While ransomware gangs are betting that health care providers will pay to keep patients safe, the cyber community is warning of the grave risks of attacks on hospitals — and highlighting what providers are getting right.
Another member of the conservative Heritage Foundation has resigned following a video posted by the organization’s president defending Tucker Carlson’s interview with Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes.
In a post to Facebook, board member Robert P. George said he can no longer remain part of the foundation without a “full retraction” of the video released last month by the organization’s president, Kevin Roberts.
“Although Kevin publicly apologized for some of what he said in the video, he could not offer a full retraction of its content. So, we reached an impasse,” George said.
Carlson’s interview with Fuentes — who has previously expressed admiration for Adolf Hitler — received widespread condemnation for antisemitism, and the aftermath has exposed fault lines among conservatives.
In his Oct. 30 video, Roberts denounced the "venomous coalition” criticizing both Fuentes and Carlson, adding that Carlson is a “close friend.” He said that though he disagrees with and even “abhors” things Fuentes said, he did not believe in “canceling” him or Carlson. On Sunday, President Donald Trump also defended Carlson, telling reporters “you can’t tell him who to interview.”
Fuentes, a well-known provocateur on the right, has previously said that “organized Jewry” is leading to the disappearance of white culture.
Roberts later said he “didn’t know much about this Fuentes guy,” and that his video script was written by an aide who has since resigned.
George on Monday said that Roberts is a “good man” who acknowledged a “serious mistake.”
“What divided us was a difference of opinion about what was required to rectify the mistake,” George added.
A spokesperson for the Heritage Foundation did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
George, the McCormick professor of jurisprudence and director of the James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions at Princeton University, had been a Heritage trustee since 2019, according to the foundation’s website.
His resignation is one of several in light of Roberts' video, including at least five members of the foundation’s antisemitism task force, according to CBS News.
“I pray that Heritage’s research and advocacy will be guided by the conviction that each and every member of the human family, irrespective of race, ethnicity, religion, or anything else, as a creature fashioned in the very image of God, is “created equal” and “endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable rights,” George said.
The European Union wants to finance Ukraine’s war efforts using a loan based on Russia’s frozen assets in Belgium. If that falls through, there’s no easy alternative.
Sheikh Hasina has been sentenced by a special tribunal
Bangladesh's former prime minister has been sentenced to death for crimes against humanity over her crackdown on student-led protests which led to her ousting.
Sheikh Hasina was found guilty of allowing lethal force to be used against protesters, 1,400 of whom died during the unrest last year.
Hasina was tried in absentia by the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) in Bangladesh, having been exiled in India since she was forced from power in July 2024.
Prosecutors accused her of being behind hundreds of killings during the protests. Hasina has denied all charges, calling the trial "biased and politically motivated".
AFP via Getty Images
Students clashed with the police during the 2024 protests in Dhaka
The verdict marks a pivotal moment for Bangladesh, as the protests unleashed anger over years of repression. Families of those killed and injured had called for tough penalties.
Reacting to the verdict in a five-page statement, Hasina said the death penalty was the interim government's way of "nullifying [her party] the Awami League as a political force" and that she was proud of her government's record on human rights.
"I am not afraid to face my accusers in a proper tribunal where the evidence can be weighed and tested fairly."
The capital, Dhaka, where the tribunal took place, was under tightened security ahead of the verdict on Monday, with many of Hasina's critics staging a rally and cheering as the verdict was read.
The city has seen a recent spike in unrest, with dozens of bombs exploded and buses set on fire in the days leading up to the verdict.
At least one bomb explosion was reported in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no casualties reported, local police official Jisanul Haque told the BBC.
The student-led uprising last year started with demands to abolish government job quotas but morphed into a wider anti-government movement.
UN human rights investigators said in a report in February that the approximately 1,400 deaths could amount to "crimes against humanity".
The report documented the shooting at point-blank range of some protesters, the deliberate maiming of others, arbitrary arrests and torture.
Leaked audio of one of Hasina's phone calls verified by BBC Eye earlier this year suggested she had authorised the use of "lethal weapons" in July 2024. The audio was played in court during the trial.
Ahead of the verdict, family members of those killed during the protests told the BBC they wanted Hasina to be punished severely.
Ramjan Ali, whose brother was shot dead in July 2024, said he wanted "exemplary punishment" for Hasina and others who have "committed acts of vengeance and abused their power".
Lucky Akther, whose husband was killed near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted Hasina's sentence to be "carried out before the election".
"Only then the families of those killed [in the protests] will find peace in their hearts."
Since Hasina's ousting, an interim government led by economist Muhammad Yunus has taken charge. A parliamentary election is scheduled for February 2026.
However, the Awami League, Hasina's political party, was banned by Bangladesh's interim government in May.
Hasina warned last month that if the party's candidates were banned from standing in the upcoming election, millions would boycott the vote.
The verdict now poses a diplomatic challenge for India and Bangladesh. Dhaka has formally requested her extradition but so far India has shown no willingness to comply.
Hasina's state-appointed lawyer Mohammad Amir Hossain said he was "sad [and wishes] the verdict had been different".
"I even cannot appeal because my clients are absent; that's why I am sad," he added.
Last week, Hasina's lawyers said they had filed an urgent appeal to the UN raising serious fair trial and due process issues at the ICT.
Lightrocket/Getty Images
Anti-government protesters stormed Hasina's palace in Dhaka in August 2024
Hasina was tried alongside her former home minister and police chief.
While the sentence offers some closure to families of killed in the protests, it may do little to soothe the country's political divisions.
"The anger against Sheikh Hasina and the Awami League has not subsided," Shireen Huq, a Dhaka-based rights activists told the BBC. "Neither she nor the party has apologised or shown any remorse for the killings of hundreds of people."
She said "It makes it difficult for the party to be accepted by a majority of people in this country."
Ms Huq added that the punishment was not closure for the families of those killed and injured.
"We work with several people who lost their limbs forever, they are amputees now, due to the crackdown. They will never be able to forgive her."
David Bergman, a journalist and a long-time Bangladesh watcher, said the "very nature of the conviction could make it even more difficult" for Awami League to become a normal feature of Bangladeshi politics again.
This may change if "there is some kind of apology and a distancing from Sheikh Hasina and the old leadership", he said.
The couple said six police officers turned up at the home in January
A couple who were arrested after making complaints about their daughter's primary school, which included comments made on WhatsApp, say police have paid them £20,000 in damages.
Rosalind Levine and Maxie Allen told the Times in March they were held for 11 hours on suspicion of harassment, malicious communications and causing a nuisance on school property.
Hertfordshire Police previously said the arrests "were necessary to fully investigate the allegations".
Ms Levine, from Borehamwood, told the BBC police had accepted liability for unlawful arrest and paid damages of £20,000, plus costs. BBC News has asked Hertfordshire Police to comment.
Ms Levine added she was "very pleased" with the outcome.
"We can now begin to put this whole episode behind us," she said.
Supplied
The couple were arrested in January but, two months later, the force said no further action would be taken
According to the Times, the couple said they were banned from entering Cowley Hill Primary School in Borehamwood after questioning the recruitment process for a head teacher and criticising the leadership in a parents' WhatsApp group.
The parents said they emailed the school "regularly" following the ban to address issues relating to the needs of their daughter, who has epilepsy, is neurodivergent, and is registered disabled.
The school said it sought advice from police after a "high volume of direct correspondence and public social media posts" that it said was upsetting for staff, parents and governors.
An officer issued a warning to the family in December, telling them to take their daughter out of school, which they did the next month.
But a week after that, on 29 January, Mr Allen said six police officers turned up at his home.
Mr Allen, who is a Times Radio producer, denied using abusive or threatening language, "even in private".
The force revealed it was reviewing the investigation, and Police and Crime Commissioner for Hertfordshire Jonathan Ash-Edwards said: "There has clearly been a fundamental breakdown in relationships between a school and parents that shouldn't have become a police matter."
Google
Cowley Hill Primary School contacted police after claiming the parents' private and public communications had caused upset
Ms Levine said earlier that she still had concerns about "how and why our arrests were signed off by an inspector".
"That decision severely impacted both our children. Our three-year-old had to witness her parents being taken away by a swarm of police officers, and my 80-year-old mother became physically ill over it later that day," she said.
"I hope that our case will highlight failings within the constabulary and the chief constable will ensure that this never happens again."
Arctic air has spread across the United Kingdom as temperatures drop with the threat of snow and ice for some.
Met Office yellow severe weather warnings for snow and ice have been issued across Scotland and northern England on Tuesday.
There are also yellow cold-health alerts, external, issued by the UK Health Security Agency valid until Friday across northern England and the Midlands.
It will turn less cold by the end of the week.
Image caption,
Snow and ice yellow Met Office warnings for Monday night into Tuesday
November has so far been exceptionally mild with temperatures 3-6C above average.
But that has now changed as a northerly wind is dragging cold Arctic air across the UK with temperatures now falling 3-6C below the mid-November average.
Cold-health alerts are in force across the Midlands and northern England until 08:00 GMT Friday.
These alerts are mainly for health and social care services, warning of "significant" impacts to more vulnerable members of the community.
Extra services may be required to deal with the colder weather.
Rain is forecast to spread south and east across the UK on Monday night and Tuesday, with the air is cold enough for this to turn to snow for some.
A yellow weather warning for snow has been issued for northern and eastern Scotland starting at 03:00 GMT on Tuesday and valid until 18:00.
There could be as much as 5-10cm of snow accumulating over the highest ground (above 400m) but even down to lower levels 2-5cm is forecast.
The snow could make some higher routes impassable and there could be some disruption to rail journeys.
During Tuesday there could also be hill snow in the North Pennines and the North York Moors.
Ice will also be a hazard with additional Met Office yellow warnings issued for northern and eastern Scotland - valid from 19:00 Monday to 10:00 GMT Tuesday.
An ice warning is also issued for central Scotland and down to northern England from 05:00 to 12:00 GMT Tuesday.
Further frequent and heavy snow showers will spread into northern Scotland overnight Tuesday, even to sea level. These will continue right through until Thursday.
With snow accumulating, another Met Office warning for snow and ice is in force for northern Scotland from 18:00 GMT Tuesday to 21:00 Thursday.
Frequent snow showers may bring 2-5cm to low levels but as much as 15-20cm is possible above 300m.
Gusty winds and lightning with the snow may bring additional hazards.
Image caption,
Additional Met Office yellow warnings come into force on Wednesday and Thursday as snow and ice threat continues
The cold northerly wind on Wednesday will blow in snow showers across mostly northern Scotland but also for a time in Northern Ireland, eastern England, west Wales and even the Moors of south-west England.
Some of these snow showers could be heavy with thunderstorms - known as 'thundersnow'.
Another Met Office yellow warning is in force for snow and ice in coastal areas of eastern England valid 06:00 GMT Wednesday until 18:00 Thursday.
Where the snow showers come in frequently from the North Sea, some areas may get 2-5cm at low levels.
But over hills above 300m, up to 20cm of settling snow is possible.
As temperatures fall below freezing overnight, ice will form.
Image caption,
Frequent snow showers will come into parts of the UK on Wednesday on a brisk northerly wind
How cold will it get?
From Wednesday it will feel especially cold for most of us with temperatures of 2-5C but feeling more like minus 2 to 4C when you're in the wind.
There will be some overnight frosts and risk of ice where showers fall.
Thursday night will be the coldest night this week with temperatures widely falling below zero and down to -12C in rural Scotland.
While Friday will start as the coldest morning of the autumn so far with lots of sunshine, we'll start to see a shift away from the cold northerly wind.
An Atlantic weather system will slowly come in from the west bringing more cloud and bit of rain and less-cold air.
Temperatures by Saturday will rise slightly to average. So while it won't feel as mild as it was last week, it won't be as cold as much of this week will be.
Pauline Quirke is most famous for playing Sharon Theodopolopodous in Birds of a Feather
The family of Birds of a Feather actress Pauline Quirke have spoken of their "disbelief" at her 2021 dementia diagnosis.
Although the family are unsure what stage she is at, they said: "She's still funny, she's talking, she's happy."
Despite being "very private", they told BBC Breakfast they wanted to raise awareness and funds for the condition.
"My mum has always been a charitable person. It's what she would want me to do," said her son, Charlie Sheen.
Best-known for playing Sharon Theodopolopodous in long-running sitcom Birds of a Feather, 66-year-old Quirke was also nominated for a Bafta in 1997 for playing a convicted murderer in BBC drama The Sculptress.
In 2022, she was made an MBE for services to the entertainment industry, young people, and charities.
But earlier this year her husband, Steve Sheen, who she married in 1996, had to announce her retirement.
This ended both her 50-year acting career, along with her role as head of Pauline Quirke Academy of Performing Arts, which has about 250 academies, and more than 15,000 young students across the UK.
Charlie and Michael Sheen said Quirke still tells them she loves them
Steve said they first got an inkling something might be wrong with Quirke in November 2020, after she received a script.
"She started reading it and she phoned me on that day and said, the words are not going in. That's where it started," he said.
Their reaction after the diagnosis was "disbelief, really".
"We looked at each other and went, 'Can't be, it's long Covid. Got the flu'."
Charlie added he was "quite surprised that this was possible in a woman in her 60s, and it can happen to people in their 50s, people in their 40s, so it's something you have to deal with and learn about".
Dementia is described as "young onset" when symptoms develop before the age of 65. It most often develops in people between the ages of 45 and 65 but can affect people of any age.
Asked what stage Quirke is at in her dementia journey, Steve said: "We don't know. She's still funny. She's talking. She's happy."
"Is it four years, eight years, 10 years, 12 years, 20, who knows?"
Charlie added: "And that's the problem, no one tells you.
"My mum knows exactly who we are. Every time she sees all of us, she smiles, laughs, says 'I love you', says 'hello'."
They spoke about why they were sharing their experience, and what they had learned so far.
"Unfortunately we are not in the state where we can do much about it," Steve said.
"Just take every day and try and take the best moment out of that day you can.
"It's a long journey. If we can just help a little bit by using Pauline as the catalyst to make more people aware, then we should, to use her to boost awareness and raise funds for dementia research."
(L-R) Pauline Quirke as Sharon Theodopolopodous, Lesley Joseph as Dorien Green and Linda Robson as Tracey Stubbs in Birds of a Feather
Steve said the impact of the condition hit them slowly.
"It's so gradual that for the first year, two years, you're thinking, ah, she's alright.
"Now, we're three or four years in, it's a little bit different. This is why awareness is important. We didn't know how long it lasts or how long you have with it, or how bad it is or how quick it is."
Charlie added that it "progresses and changes every day, but so do we - we change and progress, and so we're forever learning".
The NHS website states dementia is a syndrome (a group of related symptoms) "associated with an ongoing decline of brain functioning".
Quirke was nominated for a Bafta for playing murderer Olive Martin in BBC series The Sculptress
Next month, Charlie is doing a fundraising walk for Alzheimer's Research UK, going 140 kilometres to places that shaped his mother's life, including homes she has lived in, theatres and TV studios she has worked at.
It will also include the Buckinghamshire headquarters of her children's drama academy.
"This is my mum's legacy," he said.
"This is going to be one of the stops on my trek, because she wanted to nurture the next generation of young actors."
Steve paid tribute to his wife, saying: "What you see is what you get. Loving. Brilliant. She's an iconic actress because her talent is immense."
Charlie added: "She is an incredible, strong, courageous woman that's been through a lot and she keeps going.
"She's a fighter and it's incredible to see, yeah, very proud of her."
If you are affected by any of the issues raised in this story, support and advice is available via the BBC Action Line.
Sheikh Hasina has been sentenced by a special tribunal
Bangladesh's former prime minister has been sentenced to death for crimes against humanity over her crackdown on student-led protests which led to her ousting.
Sheikh Hasina was found guilty of allowing lethal force to be used against protesters, 1,400 of whom died during the unrest last year.
Hasina was tried in absentia by the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) in Bangladesh, having been exiled in India since she was forced from power in July 2024.
Prosecutors accused her of being behind hundreds of killings during the protests. Hasina has denied all charges, calling the trial "biased and politically motivated".
AFP via Getty Images
Students clashed with the police during the 2024 protests in Dhaka
The verdict marks a pivotal moment for Bangladesh, as the protests unleashed anger over years of repression. Families of those killed and injured had called for tough penalties.
Reacting to the verdict in a five-page statement, Hasina said the death penalty was the interim government's way of "nullifying [her party] the Awami League as a political force" and that she was proud of her government's record on human rights.
"I am not afraid to face my accusers in a proper tribunal where the evidence can be weighed and tested fairly."
The capital, Dhaka, where the tribunal took place, was under tightened security ahead of the verdict on Monday, with many of Hasina's critics staging a rally and cheering as the verdict was read.
The city has seen a recent spike in unrest, with dozens of bombs exploded and buses set on fire in the days leading up to the verdict.
At least one bomb explosion was reported in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no casualties reported, local police official Jisanul Haque told the BBC.
The student-led uprising last year started with demands to abolish government job quotas but morphed into a wider anti-government movement.
UN human rights investigators said in a report in February that the approximately 1,400 deaths could amount to "crimes against humanity".
The report documented the shooting at point-blank range of some protesters, the deliberate maiming of others, arbitrary arrests and torture.
Leaked audio of one of Hasina's phone calls verified by BBC Eye earlier this year suggested she had authorised the use of "lethal weapons" in July 2024. The audio was played in court during the trial.
Ahead of the verdict, family members of those killed during the protests told the BBC they wanted Hasina to be punished severely.
Ramjan Ali, whose brother was shot dead in July 2024, said he wanted "exemplary punishment" for Hasina and others who have "committed acts of vengeance and abused their power".
Lucky Akther, whose husband was killed near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted Hasina's sentence to be "carried out before the election".
"Only then the families of those killed [in the protests] will find peace in their hearts."
Since Hasina's ousting, an interim government led by economist Muhammad Yunus has taken charge. A parliamentary election is scheduled for February 2026.
However, the Awami League, Hasina's political party, was banned by Bangladesh's interim government in May.
Hasina warned last month that if the party's candidates were banned from standing in the upcoming election, millions would boycott the vote.
The verdict now poses a diplomatic challenge for India and Bangladesh. Dhaka has formally requested her extradition but so far India has shown no willingness to comply.
Hasina's state-appointed lawyer Mohammad Amir Hossain said he was "sad [and wishes] the verdict had been different".
"I even cannot appeal because my clients are absent; that's why I am sad," he added.
Last week, Hasina's lawyers said they had filed an urgent appeal to the UN raising serious fair trial and due process issues at the ICT.
Lightrocket/Getty Images
Anti-government protesters stormed Hasina's palace in Dhaka in August 2024
Hasina was tried alongside her former home minister and police chief.
While the sentence offers some closure to families of killed in the protests, it may do little to soothe the country's political divisions.
"The anger against Sheikh Hasina and the Awami League has not subsided," Shireen Huq, a Dhaka-based rights activists told the BBC. "Neither she nor the party has apologised or shown any remorse for the killings of hundreds of people."
She said "It makes it difficult for the party to be accepted by a majority of people in this country."
Ms Huq added that the punishment was not closure for the families of those killed and injured.
"We work with several people who lost their limbs forever, they are amputees now, due to the crackdown. They will never be able to forgive her."
David Bergman, a journalist and a long-time Bangladesh watcher, said the "very nature of the conviction could make it even more difficult" for Awami League to become a normal feature of Bangladeshi politics again.
This may change if "there is some kind of apology and a distancing from Sheikh Hasina and the old leadership", he said.
Vital supplies of US liquefied natural gas are due to start flowing into war-ravaged Ukraine this winter via a pipeline across the Balkans.
The deal was announced after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis in Athens on Sunday. Greece has been working to increase the flow of American LNG to its terminals to "replace Russian gas in the region", Mitsotakis said recently.
The European Commission plans to ban all imports of Russian gas to EU member states by the end of 2027, arguing that revenue from such sales funds Russia's war in Ukraine.
Zelensky is now in France for talks with President Emmanuel Macron over a major deal on air defence hardware.
Fighting continued overnight, with six people reported killed in Russian attacks in the Kharkiv, Kherson and Donetsk regions of Ukraine.
Russia's military said it had taken control of three more Ukrainian villages - one each in the Kharkiv, Donetsk and Dnipropetrovsk regions.
None of the reports could be independently verified.
Speaking earlier in Athens, Zelensky was quoted as saying that deliveries of American LNG would begin in January.
"We rebuild each time the Russians destroy but this truly requires time, much effort, equipment and, regarding gas... imports to compensate for the destruction by the Russians of our own production," he said.
"Greece is becoming an energy security provider for your homeland," Mitsotakis told the Ukrainian president.
According to Reuters news agency, Zelensky said Ukraine had allocated funds for gas imports from European partners and banks under European Commission guarantees, as well as from Ukrainian banks, to help cover imports through to March at a cost of nearly €2bn (£1.8bn; $2.3bn).
Since 2015, when it stopped buying Russian gas directly, Ukraine has been receiving supplies from various EU states.
The Soviet-era Trans-Balkan pipeline links Ukraine to LNG terminals in Greece via Moldova, Romania and Bulgaria.
On Monday, Zelensky met Macron at Villacoublay airbase near Paris where he was to inspect Rafale fighter jets, the SAMP-T air defence system and several drone systems.
He was also due to inspect the nascent headquarters of a planned multinational force that may one day help oversee a Ukraine-Russia ceasefire.
Tens of thousands of people, most of them soldiers, have been killed or injured, and millions of civilians have fled their homes, since Russian President Vladimir Putin launched his full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Trump's plan involves an international force and temporary administration for Gaza
The UN Security Council is expected to vote on a draft resolution backing Donald Trump's peace plan for Gaza.
The text, submitted by the US, would give a mandate for the deployment of an International Stabilization Force (ISF) and to set up transitional governance there.
The US says multiple unnamed countries have offered to contribute to the ISF, though it is unclear whether it would be required to ensure Hamas disarms or function as a peacekeeping force.
Its formation is a central plank of Trump's 20-point plan which last month brought a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in their two-year war.
The draft also raises the possibility of a Palestinian state - something Israel strongly opposes.
There have been intense negotiations over the draft text of the resolution, with Washington warning that any vote against it could lead to a return to fighting with Israel.
As well as authorising an ISF, which it says would work with Israel and Egypt - Gaza's southern neighbour - the draft also calls for creation of a newly trained Palestinian police in Gaza. Until now, the police there have operated under the authority of Hamas.
According to reports on the latest draft, part of the ISF's role would be to work on the "permanent decommissioning of weapons from non-state armed groups" – including Hamas – as well as protecting civilians and humanitarian aid routes.
This would require Hamas to hand over its weapons - something it is meant to do under Trump's peace plan.
But in a statement published overnight, Hamas called the draft resolution "dangerous" and an "attempt to subject the Gaza Strip to international authority".
It said Palestinian factions rejected any clause relating to the disarmament of Gaza or harming "the Palestinian people's right to resistance".
The statement also rejected any foreign military presence inside the Gaza Strip, saying it would constitute a violation of Palestinian sovereignty.
The draft goes on to endorse the formation of a Board of Peace, expected to be headed by President Trump, to oversee a body of Palestinian technocrats that will temporarily administer Gaza and take charge of its redevelopment.
Following pressure from key Arab states, the latest text mentions a possible future Palestinian state, though without calling for one as the goal.
Even so, the inclusion of such a reference drew sharp reaction from Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after allies in his governing coalition criticised the draft, including threatening to leave the government if Netanyahu did not push back.
"Regarding a Palestinian state," he said on Sunday, "our opposition to a Palestinian state in any territory west of the Jordan [River], this opposition is existing, valid, and has not changed one bit."
Trump's peace plan in effect suspended the fighting between Israel and Hamas which had raged since Hamas-led gunmen attacked Israel on 7 October 2023. About 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken hostage in that attack.
More than 69,483 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli military action in Gaza since then, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.
The art market had a summer of closures and consolidations. But major collections, blue-chip art and guarantees have pushed expectations high for the marquee sales.
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