The UK economy had zero growth between July and September, revised official figures show.

Initial figures had suggested the economy had grown by just 0.1% between July and September - and shrank during September itself. But that figure has now been revised down to 0%.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves said the challenge to fix the economy was "huge" and October's Budget would "deliver sustainable long-term growth, putting more money in people's pockets".

But one of the UK's leading business groups, the CBI said its latest company survey suggested "the economy is headed for the worst of all worlds".

The CBI, which claims to represent 170,000 firms, said companies expect to "reduce both output and hiring" and raise prices as a result of the tax rises announced in the government's Budget.

The UK economy is measured by gross domestic product - a measure of all the economic activity of companies, governments and people in the country.

The ONS puts out initial estimates on the UK's economic performance and revises them once it receives more data.

On Monday it also revised down growth figures for April to June to 0.4% from 0.5%.

It said the economy was weaker than initially estimated as bars and restaurants, legal firms and advertising firms performed less well.

Warning: This story contains descriptions of sexual abuse

The Pelicot rape trial, which ended in France on Thursday, held a terrible fascination for almost every woman I know. As it unfolded in an Avignon court, I found myself following every awful detail, then discussing it with my female friends, my daughters, colleagues, even women in my local book club, as we tried to process what happened.

For nearly a decade, Gisèle Pelicot's husband had been secretly drugging her and inviting men he'd met on the internet to have sex with his "Sleeping Beauty" wife in the marital bedroom while he videoed them.

These strangers, ranging from 22 to 70 years in age, with jobs that included fireman, nurse, journalist, prison warden and soldier, complied with Dominique Pelicot's instructions. Such was their desire for a submissive female body to penetrate, they blithely had sex with a retired grandmother whose heavily sedated body resembled a rag doll.

There were 50 men in court, all living within a 50km (30 mile) radius of Mazan, a small town in southern France where the Pelicots lived. They were, apparently, just like "any other man".

One woman in her 30s told me "When I first read about it, I didn't want to be around men for at least a week, even my fiancé. It just horrified me."

Another in her late 60s, so close to Gisèle Pelicot's age, couldn't stop thinking about what men's minds could be harbouring, even her husband and sons. "Is this just the tip of the iceberg?"

As Dr Stella Duffy, 61, an author and therapist, wrote on Instagram on the day the verdict was delivered: "I hope and try to believe #notallmen, but I imagine the wives and girlfriends and best mates and daughters and mothers of Gisèle Pelicot's village thought that too. And now they know different. Every woman I talk to says this case has changed how she views men. I hope it's changed how men view men too."

Now that justice has been done, we can look beyond this monstrous case and ask: where did these men's callous and violent behaviour come from? Could they not see that sex without consent is rape?

But there is a broader question too. What does the fact that so many men in a relatively small area shared this fantasy of extreme domination over a woman say about the nature of male desire?

How the internet changed the norm

It is hard to imagine the scale of the orchestrated rapes and sexual assaults of Ms Pelicot without the internet.

The platform on which Dominique Pelicot advertised for men to rape his wife was an unmoderated French website, which made it easier to bring together people who shared sexual interests, with no holds barred, than it would have been in the days before the internet. (It has now been closed down.)

One of Ms Pelicot's lawyers likened the site to a "murder weapon", telling the court that without it the case "would never have reached such proportions".

But the internet has played a role in gradually changing attitudes to sex in consensual and non-abusive settings too, normalising what many might have once seen as extreme.

In the shift from old school skin mags and blue movies bought in a murky Soho sex shop to modern-day websites like PornHub, which had 11.4 billion mobile visits globally in the month of January 2024 alone, the boundaries of porn have expanded hugely. Adding in more and more extreme or niche activity ramps up the expectation, so "vanilla" sex may become mundane.

According to a survey of UK online users in January 2024, almost one in 10 respondents aged between 25 and 49 years reported watching porn most days, the great majority of them male.

Twenty-four-year-old university graduate Daisy told me that most people she knows watch porn, including her. She prefers to use a feminist site whose search filters include "passionate" and "sensual", as well as "rough". But some of her male friends say they no longer watch porn "as they couldn't have a nice time having sex because of watching too much porn when they were just kids".

A 2023 study for the children's commissioner for England, Dame Rachel de Souza, found that a quarter of 16 to 21-year-olds first saw pornography on the internet while still at primary school.

At the time Ms de Souza said: "The adult content which parents may have accessed in their youth could be considered 'quaint' in comparison to today's world of online pornography."

Does porn really shape attitudes?

Children who regularly viewed porn on mobiles before puberty inevitably grow up with different sexual expectations than those aroused by Playboy in the 20th century.

While no direct causal link has been established, there is substantial evidence of an association between the use of pornography and harmful sexual attitudes and behaviours towards women.

According to government research before the Covid-19 pandemic: "There is evidence that use of pornography is associated with greater likelihood of desiring or engaging in sexual acts witnessed in porn, and a greater likelihood of believing women want to engage in these specific acts."

Some of those acts may involve aggressive, dominating behaviour such as face slapping, choking, gagging and spitting. Daisy told me: "Choking has become normalised, routine, expected, like neck-kissing. With the last person I was seeing, I told him from the start that I wasn't into choking and he was fine with that."

But she believes that not all women will speak out. "And in my experience most men don't want a woman to be dominant in the bedroom. That's where they want to have the power."

Forty years older than Daisy, Suzanne Noble has written about her own sexual adventures and now has a website and podcast called Sex Advice for Seniors. She believes that the availability of porn that depicts rape fantasies normalises an act that is rooted in violence and depicts rape as an activity women crave.

"There's simply not enough education about the difference between re-enacting a fantasy that involves a pseudo-rape, with a completely non-consensual version of the same," she argues.

From small ads to real life

Just as the internet brought porn out of backstreets and into bedrooms, it has also facilitated easier access to events in real life. Previously people into, say, S&M (sadomasochism), might have connected through small ads in the back of "contact" magazines, using Post Office boxes rather than mail to their own homes. It was a very slow and arduous way of setting up a sexual encounter. Now it's far easier to connect with those groups online then plan to meet in person.

In the UK, it has become mainstream to find love and relationships through dating apps, and so too is it easier to connect with people who wish to try out particular sexual kinks, with a plethora of social apps such as Feeld, which is designed for people to explore "desire outside of existing blueprints". Its online glossary includes a list of 31 desires, including polyamory, bondage and submission.

Albertina Fisher is an online psychosexual therapist who, in the course of her job, talks to her clients about their sexual fantasies. "There is nothing wrong with having a sexual fantasy — the difference is if fantasy becomes behaviour without consent," she says.

Male and female fantasies are different she tells me, "but they very often include submission and domination. The key thing about sexual preferences such as BDSM (bondage, discipline or domination, sadism, and masochism) is that it is safe, sane and consensual. What two people want to do together is absolutely fine." This, she stresses, is the case when both consent.

All of this is, of course, entirely separate to the Pelicot case. "That is sexual violence," she says. "And it's extremely distressing that this can happen within what appeared to be a loving relationship. Acting out a fantasy without consent is an extreme form of narcissism.

"With the partner incapacitated, all their needs are denied. So you have a fantasy of a woman who you don't have to worry about pleasing."

Questions around desire

A key and problematic aspect of the whole question of fantasy is desire. In the post-Freudian age it has become a truism that desires should not be repressed. And much of the liberation theory of the 1960s emphasised self-actualisation through the realisation of sexual desire.

But male desire has become an increasingly contested concept, not least because of the questions of power and domination often entangled within it.

The men who stood trial in the Pelicot case struggled to see themselves as perpetrators. Some argued that they assumed Ms Pelicot had consented, or that they were taking part in a libertine sex game. As many of them saw it, they were simply pursuing their desires.

There is a dark borderline where a very basic form of heterosexual male desire - (or the primal urge to have sex with a woman, or women, in the most uncomplicated manner) - can grow into a shared endeavour, creating an esprit de corps of boundary-pushing that may pay little heed or care to the female experience.

This perhaps explains why an OnlyFans performer, Lily Phillips, recently drew a huge queue of participants in her quest to have sex with 100 men in one day.

The tendency to objectify women may in some cases also develop into a desire to annihilate the whole question of female desire, let alone agency.

Obviously male desire takes many forms, most of an entirely healthy nature, but it has traditionally been constrained by cultural limits. Now those limits have shifted radically in the UK and elsewhere in the West, and the underlying conviction that the realisation of desire is an act of self-liberation amounts to a potent and sometimes troubling combination.

The appeal of Andrew Tate

Andre de Trichateau, a therapist based in South Kensington, London, brought up the appeal of masculinist influencers such as Andrew Tate, a self-proclaimed "misogynist", who has 10.4 million followers on X.

Mr de Trichateau says that he has encountered men feeling demeaned and displaced by the rise of feminism. "Some men don't know who to be," he says. "Men are socialised to be dominant but also expected to be in touch with their emotions, able to show vulnerability.

"This confusion can lead to anger, directed to the feminist movement, and [in turn this can lead them to] people such as Tate."

With a 60% male client base, Mr de Trichateau observes that "men can be socialised to view power and dominance as part of their identity".

"This is not to justify anything like the Pelicot case," he continues, "but objectively I can see that such behaviour is an escape from powerlessness and inadequacy. It's tantalising and forbidden.

"The case is disturbing because it shows the extremities that people will go to."

He also pointed out that online groups such as the one Mr Pelicot used can be very powerful. "In a group you are accepted. Ideas are validated. One person says its OK then everyone will go along with it."

Many of the conversations during and since the Pelicot trial have focused on how to make the distinction between consensual and non-consensual sex and whether it should be better defined in law - but the problem is that what consent amounts to is a complex question.

As 24-year-old Daisy sees it, some women of her age tend to go along with men's sexual preferences regardless of their own feelings. "They think something is hot if the man they are with thinks it's hot."

So, if heterosexual men, in particular, really are increasingly taking their sexual cues from pornography, then that prompts further questions about the changing shape of male desire. And if young women can feel that the price of intimacy is to go along with those desires, however extreme, then arguably consent is not a black and white matter.

Ultimately, there may be widespread relief that the Pelicot case is over and that justice was served, but it leaves behind even more questions - questions that, in the spirit of an amazingly strong French woman, are perhaps best discussed out in the open.

Lead image credit: Getty

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President-elect Donald Trump has demanded Panama reduce fees on the Panama Canal or return it to US control, accusing the central American country of charging "exorbitant prices" to American shipping and naval vessels.

"The fees being charged by Panama are ridiculous, highly unfair," he told a crowd of supporters in Arizona on Sunday.

"This complete rip-off of our country will immediately stop," he said, referring to when he takes office next month.

His remarks prompted a quick rebuke from Panama's president, who said "every square metre" of the canal and surrounding area belong to his country.

President José Raúl Mulino added that Panama's sovereignty and independence were non-negotiable.

Trump made the comments to supporters of Turning Point USA, a conservative activist group that provided significant support to his 2024 election campaign.

It was a rare example of a US leader saying he could push a country to hand over territory - although he did not explain how he would do so - and a sign of how American foreign policy and diplomacy may shift once he enters the White House following his inauguration on 20 January.

Trump's comments followed a similar post a day earlier in which he said the Panama Canal was a "vital national asset" for the US.

If shipping rates are not lowered, Trump said on Sunday, "we will demand that the Panama Canal be returned to us, in full, quickly and without question".

The 51-mile (82km) Panama Canal cuts across the central American nation and is the main link between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.

• Can the Panama Canal save itself?
• Will Trump's victory spark a global trade war?
• What Trump tariffs could mean for consumers

It was built in the early 1900s and the US maintained control over the canal zone until 1977, when treaties gradually ceded the land back to Panama. After a period of joint control, Panama took sole control in 1999.

Up to 14,000 ships cross the canal per year, including container ships carrying cars, natural gas and other goods, and military vessels.

As well as Panama, the president-elect also took aim at Canada and Mexico over what he called unfair trade practices. He accused them of allowing drugs and immigrants into the US, although he called Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum a "wonderful woman".

Trump hits the usual themes

Trump made his remarks in front of thousands at Turning Point's annual conference, one of the country's largest gatherings of conservative activists.

Turning Point poured huge resources into get-out-the-vote efforts in swing states designed to bolster Trump and other Republicans during the election campaign.

It was his first speech since a deal passed Congress this week to keep the US government open, after several provisions were removed including one that would have increased the country's debt ceiling.

Trump had supported raising the debt ceiling, which restricts the amount of money the US government can borrow.

But his speech on Sunday avoided that issue entirely, instead recapping his election victory and hitting on themes – including immigration, crime and foreign trade – that were mainstays of his campaign.

He did, however, mention Elon Musk.

"You know, they're on a new kick," he said. "All the different hoaxes. The new one is that President Trump has ceded the presidency to Elon Musk."

"No, no, that's not happening," he said. "He's not gonna be president."

Several speakers here at the conference were critical of government spending and of politicians in both parties – however the divisions inside the Republican Party which have played out in Congress in recent days were mostly muted.

Whether it's opening presents or the long-awaited Christmas dinner, the festive season involves plenty of things that could go wrong.

It's the little things that count at this time of year - and your etiquette is no exception.

The BBC has chatted with experts about potentially awkward moments you might face over the next few days, so you can try to avoid them.

A common festive issue is getting a present you do not like. Is it best to tell the person who gave it to you, or lie that you love it?

It depends on how well you know the person who gave you the gift, according to Rupert Wesson from professional coaching company Debrett's.

To lie - or not to lie

"There are some people [to whom] you can say the gift isn't for you, and for some you have to smile and tell them a little white lie that you like it," he tells the BBC.

But whatever you do, "don't make a funny face" at the gift when you open it, warns etiquette coach Laura Windsor.

"Just pretend you do [like it], and make a little comment on how useful the gift will be," she says. "The etiquette is always to be kind."

Both etiquette coaches say it's fine to give an unwanted present to charity or re-gift it for someone else in the future.

Mr Wesson suggests you should "always" keep a gift receipt when buying a present just in case - and he has these words of reassurance: "We can't all be perfect at buying exactly the right thing."

Open up about the cost

While the cost of turkey and Brussels sprouts have gone down this year, the price of root vegetables have gone up and some families are feeling the pinch this winter.

Ms Windsor advises that you can make a "Christmas pot" that everyone contributes to ahead of the big day.

Alternatively, she says you could ask each guest - or family member - to buy an item of food or drink each.

"There's no shame in this day and age in saying: 'I'm getting people together for Christmas, would you be able to provide this?'," Mr Wesson adds.

Stay upbeat - and avoid certain subjects

Sometimes petty arguments can flare up when the whole family is together - perhaps having eaten or drank too much.

Ms Windsor says "don't take it personally, just try to smooth it over," adding that you should not give people the "power to keep them complaining".

She advises to try and change the topic of conversation, but to avoid difficult subjects.

"You've got to keep the conversation upbeat."

If there are any existing tensions among the guests ahead of 25 December, Mr Wesson suggests attempting to address them upfront when you're putting together your plans before Christmas Day.

"Almost make the invitation [to guests or extended family] conditional that someone isn't going to kick off," he says.

Is it possible to say 'thank you' too much?

Ms Windsor advises against saying "thank you" to the host too much as it "loses its value".

She suggests showing your appreciation to the host in other ways, including offering to help them with anything, bringing a gift for them - such as a bottle of wine or a plant - and mingling with other guests.

"Mix it up a bit by complimenting them on the quality of the food," Mr Wesson says.

"Appreciation of how good the food is goes a long way."

Both etiquette experts advise sending a thank you note to the host after Christmas Day which is something that Mr Wesson calls "the gold standard of thank yous".

Be upfront about dietary requirements

If you have dietary requirements, such as being vegetarian or vegan, let whoever is hosting your Christmas dinner know ahead of time and not on 25 December, Ms Windsor stresses.

"It's about prevention, preventing discord - everything has to be organised beforehand," she says.

Mr Wesson adds: "It does fall to the host to really identify what the requirements are and then the host can plan."

Ms Windsor says that if there is any tension between people about the dietary requirements, "be empathetic" but stop the conversation.

"If they make a non-cordial remark, don't take it to heart."

The Christmas dinner rules

If your stomach is growling for Christmas dinner and you're growing impatient at how long it's taking to cook, Mr Wesson suggests you could offer to help.

"Then you're going to find the lay of the land and maybe suggest we can share something [to eat ahead of Christmas dinner]," he says.

But when you're finally tucking into the dinner, what do you do if you don't like it?

Say "yes" when asked if you're enjoying the food, Ms Windsor says.

"If you don't want to eat it, leave it," she adds - and you could always just say you've "had enough" to eat.

Mr Wesson advises to "try and draw as little attention" as possible to the fact you are not eating the meal.

To prevent this situation happening, try to see if the host will let everyone plate up their own food and then "don't pile too much on" in case you dislike it.

What to do if cards and gifts arrive after Christmas

Work, childcare, school - lots of things in life can get in the way and cause you to miss the cut-off date for sending Christmas cards and presents in time for 25 December.

Ms Windsor says organisation is "very, very important" because it shows that "you've put a lot of thought and put in the time and effort to make sure they get it in time for Christmas".

However, she says that you have to "take into account people's daily situation".

Mr Wesson says that "better late than never is the way ahead" but advises people to send a message to whoever the card or present is addressed to, letting them know it is on the way and apologise for the lateness.

'The golden rule'

Christmas Day all comes down to preparation - both organising the day and planning around family relationships, Mr Wesson says.

"It's trying to expect the best but also accept the possibility things might go a little awry," he says.

"Often these things aren't really that serious and often doesn't ruin the whole day."

"The golden rule: treat others as you'd like to be treated," Ms Windsor adds. "You won't go wrong with that."

Tory leader Kemi Badenoch has insisted she will not be rushed into policy positions, claiming there is no "quick fix" following the party's defeat in July's general election.

Badenoch became the party's sixth leader in less than nine years when she was elected at the start of November.

In an interview with BBC Radio 4's Today programme, she said the public "kicked out" the Conservatives because the party was not trusted and did not deliver, adding building trust is "something that takes a while".

Badenoch also dismissed concerns that her approach of not pinning down policy positions could leave a vacuum that might be filled by Reform UK.

Speaking to Amol Rajan, Badenoch said: "Reform is saying stuff because it hasn't thought it all through. You can give easy answers if you haven't thought it all through.

"I do the thinking and what people are going to get with new leadership under me is thoughtful Conservatism, not knee-jerk analysis."

"We are about what we are for, not just what we are against," she said earlier in the interview.

Badenoch said she would not "rush out" policy positions within six weeks and people would need to be "patient", but that she wanted to ensure people could believe she was telling the truth so she could earn their trust.

In response, Reform leader Nigel Farage said the Conservative leader "doesn't understand that the level of betrayal means that the Tory brand is broken. She personally bears heavy responsibility for this".

During the leadership contest, Badenoch deliberately avoided specific policy positions, focusing instead on Conservative "principles".

But some in the party - including Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen - have warned against leaving a void on key issues such as migration that could be filled by Reform.

Houchen told the BBC this month there was a "big opportunity" for the Tories because Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer had "left the field" on the issue of migration, and called for the party to put forward a "sensible narrative".

'Let people down'

In the interview, Badenoch acknowledged again that her party had "let people down" in the area of migration.

She said the numbers were too high, having previously pledged to put a cap on arrivals into the UK – though she has not specified what level she would consider acceptable.

Net migration hit a record in the year to June 2023 - with the difference between those arriving in the UK and leaving standing at 906,000 according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The net figure dropped to 728,000 in the year to June 2024.

The previous Conservative government's key migration policy was the Rwanda deportation scheme designed specifically to deter small boat crossings.

No flights were able to take off to the east African country before July's election after numerous legal challenges, and Labour swiftly scrapped the scheme after winning power.

The new government has focused on tackling the criminal gangs involved in people smuggling, with Sir Keir announcing an extra £75m to go to policing UK borders in November.

At a press conference last month, Badenoch said the Conservatives still believed a "deterrent" was necessary but did not commit to a revival of the Rwanda scheme.

In the Today interview, Badenoch also acknowledged the local elections scheduled for May next year would be difficult for her party, but said it was a marathon not a sprint.

She said: "The Conservative Party is under changed leadership and I think that the voters will start to see that, but it's going to be slow and steady. It's the tortoise strategy, not the hare."

Musk 'challenge'

Farage told the BBC last week that Reform was in "open negotiations" with US billionaire Elon Musk about donations to the party.

Mr Musk will hold a role within the US government from January with President-elect Donald Trump appointing him as lead for the Department of Government Efficiency (Doge).

Asked whether she was concerned about the prospect of Mr Musk donating to Reform, Badenoch downplayed the possibility it would happen but said she "believes in competition".

She said: "So I think that if Elon Musk is giving a party, a competitor party money, then that is a challenge for me to make sure that I raise the same."

She said it might be "counterproductive" for Reform, claiming people in the UK "don't necessarily like to see politics being bought".

It belonged to his grandmother. Something solid. A thing to hold in his hands, and run his fingers across, and trace the path of memory. A small thing of beauty, inlaid with a delicate mosaic.

René opens the music box, and a tinkling music begins to play, the same song heard long ago in his Damascus sitting room.

"This is all I have left of my home," he says.

Everything about this young man suggests gentleness. René Shevan is short in height, slender and speaks softly.

All week his emotions have gone back and forth. Joy at the fall of Bashar al-Assad. Heartbreak at the memories it has triggered of his months in Syrian prisons.

"There was a woman. I still have her image here in my head. She was standing in the corner, and she was pleading…it's clear that they raped her.

"There was a boy. He was 15 or 16 years old. They were raping him, and he was calling his mother. He was saying, 'Mama... my mother... Mom.'"

There was his own rape and sexual abuse.

When I first met René, he had just escaped from Syria. That was 12 years ago. He sat opposite me, shaking and in tears, terrified of showing his face on camera.

The secret police had picked him up because he had gone to a pro-democracy demonstration. They also knew that he was gay.

Three of them gang raped René. He begged for mercy, but they laughed.

"Nobody heard me. I was alone," he recalled back in 2012.

They told him this was what he got for demanding freedom. Another officer abused him every day. For six months he suffered this abuse.

When images appeared on television this week of prisoners walking free in Damascus, René was carried back to images of his own.

"I'm not in prison now, I'm here. But I saw myself in the photos and the images of the people in Syria. I was so happy for them, but I saw myself there... I saw the old version of me there. I saw when they raped me, and when they tortured me. I saw everything in flashback."

He is weeping and we stop the interview. A few minutes, he says.

I look at his sitting room wall.

There is a photo of his ruined home in Syria, one of René running in a marathon in Utrecht. Then an image of the Jesuit priest, Father Frans Van Der Lugt, 75, a psychotherapist and ecumenical activist in Syria, until he was assassinated in 2014.

It was Father Van Der Lugt who told René - struggling in a deeply conservative environment - that he was a normal human being, that Jesus loved him whatever his sexual orientation was.

René takes a glass of water, then asks to continue our conversation.

Why has he agreed to show his face in front of a camera now, I wondered?

"Because the republic of fear is gone. Because I am I'm not scared of them anymore. Because Assad is a refugee in Moscow. Because all the criminals in Syria ran away. Because Syria returned to all Syrian people," he replies.

"I hope we will be able to live as a people in freedom, in equality. I'm so proud of myself as a Syrian, Dutch, as LGBT."

That doesn't mean he feels confident about living in Syria as a gay person just yet.

Under the Assad regime, homosexual acts were criminalised.

The country's new rulers have fundamentalist religious roots and have been implicated in violence and persecution against gay people.

"There are many Syrian LGBT who fought," René says.

"They were part of the revolution, and they lost their life. [The Syrian regime] killed them just because they were LGBT, and because they were part of the revolution."

René tells me he is "realistic" about the prospect of change. He is also concerned that all religious and ethnic groups - including the Kurds - are given protection.

René is among around six million Syrians who fled the country and found safety either in neighbouring countries like Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey - the majority - or further afield in Europe.

Several European countries have already paused asylum applications from Syrians, following the overthrow of the Assad regime. International human rights groups have criticised the move as premature.

There are an estimated one million Syrians in Germany. Among them, a remarkable disabled Kurdish girl I first met in August 2015, when she had joined a vast column of people who had landed on the Greek island of Lesbos.

She travelled on through Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia and Austria on her way north.

To reach Europe from northern Syria, Nujeen had crossed mountains, rivers and the sea - her sister, Nisreen, pushing the wheelchair.

"I want to be an astronaut, and maybe meet and alien. And I want to meet the Queen," she said.

I crouched beside her on a dusty road, where thousands of asylum seekers lay exhausted in the midday heat. Her good humour and hopefulness were infectious.

This was a girl who taught herself fluent English by watching American television programmes. Nujeen grew up in Aleppo and then, as the war escalated, she went to her family's hometown of Kobane, a Kurdish stronghold which subsequently came under attack from the Islamic State (IS) group.

I meet her now in the bustling Neumarkt Square in Cologne, surrounded by Christmas market stalls where locals eat sausage and drink mulled wine, and the dramas of Syria seem far away.

But not for Nujeen.

All week she has been up watching television, long after the rest of the family has gone to bed. No matter that she has an exam for her business administration course. She will manage.

Never again, Nujeen understands, will there be a moment quite like the fall of Assad, a moment of such singular hope.

"Nothing lasts forever. Darkness is followed by dawn," she says.

"I knew that I would never come back to a Syria that had Assad as president, and that we would never have the chance to be a better nation with that man in charge. We knew that we would never find peace unless he's gone. And now with that chapter over, I think the real challenge begins."

Like René, she wants a country that is tolerant of diversity and cares for those with disabilities.

"I don't want to go back to a place where there is no lift and only stairs up to an apartment on the fourth floor."

As a Kurd, she is well versed in her people's experience of suffering in the region.

Now, as the Kurdish forces are forced to pull out of cities in the oil producing north, Nujeen sees the danger posed by a new regime that is backed by Turkey.

"We know these people that came into power now. We know the countries and the powers that are backing them, and they're not exactly fans of Kurds. They do not exactly love us. That's our biggest worry right now."

There is also the fear of a potential regrouping of IS if Syria's new leaders cannot achieve stability in the country.

There are constant calls to family still living in the Kurdish areas.

"They are anxious and worried about the future as we all are," says Nujeen.

"We never stop calling, and we are always worried if they don't pick up after the first ring. There's a lot of uncertainty about what's going to happen next".

The uncertainty is amplified by the change in asylum policy in Europe.

Still, this is a young woman whose experience of life - the experience of serious disability since birth, witnessing the terrors of war, travelling across the Middle East and Europe to safety - has created a capacity for hope.

In the near decade that I have known her, it is undimmed. The fall of Assad has only deepened her faith in Syria and its people.

"There are many people who are waiting to see Syria fall into some kind of an abyss," she says.

"We are not people who hate or envy or want to want to eliminate each other. We are people who were raised to be afraid of each other. But our default setting is that we love and accept who we are."

"We can and will be a be a better nation - a nation of love, acceptance and peace, not one of chaos, fear and destruction."

There are many hearts in Syria and beyond who will be hoping she is right.

On a hill overlooking the city of Palermo, in Sicily, sits a lesser-known gem of Italian art: the cathedral of Monreale.

Built in the 12th century under Norman rule, it boasts Italy's largest Byzantine-style mosaics, second in the world only to those of Hagia Sophia in Istanbul.

Now, this Unesco World Heritage site has undergone an extensive restoration to bring it back to its former glory.

The Monreale mosaics were meant to impress, humble and inspire the visitor who walked down the central nave, following the fashion of Constantinople, the capital of the surviving Roman empire in the east.

They span over 6,400 square meters and contain around 2.2kg of solid gold.

The restoration lasted over a year, and in that time the cathedral was turned into a bit of a building site, with a maze of scaffolds set up on the altar and transept.

Local experts from the Italian Ministry of Culture led a series of interventions, starting with the removal of a thick layer of dust that had accumulated on the mosaics over the years.

Then they repaired some of the tiles that had lost their enamel and gold leaf, making them look like black spots from down below.

Finally, they intervened in the areas where the tiles were peeling off the wall and secured them.

Working on the mosaics was a challenge and a big responsibility, says Father Nicola Gaglio.

He has been a priest here for 17 years and has followed the restoration closely, not unlike an apprehensive dad.

"The team approached this work almost on their tiptoes," he tells me.

"At times, there were some unforeseen issues and they had to pause the operations while they found a solution.

"For example, when they got to the ceiling, they realised that in the past it had been covered with a layer of varnish that had turned yellowish. They had to peel it off, quite literally, like cling film."

The mosaics were last partly restored in 1978 , but this time the intervention had a much wider scope and it included replacing the old lighting system.

"There was a very old system. The light was low, the energy costs were through the roof and in no way it made justice to the beauty of the mosaics," says Matteo Cundari.

He's the Country Manager of Zumtobel, the firm that was tasked with installing the new lights.

"The main challenge was to make sure we'd highlight the mosaics and we'd create something that answers to the various needs of the cathedral," he adds.

"We also wanted to create a completely reversible system, something that could be replaced in 10 or 15 years without damaging the building."

This first tranche of works cost 1.1 million euros. A second one, focussing on the central nave, is being planned next.

I ask Fr Gaglio what it was like to see the scaffolding finally come off and the mosaics shine in their new light. He laughs and shrugs.

"When you see it, you're overwhelmed with awe and you can't really think of anything. It's pure beauty," he says.

"It's a responsibility to be the keeper of such world heritage. This world needs beauty, because it reminds us of what's good in humanity, of what it means to be men and women."

It belonged to his grandmother. Something solid. A thing to hold in his hands, and run his fingers across, and trace the path of memory. A small thing of beauty, inlaid with a delicate mosaic.

René opens the music box, and a tinkling music begins to play, the same song heard long ago in his Damascus sitting room.

"This is all I have left of my home," he says.

Everything about this young man suggests gentleness. René Shevan is short in height, slender and speaks softly.

All week his emotions have gone back and forth. Joy at the fall of Bashar al-Assad. Heartbreak at the memories it has triggered of his months in Syrian prisons.

"There was a woman. I still have her image here in my head. She was standing in the corner, and she was pleading…it's clear that they raped her.

"There was a boy. He was 15 or 16 years old. They were raping him, and he was calling his mother. He was saying, 'Mama... my mother... Mom.'"

There was his own rape and sexual abuse.

When I first met René, he had just escaped from Syria. That was 12 years ago. He sat opposite me, shaking and in tears, terrified of showing his face on camera.

The secret police had picked him up because he had gone to a pro-democracy demonstration. They also knew that he was gay.

Three of them gang raped René. He begged for mercy, but they laughed.

"Nobody heard me. I was alone," he recalled back in 2012.

They told him this was what he got for demanding freedom. Another officer abused him every day. For six months he suffered this abuse.

When images appeared on television this week of prisoners walking free in Damascus, René was carried back to images of his own.

"I'm not in prison now, I'm here. But I saw myself in the photos and the images of the people in Syria. I was so happy for them, but I saw myself there... I saw the old version of me there. I saw when they raped me, and when they tortured me. I saw everything in flashback."

He is weeping and we stop the interview. A few minutes, he says.

I look at his sitting room wall.

There is a photo of his ruined home in Syria, one of René running in a marathon in Utrecht. Then an image of the Jesuit priest, Father Frans Van Der Lugt, 75, a psychotherapist and ecumenical activist in Syria, until he was assassinated in 2014.

It was Father Van Der Lugt who told René - struggling in a deeply conservative environment - that he was a normal human being, that Jesus loved him whatever his sexual orientation was.

René takes a glass of water, then asks to continue our conversation.

Why has he agreed to show his face in front of a camera now, I wondered?

"Because the republic of fear is gone. Because I am I'm not scared of them anymore. Because Assad is a refugee in Moscow. Because all the criminals in Syria ran away. Because Syria returned to all Syrian people," he replies.

"I hope we will be able to live as a people in freedom, in equality. I'm so proud of myself as a Syrian, Dutch, as LGBT."

That doesn't mean he feels confident about living in Syria as a gay person just yet.

Under the Assad regime, homosexual acts were criminalised.

The country's new rulers have fundamentalist religious roots and have been implicated in violence and persecution against gay people.

"There are many Syrian LGBT who fought," René says.

"They were part of the revolution, and they lost their life. [The Syrian regime] killed them just because they were LGBT, and because they were part of the revolution."

René tells me he is "realistic" about the prospect of change. He is also concerned that all religious and ethnic groups - including the Kurds - are given protection.

René is among around six million Syrians who fled the country and found safety either in neighbouring countries like Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey - the majority - or further afield in Europe.

Several European countries have already paused asylum applications from Syrians, following the overthrow of the Assad regime. International human rights groups have criticised the move as premature.

There are an estimated one million Syrians in Germany. Among them, a remarkable disabled Kurdish girl I first met in August 2015, when she had joined a vast column of people who had landed on the Greek island of Lesbos.

She travelled on through Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia and Austria on her way north.

To reach Europe from northern Syria, Nujeen had crossed mountains, rivers and the sea - her sister, Nisreen, pushing the wheelchair.

"I want to be an astronaut, and maybe meet and alien. And I want to meet the Queen," she said.

I crouched beside her on a dusty road, where thousands of asylum seekers lay exhausted in the midday heat. Her good humour and hopefulness were infectious.

This was a girl who taught herself fluent English by watching American television programmes. Nujeen grew up in Aleppo and then, as the war escalated, she went to her family's hometown of Kobane, a Kurdish stronghold which subsequently came under attack from the Islamic State (IS) group.

I meet her now in the bustling Neumarkt Square in Cologne, surrounded by Christmas market stalls where locals eat sausage and drink mulled wine, and the dramas of Syria seem far away.

But not for Nujeen.

All week she has been up watching television, long after the rest of the family has gone to bed. No matter that she has an exam for her business administration course. She will manage.

Never again, Nujeen understands, will there be a moment quite like the fall of Assad, a moment of such singular hope.

"Nothing lasts forever. Darkness is followed by dawn," she says.

"I knew that I would never come back to a Syria that had Assad as president, and that we would never have the chance to be a better nation with that man in charge. We knew that we would never find peace unless he's gone. And now with that chapter over, I think the real challenge begins."

Like René, she wants a country that is tolerant of diversity and cares for those with disabilities.

"I don't want to go back to a place where there is no lift and only stairs up to an apartment on the fourth floor."

As a Kurd, she is well versed in her people's experience of suffering in the region.

Now, as the Kurdish forces are forced to pull out of cities in the oil producing north, Nujeen sees the danger posed by a new regime that is backed by Turkey.

"We know these people that came into power now. We know the countries and the powers that are backing them, and they're not exactly fans of Kurds. They do not exactly love us. That's our biggest worry right now."

There is also the fear of a potential regrouping of IS if Syria's new leaders cannot achieve stability in the country.

There are constant calls to family still living in the Kurdish areas.

"They are anxious and worried about the future as we all are," says Nujeen.

"We never stop calling, and we are always worried if they don't pick up after the first ring. There's a lot of uncertainty about what's going to happen next".

The uncertainty is amplified by the change in asylum policy in Europe.

Still, this is a young woman whose experience of life - the experience of serious disability since birth, witnessing the terrors of war, travelling across the Middle East and Europe to safety - has created a capacity for hope.

In the near decade that I have known her, it is undimmed. The fall of Assad has only deepened her faith in Syria and its people.

"There are many people who are waiting to see Syria fall into some kind of an abyss," she says.

"We are not people who hate or envy or want to want to eliminate each other. We are people who were raised to be afraid of each other. But our default setting is that we love and accept who we are."

"We can and will be a be a better nation - a nation of love, acceptance and peace, not one of chaos, fear and destruction."

There are many hearts in Syria and beyond who will be hoping she is right.

President-elect Donald Trump has demanded Panama reduce fees on the Panama Canal or return it to US control, accusing the central American country of charging "exorbitant prices" to American shipping and naval vessels.

"The fees being charged by Panama are ridiculous, highly unfair," he told a crowd of supporters in Arizona on Sunday.

"This complete rip-off of our country will immediately stop," he said, referring to when he takes office next month.

His remarks prompted a quick rebuke from Panama's president, who said "every square metre" of the canal and surrounding area belong to his country.

President José Raúl Mulino added that Panama's sovereignty and independence were non-negotiable.

Trump made the comments to supporters of Turning Point USA, a conservative activist group that provided significant support to his 2024 election campaign.

It was a rare example of a US leader saying he could push a country to hand over territory - although he did not explain how he would do so - and a sign of how American foreign policy and diplomacy may shift once he enters the White House following his inauguration on 20 January.

Trump's comments followed a similar post a day earlier in which he said the Panama Canal was a "vital national asset" for the US.

If shipping rates are not lowered, Trump said on Sunday, "we will demand that the Panama Canal be returned to us, in full, quickly and without question".

The 51-mile (82km) Panama Canal cuts across the central American nation and is the main link between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.

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It was built in the early 1900s and the US maintained control over the canal zone until 1977, when treaties gradually ceded the land back to Panama. After a period of joint control, Panama took sole control in 1999.

Up to 14,000 ships cross the canal per year, including container ships carrying cars, natural gas and other goods, and military vessels.

As well as Panama, the president-elect also took aim at Canada and Mexico over what he called unfair trade practices. He accused them of allowing drugs and immigrants into the US, although he called Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum a "wonderful woman".

Trump hits the usual themes

Trump made his remarks in front of thousands at Turning Point's annual conference, one of the country's largest gatherings of conservative activists.

Turning Point poured huge resources into get-out-the-vote efforts in swing states designed to bolster Trump and other Republicans during the election campaign.

It was his first speech since a deal passed Congress this week to keep the US government open, after several provisions were removed including one that would have increased the country's debt ceiling.

Trump had supported raising the debt ceiling, which restricts the amount of money the US government can borrow.

But his speech on Sunday avoided that issue entirely, instead recapping his election victory and hitting on themes – including immigration, crime and foreign trade – that were mainstays of his campaign.

He did, however, mention Elon Musk.

"You know, they're on a new kick," he said. "All the different hoaxes. The new one is that President Trump has ceded the presidency to Elon Musk."

"No, no, that's not happening," he said. "He's not gonna be president."

Several speakers here at the conference were critical of government spending and of politicians in both parties – however the divisions inside the Republican Party which have played out in Congress in recent days were mostly muted.

France is to hold a day of national mourning after Cyclone Chido devastated its Indian Ocean territory of Mayotte earlier this month.

French President Emmanuel Macron called for the nationwide remembrance during his visit to the island last week - where he was jeered by some islanders who criticised the slow delivery of aid.

It is feared hundreds, possibly thousands, of people died when Chido made landfall off Africa's south-east coast on 14 December bringing winds of up to 260 km/h (160mph) and 250mm of rainfall in the first 24 hours.

People across France will pay tribute and flags will be flown at half-mast in a show of solidarity at cities including Paris, Marseille and Lyon.

More than a week on from the storm survivors are struggling without water, communication and electricity while rescuers try to provide urgently needed assistance.

Mayotte, which lies between the African mainland and Madagascar, was already France's most impoverished territory before the cyclone struck.

Chido - the worst storm to hit the archipelago in 90 years - flattened areas where people live in shacks with sheet metal roofs and left fields of dirt and debris.

At least 31 people are reported by French officials to have died, but the death toll is expected to be much higher with thousands still missing.

After Mayotte the storm hit the African mainland, killing at least 94 people in Mozambique and 13 in Malawi.

• Dozens in Mozambique killed by 'intense' cyclone
• Watch: Crowds boo President Macron in Mayotte

Macron pledged to rebuild the island's devastated infrastructure and homes following his visit.

After touring the region in a helicopter to see the devastation, he said that Thursday was a day he would never forget.

During the visit he was heckled and faced calls to resign from locals who demanded more aid in devastated areas.

Macron responded by telling locals: "I had nothing to do with the cyclone. You can blame me, but it wasn't me."

Prime Minister François Bayrou said the tragedy of Mayotte is probably the worst natural disaster in the past centuries in French history.

More than 100,000 people remain in Red Cross shelters after their homes were destroyed.

New Zealand has rejected a proposal by the Cook Islands to introduce a seperate passport for its citizens while allowing them to retain New Zealand citizenship.

Cook Islands, a self-governing island Pacific nation, is in "free association" with New Zealand, which is responsible for the former's foreign affairs and defence.

Cook Islanders can also live, work and access healthcare in New Zealand.

Prime Minister Mark Brown had asked for Cook Islanders to have their own passports "to recognise our own people" - but New Zealand has said that is not possible unless the Cook Islands becomes fully independent.

Documents first released to local broadcaster 1News and seen by Reuters reportedly showed that Brown has for months been pushing for a seperate passport and citizenship for those in the Cook Islands, while hoping to maintain its relationship as a realm country of New Zealand.

Reports say tensions between both countries have been escalating over the issue, with leaders of both places holding a series of talks over the past few months.

"New Zealanders are free to carry dual passports, there are a number of New Zealanders who have their passports of other countries," Radio New Zealand reported Brown saying.

"It is precisely the same thing that we'll be doing," he had said.

However some Cook Islanders had criticised their government for a lack of consultation over the proposal.

Thomas Wynne, a Cook Island national who works in Wellington, told local news outlet Cook Islands News: "The real question is what do the people of the Cook Islands want and have they been consulted on this critical decision? Or will it be a decision made by the few on behalf of the many?"

Other Cook Island residents told 1News that they were worried that such a move would also affect access to services like their right to healthcare in New Zealand.

But on Sunday, New Zealand's Foreign Minister Winston Peters effectively brought the conversation to an end, announcing that a separate passport and citizenship is only available to fully independent and sovereign countries.

Any move to change the current relationship between the two countries would have to be put through a referendum, he added.

"Such a referendum would allow the Cook Islands people to carefully weigh up whether they prefer the status quo, with their access to New Zealand citizenship and passports, or full independence," he said in a statement to media outlets.

"If the goal of the government of the Cook Islands is independence from New Zealand, then of course that's a conversation we are ready for them to initiate."

According to 1News, Brown later responded to Peters' statement by saying the Cook Islands would "not be implementing anything that affects our important status [with New Zealand]".

Nearly 100,000 Cook Islands nationals live in New Zealand, while only about 15,000 live in Cook Islands themselves.

Another small Pacific island, Niue, also shares a similar relationship with New Zealand - it is internally self-governing but relies on Wellington for defence and most foreign affairs.

Self-governing territories elsewhere in the world, including Greenland and the Faroe Islands, which are part of the Kingdom of Denmark, and Puerto Rico, which is subordinated to the US in defence and foreign affairs.

Emergency doctors in the UK have issued a safety warning over water beads, which could be given to children as gifts over Christmas.

The beads, also known as jelly balls, sensory beads, or water crystals are marketed as crafting tools and homeware items - but also toys.

They are typically only a few millimetres but some can expand up to 400 times their original size in about 36 hours when exposed to liquid, creating a hidden danger. If a child swallows one, they can cause bowel obstruction and the consequences can be fatal.

The Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM) advises that the beads should be kept well away from children aged under five.

The "safety flash" is for doctors to make sure they know what to look out for while on duty, but the college also wants parents and carers of be aware of the dangers.

The beads are not visible on X-rays.

They can also cause choking and have harmed children in the UK, with reports linking them to deaths overseas, the government's Office for Product Safety and Standards said in September.

Its safety alert added the beads should only used with older children or vulnerable adults under close supervision.

The RCEM advises parents and carers to seek medical attention immediately if there is any suspicion a child may have swallowed a water bead.

"Having seen the effects first hand, which can be devastating and detrimental, we are asking people to please think twice about the dangers these pose while selecting and gifting presents this season," Dr Salwa Malik, vice president of the RCEM, told PA Media.

The RCEM alert also highlights the potential danger to children and vulnerable adults of button or coin batteries and magnets, if swallowed.