At least three people have been killed and 20 others injured after Lisbon's famous Gloria funicular cable railway derailed and crashed, emergency services said.
In an earlier statement, the head of Portugal's Civil Protection Authority said that several people remained trapped at the scene and two people were in a serious condition.
Portuguese newspaper Observador reported that a cable came loose along the railway's route, causing it to lose control and collide with a nearby building.
The incident happened near the Avenida da Liberdade around 18:05 on Wednesday evening.
Footage shared widely on social media showed the yellow funicular overturned and almost entirely destroyed.
People could be seen fleeing the area on foot as what appears to be smoke smoke filled the air.
The Gloria Funicular is one of the most famous sights and tourist attractions in Lisbon. It was opened in 1885 and electrified three decades later.
The UK and its allies stand ready to support Ukraine before negotiations to end the war as well as to secure an eventual peace deal, the UK defence secretary says.
On the eve of a top-level meeting in Paris, John Healey told the BBC in Kyiv that Ukraine's allies would "help make the skies safe, to make the seas safe, and to secure the land", once a peace deal had been struck.
But moments earlier, Russia's President Vladimir Putin had conveyed a defiant message from China, vowing that his full-scale invasion could continue.
Healey suggested there was bluster in Putin's words, insisting that Russia was under pressure. He also praised US President Donald Trump who he said had "brought Putin into talks" and "not closed off any options", despite widespread criticism of the warm welcome Trump gave the Russian leader last month in Alaska.
As late as Tuesday, Trump said he was "disappointed" in Putin, but he has said that before. He has also threatened to punish the Russian leader for the apparent refusal to end the war - or even meet Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky for peace talks.
When asked on Wednesday whether the war in Ukraine could end soon, Putin said "there is a certain light at the end of the tunnel".
"It seems to me that if common sense prevails, it will be possible to agree on an acceptable solution to end this conflict," he said, before threatening: "If not, then we will have to resolve all our tasks militarily."
He went on to list Russia's maximalist demands as usual - including for the authorities in Kyiv to end what he called discrimination against ethnic Russians - one of the allegations mentioned as a pretext for the full-scale invasion of the neighbour he launched in February 2022.
As for meeting Zelensky, Putin seemed to mock the very idea – which Trump had said he was ready for.
"I have never ruled out the possibility of such a meeting. But is there any point? Let's see," Putin said in Beijing.
Zelensky could always go to Moscow to see him, he said – a "knowingly unacceptable" idea, Ukraine's foreign minister was quick to point out.
Last week, France's President Emmanuel Macron suggested Putin was "playing" Trump.
But John Healey stressed that the US president "has not ruled out any further action, including economic measures, to put more pressure on Putin".
"We in the Coalition of the Willing, nations like the UK are willing to put extra economic pressure on Putin. We're willing to give extra aid to Ukraine so they can keep in the fight.
"It's why we've passed today £1bn ($1.24bn) of seized Russian assets, recycled into military aid and kit to Ukraine. If you like, Putin's dirty money returned with interest."
On Thursday, Macron will host a meeting of that so-called Coalition of the Willing - a grouping of allies of Ukraine, committed to enforcing any peace deal.
A source at the Élysée, Macron's office, has said the group are now ready to provide security guarantees for Ukraine, only waiting for US confirmation that it will act as the ultimate backstop.
The proposed deal includes continuing to train and supply Ukraine's own army.
It also envisages European troops being deployed to Ukraine - in unspecified numbers - to deter any future to Russian aggression - a signal that Ukraine can count on its allies "full solidarity and... commitment", the Élysée source said.
Such a deployment would need a ceasefire, the responsibility for which "falls to the Americans who are negotiating with the Russians".
John Healey refused to give details, despite being pressed, "because that will only make Putin wiser."
The German government is also playing down expectations of any big announcement at Thursday's meeting.
For the time being, like Italy and other coalition members, Berlin has ruled out sending soldiers to Ukraine to police any future peace on the ground.
A German government spokesman told the BBC that the priority for now was getting Russia to agree to a ceasefire - which Putin has consistently rejected.
President Trump pressed Putin for that during their summit in Alaska last month, then emerged to cite Putin's argument that finding a final deal would be a better way out of the the conflict.
Reuters
Instead of peace talks, Russia has intensified its attacks on Ukrainian cities
In the meantime, Russia's aerial attacks have intensified in both frequency and scale. On Wednesday night more than Russian 500 drones and 24 cruise missiles were launched at Ukraine.
Across the country, as civilians sheltered in basements or on the metro, the air defence guns went to work.
As usual, the government did not say whether any military targets were hit, but the impact for civilians is often devastating.
Last week, a Russian missile hit a block of flats in Kyiv killing 22 people, including four children, in one of the deadliest strikes since Russia's full-scale invasion.
There is now a heap of stuffed toys in the ruins, and photographs.
From shattered stairways, residents emerge with potted plants and bags of clothes covered in dust that somehow survived the strike. A few steps away, others stand and stare at the wreckage.
A teenage girl said she had left the bomb shelter that morning because it filled with smoke after the first missile hit. Then a second landed across the road and her sister was killed.
Ihor Maharynsky only survived because he was out of town that night. His wife, Natalia, was in their fifth-floor flat and didn't make it to the shelter. He had to identify her body in the mortuary.
"What kind of strategic target is there here?" he demanded, looking around at a car park and a technical college nearby. "There's nothing."
Right now, Ihor sees no prospect at all of peace with Russia.
And like many Ukrainians, he is furious at Donald Trump for rolling out the red carpet in Alaska last month for Vladimir Putin.
"Peace talks with Putin? With this ****?" Ihor wanted to know, with a string of expletives. "It is peaceful people who are dying."
The Port of Baltimore. Since taking office, President Trump has relied on the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977 as a central part of his efforts to force companies to invest in the United States.
The United Arab Emirates has warned Israel that annexing the occupied West Bank would cross a "red line" and undermine the spirit of the Abraham Accords that normalised relations between the two countries.
A senior Emirati official, Lana Nusseibeh, said such a move would be the death knell of the two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The Palestinian Authority's foreign ministry said it welcomed the UAE's position.
The Israeli government has not commented. But Nusseibeh's remarks came after far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich unveiled a proposal for the annexation of approximately four-fifths of the West Bank.
Israel has built about 160 settlements housing 700,000 Jews since it occupied the West Bank and East Jerusalem - land Palestinians want, along with Gaza, for a hoped-for future state - during the 1967 Middle East war. An estimated 3.3 million Palestinians live alongside them.
The settlements are illegal under international law.
Many ministers in his current right-wing and pro-settler governing coalition have long advocated annexing part or all of the West Bank. But they have reportedly been debating whether to advance such plans in response to recent announcements by the UK, France and a number of other countries that they intend to recognise the State of Palestine this month.
Netanyahu has said recognising statehood in the wake of the Hamas's attack on Israel on 7 October 2023, which triggered the war in Gaza, would amount to "a reward for terrorism".
The UAE is one of the 147 UN member states which already recognise the State of Palestine.
"From the very beginning, we viewed the [Abraham] Accords as a way to enable our continued support for the Palestinian people and their legitimate aspiration for an independent state," said Nusseibeh, the UAE foreign ministry's assistant minister for political affairs.
She added: "Annexation in the West Bank would constitute a red line for the UAE.
"It would severely undermine the vision and spirit of [the] Accords, end the pursuit of regional integration and would alter the widely shared consensus on what the trajectory of this conflict should be - two states living side by side in peace, prosperity and security."
Hours earlier, Smotrich - an ultranationalist leader and settler who has control over planning in the West Bank - told a news conference in Jerusalem that "the time has come" for annexation.
"The idea of dividing the country and establishing a terrorist state at its centre must be put off the table once and for all," he added.
He presented a map that he said showed a proposal from the defence ministry's settlement administration for "applying Israeli sovereignty" to approximately 82% of the territory, which he said was in line with the principle of "maximum land with minimum Arabs".
The remaining 18% of the territory was made up of isolated enclaves around six Palestinian cities - Jenin, Tulkarm, Nablus, Ramallah, Jericho and Hebron.
Bethlehem was among the many other Palestinian cities, towns and villages not included, while East Jerusalem was already annexed by Israel in 1980, in a move not recognised by the vast majority of the international community.
Smotrich said Palestinians would "continue to manage their own lives, in the immediate future in the same way that this is done today through the Palestinian Authority, and later through regional civilian management alternatives".
The PA, which governs areas of the West Bank not under full Israeli control, said Smotrich's plan constituted a "direct threat" to hopes for a Palestinian state.
Yehuda Shaul of the Ofek Centre, a think tank which campaigns to end Israel's occupation, reposted Smotrich's map on X and wrote: "Reminds me of another map in a different continent, from the 20th Century. There is a word in Afrikaans to describe that regime."
A number of international human rights groups have concluded that Israel is already operating an apartheid system in the West Bank - a characterisation that the Israeli government has rejected.
Last month, there was a wave of international outrage after the Israeli government approved plans unveiled by Smotrich for a major settlement project in the E1 area, which would effectively cut off the West Bank from East Jerusalem and divide the territory in two.
In 2024, the International Court of Justice issued an advisory opinion saying that Israel's "continued presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory is unlawful" and that the country was "under an obligation to bring to an end its unlawful presence... as rapidly as possible".
Netanyahu said at the time that the court had made a "decision of lies".
Portrait of a Lady, by Italian master Giuseppe Ghislandi, had been missing for 80 years before it was spotted last month on an estate agent's website, where a photo showed it hanging in a house that had belonged to Patricia Kadgien's late father, Friedrich Kadgien.
Kadgien senior was a top adviser to Hermann Goring, who plundered thousands of works from across Nazi-occupied Europe.
Patricia Kadgien and her husband were ordered to remain under house arrest for three days starting Monday, local media reported. They will be questioned for obstructing the investigation to locate the painting, according to a judicial official quoted in local media.
The pair are expected to face a hearing on Thursday, where they will likely be charged with "concealment of theft in the context of genocide", the official added.
The couple insist they are the rightful owners of the artwork, which they had inherited, according to Argentina's La Nacion newspaper.
The lawyer for Kadgien's daughter, Carlos Murias, told local newspaper La Capital that the pair would cooperate with the authorities. However, prosecutors on Tuesday said the artwork had not yet been handed over.
Four other properties were searched in the hunt for the painting, the prosecutor's office said.
During these searches, two paintings and a series of drawings and engravings from the 19th Century were found at the home of Ms Kadgien's sister, La Capital reported, and will be analysed to determine if they are items stolen during the war.
The painting first spotted online, Portrait of a Lady, was among the collection of Amsterdam art dealer Jacques Goudstikker, much of which was forcibly sold by the Nazis after his death. It is listed on a database of art stolen by the Nazis.
Peter Schouten of the Dutch Algemeen Dagblad (AD) newspaper, which broke the initial story about the long-lost artwork's reappearance, said there was evidence "the painting was removed shortly afterwards or after the media reports about it appeared".
"There's now a large rug with horses and some nature scenes hanging there, which police say looks like something else used to hang there."
Following the photo's appearance, one of the sisters told the Dutch paper she didn't know what they wanted from her, nor what painting they "are talking about".
Lawyers for Goudstikker's estate said they would make every effort to reclaim the painting.
Some of the works owned by Goudstikker were recovered in Germany after the war, and put on display in Amsterdam as part of the Dutch national collection.
His sole-surviving heir, daughter-in-law Marei von Saher, said her family "aims to bring back every single artwork robbed from Jacques' collection, and to restore his legacy".
According to AD, she took possession of 202 pieces in 2006.
The proposed 211-mile industrial road over pristine land would allow a mining company to reach a copper deposit. Critics say it would destroy a fragile environment.
All the players in Soyuz, the local Para ice hockey team, lost limbs fighting in Ukraine
At an ice rink in Vladivostok in Russia's far east, 30-year-old Dmitry Afanasyev is in training with teammates from Soyuz, the local Para ice hockey team.
The players have removed their prosthetic legs and are sitting in specially designed sleds. They're using their hockey sticks to propel themselves around the rink.
Dmitry hopes that one day he'll be a Paralympic ice hockey champion.
Making that happen won't be easy. Russian teams were banned from the last Paralympic Games over the war in Ukraine.
And like all his teammates, Dmitry was on the front line.
"A mine came flying towards me," recalls Dmitry, who was mobilised to fight in Ukraine. "I fell to the ground and could feel my leg burning. I looked down and everything was torn apart. I put on a tourniquet myself and told the guys to drag me out of there.
"My wife's a surgeon. So, I sent her a picture of my leg and she replied: 'They'll probably saw it off.' 'OK,' I said. Whether I have one leg, or two legs. Whatever."
The port city of Vladivostok is more than 4,000 miles from Ukraine and from Russia's capital. This is Asia. The border with North Korea is 80 miles from Vladivostok. China is just 35 miles away.
Yet the consequences of a distant war in Europe are more than visible.
At a cemetery on a hill overlooking Vladivostok there are lines of fresh graves: Russian soldiers killed in Ukraine. In addition to Orthodox Christian crosses, military banners and Russian tricolours mark each plot.
In another section of the cemetery stands a memorial "to the heroes of the Special Military Operation", the official label the Kremlin continues to employ for Russia's war on Ukraine. Here there are more graves of Russian servicemen and the statue of an armed Russian soldier.
"Soldiers live forever," reads the inscription.
On the orders of President Putin, Russian troops poured across the border with Ukraine in February 2022. The full-scale invasion of Russia's neighbour was widely seen as the Kremlin's attempt to force Ukraine back into Moscow's orbit.
More than three and a half years later the war rages on.
Even in Vladivostok, 4,000 miles from Ukraine, signs of Russia's ongoing invasion are everywhere
On air I'm often asked: what do the Russian people think about the war in Ukraine, about confrontation with the West, and about President Putin?
"What do Russians think?" is a difficult question to answer.
After all, Russia is so big and varied. The largest country in the world spans two continents and 11 time zones. Some parts of Russia, such as Kursk and Belgorod, border Ukraine.
Other Russian regions, like Primorsky Krai where I am now are a long way from the fighting. Vladivostok is its administrative centre.
This is the furthest I've travelled inside Russia since the start of the war. It's a chance to gauge the mood in a very different part of the country.
"Of course we're worried," Svetlana tells me in a Vladivostok park when I ask her about Ukraine. "This has been going on for years now and we want it to end as soon as possible. We had hoped the Alaska summit [of Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin] would change something. It hasn't.
"People are people. No matter whether they're British or American, Japanese or Ukrainian. I don't know where all the hatred comes from."
I get chatting to Ilya, who claims that war in Ukraine hasn't fundamentally changed his life in Russia.
"You can still earn a living and get by here," Ilya says.
"The standard of living isn't rising, but it's not falling, either. Still, we hope that relations with other countries will improve and that we'll be re-integrated into the global space."
Svetlana says people wanted Putin's meeting with Donald Trump in Alaska to change something
In the centre of Vladivostok I stop to listen to a band busking on a pedestrian street. I'm not alone. A large crowd has gathered to enjoy the improvised rock concert.
Between songs I talk to the lead singer, a young local musician who calls himself Johnny London.
"Do people talk much about what's happening in Ukraine?" I enquire.
"People of my age, we don't usually discuss that stuff. Not very often. I would go as far as to say we never talk about that."
"Why?" I ask.
"We can do nothing about that. It's out of our hands, out of our reach. Hopefully in a couple of years it will get back to normal."
"And what is normal?"
"No war, I guess. That would be nice."
Local musician Johnny London says young people like him never talk about Russia's war on Ukraine
When I finish talking to Johnny London, a pensioner called Viktor walks up. He's recognised me. He saw me on TV last year at a press conference with Vladimir Putin.
"You asked Putin a question, didn't you?" Viktor says. "You're with the BBC."
Viktor's a big fan. Not of the BBC, but of President Putin. He criticises my "provocative question" to the Kremlin leader on the war in Ukraine, he defends Russia's political system and takes aim at the Biden administration over the 2016 US presidential election.
"With the help of mail-in ballots Biden practically stole the election from Trump," Viktor says.
"That's what Trump says," I point out.
"Not only. Putin says it too," retorts Viktor.
"Putin saying it doesn't make it fact," I suggest.
"True," concedes Viktor. "But that's what our people think."
Viktor also thinks that the West is losing power and influence.
"Look what's happening," says Viktor. "This week in China the leaders of India, China and Russia got together, and with many other countries too. But there was no Trump, no Britain, no Germany, no France. India and China alone are three billion people."
On his way back from China Vladimir Putin is stopping off in Vladivostok. Should I get the opportunity to ask the president another question, Viktor suggests it should be about the "new world order".
The city has been preparing for the Kremlin leader's visit and participation in the Eastern Economic Forum. By the side of the road that leads to the venue, street artist Filipp Dulmachenko has used 1,800 cans of aerosol paint to create a most unusual image.
The gigantic mural depicts Vladimir Putin in military fatigues hugging a Siberian tiger.
Filipp Dulmachenko used to get in trouble for his art - but this mural was officially approved
"The Amur tiger has always been a symbol of wildlife," Filipp says. "And Vladimir Putin is a symbol of Russia."
Filipp tells me that when he was a teenager he had run-ins with the police over his street art. But the Putin mural has been officially approved by the regional authorities.
And to accompany the picture the artist has spray-painted a short sentence: a phrase Filipp says is simply about sunrise in the Russian Far East.
Combined, though, with the images of a tiger and of a president who believes he's restoring Russian power, the words seem to take on deeper meaning:
Elissa says constipation needs to be screened for in every area of healthcare
A mother who feared her two-year-old son's untreated constipation could have killed him is calling for access to children's continence services to be made a national priority.
Elissa Novak said Ivan was constantly vomiting, losing weight and in severe pain when it was at its worst, and a doctor said 2kg of his 10kg (22lb) body weight was estimated to be stool.
The number of children aged up to 16 admitted to English hospitals suffering with constipation, among other symptoms, is at a 10-year high, with more than 44,000 admissions in 2023-24, according to NHS figures.
Children are being failed by the absence of dedicated bladder and bowel services in some parts of the country, an expert said.
About 1.5 million children in the UK suffer with constipation, according to the charity Bladder and Bowel UK.
As many children returned to school this week, charities have told the BBC they are seeing a spike in calls to their helplines.
"It's a huge problem and many healthcare professionals don't consider it a serious issue in children," said Davina Richardson, a children's specialist nurse with the charity.
"Discussing wee and poo is very un-British. It's not something that we as a culture do."
Elissa said Ivan, who is now aged five, had been "completely robbed of his toddler years" due to health issues resulting from constipation.
He was admitted to hospital 25 times in one six-month period in 2022 for emergency treatment.
"It was horrific," Elissa said. "He was so frail he couldn't lift himself up or do anything.
"He was in pain all the time and either screaming or just lying there because he was too weak."
Elissa Novak
Ivan became severely underweight as a result of constipation
Elissa, 35, from Nuneaton, Warwickshire, said she had constantly gone to her GP to try to get help and answers.
At that time in Warwickshire, there was no bowel or bladder community service, which meant they were going to A&E up to four times a week.
It was only when things got to a crisis point that Elissa was told constipation was causing Ivan's pain.
She thinks he would have died had there been any further delay in treating it.
Elissa was told Ivan's entire colon was impacted, which had pushed up into his lung cavity and compromised his lungs.
'Signs missed'
"His stomach was squashed. All of his organs were being pushed out of the way," Elissa said.
"We were in A&E for up to 12 hours at a time... just waiting for an enema of all things.
"It was a very horrible time. It was so traumatic for everybody."
Ivan has two genetic syndromes which affect his cognitive functions.
Elissa thinks this played a part in the signs being missed and constipation not being diagnosed sooner.
"It was seen as 'that's just what disabled children are like'. We did actually have one consultant who said 'disabled children just scream'," Elissa said.
"It wasn't looked into properly, it wasn't taken seriously until he was really at crisis point. His signs of pain weren't recognised. It was just a perfect storm really."
Elissa Novak
Ivan's stomach became extremely swollen due to impacted stools
Ivan now has a care package so his constipation can be managed at home with laxatives and daily bowel wash outs.
"It is a huge part of his life and a huge part of his day. He still suffers pain but it's so much better," his mother said.
Elissa is campaigning for better bladder and bowel care services across the country.
"People are falling through the cracks," she said.
Ivan has laxatives and daily bowel irrigations to manage his constipation
Tips for parents and carers
Here are some of the ways to prevent a child from becoming constipated:
Ensure your child's diet includes plenty of fruit and vegetables
Make sure children are drinking enough water-based drinks daily - dehydration can make constipation more likely or worse
A good toilet position is also helpful. Children need their bottom and the backs of their thighs well supported. Feet need to be flat on a firm surface with knees slightly higher than hips, as that helps relax the pelvic floor
Source: Bladder and Bowel UK
Brenda Cheer, a paediatric specialist continence nurse with children's bowel and bladder charity Eric, said children's constipation was on the rise for a number of reasons, including delayed potty training and today's generation of children spending more time in childcare.
She said children were being failed in areas where there was no dedicated children's continence service.
"There's huge disparity of those services," she said.
"Where is the parent supposed to go? How are they supposed to get the help they need? How is a family supposed to access support if there is no children's bladder and bowel nurse?"
Constipation can be treated in the community and should not require a hospital admission, but is not being recognised, Ms Cheer added.
Holly described feeling "broken" as a parent at not being able to get Ayda help
Holly Brennan told the BBC her daughter Ayda had suffered with chronic constipation for three years and she had been in "turmoil" at the lack of help.
It started when Ayda got a virus when she was two years old and spiralled from there, Holly said.
The 31-year-old described going to her GP six times and being prescribed laxatives to treat it - but not being given any guidance on how to use them, and said she had been told her daughter would grow out of it.
When it was at its worst, Ayda, now five, would have up to 15 accidents a day.
Holly, from Clevedon, Bristol, said: "It was three years of hell. She very much didn't grow out of it.
"We didn't want to go out for day trips because you wouldn't know where the toilet would be and she was constantly having accidents.
"It was just complete stress and caused arguments between my husband and I [about] how to deal with it. It upset her [Ayda] and you try not to get cross with them but it's just frustration and it just affects everything."
Holly said it was really upsetting not being able to get help for Ayda's constipation
Sometimes it would take Ayda a week to go to the toilet because she associated it with pain, her mum explained.
"It was a vicious circle. It was just complete turmoil... something that everyone just used to say she would grow out of or 'it's a phase' or 'she just needs to learn'," Holly added.
"Our life literally revolved around the toilet for three years."
Holly was not referred for further treatment for Ayda or told about children's continence services that could help.
She said it felt like "the blind leading the blind" with several doctors unable to advise her and she had reached a dead end.
It was only when she was told about the charity Eric that things started to get better.
"There was finally an answer on how to help her," Holly added. "It [the website] described my child."
Ayda is now off laxatives and able to control her bowels.
"I'm very proud of her and how she's coped. She's taken it all in her stride," Holly said.
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said it is committed to ensuring children get the right care and support when they need it for conditions such as constipation.
In a statement, it said: "As part of our 10-year health plan, neighbourhood health services will bring together teams of professionals closer to people's home to provide comprehensive community care.
"We will also strengthen health visiting services so all families have access to high-quality, personalised support."
Jodie Gosling, MP for Nuneaton and who chairs the all-party parliamentary group for bladder and bowel continence care, said constipation had fallen low on the list of priorities facing local council and integrated care boards.
She said children's continence care "has been a silent casualty of chronic underfunding and reactive healthcare".
"This leads to a postcode lottery, where even high-need areas fail to address issues like constipation adequately."
As a former police detective, I've attended many car accidents but this summer, for the first time, I was in a head-on collision with another car myself.
Being directly involved in one of the more than 900 car accidents that happen in the UK every day gave me a different perspective.
The woman in the other car, in her early seventies, had a medical episode while driving and swerved straight into my lane and hit me.
At the time, I didn't know any of that - I just remember a huge bang and then everything felt like a blur.
The next thing I knew, two men were at the side of the car trying to get me out. I couldn't move. I was taken to the hospital for scans but amazingly, I got away with cuts and bruises.
I was very lucky, and the witnesses at the scene were so important because without them, I wouldn't have understood what had actually happened.
Here are some of the key things I've now learnt about what to do in the immediate aftermath of an accident.
An elderly lady swerved into my lane and hit my car
1. Be careful what you say
Be mindful of what you say at the scene - both to the other driver and to people around you.
It might feel natural to apologise, even if it's not your fault, but saying "I'm sorry" can sometimes be taken as an admission of guilt.
2. Stop, check for injuries and call 999
Rebecca Mason
This is what my car looked like after the accident
Immediately after an accident, stop your car and turn the engine off - you're actually committing an offence if you don't stop after a collision. Then check yourself and your passengers for injuries.
If the cars involved can still move, and the road is clear, try to get your vehicle to a safe place nearby and switch on your hazard lights. If that's not possible, leave it where it is and stand well back from the traffic.
Call 999 if someone is injured, if the other party drives away or if someone is causing a road block.
3. Exchange contact details
Make sure you exchange details with the other driver. Take down their name, address, contact details and insurance information.
You can also gather contact details from witnesses, as their statements can be critical later.
It's important to inform your insurer as soon as possible, ideally within 24 hours.
4. Take lots of pictures
Rebecca Mason
Don't just take pictures of vehicle damage, include the entire scene of the accident
It's always a good idea to record as much evidence as possible, even if it's clearly the other party's fault.
Capture photos of the damage and entire scene.
Stand at a distance to show the full layout, including the position of cars, road signs, weather, skid marks and surroundings.
Also look for CCTV on nearby buildings, shops, or public roads that may have captured the incident.
Making as many notes as possible is helpful to remember exactly what happened.
Some of the vital details to get down are the time and date of the crash, as well as the registration, make, model and colour of all vehicles involved.
Write down any injuries you or other passengers have sustained.
Anything else you remember such as direction of travel, road name, your speed and any unusual behaviour can also be helpful.
6. Gather dashcam footage
My final piece of advice relates to dashcams, which are incredibly useful.
They provide clear, time-stamped video evidence of what happened in an accident, which can quickly resolve disputes with insurers or the police.
They can also capture dangerous driving or road conditions, helping to protect you from false claims.
The five-year, £80m restoration of the Big Ben tower in London has been nominated for the UK's leading architecture award, alongside a new fashion college campus, a science laboratory and an "inventive" home extension.
The refurbishment of Big Ben - officially known as the Elizabeth Tower - is among the six nominees for the Royal Institute of British Architects' Stirling Prize.
The list also includes the London College of Fashion campus on the former Olympic Park in east London and AstraZeneca's medical research centre in Cambridge.
They are joined by the "pioneering" Appleby Blue Almshouse retirement home and the Japanese-inspired Niwa House, both in south London, and an extension to an "eccentric" home in Hastings.
The Elizabeth line - London's east-west train line - won the prestigious award last year.
Hufton + Crow
The Elizabeth line won last year's Stirling Prize
The prize is given to the building judged to be "the most significant of the year for the evolution of architecture and the built environment", and is judged on criteria including design vision, innovation and originality.
It is usually given to a brand new building, but can also go to major restorations and renovations.
Other previous winners of the prize - first presented in 1996 - include Liverpool's Everyman Theatre, Hastings Pier and the Scottish Parliament building in Edinburgh.
The 2025 nominees:
Appleby Blue Almshouse by Witherford Watson Mann Architects
Elizabeth Tower by Purcell
Hastings House by Hugh Strange Architects
London College of Fashion by Allies and Morrison
Niwa House by Takero Shimazaki Architects
The Discovery Centre by Herzog and de Meuron/BDP
Riba president Chris Williamson said the shortlsted projects all "demonstrate architecture's unique ability to address some of the most urgent challenges of our time, responding with creativity, adaptability and care".
Each offers "a blueprint for how architecture can enrich society", and they show a "hopeful vision for the future, one where architecture strengthens communities and helps shape a more sustainable and inclusive built environment", he added.
Appleby Blue Almshouse by Witherford Watson Mann Architects
Philip Vile
This social housing development, with 57 flats for over-65s, in Southwark, south London, replaced an abandoned care home, and is billed as a modern version of the traditional almshouse.
The design is intended to "foster community and reduce isolation among residents", Riba said, with communal areas and shared facilities including a kitchen and double-height garden room. "The result is a new standard for inclusive social housing in later life."
Elizabeth Tower by Purcell
House of Commons
The Elizabeth Tower is one of London's best-known landmarks and is often known as Big Ben - although that's actually the name of the bell that produces the famous bongs.
The most extensive works to the tower in its 160-year history included repairs to the clock mechanism; changes to the colour scheme on the four clock faces to put back the Victorian blue and gold; and reinstating St George's Cross flag emblems. Accessibility improvements include a new lift.
The result is described as "a veritable masterclass in conservation and craftsmanship" by the judges - although it came at a cost, going way over its original budget, which was estimated at £29m to £45m.
Hastings House by Hugh Strange Architects
Rory Gaylor
This late 19th Century detached hillside house in the East Sussex town has been extended with a series of timber-framed rooms and industrial exterior features including a concrete yard and galvanised steel staircase.
"The result goes beyond a house extension, transforming the entire home and producing a lesson in restrained, inventive reuse," the judges said.
London College of Fashion by Allies and Morrison
Simon Menges
The college previously had six buildings but the 6,000 students and staff moved to the new 17-storey headquarters in the Queen Elizabeth Park in Stratford, east London, in 2023.
Judges approvingly noted features including its "dramatic staircases unfurling through a shared 'heart space' to encourage collaboration".
Niwa House by Takero Shimazaki Architects
Felix Koch
This home, described as a "pavilion-like oasis", was built on a previously derelict plot behind a row of terraced houses in south London for a family with a love of Japanese design. It was also designed to be accessible for a wheelchair-using resident.
"The quality of light throughout the home is breathtaking," the judges said. "Large full-height sliding doors and full-height glazed walls seamlessly blend indoors and out – opening spaces to gardens, courtyards and balconies. It is difficult to see where the building ends and the gardens begin."
The Discovery Centre by Herzog and de Meuron/BDP
Hufton+Crow
Medicine giant AstraZeneca's Discovery Centre "radically redefines the research facility", according to Riba, "blending cutting-edge laboratories with welcoming public spaces".
The striking building has a curved three-sided shape, with a high, jagged exterior glass front and roof. Inside, three glass-lined labs are linked by "clever interconnecting corridors that balance stringent security with transparency, putting science on display".
Mohammed's bedroom wall in Luton is covered in damp and mould as a result of botched insulation
More than 30,000 UK homes have had botched insulation fitted under government schemes putting them at risk of damp and mould, ministers have revealed.
It is the first time the government has documented the number of homes blighted by sub-standard work under ECO4 and the Great British Insulation Scheme since 2022.
Energy Consumer Minister Miatta Fahnbulleh told parliament it amounted to ''systemic failure". While some households have had remedial work done, anyone concerned should contact Ofgem, the government said.
Mohammed told the BBC he cannot sleep in his bedroom due to damp and mould and is battling to get it fixed: "I have been given nothing but broken promises and false hope."
Mohammed, who did not want to use his full name, applied to get external wall insulation fitted to his Luton home in 2023 under the government scheme ECO4.
He hoped it would make the house warmer and help his late father - who suffered from chronic asthma - to cope during the colder months.
But instead of providing relief, Mohammed said the botched insulation led to damp and mould which covered the walls of his father's bedroom and caused his condition to worsen.
''Day after day, he was forced to inhale this, further weakening his already fragile lungs. My father's health deteriorated until it was too late," he said.
For the last two years, Mohammed says he has had an '''awful battle'' to get the installer to take responsibility.
''The whole experience has taken such a toll on me mentally," he said.
Mohammed now can't sleep in his own bedroom due to black mould, damp and crumbling plaster.
Margaret Chappell, 93, says her County Durham home is being destroyed by damp
After the BBC revealed last year that botched insulation was leading to damp and mould, the government ordered an audit be carried out of 60,000 properties insulated under the GBIS and ECO4 schemes.
The preliminary findings of the audit suggest that in more than 30,000 homes insulation was not fitted to the appropriate standard and this could lead to damp and mould growth, Fahnbulleh told parliament in a written statement in July.
Susan Haslam has been fighting to get damage repaired to her late parents' home
The government said it is ''working at speed to ensure substandard installations are identified and remediated with no cost to the consumer'.'
Ministers are also promising to soon set out plans to overhaul the consumer protection system ''to restore trust and help more people cut their bills''.
The task ahead is daunting - tens of thousands of homes are likely to need repairs.
A family in Luton has been forced to move out as dry rot fungus grows under the floor
This home in County Durham had external wall insulation fitted in 2021
Mohammed said he is now in talks with his installer and Trustmark, the organisation responsible for monitoring the quality of insulation, to try to get his home fixed.
Until that happens, he is worried about his young family's health.
"We are inhaling poor quality air because of the damp, the mould and the dust,'' he said.
More than 260,000 properties have had solid or external wall insulation fitted under government programmes over the last 15 years.
Audits are currently only being carried out on homes insulated since 2022 because, ministers argue, ''current data suggests there is not a widespread issue'' in earlier schemes.
Yet the BBC reported in February that residents of Chilton, County Durham, whose homes were insulated in 2021 have also had damp and mould.
The government says concerned consumers should contact Ofgem for advice and support by email at: ECOhelp@ofgem.gov.uk(opens in a new tab) or Freephone 0808 169 444 Monday – Friday (excluding bank holidays) 09:30 to 16:30
An Afghan woman in Canada says her family has been kept apart by recent changes to US asylum policies under Donald Trump.
In a quiet, leafy suburb of Toronto, a 30-year-old Afghan woman spends most afternoons on the phone, hoping she can reach her two younger siblings and father.
They are not in Afghanistan, but instead just miles away, across the border in the US, held in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention.
The three have been there in crowded cells for months, stuck in what their lawyers say is a bureaucratic limbo between Canada and the US.
They are eligible for asylum in Canada because they have immediate relatives who are legal refugees in the country, but can only file their claim at the land border - and US officials insist that they will only be released if they enter Canada by air, which they can't do without a visa, their US lawyer told the BBC.
That visa application is currently under review and they remain stuck, currently unable to make a claim in Canada and facing deportation from the US.
From her home near Toronto, "Asal" says she has tried everything to get them released. The BBC is using an alias because her family belongs to an ethnic and religious minority group facing persecution in Afghanistan.
She has hired attorneys in both countries to press their case and even offered to cover the costs of ICE agents escorting them to the Canada-US border, to no avail.
The family's case illustrates how some asylum seekers have been caught in rapidly changing policies under the Trump administration, their lawyers and experts say. It also raises questions about whether Canada has a responsibility to expedite entry for people in ICE detention who have ties to that country.
In the meantime, Asal's family members could be sent back to Afghanistan or a third country not of their choosing – "the scariest move of all", argues their American lawyer Jodi Goodwin. That option "puts them at risk of being sent to God knows where, with no assurances of protection," she said.
The father had worked with US troops as a contractor, Asal said, making him a potential target for the Taliban if deported back to Afghanistan.
For the last eight months, Ms Goodwin has been working to stop US authorities from sending the family to their native country.
Meanwhile, their lawyers in Canada have been pressing authorities to grant the visas they need to get on a plane. Under an immigration pact between Canada and the US - the Safe Third Country Agreement - migrants without a visa must claim asylum at a land border crossing.
Asal speaks with her detained family when she can. ICE allows online "visitations", and she often gets through to her 18-year-old sister.
On a recent call, made using an iPad that she shares with around 80 other cellmates, her sister offered details of her daily life - her struggle to get a good night's rest, her habit of doing the laundry just to keep busy - before she bursts into tears.
In Canadian legal filings shared with the BBC, she states that she has been "shocked" by the conditions in ICE detention.
"Every aspect of our life is controlled, even though we are not criminals," she said.
She describes being strip searched, served "nearly inedible" food and how inmates who refuse to eat are threatened with "solitary confinement".
The BBC sought comment from ICE. Administration officials have previously defended reports of poor conditions in migrant detention facilities in the US as false.
Asal and other family say they struggle to get information about the well-being of those detained, including the youngest brother who was admitted to hospital for 10 days due to seizures and who is now back in ICE detention.
Getty Images
The family is among thousands who have crossed into the US in recent years with hopes of claiming asylum in Canada.
'They just didn't get to their paperwork in time'
The first part of the family, which included Asal and two siblings, arrived in Canada in February 2023, she told the BBC.
It was their preferred destination after reluctantly fleeing Afghanistan as violence rapidly escalated after the Taliban took over.
They trekked to Iran and from there to Brazil then up to the US, where they were held by ICE for four days before heading to the northern border and crossing into Canada via Roxham Road, at the time a well-travelled but unofficial crossing between New York state and Quebec. Once in Canada, they successfully filed for asylum.
"It is safe. There is security, and the community is good," Asal said.
In August 2024, more family members were able to leave Afghanistan and arrived in Canada following a similar path.
But by the time the final group - her mother and father, and her three siblings - made the trip, politics in North America had shifted.
Roxham Road - that unofficial route for thousands of asylum seekers entering Canada between 2017 and 2023 - had been closed, and the US was struggling to deal with a surge of migrants at its southern border.
After unsuccessfully trying legal options to enter the US from Mexico, in December Asal's family remaining members paid to be smuggled across the border, where they then surrendered to authorities.
In February, Asal's mother and one of her sisters were released shortly after Trump took office and signed an executive order expanding the detention and deportation of migrants, and made their way to Canada.
But the remaining three are still in ICE custody, with US authorities refusing to release them under the new rules, Ms Goodwin says.
The fact they weren't released along with the others in February came down to bad timing.
Ms Goodwin says an official told her "they just didn't get to their paperwork in time".
BBC News
Asal has been able to communicate with her detained family members through an online video calling application.
In response to questions from the BBC about the family's case, a senior official with the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) says, "ICE would happily return them to their origin country" should they request a voluntary departure.
They add that the US "is NOT going to pass off illegal aliens seeking asylum from our country to Canada and vice versa. This is part of being good neighbors and partners".
Adam Sadinsky, one of the family's Canadian lawyers, said Canada has an opportunity to allow this family to be reunited.
"We don't want Canada to be complicit in this treatment, and the potential result that they could be sent to any number of countries with their own abysmal human rights record," he tells the BBC.
Mr Sadinsky also argues that allowing them to enter Canada would be in line with the Safe Third Country Agreement, which contains exemptions aimed at reuniting families.
In a statement to the BBC, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada says it would not comment on the family's case, citing privacy legislation.
The case poses a conundrum for Canadian officials, says immigration lawyer Richard Kurland.
Mr Kurland, who is not involved with their case, told the BBC that allowing entry to the family could set a precedent for others in ICE detention with ties to Canada. "How can you say 'yes' to just one family, and then, 'no' to everyone else?"
But he adds that he believes both Canada and the US have a responsibility to at least ensure the family is not sent back to Afghanistan.
"It's cruel for the US not to rule out the Kabul flight," he said. "The Americans know what is in store, because they were right there in Kabul for over 20 years."
For now, Asal and her family in Canada continue to agonise about the case, wishing for a reunion.
"Trust me when I say that I cannot sleep most of the night," she said.
But she is hopeful Canadian officials come through and "that they will not leave us alone in this situation".
A federal judge ended the monitoring imposed after allegations of excessive force and racial bias. The city pointed to progress in improving officer accountability and training.
At least three people have been killed and 20 others injured after Lisbon's famous Gloria funicular cable railway derailed and crashed, emergency services said.
In an earlier statement, the head of Portugal's Civil Protection Authority said that several people remained trapped at the scene and two people were in a serious condition.
Portuguese newspaper Observador reported that a cable came loose along the railway's route, causing it to lose control and collide with a nearby building.
The incident happened near the Avenida da Liberdade around 18:05 on Wednesday evening.
Footage shared widely on social media showed the yellow funicular overturned and almost entirely destroyed.
People could be seen fleeing the area on foot as what appears to be smoke smoke filled the air.
The Gloria Funicular is one of the most famous sights and tourist attractions in Lisbon. It was opened in 1885 and electrified three decades later.
Six people have been charged with terrorism offences relating to encouraging support for banned group Palestine Action, the Metropolitan Police said.
The charges relate to public gatherings held in London, Manchester and Cardiff that took place over the summer, as well as a planned demonstration this weekend in London.
The group were charged on Wednesday as part of an investigation being led by the Met's Counter Terrorism Command.
It comes ahead of a planned protest on Saturday where organisers have said they are expecting more than 1,000 people to attend a rally near Parliament.
The offences relate to allegedly arranging public demonstrations as well as managing 13 Zoom meetings, between July and August in support of the proscribed group.
All six were previously arrested on Tuesday at various locations in London, Cumbria and South Yorkshire. They are due to appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court on Thursday.
Another man was also charged on Tuesday as part of a connected investigation being led by Police Scotland.
Det Ch Supt Helen Flanagan said the charges had come about as a result of a "proactive investigation" into suspected activity linked to Palestine Action.
She added there are "potentially serious consequences" for those who are found guilty of an offence under the Terrorism Act.
"Palestine Action is clearly proscribed as a terrorist group, and those showing support for this particular group, or encouraging others to do so can expect to be arrested, investigated and prosecuted," she said.
On Tuesday, Campaign group Defend Our Juries said the arrests of its spokespeople were "scandalous" but said it still expected more than 1,000 people to attend the demonstration on Saturday where they would hold signs signs declaring "I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action".
More than 700 people have been arrested by the Met since Palestine Action's proscription on 5 July.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper banned the group under terrorism laws after paint was daubed on jets at RAF Brize Norton. Police said the act caused £7m of damage.
Lawyers for the group's co-founder, Huda Ammori, have argued that the ban breaches the right to free speech and has gagged legitimate protest.
The government says the ban is justified because it narrowly targets a group that was organising serious criminality.
Membership or support for Palestine Action is now an offence that can lead to up to 14 years in prison.
Last month, the group won permission to challenge the ban, with the case to be heard at the High Court in November.
The judge refused an appeal to temporarily lift the ban and it remains proscribed before a full review at the High Court in November.
The day they appeared he could hardly believe his eyes. Small boat after small boat bearing in from the Turkish side. "I have so many memories that are coming back to me now," says Paris Louamis, 50, a hotelier on the Greek island of Lesbos. "There were people from Syria, Afghanistan, many countries."
This was August 2015 and Europe was witnessing the greatest movement in population since the end of the Second World War. More than a million people would arrive in the EU over the next few months driven by violence in Syria, as well as Afghanistan and Iraq and elsewhere.
I witnessed the arrivals on Lesbos and met Paris Laoumis as he was busy helping exhausted asylum seekers near his hotel. "I am proud of what we did back then," he tells me. Along with international volunteers he provided food and clothing to those arriving.
Today the beach is quiet. There are no asylum seekers. But Paris is worried. He believes another crisis is possible. With the number of arrivals rising over the summer months, his country's migration minister has warned of the risk of an "invasion", with thousands arriving from countries such as Sudan, Egypt, Bangladesh and Yemen.
Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images
More than a million migrants and refugees crossed into Europe in 2015, sparking a crisis as countries struggled to cope with the influx
"Of course I worry. I can see the suffering of the people. They are not coming here but we see it on Crete (Greece's largest island) where people have come. So it is possible that with the wars more people will come here."
In 2015 I followed as the asylum seekers boarded ferries, trudged in the heat along railway lines, through cornfields, down country lanes and along highways, making their way up through the Balkans and onwards to Germany and Scandinavia.
The numbers entering Germany jumped from 76,000 in July to 170,000 the following month. On the last day of August the Chancellor Angela Merkel declared 'wir schaffen das' - we can do it - interpreted by many as extending open arms to the asylum seekers.
"Germany is a strong country," she said. "The motive with which we approach these things must be: we have achieved so much – we can do it! We can do it, and where something stands in our way, it has to be overcome, it has to be worked on."
But the high emotions of that summer, when crowds welcomed asylum seekers along the roads north, seem to belong to a very different time.
Sean Gallup/Getty Images
Chancellor Angela Merkel declared "Wir schaffen das" – "We can do it" – widely seen as an open welcome to asylum seekers
That optimistic proclamation soon became a political liability for Mrs Merkel. Political opponents and some European leaders felt the words acted as a magnet for asylum seekers to the EU. Within a fortnight the Chancellor was forced to impose controls on Germany's borders due to the influx of asylum seekers.
And a decade on, concerns over migration have become a major political issue in many European countries. The causes are complex and vary from country to country, but concerns around security, struggling economies and disillusionment with governing parties have all had a major role in shaping attitudes towards those who arrive who are fleeing war, hunger and economic desperation.
It has fuelled the rise of far right parties and seen centre and even left wing parties scramble to impose controls on migration, fearing electoral defeat by populist right-wingers. Data from the Atlas Institute of International Affairs shows how support for far right parties in Europe nearly doubled over the term of two electoral cycles to 27.6%.
Since 2015, when the UNHCR says over a million people entered Europe on asylum routes, there has been a dramatic drop in arrivals. But since 2016, the average number of people entering Europe has still been around 200,000 people a year. So far this year a total of 96,200 asylum seekers have been recorded arriving. So can tough new controls really further bring down the numbers trying to come to Europe? Or does global conflict and economic desperation make their continuing flow inevitable, with ebbs and flows in the numbers?
Hungary's tough stance
In Hungary, the far right government of Prime Minister Viktor Orban, has taken one of the toughest approaches to migration. Back in September 2015, I was present when Hungary's first fence was erected along the border with Serbia, and witnessed hundreds of people scrambling to cross into the EU before they could be shut out.
In Budapest, this week I met the country's minister for the EU, János Bóka, who said Hungary's approach has been vindicated by the restrictive measures now being put forward in the UK - where the government plan to make it harder for refugees to bring family members to the UK - as well as countries like Ireland, Denmark and Sweden.
Hungary began building a four-metre-high fence along its 175 kilometre southern border in June 2015
"We feel vindicated not only because of what's going on in other countries in Europe. This is of course also a sign that we took the right path 10 years ago, that now we see most of the countries are doing what we have been doing for the past 10 years."
Hungary immediately returns people who arrive at the border without permission to enter. They can only apply for asylum in the Serbian capital Belgrade, or in Kyiv in war battered Ukraine.
Human rights lawyer Timea Kovács says this effectively makes it impossible to enter the EU via Hungary. "Basically there is no legal way to enter the Hungarian territory as a refugee," she asserts.
MARTIN BERTRAND/Hans Lucas/AFP via Getty Images
The EU now fines Hungary one million euros a day for breaching asylum obligations. Minister János Bóka insists the policy will not change
As a result Hungary is being fined one million Euros per day for breaching its responsibilities to asylum seekers under EU law. EU minister Bóka says the country is not about to change its policy. "If it is the price that we pay for the protection of our borders and maintaining peace and stability in Hungary, this is a price worth paying."
But even such restrictive measures haven't managed to entirely halt the entry of asylum seekers.
Austrian police told the BBC that there were between 20 to 50 people detected every day trying to enter their country illegally from Hungary. This is just the figure for those detected.
On a trip to the border with Serbia I heard the frustration of one group of Hungarian guards. We left the tar road and followed a patrol onto a dirt track into the forest. The trees closed over forming a natural tunnel. Bright sunlight gave way to shadows. The men in the vehicle ahead of us carried shotguns.
'Just one big circus'
Dressed in military camouflage Sándor Nagy and Eric Molner are citizen volunteers, paid by the state to patrol the Hungarian side of the border with Serbia.
"I feel sad and angry, and most of all, worried about what is coming," says Sandor. He believes Europe is failing to stop people from coming across its borders. "To be honest, what we experience here is basically just one big circus. What we see is that border defence here is mostly a show, a political performance."
Citizen patrols like Sandor Nagy and Eric Molner (pictured) are paid by the state to guard Hungary's border with Serbia
We emerge into a clearing where a 12ft high border fence appears, topped with barbed wire, equipped with sensors and cameras to detect illegal crossings.
"They simply cut through it, and groups rush in at several points at once—this has been the same for years." The problem, he argues, is with organised crime, which is constantly one step ahead of the authorities. "This fence does not stop anyone in the long run … It delays the flow, but cannot stop it."
A deluge of abuses
With the growth of criminal trafficking has come a deluge of human rights abuses, according to the United Nations. People traffickers dump people in the Sahara desert; others crowd them onto unsafe boats. Some of those who get through find themselves being forced back into the desert by local security forces.
More than 32,000 people have died trying to reach Europe in the past 10 years - including 1,300 dead or missing this year.
According to the UN's International Organisation of Migration "much of this is happening in a situation of near complete impunity".
Carl Court/Getty Images
More than 32,000 people have died trying to reach Europe over the past decade
The summer of 2015 was not only a summer of welcome. It prompted immediate changes in the approaches of several European states. Not just with the erection of the fence in Hungary but, among several examples, the deployment of riot police in Croatia, and migrants being detained in Slovenia.
By March 2016 - six months after Mrs Merkel's statement - the EU had reached agreement with Turkey to keep migrants from crossing into Greece and Bulgaria.
Since then the EU has done deals with countries including Morocco, Tunisia, Libya and Egypt to prevent their countries being used as launch points to Europe.
Now, there are numerous well documented cases of asylum seekers being pushed back across EU borders by police and coast guards. Last January the European Court of Human Rights found Greece guilty of illegal and "systematic" pushbacks of asylum seekers to Turkey.
Paula Bronstein/Getty Images
There are numerous well documented cases of asylum seekers being pushed back across EU borders by police and coast guards.
Gerasimos Tsourapa, a professor of international relations at the University of Birmingham, describes the policy of outsourcing the asylum issue as a dramatic change for Europe. "The idea that migration can be leveraged for money or aid or other concessions, which was fairly exceptional for Europe in 2016, has now become a pattern.
"Migration diplomacy is contagious. Once the deal is struck then the logic spreads."
There is also a paradox here, he says. "We are restricting asylum, we're keeping borders closed, but we also need to find labour migrants to fill shortages and help our national economy."
A changing Sweden
Persistent public concern has seen a rise in support for far right parties across the EU, even in places like Sweden, which historically prided itself as a welcoming nation for those fleeing persecution. The far right Sweden Democrats won 20.5 percent of the vote in the 2022 general election - making them the country's second largest party. In return for supporting a minority coalition government they have seen much of their anti-migration platform shape government policy.
Family re-unification for migrants has been made more difficult, as have conditions for permanent residency, and asylum quotas have been substantially reduced.
Syrian refugee Abdulmenem Alsatouf remembers arriving in Sweden to a warm welcome in 2015
For the final leg of my journey I went to the western Swedish city of Karlstad, a picture postcard place on the banks of the River Klarälven, the longest waterway in Scandinavia.
Syrian refugee, Abdulmenem Alsatouf, 44, remembered the welcome he received here in 2015.
That has changed, he says. "At the beginning people treated us very well. But after a few years — and after the government changed — things shifted. They became more racist." He cites incidents of racist abuse, including one neighbour leaving a toy pig outside this devoutly Muslim family's home.
I first met Abdulmenem and his family ten years ago as they were trying to reach Europe from Turkey. I remember their hope for a new life. Now his wife Nour says she would prefer to be in Syria. "They look at us as if we only came here to take their money or live off their aid. But that's not true. When I first arrived, I studied Swedish for two years, I learned the language, I finished school. Then I went to work — cleaning, kitchens, childcare. I pay taxes here, just like anyone else. I'm part of this society."
Why has Swedish public opinion shifted to the right on migration? One of the more frequently cited reasons in local media and by politicians is crime, specifically the rise of organised crime, with young perpetrators used to commit extreme violence. Since 2013 the rate of gun crime in the country has more than doubled.
People born abroad, and their children born in Sweden, are over-represented in crime statistics. But Sweden's foreign ministry warns against a simplistic analysis of figures. It says low levels of education, unemployment, social segregation and refugee's war trauma are all causes - not the fact of being a migrant.
Outside the local cultural museum, where he and his apprentice were busy painting the walls, I met Daniel Hessarp, 46, who is among the 60% of Swedes that opinion polls record as being concerned about crime. "We see the statistics of the crimes, who does it and such. So, there you have the answer. We didn't have this before in Sweden.
Karlstad resident Daniel Hessarp is among the majority of Swedes who say they worry about crime
The apprentice, Theo Bergsten, 20, said he wasn't opposed to immigration because "you learn from, they learn from you…so it's really nice also." But he said the growth in crime was a "sad part" of the story.
Maria Moberg, a sociology lecturer at the University of Karlstad, says social media has allowed the far right's message to thrive and find new support among those who feel excluded from society.
"Sweden Democrats are very open with [us] - they don't want any asylum seekers. They actually want people to leave Sweden. And the whole government is sort of setting the agenda for being a hostile country. It's more acceptable now to not be welcoming."
Graves marked 'Unknown'
Back on Lesbos, I went to visit a place I have come to know over many years of reporting migration issues there. About 30 minutes drive from the Mytilene airport, in the middle of some olive groves, are the graves of asylum seekers who have died trying to reach here, or in the refugee camps set up after 2015. Numerous graves are simply marked 'Unknown', the last resting place of those who believed Europe would offer them a better life.
When I visited there were three fresh graves, and a fourth open waiting for a burial to take place. It is a sobering reminder that desperate people will keep trying to reach Europe, despite the enormous risks.
MANOLIS LAGOUTARIS/AFP via Getty Images
A cemetery in Greece holds the graves of refugees who drowned while trying to cross the Aegean Sea
So far this year the numbers of asylum seekers detected trying to reach Europe is down by 20 percent. The numbers may surge and fall, but the global crises that drive migration are not going to disappear. That is the fundamental challenge for politicians, whatever party is in power.
Top image credit: Beata Zawrzel/NurPhoto via Getty Images
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