For months now, Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has been asked variations of the same question: "Will you step down?"

But though he vowed to stay on as Liberal Party leader - despite deepening frustrations amongst voters and a political rival surging in the polls - even the self-described "fighter" could not withstand the growing chorus of members of his own party calling for him to resign.

"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," Trudeau conceded on Monday, announcing his resignation in front of Rideau Cottage, his official residence for most of the last decade.

He will stay on as prime minister until a new Liberal Party leader is chosen, at a date yet to be set by the party.

• Follow developments live
• Who might replace Trudeau as Liberal Party leader?

Trudeau swept to power nearly a decade ago, heralded as the fresh face of progressive politics.

In 2015, swayed by his youthful charisma and a hopeful political message, voters catapulted the Liberals from a third-place party to holding a majority of seats in parliament - unprecedented in Canadian political history.

Now, he remains the only leader left standing among peers when he came into office, from Barack Obama to Angela Merkel, Shinzo Abe and David Cameron, and is currently the longest-serving leader in the G7.

But in the years since his ascent to the global stage, and over two general elections, Trudeau and his brand have become a drag on the party's fortunes.

Paul Wells, a Canadian political journalist and the author of Justin Trudeau on the Ropes, recently told the BBC he believes Trudeau will be remembered "as a consequential" prime minister, notably for providing genuine leadership on issues like indigenous reconciliation and, to some extent, climate policy.

But he is also one "who felt increasingly out of touch with public opinion and was increasingly unable to adjust to changing times".

A series of ethics scandals began to take the sheen off the new government - he was found to have violated federal conflict of interest rules in the handling of a corruption inquiry – the SNC-Lavalin affair - and for luxury trips to the Bahamas.

In 2020, he faced scrutiny for picking a charity with ties to his family to manage a major government programme.

In a general election in 2019, his party was reduced to a minority status, meaning the Liberals had to rely on the support of other parties to stay in power.

A snap election in 2021 did not improve their fortunes.

More recently, Trudeau faced headwinds from cost of living increases and inflation that have contributed to election upsets around the world.

And after more than nine years in power, he is among Canada's longest serving prime ministers, and there is a general sense of fatigue and frustration with his government.

The writing was on the wall. Over the summer, voters rejected Liberal candidates in a handful of special elections in once-safe Liberal seats, leading to the beginning of internal party unrest.

Public opinion polls also reached new depths.

A survey conducted over the holidays by the Angus Reid Institute suggested the lowest level of support for the party in their tracking, dating back to 2014.

But the shock resignation of his key deputy, former Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, in mid-December proved to be the final straw, as members of his own party made it clear they no longer supported his leadership.

Flood warnings have been issued in parts of England, as wintry conditions continue to cause travel delays and school closures across the UK.

Major incidents have been declared in Lincolnshire and Leicester over flooding caused by heavy rains.

Yellow weather warnings for snow and ice have been issued in Northern Ireland, parts of Scotland and Wales and areas of northwest and southwest England until Tuesday morning.

Travel disruption caused by the cold and wet weather continued into Monday, with roads, railways and airports all affected.

A Met Office warning for snow and ice across large parts of Scotland came into force at 16:00 and will last until midday on Tuesday.

In Northern Ireland, a yellow alert for snow and ice warning will be in place until 11:00 on Tuesday.

A yellow alert for snow and ice across Wales and parts of northwest and southwest England took effect at 17:00 on Monday, lasting until 10:00 on Tuesday.

As of Monday afternoon, there were 176 flood warnings, meaning flooding is expected, and 311 flood alerts, meaning flooding is possible, in place across England.

In Wales, one flood warning and 13 flood alerts are in place.

A major incident has been declared in Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland due to severe flooding, with homes submerged and people left trapped in their vehicles by rising water.

Lincolnshire became the second county to declare a major incident over flooding.

Emma Hardy, the minister for water and flooding, told MPs that the country's flood defences were "in the worst condition on record". She blamed "years of under-investment" under the previous Conservative government.

"There are approximately 60,000 properties less well protected than if flood defences were at an optimal condition," she said, adding the government had pledged £2bn in the next two years to "build and maintain" flood defences.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said his thoughts were with all those affected and thanked "responders working hard to keep communities safe".

The coldest temperature of the UK winter so far was recorded on Sunday night, when the mercury hit -13.3C (8F) in Loch Glascarnoch in Scotland.

On Monday morning, snowy conditions forced schools across north-east Scotland and northern England to close on the first day back after the Christmas holidays.

Power had to be restored to thousands of homes and businesses in the north-east of England following outages caused by the cold snap, according to network operator Northern Powergrid.

Roads across the UK were impacted by the weather. Extensive flooding in Gloucester forced the M5 to close on Monday morning. The M25 in Surrey also closed after a lorry toppled over and blocked the carriageway.

Railway lines across the UK were affected by flooding, while Manchester Airport was again forced to shut two runways after heavy snow.

Looking ahead

Tonight the weather will feel quieter, as the area of low pressure which brought snow and rain this morning has cleared eastwards but it leaves behind it some very cold air and some wintry showers.

There will be a widespread frost with temperatures dropping widely below freezing and the risk of ice almost everywhere.

There will be frost not just within the warning areas but also further east, where there has been snowmelt and the ground is still wet from recent rain.

Various warnings are in force for snow and ice issued by the Met Office.

There will be further wintry showers blowing in on a north-westerly wind through the evening and overnight period. These showers could be frequent and fall as sleet or snow especially over the high ground where there could be some accumulations.

In northern and western Scotland, wintry showers with accumulations of 5-10cm over 200m are expected.

There will be further sporadic wintry showers in the same sort of areas tomorrow but for many it will be dry with some sunshine but just very cold with temperatures no higher than mid-single figures.

There is a separate warning in place for possible snow across southern counties of England on Wednesday valid from 09:00 until midnight which could be disruptive and produce as much as 2-5cm of snow fairly widely.

However, the forecast for this remains uncertain.

How is the warming climate changing winters?

The world has warmed by more than 1C since the pre-industrial era. UK winters are changing as a result.

While the climate continues to warm overall we will still see short-term extremes of both hot and cold weather – but cold extremes are likely to become fewer and further between.

Climate change will bring us more rain. A warmer atmosphere is able to hold more moisture so more intense rainfall is expected to become an increasing feature of UK winters, along with a higher risk of flooding.

US Vice-President Kamala Harris will on Monday preside over the official certification in Congress of the result of November's presidential election - a contest that she lost to Donald Trump.

The date also marks the fourth anniversary of a riot at the US Capitol, when Trump's supporters tried to thwart the certification of Democratic President Joe Biden's election victory in 2020. Normally the occasion is a mere formality.

Heavy security is in place in Washington DC, and Biden has vowed there will be no repeat of the violence on 6 January 2021 - which led to several deaths.

As lawmakers meet in Washington DC, heavy snow forecast for the American capital could prove disruptive.

House Speaker Mike Johnson has vowed to go ahead with the certification at 13:00 EST (18:00 GMT) in spite of the weather, telling Fox News: "Whether we're in a blizzard or not, we're going to be in that chamber making sure this is done."

As the current vice-president, Harris is required by the US Constitution to officially preside over the certification of the result, after Trump beat her in the nationwide poll on 5 November.

Trump won all seven of the country's swing states, helping him to victory in the electoral college, the mechanism that decides who takes the presidency. It will be Harris's job on Monday to read out the number of electoral college votes won by each candidate.

Trump's second term will begin after he is inaugurated on 20 January. For the first time since 2017, the president's party will also enjoy majorities in both chambers of Congress, albeit slender ones.

• Just how big was Trump's victory?
• What next for Harris, after her bruising election defeat?
• Who has joined Trump's top team?
• What happens to Trump's legal cases?

Trump's win marked a stunning political comeback from his electoral defeat in 2020, and a criminal conviction in 2024 - a first for a current or former US president.

Amid the dramatic recent presidential campaign, Trump also survived a bullet grazing his ear when a gunman opened fire at one of his rallies in Pennsylvania.

While away from the White House, he has faced a slew of legal cases against him - including over his attempts to overturn the 2020 result, which he continues to dispute.

Following his defeat that year, Trump and his allies made baseless allegations of widespread voter fraud - claiming the election had been stolen from them.

In a speech in Washington DC on certification day, 6 January 2021, Trump told a crowd to "fight like hell" but also asked them to "peacefully" make their voices heard.

He also attempted to pressurise his own vice-president, Mike Pence, to reject the election result - a call that Pence rejected.

• What Trump said in speech before riot

Rioters went on to smash through barricades and ransack the Capitol building before Trump ultimately intervened by telling them to go home. Several deaths were blamed on the violence.

Trump's pledges after returning to office include pardoning people convicted of offences over the attack. He says many of them are "wrongfully imprisoned", though has acknowledged that "a couple of them, probably they got out of control".

Conversely, Biden has called on Americans never to forget what happened.

"We must remember the wisdom of the adage that any nation that forgets its past is doomed to repeat it," Biden wrote in the Washington Post over the weekend.

For Trump's Republican Party, the new Senate Majority Leader John Thune has signalled a desire to move on, telling the BBC's US partner CBS News: "You can't be looking in the rearview mirror."

• How these new recruits will be vetted
• What Trump can and can't do on day one
• How undocumented migrants feel about deportations
• Can RFK Jr make America healthy again?
• What Trump's Ukraine envoy has said about war

The government has unveiled a new pledge to cut the list of patients waiting more than 18 weeks for NHS treatment in England by nearly half a million over the next year.

The plan, to be announced on Monday, will expand access to Community Diagnostic Centres and surgical hubs, alongside reforms designed to enhance patient choice and tackle inefficiencies.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said it would create millions more appointments and "deliver on our promise to end the backlogs".

The British Medical Association (BMA) has welcomed the plan but was sceptical about whether it could be delivered.

The government has billed the plan as an important milestone in a broader effort to reduce the number of people enduring long waits for appointments, procedures and surgeries.

Sir Keir added: "Greater choice and convenience for patients. Staff once again able to give the standard of care they desperately want to."

A key Labour election pledge, now included in the government's six main priorities, is for 92% of patients to begin treatment or be given the all-clear within 18 weeks by the end of this Parliament.

This has been an official NHS target for some time, but has not been met since 2015. Currently, only 59% of patients meet the 18-week target, with three million people waiting longer.

The latest promise is to reach 65% by March 2026, which, according to the government, would reduce the backlog by more than 450,000.

A network of Community Diagnostic Centres, which provide appointments such as scans and endoscopies in local neighbourhoods, will extend their opening hours to 12 hours a day, seven days a week.

The aim is to get patients treated more quickly, closer to home and without relying on hospitals. Officials say these centres will provide up to half a million extra appointments each year.

GPs will also be able, where appropriate, to refer patients directly to these centres without requiring a prior consultation with a senior doctor.

More surgical hubs will be created to focus on common, less complex procedures, such as cataract surgeries and some orthopaedic work. These hubs are ring-fenced from other parts of the hospital to ensure operating theatre time is not lost if there are emergency cases.

The new plan says that one million unnecessary appointments per year will be freed up for patients who need them. This will be made possible by abolishing automatic review appointments after treatment and only offering them to patients who request them.

Officials say the extra appointments created will be in addition to what was promised by Labour before the election. That pledge was for 40,000 more appointments per week, or two million a year, to be created within the first year.

This compares with a normal annual total of more than 100 million appointments. Ministers have confirmed that work on this pledge began soon after the election.

Plans for patients to use the NHS App to monitor and book consultations and test results, with greater control over where they are treated, have already been announced. The goal is to make the system more efficient and reduce the number of missed appointments.

NHS England Chief Executive Amanda Pritchard said: "The radical reforms in this plan will not only allow us to deliver millions more tests, appointments, and operations, but do things differently too – boosting convenience and putting more power in the hands of patients, especially through the NHS app."

The overall waiting list for NHS appointments, procedures, and surgeries in England stands at just under 7.5 million.

No target level has been set in the plan, but ministers say that the waiting list will inevitably fall as measures to meet the 18-week benchmark take effect.

The funding for NHS England has been set for the upcoming year, but the additional money needed to support extra activity in hospitals will be outlined in the government's spending review later this year.

Professor Phil Banfield, chair of the BMA Council, expressed doubt over whether the plan could be delivered.

"Doctors have been just as frustrated as their patients by the lack of facilities to deliver care and want to bring waiting lists down," he said.

"But the reality is that without the workforce to meet constantly rising demand, we will not see the progress we all hope for."

Ed Argar, Shadow Health and Social Care Secretary, said it was the Conservatives who "revolutionised" the diagnostic process by rolling out 160 Community Diagnostic Centres.

He said the government's plan is "another announcement that makes clear after 14 years in opposition, the Labour Party have no new ideas of their own for the NHS – despite promising change".

"Patients cannot wait for more dither and delay from the government who promised so much, and so far have delivered so little," he said.

Liberal Democrat MP and health spokesperson Helen Morgan said the plan for waiting lists could risk "putting hip replacements over heart attacks", unless the "crises" in emergency and social care were addressed.

A former HMP Wandsworth prison officer who was filmed having sex with an inmate has been jailed for 15 months.

Linda De Sousa Abreu was identified by senior prison staff after the clip was shared online and quickly went viral.

Judge Martin Edmunds KC said Abreu compromised her role as a prison officer, undermined discipline in the prison and put officers at increased risk.

Abreu, who was arrested at Heathrow Airport before attempting to board a flight to Madrid with her father, previously pleaded guilty to misconduct in public office.

The court was also told that a further recording of her performing a sex act with the same inmate was found on her prison-issue body-worn camera - and Abreu had admitted to having sex with that prisoner on an additional occasion.

The judge said the video which went viral was therefore not isolated and was part of repeated behaviour.

Isleworth Crown Court heard a partial written statement from the governor of Wandsworth Prison, Andrew Davy, in which he said Abreu's actions had taken "less than a day" to undo the many years of work on behalf of female staff in all-male prisons.

He said many female staff at Wandsworth report an increase in being "hit-on" by prisoners and are now "considered fair game".

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A taxi driver whose social media posts were a "catalyst" for riots which broke out after three girls were stabbed at a dance class in Southport has been jailed seven and a half years.

Andrew McIntyre, 39, set up a Telegram channel called "Southport Wake Up" in the immediate aftermath of the knife attack in the Merseyside town on 29 July last year, Liverpool Crown Court heard.

Arthur Gibson, prosecuting, said the case involved a "sinister aspect" of violence which took place in parts of the UK last summer.

McIntyre, of Rufford, near Ormskirk, Lancashire, had admitted encouraging violent disorder and possession of a knife in an earlier hearing.

The Southport Wake Up channel was identified by the group Hope Not Hate as a "catalyst for and origin of a series of posts" concerning incidents of violence, Mr Gibson said.

The court heard McIntyre shared content from a site called Tommy Robinson/Britain First/For Britain about a protest in Southport on 30 July.

He also posted a map after adding: "Mosque at the top of Hart St."

In a later post he wrote: "Rise Up English Lads. 8pm tomorrow St Luke's Rd Southport."

Hours before violence broke out in Southport on 30 July he posted a "clear threat to police", writing: "Message to All...Stand in our way, even if you're just doing your job...prepare to fall."

The day after the disorder, McIntyre posted: "Well done last night lads, to all you heavy hitters.

"Are you ready for Round 2???... Liverpool Mosque, West Derby Road, Friday 8pm."

Mein Kampf

McIntyre was working as a taxi driver when he was intercepted and arrested by police in Liverpool on 8 August, Mr Gibson said.

A knife was found hidden in the boot of his car and when his home was searched officers found weapons and a copy of Hitler's Mein Kampf, the court heard.

The defendant followed proceedings on a videolink from HMP Liverpool, where he has been remanded in custody, while his parents looked on from the public gallery of the courtroom.

Julian Nutter, defending, said: "His parents are horrified that he is in this predicament.

"He is a man of previous good character and has never come to the attention of the police before."

Among character references were letters to Judge Neil Flewitt KC from McIntyre's parents and a family friend, the court heard.

Mr Nutter said: "Those who have spoken on his behalf describe somebody who is very different from what we have heard from the prosecution about him."

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Treasury Minister Tulip Siddiq has referred herself to the PM's standards adviser after controversy over her links to her aunt's political movement in Bangladesh.

It comes after the minister was named last month in an investigation into claims her family embezzled infrastructure funding in the country.

Siddiq had faced growing calls for an investigation after reports in recent days she had lived in London properties linked to allies of her aunt, Sheikh Hasina, who was ousted as Bangladeshi prime minister in August.

In her letter to Sir Laurie Magnus, who polices standards among government ministers, she said: "I am clear that I have done nothing wrong."

In the letter sent on Monday, she wrote: "In recent weeks I have been the subject of media reporting, much of it inaccurate, about my financial affairs and my family's links to the former government of Bangladesh."

She said she had done nothing wrong, adding: "However, for the avoidance of doubt, I would like you to independently establish the facts about these matters.

"I will obviously ensure you have all the information you need to do this."

Sir Laurie, appointed in 2022, is responsible for advising Sir Keir Starmer on whether ministers are complying with government conduct rules.

These include stipulations about registering and declaring their financial interests, as well as broader guidelines on how they should behave as holders of public office.

News of her request was revealed by Sir Keir during a press conference on healthcare reform earlier.

The prime minister told reporters he had confidence in his minister, who as Economic Secretary to the Treasury is responsible for tackling economic crime, money laundering and illicit finance.

He added she had "acted entirely properly" by referring herself for investigation.

It is understood Siddiq has cancelled plans to join a government delegation to China this week, with a Labour source adding she wanted to be in the UK so she is "available to assist" Sir Laurie.

Bangladesh probe

The decision to write to the standards adviser comes after reports she had lived in properties linked to political supporters of her aunt's government.

Last month Siddiq was named in an investigation into claims Sheikh Hasina and her family embezzled up to £3.9bn from infrastructure spending in Bangladesh.

The investigation is based on a series of allegations made by Bobby Hajjaj, a senior political opponent of Hasina.

Court documents seen by the BBC show Hajjaj has accused Siddiq of helping to broker a deal with Russia in 2013 that overinflated the price of a new nuclear power plant in Bangladesh.

It is claimed that the deal inflated the price of the plant by £1bn, according to the documents - 30% of which was allegedly distributed to Siddiq and other family members via a complex network of banks and overseas companies.

A source close to Siddiq has previously described the allegations as "trumped up" and designed to damage her aunt, while Downing Street has said Siddiq denies any involvement in the claims accusing her of involvement in embezzlement.

Siddiq was elected MP for Hampstead and Highgate in 2015, the north London constituency neighbouring Sir Keir's seat of Holborn and St Pancras.

Hasina, who was in charge of Bangladesh for more than 20 years, was seen as an autocrat whose government ruthlessly clamped down on dissent.

Since fleeing the country Hasina has been accused of multiple crimes by the new Bangladeshi government.

Conservative shadow minister Matt Vickers said there were "clear questions" for Ms Siddiq to answer about allegations made about her.

"She must be held to the same standards as other ministers in his government, indications so far show that that may not be the case," he added.

Exactly 10 years after the jihadist gun-attack that killed most of its editorial staff, France's Charlie Hebdo has put out a special issue to show its cause is still kicking.

Things changed for France on 7 January 2015, marking in bloodshed the end of all wilful naivety about the threat of militant Islamism.

Brothers Said and Cherif Kouachi burst into a meeting at the Paris office of the satirical weekly, murdering its star cartoonists Cabu, Wolinski, Charb and Tignous.

Overall, 12 people were killed by the brothers, including a Muslim policeman on duty outside. Two days later they were cornered and shot dead by police at a sign-making business near Charles-de-Gaulle airport.

That same day saw Amedy Coulibaly – a one-time prison associate of Cherif – kill four Jews in a synchronised hostage-taking at a supermarket in eastern Paris. Coulibaly – who was then shot dead by police – had killed a policewoman the day before.

A decade on, Charlie Hebdo continues to bring out a weekly edition and has a circulation (print and online combined) of around 50,000.

It does so from an office whose whereabouts are kept secret, and with staff who are protected by bodyguards.

But in an editorial in Tuesday's memorial edition, the paper's main shareholder said its spirit of ribald anti-religious irreverence was still very much alive.

"The desire to laugh will never disappear," said Laurent Saurisseau – also known as Riss – a cartoonist who survived the 7 January attack with a bullet in the shoulder.

"Satire has one virtue that has got us through these tragic years – optimism. If people want to laugh, it is because they want to live.

"Laughter, irony and caricature are all manifestations of optimism," he wrote.

• Charlie Hebdo attack: Three days of terror
• Charlie Hebdo and its place in French journalism
• French terror attacks: Victim obituaries
• Paris attacks: 'I am not Charlie'

Also in the 32-page special are the 40 winning entries in a cartoon competition on the theme of "Laughing at God".

One contains the image of a cartoonist asking himself: "Is it okay to draw a picture of a man drawing a picture of a man drawing a picture of Muhammed?"

The Charlie Hebdo and Hypercacher attacks appear now as the overture to a grim and deadly period in modern France, during which – for a time – fear of jihadist terrorism became part of daily life.

In November 2015, there followed gun attacks at the Bataclan theatre and nearby bars in Paris. In the following July, 86 people were killed on the promenade in Nice.

Some 300 French people have died in Islamist attacks in the last decade.

Today the frequency has fallen sharply, and the defeat of the Islamic State group means there is no longer a support base in the Middle East.

But the killer individual, self-radicalised over the Internet, remains a constant threat in France as elsewhere.

The original pretext for the Charlie Hebdo murders – caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad – are now strictly off-limits to publications everywhere.

In 2020, a French teacher Samuel Paty was beheaded outside his school by a jihadist after he showed one of the Charlie cartoons in a discussion over freedom of speech.

And this week the trial opens in Paris of a Pakistani man who – a short time before Paty's murder – seriously injured two people with a butcher's cleaver at the Paris offices he thought were still being used by Charlie-Hebdo (in fact they had long since moved).

So as with every anniversary since 2015, the question once again being asked in France is: what - if anything - has changed? And what - if anything - survives of the great outpouring of international support, whose clarion call in the days after the murders was Je suis Charlie?

That was when a march of two million people through the centre of Paris was joined by heads of state and government from countries all over the world at the invitation of then President François Hollande.

Today, pessimists say the battle is over and lost. The chances of a humorous newspaper ever taking up the cudgel against Islam – in the way that Charlie Hebdo used regularly and scabrously to do against Christianity and Judaism – are zero.

Worse, for these people, is that parts of the political left in France are also now clearly distancing themselves from Charlie Hebdo, accusing it of becoming overly anti-Islam and adopting positions from the far-right.

Jean-Luc Melenchon, who leads the France Unbowed party, has accused the weekly of being a "bag-carrier for (right-wing magazine) Valeurs Actuels", and the Greens' Sandrine Rousseau said Charlie Hebdo was "misogynistic and at times racist".

This has in turn led to accusations aimed at the far-left that it has betrayed the free-speech spirit of Je suis Charlie in order to curry electoral support among French Muslims.

But speaking in the run-up to the anniversary, Riss – who counted the dead among his greatest friends and says he does not go through a day without reliving the moment of the attack – refused to renounce hope.

"I think [the Charlie spirit] is anchored more deeply in society than one might think. When you talk to people, you can see it's very much alive. It's a mistake to think it's all disappeared.

"It is part of our collective memory."

Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy has gone on trial in Paris, accused of taking millions of euros of illicit funds from the late Libyan leader Col Muammar Gaddafi to finance his 2007 election campaign.

In exchange, the prosecution alleges Sarkozy promised to help Gaddafi combat his reputation as a pariah with Western countries.

Sarkozy, 69, was the president of France from 2007 to 2012.

He has always denied the charges, saying they were brought against him by people with motivations to bring him down.

The investigation was opened in 2013, two years after Saif al-Islam, son of the then-Libyan leader, first accused Sarkozy of taking millions of his father's money for campaign funding.

The following year, Lebanese businessman Ziad Takieddine - who for a long time acted as a middleman between France and the Middle East - said he had written proof that Sarkozy's campaign bid was "abundantly" financed by Tripoli, and that the €50m (£43m) worth of payments continued after he became president.

Twelve other people - accused of devising the pact with Gaddafi - are standing trial along Sarkozy. They all deny the charges.

Sarkozy's wife, Italian-born former supermodel and singer Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, was charged last year with hiding evidence linked to the Gaddafi case and associating with wrongdoers to commit fraud, both of which she denies.

Since losing his re-election bid in 2012, Sarkozy has been targeted by several criminal investigations.

He also appealed against a February 2024 ruling which found him guilty of overspending on his 2012 re-election campaign, then hiring a PR firm to cover it up. He was handed a one-year sentence, of which six months were suspended.

In 2021, he was found guilty of trying to bribe a judge in 2014 and became the first former French president to get a custodial sentence. In December, the Paris appeals court ruled that he could serve his time at home wearing a tag instead of going to jail.

Sarkozy was not wearing the tag as he arrived in court in Paris on Monday morning.

However, that is only because the details of that sentence have yet to be worked out.

It is likely that in the course of this three-month trial over the so-called Libya connection, the former president will appear wearing the device.

The trial is set to continue until 10 April. If found guilty, Sarkozy faces up to 10 years in prison.

Four young Kenyan men who went missing just before the Christmas holidays have been found alive, family members and rights groups say.

Kenya has been gripped by a wave of disappearances, with the state-funded rights group saying that over 80 people have been abducted in the last six months.

The abductions generally target government critics and are widely believed to be the work of security agents, although the government has not admitted responsibility.

They began in June last year during nationwide anti-tax protests, but they increased in December, when AI-generated photos of the president in a coffin were widely shared.

Those released on Monday include 24-year-old student Billy Mwangi in Embu, in the central Mount Kenya region.

Local MP Gitonga Mukunji told journalists that Mr Mwangi "was whipped and beaten while in a dark room. He is traumatised".

His father said he was not able to discuss what he had gone through and had been taken to hospital.

"He came home around eight in the morning. He walked by himself - his mother and I saw him. We thank everyone who has prayed and supported him," he told the Daily Nation news site.

Last week, Mr Mwangi's father broke down in court as he pleaded for his son to be released.

A relative of 22-year-old Peter Muteti, who was seized in the capital on 21 December, told the BBC that he had been reunited with the family but was disoriented and unable to speak about the ordeal.

Amnesty International Kenya welcomed the releases and urged "the State to free all abductees and hold those responsible accountable".

• Kenya protesters traumatised by abductions - lawyer

Two weeks ago the police denied responsibility for the abductions carried out by men in plain clothes across the country, some of which were captured on CCTV.

On Monday the police released an update acknowledging the freeing of the abducted men, saying they were in already contact with one who had presented himself at a police station.

The police said investigations into all cases of missing people were underway.

Rights groups and other Kenyans have linked the abductions to a shadowy intelligence and counter-terrorism unit of the security forces.

Amid the public uproar, President William Ruto said last month: "We are going to stop the abductions so that our youth can live peacefully and have discipline", while urging parents to take care of their children.

Until now, no-one had been freed since he spoke on 27 December, with activists planning protests on Monday to push the government to act.

Two other youths - Ronny Kiplangat and Bernard Kavuli – have also been released, their families told local media.

Mr Kavuli, a content creator, was seized on the outskirts of the city in December, while Mr Kiplangat is the brother of satirical cartoonist Kibet Bull, who is still missing.

Kibet Bull is known for his silhouette cartoon memes critical of the president. Two others were seized after posting AI-generated images of the president in a coffin.

Police said that Mr Kavuli had been assisting them with their investigations after he had presented himself to a police station at Moi's Bridge in western Kenya.

A statement said that they would reach out to the three others "and their families and give them all the necessary support as we seek further information to assist ongoing investigations".

The Law Society of Kenya has filed a legal case against the state, demanding the immediate and unconditional release of seven individuals abducted last month, including those who have now been released.

The situation continues to stoke fear across the country, with parents worried about the safety of their children and activists vowing to maintain pressure until all missing persons are accounted for.

You may also be interested in:

• How a Ugandan opposition leader disappeared in Kenya and ended up in military court
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Exactly 10 years after the jihadist gun-attack that killed most of its editorial staff, France's Charlie Hebdo has put out a special issue to show its cause is still kicking.

Things changed for France on 7 January 2015, marking in bloodshed the end of all wilful naivety about the threat of militant Islamism.

Brothers Said and Cherif Kouachi burst into a meeting at the Paris office of the satirical weekly, murdering its star cartoonists Cabu, Wolinski, Charb and Tignous.

Overall, 12 people were killed by the brothers, including a Muslim policeman on duty outside. Two days later they were cornered and shot dead by police at a sign-making business near Charles-de-Gaulle airport.

That same day saw Amedy Coulibaly – a one-time prison associate of Cherif – kill four Jews in a synchronised hostage-taking at a supermarket in eastern Paris. Coulibaly – who was then shot dead by police – had killed a policewoman the day before.

A decade on, Charlie Hebdo continues to bring out a weekly edition and has a circulation (print and online combined) of around 50,000.

It does so from an office whose whereabouts are kept secret, and with staff who are protected by bodyguards.

But in an editorial in Tuesday's memorial edition, the paper's main shareholder said its spirit of ribald anti-religious irreverence was still very much alive.

"The desire to laugh will never disappear," said Laurent Saurisseau – also known as Riss – a cartoonist who survived the 7 January attack with a bullet in the shoulder.

"Satire has one virtue that has got us through these tragic years – optimism. If people want to laugh, it is because they want to live.

"Laughter, irony and caricature are all manifestations of optimism," he wrote.

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Also in the 32-page special are the 40 winning entries in a cartoon competition on the theme of "Laughing at God".

One contains the image of a cartoonist asking himself: "Is it okay to draw a picture of a man drawing a picture of a man drawing a picture of Muhammed?"

The Charlie Hebdo and Hypercacher attacks appear now as the overture to a grim and deadly period in modern France, during which – for a time – fear of jihadist terrorism became part of daily life.

In November 2015, there followed gun attacks at the Bataclan theatre and nearby bars in Paris. In the following July, 86 people were killed on the promenade in Nice.

Some 300 French people have died in Islamist attacks in the last decade.

Today the frequency has fallen sharply, and the defeat of the Islamic State group means there is no longer a support base in the Middle East.

But the killer individual, self-radicalised over the Internet, remains a constant threat in France as elsewhere.

The original pretext for the Charlie Hebdo murders – caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad – are now strictly off-limits to publications everywhere.

In 2020, a French teacher Samuel Paty was beheaded outside his school by a jihadist after he showed one of the Charlie cartoons in a discussion over freedom of speech.

And this week the trial opens in Paris of a Pakistani man who – a short time before Paty's murder – seriously injured two people with a butcher's cleaver at the Paris offices he thought were still being used by Charlie-Hebdo (in fact they had long since moved).

So as with every anniversary since 2015, the question once again being asked in France is: what - if anything - has changed? And what - if anything - survives of the great outpouring of international support, whose clarion call in the days after the murders was Je suis Charlie?

That was when a march of two million people through the centre of Paris was joined by heads of state and government from countries all over the world at the invitation of then President François Hollande.

Today, pessimists say the battle is over and lost. The chances of a humorous newspaper ever taking up the cudgel against Islam – in the way that Charlie Hebdo used regularly and scabrously to do against Christianity and Judaism – are zero.

Worse, for these people, is that parts of the political left in France are also now clearly distancing themselves from Charlie Hebdo, accusing it of becoming overly anti-Islam and adopting positions from the far-right.

Jean-Luc Melenchon, who leads the France Unbowed party, has accused the weekly of being a "bag-carrier for (right-wing magazine) Valeurs Actuels", and the Greens' Sandrine Rousseau said Charlie Hebdo was "misogynistic and at times racist".

This has in turn led to accusations aimed at the far-left that it has betrayed the free-speech spirit of Je suis Charlie in order to curry electoral support among French Muslims.

But speaking in the run-up to the anniversary, Riss – who counted the dead among his greatest friends and says he does not go through a day without reliving the moment of the attack – refused to renounce hope.

"I think [the Charlie spirit] is anchored more deeply in society than one might think. When you talk to people, you can see it's very much alive. It's a mistake to think it's all disappeared.

"It is part of our collective memory."

Justin Trudeau's nine years as Canadian prime minister is coming to an end after he announced he will step down as leader of the governing Liberal Party.

It means his party must now find a new leader to compete in a general election in which polls suggest they are heading to defeat.

Here are some of the people expected to enter the Liberal leadership race.

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Former Deputy PM Chrystia Freeland

The Toronto member of parliament is seen as one of the top contenders to replace the outgoing leader and became one of the most well-known members of Trudeau's team.

While she had long been seen as a trusted senior official in his inner circle, a rift with the prime minister's office led to her recent abrupt resignation in December.

Her criticism of Trudeau in her public resignation letter piled the pressure on him and made his departure seem inevitable.

Born to a Ukrainian mother in the western province of Alberta, the 56-year-old was a journalist before entering politics.

She entered the House of Commons in 2013 and two years later joined Trudeau's cabinet with a trade brief after he swept the party to power.

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As Minister of Foreign Affairs she helped Canada renegotiate a free trade deal with the US and Mexico.

She was later named deputy prime minister and minister of finance - the first woman to hold the job - and oversaw Canada's financial response to the Covid pandemic.

Quitting last month, she criticised Trudeau as insufficiently strong in his handling of Donald Trump's threat to levy US tariffs on Canadian goods.

A 2019 Globe and Mail profile said depending who you asked, Freeland is either a last, best hope for the liberal world order or an out-of-touch idealist.

Her steadfast support of Ukraine earned praise in some quarters but the Harvard-educated MP has had her share of critics, including Trump who recently called her "toxic".

Former central banker Mark Carney

Trudeau himself admitted that he had long been trying to recruit Mark Carney to his team, most recently as finance minister.

"He would be an outstanding addition at a time when Canadians need good people to step up in politics," he told reporters on the sidelines of a Nato conference in July 2024.

Carney, 59, who has been serving in recent months as a special adviser to Trudeau, has long been considered a contender for the top job.

The Harvard graduate has never held public office but has a strong economic background, serving at the top of both the Bank of Canada and the Bank of England.

He also brings with him expertise on environmental matters through his role as the United Nations special envoy on climate action, recently calling the goal of net zero "the greatest commercial opportunity of our time".

Carney is a champion of some Liberal policies that have been unpopular within the country's conservative circles like the federal carbon tax policy, the party's signature climate policy that critics argue is a financial burden for Canadians.

He has also already criticised Pierre Poilievre, the leader of the Conservative Party of Canada, saying his vision for the future of the country is "without a plan" and "just slogans".

"I'm the one in the conversation who's actually been in business, who actually is in business, and makes decisions," he said.

Anita Anand, transport minister

Anand is often touted as one of the more ambitious members of the Liberal caucus.

The 57-year-old lawyer entered the political scene in 2019 when she was elected to represent the riding of Oakville, just outside of Toronto.

An Oxford-educated academic, she has a background in financial market regulation and corporate governance.

She was immediately awarded the ministerial brief of public services and procurement, putting her at the helm of a mission to secure vaccines and personal protective equipment during the Covid pandemic.

Anand was then appointed minister of defence in 2021, leading Canada's efforts to provide aid for Ukraine in its war against Russia and overseeing a personnel crisis at the Canadian Armed Forces mired by sexual misconduct scandals.

When Anand was shuffled out of that department to oversee the Treasury Board, many saw it as a demotion and critics of Trudeau went as far as to speculate that it was punishment for her ambitions to one day lead the party.

In December, she was moved again during a cabinet shuffle, into the role of transport minister and minister of internal trade.

François-Philippe Champagne, minister of innovation, science and industry

The former businessman and international trade specialist is another Liberal minister said to be eyeing the party's top job.

But his journey through the ranks to a major portfolio was slower than Anand's.

Champagne, 54, entered the Commons in 2015 but since then has gone through international trade, foreign affairs and most recently the department of innovation, science and industry.

But there are several things that work in his favour. Champagne is from Quebec, a province whose voice has often been consequential in federal Canadian elections.

He has also been dubbed "Canada's Energizer Bunny" by some pundits, who have watched his enthusiasm as he travelled around the world under his innovation portfolio with a mission to sell all that is Canada-made.

And because of his business acumen, political watchers see him as a viable option for luring centrist Liberals back into the fold.

Mélanie Joly, minister of foreign affairs

Like Trudeau, Joly represents a Montreal-area riding.

To foreign leaders, the 45-year-old is a familiar face, having represented Canada on the world stage since 2021.

As the current foreign minister, she has taken several trips to Ukraine in a show of Canada's support. She travelled to Jordan to aid in the evacuation of Canadian citizens in the region when the Israel-Hamas war erupted.

Joly has also been at the heart of some of the government's greatest foreign policy challenges, including the diplomatic crisis sparked by the alleged assassination of a Sikh separatist leader on Canadian soil by Indian agents.

The Oxford-educated lawyer is a well-connected francophone politician who previously ran for mayor of Montreal.

She was tapped by Trudeau personally to run for a federal job in politics.

"He would periodically call me to say, 'Mélanie you need to run, we want you to run,'" Joly has said.

Senior advisers have hailed her ability to work a room of either seven or 700, and she has long held ambitions to run for Liberal party leader, close friends told Canadian magazine Macleans.

Dominic LeBlanc, minister of finance and intergovernmental affairs

LeBlanc, 57, is one of Trudeau's closest and most trusted allies.

Their friendship runs deep, with LeBlanc even babysitting Trudeau and his siblings when they were young.

He has a record of stepping into portfolios at difficult moments, including becoming finance minister within hours of Freeland's bombshell resignation.

LeBlanc also took on the tricky assignment of accompanying Trudeau to Mar-a-Lago in November to meet Trump.

The former lawyer has been a parliamentarian for more than two decades, having been first elected in 2000 to represent a riding in the Atlantic province of New Brunswick.

Like Trudeau, LeBlanc was born into a political family. His father served as a minister in the cabinet of Trudeau's fabled father, Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, and later as Canada's governor-general.

LeBlanc has shown previous ambitions to lead the party, running in 2008 but losing to Michael Ignatieff. He did not run again in the next leadership race, which was won by Trudeau.

He is in remission after cancer treatment and is known to be an affable and a strong political communicator.

Christy Clark, a former provincial premier

The former premier of British Columbia has expressed an interest in throwing her hat into the Liberal leadership ring.

In a statement in October, she said she was "would want to be part of the conversation on the future direction of the Liberal Party and of the country" if Trudeau stepped down.

Clark, 59, served as the leader of Canada's western-most province from 2011 to 2017, where she built a reputation of being able to balance environmental priorities while developing BC's energy industry.

She has repeatedly said in interviews in the past couple of years that Trudeau had become a drag on the federal Liberals.

She has also reportedly been taking French lessons, according to broadcaster Radio-Canada. A fluency in French is considered a prerequisite for federal politicians in Canada.