The Court of Appeal ruling that will allow asylum seekers to stay at the Bell Hotel, in Epping, is a technical victory for the government.

But for many Labour strategists, whichever way the ruling had gone, today was a case of "heads they win, tails we lose".

Let's begin with the good news for ministers.

They will be breathing a sigh of relief having feared that, had they lost this appeal, other local councils could bring legal challenges against the use of hotels to house asylum seekers in their area.

That would have risked throwing the whole system into chaos because there are thousands of asylum seekers awaiting decisions on their cases and limited accommodation options.

But the government has a legal duty to keep them off the streets.

This court ruling effectively resets the situation.

It gives ministers the time to fulfil their promise of removing all asylum seekers from hotels in "a controlled and orderly way" by 2029.

But there will not be any champagne corks popping in the Home Office.

That's because in order to uphold their legal responsibility to protect asylum seekers, they have had to argue in favour of using hotels to house them.

That is already being seized on by Labour's political opponents.

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said: "Keir Starmer has shown that he puts the rights of illegal immigrants above the rights of the British people who just want to feel safe in their towns and communities."

She urged Tory councils to continue to bring legal cases against asylum hotels.

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage claimed the government had used European human rights legislation "against the people of Epping".

He added: "Illegal migrants have more rights than the British people under Starmer."

For a government under pressure after a summer of small boat crossings, that is a difficult position to be in.

As one Labour advisor told me, there will now be pressure on ministers to take more radical action to counter the kind of accusations they are facing.

That could include swapping some hotels for former military barracks or disused warehouses, as the health minister Stephen Kinnock suggested earlier on Sky News.

But such a move could further antagonise those voters on the left who believe the UK should be offering more support asylum seekers.

This court ruling might have been the climax to a difficult summer for the government. But it also marks the start of an autumn that doesn't look much easier.

Sign up for our Politics Essential newsletter to keep up with the inner workings of Westminster and beyond.

Thailand's Constitutional Court strikes again, removing yet another prime minister from office.

The country's notoriously interventionist panel of nine appointed judges has ruled that Paetongtarn Shinawatra violated ethical standards in a phone call she had in June with the veteran Cambodian leader Hun Sen, which he then leaked.

In it, Paetongtarn could be heard being conciliatory towards Hun Sen over their countries' border dispute, and criticising one of her own army commanders.

She defended her conversation saying she had been trying to make a diplomatic breakthrough with Hun Sen, an old friend of her father Thaksin Shinawatra, and said the conversation should have remained confidential.

The leak was damaging and deeply embarrassing for her and her Pheu Thai party. It sparked calls for her to resign as her biggest coalition partner walked out of the government, leaving her with a slim majority.

In July, seven out of the nine judges on the court voted to suspend Paetongtarn, a margin which suggested she would suffer the same fate as her four predecessors. So Friday's decision was not a surprise.

Paetongtarn is the fifth Thai prime minister to be removed from office by this court, all of them from administrations backed by her father.

This has given rise to a widespread belief in Thailand that it nearly always rules against those seen as a threat by conservative, royalist forces.

The court has also banned 112 political parties, many of them small, but including two previous incarnations of Thaksin's Pheu Thai party, and Move Forward, the reformist movement which won the last election in 2023.

In few other countries is political life so rigorously policed by a branch of the judiciary.

In this case, it was the leaked phone conversation that sealed Pateongtarn's fate.

It is not clear why Hun Sen chose to burn his friendship with the Shinawatra family. He reacted angrily to a comment by Paetongtarn calling the Cambodian leadership's use of social media to push its arguments "unprofessional".

Hun Sen described it as "an unprecedented insult", which had driven him to "expose the truth".

But his decision caused a political crisis in Thailand, inflaming tensions over their border, which last month erupted into a five-day war that killed more than 40 people.

The Thai constitution now requires members of parliament to choose a new prime minister from a very limited list.

Each party was required to name three candidates before the last election, and Pheu Thai has now used up two, after the court's dismissal of Srettha Thavisin last year.

Their third candidate, Chaikasem Nitisiri, is a former minister and party stalwart, but has little public profile and is in poor health. The alternative would be Anutin Charnvirakul, the former interior minister whose Bhumjaithai party walked out of the ruling coalition, ostensibly over the leaked phone call.

Relations between the two parties are now strained, and Anutin would have to rely on Pheu Thai, which has many more seats, to form a government, which is hardly a recipe for stability.

The largest party in parliament, the 143 MPs who were formerly in the now-dissolved Move Forward and have reformed as The People's Party, has vowed not to join any coalition, but to remain in opposition until a new election is held.

A new election would appear to be the obvious way out of the current political mess, but Pheu Thai does not want that. After two years in office it has been unable to meet its promises to revive the economy.

For all of her youth, the inexperienced Paetongtarn failed to establish any real authority over the country, with most Thais presuming that her father was making all the big decisions.

But Thaksin Shinawatra seems to have lost his magic touch. Pheu Thai party's signature policy at the last election, a digital wallet which would put B10,000 ($308; £178) in the pocket of every Thai adult, has stalled, and been widely criticised as ineffective.

Other grand plans, to legalise casinos, and to build a "land-bridge" linking the Indian and Pacific Oceans, have gone nowhere.

At a time when Thai nationalist sentiment has been fired up over the border war with Cambodia, the Shinawatra family's long-standing – though now broken – friendship with Hun Sen has heightened suspicion in conservative circles that they will always put their business interests before those of the nation.

The party's popularity has plunged, and it is likely it would lose many of its 140 seats in an election now.

For more than two decades it was an unbeatable electoral force which dominated Thai politics.

It is hard to see how it will ever regain that dominance.

Mass protests have broken out in cities across Indonesia with clashes between police and those in attendance following the death of a ride-sharing driver who was hit by a police vehicle on Thursday night.

Twenty-one-year-old Affan Kurniawan had been taking part in the action opposing housing perks for politicians and cost-of-living issues.

On Friday, tear gas and water cannons were fired at crowds gathering in the major cities of Jakarta and Surabaya, while some protesters threw Molotov cocktails and fireworks.

The unrest is seen as key test for President Prabowo Subianto, with frustrations over a lack of jobs, low wages, high taxes and rising living costs.

Affan Kurniawan's funeral took place on Friday, with his former colleagues accompanying him to his final resting place.

They were joined by Jakarta police chief Asep Edi Suheri, as well as politicians Rieke Dyah Pitaloka and former Jakarta governor Anies Baswedan, who expressed hope that the case would be thoroughly investigated but called delivery riders to stop their protest in order to maintain stability.

The police chief also repeated an apology.

As this was happening, protesters gathered outside the police headquarters to demand justice for his death.

An apology has also been issued to Mr Kurniawan's family by President Prabowo Subianto, who said he was "shocked and disappointed by the excessive actions of the officers".

The governor of Jakarta, Pramono Anung, also visited Mr Kurniawan's family, expressing condolences and offering financial assistance for funeral arrangements.

On Friday, seven members of the Mobile Brigade Corps (Satbrimob) were "found to have violated the police professional code of ethics".

As the day went on, tensions ramped up, with protesters trying to block a police convoy and throwing rocks at the vehicles.

The crowd continued to grow, as students from the local Pertamina University arrived.

Earlier, protesters had put up a banner on a nearby pedestrian bridge that read "arrest the damn officers".

In Kwitang, an area of central Jakarta, tensions rose as the protesters marched to the road in front of the Indonesian National Police headquarters in Kwitang, central Jakarta. Earlier, they had been blocked by the marine and army squad.

Police fired tear gas at protesters from inside the station, with protesters also attempting to block a police convoy and throwing rocks at the vehicles.

Despite heavy rain, some protesters threw Molotov cocktails and firecrackers towards the police compound, the BBC's partner Indonesia, Kompas, reported.

Protests were also seen taking place outside of Jakarta in Jawa Barat, Surakarta, Bandung and Medan.

Drone footage of Mr Kurniawan's funeral showed thousands of riders turning out in support, some on foot and other on their vehicles - many dressed with the distinctive green of their employer Gojek, a multipurpose app that includes ride-sharing services.

Following Mr Kurniawan's death, Gojek released a statement which read: "Behind every green jacket, there's a family, prayers, and struggle.

"Affan Kurniawan was part of that journey, and his departure leaves a deep sorrow for all of us."

The company added that it would provide support to Mr Kurniawan's family.

While the protests - which have taken place throughout this week - are about a wide-ranging set of issues, one of the core complaints is about a new monthly allowance for lawmakers.

They are set to receive 50 million rupiah ($3,030; £2,250), which is almost 10 times the minimum wage in Jakarta, Indonesia's capital and its largest city.

Protestors are also demanding higher wages, lower taxes and stronger anti-corruption measures.

Olivia Colman and Benedict Cumberbatch have spent the best part of the last year swearing, shouting and sneering at each other.

Their latest roles see them play Ivy and Theo Rose - a wealthy couple once blissfully in love, who now find themselves in a marriage breakdown and bitter divorce battle.

Ironically, the relationship between the two actors couldn't be further from their warring characters - they're actually close friends, having met decades ago in a radio recording studio.

As I sit down with them the morning after the film's premiere, the pair, cups of tea in hand, are gushing over how great the other looked last night.

Colman thanks Cumberbatch for his support the night before as she admits she hates these sorts of events and parties. "If it's my party in my own house with people I know, then I love it," The Crown actress says.

Cumberbatch agrees that these events can be challenging as "you have to have those awkward conversations and really you just want to go and speak to your mum or wife."

"It is very heightened, odd and a bit weird but you have to just enjoy it and try to find the fun in it."

After dissecting the night before, the enthusiastic praising of each other continues. Colman says she felt like a "competition winner" at points and Cumberbatch explains that their acting styles perfectly complement each other.

"I fret, she doesn't faff, she's really patient with my fretting and I love her non-faffing. We really do get on incredibly well," he says.

The Roses is an adaptation of the 1989 film The War of the Roses, which was directed by Danny DeVito and starred Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner as a couple going through an increasingly acrimonious divorce.

In this new version, the sour marital conflict from the late 1980s has been transported into a glossy but volatile world of modern ambition.

Directed by Jay Roach and written by Tony McNamara, Theo is an architect whose career collapses at the same time as his wife's career as an up-and-coming chef skyrockets.

Resentment grows as Theo finds himself a stay-at-home dad, dedicating his time to training their two children to get into a sports scholarship school, while Ivy jets around America opening new restaurants.

While their characters seem to detest every ounce of each other - "I like that he has arms", Colman's character says during one marriage counselling session - the actors are both happily married in real life.

Colman is married to producer Ed Sinclair and has three children. Cumberbatch also has three children with playwright and director Sophie Hunter.

'Don't throw knives'

Both married for a number of years, I ask them what the secret is to a successful marriage?

"Don't be complacent and keep the conversation between you going rather than thinking one of you is always right," the Sherlock actor says. "It's also important to be tolerant, understanding and never stop working at it."

Colman adds that she makes sure her and her husband always appreciate each other and are "being nice and checking in on each other".

They add that filming The Roses didn't make them think differently about love and relationships, but jokingly say they learned "not to have hard fruit in the house, don't throw knives or wear headphones in the bath".

The Roses is all about what happens when work, ambition and family life collide.

Both actors admit it's taken time to work at balancing career pressures and family life.

In the film, Ivy feels guilty for missing key moments in her children's livess because she's working, and Colman says this really resonates with her.

"From the moment you have a child, you'll have guilt.

"I took my eldest on set with me when he was six weeks old and I thought it would be easy but regretted it and even while he was on set, I felt enormous guilt because it didn't feel like the right environment for him to be in," Colman says.

She adds that she turns down most jobs which are abroad and normally tries to be home every night.

Cumberbatch agrees: "The British industry is flying right now, so a lot of work comes here including a franchise we're both part of."

He's referring to the Avengers franchise in which he will reprise his role as Doctor Strange in the upcoming Avengers: Doomsday. Colman has previously appeared in Disney+ TV series Secret Invasion, as MI6 agent Sonya Falsworth.

The pair look at each other coyly, nervously giggling - there has been no announcement of Colman being involved in the films.

I ask if we can expect Colman to be involved, at which she says to Cumberbatch: "If you've made this happen because you've said this now I will be so thrilled."

The pair tease me by saying she's the new villainess but it's left unclear whether she will have a role in the new films.

'Relentlessly entertaining'

There are plenty of rom-com films, including those that chart the downfall of a relationship, but few manage to merge both themes in under two hours.

Most critics have praised the film - The Independent called it "relentlessly entertaining" in its four-star review, while The Telegraph said Colman and Cumberbatch are "deliciously savage".

In a two-star review, The Guardian said the actors were "let down by the overly glossy romcom-y sheen" or Warren Adler's novel, who wrote The War of the Roses, on which the film is based.

I get the sense that these two British actors aren't particualrly interested in the reviews - Cumberbatch says the "whole project was based selfishly on us wanting to work together".

They're excited to discuss what they might do together next.

Cumberbatch says he really wants to do a play like Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf or Much Ado About Nothing, but Colman is quick to shut it down saying: "I really can't hold a whole play in my head any more."

We might not know what the pair will act in together next, but one thing does seem certain, this isn't the last time they will be co-stars.

President Donald Trump has cancelled Secret Service protection which had been arranged for Kamala Harris by Joe Biden before he left office according to one of the vice-president's advisers.

As a former vice-president, Ms Harris was entitled under law to receive six months of this extra security after leaving office in January.

Her protection had been extended for another year by executive directive signed by her former boss but this was revoked by Trump in a memo, seen by the BBC, which is dated Thursday.

The BBC has asked the White House and the Secret Service for comment.

The move comes just weeks before Harris embarks on a national book tour to promote "107 Days" - a memoir of her short-lived and ultimately unsuccessful presidential campaign in 2024.

A copy of a letter seen by the BBC, dated 28 August, directs the Secret Service to "discontinue any security-related procedures previously authorised by Executive Memorandum, beyond those required by law" for Harris from 1 September.

An Italian website that posted doctored images of well-known women, including Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, with obscene commentary, has announced its closure after a backlash from other female politicians.

The explicit site called Phica, a play on the Italian slang for vagina, now displays a message saying it has shut down "with great regret" due to the "toxic behaviour" of some users.

Meloni herself has said she is "disgusted" by the site and called for those responsible to be punished "with the utmost firmness".

The removal of Phica comes days after celebrity figures led a wave of public anger against an Italian Facebook group called Mia Moglie (My Wife), where thousands of men had been swapping intimate images of their partners apparently without their knowledge.

Those pictures were posted with explicit or even violent comments, with users said to include former politicians, businessmen and police officers.

Meta has since closed down the group for "violating our adult sexual exploitation policies".

• Facebook removes group sharing non-consensual photos of women

Phica was a far bigger operation, said to have some 700,000 users, and had been active for two decades despite previous complaints.

Its so-called VIP section contained photos of female Italian politicians and other prominent figures, from actresses to influencers, taken either from public appearances or lifted from personal social media accounts.

The images, including beach shots in swimwear, were digitally altered before being posted in albums with titles like "hot politicians" with other suggestive and sexist captions, prompting vulgar commentary beneath.

Alessandra Moretti, an MEP who spoke out against the site, says it also included incitement to rape.

She is now calling for a collective fight against such platforms and new laws to punish those responsible.

"Complaints are only effective when filed by well-known and influential figures," the MEP from the opposition Democratic Party wrote on Instagram. "Ordinary women, without the tools, are left alone and defenseless."

Phica's statement announcing its closure blamed users who it said had perverted the "spirit and original purpose" of the platform, claiming that it had been intended for those who wanted to "share their content in a safe environment".

But it accepted that the platform had become something people "wanted to distance themselves from, not be proud of", and pledged that all content would now be deleted.

The statement was illustrated with emoji-like images of tears and ended with the words "See you soon".

Italy's Postal Police, who deal with cyber-crime, have confirmed to the BBC that an investigation has been launched.

Phica said it had always blocked and reported all kinds of violence and images of minors.

But a petition for its closure on Change.org, which collected close to 170,000 signatures, said it had included pictures of people taken secretly in changing rooms and beauty salons "or filmed by hidden microcameras in public bathrooms".

Previous complaints about the Mia Moglie group had also gone unheeded.

That changed last week when the writer Carolina Capria denounced the group in a post that went viral. Women who recognised themselves in the images then began to speak out.

Police say they have since been inundated with reports about these and other platforms.

"It is disheartening to note that in 2025, there are still those who consider it normal and legitimate to trample on a woman's dignity and target her with sexist and vulgar insults, hiding behind anonymity or a keyboard," Italy's prime minister told Corriere della Sera newspaper.

She also urged women to report any images that were being shared without their consent.