At least 35 people have been killed and 43 more injured after a man drove into a crowd of people exercising at a stadium in Zhuhai, southern China on Monday, authorities say.

A 62-year-old male driver, identified as Mr Fan, drove his SUV through a barrier at Zhuhai Sports Centre in what local police say was a “serious and vicious attack”.

Many elderly people, as well as teenagers and children, were among the injured, Chinese media is reporting. Police said the driver was arrested as he tried to flee and is in a coma from self-inflicted wounds.

Amid reports that the incident is being censored online in China, BBC journalists were told to stop filming when reporting from the stadium on Tuesday.

Most videos of the incident shared by witnesses had been scrubbed off Chinese social media by Tuesday morning, but some footage still online showed dozens of people lying on the ground and being attended to by paramedics and bystanders.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has called for “all-out efforts” to treat the injured and “severe punishment” for the perpetrator.

The incident has taken place amid heightened security in Zhuhai, which is hosting a major international military airshow this week.

Initial investigations suggested the attack had been triggered by Mr Fan’s unhappiness over a divorce property settlement. Because he is still in a coma, he has yet to be questioned, police say.

It is common in China for stadiums to be used as regular exercise grounds by locals.

One eyewitness, Mr Chen, told Chinese news magazine Caixin that at least six groups had been at the stadium for their regular walks when the incident happened.

The groups use a designated walking path that traces the stadium’s perimeter.

Mr Chen said his group had just completed its third lap around the stadium when a car suddenly charged towards them at a high speed, “knocking down many people”.

“It drove in a loop, and people were hurt in all areas of the running track – east, south, west, and north,” another eyewitness told Caixin.

The incident occurred 40km (24 miles) away from another venue where the high-profile Airshow China began on Tuesday.

China is showcasing its newest warplanes and attack drones at the show, which top Russian defence official and former defence minister Sergei Shoigu is expected to attend.

Several entrances and exits to the sports centre were closed during the airshow to facilitate “control”, the centre’s management said on Tuesday.

China has seen a spate of violent attacks on members of the public in recent months.

In October, a knife attack at a top school in Beijing injured five people, while in September, a man went on a stabbing spree at a supermarket in Shanghai, killing three people and injuring several others.

Also in September, a 10-year-old Japanese student died a day after he was stabbed near his school in southern China.

Following Monday’s car attack, Japan’s embassy warned its nationals living in the country to avoid speaking Japanese loudly in public.

New Zealand’s Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has formally apologised to victims of abuse in care homes, following an inquiry into one of the country’s biggest abuse scandals.

The historic apology, delivered in parliament, comes after a report found that 200,000 children and vulnerable adults had suffered abuse while in state and faith-based care between 1950 and 2019.

Many of them included people from the Māori and Pacific communities and those with mental or physical disabilities.

The government has since promised to reform the care system.

“I make this apology to all survivors on behalf of my own and previous governments,” said Luxon on Tuesday.

“It was horrific. It was heartbreaking. It was wrong. And it should never have happened,” he added. “For many of you it changed the course of your life, and for that, the government must take responsibility.”

The inquiry, which Luxon described as the largest and most complex public inquiry ever held in New Zealand, took six years to complete and included interviews with more than 2,300 survivors of abuse in state and faith-based care institutions.

The ensuing report documented a wide range of abuses including rape, sterilisation, and forced labour.

It found that faith-based institutions often had higher rates of sexual abuse than state care; and civil and faith leaders fought to cover up abuse by moving abusers to other locations and denying culpability, with many victims dying before seeing justice.

The findings were seen as vindication for those who found themselves facing down powerful officialdom, the state, and religious institutions – and often struggling to be believed.

Some survivors and advocates arrived in parliament Tuesday to hear the prime minister’s apology, while hundreds of others tuned in through livestreams across the country. Luxon had earlier faced criticism for delivering the apology in parliament, as that meant many survivors could not hear from the prime minister directly.

Survivors have argued that Luxon’s apology rings hollow unless it is accompanied with proper plans for restitution.

“The effects of that trauma came through later on in life,” Tupua Urlich, a Māori survivor who had given his testimony of abuse to the inquiry, told the BBC’s Newsday programme. “It’s not just the physical abuse, it was the disconnection from my family, from my culture.”

“Justice? No, not yet… These words are nothing unless they’re followed by action, and the right kind of action that is informed by survivors.

“The government have proven that alone they’re not trusted, nor capable, of providing the sort of change and service that we need.”

Details on a restitution scheme are not expected until early next year.

Luxon said Tuesday that while the government works on a new financial redress mechanism for survivors, it would pump an additional NZ$32m ($19m, £15m) into its current system.

The inquiry had made over 100 recommendations, including public apologies from New Zealand authorities and religious leaders, as well as legislation mandating suspected abuse to be reported.

Luxon said the government has either completed or is in the process of working on 28 of these recommendations, but did not give specific detail.

A bill aimed at better protecting children in care had its first reading in parliament on Tuesday, after Luxon delivered the apology. The bill proposes, among other things, a ban on strip searches and greater restrictions on people working with young children.

Luxon also announced a National Remembrance Day to be held on 12 November next year to mark the anniversary of Tuesday’s apology.

“It is on all of us to do all we can to ensure that abuse that should never have been accepted, no longer occurs,” he said.

People in Thailand are accusing a high-profile television drama of potentially abusing animals after a cat was shown convulsing on the ground.

Concerned viewers of Thai drama “The Empress of Ayodhaya” questioned what was done to the animal to make its performance so convincing, with some suggesting potential mistreatment.

Despite the show’s producers scrambling to reassure audiences of the cat’s safety, a boycott campaign has gained traction on social media.

Authorities said they were investigating allegations of animal abuse.

In the controversial scene, a woman makes a cat drink her tea to test if it has been spiked. Moments later, the cat lays purring and writhing on the ground until it “dies”.

Social media users, including public figures, quickly took to social media to air their anger about potential mistreatment of the cat.

Those concerns have now cast a shadow over what was marketed as one of the biggest Thai dramas of the year.

“The Empress of Ayodhaya” tells a story about royal tensions in the Ayutthaya period, inspired by the story of a 16th century Siamese queen.

Thai television channel One31 and the show’s director, Sant Srikaenlaw, said the cat had been put under anaesthesia with the supervision of experts. Sant added that the cat had regained consciousness, and promised to take it in for a health check.

The show’s producers also posted photos and videos of the cat to prove that it was safe and healthy.

This has done little to quell public anger.

The Veterinary Council of Thailand, which warned of the dangers of sedating animals, said it would take relevant action on the case. Meanwhile, Thailand’s Livestock Department said it has started investigating allegations of animal cruelty, adding that it had asked to examine the cat to make sure it was not harmed.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) issued a statement on Monday condemning the anesthetising of the cat for entertainment, describing it as “reckless, dangerous, and cruel”.

“The public is rightly outraged, especially knowing that today, anything is possible with CGI, AI and animatronics,” the statement said. “If you can’t make a TV show without risking the lives of animals, you’re in the wrong business.”

It took just three minutes for Joel Cauchi to fatally stab six people and injure 10 more during a rampage at a popular Sydney shopping centre, an inquest into the attack has been told.

The New South Wales Coroner’s Court heard on Tuesday that Cauchi, 40, was knife-obsessed and had been diagnosed with schizophrenia, but had come off his medication and was homeless at the time of the incident.

The inquiry also heard that no alarm sounded inside the centre until after Cauchi had been shot dead by police.

The incident on 13 April devastated Australia, where mass murder is rare, and prompted a national conversation about gendered violence.

• Knifeman rampaged through Sydney mall as shoppers ran for their lives
• Sydney stabbings: Who were the victims?
• The attack on women that devastated Australia

All up, 14 of the 16 people stabbed that day were female – including five of the six who were killed, and a nine-month-old baby. The NSW police commissioner said at the time that it was “obvious” Cauchi had targeted women.

Tuesday’s hearing laid out the areas of focus for an extensive inquiry which is due to begin in full in April 2025. The investigation will look into possible security lapses and failings in the mental health systems in NSW and Queensland, Cauchi’s home state.

Speaking in court, Dr Peggy Dwyer SC, the counsel assisting the coroner, said Cauchi had been off his psychotropic medication since 2019, despite authorities being repeatedly warned of his deteriorating state. Cauchi had come “to the attention” of Queensland police several times, she said.

In her statement, Dwyer also provided the first detailed timeline of how the violence actually unfolded in Bondi that day.

She said that Cauchi – who had been sleeping rough in the suburb of Maroubra on the morning of the attack – entered Westfield shopping centre around 15.30 (local), and began stabbing people roughly three minutes later, after removing his knife in line at a bakery.

His first victim was Dawn Singleton, 25, followed by 47-year-old Jade Young and 25-year-old Yixuan Cheng. He then attacked Ashlee Good, 38, from behind.

Good – who has been described by her family as an “all-round outstanding human” – then saw Cauchi stabbing her nine-month-old baby girl in her pram, and was further wounded trying to save the child’s life, the court heard.

Faraz Tahir, a 30-year-old security guard, was stabbed next, alongside a colleague. Onlookers at the time said he died “trying to save others”.

Cauchi fatally stabbed Pikria Darchia, 55, before being shot dead by NSW Police Insp Amy Scott, who had been on duty close by. Between the moment Insp Scott arrived and the moment she killed Cauchi just over a minute had passed, the court heard.

In total, the attack lasted for five minutes and 43 seconds – yet no alarm sounded during that time.

“It’s presently unclear why it took so long for the alarm to sound,” Dwyer said.

Before opening the hearing, state coroner Teresa O’Sullivan acknowledged the pain and loss the broader community was still feeling as a result of the violence.

“I offer my sincere condolences to the family and loved ones who are here in court today as well as those who can’t be here in person,” she told the court, according to the Guardian Australia.

“It’s important to me and my assisting team… that you feel safe, you feel heard and you feel cared for throughout this proceeding.”

Two weeks after flash floods caused devastation in eastern Spain, several areas of the country are on alert, with a new weather front expected to bring torrential rain and low temperatures.

Eastern and southern Mediterranean areas are again the most vulnerable, with Spain’s meteorological agency Aemet placing parts of the Valencia, Catalonia and Andalusia regions, as well as the Balearic Islands, on orange alert from now until Thursday.

Aemet warns of rainfall and storms that could be “very strong to torrential”.

That orange alert is the second highest and it signals a significant meteorological event “with a degree of danger for normal activities”.

A military vehicle has been driving through towns using a megaphone to warn of the expected storms.

Precautions are being taken in many areas of Valencia, with school classes and sports activities suspended in some towns and sandbags piled up to protect the centre of the town of Aldaia.

However this second “Dana” weather system is not expected to be as dramatic as the red alert on 29 October, when the Valencia region in particular suffered an unprecedented loss of lives and material damage.

There were 222 confirmed deaths from the flooding in Spain last month, and 23 people are still missing.

Dana weather systems are formed when an area of low pressure gets “cut off” from the main flow of the jet stream. This means that instead of moving through a region relatively quickly, they get blocked over the same area leading to persistent rainfall for several days.

Colder air high in the atmosphere meets warmer air flowing in from the Mediterranean which intensifies the storm.

Heavy rainfall has already hit some areas this week.

Parts of Almería province in Andalusia were flooded on Monday night, causing part of the A7 motorway to be closed temporarily.

Emergency services rescued three people after their cars were dragged by the flood waters to a bridge in the town of Vícar.

The Spanish weather agency has advised people in areas on orange alert to stay away from ravines and waterways, even though they may be dry, because of the risk that they become flooded.

The national traffic office (DGT) advised people in those areas to check the state of roads before using vehicles.

King Felipe VI was due to visit a military base at Bétera in Valencia on Tuesday where members of the armed forces are taking part in the ongoing search for missing people and the clean-up operation.

On a previous visit to Valencia, the king, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and the regional president Carlos Mazón were insulted, jostled and had mud thrown at them by people in the town of Paiporta, due to the perceived lack of state help in the wake of the tragedy.

Mazón, in particular, has come under mounting pressure for his administration’s response on the day the flash floods struck.

Dana weather systems are not uncommon in Spain – they typically happen around 10 to 20 times a years in the western Mediterranean.

This second Dana in a matter of weeks is not considered either as extreme or slow-moving as the one that hit Valencia at the end of October.

However, the wettest places – especially around Malaga and Granada – could see around 180mm of rain falling this week – about two months’ worth of rainfall in a matter of days. Large hail and squally winds will also be a hazard.

The first significant snowfall of the season is expected to affect the Cantabrian mountains as well as the Sierra Morena mountains and the Central and Betic chains as colder air moves across the Peninsula.

Strong gusty winds will accompany the mountain snow too.

How will history judge my tenure?

That’s a question Dhananjay Yashwant Chandrachud, who retired as India’s 50th chief justice on Sunday, asked just weeks before he finished his term.

Justice Chandrachud said his mind was “heavily preoccupied with fears and anxieties about the future and the past”.

“I find myself pondering: Did I achieve everything I set out to do? How will history judge my tenure? Could I have done things differently? What legacy will I leave for future generations of judges and legal professionals?” he said.

The soul searching came at a time when many in India are also debating what legacy he leaves behind.

Justice Chandrachud served more than eight years as a top court judge and as chief justice for the past two years. He presided over one of the most powerful Supreme Courts in the world with jurisdiction over India’s 1.4 billion citizens.

The top court is the final court of appeal, the final interpreter of the constitution and its judgements, which are binding on all other courts in India, routinely make news – although judges seldom do.

But Justice Chandrachud, sometimes described as India’s “first celebrity judge” and a “rockstar judge”, has routinely hit the headlines.

According to Arghya Sengupta of the Vidhi Centre For Legal Policy, the jurist was India’s most prolific chief justice who wrote 93 judgements – more than his last four predecessors put together – including some on matters of seminal importance. He also made huge strides in terms of digitisation and livestreaming of court hearings – making them more accessible to citizens.

But some of the recent coverage has also been unflattering, with critics saying he wasn’t assertive enough and his tenure has been disappointing.

The Harvard-educated judge has many firsts to his name – he was the youngest to head a high court and his two-year-term was the longest for a chief justice in more than a decade. He’s also the only chief justice whose father also served in the role.

During his years in the Supreme Court, he developed a reputation for being a progressive, liberal judge known for his nuanced and thoughtful judgements related to matters of liberty, freedom of speech and gender and LGBT rights.

He was part of landmark rulings that decriminalised homosexuality and allowed menstruating women into Kerala’s Sabarimala shrine. His utterances on the right to privacy and right to dissent were extensively praised.

So, his elevation to be India’s top judge in November 2022 was welcomed by senior lawyers, activists and citizens with many expressing a “strong hope that under his leadership the court will rise to greater heights”.

It was a time when India’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government was getting ready to secure a third term in the 2024 general election.

Opposition parties, activists and sections of the press were accusing the government of targeting them, with global rights organisations saying Indian democracy was under threat.

Although the government denied any wrongdoing, many of India’s top academics, rights activists and popular opposition leaders found themselves in jail and the country kept sliding on the global press freedom index. (The government has always rejected such ratings, saying they are biased against India.)

Senior lawyer Kamini Jaiswal says Justice Chandrachud’s appointment had come at “a crucial juncture as some of the last chief justices had left under a cloud of dark spots and the position had been denigrated with serious allegations”.

“So, we thought Justice Chandrachud would use his erudition and brilliant mind to do a lot of good for the citizens. But he has been disappointing,” she said.

Senior Supreme Court lawyer Chander Uday Singh says his record is “a mixed bag”.

“In his judgments, he would lay down the law brilliantly which could be used as a precedent for future cases. But whenever the state was heavily invested in any issue, he failed to hold power to account, so the state got away with what they had set out of achieve.”

For instance, he points out that the court struck down a government scheme that allowed people to make anonymous donations to political parties, calling it unconstitutional and illegal. “But then he did not hold anyone accountable for the illegality.”

Similarly, when it came to a political crisis in the western state of Maharashtra or Delhi’s power struggle with the federal government, his judgments tended to favour the government, he adds.

“There was hope that through his judgments, he would set things right in a country that is under a strong majoritarian government. But he fell short.”

Several top lawyers have also criticised Justice Chandrachud for what he did as the “master of the roster” by failing to effectively prevent the prolonged incarceration of political prisoners – leading to the death of some of them without ever getting bail. This happened despite Justice Chandrachud saying that bail should be the norm and not the exception.

And as he neared his retirement, Justice Chandrachud also made headlines for what he did not in the court, but outside.

In September, there was uproar over a viral video that showed him praying at home with PM Modi during a Hindu religious festival.

Ms Jaiswal said by publicising the photo, “a message was being sent that the chief justice is close to the PM”. Lawyers, former judges, opposition politicians and many citizens also criticised him saying “the presence of a politician at a private event erodes the perception of impartiality of the judiciary”.

Another burst of criticism greeted Justice Chandrachud’s comment last month when he said he had asked God for a solution to the vexed Babri Mosque-Ram temple dispute. “I sat before the deity and told him he needed to find a solution and he gave it to me,” he said.

The comment led to a firestorm of criticism, not entirely unexpected as the mosque-temple dispute has been one of the most contentious and religiously polarising issues in modern India.

The mosque was demolished by Hindu mobs in 1992. A five-judge bench, which included Justice Chandrachud, ruled in 2019 that the demolition was illegal, but still gave the disputed land to Hindus and a separate site for the mosque to be built. Earlier this year, PM Modi inaugurated a grand new temple at the site, fulfilling a longstanding promise by his party.

So, no surprise then that Justice Chandrachud’s comment, seen by many as religious, was extensively criticised.

Retired high court judge Anjana Prakash told HW news that his comment was “dramatic, filmy and laughable and it had brought down the level of judiciary”.

“A judge has to decide cases on principles of law. Where does God come into a judgement? Besides, people have different gods. And if a justice from another faith had said this, would the reaction be the same?” she asked.

Justice Prakash and other critics wondered if he was cosying up to the government for a post-retirement assignment.

In the days preceding his retirement, Justice Chandrachud addressed some of the criticism in interactions with the media.

“The separation of powers doesn’t mean antagonistic relations between the executive and the judiciary, it doesn’t mean that they cannot meet,” he said at an event by the Indian Express newspaper, adding that such meetings were not used “to cut deals”.

“The ultimate proof of our good behaviour lies in the written word – in our judgements. Is it consistent with the constitution or not?”

Justice Chandrachud said his comment on seeking divine guidance was because “I am a person of faith” and “to impute motives to judges is not right”.

He added that courts were facing pressure “from lobbies and pressure groups” and they would praise a decision critical of the government, but if he ruled in favour of the government, they questioned his independence.

At his farewell on Friday, the outgoing chief justice said he was perhaps India’s most trolled judge, but his “shoulders are broad enough to accept all criticism”.

And at the weekend, he told Times of India that he believed he had “left the system better than I found it”.

“I’m retiring with a sense of satisfaction,” he said.

It started as a social media quest for breakfast dumplings, but ended with thousands of cyclists bringing traffic gridlock between two cities in central China.

What should have been a boost to the ancient city of Kaifeng’s economy backfired when the trend went viral – tens of thousands on rented bikes cycled through the night from nearby Zhenghou.

A six-lane expressway between the two cities quickly filled with cyclists as police took to loudspeakers urging them to leave. Bike rental firms warned they would remotely lock bikes taken out of Zhengzhou.

The event is part of a trend where young Chinese are travelling cheaply at a time when the economy is faltering and job prospects are scarce.

It began with four university students who cycled for 50km (30 miles) from Zhengzhou to Kaifeng in June to try guantangbao, a type of soup dumpling.

“You don’t get a second chance at youth, so you must go for a spontaneous trip with friends,” one of the four had told local media.

That message struck a chord with other young people in the city of 12.6 million – China’s young have increasingly been complaining of burnout from an overly-competitive and grinding job market.

Thus was born the social media trend “Night Ride to Kaifeng”.

State media initially praised it as a demonstration of young people’s “passion”. And local government saw it as an opportunity to recreate the instant fame that the town of Zibo enjoyed last year as millions arrived to sample its barbecues.

Before Friday night’s gridlock Kaifeng’s officials even announced discounts and events targeting college students. They also put in place additional traffic control measures to protect the cyclists.

“Everyone was beaming with energy and interacting with people around them. It was like back to my college days,” 27-year-old Ms Li told the BBC.

She rode a motorbike to Kaifeng along with the students on Friday night. She said she decided to join and “live like a young person for once” after she saw a post about the trend.

There was heavy police presence all the way, she added.

“You could see ambulances and traffic police cars on both sides of the road quite often, and there were also drones flying above to monitor the traffic.”

But the happy mood turned as the roads in Zhengzhou began to be overwhelmed by the thousands of bikes.

Pictures circulating online showed serious congestion on the main roads from Zhengzhou to Kaifeng. One witness told the local outlet Jimu News that his drive on that route, which usually took one hour, took three.

Some riders shared on social media that they were forced to get off their bikes and push their way through the crowd.

There was no official estimate of the number of bicycles on the road on Friday night. But reports on social media suggest the number ranged from 100,000 to 200,000.

And many of those who made it to Kaifeng didn’t seem to have enjoyed the experience.

“I really regret going,” said one viral post from a student, who rode more than seven hours. They couldn’t get a taxi or a hotel room as the demand was overwhelming.

“As I sat in a restaurant eating my meal, I heard the owner criticising college students for having nothing else to do… I’m really sorry for affecting the people in Kaifeng,” the student wrote.

Some users criticised the cyclists for “irresponsible” behaviour such as littering.

As the gridlock worsened, three major bike platforms in China issued a joint statement urging students to use trains or buses for long-distance travel and avoid using bikes at night for safety reasons.

By Saturday afternoon, the companies had begun charging those who rode to a different city.

Multiple social media posts suggest some universities in Zhengzhou have asked students to return to their dormitories and imposed restrictions on them leaving the campus.

Traffic police in both Zhengzhou and Kaifeng closed off some of the main cycling lanes between the two cities on Saturday and Sunday.

It is not surprising to see officials in both cities pushing back because Chinese authorities have always cracked down on large gatherings, which they fear can lead to protests or any form of political expression.

Last month, police in Shanghai silenced celebrations for Halloween over fears the revelries might be used to express dissent.

Ms Li says spontaneous gatherings – such as the Night Ride to Kaifeng – will keep happening simply because they appeal to young people.

“People are so stressed these days, so these events are a good thing,” she says. “Because happiness is infectious.”

Oil giant Shell has won a landmark case in the Dutch courts, overturning an earlier ruling requiring it to cut its carbon emissions by 45%.

The Hague court of appeal said it could not establish that Shell had a “social standard of care” to reduce its emissions by 45% or any other amount, even though it agreed the company had an obligation to citizens to limit emissions.

Three years ago, a court in The Hague backed a case by Friends of the Earth and 17,000 Dutch citizens requiring Shell to reduce its CO2 emissions significantly, in line with the Paris climate accords.

The ruling came as climate talks involving some 200 countries got under way in Azerbaijan.

Shell said it was pleased with the court’s decision, but Friends of the Earth Netherlands said the ruling was a setback that affected them deeply.

The environmental group can now take its case against Shell to the Supreme Court – but a final verdict could be years away.

Donald Pols from the group said “it’s a marathon, not a sprint and the race isn’t yet over”.

At the time, the 2021 ruling marked the first time a court had ordered a private company to align its workings with the Paris climate agreement, meaning that it was not sufficient for a company simply to comply with the law – it had to comply with global climate policy too.

Under the terms of the Paris Agreement on climate change, nearly 200 nations agreed to keep global temperatures “well below” 2C above pre-industrial levels.

The appeals court judge said that companies such as Shell were obliged to contribute to combating climate change based on the human right to protection against dangerous climate change.

However, the court said Shell was already working to reduce its emissions and the court could not establish whether it should make a 45% cut or another percentage, as there was no current accepted agreement in climate science on the required amount.

Shell has argued that it is already taking “serious steps to reduce emissions”. It complained the original ruling was unfair as it singled out one company for a global issue, and said it was unrealistic to try to hold Shell accountable for its customers’ choices.

Shell said if people considered progress was too slow towards cutting emissions then they should lobby governments rather than Shell to change policies and bring about a green transition.

The oil firm says its aim is to reduce the carbon intensity of products it sells by 15-20% by 2030 from a 2016 baseline. Shell also aims to become a “net zero” emissions company by 2050.

Part of the historic legal case hinged on the interpretation of an “unwritten duty of care” that exists under Dutch law, which requires companies to prevent hazardous negligence.

Friends of the Earth Netherlands argued that there was an international consensus that human rights offered protection against dangerous climate change and that companies had to respect human rights.

Shell’s successful appeal could have far-reaching implications for corporate climate responsibility.

A number of environmental groups around the world are now trying to force companies and governments to comply with the accords through the courts.

Megan Fox has announced she and US rapper Machine Gun Kelly are expecting their first child together.

The Transformers actress tagged the musician in a photo which showed her kneeling, covered in a black substance and cradling a baby bump.

Fox, who last year revealed that a previous pregnancy had ended in a miscarriage, also posted a picture of a positive pregnancy test alongside the portrait.

The actress, who has been dating Kelly since 2020, captioned the images with: “Nothing is ever really lost. welcome back”.

Fox previously spoke about her miscarriage on ABC’s Good Morning America.

She said: “I’ve never been through anything like that before in my life. It was very difficult for both of us.

“It sent us on a very wild journey together and separately – trying to navigate what does this mean and why did this happen?”

She also shared her experiences in her book, Pretty Boys are Poisonous, through two poems.

In an interview with Women’s Wear Daily Fox also revealed that she’d experienced an ectopic pregnancy on a different occasion.

This is when a fertilised egg implants itself outside of the womb, usually in one of the fallopian tubes.

The American actress has three children, and Machine Gun Kelly has a daughter from a previous relationship.

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

The main UN aid agency in Gaza says Israel has failed to meet a US deadline to boost aid to the territory or risk a reduction in American military aid.

Last month, in a strongly worded letter, the US secretary of state gave Israel an ultimatum of 30 days to ensure more aid trucks reached Gaza daily. The deadline expires on Tuesday.

The amount of aid getting into Gaza is at its lowest level in a year, the UN says. A UN-backed report recently warned that there was an imminent likelihood of famine in northern Gaza, where hardly any aid has entered in the past month.

Israel says it has substantially increased the amount of aid getting into Gaza, and accuses aid agencies of failing to adequately distribute it.

In his letter on 13 October, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Israel needed to allow a minimum of 350 lorries a day into Gaza, every day, by 12 November.

But when asked if Israel had done enough since then to meet America’s demands, Louise Wateridge, Senior Emergency Coordinator there for the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (Unrwa), bluntly said “No”.

“There is not enough aid here. There are not enough supplies,” she told the BBC from Unrwa’s base in central Gaza.

“People are starving in some areas. People are very hungry. They are fighting over bags of flour. There are just not enough supplies.”

In footage filmed for the BBC by a local journalist in Gaza at one of the few remaining bakeries in the centre of the strip, a stream of hot puffed-up pitas roll out of an oven on a conveyor belt.

Through a small square window, hands desperately grasp at the bags of bread as money is handed over.

Like all food, the price of bread has increased dramatically over the past year.

Outside the bakery, hundreds of packed people scramble to get their hands on the bread.

Among them is grandmother, Aida al-Horan, who has also been picking up soup.

“If it were not for the soup kitchen, we would have starved to death,” Aida says.

“Every day it’s the same struggle. I go back and forth to the soup kitchen.”

But over the past month, Israel has met America’s request to open up more crossings into Gaza.

Cogat – the Israeli military body responsible for humanitarian affairs in the Gaza Strip – announced on Tuesday morning that it had opened a new crossing, Kissufim, towards the south.

A spokesman for Cogat told the BBC that “most aspects [of Blinken’s demands] have been met and those which have not are being discussed, [and] some US demands are for issues that were being resolved already”.

At Zikim, on the Israeli side of the strip’s northern border, I get as close as I’ve been to Gaza in more than 10 years.

I was the BBC’s Gaza correspondent between 2009 and 2013 and know the strip well.

But throughout this war, Israel has not allowed international journalists unrestricted access to Gaza.

Zikim is one of a number of crossings which have been reopened by Israel in recent weeks.

At a photocall on Monday, arranged by Israel’s military, a day before the US deadline, I and other journalists were invited to film around eight aid trucks passing into Gaza.

They were laden with sacks of flour, rice and toilet paper, among other things.

So, aid is getting into Gaza.

But nowhere near enough.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (Ocha) says, over the past, month the average number of trucks getting into the strip is just over 40 trucks per day.

Israel disputes Ocha’s figures and blames the UN for failing to deliver aid.

It says hundreds of pallets of supplies are waiting to be picked up by aid agencies on the Gaza side of the border and says some aid trucks are being looted by armed men.

The UN rejects that.

It says it is Israel’s responsibility as the occupying power to facilitate the safe passage of aid inside Gaza.

It stresses that it cannot distribute aid if Israel’s military operations mean it is too dangerous.

For more than a year Israel has crossed most of America’s red lines.

Much of the death and destruction was caused by US weapons, given to Israel in order the help the fight against Hamas after the 7 October 2023, attack.

But in the dying days of the Biden Presidency and with more than 43,000 Palestinian lives lost, it’s unlikely the White House will put its foot down and cut off arms supplies.

Two Florida lawmakers known for their tough stances towards China are in the running for senior foreign relations jobs in the administration of President-elect Donald Trump.

Senator Marco Rubio is expected to be his future secretary of state, sources told the BBC’s US partner, CBS News. But the pick is not yet confirmed. Military veteran Michael Waltz is the favourite for Trump’s national security adviser, CBS adds.

According to the same network, South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem could also play a significant role in Trump’s government – as homeland security secretary.

Rubio and Waltz’s offices have not responded to the BBC’s request for comment.

Trump’s administration is starting to take shape after his win in last week’s presidential election.

His Republican Party is closing in on full control of Congress. They have won back control of the Senate, the upper chamber, and they are inching towards a majority in the House, the lower chamber, as vote-counting continues.

Some of the appointments – including secretary of state – will require senators’ approval, although Trump has demanded that the next Senate leader let him bypass this. He can give out other jobs – like national security adviser – directly.

The reported roles for Rubio, Waltz and Noem come after Trump made Susie Wiles his chief of staff, named former immigration official Tom Homan as his “border tsar” and nominated New York Congresswoman Elise Stefanik as his future ambassador to the United Nations.

A president-elect has responsibility for about 4,000 political appointments. During his first presidency, it took Trump months to assemble his cabinet.

• Other names in the frame for Trump’s top team
• Stefanik ‘humbled’ to accept UN ambassador nomination
• How will ‘border tsar’ Homan approach immigration?
• Wiles becomes first female White House chief of staff

It is not yet certain that Rubio, 53, will be nominated to serve as secretary of state – a role that functions as America’s top diplomat – but the Florida Republican’s career has set him up to take the role.

Several US media outlets have reported that Rubio is in talks with the Trump transition team over the senior position, but it has not been finalised. It appears the president-elect could still change his mind.

Rubio serves as the vice-chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee and sits on the Foreign Relations Committee.

He is considered a foreign policy “hawk” – meaning someone who takes hard-line positions – towards Iran as well as China.

While supportive of Ukraine, he previously said the country’s war with Russia needed to “be brought to a conclusion”.

Rubio and Trump were opponents in the race for the Republican presidential nomination in 2016 and the two developed a bitter rivalry.

They clashed on a variety of issues – particularly immigration – and the conflict led to various insults. Trump referred to the senator as “little Marco” and Rubio mocked Trump’s “small hands”.

But Rubio went on to endorse his rival and campaigned for him ahead of the 2024 election. He was also in the frame to be Trump’s running mate – a role that ultimately went to JD Vance, who takes a similar view towards China.

Rubio, the son of working-class Cuban immigrants, was first elected to the Senate in 2010.

Waltz, 50, a military veteran and a long-time Trump supporter, was re-elected to Congress last week.

Two sources have confirmed to CBS that he is expected to be named national security adviser – which would involve identifying and countering threats to the US. The appointment would not require Senate approval.

Waltz is a decorated Green Beret and army veteran, having served multiple tours in Afghanistan, the Middle East and Africa.

In his book, Warrior Diplomat: A Green Beret’s Battles from Washington to Afghanistan, he documented his experiences serving in the Pentagon during the George W Bush administration and in combat operations overseas.

Like Rubio, Waltz has taken a tough line on China. As chair of the Armed Services Subcommittee on Readiness, he argued the US needed to do more to prepare for conflict in the Pacific.

He has also said the US should maintain its support for Ukraine, but in recent weeks has advocated for a reassessment of US spending on aid for the war effort.

Waltz has said Nato allies should increase their defence spending, though he has not gone as far as Trump – who has reportedly suggested the US could leave the Western military alliance, to which it is the main contributor.

“Look, we can be allies and friends and have tough conversations,” Waltz said last month.

Since the 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan, Waltz has frequently criticised President Joe Biden and the White House.

He would be the second member of Congress to be asked to serve in the next Trump administration, which would require him to resign his office in the House of Representatives.

That could have ramifications if the Republicans end up controlling the House with a slim majority. Waltz’s resignation would cut any majority by one until a replacement could be elected.

Waltz would be the fifth national security adviser to serve under Trump, who appointed four different men to serve in the position during his first term.

Trump sacked three of them: Michael Flynn, HR McMaster and John Bolton. The latter of the three actively campaigned against Trump in the 2024 election.

Noem, 52, is tipped to get a key brief overseeing the security of the US – covering border, cyber threats, terrorism and emergency response.

The agency has a $62bn (£48bn) budget and employs thousands of people.

She will work closely with Homan – who was named border tsar – and Stephen Miller, who is in charge of policy, to deliver Trump’s immigration pledges.

Noem was passed over to be Trump’s running mate in part over a bizarre admission that she killed her pet dog.

She dropped out of college at age 22 to run her family farm. Noem was elected as South Dakota’s first female governor in 2018.

Trump reportedly once told Noem he would like to have his face added to Mount Rushmore – the giant monument to past presidents carved into the mountainside in her home state.

Instead, she gave him a miniature replica – a 4ft (1.2m) bust showing his face alongside former presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln.

• EXPLAINER: When does Trump become president again?
• POLICIES: Seven things Trump wants to do
• GLOBAL: What Trump’s win means for Ukraine, Middle East and China
• ANALYSIS: Analysis: Will Trump’s victory spark a global trade war?
• IN FULL: All our election coverage in one place

North America correspondent Anthony Zurcher makes sense of the race for the White House in his twice-weekly US Election Unspun newsletter. Readers in the UK can sign up here. Those outside the UK can sign up here.

The Republican Party is four seats short of winning majority control of the US House of Representatives, which would make it easier for Donald Trump to enact his agenda.

On Monday morning, the party was at 214 seats, just short of the 218 needed to take control of the lower chamber of Congress, according to projections by Reuters.

The Senate, or upper chamber, and the White House have already flipped to Republicans – meaning the new president-elect could have significant power after he is sworn in on 20 January 2025.

Control of the House will give Republicans the ability to initiate spending legislation and launch impeachment proceedings against officials.

• These are the seven things Trump says he will do as president
• Analysis – Why Kamala Harris lost: A flawed candidate or doomed campaign?

Under Trump, a unified Republican Party could more easily push through tax cuts and introduce border control measures.

Here are some of the races that have yet to be called.

The key races to watch are:

• California’s 45th congressional district: Republican Congresswoman Michelle Steel, the incumbent, has been leading against Democrat Derek Tran
• California’s 27th: Democrat George Whitesides is challenging incumbent Republican Congressman Mike Garcia. Garcia has been leading by a narrow margin
• California’s 41st: Incumbent Republican Congressman Ken Calvert is running against Democrat Will Rollins, and has also been leading by a narrow margin
• California’s 22nd: Democrat Rudy Salas is challenging incumbent Republican Congressman David Valadao, who has been enjoying a lead
• California’s 13th: Incumbent Republican Congressman John Duarte is running against Democrat Adam Gray, and has been leading

There are two closely-watched races in this swing state.

Republican Juan Ciscomani, the Republican, appears to be neck and neck with his Democratic challenger, Kirsten Engel, in Arizona’s 6th district, located in the south-east corner of the state.

In Arizona’s 1st district, David Schweikert has a slight lead over Democratic challenger Amish Shah. This district covers north-eastern Maricopa County, outside Phoenix.

Incumbent Democratic Congressman Jared Golden is fighting to keep his seat in Maine’s 2nd congressional district – one of two congressional districts in the state. This encompasses the majority of the state north of Augusta and Portland.

Golden is currently leading in the race against his Republican challenger, Austin Theriault. Almost all votes have been counted.

Democrats are looking to hold onto one seat in Ohio’s 9th congressional district, which encompasses Toledo in the state’s north.

Incumbent Democratic Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur, who has served in Congress since 1983, narrowly leads in the race against her Republican challenger, Derek Merrin.

North America correspondent Anthony Zurcher makes sense of the race for the White House in his twice-weekly US Election Unspun newsletter. Readers in the UK can sign up here. Those outside the UK can sign up here.

Donald Trump’s Florida residence and private club Mar-a-Lago is once again the Winter White House – the place to be seen for West Wing hopefuls as the US president-elect assembles a new administration behind its opulent doors.

While President Joe Biden will remain in office until January, this part of Florida has become a rival centre of political power in America.

Just two years after an FBI raid found classified documents about US nuclear weapons and spy satellites stored in a bathroom, an eclectic mix of insiders are swarming to Mar-a-Lago, which is patrolled by robot dogs and armed guards on boats.

North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum, rumoured as a potential energy secretary, was there on election night. So was former US Defence Department chief of staff Kash Patel.

Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, has been alongside Donald Trump in Mar-a-Lago during family dinners and calls with world leaders.

Musk has been photographed inside the private club with his son and on the runway of Palm Beach International Airport, as he shuttles back and forth to be by the president-elect’s side.

For those not blessed with an invitation to stay at Mar-a-Lago itself, the hotels and restaurants around nearby West Palm Beach are packed with office-seekers jostling for influence in the new administration and supporters celebrating Trump’s victory.

Robert F Kennedy Jr, vaccine sceptic and scion of the one of the most famous US political dynasties, was by the swanky pool bar of The Ben hotel, where a fake ice rink and Christmas tree greet guests.

Giant, golden Great Dane dog sculptures adorn the lobby and every floor outside the lifts.

He is part of the transition team and the one-time presidential candidate is vying for a role with influence over health policy.

Speaking even before the election, alongside the former congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, a Democrat-turned-Republican, he said: “There’s people of all different kinds of ideology and people that we’re going to have to go up against in that transition team and fight for our vision.”

Also spotted at The Ben was outspoken Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene, the Georgia congresswoman who recently blamed the Biden administration for causing flooding in Republican areas of North Carolina. She is believed to be jockeying for a cabinet position.

At The Breakers, an opulent Italian Renaissance-style oceanfront hotel, the young valets were most star struck by the visit of Ultimate Fighting Championship CEO Dana White, who joined his friend Trump on stage on election night, but who says he has no personal political aspirations.

The same cannot be said for others. One GOP insider that the BBC ran into in the corridors said the transition was “a free for all”, as different factions of the party battle for dominance.

“Trump loves to see people scramble and suck up.”

But the insider noted with a hint of worry that some “minimally acceptable people are starting to say they don’t want a role”.

Arkansas Senator Tom Cotton, for one, has conveyed that he isn’t interested in working in the administration and would prefer a Senate leadership position.

Donald Trump is expected to focus less on elected officials to fill senior positions.

His son, Don Jr, said during an interview on Fox News that he wants people who “don’t think they know better” than his father and that he’s prepared to block anyone he thinks would be a disaster.

The president-elect has been vocal about doing things differently this time around, feeling his biggest mistake during his first presidency was hiring “bad people, or disloyal people”.

Back in 2016, plans for the transition that had been prepared by former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie in concert with the outgoing Obama administration were laid to waste.

Once the Trump team won what was seen as an improbable victory, they decided on an unconventional approach and fired Christie.

What ensued was an Apprentice-style parade of people to Trump Tower in New York that played out in front of the cameras.

Back then, news crews packed into the lobby to capture everyone headed up the golden elevator to see Donald Trump on the 26th floor.

While the world was still trying to understand what a Trump presidency would look like, those with influence in Wall Street, media, politics and entertainment all sought an audience, including Bill Gates, Al Gore and even Kanye West.

This time around, Trump seems to be prioritising loyalty, tallying up who has been with him since day one.

And the world’s media are crammed onto hotel balconies and the parks and beaches surrounding Mar-a-Lago, where security is at fortress levels.

The transition process is still unconventional by design, but so far it is far more behind the scenes than in 2016.

Trump’s first appointment – Florida political consultant Susie Wiles as White House chief of staff – does offer one clue that a well-built Florida conservative political operation could be ready to replicate its success in the White House.

• Who is in the frame to join Trump’s new top team?

Slater Bayliss, co-founder of a Florida-based lobbying firm, Advocacy Partners, has worked both for and against Ms Wiles during election battles in the state and much prefers to be on her side.

“I would say, borrowing a nickname from our friends across the pond, Susie is the Iron Lady of American electoral politics.”

He says offers have been flooding in from talent across the state, which has served as a “stronghold of resistance for smart conservative thinkers who love our country and desire to play a role in making it more reflective of our electorate”.

Republican political consultant Max Goodman says there is anticipation of a Florida wave crashing into Washington.

He expects Trump’s team will be mining staffers in Susie Wiles’s team and in the state, whose congressional and Senate delegations came out early for Trump.

“There is no hotter political farm system in the country than the state of Florida, when you have a president and the most prolific political consultant turned chief of staff calling Florida home,” he said.

Despite having the second largest Republican congressional delegation in the country, Mr Goodman says Florida has “notoriously been snubbed” when it comes to having a seat at the leadership table.

He believes that could change with Ms Wiles leading the charge, and with key Floridians such as Rick Scott potentially in line as Senate Majority leader and Senator Marco Rubio in contention for a high-profile cabinet position.

One person who has thrown his hand up to work in the transition is Joe Gruters, who is waiting to see how that shapes up.

He was the 2016 co-chairman of Trump’s Florida campaign with Ms Wiles, then the chairman of the Republican state party, and is now a state senator.

Mr Gruters describes himself as a “loyal foot soldier”, who was the only member of the Florida legislature to immediately endorse Trump’s 2024 bid and appear at Mar-a-Lago for his announcement.

He is counting on Ms Wiles taking her “battle-tested” lieutenants up with her to Washington to fill out positions.

“They know who the true believers are… and they probably have a clear idea of who they’re going to put in most of these positions,” Mr Gruters said.

Palm Beach didn’t exactly roll out the red carpet for Donald Trump when he first arrived on the scene with his purchase of Mar-a-Lago in the 1980s.

But walking around town now, it’s obvious that this is firmly Maga country – Trump-branded bikinis and hats are a common sight.

Next week, Argentina’s President Javier Milei is expected to visit Mar-a-Lago to meet Trump and Elon Musk.

Also next week, CPAC, or the Conservative Political Action Conference, is hosting its annual investors summit at Mar-a-Lago with tickets costing up to $25,000 (£19,350).

And it’s unlikely the migration south will stop once Donald Trump is inaugurated and occupies the Oval Office once more.

Slater Bayliss – the Florida lobbyist – thinks Trump will want to spend as much time in Florida as possible during his second term.

That will go some way, he said, in “making the 62,500 square feet of Mar-a -Lago the most sacred real-estate in the political universe”.

Donald Trump has made the first hires of his incoming administration, naming a chief of staff, a border tsar, a UN ambassador to the United Nations and an environmental protection agency head.

The president-elect may also be on the verge of appointing his top diplomat, the secretary of state, ahead of his return to the White House on 20 January 2025.

Susie Wiles, who headed his campaign, becomes the first female chief of staff, while Tom Homan, who served in the first Trump term, will play a critical role on the border and immigration.

A president is responsible for about 4,000 political appointments – a process that can take months.

Here is a closer look at those posts already filled, and the names in the mix for the top jobs.

The US secretary of state is the president’s main adviser on foreign affairs, and acts as America’s top diplomat when representing the country overseas.

Media reports suggest that Florida Senator Marco Rubio – who was most recently under consideration to be Trump’s vice-president – is the frontrunner.

Rubio, 53, takes a hawkish view of China. He opposed Trump in the 2016 Republican primary but has since mended fences. He is a senior member of the Senate foreign relations committee and vice-chairman of the chamber’s select intelligence panel.

A dark horse for the nomination, however, is Richard Grenell, a loyalist who served as ambassador to Germany, special envoy to the Balkans and acting national intelligence chief. Grenell, 58, was heavily involved in Trump’s efforts to overturn his 2020 election defeat and even sat in on his private meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in September.

President-elect Donald Trump is expected to select Florida congressman Michael Waltz as the next national security adviser, sources told CBS News, the BBC’s US news partner.

The national security adviser counsels the president on various threats to the US and Waltz would likely have to help navigate the US position on the wars in Israel, and in Ukraine and Russia.

It is considered an influential role and does not require Senate confirmation.

South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem is expected to get a key brief overseeing the security of the US, covering border, cyber threats, terrorism and emergency response.

The agency has a $62bn (£48bn) budget and employs thousands of people.

She will work closely with Tom Homan, named border tsar, and Stephen Miller, who is in charge of policy, to deliver Trump’s immigration pledges.

Noem was passed over to be Trump’s running mate in part over a bizarre admission that she killed her pet dog.

This is a critical job because it includes responsibility for Trump’s mass deportations of millions of undocumented migrants, which was a central campaign pledge.

Trump made the announcement on Truth Social, calling Homan a “stalwart” on border control.

The former police officer was acting director of the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) in Trump’s first term and he has advocated a zero-tolerance stance on the issue.

“Trump comes back in January, I’ll be on his heels coming back,” he said in July. “And I will run the biggest deportation force this country has ever seen.”

• How would mass deportations work?

Media reports – confirmed by the BBC’s US partner CBS News – say the New York congresswoman has been offered the UN ambassador job.

Stefanik has made national headlines with her sharp questioning in congressional committees, first at Trump’s 2019 impeachment hearings and again this year quizzing college leaders about anti-semitism on campus.

“Elise is an incredibly strong, tough and smart America First fighter,” Trump said in a statement to the New York Post.

Certain political appointments in the US – including the UN ambassador job – require the approval of the US Senate. But Trump has demanded that the next Senate leader let him make appointments without traditional confirmation votes.

Lee Zeldin, a former New York congressman, has agreed to lead the Environmental Protection Agency, both he and Trump said. The Senate will still need to confirm his appointment.

He will be in charge of tackling America’s climate policy in this role.

“We will restore US energy dominance, revitalize our auto industry to bring back American jobs, and make the US the global leader of AI,” Zeldin said in a statement on X, formerly Twitter. “We will do so while protecting access to clean air and water.”

Zeldin has long been a Trump ally – and is one of 126 Republican members of Congress who signed onto a brief to the Supreme Court that contested the 2020 election results.

While serving in congress from 2015 to 2023, Zeldin voted against expanding a number of environmental policies. He has already said he plans to “roll back regulations” from day one.

He has not earned high marks from environmental groups for his voting record on environmental issues.

Susie Wiles and campaign co-chair Chris LaCivita were the masterminds behind Trump’s victory over Kamala Harris.

In his victory speech, Trump called her “the ice maiden” – a reference to her composure – and said she liked to stay in the background. Wiles was the first appointment in Trump’s top team.

The chief of staff is often a president’s top aide, overseeing daily operations in the West Wing and managing the boss’s staff.

Wiles, 67, has worked in Republican politics for decades, from Ronald Reagan’s successful 1980 presidential campaign to electing Rick Scott and Ron DeSantis as governors of Florida.

Republicans have said she commands respect and has an ability to corral the big egos of those in Trump’s orbit, which could enable her to impose a sense of order that none of his four previous chiefs of staff could.

• Who is Susie Wiles, new chief of staff?
• Seven things Trump says he will do in power

No personnel decision may be more critical to the trajectory of Trump’s second term than his appointee to lead the Department of Justice.

After uneven relationships with both Jeff Sessions and William Barr, the attorneys general during his first term, Trump is widely expected to pick a loyalist who will wield its prosecutorial power in the manner of an “attack dog”.

Among the names being floated for the cabinet post are:

• Aileen Cannon, the Trump-nominated federal judge who threw out his classified documents case
• ex- justice department lawyer Jeffrey Clark, who is alleged to have aided Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election results
• Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who has been both indicted and impeached like Trump
• Matthew Whitaker, the man who took over for three months as acting attorney general after Sessions stepped down at Trump’s request
• Mike Davis, a right-wing activist who once clerked for Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch and has issued bombastic threats against Trump critics and journalists
• Mark Paoletta, who served in Trump’s budget office and argues there is no legal requirement for a president to stay out of justice department decisions

There are various key positions running intelligence agencies – the CIA chief, the FBI director and the director of national intelligence (DNI).

Kash Patel, is tipped to head the Central Intelligence Agency. He is a loyalist who staffed the national security council and became chief of staff to the acting secretary of defence in Trump’s final months in office.

Trump has also said he would fire Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Chris Wray, whom he nominated in 2017 but has since fallen out with. Jeffrey Jensen, a former Trump-appointed US attorney, is under consideration to replace Wray.

Trump has previously singled out Christopher Miller, his final acting defence secretary, as a candidate who could be nominated to lead the military.

Miller, a retired Army Special Forces colonel, ran the National Counterterrorism Center and – more recently – authored the defence chapter of the controversial Project 2025 wish list for a second Trump term, though Trump has distanced himself from the document.

Robert O’Brien is also being discussed for the post.

Trump is reportedly considering Robert Lighthizer, a free trade sceptic who led the tariff war with China as the US trade representative, as his chief financial officer.

But at least four others may be under consideration for the role, including Scott Bessent, a billionaire hedge fund manager who has become a major fundraiser and economic adviser to the president-elect; John Paulson, another megadonor from the hedge fund world; former Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) chair Jay Clayton; and Fox Business Network financial commentator Larry Kudlow, who ran Trump’s national economic council during his first term.

The woman co-chairing Trump’s transition team, Linda McMahon, is tipped as a key contender to represent US businesses and job creation in his cabinet – after previously serving as small business administrator during his first term.

Others who could fill this vacancy include Brooke Rollins; Robert Lighthizer; and Kelly Loeffler, a wealthy businesswoman who briefly served in the US Senate.

Doug Burgum is also a contender to lead the energy department, where he would implement Trump’s pledges to “drill, baby, drill” and overhaul US energy policy.

A software entrepreneur who sold his small company to Microsoft in 2001, Burgum briefly ran in the 2024 Republican primary before dropping out, endorsing Trump and quickly impressing him with his low-drama persona and sizeable wealth.

Former energy secretary Dan Brouillette is also reportedly in the running.

• Trump victory is a major setback for climate action, experts say

Karoline Leavitt, 27, who impressed Trump as his campaign’s national press secretary, has already served as an assistant White House press secretary and may be a shoo-in to be the administration’s spokesperson.

RFK Jr, as he is known, is an environmental lawyer by trade, a vaccine sceptic by fame and the nephew of former President John F Kennedy.

He is on a shortlist to run the health and human services department, multiple people close to the president-elect’s campaign told CBS.

Despite having no medical qualifications to his name, Kennedy, 70, is expected to become a kind of “public health tsar” in the Trump administration.

There has been speculation about his inability to pass a background check for security clearance due to past controversies, including dumping a bear carcass in New York’s Central Park.

The world’s richest man poured millions of dollars into re-electing Trump and critics say he will now have the power to shape the regulations that affect his companies Tesla, SpaceX and X.

Both he and Trump have focused on the idea of him leading a new “Department of Government Efficiency”, where he would cut costs and streamline what he calls a “massive, suffocating federal bureaucracy”.

The would-be agency’s acronym – DOGE – is a playful reference to a “meme-coin” cryptocurrency Musk has previously promoted.

But Musk, 53, could also play a role in global diplomacy. He participated in Trump’s first call with Ukraine’s Zelensky on Wednesday.

A day after her husband’s big election night win, Melania Trump took to social media to address the nation.

“The majority of Americans have entrusted us with this important responsibility,” Mrs Trump said.

“We will safeguard the heart of the republic – freedom,” she vowed, and urged Americans to rise above ideology for the sake of the country.

It was a brief message, but suggested a shift in how the former first lady will approach the role this second time around.

When Trump won his first presidency in 2016, his wife was initially absent from the White House, instead staying in New York with their young son. She appeared reticent, at times, with the traditions set out by first ladies that preceded her.

But experts say that this time, Mrs Trump will likely be more deliberate with her approach to the largely undefined role of being America’s First Lady.

Born Melanija Knavs, the 54-year-old Slovenian-American former fashion model eventually traded a glamorous life in the gilded walls of Manhattan’s Trump Tower for the confines of political life that came with the Oval Office, during a presidency that was often mired in controversy.

Described by some as an “enigma”, Mrs Trump has preferred to be less public than her predecessors, giving fewer speeches both in the White House and on the campaign trail.

“She’s been unique among modern first ladies,” said Tammy Vigil, an associate professor of communications at Boston University and author of a book on Michelle Obama and Melania Trump.

“She does things the way she wants to do them, as opposed to the way she has to do them. But she fulfils the base expectations.”

In recent years, she avoided the spotlight as her husband challenged several legal cases against him while he campaigned for a second term.

Her absence inspired several news articles this summer asking: “Where is Melania?”

Mrs Trump did appear on key occasions, like when her husband announced in late 2022 that he would be running again.

She also attended the Republican National Convention in July wearing a bright red Christian Dior suit, but did not deliver a speech – another break from tradition.

When she does speak, her words appear carefully chosen, offering hints to her point of view.

At her husband’s Madison Square Garden rally just weeks before Election Day, she delivered short but pointed remarks in line with the Trump campaign’s law and order messaging, painting New York City as a “great metropolis” in decline due to rampant crime.

She also spoke after the first assassination attempt on her husband, calling for unity and labelling the perpetrator a “monster”.

In a rare interview on Fox, she later accused his political opponents and the media of “fuelling a toxic atmosphere” that led to the attack.

Mrs Trump declared her pro-choice stance in her recent memoir, putting her at odds with anti-abortion activists within the Republican Party – though the remarks prompted speculation due to their timing, as her husband was struggling to campaign on the issue after the overturning of Roe v Wade.

• Melania Trump is latest Republican First Lady to back abortion

Mrs Trump wrote about her modelling career, her admiration for her husband and their past political disagreements, but chose to keep details of those disputes private.

She has, however, publicly stood by Trump on controversial stances like his false claim that the 2020 presidential election was stolen.

“I am not the only person who questions the results,” she wrote in her book. On the Capitol Riots on 6 January, 2021, she wrote that she “wasn’t aware” of what was taking place because she was preoccupied with her duties.

Her former press secretary, Stephanie Grisham, wrote in her own memoir that Mrs Trump refused to issue a statement condemning the violence, leading Ms Grisham to resign.

Some commentators have questioned whether she enjoyed the role of first lady at all.

One of her biographers, former CNN reporter Kate Bennett, maintains she did despite her early reluctance.

“She liked all the accoutrements that go with being first lady and living in the White House,” Ms Bennett told People magazine in 2021. “I think she actually really enjoyed it.”

In her memoir, Mrs Trump wrote that she has a “strong sense of duty to use the platform as First Lady for good”.

And she said in a 1999 interview that if her then-boyfriend Trump ever ran for president, she would use former first ladies Jacqueline Kennedy and Betty Ford as role models, calling them “very traditional”.

• Five takeaways from Melania Trump’s new book

Mrs Kennedy was a fashion icon who was dedicated to the preservation of the White House, while Mrs Ford was known as a trailblazer who advocated for abortion rights and women’s rights.

After relocating to Washington, Mrs Trump started taking on first lady duties, such as hosting luncheons and state dinners for visiting world leaders. She also focused on White House aesthetics, ordering extensive renovations and overseeing ambitious Christmas decorations (and was once secretly recorded complaining about that last task).

Her clothing was the subject of media fascination and controversy, particularly after she was spotted wearing a jacket with the phrase “I really don’t care, do you?” during a trip to a migrant child detention centre in 2018.

She said the jacket was a message for “the people and the left-wing media” who were criticising her.

Mrs Trump came under fire again after being secretly recorded by her former friend and senior advisor. She was heard expressing her frustration at being criticised for her husband’s policy to separate migrant children from their families.

She later revealed that she had been blindsided by the policy, and had told Trump privately that she did not support it. The policy was dropped by the president in June 2018 after a firestorm of controversy.

Prof Vigil says one of the biggest challenges that Mrs Trump faced in her first term was her political inexperience as well as a revolving door of staff, who were equally inexperienced and at times disloyal.

But Mrs Trump kept quietly busy regardless, Prof Vigil adds, advocating for issues like children’s welfare through her Be Best campaign against online bullying.

She was forced to defend that campaign given her own husband’s aggressive use of social media, telling CBS in 2016 that how he conducted himself online got him in trouble – and boosted his followers.

She also advocated for children affected by the opioid crisis, and has since started a foundation that raises education funds for children in foster care.

Many expect for that work to continue once she moves back to Washington, though it remains unclear if she will live there full-time.

Prof Vigil says the role of first lady has evolved over the years and Mrs Trump will “make choices about how active in public she wants to be”.

“And I think she’ll do that much more intentionally.”

The last time Chaw Su saw her husband was in March, when he was forcibly conscripted to fight for the army in Myanmar’s civil war.

Four months later, she found out he had been killed at the frontline.

“We were always poor and struggled,” she says. “But life was much more bearable with him.”

The 25-year-old widow, who had depended on her husband as the breadwinner, now has three young children to care for.

In February, Myanmar’s military regime, known as the junta, announced compulsory conscription, meaning all men aged 18 to 35 and women aged 18 to 27 would be forced to serve for up to two years.

Since launching the 2021 coup that toppled Aung San Suu Kyi’s democratically elected government, the junta has faced an uprising on multiple fronts – including from volunteer People’s Defence Forces (PDFs) and ethnic armed groups. That uprising has since escalated into a full-blown civil war.

Last year marked a turn of the tide, as the junta saw a fresh wave of attacks from insurgents that have since pushed the military government to breaking point. As a result, up to two-thirds of the country, which has had decades of military rule and repression, fell under the control of resistance groups.

The increasingly embattled junta responded in part by pushing forward with mandatory conscription, despite warnings from experts that it could exacerbate the nation’s civil conflict. The first training began in April.

In July, Chaw Su received a call from her husband who was one of two men from their village sent for training.

He told her he had been deployed to Karen state, where some of the most intense fighting between the junta and ethnic armed groups was taking place.

“He said that he would be sent to the frontline for two weeks and that he would call me when he returned to base,” Chaw Su tells the BBC. “It was the first and last message I received from him.”

At the end of July, a military officer called to inform Chaw Su her husband was dead.

“I was completely out of my mind. The officer tried to console me with his words, but I felt that my life was over.”

Like many others, Chaw Su was promised a salary for her husband’s service, but she claimed she only received 70,000 kyats (around $21) from the village official when her husband was first conscripted.

After the initial payment, months went by without any financial support.

The military says conscripts are entitled to salary and compensation upon death in service, as with full-rank soldiers. But junta spokesperson Major General Zaw Min Tun told the BBC “there could be a delay if the necessary documents are incomplete”.

Across Myanmar, conscripted soldiers – often untrained and unprepared – are sent to conflict zones with little support. Their families are often left in the dark about their whereabouts.

Soe Soe Aye, a widow in her 60s, has been left without word from her son, who was conscripted six months ago. She says he had no desire to serve in the military.

“[My son] joined the military to feed his mother,” she adds tearfully. “I regret letting him go.”

Now, she struggles with poor health and depends on her youngest daughter to support their household. But she is trying to remain hopeful.

“I just want to see my son. I don’t have enough strength to face this.”

Many young Burmese have taken drastic measures to resist the conscription order.

Kan Htoo Lwin, a 20-year-old from Myannmar’s commercial hub, Yangon, was conscripted and trained for three months along with 30 others.

He says the training was gruelling and they were threatened that if anyone tried to escape, their homes would be burned.

“After the training, I hated the army even more,” he says.

During a journey to the frontline in the eastern part of the country, Kan Htoo saw a chance to escape with two others when their convoy stopped halfway.

“We ran once it got dark, while they were busy with security checks. We didn’t stop until nightfall,” he recalls. “At some point we were exhausted and stopped to rest. We took turns sleeping and keeping watch.”

At dawn, the three young men hitched a ride from a truck driver and made it to Aung Ban, a township in the southern Shan state. Here, Kan Htoo joined a PDF, one of the many resistance groups that have been growing as more young people, disillusioned with the military junta, take up arms.

The other two men are currently in hiding, Kan Htoo says. For safety reasons, he doesn’t want to reveal what they are doing now.

While men have been the primary focus of the conscription efforts, women have also been affected.

Zue Zue, a 20-year-old from Yangon, abandoned her dream of becoming a Chinese translator to join the Special Operation Force (SOF), a unit within the PDFs.

“Now my goal is to end this era of military dictatorship and make peace for our generation,” she tells the BBC.

While Zue Zue chose to stay, others have fled the country.

Engineer Min Min left for Thailand when conscription began. He’s now staying there on an education visa, but claims he has been struggling to find legal work that suits his qualifications in Bangkok.

Many who flee to Thailand, like Min Min, end up in low-wage jobs. Thai authorities have also become stricter in catching illegal migrants, and many are now facing deportation if caught.

Min Min worries that when his visa expires, he will have to stay illegally in the country.

“I’m worried about the living costs,” says the 28-year-old. “I have no choice but to find manual labour jobs.”

He also says priority is given to Thai nationals, whose rights are protected, while Thai business owners often exploit migrants working illegally.

“I have also seen that Burmese engineers are working illegally and only paid around 12,000 Thai baht ($355), similar to the salary of migrant manual workers,” he says.

Back in Myanmar, Chaw Su now works odd jobs in the village, earning barely enough to feed her children.

“It’s hard to explain to other people the struggle I’m going through,” she says.

The largest restoration of Rembrandt’s masterpiece, The Night Watch, is under way at the Rijksmuseum, in Amsterdam.

Following five years of research using techniques such as digital imaging and artificial intelligence, eight restorers will begin “Operation Night Watch” by removing the varnish from the painting – in full view of the public, within the glass-enclosed space in The Night Watch Room.

“The start of the restoration is thrilling,” Rijksmuseum general director Taco Dibbits said.

“Removing the varnish will reveal The Night Watch’s eventful history. It will be a unique experience for the public to follow this process up close.”

The varnish, applied during a 1975-76 restoration, will be removed using microfibre cloths and cotton swabs.

The process follows years of scientific research, trials on other paintings, and tests on The Night Watch itself.

Made for Amsterdam’s Arquebusiers Guild Hall, Rembrandt van Rijn’s 1642 oil painting is one of the earliest to portray a group in action.

A captain, dressed in black, is telling his lieutenant to start the company marching. And the guardsmen are moving into formation.

Rembrandt uses the light to focus on particular details, such as the captain’s gesturing hand and the young girl, a mascot, in the background.

The painting’s original name is Militia Company of District II under the Command of Captain Frans Banninck Cocq – but it became known as The Night Watch, in the 18th Century.

The artwork was coated with a dark varnish and accumulated dirt over the years, giving the false impression it depicts a night scene.

The Night Watch has been attacked with a knife – in 1911 and again in 1975, when the attacker slashed 12 cuts into the canvas.

And in 1990, a man sprayed acid on to the painting – although, this time, thanks to a guard’s rapid intervention, only the varnish was damaged.

The Night Watch has been treated at least 25 times – but this latest research and restoration project is the most extensive so far.

More than two million visitors come to see the painting, at the museum, in the Netherlands, every year.

Donald Trump’s victory in the US presidential election has helped push the price of Bitcoin to a series of record highs.

Backers of the digital currency are celebrating, and wondering how much more valuable it could become – with some suggesting it could reach $100,000 per coin.

Its price is rocketing because the president-elect has vowed to make the US “the crypto capital of the planet” – a remarkable turnaround given as recently as 2021 he was calling Bitcoin a “scam.”

He even started accepting Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies as donations to his election campaign and raised millions from the industry.

But that is just one of the many twists and turns in the jaw-dropping story of Bitcoin, which continues to captivate people worldwide and has seen the making – and losing – of huge fortunes.

Here’s the BBC’s list of the seven wildest moments – so far – in Bitcoin’s tumultuous history.

1. The mysterious creator of Bitcoin

Despite its enormous profile, no-one actually knows for sure who invented Bitcoin. The idea for it was posted on internet forums in 2008 by someone calling themselves Satoshi Nakamoto.

They explained how a peer-to-peer digital cash system could work to enable people to send virtual coins over the internet, just as easily as sending an email.

Satoshi created a complex computer system that would process transactions and create new coins using a huge network of self-appointed volunteers around the world who used special software and powerful computers.

But he – or they – never revealed their identity, and the world has never worked it out.

In 2014, Japanese-American man Dorian Nakamoto was pursued by reporters who thought he was the elusive Bitcoin creator, but it proved to be false lead caused by some mistranslated information.

Australian computer scientist Craig Wright said it was him in 2016 – but after years of legal battles, a High Court judge concluded he was not Satoshi.

Earlier this year, a Canadian Bitcoin expert called Peter Todd strongly denied being Satoshi, while in London this month a British man, Stephen Mollah, claimed he was – but no-one believed him.

2. Making history with pizza

Bitcoin now underpins a two trillion-dollar cryptocurrency industry – but the first recorded transaction using it was the purchase of pizza.

On 22 May 2010, Lazlo Hanyecz, offered $41 worth of Bitcoin on a crypto forum in return for two pizzas.

A 19-year-old student obliged and the day went down in history for fans of the currency as #BitcoinPizza day.

A source of memes for those in crypto community, it also showcased the power of Bitcoin – an internet money that could genuinely buy items online.

Criminals must have been watching too, because within a year the first darknet marketplace was launched selling drugs and other illegal goods in exchange for Bitcoin.

The deal looks pretty bad for Lazlo now too. If he had held onto those coins they would now be worth hundreds of millions of dollars!

3. Becoming legal tender

In September 2021, President Nayib Bukele of El Salvador, central America, made Bitcoin legal tender.

Hairdressers, supermarkets and other shops had to accept Bitcoin by law, alongside its main currency, the US dollar.

Many Bitcoin enthusiasts and reporters visited the area, briefly boosting tourism to the country.

While President Bukele hoped the move would increase investment in his country and cut costs for citizens exchanging money, it did not become as popular as he hoped.

He is still hoping it will take off but for now the US dollar still remains king in the country.

As well as the huge amount of public money President Bukele spent on trying to make people embrace Bitcoin he also, controversially, bought more than 6,000 bitcoins over the past few years.

The president spent at least $120m buying up bitcoins at various prices in the hope of making a profit for his cash-strapped country.

It started to look good for him in December 2023 when, for the first time, his stash skyrocketed in value.

A website built by Dutch software engineer Elias Zerrouq is tracking the country’s Bitcoin holdings and currently estimates that the coins have risen 98% in value.

4. Kazakhstan’s crypto boom and bust

In 2021, Kazakhstan became a hotspot for Bitcoin mining – the process of crunching through the complex calculations that underpin crypto transactions.

These days it takes warehouses full of the latest computers running all day and all night, but the reward is brand new bitcoins for those companies that take part.

Warehouses of computers require lots of power – and many businesses moved to Kazakhstan where electricity was abundant thanks to huge coal reserves.

At first the government welcomed them with open arms as they brought investment.

But too many miners arrived and put huge strain on the electricity grid, putting the country at risk of blackouts.

Within a year, Kazakhstan’s Bitcoin mining industry went from boom to bust as the government imposed restrictions and increased taxes to curb the growth.

Around the world it is estimated that the Bitcoin network uses as much electricity as a small country, raising concerns about its environmental impact.

5. Bitcoins in the rubbish dump

Imagine having a crypto wallet worth more than $100m (£78m) – and then accidentally throwing away a hard drive containing the login details.

That’s what James Howells, from south Wales, says happened to him

The very nature of crypto means that recovery is not as easy as resetting your password. With no banks involved – there is no customer support helpline.

Unfortunately for him, his local council in Newport refused to let him access the landfill site where he says the device ended up – even after he offered to donate 25% of his Bitcoin stash to local charities if they let him.

He told the BBC: “It was a penny dropping moment and it was a sinking feeling.”

6. Crypto King fraudster

No one has lost as much Bitcoin as former billionaire crypto mogul, Sam Bankman-Fried. The founder of the massive crypto firm FTX was nicknamed the Crypto King and loved by the community.

FTX was a cryptocurrency exchange that allowed people to trade normal money for cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin.

His empire was worth an estimated $32bn and he was flying high until everything came crashing down within days.

Journalists had discovered that Bankman-Fried’s company was financially shaky and had been illegally transferring FTX customer funds to prop up his other company, Alameda Research.

Just before his arrest at his luxury apartment complex in the Bahamas in December 2022 he spoke to reporters. He told the BBC: “I don’t think I committed fraud. I didn’t want any of this to happen. I was certainly not nearly as competent as I thought I was.”

After being extradited to the US he was found guilty of fraud and money laundering and was jailed for 25 years.

7. Investment bank boom

Despite all the turmoil, Bitcoin continues to attract attention from investors and big companies.

In fact, in January 2024, some of the biggest financial firms in the world added Bitcoin to their official asset lists as Spot Bitcoin ETFs. These are like stocks and shares, linked to the value of Bitcoin but you don’t have to personally own any.

Customers have been pouring billions into these brand new products. Companies including Blackrock, Fidelity and GrayScale, have also been buying up Bitcoins in their thousands, pushing up its value to record highs.

It is a huge milestone for crypto with some fans believing that Bitcoin is finally being taken as seriously as the mysterious Satoshi imagined.

Nonetheless, few would back against more wild moments as the Bitcoin story continues to unfold.

Malevolent spirits, spooky zombies and vengeful witches are making a comeback to Bollywood this year, with horror films emerging as some of the biggest earners of 2024. The BBC looks at how these modest-budget films are earning impressive returns.

Earlier this month, Bollywood witnessed a dramatic showdown between the big and the not-so-big.

On one side was the star-studded high-budget action film Singham Again, and on the other, Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3, the latest instalment of a mid-budget three-part horror-comedy series by the same name.

Singham Again, which featured five of Bollywood’s biggest stars – Ajay Devgn, Akshay Kumar, Kareena Kapoor, Deepika Padukone, and Ranveer Singh – managed to pull in 1.86bn rupees ($22.05m; £17.06) worldwide in four days, according to film analytics tracker Sacnilk.

While Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3, which features the relatively young and new Kartik Aryan, earned slightly less in the same period (1.63bn rupees), its smaller budget meant that its performance was even more impressive

The film brings back Aaryan, who also featured in the second part, as a conman exorcist who is hired by a royal family to purge their palace of an evil spirit.

Packed with adventure and hilarity, the film’s racy plot has been drawing audiences to theatres in droves.

The film’s success marks a continuation of a new trend in Bollywood, where horror and horror-comedy films – once relegated to the fringes – are now leading the box office.

The trend began with Shaitaan, a psychological horror film starring Ajay Devgn, which earned over $25m worldwide despite a modest budget. Following that, Munjya and Stree 2: Sarkate Ka Aatank continued the success, with the latter becoming the highest-grossing Hindi film of 2024, grossing over $103mn.

The film, Stree 2: Sarkate Ka Aantank, set in the fictional town of Chanderi, features the mysterious Stree, who once targeted patriarchal men, now facing off against a monster that abducts free-thinking women.

The film sold out shows for months while other major Bollywood productions struggled to find an audience.

The industry has gone through through a slump post the Covid-19 pandemic, with most films tanking at the box-office, trade figures show.

What’s interesting is that a lot of these horror films did not receive glowing reviews – in fact, some critics have criticised the films for their “lousy” plotlines.

Yet their back-to-back successes seem to have given Bollywood a new lease of life.

So what’s driving this trend?

“Horror-comedy plays on the most primal instinct of the audience – alternating between fear and humour,” says Mayank Shekhar, a senior film critic.

“Both are infectious. You audibly sense the shrieks and the laughs in the hall.”

Films like Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 and Stree 2 have also benefited from the success of their prequels.

People come to watch these films simply because they enjoyed the films that came before it, making them somewhat “critic-proof”, Shekhar adds.

“I think we go because we loved the original film and want to feel the same magic in the sequels,” says Apurva, a radio jockey, who watched both films recently.

Horror as a genre in Bollywood has also reinvented itself over the years.

Unlike the horror films of the 1980s, which were designed for an adult audience, horror films nowadays have become a collective cinematic experience, fit for family viewing.

In the 1970s and 1980s, the Ramsay Brothers ruled the Hindi horror scene with hits like Do Gaz Zameen Ke Neeche (1972) and Purana Mandir (1984), built on a formula of exaggerated ghosts, witches, gore, and titillation.

“The films were profitable but lacked the legitimacy and appeal that could attract big actors and wider viewership,” says Taran Adarsh, a trade analyst.

In the new millennium, producer brothers Mahesh and Mukesh Bhatt, along with director Vikram Bhatt, took the reins of the genre.

Their Raaz series (The first film released in 2002) – a sleeker reimagining of the Ramsay Brothers’ formula, featuring chart-topping songs and sensual scenes – achieved significant success.

But apart from a few exceptions, the charm of horror films remained limited.

The turning point came in 2007, when Bhool Bhulaiyaa’s first part, starring Akshay Kumar and Vidya Balan, hit theatres.

Adapted from the 1993 Malayalam blockbuster Manichitrathazhu, the movie offered a perfect blend of humour and horror and became an instant hit with the audiences.

The genre – with its newfound family-friendly approach, which tones down explicit content – gained more popularity with the release of Stree in 2018, which combined horror with social themes like patriarchy and feminism.

Anees Bazmee, the director of Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 and 3, says a big part of his vision was to ensure his films are enjoyable for children. “I wanted them to be on the edge of their seats but never truly scared, like a roller-coaster ride – happy on the ascent, with a thrill of fear on the descent,” he told the BBC.

And it’s not just humour, there are other common elements as well – most of these films are set in small towns and cities and combine local folklore with universal themes of kindness, bravery and the eventual triumph of good over evil.

Take the film Tumbbad, a bold blend of mythology, horror and moral lessons.

The film follows Vinayak, who discovers a treasure guarded by a cursed creature and attempts to steal it, only to realise greed is a deadly trap. Originally released in 2018, the film was re-released in cinemas earlier this year, managing to earn more than its original collection.

Mr Adarsh says there is no doubt that horror is enjoying a “revival” at the box office this year.

But others warn against the oversimplification of the trend.

“Bhool Bhulaiyaa was our first horror-comedy success that established a successful formula,” says Munjya director Aditya Sarpotdar.

“But it took more than a decade to come up with the next big hit (Stree),” he adds.

Bazmee says that often, it’s the plot and not the genre that determines a film’s popularity.

“In the end, it’s always the well-made films that work. That’s always going to be a fundamental factor,” he says.

When I ask the creator of the hit Korean drama Squid Game about reports that he was so stressed while shooting the first series he lost six teeth, he quickly corrects me. “It was eight or nine,” he laughs.

Hwang Dong-hyuk is speaking to me on set as he films the second series of his dystopian Netflix thriller, which sees hundreds of debt-laden contestants fight it out for a whopping cash prize, by playing a string of life-or-death children’s games.

But another series was not always on the cards. At one point, he swore against making one.

Given the stress it has caused him, I ask what changed his mind.

“Money,” he answers, without hesitation.

“Even though the first series was such a huge global success, honestly I didn’t make much,” he tells me. “So doing the second series will help compensate me for the success of the first one too.”

“And I didn’t fully finish the story,” he adds.

The first series was Netflix’s most successful show to date, thrusting South Korea and its home-grown television dramas into the spotlight. Its dark commentary on wealth inequality touched a nerve with audiences around the globe.

But having killed off almost every character, Hwang has had to start from scratch, with a new cast and set of games, and this time audience expectations are sky high.

“The stress I feel now is much greater,” he says.

Three years after the first series aired, Hwang is even more pessimistic about the state of the world.

He points to current wars, climate change and a widening global wealth gap. Conflicts are no longer confined between the rich and poor, they are playing out intensely between different generations, genders and political camps, he says.

“New lines are being drawn. We’re in an era of us vs them. Who’s right and who’s wrong?”

As I toured the show’s playful set, with its distinctive brightly-coloured staircase, I picked up a few clues as to how the director’s despair will be reflected this time around.

In this series, the previous winner, Gi-hun, re-enters the game on a quest to bring it down and save the latest round of contestants.

According to Lee Jung-jae, who plays the leading character, he is “more desperate and determined” than before.

The floor of the dormitory, where the contestants sleep at night, has been divided in two.

One half is branded with a giant red neon X symbol, the other with a blue circle.

Now, after every game, the players must pick a side, depending on whether they want to end the contest early and survive, or keep playing, in the knowledge all but one of them will die. The majority decision rules.

This, I am told, will lead to more factionalism and fights.

It is part of director Hwang’s plan to expose the dangers of living in an increasingly tribal world. Forcing people to pick sides, he believes, is fuelling conflict.

For all those who were captivated by the shocking storytelling of Squid Game, there were others who found it gratuitously violent and difficult to watch.

But it is clear from talking to Hwang, that the violence is fully thought out. He is a man who thinks and cares deeply about the world and is motivated by a mounting unease.

“When making this series, I constantly asked myself ‘do we humans have what it takes to steer the world off this downhill path?’. Honestly, I don’t know,” he says.

While viewers of the second series might not get the answers to these big life questions, they can at least be comforted that some plot holes will be filled in – like why the game exists, and what is motivating the masked Front Man running it.

“People will see more of the Front Man’s past, his story and his emotions,” reveals the actor Lee Byung-hun, who plays the mysterious role.

“I don’t think this will make viewers warm to him, but it may help them better understand his choices.”

As one of South Korea’s most famous actors, Lee admits that having his face and eyes covered and his voice distorted throughout the first series, was “a little bit dissatisfying”.

This series he has relished having scenes without a mask, in which he can fully express himself – a chance he nearly did not get.

Hwang tried for 10 years to get Squid Game made, taking out large loans to support his family, before Netflix swooped in.

They paid him a modest upfront amount, leaving him unable to cash in on the whopping £650m it is estimated to have made the platform.

This explains the love-hate relationship South Korea’s film and television creators currently have with international streaming platforms.

Over the past few years, Netflix has stormed the Korean market with billions of dollars of investment, bringing the industry global recognition and love, but leaving creators feeling short-changed.

They accuse the platform of forcing them to relinquish their copyright when they sign contracts – and with it, their claim to profit.

This is a worldwide problem.

In the past, creators could rely on getting a cut of box office sales or TV re-runs, but this model has not been adopted by streaming giants.

The issue is compounded in South Korea, creators say, due to its outdated copyright law, which does not protect them.

This summer, actors, writers, directors and producers teamed up to form a collective, to fight the system together.

“In Korea, being a movie director is just a job title, it’s not a way to earn a living,” the vice-president of the Korean Film Directors Guild, Oh Ki-hwan, tells the audience at an event in Seoul.

Some of his director friends, he says, work part-time in warehouses and as taxi drivers.

Park Hae-young is a writer at the event. When Netflix bought her show, ‘My Liberation Notes’, it became a global hit.

“I’ve been writing my whole life. So, to get global recognition when competing with creators from across the world, has been a joyful experience,” she tells me.

But Park says the current streaming model has left her reluctant to “pour her all” into her next series.

“Usually, I’ll spend four or five years making a drama in the belief that, if it’s successful, it could somewhat secure my future, that I’ll get my fair share of compensation. Without that, what’s the point of working so hard?”

She and other creators are pushing the South Korean government to change its copyright law to force production companies to share their profits.

In a statement, the South Korean government told the BBC that while it recognised the compensation system needed to change, it was up to the industry to resolve the issue. A spokesperson for Netflix told us it offers “competitive” compensation, and guarantees creators “solid compensation, regardless of the success or failure of their shows”.

Squid Game’s Hwang hopes his candor over his own pay struggles will initiate that change.

He has certainly sparked the fair pay conversation, and this second series will surely give the industry another bump.

But when we catch up after filming has wrapped, he tells me his teeth are aching again.

“I haven’t seen my dentist yet, but I’ll probably have to pull out a few more very soon.”

Indian full-service carrier Vistara will operate its last flight on Monday, after nine years in existence.

A joint venture between Singapore Airlines and the Tata Sons, Vistara will merge with Tata-owned Air India to form a single entity with an expanded network and broader fleet.

This means that all Vistara operations will be transferred to and managed by Air India, including helpdesk kiosks and ticketing offices. The process of migrating passengers with existing Vistara bookings and loyalty programmes to Air India has been under way over the past few months.

“As part of the merger process, meals, service ware and other soft elements have been upgraded and incorporates aspects of both Vistara and Air India,” an Air India spokesperson said in an email response.

Amid concerns that the merger could impact service standards, the Tatas have assured that Vistara’s in-flight experience will remain unchanged.

Known for its high ratings in food, service, and cabin quality, Vistara has built a loyal customer base and the decision to retire the Vistara brand has been criticised by fans, branding experts, and aviation analysts.

The consolidation was effectively done to clean up Vistara’s books and wipe out its losses, said Mark Martin, an aviation analyst.

Air India has essentially been “suckered into taking a loss-making airline” in a desperate move, he added.

“Mergers are meant to make airlines powerful. Never to wipe out losses or cover them.”

To be sure, both Air India and Vistara’s annual losses have reduced by more than half over the past year, and other operating metrics have improved too. But the merger process so far has been turbulent.

The exercise has been riddled with problems – from pilot shortages that have led to massive flight cancellations, to Vistara crew going on mass sick leave over plans to align their salary structures with Air India.

There have also been repeated complaints about poor service standards on Air India, including viral videos of broken seats and non-functioning inflight entertainment systems.

The Tatas have announced a $400m (£308m) programme to upgrade and retrofit the interiors of its older aircraft and also a brand-new livery. They’ve also placed orders for hundreds of new Airbus and Boeing planes worth billions of dollars to augment their offering.

But this “turnaround” is still incomplete and riddled with problems, according to Mr Martin. A merger only complicates matters.

Experts say that the merger strikes a dissonant chord from a branding perspective too.

Harish Bijoor, a brand strategy specialist, told the BBC he was feeling “emotional” that a superior product offering like Vistara which had developed a “gold standard for Indian aviation” was ceasing operations.

“It is a big loss for the industry,” said Mr Bijoor, adding it will be a monumental task for the mother brand Air India to simply “copy, paste and exceed” the high standards set by Vistara, given that it’s a much smaller airline that’s being gobbled up by a much larger one.

Mr Bijoor suggests a better strategy would have been to operate Air India separately for five years, focusing on improving service standards, while maintaining Vistara as a distinct brand with Air India prefixed to it.

“This would have given Air India the time and chance to rectify the mother brand and bring it up to the Vistara level, while maintaining its uniqueness,” he adds.

Beyond branding, the merged entity will face a slew of operational challenges.

“Communication will be a major challenge in the early days, with customers arriving at the airport expecting Vistara flights, only to find Air India branding,” says Ajay Awtaney, editor of Live From A Lounge, an aviation portal. “Air India will need to maintain clear communication for weeks.”

Another key challenge, he notes, is cultural: Vistara’s agile employees may struggle to adjust to Air India’s complex bureaucracy and systems.

But the biggest task for the merged carrier would be offering customers a uniform flying experience.

These are “two airlines with very different service formats are being integrated into one airline. It is going to be a hotchpotch of service formats, cabin formats, branding, and customer experience. It will involve learning and unlearning, and such a process has rarely worked with airlines and is seldom effective,” said Mr Martin.

Still, many believe Vistara had to go – now or some years later.

A legacy brand like Air India, with strong global recognition and ‘India’ imprinted in its identity, wouldn’t have allowed a smaller, more premium subsidiary to overshadow its revival process.

Financially too, it makes little sense for the Tatas to have two loss-making entities compete with one another.

The combined strength of Vistara and Air India could also place the Tatas in a much better position to compete with market leader Indigo.

The unified Air India group (including Air India Express, which completed its merger with the former Air Asia India in October) “will be bigger and better with a fleet size of nearly 300 aircraft, an expanded network and a stronger workforce”, an Air India spokesperson said.

“Getting done with the merger means that Air India grows overnight, and the two teams start cooperating instead of competing. There will never be one right day to merge. Somewhere, a line had to be drawn,” said Mr Awtaney.

But for many Vistara loyalists, its demise leaves a void in India’s skies for a premium, full-service carrier – marking the third such gap after the collapse of Kingfisher Airlines and Jet Airways.

It’s still too early to say if Air India, which often ranks at the bottom of airline surveys, can successfully fill that void.

Princess Zelda is one of Nintendo’s best-known characters, but she’d never starred in one of its games until this year.

Despite lending her name to the Legend of Zelda series, she’d always played a supporting role behind regular hero Link.

That all changed with Echoes of Wisdom, released a few weeks ago.

BBC Newsbeat caught up with series producer Eiji Aonuma and the game’s directors, Tomomi Sano and Satoshi Terada, to find out about making the game and their reaction to its launch.

Echoes of Wisdom was a complete surprise when it was announced at the Nintendo Direct showcase in June.

Fans were quick to realise the significance of a game starring the princess as the main character.

But it also introduced a new play style for the series.

Rather than being equipped with a sword and shield, as in previous Legend of Zelda games, the main character has the ability to copy items and enemies found during their quest.

Known as echoes, these items can then be spawned or “pasted” into the world, allowing players to come up with solutions to obstacles and puzzles.

You might stack beds and boxes to scale a wall, or unleash several enemies to attack one of the game’s bosses.

Series producer Aonuma acknowledges “a lot of the focus of the topic of conversation was going to be on Zelda being the main protagonist”.

But, he says, a bigger concern for him was “whether or not the unique gameplay of the echoes was going to be conveyed properly and understood properly by the viewers”.

It’s a feeling shared by directors Terada and Sano.

“Whether or not the Zelda fans would accept these new elements was something I was watching over nervously,” says Terada, chief of third-party co-developer Grezzo.

Sano says she was “relieved to see that it was being accepted positively, and was really watching closely over my smartphone to see people’s reactions the following day as well”.

Since getting their hands on the new game, some players have reported taking a while to get to grips with the new system.

Aonuma, who says he completed Echoes of Wisdom eight times during its development, admits that he had similar feelings on his first playthrough.

“From the second time through I sort of realised that there’s various ways and methods of overcoming these puzzles and overcoming the challenges,” he says.

Aonuma says experimenting with different methods helped him to change his experience.

“And so I think that realisation that you can do various things and there are various ways to overcome and solve these puzzles is sort of a turning point of whether you become used to using the echoes in the new game system.”

Recent Zelda games have given players much more room to be creative and test the limits of what they can do, with some sharing the results online.

Last year’s Tears of the Kingdom, for example, allowed players to build strange contraptions and led to memorable creations such as a giant robotic Godzilla.

Terada says that the team spent a lot of time testing Echoes of Wisdom’s various combinations, but even they were surprised once people got their hands on it.

“Seeing how players are using it, I was really amazed at people’s imaginations,” he says.

The developers admit they were impressed by one trick that’s been widely shared, of players combining a bed with a tornado to propel Zelda into the air.

“That was one that we hadn’t thought of,” Terada admits.

Sano adds: “Players were using the tornado and the bed to actually climb and go over mountains.

“And this was something that I was amazed by, something that I probably wouldn’t be able to do.”

Echoes of Wisdoms received positive reviews upon its release, with the majority of critics praising the game for the sense of freedom it gave players.

But there were a few common criticisms.

One of the main ones was about the game’s performance on the Switch console, which was released back in 2017.

Many players said the game’s frame rate – which governs the smoothness of on-screen animations – was unstable.

Sano confirmed that Echoes of Wisdom uses a variable frame rate, and that the developers felt this was the “best option” available.

Players and reviewers also had complaints about the menu system used to select echoes during the game.

By the end it’s possible to have gathered a total of 127, and the main method of selecting them involves scrolling sideways through a very long row of icons.

It can be filtered using options including most used and newest, but many still felt that it could have been more streamlined.

Terada tells Newsbeat the developers wanted to encourage players to experiment.

“One of the essences of this game is being able to figure out different ways of using each of these echoes,” he says.

“And so in that sense we wanted players to fall upon and see the echoes that they may not have noticed or have been using while they’re sorting through all the echoes that they have.”

He also pointed out that there’s an alternative notebook method which enables players to access the echoes they’ve gathered more quickly.

Zelda celebrates its 40th anniversary in 2026, and Aonuma says Echoes of Wisdom shares some DNA with the original game in the series.

Aonuma says that he thought it “might be close to impossible” to make a new entry adding new elements to the top-down style of earlier Zelda titles.

But, he says: “I think through this game we were able to satisfy a lot of players.

“And so this game made me realise that there’s still a lot of possibility for these top-down Zelda games as well.”

The future of Nintendo is currently a topic of speculation among fans, with fans waiting for news on its successor to the Switch.

Aonuma didn’t give anything away there, but did share something about his vision for the next instalments of Zelda.

“And so we will also have those dynamic 3D Zeldas as well,” he says.

“But in addition to that, we’re also hoping that we can continue with these 2D top-down Zeldas.”

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

Gladiator II – Ridley Scott’s highly anticipated sequel following the 2000 epic – has been met with a mixed response from film critics.

The Guardian’s Peter Bradshaw called the movie a “thrilling spectacle” and “gobsmacking reboot”.

His four-star review also praised Paul Mescal for his performance as the illegitimate son of Russell Crowe’s Maximus, Lucius, and called him a “formidable lead”.

However, he agreed with most critics that while the film is an enjoyable watch, it doesn’t quite live up to the Oscar-winning original.

“It isn’t quite as strong as its predecessor,” wrote Robbie Collin for The Telegraph. “But it is still the year’s most relentlessly entertaining blockbuster.”

“You miss Russell Crowe, but Mescal is always watchable, with a stocky, swarthy, brooding presence,” he added in the four-star review.

The FT’s review celebrated veteran director, Ridley Scott, for his “stubborn charm”, “belligerent swagger” and “ideas that are more pulpy and loopy”.

“The best of the film is its sheer bloody-minded heft, a blockbuster fuelled by an insistence on bigger, sillier, movie-r,” Danny Leigh wrote, giving the film three stars.

But he added that he’d “be amazed if the sequel is remembered by Christmas, let alone in 24 years”.

Variety’s Owen Gleiberman said that while the sequel was a “solid piece of neoclassical popcorn” it’s “ultimately a mere shadow” of the original.

He also noted that while Mescal delivers a fine performance he has “an anger that never quite simmers to a boil” and “we now can’t help but see him as a millennial knockoff of Crowe’s glowering royal punk”.

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The Independent’s four-star review also commended 86-year-old Scott, who appears to care less about habits and expectations the older he gets.

“Gladiator II is equal in scale and spectacle, and weighted with metaphor, but it’s also shot through with the kind of wry, absurdist slant that’s come to dominate Scott’s work of the last decade and a half,” wrote Clarisse Loughrey. “At times, Gladiator II is pure camp.”

The Hollywood Reporter wrote that the film delivers bigger, bolder action thanks to advances in digital technology.

There are “heavily armed gladiators riding a charging rhinoceros” and “wounded men tumbling from boats into the jaws of ravenous sharks” during the nautical battle staged in the flooded pit of the Colosseum.

David Rooney was less favourable about Mescal’s performance and called it “a tad flat at times” with his emotional range “sticking mostly to the same notes of brooding intensity and simmering rage”.

Kevin Maher at The Times also criticised Mescal and said he “disappoints in this dreary, Marvel-esque sequel”.

In his two-star review, he wrote that the film is a “scattershot effort with half-formed characters and undernourished plotlines that seem to exist only in conversation with the Russell Crowe original.

“There is no substantial story this time around, and no driving ideas in the hotchpotch screenplay.”

The Wrap’s William Bibbiani agreed and said while the film “has everything it needs in the action department, it’s the story that falls apart”.

“The whole thing hangs on contrivance and familiarity, not characters, so the fights don’t seem to matter much.”

However, Bibbiani and Maher noted that Denzel Washington is particularly good as Machiavellian former slave, Macrinus, who now profits off gladiators.

Maher said the film “only ignites when Denzel Washington’s brilliant, bisexual slave manager is on screen,” he said.

Other critics agreed and The Guardian said he “almost steals the entire picture”, while The Hollywood Reporter called his performance “lip-smacking”.

Empire’s four-star review praised other members of the cast as well – Pedro Pascal is “as charismatic as ever” and Joseph Quinn and Fred Hechinger as Roman Emperor twins “rival Joaquin Phoenix’s Commodus from the original Gladiator in terms of crazed volatility and also have a distinct whiff of the ultimate mad emperor Caligula”.

An Australian soldier has been posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross – the Commonwealth’s highest military honour – for bravery during the Vietnam War.

The then 19-year-old Private Richard Norden ran into enemy fire to reach a wounded comrade and retrieve the body of another during a battle north-east of the capital, then known as Saigon, in 1968.

He survived the battle but died at the age of 24 in a traffic accident while on duty as a police officer in Canberra

More than 60,000 Australians – about a quarter of them conscripted – served in controversial Vietnam War from 1962 to 1973, as part of an allied force led by the US.

“Private Richard Norden is a true Australian hero… [He] demonstrated extraordinary courage and selflessness by putting his own life at risk to save and protect his fellow comrades,” Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said after the announcement, on Remembrance Day.

Pte Norden’s company was ambushed by North Vietnamese Army soldiers on 14 May, 1968, with a scout immediately killed and the section Commander gravely injured.

Described as having a “complete disregard for his own personal safety”, he ran forward under heavy enemy fire to reach the two soldiers and carried the severely wounded section Commander back to his group.

Himself seriously wounded by that point, Pte Norden then went back for the scout. Finding him dead, he then returned to the group to collect grenades before pushing into the battlefield for a third time, to clear the area so the scout’s body could be recovered.

Australia’s Governor-General Sam Mostyn said it was a “historic” day for the country and a “significant” moment for Pte Norden’s family.

“We are honoured that His Majesty has approved the Victoria Cross for Australia for Richard, recognising his gallantry actions whilst serving in Vietnam,” his widow, Robynn Freeman said in a statement.

A formal ceremony to present the medal to Pte Norden’s family will take place at a later date, yet to be announced.

Like in many other allied countries, the war was very divisive in Australia and thousands of Australians protested against it.

By the time the conflict ended in 1975, an estimated three million Vietnamese people had died, with the US losing over 58,000 people and Australia 521.

Police in Italy say they have busted a major European criminal network forging and selling artworks by some of the biggest names in modern art.

More than 2,100 forged artworks were recovered, including works attributed to Banksy, Andy Warhol and Pablo Picasso.

Thirty-eight people were arrested over the forgeries, which carried a potential sale value of about €200m (£165m; $213m).

Six forgery workshops were uncovered in the sting, including two in Tuscany, one in Venice and the rest elsewhere in Europe, Italian prosecutors added.

Those arrested face charges of conspiracy to handle stolen goods, forgery and illegal sale of artworks, the Carabinieri cultural squad and the Pisa prosecutors’ office said in a joint statement on Monday.

The statement said authorities were tipped off in 2023 after they seized about 200 fake pieces from the collection of a businessman in Pisa, including a copy of a drawing by Italian painter Amedeo Modigliani.

Fake artworks attributed to more than 30 famed artists were seized in raids carried out in Italy, Spain and Belgium, the statement said.

Other artists impersonated by the network included Claude Monet, Vincent Van Gogh, Salvador Dali, Henry Moore, Gustav Klimt, Joan Mirò, Jackson Pollock, Francis Bacon and Piet Mondrian.

Pisa Chief Prosecutor Teresa Angela Camelio said experts believe the operation is “the biggest act of protection” of Banksy’s estate.

Banksy is one of the world’s most famous artists, but despite his global following, his identity remains, officially at least, unknown.

This is not the first time his artwork has attracted criminals. In September, two thieves were arrested and charged over the theft of his famed Girl with Balloon piece from a central London art gallery.

Banksy’s art, which tends to be graffitied by the artist on public buildings, has at times not remained intact for long.

A recent urban jungle collection, which popped up over a series of days across London, was defaced.

Warhol’s work, too, has fallen foul of criminals of late. Earlier this month two of his artworks were stolen during an overnight break-in at a gallery in the Netherlands.

Ghana is due to get a new president after December’s election. The current vice-president, Mahamudu Bawumia, and a former head of state, John Mahama, are the two leading candidates in contention to win the poll.

Nana Akufo-Addo, first elected in 2016, is coming to the end of his second and final four-year term.

On Saturday 7 December, the nearly 18.8 million Ghanaians registered to vote will be able to take part in the country’s ninth general election since multiparty politics was reintroduced in the early 1990s.

In the last 30 years, the country has had a series of closely fought but peaceful polls. Ghana has a reputation for the orderly transfer of power between administrations.

On polling day, two elections will be taking place simultaneously:

• Presidential – there are 12 candidates
• Parliamentary – voters in 275 constituencies across the country will be choosing their MP.

Although 12 hopefuls are vying for the presidency, only two have a realistic chance of winning. Since the return of multiparty politics in 1992 only candidates from either the National Democratic Congress (NDC) or the New Patriotic Party (NPP) have won.

The two front-runners are:

• Mahamudu Bawumia (NPP) – Having served as Akufo-Addo’s vice-president for eight years, the 61-year-old Oxford-educated economist could make history as the country’s first Muslim president. The former deputy governor of the central bank gained a reputation for his financial know-how. But that could also be his undoing as he has faced heavy criticism after Ghana plummeted into its most severe economic crisis in years under his watch.
• John Mahama (NDC) – Winning this ballot would represent a comeback for the 65-year-old as he already served as president for four-and-a-half years from 2012 but then lost the 2016 election. In office, he was nicknamed “Mr Dumsor”, which is a reference to the power cuts that plagued his time in office. Amid the current tough economy, Mahama has pledged an “urgent reset” for the country that needs an experienced leader at the helm.

Among other candidates garnering attention are:

• Nana Kwame Bediako – The businessman, also known as “Cheddar”, does not have a political background but has made a lot of impact on social media and attracted young supporters.
• Alan Kyerematen – The former minister, nicknamed “Alan Cash”, left the NPP last year after complaining that the presidential primaries were biased against him. He could draw some NPP support in the party’s heartland in the Ashanti region.

Economic questions have topped people’s concerns in the build-up to the election, especially the rising cost of living. At the end of 2022, the annual inflation rate hit 54%. It has come down since then but prices are still rising steeply.

The World Bank said as many as 850,000 Ghanaians may have been pushed into poverty in 2022 because of the rising prices of goods and services. These “new poor” joined the six million who were already living in poverty.

By the end of 2022, government finances had been depleted with little left to support the country’s budget, forcing Ghana to go to the International Monetary Fund for help.

• How Ghana’s central bank lost $5bn in one year

Unemployment among young people and an exodus of Ghanaians looking for better opportunities elsewhere has also been a feature of recent years.

The NDC has decried this as an “abysmal performance” and has demanded a reset.

The governing NPP says it has built a resilient economy that is on the “cusp of… transformation” so it is not the time to change.

Concerns over the environmental impact of illegal gold mining – known in the country as “galamsey” – have become another major talking-point. A series of demonstrations over the practice, which has led to the pollution of several major rivers with dangerous chemicals, have been held in the build-up to the vote.

• Ghana gold rush sparks environmental disaster

Both major parties agree that the issue needs to be addressed, but while the NPP says it is important for the economy to allow some small-scale miners to continue their work, the NDC is calling for much tougher regulation and the restriction of new licences.

To win the presidential election in the first round, a candidate must get more than half of the votes cast. If no-one passes that threshold then a second round run-off featuring the two candidates with the largest number of votes will take place by the end of December.

The parliamentary election is run on a first-past-the-post basis with the winner being the candidate in each constituency with the largest share of votes, even if that is less than 50%.

On election day, each voter can turn up to their assigned polling station with their voter’s ID card, where they will have their fingerprints electronically checked and are then issued with the two ballot papers. Each person who has cast their ballot then has their little finger marked with indelible ink to prevent voting a second time.

Since 1992, Ghana has had several tight presidential elections.

In 2008, less than half a percentage point separated the two candidates in the second round.

In the election four years later, the winner, Mahama, crept over the 50% threshold in the first round by less than 80,000 votes.

That result triggered a legal complaint from the NPP, which argued that tally sheets at certain polling stations had been tampered with. The challenge was unsuccessful, but it did lead the electoral commission to introduce new measures to ensure greater transparency.

Election observers have frequently praised the way the vote has been run.

Going by previous elections, the electoral commission is likely to announce the result by 10 December.

• Journalist’s apology not enough to satisfy Ghanaian king
• Ghana rejoices as looted treasure put on display
• Ghana’s first photojournalist turns 95
• ‘Bipolar, colour and me’ – an artist’s spreadsheet of emotion
• Ghana – a basic guide

People in Thailand are accusing a high-profile television drama of potentially abusing animals after a cat was shown convulsing on the ground.

Concerned viewers of Thai drama “The Empress of Ayodhaya” questioned what was done to the animal to make its performance so convincing, with some suggesting potential mistreatment.

Despite the show’s producers scrambling to reassure audiences of the cat’s safety, a boycott campaign has gained traction on social media.

Authorities said they were investigating allegations of animal abuse.

In the controversial scene, a woman makes a cat drink her tea to test if it has been spiked. Moments later, the cat lays purring and writhing on the ground until it “dies”.

Social media users, including public figures, quickly took to social media to air their anger about potential mistreatment of the cat.

Those concerns have now cast a shadow over what was marketed as one of the biggest Thai dramas of the year.

“The Empress of Ayodhaya” tells a story about royal tensions in the Ayutthaya period, inspired by the story of a 16th century Siamese queen.

Thai television channel One31 and the show’s director, Sant Srikaenlaw, said the cat had been put under anaesthesia with the supervision of experts. Sant added that the cat had regained consciousness, and promised to take it in for a health check.

The show’s producers also posted photos and videos of the cat to prove that it was safe and healthy.

This has done little to quell public anger.

The Veterinary Council of Thailand, which warned of the dangers of sedating animals, said it would take relevant action on the case. Meanwhile, Thailand’s Livestock Department said it has started investigating allegations of animal cruelty, adding that it had asked to examine the cat to make sure it was not harmed.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) issued a statement on Monday condemning the anesthetising of the cat for entertainment, describing it as “reckless, dangerous, and cruel”.

“The public is rightly outraged, especially knowing that today, anything is possible with CGI, AI and animatronics,” the statement said. “If you can’t make a TV show without risking the lives of animals, you’re in the wrong business.”

Several airlines have suspended flights to Haiti after a passenger plane from the US was hit by gunfire as it tried to land in Port-au-Prince.

Spirit Airlines Flight 951 from Fort Lauderdale in Florida was diverted to the neighbouring Dominican Republic, where it landed safely at Santiago Airport.

A flight attendant suffered minor injuries but no passengers were hurt in the attack, the second in three weeks on aircraft flying over Haiti’s capital.

The incident comes as a new prime minister took office in the crisis-hit country, which has been plagued by armed gangs and escalating violence.

Alix Didier Fils-Aimé said his priority was “restoring security”, according to AFP news agency.

Notwithstanding the country’s “difficult circumstances”, he promised to put all of his energy, skills and “patriotism at the service of the national cause”.

The businessman, who stood unsuccessfully for a seat in the Senate in 2015, studied at Boston University. He was installed by the country’s ruling council after the previous leader, Garry Conille, was ousted less than six months into the job.

The Spirit Airlines flight had been scheduled to land at Toussaint Louverture International Airport just before 12:00 (17:00 GMT) when it was hit.

Unverified video of the incident shared on social media appeared to show several bullet holes on the inside of the aircraft, where the crew sit during take-off and landing.

Spirit Airlines said that damage “consistent with gunfire” had been found when the plane was inspected at Santiago Airport. The aircraft was taken out of commission, Spirit added.

The airline said it had also suspended flights to Haiti “pending further evaluation”.

Two other US airlines, American Airlines and JetBlue, have also suspended flights to Haiti until at least Thursday.

The security situation further deteriorated in Haiti in recent months. In October, gang members opened fire at a UN helicopter, causing some airlines to temporarily cancel flights to the Caribbean nation.

A UN-backed policing mission, led by officers from Kenya, had begun in June in an attempt to wrest back control from gangs.

Spirit is a low-cost airline based in Florida which flies throughout the US, Caribbean and Latin America.

The price of bitcoin has risen above $80,000 (£62,000) for the first time ever, after Donald Trump’s decisive victory in the US election last week.

It comes as the Republicans are edging closer to overall control of Congress after having already secured the presidency and a majority in the Senate.

On the campaign trail the president-elect pledged to make the US “the crypto capital of the planet”.

The value of world’s biggest cryptocurrency has now risen by more than 80% this year.

Other cryptocurrencies, including dogecoin – which has been promoted by high-profile Trump supporter Elon Musk – are also making gains.

In the run-up to the election Trump said he would create a strategic bitcoin stockpile and appoint digital asset-friendly financial regulators – spurring expectations that he would strip back regulations on the crypto industry.

Trump has said one of his first actions as president would be to sack the current chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Gary Gensler.

Mr Gensler, who was appointed by Joe Biden in 2021, has led the SEC’s crackdown on the crypto industry.

“If the Trump administration does deregulate crypto, it’s hard to see how it is not bullish for the sector,” Matt Simpson, market analyst at StoneX Financial told the BBC, adding that such a move could lead bitcoin prices to jump to as high as $100,000.

But “it is still vulnerable to nasty selloffs along the way – which can be less kind to smaller pockets,” he added.

Trump’s broader agenda, which includes cutting taxes and reducing regulations on businesses, has also driven a surge in other investments since he won the election.

With Republicans in control of the executive and potentially both the legislative branches of the government, they will be able to advance his ideas through each chamber and send those bills for him to sign into law.

Major stock indexes, the dollar and US bonds have all made gains in recent days.

At least 35 people have been killed and 43 more injured after a man drove into a crowd of people exercising at a stadium in Zhuhai, southern China on Monday, authorities say.

A 62-year-old male driver, identified as Mr Fan, drove his SUV through a barrier at Zhuhai Sports Centre in what local police say was a “serious and vicious attack”.

Many elderly people, as well as teenagers and children, were among the injured, Chinese media is reporting. Police said the driver was arrested as he tried to flee and is in a coma from self-inflicted wounds.

Amid reports that the incident is being censored online in China, BBC journalists were told to stop filming when reporting from the stadium on Tuesday.

Most videos of the incident shared by witnesses had been scrubbed off Chinese social media by Tuesday morning, but some footage still online showed dozens of people lying on the ground and being attended to by paramedics and bystanders.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has called for “all-out efforts” to treat the injured and “severe punishment” for the perpetrator.

The incident has taken place amid heightened security in Zhuhai, which is hosting a major international military airshow this week.

Initial investigations suggested the attack had been triggered by Mr Fan’s unhappiness over a divorce property settlement. Because he is still in a coma, he has yet to be questioned, police say.

It is common in China for stadiums to be used as regular exercise grounds by locals.

One eyewitness, Mr Chen, told Chinese news magazine Caixin that at least six groups had been at the stadium for their regular walks when the incident happened.

The groups use a designated walking path that traces the stadium’s perimeter.

Mr Chen said his group had just completed its third lap around the stadium when a car suddenly charged towards them at a high speed, “knocking down many people”.

“It drove in a loop, and people were hurt in all areas of the running track – east, south, west, and north,” another eyewitness told Caixin.

The incident occurred 40km (24 miles) away from another venue where the high-profile Airshow China began on Tuesday.

China is showcasing its newest warplanes and attack drones at the show, which top Russian defence official and former defence minister Sergei Shoigu is expected to attend.

Several entrances and exits to the sports centre were closed during the airshow to facilitate “control”, the centre’s management said on Tuesday.

China has seen a spate of violent attacks on members of the public in recent months.

In October, a knife attack at a top school in Beijing injured five people, while in September, a man went on a stabbing spree at a supermarket in Shanghai, killing three people and injuring several others.

Also in September, a 10-year-old Japanese student died a day after he was stabbed near his school in southern China.

Following Monday’s car attack, Japan’s embassy warned its nationals living in the country to avoid speaking Japanese loudly in public.

Megan Fox has announced she and US rapper Machine Gun Kelly are expecting their first child together.

The Transformers actress tagged the musician in a photo which showed her kneeling, covered in a black substance and cradling a baby bump.

Fox, who last year revealed that a previous pregnancy had ended in a miscarriage, also posted a picture of a positive pregnancy test alongside the portrait.

The actress, who has been dating Kelly since 2020, captioned the images with: “Nothing is ever really lost. welcome back”.

Fox previously spoke about her miscarriage on ABC’s Good Morning America.

She said: “I’ve never been through anything like that before in my life. It was very difficult for both of us.

“It sent us on a very wild journey together and separately – trying to navigate what does this mean and why did this happen?”

She also shared her experiences in her book, Pretty Boys are Poisonous, through two poems.

In an interview with Women’s Wear Daily Fox also revealed that she’d experienced an ectopic pregnancy on a different occasion.

This is when a fertilised egg implants itself outside of the womb, usually in one of the fallopian tubes.

The American actress has three children, and Machine Gun Kelly has a daughter from a previous relationship.

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

How will history judge my tenure?

That’s a question Dhananjay Yashwant Chandrachud, who retired as India’s 50th chief justice on Sunday, asked just weeks before he finished his term.

Justice Chandrachud said his mind was “heavily preoccupied with fears and anxieties about the future and the past”.

“I find myself pondering: Did I achieve everything I set out to do? How will history judge my tenure? Could I have done things differently? What legacy will I leave for future generations of judges and legal professionals?” he said.

The soul searching came at a time when many in India are also debating what legacy he leaves behind.

Justice Chandrachud served more than eight years as a top court judge and as chief justice for the past two years. He presided over one of the most powerful Supreme Courts in the world with jurisdiction over India’s 1.4 billion citizens.

The top court is the final court of appeal, the final interpreter of the constitution and its judgements, which are binding on all other courts in India, routinely make news – although judges seldom do.

But Justice Chandrachud, sometimes described as India’s “first celebrity judge” and a “rockstar judge”, has routinely hit the headlines.

According to Arghya Sengupta of the Vidhi Centre For Legal Policy, the jurist was India’s most prolific chief justice who wrote 93 judgements – more than his last four predecessors put together – including some on matters of seminal importance. He also made huge strides in terms of digitisation and livestreaming of court hearings – making them more accessible to citizens.

But some of the recent coverage has also been unflattering, with critics saying he wasn’t assertive enough and his tenure has been disappointing.

The Harvard-educated judge has many firsts to his name – he was the youngest to head a high court and his two-year-term was the longest for a chief justice in more than a decade. He’s also the only chief justice whose father also served in the role.

During his years in the Supreme Court, he developed a reputation for being a progressive, liberal judge known for his nuanced and thoughtful judgements related to matters of liberty, freedom of speech and gender and LGBT rights.

He was part of landmark rulings that decriminalised homosexuality and allowed menstruating women into Kerala’s Sabarimala shrine. His utterances on the right to privacy and right to dissent were extensively praised.

So, his elevation to be India’s top judge in November 2022 was welcomed by senior lawyers, activists and citizens with many expressing a “strong hope that under his leadership the court will rise to greater heights”.

It was a time when India’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government was getting ready to secure a third term in the 2024 general election.

Opposition parties, activists and sections of the press were accusing the government of targeting them, with global rights organisations saying Indian democracy was under threat.

Although the government denied any wrongdoing, many of India’s top academics, rights activists and popular opposition leaders found themselves in jail and the country kept sliding on the global press freedom index. (The government has always rejected such ratings, saying they are biased against India.)

Senior lawyer Kamini Jaiswal says Justice Chandrachud’s appointment had come at “a crucial juncture as some of the last chief justices had left under a cloud of dark spots and the position had been denigrated with serious allegations”.

“So, we thought Justice Chandrachud would use his erudition and brilliant mind to do a lot of good for the citizens. But he has been disappointing,” she said.

Senior Supreme Court lawyer Chander Uday Singh says his record is “a mixed bag”.

“In his judgments, he would lay down the law brilliantly which could be used as a precedent for future cases. But whenever the state was heavily invested in any issue, he failed to hold power to account, so the state got away with what they had set out of achieve.”

For instance, he points out that the court struck down a government scheme that allowed people to make anonymous donations to political parties, calling it unconstitutional and illegal. “But then he did not hold anyone accountable for the illegality.”

Similarly, when it came to a political crisis in the western state of Maharashtra or Delhi’s power struggle with the federal government, his judgments tended to favour the government, he adds.

“There was hope that through his judgments, he would set things right in a country that is under a strong majoritarian government. But he fell short.”

Several top lawyers have also criticised Justice Chandrachud for what he did as the “master of the roster” by failing to effectively prevent the prolonged incarceration of political prisoners – leading to the death of some of them without ever getting bail. This happened despite Justice Chandrachud saying that bail should be the norm and not the exception.

And as he neared his retirement, Justice Chandrachud also made headlines for what he did not in the court, but outside.

In September, there was uproar over a viral video that showed him praying at home with PM Modi during a Hindu religious festival.

Ms Jaiswal said by publicising the photo, “a message was being sent that the chief justice is close to the PM”. Lawyers, former judges, opposition politicians and many citizens also criticised him saying “the presence of a politician at a private event erodes the perception of impartiality of the judiciary”.

Another burst of criticism greeted Justice Chandrachud’s comment last month when he said he had asked God for a solution to the vexed Babri Mosque-Ram temple dispute. “I sat before the deity and told him he needed to find a solution and he gave it to me,” he said.

The comment led to a firestorm of criticism, not entirely unexpected as the mosque-temple dispute has been one of the most contentious and religiously polarising issues in modern India.

The mosque was demolished by Hindu mobs in 1992. A five-judge bench, which included Justice Chandrachud, ruled in 2019 that the demolition was illegal, but still gave the disputed land to Hindus and a separate site for the mosque to be built. Earlier this year, PM Modi inaugurated a grand new temple at the site, fulfilling a longstanding promise by his party.

So, no surprise then that Justice Chandrachud’s comment, seen by many as religious, was extensively criticised.

Retired high court judge Anjana Prakash told HW news that his comment was “dramatic, filmy and laughable and it had brought down the level of judiciary”.

“A judge has to decide cases on principles of law. Where does God come into a judgement? Besides, people have different gods. And if a justice from another faith had said this, would the reaction be the same?” she asked.

Justice Prakash and other critics wondered if he was cosying up to the government for a post-retirement assignment.

In the days preceding his retirement, Justice Chandrachud addressed some of the criticism in interactions with the media.

“The separation of powers doesn’t mean antagonistic relations between the executive and the judiciary, it doesn’t mean that they cannot meet,” he said at an event by the Indian Express newspaper, adding that such meetings were not used “to cut deals”.

“The ultimate proof of our good behaviour lies in the written word – in our judgements. Is it consistent with the constitution or not?”

Justice Chandrachud said his comment on seeking divine guidance was because “I am a person of faith” and “to impute motives to judges is not right”.

He added that courts were facing pressure “from lobbies and pressure groups” and they would praise a decision critical of the government, but if he ruled in favour of the government, they questioned his independence.

At his farewell on Friday, the outgoing chief justice said he was perhaps India’s most trolled judge, but his “shoulders are broad enough to accept all criticism”.

And at the weekend, he told Times of India that he believed he had “left the system better than I found it”.

“I’m retiring with a sense of satisfaction,” he said.

The BBC has confirmed that Match of the Day host Gary Lineker is to step down from the flagship football show at the end of this season, but will host BBC Sport’s coverage of the 2026 World Cup.

He will also front the BBC’s coverage of the FA Cup 2025/2026.

“The BBC and Gary Lineker have agreed in principle a contract extension through to the 2026 World Cup,” the BBC said, while confirming his Match of the Day tenure was ending.

Lineker said: “I’m delighted to continue my long association with BBC Sport and would like to thank all those who made this happen.”

• Who could replace Lineker as host?
• How Gary Lineker went from football sensation to BBC star

He will continue with the MOTD Top Ten podcast and the BBC will also now host the popular The Rest is Football podcast on BBC Sounds.

The podcast features Lineker, Alan Shearer, and Micah Richards discussing the latest football news along with stories from their careers, and is part of Goalhanger productions, co-founded by Lineker.

This marks the first time it will also be made available on the BBC’s own audio platform; it is currently available on podcast platforms such as Spotify and Apple.

The BBC said there will be one episode per week of The Rest is Football on BBC Sounds from next month.

Goalhanger also produces popular shows including The Rest is History, The Rest is Politics and The Rest is Entertainment.

Lineker, whose contract was coming to an end, entered negotiations with the BBC’s new head of sport in October.

BBC News understands that Lineker was open to staying on at Match of the Day, but the BBC did not offer him a new contract for the show.

However, it’s understood both parties are now happy with the new agreement.

“With 33 million viewers last season across the Premier League and FA Cup, Match of the Day remains part of the staple diet of football fans who still get a huge buzz from hearing that iconic theme tune on a Saturday night,” the BBC said.

“The show continually evolves for changing viewing habits bringing its unique and unmatched analysis and commentary across all platforms. Future plans for Match of the Day will be announced in due course.”

Alex Kay-Jelski, director of BBC Sport described Lineker as a world-class presenter.

“We’re delighted that he’ll lead our coverage of the next World Cup and continue to lead our live coverage of the FA Cup,” he said.

“After 25 seasons Gary is stepping down from MOTD. We want to thank him for everything he has done for the show, which continues to attract millions of viewers each week.

“He’ll be hugely missed on the show but we’re so happy he is staying with the BBC to present live football.”

Former BBC director general Greg Dyke told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that Lineker was “the outstanding sports presenter of his time”, but added: “Life moves on, presenters don’t stay forever.”

The 63-year-old has hosted Match of the Day since 1999. He will have held the post for 26 years when he leaves at the end of the Premier League season in May 2025.

Dyke, who was director general when Lineker first began hosting the football show in 1999, did not speculate on whether Lineker had been “offered a new contract or not”.

He also said he did not know whether the recent controversy over the presenter’s social media use was connected with his departure.

“Whether this is anything to do with that I don’t know. It’s one of the few times I’ve disagreed with the BBC since I left,” he said.

“I thought that he was a sports presenter, and therefore what he was saying about politics was irrelevant to his performance as as a presenter.

“But it’s there in the background. So it must have been a thought in the mind of of whoever took the decision.”

Dyke said losing the presenter was “a big loss”, but “in the end people watch Match of the Day for the football”.

Lineker told Esquire magazine in an interview published earlier this month that he accepted he will “have to slow down at some point”.

Dyke also said the BBC is “in difficulties financially”, referring to recent job cuts being made as part of wider BBC efforts to save £700m a year, adding that losing Lineker “would be a saving on a sports budget, which you could use elsewhere”.

Lineker is one of the corporation’s best-known presenters and its highest-paid star, of those whose salaries are declared, earning more than £1.3m a year.

He has also presented coverage of major tournaments like World Cups and European Championships for the BBC, as well as BBC Sports Personality of the Year ceremonies.

Lineker has worked for other sports networks during his time at the BBC, including US network NBC and BT Sport (now TNT Sport).

Alastair Campbell, who co-presents The Rest Is Politics podcast, said Lineker would be “a very hard act to follow”, Sky News reported.

“He is an excellent broadcaster and a very good guy,” Campbell said.

Lineker’s new contract has now been agreed and he will leave on a high at the biggest tournament in world football. But replacing a star presenter on a high profile show is always a risk.

Lineker was briefly suspended by bosses last year after an outcry over his social media post about the UK’s asylum policy.

The incident led to a review of BBC social media guidelines, which concluded that high-profile presenters should be allowed to express views on issues and policies but stop short of political campaigning.

Lineker described the new rules at the time as “all very sensible”.

Before becoming a TV presenter, Lineker had a hugely successful career as a striker for England as well as Leicester, Everton, Tottenham Hotspur and Barcelona.

A 17-year-old girl died after being hit by a car on the M5 shortly after getting out of a stationary police vehicle, the police watchdog has said.

The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) said the teenager was being transported to custody by Avon and Somerset Police before the incident.

The collision happened between junctions 24 for Bridgwater and 25 for Taunton, Somerset, at about 23:00 GMT on Monday.

An IOPC spokesperson said an investigation had been launched, adding: “Our sympathies are with the girl’s loved ones and everyone affected by her death.”

The spokesperson added: “We were advised by Avon and Somerset Police that the girl was being transported to custody in a police vehicle and had got out of the vehicle shortly before the collision.”

IOPC investigators were later sent to the scene to gather evidence.

Police said the girl left the vehicle after officers stopped on the northbound carriageway of the motorway.

She was later hit by another vehicle on the opposite side of the road.

The force said the ambulance service arrived minutes later but the girl was pronounced dead at the scene.

No-one else was injured.

Det Ch Supt Rachel Shields said the force’s thoughts were “first and foremost with the girl’s family”, who were being supported by specially trained officers “at what is an incredibly difficult time following the tragic loss of such a young life”.

“A critical incident was declared and our Professional Standards Department notified overnight. A mandatory referral has been made to the IOPC,” she said.

“We recognise this incident has had a significant effect on the devastated officers, plus members of the public, who witnessed what happened, as well as other officers and staff involved in our response.

“We will ensure staff are able to access any welfare support they may benefit from following this tragedy.”

The M5 was closed in both directions following the crash while inquiries were carried out and repairs were made to make the motorway safe.

National Highways confirmed at 10.20 GMT on Tuesday the northbound carriageway had reopened between junctions 24 and 25, and the southbound carriageway reopened shortly afterwards.

The site of the collision is near Creech Heathfield, close to Taunton.

There are long delays on local roads, especially the A38 near North Petherton and Bridgwater.

Motorists travelling southbound on the M5 have been experiencing delays of 90 minutes, with seven miles of congestion.

There have been delays of 30 minutes and congestion for two miles northbound.

Anyone who witnessed the collision or may have dashcam footage which could help the investigation is urged to contact police.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has condemned Israel’s actions in Gaza as “genocide” in some of the harshest public criticism of the country by a Saudi official since the start of the war.

Speaking at a summit of Muslim and Arab leaders the prince also criticised Israeli attacks on Lebanon and Iran.

Israel has vehemently denied that its forces are committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.

In a sign of improving ties between rivals Riyadh and Tehran, Prince Mohammed also warned Israel against launching attacks on Iranian soil.

Saudi’s de facto leader was joined by other leaders present in calling for a total Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank and Gaza.

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister said it was a “failing of the international community” that the war in Gaza had not been stopped, accusing Israel of causing starvation in the territory.

Prince Faisal Bin Farhan Al-Saud said: “Where the international community primarily has failed is ending the immediate conflict and putting an end to Israel’s aggression.”

The war in Gaza was triggered by Hamas’s 7 October 2023 attack, which saw hundreds of gunmen enter southern Israel. About 1,200 people were killed and 251 others taken hostage.

Israel retaliated by launching a military campaign to destroy Hamas, during which more than 43,400 people have been killed in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.

A report by the UN’s Human Rights Office found that close to 70% of verified victims over a six-month period in Gaza were women and children.

Leaders at the summit also condemned what they described as Israel’s “continuous attacks” against UN staff and facilities in Gaza.

Last month, the Knesset passed a bill to ban Unrwa, the UN Palestinian refugee agency, from operating in Israel and occupied East Jerusalem, accusing the organisation of colluding with Hamas.

Several countries, including the US and the UK, have expressed serious concern about the move limiting the agency’s ability to transfer aid to Gaza.

In the backdrop of the well-attended summit, is Donald Trump’s return to the White House.

Gulf leaders are aware of his closeness to Israel, but they also have good relations with him, and want him to use his influence and his fondness for deal-making to secure an end to conflicts in this region.

In Saudi Arabia, Trump is viewed much more favourably than Joe Biden, but his track record in the Middle East is mixed.

He pleased Israel and angered the Muslim world by recognising Jerusalem as Israel’s capital as well as the annexation of the occupied Golan Heights. He also secured the Abraham Accords in 2020 which saw the UAE, Bahrain and Morocco establish full diplomatic relations with Israel and Sudan agree to do so.

One editorial in a leading Saudi newspaper today is titled: “A new era of hope. Trump’s return and the promise of stability.”

Oil giant Shell has won a landmark case in the Dutch courts, overturning an earlier ruling requiring it to cut its carbon emissions by 45%.

The Hague court of appeal said it could not establish that Shell had a “social standard of care” to reduce its emissions by 45% or any other amount, even though it agreed the company had an obligation to citizens to limit emissions.

Three years ago, a court in The Hague backed a case by Friends of the Earth and 17,000 Dutch citizens requiring Shell to reduce its CO2 emissions significantly, in line with the Paris climate accords.

The ruling came as climate talks involving some 200 countries got under way in Azerbaijan.

Shell said it was pleased with the court’s decision, but Friends of the Earth Netherlands said the ruling was a setback that affected them deeply.

The environmental group can now take its case against Shell to the Supreme Court – but a final verdict could be years away.

Donald Pols from the group said “it’s a marathon, not a sprint and the race isn’t yet over”.

At the time, the 2021 ruling marked the first time a court had ordered a private company to align its workings with the Paris climate agreement, meaning that it was not sufficient for a company simply to comply with the law – it had to comply with global climate policy too.

Under the terms of the Paris Agreement on climate change, nearly 200 nations agreed to keep global temperatures “well below” 2C above pre-industrial levels.

The appeals court judge said that companies such as Shell were obliged to contribute to combating climate change based on the human right to protection against dangerous climate change.

However, the court said Shell was already working to reduce its emissions and the court could not establish whether it should make a 45% cut or another percentage, as there was no current accepted agreement in climate science on the required amount.

Shell has argued that it is already taking “serious steps to reduce emissions”. It complained the original ruling was unfair as it singled out one company for a global issue, and said it was unrealistic to try to hold Shell accountable for its customers’ choices.

Shell said if people considered progress was too slow towards cutting emissions then they should lobby governments rather than Shell to change policies and bring about a green transition.

The oil firm says its aim is to reduce the carbon intensity of products it sells by 15-20% by 2030 from a 2016 baseline. Shell also aims to become a “net zero” emissions company by 2050.

Part of the historic legal case hinged on the interpretation of an “unwritten duty of care” that exists under Dutch law, which requires companies to prevent hazardous negligence.

Friends of the Earth Netherlands argued that there was an international consensus that human rights offered protection against dangerous climate change and that companies had to respect human rights.

Shell’s successful appeal could have far-reaching implications for corporate climate responsibility.

A number of environmental groups around the world are now trying to force companies and governments to comply with the accords through the courts.

Out of all of Donald Trump’s supporters, Derrick Evans has a particular reason to be happy with November’s election results – he hopes the president-elect will give him a pardon for participating in the 6 January riot at the US Capitol.

“A pardon will be life changing,” said Evans, who was a member of the West Virginia legislature when he and at least 2,000 others stormed the Capitol in 2021. It was part of an effort to overturn the results of the US election, inspired by the false belief that it was Trump, not President Joe Biden, who had won.

He reached an agreement with prosecutors which saw him plead guilty to civil disorder and spent three months in federal prison in 2022. On the campaign trail, Trump repeatedly said he would pardon the rioters, whom he has called “patriots” and “political prisoners”. But who exactly will be pardoned – and when – is still an open question.

“I believe he’s a man of his word,” Evans told the BBC.

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In March, Trump wrote on his Truth Social account that one of his first acts as president would be to “Free the January 6 Hostages being wrongfully imprisoned!”

He repeated the pledge at a National Association of Black Journalists forum in Chicago in July.

“Oh, absolutely, I would,” he said. “If they’re innocent, I would pardon them.”

But he has stopped short of proposing a blanket pardon, at one point telling CNN: “I am inclined to pardon many of them. I can’t say for every single one, because a couple of them, probably they got out of control.”

His campaign has previously said decisions would be made “on a case-by-case basis when he is back in the White House”.

The events of 6 January resulted in one of the largest federal investigations in US history. Nearly 600 people have been charged with assaulting, resisting, or impeding police officers.

Some of those who have been given the longest sentences, such as Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes and Enrique Tarrio, leader of the Proud Boys, did not participate in the violence inside the building. Instead, they were convicted of seditious conspiracy and other felonies for organising the melee.

Arrests are still being made. In an update issued last week, the FBI said it is still looking for nine suspects wanted for violent assaults on police officers.

But with Trump – who still maintains, without evidence, that he was the winner of the 2020 election – coming back to the White House, the future of the investigation remains uncertain.

Citing Justice Department sources, NBC News reported that officials are focusing on trying the “most egregious” cases before Trump’s inauguration on 20 January.

In the meantime, several Capitol riot defendants have asked for hearings to be delayed in anticipation of pardons.

Among them are Christopher Carnell, a North Carolina man who was found guilty on several riot-related charges earlier in the year. His lawyers asked for a hearing to be delayed last week because of possible “clemency actions relevant to his case”, but the request was turned down.

Jonathanpeter Klein, who along with his brother Matthew pleaded guilty to several charges in July, asked for his sentencing hearing, scheduled for 15 November, to be delayed. That request too was turned down.

Wendy Via, co-founder of the not-for-profit Global Project Against Hate and Extremism (GPAHE), said that there is already a sense of excitement amongst rioters and their supporters.

“Folks on fringe sites are calling for the release of what they are calling the Jan 6 ‘prisoners of war’ or ‘hostages’,” she said.

They include Jake Lang, who is charged with a number of crimes including assaulting police officers, and who regularly posts online from his jail cell in New York.

After Trump’s victory he wrote on X: “IM COMING HOME!!!! THE JANUARY 6 POLITICAL PRISONERS ARE FINALLY COMING HOME!!!!”

“In just 75 days on January 20th 2025, when Donald J Trump is inaugurated as the 47th President of the United States, he will pardon all of the J6 Hostages.”

GPAHE also found that some groups plan to lay low until Trump takes office and pardons are made official.

One post on a Proud Boys channel on Telegram suggested that members avoid the January inauguration: “Stay home or patronize your local watering hole and celebrate the inauguration of our President and the imminent release of our Boys.”

In a blog post, Via said pardons would “make a mockery of our justice system, and it will send the message to his followers that violence is a legitimate response to political outcomes they don’t like.”

For the moment, the release of everyone charged with riot-related offenses seems unlikely, but non-violent offenders such as Derrick Evans have called for large numbers to be freed.

And, he suggested, a pardon would not be enough to compensate him and others for the time they spent behind bars.

“I think there needs to be some reparations and restitution involved as well,” he said.

North America correspondent Anthony Zurcher makes sense of US politics in his twice weekly US Election Unspun newsletter. Readers in the UK can sign up here. Those outside the UK can sign up here.

It took just three minutes for Joel Cauchi to fatally stab six people and injure 10 more during a rampage at a popular Sydney shopping centre, an inquest into the attack has been told.

The New South Wales Coroner’s Court heard on Tuesday that Cauchi, 40, was knife-obsessed and had been diagnosed with schizophrenia, but had come off his medication and was homeless at the time of the incident.

The inquiry also heard that no alarm sounded inside the centre until after Cauchi had been shot dead by police.

The incident on 13 April devastated Australia, where mass murder is rare, and prompted a national conversation about gendered violence.

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All up, 14 of the 16 people stabbed that day were female – including five of the six who were killed, and a nine-month-old baby. The NSW police commissioner said at the time that it was “obvious” Cauchi had targeted women.

Tuesday’s hearing laid out the areas of focus for an extensive inquiry which is due to begin in full in April 2025. The investigation will look into possible security lapses and failings in the mental health systems in NSW and Queensland, Cauchi’s home state.

Speaking in court, Dr Peggy Dwyer SC, the counsel assisting the coroner, said Cauchi had been off his psychotropic medication since 2019, despite authorities being repeatedly warned of his deteriorating state. Cauchi had come “to the attention” of Queensland police several times, she said.

In her statement, Dwyer also provided the first detailed timeline of how the violence actually unfolded in Bondi that day.

She said that Cauchi – who had been sleeping rough in the suburb of Maroubra on the morning of the attack – entered Westfield shopping centre around 15.30 (local), and began stabbing people roughly three minutes later, after removing his knife in line at a bakery.

His first victim was Dawn Singleton, 25, followed by 47-year-old Jade Young and 25-year-old Yixuan Cheng. He then attacked Ashlee Good, 38, from behind.

Good – who has been described by her family as an “all-round outstanding human” – then saw Cauchi stabbing her nine-month-old baby girl in her pram, and was further wounded trying to save the child’s life, the court heard.

Faraz Tahir, a 30-year-old security guard, was stabbed next, alongside a colleague. Onlookers at the time said he died “trying to save others”.

Cauchi fatally stabbed Pikria Darchia, 55, before being shot dead by NSW Police Insp Amy Scott, who had been on duty close by. Between the moment Insp Scott arrived and the moment she killed Cauchi just over a minute had passed, the court heard.

In total, the attack lasted for five minutes and 43 seconds – yet no alarm sounded during that time.

“It’s presently unclear why it took so long for the alarm to sound,” Dwyer said.

Before opening the hearing, state coroner Teresa O’Sullivan acknowledged the pain and loss the broader community was still feeling as a result of the violence.

“I offer my sincere condolences to the family and loved ones who are here in court today as well as those who can’t be here in person,” she told the court, according to the Guardian Australia.

“It’s important to me and my assisting team… that you feel safe, you feel heard and you feel cared for throughout this proceeding.”

The main UN aid agency in Gaza says Israel has failed to meet a US deadline to boost aid to the territory or risk a reduction in American military aid.

Last month, in a strongly worded letter, the US secretary of state gave Israel an ultimatum of 30 days to ensure more aid trucks reached Gaza daily. The deadline expires on Tuesday.

The amount of aid getting into Gaza is at its lowest level in a year, the UN says. A UN-backed report recently warned that there was an imminent likelihood of famine in northern Gaza, where hardly any aid has entered in the past month.

Israel says it has substantially increased the amount of aid getting into Gaza, and accuses aid agencies of failing to adequately distribute it.

In his letter on 13 October, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Israel needed to allow a minimum of 350 lorries a day into Gaza, every day, by 12 November.

But when asked if Israel had done enough since then to meet America’s demands, Louise Wateridge, Senior Emergency Coordinator there for the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (Unrwa), bluntly said “No”.

“There is not enough aid here. There are not enough supplies,” she told the BBC from Unrwa’s base in central Gaza.

“People are starving in some areas. People are very hungry. They are fighting over bags of flour. There are just not enough supplies.”

In footage filmed for the BBC by a local journalist in Gaza at one of the few remaining bakeries in the centre of the strip, a stream of hot puffed-up pitas roll out of an oven on a conveyor belt.

Through a small square window, hands desperately grasp at the bags of bread as money is handed over.

Like all food, the price of bread has increased dramatically over the past year.

Outside the bakery, hundreds of packed people scramble to get their hands on the bread.

Among them is grandmother, Aida al-Horan, who has also been picking up soup.

“If it were not for the soup kitchen, we would have starved to death,” Aida says.

“Every day it’s the same struggle. I go back and forth to the soup kitchen.”

But over the past month, Israel has met America’s request to open up more crossings into Gaza.

Cogat – the Israeli military body responsible for humanitarian affairs in the Gaza Strip – announced on Tuesday morning that it had opened a new crossing, Kissufim, towards the south.

A spokesman for Cogat told the BBC that “most aspects [of Blinken’s demands] have been met and those which have not are being discussed, [and] some US demands are for issues that were being resolved already”.

At Zikim, on the Israeli side of the strip’s northern border, I get as close as I’ve been to Gaza in more than 10 years.

I was the BBC’s Gaza correspondent between 2009 and 2013 and know the strip well.

But throughout this war, Israel has not allowed international journalists unrestricted access to Gaza.

Zikim is one of a number of crossings which have been reopened by Israel in recent weeks.

At a photocall on Monday, arranged by Israel’s military, a day before the US deadline, I and other journalists were invited to film around eight aid trucks passing into Gaza.

They were laden with sacks of flour, rice and toilet paper, among other things.

So, aid is getting into Gaza.

But nowhere near enough.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (Ocha) says, over the past, month the average number of trucks getting into the strip is just over 40 trucks per day.

Israel disputes Ocha’s figures and blames the UN for failing to deliver aid.

It says hundreds of pallets of supplies are waiting to be picked up by aid agencies on the Gaza side of the border and says some aid trucks are being looted by armed men.

The UN rejects that.

It says it is Israel’s responsibility as the occupying power to facilitate the safe passage of aid inside Gaza.

It stresses that it cannot distribute aid if Israel’s military operations mean it is too dangerous.

For more than a year Israel has crossed most of America’s red lines.

Much of the death and destruction was caused by US weapons, given to Israel in order the help the fight against Hamas after the 7 October 2023, attack.

But in the dying days of the Biden Presidency and with more than 43,000 Palestinian lives lost, it’s unlikely the White House will put its foot down and cut off arms supplies.

The BBC has confirmed that Match of the Day host Gary Lineker is to step down from the flagship football show at the end of this season, but will host BBC Sport’s coverage of the 2026 World Cup.

He will also front the BBC’s coverage of the FA Cup 2025/2026.

“The BBC and Gary Lineker have agreed in principle a contract extension through to the 2026 World Cup,” the BBC said, while confirming his Match of the Day tenure was ending.

Lineker said: “I’m delighted to continue my long association with BBC Sport and would like to thank all those who made this happen.”

• Who could replace Lineker as host?
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He will continue with the MOTD Top Ten podcast and the BBC will also now host the popular The Rest is Football podcast on BBC Sounds.

The podcast features Lineker, Alan Shearer, and Micah Richards discussing the latest football news along with stories from their careers, and is part of Goalhanger productions, co-founded by Lineker.

This marks the first time it will also be made available on the BBC’s own audio platform; it is currently available on podcast platforms such as Spotify and Apple.

The BBC said there will be one episode per week of The Rest is Football on BBC Sounds from next month.

Goalhanger also produces popular shows including The Rest is History, The Rest is Politics and The Rest is Entertainment.

Lineker, whose contract was coming to an end, entered negotiations with the BBC’s new head of sport in October.

BBC News understands that Lineker was open to staying on at Match of the Day, but the BBC did not offer him a new contract for the show.

However, it’s understood both parties are now happy with the new agreement.

“With 33 million viewers last season across the Premier League and FA Cup, Match of the Day remains part of the staple diet of football fans who still get a huge buzz from hearing that iconic theme tune on a Saturday night,” the BBC said.

“The show continually evolves for changing viewing habits bringing its unique and unmatched analysis and commentary across all platforms. Future plans for Match of the Day will be announced in due course.”

Alex Kay-Jelski, director of BBC Sport described Lineker as a world-class presenter.

“We’re delighted that he’ll lead our coverage of the next World Cup and continue to lead our live coverage of the FA Cup,” he said.

“After 25 seasons Gary is stepping down from MOTD. We want to thank him for everything he has done for the show, which continues to attract millions of viewers each week.

“He’ll be hugely missed on the show but we’re so happy he is staying with the BBC to present live football.”

Former BBC director general Greg Dyke told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that Lineker was “the outstanding sports presenter of his time”, but added: “Life moves on, presenters don’t stay forever.”

The 63-year-old has hosted Match of the Day since 1999. He will have held the post for 26 years when he leaves at the end of the Premier League season in May 2025.

Dyke, who was director general when Lineker first began hosting the football show in 1999, did not speculate on whether Lineker had been “offered a new contract or not”.

He also said he did not know whether the recent controversy over the presenter’s social media use was connected with his departure.

“Whether this is anything to do with that I don’t know. It’s one of the few times I’ve disagreed with the BBC since I left,” he said.

“I thought that he was a sports presenter, and therefore what he was saying about politics was irrelevant to his performance as as a presenter.

“But it’s there in the background. So it must have been a thought in the mind of of whoever took the decision.”

Dyke said losing the presenter was “a big loss”, but “in the end people watch Match of the Day for the football”.

Lineker told Esquire magazine in an interview published earlier this month that he accepted he will “have to slow down at some point”.

Dyke also said the BBC is “in difficulties financially”, referring to recent job cuts being made as part of wider BBC efforts to save £700m a year, adding that losing Lineker “would be a saving on a sports budget, which you could use elsewhere”.

Lineker is one of the corporation’s best-known presenters and its highest-paid star, of those whose salaries are declared, earning more than £1.3m a year.

He has also presented coverage of major tournaments like World Cups and European Championships for the BBC, as well as BBC Sports Personality of the Year ceremonies.

Lineker has worked for other sports networks during his time at the BBC, including US network NBC and BT Sport (now TNT Sport).

Alastair Campbell, who co-presents The Rest Is Politics podcast, said Lineker would be “a very hard act to follow”, Sky News reported.

“He is an excellent broadcaster and a very good guy,” Campbell said.

Lineker’s new contract has now been agreed and he will leave on a high at the biggest tournament in world football. But replacing a star presenter on a high profile show is always a risk.

Lineker was briefly suspended by bosses last year after an outcry over his social media post about the UK’s asylum policy.

The incident led to a review of BBC social media guidelines, which concluded that high-profile presenters should be allowed to express views on issues and policies but stop short of political campaigning.

Lineker described the new rules at the time as “all very sensible”.

Before becoming a TV presenter, Lineker had a hugely successful career as a striker for England as well as Leicester, Everton, Tottenham Hotspur and Barcelona.

Dutch police have made five more arrests over the violence which followed a match involving an Israeli football team in Amsterdam on Thursday night.

The five men, all from the Netherlands and aged between 18 and 37, are suspected of “public violence against persons” before and after the Maccabi Tel Aviv match against local team Ajax.

Unrest flared up again in the city on Monday evening when an empty tram and a police car were set alight. Some rioters reportedly shouted “Free Palestine”, according to Dutch reports.

Prime Minister Dick Schoof said earlier on Monday that “antisemitic attacks against Israelis and Jews” were “nothing short of shocking and reprehensible”.

Demonstrations have been temporarily banned in Amsterdam until Thursday, although a pro-Palestinian protest has been allowed to go ahead in a park away from the centre. Activists want another protest to take place outside Amsterdam city hall.

• Dozens detained after protesters defy ban in Amsterdam
• We must not turn blind eye to antisemitism, says Dutch king
• ‘They shouted Jewish, IDF’: Israeli football fans describe attack

Last week, youths on scooters criss-crossed the Dutch capital in “hit-and-run” attacks on Maccabi supporters after the Europa League match, authorities said.

Five people were treated in hospital and others suffered minor injuries.

The five new arrests come on top of 63 announced by the authorities since the violence. One of the five was released from custody but remains a suspect.

Police also made several arrests after the new unrest in the city on Monday. No injuries were reported.

Dozens of youths dressed in black damaged cars in a western suburb, where the tram was attacked on ’40-’45 Square. Videos posted on social media show a tram being attacked with fireworks and its windows being shattered.

A fire on the tram was quickly extinguished and riot officers cleared the square, making arrests, the ANP news agency reported. A police car was set alight elsewhere.

Schoof promised that the Netherlands would focus on bringing perpetrators of Thursday’s violence to justice.

“The images and reports for Amsterdam and what we’ve seen this weekend of antisemitic attacks against Israelis and Jews are nothing short of shocking and reprehensible,” he told journalists.

He also commented on reports that Maccabi supporters had attacked a taxi and burnt a Palestinian flag in Amsterdam, as well as chanting anti-Arab slogans.

“We are well aware of what happened earlier with Maccabi supporters but we think that’s of a different category and we condemn any violence as well, but that is no excuse whatsoever for what happened later on that night in the attacks on Jews in Amsterdam,” he said.

The broader ban on pro-Palestinian protests has angered activists.

Some have argued that they should be free to voice their disapproval of Israel’s actions in Gaza and the actions of the Maccabi supporters.

Police chief Peter Holla said there had been incidents “on both sides” during Thursday’s clashes.

In a separate development, Maccabi Tel Aviv’s Europa League tie on 28 November has been moved from Istanbul to the Hungarian city of Debrecen. European football’s governing body Uefa said the match with Besiktas would be played behind closed doors following a decision by Hungarian authorities.

The violence in Amsterdam last week was condemned by leaders across Europe, the US and Israel. For many, it was especially shocking coming on the eve of commemorations marking the November 1938 Nazi pogroms against German Jews.

Three-quarters of Jewish people in the Netherlands were murdered during the Holocaust in World War Two.

Reports of antisemitic incidents in Europe have risen since the start of the war in Gaza just over a year ago.