A woman who repeatedly claimed to be Madeleine McCann has been found guilty of harassing the missing girl's parents but cleared of a more serious stalking charge.

Julia Wandelt and her supporter Karen Spragg - who was acquitted of all charges - were accused of mounting a "campaign of harassment" against Kate and Gerry McCann, which in Wandelt's case lasted more than two years.

Wandelt, 24, of Lubin, Poland, was found guilty of a lesser charge of harassment and sentenced to six months in prison, which she has already served, having been in custody since February.

In a statement, the McCanns said that, despite the guilty verdict, they "take no pleasure in the result".

In the statement, the McCanns said they did not want to go through the court process, but a decision to prosecute was made by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), based on the evidence gathered by the police.

"We hope Ms Wandelt will receive the appropriate care and support she needs and any vulnerability will not be exploited by others," they said.

"If anyone has new evidence relating to Madeleine's disappearance, please pass this on to the police."

Wandelt was sentenced during a hearing at Leicester Crown Court on Friday.

During her sentencing remarks, Mrs Justice Cutts said she accepted that the Polish national did "not have an easy childhood".

But she said her family history did "not justify the way you behaved".

"It has been confirmed in this case you are not Madeleine McCann," she said.

"There was not proper or logical basis for this."

The judge said the McCanns were "entitled to leave matters with the police and refuse to engage with you particularly in the sad circumstances they live".

She added: "Your constant pestering, badgering and, eventually, attendance at their home address on a dark evening in December was unwarranted."

The judge also granted a restraining order stopping both Wandelt and Mrs Spragg, 61, of Caerau Court Road, Cardiff, from contacting the McCanns, visiting Leicestershire or publishing any broadcast concerning the family.

Wandelt's order will remain in place indefinitely, or until any further ruling is made, while Mrs Spragg's order will be in place for five years.

The trial heard Wandelt has claimed to be Madeleine, whose disappearance during a family holiday to Portugal in 2007 has never been solved, since 2022.

The results of a DNA test carried out after her arrest in February of this year "conclusively proved" she is not the missing child, but, under cross-examination, Wandelt told the court she was still "50-50" about her identity.

The trial heard Wandelt previously claimed to be two other missing children before asserting she was Madeleine.

Giving evidence, she told the jury she had limited memories of her childhood and "could only remember abuse" after experiences with her step-grandfather.

She began to reach out to the McCann family through Glenfield Hospital, where Madeleine's parents worked, in June 2022 and then the Metropolitan Police's investigation into the missing child.

Police looked into Wandelt's claims and called her to "reassure" her she was not Madeleine, the court heard, but contact moved on to directly attempting to reach the McCanns, whose personal details had been included in a leaked Portuguese police file and posted online.

Mrs McCann was subsequently "bombarded" with more than 60 calls and messages on one day, the court was told.

Mr McCann told the court on another occasion, he answered to say "something like, 'you're not Madeleine'".

He said claims like Wandelt's "pull on your heartstrings" but were "damaging" to the search for his daughter.

The court heard Madeleine's younger siblings Amelie, and then Sean, were contacted by Wandelt over social media, and family friends and associates - including the parish priest - all received communications, up until February 2025.

But attempts to press the McCanns for a DNA test were not just made remotely.

Wandelt attended a vigil for Madeleine where she tried to hand organiser Janet Kennedy, Madeleine's great-aunt, an envelope.

She said she "tried to stay courteous and calm", but told the jury she was "stunned" by the approach.

Mrs Kennedy later tore up the letter, the court heard.

After becoming aware of Wandelt's visit to the vigil and then Charing Cross police station to have DNA - which was later destroyed - taken, Det Con Mark Draycott told the trial he called Wandelt for a second time to say "in no uncertain terms" that she was not Madeleine.

He advised her if she returned to Leicestershire she could face harassment charges.

The conversation - which was played in court - was recorded without Det Con Draycott's knowledge, the jury heard, and uploaded to a YouTube crime podcast with Wandelt.

Prosecutor Michael Duck KC said it was around this time that Mrs Spragg, of Caerau Court Road, Cardiff, struck up a relationship online with Wandelt to support her claims and "conspiracy theories".

'Horrible memories'

A WhatsApp exchange in November 2024 between Wandelt and Mrs Spragg included jokes about going through the McCanns' bins and stealing cutlery from a restaurant after they visited to obtain DNA, the court heard.

Giving evidence from behind a privacy screen, Mrs McCann testified that she was distressed after being confronted on her driveway by the defendants, who pleaded for a DNA test, in December 2024

She said she felt "invaded in her own home", while Mr McCann, who had arrived a short while later, told the court: "It brings back a lot of horrible memories of when the media was camped outside our house."

Wandelt appeared on Dr Phil in the US, which prosecutors said kept her public profile high, and had planned further media appearances on her return to the UK when instead both defendants were arrested in February 2025.

During cross-examination, Wandelt said she was still "50-50" about being Madeleine, despite DNA testing by police carried out after the arrests conclusively proving she is not.

She questioned the authenticity of the DNA results when told the results at HMP Peterborough on 1 April this year, and demanded to see the "entire paperwork".

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Former footballer Joey Barton has been found guilty of six counts of sending "grossly offensive" social media posts directed at broadcaster Jeremy Vine and television pundits Lucy Ward and Eni Aluko.

Barton, 43, compared Aluko and Ward to the serial killer couple Fred and Rose West, and called Vine a "bike nonce" in posts sent between January and March 2024.

Jurors at Liverpool Crown Court accepted the prosecution's argument that Barton had "crossed the line between free speech and a crime" on six counts.

But they cleared the ex-Manchester City, Everton and Newcastle midfielder of six other counts of sending a grossly offensive electronic communication with intent to cause distress or anxiety.

This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly. Please refresh the page for the fullest version.

You can receive Breaking News on a smartphone or tablet via the BBC News App. You can also follow @BBCBreaking on X to get the latest alerts.

Lady Gaga and Kendrick Lamar lead the nominees for the 2026 Grammy Awards, while K-Pop has broken into the song of the year category for the first time.

For the second year in a row, Compton rapper Lamar has the most nominations - nine in total - including a coveted album of the year nod for the sleek, fiery GNX.

Gaga is also up for the main prize for Mayhem, a record that leans into her own history, and marks a return to her electro-pop roots. She has seven nominations overall.

Meanwhile, two K-Pop songs are shortlisted for song of the year: Rosé and Bruno Mars' frothy pop hit APT, and Hunter/x's Golden, the breakout hit from Netflix's animated film K-Pop Demon Hunters.

Both Gaga and Lamar have five previous nominations for album of the year, but neither has ever lifted the coveted gold gramophone in that category.

If Lamar wins next February, GNX would become the first rap album to earn the night's main prize since Outkast's Speakerboxxx/The Love Below in 2004.

He faces competition from fellow rap maverick Tyler, The Creator with his wildly inventive Chromakopia; and reunited hip-hop duo Clipse, whose Let God Sort Em Out is their first release since 2009.

It is the first time in Grammy history that three rap albums have made the shortlist for album of the year.

Also nominated is Puerto Rican star Bad Bunny - who is also set to headline next year's Super Bowl half time show.

He's shortlisted for the musically ambitious Debí Tirar Más Fotos, which fuses live instrumentation with the hip-swaying pulse of reggaeton.

British stars Olivia Dean and Lola Young have got their first ever Grammy nominations in the best new artist category, where they will compete against pop star Addison Rae and global girl group Katseye.

The nominees were revealed in a live stream by a host of stars, including 2025 winners Chappell Roan, Doechii and Sabrina Carpenter, and British stars such as Sam Smith and Marcus Mumford.

Who has the most nominations?

• Kendrick Lamar - nine
• Lady Gaga - seven
• Bad Bunny, Sabrina Carpenter, Leon Thomas - six

The 'big four' awards

Song of the year

• Lady Gaga – Abracadabra
• Doechii - Anxiety
• Rosé & Bruno Mars - APT
• Bad Bunny - DtMF
• Hunter/x - Golden
• Kendrick Lamar feat SZA - Luther
• Sabrina Carpenter - Manchild
• Billie Eilish - Wildflower

Record of the year

• Bad Bunny - DtMF
• Sabrina Carpenter - Manchild
• Doechii - Anxiety
• Billie Eilish - Wildflower
• Lady Gaga – Abracadabra
• Kendrick Lamar feat SZA - Luther
• Chappell Roan - The Subway
• Rosé & Bruno Mars - APT

Album of the year

• Bad Bunny - Debí Tirar Más Fotos
• Justin Bieber - Swag
• Sabrina Carpenter - Man's Best Friend
• Clipse – Let God Sort Em Out
• Lady Gaga - Mayhem
• Kendrick Lamar - GNX
• Leon Thomas – Mutt
• Tyler, the Creator – Chromakopia

Best new artist

• Olivia Dean
• Katseye
• The Marias
• Addison Rae
• Sombr
• Leon Thomas
• Alex Warren
• Lola Young

Why isn't Taylor Swift nominated?

This is the first time since 2006 that Taylor Swift hasn't been eligible for the Grammys.

The star's latest album, The Life of a Showgirl, was released in October, missing the cut-off point for nominations.

To qualify, a song or album must have been released between 31 August, 2024, and 30 August, 2025.

The Life of a Showgirl will therefore be eligible for the 2027 ceremony, and looks certain to secure Swift her eighth nomination for album of the year.

How are the Grammys decided?

Almost 23,000 entries were submitted for the 2026 Grammys awards.

The biggest field was for song of the year, which had 1,015 entries.

The least populated category was best compilation soundtrack for visual media, with just 48 entries.

Once the submissions are screened and verified, voting members take over. Nearly 15,000 musicians, critics and music industry professionals cast ballots to decide the final nominees.

After the publication of the shortlist, a final round voting will take place between 12 December and 5 January.

The winners will be announced at a star-studded ceremony in Los Angeles on 1 February 2026.

A pay package that could be worth $1 trillion has been approved for Tesla CEO Elon Musk. The mind-meltingly large number is conditional on achieving certain targets for the company - but what does one trillion actually look like?

Take our quiz to understand the scale of how the world's richest man could get richer.

A former Israeli hostage who was released last month has told Israeli TV that he was sexually assaulted during his two years in captivity in Gaza.

In an interview with Channel 13's Hazinor programme, Rom Braslavski, 21, described being stripped naked and tied up by members of Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ).

"It was sexual violence, and its main purpose was humiliation. Its goal was to humiliate me, to crush my dignity," he said.

He is the first man held hostage to allege publicly that he was sexually assaulted.

Warning: This article contains details some readers may find disturbing.

Rom Braslavski was on leave from his service as a soldier in the Israeli military and was working as a security guard at the Nova music festival when Hamas and allied Palestinian armed groups attacked southern Israel on 7 October 2023, killing about 1,200 people and taking 251 others as hostages.

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

Four weeks ago, Mr Braslavski was among the last 20 living Israeli hostages who were released under a US-brokered ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas.

In the interview with Channel 13, broadcast late on Thursday, Mr Braslavski said his treatment by PIJ deteriorated rapidly after he had refused to convert from Judaism to Islam in March this year, which was also when the previous ceasefire collapsed.

He said he was kept blindfolded for three weeks, had stones pushed into his ears to limit his hearing, and had his rations of food and water reduced.

Then, he added, his captors received what they described as an order to torture him.

Mr Braslavski said they tied him up, punched him, and whipped him with a metal cable – and that this was repeated several times a day.

"I entered into a loop, which I doubted I would come out of alive," he recalled.

In August 2025, PIJ posted a video in which Mr Braslavski was seen crying and saying that he had run out of food and water, was unable to stand or walk, and was "at death's door".

Following the publication of the video, Mr Braslavski told Channel 13, his captors also began to sexually assault him.

"They stripped me of all my clothes, my underwear, everything. They tied me up from the... When I was completely naked I was wiped out, dying without food and I prayed to God: 'Save me, get me out of this already'," he said.

When asked whether his captors did "more things like that", Mr Braslavski replied: "Yes. It's hard for me to talk about this part specifically. I don't like to talk about it. And it's hard. It was a horrific thing."

He added: "You just pray to God for it to stop. And while I was there, every day, every beating, every day, I'd say to myself: 'I survived another day in hell. Tomorrow morning, I'll wake up to another hell. And another hell'."

Israeli President Isaac Herzog said Mr Braslavski had shown "extraordinary courage in sharing the horrors of his captivity, including a horrific sexual assault he endured".

"The world must understand the scale of the crimes committed by the terrorists in Gaza, heinous cruelty, sexual violence, and abuse," he wrote on X.

At least four women held as hostages have spoken publicly about alleged incidents of sexual abuse against themselves or fellow captives, according to Reuters.

A PIJ official told Reuters news agency that Mr Braslavski's allegation of sexual assault was "incorrect", without elaborating.

The UN Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict said in March 2024 that she and a team of experts had found "convincing information" of rape and sexualised torture being committed against some hostages in Gaza. They also found reasonable grounds to believe that sexual violence occurred in multiple locations, including rape and gang rape, during the 7 October attacks. Hamas said the report's findings were "baseless".

A separate report by a UN commission of inquiry in March 2025 concluded that Israel had "increasingly employed sexual, reproductive and other forms of gender-based violence against Palestinians", including "forced public stripping and nudity, sexual harassment including threats of rape, as well as sexual assault". Israel called the allegations "unfounded".

Last week, the former top lawyer in the Israeli military resigned after saying she was responsible for the leaking of a video that purportedly shows soldiers abusing a Palestinian detainee at a base in Israel last year. The detainee was treated for severe injuries after allegedly being stabbed in the rectum. Five soldiers have been charged over the incident.

The recent cases of prisoners being mistakenly released has put a fresh spotlight on the demands facing the justice system.

Prison overcrowding, staffing levels and government funding have all been called into question.

How many prisoners have been released by mistake?

There were 262 prisoners accidentally released in the 12 months to March 2025, compared with 115 the previous year.

Of 121 prisons across England and Wales, 72 released at least one prisoner by mistake in 2024-25.

The overall number of releases has also increased - but not by as much.

There were just over 57,000 releases of prisoners who had finished the custodial part of their sentences in England and Wales in 2024-25. This includes the period when some prisoners were released after serving 40% of their sentence.

The year before there were about 50,000 releases. That's a rise in the number of releases of about 13% - a lot lower proportionally than the increase in errors.

One in 10 released from 'escort areas'

The majority of accidental releases were from a prison itself.

Pentonville Prison in London released the most in 2024-25 - 16, up from six the year before.

To put that in context, Pentonville had a population of just under 1,200 in March 2025. So that's equivalent to letting out more than one in every 100 prisoners by mistake over the year.

Another category of mistaken release is from "escort areas" - places where prisoners are being taken between prisons, to and from court hearings or to immigration removal centres.

Around one in 10 were released in error from these areas, the figures show.

However it's not clear from the data how many had been convicted or were in prison on remand, awaiting a trial or sentencing hearing.

Staffing challenges

At the end of June 2025, there were a total of 36,627 people working in prison service establishments across England and Wales.

That's 787 fewer people than a year ago, but well above the staff numbers in previous years.

However staff turnover is an ongoing issue.

In the year to June, nearly 13% of staff left the prison service, almost twice the 7.1% turnover rate across the Civil Service.

Half had spent a year or less in the job.

Sickness rates also impact operations.

In the year to June, prison staff missed an average of12 days of work due to sickness. In two out of five cases, the absence was related to a mental health issue.

For comparison, average workers in the UK miss just over four days a year due to sickness.

Government funding

The mistaken releases have led to renewed questions over government funding for the justice system.

Former Conservative justice secretary Alex Chalk says the MoJ, which is responsible for prisons, the probation system, courts and legal aid, spends in a year the amount "spent by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) every two weeks".

MoJ is spending this year is around £13bn according to the National Audit Office - compared to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), which spent nearly £276bn in 2023-24.

And, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies thinktank, the MoJ is expected to be 5.6% smaller than it was in 2010 by the end of the current parliament.

What do you want BBC Verify to investigate?

Six police officers will face a misconduct process following an investigation into their action after three people died in a car crash.

Sophie Russon, 20, Eve Smith, 21, Darcy Ross, 21, Rafel Jeanne, 24, and Shane Loughlin, 32, were last seen at about 02:00 GMT on 4 March 2023 after they went missing on a night out.

The group were later found in a crashed car near Newport Road in Cardiff.

This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly. Please refresh the page for the fullest version.

You can receive Breaking News on a smartphone or tablet via the BBC News App. You can also follow @BBCBreaking on X to get the latest alerts.

Thousands of North Sea oil workers are being told they must lose weight if they are to keep flying offshore - or face losing their jobs.

From November next year, industry body Offshore Energies UK (OEUK) said the maximum clothed weight for a worker heading offshore should be 124.7kg (19.5 st) - so they can be winched to safety in an emergency.

The 249kg (39st) maximum Coastguard rescue helicopter winch load is made up of that figure plus the average 90.3kg (14st) weight of a rescue worker, a 29kg (4.5st) stretcher and the 5kg (0.8st) kit.

OEUK said more than 2,200 workers were currently above the weight limit, and jobs could be lost in the worst case scenario.

The new safe weight limit policy comes after the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) warned that rescue winches - which are critical during offshore emergencies - cannot safely lift heavier people.

OEUK said the average weight of offshore workers had risen by almost 10kg (1.5st) since 2008.

The decision to implement a safe weight limit for offshore workers follows a review by industry experts over the past two-and-a half years.

Rules about shoulder size were previously introduced for workers travelling to and from offshore installations by helicopter.

Passengers with a shoulder width of 22in (56cm) or more were classed as "extra broad" and had to sit next to a similarly large helicopter window, so they could escape.

Could jobs be lost?

Graham Skinner, the health and safety manager at OEUK, said it was hoped the new safety policy - as part of a "robust safety culture" - would not lead to job losses, but he could not rule it out.

"That would be the absolute worst-case scenario.

"Employers will have a duty to support their workers through this and try to find reasonable solutions for it, but in the very worst cases that would be the case for some people."

Mr Skinner described it as "really important" that there was a clear message to the workforce that the new rules were going to come in.

"Hopefully that is the impetus for everyone to get behind the policy and lose weight in time for November next year," he said.

"There are those who are going to have a real challenge over the next 12 months to lose weight to get under the weight limit.

"There is about 2,270 that are going to have to lose a little bit of weight to make sure they can continue working after November next year.

"At that point an offshore worker who weighs over 124 kg will not get their medical and that will preclude them from getting on a helicopter."

However, Mr Skinner said they were "really confident" that the "vast majority" of workers were going to get under the weight limit.

Some are extremely fit

He cited the support they would get from their employers, the offshore operators, and the offshore community itself.

"We have already heard of offshore workers who are offering circuit training and gym sessions for workers," he added.

"So it's a great opportunity for the community to come together."

John Boland, the regional officer at the Unite union, said: "We would hope that nobody loses their job through this and there can be support put in to stop that from happening.

"The biggest concerns we have had are from individuals that are naturally larger built and in some cases are extremely fit but are above that actual weight limit.

"Those are discussions we need to have, how we can support those individuals as well."

The mandatory implementation of the new policy will be from 1 November 2026.

Explosions have been heard near the Sudanese capital of Khartoum, a day after the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) said it would agree to a humanitarian ceasefire.

Residents in Khartoum, which is controlled by the army, told the AFP news agency that they were woken overnight by the sound of drones and explosions.

The blasts appeared to take place near a military base and a power station in the early hours of Friday morning, the residents said.

The RSF has not addressed these accounts, but Sudan's military-led government said it would be wary of agreeing to a truce as the group did not "respect" ceasefires.

The two sides have been embroiled in a civil war that has killed at least 150,000 people and forced 12 million others from their homes since it erupted in April 2023.

This week a UN-backed global hunger monitor confirmed that famine conditions were spreading in conflict zones.

On Friday, drones were heard not only in Khartoum, but also 300km (186 miles) north of the city, in the military-controlled town of Atbara.

"Anti-aircraft defences shot them down, but I saw fires breaking out and heard sounds of explosions in the east of the city," a resident there told AFP.

The day before, the RSF announced it had agreed to a humanitarian truce proposed by the US, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia and Egypt.

The four countries put forward the plan in September - and said it should be followed by a permanent ceasefire and a transition to civilian rule.

At the time the Sudanese government rejected "foreign interference" and any attempts that equated it with a "racist terrorist militia that relies on foreign mercenaries".

It is not clear if the proposal has been modified since then.

But during a press conference on Friday, Sudan's ambassador to South Africa said it was too early for his country to agree to the plan.

"From our experience, we had many truces at the beginning of the war but every time there was no respect from [the RSF]," Osman Abufatima Adam Mohammed said.

"They use these truces to move to new areas and make moves against the government."

The ambassador opposed the UAE's presence at the ceasefire talks, repeating his government's allegation that the Gulf nation was supplying the RSF with weapons and foreign fighters.

UN experts say accusations of such military support are credible, but the UAE has denied all involvement with the RSF.

The RSF and the military have agreed to ceasefire proposals before, but none have stuck.

This time, the RSF waited until it had finally seized el-Fasher, a key city that it had been blockading for 18 months, before announcing it was on board with the truce.

Now that the paramilitary group has consolidated control over el-Fasher and, consequently, the vast wider western region of Darfur, it may have greater leverage in future ceasefire negotiations.

But the RSF is also facing an international backlash against widespread reports of mass killings and sexual violence during the fall of el-Fasher, which it has denied.

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

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

It has appeared in Tesla showrooms, on its factory floors and has even posed with Kim Kardashian.

But Elon Musk's vision for his human-like robot Optimus is much grander than that.

Since first unveiling it at a Tesla showcase in 2022, the tech billionaire has suggested his company's droid could play a huge role in the homes and lives of people all over the world.

Along with self-driving robotaxis and Cybertrucks, Musk believes Tesla robots are key to establishing a foothold in the artificial intelligence (AI) landscape.

And investors who signed off on his $1tn pay package on Thursday would appear to agree.

One of the many tasks Musk must complete to get his whopping pay deal is to deliver a million AI bots over the next decade.

But is Tesla's big bet on humanoid robots rooted in science fiction or reality?

Big potential

Silicon Valley is gunning hard for humanoids.

A report released by Morgan Stanley on Friday predicted Apple, which is reportedly looking into the robots, could potentially earn $133bn a year from them by 2040.

Foxconn is reported to be deploying them at its Nvidia factory in Texas.

The idea of advanced AI within a human-shaped shell is an astonishingly powerful combination in theory. It would let the tech interact with the physical world around it – and yes that includes us.

While many companies have sought to develop human-like robots for factory and industrial use - such as UK robotics firm Humanoid - some are already looking to insert the tech in homes.

The highly-publicised Neo from tech firm 1X, slated to launch in 2026, can do menial chores like emptying the dishwasher, folding clothes and fetching you items.

It will cost $20,000 but it does come with a caveat - the WSJ reported it was actually controlled by a person wearing a virtual reality headset.

Forrester analyst Brian Hopkins said the falling costs of components, combined with improvements to robot dexterity and AI, was helping to make humanoid robots feasible for a variety of different settings.

"From warehouses and restaurants to elder care and security, new use cases are gaining traction fast," he wrote in a blog post.

"If current trajectories hold, humanoid robots could disrupt many physical-service industries significantly by 2030."

Musk previously told investors his robots had "the potential to be more significant than the vehicle business, over time".

He went one step further after his pay package deal was approved on Thursday, saying he believed it could be "the biggest product of all time by far, bigger than cell phones, bigger than anything".

He has also suggested it might boost Tesla's AI ambitions - particularly in advancing artificial general intelligence (AGI) systems capable of matching human abilities.

"Tesla AI might play a role in AGI, given that it trains against the outside world, especially with the advent of Optimus," he wrote on X in 2022.

Elsewhere in the space, Boston Dynamics' hydraulic humanoid Atlas has captivated millions on YouTube with its gymnastics and dance routines.

Viral videos of its leaps, bounds, somersaults and backflips have shown the advances in robotics over the years - with scientists now seizing upon the AI boom to boost their capabilities with systems enabling them to undertake more complex tasks.

When it was retired last year, it was replaced with a newer, fully electric model developers said could contort its metal frame in even more ways.

But many of the roboticists the BBC has spoken to over the years have rolled their eyes about tech firms shaping robots like humans.

Practically, there is little reason for robots to have legs.

The mechanics and hardware involved in creating machine legs are far more intensive.

As one scientist put it - "wheels are so much more efficient".

And don't get them started on why a robot doesn't need to have a head.

Psychologically though, humanoids have long been a human fascination – and something reflected decades of sci-fi.

You need only look to the legacy of characters such as Star Wars' C-3PO, Futurama's Bender or the Terminator to see humans might sometimes feel more comfortable around something closely resembling us.

Back in reality, humanoid machines have been often far less polished and more gimmicky, clumsy and buggy than their fictional counterparts.

But that appears to be changing with the likes of Optimus and sleeker droids which edge us closer to living in an uncanny valley.

Tesla's droid has been appearing in more public settings as of late - serving burgers and popcorn to customers at the company's Hollywood diner.

Sam Altman, boss of ChatGPT-maker OpenAI, said in May he doesn't think the world is ready for humanoids, while simultaneously describing it as an incoming moment.

There's no love lost between him and Elon Musk but on this occasion they seem to be on the same page that the robots are on their way – and Musk certainly has the power, the influence and the cash to make it happen.

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A pay package that could be worth $1 trillion has been approved for Tesla CEO Elon Musk. The mind-meltingly large number is conditional on achieving certain targets for the company - but what does one trillion actually look like?

Take our quiz to understand the scale of how the world's richest man could get richer.

The recent cases of prisoners being mistakenly released has put a fresh spotlight on the demands facing the justice system.

Prison overcrowding, staffing levels and government funding have all been called into question.

How many prisoners have been released by mistake?

There were 262 prisoners accidentally released in the 12 months to March 2025, compared with 115 the previous year.

Of 121 prisons across England and Wales, 72 released at least one prisoner by mistake in 2024-25.

The overall number of releases has also increased - but not by as much.

There were just over 57,000 releases of prisoners who had finished the custodial part of their sentences in England and Wales in 2024-25. This includes the period when some prisoners were released after serving 40% of their sentence.

The year before there were about 50,000 releases. That's a rise in the number of releases of about 13% - a lot lower proportionally than the increase in errors.

One in 10 released from 'escort areas'

The majority of accidental releases were from a prison itself.

Pentonville Prison in London released the most in 2024-25 - 16, up from six the year before.

To put that in context, Pentonville had a population of just under 1,200 in March 2025. So that's equivalent to letting out more than one in every 100 prisoners by mistake over the year.

Another category of mistaken release is from "escort areas" - places where prisoners are being taken between prisons, to and from court hearings or to immigration removal centres.

Around one in 10 were released in error from these areas, the figures show.

However it's not clear from the data how many had been convicted or were in prison on remand, awaiting a trial or sentencing hearing.

Staffing challenges

At the end of June 2025, there were a total of 36,627 people working in prison service establishments across England and Wales.

That's 787 fewer people than a year ago, but well above the staff numbers in previous years.

However staff turnover is an ongoing issue.

In the year to June, nearly 13% of staff left the prison service, almost twice the 7.1% turnover rate across the Civil Service.

Half had spent a year or less in the job.

Sickness rates also impact operations.

In the year to June, prison staff missed an average of12 days of work due to sickness. In two out of five cases, the absence was related to a mental health issue.

For comparison, average workers in the UK miss just over four days a year due to sickness.

Government funding

The mistaken releases have led to renewed questions over government funding for the justice system.

Former Conservative justice secretary Alex Chalk says the MoJ, which is responsible for prisons, the probation system, courts and legal aid, spends in a year the amount "spent by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) every two weeks".

MoJ is spending this year is around £13bn according to the National Audit Office - compared to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), which spent nearly £276bn in 2023-24.

And, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies thinktank, the MoJ is expected to be 5.6% smaller than it was in 2010 by the end of the current parliament.

What do you want BBC Verify to investigate?

A Brazilian hairdresser Larissa Nery, who has been making headlines in India this week after her photograph was splashed over the news in an allegation about alleged election fraud, has told the BBC she initially thought it was all a mistake. Or a prank.

But then her social media blew up and people started tagging her on Instagram.

"At first it was a few random messages. I thought they were mistaking me for someone else," she told the BBC. "Then they sent me the video where my face appeared on a big screen. I thought it was AI or some joke. But then lots of people started messaging at the same time and I realised it was real."

Nery, who lives in Belo Horizonte, capital city of southeastern Brazil's Minas Gerais state, and has never been to India, says she searched on Google to understand what was going on.

What had happened was the fallout of a press conference by Indian opposition leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday where he accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi's party BJP and the Election Commission (EC) of committing voter fraud in last year's election in Haryana state. The BJP has denied the allegations.

Hours after the press conference, in a post on X, the Chief Electoral Officer of Haryana shared a letter they said they had sent to Gandhi in August asking him to sign an oath with the names of ineligible voters "so that necessary proceedings could be initiated". They did not respond to the specific allegations he made and did not comment on Nery's case. The BBC has reached out to the poll panel for response.

Gandhi has made a series of accusations of "vote theft" against the poll panel since early August.

In his latest claims, he said his team had looked through the Election Commission's voter list data and found that of the approximately 20 million voters, 2.5 million were irregular entries - including duplicates, bulk voters and invalid addresses. He blamed his party's loss in the Haryana election on this alleged manipulation of the voters' list.

To prove his claims, he showed a number of slides on a big screen. One of them showed Gandhi standing in front of a big image of Nery, while another showed a compilation of 22 voters with different names and addresses but all with her photos.

"Who is this lady? How old is she? She votes 22 times in Haryana," Gandhi said.

He explained that a single stock photo of a woman, taken by Brazilian photographer Matheus Ferrero, had been used repeatedly across multiple voter entries under different names. He described Nery as a model who had appeared on the voters' list under many names, including Seema, Sweety and Saraswati.

The 29-year-old confirmed to the BBC that it was indeed her in the photograph. "Yes. It is me. Much younger, but it is me. I am the person in the images."

She clarified that she was a hairdresser and not a model and that the photo was taken in March 2017 when she was 21, just outside her home. The photographer, she said, "thought I was pretty and asked to take photos of me".

Now years later, all the attention in the past two days from "people from India, many of them journalists", has left her scared.

"I became scared. I cannot tell if it is dangerous for me or if speaking about it could harm someone there. I do not know who is right or wrong because I do not know the parties involved," she said.

"I did not go to work in the morning because I could not even see messages from my clients. Many journalists were calling me. They found the number of the place where I work.

"I had to remove the salon name from my profile because they were disturbing my workplace. My boss even spoke to me. Some people treat it like a meme, but it is affecting me professionally."

Matheus Ferrero, who took Nery's photo, is also overwhelmed by the sudden attention. Until recently, he says India meant only Caminho das Índias - the 2009 Brazilian primetime show - to him.

He's still trying to make sense of the events of the last few days in a country thousands of miles away.

Some people had reached out to him from India a week back, asking him who the woman in the photo was, he told the BBC.

"I didn't reply. I'm not going to give someone's name like that. And I hadn't seen this friend in years," he told the BBC. "I thought it was a scam. I blocked and reported it."

But since Gandhi's press conference, "things have exploded".

"People were calling me on Instagram and Facebook. It was terrible. I deactivated my Instagram to try to understand what was going on. Later I googled it and realised what was happening, but at first I had no idea."

Ferrero says some websites put his pictures next to the Nery's photo without permission. "People were making memes, like turning it into a game show joke. It's absurd."

In 2017, Ferrero was just starting out as a photographer when he invited Nery, who he knew, to come out for a photoshoot. Ferrero said he shared the photos on his Facebook and also posted them on Unsplash - a photo website - with her consent.

"The photo blew up… reached around 57 million views," he said.

He has now deleted the link from his Unsplash account but he sent us screenshots taken earlier that showed other photos of Nery from the same shoot.

• Why India's Election Commission is facing a test of credibility

"I deleted them out of fear, because the photos were being misused. I got scared imagining this happening to other people I photographed. I felt invaded. A lot of random people coming at me. You think 'Did I do something wrong?' But I didn't. The platform was open and I uploaded like millions of others." He's also now made the original Facebook post with her photos private.

"When you see people entering your Twitter, Facebook, personal Instagram, you panic. The first reaction is to shut everything down and understand later. Some people thought it was funny, like a soap opera, but I felt invaded."

Neither Ferrero nor Nery have ever been to India and are still trying to understand how something that happened at the other end of the world could turn their lives upside down.

We asked Ferrero if all this helped uncover electoral fraud, would that be positive?

"Yes, I think that would be positive. But I don't really know the details," he said.

Nery who has never left the country says: "This is far from my reality. I do not even follow elections in Brazil, let alone in another country."

Spoiler warning: This article reveals details from The Celebrity Traitors finale and previous episodes

There have been murders, betrayals, a serious side-eye, and a fart that cut through all the tension.

And on Thursday night, we finally found out who has emerged victorious as the winner of The Celebrity Traitors.

Out of 19 contestants, just five remained. Traitors Cat Burns and Alan Carr, and faithfuls Joe Marler, Nick Mohammed and David Olusoga.

Soon, it was down to just three: Carr, Mohammed and Olusoga.

But in the end, it was Alan Carr who won the prize money, in a move that broke the internet - and left him in floods of tears.

"It's been tearing me apart, I'm so sorry," he howled, as he told his fellow contestants that he'd always been a traitor. "I'm an awful human being."

"You did brilliantly," the faithfuls all consoled him. "It's all right."

Social media quickly erupted with the news. "Alan winning the whole game after being the most obvious since the beginning," wrote one X user.

"Incredible television," wrote another.

His charity, Neuroblastoma, will get all the prize money, with the final pot coming to £87,500.

Thursday evening's final episode was extended to 70 minutes on BBC One. It had a different start than usual, as all the celebs knew who'd make it to the breakfast table.

There was some very uplifting, and very un-Traitors-esque music, as we recapped some moments from each of the finalists' time in the castle.

As ever, Alan Carr - dressed in a dashing red coat - gave us some of the most memorable lines.

"Let's face it, I started this game a bit of a nervous wreck. I've thrown some really good friends under the bus, I've murdered national treasures in plain sight. I'm clearly a better liar and traitor than I thought I was."

Meanwhile, Marler noted that being in the final was "way more stressful than playing for England", while Olusoga said he was "completely amazed" to have made it so far. You and us both, David.

Next up was the challenge, with the remaining contestants getting on board a train named - of course - The Traitors Express.

The challenge saw them ripping up portraits of former contestants, which they seemed to take great pleasure in doing.

And Marler was the highlight here, being hit not once, not twice, but THREE times on the top of his head by the lid of a heavy wooden box.

Soon, it was time for the roundtable.

Burns and Carr did a pinky promise beforehand, pledging to stick together. "We've come a long way, I'm not going to throw him under a bus," said Burns, while Carr just giggled.

And Carr did stick to his promise - voting out Olusoga in the roundtable.

But, having slipped under the radar for most of the game, in the end it was Burns who got the most votes.

Carr looked like he was in a world of pain to be the last traitor standing. "Now I'm on my own, I feel terrified," he said. "I'm a loose cannon, a rudderless ship."

Social media and onlookers were equally disappointed.

"Caaaattt! I did NOT want Cat to be banished. A truly loveable traitor," said entertainment reporter Natalie Jamieson.

But there was no time to dwell on her departure. Before long, they were at the endgame - which was what we were really all here for.

The final four stood standing over the fire pit. And the Nick-Joe alliance broke down, just when it mattered the most, in a truly WTF moment.

Marler was painfully banished with the prize money in sight - after Mohammed voted him out. "It hurts to be stabbed in the back last minute like that," said Marler.

Finally, just three players remained in the game - Carr, Olusoga and Mohammed.

Carr, looking incredibly smug, voted to end the game. So did Olusoga, and it all came down to Mohammed, who did the same - which meant that Carr, as a traitor, was the winner.

Once he recovered from his bout of tears, Carr was able to enjoy the moment.

"What a roller coaster. I was awful at lying, I had no poker face and here I am a winner," Carr said.

And he even made light of that infamous murder - his best friend Paloma Faith in episode two - reaching over to host Claudia Winkleman in the final scene and touching her cheek.

"You've got something on your face Claudia," he said, with his trademark giggle.

The last few weeks of celebrity gossiping, scheming and the occasional fart may feel like one big crazy jumbled dream. But it really did all happen. And we will miss it.

Two people have been arrested on suspicion of being in charge of a dog dangerously out of control after a nine-month-old baby boy was killed in an attack by an XL bully in south-east Wales.

Gwent Police and paramedics went to an address in Crossway, Rogiet, near Caldicot, Monmouthshire, on Sunday evening. The baby died at the scene.

Assistant Chief Constable Vicki Townsend said the arrests were made as part of a "wide range" of inquiries and urged people "not to speculate", adding if anyone had information "on the dog involved - a male, black XL bully - and its previous behaviour, please contact us directly".

The pair were also arrested on suspicion of child neglect and were released on bail.

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Thousands of North Sea oil workers are being told they must lose weight if they are to keep flying offshore - or face losing their jobs.

From November next year, industry body Offshore Energies UK (OEUK) said the maximum clothed weight for a worker heading offshore should be 124.7kg (19.5 st) - so they can be winched to safety in an emergency.

The 249kg (39st) maximum Coastguard rescue helicopter winch load is made up of that figure plus the average 90.3kg (14st) weight of a rescue worker, a 29kg (4.5st) stretcher and the 5kg (0.8st) kit.

OEUK said more than 2,200 workers were currently above the weight limit, and jobs could be lost in the worst case scenario.

The new safe weight limit policy comes after the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) warned that rescue winches - which are critical during offshore emergencies - cannot safely lift heavier people.

OEUK said the average weight of offshore workers had risen by almost 10kg (1.5st) since 2008.

The decision to implement a safe weight limit for offshore workers follows a review by industry experts over the past two-and-a half years.

Rules about shoulder size were previously introduced for workers travelling to and from offshore installations by helicopter.

Passengers with a shoulder width of 22in (56cm) or more were classed as "extra broad" and had to sit next to a similarly large helicopter window, so they could escape.

Could jobs be lost?

Graham Skinner, the health and safety manager at OEUK, said it was hoped the new safety policy - as part of a "robust safety culture" - would not lead to job losses, but he could not rule it out.

"That would be the absolute worst-case scenario.

"Employers will have a duty to support their workers through this and try to find reasonable solutions for it, but in the very worst cases that would be the case for some people."

Mr Skinner described it as "really important" that there was a clear message to the workforce that the new rules were going to come in.

"Hopefully that is the impetus for everyone to get behind the policy and lose weight in time for November next year," he said.

"There are those who are going to have a real challenge over the next 12 months to lose weight to get under the weight limit.

"There is about 2,270 that are going to have to lose a little bit of weight to make sure they can continue working after November next year.

"At that point an offshore worker who weighs over 124 kg will not get their medical and that will preclude them from getting on a helicopter."

However, Mr Skinner said they were "really confident" that the "vast majority" of workers were going to get under the weight limit.

Some are extremely fit

He cited the support they would get from their employers, the offshore operators, and the offshore community itself.

"We have already heard of offshore workers who are offering circuit training and gym sessions for workers," he added.

"So it's a great opportunity for the community to come together."

John Boland, the regional officer at the Unite union, said: "We would hope that nobody loses their job through this and there can be support put in to stop that from happening.

"The biggest concerns we have had are from individuals that are naturally larger built and in some cases are extremely fit but are above that actual weight limit.

"Those are discussions we need to have, how we can support those individuals as well."

The mandatory implementation of the new policy will be from 1 November 2026.

'It's not nice to see it obviously'

'I would never go into what happened'

Williams 'baffled' by comments

"There is a war-opposing network in the world, with two focal points: one of power led by the US president and one of spirit found here with the Holy Father," Viktor Orban said on Monday after meeting Pope Leo at the Vatican.

"We draw strength, motivation, and blessing from both," said the Hungarian prime minister.

If his ally in the White House, US President Donald Trump, was on his mind, then his thoughts could well have turned to a tricky meeting that awaits him next week in Washington.

The man Trump has called a "great leader", and who has long provoked admiration in MAGA circles, suddenly finds himself in an unusual position - at odds with the US president on an issue of critical importance.

At the centre of those talks will be new US pressure on Hungary and Slovakia to wean themselves urgently off Russian oil - Trump's latest gambit in his efforts to pressurise Russia into ending its war on Ukraine.

Asked recently whether Trump had gone too far in imposing sanctions on Russia's two biggest oil companies, Orban said "from a Hungarian point of view, yes".

Orban has been using his country's heavy dependence on Russian oil and gas to advance his own agenda in several ways.

He has used it as a weapon to attack Brussels, as a means to maintain his good relations with Moscow, and as a platform upon which he hopes to win re-election next April in Hungary. He has promised "cheap Russian energy" to voters.

He will go into this election portraying himself as a safe pair of hands in an increasingly uncertain world. But Orban is trailing in most opinion polls, after his government was shaken by the meteoric rise of opposition Tisza party leader Peter Magyar.

The Hungarian PM has also been angered by repeated Ukrainian drone attacks on the Druzhba pipeline this summer, which briefly disrupted supplies to his country.

• The 'strongman' PM who inspired Trump's playbook
• Orban accused of using Ukraine spy row in fight for political survival

Senior Hungarian officials have been hinting for months that they believe the war in Ukraine could be over by the end of the year - a seemingly absurd claim, until news of a planned summit in Budapest between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin broke earlier this month.

But Orban's carefully laid plans began to unravel on 21 October, when the White House announced that the summit had been called off.

Orban's government had been secretly working on the summit plans for months. Balazs Orban, Orban's political director (no relation), enjoys close relations with US Vice-President JD Vance, and is believed to have played an important role.

Orban hopes to persuade Trump to ease the pressure on Hungary at least until the election when the pair meet in Washington next week.

The Hungarian government appears to be counting on the idea that Trump is bored by the war in Ukraine, and wants to turn his back on it if no deal is done soon.

Orban has sharply opposed Western military and financial support for Ukraine, and rules out Ukraine's membership of Nato and the EU. He portrays Trump as a pro-peace president, giving short shrift to what he sees as the warmongers of the EU.

The climax of the cancelled summit in Budapest would have been the moment he appeared on the balcony of the Carmelite Convent on Castle Hill, overlooking the Danube, flanked by Presidents Trump and Putin. How could Hungarians vote against such an internationally successful leader, he might have asked.

In Rome on Monday, despite US dismissals, Orban insisted the summit would still happen - it was just a question of time. At the weekend, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov quietly suggested the same.

Under US pressure, will Orban follow Czech lead?

The biggest issue souring US-Hungary relations is oil.

In 2024, Hungary even increased the amount of oil it receives through the Druzhba (Friendship) pipeline from Russia. On 23 October, just as Orban was addressing a rally of his supporters in front of Parliament in Budapest, the US announced sanctions on the two giant Russian oil companies, Lukoil and Rosneft.

Hungary received 64% of its oil through the Friendship pipeline from Russia, via Belarus and Ukraine, in 2020. By 2024 that figure stood at 80%, or 5 million tonnes a year.

The Hungarian government argues that land-based pipelines are the cheapest way to receive oil, and that with no sea coast of its own, it has no alternative. Much smaller quantities are also imported from Kazakhstan, Croatia, Iraq, and Azerbaijan.

Another issue is that Russian Urals crude has a higher sulphur content than the Brent crude supplied from elsewhere. The major Hungarian refinery at Szazhalombatta, run by Hungarian oil giant MOL, and the Slovnaft refinery in Slovakia, also run by MOL, are both set up to process mostly Urals crude, not Brent.

Within the EU, Orban is now the longest standing leader. Far from leaving the bloc, he wants to remake it in his own image, as a union of sovereign nations. For this, he has also won praise from Putin.

But Hungary's argument that it cannot change is undermined by the Czech example. That is a country with a similar population to Hungary, and also landlocked.

The Czech Republic traditionally relied heavily on Russian crude for the eight million tonnes of oil it needs a year.

Starting in early 2022, following the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Czech government under Prime Minister Petr Fialla invested heavily in improving the existing Transalpine pipeline to the Italian port of Trieste.

At the same time, its refineries at Kralupy and Litvínov were adapted for Brent crude. In April 2025, the Czech authorities announced proudly that they were no longer receiving a drop of Russian oil.

Energy experts say that while MOL, the Hungarian oil giant, is quietly changing its technology, what is missing is a political decision from the government to shift to the Adria pipeline from the Croatian port of Omisalj.

There are also disputes between the Croatian company Janaf and MOL - over just how much oil the pipeline could support.

When the pair meet next week, Trump will urge Orban to show some political will to wean itself off Russian supplies.

But Orban might see that as a hard decision to explain to Hungarian voters. After arguing for years that Hungary cannot survive without Russian oil and gas, he would lose face if it turns out it can.

Matt Whitaker, US ambassador to Nato, said in a Fox News interview on Sunday that Hungary had still "not made any active steps" to end its dependence on Russian oil.

"There's a lot of planning our friends in Hungary will have to do," he said, and promised US help to Hungary and Croatia to make it happen.

As the seagull flies, Omisalj is only 44 miles (70km) from Trieste. Seaborne oil from Kazakhstan, Libya, Azerbaijan, the US and Iraq could soon be flowing through the Adria pipeline to Hungary too.

Despite Orban's dire warnings of price hikes, there is no data - so far at least - to suggest that Czech consumers have to pay more.

There is nothing his old friend Donald Trump likes more than striking a deal.

Orban is about to find out how persuasive the US president can be.

Tesla shareholders have approved a record-breaking pay package for boss Elon Musk that could be worth nearly $1tn (£760bn).

The unprecedented deal recommended by the firm's board, cleared a vote from shareholders at the firm's annual general meeting on Thursday.

The deal requires Musk, who is already the world's richest man, to drastically raise the electric car firm's market value over a period of years. If he meets various targets, he will be rewarded with hundreds of millions of new shares.

The scale of the deal is controversial, but the Tesla board argued that Musk might leave the company if it was not approved - and that it could not afford to lose him.

The pay package was approved by 75% of Tesla shareholders who cast ballots, drawing loud applause from the audience at the AGM in Austin, Texas.

"What we're about to embark upon is not merely a new chapter of the future of Tesla, but a whole new book," Musk told the audience when he took the stage to more cheers.

"Other shareholder meetings are snoozefests but ours are bangers. Look at this. This is sick," Musk said.

The pay package requires Musk to achieve a series of milestones in order to achieve the massive payday.

These include raising Tesla's market value to $8.5tn from the $1.4tn at time of writing.

He would also need to get a million self-driving "Robotaxi" vehicles into commercial operation.

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In the midst of a still shaky ceasefire, Gazans are taking the first tentative steps along the long road to recovery.

Bulldozers are clearing roads, shovelling the detritus of war into waiting trucks. Mountains of rubble and twisted metal are on either side, the remains of once bustling neighbourhoods.

Parts of Gaza City are disfigured beyond recognition.

"This was my house," says Abu Iyad Hamdouna. He points to a mangled heap of concrete and steel in Sheikh Radwan, which was once one of Gaza City's most densely populated neighbourhoods.

"It was here. But there's no house left."

Abu Iyad is 63. If Gaza ever rises from the ashes, he doesn't expect to be around to see it.

"At this rate, I think it'll take 10 years." He looks exhausted and resigned. "We'll be dead... we'll die without seeing reconstruction."

Nearby, 43-year-old Nihad al-Madhoun and his nephew Said are picking through the wreckage of what was once a home.

The building might well collapse but it doesn't deter them - they collect old breeze blocks and brush thick dust off an old red sofa.

"The removal of rubble alone might take more than five years," he says. "And we will wait. We have no other option."

The sheer scale of the challenge is staggering. The UN estimates the cost of damage at £53bn ($70bn). Almost 300,000 houses and apartments have been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN's satellite centre Unosat.

The Gaza Strip is littered with 60 million tonnes of rubble, mixed in with dangerous unexploded bombs and dead bodies.

In all, more than 68,000 people have been killed in Gaza in the past two years, according to the territory's Hamas-run health ministry. Its figures are accepted by the United Nations and other international bodies.

In the midst of such destruction, it's hard to know where to begin.

There's no shortage of ideas - including grand designs conceived by those with money and power in faraway capitals. The US President Donald Trump had his say too.

But Gazans we spoke to are sceptical of schemes drawn up abroad, and they have visions of their own. So the fight is on to shape Gaza's future.

The question is, who will prevail?

From Trump's riviera to the Phoenix plan

Yahya al-Sarraj, Gaza City's Hamas-appointed mayor, is out on the streets wearing a hi-vis jacket and surveying the ruins. Already, shops and restaurants are starting to reopen, he points out.

"Of course it's very modest," he says, "but they want to live, and they deserve to live."

Gaza is no stranger to these destructions, he adds, recalling several conflicts prior to the cataclysm that erupted, following the devastating attack that Hamas launched on Israel on 7 October 2023.

"We heard about a lot of plans, international, local, regional plans. [But] we have our own plan.

"We call it the Phoenix of Gaza."

This was the first home-grown Palestinian plan to emerge during the war - in a computer-generated video that accompanied it, shattered communities are seen transformed, as if by magic, into modern neighbourhoods.

"We wanted to fill the vacuum," says Yara Salem, an infrastructure specialist, formerly of the World Bank, with experience in conflict areas including post-war Iraq.

"You cannot have foreign-imposed reconstruction plans while you don't have any vision about your own country."

The publication of the Phoenix plan in February followed 13 months of work by a broad coalition of around 700 Palestinian reconstruction experts, some based abroad. It drew on the knowledge and experience of architects and engineers across the Gaza Strip too. Students at Birzeit University in the occupied West Bank were also involved as the idea evolved.

Hamas, which exercises political control over the municipalities, was not involved.

Today, the creators of the Phoenix plan know that its fate is out of their hands, as competing interests, in the Middle East and beyond, jostle for control of Gaza's future.

This vision stands in sharp contrast to the glitzy "Gaza Riviera", a controversial proposal first described in February by President Trump during a meeting with Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House.

Trump famously reposted a bizarre AI-generated video on his social media account, showing himself, Netanyahu and billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk enjoying the high life in a kind of Dubai-style fantasy.

A giant golden statue of the president towered over a street and bearded male belly dancers wearing green headbands were pictured on the beach.

Though the video was clearly a spoof, President Trump had already spoken of the US taking "a long-term ownership position" in Gaza.

"Gaza's waterfront property could be very valuable," his son-in-law Jared Kushner told an audience at Harvard University last year, "if people would focus on building up livelihoods."

Trump's 20-point Gaza ceasefire proposal, agreed in October, also includes references to a "Trump economic development plan to rebuild and energise Gaza", alongside an international "Board of Peace" to oversee governance - there has been speculation about whether former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair could end up at its helm.

High-tech, AI-powered 'smart cities'

But Trump's "Gaza Riviera" is not the only glossy vision of a futuristic Gaza that has emerged.

A leaked document, published in August by The Washington Post, painted a similar vision of a high-tech Gaza Strip, under US trusteeship for 10 years.

Dubbed the Gaza Reconstitution, Economic Acceleration and Transformation Trust - "Great" for short – the plan was said to be the work of Israeli and American consultants, with input from members of Tony Blair's Institute for Global Change.

The plan envisaged the creation of a series of "modern and AI-powered smart planned cities", noting that poor urban design lay at the heart of "Gaza's ongoing insurgency."

"From a Demolished Iranian Proxy to a Prosperous Abrahamic Ally," the plan's subtitle read, in a nod to the Abraham Accords brokered during Trump's first presidential term, suggesting that a revived Gaza could form part of a much larger regional peace initiative.

The plan also nodded to the idea of "voluntary relocation," under which a quarter of Gaza's population would leave the Strip, in return for a $5,000 (£3,780) relocation package and subsidised rent abroad.

It all stands in sharp contrast to the Phoenix plan that sets out to protect Gaza's existing infrastructure and, where possible, restore the area's social and geographical fabric.

"These sort of almost hallucinatory plans are creating an opening for disaster capitalism that is worrying," argues Raja Khalidi, director general of the Palestine Economic Policy Research Institute, an independent think tank.

"The state has the ability to plan… what sort of Gaza we want to build, and when we want to build it and how much it's going to cost us.

"It has to be a Palestinian vision - my concern [is that] we will be sidelined."

Shelly Culbertson, a senior researcher at the US-based RAND non-partisan think tank and co-author of a detailed study on Gaza reconstruction, also believes that the Gaza Strip is not simply a blank slate waiting to be turned into a new version of Dubai.

"There's a lot of heritage, cities that have been around for… millennia," she says. "It's not good practice to just wipe it all out and start over, but rather build with what you have."

'The soul and spirit of Gaza'

These are not the only plans however. Another, drafted by Egypt and adopted hastily by the Arab League at a summit in Cairo in March, spoke of rebuilding Gaza over a period of five years - like the Phoenix plan, it emphasised the importance of involving Gazans in every stage "to foster a sense of ownership and ensure that the needs of the local community are met".

Meanwhile the Palestinian Authority (PA), led by President Mahmoud Abbas, has been developing its own proposals for the Gaza Strip, as part of a wider plan to reconnect Gaza and the occupied West Bank in a future Palestinian state.

At his office in Ramallah, Estephan Salameh, the PA planning minister told me that whatever plan is settled upon, Gaza of the future would look different, but that some things would have to stay the same.

"Don't forget that 70% of Gaza's population are Palestinian refugees," he says. "And we need to preserve the refugee identity. We need to preserve the soul and the spirit of Gaza."

For Salameh, that means recreating Gaza's pre-war refugee camps, where hundreds of thousands of descendants of Palestinians, who fled or were driven from their homes in the war surrounding Israel's creation in 1948-9, have lived ever since.

Over time, the camps have evolved, from the canvas tents and tin shacks of the 1950s into busy, overcrowded communities with some of the highest population densities in the world.

The PA plan is not to recreate slums, but to make sure that tight-knit communities can be restored.

"We want to have Jabalia rebuilt where it was," Salameh says, referring to the biggest camp that was once home to more than 100,000 people, and that is now largely destroyed.

But for the time being, the Palestine Authority's rule only extends to the West Bank, not Gaza. Trump's Gaza ceasefire plan says the Board of Peace will handle Gaza's redevelopment "until such time as the Palestinian Authority has completed its reform programme".

A slow, painstaking process

Reconstruction is likely to be a slow, painstaking process, one that Shelly Culbertson calls "incremental urbanism".

"Living in the damaged but habitable communities and rebuilding while in them, we think is going to be a key way of preserving communities and allowing people to move back," she says.

"[But] some places have been so destroyed and damaged and dangerous that the only thing to do really is wall them off, raise them down and completely rebuild.

"This is not going to be a five-year recovery - it's probably going to take decades."

The Palestinian Authority's planning minister predicts a quicker timeline but says nothing can begin until political and security arrangements are in place, borders are open (to allow the import of building materials) and funding is secured.

But therein lies the rub. In order for international donors to pledge the tens of billions of dollars needed to rebuild Gaza, there has to be agreement on what a recovery plan will look like.

Egypt plans to hold a reconstruction summit but a date has not yet been set. And the most likely funders - Saudi Arabia and the UAE - will need reassurances that their colossal investments are not simply going to go up in smoke in some future Gaza war.

But with the current Israeli government strongly opposing the creation of a Palestinian state - something that Saudi Arabia is also pushing for - the political obstacles are formidable.

Israel has previously said that it is not opposed to investors and builders from a variety of countries beginning efforts to rebuild in areas controlled by the IDF.

On a recent visit to Israel, Jared Kushner spoke of building "a new Gaza" on territory still under Israeli military control, saying no reconstruction funds would go to areas controlled by Hamas.

But nothing substantial can happen while the Gaza ceasefire hangs by a thread, and Israel and Hamas still trade occasional blows.

Back in the shattered remains of Gaza City's Sheikh Radwan neighbourhood, Abu Iyad Hamdouna has more immediate concerns.

"Reconstruction?" he exclaims. "What about water?"

After five forced displacements during the war, Abu Iyad just wants to stay put, in whatever shelter he can find, or make for himself.

He's not waiting for the Phoenix to rise or indeed for any sort of Gaza Riviera to materialise.

"Here we are, making tents," he says. "We are sitting making tents, next to the house we still cannot live in."

Lead image credit: Bloomberg/Reuters/ Phoenix. Image shows destroyed buildings in Gaza (bottom left) and an AI-generated impression of the Phoenix plan (top left)

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The policing operation under way around the controversial Aston Villa match against Maccabi Tel Aviv is "unprecedented", Birmingham's police commander has said.

More than 700 officers are out in the city for the Uefa Europa League match, which kicks off at 20:00 GMT, alongside police horses, dogs, drones and roads units.

Ch Supt Tom Joyce said at least half a dozen groups were expected to protest including pro-Palestinian and pro-Israeli groups as well as the far right.

"We police football matches a lot. We police protests a lot. We deal with all sorts of public order scenarios, but certainly the level of interest, the level of concern around this match is pretty unprecedented," he said.

Outside the stadium, hundreds of pro-Palestinian protesters gathered before the game, waving flags and banners calling for an end to violence in Gaza.

Five flatbed vehicles were driven past the ground prior to kick-off of the Europa League match, carrying electronic billboards showing messages opposing antisemitism.

One of the messages, beside a Star of David, read "Ban hatred not fans" while another carried a quote from Thierry Henry saying football is not about goals but bringing people together.

Extremist fans

Aston Villa announced last month that no Maccabi Tel Aviv fans would be welcome at the match, a decision made by Birmingham's Safety Advisory Group following intelligence from West Midlands Police.

The Guardian reported the force's intelligence concluded the biggest risk of violence came from extremist fans of the Israeli club, with scores of fans connected to a past history of violence and shouting "racist taunts" likely to travel to Birmingham.

The decision was the focus of parliamentary-level debate and led to MPs questioning West Midlands Police about the move, but Chief Constable Craig Guildford stood by it.

Maccabi Tel Aviv later said supporters would not travel to Birmingham for safety reasons.

On Thursday, numbers of officers from the West Midlands force were boosted by police from 10 forces across the country.

Ch Supt Joyce said police had prepared for the possibility of people turning up looking for a fight.

"We've absolutely planned for that contingency," he said.

"We recognise that those groups who won't engage with this are probably turning up with different motives to those who want to protest lawfully.

"The policing operation you can see is partly a reflection of the need to deal with that."

Officers were deployed to the city centre by 13:30, amid reports of some protesters arriving early.

Police are using Section 60 powers in an area stretching from Aston and Perry Barr to Birmingham New Street and the city centre, which started at midday and run until 03:00 on Friday.

Ahead of the game, those living and working in the city near Villa Park saw shops and schools close early.

Meanwhile, Jewish Villa fan Elliot Ludvig said he was apprehensive about attending the match.

Mr Ludvig, who will attend with his son, told the BBC: "I'm apprehensive about what's going to happen. I'm apprehensive about the potential for violence for one thing.

"I'm apprehensive about various unpleasantries that we might encounter along the way, both outside the stadium and inside the stadium."

'Football unites us'

He said his other major emotion was "disappointment".

"Is it worth going to a football game to potentially put myself at some sort of risk and or expose my son to to all sorts of unpleasantries which you might not want to?," he asked.

Those who called for calm included one fan group, the Punjabi Villans, which urged people to respect each other and for everyone to get home safely, posting on social media: "We're in this together. Football unites us."

On Wednesday night, the chief executive of Maccabi Tel Aviv said it was "incredibly sad" his side's fans could not be there, adding: "Politics should never be drawn into football."

Planned protests include two by supporters of Palestine, who have been calling for the match to be called off.

The BBC has also been told a Maccabi Solidarity Rally has also been organised to coincide with the match.

On Monday, Naeem Malik, chair of West Midlands Palestine Solidarity Campaign, said there had been national outrage over the hosting of the Israeli team.

"The calls to cancel this match have been ignored despite the risks that it carries, therefore we must urge activists to unite in protest against this match," he said.

Palestine Solidarity Campaign, Stop the War Coalition, Muslim Association of Britain, Friends of Al-Aqsa, Kashmir solidarity campaign and Palestinian Forum in Britain had called for the match to be cancelled and jointly organised one of the protests.

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Grand Theft Auto 6 has been delayed - for a second time - until 19 November 2026.

One of the most anticipated gaming releases ever, the sequel by developer Rockstar Games was due to come out in May 2026.

It had already been postponed once before, from autumn 2025.

But in a statement on Thursday, Rockstar said it needed extra months to to finish the game with the level of polish fans had come to "expect and deserve".

GTA 5, the latest in the series, was released in 2013 and is the second best-selling game of all time.

Despite being 12 years old, it remains extremely popular with fans today due to its online mode.

In its statement, Rockstar said it was "sorry for adding additional time" to a long wait and thanked fans for their patience.

It said it was "incredibly excited" for players to experience the game's setting of Leonida - a fictional US state based on Florida - and a modern-day version of the Miami-inspired Vice City.

The announcement follows the firing of 31 workers from Rockstar's UK studios on 30 October.

The Independent Workers' Union of Great Britain (IWGB), which represents people working in the gaming sector, has accused the developer of sacking UK staff to stop them unionising.

Members led rallies outside the company's offices in Edinburgh and London on Thursday. The BBC has approached Rockstar's parent company, Take-Two Interactive, for comment.

Rockstar has stayed tight-lipped about GTA 6, releasing only two trailers so far, with the second arriving in May this year.

With over 100 million views, the nearly three-minute video gave players more insight into the backstory of protagonists Jason and Lucia - a couple who live a life of crime in Leonida - as well as revealing new characters and map locations.

Rockstar has form for delaying its games and a reputation for perfectionism, with its previous big release - Red Dead Redemption 2 - delayed by roughly a year from its original release date.

Increased demand for complexity and scope from players, as well as soaring development costs, has meant publishers are less willing to take risks on unfinished products.

When it finally lands, GTA 6 is likely to be one of the most expensive video games ever made, but also expected to set records with its launch sales.

Whether it will live up to the hype remains to be seen.

Care homes that are graded as inadequate or requiring improvement are often not being reinspected for a year or more, a BBC investigation has found.

More than 2,100 care homes in England as of October this year were rated as "requires improvement" by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) - but the BBC found three quarters of those had not been reinspected within a year or more.

A fifth of the 123 homes rated as "inadequate" - the lowest rating - have not been reinspected within the same time frame.

BBC analysis of CQC data found one home rated inadequate in 2022 has not been reinspected since, despite the report highlighting residents were at risk of pressure sores, infection, dehydration and exposure to chemicals.

As a result of the delays, families of residents living in poorly rated care homes did not always know whether improvements had been made.

The family of one 24-year-old man who died in a Cornwall care home have called for homes to be inspected annually.

Lugh Baker died at Rosewood House care home in Launceston, Cornwall, in 2021.

A coroner found failings in relation to his care plan and gaps in monitoring after his death, which remains unexplained.

The CQC inspected in 2022 and 2023, telling the home it needed to make improvements, but it has not been back to inspect since.

Mr Baker's mother, Trudy Polkinghorn, and sister, Erin Baker, said they felt "despair" and were disappointed in the regulator.

The CQC said it had been "regularly monitoring" the service through information it received and the home said it had acted on every recommendation in the coroner's report.

'Our light and joy'

The CQC rates homes into four categories - outstanding, good, requires improvement and inadequate.

It previously reinspected care homes rated as "requires improvement" within a year and homes rated as "inadequate" within six months, but got rid of these timeframes when it changed its inspection framework in 2021.

Inspections are now carried out on what it calls a more flexible "risk basis", prioritising the homes it deems the riskiest.

Mr Baker had been living in Rosewood House for six months before he died. At the time, it was rated "good" following an inspection in 2018.

Ms Polkinghorn described him as a "light" and a "joy" in their family.

"He wanted to get up every morning at 07:30, put the dance tunes on and he wanted everyone to dance with him," she said.

Mr Baker had a rare genetic condition which caused severe learning difficulties, as well as epilepsy and difficulty swallowing.

His care plan stipulated he was only allowed to eat certain foods while supervised and sitting up to avoid choking.

Mr Baker was discovered in his room in April 2021 with an unwrapped, partially eaten chocolate bar by his bed. The inquest found no evidence of choking.

A coroner's report criticised the home, saying staff were unfamiliar with his condition and although residents were supposed to be constantly monitored via CCTV, there were times this did not happen for him.

After its 2018 inspection, the home was scheduled to be reinspected within two-and-a-half years.

But it was not inspected until four years later, in 2022, a year after Mr Baker's death, following the scrapping of set inspection reviews.

The CQC then reinspected in 2023. On both occasions the home was rated as "requires improvement" and told it would be monitored to make changes.

There has not been another inspection since.

Ms Polkinghorn said: "When I can get up off the floor out of the realms of total despair, I am so angry."

Ms Baker said homes should be inspected annually "at the very least".

"If you have a changeover of staff, or anything like that, you need to make sure it's still caring for the people," she said.

Rosewood House said their "heartfelt sympathies remained with Lugh's family".

A spokesperson said they had acted on every recommendation in the coroner's report into Mr Baker's death, "strengthening monitoring systems and introducing more detailed care plans" and remained committed to providing "safe" and "high-quality" care.

The CQC said it had been "regularly monitoring" the service through information it received.

The CQC regulates all health and adult social care services in England.

It can take enforcement action if it judges a care home to be underperforming, including issuing warning notices requiring specific improvements, placing a home into special measures, and suspending the registration of a service in serious cases.

The regulator was previously warned it needed to improve its performance.

An independent review of the CQC in October 2024 found multiple failings, including long gaps between inspections and some services running for years without a rating.

It found the regulator had experienced problems because of a new IT system, and concerns were raised that the new inspection framework was not providing effective assessments.

There was also a lack of clarity around how ratings were calculated.

BBC analysis of CQC data found 70% of the 204 "requires improvement" rated homes in the South West have not been reinspected in a year or more.

Eileen Chubb, a former care worker and campaigner who runs the charity Compassion in Care, said she regularly heard from families and staff frustrated by long gaps between inspections.

She said: "We've seen the worst care homes - diabolical homes - and they're not inspected for two or three years."

She said whistleblowers had told her they approached the CQC about "terrible" homes, but when the regulator inspected it was "too late" in cases where residents had died.

Some providers said the delays were unfair to owners of care homes too.

Geoffrey Cox, director of Southern Healthcare which operates four care homes in the south of England, three of which are rated "outstanding", said he had one "good" rated home that had not had an inspection for seven years.

"It's far too long," he said, adding that reports which were years old "lost credibility", undermining public confidence in them.

"We want to demonstrate that we're really good at what we do and we want to be recognised for that," he said.

One family told the BBC it was "such an effort" to encourage the CQC to "take any action at all" after a loved one died at a home in Norwich.

Karen Staniland's mother Eileen died after an unwitnessed fall in her room at Broadland View care home in Norwich in 2020, while a staff member who was supposed to be looking after her slept on duty.

Her care plan stipulated she must be checked on hourly at night, that she was given a bed which could be lowered to prevent falls and that a sensor mat should be provided to alert staff if she tried to get up.

A local authority safeguarding report after her death found "no aspect" of her care plan had been followed.

The carer responsible had falsified records to suggest checks had been carried out and was sentenced to nine months in prison, suspended for two years, for willful neglect in February 2023.

The home was rated "good" from an inspection in 2017, but a former Broadland View employee, who has asked not to be named, told the BBC the home was not providing quality care.

"Safeguarding issues weren't being documented, and the equipment and training weren't very good," she said.

"There were these pressure alarm mats, but as soon as you stood on them, they would slip from underneath your feet – they were used as preventions, but were actually causing the falls."

The former worker said she had reported concerns to the CQC on "several occasions" but there was "no follow up".

The regulator did not inspect the home until three years after Eileen's death, downgrading it to "requires improvement".

A coroner's report in 2023 found the home's manager did not accept many of the CQC's concerns and that several promised improvements had not been implemented.

Two years on, the home has still not been reinspected.

Ms Staniland said the family had been left "dismayed" and "disappointed" in the CQC.

"I don't think it is a regulator, if our experience is anything to go by," she added.

Broadland View care home said it had "learnt from the past" and had introduced new digital monitoring, stronger night-time supervision and regular independent audits to ensure residents were safe and cared for.

The CQC said it continued to monitor Broadland View, and it would "continue to work closely with people who work in services and people who use them to understand the issues the sector is facing".

It said it had a clear commitment to increase the number of assessments it carried out, "in order to give the public confidence in the quality of care they will receive, and to update the ratings of providers to give a better picture of how they are performing".

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ITV has said it is in "preliminary" discussions to sell its television business to Sky for £1.6bn.

The talks focus on ITV's Media and Entertainment division, which include its TV channels as well as its streaming service, ITV X.

The discussions with Sky, which is owned by US-based Comcast, come as the television industry faces fierce competition from streaming services such as Netflix and Disney.

Typhoon Kalmaegi made landfall in Vietnam on Thursday after killing at least 114 people and flooding entire towns in the Philippines.

More than 260,000 soldiers are on standby for rescue efforts as winds of up to 92mph (149km/h) hit the country's coastline, according to Vietnamese media and the government's online portal.

Six airports in the country have been forced to close and hundreds of flights are expected to be affected, the government warned.

The country, which has already been battling record rains and floods, is now facing one of Asia's strongest typhoons this year.

The typhoon could generate waves of up to 8m (26ft) on the South China Sea, according to Vietnam's weather bureau.

The country's environment ministry said on Thursday that "the storm is on land, in the provinces of Dak Lak and Gia Lai" in a statement quoted by various outlets, including the AFP news agency.

The Vietnamese national weather forecaster says hundreds of localities in seven cities and provinces are at risk of flooding and landslides in the next six hours.

There have already been reports of damage from several provinces, including roofs torn off homes, shattered glass panels at hotels, and trees uprooted or snapped along city streets and rural roads by powerful gusts.

In the Quy Non area, trees have fallen on main roads and windows in hotels have smashed.

About 30 minutes after the typhoon made landfall, hundreds of residents in two communes of Dak Lak province called for help, local media reported.

Many people reported that their homes had collapsed or been flooded, while strong winds and heavy rain continued to batter the area.

Dak Lak province is approximately 350km (215 miles) north-east of Ho Chi Minh City.

Vietnam's military has deployed more than 260,000 soldiers and personnel, along with more than 6,700 vehicles and pieces of equipment, including six aircraft, to help with storm relief efforts.

On Wednesday morning, a reporter from AFP news agency saw officials knocking on the doors of homes in coastal communities and warning people to evacuate.

According to local media reports, Prime Minister of Vietnam Pham Minh Chinh held an online meeting to direct the emergency response.

"We must reach isolated areas and ensure people have food, drinking water, and essential supplies," he was quoted as saying.

"No one should be left hungry or cold."

Before making landfall in Vietnam, the typhoon, known locally as Tino, left a trail of devastation in the Philippines.

At least 114 people were killed and tens of thousands were evacuated, particularly from central areas including the populous island and tourist hotspot of Cebu, where cars were swept through the streets.

Early on Thursday, Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr declared a state of emergency, the threshold of which involves mass casualty, major damage to property, and disruption to means of livelihoods and the normal way of life for people in the affected areas.

Vietnam has already been battling with floods and record rains for the past week.

Burst riverbanks have flooded some of the country's most popular tourist spots, including the Unesco-listed city of Hue and historic hotspot Hoi An, where residents have been pictured navigating the city in wooden boats after the Hoai river overflowed.

Seaside communities in Vietnam are expected to be hit hard by Typhoon Kalmaegi.

A sea-level rise of 4 to 6m (13 to 20ft) in at least two provinces could capsize boats and devastate fishing farms, according to a forecast issued at 16:00 local time (9:00 GMT) by a senior official at Vietnam's National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting.

Meanwhile, deputy director Nguyen Xuan Hien says Typhoon Damrey - which struck Vietnam in 2017 with less intensity than Kalmaegi, but still caused severe damage to coastal communities - should serve as a warning and urged people to remain highly alert.

Thailand is also bracing for the storm's impact. Local officials have warned of flash floods, landslides and river overflows.

Discrimination against black people is "baked" into the leadership, culture and governance of the Metropolitan Police, an internal review has found.

The independently commissioned review, authored by Dr Shereen Daniels, surveyed 40 years of evidence of how racism had affected black communities, as well as black officers and staff.

Baroness Doreen Lawrence, mother of murdered black teenager Stephen Lawrence, said that while the report was welcome, it "contains nothing I did not already know".

Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley described the report as "powerful", adding that it "calls out that further systemic, structural, cultural change is needed".

The review, commissioned from the consultancy HR Rewired, concluded that darker-skinned Met staff were "labelled confrontational" while lighter-skinned employees might receive quicker empathy and leniency.

Dr Shereen Daniels said that systemic racism was "not a matter of perception", adding that "true accountability begins with specificity".

"The same systems that sustain racial harm against black people also enable other forms of harm. Confronting this is not an act of exclusion but a necessary foundation for safety, fairness and justice for everyone," Dr Daniels said.

Baroness Lawrence said that discrimination "must be acknowledged, accepted and confronted in the Met", adding that racism was the reason why her son had been killed and why the police had "failed to find all of his killers".

She added: "The police must stop telling us that change is coming whilst we continue to suffer. That change must take place now."

Imran Khan KC said that the report's conclusions were "little surprise", adding that Sir Mark Rowley should resign if he did not "recognise, acknowledge and accept" its findings.

He added: "This Report lays out in shocking clarity that the time for talking is over, that promises to change can no longer be believed or relied on."

The report is the latest to highlight racism within Britain's biggest police force, after Louise Casey's 2023 review - commissioned after the murder of Sarah Everard - concluded that the Met was institutionally racist, misogynistic and homophobic.

Reviews conducted decades ago have criticised discrimination within the Met - including the 1999 Macpherson report that called the force "institutionally racist" after the mishandling of Stephen Lawrence's case.

Earlier this year, secret BBC filming found serving Met Police officers calling for immigrants to be shot and revelling in the use of force.

Several officers have since been sacked, after Sir Mark Rowley pledged to be "ruthless" in getting rid of officers who are unfit to serve.

Following the publication of the latest report, Sir Mark Rowley said: "London is a unique global city, and the Met will only truly deliver policing by consent when it is inclusive and anti-racist."

The Duke of Sussex has apologised to Canada for wearing a Los Angeles Dodgers hat while attending a World Series game against the Toronto Blue Jays.

Prince Harry joked that he was "under duress" when he wore the bright blue cap during the epic Game 4 of the World Series in Los Angeles. He thought it was "the polite thing to do" after being invited to the game by the Dodgers' owner.

His headgear choice upset many in Canada - a Commonwealth nation- who criticised him for not showing his allegiance to the realm, or to the only Canadian team in Major League Baseball.

Prince Harry's father King Charles is the head of state of Canada and of 13 other Commonwealth realms.

"Firstly, I would like to apologise to Canada for wearing it," he said in a CTV interview while in the commonwealth this week for Remembrance events. "Secondly, I was under duress. There wasn't much choice."

The prince - wearing a Blue Jays hat during the interview - quipped that "when you're missing a lot of hair on top, and you're sitting under flood lights, you'll take any hat that's available".

He plans to wear a Blue Jays hat from now on and rooted for the Toronto team in subsequent games, appearing to do so in a clip posted on social media by the Duchess of Sussex - a Los Angeles native - when the Dodgers won the series in Game 7 a few days later.

Prince Harry, who was given a Blue Jays hat while meeting with Canada's oldest veterans on Thursday, also said that admitting that he is a Toronto fan would likely make his reception in California more difficult.

The prince and his wife, a former actress who lived in Canada while filming her TV drama Suits, moved to California after stepping back as full-time royals in 2020.

The couple's presence in the Chavez Ravine-set stadium in Los Angeles also disgruntled many Dodgers fans in the US. They took to social media to voice their upset over the couple's plum front-row seats during the 18-inning game, while local legends such as Magic Johnson and former pitcher Dodgers Sandy Koufax were seated behind them.

Incidentally, Prince Harry published an essay this week about "What it means to be British" ahead of his visits with military veterans in Canada this week.

In it, he said "banter" in pubs and sports grounds and a spirit of good-humoured "self-deprecation" are some of the things that he loves about Britain and what he thinks define British culture.

A woman who matched on Tinder with predator Christopher Harkins says she was subjected to death threats and abuse that "destroyed" her mental health for years - after spending just 20 minutes in his company.

Speaking for the first time about going on a date with the notorious fraudster and rapist in 2018, Nadia said the abuse started after she ended their date early because of "red flags".

The sports massage therapist is among half a dozen women who shared their distressing, and often bizarre, experiences with one of Scotland's most prolific romance fraudsters in new BBC Disclosure podcast: Matched with a Predator.

The BBC investigation revealed that 11 women tried to report Harkins to Police Scotland as far back as 2012.

Despite allegations of physical attacks, frauds, threats and abuse, Harkins was not investigated by police until late 2019.

Police Scotland said earlier reports were "mainly around the financial situation" and they were all treated in isolation - a situation it hoped "wouldn't be replicated now".

Harkins spent almost a decade carrying out crimes against women he met online in Scotland and London, before being jailed in 2024.

Nadia believes he should have been stopped earlier.

She is among several victims who have called for Police Scotland to apologise to those who tried to report him.

Nadia, who is now 34, and Harkins, now 38, matched on Tinder seven years ago.

They chatted over messages and after a few weeks, they decided to go out for dinner in Glasgow.

For Nadia, the first red flag came when she arrived to pick up Harkins from his flat in Cumbernauld.

He opened the door wearing jogging trousers and a vest, saying he was too tired to go out. He suggested they stay at his flat and order takeaway.

"This is where it gets bizarre," said Nadia.

"I went in. The place was bare. No furniture. The living room was totally empty apart from a TV on some boxes."

Harkins offered to make Nadia a vodka. When she declined the alcohol and poured herself a Diet Coke, she says the atmosphere changed.

"It was as if he had an internal man tantrum," she said.

"He looked at me as if, 'who do you think you are? Why are you pouring yourself a drink?'

"I was a bit nervous and I poured it right to the top of the glass. As I turned, I spilled the Diet Coke.

"The look in his eyes was crazy. He said something like, 'You're so clumsy, you don't respect my property. You're a clown'.

"I remember thinking, 'Are you for real?' It was laminate flooring.

"I said, 'look, I'm just going to go'. And he said he pointed to the door and swore.

Nadia says: "I was terrified. I thought he was going to follow me out. I jumped in my car, I locked the doors and that was it.

"I thought it had ended there but it just got so much worse.

"You wouldn't believe that my life was affected so badly by a 20-minute interaction with this guy."

The rejection appears to have been a major trigger for Harkins, who started to bombard Nadia with calls and messages as soon as she left.

The first one read: "How dare someone like you have the audacity to leave a date with me?"

As things escalated over the following hours, Nadia says Harkins threatened to "petrol bomb" her home, kill her and attack her dad.

He also sent a barrage of insults about her appearance.

This had a devastating impact on Nadia's self esteem - something she'd worked hard to restore after going through a difficult period in her life.

"I got messages saying I was a fat cow," she said.

"I was a catfish. I looked like a pig. I wore too much make-up. That continued all through the night. I cried that much I got a headache. At six in the morning he was still sending me abuse.

"I remember looking in the mirror and I was ashamed of myself.

"He knew I'd lost weight and had been going to the gym.

"When I thought I was at my best he literally ripped it away from me."

The day after their date, Nadia reported the threats and abuse to Police Scotland. She also played a recording of a phone call from Harkins.

In it, he can be heard saying he would go to her dad's house, drag him out and give him a kicking.

"I was told nothing could be done for me," Nadia said.

"They said there was no direct threat - if and when he did something to call them straight back.

"Nobody took a statement. They did not want to help me. I was screaming from the roof, 'I can't have this, you don't know what he's capable of, he's threatening me'."

Nadia said: "If they'd have done something then, then a lot of things could have been done for the girls that were after me."

Harkins continued his abuse long after their date ended.

Nadia blocked his number but more than a year later, he was still harassing her by contacting people she knew on social media.

She said: "The frame of mind he put me in, if I didn't have my daughter, I would have ended my life."

Harkins is currently serving a 12-year jail sentence after being convicted of 19 offences against 10 women, including physical and sexual violence.

He was initially charged with threatening and abusive behaviour towards Nadia, and of threatening her family.

As part of a plea-deal, a not guilty plea was accepted to that charge - and Harkins pleaded guilty to stealing more than £214,000 from women, via holiday scams, fake investment schemes and by using their identities to take out bank loans.

What finally sparked an investigation by Police Scotland was one of the women turning to the media in a desperate bid to expose Harkins and protect others.

She had also been turned away by the police when Harkins scammed her out of £3,247 for a fake holiday.

Her story was published in October 2019.

The extent of Harkins' crimes quickly became apparent and police launched a formal investigation.

Nadia and others who made historical reports were revisited and, this time, they were asked to give statements.

Harkins stood trial in 2024.

As Nadia read about the testimony of a woman who was raped by Harkins, she made a sickening realisation - it was two months after his date with her.

"That lassie could have been totally saved," she said.

"He could have been arrested and she would never have had an interaction with him.

"Vile. That's all I can say about that. It's disgusting."

Our investigation has uncovered further alleged frauds by Harkins of almost £70,000.

The BBC understands he targeted at least 30 women.

We wrote to Harkins in prison to ask about these allegations. He did not reply.

DCI Lyndsay Laird led the Police Scotland investigation into Harkins.

She said it was difficult to say why the reports weren't investigated earlier.

"Each one was reported at different stages, so they weren't all reported together, they were reported in different divisions throughout Police Scotland," she said.

"There was no reports of physical or sexual abuse ever made to the police at that time.

"It was mainly around the financial situation, which when they're treated in isolation, they have been taken as civil investigations.

"I think it's safe to say policing has evolved massively since the time those initial reports have come in."

Successful court result

Several women have told the BBC they did report physical assaults and sexual misconduct in the years before the police investigation.

Asked if Police Scotland would apologise to the victims who tried to report Harkins, DCI Laird said: "I think that's a very difficult question to answer.

"I think they've got a successful court result now, based on the investigation that was conducted.

"I would say with everything that we've put in place since then, I would hope that that experience wouldn't be replicated now."

In response to those comments, Nadia said: "I know they really did work hard when they decided to actually do something about it but they should have done something sooner.

"He was doing this for years. It could have been avoided. They should apologise. They could have stopped him."

Harkins was jailed last year, almost five years after he was first arrested. He was convicted on the evidence of 10 women.

Nadia received a phone call to tell her about the outcome.

"Those women achieved more than what you think," she said.

"Now all these other people that could have met him in future don't need to. What they did was just amazing - huge."

The mother-of-two has managed to rebuild her life and her confidence but the experience has left its mark.

"I'm so good now," she said.

"It's a totally different me and so much more confident. I'm not afraid to speak up and I will never ignore a red flag again."

If you have been affected by the issues raised in this article you can find details of support on the BBC Action Line.

A year after the Democrats found themselves out of power and without a leader, the party is standing at a crossroads.

After months of downbeat introspection, three election races this week gave them a much-needed burst of momentum.

In New York, there was the unlikely victory of a 34-year-old democratic socialist as mayor of the nation's biggest city, while it was a former CIA agent who won in Virginia to become the state's first female governor.

And in New Jersey, a former Navy helicopter pilot who made opposing Donald Trump a focal point of her campaign delivered a decisive victory over a Republican candidate backed by the president.

These three candidates - New York state assemblyman Zohran Mamdani, Virginia's law-and-order moderate Abigail Spanberger and New Jersey congresswoman Mikie Sherrill - each ran a different race.

Their victories have spurred a debate on how Democrats chart a path forward, and whether the centrists or the party's left wing will prevail as they head into the critical 2026 midterm elections - and beyond.

But without a standard-bearer until the presidential race and the 2028 election, Democrats are grappling with how to land on a clear message, rebuild their brand and retool their strategy to win back voters.

• Four takeaways from a big night for Democrats
• Mamdani seals remarkable victory - but challenges await

Some believe that will happen through refining their focus on the affordability crisis while others believe it's a matter of pushing back harder against Trump.

"This was a repudiation of President Trump and the Republicans, not an affirmation of us," former US ambassador to Japan and Chicago mayor Rahm Emmanuel told the BBC.

"The first lesson for Democrats was we didn't trip over our shoelaces. We stayed focused on what people needed to hear from us - that we were concerned about it, and we didn't get into some cultural war debate that we can't win."

The Democrats have been adrift.

The party not only lost the White House last year but also both chambers of Congress, every battleground state and even some support among key demographics including working class, racial minorities and young voters.

The party has lost 4.5 million registered voters to Republicans from 2020 to 2024, according to the New York Times.

And though Trump remains under water in approval ratings, hovering in the low 40s, Democrats plummeted to a 35-year-low in popularity this summer.

A Wall Street Journal poll in July found 63% of voters had an unfavourable view of the Democratic party, the highest since 1990.

But the off-year elections could signal a tide is turning as Democrats begin to clarify their message of addressing economic pain. Party officials, operatives and strategists say the common thread in the races in New York, New Jersey and Virginia was a disciplined focus on lowering costs, despite the candidates' ideological differences.

Mamdani ran a left-wing populist campaign that focused on a rent freeze, free buses and universal childcare, paid for by new taxes on the wealthy.

Sherrill drilled into lowering utility costs while Spanberger underscored the rising costs in Virginia where Trump's government cuts have upended life for many of the state's federal workers.

"Voters want their elected officials to be spending essentially all of their time and energy trying to come up with policy solutions to the affordability crisis," said Simon Bazelon, author of a yearlong 2024 postmortem autopsy on why Democrats lost, released last week.

The expansive, 58-page report, backed by political action committee WelcomePac, which supports centre-left candidates, provides a searing analysis of the party's leftward drift, on both economic and cultural issues, since the days of Barack Obama's presidency.

• What to know about Mamdani and what he wants to do
• Rama Duwaji, wife of NYC's mayor-elect

After polling more than 500,000 voters, Mr Bazelon said the prevailing theme was Democrats focused too much on democracy, abortion and identity and cultural issues instead of cost of living, border security and public safety.

The Biden administration was slow to recognise inflation, telling voters the economy was better than they thought despite the day-to-day hardships, Mr Bazelon said. The "Bidenomics" rallies fell flat. The economic data talking points rang hollow. Prices increased, and people noticed.

"Stop trying to tell them that what they think is wrong, and instead recognise that in a democracy, if we don't take public opinion seriously, then we are going to lose to people who don't take democracy seriously," Mr Bazelon added.

Following Tuesday's Democratic sweep, Republicans - and even Trump - appeared to acknowledge they're behind on the battle over economic messaging. Trump summoned Republican senators to the White House early Wednesday morning to discuss ending the stalemate over the government shutdown, now the longest in US history.

"The president is very keyed into what's going on, and he recognises, like anybody, that it takes time to do an economic turnaround, but all the fundamentals are there, and I think you'll see him be very, very focused on prices and cost of living," James Blair, a deputy White House chief of staff and Trump's former 2024 political director, told Politico on Wednesday.

Like his predecessors, Trump faces stiff political headwinds in next year's midterm elections, which typically serve as a referendum on the party in power. Though Trump won the election in part due to his promise to bring prices down, inflation continues to bedevil the White House.

Democrats say Trump's economy will be the prime focus during the 2026 midterms, when the party hopes to retake at least one chamber of Congress. The Republican-led Congress has helped Trump push through his policy agenda, and largely ignored his expansion of executive power which includes circumventing Congress's power of the purse to cut federal programmes.

Trump's global tariffs, which have largely fallen on US importers, have contributed to inflation, accordng to experts. Meanwhile, healthcare premiums are spiking just as food stamps are being interrupted for millions of Americans during the government shutdown.

• Has Trump kept his promise on inflation?

"It's not one economic hit, it's a snowball of economic hits that people are feeling all at one time," said Libby Schneider, deputy executive director of the Democratic National Committee.

"It's a really important lesson that we have taken post-2024 and that other candidates have too, which is to really localise the economy and, unfortunately, Trump and Republicans have given us infinite opportunities to do that."

But localising the economy has its limits. While it's a big tent party, embracing both the left-wing and centrist models won't necessarily work in 2028, when Democrats have to select a standard-bearer and a platform that will force them to choose one ideological path over the other.

Republican strategist Matt Gorman said that path will be determined by who gets through the primary elections both next year and looking ahead to 2028.

The party's money and energy, he noted, has been focused on the left and Republicans will be hoping the nominee fighting a general election comes from that wing. He urged his party to respond by making affordability their message, and by courting the voters Trump was able to reach, even without him on the ballot.

Left-wing Democratic congressman Ro Khanna, who campaigned alongside candidates in New Jersey, Virginia and New York, said that means moving beyond the generic conversation on affordability and championing a bold economic message on a national level with specifics on tackling inequality.

"The vibes are not going to be enough," he said, adding that Democrats should establish basic pillars around Medicare for all, a tax on billionaires and universal childcare. "And local candidates can adopt what they see fit for their communities."

Republicans have already seized on Mamdani's victory to try to shape the narrative of the Democratic party as being taken over by a Soviet-style communist. Following the election, in a speech at the America Business Forum in Florida on Wednesday, Trump said the difference between the two parties was a choice between "communism and common sense".

"We are going to have a fight in our party about how to prosecute the case against Trump and how to beat the right-wing populists," said Matt Bennett, co-founder of the centrist think tank Third Way. "And the fight is going to boil down to, mostly but not entirely, do you fight right-wing populism with left-wing populism?"

He credits Democrats for taking a more disciplined tack in pushing back against Trump, pointing to the shutdown battle during which they held firm in focusing on healthcare and rejected pressure from climate change groups to attach more demands to the fight.

"They have started to learn how to fight Trump," Mr Bennett said.

Still, Mr Bennett and others in the party say there's much to learn from left-wing figures like Mamdani, a skilled campaigner who focused on his constituents' lives.

The 34-year-old mayor-elect, along with Spanberger, 46, and Sherrill, 53, represent a younger bench of Democrats at a moment when generational divide has upended the party. Though Joe Biden's age was a major point of contention in the 2024 election campaign, four House Democrats also died in office over the last year.

After Trump's victory last year, 39-year-old Saikat Chakrabarti listened as his state representative, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, argued on a New York Times podcast shortly after the election that nothing needed to change.

"I just thought that was unacceptable," Chakrabarti, former chief of staff to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, said of his decision to challenge Pelosi in San Francisco, though she has since announced her retirement.

"Part of my motivation to run is to try to recruit people to run across the country to create a Democratic party that actually stands for working people, that stands strongly against corruption and big money in politics and has a real vision for how to build an economy that will restore the American dream."

Many Democrats welcome the idea of ushering in fresh candidates but say it's not the only answer to winning back voters. The majority of Democrats interviewed for this piece agreed that earning back the trust of the voters following the tumultuous 2024 campaign was the first step to winning at a national level.

But what was less clear is whether the party needs to show more contrition about how they arrived at such a low point.

The DNC's own analysis of the disastrous election reportedly does not address the question of whether Biden should have listened to public unease about his health and dropped out much earlier.

"I think people don't trust us. They don't trust that we'll keep our promises," said Amanda Litman, co-founder of Run for Something, which recruits new Democrats to run for office.

The group launched a $50m plan to rebuild faith in Democrats in parts of the country where they have lost ground with voters.

"The long-term mission is to try and fix the party brand by attaching a new face to it."

Whether that face is one looking left or looking centre-left is the big question.