The first day of Hanukkah was a sweltering one in Sydney - a perfect afternoon to spend at Australia's most iconic beach.

More than 1,000 people were enjoying a festival marking the occasion at a grassy stretch in Bondi: kids careened around in facepaint, crowds snaked between food trucks, and many enjoyed live entertainment as they soaked up the last rays of sunshine.

Then, just before 7pm local time, shots rang out.

From a small footbridge - just metres from a children's playground - gunmen fired upon the fenced-in crowds. A car full of improvised bombs was parked nearby, though they never went off.

One attendee, who identified himself only as Barry, described watching people around him get shot as hundreds of beach-goers began screaming and running through the park to get away from the attack.

"It was pandemonium and chaos," he told the BBC.

• Follow live: Eleven killed in shooting targeting Jewish community at Australia's Bondi Beach, police say

One video showed a man - dubbed a "genuine hero" by state officials - leaping out from behind a parked car to wrestle a gun from one of the attackers and push him away.

"It was simply an unbelievable scene… in today's day and age, that families and kids on Bondi could be completely mowed down for being Jewish," Barry said.

At least 11 people have died and more than two dozen are injured, including a child. One gunman was also killed by police, another is in hospital in a critical condition, and police say they're investigating whether a third person helped stage the attack.

This is an unfamiliar, and devastating, shock for Australia - the deadliest shooting in this country since the Port Arthur massacre in 1996.

That attack, which killed 35 people, was a turning point, famously prompting the government to introduce some of the world's strictest gun control measures.

We've only had a handful of mass shootings since then, most of them horrific acts of domestic violence - not public attacks like today.

Swiftly declared a terrorist attack by police, it comes amid a rise in antisemitic attacks in Australia since the 7 October Hamas attack on Israel and Israel's subsequent offensive on Gaza.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called it an "act of evil antisemitism" and a "vile act of violence and hate".

But he's been accused by some - including Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu - of failing to address the upward trend of antisemitism here.

"The Australian government, which received countless warning signs, must come to its senses!" Israel's Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar wrote on X.

Alex Ryvchin, co-CEO of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, told Sky News Sunday night that the "worst fears" of the Jewish community had been realised.

"It's been bubbling under the surface for a long time, and now it's actually happened."

In a statement, the Australia Jewish Association's Robert Gregory said many Jews would tonight be pondering whether they have a future in Australia.

"To be confronted with this horrific act of antisemitic violence during the Jewish festival of light and hope is shattering. In moments like this, we hold each other close," the Jewish Council of Australia said in a statement.

There's a lot police can't - or won't - say yet. But they have declared this was a terrorist attack.

Who the gunmen are - how many of them even - and their motive is still unclear. They said one of the attackers was known to police, but wasn't on their radar for anything like this.

Officials wouldn't answer any questions about those who died either, out of respect for families who are still being notified.

"It's too early to give that information," was the most frequent refrain uttered at a press conference late on Sunday night.

But where NSW Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon couldn't offer answers, he tried instead to offer reassurance. Police are throwing everything at this investigation, he said.

He urged the community to remain calm, and avoid spreading misinformation online - including speculating on the victims and perpetrators of the attack.

"I want to make sure that there is no retribution," Commissioner Lanyon said.

Local politicians have also asked people not to share graphic footage from the attack on social media.

In the aftermath of the shooting, sirens were ringing through the city and the area surrounding Bondi swarmed with police cars, helicopters circling above.

There we found Fin Green, who was on FaceTime with his family in the UK when he saw the shooting unfolding outside his window. Unsure what was happening, he hid in his wardrobe for an hour and a half, until he felt it was safe to go out.

Danny Clayton, a broadcast journalist who was at the beach and witnessed the events from the Bondi Pavilion, said some people crashed their cars as they attempted to flee.

Many others in the area had similar stories. Restaurant worker William Doliente Petty said he was serving someone when he heard the gunshots. "The whole shop just stood up and we ran into the back exit."

Australia prides itself on being a merry, safe country and Bondi Beach has long been a symbol of that. But that image has been shattered and residents are in disbelief.

Sunday's attack also came less than two years after another nearby tragedy. In April last year, a deadly mass stabbing attack took place at nearby Bondi Junction. Shocked, many then uttered the same words we've heard over and over today too: "This sort of thing just doesn't happen here".

Additional reporting by Katy Watson and Tabby Wilson.

A "hero" bystander who was filmed wrestling a gun from one of the Bondi Beach attackers has been named as 43-year-old Ahmed al Ahmed.

Video verified by the BBC showed Mr Ahmed run at the gunman and seize his weapon, before turning the gun round on him, forcing his retreat.

Mr Ahmed, a fruit shop owner and father of two, remains in hospital, where he has undergone surgery for bullet wounds to his arm and hand, his family told 7News Australia.

Eleven people were killed in the shooting on Sunday night, as more than 1,000 people attended an event to celebrate Hanukkah. The attack has since been declared by police as a terrorist incident targeting the Jewish community.

Mr Ahmed's cousin, Mustafa, told 7News Australia: "Still he is in hospital and we don't know exactly what is going on, the doctor says he is OK.

"We hope he is OK, he is a hero, 100% he is a hero. He has two shots, one in his arm and one in his hand, he has had to have an operation."

Two gunmen are believed to have carried out the attack, with police investigating whether others were involved. One of the gunmen was killed, with a second in "critical condition," police say.

The footage of Mr Ahmed's intervention has been shared widely online.

It shows one of the gunmen standing behind a palm tree near a small pedestrian bridge, aiming and shooting his gun towards a target out of shot.

Mr Ahmed, who was hiding behind a parked car, is seen leaping out at the attacker, who he tackles.

He manages to wrestle the gun from the attacker, pushes him to the ground and points the gun towards him. The attacker retreats.

He then lowers the weapon and raises one hand in the air, appearing to show police he was not one of the shooters.

Nearby on the bridge, another gunman continues firing. It's unclear who or what he is aiming at.

At a news conference late on Sunday, New South Wales Premier Chris Minns paid tribute to the bravery of Mr Ahmed, who was unnamed at the time.

"That man is a genuine hero, and I've got no doubt there are many, many people alive tonight as a result of his bravery."

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said: "We have seen Australians today run towards danger in order to help others.

"These Australians are heroes, and their bravery has saved lives."

The attack targeting the Jewish community at a Hanukkah event in Australia is "sickening", Sir Keir Starmer has said.

At least 11 people were killed in the shooting at Bondi Beach on Sunday and a further 29 taken to hospital, according to police.

In a statement on X, the UK prime minister said: "The United Kingdom will always stand with Australia and the Jewish community." He added that the government was working with Community Security Trust, a Jewish security organisation, on the policing of Hanukkah events in the UK.

The Metropolitan Police said it was increasing its "police presence, carrying out additional community patrols and engaging with the Jewish community to understand what more we can do".

• Follow live updates here
• What we know so far about Bondi Beach shooting

"It is an awful reality that Jewish communities across the world continue to face a higher level of threat," the force said in a statement.

"At a time when London's Jewish communities are coming together to begin the celebration of Hanukkah, we know this attack will be the cause of not just terrible upset but also significant heightened concern about safety."

In October, two people were killed in an attack at a synagogue in Manchester on Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish religious calendar.

On Sunday, the UK's Jewish Leadership Council (JLC) called on the police and government to protect events celebrating Hanukkah which begins this evening and lasts for eight days.

Hanukkah, also known as Chanukah, is a festival of light usually observed in December.

"We are devastated and angered that in Sydney, Jews appear to have been targeted once again for being Jewish," the JLC said in a statement.

"We know that such hatred also exists in this country, as we are still reeling from the attack on a synagogue in Manchester on Yom Kippur.

"As we prepare to celebrate Chanukah over the next eight nights, we call on government and law enforcement to work with our community to protect Jewish life in the UK and ensure that events this week can go ahead safely. We must not let hatred extinguish the festival of light."

A historic former railway bridge has been cordoned off by police after a section of it collapsed into the River Spey in Moray.

The Spey Viaduct, an iron girder structure near Garmouth, was built in 1886 and while no longer used for trains, was popular with cyclists and walkers.

Images on social media showed one of its supporting stone piers was leaning at an angle and part of the metalwork had twisted and fallen into the river.

Local SNP MSP Richard Lochhead said people in the area would be devastated and questioned whether the structure has been adequately maintained.

He said: "The local community will be heartbroken by the collapse of the much-loved Spey viaduct, which is not only an iconic structure but also incredibly popular with walkers, cyclists, and tourists.

"I'm now in touch with Moray Council seeking answers around when and by whom the structure was last checked, and what happens next with regards to the future of the bridge."

The bridge spans 350ft (107m) over the River Spey, regarded as the fastest flowing river in Scotland

The railway line closed in the 1960s but the bridge, also known as the Garmouth Viaduct, was later paved.

The Speyside Way, a long-distance trail which traces the River Spey from the Moray Firth to the Cairngorms National Park, passes the east end of the bridge.

It is also part of the National Cycle Network.

Moray Council, which manages the trail, said the bridge would remain closed until further notice.

A council statement said: "Our engineers are aware and will assess the situation before further detail can be provided.

"Members of the public and media are asked to keep their distance from the rest of the bridge structure.

"Do not pass the police cordon in place and do not climb on any part of the bridge - thank you for your co-operation."

Local councillor Shona Morrison said she was "incredibly saddened by the news".

"The viaduct holds such a special place in my family's heart, it is devastating to see the collapse of such a well-loved and iconic landmark."

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Twelve people have died - including one gunman - following a shooting at Australia's Bondi Beach which targeted the Jewish community on the first day of Hanukkah.

According to police, at least 12 others have been injured and two officers were shot during the event, which has since been declared a terror attack by officials. The surviving gunman is in a critical condition.

More than 1,000 people were attending an event on the beach celebrating Hanukkah.

Chris Minns, the premier of New South Wales, said: "Our heart bleeds for Australia's Jewish community tonight.

"I can only imagine the pain that they're feeling right now to see their loved ones killed as they celebrate this ancient holiday".

Mass shootings in Australia are very rare, and the attack at Bondi is the deadliest incident in Australia since the Port Arthur massacre in 1996.

Here's what we know so far:

Where is Bondi Beach?

Bondi Beach is located in eastern Sydney in the state of New South Wales, on Australia's east coast.

It is one of Australia's most popular beaches, attracting millions of visitors each year. The area is a significant attraction for tourists.

What happened?

New South Wales (NSW) police responded to reports of gunfire at around 18:47 local time (07:47 GMT), with video showing hundreds of people fleeing from the coastline.

In their initial statement posted on X, NSW Police urged people at the scene to take shelter and other members of the public to avoid the area.

Around the same time, local media began reporting people "on the ground" in the vicinity of Campbell Parade.

A video verified by the BBC appears to shows two gunmen firing from a small bridge which crosses from the car park on Campbell Parade towards the beach itself.

An event to mark the first day of the Jewish celebration Hanukkah was taking place on Bondi Beach, very close to the bridge where the men were firing from. More than 1,000 were in attendance.

Premier Minns also paid tribute to a man filmed wrestling a gun from one of the attackers.

"That man is a genuine hero, and I've got no doubt there are many, many people alive tonight as a result of his bravery," Minns said at a press conference.

In the video, the man is seen sneaking up on the attacker, before grabbing him in a bear hug.

The now-disarmed man then retreats back towards the bridge, where the other attacker is still firing from.

As the video continues, another man appears to be injured and flees the scene, as a policeman arrives behind the attackers and opens fire at them.

A separate video, also verified, shows several policemen on the same bridge. One appears to be administering CPR to a motionless man as someone shouts "he's dead, he's dead".

How many people were killed and injured?

Apart from police confirming one gunman as dead, details on who has been killed and injured are sparse.

Twelve people including one of the armed men have been confirmed dead by police. Another gunman is said to be in a critical condition.

Officials say 29 other people were taken to hospital, and two officers were also shot during the incident.

One eyewitness, Barry, was attending the Hanukkah event on Bondi when with his children when he heard gunshots.

He told the BBC he saw two men on a bridge shooting towards the crowd.

He said there were bodies on the ground. He and his children were able to escape with a friend in a car, he added.

What is the latest?

Police have declared Saturday's shooting a terror attack.

An exclusion zone has been set up around the scene as police use specialist equipment to check improvised explosive devices (IEDs) found in a car linked to the dead gunman, and police are still urging the public to avoid the area."

"No stone will be left unturned" in the investigation, New South Wales Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon said.

He said police would not release any information about the gunmen at this time, and urged for calm while police carry out their duties, adding that this was "not a time for retribution".

Police said they cannot confirm if there was a third gunman involved or if there was anyone else involved in the attack, but enquires are ongoing.

During a televised address, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called the Bondi Beach shooting "an act of evil antisemitism, terrorism that has struck the heart of our nation".

"We have seen Australians today run towards dangers in order to help others. These Australians are heroes and their bravery has saved lives", he added.

A 25-year-old woman has been found dead after a house fire which has left a man, aged in his 60s, critically ill.

The blaze was reported at about 23:00 GMT on Saturday at an address in Northlands Road in Totton, Hampshire.

The roof and an upstairs dormer window of the property were severely damaged by fire.

An investigation has been launched by police and fire officers.

In a statement, Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary said: "Sadly, despite the very best efforts of the emergency services, a 25-year-old woman was pronounced deceased at the scene. Her next of kin have been notified.

"A man in his 60s, who was also inside the property at the time, has been taken to hospital and is in a life-threatening condition.

"We would ask that people respect the family's privacy at this unimaginably difficult time and refrain from any speculation."

Police said officers would remain at the scene for the rest of Sunday.

You can follow BBC Hampshire & Isle of Wight on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.

The first day of Hanukkah was a sweltering one in Sydney - a perfect afternoon to spend at Australia's most iconic beach.

More than 1,000 people were enjoying a festival marking the occasion at a grassy stretch in Bondi: kids careened around in facepaint, crowds snaked between food trucks, and many enjoyed live entertainment as they soaked up the last rays of sunshine.

Then, just before 7pm local time, shots rang out.

From a small footbridge - just metres from a children's playground - gunmen fired upon the fenced-in crowds. A car full of improvised bombs was parked nearby, though they never went off.

One attendee, who identified himself only as Barry, described watching people around him get shot as hundreds of beach-goers began screaming and running through the park to get away from the attack.

"It was pandemonium and chaos," he told the BBC.

• Follow live: Eleven killed in shooting targeting Jewish community at Australia's Bondi Beach, police say

One video showed a man - dubbed a "genuine hero" by state officials - leaping out from behind a parked car to wrestle a gun from one of the attackers and push him away.

"It was simply an unbelievable scene… in today's day and age, that families and kids on Bondi could be completely mowed down for being Jewish," Barry said.

At least 11 people have died and more than two dozen are injured, including a child. One gunman was also killed by police, another is in hospital in a critical condition, and police say they're investigating whether a third person helped stage the attack.

This is an unfamiliar, and devastating, shock for Australia - the deadliest shooting in this country since the Port Arthur massacre in 1996.

That attack, which killed 35 people, was a turning point, famously prompting the government to introduce some of the world's strictest gun control measures.

We've only had a handful of mass shootings since then, most of them horrific acts of domestic violence - not public attacks like today.

Swiftly declared a terrorist attack by police, it comes amid a rise in antisemitic attacks in Australia since the 7 October Hamas attack on Israel and Israel's subsequent offensive on Gaza.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called it an "act of evil antisemitism" and a "vile act of violence and hate".

But he's been accused by some - including Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu - of failing to address the upward trend of antisemitism here.

"The Australian government, which received countless warning signs, must come to its senses!" Israel's Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar wrote on X.

Alex Ryvchin, co-CEO of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, told Sky News Sunday night that the "worst fears" of the Jewish community had been realised.

"It's been bubbling under the surface for a long time, and now it's actually happened."

In a statement, the Australia Jewish Association's Robert Gregory said many Jews would tonight be pondering whether they have a future in Australia.

"To be confronted with this horrific act of antisemitic violence during the Jewish festival of light and hope is shattering. In moments like this, we hold each other close," the Jewish Council of Australia said in a statement.

There's a lot police can't - or won't - say yet. But they have declared this was a terrorist attack.

Who the gunmen are - how many of them even - and their motive is still unclear. They said one of the attackers was known to police, but wasn't on their radar for anything like this.

Officials wouldn't answer any questions about those who died either, out of respect for families who are still being notified.

"It's too early to give that information," was the most frequent refrain uttered at a press conference late on Sunday night.

But where NSW Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon couldn't offer answers, he tried instead to offer reassurance. Police are throwing everything at this investigation, he said.

He urged the community to remain calm, and avoid spreading misinformation online - including speculating on the victims and perpetrators of the attack.

"I want to make sure that there is no retribution," Commissioner Lanyon said.

Local politicians have also asked people not to share graphic footage from the attack on social media.

In the aftermath of the shooting, sirens were ringing through the city and the area surrounding Bondi swarmed with police cars, helicopters circling above.

There we found Fin Green, who was on FaceTime with his family in the UK when he saw the shooting unfolding outside his window. Unsure what was happening, he hid in his wardrobe for an hour and a half, until he felt it was safe to go out.

Danny Clayton, a broadcast journalist who was at the beach and witnessed the events from the Bondi Pavilion, said some people crashed their cars as they attempted to flee.

Many others in the area had similar stories. Restaurant worker William Doliente Petty said he was serving someone when he heard the gunshots. "The whole shop just stood up and we ran into the back exit."

Australia prides itself on being a merry, safe country and Bondi Beach has long been a symbol of that. But that image has been shattered and residents are in disbelief.

Sunday's attack also came less than two years after another nearby tragedy. In April last year, a deadly mass stabbing attack took place at nearby Bondi Junction. Shocked, many then uttered the same words we've heard over and over today too: "This sort of thing just doesn't happen here".

Additional reporting by Katy Watson and Tabby Wilson.

The attack targeting the Jewish community at a Hanukkah event in Australia is "sickening", Sir Keir Starmer has said.

At least 11 people were killed in the shooting at Bondi Beach on Sunday and a further 29 taken to hospital, according to police.

In a statement on X, the UK prime minister said: "The United Kingdom will always stand with Australia and the Jewish community." He added that the government was working with Community Security Trust, a Jewish security organisation, on the policing of Hanukkah events in the UK.

The Metropolitan Police said it was increasing its "police presence, carrying out additional community patrols and engaging with the Jewish community to understand what more we can do".

• Follow live updates here
• What we know so far about Bondi Beach shooting

"It is an awful reality that Jewish communities across the world continue to face a higher level of threat," the force said in a statement.

"At a time when London's Jewish communities are coming together to begin the celebration of Hanukkah, we know this attack will be the cause of not just terrible upset but also significant heightened concern about safety."

In October, two people were killed in an attack at a synagogue in Manchester on Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish religious calendar.

On Sunday, the UK's Jewish Leadership Council (JLC) called on the police and government to protect events celebrating Hanukkah which begins this evening and lasts for eight days.

Hanukkah, also known as Chanukah, is a festival of light usually observed in December.

"We are devastated and angered that in Sydney, Jews appear to have been targeted once again for being Jewish," the JLC said in a statement.

"We know that such hatred also exists in this country, as we are still reeling from the attack on a synagogue in Manchester on Yom Kippur.

"As we prepare to celebrate Chanukah over the next eight nights, we call on government and law enforcement to work with our community to protect Jewish life in the UK and ensure that events this week can go ahead safely. We must not let hatred extinguish the festival of light."

Dan Houser was one of the masterminds behind revolutionary video game series Grand Theft Auto.

Now, after leaving Rockstar Games and launching his own company, he's released a debut novel about a very different type of game.

A Better Paradise is a dystopian vision of the near future in which an AI-led computer game goes rogue.

Set in a polarised world, it finds Mark Tyburn attempting to create a virtual haven for people to find sanctuary and reconnect within themselves against an all-consuming social media hellscape.

But it all goes wrong when it ends up unleashing a mysterious, sentient AI bot named NigelDave into society - "a hyper-intelligence built by humans" - flaws included.

Readers get to see his thought processes as he struggles with "infinite knowledge and zero wisdom".

"What would an incredibly precocious child, who remembers everything he ever thought - because computers don't forget things - feel like when he started talking?" Houser says.

Written before ChatGPT

It feels a bit like A Better Paradise predicted the future.

First released as a podcast, the book comes as AI's continued boom means the sector's big seven companies are now collectively worth more than China's economy.

But Houser says he began writing the book "a good year" before OpenAI's ChatGPT went live to the masses in 2022, complete with a logo eerily similar to his fictional creation.

Instead, it was humanity's technological dependency during Covid - at a scale he'd underestimated - that inspired his thinking.

In his novel - which sometimes feels monologue-heavy - Houser envisions a hyper-digital, alienating world where people retreat from deepening political problems into a spiral of social media and generative AI.

Enter CEO of Tyburn Industria, Mark, who dreams of building the Ark, an immersive gaming experience users can enter in order to reconnect with themselves. It generates a world and mission tailored to each player's innermost wants and needs.

But during testing, the Ark becomes a Pandora's box of addiction. Some players find joy; others encounter terror. One even reconnects with his dead sister.

Meanwhile, a rogue AI bot named NigelDave slips into the real world, controlling minds and engineering realities no one can control.

Mined for advertising, people are left wondering if their thoughts are genuine. Everything is tracked, and nothing is secure. As climate emergencies intensify, society falls to pockets of civil war.

The only way to escape is to "drift"- which means hiding from a thousand algorithms by living off-grid, constantly moving and suppressing maddening paranoia that your thoughts are not your own.

Mirroring our world

To the reader, NigelDave feels like a nightmare ChatGPT gone wrong.

The AI tool recently reached 800 million weekly active users, according to boss Sam Altman, and Houser believes some people are becoming dependent on the technology's affirming "human veneer".

Microsoft's head of AI Mustafa Suleyman has warned of a rise in AI psychosis - a non-clinical term describing incidents where people increasingly rely on chatbots like Claude, Grok and ChatGPT and become convinced that something imaginary has become real.

In some cases, the chatbot fuels grandiose fantasies about future opportunities. In others, it presents in a romantic connection. More troubling are reports of parents saying bots have encouraged their children to kill themselves.

In response to the increased scrutiny, ChatGPT creator OpenAI recently tightened its welfare protocols, with updates designed to ensure its chatbot responds "safely and empathetically to potential signs of delusion or mania".

The dizzying algorithm-fuelled society in which NigelDave is unleashed mirrors ours too.

Parents worry about exposing their children to false information or harmful content. Last year national police chiefs described the "quite terrifying" misogynistic radicalisation of boys and young men. And in 2014 Facebook admitted manipulating the news feeds of nearly 700,000 users without their consent to manage the emotions they were exposed to.

"As a parent, you always worry about anything that you expose your kids to that is going to either give them false information or simply bombard them with too much information," Houser says.

But is it bold for a video game creator to be warning of these dangers - given the long history of video games themselves being accused of making young people violent?

Houser insists there's a difference.

"We always had the data about game violence, and it was very clear: as people played more video games, youth violence went down.

"Whatever people were claiming, we knew the opposite was true."

Psychology professor and game violence researcher Pete Etchells says numerous studies have shown "no meaningful effect of playing violent games on aggression".

AI models and social media are another matter - a "new paradigm" in altering behaviour that gaming never threatened, according to Matt Navarra, social media consultant and author of the Geekout Newsletter.

He says dismissing concerns as a GTA-style moral panic "understates what is changing".

"We're talking about external systems that can potentially shape people's beliefs or manipulate attention, personalised experiences, nudge behaviour or even influence identity and emotional states."

Rockstar freedom

Could Houser have pushed forward with A Better Paradise at Rockstar? "I don't know if I would have had the bandwidth to think about it," he tells me.

He's previously described the fatigue of managing vast open-world sandbox games like Red Dead Redemption and GTA as playing a role in his departure.

The goal with his book was to create "something truly different in this era of crazy media saturation".

So where next? He's already writing the second instalment of the series, and plans are under way to develop a video game, for which he promises the visuals are ground-breaking.

A key message, he says, is to not let your device - or AI - "tell you what to think". Otherwise, Houser argues, "you're giving up control to your phone".

His biggest fear, as creator of worlds, is losing imagination because of the endless torrent of algorithms. Sometimes after scrolling for hours, he realises: "I've not had an idea all day".

"If you go offline for a bit - sometimes I make myself go for a walk with no phone, you start to have ideas.

"A human is better thinking than not," he says. "Thinking is a privilege."

If you've been affected by issues involving suicide or feelings of despair, details of organisations offering advice and support for people in the UK are available from BBC Action Line. Help and support outside the UK can be found at Befrienders Worldwide.

Twelve people have died - including one gunman - following a shooting at Australia's Bondi Beach which targeted the Jewish community on the first day of Hanukkah.

According to police, at least 12 others have been injured and two officers were shot during the event, which has since been declared a terror attack by officials. The surviving gunman is in a critical condition.

More than 1,000 people were attending an event on the beach celebrating Hanukkah.

Chris Minns, the premier of New South Wales, said: "Our heart bleeds for Australia's Jewish community tonight.

"I can only imagine the pain that they're feeling right now to see their loved ones killed as they celebrate this ancient holiday".

Mass shootings in Australia are very rare, and the attack at Bondi is the deadliest incident in Australia since the Port Arthur massacre in 1996.

Here's what we know so far:

Where is Bondi Beach?

Bondi Beach is located in eastern Sydney in the state of New South Wales, on Australia's east coast.

It is one of Australia's most popular beaches, attracting millions of visitors each year. The area is a significant attraction for tourists.

What happened?

New South Wales (NSW) police responded to reports of gunfire at around 18:47 local time (07:47 GMT), with video showing hundreds of people fleeing from the coastline.

In their initial statement posted on X, NSW Police urged people at the scene to take shelter and other members of the public to avoid the area.

Around the same time, local media began reporting people "on the ground" in the vicinity of Campbell Parade.

A video verified by the BBC appears to shows two gunmen firing from a small bridge which crosses from the car park on Campbell Parade towards the beach itself.

An event to mark the first day of the Jewish celebration Hanukkah was taking place on Bondi Beach, very close to the bridge where the men were firing from. More than 1,000 were in attendance.

Premier Minns also paid tribute to a man filmed wrestling a gun from one of the attackers.

"That man is a genuine hero, and I've got no doubt there are many, many people alive tonight as a result of his bravery," Minns said at a press conference.

In the video, the man is seen sneaking up on the attacker, before grabbing him in a bear hug.

The now-disarmed man then retreats back towards the bridge, where the other attacker is still firing from.

As the video continues, another man appears to be injured and flees the scene, as a policeman arrives behind the attackers and opens fire at them.

A separate video, also verified, shows several policemen on the same bridge. One appears to be administering CPR to a motionless man as someone shouts "he's dead, he's dead".

How many people were killed and injured?

Apart from police confirming one gunman as dead, details on who has been killed and injured are sparse.

Twelve people including one of the armed men have been confirmed dead by police. Another gunman is said to be in a critical condition.

Officials say 29 other people were taken to hospital, and two officers were also shot during the incident.

One eyewitness, Barry, was attending the Hanukkah event on Bondi when with his children when he heard gunshots.

He told the BBC he saw two men on a bridge shooting towards the crowd.

He said there were bodies on the ground. He and his children were able to escape with a friend in a car, he added.

What is the latest?

Police have declared Saturday's shooting a terror attack.

An exclusion zone has been set up around the scene as police use specialist equipment to check improvised explosive devices (IEDs) found in a car linked to the dead gunman, and police are still urging the public to avoid the area."

"No stone will be left unturned" in the investigation, New South Wales Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon said.

He said police would not release any information about the gunmen at this time, and urged for calm while police carry out their duties, adding that this was "not a time for retribution".

Police said they cannot confirm if there was a third gunman involved or if there was anyone else involved in the attack, but enquires are ongoing.

During a televised address, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called the Bondi Beach shooting "an act of evil antisemitism, terrorism that has struck the heart of our nation".

"We have seen Australians today run towards dangers in order to help others. These Australians are heroes and their bravery has saved lives", he added.

The attack targeting the Jewish community at a Hanukkah event in Australia is "sickening", Sir Keir Starmer has said.

At least 11 people were killed in the shooting at Bondi Beach on Sunday and a further 29 taken to hospital, according to police.

In a statement on X, the UK prime minister said: "The United Kingdom will always stand with Australia and the Jewish community." He added that the government was working with Community Security Trust, a Jewish security organisation, on the policing of Hanukkah events in the UK.

The Metropolitan Police said it was increasing its "police presence, carrying out additional community patrols and engaging with the Jewish community to understand what more we can do".

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• What we know so far about Bondi Beach shooting

"It is an awful reality that Jewish communities across the world continue to face a higher level of threat," the force said in a statement.

"At a time when London's Jewish communities are coming together to begin the celebration of Hanukkah, we know this attack will be the cause of not just terrible upset but also significant heightened concern about safety."

In October, two people were killed in an attack at a synagogue in Manchester on Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish religious calendar.

On Sunday, the UK's Jewish Leadership Council (JLC) called on the police and government to protect events celebrating Hanukkah which begins this evening and lasts for eight days.

Hanukkah, also known as Chanukah, is a festival of light usually observed in December.

"We are devastated and angered that in Sydney, Jews appear to have been targeted once again for being Jewish," the JLC said in a statement.

"We know that such hatred also exists in this country, as we are still reeling from the attack on a synagogue in Manchester on Yom Kippur.

"As we prepare to celebrate Chanukah over the next eight nights, we call on government and law enforcement to work with our community to protect Jewish life in the UK and ensure that events this week can go ahead safely. We must not let hatred extinguish the festival of light."

Specialist rape and sexual offence investigation teams will be introduced to every police force in England and Wales by 2029, the government has pledged.

It is part of a long-delayed plan aimed at halving violence against women and girls within a decade.

The strategy - which will include funding for undercover units operating online, and a roll out of domestic abuse protection orders - is due to be unveiled on Thursday, after being pushed back three times this year.

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said the measures will help to "bear down on abusers, stopping them in their tracks. Rapists, sex offenders and abusers will have nowhere to hide."

The government says the new teams will have officers with specialist investigation skills for working on rape and sexual offence cases.

More than 50% of police forces already have these teams in place, but the government says every force will have dedicated officers by 2029.

It says staff will have the right training to understand the mindset of abusers and victims.

Announcing the move, the home secretary said: "This government has declared violence against women and girls a national emergency.

"For too long, these crimes have been considered a fact of life. That's not good enough. We will halve it in a decade."

Also announced is a roll out of domestic abuse protection orders, which have been trialled over the last year, across England and Wales.

They can ban individuals from contacting a victim, visiting their home or posting harmful content online, and can also be used in cases involving coercive or controlling behaviour. Breaching an order is a criminal offence.

There will also be almost £2m in investment for special undercover units of police officers operating online - to target those harassing women and girls on the internet.

A report released earlier this month found that more than a quarter of police forces in England and Wales had not implemented basic policies for investigating sexual offences.

It said sexually-motivated crimes against women in public remained widespread, criticised the limited nature of data on them, and called for urgent action to prevent predators from offending.

The publishing of the government's strategy has been long delayed. It was initially expected to be announced in the spring.

In Labour's general election manifesto last year the party pledged to use "every government tool available to target perpetrators and address the root causes of abuse and violence".

On Tuesday, the chairs of three Commons select committees raised their concerns over repeated delays in publishing the plans.

The BBC has previously been told that changing attitudes among boys and young men will be at the centre of what is proposed.

It is understood it will be built around three goals: preventing radicalisation of young men, stopping abusers, and supporting victims.

Some domestic abuse survivors have told the BBC the time for talking is over - and these measures must be implemented quickly.

A person of interest has been detained in connection with a US shooting at Brown University that left two people dead, police said.

Nine others were injured when a gunman opened fire at the university in Providence on Saturday.

Police confirmed on Sunday a person had been detained, and an earlier order for people on the Brown campus and surrounding areas to shelter had been lifted.

Of those injured, medics said one person was in a critical condition, six were "critical but stable" and two others were less severely hurt.

The gunman opened fire in a classroom at around 16:00 local time (21:00 GMT) on Saturday at the Holley engineering building at the eastern end of Brown's campus, according to officials.

The identities of those killed or injured have not yet been released, but Brown University President Christina Paxson told reporters in a press briefing on Saturday that all the victims, including those killed and wounded, were students.

Police had earlier released CCTV footage of a male suspect walking away from the scene wearing all black clothing. Officers said a firearm was not found in a sweep of the building.

A shiny new red post box has been given as a gift from King Charles III to staff at a remote Antarctic research station.

The Royal Mail red lamp post box was sent to staff at the Cambridge-based British Antarctic Survey station at Rothera.

The box, featuring the King Charles III cypher, was delivered after Kirsten Shaw, a station support assistant who runs the British Antarctic Territory Post Office for staff, requested an upgrade to their handmade box.

"Being in Antarctica is incredible, but it's full of extremes, so I think it's a special thing to send post back home, to communicate your experiences. It's a moment of your life that you put down on paper and give to someone else," she said.

The Rothera research station, which opened in 1975, is the largest British Antarctic Survey (BAS) facility, and a renowned global hub for climatic research.

It is situated 1,860km (1,155 miles) south of the Falkland Islands.

Staff work and live at the station for months at a time.

Ms Shaw said: "Getting post is really special for the team at Rothera.

"If you're doing fieldwork for many months, the feeling of receiving a letter — an actual tangible, piece of paper with handwriting from friends and family — is such a lift.

"It's a wonderful way to connect people that goes beyond what an email or text message can do."

The box will replace the handmade and painted one currently used at the station.

The BAS said "the Royal Household worked with Royal Mail to arrange this particularly special delivery".

It was delivered to Rothera by the UK's polar research vessel RRS Sir David Attenborough, along with the first major drop of supplies to the station following the long Antarctic winter.

The post box will be installed in the Discovery Building, a new scientific support and operations hub.

Postal logistics in such a remote area are understandably not straightforward.

Ms Shaw's job is to oversee the formal Post Office logistics of getting mail in and out of Antarctica from Rothera, as well as getting post out to staff to other BAS stations and science field camps.

Post has to be gathered and put on board the RRS Sir David Attenborough or on BAS aircraft to the Falkland Islands, where BAS maintains an office in Stanley.

The final leg involves transport to RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, where letters enter the Royal Mail postal network for onward delivery.

Jane Rumble, HM Commissioner for the British Antarctic Territory said: "Maintaining a postal service in the British Antarctic Territory is far more than a symbolic gesture.

"It reinforces Britain's presence and heritage in Antarctica and provides a vital link to the wider world."

Follow Cambridgeshire news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.

Specialist rape and sexual offence investigation teams will be introduced to every police force in England and Wales by 2029, the government has pledged.

It is part of a long-delayed plan aimed at halving violence against women and girls within a decade.

The strategy - which will include funding for undercover units operating online, and a roll out of domestic abuse protection orders - is due to be unveiled on Thursday, after being pushed back three times this year.

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said the measures will help to "bear down on abusers, stopping them in their tracks. Rapists, sex offenders and abusers will have nowhere to hide."

The government says the new teams will have officers with specialist investigation skills for working on rape and sexual offence cases.

More than 50% of police forces already have these teams in place, but the government says every force will have dedicated officers by 2029.

It says staff will have the right training to understand the mindset of abusers and victims.

Announcing the move, the home secretary said: "This government has declared violence against women and girls a national emergency.

"For too long, these crimes have been considered a fact of life. That's not good enough. We will halve it in a decade."

Also announced is a roll out of domestic abuse protection orders, which have been trialled over the last year, across England and Wales.

They can ban individuals from contacting a victim, visiting their home or posting harmful content online, and can also be used in cases involving coercive or controlling behaviour. Breaching an order is a criminal offence.

There will also be almost £2m in investment for special undercover units of police officers operating online - to target those harassing women and girls on the internet.

A report released earlier this month found that more than a quarter of police forces in England and Wales had not implemented basic policies for investigating sexual offences.

It said sexually-motivated crimes against women in public remained widespread, criticised the limited nature of data on them, and called for urgent action to prevent predators from offending.

The publishing of the government's strategy has been long delayed. It was initially expected to be announced in the spring.

In Labour's general election manifesto last year the party pledged to use "every government tool available to target perpetrators and address the root causes of abuse and violence".

On Tuesday, the chairs of three Commons select committees raised their concerns over repeated delays in publishing the plans.

The BBC has previously been told that changing attitudes among boys and young men will be at the centre of what is proposed.

It is understood it will be built around three goals: preventing radicalisation of young men, stopping abusers, and supporting victims.

Some domestic abuse survivors have told the BBC the time for talking is over - and these measures must be implemented quickly.

A revamp of train timetables has come into effect across the country, involving some of the most significant changes for nearly a decade.

Rail operators are promising more services across the network and faster journeys on some routes as a result of the changes, with the East Coast Main Line to benefit the most.

Passengers are being advised to check the new timetables before travelling.

The level of change has not been seen since May 2018 when an update sparked major disruption and cancellations on some routes.

Rail timetables are changed every May and December, but rarely to this degree.

Network Rail is promising quicker journeys and thousands of extra seats every day, following a £4bn investment over the past decade.

The changes promise a cut of 15 minutes to journey times between London King's Cross and Edinburgh and 10 minutes between Edinburgh and York.

Network Rail says the rail line, which is used by several operators, will have improved connectivity between Scotland, North East, England, Yorkshire and London.

One of the companies using the line, LNER, called the changes "transformational" and said it expected to run 10,000 additional services per year.

Ellie Burrows, Eastern regional managing director for Network Rail, said: "The industry has been preparing for many years for the new timetable.

"Our priority now is to continue working together to deliver the long-term benefits of this timetable change, the biggest in over a decade, for our passengers and the communities we serve."

The changes will also see Northern launch a new hourly fast service between Leeds and Sheffield.

Another operator, Avanti, says there will be more trains between London and Liverpool.

Meanwhile Transport for Wales is introducing more services for Chester, Wrexham and Swansea.

The changes are the biggest since May 2018 when a timetable update triggered major disruption and cancellations on some services.

That led to a full review and eventually the Labour government's decision to create Great British Railways and bring the industry under state control.

Travel expert Simon Calder said he was "pretty confident we won't see the complete collapse of a network, as we did when the Thameslink line had its timetable completely reconfigured in 2018 - that was an absolute shambles".

"There has been an awful lot of thought and time that has gone into this and the whole idea is to extract the maximum possible capacity from Britain's Victorian rail network without jeopardising reliability."

A shiny new red post box has been given as a gift from King Charles III to staff at a remote Antarctic research station.

The Royal Mail red lamp post box was sent to staff at the Cambridge-based British Antarctic Survey station at Rothera.

The box, featuring the King Charles III cypher, was delivered after Kirsten Shaw, a station support assistant who runs the British Antarctic Territory Post Office for staff, requested an upgrade to their handmade box.

"Being in Antarctica is incredible, but it's full of extremes, so I think it's a special thing to send post back home, to communicate your experiences. It's a moment of your life that you put down on paper and give to someone else," she said.

The Rothera research station, which opened in 1975, is the largest British Antarctic Survey (BAS) facility, and a renowned global hub for climatic research.

It is situated 1,860km (1,155 miles) south of the Falkland Islands.

Staff work and live at the station for months at a time.

Ms Shaw said: "Getting post is really special for the team at Rothera.

"If you're doing fieldwork for many months, the feeling of receiving a letter — an actual tangible, piece of paper with handwriting from friends and family — is such a lift.

"It's a wonderful way to connect people that goes beyond what an email or text message can do."

The box will replace the handmade and painted one currently used at the station.

The BAS said "the Royal Household worked with Royal Mail to arrange this particularly special delivery".

It was delivered to Rothera by the UK's polar research vessel RRS Sir David Attenborough, along with the first major drop of supplies to the station following the long Antarctic winter.

The post box will be installed in the Discovery Building, a new scientific support and operations hub.

Postal logistics in such a remote area are understandably not straightforward.

Ms Shaw's job is to oversee the formal Post Office logistics of getting mail in and out of Antarctica from Rothera, as well as getting post out to staff to other BAS stations and science field camps.

Post has to be gathered and put on board the RRS Sir David Attenborough or on BAS aircraft to the Falkland Islands, where BAS maintains an office in Stanley.

The final leg involves transport to RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, where letters enter the Royal Mail postal network for onward delivery.

Jane Rumble, HM Commissioner for the British Antarctic Territory said: "Maintaining a postal service in the British Antarctic Territory is far more than a symbolic gesture.

"It reinforces Britain's presence and heritage in Antarctica and provides a vital link to the wider world."

Follow Cambridgeshire news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.

Everyone should "follow the rules" when guidance on single-sex spaces is released, the new head of the equality watchdog has told the BBC.

Dr Mary-Ann Stephenson, chair of the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), said "things could be sorted out if there is goodwill and recognition that everybody has rights", and that "nobody is expecting there to be a toilet police".

The guidance, for businesses and services, was drawn up after a unanimous Supreme Court ruling in April that legally a woman should be defined by biological sex for the purposes of the Equality Act 2010.

The BBC interview, to be broadcast on Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, is Dr Stephenson's first in her new role.

The EHRC's guidance was passed to the government three months ago, but it has yet to publish it formally, which would give the code of practice legal force.

It aims to provide advice to businesses and services - such as women's refuges, gyms, hospitals or shopping centres - about how the Supreme Court ruling should work.

Seen by the BBC after it was leaked, the 300-page document says single-sex spaces should only be open to people of the same biological sex, otherwise they cease to be single-sex areas.

That would mean, for instance, that a trans woman – a biological male who identifies as a woman - would not be able to use women's toilets and changing rooms.

The guidance says it may be legitimate for businesses or services to ask people to provide confirmation they are of the eligible sex "by proportionate means".

This has all caused controversy and anger among some transgender campaigners.

Dr Stephenson told the BBC: "Nobody is expecting there to be a toilet police.

"But equally if there are situations where there are complaints about regular problems, then people might need to... improve signage, improve explanations, or make sure they have got alternative provision."

She said she expected both service providers and people using these services to "follow the rules".

Dr Stephenson was challenged on what facilities trans people should use if there were no alternatives, or what businesses should do if they did not have the space or resources to make extra provision.

She said: "There's often unisex provision and where there isn't, as I say, we need to think more broadly about how we make sure those that those facilities are available…

"If you've got, you know, two self-contained cubicles, one of which is labelled men and one of which is labelled women, then the most sensible thing in those circumstances for a service provider to do is to make both of those unisex."

Dr Stephenson was appointed to the role in July and she started earlier this month.

It was greeted with hostility by some trans campaigners, in part because she had donated money to the case of lawyer Allison Bailey, who won part of a tribunal claim that she was discriminated against because of her gender-critical views.

In our interview, Dr Stephenson was adamant she could still be objective when considering trans issues.

She said she donated to the case because she was frustrated by situations where "women were being harassed and losing their jobs on the basis of lawfully held beliefs".

She said she had been concerned by the experiences of some women "when trying to have meetings to discuss proposed changes in the law".

"I thought it was important that actually in a democracy, if there is a proposed change to the law, people should be able to meet and discuss those changes without violence or intimidation," she said.

"If that's taking a side, it's taking a side on the side of kind of democratic norms and open discussion and dialogue."

The full interview will be on Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg.

More on this story

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  Published
  16 August

  

Police are searching for a gunman who shot dead two students and injured nine others at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island.

Police say the attacker was a man dressed all in black who fled on foot, and a shelter-in-place warning is in effect for the area surrounding the prestigious university.

The attack on the campus brings the number of mass shootings in the US to 389 for this year, according to the independent analysis website Gun Violence Archive.

It defines mass shootings as having four or more victims killed or injured, not including the attacker.

Here's what we know:

What happened?

The gunman opened fire in a classroom at around 16:00 local time (21:00) on Saturday at the Holley engineering building at the eastern end of Brown's campus, according to officials.

Final exams were taking place in the building at the time of the shooting, the school said.

Barus and Holley engineering building is a seven-story block that includes 117 laboratories, dozens of classrooms and three lecture halls.

An economics professor told local public media outlet Ocean State Radio that the shooting had taken place during a review session for her course, which was led by her teaching assistant.

"He said that the shooter came in the doors, yelled something - he couldn't remember what he yelled - and started shooting," Rachel Friedberg said.

"Students started to scramble to try to get away from the shooter, trying to get lower down in the stadium seating, and people got shot," she added.

Two students studying in the nearby Rockefeller library when the active gunman alert came through told the BBC they "stayed away from the windows" as they awaited police escort.

Officers searched the floor, made them drop their bags and raise their hands before before being led out of the library, the pair said.

Brown University, one of the one of the oldest higher education institutions in the US, is part of the Ivy League, a group of elite universities in the northeast of the country.

The university, which has more than 11,000 students, is located in Providence, Rhode Island's capital city, located about 50 miles (80km) from Boston and 180 miles (290km) from New York City.

Who are the victims?

Two students were killed, and a further nine people are being treated. Medics say one person is in a critical condition, six are "critical but stable", and two others are less severely hurt.

The identities of those killed or injured have not yet been released, but Brown University President Christina Paxson told reporters in a press briefing that all the victims, including those killed and wounded, were students.

"This is a day that we hoped never would come to our community. It is deeply devastating for all of us," she said in a statement.

A ninth victim did not suffer a gunshot wound, according to police, who said they suffered non-life threatening injuries from fragments from the shooting "that had occurred near them".

Who is the gunman?

Very little is known about the gunman so far, but police have released CCTV footage of a male suspect, walking away from the scene of the shooting wearing all black clothing.

There is no weapon visible in the video, and his face is covered. Officials also say a firearm was not found in a sweep of the building on Saturday.

Investigators do not yet know if the gunman was a student, but Providence Deputy Police Chief Tim O'Hara said the suspect was a male who was dressed all in black and appeared be in his 30s.

"We're utilising every resource possible to find this suspect," he said.

Some witnesses reportedly told officers he may have been wearing a camouflage grey mask.

One person was arrested before police determined they were not involved in the shooting and released them.

What is the latest?

A massive operation involving police and federal agents is now underway in Providence as around 400 officers try to locate the suspect.

Residents and students near to the university have been told to stay at home and stay inside, or to stay away until the shelter-in-place is lifted.

Students in the area told the BBC they planned to stay at home until the things calm down and the gunman is caught.

US President Donald Trump, speaking to reporters as he returned to the White House from attending the annual Army and Navy football game, described the shooting as "a terrible thing".

"All we can do right now is pray for the victims and for those that were very badly hurt," he said.

Additional reporting by Pratiksha Ghildial

A manhunt is under way after two students were killed and nine other people were injured in a mass shooting at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island.

The gunman opened fire in a classroom at around 16:00 local time (21:00 GMT) on Saturday, in a building where exams were taking place.

The university, one of the oldest and most prestigious in the US, was placed into lockdown as police searched for the gunman, who remains at large.

Students in parts of the campus are continuing to be told to shelter in place until police can escort them out of the area.

Officials from Rhode Island Hospital said most of the injured are in a "critical but stable" condition.

The identities of those killed or injured have not yet been released by officials.

"This is a day that we hoped never would come to our community. It is deeply devastating for all of us," said Brown University President Christina Paxson in a statement.

Police have released limited information about the male suspect, including an identity or motive. It is not known if he has links to the university.

CCTV footage showed the suspect walking out of the building after the attack but the his face can not be seen.

Providence Deputy Police Chief Tim O'Hara said the suspect was dressed all in black and may have been wearing a mask. It is not known what type of firearm he used and it has not been recovered.

"We're utilising every resource possible to find this suspect," he added, with extra armed police resources drafted into to search the area.

The shooting happened at the Barus and Holley building, part of Brown University's engineering school. The attack happened in a large classroom on the first floor.

An economics professor told local public media outlet Ocean State Radio that the shooting took place during a review session for her course, which was led by her teaching assistant.

"He said that the shooter came in the doors, yelled something - he couldn't remember what he yelled - and started shooting," Rachel Friedberg said.

"Students started to scramble to try to get away from the shooter, trying to get lower down in the stadium seating, and people got shot," she added.

Officials cleared the building on Saturday afternoon but found neither the suspect nor a weapon.

Residents in the greater Brown University area have been told to stay inside, or to stay away until the shelter-in-place order is lifted.

In a statement, the university said police would enter non-residential buildings to escort people to safe locations.

Steph Machado, a reporter for the Boston Globe, told BBC News that restaurants around the campus have locked their doors with staff and customers waiting inside until the emergency order is lifted.

"There are flashing lights everywhere," she said.

In the immediate aftermath of the shooting, it was reported that a suspect had been taken into custody but it was quickly confirmed the man held had no involvement in the attack.

Mari Camara, 20, a Brown University student from New York City, told the Associated Press that she was coming out of the library and rushed inside a restaurant to seek shelter during the shooting. She spent the next three hours hiding there.

"Everyone is the same as me, shocked and terrified that something like this happened," Camara said.

University exams scheduled for Saturday have been cancelled, provost Frank Doyle said.

President Donald Trump, speaking to reporters as he returned to the White House from attending the annual Army and Navy football game, described the shooting as "a terrible thing".

"All we can do right now is pray for the victims and for those that were very badly hurt," he said.

Rhode Island Governor Dan McKee said in a statement: "Our capital city experienced an unthinkable tragedy today. Our hearts are with the people of Providence and all those impacted."

Brown University, one of the one of the oldest higher education institutions in the US, is part of the Ivy League, a group of elite universities in the northeast of the country.

The university, which has more than 11,000 students, is located in Providence, Rhode Island's capital city, located about 50 miles (80km) from Boston and 180 miles (290km) from New York City.

The attack on the campus brings the number of mass shootings in the US to 389 for this year, according to the independent analysis website Gun Violence Archive (GVA).

It defines mass shootings as having four or more victims killed or injured, not including the attacker.

Kemi Badenoch says the Conservatives will scrap the ban on petrol and diesel vehicles due to come into force in the UK if they win the next election.

Writing in the Sunday Telegraph, the Conservative Party leader said the Zero Emission Vehicle mandate (ZEV) was a "well-meaning but ultimately destructive piece of legislation".

From 2030, all new cars will have to be electric or hybrid as part of government efforts to meet a legally binding aim of achieving "net zero" by 2050.

The Conservative leader's comments come after her meeting with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who has lobbied the EU to water down its own plans for a ban.

Net zero refers to the balance between the amount of greenhouse gas produced and the amount removed from the atmosphere.

Six EU countries, including Italy, have recently called on other member states to rethink plans to phase out new petrol and diesel cars by 2035, saying it could hurt industrial competitiveness.

Badenoch suggested the EU had signalled it would drop a full ban, adding: "The reality is that the EU's change of heart on EVs will leave Labour even more isolated, and by pressing ahead alone, we are placing our domestic industry at a disadvantage while giving others the opportunity to dominate global supply chains."

She said the only "winners in this economic self-harm are China".

The Conservative leader added that her government would still move towards a "transition to cleaner transport" but one driven by "affordability, practicality and technological progress" rather than "unrealistic mandates that weaken domestic manufacturing and empower foreign competitors".

She said scrapping the mandate would give "space" to rebuild the UK's car industry.

UK car firms were said to have been split over the 2030 deadline, with some calling for more support to be able to meet it.

In its latest Budget, the government announced an extra £1.3 billion investment into the UK's Electric Car Grant scheme to encourage drivers to make the switch to EVs.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves also announced that drivers of battery electric cars, which includes plug-in hybrids, will be charged 3p per mile for the Electric Vehicle Excise Duty from April 2028, with some arguing the move could make electric cars less appealing.

The ban on the sale of petrol and diesel cars was originally introduced in 2020 by then Prime Minister, Conservative Boris Johnson - Badenoch, a cabinet member at the time, opposed the plans.

It was later pushed back to 2035 by Rishi Sunak, with Labour pledging to bring it forward in its 2024 election manifesto.

A spokesperson for the Department for Transport said the government remained "committed to phasing out all new non-zero emission car and van sales".

They said: "More drivers than ever are choosing electric".

The next UK general election must be held by 15 August 2029, but the prime minister can opt to call an election at any point before this.

Rumours of a major prisoner release from Belarus had been swirling for a couple of days.

But no one would reveal the names on the list, or the exact number, until everyone was safely out, finally free.

In total,123 political prisoners have been released, including some of the best-known names among Belarusian opposition politicians, human rights activists and journalists.

Maria Kolesnikova, the protest leader with a famous red-lipsticked smile, was on the release list.

A video of her jumping for joy and hugging other former prisoners, overjoyed to be reunited, was soon flying around social media. Then came another, on a bus out of Belarus, where she thanked everyone who'd helped bring this moment about.

"It's a feeling of incredible happiness to see those who are dear to me, to hug them and realise we are all free," Masha, as she's best known, told the camera, her lips already painted red again.

The first sunset of her freedom was a thing of great beauty, she said.

"But I also think of those who are not yet free and I await the moment when we can all embrace, when all are free."

Out too is Viktor Babaryka, a banker who tried to run for president in 2020 but was locked up before the elections even began.

The Nobel Peace prize winner Ales Bialiatski has also been released from a 10-year sentence.

All were locked up for their opposition to the authoritarian rule of Alexander Lukashenko, whose security forces crushed the mass protests of 2020 with brutal force. They were the biggest challenge to his rule that he has ever faced.

The prisoners' release now is the result of long and complex negotiations led by the US that culminated in a two-day visit to Minsk this week by Donald Trump's new special envoy, John Coale.

For Lukashenko, that engagement itself is a win: after years as a political pariah in the West he is clearly happy to be back on talking terms with the US.

But he also got US sanctions dropped on a key export for his country, potash, as a further, more tangible reward. EU penalties - and tougher policies - are still in place.

It's not entirely clear what Trump has to gain from this. But Belarus is a close ally of Russia, including in its war on Ukraine, and the move comes as the US has been re-engaging with Moscow too, seeking a peace deal.

The dozens of prisoners Lukashenko agreed to let go were always expected to come here to Vilnius, Lithuania, where a crowd of friends, relatives and fellow activists gathered outside the US embassy in the freezing cold to greet them.

Some came wrapped in the red and white opposition flag of Belarus.

Tatsiana Khomich, Masha Kolesnikova's sister who had campaigned for over five years for her release, couldn't stop smiling. "I've just spoken to Masha," she told me after a video call.

A professional flautist before the disputed 2020 elections, Kolesnikova spent much of her more than five-year sentence in total isolation, denied even letters and phone calls to her family.

"She's fine, she's good. I just want to hug her. I still can't quite believe it," her sister said.

Suddenly, there was a commotion in the crowd: a police car, blue lights flashing, was heading towards the US embassy gates, leading a small convoy of other vehicles.

But there was no way all 123 ex-prisoners were inside. Instead, we learned, just seven foreign nationals had been brought to Lithuania and only Ales Bialiatski of the Belarusians.

'Optimism and activism'

The others, including Kolesnikova, had been taken out of Belarus to Ukraine: from prison, into a war zone.

Staying in their own country is not usually an option on offer.

"Lukashenko's idea, who else?" was how one of opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya's team interpreted the surprise diversion to Ukraine. It seems he'd decided to play one final power game, so the family reunions, so long awaited, would be delayed.

But what of the price paid for that moment? Tikhanovskaya is a friend and political ally of Masha Kolesnikova, but she always calls for maximum pressure on Lukashenko by the West.

So has the US gone too far, I wondered.

"This is a process of negotiation. Of course, it would be good for us if nothing is given to Lukashenko, because all those people are hostages of his regime. They are innocent.

"But this is how negotiation goes," she replied, before noting that sanctions can always be reapplied if necessary.

"President Trump now uses carrots. He also can use sticks."

A few steps away, a man waving a giant flag worried that Lukashenko would just take more prisoners. This is not a sign of sudden humanity, he said.

After a short time inside the US embassy, Ales Bialiatski emerged onto the street to ecstatic cheers from the crowd.

Gaunt, head shaven and still in his padded blue prison jacket, he admitted his head was spinning from all the sensations after four years in jail.

"I was driven across Belarus in a blindfold, from east to west, so I still can't get my head round it. This is so emotional," he shared, describing being woken at 04:00 and told by his prison guard to pack.

When I asked what he wanted now most of all he didn't hesitate: "I want to see my wife!"

She's on her way, I was told.

Bialiatski's own organisation, Viasna, monitors political detentions in Belarus and the activist reminded everyone that many people like him - only less well known - have been left behind bars.

"It is very important for everyone to continue to work for those political prisoners who are still in Belarusian prisons, to strive for the complete release of all of them."

Then, lifting the red and white flag from his shoulders, he had a message for Belarusians everywhere.

"Optimism and activism," Ales Bialiatski told them, with a sudden smile. "Never give up!"

A shiny new red post box has been given as a gift from King Charles III to staff at a remote Antarctic research station.

The Royal Mail red lamp post box was sent to staff at the Cambridge-based British Antarctic Survey station at Rothera.

The box, featuring the King Charles III cypher, was delivered after Kirsten Shaw, a station support assistant who runs the British Antarctic Territory Post Office for staff, requested an upgrade to their handmade box.

"Being in Antarctica is incredible, but it's full of extremes, so I think it's a special thing to send post back home, to communicate your experiences. It's a moment of your life that you put down on paper and give to someone else," she said.

The Rothera research station, which opened in 1975, is the largest British Antarctic Survey (BAS) facility, and a renowned global hub for climatic research.

It is situated 1,860km (1,155 miles) south of the Falkland Islands.

Staff work and live at the station for months at a time.

Ms Shaw said: "Getting post is really special for the team at Rothera.

"If you're doing fieldwork for many months, the feeling of receiving a letter — an actual tangible, piece of paper with handwriting from friends and family — is such a lift.

"It's a wonderful way to connect people that goes beyond what an email or text message can do."

The box will replace the handmade and painted one currently used at the station.

The BAS said "the Royal Household worked with Royal Mail to arrange this particularly special delivery".

It was delivered to Rothera by the UK's polar research vessel RRS Sir David Attenborough, along with the first major drop of supplies to the station following the long Antarctic winter.

The post box will be installed in the Discovery Building, a new scientific support and operations hub.

Postal logistics in such a remote area are understandably not straightforward.

Ms Shaw's job is to oversee the formal Post Office logistics of getting mail in and out of Antarctica from Rothera, as well as getting post out to staff to other BAS stations and science field camps.

Post has to be gathered and put on board the RRS Sir David Attenborough or on BAS aircraft to the Falkland Islands, where BAS maintains an office in Stanley.

The final leg involves transport to RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, where letters enter the Royal Mail postal network for onward delivery.

Jane Rumble, HM Commissioner for the British Antarctic Territory said: "Maintaining a postal service in the British Antarctic Territory is far more than a symbolic gesture.

"It reinforces Britain's presence and heritage in Antarctica and provides a vital link to the wider world."

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Five men have been arrested in Germany suspected of being involved in a plot to drive a vehicle into people at a Christmas market.

Three Moroccans, an Egyptian and a Syrian were detained on Friday over the plan to target a market in the southern Bavarian state. Authorities said they suspected an "Islamist motive".

Prosecutors said the Egyptian - a 56-year-old - was alleged to have "called for a vehicle attack... with the aim of killing or injuring as many people as possible". The Moroccans allegedly agreed to carry out the attack.

Officials in Germany have been on high alert after previous attacks at Christmas markets, including in Magdeburg last December that killed six people.

Authorities did not say when the planned attack was supposed to take place or which market was the target, though said they believed it to be one in the Dingolfing-Landau area, north east of Munich.

German newspaper Bild reported the Egyptian man was an imam at a mosque in the area.

Police said the Moroccan men - aged 30, 28 and 22 - were arrested accused of having agreed to commit murder, while the Syrian man, a 37-year-old, was accused of encouraging the suspects "in their decision to commit the crime".

The five suspects appeared before a magistrate on Saturday and remain in custody.

Joachim Herrmann, Bavaria's state interior minister, told Bild the "excellent cooperation between our security services" had helped to prevent "a potentially Islamist-motivated attack".

Christmas markets are popular festive attractions throughout Germany, frequently attracting large crowds and significant tourism.

Security at events has been increased in recent years, since an attack in Berlin in 2016 when a man drove a lorry into a market crowd, killing 12 people.

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Infidelity, divorce, even "soft-swinging" - not words traditionally associated with Christianity, but just some of the themes in the hit US reality show, The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives.

The TV series follows a group of female influencers in Utah - the home of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) - as they deal with friendship fall-outs, romantic problems, and their relationship with their faith.

"These Latter-day Saints are no angels," last month's trailer for season three declared, setting the tone for what was to come. The show became the most-watched unscripted season premiere of 2024 on Hulu and continues to attract millions of global viewers there and on Disney+.

And the cast of women, who previously gained notoriety on TikTok under their "MomTok" banner, have gained scores of social media followers.

But do Mormons living in the UK think the show gives a fair portrayal of their religion? BBC News has spoken to some, many of whom prefer to be referred to as members of the Latter-day Saints rather than Mormons.

"We're normal people," Ben, a podcast producer who lives near Burnley, says.

"So there is still infidelity, there are still extramarital affairs, probably at a significantly lower percentage because we are intentionally trying not to do that. But those things still happen."

The show is appointment viewing for Ben's wife Olivia, who he says "loves it" - having put the new season in their calendar so she didn't miss it.

When the first series aired last year, Ben, 27, feels there was "hesitancy" in the LDS community about it. Now, he says people are mostly supportive of the women on the programme and wouldn't say they are "embarrassed" by them - "because we're not".

"In the UK, if you spend a week with a Latter-day Saint family, it will probably be generally quite boring and average," he says.

Ben and Olivia are among the approximately 185,000 LDS members in the UK. The church was founded by Joseph Smith in the US in 1830, who said he received a revelation from God, which he translated to become the Book of Mormon.

Members of the LDS believe the Book is the word of God, like the Bible. Unlike other branches of Christianity, members do not believe Jesus is himself God, rather that they are separate beings.

They are perhaps best known for their missionary tradition, where every year thousands of young Mormons are sent by the LDS to different locations around the world to recruit others to the religion.

In 1837 the first missionaries from the newly founded LDS arrived in the UK in Preston, Lancashire - now home to Europe's largest Mormon temple. Earlier this year, plans to expand the temple, where Ben and Olivia sometimes worship, were approved by councillors.

'It's not the way they live their life'

In Buckinghamshire, Traci, 57, tells BBC News after growing up in the LDS, she moved away from the faith aged 17 when her mother died. About a decade later, pregnant with twins, she says she prayed every night, scared and asking for help. When her sons were born, and missionaries knocked on the door, she says she "felt the Holy Ghost's presence".

Since then, she's been a practising member of the LDS - which, among other things, means abiding by a health code that prohibits drinking tea, coffee and alcohol, and eating meat sparingly.

Traci, a psychotherapist based in Olney, decided not to watch the Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, but from what she's been told about it, says "it's not representative of the women" she knows in the LDS. "It's not the way that they live their life."

She says she understands "sometimes people do have a curiosity about members of our church, they do want to know what makes us tick", but adds: "Sometimes I worry, how are we being represented? How do you see us?"

One of the major themes of the TV show is the pressure the women feel in their family lives. Jessi, a woman in the show whose storyline revolves around an emotional affair she had, says avoiding to deal with issues in her marriage contributed to infidelity - and blamed Utah's Mormonism for creating "a lot of pressure to have the perfect relationship, the perfect family and everything's great".

Back in the UK, we also spoke to Ben and Olivia's friend Ashlyn who went to university in Utah and now lives in Burnley with her husband Joe, and their nine-month-old son.

She says the show is "a really accurate representation of the church in Utah, and culturally what Utah looks like, where belief meets cultural practices".

The sheer number of Mormons there means that pressure to have a family comes not just from the Church, but from "everybody that you interact with", Ashlyn, 25, adds.

"That pressure is very real. A lot of us call it the Utah bubble."

But she says it's not the same in the UK. She describes the show's US cast as "probably more culturally members" of the LDS, rather than devout believers.

Ashlyn describes her experiences of the LDS as encouraging, rather than pressuring. "Some people view a lot of the commandments, and what people might label 'rules', as very confining and almost like there's all these gates holding me in," Ashlyn says, "whereas for us, it's viewed a little bit more as safety. It helps direct us in the right way."

'Soft-swinging' and race issues in the show

And so-called "soft swinging", one of the show's scandals, would "definitely" be "discouraged" by the Church, she says.

Influencer Taylor Frankie Paul was at the centre of the story in series one of the show, when she described her and her then-husband as being sexually intimate - but stopping short of "going all the way" - with two other couples at various parties.

Ashlyn explains how in the LDS, "we have something called the law of chastity that says we should really save sexual relations within our marriages".

She says her lifestyle in Burnley is "very family-centered, very healthy, trying to focus on going to church on Sunday, serving others, being a really good example to others, and helping in the community".

Ashlyn adds: "I don't think it would be as entertaining if The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives was actually just them bringing cookies to their neighbours and just living very wholesome family lives."

Another theme in the show centres on Layla, a black member of the LDS, who stops attending because she says the Church didn't "resonate" with her any more as a person of colour, having converted to LDS and moved to Utah when she was 16.

"There is an old scripture in the Book of Mormon that states that black skin is a curse. It's something that I am aware of now that I wasn't aware of when I first converted," she says in the latest series.

In 2013 the LDS "disavowed" those teachings, and now believes "everyone is an equal child of God regardless of race".

BBC News spoke to Naomi, a 'Young Women's President' in her local congregation in London, meaning she looks after girls between the ages of 12 and 18 in her area. She told us how as "a black female", she hopes the children "can see me and my example and know what's possible".

Naomi says she hasn't "had any negative experiences" in the Church based on her race, and says the teachings "have been denounced".

The members of the LDS in Britain we spoke to had mixed opinions on whether The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives represents their way of life, with most agreeing that parts of it were exaggerated depictions.

Ahead of the first series of the show last year, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the UK released a statement titled, "When entertainment media distorts faith".

While it didn't name the show, it said: "A number of recent productions depict lifestyles and practices blatantly inconsistent with the teachings of the Church.

"We understand the fascination some in the media have with the Church, but regret that portrayals often rely on sensationalism and inaccuracies that do not fairly and fully reflect the lives of our Church members or the sacred beliefs that they hold dear."

Naomi, who is a TV producer working on reality shows, knows all too well that it's a classic of the genre that "things are going to be heightened, things are going to be produced to get the desired effect".

"I'm very aware of that."

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