Hollywood actress Eva Longoria has revealed that her family no longer lives in the United States, and is splitting time between Mexico and Spain.

In an interview with French magazine Marie Claire for its November cover story, Longoria attributed the decision to the country's "changing vibe" after the Covid-19 pandemic, homelessness and high taxation in California, and the re-election of Donald Trump.

She also acknowledged she was "privileged" enough to move, saying: “Most Americans aren’t so lucky. They’re going to be stuck in this dystopian country."

The Desperate Housewives star is viewed as a power broker for women and Latinos in Democratic Party politics.

With a keen interest in immigration policy, she has been visibly involved with Democratic candidates at the national and local level since at least 2012.

She spoke at the Democratic National Convention and hit the campaign trail on behalf of Kamala Harris this year, with a tagline for the 2024 presidential candidate that adopted the Spanish translation of Barack Obama's famed "Yes, we can" slogan ("Si se puede") into the phrase "She se puede".

In her Marie Claire interview, published on Thursday, Longoria described being dispirited at Trump's victory over Harris last week

“If he keeps his promises, it’s going to be a scary place," she said.

She added that Trump's win in 2016 had crushed her belief that "the best person wins" in politics.

“I had my whole adult life here,” Longoria said of Los Angeles, adding that “it just feels like this chapter in my life is done now”.

She said work now has her often spending time in Europe or South America.

Longoria is a ninth-generation Texan who moved to California in her twenties. In 2006, she earned a Golden Globe nomination in her starring role as Gabrielle Solis in Desperate Housewives.

More recently, she has hosted the CNN mini-series Searching for Mexico and Searching for Spain.

She is married to José "Pepe" Bastón, her third husband and the president of Mexican broadcaster Televisa.

The couple share a six-year-old boy, Santiago, while Bastón also has three children from a previous marriage.

A hacker has been sentenced to five years in a US prison for laundering the proceeds of one of the biggest ever cryptocurrency thefts.

Ilya Lichtenstein pleaded guilty last year to hacking into the Bitfinex cryptocurrency exchange in 2016 and stealing almost 20,000 bitcoin.

He laundered the stolen cryptocurrency with the help of his wife Heather Morgan, who used the alias Razzklekhan to promote her hip hop music.

At the time of the theft, the bitcoin was worth around $70m (£55.3m), but had risen in value to more than $4.5bn by the time of they were arrested.

The $3.6bn worth of assets recovered in the case was the biggest financial seizure in the DOJ's history, deputy attorney General Lisa Monaco said at the time.

“It’s important to send a message that you can’t commit these crimes with impunity, that there are consequences to them,” district judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly said.

Lichtenstein, who has been in prison since his arrest in February 2022, expressed remorse for his actions.

He also said that he hopes to apply his skills to fight cybercrime after serving his sentence.

Morgan also pleaded guilty last year to one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering. She is due to be sentenced on 18 November.

According court documents, Lichtenstein used advanced hacking tools and techniques to hack into Bitfinex.

Following the hack, he enlisted Morgan's help to launder the stolen funds.

They "employed numerous sophisticated laundering techniques", the US Department of Justice (DoJ) said in a statement.

The methods included using fictitious identities, switching the funds into different cryptocurrencies and buying gold coins.

Lichtenstein, who was born in Russia but grew up in the US, would then meet couriers while on family trips and move the laundered money back home, prosecutors said.

Morgan's Razzlekhan persona went viral on social media when the case emerged.

Even as the couple attempted to cover up the hack, she published dozens of expletive-filled music videos and rap songs filmed in locations around New York.

In her lyrics she called herself a "bad-ass money maker" and "the crocodile of Wall Street".

In articles published in Forbes magazine, Morgan also claimed to be a successful technology businesswoman, calling herself an "economist, serial entrepreneur, software investor and rapper".

The alliance of Sri Lanka's new leader is headed for victory in the country's snap parliamentary elections, according to partial official results.

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake's National People's Power (NPP) coalition has so far won 97 seats and more than 60% of the vote. It needs 113 seats in the 225-member house to secure a majority.

Dissanayake, who was elected in September, needs a clear majority to deliver his promise to combat corruption and restore stability after the island's worst-ever economic crisis.

The high cost of living was one of the key issues for many voters.

Analysts expect the NPP to do well in the elections but what remains to be determined is the margin of victory, and whether it gets the two-thirds majority it wants to be able to pass its ambitious reforms.

In the outgoing assembly, Dissanayake's Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) party, which now leads the NPP, had just three seats. More results are expected later on Friday.

"We believe that this is a crucial election that will mark a turning point in Sri Lanka," the 55-year-old Dissanayake told reporters on Thursday after voting in the capital Colombo.

Nearly two-thirds of former MPs chose not to run for re-election, including prominent members of the former ruling Rajapaksa dynasty.

Sajith Premadasa, the man Dissanayake defeated in the presidential elections, led the opposition alliance.

Dissanayake called for snap elections shortly after he became president to seek a fresh mandate to pursue his policies. There was "no point continuing with a parliament that is not in line with what the people want", he had said.

Out of 225 seats in the parliament, 196 MPs will be directly elected. The rest will be nominated by parties based on the percentage of votes they get in what is known as proportional representation.

High inflation, food and fuel shortages precipitated a political crisis in 2022 which led to the ousting of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. His successor Ranil Wickremesinghe managed to negotiate a bailout package worth $3bn with the International Monetary Fund - but many Sri Lankans continue to feel economic hardship.

"We are still stuck with the problems we faced before. We still don't have financial help even to fulfil our daily needs," 26-year-old garment factory worker Manjula Devi, who works in the Katunayake Free Trade Zone near Colombo, told the BBC.

The number of people living below the poverty line in Sri Lanka has risen to 25.9% in the past four years. The World Bank expects the economy to grow by only 2.2% in 2024.

Disenchantment with established political players greatly helped the left-leaning Dissanayake during September's election. His party has traditionally backed strong state intervention and lower taxes, and campaigned for leftist economic policies.

Dissanayake made history as Sri Lanka's first president to be elected with less than 50% of the vote. Many observers think his alliance will do better this time.

How his alliance fares will be partly due to a fragmented opposition – with many leaders and parties breaking away into either smaller groups, or contesting as independent candidates.

Observers say the JVP-led alliance ran a more vibrant campaign than the opposition, which is likely to have a significant impact on the outcome of the election.

What is clear is that whoever comes into power will be under massive pressure to perform and live up to their campaign promises.

Sri Lanka's economic situation remains precarious – and the main focus is still on providing essential goods and services. How the country progresses from this point will be a real challenge for the new government.

Additional reporting by Kelly Ng

Hollywood actress Eva Longoria has revealed that her family no longer lives in the United States, and is splitting time between Mexico and Spain.

In an interview with French magazine Marie Claire for its November cover story, Longoria attributed the decision to the country's "changing vibe" after the Covid-19 pandemic, homelessness and high taxation in California, and the re-election of Donald Trump.

She also acknowledged she was "privileged" enough to move, saying: “Most Americans aren’t so lucky. They’re going to be stuck in this dystopian country."

The Desperate Housewives star is viewed as a power broker for women and Latinos in Democratic Party politics.

With a keen interest in immigration policy, she has been visibly involved with Democratic candidates at the national and local level since at least 2012.

She spoke at the Democratic National Convention and hit the campaign trail on behalf of Kamala Harris this year, with a tagline for the 2024 presidential candidate that adopted the Spanish translation of Barack Obama's famed "Yes, we can" slogan ("Si se puede") into the phrase "She se puede".

In her Marie Claire interview, published on Thursday, Longoria described being dispirited at Trump's victory over Harris last week

“If he keeps his promises, it’s going to be a scary place," she said.

She added that Trump's win in 2016 had crushed her belief that "the best person wins" in politics.

“I had my whole adult life here,” Longoria said of Los Angeles, adding that “it just feels like this chapter in my life is done now”.

She said work now has her often spending time in Europe or South America.

Longoria is a ninth-generation Texan who moved to California in her twenties. In 2006, she earned a Golden Globe nomination in her starring role as Gabrielle Solis in Desperate Housewives.

More recently, she has hosted the CNN mini-series Searching for Mexico and Searching for Spain.

She is married to José "Pepe" Bastón, her third husband and the president of Mexican broadcaster Televisa.

The couple share a six-year-old boy, Santiago, while Bastón also has three children from a previous marriage.

One of the innovations at this year's Paris Olympics was supposed to be an electric flying taxi service.

Germany's Volocopter promised its electric-powered, two-seater aircraft, the VoloCity, would be ferrying passengers around the city.

It never happened. Instead the company ran demonstration flights.

While missing that deadline was embarrassing, behind the scenes a more serious issue was playing out - Volocopter was urgently trying to raise fresh investment to keep the firm going.

Talks to borrow €100m (£83m; $106m) from the government failed in April.

Now hopes are pinned on China's Geely, which is in talks to take an 85% stake in Volocopter in return for $95m of funding, according to a Bloomberg report. The deal could mean that any future manufacturing would be moved to China.

Volocopter is one of dozens of companies around the world developing an electric vertical take-off and landing (EVTOL) aircraft.

Their machines promise the flexibility of a helicopter, but without the cost, noise and emissions.

However, faced with the massive cost of getting such novel aircraft approved by regulators and then building up manufacturing capabilities, some investors are bailing out.

One of the most high-profile casualties is Lilium.

The German company had developed a radical take on the EVTOL theme.

Lilium's aircraft uses 30 electric jets that can be tilted in unison to swing between vertical lift and forward flight.

The concept proved attractive, with the company claiming to have orders and memoranda of understanding for 780 jets from around the world.

It was able to demonstrate the technology using a remote controlled scale model. Construction had begun on the first full-sized jets, and testing had been due to begin in early 2025.

As recently as the Farnborough Airshow in July, Lilium’s COO Sebastian Borel was sounding confident.

“We are definitely burning through cash," he told the BBC. “But this is a good sign, because it means we are producing the aircraft. We’re going to have three aircraft in production by the end of the year, and we have also raised €1.5bn”.

But then the money ran out.

Lilium had been attempting to arrange a loan worth €100m from the German development bank, KfW. However, that required guarantees from national and state governments, which never materialised.

In early November, the company put its main operating businesses into insolvency proceedings, and its shares were removed from the Nasdaq stock exchange.

For the moment, work on the new aircraft is continuing, as the company works with restructuring experts to sell the business or bring in new investment. However, getting the new e-jet into production is looking more challenging than ever.

The high-profile British player in the eVTOL market is Vertical Aerospace. The Bristol-based company was founded in 2016 by businessman Stephen Fitzpatrick, who also set up OVO Energy.

Its striking VX4 design uses eight large propellers mounted on slim, aircraft style wings to generate lift. Mr Fitzpatrick has made ambitious claims about the aircraft, suggesting it would be “100 times” safer and quieter than a helicopter, for 20% of the cost.

The company has made progress. After completing a programme of remote-controlled testing, it began carrying out piloted tests earlier this year. Initially, these were carried out with the aircraft tethered to the ground. In early November, it carried out its first untethered take-off and landing.

But there have also been serious setbacks. In August last year, a remotely-piloted prototype was badly damaged when it crashed during testing at Cotswold Airport, after a propeller blade fell off.

In May one of its key partners, the engineering giant Rolls Royce pulled out of a deal to supply electric motors for the aircraft.

Ambitions remain sky high. Vertical Aerospace says it will deliver 150 aircraft to its customers by the end of the decade. By then, it also expects to be capable of producing 200 units a year, and to be breaking even in cash terms.

Yet financial strains have been intensifying. Mr Fitzpatrick invested an extra $25m into the company in March. But a further $25m, due in August if alternative investment could not be found, has not been paid. As of September, Vertical had $57.4m on hand – but it expects to burn through nearly double that over the coming year.

Hopes for the future appear to be pinned on doing a deal with the American financier Jason Mudrick, who is already a major creditor through his firm Mudrick Capital Management.

He has offered to invest $75m into the business – and has warned the board of Vertical that rejecting his plan would inevitably lead to insolvency proceedings. But the move has been resisted by Mr Fitzpatrick, who would lose control of the company he founded.

Sources close to the talks insist an agreement is now very close. The company believes if a deal can be done, it will unlock further fundraising opportunities.

Amid the turbulence, one European project is quietly on track, says Bjorn Fehrm who has a background in aeronautical engineering and piloted combat jets for the Swedish Air Force. He now works for aerospace consultancy Leeham.

He says that the EVTOL project underway at Airbus is likely to survive.

Called the CityAirbus NextGen, the four-seater aircraft has eight propellers and a range of 80km.

"This is a technology project for their engineers, and they've got the money, and they've got the know how," says Mr Fehrm.

Elsewhere in the world, other well funded start-ups stand a good change of getting their aircraft into production. That would include Joby and Archer in the US.

Once the aircraft are being produced, the next challenge will be to see if there's a profitable market for them.

The first routes are likely to be between airports and city centres. But will they make money?

"The biggest problem area when it comes to the cost of operation is the pilot and the batteries. You need to change the batteries a couple of times per year," points out Mr Fehrm.

Given all the uncertainty and expense, you might wonder why investors put money into new electric aircraft in the first place.

"No one wanted to miss out on the next Tesla," laughs Mr Fehrm.

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Donald Trump has moved speedily since winning the US presidential election to set the foundations of his second term in the White House.

He has made his early priorities clear - and stunned some in Washington and around the world while doing so.

Here’s what we’ve learned from his rollercoaster first week as president-elect.

1) He’s building a loyal team to shake up government

Trump started building his top team almost immediately, nominating cabinet picks for Senate approval and appointing White House advisers and other senior aides.

But that doesn’t tell the full story.

His selections make clear that he plans a radical shake up of government, eschewing more conventional and experienced picks for those who are loyal to him and share his vision for a second term that will upend the status quo in Washington.

His choice for defence secretary, for example, has called for a purge of military chiefs enacting “woke” policies. His nominee for health secretary, Robert F Kennedy Jr, has said he wants to “clear out corruption” at America’s health agencies and cut “entire departments” at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

And that’s not to mention a promised new department helmed by advisers Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, which Trump says will focus on slashing regulations and historic cost-cutting.

The bigger picture is that Trump’s proposed team is almost universally loyal, and favour overhauling their respective government departments.

You can take a deeper look at who’s in the frame for his top team here.

2) He’ll have a friendly Congress on his side

Republicans have won control of the House as well as the Senate, giving the party a crucial (albeit narrow) majority in both chambers for at least the next two years, when there will be the usual midterm elections.

This is a major boost to Trump’s agenda. It means he will be more easily able to pass legislation and gives his policy priorities a friendly path to becoming law.

The Democratic Party will, naturally, be less able to block and resist his agenda too. And Trump should for now be able to avoid the kind of congressional investigations he faced in the second half of his first term.

Ultimately, Republican control of Congress could prove key in pushing through his big pledges such as mass deportations, sweeping tariffs on foreign imports and the rolling back of environmental protections.

It won’t always be smooth sailing for Trump in Congress, however, as our correspondent Gary O’Donoghue explains here.

3) But Senate Republicans won’t always roll over

Trump’s influence was put to the test earlier this week when Republicans in the Senate picked their new leader.

While he did not weigh-in on the race directly, there had been a concerted effort from the president-elect’s most vocal allies as well as favourable ‘Maga’ media outlets to get hard-line Trump loyalist Rick Scott elected.

But he was defeated in the first round and Republicans opted for a more orthodox pick in John Thune, who has had a more rocky relationship with Trump.

It’s worth noting that this was a secret ballot, so it was far from a public repudiation of Trumpworld.

There will be sterner tests of Trump’s power on Capitol Hill to come, notably when confirmation hearings are held for his more divisive cabinet picks.

Some Senate Republicans, for example, have already signalled their opposition to Trump's shock choice of Matt Gaetz to lead the justice department.

4) Trump's criminal conviction could soon be wiped

While much of the focus was on the president-elect’s nominations and appointments, we also had a reminder that his legal troubles have been upended by his victory.

In New York specifically, his criminal fraud conviction in the hush-money case lives on for at least a few more days.

But it could soon be consigned to history. Earlier this week a judge delayed his decision as to whether Trump’s conviction should be thrown out because of a Supreme Court ruling in the summer that expanded presidential immunity.

That decision is now expected to come next week. And while it’s not clear whether the conviction will be tossed out, Trump’s scheduled sentencing on 26 November is likely to be delayed regardless.

Here’s a reminder of how Trump’s election win impacts his cases.

5) He has China firmly in his sights

It’s no secret that Trump views the world differently to Biden, and could drastically shift US foreign policy over the next few years.

One clear theme that's emerged in recent days is the prominence of China hawks in his proposed team - those who believe Beijing poses a serious threat to US economic and military dominance and want to challenge this more forcefully.

And they are present from the top down.

His nomination for secretary of state - America’s most senior diplomat - Marco Rubio, has described China as the “most advanced adversary America has ever faced”.

Mike Waltz, his national security adviser, has said the US is in a “cold war” with China. Other nominees such as his proposed ambassador to the UN, Elise Stefanik, have directly accused China of election interference.

During Trump’s first administration, relations with Beijing were tense, and they barely warmed under Biden. With tariffs, export controls and pointed rhetoric, the president-elect appears ready to take an even tougher stance this time around.

Shopkeepers say Edinburgh's Royal Mile has become "lawless" with smash-and-grab thieves stealing thousands of pounds' worth of goods in recent months.

BBC News has obtained CCTV showing people walking out of shops with expensive cashmere scarves, jumpers and jackets in broad daylight.

One man can be seen kicking in a plate-glass window at night to steal armfuls of Harris Tweed bags, costing up to £150 each.

Staff say the area has become dangerous and intimidating, and that despite reporting thefts to police on an almost daily basis, nothing has been done.

Police Scotland says a dedicated team is working with businesses in the area and is investigating every report.

Galab Singh Gold, who owns dozens of shops on and around the Royal Mile, told BBC News he had lost £15,000 worth of stock to theft in the last three months.

He also faces the cost of replacing smashed windows - with a bill for one incident costing £3,000.

He said he had hours of CCTV footage showing how "brazen" thieves had become, "kicking in windows" in front of passers-by.

The 47-year-old said it was the worst he had ever seen in the 35 years his family had been running shops on the famous mile.

He believes gangs are involved as he has noticed the same people stealing high-end items on various occasions.

"Someone is either ordering these bags or they know people that are buying them so they know it will be easy to get rid of the bags," he said.

"The police say they don't have the resources to tackle something like this but it's not just petty crime any more - this is organised theft."

Mr Singh Gold said on some occasions thieves had gone into shops during the day and looked at staff "dead in the eye" while picking up piles of cashmere and other expensive items.

One staff member has been punched in the face while others have been knocked to the floor.

Some say they receive intimidation and abuse if they try to apprehend thieves.

Mr Singh Gold added: "We have lost several good members of staff because they feel threatened and unsafe at work now.

"We have had staff threatened at work saying 'I know which bus you catch on the way home and I'm going to be waiting for you'.

"We are sick of calling the police and making reports and downloading CCTV and then nothing happens."

Calling the problem a "theftdemic" Mr Singh Gold said he was going to have to employ security guards during the day at £8,000 a month.

He said the thieves watched his stores for opportunities to lift whole baskets of products before slipping down nearby closes.

"It's shocking that it's allowed to take place on the most prestigious street in the country," he said.

"The city centre has become lawless and this is where they are getting the brazenness because they know that the systems we have in place with the policing and the control of crime has failed."

'We cannot touch them'

Maria Sanchez, manager of Marchbrae on the Royal Mile, told BBC Scotland she was punched in the face by a woman holding a vape.

The 46-year-old, who has been working for Mr Singh Gold's shop for seven years, said the thieves were "very aggressive".

"They know their rights, they know we cannot touch them and most of the staff are scared of them," she said.

"When we call the police they say if it's not dangerous then they will just take a statement over the phone, and pop out a few days later for you to sign it."

She said the day after she was punched some thieves were waiting for her outside the shop and she had to call colleagues for back-up.

"It's very dark when I leave work and it makes me feel scared," she said. "It is a very dangerous street now as it's full of criminals."

Sabine Fischlin, manager of the Woollen Mill on the Royal Mile, said the situation had been getting "significantly worse" since August.

Now staff remove all the Harris Tweed handbags from the shop windows before closing.

She said: "We feel unsafe, stressed and staff members are feeling constantly on edge.

"We are expecting it to happen at any moment and it's affecting some staff member's sleep at this point.

"We are in contact with police on almost a daily basis at this point."

Police confirmed that a 43-year-old man had recently been charged over thefts from two shops on the Royal Mile in October.

Ch Insp Mark Hamilton, of Police Scotland, said the force was "fully aware" of ongoing issues with thefts in the area.

He said there was a dedicated team working with businesses and that police carried out regular patrols.

He said: "I can assure everyone that we are investigating all incidents reported to us.

"We work closely with the retail and business sectors to deter, prevent and investigate retail crime.

"Where we identify businesses which are being targeted by shoplifters, we have trained officers who can attend and carry out security surveys and offer advice around prevention."

Decades of caste discrimination have contributed to India having higher levels of child stunting rates than across Sub-Saharan Africa, new research has revealed.

The two regions together are home to 44% of the world’s under-five population but account for about 70% of stunted children globally - a key indicator of malnutrition.

But, while both have made significant strides in recent years, India’s rate stands at 35.7%, with the average across Sub-Saharan Africa’s 49 countries at 33.6%.

A child is considered stunted when they fall short of the expected height for their age - a clear sign of critical nutritional gaps.

However, the study by Ashwini Deshpande (Ashoka University) and Rajesh Ramachandran (Monash University, Malaysia) found that focusing only on the height gap - or why Indian children are shorter than children in Sub-Saharan Africa - overlooks an important factor: the crucial role of social identity, especially caste, in child malnutrition in India.

The first 1,000 days of a child's life, often called the "golden period", are pivotal: by age two, 80% of the brain develops, laying the foundation for lifelong potential. In these early years, access to healthcare, good nutrition, early learning, and a safe environment profoundly shapes a child's future.

India and Sub-Saharan Africa, both with rapidly growing middle classes, young populations and significant workforce potential, share longstanding comparisons. In 2021, the World Bank reported, “Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia [including India] account for over 85% of the global poor,” underscoring similar challenges in poverty and development.

Using official data, the authors looked at the most recent estimates of the stunting gaps between India and a sample of 19 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Official data shows that more than 35% of India’s 137 million children under five are stunted, with over a third also underweight. Globally, 22% of children under five are stunted.

Then they examined six broad socially disadvantaged groups in India. Among them are adivasis (tribespeople living in remote areas) and Dalits (formerly known as untouchables), who alone comprise more than a third of the under-five population.

The economists found that children from higher-ranked, non-stigmatised caste groups in India stood at 27% - markedly lower than the Sub-Saharan African rate.

They also found that children from higher-ranking caste groups in India are some 20% less likely to experience stunting compared with those from marginalised groups, who occupy the lowest tiers of the caste hierarchy.

This conclusion remains significant even after accounting for factors like birth order, sanitation practices, maternal height, sibling count, education, anaemia and household socio-economic status.

This difference is despite seven decades of affirmative action, India's caste system - a four-fold hierarchy of the Hindu religion - remains deeply entrenched.

“This should not be surprising given that children from better-off groups in India have access to more calories and face a better disease environment,” the authors say.

The reasons behind high stunting rates among Indian children have sparked a complex debate over the years.

Some economists have argued that the differences are genetic - that Indian children are genetically disposed to lower heights.

Others believe that improved nutrition over generations has historically closed height gaps thought to be genetic.

Some studies have found that girls fare worse than boys and others just the opposite, using different global standards.

To be sure, stunting has decreased across social groups - a separate 2022 study found that improvements in health and nutrition interventions, household living conditions and maternal factors led to reduction in stunting in four Indian states. (More than half of India's under-five children were stunted, according to a federal family health survey of 1992-93).

Children from marginalised groups like adivasis are likely to be more malnourished.

In Africa, the rate of stunting has also fallen since 2010, although the absolute number increased.

But what is clear is that children from poor families, with less-educated mothers, or from marginalised groups, are especially vulnerable to stunting in India.

“The debate on the height gap between Indian and Sub-Saharan African children has resulted in overlooking the role of social identity, especially caste status,” the authors say.

“This is a crucial dimension to understanding the burden of child nutrition in India.”

The analysis uses data from demographic and health surveys. For India, it includes the latest data from 2019-21, and for Sub-Saharan Africa, it includes data from 19 countries with surveys from 2015 onwards. The dataset covers anthropometric - measurements related to the physical dimensions and composition of the human body- outcomes for 195,024 children under five in India and 202,557 children under five in Sub-Saharan Africa.

The United Nations' COP climate talks are "no longer fit for purpose" and need an urgent overhaul, key experts including a former UN secretary general and former UN climate chief have said.

In a letter to the UN, senior figures say countries should not host the talks if they don’t support the phase out of fossil energy.

This week the Azerbaijani president told world leaders gathered in his country for COP29 that natural gas was a “gift from God” and he shouldn’t be blamed for bringing it to market.

That came days after the BBC reported that a senior Azerbaijani official appeared to have used his role at COP to arrange a meeting to discuss potential fossil fuel deals.

The UN’s climate talks have made significant progress in recent years, despite the fact that unanimous agreement is needed among almost 200 countries to take action.

The Paris climate agreement, signed in 2015, outlines a long-term plan to rein in rising temperatures, as countries strive to keep that rise under 1.5C this century.

They have also agreed to transition away from fossil fuels in energy systems, and to treble renewable power by 2030.

But while the authors of this letter recognise these achievements, they feel that the slow-moving COP process is “no longer fit for purpose” in dealing with a fast-moving climate crisis.

"Its current structure simply cannot deliver the change at exponential speed and scale, which is essential to ensure a safe climate landing for humanity," said its signatories. They include former UN Secretary General Ban-Ki Moon, former UN climate chief Christiana Figueres and former president of Ireland Mary Robinson.

This year will likely be the warmest on record, with emissions of planet warming gases still rising, while the impacts of warming often outpace the ability of countries to cope.

“Planet Earth is in critical condition,” said leading climate scientist Johan Rockström, another signatory.

“There is still a window of opportunity for a safe landing for humanity, but this requires a global climate policy process that can deliver change at exponential speed and scale,” Prof Rockström said.

The letter has been prompted by growing concerns about some of the countries chosen to host COP talks and their ability to deliver a significant advance in the fight against rising temperatures.

Just before the latest conference started, a secret recording showed the chief executive of Azerbaijan's COP29 team, Elnur Soltanov, discussing "investment opportunities" in the state oil and gas company with a man posing as a potential investor.

At the start of COP29, the country’s authoritarian leader, Ilham Aliyev, defended Azerbaijan’s current exports of gas and plans to expand production by a third in the next decade.

“It's a gift of God,” he told an audience here in Baku.

“Every natural resource whether it's oil, gas, wind, sun, gold, silver, copper, all that are natural resources," he said. "And countries should not be blamed for having them and should not be blamed for bringing these resources to the market because the market needs them, the people need them."

The use of oil and gas are major causes of global warming, as they release planet-warming gases like carbon dioxide when they are burned.

President Aliyev also hit out at France for carrying out colonialist “crimes” and “human rights violations” in overseas territories.

Such strongly expressed views are extremely rare from the leader of a COP host, where the aim is to build consensus on how to tackle rising temperatures.

The authors of the letter are also concerned by the selection process for hosting COPs. Azerbaijan followed on from another major oil producer, the United Arab Emirates, which held the conference in Dubai last year.

“At the last COP, fossil fuel lobbyists outnumbered representatives of scientific institutions, Indigenous communities and vulnerable nations," said former UN climate chief Christiana Figueres.

"We cannot hope to achieve a just transition without significant reforms to the COP process that ensure fair representation of those most affected.”

The authors say that host countries “must demonstrate their high level of ambition to uphold the goals of the Paris agreement."

They also want smaller, more frequent COPs with clear accountability for the promises that countries make.

BBC Radio 2 presenter Paddy McGuinness is due to complete his epic Children In Need cycling challenge on Friday, after riding 300 miles on a Chopper bike.

The former Top Gear and Question of Sport host, 51, has raised nearly £5.9m during his five-day journey from Wrexham to Glasgow.

Speaking on Thursday, he said he was "in bits physically and emotionally", but thanked the public for the "wave of support".

McGuinness will find out the total raised by his ultra-endurance challenge during this year's televised Children in Need appeal, which starts at 19:00 GMT on Friday on BBC One.

McGuinness is due to arrive at the finish line in Glasgow earlier in the day.

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He was joined by Olympic cyclist Sir Chris Hoy on Thursday, and has received messages of support from astronaut Tim Peake and his Phoenix Nights co-star Peter Kay, as well as hundreds of listeners.

In his message, Kay told him: "Get across that finishing line and get yourself a nice garlic bread. This is the way to Glasgowrilla!"

McGuinness's fundraising total will rise significantly after Scottish businessman and philanthropist Sir Tom Hunter said he would double any donations made from Wednesday onwards, up to a £3m limit.

The Bolton-born star has said he was motivated to take on the challenge by the people he had met who benefitted from projects funded by BBC Children in Need.

"When you meet these people... that's what spurs you on, and when you see the work that's being done in and around it, and again, when you're out and about, just people stopping me," he said.

Last year, another Radio 2 presenter, Vernon Kay, raised more than £5m for Children in Need after completing his ultra-marathon.

The DJ ran from Leicester to Bolton - a distance of 116 miles - over four days.

Children in Need is the BBC's charity for disadvantaged children and young people across the UK.

It has raised more than £1bn for charities and projects since its first major appeal in 1980.

Friday's live entertainment extravaganza on BBC One will involve three hours of comedy, music and surprise guests.

Ade Adepitan, Chris Ramsey and Rochelle Humes will host the show, alongside Kay, Mel Giedroyc and Lenny Rush.

One of the most anticipated elements of this year's appeal is a new version of Girls Aloud single I'll Stand By You, with the lead vocal sung entirely by their late bandmate Sarah Harding.

The ballad was originally released as a Children In Need song in 2004 and topped the UK chart for two weeks. The 20th anniversary re-release will again raise money for the charity.

A new version of the music video, featuring unseen archive footage, will be screened during Friday's appeal show.

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Other highlights on the night will include Doctor Who star Ncuti Gatwa introducing a preview from the forthcoming Doctor Who Christmas Special.

Doctor Who fans will have the chance to own pieces of memorabilia from the show when two items go up for auction.

There will also be a performance by singer Ella Henderson, while fellow pop star Kylie Minogue has recorded a special message which will be played on the night.

Viewers can also expect a visit from the stars of Gladiators, as well as a special performance from Strictly Come Dancing as the professionals are joined by TV character Bluey.

And actor Gary Oldman will read a CBeebies bedtime story, which will be aired as part of the show.

BBC Children in Need will air at 19:00 on Friday 15 November on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.

Conor McGregor has admitted taking cocaine on the night it is alleged he raped a Dublin woman.

In court on Thursday, the Irish mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter replied "correct" when John Gordon SC stated he had cocaine in his car along with the alleged victim and another witness.

The court also heard Mr McGregor answered "no comment" to over 100 questions in his first police interview and said he did so under advice of his lawyer because he was in a state of "shock and fear".

Dublin woman Nikita Hand has accused the sportsman of rape after a Christmas night out in December 2018. He denies all allegations.

The trial is a civil case in Dublin High Court after the Director of Public Prosecutions in Ireland refused to charge Mr McGregor criminally.

The interview, held in January 2019, saw Mr McGregor attend Dundrum Garda Station attend an interview with his solicitor and handed over a prepared written statement.

After this, Mr McGregor said "no comment" to such questions as if he and Nikita Hand were from the same area of Crumlin in Dublin.

The judge reminded the eight women and four men of the jury that no inference can be made by Mr McGregor's refusal to comment. It is his legal right.

Mr McGregor said the statement was "to the point" when it was put to him it was "short".

"I would have loved to go to a top of the mountain with a microphone and shout from the hilltops but because of the seriousness of the allegation I went to my lawyer and I took their advice," he said.

Mr McGregor also said he had been "beyond petrified" during the garda interview, because it was the first time anything like that had happened to him.

"I feel I was as good, as cooperative, I took their advice, I put myself in their hands, this is alien to me, it's the first time anything like that has ever happened to me in my life."

Later Mr McGregor added: "These allegations are false, I'm here to say my piece and my truth, these allegations are lies, they're false."

Mr McGregor claims Nikita Hand had consensual sex with him twice. He also claimed in court that Hand had sex with his associate and co-defendant James Lawrence. Nikita Hand says she never had sex with Mr Lawrence.

Mr McGregor said he had one of his staff book the Beacon Hotel

John Gordon SC representing Ms Hand later brought up evidence from Ms Hand's gynaecological assessments.

Forceps were used to remove a tampon which had become wedged inside Ms Hand's vagina.

Mr McGregor claims Ms Hand was not wearing a tampon while she had sex with him. When asked how he thought it got there, Mr McGregor said: "Not with me".

Mr McGregor was also asked if he had paid Mr Lawrence's legal fees.

"I believe I did," he said.

Later, when asked under cross-examination whether Ms Hand had been in fear, Mr McGregor said there had been "no sign of distress, fear, anything other than enjoyment, elations and excitement".

Ms Hand, a former hair colourist from Dublin, is seeking financial damages including loss of earnings for the distress she suffered as a result of the alleged sex attacks.

Giving evidence during earlier hearings, she claimed Mr McGregor placed her in a choke hold and choked her three times before raping her.

A paramedic who examined Ms Hand on the day after the alleged attacks told the court on Tuesday that she had not seen such bruising on a patient in a long time.

Mr McGregor's co-defendant, Mr Lawrence took the stand on Thursday afternoon.

He claimed he had consensual sex with Ms Hand twice in the hotel room when Mr McGregor left the hotel.

Mr Lawrence said Ms Hand was flirtatious and initiated the sex.

He added that she was only upset in the room about one small bruise and what she was going to tell her boyfriend about it.

Ms Hand previously told the court she has no memory of ever having sex with Mr Lawrence, but remembered telling him that she had been raped by the MMA fighter and became distressed.

Her claim is that Mr Lawrence was shocked at her allegations and sought to comfort her at the time.

When asked if he was the "fall guy" for Mr McGregor, Mr Lawrence said "not in a million years".

He added he has six sisters and nieces and would not defend such actions if they had occurred.

In a Republic of Ireland civil action - as opposed to a criminal case - neither the complainant nor the accused are entitled to automatic anonymity during the court proceedings.

Thousands of police are being deployed in Paris to ensure security at Thursday’s France-Israel football international, a week after violence in Amsterdam in which Maccabi Tel Aviv fans came under attack.

Paris police chief Laurent Nuñez said that 4,000 officers would be on patrol, 2,500 at the Stade de France in the northern Paris suburbs and the rest on public transport and inside the capital.

In addition around 1,600 private security guards will be on duty at the stadium, and an elite anti-terrorist police unit will protect the visiting Israeli squad.

“It is a high-risk match [because of] an extremely tense geopolitical context,” Mr Nuñez said.

“We will not allow any attempt to disturb public order.”

The Uefa Nations League match is under intense scrutiny following the violence after last Thursday’s match between Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv in the Netherlands.

The stadium, which can hold 80,000, will be only a quarter full. Following advice by the Israeli government, no more than 100 or so Israeli fans are expected to travel to Paris, though other Israel supporters may go to the game.

Politicians across Europe decried a “return of antisemitism” after Israeli fans were chased through the streets of Amsterdam.

Maccabi fans were themselves involved in vandalism, tearing down a Palestinian flag, attacking a taxi and chanting anti-Arab slogans, according to city authorities. They were then targeted by “small groups of rioters… on foot, by scooter or car”, the city said in a 12-page report.

Violence between Israel and its neighbours in the Middle East has the potential to spread to Europe.

France, Belgium and the Netherlands all have large Muslim populations of North African origin and they live beside far smaller Jewish populations, who in the main identify strongly with Israel.

To express solidarity with European Jews after Amsterdam, President Emmanuel Macron has said he will attend Thursday’s match, which begins at 20:45 (19:45 GMT).

He will be joined by Prime Minister Michel Barnier as well as previous presidents François Hollande and Nicolas Sarkozy.

Supporters have been told to expect identity checks ahead of the game. Bars and restaurants in the area have been told to close from the afternoon.

The Stade de France was the scene of a dangerous breakdown in law-and-order at a Uefa Champions League final between Liverpool and Real Madrid in 2022. However since then the Rugby World Cup and Paris Olympics have both been peacefully staged there.

France’s far-left France Unbowed (LFI) party – which sides with Palestinians and Lebanese in the conflicts with Israel – has called for Thursday’s match to be cancelled, or at least for President Macron to refuse to attend.

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“We do not want our head of state honouring a country that commits genocide,” said LFI deputy David Guiraud. Israel has denied allegations of genocide as baseless and grossly distorted.

But Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau said it was out of the question to cancel or relocate the match. “France does not give way to those who sow hatred,” he said.

France and Israel are in the same group in the Uefa competition, alongside Italy and Belgium. In their first leg – played in Budapest – France beat Israel 4-1.

Pre-match tensions were already in evidence after a pro-Israeli “gala” event was given the go-ahead for Wednesday evening in Paris, which the far-right Israeli minister Bezalel Smotrich was at one point expected to attend – although it was later thought his “presence” would be by video-link.

Pro-Palestinian and anti-racist organisations were planning demonstrations in the capital to coincide with the event.

Relations between Macron and Benyamin Netanyahu have come under severe strain in recent weeks, after Macron accused the Israeli prime minister of “spreading barbarism” in Gaza and Lebanon.

French Jews were also upset when Macron was quoted as saying that Netanyahu should accept United Nations calls for a ceasefire because “his country was itself created by a decision of the UN.” This was interpreted in Israel as an insult to Jews who had lost their lives in their country’s war of independence.

France in turn was angered when two French officials were briefly detained by Israeli authorities at a holy site in East Jerusalem that is under French administration.

Macron has been described as pursuing a zigzag in his approach to the Middle East, as in many other domains, flipflopping inconsistently between outspoken statements of support for Israel and then its Arab neighbours.

Tulsi Gabbard - a former Democratic congresswoman who joined the Republican Party to back Donald Trump - is the president-elect's pick for director of national intelligence.

The wide-ranging role would mean she oversees US intelligence agencies like the CIA, FBI and the National Security Agency (NSA), which focuses on intelligence gathering.

The nomination has raised questions over Gabbard's lack of experience in intelligence as well as accusations that she has in the past amplified Russia propaganda.

She will require Senate confirmation to take up the role.

If she is confirmed to the role Gabbard would manage a budget of more than $70bn (£55bn) and oversee 18 intelligence agencies.

But the nomination has sparked criticism in some quarters.

Reacting to the appointment on X, Democratic Virginia congresswoman member of the House Intelligence Committee Abigail Spanberger said she was "appalled at the nomination of Tulsi Gabbard".

"Not only is she ill-prepared and unqualified, but she traffics in conspiracy theories and cozies up to dictators like Bashar-al Assad and Vladimir Putin," she said.

Who is Tulsi Gabbard?

A military veteran who served with a medical unit in Iraq, Gabbard has set a number of political precedents in her career.

She was first elected to the Hawaii State Legislature aged 21 in 2002, the youngest person ever elected in the state. She left after one term when her National Guard unit was deployed to Iraq.

Gabbard went on to represent Hawaii in Congress from 2013 until 2021 - becoming the first Hindu to serve in the House.

She previously championed liberal causes like government-run healthcare, free college tuition and gun control. These issues were part of her 2020 run for the Democratic presidential nomination - which she eventually dropped out of, endorsing Joe Biden.

In 2022 she left the Democratic Party and initially registered as an independent - accusing her former party of being an “elitist cabal of warmongers” driven by "cowardly wokeness".

Becoming a contributor to Fox News, she was vocal on topics such as gender and freedom of speech and became an outspoken supporter of Donald Trump before joining the Republican Party less than a month ago.

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Controversial remarks on Syria and Ukraine

In 2019, during Gabbard's bid to secure the Democratic presidential nomination she was criticised by rivals after receiving apparently favourable coverage on Russian state media.

In the same year, she also faced criticism for her perceived support of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, seen as a key Russian ally.

She said Assad "is not the enemy of the United States because Syria does not pose a direct threat to the United States" - and defended meeting him in 2017, during Trump's first term.

In that same year, she said in an interview with CNN that she was "sceptical" that the Syrian regime was behind a chemical weapons attack which killed dozens of people.

Trump said there could be "no dispute that Syria used banned chemical weapons", speaking after the United States launched a missile strike on Syrian air base in response.

In 2019, Gabbard did also describe Assad as a "brutal dictator".

Gabbard has also made a string of controversial statements relating to Russia and its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Writing on social media on the day Russia invaded, she said the war could have been prevented if had the US and its Western allies had recognised Russia's "legitimate security concerns" about Ukraine's bid to join Nato.

The following month, she said it was an "undeniable fact" that there were US-funded biolabs in Ukraine that could "release and spread deadly pathogens" as she called for a ceasefire.

In response, Republican senator Mitt Romney said Gabbard had embraced "actual Russian propaganda".

On Russian TV her nomination as intelligence director is being framed as likely to complicate Washington's relations with Ukraine.

Rossiya 1 correspondent Dmitry Melnikov said that her nomination "does not bode well for Kyiv", noting that in the past she "openly accused the Biden administration of provoking Russia".

The channel's presenter also pointed out that Gabbard had "strongly criticised Zelensky and called for dialogue with Russia".

Additional reporting BBC Monitoring's Karine Mirumyan