McDonald's workers have said they are still facing sexual abuse and harassment, a year after the boss promised to clean up behaviour at the fast-food chain.

One 19-year-old worker, Matt, told the BBC some of his colleagues were scared of going into work, and that managers would "touch up" other members of staff.

Since the BBC's original investigation into the company, the UK equality watchdog has heard 300 reported incidents of harassment. It now plans to intervene again.

A McDonald's spokesperson said the company had undertaken "extensive work" over the past year to ensure it has industry-leading practices in place to keep its workers safe.

The UK boss of McDonald's has been summoned on Tuesday to answer MPs' questions for a second time, including over claims of sexual abuse.

Warning - this article contains distressing content

Claims include:

• A worker quit her job in the West Midlands at the end of 2023, after she says managers inappropriately touched her and customers sexually harassed her. When she raised it, she says she was told to "suck it up".
• A 16-year-old current employee based in the West Midlands says he was bullied, shouted at and sworn at by managers.
• A female worker, 20, says a male manager sent her topless pictures. She left her McDonald's branch in the East of England in August.

These claims all relate to events after November 2023, when the boss of McDonald's UK, Alistair Macrow first appeared in front of parliament's Business and Trade Committee.

Mr Macrow told MPs then that the firm was taking action to improve working conditions, after the BBC uncovered widespread concerns over the treatment of staff.

However, one current and two former workers from different parts of the country, claim that the restaurant audits that were promised, were stage-managed by the branches.

More than 700 current and former junior employees are now taking legal action against the firm, accusing it of failing to protect them.

'Scared to go in'

Matt said he quit his McDonald’s branch in the Midlands last year because of what he calls a "toxic" work environment.

He said he was bullied for having a learning disability and an eye condition.

"And then it was stuff you noticed, managers and staff being racist to other staff. Managers trying to touch other staff up," he said.

He said some staff members felt scared to go into work, because they feared something "horrible" happening.

Matt said the work culture had not changed by the time he left in May.

'Just banter'

Alan, not his real name, said he has been repeatedly subjected to "degrading and humiliating" verbal abuse by his colleagues at a McDonald's branch in southwest Scotland.

"It’s just homophobic slurs a lot, sometimes to my face, sometimes behind my back," the 19-year-old said.

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When he reported the problem to a senior manager, he says he was told it was "just a bit of banter".

Alan has worked in other fast-food restaurants where he said homophobia was taken more seriously.

"It just seems like McDonald's don't care as much," he said.

'Sex for shifts'

Claire, not her real name, who worked at a branch in the Midlands until May 2023, says a shift manager asked her for sex in return for extra shifts, which she refused. She was 17, he was in his 30s.

"You don't expect that to happen," she said. "It was totally inappropriate."

Like most McDonald's workers, Claire was employed on a zero-hours contract

McDonald's outlets are run as franchises, so local managers are responsible for employing the staff for their restaurants. Across the UK, 89% of their workers are on zero-hours contracts.

McDonald's says workers can choose to switch to minimum guaranteed hours. But we have spoken to 50 workers across the country who say they were not given that choice.

Some workers told the BBC the insecure hours leads to an imbalance of power. Others, however, said zero-hours contracts worked well for them.

Claire says she felt "dependent" on her managers for work. "I was always asking for more shifts, as I needed more money," she said.

• McDonald's faces up to two sex abuse claims a week

A McDonald's spokesperson said that in 2018, it offered all employees the choice of a flexible or guaranteed hours contract, and that every staff room should still display information on how to request one.

"Additionally, after four weeks in role, every new employee has a formal conversation with management – in which managers check that employees are aware of the option of a guaranteed hours contract," the company said.

The company said it did not recognise the incident where a manager asked for sex in return for shifts. "If provided with sufficient information we would ensure a full investigation is carried out, and appropriate action taken if necessary," the company said.

'Traumatised'

Most McDonald's staff are aged between 16 and 25. For many, it is their first job.

Even senior managers are often young.

Elliott, not his real name, was in charge of a store in the South of England by his early twenties. He left last February.

"If I had a sister, or if I had a daughter, I wouldn't want them working in McDonald's," he said.

When the McDonald's boss spoke to MPs in 2023 he said the company had stopped a practice of moving managers around so they could avoid disciplinary action.

But Elliott says that days after Mr Macrow gave evidence, a manager was moved to his store to avoid being disciplined, following allegations they had sent sexually explicit messages to female colleagues who were 16-18 years old.

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Following the BBC investigation, McDonald’s brought in outside consultants, Price Waterhouse Cooper (PwC), to audit their restaurants and check on the wellbeing of their staff. But Elliott says the franchise he worked for “rigged” its inspection in February.

"They were meeting the best employees, hand-plucked from different stores," he said. "The people that can be coached on the correct answers."

According to Elliot the audit gave the restaurant a 100% rating. Yet, he told us, two months before the audit, a manager working there had been accused of performing a Nazi salute to a Jewish employee. He said PwC was not told of this allegation.

"I think I am a bit traumatised by it," he said. "And I think I'll continue to have bad memories of my employment for the rest of my life."

PwC said that while it doesn't comment on individual clients, its site visits are "subject to a stringent set of processes" and are refined as required.

A McDonald's spokesperson said PwC's independent site visits "play a crucial role" in assessing each restaurant against specific criteria and ensuring standards are met.

"In the few instances where our expectations have not been met, we have taken prompt corrective action," the spokesperson said.

"The assessment procedures are under constant review by PwC and were refined early in the programme to ensure that employee interviews - which form part of the assessment - are selected randomly by independent assessors, further safeguarding the integrity of the process."

The BBC first began investigating working conditions at McDonald's in February 2023, after the company signed a legally binding agreement with the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), in which it pledged to protect its staff from sexual harassment.

After our investigation was published in July 2023, McDonald's apologised and set up a new unit to deal with complaints.

The EHRC also set up a dedicated hotline for abuse claims.

More than 160 people approached the BBC with allegations after our initial investigation, while 300 incidents were reported to the EHRC.

Now, the watchdog says it is taking stronger action against the fast-food chain.

In a new statement provided exclusively to the BBC, the EHRC said: “We are actively working with McDonalds to update our ongoing legal agreement in light of serious allegations raised by our work with the company, and the BBC investigation."

Its action plan will involve strengthening the existing measures - which included providing more training and conducting a survey of workers - as well as announcing new steps, the BBC understands.

McDonald's said the agreement with the EHRC was signed "with the intention that it continues to evolve to ensure the robust measures we have in place are aligned with any updated guidance".

Separately, law firm Leigh Day said it had been instructed to start legal action against McDonald's by hundreds of staff and former staff, with more than 450 restaurants implicated in the claims.

• Listen: McDonald's - a toxic place for teenagers?

A McDonald's spokesperson said: "Ensuring the 168,000 people that work in McDonald's restaurants are safe is the most important responsibility for both us and our franchisees, and we have undertaken extensive work over the last year to ensure we have industry-leading practices in place to support this priority.

"Any incident of misconduct and harassment is unacceptable and subject to rapid and thorough investigation and action."

The company said: "Our relentless focus on eliminating all forms of harassment at McDonald's is led by a newly created team and informed by the experience and guidance of external experts."

It said it had rolled out company-wide programmes to improve safeguarding, drive awareness and enhance training, and in addition to the four existing channels, it had introduced an additional way for employees to speak up, confidentially, at any time, allowing employees to "instantly raise issues digitally", and which was "specifically designed to ensure they feel empowered to speak up".

It also said its new investigations unit was "dedicated to rooting out any behaviour that falls below the high standards" it demands of its workers.

"We are confident that we are taking significant and important steps to tackle the unacceptable behaviours facing every organisation," the spokesperson added.

It said its latest anonymous employee survey showed that 92% of its franchisees' people are now comfortable speaking up, and 93% believe management will act.

"However, we know that we must be constantly vigilant, and we will challenge and confront any behaviour that falls below those standards," it said.

What to do if you have been sexually harassed at work

• Report it: The charity Victim Support suggests telling your manager, HR representative or trade union
• Keep a record: Include dates, times and details of any incidents. Save any relevant emails.
• Get help: Victim Support operates a free and confidential 24/7 helpline and live chat service. Call 0808 16 89 111 or use the live chat at: victimsupport.org.uk/live-chat.
• Call the police: If sexual harassment escalates into violence, threats or sexual assault, report this to the police by calling 101. If you are in danger, call 999.

If you have been affected by any of the issues in this story, information and support is available via the BBC Action Line.

Some of the names in this story have been changed to protect identities.

At least 32 people have been confirmed dead after a major earthquake struck China's mountainous Tibet region on Tuesday morning, Chinese state media reported.

The earthquake that hit Tibet's holy Shigatse city around 09:00 local time (01:00 GMT) had a magnitude of 7.1 and a depth of 10 kilometres (six miles), according to data from the US Geological Survey, which also showed a series of aftershocks in the area.

Tremors were also felt in neighbouring Nepal and parts of India.

Earthquakes are common in the region, which lies on a major geological fault line.

Shigatse is considered one of the holiest cities of Tibet. It is the traditional seat of the Panchen Lama, a key figure of Tibetan Buddhism whose spiritual authority is second only to the Dalai Lama.

Chinese state media reported the earthquake as having a slightly lesser magnitude of 6.8, causing "obvious" tremors and leading to the collapse of many houses.

Social media posts show collapsing buildings and there have been several strong aftershocks.

"After a major earthquake, there is always a gradual attenuation process," Jiang Haikun, a researcher at the China Earthquake Networks Center, told CCTV.

While another earthquake of around magnitude 5 may still occur, Jiang said, "the likelihood of a larger earthquake is low".

The Chinese air force has launched rescue efforts and drones to the affected area, which sits at the foot of Mount Everest and where temperatures are well below freezing.

Both power and water in the region have been cut off.

While tremors were felt in Nepal, no damage or casualties were reported, a local official in Nepal's Namche region, near Everest, told AFP.

Tibet's earthquake bureau told the BBC on Tuesday that they were unable to provide estimates on casualties as they were still verifying the numbers.

The region, which lies on a major fault line where the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates collided, is home to frequent seismic activity. In 2015, a 7.8 magnitude earthquake near Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal, killed nearly 9,000 people and injured over 20,000.

A police investigation into allegations of preventable deaths and injuries at an NHS trust has doubled the number of cases it is looking at, BBC News can reveal.

The claims centre on care and treatment provided by University Hospitals Sussex NHS Trust between 2015 and 2021.

Sussex Police started looking in 2023 into an initial 105 cases, but BBC File On 4 Investigates has learned that number is now more than 200.

The force says the investigation is "active and ongoing", but it will "not be providing specific details around case numbers at this time".

Police became involved after two whistleblowers raised allegations of medical negligence at two of the trust's departments - neurosurgery and general surgery, including concerns about at least 40 deaths.

The increase in cases is linked to more families having contacted the police.

Separate to this investigation, we have spoken to the family of a patient who allege they were "lied" to by a senior surgeon in the trust's general surgery department, before he carried out an operation that left her with life-threatening injuries.

Wendy Gibbs, 80, had been due to be operated on by Marc Lamah to repair a pelvic prolapse at a private hospital in Brighton, run by Nuffield Health. But the surgeon told her he wanted to switch the procedure to a different Nuffield hospital because the Brighton site didn't have a specific type of scanner that he would need. The machine, it turned out, was also not available at the second hospital.

Mr Lamah also failed to disclose to Mrs Gibbs that he, and other surgeons, were prevented from carrying out such operations in Brighton at the time, as Nuffield Health had suspended that type of surgery over safety concerns.

When Mrs Gibbs' operation happened in March 2024, Mr Lamah mistakenly snipped her bowel, causing internal bleeding not spotted for hours. Mrs Gibbs developed sepsis, a life-threatening condition.

She needed an emergency second operation - also carried out by Mr Lamah - at the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton, which is part of the NHS trust under investigation. This was followed by a spell in intensive care and 11 days' sedation.

Mrs Gibbs, who now has a permanent stoma bag, says she was traumatised by the experience. "He failed me, he betrayed my trust. I've got numerous issues left from the operation. Most of my hair fell out. My nails fell off. It's coming back now, but the trauma of it actually happening and not being able to do anything about it - it's not easy."

Wendy Gibbs's case is not part of the police investigation as her treatment occurred after the period the police are looking at.

Nuffield Health - the private healthcare provider at whose hospital the first operation took place - said it was conducting a "deeper investigation into a particular consultant."

It added: "As the investigation is still live, we are unable to comment."

However, a former director of clinical services at Nuffield's Brighton hospital - where Mr Lamah also practised privately - said that in 2023, the company had recognised concerns with his complication rate.

Michael Turner told us data showed that one third of Mr Lamah's patients had experienced a "moderate harm event" (where, for instance, a patient had to be transferred to another hospital or re-admitted) over a 12-month period. Mr Turner said the figure should have been less than 5%.

Three months ago, Michael Turner was dismissed by Nuffield Health for gross misconduct after he used an expletive to describe the actions of a different consultant.

Surgeon 'set himself 45-min limit'

Mr Lamah continues to operate at Royal Sussex County Hospital. The University Hospitals Sussex NHS Trust told us it had audited his NHS data, which showed that his outcomes were within the expected national range.

"If there is any evidence of concerns regarding the care of our NHS patients, then of course we do not hesitate to act," a spokesperson said.

Speaking anonymously, a former NHS colleague of Mr Lamah told the BBC that the surgeon had been "pulled up on a few occasions for things that were significantly unprofessional".

The colleague says that one of these occasions related to an emergency operation, when Mr Lamah announced he was setting himself a challenge to finish in 45 minutes, despite there being no need to do so.

We contacted Marc Lamah, but he refused to comment.

The BBC has reported a number of stories from the University Hospitals Sussex NHS Trust in the past two years:

• A surgeon used a penknife to open up the chest of a patient
• Four whistleblowers said patients had died unnecessarily and been "effectively maimed" at the trust
• A former surgeon claimed a "gang culture" existed in the neurosurgery department. The same doctor alleged one surgeon had disproportionate deaths and a second carried out complex operations without adequate training
• An internal review conceded doctors could have saved the life of student Melissa Zoglie had they acted sooner
• A Royal College of Surgeons review found a "culture of fear" at the trust and suggested senior managers may need to be replaced
• The trust lost a nine-month legal battle with the BBC and The Times to block access to and redact documents in two employment tribunal cases

Police officers are currently identifying relevant cases and sending them to medical experts for their view as to whether there is a basis to question the care these patients received - a process that's expected to finish in early 2025. The investigation is at an early stage and there are no suspects at this stage.

The majority of cases appear to involve the neurosurgery department. Police are considering gross negligence manslaughter and corporate manslaughter charges.

File on 4 Investigates understands that one of the cases being examined by medical experts as part of the police investigation is that of Stephen Coles. He was operated on by a neurosurgeon named Carl Hardwidge, who spent 31 years working at the trust before leaving in 2023. He has been criticised by the family of Mr Coles, who died in 2021 after being operated on by Mr Hardwidge to remove a brain tumour.

Following the surgery, Mr Coles, who was 66, was unable to swallow due to cranial nerve damage. He then spent several weeks in hospital where he eventually died, after contracting pneumonia from poor care he received on a general ward.

His sister, Julie Rhodes, says Mr Hardwidge has never explained to the family why Mr Coles was so ill after his operation. An inquest did not raise any concerns about the care Mr Coles received, a conclusion that left Ms Rhodes "dissatisfied" as it "didn't answer any questions."

However, a neurological expert who assessed the case for BBC News said Stephen Coles' death had been avoidable, and criticised Mr Hardwidge's post-operative care. He said Mr Coles should have been fitted with a tracheostomy to help him breathe.

"The responsibility for protecting the patient's airway," said the expert, "must lie with the operating surgeon."

File on 4 Investigates is aware concerns have been raised about care Carl Hardwidge provided to at least three other patients while working at the trust.

A judge at an employment tribunal also said he was "somewhat concerned" Mr Hardwidge had, during his evidence, tried to minimise delays in the care of another patient who died in 2012.

When File on 4 Investigates contacted Mr Hardwidge, he refused to comment.

The University Hospitals Sussex NHS trust said that its neurosurgery team had faced significant challenges since 2012, and that consequently some patients were waiting longer for their care than they should have done, "for which we sincerely apologise".

The trust says it is cooperating with the police investigation and recognise that it has much work to do to improve their performance. In a statement, the chief executive, George Findlay, said that since a new leadership team was installed in 2017, many improvements in quality and safety had followed.

"Despite these and other improvements," added Mr Findlay, "it is clear that some long-standing challenges remain, and it is also absolutely clear that we have much further to go in improving care and better supporting colleagues."

Warning: This story contains distressing details.

Just before New Year, 21-year-old Shatha al-Sabbagh was out buying chocolate for her family's children from a shop in Jenin, in the occupied West Bank.

The "fearless" journalism student – who wanted to shed light on the suffering of the Palestinians – was with her mother, two young nephews and another relative.

"She was laughing and saying we'll be up all night tonight," her mother recalls.

Then she was shot in the head.

For Shatha's mother Umm al-Motassem, the pain is still raw. She stops to take a breath.

"Shatha's eyes were wide open. It looked like she was staring at me while lying on her back with blood gushing from her head.

"I started screaming, 'Stop shooting! My daughter is dead. My daughter is dead.'"

But the shooting lasted for around 10 minutes. Shatha died in a pool of her own blood.

Shatha's family holds the Palestinian Authority's (PA) security forces fully responsible for her killing, saying their area is controlled by the PA.

"It couldn't have been anyone other than PA... because they have such a heavy presence in our neighbourhood - no-one else could come or go," she told the BBC.

But the PA blames "outlaws" - the term they use for members of the Jenin Battalion, made up of fighters from armed groups including Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) and Hamas.

The PA exercises limited self-rule in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

It launched a major security operation in the refugee camp in Jenin last month targeting the armed groups based there, which they see as a challenge to their authority. Nearly four weeks on, it continues.

The Jenin Battalion is accused of blowing up a car in the camp and carrying out other "illegal activities".

"We have confiscated large numbers of weapons and explosive materials," says the PA's Brig Gen Anwar Rajab.

"The aim is to clear the camp from the explosive devices that have been planted in different streets and alleyways... These outlaws have crossed all red lines and have spread chaos."

Gen Rajab also accuses Iran of backing and funding the armed groups in the camp.

The Jenin Battalion denies links to Iran. In a recent video posted on social media, spokesman Nour al-Bitar said the PA was trying to "demonise" them and "tarnish their image", adding that fighters would not give up their weapons.

"To the PA and President Mahmoud Abbas, why has it come to this?" he asked, holding shrapnel from what he claimed was a rocket-propelled grenade fired at the camp by security forces.

The PA, led by President Abbas, was already unpopular among Palestinians dissatisfied by its rejection of armed struggle and its security co-ordination with Israel.

This anger intensified with the PA's crackdown on the armed groups in the camp, which has been unprecedented in its ferocity and length.

Israel sees those groups as terrorists, but many Jenin locals consider them to be a form of resistance to the occupation.

"These 'outlaws' that the PA is referring to – these are the young men who stand up for us when the Israeli army raids our camp," says Umm al-Motassem.

At least 14 people have been killed in the crackdown, including a 14-year-old, according to the Palestinian health ministry.

Now many Jenin locals say they fear the PA as much as they fear Israel's military raids. Shatha al-Sabbagh's death has only renewed their contempt.

Before she was killed, Shatha shared several posts on social media showing the destruction from the PA operation in Jenin - as well as Israeli raids on the camp last year.

Other posts showed pictures of armed young men who were killed in the fighting, including her brother.

Her killing was condemned by Hamas, which identified her brother as a slain member of the group's armed wing, the Izzedine al-Qassam Brigades.

The group described her "murder... in cold blood" as part of an "oppressive policy targeting the Jenin camp, which has become a symbol of steadfastness and resistance".

Mustafa Barghouti, who leads the political party Palestinian National Initiative, sees the fighting in Jenin as a consequence of the divisions between the main Palestinian factions - Fatah, which makes up most of the PA, and Hamas, which has governed Gaza since 2007.

"The last thing Palestinians need is to see Palestinians shooting each other while Israel crushes everyone," he says.

Inside the camp, residents say daily life has ground to a halt.

Water and electricity supplies have been cut off and families suffer from a lack of food, bitterly cold weather and relentless gun battles.

Locals who spoke to us asked for their names to be changed, saying they feared reprisals by the PA.

"Things are dire here. We can't move freely in the camp," says Mohamed.

"All the bakeries, the restaurants and shops are closed. The restaurant I work in opens for a day and closes for 10. When it is open, no-one comes.

"We need milk for the children, we need bread. Some people can't open their doors because of the continuous shooting."

The UN humanitarian agency, the OCHA, has called for an investigation into what it describes as human rights violations by the PA forces.

Gen Rajab said some of the "outlaws" who had "hijacked" the Jenin camp had been arrested and that others with pending cases would be brought to justice.

But Mohamed describes the PA's operation - with innocent people caught in the crossfire - as "collective punishment".

"If they want to go after outlaws, that doesn't mean they should punish the whole camp. We want our lives back."

Even going out to get food or water is a risk, says 20-year-old Sadaf.

"When we go out, we say our final prayers. We prepare ourselves mentally that we may not come back.

"It's very cold. We've taken down the doors in our home to use as firewood just to keep warm."

The BBC has heard similar accounts from four residents in the camp.

My conversation with Sadaf is interrupted by the sound of gunfire. It is unclear where it is from or who is firing. It starts and stops several times.

"Warning shots maybe," she suggests, adding it happens sometimes when PA forces are changing shifts.

Sadaf continues describing the camp, with "rubbish filling the streets and almost going into homes". More gunfire can be heard.

Sadaf's mother joins the call. "Listen to this... Can anyone sleep with this sound in the background?

"We sleep in shifts now. We're so scared they might raid our homes. We're as scared of this operation as we are when the Israeli soldiers are here."

People say security forces have deliberately hit electricity grids and generators, leaving the camp in a blackout.

The PA again blames "outlaws" - and insists it has brought in workers to fix the grid.

The armed groups want to "use the people's suffering to pressure the PA to stop the operation", says Gen Rajab. He says the security operation will continue until its objectives are met.

Gen Rajab says the PA's goal is to establish control over the Jenin camp and ensure safety and stability.

He believes stripping the armed groups of control would take away Israel's excuse to attack the camp.

In late August, the Israeli army conducted a major nine-day "counter-terrorism" operation in Jenin city and the camp, which resulted in severe destruction.

At least 36 Palestinians were killed - 21 from Jenin governorate - according to the Palestinian health ministry.

Analysts say that the PA is trying to reassert its authority in the West Bank and show the US it is capable of taking a role in the future governance of Gaza.

"What would be the harm in that?" says Gen Rajab.

"Gaza is part of the Palestinian state. Gaza and the West Bank are not separate entities. There's no Palestinian state without Gaza. The president [Mahmoud Abbas] has said that and that is our strategy."

But Barghouti says this approach is an "illusion". "All you need is to listen to what [Benjamin] Netanyahu says," he adds.

Under the Israeli prime minister's vision for a post-war Gaza, Israel would control security indefinitely, and Palestinians with "no links to groups hostile to Israel" - so none of the existing major Palestinian political parties - would run the territory.

But the US, Israel's major ally, wants the PA to govern Gaza after the war. Netanyahu has previously ruled out a post-war role for the internationally backed PA.

For the residents of Jenin camp, there has been no let-up in the violence and loss.

"The PA say they're here for our safety. Where's the safety when my daughter was killed? Where's the safety with the non-stop shooting?" Umm al-Motassem cries.

"They can go after the 'outlaws' but why did my daughter have to die? Justice will be served when I know who killed my daughter," she says.

Jane Graham has been a school nurse for nearly 20 years – and during this time the nature of her work has completely changed. "When I started, the majority of the support we provided was for physical health, like asthma, allergic reactions and injuries," she says. "Now it's mental health."

She has seen a surge in schoolchildren struggling. "It really impacts pupils at secondary school, but some are as young as seven," she explains.

"We're seeing children with depression, anxiety and stress – and that's leading to panic attacks, self-harm and eating disorders. They're not making it to school or are so anxious they cannot attend classes."

GPs, youth workers and social workers I have spoken to shared similar stories, with many pointing out that mental health cases in the young are rising in ever greater numbers.

One in five children and young people between the ages of eight and 25 in England are now thought to have a mental health disorder, according to official figures. Unsurprisingly, the NHS is struggling to keep up.

In 2024 Dame Rachel de Souza, the children's commissioner for England, described the situation as "shocking" and said the system was in "crisis".

What's less clear is why this is happening now.

Plenty of explanations have been offered by experts: the pandemic, the cost of living and the advent of social media have all placed additional pressures on the generation now starting out.

But some experts in the field of mental health have raised another question: that is, is there really a mental health crisis or are young people simply not resilient enough?

In other words, are they lacking the capacity to withstand or recover quickly from day-to-day difficulties that generations before them faced too?

A polarising debate

This question is a polarising one. The word resilience could be interpreted by some as disparaging, or even toxic, in a similar vein as the term "snowflake generation".

But one of the country's leading experts in child and adolescent psychiatry, Prof Andrea Danese believes that resilience needs to be taken seriously.

While greater awareness of mental health "has generally been a positive thing", according to Prof Danese, who is general secretary for the European Society of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, he says that he is concerned that it may also have "inadvertently contributed to over-pathologising distress in young people".

Distress should not automatically be seen as a sign of mental ill-health, he continues.

"Facing challenges and distress is normal and important in terms of individual growth," he says. "That's how young people develop emotional resilience – they learn coping skills in the face of many small challenges and build self-confidence about their ability to cope. The narratives we build matter."

Ms Graham, the school nurse, is also of the opinion that many children who she has seen struggling - particularly those with more low level mental health problems - would benefit from becoming more resilient.

She believes that if they were equipped with better coping skills, young people would likely be better placed to deal with the challenges they may be facing before they develop into a full-blown crisis – and this in turn would help ease the pressure on services to focus on those who are at high risk of harm.

"We need to do much better at teaching resilience in schools and how to stay mentally healthy," she says. "But the way we treat children, such as primary school sports days where everyone is declared a winner, doesn't help."

Resilience in popular culture

In popular culture, the concept of resilience was popularised in the 1970s, in the wake of research by psychologist Emmy Werner, who studied children in Hawaii from lower-income backgrounds.

More recently it has been the subject of several bestselling books, including Option B: Facing Adversity, Building Resilience and Finding Joy, co-authored by Sheryl Sandberg, who was previously chief operating officer at Meta.

Research by academics carried out in Poland suggests that higher levels of resilience improve life satisfaction and act as a buffer against mental health problems among young people.

Two studies involving young people aged between 13 and 18 found those with greater resilience were more able to develop their own coping strategies when dealing with stress, including seeking support and advice from others, and were less likely to dwell on negative emotions or turn to drugs, alcohol or smoking.

However not everyone is in agreement on the issue of resilience - or the questions around the potential downsides of greater mental health awareness.

Dr Shari McDaid, head of policy and evidence (Scotland and Northern Ireland) at the Mental Health Foundation, argues that any suggestion that increased awareness is to blame for rising rates of mental health problems is "misleading".

She points out that for someone to qualify for treatment for mental ill-health, they must meet a clinical threshold and the support they receive must have been judged to be of benefit.

Rather, greater awareness has led to better "mental health literacy", in her view, which in turn has given people the tools to recognise and manage day-to-day emotions.

"What we need to do is work harder at preventing young people's mental distress from escalating into disorder - and we can do this through a whole-of-society approach that creates mentally healthy communities, schools and workplaces, as well as by fostering young people's personal resilience," she says.

"The two approaches go hand in hand."

From Covid to the great rewiring

Dr McDaid argues that the current generation of children and young adults face a unique set of challenges, pointing out they were the toddlers and infants of the 2008 financial crisis and have also lived through the divides around Brexit as well as the Covid-19 pandemic during their formative years.

"We know adverse events are cumulative - the more you experience the more likely you are to struggle," she says.

Social media also plays a part. While it has benefits, Dr McDaid points out that cyber-bullying and body image pressures, which can be exacerbated on social media, cause additional stress.

"There has always been unrealistic images… but social media has complicated things further," she adds.

Social psychologist Jonathan Haidt argues that advents in the digital world have led to a "great rewiring of childhood", in which children are spending less time socialising in person and more time glued to their screens. In his book The Anxious Generation, he suggests that this affects self-esteem and personal connections, which are crucial to good mental health.

But Prof Danese says that social media usage alone cannot "wholly explain" why mental health problems have become widespread.

It is, he argues, more likely to "amplify" problems rather than cause them. "The causes [of the rise in mental health problems] are complex and I'm not sure we fully understand them."

And it is the cumulative effect of a great many challenges, rather than one in isolation, that creates a perfect storm.

As one young person puts it: "From social media platforms that make us more isolated and anxious, to underfunded mental health services that are on the brink of collapse and a global climate crisis that puts our future at risk - it's no wonder that young people are struggling to stay positive."

'Like putting a plaster on a wound'

Adele Zeynep Walton is 25 years old and has written extensively about the negative impact of the online era on her generation's mental health, including in her book, Logging Off: The Human Cost of Our Digital World.

"While individual resilience can be a great tool to protect us from the severity of the challenges we face and help us bounce back from the struggles of everyday life, to say it can fix the problems facing young people today is like putting a plaster on a gaping wound," she argues.

Instead, she believes the answer lies in tackling the addictive and toxic nature of social media platforms and investing in community spaces - as well as listening to young people themselves.

"What young people need is the recognition that the world we live in today makes it difficult to thrive as a young person and a genuine effort from those in power to tackle those barriers to wellbeing at the root."

Adam Jones, a policy and public affairs manager at mental health charity Young Minds, is also wary of the term resilience, which he argues can be used in a "stigmatising" way.

But he does share concerns that the current approach is "over-medicalised".

More than 600,000 young people aged 15 to 25 in England were prescribed anti-depressants in 2023-24, according to NHS England, and thousands more are believed to have been prescribed other drugs to treat conditions such as anxiety.

"Drug treatment can be useful for some, but clinical guidelines are clear that it should not be the first-line treatment for most," says Mr Jones.

Hamza Dar, a 26-year-old wellness influencer from Manchester who shares mental health advice with his followers on TikTok and Instagram under the name Humz D, agrees there needs to be changes in the way support is provided. He suggests, among other things, that children in schools should be taught strategies like meditation from year one.

Nonetheless, he argues, young people are already well aware of the importance of resilience.

"[It] has become a vital characteristic that every young person has had to embody just to navigate and survive in a world like this."

The role of others: social resilience

Prof Danese is quick to stress that he is not arguing young people do not need support. Instead, he suggests they perhaps just need a different sort of help to that which is currently on offer – alongside earlier identification of those at risk of developing the most serious mental health problems.

For Prof Danese, the true meaning of resilience isn't what it may at first appear. Emotional resilience, he says, isn't just about the individual coping by themselves, but about the backing they receive from friends, family and community too, whether through community centres, sporting opportunities and social events.

But some of these opportunities have been lost, he says, nodding to a withdrawal of funding in the past and the closure of some networks that can provide support to young people.

Mr Jones agrees, arguing young people should be offered greater access to activities that connect them with their community and build friendships. He also says there needs to be non-clinical support for issues such as housing and employment as well as more more personalised therapies.

There are examples of projects offering this kind of joined-up help, often in partnerships between councils, charities and, sometimes, the NHS.

Mr Jones points to The Nest in south London and the Young Person's Advisory Service in Merseyside as two schemes that take a flexible approach, offering a diverse range of support, including employment training, budget and benefits advice.

The problem is that more generally, the current prevailing approach embedded across most of the NHS is not conducive to bringing networks together in this way.

"We need to rethink the mental health system for young people in its entirety," argues Mr Jones.

So, perhaps the question at the heart of the mental health crisis is less about whether young people are resilient enough - but whether they can access sufficient support to become so.

Additional reporting by Tara Mewawalla

Top image credit: Getty

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Upcoming changes to stamp duty will "motivate" first-time buyers to buy a property, according to the Halifax.

The average price of a UK home ended 2024 close to the £300,000 mark, the UK's biggest mortgage broker said.

Its calculations suggested UK house prices increased by 3.3% when comparing the end of the year to the start, although the average value dipped slightly in December.

It means the average home now costs £297,166, it added.

The figures come a few days after rival lender, the Nationwide, said that the UK housing market had been "remarkably resilient" in 2024, with a 4.7% increase in prices at the end of the year compared with the start.

The two lenders use their own mortgage data, and have slightly differing criteria when calculating house prices, so the Nationwide puts the average property price at almost £270,000.

Both lenders do not include buyers who purchase homes with cash, or buy-to-let deals, in their estimates. Cash buyers account for about a third of housing sales.

The Halifax estimate of the average home now costing close to £300,000 will be met with dismay by many first-time buyers, but comes in the context of sharp differences in prices in different parts of the country.

However, Amanda Bryden, head of mortgages at the Halifax, said stamp duty changes in April would give prospective first-time buyers "even greater motivation to get on the housing ladder and bring any home-buying plans forward".

"Mortgage affordability will remain a challenge for many," she said.

"However, providing employment conditions don't deteriorate markedly from a more recent softening, buyer demand should hold up relatively well and, taking all this into account, we're continuing to anticipate modest house price growth this year."

Stamp duty will affect market

Housing experts expect sales to increase over the next few months, ahead of the stamp duty changes, before falling away afterwards.

House buyers in England and Northern Ireland will start paying stamp duty on properties over £125,000, instead of over £250,000 at the moment.

First-time buyers currently pay no stamp duty on homes up to £425,000, but this will drop to £300,000 in April.

Alice Haine, analyst at Bestinvest, said: "This will deliver a particularly heavy hit to first-time buyers who will not only need to raise enough money for a deposit but also enough to cover the higher tax bill."

There is also an expectation of a steady reduction in interest rates during 2024, potentially starting with a cut in February, which could mean lenders cutting the cost of new fixed mortgage deals in anticipation.

However, Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey recently said "the world is too uncertain" to make accurate predictions of when interest rates will fall, and by how much.

Ways to make your mortgage more affordable

• Make overpayments. If you still have some time on a low fixed-rate deal, you might be able to pay more now to save later.
• Move to an interest-only mortgage. It can keep your monthly payments affordable although you won't be paying off the debt accrued when purchasing your house.
• Extend the life of your mortgage. The typical mortgage term is 25 years, but 30 and even 40-year terms are now available.

Read more here.

Warning: This story contains distressing details.

Just before New Year, 21-year-old Shatha al-Sabbagh was out buying chocolate for her family's children from a shop in Jenin, in the occupied West Bank.

The "fearless" journalism student – who wanted to shed light on the suffering of the Palestinians – was with her mother, two young nephews and another relative.

"She was laughing and saying we'll be up all night tonight," her mother recalls.

Then she was shot in the head.

For Shatha's mother Umm al-Motassem, the pain is still raw. She stops to take a breath.

"Shatha's eyes were wide open. It looked like she was staring at me while lying on her back with blood gushing from her head.

"I started screaming, 'Stop shooting! My daughter is dead. My daughter is dead.'"

But the shooting lasted for around 10 minutes. Shatha died in a pool of her own blood.

Shatha's family holds the Palestinian Authority's (PA) security forces fully responsible for her killing, saying their area is controlled by the PA.

"It couldn't have been anyone other than PA... because they have such a heavy presence in our neighbourhood - no-one else could come or go," she told the BBC.

But the PA blames "outlaws" - the term they use for members of the Jenin Battalion, made up of fighters from armed groups including Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) and Hamas.

The PA exercises limited self-rule in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

It launched a major security operation in the refugee camp in Jenin last month targeting the armed groups based there, which they see as a challenge to their authority. Nearly four weeks on, it continues.

The Jenin Battalion is accused of blowing up a car in the camp and carrying out other "illegal activities".

"We have confiscated large numbers of weapons and explosive materials," says the PA's Brig Gen Anwar Rajab.

"The aim is to clear the camp from the explosive devices that have been planted in different streets and alleyways... These outlaws have crossed all red lines and have spread chaos."

Gen Rajab also accuses Iran of backing and funding the armed groups in the camp.

The Jenin Battalion denies links to Iran. In a recent video posted on social media, spokesman Nour al-Bitar said the PA was trying to "demonise" them and "tarnish their image", adding that fighters would not give up their weapons.

"To the PA and President Mahmoud Abbas, why has it come to this?" he asked, holding shrapnel from what he claimed was a rocket-propelled grenade fired at the camp by security forces.

The PA, led by President Abbas, was already unpopular among Palestinians dissatisfied by its rejection of armed struggle and its security co-ordination with Israel.

This anger intensified with the PA's crackdown on the armed groups in the camp, which has been unprecedented in its ferocity and length.

Israel sees those groups as terrorists, but many Jenin locals consider them to be a form of resistance to the occupation.

"These 'outlaws' that the PA is referring to – these are the young men who stand up for us when the Israeli army raids our camp," says Umm al-Motassem.

At least 14 people have been killed in the crackdown, including a 14-year-old, according to the Palestinian health ministry.

Now many Jenin locals say they fear the PA as much as they fear Israel's military raids. Shatha al-Sabbagh's death has only renewed their contempt.

Before she was killed, Shatha shared several posts on social media showing the destruction from the PA operation in Jenin - as well as Israeli raids on the camp last year.

Other posts showed pictures of armed young men who were killed in the fighting, including her brother.

Her killing was condemned by Hamas, which identified her brother as a slain member of the group's armed wing, the Izzedine al-Qassam Brigades.

The group described her "murder... in cold blood" as part of an "oppressive policy targeting the Jenin camp, which has become a symbol of steadfastness and resistance".

Mustafa Barghouti, who leads the political party Palestinian National Initiative, sees the fighting in Jenin as a consequence of the divisions between the main Palestinian factions - Fatah, which makes up most of the PA, and Hamas, which has governed Gaza since 2007.

"The last thing Palestinians need is to see Palestinians shooting each other while Israel crushes everyone," he says.

Inside the camp, residents say daily life has ground to a halt.

Water and electricity supplies have been cut off and families suffer from a lack of food, bitterly cold weather and relentless gun battles.

Locals who spoke to us asked for their names to be changed, saying they feared reprisals by the PA.

"Things are dire here. We can't move freely in the camp," says Mohamed.

"All the bakeries, the restaurants and shops are closed. The restaurant I work in opens for a day and closes for 10. When it is open, no-one comes.

"We need milk for the children, we need bread. Some people can't open their doors because of the continuous shooting."

The UN humanitarian agency, the OCHA, has called for an investigation into what it describes as human rights violations by the PA forces.

Gen Rajab said some of the "outlaws" who had "hijacked" the Jenin camp had been arrested and that others with pending cases would be brought to justice.

But Mohamed describes the PA's operation - with innocent people caught in the crossfire - as "collective punishment".

"If they want to go after outlaws, that doesn't mean they should punish the whole camp. We want our lives back."

Even going out to get food or water is a risk, says 20-year-old Sadaf.

"When we go out, we say our final prayers. We prepare ourselves mentally that we may not come back.

"It's very cold. We've taken down the doors in our home to use as firewood just to keep warm."

The BBC has heard similar accounts from four residents in the camp.

My conversation with Sadaf is interrupted by the sound of gunfire. It is unclear where it is from or who is firing. It starts and stops several times.

"Warning shots maybe," she suggests, adding it happens sometimes when PA forces are changing shifts.

Sadaf continues describing the camp, with "rubbish filling the streets and almost going into homes". More gunfire can be heard.

Sadaf's mother joins the call. "Listen to this... Can anyone sleep with this sound in the background?

"We sleep in shifts now. We're so scared they might raid our homes. We're as scared of this operation as we are when the Israeli soldiers are here."

People say security forces have deliberately hit electricity grids and generators, leaving the camp in a blackout.

The PA again blames "outlaws" - and insists it has brought in workers to fix the grid.

The armed groups want to "use the people's suffering to pressure the PA to stop the operation", says Gen Rajab. He says the security operation will continue until its objectives are met.

Gen Rajab says the PA's goal is to establish control over the Jenin camp and ensure safety and stability.

He believes stripping the armed groups of control would take away Israel's excuse to attack the camp.

In late August, the Israeli army conducted a major nine-day "counter-terrorism" operation in Jenin city and the camp, which resulted in severe destruction.

At least 36 Palestinians were killed - 21 from Jenin governorate - according to the Palestinian health ministry.

Analysts say that the PA is trying to reassert its authority in the West Bank and show the US it is capable of taking a role in the future governance of Gaza.

"What would be the harm in that?" says Gen Rajab.

"Gaza is part of the Palestinian state. Gaza and the West Bank are not separate entities. There's no Palestinian state without Gaza. The president [Mahmoud Abbas] has said that and that is our strategy."

But Barghouti says this approach is an "illusion". "All you need is to listen to what [Benjamin] Netanyahu says," he adds.

Under the Israeli prime minister's vision for a post-war Gaza, Israel would control security indefinitely, and Palestinians with "no links to groups hostile to Israel" - so none of the existing major Palestinian political parties - would run the territory.

But the US, Israel's major ally, wants the PA to govern Gaza after the war. Netanyahu has previously ruled out a post-war role for the internationally backed PA.

For the residents of Jenin camp, there has been no let-up in the violence and loss.

"The PA say they're here for our safety. Where's the safety when my daughter was killed? Where's the safety with the non-stop shooting?" Umm al-Motassem cries.

"They can go after the 'outlaws' but why did my daughter have to die? Justice will be served when I know who killed my daughter," she says.

Rescuers in India are racing against time to bring out miners trapped inside a flooded coal mine in the north-eastern state of Assam.

Three of the nine men inside were feared dead, Reuters reported, after the state government said rescue teams had spotted some bodies they have been unable to reach.

The men were trapped on Monday morning after water flooded the rat-hole mine, which is a narrow hole dug manually to extract coal.

Despite a ban on such mining in India since 2014, small illegal mines continue to be operational in Assam and other north-eastern states.

Divers, helicopters and engineers have been deployed to help rescue the trapped men and the state and national disaster response forces are also aiding efforts.

On Monday evening, Assam Director General of Police GP Singh had said that authorities were ascertaining the exact number of people trapped.

Reports said more than a dozen miners had managed to escape and initial reports suggested that the "numbers would be in single digits".

The mine is located in the hilly area of Dima Hasao district.

Senior police official in the district, Mayank Kumar Jha, told Reuters that the area was very "remote" and "difficult to reach".

Mine-related disasters are not uncommon in India's northeast.

In December 2018, at least 15 men were trapped in an illegal mine in the neighbouring state of Meghalaya after water from a nearby river flooded it.

Five miners managed to escape but the rescue efforts for the others continued until the first week of March the following year. Only two bodies were recovered.

In January 2024, six workers were killed after a fire broke out in a rat-hole coal mine in Nagaland state.

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The US has added several Chinese technology companies, including gaming and social media giant Tencent and battery maker CATL, to a list of businesses it says work with China's military.

The list serves as a warning to American companies and organisations about the risks of doing business with Chinese entities.

While inclusion does not mean an immediate ban, it can add pressure on the US Treasury Department to sanction the firms.

Tencent and CATL have denied involvement with the Chinese military, while Beijing said the decision amounted to "unreasonable suppression of Chinese companies".

The Department of Defense's (DOD) list of Chinese military companies, which is formally known as the Section 1260H list, is updated annually and now includes 134 firms.

It is part of Washington's approach to counteracting what it sees as Beijing's efforts to increase its military power by using technology from Chinese firms, universities and research programmes.

In response to the latest announcement Tencent, which owns the messaging app WeChat, said its inclusion on the list was "clearly a mistake."

"We are not a military company or supplier. Unlike sanctions or export controls, this listing has no impact on our business," it said in a statement to Reuters news agency.

CATL also called the designation a mistake and said it "is not engaged in any military related activities."

"The US's practices violate the market competition principles and international economic and trade rules that it has always advocated, and undermine the confidence of foreign companies in investing and operating in the United States," said Liu Pengyu, a spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in Washington.

The Pentagon had come under pressure from US lawmakers to add some of the firms, including CATL, to the list.

This pressure came as US car making giant Ford said it would invest $2bn (£1.6bn) to build a battery plant in Michigan. It has said it plans to license technology from CATL.

Ford did not immediately respond to a BBC request for comment.

The announcement comes as relations between the world's two biggest economies remain strained.

Meanwhile, President-elect Donald Trump, who has previously taken a tough stance against Beijing, is due to return to the White House this month.

The Pentagon was sued last last year by drone maker DJI and Lidar-maker Hesai Technologies over their inclusion on the list. They both remain on the updated list.

Ghana's former President John Mahama won last month's elections by a landslide but he will be under enormous pressure to meet the expectations of voters when he assumes office on Tuesday.

After more than three years of economic misery, Ghanaians want a quick fix.

Mahama swept back to power after eight years in opposition, running what political analyst Nansata Yakubu described as a "masterclass" in campaigning.

He defeated Vice-President Mahamudu Bawumia by 56.6% of votes to 41.6% to notch up the biggest margin of victory by a candidate in 24 years.

Mahama's party, the National Democratic Congress (NDC), also managed to land an overwhelming majority in parliament, securing 183 seats out of 276.

They are one seat short of the two-thirds majority needed to pass laws and approve budgets and contracts without the vote of MPs from the other side of the political divide.

The result of one parliamentary seat is yet to be declared because of discrepancies. Four other seats are being challenged in court by the NDC.

But voter turnout was lower than in the 2020 election, especially in some of the heartlands of Bawumia's New Patriotic Party (NPP), suggesting some people there - disillusioned with its performance in government - stayed at home.

As Mahama's supporters celebrated his victory, Belinda Amuzu - a teacher in the northern city of Tamale, a stronghold of Mahama - summed up their hopes.

"I'm expecting the new government to change the economy, so that the hardship will come down. He should also prosecute corrupt officials so that it will be a lesson to others," she told the BBC.

"The hardship" has become a common phrase in Ghana since the economy hit rock-bottom in 2022, causing a cost-of-living crisis that shredded Bawumia's reputation as an "economic whizz-kid" - and led to his defeat at the hands of Mahama.

However, during his state of the nation address on Friday, outgoing President Nana Akufo Addo said he was leaving behind a recovered economy.

"We are handing over the country with gross international reserves of almost $8bn (£6.4bn). This is more than the $6.2bn my administration inherited in 2017," he said.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has disbursed about $1.9bn to support the country's economic recovery since Ghana signed onto the programme in 2022.

However, opposition MPs disagree with Akufo Addo's assessment.

"The people of Ghana have already given their verdict on the true state of the nation and that verdict was very clear. Economic hardship, huge debt overhang, high youth unemployment, hopelessness and more," said minority MP Emmanuel Armah Kofi Boah.

Ghanaian economist Prof Godfred Bokpin told the BBC the challenges facing the next government were huge.

"What Ghana needs right now is credible leadership, lean government and efficiency in public service delivery. Without that, there cannot be a future," he said.

Mahama has promised to bring down the size of the cabinet from more than 80 to around 60, but Prof Bokpin argued it should be even smaller while political analyst Dr Kwame Asah-Asante stressed the need for appointments to be on merit rather than loyalty.

Mahama will be flanked by former Education Minister Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang, who is set to become Ghana's first female vice-president.

Dr Yakubu said her appointment was not one of "tokenism" and she was not someone who could be "manipulated".

"We have a fantastic first female vice-president in Prof Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang," she told the BBC Focus on Africa podcast.

Mahama served his first four-year term as president after winning in 2012, but lost his re-election bid in 2016 as Nana Akufo-Addo rose to power with Bawumia as his running-mate.

Dr Yakubu said Mahama contested the 2016 election on his track record in building roads, schools and hospitals but voters rejected him, as their mantra then was: "We don't eat infrastructure."

But, she said, during the Covid pandemic voters came to appreciate the infrastructure his government had built, especially hospitals.

This - along with the fact that the economy had plunged into a deep crisis under the current government, forcing it to seek a $3bn (£2.4bn) bailout from the IMF - led to Mahama being re-elected, Dr Yakubu added.

She told the BBC that Mahama would now be expected to fulfil his campaign promise to create jobs in order to bring down the unemployment rate of almost 15%, and to ease the cost-of-living crisis by scrapping some taxes - or what Ghanaians call "nuisance taxes".

Mahama has promised to make Ghana a "24-hour economy" through the creation of night-time jobs in both the public and private sectors. He said he would give businesses tax incentives to stay open at night and reduce electricity prices for them.

But his critics have doubts, pointing out that Ghana plunged into its worst electricity crisis during his first term and the power cuts were so bad that Mahama joked at the time that he was known as "Mr Dumsor" - "dum" means "off" and "sor" means "on" in the local Twi language.

He has pledged to abolish several taxes - including the much-criticised electronic levy on mobile transactions and the one on the carbon emissions produced by petrol or diesel-powered vehicles.

Prof Bokpin said he doubted the Mahama administration would be able to fulfil its promises.

"They have not done the cost-benefit analysis. There's no budgetary space to translate those promises into actuals," he said.

Prof Bokin believes that complete economic recovery and growth will take a long time.

He said: ''If you're talking about economic transformation and inclusive productivity growth, you're looking at probably 15 years and beyond of doing the right things conistently.

"In Ghana we are unable to do the right thing consistently for long. We do the right things in between elections and then we mess up.''

But Mahama is confident he will prove his critics wrong, saying he intends to renegotiate the conditions of the IMF loan so money is freed up for "social intervention programmes" in a country where 7.3 million people live in poverty.

In an interview ahead of the election, Mahama told the BBC the IMF wanted "a certain balance" in government finances.

"If you're able to cut expenditure, and you're able to increase revenue and increase non-tax revenue coming in, you'll be able to create a balance," he said.

Dr Asah-Asante said Mahama's experience as former president would stand him in good stead to navigate Ghana through choppy waters.

"Of course, he is likely to encounter difficulties, but he has what it takes to turn things around," the analyst added.

Apart from the economy, corruption is one of the biggest issues facing Ghana but not everyone is convinced that Mahama will be able to tackle the scourge.

Mahama's previous stint in government - as vice-president and president - was plagued by corruption allegations, although he has consistently denied any wrongdoing.

In 2020, a UK court had found that aviation giant Airbus had used bribes to secure contracts with Ghana for military planes between 2009 and 2015.

An investigation was then started in Ghana, but the Office of the Special Prosecutor, in a decision announced just months before the election, concluded there was no evidence that Mahama was involved in any corrupt activities himself.

The outgoing government has also been dogged by corruption allegations, including over the purchase of ambulance spare parts at a cost of $34.9m and a controversial national cathedral project in which $58m has been spent without any progress in building it.

Mahama promised his government would tackle corruption, and ensure that officials were prosecuted for wrongdoing.

"We are thinking about special courts," he told the BBC.

Mahama has already set up what he calls Operation Recover All Loot (Oral), aimed at investigating state funds and assets allegedly stolen by outgoing government officials.

Dr Asah-Asante said Mahama should demand financial accountability from the outgoing government during a handover phase so that "whatever has gone wrong, he will be able to right" as soon as his government takes office next month.

The analyst added that Mahama, who will be inaugurated on Tuesday when President Akufo-Addo steps down after his two terms in office, had no choice but to meet the expectations of Ghanaians - or else they would "punish his government the way they have punished the NPP".

Mahama succinctly acknowledged this in his victory speech, saying: "Expectations of Ghanaians are very high, and we cannot afford to disappoint them.

"Our best days are not behind us; our best days are ahead of us. Forward ever - backwards never."

• The former president set to lead Ghana once more
• Ghana becomes fifth African nation to see opposition victory this year
• WATCH: The deadly dig for Ghana's gold

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

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

At least 32 people have been confirmed dead after a major earthquake struck China's mountainous Tibet region on Tuesday morning, Chinese state media reported.

The earthquake that hit Tibet's holy Shigatse city around 09:00 local time (01:00 GMT) had a magnitude of 7.1 and a depth of 10 kilometres (six miles), according to data from the US Geological Survey, which also showed a series of aftershocks in the area.

Tremors were also felt in neighbouring Nepal and parts of India.

Earthquakes are common in the region, which lies on a major geological fault line.

Shigatse is considered one of the holiest cities of Tibet. It is the traditional seat of the Panchen Lama, a key figure of Tibetan Buddhism whose spiritual authority is second only to the Dalai Lama.

Chinese state media reported the earthquake as having a slightly lesser magnitude of 6.8, causing "obvious" tremors and leading to the collapse of many houses.

Social media posts show collapsing buildings and there have been several strong aftershocks.

"After a major earthquake, there is always a gradual attenuation process," Jiang Haikun, a researcher at the China Earthquake Networks Center, told CCTV.

While another earthquake of around magnitude 5 may still occur, Jiang said, "the likelihood of a larger earthquake is low".

The Chinese air force has launched rescue efforts and drones to the affected area, which sits at the foot of Mount Everest and where temperatures are well below freezing.

Both power and water in the region have been cut off.

While tremors were felt in Nepal, no damage or casualties were reported, a local official in Nepal's Namche region, near Everest, told AFP.

Tibet's earthquake bureau told the BBC on Tuesday that they were unable to provide estimates on casualties as they were still verifying the numbers.

The region, which lies on a major fault line where the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates collided, is home to frequent seismic activity. In 2015, a 7.8 magnitude earthquake near Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal, killed nearly 9,000 people and injured over 20,000.

North Korea has fired what appears to be an intermediate-range ballistic missile towards the sea to its east, South Korea's military said, in what is Pyongyang's first missile launch in two months.

The missile flew 1,100km before falling into the sea, the military said, adding that it "strongly condemns" this "clear act of provocation".

The launch comes as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken visits Seoul for talks with some of South Korea's key leaders.

Earlier on Monday, Blinken met with acting president Choi Sang-mok, where he described the alliance between Washington and Seoul as a "cornerstone of peace and stability on the Korean peninsula".

South Korea's military says it has strengthened surveillance for the North's future missile launches and is "closely sharing information" on today's launch with the US and Japan.

Today's launch also comes amid political chaos in South Korea, which has embroiled the country for weeks after suspended President Yoon Suk Yeol's short-lived martial law attempt in December.

Yoon, who was stripped of his presidential powers after lawmakers voted to impeach him, now faces arrest. The constitutional court is also deliberating whether he should be removed from office.

Pyongyang previously mocked Yoon's shock martial law declaration as an "insane act" and accused Yoon of "brazenly brandishing blades and guns of fascist dictatorship at his own people".

The international community considers North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un a dictator. Kim's family has ruled the hermit nation for decades by developing and promoting a cult of personality.

The last time Pyongyang fired missiles was in November, a day before the US presidential election, when it launched at least seven short-range ballistic missiles off its east coast.

Earlier that week, the US had flown a long-range bomber during trilateral military drills with South Korea and Japan in a show of power, drawing condemnation from Kim's sister Kim Yo Jong.

At least 32 people have been confirmed dead after a major earthquake struck China's mountainous Tibet region on Tuesday morning, Chinese state media reported.

The earthquake that hit Tibet's holy Shigatse city around 09:00 local time (01:00 GMT) had a magnitude of 7.1 and a depth of 10 kilometres (six miles), according to data from the US Geological Survey, which also showed a series of aftershocks in the area.

Tremors were also felt in neighbouring Nepal and parts of India.

Earthquakes are common in the region, which lies on a major geological fault line.

Shigatse is considered one of the holiest cities of Tibet. It is the traditional seat of the Panchen Lama, a key figure of Tibetan Buddhism whose spiritual authority is second only to the Dalai Lama.

Chinese state media reported the earthquake as having a slightly lesser magnitude of 6.8, causing "obvious" tremors and leading to the collapse of many houses.

Social media posts show collapsing buildings and there have been several strong aftershocks.

"After a major earthquake, there is always a gradual attenuation process," Jiang Haikun, a researcher at the China Earthquake Networks Center, told CCTV.

While another earthquake of around magnitude 5 may still occur, Jiang said, "the likelihood of a larger earthquake is low".

The Chinese air force has launched rescue efforts and drones to the affected area, which sits at the foot of Mount Everest and where temperatures are well below freezing.

Both power and water in the region have been cut off.

While tremors were felt in Nepal, no damage or casualties were reported, a local official in Nepal's Namche region, near Everest, told AFP.

Tibet's earthquake bureau told the BBC on Tuesday that they were unable to provide estimates on casualties as they were still verifying the numbers.

The region, which lies on a major fault line where the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates collided, is home to frequent seismic activity. In 2015, a 7.8 magnitude earthquake near Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal, killed nearly 9,000 people and injured over 20,000.

Russia claims that its forces have captured the front-line town of Kurakhove in eastern Ukraine's Donetsk region.

The town has borne the brunt of Russian advances in recent months and is a stepping-stone to the key logistical hub of Pokrovsk.

Ukraine has not acknowledged the fall of Kurakhove, which is 35km (21 miles) south of Pokrovsk.

Fierce fighting has also been under way in Russia's Kursk region in recent days after Ukraine launched a counter-attack on Sunday.

An image taken from social media and supplied by the Reuters news agency appears to show a soldier holding up a Russian flag in Kurakhove. The image has not been verified by the BBC.

Viktor Trehubov, spokesperson for Ukraine's Khortytsia group of forces, told Reuters news agency that, as of Monday morning, Ukrainian forces were still engaging Russian troops inside Kurakhove.

Kurakhove is linked to Pokrovsk by roads that are part of the infrastructure to move troops and supplies along the front line.

The taking of Kurakhove would allow the Russians to go north to attack Pokrovsk from a new direction, analyst Roman Pohorily said.

Russia's defence ministry also claimed on Monday that the village of Dachenske, which about 8km south of Pokrovsk, had been captured by its forces.

Kyiv's forces are reportedly suffering from manpower shortages and have been losing ground in the east of Ukraine in recent months, as Russian troops advance.

US President Joe Biden has called the exiled candidate for Venezuela's opposition, Edmundo González, "the true winner" of the country's presidential election last July after meeting him at the White House.

In a post on social media, Biden said Venezuela deserved a "peaceful transfer of power".

González fled to Spain in September after turmoil following Venezuela's election, in which incumbent President Nicolás Maduro claimed victory - something disputed by González and many sections of the international community.

Caracas reacted to the meeting with fury, calling it "grotesque" and accusing Biden of backing a violent anti-democratic project, Reuters news agency reports.

Maduro is due to be re-inaugurated on Friday.

González, currently exiled in Spain, says July's presidential election was rigged and says he himself actually won it.

The opposition has called for mass protests this week, while the Maduro government offering a $100,000 (£81,000) reward for information leading to the arrest of González.

The voting tallies - a detailed official breakdown of the votes from each polling station - have been at the centre of the dispute over who won the election.

The government-aligned National Electoral Council declared Maduro the winner but failed to provide the tallies to back up its claim.

The opposition, which with the help of accredited election witnesses collected and published more than 80% of the voting tallies, says these prove that González was the overwhelming winner.

The UN Human Rights Committee in December ordered Venezuela "to refrain from destroying" the voting tallies from July's election.

North Korea has fired what appears to be an intermediate-range ballistic missile towards the sea to its east, South Korea's military said, in what is Pyongyang's first missile launch in two months.

The missile flew 1,100km before falling into the sea, the military said, adding that it "strongly condemns" this "clear act of provocation".

The launch comes as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken visits Seoul for talks with some of South Korea's key leaders.

Earlier on Monday, Blinken met with acting president Choi Sang-mok, where he described the alliance between Washington and Seoul as a "cornerstone of peace and stability on the Korean peninsula".

South Korea's military says it has strengthened surveillance for the North's future missile launches and is "closely sharing information" on today's launch with the US and Japan.

Today's launch also comes amid political chaos in South Korea, which has embroiled the country for weeks after suspended President Yoon Suk Yeol's short-lived martial law attempt in December.

Yoon, who was stripped of his presidential powers after lawmakers voted to impeach him, now faces arrest. The constitutional court is also deliberating whether he should be removed from office.

Pyongyang previously mocked Yoon's shock martial law declaration as an "insane act" and accused Yoon of "brazenly brandishing blades and guns of fascist dictatorship at his own people".

The international community considers North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un a dictator. Kim's family has ruled the hermit nation for decades by developing and promoting a cult of personality.

The last time Pyongyang fired missiles was in November, a day before the US presidential election, when it launched at least seven short-range ballistic missiles off its east coast.

Earlier that week, the US had flown a long-range bomber during trilateral military drills with South Korea and Japan in a show of power, drawing condemnation from Kim's sister Kim Yo Jong.

Under growing pressure from his own party, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced he will step down and end his nine-year stretch as leader.

Trudeau said he would stay on in office until his Liberal Party can choose a new leader, and that parliament would be prorogued - or suspended - until 24 March.

"This country deserves a real choice in the next election and it has become clear to me that if I'm having to fight internal battles, I cannot be the best option in that election," he said during a press conference Monday.

Trudeau's personal unpopularity with Canadians had become an increasing drag on his party's fortunes in advance of federal elections later this year.

"Last night, over dinner, I told my kids about the decision that I'm sharing with you today," he told the news conference in Ottawa.

"I intend to resign as party leader, as prime minister, after the party selects its next leader through a robust nationwide competitive process," he said.

The president of the Liberal Party, Sachit Mehra, said a meeting of the party's board of directors would be held this week to begin the process of selecting a new leader.

Who might replace Trudeau as Liberal Party leader?

Why the Trudeau era has come to an end now

What happens next for Canada?

In a statement, he added: "Liberals across the country are immensely grateful to Justin Trudeau for more than a decade of leadership to our Party and the country."

"As Prime Minister, his vision delivered transformational progress for Canadians," he said, citing programmes his government has implemented like the Canada Child Benefit and the establishment of dental care and pharmacare coverage for some medication.

Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre said "nothing has changed" following Trudeau's resignation.

"Every Liberal MP and Leadership contender supported EVERYTHING Trudeau did for 9 years, and now they want to trick voters by swapping in another Liberal face to keep ripping off Canadians for another 4 years, just like Justin," Poilievre wrote on X.

Trudeau, 53, had faced growing calls to quit from inside his Liberal Party, which ramped up in December when deputy prime minister and long-time ally Chrystia Freeland abruptly resigned.

In a public resignation letter, Freeland cited US President-elect Donald Trump's threats of tariffs on Canadian goods, and accused Trudeau of not doing enough to address the "grave challenge" posed by Trump's proposals.

Trump has promised to impose a tax of 25% on imported Canadian goods - which economists have warned would significantly hurt Canada's economy - unless the country takes steps to increase security on its shared border.

Trudeau said Monday that he had hoped Freeland would have continued as deputy prime minister, "but she chose otherwise".

Canada has since announced that it will implement sweeping new security measures along the country's US border in response to the threat.

In an online post, Trump claimed that pressure over tariffs led to Trudeau's resignation and repeated his jibe that Canada should become "the 51st State".

"If Canada merged with the U.S., there would be no Tariffs, taxes would go way down, and they would be TOTALLY SECURE from the threat of the Russian and Chinese Ships that are constantly surrounding them," he wrote.

Since 2019, the Liberal Party has governed as a minority party.

Following Freeland's resignation, Trudeau lost the backing of parties that had previously helped keep the Liberals in power - the left-leaning New Democrats, who had a support agreement with the Liberals, and the Quebec nationalist party, Bloc Quebecois.

The largest opposition party, the Conservatives, have maintained a significant two-digit lead over the Liberals in polls for months - suggesting that if a general election were held today, the Liberals could be in for a significant defeat.

Liberals will now choose a new leader to take the party into the next election, which must be held on or before 20 October.

A senior government official told the BBC that the race is an open contest, and that the Prime Minister's Office will fully stay out of the process, leaving it to Liberal Party members to decide their future.

Speaking to reporters, the Bloc Quebecois leader Yves-François Blanchet suggested that an early election be called once the Liberals choose their new leader.

End of the Trudeau era

Trudeau is the son of Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, who dominated the country's politics in the 1970s and '80s.

The younger Trudeau became prime minister after the Liberal Party won a sweeping majority in 2015 amid a promise to usher in a new, progressive era of "Sunny Ways".

His record includes a commitment to gender equality in his cabinet, which continues to be 50% women; progress on reconciliation with Indigenous people in Canada; bringing in a national carbon tax; implementing a tax-free child benefit for families; and legalising recreational cannabis.

Assembly of First Nations National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak praised Trudeau's track record on indigenous issues following his resignation, saying in a statement that he "has taken meaningful steps to address issues that matter to First Nations".

"While much work remains, these actions have laid a foundation for future governments to build upon."

Clouds began to hang over Trudeau's government in recent years, which weathered a series of often self-inflicted scandals, including a controversy over a deal with a Canadian firm facing corruption charges and photos that emerged of the prime minister wearing brownface makeup.

Vaccine mandates and other restrictions were also met with fierce backlash by some Canadians, leading to the Freedom Convoy truck protests in early 2022. Trudeau eventually used unprecedented emergency powers to remove the protesters.

As Canada began to emerge from the pandemic, housing and food prices skyrocketed, and his government pulled back on ambitious immigration targets as public services began to show strain.

By late 2024, Trudeau's approval rating was at its lowest - just 22% of Canadians saying they thought he was doing a good job, according to one polling tracker.

In Ottawa, a small group of protestors danced outside Parliament Hill in celebration of his resignation.

One passer-by, however, said he thinks things were fine under Trudeau's watch.

"I'm a carpenter," Hames Gamarra, who is from British Columbia, told the BBC. "I mind my own business, I get my wages, I pay the bills. It's been OK."

Another Canadian, Marise Cassivi, said it feels like the end of an era. Asked if she feels any hints of sadness, she replied: "No."

"It's the right thing."

Warning: This story contains distressing details.

Just before New Year, 21-year-old Shatha al-Sabbagh was out buying chocolate for her family's children from a shop in Jenin, in the occupied West Bank.

The "fearless" journalism student – who wanted to shed light on the suffering of the Palestinians – was with her mother, two young nephews and another relative.

"She was laughing and saying we'll be up all night tonight," her mother recalls.

Then she was shot in the head.

For Shatha's mother Umm al-Motassem, the pain is still raw. She stops to take a breath.

"Shatha's eyes were wide open. It looked like she was staring at me while lying on her back with blood gushing from her head.

"I started screaming, 'Stop shooting! My daughter is dead. My daughter is dead.'"

But the shooting lasted for around 10 minutes. Shatha died in a pool of her own blood.

Shatha's family holds the Palestinian Authority's (PA) security forces fully responsible for her killing, saying their area is controlled by the PA.

"It couldn't have been anyone other than PA... because they have such a heavy presence in our neighbourhood - no-one else could come or go," she told the BBC.

But the PA blames "outlaws" - the term they use for members of the Jenin Battalion, made up of fighters from armed groups including Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) and Hamas.

The PA exercises limited self-rule in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

It launched a major security operation in the refugee camp in Jenin last month targeting the armed groups based there, which they see as a challenge to their authority. Nearly four weeks on, it continues.

The Jenin Battalion is accused of blowing up a car in the camp and carrying out other "illegal activities".

"We have confiscated large numbers of weapons and explosive materials," says the PA's Brig Gen Anwar Rajab.

"The aim is to clear the camp from the explosive devices that have been planted in different streets and alleyways... These outlaws have crossed all red lines and have spread chaos."

Gen Rajab also accuses Iran of backing and funding the armed groups in the camp.

The Jenin Battalion denies links to Iran. In a recent video posted on social media, spokesman Nour al-Bitar said the PA was trying to "demonise" them and "tarnish their image", adding that fighters would not give up their weapons.

"To the PA and President Mahmoud Abbas, why has it come to this?" he asked, holding shrapnel from what he claimed was a rocket-propelled grenade fired at the camp by security forces.

The PA, led by President Abbas, was already unpopular among Palestinians dissatisfied by its rejection of armed struggle and its security co-ordination with Israel.

This anger intensified with the PA's crackdown on the armed groups in the camp, which has been unprecedented in its ferocity and length.

Israel sees those groups as terrorists, but many Jenin locals consider them to be a form of resistance to the occupation.

"These 'outlaws' that the PA is referring to – these are the young men who stand up for us when the Israeli army raids our camp," says Umm al-Motassem.

At least 14 people have been killed in the crackdown, including a 14-year-old, according to the Palestinian health ministry.

Now many Jenin locals say they fear the PA as much as they fear Israel's military raids. Shatha al-Sabbagh's death has only renewed their contempt.

Before she was killed, Shatha shared several posts on social media showing the destruction from the PA operation in Jenin - as well as Israeli raids on the camp last year.

Other posts showed pictures of armed young men who were killed in the fighting, including her brother.

Her killing was condemned by Hamas, which identified her brother as a slain member of the group's armed wing, the Izzedine al-Qassam Brigades.

The group described her "murder... in cold blood" as part of an "oppressive policy targeting the Jenin camp, which has become a symbol of steadfastness and resistance".

Mustafa Barghouti, who leads the political party Palestinian National Initiative, sees the fighting in Jenin as a consequence of the divisions between the main Palestinian factions - Fatah, which makes up most of the PA, and Hamas, which has governed Gaza since 2007.

"The last thing Palestinians need is to see Palestinians shooting each other while Israel crushes everyone," he says.

Inside the camp, residents say daily life has ground to a halt.

Water and electricity supplies have been cut off and families suffer from a lack of food, bitterly cold weather and relentless gun battles.

Locals who spoke to us asked for their names to be changed, saying they feared reprisals by the PA.

"Things are dire here. We can't move freely in the camp," says Mohamed.

"All the bakeries, the restaurants and shops are closed. The restaurant I work in opens for a day and closes for 10. When it is open, no-one comes.

"We need milk for the children, we need bread. Some people can't open their doors because of the continuous shooting."

The UN humanitarian agency, the OCHA, has called for an investigation into what it describes as human rights violations by the PA forces.

Gen Rajab said some of the "outlaws" who had "hijacked" the Jenin camp had been arrested and that others with pending cases would be brought to justice.

But Mohamed describes the PA's operation - with innocent people caught in the crossfire - as "collective punishment".

"If they want to go after outlaws, that doesn't mean they should punish the whole camp. We want our lives back."

Even going out to get food or water is a risk, says 20-year-old Sadaf.

"When we go out, we say our final prayers. We prepare ourselves mentally that we may not come back.

"It's very cold. We've taken down the doors in our home to use as firewood just to keep warm."

The BBC has heard similar accounts from four residents in the camp.

My conversation with Sadaf is interrupted by the sound of gunfire. It is unclear where it is from or who is firing. It starts and stops several times.

"Warning shots maybe," she suggests, adding it happens sometimes when PA forces are changing shifts.

Sadaf continues describing the camp, with "rubbish filling the streets and almost going into homes". More gunfire can be heard.

Sadaf's mother joins the call. "Listen to this... Can anyone sleep with this sound in the background?

"We sleep in shifts now. We're so scared they might raid our homes. We're as scared of this operation as we are when the Israeli soldiers are here."

People say security forces have deliberately hit electricity grids and generators, leaving the camp in a blackout.

The PA again blames "outlaws" - and insists it has brought in workers to fix the grid.

The armed groups want to "use the people's suffering to pressure the PA to stop the operation", says Gen Rajab. He says the security operation will continue until its objectives are met.

Gen Rajab says the PA's goal is to establish control over the Jenin camp and ensure safety and stability.

He believes stripping the armed groups of control would take away Israel's excuse to attack the camp.

In late August, the Israeli army conducted a major nine-day "counter-terrorism" operation in Jenin city and the camp, which resulted in severe destruction.

At least 36 Palestinians were killed - 21 from Jenin governorate - according to the Palestinian health ministry.

Analysts say that the PA is trying to reassert its authority in the West Bank and show the US it is capable of taking a role in the future governance of Gaza.

"What would be the harm in that?" says Gen Rajab.

"Gaza is part of the Palestinian state. Gaza and the West Bank are not separate entities. There's no Palestinian state without Gaza. The president [Mahmoud Abbas] has said that and that is our strategy."

But Barghouti says this approach is an "illusion". "All you need is to listen to what [Benjamin] Netanyahu says," he adds.

Under the Israeli prime minister's vision for a post-war Gaza, Israel would control security indefinitely, and Palestinians with "no links to groups hostile to Israel" - so none of the existing major Palestinian political parties - would run the territory.

But the US, Israel's major ally, wants the PA to govern Gaza after the war. Netanyahu has previously ruled out a post-war role for the internationally backed PA.

For the residents of Jenin camp, there has been no let-up in the violence and loss.

"The PA say they're here for our safety. Where's the safety when my daughter was killed? Where's the safety with the non-stop shooting?" Umm al-Motassem cries.

"They can go after the 'outlaws' but why did my daughter have to die? Justice will be served when I know who killed my daughter," she says.