A US congressional panel has released a redacted copy of an alleged "birthday book" given to Jeffrey Epstein in 2003 celebrating his fiftieth birthday.

The book was released with a trove of documents that include the late convicted paedophile financier's will and his personal address book - with contacts that include royalty, politicians across the globe, celebrities and models.

The 238-page book contains messages and photos sent by many of Epstein's friends, including a letter carrying a signature resembling US President Donald Trump's. Trump has denied ever writing the birthday note.

Epstein, a well-connected financier and convicted sex offender, was found dead by suicide in 2019 while awaiting a trial for sex trafficking.

What was released and why now?

The House Oversight Committee last month issued a legal summons for the executors of Epstein's estate to produce a number of documents, including a birthday book which contains the note purportedly from Trump.

Lawyers for the estate sent documents to the committee afterwards.

On Monday, the committee released the alleged birthday book as well as Epstein's will, entries from his contact books containing addresses from 1990 to 2019, and a non-prosecution agreement signed by him.

The release came with a note from the committee's chairman James Comer, which criticised Democratic members of the committee who earlier on Monday released pages of the book that purportedly contained Trump's signature. The White House denied Trump was involved with the note and said the signature on the note did not match that of the president.

Comer said the Democracts were "cherry-picking documents and politicizing information received from the Epstein Estate".

Who wrote in the alleged birthday book?

Entries from 40 people, divided into several categories such as "friends", "business", "science" and "Brooklyn", were published, though the names under "family" and "girl friends" were redacted.

These people are not accused of any legal wrongdoing in connection with Epstein's case.

The alleged Donald Trump entry which appears on page 165, contains a signed note, with the final line reading: "Happy Birthday - and may every day be another wonderful secret."

A woman's body was drawn around the text. This matches descriptions by the Wall Street Journal which first reported the letter in July.

The White House said the president "did not draw this picture, and he did not sign it."

The document also contained a message which appears to have been written by former US President Bill Clinton. The author wrote about Epstein's "childlike curiosity" and a "drive to make a difference".

Clinton's office has not responded to a BBC request for comment.

The entry by Lord Peter Mandelson, currently the UK ambassador to the US, calls Epstein "my best pal" and includes several photographs.

Alongside one picture of Lord Mandelson with two women, whose faces are obscured, he writes about meeting Epstein's interesting – in inverted commas – friends.

An official spokesperson for Lord Mandelson has told the BBC that he "has long been clear that he very much regrets ever having been introduced to Epstein," adding: "This connection has been a matter of public record for some time."

There isn't a letter from Prince Andrew. But an entry from an unidentified woman says that thanks to Epstein she had met the Prince, Bill Clinton and Trump. The woman goes on to say she has "seen the private quarters of Buckingham Palace" and "sat on the Queen of England's throne." Prince Andrew has previously denied any wrongdoing.

What are the other entries about?

There's a wide range of content from people from all walks of life - from occupants of the White House to women working as masseuses.

An unidentified woman recalled how she was a 22-year-old restaurant hostess until she met Epstein, after which she travelled the world and met many notable people including royals.

There were also photos of Epstein throughout the years - from his private jet to a random Asian medicine shop, and him embracing women whose faces were redacted.

Others sent him photos, some containing lewd scenes featuring wild animals from a safari including zebras and lions.

Police have released the first images of what they believe is one of many campsites where a New Zealand father on the run hid with his three children for years.

Two of Tom Phillips' children were found at the site in the Waikato region on Monday, hours after he was killed in a shootout with the police.

Police found them with the help of the third child, who was with Phillips when he died. They said the children are "doing well", but will take time to recover from the ordeal.

Shortly before Christmas in 2021, Phillips disappeared with his children – Jayda, Maverick, and Ember, then aged eight, seven and five respectively. Police believe he did so after losing legal custody of them.

Phillips had "no regard" for the children's safety and "quite literally put [them] in harm's way", Police Commissioner Richard Chambers told the media on Tuesday, adding that they are now in the care of authorities.

A stash of firearms and ammunition were also found at the campsite, which is surrounded by dense vegetation. Two quad bikes are pictured parked among trees.

By the time authorities arrived at the site, the search for the two children had been under way for nearly 12 hours.

In the early hours of Monday, police responded to a report of an attempted burglary at a rural farm supply shop in the small town of Piopio. And that is where they entered into a shootout with Mr Phillips. An officer was seriously injured after Phillips fired at him with a high-powered rifle. Mr Chambers said police have "absolutely no doubt" it was intended to kill the officer.

The injured officer has undergone a series of surgeries but still has a long road to recovery ahead of him, Mr Chambers said.

Phillips' case has gripped New Zealand since the day he became a fugitive nearly four years ago, and although Monday's events suggest the mystery has drawn to a close, police are still looking for answers.

They are trying to find out how Phillips, believed to be in his late 30s this year, evaded capture despite a nationwide search and multiple sightings - and, crucially, how he was able to access firearms.

Authorities did not address reporters' questions on Tuesday about whether the children's mother, known in news reports only as Cat, and members of Phillips' extended family are in touch with the children.

"Our priority is to make sure these children are looked after and that there is a careful plan, with everyone becoming involved at the right time," Police Minister Mark Mitchell said.

"They have seen and been exposed to things that children in our country should not be."

Warwick Morehu from New Zealand's Ministry for Children added, "These children will be provided with whatever help or assistance they need, for however long they may need it".

On Monday, the children's mother was quoted by local media outlet RNZ as saying she was "deeply relieved" that "this ordeal has come to an end" after missing her children dearly "every day for nearly four years".

But, she continued: "We are saddened by how events unfolded today."

Thailand's top court has ruled that former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra must serve one year in jail, in yet another blow to the influential political dynasty.

It ruled that he had unlawfully served part of a previous prison sentence in a hospital, and therefore must serve it in jail.

The high-profile case is linked to a previous corruption conviction.

Thaksin and his family have dominated Thai politics since he was first elected PM in 2001. His daughter Paetongtarn previously served as leader but was removed from office last month after the constitutional court ruled she had violated ethical standards, in a case linked to a leaked phone call with Cambodia's Hun Sen.

Paetongtarn, who accompanied her 76-year-old father to court on Tuesday, told reporters after the ruling that she was "worried" for her father but that he and their family were in "good spirits".

She also vowed to take the family's Pheu Thai party forward in their work as an opposition party.

Thaksin's latest case stems from an earlier conviction linked to his premiership.

The former PM was ousted in a military coup in 2006 and spent years living in self-imposed exile, mostly in Dubai.

When he returned to Thailand in 2023, he was promptly tried and found guilty of corruption and abuse of power during his time in office. He was sentenced to eight years in prison.

Following Thaksin's plea for a royal pardon, the Thai king commuted his sentence to one year.

But he ended up spending only less than a day in a jail cell as he was swiftly moved to a luxury wing of the Police General Hospital after complaining of heart problems.

He stayed there for six months, then received parole and moved to his home in Bangkok.

The latest case centred on whether Thaksin's transfer to hospital was lawful and whether he was genuinely ill.

The "14th floor case", as it is known in Thailand because of the hospital floor he stayed at, has gripped many Thais who were watching to see if the PM would end up serving time in prison.

Nepal has lifted a social media ban after it led to clashes between protesters and police that have left at least 19 people dead.

Thousands of young people had forced their way into the parliament building in the capital Kathmandu on Monday, asking the government to lift its ban on 26 social media platforms, including Facebook and YouTube, and also called on it to tackle corruption.

The decision to lift the ban was made after an emergency cabinet meeting late on Monday to "address the demands of Gen Z", Communications and Information Minister Prithvi Subba Gurung said, according to reports.

More than 100 people were injured in the protests, which also took place in towns outside the capital.

Social media platforms such as Instagram have millions of users in Nepal, who rely on them for entertainment, news and business.

But the government had justified its ban, implemented last week, in the name of tackling fake news, hate speech and online fraud.

Young people who took to the streets on Monday said they were also protesting against what they saw as the authoritarian attitude of the government. Many held placards with slogans including "enough is enough" and "end to corruption".

Some protesters also hurled stones at Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli's house in his hometown Damak.

One protester, Sabana Budathoki had earlier told the BBC that the social media ban was "just the reason" they gathered.

"Rather than [the] social media ban, I think everyone's focus is on corruption," she explained, adding: "We want our country back. We came to stop corruption."

A "nepo kid" campaign - spotlighting the lavish lifestyles of politicians' children and accusing them of being funded by corruption - has taken off on Nepali social media in recent weeks.

On Monday, police in Kathmandu had fired water cannons, batons and firing rubber bullets to disperse the protesters.

Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli said he was "deeply saddened" by the violence and casualty toll, blaming the day's events on "infiltration by various vested interest groups".

The government would set up a panel to investigate the protests, he said, adding that the government would offer financial "relief" to victims and provide free treatment to those injured.

Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak tendered his resignation in the evening following intense criticism over his administration's use of force during the protests.

Last week, authorities ordered the blocking of 26 social media platforms for not complying with a deadline to register with Nepal's ministry of communication and information technology.

Nepal's government has argued it is not banning social media but trying to bring them in line with Nepali law.

Lord Mandelson called the late convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein his "best pal", according to a letter in an alleged "birthday book" that has been released by US lawmakers.

In the message for Epstein's 50th birthday in 2003, Lord Mandelson - UK ambassador to the US since last year - describes him as an "intelligent, sharp-witted man", who "parachuted" into his life.

The existence of the letter from Lord Mandelson was first reported by the Wall Street Journal in July, when the newspaper published details of the alleged birthday note.

An official spokesperson for Lord Mandelson told the BBC: "Lord Mandelson has long been clear that he very much regrets ever having been introduced to Epstein."

Democrats in Congress released copies of the so-called "birthday book" after the documents were subpoenaed by the House Oversight Committee last month.

The documents also include a note featuring a drawing of a woman's body allegedly signed by US President Donald Trump. The White House on Monday denied its authenticity and said the president "did not draw this picture, and he did not sign it".

The "birthday book" was put together by Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein's British co-conspirator and ex-girlfriend who was convicted in 2021 of conspiring to traffic girls for sex. It is dated three years before allegations of sex abuse by Epstein became public in 2006.

When approached by the BBC, Lord Mandelson's spokesperson said that his connection to Epstein "has been a matter of public record for some time".

The spokesperson also referred to previous comments Mandelson made to the Financial Times, in which he said: "I regret ever meeting him or being introduced to him by his partner Ghislaine Maxwell."

The BBC has also approached the Foreign Office for comment.

A 2019 internal report by JP Morgan bank, filed to a New York court in 2023, said that Epstein kept a "particularly close relationship with Prince Andrew, the Duke of York and Lord Peter Mandelson, a senior member of the British government".

In the "birthday book" letter, Mandelson writes that after Epstein appeared in his life, he "would spend many hours just waiting for him to turn up".

"And often, no sooner were you getting used to having him around, you would suddenly be alone... again, leaving you with some 'interesting' friends to entertain instead."

The letter then includes a photo of Mandelson with two women, whose faces are obscured.

Mandelson continues: "But wherever he is in the world, he remains my best pal!"

Following a photo of Mandelson sat with Epstein, he concludes: "Happy Birthday, Jeffrey. We love you!"

Along with the book, lawmakers also released a trove of documents that include Epstein's personal address book and his will.

After the Wall Street Journal first reported on the existence of the "birthday book", Trump filed a lawsuit against the newspaper's reporters, publisher and executives, including News Corp's owner Rupert Murdoch, seeking $10bn (£7.4bn) in damages.

Epstein was first criminally indicted in 2006 in Florida on a state felony charge of solicitation of prostitution. He died in prison in 2019 while awaiting trial.

"I'm angry. My son can't get a house, but they're housing these first. It's not right, this is our country," says Mandy, as she stares at the Holiday Inn on the edge of Warrington that is now being used as an asylum hotel.

Mandy lives in a street across from the hotel, and is one of dozens of locals who have joined weekly peaceful protests to get the hotel shut.

A short drive up the M6, there are different concerns in Wigan, a town without any asylum hotels but 900 homes in multiple occupation - HMOs - some of which now house asylum seekers.

"I've had intimidation, confrontations in the street, illegal working," says local Adrian, anxiously pointing to several redbrick terraced homes in his neighbourhood that he says are such homes. One is next door to his.

"I was never asked. My voice has never been heard," he says in frustration.

Hundreds of people have got in touch with Your Voice Your BBC News about the issue of small boat crossings, illegal immigration and asylum-seeker accommodation.

As pressure builds on the government to speed up its plans to close asylum hotels, there are concerns that it will increase its use of HMOs - rental homes for unrelated groups of people sharing facilities - which could provoke another backlash.

"Be careful what you wish for," said one woman we spoke to in Wigan - a warning to the people protesting 200 miles away in Epping, Essex, for the closure of the Bell Hotel.

The decision to close all asylum hotels will mean the situation will go from "bad to worse", says Faraz Baber from planning consultancy Lanpro, with demand for properties that can be turned into HMOs creating "even further tensions on an already inflamed issue".

While Josh Nicholson, from the Centre for Social Justice think tank, describes "a race to the bottom" as the Home Office and local authorities compete for accommodation. Most deprived areas with the cheapest housing and biggest profits for landlords, he argues, have already taken on an unfair burden of high numbers of HMOs.

In the first quarter of this year, just over 32,000 asylum seekers were in hotels across the UK. Another 66,000 were housed in taxpayer-funded "dispersal" accommodation - which includes HMOs - according to analysis of Home Office figures by the Migration Observatory an independent research centre at University of Oxford.

On Sunday, Defence Secretary John Healey said the government was looking at expanding the use of "military and non-military sites for potential temporary accommodation".

So, if all the asylum hotels close, what happens next?

On the streets of north-west England, we have spoken to dozens of residents about their current concerns and what the future might hold for them. We also met asylum seekers living in one HMO, who told us they were thankful for their home and new life.

In Warrington, Mandy flicks through videos she filmed on her phone at one of the protests. "It was really peaceful, there was no racism, there were children there," she says, smiling as she points out a woman dressed up as the mythical figure, Britannia.

She is motivated to protest because the asylum-seeker hotel makes her feel unsafe, she says. Then she talks about questions of fairness.

"I've recently lost my husband and I couldn't get any help whatsoever." She believes the country is being taken for a ride.

Many here told us they were never warned or consulted about the hotel becoming asylum-seeker accommodation in the summer of 2023. Warrington Borough Council does not deny this, but says it is the Home Office that makes the decision on the use of a hotel, not the local authority.

There are 240 asylum seekers housed in two hotels in the town currently.

"They [asylum seekers] have been stood there in gangs staring into my house when I've been home alone, with my young daughter," says another local resident, Mary, who no longer feels safe.

"It's been absolutely awful for me. They would stop me in the street, follow me down the road, stop me by the arm. My daughter and a young friend were getting wolf-whistled at."

But not everyone feels the same about the protests that have been held here. One woman tells us she worries they could turn violent, while another local, Lee, asks: "Whatever happened to English values of decency and justice?"

He believes the small boats should be stopped - but doesn't support the protests.

"Just by intimidating a load of people in a hotel on the weekend isn't doing anything is it? As far as I can see, by my own interactions with the people in that hotel over the road, they've been nothing but polite."

But the challenge of where to house people if the hotel was to close, poses its own complicated set of problems.

Not far away, in a village outside of Warrington, a former pub has been vandalised, the words "no HMOs" have been spray-painted all over - along with offensive language.

The vandalism followed speculation and rumours - but Warrington Borough Council told us no planning application for change of use had yet been lodged for it to be turned into an HMO.

The council says it is considering tightening its HMO rules and responding to issues raised by people in the community. It is also working with partners to make sure people seeking asylum have their needs met, it adds.

Most days, Lisa walks her two dogs past the pub, and says she wouldn't be happy if it became asylum accommodation. She would welcome women and children refugees, she says, but they are not the people she sees on the news.

"It's single men on small boats. What are their intentions?" she asks.

"I've never really been frightened living in my own country, but I am now. It's scary."

In north-west England, in June 2025, there were more than 16,800 asylum seekers in dispersal accommodation, such as HMOs. The Home Office asylum contract for the region is held by Serco - one of whose roles is to procure accommodation to satisfy demand.

One town that has already taken action to control the number of houses in multiple occupation is Wigan - 10 miles north of Warrington.

It has seen about a 160% rise in such accommodation since 2021 - and there are now more than 900 HMOs, with many housing groups of asylum seekers.

"That's a HMO, and that's a HMO… down the street is another HMO," explains local resident Adrian in a street of redbrick terraces. His list goes on.

For the past five years, he says he has been living next door to one such property housing asylum seekers.

"I've had intimidation, confrontations in the street," he tells us - showing photos he took of young men dressed as delivery drivers coming in and out the house.

Asylum seekers generally cannot work in the UK while their claim is being processed.

"I've been made to feel like I'm the problem," he says. "We were never asked, never consulted. They [Serco] just moved them in at 2pm one afternoon. The only reason I knew about it was the voices, screaming and shouting next door."

Serco told the BBC that it is not responsible for the behaviour in the community and that this would be a police or Home Office issue.

We also spoke to two of Adrian's neighbours who said they didn't have a problem with people seeking asylum living close by, however one said they were frustrated the property owner hadn't consulted people in the street before signing a contract to let Serco take the house over.

Just Eat and Uber Eats told us they have introduced several measures to tackle illegal working on their platforms and to verify the identity of couriers.

Wigan Council told the BBC that since 2023, it is one of the few towns in the UK to have an agreement with the Home Office that government contractors will not procure any more properties for asylum seekers in the town.

It said it recognised that housing asylum seekers placed a burden on its resources and that an over-concentration of Serco-run HMOs can have a negative impact on communities. But it added that HMOs are not just accommodation for asylum seekers and they play a role in creating lower-cost housing for people living on their own.

There were 1,193 asylum seekers receiving accommodation support in Wigan at the end of March 2025, according to Home Office figures analysis by the Migration Observatory. This represents 35 asylum seekers per 10,000 people in the local community.

The UK average in June was 15 per 10,000 people according to a House of Commons Library Asylum statistics report. The figure for north-west England was 27 per 10,000.

"The government seems to think that asylum hotels are the problem," says Josh Nicholson a senior researcher from the Centre for Social Justice. But he says that polling suggests greater use of HMOs, and ignoring local community concerns "will exacerbate people's feelings of being ignored and having a lack of agency".

If the shift is from hotels to HMOs, then planning consultant Faraz Baber has other concerns. It could encourage landlords to "get genuine family renters to leave their properties" so they can take on better-paid long-term deals with Home Office contractors.

According to the homeless charity, Shelter, Wigan has 11,500 households on the social-housing waiting list and Warrington has 7,600.

In its statement to the BBC, Wigan Council acknowledged there had been "real concerns about rising levels of HMOs in the borough, predominantly driven by private landlords converting properties to maximise rental income".

As we knocked on doors in Wigan, we met two asylum seekers who are living in an HMO - a home that once housed a local family.

The men, an Iraqi Kurd whose asylum application is under appeal, and another from Afghanistan, both didn't want to be identified for safety reasons. The Afghan says he fled his country because a family member had fought for the Afghan army against the Taliban.

The three-bedroom terrace has been converted to a four-bedroom HMO. Each bedroom can be locked, with a shared kitchen and bathroom. The two men showed us their bedrooms, living room and kitchen - all were clean and basic, painted white.

They told us they receive about £50-a-week to cover living costs, like food. The money is stored on a Home Office-issued debit card. The men said their utility bills were paid for and they had registered with a local dentist and GP.

With the help of a translator, we asked them about how they feel about the current tensions in the country and the asylum hotel protests.

"I find it strange that people come to protest. Those who come here are people whose lives are in danger or who face serious difficulties," the Iraqi Kurd told us.

The men had both been in asylum hotels - but said they preferred where they lived now. They liked to keep fit, they said. "We want to help everyone, to serve everyone, and we will work hard and contribute positively to this country," the Iraqi Kurd added.

When asked how they felt about some asylum seekers working illegally - and others who had been arrested for crimes, including attacks on women - the Iraqi Kurd shook his head and admitted he had heard some of the stories.

"A person can have toxic behaviour and forget themselves," he told us. "Anyone who understands the law would not behave like this. And if they do, they will face the consequences, because it is a crime in this country."

For some here, though, the freeze on HMOs in Wigan has come too late.

Barry contacted us through Your Voice Your BBC News. He is in his 70s now, but says he once played professional football for Wigan Athletic.

"It feels like our country has been taken away," he says.

He wants the small boats to be stopped urgently and illegal immigrants deported. He worries that the asylum hotel protests nationally are being exploited by extreme right groups.

The new Home Secretary, Shabana Mahmood - in the job less than a week - has said the small boat crossings are "utterly unacceptable and the vile people smugglers behind them are wreaking havoc on our borders". Protecting UK borders is her priority, she added, and she will explore all options to restore order to the immigration system.

Last week, Reform UK leader Nigel Farage told his party's conference that if elected he would stop migrants arriving on small boats within two weeks of entering government. But when asked about the length of time it would take to pass such laws, Farage said a government led by him would "want to do it as quickly as we possibly can".

At the end of August, the Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer "puts the rights of illegal immigrants above the rights of the British people".

In response to our findings in Warrington and Wigan, the government said it had inherited an asylum system in chaos, with tens of thousands of individuals stuck in hotels waiting for their claims to be heard.

It had taken urgent action, it said, "doubling the rate of asylum decision-making, and reducing the amount of money spent on asylum hotels by almost a billion pounds in the last financial year".

The security of local communities within which hotels are located are its first priority, it added.

Additional reporting Patrick Clahane, James Percy, Bobbi Huyton, photos by Steve Fildes

The ban on disposable vapes is failing to stop millions being thrown away incorrectly, and the devices are still causing chaos for the waste industry, a boss at a leading firm has said.

"We're seeing more vapes in our system, causing more problems, more fires than ever before," said Roger Wright, the company's strategy and packaging manager.

Vape firms have launched cheap reusable devices so instead of refilling and recycling them, people were binning them and buying more, he said.

A spokesperson for the vape industry said the June ban had been a success, and any rise in devices being thrown away was likely down to black market trade.

In April and May, the last two months before the ban, Biffa's recycling facilities in Suffolk, Teesside and London saw around 200,000 vapes on average incorrectly mixed in with general recycling.

For the three months since the ban in June, the average figure has been 3% higher.

Biffa handles almost a fifth of the UK's waste, and Mr Wright reckons the rest of the industry will be seeing a similar picture, suggesting around a million vapes a month going into general recycling.

This may partly be because large stocks of disposables were sold off cheap before the ban came into force.

But the vape industry's response to the ban has also contributed, says Mr Wright.

Big vape firms launched a range of reusable models which are very similar to the most popular disposable vapes, at similar prices.

By adding a replaceable nicotine pod and a USB recharging port, they can be sold as reusable, but Mr Wright suspects many are still being thrown away.

"We still see a lot of these reusables in the bins, because people have used them as a disposable item," he says.

The ban has also led to a big increase in the number of different kinds of vapes on the market, as firms launched dozens of new products to try to get round the ban.

"The innovation's gone crazy to try and get around the ban. Ironically it makes our job of recycling them - if we collect them - much harder," said Mr Wright.

But Marcus Sexton, chairman of the Independent British Vape Trade Association, argues that the ban has been a success.

"We can see through the data consumers are refilling and recharging devices," he said.

"So actually if Biffa's findings are true, this is about disposable products washing through the system, either through illegal traders or through the illegal black market," he added.

Vapes contain lithium batteries, which can catch fire when crushed. This often happens in bin lorries or recycling centres - one of the reasons they were banned in June.

They call them "bombs in bins" because of the fires they cause. Vapes should be returned to stores or recycling centres for specialist handling, not added to general recycling or general waste.

In June alone, Biffa had to deal with 60 fires caused by vapes and other small electrical items – once the fire has raged, it's hard to pinpoint the exact cause.

Biffa said dealing with this problem cost the UK waste industry a billion pounds a year.

The ban on disposable vapes was partly designed to curb the many millions of devices which were incorrectly thrown away.

Vapes mixed in with general waste, which is often ultimately incinerated, cause less serious problems than those in general recycling.

Mr Wright said collecting vapes and electrical devices directly from people's homes alongside general waste and recycling would be part of the solution.

"I think that would massively improve the collection rates," he said. "You're more likely to put it out on the kerbside than you are to bother to go down to your corner shop and give it back." Some councils already do this.

A government spokesperson said: "Single-use vapes get kids hooked on nicotine and blight our high streets - it's why we've taken tough action and banned them."

It said it has made in compulsory for retailers to provide recycling bins, and its circular economy strategy due later this year aims to increase the reuse and recycling of electrical equipment.

New league tables rating the performance of NHS trusts in England have been published for the first time, with specialist hospitals taking the top slots.

Number one is Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, followed by the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Trust, and the Christie NHS Foundation Trust.

At the bottom is Queen Elizabeth Hospital, King's Lynn, which has had major problems with its buildings because of structural weaknesses and the need for props to hold up ceilings.

Health Secretary Wes Streeting said the tables will identify where "urgent support is needed".

"Patients know when local services aren't up to scratch," he said, "and they want to see an end to the postcode lottery - that's what this government is doing."

The public will be able to check out the performance of their local hospital, ambulance service or mental health trust.

Trusts in England are ranked every three months and placed in four categories - with the top performers given more power over how they spend their money and those lower down encouraged to learn from the best trusts and receive support from national officials.

A spokesperson for the Queen Elizabeth Hospital said: "Our patients deserve the highest standards of care, and we are sorry that in some of our performance areas... we have fallen short. Immediate steps are being taken to address the issues."

But NHS Providers, representing trusts, said there were question marks over whether the league tables were accurately identifying the best performing organisations.

Chief executive Daniel Elkeles said: "For league tables to really drive up standards, tackle variations in care, and boost transparency, they need to measure the right things, be based on accurate, clear and objective data and avoid measuring what isn't in individual providers' gift to improve.

"Then they will drive improvement and boost performance. Anything less could lead to unintended consequences, potentially damaging patient confidence in local health services, demoralising hardworking NHS staff and skewing priorities."

The Department of Health said that from next year the best performing trusts would have more freedom to develop services around local needs while those facing challenges would receive "enhanced support" with their bosses held accountable with their pay reduced because of poor performance.

The highest rated leaders will be offered bigger pay packets to try to turn around struggling trusts.

The metrics used to draw up the rankings include patient waiting times for planned treatment and A&E care and also the financial performance of the trust. It is possible that a hospital rated highly for clinical care will be marked down if they are running up a larger than expected deficit.

Thea Stein, chief executive of the Nuffield Trust think thank, said it was understandable that the government was focussed on winning back public trust but added a note of caution.

"There's a risk that trusts will focus only on the measures that immediately boost their ranking, even if it's not necessarily best for patients," she said. "As finances have a particular sway on the rankings, this is of limited use for patients trying to choose the best hospital for their care."

Chris McCann from Healthwatch England said any league table must inform and not confuse people.

"It will be essential that the new dashboard clearly communicates the information that is most important to patients and that it is as accessible as possible," he said.

Police have released the first images of what they believe is one of many campsites where a New Zealand father on the run hid with his three children for years.

Two of Tom Phillips' children were found at the site in the Waikato region on Monday, hours after he was killed in a shootout with the police.

Police found them with the help of the third child, who was with Phillips when he died. They said the children are "doing well", but will take time to recover from the ordeal.

Shortly before Christmas in 2021, Phillips disappeared with his children – Jayda, Maverick, and Ember, then aged eight, seven and five respectively. Police believe he did so after losing legal custody of them.

Phillips had "no regard" for the children's safety and "quite literally put [them] in harm's way", Police Commissioner Richard Chambers told the media on Tuesday, adding that they are now in the care of authorities.

A stash of firearms and ammunition were also found at the campsite, which is surrounded by dense vegetation. Two quad bikes are pictured parked among trees.

By the time authorities arrived at the site, the search for the two children had been under way for nearly 12 hours.

In the early hours of Monday, police responded to a report of an attempted burglary at a rural farm supply shop in the small town of Piopio. And that is where they entered into a shootout with Mr Phillips. An officer was seriously injured after Phillips fired at him with a high-powered rifle. Mr Chambers said police have "absolutely no doubt" it was intended to kill the officer.

The injured officer has undergone a series of surgeries but still has a long road to recovery ahead of him, Mr Chambers said.

Phillips' case has gripped New Zealand since the day he became a fugitive nearly four years ago, and although Monday's events suggest the mystery has drawn to a close, police are still looking for answers.

They are trying to find out how Phillips, believed to be in his late 30s this year, evaded capture despite a nationwide search and multiple sightings - and, crucially, how he was able to access firearms.

Authorities did not address reporters' questions on Tuesday about whether the children's mother, known in news reports only as Cat, and members of Phillips' extended family are in touch with the children.

"Our priority is to make sure these children are looked after and that there is a careful plan, with everyone becoming involved at the right time," Police Minister Mark Mitchell said.

"They have seen and been exposed to things that children in our country should not be."

Warwick Morehu from New Zealand's Ministry for Children added, "These children will be provided with whatever help or assistance they need, for however long they may need it".

On Monday, the children's mother was quoted by local media outlet RNZ as saying she was "deeply relieved" that "this ordeal has come to an end" after missing her children dearly "every day for nearly four years".

But, she continued: "We are saddened by how events unfolded today."

Nepal has lifted a social media ban after it led to clashes between protesters and police that have left at least 19 people dead.

Thousands of young people had forced their way into the parliament building in the capital Kathmandu on Monday, asking the government to lift its ban on 26 social media platforms, including Facebook and YouTube, and also called on it to tackle corruption.

The decision to lift the ban was made after an emergency cabinet meeting late on Monday to "address the demands of Gen Z", Communications and Information Minister Prithvi Subba Gurung said, according to reports.

More than 100 people were injured in the protests, which also took place in towns outside the capital.

Social media platforms such as Instagram have millions of users in Nepal, who rely on them for entertainment, news and business.

But the government had justified its ban, implemented last week, in the name of tackling fake news, hate speech and online fraud.

Young people who took to the streets on Monday said they were also protesting against what they saw as the authoritarian attitude of the government. Many held placards with slogans including "enough is enough" and "end to corruption".

Some protesters also hurled stones at Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli's house in his hometown Damak.

One protester, Sabana Budathoki had earlier told the BBC that the social media ban was "just the reason" they gathered.

"Rather than [the] social media ban, I think everyone's focus is on corruption," she explained, adding: "We want our country back. We came to stop corruption."

A "nepo kid" campaign - spotlighting the lavish lifestyles of politicians' children and accusing them of being funded by corruption - has taken off on Nepali social media in recent weeks.

On Monday, police in Kathmandu had fired water cannons, batons and firing rubber bullets to disperse the protesters.

Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli said he was "deeply saddened" by the violence and casualty toll, blaming the day's events on "infiltration by various vested interest groups".

The government would set up a panel to investigate the protests, he said, adding that the government would offer financial "relief" to victims and provide free treatment to those injured.

Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak tendered his resignation in the evening following intense criticism over his administration's use of force during the protests.

Last week, authorities ordered the blocking of 26 social media platforms for not complying with a deadline to register with Nepal's ministry of communication and information technology.

Nepal's government has argued it is not banning social media but trying to bring them in line with Nepali law.

A US congressional panel has released a redacted copy of an alleged "birthday book" given to Jeffrey Epstein in 2003 celebrating his fiftieth birthday.

The book was released with a trove of documents that include the late convicted paedophile financier's will and his personal address book - with contacts that include royalty, politicians across the globe, celebrities and models.

The 238-page book contains messages and photos sent by many of Epstein's friends, including a letter carrying a signature resembling US President Donald Trump's. Trump has denied ever writing the birthday note.

Epstein, a well-connected financier and convicted sex offender, was found dead by suicide in 2019 while awaiting a trial for sex trafficking.

What was released and why now?

The House Oversight Committee last month issued a legal summons for the executors of Epstein's estate to produce a number of documents, including a birthday book which contains the note purportedly from Trump.

Lawyers for the estate sent documents to the committee afterwards.

On Monday, the committee released the alleged birthday book as well as Epstein's will, entries from his contact books containing addresses from 1990 to 2019, and a non-prosecution agreement signed by him.

The release came with a note from the committee's chairman James Comer, which criticised Democratic members of the committee who earlier on Monday released pages of the book that purportedly contained Trump's signature. The White House denied Trump was involved with the note and said the signature on the note did not match that of the president.

Comer said the Democracts were "cherry-picking documents and politicizing information received from the Epstein Estate".

Who wrote in the alleged birthday book?

Entries from 40 people, divided into several categories such as "friends", "business", "science" and "Brooklyn", were published, though the names under "family" and "girl friends" were redacted.

These people are not accused of any legal wrongdoing in connection with Epstein's case.

The alleged Donald Trump entry which appears on page 165, contains a signed note, with the final line reading: "Happy Birthday - and may every day be another wonderful secret."

A woman's body was drawn around the text. This matches descriptions by the Wall Street Journal which first reported the letter in July.

The White House said the president "did not draw this picture, and he did not sign it."

The document also contained a message which appears to have been written by former US President Bill Clinton. The author wrote about Epstein's "childlike curiosity" and a "drive to make a difference".

Clinton's office has not responded to a BBC request for comment.

The entry by Lord Peter Mandelson, currently the UK ambassador to the US, calls Epstein "my best pal" and includes several photographs.

Alongside one picture of Lord Mandelson with two women, whose faces are obscured, he writes about meeting Epstein's interesting – in inverted commas – friends.

An official spokesperson for Lord Mandelson has told the BBC that he "has long been clear that he very much regrets ever having been introduced to Epstein," adding: "This connection has been a matter of public record for some time."

There isn't a letter from Prince Andrew. But an entry from an unidentified woman says that thanks to Epstein she had met the Prince, Bill Clinton and Trump. The woman goes on to say she has "seen the private quarters of Buckingham Palace" and "sat on the Queen of England's throne." Prince Andrew has previously denied any wrongdoing.

What are the other entries about?

There's a wide range of content from people from all walks of life - from occupants of the White House to women working as masseuses.

An unidentified woman recalled how she was a 22-year-old restaurant hostess until she met Epstein, after which she travelled the world and met many notable people including royals.

There were also photos of Epstein throughout the years - from his private jet to a random Asian medicine shop, and him embracing women whose faces were redacted.

Others sent him photos, some containing lewd scenes featuring wild animals from a safari including zebras and lions.

The murder of 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska on a train in North Carolina last month has sparked ongoing concerns about crime in the US.

A video released on Friday by the Charlotte Area Transit System shows Ms Zarutska seated on a train when she is stabbed from behind several times in what appears to be a random attack.

The suspect, 34-year-old Decarlos Brown Jr, is charged with first-degree murder. The graphic video has circulated on social media, attracting the attention of influencers, commentators and politicians.

Charlotte's mayor on Monday called the killing "a tragic failure by the courts and magistrates". She vowed to deploy more officers to public transit sites.

President Donald Trump sent "love and hope" to Ms Zarutska's family, saying on Monday that her killing was "horrible".

"There are evil people. We have to be able to handle that. If we don't handle that, we don't have a country," he said.

Outrage at the case comes as President Donald Trump threatens crime crackdowns in Democrat-run cities.

In an online obituary, Ms Zarutska's family wrote that she fled the war in Ukraine along with her mother and siblings in 2022, and had "quickly embraced her new life in the United States".

It said she was a "gifted and passionate artist", loved animals, and was "happiest when surrounded by family and loved ones".

"Her absence leaves a deep void, but her spirit will forever remain in the hearts of those who loved her".

North Carolina Governor Josh Stein said he was "appalled" by the footage of Ms Zarutska's killing.

"We need more cops on the beat to keep people safe," the Democratic governor said on X, and called for the state legislature to pass a law enforcement package to "address vacancies in our state and local agencies so they can stop these horrific crimes and hold violent criminals accountable".

Republicans and right-wing commentators have raised questions about the role of the judicial system in the incident, including why Brown was free despite reportedly having an extensive criminal record.

He was convicted of armed robbery, felony larceny and break and enter, according to records obtained by CNN, and spent eight years in jail for robbery with a dangerous weapon. He also suffers from mental health issues and is homeless, according to media reports.

In her statement, Mayor Lyles said that a solution is needed "to address repeated offenders who do not face consequences for their actions and those who cannot get treatment for their mental illness and are allowed to be on the streets".

The suspect's mother, who didn't want to be identified, told local news outlet WSOC-TV that she believes the attack could have been prevented.

North Carolina Representative Brenden Jones, a Republican, wrote on X that Ms Zarutska's death "is the result of decades of Democrat DAs and Sheriffs putting their woke agendas above public safety. Violent criminals commit crimes with impunity, while families live in fear."

Republican Florida Congressman Randy Fine said he would "introduce legislation to hold judges accountable when violent repeat offenders they release commit new crimes".

"Those 12+ judges that released Decarlos Brown Jr should have their day in court too," he added.

While declining to comment on the specifics of the case, Mecklenburg County District Attorney Spencer Merriweather outlined the challenges of holding defendants with mental health issues accountable for their actions.

In an interview with Axios, he said many are held in hospitals while courts wait for them to be mentally able to stand trial.

On 11 September 2021, Tom Phillips and his three children went missing for the first time.

His Toyota Hilux was found parked below a tide line at a beach near his parents' home in Marokopa on New Zealand's North Island. Police launched a massive search operation by land, sea and air.

Less than three weeks later, the family returned home, with the father claiming they had been on a camping trip.

Then, on 12 December that year, they vanished again. Aside from a few chance sightings and grainy frames of CCTV footage, the bushman and his three children had not been seen since.

That was, until the early hours of Monday morning, when police responding to a report of an attempted burglary entered into a shoot-out that resulted in Mr Phillips' death, ending a four-year manhunt.

Many questions about his disappearance remain, including why he took his children and disappeared into New Zealand's harsh wilderness, and whether he was able to evade capture for so long by having help.

When Mr Phillips returned home for the first time in 2021, he was charged with wasting police resources. The search effort over the harsh, unforgiving landscape of the western Waitomo region had cost New Zealand authorities hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Police did not launch a fresh search the second time he and his three children - Ember, Maverick, and Jayda, aged five, seven and eight, respectively, at the time - went missing.

When he failed to appear at a court appearance on 12 January 2022, police issued a warrant for his arrest.

Mr Phillips returned to his family home alone at night to collect supplies on 9 February that year.

He was then not seen for more than a year.

Police have said in the past they believed Mr Phillips took his children - now aged nine, 10 and 12 - over a custody dispute with their mother, though he never offered any explanation as to why he had done this.

Mr Phillips was known to be a bushman who had some survival training. Locals in Marokopa have said he was someone who wanted to be off the grid and had not been on any social media platforms.

Police believed he and his children had survived out in the dense wilderness surrounding Marokopa.

But it seems Mr Phillips and his children could not survive in the bush on their wits alone.

There was a string of sightings around Kawhia between August and November 2023, including multiple alleged robberies, as well as at a hardware store and on quad bikes.

CCTV footage captured around that time appeared to show Mr Phillips and one of his children - both wearing camouflage and masks over their faces - attempting to break into a store in Piopio, south-west of Marokopa, police said.

When Mr Phillips was shot on Monday, police said they found multiple firearms and other loot on his quad bike.

Police have previously said they believed Mr Phillips was being aided in his evasion by others.

When he was suspected of a bank robbery in Te Kuiti, a small town in the Waitomo region, police said there was an accomplice.

Fewer than 100 people live in the tight-knit community of Marokopa. While there was no suggestion that his family had assisted him, given the custody dispute, there have been questions about whether someone who knew him was helping him remain hidden or knew of his whereabouts.

In June 2024, police issued an NZ$80,000 (£37,200) reward for information that might lead to the location of Mr Phillips and his three children. The deadline expired without any breakthroughs.

They were next seen that October. A group of teenage pig hunters who had been trekking through the bush around Marokopa spotted them and filmed the brief encounter on their phones.

In the grainy footage, Mr Phillips could be seen leading his children through the rugged terrain, all wearing camouflaged clothing, raincoats and large backpacks.

New Zealand media reported that the teenagers had briefly spoken to one of their children to ask if anyone knew they were there. The child had replied "only you" and kept walking, the father of one of the teenagers told New Zealand's 1News.

The sighting prompted an unsuccessful three-day search involving police and army helicopters. Police said last month that they felt an aggressive search was the wrong approach, as they said Mr Phillips was armed and considered dangerous.

He was not seen again until late August this year, when he and one of his children were captured on CCTV allegedly breaking into a store in Piopio, making off with grocery items.

It was Piopio he returned to on Monday morning. It was at about 02:30 local time (14:30 GMT on Sunday) that police were called to a report of an attempted burglary at a rural farm supply shop there, which police believe Mr Phillips had unsuccessfully targeted before.

A quad bike carrying two people was seen heading towards Marokopa. Police laid spikes along the road and, when these stopped the quad bike, officers said they were met with gunfire.

Police said the first officer to reach the scene was shot in the head and he remains in a serious condition. A second officer returned fire and Mr Phillips died at the scene, police said.

The child who was with him was unharmed and provided police with information that led them to the other two children, who were at a remote campsite in the bush between Marokopa and Te Kuiti in near-freezing conditions, police said.

The children - whose wellbeing had been the top concern in New Zealand throughout their disappearance - are now being cared for by the authorities.