On Saturday morning, a message was posted on social media by the Israeli military’s Arabic spokesman warning people living in the ‘D5’ area of northern Gaza to move south. D5 is a square on the grid superimposed over maps of Gaza by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). It is a block that is split into several dozen smaller areas.

The message, the latest in a series, said: “The IDF is operating with great force against the terrorist organisations and will continue to do so for a long time. The designated area, including the shelters located there, is considered a dangerous combat zone. The area must be evacuated immediately via Salah al-Din Road to the humanitarian area.”

A map is attached with a large yellow arrow pointing from block D5 down to the south of Gaza. Salah al-Din Road is the main north-south route. The message is not promising a swift return to the places people have been living in, an area that has been pulverised by a year of repeated Israeli attacks. The heart of the message is that the IDF will be using “great force… for a long time”. In other words, don’t expect to come back any time soon.

The humanitarian area designated by Israel in the message is al-Mawasi, previously an agricultural area on the coast near Rafah. It is overcrowded and no safer than many other parts of Gaza. BBC Verify has tracked at least 18 airstrikes on the area.

Hamas has sent out its own messages to the 400,000 people left in northern Gaza, an area that was once the urban heartland of the Strip with a population of 1.4m. Hamas is telling them not to move. The south, they are told, is just as dangerous. As well as that, Hamas is warning them that they will not be allowed back.

Many people appear to be staying put, despite Israeli airstrikes and artillery bombardments. When I went down to an area overlooking northern Gaza I could hear explosions and see columns of smoke rising. The intensity reminded me of the first months of the war.

Some of the people who have stayed in northern Gaza when so many others have already fled south are doing so to remain with vulnerable relatives. Others are from families with connections to Hamas. Under the laws of war, that does not automatically make them belligerents.

One tactic that has been used over the last year by civilians who want to avoid IDF operations without taking their chances in the overcrowded and dangerous south of Gaza is to move elsewhere in the north, for example from Beit Hanoun to Gaza City, while the IDF is operating near their homes or shelters. When the army moves on, they return.

The IDF is trying to stop that happening, according to BBC colleagues who are daily contact with Palestinians in Gaza. It is channelling families who are moving in one direction only, down Salah al-Din, the main road to the south.

Israel does not allow journalists to enter Gaza to report the war, except for brief, rare and closely supervised trips with the IDF. Palestinian journalists who were there on 7 October still do brave work. The Committee to Protect Journalists says at least 128 Palestinian media workers in Gaza have been killed since the war began. In northern Gaza, since Israel went back on the offensive, they have been filming panic-stricken families as they flee, often with small children helping out by carrying oversized backpacks.

One of them sent out a brief interview with a woman called Manar al-Bayar who was rushing down the street carrying a toddler. She was saying as she half-walked, half-ran on the way out of Jabalia refugee camp that “they told us we had five minutes to leave the Fallujah school. Where do we go? In southern Gaza there are assassinations. In western Gaza they’re shelling people. Where do we go, oh God? God is our only chance.”

The journey is hard. Sometimes, Palestinians in Gaza say, people on the move are fired on by the IDF. It insists that Israeli soldiers observe strict rules of engagement that respect international humanitarian law.

But Medical Aid for Palestinians’ head of protection, Liz Allcock, says the evidence presented by wounded civilians suggest that they have been targeted.

“When we’re receiving patients in hospitals, a large number of those women and children and people of, if you like, non-combatant age are receiving direct shots to the head, to the spine, to the limbs, very indicative of the direct targeted attack.”

Once again, the UN and aid agencies who work in Gaza are saying that Israeli military pressure is deepening what is already a humanitarian catastrophe.

Desperate messages are being relayed from the remaining hospitals in northern Gaza, saying that they are running low on fuel to power the generators that keep the hospitals going, and keep badly wounded patients alive. Some hospitals report that their buildings have been attacked by the Israelis.

The suspicion among Palestinians, the UN and relief agencies is that the IDF is gradually adopting some or all of a new tactic to clear northern Gaza known as the “Generals’ Plan”. It was proposed by a group of retired senior officers led by Maj-Gen (ret) Giora Eiland, who is a former national security adviser.

Like most Israelis they are frustrated and angry that a year into the war Israel still has not achieved its war aims of destroying Hamas and freeing the hostages. The Generals’ Plan is a new idea that its instigators believe can, from Israel’s perspective, break the deadlock.

At its heart is the idea that Israel can force the surrender of Hamas and its leader Yahya Sinwar by increasing the pressure on the entire population of the north. The first step is to order civilians to leave along evacuation corridors that will take them south of Wadi Gaza, an east-west stream that has become a dividing line in Gaza since the Israeli invasion last October.

Giora Eiland believes Israel should have done a deal straight away to get the hostages back, even if it meant pulling out of Gaza entirely. A year later, other methods, he says, are necessary.

In his office in central Israel, he laid out the heart of the plan.

“Since we already encircled the northern part of Gaza in the past nine or 10 months, what we should do is the following thing to tell all the 300,000 residents [that the UN estimates is 400,000] who still live in the northern part of Gaza that they have to leave this area and they should be given 10 days to leave through safe corridors that Israel will provide.

“And after that time, all this area will become to be a military zone. And all the Hamas people will still, though, whether some of them are fighters, some of them are civilians… will have two choices either to surrender or to starve.”

Eiland wants Israel to seal the areas once the evacuation corridors are closed. Anyone left behind would be treated as an enemy combatant. The area would be under siege, with the army blocking all supplies of food, water or other necessities of life from going in. He believes the pressure would become unbearable and what is left of Hamas would rapidly crumble, freeing the surviving hostages and giving Israel the victory it craves.

The UN World Food Programme says that the current offensive in Gaza is having a “disastrous impact on food security for thousands of Palestinian families”. The main crossings into northern Gaza, it says, have been closed and no food aid has entered the strip since 1 October. Mobile kitchens and bakeries have been forced to stop work because of air strikes. The only functioning bakery in the north, which is supported by WFP, caught fire after it was hit by an explosive munition. The position in the south is almost as dire.

It is not clear whether the IDF has adopted the Generals’ Plan in part or in full, but the circumstantial evidence of what is being done in Gaza suggests it is at the very least a strong influence on the tactics being used against the population. The BBC submitted a list of questions to the IDF, which were not answered.

The ultra-nationalist extremists in Benjamin Netanyahu’s cabinet want to replace Palestinians in northern Gaza with Jewish settlers. Among many statements he’s made on the subject, the finance minister Bezalel Smotrich has said “Our heroic fighters and soldiers are destroying the evil of Hamas, and we will occupy the Gaza Strip… to tell the truth, where there is no settlement, there is no security.”

Russia’s most prominent opposition leader for a decade, Alexei Navalny, believed he would die in prison, according to his memoir.

A fierce critic of President Vladimir Putin, he died in an Arctic Circle jail in February while serving 19 years on extremism charges that were widely seen as politically motivated.

The New Yorker and the Times have published excepts from the book, a posthumous record of Navalny’s last years, including those he spent imprisoned.

“I will spend the rest of my life in prison and die here,” he wrote on 22 March 2022.

“There will not be anybody to say goodbye to… All anniversaries will be celebrated without me. I’ll never see my grandchildren.”

Navalny’s death earlier this year was met with shock and anger from around the world, with tributes paid to his force as a political campaigner.

Many blamed Mr Putin. In the immediate aftermath, however, the Kremlin simply said it was aware he had died.

• Alexei Navalny, Russia’s most outspoken Putin critic

In August 2020, Navalny was poisoned at the end of a trip to Siberia with a Novichok nerve agent.

He began writing his memoir, Patriot, while undergoing specialist treatment in Germany.

Recovered, he returned to Moscow in January 2021, and was immediately taken into custody.

Navalny spent the remaining 37 months of his life in jail, during which time he kept up the diary entries collected in his memoir.

On 17 January 2022, he wrote: “The only thing we should fear is that we will surrender our homeland to be plundered by a gang of liars, thieves, and hypocrites.”

The excerpts trace Navalny’s declining health, and capture the isolation of his imprisonment, with a touch of his characteristic humour.

Describing a typical day on 1 July 2022, he wrote: “At work, you sit for seven hours at the sewing machine on a stool below knee height.”

“After work, you continue to sit for a few hours on a wooden bench under a portrait of Putin. This is called ‘disciplinary activity’.”

Patriot will be released on 22 October. Its US publisher Knopf is also planning a Russian version.

In its presentation of the excepts, the New Yorker says that while in captivity, Navalny managed to have his team post some of the diary entries on social media.

David Remnick, the editor of the magazine, wrote that it was “impossible to read Navalny’s prison diary without being outraged by the tragedy of his suffering, and by his death”.

In the final excerpt published in The New Yorker, dated 17 January 2024, Navalny says that fellow inmates and prison guards would often ask him why he had chosen to return to Russia.

The answer, Navalny writes, is simple: “I don’t want to give up my country or betray it. If your convictions mean something, you must be prepared to stand up for them and make sacrifices if necessary”.

When two white vapour trails cross the sky near the front line in eastern Ukraine, it tends to mean one thing. Russian jets are about to attack.

But what happened near the city of Kostyantynivka was unprecedented. The lower trail split in two and a new object quickly accelerated towards the other vapour trail until they crossed and a bright orange flash lit up the sky.

Was it, as many believed, a Russian war plane shooting down another in so-called friendly fire 20km (12 miles) from the front line, or a Ukrainian jet shooting down a Russian plane?

Intrigued, Ukrainians soon found out from the fallen debris that they had just witnessed the destruction of Russian’s newest weapon – the S-70 stealth combat drone.

This is no ordinary drone. Named Okhotnik (Hunter), this heavy, unmanned vehicle is as big as a fighter jet but without a cockpit. It is very hard to detect and its developers claim it has “almost no analogy” in the world.

That all may be true, but it clearly went astray, and it appears the second trail seen on the video came from a Russian Su-57 jet, apparently chasing it down.

The Russian plane may have been trying to re-establish the contact with the errant drone, but as they were both flying into a Ukrainian air defence zone, it is assumed a decision was made to destroy the Okhotnik to prevent it ending up in enemy hands.

Neither Moscow nor Kyiv have commented officially on what happened in the skies near Kostyantynivka. But analysts believe the Russians most likely lost control over their drone, possibly due to jamming by Ukraine’s electronic warfare systems.

This war has seen many drones but nothing like Russia’s S-70.

It weighs more than 20 tonnes and reputedly has a range of 6,000km (3,700 miles).

Shaped like an arrow, it looks very similar to American X-47B, another stealth combat drone created a decade ago.

The Okhotnik is supposed to be able to carry bombs and rockets to strike both ground and aerial targets as well as conduct reconnaissance.

And, significantly, it is designed to work in conjunction with Russia’s fifth-generation Su-57 fighter jets.

It has been under development since 2012 and the first flight took place in 2019.

But until last weekend there was no evidence that it had been used in Russia’s two-and-a-half-year war in Ukraine.

Earlier this year it was reportedly spotted at the Akhtubinsk airfield in southern Russia, one of the launch sites to attack Ukraine.

So it is possible the abortive flight over Kostyantynivka was one of Moscow’s first attempts to test its new weapon in combat conditions.

Wreckage of one of Russia’s notorious long-range D-30 glide bombs was reportedly found amidst the aircraft’s crash site.

These deadly weapons use satellite navigation to become even more dangerous.

So what was the Okhotnik doing flying with an Su-57 jet? According to Kyiv-based aviation expert Anatoliy Khrapchynskyi, the warplane may have transmitted a signal from a ground base to the drone to increase the extent of their operation.

The stealth drone’s failure is no doubt a big blow for Russia’s military. It was due to go into production this year but clearly the unmanned aircraft is not ready.

Four protype S-70s are thought to have been built and it is possible the one blown out of the sky over Ukraine was the most advanced of the four.

Even though it was destroyed, Ukrainian forces may still be able to glean valuable information about the Okhotnik.

“We may learn whether it has its own radars to find targets or whether the ammunition is pre-programmed with co-ordinates where to strike,” explains Anatoliy Khrapchysnkyi.

Just by studying images from the crash site, he believes it is clear the drone’s stealth capabilities are rather limited.

As the engine nozzle’s shape is round, he says it can be picked up by radar. The same goes for the many rivets on the aircraft which are most likely made of aluminium.

No doubt the wreckage will be pored over by Ukrainian engineers and their findings passed on to Kyiv’s Western partners.

And yet, this incident shows the Russians are not standing still, reliant on their massive human resources and conventional weapons.

They are working on new and smarter ways to fight the war. And what failed today may succeed next time.

A UN peacekeeper has been wounded in southern Lebanon after being hit by gunfire, the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (Unifil) has said, the fifth member of the multinational force to be injured in recent days.

In a statement on Saturday, Unifil said the peacekeeper was injured at its headquarters in the southern city of Naquora on Friday night amid “ongoing military activity nearby”, though added that it did not know the origin of the fire.

“He underwent surgery at our Naqoura hospital to remove the bullet and is currently stable,” it said.

Elsewhere, around 20 people were killed by an Israeli strike in Jabalia in Gaza on Friday night, according to the Reuters news agency, citing medics.

It comes as fighting continues in southern Lebanon, where Israeli forces have urged UN peacekeepers to leave their positions. A spokesperson for Unifil said on Saturday that there had been a “unanimous decision” to stay in the border region.

Separately, Unifil said buildings at a position in the village of Ramyah sustained “significant damage due to explosions from nearby shelling” on Friday night.

“We remind all actors of their obligations to ensure the safety and security of UN personnel and premises, including avoiding combat activities near Unifil positions,” the mission said.

On Friday, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) acknowledged that its troops were responsible for an incident in which two Sri Lankan soldiers, also in Naqoura, were injured.

The IDF said soldiers operating near the base opened fire after identifying a threat and that the incident would be investigated “at the highest levels”.

Sri Lanka’s foreign ministry said it “strongly condemned” the attack.

On Thursday, two Indonesian peacekeepers were injured falling from an observation tower after Israeli tanks fired towards it.

Asked about the incidents on Friday, US President Joe Biden said he was “absolutely, positively” urging Israel to stop firing at UN peacekeepers.

The leaders of France, Italy, and Spain have also condemned Israel’s actions, saying in a joint statement that they were unjustifiable and should immediately end.

Earlier, the IDF said dozens more launches crossed from Lebanon into Israel on Saturday – with a number of them intercepted.

A new movie that won the top prize at the Cannes Film Festival has made its debut in London, as its breakout star continues to gain significant Oscars momentum.

Anora was awarded the Palme d’Or at the French film festival in May, launching its lead actress Mikey Madison into the race for best actress at next year’s Academy Awards.

The film tells the story of a 23-year-old woman who is working as a stripper in New York when she meets the son of a wealthy Russian oligarch.

In a storyline with slight echoes of 1990’s Pretty Woman, the man pays Anora to move into his mansion and become his girlfriend, and the pair enjoy a whirlwind romance.

The film has received highly positive reviews, with critics agreed on Madison’s impressive performance in the lead role.

“If there was ever a time to roll out the red carpet and put an actress on the map, this is it,” said Screen Rant’s Patrice Witherspoon. “Madison is a star.”

The actress gives a “terrific performance”, agreed the Guardian’s Peter Bradshaw, adding that the actress “owns the screen”.

Madison may not yet be a household name, but she is also not a newcomer, having perviously appeared in Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and the 2022 reboot of horror franchise Scream.

But, as the Evening Standard’s Maddy Mussey put it: “Anora is essentially her big break, and boy does she nail it.”

Madison and director Sean Baker walked the red carpet ahead of the film’s UK premiere at the Royal Festival Hall on Friday.

Anora is directed by Sean Baker, the US film-maker behind Tangerine, The Florida Project and Red Rocket.

The movie also stars Mark Eidelstein as the boy, Ivan, known as Vanya to his friends, and Karren Karagulian as Toros, the Russian minder tasked with keeping an eye on him on behalf of Ivan’s parents.

But one of the film’s best and most understated performances comes from Yura Borisov as Igor, a tough but kindly henchman who works for Toros.

In addition to Madison’s own awards chances, Borisov could have a shot at a best supporting actor when the Oscar nominations are announced in January.

Like several of Baker’s previous films, Anora highlights and explores the lives of sex workers.

While developing the movie, the director consulted current and former real-life sex workers, including Andrea Werhun, who wrote a memoir in 2018 about her experiences.

Baker told Indiewire: “I think no matter what subject matter you’re tackling, if you’re not a part of that world or a part of that community, it’s vital to have consultants, who have that life experience, on board and make sure that you’re representing [it] in an accurate way, a responsible way, a respectful way.”

At a launch event in London earlier this week, Madison said Werhun’s memoir “really spoke to me… I was really intrigued and obsessed with her writing”.

She also discussed other ways she prepared for the role, explaining: “I went to New York early, about a month early, so that I could live in Brighton Beach and immerse myself more in that neighbourhood. Also, so that I could fine-tune the accent.”

Ed Potton of the Times described Anora as “a wonderful movie from one of the world’s best independent directors” in a five-star review.

“Every character in Anora might be an utter nightmare, but they’re also a joy to spend time with,” said the Telegraph’s Robbie Collin, also awarding fives stars and adding: “Nothing and no-one here can draw the spotlight from Madison.”

However, some felt the film’s run time of two hours 20 minutes could have been cut down.

“Anora takes viewers on a frenetic and wild ride that goes on for a little too long as it zig zags to an inevitable outcome,” said Carla Hay of Culture Mix. “This foul-mouthed movie’s best asset is the acting.”

But Hannah Lodge of Screen Rex concluded: “Anora is as deeply funny as it is stressful, as loud as it is heartfelt, and as chaotic as it is meticulous. This is Baker’s best film to date.”

An international arrest warrant has been issued for Australian ex-rugby star Rocky Elsom following a conviction for embezzlement in France, French media say.

The former captain of Australia’s national team was president of RC Narbonne, one of France’s most prestigious clubs, in 2015-16. On Friday a court found him guilty of paying tens of thousands of euros to former club officials for little or no service.

Elsom was convicted in absentia and given a five-year-prison sentence, according to French media.

He recently told the Sunday Times newspaper that he was living in the Irish capital Dublin.

In the interview with the outlet, published on 6 October, Elsom said he was coaching at the Catholic University School, a private school for boys in Dublin. He said planned to live in the city until December.

A sporting celebrity in Ireland, the 41-year-old, played for Leinster Rugby in the late 2000s and helped the team win the Heineken Cup, Europe’s top club rugby tournament, in 2009.

He also appeared 75 times for Australia’s national team – nicknamed the Wallabies – between 2005 and 2011. After his retirement he was part of a consortium that bought RC Narbonne

The French court convicted Elsom of abusing corporate assets and forging documents during his time as president of the club, local media reports say.

A lawyer involved in the case, Patrick Tabet, is quoted by Ouest-France newspaper as saying that Elsom made a “completely unjustified” payment of €79,000 (£66,000) to a former coach and gave a monthly salary of €7,200 to an Australian resident who “never came to Narbonne”.

The club was placed into administration and relegated to lower leagues in 2018.

The judge handed down a harsher prison term than the two years requested by prosecutors. Mr Tabet said the former Wallabies star was also ordered to pay back some €705,000 (£586,000).

King Charles has confirmed that it is up to the Australian people to decide whether the country remains a constitutional monarchy or becomes a republic.

Ahead of the King’s visit to Australia next week, the Australian Republic Movement exchanged letters with Buckingham Palace officials, writing on the King’s behalf.

Correspondence from the palace, first revealed by the Daily Mail, says that “whether Australia becomes a republic” is a “matter for the Australian public to decide”.

The future of the monarchy in Australia is likely to be an issue during the royal visit by King Charles and Queen Camilla, which includes events in Sydney and Canberra.

• King’s Australia trip is biggest since cancer diagnosis
• Australia puts republic referendum plan on hold

The letter sent by palace officials restates the existing position, rather than marking any new change in policy – and Buckingham Palace is not saying anything further to the letter’s contents.

But it is an amicable exchange, following a request by a group campaigning for a republic to have a meeting with the King during his visit.

“The King appreciated that you took the time to write and asked me to reply on his behalf,” says the letter from Buckingham Palace to the Australian Republic Movement, written in March.

“Please be assured that your views on this matter have been noted very carefully.

“His Majesty, as a constitutional monarch, acts on the advice of his Ministers, and whether Australia becomes a republic is therefore a matter for the Australian public to decide.”

The letter adds that the King and Queen have a “deep love and affection” for Australia and “your thoughtfulness in writing as you did is warmly appreciated”.

A referendum on the issue was held in Australia in 1999, where people voted to remain a constitutional monarchy.

Earlier this year Australia’s government said plans for another referendum were “not a priority”.

But campaigners for a republic argue that Australia’s head of state shouldn’t be the monarch but someone chosen by Australians.

When the King’s visit was announced, Isaac Jeffrey of the Australian Republic Movement said: “While we respect the role the royals have played in the nation to date, it’s time for Australia to elect a local to serve as our head of state. Someone who can work for Australia full time.”

It is a campaign that has commended King Charles as an individual but is opposed to the role of the monarchy in Australia.

“We’re keen to tell him we’ll stay in the Commonwealth and a republic is about us, not about him or his family,” said Mr Jeffrey.

The visit to Australia will be the King’s biggest trip since his cancer diagnosis earlier this year. His only other international trip since then has been to France for D-Day commemorations.

His treatment is expected to be paused during the trip, which after Australia will include attending a Commonwealth heads of government meeting in Samoa.

The visit, from 18 to 26 October, will include a review of the Australian naval fleet in Sydney harbour, attending a community barbecue, supporting environmental projects and meeting two award-winning cancer experts.

This week it was also announced that in December King Charles will host a two-day state visit to the UK by the Amir of Qatar.

A woman has died after she went overboard from a cruise ship near the Channel Islands, say rescue services.

An alert was sent out at about 02:00 BST for a search for the woman in her 20s north of Les Casquets rocks, west of Alderney.

The French search and rescue service said the casualty from the MSC Virtuosa was winched from the sea by a helicopter crew and was later pronounced dead by doctors.

One passenger told the BBC an alarm rang three times to signal a person had gone overboard.

The passenger, who only wanted to be called Neil, said those on board were asked to pray for their fellow passenger.

“I went up along with lots of other passengers to have a look,” he said.

“About half an hour later the cruise director told us they were looking for a missing passenger so we would be delayed into Southampton.”

The ship’s owner MSC Cruises said in a statement: “A guest on board MSC Virtuosa went overboard on 12 October, while the ship was sailing to Southampton.

“The body was later recovered with the involvement of the authorities.

“We are deeply saddened by this tragic event, and our thoughts are with the family during this difficult time.

“Out of respect for their privacy, we will not be providing further details.”

The investigation into the death is being led by French police.

A plane from Channel Islands Air Search was sent to the scene from Guernsey, along with lifeboat crews from Alderney and France and the French helicopter crew based near Cherbourg.

Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary said officers were assisting with inquiries.

“It has been reported that the woman went overboard the MSC Virtuosa during the early hours… and subsequently died,” the force said.

The Maltese-flagged cruise ship is 331m (1,086ft) long and 43m (141ft) wide, according to MarineTraffic, with accommodation for up to 6,334 passengers and 1,704 crew.

The vessel is 19 decks tall, according to MSC, and was built in France in 2020.

It is currently berthed at Southampton docks, having arrived at about 08:00 from Cartagena Port in Spain.

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Donald Trump has appeared on a slew of shows with huge audiences of young men, sitting for interviews with influencers, comedians and podcasters outside the usual political media. What’s his strategy?

About 15 minutes into Donald Trump’s conversation with comedian Theo Von, the chat veered into territory not usually heard in a political speech.

“I had a great brother who taught me a lesson, don’t drink. Don’t drink, and don’t smoke,” the former president said. “I admired so much about him… And he had a problem with alcohol.”

“I’ve been in recovery for most of the past 10 years,” Von replied. “Drugs and alcohol.”

Trump seemed genuinely interested.

“Which is worse?” he asked. The pair went on to chat at length about addiction and the drugs industry.

Politics wasn’t entirely absent – within a few minutes Trump was back alluding to his grievances against the “deep state” and the voting system – but the friendly chat was a prime example of a larger campaign strategy.

Trump has done a series of interviews with podcasters and alternative media that together comprise a concerted effort to reach young men.

• Election polls – is Harris or Trump ahead?

Although the tactic isn’t new – for months, stretching back to last year, Trump has been appearing on alternative, male-dominated media outlets with big audiences – it’s taken on a greater importance in the final stages of this election.

In August the Trump campaign told reporters that they are targeting a key group of voters that makes up just over a tenth of the electorate in swing states. They’re mostly younger men, and mostly white, but the group includes more Latinos and Asian-Americans than the general population.

And they believe they can reach these often fickle voters by putting Trump on shows hosted by people like Von, internet pranksters Nelk Boys, YouTuber Logan Paul and Adin Ross, a livestreaming gamer who has repeatedly been banned from sites for violating rules on offensive language.

The Nelk Boys are reportedly spearheading a voter registration drive on behalf of Trump which they hope will reach like-minded audiences.

Although they may not exactly be household names in the world of mainstream media, these podcasts have audiences of millions. Von’s Trump interview has nearly 14 million views on YouTube.

Polls indicate the political gender gap among young people has widened since Kamala Harris became the Democratic nominee in July. Overall the vice-president seems to be pulling more young people into her camp – but her support among young women has risen faster than her support among young men.

Recent research by the Harvard Youth Poll indicates 70% of women under age 30 support Harris, while 23% plan to vote for Trump. Among men in the same age group, 53% back Harris and 36% support Trump.

Daniel Cox, director of the Survey Center on American Life, part of the conservative American Enterprise Institute think tank, says that the political gender gap mirrors larger social divisions which have left many young men feeling like few politicians are looking out for them.

“Trump is very good at turning things into zero-sum games,” Mr Cox says. “Young men are trying to understand their place in society that is rapidly evolving, as a group they are struggling more academically, they have mental health challenges and rising rates of suicide.

“These are very real concerns and there’s a sense in the political realm that nobody’s advocating for them,” he said.

But Trump’s podcast tour is not so much a question of policy, Mr Cox says, and more about “showing up” and talking with a different style to a different crowd.

• SIMPLE GUIDE: How to win a US election
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• ANALYSIS: What could be the ‘October Surprise’?
• FACT-CHECK: Debunking Trump claim about hurricane funds
• POLLS: Who is winning the race for the White House?
• GENDER: Don’t mention Trump – how Republicans try to sway women voters

The attempt to switch up the vibe is apparent in his recent podcast interviews, where the mostly relaxed former president leads with chat about golf and mixed martial arts and Maga-world policies – Trump’s Make America Great Again slogan that often refers to an America-first approach – are assumed to be good common sense rather than controversial topics to be picked apart and debated.

Before the addiction chat on Von’s show, Trump praised Ultimate Fighting Championship competitors including Dustin Poirier, displaying more than a casual knowledge of the sport.

“Boy, I’ll tell you, he’s a warrior,” Trump said, “The man he was fighting was tough… as that fight went along, he just got stronger and stronger.”

Von did not push back – and in fact eagerly agreed – when Trump made a host of unsubstantiated and erroneous statements about voting, immigration and the border, including claiming that “hundreds of thousands of murderers” had entered the country.

On the podcast circuit, there’s plenty of messing around, but sometimes the hosts seem awestruck, deferential or even nervous. Before one chat, the Nelk Boys videoed themselves chugging cans of their own-brand boozy seltzer to calm themselves down before Trump walked into the room.

But their audiences aren’t demanding tough questioning or detailed policy positions.

“A lot of young people are not looking for hard news,” says Mr Cox. “Their first interests might be crypto [currency] or video games, and the politics comes later – through the side door, not the front door.”

There are other signs that Trump is making a hard pivot towards male voters – for instance filling the Republican National Convention stage with the likes of Kid Rock, Hulk Hogan and UFC chief executive Dana White, instead of being introduced – like he was at previous conventions – by his daughter, Ivanka.

Judging from the comments on the podcast interviews, many viewers and listeners already back the former president, but getting them out to the polls may be the real challenge.

Voting rates among young people lag behind overall, and young men tend to vote at slightly lower rates than young women.

The Harris campaign is also making a podcast play of its own, aimed at young women. The vice-president recently appeared on the popular sex-and-relationships pod Call Her Daddy, where she too faced less-than-aggressive questioning.

Garrett, a Logan Paul fan from Houston in his early 20s, runs his own YouTube channel under the name Spy Jay.

He said he finds Paul’s brand – “being a Maverick” – appealing, and before watching the interview he had an overall positive view of Trump, calling him “a patriotic nationalist who wants to restore the country back to an improved state from before”.

“But the persecution he’s facing, while there’s a relentless intention in the media to rewrite who he is and what he stands for, implies a greater evil at play,” he said. “And that makes me feel more inclined to be open-minded about voting for him.”

Watching Trump on Paul’s podcast – the internet star asked Trump if he’d ever been in a fight – and Trump’s interview with Adin Ross, only confirmed his views, Garrett told the BBC.

Garrett said he thought young Americans were increasingly tuning into politics, and that Trump is tapping into alt-media spaces “like no other candidate has before”.

“So whether it’s a good strategy or bad, it is going to reach quite a few of the young folks,” he said.

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Responses online to the video have been broadly positive. “No one can convince me Trump isn’t just a bro when it comes down to it” said one, while another read “Love or hate Trump, but he definitely knows how to make an interview entertaining”.

But some experts question whether Trump has much room to grow his voting base among heavily male subcultures, where he has long had support.

“Trump already seems to have captured the manospheric and hypermasculine over-25s, so this is a late stage and rather desperate attempt to become relevant,” said Jack Bratich, a media professor at Rutgers University who studies the male-heavy online spaces known as the “manosphere”.

Extremely online young men were very active during the 2016 election campaign, when political memes and extreme message boards like 4chan burst into prominence, says Bratich.

The situation is very different eight years later, he says, with “no identifiable right-wing youth-based online political movement” getting heavily involved in this year’s contest.

However, he notes there is little risk and potentially large rewards for Trump.

Whether it pays off will depend on convincing young men who don’t tend to get involved in politics to log off and head to the polls.

Like so many other things in this election, plays for younger voters are full of unknowns.

US singer and actress Selena Gomez joined her co-stars on the red carpet at the London Film Festival on Friday, for the UK premiere of her Oscar-tipped film Emilia Pérez.

The Spanish-language musical was one of the breakout hits of the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year, where Gomez and three of her co-stars were jointly named best actress.

The others – Zoe Saldaña, Adriana Paz, Karla Sofía Gascón – appeared alongside Gomez in London, where the film hopes to continue its momentum in the awards race.

Emilia Pérez follows a Mexican Cartel leader (played by Gascón), who asks a high-powered lawyer named Rita (Saldaña) to help him fake his own death.

But the reason he wants to retire and disappear from the world of crime isn’t what you might expect – the cartel leader wants to change gender and live a new life as a woman.

The rest of the film focuses on four women, including the newly-transitioned Emilia Pérez, as they each pursue their own version of happiness in modern-day Mexico.

Pérez is portrayed by Spanish trans actress Gascón, who has been tipped as a possible best actress contender in the forthcoming awards race.

Gomez plays the drug lord’s wife, who is kept in the dark about her former lover’s new identity, while Paz portrays Emilia’s new romantic interest after transitioning.

All four of the film’s stars walked the red carpet ahead of the film’s UK premiere at the Royal Festival Hall as part of the London Film Festival on Friday.

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French director Jacques Audiard came up with the idea for the film after reading a chapter in Boris Razon’s 2018 novel Écoute about a drug lord who changes identity.

Audiard went one step further for the film, and made it a story of changing gender.

“I was less interested in a change of identity to evade competitor drug barons, and more interested in the change of identity for the sake of the person she was and is,” the director told BBC News. “I was more interested in the past and what led to that transition.”

The role required someone very specific – a trans actress, who was a Spanish speaker, who could also sing and dance.

Recalling the casting process, Gascón tells BBC News: “I was contacted when I was in Mexico by a production team, and was told ‘We need an actress as crazy as you – you’re the only one who can do this role, but you need to learn five songs for tomorrow!’

“And I was like ‘OK, let’s record the whole album and we’ll go on tour as soon as you want!’” she joked. “But I did say, ‘this is going to be difficult, I’m not a singer’. But the team in the film, they worked with me incredibly, they really helped me with all the songs and made it so that we could do the best work possible.”

Asked about Gascón’s casting, Audiard added simply: “Without her there would be no film.”

Interestingly, the actress campaigned to play both the male and female roles – in other words, the character both before and after transition.

Audiard had originally intended for a different actor to play the male drug lord Manitas, because, the director explained, he was “uncomfortable asking [Gascón] to revisit something she was moving away from”.

But, Gascón recalled: “I said to Jacques, I want to play this role in the complete arc, because for me it is important to do the full part. It wouldn’t be the same film if another actor played [Manitas].”

That meant using effects and make-up such as a fake beard, she explained, so she could play the drug baron in the first section of the musical.

“This film is this film because the same actress played the complete performance,” Gascón continued. “It’s that kind of role you have once in your life and I didn’t want to lose the opportunity to play this.”

Reviews of Emilia Pérez, which is released on Netflix next month, have been generally positive so far.

“It’s a wild, gritty, glitter-soaked ride that defies convention and classification,” said Entertainment Weekly’s Maureen Lee Lenker.

She praised the film’s performances, commenting: “Selena Gomez is a welcome surprise, shedding any remaining hints of her Disney Channel origins in her portrayal of a hard-loving wife of a narco.

“The film’s climax in particular allows Gomez to shine as a dramatic actress in new ways. She conveys heartache and anguish through a tortured physicality that propels her into the unpredictable state of a woman on the verge of something dangerous.”

Asked by the BBC’s Graham Norton if it was comfortable going back to the world of singing and dancing for the musical, Gomez said: “No, because this was completely different.

“It was intricate dance moves I never knew my body could do, and it was also me playing a character so if anything I tried to avoid what I was comfortable with.”

There has also been praise for Gascón, a “wonderful discovery” who gives “a magnificent performance”, according to the Hollywood Reporter’s David Rooney.

The Telegraph’s Tim Robey described the film as “amazingly confident – it’s clever, earnest, ridiculous, knowing, forceful and absolutely bonkers”, while Hoai-Tran Bui of Inverse said it was “an emotionally fulfilling triumph”.

Not all critics were as enthusiastic about the film, however.

“Emilia Pérez was originally intended to be an opera, which perhaps partly explains its saccharine sentimentality, repetitive lyrics, and diverging story branches. But that doesn’t excuse its almost random, whiplash-inducing tonal pivots,” said Slant’s Kyle Turner.

However, Lauren Bradshaw of Fangirl Freakout said: “Emilia Pérez is a magnificent, genre-bending thrill ride that transcends the typical movie construct, breathing a fresh burst of excitement into the way we think about film.”

As an actress, Gomez is best known for starring in Only Murders in the Building, but also has a successful singing career with hits including Back To You, Wolves and Love You Like a Love Song.

Her co-star Saldaña, meanwhile, has starred in a large number of blockbusters in the last two decades, with roles in the Avatar and Guardians of the Galaxy franchises.

It remains to be seen whether Emilia Pérez could be a big awards player, but Academy voters may see an opportunity to recognise Saldaña’s box office success via this more critically acclaimed work.

Their co-star Adriana Paz is a Mexican actress whose credits include Not Forgotten, Hilda and La Caridad.

But the film’s breakout star is arguably Gascón, who already had a successful acting career before transitioning in 2018.

Praising her performance in his review, Rooney said: “The warmth, the joyous self-realisation, the complexity and authenticity… that illuminate [Gascón’s] characterisation no doubt owe much to the parallels in the Spanish star’s life – in her own words, she was an actor before becoming an actress, a father before becoming a mother.”

Emilia Pérez has already been selected as France’s entry for the best international feature category at the Oscars, which take place in March.

P&O Ferries owner, DP World, will now attend the UK’s investment summit on Monday, despite a row over a minister’s criticism of the firm.

It had been feared they might pull out from the summit – where they were expected to announce a £1bn investment – after Transport Secretary Louise Haigh criticised the ferry firm and urged consumers to boycott the company.

An expansion of the firm’s London Gateway port, in Essex, is likely to go ahead, with an announcement expected by some in the coming days.

Whitehall sources said on Saturday that there had been “warm engagement” between senior figures in the firm and the government since Sir Keir Starmer distanced himself from his minister’s remarks.

The government is hosting the International Investment Summit, where it hopes to attract billions of pounds of investment.

A Downing Street spokesperson said the summit would “show Britain is open for business” as it looks to enable economic growth.

DP World has said the expansion of the London Gateway port would bring Thurrock hundreds of jobs.

The United Arab Emirates-based company also owns Southampton Port.

It has yet to comment publicly on the latest developments.

Speaking to the BBC’s Newscast on Friday, Sir Keir said Haigh’s comments were “not the view of the government”.

The prime minister is understood not to have been directly involved in talks with DP World, nor has he personally spoken to Haigh about her remarks.

The row started after Haigh described P&O as a “rogue operator” in an interview with ITV on Wednesday, after it sacked nearly 800 seafarers in 2022 and replaced them with cheaper workers.

Asked whether she used the ferry service, she said: “I’ve been boycotting P&O Ferries for two-and-a-half years and I would encourage consumers to do the same.”

DP World insisted the move was needed for the survival of the ferry operator and to secure thousands of jobs.

Haigh’s comments in the interview coincided with the Department for Transport announcing new legislation aimed at protecting seafarers’ jobs from so-called “fire and rehire” practices of “rogue employers”.

In that announcement, Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner was quoted calling P&O Ferries’ prior actions “outrageous”.

But senior government figures have since told the BBC that they were incensed by the specific suggestion that consumers boycott the ferry firm.

Haigh’s comments also attracted criticism from the Conservatives, with shadow business secretary Kevin Hollinrake arguing Labour “don’t understand business”.

However, the Labour chair of the House of Commons Business and Trade Committee, Liam Byrne, defended Haigh.

She had been “absolutely right to say that the behaviour of P&O, owned by DP World, in the past has been completely unacceptable”, he said.

The row has exposed a tension between the new government’s desire to attract business and strengthen workers’ rights.

Israel’s ground invasion of Lebanon is about to end its second week, as Israel’s war has already entered its second year. Appeals for a ceasefire have increased following an air strike in Beirut on Thursday night, and the wounding on Friday, for the second day running, of UN peacekeepers in southern Lebanon by Israeli military fire.

A new offensive is taking place in Jabalia, in northern Gaza, despite persistent calls for the conflict there to end. Israel’s allies are also urging restraint as the country prepares to retaliate against Iran, following last week’s ballistic missile attack.

However, Israel will continue to pursue its own path, and resist this pressure, because of three factors: 7 October, Benjamin Netanyahu and the United States.

It was in January 2020 when Iranian general Qassem Soleimani landed at Baghdad airport on a night-time flight from Damascus. Soleimani was the head of Iran’s notorious Quds Force, an elite, clandestine unit of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps specialising in overseas operations.

The group – whose name means Jerusalem, and whose main adversary was Israel – was responsible for arming, training, funding and directing proxy forces abroad in Iraq, Lebanon, the Palestinian Territories and beyond. At the time, Soleimani was perhaps the second most powerful man in Iran, after the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

As Soleimani’s convoy left the airport, it was destroyed by missiles fired from a drone that killed him instantly.

Although Israel provided intelligence to help locate its arch-adversary, the drone belonged to the United States. The assassination order had been given by then US President Donald Trump, not Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

“I never forget that Bibi Netanyahu let us down,” former President Trump would later say in a speech referring to the Soleimani assassination. In a separate interview, Trump also suggested that he had expected Israel to play a more active role in the attack and complained that Netanyahu was “willing to fight Iran to the last American soldier”.

While Trump’s account of events is disputed, at the time it was believed that Netanyahu, who praised the killing, was concerned that direct Israeli involvement could provoke a large-scale attack against Israel, either from Iran directly, or its proxies in Lebanon and the Palestinian Territories. Israel was fighting a shadow war with Iran, but each side was careful to keep the fighting within certain bounds, for fear of provoking the other into a larger-scale conflict.

Just over four years later, in April of this year, the same Benjamin Netanyahu ordered Israeli jets to bomb a building in the Iranian diplomatic compound in Damascus, killing two Iranian generals amongst others.

Then in July, the Israeli prime minister authorised the assassination of Fuad Shukr, Hezbollah’s top military commander, in an air strike on Beirut. The response of the current US president was reportedly to swear at him, according to a new book by Bob Woodward, who claims that President Joe Biden was aghast that Israel’s prime minister was prepared to escalate a conflict the White House had been trying to bring to an end for months.

“You know, the perception of Israel around the world increasingly is that you’re a rogue state, a rogue actor,” President Biden is reported to have said.

The same prime minister, characterised as being too cautious by one US president, was then castigated as being too aggressive by his successor.

What separates the two episodes is of course 7 October 2023 – the bloodiest day in the history of Israel and a political, military and intelligence failure of catastrophic proportions.

What unites the two moments, however, is Netanyahu defying the will of a US president.

Both factors help to explain the way Israel continues to prosecute the current war.

Israel’s most recent wars concluded after a few weeks, once international pressure built so much that the United States insisted on a ceasefire.

The ferocity and scale of the Hamas attack against Israel, the impact on Israeli society and its sense of security, mean that this war was always going to be unlike any recent conflict.

For a US administration pouring billions of dollars’ worth of weapons into Israel, Palestinian civilian deaths and suffering in Gaza have been deeply uncomfortable, and politically damaging for the administration. For America’s critics in the region, the apparent impotence of the superpower when it comes to influencing the largest recipient of US aid is baffling.

Even after US jets were involved in repelling Iranian attacks on Israel in April – a clear sign of how Israel’s security is underwritten by its larger ally – Israel continued to bat away attempts to change the course of its war.

This summer, Israel chose to escalate its conflict with Hezbollah, without seeking prior approval from the United States.

As Israel’s longest-serving prime minister, Netanyahu has learned from more than 20 years of experience that US pressure is something he can withstand, if not ignore. Netanyahu knows that the US, particularly in an election year, will not take action that forces him to divert from his chosen course (and believes, in any event, that he is fighting America’s enemies too).

Especially when it comes to the latest escalation, it would be wrong to assume that Netanayhu is operating outside the Israeli political mainstream. If anything, the pressure on him is to be tougher to strike harder against Hezbollah, but also Iran.

When a ceasefire plan in Lebanon was mooted by the US and France last month, criticism of the proposed 21-day truce came from the opposition, and the main left-wing grouping in Israel, as well as the right-wing parties.

Israel is determined to continue its wars now, not just because it feels it can withstand international pressure, but also because Israel’s tolerance of the threats it faces has shifted after 7 October.

Hezbollah has for years stated its aim to invade the Galilee in northern Israel. Now that the Israeli public has experienced the reality of gunmen infiltrating homes, that threat cannot be contained, it must be removed.

Israel’s perception of risk has also changed. Long-held notions of military red lines in the region have evaporated. Several acts have been committed in the past year that could, until recently, have led to an all-out conflict, raining bombs and missiles on Tehran, Beirut, Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.

Israel has assassinated the head of Hamas while he was a guest of the Iranians in Tehran; it has also killed the entire leadership of Hezbollah, including Hassan Nasrallah; it has assassinated senior Iranian officials inside diplomatic buildings in Syria.

Hezbollah has fired more than 9,000 missiles, rockets and drones at Israeli cities, including ballistic missiles at Tel Aviv. The Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen have also launched large missiles at Israel’s cities, intercepted by Israeli defences as they re-entered the Earth’s atmosphere above central Israel. Iran has launched not one, but two attacks against Israel in the past six months involving more than 500 drones and missiles. Israel has invaded Lebanon.

Any one of these might, in the past, have precipitated a regional war. The fact that they have not will change the way a normally cautious, risk-averse Israeli prime minister decides on his next move.

US President Joe Biden has said he is “absolutely, positively” urging Israel to stop firing at UN peacekeepers during its conflict with Hezbollah in Lebanon, following two incidents in 48 hours.

On Friday, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said its troops were responsible for the incident, in which two Sri Lankan soldiers for the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (Unifil) were injured.

IDF soldiers operating around the Unifil base in Naqoura identified a threat and opened fire, the Israeli army said, adding the incident would be investigated “at the highest levels”.

On Thursday, two Indonesian Unifil soldiers were injured falling from an observation tower after an Israeli tank fired towards it.

The leaders of France, Italy and Spain issued a joint statement condemning Israel’s actions, saying they were unjustifiable and should immediately come to an end.

Sri Lanka’s foreign ministry said it “strongly condemns” the IDF attack which injured two of its soldiers.

The head of UN peacekeeping said there was reason to believe some firing on UN positions in southern Lebanon had been direct, though he did not ascribe responsibility for the incidents.

“For example we have a case where a tower was hit by a fire and also damages to cameras at one of the positions – which obviously to us very much looked like direct fire,” Jean-Pierre Lacroix told the BBC’s Newshour programme.

As Israel’s invasion of southern Lebanon continues, the IDF and the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah continued to fire missiles and rockets across the Israel-Lebanon border.

The IDF said it had detected about 100 rockets crossing into northern Israel from Lebanon within the space of half an hour on Friday. Two unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) were detected crossing from Lebanon, one of which was intercepted, the IDF said.

The Lebanese ministry of health said three people, including a two-year-old girl, were killed in an Israeli raid on the city of Sidon in southern Lebanon. Two Lebanese soldiers were killed after Israeli forces targeted an army post in the town of Kafra in southern Lebanon, the Lebanese army said.

In the capital, Beirut, emergency workers continued to comb through the wreckage of buildings hit by two Israeli air strikes on Thursday.

Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati said the attacks came with no warning and killed 22 people, all civilians, and injured another 117. Israel has not commented.

Israeli forces launched a ground invasion into southern Lebanon last month as they escalated their response to rocket fire from Hezbollah.

Hezbollah and Israel have been trading near-daily cross-border fire since last October, when the Palestinian armed group Hamas in the Gaza Strip carried out a deadly attack in southern Israel.

The IDF has said the UN post struck in Naqoura on Friday was about 164ft (50m) away from the source of the threat identified by soldiers. It said it had told peacekeeping troops to stay in protected spaces at the time.

Unifil said Israeli military vehicles had knocked over barriers at another UN site in Labbouneh, closer to the border with Israel.

The incidents represented a “serious development”, it said.

Mikati said Friday’s attack was “a crime which is directed at the international community”.

Israel argues that Unifil has failed to stabilise the region, and has asked peacekeepers to withdraw northwards so it can confront Hezbollah.

The Israeli ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, has reiterated Israel’s call for Unifil personnel to withdraw north by 5km (3 miles) to “avoid danger,” but the UN’s Jean-Pierre Lacroix said they would remain in position.

About 10,000 peacekeepers from 50 countries are stationed in Lebanon, alongside around 800 civilian staff.

Since 1978, they have patrolled the area between the Litani River and the UN-recognised boundary between Lebanon and Israel, known as the “Blue Line”.

Hezbollah began firing rockets into northern Israel on 8 October last year, the day after Hamas’s deadly attack on southern Israel. The Iran-backed group says it is acting in solidarity with the Palestinians and has said it will stop firing if there is a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.

Over the past three weeks, Israel has dramatically escalated its campaign against Hezbollah, intensifying air strikes against southern Lebanon and southern parts of Beirut, assassinating Hezbollah’s leader Hassan Nasrallah and launching a ground invasion.

Lebanon says more than 2,000 people have been killed, mainly in the recent escalation, and hundreds of thousands have been displaced. This week Hezbollah rocket fire has killed two Israeli civilians and a Thai national, Israeli authorities say.

In a separate development on Friday, Gaza’s Hamas-run civil defence agency was quoted by the AFP news agency as saying at least 30 people were killed in Israeli strikes in the Jabalia town and refugee camp in the north of the Palestinian enclave.

The IDF has not commented on the issue.

Meanwhile, the medical charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said “thousands are trapped” in the Jabalia refugee camp, including five of its staff.

The MSF said Israeli forces had issued evacuation orders on 7 October in Jabalia, “while carrying out attacks at the same time”, meaning people could not leave safely.

Dr Mohammed Salha, the acting director of the al-Awda Hospital in Jabalia, told the BBC’s Newshour programme the area had been under siege for seven days.

He warned that the hospital would run out of fuel on Saturday, as Israeli forces were “cutting Jabalia from the rest of Gaza”.

“No medication, no medical supplies, no healthy water, no fuel, so pressure, pressure on these people to move and go directly to the south,” Dr Salha said.

Israel has been conducting a new ground operation in the area, saying it is targeting regrouping Hamas fighters who aim to launch attacks, with dozens of people reportedly killed or wounded in northern Gaza in recent days.

Amid acrid smoke and cries from residents, rescue workers were searching Friday morning for signs of anyone left trapped in the rubble from two Israeli air strikes that hit central Beirut overnight.

According to the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health, 22 people died and 117 were wounded, making these the deadliest strikes in central Beirut of the recent escalation.

At the site of the heaviest of the two, in the Shia neighbourhood of Basta, the head of the Civil Defence rescue team Youssef Al-Mallah told the BBC that five people were still unaccounted for.

The Civil Defence has appealed for family members of the missing to come forward with any information on their whereabouts, Al-Mallah said.

Unconfirmed reports Friday said that Wafiq Safa, the head of Hezbollah’s liaison and coordination unit, was the target of one of the strikes but managed to survive.

Israeli authorities have not commented. They issued no warnings ahead of the strikes, as they have in some instances.

Both the strikes on Beirut hit residential buildings in densely packed neighbourhoods. The missile that hit Basta fell close to the site of an earlier strike that killed nine people last week. It destroyed a four-storey building completely and severely damaged or destroyed at least three adjacent buildings.

The other strike, on the mostly Shia neighbourhood of Nweiri, hit the third floor of an eight-storey building, ejecting large pieces of rubble into the street and destroying cars and shopfronts below.

The timing of the strikes – at about 20:00 local time, 18:00 BST – meant that many residents of the neighbourhoods were at home or on the street in the vicinity.

Hassan Jaafar, a 22-year-old security guard, was at home with friends just 50m from the Basta strike. He told the BBC they heard a “roar that seemed to grow closer with every second”.

“The shockwave knocked us off our feet, sending us backwards as dust and debris filled the air,” he said. “For a moment, everything vanished in a cloud of ash.”

Jaafar said he and his friends were bruised and cut in the strike by flying debris and glass. “In that moment, it felt like the war had expanded into our lives,” he said.

On the massive pile of rubble left by the strike on Friday morning, distraught residents looked on at their destroyed apartments and pleaded with members of the Civil Defence team to help them retrieve surviving possessions.

One group of women was searching for a missing relative – a mother of young children who was last seen on a stretcher at the site. The Civil Defence team told the group they needed to check at every hospital in person.

“If she left here on a gurney she will be at a hospital somewhere,” a rescue worker said.

Ibtisam Mazloum, 42, was in her building nearby when the strike hit. “If they want to fight they should fight at the border,” she said, angily. “The civilians in Beirut are not part of this.”

At the site of the Nweiri strike, Musa Araf, who works for the Civil Defence, described being in his apartment on the sixth floor of the target building when the missile hit.

“I didn’t panic because of my job, I am used to it,” he said. “But my children were screaming and clinging on to me. One of my grandchildren was cut by flying glass.”

This is the third time Israel has launched air strikes on Beirut outside of the city’s southern suburb of Dahieh, where the Iran-backed armed group Hezbollah has a strong presence.

The previous strikes on central Beirut targeted members of Hezbollah and the People’s Front for the Liberation of Palestine, according to the IDF. One hit a health clinic which the IDF described as Hezbollah-affiliated and killed nine people.

Meanwhile, Human Rights Watch called on Friday for an inquiry into Israeli attacks on UN peacekeepers in south Lebanon. Reports said that an observation post belonging to the United Nations peacekeeping mission (Unifil) had been fired at by Israeli forces.

The incident would mark the fourth time in recent days that Israeli troops have fired at Unifil bases. Yesterday, two Indonesian peacekeepers were injured after an Israeli tank fired at a watchtower at the force’s headquarters in Ras al-Naqoura.

Hezbollah said on Friday it had launched an attack on an Israeli military base in the northern city of Haifa using explosive-laden drones.

The Iran-backed group said the attack was a retaliation for Israeli strikes on Beirut.

When an Israeli air strike hit her employer’s house in southern Lebanon, Andaku (not her real name) found herself all alone, locked inside and terrified.

The 24-year-old Kenyan woman has been working in Lebanon as a domestic worker for the past eight months, but she says the last month has been the toughest as Israel’s military has intensified its bombardment of what it has said are Hezbollah targets across the country.

“There were a lot of bombings. It was too much. My employers locked me in the house and left to save their own lives,” she tells BBC News Arabic.

The sound of explosions has left Andaku traumatised. She has lost track of how many days she was left alone in the house before her employers returned.

“When they came back, they threw me out. They never paid me and I had nowhere to go,” she says, adding that she was lucky enough to have enough money to catch a bus to the capital, Beirut.

Andaku’s story is not the only one.

Last Friday, UN officials said most of Lebanon’s nearly 900 government-organised shelters were full following the escalation of the Israel-Hezbollah conflict, and expressed concern for the tens of thousands of mostly female domestic workers in the country.

According to the International Organization for Migration, there are around 170,000 migrant workers in Lebanon. Many of them are women from Kenya, Ethiopia, Sudan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and the Philippines.

“We are receiving increasing reports of migrant domestic workers being abandoned by their Lebanese employers, either left on the streets or in their homes as their employers flee,” Mathieu Luciano, the IOM’s head of office in Lebanon, told a press briefing in Geneva.

Many migrant domestic workers move to Lebanon to be able to provide financial support for their families back home.

The average monthly salary for African domestic workers is estimated to be around $250 (£191), whereas Asian housekeepers could earn up to $450.

Migrant domestic workers have to abide by the Kafala (sponsorship) system in Lebanon, which does not guarantee protected rights for migrant workers, and allows employers to confiscate their passports and withhold their wages. They find work through local agencies.

“The lack of legal protections within the Kafala system, combined with restricted movement, means many can become trapped in exploitative conditions. This has resulted in instances of abuse, isolation, and psychological trauma among migrant workers,” says IOM spokesman Joe Lowry.

“Furthermore, we are aware of cases of migrants being locked into houses of Lebanese citizens who are fleeing, to look after their properties,” he adds.

Mina (also not her real name) is from Uganda and has been a domestic worker in Lebanon for one year and four months.

She tells the BBC she was mistreated by the family she worked for and decided to escape and return to her agency.

Hoping she would receive help, Mina said she was shocked to learn that she had to work for another family on a two-year contract before she could return home.

“When I returned to the [agency], I told them I had worked enough to be able to pay for my ticket and return back home. They took my money and asked me to work in a house for two years to be able to travel home,” the 26-year-old says.

Having to live with the continuous sounds of explosions led to Mina’s mental health being affected. She was not able to do her assigned domestic tasks properly, so she asked her new employer to leave.

She had been working for a family in Baalbek, a city in the Bekaa Valley in north-eastern Lebanon.

“[The family] had beaten me, pushed me and thrown me out… There were so many bombs at that time. When I left, I had nowhere to go,” she says.

Another domestic worker from Kenya, Fanaka, 24, says her agency would send her to work in different homes every two months and that she suffered from continuous headaches.

“I have been trying to do my best at work, but nobody is born perfect,” she says.

The women say they faced many challenges while living on the streets, as many shelters refused to take them in, claiming they were reserved for displaced Lebanese and not foreigners.

All three managed to reach Caritas Lebanon, a non-governmental organisation that has been providing help and protection for migrant workers since 1994.

In audio recordings sent to the BBC, migrant workers from Sierra Leone said dozens of them remained stranded on the streets of Beirut and were in desperate need of food.

Others told local media that they were denied entry to government-organised shelters in schools because they were not Lebanese.

The BBC contacted local authorities, who denied any form of discrimination.

Sources from the ministry of education told the BBC: “No specific centres have been designated for foreign domestic workers, but at the same time, they have not been refused entry.”

It is understood that some workers are avoiding official shelters, fearing repercussions over their incomplete legal documentation.

Hessen Sayah Korban, head of the protection department at Caritas Lebanon, says her NGO is currently sheltering around 70 migrant domestic workers, who are mainly mothers with children.

She says more funding is needed to be able to provide shelter for up to 250 domestic workers who have either been abandoned by their employers or are homeless and had their official documents confiscated.

“We are trying to provide them with all the help needed; it can be legal, mental or physical.”

She adds that many domestic workers require help with their mental health because they have been traumatised.

Since the beginning of October, the IOM has received more than 700 new requests from people seeking help to return to their countries of origin.

Ms Korban says Caritas, along with other NGOs, is assisting the abandoned domestic workers wanting to leave by co-ordinating with the IOM, various embassies and consulates, and the Lebanese security services.

“It’s not at all how I imagined winning would be,” a minister reflects as the government hits its 100 days in office.

There have been slips and accusations of sleaze. Scores of announcements. Enormous international events.

The PM himself admits it’s been “choppy”. Even in the last 24 hours the government has blundered into a row with a big investor after a minister urged consumers to boycott them.

It was the US President Franklin D Roosevelt who came up with the entirely arbitrary concept of 100 days – those magical first couple of months when a leader has the chance to wow the public.

In FDR’s case, it was after America’s Great Depression.

Labour argues as loudly as it can that their inheritance was pretty dreadful too – and his first few months have had their fair share of disappointments.

There’s been a Downing Street staffers’ soap opera. A slump in the polls. Ructions in the party about a plan to take cash away from millions of pensioners. That’s the stuff of Labour nightmares.

Yet we’ve also seen ideas that are stuff of the party’s dreams. There are sweeping new rights at work. New laws to help get houses built. The railways coming back into public hands.

It’s been a topsy-turvy start – but what kind of government is this really turning out to be?

In the last few days I’ve been spoken to more than twenty different sources – cabinet ministers, MPs, officials and party insiders, about what has gone right and what has gone wrong as the government comes of age.

Let’s start with what Sir Keir Starmer and his hundreds of MPs might be posting on their social media, sticking on leaflets, or boasting about in interviews.

The government has, as promised, gone ahead with many of the plans it committed to in the Labour manifesto – whether that is shaking up the planning rules, going ahead with nationalising the railways, giving workers many more rights at work, creating GB Energy or getting rid of one-word Ofsted judgements in England.

Like them or not, these are chunky measures designed to make big changes to the country. “Our agenda is massive,” one minister says, “and I feel really optimistic.”

A senior figure in the party warns colleagues that “things are absolutely recoverable” – reminding others that plenty of things went wrong in 1997 for Tony Blair’s new government, and they won big again in 2001, then again in 2005.

At home, many point to the prime minister’s handling of the summer riots. “He is a serious man, he is made for it,” says one cabinet minister, adding he was “absolutely comfortable and resolute…he knew what to do, and gripped it completely”.

Another insider wonders: “imagine how wrong that could have gone,” if the government’s approach had been different on the riots.

There are visibly better relationships between Westminster, Holyrood, Cardiff and Stormont, with the new Council of the Nations and Regions.

Attention has been lavished on the English mayors too, not just in the grip and grin of photocalls, but being plumbed in to policies at an earlier stage of the planning.

Internationally, Sir Keir Starmer appears to have made good connections, grappling with multiple foreign crises.

One observer says on the world stage he has a “big advantage which is political stability and strength”, describing the PM as “careful and confident” in those kinds of head to heads.

Some nerves have been calmed by the No 10 reboot – with the exit of Sue Gray, given a P45 from her big job as chief of staff, Sir Keir has “shown he can be ruthless”, says an MP.

In other words, multiple sources have suggested that as they hit 100 days in office Labour needs to take a breath remember it won, and won big.

They’re telling themselves that a new government doesn’t have to be defined by a scrappy first few months, when the clamour around a few political mistakes crowded out the attention being paid to big reforms that had been planned for.

“The good thing is you are actually playing on the pitch, even if you still have to get fit,” says another MP.

A cabinet minister says: “It’s just so good to be in government; it’s really, really tough but any tough day is better than 14 years of carping on in opposition.”

Some things, however, have gone badly wrong – which has stopped winning from feeling like what many Labour figures might have imagined.

And there are worries inside Downing Street about what will happen in the Budget in the coming weeks.

“Our stories have been winter fuel and freebies,” says one insider, suggesting the two issues that have really hit home with the public have both been avoidable and damaging.

This weekend, there is another avoidable row with a big business that was due to be writing a big cheque, very publicly, this week.

There were suggestions that P&O Ferries would pull out of the government’s big investment summit this week after Transport Secretary Louise Haigh said she’d been boycotting the company and urged consumers to do the same.

Now it appears they will go to the summit after all.

And the saga over Sue Gray still hasn’t necessarily come to an end.

The issue of her severance pay and what’s understood as her ambition for the House of Lords are still hanging around.

The issue here isn’t really about the anatomy of those individual screw-ups – it’s what it tells us about how the new government operates.

Are they minor missteps of people limbering up for greatness as they get used to the job?

Or has the experience of the first 100 days exposed more serious flaws? Talking to sources across the party there are wildly different answers to this.

It’s not surprising government gets a bit of getting used to. The transition is a bonkers process.

“We went from being an absolute machine, everything centred on HQ, everyone together, then suddenly you’re across the river,” one senior source said.

Ministers and staffers are split up and spread out across government.

They suddenly have hoardes of civil servants at their disposal. If you’re in the mood to cut them some slack, it is a lot to get used to.

But I remember one minister telling me they were better prepared than any other government in history. There were plenty of policy proposals ready to go. That is not the same has having an overarching political plan.

One source told me it was “abundantly clear there was an election plan but there was no plan for government – you can’t just have a list” of policy.

And a minister suggests there was an early rush – “everyone tripped over themselves to announce things” in the first couple of weeks but then left a vacuum in the summer.

Then staff tensions in No 10 led to “well-documented dysfunction that was debilitating and depleted attention, resolve and resilience”, they add.

The neat explanation for Sir Keir’s backers is that Sue Gray was the wrong appointment for the chief of staff job in Downing Street.

One official said: “the civil service can do all the Whitehall bit, but the politics are on fire.”

In the system she set up no-one was paying enough attention to making the political arguments, this analysis goes.

Now Gray has moved on, No 10 is under the charge of Sir Keir’s long-time political supremo who ran the election campaign, Morgan McSweeney.

You can hear the sigh of relief around Whitehall.

“He’s the right person to lead No 10, he has amazing politics and most importantly Keir trusts him,” a minister close to Sir Keir says, hoping the government will pass its teething problems onwards to glory.

Allies of the PM also tell me there’ll be a shift in how he behaves, giving more political direction and sticking his nose more quickly into what his ministers are up to at home.

After the first 100 days he’s said to have a “better understanding of what the team wants from the captain”.

However, others across the party believe a No 10 shake-up isn’t a magic fix, identifying bigger problems afoot.

One party figure suggests some ministers, even senior figures like the Chancellor Rachel Reeves, haven’t found their mojo yet.

There is a “look in the eyes, still looking for approval”, they suggest, rather than projecting “I’m the person who knows what I’m doing”.

“Part of the reason for them misfiring is the lack of personal confidence,” they add.

Another source jokes, “they (Tories) have a sense of entitlement that matches our imposter syndrome”.

But others push back at that description, saying “she’s the one grabbing the Treasury to stop it just counting beans and start pushing growth.”

Multiple sources whisper the word “naive” when it comes to the Starmer operation – naive about the level of scrutiny they’d face in office, naive about how personal donations would be seen by the public, and naive about how quickly they would be judged.

One MP says, “a bit like Sunak, he thought if he could demonstrate how hard he was working that would be enough.”

Another source says they are “astonished – what has surprised me is the naivety – why wouldn’t they think we are going to be under huge scrutiny?”

When it comes to Sir Keir himself, for years even allies have accepted he is not steeped in politics – he came to its bizarre and intense daily routines after a different career.

When it comes to donations for example, one party figure says, “he just won’t have seen it, he is not political in his gut.”

A long-time adviser identifies a tendency in the new government to be a bit surprised, or uncomfortable at being challenged in the unrelenting way they have been since moving into No 10, because there’s a belief that “we are right-thinking people”.

Part of politics is being able to look yourself in the mirror and see what others see too.

Having covered lots of different administrations, I’ve found the make-up of the team to be crucial – but moving things around is rarely a cure of all ills.

And in some corners of government there is a different worry that the new government has not quite yet decided what it wants to be and that the problems are deeper than early wobbles.

The Tories in government gave Labour endless material through years of scandal and scrapes.

But now, the “baddies aren’t gifting us things every day”, says one source, Labour in office is instead responsible for writing its own script.

Even among some cabinet ministers there’s a call for a more defined message about what the government is for: “We were always not Corbyn, then not the Tories and now what?”

The government’s answer to that sense of purpose is their much vaunted “missions”, which are designed to define what Labour is trying to achieve.

But one official says: “the mission things are massive sprawling things and that bit of the operation in the middle is just weird.”

And yet there is nothing new in criticism of Sir Keir that it’s never quite clear what he really wants to do or believes in.

It’s been around even since he ran to become the Labour leader four years ago, when he said he stood for “moral socialism”, and lots of people scratched their heads.

But it hasn’t stopped him. He pulled off the political feat of winning the election – which seemed impossible when becoming party leader.

This first period has without question been rougher than Labour would have expected.

There are reasons the party has to be worried about what has gone wrong.

But another minister says “a CEO would never be judged by their first 100 days.”

It’s only around a twentieth of the time at Labour’s disposal before they have to call the next election.

Labour has an enormous majority, a political opposition that is in a mess, and time on its side.

One minister told me: “Starmer was underestimated when he was first leader, he was underestimated then, and he is being underestimated now – he’ll surprise people.”

The surprises of the first 100 days have been nasty ones. He’ll hope happier ones lie ahead.

Virginia McCullough knew why the police had smashed through her front door, but part of her wondered why it took them so long to discover she had murdered her parents. “Cheer up, at least you’ve caught the bad guy,” she calmly told the officers handcuffing her. Neighbours thought John and Lois McCullough had retired to the seaside, but the reality was they were callously poisoned by their daughter. Why did she do it?

The goings-on inside the McCullough family home in Great Baddow near Chelmsford, Essex, were becoming increasingly secretive in 2019.

Relatives were asked to stay away and friends were told Mr and Mrs McCullough had retired to the Clacton area on Essex’s sunshine coast.

The gruesome reality was very different. It would be four years before anyone found out the horrors that took place behind closed doors on Pump Hill.

John McCullough, a retired business studies lecturer, had been fatally poisoned and the 70-year-old’s body was hidden in a crudely-built tomb made out of breeze blocks and blankets.

The corpse of his 71-year-old wife, Lois, was stashed behind sleeping bags and duvets in an upstairs wardrobe.

Mrs McCullough had been battered with a hammer and stabbed, but she too had also been poisoned with prescription medication administered by her daughter.

Virginia McCullough, 36, was handed a life sentence at Chelmsford Crown Court for their murders, to serve a minimum of 36 years, on Friday.

“The curtains were always drawn and you couldn’t see if anybody was in the house,” said Phil Sargeant, who lived next door to the McCulloughs for 20 years.

“They were just like shadows, they’d move very quickly from A to B.”

Mr Sargeant now knows why there was such secrecy at his neighbours’ house.

“I find it quite difficult even to say that Virginia murdered her parents or killed her parents,” he added.

“She’d come across as quite pleasant; she was funny, she was irreverent as well. She had a dark sense of humour.”

In September 2023, Essex Police took a call from Essex County Council’s safeguarding team.

A GP at Mr and Mrs McCullough’s registered practice had raised a concern for their welfare, having not seen them for some time.

Their absences had been explained by their daughter, who offered a range of excuses for each appointment she cancelled on her parents’ behalf.

Conveniently for her, the country had been in Covid-enforced lockdowns for a large period of time they had not been seen.

But when police spoke to McCullough, it became clear something was not adding up – why were her parents always out of the area?

Alan Thomson, who rented a television to the McCulloughs, also had his suspicions.

It followed a phone call from McCullough, abruptly cancelling the rental on her parents’ behalf.

When Mr Thomson’s staff arrived at the family home to pick it up, they were told they could not enter the property – and the TV was already prepared by the front door.

“I got the feeling perhaps she was a bit of a fantasist, but no way would I have thought she’d be a murderer,” he said.

When police raided the property, it was not the first time they had visited.

Weeks prior to the discovery of the bodies, McCullough invited officers inside to discuss an allegation of an assault against her.

Only she knew the intent of this call, but some believed she was testing the water.

Ultimately, the assault allegation came to nothing.

McCullough was more forthcoming when officers returned in September 2023.

“I did know that this day would come eventually,” she confessed.

“I deserve to get what’s coming, sentence-wise, because that’s the right thing to do and then that might give me a bit of peace.”

Documents recovered inside the property painted a picture of a woman desperately trying to keep her parents from discovering a financial black hole she had dug.

Abusing their goodwill, she had been living rent free, spending their money and racking up large credit card debts in their names.

Forged letters showed McCullough had been tricking her parents into thinking they had lost money through scams. In reality, it was money “frittered away” by their daughter.

To them, she was well-qualified, suitably employed and working hard towards becoming an artist – a future she claimed would also bring financial benefits for her parents.

Instead, she was reaping the financial rewards of manipulating, abusing and taking advantage of her parents’ kindness.

In total, McCullough benefited from £149,697 as a result of murdering her parents – combined from their pensions and spending on their credit cards, as well as selling assets.

The court also heard she spent £21,000 on online gambling between 2019 and 2023.

Her lies – and the fear of being exposed – ultimately led to her cruelly killing her parents.

Paul Hastings, a greengrocer at the Vineyards shopping centre near their home, had also noticed their disappearance.

He was told by McCullough that her parents, who used to purchase goods from his shop, were no longer living in Great Baddow.

Mr Hastings said her peculiar nature meant she could say things without arousing much suspicion.

“She came in to the shop and said ‘The police are after me, they think I killed my mum and dad’,” Mr Hastings said.

“I thought ‘That’s a bit odd’ but didn’t think anything else of it, I just thought it was her eccentric nature.”

He explained McCullough would sometimes visit his shop four times a day, before disappearing for the next fortnight.

Debbie Pollard said McCullough would visit the flower shop she ran and bombard her with food and presents.

“We knew she was odd but I would never have dreamt she would ever be capable of doing what she actually did,” she said.

“She’s actually lived in that house all those years with her mum and dad’s remains in there – that horrifies me. Horrifies me.”

Both Mr Hastings and Ms Pollard both said McCullough had also pretended to be pregnant, even creating a fake bump under her clothing.

Throughout her sentencing on Friday, McCullough stared at the floor, emotionless.

It was only when she listened back to her interview with police, describing how she murdered her mother, that she began to weep.

“She looked so innocent; she was just sat there listening to the radio,” McCullough told the officers.

“I did go in three times to build up some gumption but I knew I had to get it done and can’t hesitate.

“She was just staring at me in disbelief.”

Det Supt Rob Kirby, from Essex Police, said her otherwise composed reaction in court was typical of the “considered, meticulous” murderer she was.

“Throughout the course of our investigation, we have built a picture of the vast levels of deceit, betrayal and fraud she engaged in,” he said.

“It was on a shocking and monumental scale.

“McCullough lied about almost every aspect of her life, maintaining a charade to deceive everyone close to her and clearly taking advantage of her parents’ good will.

“She is an intelligent and adept manipulator who chose to kill her parents callously and without a thought for them or those who continue to suffer as a result of their loss.”

“Now I think about it, I definitely chose the wrong industry.”

Xiao Chen*, who works in a private equity firm in China’s financial hub, Shanghai, says he is having a rough year.

For his first year in the job, he says he was paid almost 750,000 yuan ($106,200; £81,200). He was sure he would soon hit the million-yuan mark.

Three years on, he is earning half of what he made back then. His pay was frozen last year, and an annual bonus, which had been a big part of his income, vanished.

The “glow” of the industry has worn off, he says. It had once made him “feel fancy”. Now, he is just a “finance rat”, as he and his peers are mockingly called online.

China’s once-thriving economy, which encouraged aspiration, is now sluggish. The country’s leader, Xi Jinping, has become wary of personal wealth and the challenges of widening inequality.

Crackdowns on billionaires and businesses, from real estate to technology to finance, have been accompanied by socialist-style messaging on enduring hardship and striving for China’s prosperity. Even celebrities have been told to show off less online.

Loyalty to the Communist Party and country, people are told, now trumps the personal ambition that had transformed Chinese society in the last few decades.

Mr Chen’s swanky lifestyle has certainly felt the pinch from this U-turn. He traded a holiday in Europe for a cheaper option: South East Asia. And he says he “wouldn’t even think about” buying again from luxury brands like “Burberry or Louis Vuitton”.

But at least ordinary workers like him are less likely to find themselves in trouble with the law. Dozens of finance officials and banking bosses have been detained, including the former chairman of the Bank of China.

On Thursday, the former vice-governor of the People’s Bank of China, Fan Yifei, was sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve, according to state media.

Fan was found guilty of accepting bribes worth more than 386 million yuan ($54.6m; £41.8m).

The industry is under pressure. While few companies have publicly admitted it, pay cuts in banking and investment firms are a hot topic on Chinese social media.

Posts about falling salaries have generated millions of views in recent months. And hashtags like “changing career from finance” and “quitting finance” have gained more than two million views on the popular social media platform Xiaohongshu.

Some finance workers have been seeing their income shrink since the start of the pandemic but many see one viral social media post as a turning point.

In July 2022, a Xiaohongshu user sparked outrage after boasting about her 29-year-old husband’s 82,500-yuan monthly pay at top financial services company, China International Capital Corporation.

People were stunned by the huge gap between what a finance worker was getting paid and their own wages. The average monthly salary in the country’s richest city, Shanghai, was just over 12,000 yuan.

It reignited a debate about incomes in the industry that had been started by another salary-flaunting online user earlier that year.

Those posts came just months after Xi called for “common prosperity” – a policy to narrow the growing wealth gap.

In August 2022, China’s finance ministry published new rules requiring firms to “optimise the internal income distribution and scientifically design the salary system”.

The following year, the country’s top corruption watchdog criticised the ideas of “finance elites” and the “only money matters” approach, making finance a clearer target for the country’s ongoing anti-corruption campaign.

The changes came in a sweeping but discreet way, according to Alex*, a manager at a state-controlled bank in China’s capital, Beijing.

“You would not see the order put into written words – even if there is [an official] document it’s certainly not for people on our level to see. But everyone knows there is a cap on it [salaries] now. We just don’t know how much the cap is.”

Alex says employers are also struggling to deal with the pace of the crackdown: “In many banks, the orders could change unexpectedly fast.”

“They would issue the annual guidance in February, and by June or July, they would realise that the payment of salaries has exceeded the requirement. They then would come up with ways to set up performance goals to deduct people’s pay.”

Mr Chen says his workload has shrunk significantly as the number of companies launching shares on the stock market has fallen. Foreign investment has decreased in China, and domestic businesses have also turned cautious – because of the crackdowns and weak consumption.

In the past his work often involved new projects that would bring money into his firm. Now his days are mostly filled with chores like organising the data from his previous projects.

“The morale of the team has been very low, the discussion behind the bosses backs are mostly negative. People are talking what to do in three to five years.”

It’s hard to estimate if people are leaving the industry in large numbers, although there have been some layoffs. Jobs are also scarce in China now, so even a lower-paying finance job is still worth keeping.

But the frustration is evident. A user on Xiaohongshu compared switching jobs to changing seats – except, he wrote, “if you stand up you might find your seat is gone.”

Mr Chen says that it’s not just the authorities that have fallen out of love with finance workers, it’s Chinese society in general.

“We are no longer wanted even for a blind date. You would be told not to go once they hear you work in finance.”

What if someone told you mermaids were real?

Forget the fish tails, we mean women capable of holding their breath for minutes on end as they dive under the sea several hundred times a day.

These are the haenyeo divers of South Korea, a community of women from Jeju Island who have been free-diving (without oxygen) to harvest seafood for centuries.

Now, with most of them in their 60s, 70s and 80s, their traditions and way of life are in danger as fewer younger women take up the profession, and with the ocean potentially changing beyond recognition.

It’s these facts that prompted US-Korean film-maker Sue Kim to team up with female education advocate and Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafazai to share their story with the world, in their film The Last of the Sea Women.

The daughter of Korean immigrants, US-born Kim first came across the haenyeo when she was a child, holidaying in South Korea.

“I was so struck by them for the same reasons that you see in the film – they were so incredibly bold and vibrant and confident. They were also so loud… fighting and laughing, and they just gave off this very big energy and occupied their space so unapologetically,” says Kim.

“I just fell in love with that entire vibe and big energy when I was a little girl. And so I grew up staying fascinated with them. They were a version of Korean womanhood that I was inspired by and wanted to emulate,” she adds.

“I was so shocked that I did not know about the haenyeo, like so many people did not know, I said yes straight away,” explains Malala, who was a producer on the film.

“The story really took on an urgency about 10 years ago when I found out that this was probably the last generation of the haenyeo,” explains Kim. “It became more of an urgent mandate to make sure someone documented… while we still had them and while they could still tell us their own story in their own words.”

The film follows the women going about their gruelling work during the harvest season and examines the challenges they face both in and out of the water.

They head out to dive at 6am daily. They hold their breath for a couple of minutes, come back up to the surface and go back down again – between 100 and 300 times a session.

Just imagine the fitness levels. They harvest for four hours and then spend another three or four shelling and preparing their catch.

There are various theories as to why women began to take over this traditionally male job so many years ago. The Visit Jeju website states that the number of men was low overall in the population due to a high portion of them dying on the rough seas while boat fishing.

As a result, there weren’t many men to harvest the ocean, so women gradually took over the job.

This is the first major documentary about the haenyeo and Kim says it was hard to gain access.

“The haenyeo communities, they’re very insular,” she explains.

“They’re rural communities that live in fishing villages. They don’t interact with the cities of Jeju much.”

Kim found a researcher who had a history with NGOs and had contacts in the community.

“So this woman… introduced us, then I went down and I basically spent two weeks with… the Haenyeo communities and really gaining their trust. And I did that by mostly listening.

“They actually wanted to talk about all the things that were happening to them.

“They wanted to talk about the fact that they felt that they were on the verge of extinction. They wanted to talk about what was happening to the ocean that no-one seemed to know about or care about.”

Kim says she had to reassure the women that she wouldn’t stereotype them or pity them for working into old age.

“They love working! They think they’re so strong and empowered by doing so.”

Kim told them she would show them in their “true power.”

“‘I promise I will not take on this sad grandma trope because that’s not how I see you, I see you as heroes’,” she explained to the group.

“After that, we became a family.”

The risks are big. There is no insurance available for the job, as it’s too dangerous. And now the ocean – and the women’s livelihood – is under threat.

Global warming is resulting in less sea life, particularly in shallow water; diving deeper is more difficult without oxygen.

Much of the film focuses on the women’s protests against the radioactive water from Japan’s Fukishima plant being discharged into the ocean (Jeju borders Japan), which takes one of the haeneyeos, Soon Deok Jang, directly to the UN’s Human Rights Council in Geneva.

The message from experts is, overwhelmingly, that the release is safe and it got the green light from the International Atomic Energy Agency – but not all scientists agree on the impact it will have.

While the haenyeo do harvest marine life, there are regulations in place about when they’re allowed to harvest certain seafood, which helps to protect the ecosystem.

Another reason they don’t use oxygen tanks is because “they believe that by holding their breath, that will allow them the natural amount of marine life that they should harvest”, Kim explains, which helps avoid overfishing.

Perhaps the bigger threat though, is from within, with fewer younger women choosing to pursue this difficult profession.

A training school was set up in the early 2000s to try to stem the dwindling numbers but only 5% of those attending go on to become haenyeos.

All is not lost though. The film introduces us to two young women from another island who have found a following on social media and point out the flexible hours the job can offer around family life. One of them had to learn to swim at the age of 30 to do the job.

The older women meet with them for festivals and protests – they call them “their babies” while they are named “aunties” in return.

Yousafzai is inspired: “When I look at the haenyeo and how they work together, it just reminds me of the collective work that women are doing everywhere else, including the advocacy that Afghan woman are doing to raise awareness of the systematic oppression they are facing.”

“When a girl is watching this documentary, I want her to believe in herself and realise that she can do anything. She can stay under the water for two to three minutes without oxygen,” she says. “And of course I still have to take some swimming classes to learn how to swim! I’m at point zero, but it has inspired me to consider swimming.”

Three months after a 13-year-old girl left Gaza for medical treatment, she is in intensive care in a UAE hospital after complications from surgery.

Lamis Abusalim has severe scoliosis that, if left untreated, could compress her lungs and eventually kill her. Before her surgery she spent most of the time on her back, because when she sat up, she struggled for air.

But during an operation to correct her condition on 4 October, her heart stopped three times, her mother said. Doctors told the family the girl had suffered some brain damage.

It is a devastating setback for Lamis and her family, who had spent months trying to escape the war in Gaza to get medical help. Their story was mentioned in BBC coverage of a wider evacuation in July.

Lamis had been due to undergo treatment in Jerusalem last October following three unsuccessful operations in Gaza.

But since the start of Israel’s military offensive following the Hamas attacks on Israel on 7 October, most of Gaza’s residents have been unable to leave the territory.

Eventually, Lamis and her mother were able to get on a list to evacuate with the help of international organisations.

After the complicated surgery, the family is now seeking help to transfer Lamis to the UK or another country for further treatment, although it would be difficult to move her.

“All kids have the right to live in a safe place, in a good place, and seek treatment,” said her mother, Shatha. “The kids are not the ones who make the conflict.”

The months-long, multi-national effort to evacuate Lamis reveals how hard it is for Palestinians in Gaza to access medical care.

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

The Israeli military offensive that followed has killed more than 42,000 people in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.

The bombardments have closed hospitals, killed doctors, and overwhelmed remaining facilities with casualties.

The Israeli military says it has attacked some hospitals because, it says, Hamas combatants have been using them as bases. Hamas denies this.

Before the war, Lamis, a “beautiful child” and youngest of five, loved drawing and attending her special education school, her mother said.

At six months old she was diagnosed with a genetic white matter disease.

Dr Joshua Bonkowsky, a professor of paediatric neurology at University of Utah Health said it was a category of brain disease that leaves a third of children dead by the age of eight.

He was not familiar with Lamis’ case.

Barely any of the diseases are curable, but treatment is available for resulting conditions.

In January, the health ministry in Gaza referred Lamis for treatment abroad for her scoliosis. The ministry recorded that she had respiratory compromise and difficulty swallowing food, and recommended surgery.

Her family reached out to charity HEAL Palestine, which arranged treatment with a US hospital, while an Israeli NGO, Gisha, sought security clearance for evacuation.

In June, Lamis received clearance a day before an evacuation via the Israeli-controlled Kerem Shalom crossing, but did not get on the list in time to leave, according to Gisha.

Then, in late July, her mother received a call from the World Health Organization (WHO) that she and her daughter would be evacuating.

After a last-minute delay – which led Shatha to take her daughter on a two-hour journey back home to Deir al-Balah in central Gaza – they received another call the next day saying the evacuation was back on.

Shatha said goodbye to her husband without knowing when they would see each other again.

“It was really difficult for me,” Shatha said. “I did not want to look back.”

Shatha boarded the bus to depart Gaza carrying only a handbag and Lamis on her back, as they had to leave the girl’s wheelchair and bags packed with clothes.

Lamis cried in pain on the bus ride to the border with Israel, where they took another bus before boarding a flight to the UAE.

On a call in August, Shatha told the BBC she had “finally achieved this dream”.

Lamis is one of 229 patients to have left Gaza since May, according to WHO.

Almost 4,900 patients – 35% of those who submitted requests – evacuated through the Rafah crossing into Egypt from November until May, when Israel launched a ground offensive and seized control of the Gazan side of the crossing.

An estimated 12,000 patients still need evacuation.

WHO director Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has said people are “suffering needlessly“ and urged the “establishment of evacuation corridors via all possible routes”.

Cogat, the Israeli military body responsible for humanitarian affairs in Gaza, told the BBC Israel was “actively working on multiple fronts to establish a mechanism for evacuating patients with complex medical conditions, who require further treatment outside the Gaza Strip”.

The agency said Israel was in “constant communication” with aid organisations, health authorities and countries, and reviewed evacuation requests, providing an “appropriate response, subject to security arrangements“.

Since arriving in the UAE, the government has paid for Lamis’ accommodation, pocket money and stay in hospital, where on Friday she remained in a critical condition.

Her mother said that “the most important thing is to get Lamis good treatment.”

A longtime resident of the north Detroit suburb of Warren, Michigan, Doug spends part of his days building electric vehicles for Ford as a machine repairman.

But he would never buy one.

A former Democrat and unionised auto worker, Doug – who declined to share his name for fear of pushback from his union – is exactly the type of Michigan voter Donald Trump is working to recruit and Kamala Harris is eager to win back.

With less than a month before election day, the former president has been stoking fears in the state that Harris wants to ban gas-powered vehicles and that auto workers could lose their jobs in the push to electrify cars. The message is resonating with Doug and some other Michigan voters who spoke to the BBC.

“It could definitely cost us our jobs, and it already has cost a lot of people their jobs,” Doug told the BBC on a sunny October day outside a Meijer supermarket in Warren.

Harris has pushed back on Trump’s rhetoric, telling voters at a rally in Flint, Michigan, last week that her administration would not put a stop to vehicles that use petrol. The vice-president endorsed phasing out petrol cars when she ran for president in 2019, but has since reversed her support for the policy.

“Michigan, let us be clear,” she said in Flint, “Contrary to what my opponent is suggesting, I will never tell you what kind of car you have to drive.”

Experts say Trump’s electric vehicle criticism is his Michigan spin on a broader economic message as he tries to appeal to voters in the key midwestern swing state.

Speaking to a crowd of hundreds at a Detroit Economic Club event on Thursday, the former president doubled down on the message, saying that United Automobile Workers president Shawn Fain wanted “all electric cars”, a move Trump said was costing the auto industry their “whole business”.

“That has just become a front message of Republicans: that these plans or hopes to electrify the vehicles are going to destroy the auto industry and take away jobs,” said Jonathan Hanson, a lecturer at University of Michigan’s Gerald R Ford School of Public Policy.

And Harris’s challenges to that message haven’t broken through to some Michigan voters, who still believe Trump’s claim that Harris wants a country of entirely electric vehicles.

“I don’t trust them,” 82-year-old Warren resident Ruth Zimmer said of electric cars. “I want it to be the way it always was, with a good, old-fashioned car.”

On Friday in Michigan, Harris’s running mate Minnesota Governor Tim Walz tried to appeal to those sceptical of electric vehicles and took aim at Trump’s comments about mandates.

“It should just be your choice. We need to make those choices affordable and available to people,” he said. “Nobody’s mandating anything to you. If you want to drive, like I do, a ‘79 International Harvester Scout that is sweet as hell … knock yourself out.”

Walz and Trump’s visits to the state comes as recent polls suggest Harris’s support may be slipping slightly in the key battleground state. A September poll from Quinnipiac University found Trump ahead by three points in Michigan, after other polls suggested Harris had been leading by a slim margin for the past month.

Trump’s attacks on electric vehicles are also complicated by one of his biggest supporters, billionaire Elon Musk, the founder of Tesla, an electric car company. Musk has endorsed Trump and appeared at his rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, last week, cheering him on from behind the podium.

Appealing to the state’s automobile and union worker population – once a staunchly Democratic voting bloc – will prove key for Harris and Trump to close the gap in Michigan, experts say.

Trump picked up a number of these voters in the state in his 2016 race against Hillary Clinton, though President Joe Biden won some of their votes back in 2020. Nationally, Clinton ended up winning 51% of union households, compared to Trump’s 42%, in a race she lost in Michigan by some 10,000 votes. Biden won union households 56% to 40%, according to 2020 exit polls.

Some former Democratic union workers in Michigan have grown disillusioned with the party as the cost of living has risen. Doug, the Warren resident, said adding that pressure from his union leadership to stay in line with Democrats had turned him off.

“You must be a Democrat, or you’re totally exiled,” Doug said.

Harris, he added, was just President Joe Biden “in a nutshell”.

The vice-president is struggling to win over the labour vote more than Biden, who had cast himself as the most pro-union president in history. Though Harris and Walz have key labour endorsements, they’ve struggled to earn support from rank-and-file union members.

For the first time in three decades, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters – the largest union in the country – declined to endorse a presidential candidate, finding a majority of its rank-and-file members supported Trump.

In Michigan, where the automotive and transportation industry employ 20% of the workforce, Democrats are not getting as much credit as they had hoped for their electric vehicle investments in the state, said Matt Grossmann, a politics professor at Michigan State University.

This year, the Biden-Harris Administration announced a $1.7b (£1.3b) investment to convert shuttered and struggling auto plants in Michigan and several other mid-western states to manufacture electric vehicles and parts of their supply chain.

“Many in the auto industry and surrounding it don’t necessarily think that that would benefit Michigan,” Mr Grossmann said.

Automakers broadly seem to be on board with shifting their fleets over to more electric vehicles, Mr Hanson said, but the transition is expensive and requires complementary investments in factories for special materials such as batteries.

As a part of the nearly $2b federal investment, a General Motors factory in Lansing, Michigan, has received $500m to shift production from petrol to electric vehicles.

In Detroit just two days before Trump arrived, his Republican running mate JD Vance said the Lansing investment was “table scraps” compared to the job losses that would be on the horizon from the shift to electric vehicles.

Kevin Moore, the president of the Teamsters union in Michigan, called Trump and Vance’s electric vehicle claims a “bold-faced lie”.

“They’re not going to get rid of combustible, gas vehicles,” he told the BBC. “They can coincide together.”

His group – and several Teamsters unions in swing states – have endorsed Harris for president.

Moore said he believed Michigan workers would not buy into Trump’s statement that electrification would cost auto workers their jobs.

“They’re astute,” he said of auto workers. “Donald Trump was a gold spoon-fed billionaire. [Harris] lived her life in middle-class America.”

EXPLAINER: What Harris or Trump would do in power

ANALYSIS: What could be the ‘October Surprise’?

FACT-CHECK: Debunking Trump claim about hurricane funds

Actress Lupita Nyong’o has condemned the Kenyan authorities’ crackdown on huge anti-tax protests that began in June.

Demonstrators were met with police brutality, according to rights groups, with dozens of people killed and numerous others abducted.

Nyong’o, whose father was jailed and tortured under a former president, Daniel arap Moi, told the BBC: “It is chilling to know that this government is resorting to tactics that I had thought had been left in the past.”

In response, the government said it was not possible to compare two “very different” administrations and that it “regrets any death that occurred”.

But Nyong’o, an Oscar winner who grew up in Kenya but now lives in the US, said the government’s handling of the protests was “upsetting”.

“The more things change. the more they stay the same… I don’t know how this story ends,” said Nyong’o, who has starred in Hollywood hits like 12 Years a Slave and Black Panther, during an interview about her new podcast.

• Was there a massacre after Kenya’s anti-tax protests?
• Batons, tear gas, live fire – Kenyans face police brutality

Her father, Anyang’ Nyong’o, is currently a county governor in Kenya and acting leader of the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM), one of the country’s main political parties.

The governing United Democratic Alliance (UDA) brought ODM politicians into the government in July, as part of a series of measures aimed at placating the protesters.

In the 1980s, Anyang’ Nyong’o, a political science professor at the time, was among a group of academics who organised against Moi’s regime.

Moi, in office from 1978 to 2002, ruled Kenya with an iron fist and ruthlessly suppressed his political opponents.

After Lupita Nyong’o’s uncle, also an activist, disappeared, the family fled to Mexico. Her uncle’s body has never been found, but according to local reports, the family believes he was pushed off a boat.

“I am deeply grateful for the younger people who are on the front lines fighting for a different Kenya,” Lupita Nyong’o said of this generation’s protesters.

Isaac Mwaura, spokesperson for the current Kenyan government, told the BBC that the authorities were “very co-operative with the protesters and acceded to the demands, including the president not assenting to the finance bill”. It was controversial tax measures in that bill that sparked the trouble.

As for reports that people were killed during the demonstrations, Mwaura said: “Only police statistics are official. The government regrets any death that occurred during the protests and anyone who may have caused such will be held responsible following the rule of law.”

Nyong’o detailed her father’s ordeal in the latest episode of her storytelling podcast, Mind Your Own.

In it, Nyong’o and other African contributors tell entertaining real-life tales in order to explore what it means to be from the continent.

So far in the series, accounts have hailed from Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya, Rwanda and the diaspora.

Nyong’o tells her dad’s story in an episode named The Freedom Fathers – the only one so far where politics and oppression are mentioned.

This is intentional – the actress said she wanted to focus on “quirky”, “peculiar” tales rather than well-trodden subjects such as conflict, disaster and poverty.

“I think that all too often we can be narrow about our idea of what is African… I wanted to stay away from the hot button issues that are in the news, that are making it across the globe, because those already exist,” she said.

“What are the stories that we don’t know about – an ordinary person going through an extraordinary situation?”

Although Mind Your Own was produced by American company Snap Studios, numerous African creatives were hired to work behind the scenes.

For example, the podcast’s cover art was made by Mateus Sithole, an artist Nyong’o met in Mozambique, while Nigerian-American musician Sandra Lawson-Ndu did the theme song.

“I really wanted to have as many African hands touch this project as possible. I wanted to send a message, a clear message… this is by and for Africans, without it being exclusionary of anybody else,” Nyong’o said.

However, she acknowledges that it is not possible to encapsulate the entire continent, comprising 54 countries, in one podcast.

“There’s absolutely no way that I would task myself in trying to give the ultimate or comprehensive thesis of Africa – that’s crazy!” she said.

“Africa is going to be as as malleable and as changeable as the people who come from there.

“So we’re never going to be done telling our own stories.”

• Horror film Us took an emotional toll on me, Lupita Nyong’o says
• Blitz Bazawule – the Ghanaian who dazzled Beyoncé takes on The Color Purple
• Idris Elba’s studio plan sparks dreams of ‘Zollywood’

A Welsh adventurer has kayaked the length of one of the world’s most remote rivers in a 37-day journey, setting a new world record and helping wildlife conservation.

Ash Dykes from Old Colwyn, Conwy, was last week part of a team that was the first to travel from the source of the Coppename river in Suriname in South America to the Atlantic Ocean.

The 33-year-old and his three fellow kayakers faced venomous scorpions, snakes, tarantulas and stingrays on their 380-mile (611km) journey through the Amazon rainforest.

“We didn’t come across any community, any people, any means to charge [a satellite phone], any means to collect food,” he said.

It is the latest adventure for Dykes, whose previous challenges include becoming the first person to trek the length of China’s river Yangtze solo.

Suriname has some of the most impenetrable jungle in the world, covering 93% of the country.

The Coppename river runs through the middle of the rainforest and is teeming with wildlife.

Dykes said he and the team bathed in the river at night with electric eel, caiman, sting rays, giant river otters and piranha.

“You’re wearing the head torch because it’s night time and you’ve got all of these different coloured eye balls, and you can identify what is what,” he said.

After carrying out research, they got the green light from Guinness World Records that a first was up for grabs.

“There was no evidence to suggest that anyone had ever been to the source, that it had even been mapped,” he said.

Dykes and wildlife experts Dick Lock and Matt Wallace, along with cameraman Jacob Hudson, were dropped off by a helicopter which landed on a small sand bank.

When the roar of the helicopter was replaced by the sound of the Amazon rainforest, the magnitude of the challenge became clear.

“That was a pretty intimidating and terrifying scene,” Dykes said.

“Knowing that if we stand on the back end of a snake, or if we make a mistake, you might not even find us again.”

During a hike upstream to find the source of the river, Dykes smashed his feet into rocks and lost three toe nails, splitting his toe open.

The team also had to leave their kayaks at a base camp they set up when it became impossible to head further upstream, hiking through the jungle using machetes for five days.

After finding the source, they undertook a separate challenge.

This was to set a world record in becoming the fastest team to hike up Suriname’s highest mountain, Juliana Top – and they succeeded.

From there they made their way back to the source and back to the kayaks.

They travelled to Suriname’s second -highest mountain where they created another base camp to try and set a third world record.

This time they failed to meet the top, falling short by about 3km (1.86 miles) or 150m (492ft) in altitude.

“It was pretty devastating,” Dykes said.

Their 11-day-hike was hampered by impenetrable rainforest, with the team covering just a few hundred metres in a whole day.

“We decided that if we pushed on we would be another four to five days without food. No guarantee of water,” he said.

“It would simply be too reckless.”

Once back in their kayaks, they travelled another 500km (310 miles) to the Atlantic Ocean.

They slept in their kayaks or on sand banks at night.

“We would stop about two hours before sunset, hang up the hammocks, get ready and then we would start fishing,” Ash said.

They caught piranha, wolf fish, sting ray, which they ate along with adventure food rations, and drank water from the river.

“We were borderline starving,” he said.

We would be burning about 6,000 to 7,000 calories and some days we would take in 600 to 1,000 calories.”

They had just four table spoons of oats for breakfast, shared a bag of peanuts on a six-hour hike and then ate lentils in the evening when they could not catch fish.

“I’ve never thought about food so much in my life,” he added.

His biggest fear was being stung by a sting ray while fighting the current as he was dragging his kayak over rapids.

“If you step on one of them and they catch you with the barb, that’s pretty much evacuation,” he said.

He also had to carry his deflated kayak through the jungle, watching out for tarantulas, snakes and scorpions, which was “very draining”, Dykes said.

“Every single night there was an hour-long routine of pulling ticks out of your skin,” he added.

“It must have been at least 400 ticks between us throughout the journey.”

He learned rather than fearing the wildlife, he needed to live alongside it.

“We just got so used to it,” Dykes said.

“Accidents can happen, and maybe a wolf fish or a piranha will try to take a chunk out of you, but ultimately they’re not really there to get you,” he said.

The singer Cher’s conservation charity Free the Wild helped fund the expedition with the aim of documenting the wildlife and the effect human activity has on it.

“There were many animals that we came across that had probably never seen a human before,” Dykes said.

“The jaguar and the capybara were so curious. They didn’t run.”

As they approached the sea, the river became tidal.

The banks were muddy and they couldn’t find anywhere to sleep, so they tied themselves to a tree, trying to sleep in their kayak before being woken by mosquitoes.

Once the current had changed, they paddled ahead on the river.

“We had under five hours of sleep over the course of three nights and four days,” he said.

“Those last three days were pretty brutal.”

As they entered the Atlantic, feeling the waves and smelling the salty air, their world record was confirmed.

“It was a great feeling because we had all been battered in different ways,” Dykes said.

“We all made it.”

Nihon Hidankyo, a Japanese group of atomic bomb survivors, has won the 2024 Nobel Peace Prize.

Known as hibakusha, the survivors of the 1945 bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki have been recognised by the Norwegian Nobel Committee for efforts to rid the world of nuclear weapons.

Nobel Committee Chair Joergen Watne Frydnes said the group had “contributed greatly to the establishment of the nuclear taboo”.

Mr Frydnes warned the “nuclear taboo” was now “under pressure” – and praised the group’s use of witness testimony to ensure nuclear weapons must never be used again.

Founded in 1956, the organisation sends survivors around the world to share their testimonies of the “atrocious damage” and suffering caused by the use of nuclear weapons, according to its website.

Their work began almost a decade after the devastation of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

On 6 August 1945, a US bomber dropped the uranium bomb above the city of Hiroshima, killing around 140,000 people.

Three days later a second nuclear weapon was dropped on Nagasaki. Japan’s surrender, announced by Emperor Hirohito shortly afterwards, ended World War Two.

Speaking to reporters in Japan, a tearful Toshiyuki Mimaki, the co-head of the group, said: “Never did I dream this could happen,” the AFP news agency quotes him as saying.

Mr Mimaki criticised the idea that nuclear weapons bring peace. “It has been said that because of nuclear weapons, the world maintains peace. But nuclear weapons can be used by terrorists,” Mr Mimaki said, according to reports by AFP.

In a BBC interview last year, he said despite only being three years old at the time the nuclear bomb hit Hiroshima – he could still remember dazed and burnt survivors fleeing past his home.

The prize – which consist of a diploma, a gold medal and a sum of $1m (£765,800) – will be presented at a ceremonies in Oslo in December, marking the anniversary of the death of the scientist and prize creator Alfred Nobel.

The group has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize “many times” in the past, including in 2005 when it received a special mention by the Norwegian Nobel Committee, its website says.

The decision to recognise Nihon Hidankyo means the Nobel committee has steered away from more controversial nominees for the peace prize.

There had been widespread speculation the United Nations agency supporting Palestinians – UNRWA – was being considered for the prize.

Although the organisation is the main provider of humanitarian aid to civilians in Gaza, nine of its members were fired for alleged involvement in the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7 last year.

More than 12,000 people had signed a petition urging the committee not to award UNRWA the prize.

There were equal concerns about the nomination of the International Court of Justice.

The UN’s main judicial organ is currently considering allegations that Israel has committed genocide in Gaza and has already issued a statement urging the Israeli authorities to refrain from genocidal acts.

But while giving the prize to Nihon Hidankyo may be a non-controversial choice, it could also focus global attention on the threat of nuclear conflict which overshadows the fighting in both Ukraine and the Middle East.

Throughout Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, its leaders have repeatedly hinted that they may be ready to use tactical nuclear weapons if western allies increase their support for Ukraine in a way Russia considers unacceptable.

These threats have succeeded in restraining western support for fear of escalation.

In the Middle East, the subtext for much of Israel’s strategy is the fear that Iran is seeking nuclear capability, something Tehran denies.

The Nobel committee’s decision may renew a debate about the use of nuclear weapons at a time when some countries look enviously at their deterring power.

This year’s peace prize had 286 nominations, a number comprising 197 individuals and 89 organisations.

Nominations can be made by people in positions of significant authority, including members of national assemblies, governments and international courts of law.

Iranian human rights activist Narges Mohammadi won the prize in 2023, when she was honoured for her work fighting the oppression of women in Iran.

Ms Mohammadi is currently being held in Evin prison in Tehran, having already spent 12 years in jail serving multiple sentences related to her activism.

A 300-year-old gravestone commemorating a woman who was mauled to death by a tiger has been restored.

Hannah Twynnoy was living in Malmesbury in the 18th Century when the animal, thought to have been part of a travelling menagerie housed in a pub yard, escaped and attacked her.

Her gruesome death, aged just 33, has attracted visitors to her grave in the grounds of Malmesbury Abbey ever since.

The inscription on her headstone had become so illegible that, prompted by a local campaign, masonry restorers were brought in to spruce it up.

Hannah Twynnoy was working as a servant in the White Lion Inn when she died on 23 October 1703.

Believed to be the first person to be killed by a tiger in England, the exact nature of her death is unknown as nothing was written about it until about 100 years later.

However, according to local history, the pub accommodated wild beasts for exhibition, one of which was a tiger.

Despite being told regularly not to tease the animals, it is believed that Hannah taunted the tiger, which lunged at her, pulled its fixing from the wall and “tore her to pieces”.

Local historian Christina Staff told BBC Wiltshire that it was unlikely Hannah’s family would have been able to afford an elaborate headstone and somebody else would have paid for her burial.

“It would have cost a fair bit to put that (the headstone) there, but maybe the people who were responsible for her dying, through their guilt, could have supplied it,” she said.

A poem carved on the stone includes the line, “For tyger fierce took life away”; a detail which has regularly drawn curious onlookers to the graveyard.

“(Her headstone) might not be contemporary; it could have been a bit later when people realised the story brought trade to the town,” added Ms Staff.

Malmesbury undertaker Chris Brooks said: “The restoration all came about because you couldn’t really make out the inscription properly.

“Somebody wrote into the community magazine, the Jackdaw, and then everyone became involved.

“All the letters have been repainted by hand. We wanted to protect the lichen and to make sure the stone was still in keeping with the surroundings.”

At least 200 creepy crawlies and some slitherers have accidentally made their way to the UK through parcels or luggage this year, according to an expert who rescues them.

Chris Newman, from the National Centre for Reptile Welfare (NCRW), told the BBC there seemed to be a “worrying” increase in cases, with three venomous scorpions appearing to have been shipped from China in the last month.

“We’ve had 200 stowaways this year. Twelve have been scorpions and three of those have been within the last month – the same species of scorpion from China,” he said.

It comes as a student from the University of Bristol discovered a live scorpion when she opened a clothing parcel from fast-fashion firm Shein, while a couple from Basingstoke told the BBC they were shocked to find a scorpion in a package ordered from Amazon last month.

Mr Newman said the apparent spike in cases reported to the charity has been concerning.

“In the scale of things, I’m sure there’s millions of packages coming in from China, but to have three in the last month is worrying,” he said.

However, he said it was important to see it in context, adding: “Overall, it’s a rare occurrence.”

Mr Newman described Chinese species of scorpion seen in Bristol, as “medically significant” and “very venomous”.

They could be “life threatening”, particularly for those more vulnerable, he said, but “an average adult would just have a really bad day”.

Claire and Joe Branscombe bought a treadmill from a third-party seller on Amazon with a warehouse address in China.

“Our cat was very interested in a package that had been delivered to us, we hadn’t had a chance to open it yet,” Mrs Branscombe said.

“She was scratching at the corners, so we took a closer look and to our horror a live scorpion crawled out of the box.

“We were screaming: ‘What is this?’

“We went into total shock.”

They said scientists they contacted after making the find had identified it as an scorpion.

“It’s funny, you wouldn’t bat an eyelid if one ran across you in a hot climate, but in our living room in Hampshire, we thought it was an alien,” Mrs Branscombe added.

Terrified that there could be more scorpions inside, the couple put the treadmill out in the garden as they “didn’t know what else was going to be there”.

The next morning, Mr Branscombe – armed with insect spray, gloves and other garden tools – checked it over and found no further stowaways.

The couple said they complained to both the company and to Amazon.

The company told them it had never happened before and said it was reviewing CCTV, while Amazon apologised to them for the situation and offered a partial refund on behalf of the seller.

An Amazon spokeswoman apologised and said: “Thankfully this is an incredibly rare case and we have apologised, refunded the customer, and are investigating with the third-party seller.”

Mr Newman said the three scorpions he was aware of had come from different companies.

“So it’s not the same company, but it seems to be a problem that’s occurring from China,” he said.

He said 12 scorpions which had come to the UK had been reported to NCRW this year with “most coming back in people’s luggage”.

“One lady went to Mexico and brought one back in her shoe by accident. It was a very dangerous scorpion too,” he said.

“It’s quite surprising what does actually come back. We’ve had a total of 127 different species of animals come back as stowaways.”

The centre has seen everything from a European tree frog in a home furnishings store, to a venomous spider in a case of Australian wine.

If someone finds a reptile or other exotic creature in their package or luggage, Mr Newman said “the most important thing to do is try not to touch it by hand”.

Instead, he advises people to get a glass or Tupperware to contain it. Then give them a call.

“Earlier this week, we’ve had a hermit crab that came back from Malta in a shell,” he said.

“We get lizards, scorpions, snakes, toads, frogs. We get all sorts of things come in.

“Quite often people would let them go, which is the worst thing you could do. Technically its illegal to release a non-native species in this country.”

On the scorpion found in Bristol, Mr Newman said: “They are not particularly aggressive but they will defend themselves if they feel threatened.

“And the poor little chaps just come all the way from China in a parcel so he’s been banged about so he’s probably not in the greatest mood if I’m honest.

“We are seeing more scorpions this year, from all over the world.

“If you find something in a parcel. Try to secure it, but work on the premise it could be harmful. Give us a call and we’ll give you advice on what to do from there and we’ll come to collect it.”

The centre’s emergency service operates 24/7 all year round and has 100 drop-off points across the UK. Alternatively, if it is a dangerous species, a collection service is offered.

Once the animal has been established, it is found a new home.

“Some will stay with us for education purposes, but mostly we find them new homes,” Mr Newman said.

“Those that are rare or endangered would go to zoos and institutions, others will go to private keepers.”

The service has seen a spike in the past month but this may be down to more people becoming aware of it after they signposted it on their website.

Mr Newman said he still thought “very few people find us”, adding: “I suspect we are just seeing the tip of the iceberg.”

It is an offence under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 to release any creature not normally resident in Great Britain into the wild. The UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology can be contacted if people find a creature they suspect is non-native.

A former Great Britain athlete has died at the age of 28, his running club has said.

Robbie Fitzgibbon, a middle distance runner, represented his country at several international events.

His club, Brighton Phoenix, described him as “one of our most cherished athletes”.

A statement said he was “a friend to many, and a source of motivation for all who had the privilege of knowing him”.

It added: “Robbie was the epitome of a runner’s runner, embodying everything we value at Phoenix.”

Robbie Fitzgibbon joined Brighton Phoenix as a junior, and through “dedication, relentless hard work, and determination”, he became a GB senior international-level athlete, the club said.

In 2019 he competed in the senior indoor European Championships, reaching the final, and went on to compete in several Diamond League races.

His coach and mentor, Joel Kidger, said: “Robbie was talented but, even more so, a hard worker.

“He was gritty, determined, and usually got to where he wanted.”

Charlie Grice, his training partner, paid tribute, saying: “You were a true fighter who always gave your best.”

In recent years, Fitzgibbon took a step back from track running, moving from middle-distance to long distance races.

He had been preparing to run the 2025 Brighton Marathon in aid of the charity Mind.

His father Robin will now run in his place, the club has announced.

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While millions of people in Florida fled Hurricane Milton, Mike Smalls Jr ventured into the violent winds in Tampa, Florida, holding a blow-up mattress, an umbrella and a pack of ramen noodles.

He went outside Wednesday evening as the storm pounded the US state and livestreamed on the platform Kick. He told his online audience if he reached 10,000 views, he would launch himself and his mattress into the water.

Once he hit the threshold, he took the plunge. Then he got worried: “The wind started picking up and I don’t know how to swim…so I had to grab on to the tree.”

The area was under an evacuation order – meaning residents had been advised by local officials to leave their homes, for their own safety.

Mike’s hour-long stream from Tampa Bay has more than 60,000 views on the streaming platform Kick, and has been seen by millions after being clipped up and posted on other social-media platforms, including X.

Live streaming – filming yourself in real time – has become increasingly lucrative for content creators looking to make quick money.

But these streams can involve dangerous stunts, as content creators try to stand out in an increasingly competitive environment.

Many people have criticised Mike’s behaviour on social media, suggesting he’s risking his life for clicks.

He made it safely – and told me he’d do the risky stunt again, “if the price is right”.

When asked about the backlash, he admits what he did was “controversial” and acknowledges that some might think he is risking not just his life, but the lives of those who might have to save him. But, he added: “From a content creator standpoint, people like to see kind of edgy things.”

• ‘The tornado was inside our house’ – Florida reels after Milton
• ‘It’s eerie to see its power’ – Florida woman documents 20 hours in hurricane’s path in messages to BBC
• Helene is deadliest mainland US hurricane since Katrina

The Tampa Police Department said in a statement: “Ignoring mandatory evacuation orders puts lives at risk. When individuals disregard these warnings, they not only jeopardise their own safety, but also create additional challenges for first responders who are working tirelessly to save lives.

“Intentionally placing oneself in harm’s way could divert critical resources and delay vital rescue operations for others.”

Hundreds of people have died during this year’s hurricane season, which has devastated parts of the US south-eastern coast.

Millions had been forced to evacuate as Hurricane Milton, which at its peak was measured as a category 5 storm, made landfall on Wednesday along Florida’s Gulf Coast. At least 16 people have died in the storm, millions are still without power and thousands had to be rescued by first responders as water overtook homes.

Hurricanes Helene and Milton have bookended an exceptionally busy period of tropical weather in the US. In less than two weeks, five hurricanes formed – not far off from what the Atlantic would typically see during an entire year.

Mike is one of a number of content creators on social media platforms, including Kick and TikTok, who have been livestreaming and making money from pulling reckless stunts and risking their lives in hurricanes.

Livestreaming content is Mike’s full-time job, he says.

Previous stunts posted on his profile include setting fireworks off inside a bedroom and winding up staff in fast-food restaurants.

His plan for livestreaming Hurricane Milton was: “Get some nice clips, and then, if things get too wild, I can, just, you know, track my little five, 10-minute walk back home,” he added.

This wasn’t the first time he’d exposed himself to danger.

A few weeks before Milton struck, he went out into Hurricane Helene – which also hit Florida – carrying a tent as a prop and livestreamed for more than five hours.

He filmed himself on his phone holding up the tent in an underpass, saying he was “going to survive the hurricane. Why? To entertain the people”.

Just metres away, the ocean was crashing over barriers.

“It’s my job just to entertain and think of creative things to entertain my chat. And if people want to, you know, if they’re inspired by what I do, I respect it,” he said, adding you have to gauge and “do things at your own risk”.

Platforms like Kick offer incentives: money for the number of views streamers get and donations from people who like what they’re doing.

Smalls Jr did not specify how much money he earned from this particular livestream, but said the metrics vary from streamers, with some making $300 to $400 per hour. He added he made enough from his latest stream to pay a few bills.

• No, Hurricane Milton was not ‘engineered’
• Explainer: Why is Hurricane Milton causing so many tornadoes in Florida

It might appear, Mike says, that he’s doing anything for views, but he says he takes safety very seriously. Despite not knowing how to swim, he insists that he assessed the risks.

He speaks with bravado after surviving the natural disaster: “I stayed here, and I didn’t die and I’m chilling.”

When asked to respond to specific questions on Smalls Jr and the platform’s responsibility, Kick said it is “a fiercely creator-first platform, and we do not influence the content our creators chose to stream. However, if that content breaches our Terms of Service, or is in any way illegal, then we can impose a ban or suspension”.

They did not comment when asked about whether Smalls Jr’s action breach their specific community guidelines which detail: “Safety First: Prioritise safety for yourself, your audience, the public and anyone else involved.”

TikTok told the BBC that their monetisation guidelines lay out how some content is not eligible to earn money through LIVE features, including “content that tricks or manipulates others… exploits controversial issues to bait engagement, or exploits the suffering of vulnerable people”.

Mike’s profile – and his hurricane content – is still available.

When asked about endangering the lives of emergency workers, Smalls Jr said he knows what he’s getting himself into.

“Don’t save me,” he said. “If I do another hurricane? All right. You ain’t got to say nothing. I do not want to put your life at risk. No.”

What do you want BBC Verify to investigate?

On Saturday morning, a message was posted on social media by the Israeli military’s Arabic spokesman warning people living in the ‘D5’ area of northern Gaza to move south. D5 is a square on the grid superimposed over maps of Gaza by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). It is a block that is split into several dozen smaller areas.

The message, the latest in a series, said: “The IDF is operating with great force against the terrorist organisations and will continue to do so for a long time. The designated area, including the shelters located there, is considered a dangerous combat zone. The area must be evacuated immediately via Salah al-Din Road to the humanitarian area.”

A map is attached with a large yellow arrow pointing from block D5 down to the south of Gaza. Salah al-Din Road is the main north-south route. The message is not promising a swift return to the places people have been living in, an area that has been pulverised by a year of repeated Israeli attacks. The heart of the message is that the IDF will be using “great force… for a long time”. In other words, don’t expect to come back any time soon.

The humanitarian area designated by Israel in the message is al-Mawasi, previously an agricultural area on the coast near Rafah. It is overcrowded and no safer than many other parts of Gaza. BBC Verify has tracked at least 18 airstrikes on the area.

Hamas has sent out its own messages to the 400,000 people left in northern Gaza, an area that was once the urban heartland of the Strip with a population of 1.4m. Hamas is telling them not to move. The south, they are told, is just as dangerous. As well as that, Hamas is warning them that they will not be allowed back.

Many people appear to be staying put, despite Israeli airstrikes and artillery bombardments. When I went down to an area overlooking northern Gaza I could hear explosions and see columns of smoke rising. The intensity reminded me of the first months of the war.

Some of the people who have stayed in northern Gaza when so many others have already fled south are doing so to remain with vulnerable relatives. Others are from families with connections to Hamas. Under the laws of war, that does not automatically make them belligerents.

One tactic that has been used over the last year by civilians who want to avoid IDF operations without taking their chances in the overcrowded and dangerous south of Gaza is to move elsewhere in the north, for example from Beit Hanoun to Gaza City, while the IDF is operating near their homes or shelters. When the army moves on, they return.

The IDF is trying to stop that happening, according to BBC colleagues who are daily contact with Palestinians in Gaza. It is channelling families who are moving in one direction only, down Salah al-Din, the main road to the south.

Israel does not allow journalists to enter Gaza to report the war, except for brief, rare and closely supervised trips with the IDF. Palestinian journalists who were there on 7 October still do brave work. The Committee to Protect Journalists says at least 128 Palestinian media workers in Gaza have been killed since the war began. In northern Gaza, since Israel went back on the offensive, they have been filming panic-stricken families as they flee, often with small children helping out by carrying oversized backpacks.

One of them sent out a brief interview with a woman called Manar al-Bayar who was rushing down the street carrying a toddler. She was saying as she half-walked, half-ran on the way out of Jabalia refugee camp that “they told us we had five minutes to leave the Fallujah school. Where do we go? In southern Gaza there are assassinations. In western Gaza they’re shelling people. Where do we go, oh God? God is our only chance.”

The journey is hard. Sometimes, Palestinians in Gaza say, people on the move are fired on by the IDF. It insists that Israeli soldiers observe strict rules of engagement that respect international humanitarian law.

But Medical Aid for Palestinians’ head of protection, Liz Allcock, says the evidence presented by wounded civilians suggest that they have been targeted.

“When we’re receiving patients in hospitals, a large number of those women and children and people of, if you like, non-combatant age are receiving direct shots to the head, to the spine, to the limbs, very indicative of the direct targeted attack.”

Once again, the UN and aid agencies who work in Gaza are saying that Israeli military pressure is deepening what is already a humanitarian catastrophe.

Desperate messages are being relayed from the remaining hospitals in northern Gaza, saying that they are running low on fuel to power the generators that keep the hospitals going, and keep badly wounded patients alive. Some hospitals report that their buildings have been attacked by the Israelis.

The suspicion among Palestinians, the UN and relief agencies is that the IDF is gradually adopting some or all of a new tactic to clear northern Gaza known as the “Generals’ Plan”. It was proposed by a group of retired senior officers led by Maj-Gen (ret) Giora Eiland, who is a former national security adviser.

Like most Israelis they are frustrated and angry that a year into the war Israel still has not achieved its war aims of destroying Hamas and freeing the hostages. The Generals’ Plan is a new idea that its instigators believe can, from Israel’s perspective, break the deadlock.

At its heart is the idea that Israel can force the surrender of Hamas and its leader Yahya Sinwar by increasing the pressure on the entire population of the north. The first step is to order civilians to leave along evacuation corridors that will take them south of Wadi Gaza, an east-west stream that has become a dividing line in Gaza since the Israeli invasion last October.

Giora Eiland believes Israel should have done a deal straight away to get the hostages back, even if it meant pulling out of Gaza entirely. A year later, other methods, he says, are necessary.

In his office in central Israel, he laid out the heart of the plan.

“Since we already encircled the northern part of Gaza in the past nine or 10 months, what we should do is the following thing to tell all the 300,000 residents [that the UN estimates is 400,000] who still live in the northern part of Gaza that they have to leave this area and they should be given 10 days to leave through safe corridors that Israel will provide.

“And after that time, all this area will become to be a military zone. And all the Hamas people will still, though, whether some of them are fighters, some of them are civilians… will have two choices either to surrender or to starve.”

Eiland wants Israel to seal the areas once the evacuation corridors are closed. Anyone left behind would be treated as an enemy combatant. The area would be under siege, with the army blocking all supplies of food, water or other necessities of life from going in. He believes the pressure would become unbearable and what is left of Hamas would rapidly crumble, freeing the surviving hostages and giving Israel the victory it craves.

The UN World Food Programme says that the current offensive in Gaza is having a “disastrous impact on food security for thousands of Palestinian families”. The main crossings into northern Gaza, it says, have been closed and no food aid has entered the strip since 1 October. Mobile kitchens and bakeries have been forced to stop work because of air strikes. The only functioning bakery in the north, which is supported by WFP, caught fire after it was hit by an explosive munition. The position in the south is almost as dire.

It is not clear whether the IDF has adopted the Generals’ Plan in part or in full, but the circumstantial evidence of what is being done in Gaza suggests it is at the very least a strong influence on the tactics being used against the population. The BBC submitted a list of questions to the IDF, which were not answered.

The ultra-nationalist extremists in Benjamin Netanyahu’s cabinet want to replace Palestinians in northern Gaza with Jewish settlers. Among many statements he’s made on the subject, the finance minister Bezalel Smotrich has said “Our heroic fighters and soldiers are destroying the evil of Hamas, and we will occupy the Gaza Strip… to tell the truth, where there is no settlement, there is no security.”

When two white vapour trails cross the sky near the front line in eastern Ukraine, it tends to mean one thing. Russian jets are about to attack.

But what happened near the city of Kostyantynivka was unprecedented. The lower trail split in two and a new object quickly accelerated towards the other vapour trail until they crossed and a bright orange flash lit up the sky.

Was it, as many believed, a Russian war plane shooting down another in so-called friendly fire 20km (12 miles) from the front line, or a Ukrainian jet shooting down a Russian plane?

Intrigued, Ukrainians soon found out from the fallen debris that they had just witnessed the destruction of Russian’s newest weapon – the S-70 stealth combat drone.

This is no ordinary drone. Named Okhotnik (Hunter), this heavy, unmanned vehicle is as big as a fighter jet but without a cockpit. It is very hard to detect and its developers claim it has “almost no analogy” in the world.

That all may be true, but it clearly went astray, and it appears the second trail seen on the video came from a Russian Su-57 jet, apparently chasing it down.

The Russian plane may have been trying to re-establish the contact with the errant drone, but as they were both flying into a Ukrainian air defence zone, it is assumed a decision was made to destroy the Okhotnik to prevent it ending up in enemy hands.

Neither Moscow nor Kyiv have commented officially on what happened in the skies near Kostyantynivka. But analysts believe the Russians most likely lost control over their drone, possibly due to jamming by Ukraine’s electronic warfare systems.

This war has seen many drones but nothing like Russia’s S-70.

It weighs more than 20 tonnes and reputedly has a range of 6,000km (3,700 miles).

Shaped like an arrow, it looks very similar to American X-47B, another stealth combat drone created a decade ago.

The Okhotnik is supposed to be able to carry bombs and rockets to strike both ground and aerial targets as well as conduct reconnaissance.

And, significantly, it is designed to work in conjunction with Russia’s fifth-generation Su-57 fighter jets.

It has been under development since 2012 and the first flight took place in 2019.

But until last weekend there was no evidence that it had been used in Russia’s two-and-a-half-year war in Ukraine.

Earlier this year it was reportedly spotted at the Akhtubinsk airfield in southern Russia, one of the launch sites to attack Ukraine.

So it is possible the abortive flight over Kostyantynivka was one of Moscow’s first attempts to test its new weapon in combat conditions.

Wreckage of one of Russia’s notorious long-range D-30 glide bombs was reportedly found amidst the aircraft’s crash site.

These deadly weapons use satellite navigation to become even more dangerous.

So what was the Okhotnik doing flying with an Su-57 jet? According to Kyiv-based aviation expert Anatoliy Khrapchynskyi, the warplane may have transmitted a signal from a ground base to the drone to increase the extent of their operation.

The stealth drone’s failure is no doubt a big blow for Russia’s military. It was due to go into production this year but clearly the unmanned aircraft is not ready.

Four protype S-70s are thought to have been built and it is possible the one blown out of the sky over Ukraine was the most advanced of the four.

Even though it was destroyed, Ukrainian forces may still be able to glean valuable information about the Okhotnik.

“We may learn whether it has its own radars to find targets or whether the ammunition is pre-programmed with co-ordinates where to strike,” explains Anatoliy Khrapchysnkyi.

Just by studying images from the crash site, he believes it is clear the drone’s stealth capabilities are rather limited.

As the engine nozzle’s shape is round, he says it can be picked up by radar. The same goes for the many rivets on the aircraft which are most likely made of aluminium.

No doubt the wreckage will be pored over by Ukrainian engineers and their findings passed on to Kyiv’s Western partners.

And yet, this incident shows the Russians are not standing still, reliant on their massive human resources and conventional weapons.

They are working on new and smarter ways to fight the war. And what failed today may succeed next time.

A woman has died after she went overboard from a cruise ship near the Channel Islands, say rescue services.

An alert was sent out at about 02:00 BST for a search for the woman in her 20s north of Les Casquets rocks, west of Alderney.

The French search and rescue service said the casualty from the MSC Virtuosa was winched from the sea by a helicopter crew and was later pronounced dead by doctors.

One passenger told the BBC an alarm rang three times to signal a person had gone overboard.

The passenger, who only wanted to be called Neil, said those on board were asked to pray for their fellow passenger.

“I went up along with lots of other passengers to have a look,” he said.

“About half an hour later the cruise director told us they were looking for a missing passenger so we would be delayed into Southampton.”

The ship’s owner MSC Cruises said in a statement: “A guest on board MSC Virtuosa went overboard on 12 October, while the ship was sailing to Southampton.

“The body was later recovered with the involvement of the authorities.

“We are deeply saddened by this tragic event, and our thoughts are with the family during this difficult time.

“Out of respect for their privacy, we will not be providing further details.”

The investigation into the death is being led by French police.

A plane from Channel Islands Air Search was sent to the scene from Guernsey, along with lifeboat crews from Alderney and France and the French helicopter crew based near Cherbourg.

Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary said officers were assisting with inquiries.

“It has been reported that the woman went overboard the MSC Virtuosa during the early hours… and subsequently died,” the force said.

The Maltese-flagged cruise ship is 331m (1,086ft) long and 43m (141ft) wide, according to MarineTraffic, with accommodation for up to 6,334 passengers and 1,704 crew.

The vessel is 19 decks tall, according to MSC, and was built in France in 2020.

It is currently berthed at Southampton docks, having arrived at about 08:00 from Cartagena Port in Spain.

X (formerly Twitter)X (formerly Twitter)

King Charles has confirmed that it is up to the Australian people to decide whether the country remains a constitutional monarchy or becomes a republic.

Ahead of the King’s visit to Australia next week, the Australian Republic Movement exchanged letters with Buckingham Palace officials, writing on the King’s behalf.

Correspondence from the palace, first revealed by the Daily Mail, says that “whether Australia becomes a republic” is a “matter for the Australian public to decide”.

The future of the monarchy in Australia is likely to be an issue during the royal visit by King Charles and Queen Camilla, which includes events in Sydney and Canberra.

• King’s Australia trip is biggest since cancer diagnosis
• Australia puts republic referendum plan on hold

The letter sent by palace officials restates the existing position, rather than marking any new change in policy – and Buckingham Palace is not saying anything further to the letter’s contents.

But it is an amicable exchange, following a request by a group campaigning for a republic to have a meeting with the King during his visit.

“The King appreciated that you took the time to write and asked me to reply on his behalf,” says the letter from Buckingham Palace to the Australian Republic Movement, written in March.

“Please be assured that your views on this matter have been noted very carefully.

“His Majesty, as a constitutional monarch, acts on the advice of his Ministers, and whether Australia becomes a republic is therefore a matter for the Australian public to decide.”

The letter adds that the King and Queen have a “deep love and affection” for Australia and “your thoughtfulness in writing as you did is warmly appreciated”.

A referendum on the issue was held in Australia in 1999, where people voted to remain a constitutional monarchy.

Earlier this year Australia’s government said plans for another referendum were “not a priority”.

But campaigners for a republic argue that Australia’s head of state shouldn’t be the monarch but someone chosen by Australians.

When the King’s visit was announced, Isaac Jeffrey of the Australian Republic Movement said: “While we respect the role the royals have played in the nation to date, it’s time for Australia to elect a local to serve as our head of state. Someone who can work for Australia full time.”

It is a campaign that has commended King Charles as an individual but is opposed to the role of the monarchy in Australia.

“We’re keen to tell him we’ll stay in the Commonwealth and a republic is about us, not about him or his family,” said Mr Jeffrey.

The visit to Australia will be the King’s biggest trip since his cancer diagnosis earlier this year. His only other international trip since then has been to France for D-Day commemorations.

His treatment is expected to be paused during the trip, which after Australia will include attending a Commonwealth heads of government meeting in Samoa.

The visit, from 18 to 26 October, will include a review of the Australian naval fleet in Sydney harbour, attending a community barbecue, supporting environmental projects and meeting two award-winning cancer experts.

This week it was also announced that in December King Charles will host a two-day state visit to the UK by the Amir of Qatar.

Israel’s ground invasion of Lebanon is about to end its second week, as Israel’s war has already entered its second year. Appeals for a ceasefire have increased following an air strike in Beirut on Thursday night, and the wounding on Friday, for the second day running, of UN peacekeepers in southern Lebanon by Israeli military fire.

A new offensive is taking place in Jabalia, in northern Gaza, despite persistent calls for the conflict there to end. Israel’s allies are also urging restraint as the country prepares to retaliate against Iran, following last week’s ballistic missile attack.

However, Israel will continue to pursue its own path, and resist this pressure, because of three factors: 7 October, Benjamin Netanyahu and the United States.

It was in January 2020 when Iranian general Qassem Soleimani landed at Baghdad airport on a night-time flight from Damascus. Soleimani was the head of Iran’s notorious Quds Force, an elite, clandestine unit of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps specialising in overseas operations.

The group – whose name means Jerusalem, and whose main adversary was Israel – was responsible for arming, training, funding and directing proxy forces abroad in Iraq, Lebanon, the Palestinian Territories and beyond. At the time, Soleimani was perhaps the second most powerful man in Iran, after the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

As Soleimani’s convoy left the airport, it was destroyed by missiles fired from a drone that killed him instantly.

Although Israel provided intelligence to help locate its arch-adversary, the drone belonged to the United States. The assassination order had been given by then US President Donald Trump, not Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

“I never forget that Bibi Netanyahu let us down,” former President Trump would later say in a speech referring to the Soleimani assassination. In a separate interview, Trump also suggested that he had expected Israel to play a more active role in the attack and complained that Netanyahu was “willing to fight Iran to the last American soldier”.

While Trump’s account of events is disputed, at the time it was believed that Netanyahu, who praised the killing, was concerned that direct Israeli involvement could provoke a large-scale attack against Israel, either from Iran directly, or its proxies in Lebanon and the Palestinian Territories. Israel was fighting a shadow war with Iran, but each side was careful to keep the fighting within certain bounds, for fear of provoking the other into a larger-scale conflict.

Just over four years later, in April of this year, the same Benjamin Netanyahu ordered Israeli jets to bomb a building in the Iranian diplomatic compound in Damascus, killing two Iranian generals amongst others.

Then in July, the Israeli prime minister authorised the assassination of Fuad Shukr, Hezbollah’s top military commander, in an air strike on Beirut. The response of the current US president was reportedly to swear at him, according to a new book by Bob Woodward, who claims that President Joe Biden was aghast that Israel’s prime minister was prepared to escalate a conflict the White House had been trying to bring to an end for months.

“You know, the perception of Israel around the world increasingly is that you’re a rogue state, a rogue actor,” President Biden is reported to have said.

The same prime minister, characterised as being too cautious by one US president, was then castigated as being too aggressive by his successor.

What separates the two episodes is of course 7 October 2023 – the bloodiest day in the history of Israel and a political, military and intelligence failure of catastrophic proportions.

What unites the two moments, however, is Netanyahu defying the will of a US president.

Both factors help to explain the way Israel continues to prosecute the current war.

Israel’s most recent wars concluded after a few weeks, once international pressure built so much that the United States insisted on a ceasefire.

The ferocity and scale of the Hamas attack against Israel, the impact on Israeli society and its sense of security, mean that this war was always going to be unlike any recent conflict.

For a US administration pouring billions of dollars’ worth of weapons into Israel, Palestinian civilian deaths and suffering in Gaza have been deeply uncomfortable, and politically damaging for the administration. For America’s critics in the region, the apparent impotence of the superpower when it comes to influencing the largest recipient of US aid is baffling.

Even after US jets were involved in repelling Iranian attacks on Israel in April – a clear sign of how Israel’s security is underwritten by its larger ally – Israel continued to bat away attempts to change the course of its war.

This summer, Israel chose to escalate its conflict with Hezbollah, without seeking prior approval from the United States.

As Israel’s longest-serving prime minister, Netanyahu has learned from more than 20 years of experience that US pressure is something he can withstand, if not ignore. Netanyahu knows that the US, particularly in an election year, will not take action that forces him to divert from his chosen course (and believes, in any event, that he is fighting America’s enemies too).

Especially when it comes to the latest escalation, it would be wrong to assume that Netanayhu is operating outside the Israeli political mainstream. If anything, the pressure on him is to be tougher to strike harder against Hezbollah, but also Iran.

When a ceasefire plan in Lebanon was mooted by the US and France last month, criticism of the proposed 21-day truce came from the opposition, and the main left-wing grouping in Israel, as well as the right-wing parties.

Israel is determined to continue its wars now, not just because it feels it can withstand international pressure, but also because Israel’s tolerance of the threats it faces has shifted after 7 October.

Hezbollah has for years stated its aim to invade the Galilee in northern Israel. Now that the Israeli public has experienced the reality of gunmen infiltrating homes, that threat cannot be contained, it must be removed.

Israel’s perception of risk has also changed. Long-held notions of military red lines in the region have evaporated. Several acts have been committed in the past year that could, until recently, have led to an all-out conflict, raining bombs and missiles on Tehran, Beirut, Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.

Israel has assassinated the head of Hamas while he was a guest of the Iranians in Tehran; it has also killed the entire leadership of Hezbollah, including Hassan Nasrallah; it has assassinated senior Iranian officials inside diplomatic buildings in Syria.

Hezbollah has fired more than 9,000 missiles, rockets and drones at Israeli cities, including ballistic missiles at Tel Aviv. The Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen have also launched large missiles at Israel’s cities, intercepted by Israeli defences as they re-entered the Earth’s atmosphere above central Israel. Iran has launched not one, but two attacks against Israel in the past six months involving more than 500 drones and missiles. Israel has invaded Lebanon.

Any one of these might, in the past, have precipitated a regional war. The fact that they have not will change the way a normally cautious, risk-averse Israeli prime minister decides on his next move.

A UN peacekeeper has been wounded in southern Lebanon after being hit by gunfire, the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (Unifil) has said, the fifth member of the multinational force to be injured in recent days.

In a statement on Saturday, Unifil said the peacekeeper was injured at its headquarters in the southern city of Naquora on Friday night amid “ongoing military activity nearby”, though added that it did not know the origin of the fire.

“He underwent surgery at our Naqoura hospital to remove the bullet and is currently stable,” it said.

Elsewhere, around 20 people were killed by an Israeli strike in Jabalia in Gaza on Friday night, according to the Reuters news agency, citing medics.

It comes as fighting continues in southern Lebanon, where Israeli forces have urged UN peacekeepers to leave their positions. A spokesperson for Unifil said on Saturday that there had been a “unanimous decision” to stay in the border region.

Separately, Unifil said buildings at a position in the village of Ramyah sustained “significant damage due to explosions from nearby shelling” on Friday night.

“We remind all actors of their obligations to ensure the safety and security of UN personnel and premises, including avoiding combat activities near Unifil positions,” the mission said.

On Friday, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) acknowledged that its troops were responsible for an incident in which two Sri Lankan soldiers, also in Naqoura, were injured.

The IDF said soldiers operating near the base opened fire after identifying a threat and that the incident would be investigated “at the highest levels”.

Sri Lanka’s foreign ministry said it “strongly condemned” the attack.

On Thursday, two Indonesian peacekeepers were injured falling from an observation tower after Israeli tanks fired towards it.

Asked about the incidents on Friday, US President Joe Biden said he was “absolutely, positively” urging Israel to stop firing at UN peacekeepers.

The leaders of France, Italy, and Spain have also condemned Israel’s actions, saying in a joint statement that they were unjustifiable and should immediately end.

Earlier, the IDF said dozens more launches crossed from Lebanon into Israel on Saturday – with a number of them intercepted.

An international arrest warrant has been issued for Australian ex-rugby star Rocky Elsom following a conviction for embezzlement in France, French media say.

The former captain of Australia’s national team was president of RC Narbonne, one of France’s most prestigious clubs, in 2015-16. On Friday a court found him guilty of paying tens of thousands of euros to former club officials for little or no service.

Elsom was convicted in absentia and given a five-year-prison sentence, according to French media.

He recently told the Sunday Times newspaper that he was living in the Irish capital Dublin.

In the interview with the outlet, published on 6 October, Elsom said he was coaching at the Catholic University School, a private school for boys in Dublin. He said planned to live in the city until December.

A sporting celebrity in Ireland, the 41-year-old, played for Leinster Rugby in the late 2000s and helped the team win the Heineken Cup, Europe’s top club rugby tournament, in 2009.

He also appeared 75 times for Australia’s national team – nicknamed the Wallabies – between 2005 and 2011. After his retirement he was part of a consortium that bought RC Narbonne

The French court convicted Elsom of abusing corporate assets and forging documents during his time as president of the club, local media reports say.

A lawyer involved in the case, Patrick Tabet, is quoted by Ouest-France newspaper as saying that Elsom made a “completely unjustified” payment of €79,000 (£66,000) to a former coach and gave a monthly salary of €7,200 to an Australian resident who “never came to Narbonne”.

The club was placed into administration and relegated to lower leagues in 2018.

The judge handed down a harsher prison term than the two years requested by prosecutors. Mr Tabet said the former Wallabies star was also ordered to pay back some €705,000 (£586,000).

Donald Trump has appeared on a slew of shows with huge audiences of young men, sitting for interviews with influencers, comedians and podcasters outside the usual political media. What’s his strategy?

About 15 minutes into Donald Trump’s conversation with comedian Theo Von, the chat veered into territory not usually heard in a political speech.

“I had a great brother who taught me a lesson, don’t drink. Don’t drink, and don’t smoke,” the former president said. “I admired so much about him… And he had a problem with alcohol.”

“I’ve been in recovery for most of the past 10 years,” Von replied. “Drugs and alcohol.”

Trump seemed genuinely interested.

“Which is worse?” he asked. The pair went on to chat at length about addiction and the drugs industry.

Politics wasn’t entirely absent – within a few minutes Trump was back alluding to his grievances against the “deep state” and the voting system – but the friendly chat was a prime example of a larger campaign strategy.

Trump has done a series of interviews with podcasters and alternative media that together comprise a concerted effort to reach young men.

• Election polls – is Harris or Trump ahead?

Although the tactic isn’t new – for months, stretching back to last year, Trump has been appearing on alternative, male-dominated media outlets with big audiences – it’s taken on a greater importance in the final stages of this election.

In August the Trump campaign told reporters that they are targeting a key group of voters that makes up just over a tenth of the electorate in swing states. They’re mostly younger men, and mostly white, but the group includes more Latinos and Asian-Americans than the general population.

And they believe they can reach these often fickle voters by putting Trump on shows hosted by people like Von, internet pranksters Nelk Boys, YouTuber Logan Paul and Adin Ross, a livestreaming gamer who has repeatedly been banned from sites for violating rules on offensive language.

The Nelk Boys are reportedly spearheading a voter registration drive on behalf of Trump which they hope will reach like-minded audiences.

Although they may not exactly be household names in the world of mainstream media, these podcasts have audiences of millions. Von’s Trump interview has nearly 14 million views on YouTube.

Polls indicate the political gender gap among young people has widened since Kamala Harris became the Democratic nominee in July. Overall the vice-president seems to be pulling more young people into her camp – but her support among young women has risen faster than her support among young men.

Recent research by the Harvard Youth Poll indicates 70% of women under age 30 support Harris, while 23% plan to vote for Trump. Among men in the same age group, 53% back Harris and 36% support Trump.

Daniel Cox, director of the Survey Center on American Life, part of the conservative American Enterprise Institute think tank, says that the political gender gap mirrors larger social divisions which have left many young men feeling like few politicians are looking out for them.

“Trump is very good at turning things into zero-sum games,” Mr Cox says. “Young men are trying to understand their place in society that is rapidly evolving, as a group they are struggling more academically, they have mental health challenges and rising rates of suicide.

“These are very real concerns and there’s a sense in the political realm that nobody’s advocating for them,” he said.

But Trump’s podcast tour is not so much a question of policy, Mr Cox says, and more about “showing up” and talking with a different style to a different crowd.

• SIMPLE GUIDE: How to win a US election
• EXPLAINER: What Harris or Trump would do in power
• ANALYSIS: What could be the ‘October Surprise’?
• FACT-CHECK: Debunking Trump claim about hurricane funds
• POLLS: Who is winning the race for the White House?
• GENDER: Don’t mention Trump – how Republicans try to sway women voters

The attempt to switch up the vibe is apparent in his recent podcast interviews, where the mostly relaxed former president leads with chat about golf and mixed martial arts and Maga-world policies – Trump’s Make America Great Again slogan that often refers to an America-first approach – are assumed to be good common sense rather than controversial topics to be picked apart and debated.

Before the addiction chat on Von’s show, Trump praised Ultimate Fighting Championship competitors including Dustin Poirier, displaying more than a casual knowledge of the sport.

“Boy, I’ll tell you, he’s a warrior,” Trump said, “The man he was fighting was tough… as that fight went along, he just got stronger and stronger.”

Von did not push back – and in fact eagerly agreed – when Trump made a host of unsubstantiated and erroneous statements about voting, immigration and the border, including claiming that “hundreds of thousands of murderers” had entered the country.

On the podcast circuit, there’s plenty of messing around, but sometimes the hosts seem awestruck, deferential or even nervous. Before one chat, the Nelk Boys videoed themselves chugging cans of their own-brand boozy seltzer to calm themselves down before Trump walked into the room.

But their audiences aren’t demanding tough questioning or detailed policy positions.

“A lot of young people are not looking for hard news,” says Mr Cox. “Their first interests might be crypto [currency] or video games, and the politics comes later – through the side door, not the front door.”

There are other signs that Trump is making a hard pivot towards male voters – for instance filling the Republican National Convention stage with the likes of Kid Rock, Hulk Hogan and UFC chief executive Dana White, instead of being introduced – like he was at previous conventions – by his daughter, Ivanka.

Judging from the comments on the podcast interviews, many viewers and listeners already back the former president, but getting them out to the polls may be the real challenge.

Voting rates among young people lag behind overall, and young men tend to vote at slightly lower rates than young women.

The Harris campaign is also making a podcast play of its own, aimed at young women. The vice-president recently appeared on the popular sex-and-relationships pod Call Her Daddy, where she too faced less-than-aggressive questioning.

Garrett, a Logan Paul fan from Houston in his early 20s, runs his own YouTube channel under the name Spy Jay.

He said he finds Paul’s brand – “being a Maverick” – appealing, and before watching the interview he had an overall positive view of Trump, calling him “a patriotic nationalist who wants to restore the country back to an improved state from before”.

“But the persecution he’s facing, while there’s a relentless intention in the media to rewrite who he is and what he stands for, implies a greater evil at play,” he said. “And that makes me feel more inclined to be open-minded about voting for him.”

Watching Trump on Paul’s podcast – the internet star asked Trump if he’d ever been in a fight – and Trump’s interview with Adin Ross, only confirmed his views, Garrett told the BBC.

Garrett said he thought young Americans were increasingly tuning into politics, and that Trump is tapping into alt-media spaces “like no other candidate has before”.

“So whether it’s a good strategy or bad, it is going to reach quite a few of the young folks,” he said.

• First-time voters reckon with high-stakes election
• A quick guide to Donald Trump

Responses online to the video have been broadly positive. “No one can convince me Trump isn’t just a bro when it comes down to it” said one, while another read “Love or hate Trump, but he definitely knows how to make an interview entertaining”.

But some experts question whether Trump has much room to grow his voting base among heavily male subcultures, where he has long had support.

“Trump already seems to have captured the manospheric and hypermasculine over-25s, so this is a late stage and rather desperate attempt to become relevant,” said Jack Bratich, a media professor at Rutgers University who studies the male-heavy online spaces known as the “manosphere”.

Extremely online young men were very active during the 2016 election campaign, when political memes and extreme message boards like 4chan burst into prominence, says Bratich.

The situation is very different eight years later, he says, with “no identifiable right-wing youth-based online political movement” getting heavily involved in this year’s contest.

However, he notes there is little risk and potentially large rewards for Trump.

Whether it pays off will depend on convincing young men who don’t tend to get involved in politics to log off and head to the polls.

Like so many other things in this election, plays for younger voters are full of unknowns.

A new movie that won the top prize at the Cannes Film Festival has made its debut in London, as its breakout star continues to gain significant Oscars momentum.

Anora was awarded the Palme d’Or at the French film festival in May, launching its lead actress Mikey Madison into the race for best actress at next year’s Academy Awards.

The film tells the story of a 23-year-old woman who is working as a stripper in New York when she meets the son of a wealthy Russian oligarch.

In a storyline with slight echoes of 1990’s Pretty Woman, the man pays Anora to move into his mansion and become his girlfriend, and the pair enjoy a whirlwind romance.

The film has received highly positive reviews, with critics agreed on Madison’s impressive performance in the lead role.

“If there was ever a time to roll out the red carpet and put an actress on the map, this is it,” said Screen Rant’s Patrice Witherspoon. “Madison is a star.”

The actress gives a “terrific performance”, agreed the Guardian’s Peter Bradshaw, adding that the actress “owns the screen”.

Madison may not yet be a household name, but she is also not a newcomer, having perviously appeared in Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and the 2022 reboot of horror franchise Scream.

But, as the Evening Standard’s Maddy Mussey put it: “Anora is essentially her big break, and boy does she nail it.”

Madison and director Sean Baker walked the red carpet ahead of the film’s UK premiere at the Royal Festival Hall on Friday.

Anora is directed by Sean Baker, the US film-maker behind Tangerine, The Florida Project and Red Rocket.

The movie also stars Mark Eidelstein as the boy, Ivan, known as Vanya to his friends, and Karren Karagulian as Toros, the Russian minder tasked with keeping an eye on him on behalf of Ivan’s parents.

But one of the film’s best and most understated performances comes from Yura Borisov as Igor, a tough but kindly henchman who works for Toros.

In addition to Madison’s own awards chances, Borisov could have a shot at a best supporting actor when the Oscar nominations are announced in January.

Like several of Baker’s previous films, Anora highlights and explores the lives of sex workers.

While developing the movie, the director consulted current and former real-life sex workers, including Andrea Werhun, who wrote a memoir in 2018 about her experiences.

Baker told Indiewire: “I think no matter what subject matter you’re tackling, if you’re not a part of that world or a part of that community, it’s vital to have consultants, who have that life experience, on board and make sure that you’re representing [it] in an accurate way, a responsible way, a respectful way.”

At a launch event in London earlier this week, Madison said Werhun’s memoir “really spoke to me… I was really intrigued and obsessed with her writing”.

She also discussed other ways she prepared for the role, explaining: “I went to New York early, about a month early, so that I could live in Brighton Beach and immerse myself more in that neighbourhood. Also, so that I could fine-tune the accent.”

Ed Potton of the Times described Anora as “a wonderful movie from one of the world’s best independent directors” in a five-star review.

“Every character in Anora might be an utter nightmare, but they’re also a joy to spend time with,” said the Telegraph’s Robbie Collin, also awarding fives stars and adding: “Nothing and no-one here can draw the spotlight from Madison.”

However, some felt the film’s run time of two hours 20 minutes could have been cut down.

“Anora takes viewers on a frenetic and wild ride that goes on for a little too long as it zig zags to an inevitable outcome,” said Carla Hay of Culture Mix. “This foul-mouthed movie’s best asset is the acting.”

But Hannah Lodge of Screen Rex concluded: “Anora is as deeply funny as it is stressful, as loud as it is heartfelt, and as chaotic as it is meticulous. This is Baker’s best film to date.”

Virginia McCullough knew why the police had smashed through her front door, but part of her wondered why it took them so long to discover she had murdered her parents. “Cheer up, at least you’ve caught the bad guy,” she calmly told the officers handcuffing her. Neighbours thought John and Lois McCullough had retired to the seaside, but the reality was they were callously poisoned by their daughter. Why did she do it?

The goings-on inside the McCullough family home in Great Baddow near Chelmsford, Essex, were becoming increasingly secretive in 2019.

Relatives were asked to stay away and friends were told Mr and Mrs McCullough had retired to the Clacton area on Essex’s sunshine coast.

The gruesome reality was very different. It would be four years before anyone found out the horrors that took place behind closed doors on Pump Hill.

John McCullough, a retired business studies lecturer, had been fatally poisoned and the 70-year-old’s body was hidden in a crudely-built tomb made out of breeze blocks and blankets.

The corpse of his 71-year-old wife, Lois, was stashed behind sleeping bags and duvets in an upstairs wardrobe.

Mrs McCullough had been battered with a hammer and stabbed, but she too had also been poisoned with prescription medication administered by her daughter.

Virginia McCullough, 36, was handed a life sentence at Chelmsford Crown Court for their murders, to serve a minimum of 36 years, on Friday.

“The curtains were always drawn and you couldn’t see if anybody was in the house,” said Phil Sargeant, who lived next door to the McCulloughs for 20 years.

“They were just like shadows, they’d move very quickly from A to B.”

Mr Sargeant now knows why there was such secrecy at his neighbours’ house.

“I find it quite difficult even to say that Virginia murdered her parents or killed her parents,” he added.

“She’d come across as quite pleasant; she was funny, she was irreverent as well. She had a dark sense of humour.”

In September 2023, Essex Police took a call from Essex County Council’s safeguarding team.

A GP at Mr and Mrs McCullough’s registered practice had raised a concern for their welfare, having not seen them for some time.

Their absences had been explained by their daughter, who offered a range of excuses for each appointment she cancelled on her parents’ behalf.

Conveniently for her, the country had been in Covid-enforced lockdowns for a large period of time they had not been seen.

But when police spoke to McCullough, it became clear something was not adding up – why were her parents always out of the area?

Alan Thomson, who rented a television to the McCulloughs, also had his suspicions.

It followed a phone call from McCullough, abruptly cancelling the rental on her parents’ behalf.

When Mr Thomson’s staff arrived at the family home to pick it up, they were told they could not enter the property – and the TV was already prepared by the front door.

“I got the feeling perhaps she was a bit of a fantasist, but no way would I have thought she’d be a murderer,” he said.

When police raided the property, it was not the first time they had visited.

Weeks prior to the discovery of the bodies, McCullough invited officers inside to discuss an allegation of an assault against her.

Only she knew the intent of this call, but some believed she was testing the water.

Ultimately, the assault allegation came to nothing.

McCullough was more forthcoming when officers returned in September 2023.

“I did know that this day would come eventually,” she confessed.

“I deserve to get what’s coming, sentence-wise, because that’s the right thing to do and then that might give me a bit of peace.”

Documents recovered inside the property painted a picture of a woman desperately trying to keep her parents from discovering a financial black hole she had dug.

Abusing their goodwill, she had been living rent free, spending their money and racking up large credit card debts in their names.

Forged letters showed McCullough had been tricking her parents into thinking they had lost money through scams. In reality, it was money “frittered away” by their daughter.

To them, she was well-qualified, suitably employed and working hard towards becoming an artist – a future she claimed would also bring financial benefits for her parents.

Instead, she was reaping the financial rewards of manipulating, abusing and taking advantage of her parents’ kindness.

In total, McCullough benefited from £149,697 as a result of murdering her parents – combined from their pensions and spending on their credit cards, as well as selling assets.

The court also heard she spent £21,000 on online gambling between 2019 and 2023.

Her lies – and the fear of being exposed – ultimately led to her cruelly killing her parents.

Paul Hastings, a greengrocer at the Vineyards shopping centre near their home, had also noticed their disappearance.

He was told by McCullough that her parents, who used to purchase goods from his shop, were no longer living in Great Baddow.

Mr Hastings said her peculiar nature meant she could say things without arousing much suspicion.

“She came in to the shop and said ‘The police are after me, they think I killed my mum and dad’,” Mr Hastings said.

“I thought ‘That’s a bit odd’ but didn’t think anything else of it, I just thought it was her eccentric nature.”

He explained McCullough would sometimes visit his shop four times a day, before disappearing for the next fortnight.

Debbie Pollard said McCullough would visit the flower shop she ran and bombard her with food and presents.

“We knew she was odd but I would never have dreamt she would ever be capable of doing what she actually did,” she said.

“She’s actually lived in that house all those years with her mum and dad’s remains in there – that horrifies me. Horrifies me.”

Both Mr Hastings and Ms Pollard both said McCullough had also pretended to be pregnant, even creating a fake bump under her clothing.

Throughout her sentencing on Friday, McCullough stared at the floor, emotionless.

It was only when she listened back to her interview with police, describing how she murdered her mother, that she began to weep.

“She looked so innocent; she was just sat there listening to the radio,” McCullough told the officers.

“I did go in three times to build up some gumption but I knew I had to get it done and can’t hesitate.

“She was just staring at me in disbelief.”

Det Supt Rob Kirby, from Essex Police, said her otherwise composed reaction in court was typical of the “considered, meticulous” murderer she was.

“Throughout the course of our investigation, we have built a picture of the vast levels of deceit, betrayal and fraud she engaged in,” he said.

“It was on a shocking and monumental scale.

“McCullough lied about almost every aspect of her life, maintaining a charade to deceive everyone close to her and clearly taking advantage of her parents’ good will.

“She is an intelligent and adept manipulator who chose to kill her parents callously and without a thought for them or those who continue to suffer as a result of their loss.”