When Zhang Junjie was 17 he decided to protest outside his university about rules made by China's government. Within days he had been admitted to a psychiatric hospital and treated for schizophrenia.

Junjie is one of dozens of people identified by the BBC who were hospitalised after protesting or complaining to the authorities.

Many people we spoke to were given anti-psychotic drugs, and in some cases electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), without their consent.

There have been reports for decades that hospitalisation was being used in China as a way of detaining dissenting citizens without involving the courts. However, the BBC has found that an issue which legislation sought to resolve, has recently made a comeback.

Junjie says he was restrained and beaten by hospital staff before being forced to take medication.

His ordeal began in 2022, after he protested against China's harsh lockdown policies. He says his professors spotted him after just five minutes and contacted his father, who took him back to the family home. He says his father called the police, and the next day - on his 18th birthday - two men drove him to what they claimed was a Covid test centre, but was actually a hospital.

"The doctors told me I had a very serious mental disease… Then they tied me to a bed. The nurses and doctors repeatedly told me, because of my views on the party and the government, then I must be mentally ill. It was terrifying," he told the BBC World Service. He was there for 12 days.

Junjie believes his father felt forced to hand him over to the authorities because he worked for the local government.

Just over a month after being discharged, Junjie was once again arrested. Defying a fireworks ban at Chinese New Year (a measure brought in to fight air pollution) he had made a video of himself setting them off. Someone uploaded it online and police managed to link it to Junjie.

He was accused of "picking quarrels and troublemaking" - a charge frequently used to silence criticism of the Chinese government. Junjie says he was forcibly hospitalised again for more than two months.

After being discharged, Junjie was prescribed anti-psychotic drugs. We have seen the prescription - it was for Aripiprazole, used to treat schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.

"Taking the medicine made me feel like my brain was quite a mess," he says, adding that police would come to his house to check he had taken it.

Fearing a third hospitalisation, Junjie decided to leave China. He told his parents he was returning to university to pack up his room - but, in fact, he fled to New Zealand.

He didn't say goodbye to family or friends.

Junjie is one of 59 people who the BBC has confirmed - either by speaking to them or their relatives, or by going through court documents - have been hospitalised on mental health grounds after protesting or challenging the authorities.

The issue has been acknowledged by China's government - the country's 2013 Mental Health Law aimed to stop this abuse, making it illegal to treat someone who is not mentally unwell. It also explicitly states psychiatric admission must be voluntary unless the patient is a danger to themselves or others.

In fact, the number of people detained in mental health hospitals against their will has recently surged, a leading Chinese lawyer told the BBC World Service. Huang Xuetao, who was involved in drafting the law, blames a weakening of civil society and a lack of checks and balances.

"I have come across lots of cases like this. The police want power while avoiding responsibility," he says. "Anyone who knows the shortcomings of this system can abuse it."

An activist called Jie Lijian told us he had been treated for mental illness without his consent in 2018.

Lijian says he was arrested for attending a protest demanding better pay at a factory. He says police interrogated him for three days before taking him to a psychiatric hospital.

Like Junjie, Lijian says he was prescribed anti-psychotic drugs that impaired his critical thinking.

After a week in the hospital, he says he refused any more medication. After fighting with staff, and being told he was causing trouble, Lijian was sent for ECT - a therapy which involves passing electric currents through a patient's brain.

"The pain was from head to toe. My whole body felt like it wasn't my own. It was really painful. Electric shock on. Then off. Electric shock on. Then off. I fainted several times. I felt like I was dying," he says.

He says he was discharged after 52 days. He now has a part-time job in Los Angeles and is seeking asylum in the US.

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In 2019, the year after Lijian says he was hospitalised, the Chinese Medical Doctor Association updated its ECT guidelines, stating it should only ever be administered with consent, and under general anaesthetic.

We wanted to find out more about the doctors' involvement in such cases.

Speaking to foreign media such as the BBC without permission could get them into trouble, so our only option was to go undercover.

We booked phone consultations with doctors working at four hospitals which, according to our evidence, are involved with forced hospitalisations.

We used an invented story about a relative who had been hospitalised for posting anti-government comments online, and asked five doctors if they had ever come across cases of patients being sent in by police.

Four confirmed they had.

"The psychiatric department has a type of admission called 'troublemakers'," one doctor told us.

Another doctor, from the hospital where Junjie was held, appears to confirm his story that police continued surveillance of patients once discharged.

"The police will check up on you at home to make sure you take your medicine. If you don't take it you might break the law again," they said.

We approached the hospital in question for comment but it did not respond.

We have been given access to the medical records of democracy activist Song Zaimin, hospitalised for a fifth time last year, which makes it clear how closely political views appear to be tied to a psychiatric diagnosis.

"Today, he was… talking a lot, speaking incoherently, and criticising the Communist Party. Therefore, he was sent to our hospital for inpatient treatment by the police, doctors, and his local residents' committee. This was an involuntary hospitalisation," it says.

We asked Professor Thomas G Schulze, president-elect of the World Psychiatric Association, to review these notes. He replied:

"For what is described here, no-one should be involuntarily admitted and treated against his will. It reeks of political abuse."

Between 2013 and 2017, more than 200 people reported they had been wrongfully hospitalised by the authorities, according to a group of citizen journalists in China who documented abuses of the Mental Health Law.

Their reporting ended in 2017, because the group's founder was arrested and subsequently jailed.

For victims seeking justice, the legal system appears stacked against them.

A man we are calling Mr Li, who was hospitalised in 2023 after protesting against the local police, tried to take legal action against the authorities for his incarceration.

Unlike Junjie, doctors told Mr Li he wasn't ill but then the police arranged an external psychiatrist to assess him, who diagnosed him with bipolar disorder, and he was held for 45 days.

Once released, he decided to challenge the diagnosis.

"If I don't sue the police it's like I accept being mentally ill. This will have a big impact on my future and my freedom because police can use it as a reason to lock me up any time," he says.

In China, the records of anyone ever diagnosed with a serious mental health disorder could be shared with the police, and even local residents' committees.

But Mr Li was not successful - the courts rejected his appeal.

"We hear our leaders talking about the rule of law," he told us. "We never dreamed one day we could be locked up in a mental hospital."

The BBC has found 112 people listed on the official website for Chinese court decisions who, between 2013 and 2024, attempted to take legal action against police, local governments or hospitals for such treatment.

Some 40% of these plaintiffs had been involved in complaints about the authorities. Only two won their cases.

And the site appears to be censored - five other cases we have investigated are missing from the database.

The issue is that the police enjoy "considerable discretion" in dealing with "troublemakers," according to Nicola MacBean from The Rights Practice, a human rights organisation in London.

"Sending someone to a psychiatric hospital, bypassing procedures, is too easy and too useful a tool for the local authorities."

Eyes are now on the fate of vlogger Li Yixue, who accused a police officer of sexual assault. Yixue is said to have recently been hospitalised for a second time after her social media posts talking about the experience went viral. It is reported she is now under surveillance at a hotel.

We put the findings of our investigation to the UK's Chinese embassy. It said last year the Chinese Communist Party "reaffirmed" that it must "improve the mechanisms" around the law, which it says "explicitly prohibits unlawful detention and other methods of illegally depriving or restricting citizens' personal freedom".

Additional reporting by Georgina Lam and Betty Knight

The world's largest iceberg is on a collision course with a remote British island, potentially putting penguins and seals in danger.

The iceberg is spinning northwards from Antarctica towards South Georgia, a rugged British territory and wildlife haven, where it could ground and smash into pieces. It is currently 173 miles (280km) away.

Countless birds and seals died on South Georgia's icy coves and beaches when past giant icebergs stopped them feeding.

"Icebergs are inherently dangerous. I would be extraordinarily happy if it just completely missed us," sea captain Simon Wallace tells BBC News, speaking from the South Georgia government vessel Pharos.

Around the world a group of scientists, sailors and fishermen are anxiously checking satellite pictures to monitor the daily movements of this queen of icebergs.

It is known as A23a and is one of the world's oldest.

It calved, or broke off, from the Filchner Ice Shelf in Antarctica in 1986 but got stuck on the seafloor and then trapped in an ocean vortex.

Finally, in December, it broke free and is now on its final journey, speeding into oblivion.

The warmer waters north of Antarctica are melting and weakening its vast cliffs that tower up to 1,312ft (400m), taller than the Shard in London.

It once measured 3,900 sq km, but the latest satellite pictures show it is slowly decaying. It is now around 3,500 sq km, roughly the size of the English county of Cornwall.

And large slabs of ice are breaking off, plunging into the waters around its edges.

A23a could break into vast segments any day, which may then hang around for years, like floating cities of ice cruising uncontrollably around South Georgia.

This isn't the first huge iceberg to threaten South Georgia and Sandwich Islands.

In 2004 one called A38 grounded on its continental shelf, leaving dead penguin chicks and seal pups on beaches as massive ice chunks blocked their access to feeding grounds.

The territory is home to precious colonies of King Emperor penguins and millions of elephant and fur seals.

"South Georgia sits in iceberg alley so impacts are to be expected for both fisheries and wildlife, and both have a great capacity to adapt," says Mark Belchier, a marine ecologist who advises the South Georgia government.

Sailors and fisherman say icebergs are an increasing problem. In 2023 one called A76 gave them a scare when it came close to grounding.

"Chunks of it were tipping up, so they looked like great ice towers, an ice city on the horizon," says Mr Belchier, who saw the iceberg while at sea.

Those slabs are still lingering around the islands today.

"It is in bits from the size of several Wembley stadiums down to pieces the size of your desk," says Andrew Newman from Argos Froyanes, a fishing company that works in South Georgia.

"Those pieces basically cover the island - we have to work our way through it," says Captain Wallace.

The sailors on his ship must be constantly vigilant. "We have searchlights on all night to try to see ice - it can come from nowhere," he explains.

A76 was a "gamechanger", according to Mr Newman, with "huge impact on our operations and on keeping our vessel and crew safe".

All three men describe a rapidly changing environment, with glacial retreat visible year-to-year, and volatile levels of sea ice.

Climate change is unlikely to have been behind the birth of A23a because it calved so long ago, before much of the impacts of rising temperatures that we are now seeing.

But giant icebergs are part of our future. As Antarctica becomes more unstable with warmer ocean and air temperatures, more vast pieces of the ice sheets will break away.

Before its time comes to an end though, A23a has left a parting gift for scientists.

A team with the British Antarctic Survey on the Sir David Attenborough research vessel found themselves close to A23a in 2023.

The scientists scrambled to exploit the rare opportunity to investigate what mega icebergs do to the environment.

The ship sailed into a crack in the iceberg's gigantic walls, and PhD researcher Laura Taylor collected precious water samples 400m away from its cliffs.

"I saw a massive wall of ice way higher than me, as far as I could see. It has different colours in different places. Chunks were falling off - it was quite magnificent," she explains from her lab in Cambridge where she is now analysing the samples.

Her work looks at what the impact the melt water is having on the carbon cycle in the southern ocean.

"This isn't just water like we drink. It's full of nutrients and chemicals, as well as tiny animals like phytoplankton frozen inside," Ms Taylor says.

As it melts, the iceberg releases those elements into the water, changing the physics and chemistry of the ocean.

That could store more carbon deep in the ocean, as the particles sink from the surface. That would naturally lock away some of the planet's carbon dioxide emissions that contribute to climate change.

Icebergs are notoriously unpredictable and no-one knows what exactly it will do next.

But soon the behemoth should appear, looming on the islands' horizons, as big as the territory itself.

As Thailand's long-awaited equal marriage law comes into effect on Thursday, police officer Pisit "Kew" Sirihirunchai hopes to be the first in line to marry his long-term partner Chanatip "Jane" Sirihirunchai.

Some 180 same-sex couples are registering their unions at one of Bangkok's grandest shopping malls, in an event city officials helped organise to celebrate this legal milestone.

"We have been ready for such a long time," Pisit says. "We have just been waiting for the law to catch up and support us."

The two men have been together for seven years. Eager to formalise their relationship, they have already gone to a Buddhist monk to give them an auspicious new last name they can share – Sirihirunchai. They have also asked local officials to issue a letter of intent, which they both signed, pledging to get married.

But they say having their union recognised under Thai law is what they really dreamed of. It means LGBTQ+ couples now have the same rights as any other couple to get engaged and married, to manage their assets, to inherit and to adopt children.

They can make decisions about medical treatment if their partner becomes ill and incapacitated, or extend financial benefits – such as Pisit's government pension – to their spouse.

"We want to build a future together – build a house, start a small business together, maybe a café," he adds, making a list of all that the law has enabled. "We want to build our future together and to take care of each other."

Prisit says he has the full support of his colleagues in the police station, and hopes he can encourage others working in government service to be open about their sexuality: "They should feel emboldened because they can see us coming out with no repercussions, only positive responses."

As a younger couple Prisit and Chanatip - both in their mid-30s - have experienced fewer obstacles than those who came out much earlier.

But for their community, it has been a long journey. Despite Thailand's famed tolerance towards LGBTQ+ people, activists say it took a sustained campaign to win legal recognition.

"We've been waiting for this day for 18 years - the day everyone can recognise us openly, when we no longer need to be evasive or hide," says 59-year-old Rungtiwa Thangkanopast, who will marry her partner of 18 years in May.

She had been in a marriage, arranged by her family, to a gay man, who later died. She had a daughter, through IVF, but after her husband's death began spending time, and later helping run, one of the first lesbian pubs in Bangkok. Then she met Phanlavee, who's now 45 and goes by her first name only.

On Valentine's Day 2013 the two women went to the Bang Rak district office in central Bangkok to ask to be officially married - a popular place for marriage registration because the name in Thai means "Love Town".

This was the time when LGBTQ+ couples began challenging the official view of marriage as an exclusively heterosexual partnership by attempting to get marriage certificates at district offices.

There were around 400 heterosexual couples waiting with them on that day. Rungtiwa and Phanlavee were refused, and the Thai media mocked their effort, using derogatory slang for lesbians.

Still, activists managed to persuade the government to consider changing the marriage laws. A proposed civil partnership bill was put before parliament, offering some official recognition to same-sex couples, but not the same legal rights as heterosexual couples.

A military coup in 2014 which deposed the elected government interrupted the movement. It would be another decade before full marriage equality was approved by parliament, in part because of the rise of young, progressive political parties that championed the cause.

Their message resonated with Thais – and attitudes too had changed. By this time, same-sex marriage was legalised in many Western countries and same-sex love had become normalised in Thai culture too.

Such was the shift in favour of the law that it was passed last year by a thumping majority of 400 votes to just 10 against. Even in the notoriously conservative senate only four opposed the law.

And couples like Rungtiwa and Phanleeva now have their chance to have their love for each other recognised, without the risk of public derision.

"With this law comes the legitimacy of our family," Rungtiwa says, "We're no longer viewed as weirdos just because our daughter isn't being raised by heterosexual parents."

The new law takes out gender-specific terms like man, woman, husband and wife from 70 sections of the Thai Civil Code covering marriage, and replaces them with neutral terms like individual and spouse.

However, there are still dozens of laws in the Thai legal code which have not yet been made gender-neutral, and there are still obstacles in the way of same-sex couples using surrogacy to have a family..

Parents are still defined under Thai law as a mother and a father. The law also does not yet allow people to use their preferred gender on official documents; they are still stuck with their birth gender. These are areas where activists say they will still need to keep pushing for change.

Yet it is a historic moment for Thailand, which is an outlier in Asia in recognising marriage equality. And it is especially significant for older couples, who have had to ride out the shifts in attitude.

"I really hope people will put away the old, stereotypical ideas that gay men cannot have true love,"says Chakkrit "Ink" Vadhanavira.

He and his partner Prinn, both in their 40s, have been together for 24 years.

"The two of us have proved that we genuinely love each other through thick and thin for more than 20 years," Chakkrit says."We have been ready to take care of each other since our first day together. We are no different from heterosexual couples."

While Chakkrit's parents quickly accepted their partnership, it took Prinn's parents seven years before they could do so.

The couple also wanted to share the production business they ran together, and other assets, as a couple, so they asked Prinn's parents to adopt Chakkrit officially, giving him the same family name. Prinn says the new law has brought welcome legal clarity to them.

"For example, right now when a same sex couple buy something together – a large item - they cannot share ownership of it," said Prinn. "And one of us passes away, what both have us have earned together cannot be passed on to the other. That's why marriage equality is very significant."

Today, says Prinn, both sets of parents treat them as they would just like any other married children.

And when they had relationship problems like any other couple, their parents helped them.

"My dad even started reading gay magazines to understand me better. It was quite cute to see that."

Additional reporting by Thanyarat Doksone and Ryn Jirenuwat in Bangkok

A new fast-moving wildfire has erupted in Los Angeles County, triggering evacuations in a region already reeling from the most destructive fires in its history.

The Hughes fire ignited north of the city on Wednesday afternoon, near Castaic Lake in a mountainous area that borders several residential areas and schools.

The out-of-control blaze has grown to more than 5,000 acres in just two hours fuelled by strong winds. No homes or businesses have been damaged.

The new fire is burning north of the two mammoth blazes - which are still burning - that destroyed multiple neighbourhoods in Los Angeles County earlier this month.

Two other fires have ignited further south near San Diego and Oceanside, officials said.

They are both smaller - 85 acres for the Lilac fire near Oceanside and 3.9 acres for the Bernardo fire - but were burning in populated areas. Fire crews appeared to have a handle on both of the blazes and evacuation orders had been mostly lifted and forward progress stopped.

In Los Angeles County, local news showed those near the Hughes fire hosing down their homes and yards with water and others rushing to evacuate neighbourhoods.

Orange flames lined the mountains as aircraft dropped water and flame retardant.

The region is once again under a red flag warning, which cautions of a high fire risk due to strong winds and dry, low-humid conditions.

Winds in the area are blowing around 20 to 30 mph but are forecast to strengthen throughout the day, which could allow the blaze to grow and make it harder for air crews to continue their battle from above.

One woman who evacuated her home told NBC 4 that she was stuck on Interstate 5, a major highway that cuts through the area and runs north and south through California.

"It looked like a cloud, but as you got close, it looked like we were driving into hell," she said of the dark smoke and red flames she saw. "It was pretty terrifying to be honest with you."

She acknowledged being on edge after watching the Palisades and Eaton fires burn nearby, killing at least 28 people and decimating more than 10,000 homes and businesses.

"I don't know why they keep popping up," she said. "It's definitely a scary time in this area."

Vegetable vendor Shivnarayan Dasana had never seen so many policemen descend on his village in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh.

The 60-year-old lives in Tarapur in the industrial town of Pithampur, known for its automobile and pharmaceutical factories. The town has been tense since containers holding 337 tonnes of toxic waste from the site of one of the world's worst industrial disasters arrived for disposal three weeks ago.

The waste, transported from the now-defunct Union Carbide factory in the city of Bhopal - site of the 1984 gas tragedy that killed thousands - has sparked fears among locals.

They worry that disposing of it near their homes could be harmful and even cause an environmental disaster.

Protests erupted on 3 January, a day after the waste arrived in the town, escalating into stone-throwing and attempted self-immolations.

Since then, heavy police patrols near the disposal facility have turned Tarapur and surrounding areas into a virtual garrison.

The police have registered seven cases against 100 people since the protests began, but the townspeople continue to raise concerns about industrial pollution at smaller community meetings.

The toxic waste cleared from the Bhopal factory included five types of hazardous materials - including pesticide residue and "forever chemicals" left from its manufacturing process. These chemicals are so-named because they retain their toxic properties indefinitely.

Over the decades, these chemicals have seeped into the surrounding environment, creating a health hazard for people living around the factory in Bhopal.

But officials dismiss fears of the waste disposal causing environmental issues in Pithampur.

Senior official Swatantra Kumar Singh outlined the staggered process in an attempt to reassure the public.

"Hazardous waste will be incinerated at 1,200C (2,192F), with 90kg (194.4lb) test batches followed by 270kg batches over three months if toxicity levels are safe," he said.

Mr Singh explained that a "four-layer filtering will purify smoke", which will prevent toxins from entering the air and the residue from incineration will be "sealed in a two layer membrane" and "buried in a specialised landfill" to prevent soil and groundwater contamination.

"We've trained 100 'master trainers' and are hosting sessions to explain the disposal process and build public trust," said administrator Priyank Mishra.

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav has also defended the waste disposal, calling it both safe and necessary. He urged residents to voice their concerns legally, noting that the disposal was carried out only after orders from the high court.

Environmental experts, however, have differing views on the process.

Some like Subhash C Pandey believe the disposal poses no risk if done properly. Others, like Shyamala Mani, are calling for alternatives to incineration. She argues that incineration increases residual slag and releases harmful toxins like mercury and dioxins.

Ms Mani suggests that bioremediation, a process using micro-organisms to break down harmful substances in waste, could be a more effective and eco-friendly solution.

But residents remain sceptical.

"It's not just waste. It's poison," said Gayatri Tiwari, a mother of five in Tarapur village. "What's the point of life if we can't breathe clean air or drink clean water?"

Pollution is an undeniable reality for the residents of Pithampur. Residents cite past groundwater contamination and ongoing health issues as reasons for scepticism.

The town's rapid industrial growth in the 1980s led to hazardous waste build-up, contaminated water and soil with mercury, arsenic and sulphates. By 2017, the federal agency Central Pollution Control Bureau flagged severe pollution in the area.

Locals allege that many companies don't follow the rules to dispose of non-hazardous waste, choosing to dump it in the soil or water. Tests in 2024 showed elevated harmful substances in water. Activists link this to alleged environmental violations at the disposal facility but officials have denied this.

"Water filters in our homes don't last two months. Skin diseases and kidney stones are common now. Pollution has made life unbearable," said Pankaj Patel, 32, from Chirakhan village, pointing to his water purifier which needs frequently replacing.

Srinivas Dwivedi, regional officer of the State Pollution Control Board, dismissed concerns, saying it's "unrealistic" to expect pre-industrial conditions in Pithampur.

Meanwhile, in Bhopal, nearly 230km (143 miles) away from Pithampur, activists argue that the disposal process is a distraction from much larger issues.

Since the disaster, the toxic material lay in the mothballed factory for decades, polluting groundwater in the surrounding areas.

More than 1.1 million tonnes of contaminated soil remain at the Union Carbide factory site, according to a 2010 report by National Environmental Engineering Research Institute and the National Geophysical Research Institute.

"The government is making a show of disposing of 337 metric tonnes while ignoring the much bigger problem in Bhopal," said Nityanand Jayaraman, a leading environmentalist.

"The contamination has worsened over the years, yet the government has done little to address it," added Rachna Dhingra, another activist.

Government estimates say 3,500 people died shortly after the gas leak, with over 15,000 dying later. Activists claim the toll is much higher, with victims still suffering from the side effects of the poisoning.

"Given Pithampur's history of pollution, residents' fears are valid," said Mr Jayaraman.

Officials said they are only "dealing with the waste as specified by the court's directive".

But the reality of Bhopal has deepened the mistrust among the people of Pithampur, who are now prepared to take to the streets again to oppose the waste disposal.

Vegetable vendor Shivnarayan Dasana said the issue goes beyond the waste itself.

"It's about survival - ours and our children's," he said.

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US President Donald Trump has warned he will impose high tariffs on Russian goods and impose further sanctions if it fails to end the war in Ukraine.

Writing on his social media platform Truth Social, he said that by pushing to settle the war he was doing Russia, and its President Vladimir Putin, a "very big favour".

Trump has previously said he would negotiate a settlement to the conflict, which began with Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022, in a single day.

Russia has not yet responded to the remarks, but senior officials have said in recent days that there is a small window of opportunity for Moscow to deal with the new US administration.

Putin has said repeatedly that he is prepared to negotiate an end to the war, but that Ukraine would have to accept the reality of Russian territorial gains, which are currently about 20% of its land. Kyiv meanwhile says it is not prepared to give up its territory.

On Tuesday Trump told a news conference he would be talking to Putin "very soon" and it "sounds likely" that he would apply more sanctions if the Russian leader did not come to the table.

But in his Truth Social post on Wednesday, he went further: "I'm going to do Russia, whose Economy is failing, and President Putin, a very big FAVOR," he wrote.

"Settle now, and STOP this ridiculous War! IT'S ONLY GOING TO GET WORSE. If we don't make a 'deal', and soon, I have no other choice but to put high levels of Taxes, Tariffs, and Sanctions on anything being sold by Russia to the United States, and various other participating countries."

Continuing, he said: "Let's get this war, which never would have started if I were President, over with! We can do it the easy way, or the hard way - and the easy way is always better. It's time to "MAKE A DEAL"."

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Russia's deputy UN ambassador Dmitry Polyanskiy earlier told Reuters news agency that the Kremlin would need to know what Trump wants in a deal to stop the war before the country moves forward.

Meanwhile Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told the World Economic Forum on Tuesday that at least 200,000 peacekeepers would be needed under any agreement.

And he told Bloomberg that any peacekeeping force for his country would have to include US troops to pose a realistic deterrent to Russia.

"It can't be without the United States... Even if some European friends think it can be, no it will not be," he said, adding that no-one else would risk such a move without the US.

While Ukraine's leaders might appreciate this tougher-talking Trump - they have always said Putin only understands strength - the initial reaction in Kyiv to the US president's comments suggest that it is actions people are waiting for, not words.

Trump has not specified where more economic penalties might be aimed, or when. Russian imports to the US have plummeted since 2022 and there are all sorts of heavy restrictions already in place.

Currently, the main Russian exports to the US are phosphate-based fertilisers and platinum.

On social media, there was a generally scathing response from Ukrainians. Many suggested that more sanctions were a weak reply to Russian aggression. But the biggest question for most is what Putin is actually open to discussing with Ukraine at any peace talks.

In Moscow meanwhile, some people are seeing signs that the Kremlin may be readying Russians to accept less than the "victory" once envisaged, which included tanks rolling all the way west to the southern Ukrainian port city of Odesa.

TV editor Margarita Simonyan, who is stridently pro-Putin, has begun talking of "realistic" conditions for ending the war, which she suggests could include halting the fighting along the current frontline.

That would mean the four Ukrainian regions that Putin illegally pronounced as Russian territory more than two years ago, like Zaporizhzhia, still being partially controlled by Kyiv.

Russian hardliners, the so-called "Z" bloggers, are furious at such "defeatism".

In his social media post, Trump also couched his threat of tariffs and tighter sanctions in words of "love" for the Russian people and highlighted his respect for Soviet losses in World War Two – a near-sacred topic for Putin - though Trump massively overestimated the numbers and appeared to think the USSR was Russia alone. In reality, millions of Ukrainians and other Soviet citizens also lost their lives.

That said, the man who previously said he could "understand" Russia's concerns about Ukraine joining Nato - which for Kyiv is tantamount to saying Putin was provoked - does seem to be shifting his tone.

Trump's position matters. But after 11 years of war with Russia and a history of poor peace deals, Ukrainians are not inclined to be hopeful.

At least 11 people have been killed and five injured after they fled rumours of a fire on board their train in India, only to be hit by another train.

Railway officials said the passengers got down from the Mumbai-bound train in western Maharashtra state after someone pulled the emergency cord, causing it to stop.

They were hit by a train on an adjacent track. It was not immediately clear whether there had actually been a fire.

India has launched a $30m (£24bn) programme to modernise its railways in recent years but this has been marred by a series of accidents, including a major three-train crash in 2023 in the state of Odisha which left nearly 300 people dead.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said in a post on X that he was "deeply saddened by the tragic loss of lives" during the incident near Pachora in Jalgaon district, about 400km from Mumbai, India's financial capital.

He said eight ambulances had been dispatched and hospitals were on standby.

The crash will be seen as a setback for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who has called for modernisation of the railways to boost the economy and connectivity.

There are plans to boost spending on the programme in next month's budget, Reuters news agency reports.

A new fast-moving wildfire has erupted in Los Angeles County, triggering evacuations in a region already reeling from the most destructive fires in its history.

The Hughes fire ignited north of the city on Wednesday afternoon, near Castaic Lake in a mountainous area that borders several residential areas and schools.

The out-of-control blaze has grown to more than 5,000 acres in just two hours fuelled by strong winds. No homes or businesses have been damaged.

The new fire is burning north of the two mammoth blazes - which are still burning - that destroyed multiple neighbourhoods in Los Angeles County earlier this month.

Two other fires have ignited further south near San Diego and Oceanside, officials said.

They are both smaller - 85 acres for the Lilac fire near Oceanside and 3.9 acres for the Bernardo fire - but were burning in populated areas. Fire crews appeared to have a handle on both of the blazes and evacuation orders had been mostly lifted and forward progress stopped.

In Los Angeles County, local news showed those near the Hughes fire hosing down their homes and yards with water and others rushing to evacuate neighbourhoods.

Orange flames lined the mountains as aircraft dropped water and flame retardant.

The region is once again under a red flag warning, which cautions of a high fire risk due to strong winds and dry, low-humid conditions.

Winds in the area are blowing around 20 to 30 mph but are forecast to strengthen throughout the day, which could allow the blaze to grow and make it harder for air crews to continue their battle from above.

One woman who evacuated her home told NBC 4 that she was stuck on Interstate 5, a major highway that cuts through the area and runs north and south through California.

"It looked like a cloud, but as you got close, it looked like we were driving into hell," she said of the dark smoke and red flames she saw. "It was pretty terrifying to be honest with you."

She acknowledged being on edge after watching the Palisades and Eaton fires burn nearby, killing at least 28 people and decimating more than 10,000 homes and businesses.

"I don't know why they keep popping up," she said. "It's definitely a scary time in this area."

A bid to free five elephants from a Colorado zoo has been rejected after a court ruled elephants are not people.

An animal rights group argued Missy, Kimba, Lucky, LouLou and Jambo were effectively imprisoned at the zoo, and had filed to have them moved to an elephant sanctuary.

It tried to bring a habeas corpus claim on behalf of the animals - a legal process which allows a person to challenge their detention in court.

The Colorado Supreme Court said the matter boiled down to "whether an elephant is a person" and therefore had the same liberty rights as a human - ultimately deciding that they did not.

It ruled 6-0 in favour of a previous district court decision that said the state's habeas corpus process "only applies to persons, and not to nonhuman animals".

This was true "no matter how cognitively, psychologically, or socially sophisticated they may be," State Supreme Court Justice Maria Berkenkotter added in her ruling.

While she said the five elderly African elephants were "majestic," the court ruled the claim could not be brought "because an elephant is not a person".

The Nonhuman Rights Project (NRP) petitioned for the elephants to be moved from Cheyenne Mountain Zoo to a "suitable elephant sanctuary" in 2023.

The group argued the animals had a right to freedom because they were emotionally complex and intelligent animals.

It claimed the elephants showed signs of "trauma, brain damage, and chronic stress" and that they were effectively "imprisoned" at the zoo.

Cheyenne Mountain Zoo rejected the claim, arguing the elephants had received remarkable care, and was supported by a district court.

After the Supreme Court ruling, Cheyenne Mountain Zoo called NRP's lawsuit "frivolous" and said it had "wasted" time and money on the case.

It accused the group of "abusing court systems to fundraise" and claimed its goal was "to manipulate people into donating to their cause by incessantly publicising sensational court cases with relentless calls for supporters to donate".

NRP said the decision "perpetuate[d] a clear injustice, stating that unless an individual is human they have no right to liberty".

"As with other social justice movements, early losses are expected as we challenge an entrenched status quo that has allowed Missy, Kimba, Lucky, LouLou, and Jambo to be relegated to a lifetime of mental and physical suffering," the group said in a statement.

An earlier bid by NRP to free an elephant named Happy from New York's Bronx Zoo was rejected after the court judged she was not legally a person.

During his inaugural address, President Donald Trump doubled down on his assertion that China runs the Panama Canal.

"China is operating the Panama Canal and we didn't give it to China. We gave it to Panama and we're taking it back," he said.

The 51-mile (82km) Panama Canal cuts across the Central American nation and is the main link between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.

Up to 14,000 ships use it each year as a shortcut to a journey which, before the canal was built, would have taken them on a lengthy and costly trip around the tip of South America.

What has Trump said about the canal?

The mention of Panama in his inaugural speech is not the first time he has focused on the Central American nation and its transoceanic canal.

On Christmas Day, Trump posted on social media that the "wonderful soldiers of China" were "lovingly, but illegally, operating the Panama Canal" - a claim which was swiftly denied by officials in Panama City and Beijing.

At the time, Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino described the claim as "nonsense", stressing that there was "absolutely no Chinese interference" in the canal.

Trump has also threatened to take the canal back by force, citing "exorbitant" fees being allegedly charged for US vessels to pass through it - another claim rejected by Panamanian authorities.

Following Trump's inauguration address, President Mulino again stressed that there was "no presence of any nation in the world that interferes with our administration" of the Panama Canal.

The strategic waterway, which handles about 5% of global maritime trade volume, is operated by the Panama Canal Authority, an agency of the Panamanian government, not Chinese soldiers.

However, Mr Trump's inaccurate claim reflects the concerns of some US officials over China's significant investments in the canal and its surrounding infrastructure.

What is the history of Panama Canal?

Historically, the US played a pivotal role in the construction and administration of the passage, which links the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.

After a failed attempt by the French to build it, the US secured the rights to undertake the project. The canal's construction was completed in 1914.

It remained under US control until 1977, when then President Jimmy Carter signed a treaty to gradually hand it over to Panama, which Trump has referred to as "foolish".

Since 1999, the Panama Canal Authority has held exclusive control over the operations of the waterway.

The treaties signed by both the US and Panama stipulated that it shall remain permanently neutral, but the US reserves the right to defend any threat to the canal's neutrality using military force under this deal.

What is China's role in the operations of the canal?

There is no public evidence to suggest that the Chinese government exercises control over the canal, or its military. However, Chinese companies have a significant presence there.

From October 2023 to September 2024, China accounted for 21.4% of the cargo volume transiting the Panama Canal, making it the second-largest user after the US.

In recent years, China has also invested heavily in ports and terminals near the canal.

Two of the five ports adjacent to the canal, Balboa and Cristóbal, which sit on the Pacific and Atlantic sides respectively, have been operated by a subsidiary of Hutchison Port Holdings since 1997.

The company is a subsidiary of the publicly listed CK Hutchison Holdings, a Hong Kong-based conglomerate founded by Hong Kong businessman Li Ka-shing. It has port operations in 24 countries, including the UK.

It has port operations in 24 countries, including the UK.

Although it is not state-owned by China, says Ryan Berg, director of the Americas Program at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, there have been concerns in Washington over how much control Beijing would be able to exert over the company.

A wealth of potentially useful strategic information on ships passing through the waterway flows through these ports.

"There is an increasing geopolitical tension of economic nature between the US and China," Mr Berg says. "That kind of information regarding cargo would be very useful in the event of a supply chain war."

CK Hutchison did not respond to the BBC's request for comment.

The bids to operate those ports faced almost no competition, according to Andrew Thomas, a professor at the University of Akron who has written a book on the canal. "The US at the time didn't really care about these ports and Hutchison faced no objection," he says.

Chinese companies, both private and state-owned, have also strengthened their presence in Panama through billions of dollars in investments, including a cruise terminal and a bridge to be built over the canal.

This "package of Chinese activities", as described by Mr Thomas, might have prompted Trump's assertion that the canal is "owned" by China, but operation of those ports does not equate to ownership, he stresses.

Beijing has repeatedly said that China's ties with Latin America are characterised by "equality, mutual benefit, innovation, openness and benefits for the people".

What are China's broader interests in Panama?

Panama's strategic location means China has been vying to increase its influence in the country for years and expand its footprint on a continent that has traditionally been considered the "backyard" of the US.

In 2017, Panama broke diplomatic ties with Taiwan and established formal relations with China – a huge win for Chinese diplomacy.

Months later, Panama became the first Latin American country to join China's signature Belt and Road Initiative, a trillion-dollar global infrastructure and investment initiative.

The Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Honduras followed suit and also severed ties with Taipei in favour of Beijing.

China has slowly expanded its soft power by opening its first Confucius Institute in the country and providing a grant to build a railway. Chinese companies have also sponsored "media training" for Panamanian journalists.

At least 11 people have been killed and five injured after they fled rumours of a fire on board their train in India, only to be hit by another train.

Railway officials said the passengers got down from the Mumbai-bound train in western Maharashtra state after someone pulled the emergency cord, causing it to stop.

They were hit by a train on an adjacent track. It was not immediately clear whether there had actually been a fire.

India has launched a $30m (£24bn) programme to modernise its railways in recent years but this has been marred by a series of accidents, including a major three-train crash in 2023 in the state of Odisha which left nearly 300 people dead.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said in a post on X that he was "deeply saddened by the tragic loss of lives" during the incident near Pachora in Jalgaon district, about 400km from Mumbai, India's financial capital.

He said eight ambulances had been dispatched and hospitals were on standby.

The crash will be seen as a setback for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who has called for modernisation of the railways to boost the economy and connectivity.

There are plans to boost spending on the programme in next month's budget, Reuters news agency reports.

Police in Kenya have arrested a man carrying a mutilated corpse in his backpack, which he reportedly said belonged to his 19-year-old wife.

Officers came across 29-year-old John Kiama Wambua while patrolling Huruma, a district east of Nairobi, just before dawn.

Suspecting Wambua was carrying something illegal, they searched his backpack and "to their shock" found the body parts, said a statement from Kenya's Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI).

This is far from an isolated case - Kenya has one of the highest rates of femicide, or killings with a gender-related motivation, in Africa.

• Kenya femicide: Why men fail to condemn deadly misogyny

After police officers interrogated Mr Wambua, he told them that the body parts belonged to his wife, Joy Fridah Munani, according to the DCI statement.

He appeared "unperturbed" by the officers' discovery, it said.

After the interrogation, Mr Wambua led the officers to his home, where they discovered a knife, blood-soaked clothes and more body parts under a bed.

The DCI described the act as "heinous", adding that the suspect will be formally charged with murder during an upcoming court hearing.

Between August and October last year, at least 97 women were murdered, Kenya's National Police Service said.

In December, hundreds of women protesting against a recent wave of femicides took to the streets of the capital, Nairobi. They were reportedly met by police firing teargas.

Kenya has seen several high-profile murders of women. In September 2024, Olympic runner Rebecca Cheptegei was killed by her former partner.

The 33-year-old died days after being doused in petrol and set alight at her home in western Kenya.

In July, police arrested Collins Jumaisi Khalusha, who they described as a "serial killer", after the mutilated bodies of nine women were found in a disused quarry.

Mr Khalusha escaped from custody a month later and appears to still be on the run.

Earlier that year, in a case that sparked widespread outrage, a young woman named Rita Waeni was brutally murdered at a short-term rental apartment. The police said she was dismembered and stuffed into a plastic bag.

You may also be interested in:

• 'I can't sleep': What an athlete’s murder tells us about women’s safety in Kenya
• A woman's murder exposes Kenya's toxic online misogyny
• Kenya's 'serial killer' mystery - five key questions
• WATCH: Gender-based violence is Kenya's 'hidden epidemic'

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

A two-year-old boy and a man aged 41 have been killed in a stabbing in a German park.

Police confirmed that a 28-year-old man from Afghanistan was arrested following the attack in Bavarian city of Aschaffenburg. German reports suggested he had a history of mental health issues.

Two others were taken to hospital with serious injuries and the public park was cordoned off by officers.

Markus Söder, the Bavarian state premier, called the attack a "cowardly and despicable act". It is the latest fatal knife attack in Germany in recent months, and comes weeks before a federal election on 23 February.

Police said their investigation into the stabbing was ongoing, but that the attack had taken place at about 11:45 (10:45 GMT) at Schöntal Park in Aschaffenburg, about 22 miles (36 kilometres) south-east of Frankfurt.

The attack involved a kindergarten group according to the Spiegel website, which said other children were among those hurt.

Söder described the man killed as "a helper who paid for his civil courage with his own life".

The suspect was arrested close to the scene after officers were called at around 11:45 local time (10:45 GMT). Officers said a second person was initially detained at the scene but was now being treated as a witness.

Police said there was no danger to the public.

Markus Söder said it was a terrible day and called for a pause: "We mourn the loss of a small, innocent child."

Police said they were investigating a motive and the background to the attack remained unclear. The suspect was said to have been staying in accommodation for asylum seekers.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who was on a visit to France, condemned an "unbelievable act of terror". He posted on social media that he was tired of seeing "such acts of violence every few weeks" and urged authorities to find out why the suspect was still in Germany.

The German government has come under increasing pressure to take a harder line on immigration after a number of fatal attacks, and with federal elections due on 23 February, the anti-immigration, far-right AfD is second in the polls.

Five people were killed when a man rammed his car into a crowd at Magdeburg's Christmas market in December. A Saudi doctor has been charged with the attack.

In August, three people were fatally stabbed in the town of Solingen. The suspect was a Syrian national facing deportation after a failed asylum.

That attack led to the German government expanding border checks and tightening controls on knives, and fuelled an intense debate over asylum rules that has continued in the run up to next month's election.

The conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) currently lead the polls and Olaf Scholz's centre-left Social Democratic Party (SDP) are behind in third place.

The election was called after Scholz's three-party coalition collapsed in November.

Western officials have told the BBC that North Korean troops have already suffered nearly 40% casualties in the fighting in Russia's western Kursk region, in just three months.

The officials, who spoke on grounds of anonymity, said that out of the estimated 11,000 troops sent from North Korea, known as DPRK (Democratic People's Republic of Korea), 4,000 were battle casualties.

That term comprises those killed, wounded, missing or captured. Of the 4,000, the officials said around 1,000 are believed to have been killed by mid-January.

These losses, if confirmed, are unsustainable by the North Koreans.

It is not clear where the wounded are being treated, nor even when and to what extent they will be replaced.

But the figures point to an extraordinarily high cost being incurred by President Vladimir Putin's ally, akin Kim Jong Un, as he seeks to help him evict Ukrainian forces from Russia ahead of any possible ceasefire negotiations later in the year.

Ukraine launched a lightning thrust into the Russian oblast of Kursk last August, taking Russian border guards by surprise.

The government in Kyiv made it clear at the time that it had no intention of holding onto the territory seized, merely to use it as a bargaining chip in future peace negotiations.

Ukraine's early gains in Kursk have since been steadily pushed back, partly due to the arrival in Russia of the North Koreans in October.

But Ukraine still retains several hundred square kilometres of Russian territory and is inflicting huge losses on its enemy.

The North Korean troops, reportedly from an "elite" unit called the Storm Corps, appear to have been thrown into the fight with comparatively little training or protection.

"These are barely trained troops led by Russian officers who they don't understand," says the former British Army tank commander, Col Hamish de Bretton-Gordon.

"Quite frankly they don't stand a chance. They are being thrown into the meat grinder with little chance of survival. They are cannon fodder, and the Russian officers care even less for them than they do for their own men."

Reports attributed to South Korean intelligence say the North Koreans are unprepared for the realities of modern warfare, and appear especially vulnerable to being targeted by Ukrainian First-Person-View (FPV) drones, a weapon that has been a familiar part of the battle space further south in Ukraine's Donbas region for years now.

Despite this, Ukraine's top military commander Gen Oleksandr Syrskyi warned earlier this week that North Korean soldiers were posing a significant problem for Ukrainian fighters on the front line.

"They are numerous. An additional 11,000-12,000 highly motivated and well-prepared soldiers who are conducting offensive actions. They operate based on Soviet tactics. They act in platoons, companies. They rely on their numbers," the general told Ukraine's TSN Tyzhden news programme.

The Irish parliament will resume on Wednesday with Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin set to return as taoiseach for a second time.

The 35th Dáil (Irish parliament) will see Mr Martin elected as taoiseach (prime minister), replacing Fine Gael leader Simon Harris who will return as tánaiste (deputy prime minister).

Fianna Fáil - the largest party - has formed a government with Fine Gael and a range of independent regional Teachtaí Dála (TDs) after November's election.

Sinn Féin remain the largest opposition party after winning 39 seats. Fianna Fáil gained 48 seats while Fine Gael was third with 38 seats.

Mr Martin and Mr Harris confirmed the new draft programme for government earlier this month.

The deal paved the way for the next government and was successfully endorsed by both parties in recent days.

Speaking after his party endorsed the programme for government, Mr Martin said there was a "strong commitment" on behalf of his party to deliver for the Irish people.

"I can assure you, we will spare no effort in working selflessly on behalf of the people of Ireland to deliver this programme for government, to make things better for people and to improve the quality of life as we navigate very turbulent global waters," he said.

Both Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael ruled out Sinn Féin as a coalition partner, which party leader Mary Lou McDonald called "bad practice".

This is the first time the new government will sit after November's election, with government negotiations taking around five weeks to complete.

The new Dáil has already been the source of controversy after a number of independent TDs including Michael Lowry, Danny Healy-Rae, Barry Heneghan and Gillian Toole, who support the government, wish to sit and speak from opposition benches.

The new Ceann Comhairle (speaker) - also a regional independent - Verona Murphy, who is the first woman to hold the role, told TDs she would consider submissions opposing the plan, but permitted the group to "provisionally" take their original seats for now.

All other opposition groups are against the idea, labelling it as having a foot in both camps and taking time away from those who wish to scrutinise the government.

As part of Wednesday's Dáil return, Mr Martin will travel to the Áras an Uachtaráin about 13:00 local time to meet Irish President Michael D Higgins in the state reception room.

The president will then sign the warrant of appointment and hand the seal of the taoiseach and the seal of government to the Mr Harris.

Later, at about 20:00, the appointment of members of the government will begin.

The president will sign the warrant of appointment for the members of the government and the warrant of appointment of the attorney general, each of which will be countersigned by the taoiseach.

The president will then present each minister in turn with their seal of office.

A cat has made three flights between New Zealand and Australia in just 24 hours after being forgotten on a plane.

Mittens, an eight-year-old Maine Coon, was booked to travel from Christchurch to Melbourne on 12 January - but her cage was left in the Air New Zealand aircraft's cargo hold.

After waiting for three hours for Mittens at Melbourne airport, owner Margo Neas was told by ground staff the plane had already returned to New Zealand with her pet.

During that flight the heating was turned on to keep the cat comfortable, Ms Neas said. The pet - who had lost weight but was otherwise unharmed - was later flown again to Melbourne to reunite with her owner.

Speaking to NBC on Wednesday, Ms Neas said she and her son had been informed about the mishap by airport ground staff in Melbourne.

"They said: 'Look, we have located your cat - but it's actually on the return flight to Christchurch...'

"And I said: 'When did you discover that the cat wasn't taken off the plane?' And they said: 'We've only just discovered now.' And I said: 'How can this happen?'"

Ms Neas said she was told that the pilot had already been alerted to turn the heating on in the cargo hall where the temperature could be as low as 7C.

The incident is still being investigated, but reports say a stowed wheelchair may have obscured a baggage handler's view of Mittens's cage.

Air New Zealand has apologised for the distress caused, promising to reimburse all travel costs.

The company does not accept direct animal bookings from the public for international flights, so passengers must book via approved pet carrier firms.

Ms Neas said she had been relieved to be finally reunited with Mitten.

"She basically just ran into my arms and just snuggled up in here and just did the biggest cuddles of all time," she was quoted as saying by the AP news agency on Wednesday. "It was just such a relief."

Ms Neas, who had earlier decided to relocate to Australia, added: "It was not a great start to our new life in Melbourne because we didn't have the family, we weren't complete."

The one-way flight time between Christchurch and Melbourne usually takes less than four hours.

A day of mourning is under way in Turkey for the 76 victims of a fire that engulfed a popular ski resort hotel in the country's north-west.

The fire broke out at the wooden-clad 12-storey Grand Kartal Hotel in Bolu at 03:27 local time (00:27 GMT) during a busy holiday period when 234 people were staying there. It took 12 hours to put out.

An investigation has been launched into the incident and there have been conflicting reports about whether the hotel was up to safety standards.

Nine people have been arrested, including the hotel's owner.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who is expected to visit Bolu on Wednesday, said those responsible for negligence leading to the fire "will be held accountable".

Flags are flying at half-mast across Turkey in memory of the victims of the fire, while the first funerals are being held.

Search and rescue teams are making their final efforts to find any remaining bodies.

Alongside the fatalities, 51 people were injured in the fire, according to health minister Kemal Memisoglu. One was receiving treatment in intensive care, and 17 people have been discharged.

Footage circulating in Turkey showed linen hanging from windows which was used by those trying to escape the burning building.

The cause of the fire has not yet been found, but Bolu governor Abdulaziz Aydin said initial reports suggested it had broken out in the restaurant section of the hotel's fourth floor and spread to the floors above.

Bolu's governor said the hotel's remote location and freezing conditions meant it took more than an hour for fire engines to arrive.

The hotel was last inspected in 2024, and the tourism minister said there had been no concerns regarding the hotel's fire safety prior to Tuesday's disaster.

However, the Union of Chambers of Turkish Engineers and Architects (TMMOB) said that, according to regulations, an automatic fire extinguisher system was needed, and it appeared from photos of the hotel that one had not been installed.

It added that it was unclear if other regulations had been complied with, but based on the statements of survivors, "it is understood that the detection and warning systems did not work and the escape routes could not be determined".

The Bolu mountains are popular with skiers from Istanbul and Turkey's capital Ankara, which is roughly 170km (105 miles) away, and the hotel was operating at high occupancy at the start of the two-week school holidays.

Who are the victims?

Information about those who died in the fire is continuing to emerge, although some of the bodies are still to be identified. At least two people were killed after they tried to jump to safety.

Many children and young people are among the dead and, in many cases, several members of the same family have been killed.

Turkish Airlines confirmed that Zehra Sena Gültekin died along with her husband, businessman Bilal Gültekin, and three children. Boğaziçi Executives Foundation said two of Bilal's siblings were also killed, while Turkish media reported that other family members had also died.

Dentist Dr Burak Hasar announced that his colleague of 15-years, Dr Yasemen Boncuk Tüzgiray, her husband Dr Erhan Tüzgiray, and their children Defne and Demir had all died.

The Turkish Wind Energy Association announced that two executives from one of its members, Inovat Energy Storage Solutions, were killed. They are the company's CEO Can Tokcan, his brother Atıl Enis Tokcan, and their children Kemal and Atlas Kaan.

Tarsus American College announced the death of its graduates Mert Doğan, his wife Duygu, and their children Mavi and Doğan, as well as another graduate's grandson Ömür Kotan.

The İELEV Schools association announced the death of students Pelin Güngör, her mother Burcu, father Kıvanç and brother Kerem. Eslem Uyanik, a young chef at the hotel, also died.

Prof Dr Atakan Yalçın, who worked at the Özyeğin University Faculty of Business, and his daughter Elif Derin, both died.

Nedim Turkmen, a writer for Sozcu newspaper, his wife Ayse Neva, and their two children, 18-year-old Ala Dora and 22-year-old Yüce Ata, were all killed.

TED Istanbul College announced the death of students Alican Boduroğlu, his sister Elif Nas, as well as their mother Ebru.

TED Ankara College shared the news of the death of Eren Bağcı on its social media accounts.

Dilara Ermanoglu, 24, was also among the victims, and her father who had gone to Bolu to look for her was treated by health workers for a heart attack.

Vedia Nil Apak, a 10-year-old swimmer with Fenerbahce Sports Club in Istanbul, also died, along with her mother Ferda.

Club management also said that Ceren Yaman Doğan, the wife of the vice president of its Bolu association, and their 17-year-old daughter Lalin, were killed. Ceren was also the daughter of a well-known local businessman.

Mehmet Cem Doğan, the Bolu factory director for OYAK cement, died, as did his wife Ayşemin Elif and daughter Ayşe Maya.

The Turkish Neurology Association said its member, Dr Ahmet Çetiz, was killed alongside his family.

The Irish parliament will resume on Wednesday with Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin set to return as taoiseach for a second time.

The 35th Dáil (Irish parliament) will see Mr Martin elected as taoiseach (prime minister), replacing Fine Gael leader Simon Harris who will return as tánaiste (deputy prime minister).

Fianna Fáil - the largest party - has formed a government with Fine Gael and a range of independent regional Teachtaí Dála (TDs) after November's election.

Sinn Féin remain the largest opposition party after winning 39 seats. Fianna Fáil gained 48 seats while Fine Gael was third with 38 seats.

Mr Martin and Mr Harris confirmed the new draft programme for government earlier this month.

The deal paved the way for the next government and was successfully endorsed by both parties in recent days.

Speaking after his party endorsed the programme for government, Mr Martin said there was a "strong commitment" on behalf of his party to deliver for the Irish people.

"I can assure you, we will spare no effort in working selflessly on behalf of the people of Ireland to deliver this programme for government, to make things better for people and to improve the quality of life as we navigate very turbulent global waters," he said.

Both Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael ruled out Sinn Féin as a coalition partner, which party leader Mary Lou McDonald called "bad practice".

This is the first time the new government will sit after November's election, with government negotiations taking around five weeks to complete.

The new Dáil has already been the source of controversy after a number of independent TDs including Michael Lowry, Danny Healy-Rae, Barry Heneghan and Gillian Toole, who support the government, wish to sit and speak from opposition benches.

The new Ceann Comhairle (speaker) - also a regional independent - Verona Murphy, who is the first woman to hold the role, told TDs she would consider submissions opposing the plan, but permitted the group to "provisionally" take their original seats for now.

All other opposition groups are against the idea, labelling it as having a foot in both camps and taking time away from those who wish to scrutinise the government.

As part of Wednesday's Dáil return, Mr Martin will travel to the Áras an Uachtaráin about 13:00 local time to meet Irish President Michael D Higgins in the state reception room.

The president will then sign the warrant of appointment and hand the seal of the taoiseach and the seal of government to the Mr Harris.

Later, at about 20:00, the appointment of members of the government will begin.

The president will sign the warrant of appointment for the members of the government and the warrant of appointment of the attorney general, each of which will be countersigned by the taoiseach.

The president will then present each minister in turn with their seal of office.

A court in the Indian capital, Delhi, has ordered the seizure of two "offensive" paintings by MF Husain, one of India's most famous artists.

The court on Monday granted permission for the police to seize the artworks after a complaint was filed alleging that the paintings, displayed at an art gallery and featuring two Hindu deities, "hurt religious sentiments".

Husain, who died in 2011 aged 95, often faced backlash for the depictions of nude Hindu gods in his paintings.

The Delhi Art Gallery (DAG) which held the exhibition said in a statement that it is "not a party to the legal proceedings and is seeking legal advice".

The paintings were part of an exhibition called Husain: The Timeless Modernist, showcasing more than 100 works at DAG from 26 October to 14 December.

The complainant, Amita Sachdeva, a lawyer, said on X that on 4 December, she photographed the "offensive paintings" displayed at the DAG and, after researching previous complaints against the late artist, filed a police complaint five days later.

On 10 December, Ms Sachdeva reported that she visited the gallery with the investigating officer, only to discover that the paintings had been removed. She claimed that the gallery officials asserted they had never exhibited the paintings.

The BBC has contacted DAG for comment.

The paintings that Ms Sachdeva shared online depicted Hindu gods Ganesha and Hanuman alongside nude female figures. She also alleged that the Delhi police had failed to file a report.

She later petitioned the court to preserve the CCTV footage from the gallery during the period when the paintings were reportedly on display, according to media reports.

On Monday, a judge at Delhi's Patiala House Courts said that the police had accessed the footage and submitted their report. According to the inquiry, the exhibition was held in a private space and was intended solely to showcase the artist's original work, the judge added.

The art gallery said in a statement that they are "reviewing the situation" and "trying to follow developments".

Maqbool Fida Husain was one of India's biggest painters and was called "Picasso of India" but his artwork often stirred controversy in the country. His works have sold for millions of dollars.

His career was marked by controversy when he was accused of obscenity and denounced by hardline Hindus for a painting of a nude goddess.

In 2006, Husain publicly apologised for his painting, Mother India. It showed a nude woman kneeling on the ground creating the shape of the Indian map. He left the country the same year and lived in a self-imposed exile in London until his death.

In 2008, India's Supreme Court refused to launch criminal proceedings against Husain, saying that his paintings were not obscene and nudity was common in Indian iconography and history.

The court had then dismissed an appeal against a high court ruling that quashed criminal proceedings against Husain in the cities of Bhopal, Indore, and Rajkot, condemning the rise of "new puritanism" in India.

The court also rejected calls for Husain, then in exile, to be summoned and asked to explain his paintings, which were accused of outraging religious sentiments and disturbing national integrity.

"There are so many such subjects, photographs and publications. Will you file cases against all of them? What about temple structures? Husain's work is art. If you don't want to see it, don't see it. There are so many such art forms in temple structures," the top court said.

Many believe there is a rising tide of illiberalism against artistic expression in India.

In October the Bombay High Court reprimanded the customs department for seizing artworks by renowned artists FN Souza and Akbar Padamsee on the grounds that they were "obscene material."

The court ruled that not every nude or sexually explicit painting qualifies as obscene and ordered the release of seven seized artworks.

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Kenya will allow citizens of nearly all African countries to visit without needing prior authorisation, according to a new directive by the cabinet.

Last year, Kenya introduced a "visa-free" policy that required most visitors to apply online for authorisation before leaving their country.

But the introduction of the Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA), which replaced the visa requirement for all visitors, was criticised as a "visa under another name".

On Tuesday, a cabinet statement said the ETA would be dropped for "all African countries except Somalia and Libya - due to security concerns".

It said this was part of "efforts to support open skies policies and tourism growth" and "promote regional integration and ease travel across the continent".

Despite introducing the ETA, Kenya fared worse in the latest ranking of how open it is to visitors, dropping 17 places to 46th out of 54 nations in the 2024 Africa Visa Openness Index.

Several African countries have tried to ease travel requirements for visitors from elsewhere on the continent in recent years, with studies showing it is often easier for citizens of Western countries to visit.

Earlier this year, Ghana said all African passport holders would now be able to visit without needing a visa. African visitors to Rwanda also do not need a visa to enter the country.

The move to facilitate travel within the continent is also being pushed by the African Union (AU).

• Kenya less open to visitors despite visa-free policy - report
• President Ruto's vision of visa-free entry proves tricky for some

Under the updated system, citizens of most African countries will be allowed to enter Kenya and stay ETA-free for up to two months.

Members of the East African Community, which include Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi, can however stay for up to six months in line with the bloc's policy.

Kenya also says it will introduce an enhanced process "allowing travellers to receive approval instantly" and a maximum processing time of 72 hours.

It is not clear when this will take effect. Several ministries have been tasked to propose guidelines within a week to improve "travellers experience at all Kenyan airports", according to the cabinet statement.

Before the introduction of the ETA, visitors from more than 40 countries including several from Africa, were able to arrive in Kenya, get a stamp in their passport and enter without paying anything.

All travellers must now apply and pay for an ETA at least three days before their trip to Kenya, unless they are citizens of an exempted country.

The ETA fee is $30 (£24) and valid for 90 days.

The policy has faced criticism with some noting that it could make it more difficult for potential visitors to come to the country.

Kenya has indicated there was a security element to the introduction of the new system, with the government spokesman telling the BBC last year that it was necessary for vetting travellers.

The country has been targeted by al-Shabab jihadist militants from neighbouring Somalia in several notorious attacks.

On Tuesday, the government said it was also introducing a system that would enhance "pre-screening, strengthen security, and streamline passenger processing at entry points".

You may also be interested in:

• Podcast: Confusion over Kenya’s new visa-free policy for visitors
• Why is it so hard for Africans to visit other African countries?
• Should Africa have a single passport?

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

A day of mourning is under way in Turkey for the 76 victims of a fire that engulfed a popular ski resort hotel in the country's north-west.

The fire broke out at the wooden-clad 12-storey Grand Kartal Hotel in Bolu at 03:27 local time (00:27 GMT) during a busy holiday period when 234 people were staying there. It took 12 hours to put out.

An investigation has been launched into the incident and there have been conflicting reports about whether the hotel was up to safety standards.

Nine people have been arrested, including the hotel's owner.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who is expected to visit Bolu on Wednesday, said those responsible for negligence leading to the fire "will be held accountable".

Flags are flying at half-mast across Turkey in memory of the victims of the fire, while the first funerals are being held.

Search and rescue teams are making their final efforts to find any remaining bodies.

Alongside the fatalities, 51 people were injured in the fire, according to health minister Kemal Memisoglu. One was receiving treatment in intensive care, and 17 people have been discharged.

Footage circulating in Turkey showed linen hanging from windows which was used by those trying to escape the burning building.

The cause of the fire has not yet been found, but Bolu governor Abdulaziz Aydin said initial reports suggested it had broken out in the restaurant section of the hotel's fourth floor and spread to the floors above.

Bolu's governor said the hotel's remote location and freezing conditions meant it took more than an hour for fire engines to arrive.

The hotel was last inspected in 2024, and the tourism minister said there had been no concerns regarding the hotel's fire safety prior to Tuesday's disaster.

However, the Union of Chambers of Turkish Engineers and Architects (TMMOB) said that, according to regulations, an automatic fire extinguisher system was needed, and it appeared from photos of the hotel that one had not been installed.

It added that it was unclear if other regulations had been complied with, but based on the statements of survivors, "it is understood that the detection and warning systems did not work and the escape routes could not be determined".

The Bolu mountains are popular with skiers from Istanbul and Turkey's capital Ankara, which is roughly 170km (105 miles) away, and the hotel was operating at high occupancy at the start of the two-week school holidays.

Who are the victims?

Information about those who died in the fire is continuing to emerge, although some of the bodies are still to be identified. At least two people were killed after they tried to jump to safety.

Many children and young people are among the dead and, in many cases, several members of the same family have been killed.

Turkish Airlines confirmed that Zehra Sena Gültekin died along with her husband, businessman Bilal Gültekin, and three children. Boğaziçi Executives Foundation said two of Bilal's siblings were also killed, while Turkish media reported that other family members had also died.

Dentist Dr Burak Hasar announced that his colleague of 15-years, Dr Yasemen Boncuk Tüzgiray, her husband Dr Erhan Tüzgiray, and their children Defne and Demir had all died.

The Turkish Wind Energy Association announced that two executives from one of its members, Inovat Energy Storage Solutions, were killed. They are the company's CEO Can Tokcan, his brother Atıl Enis Tokcan, and their children Kemal and Atlas Kaan.

Tarsus American College announced the death of its graduates Mert Doğan, his wife Duygu, and their children Mavi and Doğan, as well as another graduate's grandson Ömür Kotan.

The İELEV Schools association announced the death of students Pelin Güngör, her mother Burcu, father Kıvanç and brother Kerem. Eslem Uyanik, a young chef at the hotel, also died.

Prof Dr Atakan Yalçın, who worked at the Özyeğin University Faculty of Business, and his daughter Elif Derin, both died.

Nedim Turkmen, a writer for Sozcu newspaper, his wife Ayse Neva, and their two children, 18-year-old Ala Dora and 22-year-old Yüce Ata, were all killed.

TED Istanbul College announced the death of students Alican Boduroğlu, his sister Elif Nas, as well as their mother Ebru.

TED Ankara College shared the news of the death of Eren Bağcı on its social media accounts.

Dilara Ermanoglu, 24, was also among the victims, and her father who had gone to Bolu to look for her was treated by health workers for a heart attack.

Vedia Nil Apak, a 10-year-old swimmer with Fenerbahce Sports Club in Istanbul, also died, along with her mother Ferda.

Club management also said that Ceren Yaman Doğan, the wife of the vice president of its Bolu association, and their 17-year-old daughter Lalin, were killed. Ceren was also the daughter of a well-known local businessman.

Mehmet Cem Doğan, the Bolu factory director for OYAK cement, died, as did his wife Ayşemin Elif and daughter Ayşe Maya.

The Turkish Neurology Association said its member, Dr Ahmet Çetiz, was killed alongside his family.

The Irish parliament will resume on Wednesday with Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin set to return as taoiseach for a second time.

The 35th Dáil (Irish parliament) will see Mr Martin elected as taoiseach (prime minister), replacing Fine Gael leader Simon Harris who will return as tánaiste (deputy prime minister).

Fianna Fáil - the largest party - has formed a government with Fine Gael and a range of independent regional Teachtaí Dála (TDs) after November's election.

Sinn Féin remain the largest opposition party after winning 39 seats. Fianna Fáil gained 48 seats while Fine Gael was third with 38 seats.

Mr Martin and Mr Harris confirmed the new draft programme for government earlier this month.

The deal paved the way for the next government and was successfully endorsed by both parties in recent days.

Speaking after his party endorsed the programme for government, Mr Martin said there was a "strong commitment" on behalf of his party to deliver for the Irish people.

"I can assure you, we will spare no effort in working selflessly on behalf of the people of Ireland to deliver this programme for government, to make things better for people and to improve the quality of life as we navigate very turbulent global waters," he said.

Both Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael ruled out Sinn Féin as a coalition partner, which party leader Mary Lou McDonald called "bad practice".

This is the first time the new government will sit after November's election, with government negotiations taking around five weeks to complete.

The new Dáil has already been the source of controversy after a number of independent TDs including Michael Lowry, Danny Healy-Rae, Barry Heneghan and Gillian Toole, who support the government, wish to sit and speak from opposition benches.

The new Ceann Comhairle (speaker) - also a regional independent - Verona Murphy, who is the first woman to hold the role, told TDs she would consider submissions opposing the plan, but permitted the group to "provisionally" take their original seats for now.

All other opposition groups are against the idea, labelling it as having a foot in both camps and taking time away from those who wish to scrutinise the government.

As part of Wednesday's Dáil return, Mr Martin will travel to the Áras an Uachtaráin about 13:00 local time to meet Irish President Michael D Higgins in the state reception room.

The president will then sign the warrant of appointment and hand the seal of the taoiseach and the seal of government to the Mr Harris.

Later, at about 20:00, the appointment of members of the government will begin.

The president will sign the warrant of appointment for the members of the government and the warrant of appointment of the attorney general, each of which will be countersigned by the taoiseach.

The president will then present each minister in turn with their seal of office.

An endangered plant known as the "corpse flower" for its putrid stink is about to bloom in Australia - and captivated in the internet in the process, with thousands already tuned in to a livestream ahead of its grand debut.

The titan arum plant, housed in the Royal Botanic Gardens of Sydney, blooms only once every few years for just 24 hours.

Affectionately dubbed Putricia, it will release a smell described as "wet socks, hot cat food, or rotting possum flesh".

The long wait and uncertainty as to when Putricia will bloom - has spawned jokes and even a unique lingo in the livestream's chat, with thousands commenting "WWTF", or "We Watch the Flower".

The current view is not much: Putricia stands silent and tall in front of a brown curtain, comfortably ensconced behind a red velvet rope. Occasionally, a visitor pops into the frame as they snap a selfie with the plant.

But once she blooms, viewers can expect to see Putricia unfold a vibrant maroon or crimson skirt, known as a spathe, around her spadix which is the large spike in the middle of the plant.

The Gardens have said it is "hard to predict exactly when" Putricia will bloom, but that has not stopped the thousands gathered online.

"I'm back again to see how Putricia is going and I can see she's still taking her time like the queen she is, fair play," wrote one commenter. "This is the slowest burlesque ever," said another.

Yet another person wrote: "Overnight I watched, fell asleep, awoke, watched, fell asleep. I am weak, but Putricia is strong. WWTF."

Other popular acronyms among viewers are WDNRP (We Do Not Rush Putricia) and BBTB (Blessed Be The Bloom).

The plant can only be found in the rainforests of Sumatra, Indonesia, where it is known as bunga bangkai - or "corpse flower" in Indonesian. Its scientific name is Amorphophallus titanum, which is derived from Ancient Greek and means "giant misshapen penis",

It has the world's largest flowering structure, as it can grow up to 3m (10 feet) tall and weigh up to 150kg. The plant contains several hundred flowers in the base of its spadix.

It is endangered in the wild due to deforestation and land degradation.

Putricia is one of several titan arums in Sydney's Royal Botanic Gardens, which last saw one bloom 15 years ago.

But there have been other corpse flower blooms across Australia in recent years, including Melbourne and Adelaide's botanic gardens, each time attracting thousands of curious visitors keen on having a whiff.

There are also a few housed in Kew Gardens in London, where one bloomed in June last year. The titan arum first flowered outside of Sumatra in 1889 in Kew.

US President Donald Trump says he has signed a full and unconditional pardon for Ross Ulbricht, who operated Silk Road, the dark web marketplace where illegal drugs were sold.

Ulbricht was convicted in 2015 in New York in a narcotics and money laundering conspiracy and sentenced to life in prison.

Trump posted on his Truth Social platform that he had called Ulbricht's mother to inform her that he had granted a pardon to her son.

Silk Road, which was shut down in 2013 after police arrested Ulbricht, sold illegal drugs using the virtual currency Bitcoin, as well as hacking equipment and stolen passports.

"The scum that worked to convict him were some of the same lunatics who were involved in the modern day weaponization of government against me," Trump said in his post online. "He was given two life sentences, plus 40 years. Ridiculous!"

Ulbricht was found guilty of charges including conspiracy to commit drug trafficking, money laundering and computer hacking.

During his trial, prosecutors said Ulbricht's website, hosted on the hidden "dark web", sold more than $200m (£131m) worth of drugs anonymously.

The Silk Road took its name from the historic trade routes spanning Europe, Asia and parts of Africa.

The site achieved notoriety through media reports and online chatter. But users could only access the site through Tor - a system that lets people use the web without revealing who they are or which country they are in.

Court documents from the FBI said the site had just under a million registered users, but investigators said they did not know how many were active.

Sentencing Ulbricht - who has two college degrees - District Judge Katherine Forrest said he was "no better a person than any other drug dealer".

She said the site had been his "carefully planned life's work".

The judge noted the lengthy sentence also acted as a message to copycats that there would be "very serious consequences".

"I wanted to empower people to make choices in their lives and have privacy and anonymity," Ulbricht said at his sentencing hearing in May 2015.

Trump previously teased he planned to commute Ulbricht's sentence during a May speech at the Libertarian National Convention.

The Libertarian party had been advocating for Ulbricht's release and said his case was an example of government overreach.

Republican Congressman Thomas Massie, a Trump ally, applauded the president's decision Tuesday saying: "Thank you for keeping your word to me and others who have been advocating for Ross' freedom."

Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin had a video call hours after Donald Trump was sworn in yesterday, pledging to bring bilateral ties to "greater heights", according to state media on both sides.

Calling Xi a "dear friend", Putin said Russia and China were building ties "on the basis of friendship, mutual trust and support" despite external pressure.

Xi called on Putin to "continue deepening strategic coordination, firming up mutual support, and safeguarding legitimate interests".

Trump on Tuesday threatened tariffs on Beijing, calling it "an abuser", and warned that "big trouble" will come for Moscow if it does not strike a deal to end war in Ukraine.

Putin told Xi, however, that any Ukraine settlement "must respect Russian interests", according to foreign affairs adviser Yuri Ushakov who spoke to reporters after the call.

Beijing has been accused of building up Moscow's war machine by providing it with critical components for the conflict in Ukraine.

Trade between both countries reached a record $240bn (£191bn) in 2023, up more than 64% since 2021 - before Russia invaded Ukraine.

"Putin and Xi confirmed readiness to build relations with the US on a mutually beneficial and respectful basis, if the Trump team shows an interest", Ushakov said.

He also said, however, that the call was "not connected with Trump's inauguration in any way".

The call lasted about one-and-a-half hours, during which Putin and Xi also discussed the situations in the Middle East, South Korea and Taiwan, according to Ushakov.

Chinese state media said Xi also expressed readiness to work with Putin in response to "external uncertainties", without mentioning specifics.

Xi held a phone call with Trump last week, which the US president described as a "very good" discussion for both countries. They spoke about trade, fentanyl and TikTok, among other things, he said.

Putin has yet to speak with Trump, but congratulated him on state television hours before the inauguration.

When Pte Oleksander Bezverkhny was evacuated to the Feofaniya Hospital in Kyiv, few believed he would live. The 27-year-old had a severe abdominal injury and shrapnel had ripped through his buttocks. Both his legs were amputated.

Then, doctors discovered that his infections were resistant to commonly-used antibiotics – and the already daunting task of saving his life became almost hopeless.

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is when bacteria evolve and learn how to defend themselves against antibiotics and other medicines, rendering them ineffective.

Ukraine is far from the only country affected by this issue: around 1.4 million people globally died of a AMR infection in 2021, and in the UK there were 66,730 serious antibiotic-resistant infections in 2023. However, war appears to have accelerated the spread of multi-resistant pathogens in Ukraine.

Clinics treating war injuries have registered a sharp increase of AMR cases. More than 80% of all patients admitted to Feofaniya Hospital have infections caused by microbes which are resistant to antibiotics, according to deputy chief physician Dr Andriy Strokan.

Ironically, antimicrobial-resistant infections often originate from medical facilities.

Medical staff try to follow strict hygiene protocols and use protective equipment to minimise the spread of these infections but facilities can be overwhelmed with people injured in the war.

Dr Volodymyr Dubyna, the head of the Mechnikov Hospital's ICU, said that since the start of the Russian invasion his unit alone has increased the number of beds from 16 to 50. Meanwhile, with many employees fleeing the war or joining the military themselves, staffing levels are down.

Dr Strokan explained that these circumstances can affect the spread of AMR bacteria. "In surgical departments there is one nurse that looks after 15-20 patients," he said. "She physically cannot scrub up her hands in the required amount and frequency in order not to spread infections."

The nature of this war also means patients are exposed to far more strains of infection than they would be in peacetime. When a soldier is evacuated for medical reasons, they will often pass through multiple facilities, each with their own strains of AMR. While medical professionals say this is unavoidable because of the scale of the war, it only worsens the spread of AMR infections.

This was the case for Pte Bezverkhny who was treated at three different facilities before reaching the hospital in Kyiv. Since his infections could not be treated with the usual medication, his condition deteriorated and he contracted sepsis five times.

This situation is different to other recent conflicts, for example the Afghanistan War, where Western soldiers would be stabilised on site and then air-transferred to a European clinic rather than passing through multiple different local facilities.

This would not be possible in Ukraine as the influx of patients has not been seen since the Second World War, according to Dr Dubyna, whose hospital in Dnipro neighbours front-line regions. Once his patients are stable enough, they are transferred to another clinic – if it has room – to free up capacity.

"In terms of microbiological control, it means they spread [bacteria] further. But if it's not done, we're not able to work. Then it's a catastrophe."

With so many wounded, Ukrainian hospitals simply cannot usually afford to isolate infected patients – meaning that multi-resistant and dangerous bacteria spread unchecked.

The problem is that infections they cause must be treated with special antibiotics from the "reserve" list. But the more often doctors prescribe these, the quicker bacteria adapt, making those antibiotics ineffective too.

"We have to balance our scales," Dr Strokan explains. "On the one hand, we must save a patient. On the other – we mustn't breed new microorganisms that will have antimicrobial resistance."

In Pte Bezverkhny's case, doctors had to use very expensive antibiotics, which volunteers sourced from abroad. After a year in hospital and over 100 operations, his condition is no longer life-threatening.

Doctors managed to save his life. But as pathogens grow more resistant, the struggle to save others only gets harder.

The Irish parliament will resume on Wednesday with Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin set to return as taoiseach for a second time.

The 35th Dáil (Irish parliament) will see Mr Martin elected as taoiseach (prime minister), replacing Fine Gael leader Simon Harris who will return as tánaiste (deputy prime minister).

Fianna Fáil - the largest party - has formed a government with Fine Gael and a range of independent regional Teachtaí Dála (TDs) after November's election.

Sinn Féin remain the largest opposition party after winning 39 seats. Fianna Fáil gained 48 seats while Fine Gael was third with 38 seats.

Mr Martin and Mr Harris confirmed the new draft programme for government earlier this month.

The deal paved the way for the next government and was successfully endorsed by both parties in recent days.

Speaking after his party endorsed the programme for government, Mr Martin said there was a "strong commitment" on behalf of his party to deliver for the Irish people.

"I can assure you, we will spare no effort in working selflessly on behalf of the people of Ireland to deliver this programme for government, to make things better for people and to improve the quality of life as we navigate very turbulent global waters," he said.

Both Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael ruled out Sinn Féin as a coalition partner, which party leader Mary Lou McDonald called "bad practice".

This is the first time the new government will sit after November's election, with government negotiations taking around five weeks to complete.

The new Dáil has already been the source of controversy after a number of independent TDs including Michael Lowry, Danny Healy-Rae, Barry Heneghan and Gillian Toole, who support the government, wish to sit and speak from opposition benches.

The new Ceann Comhairle (speaker) - also a regional independent - Verona Murphy, who is the first woman to hold the role, told TDs she would consider submissions opposing the plan, but permitted the group to "provisionally" take their original seats for now.

All other opposition groups are against the idea, labelling it as having a foot in both camps and taking time away from those who wish to scrutinise the government.

As part of Wednesday's Dáil return, Mr Martin will travel to the Áras an Uachtaráin about 13:00 local time to meet Irish President Michael D Higgins in the state reception room.

The president will then sign the warrant of appointment and hand the seal of the taoiseach and the seal of government to the Mr Harris.

Later, at about 20:00, the appointment of members of the government will begin.

The president will sign the warrant of appointment for the members of the government and the warrant of appointment of the attorney general, each of which will be countersigned by the taoiseach.

The president will then present each minister in turn with their seal of office.

At least six Palestinians have been killed and 35 injured by Israeli security forces after they launched a major operation in Jenin in the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian health ministry says.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel's military, police and Shin Bet security service had launched an "extensive and significant" operation to "defeat terrorism" in Jenin.

Palestinian media said Israeli military vehicles moved into Jenin and its refugee camp on Tuesday morning following several drone strikes.

It comes after a weeks-long operation by Palestinian security forces against armed groups, including Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, which they see as a challenge to their authority.

A statement from Israel's prime minister said the operation was "additional step in achieving the objective we have set: bolstering security" in the West Bank.

"We are acting methodically and with determination against the Iranian axis wherever it reaches: in Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, and [the West Bank] – and we are still active," he added.

An Israeli military statement said the operation was called "Iron Wall" and that it would continue "as long as necessary".

Jenin's governor, Kamal Abu al-Rub, told AFP news agency that "what is happening is an invasion of the camp".

"It came quickly, Apache [helicopters] in the sky and Israeli military vehicles everywhere," he added.

There has been a spike in violence in the West Bank since Hamas's deadly attack on Israel on 7 October 2023 and the ensuing war in Gaza.

Hundreds of Palestinians have been killed as Israeli forces have intensified their raids, saying they are trying to stem deadly Palestinian attacks on Israelis in the West Bank and Israel.

Israel has built about 160 settlements housing some 700,000 Jews since it occupied the West Bank in the 1967 Middle East war. The settlements are considered illegal under international law, although Israel disputes this.

Fans have queued up for Onyx Storm, the hotly-anticipated new book by best-selling fantasy author Rebecca Yarros, in one of the publishing events of the year.

Onyx Storm is the third novel in Yarros's Empyrean series, set in a world of dragons, magic, warfare and steamy romance.

Its publisher Little, Brown said it would be the company's biggest pre-ordered title since it released the Harry Potter play script in 2016.

Almost 60 branches of Waterstones held special events - either opening at midnight on Monday or early on Tuesday - and the chain said the book was likely to "completely eclipse our first day sales" of the previous instalment.

Shops also held special openings around the world, including in the US and Australia.

In the US, some avid readers waited until 3am for the online release of an exclusive special edition from Target - but many who had stayed up complained on social media that the store's website couldn't cope with the demand.

Rebekah West, editorial director of the Little, Brown's Piaktus imprint, told the Telegraph: "This level of fan devotion hasn't been seen since the days of Harry Potter."

In a message to fans on Instagram, Yarros wrote: "1. It's in your hands now. 2. Thank you for sharing this incredible experience with me. 3. Enjoy the ride."

One reader replied: "On chapter one and dying already", another wrote: "Thank you for sharing this incredible world with us!!!" and someone else asked: "Is it bad that I'm very close to calling off work to read?"

Magical and brutal world

US author Yarros is one of the biggest names in the booming "romantasy" genre.

In anticipation of Onyx Storm's release, the first two Empyrean books, Fourth Wing and Iron Flame, went back to the top two slots in the New York Times fiction bestsellers list.

They are also currently both in the top five of the Sunday Times paperback fiction chart in the UK, and they were the two most-read books of the past year around the world among users of Goodreads.

Fourth Wing introduced heroine Violet Sorrengail, a 20-year-old woman who is thrust into brutal training to become an elite dragon rider.

Like the author, Violet has a genetic condition that means the character dislocates joints and breaks bones easily - so must use her wits and inner strength to help her survive.

She is also entwined in a relationship with a fellow candidate called Xaden Riorson, who comes from a rival family.

Iron Flame was then set during Violet's second year at Basgiath War College, while in Onyx Storm, according to the publisher, she "knows there's no more time for lessons" because "the battle has truly begun".