The European Union is sending two planes to help Spain tackle wildfires raging across the country, which have so far killed three people.
Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska told local media he had requested two water bomber aircraft from the EU to be deployed to the worst affected regions.
The help comes as a third person has been killed battling a wildfire in the north-west León region, and as Spain activated an EU disaster assistance mechanism for fires for the first time ever.
Spain's state weather agency AEMET has warned that a heatwave will continue until Monday, with temperatures set to exceed 44C in some areas, raising concerns that the wildfires will spread further.
In an interview with local media outlet Cadena SER on Wednesday, Spain's Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska said he had requested two Canadair water bomber aircraft to help.
"At the moment we don't need the two Canadair planes urgently but given the weather forecast, we want to have those planes in our national territory as soon as possible so they can be used, should they be necessary," he said.
"At this time, the government does not rule out requesting more firefighters," he added.
Thousands of people have been evacuated from their homes in Spain, with a further 700 people evacuated from the western city of Caceres on Wednesday, according to the country's civil guard.
Also on Wednesday, a civilian and a volunteer firefighter was killed in the city of León - raising the death toll in the current wildfires to three.
"We are struck once again by the death of a second volunteer who has lost their life in León. All our love and support go out to their family and friends during this unbearable time," Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on social media on Thursday.
"All government resources are working to address the difficult situation our country is facing. The threat remains extreme," he added.
Reuters
Residents of Abejera de Tabara displaced by wildfires take shelter at the Leticia Rosino auditorium in Tabara, Zamora, Spain
Spain is among several European countries experiencing scorching temperatures and battling wildfires that have asked the EU for help.
Along with Spain, Greece, Bulgaria, Montenegro and Albania have also activated the EU's Civil Protection Mechanism because of fires.
As of Thursday, other EU members were sending air craft to these countries, in addition to prepositioned firefighters already helping in Greece.
In Greece, wildfires have been burning for a third consecutive day, with the most dangerous fronts on the island of Chios and in the Achaia region of the Peloponnese.
So far, 95 people - including firefighters - have been injured. Satellite data from the EU's Copernicus Emergency Management Service shows more than 10,000 hectares (25,000 acres) have burned across the country since Tuesday morning.
Authorities have issued a red alert for Thursday, warning of very high fire risk in Attica, eastern Central Greece, Evia, the north-eastern Peloponnese, and Thrace.
In Chios, the fire's front has stretched for dozens of kilometres, and with limited resources available, many residents have had to be evacuated by sea using coastguard and private vessels.
Fires have also raged in Albania and Turkey, with several firefighters injured while tackling the blazes.
Reuters
Firefighters have been tackling wildfires on the island of Chios in Greece over the last few days
EU data shows that roughly 439,000 hectares of land have burnt since the beginning of the year due to wildfires, compared to 187,643 hectares (464,000 acres) last year.
A total of 1,628 fires have been detected since the start of the year.
Additional reporting by Nikos Papanikolaou in Greece
Speaking in parliament on Wednesday, Interior Minister, Kipchumba Murkomen, described the documentary as "fake because the people who were interviewed were not underage".
Mr Murkomen added that the victims interviewed by BBC Africa Eye were "posing as children".
The BBC says the documentary was clear that those interviewed were adults recounting "experiences of abuse that occurred when they were underage".
The broadcaster added that the Africa Eye investigation was "an important piece of public interest journalism".
Mr Murkomen also alleged that the BBC had promised "financial reward" to contributors.
The statement from the broadcaster stressed that the victims were offered no financial incentive to share their story.
"For clarity, none of the contributors featured in this film were paid, offered payment or 'coached' in any way."
The statement added that the BBC had handed over evidence from the investigation to Kenyan police in March this year.
The BBC followed up on numerous occasions to ensure children at risk would be protected. Footage of two women exposed was shown to authorities in April.
BBC were told by the police that action would be taken, particularly to rescue children.
In Mr Murkomen's speech in parliament, he defended the Kenyan government's record on protecting children, saying it took cases of trafficking of minors "seriously".
There was also criticism from the Speaker of the National Assembly Moses Wetang'ula, who said the aim of the documentary was to "besmirch" Kenya.
The BBC investigation, which was published on 4 August and has so far received more than one million views on YouTube, details cases of underage girls as young as 13 who were being trafficked for sex in the transit town of Maai Mahiu in Kenya's Rift Valley.
Two different women were shown admitting to knowingly and illegally trafficking underage girls for sex.
The BBC's footage caught a woman, who calls herself Nyambura, laughing as she says: "They're still children, so it's easy to manipulate them by just handing them sweets.
"Prostitution is a cash crop in Maai Mahiu; the truckers basically fuel it. And that's how we benefit. It's been normalised in Maai Mahiu," the woman explained, adding that she had one girl as young as 13, who had already been "working" for six months.
The film identified the perpetrators of the crimes against children as well as victims who were in need of urgent assistance.
Following the documentary, the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions told the Directorate of Criminal Investigations to investigate the matter.
The BBC noted with concern that the survivors of the abuse who contributed to the film were interviewed at length by investigators from the Kenya Directorate of Criminal Investigations without legal representation.
The BBC confirmed that none of the survivors interviewed were involved in the undercover investigation itself.
The two women exposed have not been apprehended. Mr Murkomen said they had not been found.
Keir Starmer co-chairing a virtual meeting of the coalition of the willing
There is a "viable chance" of a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has said, ahead of Friday's summit between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The two leaders are meeting in Alaska to discuss how to end the war in Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and other European leaders, who are not attending the meeting, held a joint call with Trump on Wednesday to reiterate their position.
Following the call, Sir Keir said Ukraine's "territorial integrity" had to be protected and that "international borders cannot and must not be changed by force". Zelensky
Addressing a virtual meeting of the European leaders following the call with Trump, Sir Keir said "any ceasefire would have to be lasting and to be lasting it would need security guarantees".
"That is why we set up this coalition of the willing," he added.
The coalition is a group of mainly European countries who have pledged to provide military support to Ukraine - including potentially boots on the ground - in order to deter Russia from breaching any agreed peace deal.
Sir Keir said the coalition had "credible" military plans ready that could be used in the event of a ceasefire.
He said the leaders of the group were also ready to increase economic pressure on Russia if necessary, for example through increasing sanctions.
He also praised Trump's efforts to reach an agreement, saying: "For three-and-a-bit years this conflict has been going on and we haven't got anywhere near the prospect of an actually a viable solution, a viable way of bringing it to a ceasefire.
"Now we do have that chance, because of the work the president has put in."
Following his call with European leaders, Trump told a press conference there was a chance of a meeting between Putin and Zelensky.
He said he would use his initial meeting with Putin to "find out where we are and what we're doing", adding: "We'll have a quick second meeting between President Putin and President Zelensky and myself, if they'd like to have me there."
He also warned Putin that he would face "very severe consequences" if he did not agree to end the war after Friday's summit.
Zelensky, who joined the call while in Berlin to meet German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, said the US was ready to continue its support of Ukraine and accused Russia of not wanting peace.
Keir Starmer co-chairing a virtual meeting of the coalition of the willing
There is a "viable chance" of a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has said, ahead of Friday's summit between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The two leaders are meeting in Alaska to discuss how to end the war in Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and other European leaders, who are not attending the meeting, held a joint call with Trump on Wednesday to reiterate their position.
Following the call, Sir Keir said Ukraine's "territorial integrity" had to be protected and that "international borders cannot and must not be changed by force". Zelensky
Addressing a virtual meeting of the European leaders following the call with Trump, Sir Keir said "any ceasefire would have to be lasting and to be lasting it would need security guarantees".
"That is why we set up this coalition of the willing," he added.
The coalition is a group of mainly European countries who have pledged to provide military support to Ukraine - including potentially boots on the ground - in order to deter Russia from breaching any agreed peace deal.
Sir Keir said the coalition had "credible" military plans ready that could be used in the event of a ceasefire.
He said the leaders of the group were also ready to increase economic pressure on Russia if necessary, for example through increasing sanctions.
He also praised Trump's efforts to reach an agreement, saying: "For three-and-a-bit years this conflict has been going on and we haven't got anywhere near the prospect of an actually a viable solution, a viable way of bringing it to a ceasefire.
"Now we do have that chance, because of the work the president has put in."
Following his call with European leaders, Trump told a press conference there was a chance of a meeting between Putin and Zelensky.
He said he would use his initial meeting with Putin to "find out where we are and what we're doing", adding: "We'll have a quick second meeting between President Putin and President Zelensky and myself, if they'd like to have me there."
He also warned Putin that he would face "very severe consequences" if he did not agree to end the war after Friday's summit.
Zelensky, who joined the call while in Berlin to meet German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, said the US was ready to continue its support of Ukraine and accused Russia of not wanting peace.
Smotrich said the move will kill off the possibility of a Palestinian state
Israeli far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has said he will approve plans to build more than 3,000 homes in a controversial settlement project in the occupied West Bank - a move he said will prevent the creation of a Palestinian state.
The so-called E1 project between Jerusalem and Maale Adumim settlement has been frozen for decades amid fierce opposition internationally. Building there would effectively cut off the West Bank from occupied East Jerusalem and significantly obstruct its territorial contiguity.
"The plan will bury the idea of a Palestinian state," Smotrich said, according to Israeli media.
Settlements are considered illegal under international law, though Israel disputes this.
They are one of the most contentious issues between Israel and the Palestinians. About 700,000 settlers live in approximately 160 settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, according to the Israeli anti-settlement group Peace Now - land Palestinians seek for a future independent state.
"After decades of international pressure and freezes, we are breaking conventions and connecting Maale Adumim to Jerusalem," Smotrich said.
"This is Zionism at its best – building, settling and strengthening our sovereignty in the Land of Israel."
It follows declarations in recent days by a growing number of countries of their intention to recognise a Palestinian state in coming months, which Israel has denounced.
Smotrich is to announce the plan at a news conference with settler organisation Yesha Council Chairman Israel Ganz and Ma'ale Adumim Mayor Guy Yifrach on Thursday, i24 News reports.
Peace Now said: "The Netanyahu government is exploiting every minute to deepen the annexation of the West Bank and prevent the possibility of a two-state solution.
"It is clear to everyone today that the only solution to the conflict, and the only way to defeat Hamas, is through the establishment of a Palestinian state alongside Israel.
"The Government of Israel is condemning us to continued bloodshed, instead of working to end it."
Smotrich, together with national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, was sanctioned by the UK in June over "repeated incitements of violence against Palestinian communities" in the occupied West Bank.
The construction of 3,401 housing units in the E1 area has been frozen for 20 years. Developing the area has long been seen as effectively blocking the establishment of a Palestinian state, because of its strategic position separating areas south of Jerusalem from those to its north, preventing a contiguous Palestinian urban area connecting Ramallah, East Jerusalem and Bethlehem.
Since Hamas's attack on Israel on 7 October 2023, Israel's pressure on West Bank Palestinians has increased sharply, justified as legitimate security measures.
The vast majority of the international community considers the settlements illegal under international law - a position supported by an advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) last year.
Keir Starmer co-chairing a virtual meeting of the coalition of the willing
There is a "viable chance" of a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has said, ahead of Friday's summit between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The two leaders are meeting in Alaska to discuss how to end the war in Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and other European leaders, who are not attending the meeting, held a joint call with Trump on Wednesday to reiterate their position.
Following the call, Sir Keir said Ukraine's "territorial integrity" had to be protected and that "international borders cannot and must not be changed by force". Zelensky
Addressing a virtual meeting of the European leaders following the call with Trump, Sir Keir said "any ceasefire would have to be lasting and to be lasting it would need security guarantees".
"That is why we set up this coalition of the willing," he added.
The coalition is a group of mainly European countries who have pledged to provide military support to Ukraine - including potentially boots on the ground - in order to deter Russia from breaching any agreed peace deal.
Sir Keir said the coalition had "credible" military plans ready that could be used in the event of a ceasefire.
He said the leaders of the group were also ready to increase economic pressure on Russia if necessary, for example through increasing sanctions.
He also praised Trump's efforts to reach an agreement, saying: "For three-and-a-bit years this conflict has been going on and we haven't got anywhere near the prospect of an actually a viable solution, a viable way of bringing it to a ceasefire.
"Now we do have that chance, because of the work the president has put in."
Following his call with European leaders, Trump told a press conference there was a chance of a meeting between Putin and Zelensky.
He said he would use his initial meeting with Putin to "find out where we are and what we're doing", adding: "We'll have a quick second meeting between President Putin and President Zelensky and myself, if they'd like to have me there."
He also warned Putin that he would face "very severe consequences" if he did not agree to end the war after Friday's summit.
Zelensky, who joined the call while in Berlin to meet German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, said the US was ready to continue its support of Ukraine and accused Russia of not wanting peace.
Smotrich said the move will kill off the possibility of a Palestinian state
Israeli far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has said he will approve plans to build more than 3,000 homes in a controversial settlement project in the occupied West Bank - a move he said will prevent the creation of a Palestinian state.
The so-called E1 project between Jerusalem and Maale Adumim settlement has been frozen for decades amid fierce opposition internationally. Building there would effectively cut off the West Bank from occupied East Jerusalem and significantly obstruct its territorial contiguity.
"The plan will bury the idea of a Palestinian state," Smotrich said, according to Israeli media.
Settlements are considered illegal under international law, though Israel disputes this.
They are one of the most contentious issues between Israel and the Palestinians. About 700,000 settlers live in approximately 160 settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, according to the Israeli anti-settlement group Peace Now - land Palestinians seek for a future independent state.
"After decades of international pressure and freezes, we are breaking conventions and connecting Maale Adumim to Jerusalem," Smotrich said.
"This is Zionism at its best – building, settling and strengthening our sovereignty in the Land of Israel."
It follows declarations in recent days by a growing number of countries of their intention to recognise a Palestinian state in coming months, which Israel has denounced.
Smotrich is to announce the plan at a news conference with settler organisation Yesha Council Chairman Israel Ganz and Ma'ale Adumim Mayor Guy Yifrach on Thursday, i24 News reports.
Peace Now said: "The Netanyahu government is exploiting every minute to deepen the annexation of the West Bank and prevent the possibility of a two-state solution.
"It is clear to everyone today that the only solution to the conflict, and the only way to defeat Hamas, is through the establishment of a Palestinian state alongside Israel.
"The Government of Israel is condemning us to continued bloodshed, instead of working to end it."
Smotrich, together with national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, was sanctioned by the UK in June over "repeated incitements of violence against Palestinian communities" in the occupied West Bank.
The construction of 3,401 housing units in the E1 area has been frozen for 20 years. Developing the area has long been seen as effectively blocking the establishment of a Palestinian state, because of its strategic position separating areas south of Jerusalem from those to its north, preventing a contiguous Palestinian urban area connecting Ramallah, East Jerusalem and Bethlehem.
Since Hamas's attack on Israel on 7 October 2023, Israel's pressure on West Bank Palestinians has increased sharply, justified as legitimate security measures.
The vast majority of the international community considers the settlements illegal under international law - a position supported by an advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) last year.
More than 100 organisations have signed a joint letter calling on Israel to stop the "weaponisation of aid" into Gaza, as "starvation deepens".
Humanitarian groups, including Oxfam and Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), say they are increasingly being told they are "not authorised" to deliver aid, unless they comply with the stricter Israeli regulations.
Groups risk being banned if they "delegitimise" the state of Israel or do not provide detailed information about Palestinian staff.
Israel denies there are restrictions on aid and says the rules, introduced in March, ensure relief work is carried out in line with Israel's "national interests".
According to the joint letter, most major international non-governmental organisations (NGO) have been unable to deliver a single truck of lifesaving supplies since 2 March.
They say Israeli authorities "have rejected requests from dozens of non-governmental organisations to bring in lifesaving goods", citing the new rules. More than 60 requests were denied in July alone.
Aid groups' inability to deliver aid has "left hospitals without basic supplies, children, people with disabilities, and older people dying from hunger and preventable illnesses", the statement said.
Sean Carroll, CEO of American Near East Refugee Aid (Anera), said: "Anera has over $7 million worth of lifesaving supplies ready to enter Gaza – including 744 tons of rice, enough for six million meals, blocked in Ashdod just kilometers away".
The new guidelines introduced in March update the framework for how aid groups must register to maintain their status within Israel, along with provisions that outline how their applications can be denied or registration revoked.
Registration can be rejected if Israeli authorities deem that a group denies the democratic character of Israel or "promotes delegitimisation campaigns" against the country.
"Unfortunately, many aid organisations serve as a cover for hostile and sometimes violent activity," Israel's Diaspora Minister Amichai Chikli told the Agence France-Presse news agency.
"Organisations that have no connection to hostile or violent activity and no ties to the boycott movement will be granted permission to operate," added Chikli.
Bushra Khalidi, Oxfam Policy Lead, said Israel had rejected more than $2.5m (£1.8m) of goods from entering Gaza.
She added: "This registration process signals to INGOs that their ability to operate may come at the cost of their independence and ability to speak out."
Watch: How did Gaza get to the brink of starvation?
The warning comes as Israel steps up its bombardment of Gaza City, in preparation for a plan to take control of the city.
Israel says it will provide humanitarian aid to civilian populations "outside the combat zones", but has not specified whether that aid would be delivered by the Israel and US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF).
Israel says the system is necessary to stop Hamas stealing aid, an accusation Hamas denies.
The UN this month reported that 859 Palestinians had been killed near GHF sites since May, a figure the GHF denies.
In the joint statement, Aitor Zabalgogeazkoa, MSF emergency coordinator in Gaza, said that the "militarised food distribution scheme has weaponised starvation".
The secretary-general of MSF, Chris Lockyear, told the BBC that GHF was a "death trap", and the humanitarian situation in Gaza was "hanging on by a thread".
Hamas's 2023 attack killed about 1,200 people in Israel, with 251 seized and taken into Gaza as hostages.
Israel's offensive has since killed nearly 62,000 Palestinians, according to the Hamas-run health ministry. It says that 235 people including 106 children have also died due to starvation and malnutrition.
The European Union is sending two planes to help Spain tackle wildfires raging across the country, which have so far killed three people.
Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska told local media he had requested two water bomber aircraft from the EU to be deployed to the worst affected regions.
The help comes as a third person has been killed battling a wildfire in the north-west León region, and as Spain activated an EU disaster assistance mechanism for fires for the first time ever.
Spain's state weather agency AEMET has warned that a heatwave will continue until Monday, with temperatures set to exceed 44C in some areas, raising concerns that the wildfires will spread further.
In an interview with local media outlet Cadena SER on Wednesday, Spain's Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska said he had requested two Canadair water bomber aircraft to help.
"At the moment we don't need the two Canadair planes urgently but given the weather forecast, we want to have those planes in our national territory as soon as possible so they can be used, should they be necessary," he said.
"At this time, the government does not rule out requesting more firefighters," he added.
Thousands of people have been evacuated from their homes in Spain, with a further 700 people evacuated from the western city of Caceres on Wednesday, according to the country's civil guard.
Also on Wednesday, a civilian and a volunteer firefighter was killed in the city of León - raising the death toll in the current wildfires to three.
"We are struck once again by the death of a second volunteer who has lost their life in León. All our love and support go out to their family and friends during this unbearable time," Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on social media on Thursday.
"All government resources are working to address the difficult situation our country is facing. The threat remains extreme," he added.
Reuters
Residents of Abejera de Tabara displaced by wildfires take shelter at the Leticia Rosino auditorium in Tabara, Zamora, Spain
Spain is among several European countries experiencing scorching temperatures and battling wildfires that have asked the EU for help.
Along with Spain, Greece, Bulgaria, Montenegro and Albania have also activated the EU's Civil Protection Mechanism because of fires.
As of Thursday, other EU members were sending air craft to these countries, in addition to prepositioned firefighters already helping in Greece.
In Greece, wildfires have been burning for a third consecutive day, with the most dangerous fronts on the island of Chios and in the Achaia region of the Peloponnese.
So far, 95 people - including firefighters - have been injured. Satellite data from the EU's Copernicus Emergency Management Service shows more than 10,000 hectares (25,000 acres) have burned across the country since Tuesday morning.
Authorities have issued a red alert for Thursday, warning of very high fire risk in Attica, eastern Central Greece, Evia, the north-eastern Peloponnese, and Thrace.
In Chios, the fire's front has stretched for dozens of kilometres, and with limited resources available, many residents have had to be evacuated by sea using coastguard and private vessels.
Fires have also raged in Albania and Turkey, with several firefighters injured while tackling the blazes.
Reuters
Firefighters have been tackling wildfires on the island of Chios in Greece over the last few days
EU data shows that roughly 439,000 hectares of land have burnt since the beginning of the year due to wildfires, compared to 187,643 hectares (464,000 acres) last year.
A total of 1,628 fires have been detected since the start of the year.
Additional reporting by Nikos Papanikolaou in Greece
A row has broken out between two German states, Bavaria and Thuringia, as to who can lay claim to inventing the Bratwurst sausage.
Until now, the "Wurstkuchl" tavern in Bavaria has claimed to be "the oldest Bratwurst stand in the world."
Die Wurstkuchl is situated on the Stone Bridge in Regensburg on the Danube River. The oldest documented evidence of a cook or a food stall at the Stone Bridge is said to date back to 1378.
But now, historians in Erfurt, Thuringia's state capital, have come across a document from 1269 that mentions people who rented a building with a meat-roasting stand (Brathütte) and a roasting pan (Bräter) - more than 100 years earlier than the Regensburg sausage stand.
Historians are now looking for the site in Erfurt where the sausage stand once stood. No restaurant there has claimed the title of oldest Bratwurst stand.
Previously in Thuringia, the earliest written reference to Bratwursts dated back to 1404. It described how "1 groschen for bratwurst casings" was spent in the town of Arnstadt.
Meanwhile in Regensburg, the Wurstkuchl is continuing to make its sausages.
On their website, it says "much has remained the same" since the Middle Ages, with "the open charcoal grill, the homemade sausages made from pure pork ham, the sauerkraut from their own fermentation cellar and the well-known Wurstkuchl mustard."
In response to the report of an earlier sausage stand, the Wurstkuchl's landlady Alexandra Meier told German BR24 TV: "To be honest, it doesn't bother us at all."
She said she was proud that her family makes sausages and that people come because of the quality of the products. "I don't think people will say, 'I'm not going there anymore because it's only the second oldest."
It is not the first time there has been a row about Bratwursts.
The Bavarian towns of Regensburg and Nuremberg both used to claim the oldest sausage stand title. Eventually, a decision was ruled in Regensburg's favour.
US President Donald Trump is set to meet his Russian counterpart Vladmir Putin on Friday
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has warned that Washington could increase secondary tariffs on India.
He said the decision would depend on the outcome of President Donald Trump's meeting with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday.
"We've put secondary tariffs on Indians for buying Russian oil. And I could see, If things don't go well, then sanctions or secondary tariffs could go up," Bessent said in an interview to Bloomberg TV on Wednesday.
Earlier this month, Trump imposed a 25% penalty on India in addition to 25% tariffs for buying oil and weapons from Russia.
The US has been trying to mediate a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine, and on Wednesday, Trump warned of "severe consequences" if Moscow did not agree to a peace deal.
Trump and Putin are set to meet in Anchorage on Friday to discuss how to end the war in Ukraine.
"President Trump is meeting with President Putin, and the Europeans are in the wings carping about how he should do it, what he should do. The Europeans need to join us in these sanctions. The Europeans need to be willing to put on these secondary sanctions," Bessent said.
Delhi's increased imports of cheap Russian crude since the Ukraine war have strained India-US relations and disrupted ongoing trade talks with Washington.
Russian oil made up 35% to 40% of India's oil imports in 2024 - up from 3% in 2021.
Delhi has defended its purchases of Russian oil, arguing that as a major energy importer, it must buy the cheapest available crude to protect millions of poor Indians from rising costs.
Bessent's comments come after he called India a "bit recalcitrant" on trade negotiations in an interview with Fox Business on Tuesday.
Trump says his tariffs are part of his administration's plan to boost the US' economy and make global trade fairer.
He has repeatedly called India a tariff abuser and is keen to trim a $45bn (£33bn) trade deficit with Asia's third largest economy.
Trade negotiations between Delhi and Washington have been under way for several months, and are set to renew with US negotiators expected to arrive in India on 25 August.
But experts say India's refusal to reduce duties on agriculture and dairy products has been a major thorn in the negotiations.
Trump's new 50% tariff rate on India is set to come into effect on 27 August, which some experts have said is akin to an embargo on trade between the two countries.
It makes India the most heavily taxed US trading partner in Asia and is expected to severely hamper its exports focused industries like textiles and jewellery, and could drag India's growth down by as much as half a percent.
The FBI has returned a 500-year-old stolen document signed by Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés to Mexico.
The manuscript page was penned in 1527 and is one of 15 pages thought to have been swiped from Mexico's national archives between 1985 and 1993, the US investigatory agency said.
The page - which describes payments made for supplies for expeditions - was discovered in the US and repatriated on Wednesday.
Cortés was an explorer who brought about the end of the Aztec empire and helped pave the way for the Spanish colonisation of the Americas. The manuscript details plans for his journey across what would become New Spain.
At its height, the colony stretched across much of western and central North America, and into Latin America.
The previously missing document was written after Cortés had been made the governor of New Spain by the Spanish crown.
Mexico's national archives had counted the document among a collection of papers signed by Cortés - but found 15 pages were missing when it was put on microfilm in 1993.
The recovered page bore a number written in wax that archivists had applied in 1985-1986, suggesting it had been stolen between the two cataloguing periods.
The Mexican government requested the assistance of the FBI's art crime team in finding the missing documents in 2024, providing notes on which pages had been taken and how certain pages had been torn.
The FBI said open-source research revealed the document was located in the US.
The agency did not reveal exactly where the manuscript page was found or who had owned it when it was seized.
No one will face prosecution over the theft as the page had "changed hands several times" since it was stolen, according to Special Agent Jessica Dittmer of the FBI's art crime team.
The document "really gives a lot of flavour as to the planning and preparation for uncharted territory back then", she said, outlining "the payment of pesos of common gold for expenses in preparation for discovery of the spice lands".
The so-called "spice lands" were areas of eastern and southern Asia. Europeans sought to find a quicker trade route with these areas by sailing west, but in doing so landed on the Americas instead.
Cortés would go on to explore north-western Mexico and the Baja California peninsula.
The document's repatriation comes at a time of political tension between Mexico and the US over tariffs imposed by the Trump administration and illegal migration across the US-Mexico border.
But the FBI says that, as one of the largest consumers of antiquities, the US had a responsibility to counter the trafficking of artefacts.
Ms Dittmer said: "Pieces like this are considered protected cultural property and represent valuable moments in Mexico's history, so this is something that the Mexicans have in their archives for the purpose of understanding history better."
The FBI said it was determined to locate and repatriate the other pages still missing from the collection.
Another document signed by Cortés was returned to Mexico by the FBI in 2023.
Migrants disembark from a boat that rescued them after two vessels sank off the coast of Italy's Lampedusa island
At least 27 migrants have died after two boats capsized as they tried to cross the Mediterranean from Libya to Italy.
Around 60 survivors were rescued from the seas off the island of Lampedusa, while the search for others continues.
More than 700 people have died trying to cross the central Mediterranean this year, according to the UN's refugee agency (UNHCR).
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni offered her "deepest condolences" to the victims. A UNHCR spokesperson said there was "deep anguish" felt over the incident.
More than 90 people were aboard the two boats before they capsized, Flavio Di Giacomo, spokesperson for the UN's International Organisation for Migration (IOM) said.
A Somalian woman onboard one of the vessels gave a harrowing account to the Rome-based daily newspaper La Repubblica of losing her one-year-old daughter and husband.
"All hell broke loose," she said. "I never saw them again, my little girl slipped away, I lost them both."
What caused the two vessels to capsize has yet to be confirmed.
However, survivors suggested to La Repubblica that when the first boat capsized, its occupants were forced to climb into the second vessel, which then capsized as well.
"We had set out on two boats, but one capsized, so we all climbed aboard one of them. But then the other one also started taking on water," one told the paper.
Italian PM Meloni said in a statement: "When a tragedy like today's occurs, with the deaths of dozens of people in the waters of the Mediterranean, a strong sense of dismay and compassion arises in all of us.
"And we find ourselves contemplating the inhumane cynicism with which human traffickers organise these sinister journeys."
The island of Lampedusa is home to a migrant reception centre that is often overcrowded with challenging living conditions. It welcomes tens of thousands of migrants who have survived the often dangerous route across the Mediterranean to Europe every year.
Those who make the journey often travel in poorly maintained and overcrowded vessels.
At least 25,000 people have gone missing or been killed while trying to cross the central Mediterranean since 2014, according to the IOM.
More than 100 organisations have signed a joint letter calling on Israel to stop the "weaponisation of aid" into Gaza, as "starvation deepens".
Humanitarian groups, including Oxfam and Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), say they are increasingly being told they are "not authorised" to deliver aid, unless they comply with the stricter Israeli regulations.
Groups risk being banned if they "delegitimise" the state of Israel or do not provide detailed information about Palestinian staff.
Israel denies there are restrictions on aid and says the rules, introduced in March, ensure relief work is carried out in line with Israel's "national interests".
According to the joint letter, most major international non-governmental organisations (NGO) have been unable to deliver a single truck of lifesaving supplies since 2 March.
They say Israeli authorities "have rejected requests from dozens of non-governmental organisations to bring in lifesaving goods", citing the new rules. More than 60 requests were denied in July alone.
Aid groups' inability to deliver aid has "left hospitals without basic supplies, children, people with disabilities, and older people dying from hunger and preventable illnesses", the statement said.
Sean Carroll, CEO of American Near East Refugee Aid (Anera), said: "Anera has over $7 million worth of lifesaving supplies ready to enter Gaza – including 744 tons of rice, enough for six million meals, blocked in Ashdod just kilometers away".
The new guidelines introduced in March update the framework for how aid groups must register to maintain their status within Israel, along with provisions that outline how their applications can be denied or registration revoked.
Registration can be rejected if Israeli authorities deem that a group denies the democratic character of Israel or "promotes delegitimisation campaigns" against the country.
"Unfortunately, many aid organisations serve as a cover for hostile and sometimes violent activity," Israel's Diaspora Minister Amichai Chikli told the Agence France-Presse news agency.
"Organisations that have no connection to hostile or violent activity and no ties to the boycott movement will be granted permission to operate," added Chikli.
Bushra Khalidi, Oxfam Policy Lead, said Israel had rejected more than $2.5m (£1.8m) of goods from entering Gaza.
She added: "This registration process signals to INGOs that their ability to operate may come at the cost of their independence and ability to speak out."
Watch: How did Gaza get to the brink of starvation?
The warning comes as Israel steps up its bombardment of Gaza City, in preparation for a plan to take control of the city.
Israel says it will provide humanitarian aid to civilian populations "outside the combat zones", but has not specified whether that aid would be delivered by the Israel and US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF).
Israel says the system is necessary to stop Hamas stealing aid, an accusation Hamas denies.
The UN this month reported that 859 Palestinians had been killed near GHF sites since May, a figure the GHF denies.
In the joint statement, Aitor Zabalgogeazkoa, MSF emergency coordinator in Gaza, said that the "militarised food distribution scheme has weaponised starvation".
The secretary-general of MSF, Chris Lockyear, told the BBC that GHF was a "death trap", and the humanitarian situation in Gaza was "hanging on by a thread".
Hamas's 2023 attack killed about 1,200 people in Israel, with 251 seized and taken into Gaza as hostages.
Israel's offensive has since killed nearly 62,000 Palestinians, according to the Hamas-run health ministry. It says that 235 people including 106 children have also died due to starvation and malnutrition.
More than 100 organisations have signed a joint letter calling on Israel to stop the "weaponisation of aid" into Gaza, as "starvation deepens".
Humanitarian groups, including Oxfam and Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), say they are increasingly being told they are "not authorised" to deliver aid, unless they comply with the stricter Israeli regulations.
Groups risk being banned if they "delegitimise" the state of Israel or do not provide detailed information about Palestinian staff.
Israel denies there are restrictions on aid and says the rules, introduced in March, ensure relief work is carried out in line with Israel's "national interests".
According to the joint letter, most major international non-governmental organisations (NGO) have been unable to deliver a single truck of lifesaving supplies since 2 March.
They say Israeli authorities "have rejected requests from dozens of non-governmental organisations to bring in lifesaving goods", citing the new rules. More than 60 requests were denied in July alone.
Aid groups' inability to deliver aid has "left hospitals without basic supplies, children, people with disabilities, and older people dying from hunger and preventable illnesses", the statement said.
Sean Carroll, CEO of American Near East Refugee Aid (Anera), said: "Anera has over $7 million worth of lifesaving supplies ready to enter Gaza – including 744 tons of rice, enough for six million meals, blocked in Ashdod just kilometers away".
The new guidelines introduced in March update the framework for how aid groups must register to maintain their status within Israel, along with provisions that outline how their applications can be denied or registration revoked.
Registration can be rejected if Israeli authorities deem that a group denies the democratic character of Israel or "promotes delegitimisation campaigns" against the country.
"Unfortunately, many aid organisations serve as a cover for hostile and sometimes violent activity," Israel's Diaspora Minister Amichai Chikli told the Agence France-Presse news agency.
"Organisations that have no connection to hostile or violent activity and no ties to the boycott movement will be granted permission to operate," added Chikli.
Bushra Khalidi, Oxfam Policy Lead, said Israel had rejected more than $2.5m (£1.8m) of goods from entering Gaza.
She added: "This registration process signals to INGOs that their ability to operate may come at the cost of their independence and ability to speak out."
Watch: How did Gaza get to the brink of starvation?
The warning comes as Israel steps up its bombardment of Gaza City, in preparation for a plan to take control of the city.
Israel says it will provide humanitarian aid to civilian populations "outside the combat zones", but has not specified whether that aid would be delivered by the Israel and US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF).
Israel says the system is necessary to stop Hamas stealing aid, an accusation Hamas denies.
The UN this month reported that 859 Palestinians had been killed near GHF sites since May, a figure the GHF denies.
In the joint statement, Aitor Zabalgogeazkoa, MSF emergency coordinator in Gaza, said that the "militarised food distribution scheme has weaponised starvation".
The secretary-general of MSF, Chris Lockyear, told the BBC that GHF was a "death trap", and the humanitarian situation in Gaza was "hanging on by a thread".
Hamas's 2023 attack killed about 1,200 people in Israel, with 251 seized and taken into Gaza as hostages.
Israel's offensive has since killed nearly 62,000 Palestinians, according to the Hamas-run health ministry. It says that 235 people including 106 children have also died due to starvation and malnutrition.
First Lady Melania Trump has threatened to sue Hunter Biden for more than $1bn after he claimed she was introduced to her husband by sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Lawyers acting on behalf of the first lady, who married US President Donald Trump in 2005, described the claim as "false, disparaging, defamatory and inflammatory".
Biden, son of former US President Joe Biden, made the comments during an interview earlier this month, in which he strongly criticised the president's former ties to Epstein.
Donald Trump was a friend of Epstein, but has said the pair fell out in the early 2000s because the financier had poached employees who worked at the spa in Trump's Florida golf club.
A letter from the first lady's lawyers and addressed to an attorney for Hunter Biden demands he retract the claim and apologise, or face legal action for "over $1bn in damages".
It says the first lady has suffered "overwhelming financial and reputational harm" because of the claim he repeated.
It also accuses the youngest Biden son of having a "vast history of trading on the names of others", and repeating the claim "to draw attention to yourself".
During a wide-ranging interview with filmmaker Andrew Callaghan published earlier this month, Hunter Biden claimed unreleased documents relating to Epstein would "implicate" President Trump.
He said: "Epstein introduced Melania to Trump - the connections are so wide and deep." The first lady's legal letter notes the claim was partially attributed to Michael Wolff, a journalist who authored a critical biography of the president.
In a recent interview with US outlet the Daily Beast, Wolff reportedly claimed that the first lady was known to an associate of Epstein and Trump when she met her now-husband.
The outlet later retracted the story after receiving a letter from the first lady's attorney that challenged the contents and framing of the story.
There is no evidence the pair were introduced to each other by Epstein, who took his own life in prison while awaiting trial in 2019.
In the first lady's legal letter, Hunter Biden is accused of relying on a since-removed article as the basis of his claims, which it describes as "false and defamatory".
A message on the archived version of the Daily Beast online story reads: "After this story was published, The Beast received a letter from First Lady Melania Trump's attorney challenging the headline and framing of the article.
"After reviewing the matter, the Beast has taken down the article and apologizes for any confusion or misunderstanding."
Asked about the legal threat, the first lady's lawyer, Alejandro Brito, referred BBC News to a statement issued by her aide, Nick Clemens.
It read: "First Lady Melania Trump's attorneys are actively ensuring immediate retractions and apologies by those who spread malicious, defamatory falsehoods."
A January 2016 profile by Harper's Bazaar reported the first lady met her husband in November 1998, at a party hosted by the founder of a modelling agency.
Melania Trump, 55, told the publication she declined to give him her phone number because he was "with a date".
The profile said Trump had recently separated from his second wife, Marla Maples, whom he divorced in 1999. He was previously married to Ivana Trump between 1977 and 1990.
The BBC has contacted Hunter Biden's attorney.
The legal letter comes after weeks of pressure on the White House to release the so-called Epstein files, previously undisclosed documents relating to the criminal investigation against the convicted paedophile.
Before being re-elected, Trump said he would release the records if he returned to office, but the FBI and justice department said in July that no "incriminating" client list of Epstein associates existed.
Lai is on trial for breaching national security and colluding with foreign forces
Hailed by some as a hero and scorned by others as a traitor, Hong Kong's pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai is in the final stage of his national security trial.
Closing arguments begin on Thursday for Lai, who is accused of colluding with foreign forces under a Beijing-imposed national security law.
The trial has drawn international attention, with UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer calling for Lai's release. The 77-year-old has British as well as Chinese citizenship - though China does not recognise dual nationality, and therefore considers Lai to be exclusively Chinese.
Lai has been detained since December 2020 and faces a maximum sentence of life imprisonment if he is convicted.
Critics say Lai's case shows how Hong Kong's legal system has been weaponised to silence political opposition.
Lai has been a persistent thorn in China's side. Unlike other tycoons who rose to the top in Hong Kong, Mr Lai became one of the fiercest critics of the Chinese state and a leading figure advocating democracy in the former British territory.
"I'm a born rebel," he told the BBC in an interview in 2020, hours before he was charged. "I have a very rebellious character."
He is the most prominent person charged under the controversial national security law which China introduced in 2020, in response to massive protests which erupted in Hong Kong the year before.
The legislation criminalises a wider range of dissenting acts which Beijing considers subversion and secession, among other things.
Beijing says the national security law is necessary to maintain stability in Hong Kong but critics say it has effectively outlawed dissent.
Over the years, Lai's son Sebastien has called for his release. In February, the younger Lai urged Starmer and US President Donald Trump to take urgent action, adding that his father's "body is breaking down".
Rags to riches
Lai was born in Guangzhou, a city in southern China, to a wealthy family that lost everything when the communists took power in 1949.
He was 12 years old when he fled his village in mainland China, arriving in Hong Kong as a stowaway on a fishing boat.
While working odd jobs and knitting in a small clothing shop he taught himself English. He went from a menial role to eventually founding a multi-million dollar empire including the international clothing brand Giordano.
The chain was a huge success. But when China sent in tanks to crush pro-democracy protests in Beijing's Tiananmen Square in 1989, Lai began a new journey as a vocal democracy activist as well as an entrepreneur.
He started writing columns criticising the massacre that followed the demonstrations in Beijing and established a publishing house that went on to become one of Hong Kong's most influential.
Reuters
Lai is among the most prominent people charged under Hong Kong's controversial national security law
As China responded by threatening to shut his stores on the mainland, leading him to sell the company, Lai launched a string of popular pro-democracy titles that included Next, a digital magazine, and the widely read Apple Daily newspaper.
In a local media landscape increasingly fearful of Beijing, Lai had been a persistent critic of Chinese authorities both through his publications and writing.
This has seen him become a hero for many in Hong Kong, who view him as a man of courage who took great risks to defend the freedoms of the city.
But on the mainland he is viewed as a "traitor" who threatens Chinese national security.
In recent years, masked attackers firebombed Lai's house and company headquarters. He was also the target of an assassination plot.
But none of the threats stopped him from airing his views robustly. He was a prominent part of the city's pro-democracy demonstrations and was arrested twice in 2021 on illegal assembly charges.
Getty Images
Apple Daily was unafraid to be openly critical of the Chinese state
When China passed Hong Kong's new national security law in June 2020, Lai told the BBC it sounded the "death knell" for the territory.
The influential entrepreneur also warned that Hong Kong would become as corrupt as China. Without the rule of law, he said, its coveted status as a global financial hub would be "totally destroyed".
The media mogul is known for his frankness and acts of flamboyance.
In 2021, he urged Donald Trump to help the territory, saying he was "the only one who can save us" from China. His newspaper, Apple Daily, published a front-page letter that finished: "Mr President, please help us."
For Lai, such acts were necessary to defend the city which had taken him in and fuelled his success.
He once told news agency AFP: "I came here with nothing, the freedom of this place has given me everything... Maybe it's time I paid back for that freedom by fighting for it."
Lai has been slapped with various charges - including unauthorised assembly and fraud - since 2020.
He has been in custody since December of that year.
The prosecution of Lai has captured international attention, with rights groups and foreign governments urging his release.
Over the years, Sebastien Lai has travelled the world to denounce his father's arrest and condemn Hong Kong for punishing "characteristics that should be celebrated".
"My father is in jail for the truth on his lips, courage in his heart, and freedom in his soul," he had said.
North Korea says it has "never removed" its propaganda loudspeakers along the border with the South
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's sister has rebutted South Korea's claims that Pyongyang removed some of its propaganda-blasting loudspeakers along the border.
North Korea has "never removed" the speakers and "are not willing to remove them", Kim Yo Jong said in a statement published by state media KCNA on Thursday.
"We have clarified on several occasions that we have no will to improve relations with [South Korea]," she said, adding that this stance "will be fixed in our constitution in the future".
South Korea's military said earlier this week that North Korea had removed some of its loudspeakers along the border - days after South Korea dismantled some of its own.
Kim, the deputy director of North Korea's propaganda department, said Seoul's claim was an "unfounded unilateral supposition and a red herring".
Besides propaganda messages, South Korea's broadcasts often blasted K-pop songs across the border. while North Korea played unsettling noises such as howling animals.
South Korean residents living near the border had complained that their lives were being disrupted been by the noise from both sides, sometimes in the middle of the night.
Pyongyang considers Seoul's propaganda broadcasts an act of war and has threatened to blow up the speakers in the past.
South Korea's speaker broadcasts resumed in June 2024 after a six year pause under impeached president Yoon Suk Yeol who took a more hardline stance against the North.
They were restarted after Pyongyang began sending rubbish-filled balloons to the South in response to increased tensions.
The relationship appeared to have thawed under new President Lee Jae Myung, who campaigned on improving inter-Korean ties.
South Korea halted its broadcasts along the demilitarised zone shortly after Lee took office in June, in what the country's military described as a bid to "restore trust" and "achieve peace on the Korean Peninsula".
Still, ties between the two neighbours remain uneasy. Earlier this week, North Korea warned of "resolute counteraction" to provocations ahead of joint military drills between South Korea and the US.
Watch: BBC obtains rare video from inside besieged el-Fasher in Sudan
The women at the community kitchen in the besieged Sudanese city of el-Fasher are sitting in huddles of desperation.
"Our children are dying before our eyes," one of them tells the BBC.
"We don't know what to do. They are innocent. They have nothing to do with the army or [its paramilitary rival] the Rapid Support Forces. Our suffering is worse than what you can imagine."
Food is so scarce in el-Fasher that prices have soared to the point where money that used to cover a week's worth of meals can now buy only one. International aid organisations have condemned the "calculated use of starvation as a weapon of war".
The BBC has obtained rare footage of people still trapped in the city, sent to us by a local activist and filmed by a freelance cameraman.
The Sudanese army has been battling the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) for more than two years after their commanders jointly staged a coup, and then fell out.
El-Fasher, in the western Darfur region, is one of the most brutal frontlines in the conflict.
This may be the only meal these children get for a day
The hunger crisis is compounded by a surge of cholera sweeping through the squalid camps of those displaced by the fighting, which escalated this week into one of the most intense RSF attacks on the city yet.
The paramilitaries tightened their 14-month blockade after losing control of the capital Khartoum earlier this year, and stepped up their battle for el-Fasher, the last foothold of the armed forces in Darfur.
In the north and centre of the country where the army has wrestled back territory from the RSF, food and medical aid have begun to make a dent in civilian suffering.
But the situation is desperate in the conflict zones of western and southern Sudan.
At the Matbakh-al-Khair communal kitchen in el-Fasher late last month, volunteers turned ambaz into a porridge. This is the residue of peanuts after the oil has been extracted, normally fed to animals.
Sometimes it is possible to find sorghum or millet but on the day of filming, the kitchen manager says: "There is no flour or bread."
"Now we've reached the point of eating ambaz. May God relieve us of this calamity, there's nothing left in the market to buy," he adds.
The UN has amplified its appeal for a humanitarian pause to allow food convoys into the city, with its Sudan envoy Sheldon Yett once more demanding this week that the warring sides observe their obligations under international law.
The army has given clearance for the trucks to proceed but the UN is still waiting for official word from the paramilitary group.
RSF advisers have said they believed the truce would be used to facilitate the delivery of food and ammunition to the army's "besieged militias" inside el-Fasher.
They have also claimed the paramilitary group and its allies were setting up "safe routes" for civilians to leave the city.
Local responders in el-Fasher can receive some emergency cash via a digital banking system, but it does not go very far.
"The prices in the markets have exploded," says Mathilde Vu, advocacy manager for the Norwegian Refugee Council.
"Today, $5,000 [£3,680] covers one meal for 1,500 people in a single day. Three months ago, the same amount could feed them for an entire week."
Doctors say people are dying of malnutrition. It is impossible to know how many - one report quoting a regional health official put the number at more than 60 last week.
Hospitals cannot cope. Few are still operating. They have been damaged by shelling and are short of medical supplies to help both the starving, and those injured in the continual bombardment.
"We have many malnourished children admitted in hospital but unfortunately there is no single sachet of [therapeutic food]," says Dr Ibrahim Abdullah Khater, a paediatrician at the Al Saudi Hospital, noting that the five severely malnourished children currently in the ward also have medical complications.
"They are just waiting for their death," he says.
When hunger crises hit, those who usually die first are the most vulnerable, the least healthy or those suffering from pre-existing conditions.
"The situation, it is so miserable, it is so catastrophic," the doctor tells us in a voice message.
"The children of el-Fasher are dying on a daily basis due to lack of food, lack of medicine. Unfortunately, the international community is just watching."
They said that "anecdotal reports of recent food hoarding for military use add to the suffering of civilians".
"There is no safe passage out of the city, with roads blocked and those attempting to flee facing attacks, taxation at checkpoints, community-based discrimination and death," the organisations said.
Hundreds of thousands of people did flee in recent months, many from the Zamzam displaced persons camp at the edge of el-Fasher, seized by the RSF in April.
Life is safer in the crowded camps, but they are stalked by disease - most deadly of all: cholera.
It is caused by polluted water and has killed hundreds in Sudan, triggered by the destruction of water infrastructure and lack of food and medical care, and made worse by flooding due to the rainy season.
Makeshift centres have been built to treat patients who have cholera
Unlike el-Fasher, in Tawila aid workers at least have access, but their supplies are limited, says John Joseph Ocheibi, the on-site project coordinator for a group called The Alliance for International Medical Action.
"We have shortages in terms of [washing facilities], in terms of medical supplies, to be able to deal with this situation," he tells the BBC. "We are mobilizing resources to see how best we can be able to respond."
Sylvain Penicaud of Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) estimates there are only three litres of water per person per day in the camps, which, he says, is "way below the basic need, and forces people to get water from contaminated sources".
Zubaida Ismail Ishaq is lying in the tent clinic. She is seven months pregnant, gaunt and exhausted. Her story is a tale of trauma told by many.
She tells us she used to trade when she had a little money, before fleeing el-Fasher.
Her husband was captured by armed men on the road to Tawila. Her daughter has a head injury.
Zubaida and her mother came down with cholera shortly after arriving in the camp.
"We drink water without boiling it," she says. "We have no-one to get us water. Since coming here, I have nothing left."
Back in el-Fasher we hear appeals for help from the women clustered at the soup kitchen - any kind of help.
"We're exhausted. We want this siege lifted," says Faiza Abkar Mohammed. "Even if they airdrop food, airdrop anything - we're completely exhausted."
Vanuatu says the deal is a win-win situation for both countries
Australia and Vanuatu have agreed to a ten-year deal, aimed at strengthening security and economic ties, worth A$500m ($328m; £241m).
The so-called Nakamal agreement - the result of months of negotiations - will transform Australia's relationship with its Pacific neighbour, leaders from both countries said on Wednesday.
"We are family," Australia's deputy prime minister Richard Marles said: "Our future is very much bound together". Vanuatu's leader Jotham Napat described the deal as "win-win situation" for both nations.
The deal, to be officially signed in September, comes as Australia tries to grow its influence in the region, to counter China's increased spending and power.
While the Australian government did not provide further details of the deal, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) reports it will provide funds to build two large data centres in the capital, Port Vila, and Vanuatu's largest island, Santo.
Millions will also be poured into helping the low-lying island to deal with the impacts of climate change, as well as building up its security.
In earlier stages of the negotiations, visa-free travel for citizens of Vanuatu was also discussed and considered a key part of the deal. However, Napat told the media on Wednesday that this issue would be covered in a "subsidiary" agreement, yet to be confirmed.
It is unclear what, if any, commitments Vanuatu has given Australia as part of the deal.
A similar agreement fell through in 2022, after Vanuatu's previous prime minister pulled out at the last minute over security concerns, according to the ABC.
At a press conference on the side of a volcano on Tanna island, one of 80 plus in the Vanuatu archipelago, Marles emphasised the "shared destiny" of the two countries.
"[The deal] acknowledges that as neighbours, we have a shared security environment and a commitment to each other," he said.
Australia's Foreign Minister added that the deal was about the long-term future.
"The most important thing [about the deal] is where we will be [in] three and five and ten years," Penny Wong said.
Vanuatu's prime minister Napat said the agreement will bring "a lot of great benefits between the two countries, whether it be the security agreement, economic transformation, with some specific focus on the mobile labour mobility and financial support".
This week's Vanuatu deal comes after Australia signed similar pacts with several of its other Pacific neighbours in recent months.
Canberra struck a new A$190m security deal with the Solomon Islands last December, with similar agreements also in place with Tuvalu and Papua New Guinea.
Lai is on trial for breaching national security and colluding with foreign forces
Hailed by some as a hero and scorned by others as a traitor, Hong Kong's pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai is in the final stage of his national security trial.
Closing arguments begin on Thursday for Lai, who is accused of colluding with foreign forces under a Beijing-imposed national security law.
The trial has drawn international attention, with UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer calling for Lai's release. The 77-year-old has British as well as Chinese citizenship - though China does not recognise dual nationality, and therefore considers Lai to be exclusively Chinese.
Lai has been detained since December 2020 and faces a maximum sentence of life imprisonment if he is convicted.
Critics say Lai's case shows how Hong Kong's legal system has been weaponised to silence political opposition.
Lai has been a persistent thorn in China's side. Unlike other tycoons who rose to the top in Hong Kong, Mr Lai became one of the fiercest critics of the Chinese state and a leading figure advocating democracy in the former British territory.
"I'm a born rebel," he told the BBC in an interview in 2020, hours before he was charged. "I have a very rebellious character."
He is the most prominent person charged under the controversial national security law which China introduced in 2020, in response to massive protests which erupted in Hong Kong the year before.
The legislation criminalises a wider range of dissenting acts which Beijing considers subversion and secession, among other things.
Beijing says the national security law is necessary to maintain stability in Hong Kong but critics say it has effectively outlawed dissent.
Over the years, Lai's son Sebastien has called for his release. In February, the younger Lai urged Starmer and US President Donald Trump to take urgent action, adding that his father's "body is breaking down".
Rags to riches
Lai was born in Guangzhou, a city in southern China, to a wealthy family that lost everything when the communists took power in 1949.
He was 12 years old when he fled his village in mainland China, arriving in Hong Kong as a stowaway on a fishing boat.
While working odd jobs and knitting in a small clothing shop he taught himself English. He went from a menial role to eventually founding a multi-million dollar empire including the international clothing brand Giordano.
The chain was a huge success. But when China sent in tanks to crush pro-democracy protests in Beijing's Tiananmen Square in 1989, Lai began a new journey as a vocal democracy activist as well as an entrepreneur.
He started writing columns criticising the massacre that followed the demonstrations in Beijing and established a publishing house that went on to become one of Hong Kong's most influential.
Reuters
Lai is among the most prominent people charged under Hong Kong's controversial national security law
As China responded by threatening to shut his stores on the mainland, leading him to sell the company, Lai launched a string of popular pro-democracy titles that included Next, a digital magazine, and the widely read Apple Daily newspaper.
In a local media landscape increasingly fearful of Beijing, Lai had been a persistent critic of Chinese authorities both through his publications and writing.
This has seen him become a hero for many in Hong Kong, who view him as a man of courage who took great risks to defend the freedoms of the city.
But on the mainland he is viewed as a "traitor" who threatens Chinese national security.
In recent years, masked attackers firebombed Lai's house and company headquarters. He was also the target of an assassination plot.
But none of the threats stopped him from airing his views robustly. He was a prominent part of the city's pro-democracy demonstrations and was arrested twice in 2021 on illegal assembly charges.
Getty Images
Apple Daily was unafraid to be openly critical of the Chinese state
When China passed Hong Kong's new national security law in June 2020, Lai told the BBC it sounded the "death knell" for the territory.
The influential entrepreneur also warned that Hong Kong would become as corrupt as China. Without the rule of law, he said, its coveted status as a global financial hub would be "totally destroyed".
The media mogul is known for his frankness and acts of flamboyance.
In 2021, he urged Donald Trump to help the territory, saying he was "the only one who can save us" from China. His newspaper, Apple Daily, published a front-page letter that finished: "Mr President, please help us."
For Lai, such acts were necessary to defend the city which had taken him in and fuelled his success.
He once told news agency AFP: "I came here with nothing, the freedom of this place has given me everything... Maybe it's time I paid back for that freedom by fighting for it."
Lai has been slapped with various charges - including unauthorised assembly and fraud - since 2020.
He has been in custody since December of that year.
The prosecution of Lai has captured international attention, with rights groups and foreign governments urging his release.
Over the years, Sebastien Lai has travelled the world to denounce his father's arrest and condemn Hong Kong for punishing "characteristics that should be celebrated".
"My father is in jail for the truth on his lips, courage in his heart, and freedom in his soul," he had said.
Peru's president has signed a controversial new law pardoning soldiers, police and civilian militias on trial for atrocities during the country's two-decade armed conflict against Maoist rebels.
Dina Boluarte enacted the measure that was passed by Congress in July, despite an order from the Inter-American Court of Human Rights to suspend it pending a review of its impact on victims.
The law will benefit hundreds of members of the armed forces, police and self-defence committees accused of crimes committed between 1980 and 2000.
It will also mandate the release of those over 70 serving sentences for such offences.
During the conflict, the Shining Path and Tupac Amaru rebel groups waged insurgencies in which an estimated 70,000 people were killed and more than 20,000 disappeared, according to Peru's Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC).
Boluarte, elected in 2022 as the the country's first female president, said the Peruvian government was paying tribute to the forces who - she said - fought against terrorism and in defence of democracy.
Human rights organisations have condemned the law. Juanita Goebertus, Americas director at Human Rights Watch, called it "a betrayal of Peruvian victims" that "undermines decades of efforts to ensure accountability for atrocities".
United Nations experts and Amnesty International had urged Boluarte to veto the bill, saying that it violated Peru's duty to investigate and prosecute grave abuses including extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, torture and sexual violence.
UN experts said the amnesty could halt or overturn more than 600 pending trials and 156 convictions.
The TRC found that state agents, notably the armed forces, were responsible for 83% of documented sexual violence cases.
Last year, Peru adopted a statute of limitations for crimes against humanity committed before 2002, effectively shutting down hundreds of investigations into alleged crimes committed during the fighting.
The initiative benefited late president Alberto Fujimori, who was jailed for atrocities - including the massacre of civilians by the army - but released from prison in 2023 on humanitarian grounds. He died in September 2024.
Meanwhile, former president Martin Vizcarra was ordered on Wednesday to be held in preventative detention for five months over allegations he received $640,000 in bribes while governor of Moquegua between 2011 and 2014.
He is the fifth former president to be jailed in corruption investigations.
Watch: BBC obtains rare video from inside besieged el-Fasher in Sudan
The women at the community kitchen in the besieged Sudanese city of el-Fasher are sitting in huddles of desperation.
"Our children are dying before our eyes," one of them tells the BBC.
"We don't know what to do. They are innocent. They have nothing to do with the army or [its paramilitary rival] the Rapid Support Forces. Our suffering is worse than what you can imagine."
Food is so scarce in el-Fasher that prices have soared to the point where money that used to cover a week's worth of meals can now buy only one. International aid organisations have condemned the "calculated use of starvation as a weapon of war".
The BBC has obtained rare footage of people still trapped in the city, sent to us by a local activist and filmed by a freelance cameraman.
The Sudanese army has been battling the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) for more than two years after their commanders jointly staged a coup, and then fell out.
El-Fasher, in the western Darfur region, is one of the most brutal frontlines in the conflict.
This may be the only meal these children get for a day
The hunger crisis is compounded by a surge of cholera sweeping through the squalid camps of those displaced by the fighting, which escalated this week into one of the most intense RSF attacks on the city yet.
The paramilitaries tightened their 14-month blockade after losing control of the capital Khartoum earlier this year, and stepped up their battle for el-Fasher, the last foothold of the armed forces in Darfur.
In the north and centre of the country where the army has wrestled back territory from the RSF, food and medical aid have begun to make a dent in civilian suffering.
But the situation is desperate in the conflict zones of western and southern Sudan.
At the Matbakh-al-Khair communal kitchen in el-Fasher late last month, volunteers turned ambaz into a porridge. This is the residue of peanuts after the oil has been extracted, normally fed to animals.
Sometimes it is possible to find sorghum or millet but on the day of filming, the kitchen manager says: "There is no flour or bread."
"Now we've reached the point of eating ambaz. May God relieve us of this calamity, there's nothing left in the market to buy," he adds.
The UN has amplified its appeal for a humanitarian pause to allow food convoys into the city, with its Sudan envoy Sheldon Yett once more demanding this week that the warring sides observe their obligations under international law.
The army has given clearance for the trucks to proceed but the UN is still waiting for official word from the paramilitary group.
RSF advisers have said they believed the truce would be used to facilitate the delivery of food and ammunition to the army's "besieged militias" inside el-Fasher.
They have also claimed the paramilitary group and its allies were setting up "safe routes" for civilians to leave the city.
Local responders in el-Fasher can receive some emergency cash via a digital banking system, but it does not go very far.
"The prices in the markets have exploded," says Mathilde Vu, advocacy manager for the Norwegian Refugee Council.
"Today, $5,000 [£3,680] covers one meal for 1,500 people in a single day. Three months ago, the same amount could feed them for an entire week."
Doctors say people are dying of malnutrition. It is impossible to know how many - one report quoting a regional health official put the number at more than 60 last week.
Hospitals cannot cope. Few are still operating. They have been damaged by shelling and are short of medical supplies to help both the starving, and those injured in the continual bombardment.
"We have many malnourished children admitted in hospital but unfortunately there is no single sachet of [therapeutic food]," says Dr Ibrahim Abdullah Khater, a paediatrician at the Al Saudi Hospital, noting that the five severely malnourished children currently in the ward also have medical complications.
"They are just waiting for their death," he says.
When hunger crises hit, those who usually die first are the most vulnerable, the least healthy or those suffering from pre-existing conditions.
"The situation, it is so miserable, it is so catastrophic," the doctor tells us in a voice message.
"The children of el-Fasher are dying on a daily basis due to lack of food, lack of medicine. Unfortunately, the international community is just watching."
They said that "anecdotal reports of recent food hoarding for military use add to the suffering of civilians".
"There is no safe passage out of the city, with roads blocked and those attempting to flee facing attacks, taxation at checkpoints, community-based discrimination and death," the organisations said.
Hundreds of thousands of people did flee in recent months, many from the Zamzam displaced persons camp at the edge of el-Fasher, seized by the RSF in April.
Life is safer in the crowded camps, but they are stalked by disease - most deadly of all: cholera.
It is caused by polluted water and has killed hundreds in Sudan, triggered by the destruction of water infrastructure and lack of food and medical care, and made worse by flooding due to the rainy season.
Makeshift centres have been built to treat patients who have cholera
Unlike el-Fasher, in Tawila aid workers at least have access, but their supplies are limited, says John Joseph Ocheibi, the on-site project coordinator for a group called The Alliance for International Medical Action.
"We have shortages in terms of [washing facilities], in terms of medical supplies, to be able to deal with this situation," he tells the BBC. "We are mobilizing resources to see how best we can be able to respond."
Sylvain Penicaud of Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) estimates there are only three litres of water per person per day in the camps, which, he says, is "way below the basic need, and forces people to get water from contaminated sources".
Zubaida Ismail Ishaq is lying in the tent clinic. She is seven months pregnant, gaunt and exhausted. Her story is a tale of trauma told by many.
She tells us she used to trade when she had a little money, before fleeing el-Fasher.
Her husband was captured by armed men on the road to Tawila. Her daughter has a head injury.
Zubaida and her mother came down with cholera shortly after arriving in the camp.
"We drink water without boiling it," she says. "We have no-one to get us water. Since coming here, I have nothing left."
Back in el-Fasher we hear appeals for help from the women clustered at the soup kitchen - any kind of help.
"We're exhausted. We want this siege lifted," says Faiza Abkar Mohammed. "Even if they airdrop food, airdrop anything - we're completely exhausted."
Germany's Friedrich Merz hosted President Zelensky in Munich on Wednesday
European leaders appeared cautiously optimistic after holding a virtual meeting with Donald Trump on Wednesday, two days before he meets his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Alaska to discuss ending the war in Ukraine.
Trump reportedly told the Europeans that his goal for the summit was to obtain a ceasefire between Moscow and Kyiv.
He also agreed that any territorial issues had to be decided with Volodymyr Zelensky's involvement, and that security guarantees had to be part of the deal, according to France's Emmanuel Macron.
Speaking to Trump had allowed him to "clarify his intentions" and gave the Europeans a chance to "express our expectations," Macron said.
Trump and Vice-President JD Vance spoke to the leaders of the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Finland and Poland as well as EU chief Ursula von der Leyen and Nato chief Mark Rutte.
The Europeans have been sidelined from the hastily organised summit in Alaska and their phone call today was a last-ditch attempt to keep Ukraine's interests and the continent's security at the forefront of Trump's mind.
To an extent, it seemed to work. On Wednesday evening Trump rated the meeting "a ten" and said Russia would face "very severe" consequences unless it halted its war in Ukraine.
He also said that if Friday's meeting went well he would try and organise a "quick second one" involving both Putin and Zelensky.
Still, in their statements European leaders restated the need for Kyiv to be involved in any final decision – betraying an underlying nervousness that Putin could ultimately persuade Trump to concede Ukrainian land in exchange for a ceasefire.
"It's most important thing that Europe convinces Donald Trump that one can't trust Russia," said Poland's Donald Tusk, while German Chancellor Friedrich Merz stressed the leaders had "made it clear that Ukraine must be at the table as soon as follow-up meetings take place".
If the Russian side refused to make any concessions, "then the United States and we Europeans should and must increase the pressure," Merz said.
Since the US-Russia summit was announced last week, Trump has made several references to "land-swapping" between Kyiv and Moscow – sparking serious concerns in Ukraine and beyond that he could be preparing to give in to Putin's longstanding demand to seize large swathes of Ukrainian territory.
On Wednesday morning Russia's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Alexey Fadeev reiterated that Russia's stance had not changed since Putin set it out in June 2024.
At the time Putin said a ceasefire would start the minute the Ukrainian government withdrew from four regions partially occupied by Russia - Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia. He also said Ukraine would need to officially give up in its efforts to join the Nato military alliance.
These are maximalist demands which neither Kyiv nor its European partners see as viable.
Zelensky has said he is convinced that Russia would use any region it was allowed to keep as a springboard for future invasions.
A way to counter this threat could be security guarantees - intended as commitments to ensure Ukraine's long-term defence.
In statements issued after the phone call with Trump, several European leaders said such guarantees had been mentioned and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said that "real progress" had been made in that respect.
Since the spring the UK and France have been spearheading efforts to create a so-called "Coalition of the Willing" - a group of nations who have pledged to deter Russia from further invading Ukraine.
On Wednesday the group said it stood "ready to play an active role" including by deploying "a reassurance force once hostilities have ceased" - although the shape, composition and role of such a force is yet unclear.
Meanwhile, on the front lines, Russia's summer offensive continues to press on. Referencing the sudden advance of Moscow's troops near Dobropillya, in the embattled Donetsk region, Zelensky said Putin was pretending that sanctions were not effective at damaging the Russian economy.
"I told Trump and our European allies that Putin is bluffing," the Ukrainian president said, urging them to apply "more pressure" on Russia.
For his part, Trump appeared to admit that even when he meets Putin face-to-face he may not be able to get him to stop killing civilians in Ukraine.
"I've had that conversation with him... but then I go home and see that a rocket has hit a nursing home or an apartment building and people are lying dead in the street.
The fire destroyed a tavern in Kaminia, near Patras
A major city in western Greece is under threat from fast-moving wildfires as extreme heat and strong winds drive blazes across much of southern Europe.
Searing winds pushed flames into the outskirts of Patras, the country's third-largest city with a population of around 200,000, forcing evacuations including a children's hospital, and sending plumes of smoke across the skyline.
Nearly 10,000 hectares have burned in the surrounding Achaia region in two days.
Entire villages have been emptied, homes and businesses destroyed and hundreds of vehicles incinerated, including more than 500 cars at a customs yard.
Reuters
Over 500 vehicles at a customs yard in Patras were incinerated
The streets of Patras were deserted on Wednesday, save for some residents watching in silence as the fires descended from the surrounding mountains.
Strong and scorching winds blew as temperatures hit 38C and smoke has blanketed the city, sending some to hospital with breathing difficulties.
Authorities ordered residents of a nearby town of 7,700 people to evacuate on Tuesday and fresh alerts were issued on Wednesday for two villages.
Elsewhere in Greece, dozens of people were rescued by coastguards as fires inched towards beaches on the islands of Zante and Chios.
Greece has requested EU water bombers to bolster the more than 4,800 firefighters tackling the more than 20 wildfires currently raging across the country.
EPA/Shutterstock
In Portugal, 1,800 firefighters have been deployed against five major blazes
The crisis comes as a heatwave blankets southern Europe, sparking blazes from Portugal to the Balkans.
In Spain, a civilian and a volunteer firefighter were killed on Wednesday during the country's tenth consecutive day of extreme heat, which peaked at 45C the day before.
The state weather agency warned almost all of Spain was at extreme or very high fire risk. The heatwave is expected to last until Monday, making it one of the longest in the country on record.
The fires have triggered a political row after transport minister Oscar Puente said that "things are getting a little hot" in Castile and León, where flames have threatened a world heritage Roman site and forced more than 6,000 people to flee.
His remark, aimed at the region's conservative leader for holidaying during the crisis, drew condemnation from opposition figures, who demanded his dismissal. Puente defended his comments, saying leaders absent during disasters should be held to account.
EPA/Shutterstock
Authorities say 199 wildfires have destroyed nearly 99,000 hectares nationwide this year - double last year's total by mid-August - with several outbreaks suspected to be arson.
In neighbouring Portugal, 1,800 firefighters have been deployed against five major blazes, including one in the eastern town Trancoso reignited by lightning.
In Albania, the defence minister called it a "critical week" as 24 wildfires burned, forcing residents from central villages.
Italy has brought under control a five-day blaze on Mount Vesuvius but remains under extreme heat warnings in 16 cities, with Florence touching 39C. Temperatures are at such a high that Pope Leo moved his weekly audience from St. Peter's Square to an indoor venue in the Vatican.
Britain entered its fourth heatwave of the summer, with temperatures forecast to peak at 34C and health officials warning of a strain on care services.
Meteorologists say such extremes are becoming more frequent and intense due to human-induced climate change.
Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin will meet in Alaska on Friday
Speculation has swirled over whether the Trump-Putin summit will result in the map of Ukraine being forcibly – and fundamentally – altered.
Russia has laid claim to vast parts of Ukraine since 2014, when President Vladimir Putin made his first move.
At the time, in the space of a short few months, Moscow carried out the relatively bloodless occupation and annexation of the Crimean peninsula.
But that was followed by a Russian-backed separatist movement in the eastern Donbas region – specifically the two regions, or "oblasts", known as Donetsk and Luhansk.
A war simmered there for eight years.
Ukraine after 2014 and before the start of the 2022 full-scale invasion
Ukraine lost around 14,000 soldiers and civilians during this period.
But in February 2022, Putin launched his full-scale invasion. Russian troops quickly reached the outskirts of Kyiv and seized huge swathes of the south, including big chunks of two more oblasts, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson.
The war has ebbed and flowed ever since. Russia now controls rather less territory - down from about 27% in the spring of 2022 to around 20% now. In the east, Russian forces are advancing, but very slowly and at great cost.
Ukraine in 2022 - one month into the full-scale invasion
President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine says an unconditional ceasefire is needed now. European allies also insist on on a halt in fighting. US President Donald Trump says that is what he has been trying to achieve.
But in the run-up to his Alaska summit with Putin, Trump has started talking, instead about territorial swaps. That has sent shockwaves across Kyiv and Europe.
It is not at all clear what land Trump is referring to, or what those swaps could look like, given that all the territory in question legally belongs to Ukraine.
As of August 2025, the territory of Ukraine looks as follows:
Russia would dearly love to expand its control over the entirety of Luhansk and Donetsk.
Some reports suggest that Putin is demanding that Ukraine hand over the remaining territory it controls in both oblasts.
But that would mean Kyiv giving up on places which tens of thousands of Ukrainian soldiers have died trying to protect - cities like Kramatorsk and Sloviansk, and a fortified line protecting Ukrainian territory to the north and west.
For Kyiv, such a concession would be a bitter pill to swallow. For Moscow, whose losses have been even more catastrophic, it would be seen as victory.
Zelensky said on Tuesday that Ukraine "could not" leave the Donbas as Moscow would use the region as a springboard to attack the rest of the country.
In recent days, Russian forces appear to be pushing hard, and making progress, near the town of Dobropillya. But it's not yet clear whether this marks a significant strategic move or just an effort to show Trump that Moscow has the upper hand.
What about Zaporizhzhia and Kherson, captured in 2022?
Here, it's reported, Russia is offering to halt its offensive and freeze the lines.
But would Russia be prepared to give any of it back?
On Monday, Trump talked vaguely about "ocean-front property" – presumably a reference to some of this shoreline, along the Sea of Azov or Black Sea.
But this is all part of Putin's strategically vital land bridge connecting Russia to occupied Crimea.
It's hard to see the Russian leader agreeing to give any of it up. Like Donetsk and Luhansk, Putin regards these places as part of Russia, and illegally annexed them three years ago in four referendums widely regarded as a sham.
For Ukraine, and Europe, territorial swaps – at this very early stage of the talks – are a non-starter.
A discussion about future borders may eventually come, but only when the war has stopped and Ukraine's security has been guaranteed.
Roads, homes and vehicles have been severely damaged
Cape Verde has declared a state of emergency on the islands of São Vicente and Santo Antão, after deadly floods which killed at least nine people and forced 1,500 from their homes.
The state of emergency activates crisis funds and urgent infrastructure repairs in the Atlantic Ocean islands off the west coast of Africa.
Monday's flash floods were triggered by Tropical Storm Erin, leading to 193mm (7.6in) of rain in just five hours, far above São Vicente's annual average.
Deputy Prime Minister Olavo Correia told the BBC the floods were "catastrophic".
Rescue teams are desperately searching for missing people, while roads, homes and vehicles have been severely damaged.
Commenting on the heavy rains, Ester Brito from the country's meteorology institute told Reuters news agency that the weather conditions were uncommon.
"It is a rare situation because what was recorded is above our 30-year climatologist average."
Speaking to local media outlet Expresso das Ilhas, Ms Brito added that the country did not have the radar equipment required to forecast the extent of the rains.
Describing the moment the floods hit, Interior Minister Paulo Rocha said the night was "marked by panic and despair", Reuters reports.
Alveno Yali, a community organiser in São Vicente, the worst affected Island, described the situation as "an incredible moment of heavy rains, strong winds, and flash floods, resulting in significant material losses".
The Cape Verdean diaspora especially in France, Luxembourg, Portugal, and the US have launched urgent crowdfunding campaigns.
Tens of thousands of euros have already been raised to buy food, water, hygiene products, and emergency supplies.
Andreia Levy, president of Hello Cabo Verde in France, told the BBC that the entire diaspora was mobilised and they planned to deliver aid directly.
The US and Russia have agreed to hold a meeting between Presidents Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin on Friday 15 August, to discuss how to end the war in Ukraine.
Trump announced the meeting a week beforehand - the same day as his deadline for Russia to agree to a ceasefire in Ukraine or face more US sanctions.
Three rounds of talks between Russia and Ukraine held at Trump's behest this summer have yet to bring the two sides any closer to peace.
Here is what we know about the meeting between the two leaders, taking place in Alaska - which was once Russian territory - in Anchorage.
Why are they meeting in Alaska?
The US purchased Alaska from Russia in 1867, lending a historical resonance to the meeting. It became a US state in 1959.
Russian presidential assistant Yuri Ushakov pointed out that the two countries are neighbours, with only the Bering Strait separating them.
"It seems quite logical for our delegation simply to fly over the Bering Strait and for such an important and anticipated summit of the leaders of the two countries to be held in Alaska," Ushakov said.
The last time Alaska took centre-stage in an American diplomatic event was in March 2021, when Joe Biden's newly minted diplomatic and national security team met their Chinese counterparts in Anchorage.
The sit-down turned acrimonious, with the Chinese accusing the Americans of "condescension and hypocrisy".
Where in Alaska will Trump and Putin meet?
The meeting will be in Anchorage, the White House confirmed on Tuesday.
When announcing the bilateral, Trump said the location would be "a very popular one for a number of reasons", without disclosing it would be in the state's largest city.
The pair will be hosted at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, the largest military installation in Alaska. The 64,000 acre base is a key US site for Arctic military readiness.
Why are Putin and Trump meeting?
Trump has been pushing hard - without much success - to end the war in Ukraine.
As a presidential candidate, he pledged that he could end the war within 24 hours of taking office. He has also repeatedly argued that the war "never would have happened" if he had been president at the time of Russia's invasion in 2022.
Frustrations grew and Trump set an 8 August deadline for Putin to agree to an immediate ceasefire or face more severe US sanctions.
As the deadline hit, Trump instead announced he and Putin would meet in person on 15 August.
The meeting comes after US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff held "highly productive" talks with Putin in Moscow on Wednesday, according to Trump.
Ahead of the meeting, the White House sought to play down speculation that the bilateral could yield a ceasefire.
"This is a listening exercise for the president," said White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt. She added that Trump may travel to Russia following the Alaska trip.
Speaking to reporters on Monday, Trump said he viewed the summit as a "feel-out meeting" aimed at urging Putin to end the war.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is not expected to attend. Trump said on Monday: "I would say he could go, but he's been to a lot of meetings."
Trump did, however, say that Zelensky would be the first person he would call afterwards.
A White House official later said that Trump and Zelensky would meet virtually on Wednesday, ahead of the US president's summit with Putin. The Zelensky meeting will be joined by several European leaders.
Putin had requested that Zelensky be excluded, although the White House has previously said that Trump was willing to hold a trilateral in which all three leaders were present.
Zelensky has said any agreements without input from Ukraine would amount to "dead decisions".
What do both sides hope to get out of it?
While both Russia and Ukraine have long said that they want the war to end, both countries want things that the other harshly opposes.
Trump said on Monday he was "going to try to get some of that [Russian-occupied] territory back for Ukraine". But he also warned that there might have to be "some swapping, changes in land".
Ukraine, however, has been adamant that it will not accept Russian control of regions that Moscow has seized, including Crimea.
Zelensky pushed back this week against any idea of "swapping" territories.
"We will not reward Russia for what it has perpetrated," the Ukrainian president said.
Watch: 'We're going to change the battle lines' Trump on the war in Ukraine
Meanwhile, Putin has not budged from his territorial demands, Ukraine's neutrality and the future size of its army.
Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, in part, over Putin's belief the Western defensive alliance, Nato, was using the neighbouring country to gain a foothold to bring its troops closer to Russia's borders.
The Trump administration has been attempting to sway European leaders on a ceasefire deal that would hand over swathes of Ukrainian territory to Russia, the BBC's US partner CBS News has reported.
The agreement would allow Russia to keep control of the Crimean peninsula, and take the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine, which is made up of Donetsk and Luhansk, according to sources familiar with the talks.
Russia illegally occupied Crimea in 2014 and its forces control the majority of the Donbas region.
Under the deal, Russia would have to give up the Ukrainian regions of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, where it currently has some military control.
Speaking to Fox News, US Vice-President JD Vance said any future deal was "not going to make anybody super happy".
"You've got to make peace here… you can't finger point," he said.
"The way to peace is to have a decisive leader to sit down and force people to come together."
Officials have released images showing the glacial lake outburst causing flooding worries
Some Alaskans are evacuating their homes as meltwater escapes a basin dammed by the Mendenhall Glacier - raising fears of record-breaking flooding in the US state's capital city.
The National Weather Service (NWS) office in Juneau has issued a flood warning as glacial outburst water flows into Mendenhall River, putting homes in the area at risk.
For days, local officials have warned residents they may be forced to evacuate. On Tuesday, they confirmed water had begun escaping the ice dam and flooding was expected in the coming days.
The glacier, a popular tourist attraction, is 12 miles (19km) from Juneau.
Water levels reached 9.85ft (3m) on Tuesday, below major flooding levels which begin at 14ft, the NWS said. But by Wednesday morning they were above 16ft, which is considered a crest.
"This will be a new record, based on all of the information that we have," Nicole Ferrin, a weather service meteorologist, said at a press conference on Tuesday.
The Juneau city website explains that glacial lake outbursts happen when a lake of melting snow and ice and rain drains rapidly. It compares the process to pulling out a plug from a full bathtub. When meltwaters reach a certain level, they can overtop a glacier that previously held them back.
Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy issued a state disaster declaration on Sunday because of the "imminent threat of catastrophic flooding from a glacier lake outburst flood (GLOF)" in the Juneau area.
Flooding has been an annual concern in the area since 2011, as homes have been damaged and swept away by deluges. Last year, hundreds of residences were damaged.
The natural dams of ice and rock that hold the lakes in place can fail suddenly and unpredictably, triggering floods.
Researchers expect climate change to increase the number of these outburst floods in future, although past trends – and the causes of individual floods – are complicated.
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