at Strappetti before slipping into a coma.

“Those who were near him in those moments say he didn’t suffer,” the Vatican said in a statement. “It was a discreet death.”

On Wednesday morning, Pope Francis’s body will be taken in a procession led by cardinals from the Chapel of Santa Marta to St Peter’s Basilica, where he will remain in an open coffin until Friday to allow mourners to pay their respects.

Just before the procession, a moment of prayer will be led by the camerlengo, Cardinal Kevin Farrell, who is running the Vatican in the wake of the Pope’s death.

The Vatican has released photos of the Pope’s body lying in the chapel at Casa Santa Marta – his residence during his 12-year papacy – dressed in a red robe with the papal mitre on his head and a rosary in his hand.

The general public will be able to visit St Peter’s Basilica from 11:00 to midnight on Wednesday, 07:00 to midnight on Thursday and 07:00 to 19:00 on Friday.

Bucking tradition, there will be no private viewing for cardinals, at Pope Francis’s request. The Pope’s coffin will also not be raised on a pedestal.

The funeral will start at 10:00 in the square in front of St Peter’s Basilica.

Patriarchs, cardinals, archbishops, bishops, and priests from across the globe will take part. The dean of the College of Cardinals, Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, will lead the service.

Cardinal Battista Re will deliver the final commendation and valediction – a concluding prayer where the Pope will be formally entrusted to God – and the pontiff’s body will be moved to St Mary Major for the burial.

A nine-day mourning period, known as Novemdiales, then begins.

• IN PICTURES: Defining images of Pope Francis’s life
• PROFILE: Acting head of the Vatican Cardinal Kevin Farrell
• EXPLAINER: How the next pope is chosen

Huge crowds are anticipated on Saturday, with as many as 250,000 people expected to attend the funeral.

Many heads of state and royals have confirmed their attendance, including Prince William, US President Donald Trump, Spain’s King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia and French President Emmanuel Macron.

Other political figures who have announced they will attend include:

• Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva
• Polish President Andrzej Duda
• EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen
• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky
• Javier Milei, the president of Argentina, Francis’s home country
• British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer
• Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni

Pope Francis, who famously eschewed some of the pomp of the papacy during his life, will continue to break with tradition in death.

Historically, popes are buried in triple coffins in marble tombs inside St Peter’s Basilica at the heart of the Vatican. Pope Francis requested that he instead be buried at Rome’s Basilica of St Mary Major.

He will become the first pope in more than 100 years to be laid to rest outside the Vatican.

In his final testament, Pope Francis also asked to be buried “in the earth, simple, without particular decoration” and with the inscription only of his papal name in Latin: Franciscus.

His body was moved into the Santa Marta chapel on Monday evening, and his apartment formally sealed, the Vatican said.

Following the funeral, a conclave of cardinals will convene to elect a successor.

The dean of the College of Cardinals has 15 to 20 days to summon the cardinals to Rome once the Pope is buried.

Several names have already been floated as potential successors, with more likely to emerge in the coming days.

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Who will be the next pope? The decision could have a profound impact on the Catholic Church and the world’s 1.4 billion baptised Roman Catholics.

It also promises to be a highly unpredictable and open process for a host of reasons.

The College of Cardinals will meet in conclave in the Sistine Chapel to debate and then vote for their preferred candidates until a single name prevails.

With 80% of the cardinals appointed by Pope Francis himself, they are not only electing a pope for the first time, but will offer a broad global perspective.

For the first time in history, fewer than half of those given a vote will be European.

And although the college may be dominated by his appointments, they were not exclusively “progressive” or “traditionalist”.

For those reasons, it is harder than ever to predict who will be elected the next Pope.

Could the cardinals elect an African or an Asian Pope, or might they favour one of the old hands of the Vatican administration?

Here are some of the names being mentioned as Francis’s potential successor.

Pietro Parolin

Nationality: Italian

Age: 70

Softly spoken Italian Cardinal Parolin was the Vatican’s secretary of state under Pope Francis – making him the Pope’s chief adviser. The secretary of state also heads the Roman Curia, the Church’s central administration.

Having acted effectively as deputy pope, he could be considered a frontrunner.

He is viewed by some as more likely to prioritise diplomacy and a global outlook than the purity of Catholic dogma. His critics consider that a problem, while his supporters see a strength.

But he has been critical of the legalisation of same-sex marriage around the world, calling a landmark 2015 vote in favour in the Republic of Ireland “a defeat for humanity”.

The bookmakers may back him but Cardinal Parolin will be well aware of an old Italian saying that stresses the uncertainty of the pope-picking process: “He who enters a conclave as a pope, leaves it as a cardinal.”

Some 213 of the previous 266 popes have been Italian and even though there has not been an Italian pope in 40 years, the pivot of the upper echelons of the Church away from Italy and Europe may mean there may not be another for now.

Luis Antonio Gokim Tagle

Nationality: Filipino

Age: 67

Could the next pope come from Asia?

Cardinal Tagle has decades of pastoral experience – meaning he has been an active Church leader among the people as opposed to a diplomat for the Vatican or cloistered expert on Church law.

The Church is massively influential in the Philippines, where about 80% of the population is Catholic. The country currently has a record five members of the College of Cardinals – which could make for a significant lobbying faction if they all back Cardinal Tagle.

He is considered a moderate within the Catholic definition, and has been dubbed the “Asian Francis” because of a dedication to social issues and sympathy for migrants that he shared with the late pope.

He has opposed abortion rights, calling them “a form of murder” – a position in line with the Church’s broader stance that life begins at conception. He has also spoken against euthanasia.

But in 2015 when he was Archbishop of Manila, Cardinal Tagle called for the Church to reassess its “severe” stance towards gay people, divorcees and single mothers, saying past harshness had done lasting harm and left people feeling “branded”, and that each individual deserved compassion and respect.

The cardinal was considered a candidate to be pope as far back as the 2013 conclave in which Francis was elected.

Asked a decade ago how he viewed suggestions he could be next, he replied: “I treat it like a joke! It’s funny.”

Fridolin Ambongo Besungu

Nationality: Congolese

Age: 65

It’s very possible the next Pope could be from Africa, where the Catholic Church continues to add millions of members. Cardinal Ambongo is a leading candidate, hailing from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

He has been Archbishop of Kinshasa for seven years, and was appointed cardinal by Pope Francis.

He is a cultural conservative, opposing blessings for same-sex marriage, stating that “unions of persons of the same sex are considered contradictory to cultural norms and intrinsically evil”.

Though Christianity is the majority religion in the DRC, Christians there have faced death and persecution at the hands of jihadist group Islamic State and associated rebels. Against that backdrop, Cardinal Ambongo is viewed as a fierce advocate for the Church.

But in a 2020 interview, he spoke in favour of religious plurality, saying: “Let Protestants be Protestants and Muslims be Muslims. We are going to work with them. But everyone has to keep their own identity.”

Such comments could lead some cardinals to wonder if he fully embraces their sense of mission – in which Catholics hope to spread the Church’s word throughout the world.

Peter Kodwo Appiah Turkson

Nationality: Ghanaian

Age: 76

If chosen by his peers, the influential Cardinal Turkson would likewise have the distinction of being the first African pope for 1,500 years.

Like Cardinal Ambongo, he has claimed not to want the job. “I’m not sure whether anyone does aspire to become a Pope,” he told the BBC in 2013.

Asked if Africa had a good case to provide the next Pope based on the Church’s growth on the continent, he said he felt the Pope shouldn’t be chosen based on statistics, because “those types of considerations tend to muddy the waters”.

He was the first Ghanaian to be made a cardinal, back in 2003 under Pope John Paul II.

Like Cardinal Tagle, Cardinal Turkson was considered a potential Pope a decade later, when Francis was chosen. In fact, bookmakers made him the favourite ahead of voting.

A guitarist who once played in a funk band, Cardinal Turkson is known for his energetic presence.

Like many cardinals from Africa, he leans conservative. However, he has opposed the criminalisation of gay relationships in African countries including his native Ghana.

In a BBC interview in 2023, while Ghana’s parliament was discussing a bill imposing harsh penalties on LGBTQ+ people, Turkson said he felt homosexuality should not be treated as an offence.

In 2012, he was accused of making fear-mongering predictions over the spread of Islam in Europe at a Vatican conference of bishops, for which he later apologised.

Peter Erdo

Nationality: Hungarian

Age: 72

A cardinal since the age of 51, Peter Erdo, is highly regarded in the Church in Europe, having twice led the Council of European Bishops’ Conferences from 2006 to 2016.

He is well known among African cardinals and he has worked on Catholic relations with the Orthodox Church.

The archbishop of Budapest and primate of Hungary grew up in a Catholic family under communism, and he is considered a potential compromise candidate.

Erdo played a prominent role in Pope Francis’s two visits to Hungary in 2021 and 2023, and he was part of the conclaves that elected Francis and his predecessor Pope Benedict.

His conservative views on the family have found favour with some parts of the Church and he has navigated the “illiberal democracy” of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban. During Europe’s migrant crisis in 2015, he said the Church would not take in migrants as it was tantamount to human trafficking.

Angelo Scola

Nationality: Italian

Age: 83

Only cardinals under 80 can vote in the conclave, but Angelo Scola could still be elected.

The former Archbishop of Milan was a frontrunner in 2013 when Francis was chosen, but he is thought to have fallen victim to the adage of entering the conclave as Pope and leaving as cardinal.

His name has resurfaced ahead of the conclave, because of a book he is publishing this week on old age. The book features a preface written by Pope Francis shortly before he was admitted to hospital in which he said “death is not the end of everything, but the beginning of something”.

Francis’s words show genuine affection for Scola, but the college of cardinals might not see his focus on old age as ideal for a new Pope.

Reinhard Marx

Nationality: German

Age: 71

Germany’s top Catholic cleric is also very much a Vatican insider too.

The Archbishop of Munich and Freising was chosen as an adviser when Francis became Pope in 2013. For 10 years he advised the Pope on Church reform and still oversees financial reform of the Vatican.

He has advocated a more accommodating approach towards homosexuals or transgender people in Catholic teaching.

But in 2021 he offered to resign over serious mistakes in tackling child sexual abuse in Germany’s Catholic Church. That resignation was rejected by Francis.

Two years ago he left the Council of Cardinals, the Pope’s most important advisory body, in what was seen in Germany as a setback for his career in the Church.

Marc Ouellet

Nationality: Canadian

Age: 80

Cardinal Ouellet has twice before been seen as a potential candidate for Pope, in 2005 and 2013.

For years he ran the Vatican’s Dicastery for Bishops, which chooses candidates for the episcopate around the world, so he has played a significant and formative role in vetting the future members of the Catholic hierarchy.

As another octogenarian, he will not be able to play a part in the conclave itself, which may hinder his chances.

Ouellet is viewed as a conservative with a modern outlook, who is strongly in favour of maintaining the principle of celibacy for priests.

He opposes the ordination of women priests, but he has called for a greater role for women in running the Catholic Church, saying that “Christ is male, the Church is feminine”.

Robert Prevost

Nationality: American

Age: 69

Could the papacy go to an American for the first time?

Chicago-born Cardinal Prevost is certainly seen as having many of the necessary qualities for the role.

Two years ago Pope Francis chose Prevost to replace Marc Ouellet as prefect of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Bishops, handing him the task of selecting the next generation of bishops.

He worked for many years as a missionary in Peru before being made an archbishop there.

Prevost is not just considered an American, but as someone who headed the Pontifical Commission for Latin America.

He is seen a reformer, but at 69 might be viewed as too young for the papacy. His period as archbishop in Peru was also clouded by allegations of covering up sexual abuse claims, which were denied by his diocese.

Robert Sarah

Nationality: Guinean

Age: 79

Well-liked by conservatives in the Church, Cardinal Sarah is known for his adherence to doctrine and traditional liturgy and was often considered opposed to Pope Francis’s reformist leanings.

The son of a fruit-picker, Sarah became the youngest archbishop aged 34 when Pope John Paul II appointed him prelate in Conakry in Guinea.

He has had a long and impressive career, retiring in 2021 as head of the Vatican’s office that oversees the Catholic Church’s liturgical rites.

While not considered a favourite for the papacy, he could attract strong support from conservative cardinals.

Michael Czerny

Nationality: Canadian

Age: 78

Cardinal Czerny was appointed cardinal by Pope Francis and is like him a Jesuit.

Although he was born in the former Czechoslovakia, his family moved to Canada when he was two.

He has worked widely in Latin America and in Africa, where he founded the African Jesuit Aids Network and taught in Kenya.

Czerny is popular with progressives in the Church and was considered close to Pope Francis. He is currently head of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Promoting Human Integral Development.

Although a strong candidate, it seems unlikely the cardinals would choose a second Jesuit Pope in succession.

David Willey, who spent decades reporting from Rome for the BBC, reflects on the transformation of the Vatican under Francis – the eighth Pope of our former correspondent’s lifetime.

I have suddenly realised with something of shock that I am already not only four years older than the late Pope Francis, but that my own life now extends through no fewer than eight successive papal reigns.

During my professional lifetime I have managed to meet, report on and follow the lives of five of them.

So I have a fairly panoramic view of the Church leadership of the past century.

The age of Pius XI (1857-1939), during which I was born, already seems wreathed in remote history, compared with the modern Vatican, which communicates through its own video service and website, and runs public debates on how to deal with the longevity problems of an ever more ageing priesthood.

It also aids media savvy outlets like the BBC in documenting the historic events through which we are currently passing during the so-called Vacancy of the Holy See, accurately and extensively.

On my first ever visit to the Vatican when I was a student, I remember glimpsing Pope Pius XII being carried aloft inside Saint Peter’s on his gestatorial chair flanked by elaborately costumed flunkies bearing ostrich plumes.

It resembled a scene from one of Verdi’s operas.

Then when I started my apprenticeship in international journalism in Rome with Reuters News Agency back in the 1950s, I also remember we depended upon a corrupt Vatican official to get the text of an important papal speech ahead of delivery.

It was my job to take the bus down to the cafe opposite the main workers’ entrance to Vatican City at eight in the morning one Easter Sunday to surreptitiously pick up a document that he had smuggled out.

Now after following three different popes on their journeys around the world as a member of the Vatican’s travelling press corps, and witnessing the changes in Catholic mentality inspired by Pope Francis, I see a very different Vatican.

The crowds of pilgrims and tourists are back here, for this is currently a Jubilee year, celebrated by the Catholic Church once every 25 years.

Michelangelo’s awesome frescoes of the Sistine Chapel are still stunning first-time visitors, but the papal crown has long been put aside and the Pope moves among adoring crowds on a popemobile, or a small family car, not a sedan chair.

Dogma is out, empathy is in, and Francis’s question about an errant bishop: “Who am I to judge?”, still tingles in my mind.

He once used an unexpectedly shocking simile to denounce what he termed “hypocritical clericalism”.

“An example I often use to illustrate the reality of vanity is this,” he said. “Look at the peacock; it’s beautiful if you look at it from the front.

But if you look at it from behind, you discover the truth… Whoever gives in to such self-absorbed vanity has huge misery hiding inside them.”

One of the cardinals touted as a possible successor to Pope Francis is a modest Italian priest I used to meet in the Rome streets of Trastevere, where he was once of the founder members of a small Catholic community devoted equally to helping poor people and dabbling in high diplomacy on an international level.

Yet after domination by Italians and cardinals of other European nations for generations, and the first ever pope from Latin America, the Vatican leadership is now genuinely open to other continents.

There is a very really possibility of the next pope coming from Asia or Africa.

Much will depend upon the personal contacts that develop among the cardinals themselves, both electors and those over the age of 80 who have lost the right to vote, arriving in Rome from around the world during the coming days. Many of them come from countries that have never before had a ranking church leader.

The daily confidential pow wow that precedes the actual conclave will enable many of them to meet for the first time and decide to what extent they want to restore the past or look to the future.

“As-salaam Alaikum” or “peace be upon you,” Pope Francis ventured in Arabic while talking to parishioners in Gaza earlier this year.

A short video released by the Vatican upon his death showed his intimate relationship with the Palestinian territory’s tiny Christian community, many of whom he came to know by name.

During 18-months of war, he took to calling them nightly to check on their wellbeing.

“What did you eat today?” the Pope asks the local priests in the video, having switched to Italian. “The rest of the chicken from yesterday,” replies Father Gabriel Romanelli.

Only a few hundred Christians remain in Gaza among the territory’s almost entirely Muslim population of more than 2 million. Many have been living, as well as worshipping, at the Holy Family Catholic Church in Gaza City.

With the Pope’s death they feel they have lost a dear friend.

“He used to call us daily during the war, on the black days under the bombing – on the days when people were killed and injured,” Father Romanelli said.

“Sometimes, we didn’t have a phone connection for hours and the Pope with all of his responsibilities would try to reach us.”

George Anton, a local Catholic, is the emergency coordinator in the Holy Family church. He told me that shock left him virtually speechless the first time he spoke to the Pope but that he ended up talking to him regularly on video calls.

He explained to the pontiff how he had lost his home and relatives.

“He was all the time blessing me and he was totally understanding our situation and he always encouraged us to be strong,” Mr Anton said. “And he asked ‘What can I do for you? What more can I do for you’?”

The Gazan Christians say they will now miss a great source of comfort and support.

“We felt like ‘Oh my God, we’re like orphans now’,” Mr Anton said.

“There will be no calls from the Pope, we will not hear this voice.  We will not hear his sense of humour. You know Pope Francis has a special relation with Gaza, and with every one of us.”

Pope Francis visited the Holy Land in 2014. A defining image of his trip came at an unscheduled stop off in Bethlehem when he prayed for peace by the graffitied wall that forms part of Israel’s West Bank barrier.

On Sunday in his Easter message, his last public appearance, he was again calling for peace and a ceasefire in Gaza.

With his words read by an aide, he said: “The terrible conflict continues to cause death and destruction and to create a dramatic and deplorable humanitarian situation.”

“War is not just weapons. War is sometimes words,” the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, said when I asked him about the Pope’s final address. He said the Pope had a moral clarity.

“Pope Francis recently, especially in the last year, has been very outspoken about the situation of the Holy Land, calling for the liberation of the hostages, but also condemning the dramatic situation, the ongoing war in Gaza and the situation for Palestinians,” the cardinal said.

Israeli media has noted that while President Isaac Herzog expressed condolences to the Catholic world, there were not similar comments from the prime minister or foreign minister as would have been expected – widely attributed to the Pope’s strong positions against the Gaza war.

Some of his most explicit criticism of Israel came late last year when excerpts of an upcoming book were published.

“According to some experts, what is happening in Gaza has the characteristics of a genocide,” Pope Francis wrote.

“It should be carefully investigated to determine whether it fits into the technical definition formulated by jurists and international bodies.”

Israel firmly rejects allegations of genocide in Gaza and says its war goal is to defeat Hamas.

As a conclave gets under way in Rome this week to decide Pope Francis’s successor, Palestinians and Israelis will be watching closely to see what the next Pope has to say about their intractable conflict.

Christians in Gaza say they hope that whoever is chosen will be pushing for peace.

In India, you can face criminal charges for tethering an animal on the street, flying a kite in a manner that causes alarm, skipping a school attendance order or handing a feeding bottle to a mother who can’t breastfeed.

Of the 882 federal laws on the books, 370 contain criminal provisions – together criminalising 7,305 acts and omissions. These range from the absurd to the serious: failing to give a month’s notice before quitting your job or not walking your dog enough, to offences like illegal arms possession, murder and sexual assault.

Delhi-based think-tank Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy calls it “India’s crisis of over-criminalisation”.

In a new report, The State of the System: Understanding the Scale of Crime and Punishment in India, the think-tank has produced the country’s first comprehensive database of crimes, mapping the extent of criminalisation across 370 federal laws.

The report flags India’s habit of reaching for criminal law to solve just about everything – even the mundane. It notes that many laws criminalise “routine, everyday actions”.

You could, for instance, be charged for tethering your goat on a public street, fixing a leaky tap without a licence or not naming the owner of a building when asked.

Then there are the truly obscure offences – like a parent ignoring a school attendance order, applying for a driver’s licence when banned or littering in a zoo. Basically, there’s a criminal penalty waiting around every corner of daily life.

Let your pigs wander on to a field or road and you could be fined 10 rupees (12 cents). Disturb an animal or litter in a zoo? Six months in jail or a 2,000-rupee fine. And failing to exercise your dog can cost you up to 100 rupees and three months in jail.

Promoting infant milk substitutes or feeding bottles to pregnant women or mothers can lead to up to three years in jail or a 5,000-rupee fine. (This was meant to curb aggressive marketing by formula food companies, but the law also applies to individuals, which makes it controversial.)

Jail is the go-to punishment in India – 73% of crimes carry prison terms ranging from a single day to 20 years.

More than 250 offences across 117 laws penalise delays in filing documents – everything from wealth and property tax returns to gift declarations, the report finds.

Some 124 crimes across 80 laws criminalise obstructing a public officer, often without clearly defining what causes “obstruction”.

Even the death penalty isn’t off the table – not just for murder or mutiny, but for damaging an oil or gas pipeline or a sentry caught sleeping on duty. In all, a staggering 301 offences in India can legally cost you your life.

Out of 7,305 offences under central laws, nearly 80% come with fines – from as low as two rupees to a staggering 50m rupees.

To be fair, many of these provisions are rarely used – India’s crime records bureau tracks around 50 laws, even though 370 carry criminal penalties.

“They’re not heavily enforced, but they create ample opportunities for rent-seeking,” Naveed Mehmood Ahmad, co-author of the study at Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy, told me.

“There’s enough in the books to jail almost anyone for some technical non-compliance. It’s less about actual use and more about the potential for misuse.”

This “excessive use of criminal law not only disrupts the daily lives of ordinary citizens but also creates significant barriers for business operations”, the report says.

Businesses in India face a maze of regulations, but using criminal law as the default for non-compliance is excessive, disproportionate and often counter-productive, experts say.

The report also talks about some glaring inconsistencies in crime and punishment.

Rioting – the use of force or violence by an unlawful assembly – is punishable with up to two years of imprisonment. Meanwhile, falsely reporting a birth or death for official records can lead to three years of imprisonment.

The irony? Violence in public gets a lighter sentence than a lie on paper.

Even more striking: crimes of vastly different severity carry the same penalty – like practicing homoeopathy without a licence, jumping a red light, or forcing someone into labour – all punishable with a one-year sentence.

The sheer number of crimes tied to everyday life and business shows how heavily the state leans on criminalisation to enforce compliance, the report says.

“This over-reliance has significant costs, not just for citizens and businesses, but also for state machinery.”

Over 34 million criminal cases are pending in India’s courts, with 72% stuck for more than a year. Prisons are overcrowded, running at 131% capacity, while courts and police forces continue to grapple with chronic staff shortages

Even the law-and-order machinery is stretched. As of 1 January 2023, India had just 154 police personnel per 100,000 people – well below the sanctioned 195. Nationwide, there are 581,000 vacancies against an approved strength of 2.72 million.

“Even then, we continue to rely on this overburdened system to combat minor infractions, including those that attract nominal fines,” the report says.

It says that criminal law should be limited to acts that threaten core societal values – like public safety, national security, life, liberty, property and social harmony.

Authorities say they plan to scrap criminal penalties in more than 100 legal provisions – on top of the 180 already axed in 2023. It’s not just legal clean-up; it’s a chance to rethink how the law treats people. Less fear, more trust. Less suspect, more citizen.

Films made with the help of artificial intelligence (AI) will be able to win top awards at the Oscars, according to its organisers.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences issued new rules on Monday which said the use of AI and other digital tools would “neither help nor harm the chances of achieving a nomination”.

Generative AI – which can create text, images, audio and video in response to simple text prompts – helped to produce some of the films awarded top industry accolades in March.

But the Academy said it would still consider human involvement when selecting its winners.

The Academy said its new language around eligibility for films made using generative AI tools was recommended by its Science and Technology Council.

Under further rule changes announced on Monday, Academy members must now watch all nominated films in each category in order to be able to take part in the final round of voting, which decides upon winners.

The use of AI in film became a hot topic after Adrian Brody took home the award for Best Actor for his role in The Brutalist at this year’s Oscars ceremony in March.

The movie used generative AI to improve the actor’s accent when he spoke Hungarian.

It then emerged similar voice-cloning technology was used to enhance singing voices in the Oscar-winning musical Emilia Perez.

The technology’s ability to quickly alter or match the tone and style of an artist, or perform edits such as subtly changing someone’s appearance, has helped it become more popular in the production of music and film.

• What is AI and how do programmes like ChatGPT work?

But AI use remains controversial, and artists and actors have voiced concerns over the material used to train such tools and its impact upon their livelihoods.

Actors and screenwriters previously highlighted fears about losing work to AI during the 2023 strikes in Hollywood.

“If you can take my face, my body and my voice and make me say or do something that I had no choice about, that’s not a good thing,” actress Susan Sarandon told the BBC from a picket line.

And screenwriters are concerned studios would seek to cut costs and save time by using tools like OpenAI’s ChatGPT for tasks such as researching, treatment and script writing, instead of humans.

Safeguards around the use of AI were established as part of the agreements reached between unions and studios that marked the end of the strikes.

But while some actors have seemingly embraced the technology, others, such as Scarlett Johansson, have issued warnings about its potential to allow abuse of their image or likeness.

Animators told the BBC in 2024 generative AI tools were not yet good enough to be able to replicate the quality of their work – certainly not to an award-winning standard.

“It’s like having a bad writer help you,” said Jonathan Kendrick, co-founder and chairman of global streaming service Rokit Flix.

“Sure it will get an outline done, but if you need something with emotional weight, an AI isn’t going to get you an Oscar.”

Every morning, India’s newspapers are filled with reports of road accidents – passenger buses plunging into mountain gorges, drunk drivers mowing down pedestrians, cars crashing into stationary trucks and two-wheelers being knocked down by larger vehicles.

These daily tragedies underscore a silent crisis: in 2023 alone, more than 172,000 people lost their lives on Indian roads, averaging 474 deaths each day or nearly one every three minutes.

Although the official crash report for 2023 has yet to be released, Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari cited the data to paint a grim picture at a road safety event in December.

Among the dead that year were 10,000 children. Accidents near schools and colleges accounted for another 10,000 fatalities, while 35,000 pedestrians lost their lives. Two-wheeler riders also bore the brunt of fatalities. Over-speeding typically emerged as the single biggest cause.

A lack of basic safety precautions also proved deadly: 54,000 people died due to not wearing helmets and 16,000 from not wearing seatbelts.

Other major causes included overloading, which led to 12,000 deaths, and driving without a valid licence, which factored in 34,000 crashes. Driving on the wrong side also contributed to fatalities.

In 2021, 13% of accidents involved drivers with a learner permit or no valid licence. Many vehicles on the road are old and missing basic safety features like seatbelts – let alone airbags.

This hazardous road environment is further complicated by India’s chaotic traffic mix.

A bewildering array of users crowds India’s roads. There are motorised vehicles like cars, buses and motorcycles vying for space with non-motorised transport such as bicycles, cycle rickshaws and handcarts, animal-drawn carts, pedestrians and stray animals. Hawkers encroach upon roads and footpaths to sell their wares, forcing pedestrians onto busy roads and further complicating traffic flow.

Despite efforts and investments, India’s roads remain among the most unsafe in the world. Experts say this is a crisis rooted not just in infrastructure, but in human behaviour, enforcement gaps and systemic neglect. ​Road crashes impose a significant economic burden, costing India 3% of its annual GDP.

India has the world’s second-largest road network, spanning 6.6m kilometres (4.1m miles), just after the US. National and state highways together make up about 5% of the total network, while other roads – including gleaming access-controlled expressways – account for the rest. There are an estimated 350 million registered vehicles.

Gadkari told the road safety meeting that many road accidents happen because people lack respect and fear for the law.

“There are several reasons for accidents, but the biggest is human behaviour,” he said.

Yet that’s only part of the picture. Just last month, Gadkari pointed to poor civil engineering practices – flawed road design, substandard construction and weak management – along with inadequate signage and markings, as key contributors to the alarmingly high road accident rate.

“The most important culprits are civil engineers… Even small things like the road signages and marking system are very poor in the country,” he said.

​Since 2019, his ministry reported 59 major deficiencies in national highways, including cave-ins, Gadkari told the parliament last month. Of the 13,795 identified accident-prone “black spots”, only 5,036 have undergone long-term rectification.

Over the years, road safety audits, conducted by the Transportation Research and Injury Prevention Centre (TRIPP) at Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi, have uncovered serious flaws in India’s road infrastructure.

Take crash barriers. These are meant to safely stop vehicles that stray off the road – without flipping them over. But in many places, they’re doing the opposite.

Despite clear standards for height, spacing and installation, on-ground reality often tells a different story: the metal barriers at the wrong height, mounted on concrete bases, or poorly placed. These flaws can cause a vehicle, especially a truck or bus, to flip over instead of being safely stopped.

“Unless installed exactly as specified, crash barriers can do more harm than good,” Geetam Tiwari, emeritus professor of civil engineering at IIT Delhi, told the BBC.

Then there are the tall medians – or road dividers, as they are locally called. On high-speed roads, medians are supposed to gently separate traffic moving in the opposite direction. They shouldn’t be taller than 10cm (3.9in) but, audits show, many are.

When a high-speed vehicle’s tyre hits a vertical median, it generates heat, risks a tyre burst, or even lifts the vehicle off the ground – leading to dangerous rollovers. Many medians in India are simply not designed keeping this threat in mind.

A stretch of a highway near the capital, Delhi, stands as a stark example – a road slicing through dense settlements on both sides without safety measures to protect residents. Throngs of people precariously stand on the medians as high-speed traffic whizzes by.

And then there are the raised carriageways. On many rural roads, repeated resurfacing has left the main road towering six to eight inches above the shoulder.

That sudden drop can be deadly – especially if a driver swerves to avoid an obstacle. Two-wheelers are most at risk, but even cars can skid, tip, or flip. With every layer added, the danger just keeps rising, experts say.

Clearly, India’s road design standards are solid on paper – but poorly enforced on the ground.

“One key issue is that non-compliance with safety standards attracts minimal penalties. Contracts often don’t clearly spell out these requirements, and payments are typically linked to kilometres constructed – not to adherence to safety norms,” says Prof Tiwari.

Minister Gadkari recently announced an ambitious plan to upgrade 25,000km of two-lane highways to four lanes. “It will help reduce accidents on the roads significantly,” he said.

Experts like Kavi Bhalla of the University of Chicago are sceptical. Mr Bhalla, who has worked on road safety in low and middle-income countries, argues that India’s road designs often mimic Western models, ignoring the country’s unique traffic and infrastructure needs.

“There is no reason to believe that road widening will lead to fewer traffic deaths. There is a lot of evidence that road upgradation in India results in higher traffic speeds, which is lethal to pedestrians, bicyclists and motorcyclists,” he says.

“A key issue is that new roads in India simply copy road designs used in the US and Europe, where the traffic environment is very different. India is trying to build US-style highway infrastructure but not investing in US-style highway safety engineering research and crash data systems,” Mr Bhalla adds.

To tackle the escalating road safety crisis, the government is “implementing” the “5Es” strategy: engineering of roads, engineering of vehicles, education, enforcement and emergency care, says KK Kapila of the International Road Federation. (​According to a report by the Law Commission of India, timely emergency medical care could have saved 50% of road crash fatalities.)

Mr Kapila is helping the federal government with a road safety plan. He says seven key states were asked to identify their most accident-prone stretches. After implementing targeted interventions based on the 5Es framework, these stretches “have become the safest” in their states, he told me.

Most economists agree building more roads is key to India’s growth, but it must be sustainable and not take priority over the lives of pedestrians and cyclists.

“The price of development shouldn’t be borne by the poorest segments of society. The only way to learn how to build such roads is to try to do interventions, evaluate if they improved safety and, if they didn’t help, modify them and evaluate again,” says Mr Bhalla. If that doesn’t happen, roads will only get smoother, cars faster – and more people will die.

Megan Dixon was 13 years old when she started feeling unwell.

By 16, her health had deteriorated to such an extent that she was taken to hospital after losing the ability to speak. Doctors believed she may have had a stroke.

She had only been due to remain there for four days for tests, but came out two years later completely paralysed. Unable to walk, talk or open her eyes, she was told she would never move again.

Megan was diagnosed with Functional Neurological Disorder (FND), which meant there was a problem with how her brain received and sent information to the rest of the body.

Having stayed in a neurological care home in Peterborough, she is now preparing to move into her own home with the hope of becoming a nail technician.

Megan said at the age of 18, when she moved to Eagle Wood Neurological Care Centre, she was “still just a baby”.

She had never been on her own before and had to move away from her family near Bath to receive the care she needed.

“It was not easy. I think it was a lot harder for my mum and dad to have to leave me there on my own, but I couldn’t do anything for myself. I was paralysed from the neck down,” she told the BBC.

“I couldn’t see, I couldn’t talk. I hate the word, but I was very vulnerable at the time.

“I started feeling poorly when I was 13. It started off very slowly, very gradually and then in 2021, things just declined rapidly.

“I was taken into hospital because they were concerned I had had a stroke, or something, because I lost the ability to talk.

“I was taken for four days of tests and came out of hospital two years later.”

Her illness was eventually diagnosed as FND.

“It stops the functioning of signals from the brain to your body from working properly and causes all sorts of neurological symptoms,” she said.

“I couldn’t do anything for myself, I lost the ability to talk.

“I couldn’t see, so I wasn’t able to open my eyes. My brain couldn’t register the difference between eyes closed and eyes being open.”

She also lost the ability to swallow and was fed by a feeding tube in her mouth, which has been replaced by one straight into her stomach.

At her worst, she had 50 seizures a day, but that has now reduced to between 10 and 15.

After 18 months of extensive therapy, her life is completely different.

She said: “I can move everything now. Obviously I can talk, I can see. I can’t walk and I’m never going to be able to walk again, but that’s because I’ve got contractions in my knees.

“I need surgery in order to bend them because my legs are stuck straight. It’s very painful, but I’m waiting on surgery, and it means I’m never going to be able to walk again.

“Honestly, it was something I never thought I would be planning when my parents took me to the care home. They thought that was it – that it was going to be my home for the rest of my life.

“I was getting to the point that I nearly died in hospital, my body just shut down that much.

“The doctors did have to tell my parents to prepare for the worst – they didn’t think I would make it to 18 and here I am at 20.”

Her dream is to be a nail technician and she is saving up to complete an online course.

“I really can’t wait to finally move out and get a place with my boyfriend,” she said. “I’m very excited.”

FND Action said the brain network disorder encompassed neurological symptoms including limb weakness, paralysis, seizures, walking difficulties, spasms, twitching, sensory issues and more.

“For many, symptoms are severe and disabling, and life-changing for all,” it said.

It added that while the basic wiring of the nervous system was intact, people with the disorder had a problem with how the brain or nervous system was “functioning”, and the brain failed to send or receive signals correctly.

“Historically FND has often been viewed as resulting purely from psychological and emotional trauma, this has frequently led to stigma and dismissal from medical professionals,” it added.

“This view is now seen as outdated, and psychological trauma is now viewed as a risk factor for developing the condition rather than the root cause.”

Megan said she had been left isolated, frustrated and exhausted at times due to how “unpredictable” life with FND had been.

She now shares her experiences on TikTok.

“Every small victory, whether it’s moving a finger, speaking a word, or simply making it through another day is worth celebrating,” she said.

On his first day back in the White House, President Donald Trump signed an executive order declaring an emergency at the US southern border and directed his top officials to evaluate whether to invoke a rarely used 19th-century law in response to immigration concerns.

The Insurrection Act of 1807 allows the president to use active-duty military personnel to perform law-enforcement duties inside the US.

US media report that Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth and Homeland Security chief Kristi Noem, who were tasked with the assessment, will announce their recommendations later this week.

Since returning to office, Trump has made cracking down on illegal immigration a central focus, and border crossings have reached a quarter-century low. But the statute could further expand the president’s powers.

Here’s what to know.

The 19th-century law would allow the use of active-duty military personnel to perform law-enforcement duties within the US.

This includes the National Guard – a branch of the US armed forces traditionally reserved for domestic emergencies and disasters.

US presidents can invoke the law if they determine that “unlawful obstructions, combinations, or assemblages, or rebellion” against the government make it “impracticable to enforce” US law “by the ordinary course of judicial proceedings”.

Once invoked, troops could be tasked with a range of duties, from quelling civil unrest and enforcing court orders to arresting and detaining migrants.

Because the Insurrection Act was written in broad terms, with little specific guidance on how and when the powers can be used, it gives presidents wide latitude in deciding when to mobilise military personnel for domestic operations.

Throughout his election campaign, Trump vowed to crackdown on illegal immigration, calling the southern border situation a “national emergency” that could be better tamed by invoking the 19th-century statute.

On his first day in office in January, he asked for “recommendations regarding additional actions that may be necessary to obtain complete operational control of the southern border, including whether to invoke the Insurrection Act of 1807”.

The administration has already rolled out a series of sweeping measures targeting the border. These include a nationwide deportation sweep and the controversial move to transfer alleged Venezuelan gang members to a prison in El Salvador – a decision now facing legal challenges.

This comes as US Border Patrol has recorded just 8,300 migrant apprehensions, marking the lowest number of border crossings since 2000.

• Anxiety at US colleges as foreign students are detained and visas revoked
• I wanted to study in the US – now I’m too scared I’ll get deported
• Trump to end protected status for Afghans and Cameroonians

The Insurrection Act has been invoked a handful of times in American history.

Abraham Lincoln used it when the southern states rebelled during the US Civil War, and former President Ulysses S Grant invoked it against a wave of racist violence by the Ku Klux Klan after the war.

In the 20th century, former President Dwight D Eisenhower invoked it so the US Army would escort black students into their high school in Little Rock, Arkansas, after the state’s governor refused to comply with a federal desegregation order.

More recently, it was used in 1992 when massive riots broke out in Los Angeles over the acquittal of four white police officers in the beating of Rodney King, a black man. Then-President George Bush sent in active-duty members of the Marines and Army as well as National Guard troops.

The US government has traditionally worked to limit the use of military force on American soil, especially against its own citizens.

The Posse Comitatus Act of 1878 was enacted to restrict the military from acting as domestic law enforcement. In times of unrest, states typically deploy the National Guard to help maintain order.

Since returning to office, Trump has expanded his authority by declaring national emergencies – a move that grants the presidency access to powers and resources that are normally restricted. He has used this authority to impose tariffs and, more controversially, to take action on immigration.

In March, following his emergency declaration at the border, Trump invoked the rarely used Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to deport migrants he alleged were gang members. Earlier this month, the Supreme Court temporarily blocked that effort.

If Trump chooses to invoke the Insurrection Act, it remains unclear what legal challenges he might face.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer does not believe transgender women are women, his official spokesman has said.

It comes after the UK Supreme Court ruled last week that a woman is defined by biological sex under equalities law.

In March 2022, when he was leader of the opposition, Sir Keir told the Times that “a woman is a female adult, and in addition to that transwomen are women, and that is not just my view – that is actually the law”.

Asked if Sir Keir still believed that a transgender woman was a woman, the PM’s official spokesman said: “No, the Supreme Court judgment has made clear that when looking at the Equality Act, a woman is a biological woman.”

The spokesman added: “That is set out clearly by the court judgment.”

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch accused the government of having U-turned in reaction to the judgement, accusing Labour ministers of needing the Supreme Court to tell them what to think on the issue.

Pressed over when the PM had changed his mind earlier, his spokesman insisted the Labour government had been consistent that single-sex spaces “are protected in law”.

The ruling also makes it clear that a person who was born male but identifies as a woman does not have the right to use spaces or services designated as for women only.

The spokesman stressed the PM had repeatedly said “a woman is an adult female” before the court judgment.

In 2023, Sir Keir told The Sunday Times that for “99.9%” of women “of course they haven’t got a penis”.

Later that year he told BBC Radio 5 Live “a woman is an adult female”.

And in April 2024 he said Rosie Duffield, who quit the party last year, was right to say “only women have a cervix”, telling ITV: “Biologically, she of course is right about that.”

Sir Keir had previously been critical of Duffield’s views on trans people when she was a Labour MP, saying in 2021 that she was “not right” to say only women have a cervix.

Asked whether Sir Keir would now use a trans woman’s preferred pronouns, the spokesman declined to comment on “hypotheticals” but insisted the PM had “been clear that trans women should be treated with the same dignity and respect as anyone else”.

Earlier on Tuesday Sir Keir welcomed the court’s decision, saying it had given “much-needed clarity” for those drawing up guidance.

In his first public comments since the ruling last week, the PM told ITV West Country: “We need to move and make sure that we now ensure that all guidance is in the right place according to that judgment.”

Asked if he does not believe a transwoman is a woman, he said: “A woman is an adult female, and the court has made that absolutely clear.”

During a Commons debate on the ruling on Monday, Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson welcomed the “added clarity” of the ruling and said the government would work to “protect single-sex spaces based on biological sex”.

But Badenoch attacked Labour ministers’ previous record, accusing them of being “so desperate to jump on a bandwagon that they abandoned common sense”.

“I know what a woman is and I always have,” she said. “The people of this country know what a woman is.

“We didn’t need the Supreme Court to tell us that – but this government did.”

Badenoch added: “The idea that they have supported this all along is for the birds… They have never said this before, this is a U-turn, but we welcome it.”

Earlier, Phillipson was pressed over whether a trans woman should use a women’s toilet or a men’s toilet.

“That should be on the basis of biological sex – that would apply right across the board to all single-sex provision,” she told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

“But the EHRC [Equality and Human Rights Commission] will be setting out additional guidance and a statutory code of practice because we need to make sure that everyone has the ability to access services that are safe and appropriate and respect their privacy and dignity.”

Phillipson added that “many businesses have moved towards unisex provision or separate cubicles that can be used by anyone”.

Asked whether there was unity in the Labour Party about this issue, she replied: “I speak for the government on this matter and I can be crystal clear with you that we welcome the ruling.”

Many Labour MPs will be uneasy about the comments from Sir Keir and Phillipson, although frustration did not seem to extend to being willing to criticise the government, but instead expressing concern about anxieties within the trans, non-binary and intersex community.

In the debate following Phillipson’s statement, Labour’s Emily Thornberry said LGBT helpline calls had “skyrocketed in recent days” and highlighted that “the overwhelming threat to women and to all of the trans community is the violence that we suffer from cis men”.

Nadia Whittome pointed out that a ban on trans women using women’s toilets, or trans men using men’s toilets, would leave them using facilities they “would not feel comfortable or safe in”.

Liberal Democrat women and equalities spokeswoman Christine Jardine warned the ruling threatened the human rights and security “of another vulnerable group in society” and questioned where trans people should now seek refuge.

Women and Equalities select committee chair, Labour’s Sarah Owen, said the judges made their decision “without a single contribution from trans people” and won a commitment from Phillipson that trans “stakeholders” would be involved in the creation of upcoming guidance.

Some MPs who have campaigned in support of trans rights pointed to commitments in Labour’s general election manifesto to introduce a “trans-inclusive ban on conversion practices” as well as to “modernise, simplify, and reform” gender recognition law.

Those are still Labour Party policies, as far as we are aware, but any sign of backsliding on that and this debate may again become a tense one within Labour’s ranks.

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Sharon Osbourne has called for a west Belfast rap group’s US work visas to be revoked.

Last weekend, Kneecap performed at Coachella, an annual music festival in California, where they ended their set with pro-Palestinian messages.

Writing on social media, the TV personality and America’s Got Talent judge said the hip-hop trio had “took their performance to a different level by incorporating aggressive political statements”.

Kneecap and the festival’s organisers have been approached for comment.

The band are set to play a number of shows in the US and Canada in coming months.

A US State Department spokesperson said: “Due to privacy and other considerations, and visa confidentiality, we generally will not comment on Department actions with respect to specific cases.”

Hamas attacked Israel on 7 October 2023, killing about 1,200 people – mostly civilians – and taking 251 back to Gaza as hostages.

Israel launched a massive military offensive in response, which has killed 51,240 Palestinians – mainly civilians – according to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry figures on Monday.

Kneecap have been vocal supporters of the Palestinian people, often raising the conflict in their live performances.

At the end of their set at the second weekend of Coachella, which was not streamed on the festival’s official YouTube page, Kneecap projected three screens of text.

The first message said: “Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinian people,” followed by: “It is being enabled by the US government who arm and fund Israel despite their war crimes,” and a final screen added: “[Expletive] Israel. Free Palestine.”

During the performance, band member Mo Chara said: “The Irish not so long ago were persecuted at the hands of the Brits, but we were never bombed from the… skies with nowhere to go.

“The Palestinians have nowhere to go.”

The band also led the audience in chants of: “Free, free Palestine”.

On 11 April, during Kneecap’s first Coachella performance, the group faced criticism after leading an anti-Margaret Thatcher chant – which was subsequently omitted from the festival’s livestream – along with calls for a united Ireland.

On Tuesday, Osbourne claimed on social media the band’s actions included “projections of anti-Israel messages and hate speech”.

“This band openly support terrorist organizations,” she added.

“I urge you to join me in advocating for the revocation of Kneecap’s work visa,” she said.

A US State Department spokesperson told BBC News NI that the Trump administration “is focused on protecting our nation and our citizens by upholding the highest standards of national security and public safety through our visa process”.

“When considering revocations, the Department looks at information that arises after the visa was issued that may indicate a potential visa ineligibility under U.S. immigration laws, pose a threat to public safety, or other situations where revocation is warranted,” they added.

“This can include everything from arrests, criminal convictions, and engaging in conduct that is inconsistent with the visa classification, to an overstay.”

Ms Osbourne was also critical of the organisers of the festival, Goldenvoice, a subsidiary of Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG).

“Reports indicate that Goldenvoice was unaware of Kneecap’s political intentions when they were booked,” Osbourne said.

“However, after witnessing their performance during the first weekend, allowing them to perform again the following weekend suggests support of their rhetoric and a lack of due diligence,” she continued.

“This behaviour raises concerns about the appropriateness of their participation in such a festival and further shows they are booked to play in the USA,” Osbourne said.

“I know for a fact that certain people in the industry had written to Goldenvoice, airing their concerns around the booking of Kneecap,” she said.

The organisers have also been approached for comment.

In response to the performance, the organisers of the Nova Music Festival, Tribe of Nova, said Kneecap shared messaging that “deeply hurt many in our community”.

Hundreds of people were killed at the festival and a number of people were abducted during the Hamas attack on 7 October 2023.

In a statement, they said: “Our festival was a space where people came together -across cultures and beliefs – to celebrate life. That’s why we believe that even in the face of ignorance or provocation, our response must be rooted in empathy, not hate.

“We invite the members of Kneecap to visit the Nova Exhibition and experience first-hand the stories of those who were murdered, those who survived, and those who are still being held hostage.

“Not to shame or silence – but to connect. To witness. To understand.”

Kneecap are an Irish-speaking rap trio who have courted controversy with their provocative lyrics and merchandise.

The group was formed in 2017 by three friends who go by the stage names of Mo Chara, Móglaí Bap and DJ Próvaí.

Their rise to fame inspired a semi-fictionalised film starring Oscar-nominated actor Michael Fassbender.

The film won a British Academy of Film Award (Bafta) in February 2025.

Meanwhile, a Jewish security charity has called for police to investigate videos appearing to show the group express support for Hezbollah and Hamas.

Hezbollah is a political and military group in Lebanon, while Hamas is a Palestinian armed group and political movement in the Gaza Strip.

On Monday, a member of Community Security Trust (CST) shared on X a video from a Kneecap gig in London last November.

The footage appeared to show a member of the group draped in a Hezbollah flag shouting to the crowd “up Hamas, up Hezbollah”.

A CST spokeswoman said it was “utterly disgraceful” that Hezbollah and Hamas – both considered terrorist organisations by the UK and other nations – were being “lauded from a London stage” with the crowd “encouraged to show their support”.

“We fully expect the police to investigate this thoroughly and take appropriate action.”

The Metropolitan Police has been asked for a response.

On Tuesday, Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch shared the video and renewed her criticism of the Labour government for last year settling a legal case brought by the group.

It related to a decision Badenoch made when she was a minister to withdraw an arts grant.

Kneecap was awarded £14,250 – the same amount they were initially granted.

Badenoch posted on X, formerly known as Twitter: “Perhaps now Labour see Kneecap openly glorifying evil terror groups, they will apologise for rolling over. But I doubt it.”

The Department for Business and Trade said the government’s “priority is to get on delivering the change we promised and protect the taxpayer from further expense”.

A spokesperson said this was “why we did not continue to contest Kneecap’s challenge as we did not believe it to be in the public interest”.

Ghanaian President John Mahama has suspended the country’s Supreme Court chief justice – a move that marks a first in the country’s history.

An investigation has been launched and three undisclosed petitions have been filed making allegations against Gertrude Torkornoo, calling for her permanent removal.

Chief justices in Ghana enjoy security of tenure – meaning they can only be removed from office on a few grounds, which include incompetence and misbehaviour.

The content of the petitions has not been made public and she is yet to comment, while Ghana’s former attorney general has claimed her suspension is an attempt to undermine the judiciary.

“I think it is a complete charade,” Godfred Yeboah Dame told the BBC.

“It’s the biggest assault on the [judiciary] in the nation’s history, the greatest assault on the independence of the judiciary under the constitutional dispensation of this country.”

Ms Torkornoo is Ghana’s third female chief justice and was nominated in 2023 by former president Nana Akufo-Addo.

It is her responsibility to oversee the administration of justice in Ghana.

According to news agency Reuters, Ms Torkornoo survived a removal request earlier this year when former President Akufo-Addo said a petition to have her dismissed had “several deficiencies”.

Copies of the three recently filed petitions against Ms Torkornoo were not initially made available to her.

But some lawyers argued that withholding the documents was a violation of Ms Torkornoo’s right to a fair hearing.

Copies of the petition were subsequently made available to the chief justice, allowing her to respond to the allegations privately and in writing.

Ms Torkornoo will be invited by the five-member committee to respond again to the petitions before a final decision is reached as to whether she should be removed from office or not.

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The forecast for US economic growth for this year has been given the biggest downgrade among advanced economies by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) due to uncertainty caused by trade tariffs.

Growth is now expected to be 1.8% this year, down from the IMF’s estimate of 2.7% for the US in January.

The sharp increase in tariffs and uncertainty will lead to a “significant slowdown” in global growth, the Fund predicts.

The forecast for the UK has also been cut, with the economy now expected to grow by 1.1% this year.

But the IMF has predicted UK economic growth will be stronger than Germany, France, and Italy.

Inflation in the UK, however, will be the highest in the world’s advanced economies, at 3.1% this year, largely due to higher bills, including for energy and water.

The predictions come as top economic policymakers gather in Washington for the spring meetings of the IMF and World Bank.

IMF chief economist Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas said the global economy “still bears significant scars” from the “severe shocks of the past four years”.

“It is now being severely tested once again,” he added.

On Tuesday, US President Donald Trump said he had “no intention of firing” Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell after heavily criticising him.

Concerns that Trump may try to sack Powell sparked a sell-off in markets in recent days.

Trump has made a flurry of announcements on tariffs this year – taxes charged on goods brought into the US from other countries.

In a growing trade war, the US has placed tariffs of up to 145% on Chinese goods, while China has hit back with 125% levies on US products.

The US has also introduced a 10% tax rate on goods from the vast majority of other countries, while pausing much higher rates for dozens of nations for 90 days.

Trump says tariffs will encourage US consumers to buy more American-made goods, increase the amount of tax raised, and lead to huge levels of investment in the country.

However, the IMF highlighted the potential negative impact on global trade given that modern supply chains are so interlinked.

Uncertainty around trade policy was a “major factor” behind the growth downgrades, Mr Gourinchas said.

“Faced with increased uncertainty… many firms’ initial reaction will be to pause, reduce investment and cut purchases.”

The IMF predicts the global economy will grow by 2.8% this year, down from its previous forecast of 3.3%, and by 3.0% in 2026.

The downgrade to the US growth forecast was due to greater policy uncertainty, trade tensions and slower than expected consumer spending, the IMF said. Tariffs are also expected to hit growth in 2026.

The IMF said there was now a 40% probability of a US recession this year, higher than its estimate of 25% in October last year.

Earlier on Tuesday, banking group the Institute of International Finance said it expected “a shallow recession” in the US later this year, with negative growth in the third and fourth quarters of 2025.

China is expected to grow by 4% this year, down from the IMF’s previous estimate of 4.6%.

In the UK, the downward revision reflects the impact of tariffs, higher government borrowing costs, and weaker consumer spending as a result of higher bills and energy costs.

However, the IMF’s 2025 prediction for the UK is now close to the 1% growth forecast by the government’s Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) last month. The IMF expects the UK to grow by 1.4% next year.

Responding to the forecast, Chancellor Rachel Reeves said it showed the UK was still the fastest growing European G7 country due to “reform which will drive up long-term growth in the UK”.

Reeves added that “the world has changed” and she would be in Washington this week “defending British interests and making the case for free and fair trade”.

However, Mel Stride, the Conservative shadow chancellor, said the IMF outlook was “a worrying indictment of Labour’s economic approach”.

“The IMF has downgraded the UK’s growth forecast, raising serious concerns about the lack of confidence and direction under Labour. They have also revised up significantly their forecast for inflation,” he said.

The IMF’s World Economic Outlook also contains the following forecasts:

• The eurozone growth prediction is trimmed to 0.8% for this year from 1%. It is then set to grow by 1.2% in 2026, helped by higher government spending in Germany
• Spain is the only advanced economy to see its 2025 growth forecast upgraded – to 2.5% from 2.3%. This is partly due to reconstruction activity following floods
• Canada’s growth forecast for this year is cut to 1.4% from 2%, reflecting tariff uncertainty and “geopolitical tensions”
• Mexico sees the biggest downgrade. It is now predicted to contract by 0.3% this year, compared with January’s forecast of 1.4% growth.

Forecasts are never perfect given the many factors that affect economic growth, and the IMF acknowledged its latest predictions had been particularly challenging.

The figures given are what the IMF calls its “reference forecast” based on the situation as at 4 April, which was two days after Trump’s announcement of wide-ranging tariffs.

Mr Gourinchas said that while the reference forecast was the IMF’s central scenario, “many possible paths exist, reflecting the unpredictability surrounding future trade policy and the varied impact of tariffs across different countries”.

The IMF also looked at the situation after the US temporarily suspended many tariffs while raising those on China sharply.

Mr Gourinchas said the tariff pause did not “materially” change the global outlook from its reference forecast, because the overall effective tariff rate of the US and China remains high and uncertainty about the policy continues.

A federal judge has ordered the Trump administration to restore all jobs and funding for the Voice of America and other US-backed news outlets, ruling that efforts to dismantle it violated the law and Constitution.

Over 1,300 VOA employees, including about 1,000 journalists, were placed on leave following President Donald Trump’s order. The White House has accused the broadcaster of being “anti-Trump” and “radical”.

VOA, still primarily a radio service, was set up during World War II to counter Nazi propaganda, and has become a major global media broadcaster.

The ruling noted that because of the cuts, “VOA is not reporting the news for the first time in its 80-year existence”.

Judge Royce Lamberth said the administration acted “without regard to the harm inflicted on employees, contractors, journalists, and media consumers around the world”.

He ordered the administration to take steps to restore employees and contractors to the jobs they had prior to the executive order, and to do the same for Radio Free Asia and the Middle East Broadcasting Networks.

The judge found the administration also likely violated the International Broadcasting Act and Congress’ power to appropriate funding.

“My colleagues and I are grateful for this ruling. But we know that this is just a small step forward, as the government is likely to appeal,” said Patsy Widakuswara, the VOA White House bureau chief and a lead plaintiff in the lawsuit.

“We are committed to continuing to fight against what we believe is the administration’s unlawful silencing of VOA until we can return to our congressional mandate: to tell America’s stories with factual, balanced, and comprehensive, reporting,” she said.

Trump has long criticised VOA as part of his broader attacks against the media, frequently accusing mainstream outlets of bias.

After taking office in January, he appointed a political ally, Kari Lake, to run VOA. Lake has previously supported Trump’s false claims that the 2020 election was stolen from him.

In March, Trump ordered the US Agency for Global Media (USAGM), which oversees VOA and funds outlets like Radio Free Europe and Radio Free Asia, to be “eliminated to the maximum extent consistent with applicable law”.

A separate judge in New York temporarily blocked the executive order after journalists, advocacy groups and unions sued, arguing the move was unlawful.

Judge Lamberth, who is based in Washington, DC, ruled the Trump administration lacked the authority to shutter VOA, which is funded by Congress and has a legislative mandate to deliver credible news globally.

“It is hard to fathom a more straightforward display of arbitrary and capricious actions than the Defendants’ actions here,” he wrote.

USAGM and the White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Vladimir Putin signalled he was open to talks with Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky for the first time since the early stages of the war, but Russian strikes continued hours after his comments.

Speaking to Russian state TV on Monday, Putin said Russia had “always looked positively on any peace initiatives. We hope that representatives of the Kyiv regime will feel the same way”.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Putin’s comments indicated a willingness to engage in direct talks with Ukraine about not striking civilian targets.

However, Russian attacks on Ukrainian cities continued on Tuesday with a wave of strikes across the country.

A strike on an apartment block in Zaporizhzhia killed one woman and injured 20 others, including four children.

In Kharkiv in the country’s east, authorities said a massive drone attack on Tuesday during the daytime injured at least seven people.

President Zelensky said on Tuesday afternoon there had also been strikes on Odesa, Sumy, Donetsk and other southern regions, while Ukrainian media also reported a strike in south-east Kherson.

The Monday night strike on Odesa had targeted a five-storey unit block and injured three people, local media reported.

President Zelensky described the wave of attacks as “deliberate Russian terror” which could be “stopped by a single order”.

This had been proven by the short-lived Easter truce on Saturday, “when there were no airstrikes in Ukraine”, he wrote on Telegram.

He again reiterated that Ukraine had proposed to extend that truce. He also again raised his proposal, voiced on Sunday, for a 30-day period for a cease to “any strikes using long-range drones and missiles on civilian infrastructure for a period of at least 30 days”.

Putin’s remarks on Monday evening were believed to be in response to this proposal.

There have been no direct talks between Russia and Ukraine since the initial weeks after the former launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

“When the president said that it was possible to discuss the issue of not striking civilian targets, including bilaterally, the president had in mind negotiations and discussions with the Ukrainian side,” Peskov told the Interfax news agency, clarifying Putin’s remarks.

Zelensky, in his nightly video address, on Monday said Ukraine needed a “clear answer from Moscow” on whether it would agree to stop attacks on civilian infrastructure.

Referring to the short-lived and limited truce declared by Putin over Easter, the Ukrainian leader proposed a follow-up that would “cease any strikes using long-range drones and missiles on civilian infrastructure for a period of at least 30 days”.

“If Russia does not agree to such a step, it will be proof that it wants to continue doing only things that destroy people’s lives and continue the war,” he said.

Putin said the Kremlin would “analyse” the idea, telling journalists that “as for the proposal not to strike at civilian infrastructure facilities… this needs to be sorted out”.

In a rare admission, he acknowledged that the military had targeted a civilian building when Russian missiles killed 35 people and wounded more than 100 others in the centre of the north-eastern city of Sumy earlier this month.

This was the worst Russian attack on civilians in Ukraine this year.

“Everyone is well aware of the strike by our Armed Forces on a congress centre, I think, in Sumy Region. Is it a civilian facility or not? Civilian,” Putin said.

“But there was an award ceremony for those who committed crimes in Kursk Region,” he added referring to gathering of Ukrainian soldiers in the city centre at the time.

The centre of Sumy was busy at the time, with people out on the streets marking Palm Sunday. The region’s deputy leader was later fired after reports of the medal ceremony taking place in a local congress hall emerged.

Ukraine is due to participate in talks with US and European countries in London on Wednesday, following a meeting in Paris last week where leaders discussed pathways to end the war.

Zelensky said the “primary task” of the talks would be “to push for an unconditional ceasefire”.

The US President said earlier this week that he was hopeful Russia and Ukraine would reach a deal this week, after he had threatened to “take a pass” on further peace negotiations if no progress is made.

Some critics had called Putin’s 30-hour Easter truce a marketing stunt by Moscow. France’s foreign minister, Jean- Noël Barrot, said it had been designed to prevent Donald Trump from getting impatient and angry.

At least two dozen people have been killed after gunmen opened fire on a group of domestic tourists visiting a popular beauty spot in Indian-administered Kashmir, authorities have told the BBC.

The attack took place in Pahalgam, a picturesque town in the Himalayas often described as the “Switzerland of India”.

The region’s chief minister, Omar Abdullah, said the attack was “much larger than anything we’ve seen directed at civilians in recent years”. Reports suggest that there are a large number of wounded, with some in critical condition.

US President Donald Trump, Russian President Vladimir Putin and EU chief Ursula Von der Leyen were among world leaders who condemned the attacks.

“Deeply disturbing news out of Kashmir. The United States stands strong with India against Terrorism,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social.

Von der Leyen called the Kashmir deaths a “vile terrorist attack”, while Putin expressed “sincere condolences” for the consequences of a “brutal crime”.

India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi – who cut short his trip to Saudi Arabia in the wake of the attack – said the perpetrators would “be brought to justice”.

“Our resolve to fight terrorism is unshakeable and it will get even stronger,” Modi wrote in a statement on X.

Pakistan’s foreign ministry said it was “concerned at the loss of tourists’ lives” and expressed condolences to the victims and wished “the injured a speedy recovery”.

Tuesday’s attack is unusual in that, in three and a half decades of conflict, tourists have rarely been targeted – especially on such a scale.

Home Minister Amit Shah travelled to Srinagar, Kashmir’s largest city, on Tuesday to hold an emergency security meeting.

The region’s Lieutenant Governor, Manoj Sinha, said the army and police had been deployed to the scene.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack. There has been a long-running insurgency in the Muslim-majority region since 1989, although violence has waned in recent years.

The attack took place in Baisaran, a mountain-top meadow three miles (5km) from Pahalgam.

Vehicles are unable to reach the area where the shooting occurred, Inspector General of Jammu and Kashmir Police Vidi Kumar Birdi told BBC Hindi.

A tourist from Gujarat, who was part of a group that was fired upon, said that chaos broke out after the sudden attack, and everybody started running, crying and shouting.

Video footage shared by Indian media outlets appears to show Indian troops running towards the scene of the attack, while in other footage victims can be heard saying that the gunmen had singled out non-Muslims.

Footage on social media, which has not been verified by the BBC, appears to show bodies lying on a meadow with people crying and pleading for help.

Police said multiple tourists had been taken to hospital with gunshot wounds. The area has been cordoned off and soldiers are stopping vehicles at checkpoints. A joint search operation by the Indian army and Jammu and Kashmir police is ongoing.

Several protests have been organised for Wednesday, according to Indian media.

Since the 1990s, an armed separatist insurgency against Indian rule in the region has claimed tens of thousands of lives, including those of civilians and security forces.

The Himalayan region was divided following India’s independence from Britain, partition and the creation of Pakistan in 1947.

The two nuclear-armed states both claim the region in its entirety and have fought two wars and a limited conflict over it in the decades since.

Some 500,000 Indian soldiers are permanently deployed in the territory.

The government claims the security situation has improved and violence has come down since Modi revoked Kashmir’s partial autonomy in 2019, although there are still incidents of violence.

The last major attack on civilians occurred in June 2024 when nine people were killed and 33 injured after militants opened fire on a bus carrying Hindu pilgrims.

In 2019, a suicide bombing in Indian-administered Kashmir killed at least 46 soldiers and prompted Indian airstrikes on targets in Pakistan.

Pahalgam is a popular tourist destination, both domestically and internationally, and in recent years the government has attempted to encourage further tourism to the region.

Around 3.5 million tourists visited Kashmir in 2024, according to official figures.

Tesla boss Elon Musk says he will cut back his role in Donald Trump’s administration after the company’s profits and revenues plunged during the first three months of the year.

Sales slumped and the electric carmaker faced a backlash as Musk became a political fixture in the White House.

On Tuesday, the firm reported a 20% drop in automotive revenue in the first quarter of 2025, compared with the same period last year, while profits fell more than 70%.

The company warned investors that the pain could continue, declining to offer a growth forecast while saying “changing political sentiment” could meaningfully hurt demand.

The recent dip in the company’s fortunes came amid an outcry over Musk’s role in Trump’s new administration, which he acknowledged had taken his focus off the company.

The tech boss contributed more than a quarter of a billion dollars to Trump’s re-election. He also leads Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency (Doge) initiative to cut federal spending and slash the government workforce.

Musk said his “time allocation to Doge” would “drop significantly” starting next month. He would, he said, spend only one to two days per week on government matters “as long as the president would like me to do so and as long as it’s useful”.

His political involvement has sparked protests and boycotts of Tesla around the world.

He blamed the “blowback” on people who would “try to attack me and the Doge team”. But he called his work at Doge “critical” and said “getting the government house in order is mostly done”.

• Who is Elon Musk?
• What is Doge and why is Musk cutting so many jobs?

Tesla brought in $19.3bn (£14.5bn) in total revenue in the quarter, down 9% year on year, according to the new numbers. That was less than the $21.1bn expected by analysts, and came as the company cut prices in a bid to woo buyers.

Trump’s tariffs on China also weighed heavily on Tesla, the company indicated. Although the vehicles Tesla sells in its home market are assembled in the US, it depends on many parts made in China. “Rapidly evolving trade policy” could hurt its supply chain and raise costs, according to the company.

“This dynamic, along with changing political sentiment, could have a meaningful impact on demand for our products in the near-term,” Tesla’s quarterly update said.

Musk has clashed on trade with other Trump administration figures, including trade adviser Peter Navarro.

Earlier this month, he called Navarro a “moron” over comments he had made about Tesla. Navarro had said Musk was “not a car manufacturer” but a “car assembler, in many cases”.

Georg Ell, who knew Musk and was director for Western Europe at Tesla, told the BBC’s Today programme that if the multi-billionaire “focuses on the companies where he is extraordinary, I think people will focus once again on the quality of the product and experiences.”

“I think Elon is not someone who surrounds himself with a great diversity of opinion to challenge his thinking, he’s a pretty single-minded individual,” added Mr Ell, who is now chief executive of translation software firm Phrase.

On Tuesday, Musk said he thought Tesla was the car company least affected by tariffs because of its localised supply chains in North America, Europe and China, but he added that tariffs were “still tough on a company where margins are low”.

“I’ll continue to advocate for lower tariffs rather than higher tariffs but that’s all I can do,” he said on Tuesday.

Tesla said artificial intelligence would contribute to future growth, though investors have been unconvinced by such arguments in the past.

Shares in the company had shed about 37% of their value this year as of market close on Tuesday. They rose by more than 5% in after-hours trading following the results.

Dan Coatsworth, investment analyst at AJ Bell, called expectations “rock-bottom” after the company said earlier this month that the number of cars sold in the quarter had fallen 13% to the lowest level in three years.

The firm faces fierce competition, Mr Coatsworth said, warning that potential disruption to global supply chains as a result of Trump’s trade war also created risks.

“Tesla’s problems are mounting,” he said.

Abby Wu was just 14 when she had cosmetic surgery for the first time.

After receiving hormone treatment for an illness, Abby’s weight increased from 42kg (6 stone 8lbs) to 62kg (9 stone 11lbs) in two months.

The change hadn’t gone unnoticed by her drama teacher.

“My teacher said, ‘You were our star but now you’re too fat. Either give up or lose weight fast,'” recalls Abby, who was preparing for her drama exams at the time.

Abby’s mother stepped in, taking her to get liposuction to remove fat from her belly and legs.

Abby remembers her mother’s words as she waited in the clinic in a hospital gown, nervous about the impending operation.

“Just be brave and walk in. You’ll become pretty once you’re out.”

The surgery was traumatic. Abby was only given partial anaesthesia and remained conscious throughout.

“I could see how much fat was extracted from my body and how much blood I was losing,” she says.

Now 35, Abby has gone on to have more than 100 procedures, costing half a million dollars.

She co-owns a beauty clinic in central Beijing and has become one of the most recognisable faces of China’s plastic surgery boom.

But the surgeries have come at a physical cost.

Sitting in front of a mirror inside her luxury duplex apartment in Beijing, she gently dabs concealer onto bruises from a recent face-slimming injection – a procedure she undergoes monthly to help her face appear “firmer and less chubby” after three jaw reduction surgeries removed too much bone.

But she insists she has no regrets about the surgeries and believes her mother made the right decision all those years ago.

“The surgery worked. I became more confident and happier, day by day. I think my mum made the right call.”

Once seen as taboo, plastic surgery has exploded in popularity over the last 20 years in China, fuelled by rising disposable incomes and shifts in social attitudes, in large part driven by social media.

Every year, 20 million Chinese people pay for cosmetic procedures.

Overwhelmingly, it is young women who seek surgery. Eighty per cent of patients are women and the average age of someone receiving surgery is 25.

While appearance has always been important in Chinese culture, particularly for women, beauty standards in the country are changing.

For years, the most sought-after features were a blend of Western ideals, anime fantasy and K-Pop inspiration: The double eyelid, the sculpted jawline, the prominent nose, and the symmetrical face.

But lately, more disturbing procedures are on the rise – chasing an unrealistic, hyper-feminine, almost infantile ideal.

Botox is now injected behind the ears to tilt them forward, creating the illusion of a smaller, daintier face.

Lower eyelid surgery, inspired by the glassy gaze of anime heroines, widens the eyes for an innocent, childlike look.

Upper lip shortening narrows the space between lip and nose, thought to signal youth.

But much of this beauty is built for the screen. Under filters and ring lights, the results can look flawless. In real life, the effect is often uncanny – a face not quite human, not quite child.

Cosmetic surgery apps like SoYoung (New Oxygen) and GengMei (More Beautiful) – claiming to offer algorithm-driven analysis of “facial imperfections” – have been surging in popularity.

After scanning and assessing users’ faces, they provide surgery recommendations from nearby clinics, taking a commission from each operation.

These and other beauty trends are shared and promoted by celebrities and influencers on social media, rapidly changing what’s considered desirable and normal.

As one of China’s earliest cosmetic surgery influencers, Abby has documented her procedures across major social media platforms and joined SoYoung soon after it launched.

Yet despite having undergone more than 100 procedures, when she scans her face using SoYoung’s “magic mirror” feature, the app still points out “imperfections” and suggests a long list of recommended surgeries.

“It says I have eye bags. Get a chin augmentation? I’ve done that.”

Abby seems amused.

“Nose-slimming? Should I get another nose surgery?”

Unlike typical e-commerce sites, beauty apps like SoYoung also offer a social media function. Users share detailed before-and-after diaries and often ask superusers like Abby for their advice.

To meet surging demand, clinics are opening up rapidly across China.

But there’s a shortage of qualified practitioners and large numbers of clinics are operating without a licence.

According to a report by iResearch, a marketing research firm, as of 2019, 80,000 venues in China were providing cosmetic procedures without a licence and 100,000 cosmetic practitioners were working without the right qualifications.

As a result, it’s estimated that hundreds of accidents are happening every day inside Chinese cosmetic surgery clinics.

Dr Yang Lu, a plastic surgeon and owner of a licensed cosmetic surgery clinic in Shanghai, says in recent years the number of people coming for surgeries to repair botched operations has been growing.

“I’ve seen many patients whose first surgery was botched because they went to unlicensed places,” Dr Yang says.

“Some even had surgery inside people’s homes.”

Yue Yue, 28, is among those to have surgery that went badly wrong.

In 2020 she received baby face collagen injections – designed to make the face appear more plump – from an unlicensed clinic opened by a close friend. But the fillers hardened.

“My skin felt like there was cement underneath,” she says.

Desperate to undo the damage, Yue Yue turned to clinics she found through social media – well-known names – but the repairs only made things worse.

One clinic attempted to extract the filler using syringes. Instead of removing the hardened material, they extracted her own tissue, leaving her skin loose.

Another clinic tried lifting the skin near her ears to reach the filler underneath, leaving her with two long scars and a face that looked unnaturally tight.

“My entire image collapsed. I lost my shine and it’s affected my work [in human resources for a foreign company in Shanghai] too.”

She found Dr Yang through SoYoung last year and has since undergone three repair surgeries, including for her eyelids which were damaged during a previous operation by another clinic.

But while Dr Yang’s surgeries have brought visible improvements, some of the damage from the botched procedures may be permanent.

“I don’t want to become prettier any more,” she says.

“If I could go back to how I looked before surgery, I’d be quite happy.”

Every year, tens of thousands like Yue Yue fall victim to unlicensed cosmetic clinics in China.

But even some licensed clinics and qualified surgeons aren’t following the rules strictly.

In 2020, actress Gao Liu’s botched nose operation – in which the tip of her nose turned black and died – went viral.

“My face was disfigured and I was very down. It ruined my acting career.”

She had received the nose surgery at a licensed Guangzhou clinic called She’s Times from Dr He Ming, who was described as its “chief surgeon” and a nose surgery expert.

But in reality Dr He was not fully qualified to perform the surgery without supervision and had not obtained his licensed plastic surgeon status from the Guangdong Provincial Health Commission.

Authorities fined the clinic, which closed soon after the scandal, and barred Dr He from practising for six months.

However, weeks before She’s Times was officially dissolved, a new clinic, Qingya, requested to register at the same address.

BBC Eye has found strong links between She’s Times and Qingya, such as the same Weibo account and the retention of several staff, including Dr He.

The BBC has also learned that Dr He only obtained the licensed plastic surgeon qualification in April 2024, even though he was technically barred from applying for the status for five years from the date he was sanctioned in 2021.

Qingya now claims to have opened 30 branches.

Dr He, Qingya and Guangdong Provincial Health Commission did not respond to the BBC’s requests for comment.

The Chinese Embassy in the UK said: “The Chinese government consistently requires enterprises to operate in strict compliance with national laws, regulations, and relevant policy provisions.”

Four years and two repair operations later, Gao Liu’s nose remains uneven.

“I really regret it. Why did I do it?”

China’s Central Health Commission has been trying to crack down on the issue of under-qualified health practitioners performing tasks beyond their expertise in recent years – including ordering local health bodies to improve regulation and issuing stricter guidelines – but problems persist.

In today’s China, looking good is important for professional success.

A quick search on popular job recruitment platforms reveals many examples of employers listing physical requirements for roles, even when they have little to do with the actual work.

One receptionist role asks for candidates to be “at least 160cm tall and aesthetically pleasing”, while an administrative job demands “an appealing look and an elegant presence”.

And now that pressure is being exploited by a growing scam in some Chinese clinics in which vulnerable young women are offered jobs, but only if they pay for expensive surgeries carried out by their would-be employers.

Da Lan, not her real name, applied for a “beauty consultant” job at a clinic in Chengdu, south-western China, on a popular recruitment website in March 2024.

After the interview, she was offered the position that same evening.

But she says when she began her role the next morning, she was taken to a small room by her manager, who scanned her up and down and gave her an ultimatum – get cosmetic work done or lose out on the job.

Da Lan says she was given less than an hour to decide.

Under pressure, she agreed to undergo double eyelid surgery – priced at over 13,000 yuan (£1,330) – more than three times the monthly salary of the role – with more than 30% annual interest.

She says staff took her phone and used it to apply for a so-called “beauty loan,” falsifying her income details. Within a minute, the loan was approved.

By noon, she was undergoing medical tests. An hour later, she was on the operating table.

From job offer to debt and surgery – all within 24 hours.

You can watch the documentary on BBC Two at 23:00 BST on Wednesday 23 April.

Outside of the UK, you can watch the documentary on YouTube.

The surgery did nothing for her job prospects. Da Lan says her manager belittled her, shouting her name in public and swearing at her.

She quit after just a few weeks. Looking back, she believes the job was never real.

“They wanted me to leave from the beginning,” she says.

Despite having worked there for more than 10 days, she was paid only 303 yuan ($42). With help from her friends, Da Lan paid off the debt for her surgery after six months.

BBC Eye spoke to dozens of victims, and met three including Da Lan in Chengdu, a city that has set out to become China’s “capital of cosmetic surgery”. Some have been trapped in much larger debt for years.

The clinic Da Lan says scammed her had previously been reported by other graduates and exposed by local media, but it remains open and is still recruiting for the same role.

This scam isn’t limited to clinic jobs – it’s creeping into other industries.

Some live-streaming companies pressure young women to take out loans for surgery, promising a shot at influencer fame.

But behind the scenes, these firms often have undisclosed agreements with clinics – taking a cut from every applicant they send to the operating table.

In a bohemian-style café in Beijing, the perfect setting for a selfie, Abby meets her friends for coffee.

The trio adjust their poses and edit their faces in great detail – extending eyelashes and reshaping their cheekbones.

When asked what they like most about their facial features, they hesitate, struggling to name a single part they wouldn’t consider altering.

The conversation turns to chin implants, upper-lip shortening, and nose surgery.

Abby says she’s thinking about another nose job – her current one is six years old – but surgeons are finding it difficult to operate.

“My skin isn’t as stretchable after so many procedures. The doctors don’t have much to work with. You can’t give them enough fabric for a vest and expect a wedding dress.”

The metaphor lingers in the air, underscoring the toll taken by all of the operations.

But despite everything, Abby has no plans to stop.

“I don’t think I’ll ever stop my journey of becoming more beautiful.”

Who will be the next pope? The decision could have a profound impact on the Catholic Church and the world’s 1.4 billion baptised Roman Catholics.

It also promises to be a highly unpredictable and open process for a host of reasons.

The College of Cardinals will meet in conclave in the Sistine Chapel to debate and then vote for their preferred candidates until a single name prevails.

With 80% of the cardinals appointed by Pope Francis himself, they are not only electing a pope for the first time, but will offer a broad global perspective.

For the first time in history, fewer than half of those given a vote will be European.

And although the college may be dominated by his appointments, they were not exclusively “progressive” or “traditionalist”.

For those reasons, it is harder than ever to predict who will be elected the next Pope.

Could the cardinals elect an African or an Asian Pope, or might they favour one of the old hands of the Vatican administration?

Here are some of the names being mentioned as Francis’s potential successor.

Pietro Parolin

Nationality: Italian

Age: 70

Softly spoken Italian Cardinal Parolin was the Vatican’s secretary of state under Pope Francis – making him the Pope’s chief adviser. The secretary of state also heads the Roman Curia, the Church’s central administration.

Having acted effectively as deputy pope, he could be considered a frontrunner.

He is viewed by some as more likely to prioritise diplomacy and a global outlook than the purity of Catholic dogma. His critics consider that a problem, while his supporters see a strength.

But he has been critical of the legalisation of same-sex marriage around the world, calling a landmark 2015 vote in favour in the Republic of Ireland “a defeat for humanity”.

The bookmakers may back him but Cardinal Parolin will be well aware of an old Italian saying that stresses the uncertainty of the pope-picking process: “He who enters a conclave as a pope, leaves it as a cardinal.”

Some 213 of the previous 266 popes have been Italian and even though there has not been an Italian pope in 40 years, the pivot of the upper echelons of the Church away from Italy and Europe may mean there may not be another for now.

Luis Antonio Gokim Tagle

Nationality: Filipino

Age: 67

Could the next pope come from Asia?

Cardinal Tagle has decades of pastoral experience – meaning he has been an active Church leader among the people as opposed to a diplomat for the Vatican or cloistered expert on Church law.

The Church is massively influential in the Philippines, where about 80% of the population is Catholic. The country currently has a record five members of the College of Cardinals – which could make for a significant lobbying faction if they all back Cardinal Tagle.

He is considered a moderate within the Catholic definition, and has been dubbed the “Asian Francis” because of a dedication to social issues and sympathy for migrants that he shared with the late pope.

He has opposed abortion rights, calling them “a form of murder” – a position in line with the Church’s broader stance that life begins at conception. He has also spoken against euthanasia.

But in 2015 when he was Archbishop of Manila, Cardinal Tagle called for the Church to reassess its “severe” stance towards gay people, divorcees and single mothers, saying past harshness had done lasting harm and left people feeling “branded”, and that each individual deserved compassion and respect.

The cardinal was considered a candidate to be pope as far back as the 2013 conclave in which Francis was elected.

Asked a decade ago how he viewed suggestions he could be next, he replied: “I treat it like a joke! It’s funny.”

Fridolin Ambongo Besungu

Nationality: Congolese

Age: 65

It’s very possible the next Pope could be from Africa, where the Catholic Church continues to add millions of members. Cardinal Ambongo is a leading candidate, hailing from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

He has been Archbishop of Kinshasa for seven years, and was appointed cardinal by Pope Francis.

He is a cultural conservative, opposing blessings for same-sex marriage, stating that “unions of persons of the same sex are considered contradictory to cultural norms and intrinsically evil”.

Though Christianity is the majority religion in the DRC, Christians there have faced death and persecution at the hands of jihadist group Islamic State and associated rebels. Against that backdrop, Cardinal Ambongo is viewed as a fierce advocate for the Church.

But in a 2020 interview, he spoke in favour of religious plurality, saying: “Let Protestants be Protestants and Muslims be Muslims. We are going to work with them. But everyone has to keep their own identity.”

Such comments could lead some cardinals to wonder if he fully embraces their sense of mission – in which Catholics hope to spread the Church’s word throughout the world.

Peter Kodwo Appiah Turkson

Nationality: Ghanaian

Age: 76

If chosen by his peers, the influential Cardinal Turkson would likewise have the distinction of being the first African pope for 1,500 years.

Like Cardinal Ambongo, he has claimed not to want the job. “I’m not sure whether anyone does aspire to become a Pope,” he told the BBC in 2013.

Asked if Africa had a good case to provide the next Pope based on the Church’s growth on the continent, he said he felt the Pope shouldn’t be chosen based on statistics, because “those types of considerations tend to muddy the waters”.

He was the first Ghanaian to be made a cardinal, back in 2003 under Pope John Paul II.

Like Cardinal Tagle, Cardinal Turkson was considered a potential Pope a decade later, when Francis was chosen. In fact, bookmakers made him the favourite ahead of voting.

A guitarist who once played in a funk band, Cardinal Turkson is known for his energetic presence.

Like many cardinals from Africa, he leans conservative. However, he has opposed the criminalisation of gay relationships in African countries including his native Ghana.

In a BBC interview in 2023, while Ghana’s parliament was discussing a bill imposing harsh penalties on LGBTQ+ people, Turkson said he felt homosexuality should not be treated as an offence.

In 2012, he was accused of making fear-mongering predictions over the spread of Islam in Europe at a Vatican conference of bishops, for which he later apologised.

Peter Erdo

Nationality: Hungarian

Age: 72

A cardinal since the age of 51, Peter Erdo, is highly regarded in the Church in Europe, having twice led the Council of European Bishops’ Conferences from 2006 to 2016.

He is well known among African cardinals and he has worked on Catholic relations with the Orthodox Church.

The archbishop of Budapest and primate of Hungary grew up in a Catholic family under communism, and he is considered a potential compromise candidate.

Erdo played a prominent role in Pope Francis’s two visits to Hungary in 2021 and 2023, and he was part of the conclaves that elected Francis and his predecessor Pope Benedict.

His conservative views on the family have found favour with some parts of the Church and he has navigated the “illiberal democracy” of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban. During Europe’s migrant crisis in 2015, he said the Church would not take in migrants as it was tantamount to human trafficking.

Angelo Scola

Nationality: Italian

Age: 83

Only cardinals under 80 can vote in the conclave, but Angelo Scola could still be elected.

The former Archbishop of Milan was a frontrunner in 2013 when Francis was chosen, but he is thought to have fallen victim to the adage of entering the conclave as Pope and leaving as cardinal.

His name has resurfaced ahead of the conclave, because of a book he is publishing this week on old age. The book features a preface written by Pope Francis shortly before he was admitted to hospital in which he said “death is not the end of everything, but the beginning of something”.

Francis’s words show genuine affection for Scola, but the college of cardinals might not see his focus on old age as ideal for a new Pope.

Reinhard Marx

Nationality: German

Age: 71

Germany’s top Catholic cleric is also very much a Vatican insider too.

The Archbishop of Munich and Freising was chosen as an adviser when Francis became Pope in 2013. For 10 years he advised the Pope on Church reform and still oversees financial reform of the Vatican.

He has advocated a more accommodating approach towards homosexuals or transgender people in Catholic teaching.

But in 2021 he offered to resign over serious mistakes in tackling child sexual abuse in Germany’s Catholic Church. That resignation was rejected by Francis.

Two years ago he left the Council of Cardinals, the Pope’s most important advisory body, in what was seen in Germany as a setback for his career in the Church.

Marc Ouellet

Nationality: Canadian

Age: 80

Cardinal Ouellet has twice before been seen as a potential candidate for Pope, in 2005 and 2013.

For years he ran the Vatican’s Dicastery for Bishops, which chooses candidates for the episcopate around the world, so he has played a significant and formative role in vetting the future members of the Catholic hierarchy.

As another octogenarian, he will not be able to play a part in the conclave itself, which may hinder his chances.

Ouellet is viewed as a conservative with a modern outlook, who is strongly in favour of maintaining the principle of celibacy for priests.

He opposes the ordination of women priests, but he has called for a greater role for women in running the Catholic Church, saying that “Christ is male, the Church is feminine”.

Robert Prevost

Nationality: American

Age: 69

Could the papacy go to an American for the first time?

Chicago-born Cardinal Prevost is certainly seen as having many of the necessary qualities for the role.

Two years ago Pope Francis chose Prevost to replace Marc Ouellet as prefect of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Bishops, handing him the task of selecting the next generation of bishops.

He worked for many years as a missionary in Peru before being made an archbishop there.

Prevost is not just considered an American, but as someone who headed the Pontifical Commission for Latin America.

He is seen a reformer, but at 69 might be viewed as too young for the papacy. His period as archbishop in Peru was also clouded by allegations of covering up sexual abuse claims, which were denied by his diocese.

Robert Sarah

Nationality: Guinean

Age: 79

Well-liked by conservatives in the Church, Cardinal Sarah is known for his adherence to doctrine and traditional liturgy and was often considered opposed to Pope Francis’s reformist leanings.

The son of a fruit-picker, Sarah became the youngest archbishop aged 34 when Pope John Paul II appointed him prelate in Conakry in Guinea.

He has had a long and impressive career, retiring in 2021 as head of the Vatican’s office that oversees the Catholic Church’s liturgical rites.

While not considered a favourite for the papacy, he could attract strong support from conservative cardinals.

Michael Czerny

Nationality: Canadian

Age: 78

Cardinal Czerny was appointed cardinal by Pope Francis and is like him a Jesuit.

Although he was born in the former Czechoslovakia, his family moved to Canada when he was two.

He has worked widely in Latin America and in Africa, where he founded the African Jesuit Aids Network and taught in Kenya.

Czerny is popular with progressives in the Church and was considered close to Pope Francis. He is currently head of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Promoting Human Integral Development.

Although a strong candidate, it seems unlikely the cardinals would choose a second Jesuit Pope in succession.

US President Donald Trump says he has “no intention of firing” Jerome Powell after repeatedly criticising the head of the Federal Reserve.

But he added that he would like Powell to be “a little more active” when it comes to cutting interest rates.

Speaking in the Oval Office on Tuesday, Trump also said he is optimistic about improving trade relations with China.

Last week, the president intensified his criticism of the Fed chief, calling him “a major loser”. The comments sparked a selloff of stocks, bonds and the US dollar, but financial markets have since been recovering from those losses.

The latest remarks came after the director of the National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett said on Friday that Trump was looking into whether it would be possible to sack Powell.

During his first term in the White House, Trump nominated Powell to lead the central bank in 2017. Then-President Joe Biden nominated him for a second four-year term at the end of 2021.

The Fed has not cut rates so far this year, after lowering them by a percentage point late last year, a stance Trump has heavily criticised.

It is unclear whether Trump has the authority to fire the Fed chair. No other US president has tried to do so.

Also on Tuesday, Trump said he would be “very nice” in negotiations with Beijing and tariffs would fall if there was a deal, but not to “zero”.

Earlier, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent reportedly said he expected a de-escalation of the trade war with China, describing the current situation as unsustainable.

After the remarks, most major Asian stock markets were higher on Wednesday as investors appeared to welcome the latest remarks.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 index rose about 1.9%, the Hang Seng in Hong Kong climbed by around 2.2%, while mainland China’s Shanghai Composite was down less than 0.1%.

That came after US shares made gains on Tuesday, with the S&P 500 ending Tuesday’s session up 2.5% and the Nasdaq rose 2.7%.

US futures were also trading higher overnight. Futures markets give an indication of how financial markets will perform when they open for trading.

Investors feared that pressure on Powell to lower interest rates could cause prices to rise at a time when trade tariffs are already seen boosting inflation.

Trade tensions between the world’s biggest economies, as well as US tariffs on other countries around the world, have triggered uncertainty about the global economy. Those concerns triggered turmoil in financial markets in recent weeks.

On Tuesday, the forecast for US economic growth for this year was given the biggest downgrade among advanced economies by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) due to uncertainty caused by tariffs.

The sharp increase in tariffs and uncertainty will lead to a “significant slowdown” in global growth, the Fund predicted.

Trump has imposed taxes of up to 145% on imports from China. Other countries are now facing a blanket US tariff of 10% until July.

His administration said last week that when the new tariffs are added on to existing ones, the levies on some Chinese goods could reach 245%.

China has hit back with a 125% tax on products from the US and vowed to “fight to the end”.

The Chinese government has not yet officially responded to the latest statements from the Trump administration.

However, an article in the state-controlled Global Times on Wednesday quoted commentators who said the remarks showed that the US is beginning to realise the tariffs do more harm than good to America’s economy.

A record-breaking tunnel is being built under the Baltic Sea between Denmark and Germany, which will slash travel times and improve Scandinavia’s links with the rest of Europe.

Running for 18km (11 miles), the Fehmarnbelt will be the world’s longest pre-fabricated road and rail tunnel.

It’s also a remarkable feat of engineering, that will see segments of the tunnel placed on top of the seafloor, and then joined together.

The project’s main construction site is located at the northern entrance to the tunnel, on the coast of Lolland island in the south east of Denmark.

The facility spans more than 500 hectares (1,235 acres), and includes a harbour and a factory that is manufacturing the tunnel sections, which are called “elements”.

“It’s a huge facility here,” says Henrik Vincentsen, chief executive of Femern, the state-owned Danish company that is building the tunnel.

To make each 217m (712ft) long and 42m wide element reinforced steel is cast with concrete.

Most underwater tunnels – including the 50km Channel Tunnel between the UK and France – burrow through bedrock beneath the seafloor. Here instead, 90 individual elements will be linked up, piece by piece, like Lego bricks.

“We are breaking records with this project,” says Mr Vincentsen. “Immersed tunnels have been built before, but never on this scale.”

With a price-tag around €7.4bn ($8.1bn; £6.3bn) the scheme has mostly been financed by Denmark, with €1.3bn from the European Commission.

It’s among the region’s largest-ever infrastructure projects, and part of a wider EU plan to strengthen travel links across the continent while reducing flying.

Once completed, the journey between Rødbyhavn in southern Denmark and Puttgarten in northern Germany, will take just 10 minutes by car, or seven minutes by train, replacing a 45-minute ferry voyage.

Bypassing western Denmark, the new rail route will also halve travel times between Copenhagen and Hamburg from five to 2.5 hours, and provide a “greener” shortcut for freight and passengers.

“It’s not only linking Denmark to Germany, it’s linking Scandinavia to central Europe,” states Mr Vincentsen. “Everybody’s a winner,” he claims. “And by travelling 160km less, you’ll also cut carbon and reduce the impact of transport.”

Towered over by cranes, the tunnel entrance sits at the base of a steep coastal wall with sparkling seawater lying overhead.

“So now we are in the first part of the tunnel,” announces senior construction manager Anders Gert Wede, as we walk inside the future highway. It’s one of five parallel tubes in each element.

There are two for railway lines, two for roads (which have two lanes in each direction), and a maintenance and emergency corridor.

At the other end enormous steel doors hold back the sea. “As you can hear, it’s quite thick,” he says tapping on the metal. “When we have a finished element at the harbour, it will be towed out to the location and then we will slowly immerse it behind the steel doors here.”

Not only are these elements long, they’re enormously heavy, weighing over 73,000 tonnes. Yet incredibly, sealing the ends watertight and fitting them with ballast tanks, gives enough buoyancy to tow them behind tugboats.

Next it’s a painstakingly complex procedure, lowering the elements 40 metres down into a trench dug out on the seafloor, using underwater cameras and GPS-guided equipment, to line it up with 15mm precision.

“We have to be very, very careful,” emphasises Mr Wede. “We have a system called ‘pin and catch’ where you have a V-shaped structure and some arms grabbing onto the element, dragging it slowly into place.”

Denmark sits at the mouth of the Baltic, on a stretch of sea with busy shipping lanes.

With layers of clay and bedrock of chalk, the subsurface is too soft to drill a bore tunnel, said Per Goltermann, a professor in concrete and structures at the Technical University of Denmark.

A bridge was initially considered, but strong winds might disrupt traffic, and security was another important consideration.

“There was the risk of ships crashing into bridges. We can build the bridge so they can withstand it,” he adds. “But this is rather deep water, and the biggest ships can sail there.”

So, adds Mr Goltermann, it was decided to go with an immersed tunnel. “They looked at it and said, “Okay, what is the cheapest? The tunnel. What is the safest? The tunnel.”

Denmark and Germany signed an agreement to build the tunnel back in 2008, but the scheme was delayed by opposition from ferry operators and German conservation groups concerned about the ecological impact.

One such environmental group, Nabu (The Nature And Biodiversity Conservation Union), argued that this area of the Baltic is an important habitat for larvae and harbour porpoises, which are sensitive to underwater noise.

However in 2020 their legal challenge was dismissed by a federal court in Germany, which green-lighted construction to go ahead.

“We have done a lot of initiatives to make sure that the impact of this project is as small as possible,” says Mr Vincentsen, pointing to a 300-hectare wetland nature and recreational area that’s planned on reclaimed land, which has been built from the dredged up sand and rock.

When the tunnel opens in 2029, Femern estimates that more than 100 trains and 12,000 cars will use it each day.

According to plans, revenues collected from toll fees will repay the state-backed loans that were taken out to finance the construction, and Mr Vincentsen calculates that will take around four decades. “Ultimately, the users are going to pay,” he says.

It’s also hoped the huge investment will boost jobs, business and tourism in Lolland, which is one of Denmark’s poorest regions.

“The locals down here have been waiting for this project for a lot of years,” said Mr Wede, who grew up nearby. “They’re looking forward to businesses coming to the area.”

Sharon Osbourne has called for a west Belfast rap group’s US work visas to be revoked.

Last weekend, Kneecap performed at Coachella, an annual music festival in California, where they ended their set with pro-Palestinian messages.

Writing on social media, the TV personality and America’s Got Talent judge said the hip-hop trio had “took their performance to a different level by incorporating aggressive political statements”.

Kneecap and the festival’s organisers have been approached for comment.

The band are set to play a number of shows in the US and Canada in coming months.

A US State Department spokesperson said: “Due to privacy and other considerations, and visa confidentiality, we generally will not comment on Department actions with respect to specific cases.”

Hamas attacked Israel on 7 October 2023, killing about 1,200 people – mostly civilians – and taking 251 back to Gaza as hostages.

Israel launched a massive military offensive in response, which has killed 51,240 Palestinians – mainly civilians – according to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry figures on Monday.

Kneecap have been vocal supporters of the Palestinian people, often raising the conflict in their live performances.

At the end of their set at the second weekend of Coachella, which was not streamed on the festival’s official YouTube page, Kneecap projected three screens of text.

The first message said: “Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinian people,” followed by: “It is being enabled by the US government who arm and fund Israel despite their war crimes,” and a final screen added: “[Expletive] Israel. Free Palestine.”

During the performance, band member Mo Chara said: “The Irish not so long ago were persecuted at the hands of the Brits, but we were never bombed from the… skies with nowhere to go.

“The Palestinians have nowhere to go.”

The band also led the audience in chants of: “Free, free Palestine”.

On 11 April, during Kneecap’s first Coachella performance, the group faced criticism after leading an anti-Margaret Thatcher chant – which was subsequently omitted from the festival’s livestream – along with calls for a united Ireland.

On Tuesday, Osbourne claimed on social media the band’s actions included “projections of anti-Israel messages and hate speech”.

“This band openly support terrorist organizations,” she added.

“I urge you to join me in advocating for the revocation of Kneecap’s work visa,” she said.

A US State Department spokesperson told BBC News NI that the Trump administration “is focused on protecting our nation and our citizens by upholding the highest standards of national security and public safety through our visa process”.

“When considering revocations, the Department looks at information that arises after the visa was issued that may indicate a potential visa ineligibility under U.S. immigration laws, pose a threat to public safety, or other situations where revocation is warranted,” they added.

“This can include everything from arrests, criminal convictions, and engaging in conduct that is inconsistent with the visa classification, to an overstay.”

Ms Osbourne was also critical of the organisers of the festival, Goldenvoice, a subsidiary of Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG).

“Reports indicate that Goldenvoice was unaware of Kneecap’s political intentions when they were booked,” Osbourne said.

“However, after witnessing their performance during the first weekend, allowing them to perform again the following weekend suggests support of their rhetoric and a lack of due diligence,” she continued.

“This behaviour raises concerns about the appropriateness of their participation in such a festival and further shows they are booked to play in the USA,” Osbourne said.

“I know for a fact that certain people in the industry had written to Goldenvoice, airing their concerns around the booking of Kneecap,” she said.

The organisers have also been approached for comment.

In response to the performance, the organisers of the Nova Music Festival, Tribe of Nova, said Kneecap shared messaging that “deeply hurt many in our community”.

Hundreds of people were killed at the festival and a number of people were abducted during the Hamas attack on 7 October 2023.

In a statement, they said: “Our festival was a space where people came together -across cultures and beliefs – to celebrate life. That’s why we believe that even in the face of ignorance or provocation, our response must be rooted in empathy, not hate.

“We invite the members of Kneecap to visit the Nova Exhibition and experience first-hand the stories of those who were murdered, those who survived, and those who are still being held hostage.

“Not to shame or silence – but to connect. To witness. To understand.”

Kneecap are an Irish-speaking rap trio who have courted controversy with their provocative lyrics and merchandise.

The group was formed in 2017 by three friends who go by the stage names of Mo Chara, Móglaí Bap and DJ Próvaí.

Their rise to fame inspired a semi-fictionalised film starring Oscar-nominated actor Michael Fassbender.

The film won a British Academy of Film Award (Bafta) in February 2025.

Meanwhile, a Jewish security charity has called for police to investigate videos appearing to show the group express support for Hezbollah and Hamas.

Hezbollah is a political and military group in Lebanon, while Hamas is a Palestinian armed group and political movement in the Gaza Strip.

On Monday, a member of Community Security Trust (CST) shared on X a video from a Kneecap gig in London last November.

The footage appeared to show a member of the group draped in a Hezbollah flag shouting to the crowd “up Hamas, up Hezbollah”.

A CST spokeswoman said it was “utterly disgraceful” that Hezbollah and Hamas – both considered terrorist organisations by the UK and other nations – were being “lauded from a London stage” with the crowd “encouraged to show their support”.

“We fully expect the police to investigate this thoroughly and take appropriate action.”

The Metropolitan Police has been asked for a response.

On Tuesday, Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch shared the video and renewed her criticism of the Labour government for last year settling a legal case brought by the group.

It related to a decision Badenoch made when she was a minister to withdraw an arts grant.

Kneecap was awarded £14,250 – the same amount they were initially granted.

Badenoch posted on X, formerly known as Twitter: “Perhaps now Labour see Kneecap openly glorifying evil terror groups, they will apologise for rolling over. But I doubt it.”

The Department for Business and Trade said the government’s “priority is to get on delivering the change we promised and protect the taxpayer from further expense”.

A spokesperson said this was “why we did not continue to contest Kneecap’s challenge as we did not believe it to be in the public interest”.

Amateur wildlife photographers have been flocking to a north Belfast park to spot a tropical new arrival.

Bedecked with emerald green feathers and a rose-red beak, the ring-neck parakeets have become the star attraction at the Waterworks Park.

Originally from the Himalayas, the Indian sub-continent, and parts of Africa, ring-necked parakeets are regularly spotted across the UK, with large populations in London and the south-east of England.

It’s estimated that about 15 of these parrots have found a new home in the foothills of Cavehill.

The RSPB describes ring-necked parakeets, sometimes known as rose-ringed parakeets, as the UK’s only naturalised parrot.

Dot Blakely, a bird expert who teaches bird-watching courses at Belfast Metropolitan College and Queen’s University Belfast (QUB), said she brings students to the park to study the new residents.

“The parakeets are likely to have come over from London,” she said. “It’s likely they moved across to the Republic of Ireland before moving up.”

“We’re seeing more birds come across because of climate change, so many birds that we wouldn’t have seen here before.

“People still think of it as a tropical bird but it has adapted.”

Ms Blakely told BBC News NI she thinks there are about 13 to15 parakeets living in the park, which indicates they are getting enough food to sustain a small colony and are likely to be breeding.

“There are lots of berries around the area, but lots of locals are leaving seed out for them,” she added.

“Sometimes you’ll see the birds right up at people’s windows waiting to get fed.”

The brightly coloured birds have been attracting amateur photographers to the park.

Sharon Gregg, who took up photography after being diagnosed with a rare illness, told BBC News NI spending time in nature and watching the birds has had a positive effect on her wellbeing.

“When I first heard about the birds last month I would say: ‘I’m away to look for the parrots.’

“People would think I was mad,” she said.

Ms Gregg has photographed eight parakeets in one sitting before.

“I think the parakeets are such wonderful, special little birds and a lot of people don’t even realise they are in the trees up above them,” she said.

“They are really comical, cheeky wee things, and they are just a pleasure to watch.”

Michael Latham, from Bangor, is a keen twitcher, someone who goes to extraordinary lengths to see new bird species.

He has travelled to the area to see the birds a number of times over the past few years.

“The number has grown a bit over the last while,” he said.

“There have been reports of breeding, but we think there is only one male.”

There has been a longstanding rumour that rock legend Jimi Hendrix is responsible for the parakeets coming to the UK.

The guitarist supposedly released a pair of the birds into the wild while living in Carnaby Street in London in the1960s.

There have also been rumours that the birds escaped across the country during the wrap party for the 1951 film The African Queen starring Humphrey Bogart and Katharine Hepburn.

However, a study published in the Journal of Zoology quashed these rumours.

It suggests that the birds establishment is more likely to be a consequence of repeated releases and introductions.

As for why they have moved from London across the UK, Ornithologist Professor Emily Shepherd said: “Urban and suburban parks are their typical environment, so as soon as one area becomes too over-populated or competitive they seem to fly around in search of somewhere else which looks quite similar.

“They thrive in urban and suburban environments. They need people nearby who will either discard or deliberately leave out food for them,” she said.

“They are big, tough birds, who are quite capable of bullying even jackdaws and crows out of the way of feeders, and in areas with plentiful food supplies they can survive sub-zero temperatures if they can put on enough winter fat.”

Parakeets are a non-native bird so they are classed as an invasive species.

Conor McKinney, the chair of Wild Belfast said: “Parakeets may seem like a novel addition to our wildlife, but really they are pose a great risk to birds, bats, and to agriculture.

“Parakeets have the ability to out-compete native cavity nesting species, such as starlings, and have even been known to evict bats from their roosts,” he said.

“Preventing the further dispersal of this species is possible, but it needs to happen soon.

“We call on Belfast City Council and the Northern Ireland Environment Agency to return the birds to captivity and negate any potential risks of further spread.”

In a statement, the council said they are “currently seeking advice from the relevant government department, the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (Daera), in regard to the parakeets at Waterworks Park”.

A federal judge has ordered the Trump administration to restore all jobs and funding for the Voice of America and other US-backed news outlets, ruling that efforts to dismantle it violated the law and Constitution.

Over 1,300 VOA employees, including about 1,000 journalists, were placed on leave following President Donald Trump’s order. The White House has accused the broadcaster of being “anti-Trump” and “radical”.

VOA, still primarily a radio service, was set up during World War II to counter Nazi propaganda, and has become a major global media broadcaster.

The ruling noted that because of the cuts, “VOA is not reporting the news for the first time in its 80-year existence”.

Judge Royce Lamberth said the administration acted “without regard to the harm inflicted on employees, contractors, journalists, and media consumers around the world”.

He ordered the administration to take steps to restore employees and contractors to the jobs they had prior to the executive order, and to do the same for Radio Free Asia and the Middle East Broadcasting Networks.

The judge found the administration also likely violated the International Broadcasting Act and Congress’ power to appropriate funding.

“My colleagues and I are grateful for this ruling. But we know that this is just a small step forward, as the government is likely to appeal,” said Patsy Widakuswara, the VOA White House bureau chief and a lead plaintiff in the lawsuit.

“We are committed to continuing to fight against what we believe is the administration’s unlawful silencing of VOA until we can return to our congressional mandate: to tell America’s stories with factual, balanced, and comprehensive, reporting,” she said.

Trump has long criticised VOA as part of his broader attacks against the media, frequently accusing mainstream outlets of bias.

After taking office in January, he appointed a political ally, Kari Lake, to run VOA. Lake has previously supported Trump’s false claims that the 2020 election was stolen from him.

In March, Trump ordered the US Agency for Global Media (USAGM), which oversees VOA and funds outlets like Radio Free Europe and Radio Free Asia, to be “eliminated to the maximum extent consistent with applicable law”.

A separate judge in New York temporarily blocked the executive order after journalists, advocacy groups and unions sued, arguing the move was unlawful.

Judge Lamberth, who is based in Washington, DC, ruled the Trump administration lacked the authority to shutter VOA, which is funded by Congress and has a legislative mandate to deliver credible news globally.

“It is hard to fathom a more straightforward display of arbitrary and capricious actions than the Defendants’ actions here,” he wrote.

USAGM and the White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer does not believe transgender women are women, his official spokesman has said.

It comes after the UK Supreme Court ruled last week that a woman is defined by biological sex under equalities law.

In March 2022, when he was leader of the opposition, Sir Keir told the Times that “a woman is a female adult, and in addition to that transwomen are women, and that is not just my view – that is actually the law”.

Asked if Sir Keir still believed that a transgender woman was a woman, the PM’s official spokesman said: “No, the Supreme Court judgment has made clear that when looking at the Equality Act, a woman is a biological woman.”

The spokesman added: “That is set out clearly by the court judgment.”

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch accused the government of having U-turned in reaction to the judgement, accusing Labour ministers of needing the Supreme Court to tell them what to think on the issue.

Pressed over when the PM had changed his mind earlier, his spokesman insisted the Labour government had been consistent that single-sex spaces “are protected in law”.

The ruling also makes it clear that a person who was born male but identifies as a woman does not have the right to use spaces or services designated as for women only.

The spokesman stressed the PM had repeatedly said “a woman is an adult female” before the court judgment.

In 2023, Sir Keir told The Sunday Times that for “99.9%” of women “of course they haven’t got a penis”.

Later that year he told BBC Radio 5 Live “a woman is an adult female”.

And in April 2024 he said Rosie Duffield, who quit the party last year, was right to say “only women have a cervix”, telling ITV: “Biologically, she of course is right about that.”

Sir Keir had previously been critical of Duffield’s views on trans people when she was a Labour MP, saying in 2021 that she was “not right” to say only women have a cervix.

Asked whether Sir Keir would now use a trans woman’s preferred pronouns, the spokesman declined to comment on “hypotheticals” but insisted the PM had “been clear that trans women should be treated with the same dignity and respect as anyone else”.

Earlier on Tuesday Sir Keir welcomed the court’s decision, saying it had given “much-needed clarity” for those drawing up guidance.

In his first public comments since the ruling last week, the PM told ITV West Country: “We need to move and make sure that we now ensure that all guidance is in the right place according to that judgment.”

Asked if he does not believe a transwoman is a woman, he said: “A woman is an adult female, and the court has made that absolutely clear.”

During a Commons debate on the ruling on Monday, Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson welcomed the “added clarity” of the ruling and said the government would work to “protect single-sex spaces based on biological sex”.

But Badenoch attacked Labour ministers’ previous record, accusing them of being “so desperate to jump on a bandwagon that they abandoned common sense”.

“I know what a woman is and I always have,” she said. “The people of this country know what a woman is.

“We didn’t need the Supreme Court to tell us that – but this government did.”

Badenoch added: “The idea that they have supported this all along is for the birds… They have never said this before, this is a U-turn, but we welcome it.”

Earlier, Phillipson was pressed over whether a trans woman should use a women’s toilet or a men’s toilet.

“That should be on the basis of biological sex – that would apply right across the board to all single-sex provision,” she told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

“But the EHRC [Equality and Human Rights Commission] will be setting out additional guidance and a statutory code of practice because we need to make sure that everyone has the ability to access services that are safe and appropriate and respect their privacy and dignity.”

Phillipson added that “many businesses have moved towards unisex provision or separate cubicles that can be used by anyone”.

Asked whether there was unity in the Labour Party about this issue, she replied: “I speak for the government on this matter and I can be crystal clear with you that we welcome the ruling.”

Many Labour MPs will be uneasy about the comments from Sir Keir and Phillipson, although frustration did not seem to extend to being willing to criticise the government, but instead expressing concern about anxieties within the trans, non-binary and intersex community.

In the debate following Phillipson’s statement, Labour’s Emily Thornberry said LGBT helpline calls had “skyrocketed in recent days” and highlighted that “the overwhelming threat to women and to all of the trans community is the violence that we suffer from cis men”.

Nadia Whittome pointed out that a ban on trans women using women’s toilets, or trans men using men’s toilets, would leave them using facilities they “would not feel comfortable or safe in”.

Liberal Democrat women and equalities spokeswoman Christine Jardine warned the ruling threatened the human rights and security “of another vulnerable group in society” and questioned where trans people should now seek refuge.

Women and Equalities select committee chair, Labour’s Sarah Owen, said the judges made their decision “without a single contribution from trans people” and won a commitment from Phillipson that trans “stakeholders” would be involved in the creation of upcoming guidance.

Some MPs who have campaigned in support of trans rights pointed to commitments in Labour’s general election manifesto to introduce a “trans-inclusive ban on conversion practices” as well as to “modernise, simplify, and reform” gender recognition law.

Those are still Labour Party policies, as far as we are aware, but any sign of backsliding on that and this debate may again become a tense one within Labour’s ranks.

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