US special envoy Steve Witkoff met Vladimir Putin in St Petersburg on Friday as Donald Trump urged the Russian president to "get moving" on a ceasefire in Ukraine.

It will be Witkoff's third meeting with Putin this year, during which the US has failed to get Russia to agree to a full ceasefire with Ukraine.

Trump has previously expressed frustration with Putin over the state of talks. On Friday, he wrote on social media: "Russia has to get moving. Too many people ere [sic] DYING, thousands a week, in a terrible and senseless war."

The meeting comes as the UK and Germany chaired a gathering of Ukraine's allies in Brussels, where 50 nations agreed €21bn (£18.2bn) in military aid for Kyiv.

Before the talks, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said there was "no need to expect breakthroughs" as the "process of normalising relations is ongoing".

Before his talks with Putin, Witkoff first met Kirill Dmitriev at the Grand Hotel Europe in St Petersburg where a conference was being held on stainless steel and the Russian market.

Dmitriev, the 49-year-old head of Russia's sovereign wealth fund, visited Washington DC last week and was the most senior Russian official to go to the US since the full scale invasion of Ukraine.

Earlier this week, Washington and Moscow went ahead with a prisoner swap.

Ksenia Karelina, a Russian-American, was sentenced to 12 years in jail in Russia for donating $51 to a Ukrainian charity when the war began in February 2022.

The Los Angeles resident was freed on Thursday morning and exchanged for Arthur Petrov, a dual German-Russian citizen arrested in Cyprus in 2023.

He was accused of illegally exporting microelectronics to Russia for manufacturers working with the military.

A US judge has ruled the government can deport Mahmoud Khalil, a Columbia University graduate arrested last month by immigration officers.

Mr Khalil has been held at a Louisiana detention centre since 8 March, when US immigration officers told him he was being deported for taking part in campus protests against the war in Gaza.

The pro-Palestinian activist is a permanent legal US resident, and has not been charged with a crime. The government is seeking to remove him under a Cold War-era immigration law.

In a letter written from the facility, Mr Khalil has said his "arrest was a direct consequence" of speaking out for Palestine.

The judge said the Trump administration was allowed to move forward with its effort to deport Mr Khalil because the argument that he poses "adverse foreign policy consequences" for the US is "facially reasonable".

The judge gave Khalil's lawyers until 23 April to appeal against his deportation to Algeria or Syria.

"I would like to quote what you said last time that there's nothing that's more important to this court than due process rights and fundamental fairness," Mr Khalil said in court.

"Clearly what we witnessed today, neither of these principles were present today or in this whole process," he said. "This is exactly why the Trump administration has sent me to this court, 1,000 miles away from my family."

The head of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has told the BBC that Gaza has become "hell on earth", as Israel's military assault there continues.

Mirjana Spoljaric's comments come on the same day the UN human rights office warned that Israel's tactics were threatening the viability of Palestinians continuing to live in Gaza at all.

The ICRC is the guardian of the Geneva Conventions - internationally agreed rules of conduct in war - and normally only speaks confidentially to warring parties when it thinks violations are taking place.

But today Ms Spoljaric said publicly that what was happening in Gaza was an "extreme hollowing out" of international law.

Israeli bombardment has killed 1,542 people since it renewed the war on 18 March, the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza says. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has also issued evacuation orders that have forced nearly 400,000 people to move. Israel has also imposed a complete blockade on the entry of food, medical supplies and all other goods since 2 March.

Israel insists it always follows international law in Gaza, and has also argued that the particular nature of this conflict, with Hamas fighters hidden among the civilian population, mean collateral damage can sometimes happen.

Israeli ministers insist there is enough food in Gaza and say the bombardment and seizure of territory aims to pressure Hamas into releasing the hostages it is still holding, whom it kidnapped during the 7 October 2023 attack.

Under the fourth Geneva Convention, occupying powers, as Israel is in Gaza, must ensure civilians have food and medicine, and protect hospitals and health workers. The convention also prohibits the forcible transfer of entire populations from occupied territories.

"No state, no party to a conflict... can be exempt from the obligation not to commit war crimes, not to commit genocide, not to commit ethnic cleansing," Ms Spoljaric said.

"These rules apply. They are universal."

Civilians were bearing the brunt of a relentless pursuit of military objectives, she added, being displaced multiple times, and their homes reduced to rubble.

Of 36 recent airstrikes verified by the UN human rights office, all those killed were women and children.

Israel has strenuously denied accusations it is committing genocide or genocidal acts in Gaza.

Israel's military said it was looking into an attack that killed members of one family in the city of Khan Younis and said it had struck 40 "terror targets" across the territory over the past day.

The ICRC's comments are the latest in a chorus of concern coming from the UN and other agencies.

On Friday the UN human rights office spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani said the "cumulative impact" of the IDF's conduct meant "the office is seriously concerned that Israel appears to be inflicting on Palestinians in Gaza conditions of life increasingly incompatible with their continued existence as a group in Gaza".

Israel was continuing to bomb tents in the al-Mawasi area it had told people to go to for their own safety, she added.

On Tuesday the UN secretary general warned that Israel's blockade of Gaza was violating the Geneva Conventions and the territory was becoming a "killing field". On Monday the heads of six UN aid agencies appealed to the world to act to save the people of Gaza, and to uphold basic international law.

The Geneva Conventions are founded on the following principles:

• Medical staff and hospitals in warzones must be protected and allowed to work freely
• Those wounded in battle and no longer fighting are entitled to medical treatment
• Prisoners of war must be treated humanely
• Warring parties are obliged to protect civilians (this includes a prohibition on the targeting of civilian infrastructure such as power and water supplies).

Twenty years ago, in what it called its war on terror, the US suggested that the Geneva Conventions might be outdated in modern warfare, but the ICRC insists they apply in all circumstances.

"It's not transactional," said Ms Spoljaric. "You have to comply with these rules no matter what the other side does."

She appealed for a renewal of the ceasefire, pointing out that during previous pauses in fighting, the ICRC had successfully been able to take Israeli hostages out of Gaza and reunite them with their families.

But she also warned of a growing "dehumanisation" during war, in which the international community was turning away even though it was clear war crimes were being committed.

The Geneva Conventions protecting civilians were created after World War Two, she pointed out, to make sure such dehumanisation never happened again. Diluting or abandoning them sends a dangerous signal that "everything is allowed".

The ICRC believes that sticking with the rules of war can help, eventually, to build a more sustainable peace. Once the fighting stops, the thinking goes, both soldiers and civilians will remember whether those on the other side obeyed international law, or whether they committed atrocities.

But Gaza, Ms Spoljaric believes "will haunt us. It will haunt us for a long time because you cannot undo the suffering… that will last for generations".

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.

More than 50,912 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the territory's Hamas-run health ministry.

An American pastor has been kidnapped by armed men after they stormed his church service in South Africa, local authorities say.

Josh Sullivan had been conducting a service at Fellowship Baptist Church in Motherwell, a township in Gqeberra in the Eastern Cape, on Thursday evening when "four armed and masked male suspects entered", police spokesman Captain Andre Beetge told the BBC.

The men stole two phones before fleeing the church in the 45-year-old pastor's silver Toyota Fortuner. Police later found the vehicle abandoned, but there was no trace of Mr Sullivan.

A spokesperson from the US State Department told the BBC that they were aware of the kidnapping of a US citizen in South Africa.

They said there was no "greater priority than the safety and security of US citizens abroad".

Capt Beetge told the BBC the case had been handed to South Africa's elite police unit, known as the Hawks, which investigates serious organised and commercial crimes and high-level corruption.

"The police is currently following all possible leads to locate the victim and apprehend the perpetrators," said Hawks spokesman Lt Col Avele Fumba.

Jeremy Hall, the Sullivan family's spokesman, told local newspaper TimesLive that he was at the church with his wife and their children when the incident took place.

"They knew his name," he said.

Mr Sullivan's mother, Tonya Morton Rinker, wrote on Facebook that she was heartbroken over the news.

She added: "Our congressman and American embassy are working on finding him."

No ransom has been requested, according to the privately-owned News24.

Mr Sullivan describes himself as "a church planting missionary" on his personal website.

On it, he says he moved to South Africa with his wife and children in 2018 to establish a church for Xhosa-speaking people.

Over the past decade, there has been 264% increase in kidnappings in South Africa, according to police statistics.

Just a few days ago, a Chinese national was kidnapped in Gqberra.

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Ukraine's European allies have pledged €21bn (£18.2bn) in a new tranche of military support for Kyiv in what they described as "a critical year" for the war.

Members of the Ukraine Defence Contact Group met at Nato's headquarters in Brussels to pledge air defences, missiles and other gear as Europe sought to fill the gap left by the changed priorities of the US under Donald Trump.

Boris Pistorius, the German defence secretary, said Berlin would send €11bn in aid over four years. John Healey, his British counterpart, said the pledges would send a strong signal to Moscow.

Europe's defence ministers said they saw no sign of an end to the war, despite Trump's promise of a ceasefire.

Support announced on Friday also includes a £450m package from the UK and Norway to fund radar systems, anti-tank mines, vehicle repairs and hundreds of thousands of drones for Ukraine.

In January, the UK pledged £4.5bn in military aid to Ukraine - which Healey described as the highest contribution of aid to Ukraine this year. The £450m announced on Friday is part of that original figure.

Air defence was a priority at the meeting. Healey said Russian forces had dropped 10,000 glide bombs on Ukraine in the first three months of this year, as well as launching 100 one-way attack drones a day.

At this stage in the war, battlefield casualties on both sides inflicted by drones "way outnumber those inflicted by artillery", the UK defence secretary said.

"In our calculations, 70% to 80% of battlefield casualties are now caused and inflicted by drones," he added.

Defence ministers from 50 nations gathered in Brussels for the 27th gathering of the UDCG.

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth joined the meeting remotely, telling allies that America appreciated all the work "you guys" are doing.

Pistorius said it Hegseth's decision was a matter of "schedules" rather than "priorities", and that the "most important fact was that he took part".

Other leaders also joined the meeting remotely, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Kyiv's defence minister Rustem Umerov, who was in Brussels, thanked Europe for "taking over the lead on security assistance" for his country.

He also acknowledged that Hegseth's attendance "means that the US is continuing its security assistance and is beside us".

The three European defence ministers - Healey, Pistorius and Umerov - all accused Russia of dragging its feet over a ceasefire, with the UK's Healey pointing out it had been more than a month since Russia rejected a US-backed peace settlement.

Pistorius noted that Russia was still not interested in peace.

Talks in Europe took place as US envoy Steve Witkoff travelled to Russia, once more, to press the Kremlin to accept a truce.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Putin and Witkoff would discuss the Ukraine war, but one should not expect any "breakthroughs".

On the ground in Ukraine, Russia's defence ministry said on Thursday that its forces had captured the village of Zhuravka, in Ukraine's northern border region of Sumy.

Ukrainian officials are yet to confirm this.

Earlier this week, President Zelensky said as many as 67,000 Russian soldiers were positioned north of the border of the Sumy region, in preparation for an attack on the city of Sumy.

US special envoy Steve Witkoff met Vladimir Putin in St Petersburg on Friday as Donald Trump urged the Russian president to "get moving" on a ceasefire in Ukraine.

It will be Witkoff's third meeting with Putin this year, during which the US has failed to get Russia to agree to a full ceasefire with Ukraine.

Trump has previously expressed frustration with Putin over the state of talks. On Friday, he wrote on social media: "Russia has to get moving. Too many people ere [sic] DYING, thousands a week, in a terrible and senseless war."

The meeting comes as the UK and Germany chaired a gathering of Ukraine's allies in Brussels, where 50 nations agreed €21bn (£18.2bn) in military aid for Kyiv.

Before the talks, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said there was "no need to expect breakthroughs" as the "process of normalising relations is ongoing".

Before his talks with Putin, Witkoff first met Kirill Dmitriev at the Grand Hotel Europe in St Petersburg where a conference was being held on stainless steel and the Russian market.

Dmitriev, the 49-year-old head of Russia's sovereign wealth fund, visited Washington DC last week and was the most senior Russian official to go to the US since the full scale invasion of Ukraine.

Earlier this week, Washington and Moscow went ahead with a prisoner swap.

Ksenia Karelina, a Russian-American, was sentenced to 12 years in jail in Russia for donating $51 to a Ukrainian charity when the war began in February 2022.

The Los Angeles resident was freed on Thursday morning and exchanged for Arthur Petrov, a dual German-Russian citizen arrested in Cyprus in 2023.

He was accused of illegally exporting microelectronics to Russia for manufacturers working with the military.

Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, who's Turkey's biggest rival to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has appeared in court for the first time since he was arrested last month and placed in a high-security jail.

Imamoglu is being held on corruption and terrorism charges, but appeared in a special court at Silivri jail in a separate case on Friday accused of trying to intimidate Istanbul's chief prosecutor.

Turkey's opposition has condemned Imamoglu's arrest as a "coup attempt against our next president" and his detention has prompted the biggest anti-Erdogan protests in more than a decade.

"I am here because I won elections three times in Istanbul," Imamoglu told the court.

"I am here under arrest because I won against the notion of 'Whoever wins Istanbul, wins Turkey'," he added.

Imamoglu was referring to President Erdogan, who launched his political career as mayor of Turkey's biggest city and has often used the phrase since.

Crowds gathered outside the complex in support of Istanbul's mayor, whose detention has been widely viewed as politically motivated. The Council of Europe's parliamentary assembly has called on Turkish authorities to drop the charges and release him immediately.

However, Turkey's government has rejected claims of political interference, insisting the judiciary is independent.

The 53-year-old mayor faced two hearings on Friday that carry the risk of both a jail term and a ban from politics.

The first case, alleging threats made against Istanbul chief prosecutor Akin Gurlek following the arrest of a district mayor, was adjourned until June.

Gurlek, a former deputy justice minister under Erdogan, has been accused by the opposition of acting as a "mobile guillotine" for the president in targeting his opponents in Istanbul.

Neither case on Friday was related to his 19 March arrest on suspicion of running a criminal organisation and extortion, but prosecutors are seeking a jail term of up to seven years and four months for the Gurlek case.

• Hundreds of thousands of protesters take to Istanbul streets

Imamoglu was also critical of Turkish state broadcaster TRT, which he said was funded by citizens' taxes and "should broadcast this hearing instead of reporting with lies and slander to discredit me".

His wife Dilek attended the hearing along with one of their children and several MPs.

She has played a prominent part in the protests that have swept Turkey since Imamoglu's arrest, and further rallies are planned for the coming days and weeks.

• Journalist arrests fuel fears for democracy after protests
• 'Then the phone rang': BBC's Mark Lowen deported from Turkey

The protests have been accompanied about 2,000 arrests.

In the past two days, the courts in Istanbul have either released or freed on bail 185 people who took part in demonstrations against the mayor's detention at Sarachane square in Istanbul.

Two journalists working for pro-opposition newspapers were also released on bail on Friday for investigating the sale of a TV station.

One of the newspapers, Cumhuriyet, said their arrests were part of a plan to intimidate the media and critics of the government.

The opposition has accused prosecutors of targeting elected officials in a bid to nullify any opposing voices ahead of national elections.

Presidential elections are not due in Turkey until 2028 and without a change to the constitution Erdogan would not be entitled to stand for another term.

However, he could also run if parliament called early elections.

Every day, 40-year-old Landry Obame-Mezui drives a taxi in Gabon's capital Libreville.

But it's not just any taxi. It's a sparkling, brand-new white car with the inscription "Taxi Gab+".

For Mr Obame-Mezui, it is a shining symbol of a promise to Gabon's youth from coup mastermind-turned-transitional leader Gen Brice Oligui Nguema, who has ruled since August 2023.

With 40% of young people out of work, Oligui Nguema has offered more than 800 new vehicles to young people through a hire purchase scheme.

Mr Obame-Mezui used to drive a taxi owned by someone else. He says, thanks to the interim leader, he now has a better chance of becoming an entrepreneur.

"Before August 30 [2023], things weren't going as I wished, but today I have something stable on which I can set objectives and go far," he says, leaning on his new car.

• Who is Gen Brice Oligui Nguema?
• Why Gabon's coup leader is bucking a trend by embracing democracy

It is no secret who the taxi driver will vote for in Saturday's presidential election - "I will vote for the builder Oligui Nguema" says the slogan on his car roof.

"The president came in with a new way of doing things – action before speeches," he says, predicting a "crushing victory" at the polls.

Little more than 19 months after the bloodless coup that brought an end to more than five decades of rule by the Bongo family, the people of Gabon are about to head to the polls to choose a new head of state.

Across the capital, there is no secret about who controls the country.

In varied shapes, sizes and designs, billboards and campaign posters of race favourite Oligui Nguema cover the city.

They dominate the airport, markets and neighbourhoods, leaving very little room for the opposition.

"It's just for the ambiance," says Shonnys Akoulatele a potential voter who believes there is more to governance than displaying campaign posters.

With little enthusiasm for the campaign, the 30-year-old says she will only vote out of a sense of duty because none of the eight candidates appear to be able to truly transform the country.

"We're merely seeing a monotony of the previous regime," says Ms Akoulatele, adding that presidential candidates are former allies of ex-President Ali Bongo.

Alain Claude Bilie-by-Nze, the main challenger in the polls, served as prime minister both under late president Omar Bongo and his son Ali Bongo.

Other aspirants such as Stephane Germain Iloko and Alain Simplice Boungouères were also influential members of the former ruling PDG party.

But all candidates seem keen to distance themselves from the old regime.

Front-runner Oligui Nguema served both Bongo father and son, but now emphasises his role in leading the coup that ousted the Ali Bongo.

He is making the fight against corruption, money laundering and embezzlement a central part of the country's transition to democracy - including arresting the ex-president's wife and eldest son and accusing them of illegally enriching themselves, which they deny.

On the campaign trail, he boasts of the roads, hospitals and schools being built under his tenure, promising further projects if elected as president.

Not everyone is convinced.

"The transition was something I loved from the start," says Libreville resident Jacques Okoumba.

"I appreciated what they were doing, but after several months I realised not everything promised during the transition actually materialised."

After voting for a new constitution in a referendum in November 2024, many believed Saturday's election would signal the official end of the Bongo dynasty.

Oligui Nguema's supporters thought it would complete the work he started with his so-called "liberation coup" a year earlier, ending five decades of corruption scandals, rights abuses and alleged repression.

But political analysts like Bergès Mietté say they doubt how authentic that change is, arguing that political transition is truly valid "when there is a renewal of the political class and method of governance".

"Looking at the current situation, there's almost no renewal of the elite, because those in power now were part of the previous regime, be it that of Bongo the father or Bongo the son," he says.

For most Gabonese, this election is a chance to right some of the wrongs they suffered under the previous regime.

For the first time since 1967, the country will go to the polls without a Bongo or the PDG party on the ticket.

Critics say the new constitution and electoral code were designed to favour Oligui Nguema, because they did not bar the former military officer from running and they introduced age limits which meant older opposition leaders could not challenge him.

But others have dismissed this claim, attributing any potential victory to the fact that Oligui Nguema has no strong competition.

Additional reporting by Gift Ufuoma in Libreville

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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

The Nigerian authorities have banned broadcasters from playing the song Tell Your Papa, which criticises the country's leader.

Artist Eedris Abdulkareem's lyrics slam President Bola Tinubu and urge his influential son, Seyi, to let his father know "people are dying" through hardship and insecurity and there is "hunger" in the country.

In a letter to TV and radio stations, the National Broadcast Commission (NBC), which issues licenses and regulates the industry, ordered the track not to be played, saying it violates the country's broadcast code.

The NBC said it considered Tell Your Papa's content to be "inappropriate" and "objectionable" adding that it falls short of public decency standards.

Released earlier in the week, the song has gained a lot of attention on social media in Nigeria and has sparked debate regarding the economic and security situation in the country.

On becoming president in May 2023, Tinubu introduced a number of economic reforms which increased the cost of living.

He dropped the fuel subsidy, which had long kept petrol prices low, saying that the government could no longer afford it. Fuel prices then jumped sharply which had a knock-on effect on the rest of the economy.

Annual inflation was above 30% for most of last year and the price of some basic food items increased by even more.

This has led some Nigerians to cut back on the number of meals they eat a day and the amount of food they consume.

There are also worries about the level of insecurity in the country with kidnapping-for-ransom still a major issue and fears that Islamist militant group Boko Haram could make a resurgence in the north-east.

On the track, in a mix of English, Yoruba and Pidgin, Abdulkareem tells Tinubu's son that his father "is not trying" and that he has made "too many empty promises".

When it comes to insecurity, the artist urges Seyi to travel by road, instead of private jet, to experience the dangers faced by ordinary Nigerians.

Tinubu's government has in the past defended its economic policies saying that the president was aiming to put the country on a stable footing in the long term.

In order to deal with the short-term pain, the authorities have an on-going cash transfer scheme to help 15 million poorer Nigerian households.

When it comes to security, the government has said that the situation has improved in the last 18 months.

As the licensing authority, the NBC can sanction broadcasters for ignoring its orders. In the past they have fined stations and suspended licenses for violations.

Abdulkareem is not new to controversy as he recorded a similar song in the past.

In 2003, he released his most popular tune to date - Nigeria jaga jaga, meaning "Nigeria has spoiled".

Then President Olusegun Obasanjo reacted harshly, publicly insulting Abdulkareem. The song was banned for broadcasters but gained popularity among Nigerians and became a street anthem.

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Donald Trump announced a massive tariff plan last week that would have upended the global economic order as well as long-established trading relationships with America's allies.

But that plan - or at least a significant part of is - is on ice after the president suspended higher tariffs on most countries for 90 days while leaning into a trade war with China.

So with this partial reversal, is Trump any closer to realising his goals on trade? Here's a quick look at five of his key ambitions and where they now stand.

1) Better trade deals

What Trump said: For decades, our country has been looted, pillaged, and plundered by nations near and far, both friend and foe alike

Trump's original trade plan packed a big punch that landed around the world, with a flat 10% baseline tariff on everyone (including some uninhabited islands) and additional "reciprocal" tariffs on the 60 counties that he said were the worst offenders.

It sent allies and adversaries scrambling, as they stared down the prospect of a debilitating blow to their economies.

The White House has been quick to boast about all the world leaders who have reached out to the president to make deals and offer trade concessions – "more than 75", according to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.

Although the administration hasn't released a list of all the countries that Trump said on Tuesday were "kissing my ass" and promising to do anything, the US has announced it is in negotiations with South Korea and Japan, among others.

The takeaway: America's trading partners have 90 days to strike some sort of agreement with Trump, and the clock is ticking. But the fact that talks are happening indicates that the president has a good chance of getting something for his efforts.

• What does the tariff pause mean for global trade?

2) Boosting American industry

What Trump said: Jobs and factories will come roaring back into our country…We will supercharge our domestic industrial base.

Trump has said for decades that tariffs are an effective way of rebuilding America's manufacturing base by shielding it from unfair foreign competition. While some factories may be able to increase production in current facilities, more substantive efforts take time. And for business leaders to pull the trigger on "reshoring" their production lines and investing in new US factories, they will want to know that the rules of the game are relatively stable.

The president's on-again, off-again tariff moves over the past week are inherently unstable, however. For the moment, it's difficult to predict where the final tariff levels will land and which industries will receive the greatest protections. It could be auto manufacturers and steel producers today, and high-tech electronics companies tomorrow.

The takeaway: When tariffs are applied and removed seemingly at the president's whim, it's much more likely that companies – both in the US and abroad – will hunker down and wait for the dust to settle before making any big commitments.

3) Facing off with China

What Trump said: I have great respect for President Xi of China, great respect for China, but they were taking tremendous advantage of us.

After Trump's tariff about-face on Wednesday, several White House officials – including Treasury Secretary Bessent - were quick to say that Trump's goal was to drop the hammer on the real villain, China.

"They are the biggest source of the US trade problems," Bessent told reporters, "and indeed they are the problem for the rest of the world.

If Trump wanted a battle of wills with China, testing each side's tolerance for economic and political pain, he got one – even if the president and his aides have hinted that they are looking for an exit ramp.

On Wednesday, Trump said that he blamed past US leaders, not China, for the current trade dispute. The prior day, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the president would be "incredibly gracious" if China reaches out to make a deal.

The takeaway: Even if this showdown is one Trump wants, picking a fight with the second-largest economy in the world, with military power to match, comes at enormous risk. And along the way America may have alienated the allies it needs most in such a confrontation.

• Why Trump is hitting China - and what might happen next

4) Raising revenue

What Trump said: Now it's our turn to prosper, and in so doing, use trillions and trillions of dollars to reduce our taxes and pay down our national debt, and it'll all happen very quickly.

During last year's presidential campaign, Trump regularly touted that his proposed tariffs would bring in vast sums in new revenue, which the US could then use to shrink its budget deficit, fund tax cuts and pay for new government programmes.

A study last year by the nonpartisan Tax Foundation estimated that a 10% universal tariff – which is what Trump has landed on for at least the next 90 days – would generate $2tn in new revenue over the next 10 years.

To put that in context, the tax cuts Congress recently included in its non-binding budget blueprint would cost approximately $5tn over the next 10 years, according to the Bipartisan Policy Center.

The takeaway: Trump wanted more tariff revenue, and if he sticks with his baseline tariffs, plus the additional levies on certain imports and larger ones on China, he's going to get it – at least until Americans switch to more domestic production, when the tariff money gusher could turn to a trickle.

• Is the US making $2bn a day from tariffs?

5) Lower prices for US consumers

What Trump said: Ultimately, more production at home will mean stronger competition and lower prices for consumers. This will be indeed the golden age of America.

Analysts and experts have offered a grab bag other explanations about why Trump made such an aggressive move on trade last week. Was he trying to drive down interest rates, or devalue the US dollar or bring the world to the table for a new, global agreement on trade? The president himself hasn't spoken much about those kinds of elaborate schemes.

One thing he has talked about relentlessly, however, is his desire to lower costs for American consumers - and he has promised that his trade policy will help address this. While energy prices dipped in the week since Trump announced his tariff plan, that may have been a result of fears that the trade wars could trigger a global recession.

The consensus among economists is that new tariffs will drive up consumer prices, as tariffs are tacked on to the price of imports and, eventually, when there is less competition for US-made products. Last year, the Tax Foundation estimated that a 10% universal tariff would increase costs for American households by an average of $1,253 in its first year. Economists also warn that lower-income Americans will be hardest hit.

The takeaway: An increase in prices is an arrow moving in the wrong direction – and it represents an enormous potential liability for both Trump's political standing and his party's future electoral prospects.

The commander of the US military base in Greenland has been fired after she reportedly sent an email distancing herself from Vice-President JD Vance's criticism of Denmark.

The US military's Space Operations Command said Colonel Susannah Meyers had been removed from her duties at Pituffik Space Base due to a "loss of confidence in her ability to lead".

Last month, Vance used a trip to the Arctic island to criticise Denmark - of which Greenland is a territory - for not spending more on security in the region, claiming it had "not done a good job" for Greenlanders.

The alleged email, released by a US military news site, told personnel that Vance's comments were "not reflective" of the base.

Following the trip, on 31 March, Col Meyers is reported to have written: "I do not presume to understand current politics, but what I do know is the concerns of the US administration discussed by Vice-President Vance on Friday are not reflective of Pituffik Space Base."

Military.com - which published the email - said the contents had been confirmed as accurate to them by the US Space Force.

Appearing to confirm this was the reason for her firing, chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell linked to the Military.com article in a post on X, writing: "Actions [that] undermine the chain of command or to subvert President [Donald] Trump's agenda will not be tolerated at the Department of Defense."

The Space Force's statement announcing Col Meyers' removal on Thursday said that Col Shawn Lee was replacing her.

It added: "Commanders are expected to adhere to the highest standards of conduct, especially as it relates to remaining nonpartisan in the performance of their duties."

During his whirlwind trip, Vance had also reiterated Trump's desire to annex Greenland for security reasons.

Since the US delegation's visit, both Greenland and Denmark have shown a united front, opposing a US annexation of the autonomous Danish territory.

Earlier this month, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen's official visit saw her stand side-by-side with her Greenlandic counterpart Jens-Frederik Nielsen and his predecessor, Mute Egede.

Speaking to reporters, Frederiksen directly addressed Trump, telling him: "You can't annex other countries."

She added that Denmark was fortifying its military presence in the Arctic, and offered closer collaboration with the US in defending the region.

Greenland, the world's largest island, has been under Danish control for around 300 years.

Polls show that the vast majority of Greenlanders want to gain independence from Denmark - but do not wish to become part of the US.

Greenland has had the right to call an independence referendum since 2009, though in recent years some political parties have begun pushing harder for one to take place.

Workers have been told to hurry home, classes have been suspended and outdoor events have been cancelled as northern China braces for extreme winds this weekend.

Millions have been urged to stay indoors, with some state media outlets warning that people weighing less than 50kg (110lbs) may be "easily blown away".

Winds reaching 150kph (93mph) are expected to sweep Beijing, Tianjin and other parts of Hebei region from Friday to Sunday, as a cold vortex moves southeast from Mongolia.

For the first time in a decade, Beijing has issued an orange alert for gales - the second-highest in a four-tier weather warning system.

Strong winds sweeping from Mongolia are not uncommon, especially at this time of the year. But the impending winds are expected to be stronger than anything the area has seen in years.

Temperatures in Beijing are expected to drop by 13 degrees Celsius within 24 hours, when the strongest winds hit on Saturday, authorities said.

"This strong wind is extreme, lasts for a long time, affects a wide area, and is highly disastrous," the Beijing Meteorological Service said.

China measures wind speed with a scale that goes from level 1 to 17. A level 11 wind, according to the China Meteorological Administration, can cause "serious damage", while a level 12 wind brings "extreme destruction".

The winds this weekend are expected to range from level 11 to 13.

Several sporting events slated for the weekend have been suspended, including the world's first humanoid robot half marathon, which will now be held on 19 April.

Parks and tourist attractions have been closed as authorities have told residents to avoid outdoor activities, while construction works and train services have been suspended.

Thousands of trees across the city have been reinforced or pruned to prevent them from falling.

Officials have warned people to avoid entering mountains and forests, where gusts are expected to be especially strong.

As residents hunker down, social media users are finding humour in their shelved weekend plans.

"This wind is so sensible, it starts on Friday evening and ends on Sunday, without disrupting work on Monday at all," said a Weibo user.

Hashtags about the strong winds, and the warning that those weighing less than 50kg could be swept away, have been trending on Chinese social media. One Weibo user quipped: "I eat so much all the time, just for this day."

Beijing has also issued an alert for forest fires and prohibited people from starting fires outdoors.

The winds are expected to start weakening on Sunday night.

"My heart and soul died when Rifaat was killed," says Hajjah Umm Mohammed, the mother of a Palestinian paramedic who was one of 15 emergency workers killed by Israeli troops in southern Gaza last month.

Rifaat Radwan, 23, was travelling in a Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) ambulance in a convoy of emergency vehicles when it came under fire on the outskirts of Rafah on 23 March.

"I never expected him to be killed, especially since the area was classified as 'green', meaning safe and open to ambulances," she adds.

The Israeli military initially claimed the troops opened fire because the convoy approached them "suspiciously" in darkness without headlights or flashing emergency lights.

However, video filmed by Rifaat and found on his phone after his body was recovered, showed the vehicles' lights were on as they answered a call to help wounded people.

"Forgive me, mother... this is the path I chose to help people," Rifaat can be heard saying in the video shortly before he was killed, amid the sound of heavy gunfire.

Umm Mohammed believes he was asking for her forgiveness because he knew she would never see him again.

"I entrusted Rifaat to God every time he went out to work," she says. "He was brave, travelling across Gaza from north to south."

Rifaat began volunteering with the PRCS after Israel launched a military campaign in Gaza following Hamas's unprecedented cross-border attack on 7 October 2023.

Umm Mohammed says her son enjoyed humanitarian work.

"He even transported the wounded to cross into Egypt for treatment through the Rafah crossing."

Umm Mohammed explains that on the day he died, Rifaat had gone out with an ambulance after reports of several killed in an Israeli air strike.

"I didn't know he would be one of them [too]," she says.

It was a week before his body and those of his colleagues were found buried in a shallow grave on 30 March.

"Instead of celebrating Eid al-Fitr with Rifaat, we went with the Red Cross to collect his body from Nasser hospital in Khan Younis to bury him," she recalls.

"It was badly decomposed and they wouldn't allow me to see it."

Umm Mohammed says he was an "absolutely beautiful" human being and the sole supporter of her and his father after all his siblings got married.

Following the discovery of the video footage, an Israeli military official changed its initial account that claimed the vehicles approached without their lights on. The official said the person who gave the account was "mistaken".

The official also said the troops perceived the emergency workers as a threat because of an earlier encounter in the area, and that at least six of those killed were Hamas operatives, without providing any evidence.

The troops buried the bodies, including Rifaat's, in sand to protect them from wild animals, the official said.

They were not uncovered until a week after the incident because international agencies, including the UN, could not organise safe passage to the area or locate the spot.

When the UN-led team found the bodies they also discovered Rifaat's mobile phone containing footage of the incident.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has promised a "thorough examination" of the incident, saying it would "understand the sequence of events and the handling of the situation".

The PRCS has alleged that the emergency workers were targeted in a "series of deliberate attacks" which constituted a "full-fledged war crime", and demanded an independent international investigation.

"We need justice for the victims. We need to ensure that all of those who are responsible are held to account. Without this, the crimes will continue to happen," PRCS spokeswoman Nebal Farsakh said on Wednesday.

"I have already lost 27 PRCS colleagues. All of them were killed while doing their humanitarian work. All of them were killed while wearing the Red Crescent emblem. This is not acceptable. It should never, ever have happened. We are not targets. And international humanitarian law is clear – humanitarians, medical personnel should be respected and protected."

Munther Abed, a paramedic who survived the incident, says he and his colleagues were fired at without warning.

"I dropped to the floor in the back of the vehicle and didn't hear any sound from my colleagues except their death gasps," he told the BBC last week.

"Then, Israeli special forces arrested me, pinning my head to the ground so I couldn't see what happened to my team."

Holding back tears, Munther added: "When I found out they were all martyred, it crushed me. They were my second family... my brothers, my friends, my loved ones.

"I wished I had died from the horror of what I saw."

He says his phone was confiscated when he was detained.

"They interrogated me for 15 hours with beatings, insults, and both physical and verbal torture," he adds.

The BBC has put his claims to the IDF, but it is yet to respond.

The PRCS said the area the emergency workers were in had not been classified by the Israeli military as a "red zone", which meant no prior co-ordination was required to access the site, and that the video showed that Israeli military vehicles had not been visible in the area.

It said preliminary forensic reports showed that the paramedics were killed by "multiple gunshot wounds to the upper parts of the bodies", which it described as "further evidence of deliberate killing".

It also dismissed the IDF's internal inquiry and rejected the IDF's accusation that Hamas operatives were among those killed.

The IDF said in a statement on Monday that its Chief of Staff, Lt Gen Eyal Zamir, had been presented with the findings of the initial inquiry into the incident and instructed that it be "pursued in greater depth and completed in the coming days by the general staff investigation mechanism".

"All the claims raised regarding the incident will be examined through the mechanism and presented in a detailed and thorough manner for a decision on how to handle the event," it added.

About 1,200 people were killed and 251 were taken hostage in the Hamas attack on Israel on 7 October 2023.

More than 50,750 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the territory's Hamas-run health ministry.

A ceasefire deal announced in January collapsed in March and there are currently 59 hostages still held in Gaza, 24 of whom are believed to be still alive.

Euphoria and Grey's Anatomy star Eric Dane has revealed he has been diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), the most common form of motor neurone disease (MND).

Speaking to People, the 52-year-old US actor said he was "grateful to have my loving family by my side as we navigate this next chapter".

"I feel fortunate that I am able to continue working and am looking forward to returning to set of Euphoria next week," he added, while asking for privacy for himself and his family.

Dane stars as the Jacobs family patriarch Cal Jacobs on hit HBO teen drama show Euphoria, which is due to begin production on season three on Monday.

Before that, he was perhaps best known as Dr Mark Sloan on Grey's Anatomy from 2006.

He also played Jason Dean in fantasy drama series Charmed, and Captain Tom Chandler in action drama show The Last Ship, while appearing in films such as Marley & Me, Valentine's Day and Burlesque.

He is married to fellow actress and model Rebecca Gayheart, and the couple have two children.

What is ALS?

According to the NHS, MND "encompasses several different conditions whose common feature is the premature degeneration of motor nerves (known as neurons or sometimes neurones)".

It says nearly 90% of patients with MND have the mixed ALS form of the disease.

• ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, is a rare degenerative disease that causes progressive paralysis of the muscles
• Patients first experience twitching or weakness in a limb, often followed by slurred speech
• The disease affects the nerve cells in the brain and spine that control muscle movement, causing patients to slowly lose their ability to speak, eat, walk and breathe independently
• There is no cure for ALS, and, according to the Muscular Dystrophy Association, people usually live for three to five years after diagnosis although some can live for decades

At 01:00 on Tuesday morning Carwin Javie Molleja was dancing with his mother in Santo Domingo's Jet Set nightclub when he noticed something fall from the ceiling.

At the time, he didn't think much of it. "No-one thought that because a small stone fell the entire roof was going to collapse," he says.

The percussionist, who had moved to the Dominican Republic eight years earlier, was out with his mother, Carmin, and friends to see a concert by merengue singer Rubby Pérez.

It was the first time Carwin, 32, and his mother had seen each other in three years and it was meant to be a night of joy and celebration.

But in the early hours of Tuesday morning, disaster struck.

"What I have in my head are the screams, the loud sound of the ceiling falling in, my mom's screams asking me if I'm OK, me asking her if she's OK," Carwin recalls.

"Everything happened so fast. I guess I closed my eyes and my instinct was to hug my mum."

Both Carwin and his mother, who had been standing near the stage, were struck on the head by pieces of falling ceiling, but were lucky to avoid serious injury. Rubby Perez was among those killed.

In the chaos that quickly unfolded, Carwin managed to find a door through which he and his mother escaped outside.

But his friend Jessica and her sister were still in the club. Desperate to find them, he decided to go back inside.

Inside the club, Carwin desperately shouted Jessica's name but no one answered.

He says he felt powerless to help those who had become trapped under the debris.

"The stones were huge. I felt useless."

Carwin says he then repeatedly went out of the building, where he'd try to call paramedics, then return inside to shout his friend's name and call her phone.

"After that, the calls stopped going through."

Carwin describes the aftermath of the collapse as "total chaos".

"People were going crazy," he says.

"They were pulling out injured people. I saw when they pulled out the saxophonist who died."

Within minutes of the collapse, emergency services arrived, as ambulances and stretchers "kept coming".

Carwin says he remained at the scene for about an hour and a half after the collapse.

In that time, he says he didn't see any machinery arriving to remove the debris.

He says he wanted to continue trying to find his friend, but needed to take home his mother, who was in pain.

"I needed to get her home and calm her down."

Later that day, Jessica and her sister's lifeless bodies were found among the rubble. At least 221 people were killed in the disaster.

Carwin says he regrets not having been able to do more for his friend.

"It was horrible not being able to help her. I yelled her name, but she didn't answer. It feels awful not being able to do anything."

With reporting by Isabel Caro and Alicia Hernández.

At least one person is dead after a helicopter crashed into the Hudson River in New York, authorities said on Thursday.

The New York police department said at least two people were pulled from the water, though their condition remains unclear, an official told CBS News, the BBC's US partner. It is not clear if the person reported dead was one of the two people pulled from the river.

Marine and land units are on the scene of the crash but it remains unclear how many people were on board.

Video circulating on social media shows some debris floating in the river.

The crash which occurred around 15:15 EDT (20:15 GMT) happened closer to the New Jersey side of the Hudson River.

The site of the crash appears to be near Pier 40 in New York City.

Boat traffic and street traffic in the area has been stopped.

A BBC journalist who was at the top of the World Trade Center at the time of the crash said there were about a dozen boats surrounding the site of the crash.

Tourists atop the building had gathered on one side of the tower to look down at the site of the crash, he added.

A general strike against public spending cuts in Argentina has severely disrupted transport.

All domestic flights have been cancelled, while trains and metro services have been suspended in Buenos Aires and other parts of the country.

Many shops remained closed in the capital but bus drivers continued to work. Airlines said international flights would go ahead as planned, with only a few delays.

It is the third general strike called by Argentina's powerful unions since President Javier Milei took office at the end of 2023.

Since then, the president has introduced tough austerity measures to tackle hyperinflation. His plan has worked so far, with inflation down from more than 200% to about 60% a year. But the unions say the most vulnerable in society have been affected, including pensioners and low-paid workers.

Milei has slashed subsidies for transport, fuel and energy, fired tens of thousands of public servants and closed government departments.

Horacio Bianchi, a retired teacher living in Buenos Aires, told the Associated Press news agency people were suffering as they "don't have enough money to eat".

"These people [the government] came to solve the problems and they have absolutely worsened them for everyone," he added.

On Wednesday, workers had joined a weekly protest staged by pensioners who have seen their pension funds slashed. In recent weeks, their protests have ended in violence as sympathetic groups, such as football fans, clashed with police.

The protest action comes as the Argentine government awaits whether it will be granted a new $20bn (£15.4bn) loan from the International Monetary Fund.

The country already owes the lender $44bn.

The US Treasury said Milei had "brought Argentina back from economic oblivion".

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will travel to Buenos Aires on Monday in support of the reforms.

The US Supreme Court has ordered the Trump administration to facilitate the return of a Maryland man, who was mistakenly deported to El Salvador's notorious mega-jail.

The Trump administration had conceded that Kilmar Abrego Garcia was deported by accident, but appealed against a lower court's order to return him to the US.

On Thursday, in a 9-0 ruling, the Supreme Court declined to block the lower court's order.

The judge's order "requires the Government to 'facilitate' Abrego Garcia's release from custody in El Salvador and to ensure that his case is handled as it would have been had he not been improperly sent", the justices ruled.

Mr Garcia, now 29, entered the US illegally as a teenager from El Salvador. In 2019 he was arrested with three other men in Maryland and detained by federal immigration authorities.

But an immigration judge granted him protection from deportation on the grounds that he might be at risk of persecution from local gangs in his home country.

He is being held at a maximum security prison in El Salvador known as the Terrorism Confinement Center (Cecot), along with hundreds of other men the US has deported over the last few months over allegations of criminal and gang activity.

His wife, Jennifer Vasquez Sura, is a US citizen and has called for his release. He was reportedly working as a sheet metal worker when he was detained on 12 March.

On 4 April, Judge Paula Xinis of the Maryland district court had ordered the Trump administration to "facilitate and effectuate" the return of Mr Garcia.

The government has said Mr Garcia was deported on 15 March due to an "administrative error", although they also allege he is a member of the MS-13 gang, which his lawyer denies.

In its emergency appeal to America's highest court, the Trump administration argued the Maryland judge lacked authority to issue the order and that US officials cannot compel El Salvador to return Mr Garcia.

US Solicitor General D John Sauer wrote in his emergency court filing: "The United States does not control the sovereign nation of El Salvador, nor can it compel El Salvador to follow a federal judge's bidding."

He added: "The Constitution charges the president, not federal district courts, with the conduct of foreign diplomacy and protecting the nation against foreign terrorists, including by effectuating their removal."

On Monday, the Supreme Court put a temporary hold on the lower court's order while they considered the matter.

The US Supreme Court has ordered the Trump administration to facilitate the return of a Maryland man, who was mistakenly deported to El Salvador's notorious mega-jail.

The Trump administration had conceded that Kilmar Abrego Garcia was deported by accident, but appealed against a lower court's order to return him to the US.

On Thursday, in a 9-0 ruling, the Supreme Court declined to block the lower court's order.

The judge's order "requires the Government to 'facilitate' Abrego Garcia's release from custody in El Salvador and to ensure that his case is handled as it would have been had he not been improperly sent", the justices ruled.

Mr Garcia, now 29, entered the US illegally as a teenager from El Salvador. In 2019 he was arrested with three other men in Maryland and detained by federal immigration authorities.

But an immigration judge granted him protection from deportation on the grounds that he might be at risk of persecution from local gangs in his home country.

He is being held at a maximum security prison in El Salvador known as the Terrorism Confinement Center (Cecot), along with hundreds of other men the US has deported over the last few months over allegations of criminal and gang activity.

His wife, Jennifer Vasquez Sura, is a US citizen and has called for his release. He was reportedly working as a sheet metal worker when he was detained on 12 March.

On 4 April, Judge Paula Xinis of the Maryland district court had ordered the Trump administration to "facilitate and effectuate" the return of Mr Garcia.

The government has said Mr Garcia was deported on 15 March due to an "administrative error", although they also allege he is a member of the MS-13 gang, which his lawyer denies.

In its emergency appeal to America's highest court, the Trump administration argued the Maryland judge lacked authority to issue the order and that US officials cannot compel El Salvador to return Mr Garcia.

US Solicitor General D John Sauer wrote in his emergency court filing: "The United States does not control the sovereign nation of El Salvador, nor can it compel El Salvador to follow a federal judge's bidding."

He added: "The Constitution charges the president, not federal district courts, with the conduct of foreign diplomacy and protecting the nation against foreign terrorists, including by effectuating their removal."

On Monday, the Supreme Court put a temporary hold on the lower court's order while they considered the matter.

The government has announced a further £450m of military support to Kyiv, as the UK and Germany prepare to host a meeting of 50 nations in Brussels.

Defence officials are convening to "pile pressure" on Russian President Vladimir Putin and force him to end his invasion of Ukraine, UK Defence Secretary John Healey said.

"We must step up to deter Russian aggression by continuing to bolster Ukraine's defences," he added.

The package includes funding for hundreds of thousands of drones, anti-tanks mines and and repairs to military vehicles.

• Starmer accuses Putin of 'playing games' over Ukraine peace deal

About £350m will by provided by the UK, with extra funding from Norway via the UK-led International Fund for Ukraine.

The package includes £160m to provide repairs and maintenance to vehicles and equipment the UK has already provided to Ukraine.

A "close fight" military aid package, with funding for radar systems, anti-tank mines and hundreds of thousands of drones, worth more than £250m is also part of the package, the government said.

Healey said the work of the group "is vital to put Ukraine in the strongest possible position".

"We cannot jeopardise peace by forgetting the war, which is why today's major package will surge support to Ukraine's frontline fight," he said.

"2025 is the critical year for Ukraine.

"Our job as defence ministers is to put into the hands of the Ukrainian war fighters what they need."

The fund follows a series of military pledges to Ukraine from the UK.

Last month, Sir Keir Starmer announced a £1.6bn missile deal for Ukraine, following a summit of European leaders in London, on top of a £2.2bn loan to provide more military aid backed by profits from frozen Russian assets.

The Lib Dems said the support package announced on Friday was "small change" and called for the government to seize Russian assets in Britain to give Ukraine more funding.

"While we welcome any increase in support for Ukraine, this package is small change compared to what's needed to combat Putin's barbaric war," the party's defence spokeswoman Helen Maguire said.

Healey and his German counterpart, defence minister Boris Pistorius, are co-chairing Friday's meeting of the Ukraine Defence Contact Group, which had traditionally been hosted by the US defence secretary until Donald Trump became president in January.

Since then, in a sign of the US stepping back from European security matters, Healey has taken over as chair.

The meeting follows a similar gathering of defence ministers from 30 countries in the Franco-British-led "coalition of the willing", who met in Brussels to discuss installing a force in Ukraine to ensure enduring peace.

Healey said he did not envisage "a reassurance force" that will "separate the currently warring sides down the line of contact", according to the AFP news agency, but added that bolstering Ukraine's armies would be a key part of the plan.

A tattoo belonging to a man from Derbyshire has appeared in a US government document used to identify members of a notorious Venezuelan gang - despite the man having no connection to the group.

Pete Belton, 44, from Ilkeston says he was shocked to find his forearm featured in a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) document used to help identify alleged members of Tren de Aragua (TdA), a transnational criminal organisation.

"I'm just an average middle-aged man from Derbyshire," he told BBC Verify.

Mr Belton said it was a "bit strange, bit funny at first" but is now worried the family trip he booked to Miami with his wife and daughter in August might end up "being a six month all-inclusive holiday to Guantanamo".

The Trump administration has already deported hundreds of alleged gang members to a high-security jail El Salvador. Lawyers for some of those deportees say they have been been incorrectly identified as TdA members based on their tattoos.

Mr Belton's tattoo - a clock face with the date and time of his daughter's birth - was included in a set of nine images for "detecting and identifying" TdA members. Other tattoos featured stars, crowns and a Michael Jordan "jumpman" logo.

"Open source material has depicted TdA members with a combination of the below tattoos," states the document which appeared in court filings.

But reverse image searches show that several of the pictures first appeared on tattoo websites with no obvious links to Venezuela or TdA.

One of them led BBC Verify to an Instagram post by a Nottingham-based tattoo artist who posted about Mr Belton's tattoo nearly a decade ago.

The tattoo image in the DHS document is worse quality than the Instagram post, which was shared in 2016, but it is clearly the same arm and features the same clock face tattoo.

The same image of Mr Belton's tattoo also appeared in a September 2024 report by the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) about TdA activity.

BBC Verify contacted both the US DHS and the Texas DPS about the source of the images, but did not receive a response.

But in an email the DHS said it was confident in its law enforcement's intelligence and that its "assessments go well beyond just gang affiliate tattoos and social media."

It's unclear exactly how Mr Belton's tattoo ended up in the US documents, but he's worried about being linked to the gang.

"In my head I'm thinking if I'm working in border force and I saw me walking through I'd think 'hey up we've got one, he's the one in the document'."

He provided multiple images of the tattoo to prove that it's his - and he says that he has no association to the Venezuelan group.

The US government hasn't deported anyone based on their tattoos alone, according to comments from an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) official in a court filing last month.

However, court documents show immigration officials are employing a points-based system known as the "Alien Enemy Validation Guide" to determine if someone is linked to the Venezuelan gang.

It includes a scorecard, and according to the document, eight points across a number of categories could be grounds for arrest or deportation.

Half of these points can be given if a "subject has tattoos denoting membership or loyalty to TdA".

The document says if all eight points come from the symbolism category, which includes tattoos, then further consultation should be taken before designating someone as a member of TdA.

Venezuelan investigative journalist Ronna Risquez, who wrote a book on TdA's origins, said tattoos alone are not evidence of membership.

"TdA does not have tattoos that identifies the gang," she said.

"To confirm whether a person is a member of TdA, authorities must conduct a police investigation to determine whether they have a criminal record. A tattoo, their clothing, or their nationality are not proof."

However, there have been cases where lawyers have argued that people have been wrongfully identified based on their tattoos and were subsequently deported.

US media have reported on a man who's lawyers say was deported because of a crown tattoo which was inspired by the Real Madrid football club logo.

Another case saw a makeup artist was sent to El Salvador after his a crown tattoo with the words "mum" and "dad" was used by US officials as evidence for gang membership, according to his attorneys.

Back in Derbyshire, Mr Belton says his family have considered cancelling their trip to the US due to the potential risks, but they are going to monitor how the story develops.

"Hopefully now they'd realise I'm not a Venezuelan gangster but I've seen crazier things happen in the news recently, so we're just going to wait and see."

What do you want BBC Verify to investigate?

At least one person is dead after a helicopter crashed into the Hudson River in New York, authorities said on Thursday.

The New York police department said at least two people were pulled from the water, though their condition remains unclear, an official told CBS News, the BBC's US partner. It is not clear if the person reported dead was one of the two people pulled from the river.

Marine and land units are on the scene of the crash but it remains unclear how many people were on board.

Video circulating on social media shows some debris floating in the river.

The crash which occurred around 15:15 EDT (20:15 GMT) happened closer to the New Jersey side of the Hudson River.

The site of the crash appears to be near Pier 40 in New York City.

Boat traffic and street traffic in the area has been stopped.

A BBC journalist who was at the top of the World Trade Center at the time of the crash said there were about a dozen boats surrounding the site of the crash.

Tourists atop the building had gathered on one side of the tower to look down at the site of the crash, he added.

A Palestinian man jailed by Israel for an attack when he was 13 has been released after nearly a decade in prison.

Ahmed Manasra, who is now 23, became a symbol of a wave of Israeli-Palestinian violence that began in 2015.

Surveillance footage showed him and his 15-year-old cousin, Hassan, brandishing large kitchen knives in a Jewish settlement in Israeli-annexed East Jerusalem. Hassan wounded a 13-year-old Israeli boy and an Israeli man before he was shot dead by police.

Manasra's case has long been a focus of human rights groups. Amnesty International said he endured "shocking ill-treatment", including nearly two years of solitary confinement, causing him to develop serious mental illness.

His lawyer, Khaled Zabarqa told the BBC he was freed after serving his sentence.

Israelis saw the young age of Manasra and his cousin at the time of the attack as evidence that they had been indoctrinated by propaganda.

After the stabbings, Manasra fled the scene and was hit by a car. A graphic video widely shared on social media showed him as he lay bleeding profusely on the street and an Israeli bystander jeered and heckled.

This footage provoked outrage in the Arab world and many assumed the boy was dead. However, days later Israeli authorities published a photo of him being treated in hospital.

Later, Manasra was convicted of attempted murder and sentenced to nine-and-a-half years in jail.

Doctors say that he developed schizophrenia behind bars and tried to harm others and himself.

Repeated legal appeals for his early release were denied on the grounds that he was convicted of a terrorist offence.

Since his release, his family has declined to speak to journalists.

"Until now, Ahmed's health state is unknown, and the family's priority is to diagnose and treat him and follow up on his health situation to lessen the side-effects that Ahmed might face," Khaled Zabarqa said.

Amnesty International and the Israeli NGO, Adalah, accuse the Israeli authorities of breaches of international law throughout Manasra's case.

They point to his interrogation at age 13 - without a guardian or lawyer present.

Leaked video showed Israeli security staff shouting and insulting him as he became visibly distressed.

"Manasra's rights were systematically stripped since his imprisonment. He has only been allowed to see his immediate family through a glass wall, without any physical contact," Adalah said in a statement.

"He has been completely denied the right to education and stripped of other basic rights. His right to dignity was violated, including through two years spent in solitary confinement, and his right to health was disregarded due to ongoing medical neglect by the Israel Prison Service."

The prisons service says that all detainees are held in accordance with international law and that any allegations of abuse are investigated.

Recently released Palestinian prisoners say that conditions inside Israeli jails have become much harsher since the deadly Hamas-led assault on southern Israel in October 2023, which triggered the Gaza war.

Many of those freed during the recent ceasefire in Gaza appeared thin and sick, and some needed immediate hospital treatment.

They have described beatings, severe overcrowding, insufficient medical care, scabies outbreaks, and poor sanitary conditions.

Israel's far-right National Security Minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, has boasted of ordering tight restrictions on security prisoners.

Last month, a 17-year-old Palestinian boy from the occupied West Bank who was held in an Israeli jail for six months without charge died after collapsing, in unclear circumstances.

Walid Khalid Ahmed became the first Palestinian child to die in Israeli detention.

An Israeli doctor who observed the post-mortem examination found that he was suffering from extreme malnutrition.

More on the Israel-Gaza war:

Israel's defence minister has said it will expand its so-called "security zones" in Gaza to include the southern city of Rafah.

During a visit to the area, Israel Katz said the military was leaving Gaza "smaller" and "more isolated" to pressure Hamas into releasing the hostages it is still holding.

The military has already seized land running along the entirety of the Palestinian territory's borders, which it has characterised as a buffer zone to prevent attacks.

The expansion to cover Rafah and its surrounding areas - which make up almost one fifth of Gaza - comes after the military ordered civilians to evacuate and established a new corridor separating them from nearby Khan Younis.

Two-thirds of Gaza has been designated as "no-go" zones or placed under evacuation orders since Israel resumed its offensive against Hamas on 18 March following the collapse of a two-month ceasefire, according to the UN.

It says 390,000 Palestinians – almost a fifth of the 2.1 million population - have been displaced once again, with no safe place to go.

The UN is also warning that supplies of food, medicine and fuel have run out because Israel blocked deliveries of humanitarian aid to Gaza since 2 March.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) launched a ground offensive in Rafah - home to about 280,000 people before the war - last May, leaving large parts of the city in ruins.

It also seized a strategically important strip of land running along the nearby border with Egypt, known as the "Philadelphi Corridor", which it said was necessary to prevent weapons being smuggled into Gaza and Hamas rearming.

During the ceasefire that began in January, about 100,000 residents returned to what was left of their homes in the city after troops pulled back to border areas.

On 31 March, almost two weeks after the resumption of the war, the IDF issued a new sweeping evacuation order that the UN said covered 97% of Rafah and its surrounding governorate, spanning 64 sq km (25 sq miles).

Displaced people were told to head to tent camps in the coastal al-Mawasi area, which the IDF previously designated as a "humanitarian zone".

The Rafah area was reported to be almost completely empty when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced three days later that troops were "seizing the Morag Corridor" - a reference to a former Jewish settlement located between Rafah and Khan Younis.

He said it would be "the second Philadelphi" and would increase pressure on Hamas to hand over the remaining 59 hostages, 24 of whom are believed to be alive.

On Wednesday, Defence Minister Israel Katz visited troops deployed in the new corridor with senior Israeli commanders and journalists.

"The IDF is eliminating terrorists, locating and thwarting terrorist infrastructure, and dismembering the Gaza Strip, even in places like the Morag corridor, where we have not operated to date," he said in a video later released by his office.

"The population of Gaza is being evacuated from the fighting zones, and many areas are being seized and added to the security zones of the State of Israel, leaving Gaza smaller and isolated."

Katz also warned that "if Hamas continues to refuse and does not release the hostages soon, the IDF will carry out intense military operations across all of Gaza".

An Israeli journalist for the Ynet news website who accompanied the minister separately quoted him as saying: "All of Rafah will be evacuated and turned into a security area. This is what we are doing now."

The BBC has asked the IDF for comment.

On Thursday morning, it said troops were continuing to operate "in the area of Rafah and along the Morag corridor", and that they had "eliminated several terrorists, located and dismantled terrorist infrastructure sites" while working to "establish operational control".

Israeli military analysts suggest there is a plan to push Palestinian civilians towards the coast so that Israeli forces can focus on eliminating Hamas in urban areas.

According to local media, this strategy would also allow the IDF to take control of the delivery of aid to the coast - bypassing both Hamas and international aid agencies.

On Tuesday, the UN said the IDF had issued 15 evacuation orders over the past three weeks, covering almost 131 sq km (51 sq miles), or 36% of Gaza.

Another 30% of the territory was covered by the Israeli-designated "no-go" zone along Gaza's borders, and along the Wadi Gaza river valley that separates the north and south of the territory, it added.

The UN human rights office warned last month that the evacuation orders failed to comply with the requirements of international law, accusing Israel of not taking any measures to provide accommodation for those affected or ensuring satisfactory hygiene, health, safety and nutrition conditions.

Israel's government said it was evacuating civilians to protect them from harm and from being used by Hamas as "human shields" in violation of international law.

The UN has also said that Israel's five-week blockade of Gaza violates international law, which requires it to ensure the basic needs of the civilian population under its control are met and allow the rapid and unimpeded passage of humanitarian assistance.

In a separate development on Thursday, the IDF announced that an strike in eastern Gaza City on Wednesday had killed the commander of Hamas's Shejaiya battalion, whom it identified as Haitham Sheikh Khalil and said had been planning attacks from the area.

A local hospital said the attack, which destroyed a four-storey building, killed at least 29 people, including children.

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.

More than 50,880 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the territory's Hamas-run health ministry.

At least one person is dead after a helicopter crashed into the Hudson River in New York, authorities said on Thursday.

The New York police department said at least two people were pulled from the water, though their condition remains unclear, an official told CBS News, the BBC's US partner. It is not clear if the person reported dead was one of the two people pulled from the river.

Marine and land units are on the scene of the crash but it remains unclear how many people were on board.

Video circulating on social media shows some debris floating in the river.

The crash which occurred around 15:15 EDT (20:15 GMT) happened closer to the New Jersey side of the Hudson River.

The site of the crash appears to be near Pier 40 in New York City.

Boat traffic and street traffic in the area has been stopped.

A BBC journalist who was at the top of the World Trade Center at the time of the crash said there were about a dozen boats surrounding the site of the crash.

Tourists atop the building had gathered on one side of the tower to look down at the site of the crash, he added.

A Russian-American citizen has been released in a prisoner swap between Moscow and Washington.

Amateur ballerina Ksenia Karelina, a Los Angeles resident, had been in prison in Russia for over a year, after being arrested in the city of Yekaterinburg in early 2024.

She was found guilty of treason for donating money to a US-based charity providing humanitarian support to Ukraine and was sentenced to 12 years in a penal colony.

In exchange, the US reportedly freed Arthur Petrov, a dual German-Russian citizen arrested in Cyprus in 2023. He was accused of illegally exporting microelectronics to Russia for manufacturers working with the Russian military.

The prisoner swap took place in Abu Dhabi in the early hours of Thursday.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed Ms Karelina was "on a plane back home to the United States."

He added she had been "wrongfully detained by Russia for over a year".

"President Trump secured her release. [The President] will continue to work for the release of ALL Americans."

CIA director John Ratcliffe was present at the exchange, the Wall Street Journal said.

It is the second prisoner swap between Russia and the US in less than two months.

In February, Russian national Alexander Vinnik - who was imprisoned in a US jail on money laundering charges - was freed in exchange for the release of American schoolteacher Marc Fogel.

Michelle Obama has spoken out against rumours that her marriage to Barack Obama might be in trouble.

The former first lady has not accompanied her husband to several high-profile events - including Donald Trump's inauguration and the funeral of former president Jimmy Carter - fuelling speculation that they might have become separated.

Without explicitly mentioning these occasions, Ms Obama told the Work in Progress podcast hosted by actress Sophia Bush that she was now in a position to control her own calendar as a "grown woman".

She said that people were not able to believe that she was "making a decision" for herself and instead "had to assume that my husband and I are divorcing".

Ms Obama shared that she felt some guilt for stepping back from certain duties.

"That's the thing that we as women, I think we struggle with like disappointing people," she said.

"I mean, so much so that this year people couldn't even fathom that I was making a choice for myself that they had to assume that my husband and I are divorcing.

"This couldn't be a grown woman just making a set of decisions for herself, right?" But that's what society does to us."

Ms Obama also said in the podcast: "I chose to do what was best for me. Not what I had to do. Not what I thought other people wanted me to do."

Her absence from President Trump's inauguration was seen as a break from tradition.

Despite carving out more time for herself, the former first lady said she still finds time to "give speeches, to be out there in the world, to work on projects. I still care about girls' education".

The Obamas celebrated their 32nd anniversary last year in October.

Ms Obama has previously been open about the struggles she faced in her marriage due to Mr Obama's political ambitions and time in the White House in her best-selling memoir, Becoming.

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An "unsecured" penguin in a cardboard box was the cause of a helicopter crash in South Africa, a report into the incident has found.

The penguin, which had been placed in the box and on the lap of a passenger, slid off and knocked the pilot's controls just after take-off from Bird Island off the Eastern Cape on 19 January.

The South African Civil Aviation Authority said the impact sent the helicopter crashing back to the ground. No-one on board, including the penguin, was hurt.

The authority said that "the lack of secure containment for the penguin" was responsible for creating the "dangerous situation".

According to the report, released this week, the flight had been conducting an aerial survey of the island in Gqeberha, Eastern Cape province.

After completing the survey, the helicopter landed, where a specialist then requested the transport of one penguin back to Port Elizabeth.

The report did not say why they had picked up the penguin.

The aviation authority said the pilot conducted a "risk assessment" but omitted to include the transport of the penguin on board which "was not in accordance with the Civil Aviation Regulations (CAR) 2011".

When the helicopter was about 15m (50 feet) above ground, the cardboard box slid off the lap of the specialist to the right and caused the cyclic pitch control lever to move to the far-right position causing the aircraft roll, the report determined.

Unable to recover, the main rotor blades then struck the ground and the helicopter ultimately crashed on its starboard side approximately 20m from the point of lift-off.

While the helicopter sustained substantial damage, both the pilot and passengers were uninjured and the penguin was unharmed.

The report said all situations should be subject to "established safety protocols" and compliance with aviation safety procedures.

It also said that a proper evaluation of the situation and potential hazards (such as cargo shifting) should have been conducted.

"The absence of a proper, secured crate meant that the penguin's containment was not suitable for the flight conditions," it said.

Michelle Obama has spoken out against rumours that her marriage to Barack Obama might be in trouble.

The former first lady has not accompanied her husband to several high-profile events - including Donald Trump's inauguration and the funeral of former president Jimmy Carter - fuelling speculation that they might have become separated.

Without explicitly mentioning these occasions, Ms Obama told the Work in Progress podcast hosted by actress Sophia Bush that she was now in a position to control her own calendar as a "grown woman".

She said that people were not able to believe that she was "making a decision" for herself and instead "had to assume that my husband and I are divorcing".

Ms Obama shared that she felt some guilt for stepping back from certain duties.

"That's the thing that we as women, I think we struggle with like disappointing people," she said.

"I mean, so much so that this year people couldn't even fathom that I was making a choice for myself that they had to assume that my husband and I are divorcing.

"This couldn't be a grown woman just making a set of decisions for herself, right?" But that's what society does to us."

Ms Obama also said in the podcast: "I chose to do what was best for me. Not what I had to do. Not what I thought other people wanted me to do."

Her absence from President Trump's inauguration was seen as a break from tradition.

Despite carving out more time for herself, the former first lady said she still finds time to "give speeches, to be out there in the world, to work on projects. I still care about girls' education".

The Obamas celebrated their 32nd anniversary last year in October.

Ms Obama has previously been open about the struggles she faced in her marriage due to Mr Obama's political ambitions and time in the White House in her best-selling memoir, Becoming.

You may also be interested in:

• Who pays for the clothing of world leaders and their spouses?
• Michelle Obama: Being kind to myself is a challenge
• Michelle Obama voices sympathy for Meghan on race