Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson has entered the contest to be Labour's deputy leader, becoming the most senior figure to put her name forward so far.

Bell Ribeiro-Addy, MP for Clapham and Brixton Hill, is so far the only other declared candidate in the race to replace Angela Rayner in the deputy leader role.

Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee Emily Thornberry has said she is considering entering, while Tooting MP, and former deputy leader candidate, Rosena Allin-Khan has ruled herself out.

Candidates have until Thursday evening to get nominations from at least 80 Labour MPs in order to take part in the contest.

They will also need the backing of either 5% of local parties, or three Labour-affiliated groups, including two unions.

Those who clear the bar face a vote by party members, with the winner announced on 25 October.

A gravely injured girl was stabbed six times as she shielded her little sister from the Southport attacker, a public inquiry heard.

Both sisters survived but the eldest was severely wounded in killer Axel Rudakubana's attack on a Taylor Swift themed dance workshop on 29 July 2024.

Their mother read a statement to the Southport Inquiry at Liverpool Town Hall earlier where she called her daughters her "heroes".

She told the hearing the girls' father found the eldest covered in blood outside the studio and "fainted" from the shock.

Alice Aguiar, nine, Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and six-year-old Bebe King died in the attack on Hart Street , while eight other children and two adults were seriously wounded.

The inquiry's first phase will examine the killer's history and his dealings with relevant agencies, along with any missed opportunities to prevent what happened.

• 'There is no end to this,' mum of Southport survivor tells inquiry

It has been hearing further evidence from the families of survivors about the day itself and its ongoing impact.

The mother of the two girls, called C2 and C7 to protect their anonymity like all the surviving children, said she wanted the inquiry to "find answers".

Describing the moment their father found the girls in the chaotic aftermath of the attack, she said he first found the youngest child sheltering in a nearby house.

She said she had no idea where the eldest was, so he ran back outside and eventually spotted "two small legs sticking out from behind a white van" where the older sister was being treated.

Her mother said: "Unbelievably brave in the moment, she told her daddy that she was ok.

"It was in that moment, seeing our daughter so gravely injured, covered in blood and barely breathing that the weight of it all overwhelmed him.

"It was too much for his body to process and he fainted."

'Pure fear'

She said the girls had eventually been able to describe what happened when Rudakubana attacked the studio - with the youngest initially thinking he had come to show them the dance class teacher Leanne Lucas's new puppy.

After attacking other children and Ms Lucas, the killer turned on the eldest stabbing her in the chest and arm.

He then stood over her younger sister with the knife raised.

Their mother said her eldest later told her: "Mum, she was crouched, she couldn't move, her face was pure fear."

"Our eldest, just a child herself and already injured, dragged her sister in front of her to protect her," she said.

"She was then stabbed another six times in the back. She says she felt that like she was being repeatedly punched from the force."

'Systems failed'

Both girls managed to scramble free and were treated at Alder Hey Children's Hospital.

Their mother, who says she is on medication since the attack, said: "It reached into every corner of our family and left none of us the same."

Earlier the parents of another girl caught up in the attack said it was preventable and urged a public inquiry to "expose the failures" that allowed it to happen.

The mother of child L said the knowledge that Rudakubana was "known to multiple agencies" is a "burden we carry every day".

She said she hoped the inquiry would "shine a light into the darkest corners of the systems that failed".

The mother of another girl who was stabbed but survived the attack, refered to as child C4, also gave evidence.

She said C4 now "spends her young life scanning her surroundings for danger" and that the once strong bond she had with her father is now damaged as their daughter finds it "difficult to trust men".

Fighting back tears, the mother told the inquiry team how proud she is of her daughter and that "her finest qualities shone through in the darkest of moments".

The inquiry continues.

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A US congressional panel has released a redacted copy of an alleged "birthday book" given to Jeffrey Epstein in 2003 celebrating his fiftieth birthday.

The book was released with a trove of documents that include the late convicted paedophile financier's will and his personal address book - with contacts that include royalty, politicians across the globe, celebrities and models.

The 238-page book contains messages and photos sent by many of Epstein's friends, including a letter carrying a signature resembling US President Donald Trump's. Trump has denied ever writing the birthday note.

Epstein, a well-connected financier and convicted sex offender, was found dead by suicide in 2019 while awaiting a trial for sex trafficking.

What was released and why now?

The House Oversight Committee last month issued a legal summons for the executors of Epstein's estate to produce a number of documents, including a birthday book which contains the note purportedly from Trump.

Lawyers for the estate sent documents to the committee afterwards.

On Monday, the committee released the alleged birthday book as well as Epstein's will, entries from his contact books containing addresses from 1990 to 2019, and a non-prosecution agreement signed by him.

The release came with a note from the committee's chairman James Comer, which criticised Democratic members of the committee who earlier on Monday released pages of the book that purportedly contained Trump's signature. The White House denied Trump was involved with the note and said the signature on the note did not match that of the president.

Comer said the Democracts were "cherry-picking documents and politicizing information received from the Epstein Estate".

Who wrote in the alleged birthday book?

Entries from 40 people, divided into several categories such as "friends", "business", "science" and "Brooklyn", were published, though the names under "family" and "girl friends" were redacted.

These people are not accused of any legal wrongdoing in connection with Epstein's case.

The alleged Donald Trump entry which appears on page 165, contains a signed note, with the final line reading: "Happy Birthday - and may every day be another wonderful secret."

A woman's body was drawn around the text. This matches descriptions by the Wall Street Journal which first reported the letter in July.

The White House said the president "did not draw this picture, and he did not sign it."

The document also contained a message which appears to have been written by former US President Bill Clinton. The author wrote about Epstein's "childlike curiosity" and a "drive to make a difference".

Clinton's office has not responded to a BBC request for comment.

The entry by Lord Peter Mandelson, currently the UK ambassador to the US, calls Epstein "my best pal" and includes several photographs.

Alongside one picture of Lord Mandelson with two women, whose faces are obscured, he writes about meeting Epstein's interesting – in inverted commas – friends.

An official spokesperson for Lord Mandelson has told the BBC that he "has long been clear that he very much regrets ever having been introduced to Epstein," adding: "This connection has been a matter of public record for some time."

There isn't a letter from Prince Andrew. But an entry from an unidentified woman says that thanks to Epstein she had met the Prince, Bill Clinton and Trump. The woman goes on to say she has "seen the private quarters of Buckingham Palace" and "sat on the Queen of England's throne." Prince Andrew has previously denied any wrongdoing.

What are the other entries about?

There's a wide range of content from people from all walks of life - from occupants of the White House to women working as masseuses.

An unidentified woman recalled how she was a 22-year-old restaurant hostess until she met Epstein, after which she travelled the world and met many notable people including royals.

There were also photos of Epstein throughout the years - from his private jet to a random Asian medicine shop, and him embracing women whose faces were redacted.

Others sent him photos, some containing lewd scenes featuring wild animals from a safari including zebras and lions.

Democrats in Congress have released a note they say US President Donald Trump sent to Jeffrey Epstein for his 50th birthday.

Lawyers for Epstein's estate sent documents to the House Oversight Committee after they were subpoenaed last month.

Democratic members of the committee then posted the letter on X on Monday.

It comes after the Wall Street Journal published details of the note in July. Trump said it was "a fake thing" and denied writing it.

"These are not my words, not the way I talk. Also, I don't draw pictures," he said at the time.

The signed note says: "Happy Birthday - and may every day be another wonderful secret."

The committee last month issued a legal summons for the executors of Epstein's estate to produce a number of documents, including a birthday book which contains the note purportedly from Trump.

Trump filed a lawsuit against the Wall Street Journal's reporters, publisher and executives, including News Corp's owner Rupert Murdoch, after the newspaper published its story in the summer.

The newspaper's publisher Dow Jones said at the time it had "full confidence in the rigour and accuracy of our reporting".

The BBC has reached out to the White House for comment, as well as Trump's personal attorneys.

On X, White House deputy chief of staff Taylor Budowich posted several images of Trump's signature on Monday.

"Time for @newscorp to open that checkbook, it's not his signature. DEFAMATION!" Budowich wrote.

The Wall Street Journal reported in July that Epstein accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell created the birthday book for the financier in 2003.

It contained submissions from various Epstein acquaintances, including a note allegedly bearing the name of Trump, who was then his friend.

Trump and Epstein were friendly for years, but the president has said he fell out with him in the early 2000s after the financier poached employees from his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.

Epstein was first criminally indicted in 2006 in Florida on a state felony charge of solicitation of prostitution.

A US congressional panel has released a redacted copy of an alleged "birthday book" given to Jeffrey Epstein in 2003 celebrating his fiftieth birthday.

The book was released with a trove of documents that include the late convicted paedophile financier's will and his personal address book - with contacts that include royalty, politicians across the globe, celebrities and models.

The 238-page book contains messages and photos sent by many of Epstein's friends, including a letter carrying a signature resembling US President Donald Trump's. Trump has denied ever writing the birthday note.

Epstein, a well-connected financier and convicted sex offender, was found dead by suicide in 2019 while awaiting a trial for sex trafficking.

What was released and why now?

The House Oversight Committee last month issued a legal summons for the executors of Epstein's estate to produce a number of documents, including a birthday book which contains the note purportedly from Trump.

Lawyers for the estate sent documents to the committee afterwards.

On Monday, the committee released the alleged birthday book as well as Epstein's will, entries from his contact books containing addresses from 1990 to 2019, and a non-prosecution agreement signed by him.

The release came with a note from the committee's chairman James Comer, which criticised Democratic members of the committee who earlier on Monday released pages of the book that purportedly contained Trump's signature. The White House denied Trump was involved with the note and said the signature on the note did not match that of the president.

Comer said the Democracts were "cherry-picking documents and politicizing information received from the Epstein Estate".

Who wrote in the alleged birthday book?

Entries from 40 people, divided into several categories such as "friends", "business", "science" and "Brooklyn", were published, though the names under "family" and "girl friends" were redacted.

These people are not accused of any legal wrongdoing in connection with Epstein's case.

The alleged Donald Trump entry which appears on page 165, contains a signed note, with the final line reading: "Happy Birthday - and may every day be another wonderful secret."

A woman's body was drawn around the text. This matches descriptions by the Wall Street Journal which first reported the letter in July.

The White House said the president "did not draw this picture, and he did not sign it."

The document also contained a message which appears to have been written by former US President Bill Clinton. The author wrote about Epstein's "childlike curiosity" and a "drive to make a difference".

Clinton's office has not responded to a BBC request for comment.

The entry by Lord Peter Mandelson, currently the UK ambassador to the US, calls Epstein "my best pal" and includes several photographs.

Alongside one picture of Lord Mandelson with two women, whose faces are obscured, he writes about meeting Epstein's interesting – in inverted commas – friends.

An official spokesperson for Lord Mandelson has told the BBC that he "has long been clear that he very much regrets ever having been introduced to Epstein," adding: "This connection has been a matter of public record for some time."

There isn't a letter from Prince Andrew. But an entry from an unidentified woman says that thanks to Epstein she had met the Prince, Bill Clinton and Trump. The woman goes on to say she has "seen the private quarters of Buckingham Palace" and "sat on the Queen of England's throne." Prince Andrew has previously denied any wrongdoing.

What are the other entries about?

There's a wide range of content from people from all walks of life - from occupants of the White House to women working as masseuses.

An unidentified woman recalled how she was a 22-year-old restaurant hostess until she met Epstein, after which she travelled the world and met many notable people including royals.

There were also photos of Epstein throughout the years - from his private jet to a random Asian medicine shop, and him embracing women whose faces were redacted.

Others sent him photos, some containing lewd scenes featuring wild animals from a safari including zebras and lions.

Israel has warned all residents of Gaza City to leave immediately in anticipation of a huge ground offensive.

The military's Arabic spokesman told as many as one million Palestinians living in Gaza's biggest urban centre to evacuate southwards. "Remaining in the area is extremely dangerous," he said.

On Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said air strikes that had destroyed high-rise buildings in Gaza City in recent days were "only the beginning of the main, intensive operation" to capture what he has described as Hamas's last important stronghold.

Hamas said his remarks amounted to a "public demonstration of a fully-fledged crime of forced displacement".

Israel's plan to conquer Gaza City has also brought international criticism.

The UN has warned an intensification of the offensive on an area where a famine has already been declared will push civilians into an "even deeper catastrophe".

The message from the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) - both in leaflets dropped over Gaza City, and posted on social media by its Arabic spokesman Col Avichay Adraee - was unequivocal.

"To all residents and those present in Gaza City and all its areas, from the Old City and the Tuffah area in the east to the sea in the west: The IDF is determined to defeat Hamas and will operate in Gaza City with great determination, as it has throughout the Gaza Strip," it said.

"For your safety, evacuate immediately," it added.

Israel's security cabinet approved a plan to conquer all of Gaza after indirect talks with Hamas on a ceasefire and hostage release deal broke down in July.

The IDF has been told to defeat Hamas after 23 months of war and return the 48 hostages still held by the armed group, of whom 20 are still believed to be alive.

In recent weeks, Israeli air and ground attacks on Gaza City have been intensifying.

Overnight, there were further air strikes on buildings the IDF said were being used by Hamas to launch attacks against its troops.

Netanyahu said in a video on Monday afternoon that 50 high-rises had been destroyed in Gaza over the previous two days.

"Now, all of this is only the introduction, only the beginning of the main intensive operation - the ground incursion of our forces," he added.

"Therefore, I am taking this opportunity to say to the residents of Gaza, listen to me carefully: You have been warned: get out of there!"

Hamas said Netanyahu's remarks were "a public demonstration of a fully-fledged crime of forced displacement, carried out under the weight of bombing, massacres, starvation, and death threats".

Photographs showed a stream of people moving south along the coastal road from Gaza City on foot, on donkey carts and in vehicles on Tuesday, but there was no sign of a mass exodus.

Hanaa, a mother of three, told the BBC she did not know where to take her family so she was holding out until they were in "real danger".

"If I knew [somewhere to go], I would have left [by now] and taken my family and my children," she said.

Hanaa lost her own home in Israeli bombing at the beginning of the war and has since been displaced with relatives.

She said "nothing can describe" how she and her loved ones were feeling now.

Razan Salha, a student, said she had fled Gaza City two days ago due to the bombardment and was now sharing a room with about 20 relatives in the central city of Deir al-Balah.

"We moved by car at a price of $375 (£276). Not everyone was displaced - there are still people in Gaza City because they haven't got any place to go or there is no transportation at a suitable price," she told the BBC in a voice note.

Razan said the "instability and homelessness" had left her "very, very tired", adding: "I've lost my hope."

Last week, UN agencies and their humanitarian partners said the announcement of intensified Israeli military operations in Gaza City on 7 August was "having horrific humanitarian consequences for people in displacement sites".

They warned many households were unable to move due to high costs and logistical challenges, as well as a lack of safe space. And they said ordering hundreds of thousands to move south could amount to forcible transfer under international law.

On Sunday, they reported that more than 97,000 people had been newly displaced since 14 August. But only 50,000 had been observed crossing from northern to southern Gaza, as the Israeli military has instructed.

The IDF has told them to go to a newly designated "humanitarian area" in al-Mawasi.

It has said the area includes essential infrastructure, including field hospitals and water pipelines, and that supplies of food, tents and medicines will be delivered there in co-ordination with international organisations.

However, al-Mawasi has been repeatedly bombed by Israeli forces during the war and the UN says nowhere in Gaza can be considered "safe".

The UN has also warned that the tent camps there are already overcrowded and local hospitals are operating at several times their capacity.

It has said a limited number of tents have been delivered in recent weeks, but many more are needed for the hundreds of thousands of displaced people.

The UN has said Israel - which controls Gaza's border crossings - must also allow in enough food and other supplies to halt the spread of famine.

On Sunday, UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher warned there was a narrow window until the end of September to prevent famine from expanding to the central city or Deir al-Balah and southern city of Khan Younis, and the window was "closing fast".

Since UN-backed global food security experts confirmed a famine in Gaza City on 22 August, Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry has reported that at least 121 people have died from starvation and malnutrition across the territory.

Israel has said it is expanding its efforts to facilitate aid deliveries and has disputed the health ministry's figures on malnutrition-related deaths.

The Israeli military launched a campaign in Gaza in response to the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.

At least 64,605 people have been killed in Israeli attacks in Gaza since then, according to the territory's health ministry.

Police have released the first images of what they believe is one of many campsites where a New Zealand father on the run hid with his three children for years.

Two of Tom Phillips' children were found at the site in the Waikato region on Monday, hours after he was killed in a shootout with the police.

Police found them with the help of the third child, who was with Phillips when he died. They said the children are "doing well", but will take time to recover from the ordeal.

Shortly before Christmas in 2021, Phillips disappeared with his children – Jayda, Maverick, and Ember, then aged eight, seven and five respectively. Police believe he did so after losing legal custody of them.

Phillips had "no regard" for the children's safety and "quite literally put [them] in harm's way", Police Commissioner Richard Chambers told the media on Tuesday, adding that they are now in the care of authorities.

A stash of firearms and ammunition were also found at the campsite, which is surrounded by dense vegetation. Two quad bikes are pictured parked among trees.

By the time authorities arrived at the site, the search for the two children had been under way for nearly 12 hours.

In the early hours of Monday, police responded to a report of an attempted burglary at a rural farm supply shop in the small town of Piopio. And that is where they entered into a shootout with Mr Phillips. An officer was seriously injured after Phillips fired at him with a high-powered rifle. Mr Chambers said police have "absolutely no doubt" it was intended to kill the officer.

The injured officer has undergone a series of surgeries but still has a long road to recovery ahead of him, Mr Chambers said.

Phillips' case has gripped New Zealand since the day he became a fugitive nearly four years ago, and although Monday's events suggest the mystery has drawn to a close, police are still looking for answers.

They are trying to find out how Phillips, believed to be in his late 30s this year, evaded capture despite a nationwide search and multiple sightings - and, crucially, how he was able to access firearms.

Authorities did not address reporters' questions on Tuesday about whether the children's mother, known in news reports only as Cat, and members of Phillips' extended family are in touch with the children.

"Our priority is to make sure these children are looked after and that there is a careful plan, with everyone becoming involved at the right time," Police Minister Mark Mitchell said.

"They have seen and been exposed to things that children in our country should not be."

Warwick Morehu from New Zealand's Ministry for Children added, "These children will be provided with whatever help or assistance they need, for however long they may need it".

On Monday, the children's mother was quoted by local media outlet RNZ as saying she was "deeply relieved" that "this ordeal has come to an end" after missing her children dearly "every day for nearly four years".

But, she continued: "We are saddened by how events unfolded today."

At least 21 have been killed in a Russian air strike on a village in eastern Ukraine, say local Ukrainian officials.

The victims were ordinary people collecting their pensions in the Donetsk settlement of Yarova, said President Volodymr Zelensky. Donetsk regional leader Vadym Filkashkin said emergency services were at the scene, and that as many people wounded as killed.

Yarova is to the north of Sloviansk, one of the big cities in the region, and not far from the front line as Russian forces advance slowly in the east.

If confirmed, the death toll would be among the heaviest attacks on Ukrainian civilians in recent weeks, 42 months into Russia's full-scale invasion.

At least 23 people were killed in overnight air strikes on Ukraine's capital Kyiv at the end of August.

At the weekend Russia launched its biggest air assault of the war on Kyiv so far, hitting the main government building in the capital, in what Zelensky said was a "ruthless" attack aimed at prolonging the war.

Posting graphic footage of the attack on Yarova online, Zelensky said there were "no words" to describe the latest Russian strikes. There was no immediate response from Russia's military.

Vadym Filashkin said the attack took place at 12:30 on Tuesday as pensions were being handed out.

Yarova sites on a key railway line in Donetsk, between Lyman and Izium. It is also only 6km (3.6 miles) away from the next village of Novoselivka, where Russian forces are closing in on the outskirts.

Ukraine's state emergency service said another three people had died in earlier Russian shelling of settlements in Donetsk.

"The world must not remain silent," Zelensky said, calling for a response from both the US, Europe and the G20 group of nations.

France has been plunged into a new political crisis with the defeat of Prime Minister François Bayrou at a confidence vote in the National Assembly.

The defeat – by 364 votes to 194 – means that Bayrou will on Tuesday present his government's resignation to President Emmanuel Macron, who must now decide how to replace him. Macron's office said this would happen "in the coming days".

The options include naming a new prime minister from the centre-right; pivoting to the left and finding a name compatible with the Socialist Party; and dissolving parliament so new elections are held.

Macron's bitter enemies in the far-left France Unbowed party are calling for him personally to resign, but few commentators think it likely.

France is thus on its way to getting a fifth prime minister in less than two years - a dismal record that underscores the drift and disenchantment that have marked the president's second term.

• What's behind France's political crisis and what could happen next?

Bayrou's fall came after he staked his government on an emergency confidence debate on the question of French debt.

He spent the summer warning of the "existential" threat to France if it did not start to tackle its €3.4 trillion (£2.9 trillion) liability.

In a budget for 2026 he proposed to scrap two national holidays and freeze welfare payments and pensions, with the aim of saving €44 billion.

But he was quickly disabused of any hope that his prophesies of financial doom would sway opponents.

Party after party made quite clear they saw Monday's vote as an opportunity to settle accounts with Bayrou - and through him Macron.

Lacking any majority in the National Assembly, Bayrou saw the left and hard-right uniting against him - and his fate was sealed.

Some commentators have described Bayrou's fall as an act of political suicide. There was no need for him to call the early confidence vote, and he could have spent the coming months trying to build support.

In his speech beforehand, Bayrou made clear that he had his eyes set more on history rather than politics, telling MPs that it was future generations who would suffer if France lost its financial independence.

"Submission to debt is the same as submission to arms," he said, warning that current debt levels meant "plunging young people into slavery".

"You may have the power to bring down the government. But you cannot efface reality," he said.

There was no sign that Bayrou's warnings have had any impact on parliament or on France as a whole. Deputies from the left and hard-right accused him of trying to mask his own and Macron's responsibility in bringing France to its current state.

In the country, there has also been little echo to Bayrou's analysis – with polls showing that few regard debt control as a national priority, as opposed to the cost of living, security and immigration.

A movement calling itself Bloquons Tout (Let's Block Everything ) has promised a wave of sit-ins, boycotts and protests against Macron's policies from this Wednesday. On 18 September several unions are also calling for demonstrations.

Most economic analysts agree that France faces a huge financial challenge in the years ahead, as the projected cost of servicing its debt rises from the €30bn spent in 2020 to more than €100bn in 2030.

The need for financial restraint comes as Macron promises extra funds for defence, and as opposition parties of left and hard-right demand the repeal of the latest pension reform that raised the retirement age to 64.

Bayrou took over from Michel Barnier last December after Barnier failed to get his budget through the Assembly.

Bayrou managed to pass a budget thanks to a non-aggression pact with the Socialists, but their relations plunged when a conference on the latest pension reform failed to take account of Socialist demands.

Some speculated that Macron would turn now to a left-wing prime minister, having failed with the conservative Barnier and the centrist Bayrou.

However the Socialist Party says it wants a total break from Macron's pro-business policies as well as a repeal of the pension reform - which would be tantamount to undoing the president's legacy.

It therefore seems likely Macron will look initially to another figure from within his own camp, with Defence Minister Sébastien Lecornu, Labour Minister Catherine Vautrin and Finance Minister Éric Lombard all said to be in the running.

At least 10 people have been killed and more than 40 injured after a freight train crashed into a double-decker bus in central Mexico, authorities have said.

The incident happened as the bus, operated by the Herradura de Plata bus company, was making its way into an industrial zone south of the Atlacomulco area, outside the capital Mexico City.

CCTV footage shown by local media appears to show the passenger bus being hit by a train as it attempted to cross a railway line on Monday morning.

The train's operator Canadian Pacific Kansas City issued a statement expressing its condolences to the victims' families and warned drivers to respect railroad stop signs to "avoid these tragic situations".

Both the bus and train company are working with authorities investigating the incident.

Dozens of injured people pulled from the wreckage have been taken to local hospitals.

Images taken at the crash site appear to show parts of the bus's roof missing, its front windscreen shattered and its rear missing.

The State of Mexico's attorney general's office said seven women and three men were killed, while some of the injured were in a severe condition, according to Reuters.

This is not the first fatal bus crash to be reported in Mexico this year.

In May, at least 21 people were killed in a crash involving a bus, tanker truck and a van in central Mexico, according to officials.

In February, at least 41 people died in an accident involving a bus in southern Mexico, the government in the state of Tabasco said.

Norway's Labour party under Jonas Gahr Støre has won a second term in general elections, ahead of a populist right-wing party that doubled its vote.

In a country used to minority governments, Labour has a chance of forming a narrow two-seat majority in the 169-seat Storting, if it secures the support of four smaller parties on the centre left.

Norway's four million voters came out in big numbers, and the turnout of 78.9% was the biggest for years.

The anti-immigration Progress Party of Sylvi Listhaug made the biggest gains, securing almost 24% of the vote and 48 seats.

Jonas Gahr Støre, 65, told jubilant supporters that even though right-wing forces were on the rise in Europe, social democrat parties could still win elections.

With most votes counted, Labour won 28.2% of the vote and 53 seats, an improvement on its showing in the 2021 election.

The campaign was initially dominated by foreign policy, including the wars in Gaza and Ukraine, but the run-up to the vote focused on rising living costs, the oil industry and reforming a wealth tax that has seen hundreds of Norwegians leave the country for Switzerland.

Despite its small population of 5.6 million, Norway punches above its weight on the international stage. A founder member of Nato, it shares an Arctic border with Russia and is part of the EU's single market but not a member state.

Support for Labour was buoyed earlier this year when former Nato chief Jens Stoltenberg, a popular figurein Norway, joined the government as finance minister.

Sylvi Listhaug, 47, congratulated the Labour leader on his party's victory but told supporters that Norway had "four tough years ahead" under the left.

Her Progress Party has no hope of forming a coalition as parties on the right fell three seats short of the 85 needed for a majority.

The Conservatives lost ground with 14.6% and their leader, former prime minister Erna Solberg, has said she is unlikely to stand again.

Coalition building is likely to take several weeks, and if Labour succeeds in forming a majority it will have to overcome policy disagreements with smaller parties on the future of the oil industry and investments by Norway's enormous sovereign wealth fund.

Domestic issues top voter concerns in Norway's tight vote

Thailand's top court has ruled that former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra must serve one year in jail, in yet another blow to the influential political dynasty.

It ruled that he had unlawfully served part of a previous prison sentence in a hospital, and therefore must serve it in jail.

The high-profile case is linked to a previous corruption conviction.

Thaksin and his family have dominated Thai politics since he was first elected PM in 2001. His daughter Paetongtarn previously served as leader but was removed from office last month after the constitutional court ruled she had violated ethical standards, in a case linked to a leaked phone call with Cambodia's Hun Sen.

Paetongtarn, who accompanied her 76-year-old father to court on Tuesday, told reporters after the ruling that she was "worried" for her father but that he and their family were in "good spirits".

She also vowed to take the family's Pheu Thai party forward in their work as an opposition party.

Thaksin's latest case stems from an earlier conviction linked to his premiership.

The former PM was ousted in a military coup in 2006 and spent years living in self-imposed exile, mostly in Dubai.

When he returned to Thailand in 2023, he was promptly tried and found guilty of corruption and abuse of power during his time in office. He was sentenced to eight years in prison.

Following Thaksin's plea for a royal pardon, the Thai king commuted his sentence to one year.

But he ended up spending only less than a day in a jail cell as he was swiftly moved to a luxury wing of the Police General Hospital after complaining of heart problems.

He stayed there for six months, then received parole and moved to his home in Bangkok.

The latest case centred on whether Thaksin's transfer to hospital was lawful and whether he was genuinely ill.

The "14th floor case", as it is known in Thailand because of the hospital floor he stayed at, has gripped many Thais who were watching to see if the PM would end up serving time in prison.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) has opened its war crimes case against fugitive Ugandan rebel leader Joseph Kony in its first-ever confirmation of charges hearing without the accused present.

The proceedings mark a historic moment for the court and could serve as a test case for future prosecutions of high-profile suspects who currently appear to be beyond its reach.

Despite an arrest warrant issued 20 years ago, Kony, the founder and leader of the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), has managed to evade arrest.

He faces 39 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity, including murder, sexual enslavement, abduction and forcing thousands of children to fight as soldiers in the LRA.

Kony said he wanted to install a government based on the biblical 10 commandments, and he was fighting for the rights of the Acholi people in northern Uganda.

But his rebel group was notorious for hacking off their victims' limbs or parts of their faces.

Kony's notoriety increased in 2012 because of a social media campaign to highlight the LRA's alleged atrocities.

Despite those efforts, and years of manhunts, he remains a fugitive.

• Joseph Kony - child kidnapper, warlord, 'prophet'

There was silence in the courtroom as the catalogue of charges against him were read out.

They also cover gender-based crimes linked to the treatment of thousands of women and girls, including their enslavement, rape, forced marriage and pregnancy.

The atrocities were allegedly committed in northern Uganda between 2003 and 2004.

"Unfortunately the tentacles of international justice, even though they are lengthy, have not been sufficient to ensure the efficient arrest of fugitives," said the ICC's deputy prosecutor, Mame Mandiaye Niang, at the opening of the case.

"Many victims who had the strength to survive the horrors of civil war have not survived this lengthy wait, others have lost patience, but there are some who have waited for this moment," she added.

According to the prosecution, children were regularly kidnapped on their way to school, from the fields, deprived of their fundamental rights, and forced to kill for Kony's rebel group.

For the first time, the ICC is exercising its power under the Rome Statute, its founding treaty, to move forward without a suspect in custody.

Judges will hear the arguments of the prosecution, defence and representatives of victims. Kony will be represented in absentia by a court-appointed lawyer, before judges decide whether to confirm the charges.

A trial itself, however, cannot begin unless Kony is arrested, and present in court in The Hague.

Legal experts say the hearing could set a precedent for how the ICC handles other fugitives unlikely to be detained.

For survivors of the LRA's violence, the hearing is being watched closely, albeit remotely, on a big screen set up by ICC teams in northern Uganda.

Rights advocates say it validates the suffering of thousands of people who endured the rebel group's reign of terror.

"This is about recognition," said one survivor. "Even if Kony is not in custody, the world is hearing what happened to our communities."

In the case of the LRA, the deputy prosecutor pointed out the scars cut through communities in which "the victim became the perpetrator", but Kony, he said, "remained the main perpetrator until the end."

The LRA was forced out of Uganda by the army in 2005, and the rebels went into what was then Sudan (now South Sudan) and eventually set up camp in the border area with the Democratic Republic of Congo.

They later moved to the Central African Republic, where it is understood they engaged in poaching and illegal mining.

There were attempts by the Ugandan government to strike a peace deal with Kony, but talks fell apart in 2008 because the LRA leader wanted assurances that he and his allies would not be prosecuted.

The ICC's decision to press forward without him present underscores its determination to pursue accountability, even when arrests are difficult to achieve.

The move also highlights the fact that with few other trials in progress, this presents an opportunity to demonstrate that the embattled court is still able to function.

The ICC's top prosecutor is currently on leave while sexual misconduct allegations are investigated, and a series of crippling sanctions have been imposed by the US in response to the ICC issuing arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defence minister.

More BBC stories on Uganda:

• Why Uganda might have the world's most passionate Arsenal fans
• Why Uganda's iconic crested crane faces extinction
• 'My best friend went to work - and was crushed to death by rubbish'

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

The bodies of two young children discovered in suitcases in New Zealand – allegedly after having been killed by their mother – contained traces of an anti-depressant drug, a court has heard.

Hakyung Lee, 44, is being tried in an Auckland court over allegations that she murdered her children – eight-year-old Yuna Jo and six-year-old Minu Jo – and hid their bodies in a storage facility.

The remains of the children were discovered inside suitcases by a family who had purchased the contents of the storage unit at auction in 2022.

Traces of the anti-depressant Nortriptyline were later found in the chest cavity and liver of both Yuna and Minu, prosecutor Natalie Walker told the court on Tuesday.

The drug should not be given to children, and in cases of overdose can cause seizures, drowsiness or death.

Ms Lee was prescribed Nortriptyline as a trial in 2017 after telling a doctor she was having trouble sleeping and felt dizzy following her husband's cancer diagnosis.

She has pleaded not guilty to two charges of murder, but accepts she caused the deaths of her children, the court heard.

She also accepts that after their deaths she wrapped them in three plastic bags, put them in suitcases that she sealed with duct tape, and took them to a storage centre where she left them for four years, the prosecution told jurors.

Prosecutors also allege Ms Lee changed her name and, a month after killing her children and hiding their bodies, flew to Seoul on a business class seat.

She was was arrested in Ulsan, South Korea in September 2022 after Interpol issued a global red notice for her, and extradited to New Zealand in November of that year.

The court on Tuesday also heard the grisly details of how the children's bodies were discovered.

On 10 August 2022, two members of the public won an auction and paid $401 New Zealand dollars (£175; $238) for Ms Lee's abandoned storage locker, which was filled with household items including bikes, clothing and two suitcases.

When loading these suitcases onto his trailer the next day, the buyer noticed an unusual smell – which he likened to "the smell of a dead rat" – and, after arriving home, cut into the locked and plastic-wrapped suitcases with a knife.

Inside were several black, tightly tied plastic bags stuffed inside one another. Inside those were the bodies of two children – one in each suitcase – who were later identified as Yuna and Minu.

An autopsy determined that there was no sign of trauma to the children's bodies, like broken bones, though it was clear they had been killed by someone else.

A pathologist found they had died by homicide by unspecified means, including the use of Nortriptyline, the prosecution said.

The court heard that Ms Lee picked up her prescription for the drug from a pharmacy in August 2017 – five months after her husband, Ian Jo, was diagnosed with cancer.

In the lead-up to Mr Jo's death in November 2017, Ms Lee on several occasions suggested that she and the children would also die if he did, according to the prosecution. Ms Lee's mother allegedly recalled her crying on the phone saying she would die if Mr Jo died.

On another occasion, Ms Lee allegedly texted her husband saying "if you die I will die along with our two kids".

And while on holiday in Australia after Mr Jo's death, Ms Lee allegedly told a friend that she wished the plane had crashed so she and her children could have died together. Ms Lee said she would have been less sad if her children had died rather than her husband, the prosecution told the court.

Defence lawyer Lorraine Smith told the court that Ms Lee's "descent into madness", which resulted in her killing her two children, began when Mr Jo died. Before that, the defence said, they were a "happy little family".

After Mr Jo was admitted to ICU and then palliative care, Ms Lee began to "unravel" and came to believe it was best if they all died together, Ms Smith said.

The defence claims Ms Lee gave also took antidepressants when she gave them to her children, but got the dose wrong – and when she woke up, her children were dead.

"She has killed her children but she is not guilty of murder by reason of insanity," Ms Smith said.

As the trial opened on Monday, Justice Geoffrey Venning told the jury that it was likely the case would determine "whether, at the time the children were killed, Ms Lee was insane".

Ms Lee is a New Zealand national who was born in South Korea.

Her trial is expected to last up to four weeks.

A years-long succession battle for control of Rupert Murdoch's conservative media empire has drawn to a close, with his son Lachlan set to control the news empire.

The deal, which the family announced on Monday, will ensure the ongoing conservative leaning of Fox News, The Wall Street Journal and The New York Post even after 94-year-old Rupert's death.

Under the agreement Lachlan will control a new trust while siblings Prue MacLeod, Elizabeth Murdoch and James Murdoch will cease being beneficiaries of any trust with shares in Fox or News Corp.

It follows years of tension between the media mogul and three of his children over the future of the family-owned newspapers and television networks.

Tunisian authorities have denied claims that one of the Gaza-bound vessels carrying aid and pro-Palestinian activists including Greta Thunberg was attacked by a drone.

The organisers of the flotilla, Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF), said that the Portuguese-flagged vessel had been struck by a drone while anchored outside the port of Sidi Bou Said in Tunisia. All six passengers and crew were safe, they added.

A spokesperson for Tunisia's national guard told the Agence France-Presse news agency that "no drone" had been detected and the investigation was ongoing.

The humanitarian aid flotilla set sail from Barcelona last week, and arrived in Tunisia on Sunday.

The GSF said their "Family boat" was struck in Tunisian waters, and fire had damaged the main deck.

In a series of videos published to their Instagram, spokespeople for the GSF said an "incendiary device" caused a fire onboard the vessel, which the crew was able to extinguish.

Tunisia's National Guard spokesman told Mosaique FM radio that reports of a drone attack on the flotilla "have no basis in truth", Reuters reported.

He added that an initial inspection indicated the explosion originated inside the vessel.

UN Human Rights Council special rapporteur and Tunisian resident Francesca Albanese, who was also featured in videos shared by the GSF, said that if an attack could be verified it would be an "assault and aggression against Tunisia, and Tunisian sovereignty".

In a post to 'X', she said she was at Sidi Bou Said port and "trying to figure out the facts with local authorities".

Albanese has been a prominent critic of Israel's military offensive in Gaza, and has been subject to sanctions imposed by the US in July - a decision welcomed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who called them a "firm measure against the mendacious smear campaign" against Israel.

Flotilla organisers have said that the aim of their mission is to "break Israel's illegal siege on Gaza", but have faced several setbacks.

In June, Israeli forces boarded a boat carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza and detained the 12 activists onboard, including Swedish activist Thunberg.

Israeli authorities escorted the activists to the port of Ashdod before deporting them from the country.

Israeli authorities have characterised the attempts to sail aid to Gaza as publicity stunts that offered no real humanitarian assistance.

There have also been prior allegations of drone attacks on aid ships bound for Gaza; the Freedom Flotilla alleged that its ship The Conscience was struck by a drone in May off the coast of Malta.

The BBC was sent a recording of the distress call from the flotilla ship, recorded by a crew member on a nearby oil tanker. The captain of the flotilla ship can be heard reporting drone strikes and a fire onboard.

The Maltese government said everyone aboard the ship was "confirmed safe" and that a fire onboard the ship was "brought under control overnight".

Last month a UN-backed body confirmed that there was famine in Gaza and the UN's humanitarian chief said it was the direct result of Israel's "systematic obstruction" of aid entering Gaza.

The report was labelled an "outright lie" by Israel, which has denied there is starvation in the territory.

In March, it introduced a nearly three-month total blockade on supplies entering the Strip, claiming the aid was being taken by Hamas.

It started allowing a limited amount of aid back into the territory after increasing international pressure.

Israel has since tried to impose its own distribution system through the controversial Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which has been criticised by aid agencies.

In 2010, Israeli commandos killed 10 people when they boarded Turkish ship Mavi Marmara which was leading an aid flotilla towards Gaza.

The Israeli military launched a campaign in Gaza in response to the Hamas-led attack on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.

At least 64,522 people have been killed in Israeli attacks in Gaza since then, according to the territory's Hamas-run health ministry.

At least 21 have been killed in a Russian air strike on a village in eastern Ukraine, say local Ukrainian officials.

The victims were ordinary people collecting their pensions in the Donetsk settlement of Yarova, said President Volodymr Zelensky. Donetsk regional leader Vadym Filkashkin said emergency services were at the scene, and that as many people wounded as killed.

Yarova is to the north of Sloviansk, one of the big cities in the region, and not far from the front line as Russian forces advance slowly in the east.

If confirmed, the death toll would be among the heaviest attacks on Ukrainian civilians in recent weeks, 42 months into Russia's full-scale invasion.

At least 23 people were killed in overnight air strikes on Ukraine's capital Kyiv at the end of August.

At the weekend Russia launched its biggest air assault of the war on Kyiv so far, hitting the main government building in the capital, in what Zelensky said was a "ruthless" attack aimed at prolonging the war.

Posting graphic footage of the attack on Yarova online, Zelensky said there were "no words" to describe the latest Russian strikes. There was no immediate response from Russia's military.

Vadym Filashkin said the attack took place at 12:30 on Tuesday as pensions were being handed out.

Yarova sites on a key railway line in Donetsk, between Lyman and Izium. It is also only 6km (3.6 miles) away from the next village of Novoselivka, where Russian forces are closing in on the outskirts.

Ukraine's state emergency service said another three people had died in earlier Russian shelling of settlements in Donetsk.

"The world must not remain silent," Zelensky said, calling for a response from both the US, Europe and the G20 group of nations.

At least 10 people have been killed and more than 40 injured after a freight train crashed into a double-decker bus in central Mexico, authorities have said.

The incident happened as the bus, operated by the Herradura de Plata bus company, was making its way into an industrial zone south of the Atlacomulco area, outside the capital Mexico City.

CCTV footage shown by local media appears to show the passenger bus being hit by a train as it attempted to cross a railway line on Monday morning.

The train's operator Canadian Pacific Kansas City issued a statement expressing its condolences to the victims' families and warned drivers to respect railroad stop signs to "avoid these tragic situations".

Both the bus and train company are working with authorities investigating the incident.

Dozens of injured people pulled from the wreckage have been taken to local hospitals.

Images taken at the crash site appear to show parts of the bus's roof missing, its front windscreen shattered and its rear missing.

The State of Mexico's attorney general's office said seven women and three men were killed, while some of the injured were in a severe condition, according to Reuters.

This is not the first fatal bus crash to be reported in Mexico this year.

In May, at least 21 people were killed in a crash involving a bus, tanker truck and a van in central Mexico, according to officials.

In February, at least 41 people died in an accident involving a bus in southern Mexico, the government in the state of Tabasco said.