A 23-year-old Mexican social media influencer has been shot dead while live streaming on TikTok, the state prosecutor's office said.

Valeria Marquez was killed when a man entered her beauty salon in the city of Guadalajara "and apparently fired a gun at her", according to the Jalisco state prosecutor's office.

The motive for the fatal attack has not been identified but the case is being investigated as a femicide - when women and girls are killed because of their gender, the state prosecutor said.

Gender-based violence is highly common in Mexico where the UN reports 10 women or girls are murdered every day by partners or family members.

Moments before her death, Ms Marquez was sitting at a table holding a stuffed animal at her beauty salon in the suburb of Zapopan doing a livestream.

Seconds later, she is shot dead, with the footage only ending when another person picks up her phone to stop the recording.

Local media reports say she was killed by a man pretending to bring her a gift.

Police arrived at the scene around 18:30 local time (12:30 GMT) and confirmed Ms Marquez's death, according to the state prosecutor.

The prosecutor's office did not name a suspect.

Fans of Ms Marquez, whose social media following totalled nearly 200,000 across TikTok and Instagram, have reacted with horror to her death.

Mayor of Zapopan Juan José Frangie said his office had no record of Ms Marquez requesting help from the authorities due to threats against her, adding "a femicide is the worst thing", according to news agency AFP.

The state prosecutor says forensic experts are investigating the shooting.

Australian Football League (AFL) player and coach Robert Walls has died aged 74, after using voluntary assisted dying laws.

Walls - a Carlton Football Club legend - won three premierships with the team as a player and one as coach, and later became a media figure and pundit.

He was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, a rare and aggressive form of blood cancer, in 2023.

His family told local media he died surrounded by his children, in his apartment which overlooked the home of AFL in Victoria, the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

The state of Victoria introduced voluntary assisted dying laws in 2019, which allow a person in the late stages of advanced disease to end their life using medication, with the approval of two doctors.

In a statement, Walls' family said he died on Thursday morning, local time, "after 14 years as a league player, 16 years as a coach, 25 years as a commentator and a lifetime as a self-proclaimed 'fan'".

"Having battled cancer for more than two years, Robert did it his way and chose to end a fight that had seen him spend more than 250 nights in hospital during the past two years," the statement continued.

In a post on X, Carlton FC paid tribute to the sporting icon, describing him as "one of our game's great servants".

Walls played more than 200 matches for Carlton FC, winning premierships in 1968, 1970 and 1972.

His coaching career included a 1987 win for Carlton, as well as guiding the Brisbane Lions and Richmond Tigers. He retired in 1997 and became a well-known AFL commentator.

Walls wife Erin died of cancer in 2006. He is survived by his three children and partner Julie, according to local media.

Georgetown University researcher Badar Khan Suri has been freed from a Texas detention centre after he was arrested as part of the Trump administration's crackdown on activists across college campuses.

A federal judge ordered the release of Mr Suri, who was a postdoctoral fellow at the prestigious Washington DC institution on a student visa.

An Indian national, he was arrested outside his Virginia home on 17 March by immigration agents.

His lawyers say he was targeted "for speech in support of Palestinian rights and family ties to Gaza". US authorities accuse him of "spreading Hamas propaganda" and having "connections to a known or suspected terrorist".

The Justice Department argued the government had a right to detain him until court proceedings finished.

However US District Judge Patricia Tolliver Giles ruled on Wednesday his detention violated his right to free speech and due process.

She refuted the government's claims he had ties to Hamas through his wife Mapheze Saleh, a US citizen whose father was a government official in Gaza.

"There was no evidence submitted to this court regarding statements that he made" in support of Hamas, the judge said according to the BBC's US partner CBS News.

Mr Suri's father-in-law is a former adviser to Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh who was killed in July last year, the Washington Post and New York Times reported.

In her court statement, Ms Saleh said her father lived in the US for nearly 20 years while studying. "Afterward, he served as political advisor to the Prime Minister of Gaza and as the deputy of foreign affairs in Gaza," she said.

Ms Saleh said he left the Gaza government in 2010 and started an institute to encourage peace and conflict resolution in Gaza in 2011.

"Hearing the judge's words brought tears to my eyes," Ms Saleh said in a press release from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which is involved in Mr Suri's defence.

"I truly wish I could give her a heartfelt hug from me and from my three children, who long every day to see their father again," she said.

"Speaking out about what's happening in Palestine is not a crime."

The Trump administration is still seeking to deport Mr Suri in separate proceedings, the ACLU said.

Several students and academics have been investigated by US immigration officials in recent weeks, accusing them of advocating for "violence and terrorism".

Among them was Columbia University graduate and permanent US resident Mahmoud Khalil, who was arrested on 8 March after being involved in pro-Palestinian protests on campus. He was accused of having ties to Hamas, which he denies.

Badar Khan Suri's release comes days after Tufts University student Rumeysa Ozturk was released on bail after a court order.

Ms Ozturk was kept in a Louisiana detention facility after officials arrested her on the street in Massachusetts in March, and accusing her of "engaging in activities in support of Hamas".

Russian President Vladimir Putin is not among the names listed by the Kremlin as due to attend peace talks on the war in Ukraine in Istanbul on Thursday, despite calls from Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky for him to attend.

Russia's delegation will instead be headed by presidential aide Vladimir Medinksy, according to the Kremlin statement.

Zelensky had previously said he would attend the talks and meet Putin in person if the Russian president agreed, and said he would do everything he could to ensure the face-to-face meeting took place.

The Ukrainian president will be in the Turkish capital Ankara on Thursday to meet President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Putin and Zelensky have not met in person since December 2019. Russia and Ukraine last held direct negotiations in March 2022 in Istanbul, shortly after Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of its neighbour.

Fighting has raged in Ukraine since then. Russian forces have slowly expanded the amount of territory they control over the past year, mostly in the east of Ukraine.

Putin had initially called for direct talks between Russia and Ukraine in Turkey's largest city "without pre-conditions", before Zelensky announced that he would go in person and expected the Russian president to travel as well.

Putin's suggestion of direct talks in Istanbul followed Western powers' call for a 30-day ceasefire, after European leaders met in Kyiv on Saturday.

After Trump called for Ukraine to accept the offer on Sunday, Zelensky said he would travel there himself.

"There is no point in prolonging the killings. And I will be waiting for Putin in Türkiye on Thursday. Personally," Zelensky wrote in a social media post.

Earlier on Wednesday, Donald Trump floated the possibility of joining the meeting himself if Putin did.

The US president, who is currently in Qatar, told reporters he did not know if his Russian counterpart would attend "if I'm not there".

"I know he would like me to be there, and that's a possibility. If we could end the war, I'd be thinking about that," Trump said.

The US is expected to send a high-level delegation to the talks, including the country's top diplomat Marco Rubio.

Since returning to the White House, President Trump has sought to broker a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine.

He ended a years-long Western boycott of Russia's leader by speaking to Putin over the phone in February, and his envoy Steve Witkoff has met Vladimir Putin for talks in Moscow.

Trump has previously said Russia and Ukraine were "very close to a deal".

On Sunday, when Putin proposed the direct talks, Trump posted on his Truth Social platform: "A potentially great day for Russia and Ukraine!"

Big plumes of smoke are visible on a screen that's providing a live feed from Ukrainian drones hovering over the outskirts of the eastern city of Pokrovsk, one of the most intense front lines in Ukraine.

A few seconds earlier, Ukrainian artillery strikes Russian positions, places where we'd seen Russian soldiers moving about as they try to advance towards a key road going into Pokrovsk.

At least one Russian soldier is injured, possibly dead after the strike.

It's chilling to watch the live footage. It drives home the bloody consequences of the war that Russia started, in which hundreds of thousands have so far been killed, a "never-ending bloodbath" as US President Donald Trump calls it.

We are in a rural house converted into a command centre for the 155th mechanised brigade of the Ukrainian army. It's a few miles from front-line artillery positions.

The scale of the devastation that we see on the screens, homes and buildings completely flattened, is far greater than what we saw six months ago.

It is evidence of the fierce battle that has been fought over the past several months to defend Pokrovsk, a crucial transport hub in the Donetsk region.

This week, there's cautious optimism, even among sceptical soldiers who have witnessed hopes of a ceasefire being dashed over and over again, as diplomatic efforts from the US, Europe, Turkey and others have pushed Russia and Ukraine to direct talks for the first time in three years.

"I think something should happen since Russia was the first one to push for these talks. I mean since 2022, they have refused to go into any contact," says an officer who wants to be referred to with his call sign "Kozak".

"I want to believe this would be the beginning of the end of the war.

"But now I see, we have been successful in destroying their rear positions and their supply lines. Russia does not have the same strength and power it had at the beginning. So I think that something will happen."

Yurii, 37, used to work in a technology company before Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. "They (Russia and Ukraine) have to start talking. Us soldiers, we wish this war would end. But it's important to remember that we cannot stop it because we did not start it," he says.

He looks up at the screen and spots Russian soldiers moving again. He and his colleagues calculate the co-ordinates of their positions and pass them on to their artillery unit.

We drive from the command centre to the artillery position, on mud tracks running through a wide expanse of open fields. Clumps of mud fly in the air, our car slips and slides, as we move as fast as possible. The speed is a mitigation against strikes from drones, which have sharply increased fatalities for both Russia and Ukraine since they were deployed in large numbers in 2023.

And war technology keeps evolving. Now there's a new threat – drones equipped with a real fibre optic cable which unrolls as they fly. "We cannot detect them or neutralise them, so there are probably a lot more drones in the area right now than we know," says Yurii.

As we drive into the artillery position hidden under trees and bushes, soldiers are already loading the gun. It's a French made self-propelled artillery gun called the "Caesar". Scores have been deployed in Ukraine since the start of the war, and France has been trying to ramp up production.

"I'm very impressed by its accuracy, and we can use a large range of ammunition. The most important thing is that bringing it into combat is very fast. It is much more effective than the old Soviet equipment I've used," says Kozak.

Ukrainian soldiers fire four rounds, each one emitting a deafening sound. From around us, we also hear the sound of incoming shells. The battle rages on.

"As you can hear, there is a wave of assaults from the enemy and we need a lot of ammunition to suppress that. We hope our international partners can give us as much ammunition as possible, because if we have to start choosing priority and non-priority targets then the enemy will be successful," says Kozak.

We ask the soldiers how they feel about suggestions that Ukraine will have to make concessions, that it might have to give up land to secure peace.

"It's painful to hear that. Even I want to go home to my family. My daughter is eight and I miss her so much. But we need to be strong. I don't believe that if we give up some territory, they will stop. In a couple of years, they will return and start over," says Yurii.

"A person who has not come here, who hasn't felt the consequences of Russian aggression, those armchair commentators say you can give up land and everything will be over. They will never understand how many brothers and friends we have lost. We shouldn't give up a single metre of our land," says Kozak.

The cost Ukraine has paid to defend its land is visible everywhere, most acutely in the photos of smiling, young soldiers posted by the side of highways, on memorial walls in central city squares, and on rows and rows of freshly dug graves in the country.

Yana Stepanenko lovingly buys her son's favourite treats - a cup of steaming hot chocolate and a chocolate roll.

Then she drives out to a cemetery in the southern city of Zaporizhzhia, and places them neatly by 22-year-old Vladislav's grave. She and her daughter, 13-year-old Nicole, wipe the grave with wet tissues. Before long, they break down inconsolably into each other's arms.

Vladislav was a drone operator with the Ukrainian military. He was killed in combat in a Russian strike on 21 February this year.

For Yana, news of direct talks resuming bring no hope.

"It seems to me that this war is eternal. Of course, I hope they will find a solution. Because people are dying here and there (in Russia). But Putin is greedy. His hunger for our land is insatiable," says Yana.

Parts of the Zaporizhzhia region are currently occupied by Russia, the front line less than 40 miles from the city. But Russia has on more than one occasion demanded control of the full regions of Zaporizhzhia, Luhansk, Donetsk and Kherson as part of any peace deal.

"No way. I want to live in Ukraine, not Russia. We have seen what they do under occupation, what they did in places like Bucha – their cruelty and torture," says Yana. "Can you imagine, they've not even spared this graveyard," she adds, pointing to a big crater nearby where a bomb exploded some months ago.

Tears rolling down her eyes, she adds.

"I hope my child did not die for nothing. That there will still be a victory and all of Ukraine will become free."

Additional reporting by Imogen Anderson, Volodymyr Lozhko, Anastasiia Levchenko, Sanjay Ganguly

Israel is preparing a series of sites in Gaza that could be used as distribution centres for humanitarian aid in a controversial new plan, satellite images show.

The Israeli government suspended food and medicine deliveries into Gaza in March.

Ministers said the move, which has been condemned by UN, European and Middle Eastern leaders, was intended to put pressure on Hamas to release its remaining hostages. Israel also accused Hamas of stealing aid – an allegation the group has denied.

The UN has said the blockade has caused severe shortages of food, medicines and fuel, and an assessment on Monday warned that Gaza's population of around 2.1 million people was at "critical risk" of famine.

The US confirmed last week that it was preparing a new system for providing aid from a series of hubs inside Gaza, which would be run by private companies and protected by security contractors and Israeli forces.

Images analysed by BBC Verify show that land has already been cleared, with new roads and staging areas constructed at a number of locations in southern and central Gaza in recent weeks.

Israel has not publicly said where the hubs will be, but humanitarian sources - briefed previously by Israeli officials - told BBC Verify that at least four centres will be built in the southern section of Gaza and one further north near the Netzarim Corridor, a strip of land controlled by the military that effectively divides the territory.

The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation - an organisation set up to support the plan - initially said food, water and hygiene kits would be supplied to 1.2 million people, less than 60% of the population.

On Wednesday it announced it would start operations before the end of May, and appeared to call for Israel to allow aid through normal channels until its distribution centres were fully operational. It also called for aid hubs to be built in northern Gaza, something not envisaged under the original plan.

UN agencies have insisted they will not co-operate with the plan - which is in line with one previously approved by Israel's government - saying it contradicted fundamental humanitarian principles.

A spokesperson for the UN's Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) accused Israel of seeking to use "food and fuel as leverage, as part of a military strategy".

"All aid would be channelled through a handful of militarised hubs," Olga Cherevko told BBC Verify.

"That kind of arrangement would cut off vast areas of Gaza – particularly the most vulnerable, who can't move easily, or are otherwise marginalised – from any help at all."

Meanwhile, Bushra Khalidi of Oxfam described the new plan as a "farce".

"No logistical solution is going to address Israel's strategy of forcible displacement and using starvation as a weapon of war. Lift the siege, open the crossings and let us do our job."

It is understood that the proposed new system has not yet had final sign-off from the Israeli government.

'Secure distribution sites'

BBC Verify used satellite imagery to identify four potential sites based on the limited available information about their locations.

The sites are similar in size, shape and design to existing open-air distribution sites inside Gaza, such as at Erez, Erez West and Kisufim. The largest site we've looked at is bigger - more comparable to the area inside Gaza at Kerem Shalom crossing.

Our analysis of the imagery shows significant development at one of the sites in south-west Gaza, close to the ruins of a village that is now an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) base.

Satellite photos since early April show the construction of a road there and a large staging area, surrounded by berms - large defensive barriers made of piled sand - about 650m (2,130ft) from the border with Egypt.

A high-resolution image captured on 8 May shows bulldozers and excavators working on a section of land spanning about 20 acres (8 hectares). IDF armoured vehicles are at a fortified building nearby.

A photo taken on site, geolocated by BBC Verify, also shows lighting being installed on the perimeter.

Further imagery from 11 and 12 May shows this, along with three other sites, continuing to expand. One site is about half a kilometre from a collection of eight UN warehouses, and 280m from another large warehouse.

Stu Ray - a senior imagery analyst with McKenzie Intelligence - agreed the sites were likely to be secure distribution centres. He noted that some of the facilities are in "close proximity to IDF Forward Operating Bases which ties in with the IDF wishing to have some control over the sites".

Analysts with another intelligence firm, Maiar, said the facilities appeared to be designed with separate entrances for trucks to move in and out, and with other gaps in the berms that would be suitable for pedestrian entrances.

The IDF did not comment on the potential aid centres when approached by BBC Verify, but said that its operations in Gaza were carried out "in accordance with international law". Cogat - the Israeli body responsible for managing crossings into Gaza - did not respond to a request for comment.

Three of the four sites located by BBC Verify are south of the IDF's newly created Morag Corridor.

What is the Morag Corridor?

This is an Israeli military zone that runs across the Gaza Strip and separates the southern cities of Khan Younis and Rafah.

Since the IDF established a security zone there in early April, a six-mile (10km) road has been built covering two thirds of the width of Gaza, bordered by defensive berms and dotted with IDF outposts.

This new road leads directly to one of the development sites visible in satellite imagery, and a pre-existing road connects it to two more.

This entire area has been subjected to extensive land clearance by the IDF. BBC Verify has geolocated video and images of areas throughout the Morag Corridor, and south of it, filmed by Israeli forces, which show controlled demolitions using explosives and heavy machinery, and extensive destruction of buildings.

Humanitarian sources said Israeli briefings indicated that aid would enter Gaza via Kerem Shalom crossing.

Satellite imagery shows ongoing construction work happening there too over the past few months, with the apparent expansion of its storage areas, and new roads added.

Since Israel stopped new aid supplies in March, the UN has reiterated that it has an obligation under international law to ensure that the basic needs of the population under its control are met.

Israel has insisted that it is complying with international law and that there is no shortage of aid in Gaza.

What do you want BBC Verify to investigate?

A luxury superyacht that sank off the coast of Sicily, killing the tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch along with six others, was knocked over by "extreme wind" and could not recover, according to an interim report into the disaster.

The UK's Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB), which has led the international investigation, said winds of over 80mph "violently" hit the vessel, causing it to flood within seconds.

The Bayesian sank near the town of Portofino on 19 August of last year during freak weather, with reports of water spouts.

Seven of the 22 people onboard were killed, including Mr Lynch, 59, and his 18-year-old daughter Hannah.

Investigators say the yacht was knocked to a 90-degree angle within 15 seconds at 04:06 am local time, causing people, furniture and loose items to fall across the deck.

"There was no indication of flooding inside Bayesian until water came in over the starboard rails and, within seconds, entered the internal spaces down the stairwells," the report says.

The MAIB's chief inspector of marine accidents Andrew Moll said the situation was "irrecoverable" once the yacht tilted beyond 70 degrees.

The Bayesian was also "vulnerable" to lighter winds, according to the report, with speeds of 73mph able to tip it over.

The owner and crew of the yacht were unaware of this, as it was not included in the onboard stability information book, it adds.

The MAIB is investigating the incident as the Bayesian was registered in the UK. No date has been set for when its final report will be published.

It said its report was based on "a limited amount of verified evidence" as a criminal investigation by Italian authorities has restricted access to the wreck.

An operation to raise the 56-metre vessel from the seabed was paused over the weekend after a diver died while working on the wreck. Work is set to resume on Thursday.

The report lays out more detail as to how the sinking unfolded.

Investigators say the yacht sailed to the site where it sank on the previous day, in order to "shelter" from forecast thunderstorms. The sails were furled at the time.

Wind speed was "no more than eight knots (9mph)" at 03:00 - about an hour before the incident. Some 55 minutes later it had increased to 30 knots (34.5mph), and it had accelerated to 70 knots (80.6mph) by 04:06 when the yacht capsized.

As the storm intensified, several crew members were working in response to the conditions. The deck hand went onto the deck to close the yacht's windows.

Five people were injured "either by falling or from things falling on them" and the deck hand was "thrown into the sea", the report says.

Two of the yacht's guests used furniture drawers "as an improvised ladder" to escape their cabin, it adds.

Dr Simon Boxall, Oceanographer at the University of Southampton, said the Bayesian was in "the wrong place at the wrong time".

"The priorities for the crew would have been to shut the hatches and the doors, which they did," he told the BBC.

This means speculation about water flooding in because everything was open is "obviously not the case".

"The next priority would have been to start the engines - so they would have some manoeuvrability to position themselves within a storm - and to then lift anchor, which the crew did, but this takes time," he added.

"It's not like a car where you jump in and turn the key. It would take 5 or 10 minutes before you can start the engines with a vessel of this size."

Survivors escaped on the Bayesian's life raft and were rescued by a small boat dispatched from another nearby yacht, the report says.

Mike Lynch was a prominent figure in the UK tech industry, where his backing of successful companies led to him being dubbed the British equivalent of Microsoft founder Bill Gates.

But the latter years of his life were consumed by a long-running legal dispute which resulted in him being controversially extradited to the US.

Inquest proceedings in the UK are looking at the deaths of Mr Lynch and his daughter, as well as Morgan Stanley International bank chairman Jonathan Bloomer and his wife, Judy Bloomer, who were all British nationals.

US lawyer Chris Morvillo and his wife Neda Morvillo also died in the sinking, along with Canadian-Antiguan national Recaldo Thomas, who was working as the yacht's chef.

Fifteen people managed to escape on a lifeboat, including Mr Lynch's wife, Angela Bacares.

Sign up for our Tech Decoded newsletter to follow the world's top tech stories and trends. Outside the UK? Sign up here.

Paramilitary fighters appear to have opened a new phase in Sudan's civil war after being driven from the capital, in a move which some experts have described as a "shock and awe campaign".

Just weeks after the army celebrated the recapture of Khartoum, its foe the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) launched a series of unprecedented drone strikes on Port Sudan in the east of the country.

The attacks have led to worsening power blackouts, as well as city residents facing water shortages.

"It's a level of power projection within this region that we haven't seen yet," says Alan Boswell, the Horn of Africa expert for the International Crisis Group.

"I think it raises the stakes quite a bit," he added.

The barrage of attacks on the war-time capital and humanitarian hub signals that the RSF is determined and able to carry on the fight despite significant territorial losses.

And it has showcased the growth of advanced drone warfare in Africa.

Drones have played an increasing role in the conflict, which has entered its third year.

The war began as a power struggle between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the RSF and has drawn in other Sudanese armed groups and foreign backers, plunging the country into what the UN calls the world's worst humanitarian crisis.

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) helped the army advance earlier this year. And the RSF escalated its own use of drones as it was pushed out of central Sudan, especially Khartoum, back towards its traditional stronghold in the west of the country.

In recent months the paramilitaries had stepped up drone strikes on critical civilian infrastructure in army-controlled areas, such as dams and power stations.

But their sustained attacks on Port Sudan, until now seen as a safe haven home to government officials, diplomats and humanitarian organisations, underlined a shift in strategy to a greater emphasis on remote warfare, and aimed to demonstrate strength.

"The RSF is trying to show that they don't need to reach Port Sudan by land in order to be able to have an impact there," says Sudanese political analyst Kholood Khair.

The group is trying to achieve a "narrative shift" away from "the triumphant SAF that took over Khartoum," she says.

"It is saying to the Sudanese Armed Forces: 'You can take Khartoum back, but you'll never be able to govern it. You can have Port Sudan, but you won't be able to govern it, because we will cause a security crisis for you so large that it will be ungovernable'... They want to unequivocally show that the war is not over until they say so."

The paramilitary group has not directly addressed the Port Sudan drone attacks. Rather, it has repeated its assertion that the SAF is supported by Iran and accused the armed forces of targeting civilian infrastructure and state institutions, calling the military strikes on Khartoum and RSF-held areas in the west and south of the country war crimes.

Both sides stand accused of war crimes which they have denied, but the RSF has been singled out over allegations of mass rape and genocide.

The change in its tactics may have been triggered by battlefield necessity, but is possible because of technological advancement.

The RSF had previously used what are known as suicide or loitering drones, small UAVs with explosive payloads that are designed to crash into targets and can carry out coordinated attacks.

It seems to have deployed this method in Port Sudan, with the commander of the Red Sea Military Zone Mahjoub Bushra describing a swarm of 11 Kamikaze drones in the first strike on a military airbase.

He said the army shot them down, but they turned out to be a tactical distraction to divert attention from a single strategic drone that successfully struck the base.

The make of this drone is not clear. But satellite images reported by Yale researchers and the Reuters news agency have shown advanced UAVs at an airport in South Darfur since the beginning of the year.

The defence intelligence company Janes has determined them to most likely be sophisticated Chinese manufactured CH-95s, capable of long-range strikes.

Jeremy Binnie, an Africa and Middle East analyst at Jane's, told the BBC that photos of what appear to be the remnants of the smaller kamikaze drones suggest they are probably a different version than the RSF had used before, and might be better at penetrating air defences because of their shape.

One regional observer suggested the RSF had been able to breach the SAF's anti-drone technology with signal jammers attached to the drones, but cautioned this was still unproven.

The South Darfur airport in Nyala, the presumptive capital and military base of the Rapid Support Forces, has been repeatedly bombed by the SAF, which destroyed an aircraft there earlier this month.

Some experts see the RSF's bombardment of Port Sudan at least partly as retaliation.

• Inside Khartoum, a city left in ruins
• Sudan war: A simple guide to what is happening

The escalating drone warfare has again highlighted the role of foreign actors in Sudan's civil conflict.

"This is a war of technology," says Justin Lynch, managing director at Conflict Insights Group, a data analytics and research organisation.

"That's why the foreign supporters are so important, because it's not like the RSF is making the weapons themselves. They're being given this stuff."

The army has accused the United Arab Emirates (UAE) of supplying the paramilitary fighters with the drones, and cut diplomatic ties with Abu Dhabi because of the attacks.

The UAE has strongly rejected the charges. It has long denied reports from UN experts, US politicians and international organisations that it is providing weaponry to the RSF.

But Mr Lynch says the evidence is overwhelming.

He was the lead author of a US State Department-funded report late last year that concluded with "near certainty" the the UAE was facilitating weapons to the RSF by monitoring imagery and flight patterns of airlines previously implicated in violating a UN arms embargo.

He told the BBC it would be surprising if the Emiratis were not helping deliver the drones used in the Port Sudan attacks.

He also determined with similar near-certainty that the Iranians were supplying weapons to the SAF, and he helped authenticate documents provided to the Washington Post that detail the sale of drones and warheads to the army by a Turkish defence firm.

Iran has not responded to the allegations. Turkish officials have denied involvement.

The increasing use of drones by both sides may be redefining the war, but it is the ability of the RSF to strike strategic targets hundreds of kilometres from its positions that has rattled the region.

Over a week of daily attacks on Port Sudan, the paramilitaries hit the country's only working international airport, a power station, several fuel depots, and the air base, apparently trying to disrupt the army's supply lines.

The city is also the main entry port for relief supplies and the UN has warned that this "major escalation" could further complicate aid operations in the country and lead to large-scale civilian casualties.

"This was such a shock and awe campaign that it has not only stunned SAF, I think it's also stunned Egypt, Saudi Arabia, others who were behind SAF, and remakes the entire war," says Mr Boswell, adding that it closing the gap in air power between the RSF and the army.

"The RSF is widely viewed as a non-state actor," he says "and normally, groups like that can muster quite a bit of an insurgent force. But the government with the air force is the one that always has the aerial capacity, and this just turns all those old adages on its head."

The development has triggered comparisons to the long-range drone warfare between Russia and Ukraine.

"These weapons have more precision, you don't need a manned aircraft any more, and they are much more affordable than operating sophisticated jets," says Mr Binnie.

"This is part of a broader trend in technological proliferation where you can see what used to be really high-end capabilities being used in a civil war in sub-Saharan Africa."

The Sudanese foreign ministry has warned that the attacks threaten regional security and the safety of navigation in the Red Sea, calling on international actors to take "effective action against the regional sponsor of the militia," a reference to the UAE.

Mr Lynch believes that only an agreement between the UAE and the Sudanese army will end the war.

"This war is always evolving, always changing," he says, "but you'll see it will continue for years and decades unless there is serious diplomatic action to stop it."

More about Sudan's civil war from the BBC:

• WATCH: 'They ransacked my home, and left my town in ruins'
• The children living between starvation and death
• BBC reporter: My heartbreaking decision to leave Sudan

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

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

In his eagerness to accept a plane from Qatar, Donald Trump has achieved a remarkable feat, uniting many partisans across America's bitter political divide.

The problem for the White House is that unity is happening in opposition to it.

Predictably, Trump's opponents in the Democratic Party slammed the president after he indicated he would accept a luxury jet from the Qatari royal family.

More noteworthy – and potentially more troubling for the president – is that some of his strongest supporters also have serious reservations about the deal, even as it's not yet finalised.

Maga influencers have described the move as a "bribe", grift, or an example of the high-level corruption that Trump himself has consistently promised root out.

The Qatari royal family plans to give the luxury Boeing 747-8, estimated to be worth $400m (£300m), to the US Department of Defence to be used as part of a fleet of planes dubbed Air Force One – the president's official mode of air travel.

The current fleet includes two 747-200 jets which have been in use since 1990, along with several smaller and somewhat secretive 757s.

The White House says that the new plane – which could require years and millions of dollars to refit and upgrade – will be transferred to Trump's presidential library at the end of his term.

After the news broke on Sunday, the backlash was fierce and immediate.

"I think the technical term is 'skeezy'," deadpanned conservative Daily Wire commentator Ben Shapiro on his podcast.

"Qatar is not allegedly giving President Trump a $400m jet out of the goodness of their sweet little hearts," he said. "They try to stuff money into pockets in totally bipartisan fashion."

He and others pointed to allegations that Qatar has funnelled money into terrorist groups – allegations the country has denied – and called Qataris "the world's largest proponents of terrorism on an international scale."

Laura Loomer, the conspiracy-spreading social media influencer who agitates for sackings of top White House officials deemed insufficiently loyal, interrupted her steady stream of pro-Trump messaging to criticise the move.

Although she said she still supports the president, she called the plane deal "a stain" and posted a cartoon of the Trojan Horse, redrawn as a plane and filled with armed Islamist militants.

Trump found little support for the plan in more mainstream outlets as well.

The New York Post, which usually can be counted on to back much of the populist Maga agenda, ran a blunt editorial: "Qatar's 'Palace in the Sky' jet is NOT a 'free gift' - and Trump shouldn't accept it as one."

And Mark Levin, a consistent cheerleader of the president on Fox News and his radio talk show, posted on X accusing Qatar of being a "terror state" and wrote: "Their jet and all the other things they are buying in our country does not provide them with the cover they seek".

During his first term, Trump himself accused Qatar of funding terror groups.

When contacted by the BBC, the Qatari embassy in Washington pointed to an interview Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani gave CNN about the plane.

"It is a government-to-government transaction. It has nothing to do with personal relationships - neither on the US side, nor the Qatari side. It's between the two defence ministries," he said.

"Why would we buy influence in the United States?" he added, arguing Qatar has "always been a reliable and trusted partner. This is not a one-way relationship."

• Is Trump allowed to accept a $400m luxury plane as a gift?

In response to criticism of the deal, the White House has doubled down. Trump's press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement that the administration was "committed to full transparency".

"Any gift given by a foreign government is always accepted in full compliance with all applicable laws," she said.

Although there has been nothing offered in exchange for the plane, many commentators said it would be naïve to expect that that Qatari royal family would hand out such a large item with no strings attached.

"They very obviously see that if you reward Donald Trump with gifts, that may pay off down the road," Doug Heye, a political strategist and former communications director for the Republican National Committee, told the BBC. "Flattery gets you somewhere with Donald Trump, and we've seen that time and time again."

The US Constitution includes a clause preventing officials from accepting "any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State."

But the White House has pointed out that, at least to begin with, the plane is being gifted to the US government.

Attorney General Pam Bondi reportedly investigated the legality of the deal and determined that because there are no explicit conditions attached, it would not amount to a bribe.

Conservatives and others were quick to point out that Bondi was registered as a lobbyist for Qatar prior to joining Trump's cabinet, at some points earning up to $115,0000 (£87,000) a month from her work for the Qatari government.

The Trump Organisation also continues to maintain links to Qatar and last month announced a deal to build a luxury golf resort in the country.

During a news conference at the White House on Tuesday the president berated a reporter who raised questions about the ethics of the transaction.

"What do you say to people who view that luxury jet as a personal gift to you?" asked ABC reporter Rachel Scott.

"You should be embarrassed asking that question," Trump replied, after using his standard "fake news" jibe.

"They're giving us a free jet," the president said. "I could say 'No, no, no, don't give us, I want to pay you a billion or 400 million'… or I could say 'thank you very much'."

On Truth Social, the president later reposted several messages pointing out that the Statue of Liberty was a gift from France, and wrote late Tuesday: "The Boeing 747 is being given to the United States Air Force/Department of Defense, NOT TO ME!"

"Only a FOOL would not accept this gift on behalf of our Country," he wrote.

However even some within Trump's Republican Party were expressing concern.

"I think it's not worth the appearance of impropriety, whether it's improper or not," Rand Paul, Republican senator from Kentucky, told Fox News.

"I wonder if our ability to judge [Qatar's] human rights record will be clouded by the fact of this large gift," Paul said.

Another Republican senator, Ted Cruz of Texas, said accepting the gift would pose "significant espionage and surveillance problems".

Trump did find some support within his party. "Free is good. You know, we don't have a lot of money right now to buy things like that," Sen Tommy Tuberville told CNN.

Doug Heye, the Republican strategist, suggested that the deal might not hurt Trump's popularity with his base in the long term.

"Trump has been able for years now to turn scandals that would otherwise be debilitating for other politicians into things that we forget," he said. "He's very skilled at that."

Israel has issued one of the most sweeping evacuation orders for civilians in Gaza yet seen in this war.

Large swathes of Gaza City, a conurbation already partially destroyed by bombing, have been declared unsafe, the residents taking shelter there told to leave for their own safety ahead of "intense strikes" by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).

Among the buildings highlighted by Israel are the Islamic University, Al-Shifa Hospital and three former schools.

While Israel alleges that the buildings are being used by Hamas as "command and control centres", local authorities and aid agencies say there are thousands of civilians sheltering there.

Evacuating these areas would require time, they say, and there could be huge numbers of casualties.

It's an ominous sign of Israel's threat to significantly expand its military campaign in Gaza.

The former Israeli prime minister, Ehud Olmert, has been one of very few senior Israelis so far to speak out against expanding the military campaign in Gaza.

In an interview with the BBC, Olmert said: "Most Israelis are against what is happening, large numbers of the [army's] commanders are against expanding the military operation and want to end the war right now."

Olmert is a frequent and increasingly vocal critic of Israel's current Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and his views reflect growing concern about the impact of the 20-month-long war on the country's morale, economy and international standing.

Olmert was also outspoken on the humanitarian impact of the war on the residents of Gaza.

"It's totally intolerable, unacceptable and unforgivable, it needs to be stopped right away," said the former top official, who has been accused by pro-government outlets of "lobbying for Palestinians".

He added: "We have to provide all of the humanitarian needs of the population. We can't allow morally the beginning of famine in Gaza. That has to stop."

Such opinions are rarely reflected in the Israeli media or in public opinion polls but they've been urgently repeated in passionate speeches in recent days by UN organisations, aid agencies and by some of Israel's allies abroad – French President Emmanuel Macron called Israel's actions in Gaza "shameful". Netanyahu accused him of "standing with Hamas".

There's growing evidence of profound suffering across Gaza after a 10-week blockade, during which Israel has prevented the entry of any food, medicines or fuel into the Palestinian enclave.

A UN-backed assessment has said that Gaza's population of around 2.1 million Palestinians is at "critical risk" of famine and faces "extreme levels of food insecurity". The World Health Organisation says without enough nutritious food, clean water and access to health care, an entire generation will be permanently affected.

Israeli government spokesman David Mencer insisted to the BBC that "Israel is certainly not starving Gaza".

"I don't dispute that there is hunger in Gaza, but we believe that it is hunger caused by Hamas. There is food in Gaza, that's our information. There is no famine," he said.

Israel also resumed its aerial bombardment of Gaza on 18 March and its attacks have killed 2,799 since then, according to the territory's Hamas-run health ministry, including 80 people on Wednesday.

There are faint hopes that an updated US-sponsored ceasefire proposal could still be accepted by Israel and Hamas. It reportedly would see the release of some remaining hostages in exchange for an unspecified period of calm.

However Netanyahu has said Israel will expand its military offensive in Gaza and that nothing will stop the war. Hamas meanwhile has refused to release the remaining hostages unless Israel agrees to a permanent ceasefire and withdraws from Gaza.

On Wednesday evening 67 former hostages signed a letter urging Netanyahu to reach a "comprehensive deal" for the return of all captives still being held by Hamas.

"The majority of Israeli society wants the hostages home - even at the cost of halting military operations," the letter said.

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum said the letter was written to build on the "historic momentum" after Edan Alexander's release. Hamas said it freed the 21-year-old as a goodwill gesture to Donald Trump, who is visiting the region.

The ex-hostages letter appealed to Trump not to "let this historic momentum stop".

A poll for Israel's Channel 12 at the end of April suggested that 68% of respondents supported signing a hostage deal with Hamas even if it meant ending the war, while just 22% supported continued fighting in Gaza.

So far Netanyahu remains unmoved.

"Despite American determination, there is no change in the PM's position - we will not allow an end to the war," an official in Mr Netanyahu's entourage said, according to diplomatic sources.

Israel launched a military campaign to destroy Hamas in response to an unprecedented cross-border attack on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.

At least 52,928 people have been killed in Gaza since then, the health ministry says.

At least 21 people have been killed in a road accident in central Mexico, according to a local official.

The three-vehicle crash happened on the highway between Cuacnopalan and Oaxaca in Puebla on Wednesday morning, said Samuel Aguilar Pala, a local government official.

Mr Pala said 18 people died at the scene and another three died later in hospital.

Several others were injured and are receiving medical attention, he wrote on X.

Donald Trump has said his administration is now exploring the possibility of normalising relations with Syria - his comments coming shortly after he met Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa, whose forces ended the decades-long dictatorship of the Assad family.

The extraordinary encounter, unthinkable just months ago, was short but significant.

"I think he has got the potential," Trump remarked after his meeting in Riyadh, 37 minutes long, with the former Syrian fighter formerly linked to Al-Qaeda.

The $10m US bounty on his head was only lifted in December.

Video footage of their conversation in a lavish Saudi royal palace showed some initial awkwardness as they spoke through a translator.

A beaming Saudi Crown Prince, Mohammad bin Salman, sat next to them. The Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan joined them by telephone.

Trump acknowledged it was these two leaders who had convinced him to also lift the US's punishing Syria sanctions.

His sudden announcement on Tuesday night at a major US-Saudi investment forum in Riyadh won him a standing ovation. It was a volte-face after his many previous posts on social media that the US had "no interest in Syria".

"Tough guy, very strong past," is how Trump later described Sharaa to journalists travelling with his high-powered American delegation on his first official four-day tour.

It was a very Trump gloss about Sharaa's old links to al-Qaeda. His Islamist group, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), was al-Qaeda's affiliate in Syria until he severed ties in 2016. HTS is still designated as a terrorist organisation by the UN, US and UK.

Since assuming power in December, Sharaa has been wearing Western business suits and trying to present himself as a president for all Syrians.

"It's a new light at the end of this tunnel," exclaimed Hind Kabawat, minister of social affairs and labour, in the interim government.

She told the BBC's Newshour programme they had been calling for sanctions relief ever since their "Liberation Day".

The US decision sparked celebrations across a county where 90% of Syrians are said to be living in poverty, after more than a decade of civil war and profound suffering.

Removing restrictions which cut Syria off from the international financial system will enable greater engagement by aid agencies and encourage foreign investment and trade.

• Trump pledges to lift Syria sanctions as he seals $142bn arms deal on Saudi visit

"We are the North Korea of the Middle East," a hotel receptionist in Damascus told me last December when I asked for another electronic hotel key.

He tearfully lamented that "we don't have enough cards, we have shortages of everything".

It may also help convince some of the millions of Syrians living in exile to think more seriously about returning home. And it could help a fledgling government to pay salaries, begin to rebuild, and address the growing discontent over the privations of daily life.

But dismantling the vast web of sanctions now strangling Syria will take time.

"Some sanctions can be removed immediately using presidential waivers," commented Dina Esfandiary of Bloomberg Economics.

"But lifting the multi-layered sanctions won't be easy and will require real commitment by the Trump administration."

I remember travelling to Tehran in the wake of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal and the Obama administration's commitment to ease sanctions there.

At the news conference with the visiting EU's high representative for foreign policy, Iranian journalists kept asking, with palpable anguish, why it was still impossible for them even to open a bank account.

Syria's new friends, including regional powers like Saudi Arabia and Turkey, now positioning themselves to shape the new Syria, will need to ensure Trump and his team stay interested.

But he's made it clear he expects something in return if there is to be a full normalisation of relations. The first item on his list is "join the Abraham Accords".

The US president regards this process of normalisation with Israel, which several Arab states including the United Arab Emirates has joined, as one of his foreign policy achievements in his first term.

Sharaa, praised by his friends as pragmatic, has already signalled that he understand the importance of building a working relationship with his neighbour, even though Israel continues to bomb what it calls "terrorist targets" – air bases, military installations and weapons depots – insisting they could "fall into the wrong hands".

Last month, the Syrian leader reportedly told a visiting US congressman, Cory Mills, that Syria was prepared to normalise ties with Israel and join the Abraham Accords under "the right conditions".

Israeli media have reported that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had urged President Trump not to lift sanctions. He remains suspicious of Sharaa and his HTS forces, as well other groups which include foreign fighters in their ranks.

Removing foreign fighters is another of Washington's demands; it's one of the very many challenges now facing Syria's leader.

President Trump hailed this moment as "a chance at greatness". Millions of Syrians just welcome a greater chance that their lives will finally start changing for the better.

At least 48 Palestinians have been killed in a series of Israeli air strikes in northern Gaza overnight, a local hospital says.

The Indonesian hospital reported that 22 children and 15 women were among the dead after a number of homes in Jabalia town and refugee camp were hit. A video shared online appeared to show at least a dozen bodies on the floor there.

The Israeli military said it was looking into the reports. It had warned residents of Jabalia and neighbouring areas to evacuate on Tuesday night after a Palestinian armed group launched rockets into Israel.

It came as the UN's humanitarian affairs chief urged members of the UN Security Council to take action to "prevent genocide" in Gaza.

Speaking at a meeting in New York on Tuesday, Tom Fletcher accused Israel of "deliberately and unashamedly imposing inhumane conditions on civilians".

He called on Israel to lift its 10-week blockade on Gaza and criticised the Israeli-US plan to take over the distribution of humanitarian aid in the territory.

The Israeli ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, told the council that foreign aid was being used to help Hamas's war effort.

Meanwhile, US Special Envoys Steve Witkoff and Adam Boehler said they would travel to Qatar for fresh negotiations on a possible ceasefire and hostage release deal.

Israel's Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has threatened to expand its military offensive in Gaza this week unless Hamas agrees to release the 58 hostages it is still holding.

On Tuesday, a massive Israeli air strike on the European hospital's compound in southern Gaza killed at least 28 people, according to local officials.

Israeli media reports said the target was Mohammed Sinwar, who is believed to have become the leader of Hamas in Gaza after his brother Yahya was killed by Israeli forces last October.

The Israeli military described it as "a precise strike on Hamas terrorists who were operating in a command-and-control centre" underneath the hospital.

The Israeli military launched a campaign to destroy Hamas in response to an unprecedented cross-border attack on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.

At least 52,908 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the territory's Hamas-run health ministry.

The European Commission was wrong to refuse to release text messages sent by Ursula von der Leyen to the head of Pfizer during negotiations to secure Covid-19 vaccines, the EU's top court has ruled.

The General Court said the commission had not given a plausible explanation as to why the exchanges between its president and Pfizer's Albert Bourla could not be made public when an investigative journalist requested them in 2021.

That year, Pfizer signed billions of euros in vaccine contracts with the EU, including a deal for 1.8bn extra doses.

The content of the messages between von der Leyen and Mr Bourla remains secret, in a simmering case that has become known in Brussels as Pfizergate.

Anti-corruption group Transparency International has hailed the European Court's ruling as a "landmark victory for transparency in the EU", adding that it should serve as a catalyst to put an end to a "restrictive attitude to freedom of information".

Von der Leyen became Commission president in 2019, and within a year faced the task of leading the EU's response to the Covid pandemic.

She won a second five-year term late last year. Wednesday's ruling threatens to damage her reputation, because of the apparent lack of transparency surrounding the Pfizer vaccine deal, in which she played such a significant role.

The Commission said it would closely study the ruling and consider its next steps, but it insisted that transparency had "always been of paramount importance".

The controversy erupted in April 2021, when New York Times journalist Matina Stevis revealed how Ursula von der Leyen had negotiated privately with the Pfizer boss after his German partner BioNTech won regulatory approval for its Covid drug.

The article spurred investigative journalist Alexander Fanta, who worked for a German publication, to use a Freedom of Information request to see the exchange of messages between January 2021 and May 2022. But the European Commission turned him down, saying it did not have the documents.

Under the Commission's transparency rules, all staff including the president, have to archive their documents.

However, mobile text messages are a grey area, and the case has largely hinged on whether or not they should be considered as important records.

One EU official argued this week that SMS messages were not "systematically considered public documents" and not recorded as such.

Fanta took the case to the European Ombudsman in 2021, where an inquiry found that the Commission's failure to look for the text messages beyond its usual record-keeping amounted to maladministration.

Stevis and the New York Times followed up, and when the messages were still not released, they took the European Commission to court.

Ruling on Stevis's challenge, the court said on Wednesday that the EU's executive had relied "either on assumptions or on changing or imprecise information", while the journalist and the New York Times had succeeded in rebutting their claims.

The court said that if a presumption was rebutted then it was up to the Commission to prove that documents either did not exist or it did not possess them.

The Commission had not clarified whether or not the text messages had been deleted, the court ruled, and if they had been deleted, whether that was done deliberately or whether von der Leyen had since changed her mobile phone.

At least 48 Palestinians have been killed in a series of Israeli air strikes in northern Gaza overnight, a local hospital says.

The Indonesian hospital reported that 22 children and 15 women were among the dead after a number of homes in Jabalia town and refugee camp were hit. A video shared online appeared to show at least a dozen bodies on the floor there.

The Israeli military said it was looking into the reports. It had warned residents of Jabalia and neighbouring areas to evacuate on Tuesday night after a Palestinian armed group launched rockets into Israel.

It came as the UN's humanitarian affairs chief urged members of the UN Security Council to take action to "prevent genocide" in Gaza.

Speaking at a meeting in New York on Tuesday, Tom Fletcher accused Israel of "deliberately and unashamedly imposing inhumane conditions on civilians".

He called on Israel to lift its 10-week blockade on Gaza and criticised the Israeli-US plan to take over the distribution of humanitarian aid in the territory.

The Israeli ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, told the council that foreign aid was being used to help Hamas's war effort.

Meanwhile, US Special Envoys Steve Witkoff and Adam Boehler said they would travel to Qatar for fresh negotiations on a possible ceasefire and hostage release deal.

Israel's Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has threatened to expand its military offensive in Gaza this week unless Hamas agrees to release the 58 hostages it is still holding.

On Tuesday, a massive Israeli air strike on the European hospital's compound in southern Gaza killed at least 28 people, according to local officials.

Israeli media reports said the target was Mohammed Sinwar, who is believed to have become the leader of Hamas in Gaza after his brother Yahya was killed by Israeli forces last October.

The Israeli military described it as "a precise strike on Hamas terrorists who were operating in a command-and-control centre" underneath the hospital.

The Israeli military launched a campaign to destroy Hamas in response to an unprecedented cross-border attack on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.

At least 52,908 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the territory's Hamas-run health ministry.

The prime minister of Peru, Gustavo Adrianzén, has resigned hours before he was due to face a no-confidence vote in Congress.

Members of Peru's Congress had called for the no-confidence vote after the recent kidnap and killing of 13 mine workers, which shocked the country.

Adrianzén's resignation is another blow to the embattled president, Dina Boluarte, who has seen her approval ratings plummet as crime rates in the country have soared.

The resignation of the prime minister - the third to serve under Boluarte - forces the president to replace her entire cabinet, adding to Peru's political upheaval.

Under Peru's constitution, all ministers have to step down if the prime minister quits.

While the president can rename the same people to the posts they resigned from, she can only do so once a new prime minister is in place.

The collapse of the cabinet comes at an already rocky time in Peruvian politics.

Shortly before Prime Minister Adrianzén announced his resignation, Boluarte had reshuffled her existing cabinet, announcing new ministers of finance, interior, and transport.

All three will now have to step down, just hours after being sworn in by the president.

The already low approval rating of President Boluarte - who was sworn in when the previous president, Pedro Castillo, was impeached - have fallen further as Peruvians grow increasingly impatient at what they say is her failure to tackle crime.

In recent months, hundreds of people have taken to the streets in protest at the growing problem of extortion, as gangs increasingly demand payments even from the smallest businesses, including transport workers.

Dressed in white, they demanded "an immediate answer to combat extortion and targeted killings".

Actress and singer Halle Bailey has been granted a restraining order against rapper and YouTube star DDG, her former boyfriend and the father of their one-year-old son.

The Little Mermaid star alleges he was repeatedly violent with her and made her fear for herself and their child.

On Tuesday, a Los Angeles judge ordered DDG, whose full name is Darryl Dwayne Granberry Jr, to stay away from Bailey and their son until a hearing on 6 June.

Bailey, 25, alleged there had been "multiple acts of physical violence" from Granberry since their split in October. BBC News has asked representatives for Granberry for comment.

In documents requesting the order, reported by the Associated Press, Bailey said: "Throughout our relationship, Darryl has been and continues to be physically, verbally, emotionally, and financially abusive towards me.

"I am seeking orders to protect myself and our son Halo from his ongoing abuse."

Bailey and Granberry, 27, were in a relationship from 2022 until last year.

In the documents, the actress claims "things got physical between us" after Granberry repeatedly insulted her as she strapped the baby into a seat in his car in January.

"We fought each other, wrestling and tussling," she said. "At one point, Darryl was pulling my hair. He then slammed my face on the steering wheel, causing my tooth to get chipped. I then stopped fighting back as I was in a lot of pain."

Bailey included photos of her tooth and bruises on her arms in her filing, which have since been published by some US media outlets.

Two months after the alleged altercation, Bailey alleges that Granberry entered her house when she wasn't home and texted her a photo of her bed along with a threatening message suggesting she was having sex with other men.

A few days later, she claimed, Granberry berated her when she did not want to send their unwell baby on a visit with him, then smashed the Ring doorbell camera on her porch when he realised it was recording their confrontation.

She further alleged that, when she called a relative for help, he took her phone and slammed a car door on her as she was holding the baby. Bailey filed a police report over the incident.

As part of the restraining order, Granberry was also instructed not to possess any weapons. The judge can extend the order for up to five years at the 6 June hearing.

Bailey also requested that Granberry be ordered to stop using his social media platforms to continue "bad mouthing me to his several millions of fans".

"He claims I am withholding our son and that I am with other men. As a result, I then receive threats and hate on social media," she said in the documents.

Bailey shot to fame as part of Chloe x Halle, a pop duo with her sister, and later released music as a solo artist. She has been nominated for five Grammy Awards.

As an actress, she appeared in sitcom Grown-ish from 2018 to 2022. Her biggest role to date, however, was playing the titular character in Disney's 2023 live-action remake of The Little Mermaid.

DDG rose to fame in the mid-2010s by posting videos on YouTube, and signed a record deal in 2018. He has released four studio albums.

Mali's military junta has dissolved all political parties in the country amid a growing crackdown on dissent since the army seized power.

"All meetings of members of political parties and organisations of a political character are dissolved across the national territory," a statement read on state TV on Tuesday said.

The decision was validated by military leader Assimi Goïta, who seized power after coups in 2020 and 2021 and is due to stay in power for at least another five years despite pledges to hold elections.

The move is expected to spark fresh resistance by political parties who have been demanding the country returns to democratic rule.

Since last year, the military authorities have intensified a crackdown on political activity.

Last week, following a rare pro-democracy protest, two opposition leaders were abducted by armed men saying they were police officers. The authorities have not commented on the reported arrests.

A national conference organised by the regime - but boycotted by leading opposition parties - last month recommended naming Gen Goïta as president until 2030.

The move sparked condemnation from opposition figures and human rights groups. The junta originally committed to holding elections in February 2022.

The presidential decree read on Tuesday evening warned Malians not to ignore the dissolution of political parties but did not outline any penalties.

It said that anyone working in a political or administrative role could "continue their duties without party affiliation".

The main opposition coalition is yet to comment but one of its members, Nouhoum Togo, downplayed the move in a social media post.

"No matter how hard they try to make you invisible, your value doesn't depend on their recognition," Togo, president of the Union for the Safeguarding of the Republic (USR) party, posted.

The latest order follows the suspension of all political activity - another recommendation from the national conference - which sparked uproar from the opposition.

A coalition of a hundred parties had planned a protest against the transitional authorities last week but postponed it following the suspension of political activities.

Since taking power, the junta leader has formed an alliance with coup leaders in neighbouring Burkina Faso and Niger, pivoting the region towards Russia after drastically reducing ties with former colonial power France.

Gen Goïta has also withdrawn Mali from the regional grouping Ecowas over its demands to restore democratic rule. Burkina Faso and Niger have also left the grouping.

You may also be interested in:

• The region with more 'terror deaths' than rest of world combined
• Three military-run states leave West African bloc - what will change?
• Why young Africans are celebrating military takeovers

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

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

A Los Angeles judge has resentenced two brothers who are serving life in prison for the 1989 murders of their parents in a Beverly Hills mansion, making them eligible for parole.

Judge Michael Jesic gave Erik and Lyle Menendez a new sentence of 50 years to life. A decision on their potential release will be made at a parole hearing in June.

The pair have acknowledged killing Kitty and Jose Menendez, but said they acted out of self-defence after years of abuse and have since been rehabilitated.

Prosecutors have argued the brothers meticulously planned the shotgun killings to access their parents' fortune, are yet to take responsibility and should not be released.

The notorious case, which has prompted books, documentaries and dramas, still divides America.

The brothers gave an emotional statement - via video - to the court at Tuesday's hearing.

The court heard relatives detail how the case affected their family, and pleading for the judge to allow the siblings' release from prison.

The brothers' cousin, Anamaria Baralt, who has been close with them since they were children, told the judge they deserved a "second chance at life".

"It's been a nightmare," she said. "I am desperate for this process to be over."

At times, both Erik and Lyle appeared emotional as family recounted how their crimes have impacted them. Both wiped their eyes at times, with Erik covering his mouth or putting his head in his hands at other moments.

Ms Baralt speaks with Erik and Lyle frequently, she told the court, and testified that they've taken "ownership of their actions".

She said they admitted they tried to steer their previous trial - with Lyle telling her he'd asked a witness to lie when testifying.

"They are very different men from the boys they were," she said.

At least 48 Palestinians have been killed in a series of Israeli air strikes in northern Gaza overnight, a local hospital says.

The Indonesian hospital reported that 22 children and 15 women were among the dead after a number of homes in Jabalia town and refugee camp were hit. A video shared online appeared to show at least a dozen bodies on the floor there.

The Israeli military said it was looking into the reports. It had warned residents of Jabalia and neighbouring areas to evacuate on Tuesday night after a Palestinian armed group launched rockets into Israel.

It came as the UN's humanitarian affairs chief urged members of the UN Security Council to take action to "prevent genocide" in Gaza.

Speaking at a meeting in New York on Tuesday, Tom Fletcher accused Israel of "deliberately and unashamedly imposing inhumane conditions on civilians".

He called on Israel to lift its 10-week blockade on Gaza and criticised the Israeli-US plan to take over the distribution of humanitarian aid in the territory.

The Israeli ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, told the council that foreign aid was being used to help Hamas's war effort.

Meanwhile, US Special Envoys Steve Witkoff and Adam Boehler said they would travel to Qatar for fresh negotiations on a possible ceasefire and hostage release deal.

Israel's Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has threatened to expand its military offensive in Gaza this week unless Hamas agrees to release the 58 hostages it is still holding.

On Tuesday, a massive Israeli air strike on the European hospital's compound in southern Gaza killed at least 28 people, according to local officials.

Israeli media reports said the target was Mohammed Sinwar, who is believed to have become the leader of Hamas in Gaza after his brother Yahya was killed by Israeli forces last October.

The Israeli military described it as "a precise strike on Hamas terrorists who were operating in a command-and-control centre" underneath the hospital.

The Israeli military launched a campaign to destroy Hamas in response to an unprecedented cross-border attack on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.

At least 52,908 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the territory's Hamas-run health ministry.

Human rights groups are warning of a "surge" of deaths of migrant construction workers in Saudi Arabia, as it prepares to host the World Cup in 2034.

Labourers are already dying from preventable workplace accidents in the country, according to Human Rights Watch and FairSquare which have both published reports today.

Many such deaths are wrongly classified as having occurred due to natural causes and the families of workers are not compensated, the reports say.

Both groups have called on the Saudi Authorities to ensure basic safety protections for the country's huge migrant work-force.

"The 2034 Saudi World Cup will be the largest and most expensive ever, but it could also have the highest cost in human lives, as millions of migrant workers build infrastructure, including 11 new stadiums, a rail and transit network, and 185,000 hotel rooms," Minky Worden, director of Global Initiatives at Human Rights Watch, said.

The warnings come a day after the President of FIFA, Gianni Infantino, visited the country along with Donald Trump - attending a US-Saudi investment forum.

FIFA – football's global governing body - says it has a "steadfast commitment to the protection and promotion of human rights in the context of its operations."

But Human Rights Watch has accused FIFA of failing to learn lessons from migrant worker deaths in the lead-up to the World Cup in Qatar in 2022.

Data on migrant deaths is hard to come by in a country where human rights groups have very limited access and labour unions are banned.

But Human Rights Watch interviewed the families of 31 workers from Bangladesh, India and Nepal who fell from heights, were crushed or decapitated by heavy machinery or were electrocuted.

Heat is another major concern, as Saudi Arabia ramps up construction work in preparation for hosting the 2034 tournament.

In March, a Pakistani foreman, Muhammad Arshad, was reported to have fallen from a construction site at a stadium being built in the eastern city of Al Khobar – the first death related to the World Cup.

Last year, the Saudi government said that there had been "tangible achievements" in occupational health and safety, with rates of deaths and injuries decreasing.

FIFA also praised "significant steps" taken by Saudi Arabia to reform its labour laws since 2018.

But the global construction worker's union, BWI, said there had been an "alarming rise" in accidents that could have been prevented.

"These are the result of systematic negligence, corruption and inadequate oversight and accountability," said BWI General Secretary, Ambet Yuson.

And Saudi medical authorities rarely conduct autopsies to establish the exact cause of migrant workers' deaths, according to FairSquare.

"Hundreds of thousands of young men, many of whom have young families, are being pitched into a labour system that poses a serious risk to their lives, a medical system that doesn't have the capacity to determine the cause of their deaths, and a political system that doesn't appear to either protect them or find out how they died, let alone compensate the families shattered by Saudi Arabia's negligence," FairSquare co-director James Lynch said.

He described FIFA's human rights policies as a "sham."

"While FIFA praises Saudi Arabia to the rafters and highly-paid western law firms generate vast profits for curating Saudi's reputation, children in places like Nepal grow up without their fathers and never even learn how they died, he said."

FIFA told Human Rights Watch that it plans to establish a workers' welfare system dedicated to mandatory standards and enforcement mechanisms for World Cup-related construction and service delivery in Saudi Arabia.

In a letter it said: "We are convinced that the measures implemented to ensure construction companies respect the rights of their workers on FIFA World Cup sites can set a new standard for worker protection in the country and contribute to the wider labour reform process, helping to enhance protections for workers on World Cup sites and beyond."

But Human Rights Watch said no further details were provided on how the welfare system would work.

"Saudi authorities, FIFA, and other employers should ensure that all migrant worker deaths, regardless of perceived cause, time, and place are properly investigated and that families of deceased workers are treated with dignity and receive fair and timely compensation," the group said.

The BBC has approached the Saudi authorities for comment.

Svitlana says her daughter loved her school in Poland.

"Even when we moved to another area, she didn't want to change schools," says the 31-year-old Ukrainian mother. "She liked it so much. There was no bullying."

Now she says the atmosphere at the school – and in Poland overall – has changed.

"Two weeks ago, she came home and said "One boy said to me today, 'Go back to Ukraine'." Svitlana was astonished.

She is one of dozens of Ukrainians living in Poland who have told the BBC that anti-Ukrainian sentiment has risen considerably in recent months.

Many described experiencing abuse on public transport, bullying in schools and xenophobic material online.

A polarising presidential election campaign has added to the tension, with the first round of voting taking place on Sunday.

The day after Svitlana's daughter was told to go back to Ukraine, the abuse became even worse.

"Girls from the class above started complaining about her speaking Ukrainian. Then they pretended to fall to the ground shouting 'Missile! Get down!' and laughing," Svitlana says. "She came home crying."

A Russian missile had slammed into Svitlana's hometown in Ukraine days before, killing scores of civilians, including children. Her daughter was traumatised.

Svitlana – not her real name did not want to be identified as she fears reprisals. She showed us screenshots of messages with school staff where she complains about her daughter's treatment.

She said she had noticed attitudes changing towards Ukrainians in other places, too: "At work, many people have been saying Ukrainians come here and behave badly. And my Ukrainian friends say they want to go home because Polish people don't accept us. It's frightening to live here now."

According to government statistics, at least 2.5 million Ukrainians live in Poland, comprising almost 7% of the total population of Poland.

When the full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022, there was an outpouring of compassion from Poles. "It was amazing. Every day people were calling, asking, 'How can we help?'" says activist Natalia Panchenko, head of the Warsaw-based 'Stand with Ukraine' Foundation.

"Some of them organised humanitarian convoys or brought refugees here. They gave their houses, food, everything they have – and their hearts, too."

Three years later, Natalia says she believes the majority of Poles still support Ukraine. But some don't – and her organisation has noticed an upsurge of anti-Ukrainian online abuse that began several months ago.

"Then it started to come to real life," she says. "Recently, we have more and more of these kinds of situations… xenophobic [abuse] of people working in shops or hotels just because they speak with a Ukrainian accent."

Natalia says that many Ukrainian refugees are traumatised. "These groups of women and children are in Poland because of the war, very often their relatives are on the front line, in captivity or dead... and this is the group of people being targeted."

Research suggests that Poland's public opinion of Ukrainians is indeed worsening. According to a March 2025 poll by the respected CBOS Centre, just 50% of Poles are in favour of accepting Ukrainian refugees, a fall of seven percentage points in four months. Two years ago, the figure was 81%.

Around a million Ukrainians are officially registered as having arrived after the start of the full-scale invasion. Poland spends 4.2% of its GDP on Ukrainian refugees.

Ukraine has become a hot-button political issue in Poland's crucial presidential election campaign.

Far-right populist Slawomir Mentzen, currently polling third, is virulently anti-Ukrainian and supports an "agreement" with Russia's Vladimir Putin.

In second place is conservative Karol Nawrocki, who opposes EU and Nato membership for Ukraine and financial assistance for refugees, but supports the war effort.

The most pro-Ukraine candidate is front-runner Rafal Trzaskowski from Prime Minister Donald Tusk's coalition, although even he has promised a reduction in social welfare for Ukrainians.

Trzaskowski has refrained from espousing his pro-Ukrainian credentials in order to attract the centrist vote in the elections, says political analyst Marcin Zaborowski.

"He's responding to the change in public attitudes. The initial enthusiasm for supporting war victims is disappearing, negative sentiments are taking over and it's not an entirely comfortable issue for him."

Another far-right candidate, Grzegorz Braun, is under investigation by police for tearing down a Ukrainian flag from a city hall building during an election rally in April. Braun, who is polling at just 3%, regularly fulminates against what he calls the "Ukrainisation of Poland".

Last week, the Polish government warned of an "unprecedented attempt" by Russia to interfere in the Polish elections by spreading "false information among Polish citizens online". Moscow denies all allegations of election interference.

Michal Marek, who runs an NGO that monitors disinformation and propaganda in Poland, offers some examples of the anti-Ukraine material being circulated on social media.

"The main narratives are that Ukrainians are stealing money from the Polish budget, that Ukrainians do not respect us, that they want to rob and kill us and are responsible for the war," he says.

"This information starts in Russian-speaking Telegram channels, and, after that, we see the same photos and the same text just translated by Google Translate. And they are pushing [the material] into the Polish infosphere."

Mr Marek links such disinformation directly with the increase in anti-Ukraine sentiment in Poland, and says an increasing number of Poles are becoming influenced by propaganda.

"But we will only see the effect after the election - what percentage of Poles want to vote for openly pro-Russian candidates."

The war's horrors multiply. The dead, the pieces of the dead. The dying. The starving. More and more of them now – all the weight of human suffering witnessed by my brave colleagues in Gaza.

The urge to avert our gaze can be overpowering. But the cameramen who work for the BBC cannot turn away, and on Tuesday one of them became a casualty himself. For their safety we do not reveal the names of our colleagues in Gaza.

Our cameraman was not seriously wounded, but that was a matter of luck. The Israeli bombs launched into the car park of the European Hospital in Khan Younis killed and wounded dozens.

The Israelis say the leader of Hamas was hiding in a command-and-control compound under the hospital. The army said it conducted a "precise strike" - and blamed Hamas for"cynically and cruelly exploiting the civilian population in and around the hospital". Hamas denies such charges.

At the time of the attack, families whose sick children are to be evacuated from Gaza were gathering in the hospital. There were also families waiting to meet children returning from treatment abroad.

One of the fathers was with our BBC colleague and was wounded by the bombs. He has now been discharged from hospital. Harrowing images show our journalist trying to console the man's terrified children.

Warning: This report contains distressing images.

Much of my colleague's work in recent days has focused on the plight of malnourished children.

A short time before the blast, I messaged to thank him for his work filming, with immense sensitivity, the story of Siwar Ashour. This was his response:

"Siwar's story broke something in all of us, and working on it was one of the most painful things I've ever had to do. But I knew her face, her name, and her story had to be seen – had to be heard."

Siwar is five months old and acutely malnourished, a child whose large, brown eyes dominate her shrunken frame. They follow her mother Najwa's every move. On Tuesday Najwa sent us a video message from her room at Nasser Hospital in southern Gaza.

She wanted the world to know how much she loves her child. "I wish she could receive the treatment she needs, to recover fully, and return as she was before – to play like other children, to grow and gain weight like other children. She is my first child, and as her mother, I'm deeply heartbroken for her."

In the past few days Siwar has developed a skin infection. Sores have appeared on her hands. She also has a severe gastrointestinal condition. The battle is to keep nourishment inside her. Her immune system is fighting the deprivation caused by the Israeli blockade.

The baby's cry is weak, yet it is full of urgency, the sound of a life struggling for its survival. Siwar can only drink a special milk formula due to severe allergies.

On Tuesday there was some better news. Medics at the nearby Jordanian Field Hospital managed to find some of the formula she needs. It is a small amount but they plan to send more.

In the coming days there are plans to bring sick children to the United Arab Emirates and Jordan. Here in Amman there are already several Gaza families who have children being treated for illness or war injuries in local hospitals. These evacuations are co-ordinated with the Israelis who do background checks on the parents travelling with their children.

In January we filmed the arrival of Abdelrahman al-Nashash and his mum Asma. Abdelrahman lost his leg in an Israeli bombing.

For four months they've lived in a place with food and shelter. A safe place.

When we visited them on Tuesday Asma called her children and their grandmother in Gaza.

Grandmother Najwa spoke of the war all around them. "The rockets are everywhere, firing over our heads. The food. Life is very bad. There is no flour. The prices are very high."

The children waved and blew kisses to their mother.

Afterwards, Asma told us: "I don't know what to say. I am very grateful for my mum for all she is doing for me. I wish I can return back to find them safe and in good health." She broke down and was silent.

It is only through the eyes of a mother who sees her children trapped, frightened and hungry from a safe distance, that it is possible to imagine why anyone would want to go back to Gaza.

With additional reporting by Alice Doyard, Suha Kawar and Nik Millard.

President Cyril Ramaphosa has called a group of 59 white South Africans who have moved to the US to resettle "cowards", saying "they'll be back soon".

The group of Akrikaners arrived in the US on Monday after President Donald Trump granted them refugee status, saying they faced racial discrimination.

But Ramaphosa said those who wanted to leave were not happy with efforts to address the inequities of the apartheid past, terming their relocation a "sad moment for them".

"As South Africans, we are resilient. We don't run away from our problems. We must stay here and solve our problems. When you run away you are a coward, and that's a real cowardly act," he added.

Trump and his close ally, South Africa-born Elon Musk, have said there was a "genocide" of white farmers in South Africa - a claim that has been widely discredited.

The US has also accused the South African government of seizing land from white farmers without paying compensation.

More than 30 years after the end of decades of rule by South Africa's white minority, black farmers own only a small fraction of the country's best farmland, with the majority still in white hands, leading to anger over the slow pace of change.

In January President Ramaphosa signed a controversial law allowing the government to seize privately owned land without compensation in certain circumstances, when it is deemed "equitable and in the public interest".

But the government says no land has yet been seized under the act.

• Racially charged row between Musk and South Africa over Starlink
• What's really driving Trump's fury with South Africa?

Trump has offered to resettle the white Afrikaners, descendants of mostly Dutch settlers, saying they were fleeing a "terrible situation" in South Africa.

Speaking on Monday at an agricultural exhibition in the Free State province, Ramaphosa said the Afrikaners were moving to the US because they were not "favourably disposed" to efforts aimed at addressing the country's challenges.

"If you look at all national groups in our country, black and white, they've stayed in this country because it's our country and we must not run away from our problems. We must stay here and solve our problems," Ramaphosa said.

"I can bet you that they will be back soon because there is no country like South Africa," he added.

His "coward" remark angered some social media users, who condemned it as an insult to aggrieved white South Africans.

The group of Afrikaners were welcomed by top US officials who claimed they had been "living under a shadow of violence and terror" in South Africa.

"Welcome to the land of the free," Deputy Secretary of State Chris Landau said as he received the South Africans who landed at Dulles airport near Washington DC on Monday.

Some held young children and waved small American flags in the arrival area adorned with red, white and blue balloons on the walls.

Earlier on Monday, President Ramaphosa told an Africa CEO forum in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, that he had recently told Trump during a phone call the US assessment of the situation was "not true".

"We're the only country on the continent where the colonisers came to stay and we have never driven them out of our country," he added, dismissing claims Afrikaners were being persecuted.

Ramaphosa said dozens of white South Africans who arrived in the US on Monday "don't fit the bill" for refugees.

The South African leader said that he is set to meet Trump soon regarding the issue.

Trump has threatened to boycott the forthcoming G20 summit in South Africa unless the "situation is taken care of".

More BBC stories about South Africa:

• Almost 70,000 South Africans interested in US asylum
• Is it checkmate for South Africa after Trump threats?
• US cuts send South Africa's HIV treatment 'off a cliff'

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

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

A Los Angeles judge has resentenced two brothers who are serving life in prison for the 1989 murders of their parents in a Beverly Hills mansion, making them eligible for parole.

Judge Michael Jesic gave Erik and Lyle Menendez a new sentence of 50 years to life. A decision on their potential release will be made at a parole hearing in June.

The pair have acknowledged killing Kitty and Jose Menendez, but said they acted out of self-defence after years of abuse and have since been rehabilitated.

Prosecutors have argued the brothers meticulously planned the shotgun killings to access their parents' fortune, are yet to take responsibility and should not be released.

The notorious case, which has prompted books, documentaries and dramas, still divides America.

The brothers gave an emotional statement - via video - to the court at Tuesday's hearing.

The court heard relatives detail how the case affected their family, and pleading for the judge to allow the siblings' release from prison.

The brothers' cousin, Anamaria Baralt, who has been close with them since they were children, told the judge they deserved a "second chance at life".

"It's been a nightmare," she said. "I am desperate for this process to be over."

At times, both Erik and Lyle appeared emotional as family recounted how their crimes have impacted them. Both wiped their eyes at times, with Erik covering his mouth or putting his head in his hands at other moments.

Ms Baralt speaks with Erik and Lyle frequently, she told the court, and testified that they've taken "ownership of their actions".

She said they admitted they tried to steer their previous trial - with Lyle telling her he'd asked a witness to lie when testifying.

"They are very different men from the boys they were," she said.

Some families of those killed in a Jeju Air plane crash last December have filed a criminal complaint against 15 people, including South Korea's transport minister and the airline's CEO, for professional negligence.

The 72 bereaved relatives are calling for a more thorough investigation into the crash, which killed 179 of the 181 people on board - making it the deadliest plane crash on South Korean soil.

The crash was "not a simple accident", they allege, but a "major civic disaster caused by negligent management of preventable risks".

Nearly five months on, authorities are still studying what may have caused the plane to crash-land at Muan International Airport and then burst into flames.

The police had already opened a criminal investigation before this latest complaint, and barred Jeju Air CEO Kim E-bae from leaving the country, but no one has been indicted over the incident.

One of the relatives, Kim Da-hye, denounced the "lack of progress" in investigations.

"We are filled with deep anger and despair. Having taken this extraordinary measure of filing a criminal complaint, we will not give up and will continue to pursue the truth," Mr Kim said in a statement to the media.

Among the 15 people named in the complaint were government officials, airline officials and airport staff responsible for construction, supervision, facility management and bird control.

The complaint filed on Tuesday raises questions around the circumstances of the crash, including whether air traffic control responded appropriately and whether the reinforcement of a mound at the end of the runway violated regulations.

The aircraft, a Boeing 737-800, took off from the Thai capital of Bangkok on the morning of 29 December, and was flying to Muan in South Korea.

Five minutes after the pilots made contact with Muan International Airport, they reported striking a bird and declared a mayday signal.

The pilots then tried to land from the opposite direction, during which the aircraft belly-landed without its landing gear deployed. It later overran the runway, slammed into a concrete structure and exploded.

Earlier this year, investigators said they found bird feathers in both engines of the jet, but did not conclude the extent to which the bird strike was a contributing factor.

Since the incident, some bereaved families have also been targeted by a torrent of conspiracies and malicious jokes online.

These included suggestions that families were "thrilled" to receive compensation from authorities, or that they were "fake victims". As of March this year, eight people have been apprehended for making such derogatory and defamatory online posts.

Céline Dion made a rare appearance during the first semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest with a brief, pre-recorded message.

The star won the contest for Switzerland in 1988, and it had been rumoured she would take the stage as the ceremony returns to the country this year.

"I'd love nothing more than to be with you," she said in a video, apparently ruling out that possibility. "Switzerland will forever hold a special place in my heart. It's the country that believed in me and gave me the chance to be part of something so extraordinary."

The semi-final saw 10 acts qualify for Saturday's grand finale, including Swedish entrants KAJ, whose song Bara Bada Bastu is the runaway favourite.

Their song, an accordion-led comedy number whose title translates to "let's take a sauna", has a 40% chance of winning, according to bookmakers.

If the prediction comes true, it would be Sweden's eighth Eurovision title - making them the most victorious country in the contest's history (they are currently tied with Ireland, on seven wins each).

Fifteen acts performed at Tuesday's semi-final in Basel's St Jakobshalle. These are the ones who made the cut.

• Norway: Kyle Alessandro – Lighter
• Albania: Shkodra Elektronike – Zjerm
• Sweden: KAJ – Bara Bada Bastu
• Iceland: VÆB – RÓA
• Netherlands: Claude – C'est La Vie
• Poland: Justyna Steczkowska – GAJA
• San Marino: Gabry Ponte – Tutta L'Italia
• Estonia: Tommy Cash – Espresso Macchiato
• Portugal: NAPA – Deslocado
• Ukraine: Ziferblat – Bird of Pray

That means that the Eurovision dreams of Azerbaijan, Belgium, Cyprus, Croatia and Slovenia have all ended for 2025.

Of those, the biggest surprise was Belgium's Red Sebastian, whose rave anthem Strobe Lights had been predicted to finish among the top five.

His disqualification came on the day of his 26th birthday.

Ten more acts will progress to the main competition after Thursday's second semi-final.

The "Big Five" countries, who contribute the most financially to the competition (France, Germany, Spain, the UK and Italy) qualify automatically, as do last year's winners, Switzerland.

Dion's video message came during the ceremony's interval, as votes were being cast.

Although she was unable to be there in person, it was a coup for organisers. The singer has stepped away from the limelight in recent years due to health issues related to stiff-person syndrome (SPS), a neurological condition that causes muscle spasms and makes it difficult for her to walk.

After a four-year break, she made an emotional comeback at last summer's Paris Olympics, singing Edith Piaf's classic Hymne à l'Amour from the Eiffel Tower.

Speculation over a potential Eurovision appearance has been mounting since Swiss singer Nemo won the 2024 contest.

In her video, Dion said it was "beautiful and emotional" to see the young singer lift the trophy, and recalled that her victory in 1988 "was a life-changing moment for me".

"To the people of Switzerland, thank you for your love," she continued. "This night is yours and I hope you feel as proud as I do."

After repeating her message in French, several former Eurovision contestants appeared on stage to cover Dion's winning song from 1988, Ne Partez Pas Sans Moi (Don't Leave Without Me).

However, organisers said they had not given up hope of the star appearing at the final this weekend.

"We are still in close contact with her," they said in a statement.

Tuesday's semi-final opened with Icelandic group VÆB, two brothers with the unregulated energy of former Irish entrants Jedward.

They were followed by Polish star Justyna Steczkowska, who hung precariously above the stage on two ropes, as she sang her witchy hymn to mother earth, Gaja.

The acrobatics continued with Slovenian musician Klemen, who was suspended upside down during his ballad How Much Time Do We Have Left?

The song was a tribute to his wife, who has recently recovered from cancer, but the emotional performance wasn't enough to clinch him a position in the final.

Taking a lighter note was Estonia's Tommy Cash, whose quirky anthem Espresso Macchiato was interrupted by a "stage invader" - actually a dancer who replicated his noodle-limbed dance moves.

The arena was awash with Ukranian flags for Ziferblat, whose prog-pop anthem Bird Of Pray is a message of hope and resilience to families separated by the country's ongoing war with Russia.

Italy's Lucio Corsi brought 70s glam rock vibes with his track Volevo Esse Un Duro, which even featured a visual call-back to David Bowie and Mick Ronson's iconic 1972 performance of Starman on Top Of The Pops.

Bosnian singer Marko Bošnjak was all black eyeliner and sinister energy for his kill-your-enemies anthem Poison Cake, while Dutch singer Claude took the opposite approach, brimming with positivity throughout his upbeat performance of C'est La Vie.

And Swiss singer Zoë Më was bathed in a sea of mobile phone lights as she performed Voyage , an understated and rather beautiful plea for kindness and understanding.

However, KAJ were the artists to beat - with the entire audience stomping along to their goofy sauna anthem ("Damn it, turn up the heat!")

The song, performed in the Vörå dialect, is a radical departure from Sweden's tried and tested formula of slick pop anthems.

It was the surprise winner at the Melodifestivalen, the hotly-contested show that selects the country's Eurovision entry, and has gone on to top the Swedish pop charts for 11 weeks.

Speaking to the BBC, the band - who are actually from the Swedish-speaking part of Finland - said it was strange to enter the contest as the presumed favourite.

"We are feeling the pressure a bit," they admitted, "but we're gonna go out there, have fun, bring the steam, bring the sauna culture, and we'll see how far it goes."

The war's horrors multiply. The dead, the pieces of the dead. The dying. The starving. More and more of them now – all the weight of human suffering witnessed by my brave colleagues in Gaza.

The urge to avert our gaze can be overpowering. But the cameramen who work for the BBC cannot turn away, and on Tuesday one of them became a casualty himself. For their safety we do not reveal the names of our colleagues in Gaza.

Our cameraman was not seriously wounded, but that was a matter of luck. The Israeli bombs launched into the car park of the European Hospital in Khan Younis killed and wounded dozens.

The Israelis say the leader of Hamas was hiding in a command-and-control compound under the hospital. The army said it conducted a "precise strike" - and blamed Hamas for"cynically and cruelly exploiting the civilian population in and around the hospital". Hamas denies such charges.

At the time of the attack, families whose sick children are to be evacuated from Gaza were gathering in the hospital. There were also families waiting to meet children returning from treatment abroad.

One of the fathers was with our BBC colleague and was wounded by the bombs. He has now been discharged from hospital. Harrowing images show our journalist trying to console the man's terrified children.

Warning: This report contains distressing images.

Much of my colleague's work in recent days has focused on the plight of malnourished children.

A short time before the blast, I messaged to thank him for his work filming, with immense sensitivity, the story of Siwar Ashour. This was his response:

"Siwar's story broke something in all of us, and working on it was one of the most painful things I've ever had to do. But I knew her face, her name, and her story had to be seen – had to be heard."

Siwar is five months old and acutely malnourished, a child whose large, brown eyes dominate her shrunken frame. They follow her mother Najwa's every move. On Tuesday Najwa sent us a video message from her room at Nasser Hospital in southern Gaza.

She wanted the world to know how much she loves her child. "I wish she could receive the treatment she needs, to recover fully, and return as she was before – to play like other children, to grow and gain weight like other children. She is my first child, and as her mother, I'm deeply heartbroken for her."

In the past few days Siwar has developed a skin infection. Sores have appeared on her hands. She also has a severe gastrointestinal condition. The battle is to keep nourishment inside her. Her immune system is fighting the deprivation caused by the Israeli blockade.

The baby's cry is weak, yet it is full of urgency, the sound of a life struggling for its survival. Siwar can only drink a special milk formula due to severe allergies.

On Tuesday there was some better news. Medics at the nearby Jordanian Field Hospital managed to find some of the formula she needs. It is a small amount but they plan to send more.

In the coming days there are plans to bring sick children to the United Arab Emirates and Jordan. Here in Amman there are already several Gaza families who have children being treated for illness or war injuries in local hospitals. These evacuations are co-ordinated with the Israelis who do background checks on the parents travelling with their children.

In January we filmed the arrival of Abdelrahman al-Nashash and his mum Asma. Abdelrahman lost his leg in an Israeli bombing.

For four months they've lived in a place with food and shelter. A safe place.

When we visited them on Tuesday Asma called her children and their grandmother in Gaza.

Grandmother Najwa spoke of the war all around them. "The rockets are everywhere, firing over our heads. The food. Life is very bad. There is no flour. The prices are very high."

The children waved and blew kisses to their mother.

Afterwards, Asma told us: "I don't know what to say. I am very grateful for my mum for all she is doing for me. I wish I can return back to find them safe and in good health." She broke down and was silent.

It is only through the eyes of a mother who sees her children trapped, frightened and hungry from a safe distance, that it is possible to imagine why anyone would want to go back to Gaza.

With additional reporting by Alice Doyard, Suha Kawar and Nik Millard.

US President Donald Trump has said he will lift sanctions on Syria, ahead of an expected meeting with its leader Ahmed al-Sharaa.

Trump has agreed to "say hello" to Syria's interim president on Wednesday in Saudi Arabia as part of his tour of the Middle East, the White House said.

The announcement of the lifting of sanctions was met with elation in the Syrian capital of Damascus, where cheering, dancing and celebratory gunfire were heard.

The sanctions had previously blocked any foreign financing, including aid, from reaching Syria and were originally intended to put pressure on the dictatorship of now-ousted President Bashar al-Assad.

Trump said the policy change would give Syria "a chance at greatness", telling an investment forum in Saudi Arabia's Riyadh, "it's their time to shine."

Syria's Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani celebrated the decision as a "pivotal turning point for the country" in an interview with the country's state news agency, Sana.

The country looks forward to a future of "stability, self-sufficiency and genuine reconstruction after years of a destructive war", he added.

Ninety percent of Syria's population were left under the poverty line at the end of Assad's regime and its new government has been pushing for an end to sanctions since Assad was overthrown in December.

Al-Sharaa told the BBC in an interview late last year that Syria was not a threat to the world and called for sanctions to be lifted.

He also called for Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the Islamist group who overthrew Assad, to be de-listed as a terrorist organisation. It is designated as one by the UN, US, EU and UK, among many others, as it started as a splinter group of al-Qaeda, which it broke away from in 2016.

Al-Sharaa repeated these calls at a joint press conference with France's President Emmanuel Macron last week, saying "these sanctions were imposed on the previous regime because of the crimes it committed, and this regime is gone."

The Syrian leader has promised to protect ethnic minorities since his Sunni Islamist group led the rebel offensive that overthrew Bashar al-Assad's regime in December after 13 years of devastating civil war.

However, the mass killings of hundreds of civilians from Assad's minority Alawite sect in the western coastal region in March, during clashes between the new security forces and Assad loyalists, has hardened fears among minority communities.

There have also been deadly clashes between Islamist armed factions, security forces and fighters from the Druze religious minority.

The US's announcement is a major boost for al-Sharaa, and also marks a significant foreign policy shift for the US, which previously said it would not lift sanctions on Syria until issues such as minority rights progressed in the country.

Trump said his announcement followed a request from Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan.

"Oh, what I do for the Crown Prince," the US leader said, adding, "I like him too much."

The pair met on Tuesday on Trump's first stop of his tour of the Middle East, where they jointly announced a $142bn (£107bn) arms deal.

Former US ambassador to Syria Robert Ford, who served under former President Barack Obama, applauded the Trump administration's move to lift sanctions.

"I visited Syria three months ago and the country is simply devastated after the 13-year civil war. It needs to rebuild, it needs reconstruction, it needs foreign financing to do that," he told the BBC.

"So removing the sanctions, that will enable international capital flows to go into Syria from Gulf states, from other Arab states and from different aid agencies is absolutely vital."

The tour of the Arab Gulf states will also see Trump visit Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.