Fresh warnings have been issued by police forces and councils across the country after a rise in parking scams over the summer.

From fake text messages about unpaid tickets to tampered car park machines that secretly steal your card details, fraudsters are becoming increasingly creative.

BBC scams expert Nick Stapleton told Morning Live there are easy ways you can protect yourself so you don't fall victim to some of the most common tricks.

1. Check your fine has these three details

Genuine parking notices always contain certain details.

"Real parking fines will include vehicle registration, the time of the offence and the location it happened," Stapleton says.

"If it doesn't have these three things then it is a scam.

"A genuine fine will always come in writing and will be left on your windscreen, handed to you in person or arrive in the post."

There are three types of fines you may receive - a penalty charge notice issued by the council, a fixed penalty notice issued by police usually linked to offences such as speeding and a parking charge notice issued by a private company.

Parking charge notices "aren't technically fines, they're invoices for breaching parking rules", so you don't always have to pay them but "check carefully before refusing to pay".

2. Don't click on links in texts

If you get a text out of the blue saying you owe money for an unpaid parking ticket, stop before you click. One of the most common tricks is a fake text or email demanding payment for an unpaid fine.

These texts usually come with a link you are told to click on to pay the fine and "use urgent and threatening language to make you panic", Stapleton says.

Some scam texts might say your licence will be revoked if you don't pay for the ticket but "that's not how it works, you won't lose your license".

Some links in these scam texts take you to websites that look like official government ones.

If you're not sure a website is legitimate you can "click around on the other links".

"If you click through on other links on the page you'll notice that they don't work and that's a clear sign it's a clone site," says Stapleton.

3. Restart your device and change passwords

If you have clicked on a suspicious link, don't despair - but do these three things:

• Restart your device: A lot of the links allow a scammer to gain remote access to your device. If you restart your phone or laptop it will kill the connection

• Change passwords: If you've filled in your details on the link make sure you change your passwords to any accounts with money in

• Call your bank: Inform your bank's fraud department about the message, the link and what information you gave

You could also consider installing antivirus software then run a search to see if any malware has been installed.

4. Check for skimming devices on parking machines

A new scam, which is increasing according to the UK's national fraud reporting centre Action Fraud, targets people paying for parking at machines.

Fraudsters attach a physical device to a contactless payment reader on a parking machine and when you try to pay, the machine displays a "card declined" message.

"While you walk off to try another machine, the skimming device has already stolen your card details," Stapleton explains.

Here's how to check whether the machine has been tampered with:

• Look for an extra sticker: Check there is no extra sticker or item placed on top of the contactless payment button

• Verify Branding: Look for the correct logos and branding. Scammers often use stickers with mismatched logos

• Trust Your Instincts: If something looks or feels suspicious, do not use the machine

"Contactless readers should look like they're part of the machine. If something looks bolted on or mismatched, it's best not to risk it," he says. "Always trust your gut."

If you do feel like there's something not quite right with the machine you can pay in cash instead or through a parking app.

Watch Morning Live to get the full details on how to protect yourself from the scams

Bidders for Thames Water are prepared to fire key senior managers if necessary as part of their plan to restructure the stricken utility, the BBC understands.

Sources close to the deal accept that the government needs to be seen to be tough with a company that has been heavily fined for failing to reach required operational and environmental standards.

"If the government insists we need a management clear out – we can help with that," said one person close to the process.

That job would fall to a new board of directors headed by telecoms and regulator veteran Mike McTighe who has been in lengthy talks with Ofwat, the industry regulator, and the government.

Chris Weston, Thames Water's chief executive, was criticised by MPs for accepting a £195k bonus after just three months in the job.

Politicians also criticised the current board for paying bonuses to senior staff out of a £3bn emergency cash lifeline.

A consortium of investors who are owed £13bn of Thames' £17bn debt pile are also offering to sweeten a rescue proposal by providing approximately £1bn in extra funding through a combination of additional debt write-offs and fresh capital.

They are hopeful that a combination of more pain for them, more money for the company and potential axe-wielding at the top will persuade the government and the regulator that Thames is turning a new page.

The lenders have presented a new operational plan to Ofwat that would see over £9bn invested in upgrading its facilities over the next five years.

Although not specified in this document, the lenders are clear that they will need a "regulatory reset" which specifies new and less onerous targets on pollution and leakage than the company tried and failed to hit in the past.

A spokesman for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs told the BBC that the government would "always act in the national interest on these issues".

"The government has been clear that Thames Water must meet its statutory and regulatory obligations to their customers and to the environment. It is only right that the company is subject to the same consequences as any other water company," he said.

However, a recent review of the water sector by Sir John Cunliffe recommended a new regulatory framework that would establish "a formal regime to support the turnaround of poorly performing companies".

Chancellor Rachel Reeves has expressed her preference for "a market-based solution" rather than see the company collapse into government-supervised administration - a so-called Special Administration Regime (SAR) - which could leave taxpayers exposed to potential losses.

Consultants Teneo have estimated the cost to the Treasury of a SAR at £4.1bn.

A senior civil servant from the Treasury has been included in recent talks with the creditors.

However, the government has also stepped up preparations for that scenario in recent weeks by placing consultancy firm FTI on standby as special administrators if necessary.

Other potential bidders have expressed frustration that they have been locked out of advancing their own plans as the lenders have effective control of the company.

Executives on the lenders' bid team have told the BBC that time is running out for Thames as the longer it limps on, the harder any turnaround becomes.

"We have a matter of six to eight weeks before it goes into a special administration, and it goes in it could take years to come out," said one.

The probability of a lengthy SAR is questioned by some.

Infrastructure expert Prof Dieter Helm insists that with reduced debt, Thames is a viable asset that would attract bidders to a process that, if well designed, could be completed in a matter of weeks at little or no cost to the taxpayer.

What seems clear is that the long running crisis at Thames Water is coming to a head in the near future.

Thames Water has been contacted for comment.

A former US filmmaker has launched a High Court battle against an English council to gain control of the ancestral stately home he spent seven years trying to save from ruin.

Hopwood DePree has led an operation to safeguard historic Hopwood Hall in Middleton, Greater Manchester, since 2017, and says he complied with an agreement with Rochdale Borough Council that gave him the option to buy the building.

However, the council say he did not fulfil the conditions of the deal, and locked him out in November 2024.

DePree, who published a book called Downton Shabby in 2022 about his work to restore the hall, has now taken action in an attempt to be declared its legal owner.

'Shocking' conduct

DePree says his grandfather told him stories of "Hopwood Castle" as a child in Michigan, but that he only discovered the real hall existed while researching his family history in 2013.

Parts of the 60-room building date from the 1420s, but both direct heirs were killed in World War One and the last family members moved out in the 1920s.

It was derelict by the time DePree visited, and he says he was told in 2015 that it would be beyond repair in another five to 10 years.

He moved to the UK to spearhead the effort to save it, signing a deal with the council in 2017 saying he could buy the hall for £1 on the condition he gained planning permission to develop it.

DePree began work on the crumbling building and got planning permission in 2022 to refurbish it as an event and hospitality venue. He says he has spent £750,000 of his own money on the project.

But he says relations soured when the council's Rochdale Development Agency became more involved in 2024, and DePree's legal case accuses the agency of trying to "poison everything my team and I had worked so hard to achieve".

He claims the council stopped co-operating and went behind his back, and that their conduct has been "evasive, misleading and at times shocking".

A council spokesperson said: "We don't comment on ongoing legal discussions and don't intend to elaborate on previous statements we have made on this subject."

The council has previously said any sale would depend on DePree having "a commercially viable business model to secure the long term future of the hall".

Last November, the council said it had decided not to renew the option agreement after consultants said his plans were "unlikely to be able to secure future public or private funding".

At that time, a council spokesman said DePree "had not been able to produce a viable proposal, despite having had seven years to do so", which it said was a condition of the sale. The authority said it "had a responsibility to explore alternative options" in order to "protect the public monies invested to date".

In November, council leader Neil Emmott said: "Mr DePree was asked to meet a number of conditions when we entered into our agreement with him. We would be failing in our duty to protect our historic assets if we didn't hold Mr DePree to the terms of this agreement."

The council said it spent £557,000 between 2017 and 2024 for essential repairs, with almost £1m contributed by Historic England. The council said it was now spending a further £700,000 on roof repairs and a feasibility study.

According to DePree's legal documents, the council has also argued that the planning permission was insufficient to meet the terms for a sale under the agreement. He is disputing that.

He is also disputing whether he needed to provide a "viable" business model to comply with the conditions for a sale, and his court papers say he does have "a clear vision, a plan and the resources to rescue Hopwood Hall".

'No other choice'

DePree told BBC News he believes he has complied with his end of the agreement.

"When I took the project on, the hall was just a few years from completely falling down and becoming a ruin," he said.

"We worked so hard and poured everything into it. I moved countries. I got British citizenship. I left behind a life and sold my home. I went through so much with the belief that the council was being open and honest with me, and I trusted them."

He added: "Ultimately I had an agreement that I signed with them that I fulfilled. My lawyers feel that we fulfilled that, and the council went against that, and I felt that I had no other choice other than to file court proceedings against them."

DePree and his family are involved in property development, and he sold his home in the Hollywood Hills to help fund the project.

In his former life, DePree was an actor, writer, producer and director whose early attempts to make it big in Hollywood were depicted in low-budget documentary Rhinoskin: The Making of a Movie Star.

He wrote, directed and appeared in the well-received independent rom-com The Last Big Attraction, and produced the 2010 drama Virginia starring Jennifer Connelly and Ed Harris.

Chinese leader Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un stood publicly shoulder to shoulder for the first time on Wednesday, ahead of a massive military parade in central Beijing.

That parade, which marked 80 years since China's victory over Japan in World War Two, saw Beijing unveiling a range of new military hardware – including a new nuclear intercontinental ballistic missile, a new road-bound missile for delivering hypersonic weapons, a new laser weapon, and even "robotic dog" drones.

It comes at a time when Xi seeks to project Beijing's power on the international stage - not just as the world's second-largest economy, but also as a counterweight to the United States as Trump's tariffs rock the global economic and political order.

Five BBC correspondents assess the significance of Wednesday's parade – what it means, why it matters, and what the spectacle tells us about the "new world order".

An enduring image for China - and the world

By Laura Bicker, China correspondent

One of the most enduring images of this military parade took place before the first cannon was fired.

President Xi welcoming North Korea's Kim Jong Un with a long handshake, then moving on to greet Russia's Vladimir Putin before all three walked together to watch the parade, was sheer political theatre.

This was the first time all three leaders have been seen in public together, and they really picked their moment.

But it is this meeting, not just the weapons and troops on show, that appears to have grabbed the attention of Donald Trump.

Trump posted on Truth Social earlier, accusing Xi of conspiring against America with the others. The Chinese leader said in this speech that his country is on the right side of history.

Wednesdays parade was a choreographed spectacle of precision, power and patriotism.

Even the choir stood in perfectly even rows as they sang "without the Communist Party, there is no modern China".

The troops goose-stepped past in unison, and each strike of the ground echoed through the stands of 50,000 guests in Tiananmen Square.

Then came the big weapons, and the crowd reached for their phones. A new ICBM, laser weapons, even robotic dogs.

The parade finished on a crowd-pleasing fly past before thousands of doves and balloons were released into the skies over the capital.

This display to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War was not just a look at where China has been, or how far China has come.

It showcased where China is going: Xi playing the role of a global leader prepared to stand alongside two of the most sanctioned leaders in the world.

And at his feet, a military which is being built to rival the West.

Trump's out, Xi's in - and what that means for the West

By James Landale, diplomatic correspondent

China's show of geopolitical and now military power this week will hardly surprise Western leaders.

President Xi has long sought to put himself at the centre of a new world order – one that replaces the crumbling global systems established after World War Two.

But two things will send shivers down western diplomatic spines.

One is the speed with which China is filling the vacuum left by America's withdrawal from international norms and institutions.

A Chinese-led world order, one where territorial integrity and human rights are valued less than raw power and economic development, might prove uncomfortable for many western countries.

The way harsh US tariffs have pushed India, the world's biggest democracy, so quickly into the warm embrace of China, the world's biggest autocracy, will also be of concern.

One small crumb of comfort for the West is that the so-called "axis of upheaval" on show in Beijing is not united - and India, in particular, which was not represented at Wednesday's parade, is still at odds with China over territorial and other disputes.

The bottom line is that the economic nationalism and disruptive diplomacy of Donald Trump's America is giving China a huge diplomatic opportunity – and it's one Xi is seizing with open arms with his summit and parade.

A clear message to Donald Trump

By Steve Rosenberg, Russia editor

All the diplomacy (and the optics) in China this week was designed to send a clear message to the Trump administration.

So, you want to Make America Great Again, do you? It's America First, is it? Well, then, we'll offer an alternative to the US-led order.

That is why we saw the leaders of China, Russia and India smiling together at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit on Sunday and Monday.

It is why Vladimir Putin called Xi Jinping "a real friend", and the Chinese leader called his Russian counterpart "old friend" earlier this week.

And it is also why Xi Jinping, Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un appeared together at the military parade on Wednesday.

In short: in the geopolitical universe different powers are aligning as a counterweight to American domination.

This doesn't mean that all these countries and leaders are on the same wavelength. They are not. Differences remain.

But the direction of travel is clear.

As a headline in news outlet Komsomolskaya Pravda declared this week, in reference to Russia, China and India: "We will build a new world."

The weapons that worry the West

By Frank Gardiner, security correspondent

From massive, underwater torpedoes to state-of-the-art laser weapons that shoot down drones, China's latest military parade will now be broken down and analysed by Pentagon experts and defence officials around the world.

The PLA has embarked on an extensive military modernisation programme that has seen it catching up - and in some areas - overtaking the United States. Hypersonic missiles that travel at more than five times the speed of sound is one area where China leads the world.

Dr Sidharth Kaushal, a leading expert on missiles at the London think tank RUSI, highlights the YJ-17 - a hypersonic glide vehicle - and the YJ-19, a hypersonic cruise missile.

China has also been investing heavily in artificial intelligence and autonomous weapons. One example of these is the AJX002: a giant, 60-foot (18m), underwater nuclear-capable drone.

China's nuclear arsenal - numbering in the hundreds of missiles - still lags far behind those of Russia and the US who both have thousands, but it is rapidly increasing in size as well as finding innovative ways of delivering its warheads.

Donald Trump has rejected suggestions that the warming of relations between China, Russia and their allies poses a challenge to the US on the global stage.

The US president told reporters in the Oval Office that he had "a good relationship" with President Xi Jinping and that China "needs us more than we need them".

It comes as Xi prepares to host world leaders at a "Victory Day" parade in Beijing on Wednesday - a showcase of China's military might.

Xi will be joined by North Korea's Kim Jong Un and Russia's Vladimir Putin, viewed by some observers as a message to the Western nations that have shunned them.

• Russia's Putin hails 'unprecedented' ties with China at talks in Beijin
• North Korea's Kim arrives in Beijing with daughter

China has sought to position itself as a possible counterweight to the US since Trump's tariffs rocked the global economic and political order.

Trump has pitched his tariffs as essential to protecting American interests and industry. It appears that any diplomatic cost is something he is willing to pay.

Asked by the BBC if he believed Beijing and its allies were attempting to form an international coalition to oppose the US, Trump said: "No. Not at all. China needs us."

He added: "I have a very good relationship with President Xi, as you know. But China needs us much more than we need them. I don't see that at all."

Separately, in a radio interview on Tuesday, Trump said he was not concerned about the axis forming between Russia and China.

He told the Scott Jennings radio show that America has "the most powerful military forces in the world" and that "they would never use their military forces against us".

"Believe me, that would be the worst thing they could ever do," he said.

Elsewhere in the interview, Trump said he was "very disappointed" in Putin, after they failed to reach a peace deal for Ukraine during their meeting in Alaska last month.

"I'm very disappointed in President Putin, I can say that," Trump said, adding that the US "will be doing something to help people live" in Ukraine. He did not specify.

China has not criticised Putin's full-scale invasion and has been accused by the West of aiding Russia's war effort through its supply of dual-use materials and purchases of Russian oil. Beijing denies this.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia was engaged in a new troop build up along certain sectors of the frontline.

"[Putin] refuses to be forced into peace," Zelensky said in his nightly video address.

Russia's Vladimir Putin has thanked North Korean leader Kim Jong Un for the courage of his soldiers who have been fighting in Ukraine on the Russian side.

Kim, in response, said he was willing to do "everything I can to assist" Russia.

The two leaders met on Wednesday in Beijing as China held one of its largest ever military parades, which marked 80 years since the end of the Second World War in Asia.

Putin, who launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, said bilateral relations between Russia and North Korea are friendly and that Pyongyang's military helped to liberate the Kursk region.

"Your soldiers fought courageously and heroically," Putin told Kim during Wednesday's talks.

"I would like to note that we will never forget the sacrifices that your armed forces and the families of your servicemen have suffered."

Kim expressed his gratitude for the Russian leader's acknowledgement of North Korea's troops and said bilateral relations between the two countries had been "advancing across all areas" - referencing Pyongyang's involvement in the "joint struggle" with Russia in Ukraine.

"If there is any way we can assist Russia, we will certainly do it as a fraternal duty."

According to South Korea, the North has sent some 15,000 troops to aid Russia in its invasion, along with missiles and long-range weapons. In return, it is believed North Korea received food, money and technical help.

These soldiers have been involved in Moscow's efforts to recapture parts of western Kursk - where Ukrainians are defending a small area of territory captured during a surprise incursion in August - and are thought to have sustained heavy losses.

Western officials said in January that at least 1,000 had died in just three months. Two months later, Seoul lawmakers said they believed there were about 4,700 North Korean casualties, including 600 deaths, out of a total deployment of 15,000.

The North Korean troops, none of whom will have any previous combat experience, are believed to have spent their first weeks in Russia in training and then in support roles.

It is the third meeting in two years and at a time when Moscow and Pyongyang are deepening their co-operation.

Last June, Putin and Kim signed a deal pledging that Russia and North Korea will help each other in the event of "aggression" against either country.

At the time, Kim hailed the treaty as the "strongest ever". He reaffirmed this support a few weeks ago when he offered Moscow his "unconditional support" on the war in Ukraine.

Pyongyang first publicly acknowledged sending troops to Russia in April, months after Ukraine and the West revealed the large-scale troop movement from North Korea to the Russian-Ukrainian frontline.

Apart from soldiers, North Korea also promised to send thousands of workers to help rebuild Russia's war-torn Kursk region, Moscow's security chief said in June.

Last week during a special ceremony, the North Korean leader met families of soldiers killed fighting for Russia against Ukraine.

During the event, Kim said he was filled with "sorrow" at failing to bring the soldiers back alive, pledging to build a monument in their honour and to look after their children.

"I thought a lot about other martyrs' families who were not present [at the previous ceremony]... So, I had this meeting arranged as I wanted to meet and console the bereaved families of all the heroes and relieve them of their sorrow and anguish even a little," state news agency KCNA reported Kim as saying.

Warning: This article contains details that some readers may find distressing.

In the wake of his abduction on a highway in Tanzania's main city Dar es Salaam, social media activist Edgar Mwakabela, better known as Sativa, says he came close to death.

He describes in an interview with the BBC how, after kidnapping him on 23 June last year, his captors interrogated him and then ferried him across the country to the remote Katavi region near the Congolese border, more than 1,000km (600 miles) away.

Sativa says he was handcuffed, blindfolded and brutally beaten, including being struck repeatedly on his head, back and legs with the flat side of a machete.

"It was extremely painful."

He tells the BBC that those who abducted him wanted to know who was facilitating his activism, and why he was criticising the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party, in power since 1977.

Sativa believes those who held him were police officers or other operatives linked to the authorities.

However, the government denies that it targets critics of the state.

Sativa says that on the fourth day after being taken, the violence continued as his captors transported him to the Katavi National Park, full of dangerous wild animals, and dragged him towards a river.

He believes it was clear that his captors had no intention of letting him live.

Then, he says, came the chilling order shouted from a vehicle behind them: "Shoot him!"

A trigger was pulled. A bullet went through his skull. His jaw was shattered.

Sativa's captors left - he thought he had been left for dead.

As October's general election edges closer, abductions have become more common, mostly targeting anti-government critics and opposition voices.

Every other week, police or social media posts announce a missing person. Some are never found and others reappear with disturbing accounts of violence or torture – and some have been found dead.

Sativa's case offers a rare account from a survivor.

Despite suffering life-threatening injuries, he regained consciousness and crawled to a road where wildlife rangers rescued him.

He would require long and specialised treatment, and his survival has been described as "extraordinary".

The police did not respond to BBC requests for an interview, but in a video statement released to media houses in June, their spokesperson, Deputy Commissioner David Misime, said they do act on information about those missing and conduct an investigation.

The BBC has spoken to families of people reported missing and those who have died, and they have relayed their agony over missing loved ones.

Portrait artist Shedrack Chaula, 25, is among those still missing.

He has not been seen or heard from in over a year. In June 2024 he posted a TikTok video that went viral of him burning President Samia Suluhu's photo and insulting her.

He was arrested, convicted of cyber-harassment and released after paying a fine. A month later, he was abducted by unknown individuals.

"We don't know when or if he will be found. When he was arrested, at least we knew where he was. Now, even the authorities say they don't know," his father, Yusuf Chaula tells the BBC.

He says that in August 2024, three men arrived in a car with tinted windows and seized him. They did not identify themselves or explain why or where they were taking him.

"We have made every effort. We are exhausted. We visited every detention facility. We went to prisons and police stations at different levels - local, district and regional," he says.

The police have insisted that an investigation is in progress.

"If we knew where he is, or where he is being held, or even if we knew he had died and been buried somewhere, at least we'd have a grave to visit," Mr Chaula says mournfully, grappling with the torment of unanswered questions and the absence of closure.

In June, UN experts reported that over 200 enforced disappearances have been recorded in the country since 2019.

They expressed alarm over the "torture to silence opposition and critics" ahead of the elections, and called on the government to "immediately" stop it.

Rights groups Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch recently accused the government of being behind arrests, abuse and forced disappearances.

The authorities have denied the allegations.

The police have identified at least a dozen abduction cases since last year some of which have since been resolved, with many going back to 2019.

On 18 June, the police announced that investigations had led to the discovery of some victims who were still alive.

They added that some cases involved self-staged abductions, while others arose from romantic relationships gone sour, superstitious beliefs and property disputes.

"The police force urges relatives, friends and the public to remain calm as security forces continue their investigations to uncover the facts surrounding these incidents," Deputy Commissioner Misime said.

The president has urged the police force to end the troubling incidents of people going missing – a directive many Tanzanians hope will lead to justice.

In May, activist and opposition politician Mpaluka Nyangali, widely known as Mdude, was abducted from his home in Mbeya, southern Tanzania, in a violent incident witnessed by his wife and young child.

There were blood stains at the scene, showing the brutality of the attack.

Since then, members of the main opposition Chadema party have launched a search across Mbeya and have held prayer vigils demanding answers from the police, whom they suspect to be complicit in the incident.

To date, Mdude's wife, Siji Mbugi, has not heard from him.

"I beg for the release of my husband, I believe he is being held by police and the authorities. Mdude has done nothing. He has never stolen anything from anybody, I beg for his release. If he had issues then take him to court," she says.

On 9 July, the High Court in Mbeya dismissed a case that she filed over her husband's disappearance.

She had testified that armed individuals identifying themselves as police officers had stormed their home late at night and assaulted Mdude, before taking him away.

During the proceedings, Mbeya police admitted they were investigating the possibility that one of their officers may have played a role in the abduction of Mdude.

Activists have described the dismissal of the case as a major setback in the continuing struggle for justice for Tanzania's embattled opposition.

No arrests or prosecutions have been made in connection with incidents, although the police say investigations are under way.

Some activists from other countries in the region have also accused the Tanzanian authorities of targeting them.

Kenyan Boniface Mwangi and Ugandan Agather Atuhaire, have said that they were detained and sexually tortured after they arrived in Tanzania on 19 May to observe the trial of opposition leader Tundu Lissu, who faces treason charges.

Mwangi's and Atuhaire's whereabouts were unknown for several days. Both were abandoned near their countries' borders.

But Jumanne Muliro, the commander of the Dar es Salaam police special zone, told the BBC at the time that their allegations were "hearsay" and asked them to present evidence for investigations. They have since filed a case at the regional East African Court of Justice over the matter.

Their ordeal cast a spotlight on the issue of forced disappearances of government critics, opposition figures and human rights defenders in Tanzania.

"No-one is providing answers," says Maduhu William, an activist at the Legal and Human Rights Centre (LHRC), adding that security agencies routinely promise to conduct a thorough investigation but the matter ends there.

"At the end of the day we do not get feedback on what is happening to those [cases]," he says, citing the example of Ali Kibao, a senior Chadema official, who was killed last year after being kidnapped, beaten and doused with acid.

"Even President [Samia] ordered security forces in Tanzania to conduct a thorough investigation and submit a report to her for further action. But up to now, nothing has been heard," he says.

Boniface Mwabukusi, the president of the Tanganyika Law Society, says many people are afraid to come out and share their stories for fear of victimisation.

He says there is no free, independent system that can ensure proper justice.

"If you are in police custody and the same officers ask you to give a statement about your abduction, can you really go to them? You can't," he says.

"Most people, they leave it to God. They are afraid. They say if they pursue the matter, things will get worse".

You may also be interested in:

• Are East African governments uniting to silence dissent?
• 'Struggling to be alive': Kenyan activist speaks of 'sexual torture' in Tanzania
• Could this be the end of the road for Lissu, Tanzania's great survivor?
• Why Samia's hesitant reforms are fuelling Tanzanian political anger
• 'Manhandled and choked' - Tanzanian activist recounts abduction

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

Chinese leader Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un stood publicly shoulder to shoulder for the first time on Wednesday, ahead of a massive military parade in central Beijing.

That parade, which marked 80 years since China's victory over Japan in World War Two, saw Beijing unveiling a range of new military hardware – including a new nuclear intercontinental ballistic missile, a new road-bound missile for delivering hypersonic weapons, a new laser weapon, and even "robotic dog" drones.

It comes at a time when Xi seeks to project Beijing's power on the international stage - not just as the world's second-largest economy, but also as a counterweight to the United States as Trump's tariffs rock the global economic and political order.

Five BBC correspondents assess the significance of Wednesday's parade – what it means, why it matters, and what the spectacle tells us about the "new world order".

An enduring image for China - and the world

By Laura Bicker, China correspondent

One of the most enduring images of this military parade took place before the first cannon was fired.

President Xi welcoming North Korea's Kim Jong Un with a long handshake, then moving on to greet Russia's Vladimir Putin before all three walked together to watch the parade, was sheer political theatre.

This was the first time all three leaders have been seen in public together, and they really picked their moment.

But it is this meeting, not just the weapons and troops on show, that appears to have grabbed the attention of Donald Trump.

Trump posted on Truth Social earlier, accusing Xi of conspiring against America with the others. The Chinese leader said in this speech that his country is on the right side of history.

Wednesdays parade was a choreographed spectacle of precision, power and patriotism.

Even the choir stood in perfectly even rows as they sang "without the Communist Party, there is no modern China".

The troops goose-stepped past in unison, and each strike of the ground echoed through the stands of 50,000 guests in Tiananmen Square.

Then came the big weapons, and the crowd reached for their phones. A new ICBM, laser weapons, even robotic dogs.

The parade finished on a crowd-pleasing fly past before thousands of doves and balloons were released into the skies over the capital.

This display to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War was not just a look at where China has been, or how far China has come.

It showcased where China is going: Xi playing the role of a global leader prepared to stand alongside two of the most sanctioned leaders in the world.

And at his feet, a military which is being built to rival the West.

Trump's out, Xi's in - and what that means for the West

By James Landale, diplomatic correspondent

China's show of geopolitical and now military power this week will hardly surprise Western leaders.

President Xi has long sought to put himself at the centre of a new world order – one that replaces the crumbling global systems established after World War Two.

But two things will send shivers down western diplomatic spines.

One is the speed with which China is filling the vacuum left by America's withdrawal from international norms and institutions.

A Chinese-led world order, one where territorial integrity and human rights are valued less than raw power and economic development, might prove uncomfortable for many western countries.

The way harsh US tariffs have pushed India, the world's biggest democracy, so quickly into the warm embrace of China, the world's biggest autocracy, will also be of concern.

One small crumb of comfort for the West is that the so-called "axis of upheaval" on show in Beijing is not united - and India, in particular, which was not represented at Wednesday's parade, is still at odds with China over territorial and other disputes.

The bottom line is that the economic nationalism and disruptive diplomacy of Donald Trump's America is giving China a huge diplomatic opportunity – and it's one Xi is seizing with open arms with his summit and parade.

A clear message to Donald Trump

By Steve Rosenberg, Russia editor

All the diplomacy (and the optics) in China this week was designed to send a clear message to the Trump administration.

So, you want to Make America Great Again, do you? It's America First, is it? Well, then, we'll offer an alternative to the US-led order.

That is why we saw the leaders of China, Russia and India smiling together at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit on Sunday and Monday.

It is why Vladimir Putin called Xi Jinping "a real friend", and the Chinese leader called his Russian counterpart "old friend" earlier this week.

And it is also why Xi Jinping, Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un appeared together at the military parade on Wednesday.

In short: in the geopolitical universe different powers are aligning as a counterweight to American domination.

This doesn't mean that all these countries and leaders are on the same wavelength. They are not. Differences remain.

But the direction of travel is clear.

As a headline in news outlet Komsomolskaya Pravda declared this week, in reference to Russia, China and India: "We will build a new world."

The weapons that worry the West

By Frank Gardiner, security correspondent

From massive, underwater torpedoes to state-of-the-art laser weapons that shoot down drones, China's latest military parade will now be broken down and analysed by Pentagon experts and defence officials around the world.

The PLA has embarked on an extensive military modernisation programme that has seen it catching up - and in some areas - overtaking the United States. Hypersonic missiles that travel at more than five times the speed of sound is one area where China leads the world.

Dr Sidharth Kaushal, a leading expert on missiles at the London think tank RUSI, highlights the YJ-17 - a hypersonic glide vehicle - and the YJ-19, a hypersonic cruise missile.

China has also been investing heavily in artificial intelligence and autonomous weapons. One example of these is the AJX002: a giant, 60-foot (18m), underwater nuclear-capable drone.

China's nuclear arsenal - numbering in the hundreds of missiles - still lags far behind those of Russia and the US who both have thousands, but it is rapidly increasing in size as well as finding innovative ways of delivering its warheads.

President Donald Trump says the US has carried out a strike against a drug-carrying vessel in the southern Caribbean, killing 11 "Narcoterrorists".

He posted on social media that Tuesday's US military operation had targeted members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua.

Trump said the vessel was in international waters and was transporting illegal narcotics bound for the US.

The Trump administration has ratcheted up military and political pressure against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in recent weeks, including through a $50m (£37m) reward for information leading to his arrest on drug-trafficking charges. Maduro has vowed Venezuela would fight any attempted US military intervention.

Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office on Tuesday, Trump said that US forces had "shot out" a "drug-carrying boat" in the vicinity of Venezuela.

"A lot of drugs in that boat," he said.

Trump added he had been briefed on the incident by the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Dan Caine.

Later the president posted on his Truth Social platform: "Earlier this morning, on my Orders, US Military Forces conducted a kinetic strike against positively identified Tren de Aragua Narcoterrorists in the SOUTHCOM area of responsibility."

He added: "The strike resulted in 11 terrorists killed in action. No US Forces were harmed in this strike. Please let this serve as notice to anybody even thinking about bringing drugs into the United States of America. BEWARE!"

His post was accompanied by a grainy aerial video showing a motor boat speeding across choppy waters before it bursts into flames.

In a social media post, Venezuela's Communications Minister, Freddy Nanez, suggested, without evidence, that the video shared by Trump was created with artificial intelligence.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a post on X that "today the US military conducted a lethal strike in the southern Carribean against a drug vessel which had departed from Venezuela and was being operated by a designated narco-terrorist organisation".

It is so far unclear what drugs the vessel was believed to have been carrying.

Since returning to the White House in January, the Trump administration has designated several drug-trafficking organisations and criminal groups in Mexico and elsewhere in Latin America as terrorist organisations.

Among them are Tren de Aragua and another Venezuelan group the "Cartel of the Suns", which US authorities allege is headed by President Maduro and other high-ranking government officials, some drawn from the country's military or intelligence services.

The US military has moved to bolster its forces in the southern Caribbean over the last two months, including through the deployment of additional naval vessels and thousands of US Marines and sailors.

The Trump administration has repeatedly signalled a willingness to use force to stem the flow of drugs into the US.

"There's more where that came from," Trump said of the strike on the vessel.

Venezuela's government has reacted angrily to the deployments.

On Monday, for example, Maduro vowed to "declare a republic in arms" if the US attacked, adding that the American deployments are "the greatest threat that has been seen on our continent in the last 100 years".

Google will not have to sell its Chrome search engine but must share information with competitors, a US federal judge has ordered.

The remedies decided by District Judge Amit Mehta comes after a years-long court battle over Google's dominance in online search.

Last year, Judge Mehta found that Google illegally trampled its competition in search.

This spring, during the second phase of the antitrust case aimed at determining remedies, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) demanded that Google sell Chrome, the world's most popular web browser.

More to come on this story

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A US congressional panel has released a trove of documents related to the federal investigation into the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

The House of Representatives Oversight Committee published 33,295 pages, including flight logs, jail surveillance video, court filings, audio recordings and emails.

But Republicans and Democrats alike said the files contained little new information and it is unclear if the justice department is withholding other Epstein records.

Pressure has been growing from President Donald Trump's own supporters for more transparency on the probe into the well-connected financier after the justice department said in July there was no "incriminating" Epstein client list.

Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, a Republican, ordered the documents to be published online on Tuesday.

The Republican-led panel received the files after issuing a legal summons to the Department of Justice last month.

But Comer, a Kentucky congressman, acknowledged there was little fresh information.

"As far as I can see, there's nothing new in the documents," he told NBC News.

The videos released on Tuesday include footage from outside Epstein's New York jail cell on the night of his death.

It includes 13 hours and 41 seconds of video from the facility covering the evening of 9 August to the morning of 10 August 2019, when Epstein died.

This is two hours more of video than what the justice department released two months ago.

But the newly released footage does not include the so-called "missing minute" - a jump in the timecode between 23:00 and 00:00, according to the BBC's US partner CBS.

Attorney General Pam Bondi previously said the "missing minute" was just the jail's camera system resetting each night.

However, the apparent anomaly had stoked conspiracy theories about the official finding that Epstein died by suicide.

The convicted paedophile had once hobnobbed with the likes of Trump, former President Bill Clinton and British royal Prince Andrew.

The tranche of documents also includes several clips from 2006 showing interviews with people who said they were victims of Epstein.

Their faces are blurred and names removed from the audio as they talk about alleged sexual abuse while they were hired for massages.

Other videos show bodycam footage from police in Palm Beach, Florida, as they search a home belonging to Epstein.

Some of the documents date back 20 years, covering an initial criminal investigation into Epstein launched by Palm Beach police.

But Robert Garcia, the top Democrat on House Oversight Committee, said in a statement: "To the American people – don't let this fool you.

"After careful review, Oversight Democrats have found that 97% of the documents received from the Department of Justice were already public.

"There is no mention of any client list or anything that improves transparency or justice for victims."

Democratic congresswoman Summer Lee said the "only new disclosure" was flight logs taken by US Customs and Border Protection, which show Epstein's travel to and from his private island in the US Virgin Islands.

The release came after backbench Republican rebel Thomas Massie forged ahead on Tuesday with a bipartisan effort to force the House to vote on a bill requiring the justice department to publish all of its Epstein files within 30 days.

The Kentucky congressman said: "People want these files released. I mean, look, it's not the biggest issue in the country.

"It's taxes, jobs, the economy, those are always the big issues. But you really can't solve any of that if this place is corrupt."

Earlier on Tuesday, House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Republican, and members of the oversight committee met six Epstein victims behind closed-doors.

Johnson, a Trump ally, told reporters afterwards that "there were tears in the room" as they heard from the Epstein victims.

Congresswoman Nancy Mace, a South Carolina Republican, appeared to leave the meeting crying.

Democrat Melanie Stansbury praised the survivors for speaking out and described the case as a "cover-up of epic proportions".

Lawmakers and victims of Epstein plan to hold a news conference on Capitol Hill on Wednesday.

One of the most famous polar shipwrecks has been filmed in detail on the sea floor for the first time.

The Terra Nova carried Captain Scott and his men on their doomed expedition to reach the South Pole more than a century ago.

The British party lost the race to the pole, and died on their return journey in 1912.

The footage shows the Terra Nova colonised with sea life, but key features of the wooden ship are still visible including its wheel, winch and mast.

The wreck lies 170m down off the coast of Greenland. After the polar expedition with Scott, the ship continued in service and eventually sank in 1943 while carrying supplies to US bases during World War Two.

The Terra Nova was discovered in 2012, but the new expedition has been the first opportunity to record extensive footage of the wreck.

"To be able to see these significant parts of the wreck, it was truly awe inspiring," said Leighton Rolley, Science Systems Manager at REV Ocean.

"The wheel was sat there perfectly intact amongst the debris of the aft section of the wreck.

"When you think of the people who have stood there, manoeuvred the Terra Nova through ice, like Captain Scott… It was like, wow, if that ship's wheel could talk, it could tell an amazing history."

The Terra Nova was one of the finest polar vessels of its time and sailed for 60 years.

The ship was 57m (187ft) long with a wooden hull that was a metre thick in places to help it break through the sea ice.

Captain Scott's men embarked to Antarctica in 1910. A comprehensive scientific programme was planned for the Terra Nova expedition - along with the goal of being the first to reach the South Pole.

Scott, along with Edward Wilson, Henry Bowers, Lawrence Oates and Edgar Evans, were attempting to make history.

After trekking hundreds of miles, the British party reached the pole in January 1912, but they found they had been beaten by a Norwegian team led by Roald Amundsen.

A black flag, planted by Amundsen, is now on display at the Scott Polar Research Institute (SPRI) in Cambridge along with other items from the Terra Nova.

"Their hearts must have sunk seeing this black flag against the whiteness of Antarctica," said David Waterhouse, curator of the polar museum at SPRI.

The deflated British party began their arduous return journey to their base. But they encountered unusually bad weather, and Edgar Evans died after falling while descending a glacier.

Several weeks later Captain Oates left the men's tent. His last words were recorded in Scott's journal: "I'm just going outside and may be some time." He was never seen again.

Scott, Bowers and Wilson continued on and made a final camp, but trapped by a freezing blizzard with dwindling supplies, all three perished.

A search expedition discovered their last camp just 11 miles from a resupply depot that would have provided them with food and fuel.

The Terra Nova played a crucial role in breaking the news of their death.

"In January 1913, the Terra Nova arrived at Cape Evans in the Antarctic to pick up the shore party, and they were expecting to pick up Captain Scott and his pole party at the same time," explained Naomi Boneham, an archivist at SPRI.

"But when they arrived they found out the sad news."

The ship's log records that the men had died from "exposure and want".

The vessel sailed on to New Zealand, where the tragic end of the Terra Nova expedition was announced to the world.

The new footage from the deep provides another chance to retell Scott's story, says David Waterhouse.

"It's a story that's really got the whole package - the heroism, the tragedy," he said.

"And, I guess, as British people, we like an underdog, and they were so close to being the first to the pole and making it back alive."

The ship that witnessed so much history now has a very different existence lying beneath the waves at the other end of the planet.

It's not in good condition. While the centre of the ship is relatively intact, there is a lot of damage at the stern and the bow has split into two.

But it's become a reef of life, says Leighton Rolley.

"It's full of fish, it's got corals growing on it - it's become one with the ocean."

At least 30 people have died and more than 354,000 have been affected by incessant heavy rains and floods in the north Indian state of Punjab.

Authorities have declared all of the state's 23 districts flood-hit, after rivers and reservoirs swelled to near-danger levels.

Some 20,000 people have been evacuated from low-lying and flood-affected areas, with hundreds of relief camps set up to provide shelter and essential facilities to the affected families.

Appealing to the country to "stand by the state", Punjab's Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann said these were the worst floods the state had seen since 1988.

Punjab is often referred to as the "food basket" of India and is a major source for agricultural production, particularly of staples like wheat and rice.

The government says there has been extensive crop damage on some 148,000 hectares of agricultural land, which has been submerged under water.

A quarter of Punjab's 30 million people depend on agriculture, raising immediate concern about rural livelihoods.

Torrential downpours have caused water level in the state's Sutlej, Beas and Ravi rivers to rise to dangerous levels, putting hundreds of low-lying areas at risk. Many reservoirs are also reported to be nearing full capacity.

Multiple disaster response teams, along with the Indian army, airforce and the navy, are helping with the rescue operations. Some 35 helicopters and more than100 boats have been pressed into service.

On Tuesday, chief minister Mann toured the flood-hit Ferozepur district by boat. He said the situation was grim and sought funds from the federal government to deal with the crisis.

India's weather agency said the floods are being caused by the repeated interactions between monsoon currents and weather systems like westerly disturbances.

This has also brought unusually heavy rains to several other parts of northern India, it said.

Across the Indian border, floods have also devastated Pakistan's Punjab province, affecting some two million people over the past few weeks.

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This article contains details some people may find distressing.

A court in India has given the death penalty to a man for burning alive his wife over her skin colour.

In her statements before her death, Lakshmi had said that her husband Kishandas "routinely taunted her for being dark skinned".

District Judge Rahul Choudhary in the northern city of Udaipur explained the death penalty saying the murder fell in the category of "rarest of the rare" and it was "a crime against humanity".

Kishandas's lawyer told the BBC that his client was innocent and that they would appeal against the order.

Lakshmi's murder eight years back and the judgement, delivered at the weekend, have made headlines in a country where public obsession with colourism is well documented.

The attack on Lakshmi took place on the night of 24 June 2017, according to the court order seen by the BBC.

The judgement quotes from the statements she gave before her death to the police, the doctors and an executive magistrate.

Lakshmi said her husband often called her "kali" or dark skinned and body shamed her since their marriage in 2016.

On the night she died, Kishandas had brought a plastic bottle with a brown liquid - he said it was a medicine to make her skin fairer.

According to the statements, he applied the liquid to her body and when she complained that it smelled like acid, he set her on fire with an incense stick. When her body started burning, he poured the rest of the liquid on her and ran away.

Kishandas's parents and sister took her to hospital where she later died.

"It will not be an exaggeration to say that this heart-rending brutal crime was not just against Lakshmi, but it's a crime against humanity," Judge Choudhary said in his order.

Kishandas, he said, "broke her trust" and displayed "excessive cruelty in throwing the remaining liquid on her" while she burned.

"It's a crime that shocks the conscience of humanity which cannot even be imagined in a healthy and civilised society," the order added.

Public prosecutor Dinesh Paliwal described the order as "historic" and told the BBC he hoped it would act as "a lesson for others in society".

"A young woman in her early 20s was murdered brutally. She was someone's sister, someone's daughter, there were people who loved her. If we don't save our daughters, then who would?" he said.

Mr Paliwal said he had forwarded the order to the high court for confirmation of the death sentence, but added that the convict had 30 days to appeal.

Kishandas's lawyer Surendra Kumar Menariya told the BBC that Lakshmi's death had been accidental and there was no evidence against his client who had been falsely charged.

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The Udaipur court order has once again put the spotlight on India's unhealthy preference for fair skin.

Girls and women with darker skin tones are called derogatory names and face discrimination; and skin lightening products make for big business, earning billions of dollars in profits.

In matrimonial columns, skin colour is almost always emphasised and lighter-skinned brides are more in demand.

The BBC has in the past reported incidents of suicides by women who were taunted by their husbands over their "dark complexion".

In recent years, campaigners have challenged the widely-held notion that fairer is better, but they say it's not easy to counter deeply entrenched prejudices.

Until that changes, such discriminatory attitudes will continue to ruin lives.

Cardi B was cleared of assault by a Los Angeles jury after a security guard sued her for $24 million in a fingernail attack.

Emani Ellis alleged that the US rapper cut her cheek with a 3in (7.5cm) fingernail and spat on her outside an obstetrician's office in 2018. The rapper was pregnant at the time, which wasn't public knowledge.

The civil trial in Alhambra led to a series of viral moments as the rapper took the stand and offered colourful testimony about the incident and her fashion choices.

She told the court that the guard followed her and filmed her on her phone and wouldn't give her space or privacy. Ms Ellis, though, said it left her "traumatised".

The jury took only about an hour to clear the Grammy-winning rapper of the allegations of assault, battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress as well as negligence and false imprisonment.

The case revolved around Cardi B's obstetrics appointment, when she was four months pregnant with her first child. The office closed for the day to shield her privacy, as her pregnancy was not publicly known.

Cardi B acknowledged to the court that she and Ms Ellis had a profanity-laden shouting match after she showed up to the doctor's appointment. She said it was very heated - but she denied ever touching the guard or spitting on her.

The rapper testified about that day, telling the court that when she stepped out of an elevator, Ms Ellis, who was working as a security guard in the building, told someone on the phone about her appointment for a pregnancy that wasn't yet public knowledge.

• 'Which one is your real hair?' Why Cardi B's wigs and nails baffled lawyers in court
• Cardi B denies scratching and spitting on security guard

The performer, whose real name is Belcalis Marlenis Almánzar, added that Ms Ellis appeared to record her on her phone and refused to "back up", before a face-to-face "verbal altercation" ensued.

She admitted shouting an obscenity at Ms Ellis while telling her to "get out of my face".

Her lawyer noted how the star had "feared for her unborn baby" and hadn't discussed the news of her pregnancy publicly yet.

Her case was bolstered by testimony from the doctor she was there to see and his receptionist - Tierra Malcolm - who rushed between the arguing women in an attempt to break up the fight.

Ms Malcolm testified that Ms Ellis was the aggressor and that the security guard was swinging her arms in an apparent attempt to hit Cardi B, which resulted in a cut on Ms Malcolm's head.

Cardi B's testimony went viral as she changed wigs and outfits each day of the trial - the length of her fingernails becoming a focus multiple times in the case.

During closing arguments, Cardi B wore a black and white polka dot suit with a red bow, her black hair tied up.

Since this is not a criminal case - but a civil one - the jury had been asked to decide if Cardi B should be held liable for injuring Ms Ellis and, how much, if anything she should pay the security guard for pain and suffering.

Cardi B testified that she's being sued for $24 million and that Ms Ellis was looking for a payout. Ms Ellis' attorney in closing arguments said that it was up to the jury to decide a dollar amount to compensate Ms Ellis.

Ultimately, the jury cleared the rapper entirely in the case.

Outside the courthouse in Los Angeles County, a handful of fans showed up to support the rapper.

Christine Orozco who lives near the court showed up with a hand drawn sign that read, "If the nail don't fit, u must acquit," a pun referencing another Los Angeles celebrity trial - that of OJ Simpson, where the gloves, not the fingernails, were a subject of debate. She said Cardi B read the sign and laughed.

"She had a round tip that day, not a sharp tip," Ms Orozco said of Cardi B's fingernails. "She read the sign. She was squinting to see it. She laughed."