Lara Trump, daughter-in-law of US President-elect Donald Trump, has withdrawn her name from consideration for a seat in the Senate.
She stepped down this month as co-chairwoman of the Republican National Committee (RNC), fuelling speculation that she might replace outgoing Senator Marco Rubio, a Florida Republican, whom Trump has nominated for secretary of state.
But in a post on X, she said she had removed herself from consideration "after an incredible amount of thought, contemplation, and encouragement from so many".
She said she wished Florida Governor Ron DeSantis luck in hand-picking a replacement to serve out the remainder of Rubio's six-year term, which ends in 2026.
In her post on X on Saturday, Lara Trump said: "I could not have been more honoured to serve as RNC co-chair during the most high-stakes election of our lifetime and I'm truly humbled by the unbelievable support shown to me by the people of our country, and here in the great state of Florida."
She said she had a big announcement to share in January, without giving further details.
Lara Trump was elected as RNC co-chair in March, solidifying her father-in-law's influence over the party as he campaigned for the presidency.
Alongside her husband, Trump's son Eric, and his older brother Don Jr, she emerged as one of the top campaign surrogates for the Republican candidate in the run-up to the election.
A displaced Palestinian woman in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip
Talks to reach a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal between Israel and Hamas are 90% complete, but key issues remain that need to be bridged, a senior Palestinian official involved in the talks told the BBC.
One of the main sticking points is the continued Israeli military presence in the Philadelphi corridor, a strategically important strip of land in southern Gaza along the border with Egypt.
The Palestinian official shared details of the discussions being held in Doha which include the potential creation of a buffer zone several kilometres wide along the length of Israel's border with Gaza.
Israel would retain a military presence within this area, the official said.
With these issues resolved, a three-stage ceasefire could be agreed within days, they added.
The deal would include an exchange of 20 Palestinian prisoners for every female soldier released in the first of three stages of the ceasefire.
The names of the prisoners are yet to be agreed but would be chosen from around 400 names who are serving prison sentences of 25 years or more in Israel.
These are not thought to include the senior Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti, whose release Israel is expected to veto.
Israeli hostages would be released in stages, as it is believed that Hamas still need to locate some of the missing hostages.
Of 96 hostages still held in Gaza, 62 are assumed by Israel to still be alive.
Gazan civilians would be able to return to the north, under a system with Egyptian/Qatari oversight, and there would be around 500 trucks per day bringing aid into the strip, the official said.
In the final stage of the three-phase plan, which would see the end of the 14-month war, Gaza would be overseen by a committee of technocrats from the enclave, who would not have previous political affiliations but would have the backing of all Palestinian factions.
In recent weeks, the US, Qatar and Egypt have resumed their mediation efforts and reported greater willingness by both sides to conclude a deal.
A round of talks in mid-October failed to produce a deal, with Hamas rejecting a short-term ceasefire proposal.
Hamas and two other Palestinian militant groups said that reaching a ceasefire agreement in Gaza "has become closer than ever before" only if Israel "stops imposing new conditions".
In a Telegram statement on Saturday, the group said it held a meeting in Cairo on Friday on the ongoing negotiation efforts with representatives from the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP).
The Palestinian Islamist armed group Hamas, which governed Gaza, carried out an unprecedented cross-border attack in southern Israel on 7 October 2023. About 1,200 people were killed and 251 others abducted.
More than 100 hostages have been freed through negotiations or Israeli military rescue operations.
Blake Lively has filed a legal complaint against It Ends With Us co-star Justin Baldoni, alleging sexual harassment and a campaign to "destroy" her reputation.
According to the legal filing, she accuses Mr Baldoni and his team of attacking her public image following a meeting in which she brought along her actor husband, Ryan Reynolds, to address "repeated sexual harassment and other disturbing behavior" by Baldoni and a producer on the movie.
Mr Baldoni's legal team told the BBC the allegations are "categorically false" and said they hired a crisis manager because Ms Lively had threatened to derail the film unless her demands were met.
In the romantic drama, Ms Lively plays a woman who finds herself in a relationship with a charming but abusive boyfriend, played by Mr Baldoni.
The meeting between Ms Lively and Mr Baldoni, together with others involved in the movie's production, took place on 4 January this year, and it aimed to address "the hostile work environment" on set, says the legal filing.
Ms Lively's husband, Deadpool star Mr Reynolds, who did not appear in It Ends With Us, joined her at the showdown, according to the legal complaint, which is one step before a lawsuit.
Mr Baldoni, 40, attended the meeting in his capacity as co-chairman and co-founder of the company that produced the film, Wayfarer Studios. He was also the film's director.
In the legal complaint, Ms Lively's lawyers allege that both Mr Baldoni and the Wayfarer chief executive officer, Jamey Heath, engaged in "inappropriate and unwelcome behavior towards Ms Lively and others on the set of It Ends With Us".
In the filing to the California Civil Rights Department, a list of 30 demands relating to the pair's alleged misconduct was made at the meeting to ensure they could continue to produce the film.
Among them, Ms Lively, 37, requested that there be no more mention of Mr Baldoni and Mr Heath's previous "pornography addiction" to Ms Lively or to other crew members, no more descriptions of their own genitalia to Ms Lively, and "no more adding of sex scenes, oral sex, or on camera climaxing by BL [Blake Lively] outside the scope of the script BL approved when signing onto the project", says the complaint.
Ms Lively also demanded that Mr Baldoni stop saying he could speak to her dead father.
Jose Perez/Bauer-Griffin via Getty Images
It Ends With Us has sparked some controversy over how the film depicts domestic violence
Ms Lively's legal team further accuse Mr Baldoni and Wayfarer Studios of leading a "multi-tiered plan" to wreck her reputation.
She alleges this was "the intended result of a carefully crafted, coordinated, and resourced retaliatory scheme to silence her, and others from speaking out about the hostile environment that Mr Baldoni and Mr Heath created".
Responding to the legal complaint, Mr Baldoni's lawyer, Bryan Freedman, said on Saturday: "It is shameful that Ms Lively and her representatives would make such serious and categorically false accusations against Mr Baldoni, Wayfarer Studios and its representatives."
Mr Freedman accused Ms Lively of making numerous demands and threats, including "threatening to not show up to set, threatening to not promote the film", which would end up "ultimately leading to its demise during release, if her demands were not met".
He alleged that Ms Lively's claims were "intentionally salacious with an intent to publicly hurt and rehash a narrative in the media".
In a statement via her attorneys to the BBC, Ms Lively said: "I hope that my legal action helps pull back the curtain on these sinister retaliatory tactics to harm people who speak up about misconduct and helps protect others who may be targeted."
She also denied that she or any of her representatives had planted or spread negative information about Mr Baldoni or Wayfarer.
The film was a box-office hit, although some critics said it romanticised domestic violence.
Soon after the release date in August, another co-star, Brandon Sklenar, hinted in an Instagram post at rumours of a rift between Ms Lively and Mr Baldoni.
Speculation of a falling out only grew when they did not appear together on the red carpet.
It Ends With Us tells the story of Boston florist Lily Bloom, played by Ms Lively, as she navigates a love triangle between her charming but abusive boyfriend, Ryle Kincaid, played by Mr Baldoni, and her compassionate first love, Atlas Corrigan, played by Mr Sklenar.
It is based on a best-selling novel by Colleen Hoover. The 45-year-old author has previously said her inspiration was domestic abuse her mother endured.
Getty Images
Lively posed for photos with Sklenar (left) and her husband Ryan Reynolds at the premiere, but not her co-star Baldoni
In an interview with the BBC at the film's premiere in August, Ms Lively said she had felt the "responsibility of servicing the people that care so much about the source material".
"I really feel like we delivered a story that's emotional and it's fun, but also funny, painful, scary, tragic and it's inspiring and that's what life is, it's every single colour," said the actress.
Ms Lively, who is also credited as a producer, told the BBC she felt the film had been made "with lots of empathy".
"Lily is a survivor and a victim and while they are huge labels, these are not her identity," said Ms Lively. "She defines herself and I think it's deeply empowering that no one else can define you."
The Republican-controlled House of Representatives has voted to pass a budget deal to avert what would be the first US federal government shut down since 2019.
The deal, which passed by a vote of 366 -34 only six hours before a midnight deadline, must still be approved by the Democratic-controlled Senate before it can be signed into law by President Joe Biden.
Lawmakers earlier this week had successfully negotiated a deal to fund government agencies - but it fell apart after President-elect Donald Trump and tech billionaire Elon Musk called on Republicans to reject it.
This vote was the third attempt this week to get a deal through the House after a second funding measure - that one backed by Trump - failed on Thursday.
The 118-page "American Relief Act, 2025" that passed in the House on Friday strips out a debt-limit provision that Trump had demanded, which was a sticking point for Democrats and some Republican budget hawks in an earlier draft bill.
The deal also removes measures sought by Democrats in the first version of the bill, including the first pay raise for lawmakers since 2009, federal funds to rebuild a bridge that collapsed in Baltimore, healthcare reforms, and provisions aimed at preventing hotels and live event venues from deceptive advertising.
A total of 34 Republicans voted against the short-term funding bill while all Democrats in attendance were in favour.
Trump has not yet commented on the vote. A statement put out by the White House on behalf of Biden praises the deal.
Ahead of the vote, Democrats slammed the involvement of Mr Musk in the process, who they pointed out is an unelected billionaire.
Mr Musk, who Trump has tasked with cutting government spending in his future administration, had lobbied heavily against an earlier bill.
During floor debate, Republicans said they look forward to a "new era" when Trump takes office and Republicans take control of both chambers of Congress next month.
The wrangling over budget left Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson bruised amid criticism from members of his own party over his handling of the process.
"We are grateful that everyone stood together to do the right thing and having gotten this done now as the last order of business for the year, we are set up for a big and important new start in January," Johnson told reporters after Friday's vote.
He also said that he had spoken frequently to both Trump and Mr Musk during the negotiations.
Johnsons remarks came shortly after Mr Musk praised the Louisiana congressman's work on the budget in a post on X, the social media platform he owns.
"The Speaker did a good job here, given the circumstances," he posted. "It went from a bill that weighed pounds to a bill that weighed ounces."
The dramatic budget fight served as a preview of the tense legislative fights that could be in store next year, once Trump is in the White House.
Officials have warned that if there is no funding deal going into the holiday season, millions of federal employees would go without paycheques if the government shuts down.
There will be countless other ways a shut down would affect Americans - including by limiting assistance to aid-reliant farmers and people recovering from natural disasters.
The last government shutdown was during Trump's first term in 2019 after the Republican-controlled House of Representatives failed to come to an agreement on a new spending bill.
That shutdown lasted 35 days, and was the longest in US history.
The Israeli military says the projectile landed in a public park
A Houthi missile strike has injured more than a dozen people in Tel Aviv, Israel.
The Israeli military said attempts to shoot down a projectile launched from Yemen had been unsuccessful and it landed in a public park early on Saturday.
A Houthi military spokesman said the group hit a military target using a hypersonic ballistic missile.
The Houthis, an Iran-backed rebel group that controls north-western Yemen, began attacking Israel and international shipping shortly after the start of the Gaza war in October 2023, saying they were acting in solidarity with Palestinians.
Israel's military says about 400 missiles and drones have been launched at the country from Yemen since then, most of which have been shot down.
After the missile strike early on Saturday, Magen David Adom (MDA), Israel's emergency medical service, said it treated 16 people who were "mildly injured" by glass shards from shattered windows in nearby buildings.
Another 14 people suffered minor injuries on their way to protected areas were also treated, it said.
Earlier this week, Israel conducted a series of strikes against what it said were Houthi military targets, hitting ports as well as energy infrastructure in the Yemeni capital Sanaa. Houthi-run Al Masirah TV reported that nine people were killed in the port of Salif and the Ras Issa oil terminal.
The Houthis have vowed to continue their attacks until the war in Gaza ends.
Jamil Hassan, one of the most feared men in Bashar al-Assad's Syrian regime, wanted for the torture and killing of civilians, was shaking as he walked down the stairs of his apartment block.
Outside, the 72-year-old climbed into a car in a small convoy with his family and a handful of security guards, just a few suitcases between them.
His neighbour and her teenage son watched.
"I knew the moment I saw them flee that Assad had fallen," she says.
When we entered Hassan's apartment a few days later, signs of the family's hasty departure were everywhere.
In the fridge was a half-eaten carrot cake with a knife still on the plate. The beds were strewn with clothes and empty shoeboxes. Flowers wilted in a vase in the dining room, and cups and plates had been left to dry by the sink.
A framed photo of a smiling Hassan and Assad hung on the wall of the study, with text reading: "Our skies are for us and forbidden to others".
Signs of the family's hasty departure were everywhere
Hassan, referred to as "the butcher" by many civilians on his street, was one of Assad's most menacing enforcers. He led the Air Force Intelligence and oversaw a network of detention facilities including the notorious Mezzeh Prison, where detainees were routinely tortured.
He is one of many senior regime figures wanted or sanctioned around the world who have abandoned their homes in affluent areas of Damascus and vanished.
Finding these men who ruled Syria with an iron fist will be difficult. Some fear they will strike political deals abroad and evade justice.
Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which led the campaign to topple the regime, has vowed to search for them inside Syria. Rebels aligned with the group now occupy Hassan's apartment and a handwritten note on the front door warns people not to enter.
When we asked them where Hassan might have gone, one grinned and replied: "I don't know - to Hell."
'His guards threatened to kill my dog'
Many apartment shutters on Hassan's quiet street in central Damascus are now closed. Knocks on doors go unanswered.
Those who will speak tell us about their fear at living on a street with a wanted war criminal. "We were so afraid to talk," says the woman who watched him flee. "It was terrifying to live next to them."
Hassan is wanted in the US for "engaging in conspiracy to commit cruel and inhuman treatment of civilian detainees, including US citizens". He was convicted in absentia earlier this year in France for his role in imprisoning, disappearing and torturing two Syrian-French nationals. Germany wants him too. An Interpol Red Notice shows a photograph of Hassan alongside a note that he is wanted for "conspiracy to commit war crimes".
People on the street describe a formidable figure who was unapproachable and always surrounded by guards.
A makeshift security post outside Hassan's apartment building was constantly staffed by military personnel. The night before the regime collapsed, the men simply took off their uniforms and discarded their weapons, according to another neighbour.
"It was the first time I'd seen this post with no lights, no sounds, no noise," says 27-year-old Amr al-Bakri, a filmmaker who lives with his family in the building next door.
He said locals "knew what he did to the Syrians - outside of Damascus and in Damascus - so we know it but we can't say anything, just 'good morning sir'. He'd say nothing back."
Amr says his family had to give away their pet dog after Hassan's guards threatened to kill it if it didn't stop barking. When Amr's family asked for the guard post to be moved from outside their home, they were told they should move house instead, he says.
Hassan's home, pictured above, was routinely guarded by military personnel, civilians on the street say
A guard post outside of Hassan's building has been abandoned
The guards would run regular inspections on the street and check the bags of visitors.
"Sometimes if I had a plumber or handyman to come and fix something one of the guards would come and check if there was really something that needed to be fixed," says the woman living in Hassan's building.
Neighbours also say Hassan had a "golden line" for electricity that meant his family's lights were always on, while other homes in the neighbourhood were in darkness.
The electrician called to fix any problems at the apartment says he knew Hassan over many years "but only from a distance". "[Hassan] was very strict - a military personality," the man says. "He was a butcher… He had no mercy."
The man told BBC News he had been in prison - not at Mezzeh but elsewhere - and was tortured there.
A local shopkeeper, Mohammed Naoura, says he didn't like Hassan but that you had to appear to support him.
"We are happy now," he adds. "Nobody believed this would ever happen."
Guns on sofas and underground swimming pools
Hussam Luka, head of the General Security Directorate (GSD), was less well-known among residents but had an apartment underneath Hassan.
His "ruthless, smooth-talking nature" reportedly earned him the nickname "the spider" - and he's under sanctions in the EU, US and UK.
A UK sanctions list says he was "responsible for the torture of opponents in custody", while the US Treasury Department says he "reportedly committed a number of massacres" while working in Homs.
The White House has said he is one of a small group of officials who might have information about missing American journalist Austin Tice.
At his home on Monday, rebels were dismantling furniture to be put into storage. They said they arrived after looters had already taken many of the most expensive items.
Hussam Luka (left) and Assad
A photo of Luka and Assad remained, printed in different sizes and styles, alongside documents from security and intelligence events, and ceremonial medals and certificates from the foreign spy service in Russia - where the deposed Syrian leader Assad has fled.
"This award is to the coordinator of the mukhabarat [intelligence service] organ in the southern provinces of the Syrian Arab Republic," one certificate naming Luka says. "You showed the utmost professionalism and put in huge effort to fulfil the duties entrusted to you for the good of the Syrian people."
As rebels clear the apartment, a neighbour wanders in to see what's happening.
When asked what she knows about the regime official, she replies: "We keep to ourselves, they keep to themselves. No one in this building interacts with each other." She walks away.
In other affluent areas more homes have been abandoned. Fridges are fully stocked, wardrobes full and in some cases travel documents left behind.
The rebels who have taken over the homes are using them as bases, and say they are also preventing further looting.
At one lavish apartment, men say they are sleeping on blankets on marble floors beneath giant chandeliers and cooking on a camp stove in its modern kitchen. Guns are propped against plush sofas and arm chairs.
"We don't need any of this," a rebel says, gesticulating around the room.
At another, a child peaks through the curtain of a sprawling ground-floor apartment with an outdoor swimming pool. A large family say they are occupying the space.
Perhaps the grandest home in the area is the modern labyrinthine underground dwelling of one of the country's best-known businessmen - Khodr Taher Bin Ali, better known as Abu Ali Khodr.
Bin Ali has been sanctioned by the US, UK and EU for his role in supporting and benefiting from the Syrian regime.
His home has an elevator, a full-size gym, an indoor swimming pool, jacuzzi and sauna, and an industrial kitchen.
Two golden safes designed to hold watches in the master bedroom
A family photo of Khodr Taher Bin Ali that was left in his house
In the master bedroom, there are two golden safes, with space for dozens of watches - in a drawer there is a forgotten warranty card for luxury brand Audemars Piguet. A gun case and jewellery boxes in the wardrobe are empty.
The children's ensuite bedrooms still have toys and a Louis Vuitton handbag on the floor and homework and school reports are in the cupboards. A Quran rests on a countertop with the words "A gift from the president Bashar al-Assad" inscribed on the side.
Around the corner from Bin Ali is the home of Ali Mamlouk, one of Assad's closest associates and among the most senior and notorious members of the regime. He was reportedly given the nickname "black box" because of his control over sensitive information.
He was sentenced alongside Hassan by French judges this year for war crimes, and is also wanted in Lebanon for two explosions in 2012 in the city of Tripoli that killed and wounded dozens.
Like Luka, the White House believes Mamlouk is one of few men who could have information about Tice.
His home is padlocked shut, and rebels are more reluctant to grant entry there.
In a guard booth outside, there are notes on visitors to the property before Assad's fall - people delivering chocolates, water and vegetables, and coming to fix the electricity.
"No one could see, no one could walk, no one could pass by this area. It's actually the first time I'm seeing this place from up close," says 17-year-old Mo Rasmi Taftaf, whose family own a house nearby.
"Whenever he came in or out, guards would cut the roads off," one neighbour says.
Rebels are now occupying the abandoned apartments
A gun placed on a chair at another of the apartments the BBC saw inside
Shouting down from a second-floor balcony, another gestures towards Mamlouk's large home when asked about the wanted regime figure.
"It felt like there was a strange atmosphere" on the street the night before news broke that Assad had fled, he says, without elaborating.
"His security was here at the time but I saw them leave on Sunday morning - a lot of cars. Ali Mamlouk wasn't here," he adds, before returning inside.
Another man, who declines to give his name, says he doesn't want to talk about the regime men.
"I just want to live in peace. I don't want to open this book or explore all of these crimes - there would be a lot of blood."
"While there is no confirmed information on the current whereabouts of senior regime figures like Jamil Hassan, Ali Mamlouk, and others, there are concerns that such individuals could benefit from political deals that enable them to evade justice," the Syrian Center for Media and Freedom of Expression (SCM) tells the BBC.
"Some are likely to have sought refuge in allied countries, complicating future extradition efforts, while others may still be in Syria, living discreetly."
On Hassan's street, neighbours speculate about where the vanished war criminal has gone.
His family left few clues in the apartment. But in the office is a certificate for Hassan's daughter signed by Hassan Nasrallah, the late leader of Lebanon-based Shia militant group Hezbollah, thanking her for her "help and support for this honourable resistance".
Several neighbours suggest he may be hiding in Lebanon or has transited through there, while the local shopkeeper says he thinks Hassan headed for the coast, perhaps to Latakia in the north - the heartland of the minority Alawite sect to which Assad and many of his closest allies belong.
Hezbollah has not confirmed offering assistance to any regime figures, and the Lebanese government has said no Syrian officials targeted by international warrants were authorised to enter through legal crossings. Lebanese security services say Mamlouk is not in the country.
Syrian-British barrister Ibrahim Olabi says regime officials may have acquired new identities and passports, as they were powerful people backed by state institutions.
When it comes to getting justice, he adds, a lack of evidence is not the problem. It is more about finding them and getting them to a place where they can be held accountable.
The SCM says doing this will "require considerable resources, sustained political will, and international collaboration".
Failing to do so will send a "dangerous message that crimes, including war crimes and crimes against humanity, can go unpunished", it adds.
Ibrahim Olabi says he is hopeful that justice will be served.
"It will absolutely be a hunt," he says, but "the world now is a small place through social media, private investigators, political leverages".
Hassan's neighbours who were willing to talk say they hope he will one day be returned to Syria, far away from their street, to be punished.
At London's famous Hyde Park at around 11:00 on a crisp Saturday morning, runners gather at some benches - some tall and lean, others broad and sturdy, a few logging into the Strava app, but one common thread unites them - most of them are Nigerians of Igbo extraction.
This is the Ozo running club, formed by Igbo people to celebrate the culture of one of the largest of Nigeria's more than 300 ethnic groups.
"We wanted to create a space where young Igbo people could connect and re-connect to their culture," said Chibueze Odoemene, who co-founded the club with Emeka Atumonyogo, and Chigo Ogbonna.
In less than three months, the Ozo running club already has more than 300 members.
This rapidgrowth speaks not only to the deep desire for community, but to the significant boom of social running clubs in recent years.
Strava, the popular running app, said there had been a 59% increase in running club participation globally this year.
But for the Ozo running club, the weekly Saturday meets aren't simply about running, pace or fitness - it's a place where strangers become family.
Even as the runners wait to join their respective speed groups - fast, medium, slow, and walking pace - a buzz and energy cuts through the calm of the park as Afrobeats music pulses from a nearby speaker.
“Igbo kwenu!” shouts Mr Odoemene, his voice booming across the park to gather everyone’s attention.
The group responds in unison with a low, rumbling “Eyy.”
“Igbo kwezo!” he calls out again, his tone both commanding and warm.
Once more, a unified “Eyy” follows, resonating among the runners and setting the tone for the morning.
This traditional Igbo call-and-response is more than a greeting - it’s a moment of pride, a reminder of shared roots and identity that runs as deep as their commitment to each other and the weekly run.
“The chant is used as a call of unity, community, and love among all Igbo peoples,” said Mr Odoemene.
Running clubs like Ozo, which are often free, have become spaces for people to make new friends, create a community, and possibly even meet future partners.
The co-founders, who met at other Igbo social events, laugh at the prospect of a love story blossoming at their club.
“If people meet the love of their lives, that's amazing, but the most important part for us is to build a fun community,” said Mr Odoemene.
ForFrancesca Ngozi Ezennolim, 21, the prospect of romance is not what brought her all the way from Reading, about 64km (40 miles) from London, on a Saturday morning, but the promise of community.
“I don't have a lot of Igbo friends,” she said, adding: “I do have a lot of Nigerian friends - but it's hard to find Igbo friends.”
Donning a black athletic outfit, she told the BBC she hopes the running club will fill that hole in her life.
And she is not alone.
A first-timer to the club, Jennifer Iwuamadi, 23, echoed the same sentiments.
“It's so important to come to an Igbo run club because we get to socialise with our brothers and sisters. It's a great way to get fit and network,” she said.
Although the Igbos are one of Nigeria's largest ethnic groups and are prominent in the diaspora, many feel their culture is under threat. In 2006, the United Nations cultural organisation (Unesco) predicted that the Igbo language would become extinct by 2025.
However, in the UK, their numbers have risen over the last decade - from around 8,000 to 11,000, according to the Office for National Statistics.
In contrast, speakers of Yoruba, the other main language in southern Nigeria, have declined from 15,000 to 10,000 over the same period.
Nevertheless, some young Igbo people told the BBC they have struggled to make friends outside their parents' community.
“I have so many Yoruba friends, but I want to meet people from my tribe,” Ms Ezennolim told the BBC.
“When people think about Nigerians, they don't really think about Igbo. Nigeria is not just one piece, it's multiple pieces,” said Mr Odoemene.
But isn't it divisive to have a running club which focuses on Igbo culture?
The founders vehemently shake their heads.
"You don't have to be Igbo to come to the run club," said Mr Atumonyogo.
He adds that people from Iran, Italy, and the Caribbean have come to their sessions - and they encourage others to join in, learn about Igbo culture, ask questions, and immerse themselves in the vibrant atmosphere.
Yet, beneath the joy and camaraderie, there is a darker side to the Igbo story.
In Nigeria, many people still associate the Igbos with the 1967-70 Biafran war, which left some one million people dead after Igbo leaders in the south-east led a campaign to secede from the rest of the country.
Decades later, the wounds of the war remain raw, still shaping to some degree how Igbo people are viewed, both at home and abroad.
In his book The Trouble with Nigeria, the late Chinua Achebe, one of the most renowned Nigerian authors, who was Igbo, said: "Nigerians will probably achieve consensus on no other matter than their common resentment of the Igbo."
Danai Nesta Kupemba / BBC
Spontaneous dance breaks occur during the runs
These words capture - in the view of many Igbos - a history of marginalisation that continues to resonate.
For them, this history underscores a deeper purpose - the desire to make their mark and amplify Igbo representation.
Uzoma Ehziem, 34, who moved to the UK almost two decades ago, said he does not feel Igbo culture gets the attention it deserves.
He is one of the club's pacers and believes that Yoruba culture dominates what many in the UK and, globally, think of as "Nigerian".
From the legendary Afrobeat pioneer Fela Kuti to the first African Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka, and contemporary stars like Davido, Ayra Starr, and Tems, many of the most prominent figures in Nigerian pop culture are Yoruba.
The exception is literature, where Achebe, and contemporary Igbo authors like Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and Akwaeke Emezi have gained international fame.
Many in the running club feel the world should know more about the Igbo people.
"If you tell someone you are Nigerian, the first thing someone will ask is: 'Are you Yoruba?'" Mr Ehziem said.
The club does not only organise running sessions. It has added monthly social outings for members of the community - from karaoke to dodgeball sessions and even an Igbo gala that will take place next year.
But for now the weekly running clubs have become a source of joy and camaraderie for members.
As the run winds down and all the group meet at the benches again, Mr Odoemene rounds up the runners with the same chant of unity.
Old friends catch up and new friends say hello.
People exchange phone numbers, and as they part ways, the promise to meet again next Saturday is a reminder this isn’t just a fleeting encounter but the beginning of lasting relationships rooted in community and cultural pride.
Syria has a thriving electronic music scene and many now wonder what comes next
In the midst of the scramble for a new Syria, the country's musicians are warily eyeing the Islamist rebel leadership and hoping to build on hard-won achievements made during the almost 14-year civil war.
The conflict gave energy and focus to a nascent heavy metal scene.
As the fighting ebbed, a flourishing industry of electronic music and dance shows then rose from the ashes, leading to a resurgence of Syrian nightlife.
Now, its members are preparing to approach a government led by the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS – a group with roots in al-Qaeda and the Islamic State.
"We have to be organised before we go to them, because they are so organised," said DJ and musician Maher Green. "We are willing to talk to them with logic. We are willing to talk to them with a real proposal."
The electronic music organisers found a way to talk to the security services working for the former president, Green said.
"They didn't understand the gathering of 50 boys and girls and dancing in such a goofy way," he said. "We developed a relationship with them through the years to make it go in a good and peaceful way."
DJ and musician Maher Green says he wants to talk to HTS about the music scene's future
The Assad regime was less tolerant with the heavy metal rockers who started up underground bands in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
They saw it as a subversive Western subculture connected with Satanism.
"I went to the intelligence force maybe three times, just because I sold this kind of music," said Nael al-Hadidi, who owned a music shop. "They made me sign some papers that I wouldn't do it again."
The scrutiny shifted when the brutal suppression of Syria's pro-democracy revolution triggered a bloody civil war.
"Before the war, even if you grew long hair, wore black T-shirts, metal dance T-shirts, the security would take you. They suspected that you were Satanic or something," said al-Hadidi.
"After the war started, they were too busy to dig in this way. They were more afraid about the political stuff."
This opened up space for the emergence of a vibrant heavy metal scene, the subject of a documentary by Monzer Darwish called Syrian Metal is War.
War may have energised the metal bands, but ultimately it led to a mass exodus of musicians that felt the country no longer offered a future.
"Ninety percent of my friends are now in Europe, the Netherlands and Germany," said al-Hadidi, shaking his head.
Wajd Khair is a musician who stayed, but he quit music in 2011 when the killing started.
"It seemed that any lyrics I would write, they didn't express what really happened, no words can express what was happening back then," he told me.
Wajd Khair says that he won't be keeping a low profile now HTS are in control
Just last year Khair finally started playing and recording again. Now he is wondering what the Islamist leadership means for creative freedom.
"We have to be more bold," he said when asked if he will keep a low profile until the situation becomes clearer.
"We have to be heard. We have to let all the people know that we are here. We exist. It's not just Islamic Front and Islamic State here. I don't think that keeping a low profile under these circumstances is good for anyone."
Khair was encouraged by the pragmatism demonstrated in the days following the rebel takeover. "The indicators are that we are going to better place, hopefully," he said.
But as he was speaking, we heard that HTS had closed the Opera House. "Not a good sign" if true, Khair exclaimed.
We rushed to the venue only to be told by officials outside it that this was a false alarm, that the venerable institution would open one week after the rebel victory along with other public buildings.
The HTS is certainly promising to respect rights and freedoms, declaring that it long ago broke with its extremist past.
It seems sensitive to the cosmopolitan culture of Damascus. State television started broadcasting Islamic chanting last week but withdrew it in less than 24 hours when social media erupted in protests.
Outside the Opera House people gathered to sing celebratory songs
In the square outside the Opera House, Safana Bakleh was trying to perform revolutionary songs with the choir she directs. Joined by enthusiastic youths, she handed over her drum and let them chant and sing.
"It's maybe not going to be an easy path," she said. "Maybe we will have some new obstacles, but we used to have corruption, we used to have dictatorship, we used to have secret police. We're still very hopeful for the future…because we have a very, very large group of people that are opposition and artists and actors, musicians and composers and the future of Syria."
But they do not want to exchange political authoritarianism for religious fundamentalism, said al-Hadidi.
"I hope that HTS stands by their words about freedom, because we don't want to be another Afghanistan or another country ruled by a specific party or rulers who enforce you to (follow) some rules."
Determined to stay part of Syria's future, Green said it is important for the artistic community to act quickly.
"It doesn't seem like in the first week of freeing Syria, (HTS) is willing to look for the cultural side. They have a lot of problems, they're looking for the economy, looking for making a new government," he said.
"We are trying to organise ourselves before they start looking at culture. So that we get there first, (and we must be) united in our opinions."
Like others here, Green has been experimenting, mixing traditional Arabic music with electronic beats.
The culture of the Islamist rebels "is religious songs and that's it," he said.
"This is a little bit backward for us. We were here in Syria before the war, and inside during the war, (when) we had so many experiments. We evolved so much. We have so much mixed culture."
Syria's music scene revived and even thrived during the civil war - now it faces a new and unexpected test.
The Republican-controlled House of Representatives has voted to pass a budget deal to avert what would be the first US federal government shut down since 2019.
The deal, which passed by a vote of 366 -34 only six hours before a midnight deadline, must still be approved by the Democratic-controlled Senate before it can be signed into law by President Joe Biden.
Lawmakers earlier this week had successfully negotiated a deal to fund government agencies - but it fell apart after President-elect Donald Trump and tech billionaire Elon Musk called on Republicans to reject it.
This vote was the third attempt this week to get a deal through the House after a second funding measure - that one backed by Trump - failed on Thursday.
The 118-page "American Relief Act, 2025" that passed in the House on Friday strips out a debt-limit provision that Trump had demanded, which was a sticking point for Democrats and some Republican budget hawks in an earlier draft bill.
The deal also removes measures sought by Democrats in the first version of the bill, including the first pay raise for lawmakers since 2009, federal funds to rebuild a bridge that collapsed in Baltimore, healthcare reforms, and provisions aimed at preventing hotels and live event venues from deceptive advertising.
A total of 34 Republicans voted against the short-term funding bill while all Democrats in attendance were in favour.
Trump has not yet commented on the vote. A statement put out by the White House on behalf of Biden praises the deal.
Ahead of the vote, Democrats slammed the involvement of Mr Musk in the process, who they pointed out is an unelected billionaire.
Mr Musk, who Trump has tasked with cutting government spending in his future administration, had lobbied heavily against an earlier bill.
During floor debate, Republicans said they look forward to a "new era" when Trump takes office and Republicans take control of both chambers of Congress next month.
The wrangling over budget left Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson bruised amid criticism from members of his own party over his handling of the process.
"We are grateful that everyone stood together to do the right thing and having gotten this done now as the last order of business for the year, we are set up for a big and important new start in January," Johnson told reporters after Friday's vote.
He also said that he had spoken frequently to both Trump and Mr Musk during the negotiations.
Johnsons remarks came shortly after Mr Musk praised the Louisiana congressman's work on the budget in a post on X, the social media platform he owns.
"The Speaker did a good job here, given the circumstances," he posted. "It went from a bill that weighed pounds to a bill that weighed ounces."
The dramatic budget fight served as a preview of the tense legislative fights that could be in store next year, once Trump is in the White House.
Officials have warned that if there is no funding deal going into the holiday season, millions of federal employees would go without paycheques if the government shuts down.
There will be countless other ways a shut down would affect Americans - including by limiting assistance to aid-reliant farmers and people recovering from natural disasters.
The last government shutdown was during Trump's first term in 2019 after the Republican-controlled House of Representatives failed to come to an agreement on a new spending bill.
That shutdown lasted 35 days, and was the longest in US history.
Ukrainian officials said Moscow had launched a fresh attack on Kyiv
Russian authorities say six people have been killed including a child, in a Ukrainian strike in Russia's Kursk region.
The region's acting governor added that 10 people were taken to hospital following the attack on the town of Rylsk.
A cultural centre, fitness complex, school and homes were damaged, the governor added.
This comes after Ukrainian officials said Moscow had launched a fresh missile attack on Kyiv, which reportedly damaged a building in the city centre hosting six embassies.
The foreign ministry said that the diplomatic missions of Albania, Argentina, North Macedonia, Palestine, Portugal and Montenegro were affected. It is unclear whether the building was directly targeted.
According to Ukraine's military, at least one person died and nine others were injured in the strike which damaged a number of buildings in the city.
European Union (EU) chief Ursula von der Leyen condemned the Friday's strike on the Ukrainian capital, calling it "another heinous Russian attack against Kyiv".
Russia has not yet commented.
Ukraine's military said Russia launched 65 drones and missiles across the country overnight, with most shot down.
The country's air force said it shot down all five of the Iskander-M/KN-23 ballistic missiles Russia launched on Kyiv on Friday morning, and the debris caused damage in five areas of the city.
It is not thought that any of the embassy diplomats were injured.
Portuguese foreign minister Paulo Rangel told local media: "It is absolutely unacceptable for attacks to damage or target diplomatic facilities."
The Republican-controlled House of Representatives has voted to pass a budget deal to avert what would be the first US federal government shut down since 2019.
The deal, which passed by a vote of 366 -34 only six hours before a midnight deadline, must still be approved by the Democratic-controlled Senate before it can be signed into law by President Joe Biden.
Lawmakers earlier this week had successfully negotiated a deal to fund government agencies - but it fell apart after President-elect Donald Trump and tech billionaire Elon Musk called on Republicans to reject it.
This vote was the third attempt this week to get a deal through the House after a second funding measure - that one backed by Trump - failed on Thursday.
The 118-page "American Relief Act, 2025" that passed in the House on Friday strips out a debt-limit provision that Trump had demanded, which was a sticking point for Democrats and some Republican budget hawks in an earlier draft bill.
The deal also removes measures sought by Democrats in the first version of the bill, including the first pay raise for lawmakers since 2009, federal funds to rebuild a bridge that collapsed in Baltimore, healthcare reforms, and provisions aimed at preventing hotels and live event venues from deceptive advertising.
A total of 34 Republicans voted against the short-term funding bill while all Democrats in attendance were in favour.
Trump has not yet commented on the vote. A statement put out by the White House on behalf of Biden praises the deal.
Ahead of the vote, Democrats slammed the involvement of Mr Musk in the process, who they pointed out is an unelected billionaire.
Mr Musk, who Trump has tasked with cutting government spending in his future administration, had lobbied heavily against an earlier bill.
During floor debate, Republicans said they look forward to a "new era" when Trump takes office and Republicans take control of both chambers of Congress next month.
The wrangling over budget left Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson bruised amid criticism from members of his own party over his handling of the process.
"We are grateful that everyone stood together to do the right thing and having gotten this done now as the last order of business for the year, we are set up for a big and important new start in January," Johnson told reporters after Friday's vote.
He also said that he had spoken frequently to both Trump and Mr Musk during the negotiations.
Johnsons remarks came shortly after Mr Musk praised the Louisiana congressman's work on the budget in a post on X, the social media platform he owns.
"The Speaker did a good job here, given the circumstances," he posted. "It went from a bill that weighed pounds to a bill that weighed ounces."
The dramatic budget fight served as a preview of the tense legislative fights that could be in store next year, once Trump is in the White House.
Officials have warned that if there is no funding deal going into the holiday season, millions of federal employees would go without paycheques if the government shuts down.
There will be countless other ways a shut down would affect Americans - including by limiting assistance to aid-reliant farmers and people recovering from natural disasters.
The last government shutdown was during Trump's first term in 2019 after the Republican-controlled House of Representatives failed to come to an agreement on a new spending bill.
That shutdown lasted 35 days, and was the longest in US history.
Sonic x Shadow Generations sold more than 1 million copies in a single day when it launched in October
Sega is considering launching its own Netflix-like subscription service for video games, a move which would accelerate gaming's transition towards streaming.
There are already a number of similar services on the market - such as Xbox Game Pass and PlayStation Plus - which see gamers pay a monthly fee for access to a range of titles rather than owning them outright.
Sega's president Shuji Utsumi told the BBC such subscription products were "very interesting", and his firm was "evaluating some opportunities".
"We're thinking something - and discussing something - we cannot disclose right now," he said.
Some in the industry have expressed concern about the move however telling the BBC it could see gamers "shelling out more money" on multiple subscription services.
It is not just Sony and Microsoft who offer game subscriptions - there are now countless players in the space, with rivals such as Nintendo, EA and Ubisoft all offering their own membership plans.
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Shuji Utsumi (right) attends the Sonic 3 movie premiere in Hollywood with Sega CEO Haruki Satomi (left) and Sonic series producer Takashi Iizuka (centre)
Currently, various Sega games are available across multiple streaming services.
The amount these services individually charge vary depending on the features and games made available. For example, Xbox Game Pass prices range from £6.99 to £14.99 a month, while PlayStation Plus ranges from £6.99 to £13.49 a month.
So it would make financial sense for Sega for people who are playing its titles to pay it subscription fees rather its rivals.
It could also be attractive for people who mostly want to play Sega games - but for everyone else it could result in higher costs.
Rachel Howie streams herself playing games on Twitch, where she is known as DontRachQuit to her fans, and said she was "excited and worried" about another subscription service
"We have so many subscriptions already that we find it very difficult to justify signing up for a new one," she told the BBC.
"I think that SEGA will definitely have a core dedicated audience that will benefit from this, but will the average gamer choose this over something like Game Pass?"
And Sophie Smart, Production Director at UK developer No More Robots, agreed.
"As someone whose first console was the Sega Mega Drive, what I'd love more than anything is to see Sega thriving and this feels like a step in a modern direction," she said.
But she wondered if Sega did create a rival subscription service if this would lead to their games being removed from other services.
"If so, it could mean that consumers are shelling out more money across owning multiple subscription services," she said.
Bringing Sega back
Shuji Utsumi spoke to the BBC ahead of the premiere of the film Sonic 3 on Saturday, after a year in which he oversaw the launch of Metaphor: ReFantazio, Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, and the latest Sonic the Hedgehog game.
Our conversation started in an unexpected way.
The very first thing Mr Utsumi said to me seemed to suggest that the firm, which dominated gaming in the 1990s with a rivalry between Sonic the Hedgehog and Nintendo's Super Mario, may have lost its way.
"I want to make Sega really shiny again," he said.
He said Sega had been putting too much focus on domestic success in Japan, and needed to re-establish itself on a global stage, which would mean expanding past its base.
"Sega has been somehow losing confidence," he said.
"But why? Sega has a great RPG group, Sega has amazing IPs, Sega is a really well-known brand.
"So I was like, hey, now is not the time to be defensive - but more offensive."
He said the company was too concerned about controlling costs when he took over, and he wants to "bring a rock and roll mentality" to gaming.
When I told him that sounded familiar - Sega's marketing in the 90s often tried to position Sonic the Hedgehog as the cool alternative to Mario - he agreed.
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Sonic and Mario had a storied rivalry in the 1990s, which significantly boosted sales of Sega's Mega Drive and Nintendo's SNES
He said the firm now simply must "make a great game" in the series.
"The next one is going to be a quite challenging, quite exciting game that we are working on," he said.
But he would not divulge whether Sega was considering a follow up to the much-loved Sonic Adventure series.
"Sonic Adventure was kind of a game-changer for Sonic," he said.
"When we release it, it should be good, it should be impressive - we need to meet or even exceed people's expectations, so it takes some time."
Part of the series which fans have been clamouring to see return is the Chao Garden - a much-loved virtual pet synonymous with Sonic Adventure.
Mr Utsumi said "we've been talking about it" - but would not go into further detail, only that he could not "say too much about it".
Sega's future
Mr Utsumi unsurprisingly talked up the firm's successes this year, which have included winning multiple gaming awards with new IP Metaphor: ReFantazio, made by the team behind the Persona series.
But it hasn't all been positive for the firm, with job cuts in March, and Football Manager 2025 being delayed to next year.
"But when you reset the initiative, you have to make that hard decision."
And he said Football Manager had been delayed over "a quality issue".
"I mean, financially, maybe providing the game at an early stage can be the better choice.
"But we decided to keep having the quality level - to keep that discipline."
And he also spoke of how Sega's year has gone outside of gaming, with several film and television adaptations being capped off with the third Sonic the Hedgehog movie releasing on Saturday.
"I just saw the movie - it's so much fun. It'd be nice if that kind of excitement goes on."
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Jim Carrey (right) returns in Sonic 3 as the villainous Dr Robotnik
Volkswagen has reached a deal with the IG Metall trade union which will avert plant closures in Germany and avoid immediate compulsory redundancies.
The two sides have, however, agreed to cut more than 35,000 jobs across the country in a "socially responsible manner" by 2030, in order to save some €15bn (£12.4bn).
Germany's largest carmaker had previously warned it might have to shutter plants in the country for the first time in a bid to cut costs.
After drawn-out negotiations which began in September, the union said on Friday that the two had "succeeded in finding a solution" that secures jobs and enables future investment.
VW was considering closing up to three factories in Germany and had been calling on its workforce to accept a 10% pay cut.
At the time, the union was calling for a 7% increase.
While the deal will also see a reduction in production capacity across its plants, it was celebrated by union leaders.
"No site will be closed, no-one will be laid off for operational reasons and our company wage agreement will be secured for the long term," said IG Metall's works council chief Daniela Cavallo.
"We have achieved a rock-solid solution under the most difficult economic conditions," she added.
The 35,000 job cuts by 2030 are expected to be found through different solutions such as offered early retirement.
Under the agreement, a 5% wage increase that was previously agreed will also be suspended in 2025 and 2026.
The union said this would help "support transformation" at the company.
The number of apprenticeships on offer each year in Germany will be reduced from 1,400 to 600 from 2026 too, and it will look at shifting some production to Mexico.
It is also looking at alternative options for its Dresden and Osnabrueck sites.
But Oliver Blume, VW's group chief executive, said in a statement that the agreement was "an important signal for the future viability of the Volkswagen brand".
Factory closures in Germany would have been unprecedented in the manufacturer's history.
VW, along with other German carmakers, has been badly affected by a decline in demand for its cars in China, previously a lucrative market.
At the same time, Chinese brands have been moving into Europe, increasing competition for sales.
During the talks, some 100,000 workers joined short, so-called "warning strikes" at sites across the country, in order to put pressure on the company's management.
The latest round of talks began on Monday, with negotiators apparently determined to get matters settled before Christmas.
The German chancellor Olaf Scholz also welcomed the announcement, describing it as a "good, socially acceptable solution".
Samuel Paty was killed in October 2020 after an online hate campaign
A French court has sentenced eight people to prison for their roles in a hate campaign that led to the murder of schoolteacher Samuel Paty in October 2020.
The sentences handed down range from three to 16 years.
The attack took place following social media posts falsely claiming Paty had shown his students obscene pictures of the Prophet Muhammad during a lesson on free speech.
Abdoullakh Anzorov murdered Samuel Paty, a history and geography teacher, at a secondary school in the Paris suburb of Conflans-Saint-Honorine.
Anzorov was shot dead by police minutes after killing the 47-year-old.
He was fired up by claims circulating on the internet that a few days earlier Paty had ordered Muslims to leave a class of 13-year-olds, before displaying the images of the prophet Muhammad.
In fact, Paty had been conducting a lesson on freedom of speech, and before showing one of the controversial images first published by the Charlie Hebdo magazine, he advised pupils to avert their eyes if they feared being offended.
US diplomats are in the Syrian capital Damascus where they plan to meet representatives from Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the group now in charge but which Washington still designates as a terrorist organisation.
The visit follows those of delegations in recent days from the UN and other countries including the UK, France and Germany.
This is the first formal American diplomatic appearance in Damascus in more than a decade.
It is a further sign of the dramatic shifts under way in Syria since the fall of the President Bashar al-Assad's regime more than a week ago, and the speed of efforts by the US and Europe, also leaning on Arab countries, to try to influence its emerging governance.
The delegation of senior officials includes Assistant Secretary of State Barbara Leaf, Roger Carstens, who is US President Joe Biden's hostage envoy and Daniel Rubinstein, senior adviser in the Bureau of Near East Affairs.
"They will be engaging directly with the Syrian people, including members of civil society, activists, members of different communities, and other Syrian voices about their vision for the future of their country and how the United States can help support them," a State Department spokesperson said in a statement.
They plan to meet representatives from HTS, in a show of readiness to deal with the group the US still designates as a terrorist organisation, but building pressure for it to transition to inclusive, non-sectarian government.
Washington is effectively laying down a set of conditions before it would consider delisting the group - a critical step which could help ease the path towards sanctions relief that Damascus desperately needs.
The officials are seeking further information to help find the American journalist Austin Tice, who was abducted in Damascus in 2012.
The Open Arms rescue boat was kept from docking for three weeks with 147 migrants on board
A verdict is expected on Friday in the trial of Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini, who is accused of kidnap and dereliction of duty over his refusal to let a migrant rescue boat dock in Italy in 2019.
Prosecutors in Sicily have asked judges to sentence him to six years in jail.
Salvini, who's leader of the right-wing Lega party and a government ally of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, has already said he will lodge an appeal if found guilty.
He has pushed back against the accusations, repeatedly alleging the judges were being "political" and maintaining his only guilt was in wanting to "protect Italy".
One of the prosecutors, Geri Ferrara, told the court in September that human rights had to prevail over the "protection of state sovereignty".
"A person stranded at sea must be saved and it is irrelevant whether they are classified as a migrant, a crewmember or a passenger", she said.
An NGO ship called Open Arms was carrying 147 migrants picked up off the Libyan coast when it was prevented from docking on the Italian island of Lampedusa on the orders of Salvini, who was interior minister at the time.
The Open Arms remained at sea for almost three weeks, and the health situation of the migrants on board seriously deteriorated.
Eventually, the prosecutor in the Sicilian city of Agrigento, Luigi Patronaggio, ordered the vessel to be preventatively seized after inspecting it and noting the "difficult situation on board".
Salvini maintained that the then-government of Giuseppe Conte had backed him fully in his mission to "close the ports" of Italy to NGO rescue ships.
PM Giorgia Meloni has stood by her deputy prime minister, saying he had her and her government's "solidarity".
"Turning the duty to protect Italy's borders from illegal immigration into a crime is a very serious precedent," she posted on X earlier this year.
She has never indicated that she would expect his resignation in case of a guilty verdict, and for his part Salvini has said he would not step down.
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Matteo Salvini's party has rallied around him ahead of the verdict
In recent months he has frequently referenced the trial and the forthcoming verdict in social media posts and during public speeches and interviews.
"I want to believe that Italy is a normal country, and in a normal country someone who defends borders isn't found guilty," he told Italian media earlier this week. If that was the case, he said, "it would be terrible news for the country and a reason to celebrate for people smugglers and enemies of Italy".
He has also alleged that the Italian judiciary was "politicised" and that some magistrates were "clearly following left-wing politics".
Elly Schlein, leader of the centre-left opposition Democratic Party, accused Salvini of "spreading propaganda and fuelling a serious institutional clash".
The three female prosecutors in the case have been under police protection since September after being harassed online and receiving threats.
Members of Salvini's Lega party have rallied around him and are preparing demonstrations in his support.
On Wednesday, Lega MEPs turned up at a European Parliament session in Strasbourg wearing t-shirts that read "Guilty of defending Italy" - a slogan Salvini has used in the past.
"A conviction would be an incredibly serious matter," said Lega deputy secretary Andrea Crippa: "It would be like convicting the entire Italian people, the Italian parliament and the elected government."
Lombardy's Lega party president, Attilio Fontana, said a guilty verdict would be "so aberrant, even from a judicial point of view, that I don't even want to think about it".
Others outside Italy have waded into the debate too.
"That mad prosecutor should be the one who goes to prison for six years," Elon Musk tweeted, while Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, a close ally of Salvini, called the trial "shameful".
If convicted, Salvini has said he will appeal against the verdict "all the way to the Supreme Court of Cassation" – Italy's highest court.
That process could take months and Salvini's position in the government and parliament would be unaffected.
Ukrainian officials said Moscow had launched a fresh attack on Kyiv
Russian authorities say six people have been killed including a child, in a Ukrainian strike in Russia's Kursk region.
The region's acting governor added that 10 people were taken to hospital following the attack on the town of Rylsk.
A cultural centre, fitness complex, school and homes were damaged, the governor added.
This comes after Ukrainian officials said Moscow had launched a fresh missile attack on Kyiv, which reportedly damaged a building in the city centre hosting six embassies.
The foreign ministry said that the diplomatic missions of Albania, Argentina, North Macedonia, Palestine, Portugal and Montenegro were affected. It is unclear whether the building was directly targeted.
According to Ukraine's military, at least one person died and nine others were injured in the strike which damaged a number of buildings in the city.
European Union (EU) chief Ursula von der Leyen condemned the Friday's strike on the Ukrainian capital, calling it "another heinous Russian attack against Kyiv".
Russia has not yet commented.
Ukraine's military said Russia launched 65 drones and missiles across the country overnight, with most shot down.
The country's air force said it shot down all five of the Iskander-M/KN-23 ballistic missiles Russia launched on Kyiv on Friday morning, and the debris caused damage in five areas of the city.
It is not thought that any of the embassy diplomats were injured.
Portuguese foreign minister Paulo Rangel told local media: "It is absolutely unacceptable for attacks to damage or target diplomatic facilities."
Hakainde Hichilema was elected Zambia's president in 2021
Two men have been arrested in Zambia accused of being "witchdoctors" who had been tasked with trying to bewitch the president.
The police said they had arrested Jasten Mabulesse Candunde and Leonard Phiri in the capital, Lusaka.
"Their purported mission was to use charms to harm" President Hakainde Hichilema, said the police statement, released on Friday.
Many people in the southern African country believe in - and live in fear of - witchcraft.
The police said Mr Candunde and Mr Phiri were hired by Nelson Banda, the younger brother of MP Emmanuel "Jay Jay" Banda.
The MP was reportedly arrested last month in neighbouring Zimbabwe over robbery charges, which he denies, but he has not been seen in public.
He is also accused of having escaped from custody in August as he awaited to appear in court.
The opposition Patriotic Front (PF) party, led by former President Edgar Lungu, has previously alleged that these charges are politically motivated.
Emmanuel Banda, who has been an independent MP since 2021, was previously associated with Lungu, who lost the presidency to Hichilema that year.
In their statement, the police said the MP's younger brother, Nelson, was "currently on the run".
Mr Candunde and Mr Phiri have been charged under Zambia's Witchcraft Act with "possession of charms", "professing knowledge of witchcraft" and "cruelty to wild animals".
The pair were found in possession of "assorted charms", including a live chameleon, the police added.
They told the police they had been promised more than 2m Zambian kwacha (£58,000; $73,000) for their "mission", according to the police statement.
The suspects are being held in custody and will appear in court "soon", the police said, but did not give an exact date for the hearing. They have not yet commented in public on the allegations.
US diplomats are in the Syrian capital Damascus where they plan to meet representatives from Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the group now in charge but which Washington still designates as a terrorist organisation.
The visit follows those of delegations in recent days from the UN and other countries including the UK, France and Germany.
This is the first formal American diplomatic appearance in Damascus in more than a decade.
It is a further sign of the dramatic shifts under way in Syria since the fall of the President Bashar al-Assad's regime more than a week ago, and the speed of efforts by the US and Europe, also leaning on Arab countries, to try to influence its emerging governance.
The delegation of senior officials includes Assistant Secretary of State Barbara Leaf, Roger Carstens, who is US President Joe Biden's hostage envoy and Daniel Rubinstein, senior adviser in the Bureau of Near East Affairs.
"They will be engaging directly with the Syrian people, including members of civil society, activists, members of different communities, and other Syrian voices about their vision for the future of their country and how the United States can help support them," a State Department spokesperson said in a statement.
They plan to meet representatives from HTS, in a show of readiness to deal with the group the US still designates as a terrorist organisation, but building pressure for it to transition to inclusive, non-sectarian government.
Washington is effectively laying down a set of conditions before it would consider delisting the group - a critical step which could help ease the path towards sanctions relief that Damascus desperately needs.
The officials are seeking further information to help find the American journalist Austin Tice, who was abducted in Damascus in 2012.
A child has been killed and others injured in a stabbing at a primary school in Croatia, police say.
The country's health minister said that a teacher was also injured in the knife attack in Zagreb on Friday. The alleged attacker was arrested at the scene, police said.
Photographs showed police officers, ambulance staff and forensic teams outside the building.
Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said he was "horrified" by the incident at Precko Elementary School.
US immigration authorities last year deported the largest number of undocumented immigrants in nearly a decade, surpassing the record of Donald Trump's first term in office.
More than 271,000 immigrants were deported from the US over the last fiscal year, according to a report released by the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency on Thursday.
The ICE report comes just weeks before President-elect Trump, who plans to make mass deportation a cornerstone of his incoming administration, takes office.
President Joe Biden in 2021 had pledged to pause deportations, but his administration ended up expanding it following a surge in border crossings.
In the newly released report, ICE said the steep climb in deportations last fiscal year was partly the result of a streamlined process.
More deportations flights went to further away destinations, including Africa and Asia, which did not accept US deportations for years, the agency said.
A majority of the deportations in fiscal year 2024 involved migrants apprehended by border officials compared to those ICE arrested in the US interior.
Roughly 82% of the 271,000 immigrants deported that year were arrested by border agents.
President-elect Trump has vowed to launch the "largest deportation operation in history" when he returns to office on 20 January.
Leading up to his decisive victory over Biden in November, Trump spent much of the time on the campaign trail attacking the White House's border policies.
Trump transition spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt told Reuters that Biden's deportations were insignificant compared to the high levels of illegal immigration during his presidency.
"On day one, President Trump will fix the immigration and national security nightmare that Joe Biden created by launching the largest mass deportation operation of illegal criminals in United States history," she said.
The number of migrant encounters along the US-Mexico border reached a record high in December 2023, but have dropped significantly, particularly in the last few months, and are now at their lowest level since July 2020, according to US Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
It also attributed the rise in deportations to improved diplomatic efforts convincing countries to take back more deportees.
Mexican authorities have also increasingly been clamping down on the flow of migrants headed north to the US border.
In June, President Biden issued an executive order that sharply limited asylum which along with Mexico's help led to a decrease in illegal border crossings.
Since then, the number of individuals released by the US Border Patrol pending immigration court proceedings is down 70%, the agency said.
A union representing more than 11,000 Starbucks baristas in the US says its members will hold a five-day strike starting Friday morning, in a dispute over pay and working conditions.
Workers United says the walkouts will happen in Los Angeles, Chicago, and Seattle, with strike action set to spread each day and reach hundreds of stores by Christmas Eve unless a deal is reached with the coffee shop giant.
It follows the union calling for Starbucks to raise wages and staffing, as well as implement better schedules for its workers.
"We are ready to continue negotiations to reach agreements. We need the union to return to the table," a Starbucks spokesperson said in response to the strike announcement.
The company also highlighted that it offers average pay of over $18 an hour, as well as "best-in-class benefits."
"Taken together they are worth an average of $30 per hour for baristas who work at least 20 hours per week," it said.
Workers United says it represents workers at more than 500 stores across 45 US states.
"It's a last resort, but Starbucks has broken its promise to thousands of baristas and left us with no choice," said Fatemeh Alhadjaboodi, a Starbucks barista from Texas said in a statement sent to the BBC by the union.
Workers United has highlighted what it sees as an unfair pay disparity between its members and senior Starbucks bosses, including chief executive Brian Niccol.
His annual base pay is $1.6m (£1.3m). He could also get a performance-related bonus of as much as $7.2m and up to $23m a year of Starbucks shares.
Starbucks has previously defended the plan, saying that Mr Niccol was "one of the most effective leaders in our industry" and that his compensation was "tied directly to the company's performance and the shared success of all our stakeholders".
Mr Niccol joined the company in September after his predecessor Laxman Narasimhan stepped down less than two years in the role.
The world's biggest coffee shop chain has seen flagging sales as it grappled with a backlash to price increases and boycotts sparked by the Israel-Gaza war.
Gisèle Pelicot: 'I never regretted decision to make trial public'
French President Emmanuel Macron has paid tribute to Gisèle Pelicot for the strength she showed in the mass rape trial of her husband and 50 other men.
Describing her as a trailblazer for women, he said her "dignity and courage moved and inspired France and the world".
Her ex-husband Dominique Pelicot, 72, was given a maximum 20 years in jail for aggravated rape, after confessing to drugging her for almost a decade and recruiting dozens of men to rape her while she lay comatose in bed.
After 50 other men were given lesser sentences, Gisèle Pelicot said the trial was a difficult ordeal, but she believed in a future where women and men could "live in harmony with respect and mutual understanding".
It was her decision to waive her anonymity and throw the trial open to the public that drew global attention to the issues of rape and drug-induced sexual assault.
Judges in Avignon in southern France found all 51 defendants aged 27 to 74 guilty, but a lawyer for Gisèle Pelicot said on Friday that "no sentence will give her back her ruined life".
Her three children were said to have been disappointed that many of the sentences had been shorter than the terms requested by prosecutors. They ranged from three to 15 years, rather than the maximum of 18 sought by prosecutors.
Forty-one of the men have been sent to jail immediately, reports say. Many of those convicted are likely to appeal against their sentences.
Dominique Pelicot's lawyer said he had been "somewhat stunned" by his 20-year jail term and would decide whether to appeal in the coming days. Judges say he will have to serve two-thirds of his sentence before being eligible for parole.
Campaigners against sexual violence have stood outside the court throughout the trial and hope it could bring about reform of France's rape laws and change the debate on rape culture and drug-induced sexual assault.
"Shame changes sides" has become one of the slogans of the case and, in an indication of the importance of the trial, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz thanked Gisèle Pelicot for giving women around the world "a strong voice".
"The shame always lies with the perpetrator," Scholz added.
One of her lawyers, Antoine Camus, told France Info radio on Friday that the trial would serve as a "building block" and that by making the proceedings public Gisèle Pelicot had sought to enable society to "get to grips with [the issues] and ask the right questions".
The president of France's National Assembly, Yaël Braun Pivet, said a taboo had been broken: "The world is no longer the same thanks to you."
French ex-prime minister Gabriel Attal hoped that the mass rape trial would send a "shock wave" through the education of every young boy - "because this is where the fight for equality and respect begins".
The US and Ukraine say North Korean troops are fighting Ukrainian forces in Russia's Kursk region
What Haneul remembers most about his time in the North Korean military is the gnawing, continuous hunger. He lost 10kg in his first month of service, due to a diet of cracked corn and mouldy cabbage.
Three months into training, he says almost his entire battalion was severely malnourished and needed to be sent to a recovery centre to gain weight.
When they were later deployed as frontline guards to the border with South Korea, rice replaced corn. But by the time it reached their bowls, much had been siphoned off by rear units, and the remainder had been cut with sand.
Haneul says his unit was among the best-fed, a tactic to stop them defecting to South Korea. But it failed to prevent Haneul.
In 2012, he made a death-defying dash across the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) – the strip of land dividing the North from the South.
His experience and that of other military defectors helps shed light on the condition of thousands of North Korean troops deployed to the frontline in Russia's war against Ukraine.
BBC/Hosu Lee
Haneul was deployed as a border guard in the Demilitarised Zone with South Korea when he defected in 2012
Pyongyang has reportedly sent around 11,000 troops to help Russian forces reclaim part of its Kursk region taken by Ukraine in a surprise summer offensive.
Earlier this week, Seoul, Washington and Kyiv said said the soldiers had now entered the fight "in significant numbers", and reported the first casualties, with South Korean officials estimating more than 100 had already been killed and more injured. This figure has not been confirmed.
However, defectors and other military experts have told the BBC these troops should not be underestimated.
According to South Korean intelligence, most belong to the elite Storm Corps unit, and have "high morale", but "lack an understanding of contemporary warfare".
Only the taller, sportier men are selected for the Storm Corps, says defector Lee Hyun Seung, who trained North Korea's special forces in the early 2000s before defecting in 2014.
He taught them martial arts, how to throw knives and make weapons out of cutlery and other kitchen utensils.
But even though the Storm Corps' training is more advanced than that of regular North Korean units, the soldiers are still underfed and even malnourished.
Online videos, reportedly of the troops in Russia, show younger, "frail" soldiers, Haneul says. They are a stark contrast to Pyongyang's propaganda videos, where men are seen bursting out of iron chains and smashing blocks of ice with their bare hands.
During his entire time in the army, Haneul says he fired only three bullets in a single live-fire training session.
The closest he came to combat was when a hungry farmer stumbled into the DMZ looking for vegetables. Haneul says he ignored instructions to "shoot any intruders" and let the man go with a warning.
BBC/Hosu Lee
Lee Hyun Seung was a special forces trainer in North Korea in the early 2000s
It is difficult to know how much has changed in the decade since Haneul defected, given the scarcity of information from North Korea. It appears that the country's leader Kim Jong Un has directed much of his limited resources into missiles and nuclear weapons rather than his standing army.
But according to another soldier, Ryu Seonghyun, who defected in 2019, the first three years in the military are "incredibly tough", even for the special forces. The 28-year-old, who worked as a driver in the air force for seven years, says that during his service, conditions deteriorated and rice gradually disappeared from meals.
"The soldiers are sent into the mountains for days with a small amount of rice, and are told it is part of their survival training."
Given these troops have been trained to fight in the mountainous Korean Peninsula, the defectors question how well they will adapt to fighting on the flatlands and in the trenches of Kursk.
Crucially, the Storm Corps are not a frontline unit. "Their mission is to infiltrate enemy lines and create chaos deep within enemy territory," Ryu says.
But, he adds, Kim Jong Un has no alternative to sending special forces, as regular soldiers spend most of their time farming, building or chopping wood.
"Kim Jong Un had to send men who could demonstrate at least a certain level of combat ability, to avoid damaging North Korea's reputation in Russia."
BBC/Maxine Collins
Ryu says soldiers are sent into the mountains for days with a small amount of rice as part of survival training
The language barrier seems to have created an additional hurdle. On Sunday, Ukraine's defence intelligence unit said communication issues had resulted in North Korean soldiers accidentally firing on a Russian battalion, killing eight.
With these assessments, it could be easy to dismiss the troops as "cannon fodder" and a sign of Russian President Vladimir Putin's desperation. But that would be a mistake, the defectors say. Their loyalty to the regime and fighting spirit will count for a lot.
"Most of the soldiers in the Storm Corps come from working-class or farming families, who are highly obedient to the party and will follow orders unquestionably," says Haneul, whose father and cousin were in the special forces.
Intense, ideological "brainwashing" sessions, held every morning, will further ensure they are mentally ready, Lee adds. He believes the North Korean troops "will become accustomed to the battlefield, learn how to fight the enemy, and find ways to survive".
Although the soldiers will not have been given a choice over whether to be deployed, Ryu thinks many will have wanted to go. The ambitious will see it as an opportunity to advance their careers, he says.
And given how tough it is to serve in North Korea, some will have relished the chance to experience life abroad for the first time.
"I think they'll be more willing to fight than Russian troops," he adds, admitting that in their situation, he too would have wanted to be sent.
Chun In-bum, a former commander of South Korea's special forces, agrees with the defectors' appraisals. "Just because they lack food and training, does not mean they are incapable. They will acclimatise quickly. We should not underestimate them."
While 11,000 troops are unlikely to turn the tide of such an attritional war – it is estimated Russia is suffering more than a thousand casualties a day – experts and officials believe this could be just the first tranche, with Pyongyang potentially able to send up to 60,000 or even 100,000 if they are rotated.
In these numbers, Mr Chun believes they could end up being effective.
Also, Kim Jong Un will be able to shoulder big losses without affecting the stability of his regime, the former soldiers say.
"Those who have been sent will be men without influence or connections – to put it bluntly, those who can be sacrificed without issue," Haneul says.
He remembers being shocked to learn there were no children of high-ranking parents in his frontline unit: "That's when I realised we were expendable."
He does not expect much resistance from the families of the deceased, whose sons, he says, will be honoured as heroes.
"There are countless parents who have lost a child after sending them to the military," he adds, recalling his second cousin who died. His aunt received a certificate, praising her son for his heroic contribution.
Reuters
Photos released by North Korea's state media in March 2024 show special forces soldiers taking part in a training session
The loyalty of the soldiers and their families could blunt Ukrainian and South Korean hopes that many will simply defect once they enter the fight. Kyiv and Seoul have discussed conducting psychological operations along the frontline to encourage the men to surrender.
But it seems they do not have access to mobile phones. According to Ukrainian intelligence, even Russian soldiers' phones are seized before they encounter North Korean troops.
So, possible infiltration strategies include broadcasting messages through loudspeakers or using drones to drop leaflets.
Both Ryu and Haneul decided to defect after reading anti-regime propaganda sent across the border from South Korea. But they are doubtful this would work so far from home.
They say it takes a long time to build up the desire and courage to defect.
Furthermore, Haneul suspects the officers will have been ordered to shoot anyone who attempts to flee. He remembers his comrades opening fire as he made his daring sprint across the DMZ.
"Twelve bullets flew just a metre over my head," he says.
Even capturing the North Korean troops may prove challenging for Ukraine.
In the North, being a prisoner of war is considered extremely shameful and worse than death. Instead, soldiers are taught to take their own lives, by shooting themselves or detonating a grenade.
Ryu recalls a famous military song entitled Save the Last Bullet. "They tell you to save two bullets, one to shoot the enemy and one to shoot yourself."
Nevertheless, the former special forces trainer Lee is determined to help. He has offered to go to the frontline to communicate directly with the soldiers.
"It's unlikely they will defect in large numbers, but we have to try. Hearing familiar voices like mine, and others from North Korea, might impact their psychology," he says.
Haneul just hopes they get home to North Korea. He knows there is a chance some of his relatives are among the troops sent to help Russia.
"I just hope they make it through and return safely."
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