Celebrated children's writer Robert Munsch has been approved for medically assisted dying in Canada.

Munsch, whose 85 published books include The Paper Bag Princess and Love You Forever, was diagnosed with dementia in 2021 and also has Parkinson's disease.

The author told the New York Times Magazine that he had not decided a date for his death, but said he would go "when I start having real trouble talking and communicating. Then I'll know."

Canada first legalised euthanasia in 2016 for people with terminal illnesses. In 2021, the law was changed to include those with serious and chronic physical conditions, even in non-life threatening circumstances.

Munsch has sold more than 80 million copies of his books in North America alone and they have been translated into at least 20 language - including Arabic, Spanish and Anishinaabemowin, an indigenous North American language.

In 1999, Munsch was made a member of the Order of Canada. A decade later, he received a star of Canada's Walk of Fame in Toronto.

In the interview with the New York Times Magazine, Munsch said his decision was influenced by watching his brother die from Lou Gehrig's disease, also known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) - the most common form of motor neurone disease (MND).

Munsch said: "They kept him alive through all these interventions. I thought, let him die."

In Canada, people over 18 must meet several requirements to be eligible for assisted dying.

They include having a "serious and incurable illness", making a "voluntary request that is not the result of external pressure" and be in an "advanced state of irreversible decline in capability".

Two independent doctors or nurse practitioners must then assess the patient to confirm that all of the eligibility requirements are met.

Scholastic, Munsch's publisher, said in a statement on Instagram that his decision to speak publicly about medically assisted dying "reminds us, once again, why Robert's work continues to touch many generations".

Munsch's daugher, Julie, posted on Facebook that her father's decision to pursue medically assisted dying was made five years ago.

Julie called the New York Times Magazine interview "great", but added that "nowhere does it say my dad isn't doing well, nor that he's going to die anytime soon".

According to Canadian law, the person must be able to actively consent on the day of his death.

"I have to pick the moment when I can still ask for it," he said in the interview.

Medically assisted dying accounted for 4.7% of deaths in Canada in 2023 - the most recent official government statistics.

Some 96 per cent of the 15,300 people that underwent assisted dying in 2023 had a death deemed "reasonably forseeable", due to severe medical conditions like cancer.

The wheat fields outside Seqalbia, near the Syrian city of Hama, should be golden and heavy with grain.

Instead, Maher Haddad's 40 dunums (10 acres) are dry and empty, barely yielding a third of their usual harvest.

"This year was disastrous due to drought," said the 46-year-old farmer, reflecting on the land that cost him more to sow than it gave back.

His fields delivered only 190kg (418 lbs) of wheat per dunum - far below the 400-500kg he relies on in a normal year.

"We haven't recovered what we spent on agriculture; we've lost money. I can't finance next year and I can't cover the cost of food and drink," Mr Haddad told the BBC.

With two teenage daughters to feed, he is now borrowing money from relatives to survive.

Mr Haddad's struggle is echoed across Syria, where the worst drought in 36 years has slashed wheat harvests by 40% and is pushing a country - where nearly 90% of the population already lives in poverty - to the brink of a wider food crisis.

A report from the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimates Syria will face a wheat shortfall of 2.73m tonnes this year, the equivalent of annual dietary needs for 16.25 million people.

Without more food aid or the ability to import wheat, Syria's hunger crisis is set to worsen dramatically, warned Piro Tomaso Perri, FAO's senior programme officer for Syria.

"Food insecurity could reach unprecedented levels by late 2025 into mid-2026," he said, noting that more than 14 million Syrians - six in 10 people - are already struggling to eat enough. Of those, 9.1 million face acute hunger, including 1.3 million in severe conditions, while 5.5 million risk sliding into crisis without urgent intervention.

The same report showed rainfall has dropped by nearly 70%, crippling 75% of Syria's rain-fed farmland.

"This is the difference between families being able to stay in their communities or being forced to migrate," Mr Perri said. "For urban households, it means rising bread prices. For rural families, it means the collapse of their livelihoods."

Farming families are already selling livestock to supplement lost incomes from wheat, reducing their number of daily meals, and there has been a rise in malnutrition rates among children and pregnant women.

Yet, the implications of the drought stretch far beyond the thousands of kilometres of barren farmlands.

Wheat is a staple crop in Syria. It is the main ingredient for bread and pasta - two food staples that should be low cost foods to families. So with the lack of wheat supply, the cost goes up.

For 39-year-old widow Sanaa Mahamid, affording bread has become a massive struggle.

With six children between the ages of nine and 20, she relies on the wages of two sons, but their salaries are not enough to cover the family's basic expenses.

"Sometimes we borrow money just to buy bread," she said.

Last year, a bag of bread cost Sanna 500 Syrian pounds ($4.1; £3; €3.5), but now it is 4,500 Syrian pounds. To feed her family, Sanaa needs two bags a day - an expense of 9,000 pounds, before accounting for any other food.

"This is too much. This is just bread, and we still need other things," she said. "If the price of bread rises again, this will be a big problem. The most important thing is bread."

The crisis is a challenge for interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa, as his administration works to rebuild Syria in the aftermath of the 14-year conflict and the removal of former leader Bashar al-Assad in December 2024.

International agencies, like the UN World Food Programme (WFP), are rushing to step in alongside the government to provide bread subsidies for those at risk of facing severe food insecurity.

But aid officials warn that subsidies are only a temporary fix, and that the long-term stability of Syria depends on whether farmers can stay on their land and sustain production.

"We're trying to keep people in the farming game," Marianne Ward, the WFP's country director for Syria, said. She has worked to give $8m (£6m; €6.9m) in direct payments to small farmers - about 150,000 people - who lost all of their crops.

"If you're not going to make money, you're going to leave the land. And then you're not going to have people who are going to be working in the agriculture sector which is essential for the economy," she said

But after more than a decade of war, Syria's agricultural sector was already battered by economic collapse, destroyed irrigation systems, and mined fields.

Dr Ali Aloush, the agriculture director for the Deir al-Zour region, Syria's breadbasket, said wheat fields needed to be irrigated four to six times per season, but that due to lack of rain, most farmers could not keep up.

"The farmer's primary concern is first securing water and water requires fuel. The fuel price skyrocketed. It reached to 11,000 to 12,000 Syrian pounds per litre," Dr Aloush said.

The high price of fuel and power cuts meant water pumps were out of reach, and many growers were already burdened with debt.

Dr Aloush says a priority for his department and the transitional government in Damascus is putting money into irrigation projects - like solar powered drips - that will make water more accessible to farmers.

But projects like that take time and money - luxuries wheat farmers do not currently have.

So for millions of Syrians across the country, there is only one thing to do in the coming months: pray for rain.

Additional reporting by Lana Antaki in Damascus

When Alan gave his Persian tabby cat, Smokey, its regular flea treatment last year, he thought nothing could go wrong.

The 45-year-old from Preston had used the same brand - Frontline Plus - for years without any trouble. But within hours of applying a new dose he'd bought online, his usually lively tabby was violently ill, vomiting and refusing food or water.

"I bought it from a major online site and the price seemed similar so I didn't suspect anything at the time," Alan told the BBC's Morning Live.

Alan's story comes after the government recently issued an urgent warning about fake veterinary products being sold online.

With vet bills up 60% in the last decade, more owners are turning to the internet to hunt for bargains.

• Watch Alan and Smokey's story on Morning Live

The vet that Alan took Smokey to initially found nothing abnormal, but when his condition deteriorated, scans revealed a blockage in his intestines. Emergency surgery saved his life - at a cost of £3,000 - and tests later confirmed he had suffered a toxic reaction.

Alan returned to the vet with the packaging. At first glance, it looked genuine, labelled as "Gatti" - which Alan assumed might be an Italian version of the medication.

But when the manufacturer was contacted, they confirmed it was counterfeit and laboratory testing found it contained a chemical highly toxic to cats.

"We felt really guilty about the fact we had done this to him," Alan said. "But finding out it was fake medication, we were really angry.

"It's horrific and I had absolutely no idea there was such a thing as fake pet medication."

Helen Barnham works at the Intellectual Property Office (IPO), a government team tasked with trying to stop the sale of counterfeit goods.

The team has issued more than 100 seizure notices for the selling of unauthorised animal medicines and supplements, preventing around 18,000 illegal items from reaching consumers.

"Criminals copy these products to make them look like the original and it's all to make money, they don't care about the damage or harm," she explained.

According to the IPO, the online seller who Alan bought the medication from managed to sell 211 batches of suspected counterfeit pet medications and supplements.

"If it's not from a vet or a trusted seller then please be vigilant," Barnham said.

Barnham is urging pet owners to check all pet medicines carefully before using them.

Even if a product looks authentic, there are often subtle clues something is wrong.

Signs that a medicine could be fake

• Poor quality, damaged or flimsy packaging
• Spelling or grammar errors on the label
• Missing instruction leaflets or expiry dates
• Instructions not provided in English
• Suspicious smell, colour or texture
• Tablets or pipettes that look homemade or poorly made
• Unusually low prices or deals that seem too good to be true
• Product names that are slightly misspelled or altered from the original brand

Nina Downing, Vet Nurse from PDSA, a vet charity, says she always recommends only giving your pet medicine which has been prescribed by a vet.

"When fulfilling a prescription online, source them from reputable companies that are on the Register of online retailers, brought to you by the Veterinary Medicines Directorate."

If the medication has any of the above warning signs, you should stop using the product immediately and contact your vet for medical advice.

You should also report it to your local trading standards office and notify the brand manufacturer, who may be able to verify if it's genuine.

One in four driving tests in Great Britain are being taken in automatic cars, according to new data, as drivers opt for more electric vehicles (EVs) and shy away from manual gearboxes.

Figures from the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) show that 470,000 of the 1.8 million driving tests taken in England, Scotland, and Wales last year were done in automatics.

Insurer AA said the trend is being driven by the UK's ban on new the sale of new petrol and diesel cars coming in 2030, as EVs do not need manual gearboxes.

Emma Bush, the managing director of AA's driving school, said the need to know how to drive a manual car is becoming "irrelevant to many".

To obtain a full driving licence for Great Britain a driver must pass their test in a car with manual gears.

If the test is taken in an automatic car, the driver would get a Category B Auto licence, restricting them to driving to vehicles with automatic transmission only.

Northern Ireland issues its own driving licences.

Ms Bush said that drivers and learners are "becoming confident with the idea of their driving future being electric".

"As we head closer to 2030 and the ban on the sale of new combustion cars, more and more learners will want to learn in an electric vehicle as that's all they will plan to drive."

Following the general election last year, the Labour government pledged to restore the petrol and diesel ban to 2030, after previous prime minister Rishi Sunak pushed it back to 2035.

The lower day-to-day running costs of EVs and hybrids is also attractive to many, Ms Bush said.

EVs can be significantly more expensive than a petrol or diesel car or a hybrid upfront, but the gap is narrowing.

Additionally, EV owners can expect to save money on fuel and maintenance costs.

Sue Howe, the owner of Sue's Driving School in Swindon, told the BBC that automatics are "the way forward" as the car industry moves towards EVs.

For learner drivers, Ms Howe said, automatics can make the test easier, as "there's just a lot less to do".

Inexperienced drivers can "wreck a gearbox and a clutch", Ms Howe said, adding that nerves may cause them to stall or cut out the engine.

She also said the trend was good for road safety as "people are less tired" driving an automatic.

"It just makes life so much easier - it's less work for the driver to do so they can concentrate more time on the road."

Drivers attitudes to EVs have rapidly changed in just over a decade.

The number of driving tests taken in automatics was 87,844 in 2012/13, or 6.12% of all tests, according to the DVSA figures.

That figure jumped to 479,556 in 2024/25, the last period with complete data, or 26%.

The AA is predicting that 29% of all tests will be taken in automatics in 2025/26.

The figures from the DVSA also showed that more men are opting to take their tests in automatics.

In 2012/13, 23.2% of learners taking tests in automatics were men. Last year, that figure was 39.1%.

The pass rate for automatics last year was slightly lower than for manuals. However, the gap has narrowed since 2012.

Sign up for our morning newsletter and get BBC News in your inbox.

The man accused of fatally shooting Charlie Kirk confessed to killing the right-wing activist in a message to his roommate, prosecutors have alleged, as they announced seven charges against him.

Tyler Robinson, 22, left a note under a keyboard for his roommate to discover, said Utah County Attorney Jeffrey Gray. He added that the roommate was Mr Robinson's romantic partner.

According to Mr Gray, the note said: "I had the opportunity to take out Charlie Kirk, and I'm going to take it."

The prosecutor also shared text messages between the roommates, including one in which the defendant allegedly said he shot Kirk because he had "had enough of his hatred".

The suspect is being held without bail in a special housing unit at the Utah County Jail. He made his first court appearance on Tuesday, appearing remotely as prosecutors read the seven charges against him.

The charges are aggravated murder, felony discharge of a firearm, two counts of obstruction of justice, two counts of witness tampering, and committing a violent crime when children are present.

They also said they would seek the death penalty over the shooting of Kirk, who was killed by a single gunshot fired from a rooftop as he was speaking at Utah Valley University on Wednesday.

Arrested last week after a 33-hour manhunt, Mr Robinson has not entered a plea or confessed to police. Mr Gray also stressed that the suspect is innocent until proven guilty and will face trial by jury.

He unveiled a trove of evidence at a news conference on Tuesday, including the defendant's alleged confession and DNA found on the trigger of the rifle suspected to have been used in the crime.

An alleged hidden confession

Describing the alleged hidden note at a news conference earlier on Tuesday, Mr Gray said Mr Robinson had sent a text message to his roommate reading: "Drop what you're doing, look under my keyboard."

After reading the apparent confession, the roommate, who has not been named and is co-operating with investigators, replied: "What?????????????? You're joking, right????"

• Read full message thread between suspect and roommate
• Who is Tyler Robinson?
• Kirk shooting suspect appeared to confess on Discord
• 'We knew the family': Utah town in disbelief

Mr Gray cited further lengthy text message exchanges between Mr Robinson and his roommate, whom he described as his romantic partner. Authorities have said the roommate is transgender and transitioning from male to female.

In one exchange, the roommate asked Mr Robinson why he had killed Kirk.

"'I had enough of his hatred,'" Mr Gray cited the messages as saying. "'Some hate can't be negotiated out.'"

Mr Robinson also allegedly wrote: "To be honest I had hoped to keep this secret till I died of old age. I am sorry to involve you."

The roommate replied: "you weren't the one who did it right????"

Mr Robinson replied: "I am, I'm sorry."

Suspect's parents confronted him

Mr Gray also gave more detail about how Mr Robinson's parents became suspicious that their son may have been involved in Charlie Kirk's killing.

He said Mr Robinson's mother had seen a video of the suspect released a day after the shooting and told her husband it looked like their son. She confronted Mr Robinson over the phone about the resemblance, Mr Gray said, but he told her he had been home sick on the day of the shooting.

The father later confronted Mr Robinson, who responded by implying he might take his own life, the prosecutor said.

Mr Robinson was eventually persuaded to come to his parents' house and while there, allegedly hinted he was the attacker. He then said he wanted to "end it" rather than go to jail, Mr Gray said.

With the help of a family friend, who is a retired deputy sheriff, his parents convinced him to surrender to police and he was arrested late on Thursday - 33 hours after the shooting.

The suspect also allegedly told his parents that "there is too much evil and the guy spreads too much hate", in a reference to Kirk, according to the indictment.

Mr Robinson's mother told investigators her son had become more political in recent years, Mr Gray said, becoming more supportive of gay and transgender rights and entering a relationship with a transgender person.

But the prosecutor declined to answer when asked if Kirk had been targeted for his transgender views. "That is for a jury to decide," he said.

Mr Gray said Kirk was answering a question about mass shootings carried out by transgender individuals when the gunshot rang out. The bullet struck Kirk in the neck and he immediately slumped to the ground.

The bullet passed closely by other people, including nearby children and the person who asked Kirk the question, he said.

DNA on the rifle trigger

Mr Gray said the suspect's DNA had been found on the trigger of the rifle used in the shooting.

He also said Mr Robinson's father had suspected the weapon matched a bolt-action rifle that had once belonged to the suspect's grandfather. He contacted Mr Robinson after the shooting and asked him to send a photo of the rifle but he did not reply, Mr Gray said.

The suspect also detailed his movements after the shooting in messages sent to his roommate.

"I had planned to grab my rifle from my drop point shortly after, but most of that side of town got locked down," he wrote, according to prosecutors.

"Going to attempt to retrieve it again, hopefully they have moved on. I haven't seen anything about them finding it," another message allegedly read.

"I can get close to it but there is a squad car parked right by it."

Mr Robinson is also charged with witness tampering, prosecutors said, because he directed his partner to delete their messages and stay silent if questioned.

Thousands of families are attempting to flee Gaza City as the Israeli military confirms it has begun ground operations that are part of its large-scale assault aimed at occupying the city.

Lina al-Maghrebi, 32, a mother of three from the city's Sheikh Radwan neighbourhood told the BBC she had resisted leaving her home - despite the danger - until she received a phone call from an Israeli officer ordering her to evacuate.

"I was forced to sell my jewellery to cover the cost of displacement and a tent," she said. "It took us ten hours to reach Khan Younis, and we paid 3,500 shekels (£735) for the ride. The line of cars and trucks seemed endless."

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said a "powerful operation" had been launched in Gaza City, which he described as Hamas's last major stronghold.

The Israeli military has designated al-Rashid coastal road as the only permitted route for civilians to use to evacuate. Many have described severe congestion, endless queues of cars and trucks, and long delays, with families stranded on the roadside while airstrikes continue overhead.

Nivin Imad al-Din, 38, a mother of five, said she fled south after Israeli warplanes dropped evacuation leaflets in her neighbourhood, though her husband refused to leave their home.

"I couldn't take my furniture with me because I couldn't afford the cost of a large truck," she explained. "Leaving everything behind was the hardest decision I've ever made."

The cost of displacement has surged far beyond the reach of most households. Residents said renting a small truck now costs around 3,000 shekels (£630), while a tent for five people sells for about 4,000 shekels (£840). With most families deprived of income since the war began, some are forced to walk for miles or remain in their homes despite the risks.

Overnight into Tuesday, Israeli warplanes carried out a wave of heavy airstrikes across Gaza City, with concentrated bombardment on the central al-Daraj neighbourhood, the Beach refugee camp in the west, and Sheikh Radwan in the north.

The attacks were accompanied by artillery fire, drone fire and helicopter gunship activity.

The Israel Defense Forces said it was "gradually" moving into Gaza City as part of the "next phase" of its offensive.

It said air and ground forces would be part of this next stage of the military's operation, with the number of troops increasing day-by-day.

Residents described the overnight strikes as "hell".

Ghazi al-Aloul, a displaced resident from northern Gaza, told the BBC he is now sleeping at the entrance of al-Quds Hospital in Tel al-Hawa, southwest Gaza.

"I did not choose this," he said. "I was forced after leaving the home where my family and I had been sheltering for nearly a month after fleeing the north".

"The bombardment has been insane for hours, and the army is threatening to demolish several residential buildings in the area."

Sami Abu Dalal, from al-Daraj in central Gaza, described the night as "extremely difficult".

"Whole residential blocks were levelled on top of their inhabitants, leaving many dead, missing, or injured," he said.

He said Israel was advancing on three fronts - and was accompanied by the use of booby-trapped vehicles, intense airstrikes, and heavy shelling. Meanwhile, Apache helicopters hovered over different parts of the city, firing continuously.

Israel's ramped up offensive comes as a United Nations commission of inquiry have released a report that says Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza - Israel categorically rejected the report.