The Australian government has announced a gun buyback scheme in the wake of the Bondi Beach attack - its deadliest mass shooting in decades.

The scheme is the largest since the Port Arthur massacre in 1996, which left 35 people dead and prompted Australia to introduce world-leading gun control measures.

Fifteen people were killed and dozens injured on Sunday when two gunmen, believed to have been motivated by "Islamic State ideology", opened fire on a Jewish festival at the country's most iconic beach.

On Friday police said a group of men who were arrested in Sydney after travelling from the state of Victoria had "extremist Islamic ideology".

Police allege Sunday's attack, which they have declared a terrorist incident, was committed by a father-son duo. Naveed Akram, 24, has been charged with 59 offences, including 15 counts of murder and one of committing a terrorist act. His father Sajid was killed during the attack.

The day after the shooting, national cabinet - which includes representatives from the federal government and leaders from all states and territories - agreed to tighten gun controls.

Speaking to media on Friday, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said there are now more than 4 million firearms in Australia - more than at the time of the Port Arthur massacre.

"We know that one of these terrorists held a firearm licence and had six guns, in spite of living in the middle of Sydney's suburbs... There's no reason why someone in that situation needed that many guns.

"We need to get more guns off our streets."

Earlier on Friday, a senior New South Wales police officer told national broadcaster ABC seven men arrested by counter terrorism police in Sydney on Thursday evening may have been on their way to Bondi.

Tactical officers swarmed on the group, who had travelled from Victoria and were known to police there, in dramatic scenes in the suburb of Liverpool.

NSW Police Deputy Commissioner David Hudson said "some indication" that Bondi was one of the locations they were considering visiting, but "with no specific intent in mind or proven at this stage".

Rarely used national security powers were relied upon to swoop before their plans developed.

"We made the decision that we weren't going to … take any chances in relation to what they might be doing," he said.

Officers found a knife, but no guns or other weapons, Mr Hudson added.

Whale breath collected by drones is giving clues to the health of wild humpbacks and other whales.

Scientists flew drones equipped with special kit through the exhaled droplets, or "blows", made when the giants come up to breathe through their blowholes.

They detected a highly infectious virus linked to mass strandings of whales and dolphins worldwide.

The sampling of whale "blow" is a "game-changer" for the health and well-being of whales, said Prof Terry Dawson of King's College London.

"It allows us to monitor pathogens in live whales without stress or harm, providing critical insights into diseases in rapidly changing Arctic ecosystems," he said.

The researchers used drones carrying sterile petri dishes to capture droplets from the exhaled breath of humpback, fin and sperm whales, combined with skin biopsies taken from boats.

They confirmed for the first time that a potentially deadly whale virus, known as cetacean morbillivirus, is circulating above the Arctic Circle.

The disease is highly contagious and spreads easily among dolphins, whales, and porpoises causing severe disease and mass deaths.

It can jump between species and travel across oceans, posing a significant threat to marine mammals.

The researchers hope this breakthrough will help spot deadly threats to ocean life early, before they start to spread.

"Going forward, the priority is to continue using these methods for long-term surveillance, so we can understand how multiple emerging stressors will shape whale health in the coming years," said Helena Costa of Nord University, Norway.

The study, involving King's College London and The Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies in the UK, and Nord University in Norway is published in BMC Veterinary Research.

When bullets began flying at Sydney's Bondi Beach on Sunday, strangers Wayne and Jessica found themselves in the same nightmare scenario. They couldn't find their three-year-olds.

In the chaos, separately, they desperately scanned the green. People who'd gathered to celebrate the first day of Hanukkah screamed and ducked. Others ran. Some didn't make it far.

The 10-odd minutes that followed were the longest of their lives.

Wayne's body was acting as a human shield for his eldest daughter, but his mind was elsewhere: with his missing daughter Gigi.

"We had to wait all that time for the gunshots to stop. It felt like eternity," he tells the BBC.

Unbeknown to him, Jessica's gaze had caught on a little girl in a rainbow skirt, confused, scared and alone - calling out for her mummy and daddy.

In that moment, the pregnant mother couldn't protect her own child, so she'd protect this one, she decided. She smothered Gigi's body with her own, and uttered "I've got you", over and over again. They could feel the moment a woman about a metre away was shot and killed.

By the time the air finally fell silent, Wayne had become all but convinced Gigi was dead.

"I was looking amongst the blood and the bodies," he says, growing emotional.

"What I saw - no human should ever see that."

Eventually, he caught a glimpse of a familiar colourful skirt and found his daughter, stained in red - but okay, still shrouded under Jessica. Her son too would soon be found, unharmed.

"She said she's just a mother and she acted with mother instincts," Wayne says.

"[But] she's a superhero. We'll be indebted to her for the rest of our lives."

It is one of the incredible accounts of selflessness and courage that have emerged from one of Australia's darkest days.

Declared a terror attack by police, it is the deadliest in Australian history. Dozens were injured and 15 people - including a 10-year-old girl - were killed by the two gunmen, who police say were inspired by the jihadist group Islamic State (IS).

More people undoubtedly would have been harmed if it weren't for Ahmed al Ahmed.

A Syrian-Australian shop owner, he'd been having coffee nearby when the shooting began. His father told BBC Arabic Ahmed "saw the victims, the blood, women and children lying on the street, and then acted".

Footage of the moment he sprung out from behind a car and wrestled a gun off one of the attackers immediately went viral. He was shot multiple times, and may lose his arm.

Another man, Reuven Morrison, was also seen on the video hurling objects at the same attacker in the moments after Ahmed disarmed him.

Sheina Gutnik easily recognised her dad in the footage.

"He is not one to lie down. He is one to run towards danger," Ms Gutnick told BBC partner CBS News.

He had jumped up the second the shooting started, she said, and was throwing bricks at one of the gunmen before he was fatally shot.

"He went down fighting, protecting the people he loved most."

The first two victims of the assault, Boris and Sofia Gurman, were also captured on dashcam footage grappling with one of the men for his weapon. When they succeeded, he got another gun from the car he'd just climbed out of and killed them.

"While nothing can lessen the pain of losing Boris and Sofia, we feel an overwhelming sense of pride in their bravery and selflessness," the couple's family said in a statement.

"This encapsulates who Boris and Sofia were - people who instinctively and selflessly tried to help others."

The list goes on.

Chaya, only 14 years old, was shot in the leg while shielding two young children from gunfire.

Jack Hibbert - a beat cop just four months into the job - was hit in both the head and the shoulder but continued to help festival attendees until he physically couldn't, his family said. The 22-year-old will survive, but with life-changing injuries.

Lifeguard Jackson Doolan was photographed sprinting over from a neighbouring beach during the attack, armed with critical medical supplies. He didn't even pause to put on shoes.

Others at Bondi rushed from the beach into the fire, their red-and-yellow lifesaving boards working overtime as stretchers. One lifeguard even dived back into the surf to save swimmers who'd been sent into a panic by the shooting.

Student Levi Xu, 31, told the BBC he felt he could not shout for help, as he didn't want to draw attention to himself or risk any potential saviours being targeted.

But lifeguard Rory Davey saw him and his friend struggling, and dragged them back to shore.

"We stood up and wanted to thank him, but he had already gone back into the sea to rescue other people," says Mr Xu.

Thousands of Australians flocked to donate blood, dwarfing the previous record.

Authorities say many off-duty first responders travelled to Bondi on Sunday - from as far as two hours away - simply because they knew there was a need.

Healthcare workers rushed to hospitals when they heard of the attack, whether or not they were on shift, confronting unspeakable trauma to save lives.

"Normally on a Sunday night, there is staff available to run one operating theatre [at St Vincent's Hospital]. There were eight operating at once," Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said.

State premier Chris Minns, too, has been quick to praise the heroics of ordinary, everyday Australians.

"This is a terrible, wanton act of destructive violence. But there are still amazing people that we have in Australia, and they showed their true colours last night," he said, the day after the attack.

Wayne says he shudders to think what would have happened without people like Jessica and Ahmed.

When he speaks to the BBC, he's just attended a funeral for the gunmen's youngest victim, 10-year-old Matilda.

"I was sitting at this funeral and I was just thinking, tears pouring out of my eyes... I could have been in the front... It could have been my little girl."

"There could have been so much more devastation without the bravery of [these] people... someone who could run just comes in. Someone who could worry about their own child looks after another child.

"That's what the world needs more of."

Additional reporting by Fan Wang.

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A former Nascar driver is believed to be among seven people who have died in a plane crash at a regional airport in North Carolina, an official says.

The Cessna C550 aircraft is owned by a private company associated with Greg Biffle, a retired Nascar driver, CBS, the BBC's US partner, reported.

The small aircraft crashed while landing at Statesville Regional Airport around 10:20 local time (15:20GMT), aviation officials investigating the incident told reporters.

Congressman Rich Hudson of North Carolina appeared to confirm Biffle's death on X, writing that he was devastated by the loss of the racer, his wife Christina and their children.

"Greg was a great NASCAR champion who thrilled millions of fans. But he was an extraordinary person as well, and will be remembered for his service to others as much as for his fearlessness on the track," Hudson wrote, praising their aid work during hurricanes in North Carolina and Jamaica.

Professional baseball player Mitchell Garret wrote on Facebook that Biffle and his family were on their way to spend the afternoon with him.

"Unfortunately, I can confirm Greg Biffle, his wife Cristina, daughter Emma, and son Ryder were on that plane… because they were on their way to spend the afternoon with us," he wrote on Facebook. "We are devastated. I'm so sorry to share this."

Statesville Airport director John Ferguson described the aircraft as a corporate jet and said that it was already engulfed in flames when he arrived on the scene.

The business jet took off around 10:06 local time and was in the air briefly before the crash.

It crashed on the east end of the runway and authorities do not yet have information on the cause of the crash.

Statesville Airport will remain closed until further notice as crews clear debris off the runway, Mr Ferguson told reporters.

Officials did not provide any information about deaths or people aboard the aircraft during the media conference.

The National Transportation Safety Board, which is leading the investigation, said it was launching a go team to investigate the fatal crash. The team expects to arrive on scene on Thursday night.

The Statesville Regional Airport (KSVH) is owned by the City of Statesville, which is about 45 minutes north of Charlotte.

It also provides aviation facilities for Fortune 500 companies and several Nascar racing teams.

Biffle, whose racing career spanned two decades, was named one of Nascar's 75 Greatest Drivers in 2023. The 55-year-old won 19 Cup Series races in the Xfinity Series and Craftsman Truck Series.

Known as The Biff, the Vancouver, Washington, native received national notice in 1995 when during that year's Nascar Winter Heat Series., according to his Nascar profile.

He quickly made a name for himself in the Craftsman Truck Series, winning the 1998 Rookie of Year award and the 2000 series championship.

He went on to be named 2001 Rookie of the Year in the Xfinity Series and to win the 2002 championship, becoming the first driver with championships in both the Xfinity Series and the Truck Series.

He also co-founded the organisation's Sand Outlaws Series. Although he scaled back on racing after 2016, he seemingly came out of retirement in 2019 for a one-off race at Texas Motor Speedway, which he won.

"Racing is racing," he told Nascar.com in 2021. "It's that adrenaline, you want to be better than the competition, you want to build a better piece and have a faster car. I just enjoy the competition."

TikTok's Chinese owner ByteDance has signed binding agreements with US and global investors to sell the majority of its business in America, TikTok's boss told employees on Thursday.

Half of the joint venture will be owned by a group of investors, including Oracle, Silver Lake and the Emirati investment firm MGX, according to a memo sent by chief executive Shou Zi Chew.

The deal, which is set to close on 22 January, would end years of efforts by Washington to force ByteDance to sell its US operations over national security concerns.

The deal is ​line with one unveiled in September, when US President Donald Trump delayed the enforcement of a law that would ban the app unless it was sold.

In the memo, TikTok said the deal will enable "over 170 million Americans to continue discovering a world of endless possibilities as part of a vital global community".

The White House referred the BBC to TikTok when contacted for comment.

The Australian government has announced a gun buyback scheme in the wake of the Bondi Beach attack - its deadliest mass shooting in decades.

The scheme is the largest since the Port Arthur massacre in 1996, which left 35 people dead and prompted Australia to introduce world-leading gun control measures.

Fifteen people were killed and dozens injured on Sunday when two gunmen, believed to have been motivated by "Islamic State ideology", opened fire on a Jewish festival at the country's most iconic beach.

On Friday police said a group of men who were arrested in Sydney after travelling from the state of Victoria had "extremist Islamic ideology".

Police allege Sunday's attack, which they have declared a terrorist incident, was committed by a father-son duo. Naveed Akram, 24, has been charged with 59 offences, including 15 counts of murder and one of committing a terrorist act. His father Sajid was killed during the attack.

The day after the shooting, national cabinet - which includes representatives from the federal government and leaders from all states and territories - agreed to tighten gun controls.

Speaking to media on Friday, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said there are now more than 4 million firearms in Australia - more than at the time of the Port Arthur massacre.

"We know that one of these terrorists held a firearm licence and had six guns, in spite of living in the middle of Sydney's suburbs... There's no reason why someone in that situation needed that many guns.

"We need to get more guns off our streets."

Earlier on Friday, a senior New South Wales police officer told national broadcaster ABC seven men arrested by counter terrorism police in Sydney on Thursday evening may have been on their way to Bondi.

Tactical officers swarmed on the group, who had travelled from Victoria and were known to police there, in dramatic scenes in the suburb of Liverpool.

NSW Police Deputy Commissioner David Hudson said "some indication" that Bondi was one of the locations they were considering visiting, but "with no specific intent in mind or proven at this stage".

Rarely used national security powers were relied upon to swoop before their plans developed.

"We made the decision that we weren't going to … take any chances in relation to what they might be doing," he said.

Officers found a knife, but no guns or other weapons, Mr Hudson added.

This article contains distressing details and references to suicide. Some of the names have been changed to protect identities.

Kateryna cannot talk about her son, Orest, without tears. Her voice trembles with anger as she explains how she found out the news that he had died on the front line in the eastern Donetsk region of Ukraine in 2023.

According to the official investigation by the army, he died by a "self-inflicted wound", something Katernya finds hard to believe.

Kateryna has asked for her and her late son to remain anonymous due to the stigma that surrounds suicide and mental health in Ukraine.

Orest was a quiet 25-year-old who loved books and dreamed of an academic career. His poor eyesight had made him initially unfit for service at the start of the war, his mother says.

But in 2023, a recruitment patrol stopped him in the street. His eyesight was re-evaluated and he was deemed fit to fight. Not long after, he was sent to the front as a communications specialist.

While Ukraine collectively mourns the loss of more than 45,000 soldiers who have died since Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022, a quieter tragedy unfolds in the shadows.

There are no official statistics surrounding suicide among soldiers. Officials describe them as isolated incidents. Yet human rights advocates and bereaved families believe they may be in the hundreds.

"Orest was caught, not summoned," Kateryna says bitterly.

The local recruitment centre denied wrongdoing to the BBC, saying impaired vision made Orest "partially fit" during wartime.

Once deployed near Chasiv Yar in Donetsk, Orest became increasingly withdrawn and depressed, Kateryna recalls.

She still writes letters to her son every day - 650 and counting - her grief made worse by how Ukraine classifies suicide as a non-combat loss. Families of those who take their own lives receive no compensation, no military honours and no public recognition.

"In Ukraine, it's as if we've been divided," says Kateryna. "Some died the right way, and others died the wrong way."

"The state took my son, sent him to war, and brought me back a body in a bag. That's it. No help, no truth, nothing."

For Mariyana from Kyiv, the story is heartbreakingly similar. She too wishes to keep her identity and her late husband's hidden.

Her husband Anatoliy volunteered to fight in 2022. He was initially refused because of his lack of military experience but he "kept coming back until they took him", she says with a faint smile.

Anatoliy was deployed as a machine-gunner near Bakhmut, one of the bloodiest battles of the war.

"He said that, after one mission, about 50 guys were killed," Maryana recalls. "He came back different; quiet; distant."

After losing part of his arm, Anatoliy was sent to hospital. One evening, after a phone call with his wife, he took his own life in the hospital yard.

"The war broke him," she says through tears. "He couldn't live with what he'd seen."

Because Anatoliy died by suicide, officials denied him a military burial.

"When he stood on the front line, he was useful. But now he's not a hero?"

Mariyana feels betrayed: "The state threw me to the roadside. I gave them my husband, and they left me alone with nothing."

She has also felt stigma from other widows.

Her only source of support is an online community of women like her - widows of soldiers who took their own lives.

They want the government to change the law, so that their bereaved families have the same rights and recognition.

Viktoria, who we met in Lviv, still cannot talk about her husband's death publicly for fear of condemnation.

Her husband Andriy had a congenital heart condition, but insisted on joining the army. He became a driver in a reconnaissance unit and witnessed some of the most intense battles, including the liberation of Kherson.

In June 2023, Viktoria received a phone call telling her Andriy had taken his own life.

"It was like the world had collapsed," she says.

His body arrived 10 days later, but she was told she could not see it.

An attorney she later hired found inconsistencies in the investigation into his death. The photos from the scene made her doubt the official version of her husband's death. The Ukrainian military has since agreed to reopen the investigation, recognising failures.

Now she is fighting to re-open the case: "I'm fighting for his name. He can't defend himself anymore. My war isn't over."

Oksana Borkun runs a support community for military widows.

Her organisation now includes about 200 families bereaved by suicide.

"If it's suicide, then he's not a hero - that's what people think," she says. "Some churches refuse to hold funerals. Some towns won't put up their photos on memorial walls."

Many of these families doubt the official explanations of death. "Some cases are simply written off too quickly," she adds. "And some mothers open the coffin and find bodies covered in bruises."

Military chaplain Father Borys Kutovyi says he has seen at least three suicides in his command since the full-scale invasion began. But to him even one is too many.

"Every suicide means we failed somewhere."

He believes that many recruited soldiers, unlike career servicemen, are especially psychologically vulnerable.

Both Osksana and Father Borys say those who died by suicide should be considered heroes.

Olha Reshetylova, Ukraine's Commissioner for Veterans' Rights, says she receives reports of up to four military suicides each month and admits not enough is being done: "They've seen hell. Even the strongest minds can break."

She says her office is pushing for systemic reform but it can take years to set up a good military psychology unit.

"Families have a right to the truth," she says. "They don't trust investigators. In some cases, suicides may cover up murders."

When it comes to honouring theses soldiers as military heroes, she prefers to look to the future.

"These people were your neighbours, your colleagues," says Ms Reshetylova. "They've walked through hell. The warmer we welcome them, there will be fewer tragedies"

With additional reporting by Kevin McGregor, Oleksii Nazaruk and Phoebe Hopson.

If you have been affected by any of the issues in this story you can find information and support on the BBC Action online website here.

Police have issued an arrest warrant for the suspect in a mass shooting at Brown University that killed two people and injured nine others, sources close to the investigation told the BBC's US partner, CBS News.

Authorities are now searching for the person and a car the suspect is believed to have rented, according to CBS. They have not publicly identified the suspect.

They also are looking into a possible link between the shooting at Brown and the killing of a professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology two days later.

The search is now in its sixth day, with investigators knocking on doors, asking for home-security videos, and appealing to the public for tips to find the gunman.

A news conference that police in Providence, Rhode Island, had planned for Thursday afternoon was abruptly cancelled, but they said they expected to give an update later in the day.

On Thursday, authorities told CBS sources that they are investigating possible connections between the shooting and the killing of an Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) nuclear science and engineering professor two days later.

Nuno F Gomes Loureiro, 47, from Portugal, was shot "multiple times" on Monday at his home in Brookline, Massachusetts, which is about 50 miles (80km) from Providence.

Police have obtained an arrest warrant for a suspect, sources told CBS. The sources said a rental car matching the same description was seen at both crime scenes.

Federal authorities had previously said there was no link between the two murders.

On Wednesday, authorities released a photo of an individual they believe was in close proximity to their primary person of interest.

Providence Police Chief Oscar Perez said they wanted to speak with the person, "who may have information relevant to the investigation".

The chief also said the killer "could be anywhere", adding that "we don't know where the person is or who he is".

A day earlier, police had shown footage of a person of interest where a man was seen walking around the university campus with a black mask over his mouth, possibly "casing" the area before the crime, Perez said.

Members of the public have expressed frustration that the mass shooting investigation has appeared to yield little progress so far.

In response, Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha said he believed the killer would be caught "and it is just a matter of time before we catch him".

The FBI has offered a $50,000 (£37,350) reward for information leading to the identification, arrest and conviction of the person responsible for the attack.

The shooting occurred at Brown University's Barus & Holley engineering building during final exams.

Authorities identified the two students killed as Ella Cook, a sophomore from Alabama, and Mukhammad Aziz Umurzokov, an Uzbek-American freshman student.

Millions of people will be able to set their own contactless card payment limits or even have no limit at all, a regulator has confirmed.

Banks and card providers will be given the power, from March, to set a maximum - or unlimited - single payment amount without the need to enter a four-digit PIN.

But they are also being encouraged by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to allow cardholders to set their own individual limits, or switch off contactless entirely. Some banks already offer this function.

The move comes despite the FCA's own survey showing little appetite among consumers and industry respondents for a change from the current £100 limit on contactless cards.

The FCA said it did not expect card providers to make immediate changes to the current limit from March, but they had the flexibility to do so.

When contactless card payments were introduced in 2007, the transaction limit was set at £10. The limit was raised gradually, to £15 in 2010, to £20 in 2012, then to £30 in 2015, before the Covid pandemic prompted a jump to £45 in 2020, then to £100 in October 2021.

While contactless cards currently have a £100 payment limit, anyone using their smartphone to pay can spend any amount without the need for a PIN.

In-built security features, such as thumbprints and face ID, provide greater protection.

But concerns have been raised about cards becoming more attractive to thieves and fraudsters, when high-value payments can be made with a tap of a card.

Various protections are already in place, such as a prompt to enter a PIN after a series of consecutive contactless transactions are made.

Consumers would still get their money back if it was stolen by fraudsters, according to David Geale, executive director of payments and digital finance at the FCA.

"Contactless is people's favoured way to pay. We want to make sure our rules provide flexibility for the future, and choice for both firms and consumers," he said.

Other countries, such as Canada, Australia and New Zealand allow industry to set contactless card limits.

Jana Mackintosh, managing director of payments and innovation at UK Finance, which represents banks, said: "Any changes made in the future will be done carefully and ensure strong security and fraud controls remain in place."

Temptation to spend?

The FCA's own survey on changing the rules, released during consultation, showed that 78% of consumers who responded said they did not want any change to the current limits.

Consumers and academics have suggested that the extra convenience of unlimited contactless payment limits could also lead to shoppers spending without thinking.

This is said to be a particular issue with credit cards, when people are spending borrowed money and accumulating debt.

Financial abuse charities have also warned that unlimited contactless spending could give abusers free access to drain a survivor's bank account with no checks or alerts.

They also worry it could also hasten the shift towards a cashless society, despite notes and coins being a lifeline to many financial abuse survivors whose card transactions are monitored online by their abusers.

One policy to help vulnerable customers access cash, as bank branches close, is the development of shared banking hubs.

Cash Access UK, the organisation set up to protect access to cash across the UK, announced the official opening of its 200th banking hub in Billericay, Essex, on Friday.

Britain's roads, railways and airports are set to be thronged by festive travellers on what is is anticipated to be the busiest day for Christmas trips.

The AA has warned of gridlock on Friday as 24.4 million cars are expected to hit the roads.

It is also expected to be the busiest day of the Christmas period for airports, with 460,000 journeys planned.

Network Rail has also advised travellers to check their journeys and book a seat if possible.

Drivers told to allow extra time

The AA said this Christmas could be the busiest on record for UK roads, and advised drivers to allow extra time to complete their journeys.

The insurance company said most people driving during the festive period travelled less than 100 miles, meaning congestion is likely around motorway interchanges and retail destinations.

AA patrol expert Shaun Jones said patience behind the wheel "will be your best present this year".

"Plan ahead, check your route, and allow extra time," he said.

• The M27 will be closed between Junction 9 (Whiteley/Park Gate) and Junction 11 (Fareham East/Gosport) from Christmas Eve to 4 January, so anyone travelling in Hampshire should plan alternative routes.

Rail closures

Network Rail also encouraged passengers to allow extra time for train travel. Improvement works taking place over the Christmas period mean several routes will be closed or restricted.

Information on what routes will be closed for repairs can be found on the Network Rail website.

National Rail trains do not run on Christmas Day and only a small number will run on Boxing Day.

Daniel Mann, Director of Industry Operations at the Rail Delivery Group, said: "We encourage customers to reserve seats where possible, bring only luggage that is easy to carry and fits in designated storage areas, and allow extra time for their journeys."

Flights

Friday is expected to be the busiest day of the festive season for airports, but the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) said flying on Christmas Day was becoming more popular.

It advised customers to know their rights in case their flight is cancelled or delayed.

If this happens, airlines are required to support passengers. This can include:

• Providing food and drink during extended delays
• Covering accommodation if passengers are delayed overnight
• Offering a refund or alternative travel if a flight is cancelled

If your flight is cancelled, and it is covered by UK law, your airline must let you choose between either getting a refund or being booked on to an alternative flight.

You can check if your flight is covered under UK law here.

The CAA also said that travellers can minimise their risk of delays by ensuring their cases are packed correctly.

This includes leaving presents unwrapped as they may need to be inspected.

A former Nascar driver is believed to be among seven people who have died in a plane crash at a regional airport in North Carolina, an official says.

The Cessna C550 aircraft is owned by a private company associated with Greg Biffle, a retired Nascar driver, CBS, the BBC's US partner, reported.

The small aircraft crashed while landing at Statesville Regional Airport around 10:20 local time (15:20GMT), aviation officials investigating the incident told reporters.

Congressman Rich Hudson of North Carolina appeared to confirm Biffle's death on X, writing that he was devastated by the loss of the racer, his wife Christina and their children.

"Greg was a great NASCAR champion who thrilled millions of fans. But he was an extraordinary person as well, and will be remembered for his service to others as much as for his fearlessness on the track," Hudson wrote, praising their aid work during hurricanes in North Carolina and Jamaica.

Professional baseball player Mitchell Garret wrote on Facebook that Biffle and his family were on their way to spend the afternoon with him.

"Unfortunately, I can confirm Greg Biffle, his wife Cristina, daughter Emma, and son Ryder were on that plane… because they were on their way to spend the afternoon with us," he wrote on Facebook. "We are devastated. I'm so sorry to share this."

Statesville Airport director John Ferguson described the aircraft as a corporate jet and said that it was already engulfed in flames when he arrived on the scene.

The business jet took off around 10:06 local time and was in the air briefly before the crash.

It crashed on the east end of the runway and authorities do not yet have information on the cause of the crash.

Statesville Airport will remain closed until further notice as crews clear debris off the runway, Mr Ferguson told reporters.

Officials did not provide any information about deaths or people aboard the aircraft during the media conference.

The National Transportation Safety Board, which is leading the investigation, said it was launching a go team to investigate the fatal crash. The team expects to arrive on scene on Thursday night.

The Statesville Regional Airport (KSVH) is owned by the City of Statesville, which is about 45 minutes north of Charlotte.

It also provides aviation facilities for Fortune 500 companies and several Nascar racing teams.

Biffle, whose racing career spanned two decades, was named one of Nascar's 75 Greatest Drivers in 2023. The 55-year-old won 19 Cup Series races in the Xfinity Series and Craftsman Truck Series.

Known as The Biff, the Vancouver, Washington, native received national notice in 1995 when during that year's Nascar Winter Heat Series., according to his Nascar profile.

He quickly made a name for himself in the Craftsman Truck Series, winning the 1998 Rookie of Year award and the 2000 series championship.

He went on to be named 2001 Rookie of the Year in the Xfinity Series and to win the 2002 championship, becoming the first driver with championships in both the Xfinity Series and the Truck Series.

He also co-founded the organisation's Sand Outlaws Series. Although he scaled back on racing after 2016, he seemingly came out of retirement in 2019 for a one-off race at Texas Motor Speedway, which he won.

"Racing is racing," he told Nascar.com in 2021. "It's that adrenaline, you want to be better than the competition, you want to build a better piece and have a faster car. I just enjoy the competition."

TikTok's Chinese owner ByteDance has signed binding agreements with US and global investors to sell the majority of its business in America, TikTok's boss told employees on Thursday.

Half of the joint venture will be owned by a group of investors, including Oracle, Silver Lake and the Emirati investment firm MGX, according to a memo sent by chief executive Shou Zi Chew.

The deal, which is set to close on 22 January, would end years of efforts by Washington to force ByteDance to sell its US operations over national security concerns.

The deal is ​line with one unveiled in September, when US President Donald Trump delayed the enforcement of a law that would ban the app unless it was sold.

In the memo, TikTok said the deal will enable "over 170 million Americans to continue discovering a world of endless possibilities as part of a vital global community".

The White House referred the BBC to TikTok when contacted for comment.

When bullets began flying at Sydney's Bondi Beach on Sunday, strangers Wayne and Jessica found themselves in the same nightmare scenario. They couldn't find their three-year-olds.

In the chaos, separately, they desperately scanned the green. People who'd gathered to celebrate the first day of Hanukkah screamed and ducked. Others ran. Some didn't make it far.

The 10-odd minutes that followed were the longest of their lives.

Wayne's body was acting as a human shield for his eldest daughter, but his mind was elsewhere: with his missing daughter Gigi.

"We had to wait all that time for the gunshots to stop. It felt like eternity," he tells the BBC.

Unbeknown to him, Jessica's gaze had caught on a little girl in a rainbow skirt, confused, scared and alone - calling out for her mummy and daddy.

In that moment, the pregnant mother couldn't protect her own child, so she'd protect this one, she decided. She smothered Gigi's body with her own, and uttered "I've got you", over and over again. They could feel the moment a woman about a metre away was shot and killed.

By the time the air finally fell silent, Wayne had become all but convinced Gigi was dead.

"I was looking amongst the blood and the bodies," he says, growing emotional.

"What I saw - no human should ever see that."

Eventually, he caught a glimpse of a familiar colourful skirt and found his daughter, stained in red - but okay, still shrouded under Jessica. Her son too would soon be found, unharmed.

"She said she's just a mother and she acted with mother instincts," Wayne says.

"[But] she's a superhero. We'll be indebted to her for the rest of our lives."

It is one of the incredible accounts of selflessness and courage that have emerged from one of Australia's darkest days.

Declared a terror attack by police, it is the deadliest in Australian history. Dozens were injured and 15 people - including a 10-year-old girl - were killed by the two gunmen, who police say were inspired by the jihadist group Islamic State (IS).

More people undoubtedly would have been harmed if it weren't for Ahmed al Ahmed.

A Syrian-Australian shop owner, he'd been having coffee nearby when the shooting began. His father told BBC Arabic Ahmed "saw the victims, the blood, women and children lying on the street, and then acted".

Footage of the moment he sprung out from behind a car and wrestled a gun off one of the attackers immediately went viral. He was shot multiple times, and may lose his arm.

Another man, Reuven Morrison, was also seen on the video hurling objects at the same attacker in the moments after Ahmed disarmed him.

Sheina Gutnik easily recognised her dad in the footage.

"He is not one to lie down. He is one to run towards danger," Ms Gutnick told BBC partner CBS News.

He had jumped up the second the shooting started, she said, and was throwing bricks at one of the gunmen before he was fatally shot.

"He went down fighting, protecting the people he loved most."

The first two victims of the assault, Boris and Sofia Gurman, were also captured on dashcam footage grappling with one of the men for his weapon. When they succeeded, he got another gun from the car he'd just climbed out of and killed them.

"While nothing can lessen the pain of losing Boris and Sofia, we feel an overwhelming sense of pride in their bravery and selflessness," the couple's family said in a statement.

"This encapsulates who Boris and Sofia were - people who instinctively and selflessly tried to help others."

The list goes on.

Chaya, only 14 years old, was shot in the leg while shielding two young children from gunfire.

Jack Hibbert - a beat cop just four months into the job - was hit in both the head and the shoulder but continued to help festival attendees until he physically couldn't, his family said. The 22-year-old will survive, but with life-changing injuries.

Lifeguard Jackson Doolan was photographed sprinting over from a neighbouring beach during the attack, armed with critical medical supplies. He didn't even pause to put on shoes.

Others at Bondi rushed from the beach into the fire, their red-and-yellow lifesaving boards working overtime as stretchers. One lifeguard even dived back into the surf to save swimmers who'd been sent into a panic by the shooting.

Student Levi Xu, 31, told the BBC he felt he could not shout for help, as he didn't want to draw attention to himself or risk any potential saviours being targeted.

But lifeguard Rory Davey saw him and his friend struggling, and dragged them back to shore.

"We stood up and wanted to thank him, but he had already gone back into the sea to rescue other people," says Mr Xu.

Thousands of Australians flocked to donate blood, dwarfing the previous record.

Authorities say many off-duty first responders travelled to Bondi on Sunday - from as far as two hours away - simply because they knew there was a need.

Healthcare workers rushed to hospitals when they heard of the attack, whether or not they were on shift, confronting unspeakable trauma to save lives.

"Normally on a Sunday night, there is staff available to run one operating theatre [at St Vincent's Hospital]. There were eight operating at once," Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said.

State premier Chris Minns, too, has been quick to praise the heroics of ordinary, everyday Australians.

"This is a terrible, wanton act of destructive violence. But there are still amazing people that we have in Australia, and they showed their true colours last night," he said, the day after the attack.

Wayne says he shudders to think what would have happened without people like Jessica and Ahmed.

When he speaks to the BBC, he's just attended a funeral for the gunmen's youngest victim, 10-year-old Matilda.

"I was sitting at this funeral and I was just thinking, tears pouring out of my eyes... I could have been in the front... It could have been my little girl."

"There could have been so much more devastation without the bravery of [these] people... someone who could run just comes in. Someone who could worry about their own child looks after another child.

"That's what the world needs more of."

Additional reporting by Fan Wang.