When Shahnaz went into labour, her husband Abdul called a taxi to take them to the only medical facility accessible to them.

"She was in a lot pain," he says.

A 20-minute drive away, the clinic was in Shesh Pol village in Afghanistan's north-eastern Badakhshan province. It was where their two older children were born.

Abdul sat next to Shahnaz comforting her as they drove over gravel tracks to reach help.

"But when we reached the clinic, we saw that it was closed. I didn't know it had shut down," he said, his face crumpling with agony.

Warning: Readers may find some details in this article distressing.

The clinic in Shesh Pol is one of more than 400 medical facilities that closed down in Afghanistan, one of the world's poorest countries, after the Trump administration cut nearly all US aid to the country earlier this year, in a drastic and abrupt move following the dismantling of the US Agency for International Development (USAID).

A single-storey structure with four small rooms, white paint peeling off its walls, the Shesh Pol clinic has USAID posters tacked up everywhere with information and guidance for pregnant women and new mothers.

It doesn't look like much but in Badakhshan's mountainous, unforgiving terrain, where a lack of access has been a major reason for historically high maternal mortality rates, the clinic was a critical lifeline, part of a wider programme implemented during the tenure of the US-backed government in the country, to reduce maternal and newborn deaths.

It had a trained midwife who assisted around 25-30 deliveries every month. It had a stock of medicines and injections, and it also provided basic healthcare services.

Other medical facilities are simply too far from Abdul's village, and it was not without risk for Shahnaz to travel on bumpy roads. Abdul also didn't have money to pay for a longer journey - renting the taxi cost 1,000 Afghani ($14.65; £12.70), roughly a quarter of his monthly income as a labourer. So they decided to return home.

"But the baby was coming and we had to stop by the side of the road," Abdul said.

Shahnaz delivered their baby girl in the car. Shortly after, she died, bleeding profusely. A few hours later, before she could be named, their baby also died.

"I wept and screamed. My wife and child could've been saved if the clinic was open," said Abdul. "We had a hard life, but we were living it together. I was always happy when I was with her."

He doesn't even have a photo of Shahnaz to hold on to.

There's no certainty the mother and baby would've survived if they'd been treated at the clinic, but without it, they didn't stand a chance, underlining the undeniable impact of US aid cuts in Afghanistan.

For decades, America has been the largest donor to Afghanistan, and in 2024, US funds made up a staggering 43% of all aid coming into the country.

The Trump administration has justified withdrawing it, saying there were "credible and longstanding concerns that funding was benefiting terrorist groups, including... the Taliban", who govern the country. The US government further added that they had reports stating that at least $11m were "being siphoned or enriching the Taliban".

The report that the US State Department referenced was made by the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR). It said that $10.9m of US taxpayer money had been paid to the Taliban-controlled government by partners of USAID in "taxes, fees, duties, or utilities".

The Taliban government denies that aid money was going into their hands.

"This allegation is not true. The aid is given to the UN, and through them to NGOs in provinces. They identify who needs the aid, and they distribute it themselves. The government is not involved," said Suhail Shaheen, the head of the Taliban's political office in Doha.

The Taliban government's policies, especially its restrictions on women, the harshest in the world, have meant that after four years in power, it is still not recognised by most of the world. It's also a key reason donors have been increasingly walking away from the country.

The US insists no one has died because of aid cuts. Shahnaz and her baby's deaths are not recorded anywhere. Neither are countless others.

The BBC has documented at least half a dozen first-hand, devastating accounts in areas where USAID-supported clinics have shut down.

Right next to Shahnaz's grave, villagers who had gathered around us pointed to two other graves. They told us both were of women who died in childbirth in the past four months – Daulat Begi and Javhar. Their babies survived.

Not far from the graveyard, we met Khan Mohammad whose wife, 36-year-old Gul Jan, died in childbirth five months ago. Their baby boy Safiullah died three days later.

"When she became pregnant, she would go to the clinic for check-ups. But midway through her pregnancy it shut down. During the delivery she had a lot of pain and blood loss," Khan Mohammad said. "My children are sad all the time. No one can give them the love of a mother. I miss her every day. We had a sweet and loving life together."

A roughly five-hour drive from Shesh Pol, in Cawgani, another village where a USAID-backed clinic closed down, Ahmad Khan, the grief-stricken father of Maidamo showed us the room in their mud and clay home where she died giving birth to baby Karima.

"If the clinic had been open, she might have survived. And even if she had died, we would not have had regrets knowing the medics tried their best. Now we're left with regret and pain. America did this to us," he said, tears rolling down his face.

In another home a few lanes away, Bahisa tells us how terrifying it was to give birth at home. Her three other children were born in the Cawgani clinic.

"I was so scared. In the clinic, we had a midwife, medicines and injections. At home I had nothing, no painkillers. It was unbearable pain. I felt like life was leaving my body. I became numb," she said.

Her baby girl, named Fakiha, died three days after she was born.

The closure of clinics in villages has resulted in a surge of patients at the maternity ward of the main regional hospital in the provincial capital Faizabad.

Getting to it, through Badakhshan's treacherous landscape is risky. We were shown a horrifying photo of a newborn baby, who was delivered on the way to Faizabad, and whose neck snapped before he got to the hospital.

We had visited the hospital back in 2022, and while it was stretched then, the scenes we saw this time were unprecedented.

In each bed, there were three women. Imagine having gone into labour, or just having gone through a miscarriage, and not even having a bed to yourself to lie in.

It's what Zuhra Shewan, who suffered a miscarriage, had to endure.

"I was bleeding severely and didn't even have a place to sit. It was really hard. By the time a bed is free, a woman could die bleeding," she said.

Dr Shafiq Hamdard, the director of the hospital, said: "We have 120 beds in the hospital. Now we've admitted 300 to 305."

While the patient load is swelling, the hospital, too, has faced sharp cuts in its funding.

"Three years ago our annual budget was $80,000. Now we have $25,000," Dr Hamdard said.

By August this year, there had been as many maternal deaths recorded as there were for the whole of last year. Which means that at this rate, maternal mortality could increase by as much as 50% over last year.

Newborn deaths have already increased by roughly a third in the past four months, compared with the start of the year.

Razia Hanifi, the hospital's head midwife, says she's exhausted. "I have been working for the past 20 years. This year is the toughest, because of the overcrowding, the shortage of resources and the shortage of trained staff," she said.

But no reinforcements are coming because of the Taliban government's restrictions on women. Three years ago, all higher education, including medical education was banned for women. Less than a year ago, in December 2024, training for midwives and female nurses was also banned.

At a discreet location, we met two female students who were midway through the training when it was closed. They didn't want to be identified for fear of reprisal.

Anya (name changed) said they both were in graduate courses at university when the Taliban took over. When those were closed in December 2022, they began midwife and nursing training, as it was the only path left to getting an education and a job.

"When that was also banned, I became depressed. I was crying day and night, and I wasn't able to eat. It's a painful situation," she said.

Karishma (named changed) said: "There is already a shortage of midwives and nurses in Afghanistan. Without more being trained, women will be forced to give birth at home which will put them at risk."

We asked the Taliban government's Suhail Shaheen how they can justify bans which effectively curb access to health for half the population.

"It is our internal issue. These are our issues, how to handle them, how to consider them, how to take decisions, this is something internal. That is up to the leadership. Based on the needs of the society, they will take a decision," he said.

With their access to medical services severely restricted, by wave after wave of crushing blows, for Afghanistan's women, their right to health, and life itself, is at grave risk.

Additional reporting, photography and video: Aakriti Thapar, Mahfouz Zubaide, Sanjay Ganguly

Top image shows Abdul with his daughter and son in Shesh Pol.

Charlie Kirk's alleged killer is "not cooperating" with authorities and has not confessed to carrying out the shooting, Utah's governor Spencer Cox has told US media.

Suspect Tyler Robinson, 22, was taken into custody some 33 hours after Kirk, a 31-year-old right-wing activist, was shot dead in Orem on Wednesday.

Speaking to ABC News, Cox, a republican, said people around Mr Robinson had been cooperating with the investigation.

Cox appeared on various US news outlets on Sunday morning, where he also reiterated concerns regarding social media in the aftermath of Kirk's death.

The governor was also asked about a New York Times report alleging Mr Robinson had spoken to others after the shooting via the Discord messaging platform, including allegations that he joked about being the gunman.

Cox said told ABC News: "All we can confirm is that those conversations definitely were happening, and they did not believe it was actually him.

"It was, it was all joking until, until he, you know, until he admitted that it actually was him."

Mr Robinson was arrested on Thursday night after surrendering to police.

Kirk was speaking at Utah Valley University at an open-air event held by Turning Point USA - the organisation he co-founded - when he was shot and killed.

The event was part of the American Comeback Tour, which was a speaking engagement that took him to several college campuses throughout the US.

Cox previously told the Wall Street Journal that Mr Robinson, a Utah native, was "deeply indoctrinated with leftist ideology".

When questioned on it during CNN's State of the Union programme on Sunday, he said the information was offered by the suspect's friends and family.

"There's so much more that we're learning and so much that we will learn," he explained, adding that when official charges are filed, there will be "much more evidence and information available then".

An affidavit from the state of Utah confirms that Mr Robinson was arrested on suspicion of the crimes of aggravated murder, felony discharge of a firearm, and obstruction of justice.

He is currently being held without bail at Utah County Jail.

"We're interviewing all kinds of people - everyone that knows him - and trying to learn more about what the motive actually was," Cox said.

The governor said among those cooperating with authorities is Mr Robinson's roommate, who he said was also his partner.

He said the partner did not have have any knowledge about the alleged shooting, had been "incredibly cooperative" and was working with investigators "right now".

He also confirmed that the partner was currently transitioning, but, when asked by CNN, said that authorities do not yet know if that is relevant to the investigation.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has arrived in Israel to discuss the war in Gaza following Israel's attack on Hamas members in Qatar, which has drawn international condemnation.

Before his departure, Rubio said US President Donald Trump was unhappy with the Israeli strike on the key US ally, but stressed that the US-Israeli relationship was "very strong".

"Obviously we're not happy about it, the president was not happy about it. Now we need to move forward and figure out what comes next," Rubio said.

His visit comes as Israeli forces continue to destroy residential buildings in Gaza City, forcing thousands to flee ahead of an expected ground offensive to seize the city.

In his remarks at Joint Base Andrews, Rubio added that Trump's priority remained the return of all hostages and an end to the war. Hamas members had been in Doha to discuss the latest US proposal for a ceasefire in Gaza when Israel launched its strikes.

When asked whether the strike on Doha complicated Qatar's willingness to work with the US, Rubio said "they've been good partners on a number of fronts".

Qatar - a key US ally in the region and the location of a major American air base - will host an emergency Arab-Islamic summit on Monday to discuss next moves.

Doha has condemned Israel's attack as "cowardly" and a "flagrant violation of international law". Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the move was "fully justified" because it targeted senior Hamas leaders who organised the 7 October 2023 attacks.

Some 48 Israeli hostages, of whom 20 are believed to remain alive, are being held by Hamas in Gaza. Their families have said Netanyahu is the "one obstacle" preventing their return and reaching a peace deal.

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum wrote on social media that Israel's strike on Qatar last week shows "every time a deal approaches, Netanyahu sabotages it".

Netanyahu's plan to occupy Gaza City has drawn international criticism, with the UN warning a military escalation in an area where famine has been declared will push civilians into an "even deeper catastrophe".

Footage from Sunday verified by the BBC showed bombs hitting the al-Kawthar tower. Local officials told Reuters that at least 30 residential buildings had been destroyed. Israel said it had completed five waves of air strikes on the city over the past week, targeting more than 500 sites including what it said were Hamas reconnaissance and sniper sites, buildings containing tunnel openings and weapons depots.

Israel has demanded that Gaza City's residents leave the city and head south and on Saturday the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it estimated about 250,000 Palestinians had fled, though hundreds of thousands are believed to remain in the area. Hamas has called on people not to leave.

Some say they cannot afford to go while others say southern Gaza is not safe either as Israel has carried out air strikes there too.

"The bombardment intensified everywhere and we took down the tents, more than 20 families, we do not know where to go," Musbah al-Kafarna, displaced in Gaza City, told Reuters.

On Sunday, the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza said the bodies of 68 people killed by the Israeli military had arrived at its hospitals over the previous day.

Since UN-backed global food security experts confirmed a famine in Gaza City on 22 August, the ministry has reported that at least 144 people have died from starvation and malnutrition across the territory. Israel has said it is expanding its efforts to facilitate aid deliveries and has disputed the health ministry's figures on malnutrition-related deaths.

The Israeli military launched a campaign in Gaza in response to the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.

At least 64,871 people have been killed in Israeli attacks in Gaza since then, according to the territory's Hamas-run health ministry.

The king of South Africa's large Zulu community has challenged a professor and cultural expert to a stick fight, saying he had been insulted, along with the entire Zulu nation.

King Misuzulu kaZwelithini issued the challenge to Prof Musa Xulu in front of thousands of people who had gathered at his newly built royal palace for the annual Reed Dance.

"We are angry and we will do anything to protect and preserve our cultures," he said, according to the Timeslive news site.

Prof Xulu told the BBC he took the king's personal challenge as a joke, however he said he was worried for his safety in case he was attacked by other Zulus.

"I have received threats from hired assassins," he said, adding that he had lodged a formal complaint with the police.

King Misuzulu did not specify exactly what Prof Xulu had said to anger him but he was quoted as saying: "It pains me to see another man telling me how to do my job."

"It is okay if he is against me, but when he insults me, he insults the Zulu nation as well," he said, according to the IOL site, in what was reportedly an unusually short speech on one of the major events in the traditional Zulu calendar.

"If his friends are here, go and tell him that there is a fighting ring - if he wants a stick fight because I can take him up," said the king, aged 50.

Prof Xulu told the BBC he believes the king was angered by an interview he gave to local media, in which he said that the move to the new eMashobeni palace could be seen as wasteful, given that 152 million rand ($9m; £6.5m) had been spent on renovating the Enyokeni palace where the reed dance had been held since 1984, when the ceremony was introduced to South Africa.

But "talking about public finance is not an insult," he said.

"I'm not his spokesperson," he added, noting that he has doctorates in Zulu music and cultural tourism.

"I have nothing personal against the king."

On the question of stick-fighting, he said this was part of Zulu culture but those fighting had to be equals and "I'm not equal to the king".

The 64-year-old professor also said he had not done any stick-fighting since before he was a teenager.

King Misuzulu was crowned in 2022, after a year-long feud following the death of his father, long-time King Goodwill Zwelithini, and then his mother shortly afterwards.

Two of his brothers challenged Misuzulu's claim to the throne but he has been recognised by both the Zulu royal household and the South African state.

The throne has no formal political power, but about a fifth of South Africa's 64 million people are Zulu and its monarchy remains hugely influential with a yearly taxpayer-funded budget of more than $4.9m (£3.5m).

The Zulu kingdom has a proud history. It is world-famous for defeating British troops during the 1879 battle of Isandlwana.

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

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Romania says a Russian drone has breached its airspace - the second Nato country to report such an incursion.

Romanian fighter jets were in the air monitoring a Russian attack in Ukraine on Saturday and were able to track the drone near Ukraine's southern border, the defence ministry said in a statement.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the incursion could not be a mistake - it was "an obvious expansion of the war by Russia". Moscow has not commented on the Romanian claims.

On Wednesday, Poland said it had shot down at least three Russian drones which had entered its airspace.

In its statement, Romania's defence ministry said it detected the Russian drone when two F-16 jets were monitoring they country's border with Ukraine, after "Russian air attacks on Ukrainian infrastructure on the Danube".

The drone was detected 20km (12.4 miles) south-west of the village of Chilia Veche, before disappearing from the radar.

But it did not fly over populated areas or pose imminent danger, the ministry said.

Poland also responded to concerns over Russian drones on Saturday.

"Preventative operations of aviation - Polish and allied - have begun in our airspace," Prime Minister Donald Tusk said in a post on X.

"Ground-based air defence systems have reached the highest state of readiness."

Earlier this week Russia's defence ministry said there had been "no plans" to target facilities on Polish soil.

Belarus, a close Russian ally, said the drones which entered Polish airspace on Wednesday were an accident, after their navigation systems were jammed.

On Sunday, the Czech Republic announced it had sent a special operations helicopter unit to Poland.

The unit consists of three Mi-171S helicopters, each one capable of transporting up to 24 personnel and featuring full combat equipment.

The move is in response to Russian's incursion into Nato's eastern flank, the Czech Defence Minister Jana Cernochova said.

In response to the latest drone incursion, President Zelensky said the Russian military "knows exactly where their drones are headed and how long they can operate in the air".

He has consistently asked Western countries to tighten sanctions on Moscow.

US President Donald Trump also weighed in on airspace breach earlier this week, saying he was "ready" to impose tougher sanctions on Russia, but only if Nato countries met certain conditions, such as stopping buying Russian oil.

Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and has been making slow progress in the battlefield.

Trump has been leading efforts to end the war, but Russia has intensified attacks on Ukraine since President Vladimir Putin returned from a summit with Trump in Alaska last month.

Hermeto Pascoal, the innovative Brazilian composer famed for his blend of jazz and traditional music, has died at the age of 89.

The self taught multi-instrumentalist rose from child poverty to international fame - with Miles Davis calling him the most "important musician on the planet".

He was "surrounded by family and fellow musicians," a statement announcing his death says. It did not give details.

Pascoal wrote more than 2,000 instrumental pieces and continued to arrange music and record artists well into his 80s.

The artist was primarily a pianist and flutist, but also played saxaphone, guitars, drums, and accordions - and frequently incorporated household objects into his work.

While recording his debut album Slaves Mass for Warner Brothers in 1976, he brought a pair of live pigs into the studio.

Born on 22 June 1936 in a rural settlement north-east of Alagoas, he was unable to work outside with his family because of his albinism, and taught himself music while spending his days indoors.

Aged 10, he began playing at dances and weddings, before going on to play forró and other traditional Brazilian music across the region.

In the late 1950s, he moved to Rio de Janeiro and discovered the city's jazz scene, performing in nightclubs and joining a radio orchestra.

His blend of jazz and traditional folk styles sparked the attention of Brazil's biggest stars in the genre.

The singer Elis Regina performed with Pascoal, as did and percussionist Airto Moreira.

The latter accompanied him on a tour to the US, where he was introduced to Miles Davis.

But despite earning the respect of luminaries in the jazz world, Pascoal rejected the label as a jazz musician, and said he owed as much to Brazilian music like chorinho and samba.

"When they think I am doing one thing I am already doing something else... It's very liquid," he told Jazz World in 2022.

Pascoal's family announced his death on his Instagram page on Saturday.

It urged people "to let a single note ring - from an instrument, your voice, or a kettle - and offer it to the universe" if they wanted to honour him.

Nepal's newly-appointed interim prime minister says she will be in the post for no longer than six months.

"I did not wish for this job. It was after voices from the streets that I was compelled to accept," Sushila Karki said, speaking for the first time since being sworn into office on Friday. She said she would hand over to the new government which will emerge after elections on 5 March next year.

Her appointment comes after more than 70 people were killed during anti-corruption protests which ousted the Nepal's government.

Karki took the oath of office after an agreement with protest leaders from the so-called "Gen Z" movement.

"We have to work according to the thinking of the Gen Z generation," she said.

"What this group is demanding is the end of corruption, good governance and economic equality."

The mass protests, sparked by a ban on social media platforms, started on 8 September and over the course of two days descended into chaos and violence during which politicians' homes were vandalised and parliament was set on fire.

The death toll from the unrest has now reached 72, including three police personnel, officials say.

"I feel ashamed. If they were Nepalis who destroyed these essential structures, how can they be called Nepalis," the interim prime minister said on Sunday.

Karki, a former Supreme Court chief justice, is widely regarded as having a clean image.

But she has not been free from controversy, having faced an impeachment incident during her nearly 11-month tenure as chief justice.

Now Karki and her cabinet will face multiple challenges, including restoring law and order, rebuilding parliament and the other key buildings that were attacked, in addition to reassuring the Gen Z protesters who want change - and others in Nepal who are fearful its young democracy and constitutional order may be derailed.

Nigerian chef and former Guinness World Record holder, Hilda Baci, has attempted to make the world's largest pot of jollof rice, a popular West African dish.

Thousands of people gathered in Lagos to watch the food influencer's latest world record bid, after once holding the 2023 title for the longest cooking marathon - an exhausting 93 hours and 11 minutes - nearly four days.

Her gigantic jollof rice recipe included 4,000kg (8,800 lb) of rice, 500 cartons of tomato paste and 600kg of onions - all poured into a custom-made pot of almost 23,000 litres.

The dish took several hours to cook and now must be validated by the Guinness World Record with photo and video evidence of the achievement.

Baci, 28, told BBC Pidgin that it took her one year to plan how she would tackle the mammoth challenge.

"We are the giant of Africa, and jollof is a food that everybody knows Africans for," she said.

"It would make sense if we had the biggest pot of jollof rice, it would be nice for the country."

Manufacturing the giant steel vessel to hold her dish took a culinary team of 300 people two months to make.

Working with a group of assistants wielding massive wooden spatulas, Baci's crowning dish was later distributed for everyone to enjoy.

Jollof rice is a staple of Nigerian cuisine, featuring rice simmered in a tomato based sauce, often paired with meat or seafood.

Hilda Baci won a competition for her version of jollof rice in 2021, and then became a national sensation in 2023 when she claimed the cooking marathon record.

Washington, Utah, located just southwest of Zion National Park, is surrounded by cinematic mesas and has long been a hub for exploring the natural wonders of the American west.

Yet the last 48 hours have left residents wondering how the portal to the most beautiful parts of the country may have produced one of its ugliest acts of political violence in years.

Public records and police statements indicate that Tyler Robinson, the man authorities accused of killing the conservative activist Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University this week, resided in the area. On Saturday, authorities released an affidavit charging him with aggravated murder, felony discharge of a firearm, and obstruction of justice.

Local and federal law enforcement descended on typically quiet blocks in Washington and nearby St George, banging on doors and closing off streets as they carried out a high stakes investigation.

Outside the home tied to Mr Robinson and his parents in Washington, neighbours expressed shock that a fellow resident could have committed such an attack.

'You don't expect it'

"It shakes up a community because you don't expect it," said Addi Jacobson, 20, who recently moved into her grandmother's house in the neighbourhood.

Ms Jacobson said she did not personally know the Robinson family, but her grandmother did.

"She just was saying that she thinks that, from what she's seen and what she knows, they're a great family, just regular citizens," Ms Jacobson said. "She used the words, 'very patriotic people.'"

"We knew their family. Our whole neighbourhood is so close," said another neighbour who lived around the corner. She asked the BBC not use her name due to the heated political and online conversation around Kirk's murder.

She recalled Tyler Robinson "was a pretty quiet kid," though his younger brothers were more involved in community and sports. She called his mother, Amber Robinson, "an amazing parent," and his father, Matthew Robinson, "a hard worker". Both occasionally attended a nearby Mormon church, she said.

"That just even goes to show you can be an amazing parent, and your kids still just chooses what they choose," said the neighbour.

"This is a good family," Utah Governor Spencer Cox told CNN on Saturday. "A normal childhood. All of those things that, that you would hope would never lead to something like this. And sadly, it did."

On 10 September, Kirk was shot in front of hundreds of students and observers, and was later pronounced dead at the hospital. Videos of the carnage spread across social media, and President Donald Trump, Vice-President JD Vance, and leaders of both major US political parties condemned the assassination.

"If you thought that my husband's mission was powerful before, you have no idea. You have no idea what you just have unleashed across this entire country," the activist's wife, Erika Kirk, said in her first public statement on Saturday.

Officials initially held two suspects but later let them go. On Friday, Utah Governor Spencer Cox announced Mr Robinson was in custody. His father had persuaded him to surrender, officials said.

'It blows your mind'

The night before, police vehicles descended on a townhouse complex in St George, Utah where local media reports Mr Robinson had an apartment.

Sherri Steele, who lives across the street from the residence, came back from an evening walk to see a large police presence in her complex. In a video she shared with the BBC, a loud voice - which she said belonged to authorities - can be heard shouting, "Freeze!" and "Come out now!"

"It just kind of blows your mind, coming up the street and all the sudden there are helicopters above your house," Ms Steele said, adding she had never spoken or interacted with Mr Robinson.

Another neighbour, 18-year-old Josh Kemp, said he had seen Mr Robinson leaving his house on one occasion with a roommate.

According to Mr Robinson's affidavit, police interviewed a roommate who showed them messages Robinson had allegedly posted on Discord.

The messages, attributed to Mr Robinson, discussed a "need to retrieve a rifle from a drop point, leaving the rifle in a bush, messages related to visually watching the area where a rifle was left, and a message referring to having left the rifle wrapped in a towel."

"The messages also refer to engraving bullets, and a mention of a scope and the rifle being unique," the affidavit states.

Utah County Attorney Jeff Gray plans to file formal charges against Mr Robinson on Tuesday, CBS News reported, and the accused will have his first court appearance that day.

The nation - including the current occupants of the White House in Washington, DC - will be watching.

But Washington, Utah will too.

"This whole time, I never knew that I was living next to somebody capable of something like this," Ms Jacobson said as she played in the park with her fiancé and baby.

"It just makes you kind of question how much closer am I to somebody else that could be this way?"

Fourteen staff members at a US animal shelter were hospitalised on Wednesday after the FBI used an incinerator at the facility to burn two pounds of seized methamphetamine.

Staff and some 75 cats and dogs were evacuated from the Yellowstone Valley Animal Shelter in Billings, Montana, when the building filled with smoke.

The incinerator is usually used by animal control officers to dispose of euthanised animals, but local authorities said it can also be used by law enforcement to burn seized narcotics.

The cats and dogs have been relocated, and the animals which experienced the most smoke exposure are now under supervision.

The incident was caused when smoke was pushed in the wrong direction because of negative pressure, according to Assistant City Administrator Kevin Iffland.

Shelter executive director Triniti Halverson said she was unaware that a drug burn was happening.

"I can firmly and confidently say that, as the Executive Director, I did not know that they were disposing of extremely dangerous narcotics onsite," she wrote in a statement.

"My team and my animals had been confirmed to have been exposed to meth," she said.

Before evacuating themselves, many employees put on masks and helped get the animals out.

Some staff were exposed to the smoke for more than an hour, and several began to feel sick. All 14 went to the emergency room, where they spent about three hours in a hyperbaric oxygen chamber to combat the effects of smoke inhalation.

FBI spokesperson Sandra Barker told CBS News that the agency routinely uses outside facilities for controlled drug evidence burns.

The impacted animals were given veterinary care and placed in temporary housing, including four litters of kittens who are being closely monitored because they were closed in a room with the smoke, Ms Halverson told the BBC's US partner, CBS News.

A restoration team has also begun decontaminating the building, she said, but the process will take at least two weeks to a month.

Calling the incident "heartbreaking", Halverson is asking the public for donations to source supplies like dog and cat food, blankets and bottles.

"We are displaced, lost, and homeless. For many of us — staff, volunteers, and fosters — YVAS is our safe space," she said.

A memorial service for right-wing activist Charlie Kirk will be held on 21 September at State Farm Stadium in Arizona, a venue which can seat more than 60,000 people.

Turning Point USA, the organisation Kirk co-founded, made the announcement on social media, inviting the public to celebrate his "remarkable life and enduring legacy".

Kirk, 31, was shot dead on Wednesday during an open-air speaking event in Utah. His suspected killer, Tyler Robinson, was arrested on Thursday night after surrendering to police.

President Donald Trump is expected to attend the memorial service, along with Vice-President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

Before departing for Israel on Saturday, Rubio said he would be back in time for Kirk's memorial and remembered him as a "great young man".

"I admired all the stuff he said and did on campuses, and again, an enormous influence on young people, primarily," he said.

Arizona marks an important place for Kirk - it's the location of Turning Point USA's headquarters and where he and his wife lived with their two children before his death.

• Shooting throws Utah students into heart of US political divide
• The conservative influencer who rallied a youth movement
• Who is Tyler Robinson, the shooting suspect?

Earlier on Saturday, Kirk's widow, Erika, made her first public remarks after her husband's death, pledging to keep his legacy alive.

In livestream broadcast from Turning Point USA's headquarters, Mrs Kirk, 36, addressed what she called the "evil doers" responsible for her husband's death.

"You have no idea the fire that you have ignited within this wife, the cries of this widow will echo around the world like a battle cry," she said.

"They should all know this: if you thought that my husband's mission was powerful before you have no idea, you have no idea what you just have unleashed across this entire country and this world."

In a later Instagram post, Mrs Kirk reiterated those comments and posted videos and photos of her sitting over her husband's open casket and kissing his hand.

Kirk was shot during while hosting one of his signature Prove Me Wrong debates at Utah Valley University while taking a question about gun violence and transgender people in the US.

Tyler Robinson was taken into custody on 12 September and is being held at Utah County Jail without bail, where he is on special watch to determine if he is a risk to himself or others, police told the BBC's US partner CBS News.

He is expected to make his first court appearance next week, where he will also be formally charged.

Kirk was a controversial figure in US political discourse and had been hailed by many as the future of American conservatism with a talent for energising young conservatives.

By mobilising the youth vote, he was an instrumental organiser in Trump's Maga coalition and helped return him to the White House for a second term.

After Kirk's death, Trump announced that he will award him a posthumous Presidential Medal of Freedom - the highest civilian honour - calling him a "giant of his generation and a champion of liberty".

The queue to get fuel rather than the queue to vote is what is on the mind of many Malawians as Tuesday's general election approaches.

Prolonged petrol shortages, along with regular power cuts, the rising cost of living, hunger, poverty, inequality and youth unemployment, add to the tangible frustration here.

The presidential, parliamentary and local council candidates are competing for votes against a background of cynicism about what might actually change.

In a sign that money is tight, electioneering has been somewhat muted compared to the past. This is despite the presidential race being seen as a rematch between the incumbent, Lazarus Chakwera, and the man he beat in 2020, then-President Peter Mutharika.

There are 15 other candidates.

But the usual colourful campaign carnival is missing. The free T-shirts usually doled out with abandon to whip up enthusiasm are more limited.

There are fewer giant election billboards on the nation's main roads.

Back in the snaking petrol lines, patience runs thin, which has at times led to fist fights.

Sensing the fuel shortage was becoming an election issue, Chakwera has tried to tackle it head on.

In a televised address, eight days before polls open, he acknowledged the frustration and apologised. The president then turned his fire on allegedly corrupt officials who he accused of deliberately sabotaging the oil market.

Like fuel, new job opportunities are also hard to come by.

To put food on the table, young men have been selling petrol and diesel using small plastic containers at five times the official price.

In the southern town of Mangochi, they refused to be interviewed except to say, as they walked away, that preying on desperate motorists was the only way to survive.

With food costs rising at more than 30% in the past year, and wages not keeping pace, things are becoming harder to afford.

The high inflation rate has been partly put down to a shortage of foreign currency, which has forced some importers to buy US dollars on the more expensive black market. The costs have then been passed on to the consumer.

The effect of the economic troubles on young people could be particularly significant in this election – as around half of registered voters are under the age of 35.

And yet the two leading presidential candidates are considerably older. Chakwera is 70 and Mutharika is 85.

"When young people cast their ballots next week, they should think about the poverty crisis. The coming president should fix the employment rate because many of the young people are unemployed," said 33-year-old Monica Chinoko, who works in the capital, Lilongwe.

Many younger voters have told the BBC that these continuous problems have dampened enthusiasm for the elections.

"Looking at the candidates - it's really a tough choice to make because hope has been lost. We've been voting and voting but things haven't gotten better," said Ashley Phiri, 35. "But I'm hoping that this time around, the next leader will radically transform Malawi."

Mutharika's election convoy has made several stops in the villages along the Bakili Muluzi highway.

In one place, a supporter held up a sign saying "back to state house" and said life was better when the former president was in office.

At a Mutharika rally in Machinga, an elderly woman wearing a colourful headscarf and sarong held up a huge bucket and shouted "fertiliser".

• What is at stake in Malawi's elections?
• 'I tell my children not to play so we save money on soap'

She was highlighting the crucial issue for the 80% of the population who live in rural areas. Many of these people survive on what they grow on their smallholdings and make money from what is left over.

Chakwera had promised to reduce the cost of the vital farming input – but the price has gone in the opposite direction. It is now six times more than it was in 2019.

The president has "accused some opposition parties of working with private traders to distort fertiliser prices", his office said. He has pledged to smallholder farmers that the price will come back down under a targeted programme due to start next month.

Chakwera has had a tough five years at the helm but remains optimistic.

He says he is investing in the future of the country and as a headline policy he has pledged that the state will deposit 500,000 Malawi kwacha ($290; £210) in individual accounts for every child born after the general election. They will be able to access it once they reach 18.

Another former president, Joyce Banda – the country's only female head of state – is also running again. She has pledged to fight corruption, transform the economy and improve rural infrastructure.

The other presidential candidates, including Atupele Muluzi, Dalitso Kabambe and current Vice-President Michael Usi, have all promised radical change in one of the world's poorest countries.

There is no shortage of choice on the ballot paper, but Malawians will be hoping that whoever emerges as the winner – after Tuesday's vote or a possible second round – will be able to put more food on the table and more fuel in the tank.

More BBC stories about Malawi:

• How brave judges rejected a 'second-rate election'
• 'Magnetic' Malawian vice-president dies in plane crash
• Banana wine brings sweet taste of success to Malawi farmers
• High hopes of Malawi cannabis farmers are dashed

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 trucks keep rolling on Highway 99 in California, the route bustling with freight traffic through the Central Valley. And behind the wheel is often a turbaned Sikh man, their cabs adorned with religious symbols, portraits of Sikh Gurus, or posters of Punjabi singers.

Sikhs, a religious minority group from India, have become a large part of America's trucking industry, helping to deliver everything from California strawberries to lumber across the country.

But a crash in Florida and its aftermath have sent shivers through the Sikh trucking community that could have economic consequences.

There are approximately 750,000 Sikhs in America, and about 150,000 working in the trucking industry, mostly as drivers. The role they play in this essential industry is evident from the names on their trucks' doors - Singh Trucking, Punjab Trucking - to the curry served at rest stops along the west coast, where approximately 40% of all truck drivers are Sikh, according to the North American Punjabi Trucking Association.

Many have limited English skills but years of driving experience.

This has put some drivers in a precarious position, as the Trump administration has moved to tighten language requirements for commercial drivers. In response, many Sikh temples are offering language classes to help drivers pass their language tests.

"Many drivers stayed home out of fear of the new laws. We started the class in mid-July, to help them return to work," said Tejpaul Singh Bainiwal, who volunteers with a Sikh temple in Stockton, California.

At an English class at the temple on Sunday, several drivers practiced introductions and reviewed highway signs and regulatory signs. Many drivers felt shy about speaking but were motivated.

Narinder Singh, a 51-year-old driver who has been working in America for eight years, says he's taking classes at the temple in Stockton because he thinks it's important to try to be a good citizen, and comply with the law.

"Sometimes an individual's actions may cost the entire community," he said, referencing a fatal crash on the other side of the country that has shone a harsh spotlight on Sikh drivers in California.

A tragic crash shakes the industry

On 12 August, Harjinder Singh, an Indian-born truck driver, made a U-turn on the Florida Turnpike, crashing into a minivan and killing three people.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has claimed that Harinder entered the US illegally from Mexico in 2018 and obtained a Commercial Driver's License (CDL) in California, despite having no legal right to be in the United States and failing an English proficiency exam.

However, California officials say federal authorities told them he had a legal work permit when the state issued him a driver's licence.

Harjinder now faces manslaughter and vehicular homicide charges in Florida and has been denied bail. His arraignment is slated for the end of September.

The crash has had a ripple effect on Sikh truck drivers.

Two weeks after the Florida crash, Secretary of State Marco Rubio paused the issuing of work visas for foreigners looking to become commercial truck drivers in the United States.

There has also been an uptick in harassment against Sikh drivers, industry insiders tell the BBC.

Raman Singh Dhillon, chief executive officer of North American Punjabi Trucking Association, said many drivers are now afraid of becoming targets.

"Sikh drivers are being harassed at truck stops. In some cases, even local law enforcement has been unresponsive," he says.

While he supports Trump's calls for more regulation of commercial licenses, and English proficiency requirements, Raman is concerned that harassment and increasingly strict immigration laws will make it harder for Sikhs to work in the industry.

"The trucking industry will soon face a serious driver shortage," he said.

It's a concern shared by many.

Gurpratap Singh Sandhu, who runs a Sacramento-based trucking company, reveals his cousin, a US citizen truck driver, was harassed last week in Florida just because of his ethnicity.

"People honk at Sikh truckers or throw water bottles at truck stops. They're being ridiculed and harassed. They're being called by racial slurs, like 'diaper-head' and 'towel-head', referring to their turbans," Gurpratap says. He worries about his driver's security.

The harassment impacts Gurpratap's business directly.

"Sikh drivers in my company are scared to go to Florida, Alabama, and Arkansas because of Immigration and Customs raids after the Florida crash," Gurpratap said, adding that immigrant drivers were once hailed as warriors during the pandemic, when supply backlogs made the value of the industry evident.

Arjun Sethi, a law professor at George Washington University, said that the social media accounts in the United States and India, as well as some politicians, have used this tragedy to target the entire Sikh community.

"This episode should be treated as a singular, tragic event and not be weaponized to target the entire Sikh community," Arjun said.

He also worries that rhetoric may lead to violence.

"We have seen for years how inflammatory rhetoric can lead to violence against those same communities. Sikhs have already faced this in the 2012 Wisconsin Sikh Temple mass shooting, in which six Sikhs were killed", Arjun added.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation's 2024 annual hate crime statistics show Sikhs remain the third most-targeted religious group behind the Jewish and Muslim communities. Following the crash, Special US Envoy Richard Grenell met with a group of Sikh representatives in Sacramento and took to social media to decry verbal attacks against Sikhs as "un-American" behavior.

Learning in sacred spaces

Raman Singh Dhillon, chief executive officer of North American Punjabi Trucking Association, says that there should be a proper investigation into how states are issuing commercial driver's licenses to individuals who don't meet English proficiency standards.

But so far, teaching English to drivers has largely been left up to members of the Sikh community themselves, such as the language classes being offered at temples across California.

"No one is interested in addressing the core problem," Raman says.

"That's why I believe driving schools and state agencies must be regulated."

Harinder Singh, a senior fellow at the US-based Sikh Research Institute, agrees. He says English proficiency as essential for acclimation, and recommends that federal and state governments, as well as trucker associations, offer subsidized programs to help immigrants learn English as a second language.

Arshveer Singh Sandhu has been teaching English to the drivers at Guru Nanak Parkash for seven weeks as a volunteer. His course - "English4Truckers" - covers basic English, communicating with officers during inspections, ordering at restaurants like Starbucks or Subway, calling 911, and explaining issues to mechanics.

The classes show positive results. Harpreet Singh, a 38-year-old Sikh truck driver, has attended since the program began.

"I have gained confidence in my thoughts in English. I now understand previously confusing highway signs," he told the BBC.

Families of Israeli hostages still being held by Hamas have said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is the "one obstacle" preventing their return and reaching a peace deal.

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum: Bring Them Home Now wrote on social media that Israel's strike on Qatar last week shows "every time a deal approaches, Netanyahu sabotages it".

The group's comments come after Israel carried out a strike on senior Hamas leaders in the Qatari capital of Doha, which Hamas said killed five of it members and a Qatari security official.

On Saturday, Netanyahu said getting rid of Hamas leaders in Qatar "would rid the main obstacle" to releasing the hostages and ending the war.

He also accused Hamas of blocking all ceasefire attempts in order to drag out the war in Gaza.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio travelled to Israel on Saturday and is due to meet with Netanyahu as Israel faces global condemnation for the attack.

However, families of the hostages described the Israeli PM's response as "the latest excuse for failing to bring home" their loved ones.

"The targeted operation in Qatar proved beyond any doubt that there is one obstacle to returning the 48 hostages and ending the war: Prime Minister Netanyahu," they said.

"The time has come to end the excuses designed to buy time so he can cling to power."

The group added that Netanyahu's "stalling" had cost "the lives of 42 hostages and threatens the lives of additional hostages who are barely surviving".

Before his departure, Rubio said US President Donald Trump was not happy with the strike on Qatar, but stressed that the US-Israeli relationship was "very strong".

"Obviously we're not happy about it, the president was not happy about it. Now we need to move forward and figure out what comes next," Rubio said.

He added that Trump's priority remains the return of all hostages and an end to the the war in Gaza.

When asked whether the strike on Doha complicates Qatar's willingness to work with the US, Rubio said "they've been good partners on a number of fronts".

Qatar is a key US ally in the region and the location of a major American air base.

In the wake of the strike, Qatar condemned Israel's attack as "cowardly" and a "flagrant violation of international law".

Netanyahu said the move was "fully justified" because it targeted senior Hamas leaders who organised the 7 October attacks.

Meanwhile, Israeli forces have stepped up their assault on Gaza City with a wave of heavy air strikes, reducing entire apartment blocks and large concrete structures to rubble.

Israel has also warned all residents in the region to leave immediately in anticipation of a huge ground offensive.

Residents said the Israeli military has been targeting schools and makeshift shelters, often issuing warnings only moments before bombardments.

On Saturday, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) said about 250,000 people had left the city and moved south.

Netanyahu's plan to occupy Gaza City has drawn international criticism, with the UN warning a military escalation in an area where famine has been declared will push civilians into an "even deeper catastrophe".

The Israeli military launched a campaign in Gaza in response to the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.

At least 64,605 people have been killed in Israeli attacks in Gaza since then, according to the territory's Hamas-run health ministry.

Adolescence, The White Lotus, Severance and The Penguin are a few of the TV shows that will battle it out later at the Emmys, the television industry's most prestigious awards ceremony.

Owen Cooper, the 15-year-old British star of Adolescence, Netflix's series about a teenager accused of murdering a classmate, could become the youngest male actor ever to win an Emmy.

Elsewhere, a campaign led by US chat show hosts following the cancellation of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert could see the programme win outstanding talk series for the first time.

The ceremony will take place on Sunday evening at the Peacock Theatre in Los Angeles.

The Studio, Andor, Hacks, Slow Horses, The Bear, Nobody Wants This and The Last of Us are among the other shows competing for the top prizes.

Here's everything you need to know ahead of TV's biggest night:

Who is hosting the Emmys?

US comedian Nate Bargatze is this year's Emmys host.

He may not be a household name in the UK, but Bargatze is well known to American viewers and he sold more tickets to his shows than any other stand-up in the US last year.

As well as his own TV stand-up specials, Bargatze has appeared on a string of late-night talk shows including Seth Meyers, Conan O'Brien and Jimmy Fallon, as well as variety show Saturday Night Live.

The 46-year-old is unlikely to go the Ricky Gervais route with a controversial opening monologue. He is known as a more family-friendly comedian who often uses observational humour.

Bargatze has said it is a "huge honour" to be hosting the event, and he has some interesting rules too. He plans to tell nominees that he will donate $100,000 to charity on the night, but the donation will decrease for every acceptance speech that goes over the time limit.

"So is thanking your second manager worth taking food from a child?" he asked. "I don't think so, but we'll see what Hollywood thinks."

Which TV shows are nominated?

The Emmys split their nominations into three categories: comedy, drama and limited series.

Outstanding drama is traditionally seen as the most prestigious award of the night, and the field is wide open this year in the absence of last year's winner Shogun, which has not yet started production on its next season.

Instead, this year's contenders include wealth satire The White Lotus, Star Wars spin-off Andor, dystopian drama Paradise and sci-fi thriller Severance.

They are joined in the category by video game adaptation The Last of Us, medical series The Pitt, espionage drama Slow Horses and political thriller The Diplomat.

The comedy categories see two former winners compete to take the title again - kitchen drama The Bear and entertainment satire Hacks.

They face competition from the school-based Abbott Elementary, romantic comedy Nobody Wants This, and crime mystery Only Murders in the Building.

The category is completed by vampire mockumentary What We Do in the Shadows, therapist comedy Shrinking and Hollywood satire The Studio.

• Emmys 2025: The key nominees

Meanwhile, the limited and anthology series category is led by Adolescence, a show which enjoyed as many headlines for its one-take shooting style as it did for its exploration of the impact of smartphones' on teenagers.

It faces competition from the dystopian Black Mirror, Batman spin-off The Penguin, erotic cancer comedy Dying for Sex, and true-crime adaptation Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story.

Record breakers and controversies

At 15, Cooper would not be the youngest winner for acting in Emmys history. That record is held by Roxana Zal who was 14 when she won in 1984 for her role in TV movie Something About Amelia.

Other notable teenage winners over the years include Kristy McNichol and Scott Jacoby, while the list of youngest nominees includes Frankie Muniz, Claire Danes, Millie Bobby Brown and Keshia Knight Pulliam, who was just six when she was nominated for The Cosby Show.

But Cooper would be the youngest ever winner in his category - best supporting actor in a limited series - as well as the youngest male winner overall in any acting category.

Other supporting actors and actresses nominated at the Emmys this year include Aimee Lou Wood, Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Catherine O'Hara, Sam Rockwell, Colman Domingo, Harrison Ford, Javier Bardem and Erin Doherty.

In the lead categories, nominees include Cate Blanchett, Jake Gyllenhaal, Colin Farrell, Ayo Edebiri, Jean Smart, Kathy Bates, Jeremy Allen White, Bella Ramsey, Gary Oldman, Pedro Pascal, Michelle Williams and Stephen Graham.

There is also a lot of interest in the variety talk series category this year, after a turbulent year for the late-night circuit.

CBS announced in July that it would be cancelling The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, which he has hosted since 2015.

The network said it was a financial decision, but there was surprise in the industry given its relative popularity, and some suggested political pressure might have played a role in its cancellation.

Other talk show hosts, including some of Colbert's fellow nominees, have publicly supported him by saying they will be voting for him at the Emmys this year, and have encouraged others to do the same.

A billboard ad in West Hollywood taken out last month by Jimmy Kimmel, one of Colbert's rivals in the category, saw the talk show host declare: "I'm voting for Stephen."

The Late Show already won its first Emmy last week, when it won a directing prize at the Creative Arts Emmys, a separate ceremony which precedes the main event.

How to watch the Emmy Awards

The ceremony will begin at 17:00 PT / 20:00 ET on Sunday, or 01:00 BST on Monday for UK viewers

US viewers can watch it live on CBS or on streaming service Paramount+.

In the UK, it will start at 01:00 BST on Monday morning, but no British broadcaster is scheduled to show it live.

However, there will be live coverage on the BBC News website throughout the red carpet and ceremony.

As the Emmys have so many categories, many of the prizes have already been awarded, leaving only the most high-profile categories for Sunday night.

The other winners were announced over two nights at last weekend's Creative Arts Emmys. You can find out who won here (night one) and here (night two).

Read more about the nominated shows:

• Severance: The sci-fi workplace where you sell your soul
• The Bear star on her first time directing the show
• Netflix drama Adolescence hailed as 'flawless' TV
• White Lotus creator hits back at composer's criticism
• Gary Oldman wants to play shabby secret agent 'for the long run'
• 'Black Mirror could just run and run', says Charlie Brooker
• What is the controversy around Netflix's Menendez drama?
• The Last of Us: Bella Ramsey talks season 2, autism, and growing up on screen

US President Donald Trump has said he is ready to impose tougher sanctions on Russia, but only if Nato countries meet certain conditions which include stopping buying Russian oil.

In a post on his Truth Social platform, he said he was "ready to do major sanctions on Russia" once Nato nations had "agreed, and started, to do the same thing".

Trump has repeatedly threatened tougher measures against Moscow, but has so far failed to take any action when the Kremlin ignored his deadlines and threats of sanctions.

He described the purchases of Russian oil as "shocking" and also suggested that Nato place 50 to 100% tariffs on China, claiming it would weaken its "strong control" over Russia.

In what he called a letter to Nato nations, Trump said: "I am ready to 'go' when you are. Just say when?"

He added "the purchase of Russian oil, by some, has been shocking! It greatly weakens your negotiating position, and bargaining power, over Russia".

Trump also claimed the halt on Russian energy purchases, combined with heavy tariffs on China "to be fully withdrawn" after the war, would be of "great help" in ending the conflict.

Europe's reliance on Russian energy has fallen dramatically since the start of Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

In 2022, the EU got about 45% of its gas from Russia. That is expected to fall to about 13% this year, though Trump's words suggest he feels that figure is not enough.

The US president's message came during heightened tensions between Nato allies and Russia after more than a dozen Russian drones entered Polish airspace on Wednesday.

Warsaw said the incursion was deliberate, but Moscow downplayed the incident and said it had "no plans to target" facilities in Poland.

Denmark, France and Germany have joined a new Nato mission to bolster the alliance's eastern flank, and will move military assets eastwards.

Last week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also made a demand to European nations over the purchase of Russian oil and gas.

In an interview with ABC News, he said: "We have to stop [buying] any kind of energy from Russia, and by the way, anything, any deals with Russia. We can't have any deals if we want to stop them."

Since 2022, European nations have spent around €210bn (£182bn) on Russian oil and gas, according to the think tank the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air, much of which will have funded the invasion of Ukraine.

The EU has previously committed to phasing out the purchases by 2028. The US want that to happen faster - partly by buying supplies from them instead.

Trump's message was to Nato, not the EU, therefore including nations such as Turkey, a major buyer of Russian oil and a country that has maintained closer relations with Moscow that any other member of the alliance.

Persuading Ankara to cut off Russian supplies may be a far harder task.

Trump's most recent threat of tougher sanctions on Russia came earlier in September after the Kremlin's heaviest bombardment on Ukraine since the war began.

Asked by reporters if he was prepared to move to the "second phase" of punishing Moscow, Trump replied: "Yeah, I am," though gave no details.

The US previously placed tariffs of 50% on goods from India - which included a 25% penalty for transactions with Russia that are a key source of funds for the war in Ukraine.

An Austrian tram driver has been crowned the winner of the first ever Tram Driver World Championship in Vienna.

Drivers from Hong Kong, Rio de Janeiro, and San Diego travelled to the city to show off their tram operating skills in front of thousands of spectators.

The event saw drivers compete in a series of tram-based challenges, including quirky tasks of bowling and curling using the vehicle.

Organisers said that thousands of visitors came to watch the spectacle, which marked 160 years since trams were introduced to Vienna.

The Austrian team beat off competition from reigning European champions Budapest who were on track to win, but ended up in fourth place.

A total of 25 teams from across the globe battled out on a 250 metre long course.

The world's tram-driving pros were tested on their ability to operate the vehicles in eight challenges, which included braking and accelerating smoothly.

One test saw a bowl of water strapped to the front of the tram, with the driver tasked with braking smoothly in an effort to not spill any liquid.

Another challenge - tram curling - saw the drivers push a bicycle trolley so it halted at a specific spot.

Tram bowling, in which a giant ball is used to knock down inflatable pins, was another fan favourite.

While Austria nabbed first place, second place was awarded to Poland, while Norway took third, and Croatia finished last.

The Austrian entrant Florijan Isaku said he was "overwhelmed" and "speechless" to have won in his native country.

"It's just great", he said, calling Vienna's public transport operator Weiner Linien "a family".

But it was a disappointing day for Hungary, who learnt that speed isn't everything.

"Curling was the most challenging task for me and I didn't really succeed as I would have liked", European champion Krisztina Schneider told AFP.

"I thought my speed would be enough but in the end it wasn't."

Next year's European championships are due to take place in Warsaw, Poland.

Israeli forces have stepped up their assault on Gaza City with a wave of heavy air strikes, marking a sharp escalation from previous military operations.

Unlike earlier phases of the war, the current offensive has relied heavily on aerial bombardments, with entire apartment blocks and large concrete structures reduced to rubble.

The intensification of strikes in recent days has triggered a surge in civilian displacement.

Israel has warned all residents of Gaza City to leave immediately in anticipation of a huge ground offensive.

On Sunday, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) said about 250,000 people had left the city and moved south. It also said it had destroyed a high-rise building that it said had been used "to advance and execute terrorist attacks" against its troops.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the city is Hamas's last major stronghold. But the plan to occupy Gaza City has brought international criticism.

The UN has warned an intensification of the offensive on an area where a famine has already been declared will push civilians into an "even deeper catastrophe". Gaza City is the largest urban centre in the territory and a historic heart of Palestinian political and social life.

Residents say the Israeli military has been targeting schools and makeshift shelters, often issuing warnings only moments before bombardments.

Many families have been forced to flee in darkness toward western Gaza.

"We escaped certain death, my husband, our three children and I," said Saly Tafeesh, a mother sheltering in the city. "My brother died in my arms after being shot by a quadcopter drone. We ran in the dark to the west of Gaza."

The Israeli military has told residents to evacuate to the south of the territory - but many families say they cannot afford the journey, which costs up to $1,100 (£800). Hamas, meanwhile, has intensified its calls for residents to stay put and resist leaving the city.

Rubein Khaled, a father-of-nine preparing to move south, expressed frustration.

"The Hamas preacher at Friday prayers accused anyone leaving Gaza City of being a coward running from the battlefield," he said.

"But why doesn't he tell Hamas leaders to surrender and release the Israeli hostages so this war can stop? We don't want to leave either, but we have no choice."

Israeli forces have not yet reached some eastern neighbourhoods that have remained largely intact since earlier raids in January, but the current campaign suggests they may now be seeking to dismantle entire districts.

Meanwhile, a Qatari foreign ministry spokesman strongly criticised Israel's prime minister in an interview with the BBC following this week's Israeli strike on Hamas officials in the Qatari capital Doha.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed Al-Ansari told the BBC that the international community had "to deal with a Netanyahu problem".

"He is not somebody who is listening to anybody right now, who is listening to any reason, and we have to collectively stop him in his tracks," the official said.

He argued the strike in Doha showed the Israeli leader "never intended to sign any peace deal" to end the war in Gaza and instead "believes he can re-shape the Middle East in his own image".

Five of the group's members and a Qatari security officer were killed in Tuesday's strike - though the Palestinian armed group claimed no senior leaders had been killed. Hamas members had been in Doha to discuss the latest US proposal for a ceasefire in Gaza.

Israel has faced widespread condemnation, including at the UN Security Council. Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel targeted the "terrorist masterminds" behind the 7 October 2023 Hamas attack on Israel.

Qatar's Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani earlier said that Qatar did not get advance warning of the strike, only receiving a call from a US official 10 minutes after the attack had started.

On Friday, al-Thani had dinner with US President Donald Trump and his envoy Steve Witkoff in New York, having earlier met Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the White House.

Rubio is travelling to Israel this weekend in a show of solidarity with Israel ahead of a UN meeting later this month at which France and the UK are expected to formally recognise a Palestinian state.

On Sunday, the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza said the bodies of 47 people killed by the Israeli military had arrived at its hospitals over the previous day.

Since UN-backed global food security experts confirmed a famine in Gaza City on 22 August, the ministry has reported that at least 142 people have died from starvation and malnutrition across the territory. Israel has said it is expanding its efforts to facilitate aid deliveries and has disputed the health ministry's figures on malnutrition-related deaths.

The Israeli military launched its campaign in Gaza in response to the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.

At least 64,803 people have been killed in Israeli attacks in Gaza since then, according to the territory's health ministry.

Nepal's major political parties have demanded the country's President Ram Chandra Poudel reinstates the parliament he dissolved following deadly anti-corruption protests.

In a statement, eight parties - including the Nepali Congress, CPN-UML and Maoist Centre - said the president acted unconstitutionally.

Poudel dissolved the House of Representatives on Friday upon the recommendation of newly-appointed interim Prime Minister Sushila Karki - it was also a key demand from the protest movement.

More than 50 people were killed in clashes with riot police during this week's mass protests sparked by a ban on social media platforms. Karki was appointed after a deal was reached with protest leaders.

The ban was lifted on Monday - but by then the protests had swelled into a mass movement. Angry crowds set fire to parliament and government buildings in the capital Kathmandu on Tuesday, forcing then-Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli to resign.

Saturday's statement demanding the reinstatement of the parliament was signed by the chief whips of the eight political parties.

They argued the step taken by the president was unconstitutional and against the precedents set by Nepal's judiciary.

The dissolution of the parliament was a major demand by student leaders from the so-called "Gen Z" protest movement.

But the eight parties say the protesters' demands - including new elections announced for 5 March next year - should be addressed through an institution voted by the people.

President Poudel is yet to publicly respond to the political parties' statement.

Karki, a 73-year-old former Supreme Court chief justice and the first woman to lead the impoverished Himalayan nation, was sworn in during a brief ceremony in the capital Kathmandu.

She is expected to appoint ministers to her cabinet within a few days.

She is widely regarded as having a clean image, and her leadership of the interim government is being supported by student leaders from the "Gen Z" movement.

But her cabinet will face multiple challenges, including restoring law and order, reconstructing parliament and the other key buildings that were attacked, reassuring the Gen Z protesters who want change - and others in Nepal who are fearful its young democracy and constitutional order could be derailed.

Another key task will be to bring those responsible for violence to justice.

Nepal is gradually returning back to normalcy after the worst unrest in decades.

Nepal's soldiers - who had been deployed to patrol the streets of Kathmandu - returned to their bases after Karki took the oath of office.

The protests were triggered by the government's decision last week to ban 26 social media platforms, including WhatsApp, Instagram and Facebook - but they soon widened to embody much deeper discontent with Nepal's political elite.

In the weeks before the ban, a "nepo kid" campaign - spotlighting the lavish lifestyles of politicians' children and allegations of corruption - had taken off on social media.

And while the social media ban was hastily lifted on Monday night, the protests had by that stage gained unstoppable momentum.

An American woman detained by the Taliban alongside a British couple has told the BBC they are "literally dying" in prison and that "time is running out".

Faye Hall was arrested with Peter, 80, and Barbie Reynolds, 76 on 1 February when returning to Bamiyan Province, Afghanistan, where the couple lived.

While Ms Hall was released after two months, Peter and Barbie remain in prison and still do not know why they are being held.

The Foreign Office (FCDO) said it was supporting the family of a couple being held in Afghanistan.

Speaking to BBC Breakfast in her first interview since being released, Ms Hall broke down in tears when asked what she would like to tell the couple.

"I love them, I know they will be out very soon, don't ever give up."

Mr and Mrs Reynolds married in Kabul in 1970 and had lived in Afghanistan for 18 years prior to their arrest - the reason for which has not been confirmed despite four court appearances.

The pair had Afghan citizenship and ran a charity programme in the country, approved by the Taliban when they took power in 2021.

Ms Hall said the group, which also included an interpreter, had flown from Kabul to Bamiyan Province in a privately chartered plane when they were stopped at a check point.

They then spent days on the road being driven between police stations and prisons.

She described the conditions in which they had been held, including cramped cells and a maximum security prison holding "murderers", fenced with barbered wire and where guards carried machine guns.

She warned that their health had rapidly deteriorated in prison, with Barbie losing significant weight and unable to stand or walk on one occasion.

She also cautioned that Peter had been getting sicker despite receiving medication from the Qatari government, which he required daily after undergoing heart surgery and cancer treatment.

"We just have these elderly people, they're literally dying, and time is running out."

She stressed that the conditions were taking a mental toll as well as physical, because "every day you do not know where you'll be tomorrow".

"It's not a healthy environment and we were the only foreigners there," she added.

The pair's son previously told the BBC he feared they would die in prison, cautioning that Peter had suffered serious convulsions and Barbie was "numb" from anaemia and malnutrition.

The UN warned in July that the couple could perish "in such degrading conditions" if they did not receive medical care at once, calling their detention "inhumane".

Ms Hall called on the US and UK governments to "work together" and do more to secure the pair's release.

The FCDO said: "We are supporting the family of two British Nationals who are detained in Afghanistan. The Minister has met the family to discuss the case.

The UK shut its embassy in Kabul and withdrew its diplomats from the country after the Taliban returned to power in 2021.

The FCDO says support for British nationals in Afghanistan is therefore "severely limited" and advises against all travel to the country.

A spokesperson for the US State Department said the Taliban had a "history of unjustly detaining foreign nationals".

"They should permanently end their practice of hostage diplomacy and release all those unjustly detained immediately."

The Taliban's foreign minister said in July that Barbie and Peter were "in constant contact with their families" and that efforts were under way to secure their release but that "these steps have not yet been completed".

"Their human rights are being respected. They are being given full access to treatment, contact and accommodation."

Nikos Michaloliakos, the leader of the Greek neo-Nazi party Golden Dawn, has been released from prison less than halfway into his sentence.

The far-right politician and Holocaust denier was allowed by a judicial council to serve the remainder of his 13-year sentence in the confines of his home on health grounds on Friday, state media reports.

The 67-year-old's conditional release after five years in prison has angered left-wing parties, arguing the judiciary should not have shown clemency.

It is the second time Michaloliakos has been allowed out following his 2020 conviction over a litany of violent attacks on immigrants and political opponents perpetrated by Golden Dawn supporters.

He was briefly released in May 2024, news agency AFP reports, before judicial officials found he had not shown adequately good behaviour and forced him to return to prison.

Michaloliakos founded and presided over a party which was found to be a criminal organisation tied to the murder of an anti-fascist musician, as well as the attempted murder of Egyptian fishermen and communist activists.

It came third in Greece's 2012 elections on an anti-immigrant, nationalist vote fuelled by economic hardship due to the country's financial crisis.

Michaloliakos himself has been an admirer of Nazism and gave the Hitler salute at party rallies. While Golden Dawn officially denied being a neo-Nazi movement, it adopted Nazi-influenced iconography.

He and its former MPs were found guilty of running or belonging to the criminal group.

Greece's New Left party said in a statement to state media that Michaloliakos's release was "a serious blow to the collective memory and the struggle for democracy and justice", adding that the justice system "cannot send a message of impunity to those who embodied hatred and fascism".

The nation's communist party KKE said the decision should be overturned, adding Golden Dawn's "crimes are not time-limited in the consciousness of the people and the youth".

Colombia's highest court has ruled that Meta violated a porn star's right to freedom of expression when it deleted her Instagram account.

The South American nation's Constitutional Court said on Friday that the tech firm had removed Esperanza Gómez's account "without a clear and transparent justification" and without offering similar treatment to other, similar accounts.

The 45-year-old, whose account had more than five million followers, is one of Colombia's best known adult content actresses.

Meta argued in the case that she had violated its rules on nudity. The company, which also owns Facebook and WhatsApp, did not immediately react to the ruling.

Ms Gómez had alleged that the closure of her account had affected her ability to work and had been influenced by her pornographic work beyond the platform. She also claimed Meta had not followed due process.

In its ruling, the court said that, while it recognised the social media platform's need to moderate content, this did not justify closing a porn star's account "without a clear and transparent justification".

It also found Meta "applied its policies on nudity and sexual services inconsistently", with other accounts with similar content remaining active.

The court said social media posts were protected under Colombia's constitution and should only be limited in a proportionate way where necessary.

It ordered Meta to "review and adjust Instagram's terms of use and privacy policy so that users are clearly aware of the mechanisms for challenging moderation decisions" and "more precisely define" its rules on implicit sexual content.

If social media platforms use offline activities as a criterion for content moderation, they must clearly state these, the court said.

The court did not specify sanctions for non-compliance, nor whether Ms Gómez would receive any redress.

The BBC has contacted Meta for comment.

It is not the first time that a South American court has required a social network to change its policies.

Brazil's Supreme Court recent ruled that social media were directly liable for illegal content, including hate speech, and must immediately act to remove it and accounts proliferating it.

That ruling followed a judge ordering the suspension of dozens of X accounts for allegedly spreading disinformation.

It led to the social media platform briefly being banned in Brazil, before it began complying with the ruling and paid a $5.1 (£3.8m) fine.

Memphis, Tennessee, is the next US city where President Donald Trump is sending National Guard troops as part his ongoing crackdown on crime in Democrat-led cities.

Trump made the announcement during a wide-ranging interview on Fox News Channel's Fox and Friends on Friday, and said the city's mayor, a Democrat, is "happy" about the decision, as is the state's governor, a Republican.

The deployment to Memphis would mark an escalation in the president's use of troops and comes roughly a month after he sent the National Guard to the streets of Washington DC.

Memphis has one of the highest rates of crime in the US, with 2,501 violent crimes per 100,000 people, data from the FBI shows.

"We're going to Memphis," Trump said, without giving details of when troops would arrive. "Memphis is deeply troubled."

He said he also wanted to lower crime in New Orleans and Chicago.

The country has been wondering for weeks if he would deploy troops to Chicago, as his "Operation Midway Blitz" for immigration enforcement ramps up. On Friday Trump appeared to indicate he had chosen to send the National Guard to Memphis instead of the midwestern city, saying "I would have preferred going to Chicago."

The Memphis mayor did not respond to a BBC request for comment confirming Trump's announcement.

Earlier in the week, the mayor, Paul Young, released a statement saying he had been in talks with the Trump administration about bringing in federal support for the city's police department.

"What we need most are financial resources for intervention and prevention, additional patrol officers, and case support to strengthen investigations," Young said.

"Memphis is already making measurable progress in bringing down crime, and we support initiatives that help accelerate the pace of the work our officers, community partners, and residents are doing every day."

Trump took charge of the Washington DC's Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) on 11 August and activated the National Guard.

The takeover of the local police department was valid for 30 days which expired earlier this week.

Hundreds of arrests were made during those 30 days, the White House said, and Trump has said DC is now "virtually crime free".

Despite that, troops are expected to remain in the nation's capital for the foreseeable future, and many of them can be seen around the city helping with trash collection and mulching.

Since the DC deployment, Trump has threatened to send the National Guard to Baltimore, Chicago and New Orleans.

The use of National Guard to support law enforcement has come under scrutiny by legal experts, with some concerned about using the military against civilians.

A court recently said Trump's previous deployment of National Guard troops to Los Angeles earlier this year was unlawful, but said the ruling does not apply to the deployment of troops elsewhere.

More Nato countries will move their troops and fighter jets eastwards in response to Wednesday's unprecedented Russian drone incursion into Polish airspace.

Denmark, France and Germany have joined a new mission to bolster the military alliance's eastern flank. Other Nato allies are expected to take part later.

It came as the Kremlin said on Friday that peace talks with Kyiv were on "pause", with spokesman Dmitry Peskov saying: "You can't wear rose-tinted glasses and expect that the negotiation process will yield immediate results."

Political tensions have been high across Europe after Poland said 19 Russian drones had flown through its airspace on Wednesday. Some were shot down, while others crashed into fields and even a house in eastern Poland.

Russia's military said it had "no plans to target facilities" in Poland - but Polish and European leaders believe the incursion was deliberate.

According to the Danish defence ministry, Denmark will contribute two F-16 fighter jets to support Poland's air defence, and a warship.

"Denmark fully supports Poland in this situation," Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said. "We must not be naive. Putin will stop at nothing, and he is testing us. Therefore, it is crucial... Denmark is contributing to this."

France will contribute three Rafale fighter jets, and Germany will give four Eurofighters.

The UK is "fully committed" to help strengthen the Eastern Sentry, the Ministry of Defence said in a statement, adding that it will provide more details soon.

On Friday, European countries - and the US - stood by Poland during an urgent UN Security Council session in New York discussing Russia's drone incursion.

"The United States stands by our Nato allies in the face of these alarming airspace violations," acting US Ambassador to the UN Dorothy Shea said. "And rest assured, we will defend every inch of Nato territory.

She added that since Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin held a summit in Alaska nearly a month ago to discuss peace, "Russia has intensified its bombing campaign against Ukraine".

While addressing the UN on Friday, Poland's Secretary of State Marcin Bosacki held up photos of one of the downed drones, and a damaged house.

"We know - and I repeat - we know that it was not a mistake," he said.

The Netherlands and Czech Republic have already said they would send defences to Poland, while Lithuania will receive a German brigade and greater warning of Russian attacks on Ukraine that could cross over.

Germany also said it would "intensify its engagement along Nato's eastern border" and extend and expand air policing over Poland.

US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) shot and killed a man near Chicago on Friday after he allegedly drove his car at a group of agents.

A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security said ICE had been trying to arrest the man, but he resisted and drove towards the group. An agent was then dragged along by his vehicle.

The agent, who the department said feared for his life, drew his gun and opened fire.

The driver, Silverio Villegas-Gonzales, was pronounced dead in hospital shortly after, officials said.

"During a vehicle stop, the suspect resisted and attempted to drive his vehicle into the arrest team, striking an officer and subsequently dragging him as he fled the scene," a statement said.

The ICE agent suffered "severe injuries" in the incident, officials said, but was in a stable condition in hospital.

The Department of Homeland Security said Mr Villegas-Gonzales had a history of reckless driving and was an undocumented migrant. He entered the country "at an unknown date and time", they said.

A spokesperson for the local police department in Franklin Park said they had not been involved in the incident.

Illinois Governor JB Pritzker wrote in an online post: "This is a developing situation and the people of Illinois deserve a full, factual accounting of what's happened today to ensure transparency and accountability."

Franklin Park is a suburb of around 18,000 people near O'Hare Airport, north-west of Chicago. Around half of its population is Hispanic.

Immigration officials have been ramping up enforcement activities in the Chicago area this week on the orders of the Trump administration.

Charlie Kirk's widow, Erika, has given a tearful address in which she thanked first responders for trying to save her husband's life after he was fatally shot on a Utah university campus.

In a livestream, standing beside her husband's empty chair that he used during podcast tapings, she quoted the Bible and spoke about his love for President Donald Trump, Vice-President JD Vance, the United States, and the couple's two children.

Kirk, a right-wing activist, was shot dead on Wednesday during an open-air speaking event in Orem, Utah. His suspected killer, Tyler Robinson, was arrested on Thursday night after surrendering to police.

In her remarks, Mrs Kirk pledged: "My husband's voice will remain".

The broadcast from Turning Point USA's headquarters in Arizona began with several minutes of silence, as the camera framed Charlie Kirk's empty chair.

As his widow started speaking, she looked upwards and whispered a silent prayer.

She then thanked first responders who tried to save him, her husband's staff, and the White House.

"Mr President, my husband loved you. And he knew that you loved him too," she said tearfully, also thanking Vance and his wife Usha for accompanying the casket back to Arizona.

"But most of all, Charlie loved his children. And he loved me. With all his heart. And he made sure I knew that everyday."

Addressing "evil-doers," Mrs Kirk said: "You have no idea the fire that you have ignited within this wife, the cries of this widow will echo around the world like a battle cry.

"They should all know this: If you thought that my husband's mission was powerful before you have no idea, you have no idea what you just have unleashed across this entire country and this world."

Her husband's tour of US university campuses will continue throughout the fall, and in the years ahead, she said, without offering further details. His podcast will also continue.

Erika Kirk also spoke of their one-year-old son and three-year-old daughter, saying that she was at a loss for how to explain their father's sudden death.

"Baby, daddy loves you so much. Don't you worry. He's on a work trip with Jesus," she told their daughter.

Mrs Kirk, 36, and their children were reportedly in the audience when her husband was shot.

• PROFILE: The conservative influencer who rallied a youth movement
• Who is Tyler Robinson, the shooting suspect?

Erika Kirk is a businesswoman and former Miss Arizona USA winner who met her husband in 2018. The couple were engaged by 2020 and wed less than a year later.

She is currently studying for a doctorate in Bible Studies, has launched a ministry programme and hosts the Midweek Rise Up podcast focused on Biblical leadership. Mrs Kirk also acts and models, and has a faith-based clothing line.

Although the children and the couple's home life are regular fixtures on her social media pages, they never publish images showing their children's faces.

Charlie Kirk, 31, a controversial figure in American political discourse, has been hailed by many as the future of American conservatism with a knack for energising young conservatives.

By mobilising the youth vote, he was an instrumental organiser in Donald Trump's Maga coalition and helped return Trump to the White House for a second term.

Kirk was a strong supporter of gun rights, vehemently opposed abortion, was critical of transgender rights and promoted false claims about Covid-19.

His views were polarising on the college campuses where he held large events, and his provocative speeches would draw crowds of vocal opponents as well as fans.

His supporters said he was relatable and understood their concerns. But his views drew fierce liberal criticism, and his critics said Kirk's rhetoric hurt people - especially those in the LGBTQ+ community.

• Young fans and critics debate Charlie Kirk's political legacy

Kirk was speaking at Utah Valley University during Turning Point USA's The American Comeback Tour, a speaking engagement that took him to several college campuses throughout the states.

He was shot during his viral Prove Me Wrong debate while taking a question about gun violence and transgender people in the US.

Trump has announced that he will award Kirk a posthumous Presidential Medal of Freedom - the highest civilian honour a president can bestow - describing his friend and ally as a "giant of his generation and a champion of liberty".

The president said that Mrs Kirk "is absolutely devastated."

Turning Point USA, the organization Charlie Kirk founded when he was 18 years old, also referred to its co-founder as a "martyr" and "pioneer".

"Charlie was the ideal husband and the perfect father. Above all else, we ask you to pray for the Kirks after the incomprehensible loss they have suffered," the organization said in a statement to the BBC on Thursday.

Vice-President JD Vance flew to Salt Lake City, Utah, on Thursday to retrieve Kirk's casket and transport it to Phoenix, Arizona - where Kirk's family lives - on the vice-presidential aircraft, Air Force Two.

Vance and Second Lady Usha Vance travelled with Kirk's family and some of his friends to Arizona.

More Nato countries will move their troops and fighter jets eastwards in response to Wednesday's unprecedented Russian drone incursion into Polish airspace.

Denmark, France and Germany have joined a new mission to bolster the military alliance's eastern flank. Other Nato allies are expected to take part later.

It came as the Kremlin said on Friday that peace talks with Kyiv were on "pause", with spokesman Dmitry Peskov saying: "You can't wear rose-tinted glasses and expect that the negotiation process will yield immediate results."

Political tensions have been high across Europe after Poland said 19 Russian drones had flown through its airspace on Wednesday. Some were shot down, while others crashed into fields and even a house in eastern Poland.

Russia's military said it had "no plans to target facilities" in Poland - but Polish and European leaders believe the incursion was deliberate.

According to the Danish defence ministry, Denmark will contribute two F-16 fighter jets to support Poland's air defence, and a warship.

"Denmark fully supports Poland in this situation," Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said. "We must not be naive. Putin will stop at nothing, and he is testing us. Therefore, it is crucial... Denmark is contributing to this."

France will contribute three Rafale fighter jets, and Germany will give four Eurofighters.

The UK is "fully committed" to help strengthen the Eastern Sentry, the Ministry of Defence said in a statement, adding that it will provide more details soon.

On Friday, European countries - and the US - stood by Poland during an urgent UN Security Council session in New York discussing Russia's drone incursion.

"The United States stands by our Nato allies in the face of these alarming airspace violations," acting US Ambassador to the UN Dorothy Shea said. "And rest assured, we will defend every inch of Nato territory.

She added that since Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin held a summit in Alaska nearly a month ago to discuss peace, "Russia has intensified its bombing campaign against Ukraine".

While addressing the UN on Friday, Poland's Secretary of State Marcin Bosacki held up photos of one of the downed drones, and a damaged house.

"We know - and I repeat - we know that it was not a mistake," he said.

The Netherlands and Czech Republic have already said they would send defences to Poland, while Lithuania will receive a German brigade and greater warning of Russian attacks on Ukraine that could cross over.

Germany also said it would "intensify its engagement along Nato's eastern border" and extend and expand air policing over Poland.

Nigerian chef and former Guinness World Record holder, Hilda Baci, has attempted to make the world's largest pot of jollof rice, a popular West African dish.

Thousands of people gathered in Lagos to watch the food influencer's latest world record bid, after once holding the 2023 title for the longest cooking marathon - an exhausting 93 hours and 11 minutes - nearly four days.

Her gigantic jollof rice recipe included 4,000kg (8,800 lb) of rice, 500 cartons of tomato paste and 600kg of onions - all poured into a custom-made pot of almost 23,000 litres.

The dish took several hours to cook and now must be validated by the Guinness World Record with photo and video evidence of the achievement.

Baci, 28, told BBC Pidgin that it took her one year to plan how she would tackle the mammoth challenge.

"We are the giant of Africa, and jollof is a food that everybody knows Africans for," she said.

"It would make sense if we had the biggest pot of jollof rice, it would be nice for the country."

Manufacturing the giant steel vessel to hold her dish took a culinary team of 300 people two months to make.

Working with a group of assistants wielding massive wooden spatulas, Baci's crowning dish was later distributed for everyone to enjoy.

Jollof rice is a staple of Nigerian cuisine, featuring rice simmered in a tomato based sauce, often paired with meat or seafood.

Hilda Baci won a competition for her version of jollof rice in 2021, and then became a national sensation in 2023 when she claimed the cooking marathon record.