US President Donald Trump has announced that Israel and Hamas have "both signed off" on the first phase of a peace plan for Gaza.

"This means that ALL of the Hostages will be released very soon, and Israel will withdraw their Troops to an agreed upon line as the first steps toward a Strong, Durable, and Everlasting Peace," Trump wrote on Truth Social.

The announcement comes after three days of indirect talks in Egypt - mediated by officials from Egypt, Qatar, Turkey and the US - aimed at bringing an end to the two-year conflict.

Both Israel and Hamas also confirmed an agreement had been reached.

• Follow the latest updates here

However, Trump's post did not provide clarity on other known sticking points in negotiations - notably the disarmament of Hamas and the future governance of Gaza.

In a post on X, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called it a "great day", adding that he would "convene the government tomorrow to ratify the agreement and bring all of our precious hostages home".

Hamas confirmed that the agreement included an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and a hostage-prisoner exchange.

The group also called on Trump, the guarantor countries and other Arab states to compel Israel "to fully implement the agreement's requirements".

A senior White House official told CBS, the BBC's US news partner, that "our assessment is that hostages will begin getting released on Monday".

Qatari Foreign Minister Majed al-Ansari said more details would be announced later, adding that the agreement would "lead to ending the war, the release of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners, and the entry of aid".

Earlier on Wednesday, expectations that a deal could be imminent were heightened after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio entered an event with Trump and handed him a note.

The message appeared to ask that Trump approve a Truth Social post about Gaza so that "you can announce first".

Trump said that note informed him that "we are very close to a deal". He exited the room shortly thereafter, saying he had to focus on the Middle East.

Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry said on Wednesday that Israeli fire had killed at least eight people over the previous 24 hours – the lowest death toll it has reported in the past week.

Hospitals said two people had been killed on Wednesday while trying to collect food from aid distribution centres in central and southern Gaza.

The Israeli military, meanwhile, said its troops had killed "several terrorists" who attempted to attack their position in Gaza City.

Israel launched a military campaign in Gaza in response to the 7 October 2023 attack, in which Hamas-led gunmen killed about 1,200 people and took 251 others as hostages.

At least 67,183 have been killed by Israeli military operations in Gaza since then, including 20,179 children, according to the territory's health ministry. Its figures are seen as reliable by the UN and other international bodies, although Israel disputes them.

The ministry has said another 460 people have died from the effects of malnutrition since the start of the war, including 182 since a famine was confirmed in Gaza City in August by the UN-backed Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC).

Netanyahu has repeatedly denied starvation is taking place in Gaza and said Israel was facilitating deliveries of food and other aid.

Madagascar's President Andry Rajoelina has asked for one year to fix the country's challenges, promising that if they persist, he will resign.

He said this during a town-hall style meeting at his palace with various groups of government supporters. Many attendees had the opportunity to ask the president questions or simply share their views - to which he responded.

"I don't want flattery. I want to hear the truth. It's the people who kept telling me that everything was fine who are responsible for our current situation," he said.

The movement behind the protest, known as Gen Z Mada, has been calling for the president to resign - and rejected an invitation to attend the talks.

They argue that they cannot engage a government that has been repressing them as they demand basic human rights. The group has called for new protests on Thursday.

"We refuse the president's invitation to talks. We will not engage in dialogue with a regime that represses, assaults, and humiliates its youth in the streets," they wrote on their Facebook page.

• Behind the Gen Z protesters who want to force Madagascar's president from power

Rajoelina has been holding these meetings as part of his pledge to "listen more", emphasising that the challenges facing the Indian Ocean island nation can only be solved through honest conversations and not protests.

The president assured those at the dialogue that ongoing power projects would address the recurring outages by adding 265 megawatts to the national grid.

"I swear that if power cuts persist in the capital within a year, I will resign," he said.

The protests began on 25 September triggered by anger over persistent power and water shortages, and have escalated into broader dissatisfaction over corruption, high unemployment and the cost-of-living crisis.

Last week, Rajoelina sacked his entire government and appointed an army general as prime minister on Monday. The protest movement rejected the appointment and vowed to continue their struggle.

Rajoelina came to power in 2009 after leading mass protests that triggered military intervention and overthrew then-President Marc Ravalomanana.

Although the youth-led movement continues to demand his resignation, street protests appear to have weakened.

Life in most parts of the capital, Antananarivo, continues as normal, except in a few neighbourhoods with a heavy police presence, where some roads have been blocked or are being closely monitored.

At least 22 people have died in clashes with security forces and scores more have been injured, according to the United Nations. The authorities have disputed these figures.

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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

Discord, a messaging platform popular with gamers, says official ID photos of around 70,000 users have potentially been leaked after a cyber-attack.

The platform, which has more than 200 million users worldwide, says hackers had targeted a firm that helped to verify the ages of its users but the Discord platform itself was not breached.

People can provide ID photos to verify their age on Discord - a networking hub for players to chat and share files with others in the gaming community.

The leaked data may involve personal information, partial credit card details and messages that were exchanged with Discord's customer service agents, the San-Francisco-based company says.

No full credit card details, passwords, or messages and activity beyond conversations with Discord's customer support agents were leaked, the firm said.

All impacted users have been contacted and Discord is working with law enforcement to investigate the matter, it added.

The platform said it has revoked the customer support provider's access to the system that was targeted in the breach. Discord did not name the third-party company involved.

A representative from Zendesk, a customer service software provider for Discord, told the BBC that its systems had not been compromised and that the breach did was not caused by a vulnerability within its platform.

Some online commentators have claimed that the data breach was bigger than Discord has revealed.

A spokesperson for Discord told the BBC that those claims are inaccurate and "part of an attempt to extort payment".

"We will not reward those responsible for their illegal actions," the spokesperson added.

Cybercriminals frequently target personal data, which can command a high price on the black market for use in scams.

Information like full names and official ID numbers is especially valuable because, unlike credit card details, it typically remains unchanged over time.

Discord has previously strengthened its age-verification measures in response to concerns that some servers on the platform were being used to distribute pornographic and extremist material.

World leaders have welcomed the news that Israel and Hamas have agreed to the first phase of a Gaza peace plan.

The agreement paves the way for the release of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners, the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza and the entry of aid into Gaza.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the agreement "a great day for Israel" and said his government would convene on Thursday to approve it.

Hamas said the negotiations were "responsible and serious" and called on the US and other mediators to ensure that Israel implements the deal "without disavowal or delay".

UN Secretary General António Guterres described the deal as a "momentous opportunity", adding that the UN will support the "full implementation" of the deal, increase its delivery of humanitarian aid and advance its reconstruction efforts in Gaza.

Guterres urged all parties to obey the terms of the deal, including releasing Israeli hostages, abiding by a permanent ceasefire, and immediately allowing humanitarian supplies into Gaza.

"The suffering must end," Guterres said.

In a post on X, Tom Fletcher, UN under-secretary general of humanitarian affairs, said: "Great news. Let's get the hostages out and surge aid in - fast."

In a Truth Social post announcing the agreement, US President Donald Trump said it was a "GREAT Day for the Arab and Muslim World, Israel, all surrounding Nations, and the United States of America."

"We thank the mediators from Qatar, Egypt, and Turkey, who worked with us to make this Historic and Unprecedented Event happen," he wrote.

UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said the deal was a moment of "profound relief that will be felt around the world."

He called on all sides "to meet the commitments they have made, to end the war, and to build the foundations for a just and lasting end to the conflict."

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said, "After more than two years of conflict, hostages held and a devastating loss of civilian life, this is a much needed step towards peace," and "We urge all parties to respect the terms of the plan."

US House Leader Chuck Schumer said the agreement brings a "huge sigh of relief to the hostage families, to all of Israel, and to Palestinians who have suffered for so long in this horrific humanitarian catastrophe."

A statement from the Hostages Families Forum, an organisation that has advocated for the return of Israeli captives in Gaza, expressed "profound gratitude to President Trump" for what it called an "historic breakthrough."

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said the release of the hostages was a "blessing", and thanked US and Israeli leaders.

"I warmly embrace the families of the hostages for the anticipated return of their loved ones, including IDF soldiers and fallen heroes, home soon."

Meanwhile in Gaza, residents of Khan Younis, in the territory's south, erupted in cheers following the announcement of a peace deal, the Reuters news agency reported.

"Thank God, today President Trump announced that the war stopped, we are very happy that the war stopped, this is something joyful for us and we thank our brothers and anyone who contributed even if verbally to stop the war and to stop the bloodshed," Wael Radwan told the news agency.

"Thank God for the ceasefire, the end of bloodshed and killing. I am not the only one happy, all of the Gaza Strip is happy, all the Arab people, all of the world is happy with the ceasefire and the end of bloodshed," said Abdul Majeed Rabbo.

In Tel Aviv, the mother and sister of Israeli hostage Matan Zangauker lit fireworks at the city's Hostages Square in celebration of the news that he would be returned to Israel.

"They're coming back!... Matan is coming home!" Einav Zangauker said, as she held her daughter.

Viki Cohen, the mother of Israeli hostage Nimrod Cohen posted on social media: "My child, you are coming home."

Former British-Israeli hostage Emily Damari celebrated with former hostage Romi Gonen, reciting prayers of gratitude, then toasting "L'chaim", meaning "to life". She has been campaigning for the release of her friends, twins Gali and Ziv Berman.

Their brother Liran Berman posted: "My Gali and Ziv, I love you so much. You're coming home."

'We will rebuild Gaza'

Palestinians displaced by the war in told the Associated Press that they hope the peace deal will allow them to leave the shelters and come home.

"I will rebuild the house, we will rebuild Gaza," says Ayman Saber, who lives in Khan Younis.

Ahmed Sheheiber says he is waiting "impatiently" to return to his home in the Jabaliya refugee camp.

"It's a huge day, huge joy," he says.

Aid coordinator Eyad Amawi said he is worried Israel might put obstacles to the deal and that he feels a mix of happiness and sadness.

"We believe and don't believe. We have mixed feelings, between happiness and sadness, memories, everything is mixed," he says.

"We need to fix everything here, especially the psychological effects to (continue) with our lives," he added.

The ceasefire and hostage deal between Israel and Hamas, announced after intense negotiations in Egypt, is a long-awaited breakthrough that brings them closer to ending the two-year-old war in Gaza.

But, despite the momentum, there is no guarantee that this will happen.

The main difference in these efforts has been the personal involvement of President Donald Trump, who has put pressure not only on Hamas but also on Israel for an agreement. This is a major diplomatic victory for someone who wants to be seen as the man who ended the war – and, in the process, be rewarded for it.

Israel launched the war in Gaza in response to the Hamas attacks on 7 October 2023, when around 1,200 people were killed, mostly Israeli civilians, and 251 were taken hostage.

Israel's military offensive has killed more than 67,000 Palestinians, mostly civilians and including more than 18,000 children, according to the territory's Hamas-run health ministry. Its figures are seen as reliable by the UN and other international bodies. It has destroyed most of the territory and led to a catastrophic humanitarian crisis.

What has been agreed is the first phase of a plan the president announced at the White House last week alongside the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, who has been accused of sabotaging efforts for a deal in the past.

This time, Trump, reportedly impatient and irritated with Netanyahu, appears to have used the power only the Americans have to influence Israel, leaving the prime minister with no option other than to engage with the process.

Threatened by Trump with "complete obliteration", Hamas was under intense pressure too. Arab and Muslim countries embraced the president's plan, and there was heavy involvement from Egypt, Qatar and Turkey in the negotiations.

Details of the deal have not yet been published but the outline is that the remaining hostages will be freed – the 20 believed to be alive at once, possibly as soon as Sunday, while the remains of up to 28 deceased captives will be returned in stages.

Hundreds of Palestinian prisoners will be released from Israeli jails, Israeli troops will withdraw from parts of Gaza, and there will be an increase in humanitarian aid entering the territory.

Trump has publicly expressed his desire to be awarded a Nobel Peace Prize, which will be announced on Friday, a deadline that could have guided the negotiations. On social media, he employed his usual hyperbole, calling it a "historic and unprecedented event" and the "first steps toward a strong, durable and everlasting peace".

This is, without a doubt, a significant moment but it gives no certainty that a peace deal for Gaza will happen, as crucial details still need to be worked out. They include the key Israeli demand that Hamas must disarm, the extent of the Israeli withdrawal and a plan for who will govern Gaza.

In Gaza, Palestinians celebrated the announcement in the middle of the night, hoping that this will bring an end to their suffering. In Tel Aviv, people gathered in Hostages Square, which has become a symbol of the ordeal of the captives.

Hamas knows that, by releasing the hostages, it will lose the leverage it has in negotiations. It has demanded guarantees that Israel will not resume the fighting once they have been freed - but has reasons to be suspicious: in March, Israel broke down a ceasefire and returned to war with devastating air strikes.

In Israel, however, a country exhausted by the conflict, polls have consistently suggested that most people want the conflict to end.

But Netanyahu still faces political hurdles. He relies on the support of ultranationalist ministers who have threatened to quit the coalition in the case of a deal, which could lead to the government's collapse, a concern that many suspect has led him to prolong the war. He has promised to achieve "total victory" against Hamas, and any deal will have to allow him to say he has done that.

Netanyahu has called the announcement a "diplomatic and a national and moral victory for the State of Israel". Notably, unlike Hamas, his statement did not say it would end the war.

Millions of households in England will have to pay even higher water bills than had previously been announced, after five water companies appealed to the UK's competition regulator.

The companies - Anglian, Northumbrian, Southern, Wessex and South East - had appeals to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) accepted, giving them permission to raise bills still further.

They had argued that the price rises set by the sector's regulator Ofwat - which average 36% over the next five years – were not enough to deliver the needed investment in infrastructure.

The CMA said the five companies could raise bills by on average an additional 3% more than the original Ofwat decision.

The five water companies serve over 7 million household and business customers.

Troubled firm Thames Water also appealed, but has deferred its case until late October while it tries to fix a rescue bid.

Incidents of very young children taking knives into primary schools have been revealed by a BBC investigation.

Police in Kent recorded an assault involving a four-year-old pupil, while officers in the West Midlands reported that a six-year-old had taken a flick knife into class.

The mother of Harvey Willgoose, a teenager murdered by another pupil in Sheffield, says the data is shocking and is calling on the government to fund metal detectors, or "knife arches", for all UK schools and colleges.

One teenage boy from Sheffield, who says he has taken knives to school, told us: "I just felt like I need to protect myself."

There were 1,304 offences involving knives or sharp objects in 2024 at schools and sixth form colleges in England and Wales, a Freedom of Information request by the BBC has found.

At least 10% were committed by primary-school-aged children, police data suggests.

One educational trust in the West Midlands told us it was installing permanent metal-detecting "knife arches" in all four of its secondary schools because the rate of knife crime in its police force area was so high.

Nearly every force - 41 out of 43 across England and Wales - responded to our request for information about knife incidents in schools.

Two thirds of them also gave us data on the ages and genders of children involved - and those figures revealed that almost 80% of offences were carried out by boys, the vast majority teenagers.

We were also given details of incidents involving primary-age children, some of them very young:

• Kent Police responded to a four-year-old with a knife at a school. The offence was recorded was "assault with injury - malicious wounding". The child was under the age of criminal responsibility, so another body or agency intervened
• West Midlands Police reported that a six-year-old was in possession of a flick knife. The child told staff that "I have a plan... I am going to kill [name of pupil]". Staff seized the knife after the child initially denied having the blade on him
• West Midlands Police also logged that a five-year-old had taken a 10-inch kitchen knife into school to "show his friends" and a six-year-old had gone to school with a "meat cleaver"
• Cheshire Police reported that it had gone to a school in Chester where a five-year-old boy had taken in a kitchen knife

Reporting of such young offenders, however, is not always consistent across schools and police forces, as the age of criminal responsibility is 10.

In response to the BBC's findings, the government told us it has a "mission to halve knife crime" and "schools have the power to implement security measures, including knife arches, where necessary".

Mother Caroline Willgoose says "kids are going to school frightened" and the installation of knife arches could be a deterrent to crime.

Her son, Harvey, was murdered by a fellow pupil with a hunting knife in February at All Saints Catholic High School in Sheffield. The 15-year-old was stabbed twice in the chest.

Caroline says Harvey was afraid to go to school because he knew some children were carrying knives.

"I always thought knives was a gang-culture type of thing. Never in a million years would I have thought there were knives inside school," she says.

The 51-year-old says many of the pupils and teaching staff who saw what happened are still receiving trauma counselling.

"It's been horrific. I can't describe the pain... we need to get into schools and educate kids of the seriousness and the pure devastation that carrying knives can bring."

The police forces were all asked by the BBC about offences with bladed weapons they had recorded on school premises in the past few years.

The types of knives found included machetes, pen knives, flick knives, butterfly knives and swords.

Although the 2024 figure for the total number of knife incidents (1,304) is slightly down on the previous year, according to the data we received, the number of more serious offences recorded - for example violence rather than possession - has gone up.

Some schools have responded to rising knife crime by adding security measures to check for bladed weapons.

Beacon Hill Academy in Dudley has recently installed a new knife arch - the BBC was able to see it in use for the first time.

Evie, who's 16, says the arch is a stark reminder of possible dangers: "You think about what it's there for and what children do bring to school, and you never know."

Thirteen-year-old Archie agrees but says "you've got to keep in mind it was put in for a safety thing. So, it's kind of scary on the one hand, but at the same time reassuring".

Headteacher Sukhjot Dhami says the school needed to add extra security - "whatever it takes to keep young people safe".

The three other secondaries run by Dudley Academies Trust are introducing similar security measures - a response, says the trust, to the high knife-crime rate in the West Midlands Police area.

The boss of one the UK's largest providers of metal detectors says sales to schools of knife arches and handheld wands have risen.

Schools are our biggest customers, says Byron Logue, managing director of Interconnective Security Products.

The company sold 35 knife arches to schools between March 2024 and March 2025 - a threefold increase previous 12-month period before, he says. In the last 12 months they have also sold more than 100 knife wands to schools.

"I think we've reached a stage now where we can acknowledge that there is a problem nationally in the country with regards to knife crime, particularly amongst the youth," says the businessman.

In a Sheffield gym, we meet three teenagers who tell us they have taken knives into school.

One boy, 15, tells us he used to take a 12-inch knife into the classroom.

"The first time I took a knife in, was when a kid sent out a message saying, 'I'm going to kill you this time'. So I asked one of my friends to give me a knife and I paid about £30 for it."

The teachers didn't notice, he says. "I used to always walk in with a blade on my hip. I'd sit down normally so the knife wasn't moving around."

Another boy, 18, says he started carrying a knife into school after being attacked and slashed on the hand by another pupil.

"I just felt like I need to protect myself," he explains.

We challenge the teenagers about why they broke the law and took knives into school.

One of them replied: "You just got to take your precautions. Nowhere's safe really."

The three boys are in the gym as part of an effort - by owner Trevor Chrouch - to offer young people an alternative to crime. A former professional bodybuilder, these days Trevor offers mentoring and teaches young people self-defence. He lets secondary school pupils use the gym for free, he says.

"I think kids are bringing knives into school every day. Just like their mobile phone in their pocket, they've got their knife in the other pocket. It's because they're scared."

We asked the Home Office to read our research.

It said it was addressing the root causes of knife crime through its Young Futures programme and that schools had the power to implement their own security measures including knife arches.

It will also implement "stricter rules for online sellers of knives", it says, by backing "Ronan's Law" which came into effect in August.

The Association of Schools and College Leaders says while it is relatively rare for pupils to bring knives into schools, it would like to see greater efforts across society to tackle the issue.

"More than a decade of cuts to community policing and youth outreach programmes has meant school leaders, too often, find themselves with little or no support," says general secretary, Pepe Di'lasio.

Back in Sheffield, we asked the teenagers in the gym what would have stopped them from taking knives to school.

"Learning how to defend ourselves," the 19-year-old told us. "You don't get taught that in schools. They only teach you science, not how to live life and how to handle your emotions better."

The Princess of Wales has warned that an overload of smartphones and computer screens is creating an "epidemic of disconnection" that disrupts family life.

"While digital devices promise to keep us connected, they frequently do the opposite," writes Catherine, in an essay written in collaboration with Prof Robert Waldinger from Harvard Medical School.

Catherine says smartphones and gadgets have become a "constant distraction, fragmenting our focus" and undermining the time that families spend together.

"We're physically present but mentally absent, unable to fully engage with the people right in front of us," writes the princess, in an essay that's part of her early years education campaign.

The princess says that research evidence shows the importance of creating healthy and warm relationships within families and between people, with lifelong benefits for physical and mental health.

But she warns, in an essay The Power of Human Connection in a Distracted World, that social trends are going in the opposite direction and that there are more lonely, isolated people and that families are not giving each other adequate attention.

"When we check our phones during conversations, scroll through social media during family dinners, or respond to e-mails while playing with our children, we're not just being distracted, we are withdrawing the basic form of love that human connection requires," she writes.

This is a particularly acute challenge for today's children who are in a "world immersed in digital technology", says Catherine, ahead of a visit to an early years centre in Oxford later on Thursday.

Her husband Prince William, in a conversation on an Apple TV+ show, recently said that none of their three children were allowed to have smartphones.

In her essay published on the website of the Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood, Catherine says that children need to be encouraged to develop social and emotional skills, which will help them throughout their lives.

But that can be impeded by a "world filled with technological distractions", she argues.

"We're raising a generation that may be more 'connected' than any in history while simultaneously being more isolated, more lonely, and less equipped to form the warm, meaningful relationships that research tells us are the foundation of a healthy life," she writes.

This echoes some of the messages that the princess has posted on social media, such as: "Our lives flourish when we cherish the bonds of love and friendship. It has never been more important to appreciate the value of one another."

The Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood was launched in 2021, with the aim of raising awareness and gathering research evidence about the importance of children's first years.

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Pubs and bars in England and Wales could see extended opening hours as the government launches a fast-track a review on "outdated" licensing rules.

The plans could make it easier for venues to serve food outside and host more live music, in a bid to "remove unnecessary barriers".

Pub landlords and local communities will be able to have their say in a four-week call for evidence. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said the review was about "cutting red tape" and "boosting footfall" to support the UK's economic growth.

But critics have warned relaxing rules around alcohol would lead to more antisocial behaviour.

Sir Keir said "pubs and bars are the beating heart of our communities", and added that the government was "backing them to thrive".

"When our locals do well, our economy does too," he said.

The call for evidence will focus on nine key recommendations from the Government's Licensing Taskforce, with particular emphasis on streamlining on-trade alcohol licensing for hospitality venues.

It said it plans to cut the cost of licensing, extend business rates relief and cut alcohol duty on draught pints.

Nick Mackenzie, co-chair of the Licensing Taskforce and chief executive at pub giant Greene King, said updating the licensing system was a "vital step" towards reducing the challenges of running a hospitality business.

"Pubs are faced with continued rising costs, placing them under enormous pressures which is why the Government must continue to back the sector, including critical reforms on business rates which would unlock opportunities for pubs to invest and help drive economic growth," he said.

Dr Richard Piper, the chief executive of the charity Alcohol Change UK told the Guardian the proposed reforms would be a "charter for chaos" without support from local authorities and health experts.

He said permitting vendors to sell alcohol later into the evening would "inevitably mean more victims of crime, including domestic violence, more antisocial behaviour and disturbance, more police time spent dealing with drink-fuelled incidents and both ambulance and A&E staff having to deal with even more people who have come to harm as a result of alcohol".

Discord, a messaging platform popular with gamers, says official ID photos of around 70,000 users have potentially been leaked after a cyber-attack.

The platform, which has more than 200 million users worldwide, says hackers had targeted a firm that helped to verify the ages of its users but the Discord platform itself was not breached.

People can provide ID photos to verify their age on Discord - a networking hub for players to chat and share files with others in the gaming community.

The leaked data may involve personal information, partial credit card details and messages that were exchanged with Discord's customer service agents, the San-Francisco-based company says.

No full credit card details, passwords, or messages and activity beyond conversations with Discord's customer support agents were leaked, the firm said.

All impacted users have been contacted and Discord is working with law enforcement to investigate the matter, it added.

The platform said it has revoked the customer support provider's access to the system that was targeted in the breach. Discord did not name the third-party company involved.

A representative from Zendesk, a customer service software provider for Discord, told the BBC that its systems had not been compromised and that the breach did was not caused by a vulnerability within its platform.

Some online commentators have claimed that the data breach was bigger than Discord has revealed.

A spokesperson for Discord told the BBC that those claims are inaccurate and "part of an attempt to extort payment".

"We will not reward those responsible for their illegal actions," the spokesperson added.

Cybercriminals frequently target personal data, which can command a high price on the black market for use in scams.

Information like full names and official ID numbers is especially valuable because, unlike credit card details, it typically remains unchanged over time.

Discord has previously strengthened its age-verification measures in response to concerns that some servers on the platform were being used to distribute pornographic and extremist material.

There is a higher risk of a serious fall in US stocks than is currently being reflected in the market, the head of JP Morgan has told the BBC.

Jamie Dimon, who leads America's largest bank, said he was "far more worried than others" about a serious market correction, which he said could come in the next six months to two years.

In a rare and wide-ranging interview, the bank boss also said that the US had become a "less reliable" partner on the world stage.

He cautioned he was still "a little worried" about inflation in the US, but insisted he thought the Federal Reserve would remain independent, despite repeated attacks by the Trump administration on its chair Jerome Powell.

Jamie Dimon was in Bournemouth, where he was announcing an investment of about £350m in JP Morgan's campus there, as well as a £3.5m philanthropic investment in local non-profits.

Commenting on the investment, Chancellor Rachel Reeves said: "As one of Dorset's biggest private sector employers, JP Morgan Chase expanding their Bournemouth campus is fantastic news for the local economy and people who live here."

Ahead of the interview, Dimon appeared before a town hall on the campus - cutting a figure more akin to an off-duty rock star than bank CEO - wearing an open-collar shirt and jeans, and high-fiving staff on his way to the stage.

Opening with his take on the UK's economy, Dimon said he felt Rachel Reeves was doing a "terrific job", and he felt optimistic about some of the government's attempts to boost innovation and cut regulation.

However, in the broader economic picture, he felt there were increased risks US stock markets were overheated.

"I am far more worried about that than others," he said.

There were a "lot of things out there" creating an atmosphere of uncertainty, he added, pointing to risk factors like the geopolitical environment, fiscal spending and the remilitarisation of the world.

"All these things cause a lot of issues that we don't know how to answer," he said.

"So I say the level of uncertainty should be higher in most people's minds than what I would call normal."

Much of the rapid growth in the stock market in recent years has been driven by investment in AI.

On Wednesday, the Bank of England drew a comparison with the dot com boom (and subsequent bust) of the late 1990s - and warned that the value of AI tech companies "appear stretched" with a rising risk of a "sharp correction".

"The way I look at it is AI is real, AI in total will pay off," he said.

"Just like cars in total paid off, and TVs in total paid off, but most people involved in them didn't do well."

He added some of the money being invested in AI would "probably be lost".

Bullets, guns and bombs

Global security has been a recent focus for the JP Morgan boss, with his letter to shareholders earlier this year warning the US would run out of missiles in seven days of a South China Sea war.

Reflecting on how the world could combat risk factors, he pointed to greater military investment.

"People talk about stockpiling things like crypto, I always say we should be stockpiling bullets, guns and bombs.

"The world's a much more dangerous place, and I'd rather have safety than not."

Another risk factor which many in the global economy believe the US could be facing is pressure placed on the independence of the Federal Reserve, America's central bank.

On this, he said he thought central bank independence was important - but was willing to take Trump "at his word" that he would not interfere in Fed independence, despite the president describing current Fed chair Jerome Powell as a "moron" and a "numbskull" for failing to lower interest rates more quickly.

Dimon acknowledged the US had become a "little less reliable" but said that some of the Trump administration's action had pushed Europe to act over underinvestment in Nato and its lack of economic competitiveness.

Dimon also shared insights into a potential breakthrough in trade negotiations between India and the US.

He said he wanted to "bring India closer" and he believed a deal was close to reduce additional tariffs on India, which were imposed as a penalty for its continued trade with Russia, particularly its oil purchases.

"In fact, I've spoken to several of the Trump officials who say they want to do that, and I've been told that they are going to do that."

Jamie Dimon's name has been frequently mentioned among the big financial players capable of making a transition into politics.

Ahead of Trump's re-election last year, influential investor Bill Ackman said he would be an "incredible choice" as treasury secretary, and he has also been the subject of speculation about a potential presidential run.

Asked about his political ambitions, Dimon said it "wasn't on the cards", and his focus was on keeping JP Morgan as a "healthy and vibrant company".

"If you gave me the presidency, I'd take it," he joked. "I think I'd do a good job."

The parents of Tom Phillips, who vanished with his three children into the New Zealand wilderness in 2021, have made a public apology - their first comments since Phillips was shot dead by police on 8 September.

"We would like to send our sincere apology... for all the trouble, inconvenience, loss of privacy and property caused by Tom," Neville and Julia Phillips wrote in a letter published in King Country News, a small community newspaper, on Thursday.

"We in no way supported him or agreed with any of his actions in the past four years. We are truly sorry for all that you had to endure."

Phillips evaded capture for nearly four years, despite a nationwide search and multiple sightings.

He was killed in a shoot-out in September, in which a police officer was seriously injured.

The officer has since been discharged from hospital, local media reported.

One of his children had been with him during the shoot-out, and provided information to help locate Phillips' two other children later that day.

Before Phillips disappeared with his children, they had been living in Marokopa, a small rural town in the region of Waikato surrounded by dense bush and forested terrain.

"The vast area in which Phillips kept the children is difficult, steep terrain almost completely obscured from all angles by dense bush," Detective Superintendent Ross McKay said weeks after the deadly shoot-out.

The main goal of the police during the operation had been "locating and returning the children safely" he said. He added that they "knew Phillips had firearms and was motivated to use them".

Police said they could not provide further details amid ongoing investigations.

Phillips' family had previously made public appeals to him to return.

In a message to Phillips during a television interview, his sister Rozzi said "we're ready to help you walk through what you need to walk through".

Phillips' mother Julia also wrote him a letter - provided to New Zealand outlet Stuff - saying that everyday she hoped "today will be the day that you all come home".

A new law in California is aimed at stopping advertisements from pumping up the volume on streaming services.

The law, which says adverts cannot be louder than the primary video content being watched, builds on a federal one that sets the volume of ads on broadcast TV and cable stations to include streaming platforms.

Opponents, including the influential entertainment industry, had argued it would be difficult to implement because streaming services do not have the same control over ad volume as broadcasters.

California is home to the headquarters of streaming platforms Netflix and Hulu, and Amazon produces many of its Prime Video shows and movies there.

In 2010, Congress pass the Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation (CALM) Act to dial down the volume on TV and radio stations.

The law that California Governor Gavin Newsom signed on Monday forces streaming services to comply with the Obama-era federal law too.

The services were in their nascence when the CALM Act was passed but have since become the primary viewing option in many US households.

"We heard Californians loud and clear, and what's clear is that they don't want commercials at a volume any louder than the level at which they were previously enjoying a program," Newsom said upon signing the bill.

Existing federal law requires the federal regulator, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), to develop regulations that require commercials to have the same average volume as the programs they accompany, according to the bill.

In February, the FCC said it had received thousands of complaints about loud commercials over past several years - many regarding streaming services.

This law, which takes effect on and after July 1, 2026, prohibits a video streaming service that serves consumers in the state from transmitting the audio of commercial advertisements louder than the video content the people are watching.

"This bill was inspired by baby Samantha and every exhausted parent who's finally gotten a baby to sleep, only to have a blaring streaming ad undo all that hard work," said State Senator Thomas Umberg, who introduced the bill.

Samantha is the daughter of Umberg's legislative director, Zach Keller, who told him about a noisy ad waking up his infant daughter while he was watching a streaming show.

However, the Motion Picture Association and the Streaming Innovation Alliance, which represent streaming services including Disney and Netflix, initially opposed the bill.

They said they do not have the ability to control volume settings on the devices on which their content is offered, unlike broadcast and cable TV providers.

Streaming ads come from several different sources and cannot necessarily or practically be controlled, the MPA's vice-president of state government affairs Melissa Patack said in June.

The bill was later amended with a legal provision that would bar individuals or private parties from suing streaming services for violating the law.

Both groups remained neutral on the amended bill as a result, according to the Los Angeles Times.