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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Scott Sperry jotted his name down on a sign-up sheet.

The 22-year-old student at Utah Valley University had watched Charlie Kirk's videos for years and credits the conservative firebrand with being a catalyst in his own political involvement.

Now, on this Thursday afternoon, moments before his political hero was about to speak on campus, Sperry thought it was time for him to pay it forward by joining his school's chapter of Turning Point USA - the organisation Kirk co-founded in 2012 to advocate for conservatism on college campuses.

Moments after taking his front-row seat to see Kirk speak, Sperry watched in shock as a sniper bullet rang out and blood started pouring from Kirk's neck. The images, he said, he still can't shake, but he thinks the loss will only strengthen the movement Kirk inspired him to join.

"When you try to silence a voice like this, they don't go away - you only amplify it," sophomore Scott Sperry said. "There are now going to be a million Charlie Kirks, and I feel like that's the thing that we need to do."

As the immediate shock of the attack calms, some at Utah Valley University said it has been replaced with a deep sense of resolve to continue what Kirk began.

Students with various political ideologies - including those vehemently opposed to Kirk's beliefs - told the BBC they've felt a personal sense of responsibility to ensure healthy debates on college campuses continue.

With branches at more than 850 colleges, Turning Point USA - which Kirk co-founded when he was just 18 - has been credited with helping galvanise younger voters and helping Donald Trump win the White House.

Kirk, who had millions of followers online, would often tour college campuses across the country to debate issues like gender, race, gun control and immigration. His views - and his confrontational style - often drew criticism from the left and attracted protestors to his on-campus events.

At a speaking event at San Francisco State University last spring, one student called him a "rage baiter" while others accused him of using real-life students as "click-bait" - he often posted his heated arguments with liberals online, where the exchanges would go viral.

The killing has thrown Utah Valley University into the centre of America's political divide. Soon after Kirk was shot, some who disagreed with him took to social media to blame Kirk, who has openly supported gun ownership. On the right, pundits and politicians said that conservatives were under attack by the "radical left".

The spotlight has made some students feel the need to step into the ideological fray.

"This is the first political thing we've ever done. We're not political like this," freshman McKinley Shinkle said, while waving signs with his cousin on campus that called Kirk a hero and said they aren't afraid.

"This happening on our campus and then seeing people who are supporting the shooting - it just kind of radicalised us," he added, nothing they're both planning to continue political involvement. "It's changed everything."

• Young fans and critics debate Charlie Kirk's political legacy
• Who is Tyler Robinson, the suspect in custody for shooting Charlie Kirk?

Nestled in a valley surrounded by towering mountains, Utah Valley is the biggest university in the state. It sits on a hill, overlooking a crisp blue lake and a 218-feet-tall granite temple for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The state, which is also a conservative stronghold, has the largest concentration of Mormons in the US and religion plays a leading role in this community.

Many have expressed confusion about why Kirk was targeted here. Ben Forster, a sophomore, noted how Kirk often stopped in much more liberal-leaning areas where he could have been more of a target.

"This is now where his martyrdom was established," he said, reflecting on his school. "I mean, that is what martyrdom is: He was killed at a debate."

Despite not agreeing with Kirk's stances, Forster attended Wednesday's event in Utah to watch the spectacle and hear the varying viewpoints - something he hopes won't halt at his school and others after the attack.

"I don't care about what his opinions were," he said. "He was exercising his right in a public forum to talk and discuss - and that is a good thing."

The signs of what happened here are everywhere you look near campus.

Law enforcement blocking entrances, makeshift memorials with candles and flowers, signs in apartment windows and on roads declaring Kirk a hero after he was gunned down in front of thousands during one of his signature college campus debates.

• Kirk and Trump - from teenage activist to the heart of president's inner circle
• A 33-hour manhunt and morning show reveal: How police caught Charlie Kirk suspect

Some students told the BBC they've been leaning on one another in the aftermath - with some discussing what happens next. It's clear part of that future will include a political awakening for some on campus.

Several students made defiant posters, hanging them in their apartment windows with messages reading, "freedom" and "you can't kill the truth". A campaign-style merch display near campus is selling Trump hats and flags. All day and all night, people drive through the traffic circle entrance to campus, beeping their horns - either supporting or in opposition to Kirk.

Jeb Jacobi, a sophomore, has been involved with the school's Turning Point USA chapter for years and was volunteering at Wednesday's event - the first stop on Kirk's planned 15-site "American Comeback Tour" of college campuses.

He got involved after becoming a fan of Kirk's trademark debates on campuses.

"I just liked that he really made people think," he said. "No matter your politics, he would get so many young people involved and intrigued. He provided a path for people to get involved."

"Something like this - it's only going to really help what Charlie was doing," Jacobi added, saying he believes the number of people involved in the school's Turning Point USA chapter will balloon.

One of those new additions: Sperry.

"We're going to lead the way," he said. "We owe it to Charlie."

Scott Sperry jotted his name down on a sign-up sheet.

The 22-year-old student at Utah Valley University had watched Charlie Kirk's videos for years and credits the conservative firebrand with being a catalyst in his own political involvement.

Now, on this Thursday afternoon, moments before his political hero was about to speak on campus, Sperry thought it was time for him to pay it forward by joining his school's chapter of Turning Point USA - the organisation Kirk co-founded in 2012 to advocate for conservatism on college campuses.

Moments after taking his front-row seat to see Kirk speak, Sperry watched in shock as a sniper bullet rang out and blood started pouring from Kirk's neck. The images, he said, he still can't shake, but he thinks the loss will only strengthen the movement Kirk inspired him to join.

"When you try to silence a voice like this, they don't go away - you only amplify it," sophomore Scott Sperry said. "There are now going to be a million Charlie Kirks, and I feel like that's the thing that we need to do."

As the immediate shock of the attack calms, some at Utah Valley University said it has been replaced with a deep sense of resolve to continue what Kirk began.

Students with various political ideologies - including those vehemently opposed to Kirk's beliefs - told the BBC they've felt a personal sense of responsibility to ensure healthy debates on college campuses continue.

With branches at more than 850 colleges, Turning Point USA - which Kirk co-founded when he was just 18 - has been credited with helping galvanise younger voters and helping Donald Trump win the White House.

Kirk, who had millions of followers online, would often tour college campuses across the country to debate issues like gender, race, gun control and immigration. His views - and his confrontational style - often drew criticism from the left and attracted protestors to his on-campus events.

At a speaking event at San Francisco State University last spring, one student called him a "rage baiter" while others accused him of using real-life students as "click-bait" - he often posted his heated arguments with liberals online, where the exchanges would go viral.

The killing has thrown Utah Valley University into the centre of America's political divide. Soon after Kirk was shot, some who disagreed with him took to social media to blame Kirk, who has openly supported gun ownership. On the right, pundits and politicians said that conservatives were under attack by the "radical left".

The spotlight has made some students feel the need to step into the ideological fray.

"This is the first political thing we've ever done. We're not political like this," freshman McKinley Shinkle said, while waving signs with his cousin on campus that called Kirk a hero and said they aren't afraid.

"This happening on our campus and then seeing people who are supporting the shooting - it just kind of radicalised us," he added, nothing they're both planning to continue political involvement. "It's changed everything."

• Young fans and critics debate Charlie Kirk's political legacy
• Who is Tyler Robinson, the suspect in custody for shooting Charlie Kirk?

Nestled in a valley surrounded by towering mountains, Utah Valley is the biggest university in the state. It sits on a hill, overlooking a crisp blue lake and a 218-feet-tall granite temple for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The state, which is also a conservative stronghold, has the largest concentration of Mormons in the US and religion plays a leading role in this community.

Many have expressed confusion about why Kirk was targeted here. Ben Forster, a sophomore, noted how Kirk often stopped in much more liberal-leaning areas where he could have been more of a target.

"This is now where his martyrdom was established," he said, reflecting on his school. "I mean, that is what martyrdom is: He was killed at a debate."

Despite not agreeing with Kirk's stances, Forster attended Wednesday's event in Utah to watch the spectacle and hear the varying viewpoints - something he hopes won't halt at his school and others after the attack.

"I don't care about what his opinions were," he said. "He was exercising his right in a public forum to talk and discuss - and that is a good thing."

The signs of what happened here are everywhere you look near campus.

Law enforcement blocking entrances, makeshift memorials with candles and flowers, signs in apartment windows and on roads declaring Kirk a hero after he was gunned down in front of thousands during one of his signature college campus debates.

• Kirk and Trump - from teenage activist to the heart of president's inner circle
• A 33-hour manhunt and morning show reveal: How police caught Charlie Kirk suspect

Some students told the BBC they've been leaning on one another in the aftermath - with some discussing what happens next. It's clear part of that future will include a political awakening for some on campus.

Several students made defiant posters, hanging them in their apartment windows with messages reading, "freedom" and "you can't kill the truth". A campaign-style merch display near campus is selling Trump hats and flags. All day and all night, people drive through the traffic circle entrance to campus, beeping their horns - either supporting or in opposition to Kirk.

Jeb Jacobi, a sophomore, has been involved with the school's Turning Point USA chapter for years and was volunteering at Wednesday's event - the first stop on Kirk's planned 15-site "American Comeback Tour" of college campuses.

He got involved after becoming a fan of Kirk's trademark debates on campuses.

"I just liked that he really made people think," he said. "No matter your politics, he would get so many young people involved and intrigued. He provided a path for people to get involved."

"Something like this - it's only going to really help what Charlie was doing," Jacobi added, saying he believes the number of people involved in the school's Turning Point USA chapter will balloon.

One of those new additions: Sperry.

"We're going to lead the way," he said. "We owe it to Charlie."

The couple, holding hands, walk down a wooden dock by the water's edge, after spending an evening in a bar on the island of St John in the US Virgin Islands.

They are seen boarding a dinghy and motoring away into the darkness of the Caribbean Sea, headed for their luxury yacht, anchored in the next bay.

This CCTV footage - never made public before and released exclusively now to the BBC - contains the last-recorded sighting of British woman Sarm Heslop.

Some six hours later, she would be reported missing, feared lost at sea.

Ryan Bane, her boyfriend at the time, maintains she most likely fell overboard, or drowned while swimming, while he was sleeping. He has never been formally questioned by the police.

Despite a massive search operation, Sarm's body has never been found and her disappearance remains a mystery.

To try to establish the truth, I spent a month in the US Virgin Islands investigating the case for a BBC Three documentary - speaking to the police who led the investigation, the coastguard and possible witnesses.

Described by her friends as a "free spirit", former flight attendant Sarm left the UK in 2019 to sail across the Atlantic with friends on a small boat.

"She was always up for a new challenge. Totally run-of-the-mill for Sarm to just be doing something bonkers," one of her friends Zan tells me.

Accompanied by friend Kate and Kate's boyfriend, Sarm headed for the Caribbean - visiting St Lucia, Guadeloupe, Dominica and Martinique.

Seven months into the trip, Sarm met Ryan Bane, 49, an American boat captain who chartered his £500,000 catamaran - Siren Song - to wealthy tourists.

They dated, Sarm stayed on Mr Bane's yacht, and - after three months - the relationship turned serious. Sarm then decided to work as a chef on the yacht and, on 7 March, 2021, completed her first charter.

That night, she disappeared, leaving behind her passport, phone and money. She was 41.

While Sarm's friends and family have tried to keep her story in the media spotlight, and enlisted an investigator to help, her mum Brenda says she accepts her daughter is dead.

But the hope they will establish what happened, she says, is what keeps them going.

"We still haven't been able to grieve properly. We all deserve to know what happened to her and to bring her home. It's just so, so unfair," says Brenda.

One key piece of evidence I wanted to see was CCTV showing the last recorded sighting of Sarm, which had never been made public by police.

So, when the islands' chief of police, Steven Phillip, handed it to me, I was surprised.

"We're at a dead end," he admitted. "If anybody could look at this video and see something and say something it can help. That's why now."

Sarm's mum had previously watched a small section of the footage, but Sarm's friends had not seen any of it. They hoped they might spot something in the way the couple interacted with each other that night, which would provide answers.

But when I showed the footage to them - crowded round a kitchen table - they admitted that beyond confirming that she did get on board the dinghy, the CCTV didn't tell them much - and it could be interpreted in a variety of ways.

• Missing in Paradise: Searching for Sarm will be on iPlayer from 0600 on Wednesday 17 September, and on BBC Two that evening at 22:00

But I did notice an inconsistency with the timestamp on the CCTV.

In reports released by the US Coast Guard, Mr Bane stated the couple had returned to the yacht at 22:00 local time.

But the timestamp - which police say they have confirmed is correct - shows them motoring away from the Cruz Bay dinghy dock at 20:45 local time.

Having also travelled this route, I know it should take five to 10 minutes in a dinghy to get to the next bay, so they would have got back by 21:00.

This means there is a missing hour that Mr Bane has never accounted for.

"The timeline is suspicious, and that's one of the reasons why we need to talk to Ryan," says US Virgin Islands' police commissioner, Mario Brooks.

But Mr Bane's lawyer, David Cattie, told us this characterisation of the timeline was "irresponsible".

Commissioner Brooks told us Mr Bane remained the only person of interest in the case.

"There was… nothing of evidentiary value that points to Sarm having contact with anyone that night, outside of Ryan," he said.

While Mr Bane has never spoken publicly about the case, his lawyer agreed to be interviewed on his client's behalf, for the first time.

Asked what happened when Sarm disappeared, David Cattie said Mr Bane believed Sarm perhaps hit her head and fell overboard, or had become disorientated while swimming, lost her way and drowned.

The timeline inconsistency that evening reflected nothing other than a possible error in estimating the time while under the stress of trying to locate Mr Bane's missing girlfriend, he added.

Mr Bane said he discovered Sarm was missing at 02:00 local time. His subsequent actions have been questioned by all the boat captains and experts I have spoken to.

There were two other boats anchored in Frank's Bay at the time. I contacted the captains from both, who confirmed Mr Bane did not alert them to a problem either that night, or the following morning.

They also told me that captains are trained to shout a missing person's name, call a mayday, immediately call the coastguard and alert neighbouring boats.

Mr Cattie acknowledges Mr Bane didn't do everything "you would say a boat captain is absolutely supposed to do".

"But we're not here because you're saying, 'well, Ryan didn't follow all the boat protocol'. You're here because people are suggesting he had a hand in her disappearance. There's no evidence of that, at all."

'Minutes count'

I obtained a police timeline and US Coast Guard reports that cover the hours after Sarm was reported missing.

Mr Bane said he had woken up when he heard the anchor alarm - which rings if the boat is straying from its mooring - and realised that Sarm was no longer on the yacht.

At 02:44 local time - having called them 10 minutes before - Mr Bane gave a brief statement to police when he arrived ashore on his dinghy.

From this point onwards though, Mr Bane's account differs from that of the police.

His lawyer tells me police had left Mr Bane with the impression that they would contact the coastguard. However, police statements describe how officers had, instead, told Mr Bane to call the coastguard.

It was nine hours after having initially reported Sarm missing to police when Mr Bane did eventually call the coastguard - at 11:46 local time.

"Ultimately it's always the captain's responsibility [when a person is missing]," says Cdr Jan League from the US Coast Guard. "Minutes count at that point. So waiting nine hours is decreasing the possibility of finding a person in the water."

The US Coast Guard search began 11 hours after Sarm was reported missing to police. Boats and a helicopter combed the water and coastline around where Siren Song was anchored.

It is very rare for somebody to fall overboard and for their body to never be found, Cdr League tells me.

"In the three years I have been here, we've had people go overboard, but we've never had the body go missing," he says.

Mr Bane has used his rights under the Fourth Amendment of the US Constitution - which prohibits unreasonable government searches and seizures - to block a forensics team from searching his yacht.

The only search that did take place was an initial safety sweep by the coastguard.

Mr Bane has also used the Fifth Amendment - the right to not give evidence that may self-incriminate - to decline questioning by police.

Mr Cattie said he had advised Mr Bane to invoke his rights.

"One thing you learn with being a lawyer is that there are tonnes of people who had nothing to hide, who had done nothing wrong," he said. "That… just want to do all this cooperation, that wind up in jail for something they didn't do."

Five weeks later after reporting Sarm missing, Mr Bane left the US Virgin Islands. He has never returned. He later tried to sell the yacht.

'Scariest thing'

To find out more about what Ryan Bane was like, I tracked down his ex-wife, Cori Stevenson.

They married in 2008, then in 2011 he attacked her after they attended a wedding. He knocked her to the ground, she says, "grabbed my hair and he smashed it [my head] in the floor", breaking her front teeth. "He choked me and I passed out," she adds.

"When he was in that weird rage… his eyes would go completely black," she says. "That was probably the scariest thing. So I was like, 'I'm going to die today'."

Ryan Bane was given a 60-day sentence for domestic violence simple assault. The couple divorced in 2014.

Mr Cattie acknowledges Mr Bane was convicted in that single case - but he adds: "There's absolutely no indication that he ever had a violent altercation with Sarm."

Sarm's case is still classified as a missing person, but her friends and family want it reclassified as a no-body murder investigation. They tell me this would mean the police could go further with the investigation.

The former Metropolitan Police officer the family enlisted to help, David Johnston, says if Sarm had gone missing in the UK, the case would have been treated at the outset as "likely to be a missing person where there is crime involved".

Elements of the evidence, he says, "would have been sufficient to move this to a position where Mr Bane would have been arrested very quickly" so he could be questioned.

The US Virgin Islands Police told us it remained committed to bringing closure to the case and would pursue all leads.

Meanwhile, Mr Bane's lawyer said his client had never been charged with any crime, and no court has issued a warrant for him. Mr Cattie said he had advised the police and the US Office of the Attorney General that if Mr Bane was required in the US Virgin Islands, he would return voluntarily.

But despite police saying the case is at a dead end, Sarm's friends and family say they will keep trying to find out what happened.

"She was the love of my life, my baby girl. I think knowing that I'm never going to see her again - I'm really heartbroken," her mum, Brenda, tells me.

"But I am stronger now and I'm going to do everything I can and I'll never give up."

Over the next couple of weeks, hundreds of thousands of new students will descend on universities around the country.

For many, this will mark the start of a brand new adventure - though one often filled with a lot of worry.

To help with nerves, BBC News asked for tips from 2024's first-years, who've already sussed out being freshers.

From balancing studies and social life, to looking after your mental health and the importance of doing the washing up, this is what the class of 2024 have to say to the new kids on the block.

Edith Adam says she was "terrified" when she moved to Liverpool last year to study medicine.

What she hadn't realised at the time was that other freshers were just as scared as she was.

"I was absolutely terrified about not being able to make friends or that people wouldn't like me," says Edith, who's now going into her second year.

"I wish I had understood everyone else was terrified, and that they appreciate it when you go up to them and say hi."

Having never been to Liverpool before - a city with a party reputation - Edith worried she might not fit in.

"I was really scared of being ostracised for not wanting to go clubbing every night and not being a drinker," she says.

But Edith was still able to find her people.

"No one actually cares. There are plenty of things you can do that don't revolve around late nights. Just find what works for you."

The 24-year-old, from Huddersfield, says her advice would be not to put too much importance on the infamous freshers' week.

"I think everyone goes in with the expectation that it's this amazing, wild week, where you meet your best friends for life and have your best time at uni," she says.

And her top tip for staying friends with your flatmates?

"If it takes less than two minutes, just do it," Edith says. "It's so easy for everything to pile up, and then you don't wash your plates for five days, and all of a sudden everything is dirty and you have no cutlery - and your flatmates hate you."

But what if you can't make freshers week?

This is the situation Konstantin Schmidt faced last year, after issues with his visa delayed his start at Greenwich University by five weeks.

Although people told him the freshers parties he'd missed out on were "fun", the mechanical engineering student says he still managed to settle in well by joining up to student clubs.

"Societies are the best way to find people who share the same passion," Konstantin says.

Joining both a volleyball society and the Formula One society, he says he had positive interactions right from the off.

"The second I joined the room the members saw I was new and instantly included me," Konstantin says. "I also met new people through volleyball who were on my course who quickly became my friends."

The 21-year-old bonded with his flatmates by exploring each other's culture through food and music.

In his first weeks, Konstantin, who's from Bavaria in Germany, made Spätzle - a pasta dish topped with grilled cheese for a dinner party with his flatmates.

"Everyone really liked" his food, he says - but he admits the best dish was a Filipino one made by his flatmate, Kai.

"It helped us understand everyone's culture even better," Konstantin says.

While many people starting university will be living away for the first time, some students still live at home.

Commuting more than an hour each way between Glasgow and Edinburgh, Rebecca can relate.

"If they forget something, my friends can just nip back to their accommodation, whereas I can't, " she says. "But it's not bad, I like commuting in."

Going into her second year of a business management course, Rebecca is now much more organised and comfortable with the journey, after experiencing some hiccups in her first year.

In some cases, cancelled trains meant she had to pay for a taxi all the way to Edinburgh.

"In second year I will definitely be checking my trains," Rebecca says.

Her advice for freshers is simple: "Make sure your bag is fully packed with everything you might need - and plan your commute."

Rebecca's university experience has been different from many others as she was only 16 when she started her course.

"I thought everyone was going to be older and not want to speak to me," she says. "But it wasn't like that at all. The age gap doesn't really matter."

Now 17, Rebecca is still waiting to experience a full freshers' week, but says she was still able to attend under-18 events.

Her advice for those in a similar position?

"Don't be afraid to ask for help," she says. "I felt like I couldn't ask for help because people would think I didn't deserve to be there because I'm younger.

"They don't care that you're 16 or 17. Just ask for help."

As the first in her family to go to university, Tian Liu didn't know what to expect before she started her combined honours degree in social sciences.

"I did so much research, but I still felt so unprepared," Tian says. "University is definitely a roller coaster. There was a point I wanted to drop out, but now I can definitely see the fruits of my labour."

Now going into her second year, the 19-year-old has found a better balance and would advise incoming students to look after their mental health.

"With tuition fees rising there is such a pressure to make the most out of it, but you can burn out," Tian says. "University is as much as you make of it, but give yourself grace.

"Have close friends who can act as support and accountability if you are doing too much, and use pastoral teams that the university offers," she adds.

"There is no need to rush, it's all a constant learning curve."

One year on from moving to Durham from Leeds, Tian is in New York completing an internship she got through her university - something she "could never have imagined" last year.

Her advice for incoming students?

"Don't disqualify yourself from anything. Be your biggest cheerleader. And take so many photos."

Three Austrian nuns in their 80s have run away from the old people's home where they were placed and gone back to their former convent.

Sister Bernadette, 88, Sister Regina, 86, and Sister Rita, 82, are the last three nuns at the Kloster Goldenstein convent in Elsbethen, just outside Salzburg.

They regained access with the help of former students and a locksmith.

Church authorities are not happy - but the nuns are.

"I am so pleased to be home," Sister Rita said. "I was always homesick at the care home. I am so happy and thankful to be back."

The trio say they were taken out of the convent against their will in December 2023.

"We weren't asked," Sister Bernadette said. "We had the right to stay here until the end of our lives and that was broken."

The three nuns have spent much of their lives at Schloss Goldenstein, a castle which has been a convent and a private girls' school since 1877. The school, which started accepting boys in 2017, is still functioning.

Sister Bernadette attended the school herself, arriving as a teenager in 1948. One of her fellow students was the Austrian film actress Romy Schneider.

Sister Regina arrived at the convent in 1958, and Sister Rita four years later.

All three went on to work at the school as teachers for many years. Sister Regina was headmistress.

But the numbers of nuns dwindled.

In 2022, the building was taken over by the the Archdiocese of Salzburg and the Reichersberg Abbey, an Augustinian monastery. Provost Markus Grasl from the abbey became the nuns' superior.

The community was officially dissolved at the beginning of 2024, and the remaining nuns were granted lifelong right of residence, as long as their health and mental capacity allowed.

In December 2023, the decision was made to transfer them to a Catholic care home, where they were unhappy.

At the beginning of September, Sister Bernadette, Sister Rita and Sister Regina moved back, helped by a group of former students.

"I have been obedient all my life, but it was too much," Sister Bernadette said.

They packed up a few belongings and came back to the convent. The locks to their former apartments had been changed so a locksmith was called.

When they first arrived, there was no electricity or water.

In a statement, Provost Grasl said the nuns' decision to return to the convent was "completely incomprehensible" and "an escalation".

"The rooms in the convent are no longer usable and in no way meet the requirements for proper care," he said.

He said the nuns' "precarious health conditions" meant "that independent living at Goldenstein Convent was no longer possible".

Grasl said the old people's home had provided them with "absolutely essential, professional, and good medical care".

Many of the nuns' wishes about the future of the convent had been taken into account, he added, including the continuation of the school.

The three nuns are settling back in to their former home.

Electricity and water connections have now been partially restored, supporters are bringing food and groceries, and they have been seen by doctors.

There is a steady stream of visitors, many of whom are their former students.

One of them, Sophie Tauscher, said the nuns belong at the convent. "Goldenstein without the nuns is just not possible."

"When they need us, they just have to call us and we will be there, for sure. The nuns here changed so many lives in such a good way."

Alisha, another student said the nuns always recognised old pupils.

Videos of the nuns have been posted on Instagram, at prayer, at Mass, at lunch and climbing down the steep staircase.

They say their old stairlift was ripped out after they were taken away.

The nuns say they are determined to stay.

"Before I die in that old people's home, I would rather go to a meadow and enter eternity that way," said Sister Bernadette.

Nasser Faratawi holds up a blackened garland of silicone flowers and a singed Ramadan lantern as he picks through the charred ruins of what was his popular party shop in Tulkarm in the north of the occupied West Bank.

Upstairs, on the three floors of what were his family's luxury apartments, graffiti is scrawled on the walls – including drawings of penises in a living room and his daughter's bedroom.

Expensive furniture has been broken or thrown out of the window, fancy decorations ripped out, every page of a Quran torn, and it stinks of rotten leftover food.

"They came and destroyed me," Nasser tells me. "It's all seen as destroyable because I live in this city - because I am Palestinian."

On 3 March, the Israeli military arrived at the Faratawi property and gave the family an hour and a half to leave. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) took over the building while they carried out a huge operation nearby, in Tulkarm refugee camp.

"They took it as an army base and they lived in it for three-and-a-half months, using it like a hotel, and then they set it on fire," Nasser says, still in disbelief at what happened.

Watching from a distance, he says he saw on 11 June that a fire had been started in his warehouse and shop – where locals used to bring their cars to be decorated for weddings.

"It was very hard for me to see my business burning. Everything I had worked for, for over 30 years," Nasser says. His neighbourhood remained a closed military zone, and he was only allowed to return at the start of this month.

Asked about the state of the property, the Israeli military told the BBC that it was "not aware of any arson committed by its troops at the site", and that a complaint about the incident "has been submitted and is under review".

The IDF statement continued: "The destruction of civilian property by soldiers is contrary to IDF values. As a rule, incidents that deviate from IDF orders and values will be examined, investigated, and addressed by commanders." It did not comment on the lewd graffiti.

Since the deadly Hamas-led attacks on Israel on 7 October 2023 triggered the brutal war in the Gaza Strip, world attention has largely been focused there. But tensions have also rocketed in the West Bank, with increased Israeli settler attacks and military operations which Israel says are aimed at Palestinian militants.

The UN says more than 900 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank by IDF action and settlers in that period. At the same time, more than 60 Israelis have been killed in reported attacks by Palestinians or in armed clashes in the West Bank and Israel.

During major Israeli operations, Palestinian homes are routinely used as temporary military bases and interrogation centres, with the IDF citing security necessity.

"In order to locate and dismantle terror infrastructures at their root, the IDF is sometimes required to operate from within homes in the area for varying periods of time, according to operational needs and field circumstances," the Israeli army said.

It says it acts according to international humanitarian law and takes "measures to minimise the impact on civilians as much as possible."

In the last two weeks of June, during Israel's war with Iran, the UN's Humanitarian Office (Ocha) documented Israeli soldiers taking over about 267 Palestinian homes for periods ranging from several hours to a few days. An early estimate suggested more than 1,300 people were affected, who Ocha says "in most cases returned to their homes to find their property vandalised".

Properties were also taken over at the start of the year in three built-up, urban refugee camps – Jenin, Nur Shams and Tulkarm – when the Israeli army moved in, describing them as "terror strongholds". In total, about 40,000 residents were forced to leave the camps, around 30,000 of whom have been unable to return.

From a balcony on an upper floor, you can easily look across from Nasser's house to Tulkarm refugee camp. It is like a ghost town with some 10,600 people who lived there still displaced. Israeli bulldozers have created new paths through the camp – breaking it into separate areas.

The UN agency for Palestinian refugees, Unrwa, estimates that more than 150 houses have been demolished in Tulkarm. Across the West Bank, Ocha says that between the start of Israel's Operation Iron Wall in January and July there were more than 1,400 demolition orders.

Unrwa now supports refugees staying in private accommodation in and around Tulkarm. It has set up a temporary health centre and schools, and has begun online education for students.

Israel's defence minister has said the military will stay in the three refugee camps until at least the end of the year.

While Nasser Faratawi is back in his home, he wonders how he will ever renovate it. He estimates that his total losses are up to $700,000 (£520,000; €600,000). He can complain to Israeli authorities, but past evidence suggests it is highly unlikely he will get any compensation.

The Palestinian Authority, which governs parts of the West Bank and relies on foreign donors, used to help pay for repairs caused by Israeli military incursions. However, it is currently so cash-strapped that it cannot pay full salaries to public workers.

Without his shop and with his stock destroyed, Nasser has no income and worries that he can no longer support his son and daughter, who have been studying medicine in Egypt. He is appealing for help from international organisations.

"I'm an ordinary person, a businessman," he says. "I love peace. I never before had a weapon in my house. I had no problem with the Israeli army. I want peace and to live in peace, but they don't want peace."

"Please tell me one of you watches The Summer I Turned Pretty???" reads a text from one of my best friends in our group chat.

We're both in our 30s, married, have busy careers, and yet we're hooked on a TV series about a teenage love triangle. The kind of obsession that involves shouting at the screen like it's a football match, and then taking a week to recover from the emotional turmoil.

The third series of The Summer I Turned Pretty (TSITP) follows Isabel Conklin (Belly to her friends) as she makes what's expected to be her final decision about which brother - Conrad or Jeremiah Fisher - she will end up with.

It's Prime Video's most popular show in the UK right now and social media is full of fan-made clips and opinions about whom she should choose. The much-anticipated finale airs on 17 September.

Luckily, my friend and I are both Team Conrad. But the rivalry has got people so fired up that fans have been asked to calm down, as some of the cast have been abused online.

So, what is it that's making us so emotionally invested in a romantic dilemma that doesn't even exist?

Everyone loves a love triangle

Love triangles aren't a new storytelling device. TSITP could be compared to throwback TV shows such as The Vampire Diaries and One Tree Hill (though the latter features half-brothers rather than full brothers like Conrad and Jeremiah).

Warning: The below may contain potential spoilers - especially if you haven't watched series three of the show

"It very much [encapsulates] everything that was really good about 2000s romcoms and those angsty, yearning dramas," says fan Nathan Scott (no, not the One Tree Hill character). "All the looks across the room, the forbidden little touches and everything - it's all there."

Nathan used to see his fiancee Oliwia Netter, both aged 25 and living in London, watching TSITP, and initially his attitude was "this is rubbish and I'm not watching it".

But after he glimpsed more and began asking questions, Nathan admits he binge-watched the first series in three days.

Superfan Varun Lobo, 26, got into TSITP a couple of years ago but had not read any of the books, written by US author Jenny Han, on which the show is based.

He agrees it builds on storytelling elements that have worked well before.

"It really kind of evokes a nostalgia that takes you back to your first teenage crushes and teenage romances," he says. Controversially, Varun is Team Jeremiah.

Becca Kittler, 30, read the books as a teenager in the US and has been Team Conrad from the start.

"I think everyone has their person and I know that Conrad is Belly's. There's that spark, that tie they have with each other, the history."

But isn't a love triangle involving brothers a bit much, even for fiction?

"At the end of the day, it's about escapism," Varun explains, pointing to how he feels about the current state of the world. "Sometimes it's nice to just take yourself out of it and go to Cousins Beach."

Unafraid to discuss serious issues

Michelle Elman, 32, is also an avid TSITP viewer and works as a life coach in London. Despite the show skipping over some of the moral quandaries that arise from dating a pair of brothers, she appreciates how it deals with significant issues.

Death - a theme that also features in Dawson's Creek, another popular show from the turn of the millennium - hangs over the second and third series of TSITP.

"It has a lot of threads around grief, as the boys lose their mum, and so there are some really serious undertones to it," Michelle says. "But they are presented in quite a digestible way - I think that's also where it's resonated with some people."

Michelle knows of mothers and daughters who watch the show together and use it as an opportunity to discuss how to deal with difficult situations - whether it be grief, dating problems or hurt feelings.

There is plenty of this to go around: for example, when Jeremiah gets drunk and makes unpleasant comments, or when Conrad fails to communicate his feelings.

The hype around TSITP has been fuelled by social media, particularly on TikTok where fans of the books speculate about the ending of the TV series.

This became more frenzied when Han teased the series could end differently to the book.

Others have created videos dedicated to the couple they'd like to see get together and many of these are set to songs by Taylor Swift, whose music features prominently in the show's soundtrack.

Fans of Swift - who famously drops hidden messages and hints about future projects - have also become convinced Han has been planting seeds throughout the series to foreshadow the outcome.

Varun has had posters used to advertise the show reproduced at a print shop near his home in Nottingham. He's framed them and they now adorn his dining room.

"That is how much I love the show," he laughs.

Becca is particularly grateful for the online community that has built up around TSITP on forums like Reddit.

"I will forever be eternally grateful to this show. Because of it, I've been able to find some of my best friends and break out of my comfort zone," she says.

Meanwhile, my group chat is bound to be pinging come finale day when it will become clear if my friends and I have backed the winning team (Team Conrad) - or not.

Like me, Nathan also feels watching the show is a bit like following a sport.

"The hype is like a Super Bowl or Champions League final," he tells the BBC.

"I get the same feeling watching Conrad and Belly moments as I do when watching Liverpool… The feeling I got for the bathtub scene, or the peaches scene, is the same to me as a last-minute winner at Anfield.

"Words fail me."

Additional reporting by George Sandeman

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Officials at No 10 and the Foreign Office were aware of supportive emails between Lord Mandelson and paedophile Jeffrey Epstein when the prime minister initially defended the former ambassador on Wednesday, the BBC understands.

Sources stressed Sir Keir was not aware of the contents of the emails when he stood by Lord Mandelson at Prime Minister's Questions.

The BBC understands that a media enquiry outlining details of the messages between the pair was sent to the Foreign Office on Tuesday, and passed on to No 10.

Sir Oliver Robbins, the permanent under-secretary at the Foreign Office, asked Lord Mandelson about the emails on Tuesday, but did not receive a response until the following day.

Prime Minister's Questions takes place every Wednesday at midday while the House of Commons is sitting, with the prime minister facing questions from the leader of the opposition and other members of the House.

Lord Mandelson was sacked as the UK's ambassador to the US shortly before 11:00 on Thursday. Downing Street said the emails contained "new information" that was not known at the time of Lord Mandelson's appointment.

The full emails were published by Bloomberg and the Sun on Wednesday evening.

"I think the world of you and I feel hopeless and furious about what has happened," Mandelson wrote the day before Epstein reported to prison in 2008 for soliciting sex from a minor.

Mandelson added: "You have to be incredibly resilient, fight for early release... Your friends stay with you and love you."

In an interview with the Sun on Wednesday, Lord Mandelson said he felt a "tremendous sense of regret" that he had met Epstein, and that he "took at face value the lies that he fed me and many others".

The BBC earlier reported that Lord Mandelson's emails were sent from an old account to which he no longer had access. Officials cite this as the reason they had not been seen earlier.

In a statement announcing Lord Mandelson's dismissal, the Foreign Office said: "The emails show that the depth and extent of Peter Mandelson's relationship with Jeffrey Epstein is materially different from that known at the time of his appointment."

Following his sacking, Mandelson said being the UK's ambassador to the US had been "the privilege of my life".

It comes as Sir Keir faces growing pressure over his handling of Lord Mandelson's appointment as ambassador to the US.

Labour MP Clive Lewis, an outspoken voice on the Labour left, said Sir Keir "doesn't seem up to the job", adding that there was a "very, very dangerous atmosphere" among Labour MPs.

Another Labour MP, Jo White, said the "clock is ticking" for Sir Keir to turn polls around before local elections next May.

It also emerged that Jeffrey Epstein paid for Lord Mandelson's travel on two separate occasions in 2003 totalling more than $7,400 (£5,400), according to documents released by the US House of Representatives Oversight Committee.

Earlier this week, US lawmakers released an alleged "birthday book" containing messages sent to Jeffrey Epstein on his 50th birthday in 2003 - including one from Lord Mandelson.

In his letter, which features photos of the pair, Lord Mandelson described Jeffrey Epstein as his "best pal", and an "intelligent, sharp-witted man".

Coldplay celebrated the end of their record-breaking 10-show run at Wembley Stadium with a dazzling, multi-coloured night of musical magic.

Playing hits from every era of their 25-year career, they filled the stadium with light, and even indulged themselves with a giddy version of Whitney Houston's I Wanna Dance With Somebody. "This is the song I warm up to in the car park," joked singer Chris Martin.

The show closed the latest leg of their Music Of The Spheres Tour, which has circled the world four times since 2022. It is now the highest-attended tour in history, with more than 12m tickets sold.

On stage, Martin promised it would resume "somewhere in southern Africa in about 18 months".

Friday's show was held almost a week late, after a strike by London transport workers forced the band to postpone.

"I know it caused a lot of inconvenience for a lot of you," Martin told the crowd. "In return we're going to play a show fifteen times better than any show we've ever played before. That's the pledge."

They might not have achieved that goal - Coldplay have already set themselves a ridiculously high bar - but this was stadium stagecraft at its absolute finest.

The concert is a sensory overload, full of LED writstbands, raining confetti, laser lights, spinning inflatables, 3D glasses that turn everything into hearts and stars, and even a brief puppet show (the operators, Drew and Nicolette, happily got engaged during last Saturday's concert).

Martin is the glue that holds it together. He bounds across the stage like a puppy - or is it a youth pastor? - covering the length of the catwalk several times within the first few songs.

His plan isn't just to bridge the gap between the band and the audience, it's to dismantle it entirely.

"I see you," he says repeatedly, identifying uber-fans at the front and distant figures in the vertigo seats.

"I see you over here with a Brazilian flag. And I see you, too, in the top corner with lights on your bodies. You look like you're from the movie Tron."

It's a schtick, for sure, but it fosters an incredible sense of unity. Those LED wristbands play a huge part, too, making everyone in the audience part of a giant tapestry of light. And there's a communal euphoria in singing along to hits like Paradise, The Scientist, Yellow and Sky Full of Stars.

After the first 30 minutes, I realised that I'd barely looked at the giant screens above the stage.

The audience is the show.

That's a contrast to most stadium concerts, where the message is more like: "Look upon me, puny mortals, and be astonished by my divine talents and somewhat improbable physique."

Coldplay don't bother with any of that. Martin's bandmates Guy Berryman, Will Chamberlain and Jonny Buckland would rather that no-one noticed them at all. Instead, they'd rather make a fuss over their special guests.

In London, that means Venezuela's Simón Bolívar Orchestra - a group of youth players who've supported the band at all of their Wembley dates. They come out twice, for Viva La Vida and feelslikeimfallinginlove, twirling their cellos and jumping up and down as they provide the stirring string accompaniment.

Palestinian-Chilean singer Elyanna, meanwhile, hogs the spotlight during We Pray, hitting some quite extraordinary high notes.

Who has played the most shows at Wembley Stadium?

1. Coldplay - 16 nights on the Music of the Spheres tour, 2022-25*
2. Taylor Swift - Eight nights on the Eras tour, 2024
3. Take That - Eight nights on the Progress tour, 2011
4. Oasis - Seven nights on the Live '25 tour, 2025
5. Michael Jackson - Seven night on the Bad tour, 1988

* Including six nights in 2022 and 10 night in 2025

Musically, Coldplay's set-list is stacked. There's a thrilling version of Clocks that shudders with discordant guitar riffs before resolving into a powerful chorus; and an extended acoustic version of Sparks has fans swooning.

Something Just Like This, an abominable song on record, becomes a euphoric mini-rave on stage; while Fix You is simply majestic.

With the tour about to go on hiatus (or maybe because he keeps self-administering throat spray) Martin is on whimsical form.

He describes Coldplay as "the third best soft rock band in London"; randomly sings the opening lines of Wonderwall; and, during Paradise, invokes the dancehall star Shaggy, for no discernible reason.

"That song was by Shaggy," he declares, inaccurately.

Towards the end of the show, he stops everything to celebrate Buckland's 48th birthday, presenting the guitarist with a Lego Batmobile and promising, "I'll give you £1m if you build it before Fix You".

Then, preparing to play the album track Jupiter for the first time, he announces: "This could be terrible. But if it is terrible, don't worry, we're going to play Yellow in a minute.

"Will Champion could fart in the microphone, as long as we play Yellow."

Martin later admits that his sense of humour "gets me into trouble every day". But not as much trouble as married tech CEO Andy Byron, who was caught in a loving embrace with his HR executive on the giant screens of a Coldplay concert in the US earlier this year.

The moment - during part of the show where Martin serenades audience members with an improvised song - went viral, and has reportedly led to at least one divorce. So when the jumbotron section of the show starts on Friday, Martin issues a tongue-in-cheek disclaimer.

"Whatever happens here, stays here. Guaranteed. So if you've just embezzled the company funds, come on camera now. It's fine."

Before long, a young couple flashes up on the screen.

"Holy crap, don't put me through this again," the singer grimaces, only agreeing to play a song after they've flashed their wedding rings at the camera.

The spontaneity and humour is part of what makes every Coldplay show unique, even when most of the set is painstakingly planned out.

On Friday, fans at the final London date showed their appreciation.

During the final encore of All My Love, thousands of them unfolded paper red hearts and held them above their heads - the culmination of a secret online project organised by a German fan called Hannah.

It was a bittersweet moment. Fans know the band have a long break planned. And even if they use their gap year to make new music, Martin has announced it will be their final album.

"The Coldplay catalogue, as it were, finishes then," he told BBC Radio 2's Jo Whiley in 2021. "After that I think we will only tour."

On tonight's evidence, it doesn't matter.

They could play the same setlist for the next 100 years and fans would flock to every show.

See you there.

Coldplay setlist

• Higher Power
• Adventure of a Lifetime
• Paradise
• The Scientist
• Viva La Vida
• Hymn for the Weekend
• Jupiter
• I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)
• Charlie Brown
• Yellow
• Human Heart
• People of the Pride
• Clocks
• We Pray
• Infinity Sign
• Something Just Like This
• My Universe
• A Sky Full of Stars

Encore

• Sparks
• The Jumbotron Song
• Fix You
• Feelslikeimfallinginlove
• All My Love

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

AstraZeneca has paused plans to invest £200m at a Cambridge research site in a fresh blow to the UK pharmaceutical industry.

The project, which was set to create 1,000 jobs, was announced in March 2024 by the previous government alongside another project in Liverpool, which was shelved in January.

Friday's announcement comes after US pharmaceutical giant Merck scrapped a £1bn UK expansion, blaming a lack of government investment, and as President Donald Trump pressures pharmaceutical firms to invest more in the US.

An AstraZeneca spokesperson said: "We constantly reassess the investment needs of our company and can confirm our expansion in Cambridge is paused."

Over the last 10 years, UK spending on medicines has fallen from 15% of the NHS budget to 9%, while the rest of the developed world spends between 14% and 20%.

Meanwhile, pharmaceutical companies have been looking to invest in the US following Trump's threats of sky-high tariffs on drug imports.

In July, AstraZeneca said it would invest $50bn (£36.9bn) in the US on "medicines manufacturing and R&D [research and development]".

Earlier this week Merck, which had already begun construction on a site in London's King's Cross which was due to be completed by 2027, said it no longer planned to occupy it.

The multi-national business, known as MSD in Europe, said it would move its life sciences research to the US and cut UK jobs, blaming successive governments for undervaluing innovative medicines.

AstraZeneca's announcement on Friday means none of the £650m UK investment trumpeted by the last government will currently happen.

The paused Cambridge project would have been an expansion of its existing Discovery Centre, which already hosts 2,300 researchers and scientists.

The stoppage comes after it scrapped plans to invest £450m in expanding a vaccine manufacturing plant in Merseyside in January, blaming a reduction in government support.

It said at the time that after "protracted" talks, a number of factors influenced the move, including "the timing and reduction of the final offer compared to the previous government's proposal".

Successive UK governments have pointed to life sciences as one of its most successful industries.

Former chancellor Jeremy sector said the sector was "crucial for the country's health, wealth and resilience" while Chancellor Rachel Reeves said AstraZeneca was one of the UK's "great companies" days before it scrapped its Liverpool expansion.

A 22-year-old from Utah has been arrested over the killing of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk, who was shot dead while on stage at a university event earlier this week.

Tyler Robinson was taken into custody late on Thursday after a 33-hour manhunt that ended after his father helped persuade him to surrender to police.

His arrest was first announced by President Donald Trump, who called for the suspect to face the death penalty.

The killing of Kirk, who was shot while debating students on Wednesday, has shocked Americans and laid bare the country's sharp partisan political divisions.

At a news conference on Friday, investigators said the suspect confessed to his father and said he would rather take his own life than surrender. The father then called a youth pastor who is a family friend.

Both men tried to calm the suspect down, police said. The pastor, who also serves as a court security officer, later called the US Marshals who detained the suspect at around 22:00 local time on Thursday.

Utah Governor Spencer Cox said surveillance images showed Robinson arriving on the campus of Utah Valley University around four hours before a shot rang out, killing Kirk and sending students running for cover.

The governor told journalists that when he was taken into custody, he was wearing clothing similar to what was seen on CCTV cameras at the scene of the shooting.

He added that investigators had interviewed a family member who said the suspect had become more political in recent years.

Cox said the family member had spoken of a recent incident when Robinson had mentioned that Kirk was coming to Utah and that he "was full of hate and spreading hate".

Cox said investigators had also spoken to a roommate of the suspect who had shown them messages with an account named "Tyler" on the messaging app Discord.

The messages referred to a need to retrieve a rifle from "a drop point" and the rifle being left in a bush, wrapped in a towel.

The FBI said on Thursday they had found the suspected weapon - an imported Mauser .30-06 bolt action rifle - wrapped in a towel in a wooded area near campus.

Cox told reporters that inscriptions had been found engraved on casings recovered with the rifle, which had a scope mounted on top of it.

The inscriptions included "hey fascist! CATCH!" and "O Bella ciao, Bella ciao"

Bella ciao means "goodbye beautiful" in Italian. It is also the title of a song dedicated to the Italian resistance who fought against the occupying troops of Nazi Germany.

The Utah governor said he was not aware of any potential further arrests in the investigation.

State prosecutors said they planned to file formal charges against Robinson on Tuesday.

He is accused of aggravated murder, obstruction of justice, and felony discharge of a firearm, according to a Utah County Sheriff inmate booking sheet, obtained by the BBC.

Students at Utah Valley University told the BBC they were relieved by the arrest.

The campus has been closed since the shooting on Wednesday afternoon - with yellow police tape and police vehicles blocking much of the school.

"He was apprehended in Washington County, which is where I'm from," said first-year student McKinley Shinkle. "I just feel deeply ashamed."

"I'm definitely relieved," added McKinley's cousin Anthony. "I'm just anxious now to hear his motives and why this happened."

Public records reviewed by the BBC suggest Robinson had in the past registered as an unaffiliated, or nonpartisan, voter in Utah. Matthew Carl Robinson, the suspect's father, and Amber Denise Robinson, the suspect's mother, are registered Republicans, according to state records.

Voting records indicate that he did not vote in the last two presidential elections, according to CBS News, the BBC's US partner. He was not old enough to vote in 2020.

The suspect lives in St George, Utah, near Zion National Park, about 250 miles (400km) south-west of the campus where Kirk was shot.

He is a third-year student in an electrical apprenticeship programme at Dixie Technical College in south-west Utah, where he lived, a spokesperson for Utah Valley University (UVU) tells the BBC.

Social media accounts indicate Robinson's father runs a kitchen countertop and cabinet installation business, while his mother is a social worker. The family is Mormon and active in the local church.

The past two weeks have been dreadful for Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), and the crisis at the car maker shows no sign of coming to an end.

A cyber attack, which first came to light on 1 September, forced the manufacturer to shut down its computer systems and close production lines worldwide.

Its factories in Solihull, Halewood, and Wolverhampton are expected to remain idle until at least Wednesday, as the company continues to assess the damage.

JLR is thought to have lost at least £50m so far as a result of the stoppage. But experts say the most serious damage is being done to its network of suppliers, many of whom are small and medium sized businesses.

The government is now facing calls for a furlough scheme to be set up, to prevent widespread job losses.

David Bailey, professor of business economics at Aston University, told the BBC: "There's anywhere up to a quarter of a million people in the supply chain for Jaguar Land Rover.

"So if there's a knock-on effect from this closure, we could see companies going under and jobs being lost".

Under normal circumstances, JLR would expect to build more than 1,000 vehicles a day, many of them at its UK plants in Solihull and Halewood. Engines are assembled at its Wolverhampton site. The company also has large car factories in China and Slovakia, as well as a smaller facility in India.

JLR said it closed down its IT networks deliberately in order to protect them from damage. However, because its production and parts supply systems are heavily automated, this meant cars simply could not be built.

Sales were also heavily disrupted, though workarounds have since been put in place to allow dealerships to operate.

Initially, the carmaker seemed relatively confident the issue could be resolved quickly.

Nearly two weeks on, it has become abundantly clear that restarting its computer systems has been a far from simple process. It has already admitted that some data may have been seen or stolen, and it has been working with the National Cyber Security Centre to investigate the incident.

Experts say the cost to JLR itself is likely to be between £5m and £10m per day, meaning it has already lost between £50m and £100m. However, the company made a pre-tax profit of £2.5bn in the year to the end of March, which implies it has the financial muscle to weather a crisis that lasts weeks rather than months.

'Some suppliers will go bust'

JLR sits at the top of a pyramid of suppliers, many of whom are highly dependent on the carmaker because it is their main customer.

They include a large number of small and medium-sized firms, which do not have the resources to cope with an extended interruption to their business.

"Some of them will go bust. I would not be at all surprised to see bankruptcies," says Andy Palmer, a one-time senior executive at Nissan and former boss of Aston Martin.

He believes suppliers will have begun cutting their headcount dramatically in order to keep costs down.

Mr Palmer says: "You hold back in the first week or so of a shutdown. You bear those losses.

"But then, you go into the second week, more information becomes available – then you cut hard. So layoffs are either already happening, or are being planned."

A boss at one smaller JLR supplier, who preferred not to be named, confirmed his firm had already laid off 40 people, nearly half of its workforce.

Meanwhile, other companies are continuing to tell their employees to remain at home with the hours they are not working to be "banked", to be offset against holidays or overtime at a later date.

There seems little expectation of a swift return to work.

One employee at a major supplier based in the West Midlands told the BBC they were not expecting to be back on the shop floor until 29 September. Hundreds of staff, they say, had been told to remain at home.

When automotive firms cut back, temporary workers brought in to cover busy periods are usually the first to go.

There is generally a reluctance to get rid of permanent staff, as they often have skills that are difficult to replace. But if cashflow dries up, they may have little choice.

Labour MP Liam Byrne, who chairs the Commons Business and Trade Committee, says this means government help is needed.

"What began in some online systems is now rippling through the supply chain, threatening a cashflow crunch that could turn a short-term shock into long-term harm", he says.

"We cannot afford to see a cornerstone of our advanced manufacturing base weakened by events beyond its control".

The trade union Unite has called for a furlough system to be set up to help automotive suppliers. This would involve the government subsidising workers' pay packets while they are unable to do their jobs, taking the burden off their employers.

"Thousands of these workers in JLR's supply chain now find their jobs are under an immediate threat because of the cyber attack," says Unite general secretary, Sharon Graham.

"Ministers need to act fast and introduce a furlough scheme to ensure that vital jobs and skills are not lost while JLR and its supply chain get back on track."

Business and Trade Minister Chris Bryant said: "We recognise the significant impact this incident has had on JLR and their suppliers, and I know this is a worrying time for those affected.

"I met with the chief executive of JLR yesterday to discuss the impact of the incident. We are also in daily contact with the company and our cyber experts about resolving this issue."

The breaking news was announced by US President Donald Trump on a morning television show.

"I think with a high degree of certainty, we have him," said Trump on the sofa of Fox & Friends on Friday morning in New York City. "In custody."

"Essentially, someone that was very close to him turned him in."

It was Trump, too, who first announced that his ally, Kirk, had died after he was shot in the neck at Utah Valley University on Wednesday.

At a press conference on Friday morning, officials identified the person in custody as 22-year-old Tyler Robinson.

• Follow live: Charlie Kirk suspect caught
• Obituary: Charlie Kirk

Utah Governor Spencer Cox told reporters that "a family member of Tyler Robinson reached out to a family friend who contacted the Washington County Sheriff's Office with information that Robinson had confessed to them".

Surveillance video shows the suspect arriving on campus at the university in a grey Dodge Challenger at 08:29 local time (14:29GMT) on the morning of the shooting, said Cox.

He said investigators had interviewed a family member who said the suspect had become more political in recent years.

Cox said: "The family member referenced a recent incident in which Robinson came to dinner prior to September 10, and in the conversation with another family member, Robinson mentioned Charlie Kirk was coming to UVU."

There was a mention of how "Kirk was full of hate and spreading hate".

Cox said investigators had also spoken to a roommate of the suspect who had shown them messages with an account named "Tyler" on the messaging app Discord.

The messages referred to a need to retrieve a rifle from "a drop point" and the rifle being left in a bush, wrapped in a towel.

The FBI said on Thursday they had found the suspected murder weapon - an imported Mauser .30-06 bolt action rifle - wrapped in a towel in a wooded area near campus.

Cox told reporters that investigators had found inscriptions engraved on casings recovered with the rifle, which had a scope mounted on top of it.

The inscriptions included "hey fascist! catch!" and "bella ciao" and "if you read this, you are gay, LMAO".

Bella ciao means "goodbye beautiful" in Italian. It is also the title of a song dedicated to the Italian resistance who fought against the occupying troops of Nazi Germany.

The Utah governor said he was not aware of any potential further arrests in the investigation.

Utah County Sheriff Mike Smith said it had been a "vast, complicated and very, very fast paced investigation" and one that had been "very taxing".

FBI Director Kash Patel told reporters the crime scene was large, but had been processed quickly and forensic evidence had been recovered.

He said the first federal agents had arrived on the crime scene some 16 minutes after Kirk was shot.

"Just last night, the suspect was taken into custody at 10pm local time," Patel said.

The arrest came after the FBI released grainy pictures of a "person of interest" wanted for the shooting.

Investigators appealed for the public's help identifying the suspect, who was wearing sunglasses, Converse shoes and a "distinctive" long-sleeved black top featuring an American flag and an eagle.

On Wednesday, Patel said another potential suspect had been detained for questioning before being released.

Another person - seen in viral videos on social media - was taken into custody immediately after the shooting, but was determined not to be the gunman.

The breaking news was announced by US President Donald Trump on a morning television show.

"I think with a high degree of certainty, we have him," said Trump on the sofa of Fox & Friends on Friday morning in New York City. "In custody."

"Essentially, someone that was very close to him turned him in."

It was Trump, too, who first announced that his ally, Kirk, had died after he was shot in the neck at Utah Valley University on Wednesday.

At a press conference on Friday morning, officials identified the person in custody as 22-year-old Tyler Robinson.

• Follow live: Charlie Kirk suspect caught
• Obituary: Charlie Kirk

Utah Governor Spencer Cox told reporters that "a family member of Tyler Robinson reached out to a family friend who contacted the Washington County Sheriff's Office with information that Robinson had confessed to them".

Surveillance video shows the suspect arriving on campus at the university in a grey Dodge Challenger at 08:29 local time (14:29GMT) on the morning of the shooting, said Cox.

He said investigators had interviewed a family member who said the suspect had become more political in recent years.

Cox said: "The family member referenced a recent incident in which Robinson came to dinner prior to September 10, and in the conversation with another family member, Robinson mentioned Charlie Kirk was coming to UVU."

There was a mention of how "Kirk was full of hate and spreading hate".

Cox said investigators had also spoken to a roommate of the suspect who had shown them messages with an account named "Tyler" on the messaging app Discord.

The messages referred to a need to retrieve a rifle from "a drop point" and the rifle being left in a bush, wrapped in a towel.

The FBI said on Thursday they had found the suspected murder weapon - an imported Mauser .30-06 bolt action rifle - wrapped in a towel in a wooded area near campus.

Cox told reporters that investigators had found inscriptions engraved on casings recovered with the rifle, which had a scope mounted on top of it.

The inscriptions included "hey fascist! catch!" and "bella ciao" and "if you read this, you are gay, LMAO".

Bella ciao means "goodbye beautiful" in Italian. It is also the title of a song dedicated to the Italian resistance who fought against the occupying troops of Nazi Germany.

The Utah governor said he was not aware of any potential further arrests in the investigation.

Utah County Sheriff Mike Smith said it had been a "vast, complicated and very, very fast paced investigation" and one that had been "very taxing".

FBI Director Kash Patel told reporters the crime scene was large, but had been processed quickly and forensic evidence had been recovered.

He said the first federal agents had arrived on the crime scene some 16 minutes after Kirk was shot.

"Just last night, the suspect was taken into custody at 10pm local time," Patel said.

The arrest came after the FBI released grainy pictures of a "person of interest" wanted for the shooting.

Investigators appealed for the public's help identifying the suspect, who was wearing sunglasses, Converse shoes and a "distinctive" long-sleeved black top featuring an American flag and an eagle.

On Wednesday, Patel said another potential suspect had been detained for questioning before being released.

Another person - seen in viral videos on social media - was taken into custody immediately after the shooting, but was determined not to be the gunman.

The Metropolitan Police has suspended nine officers and referred itself to the watchdog following a BBC investigation into Charing Cross station.

The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) said it was investigating the behaviour of 11 individuals based at the central London station.

The accusations, which feature in a forthcoming BBC Panorama documentary, include excessive use of force, discriminatory and misogynistic comments, and failing to report or challenge inappropriate behaviour, the police watchdog said.

The officers range in rank from police constable to sergeant.

The allegations - which relate to the conduct of nine Met officers, a former Met officer and a serving designated detention officer - are said to have taken place both on and off duty between August 2024 and January 2025.

The IOPC said it had received a referral from another force relating to the conduct of a former Met officer who was previously based at Charing Cross and has since transferred.

The IOPC in 2022 found "disgraceful" behaviour in the ranks at the same police station, including a homophobic, racist and misogynistic Whatsapp group.

The white armoured police van speeds into the eastern Ukrainian town of Bilozerske, a steel cage mounted across its body to protect it from Russian drones.

They'd already lost one van, a direct hit from a drone to the front of the vehicle; the cage, and powerful rooftop drone jamming equipment, offer extra protection. But still, it's dangerous being here: the police, known as the White Angels, want to spend as little time in Bilozerske as possible.

The small, pretty mining town, just nine miles (14km) from the front line, is slowly being destroyed by Russia's summer offensive. The local hospital and banks have long since closed. The stucco buildings in the town square are shattered from drone attacks, the trees along its avenues are broken and splintered. Neat rows of cottages with corrugated roofs and well-tended gardens stream past the car windows. Some are untouched, others burned-out shells.

A rough estimate is that 700 inhabitants remain in Bilozerske from a pre-war population of 16,000. But there is little evidence of them - the town already looks abandoned.

An estimated 218,000 people need evacuation from the Donetsk region, in eastern Ukraine, including 16,500 children. The area, which is crucial to the country's defence, is bearing the brunt of Russia's invasion, including daily attacks from drones and missiles. Some are unable to leave, others unwilling. Authorities will help evacuate those in front-line areas, but they can't rehouse them once they're out of danger. And despite the growing threat from Russian drones there are those who would rather take their chances than leave their homes.

The police are looking for the house of one woman who does want to leave. Their van can't make it down one of the roads. So, on foot, a policeman goes searching, the hum of the drone jammer and its invisible protection receding as he heads down a lane.

Eventually he finds the woman under the eaves of her cottage, a sign on her door reading "People Live Here". She has dozens of bags and two dogs. It's too much for the police to carry: they already have evacuees and their belongings crammed inside the white van.

The woman faces a choice - leave behind her belongings, or stay. She decides to wait. There will be another evacuation team here soon and they will take her belongings too.

To stay or go is a life-or-death calculation. Civilian casualties in Ukraine reached a three-year high in July of this year, according to the latest available figures from the United Nations, with 1,674 people killed or injured. Most occur in front-line towns. The same month saw the highest number killed and injured by short-range drones since the start of the full-scale invasion, the UN said.

The nature of the threat to civilians in war has changed. Where once artillery and rocket strikes were the main threat, now they face being chased down by Russian first person view (FPV) drones, that follow and then strike.

As the police leave town, an old man pushing a bicycle appears. He's the only soul I see on the streets that day.

Most of those remaining in front-line towns are older people, who make up a disproportionate number of civilian casualties, according to the UN.

He tells me to move to the side of the road, out of the way of non-existent traffic. Volodymyr Romaniuk is 73 years old and is risking his life for the two cooking pots he's collected on the back of his bike. His sister-in-law's house was destroyed in a Russian attack, so he came today to salvage the pots.

Isn't he afraid of the drones, I ask. "What will be, will be. You know, at 73 years old, I'm not afraid anymore. I've already lived my life," he says.

He's in no rush to get off the streets. A former football referee, he slowly removes a folded card from his jacket pocket and shows me his official Collegium of Football Referees card. It's dated April 1986 – the month of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster.

He's from the west of Ukraine and could return there out of harm's way. "I stayed here for my wife," he tells me. She's had multiple surgeries and wouldn't be able to make the journey. And with that, he leaves, and heads home to care for his wife, the two metal pots on the back of his bike rattling as he moves along the empty street.

Slovyansk is further back from the front, 25km away, and faces a different drone threat. Shahed drones have been dubbed "flying mopeds" by Ukrainians because of their puttering engines. Swarms of them attack Slovyansk often. There is a change in the drone's hum before it dives and then explodes.

At night, Nadiia and Oleh Moroz hear them but still they won't leave Slovyansk. They have poured blood and sweat into this land - and at their son's graveside, tears too.

Serhii was 29, a lieutenant in the army killed by a cluster bomb near Svatove in November 2022. He and his father, Oleh, first fought together in 2015 against the Russians in Donbas. They worked side by side, as sappers.

Serhii's trident-shaped grave sits on a hillside overlooking Slovyansk, his portrait and a map of Ukraine on the polished black stone.

Nadiia, 53, visits often. On the afternoon I meet her, Russian artillery is landing on a nearby hillside. But she pays little attention as she fusses around the grave and whispers sweet nothings to her dead son.

"How can you lose the place where you were born, where you grew up, where your child grew up, where he found his final rest?" she tells me through tears. "And then to live your whole life with the feeling that you will never again visit this place - I cannot even imagine that right now."

But her husband Oleh, 55, admits they will have to leave when the fighting comes closer. "I won't stay here, the Russians would put a target on me straight away," he says. Until then they will stay under the nightly terror of drones so that they can remain close to their son's final resting place.

Life's challenges don't stop when war arrives. All Olha Zaiets wants is time to recover from her cancer surgery. Instead, the 53-year-old and her husband Oleksander Ponomarenko, 59, had to flee their home in Oleksandrivka. The Russians were only 7.5km away and the shelling became intense. Their postwoman was killed in a Russian bombardment, and the school principal too.

"There was a strike - a missile hit the neighbouring house. And the blast wave smashed our roof tiles, blew out the doors, the windows, the gates, the fence. We had just left, and two days later it hit. If we had been there, we would have died," she explains.

Now they are living, temporarily, in a borrowed house in Sviatohirsk. It isn't much better. We can hear shelling outside, the front line edges closer every day. But it will have to do. They have nowhere else to go.

"Yes, we will have to move farther away somewhere, but we don't know how or where," she says in a room crowded with their belongings, still waiting to be unpacked. Their life savings have gone on her hospital bills and now they are out of options.

On Tuesday they left the town to collect Olha's test results. The news was good and she won't have to undergo chemotherapy. "We were happy, we felt like we were flying on wings," she said.

But while they were gone, Russia bombed the nearby town of Yarova, 4km away. It was just before 11am and older people had left their homes and gathered to collect their pensions. Some 24 were killed and 19 wounded in one of the deadliest strikes on civilians in the war so far.

On Telegram, the head of the Donetsk administration, Vadym Filashkin, decried the attack. "This is not warfare – this is pure terrorism."

"I urge everyone," he said, "take care of yourselves. Evacuate to safer regions of Ukraine!"

Additional reporting by Liubov Sholudko

Stephen Lawrence's mother has told the BBC of her "disbelief" at being contacted by Prince Harry, who had uncovered evidence she had been allegedly spied on by the Daily Mail.

In her first interview on the subject, Baroness Doreen Lawrence says she was "floored" by what Prince Harry had found out.

Along with Prince Harry, Sir Elton John, and other public figures, she is suing the Daily Mail's publisher, Associated Newspapers, at the High Court in London.

Associated Newspapers has denied claims that it hacked phones, calling them "preposterous smears".

In 2022 it emerged that Baroness Lawrence, alongside Prince Harry, was taking the Daily Mail to court. She alleged it had illegally spied on her to gather information about the investigation into the 1993 murder of her son.

Stephen Lawrence was 18 when he was stabbed to death in a racist attack in Eltham, south London.

Until now, Baroness Lawrence has not spoken publicly about the hacking claims.

Speaking to the BBC, she says she first learned about some of the alleged spying after she received unexpected "contact from Prince Harry", who has successfully taken other newspaper groups to court.

She has told the BBC that Prince Harry "was busy looking at his own case and then my name kept cropping up" and "so he felt that I should know about it".

The prince told her he had information she would want to know and she subsequently met lawyers Anjlee Sangani and David Sherborne, who told her she had been spied on.

Her reaction to the claims was disbelief: "Why would anybody want to be listening to my calls, hacking into my phone? All I'm trying to do over the years, is to try and get justice for my son."

The allegations at the High Court include claims that private investigators working for the Daily Mail tapped Baroness Lawrence's home phone and hacked her voicemails. The paper is also accused of commissioning investigators to monitor her bank accounts and phone bills.

Associated Newspapers has not issued a statement in response to the BBC, but has previously denied the allegations, saying it has "filed a trenchant defence of its journalism against claims of phone-hacking".

It says it has "denied under oath that its journalists had commissioned or obtained information derived from phone-hacking, phone-tapping, bugging, computer or email-hacking or burglary to order."

The publisher says it "stands by its previous statements that the claims are preposterous and without foundation" and that the "stories concerned, many of which were published 20 or more years ago, and not subject to any complaint at the time, were the product of responsible journalism based on legitimate sources."

Associated Newspapers has failed to get the case thrown out of the High Court and the case is due to be heard in January. Baroness Lawrence told the BBC that there is a clear "case to answer".

Her other co-claimants include Sir Elton John's husband David Furnish, actors Sadie Frost and Liz Hurley, and the former Liberal Democrat politician Sir Simon Hughes.

Baroness Lawrence said it is a "bit daunting" to be part of such a group taking on the Mail.

She says she had previously "trusted" the Daily Mail and thought it wanted to "fight for the rights of Stephen". The paper campaigned on the Lawrence family's behalf, and ran a famous front page in 1997, naming five prime suspects for the murder.

However, she now says her trust has been completely broken: "I don't trust them whatsoever. I don't trust them at all."

Asked what she would like to happen in the case, she says: "I'd like to see Daily Mail apologise - and a public apology - for what they've done. We as a family has been going through so much, and they've added to the trauma."

A son of prominent South African anti-apartheid activist Steve Biko has told the BBC the family is confident a new inquest into his death 48 years ago will lead to the prosecution of those responsible.

Seen as a martyr in the struggle against white-minority rule, the Black Consciousness Movement founder died from a brain injury aged 30 almost a month after being arrested at a roadblock.

Police at the time said he had banged his head against a wall, but after apartheid ended in 1994, former officers admitted to assaulting him - although no-one has been prosecuted.

Nkosinathi Biko, who was six when his father died, said the country could not move forward without addressing its violent past.

"It's very clear in our minds as to what happened and how they killed Steve Biko," he told the BBC after the first hearing was held at the High Court in the southern city of Gqeberha - on the 48th anniversary of his father's death.

It is alleged that Biko, who had been subject to a "banning order" that restricted his movements and other activities at the time of his arrest in 1977, was tortured by five policemen while in detention.

"What is required from this process is simply to follow the facts, and we have no doubt that a democratic court, in a democratic state, will find that Steve Biko's murder was an act, orchestrated and executed by those who were with him - the five policemen who are implicated in this case," his son said.

• Ghosts of apartheid haunt South Africa as compensation anger brews
• South Africa's long wait for justice over apartheid crimes

On Friday, the judge heard that two people linked to the case remain alive, both now in their 80s.

Biko's death caused outrage in South Africa and was the subject of the 1987 Hollywood film Cry Freedom, starring Denzel Washington.

He had been a medical student at the University of Natal when he founded the Black Consciousness Movement, aimed at empowering and mobilising the urban black population.

He was determined to combat the psychological inferiority that many black South Africans felt after years of white-minority rule and at a time when anti-apartheid activists like Nelson Mandela had been silenced and incarcerated by the regime.

The new inquest comes five months after President Cyril Ramaphosa announced a judicial inquiry into allegations of political interference in the prosecution of apartheid-era crimes.

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), set up in 1996, uncovered apartheid-era atrocities like murder and torture, but few of these cases progressed to trial.

Biko's case was heard at the TRC, which is where the policemen involved admitted to having made false statements 20 years earlier, but they were not prosecuted.

"Accountability for our violent, brutal past is something that has evaded South African society," said Nkosinathi Biko.

"You cannot have the trauma that we had, the flow of blood in the streets orchestrated by a state against a people, and then you emerge with less than a handful of prosecutions ever being successfully made."

He said families who felt let down by the lack of prosecutions that had been recommended by the TRC had continued to pressure the government for justice.

"You can't give root to a democracy without dealing with some of the historical issues decisively," he said.

The case was adjourned until 12 November.

You may also be interested in:

• Remembering anti-apartheid legend Steve Biko
• LISTEN: Witness History on Steve Biko
• Timol inquest: Verdict gives hope to apartheid victims

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Nepal's former Supreme Court chief justice Sushila Karki is set to become the country's interim prime minister after deadly anti-corruption protests ousted the government.

Karki, 73, will be the first woman to lead the impoverished Himalayan nation after a deal was reached with the protest leaders for her to be sworn in.

More than 50 people were killed in clashes with riot police during this week's mass protests sparked by a ban on social media platforms.

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

Karki would take the oath of office on Friday evening, President Ram Chandra Poudel's press adviser confirmed to the BBC.

The agreement between the president and the protest leaders was reached after days of consultations. Legal experts were also involved.

Parliament is expected to be dissolved shortly.

Karki is widely regarded as a person of clean image, and is being supported by student leaders from the so-called "Gen Z" to lead the interim government.

Nepal's army has deployed patrols on the streets of Kathmandu, as the country reels from its worst unrest in decades.

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

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

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

A pilot and co-pilot have tested positive for alcohol after the plane they were operating veered off the runway when landing in Nigeria.

The Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) screened the pair after the accident in July, at the Port Harcourt International Airport. In addition, a crew member tested positive for cannabis.

All 103 people on board the Boeing 737 at the time of the incident were unharmed.

Air Peace, the company that operated the flight, said the 64-year-old pilot has been sacked for failing to adhere to safety regulations, while the co-pilot has since returned to his role.

In a statement, Air Peace said the co-pilot was acquitted by the national regulator, the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), following preliminary investigations and a clean bill of health.

Tests carried out by the NSIB found the pilot and co-pilot had tested positive for Ethyl Glucuronide (EtG), which indicates recent alcohol consumption.

A cabin crew member also tested positive for (THC), the psychoactive component in cannabis.

In a statement, Air Peace said it had not received any toxicology test results from the NSIB.

"We are yet to receive any official communication from the NSIB on such findings over a month after the incident and after the testing of the crew for alcohol which took place in less than an hour of the incident," Air Peace said.

The pilot had a total flying time of over 18,000 hours, while the co-pilot, aged 28, had almost 1,200 hours.

The NSIB says its investigations are still in progress. For now, it has recommended improved training and the reinforcement of internal procedures.

Although there have been no plane crashes in Nigeria for several years, there have been cases of aircraft overshooting the runway and tyres bursting during landing.

Earlier this month, aviation authorities launched a new flight data centre aimed at improving aircraft safety but stakeholders say further protective measures and improved technology need to be deployed in the sector.

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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

One of the first people JD Vance called before deciding to jump into politics was Charlie Kirk.

"[Kirk] introduced me to some of the people who would run my [Senate] campaign and also to Donald Trump Jr," the vice-president wrote in a powerful tribute he penned hours after Kirk's death.

"Don took a call from me because Charlie asked him."

Three years after that winning Senate run, when the elder Donald Trump was pondering his choice of presidential running mate, Kirk argued the case for Vance "in public and private", Vance wrote.

• Follow latest updates on hunt for suspect
• 'We have him' - how suspect was caught

By then, Kirk was already a fixture in Trump's orbit, courting donors and discussing strategies at Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida and hosting Turning Point USA summits hosted by local Republicans.

He never ran for office or held an official government position, but Kirk rose from being an unknown activist from the suburbs of Chicago to standard bearer of Donald Trump's Maga movement.

Kirk was President Trump's bridge to young Republicans, and Trump credited him and his organisation with his victory in 2024.

He was also a close personal friend of the Trump family, a key White House adviser, a hero to many young Republicans and a foil for the party's opponents.

A meteoric rise to MAGA star

Born in a suburb of Chicago in 1993, Kirk got started early in conservative politics, first penning an essay for right-wing Breitbart News at the age of 18, accusing schools of spreading "propaganda" and "indoctrination".

He caught the eye of Bill Montgomery, a retired businessman and Tea Party activist more than 50 years his senior, who took Kirk under his wing.

In 2012 – around the midpoint of Barack Obama's presidency – the pair founded Turning Point USA (TPUSA), a group which focused on conservative activism on college campuses, spreading rapidly along with Kirk's social media following.

The group tapped into online media and spread a slickly packaged style of conservatism to young people. It won him a speaking place, aged 23, at the 2016 Republican National Convention.

At the time, Kirk - who had worked with more conventional Republican candidates in the past - admitted to a Wired magazine that he "was not the world's biggest Donald Trump fan".

But from that moment on he quickly became one of Trump's biggest backers, steadfastly tracking the Maga agenda and disagreeing only on rare occasions.

• Suspect in custody - what we know so far

Following Kirk's death, Jared Kushner - the president's son in-law - wrote on X that he "played a significant role in helping President Trump's 2016 campaign, building and fostering the Maga movement", adding that he told established political organisations that "he comes with big ideas, is easy to work with and always overdelivers."

Lawrence Muir, a former official in Trump's first administration, said that Kirk's influence was key early on in Trump's first term, and that TPUSA "was the main recruitment vehicle for younger people."

But perhaps his more far-reaching impact, Mr Muir said, was in giving other conservatives an understanding of social media and how to reach young people.

"What [Kirk] really did was give a launching pad to those who weren't as interested in becoming bureaucratic functionalities, but were in going out and building winning coalitions," he said.

Hard-right Trump loyalist

Kirk's political views drifted rightward over time. He was against gay marriage and abortion, argued for Christian nationalism and was highly critical of Islam, and famously said that gun deaths were "worth it" for the right to own firearms. He was also an opponent of diversity programmes and spread falsehoods about topics such as Covid vaccines and voting fraud.

Above all, he was loyal to Trump.

At the end of Trump's first term, with the president pushing false allegations of election fraud, Kirk bragged about sending 80 buses of supporters to Washington just in time for the rally which devolved into the Jan 6 riot at the US Capitol.

Kirk was hauled in front of a Congressional committee investigating the riot and declined to say much of anything, instead invoking his constitutional right not to incriminate himself.

But by July 2024 he had tempered his views, telling the BBC that he believed it existed but only "on the edges". Instead, he said and his group were laser focused - like the Trump campaign - on maximising early voting methods that they had previously shunned as illegitimate and ripe for fraud.

Credit from Trump

Kirk poured millions of TPUSA dollars and thousands of volunteers into get-out-the-vote efforts in swing states during last year's election, and his strategy appears to have worked.

The organisation's "ground game" was crucial, analysts say, helping make up for the formal Trump campaign's struggles reaching infrequent voters, or those untouched by traditional outreach.

Although Democrat Kamala Harris won the youth vote overall, it was by a far smaller margin than that of Joe Biden's 2020 victory.

Trump himself gave Kirk credit at TPUSA's annual AmericaFest conference in December, just a few weeks after his election victory.

"I want to express my tremendous gratitude to Charlie Kirk. He's really an amazing guy, amazing guy and his whole staff for their relentless efforts to achieve this very historic victory," Trump said.

The gathering was triumphant, bombastic and slickly produced, with huge video screens - a demonstration of TPUSA's deep pockets. The group has now spread to 3,500 high schools and colleges and brought in more than $85m (£62m) last year, according to investigative journalism outlet ProPublica.

It also showed off Kirk's ability to bring together disparate wings of the Make America Great Again movement - members of Congress, dark arts strategists like Roger Stone and conspiracy-obsessed social media influencers.

Ever closer to White House power

Kirk's influence arguably grew even more during Trump's second term. Just two days before Trump took office, the pair played golf together in Mar-a-Lago.

His relationships with Trump and the rest of the family even gave him sway over government posts - Kirk was reportedly involved in vetting administration appointees earlier this year.

In his tribute, Vance wrote: "He didn't just help us win in 2024, he helped us staff the entire government."

And while his social media and podcast output continued at pace, along with campus tours and other speaking commitments, he continued to hew to Trump's agenda.

After criticising the Justice Department for dragging its feet on releasing files related to the sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, he took a phone call with Trump. Shortly thereafter, Kirk declared that he was "done talking about Epstein".

News of his killing hit the White House hard, starting with the startled gasps of young staffers who saw news of the shooting while scrolling on their phones.

"Oh my God," one young woman was heard saying, before scurrying down a hallway to tell others. "Charlie Kirk has been shot!"

Some staff were wiping away tears. President Trump received updates and fielded phone calls from the Oval Office before ultimately taking to Truth Social to publicly confirm his death and later delivering a video address on his murder and ordering flags across the country to fly at half-staff.

"Charlie was very much a part of this family, and maybe the highest-profile Maga person outside of those that are working here," Chief-of-Staff Susie Wiles told CNN. "I think it shook everybody to their core."

Donald Trump Jr posted his own message saying that Kirk "wasn't just a friend, he was like a little brother to me.

Dr Matthew Dallek, a professor at George Washington University and expert on modern conservatism, said that the close personal ties between Kirk and the Trump family were "really important" to the TPUSA founder's broader influence.

"Trump prizes loyalty, above maybe anything else," he said. "And if Don Jr is saying he was like a brother to him, that suggests just how great a supporter Kirk was. They viewed him as an absolutely critical ally and advisor.

"There was a kindred spirit there, and they did not have to worry about him bolting from the movement. He was loyal."

Scottish Secretary Douglas Alexander has said Labour MPs will be feeling "despondent" following a chaotic week which has seen the sacking of Lord Mandelson and the resignation of Angela Rayner.

Sir Keir Starmer is facing questions over why he appointed Mandelson as the UK's ambassador to the US despite his known links to the convicted paedophile Jeffery Epstein.

The government said Mandelson was dismissed after new information about the extent of the two men's friendship came out this week.

The prime minister is now in the position of searching for a new ambassador to Washington, just days before the US President arrives for a state visit.

Speaking to BBC Breakfast, Scottish Secretary Douglas Alexander said: "Many of us were devastated by [deputy PM] Angela Rayner's departure from the government last week.

"She's an extraordinary woman who's overcome the most extraordinary challenges and we are grieving and feel quite acutely that sense of loss.

"Now to have the dismissal of Peter Mandelson just the next week, I totally get it, of course Labour MPs will be despondent that in two weeks in a row we have seen significant resignations from public service.

"These are not the headlines any of us in government or in Parliament would have chosen or wanted.

"But the fact is when the evidence emerged, action had to be taken and we are looking forward, therefore, to moving on."

Some Labour MPs have expressed anger at how the situation with Mandelson has been handled.

Paula Barker - who dropped out of the deputy Labour leader race on Thursday - said: "The delay in sacking him has only served to further erode the trust and confidence in our government and politics in the round."

Charlotte Nichols said Mandelson's sacking was "not immediate enough unfortunately, as he should never have been appointed in the first place".

Sadik Al-Hassan said there were "serious questions about the vetting process of the ambassador".

Stephen Lawrence's mother has urged witnesses to come forward with information about her son's murder, as an official review - triggered by a BBC investigation - has begun.

Baroness Doreen Lawrence told BBC News the review was the "last opportunity" for full justice and said she cannot grieve until that is achieved.

Investigators working for the College of Policing are examining information held by the Metropolitan Police to identify any outstanding lines of inquiry.

In a statement, the College said the review was being "conducted independently of the Met Police".

Baroness Lawrence told the BBC she hoped people who hold information about the murder will now feel able to talk.

She said there were "reasons why they felt they couldn't do it at the time".

"This is the last opportunity that we're going to have to get the complete justice that I think Stephen so deserves.

"So I would like to ask them, whatever they felt at the time, or whatever happened if they tried to help, please come forward now."

The review was announced last year following a series of BBC reports which publicly named a sixth suspect in the murder, exposed a series of police failings, and led to an apology from Met Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley to Baroness Lawrence for broken promises by the force.

A long process of negotiation followed over what the review would examine - with the Met conceding a series of key demands by the Lawrence family, including the full involvement of Clive Driscoll, the retired Met detective who achieved two murder convictions in the case.

In 2014, Mr Driscoll was replaced as senior investigating officer by the Met before he could complete his inquiry.

The review team will be led by a recently retired senior detective who had a career outside the Met.

It will seek to identify if any lines of enquiry were missed, not pursued properly, or now require a fresh approach.

One focus of the review will be the news reports by the BBC. If viable lines of inquiry are identified, they will be passed to an independent investigative body.

Institutionally racist

Stephen was 18 when he was stabbed to death in a racist attack in Eltham, south London, in April 1993. He had been waiting for a bus with his friend Duwayne Brooks, who said there were six attackers.

The Met's failures to properly investigate the five prime suspects in the case became notorious and led to the force being branded "institutionally racist" by a landmark public inquiry. Two of Stephen's murderers were finally convicted in 2012, but the other suspects have remained free.

The murder investigation was closed in 2020, with the Met saying everything possible had been done.

Baroness Lawrence told the BBC that key suspects, brothers Neil and Jamie Acourt, have "been sitting quite pretty".

"They believe they've got away with it, and the police have allowed them to think that they've got away with it," she said. The Acourt brothers have always denied being involved with the murder.

Two years ago, the BBC publicity identified a sixth suspect, Matthew White, who died in 2021 and exposed a series of failures by the Met relating to him. Evidence that implicates White also implicates the key outstanding suspects.

"It's been going on for 32 years, and we haven't come to an end of it," said Baroness Lawrence.

"Most people have come to the end and [are] allowed to grieve in private. We haven't been given that opportunity."

The Met said its objective remains "to achieve the arrest, prosecution and conviction of all of those responsible for Stephen's murder".

A spokesman added: "The review is being led by an experienced investigator working for the College and will focus on identifying any outstanding lines of enquiry which could reasonably lead to a suspect being brought to justice."

The review team can be contacted at StephenLawrenceReview@college.police.uk.

A sheriff has ordered that a self-styled "African tribe" should be removed from privately-owned land in the Scottish Borders.

The three members of the self-proclaimed Kingdom of Kubala have been camping in woodland near Jedburgh for several weeks.

They said they were reclaiming land that was stolen from their ancestors 400 years ago - but the local council said they were breaking the law.

The eviction order, which takes effect immediately, was issued by Sheriff Peter Paterson after the group ignored a previous instruction to leave their encampment by 17:00 on Monday.

None of the group's members were present at Jedburgh Sheriff Court and they did not have legal representation.

Moved to woodland

Ghanaian Kofi Offeh, 36, and Jean Gasho, 42, who is originally from Zimbabwe, first arrived in the Jedburgh area in the spring.

Describing themselves as King Atehehe and Queen Nandi, they set up camp on a hillside above the town in the Scottish Borders.

They were joined by "handmaiden" Kaura Taylor, from Texas, who calls herself Asnat.

The group claimed ancestral rights to land and insisted that the Kingdom of Kubala had been born.

Scottish Borders Council initially evicted the trio from the hillside site above Jedburgh in July.

But rather than leave the area, they moved about a mile further out of town to a woodland next to an industrial estate.

The land's owners, David and Mary Palmer, successfully applied to the courts for the tribe to be evicted.

However, Scottish Borders Council said they had failed to comply with an order to leave the land by 17:00 on Monday.

Jedburgh councillor Scott Hamilton said the group were breaking the law by taking up residence on someone else's land.

He said the landowner had been left with "no option" but to seek an order from the sheriff.

Mr Hamilton, deputy leader of the council, said it was disappointing - but not surprising - that the group had ignored the ultimatum to leave the site.

"They have rebuffed every opportunity to engage with us," he said.

"We can help them, but we won't sit back and let them break the law."

He added that comments on social media by the group, which has made allegations of prejudice against the community, had upset a lot of people in the area.

'We are not afraid'

The "tribe" has a growing online presence, with more than 100,000 followers on TikTok and Facebook, and has received worldwide media attention.

Speaking to the media at the campsite following the order, Mr Offeh said the group were "not afraid" of the warrant for their eviction.

"The creator of the heavens and the Earth is the one with us," he said.

"And we are not afraid of whatever the court - the so-called court - has granted."

Asked if the group planned to move elsewhere, the self-proclaimed king said: "If the creator of the heavens and the earth wants us to move from this land, he shall find us a place to go."

The United Nations Security Council has condemned Israel's strikes on a residential compound in the Qatari capital Doha, which targeted senior members of Hamas.

The statement - which did not directly name Israel - was backed by all 15 Security Council members, including the US, which traditionally blocks actions against its close ally.

"Council members underscored the importance of de-escalation and expressed their solidarity with Qatar," read the statement, drafted by the UK and France. Israel defended its decision to mount the attack.

Qatar has played a key role in brokering diplomatic efforts to end the Israel-Gaza war, serving as a mediator of indirect negotiations between Hamas and Israel.

It has hosted the Hamas political bureau since 2012 and is a close US ally, hosting a large American airbase in the desert south-west of Doha.

The emergency meeting was requested by Qatar, Algeria, Pakistan and Somalia. Qatar's Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani travelled to New York to attend.

"This attack puts the international community before a test," al-Thani told the council.

"Israel, led by blusterous extremists, has gone beyond any borders, any limitations when it comes to behaviour. We are unable to predict what Israel will do. How can we host Israeli representatives when they have committed this attack?"

Pakistan's ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad said: "It is evident that Israel, the occupying power, is bent on doing everything to undermine and blow up every possibility of peace".

Meanwhile, Algeria's ambassador Amar Bendjama said the Security Council remained "constrained" as it was "unable even to name the aggressor, to qualify aggression as a violation of international law".

Israel's representative, Danny Danon, defended the attack, telling the meeting: "This strike sends a message that should echo across this chamber. There is no sanctuary for terrorists, not in Gaza, not in Tehran, not in Doha."

For a Security Council statement to be issued, all 15 members must sign off on the text. The US has long-blocked statements critical of Israel - making its backing of this one, though Israel is not named, notable.

US President Donald Trump earlier criticised Israel's strikes, writing that unilaterally striking inside Qatar "does not advance Israel or America's goals".

However, he added that "this unfortunate incident could serve as an opportunity for PEACE", and that the elimination of Hamas was a "worthy goal".

The strikes on Doha shocked many in the region, who had long assumed that close relations with the US would offer security.

In May, Trump announced a "historic" economic agreement signed between Qatar and the US that he said was valued at least $1.2 trillion (£890bn).

Qatar also recently gifted Trump a plane - valued at $400m - as an "unconditional gift" to be used as the new Air Force One, the official aircraft of the US president.

On Friday, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) summoned the deputy Israeli ambassador over the Israeli strike on Doha as well as what it described as "hostile and unacceptable" remarks by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The UAE normalised diplomatic ties with Israel under the 2020 Abraham Accords, a US-brokered agreement which led to co-operation across a range of issues, from security to the economy.

The accords, which were also signed by Morocco, Bahrain and Sudan, are widely seen as one of Donald Trump's major foreign policy achievements from his first term in office.

Hamas said that its negotiating team survived Israel's strikes on Doha on Tuesday, but that five of its members were killed, including the son of the group's chief negotiator Khalil al-Hayya. A Qatari security officer was also killed.