German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said the latest peace plan draft for Ukraine has been presented to US President Donald Trump - including a proposal on territorial concessions Kyiv may be prepared to make.

But Merz highlighted the territorial issue was "a question that must be answered primarily by the Ukrainian president, and the Ukrainian people."

"We also made this clear to President Trump," Merz pointed out.

In recent weeks European leaders have worked closely with Ukraine to come up with a new iteration of a peace plan that addresses Kyiv's interests and concerns.

Trump appears to have grown frustrated with the intricacies of the question of sovereignty over Russian-occupied Ukrainian territories.

Because his negotiating team has previously worked closely with Moscow, Kyiv's European allies fear the US president might eventually seek to impose a Russian-led solution on Ukraine.

"It would be a mistake to force the Ukrainian president into a peace that his people will not accept after four years of suffering and death," Merz said in a joint news conference with Nato chief Mark Rutte.

He added that in Wednesday's "constructive" phone call with Trump, he, France's Emmanuel Macron and UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer had "made it clear" that Europeans needed to have their interests heard too.

For his part, Trump said the participants had "discussed Ukraine in pretty strong words" and added that he was yet to decide whether to attend a meeting in Europe. "We don't want to be wasting time," he said.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky has long signalled he would be prepared to talk to Trump directly to discuss the sticking points of a deal, but the US president has suggested all issues had to be ironed out before such a meeting could take place.

The territorial question is one of the thorniest. Russia demands that Ukraine withdraws entirely from the parts of the eastern Luhansk and Donetsk regions which it still holds - something Kyiv refuses to do, both on principle and because it fears it would allow Moscow a foothold for future invasions.

"We have no legal right to [cede territory], under Ukrainian law, our constitution and international law," Zelensky said earlier this week. "And we don't have any moral right either."

Zelensky is set to hold more talks with his allies today as he co-chairs a coalition of the willing call alongside Merz, Macron and Starmer.

As high-level, frantic diplomatic activity of the last few weeks has taken place among US, European and Ukrainian officials, with frequent statements from all sides, Moscow has remained remarkably tight-lipped.

Any comments from Russia have sought to cement the impression that Moscow and Washington are aligned on their hopes for the terms of a peace deal.

On Thursday Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov praised Trump for trying to broker a deal and said the recent meeting between Vladimir Putin and US envoy Steve Witkoff at the Kremlin had "eliminated" the "misunderstandings" which had arisen since last summer's Trump-Putin summit in Alaska.

At the time, Russia and the US agreed Ukraine should return to a non-aligned, neutral, and nuclear-free status, Lavrov stated.

The foreign minister also batted off suggestions that Kyiv could be given security guarantees in the form of foreign troops stationed in Ukraine.

"This is yet another return to the sad logic of Zelensky's so-called peace formula," Lavrov said, adding that Moscow had handed the US "additional" proposals on collective security and that Russia was ready to give legal guarantees not to attack Nato or EU countries.

Yet Kyiv and its European allies believe that without security guarantees any peace settlement could be rendered meaningless.

But because Russia has previously violated ceasefire and truce deals, neither Ukraine nor Europe are likely to take any promise by Moscow at face value. In recent weeks European and Ukrainian officials have pushed for the US to be involved in guaranteeing that Kyiv doesn't become the target of renewed attacks.

Earlier this week Zelensky said he was ready to hold elections if the US and European countries could guarantee Ukraine's security during the vote. His five-year term as president was due to end in May 2024, but elections have been suspended in Ukraine since martial law was declared after Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022.

Not for the first time, Nato chief Mark Rutte said on Thursday that too many of the alliance's allies did not feel the urgency of Russia's threat in Europe.

"We are Russia's next target," he warned, adding that Nato had to make all efforts to prevent a war that could be "on the scale of war our grandparents and great-grandparents endured".

Ethiopian police have arrested a sixth popular TikTok creator days after five other influencers were detained over allegations of wearing "indecent attire" at a public event in the culturally conservative country.

Adonay Berhane, 25, is a lifestyle and motivational creator with close to four million followers, who was named "TikToker of the Year" at the TikTok Creative Award 2025 - the same ceremony now at the centre of the controversy.

Police said on Wednesday evening that he was under investigation.

The detentions have ignited widespread debate across Ethiopian social media.

Supporters argue the arrests violate freedom of expression and stifle creativity, while conservative voices have defended the police, insisting that public figures must respect cultural norms.

Among those arrested were Wongelawit Gebre Endrias, aka Evan, who posts lifestyle and fashion videos to TikTok. At the event she went braless under an oversized blazer jacket.

Sporting a man-bag was Yohannes Mekonnen, known as Jahnny, a dancer and content reviewer who won an award for video production at the ceremony.

Adonay was pictured wearing an open-necked shirt.

Bereket Tsegaye, Mekdim Dereje and Girum Gezahegn are were also detained.

None of the six influencers have spoken about their treatment.

But the mother of Adonay Berhane - Abeba Gebru - was shocked by the news.

Adonay is her "backbone" and an "example to Ethiopian youth", she told BBC Tigrinya.

Having spent his teenage years in Canada, Adonay returned to Ethiopia and much of his TikTok content warns of the negative sides of becoming an immigrant. He urges his followers to live and work in their homeland instead.

Ethiopia's government has not commented on the matter, but police said the detainees were suspected of promoting behaviour that undermines public morality - citing concerns about the growing influence of online trends on Ethiopian youth.

With more than eight million social media users nationwide, the incident highlights the growing strain between Ethiopia's rapidly expanding digital culture and longstanding traditional expectations.

Federal police warn that further action will be taken against anyone "violating the country's cultural values" or promoting what they described as "shallow culture."

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

Follow us on Twitter @BBCAfrica, on Facebook at BBC Africa or on Instagram at bbcafrica

The oil tanker seized by US forces on Wednesday had a track record of faking or concealing its location information, apparently to hide its activities, ship tracking data shows.

On Wednesday evening, the US confirmed that its forces seized a vessel during a helicopter-launched raid near the coast of Venezuela. BBC Verify confirmed the ship was the Skipper by matching a sign seen in footage released by the US to a reference photo supplied by TankerTrackers.com, a site which monitors oil shipments.

Data held by publicly accessible tracking sites paints an incomplete picture of the vessel's movements, and before its seizure it hadn't declared its position since 7 November. Maritime analytics firm Kpler also suggested that the vessel had engaged in a ship-to-ship transfer.

US Attorney General Pam Bondi described the vessel as a "crude oil tanker used to transport sanctioned oil from Venezuela and Iran".

The US Treasury department first sanctioned the ship in 2022, when it was sailing under the name Adisa, and was accused of being part of an "international oil smuggling network".

The Skipper has sailed under the flag of Guyana, but the government was quick to release a statement saying that the 20-year-old tanker was "falsely flying the Guyana Flag as it is not registered in Guyana".

Experts told BBC Verify that the Skipper was likely a part of the so-called "dark fleet" - a global network of oil tankers that seek to evade oil sanctions by obscuring their ownership, identities and travel histories.

Hiding its position

Under a UN treaty, all ships above a certain tonnage must have an onboard tracker called an Automatic Identification System (AIS). These trackers broadcast information about the ships, including their location, and can be followed on websites like MarineTraffic.

But there is an incomplete and misleading public record of the Skipper's movements. According to MarineTraffic, the Skipper's last known port call was at Soroosh in Iran on 9 July, where it arrived after stopping in Iraq and the UAE.

But Kpler suggests that this is part of a pattern of misleading entries by the Skipper. Analysts at the firm said the ship had previously loaded crude oil from Venezuela and Iran, while falsifying its position via its onboard tracker, a process known as spoofing.

Venezuela has some of the world's largest reserves of oil, but exports were placed under sanctions in 2019 by the US in a bid to force the transition of power from President Nicholas Maduro's administration, which has been widely accused of election rigging.

The firm noted that while its AIS showed the ship at Iraq's Basrah Oil Terminal on 7 and 8 July, terminal reports showed no record of the vessel there. Instead, the Skipper loaded crude oil at Kharg Island in Iran, Kpler said.

The Skipper then sailed east, tracking data shows, where Kpler suggested it conducted a ship-to-ship transfer between 11 and 13 August. The cargo was later unloaded in China, where Kpler said it was "falsely declared".

It returned via Iran and sailed towards the Caribbean. The Skipper last declared its position on 7 November, several miles off the coast of Guyana. Its onboard only reappeared on 10 December, after the US raid.

In the interim period, satellite images identified byTankerTrackers.com and confirmed by BBC Verify show that the Skipper was present in the Port of Jose in Venezuela on 18 November and not appearing on tracking sites at the time.

Since the imposition of sanctions, analysts say it has become common for ships to spoof or conceal their positions while loading oil in Venezuela.

Kpler analysts said the ship loaded "at least 1.1 million barrels of Merey crude" by 16 November at the terminal and listed Cuba as the destination.

There is also evidence that the Skipper was involved in a ship-to-ship transfer with another vessel on 7 December, just days before it was boarded by US troops. Satellite images seen by Kpler appeared to show the exchange, with one of the vessels identified by Kpler as the Skipper.

The transfer took place just off the coast of Venezuela, near the city of Barcelona. According to MarineTraffic, the Skipper had last appeared off the coast of Guyana weeks earlier.

Such sanction evading activity is not unusual for Venezuelan oil exports, Kpler said. The company said that tankers often transfer their cargo off the coast of Malaysia, before the oil is imported into China.

Former Belgian naval lieutenant and analyst Frederik Van Lokeren told BBC Verify that while such ship-to-ship transfers are not illegal or wrong, they are "extremely uncommon". He said such activities were normally a sign of vessels trying to evade sanctions, transferring oil to ships not publicly associated with smuggling.

Mr Van Lokeren said that Venezuela's refining capacity has been significantly degraded in recent years and is "dependent" on its allies in Iran and Russia to convert its crude oil into more commercially lucrative products.

Who owns the Skipper?

MarineTraffic lists the beneficial owner and operator as Nigeria-based Thomarose Global Ventures Ltd and it lists the registered owner as Marshall Islands-based Triton Navigation Corp.

In 2022, the US Treasury said that Triton was being used by a sanctioned Russian oil magnate - Viktor Artemov - to facilitate a global "oil smuggling network".

At the time, US officials said Mr Artemov used an expansive network of ships often registered obscurely to transport Iranian oil.

In its statement, the US Treasury said that Triton had "materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, material, or technological support for, or goods or services to or in support of, Artemov".

BBC Verify is attempting to contact both companies for comment.

What do you want BBC Verify to investigate?

The government of Bulgarian Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov has resigned after protesters took to the streets in cities across the country and filled the centre of the capital Sofia on Wednesday night.

Zhelyazkov's dramatic move came ahead of a vote of no confidence in parliament, and 20 days before Bulgaria joins the euro.

Protesters had accused his minority centre-right government, in power since January, of widespread corruption. The government had already scrapped a controversial budget plan for next year in response to the demonstrations last week.

"We hear the voice of citizens protesting against the government," Zhelyazkov said in a TV address.

"Both young and old have raised their voices for [our resignation]," he added. "This civic energy must be supported and encouraged." A statement on the government website said ministers would continue in their roles until a new cabinet was elected.

Between 50,000 and 100,000 people turned out in Sofia's central Triangle of Power and Independence Square on Wednesday evening calling for the government to go. The words "Resignation" and "Mafia Out" were projected onto the parliament building.

They were backed last week by President Rumen Radev who had also called on the government to stand down.

Zhelyazkov's government had already survived five votes of no confidence and was expected to get through a sixth on Thursday.

Many of the protesters have been angered by the roles of two figures, oligarch Delyan Peevski and ex-prime minister Boyko Borissov, and Wednesday's rally was organised under the slogan "Resignation! Peevski and Borissov Out of Power", Bulgaria's BTA news agency reported.

Peevski has been sanctioned by the US and UK for alleged corruption and his party has helped prop up the government.

Borissov is part of Zhelyazkov's Gerb party, which came first in October 2024 elections, and he was reported to have said on Wednesday that the coalition parties had agreed to remain in power until Bulgaria joined the eurozone on 1 January.

Borissov was prime minister when anti-corruption protests brought down his government in 2020 and there have been seven elections since.

Despite the political drama in Sofia, Bulgaria's move to join the euro is not seen as under threat.

In his resignation statement, the outgoing prime minister said Bulgaria faced a major challenge and its citizens would need to produce "authentic proposals" on what the next government should look like.

Bulgaria ranks among the lowest in Europe in Transparency International's index for public sector corruption, between Hungary and Romania.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said the latest peace plan draft for Ukraine has been presented to US President Donald Trump - including a proposal on territorial concessions Kyiv may be prepared to make.

But Merz highlighted the territorial issue was "a question that must be answered primarily by the Ukrainian president, and the Ukrainian people."

"We also made this clear to President Trump," Merz pointed out.

In recent weeks European leaders have worked closely with Ukraine to come up with a new iteration of a peace plan that addresses Kyiv's interests and concerns.

Trump appears to have grown frustrated with the intricacies of the question of sovereignty over Russian-occupied Ukrainian territories.

Because his negotiating team has previously worked closely with Moscow, Kyiv's European allies fear the US president might eventually seek to impose a Russian-led solution on Ukraine.

"It would be a mistake to force the Ukrainian president into a peace that his people will not accept after four years of suffering and death," Merz said in a joint news conference with Nato chief Mark Rutte.

He added that in Wednesday's "constructive" phone call with Trump, he, France's Emmanuel Macron and UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer had "made it clear" that Europeans needed to have their interests heard too.

For his part, Trump said the participants had "discussed Ukraine in pretty strong words" and added that he was yet to decide whether to attend a meeting in Europe. "We don't want to be wasting time," he said.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky has long signalled he would be prepared to talk to Trump directly to discuss the sticking points of a deal, but the US president has suggested all issues had to be ironed out before such a meeting could take place.

The territorial question is one of the thorniest. Russia demands that Ukraine withdraws entirely from the parts of the eastern Luhansk and Donetsk regions which it still holds - something Kyiv refuses to do, both on principle and because it fears it would allow Moscow a foothold for future invasions.

"We have no legal right to [cede territory], under Ukrainian law, our constitution and international law," Zelensky said earlier this week. "And we don't have any moral right either."

Zelensky is set to hold more talks with his allies today as he co-chairs a coalition of the willing call alongside Merz, Macron and Starmer.

As high-level, frantic diplomatic activity of the last few weeks has taken place among US, European and Ukrainian officials, with frequent statements from all sides, Moscow has remained remarkably tight-lipped.

Any comments from Russia have sought to cement the impression that Moscow and Washington are aligned on their hopes for the terms of a peace deal.

On Thursday Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov praised Trump for trying to broker a deal and said the recent meeting between Vladimir Putin and US envoy Steve Witkoff at the Kremlin had "eliminated" the "misunderstandings" which had arisen since last summer's Trump-Putin summit in Alaska.

At the time, Russia and the US agreed Ukraine should return to a non-aligned, neutral, and nuclear-free status, Lavrov stated.

The foreign minister also batted off suggestions that Kyiv could be given security guarantees in the form of foreign troops stationed in Ukraine.

"This is yet another return to the sad logic of Zelensky's so-called peace formula," Lavrov said, adding that Moscow had handed the US "additional" proposals on collective security and that Russia was ready to give legal guarantees not to attack Nato or EU countries.

Yet Kyiv and its European allies believe that without security guarantees any peace settlement could be rendered meaningless.

But because Russia has previously violated ceasefire and truce deals, neither Ukraine nor Europe are likely to take any promise by Moscow at face value. In recent weeks European and Ukrainian officials have pushed for the US to be involved in guaranteeing that Kyiv doesn't become the target of renewed attacks.

Earlier this week Zelensky said he was ready to hold elections if the US and European countries could guarantee Ukraine's security during the vote. His five-year term as president was due to end in May 2024, but elections have been suspended in Ukraine since martial law was declared after Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022.

Not for the first time, Nato chief Mark Rutte said on Thursday that too many of the alliance's allies did not feel the urgency of Russia's threat in Europe.

"We are Russia's next target," he warned, adding that Nato had to make all efforts to prevent a war that could be "on the scale of war our grandparents and great-grandparents endured".

A judge has ordered the immediate release of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was mistakenly deported in March and brought back to the US to face criminal charges, from immigration custody.

"Since Abrego Garcia's return from wrongful detention in El Salvador, he has been re-detained, again without lawful authority," Judge Paula Xinis wrote in her order.

Mr Abrego Garcia was sent to a prison in El Salvador earlier this year, which the US government later admitted was in error. He was returned to the US to face human smuggling charges and has been held since then.

Judge Xinis also wrote that the government did not have a removal order, which blocks it from deporting Mr Abrego Garcia "at this juncture".

The Trump administration contends Mr Abrego Garcia is a member of the violent criminal MS-13 gang, which he denies. This spring, the administration flew a large group of migrants it alleged were in the gang to El Salvador's CECOT prison. But a previous court order had barred the US from sending Mr Abrego Garcia to the country.

Mr Abrego Garcia also has pleaded not guilty to the smuggling charges, which are part of a trial in Tennessee.

Judge Xinis, who was hearing his challenge to deportation in a federal court in Maryland, said he must now follow the conditions of his release from jail in Tennessee.

Residents in the Pacific Northwest of the US and Canada are bracing for what could be record setting floods as an atmospheric river dumps heavy rain on already swollen rivers.

The US National Weather Service warns that catastrophic flooding is possible in the states of Oregon and Washington along the Skagit and Snohomish rivers.

In Canada, major highways to Vancouver have been closed because of flooding, debris and the risk of avalanches.

There are evacuation orders in place for thousands of people in the US and Canada, and authorities have that warned more rain is on the way on Thursday.

In the US, the governor of Washington state, Bob Ferguson, declared a statewide emergency on Wednesday and estimated 100,000 residents could soon face evacuation orders.

The emergency declaration warned that continued rain and snow at mountain elevations would exacerbate flooding conditions. Supply chains and transportation could be severely impacted, the declaration added.

Skagit County, a major agricultural area north of Seattle, has issued an immediate evacuation order to residents who live on the floodplain.

Some 75,000 people would be evacuated from low-lying areas on Skagit River, the director of the Washington Military Department's Emergency Management Division, Robert Ezelle, told reporters on Wednesday.

Snohomish County Sheriff's Office said in an overnight social media post that they had rescued "multiple" people by helicopter after they became trapped in their homes in Sultan, Washington, a community roughly 40 miles (65km) northeast of Seattle.

The sheriff's office warned residents on Thursday morning that the eastern region of the county is most affected after the Skykomish River crested above 24ft (7m) overnight - just shy of a record.

They said the Snohomish River is also experiencing major flooding and "dancing with records" as water laps against a local flood wall.

King county and Snohomish county officials have said there are multiple closures on state and local roads, with more likely on Thursday.

The Pierce County Sheriff's office in an video post on Wednesday said their swiftwater team had to rescue three people from an RV park on Orting, a community about 42 miles south of Seattle. Multiple roads are also closed in that county.

Across the border in Canada's British Columbia, there are evacuation orders in place for the communities of Tulameen and Eastgate, and several other areas.

The City of Abbotsford ordered urgent evacuations for 371 properties at 23:00 local time on Wednesday (07:00 GMT on Thursday).

City officials said the Nooksack River is expected to overflow its banks early on Thursday, and said they anticipate flooding though not as severe as in the province in 2021, when it caused significant damage and five deaths.

All major highways to the Lower Mainland are now closed, according to the travel information website Drive BC.

The US-Canada Sumas Border crossing is also closed in both directions.

The entire region, spanning parts of both the US and Canada, has received torrential rain from an atmospheric river, which is a phenomenon where water evaporates into the air and is carried by the wind and forms long currents that surge through the sky like rivers flow on land.

The heaviest rainfall is expected to subside by Thursday afternoon, but the water will continue to work its way into rivers.

Another storm is expected on Sunday.

Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado appeared in Oslo, Norway after winning the Nobel Peace Prize, waving from the balcony of the Grand Hotel after months in hiding.

Machado made the covert journey despite a travel ban, and has mostly laid low since Venezuela's disputed presidential election in 2024. She last appeared in public in January.

From a balcony on Wednesday with a crowd cheering below, Machado placed her hand on her heart and sang with her supporters, before walking outside to greet them in person.

Her daughter, Ana Corina Sosa, accepted the award on her mother's behalf earlier in the day.

The Nobel Institute awarded Machado the Peace Prize this year for "her struggle to achieve a just and peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy" in Venezuela.

Afterwards, Machado went the outside to greet her supporters, who waited behind metal barricades on the street.

"Maria!" "Maria, here!" they shouted in Spanish, as many held their phones aloft to record the historic moment.

At one point, Machado climbed over the barriers to join them.

Her appearance was preceded by speculation that she would travel to Norway for the award ceremony.

The Nobel committee shared audio of Machado declaring, "I will be in Oslo, I am on my way."

After her Peace Prize win, Machado made a point to praise US President Donald Trump, who is open about his own ambitions for the Peace Prize and is locked in ongoing military tension with Venezuela.

On Wednesday, Trump announced the US military had seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela. His administration alleges the vessel was under sanction and was involved in an "illicit oil shipping network supporting foreign terrorist organisations".

The Venezuelan government accused the US of theft and piracy.

Polish authorities have arrested a prominent Russian academic from St Petersburg's world-famous Hermitage Museum who is sought by Ukraine for allegedly conducting illegal excavations and partially destroying the ancient city of Myrmekion in Crimea.

The suspect, identified under Polish law as Aleksandr B, is the head of the Ancient Archaeology of the Northern Black Sea region at the museum, according to Ukrainian prosecutors.

Ukrainian prosecutors accuse him of conducting illegal excavations at the site in Kerch between February 2014 and November 2025.

"As a result of these excavations, from 2014-2019, he illegally partially destroyed the 'Ancient City of Myrmekion' archaeological complex," Prosecutor Piotr Skiba, a spokesman for the Warsaw District Prosecutor's Office told the BBC, citing information from Ukrainian prosecutors.

Ukraine estimates the damage at UAH 201.6 million ($4.77 million).

Russia invaded Crimea in February 2014 and annexed it. Russia's foreign ministry identified the man as Alexander Butyagin, an employee of the State Hermitage Museum and condemned his detention.

"This is absolute legal tyranny. We will of course demand through diplomatic channels the right to protect the interests of our citizen," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

Myrmekion was an Ancient Greek colony founded by the Ionians in the first half of the Sixth Century BCE located in contemporary Crimea.

Prosecutor Skiba said the man was detained in Poland on 4 December and was later questioned by prosecutors in Warsaw, "where he refused to provide explanations".

The Ukrainian Prosecutor's Office issued an extradition request for Aleksandr B in November, Skiba said.

According to the request: "He searched for movable objects on cultural heritage sites without the appropriate permit to conduct excavations at the 'Ancient City of Myrmekion' archaeological complex in Kerch….and conducted illegal excavations at this cultural heritage site from the beginning of the temporary occupation of the territory of Crimea".

Russia's foreign ministry said Butyagin had been invited to deliver lectures on Pompeii in Warsaw and several other European cities.

Warsaw District Court has agreed to remand Aleksandr B in custody at the Warsaw-Białołęka detention centre for 40 days until 13 January whilst the extradition process goes ahead.

The Russian embassy in Warsaw has been informed of his arrest and pre-trial detention and are providing him with consular assistance, Prosecutor Skiba said.

Portugal is facing severe disruption to transport, flights, hospitals, schools and other public services on Thursday, as the two main union federations stage a general strike over unprecedented labour reforms.

The last time the CGTP and the generally less militant UGT joined forces was during the eurozone debt crisis in 2013, when a "troika" of international institutions demanded cuts in salaries and pensions as part of Portugal's bailout.

Twelve years later, Portugal's economy has become the fastest growing in the eurozone in recent months, but Prime Minister Luís Montenegro says it is still necessary to tackle "rigidities" in the labour market "so companies can be more profitable and workers have better salaries" as a result.

"I will not give up on having a country with the ambition to be at the forefront, to be at the vanguard of Europe," he said on the eve of the strike.

However, Montenegro appears to have been taken aback by the strength of feeling against his minority right-of-centre government's plans: one of his Social Democrat MPs is on the UGT executive and even he voted for a strike.

The prime minister tweaked some proposals after calling the federation in for talks late last month, but it was clearly not enough.

Among the most controversial of the more than 100 proposals are:

• letting employers roll over temporary contracts for years on end
• lifting a ban on sacking workers then immediately rehiring them indirectly via outsourcing
• removing a requirement to reinstate employees who were unfairly dismissed.

It is Portuguese in their 20s who are likely to be most affected by the changes - and opinion is rather mixed.

Diogo Brito, who works as an air steward but has friends who do casual work in tourism, supports the right to strike but backs the package: "It has to be done. We have to catch up with richer countries and with these measures I think we can evolve more."

But self-employed photographer Eduardo Ferreira says he knows many people who already cannot find secure jobs and is pleased to see the unions unite at a "critical moment" for Portugal: "Things have been tough ever since the troika, and workers haven't reacted until now."

The CGTP has condemned the package as "an assault on the rights of all workers, particularly women and young people", while the UGT calls it "so out of step, in a context of economic growth, financial stability and a strong labour market, that… it reflects a clear bias in favour of employers".

The UGT also complains that formal talks between unions, government and business were "unbalanced, restrictive and detrimental to workers".

Montenegro's governing coalition lacks a majority in parliament, and is seeking support for the bill not only from the small, free-market Liberal Initiative (IL) but from hard-right Chega, which since May's general election has been the second-largest party.

Its leader, André Ventura, has expressed reservations about the way some measures might affect family life, but looks open to negotiations.

Before the election, Montenegro had ruled out deals with Chega, and the unions and the third-biggest party, the Socialists, say the prime minister's mask has slipped.

They also warn that politicians on the right want to amend Portugal's 1976 constitution to loosen employment safeguards considered among Europe's strongest.

The issue has also become caught up in the campaign for January's presidential election, with several candidates arguing that the labour reform bill flouts Portugal's 1976 constitution.

Under Portugal's "semi-presidential" system, the head of state can decline to sign bills approved by parliament. Bills can instead be sent to the Constitutional Court for review or the president can exercise a veto that, while it can be overturned by a majority of elected MPs, delays the process, ensuring further discussion.

With the government seeking to overhaul so much of the labour code, such scrutiny might stoke voter unease about its radicalism, particularly since the plans were not in the coalition's election manifesto.

Unlike many strikes here, Thursday's day of action is not limited to the public sector.

At Portugal's largest factory, VW-owned Autoeuropa, south of Lisbon, almost 1,000 employees voted unanimously last week to back it.

"I believe there is no worker in this country unaffected by the negative measures in this reform," said UGT secretary-general Mário Mourão, after the Autoeuropa gathering. "It must be responded to appropriately."

Austria has passed a law banning headscarves in schools for girls under the age of 14.

The conservative-led coalition of three centrist parties, the ÖVP, the SPÖ and the Neos, says the law is a "clear commitment to gender equality", but critics say it will fuel anti-Muslim feeling in the country and could be unconstitutional.

The measure will apply to girls in both public and private schools.

In 2020, a similar headscarf ban for girls under 10 was struck down by the Constitutional Court, because it specifically targeted Muslims.

The terms of the new law mean girls under 14 will be forbidden from wearing "traditional Muslim" head coverings such as hijabs or burkas.

If a student violates the ban, they must have a series of discussions with school authorities and their legal guardians. If there are repeated violations, the child and youth welfare agency must be notified.

As a last resort, families or guardians could be fined up to €800 (£700).

Members of the government say this is about empowering young girls, arguing it is to protect them "from oppression".

Speaking ahead of the vote, the parliamentary leader of the liberal Neos party, Yannick Shetty said it was "not a measure against a religion. It is a measure to protect the freedom of girls in this country," and added that the ban would affect about 12,000 children.

The opposition far-right Freedom Party of Austria, the FPÖ, which voted in favour of the ban, said it did not go far enough.

It described the ban as "a first step", which should be widened to include all pupils and school staff.

"There needs to be a general ban on headscarves in schools; political Islam has no place here", the FPÖ's spokesperson on families Ricarda Berger said.

Sigrid Maurer from the opposition Greens called the new law "clearly unconstitutional".

The official Islamic Community in Austria, the IGGÖ, said the ban violated fundamental rights and would split society.

In a statement on its website, it said "instead of empowering children, they will be stigmatised and marginalised."

The IGGÖ said it would review "the constitutionality of the law and take all necessary steps."

"The Constitutional Court already ruled unequivocally in 2020 that such a ban is unconstitutional, as it specifically targets a religious minority and violates the principle of equality," the IGGÖ said.

The government says it has tried to avoid that.

"Will it pass muster with the Constitutional Court? I don't know. We have done our best," Shetty said.

An awareness-raising trial period will start in February 2026, with the ban fully going into force next September - the beginning of the new school year.

Pakistan's former spy chief has been sentenced to 14 years in prison by a military court, on charges including violation of state secrets and interfering in politics.

Faiz Hameed led Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency from 2019 to 2021, during the tenure of now-jailed former prime minister Imran Khan.

He was known to be a staunch supporter of Khan, and took early retirement shortly after Khan was ousted in a no-confidence vote in 2022.

It is the first time that an ISI chief in Pakistan has been court martialled. His lawyer said he plans to appeal against the verdict.

The ISI chief is seen as the second most powerful position in Pakistan's military.

According to a press release issued by the public relations arm of Pakistani military (ISPR), the 15-month-long court martial proceeding began on August 12, 2024, under the Pakistan Army Act.

Hameed was tried on four charges, including "involvement in political activities, violation of the Official Secrets Act which harmed the interest of the state, misuse of his powers and government resources, and causing harm to citizens".

The ISPR statement added that Hameed had been given "the right to have a defence team of his choice" and that he has the right to appeal the decision in the "appropriate forum", which would be the Supreme Court of Pakistan.

The exact details of the case are not public as the hearing was held behind closed doors in a military court.

The statement says that Hameed's alleged involvement in fomenting political agitation and instability is being dealt with separately.

This is assumed to be regarding allegations that Hameed was tied to protests against Imran Khan's arrest on 9 May 2023.

Hameed's lawyer, Mian Ali Ashfaq, said his client was "1,000% innocent, but this is the court's decision".

"We were unaware of the judgement and only found out through the ISPR's press release. We are now applying to the relevant forum for a copy of the decision," he told the BBC.

"As soon as we receive it, we will review it and immediately file a petition to appeal. Right now, the first forum for appeal is the army chief, so that is what we will do. We are hopeful that at the next forum we will present our case and obtain justice."

Additional reporting by Farhat Javed

Time Magazine's Person of the Year for 2025 is not a single person.

Instead, the magazine has given its annual award recognising the year's most influential figure to "the architects" of artificial intelligence (AI).

Nvidia boss Jensen Huang, Meta head Mark Zuckerberg, X owner Elon Musk and AI "godmother" Fei-Fei Li are among those depicted on one of the magazine's two covers.

Experts say it highlights how quickly AI, and the firms behind it, are reshaping society.

It comes as a boom in the technology, ushered in by OpenAI's launch of ChatGPT in late 2022, continues at pace.

The firm said in September its chatbot is used by around 700 million people every week.

Big tech firms are pouring billions of dollars into AI and the infrastructure behind it in a bid to stay ahead of rivals.

There are two covers this year - one a piece of art depicting the letters AI surrounded by workers, and another a painting focused on the tech leaders themselves.

At Meta, Zuckerberg has reportedly focused the firm around the tech, including its AI chatbot, which it has embedded in its popular apps.

He, along with Huang, Musk and Li, appeared on the cover alongside Lisa Su, boss of chipmaker AMD, OpenAI head Sam Altman, Anthropic chief Dario Amodei, and Google's AI lab lead Sir Demis Hassabis.

"This year, the debate about how to wield AI responsibly gave way to a sprint to deploy it as fast as possible," Time said as it announced its new covers.

"But the risk-averse are no longer in the driver's seat.

"Thanks to Huang, Son, Altman, and other AI titans, humanity is now flying down the highway, all gas no brakes, toward a highly automated and highly uncertain future."

And the magazine's editor-in-chief Sam Jacobs said "no one" had as great an impact in 2025 than "the individuals who imagined, designed, and built AI".

"Humanity will determine AI's path forward, and each of us can play a role in determining AI's structure and future," he said.

Forrester analyst Thomas Husson said 2025 could be seen as a "tipping point" for how frequently AI is now used in our day-to-day lives.

"Most consumers use it without even being aware of it," he told the BBC.

He said AI is now being crammed into hardware, software and services - meaning it its uptake is "much faster than during the Internet or mobile revolutions".

Some people now choose chatbots over search engines and social media to plan holidays, find Christmas gifts and discover recipes.

Others, such as those worried about its energy use, training data and impact on their livelihoods, are opting-out entirely.

• What is AI, how does it work and why are some people concerned about it?

Nik Kairinos, founder and chief executive of lab Fountech AI, said the honour was "an honest assessment" of the tech's influence, but he felt "recognition should not be confused with readiness".

"At this moment, AI can still be a saviour or scourge to humanity," he said.

"We are still in the early stages of building AI systems that are dependable, accountable, and aligned with human values.

"For those of us developing the technology and bringing AI tools to market, there is huge responsibility."

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US forces have seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela, President Donald Trump said, marking a sharp escalation in Washington's pressure campaign against Nicolás Maduro's government.

"We have just seized a tanker on the coast of Venezuela - a large tanker, very large, the largest one ever seized actually," Trump told reporters at the White House.

Releasing a video of the seizure, Attorney General Pam Bondi described the vessel as a "crude oil tanker used to transport sanctioned oil from Venezuela and Iran".

Caracas swiftly denounced the action, calling it an act of "international piracy". Earlier, President Maduro declared that Venezuela would never become an "oil colony".

The Trump administration accuses Venezuela of funnelling narcotics into the US and has intensified its efforts to pressure President Maduro in recent months.

Venezuela - home to some of the world's largest proven oil reserves - has, in turn, accused Washington of seeking to take its oil.

Oil prices inched higher on Wednesday as news of the seizure stoked short-term supply concerns. Analysts warn the move could threaten shippers and further disrupt Venezuela's oil exports.

US Attorney General Pam Bondi, who leads the US Department of Justice, said the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security, and the US Coast Guard co-ordinated the seizure.

"For multiple years, the oil tanker has been sanctioned by the United States due to its involvement in an illicit oil shipping network supporting foreign terrorist organizations," the nation's top prosecutor wrote on X.

Footage shared by Bondi showed a military helicopter hovering over a large ship, and troops descending on to the deck using ropes. Uniformed men were seen in the clip moving about the ship with guns drawn.

A senior military official told CBS News, the BBC's US partner, that the mission to seize the tanker was launched from a Department of War vessel.

It involved two helicopters, 10 Coast Guard members and 10 Marines, as well as special forces.

Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth was aware of the operation, and the Trump administration was considering more actions like this, the source said.

When asked by reporters what the US would do with the oil on the tanker, Trump said: "We keep it, I guess... I assume we're going to keep the oil."

Maritime risk company Vanguard Tech has identified the oil tanker as Skipper.

"The vessel is reported to be part of the dark fleet, and was sanctioned by the United States for carrying Venezuelan oil exports," it says.

BBC Verify has located this tanker on MarineTraffic, which shows it was sailing under the flag of Guyana when its position was last updated two days ago.

The Venezuelan government issued a statement denouncing the seizure as a "grave international crime".

"Venezuela will not allow any foreign power to attempt to deprive the Venezuelan people of what belongs to them by historical and constitutional right," it said.

It said the prolonged aggression against Venezuela has always been about "our natural resources, our oil, our energy, the resources that belong exclusively to the Venezuelan people".

Speaking at a rally earlier on Wednesday, Maduro had a message for Americans opposed to war with Venezuela. It came in the form of a 1988 hit song.

"To American citizens who are against the war, I respond with a very famous song: Don't worry, be happy," Maduro said in Spanish before singing along to the lyrics of the 1988 hit.

"Not war, be happy. Not, not crazy war, not, be happy."

It's unclear if Maduro knew about the seizure of the tanker before this rally.

After American forces boarded the vessel, Venezuelan Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello called the US "murderers, thieves, pirates".

He referred to Pirates of the Caribbean, but said that while that film's lead character Jack Sparrow was a "hero", he believed "these guys are high seas criminals, buccaneers".

Cabello said this was how the US had "started wars all over the world".

In recent days, the US has ramped up its military presence in the Caribbean Sea, which borders Venezuela to the north.

The build-up involves thousands of troops and the world's largest warship, the aircraft carrier USS Gerald Ford, being positioned within striking distance of Venezuela, BBC Verify reported.

The move has sparked speculation about the potential for some kind of military action.

Since September, the US has conducted at least 22 strikes on boats in the region that the Trump administration says are smuggling drugs. At least 80 people have died in these attacks.

Ione Wells contributed to this report.

At least 34 people have died and dozens more are injured after air strikes from Myanmar's military hit a hospital in the country's west on Wednesday night, according to ground sources.

The hospital is located in Mrauk-U town in Rakhine state, an area controlled by the Arakan Army - one of the strongest ethnic armies fighting the country's military regime.

Thousands have died and millions have been displaced since the military seized power in a coup in 2021 and triggered a civil war.

In recent months, the military has intensified air strikes to take back territory from ethnic armies. It has also deployed paragliders to drop bombs on its enemies.

The Myanmar military has not commented on the strikes, which come as the country prepares to vote later this month in its first election since the coup.

However, pro-military accounts on Telegram claim the strikes this week were not aimed at civilians.

Khaing Thukha, a spokesperson for the Arakan Army, told the BBC that most of the casualties were patients at the hospital.

"This is the latest vicious attack by the terrorist military targeting civilian places," he said, adding that the military "must take responsibility" for bombing civilians.

The Arakan Army health department said the strike, which occurred at around 21:00 (14:30 GMT), killed 10 patients on the spot and injured many others.

Photos believed to be from the scene have been circulating on social media showing missing roofs across parts of the building complex, broken hospital beds and debris strewn across the ground.

The junta has been locked in a years-long bloody conflict with ethnic militias, at one point losing control of more than half the country.

But recent influx of technology and equipment from China and Russia seems to have helped it turn the tide. The junta has made significant gains through a campaign of airstrikes and heavy bombardment.

Earlier this year, more than 20 people were killed after an army motorised paraglider dropped two bombs on a crowd protesting at a religious festival.

Civil liberties have also shrunk dramatically under the junta. Tens of thousands of political dissidents have been arrested, rights groups estimate.

Myanmar's junta has called for a general election on 28 December, touting it as a pathway to political stability.

But critics say the election will be neither free nor fair, but will instead offer the junta a guise of legitimacy. Tom Andrews, the United Nations' human rights expert on Myanmar, has called it a "sham election".

In recent weeks the junta has arrested civilians accused of disrupting the vote, including one man who authorities said had sent out anti-election messages on Facebook.

The junta also said on Monday that it was looking for 10 activists involved in an anti-election protest.

Ethnic armies and other opposition groups have pledged to boycott the polls.

At least one election candidate in in central Myanmar's Magway Region was detained by an anti-junta group, the Associated Press reported.

Two brothers wanted in connection with a deadly fire at their nightclub in India's Goa state, which killed 25 people, have been detained in Thailand, India's ambassador to Thailand, Nagesh Singh, told the BBC.

Gaurav and Saurabh Luthra, who own Birch By Romeo Lane club, fled to Phuket, shortly after the incident earlier this week.

"They will be sent back [to India]," Mr Singh said on Thursday, a day after a court in Delhi refused to grant them protection from arrest and the Goa government approached India's external affairs ministry to revoke their passports.

The brothers have not made any public statements, but their lawyer told the court that they were being made victims of a "witch hunt".

The incident took place early on Sunday, when a deadly blaze broke out at the club in a busy nightlife area of the tourist state.

Investigators believe the fire was triggered by fireworks being set off inside the venue.

Most of the victims were staff members, while five were tourists.

Investigators say they raided the brothers' Delhi home hours after the fire but found they had fled the country. Police then sought Interpol's help to track them.

Saurabh Luthra, whose social media identifies him as the chairman of the company which operates the club, posted a statement on social media on Monday expressing "profound grief".

"The management stands in unwavering solidarity with the families of the deceased as well as those injured," he wrote, adding that the nightclub's management would provide "assistance, support and cooperation to the bereaved".

On Wednesday, Goa's Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said the police has arrested six persons in connection with the incident so far, adding that "more arrests will be made soon".

Goa is a former Portuguese colony on the Arabian Sea. Its nightlife, sandy beaches, and resorts attract millions of tourists annually.

Follow BBC News India on Instagram, YouTube, Twitter and Facebook.

Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado appeared in Oslo, Norway after winning the Nobel Peace Prize, waving from the balcony of the Grand Hotel after months in hiding.

Machado made the covert journey despite a travel ban, and has mostly laid low since Venezuela's disputed presidential election in 2024. She last appeared in public in January.

From a balcony on Wednesday with a crowd cheering below, Machado placed her hand on her heart and sang with her supporters, before walking outside to greet them in person.

Her daughter, Ana Corina Sosa, accepted the award on her mother's behalf earlier in the day.

The Nobel Institute awarded Machado the Peace Prize this year for "her struggle to achieve a just and peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy" in Venezuela.

Afterwards, Machado went the outside to greet her supporters, who waited behind metal barricades on the street.

"Maria!" "Maria, here!" they shouted in Spanish, as many held their phones aloft to record the historic moment.

At one point, Machado climbed over the barriers to join them.

Her appearance was preceded by speculation that she would travel to Norway for the award ceremony.

The Nobel committee shared audio of Machado declaring, "I will be in Oslo, I am on my way."

After her Peace Prize win, Machado made a point to praise US President Donald Trump, who is open about his own ambitions for the Peace Prize and is locked in ongoing military tension with Venezuela.

On Wednesday, Trump announced the US military had seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela. His administration alleges the vessel was under sanction and was involved in an "illicit oil shipping network supporting foreign terrorist organisations".

The Venezuelan government accused the US of theft and piracy.

A Japanese chess association has apologised to a prominent 'shogi' player who criticised a rule that bars pregnant players from title matches around their expected due dates.

Under the current rules of shogi - a game similar to chess - such players are replaced, meaning they forfeit all competitions and potential titles during that time.

Kana Fukuma, one of Japan's most decorated shogi players, says this forces players to choose between having a child and developing their careers, and "significantly restricts reproductive rights".

"I hope the body will consider allowing female players to take time off before their due dates without suffering demotion," she told a news conference on Wednesday.

Current rules stipulate that a pregnant women cannot compete within a 14-week period - from six weeks before they give birth, to eight weeks after.

"I hesitated to have a child while pursuing my career in shogi, which is everything to me," Ms Fukuma said, according to Japan's Kyodo News.

The 33-year-old has been playing the popular Japanese board game professionally since 2003. Before giving birth to her first child in December 2024, however, Ms Fukuma was forced to withdraw from several tournaments due to health issues related to her pregnancy.

In a written request submitted on Tuesday, Ms Fukuma urged the association to adjust match dates or venues to accommodate pregnant players, allow competition during pregnancy if the woman's condition allows for it, and ensure women are not stripped of titles during their maternity leave, Kyodo News reported.

The association said it could revise the rules after "discussions with experts while considering the safety of the mother and the fairness of title matches".

This exchange between Ms Fukuma and the shogi association drew mixed responses on social media, with some calling the current rules "misogynistic" and others drawing comparisons to professional sports tournaments.

On Reddit, one user pointed out that tennis players are sometimes given "protected rankings", which allow those returning from long injuries or maternity leave to use their previous rankings to enter major tournaments, including the Grand Slam.

Mexican lawmakers have approved a package of new tariffs, impacting hundreds of products, many of which come from China.

The measures, which President Claudia Sheinbaum has said are needed to boost domestic production, were passed by the Mexican Senate on Wednesday.

The levies are set to take effect on 1 January 2026 and will apply to goods like metals, cars, clothing and appliances. Dozens of countries that do not have a free trade agreement with Mexico will be affected, including Thailand, India and Indonesia.

The move comes as Mexico is in negotiations with the US over steep import taxes that President Donald Trump has threatened to impose on the country.

The BBC has contacted the embassies in Mexico of China, Thailand, India and Indonesia for comment.

The measures will impose tariffs of up to 50% on more than 1,400 products.

Sheinbaum's government is in talks with the Trump administration as it tries to reduce tariffs that the White House has threatened to impose on the country. They include potential 50% duties on Mexican steel and aluminium.

Trump has also threatened to impose extra tariffs on Mexico for various reasons, including a 25% levy as part of Washington's measures to pressure countries to do more to stop the flow of the synthetic opioid fentanyl into America.

On Monday, Trump threatened to impose a new 5% tariff on Mexico, accusing it of violating an agreement that gives American farmers access to water.

"It is very unfair to our US Farmers who deserve this much needed water," he posted on social media.

Trump was referring to a more than 80-year-old treaty that grants the US water from Rio Grande tributaries.

For decades the US has accused Mexico of not meeting the terms of the agreement.

The US is Mexico's largest trading partner.

Beijing previously warned Mexico to "think carefully" before imposing tariffs.

Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado appeared in Oslo, Norway after winning the Nobel Peace Prize, waving from the balcony of the Grand Hotel after months in hiding.

Machado made the covert journey despite a travel ban, and has mostly laid low since Venezuela's disputed presidential election in 2024. She last appeared in public in January.

From a balcony on Wednesday with a crowd cheering below, Machado placed her hand on her heart and sang with her supporters, before walking outside to greet them in person.

Her daughter, Ana Corina Sosa, accepted the award on her mother's behalf earlier in the day.

The Nobel Institute awarded Machado the Peace Prize this year for "her struggle to achieve a just and peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy" in Venezuela.

Afterwards, Machado went the outside to greet her supporters, who waited behind metal barricades on the street.

"Maria!" "Maria, here!" they shouted in Spanish, as many held their phones aloft to record the historic moment.

At one point, Machado climbed over the barriers to join them.

Her appearance was preceded by speculation that she would travel to Norway for the award ceremony.

The Nobel committee shared audio of Machado declaring, "I will be in Oslo, I am on my way."

After her Peace Prize win, Machado made a point to praise US President Donald Trump, who is open about his own ambitions for the Peace Prize and is locked in ongoing military tension with Venezuela.

On Wednesday, Trump announced the US military had seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela. His administration alleges the vessel was under sanction and was involved in an "illicit oil shipping network supporting foreign terrorist organisations".

The Venezuelan government accused the US of theft and piracy.

US forces have seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela, President Donald Trump said, marking a sharp escalation in Washington's pressure campaign against Nicolás Maduro's government.

"We have just seized a tanker on the coast of Venezuela - a large tanker, very large, the largest one ever seized actually," Trump told reporters at the White House.

Releasing a video of the seizure, Attorney General Pam Bondi described the vessel as a "crude oil tanker used to transport sanctioned oil from Venezuela and Iran".

Caracas swiftly denounced the action, calling it an act of "international piracy". Earlier, President Maduro declared that Venezuela would never become an "oil colony".

The Trump administration accuses Venezuela of funnelling narcotics into the US and has intensified its efforts to pressure President Maduro in recent months.

Venezuela - home to some of the world's largest proven oil reserves - has, in turn, accused Washington of seeking to take its oil.

Oil prices inched higher on Wednesday as news of the seizure stoked short-term supply concerns. Analysts warn the move could threaten shippers and further disrupt Venezuela's oil exports.

US Attorney General Pam Bondi, who leads the US Department of Justice, said the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security, and the US Coast Guard co-ordinated the seizure.

"For multiple years, the oil tanker has been sanctioned by the United States due to its involvement in an illicit oil shipping network supporting foreign terrorist organizations," the nation's top prosecutor wrote on X.

Footage shared by Bondi showed a military helicopter hovering over a large ship, and troops descending on to the deck using ropes. Uniformed men were seen in the clip moving about the ship with guns drawn.

A senior military official told CBS News, the BBC's US partner, that the mission to seize the tanker was launched from a Department of War vessel.

It involved two helicopters, 10 Coast Guard members and 10 Marines, as well as special forces.

Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth was aware of the operation, and the Trump administration was considering more actions like this, the source said.

When asked by reporters what the US would do with the oil on the tanker, Trump said: "We keep it, I guess... I assume we're going to keep the oil."

Maritime risk company Vanguard Tech has identified the oil tanker as Skipper.

"The vessel is reported to be part of the dark fleet, and was sanctioned by the United States for carrying Venezuelan oil exports," it says.

BBC Verify has located this tanker on MarineTraffic, which shows it was sailing under the flag of Guyana when its position was last updated two days ago.

The Venezuelan government issued a statement denouncing the seizure as a "grave international crime".

"Venezuela will not allow any foreign power to attempt to deprive the Venezuelan people of what belongs to them by historical and constitutional right," it said.

It said the prolonged aggression against Venezuela has always been about "our natural resources, our oil, our energy, the resources that belong exclusively to the Venezuelan people".

Speaking at a rally earlier on Wednesday, Maduro had a message for Americans opposed to war with Venezuela. It came in the form of a 1988 hit song.

"To American citizens who are against the war, I respond with a very famous song: Don't worry, be happy," Maduro said in Spanish before singing along to the lyrics of the 1988 hit.

"Not war, be happy. Not, not crazy war, not, be happy."

It's unclear if Maduro knew about the seizure of the tanker before this rally.

After American forces boarded the vessel, Venezuelan Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello called the US "murderers, thieves, pirates".

He referred to Pirates of the Caribbean, but said that while that film's lead character Jack Sparrow was a "hero", he believed "these guys are high seas criminals, buccaneers".

Cabello said this was how the US had "started wars all over the world".

In recent days, the US has ramped up its military presence in the Caribbean Sea, which borders Venezuela to the north.

The build-up involves thousands of troops and the world's largest warship, the aircraft carrier USS Gerald Ford, being positioned within striking distance of Venezuela, BBC Verify reported.

The move has sparked speculation about the potential for some kind of military action.

Since September, the US has conducted at least 22 strikes on boats in the region that the Trump administration says are smuggling drugs. At least 80 people have died in these attacks.

Ione Wells contributed to this report.

The number of Indigenous people who have died in custody in Australia has hit the highest level since records began in 1980.

New data from the Australian Institute of Criminology showed 33 of the 113 people who died in custody in the 12 months to June this year were Indigenous, up from 24 compared to the previous corresponding period.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are disproportionately represented in the criminal justice system, making up more than one-third of all prisoners, despite being less than four per cent of the country's population.

The figures come more than three decades after a landmark inquiry into Indigenous deaths in custody which made hundreds of recommendations.

Of the 33 Indigenous deaths in custody between last July and this June, 26 died while in prison custody, an increase from 18 in the previous 12-month period.

One died in youth detention and all except one were male.

The remaining six Indigenous deaths in custody happened in police custody, where someone has died while police were detaining or attempting to detain them.

The main cause of Indigenous deaths was categorised as "self-inflicted" followed by "natural causes," the report found. Hanging was found to be the cause in eight of the deaths.

The Australian state of New South Wales recorded the highest number of Indigenous deaths in prison custody with nine, followed by Western Australia with six. Queensland, South Australia and the Australian Capital Territory each had three deaths.

The NSW state coroner recently described the rising number of Indigenous deaths in custody in her state as a "profoundly distressing milestone".

In October, Magistrate Teresa O'Sullivan said the upward trend was not "mere statistics" and the deaths needed "independent and careful scrutiny, respect and accountability".

The average age of Indigenous deaths in custody was 45 years, and 11 of those who died were awaiting a sentence.

University of Melbourne associate professor of criminal law Amanda Porter told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) that the figures reflected a "national crisis" that required "leadership and political action".

Ms Porter, who has attended several coronial inquests with families of those that have died, said little had changed since the royal commission in 1991 that aimed to address the crisis.

"It's maddening to see the number of inquests that I attend, the number of funerals that families have to attend, and the fact that we are 30 years after the royal commission, and the situation is getting increasingly worse," she told the ABC.

Since the royal commission, 600 Indigenous people have died in custody which includes six in youth detention, the report said.

President Donald Trump has launched a scheme offering fast-tracked US visas to wealthy foreigners who can pay at least $1m (£750,000).

The card will give buyers a "direct path to Citizenship for all qualified and vetted people. SO EXCITING! Our Great American Companies can finally keep their invaluable Talent," Trump said on social media on Wednesday.

The Trump Gold Card, which was first announced earlier this year, is a US visa awarded to those who can demonstrate they will provide a "substantial benefit" to the country, according to the scheme's official website.

It comes as Washington intensifies its immigration crackdown, including raising work visa fees and deporting undocumented migrants.

The Gold Card scheme promises US residency in "record time" and will require a $1m fee which is "evidence that the individual will substantially benefit the United States", the programme's website said.

Businesses sponsoring employees are required to pay $2m, along with additional fees. A "platinum" version of the card that offers special tax breaks will also be available soon for $5m, the website said.

Extra fees to the government may be charged depending on each applicant's circumstances, the site said. Individuals are also required to pay a non-refundable $15,000 processing fee before their application is reviewed.

The gold card scheme has faced criticism since it was first announced in February, with some Democrats saying that it would unfairly favour wealthy individuals.

When Trump first unveiled the plan he described the visas as similar to green cards, which allow immigrants of various income levels to live and work permanently in the US. Green card holders typically become eligible for citizenship after five years.

But the Gold Card is aimed specifically at "high-level" professionals, Trump said, emphasising, "we want people that are productive".

"The people that can pay $5m, they're going to create jobs," Trump said. "It's going to sell like crazy. It's a bargain."

The scheme comes as the Trump administration has devoted significant resources to deporting immigrants.

The US has also paused immigration applications by individuals from the 19 countries, mostly in Africa and in the Middle East, which are subject to the president's travel ban.

The government has also halted all decisions on asylum applications and said it would review thousands of cases that were approved under the administration of President Joe Biden.

In September, Trump also signed an order to charge a $100,000 fee for applicants of the H-1B visa programme for skilled foreign workers.

The decision caused panic among overseas student in the US and technology firms. The White House later clarified that the fee would apply only to new applicants who are currently abroad.

Portugal is facing severe disruption to transport, flights, hospitals, schools and other public services on Thursday, as the two main union federations stage a general strike over unprecedented labour reforms.

The last time the CGTP and the generally less militant UGT joined forces was during the eurozone debt crisis in 2013, when a "troika" of international institutions demanded cuts in salaries and pensions as part of Portugal's bailout.

Twelve years later, Portugal's economy has become the fastest growing in the eurozone in recent months, but Prime Minister Luís Montenegro says it is still necessary to tackle "rigidities" in the labour market "so companies can be more profitable and workers have better salaries" as a result.

"I will not give up on having a country with the ambition to be at the forefront, to be at the vanguard of Europe," he said on the eve of the strike.

However, Montenegro appears to have been taken aback by the strength of feeling against his minority right-of-centre government's plans: one of his Social Democrat MPs is on the UGT executive and even he voted for a strike.

The prime minister tweaked some proposals after calling the federation in for talks late last month, but it was clearly not enough.

Among the most controversial of the more than 100 proposals are:

• letting employers roll over temporary contracts for years on end
• lifting a ban on sacking workers then immediately rehiring them indirectly via outsourcing
• removing a requirement to reinstate employees who were unfairly dismissed.

It is Portuguese in their 20s who are likely to be most affected by the changes - and opinion is rather mixed.

Diogo Brito, who works as an air steward but has friends who do casual work in tourism, supports the right to strike but backs the package: "It has to be done. We have to catch up with richer countries and with these measures I think we can evolve more."

But self-employed photographer Eduardo Ferreira says he knows many people who already cannot find secure jobs and is pleased to see the unions unite at a "critical moment" for Portugal: "Things have been tough ever since the troika, and workers haven't reacted until now."

The CGTP has condemned the package as "an assault on the rights of all workers, particularly women and young people", while the UGT calls it "so out of step, in a context of economic growth, financial stability and a strong labour market, that… it reflects a clear bias in favour of employers".

The UGT also complains that formal talks between unions, government and business were "unbalanced, restrictive and detrimental to workers".

Montenegro's governing coalition lacks a majority in parliament, and is seeking support for the bill not only from the small, free-market Liberal Initiative (IL) but from hard-right Chega, which since May's general election has been the second-largest party.

Its leader, André Ventura, has expressed reservations about the way some measures might affect family life, but looks open to negotiations.

Before the election, Montenegro had ruled out deals with Chega, and the unions and the third-biggest party, the Socialists, say the prime minister's mask has slipped.

They also warn that politicians on the right want to amend Portugal's 1976 constitution to loosen employment safeguards considered among Europe's strongest.

The issue has also become caught up in the campaign for January's presidential election, with several candidates arguing that the labour reform bill flouts Portugal's 1976 constitution.

Under Portugal's "semi-presidential" system, the head of state can decline to sign bills approved by parliament. Bills can instead be sent to the Constitutional Court for review or the president can exercise a veto that, while it can be overturned by a majority of elected MPs, delays the process, ensuring further discussion.

With the government seeking to overhaul so much of the labour code, such scrutiny might stoke voter unease about its radicalism, particularly since the plans were not in the coalition's election manifesto.

Unlike many strikes here, Thursday's day of action is not limited to the public sector.

At Portugal's largest factory, VW-owned Autoeuropa, south of Lisbon, almost 1,000 employees voted unanimously last week to back it.

"I believe there is no worker in this country unaffected by the negative measures in this reform," said UGT secretary-general Mário Mourão, after the Autoeuropa gathering. "It must be responded to appropriately."

In a matter of days, three big names in South Korea's entertainment industry have made headlines in separate scandals that could derail their careers.

The allegations that have embroiled comedians Park Na-rae and Cho Sae-ho, as well as veteran actor Cho Jin-woong, are all different - ranging from workplace abuse to previous teenage detention to associations with a gang member.

But the results have been the same: departures from the television screens where they had worked their way up to become household names.

The scandals have also raised questions about the standards to which South Korea's public figures are held - especially in the entertainment industry.

What are the scandals about?

Park Na-rae, one of the country's most successful female comedians, made headlines last week when two of her former managers lodged criminal complaints claiming she had verbally abused and physically assaulted them.

The 40-year-old had also made them do her personal chores, they alleged.

Park has denied these allegations and sued the former managers for blackmail, her agency said over the weekend.

She is separately being accused of receiving IV drips illegally at home, which violates the local medical law, local media reported - prompting a police investigation.

On Monday, Park Na-rae announced on social media that she had talked things through with her accusers, but would halt all broadcasting activities until things were "clearly resolved".

"As a comedian whose job is to bring laughter and joy, I cannot continue to be a burden to my programmes and colleagues," she wrote on social media.

Another comedian who has come under scrutiny over the past week is Cho Sae-ho.

Rumours started swirling last week that the 43-year-old was friends with a prominent local gang member and had received money to promote the latter's business.

Backlash came swiftly, as social media users demanded that Cho Sae-ho be removed from the popular variety shows he hosted, You Quiz on the Block and Two Days and One Night.

On Tuesday, Cho Sae-ho's agency announced that he would leave the shows - though it denied his links to the gang's business activities.

In a social media statement, Cho Sae-ho said he "should have been more careful" with the people he met at events.

He added that he had decided to step down from the shows because he did not want to "burden" the programmes and their production teams.

The downfall that has generated the most debate comes from veteran actor Cho Jin-woong, who said over the weekend that he would quit acting.

The abrupt announcement came after a viral news report that said Cho Jin-woong, as a teenager in the 1990s, had been sent to a juvenile detention centre on allegations of robbery and sexual assault. As an adult, he also assaulted a person in his theatre troupe and had his driving licence suspended for drink driving, the report said.

The 49-year-old's agency said that Cho Jin-woong had confirmed wrongdoing in his youth, but denied sexually assaulting anyone.

Broadcasters have scrambled to erase Cho Jin-woong from their platforms. A documentary series he narrated has now had the narration re-recorded, while the fate of Second Signal, the sequel to his hit TV series, remains unclear.

A debate over cancel culture

The allegations Cho Jin-woong faces have stirred heated debate about how much public figures should be forgiven for past mistakes.

"Why does Cho Jin-woong need to retire?" reads one social media comment. "Why should a flawed past remain the standard by which a person is judged decades later?"

Others, however, have argued that seeing him on screen could retraumatise his past victims.

"There are people who defend [Cho Jin-woong] by saying everyone makes mistakes when they're young, but not everyone commits this level of crime," wrote one social media user.

More broadly, the recent string of celebrity scandals has raised bigger questions about the standards to which South Koreans hold their celebrities. It's a system that has sent rising stars into hiatus for being school bullies, and squeezed apologies out of them for simply dating other celebrities.

Culture critic Kim Sung-soo tells the BBC that in South Korea, audiences want to correct behaviour that they deem unacceptable - which, in the case of celebrities, often means disappearing from the screens.

"Celebrities are easy targets because their careers depend on reputation and popularity - things that are granted by the public," culture critic Kim Sung-soo tells the BBC.

Now, just as Park, Cho Sae-ho and Cho Jin-woong promised to "reflect deeply" on their actions, it appears some among their audiences are also reflecting on how celebrities are treated.

"It's absurd that people mistake this recurring pattern of targeting celebrities online - digging for flaws and pushing them out - as a moral issue," one person wrote on X.

"I'm tired of this cancel-culture cycle, and I think it's time for our society to seriously rethink online communities."

Shares of cloud computing giant Oracle plunged more than 10% in after-hours trading on Wednesday after the company's revenue results fell short of Wall Street expectations.

The company reported revenue of $16.06bn (£11.99bn) for the three months that ended in November, compared with the $16.21bn projected by analysts.

Revenue growth was up 14%, with a 68% surge in sales at its AI business, Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI), the company said.

OCI services major AI technology developers whose demand for Oracle's AI infrastructure helped the company's shares reach new highs this fall but Wednesday's results failed to quell fears about a potential AI bubble.

In September, Oracle inked a highly sought-after contract with ChatGPT-maker OpenAI which agreed to purchase $300bn (£224bn) in computing power from Oracle over five years.

Oracle chairman and chief technology officer Larry Ellison briefly became the world's richest man.

Oracle stock has lost forty percent of its value since peaking three months ago. Still, shares are up more than 30% since the start of the year.

In a statement issued Wednesday, Mr Ellison struck a cautious tone.

"There are going to be a lot of changes in AI technology over the next few years and we must remain agile in response to those changes," Mr Ellison wrote.

Mr Ellison also appeared to snub Nvidia, the designer of highly-sophisticated AI chips, saying Oracle would buy chips from any maker in order to serve clients.

"We will continue to buy the latest GPUs from Nvidia, but we need to be prepared and able to deploy whatever chips our customers want to buy," Mr Ellison declared in a policy he called "chip neutrality".

Oracle is involved in multiple AI infrastructure arrangements that have raised the prospect that major players in the sector are participating in 'circular financing' deals whereby companies finance purchases of their own products and services.

"Oracle's earnings arrive as investors weigh whether its massive OpenAI partnership might mean overexposure with a customer currently in the spotlight over profitability concerns," said Emarketer analyst Jacob Bourne following the release of the company's quarterly report.

Bourne said Oracle faced mounting scrutiny over the increased debt the company has amassed to fund its buildout of data centres.

Oracle raised a record $18bn (£13.4) in a massive bond sale in September, one of the largest debt issuances ever in the tech sector.

"Although Oracle's shares are buoyed by its September surge, this revenue miss will likely exacerbate concerns among already cautious investors about its OpenAI deal and its aggressive AI spending," Mr Bourne said.

The Ellison family, supporters of US President Donald Trump, also recently purchased Paramount and have spearheaded a failed bid to take over another major Hollywood studio, Warner Brothers Discovery.

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European leaders say "intensive work" will continue in the coming days on a US-led plan to end the Russia-Ukraine war, after a joint phone call with President Donald Trump.

UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said they "agreed that this was a critical moment - for Ukraine, its people and for shared security across the Euro-Atlantic region".

A White House official confirmed the call took place but did not give details.

It comes the day after Trump called European leaders "weak", suggesting the US could scale back support for Ukraine.

In the wide-ranging Politico interview published on Tuesday, Trump also claimed Ukraine was "using war" to avoid holding elections, prompting President Volodymyr Zelensky to reply he was "ready" for them.

Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, and Moscow currently controls about 20% of Ukrainian territory.

The three European leaders issued identical statements shortly after their call with Trump on Wednesday.

They read: "The leaders discussed the latest on the ongoing US-led peace talks, welcoming their efforts to achieve a just and lasting peace for Ukraine, and to see an end to the killing.

"Intensive work on the peace plan is continuing and will continue in the coming days."

Earlier on Wednesday, Zelensky wrote on social media that a 20-point document on how to end the war would be handed over to the US in "the near future" after "our joint work with President Trump's team and partners in Europe".

The Ukrainian leader provided no further details.

The original US draft peace plan - widely leaked to media last month - had 28 points, and was seen as favouring Russia. Ukraine has since held separate talks with US and European negotiators, seeking to change some key clauses such as territorial issues and security guarantees.

Zelensky is under increasing pressure from Trump to agree to a peace deal to end the war, with the US president urging Kyiv to "play ball" by ceding territory to Moscow.

Zelensky has repeatedly refused to do so, seeking instead an immediate ceasefire on the vast front line and iron-clad security guarantees for Kyiv in any future settlement.

The Ukrainian leader is on a diplomatic tour of Europe following intensive talks between US and Ukrainian negotiators over the weekend which failed to produce a deal to which Kyiv could agree.

Zelensky has been pressing his European allies to help deter the US from backing an agreement that could leave Ukraine exposed to future attacks by Russia.

Meanwhile, the Kremlin said Trump's "very important" statements on Ukraine, including saying Moscow would win the war and that Kyiv would need to hand over land, align with Russia's view.

"In many ways, on the subject of Nato membership, on the subject of territories, on the subjects of how Ukraine is losing land, it is in tune with our understanding," Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

Last week, Putin repeated his warning that Ukrainian troops must completely withdraw from Ukraine's eastern Donbas region or Russia will seize it, rejecting any compromise over how to end the war.

Italian cooking has been awarded special cultural heritage status by the United Nations' cultural agency Unesco.

National favourites including pizza are already on Unesco's list of "intangible cultural heritage", but now Italian cooking traditions and the way they are practiced and transmitted have been awarded.

Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who has been pushing for her country's cuisine to be recognised since her election, said: "For us Italians, cuisine is not just food or a collection of recipes. It is so much more: it is culture, tradition, work, wealth."

For millions of fans the news confirms what they already believed - from Sicilian Cannoli to Calabrian 'Nduja - Italian is the best.

The announcement was made during a Unesco assembly meeting in the Indian capital Delhi on Wednesday.

The cultural agency described Italian cuisine as a "means of connecting with family and the community, whether at home, in schools, or through festivals, ceremonies and social gatherings".

Koshary, the spicy dish of lentils, rice, and pasta available at countless Egyptian food stalls, was also added to the list of intangible cultural heritage.

Other countries have had their "practices, skills, traditions and social practices related to foodways" recognised by Unesco, a spokesperson from the agency told the BBC.

Previous examples include "Washoku, traditional dietary cultures of the Japanese, notably for the celebration of New Year, Breakfast culture in Malaysia: dining experience in a multi-ethnic society, or the Gastronomic meal of the French," the spokesperson added.

Speaking to La Repubblica, the Rome-based daily newspaper, chef Michelangelo Mammoliti said the news filled him with a great sense of pride both personally as an Italian, as well as professionally as a chef.

"Italy is one of the nations where regional cuisine has a very big impact on culture and traditions," said the chef, whose restaurant La Rei Natura in Piedmont is the only new three-star restaurant in the 2026 Michelin Guide.

Italy's industry leaders and government ministers will be hoping that the move further boosts tourism to the country, which already welcomes 80 million international visitors annually.

Luigi Scordamaglia, CEO of Filiera Italia, which represents all the food and wine companies in the production chain, told Ansa news agency that the move from Unesco marked a success "for the entire Made in Italy supply chain".

Mr Scordamaglia also spoke about the role of the Mediterranean diet in promoting good health.

He added: "When we talk about the Mediterranean diet, we're talking about our wonderful Italian cuisine, which shares its principles, first and foremost those of balance and variety."

Swimming pool culture in Iceland; the practice of Cuban Son music and dance; and the art of playing, singing and making the lahuta from Albania also entered Unesco's list of intangible cultural heritage.

European leaders say "intensive work" will continue in the coming days on a US-led plan to end the Russia-Ukraine war, after a joint phone call with President Donald Trump.

UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said they "agreed that this was a critical moment - for Ukraine, its people and for shared security across the Euro-Atlantic region".

A White House official confirmed the call took place but did not give details.

It comes the day after Trump called European leaders "weak", suggesting the US could scale back support for Ukraine.

In the wide-ranging Politico interview published on Tuesday, Trump also claimed Ukraine was "using war" to avoid holding elections, prompting President Volodymyr Zelensky to reply he was "ready" for them.

Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, and Moscow currently controls about 20% of Ukrainian territory.

The three European leaders issued identical statements shortly after their call with Trump on Wednesday.

They read: "The leaders discussed the latest on the ongoing US-led peace talks, welcoming their efforts to achieve a just and lasting peace for Ukraine, and to see an end to the killing.

"Intensive work on the peace plan is continuing and will continue in the coming days."

Earlier on Wednesday, Zelensky wrote on social media that a 20-point document on how to end the war would be handed over to the US in "the near future" after "our joint work with President Trump's team and partners in Europe".

The Ukrainian leader provided no further details.

The original US draft peace plan - widely leaked to media last month - had 28 points, and was seen as favouring Russia. Ukraine has since held separate talks with US and European negotiators, seeking to change some key clauses such as territorial issues and security guarantees.

Zelensky is under increasing pressure from Trump to agree to a peace deal to end the war, with the US president urging Kyiv to "play ball" by ceding territory to Moscow.

Zelensky has repeatedly refused to do so, seeking instead an immediate ceasefire on the vast front line and iron-clad security guarantees for Kyiv in any future settlement.

The Ukrainian leader is on a diplomatic tour of Europe following intensive talks between US and Ukrainian negotiators over the weekend which failed to produce a deal to which Kyiv could agree.

Zelensky has been pressing his European allies to help deter the US from backing an agreement that could leave Ukraine exposed to future attacks by Russia.

Meanwhile, the Kremlin said Trump's "very important" statements on Ukraine, including saying Moscow would win the war and that Kyiv would need to hand over land, align with Russia's view.

"In many ways, on the subject of Nato membership, on the subject of territories, on the subjects of how Ukraine is losing land, it is in tune with our understanding," Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

Last week, Putin repeated his warning that Ukrainian troops must completely withdraw from Ukraine's eastern Donbas region or Russia will seize it, rejecting any compromise over how to end the war.