Joe Biden has defended his rhetoric against Donald Trump and cited why it was important, in his first interview since the attempt on his political rival’s life.

The president said his campaign had a duty to clearly communicate the threat of a second Trump term, adding that his words were not the ones that needed to be tempered.

However, he told NBC’s Lester Holt it had been a “mistake” to have said it was “time to put Trump in a bullseye” during a private donor call days before the assassination attempt on Trump at a Saturday rally in Pennsylvania.

Mr Biden said he meant Democrats needed to focus more on Trump, his policies and the false statements he made during the presidential debate late last month.

Throughout the interview, Mr Biden made it clear he would not be stepping aside in the presidential race – despite calls from members of his own party after his poor debate performance.

“I’m old,” he lamented, while also noting he’s only three years younger than Trump. He said his mental acuity was fine and listed his accomplishments as president – but acknowledged he was working to reaffirm to Americans that he was up the job.

“I understand why people say, ‘God, he’s 81 years old. Whoa. What’s he going to be when he’s 83 years old, 84 years?’ It’s a legitimate question to ask,” he said.

He said he put his faith in the voters who overwhelming backed him in the Democratic primary. “I listen to them.”

The president has repeatedly called for Americans to “lower the temperature” since the shooting on Saturday, where Trump’s ear was grazed by a bullet.

One crowd member was killed and two others were critically injured in the attack.

About a dozen Republicans have blamed Mr Biden and other Democrats for inciting the attempt on Trump’s life. Many have specifically cited Mr Biden’s “bullseye” comment.

JD Vance, who was announced as Trump’s presidential running mate on Monday, said in the wake of the shooting that Democratic rhetoric about the Republican candidate “led directly to President Trump’s attempted assassination”.

According to Politico, Mr Biden had said on the donor call: “I have one job, and that’s to beat Donald Trump. I’m absolutely certain I’m the best person to be able to do that. So, we’re done talking about the debate. It’s time to put Trump in a bullseye.”

President Biden, in an Oval Office address on Sunday, denounced the attack and called for Americans to “take a step back”, warning that “political rhetoric in this country has gotten very heated”.

When asked in the NBC interview if he had also taken a step back to examine his past remarks for anything “that could incite people who are not balanced”, Mr Biden said the inflammatory rhetoric had not come from him.

“I’ve not engaged in that rhetoric,” Mr Biden said. “Now, my opponent is engaged in that rhetoric.”

“How do you talk about the threat to democracy, which is real, when a president says things like he says? Do you just not say anything, because it may incite somebody?

“I am not the guy that said I want to be a dictator on day one, I am not the guy that refused to accept the outcome of the election.”

The FBI has identified the gunman who targeted Trump as Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, a kitchen worker from Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, who is a registered Republican.

A Secret Service sniper shot Crooks dead after he fired at the former president.

As JD Vance walked on to the RNC convention floor to accept the party’s vice-presidential nomination on Monday, speakers lined up to lavish praise on his impeccable credentials.

But the Ohio senator and running mate of Republican White House candidate Donald Trump has previously said he feels “humbled” by the stellar CV of his wife, Usha Vance.

While she does not seek out the political spotlight, Mrs Vance, 38, wields considerable influence over her husband’s career, he has said.

In an interview on Fox News last month, she said: “I believe in JD, and I really love him, and so we’ll just sort of see what happens with our life.”

The two met as students at Yale Law School in 2013, when they joined a discussion group on “social decline in white America”, according to the New York Times.

The content influenced Mr Vance’s best-selling 2016 memoir Hillbilly Elegy, about his childhood in the white working-class Rust Belt, which became a 2020 movie directed by Ron Howard.

Mr Vance, 39, has said he considered her his “Yale spirit guide” when they were classmates at the elite university.

Mrs Vance previously graduated with a BA in history from Yale University and was also a Gates Scholar at Cambridge University, where she came away with an MPhil in early modern history, according to her LinkedIn profile.

The couple wed in 2014 and have three children: two sons, Ewan and Vivek, and a daughter, Mirabel.

Mrs Vance – née Chilukuri, the child of Indian immigrants – was born and raised in the suburbs of San Diego, California.

Her husband regularly rails about “woke” ideas he says are pushed by Democrats, but his wife was formerly a registered Democrat and is now a corporate litigator at a San Francisco law firm which proudly touts its reputation for being “radically progressive”.

Mrs Vance once clerked for Brett Kavanaugh, now a Supreme Court justice, on the District of Columbia court of appeals. Then she clerked for Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts. Both men are part of the highest court’s conservative majority.

“Usha definitely brings me back to Earth a little bit,” Mr Vance told the Megyn Kelly Show podcast in 2020. “And if I maybe get a little bit too cocky or a little too proud I just remind myself that she is way more accomplished than I am.”

“People don’t realise just how brilliant she is,” he added, saying she is able to digest a 1,000-page book in only a few hours.

She is the “powerful female voice on his left shoulder”, giving him guidance, he said.

As Mr Vance gears up for what is certain to be a gruelling campaign for the White House, he may need her counsel more than ever before.

Questions have swirled about how police officers and agents tasked with securing Donald Trump’s rally allowed the gunman to get as close as he did.

Thomas Matthew Crooks was able to access the roof of a building near the outdoor event at Butler County fairgrounds, Pennsylvania, from where he shot at Trump 130m (430ft) away.

The US Secret Service has since said that they had assigned local police to provide cover for that building.

One crowd member was killed and two others were critically injured. Trump was wounded in the ear.

Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said that his agency had relied on local police to help.

He said his agents were responsible for securing inside the perimeter of the fairgrounds, while local police secured the area outside, which included the private building used by the gunman.

The local sheriff’s department referred BBC questions to the state police, which said it was not responsible for the area containing the building.

A spokesman told the BBC that it provided “all resources” requested by the Secret Service, including between 30 and 40 troopers inside perimeter.

Many observers have questioned how security plans broke down to allow the gunman unobstructed access to Trump.

Crowd members said they had spotted the suspect on the roof minutes before the shooting started, while Butler County Sheriff Michael Slupe said a local security officer had also spotted him but could not stop him.

The sheriff admitted there had been “a failure” in securing the premises, but said he believed that there was no single party to blame.

It is common for the US Secret Service to rely on local police for help when securing rallies, said Jason Russell, founder of Secure Environments Consultants who worked as an agent from 2002 to 2010, including during election campaigns.

“The Secret Service doesn’t have unlimited resources in terms of agents that they can post everywhere,” he told the BBC.

He said that agents usually scope out a campaign event’s venue days in advance to develop a security plan that is then shared with local police agencies.

In this case, he said the building the gunman was on would have been outside of the event’s official grounds, and the responsibility of local police.

During an event, he said communications were shared with every agency involved. However, he added that in “the 10 seconds that it takes” for information to flow through, that could be just enough time for a gunman to fire a few shots.

The rooftop was a known vulnerability before the event, according to NBC News, which cited two sources familiar with Secret Service operations.

Mr Russell said it was probable that Secret Service agents identified that building as a threat ahead, and had requested local authorities to station officers nearby to prevent access.

“For whatever reason, that didn’t happen,” he said.

One witness, Thomas Gleason, who served 21 years with the US Army as paratrooper and ranger, said “there should have been greater security for a long-range threat”.

“Looking at the distance and vantage point, if someone is going to try to assassinate [Trump] that would have been the most logical shooting point,” he said.

The FBI has since taken over the role of lead investigator into the incident, and the shooting is now the subject of several other investigations by both the House and the Senate.

Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas called it a “failure” of security, telling CNN that “an incident like this cannot happen again”.

The director of the US Secret Service Kimberly Cheatle said on Monday that her agency is working with federal and local police to “understand what happened, how it happened, and how we can prevent an incident like this from taking place again”.

She added that she will cooperate with any congressional investigations into the shooting.

Ms Cheatle will face the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability on 22 July. Republicans on the committee have also called on the Secret Service to produce evidence including internal communications, audio and video recordings, messages to local law enforcement, maps, diagrams and pre-event assessments.

Donald Trump has named former “never Trumper” Republican and Ohio Senator JD Vance as his vice-presidential nominee.

Republican National Convention (RNC) delegates formally selected Mr Vance, 39, on Monday after Trump announced on his social media platform he had chosen him after “lengthy deliberation and thought”.

Mr Vance is a Yale-educated venture capitalist and author of the bestselling memoir-turned-film Hillbilly Elegy.

He has previously criticised his new running mate, once suggesting privately that Trump could be “America’s Hitler”, but has since become an ardent supporter.

In the 2022 midterm elections, he won a seat in the US Senate with Trump’s endorsement – his first time being elected to public office.

After his confirmation as Trump’s running mate, Mr Vance took aim at Joe Biden, claiming on Fox News that Americans elected an “empty vessel” in 2020 who is now “an incapacitated president”.

He claimed Democrats had lied about Mr Biden’s health, and voters could “either reward or punish that behaviour” in November.

Mr Vance added that he had said “bad things” about Trump but it was important to admit he was wrong.

A native of Ohio, Mr Vance gained attention after the release of Hillbilly Elegy, which tells of his blue-collar upbringing and how it affected his politics.

Trump said on the Truth Social platform that the book “championed the hardworking men and women of our country”.

“As Vice President, J.D. will continue to fight for our Constitution, stand with our Troops, and will do everything he can to help me MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN,” he continued.

Mr Vance was confirmed at the RNC, which is taking place this week in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

He entered the venue on Monday accompanied by his wife, Usha, and greeted delegates as a country song played with the chorus “let’s build America first”.

Addressing the crowd in the basketball arena where the event is taking place, Bernie Moreno, an Ohio Senate candidate, said: “To JD, America First isn’t just a slogan. It’s his north star.”

“It’s an incredible pick,” said Donald Trump Jr, Trump’s son, at the RNC. “Truly a great choice.”

The choice came before the opening of the RNC in Milwaukee on Monday, and two days after Trump survived an attempt on his life at a rally in Pennsylvania.

In the aftermath, Mr Vance tweeted that Democratic Party rhetoric had “led directly to President Trump’s attempted assassination”.

Trump has said he will tone down his RNC speech and call for national unity.

Mr Vance has become an increasingly important player in the world of Make America Great Again [MAGA] politics.

The choice suggests the former president knows that this election will be won and lost in a handful of industrial Midwest battleground states – Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin.

In the Senate he has been one of the biggest congressional skeptics of aid to Ukraine.

In recent months, he has introduced bills to withhold federal funds for universities where students have protested over the Gaza war or that employ undocumented immigrants.

He sponsored legislation in March that would cut the Chinese government out of US capital markets if it does not follow international trade law.

He has also frequently appeared at Trump’s campaign events, and travelled to New York City to attend Trump’s fraud trial.

Mr Vance, who was baptised as a Catholic in 2019, is anti-abortion. He has backed Trump’s repeated statement that the issue is a matter for individual states.

He is one of the youngest vice-presidential nominees in US history.

Attending the RNC, Ohio Lt Gov Jon Husted called Mr Vance “the living embodiment of the American dream”.

“He came from humble beginnings and he never forgot where he came from,” he said.

Mr Vance and Trump will face the Democratic nominees, President Joe Biden and Vice-President Kamala Harris, at the 5 November general election.

In brief remarks to reporters on Monday, Mr Biden criticised Mr Vance as “a clone of Trump on the issues”.

The Biden campaign said that Trump picked Mr Vance “because Vance will do what [Trump’s former Vice-President] Mike Pence wouldn’t … bend over backwards to enable Trump and his extreme MAGA agenda, even if it means breaking the law and no matter the harm to the American people”.

“I’m a ‘never Trump’ guy. I never liked him.”

“My god what an idiot.”

“I find him reprehensible.”

That was from JD Vance in interviews and on Twitter in 2016, when the publication of his memoir Hillbilly Elegy catapulted him to fame.

In the same year, he wrote privately to an associate on Facebook: “I go back and forth between thinking Trump is a cynical asshole … or that he’s America’s Hitler”.

A few short years later, Mr Vance transformed himself into one of Trump’s steadfast allies.

The first-term senator from Ohio is now by Trump’s side as vice-presidential running mate – and, by extension, an early frontrunner for the Republican presidential nomination in 2028 – with a reliably conservative voting record and Midwestern roots that Republicans hope will boost support at the ballot box.

In fact, Mr Vance has made something of a habit of transformation. How did he emerge from a tough upbringing to reach the highest levels of American politics?

Mr Vance was born James David Bowman in Middletown, Ohio, to a mother who struggled with addiction and a father who left the family when JD was a toddler.

He was raised by his grandparents, “Mamaw” and “Papaw”, whom he sympathetically portrayed in his 2016 memoir Hillbilly Elegy.

Although Middletown is located in rust-belt Ohio, Mr Vance identified closely with his family’s roots slightly to the south in Appalachia, the vast mountainous inland region that stretches from the Deep South to the fringes of the industrial Midwest. It includes some of the country’s poorest areas.

Mr Vance painted an honest portrait of the trials, travails and bad decisions of his family members and friends. And his book also took a decidedly conservative view – describing them as chronic spendthrifts, dependent on welfare payments and mostly failing to pull themselves up by their bootstraps.

He wrote that he saw Appalachians “reacting to bad circumstances in the worst way possible” and that they were products of “a culture that encourages social decay instead of counteracting it”.

“The truth is hard,” he wrote, “and the hardest truths for hill people are the ones they must tell about themselves.”

While he poured scorn on “elites” and exclusive society, he painted himself as a counterpoint to the chronic failure of those he grew up with.

By the time the book came out, Mr Vance’s own bootstrap tugging had slung him far away from Middletown: first to the US Marines and a tour of duty in Iraq, and later to Ohio State University, Yale Law School and a job as a venture capitalist in California.

Hillbilly Elegy made him not only into a bestselling author, but a sought-after commentator who was frequently called upon to explain Donald Trump’s appeal to white, working-class voters.

He rarely missed an opportunity to criticise the then-Republican nominee.

“I think this election is really having a negative effect especially on the white working class,” he told an interviewer in October 2016.

“What it’s doing is giving people an excuse to point the finger at someone else, point the finger at Mexican immigrants, or Chinese trade or the Democratic elites or whatever else.”

In 2017 Mr Vance returned to Ohio and continued to work in venture capital. He and his wife, Usha Chilukuri Vance, whom he met at Yale, have three children – Ewan, Vivek and Mirabel.

As the child of Indian immigrants who grew up in San Diego, Usha Vance has a very different background from her husband. She also attended Yale as an undergraduate and received a masters degree from University of Cambridge. She served as a clerk to Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts after law school and is currently a litigator.

Mr Vance’s name was long whispered about as a political candidate, and he saw an opportunity when Ohio’s Republican senator Rob Portman decided not to run for re-election in 2022.

Although his campaign was initially slow to get going, he got a kick-start via a $10m (£7.7m) donation by his former boss, Silicon Valley power broker Peter Thiel. But the real hurdle stopping him from getting elected in increasingly Republican Ohio was his past criticism of Trump.

He apologised for his previous remarks and managed to mend fences and earn Trump’s endorsement, pushing him to the top of the Republican field and eventually into the Senate.

In the process, Mr Vance has become an increasingly important player in the world of Make America Great Again politics – and has signed up almost completely to Trump’s agenda.

In the Senate he has been a reliable conservative vote, backing populist economic policies and emerging as one of the biggest congressional sceptics of aid to Ukraine.

Given his short tenure in the Democrat-led chamber, the bills he has sponsored have rarely moved forward, and have more often been about sending messages than changing policy.

In recent months, Mr Vance introduced bills to withhold federal funds for colleges where there are encampments or protests against Israel’s war in Gaza, and to colleges that employ undocumented immigrants.

Mr Vance also sponsored legislation in March that would cut the Chinese government off from US capital markets if it does not follow international trade law.

He hit all of these themes at a recent speech at the National Conservatism Conference, where he declared: “The real threat to American democracy is that American voters keep on voting for less immigration and our politicians keep on rewarding us with more.”

He said the idea of the American Dream – “This very basic idea that you should be able to build a good life for yourself and your family in the country you call home” – was “under siege by the left”.

And he said that American involvement in Ukraine had “no obvious conclusion or even objective that we’re close to getting accomplished”.

Also at the conference, he said the UK was “not doing so good” because of immigration and claimed that under a Labour government, the country had become the “first truly Islamist country” with a nuclear bomb.

Mr Vance, who was baptised as a Catholic in 2019, has expressed support in the past for a nationwide abortion after 15 weeks. But he recently backed Trump’s view that the matter was for states to decide.

When his Hitler comment was first reported, in 2022, a spokesperson did not dispute it, but said it no longer represented his views.

Mr Vance received waves of loud applause when he entered the convention arena in Milwaukee on Monday. He walked over to the Ohio contingent and, looking somewhat in awe of the scene, took selfies with delegates as he was being introduced.

“He’s from humble beginnings and he’s young,” said delegate Amanda Suffecool, the party’s chair in Portage County, in north-east Ohio. “A lot of people are going to think he looks like him.”

Mr Vance was also one of the first top Republicans to point the finger at Democrat campaign rhetoric in the wake of the attempted assassination of Donald Trump at a rally on Saturday.

“The central premise of the Biden campaign is that President Donald Trump is an authoritarian fascist who must be stopped at all costs,” he posted on X hours after the shooting. “That rhetoric led directly to President Trump’s attempted assassination.”

In comments on Monday, President Biden called Mr Vance a “clone of Trump” – indicating how Democrats will attempt to portray him for the rest of the campaign.

A Florida judge has dismissed the US justice department’s classified documents case against Donald Trump in a huge victory for the former president just days after a gunman attempted to assassinate him.

Judge Aileen Cannon granted Mr Trump’s motion to dismiss the federal case on the basis that the justice department’s appointment of special prosecutor Jack Smith violates the Appointments Clause of the US Constitution.

He pleaded not guilty to several charges in the case over his handling of classified documents, including wilful retention of national defence information.

A spokesman for Mr Smith said that the justice department has authorised an appeal.

Dozens of classified files were found in Mr Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, including in a shower and storage room, after he left the White House in 2021.

“The Court is convinced that Special Counsel’s Smith’s prosecution of this action breaches two structural cornerstones of our constitutional scheme—the role of Congress in the appointment of constitutional officers, and the role of Congress in authorizing expenditures by law,” Judge Cannon concluded in her 93-page order.

The former president faced multiple felony counts over his alleged mishandling of classified documents.

The 37-count indictment accused Mr Trump of keeping files at his Florida estate and lying to investigators. It alleged he then tried to obstruct the investigation into the handling of the documents.

He was charged alongside aide Walt Nauta and former employee Carlos de Oliveira, who had also pleaded not guilty.

Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed Mr Smith in 2022 to oversee two federal investigations into the former president.

Judge Cannon said in her ruling that this decision applies to this case and not a second one overseen by Mr Smith over alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election.

The former president’s lawyers did not make a similar request to dismiss that case.

The Trump-appointed Florida judge had recently indefinitely postponed the federal classified documents trial, saying there were significant questions over trial evidence.

Legal experts have debated the strengths and weakness of the two federal criminal cases brought by Mr Smith.

On Monday, Judge Cannon stepped in and said those details did not matter.

She held that the mere existence of special counsels – how they are appointed and how they are funded – violates the US Constitution.

Judge Cannon’s ruling cuts against the ruling of judges in other US courts that have dealt with these specially appointed prosecutors.

It draws from theories advanced by some conservative legal scholars and, most notably, by Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas in the top court’s recently decided presidential immunity case.

In that case, the Supreme Court said former presidents, including Mr Trump, are immune from criminal prosecution for “official acts”.

Judge Cannon cited three times in her decision a concurring opinion by Justice Thomas in the Supreme Court ruling in which he questioned whether there was a legal basis for naming special counsel.

Former federal prosecutor Neama Rahmani told the BBC on Monday that Judge Cannon’s ruling was “stunning, to say the least”.

While Judge Cannon said her ruling was limited to this case, Mr Rahmani said it casts doubt on the appointment of special counsels in other cases.

That includes the case of Hunter Biden – President Joe Biden’s son – who was investigated by a special counsel and convicted on gun charges last month.

But a key difference is that the special counsel in that case, David Weiss, is a US attorney for Delaware who, unlike Mr Smith, was nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate.

As well has having the right to an appeal, Mr Smith can also ask for a new judge to be assigned to the case.

Mr Smith’s spokesman said: “The dismissal of the case deviates from the uniform conclusion of all previous courts to have considered the issue that the Attorney General is statutorily authorized to appoint a Special Counsel.

“The Justice Department has authorized the Special Counsel to appeal the court’s order.”

Legal experts say Judge Cannon’s ruling is likely to be overturned but that the further delay to the case could prove beneficial to Mr Trump’s campaign.

“Her ruling has no chance of being sustained on appeal as it conflicts with decisions of the Supreme Court and other lower courts, but it will have the effect of preventing any more embarrassing revelations before the election,” said David Super, a professor at Georgetown University Law Center.

Judge Cannon’s decision also comes as Republicans gather in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, for the Republican National Convention, where Mr Trump will accept the party’s nomination for president.

The US election is on 5 November.

On Monday, Mr Trump said on his social media site that the dismissal of the case “should be just the first step, followed quickly by the dismissal of ALL the Witch Hunts”.

“Let us come together to END all Weaponization of our Justice System, and Make America Great Again!”

While many Republican lawmakers cheered the decision, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat, described the dismissal as a “breathtakingly misguided ruling”.

In May, Mr Trump was found guilty of falsifying business records in a New York hush-money case. He is due to be sentenced in September.

He has also been charged with four criminal counts, including conspiracy to defraud the US and conspiracy against the rights of citizens, in the 2020 election case.

Mr Trump and some 18 other defendants are also accused of criminally conspiring to overturn his very narrow defeat in the state of Georgia in the 2020 election in a separate case.

He has denied any wrongdoing.

The head of the Colombian Football Federation, Ramón Jesurún, and his son have been arrested, following a brawl at Sunday’s Copa América final in Miami.

Mr Ramón, 71, and Ramón Jamil, 43, were held on charges of battery involving an official or an employee, said the Miami-Dade Police Department.

The charges relate to the brawl at the stadium after Colombia lost to Argentina 0-1 in extra time.

Neither Mr Ramón nor his son have publicly commented on the issue.

In a statement sent to the BBC, the Miami-Dade Police Department said the incident had happened just after the football match ended at the Hard Rock Stadium in the south-eastern US state.

Mr Ramón and his son were “walking towards the entrance of the field”, it said, but they became “irate and began shouting” at one of the security officers, who was instructed by his management to temporarily delay people from going further.

The police said the officer had “placed an open palm” on the chest of Mr Ramón’s son to guide him back.

Mr Ramón then pushed the officer, they said, while his son grabbed the officer’s neck and pulled him to the ground, punching him and kicking him in the head.

Mr Ramón’s son also grabbed and pushed a female official who tried to assist, the police said.

It added that the two men had also punched a security manager.

Mr Ramón, his son and other family members are believed to have been trying to go on the pitch to take part in the awards ceremony.

The Colombian Football Federation made no immediate comment on the issue.

The start of the final of the Americas’ most prestigious football tournament was delayed by 80 minutes after ticketless fans forced their way into Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium.

Several arrests were made after clashes with police and security personnel, while several supporters needed treatment from paramedics.

At least 22 Palestinians were killed and 100 wounded in a strike on Sunday on a UN-run school in central Gaza being used as a shelter by displaced people, the Hamas-run health ministry says.

The Israeli military said it had targeted a number of Hamas “terrorists” operating from Abu Oraiban School in the urban Nuseirat refugee camp.

Witnesses told BBC Arabic there were no armed fighters there and that children were among the casualties.

It was the fifth attack on or near to schools in eight days.

Residents said there were fresh air and artillery strikes in central Gaza on Monday, with five people reportedly killed when a house in Maghazi refugee camp was hit. The Israeli military said its aircraft had struck dozens of “terror targets” across the territory over the past day.

Meanwhile, Hamas said indirect negotiations on a ceasefire and hostage release deal with Israel were “ongoing” in the wake of an air strike in the southern al-Mawasi humanitarian area on Saturday that the health ministry said killed more than 90 people.

The Israeli military said it had targeted a compound where the head of Hamas’s armed wing, Mohammed Deif, was hiding with the commander of its Khan Younis Brigade, Rafa Salama.

The military has announced that Salama was killed, but said it is too early to conclude whether Deif also died. Hamas has said Deif is in good health.

A US State Department spokesman said Antony Blinken expressed serious concerns about the recent civilian casualties during a meeting with two key Israeli officials on Monday.

The US Secretary of State spoke with with national security advisor, Tzachi Hanegbi, and Minister of Strategic Affairs, Ron Dermer, who confirmed that Israel was still committed to reaching a ceasefire deal under terms laid out by Joe Biden in May.

Israel launched a military campaign in Gaza to destroy Hamas in response to an unprecedented attack on southern Israel on 7 October, during which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.

More than 38,660 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the territory’s health ministry, whose figures do not differentiate between civilians and combatants.

According to the UN, an estimated 1.9 million people – 90% of Gaza’s population – have been forced to flee their homes, including some who have been displaced up to 10 times.

Thousands were reportedly sheltering at Abu Oraiban School, which is run by the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (Unrwa), when it was it struck on Sunday afternoon.

A displaced woman told BBC Arabic that she had been lighting a fire to cook in a corridor when a nearby room was hit.

“As soon as the explosion occurred the walls of the room collapsed on us,” she said. “I saw a little boy whose leg was bleeding and a dismembered corpse which people covered with blankets. I also saw a little boy lying in a pool of blood, with his whole face bleeding.”

She added: “I quickly ran out of the school. I found my aunt at the school gate, hugging her burnt young son. When I left the school, I saw many injured people lying on the ground and bodies torn to pieces.”

Another resident said his family had been living at the school for six months because UN facilities were supposed to be safe.

“There are no armed men and no reason to strike schools this way,” he added. “The dead and injured people are mainly women and children staying at this school.”

Video footage filmed by a freelance cameraman working for BBC Arabic later on Sunday showed hundreds of people walking past the rubble of a destroyed structure in one corner of the school compound. A heavily damaged staircase could also be seen through two large holes in a wall of the adjoining three-storey school building.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said Hamas fighters had used the school as “a hideout and operational infrastructure” from which attacks against its troops were directed and carried out.

“Prior to the strike, numerous steps were taken in order to mitigate the risk of harming civilians, including the use of precise munitions and additional intelligence,” it added.

The IDF also accused Hamas of systematically violating international law by exploiting civilians and civilian structures as “human shields” – an accusation the group has denied.

A spokesman for Gaza’s Hamas-run Civil Defence force, told AFP news agency on Sunday evening that 15 people were killed and that most were women and children.

On Monday, the health ministry said the death toll had risen to 22, but it did not provide any further details.

Hamas condemned the Israeli strike as what it called an “extension of the genocide” against displaced Palestinians.

The IDF has acknowledged carrying out five strikes on or near to schools sheltering displaced people since 6 July. It has said they targeted Hamas politicians, police officers and fighters using them as bases.

Last Tuesday, hospital officials said at least 29 people had been killed in an Israeli strike on a camp for displaced people outside a school in the town of Abasan al-Kabira, near the southern city of Khan Younis.

A total of 20 people, including a senior Hamas government official, were reportedly killed in three earlier strikes at two other Unrwa-run schools in Nuseirat and a church-run school in Gaza City.

A small town mayor in the Philippines who has been accused of being a Chinese spy has gone into hiding, officials said.

Police could not carry out a warrant for the arrest of Alice Guo over the weekend as she was not at any of her known addresses.

Scam centres were uncovered in Ms Guo’s town of Bamban in March, concealed in online casinos that cater to mainland Chinese.

Her story has played out like a TV drama, as she had also been questioned on her Chinese parentage and suspicions that she was working as an “asset” or spy for Beijing.

Ms Guo’s case has gripped the nation as Manila and Beijing continue to spar over reefs and outcrops in the South China Sea.

The Senate ordered the arrest of Ms Guo and some members of her family last Friday after she twice snubbed summons to appear in hearings on the scam centres.

“Show yourselves. Hiding will not erase the truth,” Senator Risa Hontiveros, who is leading parliament’s investigation on Ms Guo, said in a statement.

Ms Guo has denied wrongdoing. She claims her Chinese father and Filipina mother raised her on their pig farm.

But Senator Sherwin Gatchalian, who is part of the investigation, claims Ms Guo is a Chinese national whose real name is Guo Hua Ping, based on immigration records.

“She is hiding to evade arrest,” Mr Gatchalian told local radio. “Our tracker teams will continue looking for her.”

On the day the arrest warrant was signed, Ms Guo posted a statement on Facebook, addressing her constituents and alluding to the fact that she would not be around.

“Sorry for not being physically present with each one of you. I miss you all,” she said, adding her absence would be “temporary”.

In the post, she added that she did not regret joining politics, even if it hurt her so much that she “almost lost myself”.

“I am a Filipino with a big heart for Bamban. I love the Philippines very much,” she said.

Ms Guo’s lawyer, Nicole Jamilla, told local television that her client would “definitely” cooperate with official investigations.

Aside from the investigation by the Senate, Ms Guo is the subject of a separate anti-graft probe that has led to her suspension.

The scam centres in Bamban have underscored how online casinos or Pogos (Philippine Online Gaming Operations) have been used as cover for text scams, human trafficking and other criminal activities.

Crime rings hiding beneath Pogos have even gone to the extent of building hospitals that provide cosmetic surgery to fugitives who want new faces.

Pogos flourished during the tenure of Rodrigo Duterte, whose presidency, which ended in 2022, was marked by close ties to China.

But under current president Ferdinand Marcos, Pogos have come under close scrutiny.

If proven that she is a Chinese citizen, Ms Guo would be not be eligible to serve as mayor. Only Filipino citizens are allowed to hold elective office.

But this does not matter to her constituents who benefit from her social outreach programmes, that are widely documented on her social media pages.

Ms Guo “brought change” to Bamban, and its people are thankful, resident Erica Miclat told ANC television.

China’s economy stumbled in the second quarter, official data shows, just as the country’s top leaders gathered for a key meeting to address its sluggish growth.

It grew 4.7% in the three months to June, falling short of expectations after a stronger start in the first three months of 2024. The government’s annual growth target is around 5%.

“China’s economy hit the brakes in the June quarter,” said Heron Lim at Moody’s Analytics, adding that analysts are hoping for solutions from the meeting under way in Beijing, also called the Third Plenum.

The world’s second-largest economy is facing a prolonged property crisis, steep local government debt, weak consumption and high unemployment.

Past outcomes of the Plenum have changed the course of history in China – in 1978, then leader Deng Xiaoping began opening China’s markets to the world, and in 2013 President Xi Jinping hinted at loosening the controversial one-child policy.

And so there are expectations of this year’s Plenum, where Mr Xi is presiding over a closed-door gathering of 370-plus high-ranking Chinese Communist Party members.

The rhetoric on state-controlled media has certainly been encouraging.

An editorial in The Global Times said a “wide range of reform-focused polices” are “high on the agenda” and would usher in a “new chapter”. Xinhua referred to “comprehensive” and “unprecedented” reforms. The editorial in the People’s Daily was headlined on a “new era of reform and opening up”, invoking the very phrase Deng coined in 1978.

Observers, however, are unsure of how much room there is for bold ideas or debate in the Party under Mr Xi’s heavily-centralised leadership. Some see the meeting as a mere rubber-stamping exercise for decisions that have already been made.

Economists are also sceptical the meeting will deliver a quick fix.

It has “little impact on near-term growth,” says Qian Wang, Asia Pacific chief economist at Vanguard, because its focus will be on longer-term and more significant reforms to “unleash the long-term growth potential”.

Still, analysts will be watching for announcements that signal the Party’s economic priorities.

Separate data on Monday showed that prices for new homes in June fell at the fastest pace in nine years.

This is more evidence of the crisis that has engulfed China’s property sector and led to the demise of giants such as Evergrande. The fear is that it could spread to other parts of the economy.

“There are more than 4,000 banks in China and over 90% are smaller, regional banks which are highly exposed to the housing market and local government debt,” says Shanghai-based economist Dan Wang.

She believes Party leaders will “push for consolidation of small banks”.

Another issue is falling prices – a symptom of weak demand.

Producer prices continued to drop in the last month, while consumer prices rose by a mere 0.2%, the slowest pace in three months.

Meanwhile, retail sales in June grew by just 2%, which is below expectations and a sign that consumers are still cautious about spending and uncertain of the future.

“A major concern is the loss of household, business, and investor confidence in the government’s ability to navigate the perilous economic environment,” said Eswar Prasad, former head of the International Monetary Fund’s China division.

Still, questions remain about Beijing’s willingness to deliver the sort of solution that would satisfy observers and the markets.

“The government is reluctant to turn to short-term stimulus plans such as cash transfer to families,” Dan Wang said. “Instead, we expect them to stress once again on bolstering supply chains and high tech.”

That is in line with Beijing’s bets on high-tech industries such as renewable energy, artificial intelligence and chip-making, and exports to revive the economy. Last month, China reported a record trade surplus – $99bn (£76.4bn) – as exports soared and imports struggled.

But even that bet faces challenging odds. Major trading partners such as the European Union and the United States have imposed tariffs and other barriers on goods made in China, from electric vehicles to advanced chips.

For more than 10 years, Abu Mohammad has been living in a tent with his family in northern Syria, displaced by the long-running civil war. Unable to earn enough to support them, he, like hundreds of others, has decided to travel via Turkey to Niger to work as a mercenary.

Abu Mohammad (not his real name), who is 33, and his wife have four young children – they have no running water or toilet and rely on a small solar panel to charge his phone. Their tent is sweltering in summer and freezing in winter, and leaks when it rains.

“Finding work has become extremely difficult,” he says. He is a member of Turkish-backed opposition forces that have been fighting President Bashar al-Assad for more than a decade.

The faction he works for pays him less than $50 (£40) a month, so when Turkish recruiters appeared offering $1,500 a month to work in Niger, he decided it was the best way to earn more money.

He says Syrian faction leaders help facilitate the process and after “faction taxes and agents” he would still be left with at least two-thirds of the money. “And if I die in battle [in Niger], my family will receive compensation of $50,000,” he adds.

Violence in West Africa’s Sahel region has worsened in recent years as a result of conflict with jihadist groups. Niger and its neighbours Mali and Burkina Faso have all been affected – and all three countries have experienced military coups in the past few years, partly as a result of the instability.

Abu Mohammad is not alone in wanting to go to Niger.

Ali (not his real name), who lives in a tent in rural Idlib, joined Syria’s opposition forces 10 years ago when he was 15. He says he is paid less than $50 a month too, which lasts him five days. He has had to borrow to support his family and sees Niger as the only way to pay off his debts. “I want to leave the military profession entirely and start my own business,” he says.

And for Raed (not his real name), another 22-year-old opposition fighter, going to Niger feels like the only way to build up enough money to “achieve my dream of marriage and starting a family”.

Since December 2023, more than 1,000 Syrian fighters have travelled to Niger via Turkey, according to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), which monitors the conflict in Syria through a network of sources on the ground. They tend to sign up for six months, but some have now extended the contract to a year.

Before they go, the official line is that the men will be protecting Turkish projects and commercial interests in Niger.

Turkey has extended both its political influence and business operations in the region, selling equipment such as drones to Niger to help it combat militant jihadist groups. It is also involved in mining the country’s natural resources, which include gold, uranium and iron ore.

But the recruits know that despite what they are told, when they arrive in Niger, the reality can be very different.

The SOHR and friends of mercenaries who have already worked in Niger told the BBC that Syrians had ended up under Russian command fighting militant jihadist groups in the border triangle between Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso.

Niger’s democratically elected President Mohamed Bazoum was overthrown a year ago, and since then the junta has cut Western ties.

“Niger started looking for new allies and found a suitable alternative in Russia,” explains Nathaniel Powell, a researcher on the Sahel at Oxford Analytica. “Russian weapons are cheaper than Western ones. Russia also offers military resources and training and shows a willingness to adapt to local requirements without imposing strict conditions, unlike its Western counterparts.”

The prospect of fighting under Russian command poses a dilemma for Syrian fighters who are opposed to the Syrian regime because Russia has been a staunch supporter of President Assad.

“We are mercenaries here and mercenaries there,” says Abu Mohammad, “but I am on a Turkish mission, I will not accept orders from the Russians.”

But he may not have a choice, as Raed acknowledges. “I hate these forces but I have to go for economic reasons,” he says.

They are all still waiting to sign their contacts which they will do “just before or during travel”, says Raed. He explains that the process is secretive and he knows one man who was imprisoned by a Syrian opposition faction “for leaking some details of the operation in Africa and the registration mechanism”.

The recruits we spoke to said their faction leaders had told them that a Turkish company called SADAT would look after them once the contracts were signed and would be involved in arranging their travel and logistics.

About five years ago, Abu Mohamad went to Libya where he worked as a mercenary for six months and says that was also arranged by SADAT.

The SOHR also claims that, based on information from other mercenaries who have already been to Niger, SADAT is involved in the process.

We have not been able to independently verify these claims. We contacted SADAT, which vehemently denied recruiting or deploying Syrian fighters to Niger, saying the claims “had no connection with the truth… we do not carry out any activities in Niger”. It also said it had no activities in Libya apart from a “military sport” project more than a decade ago which it had had to withdraw from because of the crisis there.

The company added that it did “not provide services to non-state actors” but rather provided “consultancy, training and logistics services to armed forces and security forces in the field of defence and security according to the Turkish Commercial Code”.

But private companies are used by the government in Ankara to recruit and send Syrian mercenaries to Niger, according to the SOHR. The organisation’s director, Rami Abdul Rahman, accuses the Turkish state of exploiting Syrians with no money and dire economic prospects.

The BBC put these allegations to the Turkish ministry of foreign affairs, but we have not received a response.

This is not the first time the Turkish government has been accused of sending Syrian fighters abroad. Several reports, including one by the US Department of Defence, have documented Turkish-backed Syrian fighters in Libya – Turkey previously acknowledged that Syrian fighters were present there but did not admit recruiting them. It has also denied that it recruited and deployed Syrian mercenaries to the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region in the Caucasus.

Conditions in Niger mean that staying in touch with families in Syria can be very difficult. When the recruits arrive their phones are confiscated, according to Abdul Rahman of the SOHR. And Abu Mohammad says that his friends in Africa “can contact their families once every two weeks, sometimes less”.

He adds that they can’t speak to their wives or parents themselves, and communication has to go through their superiors in Niger “who reassure the fighters’ families that they are fine”.

Ali adds that some of his friends who travelled to Niger told him they spent most of their time “inside military bases, waiting for orders to fight”.

And not all of them make it home. According to the SOHR, nine have been killed in Niger since December 2023. The bodies of four of them have been returned to Idlib but have not yet been identified.

Raed and Ali say their families do not want them to go, so they may end up lying and pretending that they are going to Turkey to train for a few months.

Abu Mohammed’s family is not keen on the idea either. “If I had the means to live a decent life, I wouldn’t do this kind of job if you offered me a million dollars,” he says, but adds: “If my son asked me for a bike, I could never afford it – it’s these things that are pushing me to go.”

Four people have been killed in a shooting near a mosque in Oman’s capital Muscat, the country’s police say.

In a brief statement, they say “a number” of people were also injured in al-Wadi al-Kabir area.

Officers responded to the incident, and an investigation is now under way, Tuesday’s statement said.

The police provided no further details, but some reports suggest that at least one gunman opened fire with an assault rifle.

“All security measures have been put in place to deal with the situation, and procedures for collecting evidence are being completed as part of the investigation,” the police statement said.

Such violence is rare in Oman, a strategically placed country at the mouth of the Gulf on the Arabian Peninsula with a predominantly Muslim population.

Dozens of Indian farm labourers have been freed from slave-like working conditions in northern Italy, police have said.

The 33 workers were lured to Italy on the promise of jobs and a better future by two fellow Indian nationals, police say.

But instead, they were allegedly forced to work more than 10 hours a day, seven days a week for a tiny wage which was used to pay off debts to the alleged gangmasters.

The two men – who were found with approximately $545,300 (£420,000) – have been arrested.

The exploitation of farmhands – both Italian and migrant – in Italy is a well-known issue. Thousands of people work in fields, vineyards and greenhouses dotted across the country, often without contracts and in highly dangerous conditions.

Just last month, an Indian fruit picker died after his arm was severed in a work accident.

The man had allegedly been left on the side of the road following the accident, which also left his legs crushed.

His employer is now under investigation for criminal negligence and manslaughter.

The 33 men rescued by police in the Province of Verona had paid €17,000 ($18,554, £14,293) or 1.5m rupees each in return for seasonal work permits and jobs, according to a police statement sent to the BBC.

To raise the funds, police said, some pawned their family assets, while others borrowed the money from their employers.

But they were only paid €4 per hour for their 10 to 12-hour days, with that sum settling any debt owed.

Their passports were also confiscated as soon as they arrived in Italy and they were banned from leaving their “dilapidated” apartments.

“Every morning, the workers piled into vehicles covered in tarpaulin where they hid among boxes of vegetables until they reached the Verona countryside for work,” the police statement said.

Searches of their apartments showed the workers were “forced to live in precarious and degrading conditions” and “in total violation of health and hygiene regulations”, it added.

The rescued workers have received their passports back and are being helped by social services and a migration organisation to relocate to safer housing and working conditions.

The two alleged gangmasters are now facing charges related to exploitation and slavery, police told Reuters news agency.

Undocumented labourers across Italy are often subject to a system known as “caporalato” – a gangmaster system which sees middlemen illegally hiring labourers who are then forced to work for very low salaries. Even workers with regular papers are often paid well below the legal wage.

Almost a quarter of the agricultural workforce in Italy in 2018 was employed under this method, according to a study by the Italian National Institute of Statistics. The practice also affects workers in the service industry and building sectors.

It was outlawed in Italy in 2016 after an Italian woman died of a heart attack after working 12-hour shifts picking and sorting grapes, for which she was paid €27 a day.

Perched on a remote mountain top and surrounded by lowlands, Mabu is what’s known as a “sky island” and is the largest rainforest in southern Africa. BBC environment correspondent Jonah Fisher went to Mabu with a team of scientists who have discovered dozens of new species there, helping to convince Mozambique to protect it.

“Let me get my magic spoon,” Dr Gimo Daniel says with a smile.

It’s hard to imagine anyone taking more delight in their work than the 36-year-old Mozambican beetle expert.

We’re crouched around a small hole in the dirt not far from our camp in the centre of Mabu forest. Dr Daniel’s mission, like that of almost everyone on our expedition, is to find things that science has not seen before.

Dung beetles are Dr Daniel’s specialty and he chuckles as he pulls out a big plastic tub of bait – his own faeces.

The smell is as you’d expect. Pungent and impossible to ignore.

Dr Daniel tells me that he has already discovered what he believes are 15 new species of dung beetles.

“They can smell it up to 50 meters from here, so they come as fast as they can,” he says. “It’s brunch.”

Twenty years ago, Mabu was a secret to all but the locals.

It was ‘discovered’ for the outside world by Prof Julian Bayliss in 2004. An explorer and ecologist who now lives in north Wales, he was surveying satellite images of northern Mozambique when he came across a previously unknown dark green patch.

A first expedition the following year confirmed that although locals had been hunting in the forest it was in incredibly good condition and its size at 75 square kilometres made Mabu the largest single block of rainforest in southern Africa.

“I was like – oh my God – this is phenomenal,” Prof Bayliss recalls.

In early expeditions to Mabu, one of which I joined in 2009 while working as a BBC correspondent in southern Africa, Prof Bayliss was at the forefront of a ‘gold rush’ of discoveries, quickly finding several new species of chameleon, snake and butterfly. 

In all Prof Bayliss says they’ve found at least 25 new species, and that’s not even counting the dung beetles, many of which still need to be officially recognised.

What makes Mabu so special is its geography. A medium altitude rainforest, it protrudes above Mozambique’s lowlands, makes it effectively a ‘sky island’.

That means most of the animals and insects that live there have no way of meeting and breeding with other populations, increasing the chances of them evolving in isolation into something unique and new to science.

The expedition the BBC joined this year at Prof Bayliss’ invitation was the first time a team of scientists had based themselves right in the centre of the forest.

Mabu was in part protected by Mozambique’s long history of civil war. The longest of which ended in 1992. It was also helped by the fact that it’s just so hard to get there.

After driving five hours along dirt roads all of the camping gear, food and equipment is loaded on to the backs and heads of more than sixty porters.

While we, and the scientists, adjusted our walking boots and dropped hydration salts in our water bottles, the porters, many of them wearing just flipflops, marched up Mount Mabu’s steep slopes.

One of the first to find something new is Erica Tovela, a freshwater fish expert from Mozambique’s Natural History Museum. In the stream that runs through camp she catches a type of small catfish she’s not seen before.

“I hope that we have a new species for this area,” she says with a smile as she holds up a see-through bag of dead fish. (They will be preserved in formaldehyde for further analysis and comparison with other similar species). “Amazing. It will be the first new species for me.”

The process of definitively identifying a new species can take years. It involves writing a peer-reviewed paper in a journal in which the differences between the new discovery and its closest relatives are outlined and accepted by other scientists.

The next step for Ms Tovela is to get the DNA of her fish analysed and detailed descriptions and images circulated. And what might be the name?

“It should be something ,” she says. “It’s a nice way of saying we have one specific species that’s from Mabu.”

Mabu’s forest is in good condition but that’s not to say that some things haven’t changed.

The large mammals that once inhabited it like lions, rhinos and buffalos have all been hunted out, most likely for food during the war. Deforestation has also taken a toll, though not as badly as other forests in southern Africa.

“It’s very visible that forests (in southern Africa) that that I’ve been to just 15 to 20 years ago have now disappeared, cut down for many different reasons,” says Prof Ara Monadjem, an expert in small mammals from the University of Eswatini, who was on the trip.

At Mabu the deforestation has so far been limited but locals are certainly hunting. Camera traps show hunters carrying animals they’ve caught and we see physical traps made from car springs set just off the tracks through the forest.

But at the same time species of smaller mammals are also being discovered. They included a horseshoe bat called  and a dwarf musk shrew which scientists are still in the process of naming and describing.

Not everyone on the expedition is looking for new species. Bird experts Claire Spottiswoode and Calum Cohen have a very specific mission. To find evidence that one of Africa’s rarest birds is still alive.

The only lives at altitude and there are fears that a combination of the destruction of forest elsewhere and warming temperatures are pushing the small yellow and black bird towards extinction.

“Climate change often has these effects that are hard to predict,” Callan Cohen explains pointing out that sometimes warmer temperatures encourage snake activity, which means more nests and chicks come under attack.

Trying to find the rare bird involves playing it a recording of a through a Bluetooth speaker and then waiting to see if any respond.

There’s no sign or sound on the day that we join the search, but several days later the bird experts return to camp late at night bringing with them good news.

They managed to record sound of the on one of the higher ridges.

“It’s still a little concerning, to be honest,” Mr Cohen says of the huge effort it had taken.

So what happens next? For Mabu, at least the signs appear positive.

Pejul Calenga, the director general of Mozambique’s conservation areas, tells me in an interview that Mabu is to be turned into a community protected area.

That will mean no logging or mining is allowed but that the locals who depend on the forest for their livelihoods will manage and be able to use it.

Of the role played by the scientists’ work in getting the area protected, he says: “It’s much easier to stand up for those areas in which we have unique resources present.”

Mr Calenga said Mabu now forms part of Mozambique’s commitment to a global biodiversity pledge to protect 30 percent of its land by 2030.

Having led so many expeditions into Mabu forest Prof Bayliss is cautiously optimistic that if the management plan is done well Mabu will turn into a conservation success story.

He’s already looking elsewhere in Africa for other sites that need protection.

While many people in Somalia squeezed into cafes and homes on Sunday night to watch the Euro football final, hundreds of Mogadishu’s most stylish residents gathered in the beachside Elite Hotel for another competition: Miss Somalia.

The fact that about a kilometre away a car bomb exploded outside the Top Coffee restaurant which was packed with football fans highlights the schizophrenic nature of life in Somalia.

While the beauty show contestants were parading in the hotel, at least five people were killed and about 20 injured in the nearby blast.

The militant Islamist group al-Shabab, which has controlled much of Somalia for more than 15 years, said it carried out the attack.

Hani Abdi Gas founded the Miss Somalia competition in 2021, a brave thing to do in a culturally conservative country crawling with Islamist militants. Somalia has regularly topped the list of the world’s worst places to be a woman.

Ms Gas grew up in Dadaab refugee camp in Kenya, along with hundreds of thousands of other Somalis who fled war and drought. She returned to her homeland in 2020.

Although the pageant is about beauty, Ms Gas said the inspiration behind the competition was to lift up women’s voices and take them out of isolation.

“It fosters unity and empowerment,” she said.

Ms Gas believes it is time for Somalia to join the rest of the world when it comes to beauty contests. “I want to celebrate the aspirations of women from diverse backgrounds, build their confidence and give them a chance to showcase Somali culture worldwide.”

This year’s competition certainly represented women from different walks of life. One of the contestants was a policewoman.

Many in Somalia find the idea of beauty pageants appalling.

Some see them as an affront to Islam and to Somali culture. Others say they are another form of gender abuse, reducing women to objects.

“I am disgusted with the idea of our young women competing in this dreadful contest,” said clan leader Ahmed Abdi Halane.

“Such things are against our culture and our religion. If a girl wears tight clothes and appears on stage, it will bring shame upon her family and her clan. Women are supposed to stay at home and wear modest clothes.”

Some women are also opposed to beauty contests.

“It is good to support the Somali youth but not in ways that conflict with our religion,” said student Sabrina, who did not want to reveal her surname.

“It is not appropriate for a woman to appear in public without covering her neck and that is what the Miss Somalia contestants did.”

Unlike the sombre-coloured robes and veils worn by many Somali women, the Miss Somalia contestants wore flamboyant, figure-hugging gowns.

Dressed in a long golden dress with sleeves flowing down to the floor, 24-year-old Aisha Ikow was crowned Miss Somalia and took home a $1,000 (£770) cash prize.

She is a university student and make-up artist, and represented South-West state. The other finalists were the regional beauty queens from Jubaland in the south and Galmudug in central Somalia.

“I will use this as an opportunity to fight against early marriage and to promote girls’ education,” said Ms Ikow.

“The competition celebrates Somali culture and beauty while shaping a brighter future for women.”

The six judges, five women and one man, found it hard to choose the winner.

The panel included the founder Ms Gas, a representative from the ministry of youth and Miss Somalia 2022. They judged the contestants according to their physical beauty, the way they walked the catwalk, the way they dressed and the way they spoke in public.

There was also an online vote open to the public.

It cost $1 to vote, with the money raised used to fund the event in Mogadishu and overseas trips to compete in the Miss Africa, Miss World and Miss Universe competitions.

The night-time pageant in a luxury seafront hotel was a far cry from the lives of most people in Somalia, especially women.

Four million Somalis, about a quarter of the population, are living elsewhere in the country after being forced from their homes.

The UN estimates between 70% and 80% of them are women.

In 2024, enough data was collected for Somalia to be included in the United Nations Human Development Index for the first time in three decades. It came last.

Somalia is fourth from bottom on the UN’s Gender Inequality Index. Aid groups say 52% of women in the country have experienced gender-based violence. About 98% undergo female genital mutilation.

Traditionally, when a man raped a woman, his “punishment” was that he had to marry the woman who he had sexually assaulted. Attitudes towards rape and other forms of abuse against women have not changed much over the years.

In 2013, a woman in Mogadishu was sentenced to jail for one year after reporting that she had been raped by members of the security forces.

In the self-declared republic of Somaliland, religious leaders quashed a 2018 sexual offences law almost as soon as it was signed. The revised version does not protect women from child marriage, forced marriage, rape or other forms of sexual abuse.

But the fact that a Miss Somalia competition can be held in Mogadishu, even a kilometre away from a suicide bombing, shows that the country is changing both in terms of attitudes and in terms of security.

A beauty pageant would have been unthinkable a few years ago, especially when al-Shabab controlled the capital.

The crowd at Elite Hotel did not leave until the early hours of the morning. They did not hear the sound of the nearby attack as it was drowned out by the noise of the Indian Ocean waves breaking on the beach.

• Inside Somalia’s hidden world of sex work
• The bid to heal the Horn of Africa port controversy
• Somalia’s football pitch that doubles as an execution ground
• Somalia’s men in sarongs taking on al-Shabab militants

It’s been more than a year-and-a-half since Brazil’s Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva returned to the country’s presidency, back from the political dead after his conviction on corruption charges was dramatically annulled.

In that time, President Lula’s comeback has given renewed force to one of the world’s most unlikely economic alliances – the Brics, a grouping that unites Brazil with Russia, India, China and South Africa.

In his previous time as president from 2003 to 2010, Lula was instrumental in efforts to weld the Brics into a geopolitical entity, and an emerging counterweight to the West.

Now the bloc has momentum on its side once again. It’s come to be known as Brics Plus, after the original members agreed at a watershed summit in Johannesburg in August last year to admit a handful of new joiners, including Saudi Arabia and Iran.

Not bad for a grouping that was originally willed into being by sheer high-concept financial whimsy, the brainchild of economist Jim O’Neill, who saw it more as an investment opportunity than a new gang of nations.

“When the Brics were invented, it was pretty much an asset class,” says Monica de Bolle, senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington.

“But it caught on in Brazil, because it directly spoke to Lula’s aspirations in foreign policy.”

At the Johannesburg meeting, Lula was particularly bullish about the group’s long-term economic prospects.

“We have already surpassed the G7 and account for 32% of global GDP in purchasing power parity,” he said.

“Projections indicate that emerging and developing markets will be those that will show the highest growth rate in the coming years,” he went on.

“This shows that the dynamism of the economy is in the global south and the Brics is its driving force.”

But that is disingenuous on Lula’s part, to say the least. As has been pointed out by the originator of the Bric acronym, who now rejoices in the title of Baron O’Neill of Gatley, all the economic growth in the group has actually come from Xi Jinping’s China and Narendra Modi’s India.

“None of the other Brics has performed anywhere near as well as those two,” he said in an article written in reaction to the bloc’s expansion.

“Brazil and Russia account for around the same share of global GDP as they did in 2001, and South Africa is not even the largest economy in Africa [Nigeria has surpassed it].”

As he also points out, China “dominates the Brics by being twice the size of all the others combined”, in much the same way that the US dominates the G7.

So what does slow-growth Brazil gain from being dragged along in China’s economic slipstream?

Rodrigo Zeidan, a Brazilian economist based at China’s New York University Shanghai, tells the BBC that Brazil and China alike see the Brics as a “hedge” in terms of global alliances, rather than as a top priority.

“The Brics right now, for Brazil, cost almost nothing,” he says. “So if the benefits are not high, it’s fine. They are neither a big benefit nor a hindrance.”

Since China is its biggest trading partner, Brazil is comfortable maintaining close relations with Beijing, even if the Brics grouping provides it with some “strange bedfellows”, as Mr Zeidan puts it.

Lula has certainly maintained an ambiguous position on Russia’s war in Ukraine, but that is more due to Brazil’s traditional neutrality in foreign policy than to a wish to support a fellow Brics nation.

For Monica de Bolle at the Peterson Institute, herself a Brazilian economist, President Lula showed “a lot of naivety” in committing to the Brics because of his belief in furthering relations among the big so-called global south nations.

As a result, Brazil has now acquired “a China dependency” that could harm it in other foreign policy relations, she says.

“If you are in the US, you know that the US stance on China is not going to change [whoever wins the presidential election in November],” she adds.

“In either case, it’s moving in the direction of greater anti-China sentiment. At some point, that’s going to create additional reactions from China, which could put Brazil in a very difficult position, because it’s perceived as being aligned with China.”

One tangible gain for Brazil from the alliance comes in the shape of the New Development Bank (NDB), a multilateral lender founded by the Brics and described by Lula as “a milestone in effective collaboration between emerging economies”.

It is currently headed by Brazilian ex-President Dilma Rousseff. She was President Lula’s political protegee, and succeeded him in 2011. But her time in office came to a chaotic end when she was impeached in 2016 for breaking budgetary laws.

The NDB has not only returned her to public life, but since the bank’s headquarters are in Shanghai, it makes her key to maintaining links between Brazil and China.

“Dilma is definitely huge in terms of political image. Having Dilma here in Shanghai is very important for strengthening Brazil-China relations,” says Mr Zeidan.

Brazil has also benefited directly from NDB money. In June, Ms Rousseff and Brazilian Vice-President Geraldo Alckmin signed a loan deal worth more than $1.1bn (£880m) to help pay for reconstruction after widespread floods in the state of Rio Grande do Sul.

Regarding the NDB and Russia, the bank put all transactions involving the country on hold in March 2022, shortly after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. And the NDB has complied with international sanctions against Russia.

But Russia is due to take over the rotating presidency of the bank in mid-2025 and there is some uncertainty over what will happen then.

In the meantime, Ms Rousseff is not averse to attending financial gatherings in Russia, and shaking hands with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has praised her work at the helm of the NDB.

President Lula is a passionate advocate of the Brics as a means of reforming global governance and giving a greater voice to the developing world.

He has criticised the “paralysis” of global institutions, while praising the expansion of the Brics as strengthening the fight for more diverse perspectives.

But other observers retort that the Brics are themselves paralysed by their own internal contradictions, with Russia at war in Ukraine, while China and India have their own mutual squabbles.

Ultimately, says Ms de Bolle in Washington, the Brics are “a heterogeneous group of countries that have nothing in common, apart from the fact that they are big”.

“The Brics have no clear agenda that has any real weight,” agrees Mr Zeidan in Shanghai.

“Right now, China doesn’t ask much of Brazil. However, anything that China asks, Brazil does.

“It’s fine to be part of the Brics when the stakes are low. But what if the stakes rise?”

In other words, the effect of the Brics, on Brazil and on the world, may be minor for now. But if China decides to become more assertive, that could change rapidly – and Brazil could be faced with some uncomfortable choices.

Fans are mourning US actress Shannen Doherty, who has died the age of 53 of cancer.

“It is with a heavy heart that I confirm the passing of actress Shannen Doherty,” her publicist, Leslie Sloane said.

Doherty enjoyed a screen career spanning four decades as the star of hit TV shows like Beverly Hills 90210 and Charmed.

Although Doherty and the characters she played usually seemed to inhabit a glossier, more beautiful world, she was always someone viewers could relate to on screen, and was a self-proclaimed “badass” in real life.

The Memphis-born star began acting as a child with appearances in TV series such as Voyagers, Our House and Father Murphy, before joining the cast of the long-running Little House on the Prairie as Jenny Wilder at the age of 11 in 1982.

Her first major film role came in 1985 with Girls Just Want to Have Fun, which also starred Sarah Jessica Parker and Helen Hunt.

• Beverly Hills 90210 star Shannen Doherty dead at 53

Three years later, she played Heather Duke, a member of the high school clique in cult 1988 teen drama Heathers, starring alongside Winona Ryder, Lisanne Falk and Kim Walker.

When a rebooted television series was commissioned in 2016, Doherty played the mother of one of the new generation of Heathers.

In 1990, Doherty landed the biggest role of her career – as Brenda Walsh in the original Beverly Hills, 90210.

The TV series followed a group of teenagers as they dealt with relationship and family issues that were relatable beyond the glamorous Beverly Hills setting.

While working on the show in the 1990s, she developed a reputation as something of a troublemaker, with reports accusing her of heated feuds with her fellow actors.

“There were times when we wanted to claw each other’s eyes out,” Doherty’s co-star Jennie Garth admitted in 2014. But the pair became close friends as they grew older.

Doherty admitted she struggled to handle the fame. “I was very confused back then about what I wanted for myself, and the attention was way too much,” she said. “I didn’t always handle it that well.

“And in truth, I was just shooting myself in the foot because the more I fought it, the more the celebrity took over versus the actor, and then the press ran with it.”

She told another interviewer: “Maybe my career would have taken a different direction if I’d been wiser and older, but I wasn’t. I started young and I got 90210 kind of success very early, and it came at a time in my life where I was a petrified kid.”

Doherty left 90210 after four seasons, with Brenda being written out to go to prestigious drama school Rada in London.

While the actress mellowed and became more private as she got older, she played up to her reputation with the release of 2010’s Badass, a semi-autobiographical book that encouraged young women to find their “inner badass” and live life with attitude and confidence.

Doherty went on to star in shows including Charmed, which followed a trio of sisters who are the most powerful good witches of all time, and North Shore, set in a Hawaii hotel. In 1995, she starred in the offbeat film comedy Mallrats.

Away from the screen, Doherty had a somewhat turbulent romantic life. She married Ashley Hamilton, the son of actor George Hamilton, two weeks after meeting him in 1993, but they divorced just six months later.

She wed her second husband Rick Salomon in 2002, but the marriage was annulled after nine months. She married her third husband, a photographer named Kurt Iswarienko, in 2011. The couple stayed together until her death.

As she got older, Doherty became a passionate animal rights activist and participated in campaigns against animal cruelty.

She also ventured into reality TV as the genre became popular in the noughties, and in 2010 she appeared in Dancing With The Stars, the US version of the BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing.

Beverly Hills, 90210 remained the role she was best known for, and in 2008 she joined the cast of a new version of the show, reprising her role of Brenda Walsh. In the reboot, Brenda had grown up to become a successful theatre actress and stage director.

But in her personal life, Doherty began to struggle with her health.

She was diagnosed with breast cancer in March 2015. The following year, she had a mastectomy and underwent chemotherapy and radiotherapy.

She initially announced her cancer was in remission in 2017, but it returned two years later.

At the time, Doherty was appearing in another reboot of 90210, which she said she was keen to take part in to honour her former co-star Luke Perry, who died of a stroke aged 52.

“It’s so weird for me to be diagnosed and then somebody who was seemingly healthy to go first,” said Doherty. “It was really shocking. And the least I could do to honour him was to do that show.”

The latest version, titled BH90210, put a new spin on it. Rather than being a straightforward reboot, it followed Doherty and many of the other original cast members playing heightened, parody versions of their real selves.

Doherty kept the return of the disease secret at first, opting not to tell her fellow cast members except Brian Austin Green.

“I had moments of great anxiety where I thought, ‘I can’t really do this,'” she explained. “Prior to shooting, Brian would always call me and say, ‘Listen, you know, whatever happens, I have your back.’ So Brian helped me through a lot.”

In recent years, she openly documented her battle with cancer on social media – posting videos of herself exercising alongside the hashtag #cancerslayer.

In November 2023, she said she is committed to battling stage four breast cancer, which had now spread to her bones.

Speaking to People magazine, Doherty said she was determined to keep going with treatment, adding: “I’m not done with living. I’m not done with loving. I’m not done with creating.”

Shannen Doherty has been remembered as a “beloved” actress with “heart, courage and kindness”, following her death from cancer at the age of 53.

Doherty was known for roles in 1990s teen drama Beverly Hills, 90210 and supernatural series Charmed.

Jason Priestley, who played her twin brother on 90210, wrote on Instagram he was “shocked and saddened” by the news.

“She was a force of nature and I will miss her,” he said. “Sending love and light to her family in this dark time.”

Jennie Garth, who played Kelly, the sometime love rival of Doherty’s character Brenda, said she was “still processing my tremendous grief over the loss of my long-time friend Shannen, the woman I have often described as one of the strongest people I have ever known”.

“We were so often pitted against each other – but none of that reflected the truth of our real relationship, which was one built on mutual respect and admiration,” Garth wrote.

“She was courageous, passionate, determined and very loving and generous. I will miss her and will always honour her deeply in my heart and in my memories. My heart breaks for her family and [her dog] Bowie and all the people who loved her.”

Buffy the Vampire Slayer star Sarah Michelle Gellar, a good friend, posted: “How do you possibly find the right words to sum up 30 years of friendship?

“I keep reminding myself it only hurts this much because, there was so much love. Thank you, for all your kind words and support.”

Recalling Doherty’s love of pets, Gellar asked well-wishers to donate to an animal charity in her memory. “I know that would make our girl happy.”

Doherty’s death comes five years after that of her fellow Beverly Hills, 90210 star, Luke Perry.

Gabrielle Carteris, who played Andrea in the hit series, paid tribute to Doherty, writing: “So young – so sad. May you RIP Shannon. I know Luke is there with open arms to love you.”

Tori Spelling, who played Donna, posted a photo of herself and Doherty, alongside a string of broken-heart emojis and the message: “I don’t have outwards words yet… but we knew and that’s what matters.”

Another Beverly Hills 90210 co-star, Brian Austin Green, addressed his tribute to “Shan, my sister”.

“You loved me through everything. You were a big part of my understanding of love,” he wrote.

“I’ll miss you more than I know how to process right now. Thank you for the gift of you.”

Carol Potter, who played Brenda’s mother, Cindy, wrote Doherty had “gone too soon”.

“Throughout, she stayed true to herself and gave us an example of courage and perseverance in facing her own death,” Potter said. “May she rest in peace.”

On Charmed, Doherty played one of three sisters who were witches.

Rose McGowan, who replaced Doherty in the show, as half-sister Paige, wrote she “had the heart of a lion”.

“My head bows to this warrior on her journey home,” McGowan wrote. “Her intense will to live places in her in the hall of legends. Forever our sister.”

Alyssa Milano, who played sister Phoebe, acknowledged the pair’s “complicated relationship”, with reports they had fallen out on set, leading to Doherty’s departure.

“But at its core was someone I deeply respected and was in awe of,” Milano added in a statement.

“She was a talented actress, beloved by many, and the world is less without her. My condolences to all who loved her.”

Another Charmed co-star, Brian Krause, wrote: “You showed me what strength is. You taught me to be fearless and live with purpose, to know your value and stick to your determination. Forever loved. Truly heartbroken.”

Others paying tribute included actress Olivia Munn, herself diagnosed with breast cancer earlier this year, who was “absolutely heartbroken”.

“We bonded through a shared battle and a desire to help other women,” she wrote. “Looking back on the last text she sent me, just a couple months ago, she asked how I was doing and if she could do anything for me.

“True to form, Shannen was offering her support even though she was in the final stage of fighting this horrific disease.”

Doherty had faced the disease with “such dignity, strength and grace”, Munn added.

Actress Kate Beckinsale said on Instagram: “Love you. Fly high lovely kind sweetheart woman. This hits hard. Your heart, courage and kindness will be so missed.”

And Oscar winner Viola Davis wrote: “Your bravery and ability to share your cancer journey left something ‘in’ people. Rest well. God bless your loved ones.”

China’s economy stumbled in the second quarter, official data shows, just as the country’s top leaders gathered for a key meeting to address its sluggish growth.

It grew 4.7% in the three months to June, falling short of expectations after a stronger start in the first three months of 2024. The government’s annual growth target is around 5%.

“China’s economy hit the brakes in the June quarter,” said Heron Lim at Moody’s Analytics, adding that analysts are hoping for solutions from the meeting under way in Beijing, also called the Third Plenum.

The world’s second-largest economy is facing a prolonged property crisis, steep local government debt, weak consumption and high unemployment.

Past outcomes of the Plenum have changed the course of history in China – in 1978, then leader Deng Xiaoping began opening China’s markets to the world, and in 2013 President Xi Jinping hinted at loosening the controversial one-child policy.

And so there are expectations of this year’s Plenum, where Mr Xi is presiding over a closed-door gathering of 370-plus high-ranking Chinese Communist Party members.

The rhetoric on state-controlled media has certainly been encouraging.

An editorial in The Global Times said a “wide range of reform-focused polices” are “high on the agenda” and would usher in a “new chapter”. Xinhua referred to “comprehensive” and “unprecedented” reforms. The editorial in the People’s Daily was headlined on a “new era of reform and opening up”, invoking the very phrase Deng coined in 1978.

Observers, however, are unsure of how much room there is for bold ideas or debate in the Party under Mr Xi’s heavily-centralised leadership. Some see the meeting as a mere rubber-stamping exercise for decisions that have already been made.

Economists are also sceptical the meeting will deliver a quick fix.

It has “little impact on near-term growth,” says Qian Wang, Asia Pacific chief economist at Vanguard, because its focus will be on longer-term and more significant reforms to “unleash the long-term growth potential”.

Still, analysts will be watching for announcements that signal the Party’s economic priorities.

Separate data on Monday showed that prices for new homes in June fell at the fastest pace in nine years.

This is more evidence of the crisis that has engulfed China’s property sector and led to the demise of giants such as Evergrande. The fear is that it could spread to other parts of the economy.

“There are more than 4,000 banks in China and over 90% are smaller, regional banks which are highly exposed to the housing market and local government debt,” says Shanghai-based economist Dan Wang.

She believes Party leaders will “push for consolidation of small banks”.

Another issue is falling prices – a symptom of weak demand.

Producer prices continued to drop in the last month, while consumer prices rose by a mere 0.2%, the slowest pace in three months.

Meanwhile, retail sales in June grew by just 2%, which is below expectations and a sign that consumers are still cautious about spending and uncertain of the future.

“A major concern is the loss of household, business, and investor confidence in the government’s ability to navigate the perilous economic environment,” said Eswar Prasad, former head of the International Monetary Fund’s China division.

Still, questions remain about Beijing’s willingness to deliver the sort of solution that would satisfy observers and the markets.

“The government is reluctant to turn to short-term stimulus plans such as cash transfer to families,” Dan Wang said. “Instead, we expect them to stress once again on bolstering supply chains and high tech.”

That is in line with Beijing’s bets on high-tech industries such as renewable energy, artificial intelligence and chip-making, and exports to revive the economy. Last month, China reported a record trade surplus – $99bn (£76.4bn) – as exports soared and imports struggled.

But even that bet faces challenging odds. Major trading partners such as the European Union and the United States have imposed tariffs and other barriers on goods made in China, from electric vehicles to advanced chips.

The Prince and Princess of Wales have called the England team “an inspiration to all of us, young and old” in a personal message posted on social media.

In the post, they also shared a picture of their children Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis watching Sunday night’s Euros final defeat to Spain, wearing England shirts bearing their names and ages.

The couple’s full message reads: “England, your teamwork, grit and determination were an inspiration to all of us, young and old. Congratulations to Spain. W & C”

Prince William and his eldest son Prince George watched the game at the Olympiastadion in Berlin on Sunday evening.

The Prince of Wales shook hands with the England team and handed them runners-up medals after the match.

King Charles also sent a message to the England team after the match. In a letter to manager Gareth Southgate, he urged him and the team to “hold your heads high”.

England’s heartbreaking 2-1 defeat left fans devastated, as many had hoped to see the men’s team win a major trophy for the first time in 58 years. But many still had hope for the future.

Matthew Adams, 30, from Bournemouth, said: “The future is so bright with the young players in the squad that have performed so well.

“If that’s the future of England, then it’s a positive future.”

Preethi Rai, 38, from London said Gareth Southgate “deserves some credit” for his work as England manager.

Speaking after the screening at London’s O2 Arena she added: “He’s brought us up to a level where we can compete with an amazing Spain team.”

Southgate and several England players were seen leaving their hotel in Berlin on Monday morning.

In a post on X, formerly Twitter, England captain Harry Kane said he was “heartbroken” over the loss.

“It was a long tough tournament and I’m so proud of the boys and staff for getting to the final,” he said.

Prince William was pictured with Prince George in the stands at the final on Sunday, seated near King Felipe and Princess Leonor of Spain, and Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer.

He also attended earlier games in the tournament, watching England’s quarter final victory over Switzerland, and the group stage match against Denmark.

Downing Street said Gareth Southgate had “provided great leadership and done the country proud”.

Asked if Mr Southgate would be knighted, a spokesman said: “Honours are a matter for the independent committee.”

Earlier on Sunday, Catherine, Princess of Wales, took Princess Charlotte to Wimbledon to watch Carlos Alcaraz beat Novak Djokovic in the men’s singles final.

It was Catherine’s second public appearance following her cancer diagnosis and abdominal surgery earlier this year, and she was met with a standing ovation by spectators.

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An Egyptian track cyclist who collided with a rival team-mate will no longer compete in the Paris 2024 Olympics, after the Egyptian Olympic Committee (EOC) ruled that she should be barred over the incident.

The EOC said Shahd Saeed, 19, was not eligible because of the one-year suspension from local competitions that was imposed by the Egyptian Cycling Federation in April.

Many Egyptians had criticised her selection for the Olympics by the federation, whose president had said it was acting “in favour of Egypt”.

In a TV interview following the EOC’s decision, Saeed admitted she was at fault for the crash with Ganna Eliwa but insisted it was “not deliberate”.

“I wish I had represented Egypt in the Olympics and my efforts over three years had paid off,” she told a talk show.

Eliwa, who is also 19, said she was happy that Saeed would be unable to compete.

“It was expected,” she added. “Saeed does not deserve to be at Paris.”

Eliwa was left concussed and with a broken right collarbone and severe cuts and bruises to the right-hand side of her body, according to a medical report, after she was pushed off her bike 300m (980ft) before the finishing line of an event in Suez on 27 April.

In video footage of the incident, Saeed is seen riding behind Eliwa before she swerves, forcing Eliwa into the barrier. The latter underwent an operation to fix her right shoulder, suffered temporary loss of memory and is still unable to resume competitive cycling.

Saeed said several times that it was an accident, but Eliwa said she never apologised for what happened. It was unclear what caused Saeed to swerve into her opponent.

After an investigation into the incident, the Egyptian Cycling Federation suspended Saeed from the sport for one year and fined her the equivalent of $100 (£77) – the maximum penalty.

Despite that, the federation still registered her for the track cycling at the Olympics.

The decision sparked public anger in Egypt. Many social media users urged authorities to reconsider, with some saying the selection violated the values of Olympism – excellence, respect and friendship.

In a statement issued late on Saturday, the EOC noted that the cycling federation had found that Saeed violated “the regulations, customs, values and ethics of sports” during April’s event.

“Shahd Saeed is not eligible to participate in any international competition, including the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, due to her one-year suspension until 26 April 2025,” it said.

The EOC also urged Egyptian media and public to support the remaining members of the national team at the Olympics.

Hungary’s Viktor Orban has no peace plan of his own, but he has spent the past two weeks on a whistle-stop tour of Kyiv, Moscow, Azerbaijan, Beijing, Washington and even Mar-a-Lago, on a one-man mission that has infuriated leaders in the EU and US.

“Peace will not come by itself in the Russia-Ukraine war, someone has to make it,” he proclaims in videos posted daily on his Facebook page.

He has been bitterly attacked by both Brussels and Washington for breaking EU and Nato unity and cosying up to Vladimir Putin and China’s leader Xi Jinping.

Few argue with his central premise, that there can be no peace without peacemakers. But his close economic relationship with Russia’s president leaves him open to the charge of acting as Mr Putin’s puppet.

The right-wing Hungarian PM says a ceasefire tied to a specific deadline would be a start.

“I am not negotiating on behalf of anyone,” he told Hungarian radio during a brief stopover in Budapest between visits to Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv and Mr Putin in Moscow.

For the next six months, Hungary holds the rotating presidency of the European Union.

Mr Orban followed up his first visit to Kyiv since the start of the war with the first trip by an EU leader to Russia since April 2022. That visit to the Kremlin clearly angered his European partners.

Charles Michel, the head of the European Council of 27 EU governments, said the rotating presidency gave no mandate to engage with Russia on the EU’s behalf.

Mr Orban admitted that was the case, but insisted: “I’m clarifying the facts… I’m asking questions.”

In Kyiv he posed “three or four” to President Zelensky “so that we can understand his intentions, and where the red line is, the boundary up to which he can go in the interest of peace”.

He has also been generous in his praise of two other allies, Xi Jinping and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Meeting Mr Erdogan on arrival at the Nato summit in Washington, he spoke of him as “the only man who has overseen an agreement between Russia and Ukraine” so far, referring to a now defunct Black Sea grain agreement.

“China not only loves peace but has also put forward a series of constructive and important initiatives [for resolving the war],” he said of President Xi Jinping, according to Chinese state media.

The final visit on his whirlwind tour was to presidential candidate Donald Trump, another close ally who he strongly backs to win again in November and who he refers to as a man of peace.

In one interview, he declared that during Trump’s four-year term as president “he did not initiate a single war”.

This has been a remarkable trip in the international limelight for the leader of a small East European country with 9.7 million inhabitants. But who is it designed to impress, and could it have any effect?

A key target of his message is the domestic public.

Viktor Orban has had a relatively bad year so far, losing the two most prominent female politicians in his party to a scandal in February, and witnessing the emergence of his first serious challenger for more than a decade – Peter Magyar.

In June, Mr Orban’s Fidesz party won an impressive 45% in European elections, to 30% for Mr Magyar’s three-month-old Tisza party.

But he lost more than 700,000 votes (one in four) compared with the last parliamentary elections in 2022.

For the first time, he does not look invincible.

What better way to show Hungarians that their leader was still strong than to parade across the world stage, in a global tour “to make peace”?

His mission was also targeted at an international public, in the week that his new Patriots for Europe (PfE) group in the European Parliament attracted 84 MEPs from mainly far-right parties in 11 countries.

Patriots for Europe has emerged as the third largest faction in parliament, edging aside the rival Conservatives and Reformist group of Italy’s Giorgia Meloni.

Mr Orban’s visit to Moscow won him effusive praise from the Russians: “We take it very, very positively. We believe it can be very useful,” said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.

The US was less impressed.

“We would welcome, of course, actual diplomacy with Russia to make it clear to Russia that they need to respect Ukraine’s sovereignty, that they need to respect Ukraine’s territorial integrity,” said US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller. “But that is not at all what this visit appears to have been.”

At the same time, the US did welcome Mr Orban’s first visit to neighbouring Ukraine since the start of the full-scale Russian invasion.

The Hungarian leader has given very little away about the actual content of his talks in Kyiv, Moscow or Beijing.

A leaked version of his letter to Charles Michel, sent from Azerbaijan, offers some clues.

Mr Putin was open to a ceasefire, Mr Orban told the European Council president, provided it did not provide Ukraine with a chance to reorganise its army on the front lines.

Three days earlier in Kyiv, on 2 July, the Ukrainian leader used a similar argument, telling Mr Orban that the Russians would abuse any ceasefire to regroup their invading forces.

Mr Orban was apparently “surprised” that President Zelensky still believed Ukraine could win back its lost territories.

And Vladimir Putin told Mr Orban that “time favours Russian forces”, according to the leaked letter.

Arriving in Washington days later, Mr Orban posted yet another video on Facebook, saying he would argue that Nato “should return to its original spirit: Nato should win peace, not the wars around it”.

Unlike his Nato allies, Viktor Orban views Russia’s two-and-a-half year war in Ukraine as a civil war between two Slav nations, prolonged by US support for one of them.

One thing he probably does agree on is that this autumn the conflict will become only worse.

A Trump presidential victory in November, he believes, would force the Ukrainians and Russians to the negotiating table.

Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, has shocked many Nigerians after saying he doesn’t own a house outside the country.

Mr Dangote said he had two houses – in his home town of Kano, and Lagos – and lived in a rented apartment whenever he visits the capital, Abuja.

He was listed by Forbes magazine in January as Africa’s richest man for the 13th year in a row despite the country’s economic difficulties.

His fortune rose by $400m over the last year, giving him a net worth of $13.9bn (£10.7bn), Forbes said at the time.

The 66-year-old businessman made his fortune in cement and sugar – and last year opened an oil refinery in Nigeria’s economic hub, Lagos.

The industrialist made the disclosure while speaking to journalists at the Dangote Petroleum Refinery on Sunday.

His comments surprised many in a country where the rich elite have a reputation for their opulent lifestyles.

Many wealthy Nigerians own houses in London, Dubai and Atlanta.

His comments have elicited a wide reaction on social media, with some saying it is a wise business decision as it is cheaper to pay rent than to buy a house.

For Mr Dangote, the reason is simply because he wants to see Nigeria grow.

“The reason I don’t have a London or America house is solely because I wanted to focus on industrialization in Nigeria,” he said.

“I am very passionate about the Nigeria dream and apart from my Lagos house, I have another one in my home state, Kano, and a rented one in Abuja.

“If I have houses all over, in America and co, I would not be able to concentrate and build something for my people.”

Mr Dangote is known to own an opulent residence in Lagos’ popular Banana Island, where many high-profile Nigerians also have mansions.

His house in his home state of Kano is a modest one and was used to received his guests following the death of his brother Sani Dangote in 2021.

Public affairs analyst Sani Bala said Mr Dangote was setting a very good example.

“Nigerians need to be re-oriented to understand owning several mansions is not an achievement when the money would be needed elsewhere.

“Dangote said he sold his house in London in 1996 and I am sure monies realised from the sale was put back in his business – that is the way to go.”

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The small Pittsburgh suburb of Bethel Park in Pennsylvania is reeling after the FBI named a young local man, Thomas Matthew Crooks, as the person who shot at Donald Trump during a campaign rally and shocked the nation.

Investigators believe that Crooks, armed with a semi-automatic AR-15 rifle, opened fire at the former president while he was addressing a crowd in Butler, Pennsylvania, leaving one audience member dead and two others wounded.

The 20-year-old kitchen worker was shot dead at the scene by a Secret Service sniper, officials said.

In his well-to-do hometown, however, neighbours are in shock, seemingly unable to grasp how a quiet young man is now accused in the shooting.

The FBI, for its part, has said only that Crooks was the “subject involved in the assassination attempt on the former president and that an active investigation was under way.”

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Thomas Crooks had not been carrying ID, so investigators used DNA and facial recognition technology to identify him, the FBI said.

He was from Bethel Park in Pennsylvania, about 70km (43 miles) from the site of the attempted assassination, and graduated in 2022 from Bethel Park High School with a $500 (£385) prize for maths and science, according to a local newspaper.

Crooks worked in a local nursing home kitchen just a short drive away from his home, where staff members have said that he passed a background check and raised no concerns.

The Community College of Allegheny, or CCAC, has confirmed that Crooks attended the school between September 2021 and May 2024. He graduated with an associate degree in engineering science.

In a statement sent to the BBC, the college noted that he graduated “with high honours” and that a review of his records turned up no disciplinary, student conduct or security-related incidents.

State voter records show that he was a registered Republican, according to US media.

He also donated $15 to liberal campaign group ActBlue in 2021, according to an election donation filing and news reports.

He had a membership at a local shooting club, the Clairton Sportsmen’s Club, for at least a year, the club confirmed to the BBC.

The vast club is based south of Pittsburgh and is “one of the premier shooting facilities in the tri-state area” of Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia. It has more than 2,000 members.

It has multiple gun ranges, including a high-power rifle facility with targets up to 171 metres away.

The club’s owner, Bill Sellitto, told the BBC that the shooting was a “terrible, terrible thing”. Access to the club is tightly controlled, with only members allowed inside the sprawling facility.

“Obviously, the club fully admonishes the senseless act of violence,” attorney Robert S Bootay III, who represents the organisation, told the BBC.

Law enforcement officials believe the weapon used to shoot at Donald Trump, an AR-style rifle, was purchased by Crooks’ father, according to investigators.

It is unclear how the weapon came into his son’s hands, although there is no suggestion the father had any inkling of what was to take place.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, two officers told AP that Crooks’ father bought the weapon at least six months ago.

Authorities also say that Crooks purchased a box of ammunition containing 50 rounds on the day of the rally, reports CBS, the BBC’s US news partner.

According to US media reports, Crooks was wearing a T-shirt from Demolition Ranch, a YouTube channel known for its guns and demolition content. The channel has millions of subscribers featuring videos on different guns and explosive devices.

The day after the shooting, law enforcement sources also told CBS that suspicious devices were found in Crooks’ vehicle.

According to CBS, the suspect had a piece of commercially available equipment that appeared capable of initiating the devices.

Bomb technicians were called to the scene to secure and investigate the devices.

Having established Crooks’ identity, police and agencies are investigating his motive.

So far, they have been unable to identify one.

On 15 July, the FBI said its forensic experts have successfully accessed Crooks’ phone, and they are examining it and other digital evidence for clues.

The inquiry into what took place could last for months and investigators would work “tirelessly” to identify what Crooks’ motive was, Kevin Rojek, the FBI Pittsburgh special agent in charge, said on the day of the shooting.

Speaking to CNN, Crooks’ father, Matthew Crooks, said he was trying to figure out “what the hell is going on” but would “wait until I talk to law enforcement” before speaking about his son.

Crooks’ family is cooperating with investigators, according to the FBI.

Citing three law enforcement sources, CBS has reported that his father called police after the shooting, although the nature of that call is still unclear.

In total, more than 100 interviews have so far been conducted.

Police sealed off the road to the house where Crooks lived with his parents. The search of the residence was completed on 15 July.

A neighbour told CBS that officers evacuated her in the middle of the night with no warning.

Bethel Park Police said there was a bomb investigation surrounding Crooks’ home.

Access to the area remains controlled, with a police vehicle blocking entry to the street in front of the house.

On Tuesday afternoon, yellow police tape could be seen strung up in front of the residence. The BBC had a clear view of the back of the residence, but could not see any movement inside.

Only residents have been allowed in or out of the street.

Law enforcement sources told CBS that they believe there was some degree of planning ahead of the shooting.

How much time was spent in that planning, however, remains the subject of an ongoing investigation.

Police believe Crooks acted alone, but are continuing to investigate whether he was accompanied to the rally.

So far, a confusing – and at times conflicting – picture has emerged of who Crooks was as a person.

Speaking to local news outlet KDKA, some young locals who went to school with him described him as a loner, who was frequently bullied and sometimes wore “hunting outfits to school”.

Another former classmate of his, Summer Barkley, cast him differently, telling the BBC that he was “always getting good grades on tests” and was “very passionate about history”.

“Anything on government and history he seemed to know about,” she said. “But it was nothing out of the ordinary… he was always nice.”

She described him as well-liked by his teachers.

Others simply remembered him as quiet.

“He was there but I can’t think of anyone who knew him well,” one former classmate, who asked to remain nameless, told the BBC. “He’s just not a guy I really think about. But he seemed fine.”

Another classmate, who similarly did not want to be identified, described him as “intelligent but a little weird.”

Staff at Angelo’s Pizza, a restaurant in Bethel Park, told the BBC they were familiar with Crooks.

The restaurant’s owner, Sara Petko, said that staff members – some of whom were his classmates – thought he was a “loner” but that they were having trouble understanding how an otherwise quiet man turned to violence.

“It’s just crazy, and too close for comfort,” she said. “To think that someone at basically the start of his life could do this.”

Jameson Myers, a former member of the Bethel Park High School varsity rifle team who graduated alongside Crooks in 2022, told CBS that Crooks did not make the team.

“He did not even make the junior varsity team after trying out,” Mr Myers added. “He never returned to try-outs for the remainder of high school.”

Another former classmate told ABC News he “shot terrible” and “wasn’t really fit for the rifle team”. The school district said there was no record of Crooks trying out for the team and he “never appeared on a roster”.

Mr Myers remembers Crooks as seemingly a “normal boy” who was “not particularly popular but never got picked on or anything”.

“He was a nice kid who never talked poorly of anyone and I never have thought him capable of anything I’ve seen him do in the last few days.”

Max Smith, who took an American history course with Crooks, told the Philadelphia Inquirer that his former classmate “definitely was conservative”.

Mr Smith recalled a mock debate in which they both took part, saying: “The majority of the class were on the liberal side, but Tom, no matter what, always stood his ground on the conservative side.”

“It makes me wonder why he would carry out an assassination attempt on the conservative candidate,” he said.

Other community members said simply that they were shocked that the alleged perpetrator of the shooting could have come from the quiet, tree-lined streets of Bethel Park.

Among them was Jason Mackey, a 27-year-old local man who lives near the Crooks residence and worked at his school while he was a student.

While Mr Mackey said that he did not know Crooks personally, he is still reeling from a sense of disbelief.

“It’s just shocking. You wouldn’t think an event of this magnitude would come right out of your backyard,” he said. “It’s just a crazy situation.”

One person was killed and two others were injured in the shooting.

All three victims are adult men and were audience members, CBS News reports.

At a news conference on Sunday, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro identified the deceased victim as Corey Comperatore, a 50-year-old volunteer fire chief who was killed when he “dived on his family” to protect them.

He said that Comperatore “died a hero”.

The two people injured in the attack have been identified as 57-year-old David Dutch and 74-year-old James Copenhaver.

Both men are Pennsylvania residents and are in stable condition.

A GoFundMe page, organised by the Trump campaign’s national finance director Meredith O’Rourke, was set up in the hours after the attack with donations going to the families of the injured.

It has so far raised more than $340,000 (£267,000).

In a post to his Truth Social platform, Trump said he was “shot with a bullet that pierced the upper part of my right ear” and said he felt the bullet “ripping through the skin”.

Blood was visible on Trump’s ear and face as protection officers rushed him away.

Trump is “doing well” and is grateful to law enforcement officers, according to a statement published on the Republican National Committee (RNC) website.

He travelled to Milwaukee, Wisconsin on Sunday, a day after the shooting, to attend the Republican National Convention.

One witness told the BBC that he had seen a man – believed to be Crooks – with a rifle on the roof of a building before Trump was shot.

Video footage obtained by TMZ shows the moment the shooting began.

The assailant opened fire with “an AR-style rifle”, CBS News reports.

Law enforcement sources also told CBS that he was reported by a bystander and identified as a suspicious person by police, but that officers lost track of him before the shooting began.

A Secret Service sniper returned fire and killed the gunman, officials said.

Footage later shows armed officers approaching a body on the roof of the building.

The head of the Colombian Football Federation, Ramón Jesurún, and his son have been arrested, following a brawl at Sunday’s Copa América final in Miami.

Mr Ramón, 71, and Ramón Jamil, 43, were held on charges of battery involving an official or an employee, said the Miami-Dade Police Department.

The charges relate to the brawl at the stadium after Colombia lost to Argentina 0-1 in extra time.

Neither Mr Ramón nor his son have publicly commented on the issue.

In a statement sent to the BBC, the Miami-Dade Police Department said the incident had happened just after the football match ended at the Hard Rock Stadium in the south-eastern US state.

Mr Ramón and his son were “walking towards the entrance of the field”, it said, but they became “irate and began shouting” at one of the security officers, who was instructed by his management to temporarily delay people from going further.

The police said the officer had “placed an open palm” on the chest of Mr Ramón’s son to guide him back.

Mr Ramón then pushed the officer, they said, while his son grabbed the officer’s neck and pulled him to the ground, punching him and kicking him in the head.

Mr Ramón’s son also grabbed and pushed a female official who tried to assist, the police said.

It added that the two men had also punched a security manager.

Mr Ramón, his son and other family members are believed to have been trying to go on the pitch to take part in the awards ceremony.

The Colombian Football Federation made no immediate comment on the issue.

The start of the final of the Americas’ most prestigious football tournament was delayed by 80 minutes after ticketless fans forced their way into Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium.

Several arrests were made after clashes with police and security personnel, while several supporters needed treatment from paramedics.

Four people have been killed in a shooting near a mosque in Oman’s capital Muscat, the country’s police say.

In a brief statement, they say “a number” of people were also injured in al-Wadi al-Kabir area.

Officers responded to the incident, and an investigation is now under way, Tuesday’s statement said.

The police provided no further details, but some reports suggest that at least one gunman opened fire with an assault rifle.

“All security measures have been put in place to deal with the situation, and procedures for collecting evidence are being completed as part of the investigation,” the police statement said.

Such violence is rare in Oman, a strategically placed country at the mouth of the Gulf on the Arabian Peninsula with a predominantly Muslim population.

Joe Biden has defended his rhetoric against Donald Trump and cited why it was important, in his first interview since the attempt on his political rival’s life.

The president said his campaign had a duty to clearly communicate the threat of a second Trump term, adding that his words were not the ones that needed to be tempered.

However, he told NBC’s Lester Holt it had been a “mistake” to have said it was “time to put Trump in a bullseye” during a private donor call days before the assassination attempt on Trump at a Saturday rally in Pennsylvania.

Mr Biden said he meant Democrats needed to focus more on Trump, his policies and the false statements he made during the presidential debate late last month.

Throughout the interview, Mr Biden made it clear he would not be stepping aside in the presidential race – despite calls from members of his own party after his poor debate performance.

“I’m old,” he lamented, while also noting he’s only three years younger than Trump. He said his mental acuity was fine and listed his accomplishments as president – but acknowledged he was working to reaffirm to Americans that he was up the job.

“I understand why people say, ‘God, he’s 81 years old. Whoa. What’s he going to be when he’s 83 years old, 84 years?’ It’s a legitimate question to ask,” he said.

He said he put his faith in the voters who overwhelming backed him in the Democratic primary. “I listen to them.”

The president has repeatedly called for Americans to “lower the temperature” since the shooting on Saturday, where Trump’s ear was grazed by a bullet.

One crowd member was killed and two others were critically injured in the attack.

About a dozen Republicans have blamed Mr Biden and other Democrats for inciting the attempt on Trump’s life. Many have specifically cited Mr Biden’s “bullseye” comment.

JD Vance, who was announced as Trump’s presidential running mate on Monday, said in the wake of the shooting that Democratic rhetoric about the Republican candidate “led directly to President Trump’s attempted assassination”.

According to Politico, Mr Biden had said on the donor call: “I have one job, and that’s to beat Donald Trump. I’m absolutely certain I’m the best person to be able to do that. So, we’re done talking about the debate. It’s time to put Trump in a bullseye.”

President Biden, in an Oval Office address on Sunday, denounced the attack and called for Americans to “take a step back”, warning that “political rhetoric in this country has gotten very heated”.

When asked in the NBC interview if he had also taken a step back to examine his past remarks for anything “that could incite people who are not balanced”, Mr Biden said the inflammatory rhetoric had not come from him.

“I’ve not engaged in that rhetoric,” Mr Biden said. “Now, my opponent is engaged in that rhetoric.”

“How do you talk about the threat to democracy, which is real, when a president says things like he says? Do you just not say anything, because it may incite somebody?

“I am not the guy that said I want to be a dictator on day one, I am not the guy that refused to accept the outcome of the election.”

The FBI has identified the gunman who targeted Trump as Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, a kitchen worker from Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, who is a registered Republican.

A Secret Service sniper shot Crooks dead after he fired at the former president.

Search teams looking for Jay Slater in Tenerife have found a body near the last known location of the missing British teenager’s mobile phone.

The Guardia Civil said its officers and a mountain rescue unit found the body of a young man in the Masca area “after 29 days of non-stop searching”.

The 19-year-old was last seen on 17 June, after visiting an Airbnb rented by two people he had been with at a music festival on the island.

A police statement said that “initial evidence” suggested the person found had “suffered an accident or fall in the inaccessible zone”.

It added that “the discovery was possible thanks to the incessant and discreet search carried out by the Guardia Civil… in which the natural space was preserved so that it would not be filled with onlookers.”

Police said that “all the evidence” suggested the remains found were those of “the young British man who disappeared”.

Full identification of the body is yet to be carried out, it added.

The charity LBT Global, which works with families of people missing overseas, said that the remains were found along with Mr Slater’s clothes and possessions, close to his mobile phone’s last known location.

The group said it was supporting Mr Slater’s family “at this distressing time and ask for everyone to afford them space and privacy to come to terms with the news”.

Mr Slater’s father Warren Slater described his disappearance as “a living hell”, while his mother Debbie Duncan told of her “pain and agony” as no trace could be found.

The search for Mr Slater since his disappearance has involved his family, friends, police and specialist mountain rescue teams as well as volunteers from several countries.

Most recently the family, from Oswaldtwistle, Lancashire, was helped by a group of Dutch mountain rescuers.

In Mr Slater’s hometown of Oswaldtwistle, news that the search had resulted in the discovery of a body was met with shock.

Paul Fitzpatrick, the landlord of the Hare And Hounds pub, told BBC Radio Lancashire: “If it’s true that it’s him then we are all devastated for his family, his mum especially.

“She has been a good friend to us all, we’ve known Debbie for years. I’ve been here for 17 years… her boy then would have been a baby.

“It’s horrible news if it is confirmed that it is him.”

The Guardia Civil indicated in its statement that it was members of its Mountain Rescue and Intervention Group who located the “lifeless body” of a young man.

Throughout the month since Mr Slater went missing, his family have refused to give up hope.

On Saturday, a statement of an official fundraising page, which has raised more than £50,000 towards search efforts, described him as a “normal, hardworking young lad from Lancashire who is very loved by all who know him”.

“Although we don’t have any answers to his disappearance we obviously have to remain positive,” his friend Lucy Mae Law posted on behalf of his family.

Lancashire Police, which had previously had its offer to help with the search turned down by the Tenerife police, said in a statement that it “had today been notified by the Guardia Civil that they have found the body of a man and that the indications are that this is Jay Slater”.

The statement added: “While at this stage no formal identification has been carried out our thoughts are very much with Jay’s family at this time, and we continue to offer them our support.”

Search teams have had to contend with difficult terrain throughout their search for Mr Slater.

Tenerife is a volcanic island in the Atlantic ocean archipelago of the Canary Islands, and the area in which Mr Slater was last seen is full of steep cliffs and gorges.

The land is arid and dotted with cacti.

In his last phone call to his friend Ms Law shortly before his phone battery died, Mr Slater is said to have told her that he was bleeding and needed water.

Another friend of Mr Slater, Brad Hargreaves, later said in a television interview that Mr Slater had video called him just before the call to Ms Law, and had indicated he had slipped off the road he was walking.

Within days of Mr Slater’s disappearance, social media was awash with theories about what had happened to him, including suggestions of foul play.

The Guardia Civil has never suggested they believed any harm had come to Mr Slater by any other person or people.

But that did not do anything to quell the rampant speculation.

His family and friends said they had found themselves the victims of online trolls.

Rachel Hargreaves, the mother of Mr Slater’s friend Bradley Hargreaves, told the BBC she had received a friend request from a fake account using her late mother’s photo as its profile picture.

She said “things don’t normally get to me”, but that had affected her.

“We’re living the worst nightmare you can live and this does not help,” she said.

Mr Slater’s mother also made reference to the upset caused by the online frenzy around the case.

“There is a lot of negativity unfortunately and this is adding to the heartbreak of the unknown”, she said in an update on the GoFundMe page, set up to help pay for the search.

Dozens of Indian farm labourers have been freed from slave-like working conditions in northern Italy, police have said.

The 33 workers were lured to Italy on the promise of jobs and a better future by two fellow Indian nationals, police say.

But instead, they were allegedly forced to work more than 10 hours a day, seven days a week for a tiny wage which was used to pay off debts to the alleged gangmasters.

The two men – who were found with approximately $545,300 (£420,000) – have been arrested.

The exploitation of farmhands – both Italian and migrant – in Italy is a well-known issue. Thousands of people work in fields, vineyards and greenhouses dotted across the country, often without contracts and in highly dangerous conditions.

Just last month, an Indian fruit picker died after his arm was severed in a work accident.

The man had allegedly been left on the side of the road following the accident, which also left his legs crushed.

His employer is now under investigation for criminal negligence and manslaughter.

The 33 men rescued by police in the Province of Verona had paid €17,000 ($18,554, £14,293) or 1.5m rupees each in return for seasonal work permits and jobs, according to a police statement sent to the BBC.

To raise the funds, police said, some pawned their family assets, while others borrowed the money from their employers.

But they were only paid €4 per hour for their 10 to 12-hour days, with that sum settling any debt owed.

Their passports were also confiscated as soon as they arrived in Italy and they were banned from leaving their “dilapidated” apartments.

“Every morning, the workers piled into vehicles covered in tarpaulin where they hid among boxes of vegetables until they reached the Verona countryside for work,” the police statement said.

Searches of their apartments showed the workers were “forced to live in precarious and degrading conditions” and “in total violation of health and hygiene regulations”, it added.

The rescued workers have received their passports back and are being helped by social services and a migration organisation to relocate to safer housing and working conditions.

The two alleged gangmasters are now facing charges related to exploitation and slavery, police told Reuters news agency.

Undocumented labourers across Italy are often subject to a system known as “caporalato” – a gangmaster system which sees middlemen illegally hiring labourers who are then forced to work for very low salaries. Even workers with regular papers are often paid well below the legal wage.

Almost a quarter of the agricultural workforce in Italy in 2018 was employed under this method, according to a study by the Italian National Institute of Statistics. The practice also affects workers in the service industry and building sectors.

It was outlawed in Italy in 2016 after an Italian woman died of a heart attack after working 12-hour shifts picking and sorting grapes, for which she was paid €27 a day.

When two young Brazilian women were reported missing in September 2022, their families and the FBI launched a desperate search across the US to find them. All they knew was that they were living with wellness influencer Kat Torres.

Torres has now been sentenced to eight years in prison for the human trafficking and slavery of one of those women. The BBC World Service has also been told that charges have been filed against her in relation to a second woman.

How did the former model who partied with Leonardo DiCaprio and graced the cover of international magazines come to groom her followers and lure them into sexual exploitation?

“She kind of resembled hope for me,” says Ana, describing her reaction on stumbling across Torres’ Instagram page in 2017.

Ana was not one of the missing women targeted in the FBI search – but she too was a victim of Torres’ coercion and would be key to their rescue.

She says she was attracted to Torres’ trajectory from impoverished Brazilian favela to international catwalks, partying with Hollywood A-listers along the way.

“She seemed like she had overcome violence in her childhood, abuse, all these traumatic experiences,” Ana told BBC Eye Investigations and BBC News Brasil.

Ana was in a vulnerable situation herself. She says she had suffered a violent childhood, moved alone to the US from southern Brazil, and was previously in an abusive relationship.

Torres had recently published her autobiography called A Voz [The Voice], in which she claimed she could make predictions as a result of her spiritual powers, and had been interviewed on reputable Brazilian media shows.

“She was on the cover of magazines. She was seen with famous people such as Leonardo DiCaprio. Everything I saw seemed credible,” she says.

Ana says she was particularly taken with Torres’ approach to spirituality.

What Ana didn’t know was that the inspirational story Torres told was based on half-truths and lies.

Torres’ ex-flatmate in New York, Luzer Twersky, told us that her Hollywood friends had introduced her to the hallucinogenic drug ayahuasca, and she was never the same again.

”That’s when she kind of… started going off the deep end,” he says.

He said he also believed that she was working as a sugar baby – paid for romantic involvement with wealthy and powerful men who were also paying for the flat they shared together.

Torres’ wellness website and subscription service promised customers: “Love, money and self-esteem that you always dreamed of.” Self-help videos offered advice on relationships, wellness, business success and spirituality – including hypnosis, meditation and exercise programmes.

For an extra $150 (£120) clients could unlock exclusive one-to-one video consultations with Torres during which she would claim to solve any of their problems.

Amanda, another former client who lives in the Brazilian capital, says Kat made her feel special.

“All my doubts, my questions, my decisions: I always took them to her first, so that we could make decisions together,” she says.

But it appears that advice had a dark side. Ana, Amanda, and other former followers say they found themselves becoming increasingly psychologically isolated from friends and family and willing to do anything Torres suggested.

When Torres asked Ana in 2019 to move to New York to work as her live-in assistant, she agreed. She had been studying nutrition at university in Boston, but arranged to study online instead, and says she accepted the offer to look after Torres’ animals – and do her cooking, laundry and cleaning – for about $2000 (£1,564) a month.

Like, Follow, Trafficked: Insta’s Fake Guru

BBC Eye Investigations and BBC News Brasil uncover the truth behind the rise of wellness influencer and spiritual life coach, Kat Torres, and the international search for her trafficked followers

Watch now on BBC iPlayer (UK Only) or on the BBC World Service YouTube channel (outside UK)

When she arrived at Torres’ apartment, though, she quickly realised it did not match the curated perfection projected on the influencer’s Instagram.

“It was shocking because the house was really messy, really dirty, didn’t smell good,” she says.

Ana says Torres seemed unable to do even basic things without her, like taking a shower, because she couldn’t bear to be alone. She describes having to constantly be available for Torres, only being allowed to sleep for a few hours at a time, on a sofa covered in cat urine.

She says some days she would hide in the apartment building’s gym, grabbing a few hours’ sleep rather than working out.

“Now, I see that she was using me as a slave… she had satisfaction in it,” Ana says.

Ana says she was never paid.

“I felt like, ‘I’m stuck here, I don’t have a way out,’” she says. “I was probably one of her first victims of human trafficking.”

She had given up her university accommodation back in Boston, so she had nowhere to return to, and no income to pay for alternative housing.

Ana says when she tried to confront Torres, she became aggressive, triggering Ana’s painful history with domestic violence.

Eventually, after three months, Ana found a way to escape by moving in with a new boyfriend.

But that wasn’t the end of Ana’s role in Torres’ life. When the families of two other young Brazilian women reported them missing in September 2022, Ana knew she had to act.

By this point, Torres’ life had grown in scale. She was now married to a man called Zach, a 21-year-old she had met in California, and they were renting a five-bedroom house in the suburbs of Austin, Texas.

Repeating the pattern she had begun with Ana, Torres had targeted her most dedicated followers, trying to recruit them to come and work for her. In return, she had promised to help them achieve their dreams, capitalising on the intimate personal details they had shared with her during life-coaching sessions.

Desirrê Freitas, a Brazilian woman living in Germany, and Brazilian Letícia Maia – the two women whose disappearance would go on to spark the FBI-led search – moved to live with Torres. Another Brazilian woman, who we are calling Sol, was also recruited.

Posting on her social media channels, Torres introduced her “witch clan” to her followers.

The BBC has discovered at least four more women were almost persuaded to join Torres in the house but had pulled out.

Some of the women were too scared to appear in the BBC’s film – afraid of receiving online abuse and still traumatised by their experiences – but we have been able to verify their accounts using court documents, text messages, bank statements, and Desirrê’s memoir about her experiences – @Searching Desirrê, published by DISRUPTalks.

Desirrê says that in her case, Torres had bought her a plane ticket from Germany, having told her she was suicidal and needed Desirrê’s support.

Torres is also accused of persuading Letícia, who was 14 when she started life-coaching sessions with her, to move to the US for an au pair programme and then drop out to live and work with her.

As for Sol, she says she agreed to move in with Torres after becoming homeless and was hired to carry out tarot readings and yoga classes.

But it was not long before the women discovered their reality was very different to the fairytale they had been promised.

Within weeks, Desirrê says Torres pressured her into working at a local strip club, saying if she did not comply Desirrê would have to repay all the money she had spent on her: flights, accommodation, furniture for her room, and even the “witchcraft” Torres had performed. Desirrê says not only she did not have this money, she also believed at the time in the spiritual powers Torres claimed to have, so when Torres threatened to curse her for not following orders she was terrified.

Reluctantly, Desirrê agreed to work as a stripper.

A manager from the strip club, James, told the BBC she would work extremely long hours, seven days a week.

Desirrê and Sol say the women in the Austin mansion were subjected to strict house rules. They describe being forbidden from speaking to each other, needing Torres’ permission to leave their rooms – even to use the bathroom – and being required to immediately hand over all earnings.

“It was very difficult to, you know, get out of the situation because she holds your money,” Sol told the BBC.

“It was terrifying. I thought something could happen to me because she had all my information, my passport, my driving licence.”

But Sol says she realised she needed to somehow escape after overhearing a phone call in which Torres was telling another client she must work as a prostitute in Brazil as a “punishment”.

Sol was able to leave with the help of an ex-boyfriend.

Meanwhile, the guns Torres’ husband kept began to regularly feature on her Instagram stories, and became a source of fear for the remaining women.

Around this time, Desirrê says Torres tried to persuade her to swap the strip club for work as a prostitute. She says she refused and the following day Torres took her on a surprise day out to a gun range.

Scared, Desirrê says she eventually gave in to Torres’ demand.

“Many questions haunted me: ‘Could I stop whenever I wanted?’” Desirrê writes in her book.

“And if the condom broke, would I get a disease? Could [the client] be an undercover cop and arrest me? What if he killed me?”

If the women didn’t meet the earning quotas that Torres set, which had risen from $1,000 (£782) to $3,000 (£2,345) a day, they were not allowed to return to the house that night, they say.

“I ended up sleeping on the street several times because I couldn’t reach that,” Desirrê adds.

Bank statements, seen by the BBC, show Desirrê transferring more than $21,000 (£16,417) into Torres’ account in June and July 2022 alone. She says that she was forced to hand over a substantially higher figure in cash.

Prostitution is illegal in Texas and Desirrê says Torres would threaten to report her to the police if she ever talked about wanting to stop.

In September, friends and family of Desirrê and Letícia back in Brazil launched social media campaigns to find them, having become increasingly concerned following months without contact.

By this time, they were barely recognisable. Their brunette hair had been dyed platinum blonde to eerily match Torres’. Desirrê says by this point all her phone contacts had been blocked and she obeyed the influencer’s orders without question.

As the Instagram page @searchingDesirrê gained momentum, the story dominated news outlets in Brazil. Desirrê’s friends even worried she might have been murdered, and Letícia’s family put out desperate pleas for their safe return home.

Ana, having lived with Torres in 2019, said alarm bells rang as soon as she saw the news stories. She says she immediately guessed that “[Torres] was keeping other girls”.

• More information and support about human trafficking and modern slavery is available via BBC Action Line.

Along with other former clients, Ana began to contact as many law enforcement agencies as possible, including the FBI, in an attempt to get the influencer arrested. Five months earlier, both she and Sol had reported Torres to the US police – but say they weren’t taken seriously.

In a video she recorded at the time for evidence, since shared with the BBC, a distressed Ana can be heard saying, “this person is very dangerous and she has already threatened to kill me”.

Then the missing women’s profiles on escort and prostitution websites were discovered. Suspicions of sexual exploitation, shared on social media, appeared to be confirmed.

Panicked by the media attention, Torres and the women travelled more than 2,000 miles (3,219 km) from Texas to Maine. In chilling Instagram videos, Desirrê and Letícia denied being held captive and demanded people stop searching for them.

But a recording, obtained by BBC News, gives an insight into what was really happening at this time. By now the US authorities were aware of the concerns about the women’s safety. Homeland security had tipped off a police officer who managed to FaceTime Torres to check on the women. But just before this starts, Torres can be heard saying on the video:

“He will start asking questions. Guys, they are full of tricks. He’s a detective, be very careful. For God’s sake, I’ll kick you out if you say anything. I’ll scream.”

In November 2022, the police finally convinced Torres and the two other women to attend a welfare check in person at Franklin County Sheriff’s Office in Maine.

The detective who questioned Torres, Desirrê and Letícia – Detective David Davol – told the BBC he and his colleagues had been immediately concerned, noticing a number of red flags, including a distrust of law enforcement, isolation and their reluctance to speak without Torres’ permission.

“Human traffickers aren’t always like in the movies, where you have… a gang that kidnapped people. It’s far more common that it’s someone you trust.”

By December 2022, the two women had been safely returned to Brazil.

Det Davol says, in his experience, human trafficking is on the rise. His observation is backed up by the UN, which says it is one of the fastest growing crimes, generating an estimated $150bn (£117bn) in profits a year worldwide.

He believes social media gives it a platform on which to thrive, making it much easier for traffickers to find and groom victims.

In April this year, our team was granted a rare court order to interview Torres in a Brazilian prison – the first media interview with her since her arrest. At that point, she was still waiting for the verdict of a trial against her relating to her treatment of Desirrê.

Smiling, Torres approached us with a calm and collected demeanour.

She was adamant that she was completely innocent, denying that any women had ever lived with her or that she had ever coerced anyone to take part in sex work.

“When I was seeing the people testifying, they were saying so many lies. So many lies that at one point, I couldn’t stop laughing,” she told us.

“People are saying I am a fake guru, but at the same time, they are also saying that… ‘She is a danger to society because she can change people’s mind with her words.’”

When we confronted her with the evidence that we ourselves had seen, she became more hostile, accusing us of lying too.

“You choose to believe whatever you choose to believe. I can tell you I’m Jesus. And you can see Jesus, or you can see the devil, that’s it. It’s your choice. It’s your mind.”

As she got up to return to her cell, she issued a parting threat, claiming we would soon find out if she had powers or not. She pointed at me, and said: “I didn’t like her.”

The BBC can reveal that earlier this month Torres was sentenced by a Brazilian judge to eight years in prison for subjecting Desirrê to human trafficking and slavery. He concluded that she had lured the young woman to the US for the purpose of sexual exploitation.

More than 20 women have reported being scammed or exploited by Torres – many of whom the BBC has spoken to and are still undergoing psychiatric therapy to recover from what they say they experienced as a result of her treatment of them.

Torres’ lawyer told the BBC she has appealed her conviction and maintains her innocence.

An investigation into the allegations from other women is ongoing in Brazil.

Ana believes yet further victims may come forward, once they read about Torres’ crimes. This is the first time Ana has spoken publicly.

She says she wants people to recognise that Torres’ actions amount to a serious crime and not some “Instagram drama”.

In the closing pages of her book Desirrê also reflects on her experiences.

“I’m not fully recovered yet, I’ve had a challenging year. I was sexually exploited, enslaved and imprisoned.

“I hope my story serves as a warning.”

You can get in touch by following this link

The head of the Colombian Football Federation, Ramón Jesurún, and his son have been arrested, following a brawl at Sunday’s Copa América final in Miami.

Mr Ramón, 71, and Ramón Jamil, 43, were held on charges of battery involving an official or an employee, said the Miami-Dade Police Department.

The charges relate to the brawl at the stadium after Colombia lost to Argentina 0-1 in extra time.

Neither Mr Ramón nor his son have publicly commented on the issue.

In a statement sent to the BBC, the Miami-Dade Police Department said the incident had happened just after the football match ended at the Hard Rock Stadium in the south-eastern US state.

Mr Ramón and his son were “walking towards the entrance of the field”, it said, but they became “irate and began shouting” at one of the security officers, who was instructed by his management to temporarily delay people from going further.

The police said the officer had “placed an open palm” on the chest of Mr Ramón’s son to guide him back.

Mr Ramón then pushed the officer, they said, while his son grabbed the officer’s neck and pulled him to the ground, punching him and kicking him in the head.

Mr Ramón’s son also grabbed and pushed a female official who tried to assist, the police said.

It added that the two men had also punched a security manager.

Mr Ramón, his son and other family members are believed to have been trying to go on the pitch to take part in the awards ceremony.

The Colombian Football Federation made no immediate comment on the issue.

The start of the final of the Americas’ most prestigious football tournament was delayed by 80 minutes after ticketless fans forced their way into Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium.

Several arrests were made after clashes with police and security personnel, while several supporters needed treatment from paramedics.