A British couple who were detained for nearly eight months by the Taliban in Afghanistan have been released, an official with knowledge of the case has said.
Peter Reynolds, 80, and his wife Barbie, 76, who have lived in the country for nearly two decades, were held after being stopped while travelling home on 1 February.
The couple were freed through Qatari mediation, after they were transferred from Kabul's central prison to a larger prison during the final phase of negotiations, the official said.
It follows months of public lobbying by their family for their release.
Just six days ago, an American woman who was detained with them and subsequently released told the BBC they were "literally dying" in prison and that "time is running out".
Faye Hall, who was let go two months into her detention, highlighted that the elderly couple's health had deteriorated rapidly while in prison.
The UK military is focused on defending the nation rather than stopping asylum seekers from crossing the Channel, a cabinet minister has said.
US President Donald Trump sugested that military intervention could be used to deal with illegal migration to the UK during his state visit this week.
But Trade Secretary Peter Kyle has rejected that call, telling BBC Breakfast the UK Border Force has specific responsibility for policing UK borders.
He added the Navy has a "working relationship" with the border force and can be called up on when needed, but was focused on "national defence".
A second migrant has been returned to France after losing an eleventh hour legal challenge against his removal, in a sign the courts are growing colder on such legal challenges under new government guidance.
However, rather than the Labour government's approach of diplomatic negotiations agreeing returns and toughening up court guidance, Trump suggested military force was a better deterrent.
Speaking alongside Sir Keir Starmer at a press conference at the PM's country residence Chequers on Thursday, Trump suggested such force was needed as illegal migration "destroys countries from within".
He said: "You have people coming in and I told the prime minister I would stop it, and it doesn't matter if you call out the military, it doesn't matter what means you use."
Asked about the US president's claims, Kyle told BBC Breakfast: "Well, what he suggested was the military are used, but we have the UK Border Force that is now established and has been reinforced and bolstered and have new powers under this Government.
"The Navy actually does have a working relationship with the UK Border Force, and the Navy can be called upon if needed, so we do have the functional relationship that we need between our military and keeping our borders safe and secure.
"But what we really need at the moment is our military focused on all of those really key issues around the world, directly relating to our national defence."
The new home secretary Shabana Mahmood has vowed to fight what she called "vexatious, last-minute claims" and Kyle described her as "straining at the bit" to make sure the pilot one-in-one-out scheme for migrant returns was a success.
"We're making sure we get as many people as don't have the right to be here returned as swiftly as possible," he said, adding there are "a lot of cases" going through court.
Asked whether there was any target figure for the number of returns, Kyle said: "Our target is to make sure that everybody who comes to our shore and doesn't have the right to stay is removed from the country, that is our target.
"We want to get a full grip on the systm, we want to make sure people see a fuctioning system that's delivering so rapidly, efficiently and swiftly that people don't come here in the first place, that's the deterrent that we need."
About 100 men who arrived in the UK by small boat are currently in immigration removal centres near Heathrow and may be removed to France under the scheme.
The Home Office said more deportation flights are planned into next week and a government appeal has been launched, aimed at limiting the time migrants have to provide evidence to challenge their removal.
More than 5,500 migrants have reached the UK since the scheme came into effect at the start of August but the government is hoping continuing removal flights will act as a deterrent.
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Human remains, believed to be of a man wanted on suspicion of murdering his three daughters, aged nine, eight and five, have been found in the US state of Washington.
Police had been searching for Travis Decker since officers found his phone and the bodies of his girls Paityn, Evelyn and Olivia in a remote campground on 2 June. His truck was also found nearby.
"While positive identification has not yet been confirmed, preliminary findings suggest the remains belong to Travis Decker," Chelan County Sheriff's Office said on Thursday in a statement.
The remains were discovered in a remote wooded area south of the town of Leavenworth, in Washington state, officials said.
Decker, 32, was wanted on kidnapping and first-degree murder charges, according to Washington's Wenatchee Police Department, and officials believed he had been hiding in a remote part of the mountainous and wooded state.
The girls' mother reported them missing on 30 May, after Decker failed to return his daughters to her home in Wenatchee, Washington, following a visit. He also did not take her phone calls.
Decker was an ex-solider and may have gone to mountain survival school as part of his military training, officials said.
Wenatchee Police Department
Travis Decker seen in an image released by police in Washington state
"It sounds like at times he would go out and would be off-grid for sometimes up to two and a half months," Sheriff Morrison said after speaking to Decker's family.
The remains were found on Thursday on Grindstone Mountain, a few miles from where Decker's daughters' bodies were found in June, reports CBS' local news partner KIRO-TV.
A $20,000 (£14,812) reward had been announced by the US Marshals Service for information leading to Decker's capture.
The search had caused widespread closures of national forests popular among hikers in the area.
An Afghan stands outside Bagram airbase, once the epicentre of US operations in Afghanistan
A Taliban official has rejected the idea that the US could retake a key airbase in Afghanistan after President Donald Trump told reporters he wanted it back.
Zakir Jalal, who works in the Taliban's foreign ministry, said the idea of the US maintaining any military presence in Afghanistan was "completely" rejected during talks between the two sides before the Taliban returned to power.
It came after the US president hinted retaking Bagram airbase - the epicentre of Nato forces in Afghanistan for two decades - might be possible "because they need things from us".
The base was handed to the Afghan military shortly before the Taliban took control of Afghanistan.
Trump said at a press conference in the UK on Thursday the US "gave it to them for nothing".
The complete withdrawal of US troops was part of a deal signed during Trump's first administration in 2020, and finished under Joe Biden's in 2021.
But Trump said in March he had planned to keep Bagram airbase "not because of Afghanistan but because of China".
Trump reiterated the importance of its location on Thursday, saying one reason to take Bagram back was because "it's an hour away from where China makes its nuclear weapons".
It is unclear exactly what he is referring to: a BBC Verify investigation in July noted there is a nuclear testing site about 2,000km (1,243 miles) away, in north-western China.
Trump has also repeatedly said that China has since established a presence at the base, which is north of the capital, Kabul. The Taliban have denied the claim.
But a BBC investigation - which examined 30 satellite images from late 2020 to 2025 - found very little activity at the base since the Taliban returned, and no evidence to support China's presence at the base.
On Friday, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman said "China respects Afghanistan's territorial integrity and sovereignty", adding that "the future of Afghanistan should be in the hands of Afghan people".
The Taliban's Zakir Jalal, meanwhile, wrote on social media platform X: "Throughout history, Afghans have not accepted a military presence, and this possibility was completely rejected during the Doha talks and agreement, but the doors are open to other engagement."
The US and the Taliban have been involved in talks recently, although a meeting on Saturday with the Taliban's foreign minister focused on Americans held in Afghanistan, news agency Reuters reported.
MI6 is launching its own dedicated portal on the dark web in the hope of attracting new spies online, notably from Russia.
Secure messaging platform Silent Courier aims to strengthen national security by making it easier for the intelligence agency to recruit, the Foreign Office said.
Potential agents in Russia and around the world will be targeted by the UK, it adds.
The announcement is expected to be confirmed in a speech in Istanbul by the outgoing MI6 chief Sir Richard Moore on Friday morning.
Ahead of Friday's announcement about the new dedicated portal, Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said: "National security is the first duty of any government and the bedrock of the prime minister's Plan for Change.
"As the world changes, and the threats we're facing multiply, we must ensure the UK is always one step ahead of our adversaries.
"Our world-class intelligence agencies are at the coalface of this challenge, working behind the scenes to keep British people safe.
"Now we're bolstering their efforts with cutting-edge tech so MI6 can recruit new spies for the UK - in Russia and around the world."
Anyone who wants to securely contact the UK with sensitive information relating to terrorism or hostile intelligence activity will be able to access the portal from Friday.
Instructions on how to use the portal will be publicly available on MI6's verified YouTube channel.
Users are recommended to access it through trustworthy VPNs and devices not linked to themselves.
The launch follows a similar approach by the US's Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), which published videos on social media channels to target potential Russian spies in 2023.
The CIA previously suffered a disastrous loss of its agents in China after their connections to the Dark Web were breached by Beijing's Ministry of State Security.
Four doctors are among the students arriving in the first cohort from Gaza to the UK
A group of 34 students in Gaza with places at British universities have been evacuated and are due to arrive in the UK within days.
It is the first time since the conflict began that people have been helped to leave the Strip in order to study in the UK.
They are now in a third country in the region for visa biometric checks before completing their journey to the UK.
All 34 have fully funded scholarships and have received support from the UK government to leave Gaza.
The group, which includes at least four medical doctors, were assisted in leaving the Strip on Wednesday.
They are expected to be brought to the UK early next week to take up their university places.
One of the students who has been evacuated told the BBC that they are tired but well. They described the last 48 hours as "very intense" and said that it had been "challenging" to leave behind family members and other students still awaiting evacuation.
The group includes scholars under the Chevening Scholarship, a mostly government-funded scheme for international students to study a one-year master's degree in the UK.
The evacuation follows months of campaigning by politicians, academics, and others on behalf of more than 100 Palestinian students holding offers from UK universities this year.
It remains unclear when the next group of eligible students might be evacuated.
"We remain hopeful that the UK government will support all eligible students to be evacuated and are aware of at least 35 students with full scholarships who are still trapped in Gaza," Dr Nora Parr, a University of Birmingham researcher who has been coordinating efforts to support the students, told the BBC.
She added: "We are concerned about students with dependents. Four mothers and one father had to decline their places on this week's evacuation as they would not leave their children behind."
The BBC has approached the Foreign Office for comment.
Earlier this week, a group of severely ill children arrived in the UK from Gaza for urgent NHS specialist medical care.
Israel's foreign ministry said it categorically rejected the report, denouncing it as "distorted and false".
Israel launched its war in Gaza in response to an attack led by Hamas militants on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.
At least 65,141 people have been killed in Israeli attacks in Gaza since then, according to the territory's health ministry.
"Was it worth it?" - BBC correspondents assess Trump's state visit
There is little doubt that Donald Trump was more enthused about the day he spent at Windsor Castle than his talks with Sir Keir Starmer at Chequers.
And that is no slight on the UK prime minister's hospitality during this state visit, which Trump and his team have been eager to praise.
Starmer's country residence is undoubtedly an impressive meeting place, and there was even an aerial display by the British Army's Red Devils who flew enormous British and American flags to welcome the US leader to the Buckinghamshire countryside.
But as much as Trump appears to genuinely like Starmer, with their warm relationship on display at a joint news conference on Thursday, the president was totally beguiled by being hosted by the King and Queen on Wednesday.
According to his chief of staff, Susie Wiles, his definitive highlight of the trip was the elaborate evening banquet for 160 guests in Windsor Castle's St George's Hall that evening.
For Trump, who has a deep and longstanding admiration for the Royals, it is hard to compete with being toasted by the King. No matter how many jets are laid on for you in the skies above Chequers.
EPA
The Red Devils performed for the UK and US leaders above the skies of Chequers
State visits like these allow presidents and prime ministers to connect with one other on a more personal level, and offer a chance for their respective staff to build working relationships. They are also an opportunity to demonstrate the closeness of relations on a big stage.
In this sense, it was smooth sailing for both sides.
There was no real awkwardness during the joint news conference, which had the potential to expose areas of disagreements.
When the two men were asked about one of those issues, the UK's plan to recognise Palestinian statehood, Trump said he disagreed but also gave Starmer a big smile and a warm slap on the back as the prime minister condemned Hamas.
And on another potentially tricky topic, the sacking of Peter Mandelson as UK ambassador to the US over his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, Trump was unusually taciturn. He said very little and immediately deferred to Starmer.
The two leaders did discuss Gaza and Ukraine when they spent almost an hour talking alone without any of their staff in the room. And while they were very amicable during the news conference, it also quickly became clear that neither had changed their positions on the key issues where they disagree.
Watch: Pomp, pageantry and protests as Trump gets the royal treatment in Windsor
There are limits to how much influence any leader can have on Trump, regardless of the success of a trip such as this.
Inside Chequers, I asked Wiles, the president's chief-of-staff, how much difference the visit will make to Britain's ability to influence US policy on trade, tariffs and international affairs. Her response was frank – none at all.
However much Trump enjoyed this state visit, he is not going to alter his positions on important global matters because of a memorable night spent at Windsor Castle.
But after all the pomp and pageantry, Starmer appears to have at least earned the right to respectfully disagree with Trump without paying a diplomatic penalty.
It can be costly to get on the wrong side of the US president, but by carefully navigating the relationship the UK has managed to avoid the punishingly high trade tariffs that have been imposed on other nations. Starmer, meanwhile, has not been subjected to a humiliating dressing down or given a derogatory nickname.
While this was never going to descend into the kind of awkward clash we've seen at times in the Oval Office this year - not just with Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky but with other leaders too - it is notable that a more relaxed Trump approached the questions during the concluding news conference in a far less combative way than he often does back in Washington.
Did the UK prime minister play his "trump" card by arranging this lavish state visit? It was choreographed flawlessly and clearly delighted Trump and the first lady.
And while Starmer may not have won the ability to change the president's mind, a falling out now feels further away than ever before.
Americans didn't even come together in the face of a global pandemic. In fact, Covid made divisions worse.
OLIVIER TOURON/AFP via Getty Images
Within days of Charlie Kirk's death, the country's political camps had already retreated to opposing narratives
The reason is simple, yet hard to change. The incentives that fuel American political life reward the people and platforms that turn up the heat, not those who dial tensions down.
Around the country, you're more likely to get elected to political office if you run on policies and rhetoric that appeal to your political base, rather than the political middle (it's the depressing byproduct of gerrymandering - the original sin behind America's dysfunctional, divided politics).
Equally, in the media, people who opine about politics are rewarded for being more extreme and stoking outrage — that's the way to get more eyeballs and, ultimately, more advertising dollars.
This incentive structure is what makes Utah Governor Spencer Cox something of an American exception.
REUTERS/Cheney Orr
Utah Governor Spencer Cox has tried to turn down the political temperature
After Charlie Kirk was killed, he urged Americans to "log off, turn off, touch grass, hug a family member, go out and do good in the community".
He sounded so sane, so wholesome - an effort, in a sea of division, at reconciliation.
The 1960s and 70s versus today
Division and political violence are not new phenomena in America. Some 160 years ago, the country went to war with itself and it has never really stopped.
Over a period of five years in the 1960s, a US president was killed and then his brother was killed while campaigning to become president. In that same period, two of the nation's most prominent civil rights leaders were assassinated too.
In the 1970s, President Gerald Ford was shot at on two separate occasions. In the 1980s, Ronald Reagan was struck by a bullet while walking to his limousine.
Heritage Space/Heritage Images via Getty Images
President John F Kennedy was shot during a visit to Dallas, Texas in November 1963 - the case still inspires conspiracy theories
And of course, just last year Trump was the victim of a failed attempt on his life by a gunman in Pennsylvania — and a second alleged attempt by a gunman in Florida, whose trial began the week Kirk was killed.
What makes this era so different from the 1960s and 70s, though, is what Governor Cox is worried about.
While he has carefully steered away from saying things that would further divide Americans, he hasn't been so gentle with the social media companies that he clearly blames for this tragedy.
"I believe that social media has played a direct role in every single assassination and assassination attempt that we have seen over the last five, six years," Cox said in an interview on Sunday.
He went on to say that "cancer" was likely too weak a word for what it has done to American society.
Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
Trump was the victim of a failed attempt on his life by a gunman in Pennsylvania
Most tech companies have stayed quiet in their official capacities. However, Elon Musk, billionaire boss of X, has weighed in, claiming that the "radical left celebrated the cold-blooded murder of Charlie Kirk," and adding, "unity is impossible with evil fanatics who celebrate murder".
He has also posted about the impact of social media, arguing: "While at times the discussion on X can become negative, it's still good that there is a discussion happening."
'This is like a bad marriage'
The pitfalls of this system that blends social media with politics concerns even those who are the most passionate about politics, regardless of who they support.
Earlier this week, Kaitlin Griffiths, a 19-year-old who is the president of Utah State University's chapter of Charlie Kirk's organisation, Turning Point USA, put it plainly: "Social media is definitely a really difficult thing for our society.
"You can't even hold a conversation with somebody who doesn't agree with your political beliefs — and I just think that's honestly tragic."
Tragic and ironic, since Kirk saw himself as a champion of free speech, even as his critics often disagreed with that framing. His death though may push the country further from civil discourse.
Kaitlin Griffiths: 'You can't even hold a conversation with somebody who doesn't agree with your political beliefs... that's honestly tragic'
Within days of Kirk's death, the country's political camps had already retreated to opposing narratives.
Many on the left are eager to explore the ways that Kirk's killer might have been radicalised by internet subcultures and group chats. Many on the right prefer to unpack whether the suspect was part of a left-wing conspiracy.
Neither group seems particularly keen to prioritise reconciliation or healing.
The reality is that those who study extremism believe that left-right may not even be the most helpful way to look at the division of this current moment.
Samuel Corum/Getty Images
Charlie Kirk and and his wife Erika pictured in January at the Turning Point USA Inaugural-Eve Ball in Washington DC
"It's better to look at what's causing people to be ungovernable," says Rachel Kleinfeld, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace who specialises in polarised democracies.
"It does take a desire to turn down the temperature… [and] requires people to have a little more courage than they're showing.
"I think it is more useful to focus on how we as a society turn a page and open a new chapter, because this is like a bad marriage. And like a bad marriage, you can only lose by pointing fingers."
What reconciliation would take
As for the question of whether America can break the hold of the algorithms that stoke the divisions, that would take a leader of enormous strength with an equally enormous commitment to reconciliation.
"I'm not sure how we pull out of this," the politics writer David Drucker told me. "It would help if both parties - and by parties I mean 'parties' not just political figures - agree to stop the recriminations and just say 'stop'."
"Usually only a president can facilitate that. Absent both sides agreeing there are certain lines that shouldn't be crossed, or absent the next president doing so, I'm not sure how we get there."
SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images
Trump has said: 'The radicals on the right oftentimes are radical because they don't want to see crime... The radicals on the left are the problem'
Trump is not that type of president. He often seems at his strongest, politically, when he has an adversary to fight against.
My understanding is that Trump does believe that people on the left want to destroy his Maga movement. And since Kirk's death, he has taken a very different tone from the governor of Utah.
"I'll tell you something that's going to get me in trouble, but I couldn't care less," he said, when asked how the nation can be fixed. "The radicals on the right oftentimes are radical because they don't want to see crime... The radicals on the left are the problem."
And he went further in his Oval Office remarks following Kirk's killing: "Radical left political violence has hurt too many innocent people and taken too many lives."
The framing by the president - that this was not just the deed of a twisted individual but of the radical left more broadly - is being echoed by other White House officials.
"With God as my witness, we are going to use every resource we have... to identify, disrupt, dismantle and destroy these networks," said Stephen Miller, Trump's deputy chief of staff.
"It will happen, and we will do it in Charlie's name."
However, a number of studies into politically-motivated killings and violence in the US - over several decades - suggest that more cases were carried out by people with "right-wing" ideologies than with "left-wing" ones, though more data is likely necessary to draw a firm conclusion.
'People say history repeats itself - it never has'
Some people I've spoken to point to bleak times in US history as a source of comfort.
"Few periods in America have been more politically bleak or violent than the years [in the 1960s and early 1970s] shaped by Vietnam and Watergate," former Republican congressman, turned influential TV host, Joe Scarborough told me.
"But the country moved forward, celebrated its bicentennial, and moved beyond its violent divides. It will do so again."
CHARLY TRIBALLEAU/AFP via Getty Image
This moment of tension feels like it rhymes with so many other periods of discord in American history - but it isn't quite repeating them
Also among the optimists I spoke to was Democratic Senator Raphael Warnock of Georgia, one of the country's most senior black officials. He condemned political violence as the most "anti-democratic" act, but also reminded me of the progress America has made on issues like race.
"The story of any family is always more complicated than the stories we tell ourselves at the family reunion," he told me.
"My father had to give up his seat [on a bus] while wearing his soldier's uniform to a teenager, but I now sit in a Senate seat."
Their hope is heartening - but I still don't see a clear path out.
Lately, I've been thinking a lot about a conversation I had earlier this year with historian and filmmaker Ken Burns, as America prepares to celebrate the 250th anniversary of its founding.
"People say history repeats itself," Burns told me. "It never has."
Burns instead prefers a quote that many have attributed to the writer Mark Twain: "History doesn't repeat itself, but it often rhymes." In other words, even if the present looks like the past — things never happen the same way twice.
This moment of tension feels like it rhymes with so many other periods of discord in American history, but it isn't quite repeating them.
Yes, American history is full of anger and conflict — but I'm not sure this country's social and political systems were always so quick to reward the companies and people who stoke those emotions.
Meanwhile the United States will get weaker, not greater.
Former Defence Secretary Bob Gates once told me that the three greatest threats to America's national security were a rising China, a declining Russia and the country's own internal divisions.
America's adversaries certainly know how much its divisions damage this superpower. They work hard online to drive people further apart. And Americans make it easy for them.
Top picture credit: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images and Charly Triballeau/AFP via Getty Images
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Afghan universities have been told to remove books from the curriculum
The Taliban government has removed books written by women from the university teaching system in Afghanistan as part of a new ban which has also outlawed the teaching of human rights and sexual harassment.
Some 140 books by women - including titles like "Safety in the Chemical Laboratory" - were among 680 books found to be of "concern" due to "anti-Sharia and Taliban policies".
The universities were further told they were no longer allowed to teach 18 subjects, with a Taliban official saying they were "in conflict with the principles of Sharia and the system's policy".
The decree is the latest in a series of restrictions which the Taliban have brought in since returning to power four years ago.
Just this week, fibre-optic internet was banned in at least 10 provinces on the orders of the Taliban's supreme leader in a move officials said was to prevent immorality.
While the rules have had an impact on many aspects of life, women and girls have been particularly hard-hit: they are barred from accessing education over the sixth grade, with one of their last routes to further training cut off in late 2024, when midwifery courses were quietly shuttered.
Now even university subjects about women have been targeted: six of the 18 banned are specifically about women, including Gender and Development, The Role of Women in Communication, and Women's Sociology.
The Taliban government has said it respects women's rights in accordance with their interpretation of Afghan culture and Islamic law.
'A void in education'
A member of the committee reviewing the books confirmed the ban on books written by women, telling BBC Afghan that "all books authored by women are not allowed to be taught".
Zakia Adeli, the former deputy minister of justice prior to the Taliban's return and one of the authors who has found their books on the banned list, was unsurprised by the move.
"Considering what the Taliban have done over the past four years, it was not far-fetched to expect them to impose changes on the curriculum," she said.
"Given the Taliban's misogynistic mindset and policies, it is only natural that when women themselves are not allowed to study, their views, ideas and writings are also suppressed."
The new guidelines, which have been seen by BBC Afghan, were issued in late August.
Ziaur Rahman Aryubi, the deputy academic director of the Taliban government's Ministry of Higher Education, said in a letter to universities that the decisions had been made by a panel of "religious scholars and experts".
As well as books by women, the ban appears to have targeted books by Iranian authors or publishers, with one member of the book review panel telling the BBC it was designed to "prevent the infiltration of Iranian content" into the Afghan curriculum".
In the 50-page list sent to all universities in Afghanistan, 679 titles appear, 310 of which are either authored by Iranian writers or published in Iran.
But a professor at one institution, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said he feared it would be almost impossible to fill the gap.
"Books by Iranian authors and translators serve as the primary link between Afghanistan's universities and the global academic community. Their removal creates a substantial void in higher education," they said.
A professor at Kabul University told the BBC that under such circumstances, they are forced to prepare textbook chapters themselves, taking into account the do's and don'ts imposed by the Taliban government.
But the crucial question is whether these chapters can be prepared according to global standards or not.
The BBC has approached the Taliban's Ministry of Education for comment.
Shankar was among two African elephants that arrived in India in 1998 as a diplomatic gift from Zimbabwe
Animal welfare activists in India are mourning the death of a much-loved elephant they long sought to rehabilitate.
Shankar, the lone African elephant at Delhi's zoo who spent much of his life in isolation, refused food on Wednesday and collapsed by evening. Despite veterinary efforts, the 29-year-old male died within 40 minutes, officials said.
For 24 years, Shankar endured a lonely existence - including at least 13 spent in solitary confinement.
The cause of his death is not known yet. "Investigation regarding the cause of death has been ordered," zoo director Sanjeet Kumar told BBC.
Shankar was among two African elephants that arrived in India in 1998 as a diplomatic gift from Zimbabwe to former India President Shankar Dayal Sharma.
But Shankar's companion died in 2001, said Mr Kumar.
A former zoo official, who did not wish to be identified, said that after his companion's death, Shankar was temporarily lodged with the Asian elephants in the zoo, but the plan did not work.
"They were very aggressive towards one another," he said, adding that Shankar was soon isolated.
"He [Shankar] was playful when his companion was there. They were popular among zoo visitors. Shankar's behaviour changed after the other African elephant died. Shankar never accepted any other elephant's company, neither did they accept Shankar's. He was left friendless," the former official said.
In 2012, Shankar was shifted to a new enclosure that left him virtually in solitary confinement - despite a 2009 federal ban on keeping elephants alone for more than six months. He remained there until his death.
Getty Images
Shankar's companion died in 2001, leaving him as the only African elephant in the Delhi zoo
For years now, activists have been demanding that Shankar be removed from the zoo and rehabilitated in a wildlife sanctuary that houses other African elephants.
In 2021, a petition in Delhi's high court sought Shankar's relocation to a sanctuary with other African elephants. Two years later, the court dismissed the petition, directing the petitioner to approach the committee handling transfers of wild animals by zoos.
Until Wednesday, Shankar was among the only two African elephants in India's zoos. The other - also an adult male - lives in Mysore zoo in the southern state of Karnataka.
Zoos have long struggled to find mates for the two African male elephants, with efforts stalled by high costs, regulatory hurdles, multiple approvals, and welfare concerns, The Indian Express reported.
Activists have also criticised the conditions in which Shankar was kept at the zoo in Delhi, describing his enclosure as bleak and inadequate.
"It's heartbreaking to see him die like this," said Nikita Dhawan, founder of the non-profit Youth For Animals, who had filed the 2021 court petition. "It was easily preventable. He (Shankar) did not have any serious health problems. And he was too young."
The average life expectancy of African elephants is 70 years.
Mr Kumar, the director of Delhi zoo, said that there was "no report of sickness or abnormal behaviour" in Shankar's case till Wednesday morning.
Animal welfare activist Gauri Maulekhi said Shankar's death reflects "years of institutional apathy and neglect" and called it a systemic failure demanding accountability.
"An internal inquiry is simply not enough," Ms Maulekhi told BBC. "This was a systemic failure that demands real accountability and must serve as a watershed moment to end the cruel practice of keeping elephants and other social animals isolated in our zoos for good."
Asked about allegations of neglect, Mr Kumar said "all care and upkeep was followed", but declined to take specific questions.
In October 2024, the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums, suspended the Delhi zoo's membership over concerns about Shankar's living conditions, following reports that he was chained, news agency PTI reported.
The global body gave Delhi zoo until April 2025 to either relocate Shankar or improve his care, warning that its membership would be terminated if the deadline was missed.
A day after the suspension notice, a federal minister inspected Shankar's enclosure and said his health looked better. On 15 October, the government announced plans to bring him a female companion, saying Zimbabwe and Botswana had shown interest and formalities were underway.
Officials in Delhi zoo said that they did not receive any more notices from the global body. And Shankar died before a companion could be arranged.
Watch: Trump suggests FCC should revoke licenses from networks covering him negatively
US President Donald Trump has suggested some TV networks should have their licences "taken away", as he backed America's broadcast regulator in a row over the suspension of ABC host Jimmy Kimmel.
The Disney-owned network announced on Wednesday evening it was pulling the comedian off air "indefinitely" amid a backlash over his remarks about the murder of conservative influencer Charlie Kirk last week.
On Monday, Kimmel suggested the suspect was a Maga Republican, although authorities in Utah had said the alleged gunman was "indoctrinated with leftist ideology".
ABC took Jimmy Kimmel Live! off air after the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) threatened action over his remarks.
Trump spoke about the issue to reporters on Thursday aboard Air Force One while returning from a state visit to the UK.
"I have read someplace that the networks were 97% against me, again, 97% negative, and yet I won and easily, all seven swing states [in last year's election]," the president said.
"They give me only bad publicity, press. I mean, they're getting a licence. I would think maybe their license should be taken away."
In his monologue on Monday, Kimmel, 57, said the "Maga gang" was "desperately trying to characterise this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them" and trying to "score political points from it".
He also likened Trump's reaction to the death of his 31-year-old political confidant to "how a four-year-old mourns a goldfish".
After the shooting, Kimmel had also gone on Instagram to condemn the attack and send "love" to the Kirk family.
Speaking to Fox on Thursday, FCC chairman Brendan Carr said the suspension of Kimmel was not "the last shoe to drop".
"We're going to continue to hold these broadcasters accountable to the public interest," he said.
"And if broadcasters don't like that simple solution, they can turn their license into the FCC."
Watch: Jimmy Kimmel "appeared to mislead the public", says FCC chairman
Kimmel's suspension was announced on Wednesday evening shortly after Nexstar Media, one of the biggest owners of TV stations in the US, said it would not air his show "for the foreseeable future".
Nexstar called his remarks about Kirk "offensive and insensitive at a critical time in our national political discourse".
Carr praised Nexstar - which is currently seeking FCC approval for a $6.2bn (£4.5bn) merger with Tegna - and said he hoped other broadcasters would follow its lead.
Sinclair, the largest ABC affiliate group in the US, said it would air a special remembrance programme dedicated to Kirk during the original time slot for Kimmel's show on Friday.
Kirk, a high-profile conservative activist and father-of-two, died of a single gunshot wound to the neck while speaking at Utah Valley University in Orem on 10 September.
His widow, Erika Kirk, was named on Thursday as the new head of the organisation her husband co-founded, Turning Point USA.
Tyler Robinson, 22, was charged with aggravated murder on Tuesday, with prosecutors saying they will seek the death penalty.
Jimmy Kimmel taken off air over Charlie Kirk comments (only available in UK)
Writers, actors, former US President Barack Obama and other prominent Democrats condemned Kimmel's suspension.
Obama said the incident represented a new and dangerous level of cancel culture.
"After years of complaining about cancel culture, the current administration has taken it to a new and dangerous level by routinely threatening regulatory action against media companies unless they muzzle or fire reporters and commentators it doesn't like," he posted on X.
Actor Ben Stiller said it "isn't right", while Hacks star Jean Smart said she was "horrified at the cancellation".
"What Jimmy said was free speech, not hate speech," she added.
The Writers Guild of America and Screen Actors Guild (WGA), two Hollywood labour unions, condemned the decision as a violation of constitutional free speech rights.
But others argued Kimmel's suspension was accountability, not cancel culture.
"When a person says something that a ton of people find offensive, rude, dumb in real time and then that person is punished for it that's not cancel culture," said Dave Portnoy, who founded media company Barstool Sports.
"That is consequences for your actions."
Late-night Fox host Greg Gutfeld argued that Kimmel had "deliberately and misleadingly" blamed the killing of Kirk on the activist's "allies and friends".
British presenter Piers Morgan said Kimmel had "lied about Charlie Kirk's assassin being Maga" and his comments caused "understandable outrage all over America".
"Why is he being heralded as some kind of free speech martyr?" he added.
But one of Carr's FCC leadership colleagues, commissioner Anna Gomez, criticised the regulator's stance on Kimmel.
She said that "an inexcusable act of political violence by one disturbed individual must never be exploited as justification for broader censorship or control".
The US says the resolution does not go far enough in condemning Hamas
The US has for the sixth time vetoed a draft resolution at the United Nations Security Council that would have demanded an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza and the release of hostages.
US deputy Middle East envoy Morgan Ortagus said the text did not go far enough in condemning Hamas or recognise Israel's right to defend itself.
All 14 other members of the Security Council voted in favour of the draft resolution - which described the humanitarian situation in Gaza as "catastrophic" and called on Israel to lift all aid restrictions.
It comes as the UN's humanitarian office warns that the last lifelines for civilians are collapsing in Gaza City as Israel expands its military offensive.
On the global stage, Israel and its closest ally look increasingly isolated.
Speaking prior to the vote, Ortagus said Washington's opposition to the resolution should "come as no surprise".
"It fails to condemn Hamas or recognise Israel's right to defend itself, and it wrongly legitimises the false narratives benefitting Hamas, which have sadly found currency in this council," she said.
After the vote, UN members reacted swiftly to express their disappointment.
Palestinian Ambassador to the UN Riyad Mansour called the US's decision "deeply regrettable and painful", saying it had prevented the Security Council from "playing its rightful role in the face of these atrocities".
Pakistan's ambassador Asim Ahmad described the veto as "a dark moment in this chamber".
"The world is watching. The cries of children should pierce our hearts," he said.
Amar Bendjama, Algeria's ambassador, apologised to the Palestinian people.
"Palestinian brothers, Palestinian sisters, forgive us," he said.
"Forgive us, because the world speaks of rights, but denies them to Palestinians. Forgive us because our efforts, our sincere efforts, shattered against this wall of rejection."
This latest UN vote came just days before world leaders gather for the UN General Assembly where Gaza will be a major topic and key American allies, including the UK, are expected to recognise an independent Palestinian state.
In Gaza, thousands of people are continuing to flee the region amid ongoing deadly attacks as Israeli tanks and troops continue to advance on the third day of a ground offensive.
Olga Cherevko, a spokeswoman for the UN's humanitarian office, told the BBC the situation in Gaza City is "nothing short of cataclysmic".
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 65,141 people have been killed in Israeli attacks in Gaza since then, according to the territory's health ministry.
The ministry says another 435 people have so far died during the war as a result of malnutrition and starvation, including four over the past 24 hours.
Watch: Trump suggests FCC should revoke licenses from networks covering him negatively
US President Donald Trump has suggested some TV networks should have their licences "taken away", as he backed America's broadcast regulator in a row over the suspension of ABC host Jimmy Kimmel.
The Disney-owned network announced on Wednesday evening it was pulling the comedian off air "indefinitely" amid a backlash over his remarks about the murder of conservative influencer Charlie Kirk last week.
On Monday, Kimmel suggested the suspect was a Maga Republican, although authorities in Utah had said the alleged gunman was "indoctrinated with leftist ideology".
ABC took Jimmy Kimmel Live! off air after the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) threatened action over his remarks.
Trump spoke about the issue to reporters on Thursday aboard Air Force One while returning from a state visit to the UK.
"I have read someplace that the networks were 97% against me, again, 97% negative, and yet I won and easily, all seven swing states [in last year's election]," the president said.
"They give me only bad publicity, press. I mean, they're getting a licence. I would think maybe their license should be taken away."
In his monologue on Monday, Kimmel, 57, said the "Maga gang" was "desperately trying to characterise this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them" and trying to "score political points from it".
He also likened Trump's reaction to the death of his 31-year-old political confidant to "how a four-year-old mourns a goldfish".
After the shooting, Kimmel had also gone on Instagram to condemn the attack and send "love" to the Kirk family.
Speaking to Fox on Thursday, FCC chairman Brendan Carr said the suspension of Kimmel was not "the last shoe to drop".
"We're going to continue to hold these broadcasters accountable to the public interest," he said.
"And if broadcasters don't like that simple solution, they can turn their license into the FCC."
Watch: Jimmy Kimmel "appeared to mislead the public", says FCC chairman
Kimmel's suspension was announced on Wednesday evening shortly after Nexstar Media, one of the biggest owners of TV stations in the US, said it would not air his show "for the foreseeable future".
Nexstar called his remarks about Kirk "offensive and insensitive at a critical time in our national political discourse".
Carr praised Nexstar - which is currently seeking FCC approval for a $6.2bn (£4.5bn) merger with Tegna - and said he hoped other broadcasters would follow its lead.
Sinclair, the largest ABC affiliate group in the US, said it would air a special remembrance programme dedicated to Kirk during the original time slot for Kimmel's show on Friday.
Kirk, a high-profile conservative activist and father-of-two, died of a single gunshot wound to the neck while speaking at Utah Valley University in Orem on 10 September.
His widow, Erika Kirk, was named on Thursday as the new head of the organisation her husband co-founded, Turning Point USA.
Tyler Robinson, 22, was charged with aggravated murder on Tuesday, with prosecutors saying they will seek the death penalty.
Jimmy Kimmel taken off air over Charlie Kirk comments (only available in UK)
Writers, actors, former US President Barack Obama and other prominent Democrats condemned Kimmel's suspension.
Obama said the incident represented a new and dangerous level of cancel culture.
"After years of complaining about cancel culture, the current administration has taken it to a new and dangerous level by routinely threatening regulatory action against media companies unless they muzzle or fire reporters and commentators it doesn't like," he posted on X.
Actor Ben Stiller said it "isn't right", while Hacks star Jean Smart said she was "horrified at the cancellation".
"What Jimmy said was free speech, not hate speech," she added.
The Writers Guild of America and Screen Actors Guild (WGA), two Hollywood labour unions, condemned the decision as a violation of constitutional free speech rights.
But others argued Kimmel's suspension was accountability, not cancel culture.
"When a person says something that a ton of people find offensive, rude, dumb in real time and then that person is punished for it that's not cancel culture," said Dave Portnoy, who founded media company Barstool Sports.
"That is consequences for your actions."
Late-night Fox host Greg Gutfeld argued that Kimmel had "deliberately and misleadingly" blamed the killing of Kirk on the activist's "allies and friends".
British presenter Piers Morgan said Kimmel had "lied about Charlie Kirk's assassin being Maga" and his comments caused "understandable outrage all over America".
"Why is he being heralded as some kind of free speech martyr?" he added.
But one of Carr's FCC leadership colleagues, commissioner Anna Gomez, criticised the regulator's stance on Kimmel.
She said that "an inexcusable act of political violence by one disturbed individual must never be exploited as justification for broader censorship or control".
Donald Trump has suggested Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer could use the military to stop illegal migration, at a news conference during the US president's second state visit to the UK.
The US president said he discussed migration issues with Sir Keir during a meeting at his country residence Chequers.
Trump talked about his policies to secure borders in the US and said the UK faced a similar challenge with migrants crossing the English Channel in small boats.
"You have people coming in and I told the prime minister I would stop it, and it doesn't matter if you call out the military, it doesn't matter what means you use," Trump said.
"It destroys countries from within and we're actually now removing a lot of the people that came into our country."
Standing alongside Trump, the prime minister said illegal migration was an issue his government had been taking "incredibly seriously".
Sir Keir said his government had struck several migrant returns deals with other countries, including France, and had been taking action to crack down on people-smuggling gangs.
"That's an important step forward," Sir Keri said. "But there's no silver bullet here."
More than 30,000 people have crossed the Channel in small boats so far this year.
It is the earliest point in a calendar year this figure has been passed since data on crossings was first reported in 2018.
The rise in crossings is one of the most prominent issues in British politics and has piled pressure on the prime minister to come up with a solution.
There were no divisions between Trump and Starmer on action to tackle illegal migration, as the leaders projected a sense of unity and affection for each other.
The pair touted the "special relationship" between the UK and the US, and announced a new tech deal Trump said would help the allies "dominate" in the world of artificial intelligence (AI).
But in one flashpoint, Trump said he had "a disagreement with the prime minister" on the subject of Palestinian statehood.
The news conference brought to an end Trump's unprecedented second state visit to the UK.
In two days of pomp and pageantry, Trump was hosted at Windsor Castle by King Charles and the Royal Family, and attended a state banquet on Wednesday before his political meeting with the prime minister.
Israeli strikes hit the southern Lebanese village of Debbin
Israel has carried out a large wave of air strikes in southern Lebanon, saying it was targeting positions of the Iranian-backed armed group Hezbollah.
The attacks came after evacuation warnings were issued for several locations. There has been no immediate report of casualties.
Israel has carried out air strikes on people and places it says are linked to Hezbollah almost every day despite a deal that ended the war with the group in November.
The Lebanese prime minister called on the international community to urge Israel to stop what he described as intimidation and attacks, and to fulfil its ceasefire obligations.
Footage posted online showed huge plumes of smoke in Mais al-Jabal, one of the locations hit.
An Israeli military spokesman said the targets were infrastructure belonging to Hezbollah and in response to the group's attempts to re-establish activities in the area. He provided no evidence.
Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Arabic spokesman Avichay Adraee said its forces had attacked and raided Hezbollah weapons warehouses, and their presence "constituted a violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon".
He earlier had warned residents to evacuate buildings in the villages of Mais al-Jabal, Kfar Tibnit and Debbin, and later in two more villages.
Lebanon's prime minister Nawaf Salam said on X his country was committed to ceasing hostile actions, but asked: "Where is Israel's commitment to these mechanisms?"
He called on the international community, especially the countries sponsoring the ceasefire, "to exert maximum pressure on Israel to immediately stop its aggressions", to immediately withdraw from Lebanese territory and release prisoners.
It states that Lebanon will "prevent Hezbollah and all other armed groups in the territory of Lebanon from carrying out any operations against Israel". Meanwhile, Israel will "not carry out any offensive military operations against Lebanese targets, including civilian, military, or other state targets, in the territory of Lebanon".
The Lebanese government has tasked the army with establishing a state monopoly on arms, a decision which Hezbollah has said it will disregard.
President John Mahama has been criticised by opposition MPs for failing to present the deportation deal in parliament for ratification
Eleven people detained in Ghana after being deported from the US have sued the West African nation's government, their lawyer has told the BBC.
Oliver-Barker Vormawor said the deportees had not violated any Ghanaian law, and their detention in a military camp was therefore illegal.
He wanted the government to produce the group in court, and justify why they were being held against their will, the lawyer added.
The government has not yet commented on the law suit, but has previously said that it plans to accept another 40 deportees. Opposition MPs are demanding the immediate suspension of the deportation deal until parliament ratifies it, saying this was required under Ghanaian law.
Last week, Ghana's President John Mahama said that 14 deportees of West African origin had arrived in the country following an agreement reached with the US.
He later said that all of them had been returned to their countries of origin, though Foreign Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa contradicted him by saying that only most of them had been returned.
Mr Vormawor's court application contradicts both of them, saying that 11 deportees are still in detention in Ghana.
The 11 were held in a US detention facility before being shackled and deported in a military cargo aircraft, according to papers filed in court.
The deportations are part of the US government's hard-line approach towards immigration since President Donald Trump took office in January.
He has vowed to conduct record-level deportations of migrants in the country illegally.
Ghana's foreign minister was quoted on Monday by Reuters news agency as saying the decision to accept the deportees was based on "humanitarian principle and pan-African empathy".
"This should not be misconstrued as an endorsement of the immigration policies of the Trump administration," he said.
Five of the detainees, three Nigerians and two Gambians, have also sued the US government, arguing that they were protected by a court order and should not have been deported.
At least ten people have died and 25 others injured after a fire broke out in a high-rise building in Lagos, Nigeria's commercial capital.
Videos on social media on Tuesday showed occupants of the seven-storey Afriland Towers jumping out of the third and fourth floors when the fire started.
The victims were commercial workers who were trapped inside the building, which is host to most commercial companies and organisations in the city.
Most of the survivors suffered burns and fracture injuries while trying to escape, while others had respiratory distress from smoke inhalation.
Authorities say the occupants became disoriented due to rapid smoke spread and lack of clear evacuation guidance, and desperate occupants broke windows to jump, leading to severe trauma.
Chukwuemeka Eze, a trader who witnessed the incident, told the BBC: "It was scary, some jumped from up there, many people inside were so scared to jump down, we got a wooden ladder to assist them."
In a statement, the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (Lasema) said the fire, which lasted for hours, started in the basement of the building where electrical equipment was installed.
The agency said it suspects the cause was poor maintenance and inadequate ventilation in the inverter battery area, which caused overheating and combustion.
The statement added "there was absence of mechanical smoke extraction systems, this allowed smoke to migrate unchecked. The public address systems were not functioning and there was inadequate signage, this worsened the confusion".
"The building was designed with sealed windows. The facility and building managers also inhaled smoke and passed out during the incident leaving no incident manager or safety warden in charge," the statement added.
Lasema said it extinguished the fire after a couple of hours, but thick, black smoke travelled throughout the building.
Nigeria's President Bola Tinubu described the incident as unfortunate and commiserated with families of the deceased victims.
The Nigeria Federal Fire Service said it has launched an investigation to establish the causes of the incident, including the state of safety systems, maintenance practices and compliance with fire safety regulations. The findings will be made public, and all recommendations will be implemented, the service added.
Israeli aircraft carried out strikes along Gaza City's Mediterranean coast on Thursday
The situation in Gaza City is "nothing short of cataclysmic", a UN official has told the BBC, as Israeli tanks and troops continue to advance on the third day of a ground offensive.
Olga Cherevko, a spokeswoman for the UN's humanitarian office, said she had seen a constant stream of Palestinians heading south during a recent visit to the city, but that hundreds of thousands remained.
The World Health Organization (WHO) warned that overwhelmed hospitals were on the brink of collapse because it was being prevented from delivering lifesaving supplies.
The Israeli military said its forces were "dismantling terror infrastructure and eliminating terrorists" in Gaza City.
It has said its objectives are to free the hostages still held by Hamas and defeat up to 3,000 fighters in what it has described as the group's "main stronghold".
However, the offensive on Gaza's biggest urban area, where one million people were living and a famine was confirmed last month, has drawn widespread international condemnation.
The UN and its humanitarian partners have recorded at least 200,000 people crossing from northern to southern Gaza since mid-August, when Israel announced its intention to conquer Gaza City. Around 55,000 have made the journey since Sunday.
Cherevko, who works for the UN humanitarian office in the central city of Deir al-Balah, told the BBC she travelled to Gaza City two days ago - a 29km (18 mile) round-trip that took 14 hours.
"The things there, and the scenes on the way to Gaza City, are nothing short of cataclysmic," she recalled.
"A constant stream of people [are] crossing from the north to the south, many on foot. Inside Gaza City, it's very crowded still because there are hundreds of thousands of civilians still remaining there."
She said she also witnessed multiple Israeli strikes "very close" to the UN convoy while in Gaza City, adding: "It was really just a constant hit after hit while we were there."
On Thursday morning, witnesses told Reuters news agency they had seen Israeli tanks in the northern Sheikh Radwan neighbourhood and the southern neighbourhood of Tal al-Hawa, which have come under heavy bombardment in recent days.
They also reported that Israeli forces had blown up remotely driven vehicles laden with explosives in both areas, destroying many houses.
Local hospitals said at least 14 people had been killed by Israeli fire across the Gaza Strip on Thursday, including nine in Gaza City.
The Israeli military said in a statement that its troops were "expanding" their operations in the city, without giving any details about their movements.
At the start of the ground assault on Tuesday, the military's chief of staff, Lt Gen Eyal Zamir, told troops to "intensify the blows against Hamas and to decisively defeat the Gaza City brigade, in order to carry out the most moral and important duty - the return of all the hostages home and the dismantling of Hamas's military and governing capabilities".
Cherevko warned that many people were unable to comply with the Israeli military's order to evacuate to its designated "humanitarian area" in the south.
"The expense of moving your belongings, if you are lucky enough to find a vehicle that will move them, is exorbitant. It's not affordable for many people. And that's why many are doing this on foot, with barely a mattress in their hands and maybe a plastic bag."
And once they arrived there were no guarantees of shelter or safety, she added.
"I spoke to a lot of people who have recently arrived in Deir al-Balah and [the southern city of] Khan Younis. Many of them are sitting on the side of the street, with nothing. They don't have any shelter. They don't know where to go.
"Yesterday, I met a family who had been walking around for four days, trying to find space to sleep and they didn't manage," she said.
Reuters
Many displaced families who have fled southwards are having to sleep on roadsides
The WHO's chief, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said the Israeli offensive was "forcing traumatised families into an ever-shrinking area unfit for human dignity".
"The injured and people with disabilities cannot move to safety, which puts their lives in grave danger," he wrote on X.
"Hospitals, already overwhelmed, are on the brink of collapse as escalating violence blocks access and prevents [the] WHO from delivering lifesaving supplies."
The UN says there are currently about 1,790 in-patient hospital beds for the 2.1 million population of Gaza, resulting in occupancy rates of 180 to 300% across the 17 hospitals that remain partially functional across the territory.
Ten of those hospitals are in Gaza City and one is elsewhere in northern Gaza.
On Tuesday, al-Rantisi children's hospital in Gaza City - the only specialised paediatric hospital left in the territory - was hit by three Israeli strikes, causing damage to rooftop water tanks, electrical and communication systems and some medical equipment, according to Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry.
Forty patients fled for safety following the attack, while 40 others, including four children in the intensive care and eight newborn babies, remain inside.
The Israeli military has not yet commented.
The UN Population Fund meanwhile warned that women were being forced to give birth in the streets, without hospitals, doctors or clean water.
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 65,141 people have been killed in Israeli attacks in Gaza since then, according to the territory's health ministry.
The ministry says another 435 people have so far died during the war as a result of malnutrition and starvation, including four over the past 24 hours.
Egypt's antiquities ministry announced that the bracelet was missing on Tuesday
A 3,000-year-old gold bracelet that disappeared from the Egyptian Museum in Cairo was stolen and melted down, Egypt's interior ministry says.
A restoration specialist took the artefact - which dates back to the reign of King Amenemope, a pharaoh who ruled Egypt around 1,000BC – from a safe at the museum nine days ago, according to the ministry.
The woman contacted a silver jeweller she knew, who sold the bracelet to a gold jeweller for $3,735 (£2,750), it said. He then sold it for $4,025 to a gold foundry worker, who had melted it down with other jewellery, it added.
The ministry said the four individuals confessed to their crimes after being arrested and that the money was seized.
The ministry added that legal action would be taken against them.
On Tuesday, Egypt's tourism and antiquities ministry announced that it had taken immediate measures after the bracelet disappeared from the Egyptian Museum's restoration laboratory, and that the case had been referred to police.
An image of the gold band adorned with spherical lapis lazuli beads had been circulated to all Egyptian airports, seaports and land border crossings as a precaution to prevent it being smuggled out of the country, it said.
Local media reported that the disappearance was detected in recent days as museum staff were preparing to ship dozens of artefacts to Rome for an exhibition.
The Egyptian Museum in Cairo is the oldest archaeological museum in the Middle East. It houses more than 170,000 artefacts, including Amenemope's gilded wooden funerary mask.
The bracelet's theft came weeks before the opening of the Grand Egyptian Museum in nearby Giza, where the famous treasures of King Tutankhamun's tomb have been transferred.
Lazarus Chakwera (L) and Peter Mutharika (R) are long-standing political rivals
The head of Malawi's electoral commission has warned political parties not to prematurely declare electoral victory, saying they should wait for the official results.
Annabel Mtalimanja's warning came after the parties of the two main presidential candidates, the incumbent Lazarus Chakwera and his predecessor Peter Mutharika, claimed they had won Tuesday's poll.
Speaking at a press conference on Thursday, Ms Mtalimanja said that only the commission was mandated to release results.
Malawians have been eagerly awaiting results, but the commission has not yet released any - despite the fact that nearly all votes have been counted.
The commission is expected to announce the outcome only after all votes have been tallied and verified in order to avoid the possibility of the final result being challenged.
A candidate needs to win more than 50% of the vote, or a run-off is held.
The 2019 election was marred by controversy when the highest court annulled then-President Mutharika's victory, citing widespread irregularities.
Chakwera, 70, won the re-run by a wide margin, propelling him to the presidency.
Mutharika, 85, is hoping to regain office in what would be a dramatic political comeback.
Malawians also voted in parliamentary and local elections following a campaign dominated by the worsening economic crisis that has seen a severe shortage of fuel and foreign currency.
The official inflation rate is close to 30%, with a frozen chicken in a supermarket in the capital, Lilongwe, costing about $20 (£15), in a nation where people live on an average of $2 a day.
ABC has pulled late-night host Jimmy Kimmel off air indefinitely over comments he made about the shooting of right-wing influencer Charlie Kirk.
"Jimmy Kimmel Live will be pre-empted indefinitely," a spokesperson for the Disney-owned network said in a statement to the BBC.
On Monday night's monologue, Kimmel said the "MAGA gang" was trying to score political points off Kirk's murder.
On Tuesday, a 22-year-old suspect appeared in court charged with aggravated murder over last Wednesday's shooting of the 31-year-old conservative influencer.
The announcement came after one of the biggest owners of TV stations in the US, Nexstar Media, said it would not air Jimmy Kimmel Live! "for the foreseeable future beginning with tonight's show".
Nexstar said on Wednesday that the comedian's remarks about Kirk "are offensive and insensitive at a critical time in our national political discourse".
"[W]e do not believe they reflect the spectrum of opinions, views, or values of the local communities in which we are located," said Andrew Alford, president of Nexstar's broadcasting division.
"Continuing to give Mr Kimmel a broadcast platform in the communities we serve is simply not in the public interest at the current time, and we have made the difficult decision to preempt his show in an effort to let cooler heads prevail as we move toward the resumption of respectful, constructive dialogue."
Representatives for Kimmel did not immediately respond to the BBC's requests for comment.
Kimmel said in his Monday night monologue: "The Maga Gang desperately trying to characterise this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score political points from it."
The late-night host, who has frequently been in the crosshairs of US President Donald Trump, also criticised flags being flown at half staff in honour of Kirk, and mocked Trump's reaction to the shooting.
He spliced a clip of the president speaking with reporters about his reaction to Kirk's death and redirecting to talk about a ballroom being built at the White House.
"He's at the fourth stage of grief," Kimmel said. "Construction. It's demolition, construction.
"This is not how an adult grieves the murder of someone he calls a friend. This is how a four-year-old mourns a gold fish."
Smotrich said the "demolition phase" of Gaza had been done
Israel's far-right finance minister Bezalel Smotrich has said the Gaza Strip could be a "real estate bonanza" and that he is in talks with the US about dividing up the territory after the war - an idea previously condemned internationally.
Speaking at an event in Tel Aviv, he said "a business plan is on President Trump's table".
"We've done the demolition phase... Now we need to build," he said.
In February, Donald Trump floated plans for the US to take "a long-term ownership position" over Gaza, saying it could be the "Riviera of the Middle East".
The idea would involve the forced displacement of Palestinians in the territory and be in violation of international law.
Anadolu via Getty Images
Vast parts of Gaza have been reduced to rubble by Israel's military
The US and Israel have said it would involve "voluntary" emigration. The BBC has reached out to the US State Department for comment on Smotrich's remarks.
Trump's plan - which was roundly rejected by Palestinians, Arab states and the wider international community - later appeared to have been dropped by the White House, with Trump describing it in July as "a concept that was really embraced by a lot of people, but also some people didn't like it".
But the Washington Post reported earlier this month a version of the idea was again under discussion, and would involve Gaza being turned into a trusteeship administered by the US for at least a decade while it is developed into a tourism resort and high-tech manufacturing hub.
Israel's military campaign in Gaza, which has involved mass air strikes and building demolitions, has caused widespread destruction to the territory.
The United Nations (UN) estimates 92% of housing units have been damaged or destroyed, 91% of schools will require full reconstruction or major rehabilitation to be fully functional again, and 86% of cropland is damaged.
The UN estimated in February that the reconstruction of the territory would cost $53.2 billion (£46.1bn) over the next 10 years.
"We paid a lot of money for this war," said Smotrich. "So we need to divide how we make a percentage on the land marketing later".
Smotrich, leader of Israel's Religious Zionist party, is an ultranationalist who has been sanctioned by the UK and other countries over repeated incitements of violence against Palestinians.
He has control over planning in the West Bank and has repeatedly pushed expansionist policies.
In late August, he unveiled a proposal for the annexation of approximately four-fifths of the the territory.
He said the plan would involve "applying Israeli sovereignty" to approximately 82% of the West Bank, adding that this was in line with the principle of "maximum land with minimum Arabs".
Israel has built about 160 settlements housing 700,000 Jews since it occupied the West Bank and East Jerusalem - land Palestinians want, along with Gaza, for a hoped-for future state - during the 1967 Middle East war. An estimated 3.3 million Palestinians live alongside them.
The settlements are illegal under international law.
Israel launched its war 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 65,062 people have been killed in Israeli attacks since then, almost half of them women and children, according to Gaza's health ministry.
Around 800,000 people are expected to heed the call by trade unions to protest against budget cuts
Hundreds of thousands of workers are expected to take part in strike action across France on Thursday, after trade unions called for a day of protests against budget cuts.
The interior ministry said between 600,000 and 900,000 people could attend demonstrations nationwide, adding it would deploy 80,000 police officers.
The strikes come barely a week after Sébastien Lecornu, a close ally of President Emmanuel Macron, was appointed prime minister following the toppling of François Bayrou's government.
Public transport was heavily disrupted on Thursday morning, with many metro lines in Paris reported shut, while protesters blocked roads and streets in major cities across France.
Students gathered in front of schools and universities in the capital and beyond, blocking entrances and chanting slogans. Around a third of teachers walked out.
Pharmacists are also adhering to strike action in droves, with 98% of pharmacies expected to stay closed.
Unions have called for more spending on public services, higher taxes on the wealthy and for the budget cuts outlined by the short-lived Bayrou government to be axed.
Sophie Binet, the leader of one of France's major trade union groups, the General Confederation of Labour (CGT), said: "We need to be out in force, that's how we gather strength to keep fighting... to force the government and the employers to put an end to policies that only serve the richest."
Bruno Retailleau, the outgoing interior minister, said 58 people had been arrested across France by mid-morning.
"We will be uncompromising and relentless," Retailleau warned, adding that he had given police instructions to make arrests "as soon as there is the slightest slip-up".
Jean-Luc Mélenchon, the leader of the radical left party France Unbowed (LFI), asked participants to the strike to be "disciplined".
"Any violent actions would only serve one person - Mr Retailleau," he said.
Ahead of the protests, Laurent Nunez, the Paris prosecutor, had expressed concerns that the demonstrations would be "derailed" by far-left groups and urged shops in the city centre to close for the day.
Thursday's strikes come after around 200,000 people took part in protests organised by the grassroots Bloquons Tout (Let's Block Everything) movement last week, which caused some disruption across France.
Bayrou's unpopular budget proposal - aimed at bringing down France's high public debt with €44bn (£38bn) worth of cuts - caused him to lose a confidence vote in the National Assembly last week when parties across the political spectrum united to topple him.
New Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu, who is yet to assemble a ministerial team, has not entirely renounced the cuts and has held talks with opposition parties in an attempt to reach a compromise on the budget.
Lecornu's position is perilous. Like his two predecessors, Bayrou and Michel Barnier, he faces a hung parliament divided into three blocs with deeply differing political leanings, making it difficult to craft a budget palatable to a majority of MPs.
But France is also staring down the barrel of spiralling public debt, equivalent to almost €50,000 per French citizen.
Barnier and Bayrou were also brought down as a result of their proposed budgets, which would have entailed substantial cuts - with politicians on the left instead calling for tax rises.
Three people have been arrested on suspicion of spying on behalf of Russia, the Metropolitan Police has said.
A 41-year-old man and a 35-year-old woman were arrested at an address in Grays, Essex, the force said. A 46-year-old man was arrested at a separate address in the same area.
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The baby was found by chance when a shepherd heard faint cries coming from under a mound of earth
A 20-day-old baby girl who was found buried alive in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh is fighting for survival, hospital authorities say.
She was found by chance when a shepherd, who had taken his goats to the area for grazing, heard faint cries coming from under a mound of earth.
Once he went closer, he saw a tiny hand sticking out of the mud. After he alerted the villagers, police were called in who came and dug out the baby.
Police have not said who they suspect for the crime, but similar cases of abandonment and attempts to kill female children are blamed on India's preference for sons, which is widely acknowledged to be the reason for its skewed gender ratio.
The incident took place in Shahjahanpur district in India's most populous state. The baby is being treated in the neonatal intensive care unit of the government-run medical college and hospital there.
Medical college principal Dr Rajesh Kumar told the BBC that the infant was brought in on Monday, smeared in dirt and gasping for air as mud had gone into her mouth and nostrils.
"She was in a critical condition, she was showing signs of hypoxia or oxygen deficiency. She had been bitten by insects and also some animal," Dr Kumar said.
"After 24 hours we saw a minor improvement in her condition, but she has since deteriorated. She has developed an infection," he added.
Dr Kumar said he believed the baby had been found soon after she was buried as her "wounds were fresh".
A team of doctors, including a plastic surgeon, were treating the baby and they were trying to control her infection, he said.
"The prognosis is grave, but we are trying our best to save her," he added.
A police official said their attempts to track down the baby's parents had not been successful yet. The child helpline in the state had been informed about the baby, the official added.
The incident in Shahjahanpur is not the first time a female baby has been left to die in India. In 2019, the BBC reported on a premature newborn baby who was found buried alive in a clay pot. After weeks in the hospital, doctors said she had recovered.
India is known to have one of the worst gender ratios in the world. Women face lifelong social discrimination and girls are seen as a financial burden, particularly among poor communities.
Campaigners say a traditional preference for sons has meant millions of female children are lost to foeticide and infanticide over the years.
Although most unwanted female foetuses are aborted with help from illegal sex determination clinics, cases of baby girls being killed after birth are not uncommon either.
A former defence minister and vocal critic of Togo's government, Marguerite Gnakadé, has been arrested, according to security sources.
Gnakadé, the sister-in-law of long-serving leader Faure Gnassingbé, recently called for his resignation and urged the military to stand with the people in ending decades of dynastic rule.
"She was arrested for serious acts, including her recent public appearance inciting the military to rebellion," a police source told the AFP news agency. Local media reported she was arrested by security forces at her home in the capital Lomé on Wednesday.
Togo has recently been gripped by deadly protests calling for Gnassingbé to resign and release political prisoners.
The protests came amid popular anger and growing weariness with a family-run regime that has been in power for six decades. Gnassingbé, who has led the country since 2005, succeeded his father Gnassingbé Éyadéma, who had ruled for 38 years from 1967.
A new constitutional structure that allowed Gnassingbé to prolong his hold in power while shifting to a new role as President of the Council of Ministers further fuelled the protests.
Gnassingbé was in May sworn in to the new position, which is the highest office in the government's executive branch and has no official term limits.
In recent months Gnakadé has written articles criticising Gnassingbé, including calling for him to resign and make way for a "peaceful, inclusive, and national transition". She has also supported protests against his leadership.
Gnakadé, a widow of Ernest Gnassingbé, the late elder brother of Faure Gnassingbé, served as defence minister from 2020 to 2022.
She was one of the first women to hold such a strategic government position, and her vocal criticism of the government comes as a significant shift.
News of her arrest went viral on social media.
She is currently being questioned by the authorities. Some reports suggest the charges against her are related to alleged connections with exiled opposition figures and attempts to incite disobedience within the armed forces.
Some sources indicate she may be accused of acts that could jeopardise the stability of the military institution.
These allegations would constitute serious offences if proven, and according to judiciary sources, she could face imprisonment ranging from 10 to 20 years if found guilty.
The coming days are expected to provide more clarity regarding the precise reasons for Gnakadé's arrest.
On Wednesday, a grouping of opposition parties and civil society group, Touche Pas A Ma Constitution (Don't Touch My Constitution), condemned her arrest, saying it was carried out by "hooded" security officers "without a warrant".
"Once again, this is an abuse of power that characterises the regime's retrograde practices. The aim is to silence a dissenting voice," it said in a statement.
The group demanded her immediate release without conditions, as well as freedom for all those being detained for their political opinions.
A youth-led movement known as M66 has also given a 72-hour ultimatum demanding her release, warning that they will call for nationwide demonstrations if this is not done.
In June, at least seven people were killed during a crackdown on protests against the Togolese leader, civil rights groups said. The bodies were recovered from rivers in the capital.
The government however denied the deaths were linked to the protests.
The baby was found by chance when a shepherd heard faint cries coming from under a mound of earth
A 20-day-old baby girl who was found buried alive in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh is fighting for survival, hospital authorities say.
She was found by chance when a shepherd, who had taken his goats to the area for grazing, heard faint cries coming from under a mound of earth.
Once he went closer, he saw a tiny hand sticking out of the mud. After he alerted the villagers, police were called in who came and dug out the baby.
Police have not said who they suspect for the crime, but similar cases of abandonment and attempts to kill female children are blamed on India's preference for sons, which is widely acknowledged to be the reason for its skewed gender ratio.
The incident took place in Shahjahanpur district in India's most populous state. The baby is being treated in the neonatal intensive care unit of the government-run medical college and hospital there.
Medical college principal Dr Rajesh Kumar told the BBC that the infant was brought in on Monday, smeared in dirt and gasping for air as mud had gone into her mouth and nostrils.
"She was in a critical condition, she was showing signs of hypoxia or oxygen deficiency. She had been bitten by insects and also some animal," Dr Kumar said.
"After 24 hours we saw a minor improvement in her condition, but she has since deteriorated. She has developed an infection," he added.
Dr Kumar said he believed the baby had been found soon after she was buried as her "wounds were fresh".
A team of doctors, including a plastic surgeon, were treating the baby and they were trying to control her infection, he said.
"The prognosis is grave, but we are trying our best to save her," he added.
A police official said their attempts to track down the baby's parents had not been successful yet. The child helpline in the state had been informed about the baby, the official added.
The incident in Shahjahanpur is not the first time a female baby has been left to die in India. In 2019, the BBC reported on a premature newborn baby who was found buried alive in a clay pot. After weeks in the hospital, doctors said she had recovered.
India is known to have one of the worst gender ratios in the world. Women face lifelong social discrimination and girls are seen as a financial burden, particularly among poor communities.
Campaigners say a traditional preference for sons has meant millions of female children are lost to foeticide and infanticide over the years.
Although most unwanted female foetuses are aborted with help from illegal sex determination clinics, cases of baby girls being killed after birth are not uncommon either.
Watch: Trump accuses journalist of "hurting Australia"
Donald Trump has accused an Australian journalist of "hurting Australia" after he was asked about his business deals while in office.
John Lyons from the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) asked Trump how much wealthier he had become since returning to the White House in January during Trump's state visit to the UK.
"I don't know," Trump replied, saying his children handled the businesses. He added that he would tell Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese about Lyons, adding "you set a very bad tone".
On Thursday, ABC said it was informed by the UK prime minister's press office that there was no longer space for it to attend a joint news conference with Trump and Sir Keir Starmer.
In a statement, ABC said it was still accredited to attend the prime minister's country residence, Chequers, where Trump is meeting Sir Keir for talks on Thursday, but that it "no longer has a spot at the joint press conference" due to "logistical reasons".
The statement added there was "no indication" this was connected to Lyons' questions.
Wednesday's interaction between Lyons and Trump saw the US leader hold his index finger to his lips before saying "quiet" and moving away to speak to another journalist when Lyons tried to ask another question.
Trump also told Lyons he was going to be meeting Albanese "very soon", adding, "I'm going to tell him about you".
For months, Albanese has been seeking a meeting with the US president after talks between the pair were cancelled at the last-minute when Trump left the G20 summit in June earlier than expected to deal with the war in the Middle East.
Albanese - who will be in the US for the UN General Assembly next week - had earlier told ABC radio that he and Trump would "see each other in New York".
"He's hosting a reception on Tuesday night of next week. And as well, we'll see each other at various forums that are taking place between now and the end of the year."
Getty Images
Trump said the journalist was "hurting Australia very much"
In recent months, US-Australia relations have become strained since the Trump administration announced a review into Aukus, a major submarine deal worth £176bn ($239bn; A$368bn) between the US, UK and Australia which was signed in 2021.
In April, Australia was also hit with a tariff of at least 10% on all exports to the US, which Albanese said was "not the act of a friend".
Lyons said after the terse response from Trump that it was an "absurd notion" that asking legitimate questions politely would hurt relations between the long-time allies.
"For me, it was a perfectly normal thing to do to ask questions that I don't think were provocative," he told the ABC, adding his enquiries were fair, based on research and not asked in an abusive way.
The ABC said his questions were part of an investigation by their Four Corners programme looking into Trump's business dealings since returning to office.
Shortly after the tense exchange, a social media post on an official White House account showing the response was captioned: Trump "smacks down a rude foreign Fake News loser".
ABC has pulled late-night host Jimmy Kimmel off air indefinitely over comments he made about the shooting of right-wing influencer Charlie Kirk.
"Jimmy Kimmel Live will be pre-empted indefinitely," a spokesperson for the Disney-owned network said in a statement to the BBC.
On Monday night's monologue, Kimmel said the "MAGA gang" was trying to score political points off Kirk's murder.
On Tuesday, a 22-year-old suspect appeared in court charged with aggravated murder over last Wednesday's shooting of the 31-year-old conservative influencer.
The announcement came after one of the biggest owners of TV stations in the US, Nexstar Media, said it would not air Jimmy Kimmel Live! "for the foreseeable future beginning with tonight's show".
Nexstar said on Wednesday that the comedian's remarks about Kirk "are offensive and insensitive at a critical time in our national political discourse".
"[W]e do not believe they reflect the spectrum of opinions, views, or values of the local communities in which we are located," said Andrew Alford, president of Nexstar's broadcasting division.
"Continuing to give Mr Kimmel a broadcast platform in the communities we serve is simply not in the public interest at the current time, and we have made the difficult decision to preempt his show in an effort to let cooler heads prevail as we move toward the resumption of respectful, constructive dialogue."
Representatives for Kimmel did not immediately respond to the BBC's requests for comment.
Kimmel said in his Monday night monologue: "The Maga Gang desperately trying to characterise this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score political points from it."
The late-night host, who has frequently been in the crosshairs of US President Donald Trump, also criticised flags being flown at half staff in honour of Kirk, and mocked Trump's reaction to the shooting.
He spliced a clip of the president speaking with reporters about his reaction to Kirk's death and redirecting to talk about a ballroom being built at the White House.
"He's at the fourth stage of grief," Kimmel said. "Construction. It's demolition, construction.
"This is not how an adult grieves the murder of someone he calls a friend. This is how a four-year-old mourns a gold fish."
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