Sir Keir Starmer is expected to announce the UK's recognition of a Palestinian state in a statement on Sunday afternoon.

The move comes after the prime minister said in July the UK would shift its position in September unless Israel met conditions including agreeing to a ceasefire in Gaza and committing to a long-term sustainable peace deal that delivers a two-state solution.

It represents a major change in British foreign policy after successive governments said recognition should come as part of a peace process and at a time of maximum impact.

The move has drawn fierce criticism from the Israeli government, hostage families and some Conservatives.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu previously said such a move "rewards terror".

However, UK ministers argue there was a moral responsibility to act to keep the hope of a long-term peace deal alive.

Government sources said the situation on the ground had worsened significantly in the last few weeks. They cited images showing starvation and violence in Gaza, which the prime minister has previously described as "intolerable".

Israel's latest ground operation in Gaza City, described by a UN official as "cataclysmic", has forced hundreds of thousands of people to flee.

Earlier this week, a United Nations commision of inquiry concluded Israel had committed genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, which Israel denounced as "distorted and false".

Ministers also highlighted the continued expansion of Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, which are illegal under international law, as a key factor in the decision to recognise Palestinian statehood.

Justice Secretary David Lammy, who was foreign secretary in July when the path to recognition was announced, cited the controversial E1 settlement project which critics warn would put an end to hopes for a viable, contiguous Palestinian state.

He said: "The recognition of a Palestinian state is as a consequence of the serious expansion that we're seeing in the West Bank, the settler violence that we're seeing in the West Bank, and the intention and indications that we're seeing to build for example the E1 development that would run a coach and horses through the possibility of a two-state solution."

Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas welcomed the UK's recognition pledge when he visited Sir Keir earlier this month, with Downing Street saying both leaders had agreed Hamas had no role in future governance of Palestine.

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said she wanted to see a two-state solution in the Middle East.

But writing in The Telegraph over the weekend, she said: "It is obvious, and the US has been clear on this, that recognition of a Palestinian state at this time and without the release of the hostages, would be a reward for terrorism."

Meanwhile, in an open letter to Sir Keir on Saturday, family members of some of the hostages taken by Hamas urged the Prime Minister not to take the step until the remaining 48, of whom 20 are believed to still be alive, had been returned.

The announcement of the forthcoming recognition had "dramatically complicated efforts to bring home our loved ones", they wrote. "Hamas has already celebrated the UK's decision as a victory and reneged on a ceasefire deal."

During a state visit to the UK this week, US President Donald Trump also said he disagreed with recognition.

Sir Keir had set a deadline of the UN General Assembly meeting, which takes place this week, for Israel to take "substantive steps to end the appalling situation in Gaza, agree to a ceasefire and commit to a long-term, sustainable peace, reviving the prospect of a two-state solution".

Speaking in July, he said: "I've always said we will recognise a Palestinian state as a contribution to a proper peace process, at the moment of maximum impact for the two-state solution.

"With that solution now under threat, this is the moment to act."

A number of other countries including Portugal, France, Canada and Australia have also said they will recognise a Palestinian state, while Spain, Ireland and Norway took the step last year.

Palestine is currently recognised by around 75% of the UN's 193 member states, but has no internationally agreed boundaries, no capital and no army - making recognition largely symbolic.

The two-state solution refers to the creation of a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, with East Jerusalem as its capital. Israel currently occupies both the West Bank and Gaza, meaning the Palestinian Authority is not in full control of its land or people.

Recognising a Palestinian state has long been a cause championed by many within the Labour Party. The PM has been under mounting pressure to take a tougher stance on Israel, particularly from MPs on the left of his party.

Shortly before he gave his speech in July, more than half of Labour MPs signed a letter calling for the government to immediately recognise a Palestinian state.

However, critics questioned why the government had appeared to put conditions on Israel but not on Hamas, when it set out its path to recognition.

The Chief Rabbi, Sir Ephraim Mirvis, called on the government to pause its decision.

"The intended recognition is not contingent upon a functioning or democratic Palestinian government, nor even upon the most basic commitment to a peaceful future," he said.

"Astonishingly, it is not even conditional upon the release of the 48 hostages who remain in captivity."

Government sources insisted their demands for Hamas to release the hostages and agree to a ceasefire had not changed.

But officials in the Foreign Office argued statehood was a right of the Palestinian people and could not be dependent on Hamas, which the government views as a terrorist organisation.

Speaking on Thursday when he hosted President Trump at Chequers, Sir Keir reiterated that Hamas could play "no part" in any future Palestinian state.

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

At least 64,964 people have been killed in Israeli attacks in Gaza since then, according to the territory's Hamas-run health ministry.

Rohan Mehta - not his real name - spent over $8,000 (£5,900) on flights in his scramble to get back to the US ahead of a deadline that would dramatically increase visa fees for some.

He had been in Nagpur, India for the anniversary of his father's death before he cut his trip short.

On Friday, President Donald Trump signed an executive order adding a $100,000 (£74,000) fee for applicants to the visa programme for skilled foreign workers which US-based companies would have to pay.

Companies and immigration lawyers had already advised those on the H-1B visa who were outside the US to return before the order came into force Sunday.

A day later, the White House clarified it would be a one-time fee and would not apply to current visa holders, but it was too late for some.

Workers from India receive by far the most skilled visas in the programme, at more than 70% of the 85,000 issued each year.

Despite the clarification posted on X by White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, concern and confusion had already spread.

The BBC spoke to many H-1B visa holders from India.

Many have been working in the US for decades.

None wanted to be identified as they were not authorised by their employers. Many refused to speak to us entirely.

Rohan Mehta, a software professional, has lived in the US with his family for 11 years but had travelled to Nagpur at the beginning of the month to see relatives commemorating his father's death.

But on 20 September, he said he feared he would not be able to return to his home if he did not get back before the deadline.

He spent over $8,000 (£5,900) in eight hours booking and rebooking return flights to the US.

"I booked multiple options because most were cutting it very close," he said just after he had boarded a Virgin Atlantic flight from Mumbai to John F. Kennedy International Airport.

"Even if there was a slight delay, I'd have missed the deadline."

• Trump adds $100,000 fee for skilled worker visa applicants
• India warns H-1B visa fee will have 'humanitarian consequences'

In its clarification, the White House said the new fee, which is more than 60 times the amount currently charged, would not be enforced until the next round of visa applications was approved.

Rohan Mehta described the last few days as "traumatic" adding he was glad his wife and daughter had not come to India with him on this trip.

"I'm regretting the choices I've made in life. I gave the prime of my youth to working for this country [the US] and now I feel like I'm not wanted.

"My daughter has spent her entire life in the US. I'm not sure how I'll uproot my life from there and start all over in India."

The H-1B is a work visa programme for people looking to work in the US in specialised fields and roles. Employers are able to sponsor professionals to get them into the country with a job offer required for the application.

According to government statistics, the greatest beneficiary of the programme the previous fiscal year was Amazon, followed by tech giants Tata, Microsoft, Meta, Apple and Google.

Another visa holder who was on holiday in Europe agreed there was confusion.

"We are yet to see how employers are thinking and how this will play out.

"From my understanding, the order is only for new H-1B visas. Immigration lawyers are still figuring it out and have advised us to go back."

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt posted on X clarifying some details including that it would not be an annual fee, just a one-off.

She wrote: "Those who already hold H-1B visas and are currently outside of the country right now will not be charged $100,000 to re-enter.

"H-1B visa holders can leave and re-enter the country to the same extent as they normally would."

She added that the new fee would only apply to "new visas, not renewals, and not current visa holders".

Air travellers are facing another day of disruption at several European airports including Heathrow, after a cyber-attack knocked out a check-in and baggage system.

There were hundreds of delays on Saturday after the software used by several airlines failed, with affected airports boarding passengers using pen and paper.

Brussels Airport said it had "no indication yet" when the system would be functional again and had asked airlines to cancel half their departing flights.

RTX, which owns software provider Collins Aerospace, said it was "aware of a cyber-related disruption" to its system in "select airports" and that it hoped to resolve the issue as quickly as possible.

It identified its Muse software - which allows different airlines to use the same check-in desks and boarding gates at an airport, rather than requiring their own - as the system that had been affected.

The company has yet to disclose what went wrong or how long it expects the outage to last.

Heathrow said on Sunday that efforts to resolve the issue were ongoing.

It apologised to those who had faced delays but stressed that "the vast majority of flights have continued to operate", urging passengers to check their flight status before travelling to the airport and arrive in good time.

The BBC understands that British Airways has continued to operate as normal at the airport using a back-up system, but that most other airlines that service it had been affected by the outage.

There were hours-long queues on Saturday and some 47% of Heathrow's departing flights were delayed, according to flight tracker FlightAware. Additional staff were at hand in check-in areas to help minimise disruption.

Lucy Spencer told the BBC that she had queued to check in for a Malaysia Airlines flight for more than two hours, and that staff had been checking passengers in over the phone.

Another passenger, Monazza Aslam, said she had to wait since the early hours of the morning with her elderly parents, and that the delays meant they had missed their connecting flight.

Brussels Airport said manual check-in would continue on Sunday and that extra staff had been drafted in to help minimise disruption.

It said 44 departing flights had been cancelled so far on Sunday, and that it anticipated long queues at check-in and further delays.

Europe's combined aviation safety organisation, Eurocontrol, said airline operators had been asked to cancel half their flight schedules to and from the airport until 02:00 on Monday due to the disruption.

Meanwhile, Dublin Airport said that while the technical issues persisted and some airlines were continuing to check in manually, it was expecting to operate a full schedule on Sunday.

A spokesperson told the BBC: "Passengers are advised to contact their airline directly for updates on their flight."

Berlin Brandenburg Airport is asking travellers to use online or self-service check-in instead of the desks while the outage is ongoing.

It said there had been eight cancellations in and out of the airport on Saturday, but that delays were generally less than 45 minutes.

EasyJet and Ryanair, which do not operate out of Heathrow but are among Europe's biggest airlines, said on Saturday that they were operating as normal.

A National Cyber Security Centre spokesperson said on Saturday that it was working with Collins Aerospace, affected UK airports, the Department for Transport and law enforcement to fully understand the impact of the incident.

The European Commission, which plays a role in managing airspace across Europe, said it was "closely monitoring the cyber-attack", but that there was no indication it had been "widespread or severe".

Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander also said she was aware of the incident and was "getting regular updates and monitoring the situation".

It was only last July that a global IT crash due to a faulty software update from cybersecurity firm Crowdstrike caused disruption to aviation, grounding flights across the US.

Analysts said at the time that the incident highlighted how the industry could be vulnerable to issues with digital systems.

A secret Russian-funded network is attempting to disrupt upcoming democratic elections in an eastern European state, the BBC has found.

Using an undercover reporter, we discovered the network promised to pay participants if they posted pro-Russian propaganda and fake news undermining Moldova's pro-EU ruling party ahead of the country's 28 September parliamentary ballot.

Participants were paid to find supporters of Moldova's pro-Russia opposition to secretly record - and also to carry out a so-called poll. This was done in the name of a non-existent organisation, making it illegal. The results of this selective sampling, an organiser from the network suggested, could lay the groundwork to question the outcome of the election.

The results of the so-called poll, suggesting the ruling party will lose, have already been published online.

In fact, official polls suggest the ruling Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS) founded by President Maia Sandu is currently ahead of the pro-Russian Patriotic Electoral Bloc (BEP).

We have found links between the secret network and Moldovan oligarch Ilan Shor - sanctioned by the US for "the Kremlin's malign influence operations" and now a fugitive in Moscow. The UK has also sanctioned him for corruption.

We have also found links between the network and a non-profit organisation (NGO) called Evrazia.

Evrazia has connections to Mr Shor and was sanctioned by the UK, US and EU for allegedly bribing Moldovan citizens to vote against EU membership last year. The referendum on joining passed, but by a very small margin.

"In 2024 the focus of [Ilan Shor's] campaign was money. This year the focus is disinformation," Moldova's chief of police, Viorel Cernauteanu, told the BBC World Service.

We asked Ilan Shor and Evrazia to respond to our investigation findings - they did not provide a response.

• If you're in the UK you can watch the story on Global Eye, BBC 2 at 19:00 BST on Monday 22 September

Moldova may be small, but sandwiched between Ukraine, and EU-member Romania, it has strategic significance for both Europe and the Kremlin, experts say.

The World Service infiltrated the network - co-ordinated on the messaging app Telegram - through a link sent to us by a whistleblower.

This gave us a crucial insight into how an anti-democratic propaganda network operates.

Our undercover reporter Ana, and 34 other recruits, were asked to attend secret online seminars which would "prepare operatives". With titles like "How to go from your kitchen to national leader", they seemed to serve as a vetting process. Ana and the others had to pass regular tests on what they had learned.

Our reporter was then contacted by a network co-ordinator called Alina Juc. Ms Juc's social media profile says she is from Transnistria, a separatist region of eastern Moldova loyal to Moscow, and her Instagram shows she has made multiple trips to Russia over the past few years.

Ms Juc told Ana she would be paid 3,000 Moldovan lei ($170, £125) a month to produce TikTok and Facebook posts in the run-up to the election, and that she would be sent the money from Promsvyazbank (PSB) - a sanctioned Russian state-owned bank which acts as the official bank for the Russian defence ministry, and is a shareholder in one of Ilan Shor's companies.

Ana and the other recruits were trained to produce social media posts using ChatGPT. Content "attracts people if the picture contains some satire… over reality", they were told, but that too much AI should be avoided to ensure posts felt "organic".

Inside the Telegram group, Ana and the BBC had access to previous instructions issued to participants. Initially, they had been asked for patriotic posts about historical figures in Moldovan history - but gradually the demands had become overtly political.

Ana was asked to post unfounded allegations - including that Moldova's current government is planning to falsify the election results, Moldova's potential EU membership is contingent on its citizens becoming LGBTQ+, and that President Sandu is facilitating child trafficking.

Social media campaigns are now frequently central to national elections. We monitored the social media posts supporting Moldova's ruling party PAS, but did not uncover any obvious disinformation campaign.

Throughout our undercover exercise with the network we only shared posts which were factually accurate, and we limited their number.

We wanted to find out who else was in the network, as we had evidence it was made up of multiple groups similar to the one we infiltrated. We looked for patterns of similar activity across other accounts that we could monitor through our Telegram access.

The network, we concluded, is made up of at least 90 TikTok accounts - some masquerading as news outlets - which have posted thousands of videos totalling more than 23 million views and 860,000 likes since January. Moldova's population is just 2.4 million.

We shared our findings with US-based Digital Forensic Research Lab (DFRLab), and it told us its analysis shows the network could be even bigger. The broader network has amassed more than 55 million views and over 2.2 million likes on TikTok since January, DFRLab found.

The network did not just post disinformation. Ms Juc also offered Ana 200 Moldovan lei ($12, £9) an hour in cash to conduct unofficial polling, interviewing people in Moldova's capital about their preferred candidates in the election.

Before conducting this task, participants were given training on how to subtly sway those being polled.

They were also asked to secretly tape the interviewees who said they supported the pro-Russian opposition.

Ms Juc revealed this was to "prevent the vote from being rigged" suggesting the survey results and the secret recordings would be used, in the event of a PAS victory, as supposed evidence that it won unfairly.

Our evidence also suggests the network our reporter joined is being bank-rolled from Russia. Ana overheard - and filmed - Alina Juc on the phone asking for money from Moscow.

"Listen, can you bring money from Moscow… I just need to give my people their salaries," we filmed her saying.

It was not clear who would be sending her the money, but we have found links between the network and Ilan Shor via NGO Evrazia.

Ilan Shor and Evrazia did not respond to our investigation findings.

The BBC found photos of Ana's handler, Alina Juc, on Evrazia's website - and one of the Telegram groups Ana was added to was called "Evrazia leaders."

The UK Foreign Office says Evrazia operates "in Moldova on behalf of corrupt fugitive oligarch Ilan Shor… to destabilise Moldovan democracy."

We asked Alina Juc to comment on our findings - she did not respond.

TikTok said it had implemented additional safety and security measures ahead of the elections and continued to "aggressively counter deceptive behaviour". Facebook's owner Meta did not respond to our findings.

The Russian embassy in the UK denied involvement in fake news and electoral interference and claimed that it was the EU that had been interfering in Moldova's election.

Additional Reporting: Malvina Cojocari, Andreea Jitaru, Angela Stanciu

The Indian government has said a new $100,000 (£74,000) fee for applicants seeking US skilled worker visas will have "humanitarian consequences".

President Donald Trump on Friday ordered the new fee for H-1B visa applications, which is more than 60 times the amount currently charged, to go into effect on 21 September.

Workers from India receive by far the most skilled visas in the programme, at just more than 70% of those issued.

Some US tech companies reportedly advised employees with H-1B visas to stay in the US or, if they were out of the country, to try to return immediately. The White House then on Saturday clarified the fee will not apply to current visas or renewal applications.

A statement from the Indian Ministry of External Affairs on Saturday said the fee would have humanitarian consequences "by way of the disruption caused for families".

The Indian government "hopes that these disruptions can be addressed suitably by the US authorities", it also said.

The exchange of skilled workers has "contributed enormously" to both nations, the statement said, adding: "Policy makers will therefore assess recent steps taking into account mutual benefits, which include strong people-to-people ties between the two countries."

The statement did not provide specifics on any potential response from India's government.

Since Trump imposed punshing tariffs on India last month for purchasing Russian oil, the two countries have been locked in tense trade negotiations. The US exported $41.5bn worth of goods to India in 2024, and imported more than double that, $87.3 bn, according to the US Trade Representative's office.

On Saturday, the Indian government said its commerce minister Piyush Goyal would visit the US on Monday for trade talks, according to Reuters.

Making such a major change to the H-1B programme in such a narrow window of created "considerable uncertainty for businesses, professionals, and students across the world", India's leading trade body Nasscom said.

In announcing the planned change, the White House said the visas were not being used as intended, citing data it said suggests some visas are being "abused" to undercut American wages and outsource IT jobs.

But the order allows for "case-by-case exemptions if in the national interest", the White House said.

The skilled visa route is intended to allow companies in the US to temporarily employ foreign workers with "highly specialised knowledge".

Just under 400,000 H-1B visas were approved in 2024, of which around 260,000 were renewals, according to US-based Pew Research Center.

Data from US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) shows that in the first half of 2025 Amazon received the most H-1B visa approvals, with 10,044.

In second was Indian technology company Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), with 5,505.

Trump's proclamation applies to applications submitted for workers currently outside the US, which must be "accompanied or supplemented by a payment of $100,000" (about 8.8mn Indian Rupees). Currently, the administrative fees for an application total $1,500.

Amazon, Microsoft and JP Morgan were among the companies to advise employees with H-1B visas to remain in the US, and for those outside of the US to try and return before the deadline, according to Reuters.

The advisories appeared to be precautionary, given the order did not say H-1B visa holders would be barred from re-entering the country or charged the new fee if they were temporarily out of the country, after Sunday.

According to an internal advisory, seen by Business Insider, Amazon said employees unable to return to the US before the order takes effect should avoid attempting US re-entry "until further guidance is provided".

Air travellers are facing another day of disruption at several European airports including Heathrow, after a cyber-attack knocked out a check-in and baggage system.

There were hundreds of delays on Saturday after the software used by several airlines failed, with affected airports boarding passengers using pen and paper.

Brussels Airport said it had "no indication yet" when the system would be functional again and had asked airlines to cancel half their departing flights.

RTX, which owns software provider Collins Aerospace, said it was "aware of a cyber-related disruption" to its system in "select airports" and that it hoped to resolve the issue as quickly as possible.

It identified its Muse software - which allows different airlines to use the same check-in desks and boarding gates at an airport, rather than requiring their own - as the system that had been affected.

The company has yet to disclose what went wrong or how long it expects the outage to last.

Heathrow said on Sunday that efforts to resolve the issue were ongoing.

It apologised to those who had faced delays but stressed that "the vast majority of flights have continued to operate", urging passengers to check their flight status before travelling to the airport and arrive in good time.

The BBC understands that British Airways has continued to operate as normal at the airport using a back-up system, but that most other airlines that service it had been affected by the outage.

There were hours-long queues on Saturday and some 47% of Heathrow's departing flights were delayed, according to flight tracker FlightAware. Additional staff were at hand in check-in areas to help minimise disruption.

Lucy Spencer told the BBC that she had queued to check in for a Malaysia Airlines flight for more than two hours, and that staff had been checking passengers in over the phone.

Another passenger, Monazza Aslam, said she had to wait since the early hours of the morning with her elderly parents, and that the delays meant they had missed their connecting flight.

Brussels Airport said manual check-in would continue on Sunday and that extra staff had been drafted in to help minimise disruption.

It said 44 departing flights had been cancelled so far on Sunday, and that it anticipated long queues at check-in and further delays.

Europe's combined aviation safety organisation, Eurocontrol, said airline operators had been asked to cancel half their flight schedules to and from the airport until 02:00 on Monday due to the disruption.

Meanwhile, Dublin Airport said that while the technical issues persisted and some airlines were continuing to check in manually, it was expecting to operate a full schedule on Sunday.

A spokesperson told the BBC: "Passengers are advised to contact their airline directly for updates on their flight."

Berlin Brandenburg Airport is asking travellers to use online or self-service check-in instead of the desks while the outage is ongoing.

It said there had been eight cancellations in and out of the airport on Saturday, but that delays were generally less than 45 minutes.

EasyJet and Ryanair, which do not operate out of Heathrow but are among Europe's biggest airlines, said on Saturday that they were operating as normal.

A National Cyber Security Centre spokesperson said on Saturday that it was working with Collins Aerospace, affected UK airports, the Department for Transport and law enforcement to fully understand the impact of the incident.

The European Commission, which plays a role in managing airspace across Europe, said it was "closely monitoring the cyber-attack", but that there was no indication it had been "widespread or severe".

Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander also said she was aware of the incident and was "getting regular updates and monitoring the situation".

It was only last July that a global IT crash due to a faulty software update from cybersecurity firm Crowdstrike caused disruption to aviation, grounding flights across the US.

Analysts said at the time that the incident highlighted how the industry could be vulnerable to issues with digital systems.

Two newspapers have published an email said to have been sent by the Duchess of York, Sarah Ferguson, to paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, calling him a "supreme friend" - despite his conviction for sex offences.

The Sun and the Mail on Sunday reported that the email from 2011 was sent weeks after the duchess had publicly distanced herself from the disgraced financier.

A spokesperson for the duchess - the former wife of the Duke of York - said the email was to counter a threat Epstein had made to sue her for defamation.

In an interview in 2011, the duchess said her involvement with Epstein had been a "gigantic error of judgment".

At the time, the duchess also promised she would never have anything to do with Epstein again, saying: "I abhor paedophilia and any sexual abuse of children."

"I cannot state more strongly that I know a terrible, terrible error of judgement was made, my having anything to do with Jeffrey Epstein. What he did was wrong and for which he was rightly jailed," she added.

Epstein had been jailed three years earlier for soliciting prostitution from a minor.

But The Sun and Mail on Sunday said shortly after giving the interview in 2011, she emailed Epstein, saying she had not used the word "paedophilia" in reference to him him.

"As you know, I did not, absolutely not, say the 'P word' about you but understand it was reported that I did," she wrote.

"I know you feel hellaciously let down by me. You have always been a steadfast, generous and supreme friend to me and my family."

A spokesperson for the duchess said the email was sent after Epstein had threatened to sue her for defamation - in an effort to assuage him.

"The Duchess spoke of her regret about her association with Epstein many years ago, and as they have always been, her first thoughts are with his victims," they said.

"Like many people, she was taken in by his lies. As soon as she was aware of the extent of the allegations against him, she not only cut off contact but condemned him publicly, to the extent that he then threatened to sue her for defamation for associating him with paedophilia."

The spokesperson added that the duchess stood by her public condemnation of Epstein.

"She does not resile from anything she said then. This email was sent in the context of advice the Duchess was given to try to assuage Epstein and his threats."

Epstein, a well-connected financier and convicted sex offender, was found dead by suicide in 2019 while awaiting a trial for sex trafficking.

Sir Keir Starmer is expected to announce the UK's recognition of a Palestinian state in a statement on Sunday afternoon.

The move comes after the prime minister said in July the UK would shift its position in September unless Israel met conditions including agreeing to a ceasefire in Gaza and committing to a long-term sustainable peace deal that delivers a two-state solution.

It represents a major change in British foreign policy after successive governments said recognition should come as part of a peace process and at a time of maximum impact.

The move has drawn fierce criticism from the Israeli government, hostage families and some Conservatives.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu previously said such a move "rewards terror".

However, UK ministers argue there was a moral responsibility to act to keep the hope of a long-term peace deal alive.

Government sources said the situation on the ground had worsened significantly in the last few weeks. They cited images showing starvation and violence in Gaza, which the prime minister has previously described as "intolerable".

Israel's latest ground operation in Gaza City, described by a UN official as "cataclysmic", has forced hundreds of thousands of people to flee.

Earlier this week, a United Nations commision of inquiry concluded Israel had committed genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, which Israel denounced as "distorted and false".

Ministers also highlighted the continued expansion of Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, which are illegal under international law, as a key factor in the decision to recognise Palestinian statehood.

Justice Secretary David Lammy, who was foreign secretary in July when the path to recognition was announced, cited the controversial E1 settlement project which critics warn would put an end to hopes for a viable, contiguous Palestinian state.

He said: "The recognition of a Palestinian state is as a consequence of the serious expansion that we're seeing in the West Bank, the settler violence that we're seeing in the West Bank, and the intention and indications that we're seeing to build for example the E1 development that would run a coach and horses through the possibility of a two-state solution."

Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas welcomed the UK's recognition pledge when he visited Sir Keir earlier this month, with Downing Street saying both leaders had agreed Hamas had no role in future governance of Palestine.

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said she wanted to see a two-state solution in the Middle East.

But writing in The Telegraph over the weekend, she said: "It is obvious, and the US has been clear on this, that recognition of a Palestinian state at this time and without the release of the hostages, would be a reward for terrorism."

Meanwhile, in an open letter to Sir Keir on Saturday, family members of some of the hostages taken by Hamas urged the Prime Minister not to take the step until the remaining 48, of whom 20 are believed to still be alive, had been returned.

The announcement of the forthcoming recognition had "dramatically complicated efforts to bring home our loved ones", they wrote. "Hamas has already celebrated the UK's decision as a victory and reneged on a ceasefire deal."

During a state visit to the UK this week, US President Donald Trump also said he disagreed with recognition.

Sir Keir had set a deadline of the UN General Assembly meeting, which takes place this week, for Israel to take "substantive steps to end the appalling situation in Gaza, agree to a ceasefire and commit to a long-term, sustainable peace, reviving the prospect of a two-state solution".

Speaking in July, he said: "I've always said we will recognise a Palestinian state as a contribution to a proper peace process, at the moment of maximum impact for the two-state solution.

"With that solution now under threat, this is the moment to act."

A number of other countries including Portugal, France, Canada and Australia have also said they will recognise a Palestinian state, while Spain, Ireland and Norway took the step last year.

Palestine is currently recognised by around 75% of the UN's 193 member states, but has no internationally agreed boundaries, no capital and no army - making recognition largely symbolic.

The two-state solution refers to the creation of a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, with East Jerusalem as its capital. Israel currently occupies both the West Bank and Gaza, meaning the Palestinian Authority is not in full control of its land or people.

Recognising a Palestinian state has long been a cause championed by many within the Labour Party. The PM has been under mounting pressure to take a tougher stance on Israel, particularly from MPs on the left of his party.

Shortly before he gave his speech in July, more than half of Labour MPs signed a letter calling for the government to immediately recognise a Palestinian state.

However, critics questioned why the government had appeared to put conditions on Israel but not on Hamas, when it set out its path to recognition.

The Chief Rabbi, Sir Ephraim Mirvis, called on the government to pause its decision.

"The intended recognition is not contingent upon a functioning or democratic Palestinian government, nor even upon the most basic commitment to a peaceful future," he said.

"Astonishingly, it is not even conditional upon the release of the 48 hostages who remain in captivity."

Government sources insisted their demands for Hamas to release the hostages and agree to a ceasefire had not changed.

But officials in the Foreign Office argued statehood was a right of the Palestinian people and could not be dependent on Hamas, which the government views as a terrorist organisation.

Speaking on Thursday when he hosted President Trump at Chequers, Sir Keir reiterated that Hamas could play "no part" in any future Palestinian state.

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

At least 64,964 people have been killed in Israeli attacks in Gaza since then, according to the territory's Hamas-run health ministry.

British artist Morrissey has cancelled two shows in the US after receiving a death threat ahead of a concert in Ottawa, Canada.

A 26-year-old Ottawa man was released on bail after allegedly uttering a threat to kill the singer, whose real name is Steven Morrissey, ahead of his performance at a music festival last week.

The event went on as planned, but the singer later cancelled two shows in Massachusetts and Connecticut.

Morrissey was the front man of the rock band The Smiths, but left the band in 1987 to pursue a solo career.

He is known for being outspoken on issues such as animal welfare and politics.

In 2006, he refused to tour in Canada in protest at the annual seal hunt.

After the threat against his life in Ottawa last week, he cancelled Friday's show in Connecticut and one in Boston.

"In recent days, there has been a credible threat on Morrissey's life," said a statement from the Boston venue on Instagram.

"Out of an abundance of caution for the safety of both the artist and the band, tomorrow's engagement at the MGM Music Hall at Fenway has been canceled."

President Donald Trump and other prominent American political figures are heading to Arizona to speak at a memorial for Charlie Kirk, the 31-year-old conservative activist who was killed two weeks ago.

The event, organised by Turning Point USA (TPUSA), is on Sunday at State Farm Stadium in Glendale and could be attended by more than 100,000 people.

Heightened security is expected, including "TSA-level screening", according to TPUSA.

Kirk, who co-founded Turning Point USA when he was 18, was shot at a speaking event on a Utah university campus on 10 September, reigniting concerns about political violence in the US.

A polarising figure, differing perspectives about his legacy and possible motives for the shooting have exacerbated deep divisions in the US.

In addition to Trump, those expected to speak at the service include Kirk's widow, Erika, who took over his role as TPUSA CEO; Vice President JD Vance; the president's eldest son, Donald Trump Jr; right-wing political commentator Tucker Carlson; homeland security adviser and White House deputy chief of staff for policy Stephen Miller.

Public shootings in the US are normally met with calls from political leaders for calm, prayer and unity.

But the Trump administration has been seeking to blame and crack down on the "radical left", which in turn has prompted accusations of government overreach and claims Kirk's death is being used as a pretext to intrude on civil liberties.

Doors open at 08:00 local time (16:00 BST), with the official program due to start at 11:00 (19:00 BST). The dress code is "Sunday best - red, white or blue".

The stadium can hold just over 63,000 people, with the TPUSA website stating entry on Sunday will be on a "first come, first served" basis. A nearby 20,000 capacity stadium has been allocated as an overflow area.

It will also be live-streamed on Charlie Kirk's Rumble account, TPUSA said.

At the stadium, organisers said there will be "enhanced security measures" in place with "TSA-level screening".

A senior Department of Homeland Security official told CBS that the memorial service has the same security designation as high-profile events such as the Super Bowl.

The Secret Service told the outlet that a man was "observed exhibiting suspicious behaviour" at the stadium on Friday.

Agents approached the man, who was armed and claimed he was a member of law enforcement, CBS reported.

Officials said the man was booked for impersonating law enforcement and carrying a weapon in a prohibited place, but has been released on bond. TPUSA spokesman Andrew Kolvet later said the man was a private security advisor for a "known" guest who was checking the area ahead of the event.

"We do not believe this person was attempting anything nefarious, however the advance was not done in proper coordination with the TPUSA security team or US Secret Service," he said on social media. "Also important to note that this was before the site had been fully sealed and locked down. Every precaution is being taken to ensure everyone's safety."

Tensions are high following the killing of Kirk.

Much is still unknown about the suspected shooter's motive. Utah's governor said Tyler Robinson, 22, who was charged in the shooting and remains in jail, has a "leftist ideology". And shell casings with anti-fascist slogans were found, according to officials.

But the exact meaning of those and other messages is still unclear.

Dutch police used tear gas and water cannon to disperse violent anti-immigration protesters in The Hague on Saturday.

Thirty people were arrested and two officers injured as large groups of people clashed with police, with some throwing rocks and bottles.

Around 1,500 people blocked a highway crossing the city, while a police car was set on fire, the Netherlands news agency ANP reported, citing police figures.

Prime Minister Dick Schoof condemned the "shocking and bizarre images of shameless violence", saying it was "completely unacceptable".

Right-wing leader Geert Wilders, who won the previous election in the Netherlands and has retained his lead in opinion polls ahead of a 29 October vote, was invited to speak at the demonstration but did not attend.

Instead he also condemned the violence against police as "utterly unacceptable", saying it was the work of "idiots".

The protest was organised by a right-wing activist, demanding stricter migration policies and a clampdown on asylum seekers.

Violence erupted when large groups of protesters, many waving Dutch flags and flags associated with far-right groups, confronted security forces.

Protesters also smashed the windows of the headquarters of the centre-left D66 party, viewed by many on the far right as a party that serves a progressive elite.

D66 leader Rob Jetten said the damage inside was extensive and told the protesters to "stay away from political parties".

"If you think you can intimidate us, tough luck. We will never let extremist rioters take away our beautiful country," he said on social media platform X.

Nobody was present in the D66 offices at the time of the protests, according to party officials cited by ANP.

The Dutch government collapsed in June after Wilders withdrew his far-right PVV party from the governing coalition following a row over migration.

The dispute came after Wilders pushed for 10 additional asylum measures, including a freeze on applications, halting the construction of reception centres and limiting family reunification.

The governing coalition was in place for less than one year.

The Pentagon has told journalists they must agree not to disclose unauthorised information or else risk losing access to the building.

The change is among a number of new restrictions, which also seek to impose limits on the movement of journalists within the facility, which is home to the Department of War, formerly known as the Department of Defense.

It follows a series of leaks in recent months.

Pete Hegseth, who was recently given the new title of Secretary of War, said on social media: "The 'press' does not run the Pentagon — the people do. The press is no longer allowed to roam the halls of a secure facility. Wear a badge and follow the rules — or go home."

The new restrictions were set out in a briefing note sent to members of the press, which they will be required to sign in order to maintain their Pentagon press credentials.

The department said it "remains committed to transparency to promote accountability and public trust".

But it added: "DoW information must be approved for public release by an appropriate authorising official before it is released, even if it is unclassified".

It asks signatories to acknowledge that determinations on press credentials for the building "may be based on the unauthorised access, attempted unauthorised access, or unauthorised disclosure" of classified national security information, or information designated as controlled unclassified information.

"The guidelines in the memo provided to credentialed resident media at the Pentagon reaffirms the standards that are already in line with every other military base in the country," said Chief Pentagon Spokesman Sean Parnell in a statement. "These are basic, common-sense guidelines to protect sensitive information as well as the protection of national security and the safety of all who work at the Pentagon."

Hegseth has previously come under scrutiny for his own handling of sensitive information after it was revealed he shared details about the bombing of Yemen on a group chat that included a reporter in March. Former national security advisor Michael Waltz, who was recently confirmed as the US's ambassador to the UN, had invited the journalist to the chat inadvertently.

The administration reacted angrily in June when a leaked intelligence report appeared to contradict statements it had made about the damage caused by US strikes on Iran's nuclear programme.

The White House has announced that US companies will now control TikTok's algorithm and Americans will hold six of seven board seats for the app's US operations in a much-anticipated deal with China.

Press secretary Karoline Leavitt said a deal could be signed "in the coming days", but Beijing is yet to comment.

The US has sought to take the video-sharing app's US operations away from Chinese parent company ByteDance for national security reasons.

TikTok was previously told it had to sell its US operations or risk being shut down.

But US President Donald Trump delayed implementing the ban four times since it was first announced in January, and earlier this week extended the deadline again to December.

Leavitt said that data and privacy for the app in the US will be led by tech giant Oracle, which is owned by Larry Ellison, one of the world's richest people and a Trump ally.

"The data and privacy will be led by one of America's greatest tech companies, Oracle, and the algorithm will also be controlled by America as well," she told Fox News.

"So all of those details have already been agreed upon. Now we just need this deal to be signed."

Mr Ellison's son, David Ellison, recently acquired media company Paramount, which owns CBS News, making the Ellisons one of the country's most powerful families in media.

Trump said on Friday that he and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping approved a deal on the future of TikTok's US operations during a phone call, although there was no confirmation from Beijing.

Trump wrote on Truth Social that the call was "productive" and he "appreciated" Xi's approval of deal, which would reportedly see TikTok's US business sold to a group of US investors.

China's official state news agency Xinhua left the outcome of their discussion less clear, with Xi quoted as saying that Beijing "welcomes negotiations over TikTok".

A sticking point in negotiations appears to have been over who will own the powerful algorithm that pushes content to TikTok's 170 million American users.

Speaking alongside British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer in the UK on Thursday, Trump sidestepped a question from a reporter about whether an American buyer would need to build a new algorithm, or if they could continue to use the current algorithm.

While Trump initially called for TikTok to be banned during his first term, he has changed course. He turned to the hugely popular platform to boost his support among young Americans during his successful 2024 presidential campaign.

In January, the US Supreme Court upheld a law first passed in early 2024, banning the app unless ByteDance divested from its US operations. The app went "dark" only briefly at the time, before the ban was delayed.

The US Department of Justice previously expressed concerns that TikTok's access to the data of US users posed a national security threat of "immense depth and scale".

Heathrow is among several European airports hit by a cyber-attack affecting an electronic check-in and baggage system.

The airport warned of possible delays due to a "technical issue" affecting software provided by Collins Aerospace to several airlines.

Brussels Airport said a cyber-attack on Friday night meant passengers were being checked in and boarded manually, while Berlin's Brandenburg Airport also said a "technical issue at a system provider operating across Europe" was causing longer waiting times.

RTX, which owns Collins Aerospace, said it was "aware of a cyber-related disruption" to its system "in select airports" and that it was working to resolve the issue as quickly as possible.

The company added: "The impact is limited to electronic customer check-in and baggage drop and can be mitigated with manual check-in operations."

Heathrow said additional staff were on hand in check-in areas to help minimise disruption.

It added: "We advise passengers to check their flight status with their airline before travelling to the airport and arrive no earlier than three hours before a long haul flight or two hours for a domestic flight."

Brussels said the disruption meant a "large impact on the flight schedule", including causing cancellations and delays.

Europe's combined aviation safety organisation, Eurocontrol, said airline operators had been asked to cancel half their flight schedules to and from the airport between 04:00 and 12:00 GMT due to the disruption.

It said "similar issues" were affecting Heathrow and Berlin, and that "measures may be required".

There have been nearly 100 delays in and out of Heathrow as of 10:00 BST on Saturday, according to tracker FlightAware, while there have been nearly 70 delays in Brussels and 15 in Berlin.

A man has been charged in Pakistan over the killing of 17-year-old TikTok star Sana Yousaf who had repeatedly rejected his advances.

Ms Yousaf's murder in June drew widespread condemnation but also some comments appearing to blame her, igniting a fierce debate about women on social media.

Umar Hayat, 22, was arrested and confessed to the murder soon after her death, but pleaded not guilty in Islamabad's district court on Saturday.

"All the allegations made against me are baseless and false," the accused told the judge.

Authorities said at the time of his arrest that they believed Mr Hayat murdered Ms Yousaf at her home in Islamabad after she rejected what they called his "offers of friendship". He allegedly also repeatedly tried, and failed, to meet her.

They say he broke into her home, fired two shots, stole her phone and fled.

Hayat, the son of a former public servant and a TikToker himself, was arrested soon after.

Ms Yousaf already had a wide following in Pakistan, with half a million fans on Instagram before her death. Her TikTok account gained hundreds of thousands of followers overnight, and now stands at more than two million.

Condolences flooded her social media pages, where she shared videos of her favourite cafes, skincare products, and traditional outfits.

Her last video on Instagram showed her surrounded by balloons and cutting a cake for her birthday.

TikTok is very popular in Pakistan, with many women finding both an audience and income on the app, which is rare in a country where fewer than a quarter of women participate in the formal economy.

At least three people have been killed and more than 30 injured in a "massive" overnight Russian aerial attack on Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelensky says.

He says regions across the country were targeted as part of a "deliberate strategy" to "intimidate civilians and destroy our infrastructure", with one direct missile hit reported on a residential building.

Ukraine's air force says Moscow launched 619 drones and missiles. Russia's defence ministry says its "massive strike" used "precision weapons" and targeted military-industrial facilities.

Separately, Russia says four people were killed in a Ukrainian drone attack on the Saratov region. Kyiv says it hit a major oil refinery there.

Ukraine also says another Russian oil refinery was damaged in the neighbouring Samara region.

The BBC has been unable to independently verify the claims made by the two warring sides.

Cross-border drone raids have become a prominent feature of the war. In July, a sustained Ukrainian drone attack forced the temporary closure of all of Moscow's airports.

Kyiv has been systematically targeting Russian oil and other key industrial facilities, which play a key role in Russia's continuing war effort in Ukraine.

Meanwhile, Moscow has in recent weeks escalated its aerial assaults on Ukraine, while Kyiv and its Western allies - including the US - continue to call for a ceasefire.

Earlier this month, the main government building was hit in Ukraine's capital Kyiv by what Ukraine said was a Russian Iskander cruise missile.

Zelensky said on Saturday that he planned to meet US President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), taking place in New York next week.

Trump hosted Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska last month, hoping to secure a deal on ending the conflict. No such agreement was made.

Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

The latest Russian aerial attack comes a day after Estonia requested urgent consultations with other Nato members after Russian jets violated its airspace - staying there for 12 minutes before being intercepted.

Russia denied violating Estonian airspace.

Tensions have been escalating recently after Poland and Romania - both Nato members - said Russian drones breached their airspace earlier this month.

At a Moscow concert hall, Shohruhmirzo Ganiyev is crooning about love and his motherland, Uzbekistan.

"Put your legs together like a man," suggests his voice coach and choreographer. "And spread your arms wider!"

It's just a rehearsal, but Shohruhmirzo is singing his heart out. He's performing traditional Uzbek melodies to a modern beat and playing a doira, the ancient drum of Central Asia.

Uzbekistan is among 23 countries competing at the Intervision Song Contest.

It's Russia's answer to Eurovision. With less kitsch – and more Kremlin.

Intervision 2025 is Vladimir Putin's brainchild. He signed a decree reviving the Soviet-era songfest with the aim of "developing international cultural and humanitarian co-operation".

The more obvious objective is creating an international song contest in which Moscow can actually take part. In 2022 Russia was banned from competing in Eurovision after its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

A pattern's emerging.

When Team Russia was banned from the Olympic Games, Moscow tried to create alternatives, like the Games of the Future and the World Friendship Games.

Now the Kremlin's come up with its own version of Eurovision.

But what does it look like and who is taking part?

For Intervision, the Russians have cast their musical net far and wide, inviting allies from Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Latin America. The starting line-up reflects the political and economic alliances of which Russia is part, like the Brics group of nations, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation and the Commonwealth of Independent States.

The list of participating countries includes China, India, Brazil, South Africa, Vietnam, Venezuela, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Madagascar: a very different musical map from Eurovision, and an opportunity for the Kremlin to show that, despite its invasion of Ukraine, Russia still has friends.

The United States, too, is taking part: a sign of the thaw in US-Russian relations since Donald Trump's return to the White House.

Thaw doesn't mean problem-free. America's original Intervision entrant Brandon Howard pulled out on the eve of the contest.

"Unfortunately, I had some... family issues that happened here domestically, that I wasn't [going] to be able to go abroad and do that," the singer, who performs as B.Howard, tells me on a call from the US.

"However, I really believe that it's such a wonderful event."

"Were there some people who said to you 'Brandon, you shouldn't go, because of the war?'" I asked.

"Some fans would mention some things like that and expressed slight concern. However, for the most part, everyone was very supportive of me going there, being sent to be a beacon of light."

B.Howard has been replaced by Australian-Greek singer Vassy who lives in Los Angeles.

"4.3 billion people live in the 23 participating countries," boasted senior Kremlin official Sergei Kiriyenko. "That's more than half the world's population."

Mr Kiriyenko, President Putin's deputy chief of staff, chairs the song contest's supervisory board. He made a brief appearance this week at an Intervision press conference alongside Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko.

"I know some people think there's an element of politics in Eurovision," I tell Mr Lavrov. "But look who's represented here: the Kremlin, the foreign ministry and the Russian government. Isn't that proof that Intervision is a purely political or geopolitical project?"

"If the governments of some countries make no effort to create mechanisms for supporting culture, that's their choice," Mr Lavrov replies. "In our country the state is engaged in the promotion of the arts. Your question is rooted in the fear of competition."

In Ukraine they fear something quite different: that Moscow is using Intervision to divert global attention from the war.

"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine considers that the Intervision 2025 song contest organised by Russia is an instrument of hostile propaganda and a means of whitewashing the aggressive policy of the Russian Federation," the ministry stated back in May.

The war is on some people's minds at Intervision.

"The scary thing is with the war, with whatever's happening. These are the things we were thinking about," says Renee Kruger from South African group Mzansi Jikelele.

"But we were assured: 'Just come, guys, nothing's wrong'. Obviously, we are [nervous], but we're here and we've been treated very well."

Representing Russia at Intervision 2025 is Yaroslav Dronov, better known by his stage name Shaman. Last year the European Union sanctioned him for "supporting actions and policies that undermine the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine."

His previous hits include I'm Russian, a patriotic pop song that declares:

"I'm Russian, I go to the end… I'm Russian, to spite the whole world."

Not exactly Love Shine A Light or Save Your Kisses for Me.

But Russia is using Intervision to project a softer image than the one forged by three-and-a-half years of its war in Ukraine.

At the official song contest draw to decide the running order, international delegations are being treated to a Russian feast, including cottage cheese pancakes and gingerbread sporting the Intervision logo. As folk dancers put on a spectacular show, volunteers hand out giant necklaces of bread rings, a symbol of Russian hospitality.

One by one the participants approach a gigantic samovar, select a tea cup and fill it with hot water. The magic mugs reveal the performance slot number for each country.

From the folk costumes to the blinis, the emphasis here is on tradition.

It's the same with the songs. The official goal of the contest is to "get to know the unique cultural traditions and achievements of participating countries [and] promote universal, spiritual, family, cultural, ethical and religious traditions of different nations."

The international performers have read the rulebook.

"My song tells about culture from Vietnam," Vietnamese entrant Duc Phuc informs me. "I need to share the culture of Vietnam with everyone."

"How were you chosen to represent your country?" I ask.

"The Ministry of Culture chose me."

"Our song is about a woman called Maria," says Brazilian entrant Tais Nader. "Maria is like any Brazilian woman. She works hard to live. But she's always smiling and her eyes are shining."

"Have you heard of Eurovision?" I ask.

"Actually, we searched online about Intervision and discovered Eurovision! Before, we didn't know about Intervision or Eurovision. It's new for us."

For many Russians, too, Intervision is something new. In fact it is a ghost from communist times summoned from the grave of song contests past.

The original Intervision Song Contest was born behind the Iron Curtain at a time when East and West competed in everything. In the Cold War there was a space race, an arms race and culture wars, too.

From the mid-1950s Eurovision quickly established itself as a big deal in Western Europe, while in the Eastern bloc song festivals in Czechoslovakia and Poland acquired the occasional tag of 'Intervision'.

There was, though, some crossover. Finland took part in both Eurovision and Intervision, and big names from the West made guest appearances in the East. Gloria Gaynor, Petula Clarke and Boney-M all performed at Intervision.

After the fall of communism Russia and Eastern Europe embraced the political changes sweeping the continent and were eager to compete in Eurovision. I saw that first hand in 1996 when, by a quirk of fate, I co-presented Russian TV's Song for Europe competition to select a Eurovision entry.

During a guided tour of Russian TV, I'd got chatting to the show's director. When I told him I was a huge Eurovision fan he'd asked me to come back that evening to help anchor the programme. I'll never forget how excited everyone in the studio was that night: not only about Eurovision, but about Russia being part of the European family.

But as the Kremlin's relationship with the West soured and Moscow's attacks on Western liberalism and "non-traditional values" intensified, so did Russia's beef with the Eurovision Song Contest.

Especially after Austrian drag queen Conchita Wurst won Eurovision in 2014.

"Giving first place to a bearded lady is a slight on humanity," Russian MP Valery Rashkin told me at the time.

Mr Rashkin called on Russia to ditch Eurovision and organise its own Voice of Eurasia contest. Another MP suggested "Goodvision" as a possible replacement.

It was clear then that the Eurovision Song Contest and Russia were on a collision course. Eurovision made a point of welcoming the LGBTQ community, presenting itself as a showcase for inclusivity and diversity. In contrast, Russia launched a crackdown on gay rights, and has criminalised public expressions of LGBTQ identity.

There will be no sign of camp at the Intervision Song Contest.

But will people watch it? Will the Intervision singers and songs capture the public's imagination across so many continents? The considerable time differences between the participating countries will likely preclude the kind of shared viewing experience you get with Eurovision.

And there'll be no public vote. Just a jury: one member per country. But how will the voting take place?

"The voting system is specially invented by a very famous scientist and mathematician," Russian TV's Intervision commentator Yana Churikova tells me. "Specially for Intervision."

Back in the rehearsal room, Uzbekistan's entrant Shohruhmirzo Ganiyev admits he doesn't know the intricacies of the voting system. He's just excited to be here. So is his mother. She's looking on proudly as her son rehearses.

Even though his country isn't in Eurovision, Shohruhmirzo tells me that contest is famous in Uzbekistan. Right now, though, he's focused on his performance here.

"I'm very happy to come to Intervision," he tells me. "I'm leaving Eurovision in the past."

Heathrow is among several European airports hit by a cyber-attack affecting an electronic check-in and baggage system.

The airport warned of possible delays due to a "technical issue" affecting software provided by Collins Aerospace to several airlines.

Brussels Airport said a cyber-attack on Friday night meant passengers were being checked in and boarded manually, while Berlin's Brandenburg Airport also said a "technical issue at a system provider operating across Europe" was causing longer waiting times.

RTX, which owns Collins Aerospace, said it was "aware of a cyber-related disruption" to its system "in select airports" and that it was working to resolve the issue as quickly as possible.

The company added: "The impact is limited to electronic customer check-in and baggage drop and can be mitigated with manual check-in operations."

Heathrow said additional staff were on hand in check-in areas to help minimise disruption.

It added: "We advise passengers to check their flight status with their airline before travelling to the airport and arrive no earlier than three hours before a long haul flight or two hours for a domestic flight."

Brussels said the disruption meant a "large impact on the flight schedule", including causing cancellations and delays.

Europe's combined aviation safety organisation, Eurocontrol, said airline operators had been asked to cancel half their flight schedules to and from the airport between 04:00 and 12:00 GMT due to the disruption.

It said "similar issues" were affecting Heathrow and Berlin, and that "measures may be required".

There have been nearly 100 delays in and out of Heathrow as of 10:00 BST on Saturday, according to tracker FlightAware, while there have been nearly 70 delays in Brussels and 15 in Berlin.

The son of an British couple detained by the Taliban in Afghanistan for nearly eight months has said he is "overwhelmed" by their release.

Peter Reynolds, 80, and his wife Barbie, 76, who lived in Afghanistan for nearly two decades, are due to fly to the UK on Saturday after being reunited with their daughter in Qatar.

Jonathan Reynolds told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that he was "ecstatic and massively grateful" to those who were involved in securing their release.

The Taliban, who detained the couple on their way home on 1 February, said the pair had broken Afghan laws and were released after judicial proceedings - but the Islamist group has never disclosed a reason for their detention.

There were emotional scenes on Friday as the couple's daughter, Sarah Entwistle, met her parents as they stepped off the plane in Doha.

"We are looking forward to returning to Afghanistan if we can. We are Afghan citizens," Barbie told Agence France-Presse at Kabul airport after Qatar-brokered negotiations for their release.

Their son Jonathan echoed those hopes, saying "their desire would be to carry on living there and to do the work they were doing".

UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer praised the "vital role" played by Qatar in securing their release.

Peter and Barbie Reynolds married in Kabul in 1970 and spent the past 18 years running a charitable training programme that had been approved by local Taliban officials when the armed group reclaimed power in 2021.

"They have not just a heart for the people of Afghanistan, but they have strategy as well, and the work they've been doing has been very fruitful and has a massively positive impact," Jonathan told the BBC.

He said a few weeks ago he had managed to share the results of "really encouraging" reports about their programmes with his parents over the phone.

He said Barbie's initial reaction had been that they had "more work to do".

"But how do you do that in a country where you're not welcome," Jonathan added.

Their affection for Afghanistan was demonstrated by their decision to remain in Bamiyan province after the authoritarian regime seized control in August 2021, while many other Westerners left.

The couple's release follows months of public lobbying by their family, who have described the harrowing conditions of their detention.

Jonathan said in July that his father had been suffering serious convulsions and his mother was "numb" from anaemia and malnutrition.

A Qatari official told the BBC the couple were moved from Kabul's central prison to a larger facility with better conditions during the final stage of negotiations over their release.

Taliban officials maintained they received adequate medical care during their detention and that their human rights were respected.

The couple were receiving medical checks in the Qatari capital, Doha, before leaving for London. They will arrive on a commercial flight on Saturday morning, AFP reports.

The UK does not recognise the Taliban government and closed its embassy in Kabul when the group returned to power.

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

Police in Malawi have arrested eight people for alleged electoral fraud as the country waits for the final results of Tuesday's general election.

Inspector General Merlyne Yolamu said the suspects, who were working as data entry clerks, had been trying to manipulate the figures.

Malawi's 2019 election was marred by controversy when the highest court annulled then President Peter Mutharika's victory, citing widespread irregularities.

As a result, Malawi's electoral commission is on high alert for any potential issues. Official tallies, so far, suggest Mutharika is leading the race for the presidency with incumbent Lazarus Chakwera in second place.

More results from Malawi's 36 districts are expected to be released on Saturday - a candidate needs to win more than 50% of the vote, or a run-off is held.

In the meantime, Chakwera's Malawi Congress Party said it had lodged a complaint with the electoral commission, claiming to have discovered irregularities in the count.

Officials did not specify what those irregularities were.

The commission is expected to announce the outcome of the election only after all votes have been tallied and verified in order to avoid the possibility of the final result being challenged.

According to law, the electoral commission has until the end of Wednesday to announce the final tallies.

In 2019, when Mutharika's victory was annulled, a court said there had been widespread tampering, including the use of Tipp-Ex correction fluid on results sheets.

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 most people live on $2 a day or less.

More BBC stories on Malawi:

• What is at stake in Malawi's elections as cost-of-living bites?
• 'I tell my children not to play so we save money on soap'
• How brave judges rejected a 'second-rate election'

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

Portugal says it will recognise a Palestinian state on Sunday, making it the latest Western nation preparing to shift policy as the war in the Gaza Strip shows no sign of stopping.

The foreign ministry made the announcement ahead of next week's United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York.

France, the UK, Canada and Australia are preparing similar announcements.

Israel has denounced the move, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying it "rewards terror" following Hamas's 7 October 2023 attack on Israel.

The US - Israel's main ally - has echoed Netanyahu's argument.

President Donald Trump, speaking alongside Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer this week, while on a state visit to the UK, said he disagreed with recognition.

Around three quarters of the UN's 193 members already recognise a Palestinian state, which in 2012 was granted the status of non-member observer state.

As world leaders prepare to gather at the UN General Assembly on Tuesday, Israeli tanks and troops are continuing to advance into Gaza City as part of a ground offensive, which has forced thousands of people to flee.

The Israeli military launched a campaign in Gaza in response to the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel in 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.

US Senator Ted Cruz has accused the head of America's broadcast regulator of acting like "a mafioso" in the suspension of late-night host Jimmy Kimmel - the sharpest attack yet from a conservative Republican on the controversy.

He said Federal Communications Commission (FCC) chairman Brendan Carr's threat to ABC over their comedian's monologue about slain conservative influencer Charlie Kirk was "dangerous as hell".

"That's right out of Goodfellas," the Texas Republican said, affecting a mobster's accent.

Other Republicans in Congress have been more muted in their criticism of how the FCC pressed Disney-owned ABC to take action on Kimmel, who was indefinitely suspended on Wednesday.

The row started after Kimmel appeared to suggest in his monologue on Monday night that the alleged gunman charged with murdering Kirk was a Maga Republican, although authorities in Utah have said the suspect was "indoctrinated with leftist ideology".

Before ABC's decision, Carr said there would be consequences if Kimmel stayed on air. The FCC chairman said that Kimmel was "appearing to directly mislead the American public" in his on-air remarks.

The FCC is in charge of granting broadcast licenses to networks such as ABC, NBC and CBS, and they are required under statute to be in the public interest.

On his podcast Verdict with Ted Cruz, the senator emphasised on Friday that he hated what Kimmel said about Kirk, and he is "thrilled that he was fired". He also said Carr was "a good guy".

"But what he said there is dangerous as hell," Cruz added. "And so he threatens, explicitly, we're going to cancel ABC's licence.

"We're going to take them off the air so ABC cannot broadcast anymore. He says we can do this the easy way, or we could do this the hard way, yeah. And I got to say that's right out of Goodfellas.

"That's right out of a mafioso coming into a bar going, nice bar you have here, it'd be a shame if something happened to it," he added, using a mobster voice.

He warned that if the government gets into the business of bans and regulating what the media says "that will end up bad for conservatives".

In the Oval Office on Friday, President Donald Trump defended Carr and said "I disagree with Ted Cruz", who is ordinarily one of his staunchest allies.

The president also lashed out at ABC News reporter Jonathan Karl when he asked the president about free speech.

Another Republican Senator, Thom Tillis of North Carolina, told reporters that Cruz was "absolutely right" in his criticism of Carr.

Tillis, who will not seek re-election next year, said the FCC chairman's comments were "just unacceptable behaviour".

Republicans in Congress have generally been toeing the party line with their response to Kimmel's suspension as the nation is shaken by the political and cultural aftershocks of Kirk's killing.

But Senator Jerry Moran, a Republican from Kansas, sounded a note of caution on Thursday.

"The conservative position is free speech is free speech, and we better be very careful about any lines we cross in diminishing free speech," Moran told Politico.

South Dakota Senator Mike Rounds said he would approach it as an "employer-employee issue".

Kimmel has not publicly commented about his suspension, but his late-night colleagues - including Jon Stewart, Jimmy Fallon and outgoing host Stephen Colbert - responded on Thursday with a show of solidarity.

Kirk was fatally shot on 10 September during an open-air event on a Utah college campus.

On Thursday, the Senate passed a resolution to designate 14 October - Kirk's birthday - a day of remembrance for him.

Lawmakers in the US House of Representatives approved the resolution - nearly 100 Democrats opposed it.

The son of an British couple detained by the Taliban in Afghanistan for nearly eight months has said he is "overwhelmed" by their release.

Peter Reynolds, 80, and his wife Barbie, 76, who lived in Afghanistan for nearly two decades, are due to fly to the UK on Saturday after being reunited with their daughter in Qatar.

Jonathan Reynolds told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that he was "ecstatic and massively grateful" to those who were involved in securing their release.

The Taliban, who detained the couple on their way home on 1 February, said the pair had broken Afghan laws and were released after judicial proceedings - but the Islamist group has never disclosed a reason for their detention.

There were emotional scenes on Friday as the couple's daughter, Sarah Entwistle, met her parents as they stepped off the plane in Doha.

"We are looking forward to returning to Afghanistan if we can. We are Afghan citizens," Barbie told Agence France-Presse at Kabul airport after Qatar-brokered negotiations for their release.

Their son Jonathan echoed those hopes, saying "their desire would be to carry on living there and to do the work they were doing".

UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer praised the "vital role" played by Qatar in securing their release.

Peter and Barbie Reynolds married in Kabul in 1970 and spent the past 18 years running a charitable training programme that had been approved by local Taliban officials when the armed group reclaimed power in 2021.

"They have not just a heart for the people of Afghanistan, but they have strategy as well, and the work they've been doing has been very fruitful and has a massively positive impact," Jonathan told the BBC.

He said a few weeks ago he had managed to share the results of "really encouraging" reports about their programmes with his parents over the phone.

He said Barbie's initial reaction had been that they had "more work to do".

"But how do you do that in a country where you're not welcome," Jonathan added.

Their affection for Afghanistan was demonstrated by their decision to remain in Bamiyan province after the authoritarian regime seized control in August 2021, while many other Westerners left.

The couple's release follows months of public lobbying by their family, who have described the harrowing conditions of their detention.

Jonathan said in July that his father had been suffering serious convulsions and his mother was "numb" from anaemia and malnutrition.

A Qatari official told the BBC the couple were moved from Kabul's central prison to a larger facility with better conditions during the final stage of negotiations over their release.

Taliban officials maintained they received adequate medical care during their detention and that their human rights were respected.

The couple were receiving medical checks in the Qatari capital, Doha, before leaving for London. They will arrive on a commercial flight on Saturday morning, AFP reports.

The UK does not recognise the Taliban government and closed its embassy in Kabul when the group returned to power.

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

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.

A global agreement designed to protect the world's oceans and reverse damage to marine life is set to become international law.

The High Seas Treaty received its 60th ratification by Morocco on Friday, meaning that it will now take effect from January.

The deal, which has been two decades in the making, will pave the way for international waters to be placed into marine protected areas.

Environmentalists heralded the milestone as a "monumental achievement" and evidence that countries can work together for environmental protection.

"Covering more than two-thirds of the ocean, the agreement sets binding rules to conserve and sustainably use marine biodiversity," United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said.

Decades of overfishing, pollution from shipping and warming oceans from climate change have damaged life below the surface.

In the latest assessment of marine species, nearly 10% were found to be at risk of extinction, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

Three years ago countries agreed that 30% of the world's national and international waters - high seas - must be protected by 2030 to help depleted marine life recover.

But protecting the high seas is challenging. No one country controls these waters and all nations have a right to ship and fish there.

Currently just 1% of the high seas are protected, leaving marine life at risk from overexploitation.

So, in 2023 countries signed the High Seas Treaty pledging to put 30% of these waters into Marine Protected Areas.

But it was only able to enter force if more than 60 nations ratified it - meaning they agreed to be legally bound by it.

With many nations requiring parliament approval, ratification can often take more than five years, Elizabeth Wilson, senior director for environmental policy at environmental NGO The Pews Charitable Trust, told the BBC at the UN Oceans Conference earlier this year. She said this was "record time".

The UK introduced its bill for ratification to Parliament earlier this month.

Kirsten Schuijt, director general of WWF International, hailed "a monumental achievement for ocean conservation" after the treaty threshold was reached.

She added: "The High Seas Treaty will be a positive catalyst for collaboration across international waters and agreements and is a turning point for two-thirds of the world's ocean that lie beyond national jurisdiction."

Mads Christensen, executive director of Greenpeace International, called it "a landmark moment" and "proof that countries can come together to protect our blue planet".

"The era of exploitation and destruction must end. Our oceans can't wait and neither can we," he added.

Once the treaty comes into force, countries will propose areas to be protected, and these will then be voted on by the countries that sign up to the treaty.

Critics point out that countries will conduct their own environmental impact assessments (EIA) and make the final decision - although other countries can register concerns with the monitoring bodies.

The ocean is crucial for the survival of all organisms on the planet. It is the largest ecosystem, is estimated to contribute $2.5 trillion to world economies, and provides up to 80% of the oxygen we breathe.

US president Donald Trump said he plans to meet Chinese Premier Xi Jinping in South Korea next month following a phone call in which the Chinese leader also approved of a deal to take control of TikTok's US operations.

Trump wrote on Truth Social the call was "productive" and the approval was "appreciated", adding that he would travel to China next year after the two meet.

TikTok, which is run by Chinese firm Bytedance, was previously told it had to sell its US operations or risk being shut down.

Trump, however, delayed implementing the ban four times since it was first announced in January, and earlier this week extended the deadline again to December.

In his post, Trump wrote the two "made progress" on trade issues and would meet at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in South Korea, scheduled to begin at the end of October.

That, he said, would be followed by a visit to China and a subsequent visit by Xi to the US.

The president provided no further details on the TikTok deal, which he said earlier this week that the call would confirm.

That deal will reportedly see a group of US firms- said to include Oracle - that would enable TikTok to continue operating in the US, using algorithm technology licensed from ByteDance.

Xinhua reported that China's position on TikTok is "very clear" and that it welcomed firms to "conduct commercial negotiations based on market rules and reach solutions that comply with Chinese laws and regulations and a balance of interests".

"We hope that the US will provide an open, fair and non-discriminatory business environment for Chinese companies to invest in the United States," it added.

Speaking alongside British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer in the UK on Thursday, Trump said he believes TikTok has "tremendous value" to the US.

"The people that are investing it are among the greatest investors in the world," he said. "And they'll do a great job - and we're doing it in conjunction with China."

Still, many US lawmakers - including some from within Trump's own party - have expressed unease with the deal, citing ongoing concerns about ByteDance's links with the Chinese Communist Party, or CCP.

"I am concerned the reported licensing deal may involve ongoing reliance by the new TikTok on a ByteDance algorithm that could allow continued CCP control or influence," Michigan Republican representative John Moolenar, chair of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, said in a statement.

While Trump initially called for TikTok to be banned during his first term, he has changed course, and on Thursday said he viewed the platform as a key part of his 2024 electoral campaign.

In January, the US Supreme Court upheld a law first passed in early 2024, banning the app unless ByteDance divested from its US operations. The app went "dark" only briefly at the time, before the ban was delayed.

The US Justice Department had previously expressed concerns that TikTok's access to the data of US users posed a national security threat of "immense depth and scale".

The call between Xi and Trump is the second so far this year.

In June, the two leaders spoke to discuss China's export of rare earth minerals, resulting in China agreeing to approve a "certain number" of export permits to US companies, as well as the magnets made from them.

Chinese and US officials have held four rounds of talks in recent months, and so far held off on implementing extremely high tariffs and strict export controls.

The US has already imposed 20% tariffs on some Chinese goods it says are linked to fentanyl trafficking.

Other thorny issues - including tech export restrictions and Chinese purchases of US agricultural products - so far remain unresolved.

President Donald Trump has said US forces carried out a "lethal kinetic strike" on a vessel which he said was trafficking drugs, and the attack "killed 3 male narcoterrorists" on board.

Trump said he ordered the attack on the boat, which was in the US Southern Command's area of responsibility, after US intelligence confirmed it was trafficking drugs. It was the third such strike on alleged drug boats in recent weeks.

Trump's statement on Truth Social on Friday said the strike happened in international waters. The US Southern Command's area of responsibility covers most of South America and the Caribbean.

Two previous strikes have killed a total of 14 people on boats allegedly from Venezuela.

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has previously condemned the strikes and said his country will defend itself against US "aggression".

Trump's post on Friday evening mirrored previous announcements of such strikes. It featured a video showing the boat travelling on a body of water, and seconds later it explodes and bursts into flames.

"On my Orders, the Secretary of War ordered a lethal kinetic strike on a vessel affiliated with a Designated Terrorist Organization conducting narcotrafficking in the USSOUTHCOM area of responsibility," Trump said.

"Intelligence confirmed the vessel was trafficking illicit narcotics, and was transiting along a known narcotrafficking passage enroute to poison Americans," he wrote.

""No U.S. Forces were harmed in this strike. STOP SELLING FENTANYL, NARCOTICS, AND ILLEGAL DRUGS IN AMERICA, AND COMMITTING VIOLENCE AND TERRORISM AGAINST AMERICANS!!!"

Legal experts previously told the BBC that the fatal strike on the first vessel in international waters may have violated international human rights and maritime law.

US president Donald Trump said he plans to meet Chinese Premier Xi Jinping in South Korea next month following a phone call in which the Chinese leader also approved of a deal to take control of TikTok's US operations.

Trump wrote on Truth Social the call was "productive" and the approval was "appreciated", adding that he would travel to China next year after the two meet.

TikTok, which is run by Chinese firm Bytedance, was previously told it had to sell its US operations or risk being shut down.

Trump, however, delayed implementing the ban four times since it was first announced in January, and earlier this week extended the deadline again to December.

In his post, Trump wrote the two "made progress" on trade issues and would meet at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in South Korea, scheduled to begin at the end of October.

That, he said, would be followed by a visit to China and a subsequent visit by Xi to the US.

The president provided no further details on the TikTok deal, which he said earlier this week that the call would confirm.

That deal will reportedly see a group of US firms- said to include Oracle - that would enable TikTok to continue operating in the US, using algorithm technology licensed from ByteDance.

Xinhua reported that China's position on TikTok is "very clear" and that it welcomed firms to "conduct commercial negotiations based on market rules and reach solutions that comply with Chinese laws and regulations and a balance of interests".

"We hope that the US will provide an open, fair and non-discriminatory business environment for Chinese companies to invest in the United States," it added.

Speaking alongside British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer in the UK on Thursday, Trump said he believes TikTok has "tremendous value" to the US.

"The people that are investing it are among the greatest investors in the world," he said. "And they'll do a great job - and we're doing it in conjunction with China."

Still, many US lawmakers - including some from within Trump's own party - have expressed unease with the deal, citing ongoing concerns about ByteDance's links with the Chinese Communist Party, or CCP.

"I am concerned the reported licensing deal may involve ongoing reliance by the new TikTok on a ByteDance algorithm that could allow continued CCP control or influence," Michigan Republican representative John Moolenar, chair of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, said in a statement.

While Trump initially called for TikTok to be banned during his first term, he has changed course, and on Thursday said he viewed the platform as a key part of his 2024 electoral campaign.

In January, the US Supreme Court upheld a law first passed in early 2024, banning the app unless ByteDance divested from its US operations. The app went "dark" only briefly at the time, before the ban was delayed.

The US Justice Department had previously expressed concerns that TikTok's access to the data of US users posed a national security threat of "immense depth and scale".

The call between Xi and Trump is the second so far this year.

In June, the two leaders spoke to discuss China's export of rare earth minerals, resulting in China agreeing to approve a "certain number" of export permits to US companies, as well as the magnets made from them.

Chinese and US officials have held four rounds of talks in recent months, and so far held off on implementing extremely high tariffs and strict export controls.

The US has already imposed 20% tariffs on some Chinese goods it says are linked to fentanyl trafficking.

Other thorny issues - including tech export restrictions and Chinese purchases of US agricultural products - so far remain unresolved.

US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order that will add a $100,000 (£74,000) fee for applicants to the H-1B visa programme aimed at bringing in skilled workers from abroad into certain industries.

The proclamation mentions "abuse" of the programme and will restrict entry unless payment is made.

Critics of the programme have long argued that H-1Bs undercut the American workforce, while supporters - including billionaire Elon Musk - argue it allows the US to attract top talent from around the world.

In another order, Trump set up a new "gold card" to fast-track visas for certain immigrants in exchange for fees starting at £1m.

Joining Trump in the Oval Office on Friday was US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.

"A hundred thousand dollars a year for H1-B visas, and all of the big companies are on board," he said. "We've spoken to them.

"If you're going to train somebody, you're going to train one of the recent graduates from one of the great universities across our land. Train Americans. Stop bringing in people to take our jobs."

Since 2004, the number of H-1B applications has been capped at 85,000 per year.

Until now, H-1B visas have carried various administrative fees totalling around $1,500.

Data from US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) shows that applications for H-1B visas for the next fiscal year fell to about 359,000 - a four-year low.

The greatest beneficiary of the programme the previous fiscal year was Amazon, followed by tech giants Tata, Microsoft, Meta, Apple and Google, according to government statistics.

The BBC has contacted these companies for comment.

Tahmina Watson, a founding attorney at Watson Immigration Law, told the BBC that the ruling could be a "nail in the coffin" for many of her clients that are mostly small businesses and start-ups.

"Almost everyone's going to be priced out. This $100,000 as an entry point is going to have a devastating impact," she added, noting that many small or medium-sized companies "will tell you they actually can't find workers to do the job".

"When employers sponsor foreign talent, more often than not, they're doing that because they have not been able to fulfil those positions," Ms Watson added.

Jorge Lopez, the chair of the immigration and global mobility practice group at Littler Mendelson PC, said a $100,000 fee "will put the brakes on American competitiveness in the tech sector and all industries".

Some companies might consider setting up operations outside the US, though doing so can be challenging in practice, he added.

The debate over H-1Bs had previously caused splits within Trump's team and supporters, pitting those in favour of the visas against critics such as former strategist Steve Bannon.

Trump told reporters at the White House in January that he understands "both sides of the argument" on H-1Bs.

The year before - while seeking to attract support from the tech industry while on the campaign trail - Trump vowed to make the process of attracting talent easier, going as far as to propose green cards for college graduates.

"You need a pool of people to work for companies," he told the All-In Podcast. "You have to be able to recruit these people and keep these people."

Early in his first term in 2017, Trump signed an executive order that increased scrutiny of H-1B applications, seeking to improve fraud detection.

Rejections rose to an all-time high of 24% in the 2018 fiscal year, compared to between 5% and 8% under Barack Obama and then between 2% and 4% under Joe Biden.

At the time, tech companies pushed back, harshly criticising the Trump administration's H-1B order.

The potential for additional restrictions to the H-1B programme has caused considerable concern in countries such as India - which is by far the largest source country for such visa applications.