The death toll after deadly floods hit the Nigerian town of Mokwa on Thursday has risen to more than 200, officials say.

There are still 500 people missing in the town in north-central Niger State, as a search mission continues.

The deputy chairman of Mokwa Local Government, Musa Kimboku, told the BBC that rescue efforts have ceased because authorities no longer believe anyone could still be alive.

The floods, said to be worst in the area for 60 years, swept through the towns of Tiffin Maza and Anguwan Hausawa after a bout of torrential rain.

In an effort to prevent disease in the area, authorities will soon start to dig out corpses buried underground, Mokwa's district head Muhammadu Aliyu said.

Recounting scenes of catastrophe, local residents told the BBC that they saw their homes and family members get washed away.

One man, Adamu Yusuf, lost his wife and newborn baby.

"I watched helplessly as water washed away my family. I survived because I could swim," he told the BBC.

Another resident, Saliu Sulaiman, said the floods had left him homeless and destroyed some of his cash business profits.

"I lost at least $1,500 to the floods. It was the proceeds from the sale of my farm produce the previous day. I contemplated going back into the room to get it, but the pressure of the water scared me."

On Sunday, the National Emergency Management Agency (Nema) announced it had started the process of providing relief packages to people affected.

The agency added in a post on Facebook that roads and bridges were also affected by the flood, which has had a knock-on effect on the local economy and traffic.

The Nigerian Red Cross also released a statement on Friday saying the floods had caused "significant loss of life and widespread distress".

Floods are not uncommon during the Nigerian rainy season, which lasts from April until October.

In 2024, Nigeria experienced flooding from heavy rain which caused deaths and drove people from their homes.

There was also severe flooding in 2022, when more than 600 people died and 1.3 million were displaced.

More BBC News stories about Nigeria:

• Could Nigeria's careful ethnic balancing act be under threat?
• Blank questions, power cuts and a suicide: Nigeria's exams fiasco
• 'How I survived Nigeria attack that killed my 16 friends'

Go to BBCAfrica.com for more news from the African continent.

Follow us on Twitter @BBCAfrica, on Facebook at BBC Africa or on Instagram at bbcafrica

Multiple people were injured after a man shouting "free Palestine" tossed Molotov cocktails at a gathering in support of Israeli hostages in Colorado, authorities said.

Police said eight people - aged 52 to 88 - were injured in the attack at the Pearl Street Mall, a popular outdoor space in Boulder, about 30 miles (48km) from Denver.

The FBI called it a suspected terror attack and said the suspect used a makeshift flamethrower, Molotov cocktails and other incendiary devices.

Footage of the attack shows the suspect, who was shirtless, screaming at the group and had what appears to be Molotov cocktails in each hand when he was arrested.

The attack unfolded during a weekly scheduled demonstration put on by Run for Their Lives, a pro-Israeli group that that holds walks in the outdoor pedestrian mall in solidarity with Israeli hostages in Gaza.

Police got calls around 13:26 local time (20:26 BST) about a man with a weapon and people being set on fire, Boulder Police Chief Stephen Redfearn said at a news conference.

Officers who responded found multiple people injured, including those with burns.

Witnesses told authorities that the suspect used a "makeshift flamethrower and threw an incendiary device into the crowd," said Mark Michalek, who heads the FBI's Denver office.

Redfearn added those devices included Molotov cocktails being tossed at the crowd.

Michalek identified the suspect as Mohamed Sabry Soliman, 45.

Soliman is an Egyptian national, government officials told the BBC's US partner CBS News.

In 2022, Soliman arrived in California on a non-immigrant visa that expired in February 2023, multiple sources have told CBS News. He had been living in Colorado Springs.

Footage that appeared to be from the attack showed a chaotic scene: smoke filling the air, people running in multiple directions, spots of grass on fire and people injured on the ground.

Warning: This story contains details some readers may find distressing.

In images and videos posted online, but not yet verified by the BBC, a man appearing to be the suspect is seen without a shirt and holding bottles with liquid with a piece of red cloth inside. He can be heard yelling at the crowd and appears to be advancing on them as some rush to flee.

As he screams, one woman is on the ground and appears injured. People surround her and one man pours water on her body.

Footage shows police rushing to the scene and arresting the suspect. Police say he was taken to the hospital with injuries.

"It is clear that this is a targeted act of violence and the FBI is investigating this as an act of terrorism," Mr Michalek said. "Sadly, attacks like this are becoming too common across the country."

The attack is the second high-profile act of violence in the US in the last two weeks related to the conflict in Gaza.

A man who shouted "free Palestine" fatally shot two Israeli embassy employees outside a Jewish museum in Washington DC on 22 May. The incident happened at a networking event organised by a Jewish organisation.

Colorado's Attorney General Phil Weiser said that from what officials know the attack "appears to be hate crime given the group that was targeted".

"People may have differing views about world events and the Israeli-Hamas conflict, but violence is never the answer to settling differences," Weiser said in a statement on Sunday. "Hate has no place in Colorado."

Israel's foreign minister, Gideon Sa'ar, said he was "shocked" by the incident and called the attack "pure antisemitism".

"Shocked by the terrible antisemitic terror attack targeting Jews in Boulder, Colorado," he wrote on X. "This is pure antisemitism, fueled by the blood libels spread in the media."

Danny Danon, Israel's ambassador to the UN, similarly was saddened over the attack, calling it "terrorism" and asking for "concrete action" in response.

In a post on X, the ambassador said that Jewish protesters were brutally attacked".

"Terrorism against Jews does not stop at the Gaza border – it is already burning the streets of America," he said.

Warsaw's liberal Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski has claimed victory in Poland's presidential election but his winning margin in an exit poll is well within the margin of error.

An exit poll, with a margin of error of 3% broadcast immediately after voting ended, indicates Trzaskowski winning on 50.3%, marginally ahead of his rival, conservative historian Karol Nawrocki on 49.7%.

The official result is due to be published on Monday morning, the head of the state electoral commission said.

Trzaskowski claimed victory in front of cheering supporters in Warsaw. "We won," he said.

"We won, although the phrase 'razor's edge' will forever enter the Polish language and politics," he added.

His wife, Malgorzata, jokingly told the crowd, "I'm close to having a heart attack".

Trzaskowski promised to reach out to voters who supported his opponent. I will be a president for all Polish women and men," he said.

Nawrocki told his supporters that the result is too close to call.

"Let's not lose hope for this night. We will win during the night, the difference is minimal. I believe that we will wake up tomorrow with President Karol Nawrocki," he said.

Poland's president is a largely ceremonial role with limited influence on foreign policy and defence, but they can veto legislation and Donald Tusk's pro-EU coalition government lacks a big enough parliamentary majority to overturn it.

The current conservative incumbent president, Andrzej Duda, has used his powers to prevent Prime Minister Tusk delivering key campaign promises including removing political influence from the judiciary and liberalising the country's strict abortion law.

If Trzaskowski's victory is confirmed that obstacle would be removed and would allow Tusk to cement Poland's place in the European mainstream.

However, Tusk also faces opposition from within his own coalition from the conservative Peoples' Party on issues including abortion and legalising civil partnerships.

A victory for national conservative Karol Nawrocki, who is supported by opposition Law and Justice (PiS) party, would mean continued conflict between the government and president.

It would also re-energise PiS, which lost power 18 months ago, giving the party the belief that it can go on to win parliamentary elections in 2027.

Both candidates support continued assistance for neighbouring Ukraine, although Nawrocki has said he opposes its entry into Nato and the EU for now while Russia continues its war of aggression.

Both men differ over their approach to the EU. Trzaskowski, a former Europe minister, supports Tusk's vision of a Poland at the heart of the European mainstream, influencing decisions through strong relations with Germany and France.

A deputy leader of Tusk's Civic Platform, he has served as Warsaw mayor since 2018.

He's the son of a famous Polish jazz pianist, speaks several languages and is viewed by some voters as a member of the country's liberal elite who is out of touch with ordinary Poles.

According to the CBOS polling company, Trzaskowski's typical voter is aged 30-40 years old, is relatively well off with left-liberal views and is open to LGBTQ+ and migrants' rights. They tend to live in large cities and have positive views of the EU.

Some voters said he tried to "artificially" present himself as a candidate who values patriotism. During the campaign, he has taken a much tougher line against illegal migration, something Tusk started to do before winning power in 2023 and he has volunteered to do basic military training.

Nawrocki, 42, supports a strong sovereign Poland and does not want the country to cede any more powers to Brussels. He opposes the EU's climate and migration policies. He's a conservative Catholic that prioritises traditional family values.

He was relatively unknown nationally before he was selected by opposition party PiS to be their "unofficial" candidate.

A keen amateur boxer and footballer, he often posted images of himself working out, allowing PiS to present him as a strong candidate who would stand up for ordinary Poles and the country's national interests.

A fan of President Donald Trump, he flew to Washington during the campaign for an extremely brief meeting to get a thumbs-up photo of himself with the American president in the Oval Office.

During the campaign he was attacked by the government and media for being morally unfit to be the country's president, but the allegations did not diminish his support during the last week of campaigning.

During a presidential debate, Nawrocki said that he, like most Poles, owned one apartment. That turned out to be a lie.

Nawrocki was accused of taking advantage of a vulnerable senior citizen to acquire his council flat at a huge discount in exchange for promises of care that were unfulfilled. Following the scandal, Nawrocki said he would donate the flat to charity but always denied the accusation.

Polish news website Onet.pl accused Nawrocki of helping to arrange sex workers for guests at the luxury Grand Hotel in the Baltic seaside resort of Sopot when he worked there as a security guard.

The story was based on anonymous sources, but Onet.pl said the witnesses had sworn they would repeat the allegations under oath in court. Nawrocki called the story a pack of lies and said he would sue the website.

His opponents portrayed him as a football hooligan who admired gangsters and neo-Nazi ultras. Nawrocki did not deny taking part in hooligan brawls as a younger man, calling them "noble fights". He has also said these allegations were an attempt to smear his reputation.

Some Nawrocki voters told me they did not believe certain stories about him, saying they were inventions of the mainstream Trzaskowski-supporting media.

The striking feature of this election has been the leading opposition candidate, Lee Jae-myung, campaigning in a bullet-proof vest.

At a recent rally, he was escorted to the podium by close protection officers, ready to shield him with their ballistic briefcases. He then addressed the crowd from behind bullet-proof glass, under the gaze of rooftop watchers.

This is not South Korean politics as usual. But South Korea has not been itself lately.

It is still recovering from the martial law crisis last December, when the president, Yoon Suk Yeol, tried to orchestrate a military takeover.

He failed, because of resistance from the public and politicians, and was impeached, triggering this snap election to choose his successor.

But the chaos Yoon unleashed that night has festered.

While stuck in limbo, without a president, the country has become more polarised and its politics more violent.

At street protests earlier this year it became commonplace to chant for various political leaders to be executed. And since launching his presidential bid, Lee has been receiving death threats, and his team say they have even uncovered a credible plot to assassinate him.

This election is an opportunity to steer South Korea back onto safer, more stable ground, and heal these fractures.

Given this, the ruling party was always going to struggle, marred by President Yoon's self-defeating coup. But rather than break away from the disgraced former president, the conservative People Power Party (PPP) has chosen a candidate who repeatedly defended Yoon and his actions.

Kim Moon-soo, Yoon's former labour minister, was the only cabinet member who refused to stand and apologise during a parliamentary hearing into martial law. He said sorry only well into his campaign, after he had won Yoon's public endorsement.

This has turned the election into more of a referendum on martial law than anything else. Given most of the public overwhelmingly rejected the move, it has also virtually gilded the path for the opposition leader Lee, who famously livestreamed himself scaling the walls of the parliament complex, to get inside and vote down the president's order.

Now the Democratic Party politician portrays himself as the only candidate who can ensure this never happens again. He has said he will change the constitution to make it more difficult for future presidents to declare martial law.

"We must prevent the return of the rebellion forces," Lee urged voters at his recent rally from behind fortified glass.

Such promises have pulled in people from across the political spectrum. "I didn't like Lee before, but since martial law I now trust and depend on him," said 59-year-old Park Suh-jung, who admitted this was the first time she had attended a political event.

One man in his 50s said he was a member of another smaller political party, but had decided to back Lee this time: "He is the only person who can end Yoon's martial law insurrection. We need to stop those who destroyed our democracy."

Most recent polls put Lee about 10 points ahead of his rival Kim, but he was not always so popular. This is his second time running for president, having lost out to Yoon three years ago. He is a divisive character, who has been embroiled in a series of court cases and political scandals. There are many who do not trust him, who loathe him even.

Kim, hoping to capitalise on this, has branded himself "the fair and just candidate". It is a slogan his supporters have adopted, many seemingly backing him not for his policies, but because he is not Lee.

"I don't like Kim but at this point there's no real choice. The other candidate has too many issues," said one elderly woman who is planning to vote for him.

Kim has charted an unusual political path. As a student who campaigned for workers' rights, he was tortured and imprisoned under South Korea's right-wing dictatorship in the 1980s but then moved sharply to the right himself.

He was picked by the party base, many of whom are still loyal to Yoon. The party leadership, realising he was not the best choice, tried to replace him at the last minute with a more moderate, experienced politician, only to be blocked by furious members.

This has left the party weak and divided, with many suspecting it will splinter into rival factions after voting day. "Haven't we already imploded?" one party insider said to me recently, their face crumpled in their hands. "This is a miserable campaign."

"Choosing Kim is the biggest mistake the conservative party have made in this election, and they do know that. They will have to be held accountable for this decision," said Jeongmin Kim, the executive director of Korea Pro, a Seoul-based news and analysis service.

Lee has seized this opportunity to hoover up centrist votes. He has shifted his policies to the right, and even claimed his left-leaning party is, in fact, conservative.

This, despite his reputation as a staunch leftist. He grew up in a slum outside Seoul, working in factories rather than attending school, and is someone who has previously quoted US senator Bernie Sanders.

But gone are his previous pledges to introduce a universal basic income. This time, he is courting South Korea's powerful conglomerate businesses, the chaebols. He has even incorporated the conservative colour red into his own blue logo, and hits the campaign trail wearing red and blue trainers.

He has rebranded his foreign policy too. Typically, his Democratic Party is cautious about Korea's security alliance with the US, preferring to prioritise relations with China and North Korea.

But Lee is casting himself as a "pragmatist" who can adapt to a changing security environment. "The US-Korea alliance is the backbone of our national security. It should be strengthened and deepened," he said in a recent televised debate.

All this has left voters and diplomats here unsure of what he really stands for, and what he will do if elected - though this seems to be the point.

Ms Kim, Korea Pro's analyst, believes his makeover is more genuine than might appear. "He was already high up in the polls, so he didn't need to work hard to win votes," she said. "I think he is playing a longer game. He wants to be a popular leader, someone who can be trusted by more than half of the country."

Bringing the country together will be the biggest challenge for whoever wins.

When people vote on Tuesday, it will be six months to the day since they came out onto the streets to resist a military takeover.

After months of chaos, they are desperate to move forward, so the country can start addressing pressing issues that have been on hold, including tariff negotiations with US President Donald Trump.

But more than anything they hope this election can restore their own confidence in their democracy, which has been badly shaken.

At a baseball game in the capital Seoul last week – arguably the only place where Koreans are as tribal as they are about politics – both sides were united, acutely aware of this election's importance.

"I'm really concerned about our democracy," said Dylan, a data engineer. "I hope we have the power to save it and make it greater than before. My vote is a piece of power."

"The next president needs to show people clearly and transparently what he is doing," said one man in his mid-20s. "We need to watch him carefully."

If Lee is to win, and by the margin the polls suggest, he would have a solid mandate, as well as control of parliament, giving him three years to implement major political reforms.

That could be good for rebuilding South Korea's stability but would come with its own challenges, said the political analyst Ms Kim.

"If Lee wins, he will have a lot of power. {Given how Yoon behaved} he will need to be very responsible when using it."

Three people have died after a fire broke out overnight at a hospital ward caring for elderly people in Hamburg.

The north German city's fire brigade said they were unable to reach the three victims during the rescue effort. They died at the scene.

The fire at the Marienkrankenhaus was reported shortly after midnight.

Around 220 emergency workers were dispatched to tackle the blaze and treat patients. More than 35 people were injured.

Two people were taken to another hospital in the city for treatment. One person has life-threatening injuries, said the fire brigade.

They added 18 others had suffered serious injuries and another 15 people had minor wounds.

Some of the injured were treated in the Marienkrankenhaus's emergency room by hospital staff.

When the first firefighters arrived, a ground floor room at the hospital was already ablaze and the fire was threatening to spread to the room above.

Patients in other rooms came to their windows to tell firefighters they were unable to leave due to the smoke. The building has four floors.

The fire brigade said they used turntable and portable ladders to rescue patients, several of whom were elderly and had mobility issues.

Other patients were helped out through corridors with the aid of fire escape hoods, a breathing apparatus used by fire brigades in smoke-filled environments.

Firefighters were able to stop the flames spreading to other rooms in the hospital. The cause of the fire is not yet known.

Warsaw's liberal Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski has claimed victory in Poland's presidential election but his winning margin in an exit poll is well within the margin of error.

An exit poll, with a margin of error of 3% broadcast immediately after voting ended, indicates Trzaskowski winning on 50.3%, marginally ahead of his rival, conservative historian Karol Nawrocki on 49.7%.

The official result is due to be published on Monday morning, the head of the state electoral commission said.

Trzaskowski claimed victory in front of cheering supporters in Warsaw. "We won," he said.

"We won, although the phrase 'razor's edge' will forever enter the Polish language and politics," he added.

His wife, Malgorzata, jokingly told the crowd, "I'm close to having a heart attack".

Trzaskowski promised to reach out to voters who supported his opponent. I will be a president for all Polish women and men," he said.

Nawrocki told his supporters that the result is too close to call.

"Let's not lose hope for this night. We will win during the night, the difference is minimal. I believe that we will wake up tomorrow with President Karol Nawrocki," he said.

Poland's president is a largely ceremonial role with limited influence on foreign policy and defence, but they can veto legislation and Donald Tusk's pro-EU coalition government lacks a big enough parliamentary majority to overturn it.

The current conservative incumbent president, Andrzej Duda, has used his powers to prevent Prime Minister Tusk delivering key campaign promises including removing political influence from the judiciary and liberalising the country's strict abortion law.

If Trzaskowski's victory is confirmed that obstacle would be removed and would allow Tusk to cement Poland's place in the European mainstream.

However, Tusk also faces opposition from within his own coalition from the conservative Peoples' Party on issues including abortion and legalising civil partnerships.

A victory for national conservative Karol Nawrocki, who is supported by opposition Law and Justice (PiS) party, would mean continued conflict between the government and president.

It would also re-energise PiS, which lost power 18 months ago, giving the party the belief that it can go on to win parliamentary elections in 2027.

Both candidates support continued assistance for neighbouring Ukraine, although Nawrocki has said he opposes its entry into Nato and the EU for now while Russia continues its war of aggression.

Both men differ over their approach to the EU. Trzaskowski, a former Europe minister, supports Tusk's vision of a Poland at the heart of the European mainstream, influencing decisions through strong relations with Germany and France.

A deputy leader of Tusk's Civic Platform, he has served as Warsaw mayor since 2018.

He's the son of a famous Polish jazz pianist, speaks several languages and is viewed by some voters as a member of the country's liberal elite who is out of touch with ordinary Poles.

According to the CBOS polling company, Trzaskowski's typical voter is aged 30-40 years old, is relatively well off with left-liberal views and is open to LGBTQ+ and migrants' rights. They tend to live in large cities and have positive views of the EU.

Some voters said he tried to "artificially" present himself as a candidate who values patriotism. During the campaign, he has taken a much tougher line against illegal migration, something Tusk started to do before winning power in 2023 and he has volunteered to do basic military training.

Nawrocki, 42, supports a strong sovereign Poland and does not want the country to cede any more powers to Brussels. He opposes the EU's climate and migration policies. He's a conservative Catholic that prioritises traditional family values.

He was relatively unknown nationally before he was selected by opposition party PiS to be their "unofficial" candidate.

A keen amateur boxer and footballer, he often posted images of himself working out, allowing PiS to present him as a strong candidate who would stand up for ordinary Poles and the country's national interests.

A fan of President Donald Trump, he flew to Washington during the campaign for an extremely brief meeting to get a thumbs-up photo of himself with the American president in the Oval Office.

During the campaign he was attacked by the government and media for being morally unfit to be the country's president, but the allegations did not diminish his support during the last week of campaigning.

During a presidential debate, Nawrocki said that he, like most Poles, owned one apartment. That turned out to be a lie.

Nawrocki was accused of taking advantage of a vulnerable senior citizen to acquire his council flat at a huge discount in exchange for promises of care that were unfulfilled. Following the scandal, Nawrocki said he would donate the flat to charity but always denied the accusation.

Polish news website Onet.pl accused Nawrocki of helping to arrange sex workers for guests at the luxury Grand Hotel in the Baltic seaside resort of Sopot when he worked there as a security guard.

The story was based on anonymous sources, but Onet.pl said the witnesses had sworn they would repeat the allegations under oath in court. Nawrocki called the story a pack of lies and said he would sue the website.

His opponents portrayed him as a football hooligan who admired gangsters and neo-Nazi ultras. Nawrocki did not deny taking part in hooligan brawls as a younger man, calling them "noble fights". He has also said these allegations were an attempt to smear his reputation.

Some Nawrocki voters told me they did not believe certain stories about him, saying they were inventions of the mainstream Trzaskowski-supporting media.

Ukraine claims to have hit more than 40 Russian warplanes at several military airfields, in what appears to be one of the most audacious drone attacks so far on Russian aviation.

According to a statement from Ukraine's security service, SBU, "enemy strategic bombers are burning en masse in Russia".

The SBU says Ukraine is conducting "a large-scale special operation aimed at destroying enemy bomber aircraft."

Dramatic footage has emerged purportedly showing a drone attack at Belaya airbase in Irkutsk oblast, Siberia, thousands of miles from Ukraine.

Russia's military has not commented on the issue.

This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly. Please refresh the page for the fullest version.

You can receive Breaking News on a smartphone or tablet via the BBC News App. You can also follow @BBCBreaking on X to get the latest alerts.

It's hard to exaggerate the sheer audacity - or ingenuity - that went into Ukraine's countrywide assault on Russia's air force.

We cannot possibly verify Ukrainian claims that the attacks resulted in $7bn (£5.2bn) of damage, but it's clear that "Operation Spider's Web" was, at the very least, a spectacular propaganda coup.

Ukrainians are already comparing it with other notable military successes since Russia's full-scale invasion, including the sinking of the flagship of Russia's Black Sea fleet, the Moskva, and the bombing of the Kerch Bridge, both in 2022, as well as a missile attack on Sevastopol harbour the following year.

Judging by details leaked to the media by Ukraine's military intelligence, the SBU, the latest operation is the most elaborate achievement so far.

In an operation said to have taken 18 months to prepare, scores of small drones were smuggled into Russia, stored in special compartments aboard freight trucks, driven to at least four separate locations, thousands of miles apart, and launched remotely towards nearby airbases.

"No intelligence operation in the world has done anything like this before," defence analyst Serhii Kuzan told Ukrainian TV.

"These strategic bombers are capable of launching long-range strikes against us," he said. "There are only 120 of them and we struck 40. That's an incredible figure."

It is hard to assess the damage, but Ukrainian military blogger Oleksandr Kovalenko says that even if the bombers, and command and control aircraft were not destroyed, the impact is enormous.

"The extent of the damage is such that the Russian military-industrial complex, in its current state, is unlikely to be able to restore them in the near future," he wrote on his Telegram channel.

The strategic missile-carrying bombers in question, the Tu-95, Tu-22, and Tu-160 are, he said, no longer in production. Repairing them will be difficult, replacing them impossible.

The loss of the supersonic Tu-160, he said, would be especially keenly felt.

"Today, the Russian Aerospace Forces lost not just two of their rarest aircraft, but truly two unicorns in the herd," he wrote.

Beyond the physical damage, which may or may not be as great as analysts here are assessing, Operation Spider's Web sends another critical message, not just to Russia but also to Ukraine's western allies.

My colleague Svyatoslav Khomenko, writing for the BBC Ukrainian Service website, recalls a recent encounter with a government official in Kyiv.

The official was frustrated.

"The biggest problem," the official told Svyatoslav, "is that the Americans have convinced themselves we've already lost the war. And from that assumption everything else follows."

Ukrainian defence journalist Illia Ponomarenko, posting on X, puts it another way, with a pointed reference to President Volodymyr Zelensky's infamous Oval office encounter with Donald Trump.

"This is what happens when a proud nation under attack doesn't listen to all those: 'Ukraine has only six months left'. 'You have no cards'. 'Just surrender for peace, Russia cannot lose'."

Even more pithy was a tweet from the quarterly Business Ukraine journal, which proudly proclaimed "It turns out Ukraine does have some cards after all. Today Zelensky played the King of Drones."

This, then, is the message Ukrainian delegates carry as they arrive in Istanbul for a fresh round of ceasefire negotiations with representatives from the Kremlin: Ukraine is still in the fight.

The Americans "begin acting as if their role is to negotiate for us the softest possible terms of surrender," the government official told Svyatoslav Khomenko.

"And then they're offended when we don't thank them. But of course we don't – because we don't believe we've been defeated."

Despite Russia's slow, inexorable advance through the battlefields of the Donbas, Ukraine is telling Russia, and the Trump administration, not to dismiss Kyiv's prospects so easily.

At least 15 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli tank shelling and gunfire near an aid distribution centre in Rafah in southern Gaza, according to medics and local residents.

Mohammed Ghareeb, a local journalist in Rafah, told the BBC that thousands of Palestinians had gathered near a US-funded humanitarian aid distribution centre when Israeli tanks approached and opened fire on the crowd.

Local journalists and activists shared harrowing footage of bodies and wounded individuals being transported on donkey carts to a Red Cross field hospital in the al-Mawasi area of Rafah, as rescue teams were reportedly unable to reach the scene.

The BBC has contacted the IDF for a response.

Mr Ghareeb said the crowd of Palestinians had gathered near Al-Alam roundabout around 04:30 local time (02:30 BST), close to the aid centre run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, shortly before Israeli tanks appeared and opened fire.

"The dead and wounded lay on the ground for a long time," Mr Ghareeb said.

"Rescue crews could not access the area, which is under Israeli control. This forced residents to use donkey carts to transport victims to the field hospital."

A doctor at the Red Cross field hospital told reporters that 15 bodies and 50 injured people had arrived at the facility.

Efforts were under way to transfer the casualties to Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis for further treatment, the doctor added.

Civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal told the AFP news agency the number wounded stood at more than 100, saying: "At least 10 Palestinians were killed and more than 100 others... were wounded due to gunfire from Israeli vehicles towards thousands of citizens".

The incident underscores the dire humanitarian conditions in Rafah, where recent Israeli military operations have severely limited access to aid and emergency services.

On Saturday, crowds of civilians rushed aid trucks in Gaza, the World Food Programme has said, as hunger and desperation create chaotic scenes.

The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation is a new US and Israel-backed organisation that has been distributing food at designated sites across Gaza. Israel set up the plan after accusing Hamas of stealing aid, which the group denies.

The GHF said it distributed two million meals this week, which the BBC has not been able to independently verify.

This comes as the US attempts to broker a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas.

Hamas responded to the US ceasefire proposal by saying it is prepared to release 10 living Israeli hostages and 18 dead hostages in exchange for a number of Palestinian prisoners.

However, the group also repeated its demands for a permanent truce, a complete Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and guarantees for the continuous flow of humanitarian aid. None of these are in the deal on the table.

Hamas said it had submitted its response to the US draft proposed by Steve Witkoff, US President Donald Trump's special envoy for the Middle East.

Witkoff said the proposal was "unacceptable and only takes us backward" and insisted the US deal was "the only way we can close a 60-day ceasefire deal in the coming days."

Warsaw's liberal Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski has claimed victory in Poland's presidential election but his winning margin in an exit poll is well within the margin of error.

An exit poll, with a margin of error of 3% broadcast immediately after voting ended, indicates Trzaskowski winning on 50.3%, marginally ahead of his rival, conservative historian Karol Nawrocki on 49.7%.

The official result is due to be published on Monday morning, the head of the state electoral commission said.

Trzaskowski claimed victory in front of cheering supporters in Warsaw. "We won," he said.

"We won, although the phrase 'razor's edge' will forever enter the Polish language and politics," he added.

His wife, Malgorzata, jokingly told the crowd, "I'm close to having a heart attack".

Trzaskowski promised to reach out to voters who supported his opponent. I will be a president for all Polish women and men," he said.

Nawrocki told his supporters that the result is too close to call.

"Let's not lose hope for this night. We will win during the night, the difference is minimal. I believe that we will wake up tomorrow with President Karol Nawrocki," he said.

Poland's president is a largely ceremonial role with limited influence on foreign policy and defence, but they can veto legislation and Donald Tusk's pro-EU coalition government lacks a big enough parliamentary majority to overturn it.

The current conservative incumbent president, Andrzej Duda, has used his powers to prevent Prime Minister Tusk delivering key campaign promises including removing political influence from the judiciary and liberalising the country's strict abortion law.

If Trzaskowski's victory is confirmed that obstacle would be removed and would allow Tusk to cement Poland's place in the European mainstream.

However, Tusk also faces opposition from within his own coalition from the conservative Peoples' Party on issues including abortion and legalising civil partnerships.

A victory for national conservative Karol Nawrocki, who is supported by opposition Law and Justice (PiS) party, would mean continued conflict between the government and president.

It would also re-energise PiS, which lost power 18 months ago, giving the party the belief that it can go on to win parliamentary elections in 2027.

Both candidates support continued assistance for neighbouring Ukraine, although Nawrocki has said he opposes its entry into Nato and the EU for now while Russia continues its war of aggression.

Both men differ over their approach to the EU. Trzaskowski, a former Europe minister, supports Tusk's vision of a Poland at the heart of the European mainstream, influencing decisions through strong relations with Germany and France.

A deputy leader of Tusk's Civic Platform, he has served as Warsaw mayor since 2018.

He's the son of a famous Polish jazz pianist, speaks several languages and is viewed by some voters as a member of the country's liberal elite who is out of touch with ordinary Poles.

According to the CBOS polling company, Trzaskowski's typical voter is aged 30-40 years old, is relatively well off with left-liberal views and is open to LGBTQ+ and migrants' rights. They tend to live in large cities and have positive views of the EU.

Some voters said he tried to "artificially" present himself as a candidate who values patriotism. During the campaign, he has taken a much tougher line against illegal migration, something Tusk started to do before winning power in 2023 and he has volunteered to do basic military training.

Nawrocki, 42, supports a strong sovereign Poland and does not want the country to cede any more powers to Brussels. He opposes the EU's climate and migration policies. He's a conservative Catholic that prioritises traditional family values.

He was relatively unknown nationally before he was selected by opposition party PiS to be their "unofficial" candidate.

A keen amateur boxer and footballer, he often posted images of himself working out, allowing PiS to present him as a strong candidate who would stand up for ordinary Poles and the country's national interests.

A fan of President Donald Trump, he flew to Washington during the campaign for an extremely brief meeting to get a thumbs-up photo of himself with the American president in the Oval Office.

During the campaign he was attacked by the government and media for being morally unfit to be the country's president, but the allegations did not diminish his support during the last week of campaigning.

During a presidential debate, Nawrocki said that he, like most Poles, owned one apartment. That turned out to be a lie.

Nawrocki was accused of taking advantage of a vulnerable senior citizen to acquire his council flat at a huge discount in exchange for promises of care that were unfulfilled. Following the scandal, Nawrocki said he would donate the flat to charity but always denied the accusation.

Polish news website Onet.pl accused Nawrocki of helping to arrange sex workers for guests at the luxury Grand Hotel in the Baltic seaside resort of Sopot when he worked there as a security guard.

The story was based on anonymous sources, but Onet.pl said the witnesses had sworn they would repeat the allegations under oath in court. Nawrocki called the story a pack of lies and said he would sue the website.

His opponents portrayed him as a football hooligan who admired gangsters and neo-Nazi ultras. Nawrocki did not deny taking part in hooligan brawls as a younger man, calling them "noble fights". He has also said these allegations were an attempt to smear his reputation.

Some Nawrocki voters told me they did not believe certain stories about him, saying they were inventions of the mainstream Trzaskowski-supporting media.

The death toll after deadly floods hit the Nigerian town of Mokwa on Thursday has risen to more than 200, officials say.

There are still 500 people missing in the town in north-central Niger State, as a search mission continues.

The deputy chairman of Mokwa Local Government, Musa Kimboku, told the BBC that rescue efforts have ceased because authorities no longer believe anyone could still be alive.

The floods, said to be worst in the area for 60 years, swept through the towns of Tiffin Maza and Anguwan Hausawa after a bout of torrential rain.

In an effort to prevent disease in the area, authorities will soon start to dig out corpses buried underground, Mokwa's district head Muhammadu Aliyu said.

Recounting scenes of catastrophe, local residents told the BBC that they saw their homes and family members get washed away.

One man, Adamu Yusuf, lost his wife and newborn baby.

"I watched helplessly as water washed away my family. I survived because I could swim," he told the BBC.

Another resident, Saliu Sulaiman, said the floods had left him homeless and destroyed some of his cash business profits.

"I lost at least $1,500 to the floods. It was the proceeds from the sale of my farm produce the previous day. I contemplated going back into the room to get it, but the pressure of the water scared me."

On Sunday, the National Emergency Management Agency (Nema) announced it had started the process of providing relief packages to people affected.

The agency added in a post on Facebook that roads and bridges were also affected by the flood, which has had a knock-on effect on the local economy and traffic.

The Nigerian Red Cross also released a statement on Friday saying the floods had caused "significant loss of life and widespread distress".

Floods are not uncommon during the Nigerian rainy season, which lasts from April until October.

In 2024, Nigeria experienced flooding from heavy rain which caused deaths and drove people from their homes.

There was also severe flooding in 2022, when more than 600 people died and 1.3 million were displaced.

More BBC News stories about Nigeria:

• Could Nigeria's careful ethnic balancing act be under threat?
• Blank questions, power cuts and a suicide: Nigeria's exams fiasco
• 'How I survived Nigeria attack that killed my 16 friends'

Go to BBCAfrica.com for more news from the African continent.

Follow us on Twitter @BBCAfrica, on Facebook at BBC Africa or on Instagram at bbcafrica

Members of the Western alliance Nato need to prepare for a possible attack from Russia within the next four years, according to Germany's chief of defence.

General Carsten Breuer told the BBC that Russia was producing hundreds of tanks a year, many of which could be used for an attack on Nato Baltic state members by 2029 or even earlier.

He also insisted that Nato, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, remains unified over the war in Ukraine, despite differences of opinion expressed recently by both Hungary and Slovakia.

Gen Breuer was speaking on the sidelines of the Shangri-la Dialogue, a defence summit in Singapore organised by the think tank International Institute of Strategic Studies.

His comments come weeks ahead of a summit of Nato nations at The Hague where they are expected to discuss defence budgets, among other topics.

Gen Breuer said that Nato was facing "a very serious threat" from Russia, one that he has never seen before in his 40 years in service.

At the moment, he said, Russia was building up its forces to an "enormous extent", producing approximately 1,500 main battle tanks every year.

"Not every single tank is going to [the war in] Ukraine, but it's also going in stocks and into new military structures always facing the West," he said.

Russia also produced four million rounds of 152mm artillery munition in 2024, and not all of it was going to Ukraine either, added Gen Breuer.

"There's an intent and there's a build up of the stocks" for a possible future attack on Nato's Baltic state members, he said.

"This is what the analysts are assessing - in 2029. So we have to be ready by 2029... If you ask me now, is this a guarantee that's not earlier than 2029? I would say no, it's not. So we must be able to fight tonight," he said.

Many have long feared an attack on a Nato state as it could trigger a larger war between Russia and the US, which is a key member of Nato. Under Article 5 of the Nato agreement, any attack on a member state would mean other members must come to its defence.

Gen Breuer singled out the so-called Suwalki Gap, an area that borders Lithuania, Poland, Russia and Belarus, as one of the most vulnerable.

"The Baltic States are really exposed to the Russians, right? And once you are there, you really feel this... in the talks we are having over there," he said.

The Estonians, he said, had given the analogy of being close to a wildfire where they "feel the heat, see the flames and smell the smoke", while in Germany "you probably see a little bit of smoke over the horizon and not more".

Gen Breuer said this showed the differing perspectives among European states of the threat of a possible Russian attack.

Russia's view of the Ukraine war was different from the West's, he said, where Moscow sees the war as more of a "continuum" in a larger conflict with Nato and is therefore "trying to find ways into our defence lines and it's testing it".

He cited recent attacks on undersea cables in the Baltic Sea, cyber attacks on European public transport, and unidentified drones spotted over German power stations and other infrastructure.

Nato members should therefore build up their militaries again, Gen Breuer argued. "What we have to do now is really to lean in and to tell everybody, hey, ramp up... get more into it because we need it. We need it to be able to defend ourselves and therefore also to build up deterrence."

Asked by the BBC about Nato cohesion, given Hungary and Slovakia's closer relations with Moscow, Gen Breuer insisted the alliance was still healthy.

He pointed to Finland and Sweden's decisions to join Nato shortly after the Ukraine war began. "I've never seen such a unity like it is now" among nations and military leaders, he said.

"All of them understand the threat that is at the moment approaching Nato, all understand that we have to develop a direction of deterrence, into the direction of collective defence. This is clear to everyone. The urgency is seen."

Gen Breuer's remarks are yet another sign of a significant change in attitudes in Germany towards defence and Russia.

Like many Western nations, including the UK, it has scaled down its investments in its military over many years.

But there has been a growing recognition of the need to reverse this, with even the Green Party coming onboard a recent vote to lift restrictions on Germany's defence spending.

But as Western military and political leaders say they are ready for the fight, questions remain on whether this is a case of ambition outpacing reality.

It will take years for Europe's military industrial base to crank up to speed to match anywhere near the scale of weaponry that Russia is churning out.

The US has also been drawing down, not building up, its defence commitments to Europe to focus on the Indo-Pacific.

Two Scottish men have been killed in a shooting at a bar in southern Spain, according to Spanish officials.

A gunman fired several shots at Monaghans Bar in Fuengirola in Andalusia on Saturday evening.

Javier Salas from the central government in the Malaga province, confirmed to BBC News both men were believed to be Scottish.

Spanish media reported that officers from the region's specialist and violent crime unit (UDEV) have launched an investigation.

Regional newspaper Diario Sur reported the attack took place just after 23:00 when a car pulled up and a masked man opened fire.

They said both men died at the scene, and the gunman fled in the vehicle.

The Foreign Office has been contacted for comment.

Monaghans is located on the seafront and is a popular bar with tourists and expats.

The bar had been screening the UEFA Champions League final on the evening of the attack.

At least 15 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli tank shelling and gunfire near an aid distribution centre in Rafah in southern Gaza, according to medics and local residents.

Mohammed Ghareeb, a local journalist in Rafah, told the BBC that thousands of Palestinians had gathered near a US-funded humanitarian aid distribution centre when Israeli tanks approached and opened fire on the crowd.

Local journalists and activists shared harrowing footage of bodies and wounded individuals being transported on donkey carts to a Red Cross field hospital in the al-Mawasi area of Rafah, as rescue teams were reportedly unable to reach the scene.

The BBC has contacted the IDF for a response.

Mr Ghareeb said the crowd of Palestinians had gathered near Al-Alam roundabout around 04:30 local time (02:30 BST), close to the aid centre run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, shortly before Israeli tanks appeared and opened fire.

"The dead and wounded lay on the ground for a long time," Mr Ghareeb said.

"Rescue crews could not access the area, which is under Israeli control. This forced residents to use donkey carts to transport victims to the field hospital."

A doctor at the Red Cross field hospital told reporters that 15 bodies and 50 injured people had arrived at the facility.

Efforts were under way to transfer the casualties to Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis for further treatment, the doctor added.

Civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal told the AFP news agency the number wounded stood at more than 100, saying: "At least 10 Palestinians were killed and more than 100 others... were wounded due to gunfire from Israeli vehicles towards thousands of citizens".

The incident underscores the dire humanitarian conditions in Rafah, where recent Israeli military operations have severely limited access to aid and emergency services.

On Saturday, crowds of civilians rushed aid trucks in Gaza, the World Food Programme has said, as hunger and desperation create chaotic scenes.

The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation is a new US and Israel-backed organisation that has been distributing food at designated sites across Gaza. Israel set up the plan after accusing Hamas of stealing aid, which the group denies.

The GHF said it distributed two million meals this week, which the BBC has not been able to independently verify.

This comes as the US attempts to broker a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas.

Hamas responded to the US ceasefire proposal by saying it is prepared to release 10 living Israeli hostages and 18 dead hostages in exchange for a number of Palestinian prisoners.

However, the group also repeated its demands for a permanent truce, a complete Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and guarantees for the continuous flow of humanitarian aid. None of these are in the deal on the table.

Hamas said it had submitted its response to the US draft proposed by Steve Witkoff, US President Donald Trump's special envoy for the Middle East.

Witkoff said the proposal was "unacceptable and only takes us backward" and insisted the US deal was "the only way we can close a 60-day ceasefire deal in the coming days."

Adamu Yusuf's life has been upended since he lost nine of his family members in Tiffin Maza, one of two communities in his town worst-hit by floods in north-central Nigeria.

The father-of-one, 36, said his wife and newborn baby were among those washed away in floods early on Thursday morning in Niger state.

"She was the one that woke me up when the flood hit, and I quickly gathered the family and told everyone to hold one another. As we stepped outside, we saw water everywhere in our living room and the compound. They panicked and we got disconnected."

His wife and baby had only just returned to the town of Mokwa a day prior, after having stayed at his in-laws house for a few weeks after having given birth.

"I watched helplessly as water washed away my family. I survived because I could swim. It was God that saved me," Mr Adamu said.

Local officials say the death toll has risen to more than 200 on Sunday, a sharp increase from 110 on Friday. There are fears the number could still rise further.

The mood in the Tiffin Maza community on Saturday was one of grief, despair and loss.

Scattered clothes, soaked mattresses and crushed metal roofing sheets were some of the last remains of what are now hundreds of destroyed houses.

The structures still standing bear the harsh impact of the floods, with roofs washed off or some parts of the buildings destroyed.

Standing on a blue tiled floor, the only thing that points to where his bedroom once was, Mr Adamu looked around the vast empty space that has replaced his community.

"I lost everything to this flood. But the most painful is that of my family. The only valuable I have now is this cloth I am wearing which was even given to me by my friend."

He said one relative has been found dead and he has "resigned to fate that others won't return" to him alive.

Nineteen-year-old high school graduate, Isa Muhammed, has been inconsolable since he heard that his beloved teacher's house was washed away while the teacher and eight members of his family were inside.

"Two have been found dead; one of them was his baby. My teacher, his second child, his sister and four other relatives are still missing. A building fell on his wife who wasn't inside the house with them, and she died instantly."

Mr Muhammed also lost family, remembering his uncle who died in the disaster.

"Uncle Musa was a very good friend to my late father. He took care of me since my dad died in 2023. He taught me to value education and always told me to do the right thing.

"Anytime I am alone and think about him, tears always roll down my cheeks. I haven't been able to sleep since the incident happened," Mr Muhammed said.

The water has now receded, and residents gathered on Saturday to offer condolences to the victims and also lend a hand in the search efforts.

Some residents told BBC News that the deluge was at least 7ft (2.1m) high in some parts of the community.

There was a strong foul smell around Tiffin Maza, and residents believe it is proof that there were dead bodies under the thick mud the floods washed up.

They are working to find them and give the dead a decent burial like they have done for others since Thursday.

"I have never seen that kind of floods before in my life, but I am grateful that my family survived it," 65-year-old Ramat Sulaiman said.

Ms Sulaiman's house was completely destroyed, rendering her family homeless.

She said 100 children who used to sleep in a Quranic school two blocks from her house "all got washed away".

"It was a painful sight for me. The children cried for help, but no one could do anything. As their cries got louder, their building sunk and flowed away."

Her son, Saliu, has been left homeless and broke.

"I lost at least $1,500 to the floods. It was the proceeds from the sale of my farm produce the previous day. I contemplated going back into the room to get it, but the pressure of the water scared me," he said.

"I also lost eleven bags of groundnuts and seven bags of beans. My wife and I couldn't pick anything from our room. But I am grateful we made it out on time. There were so many dead bodies in the water."

He has been having nightmares since, he said.

"I am traumatised."

Authorities are yet to confirm if a dam broke, exacerbating the impact of the recent floods as widely reported.

Mokwa District Head, Alhaji Muhammadu Shaba Aliyu, indicated to the BBC that there is a "reservoir" in the area that can spill out water "anytime there's rain", however he added that the magnitude of the flood is excessive.

Residents told BBC News they believed the floodwater was not caused by the heavy rainfall they had experienced.

"The rain couldn't have caused the floods because it had subsided and there was no water anywhere. I was outside and suddenly I saw water gushing down in high speed and scattering everything on its path," Mr Muhammed said.

Ms Sulaiman said: "When I woke up for prayers, I opened the door and looked outside and didn't see any water. Moments later, I started hearing people screaming. We don't know where it came from. Its source is a mystery."

"For people that said the flood was as a result of the rain, they are lying. The rain had stopped before the flood started. Nobody knows the cause of this flood, it's just from God," Mr Adamu said.

Mokwa Deputy Local Chairman, Musa Alhaji Aliyu Kimboku, also dismissed that rain caused the flood.

The National Emergency Management Agency said those injured are receiving treatment, while displaced victims have been taken to resettlement camps and relief materials distributed.

The country's Meteorological Agency has projected that the rainy season will last up to 200 days in central Nigeria this year, while it could linger for a longer period in mostly southern states.

At the beginning of May, the federal government launched a flood awareness campaign, to educate citizens on flood risks.

Thirty of the West African nation's 36 states are at risk of flooding, and Niger state is one of them.

As victims salvage what they can from the ruins of their homes to start a new life, those that lost their loved ones like Mr Adamu said that they will never be able to heal, although they have accepted their fate.

More BBC Africa stories about Nigeria

• Nigeria's floods and drought worsening food insecurity
• Nigeria floods: People evacuate on top of cars
• Nigeria floods: 'I have nowhere to go'

Go to BBCAfrica.com for more news from the African continent.

Follow us on Twitter @BBCAfrica, on Facebook at BBC Africa or on Instagram at bbcafrica

Ukraine claims to have hit more than 40 Russian warplanes at several military airfields, in what appears to be one of the most audacious drone attacks so far on Russian aviation.

According to a statement from Ukraine's security service, SBU, "enemy strategic bombers are burning en masse in Russia".

The SBU says Ukraine is conducting "a large-scale special operation aimed at destroying enemy bomber aircraft."

Dramatic footage has emerged purportedly showing a drone attack at Belaya airbase in Irkutsk oblast, Siberia, thousands of miles from Ukraine.

Russia's military has not commented on the issue.

This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly. Please refresh the page for the fullest version.

You can receive Breaking News on a smartphone or tablet via the BBC News App. You can also follow @BBCBreaking on X to get the latest alerts.

At least 15 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli tank shelling and gunfire near an aid distribution centre in Rafah in southern Gaza, according to medics and local residents.

Mohammed Ghareeb, a local journalist in Rafah, told the BBC that thousands of Palestinians had gathered near a US-funded humanitarian aid distribution centre when Israeli tanks approached and opened fire on the crowd.

Local journalists and activists shared harrowing footage of bodies and wounded individuals being transported on donkey carts to a Red Cross field hospital in the al-Mawasi area of Rafah, as rescue teams were reportedly unable to reach the scene.

The BBC has contacted the IDF for a response.

Mr Ghareeb said the crowd of Palestinians had gathered near Al-Alam roundabout around 04:30 local time (02:30 BST), close to the aid centre run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, shortly before Israeli tanks appeared and opened fire.

"The dead and wounded lay on the ground for a long time," Mr Ghareeb said.

"Rescue crews could not access the area, which is under Israeli control. This forced residents to use donkey carts to transport victims to the field hospital."

A doctor at the Red Cross field hospital told reporters that 15 bodies and 50 injured people had arrived at the facility.

Efforts were under way to transfer the casualties to Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis for further treatment, the doctor added.

Civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal told the AFP news agency the number wounded stood at more than 100, saying: "At least 10 Palestinians were killed and more than 100 others... were wounded due to gunfire from Israeli vehicles towards thousands of citizens".

The incident underscores the dire humanitarian conditions in Rafah, where recent Israeli military operations have severely limited access to aid and emergency services.

On Saturday, crowds of civilians rushed aid trucks in Gaza, the World Food Programme has said, as hunger and desperation create chaotic scenes.

The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation is a new US and Israel-backed organisation that has been distributing food at designated sites across Gaza. Israel set up the plan after accusing Hamas of stealing aid, which the group denies.

The GHF said it distributed two million meals this week, which the BBC has not been able to independently verify.

This comes as the US attempts to broker a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas.

Hamas responded to the US ceasefire proposal by saying it is prepared to release 10 living Israeli hostages and 18 dead hostages in exchange for a number of Palestinian prisoners.

However, the group also repeated its demands for a permanent truce, a complete Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and guarantees for the continuous flow of humanitarian aid. None of these are in the deal on the table.

Hamas said it had submitted its response to the US draft proposed by Steve Witkoff, US President Donald Trump's special envoy for the Middle East.

Witkoff said the proposal was "unacceptable and only takes us backward" and insisted the US deal was "the only way we can close a 60-day ceasefire deal in the coming days."

Australia's defence minister Richard Marles has called on China to explain why it needs to have "such an extraordinary military build-up".

He said Beijing needs to provide greater transparency and reassurance as it is the "fundamental issue" for the region.

Meanwhile, the Philippines defence minister Gilberto Teodoro Jr has called China "absolutely irresponsible and reckless" in its actions in the South China Sea.

The ministers had separately addressed reporters on the sidelines of an Asian defence summit held in Singapore.

China has yet to respond to either Marles or Teodoro.

Organised by the think tank International Institute for Strategic Studies, the Shangri-la Dialogue has traditionally been anchored by the US and China, which have been jostling for power in the region.

This year China has sent a lower-level delegation and scrapped its speech. In the absence of a strong Chinese presence, the dialogue has been dominated by criticism and questions of Beijing posed by the US and its allies.

On Sunday morning, Marles asserted that "what we have seen from China is the single biggest increase in military capability and build up in conventional sense, by any country since the end of the Second World War".

It is not just the size of the military build-up that concerns other countries, he told reporters.

"It's the fact that it is happening without strategic reassurance. It's happening without a clear strategic intent on the part of China… what we want to see is strategic transparency and strategic reassurance be provided by China, and an understanding of why it is needed to have such an extraordinary military build-up."

He cited Australia as an example of such transparency, noting that Canberra makes public its national defence strategy and defence reviews, and makes it "utterly clear" that when they build up their defences it is for Australia and Asia's security.

"So there is total strategic clarity and assurance that is being provided by Australia to our neighbours, to the region, to the world. That's what we would like to see," he said.

Answering a question on a highly-scrutinised Chinese military exercise conducted near Australia and New Zealand's waters in February, Marles said that while it was "disruptive, and we believe that it could have been done in a better way", ultimately "China was acting in accordance with international law".

"The guiding light, the bedrock here, needs to be compliance with international law. That's what we keep talking about, is the rules-based order."

Marles was also asked about Hegseth's call for Indo-Pacific partners to increase defence spending as a bulwark against the threat of China.

Marles said "we actually are taking steps down this path… we understand it, we're up for it." US President Donald Trump has called on Australia to increase its spending to 3%, but Canberra has yet to publicly commit to that number.

Marles added that part of that spending would come under Aukus, a pact among Australia, the UK and the US to build up a fleet of nuclear-powered submarines.

He said projects under the pact were "on track" and he was "very optimistic" about the progress, including more visits of American submarines to Australia and rotations through a Perth-based navy base.

In a separate interview with the BBC's security correspondent Frank Gardner, the Philippines defence minister Teodoro said China has been "absolutely irresponsible and reckless in appropriating most, if not all, of the South China Sea and the world cannot tolerate this."

The two countries have repeatedly clashed over competing claims in the South China Sea, and the Philippines has complained of aggressive and violent tactics by the Chinese coast guard.

He echoed the call for a preservation of the international order, saying that "the takeaway of a lot of defence ministers is that Europe and the US must continue to lead" on this.

"That was the call of the Philippines. That is the call of Lithuania, Latvia, the smaller countries who have a way of life that values freedom and dignity of the human being."

"And with a way of life that we don't want the deep state looking over our shoulders or being scared of what we say," he said, referring to China.

On Saturday, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had warned of China's "imminent" threat towards Taiwan and accused Beijing of becoming a "hegemonic power" in the region.

China has vigorously attacked Hegseth in two separate statements, with the latest posted on its Foreign Ministry website early on Sunday.

It said that Hegseth had "vilified China with defamatory allegations, and falsely called China a 'threat'.

"No country in the world deserves to be called a hegemonic power other than the US itself, who is also the primary factor undermining the peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific."

Earlier in the defence summit, French President Emmanuel Macron had made a pitch for Europe to be a new ally to Asia.

China also responded to Macron, who had compared the defence of Taiwan to the defence of Ukraine, and said the comparison was "unacceptable" as the "Taiwan question is entirely China's affair".

China claims Taiwan, a self-governing island, as its territory and has not ruled out the use of force to eventually "reunify" with it.

A military aircraft and helicopters are being used to evacuate residents in the Canadian province of Manitoba from fast-moving wildfires.

Thousands have already evacuated western Canada, particularly the central prairie provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba, as firefighters face growing flames and hot, dry weather predictions in the coming days.

Dense smoke from the fires - of which there are more than 180 according to officials - has spread across Canada and into parts of the US.

Both Saskatchewan and Manitoba have declared states of emergency for the next month and asked for international help in fighting the fires.

Large parts of Alberta and British Columbia have also ordered evacuations as the fires spread.

The evacuation of residents of the northern First Nations community of Pukatawagan, is a "rapidly evolving situation", a Manitoba official told the BBC.

Canadian Armed Forces, Manitoba Wildfire Service and Manitoba's Heavy Urban Search and Rescue Team have been using a military aircraft and helicopters to bring people to safety from the northern community in Manitoba.

As of Friday, more than 2,000 people still needed to be transported out of Pukatawagan.

In Flin Flon, a city of 5,000 in Manitoba, only firefighters and support workers are left in the town.

In Manitoba, there are a total of 25 fires burning, according to the province's fire situation report, with 10 classified as out of control.

While Manitoba is facing the harshest conditions, other provinces are also dealing with worsening wildfires.

In Saskatchewan, there are 16 wildfires burning as of Saturday, with seven classified as not contained. The Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre (CIFFC) classified conditions in the province as extreme.

Danielle Desjardins, a meteorologist with Environment and Climate Change Canada based in Winnipeg, told the BBC that the forecast for both provinces is not promising.

While a cold front is expected to hit some parts of Saskatchewan, it will not bring relief to the regions where fires are burning.

"The bad news about this cold front is it's going to be windy," said Ms Desjardins, adding that the wind, coupled with the heat and lack of rain, are prime conditions for wildfire spread.

Smoke from the fires has also left an estimated 22 million Americans under air quality alerts this weekend.

Michigan and Wisconsin advisories are currently in place.

In northern Minnesota, residents have been warned smoke could reach levels "unhealthy for everyone", while the rest of the state faces air quality warnings for sensitive groups. That alert runs through Monday evening.

Canada experienced its worst wildfire season on record in 2023, when more than 42 million acres (17.3m hectares) burned.

Fires happen naturally in many parts of the world, including in Canada.

But climate change is making the weather conditions needed for wildfires to spread more likely, according to the UN's climate body.

Extreme and long-lasting heat draws more and more moisture out of the ground and vegetation.

Hundreds of people have been arrested in Paris following clashes with police, after Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) fans celebrated their club's victory in the Champions League final.

Officers arrested nearly 300 people after clashes broke out near the city's Champs-Elysees avenue and PSG's Parc des Princes stadium, where nearly 50,000 people had watched the 5-0 win against Inter Milan in Munich on big screens.

Flares and fireworks were set off, bus shelters were smashed and cars were torched amid the wild celebrations.

The chaos came after PSG won the biggest prize in European club football for the first time in their history.

The majority of fans celebrated peacefully, with many singing and dancing in the streets or blaring their car horns.

The Eiffel Tower was illuminated with PSG's blue and red colours, and French President Emmanuel Macron, a keen supporter of Olympique de Marseille, posted on X: "A glorious day for PSG! Bravo, we are all proud. Paris, the capital of Europe this evening."

Approximately 5,400 police were deployed across Paris in anticipation of the raucous celebrations.

Most of the almost 300 people detained were suspected of possessing fireworks and causing disorder, Paris police said.

"Troublemakers on the Champs-Elysees were looking to create incidents and repeatedly came into contact with police by throwing large fireworks and other objects," police said in a statement.

Footage shared on social media, which has not been verified by the BBC, appeared to show crowds attempting to break into several shops on the Champs-Elysées, including Chanel and Foot Locker.

Riot police reportedly used a water cannon to stop a crowd reaching the Arc de Triomphe, and fired tear gas into the crowds.

Other clashes between police and crowds occurred on the Paris ring road. At least two cars were torched near PSG's Parc des Princes stadium.

French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau took a hard line against the disorder, writing on social media: "True PSG supporters are enjoying their team's magnificent match.

"Meanwhile, barbarians have taken to the streets of Paris to commit crimes and provoke the police."

Meanwhile, outside Paris, police said a car ploughed into PSG fans in Grenoble in south eastern France, leaving four people injured.

All those hurt were from the same family, police said. Two were seriously injured.

The driver handed himself into the police and was placed under arrest. A source close to the investigation told the AFP news agency it was believed the driver had not acted intentionally.

The PSG team will hold a victory parade on the Champs-Elysees in Paris on Sunday when tens of thousands of supporters are expected to gather to get a glimpse of their returning team.

Macron's office said he would host the victorious players on Sunday to congratulate them.

At least three people have died after a highway bridge collapsed in a region close to the Ukraine border, according to Russian emergency services.

The bridge in Bryansk brought down several heavy trucks onto a moving passenger train, with 31 people also reportedly injured.

The Russian Emergencies Ministry said fire and rescue units were attempting to find people who had been travelling on the train.

In a statement posted to Telegram, Moscow Railway alleged the bridge had collapsed "as a result of illegal interference in transport operations".

Moscow's interregional transport prosecutor's office said an investigation had been launched.

Additional emergency workers, as well as rescue equipment and light towers for carrying out work at night have been sent to the area, according to Russian news agency TASS.

At least 15 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli tank shelling and gunfire near an aid distribution centre in Rafah in southern Gaza, according to medics and local residents.

Mohammed Ghareeb, a local journalist in Rafah, told the BBC that thousands of Palestinians had gathered near a US-funded humanitarian aid distribution centre when Israeli tanks approached and opened fire on the crowd.

Local journalists and activists shared harrowing footage of bodies and wounded individuals being transported on donkey carts to a Red Cross field hospital in the al-Mawasi area of Rafah, as rescue teams were reportedly unable to reach the scene.

The BBC has contacted the IDF for a response.

Mr Ghareeb said the crowd of Palestinians had gathered near Al-Alam roundabout around 04:30 local time (02:30 BST), close to the aid centre run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, shortly before Israeli tanks appeared and opened fire.

"The dead and wounded lay on the ground for a long time," Mr Ghareeb said.

"Rescue crews could not access the area, which is under Israeli control. This forced residents to use donkey carts to transport victims to the field hospital."

A doctor at the Red Cross field hospital told reporters that 15 bodies and 50 injured people had arrived at the facility.

Efforts were under way to transfer the casualties to Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis for further treatment, the doctor added.

Civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal told the AFP news agency the number wounded stood at more than 100, saying: "At least 10 Palestinians were killed and more than 100 others... were wounded due to gunfire from Israeli vehicles towards thousands of citizens".

The incident underscores the dire humanitarian conditions in Rafah, where recent Israeli military operations have severely limited access to aid and emergency services.

On Saturday, crowds of civilians rushed aid trucks in Gaza, the World Food Programme has said, as hunger and desperation create chaotic scenes.

The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation is a new US and Israel-backed organisation that has been distributing food at designated sites across Gaza. Israel set up the plan after accusing Hamas of stealing aid, which the group denies.

The GHF said it distributed two million meals this week, which the BBC has not been able to independently verify.

This comes as the US attempts to broker a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas.

Hamas responded to the US ceasefire proposal by saying it is prepared to release 10 living Israeli hostages and 18 dead hostages in exchange for a number of Palestinian prisoners.

However, the group also repeated its demands for a permanent truce, a complete Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and guarantees for the continuous flow of humanitarian aid. None of these are in the deal on the table.

Hamas said it had submitted its response to the US draft proposed by Steve Witkoff, US President Donald Trump's special envoy for the Middle East.

Witkoff said the proposal was "unacceptable and only takes us backward" and insisted the US deal was "the only way we can close a 60-day ceasefire deal in the coming days."

At least 15 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli tank shelling and gunfire near an aid distribution centre in Rafah in southern Gaza, according to medics and local residents.

Mohammed Ghareeb, a local journalist in Rafah, told the BBC that thousands of Palestinians had gathered near a US-funded humanitarian aid distribution centre when Israeli tanks approached and opened fire on the crowd.

Local journalists and activists shared harrowing footage of bodies and wounded individuals being transported on donkey carts to a Red Cross field hospital in the al-Mawasi area of Rafah, as rescue teams were reportedly unable to reach the scene.

The BBC has contacted the IDF for a response.

Mr Ghareeb said the crowd of Palestinians had gathered near Al-Alam roundabout around 04:30 local time (02:30 BST), close to the aid centre run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, shortly before Israeli tanks appeared and opened fire.

"The dead and wounded lay on the ground for a long time," Mr Ghareeb said.

"Rescue crews could not access the area, which is under Israeli control. This forced residents to use donkey carts to transport victims to the field hospital."

A doctor at the Red Cross field hospital told reporters that 15 bodies and 50 injured people had arrived at the facility.

Efforts were under way to transfer the casualties to Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis for further treatment, the doctor added.

Civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal told the AFP news agency the number wounded stood at more than 100, saying: "At least 10 Palestinians were killed and more than 100 others... were wounded due to gunfire from Israeli vehicles towards thousands of citizens".

The incident underscores the dire humanitarian conditions in Rafah, where recent Israeli military operations have severely limited access to aid and emergency services.

On Saturday, crowds of civilians rushed aid trucks in Gaza, the World Food Programme has said, as hunger and desperation create chaotic scenes.

The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation is a new US and Israel-backed organisation that has been distributing food at designated sites across Gaza. Israel set up the plan after accusing Hamas of stealing aid, which the group denies.

The GHF said it distributed two million meals this week, which the BBC has not been able to independently verify.

This comes as the US attempts to broker a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas.

Hamas responded to the US ceasefire proposal by saying it is prepared to release 10 living Israeli hostages and 18 dead hostages in exchange for a number of Palestinian prisoners.

However, the group also repeated its demands for a permanent truce, a complete Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and guarantees for the continuous flow of humanitarian aid. None of these are in the deal on the table.

Hamas said it had submitted its response to the US draft proposed by Steve Witkoff, US President Donald Trump's special envoy for the Middle East.

Witkoff said the proposal was "unacceptable and only takes us backward" and insisted the US deal was "the only way we can close a 60-day ceasefire deal in the coming days."

Hundreds of people have been arrested in Paris following clashes with police, after Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) fans celebrated their club's victory in the Champions League final.

Officers arrested nearly 300 people after clashes broke out near the city's Champs-Elysees avenue and PSG's Parc des Princes stadium, where nearly 50,000 people had watched the 5-0 win against Inter Milan in Munich on big screens.

Flares and fireworks were set off, bus shelters were smashed and cars were torched amid the wild celebrations.

The chaos came after PSG won the biggest prize in European club football for the first time in their history.

The majority of fans celebrated peacefully, with many singing and dancing in the streets or blaring their car horns.

The Eiffel Tower was illuminated with PSG's blue and red colours, and French President Emmanuel Macron, a keen supporter of Olympique de Marseille, posted on X: "A glorious day for PSG! Bravo, we are all proud. Paris, the capital of Europe this evening."

Approximately 5,400 police were deployed across Paris in anticipation of the raucous celebrations.

Most of the almost 300 people detained were suspected of possessing fireworks and causing disorder, Paris police said.

"Troublemakers on the Champs-Elysees were looking to create incidents and repeatedly came into contact with police by throwing large fireworks and other objects," police said in a statement.

Footage shared on social media, which has not been verified by the BBC, appeared to show crowds attempting to break into several shops on the Champs-Elysées, including Chanel and Foot Locker.

Riot police reportedly used a water cannon to stop a crowd reaching the Arc de Triomphe, and fired tear gas into the crowds.

Other clashes between police and crowds occurred on the Paris ring road. At least two cars were torched near PSG's Parc des Princes stadium.

French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau took a hard line against the disorder, writing on social media: "True PSG supporters are enjoying their team's magnificent match.

"Meanwhile, barbarians have taken to the streets of Paris to commit crimes and provoke the police."

Meanwhile, outside Paris, police said a car ploughed into PSG fans in Grenoble in south eastern France, leaving four people injured.

All those hurt were from the same family, police said. Two were seriously injured.

The driver handed himself into the police and was placed under arrest. A source close to the investigation told the AFP news agency it was believed the driver had not acted intentionally.

The PSG team will hold a victory parade on the Champs-Elysees in Paris on Sunday when tens of thousands of supporters are expected to gather to get a glimpse of their returning team.

Macron's office said he would host the victorious players on Sunday to congratulate them.

An Byunghui was in the middle of a video game on the night of 3 December when she learned that the South Korean president had declared martial law.

She couldn't quite believe it - until the internet blew up with the evidence. The shock announcement from then-president Yoon Suk Yeol, the now-famous shots of soldiers breaking down the windows of the National Assembly and MPs scaling the walls to force their way into the building so they could vote the motion down.

Within hours, thousands had spurred into protest, especially young women. And Byunghui joined them, travelling hundreds of miles from Daegu in the south-east to the capital Seoul.

They turned up not just because Yoon's decision had alarmed and angered them, but to protest against a president who insisted South Korea was free of sexism - despite the deep discrimination and flashes of violence that said otherwise.

They returned week after week as the investigation into Yoon's abuse of power went on - and they rejoiced when he was impeached after four dramatic months.

And yet, with the country set to elect a new president on 3 June, those very women say they feel invisible again.

The two main candidates have been largely silent about equality for women. A polarising subject, it had helped Yoon into power in 2022 as he vowed to defend men who felt sidelined in a world that they saw as too feminist. And a third candidate, who is popular among young men for his anti-feminist stance, has been making headlines.

For many young South Korean women, this new name on the ballot symbolises a new fight.

"So many of us felt like we were trying to make the world a better place by attending the [anti-Yoon] rallies," the 24-year-old college student says.

"But now, I wonder if anything has really improved… I can't shake the feeling that they're trying to erase women's voices."

The women who turned up against Yoon

When Byunghui arrived at the protests, she was struck by the atmosphere.

The bitter December cold didn't stop tens of thousands of women from gathering. Huddling inside hooded jackets or under umbrellas, waving lightsticks and banners, singing hopeful K-pop numbers, they demanded Yoon's ouster.

"Most of those around me were young women, we were singing 'Into the World' by Girls' Generation," Byunghui says.

Into the World, a hit from 2007 by one of K-pop's biggest acts, became an anthem of sorts in the anti-Yoon rallies. Women had marched to the same song nearly a decade ago in anti-corruption protests that ended another president's career.

"The lyrics - about not giving up on this world and dreaming of a new world," Byunghui says, "just overwhelmed me. I felt so close to everyone".

There are no official estimates of how many of the protesters were young women. Approximately one in three were in their 20s or 30s, according to research by local news outlet Chosun Daily.

An analysis by BBC Korean found that women in their 20s were the largest demographic at one rally in December, where there were 200,000 of them - almost 18% of those in attendance. In comparison, there were just over 3% of men in their 20s at that rally.

The protests galvanised women in a country where discrimination, sexual harassment and even violence against them has long been pervasive, and the gender pay gap - at 31% - is the widest among rich nations.

Like in so many other places, plummeting birth rates in South Korea too have upped the pressure on young women to marry and have children, with politicians often encouraging them to play their part in a patriarchal society.

"I felt like all the frustration that has built up inside me just burst forth," says 23-year-old Kim Saeyeon . "I believe that's why so many young women turned up. They wanted to express all that dissatisfaction."

For 26-year-old Lee Jinha, it was the desire to see Yoon go: "I tried to go every week. It wasn't easy. It was incredibly cold, super crowded, my legs hurt and I had a lot of work to do… but it was truly out of a sense of responsibility."

That is not surprising, according to Go Min-hee, associate professor of political science at Ewha Women's University, who says Yoon had the reputation of being "anti-feminist" and had "made it clear he was not going to support policies for young women".

There were protests on the other side too, backing Yoon and his martial law order. Throughout, many young South Korean men have supported Yoon, who positioned himself as a champion of theirs, mirroring their grievances in his presidential campaign in 2022.

These men consider themselves victims of "reverse discrimination", saying they feel marginalised by policies that favour young women. One that is often cited is the mandatory 18 months they must spend in the military, which they believe puts them at a severe disadvantage compared to women.

They label as "man haters" those women who call themselves feminists. And they have been at the heart of a fierce online backlash against calls for greater gender equality.

These groups have long existed, mostly out of the public eye. But over the years they moved closer to the mainstream as their traction online grew, especially under Yoon.

It was them that Yoon appealed to in his campaign pledges, vowing to abolish the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, saying it focused too much on women's rights.

And he consistently denied systemic gender inequality existed in South Korea, which ranks near the bottom on the issue among developed countries.

But his message hit home. A survey by a local newspaper the year before he was elected had found that 79% of young men in their 20s felt "seriously discriminated against" because of their gender.

"In the last presidential election, gender conflict was mobilised by Yoon's party," says Kim Eun-ju, director of the Center for Korean Women and Politics. "They actively strengthened the anti-feminist tendencies of some young men in their 20s."

During Yoon's term, she says, government departments or publicly-funded organisations with the word "women" in their title largely disappeared or dropped the reference altogether.

The impact has been polarising. It alienated young women who saw this as a rollback of hard-won rights, even as it fuelled the backlash against feminism.

Byunghui saw this up-close back home in Daegu. She says anti-Yoon protests were overwhelmingly female. The few men who came were usually older.

Young men, she adds, even secondary school students, would often drive past the protests she attended cursing and swearing at them. She says some men even threatened to drive into the crowd.

"I wondered if they would have acted this way had the protest been led by young men?"

The battle to be heard

With Yoon gone, his People Power Party (PPP) is in disarray and still reeling from his fall.

And this is the first time in 18 years that there is no woman among the seven candidates runnning for president. "It's shocking," Jinha says, "that there's no-one". In the last election, there were two women among 14 presidential candidates.

The PPP's Kim Moon-soo is trailing frontrunner Lee Jae-myung, from the main opposition Democratic Party (DP). But young women tell the BBC they have been disappointed by 61-year-old Lee.

"It's only after criticism that that there were no policies targeting women that the DP began adding a few," Saeyeon says. "I wish they could have drawn a blueprint for improving structural discrimination."

When he was asked at the start of his campaign about policies targeting gender inequality, Lee responded: "Why do you keep dividing men and women? They are all Koreans."

After drawing critcism, the DP acknowledged that women still "faced structural discrimination in many areas". And it pledged to tackle inequality for women with more resources at every level.

During his presidential bid in 2022, Lee was more vocal about the prejudice South Korean women encounter, seeking their votes in the wake of high-profile sexual harassment scandals in his party.

He had promised to put women in top positions in the government and appointed a woman as co-chair of the DP's emergency committee.

"It's evident that the DP is focusing significantly less on young women than they did in the [2022] presidential election," Ms Kim says.

Prof Go believes it's because Lee "lost by a very narrow margin" back then. So this time, he is "casting the widest net possible" for votes. "And embracing feminist issues is not a good strategy for that."

That stings for young women like Saeyeon, especially after the role they played in the protests calling for Yoon's impeachment: "Our voices don't seem to be reflected in the [campaign] pledges at all. I feel a bit abandoned."

The ruling party's Kim Moon-soo, who served in Yoon's cabinet as labour minister, has emphasised raising birth rates by offering more financial support to parents.

But many women say rising costs are not the only obstacle. And that most politicians don't address the deeper inequalities - which make it hard to balance a career and family - that are making so many women reconsider the usual choices.

The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, which Yoon had wanted to shut down, has also re-emerged as a sticking point.

Lee has vowed to strengthen the ministry, while Kim says he will replace it with a Ministry of Future Youth and Family.

The ministry already focuses on family services, education and welfare for children. Just under 7% of its total funding, which is about 0.2% of the government's annual budget, goes towards improving equality for women. But Prof Go says the ministry was "politicised by Yoon and has since been weaponised".

"The ministry itself is not huge but it's symbolic… abolishing it would show that gender equality is unimportant."

It's also the target of a third candidate, 40-year-old Lee Jun-seok, a former leader of Yoon's party, who has since launched his own Reform Party.

Although trailing Kim in polls, Lee Jun-seok has been especially popular with many young men for his anti-feminist views.

Earlier this week, he drew swift outrage after a presidential debate in which he said: "If someone says they want to stick chopsticks in women's genitals or some place like that, is that misogyny?"

He said the "someone" was frontunner Lee Jae-myung's son, who he claimed made the comment online, an allegation which the Lee camp has sidestepped, apologising for other controversial posts.

But watching Lee Jun-seok say that on live TV "was genuinely terrifying," Byunghui says. "I had the scary thought that this might boost incel communities."

Saeyeon describes "anger and even despair" sinking the "hopes I had for politics, which weren't that great to begin with".

She believes his popularity "among certain sections of young men is one of the "significant repercussions" of South Korea "long neglecting structural discrimination" against women.

The only candidate to address the issue, 61-year-old Kwon Young-gook, didn't fare well in early polling.

"I'm still deliberating whether to vote for Lee Jae-myung or Kwon Young-gook," Saeyeon says.

While Kwon represents her concerns, she says it's smart to shore up the votes for Lee because she is "much more afraid of the next election, and the one after that".

She is thinking about Lee Jun-seok, who some analysts believe could eat into the votes of a beleagured PPP, while appealing to Yoon's base: "He is in the spotlight and as the youngest candidate, he could have a long career ahead."

That is all the more reason to keep speaking out, Byunghui says. "It's like there is dust on the wall. If you don't know it's there, you can walk by, but once you see it, it sticks with you."

It's the same for Jinha who says things can "never go back to how they were before Yoon declared martial law".

That was a time when poliitics felt inaccessible, but now, Jinha adds, it "feels like something that affects me and is important to my life".

She says she won't give up because she wants to be free of "things like discrimination at work… and live my life in peace".

"People see young women as weak and immature but we will grow up - and then the world will change again."

The US has sent Iran a proposal for a nuclear deal between Tehran and Washington, the White House confirmed on Saturday.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said he had been presented with "elements of a US deal" by his Omani counterpart Badr Albusaidi during a short visit to the Iranian capital.

It comes after a report by the UN nuclear watchdog said Iran had further stepped up its production of enriched uranium, a key component in the making of nuclear weapons.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Saturday it was in Tehran's "best interest to accept" the deal, adding: "President Trump has made it clear that Iran can never obtain a nuclear bomb".

Leavitt said a "detailed and acceptable" proposal had been sent to Iran by US President Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff.

The US proposal "will be appropriately responded to in line with the principles, national interests and rights of the people of Iran", Araghchi wrote on X.

The precise details of the deal are not yet clear.

The proposal follows a report by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), - seen by the BBC - which found Iran now possesses over 400kg of uranium enriched to 60% purity - close to the 90% purity required for weapons-grade uranium.

This is well above the level of purity sufficient for civilian nuclear power and research purposes.

It is enough for about 10 nuclear weapons if further refined, making Iran the only non nuclear-armed state producing uranium at this level.

Iran has long said its programme is peaceful.

The US has long sought to limit Iran's nuclear capacity. Talks between the two powers mediated by Oman have been under way since April.

Both sides have expressed optimism during the course of the talks but remain divided over key issues - chief among them, whether Iran can continue enrichment under any future agreement.

Despite the ongoing negotiations between Tehran and Washington, the IAEA report offered no indication that Iran has slowed its nuclear enrichment efforts.

Iran has produced highly enriched uranium at a rate equivalent to roughly one nuclear weapon per month over the past three months, the IAEA report found.

US officials estimate that, if Iran chooses to make a weapon, it could produce weapons-grade material in less than two weeks and potentially build a bomb within months.

Iran has long denied it is attempting to develop nuclear weapons. However, the IAEA said it could not confirm whether this was still the case because Iran refuses to grant access to senior inspectors and has not answered longstanding questions about its nuclear history.

Trump is seeking a new nuclear agreement with Tehran after pulling the US out of a previous nuclear agreement between Iran and six world powers in 2018.

This nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action or JCPOA, was signed in 2015 by Iran and the US, China, France, Russia, Germany and the UK.

The JCPOA sought to limit and monitor Iran's nuclear programme in return for lifting sanctions that had been placed on the regime in 2010 over suspicions that its nuclear programme was being used to develop a bomb.

But Donald Trump withdrew from the deal during his first term in office, claiming JCPOA was a "bad deal" because it was not permanent and did not address Iran's ballistic missile programme, amongst other things.

Trump then re-imposed US sanctions as part of a "maximum pressure" campaign to compel Iran to negotiate a new and expanded agreement.

In the intervening years, Tehran has steadily overstepped the 2015 agreement's limits on its nuclear programme, designed to make it harder to develop an atomic bomb.

Trump has previously threatened to bomb Iran's nuclear facilities if diplomacy fails to achieve a deal.

At least three people have died after a highway bridge collapsed in a region close to the Ukraine border, according to Russian emergency services.

The bridge in Bryansk brought down several heavy trucks onto a moving passenger train, with 31 people also reportedly injured.

The Russian Emergencies Ministry said fire and rescue units were attempting to find people who had been travelling on the train.

In a statement posted to Telegram, Moscow Railway alleged the bridge had collapsed "as a result of illegal interference in transport operations".

Moscow's interregional transport prosecutor's office said an investigation had been launched.

Additional emergency workers, as well as rescue equipment and light towers for carrying out work at night have been sent to the area, according to Russian news agency TASS.

A fifth of Ukrainian territory is now under Russian control, and for Ukrainians living under occupation there seems little chance that any future deal to end the war will change that.

Three Ukrainians in different Russian-controlled cities have told the BBC of the pressures they face, from being forced to accept a Russian passport to the risks of carrying out small acts of resistance. We are not using their real names for their own safety, and will call them Mavka, Pavlo and Iryna.

The potential dangers are the same, whether in Mariupol or Melitopol, seized by Russia in the full-scale invasion in 2022, or in Crimea which was annexed eight years before.

Mavka chose to stay in Melitopol when the Russians invaded her city on 25 February 2022, "because it is unfair that someone can just come to my home and take it out".

She has lived there since birth, midway between the Crimean peninsula and the regional capital Zaporizhzhia.

In recent months she has noticed a ramping up of not only a strict policy of "Russification" in the city, but of an increased militarisation of all spheres of life, including in schools.

She has shared pictures of a billboard promoting conscription to young locals, a school notebook with Putin's portrait on it, and photos and a video of pupils wearing Russian military uniforms instead of the school outfits - boys and girls - and performing military education tasks.

Some 200km (125 miles) along the coast of the sea of Azov, and much closer to the Russian border, the city of Mariupol feels as if it has been "cut off" from the outside world, according to Pavlo.

This key port and hub of Ukraine's steel industry was captured after a devastating siege and bombardment that lasted almost three months in 2022.

Russian citizenship is now obligatory if you want to work or study or have an urgent medical help, Pavlo says.

"If someone's child, let's say, refuses to sing the Russian anthem at school in the morning, the FSB [Russia's security service] will visit their parents, they will be 'pencilled in' and then anything can happen."

Pavlo survived the siege despite being shot six times, including to his head.

Now that he has recuperated, he feels he cannot leave because of elderly relatives.

"Most of those who stayed in Mariupol or returned, did so to help their elderly parents or their sick grandparents, or because of their flat," he tells me over the phone after midnight so no-one will overhear.

The biggest preoccupation in Mariupol is holding on to your home, as most of the property damaged in the Russian bombardment has been demolished, and the cost of living and unemployment has surged.

"I'd say 95% of all talk in the city is about property: how to claim it back, how to sell it. You'll hear people talk about it while queuing to buy some bread, on your way to a chemist, in the food market, everywhere," he says.

Crimea has been under occupation since Vladimir Putin annexed the peninsula in 2014, when Russia's war in Ukraine began.

Iryna decided to remain, also to care for an elderly relative but also because she did not want to leave "her beautiful home".

All signs of Ukrainian identity have been banned in public, and Iryna says she cannot speak Ukrainian in public any more, "as you never know who can tell the authorities on you".

Children at nursery school in Crimea are told to sing the Russian anthem every morning, even the very youngest. All the teachers are Russian, most of them wives of soldiers who have moved in from Russia.

Iryna occasionally puts on her traditional, embroidered vyshyvanka top when she has video calls with friends elsewhere on the peninsula.

"It helps us to keep our spirits high, reminding us about our happy life before the occupation".

But the risks are high, even for wearing a vyshyvanka. "They might not shoot you straight away, but you can simply disappear afterwards, silently," she declares.

She speaks of a Ukrainian friend being questioned by police because Russian neighbours, who came to Crimea in 2014, told police he had illegal weapons. "Of course he didn't. Luckily they let him go in the end, but it's so frightening."

Iryna complains that she cannot go out on her own even for coffee "because solders can put a gun at you and say something abusive or order you to please them".

Resistance in Ukraine's occupied cities is dangerous, and it often comes in small acts of defiance aimed at reminding residents that they are not alone.

In Melitopol, Mavka talks of being part of a secret female resistance movement called Zla Mavka (Angry Mavka) "to let people know that Ukrainians don't agree with the occupation, we didn't call for it, and we will never tolerate it".

The network is made up of women and girls in "pretty much all occupied cities", according to Iryna, although she cannot reveal its size or scale because of the potential dangers for its members.

Mavka describes her role in running the network's social media accounts, which document life under occupation and acts like placing Ukrainian symbols or leaflets in public places "to remind other Ukrainians that they are not alone", or even riskier practices.

"Sometimes we also put a laxative in alcohol and baked goods for the Russian soldiers, as a 'welcome pack'," she says.

Punishment for that kind of act, which the BBC is unable to verify, would be severe.

Russia's occupation authorities treat the Ukrainian language or anything related to Ukraine as extremist, says Mavka.

Ukrainians are well aware of what happened to journalist Viktoriia Roshchyna, 27, who disappeared while investigating allegations of torture prisons in eastern Ukraine in 2023.

Russian authorities told her family she had died in custody in September 2024. Her body was returned earlier this month, with several organs removed and clear signs of torture.

Silent disappearance is what Mavka fears most: "When suddenly nobody can find out where you are or what's happened to you."

Her network has developed a set of tasks for new joiners to pass to avoid infiltration, and so far they have managed to avoid cyber attacks.

For now they are waiting and watching: "We cannot take up arms and fight back against the occupier right now, but we want at least to show that pro-Ukrainian population is here, and it will also be here".

She and others in Melitopol are following closely what is happening in Kyiv, "because it is important for us to know whether Kyiv is ready to fight for us. Even small steps matter".

"We have a rollercoaster of moods here. Many are worried documents might get signed that, God forbid, leave us under Russian occupation for even longer. Because we know what Russia will do here."

The worry for Mavka and people close to her is that if Kyiv does agree a ceasefire it could mean Russia pursuing the same policy as in Crimea, erasing Ukrainian identity and repressing the population.

"They've been already replacing locals with their people. But people here are still hopeful, we will continue our resistance, we'll just have to be more creative".

Unlike Mavka, Pavlo believes the war must end, even if it means losing his ability to return to Ukraine.

"Human life is of the greatest value… but there are certain conditions for a ceasefire and not everyone might agree with them as it raises a question, why have all those people died then during the past three years? Would they feel abandoned and betrayed?"

Pavlo is wary of talking, even via an encrypted line, but adds: "I don't envy anyone involved in this decision-making process. It won't be simple, black and white.

Iryna fears for Crimea's next generation who have grown up in an atmosphere of violence and, she says, copy their fathers who have returned from Russia's war against Ukraine.

She shows me her bandaged cat, and says a child on her street shot it with a rubber bullet.

"For them it was fun. These kids are not taught to build peace, they are taught to fight. It breaks my heart."

Preye Maxwell looks distressed as he leaves his beloved dog Hanks at an animal shelter in Lagos, Nigeria's commercial hub.

Fighting back tears, he says: "I can't afford to take care of him. I can't afford to feed him the way he should be fed."

His two-year old American Eskimo barks as his owner turns his back and walks out of the St Mark's Animal Rescue Foundation in the Lagos suburb of Ajah.

Dr Mark Afua, a vet and chairman of the rescue centre, takes Hanks and puts him in a big metal cage - one of many in the single-storey building designed for dogs, cats, snakes and other animals.

Hanks wheels around in circles in his cage - and Dr Afua tries to calm the distressed fluffy-haired dog.

Mr Maxwell, an online media strategist, was recently made redundant. His job-hunting means he is never at home and so feels unable to look after Hanks.

"I'm trying to get whatever I have to do to survive. I don't even have the time now [to look after Hanks] because I'm always out looking for jobs," he told the BBC.

The 33-year-old's decision was difficult to make, but it is one that many pet owners are taking in the face of the rising cost of living in Nigeria.

Africa's most-populous nation has been hit by high inflation since President Bola Tinubu came to power two years ago and removed a long-standing fuel subsidy.

The inflation rate surged from 22% in May 2023 to 35% in December 2024, a 28-year high, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS.)

Inflation has since fallen back to 24% but this means that prices are still continuing to rise, just not as quickly as before.

The economic crunch has meant that some companies have had to downsize to keep afloat in the face of rising operating costs, pushing young people like Mr Maxwell into an already saturated labour market.

Animal rights activists and animal shelters say that they are seeing an unprecedented numbers of abandoned animals as the cost of looking after pets spirals out of control.

Prices for pet food and veterinary care have jumped by more 100% as some things, especially medication, are imported - and the local currency has plummeted against the dollar.

"About 10 years ago when we started this project, we really didn't have people giving up their dogs because they were unable to feed the dogs," Dr Afua told the BBC.

"Right now, we have 10, 12 animals being dropped in a month."

Some, like Mr Maxwell, hand their pets over to a shelter for adoption but others simply abandon their animals.

Animal cruelty campaigner Jackie Idimogu, who is president of My Dog and I - a dog-lovers' community in Lagos who often helps to rehome pets, says she has noticed the change.

"Now they don't even have that patience [to find new owners]. They just tie the dog out to a post on the road or they just unleash it on the road," she told the BBC.

The 32-year-old says more that 50% of her income as a furniture maker and interior designer now goes on looking after her four dogs.

"I'm spending roughly 250,000 naira ($158; £117) every month on pets," she says, adding that this includes someone to walk the dogs and look after them when she was not around.

But Ms Idimogu says she cannot bear to give them up.

"As a single lady, I have no kids of my own yet. My dogs are my babies. I don't see any difference between myself as a dog mum and a human mum. I don't think I have it in me to give up any of my babies for any reason whatsoever."

Instead, she has chosen to adapt her lifestyle - fewer luxuries for herself like jewellery, expensive hair styles and spa visits and fewer treats for her pets like chicken, yoghurt treats and car rides.

"I used to be flashy, but now I had to tone down because of my dogs."

The same goes for Amartya Odanokende, who goes by the name "Jason the Cat Guy" on social media, where he likes to impart his love of felines to his fellow Nigerians who often regard cats with suspicion because of their association with witchcraft.

He spends approximately $160 a month on food for five big cats and some kittens, plus another $7 on 10kg of cat litter. Since he got his Prussian cats in 2020 he says what he spends has gone up 100%.

Such "skyrocketing maintenance cost" is a concern and he worries about getting into debt.

Lagos sales executive Iyke Elueze is also struggling to look after her 10 dogs.

"There's a particular brand of food I used to use. It was just about 30,000 naira then. That same brand of dog food is 165,000 naira," he told the BBC.

He credits his first dog Hennessey with saving his life at a time he was struggling with depression - nonetheless he would like to get rid of some of his animals as he now needs to prioritise his toddlers.

But the 36-year-old fears that his dogs could end up being eaten - as they are considered a delicacy in some parts of southern Nigeria.

Celebrity chef and Guinness record breaker Hilda Baci once came under fire on social media after she admitted making a dog-meat themed menu.

"I am very careful with who adopts my dogs. I don't want my dogs ending up in any other person's pots," said the father-of-two.

Mistura Ibrahim, a young tattoo artist in Lagos who has made it her mission to help cats after saving two who were about to be stoned, is depressed about the situation and is finding it hard to find new homes for others she continues to rescue.

"I get some calls from people that I've given cats to in the past and they say that they really cannot afford to keep the cats."

She no longer feeds her cats tinned meals, opting to give them food from her own plate.

Her advice is to take pet welfare seriously: "It's just like having a child. If you can't afford to have a child, then don't bring a child to the world."

For Dr Afua, who uses the profit from his veterinary practice to fund his shelter, it is getting harder to house the unwanted animals.

"We try to help the animals get homes quickly but I'm careful [about] the homes they go to so they don't come back. And some animals will never find homes because of previous abuse."

With St Mark's Animal Rescue Foundation caring for more than 60 dogs at the moment - around twice its capacity - would he ever turn away an animal?

"I don't have the heart to. As I speak I have dogs and cats everywhere. My office and home is full - and I still make room for the next."

More Nigeria stories from the BBC:

• 'I've been sleeping under a bridge in Lagos for 30 years'
• Are Nigerians abroad widening the class divide back home?
• 'I scarred my six children by using skin-lightening creams'
• Blank questions, power cuts and a suicide: Nigeria's exams fiasco
• The Nigerian professor who makes more money welding

Go to BBCAfrica.com for more news from the African continent.

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