Hamas has handed over to the Red Cross in northern Gaza a coffin containing what the Palestinian group says is the body of a deceased hostage, according to the Israeli military.

The remains will be transferred to Israeli forces, who will take them to the National Centre of Foreign Medicine in Tel Aviv for identification.

Earlier, Hamas's armed wing said it had recovered the body of an Israeli soldier in the eastern Shejaiya neighbourhood of Gaza City.

Israel had allowed members of the group and Red Cross staff to search for the remains in the area, which is inside territory still controlled by Israeli forces.

The Israeli government has accused Hamas of deliberately delaying the recovery of the dead hostages since a ceasefire deal took effect more than three weeks ago.

Hamas has insisted it is difficult to locate the bodies under rubble.

Under the US-brokered ceasefire deal that took effect on 10 October, Hamas agreed to return the 20 living and 28 dead hostages it was still holding within 72 hours.

All the living Israeli hostages were released on 13 October in exchange for 250 Palestinian prisoners and 1,718 detainees from Gaza.

Israel has handed over the bodies of 270 Palestinians in exchange for the bodies of the 18 Israeli hostages returned by Hamas before Tuesday, along with those of two foreign hostages - one of them Thai and the other Nepalese.

Six of the eight dead hostages still in Gaza before Tuesday were Israelis, one was Tanzanian, and one was Thai.

All but one of the dead hostages still in Gaza were among the 251 people abducted during the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, during which about 1,200 other people were killed.

Israel responded by launching a military campaign in Gaza, during which more than 68,800 people have been killed, according to the territory's Hamas-run health ministry.

Earlier on Tuesday, a hospital official in Gaza City said a man was killed by Israeli fire in the Jabalia area of northern Gaza.

The Israeli military said its troops killed a "terrorist" who had crossed the "Yellow Line", which demarcates Israeli-controlled territory, and posed a threat to them.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says he has visited troops near the town of Pokrovsk, where the fiercest front line battle between Russia and Ukraine is currently taking place.

Zelensky posted photos showing him meeting personnel at a command post in the Dobropillya sector, some 20km (12 miles) north of Pokrovsk in the Donetsk region.

Kyiv's top military commander, Oleksandr Syrskiy, said on Monday that Ukraine was increasing pressure on the Dobropillya front to "force the enemy to disperse its forces and make it impossible to concentrate their main efforts in the Pokrovsk area".

Russia has been trying to seize Pokrovsk - a strategic frontline town and logistic hub - for over a year.

Although it has taken them months to approach the town's borders, Russian soldiers have now infiltrated it and on Friday, Zelensky said Russia had amassed 170,000 troops on its outskirts.

Both Ukraine and Russia continue to issue claims and counter claims on the situation in and around Pokrovsk.

Capturing Pokrovsk could give Moscow access to the rest of Donetsk, including the towns Kramatorsk, Slovyansk, Kostyantynivka and Druzhkivka - the so-called "fortress belt".

Gen Syrskiy, acknowledged his troops were withstanding the "pressure of a multi-thousand enemy grouping" but denied they were encircled. Meanwhile, Russian military bloggers claimed 90% of Pokrovsk was under Moscow's control.

Unverified videos posted on social media show instances of close quarter combat, drone attacks and street battles there.

The US-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said that Russian forces were operating with "increasing comfort" within the town, which once had a population of 60,000 but has now been almost entirely emptied of civilians and largely destroyed.

Further east, Moscow's troops are also reportedly targeting the town of Myrnohrad, which would put Ukrainian soldiers at risk of encirclement.

Intense drone activity has cut off many logistics routes, making evacuations and the supply of ammunition and vehicles near impossible.

On Monday, Zelensky said Russia had had "no success" in Pokrovsk in recent days but acknowledged that "things were not easy" for Ukrainian forces in the area.

He added that a third of all front line clashes were happening in Pokrovsk, and a half of all glide bombs used by the Russians were launched at the town. Earlier last week the Ukrainian president said that Moscow's troops in the area were outnumbering Kyiv's eight to one.

Some Ukrainian commentators have criticised the government's efforts to continue to defend Pokrovsk, arguing that troops were being put at risk.

In a post accompanying the pictures of his visit to Dobropillya, Zelensky on Tuesday wrote: "This is our country, this is our East, and we will certainly do our utmost to keep it Ukrainian."

Russia now controls 81% of the Donetsk region and 99% of neighbouring Luhansk, which collectively make up the Donbas.

Moscow has never relented in its ambition to capture the entirety of the area, which Russia's President Vladimir Putin declared annexed in 2022 despite not being in full control of it.

However, its progress along the front line has been grinding and occupying the heavily fortified towns in northern Donetsk could come at a huge cost of both manpower and resources.

Away from the front line, Russia continues to pummel Ukrainian cities, targeting the country's energy facilities as winter draws in.

A large-scale drone attack overnight Monday targeted the southern port of Odesa on the Black Sea, damaging industrial facilities, causing fires and affecting the local power supply. At least 15 civilians were killed and 44 injured in combined drone and missile attacks across the country at the weekend.

Ukraine continues to hit back, mostly using drones to target industrial sites across Russia and border regions.

On Tuesday, Kyiv said it had attacked a petrochemical plant in the Bashkortostan region and a refinery in the Nizhny Novgorod region, while earlier this week, a drone explosion killed a woman and injured three others in the Russian border region of Belgorod.

Four people have been detained after Portuguese authorities intercepted a narco-sub carrying more than 1.7 tonnes of cocaine in the mid-Atlantic.

The semi-submersible vessel was bound for the Iberian peninsula and was seized in recent days, according to officials.

Footage shows the police and navy surrounding the vessel before boarding, seizing the Class A substance and arresting four crew members, who are said to be from South America.

The suspects, including two Ecuadorians, a Venezuelan and a Colombian, were remanded in pre-trial custody after their court appearance in the Azores on Tuesday, said police.

Vítor Ananias, head of Portugal's police unit to combat drug trafficking, told a press conference that their different nationalities showed the organisation behind them was not just based in one country.

The Lisbon-based Maritime Analysis and Operations Centre (MAOC) said it had received information in recent days indicating that a criminal organisation was in the process of dispatching a submersible loaded with cocaine destined for Europe.

A few days later, a Portuguese ship successfully located the submersible approximately 1,000 nautical miles (1,852km) off the coast of Lisbon, in an operation backed by the UK's National Crime Agency and the US Drug Enforcement Administration.

Having seized the vessel, the navy said it could not be towed back to shore due to poor weather and its fragile construction, and it later sank in the open sea.

Vítor Ananias told reporters that "between the heat, the vessel's fumes and high waves, with difficult weather conditions, even one day is tricky [for the four men on board]. By the end of 15 or 20 days all you want is to get out".

Such incidents like these had been a "recurring situation in recent years", he added, in remarks quoted by Lusa news agency.

In March this year, a similar vessel carrying 6.5 tonnes of cocaine was seized about 1,200 nautical miles from Lisbon.

It also comes as the Trump administration ramps up its attacks on vessels it says are being used to smuggle drugs into the US.

Three men were killed last week in a US strike on an alleged drug vessel in the Caribbean, US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Sunday.

Experts have questioned the legality of such strikes under international law and they have drawn strong criticism from Latin American leaders whose citizens have been targeted.

The head of Britain's richest family, Gopichand Hinduja, has died aged 85.

Known as GP, Mr Hinduja and his family made their fortune from the Indian conglomerate Hinduja Group, which operates in 11 sectors including finance, media and entertainment, and oil.

It has about 200,000 staff around the world.

The family said in a statement: "He will leave a deep hole at the heart of our family."

They added that he would be "remembered for his formidable work".

Mr Hinduja helped transform his father's modest textile and trading businesses into a global conglomerate and one of India's largest companies.

Mr Hinduja and his family topped the most recent Sunday Times Rich List with a net worth of £35.3bn. They also ranked 11th on the Forbes list of India's 100 richest businesspeople in 2024.

Mr Hinduja was the second eldest of four brothers who controlled the business for decades.

The oldest of the four, Srichand, died in 2023 at 87.

It is not known who will now take over the leadership of the conglomerate. The youngest brother, Ashok, runs its operations across India including truck maker Ashok Leyland.

The family also own significant real estate in London, including a number of large homes near to St James's Park and Winston Churchill's Old War Office in Whitehall, which has recently been refurbished to include a hotel.

Mr Hinduja largely kept out of the public eye but was involved in the controversial "Hinduja affair" in 2001, which resulted in Lord Peter Mandelson resigning as an MP.

Mr Hinduja had written to Mr Mandelson about his brother Prakash obtaining British citizenship, after the family's charity had donated £1m to the Millennium Dome, for which Mr Mandelson was responsible.

Mr Mandelson resigned as a result, but was later cleared of wrongdoing after an inquiry.

Prakash, his wife, their son and his wife were jailed by a Swiss court last year for exploiting domestic staff in their Geneva mansion.

Hamas has handed over to the Red Cross in northern Gaza a coffin containing what the Palestinian group says is the body of a deceased hostage, according to the Israeli military.

The remains will be transferred to Israeli forces, who will take them to the National Centre of Foreign Medicine in Tel Aviv for identification.

Earlier, Hamas's armed wing said it had recovered the body of an Israeli soldier in the eastern Shejaiya neighbourhood of Gaza City.

Israel had allowed members of the group and Red Cross staff to search for the remains in the area, which is inside territory still controlled by Israeli forces.

The Israeli government has accused Hamas of deliberately delaying the recovery of the dead hostages since a ceasefire deal took effect more than three weeks ago.

Hamas has insisted it is difficult to locate the bodies under rubble.

Under the US-brokered ceasefire deal that took effect on 10 October, Hamas agreed to return the 20 living and 28 dead hostages it was still holding within 72 hours.

All the living Israeli hostages were released on 13 October in exchange for 250 Palestinian prisoners and 1,718 detainees from Gaza.

Israel has handed over the bodies of 270 Palestinians in exchange for the bodies of the 18 Israeli hostages returned by Hamas before Tuesday, along with those of two foreign hostages - one of them Thai and the other Nepalese.

Six of the eight dead hostages still in Gaza before Tuesday were Israelis, one was Tanzanian, and one was Thai.

All but one of the dead hostages still in Gaza were among the 251 people abducted during the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, during which about 1,200 other people were killed.

Israel responded by launching a military campaign in Gaza, during which more than 68,800 people have been killed, according to the territory's Hamas-run health ministry.

Earlier on Tuesday, a hospital official in Gaza City said a man was killed by Israeli fire in the Jabalia area of northern Gaza.

The Israeli military said its troops killed a "terrorist" who had crossed the "Yellow Line", which demarcates Israeli-controlled territory, and posed a threat to them.

At least three people have been killed and hundreds of thousands have been forced to flee their homes as a typhoon ripped through the central Philippines, the country's disaster agency said.

Typhoon Kalmaegi has flooded large areas, including entire towns on the island of Cebu.

Videos show people sheltering on rooftops, while cars and shipping containers have been swept through the streets.

A military helicopter deployed to assist relief efforts crashed in northern Mindanao island, the Philippine Air Force (PAF) said. It is not yet clear if there were any survivors of the crash.

The typhoon, locally named Tino, has weakened since making landfall early on Tuesday, but has continued to bring winds of more than 80mph (130km/h).

It is forecast to move across the Visayas islands region and out over the South China Sea by Wednesday.

"The situation in Cebu is really unprecedented," provincial governor Pamela Baricuatro said in a Facebook post.

"We were expecting the winds to be the dangerous part, but... the water is what's truly putting our people at risk," she said.

"The floodwaters are just devastating."

Don del Rosario, 28, was among those in Cebu City who sought refuge on an upper floor as the storm raged.

"I've been here for 28 years, and this is by far the worst we've experienced," he told the AFP news agency.

In a statement, the PAF said a rescue helicopter went down near Agusan del Sur on Mindanao island.

"Communication with the helicopter was lost, which immediately prompted the launch of a search and rescue operation," it said, adding that further details will be released "as they become verified".

In total, almost 400,000 people were moved from the typhoon's path, Rafaelito Alejandro, deputy administrator at the Office of Civil Defence, told a news conference.

The Philippines is hit by an average of 20 storms and typhoons each year.

The latest comes barely a month after back-to-back typhoons killed over a dozen people and wrought damage to infrastructure and crops.

Super Typhoon Ragasa, known locally as Nando, struck in late September, followed swiftly by Typhoon Bualoi, known locally as Opong.

In the months before, an extraordinarily wet monsoon season caused widespread flooding, sparking anger and protests over unfinished and sub-standard flood control systems that have been blamed on corruption.

On 30 September, dozens were killed and injured after a powerful 6.9 magnitude earthquake struck the central Philippines, with Cebu bearing the brunt of the damage.

Former US Vice-President Dick Cheney, a key architect of George W Bush's "war on terror" and an early advocate of the invasion of Iraq in 2003, has died at the age of 84.

He died from complications of pneumonia and cardiac and vascular disease on Monday night, his family said.

Cheney served as Gerald Ford's White House chief of staff in the 1970s, before later becoming one of the most powerful US vice presidents in history under Bush.

In his later years, he became a bitter critic of the Republican party under the leadership of Donald Trump.

"Dick Cheney was a great and good man who taught his children and grandchildren to love our country, and to live lives of courage, honour, love, kindness, and fly fishing," his family said in a statement.

• Follow our live updates on Cheney's life and legacy

Cheney was born in Lincoln, Nebraska in 1941 and later attended the prestigious Yale University on a scholarship but failed to graduate.

He went on to gain a Master's degree in political science from the University of Wyoming.

His first taste of Washington came in 1968, when he worked for William Steiger, a young Republican representative from Wisconsin.

Cheney became chief of staff under Ford when he was just 34, before spending a decade in the House of Representatives.

As secretary of defence under George Bush Snr, he presided over the Pentagon during the 1990-91 Gulf War, in which a US-led coalition evicted Iraqi troops from Kuwait.

He then became VP to George W Bush in 2001 and played a greater role in making major policy decisions than most of his predecessors.

It is for this role that he will be remembered best and most controversially.

During the younger Bush's administration, he singlehandedly turned his role as vice-president from what was traditionally an empty role, with little formal power, into a de-facto deputy presidency, overseeing American foreign policy and national security in the wake of the 11 September attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon in 2001.

He was a leading advocate of US military action in both Afghanistan and Iraq.

In the lead-up to the invasion of Iraq, Cheney said that Saddam Hussein's regime possessed so-called weapons of mass destruction. Such weapons were never found during the military campaign.

He also repeatedly claimed there were links between Iraq and al-Qaeda, the terror group led by Osama bin Laden that claimed responsibility for the 9/11 attacks. He said the attackers would incur the "full wrath" of American military might.

"The fact is we know that Saddam Hussein and Iraq were heavily involved with terror," Cheney said in 2006.

In 2005, Cheney warned of "decades of patient effort" in the war on terror, warning "it will be resisted by those whose only hope for power is through the spread of violence".

His key role in the campaign heavily affected his political legacy, after the US took years to extricate itself from its costly war in Iraq, which resulted in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people.

Despite decades working for Republican presidents, he later became a bitter opponent of President Donald Trump.

Having initially endorsed him in 2016, Cheney was appalled by allegations of Russian interference in the presidential election and Trump's seemingly casual attitude towards Nato.

He supported his older daughter, Liz, as she became a leading Republican "never Trump" in the House of Representatives - and condemned the refusal to accept the result of the 2020 election.

Two months before last year's US presidential election, Cheney staged a major intervention: announcing that he would vote for the Democrats' Kamala Harris.

He said there had "never been an individual who is a greater threat to our republic than Donald Trump".

In return, Trump called Cheney "irrelevant RINO" - an acronym which stands for "Republican in name only".

In his final years, Cheney would become a persona non grata in his own party, which had been reshaped in Trump's image.

His daughter, who had followed him into Congress, was ousted from office for her criticism of Trump.

In an odd final twist, his own Trump criticism - and endorsement of Harris - would win him praise from some on the left who had once denounced him decades earlier.

At least 40 people in Sudan have been killed in a drone strike that targeted a funeral that was taking place outside the army-held city of el-Obeid in North Kordofan state, officials and activists say.

They blamed the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) for Monday's attack on al-Luweib village as mourners had gathered in a tent. The RSF has not yet commented.

Many reportedly died before getting to hospital in el-Obeid, a strategic city that connects the capital, Khartoum, to the western region of Darfur.

Fighting has intensified in this oil-rich Kordofan area and around 20,000 people fled to el-Obeid last week after the RSF captured Bara town, 30km (18 miles) north of the city.

The town fell at the same time as the city of el-Fasher, which had been the army's last stronghold in Darfur.

There have since been reports of mass killings, sexual violence, abductions and widespread looting in el-Fasher by RSF fighters.

The UN said summary executions of civilians by RSF fighters had also also been reported in Bara.

Such atrocities could amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity, the International Criminal Court (ICC) has warned.

The RSF leader has promised to investigate "violations" but his paramilitary group has denied widespread allegations that the killings in el-Fasher are ethnically motivated and follow a pattern of the Arab paramilitaries targeting non-Arab populations.

The ICC's statement came as a global group of food security experts confirmed on Monday that el-Fasher residents were suffering from famine following the RSF's 18-month siege of the city.

The UN-accredited Integrated Food Security Phase network (IPC) also said the city of Kadugli in South Kordofan state was in the most catastrophic stage of hunger.

The city, nearly 300km south of el-Obeid, has been also surrounded and starved of supplies by the RSF.

UN chief António Guterres has called for an immediate halt to the violence in Sudan, warning that the humanitarian crisis is rapidly worsening.

"The horrifying crisis in Sudan... is spiralling out of control," he said on the side-lines of a summit in Doha.

"El-Fasher and the surrounding areas... have been an epicentre of suffering, hunger, violence and displacement - and since the Rapid Support Forces entered el-Fasher last weekend, the situation is growing worse by the day," AFP news agency quotes him as saying.

Guterres urged the army and the RSF to come to the negotiating table and "bring an end to this nightmare of violence".

A Sudanese government source has told AFP that the authorities are considering a US proposal for a truce.

Washington - along with other states - has been pushing for a ceasefire and a roadmap to end the conflict.

There have been several rounds of peace talks in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain - but they have failed - and both sides have shown an unwillingness to agree to a ceasefire.

The North Kordofan Resistance Committee, a volunteer aid group, said the attack on the village, which is 15km east of el-Obeidz, happened on Monday.

Mohamed Ismail, North Kordofan's humanitarian aid commissioner, told the Sudan Tribune new website: "Drones belonging to the Rapid Support Forces militia attacked citizens who were at a funeral, resulting in the death of 40 people and the injury of dozens."

Last week, the UN said el-Obeid was already struggling to cope with the influx of those fleeing from Bara.

Since the civil war erupted between the army and RSF in April 2023, more than 150,000 people have died about 12 million have fled their homes in what the UN has called the world's largest humanitarian crisis.

More BBC stories on Sudan's civil war:

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

At least three people have been killed and hundreds of thousands have been forced to flee their homes as a typhoon ripped through the central Philippines, the country's disaster agency said.

Typhoon Kalmaegi has flooded large areas, including entire towns on the island of Cebu.

Videos show people sheltering on rooftops, while cars and shipping containers have been swept through the streets.

A military helicopter deployed to assist relief efforts crashed in northern Mindanao island, the Philippine Air Force (PAF) said. It is not yet clear if there were any survivors of the crash.

The typhoon, locally named Tino, has weakened since making landfall early on Tuesday, but has continued to bring winds of more than 80mph (130km/h).

It is forecast to move across the Visayas islands region and out over the South China Sea by Wednesday.

"The situation in Cebu is really unprecedented," provincial governor Pamela Baricuatro said in a Facebook post.

"We were expecting the winds to be the dangerous part, but... the water is what's truly putting our people at risk," she said.

"The floodwaters are just devastating."

Don del Rosario, 28, was among those in Cebu City who sought refuge on an upper floor as the storm raged.

"I've been here for 28 years, and this is by far the worst we've experienced," he told the AFP news agency.

In a statement, the PAF said a rescue helicopter went down near Agusan del Sur on Mindanao island.

"Communication with the helicopter was lost, which immediately prompted the launch of a search and rescue operation," it said, adding that further details will be released "as they become verified".

In total, almost 400,000 people were moved from the typhoon's path, Rafaelito Alejandro, deputy administrator at the Office of Civil Defence, told a news conference.

The Philippines is hit by an average of 20 storms and typhoons each year.

The latest comes barely a month after back-to-back typhoons killed over a dozen people and wrought damage to infrastructure and crops.

Super Typhoon Ragasa, known locally as Nando, struck in late September, followed swiftly by Typhoon Bualoi, known locally as Opong.

In the months before, an extraordinarily wet monsoon season caused widespread flooding, sparking anger and protests over unfinished and sub-standard flood control systems that have been blamed on corruption.

On 30 September, dozens were killed and injured after a powerful 6.9 magnitude earthquake struck the central Philippines, with Cebu bearing the brunt of the damage.

Tanzanian police have lifted a night-time curfew imposed since last Wednesday in the main city Dar es Salaam following deadly election protests, as life slowly returns to normal across the country.

Following the unrest, the internet was cut nationwide and most shops in Dar es Salaam closed amid acute shortages of basic essentials and soaring prices. Schools shut and public transport came to a halt.

On Tuesday, some shops reopened and traffic resumed but with queues persisting at some petrol stations in Dar es Salaam.

Families continue to search for or bury relatives killed in the clashes between the security forces and opposition supporters who denounced the poll as a sham.

President Samia Suluhu Hassan was sworn in on Monday after being declared the winner of last Wednesday's election with 98% of the vote.

Observers from the Southern African Development Community (Sadc) - a regional bloc which includes Tanzania - said in a preliminary report that the election fell short of democratic standards.

The two main opposition leaders were unable to contest the poll - Tundu Lissu is in detention on treason charges, which he denies, while Luhaga Mpina's candidacy was rejected on technical grounds.

Lissu's Chadema party told the AFP news agency that it had recorded "no less than 800" deaths by Saturday, while a diplomatic source in Tanzania told the BBC there was credible evidence that at least 500 people had died.

The UN human rights office earlier said there were credible reports of at least 10 deaths in three cities.

The government has not given casualty figures.

On Tuesday, a doctor at Muhimbili Hospital in Dar es Salaam told the BBC that vehicles marked "Municipal Burial Services" had been collecting bodies.

"[They] are getting into the mortuary at night to pick bodies of those believed to have died during protests, they leave and take them to unknown destination," said the doctor, who asked not to be identified for safety reasons.

"Relatives are not being given the bodies and survivors are being taken from emergency department to unknown destination by the police… some even before they recover," he added.

Earlier, a Tanzanian woman who asked to be identified as Mama Kassim told the BBC that she had not seen her two sons since polling day - and was unable to reach one of them.

"I don't know where he is, I don't know whether he has been arrested, I don't know if he is injured, I don't know if he is hospitalised, I don't know if he is dead. Oh God, protect my son. He's only 21 years old," she said.

A Kenyan family said it had asked the government to help repatriate the body of a relative, 33-year-old teacher John Okoth Ogutu, who lived in Dar es Salaam. He was allegedly shot by police while on his way to buy food at Gaba Centre in Dar es Salaam.

Campaign group Human Rights Watch (HRW) said the authorities had responded to the widespread protests following the elections "with lethal force and other abuses".

It urged the government "to respect rights and ensure that all those responsible for violence are investigated and appropriately prosecuted".

Amnesty International said it was alarmed by the use of excessive force to suppress protests that had resulted in the deaths and injuries of protesters.

The government has sought to downplay the scale of the violence and has blamed foreign nationals for stoking it.

During her inauguration ceremony, President Samia acknowledged the "loss of lives and destruction of public property", but added that it was "not surprising" that some of those arrested were foreign nationals.

Samia first came into office in 2021 as Tanzania's first female president following the death of President John Magufuli.

She was initially praised for easing political repression under her predecessor, but the political space has since narrowed.

You may also be interested in:

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

It's Election Day in the US.

This so-called "off year" election doesn't feature presidential or congressional races, but there are still several critical votes to watch tonight.

New York City will choose its next mayor, in a battle that has pitted a younger, progressive Democrat against a member of the party's old guard. The states of Virginia and New Jersey will elect new governors, and the outcome of these contests could be bellwethers for next year's congressional midterm elections.

Californians also will decide whether to redraw their US House district maps in a rare mid-decade redistricting, as Democrats try to counter Republicans' efforts to give their party an advantage in next year's midterm elections.

Here's what you need to know.

New York City mayoral race

All eyes will be on the Big Apple as Zohran Mamdani, a 34-year-old state assemblyman, attempts a political upset in his bid to become New York City's youngest mayor in over a century.

Mamdani, a democratic socialist, shocked the political establishment when he bested former governor Andrew Cuomo in the Democratic primary this summer. Cuomo, undeterred, has continued to campaign as an independent. Meanwhile, Republican Curtis Sliwa has resisted pressure to drop out of the race to clear a path for Cuomo.

• New Yorkers could pick a political newcomer to run their city - and take on Trump
• Trump backs Cuomo for New York City mayor and threatens to cut funding if Mamdani wins
• Who is Zohran Mamdani?

If Mamdani wins, he will become the city's first Muslim mayor. Democrats around the country will be watching to see if his laser-focus on cost-of-living issues like rent, groceries and wages could serve as effective messaging in future races.

Though Mamdani heads into election night with a suggested polling lead, the gap between him and Cuomo has narrowed. In the final stretch of the campaign, Cuomo has hammered Mamdani on crime and public safety, and said the young politician lacks the experience to lead America's biggest city.

California redistricting

California's Democratic leadership is asking voters for permission to redraw the state's congressional districts in the middle of the decade. That's unusual in California, which by law relies on a nonpartisan committee to draw its congressional maps once every decade, based on census data.

However, as Republican-led states like Texas and Missouri seek to hastily redraw their congressional maps to give their party an advantage in the 2026 midterm elections, California Governor Gavin Newsom wants to counter the losses with redistricting in his own state.

California's Proposition 50 would allow the temporary use of new congressional district maps through 2030. The campaign has drawn $158 million in donations, according to the Los Angeles Times, with Democratic proponents vastly outraising the Republican opposition effort.

Republicans in California, who hold only nine of the state's 52 US House seats, staunchly oppose the plan.

A University of California Berkeley/IGS Poll suggests 60% of likely California voters support Proposition 50, while 38% oppose it. The breakdown was highly partisan, with 93% of Democrats saying they would choose "yes" and 91% of Republicans choosing "no."

New Jersey governor's race

New Jersey is considered a blue state, but polls indicate a close race between Democrat Mikie Sherrill and Republican Jack Ciattarelli. It's one of the two governor's races this year that could indicate how Americans feel about the current political climate.

Sherrill currently represents New Jersey's 11th District in Congress, and Ciattarelli is a former state assemblyman.

New Jersey is considered a Democratic-leaning state, but has had Republican governors. The last one, Chris Christie, served two terms between 2010 and 2018.

Rhetoric in the race has been heated. Ciattarelli and his supporters have run political advertisements featuring clips of Sherrill giving halting answers in interviews about her policies.

It also has drawn the attention of nationally known names from both parties. Democratic stars like former president Barack Obama and former transportation secretary Pete Buttigieg have campaigned with Sherrill. President Donald Trump attended a virtual rally for Ciattarelli, and conservative activist Jack Posobiec has backed him.

Virginia governor's race

Virginia's leadership usually swings between Democrats and Republicans, meaning the outcome of this year's gubernatorial election might serve as a bellwether for the electorate's mood.

No matter which candidate succeeds, the state will elect its first female governor this year. Voters will choose between Democrat Abigail Spanberger, a US congresswoman, and Republican Winsome Earle-Sears, the state's current lieutenant governor.

If Earle-Sears wins, she will become the first black woman elected to lead a US state in the nation's history.

Virginia is bordered by the liberal-leaning Washington, DC to the north where many residents work in the nation's capitol or for the federal government. But the state also has deep pockets of conservative voters throughout its rural districts, and swing voters.

Spanberger has highlighted the economic impact of Trump's cuts to the federal government, which have impacted Virginia's employment. Earle-Sears has touted Virginia's economy under Republican leadership. But she also has leaned into cultural topics like transgender issues, which Republicans used successfully as a wedge issue in last year's presidential election.

The Donald Trump factor

Though he's not on the ballot, Trump's name looms over this election.

The New York City mayor's race is how the next leader of the city will deal with the Trump administration, which has meddled in the city's politics. Cuomo is pitching his experience as governor dealing with the first administration as a reason for voters to choose him.

The president has implied that he will penalize the city if voters choose Mamdani.

"It's gonna be hard for me as the president to give a lot of money to New York, because if you have a communist running New York, all you're doing is wasting the money you're sending there," Trump said in a 60 Minutes interview that aired Sunday. (Mamdani is not a communist.)

Trump kicked off the redistricting battle that led California to put Proposition 50 on the ballot, and has endorsed Ciattarelli in the New Jersey governor's race.

It's Election Day in the US.

This so-called "off year" election doesn't feature presidential or congressional races, but there are still several critical votes to watch tonight.

New York City will choose its next mayor, in a battle that has pitted a younger, progressive Democrat against a member of the party's old guard. The states of Virginia and New Jersey will elect new governors, and the outcome of these contests could be bellwethers for next year's congressional midterm elections.

Californians also will decide whether to redraw their US House district maps in a rare mid-decade redistricting, as Democrats try to counter Republicans' efforts to give their party an advantage in next year's midterm elections.

Here's what you need to know.

New York City mayoral race

All eyes will be on the Big Apple as Zohran Mamdani, a 34-year-old state assemblyman, attempts a political upset in his bid to become New York City's youngest mayor in over a century.

Mamdani, a democratic socialist, shocked the political establishment when he bested former governor Andrew Cuomo in the Democratic primary this summer. Cuomo, undeterred, has continued to campaign as an independent. Meanwhile, Republican Curtis Sliwa has resisted pressure to drop out of the race to clear a path for Cuomo.

• New Yorkers could pick a political newcomer to run their city - and take on Trump
• Trump backs Cuomo for New York City mayor and threatens to cut funding if Mamdani wins
• Who is Zohran Mamdani?

If Mamdani wins, he will become the city's first Muslim mayor. Democrats around the country will be watching to see if his laser-focus on cost-of-living issues like rent, groceries and wages could serve as effective messaging in future races.

Though Mamdani heads into election night with a suggested polling lead, the gap between him and Cuomo has narrowed. In the final stretch of the campaign, Cuomo has hammered Mamdani on crime and public safety, and said the young politician lacks the experience to lead America's biggest city.

California redistricting

California's Democratic leadership is asking voters for permission to redraw the state's congressional districts in the middle of the decade. That's unusual in California, which by law relies on a nonpartisan committee to draw its congressional maps once every decade, based on census data.

However, as Republican-led states like Texas and Missouri seek to hastily redraw their congressional maps to give their party an advantage in the 2026 midterm elections, California Governor Gavin Newsom wants to counter the losses with redistricting in his own state.

California's Proposition 50 would allow the temporary use of new congressional district maps through 2030. The campaign has drawn $158 million in donations, according to the Los Angeles Times, with Democratic proponents vastly outraising the Republican opposition effort.

Republicans in California, who hold only nine of the state's 52 US House seats, staunchly oppose the plan.

A University of California Berkeley/IGS Poll suggests 60% of likely California voters support Proposition 50, while 38% oppose it. The breakdown was highly partisan, with 93% of Democrats saying they would choose "yes" and 91% of Republicans choosing "no."

New Jersey governor's race

New Jersey is considered a blue state, but polls indicate a close race between Democrat Mikie Sherrill and Republican Jack Ciattarelli. It's one of the two governor's races this year that could indicate how Americans feel about the current political climate.

Sherrill currently represents New Jersey's 11th District in Congress, and Ciattarelli is a former state assemblyman.

New Jersey is considered a Democratic-leaning state, but has had Republican governors. The last one, Chris Christie, served two terms between 2010 and 2018.

Rhetoric in the race has been heated. Ciattarelli and his supporters have run political advertisements featuring clips of Sherrill giving halting answers in interviews about her policies.

It also has drawn the attention of nationally known names from both parties. Democratic stars like former president Barack Obama and former transportation secretary Pete Buttigieg have campaigned with Sherrill. President Donald Trump attended a virtual rally for Ciattarelli, and conservative activist Jack Posobiec has backed him.

Virginia governor's race

Virginia's leadership usually swings between Democrats and Republicans, meaning the outcome of this year's gubernatorial election might serve as a bellwether for the electorate's mood.

No matter which candidate succeeds, the state will elect its first female governor this year. Voters will choose between Democrat Abigail Spanberger, a US congresswoman, and Republican Winsome Earle-Sears, the state's current lieutenant governor.

If Earle-Sears wins, she will become the first black woman elected to lead a US state in the nation's history.

Virginia is bordered by the liberal-leaning Washington, DC to the north where many residents work in the nation's capitol or for the federal government. But the state also has deep pockets of conservative voters throughout its rural districts, and swing voters.

Spanberger has highlighted the economic impact of Trump's cuts to the federal government, which have impacted Virginia's employment. Earle-Sears has touted Virginia's economy under Republican leadership. But she also has leaned into cultural topics like transgender issues, which Republicans used successfully as a wedge issue in last year's presidential election.

The Donald Trump factor

Though he's not on the ballot, Trump's name looms over this election.

The New York City mayor's race is how the next leader of the city will deal with the Trump administration, which has meddled in the city's politics. Cuomo is pitching his experience as governor dealing with the first administration as a reason for voters to choose him.

The president has implied that he will penalize the city if voters choose Mamdani.

"It's gonna be hard for me as the president to give a lot of money to New York, because if you have a communist running New York, all you're doing is wasting the money you're sending there," Trump said in a 60 Minutes interview that aired Sunday. (Mamdani is not a communist.)

Trump kicked off the redistricting battle that led California to put Proposition 50 on the ballot, and has endorsed Ciattarelli in the New Jersey governor's race.

A Chinese court has sentenced five top members of an infamous Myanmar mafia to death as Beijing continues its crackdown on scam operations in South East Asia.

In all 21 Bai family members and associates were convicted of fraud, homicide, injury and other crimes, said a state media report published on the court website.

The family is among a handful of mafias that rose to power in the 2000s and transformed the impoverished backwater town of Laukkaing into a lucrative hub of casinos and red-light districts.

In recent years they pivoted to scams in which thousands of trafficked workers, many of them Chinese, are trapped, abused and forced to defraud others in criminal operations worth billions.

Mafia boss Bai Suocheng and his son Bai Yingcang were among the five men sentenced to death by the Shenzhen Intermediate People's Court. Yang Liqiang, Hu Xiaojiang and Chen Guangyi were the other three.

Two members of the Bai family mafia were handed suspended death sentences. Five were sentenced to life imprisonment, while nine others were handed jail sentences ranging from three to 20 years.

The Bais, who controlled their own militia, established 41 compounds to house their cyberscam activities and casinos, authorities said.

These criminal activities involved more than 29 billion Chinese yuan ($4.1bn; £3.1bn). They also led to the deaths of six Chinese citizens, the suicide of one and multiple injuries, state media reported.

The harsh penalties handed down by the court are part of China's campaign to eradicate the vast scam networks in South East Asia - and send a stern warning to other criminal syndicates.

In September a Chinese court sentenced 11 members of the Ming family - another prominent Laukkaing clan - to death.

These families rose to power in the 2000s with the help of Min Aung Hlaing - who now leads Myanmar's military government. He had wanted to prop up allies in Laukkaing after ousting its former warlord.

Among the clans, the Bais were "absolutely number one", Bai Yingcang previously told state media.

"At that time, our Bai family was the most powerful in both the political and military circles," he said in a documentary about the Bai family, aired on Chinese state media in July.

In the same documentary, a worker at one of their scam centres recalled the abuse he had endured there: besides being beaten, he had his fingernails yanked out with pliers and two of his fingers severed with a kitchen knife.

Bai Yingcang is among those who were sentenced to death this week. He has also been separately convicted of conspiring to traffic and manufacture 11 tonnes of methamphetamine, state media reported.

The families' fall came in 2023 as political winds changed.

For years Beijing has pressed the Myanmar junta to rein in scam operations in Laukkaing.

In 2023, the Chinese police issued arrest warrants for the most prominent members of these families.

Bai Suocheng, the Bai family's patriarch, was among the warlords who were handed to Beijing from Myanmar in early 2024.

"Why is the Chinese government making so much effort to go after the four families?" a Chinese investigator said in the July documentary.

"It's to warn other people, no matter who you are, where you are, as long as you commit such heinous crimes against the Chinese people, you will pay the price."

Kim Yong Nam, North Korea's former ceremonial head of state and a lifelong supporter of the ruling dynasty, has died aged 97, according to state media.

He held the role of president of Pyongyang's rubber-stamp Supreme People's Assembly from 1998 to 2019.

Kim Yong Nam served in various diplomatic roles under the regimes of the country's founder Kim Il Sung, his son Kim Jong Il, and his grandson Kim Jong Un - though was not related to the family.

He died of multiple organ failure on 3 November, according to the North's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

The agency described him as an "old-generation revolutionary who left extraordinary achievements in the development history of our party and country". A state funeral has been held for him.

Kim Yong Nam was born when the Korean peninsula was under Japanese colonial rule, into what KCNA called a family of "anti-Japanese patriots". He attended Kim Il Sung University in Pyongyang and also studied in Moscow, before beginning his career in the 1950s.

Starting out as a low-ranking official in the ruling party, he rose to become foreign minister and then served as chairman of the Supreme People's Assembly for nearly all of Kim Jong Il's reign.

Even as real power remained in the hands of the ruling Kim family, Kim Yong Nam was often seen as the face of North Korea on the international stage.

In 2018, he led a North Korean delegation to South Korea during the Winter Olympics, where he met the South's then-president Moon Jae-in.

Kim Yo Jong, Kim Jong Un's influential sister, was part of the delegation.

Kim Yong Nam also previously met two other former South Korean presidents: Kim Dae-jung in 2000, and Roh Moo-hyun in 2007 - on both occasions, at inter-Korean summits respectively.

South Korea's Unification Minister Chung Dong-young offered condolences, saying he had "meaningful conversations about peace in the Korean peninsula" with Kim Yong Nam.

Former North Korean diplomat Thae Yong Ho, who has since resettled in the South, told the BBC that Kim Yong Nam never uttered a word that was regarded as problematic by the regime.

"[He] never made his own opinions known... He had no close [allies] or enemies. He never showed any creativity. He never put out a new policy. He only repeated what the Kim family have said before," said Thae, who was most recently the leader of South Korea's presidential advisory council on unification.

"Kim Yong Nam is the perfect role model of how to survive for a long time in North Korea," Thae said, adding that he avoided criticism from within the party by maintain a "clean" reputation.

Unlike many other high-ranking officials in the North, Kim Yong Nam was never demoted even as power was handed down through three generations of the Kim family clan. He retired in April 2019.

His longevity was rare as many other officials have been purged, sent to labour camps, or even killed if they are deemed to have acted against the state's policies.

For example, Kim Jong Un ordered the execution of his uncle Chang Song Thaek in 2013 for "acts of treachery", state media reported then.

Additional reporting by Lee Hyun Choi in Seoul

At least three people have been killed and hundreds of thousands have been forced to flee their homes as a typhoon ripped through the central Philippines, the country's disaster agency said.

Typhoon Kalmaegi has flooded large areas, including entire towns on the island of Cebu.

Videos show people sheltering on rooftops, while cars and shipping containers have been swept through the streets.

A military helicopter deployed to assist relief efforts crashed in northern Mindanao island, the Philippine Air Force (PAF) said. It is not yet clear if there were any survivors of the crash.

The typhoon, locally named Tino, has weakened since making landfall early on Tuesday, but has continued to bring winds of more than 80mph (130km/h).

It is forecast to move across the Visayas islands region and out over the South China Sea by Wednesday.

"The situation in Cebu is really unprecedented," provincial governor Pamela Baricuatro said in a Facebook post.

"We were expecting the winds to be the dangerous part, but... the water is what's truly putting our people at risk," she said.

"The floodwaters are just devastating."

Don del Rosario, 28, was among those in Cebu City who sought refuge on an upper floor as the storm raged.

"I've been here for 28 years, and this is by far the worst we've experienced," he told the AFP news agency.

In a statement, the PAF said a rescue helicopter went down near Agusan del Sur on Mindanao island.

"Communication with the helicopter was lost, which immediately prompted the launch of a search and rescue operation," it said, adding that further details will be released "as they become verified".

In total, almost 400,000 people were moved from the typhoon's path, Rafaelito Alejandro, deputy administrator at the Office of Civil Defence, told a news conference.

The Philippines is hit by an average of 20 storms and typhoons each year.

The latest comes barely a month after back-to-back typhoons killed over a dozen people and wrought damage to infrastructure and crops.

Super Typhoon Ragasa, known locally as Nando, struck in late September, followed swiftly by Typhoon Bualoi, known locally as Opong.

In the months before, an extraordinarily wet monsoon season caused widespread flooding, sparking anger and protests over unfinished and sub-standard flood control systems that have been blamed on corruption.

On 30 September, dozens were killed and injured after a powerful 6.9 magnitude earthquake struck the central Philippines, with Cebu bearing the brunt of the damage.

Prime Minister Mark Carney is set to present his government's first federal budget on Tuesday, and has warned Canadians to expect "sacrifices" as he aims to transform an economy battered by US President Donald Trump's tariffs.

Carney has said the spending plan will see both significant cuts and "generational investments" to strengthen the economy and reduce the country's reliance on US trade.

The plan is also expected to lay out how Canada will pay for billions of dollars in defence spending to fulfil the new Nato commitment to spend 5% of GDP on defence by 2035.

Analysts have suggested the federal deficit could exceed C$70bn ($50bn; £38bn), up from $51.7bn last year.

The fiscal plan is seen as a major test for Carney, a former central banker for Canada and the UK who has promised to make Canada's economy the strongest in the G7 group of wealthy nations.

"We used to take big, bold risks in this country. It is time to swing for the fences again," he said in a pre-budget speech last month.

Canada, which trades primarily with the US, has a particular exposure to tariff shocks.

Carney has said he is setting a goal for the country to double its non-US exports in the next decade.

Joy Nott, a partner at KPMG Canada who focuses on trade and customs, told the BBC that "Canadian companies need government support during the transition of moving from one market to another".

That includes everything from finding money to travel on trade missions abroad to market research and navigating regulatory approvals when entering new markets.

It takes time and money to overcome "those historic hurdles that we've seen, that prevented them from doing it", Ms Nott said.

Finance Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne underscored the "made-at-home" message on Monday as he bought new shoes - a political pre-budget tradition for federal finance ministers - at a Quebec business that supplies footwear worldwide as well as to Canada's armed forces and RCMP officers.

The firm was "emblematic of who we are as a nation", he told reporters as he stood in the company's manufacturing facility.

"We're moving from reliance to resilience, from uncertainty to prosperity, we're going to do the kind of things that make this country stronger," Champagne said.

While he said the budget would be focused on "investments", Carney has also promised to balance the federal operating budget - day-to-day spending on government programmes - over the next three years.

Over the summer, federal ministries were asked to find ways to cut up to 15% from programme spending in the coming years, as the government seeks savings to fund spending into things like trade infrastructure, housing, and tariff-impacted industries.

It is still unclear where the Carney's Liberal Party will find the support they need to pass the spending package. The Liberals, who are three seats short of a majority in the House of Commons, need at least one other party to help pass the fiscal plan.

Canada faces a potential snap election if the budget vote, which is a confidence vote, fails. Though that is an unlikely scenario so soon after Canadians went to the ballot box in the spring.

"I don't think any of the other parties want to run an election right now," said Elizabeth McCallion, a political science professor at the University of Toronto.

The most likely support would come from the left-wing NDP, who are currently in the midst of a leadership race after a devastating election performance in April.

Prof McCallion said it was possible some NDP members of Parliament would abstain from voting to allow the budget to pass.

She said Carney also faced the risk of "push back against austerity" measures expected in the budget.

Trump has imposed a 35% tariff on Canadian imports, although most goods are exempt from the levies because they fall under a US-Mexico-Canada free trade deal. However, separate global US tariffs on metals, autos, and lumber are hitting those sectors in the country particularly hard.

There are signs the trade uncertainty is weighing on Canada's economy and unemployment is on the rise.

The Bank of Canada projects the country's GDP will grow by 1.2% in 2025, 1.1% in 2026 and 1.6% in 2027.

Australia is to introduce laws requiring streaming platforms to invest a minimum amount of money in homegrown content, the government said on Tuesday.

Platforms such as Netflix, Disney+ and Amazon Prime and any other streamers with over one million subscribers will have to contribute at least 10% of their local expenditure, or 7.5% of revenue, on Australian content.

Legislation will be introduced to parliament this week and will apply to drama, documentaries, arts and educational programmes.

Arts minister Tony Burke and communications minister Anika Wells said the move would help to protect acting jobs. The streaming services have not yet commented.

'Extraordinary shows'

"We have Australian content requirements on free-to-air television and pay television, but until now, there has been no guarantee that we could see our own stories on streaming services," Burke said.

"Since their introduction in Australia, streaming services have created some extraordinary shows. This obligation will ensure that those stories – our stories – continue to be made."

According to the Australian Broadcast Corporation, legislation will be introduced to Parliament this week.

The broadcaster said that the new content requirements were meant to be in place by July last year but concerns over how they would interact with a free trade agreement with the US led to the plans being put on hold.

The government cited difficulty engaging in negotiations with the US while it was holding an election.

After President Trump was elected, there was then concern about whether the rules might prompt the US administration to impose retaliatory tariffs against Australia.

Now, with the dust settled, and Trump championing his country's friendship with Australia, those rules are now back on the table.

While the Australian Writers Guild (AWG) and Screen Producers Australia (SPA) welcomed the news, streamers have yet to comment.

Back in 2022, streamers Stan, Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+ and Paramount+ released their Streaming for Australia report, pointing out their cultural and economic contribution to the country's creative economy.

However, it was seen by some as a pre-emptive strike against any attempt at future regulation.

Production slump

Recent Australian shows on Netflix include Heartbreak High, Territory and Apple Cider Vinegar.

Like many countries, Australia's creative industries have suffered in recent years, in part due to the production slump during the Covid-19 pandemic.

In the financial year 2023-24, investment in feature films and television dramas made in Australia fell by nearly 30%, according to Screen Australia, the government's funding body for the screen production industry.

A rodent-borne virus led to the death of the only African elephant at the zoo in India's capital Delhi, officials have told the BBC.

Shankar, a 29-year-old male, died on 17 September after spending much of his life in isolation. The cause of his death wasn't known at the time.

Now, an autopsy has revealed that the elephant tested positive for encephalomyocarditis virus (EMCV), Delhi Zoo director Sanjeet Kumar said.

EMCV is known to cause fatal inflammation of the heart and sometimes brain fever in mammals. The virus is spread through rodent faeces and urine.

Most outbreaks of EMCV have been associated with captive animals in pig farms, primate research centres and zoos, according to the MSD veterinary manual.

The virus replicates rapidly and can attack the heart and sometimes the brain, often causing sudden death. There is no specific antiviral cure available for EMCV so far.

According to a 2012 study in the peer-reviewed medical journal Virulence, EMCV has been documented around the world in pigs, rodents, big cats and African elephants, among other mammals.

The virus, according to a report in Nature, was first isolated in 1945 from a gibbon in Florida.

Since the 1970s, local outbreaks have been reported in the US, South Africa, China, Australia, Canada, South America and several countries in Europe.

The outbreaks in the US and South Africa particularly affected captive African elephants.

In India, the virus was first isolated in the late 1960s. But Shankar's is the first "recorded" death caused by EMCV in India, a senior official at the Indian Veterinary Research Institute (IVRI) told the BBC, adding that "there may have been unreported instances of mammals dying because of EMCV". Shankar's autopsy was conducted at IVRI.

Mr Kumar, the zoo director, did not answer specific questions about how Shankar may have got the infection and whether there was a rodent problem at the zoo.

"It is a rare virus and I am not an expert on it," he said.

Shankar's death had triggered sadness among animal lovers and activists who had long sought to rehabilitate the lonely animal.

He was among two African elephants that arrived in India in 1998 as a diplomatic gift from Zimbabwe to former Indian President Shankar Dayal Sharma. But Shankar's companion died in 2001. He was then temporarily lodged with Asian elephants in the zoo, but the plan did not work.

In 2012, Shankar was moved to a new enclosure that left him virtually in solitary confinement - despite a 2009 federal ban on keeping elephants alone for more than six months. He remained there until his death.

For years, activists had demanded that Shankar be removed from the zoo and rehabilitated in a wildlife sanctuary that houses other African elephants.

In 2021, a petition in Delhi's high court sought Shankar's relocation to a sanctuary with other African elephants. Two years later, the court dismissed the petition, directing the petitioner to approach a committee handling transfers of wild animals by zoos.

After Shankar's death, there is only one African elephant left in India - an adult male at Mysore Zoo in southern Karnataka state. He has also been living alone for years.

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Online retail giant Shein says it has banned the sale of all sex dolls on its platform around the world, after being accused of displaying products with "a childlike appearance" on its website.

The French consumer watchdog first raised concerns at the weekend over the description and categorisation of the dolls, saying it left "little doubt as to the child pornography nature of the content."

The company said on Monday that it has permanently banned "all seller accounts linked to illegal or non-compliant sex-doll products" and will tighten controls across its global platform.

Shein also says it has temporarily removed its adult products category as a precaution.

Every listing and image related to the sex dolls has been removed from Shein's platform, the firm said.

The retailer added that it will conduct a thorough review, with plans to set stricter controls on sellers.

"The company has also strengthened its keyword blacklist to further prevent attempted circumvention of product listing restrictions by sellers," said Shein.

The firm's executive chairman Donald Tang said: "The fight against child exploitation is non-negotiable for Shein. These were marketplace listings from third-party sellers - but I take this personally."

"We are tracing the source and will take swift, decisive action against those responsible."

France's Directorate General for Competition, Consumer Affairs and Fraud Control initially raised concerns about the listings on Saturday.

In response, Shein said it had removed the listings for childlike sex dolls as soon as it became aware of the issue and began an investigation over how the products were able to be offered for sales on its platform.

France's finance minister threatened to ban the Singapore-based retailer from the country if it continued to sell the "child-like" dolls - days before the company was due to open its first permanent outlet in Paris.

People were seen protesting outside the BHV department store opposite Paris's city hall, where the Shein outlet is set to open this week.

The brand has previously come under scrutiny over the environmental impact of fast-fashion and the working conditions of the people who make the products sold on the platform.

Peru has announced it is breaking off diplomatic relations with Mexico after its government granted asylum to a former Peruvian prime minister facing charges for a 2022 coup attempt.

Peruvian Foreign Minister Hugo de Zela expressed his "surprise and deep regret" after learning Betssy Chávez was being given refuge at the Mexican embassy in Peru.

"Given this unfriendly act... the Peruvian government has decided to sever diplomatic relations with Mexico today," Zela said.

In response, Mexico's foreign affairs ministry "rejected Peru's unilateral decision as excessive and disproportionate".

Chávez had been imprisoned in June 2023 over her alleged role in ousted Peruvian president Pedro Castillos's plan to dissolve congress. She was released by a judge on bail in September and had denied the charges against her.

Peru also accused Mexico of "repeated instances in which the current and former presidents of that country have interfered in Peru's internal affairs".

"The truth is, they have tried to portray the authors of the coup attempt as victims, when in reality, Peruvians live and want to continue living in democracy, as recognised by all countries in the world, with the sole and lonely exception of Mexico," Zela added.

Prosecutors are seeking a 25-year sentence for Chávez's alleged role in Castillo's plan to dissolve congress.

Castillo was arrested in December 2022 on charges of rebellion, after he attempted to dissolve congress and install an emergency government.

Hours after the attempt, Castillo was impeached. He has been in preventative custody ever since.

Prosecutors are seeking a 34-year jail term for Castillo, who previously said he never took up arms against the state because the military refused his orders.

Peru's decision to sever diplomatic ties with Mexico adds to ongoing tensions between the two governments since Castillo's ousting.

In 2022, Lima expelled Mexico's ambassador following its decision to grant asylum to Castillo's wife and children following his arrest.

A year later, Peru also recalled its ambassador to Mexico after then-president Andrés Manuel López Obrador expressed his support for Castillo, saying he had been "illegally ousted".

A former primary school teacher, farmer and union activist, Castillo was dubbed Peru's "first poor president".

With no previous political experience, he took office as a government outsider, vowing to transform Peru's deteriorating economy and support the poor.

But Castillo's presidency came to an infamous end after his attempt to seize power was declared unconstitutional, with government officials and the country's armed forces refusing to support him.

Casillo's successor, former president Dina Boluarte, was removed from office last month by an overwhelming majority in Peru's congress, after mass protests against political scandals and soaring crime.

Congress leader José Jeri was then sworn in as interim president.

At least three climbers, including a French national and two Nepalese people, have died after being hit by an avalanche on a Himalayan peak in north-eastern Nepal, police say.

The incident happened at 09:00 local time (03:15 GMT) on Monday near the base camp of the Yalung Ri mountain in Dolakha district.

A further four climbers - two Italians, a German and a Canadian - are feared dead but a search for them is continuing. The killed and missing were part of a group of 12 trekkers and local guides that set out over an hour before the avalanche hit, the district police chief told the BBC.

Five Nepali guides who returned to the base camp were injured but not critically.

"Three bodies have been seen and rescue teams have to find four more," local deputy superintendent of Police Gyan Kumar Mahato told the BBC.

It is not clear if the other two confirmed dead, who are both Nepali, were working with the group or were climbers themselves.

Mr Mahato said a rescue helicopter had landed on Monday in the Na Gaun area of Dolakha - a five-hour walk from the Yelung Ri base camp.

Efforts to locate those still missing have been hampered by poor weather and logistical issues, according to local media reports.

Separately, attempts to rescue two Italian climbers who went missing while attempting to scale the Panbari mountain in western Nepal are continuing.

Stefano Farronato and Alessandro Caputo were part of a three-man group that became stranded along with three local guides last week. The third member of the group, named in media reports as Velter Perlino, 65, has since been rescued.

Autumn is a popular season for trekkers and mountaineers in Nepal as weather conditions and visibility have tended to be better. However, the risk of severe weather and avalanches remains.

Last week, Cyclone Montha triggered heavy rain and snowfall across Nepal, stranding people in the Himalayas.

Two British and one Irish woman were among a group that had to be rescued after being trapped for several days in the western Mustang region.

Severe weather also left hundreds of hikers stranded near Mount Everest in October.

US President Donald Trump has said he would be reluctant to send federal funding to his hometown of New York City if left-wing front-runner Zohran Mamdani is elected mayor of America's biggest city this week.

"It's gonna be hard for me as the president to give a lot of money to New York, because if you have a Communist running New York, all you're doing is wasting the money you're sending there," Trump said in a television interview.

The Trump administration has repeatedly tried to cut federal grants and funding for projects primarily located in Democratic-run areas.

Opinion polls indicate Mamdani is ahead of his main rival, former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, on the eve of Tuesday's vote.

Trump did not elaborate on his remark about funding should Mamdani win. New York City received $7.4bn (£5.7bn) in federal funding this fiscal year.

• New Yorkers could pick a political newcomer to run their city - and take on Trump
• Who is Zohran Mamdani?

In a wide-ranging interview with CBS programme 60 Minutes on Sunday, Trump said that a Mayor Mamdani would make left-wing former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio "look great".

"I got to see de Blasio, how bad a mayor he was, and this man will do a worse job than de Blasio by far," the president said of Mamdani.

Trump, who grew up in the New York borough of Queens, also effectively endorsed Cuomo, a Democrat, in the interview.

"I'm not a fan of Cuomo one way or the other, but if it's gonna be between a bad Democrat and a Communist, I'm gonna pick the bad Democrat all the time, to be honest with you," the Republican president said.

Mamdani, who would run a world financial hub, is a self-described democratic socialist, though he has rejected accusations he is a communist, joking in one television interview that he was "kind of like a Scandinavian politician", only browner.

Mamdani won the Democratic primary, while Cuomo came second. The 34-year-old state assemblyman has called the former New York governor a puppet and parrot of Trump.

"The answer to a Donald Trump presidency is not to create its mirror image here in City Hall," Mamdani said on Monday.

"It is to create an alternative that can speak to what New Yorkers are so desperate to see in their own city and what they find in themselves and their neighbours every day - a city that believes in the dignity of everyone who calls this place home."

Cuomo has sought to parry that line of attack by presenting himself as the only candidate experienced enough to deal with the Trump administration.

He was governor of New York during the Covid-19 pandemic when many states clashed with the Trump administration, though Cuomo himself came under scrutiny after state investigators found nursing home deaths were significantly understated during the outbreak.

"I fought Donald Trump," Cuomo said during a debate. "When I'm fighting for New York, I am not going to stop."

Trump has deployed National Guard troops to Democratic-led cities as part of a crime crackdown, while seeking to strip funding from jurisdictions that limit their co-operation with federal immigration authorities.

Part of a medieval tower in the heart of Rome's tourist district has collapsed, trapping one man and leaving another critically injured.

A section of the Torre dei Conti, on the edge of the famous Roman Forum and close to the Colosseum, gave way just after 11:30 local time (10:30 GMT).

"It's a very complex situation for the firefighters because there is a person trapped inside," Rome Prefect Lamberto Giannini said. The man is conscious and communicating with rescue workers.

The tower has been closed to the public for many years, and was undergoing conservation work when a section collapsed.

While rescue efforts were still under way, a second section of the 29m (90ft) high tower began crumbling again, with bricks raining down, creating a huge cloud of dust.

The firefighters were unharmed, pausing their rescue work for a time, but then continuing their search for the missing man.

After the initial collapse, firefighters "put up some protection" around the trapped man, so when the second collapse happened, "they obviously shielded him", Lamberto Giannini said.

"It will be a very long operation because we have to try to save the person, but we also have to try to mitigate... the enormous risks faced by the people trying to carry out the rescue," he added.

A police chief has said there is no imminent danger that the tower will disintegrate.

One worker was taken to hospital in a critical condition, local and foreign news agencies report.

Another worker, 67-year-old Ottaviano, who was inside at the time of the collapse but escaped from a balcony uninjured, told AFP news agency: "It was not safe. I just want to go home."

Rome's mayor and the country's culture minister have visited the scene. A crane and drone are also being used to assist with the rescue operation.

The 13th Century tower is part of the Roman Forum, a major tourist attraction right in the heart of the city, but it is separated from the main visitors' area by a road. The streets all around have been taped off by police as a precaution.

The medieval tower was built by Pope Innocent III as a residence for his brother.

US President Donald Trump has said he would be reluctant to send federal funding to his hometown of New York City if left-wing front-runner Zohran Mamdani is elected mayor of America's biggest city this week.

"It's gonna be hard for me as the president to give a lot of money to New York, because if you have a Communist running New York, all you're doing is wasting the money you're sending there," Trump said in a television interview.

The Trump administration has repeatedly tried to cut federal grants and funding for projects primarily located in Democratic-run areas.

Opinion polls indicate Mamdani is ahead of his main rival, former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, on the eve of Tuesday's vote.

Trump did not elaborate on his remark about funding should Mamdani win. New York City received $7.4bn (£5.7bn) in federal funding this fiscal year.

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In a wide-ranging interview with CBS programme 60 Minutes on Sunday, Trump said that a Mayor Mamdani would make left-wing former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio "look great".

"I got to see de Blasio, how bad a mayor he was, and this man will do a worse job than de Blasio by far," the president said of Mamdani.

Trump, who grew up in the New York borough of Queens, also effectively endorsed Cuomo, a Democrat, in the interview.

"I'm not a fan of Cuomo one way or the other, but if it's gonna be between a bad Democrat and a Communist, I'm gonna pick the bad Democrat all the time, to be honest with you," the Republican president said.

Mamdani, who would run a world financial hub, is a self-described democratic socialist, though he has rejected accusations he is a communist, joking in one television interview that he was "kind of like a Scandinavian politician", only browner.

Mamdani won the Democratic primary, while Cuomo came second. The 34-year-old state assemblyman has called the former New York governor a puppet and parrot of Trump.

"The answer to a Donald Trump presidency is not to create its mirror image here in City Hall," Mamdani said on Monday.

"It is to create an alternative that can speak to what New Yorkers are so desperate to see in their own city and what they find in themselves and their neighbours every day - a city that believes in the dignity of everyone who calls this place home."

Cuomo has sought to parry that line of attack by presenting himself as the only candidate experienced enough to deal with the Trump administration.

He was governor of New York during the Covid-19 pandemic when many states clashed with the Trump administration, though Cuomo himself came under scrutiny after state investigators found nursing home deaths were significantly understated during the outbreak.

"I fought Donald Trump," Cuomo said during a debate. "When I'm fighting for New York, I am not going to stop."

Trump has deployed National Guard troops to Democratic-led cities as part of a crime crackdown, while seeking to strip funding from jurisdictions that limit their co-operation with federal immigration authorities.

An investigation into allegations that Sheffield Hallam University faced sustained pressure from China to shut down human rights research has been referred to counter-terrorism police.

The BBC and the Guardian newspaper has been reporting that documents show that China had waged a two-year campaign of intimidation and harassment, including demands the university stop sensitive research by one of its professors into claims of forced labour in the Xinjiang region of China.

A South Yorkshire Police spokesperson said the force has referred the investigation on because the "allegations fall under Section 3 of the National Security Act".

Section 3 of the act deals with "assisting a foreign intelligence service".

An offence is committed if someone behaves in a way that "intends that conduct to materially assist a foreign intelligence service in carrying out UK-related activities," or in conduct likely to assist that service.

Internal documents from Sheffield Hallam University were released under a Subject Access Request to Professor Laura Murphy, whose research is alleged to have been targeted.

They showed university staff in China had been threatened by individuals identified as being from China's National Security Service, who demanded the research by Prof Murphy taking place in Sheffield be shut down.

The documents went on to state that "a decision by the university not to publish a final phase of the research on forced labour in China was communicated to the National Security Service... Immediately relations improved and the threat to staff wellbeing appears to be removed".

China is not believed to have an organisation named National Security Service, so it is not clear who the individuals were.

The decision referred to in the documents is alleged to have led to Prof Murphy being told by the university that she could not continue her work on China at the start of this year - then reversing that position after she started legal action for infringement of her academic freedom.

In a statement issued earlier Sheffield Hallam University had apologised to Prof Murphy.

A spokesperson said: "The University's decision to not continue with Professor Laura Murphy's research was taken based on our understanding of a complex set of circumstances at the time, including being unable to secure the necessary professional indemnity insurance."

The insurance for social sciences staff had been suspended by the university's insurers as a Chinese firm had brought a defamation suit against Sheffield Hallam after it was named in a report she produced. That lawsuit is ongoing.

The university spokesperson added: "Following a review, we have since approved Professor Murphy's latest research and are committed to supporting her to undertake and disseminate this important work.

"For the avoidance of doubt, the decision was not based on commercial interests in China.

"Regardless, China is not a significant international student market for the University.

"We have apologised to Professor Murphy and wish to make clear our commitment to supporting her research and to securing and promoting freedom of speech and academic freedom within the law."

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Part of a medieval tower in the heart of Rome's tourist district has collapsed, trapping one man and leaving another critically injured.

A section of the Torre dei Conti, on the edge of the famous Roman Forum and close to the Colosseum, gave way just after 11:30 local time (10:30 GMT).

"It's a very complex situation for the firefighters because there is a person trapped inside," Rome Prefect Lamberto Giannini said. The man is conscious and communicating with rescue workers.

The tower has been closed to the public for many years, and was undergoing conservation work when a section collapsed.

While rescue efforts were still under way, a second section of the 29m (90ft) high tower began crumbling again, with bricks raining down, creating a huge cloud of dust.

The firefighters were unharmed, pausing their rescue work for a time, but then continuing their search for the missing man.

After the initial collapse, firefighters "put up some protection" around the trapped man, so when the second collapse happened, "they obviously shielded him", Lamberto Giannini said.

"It will be a very long operation because we have to try to save the person, but we also have to try to mitigate... the enormous risks faced by the people trying to carry out the rescue," he added.

A police chief has said there is no imminent danger that the tower will disintegrate.

One worker was taken to hospital in a critical condition, local and foreign news agencies report.

Another worker, 67-year-old Ottaviano, who was inside at the time of the collapse but escaped from a balcony uninjured, told AFP news agency: "It was not safe. I just want to go home."

Rome's mayor and the country's culture minister have visited the scene. A crane and drone are also being used to assist with the rescue operation.

The 13th Century tower is part of the Roman Forum, a major tourist attraction right in the heart of the city, but it is separated from the main visitors' area by a road. The streets all around have been taped off by police as a precaution.

The medieval tower was built by Pope Innocent III as a residence for his brother.

US President Donald Trump's administration has said it will provide reduced food aid to more than 42 million Americans, as the government shutdown this week heads towards becoming the longest ever with no resolution in sight.

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) said in a court filing that Americans who receive food assistance will get half their normal monthly allotment, after the government dipped into emergency funding.

Judges had given the Trump administration until Monday to provide a plan for how it would pay out Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (Snap) benefits, also known as food stamps.

Funding for the programme has been in limbo due to the more-than-month-long shutdown.

While individual US states administer the benefits, the programme relies on money from the federal government, which has been unfunded and shut down since 1 October.

States will get clarity on how they are to distribute the reduced funds by the end of the day on Monday.

Federal judges in Massachusetts and Rhode Island ruled that the USDA needs to use $5.25bn (£4bn) in emergency funds to make at least partial payments to Americans on Snap.

Snap costs about $8bn per month.

• 'I have to get what I need right now': Americans brace for expiry of critical food benefits
• Trump administration must continue food aid during shutdown, US judges say
• Five ways US government shutdown is hurting - and why it's about to get worse

The judges both said the Trump administration could use the money set aside for contingencies to provide the benefits.

President Trump previously said he had instructed government lawyers to ask the courts how the administration could legally fund Snap, adding: "Even if we get immediate guidance, it will unfortunately be delayed."

On Sunday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a CNN interview that the president wanted to hear from the courts about how to legally move money around to fund Snap payments, but they could go out as soon as Wednesday.

"There's a process that has to be followed," Bessent said. "So, we've got to figure out what the process is."

Late last month, the USDA said it would not distribute food-assistance funds starting 01 November because of the shutdown, saying: "The well has run dry."

Half the states and the District of Columbia sued the administration over the food-aid freeze and argued that they had a legal obligation to keep the programme running in their jurisdictions.

Separately, cities and non-profits also filed a lawsuit. Some states said they would use their own money to fund Snap benefits.

Snap allows many low-income Americans to buy groceries. It provides them reloadable debit cards that they can use to buy food.

A family of four on average receives $715 per month, which breaks down to a little less than $6 per day, per person.

At least three climbers, including a French national and two Nepalese people, have died after being hit by an avalanche on a Himalayan peak in north-eastern Nepal, police say.

The incident happened at 09:00 local time (03:15 GMT) on Monday near the base camp of the Yalung Ri mountain in Dolakha district.

A further four climbers - two Italians, a German and a Canadian - are feared dead but a search for them is continuing. The killed and missing were part of a group of 12 trekkers and local guides that set out over an hour before the avalanche hit, the district police chief told the BBC.

Five Nepali guides who returned to the base camp were injured but not critically.

"Three bodies have been seen and rescue teams have to find four more," local deputy superintendent of Police Gyan Kumar Mahato told the BBC.

It is not clear if the other two confirmed dead, who are both Nepali, were working with the group or were climbers themselves.

Mr Mahato said a rescue helicopter had landed on Monday in the Na Gaun area of Dolakha - a five-hour walk from the Yelung Ri base camp.

Efforts to locate those still missing have been hampered by poor weather and logistical issues, according to local media reports.

Separately, attempts to rescue two Italian climbers who went missing while attempting to scale the Panbari mountain in western Nepal are continuing.

Stefano Farronato and Alessandro Caputo were part of a three-man group that became stranded along with three local guides last week. The third member of the group, named in media reports as Velter Perlino, 65, has since been rescued.

Autumn is a popular season for trekkers and mountaineers in Nepal as weather conditions and visibility have tended to be better. However, the risk of severe weather and avalanches remains.

Last week, Cyclone Montha triggered heavy rain and snowfall across Nepal, stranding people in the Himalayas.

Two British and one Irish woman were among a group that had to be rescued after being trapped for several days in the western Mustang region.

Severe weather also left hundreds of hikers stranded near Mount Everest in October.

Diane Ladd, three-time Academy Award nominee and star of Wild at Heart, has died at 89.

Her daughter, actress Laura Dern, confirmed her death on Monday.

"My amazing hero and my profound gift of a mother, Diane Ladd, passed with me beside her this morning," Dern said in a statement, adding that her final moments were spent at home in California.

Dern, who starred with her mother in 1991's Rambling Rose, did not share Ladd's cause of death.

"She was the greatest daughter, mother, grandmother, actress, artist and empathetic spirit that only dreams could have seemingly created," Dern said. "We were blessed to have her."

Ladd's career on stage and screen spanned decades. Her big break in film came in a waitress role in Martin Scorsese's Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore in 1974, which earned her an Oscar nomination.

She went on to appear in dozens of films after that including as recently as 2022, when she played a grandmother in the coming-of-age film Gigi & Nate, and also acted frequently on television shows.

She was married to actor Bruce Dern from 1960 to 1969.