More than half of the county councils in England with elections scheduled for this year could seek to have the votes postponed, the BBC can reveal.

At least 12 out of 21 county councils due to hold elections in May are poised to ask ministers to delay the ballots to explore options set out in a major redesign of local government announced in December.

The government has set Friday as the deadline for areas to show interest in the first tranche of devolution plans.

But a delay in elections would see millions of voters "deprived of their local democracy," according to the District Councils Network, which represents smaller local authorities.

The government said no decisions had been taken.

Elections are due to take place in 21 county council areas in England in May, as well as some unitary authorities and elections for some regional mayors.

When it announced its devolution plans in December, the government suggested some of these elections, especially in county councils, could be delayed by a year or more. Scheduled mayoral elections will not be affected.

Under the plans, announced by Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner, smaller district councils and larger county councils could be merged to create single councils to handle all services.

Ministers see the reorganisation of local government as a key part of their plan to devolve powers out of Westminster to local communities.

Local government minister Jim McMahon wrote to councils in affected areas asking them to express their interest in taking part.

Several councils are holding urgent meetings this week to decide whether to press ahead.

County councils that have indicated they are interested and could see elections postponed include:

• Devon
• East Sussex
• Essex
• Gloucestershire
• Hampshire
• Kent
• Norfolk
• Suffolk
• Surrey
• Warwickshire
• West Sussex
• Worcestershire

Ministers will make the final decisions on whether local elections are postponed.

Cllr Kevin Bentley, the Conservative leader of Essex County Council, said it was a "once in a lifetime chance to improve outcomes for Essex".

Cllr Tim Oliver, the Conservative leader of Surrey County Council, said: "We owe it to Surrey's residents to get the best devolution deal possible for our county."

Not 'dictating'

The elections in May are set to be the first electoral test for Labour since the party took power at Westminster in July last year, and an important measure of the public mood.

Reform UK Chairman Zia Yusuf criticised the potential delay, saying: "Labour and the Tories are so terrified of Reform's rise that they are colluding to rob the British people of their democratic rights."

Rayner told a select committee this week it would be "ludicrous" for councils to hold elections if they were planning to reorganise their structures.

But said the government was not "dictating" what should happen in council areas.

In 2021 the previous Conservative government delayed local elections in North Yorkshire, Cumbria and Somerset when councils in those areas were undergoing reorganisation.

But the current plans have prompted a backlash from some local leaders.

The District Councils Network claimed ministers had "rushed" the proposals to reorganise local government and were depriving residents of having a say.

The organisation's chairman Cllr Sam Chapman-Allen said: "The cancellation of the local elections comes after the government's general election manifesto neglected to mention that it sought to take power away from communities by replacing district councils with mega councils.

"Democracy is being side-lined with the local electorate being deprived of any democratic opportunity to give their verdict on a major reorganisation that will have far-reaching repercussions for the destiny of thousands of English towns and villages."

A Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government spokesperson said: "No decisions have been taken on postponing elections.

"We will only consider postponing elections for areas where the council concerned have requested it and where it helps an area to deliver reorganisation and devolution to the most ambitious timeline."

New sanctions targeting the finances of people smuggling networks will make it harder for gangs to profit from the deadly trade, the Home Office has said.

The government has said the proposed measures aimed at curbing illegal migration into the UK are expected to come into force this year.

The sanctions, designed to disrupt the flow of money, are thought to be the world's first to specifically target people smugglers.

Sir Keir Starmer said the move would hamper "illicit finance rings allowing smugglers to traffic vulnerable people across Europe".

"We must dismantle the crime gangs facilitating breaches of our borders," the prime minister said.

Under the proposed measures, which are yet to be finalised, UK-based individuals and financial institutions would be banned by law from dealing with sanctioned groups.

The government will bring forward new legislation for the scheme, drawn up by government sanction experts alongside law enforcement and Home Office staff.

• How many people cross the Channel in small boats?

Foreign Secretary David Lammy will set out further details in a speech on Thursday.

Ahead of his address, he said the measures would "help to prevent, combat, deter and disrupt irregular migration and the smuggling of migrants into the UK".

In 2024, the number of people detected crossing the English Channel in small boats was up by a quarter, from 29,437 in 2023 to 36,816.

However, this was lower than the record 45,755 seen in 2022.

Under enhanced powers to tackle people smuggling announced in November, the UK's Border Security Command was given permission to freeze smuggling networks' bank accounts.

Meanwhile, ministers announced new laws allowing travel bans, social media blackouts and phone restrictions for suspected people smugglers earlier this month.

Shadow foreign secretary Priti Patel said Labour had "no credibility on dealing with the evil trade in people smuggling".

"In Parliament they voted against tougher punishments and life sentences for people smugglers, abolished the Rwanda deterrent and campaigned in favour of the rights of dangerous criminals and foreign national offenders, over the safety of the British people."

A former police officer who led a grooming investigation in Oxford has said a similar type of sexual abuse is still happening, warning that the "guys we couldn't catch are still out there".

Simon Morton, former senior investigating officer for Thames Valley Police, told the BBC that perpetrators in the area are operating in plain sight and are "influencing and arranging others to do the same thing".

He added that it is "obvious" grooming is "happening in every city around the country" - a claim supported by another police source.

His comments come as a Tory amendment to the government's Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill, which would have forced a national inquiry into grooming gangs, was voted down on Wednesday evening.

The government has already said it would adopt the recommendations made in 2022 by the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA), led by Professor Alexis Jay.

Mr Morton led Operation Bullfinch, then the biggest criminal investigation in Oxford's history, which resulted in the convictions of 21 men for offences spanning the late 1990s to the late 2000s.

He said calls for a new public inquiry are "pointless" and would be a waste of money.

"We've done the public inquiry. Every single investigation has been thoroughly reinvestigated and checked. We've had seven years worth of Prof Jay and her team looking at child sex exploitation and made the recommendations.

"Let's get it going. Don't waste your money on more pointless inquiries," he added.

That is a view echoed by a child sexual abuse survivor, who cannot be named, who said the focus in recent days has been misplaced with much of the debate surrounding whether there should be a public inquiry, rather than on what can be done to help victims.

"It's naïve to think [grooming] is not still happening and the political debate is not focused on the problem but on trying to outdo one another," she told the BBC.

"My life has been destroyed by this. People need to focus on us and how to stop this and not on scoring points."

On Monday, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper announced those who cover up or fail to report child sexual abuse could face professional or criminal sanctions under a new offence to be introduced this year.

But Mr Morton said survivors of abuse often don't trust anyone – including the police or social services.

He claimed perpetrators have been driven underground by the recent publicity about abuse but are still active.

Mr Morton said feelings of fear and shame often lead victims to cover up for their abuser by refusing to testify against them.

"When we did this investigation, we spoke to lots of girls and there were even more offenders or suspects," he said.

"We weren't able to turn some of the girls to talk to us and tell us their story. We took nine men to court, and we had only a small amount of victims come and give evidence. It was much bigger than that."

In response to Mr Morton's allegations, Thames Valley Police said that information uncovered during Operation Bullfinch, which was launched in 2011 to investigate allegations of historical sexual abuse, led to "24 convictions with sentences totalling over 250 years' imprisonment".

"There are now more police officers and detectives working in child abuse investigation and the management of sexual offenders and a new dedicated team monitor all investigations into missing people and identify patterns or underlying issues," it said.

The force added that the exploitation of children "is and continues to be a priority".

There is "little hope" of food prices "going anywhere but up" in the second half of 2025 due to changes announced in the Budget, a retail lobby group has warned.

The costs of higher wages and National Insurance tax changes coming in April will be passed on to consumers, the British Retail Consortium (BRC) said.

It forecast food price inflation would rise from 1.8% last month to 4.2% in the latter half of this year, and that price rises will continue for vegetable oil, orange juice, butter, and coffee. It added that overall shop prices, which have been falling, will start rising again.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves has previously said "the right thing to do was to ask businesses and the wealthiest in our country to pay a bit more".

In her October Budget Reeves said the National Living Wage for over 21s would increase from £11.44 to £12.21 an hour from April and that employers' National Insurance contributions would rise from 13.8% to 15%.

Retailers hit back, warning in November that higher wages and taxes would make job cuts "inevitable", and lead to price rises and shop closures.

On Thursday, BRC chief executive Helen Dickinson said that modelling by the lobby group, combined with predictions from 52 chief financial officers, had led it to forecast much higher food price inflation in the latter half of the year.

"As retailers battle the £7bn of increased costs in 2025 from the Budget, including higher employer National Insurance, National Living Wage, and new packaging levies, there is little hope of prices going anywhere but up," she said.

The lobby group said food price inflation in December was running at 1.8%, which was its lowest rate since November 2021.

The BRC uses a different basket of goods to measure inflation compared to official figures from the Office for National Statistics, but they are broadly similar.

In the run-up to Christmas, prices went down in shops overall, but this was due to non-food goods deflation, BRC said.

The pace of price rises for fresh food such as fruit and vegetables went up 1.2%, while inflation for store cupboard goods was 2.8%.

Retailers have been warning about price rises due to the Budget measures.

This week Next announced that it will raise prices on some clothing from April to offset "an unusually high" £73m increase in staff wages and taxes.

Next said it expected prices to increase by 1% over a year, which is below the current rate of inflation. UK inflation hit 2.6% in the 12 months to November, the highest level for eight months.

How can I save money on my food shop?

Look at your cupboards so you know what you have already

Head to the reduced section first to see if it has anything you need

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The affluent Los Angeles neighbourhood of Pacific Palisades typically has strangers walking around, trying to catch a glimpse of celebrities' houses.

Now, though, its streets are filled with firefighters battling a 3,000-acre wildfire that is ravaging the area.

Across the city, more than 30,000 have been forced to evacuate their homes as winds stoke three fires. A state of emergency has been declared, leaving roads gridlocked as people flee.

Among them, a number of famous faces have been forced to flee their usually idyllic California homes, including Star Wars' Mark Hamill and Schitt's Creek actor Eugene Levy.

James Woods, who has starred in films including Nixon and Casino, described evacuating his home on social media, and said he was not sure if it was still standing.

"It feels like losing a loved one," he wrote.

Pacific Palisades is known for being exclusive, with a house costing $4.5m (£3.6m) on average as of November 2024, according to Realtor.com.

The north LA neighbourhood is bordered on the south with a three-mile (4.8km) stretch of beaches on the Pacific Ocean, nestled between Malibu and Santa Monica.

It is a hub for trendy shops, cafes and a farmers' market.

But the Palisades fire - which grew from 10 acres to over 2,900 in a matter of hours - has shattered they area's idyllic nature.

Mark Hamill, of Star Wars fame, called the blaze the "most horrific fire since '93" - which burned 18,000 acres and destroyed 323 homes in nearby Malibu - in a post on Instagram.

He said he evacuated his home in Malibu "so last-minute there [were] small fires on both sides of the road".

Levy, who rose to fame for his role in film series American Pie, told local media he was forced to evacuate his home.

"The smoke looked pretty black and intense over Temescal Canyon. I couldn't see any flames but the smoke was very dark," he recounted to the Los Angeles Times.

Reality star's Spencer Pratt and Heidi Montag lost their family home in the fire, his sister wrote on Instagram.

"I am beyond heartbroken for my brother, Heidi and the kids," she said. "Even the fire station in the Palisades has burned down."

Miles Teller, best known for his role in Top Gun: Maverick, and his wife Keleigh, also live in the area.

Posting on Instagram, Mrs Teller shared a picture of the fires and a heart-break emoji. She urged people to leave bowls of water for animals as they evacuate their homes.

Meanwhile, Actor Steve Guttenberg, known for Police Academy, stayed to help firefighters by moving cars in order to make room for incoming fire trucks.

He urged residents to leave the keys to their abandoned cars so they could be moved out the way of firefighters.

"We really need people to move their cars," he told news outlet KTLA: "This is not a parking lot."

It is not just famous residents affected by the wildfire - notable buildings in the area are under threat as well.

The Palisades Charter High School - which has served as a set for movies and counts several notable people as former students - has been damaged by fire, local media reports.

The fire-stricken school has been used in films including 1976 horror classic Carrie and Project X, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Former students include director JJ Abrams, musician Will.i.am, and actors Forest Whitaker and Katey Sagal.

The Getty Villa is an art museum in the Palisades that has a large collection of artworks and artefacts, including works by Vincent van Gogh and Claude Monet.

The museum confirmed on Tuesday that it had closed to the public and that some trees and vegetation on site had burned - but said that "no structures are on fire, and staff and the collection remain safe".

Star studded events due to take place in the area have also been cancelled.

Film premiers for Unstoppable, Better Man and Wolfman have been called off, as has the Screen Actors Guild Awards live nominations event.

The government of Chad has insisted the situation in capitol N'Djamena is stable after gunshots were heard near the presidential palace.

Foreign Minister Abderaman Koulamallah said in a video apparently recorded within the palace complex that there had been a "little incident" but that "everything is calm".

Sources close to the African state's government said clashes had occurred between security forces and "terrorist elements".

The French news agency AFP quoted Koulamallah as saying that 18 attackers and a member of the security forces had been killed.

Following the incident, tanks were seen in the area and all roads leading to the palace were closed, the agency said

In the video, posted to Facebook, Koulamallah is seen surrounded by members of the government forces.

"Nothing serious has happened," he says.

"We are here and we will defend our country at the price of our blood. Be calm.

"This whole attempt at destabilisation has been thwarted."

He is then seen taking photos with, and raising his fist with, the soldiers.

Koulamallah was quoted by AFP as saying the assault had been launched by a 24-man commando unit, adding that six of the attackers had suffered injuries.

A further three members of the government forces also suffered injuries, he added.

The incident came just hours after a visit to the former French territory by China's Foreign Minister, Wang Yi, who met President Mahamat Déby and other senior officials.

It had all the hallmarks of a cold-blooded, professional assassination.

Next to a well-known temple in Bangkok's historic royal quarter a man is seen on a security camera video parking his motorbike, removing his helmet, so that his face was clearly visible, and walking calmly across the road.

A few minutes later shots are heard. Another man falls to the ground.

The assassin walks quickly back to his motorbike, appearing to throw something away as he does, and drives off.

The victim was Lim Kimya, a 73-year-old former parliamentarian from the main Cambodian opposition party, the CNRP, which was banned in 2017. He had been hit in the chest by two bullets, according to the Thai police. He had just arrived in Bangkok with his wife on a bus from Cambodia.

A police officer attempted to resuscitate him, but he was pronounced dead at the scene.

"He was courageous, with an independent mind," Monovithya Kem, daughter of the CNRP leader Kem Sokha, told the BBC.

"No-one but the Cambodian state would have wanted to kill him."

Lim Kimya had dual Cambodian and French nationality, but chose to stay in Cambodia even after his party was outlawed. The CNRP – Cambodia National Rescue Party – was an amalgamation of two earlier opposition parties, and in 2013 came close to defeating the party of Hun Sen, the self-styled "strongman" who ruled Cambodia for nearly 40 years before handing over to his son Hun Manet in 2023.

After his close call in the 2013 election Hun Sen accused the CNRP of treason, shutting it down and subjecting its members to legal and other forms of harassment. In 2023 Kem Sokha, who had already spent six years under house arrest, was sentenced to 27 years in prison.

High-level political assassinations, though not unknown, are relatively rare in Cambodia; in 2016 a popular critic of Hun Sen, Kem Ley, was gunned down in Phnom Penh and in 2012 environmental activist Chut Wutty was also murdered.

From the security camera video the Thai police have already identified Lim Kimya's killer as an ex-Thai navy officer, now working as a motorbike taxi driver. Finding him should not be difficult.

Whether the killing is fully investigated, though, is another matter.

In recent years dozens of activists fleeing repression in Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos and Thailand have been sent back after seeking sanctuary, or in some cases have been killed or disappeared. Human rights groups believe there is an unwritten agreement between the four neighbouring countries to allow each other's security forces to pursue dissidents over the border.

Last November Thailand sent six Cambodian dissidents, together with a young child, back to Cambodia, where they were immediately jailed. All were recognised by the United Nations as refugees. Earlier in the year Thailand also sent a Vietnamese Montagnard activist back to Vietnam.

In the past Thai anti-monarchy activists have been abducted and disappeared in Laos, it is widely presumed by Thai security forces operating outside their own borders. In 2020 a young Thai activist who had fled to Cambodia, Wanchalerm Satsaksit, was abducted and disappeared, again it is assumed by Thai operatives.

The Cambodian authorities did little to investigate, and announced last year that they had closed the case. It is possible the same will now happen in the case of Lim Kimya.

"Thailand has presided over a de facto 'swap arrangement'," says Phil Robertson, director of the Asia Human Rights and Labour Advocates in Thailand.

"Dissidents and refugees are traded for political and economic favours with its neighbouring countries. The growing practice of transnational repression in the Mekong sub-region needs to be stopped in its tracks."

When the US and UK-educated Hun Manet succeeded his father as Cambodia's prime minister there was some speculation over whether he might rule with a lighter hand. But opposition figures are still being prosecuted and jailed, and what little space was left for political dissent has been almost completely closed.

From his semi-retirement the figure of Hun Sen still hovers over his son's administration; he is now calling for a new law to brand anyone trying to replace him as a terrorist.

Thailand, which lobbied hard for, and won, a seat on the UN Human Rights Council this year, will now be under pressure to show that it can bring those behind such a brazen assassination on the streets of its capital to justice.

For years, a controversial invader has been gradually taking over Australia's beloved beaches.

Swallowing up the sand, blocking ocean views and turning the shore into an irksome maze, is a sea of large beach tents, called cabanas in Australia.

"It's chockers [crowded]. They're all over the place," Sydneysider Claire, 30, told the BBC.

For her – and most Australians – cooling off on a sweltering day means a solid drive to the coast, plus an eternity trying to find a parking space. Now, the cabana craze means there's another battle waiting for them on the beach.

Polyester covers flap in the breeze as far as the eye can see. Some are empty, set up at the crack of dawn and then abandoned for hours on end, until the owners actually want to use them.

"The sheer amount of space that people are taking up… [when] you're just trying to find a free square inch of sand to lay your towel, it can just be a little bit frustrating," Claire says.

She's not alone in her irritation. Several summers of simmering tension has, in the first days of 2025, exploded into a full-on turf war, sparking debate about Australian culture and beach etiquette.

A row over the acceptable use of cabanas has dominated social media, spawned a wave of opinion pieces and television segments, and even dragged in the prime minister.

Self-described haters say entitled cabana crews are hogging public space and disrespecting other beachgoers.

"When you're… polluting the beach with your four cabanas next to each other, where is Guncle [Gay Uncle] Nic going to go," anti-cabana crusader and TikToker Nic Salerno said on TV talk show The Project.

"I just want my space on the beach, guys."

But the pro-cabana mob say seeking protection from Australia's vicious sun isn't a crime - and it's every man for himself.

Australia is the skin cancer capital of the world, and many supporters – including national charity, the Cancer Council – argue the new trend should actually be celebrated.

"My partner and I have a cool cabana because we both burn extremely easily and we don't want to die of skin cancer by 30, hope this helps," one person wrote, responding to a TikTok rant.

No one is discounting the importance of sun safety, the cabana critics counter, but they say that's just a convenient excuse for many of the people using the beach tents.

Half the time they're not even sitting under the shade covers, they claim, and there's no need for two people to whip out an entire tent for an hour or two, when sun cream and a hat will do just fine.

Other cabana devotees are more forward about their motivations. Breakfast television presenter Davina Smith admitted that for her, it is about nabbing "the prime piece of real estate" on busy beaches.

She is one of the people who pitch their cabana castles in the early morning to reserve territory for her family later that day.

"There's a lot of research that goes into this. You get up early, you've got to watch the tides. You can't just plonk it there and walk away… you invest in it," Smith argued on Nine's Today programme.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was among the hordes irked by the trend: "That's not on," he told the same show.

"One of the great things about Australia, unlike some parts of the world, you go and you got to pay to go to the beach. Here, everyone owns the beach… And that's a breach of that principle, really."

Even lifeguards have opinions on the matter, with some telling local media the cabana camps can make it hard for them to do their jobs.

Why is this so divisive?

There are a number of cultural quirks which mean Cabanagate has Australians more worked up than a magpie in spring.

Firstly, the country loves to think of itself as an egalitarian society – the land of a "fair go" – and that extends to the use of one of its most precious national assets.

"Australian beaches, they always have been seen as shared spaces, democratic spaces where social hierarchies dissolve…. [they're] seen as a great equaliser," says Ece Kaya, a researcher at the University of Technology Sydney.

And Australians are "fiercely" protective of that ideal: "They see it as a birthright," says Chris Pepin-Neff, who studies Australian beach culture.

He points to the backlash in 1929 when beachgoers at Sydney's Coogee Beach were forced to pay for access to the only part of the water covered by shark nets. More recently, a bid to rent out part of Sydney's famous Bondi Beach to an exclusive beach club was met with a huge outcry.

And while the use of sprawling cabanas is a relatively new phenomenon, there's long been "enormous class tension" around the use of the country's coastline, Dr Pepin-Neff adds.

A lack of infrastructure, affordable housing and community attitudes tend to lock ordinary Australians out of waterfront areas, while those natural assets are often used by those lucky enough to live there.

"And there's a perception that it's encroaching even further, [so] that an average family can't even get a spot at the beach."

But he says there's no real data on who is using cabanas and why. He also argues there's many good reasons people might use them. Maybe they've travelled a long way so they plan to stay at the beach longer, or they may have a disability or young children they need to cater for, he says.

"There is a balance between a free and open beach that everybody can use, and making sure that you're respectful."

He offers no defence for the "land bankers" though: "As a Sydneysider, I think that is abusing the privilege… that is not a fair go."

As the debate intensifies though, there are some calls for a truce to restore the peace to Australian shores.

Beachkit Australia founder Rowan Clark, who sells equipment including cabanas, told the Sydney Morning Herald newspaper even he thinks cabana lovers should be more courteous.

"They should only allow set up at the rear of the beach in a line," he said. "Once this is exhausted, then no more of this style of shade should be allowed."

Others want authorities to rein it in, like some have in the United States. There are suggestions councils could limit how many cabanas can be set up on their beaches, and where.

But Sydney resident Claire, for all her wrath, worries that this could tip the scales in the other direction and exclude other people from using the beach.

"You don't want to get too precious about it, obviously… it's just the beach, first world problems right?

"I think in general, we should just try to be considerate of one another."

Out of the many mourning former President Jimmy Carter, not everyone can say he saved their life.

Rocky Sickmann was a 22-year-old US Marine stationed at the American embassy in Tehran, Iran, when he and 51 other Americans were taken hostage by Iranian revolutionaries on 4 November, 1979.

It defined his life - as well as much of Carter's presidency.

• Jimmy Carter, former US president, dies aged 100

"For the first 30 days I'm sitting in this room handcuffed and blindfolded, thinking the Vietnam war had just ended, and nobody cared about these thousands of veterans coming home," said the 67-year-old. "Who's going to care about the Iran hostages?"

He said that at the time, he wasn't even sure how much President Carter cared. It was a sentiment echoed by much of the American public. Many blamed Carter for his failure to bring the hostages home for over a year.

Political historians say part of the reason Carter lost to Ronald Reagan in a landslide - and served only one term as president - was because of his handling of the hostage crisis.

Minutes after Regan was sworn in, the hostages were released, although the deal had been in the works during Carter's presidency.

Mr Sickmann said that Carter deserves to be forever admired for his relentless attempt to bring them home.

"He was a good man who wanted diplomacy. I found out after how deeply involved he was. He knew my parents. He took care of them, he would meet them in DC."

When Mr Sickmann finally got to meet Carter himself, he wasn't exactly dressed for the occasion.

He laughs: "We met him in our pyjamas! How do you meet your commander-in-chief dressed like that!"

Rocky was flown out with the other hostages to Wiesbaden, Germany, a year after they had been taken hostage. The day after they got there, Carter greeted them personally.

"It was a very exciting day because he used to be in the Marines and he said to meet us was the happiest day of his life."

The meeting was captured in a photograph, which Carter would send to Sickmann 10 months after he had been voted out of the White House. It was signed: 'To my friend, Rocky Sickmann".

But it was not the last time that Mr Sickmann saw him. Just 10 years ago, he ran into Carter at a baseball game in Georgia. He had an usher pass the former president a note.

"He reads it - all of a sudden he gets up and he stands up and he turns around. I stand up and we waved at each other."

Like Carter, Mr Sickmann went on to focus on charitable work. He said he was inspired by the former president to set up Folds of Honor, which provides scholarships to families of Americaʼs fallen or disabled military and first responders.

"President Carter was a good Christian man, married to his wonderful wife, and continued his life of service. I don't know if I'll ever be as good as him but I hope to be able to do the same thing."

The charity was set up to honor the 8 US service men who were killed trying to rescue the hostages. In 1980, the mission, dubbed Eagle Claw, failed disastrously after three helicopters malfunctioned. It was the last straw for Carter politically - although he won the Democratic nomination, he was wiped out in the election by Ronald Reagan that year.

But while the Iran hostage crisis would be a dark mark on Carter's political legacy, Mr Sickmann said he owes his life to Jimmy Carter.

"Morning, noon, and night, for 444 days, I never prayed so hard in my life, hoping that God was on our side," he said.

"But also President Carter kept us alive. He kept us in front of the world, making sure that people were praying for us (too)."

New sanctions targeting the finances of people smuggling networks will make it harder for gangs to profit from the deadly trade, the Home Office has said.

The government has said the proposed measures aimed at curbing illegal migration into the UK are expected to come into force this year.

The sanctions, designed to disrupt the flow of money, are thought to be the world's first to specifically target people smugglers.

Sir Keir Starmer said the move would hamper "illicit finance rings allowing smugglers to traffic vulnerable people across Europe".

"We must dismantle the crime gangs facilitating breaches of our borders," the prime minister said.

Under the proposed measures, which are yet to be finalised, UK-based individuals and financial institutions would be banned by law from dealing with sanctioned groups.

The government will bring forward new legislation for the scheme, drawn up by government sanction experts alongside law enforcement and Home Office staff.

• How many people cross the Channel in small boats?

Foreign Secretary David Lammy will set out further details in a speech on Thursday.

Ahead of his address, he said the measures would "help to prevent, combat, deter and disrupt irregular migration and the smuggling of migrants into the UK".

In 2024, the number of people detected crossing the English Channel in small boats was up by a quarter, from 29,437 in 2023 to 36,816.

However, this was lower than the record 45,755 seen in 2022.

Under enhanced powers to tackle people smuggling announced in November, the UK's Border Security Command was given permission to freeze smuggling networks' bank accounts.

Meanwhile, ministers announced new laws allowing travel bans, social media blackouts and phone restrictions for suspected people smugglers earlier this month.

Shadow foreign secretary Priti Patel said Labour had "no credibility on dealing with the evil trade in people smuggling".

"In Parliament they voted against tougher punishments and life sentences for people smugglers, abolished the Rwanda deterrent and campaigned in favour of the rights of dangerous criminals and foreign national offenders, over the safety of the British people."

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has told Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer he risks fuelling accusations of "a cover up" by refusing to hold a national inquiry into grooming gangs.

She also accused the PM of not wanting questions asked "of Labour politicians who may be complicit".

Sir Keir argued that several inquires had already been held into abuse carried out by gangs of men, predominantly of Pakistani heritage, and that a new probe would only delay the action the victims wanted.

And he said he would "call out" anyone who prevented victims of sexual abuse from coming forward.

The Conservatives have tabled an amendment to the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill which calls for a national inquiry.

In the unlikely event the amendment is approved the bill, which includes measures aimed at protecting children and tougher rules around home-schooling, as well as changes to academies, would be scuppered.

Sir Keir said it was "shocking" Conservative MPs would try to block a bill aimed at helping vulnerable children by voting for the Tory amendment and accused Badenoch of "weak leadership".

Making her argument for a fresh inquiry, Badenoch said "no one has joined the dots, no one has the total picture".

She noted that the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, which lasted for seven years and concluded in 2022, had not had a specific focus on grooming gangs.

"We don't need to repeat the work that has already been done. Let's look at new areas."

She said a new inquiry could explore "if there was a racial and cultural motivation to some of these crimes".

Sir Keir said "reasonable people could agree or disagree" on whether there should be a fresh probe and acknowledged that there were mixed views among victims and survivors.

However, he accused Badenoch of only recently taking an interest in the subject and said she had failed to take action when she was in government.

"I can't recall her once raising this issue in the House, once calling for a national inquiry," he said.

US President Joe Biden has said he thinks he would have defeated Donald Trump and won re-election in November.

Speaking to USA Today in an exclusive interview, Biden did, however, add that he was unsure if he would have had the stamina for another four-year term.

"So far, so good," the 82-year-old said. "But who knows what I'm going to be when I'm 86 years old?"

In the wide-ranging interview with Susan Page, Biden also said he was still considering pre-emptive pardons for foes of Donald Trump, including former Republican congresswoman Liz Cheney and former senior health official Dr Anthony Fauci.

In the interview published on Wednesday, Biden said he had been "very straightforward with Trump" about the potential pardons during their Oval Office meeting shortly after the November election.

"I tried to make it clear that there was no need, and it was counterintuitive for his interest to go back and try to settle scores," Biden said, adding Trump did not push back, but "just basically listened".

Biden said his ultimate decision will depend on who Trump selects for his cabinet.

At that same meeting, Biden said Trump was "complimentary" about his economic record.

"He [Trump] thought I was leaving with a good record," the Democrat said.

The interview with USA Today is the only exit interview Biden has so far given to a print publication.

Media access to Biden has been strictly controlled by the White House - and the president has not held a news conference since he dropped out of the race on 21 July.

In the interview, the outgoing president also defended the full and unconditional pardon he issued to his son, Hunter Biden, who was facing sentencing for two criminal cases - tax evasion and illegally buying a gun - despite repeatedly insisting he would not do so.

Biden, who first came to Capitol Hill in 1972 as a US senator, drew criticism from his own party over his apparent reluctance to drop out of the presidential race amid concerns over his age and mental acuity.

Speaking to USA Today, Biden said "based on polling" he believed he would have won, but conceded his age may have affected him in office.

"When Trump was running again for re-election, I really thought I had the best chance of beating him. But I also wasn't looking to be president when I was 85 years old, 86 years old," Biden said. "But I don't know. Who the hell knows?"

Following Vice-President Kamala Harris' loss to Trump, high-ranking members of the Democratic party, such as former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, have said the Democrats might have fared better in the election had Biden exited the race sooner.

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