Two Indonesian peacekeepers were killed on Monday by a "roadside explosion" in southern Lebanon, UN peacekeeping chief Jean-Pierre Lacroix has said, citing the findings of an initial investigation.

In a separate statement, the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (Unifil) said the explosion was of "unknown origin" and "destroyed" the peacekeepers' vehicle near Bani Hayyan.

A third peacekeeper was "severely" injured in the explosion, and a fourth was hurt, Unifil said.

It was the second such fatal incident in 24 hours. Another peacekeeper - who was also Indonesian - was killed on Sunday when a projectile, also of unknown origin, exploded in Adchit Al Qusayr, southern Lebanon.

Unifil said it had launched investigations to determine what happened in both incidents.

The findings of an "initial" investigation into the incident on Monday "point to a roadside explosion striking the convoy", Lacroix told the UN Security Council earlier.

Their deaths had "most likely" been caused by an IED (improvised explosive device), Stéphane Dujarric, spokesperson for the UN secretary-general, later said at a briefing.

Speaking about the other incident, on Sunday, Dujarric said it was likely caused by "an explosive that landed in the position that the Indonesians were holding".

The deaths come shortly after the Israeli military announced it would step up ground and air attacks against the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah.

Hezbollah, an Iranian-backed militia as well as a political party, has fired rockets into Israel in retaliation for the ongoing US-Israeli strikes on Iran.

In a statement on Telegram, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said its own review had concluded that the Bani Hayyan explosion "was not caused by IDF activity".

It went on: "A comprehensive operational examination indicates that no explosive device was placed in the area by IDF troops, and that no IDF troops were present in the area at all."

Separately, the IDF said on Tuesday that four of its soldiers had been killed in combat in southern Lebanon. Another soldier was severely wounded and a reservist moderately wounded, the IDF said.

Dujarric, of the UN, said the peacekeepers in Lebanon were "soldiers sent there on behalf of the international community... and everyone needs to ensure that they are protected and never targeted".

He urged Lebanon and Israel to use the Unifil mechanism for dialogue, saying "the bottom line is that the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Lebanon needs to be respected".

Antara, an Indonesian government-owned news agency, named the soldier killed on Sunday as Chief Private Farizal Rhomadhon. The two soldiers killed on Monday were named as Captain Zulmi Aditya Iskandar and First Sergeant Muhammad Nur Ichwan.

In a statement, Unifil said: "We extend our sincerest condolences to the family, friends, and colleagues of those brave peacekeepers who gave their lives in service of peace."

Created by the UN Security Council in 1978, Unifil has since served as a buffer between Israel and Lebanon.

The peacekeeping force patrols the "Blue Line" - the de facto border between Lebanon and Israel, in collaboration with the Lebanese army.

Around 339 peacekeepers have been killed since the mission was established.

Despite a November 2024 ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, brokered after violence flared between the two over the war in Gaza, Israel has conducted near-daily strikes on Hezbollah targets.

It says the armed group has not abided by the terms of the ceasefire - under which Hezbollah was meant to disarm and leave its positions in the south - and has accused Unifil and the Lebanese army of not doing enough to remove its militants from the region.

Israel says its latest operation in southern Lebanon was intended to ensure the security of communities in the north.

Since the ceasefire began, 1,268 people have been killed in Lebanon, according to the Lebanese health ministry, including 124 children.

The crews of two military helicopters seen hovering outside musician Kid Rock's home have been suspended from flight duties, the US Army has said.

The Army is reviewing the circumstances surrounding the mission, Spokesman Maj Montrell Russell told the BBC in a statement, including whether the crews complied with federal flying regulations and aviation safety protocols.

Kid Rock, a supporter of President Donald Trump, posted a video of himself gesturing at the AH-64 Apaches above his swimming pool on Saturday, prompting many to question why the helicopters would visit his home.

Trump, when asked about the incident on Tuesday, said in a joking manner: "Maybe they were trying to defend him."

Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, Trump said the crews "probably shouldn't have been doing it. You're not supposed to be playing games".

"They like Kid Rock. I like Kid Rock," he added.

The Army confirmed that two of its Apache helicopters from the 101st Combat Aviation Brigade at Fort Campbell conducted a flight on 28 March in the Nashville area in the state of Tennessee, where Kid Rock lives and owns two restaurants.

"The Army takes any allegations of unauthorized or unsafe flight operations very seriously and is committed to enforcing standards and holding personnel accountable," Russell said, adding that the crews would be suspended during the ongoing investigation.

Kid Rock told local outlet WKRN-TV on Monday that it is not uncommon for helicopters from the nearby Fort Campbell Army base to fly near his home.

He noted that he has performed for troops at Fort Campbell and overseas.

"I think they know this is a pretty friendly spot," the musician said. "I've talked to some of these pilots. I've told them, 'You guys see me waving when you come by the house?' I'm like, 'You guys are always welcome to cruise by my house, any time.'"

Kid Rock, who also performed at the Republican convention in 2024 insulted California Governor Gavin Newsom, a Democrat who has feuded with him and Trump, in the caption of the footage he posted.

One clip shows Kid Rock, whose real name is Robert Ritchie, standing poolside next to a replica of the Statue of Liberty, clapping and saluting as the aircraft hovers before flying away.

"God Bless America and all those who have made the ultimate sacrifice to defend her," the caption reads.

Another video shows the Born Free singer pumping his fist before a second gunship appears to fly by his mansion, which he has dubbed the Southern White House.

Tech giant Oracle made "significant" job cuts on Tuesday, according to senior employees posting online, as it makes big investments in artificial intelligence (AI).

Some 10,000 people are believed to have lost their jobs so far, one employee told the BBC, citing a drop in the number of staff active on Oracle's internal messaging system Slack.

Oracle declined to comment, but one senior staff member said online the cuts were not performance based.

Oracle has been using AI tools internally and executives have previously said they are seeing fewer employees able to do more work.

"The use of AI coding tools inside Oracle is enabling smaller engineering teams to deliver more complete solutions to our customers more quickly," Mike Silicia, Oracle's other co-chief executive, said earlier this month.

Silica noted at the time that such AI tools had helped create new ways of generating sales leads and the automatic selling of Oracle services. He said the company recently used AI to build out its new company website.

Oracle is one of the largest tech companies in the world and it offers software and cloud computing infrastructure to other companies.

Larry Ellison, one of the richest people in the world, is Oracle's co-founder, chairman, and chief technology officer.

Michael Shepard, a senior manager, was not affected by the job cuts but wrote on LinkedIn on Tuesday "senior engineers, architects, operations leaders, program managers, and technical specialists" had been let go.

Shepard said the "significant reduction in force" was not based on employee performance.

"The individuals affected were not let go because of anything they did or didn't do," he added.

His was one of dozens of such posts describing the layoffs.

Former Oracle employee Kendall Levin said on LinkedIn her role was "eliminated as part of the company's mass reduction in force".

She added that she remains "a genuine believer" in where the firm is headed.

Several others described receiving early morning emails informing them they were no longer employed and would receive one month of severance pay.

Talk inside Oracle of a significant layoff began earlier this year.

Similar claims of being able to use AI tools to do more worth with fewer employees have come from tech leaders like Mark Zuckerberg of Meta and Jack Dorsey of Block.

Both executives have also overseen layoffs at their companies already this year.

However, such leaders in the tech industry have been conducting mass layoffs every year for the last several years. Previous rounds of cuts have not been blamed on AI.

Other tech companies that have cut jobs this year include Amazon, Pinterest and Epic Games.

Stargate Initiative

The job cuts at Oracle come as it has invested heavily in AI, spending both on its own infrastructure and on partnerships with other companies like OpenAI.

It plans to spend at least $50bn (£37.8bn) on infrastructure this year, and it has also raised $50bn in debt in order to "meet demand" for even more AI infrastructure.

Oracle is also part of the Stargate initiative, alongside OpenAI, Softbank and MGX, an AI investment fund backed by US President Donald Trump.

Stargate is a $500bn project to build up data center capacity in the US, which backers say is needed for planned increases in AI processing and power requirements over the next several years.

"Investing in AI infrastructure is capital-intensive, but our operating model is optimized to ensure profitability," Clayton Magouyrk, Oracle's co-chief executive, said earlier this month.

"It's unprecedented to scale a capital-intensive business so quickly."

"He said to her: 'You're no longer my sister', and she told him to go to hell."

This argument between a man and his sister in a city near Tehran - witnessed and recounted by one of their relatives - gives a telling insight into the painful rows erupting among families and friends as US and Israeli strikes continue.

The relative, who we are calling Sina, says that when his family recently got together at his grandmother's house, emotions quickly exploded, exposing stark divisions.

His uncle, a member of the Basij - a volunteer militia often deployed to suppress dissent in Iran - refused to even greet his own sister, who is opposed to the ruling regime.

After their exchange, the uncle was "very quiet… and left early", Sina says.

He and other young Iranians have described emotional scenes as rifts open up over the war.

Even among those opposed to the government, there are deep divisions over whether the war will help or hinder attempts to bring about change.

Despite the government-imposed internet blackout, the BBC has been able to maintain contact with some of the few Iranians who have found ways to remain online.

Iranians can be sent to prison for speaking to certain international media. But even so, over the month-long war, these contacts have been sharing information through intermittent text messages and occasional voice calls.

Their initial responses of shock and fear have given way to attempts to adapt, switching locations and changing routines. They describe the details of their lives; practising yoga despite the sounds of explosions, eating birthday cake alone and venturing out to near-empty coffee shops.

And, in some surprisingly personal notes, they have shared details about how the conflict is affecting their relationships. All of the names in this article have been changed.

Towards the end of March, Iranians celebrated Nowruz, the Persian new year festival that marks the spring equinox and is often a time when families get together.

Sina, who is in his 20s, is opposed to the clerical establishment and continues to support the Israeli and US air strikes, believing that they will help bring the regime down.

He says his uncle, the Basij member, had not attended Nowruz family gatherings in recent years, but turned up this time, to the surprise of his family. Usually, "we don't talk to him, nor to his children", says Sina.

He says he has barely spoken to his uncle since major protests in 2022 following the death in custody of a young woman, Mahsa Amini, who was accused of not wearing the compulsory hijab properly.

More recently, Iran saw an unprecedented crackdown by the Basij and other security forces on protests that swept across the country in December and January. At least 6,508 protesters were killed and 53,000 arrested, according to the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA).

Sina says that, according to other relatives, his uncle was so angered by the protests that he said even if his own children went onto the streets and were killed, he wouldn't go to collect their bodies.

And yet, Sina says, his uncle seems to be "afraid of dying" in the war and appears to have been trying to improve relations with some family members, including his own mother, Sina's grandmother.

At Nowruz, he and his wife "just looked really down and helpless", says Sina. "I didn't get into an argument with them. They should be in prison."

Another young man, Kaveh from Tehran, spent Nowruz alone.

He says his relationship with his sister, who is also a Basij member, was already difficult. After he joined the 2022 protests, he says, she became critical of his activities and unsympathetic over the deaths of friends of his in the January protests.

Kaveh has been providing internet access to friends and family via SpaceX's Starlink, which offers connectivity via satellites. In Iran, owning or using Starlink terminals is punishable by up to two years in prison.

He initially joined his family for the holiday, but he says he left the place where they were staying and later returned to find his sister had disconnected his Starlink and the devices connected to it. When he challenged her, a row broke out, he says.

"I can't stand her anymore… I just had a fight and said I can't stand it and I left," he says.

"I was so excited about Nowruz. I packed my clothes and wanted to be there with the family," Kaveh said over an encrypted line as he travelled home alone. "But now I don't feel it at all."

Most Iranians have no internet access. Starlink devices are expensive as well as illegal, so those who have access tend to be relatively wealthy. A few others manage to connect via VPNs.

Most Iranians who agree to speak to BBC Persian are opposed to the Iranian regime. But even among the government's critics, there are deep differences over this war and its impact.

According to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, 1,900 people have been killed in Iran by the US and Israeli strikes, while HRANA puts the total at over 3,400, more than 1,500 of them civilians.

Maral, a student in her 20s in the city of Rasht in northern Iran, has become very frustrated with her father for his continued support of the war.

He is an enthusiastic supporter of Reza Pahlavi, the crown prince of Iran before the 1979 revolution.

Pahlavi now lives in the US and has positioned himself as a potential transitional leader of the country. He supports the US and Israeli strikes on Iran despite mounting casualties, describing the attacks as a "humanitarian intervention" and recently urging the US to "stay the course".

He has gained traction in Iran in recent months as an opposition figure, with some demonstrators in the January protests chanting his name.

"I just want this war to end as soon as possible," says Maral. "Many ordinary people have died."

She says she gets "annoyed" because her father is "really optimistic", even as the bombs fall.

"We try to talk to him, but he just keeps going on about 'the Prince, the Prince,'" she says.

"My dad lives in this illusion that Iran will open up its borders and within five years everything will be rebuilt, everything will be fine. He's being influenced by Israeli propaganda that the two countries will be friends."

Her father and mother often argue about Pahlavi, she adds.

Meanwhile, Tara, a woman in her 20s in Tehran, says her close family members initially criticised her for being opposed to the war.

"They all support attacks on Iran… My mum and sister told me: 'You haven't lost anyone [during the protests], that's why you are against the strikes. You don't want your routine, exercise and coffee catch-ups to get disrupted… If they [the regime] had killed one of your friends or relatives [during the protests] you would have a different opinion.'"

But Tara says: "Thousands of innocent people could be killed in the war as well, without anyone even remembering them."

However, she says, her sister's view – like that of several other Iranians the BBC has heard from - has softened as the attacks have continued. More recently, after a nearby area was hit, she says her sister simply said: "I hope the war finishes soon."

And despite their differences, the family still try to go everywhere together, Tara says. That way, "we would all die together if they hit us".

A 36-year-old man has been charged after a car struck a number of pedestrians in Derby city centre on Saturday.

Sandhu Ponnachan, from Alvaston, Derby, has been charged with six counts of grievous bodily harm (GBH) with intent and one count of attempted GBH with intent, one count of dangerous driving, and one count of possession of a bladed article.

Seven people were seriously hurt when they were hit by a black Suzuki Swift in Friar Gate at about 21:30 GMT on Saturday.

Ponnachan, who police said was originally from India, is due before magistrates on Wednesday.

In a statement, Ch Supt Emma Aldred called the charge "positive news", but reiterated that the investigation is ongoing and called on the public to come forward with any information.

"This incident has, naturally, sent shockwaves through the community of Derby and the county as a whole," she said.

She added: "My thoughts, and those of the wider force, remain with each of the seven injured people, their families, and witnesses at the scene."

Aldred also urged the public to "allow the judicial process to continue without any speculation" that could impede the "pursuit of justice for all those affected".

Counter-terrorism police had joined the investigation after the incident, but the Derbyshire force earlier said this was "common practice" and officers were "keeping an open mind about the potential motives".

A US freelance journalist has been kidnapped in the Iraqi capital Baghdad, and one of the suspects is linked to an Iran-backed militia, Iraqi and US officials say.

Shelly Kittleson was abducted on Tuesday evening, said Al-Monitor, a news outlet for which she has contributed articles.

The Iraqi interior ministry said security forces had chased the reporter's abductors in a pursuit that resulted in one of the kidnappers' cars overturning and the arrest of one suspect.

A US state department official said an individual with ties to an Iranian-aligned militia group, Kataib Hezbollah, was detained by Iraqi authorities.

Dylan Johnson, assistant secretary of state for global public affairs, confirmed the abduction of an American journalist, without naming Kittleson.

He posted on X: "The State Department previously fulfilled our duty to warn this individual of threats against them and we will continue to coordinate with the FBI to ensure their release as quickly as possible."

It is understood that US officials had contacted Kittleson a number of times to warn of threats against her, including as late as Monday night.

The US state department said in a statement to the BBC: "Due to privacy and other considerations, we have nothing further to share at this time."

Al-Monitor, which is based in the US, said local news reports indicate Kittleson was taken near a hotel in the heart of the capital.

It added that the state department had confirmed it "is aware of Kittleson's kidnapping and working with the Iraqi government to secure her release".

Al-Monitor said it was "deeply alarmed" by her kidnapping, and called "for her safe and immediate release".

An Iraqi official confirmed to the BBC's US partner CBS that local authorities were working "at the highest level" to release Kittleson.

Kittleson's emergency contact Alex Plitsas, a CNN national security analyst, told CBS that Kittleson had been warned by the US government about a specific threat to her from Iran-backed paramilitaries.

Kataib Hezbollah was said to be plotting to kidnap or kill female journalists.

Plitsas said Kittleson had been warned that her name was on a list in Kataib Hezbollah's possession. A second source confirmed she had been told of a risk, but thought it was false information.

The interior ministry statement said in a statement translated from Arabic: "Security forces immediately launched an operation to apprehend the perpetrators, acting on precise intelligence and through intensive field operations, tracking the kidnappers' movements."

It added: "The pursuit resulted in the interception of a vehicle belonging to the kidnappers, which overturned as they attempted to escape."

The interior ministry did not identify the suspect, calling the abductors "unknown individuals".

"The Ministry affirms that efforts are ongoing to track down the remaining perpetrators and secure the release of the abducted woman, and to take due legal action against all those involved in this criminal act, in accordance with the law," it added.

Kittleson, based in Rome, Italy, has covered conflicts in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria. According to her bio on social media, she has worked for numerous publications.

The FBI, National Security Council, state department, Delta Force and the Iraqi Counter-Terrorism Service were in contact about her abduction, sources familiar told CBS.

Baghdad was once notorious for kidnappings, but abductions have decreased as the security situation in Iraq has improved in recent years.