President Volodymyr Zelensky returned to the White House on Monday to meet US President Donald Trump for fresh talks aimed at ending the war in Ukraine.

Several European leaders also flew to Washington to attend the meeting, days after Trump met Russia’s President Vladimir Putin in Alaska for a summit that failed to result in a ceasefire.

Despite optimistic words by Trump and some more lukewarm assessments from his European partners, by Monday evening there were no concrete commitments to security guarantees or steps towards a peace deal.

Here are the key takeaways from the talks.

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Following the summit, Trump posted on Truth Social that he had called Putin to begin arranging talks between the Russian leader and Zelensky.

Trump said that following such a bilateral, at a location to be determined, there would be a trilateral where the US president would join them.

A Putin adviser said afterwards that Trump and Putin spoke for 40 minutes by phone on Monday.

Before European leaders sat down with Trump in the East Room at the White House, a hot mic picked up remarks between the US leader and French President Emmanuel Macron.

“I think he wants to make a deal. I think he wants to make a deal for me. You understand that? As crazy as that sounds,” Trump told Macron, appearing to refer to Putin.

It remains to be seen how straightforward it will be to bring two such bitter enemies face-to-face at the negotiating table for the first time since Russia’s full-scale invasion began in February 2022.

For months, Zelensky has been pushing to meet Putin, although this was likely a way of proving his argument that Russia is not serious about pursuing peace, as he believed the Kremlin had no interest in such a meeting.

Moscow has repeatedly turned down the idea of a Putin-Zelensky sit-down.

A noncommittal statement from Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov on Monday night said it was “worthwhile” to “explore the possibility of raising the level of representatives” from the Russian and Ukrainian delegations in negotiations.

Trump seemed to dismiss the need for any ceasefire before negotiations to end the war can take place.

In the past, that has been a key demand of Ukraine, which made clear it sees an end to the fighting as a prerequisite for further talks with Russia and, ultimately, for a longer-term settlement.

A ceasefire could also be marginally easier to agree than a full peace deal, which would take many months of negotiations, during which Russia’s assault on Ukraine would probably continue.

“I don’t know that it’s necessary,” Trump said of a ceasefire.

But the European leaders appeared to push back, with the strongest rebuttal coming from German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.

“I can’t imagine that the next meeting would take place without a ceasefire,” Merz said. “So, let’s work on that and let’s try to put pressure on Russia.”

When asked to speak, Zelensky did not reiterate his previous calls for a ceasefire to be put in place.

Trump told Zelensky the US would help guarantee Ukraine’s security in any deal to end the war, without specifying the extent of any assistance.

The US president did not offer boots on the ground. But when asked by reporters whether US security guarantees for Ukraine could include any American military in the country, Trump did not rule it out.

He said Europe was the “first line of defence”, but that “we’ll be involved”.

“We’ll give them good protection,” the president said at one point.

This is the most decisive Trump has ever sounded on the issue of security guarantees, which are generally seen as paramount to any sort of deal with Russia.

He also said that during last week’s Alaska summit Putin had accepted that there would be security guarantees for Ukraine as part of any peace deal.

At a news conference after Monday’s meetings, Zelensky said part of the security guarantee would involve a $90bn (£67bn) arms deal between the US and Ukraine.

He said this would include US weapons that Ukraine does not have, including aviation systems, anti-missile systems “and other things I will not disclose”.

Zelensky also said the US would buy Ukrainian drones, which would help fund their domestic production of the unmanned craft.

The Ukrainian president told reporters that security guarantees for Kyiv would probably be worked out within 10 days.

Given his acrimonious last visit to the Oval Office in February, the Ukrainian president went to considerable lengths to charm his American hosts – including a flurry of six “thank yous” within the first few minutes of the meeting.

The last time he was at the White House, Zelensky was scolded by Vice-President JD Vance for a perceived lack of gratitude for US support for Ukraine.

This time, Zelenksy was wearing a dark suit rather than his traditional military garb, which drew a gibe from Trump last time that his guest was “all dressed up today”.

Zelensky also sought to forge family ties during the meeting, handing his host a letter from Ukrainian First Lady Olena Zelenska to be delivered to US First Lady Melania Trump.

“It’s not to you – [it’s] to your wife,” he told Trump.

European leaders dialled up the flattery with Trump ahead of their multilateral meeting, heaping praise on him for his work in bringing them around the table.

“I really want to thank you for your leadership,” said Nato chief Mark Rutte.

Italian PM Giorgia Meloni said while there had previously been no sign that Russia wanted to move towards peace “something had changed” thanks to Trump.

Despite the warm tones, the Europeans tried to convey that they, too, feel exposed to any future Russian aggression.

French President Emmanuel Macron told fellow leaders somberly: “When we talk about security guarantees, we’re also talking about the matter of the security of the European continent.”

Intel shares have jumped after Japanese technology investment giant Softbank said it is buying a $2bn (£1.5bn) stake in the US computer chip maker.

The announcement came just hours after new reports that the Trump administration is in talks to take a stake of around 10% in Intel by converting government grants into shares.

The potential deal, which was first reported last week, aims to help Intel build a flagship manufacturing hub in Ohio. At the time, a White House spokesman told the BBC that the reports “should be regarded as speculation” unless officially announced.

The BBC has contacted the White House and Intel for comment.

Under the deal announced on Monday, Softbank will pay $23 per share in Intel.

“The investment comes as both Intel and SoftBank deepen their commitment to investing in advanced technology and semiconductor innovation in the United States,” the two companies said in a joint statement.

Last week, US President Donald Trump and members of his cabinet met Intel chief executive Lip-Bu Tan.

The meeting came just days after Trump called for Mr Tan to resign, accusing him of being “highly conflicted” due to his earlier ties to China.

The developments came as the US chip industry is under intense scrutiny by the White House.

Some analysts have described Intel’s potential deal with the US government as a lifeline for the firm.

Intel is one of the few US firms capable of manufacturing high-end semiconductors at scale.

But globally, it has lost out to rival chip manufacturers like Samsung and TSMC.

On Thursday, the company declined to comment on the reported discussions and said it was “deeply committed to supporting President Trump’s efforts” to strengthen manufacturing and technology in the US.

Such an agreement would mark a “major escalation” in what seems to be an attempt by the Trump administration to reshape the US government’s role in the private sector, said political scientist Sarah Bauerle Danzman from Indiana University.

But the potential move sets a “concerning precedent” as it raises questions about whether companies may be pushed to follow political agendas, she said.

It also signals Washington’s determination to ensure Intel succeeds and that the supply chain for computer chips is protected, said Dan Sheehan from Telos Wealth Advisors.

“[The Government’s] agenda is clear: Accelerate domestic production, reduce dependence on Asia, and position Intel at the centre of the AI and national security landscape,” he said.

SoftBank’s investment is a “clear vote of confidence” in Intel’s turnaround, he added.

Last week, Nvidia and AMD agreed to pay the US government 15% of their Chinese revenues as part of an unprecedented deal to secure export licences to China.

A woman dubbed the “Ketamine Queen” has agreed to plead guilty of selling the drugs that ultimately killed Friends actor Matthew Perry.

Jasveen Sangha, 42, will plead guilty to five charges in Los Angeles, including one count of distributing ketamine resulting in death or bodily injury, according to the Justice Department.

The American-British dual-national originally faced nine criminal counts. Federal prosecutors called her Los Angeles home a “drug-selling emporium” and found dozens of vials of ketamine during a raid.

Perry was found dead in a back yard jacuzzi at his Los Angeles home in October 2023, with an examination finding his death was caused by the acute effects of ketamine.

Sangha is one of five people – including medical doctors and the actor’s assistant – who US officials say supplied ketamine to Perry, exploiting his drug addiction for profit, and leading to his overdose death.

They include: Dr Salvador Plasencia and Dr Mark Chavez, two doctors who sold ketamine; Kenneth Iwamasa, who worked as Perry’s live-in assistant and both helped purchase and inject the actor with ketamine; and Eric Fleming, who sold ketamine he’d gotten from Sangha to Perry.

All five have since agreed to plead guilty to charges in the case. Sangha’s criminal trial had been pushed several times and currently was scheduled to begin next month.

She is expected to appear in federal court in the coming weeks to formally enter her guilty plea as part of the agreement with federal authorities.

Her attorney, Mark Geragos, told the BBC in a statement that “she’s taking responsibility for her actions”.

She plans to plead guilty to one count of maintaining a drug-involved premises, three counts of distributing ketamine, and one count of distributing ketamine resulting in death or serious bodily injury.

Sangha faces a maximum sentence of 65 years in federal prison, according to the Justice Department.

Ketamine is a dissociative anaesthetic that has some hallucinogenic effects, according to the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). It can distort perception of sight and sound and makes the user feel disconnected and not in control.

It is used as an injectable anaesthetic for humans and animals because it makes patients feel detached from their pain and environment.

The substance is supposed to be administered only by a physician, investigators say, and patients who have taken the drug should be monitored by a professional because of its possible harmful effects.

Perry’s death and the investigation into how he obtained so much of the drug over multiple years offered a glimpse into Hollywood’s ketamine drug network, which one doctor called the “wild west” in an interview with the BBC.

As part of her plea agreement, Sangha also plead guilty to selling ketamine to a man named Cody McLaury in August 2019, who died hours after the purchase from a drug overdose, according to the justice department.

Federal authorities accused Sangha of supplying ketamine from her “stash house” in North Hollywood since at least 2019, alleging in an indictment that she worked with celebrities and high-end clients.

More than 80 vials of ketamine were allegedly found there in a search before her arrest in March 2024, along with thousands of pills that included methamphetamine, cocaine and Xanax.

The home, called the “Sangha Stash House” in a federal indictment, was where she is alleged to have packaged and distributed drugs.

Sangha is said to have mixed with celebrities socially, with one of her friends telling the Daily Mail she attended the Golden Globes and the Oscars.

Her social media presence depicted an extravagant lifestyle, including parties and trips to Japan and Mexico.

Hamas has agreed to the latest proposal from regional mediators for a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal with Israel, a source in the Palestinian armed group has told the BBC.

The proposal from Egypt and Qatar is said to be based on a framework put forward by US envoy Steve Witkoff in June.

It would see Hamas free around half of the 50 remaining Israeli hostages – 20 of whom are believed to be alive – in two batches during an initial 60-day truce. There would also be negotiations on a permanent ceasefire.

It is unclear what Israel’s response will be, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said last week that it would only accept a deal if “all the hostages are released in one go”.

In a video released after the reports of Hamas’s approval emerged, Netanyahu did not comment directly but said that “from them you can get one impression – Hamas is under immense pressure.”

The Israeli military’s chief of staff, Lt Gen Eyal Zamir, meanwhile said it was at a turning point in the 22-month war, with the “focus on enhancing the strikes against Hamas in Gaza City”.

It came as witnesses on the ground in Gaza City reported that Israeli tanks backed by air and artillery strikes had made a surprise advance into the southern Sabra neighbourhood, and surrounded schools and a UN-run clinic sheltering hundreds of displaced people.

Later this week, the Israeli cabinet is expected to approve the military’s plan to occupy Gaza City, where intensifying Israeli strikes have already prompted thousands of people to flee.

Netanyahu announced Israel’s intention to widen its offensive and conquer all of Gaza – including the areas where most of its 2.1 million Palestinian residents have sought refuge – after indirect talks with Hamas on a ceasefire deal broke down last month.

A Hamas delegation led by the group’s chief negotiator, Khalil al-Hayya, has been in Cairo since last week meeting mediators who see a window of opportunity for a new agreement.

On Monday morning, a senior Hamas official told the BBC that the delegation was reviewing a new ceasefire proposal that it had received the previous day.

Qatar’s Prime Minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman Al Thani, also visited the Egyptian capital to “apply maximum pressure on the two sides to reach a deal as soon as possible”, Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty said.

Speaking during his own trip to the Rafah border crossing with Gaza, Abdelatty stressed the urgency of reaching a ceasefire to alleviate the deep humanitarian crisis in the Palestinian territory. He said the current situation on the ground there was “beyond imagination”.

On Monday evening, a Hamas source told the BBC that the group had submitted a written response to mediators saying it agreed to the ceasefire proposal without any amendments or conditions.

According to a Palestinian official familiar with the talks, the proposal “mirrors” the one presented by Steve Witkoff two months ago, which Hamas rejected.

Witkoff proposed a 60-day truce that would see the release of 10 living hostages by Hamas and the bodies of 18 other hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails. He also said that serious negotiations to end the war would take place during the truce.

On Sunday night, hundreds of thousands of Israelis gathered in Tel Aviv to demand that their government agree a deal with Hamas to end the war now and bring all the hostages home.

Hostages’ families fear that another offensive in Gaza City could endanger those held there.

“I’m scared that my son would be hurt,” said Dani Miran, whose 48-year-old son Omri has been held captive for 682 days.

Netanyahu accused the demonstrators of hardening Hamas’s negotiating position.

Palestinians also called for an immediate end to the war at a protest in Gaza City on Monday.

“Hamas and its demands, and the demands being negotiated, do not represent me. I want to live in peace. I want peace of mind. Our only demand is peace and safety for our children,” one woman told a local freelance journalist working for the BBC.

US President Donald Trump meanwhile wrote on social media: “We will only see the return of the remaining hostages when Hamas is confronted and destroyed!!! The sooner this takes place, the better the chances of success will be.”

Israel’s prime minister has said the war will only end once all the hostages are released and Hamas disarms. He also wants Gaza to be demilitarised, kept under Israeli security control, and run by an administration not linked to Hamas or the Palestinian Authority.

Hamas has called for a comprehensive deal that would see the hostages it is holding exchanged for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails, as well as an end to the war and the full withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza. It says it will not disarm unless an independent Palestinian state is created.

The Israeli military launched a campaign in Gaza in response to the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.

At least 62,004 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry.

Most of Gaza’s population has also been displaced multiple times; more than 90% of homes are estimated to be damaged or destroyed; the healthcare, water, sanitation and hygiene systems have collapsed; and UN-backed global food security experts have warned that the “worst-case scenario of famine is currently playing out” due to food shortages.

Gaza’s health ministry reported on Monday that another five people, including two children, had died as a result of malnutrition over the previous 24 hours, raising the total number of such deaths since the start of the war to 263.

High on a hill in the west of the Afghan capital, Kabul, behind a steel gate topped with barbed wire, lies a place few locals speak of, and even fewer visit.

The women’s wing of a mental health centre run by the Afghan Red Crescent Society (ARCS) is the largest of only a handful of facilities in the country dedicated to helping women with mental illnesses.

Locals call it Qala, or the fortress.

The BBC gained exclusive access to the crowded centre where staff find it difficult to cope with the 104 women currently within its walls.

Among them are women like Mariam* who says she is a victim of domestic violence.

Thought to be in her mid-20s, she’s been here for nine years, after enduring what she describes as abuse and neglect by her family, followed by a period of homelessness.

“My brothers used to beat me whenever I visited a neighbour’s house,” she alleges. Her family did not want to let her out of the house alone, she says, because of a cultural belief that young girls should not leave the house without supervision.

Eventually, her brothers appeared to have kicked her out, forcing her to live on the streets at a young age. It was here a woman found her and, apparently concerned about her mental health, brought her to the centre.

Despite her story, Mariam’s smile is constantly radiant. She is often seen singing, and is one of the few patients allowed to work around the building, volunteering to help with cleaning.

She is ready – and willing – to be discharged.

But she cannot leave because she has nowhere to go.

“I don’t expect to return to my father and mother. I want to marry someone here in Kabul, because even if I go back home, they’ll just abandon me again,” Mariam says.

As she can’t return to her abusive family, she is effectively trapped in the facility.

In Afghanistan, strict Taliban regulations and deeply-rooted patriarchal traditions make it nearly impossible for women to live independently. Women are legally and socially required to have a male guardian for travel, work, or even accessing many services, and most economic opportunities are closed to them.

Generations of gender inequality, limited education, and restricted employment have left many women financially dependent on male breadwinners, reinforcing a cycle where survival often hinges on male relatives.

Sat on a bed in one of the dormitories is Habiba.

The 28-year-old says she was brought to the centre by her husband, who was forcing her out of the family home after he married again.

Like Mariam, she now has nowhere else to go. She too is ready to be released, but her husband will not take her back, and her widowed mother cannot support her either.

Her three sons now live with an uncle. They visited her initially, but Habiba hasn’t seen them this year; without access to a phone, she cannot even make contact.

“I want to be reunited with my children,” she says.

Their stories are far from unique at the centre, where our visit, including conversations with staff and patients, is overseen by officials from the Taliban government.

Some patients have been here for 35 to 40 years, says Saleema Halib, a psychotherapist at the centre.

“Some have been completely abandoned by their families. No-one comes to visit, and they end up living and dying here.”

Years of conflict has left its mark on the mental health of many Afghans, especially women, and the issue is often poorly understood and subject to stigma.

In response to a recent UN report on the worsening situation of women’s rights in Afghanistan, Hamdullah Fitrat, Taliban government’s deputy spokesperson, told the BBC that their government did not allow any violence against women and they have “ensured women’s rights in Afghanistan”.

But UN data released in 2024 points to a worsening mental health crisis linked to the Taliban’s crackdown on women’s rights: 68% of women surveyed reported having “bad” or “very bad” mental health.

Services are struggling to cope, both inside and outside the centre, which has seen a several-fold increase in patients over the last four years, and now has a waiting list.

“Mental illness, especially depression, is very common in our society,” says Dr Abdul Wali Utmanzai, a senior psychiatrist at a nearby hospital in Kabul, also run by ARCS.

He says he sees up to 50 outpatients a day from different provinces, most of them women: “They face severe economic pressure. Many have no male relative to provide for them – 80% of my patients are young women with family issues.”

The Taliban government says it is committed to providing health services. But with restrictions on women’s movement without a male chaperon, many cannot seek help.

All of this makes it more difficult for women like Mariam and Habiba to leave – and the longer they stay, the fewer places there are for those who say they desperately need help.

One family had been trying for a year to admit their 16-year-old daughter, Zainab, to the centre, but they were told there were no beds available. She is now one of the youngest patients there.

Until then she had been confined to her home – her ankles shackled to prevent her running away.

It’s not clear what mental health problems Zainab has been experiencing, but she struggles to verbalise her thoughts.

A visibly distressed Feda Mohammad says the police recently found his daughter miles from home.

Zainab had gone missing for days, which is especially dangerous in Afghanistan, where women are not allowed to travel long distances from home without a male guardian.

“She climbs the walls and runs away if we unchain her,” Feda Mohammad explains.

Zainab breaks down into tears every now and then, especially when she sees her mother crying.

Feda Mohammad says they noticed her condition when she was eight. But it worsened after multiple bombings hit her school in April 2022.

“She was thrown against a wall by the blast,” he says. “We helped carry out the wounded and collect the bodies. It was horrific.”

Exactly what would have happened if space hadn’t been found is unclear. Zainab’s father said her repeated attempts to run away were dishonouring him, and he argued it was better for her and her family that she is confined to the centre.

Whether she – like Mariam and Habiba – will now become one of Qala’s abandoned women remains to be seen.

Alandmark 113-year-old church at risk from ground subsidence is about to be relocated in its entirety – in a 5km (3 miles) move along a road in Sweden’s far north.

The vast red timber structure in Kiruna dating back to 1912 has been hoisted on giant rolling platforms ahead of the move to the new city centre.

Travelling at a maximum speed of 500m an hour, the journey is expected to take two days.

The old city centre is at risk from ground fissures after more than a century of iron ore mining. The church’s move is the most spectacular and symbolic moment of the wider relocation of buildings in Kiruna, which lies 145km north of the Arctic Circle.

In the words of culture strategist Sofia Lagerlöf Määttä, “it’s like finally, let’s get it done. We’ve been waiting for so many years”.

“We’ve done so much preparation,” says the man in charge of the move, project manager Stefan Holmblad Johansson.

“It’s a historic event, a very big and complex operation and we don’t have a margin of error. But everything is under control.”

His composure reflects years of planning.

By the mid-2010s, other buildings in Kiruna were already being shifted to safer ground. Most were demolished and rebuilt, but some landmarks were moved intact.

These include buildings in Hjalmar Lundbohmsgården such as the so-called yellow row of three old wooden houses and the former home of mining manager Hjalmar Lundbohm, which was split into three parts.

The clock tower on the roof of the old city hall was also moved and can now be found next to the new city hall.

Under Swedish law, mining activity can not take place under buildings.

Robert Ylitalo, chief executive officer of Kiruna’s development company, explains: “There’s no risk of people falling through cracks. But fissures would eventually damage the water, electricity and sewage supply. People have to move before the infrastructure fails.”

The iron ore mine’s operator, LKAB – also Kiruna’s biggest employer – is covering the city’s relocation bill, estimated at more than 10bn Swedish krona ($1bn; £737m).

Kiruna Church is 35m (115ft) high, 40m wide and weighs 672 tonnes. It was once voted Sweden’s most beautiful pre-1950 building.

Relocating such a large building is an unusual feat. But instead of dismantling it, engineers are moving it in one piece, supported by steel beams and carried on self-propelled modular transporters.

“The biggest challenge was preparing the road for such a wide building,” says project manager Mr Johansson.

“We’ve widened it to 24 metres (79ft) and along the way we removed lampposts, traffic lights as well as a bridge that was slated for demolition anyway.”

Among the most delicate aspects of the move is the protection of the church’s interior treasures, especially its great altar painting made by Prince Eugen, a member of Sweden’s royal family.

“It’s not something hanging on a hook that you just take off,” says Mr Johansson.

“It’s glued directly onto a masonry wall so it would have been difficult to remove without damage. So it will remain inside the church during the move, fully covered and stabilised. So will the organ with its 1,000 pipes.”

The move is much more than an engineering marvel for local residents – it’s a deeply emotional moment.

“The church has served as a spiritual centre and a gathering place for the community for generations,” says Sofia Lagerlöf Määttä, who remembers walking into the church for the first time as a young child with her grandmother.

“The move has brought back memories of joy and sorrow to us, and we’re now moving those memories with us into the future.”

That feeling is also shared by project manager Stefan Holmblad Johansson, an engineer who doubles as a member of the church’s gospel choir.

“This is a very special task for me,” he says. “The church was built over a 100 years ago for the municipality by LKAB. Now we move it to the new city. There simply can’t be any other way.”

For the church’s vicar, Lena Tjärnberg, the moment carries added meaning.

“The church is leaving a place where it truly belongs,” she says.

“Everyone knows it has to be relocated: we live in a mining community and depend on the mine. I’m grateful that we’re moving the church with us to the new city centre but there is also sorrow in seeing it leave the ground where it became a church.”

As the massive walls of Kiruna church begin to inch forward, thousands of residents and visitors – Sweden’s King Carl Gustaf among them – are expected to line the route.

Swedish television will also broadcast the entire journey live as “slow TV”, marking a rare moment when a piece of history does not just survive change – it moves with it.

From among the broken remains of Brahim Hamaiel’s olive trees, in the occupied West Bank, we saw the masked men approach.

A dozen settlers, charging down from the illegal outpost above his farm and across the field towards us, moving fast and carrying large sticks.

A sudden and unprovoked attack.

Brahim had been showing us the trees he said had been hacked to pieces this week by settlers from the outpost.

His family have farmed olives here on land near Turmus Aya, for generations, making it a target for extremist settlers who think killing Palestinian trees and livestock will also kill the idea of a Palestinian State, by forcing residents like Brahim off their land.

“Fear is natural,” Brahim had told me, looking up at the ridge where tarpaulin flapped at the settlers’ lookout post in front of a few caravans and makeshift homes. “But there’s something stronger than fear that drives me to stay here – the scent of my ancestors and an attachment dating back hundreds of years – even if I pay the price with my blood.”

As the masked men run towards us, we pull back to the road and drive a safe distance away.

Within minutes, some of Brahim’s neighbours from the surrounding farms and villages gather with catapults and stones to confront the attackers.

Vegetation by the side of the road is set on fire, its smoke signalling the site of the confrontation, as settlers on a quad bike chase away a volunteer emergency crew trying to reach a farmhouse in the middle of the field.

• ‘Stop shooting! My daughter is dead’: Woman killed as West Bank power struggle rages

This is now a familiar routine. Palestinians living in these villages south of Nablus say there are attacks and confrontations on their lands every week, and that settlers are using these kinds of tactics to take over the land, field by field.

But the speed and spread of this attack is breathtaking.

In little more than an hour, dozens of settlers had fanned out across the hills. We watched as they broke into an isolated building, and methodically set fire to vehicles and homes.

Shepherds on the furthest ridge rushed their flocks away, as the hillside behind them broke into flames, smoke billowing up from several places.

By then, Palestinians arriving from across the area to help their neighbours found the main access road blocked by the Israeli army, as the destruction continued.

One Palestinian was reportedly beaten by settlers, and the army later told us that both sides had hurled rocks at each other, and that Palestinians had burned tyres. It said four Israeli civilians received medical treatment at the scene.

Among the crowd waiting near the army roadblock, we found Rifa Said Hamail, her frantic gestures giving way to a warm smile and embrace when we spoke to her.

Rifa told us her husband was trapped in their farmhouse near Brahim’s olive farm, and surrounded by settlers, but that the army wouldn’t let her pass.

“Every other day the settlers do this to us – they attack us, cut down the olive trees, and burn the farms,” she said. “This is not a life. No one can stop them. We have nothing to resist them with. They have weapons, we have nothing.”

We later learned that settlers had torched part of their property, and that Rifa’s husband had been left with cuts to his face and leg, after being hit with rocks.

The Israeli organisation Peace Now, which monitors the spread of settlements in the West Bank, says the number of outposts – and settler aggression – has multiplied since the Hamas attacks on Israel in October 2023, and the Gaza War that followed.

• Palestinian olive harvest under threat from Israeli attacks and restrictions

Since the beginning of last year, it says, some 100 outposts have appeared across the West Bank. It also found that hundreds of square kilometres of land had been taken over by settlers in the past few years using the same violent pattern of intimidation – encouraged, it says, by government support and a lack of proper law enforcement by Israel.

Last week, Israel’s far-right Finance Minister, Bezalel Smotrich, announced the creation of thousands of new housing units in a large West Bank settlement bloc further south, saying it would “bury the idea of a Palestinian state”.

Between 5-11 August, the UN Office for Humanitarian Affairs documented at least 27 settler attacks against Palestinians that resulted in casualties, property damage or both, across two dozen different communities. These attacks, it said, led to the displacement of 18 households.

We weren’t able to speak to any of the settlers involved in the attack we witnessed. The local settlers’ council told us there were elements on both sides seeking provocation, which it strongly condemned.

Brahim told us he had filed two separate complaints about the attacks on his land, but few Palestinians here have much faith in Israeli justice or security forces, saying repeatedly that they protect only the settlers.

One of the volunteer emergency crews who came to help during the clashes on Saturday told me the Israeli army had prevented them from reaching the scene.

“We were trying to rescue the young men, when the army came, honking at us and telling us to get away from here,” Yahya al-Khatib said.

“We were volunteers wearing our vests. We’re not here to attack or harm settlers. We want to put out fires and treat injured people. But they [the army] stop us and stand in our way.”

Tensions between local residents and settlers are complicated by the increasingly heavy control of Israeli forces across the West Bank, which has seen the evacuation and widespread demolition of refugee camps across the northern West Bank.

From January to June this year, the UN found that 149 Palestinians were killed by Israeli settlers or soldiers in the occupied West Bank. Nine Israelis were killed by Palestinians.

Hours after the clashes that erupted around Brahim’s farm on Saturday, another Palestinian casualty was added to that grim tally.

Eighteen-year-old Hamdan Abu-Elaya was shot and killed by Israeli troops in al- Mughayyir village, a few miles from Brahim’s field.

His mother told us he’d gone to see the fires lit by settlers nearby. “I raised him for 18 years, and he was gone in a minute,” she said.

We asked the Israeli army what happened. It said “terrorists” had thrown rocks and Molotov cocktails at troops in the village, and that soldiers had “responded with fire to remove the threat”.

Hundreds crowded into Hamdan’s house for his funeral on Sunday, as his body was carried in for his mother to say goodbye.

His father, Ameen Abu Elaya, raging to friends and family, said he refused to show the Israelis his tears.

“They thought if they killed our son, we would leave,” he said. “I will not shout and scream and say ‘why has he gone?’ I’m not sad that he passed. I encourage young men to do anything they can against the criminal occupier.”

At the local mosque, there was a hero’s welcome for Hamdan’s body as it was carried in for the funeral prayer – vast Palestinian flags hung alongside those of Fatah and Hamas from the rooves and windows; crowds lining the path of the bier.

In the language of this conflict, each birth and each burial only strengthens the ties to the land.

When Calum Macdonald arrived at the Vietnamese border, he couldn’t read the administrative forms in front of him. All he could see was a “kaleidoscopic blinding light”.

He had just stepped off an overnight bus with his friends from the popular tourist destination of Vang Vieng in Laos.

The day before, the group had been staying at a hostel where free whisky and vodka shots were offered to guests. Calum was mixing them with soft drinks.

It was only at the border that he suspected something might be wrong with his sight – which he told his friends.

• Free shots and beer buckets in party town at centre of methanol deaths
• ‘Don’t let it be your best friend that dies from methanol poisoning’

“I remember having this sort of kaleidoscopic, blinding light in my eyes and to the point at which I couldn’t see anything.

“[We agreed] it was strange but we thought it was food poisoning and the light I was seeing was some kind of sensitivity,” he tells BBC Breakfast.

But when they arrived at their destination in Vietnam, it was clear something was seriously wrong.

“We were sitting in the hotel room, my friends and I, and I said to them: ‘Why are we sitting in the dark? Someone should turn a light on.'” The lights were already on.

Calum, 23, is now blind and telling his story for the first time. He was one of several victims of a mass methanol poisoning in Vang Vieng last November.

Six people died. Calum knew two of them – Danish girls he had met on a night out.

All had been staying at the town’s Nana Backpacker Hostel.

Calum is now working with the families of three other British people who died following methanol poisoning in South East Asia.

They are calling on the Foreign Office to be clearer about the dangers people face when booking holidays in countries where methanol poisoning is a concern.

Simone White was one of those people.

The day after Calum left Vang Vieng, Simone drank free shots at the hostel. Earlier she’d sent her mum a text message saying this was the best holiday she’d ever been on.

Simone was admitted to hospital in the following days and a friend called her mother Sue to inform her of what had happened. Later, she rang again to say Simone was in a coma.

Sue booked a flight immediately but, before she could take off, she received another call in the middle of the night from a doctor in Laos who was treating Simone.

“[He said] you need to give permission for urgent brain surgery or she’s not going to survive…

“I flew out the next day knowing she was going through surgery and I expected the worst, to be honest.”

The 28-year-old died in hospital from methanol poisoning.

“It’s very hard to come to terms with what’s happened,” Sue says. “Nothing is going to bring Simone back.”

Methanol is a type of alcohol commonly found in cleaning products, fuel and antifreeze. It is similar to ethanol, which is used for alcoholic drinks, but is more toxic to humans because of the way it is processed by the body.

Alcoholic drinks can become contaminated with methanol if they are manufactured poorly.

It is a known problem with cheap spirits in South East Asia where hundreds of people are poisoned each year, according to the charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF).

If you consume one of these contaminated drinks and suffer methanol poisoning, symptoms can include dizziness, tiredness, headaches and nausea.

For many people it feels similar to a normal hangover, which makes it difficult to know if you have been poisoned or just had a few too many drinks.

After 12-48 hours, more serious problems can emerge like seizures and blurry vision. In severe cases, it can lead to total blindness and leave sufferers in a coma.

As little as 30ml of methanol can be fatal to humans, says the MSF.

If diagnosed within 10-30 hours after consumption, methanol poisoning can be treated successfully with dialysis.

Kirsty McKie, 38, died in 2022 but it was not the result of accepting free shots.

She had been enjoying drinks at home with a friend ahead of a night out in Bali – the Indonesian island where she had been living and working for eight years.

Her friend, Sonia Taylor, said they both felt like they had a particularly bad hangover the next day before Kirsty was taken to hospital for treatment.

Sonia had also drunk the contaminated alcohol, but survived.

“We had no idea,” says Sonia. “That’s probably been the hardest part for me, not knowing why you live and somebody else dies… It doesn’t seem to have any rhyme or reason as to why.”

On Sumatra, another Indonesian island, Cheznye Emmons died after drinking gin that was later found to contain 66,000 times the legal limit for methanol in drinks.

Cheznye’s mother Pamela tells the BBC: “I think the worst part about that… [was] just before she started having a fit, when she first arrived at the hospital, she said to her boyfriend: ‘I’m really, really scared.’

“And that was basically the last time [she spoke].”

Calum’s advice to tourists is to avoid free drinks and spirits in general. “There are lots of lovely beers in south-east Asia, which I’m sure people would really enjoy.”

He says learning of the deaths of the two Danish girls he met in Vang Vieng changed his perspective about his blindness.

“Part of the way that I [had] dealt with it was to bury my head in the sand… I did really feel like, in many ways, my life wasn’t worth living.”

Calum is now learning to use a cane and hopes to apply for a guide dog soon.

He adds: “[The deaths] made me realise that I was very lucky and I felt very grateful that, although I had some difficult consequences, a lot of people did have it worse.

“I felt, given that I was lucky enough to survive, I have a bit of a responsibility to try and prevent the same thing from happening to other people.”

The Foreign Office described methanol poisoning and counterfeit alcohol as a “serious problem in some parts of the world” and said it was working with local authorities and the travel industry to tackle the issue.

“We seek to make clear the risks to British people travelling abroad and we raise awareness through our travel advice and Travel Aware campaign.”

The BBC has postponed the broadcast of a documentary showing the last years of Ozzy Osbourne’s life, which had been scheduled to be broadcast on Monday.

Ozzy Osbourne: Coming Home had been due to air on BBC One at 21:00 BST, but was removed from the schedule earlier in the day.

A BBC spokesperson said: “The film has moved in the schedules and we’ll confirm new transmission details in due course.”

No reason was given for the postponement of the one-hour film, which will show the rock star’s move back to the UK and the run-up to his farewell concert in Birmingham in July and his death at the age of 76 later that month.

The documentary was originally conceived as a 10-part series titled Home to Roost, which was to follow Ozzy and wife Sharon’s “attempt to re-start their lives” in Buckinghamshire.

As Ozzy’s health deteriorated, however, it was converted to a single, hour-long film depicting the last three years of his life.

The BBC has described it as a “moving and inspirational account of the last chapter of Ozzy’s life, told through unique and intimate access to the whole Osbourne family, including Sharon, Jack and Kelly”.

However, it was scheduled to be screened less than a month after his death, and less than three weeks after Sharon and their children made a highly emotional appearance in front of crowds in his home city of Birmingham on the eve of his funeral.

The film was replaced in the BBC One schedule by an episode of Fake Or Fortune?

Myanmar will begin its general elections on 28 December, its military government announced, in a phased poll widely condemned as a sham that will be used to entrench the junta’s power.

This will be the first vote since the junta seized power in a bloody coup in 2021, and imprisoned democratically elected leader Aung San Sung Kyi.

Myanmar has been embroiled in a civil war since, with deadly battles between the military and ethnic armed groups, many of whom have said they would not permit voting in their areas.

Previous plans to hold an election were repeatedly delayed as the military has struggled to contain an opposition insurgency which has gained control over much of the country.

Some 55 parties have registered for the polls, state media said Monday, adding that nine of them plan to compete for seats nationwide.

“The first phase of the multi-party democratic general election for each parliament will begin on Sunday, 28 December 2025,” Myanmar’s election commission said in a statement.

“Dates for the subsequent phases will be announced later.”

With large parts of Myanmar under opposition control and in a state of war, holding this election is a formidable logistical exercise for the country’s military rulers.

But the junta’s leader Min Aung Hlaing, who led the catastrophic coup four and a half years ago, has said the vote must go ahead, and has threatened severe punishment for anyone who criticises or obstructs the election.

The National League for Democracy, led by Suu Kyi, which won landslides in the two elections prior to the coup, will not be allowed to contest this one.

The planned election has been widely dismissed, but it has the support of Myanmar’s most powerful neighbour China, which views stability in the South East Asian nation as a vital strategic interest.

Critics believe the junta will use the polls to maintain its power through proxy political parties.

Tom Andrews, the United Nation’s special rapporteur on the rights situation in Myanmar, had in June accused the junta of designing a “mirage of an election exercise” to give itself a veneer of legitimacy.

Andrews called on the international community to reject the elections to “not allow the military junta to… get away with this fraud”.

Thousands of people have been killed across Myanmar since the coup, which has destroyed the economy across much of the country and left a humanitarian vacuum.

Myanmar has also been hit by a devastating earthquake in March and international funding cuts, that have left vulnerable people in desperate and dangerous predicaments.

The junta would be “delusional” to think that an election held under the current circumstances will be considered “remotely credible”, Human Rights Watch told the BBC earlier this year.

“As a precursor to elections, they need to end the violence, release all those arbitrarily detained, and allow all political parties to register and participate instead of dissolving opposition parties,” the NGO said.

Private members’ club chain Soho House has been snapped up for $2.7bn (£2bn) by a consortium involving Hollywood actor turned investor Ashton Kutcher.

The group opened its first club in London in 1995, and now has 46 Soho Houses in Europe, North America and Asia, as well a string of other up-market hospitality businesses.

It is widely regarded as being a popular haunt of A-list celebrities, and one of its London venues was reportedly where Prince Harry and Meghan Markle had their first date.

But since it listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 2021 the value of its shares has dropped sharply, as it struggled to make a profit amid a sense that it had lost the exclusivity it once had.

The agreed offer price of $9 a share is 18% higher than the price at close of trade on Friday. However, it is still below the peak of $14.21 per share which was reached in August 2021.

The consortium is led by MCR Hotels, the third-biggest US hotel group, whose high profile properties include the TWA Hotel at JFK Airport in New York and the BT Tower in London. The deal to return Soho House to private ownership was done by private equity firm Apollo.

Existing Soho House shareholders will hold onto their stakes in the company. They include founder Nick Jones, husband of the presenter Kirsty Young, as well as Ivy Collection restaurant chain boss Richard Caring.

Ashton Kutcher will become a board member, as will the boss of MCR, Tyler Morse.

Mr Morse said everyone at MCR was “excited to be part of the Soho House journey”.

“We have long admired Soho House for bringing together cultures from around the world into a global network of 46 houses, and we look forward to the continued growth of that fabric, starting with four new houses opening soon.”

The first Soho House, opened by Mr Jones, was in London’s Greek Street above his restaurant, Cafe Boheme.

It bills itself as a members’ club for “like-minded creative thinkers to meet, relax, have fun and grow”.

Members are reported to include Kate Moss, Kendall Jenner and Ellie Goulding, as well as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.

Its venues include Shoreditch House, Soho Farmhouse, Soho House Bangkok and Miami Poolhouse.

In addition to the Soho House clubs, the group’s other businesses include eight Soho Works office buildings, and Scorpios Beach Clubs in Mykonos and Bodrum.

However, this expansion had resulted in accusations that Soho House was no longer as exclusive as members would expect given its membership fee, which can run into several thousand pounds.

Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown, said that while Soho House “can now boast a Hollywood star as a director”, the chain would need “a bit more than celebrity stardust to cement its long-term future”.

“MCR Hotels, Ashton Kutcher and the other investors will have their work cut out to put Soho House back onto a more stable footing given concerns about the viability of its business model,” she said.

“Its rapid expansion in recent years has sparked concerns that its ‘exclusive’ label was wearing thin.”

She said it was a “challenging time” for the restaurant business, with “aspirational shoppers tightening their stylish belts”.

Soho House chief executive Andrew Carnie said the return to private ownership “reflects the strong confidence our existing and incoming shareholders have in the future of Soho House”.

Since the company floated on the New York Stock Exchange he said the company had focused on “building a stronger, more resilient business”.

“I’m incredibly proud of what our teams have accomplished and am excited about our future, as we continue to be guided by our members and grounded in the spirit that makes Soho House so special.”

Nestled among the lush green mountains of Pakistan’s north, and with a river flowing serenely through its centre, Bishnoi was, until recently, a beautiful village.

But it had rained heavily on the morning of Friday, 15 August, and when the villagers woke early and went off to work they were unaware of how swiftly things were about to change.

According to locals, a sudden torrent of water came surging through Bishnoi, “bringing huge rocks with it and crushing buildings in its path, destroying the entire village”.

When BBC Urdu visited in the aftermath, the area was dotted with large stones, concrete blocks and uprooted trees. Without heavy machinery, rescue workers and locals were busy clearing the debris using small tools.

“There is a house under every stone. People try to look under these rocks to see if they can find someone,” local Israr Khan explained. “The houses are buried under the ground.”

Across the wider province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, at least 314 people have been killed and 156 injured due to rains and flash floods that began between Thursday and Friday night.

Buner district, where Bishnoi is located, is the worst-affected, with 217 fatalities, according to the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA).

Another local said many people had been killed in a house where wedding preparations were underway. Others told us there had been a total of 80 to 90 households in Bishnoi, most of them involved in farming.

An estimated 50% of the houses have been completely destroyed in the flood. The rest are no longer habitable.

Monsoon rains between June and September deliver about three-quarters of South Asia’s annual rainfall. Landslides and flooding are common, and 650 people have already died in this year’s season.

In Pakistan, at least 507 people have died and more than 700 have been injured in rain-related incidents since the monsoon started in late June, according to the National Disaster Management Agency.

Punjab and parts of Islamabad are among the areas that have been battered by heavy downpours and flash floods so far this year. But neither have been hit harder than Pakistan’s mountainous north, home to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and one of the most glaciated areas in the region.

Global warming is causing these glaciers to quickly thin and retreat, in turn making debris such as rocks, soil and other materials more vulnerable to being dislodged. And while the exact cause of the recent floods and landslides are yet to be determined, glaciologists say that ice melt is a contributing factor.

Government forecasters have warned that heavy rainfall is expected until 21 August in the north-west, where several areas have been declared disaster zones.

In the Swat Valley, less than 100km from Buner, a school principal saved nearly 900 students from the floods.

“It was exactly 09:00 when I had a last glance at the stream and sensed it was going to burst its banks due to continuing rains,” Saeed Ahmad, 59, told Anadolu news agency.

Mr Ahmad ordered an immediate evacuation, and within 15 minutes all teachers and children had left – moments before raging floodwaters surged through the school, washing away half the building, its boundary walls and playground.

Sarwar Khan, a local councillor, said “this timely action by the principal saved 900 lives”.

Others were not so fortunate. Abdul Salam, who lives in Punjab, told BBC Urdu of the moment he realised his wife, two daughters and son may have been caught in the Swat Valley floods.

“I started dialling numbers on my mobile phone like crazy, but I couldn’t get in touch with my wife and children,” he said. All four of them drowned.

Meanwhile, in Buner, Asrar Khan said that 27 people from his village were still missing.

When asked how the disaster unfolded, he took a deep breath.

“It all happened before my eyes,” he said – and explained that although he and others had managed to save some people, “the water was so strong it had no mercy on anyone”.

Crops lay flattened on both sides of the road on the drive towards Buner’s Pir Baba Bazaar. Trees were uprooted and vehicles were in ruins – sometimes stuck in mud, sometimes in walls.

Arriving at the market, other details of the destruction were visible.

The intensity of the floods were clear from the fact that the water had reached the third floor. Some shops had collapsed. Sugar sacks and women’s clothes were littered in the mud, with vehicles passing over them.

The shopkeepers had started working on their own, removing mud and water from their shops.

In Bishnoi, Al-Khidmat and other relief agencies were hard at work, with goods being distributed among the people and a medical camp set up. Rescue and other agencies, along with military personnel, were busy with the restoration work, while heavy machinery was also arriving.

But people from far-flung areas had also come to the disaster zone to help those affected.

At one point, two young men came and sat down on a stone, their feet encrusted in mud.

“They’re looking at the house in front,” another man explained.

The house is not immediately obvious – until, that is, he pointed to a foundations that had once been a home to 20 family members.

“Eighteen of them are no longer there,” he said. “Some bodies have been found and the search for others is ongoing.”

Two people had survived, he added, but they had been unconscious and seemed confused about the situation.

“Their understanding is not working,” he explained. “If anyone asks them anything, they start crying.”

Why would anyone brave hand-numbing cold, icy winds and rough seas – sometimes working through the night – to dig up mud from the Antarctic seabed?

That is what an international team of particularly adventurous researchers did earlier this year in the remote Antarctic Peninsula, on a mission aiming to reveal centuries of scientific secrets about the Southern Ocean.

Scientists around the world will now share and analyse these precious mud samples to work out how human activity – including a century of industrial whaling – affected Antarctica and the rest of our planet.

The research is part of a global effort to understand the relationship between the ocean and the climate.

Researchers used a special coring drill – a bit like a huge apple-corer – tethered to a research ship, to drill at depths of up to 500m.

They collected more than 40 long cores, or tubes, of seafloor sediment from locations around the peninsula.

This is one of the richest habitats for marine life in Antarctica, and a focal point for fishing, tourism and – before it was banned in the 1980s – industrial whale hunting.

Collecting the sediment gives insight and clues to the past, “like a book of history”, explained lead researcher Dr Elisenda Balleste from the University of Barcelona.

“What is living in the seas now, what was living in the seas in the past and evidence of our human impact” is recorded in layer upon layer of sediment over centuries, she said.

By preserving and dating those layers, and analysing what they contain, researchers can build a picture of the history of Antarctic marine life.

Once on board the ship, the cores were frozen and transported to Barcelona and Dr Balleste’s laboratory.

From there, carefully extracted pieces of this Antarctic mud will be sent out to several academic institutions around the world.

Scientists will scan and date the sediment layers, work out what microbial life they contain, measure levels of pollution and calculate how much carbon is buried in the mud.

It is part of a mission – the Convex Seascape Survey – which involves universities and research institutions around the globe working together to better understand how our ocean and climate are connected.

Claire Allen, an oceanographer from the British Antarctic Survey who has studied Antarctica’s past for more than 20 years, said that cores like these were particularly valuable.

“Before 1950 – before there was any kind of monitoring capacity in Antarctica – sediment cores and ice cores are the only way that we can get an insight into any of the climatic or physical properties that have changed over time,” she said.

The newly collected samples being stored for DNA analysis have to be kept at temperatures low enough to stop all biological processes.

Dr Balleste took them out of the industrial-sized freezer where they are being stored to show them to us, very briefly.

“They’re kept at minus 80 degrees to stop them degrading,” she explained.

These small pieces of the seabed – frozen in time at temperatures that preserve genetic material – will be used for what is known as environmental DNA analysis.

It is an area of science which has developed rapidly in recent years. It gives researchers the ability to extract genetic information from water, soil and even air, like a fingerprint of life left behind in the environment.

Dr Carlos Preckler, from King Abdullah University in Saudi Arabia, is leading this part of the research and will be trying to measure how almost a century of industrial whaling in Antarctica affected the ocean and our atmosphere.

Carbon – when it is released into the atmosphere as carbon dioxide – warms up our planet like a blanket.

So, as the world struggles to reduce those emissions, any processes that absorb and lock significant amounts of carbon might help to rein in global warming.

“We know whales have a lot of carbon in their bodies, because they are huge animals,” said Dr Preckler.

What he and his colleagues want to know is how much of that carbon gets buried in the seafloor – and locked away from the atmosphere – when the animals die.

“We can measure whale DNA and the carbon in the sediment,” explained Dr Preckler.

“So we can measure what happened before industrial whaling removed most of the whales in the [Southern] ocean,” he added.

That, the researchers say, will provide a measure of how much whales – simply by existing, being huge and living out their natural lives – remove carbon from our atmosphere and help in the fight against climate change.

A recent court ban on feeding pigeons in public spaces in the western Indian city of Mumbai has become a major flashpoint between civic bodies, public health activists and bird lovers.

This month, hundreds of people clashed with police twice while protesting the closure of a decades-old pigeon feeding spot, or a kabutarkhana. (Kabutar is the Hindi word for pigeon.)

Some tore down the tarpaulin sheets covering the spot and threatened an indefinite hunger strike. Police briefly detained about 15 people at another protest, media reports said.

Authorities had imposed the ban due to concerns about health hazards due to pigeon droppings.

The problem is not unique to Mumbai. In Venice, feeding pigeons in historic squares is banned. Singapore imposes hefty fines, and New York and London have regulated feeding zones.

In India too, Pune and Thane cities in Maharashtra state – of which Mumbai is the capital – have imposed penalties on feeding pigeons. Delhi is mulling an advisory against feeding the birds in public spaces.

The crackdown has angered animal lovers and religious feeders, as pigeons are long woven into India’s cultural fabric.

Films often use shots of grain-feeding pigeons to evoke cities like Mumbai and Delhi, where the birds are a familiar presence on balconies and air-conditioners.

Some of Mumbai’s kabutarkhanas are iconic heritage structures and are said to have originated as charitable spaces where communities could donate grain.

There are religious sentiments involved as well. In Mumbai, the Jain community, which considers feeding pigeons a pious duty, has been vocal in their protests.

Elsewhere too, many share a bond with pigeons – seen as symbols of peace and loyalty .

In Delhi, Syed Ismat says he has been feeding the birds for 40 years and considers them his family.

“They are innocent. Perhaps the most innocent of all creatures. All they ask for is a little kindness,” said Mr Ismat.

But these sentiments are pitted against studies which show that prolonged exposure to pigeon droppings poses risks of pulmonary and respiratory illnesses.

A boom in India’s pigeon population in recent years has heightened this risk, prompting the restrictions.

Delhi-based biodiversity expert Faiyaz Khudsar says easy availability of food has led to overpopulation of pigeons in many countries.

In India, he said, the challenge is compounded by a decline in birds like the goraiya, commonly known as the house sparrow, which are increasingly being displaced by pigeons.

“With easy food and no predators, pigeons are breeding faster than ever. They are outcompeting other urban birds, creating an ecological loss,” Mr Khudsar said.

• Inside the life of Old Delhi’s only female pigeon keeper
• Using fake eggs to control pigeon populations

The 2023 State of India’s Birds report says pigeon numbers have risen more than150% since 2000 – the biggest jump among all birds – leaving homes and public spaces with droppings, as each bird can produce up to 15kg (33lbs) a year.

Studies show these droppings contain at least seven types of zoonotic pathogens that can cause diseases such as pneumonia, fungal infections and even lung damage in humans.

Nirmal Kohli, a 75-year-old Delhi resident, started complaining of persistent cough and had trouble breathing a few years ago.

“Eventually, a CT scan showed that part of her lung had shrunk,” says her son Amit Kohli. “The doctors said it was due to exposure to pigeon droppings.”

Last year, an 11-year-old boy died in Delhi due to hypersensitivity pneumonitis – a disease that causes inflammation in lungs. Doctors said the reason was prolonged exposure to pigeon droppings and feathers.

RS Pal, a pulmonologist, told the BBC that such cases were common.

“Even if you don’t directly feed pigeons, their droppings on window sills and balconies can cause hypersensitivity pneumonitis,” he said.

“We also see bacterial, viral and fungal infections in people handling pigeons regularly.”

These concerns are what led the Mumbai civic body to impose the feeding ban last month and launch a drive to demolish feeding centres.

Demolitions are on hold, but the Bombay High Court has dismissed a plea against the feeding ban, citing public health as “paramount” and ordering strict action on illegal feeding.

Delhi mayor Raja Iqbal Singh told the BBC that love for birds cannot come at the cost of people’s well-being.

“Feeding spots often turn dirty, leading to foul smells, infections and pests. We are working to minimise feeding,” he said.

But many animal lovers disagree.

Mohammad Younus, who supplies grains to a feeding spot in Delhi, argues that all animals can spread diseases if hygiene is not maintained.

“I have been surrounded by pigeons for the past 15 years. If something were to happen, it would have happened to me too,” he said.

In Mumbai, a Jain monk told BBC Marathi that thousands of pigeons would die of hunger due to the feeding ban.

Megha Uniyal, an animal rights activist, pointed out that there was no clarity on how the ban on feeding pigeons would be implemented.

“As far as regulating pigeon feeding is concerned, it is a word thrown around by the authorities, but no one really understands what this could entail,” she said.

Amid these competing contentions, efforts are on to find a middle ground.

Ujjwal Agrain, of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta) India, suggests allowing pigeon feeding only during set morning and evening hours.

“That gives enough time for civic bodies to clean the place and maintain hygiene. This way, we respect both public health and emotional bonds,” he said.

The Bombay High Court has set up an expert panel to suggest alternatives, and Mumbai civic officials say controlled, staggered feeding may be allowed based on its advice.

For Syed Ismat, the solution lies in rethinking the relationship between birds and urban spaces.

“Maybe it’s time to reimagine how we share our cities, not just with pigeons but with all forms of life,” he said.

Nestled among the lush green mountains of Pakistan’s north, and with a river flowing serenely through its centre, Bishnoi was, until recently, a beautiful village.

But it had rained heavily on the morning of Friday, 15 August, and when the villagers woke early and went off to work they were unaware of how swiftly things were about to change.

According to locals, a sudden torrent of water came surging through Bishnoi, “bringing huge rocks with it and crushing buildings in its path, destroying the entire village”.

When BBC Urdu visited in the aftermath, the area was dotted with large stones, concrete blocks and uprooted trees. Without heavy machinery, rescue workers and locals were busy clearing the debris using small tools.

“There is a house under every stone. People try to look under these rocks to see if they can find someone,” local Israr Khan explained. “The houses are buried under the ground.”

Across the wider province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, at least 314 people have been killed and 156 injured due to rains and flash floods that began between Thursday and Friday night.

Buner district, where Bishnoi is located, is the worst-affected, with 217 fatalities, according to the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA).

Another local said many people had been killed in a house where wedding preparations were underway. Others told us there had been a total of 80 to 90 households in Bishnoi, most of them involved in farming.

An estimated 50% of the houses have been completely destroyed in the flood. The rest are no longer habitable.

Monsoon rains between June and September deliver about three-quarters of South Asia’s annual rainfall. Landslides and flooding are common, and 650 people have already died in this year’s season.

In Pakistan, at least 507 people have died and more than 700 have been injured in rain-related incidents since the monsoon started in late June, according to the National Disaster Management Agency.

Punjab and parts of Islamabad are among the areas that have been battered by heavy downpours and flash floods so far this year. But neither have been hit harder than Pakistan’s mountainous north, home to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and one of the most glaciated areas in the region.

Global warming is causing these glaciers to quickly thin and retreat, in turn making debris such as rocks, soil and other materials more vulnerable to being dislodged. And while the exact cause of the recent floods and landslides are yet to be determined, glaciologists say that ice melt is a contributing factor.

Government forecasters have warned that heavy rainfall is expected until 21 August in the north-west, where several areas have been declared disaster zones.

In the Swat Valley, less than 100km from Buner, a school principal saved nearly 900 students from the floods.

“It was exactly 09:00 when I had a last glance at the stream and sensed it was going to burst its banks due to continuing rains,” Saeed Ahmad, 59, told Anadolu news agency.

Mr Ahmad ordered an immediate evacuation, and within 15 minutes all teachers and children had left – moments before raging floodwaters surged through the school, washing away half the building, its boundary walls and playground.

Sarwar Khan, a local councillor, said “this timely action by the principal saved 900 lives”.

Others were not so fortunate. Abdul Salam, who lives in Punjab, told BBC Urdu of the moment he realised his wife, two daughters and son may have been caught in the Swat Valley floods.

“I started dialling numbers on my mobile phone like crazy, but I couldn’t get in touch with my wife and children,” he said. All four of them drowned.

Meanwhile, in Buner, Asrar Khan said that 27 people from his village were still missing.

When asked how the disaster unfolded, he took a deep breath.

“It all happened before my eyes,” he said – and explained that although he and others had managed to save some people, “the water was so strong it had no mercy on anyone”.

Crops lay flattened on both sides of the road on the drive towards Buner’s Pir Baba Bazaar. Trees were uprooted and vehicles were in ruins – sometimes stuck in mud, sometimes in walls.

Arriving at the market, other details of the destruction were visible.

The intensity of the floods were clear from the fact that the water had reached the third floor. Some shops had collapsed. Sugar sacks and women’s clothes were littered in the mud, with vehicles passing over them.

The shopkeepers had started working on their own, removing mud and water from their shops.

In Bishnoi, Al-Khidmat and other relief agencies were hard at work, with goods being distributed among the people and a medical camp set up. Rescue and other agencies, along with military personnel, were busy with the restoration work, while heavy machinery was also arriving.

But people from far-flung areas had also come to the disaster zone to help those affected.

At one point, two young men came and sat down on a stone, their feet encrusted in mud.

“They’re looking at the house in front,” another man explained.

The house is not immediately obvious – until, that is, he pointed to a foundations that had once been a home to 20 family members.

“Eighteen of them are no longer there,” he said. “Some bodies have been found and the search for others is ongoing.”

Two people had survived, he added, but they had been unconscious and seemed confused about the situation.

“Their understanding is not working,” he explained. “If anyone asks them anything, they start crying.”

Hurricane Erin has strengthened to a Category 4 storm as it threatens to bring life-threatening surf and rip currents to the eastern coast of the United States.

The rains caused by the storm are already beginning to hit the south-eastern Bahamas, and the Turk and Caicos Islands, where a tropical storm warning is in effect.

While Erin is not expected to make landfall on the islands, it is expected to bring rainfall of up to six inches (15.2cm) to the Turks and Caicos and the eastern Bahamas.

Erin, the first hurricane of the 2025 Atlantic season, “explosively deepened and intensified” on Saturday into a Category 5 storm, before briefly losing force and now regaining strength.

BBC Weather’s lead presenter Helen Willetts says that Hurricane Erin is currently “a major storm”.

“Although at this stage it’s not expected to make a direct hit to land, it will bring considerable amounts of rain, leading to flash flooding, coastal flooding from storm surge, wind damage and dangerous rip currents,” she adds.

“We have already seen heavy rain falls in Puerto Rico – 82mm in 24 hours – and in Anguilla, 62.3mm.”

More than 150,000 people were also left without power in Puerto Rico after high winds damaged electricity lines, according to local energy company Luma.

But the firm said it had carried out emergency repairs and that by Sunday evening local time, 95% of its customers had working electricity.

The hurricane’s outer rain bands have started to affect the Bahamas, the US National Hurricane Center (NHC) said.

While the storm is not expected to hit the islands directly, the country’s Disaster Risk Management Authority encouraged residents to prepare.

Its managing director, Aarone Sargent, told Bahamians to check which shelters were nearest to them and to ensure they knew of alternative shelters should the first one be full.

“These storms are very volatile and can make sudden shifts in movement,” he said.

The NHC forecast is for the core of Erin to pass to the east of the south-eastern Bahamas today and move between Bermuda and the eastern coast of the US by the middle of the week.

It also said that Erin would remain “a large and dangerous hurricane” through this time.

The Outer Banks – a string of islands off the coast of North Carolina – are already bracing for heavy surf and high winds.

The authorities there have ordered a mandatory evacuation of Hatteras Island, warning that the main highway linking Hatteras to other islands could become impassable.

Forecasters have also warned of dangerous rip tides which could affect the entire US East Coast.

US TV network Newsmax has agreed to pay $67m (£50m) to settle a defamation lawsuit filed by a voting machine company over false claims it rigged the 2020 US election against President Donald Trump.

Dominion, which filed the case in 2021, had accused Newsmax of broadcasting “verifiably false lies” following President Joe Biden’s victory, causing “devastating economic harm” to the firm.

The conservative network announced on Monday that it had settled, but maintained its coverage was fair and balanced.

Dominion, which had sought £1.6bn in damages, said it was “pleased to have settled this matter”. The Denver-based firm filed similar lawsuits in the aftermath of the 2020 election.

Delaware Superior Court Judge Eric Davis had already ruled in this case that Newsmax did defame Dominion.

But the judge left it to a jury to determine whether Newsmax acted with malice, and how much in damages to award. The trial had been due to begin in October.

Newsmax said it chose to settle because it argued the proceedings were unfair.

“From the very beginning, Judge Davis ruled in ways that strongly favored the plaintiffs and limited Newsmax’s ability to defend itself,” Newsmax said.

The network said a “pattern of judicial rulings” had denied Newsmax due process and “left the company to believe it would not receive a fair trial”.

The Delaware Superior Court declined to comment.

Newsmax said it stood by its coverage of the 2020 election, adding it believed it was “critically important for the American people to hear both sides of the election disputes”.

The TV network also paid $40m last year to settle a defamation lawsuit from another voting machine company, Smartmatic.

In 2023, Fox News agreed to pay $787.5m over similar allegations from Dominion that the network had spread false claims about the vote being rigged against Trump.

Falsehoods about the 2020 vote being stolen from President Trump were widespread following the election.

Trump attacked Dominion after the ballot, falsely claiming that it rigged the election to favour winner Biden.

Accusations ranged from the deletion of votes to inappropriate influence over the company by his political opponents.

Newsmax said payments to Dominion would be made in three instalments, starting with $27m that was paid on Friday.

Some $20m will be paid on 15 January and another on 15 January 2027. The company said it would be paid from its revenue.

Newsmax stock rose around 15% on the New York Stock Exchange on Monday following the filing.

On Monday, Trump said on social media he would move to get rid of mail-in ballots as well as “seriously controversial” voting machines. He did not identify voting machines from any particular company.

The union representing Air Canada flight attendants says it will continue to defy a back-to-work order despite the Canada Industrial Relations Board ruling their strike “unlawful”.

The independent federal tribunal deemed the job action by the cabin crews – now in its third day – illegal on Monday after the union defied a government back-to-work order issued over the weekend.

“If Air Canada thinks planes will be flying this afternoon, they’re sorely mistaken,” said Canadian Union of Public Employees president Mark Hancock.

The strike by more than 10,000 flight attendants for Canada’s largest airline has stranded tens of thousands of passengers since flights were grounded on Saturday.

Air Canada has not yet responded to the union’s latest move.

The airline said earlier that it planned to resume flights by Monday evening, but a notice on its website as of Monday afternoon said its operations “remain suspended”.

It added that all flights by Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge were cancelled until 16:00 EDT (21:00 BDT) on Tuesday.

The trade organization that represents Air Canada and other major Canadian firms, such as WestJet and FedEx Canada, condemned the union for defying the order, saying they “are normalizing the idea that if you don’t like a decision, you can simply ignore it”.

“That is not labour relations, it’s a reckless path that erodes trust in the labour relations system, weakens our global reputation, and undermines economic stability at a moment of heightened geopolitical uncertainty,” said Daniel Safayeni, president and CEO of Federally Regulated Employers – Transportation and Communications (Fetco), in a statement.

The Canada Industrial Relations Board decision ordered the union to send its members back to work by 12:00 EST (16:00GMT) on Monday, and also directed the members to return to their duties.

It is unclear what consequences the CUPE now faces for its defiance.

At a news conference, Mr Hancock said the union is willing to accept any penalties for its refusal to comply, including monetary fines and jail time.

“If it means folks like me going to jail, then so be it,” he told reporters, adding that the union will only accept to resolve this through a negotiated settlement at the bargaining table.

Under Canadian law, the union and individual workers could be fined or sanctioned for refusing to return to work, Western University law professor Michael Lynk told Reuters.

Prime Minister Mark Carney said it was “disappointing” that Air Canada and its cabin crew were unable to reach an agreement after eight months of negotiations.

“We are in a situation where literally hundreds of thousands of Canadians and visitors to our country are being disrupted by this action,” Carney said in Ottawa on Monday.

“I urge both parties to resolve this as quickly as possible.”

The airline estimates some 500,000 passengers have so far been affected by flight cancellations.

• What to know as Air Canada strike continues

Stranded passenger Jenny Phelps told Reuters she struggled to reach the airline while trying to rebook her cancelled flights.

She said that, while she supports the strike action by the flight crews, she’s on the hook for three extra hotel nights and called the experience “super stressful and very expensive”.

In their remarks on Monday, union representatives apologised for the impact the job action has had on travellers across Canada.

“Our fight is not with you. We do not want to be here,” said Candace Rennick, the union’s national secretary-treasurer. “But these workers who are mostly women have waited too long to have their issues addressed.”

Flight attendants are calling for higher salaries and to be paid for work when aircraft are on the ground.

In contract negotiations, Air Canada said it had offered flight attendants a 38% increase in total compensation over four years, with a 25% raise in the first year.

CUPE said the offer was “below inflation, below market value, below minimum wage” and would still leave flight attendants unpaid for some hours of work, including boarding and waiting at airports ahead of flights.

The union and the airline have publicly traded barbs about each other’s willingness to reach an agreement.

On Saturday, Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu ordered binding arbitration to end the dispute.

CUPE made the rare move of directing its members to ignore a back-to-work order on Sunday and accused the government of “caving to corporate pressure”.

Earlier this month, 99.7% of employees represented by the union voted for a strike.

Swiss watchmaker Swatch has apologised and pulled an ad featuring a model pulling the corners of his eyes, after the image prompted uproar among Chinese social media users.

Critics said the pose resembled the racist “slanted eye” historically used to mock Asians.

Calls for a boycott of Swatch products grew on Chinese social media as the ad went viral.

Swatch said it had “taken note of the recent concerns regarding the portrayal of a model”.

“We sincerely apologize for any distress or misunderstanding this may have caused,” the company said in a statement on Saturday.

“We treat this matter with the utmost importance and have immediately removed all related materials worldwide.”

But the apology failed to appease critics.

Swatch is “only afraid for its profits,” one Weibo user said. “You can apologise, but I will not forgive.”

“They make money from us and still dare to discriminate against Chinese people. We would be spineless if we don’t boycott it out of China,” another Weibo user said.

Swatch gets around 27% of its revenue from China, Hong Kong and Macau – though it has seen declining sales in China amid the country’s economic slowdown, according to Reuters news agency.

The company also produces Omega, Longines and Tissot watches.

In recent years Chinese consumers have organised boycotts against perceived insults to their culture or threats to national interests.

In 2021 there was a widespread Chinese boycott against global fashion brands like H&M, Nike and Adidas after they expressed concern over alleged human rights abuses in Xinjiang province.

Last year, some tried to boycott Japanese clothing store Uniqlo after the company said it did not source cotton from Xinjiang.

Italian fashion house Dolce & Gabbana was also the target of such a boycott in 2018, after it posted videos showing a Chinese model using chopsticks clumsily to eat Italian food. Its products were pulled from Chinese e-commerce sites and the brand cancelled its Shanghai fashion show as critics said the ad depicted Chinese women in a stereotypical and racist way.

President Volodymyr Zelensky returned to the White House on Monday to meet US President Donald Trump for fresh talks aimed at ending the war in Ukraine.

Several European leaders also flew to Washington to attend the meeting, days after Trump met Russia’s President Vladimir Putin in Alaska for a summit that failed to result in a ceasefire.

Despite optimistic words by Trump and some more lukewarm assessments from his European partners, by Monday evening there were no concrete commitments to security guarantees or steps towards a peace deal.

Here are the key takeaways from the talks.

• Follow live updates on this story

Following the summit, Trump posted on Truth Social that he had called Putin to begin arranging talks between the Russian leader and Zelensky.

Trump said that following such a bilateral, at a location to be determined, there would be a trilateral where the US president would join them.

A Putin adviser said afterwards that Trump and Putin spoke for 40 minutes by phone on Monday.

Before European leaders sat down with Trump in the East Room at the White House, a hot mic picked up remarks between the US leader and French President Emmanuel Macron.

“I think he wants to make a deal. I think he wants to make a deal for me. You understand that? As crazy as that sounds,” Trump told Macron, appearing to refer to Putin.

It remains to be seen how straightforward it will be to bring two such bitter enemies face-to-face at the negotiating table for the first time since Russia’s full-scale invasion began in February 2022.

For months, Zelensky has been pushing to meet Putin, although this was likely a way of proving his argument that Russia is not serious about pursuing peace, as he believed the Kremlin had no interest in such a meeting.

Moscow has repeatedly turned down the idea of a Putin-Zelensky sit-down.

A noncommittal statement from Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov on Monday night said it was “worthwhile” to “explore the possibility of raising the level of representatives” from the Russian and Ukrainian delegations in negotiations.

Trump seemed to dismiss the need for any ceasefire before negotiations to end the war can take place.

In the past, that has been a key demand of Ukraine, which made clear it sees an end to the fighting as a prerequisite for further talks with Russia and, ultimately, for a longer-term settlement.

A ceasefire could also be marginally easier to agree than a full peace deal, which would take many months of negotiations, during which Russia’s assault on Ukraine would probably continue.

“I don’t know that it’s necessary,” Trump said of a ceasefire.

But the European leaders appeared to push back, with the strongest rebuttal coming from German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.

“I can’t imagine that the next meeting would take place without a ceasefire,” Merz said. “So, let’s work on that and let’s try to put pressure on Russia.”

When asked to speak, Zelensky did not reiterate his previous calls for a ceasefire to be put in place.

Trump told Zelensky the US would help guarantee Ukraine’s security in any deal to end the war, without specifying the extent of any assistance.

The US president did not offer boots on the ground. But when asked by reporters whether US security guarantees for Ukraine could include any American military in the country, Trump did not rule it out.

He said Europe was the “first line of defence”, but that “we’ll be involved”.

“We’ll give them good protection,” the president said at one point.

This is the most decisive Trump has ever sounded on the issue of security guarantees, which are generally seen as paramount to any sort of deal with Russia.

He also said that during last week’s Alaska summit Putin had accepted that there would be security guarantees for Ukraine as part of any peace deal.

At a news conference after Monday’s meetings, Zelensky said part of the security guarantee would involve a $90bn (£67bn) arms deal between the US and Ukraine.

He said this would include US weapons that Ukraine does not have, including aviation systems, anti-missile systems “and other things I will not disclose”.

Zelensky also said the US would buy Ukrainian drones, which would help fund their domestic production of the unmanned craft.

The Ukrainian president told reporters that security guarantees for Kyiv would probably be worked out within 10 days.

Given his acrimonious last visit to the Oval Office in February, the Ukrainian president went to considerable lengths to charm his American hosts – including a flurry of six “thank yous” within the first few minutes of the meeting.

The last time he was at the White House, Zelensky was scolded by Vice-President JD Vance for a perceived lack of gratitude for US support for Ukraine.

This time, Zelenksy was wearing a dark suit rather than his traditional military garb, which drew a gibe from Trump last time that his guest was “all dressed up today”.

Zelensky also sought to forge family ties during the meeting, handing his host a letter from Ukrainian First Lady Olena Zelenska to be delivered to US First Lady Melania Trump.

“It’s not to you – [it’s] to your wife,” he told Trump.

European leaders dialled up the flattery with Trump ahead of their multilateral meeting, heaping praise on him for his work in bringing them around the table.

“I really want to thank you for your leadership,” said Nato chief Mark Rutte.

Italian PM Giorgia Meloni said while there had previously been no sign that Russia wanted to move towards peace “something had changed” thanks to Trump.

Despite the warm tones, the Europeans tried to convey that they, too, feel exposed to any future Russian aggression.

French President Emmanuel Macron told fellow leaders somberly: “When we talk about security guarantees, we’re also talking about the matter of the security of the European continent.”

The State Department has revoked more than 6,000 international student visas because of violations of US law and overstays, the department told the BBC.

The agency said the “vast majority” of the violations were assault, driving under the influence (DUI), burglary and “support for terrorism”.

The move comes as the Trump administration continues its crackdown on immigration and international students.

While the State Department did not specify what they meant by “support for terrorism”, the Trump administration has targeted some students who have protested in support of Palestine, arguing they had expressed antisemitic behaviour.

Of the 6,000 student visas that were revoked, the State Department said about 4,000 of those were revoked because visitors broke the law.

Another 200-300 visas were also revoked for “terrorism done under INA 3B”, the State Department said, referring to code that defines “terrorist activity” broadly as acts that endanger human life or violate US law.

• US resumes student visas but orders enhanced social media vetting
• Students say they ‘regret’ applying to US universities after visa changes

Earlier this year, the Trump administration paused scheduling visa appointments for international students. In June, when they restarted appointments, they announced they would ask all applicants to make their social media accounts public for enhanced screening.

They said they would search for “any indications of hostility toward the citizens, culture, government, institutions, or founding principles of the United States”.

State Department officers were also instructed to screen for those “who advocate for, aid, or support designated foreign terrorists and other threats to national security; or who perpetrate unlawful anti-Semitic harassment or violence”.

• Why has Trump revoked hundreds of international student visas?

Secretary of State Marco Rubio told lawmakers in May that he estimated “thousands” of student visas had been rescinded since January.

“I don’t know the latest count, but we probably have more to do,” Rubio told US lawmakers on 20 May. “We’re going to continue to revoke the visas of people who are here as guests and are disrupting our higher education facilities.”

Democrats have pushed back against the Trump administration’s effort to revoke student visas, describing it is an attack on due process.

More than 1.1 million international students from over 210 countries were enrolled in US colleges in the 2023-24 school year, according to Open Doors, an organisation that collects data on foreign students.

European leaders may have rushed to Washington ostensibly to throw a protective arm around President Zelensky and head off any repeat of February’s Oval Office bust-up.

But their real aim is to stop US President Donald Trump threatening long-term European security after his abrupt change of course over how best to end the war in Ukraine.

Not only did Trump drop calls for a ceasefire as a prerequisite for talks about long-term peace, he also – diplomats say – made clear he had no intention of imposing further economic sanctions on Russia.

In short, the travelling European heads of government – plus EU and Nato leaders – want to avoid not just confrontation, but also capitulation.

President Macron of France was the latest to use the C word, saying on Sunday: “There is only one state proposing a peace that would be a capitulation: Russia.”

• Follow live updates on this story

It takes a great deal for heads of government to upend their schedules at short notice – especially in August – when some are on holiday.

The French leader was enjoying water sports on the Riviera. The Italian leader, Giorgia Meloni, had been in Greece.

But such was the scale of President Trump’s change of strategy after meeting President Putin – and the consequent potential threat to Europe – that the European leaders changed their plans fast.

Officials say Meloni was first to invite herself along, followed closely by Macron, after which it became inevitable others would have to go too.

The leaders spent the weekend working the phones, holding no fewer than five separate group chats.

Their concern was Trump’s decision to change the diplomatic goal posts after meeting the Russian leader in Alaska.

Some officials think the huge impact of these two decisions – which overturned months of western strategy – has been under-priced. Both moves shifted the US position more closely in Russia’s favour.

“Things have moved very significantly and quite quickly to a timetable that no one was expecting,” one European official said.

“The US sees this as a moment to strike while the iron is hot. Our question is what are we trying to achieve here?”

They added: “The European position has long been that Putin needs to show a genuine desire to get around a table and stop the war, and that would involve a ceasefire. But since Friday we have moved on from that. The question now is how we can get out of today without a blow-up. This is a moment of extreme jeopardy.”

The aim for European leaders, diplomats say, is to shift White House thinking on two issues.

One, the idea that peace can be achieved simply by Ukraine ceding the Donbas to Russia. And two, that this is not just about the future of Ukraine.

“This is fundamentally about the security of our continent,” one British diplomat said.

In other words, any discussion about security guarantees – as part of a final deal – would be about ensuring the wider security of Europe and not just Ukraine.

That means convincing Trump of two things: one, that questions about territory and security guarantees cannot be separated, and two, that security guarantees must be about more than verbal or textual promises.

US negotiators have talked about giving Ukraine as yet ill-defined Nato-style assurances that the west would come to Kyiv’s aid against future Russian aggression.

“Nobody is clear what Trump means about a security guarantee,” one official said.

“He believes that him simply saying to Putin “don’t attack” is enough. That’s not good enough for Ukraine or us.”

The Europeans, instead, are expected to argue that Ukraine’s security will be guaranteed only by allowing its army to remain strong, with long-term and substantial allied military and financial support.

That would include American weapons bought by Europeans and gifted to Ukraine, plus continued Ukrainian access to US intelligence.

By definition, all that would exclude Russian demands for the demilitarisation of Ukraine.

The risk for the Europeans today is that they push Trump too hard, that he thinks he is being bullied, and that the meetings go badly.

The European delegation has been thrown together at the last minute.

It is – one official said – “quite unwieldy”, and some differ on how much Europe should commit to Ukraine’s future security.

What role a future European-based “reassurance” force might play in a post-conflict Ukraine remains unclear.

So the European aim today may be to slow things down and calm fevered talk about land-swap deals that should really be part of the endgame of a negotiation.

To some, that would be putting the cart before the horse.

Instead, the European leaders may look for progress on a possible trilateral summit with Trump, Zelensky and Putin; the carving out of some broad principles of any future deal; and how to have talks about talks deciding the location and framework of any negotiations.

And above all, whether this can happen only when a ceasefire of sorts has been agreed.

When Calum Macdonald arrived at the Vietnamese border, he couldn’t read the administrative forms in front of him. All he could see was a “kaleidoscopic blinding light”.

He had just stepped off an overnight bus with his friends from the popular tourist destination of Vang Vieng in Laos.

The day before, the group had been staying at a hostel where free whisky and vodka shots were offered to guests. Calum was mixing them with soft drinks.

It was only at the border that he suspected something might be wrong with his sight – which he told his friends.

• Free shots and beer buckets in party town at centre of methanol deaths
• ‘Don’t let it be your best friend that dies from methanol poisoning’

“I remember having this sort of kaleidoscopic, blinding light in my eyes and to the point at which I couldn’t see anything.

“[We agreed] it was strange but we thought it was food poisoning and the light I was seeing was some kind of sensitivity,” he tells BBC Breakfast.

But when they arrived at their destination in Vietnam, it was clear something was seriously wrong.

“We were sitting in the hotel room, my friends and I, and I said to them: ‘Why are we sitting in the dark? Someone should turn a light on.'” The lights were already on.

Calum, 23, is now blind and telling his story for the first time. He was one of several victims of a mass methanol poisoning in Vang Vieng last November.

Six people died. Calum knew two of them – Danish girls he had met on a night out.

All had been staying at the town’s Nana Backpacker Hostel.

Calum is now working with the families of three other British people who died following methanol poisoning in South East Asia.

They are calling on the Foreign Office to be clearer about the dangers people face when booking holidays in countries where methanol poisoning is a concern.

Simone White was one of those people.

The day after Calum left Vang Vieng, Simone drank free shots at the hostel. Earlier she’d sent her mum a text message saying this was the best holiday she’d ever been on.

Simone was admitted to hospital in the following days and a friend called her mother Sue to inform her of what had happened. Later, she rang again to say Simone was in a coma.

Sue booked a flight immediately but, before she could take off, she received another call in the middle of the night from a doctor in Laos who was treating Simone.

“[He said] you need to give permission for urgent brain surgery or she’s not going to survive…

“I flew out the next day knowing she was going through surgery and I expected the worst, to be honest.”

The 28-year-old died in hospital from methanol poisoning.

“It’s very hard to come to terms with what’s happened,” Sue says. “Nothing is going to bring Simone back.”

Methanol is a type of alcohol commonly found in cleaning products, fuel and antifreeze. It is similar to ethanol, which is used for alcoholic drinks, but is more toxic to humans because of the way it is processed by the body.

Alcoholic drinks can become contaminated with methanol if they are manufactured poorly.

It is a known problem with cheap spirits in South East Asia where hundreds of people are poisoned each year, according to the charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF).

If you consume one of these contaminated drinks and suffer methanol poisoning, symptoms can include dizziness, tiredness, headaches and nausea.

For many people it feels similar to a normal hangover, which makes it difficult to know if you have been poisoned or just had a few too many drinks.

After 12-48 hours, more serious problems can emerge like seizures and blurry vision. In severe cases, it can lead to total blindness and leave sufferers in a coma.

As little as 30ml of methanol can be fatal to humans, says the MSF.

If diagnosed within 10-30 hours after consumption, methanol poisoning can be treated successfully with dialysis.

Kirsty McKie, 38, died in 2022 but it was not the result of accepting free shots.

She had been enjoying drinks at home with a friend ahead of a night out in Bali – the Indonesian island where she had been living and working for eight years.

Her friend, Sonia Taylor, said they both felt like they had a particularly bad hangover the next day before Kirsty was taken to hospital for treatment.

Sonia had also drunk the contaminated alcohol, but survived.

“We had no idea,” says Sonia. “That’s probably been the hardest part for me, not knowing why you live and somebody else dies… It doesn’t seem to have any rhyme or reason as to why.”

On Sumatra, another Indonesian island, Cheznye Emmons died after drinking gin that was later found to contain 66,000 times the legal limit for methanol in drinks.

Cheznye’s mother Pamela tells the BBC: “I think the worst part about that… [was] just before she started having a fit, when she first arrived at the hospital, she said to her boyfriend: ‘I’m really, really scared.’

“And that was basically the last time [she spoke].”

Calum’s advice to tourists is to avoid free drinks and spirits in general. “There are lots of lovely beers in south-east Asia, which I’m sure people would really enjoy.”

He says learning of the deaths of the two Danish girls he met in Vang Vieng changed his perspective about his blindness.

“Part of the way that I [had] dealt with it was to bury my head in the sand… I did really feel like, in many ways, my life wasn’t worth living.”

Calum is now learning to use a cane and hopes to apply for a guide dog soon.

He adds: “[The deaths] made me realise that I was very lucky and I felt very grateful that, although I had some difficult consequences, a lot of people did have it worse.

“I felt, given that I was lucky enough to survive, I have a bit of a responsibility to try and prevent the same thing from happening to other people.”

The Foreign Office described methanol poisoning and counterfeit alcohol as a “serious problem in some parts of the world” and said it was working with local authorities and the travel industry to tackle the issue.

“We seek to make clear the risks to British people travelling abroad and we raise awareness through our travel advice and Travel Aware campaign.”

A woman dubbed the “Ketamine Queen” has agreed to plead guilty of selling the drugs that ultimately killed Friends actor Matthew Perry.

Jasveen Sangha, 42, will plead guilty to five charges in Los Angeles, including one count of distributing ketamine resulting in death or bodily injury, according to the Justice Department.

The American-British dual-national originally faced nine criminal counts. Federal prosecutors called her Los Angeles home a “drug-selling emporium” and found dozens of vials of ketamine during a raid.

Perry was found dead in a back yard jacuzzi at his Los Angeles home in October 2023, with an examination finding his death was caused by the acute effects of ketamine.

Sangha is one of five people – including medical doctors and the actor’s assistant – who US officials say supplied ketamine to Perry, exploiting his drug addiction for profit, and leading to his overdose death.

They include: Dr Salvador Plasencia and Dr Mark Chavez, two doctors who sold ketamine; Kenneth Iwamasa, who worked as Perry’s live-in assistant and both helped purchase and inject the actor with ketamine; and Eric Fleming, who sold ketamine he’d gotten from Sangha to Perry.

All five have since agreed to plead guilty to charges in the case. Sangha’s criminal trial had been pushed several times and currently was scheduled to begin next month.

She is expected to appear in federal court in the coming weeks to formally enter her guilty plea as part of the agreement with federal authorities.

Her attorney, Mark Geragos, told the BBC in a statement that “she’s taking responsibility for her actions”.

She plans to plead guilty to one count of maintaining a drug-involved premises, three counts of distributing ketamine, and one count of distributing ketamine resulting in death or serious bodily injury.

Sangha faces a maximum sentence of 65 years in federal prison, according to the Justice Department.

Ketamine is a dissociative anaesthetic that has some hallucinogenic effects, according to the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). It can distort perception of sight and sound and makes the user feel disconnected and not in control.

It is used as an injectable anaesthetic for humans and animals because it makes patients feel detached from their pain and environment.

The substance is supposed to be administered only by a physician, investigators say, and patients who have taken the drug should be monitored by a professional because of its possible harmful effects.

Perry’s death and the investigation into how he obtained so much of the drug over multiple years offered a glimpse into Hollywood’s ketamine drug network, which one doctor called the “wild west” in an interview with the BBC.

As part of her plea agreement, Sangha also plead guilty to selling ketamine to a man named Cody McLaury in August 2019, who died hours after the purchase from a drug overdose, according to the justice department.

Federal authorities accused Sangha of supplying ketamine from her “stash house” in North Hollywood since at least 2019, alleging in an indictment that she worked with celebrities and high-end clients.

More than 80 vials of ketamine were allegedly found there in a search before her arrest in March 2024, along with thousands of pills that included methamphetamine, cocaine and Xanax.

The home, called the “Sangha Stash House” in a federal indictment, was where she is alleged to have packaged and distributed drugs.

Sangha is said to have mixed with celebrities socially, with one of her friends telling the Daily Mail she attended the Golden Globes and the Oscars.

Her social media presence depicted an extravagant lifestyle, including parties and trips to Japan and Mexico.

Alandmark 113-year-old church at risk from ground subsidence is about to be relocated in its entirety – in a 5km (3 miles) move along a road in Sweden’s far north.

The vast red timber structure in Kiruna dating back to 1912 has been hoisted on giant rolling platforms ahead of the move to the new city centre.

Travelling at a maximum speed of 500m an hour, the journey is expected to take two days.

The old city centre is at risk from ground fissures after more than a century of iron ore mining. The church’s move is the most spectacular and symbolic moment of the wider relocation of buildings in Kiruna, which lies 145km north of the Arctic Circle.

In the words of culture strategist Sofia Lagerlöf Määttä, “it’s like finally, let’s get it done. We’ve been waiting for so many years”.

“We’ve done so much preparation,” says the man in charge of the move, project manager Stefan Holmblad Johansson.

“It’s a historic event, a very big and complex operation and we don’t have a margin of error. But everything is under control.”

His composure reflects years of planning.

By the mid-2010s, other buildings in Kiruna were already being shifted to safer ground. Most were demolished and rebuilt, but some landmarks were moved intact.

These include buildings in Hjalmar Lundbohmsgården such as the so-called yellow row of three old wooden houses and the former home of mining manager Hjalmar Lundbohm, which was split into three parts.

The clock tower on the roof of the old city hall was also moved and can now be found next to the new city hall.

Under Swedish law, mining activity can not take place under buildings.

Robert Ylitalo, chief executive officer of Kiruna’s development company, explains: “There’s no risk of people falling through cracks. But fissures would eventually damage the water, electricity and sewage supply. People have to move before the infrastructure fails.”

The iron ore mine’s operator, LKAB – also Kiruna’s biggest employer – is covering the city’s relocation bill, estimated at more than 10bn Swedish krona ($1bn; £737m).

Kiruna Church is 35m (115ft) high, 40m wide and weighs 672 tonnes. It was once voted Sweden’s most beautiful pre-1950 building.

Relocating such a large building is an unusual feat. But instead of dismantling it, engineers are moving it in one piece, supported by steel beams and carried on self-propelled modular transporters.

“The biggest challenge was preparing the road for such a wide building,” says project manager Mr Johansson.

“We’ve widened it to 24 metres (79ft) and along the way we removed lampposts, traffic lights as well as a bridge that was slated for demolition anyway.”

Among the most delicate aspects of the move is the protection of the church’s interior treasures, especially its great altar painting made by Prince Eugen, a member of Sweden’s royal family.

“It’s not something hanging on a hook that you just take off,” says Mr Johansson.

“It’s glued directly onto a masonry wall so it would have been difficult to remove without damage. So it will remain inside the church during the move, fully covered and stabilised. So will the organ with its 1,000 pipes.”

The move is much more than an engineering marvel for local residents – it’s a deeply emotional moment.

“The church has served as a spiritual centre and a gathering place for the community for generations,” says Sofia Lagerlöf Määttä, who remembers walking into the church for the first time as a young child with her grandmother.

“The move has brought back memories of joy and sorrow to us, and we’re now moving those memories with us into the future.”

That feeling is also shared by project manager Stefan Holmblad Johansson, an engineer who doubles as a member of the church’s gospel choir.

“This is a very special task for me,” he says. “The church was built over a 100 years ago for the municipality by LKAB. Now we move it to the new city. There simply can’t be any other way.”

For the church’s vicar, Lena Tjärnberg, the moment carries added meaning.

“The church is leaving a place where it truly belongs,” she says.

“Everyone knows it has to be relocated: we live in a mining community and depend on the mine. I’m grateful that we’re moving the church with us to the new city centre but there is also sorrow in seeing it leave the ground where it became a church.”

As the massive walls of Kiruna church begin to inch forward, thousands of residents and visitors – Sweden’s King Carl Gustaf among them – are expected to line the route.

Swedish television will also broadcast the entire journey live as “slow TV”, marking a rare moment when a piece of history does not just survive change – it moves with it.

Hamas has agreed to the latest proposal from regional mediators for a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal with Israel, a source in the Palestinian armed group has told the BBC.

The proposal from Egypt and Qatar is said to be based on a framework put forward by US envoy Steve Witkoff in June.

It would see Hamas free around half of the 50 remaining Israeli hostages – 20 of whom are believed to be alive – in two batches during an initial 60-day truce. There would also be negotiations on a permanent ceasefire.

It is unclear what Israel’s response will be, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said last week that it would only accept a deal if “all the hostages are released in one go”.

In a video released after the reports of Hamas’s approval emerged, Netanyahu did not comment directly but said that “from them you can get one impression – Hamas is under immense pressure.”

The Israeli military’s chief of staff, Lt Gen Eyal Zamir, meanwhile said it was at a turning point in the 22-month war, with the “focus on enhancing the strikes against Hamas in Gaza City”.

It came as witnesses on the ground in Gaza City reported that Israeli tanks backed by air and artillery strikes had made a surprise advance into the southern Sabra neighbourhood, and surrounded schools and a UN-run clinic sheltering hundreds of displaced people.

Later this week, the Israeli cabinet is expected to approve the military’s plan to occupy Gaza City, where intensifying Israeli strikes have already prompted thousands of people to flee.

Netanyahu announced Israel’s intention to widen its offensive and conquer all of Gaza – including the areas where most of its 2.1 million Palestinian residents have sought refuge – after indirect talks with Hamas on a ceasefire deal broke down last month.

A Hamas delegation led by the group’s chief negotiator, Khalil al-Hayya, has been in Cairo since last week meeting mediators who see a window of opportunity for a new agreement.

On Monday morning, a senior Hamas official told the BBC that the delegation was reviewing a new ceasefire proposal that it had received the previous day.

Qatar’s Prime Minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman Al Thani, also visited the Egyptian capital to “apply maximum pressure on the two sides to reach a deal as soon as possible”, Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty said.

Speaking during his own trip to the Rafah border crossing with Gaza, Abdelatty stressed the urgency of reaching a ceasefire to alleviate the deep humanitarian crisis in the Palestinian territory. He said the current situation on the ground there was “beyond imagination”.

On Monday evening, a Hamas source told the BBC that the group had submitted a written response to mediators saying it agreed to the ceasefire proposal without any amendments or conditions.

According to a Palestinian official familiar with the talks, the proposal “mirrors” the one presented by Steve Witkoff two months ago, which Hamas rejected.

Witkoff proposed a 60-day truce that would see the release of 10 living hostages by Hamas and the bodies of 18 other hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails. He also said that serious negotiations to end the war would take place during the truce.

On Sunday night, hundreds of thousands of Israelis gathered in Tel Aviv to demand that their government agree a deal with Hamas to end the war now and bring all the hostages home.

Hostages’ families fear that another offensive in Gaza City could endanger those held there.

“I’m scared that my son would be hurt,” said Dani Miran, whose 48-year-old son Omri has been held captive for 682 days.

Netanyahu accused the demonstrators of hardening Hamas’s negotiating position.

Palestinians also called for an immediate end to the war at a protest in Gaza City on Monday.

“Hamas and its demands, and the demands being negotiated, do not represent me. I want to live in peace. I want peace of mind. Our only demand is peace and safety for our children,” one woman told a local freelance journalist working for the BBC.

US President Donald Trump meanwhile wrote on social media: “We will only see the return of the remaining hostages when Hamas is confronted and destroyed!!! The sooner this takes place, the better the chances of success will be.”

Israel’s prime minister has said the war will only end once all the hostages are released and Hamas disarms. He also wants Gaza to be demilitarised, kept under Israeli security control, and run by an administration not linked to Hamas or the Palestinian Authority.

Hamas has called for a comprehensive deal that would see the hostages it is holding exchanged for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails, as well as an end to the war and the full withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza. It says it will not disarm unless an independent Palestinian state is created.

The Israeli military launched a campaign in Gaza in response to the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.

At least 62,004 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry.

Most of Gaza’s population has also been displaced multiple times; more than 90% of homes are estimated to be damaged or destroyed; the healthcare, water, sanitation and hygiene systems have collapsed; and UN-backed global food security experts have warned that the “worst-case scenario of famine is currently playing out” due to food shortages.

Gaza’s health ministry reported on Monday that another five people, including two children, had died as a result of malnutrition over the previous 24 hours, raising the total number of such deaths since the start of the war to 263.

Intel shares have jumped after Japanese technology investment giant Softbank said it is buying a $2bn (£1.5bn) stake in the US computer chip maker.

The announcement came just hours after new reports that the Trump administration is in talks to take a stake of around 10% in Intel by converting government grants into shares.

The potential deal, which was first reported last week, aims to help Intel build a flagship manufacturing hub in Ohio. At the time, a White House spokesman told the BBC that the reports “should be regarded as speculation” unless officially announced.

The BBC has contacted the White House and Intel for comment.

Under the deal announced on Monday, Softbank will pay $23 per share in Intel.

“The investment comes as both Intel and SoftBank deepen their commitment to investing in advanced technology and semiconductor innovation in the United States,” the two companies said in a joint statement.

Last week, US President Donald Trump and members of his cabinet met Intel chief executive Lip-Bu Tan.

The meeting came just days after Trump called for Mr Tan to resign, accusing him of being “highly conflicted” due to his earlier ties to China.

The developments came as the US chip industry is under intense scrutiny by the White House.

Some analysts have described Intel’s potential deal with the US government as a lifeline for the firm.

Intel is one of the few US firms capable of manufacturing high-end semiconductors at scale.

But globally, it has lost out to rival chip manufacturers like Samsung and TSMC.

On Thursday, the company declined to comment on the reported discussions and said it was “deeply committed to supporting President Trump’s efforts” to strengthen manufacturing and technology in the US.

Such an agreement would mark a “major escalation” in what seems to be an attempt by the Trump administration to reshape the US government’s role in the private sector, said political scientist Sarah Bauerle Danzman from Indiana University.

But the potential move sets a “concerning precedent” as it raises questions about whether companies may be pushed to follow political agendas, she said.

It also signals Washington’s determination to ensure Intel succeeds and that the supply chain for computer chips is protected, said Dan Sheehan from Telos Wealth Advisors.

“[The Government’s] agenda is clear: Accelerate domestic production, reduce dependence on Asia, and position Intel at the centre of the AI and national security landscape,” he said.

SoftBank’s investment is a “clear vote of confidence” in Intel’s turnaround, he added.

Last week, Nvidia and AMD agreed to pay the US government 15% of their Chinese revenues as part of an unprecedented deal to secure export licences to China.

From among the broken remains of Brahim Hamaiel’s olive trees, in the occupied West Bank, we saw the masked men approach.

A dozen settlers, charging down from the illegal outpost above his farm and across the field towards us, moving fast and carrying large sticks.

A sudden and unprovoked attack.

Brahim had been showing us the trees he said had been hacked to pieces this week by settlers from the outpost.

His family have farmed olives here on land near Turmus Aya, for generations, making it a target for extremist settlers who think killing Palestinian trees and livestock will also kill the idea of a Palestinian State, by forcing residents like Brahim off their land.

“Fear is natural,” Brahim had told me, looking up at the ridge where tarpaulin flapped at the settlers’ lookout post in front of a few caravans and makeshift homes. “But there’s something stronger than fear that drives me to stay here – the scent of my ancestors and an attachment dating back hundreds of years – even if I pay the price with my blood.”

As the masked men run towards us, we pull back to the road and drive a safe distance away.

Within minutes, some of Brahim’s neighbours from the surrounding farms and villages gather with catapults and stones to confront the attackers.

Vegetation by the side of the road is set on fire, its smoke signalling the site of the confrontation, as settlers on a quad bike chase away a volunteer emergency crew trying to reach a farmhouse in the middle of the field.

• ‘Stop shooting! My daughter is dead’: Woman killed as West Bank power struggle rages

This is now a familiar routine. Palestinians living in these villages south of Nablus say there are attacks and confrontations on their lands every week, and that settlers are using these kinds of tactics to take over the land, field by field.

But the speed and spread of this attack is breathtaking.

In little more than an hour, dozens of settlers had fanned out across the hills. We watched as they broke into an isolated building, and methodically set fire to vehicles and homes.

Shepherds on the furthest ridge rushed their flocks away, as the hillside behind them broke into flames, smoke billowing up from several places.

By then, Palestinians arriving from across the area to help their neighbours found the main access road blocked by the Israeli army, as the destruction continued.

One Palestinian was reportedly beaten by settlers, and the army later told us that both sides had hurled rocks at each other, and that Palestinians had burned tyres. It said four Israeli civilians received medical treatment at the scene.

Among the crowd waiting near the army roadblock, we found Rifa Said Hamail, her frantic gestures giving way to a warm smile and embrace when we spoke to her.

Rifa told us her husband was trapped in their farmhouse near Brahim’s olive farm, and surrounded by settlers, but that the army wouldn’t let her pass.

“Every other day the settlers do this to us – they attack us, cut down the olive trees, and burn the farms,” she said. “This is not a life. No one can stop them. We have nothing to resist them with. They have weapons, we have nothing.”

We later learned that settlers had torched part of their property, and that Rifa’s husband had been left with cuts to his face and leg, after being hit with rocks.

The Israeli organisation Peace Now, which monitors the spread of settlements in the West Bank, says the number of outposts – and settler aggression – has multiplied since the Hamas attacks on Israel in October 2023, and the Gaza War that followed.

• Palestinian olive harvest under threat from Israeli attacks and restrictions

Since the beginning of last year, it says, some 100 outposts have appeared across the West Bank. It also found that hundreds of square kilometres of land had been taken over by settlers in the past few years using the same violent pattern of intimidation – encouraged, it says, by government support and a lack of proper law enforcement by Israel.

Last week, Israel’s far-right Finance Minister, Bezalel Smotrich, announced the creation of thousands of new housing units in a large West Bank settlement bloc further south, saying it would “bury the idea of a Palestinian state”.

Between 5-11 August, the UN Office for Humanitarian Affairs documented at least 27 settler attacks against Palestinians that resulted in casualties, property damage or both, across two dozen different communities. These attacks, it said, led to the displacement of 18 households.

We weren’t able to speak to any of the settlers involved in the attack we witnessed. The local settlers’ council told us there were elements on both sides seeking provocation, which it strongly condemned.

Brahim told us he had filed two separate complaints about the attacks on his land, but few Palestinians here have much faith in Israeli justice or security forces, saying repeatedly that they protect only the settlers.

One of the volunteer emergency crews who came to help during the clashes on Saturday told me the Israeli army had prevented them from reaching the scene.

“We were trying to rescue the young men, when the army came, honking at us and telling us to get away from here,” Yahya al-Khatib said.

“We were volunteers wearing our vests. We’re not here to attack or harm settlers. We want to put out fires and treat injured people. But they [the army] stop us and stand in our way.”

Tensions between local residents and settlers are complicated by the increasingly heavy control of Israeli forces across the West Bank, which has seen the evacuation and widespread demolition of refugee camps across the northern West Bank.

From January to June this year, the UN found that 149 Palestinians were killed by Israeli settlers or soldiers in the occupied West Bank. Nine Israelis were killed by Palestinians.

Hours after the clashes that erupted around Brahim’s farm on Saturday, another Palestinian casualty was added to that grim tally.

Eighteen-year-old Hamdan Abu-Elaya was shot and killed by Israeli troops in al- Mughayyir village, a few miles from Brahim’s field.

His mother told us he’d gone to see the fires lit by settlers nearby. “I raised him for 18 years, and he was gone in a minute,” she said.

We asked the Israeli army what happened. It said “terrorists” had thrown rocks and Molotov cocktails at troops in the village, and that soldiers had “responded with fire to remove the threat”.

Hundreds crowded into Hamdan’s house for his funeral on Sunday, as his body was carried in for his mother to say goodbye.

His father, Ameen Abu Elaya, raging to friends and family, said he refused to show the Israelis his tears.

“They thought if they killed our son, we would leave,” he said. “I will not shout and scream and say ‘why has he gone?’ I’m not sad that he passed. I encourage young men to do anything they can against the criminal occupier.”

At the local mosque, there was a hero’s welcome for Hamdan’s body as it was carried in for the funeral prayer – vast Palestinian flags hung alongside those of Fatah and Hamas from the rooves and windows; crowds lining the path of the bier.

In the language of this conflict, each birth and each burial only strengthens the ties to the land.

High on a hill in the west of the Afghan capital, Kabul, behind a steel gate topped with barbed wire, lies a place few locals speak of, and even fewer visit.

The women’s wing of a mental health centre run by the Afghan Red Crescent Society (ARCS) is the largest of only a handful of facilities in the country dedicated to helping women with mental illnesses.

Locals call it Qala, or the fortress.

The BBC gained exclusive access to the crowded centre where staff find it difficult to cope with the 104 women currently within its walls.

Among them are women like Mariam* who says she is a victim of domestic violence.

Thought to be in her mid-20s, she’s been here for nine years, after enduring what she describes as abuse and neglect by her family, followed by a period of homelessness.

“My brothers used to beat me whenever I visited a neighbour’s house,” she alleges. Her family did not want to let her out of the house alone, she says, because of a cultural belief that young girls should not leave the house without supervision.

Eventually, her brothers appeared to have kicked her out, forcing her to live on the streets at a young age. It was here a woman found her and, apparently concerned about her mental health, brought her to the centre.

Despite her story, Mariam’s smile is constantly radiant. She is often seen singing, and is one of the few patients allowed to work around the building, volunteering to help with cleaning.

She is ready – and willing – to be discharged.

But she cannot leave because she has nowhere to go.

“I don’t expect to return to my father and mother. I want to marry someone here in Kabul, because even if I go back home, they’ll just abandon me again,” Mariam says.

As she can’t return to her abusive family, she is effectively trapped in the facility.

In Afghanistan, strict Taliban regulations and deeply-rooted patriarchal traditions make it nearly impossible for women to live independently. Women are legally and socially required to have a male guardian for travel, work, or even accessing many services, and most economic opportunities are closed to them.

Generations of gender inequality, limited education, and restricted employment have left many women financially dependent on male breadwinners, reinforcing a cycle where survival often hinges on male relatives.

Sat on a bed in one of the dormitories is Habiba.

The 28-year-old says she was brought to the centre by her husband, who was forcing her out of the family home after he married again.

Like Mariam, she now has nowhere else to go. She too is ready to be released, but her husband will not take her back, and her widowed mother cannot support her either.

Her three sons now live with an uncle. They visited her initially, but Habiba hasn’t seen them this year; without access to a phone, she cannot even make contact.

“I want to be reunited with my children,” she says.

Their stories are far from unique at the centre, where our visit, including conversations with staff and patients, is overseen by officials from the Taliban government.

Some patients have been here for 35 to 40 years, says Saleema Halib, a psychotherapist at the centre.

“Some have been completely abandoned by their families. No-one comes to visit, and they end up living and dying here.”

Years of conflict has left its mark on the mental health of many Afghans, especially women, and the issue is often poorly understood and subject to stigma.

In response to a recent UN report on the worsening situation of women’s rights in Afghanistan, Hamdullah Fitrat, Taliban government’s deputy spokesperson, told the BBC that their government did not allow any violence against women and they have “ensured women’s rights in Afghanistan”.

But UN data released in 2024 points to a worsening mental health crisis linked to the Taliban’s crackdown on women’s rights: 68% of women surveyed reported having “bad” or “very bad” mental health.

Services are struggling to cope, both inside and outside the centre, which has seen a several-fold increase in patients over the last four years, and now has a waiting list.

“Mental illness, especially depression, is very common in our society,” says Dr Abdul Wali Utmanzai, a senior psychiatrist at a nearby hospital in Kabul, also run by ARCS.

He says he sees up to 50 outpatients a day from different provinces, most of them women: “They face severe economic pressure. Many have no male relative to provide for them – 80% of my patients are young women with family issues.”

The Taliban government says it is committed to providing health services. But with restrictions on women’s movement without a male chaperon, many cannot seek help.

All of this makes it more difficult for women like Mariam and Habiba to leave – and the longer they stay, the fewer places there are for those who say they desperately need help.

One family had been trying for a year to admit their 16-year-old daughter, Zainab, to the centre, but they were told there were no beds available. She is now one of the youngest patients there.

Until then she had been confined to her home – her ankles shackled to prevent her running away.

It’s not clear what mental health problems Zainab has been experiencing, but she struggles to verbalise her thoughts.

A visibly distressed Feda Mohammad says the police recently found his daughter miles from home.

Zainab had gone missing for days, which is especially dangerous in Afghanistan, where women are not allowed to travel long distances from home without a male guardian.

“She climbs the walls and runs away if we unchain her,” Feda Mohammad explains.

Zainab breaks down into tears every now and then, especially when she sees her mother crying.

Feda Mohammad says they noticed her condition when she was eight. But it worsened after multiple bombings hit her school in April 2022.

“She was thrown against a wall by the blast,” he says. “We helped carry out the wounded and collect the bodies. It was horrific.”

Exactly what would have happened if space hadn’t been found is unclear. Zainab’s father said her repeated attempts to run away were dishonouring him, and he argued it was better for her and her family that she is confined to the centre.

Whether she – like Mariam and Habiba – will now become one of Qala’s abandoned women remains to be seen.