The British Medical Association (BMA) has warned against public "scaremongering" over the current flu outbreak as its members vote on whether to carry out planned strikes in England next week.

It comes after Health Secretary Wes Streeting said he was "extremely worried" about the "double whammy" of rising numbers of flu patients in hospitals and forthcoming resident doctor strikes.

BMA resident doctors committee chair Dr Jack Fletcher said that while the union was not "diminishing" the impact of flu, Streeting "should not be scaremongering the public into thinking that the NHS will not be able to look after them."

The result of a BMA ballot is due on Monday. If it is rejected, a five-day strike will begin on Wednesday.

The government says a deal offers legislation that prioritises British medical graduates for specialty training jobs starting next year and offers to cover the costs of training expenses such as exam fees.

The deal does not include a pay rise. Writing in the Guardian, Sir Keir said pay for resident doctors - the new name for junior doctors - has increased by 28.9% over the past three years.

In a statement released on Saturday morning, the BMA called on the health secretary to "focus his time and attention on offering a deal that will stop next week's strikes going ahead, rather than making claims that strike action could cause the NHS to collapse."

The BMA has written to chief executives of NHS Trusts in England saying it recognised that, in the event of a strike, resident doctors may be required to return to work to "maintain safe patient care".

The letter, signed by BMA council chair Dr Tom Dolphin, says: "As doctors, we at the BMA wish to ensure that patients remain safe".

Speaking to LBC earlier this week, Streeting said the current situation was "probably the worst pressure the NHS has faced since Covid".

He questioned why the BMA hadn't taken up his offer of pushing the strike back to January "if they wanted to just give me a kicking".

"I can only assume that the reason why they refuse to do that is because they know that this week will be most painful for the NHS," he added.

Echoing the health secretary, the prime minister said the "reckless" strikes "should not happen" while the NHS is facing its "most precarious moment since the pandemic".

Writing in the Guardian on Friday, Sir Keir Starmer said the BMA had been sent a new offer as well as a chance to reschedule the strikes until after Christmas.

"Don't get me wrong – of course I would rather they were cancelled... But under the circumstances, I wanted to be sure we have left no stone unturned in our efforts to protect the NHS," he said.

The BMA said it will ask its members whether the government's offer will be enough to call off Wednesday's strikes.

If members indicate yes, then they will be given time to consider the offer in more detail and a formal follow-up referendum would be held on ending the dispute completely.

Some experts say flu has come early this winter, and it looks to be a particularly nasty season because of a new mutated version of the virus which is circulating.

Many are calling it "super flu", but it is not more severe nor harder to treat.

An average of 2,660 patients per day were in hospital with flu in England last week – the highest for this time of the year since records began in 2021, and up 55% on the week before, NHS England said.

It is important to note that the records only date back to 2021 and so do not capture the two worst flu seasons of the past 15 years, which were seen in 2014-15 and 2017-18.

Flu cases are also rising in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, figures show.

However, the medical director for the NHS in London, Chris Streather, said the flu situation was "well within the boundaries" of what the NHS could cope with and that hospitals were better prepared for large disease outbreaks since the Covid pandemic.

Speculation is probably not helpful and can cause people to worry, he added.

Angry fans attending Lionel Messi's tour of India ripped up seats and threw items towards the pitch after his appearance at Kolkata's Salt Lake Stadium.

Thousands of adoring supporters had paid up to 12,000 rupees (£100; $133) to catch a glimpse of the football star, but were left disappointed when he emerged to walk around the pitch, and was obscured by a large group of officials and celebrities.

When the Argentina and Inter Miami forward was whisked away early by security after around 20 minutes, elements of the crowd turned hostile.

West Bengal's chief minister, Mamata Banerjee said she was "deeply disturbed and shocked" by the events.

Messi is in India for his 'GOAT tour', a series of promotional events in Kolkata, Hyderabad, Mumbai and New Delhi.

His tour began with the unveiling of a 70ft statue of himself in Kolkata, which had been assembled over the course of 27 days by a 45-strong crew.

It was unveiled virtually due to security reasons, meaning thousands of fans instead travelled to the city's stadium for a chance to see the footballer.

They were chanting, buying jerseys and wearing "I love Messi" headbands.

Messi initially walked around the stadium waving to fans, but after his appearance was abruptly ended on Saturday, frustrated fans stormed the pitch and vandalised banners and tents, as others hurled plastic chairs and water bottles.

The 2022 World Cup winner - considered one of football's greatest players of all time - had been expected to play a short exhibition game at the stadium, the AFP news agency reports.

"Only leaders and actors were surrounding Messi ... Why did they call us then ... We have got a ticket for 12 thousand rupees, but we were not even able to see his face", a fan at the stadium told Indian news agency ANI.

One angry fan told the Press Trust of India news agency people had paid the equivalent of a month's salary to see the eight-time Ballon d'Or winner.

"I paid Rs 5,000 for the ticket and came with my son to watch Messi not politicians.

"The police and military personnel were taking selfies, and the management is to blame."

Kolkata is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal and has a large football fanbase in an otherwise cricket-crazed country.

In the city, it is common to see hundreds of thousands of fans gather at stadiums at a derby of local clubs.

Announcing an enquiry, Banerjee apologised to Messi and "sports lovers" for the incident at the stadium.

"The [enquiry] committee will conduct a detailed enquiry into the incident, fix responsibility, and recommend measures to prevent such occurrences in the future," she said on X.

In the early hours of Saturday, thousands lined the roads and congregated outside the hotel where Messi was staying to try and catch a glimpse of him.

Hitesh, a 24-year-old corporate lawyer, flew nearly 1,900 kilometres from the south Indian city of Bengaluru.

"For me it's personal. You can see I am quite short, and I love to play football with my friends," Hitesh told the BBC, standing in front of the statue.

"Messi is the player I related with the most, no one can match his talent. He gives me hope that with talent you can do anything."

It is just a small part of India's homage to the former Barcelona and Paris St-Germain forward.

Fans can visit 'Hola Messi' fan zone where there is a life-sized replica Messi sat on a throne, a hall adorned with some of his trophies and a recreation of his Miami home complete with mannequins of the player and his family sat on a balcony.

Luigi Mangione, the man accused of fatally shooting United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson in a case that sparked national attention, watched as new testimony and never-before-seen footage from the day of his arrest in a McDonald's was unveiled during a hearing this week.

Mr Mangione has pleaded not guilty to state charges related to the 2024 murder of Mr Thompson, a father of two, as well as federal counts that carry the possibility of the death penalty.

The pre-trial hearing is focused on the defence's attempts to keep certain evidence out of the trial, which has not been scheduled yet, including items found in his backpack during his arrest and statements he made to officers.

During the first two weeks of the hearing, supporters of Mr Mangione - the scion of a prominent Maryland family and Ivy League graduate - filled the back rows of the Manhattan criminal courtroom, some wearing a pin portraying him as a saint-like figure.

Prosecutors and Mr Mangione's legal team are expected to question over a dozen witnesses from the day of his arrest, including the employees who spotted him and the police who arrested him.

Here is a look at some of the key pieces of evidence discussed that offer a window into Mr Mangione's trial.

An eyebrow giveaway

The pre-trial hearing has centred on the small-town McDonald's in Altoona, Pennsylvania, where officers were shocked to find the high-profile suspect days after Mr Thompson was fatally shot - and hours from the busy Midtown Manhattan crime scene.

Witnesses suggested the arrest may never have occurred there if not for one of Mr Mangione's key features: his eyebrows.

During the first day of the hearing, prosecutors played a call to police from a McDonald's employee about a tip from a customer in the restaurant.

The employee said the customer thought a patron looked like the suspect in the United Healthcare CEO shooting. The patron was well covered, wearing a black hoodie, a medical mask and a tan beanie. But one key detail stuck out.

"The only thing you can see is his eyebrows," the employee told police.

It was not the only time Mr Mangione's distinguished eyebrows have come up.

Prosecutors also entered into evidence notecards they say Mr Mangione had, which appeared to be to-do lists for the days after the high-profile shooting.

One card reads: "Keep momentum, FBI slower overnight," while another said: "Change hat, shoes, pluck eyebrows".

'Proposterous': An unexpected day at McDonald's

Dozens of videos released by prosecutors show Mr Mangione's encounter with police and his eventual arrest in the McDonald's as other customers watched.

Officers who responded narrated the footage this week, telling the court what was going through their minds as they realised the 27-year-old appeared similar to the suspect in photos.

On Thursday, Altoona Lieutenant William Hanelly said a fellow officer responded sarcastically that he would "get right on it" when he heard the tip about the suspect.

Mr Hanelly told the court that he understood the sarcasm, because it seemed "preposterous" that a shooter from "New York City had found his way to a McDonald's in Altoona, Pennsylvania".

But at the scene, officers said they quickly saw the resemblance to New York Police Department pictures circulated to the public after days without any leads.

"It's him. I'm not kidding. He's real nervous. It's him," one officer can be heard telling Mr Hanelly in a phone call played for the court.

In one video, Mr Mangione eats a McDonald's meal as officers stand guard around him in the restaurant waiting for more officers to arrive.

At the hearing, Mr Mangione watched the videos quietly from the defence table, seated next to his lawyers - wife and husband Karen Friedman Agnifilo and Marc Agnifilo. The latter defended Sean "Diddy" Combs, who was acquitted of sex trafficking and racketeering charges just months earlier.

Wearing a grey suit and button-down shirt most days, Mr Mangione frequently took notes on a legal pad, and occasionally smiled and laughed with his lawyers.

A fake name leads to an arrest

In the series of police body camera videos played for the court, Mr Mangione's interactions with officers eventually lead to his arrest on 9 December as Christmas music plays loudly in the background of the McDonald's.

When officers first speak to Mr Mangione, they ask him to pull his mask down. He listens, and is heard telling officers his name is "Mark Rosario", handing them a New Jersey identification that police later said was false.

That identification gave officers enough cause to arrest Mr Mangione, Mr Hanelly told the court, and in the video, Mr Mangione tells officers his real name is Luigi.

In another body camera video, an officer tells the 27-year-old he is under police investigation for giving a fake identification and Mr Mangione is seen putting his hands on the wall as officers arrest him.

They then take a photo of Mr Mangione with his hands behind his back, an image widely circulated on social media after his arrest.

Bullets, a journal and cash: a peak into Mr Mangione's backpack

The pre-trial hearing also shed light on the items Mr Mangione was carrying when he was arrested.

Mr Mangione's lawyers have argued that a 9mm handgun as well as a notebook should be excluded from trial because officers did not have a warrant to search his backpack. Prosecutors allege that Mr Mangione wrote in his notebook about "the deadly, greed-fuelled health insurance cartel".

During the hearing on Thursday, Mr Hanelly argued that there were exceptions for warrants.

Earlier in the week, Ms Friedman Agnifilo questioned the officer who searched Mr Mangione's backpack, arguing they were searching the bag "because you thought he was the New York City shooter".

"No, we search everyone," said the officer, Christy Wasser.

Video played in court shows a police officer pulling a series of items from the backpack, including a handgun magazine that Mr Hanelly said contained 9 mm bullets - all as Holly Jolly Christmas plays over the speaker.

One law enforcement official comes across a journal in the backpack, and can be heard saying it reads like a "manifesto".

Ms Agnifilo objected after the "manifesto" part of the video was played repeatedly in court, arguing the prosecutor wanted to emphasise the line.

Eventually, Mr Hanelly testified, the officers decided to stop searching the backpack and take it to the police station because "it was going to be a mess".

Prosecutors this week entered into evidence images of other items Mr Mangione had with him, including a gun, a silencer, dozens of $100 bills, face masks, a hair trimmer and a passport.

The hearing is expected to continue into next week.

Angry fans attending Lionel Messi's tour of India ripped up seats and threw items towards the pitch after his appearance at Kolkata's Salt Lake Stadium.

Thousands of adoring supporters had paid up to 12,000 rupees (£100; $133) to catch a glimpse of the football star, but were left disappointed when he emerged to walk around the pitch, and was obscured by a large group of officials and celebrities.

When the Argentina and Inter Miami forward was whisked away early by security after around 20 minutes, elements of the crowd turned hostile.

West Bengal's chief minister, Mamata Banerjee said she was "deeply disturbed and shocked" by the events.

Messi is in India for his 'GOAT tour', a series of promotional events in Kolkata, Hyderabad, Mumbai and New Delhi.

His tour began with the unveiling of a 70ft statue of himself in Kolkata, which had been assembled over the course of 27 days by a 45-strong crew.

It was unveiled virtually due to security reasons, meaning thousands of fans instead travelled to the city's stadium for a chance to see the footballer.

They were chanting, buying jerseys and wearing "I love Messi" headbands.

Messi initially walked around the stadium waving to fans, but after his appearance was abruptly ended on Saturday, frustrated fans stormed the pitch and vandalised banners and tents, as others hurled plastic chairs and water bottles.

The 2022 World Cup winner - considered one of football's greatest players of all time - had been expected to play a short exhibition game at the stadium, the AFP news agency reports.

"Only leaders and actors were surrounding Messi ... Why did they call us then ... We have got a ticket for 12 thousand rupees, but we were not even able to see his face", a fan at the stadium told Indian news agency ANI.

One angry fan told the Press Trust of India news agency people had paid the equivalent of a month's salary to see the eight-time Ballon d'Or winner.

"I paid Rs 5,000 for the ticket and came with my son to watch Messi not politicians.

"The police and military personnel were taking selfies, and the management is to blame."

Kolkata is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal and has a large football fanbase in an otherwise cricket-crazed country.

In the city, it is common to see hundreds of thousands of fans gather at stadiums at a derby of local clubs.

Announcing an enquiry, Banerjee apologised to Messi and "sports lovers" for the incident at the stadium.

"The [enquiry] committee will conduct a detailed enquiry into the incident, fix responsibility, and recommend measures to prevent such occurrences in the future," she said on X.

In the early hours of Saturday, thousands lined the roads and congregated outside the hotel where Messi was staying to try and catch a glimpse of him.

Hitesh, a 24-year-old corporate lawyer, flew nearly 1,900 kilometres from the south Indian city of Bengaluru.

"For me it's personal. You can see I am quite short, and I love to play football with my friends," Hitesh told the BBC, standing in front of the statue.

"Messi is the player I related with the most, no one can match his talent. He gives me hope that with talent you can do anything."

It is just a small part of India's homage to the former Barcelona and Paris St-Germain forward.

Fans can visit 'Hola Messi' fan zone where there is a life-sized replica Messi sat on a throne, a hall adorned with some of his trophies and a recreation of his Miami home complete with mannequins of the player and his family sat on a balcony.

King Charles has been praised for his candour in talking about his cancer treatment where he highlighted the importance of early detection and screening.

In a recorded video message, broadcast on Channel 4 for the Stand Up To Cancer campaign, the King said his treatment was being reduced and he urged people to take up offers of cancer screening, saying "early diagnosis quite simply saves lives."

The type of cancer he is being treated for has not been revealed and the King, 77, will continue to receive treatment and monitoring.

Clare Garnsey, associate medical director of Greater Manchester Cancer Alliance, said his message was "very powerful".

The King, who revealed his diagnosis in February last year, is not described as being in remission or "cured" but the regularity of his treatment will be significantly reduced in the new year.

In his video message, recorded in Clarence House two weeks ago, he said that he was "troubled" to learn that nine million people around the UK are not up to date with the cancer screening available to them.

"That is at least nine million opportunities for early diagnosis being missed," he said.

He added: "Too often, I am told, people avoid screening because they imagine it may be frightening, embarrassing or uncomfortable.

"If and when they do finally take up their invitation, they are glad they took part.

"A few moments of minor inconvenience are a small price to pay for the reassurance that comes for most people when they are either told either they don't need further tests or, for some, are given the chance to enable early detection, with the life-saving intervention that can follow."

Speaking to BBC Breakfast, Miss Garnsey said she, "like the majority of health professionals who work in the cancer field" was "really thankful" for what the King said.

"I think the message was very powerful about the importance of early diagnosis and how important it is that we all attend for our screening," she added.

She said it is "really helpful" to healthcare professionals when people in "positions of influence" - such as the King - speak publicly about their experiences with cancer.

These messages highlight that it "can happen to anybody", she said, and raise awareness of the potential symptoms someone may experience.

Royal biographer and friend of King Charles, Jonathan Dimbleby, said the King's message demonstrated the "unique role of the sovereign".

Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme, he said the King's decision to speak openly about his treatment in such "warm, gentle, thoughtful, kind terms" was "quite extraordinary and it has great impact".

Mr Dimbleby said that when it was announced that the King was having treatment for an enlarged prostate in 2024, there was a considerable surge in searches to the NHS website.

"No one else could have done this," he added.

What can be general symptoms of cancer?

Different types of cancer all have their own symptoms - but the NHS says general symptoms can include:

• A new lump or swelling
• Sweating a lot or a high temperature
• Feeling more tired than usual
• Unusual bruising or bleeding
• Unusual pain anywhere in the body
• Unexpected weight loss or loss of appetite
• Needing to pee more often or more urgently, or pain when you pee

Read more on the NHS website.

Until now the King has said little publicly about his illness.

In his video message, King Charles said he knew how "overwhelming" a diagnosis can feel, but stressed that early detection is "key" to give patients the "precious gift of hope".

The NHS has three cancer screening programmes - for bowel, breast and cervical cancer - available to certain age groups.

These tests can detect a problem even before someone experiences symptoms.

In his message, the King also urged people to use the screening checker online tool.

Cancer charity Macmillan Cancer Support said it was "incredibly grateful" to the King for sharing his experience "with such openness and honesty".

"The King's reminder of the importance of screening and early detection is an important message for us all," it added in a statement.

The prime minister said the King's message was "powerful" and that he was "glad" that the King's treatment will be reduced in the new year.

According to Buckingham Palace, the King's recovery has reached a very positive stage and he has "responded exceptionally well to treatment", so much so that doctors will now move his treatment "into a precautionary phase".

The regularity of treatment is going to be significantly reduced - but the King, 77, is not described as being in remission or "cured".

Meanwhile, Dr Harrison Carter, director of screening at NHS England, said the health service "fully supported" the King's call for people to attend screening tests.

"So, when your NHS screening invite arrives, whether it's for cervical or breast screening, or a bowel cancer testing kit through the post, please do make time to take it up."

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Two men have been arrested after a Christmas tree which has stood in a village for more than 10 years was cut down, hours after its lights were switched on.

The tree, in Shotton Colliery, County Durham, was felled at some point between 22:00 and 23:00 GMT on Wednesday.

Two men were arrested after an appeal by Peterlee Neighbourhood Police Team.

Police said officers were in the process of charging and remanding a 26-year-old man with criminal damage, while a 23-year-old man has been released under investigation.

On Friday, Shotton Residents Association chairman Steve Maitland said the tree had been put up as a monument to the fallen soldiers of World War One.

He told BBC Radio Tees that members of the public were making a sleeve for the tree's base, so they could bolt it back up as quickly as possible, "just to tide us over for Christmas".

He said: "These people who did this – I don't think they understand the history and the feeling of these things."

Some of the people involved in fundraising for the tree a decade ago had since died, he said.

He called the attack "mindless vandalism" but said he could not "turn the clock back".

Follow BBC North East on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.

The Last Time Is Now. It's the name given to the tournament in which 16 wrestling giants have been competing to be the one opponent in John Cena's final fight before retirement.

And that final fight is now - Saturday night - in Washington DC, bringing the curtain down on an illustrious career that has seen the American become one of wrestling's biggest and most bankable stars.

In the 8,570 days since his debut, Cena has clinched 17 world titles and coined the iconic "You Can't See Me" catchphrase - but the 48-year-old's impact goes far beyond that.

If you were to pose the question "who is John Cena?", depending on who you ask, the answers might vary from legendary WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment) superstar, to successful film actor, while some will say he's Mr Make-A-Wish (more on that later).

How to watch John Cena's last match:

• Start time: WWE Saturday Night's Main Event is scheduled to begin at 01:00 GMT on Sun 14 Dec
• Where to watch: In the UK, you can watch for free on WWE's official YouTube channel. Internationally it can be watched on Netflix, and on Peacock in the US

'An exceptional wrestling talent'

Since his 2002 debut, there's been an evolution in his own wrestling character - transitioning from "ruthless aggression" rookie, to a "Doctor of Thuganomics" rapper, and eventually a heroic character known for a "Never Give Up" attitude.

Despite criticism from some fans of his in-ring ability, with occasional chants of "you can't wrestle" through the years, "there's no doubt that he's an exceptional wrestling talent", says Brandon Thurston, editor and owner of wrestling website, Wrestlenomics.

He feels something changed in 2005, after which WWE became "increasingly scripted in a way it had not been" before, as it entered into a more controlled, family friendly PG era. But Cena managed thrive.

"He's definitely been the biggest draw over the time which I would say stretches from 2005 to roughly 2015," Mr Thurston says, with Cena's merchandise also regularly topping sales for the company.

"There's little question that he was WWE's most important economic wrestler throughout that time - in terms of pay-per-view buys, which were still central in that era, TV ratings, and as a house show draw."

Outside the ring too, he's a personality who "people gravitate towards and want to listen to", says Mr Thurston - and wrestling fans like Joe Clarkson and Sabrina Nicole feel just that.

"To go for such a long time in an industry, which is quite heavily taxing on the body, is absolutely fascinating," says Joe, 24, who was five when he first saw Cena on TV.

"I think over time, the people just gained more and more respect for him, not just as a performer, but also as an individual."

For Sabrina, 37, who remembers Cena's WWE debut in 2002, it's "his charisma".

"He has just always had something about him that makes him a star," she says, adding that for most of his career, he's "always maintained a good guy persona".

"No matter what the crowd, no matter what the fans have thought of him. He has just been the testament to if you have a really good character, you can be on top," she says.

It also seems to be true that, beyond his ability and persona, Cena seized an opportunity.

With The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin no longer full-time performers, WWE bosses were looking for a new star to emerge.

Brandon feels WWE leadership recognised Cena "would be a very reliable and extremely hardworking person whom they could entrust with such a spot".

It's widely accepted within wrestling circles that the final decision to have Cena as the chosen star would ultimately have been taken by then-WWE chairman Vince McMahon.

While he was known for following his instincts, there will also have been a judgement on Cena's ability to connect with a passionate crowd on the mic, his marketability and whether he could be in the industry long enough to be profitable.

And when Cena started taking more time away from wrestling in 2015 and working a reduced schedule, Mr Thurston feels there was a "decline" in the WWE product.

Other wrestling experts have suggested Cena's presence over the years helped slow the slide of WWE ratings trending downwards which, according to analysis by wrestling site PWtorch, saw average viewership for its flagship weekly Raw programme fall by a million between 2010 and 2015, to 3.7m.

Having achieved so much within wrestling, Cena could "just come in and be a wrestler and walk out", adds Dr Gillian Brooks, associate professor in marketing at King's Business School, but instead she says he built a personal brand that comes across as real.

An 'authentic' character

Among the brands Cena has worked with is Neutrogena, becoming the face of its sunscreen campaign after revealing he had skin cancer spots - which he attributed to his own lack of sun protection use.

He also holds the Guinness World Record for the number of wishes granted through the Make-A-Wish Foundation, with more than 650 fulfilled wishes for children with critical illnesses. It's a partnership he revealed had started by "accident", but one he's kept since 2002, describing it as "the coolest thing".

"If you think about it from a child's perspective, they're seeing someone that they've seen on TV watching WWE or in films, and they suddenly get to meet him," Dr Brooks says. "The fact that he's doing charity work, he's written a children's book, been in films, made music… all these things illustrate that he's not a one show pony.

"It's coming across in a way that's very authentic and very sort of pure to who he is."

Both Cena's personal brand and his charisma are set to live on, but his time in the ring looks to have come to an end after Cena announced last year that 2025 would be his last as a competitor.

The retirement run

Explaining his reasoning at the time, he told of the physical toll wrestling had taken on his body.

His career has seen him undergo several operations, including on his neck, pec and triceps, with Cena saying in interviews that his "body hurts" and is "screaming to close the chapter".

While the old saying "never say never" is a popular one, Cena has repeatedly said he will be "100% done" - and has received rousing receptions around the world for his final appearances.

Overall, fan Joe is happy with Cena's "retirement run", with matches against old rivals such as AJ Styles, Randy Orton and CM Punk, and newer stars including Dominik Mysterio and Gunther.

He does feel the "execution" of his final year could have been better though, with Cena's short-term "heel turn" (becoming a villain) at the Elimination Chamber event in March drawing criticism.

"It could have been handled better," Joe says. "[But] he's had such a unique distinction of having a retirement run that no one's ever had before.

"It's very sad to see him retire now. But I think he said it himself - it's the right time."

Not that WWE fans will never see Cena again; he has signed a five-year deal to be an ambassador for the company.

Having won The Last Time Is Now tournament, it's former world heavyweight champion Gunther who will face Cena in his final fight.

With it not being broadcast on terrestrial TV, but rather on streaming platforms, it's been reported that there is no time limit on the match - and Gunther, who has never wrestled Cena before, has been giving much tough talk.

One thing's for sure: "You Can't See Me" might be the taunt Cena gives Gunther, but the last fight will be seen and remembered by many.

It's no secret the Avatar films are a gigantic technical feat - pushing the boundaries of cinematography, animation and performance capture.

But you may not be aware that the same applies to the music.

Composer Simon Franglen says work on the third instalment, Avatar: Fire and Ash, took an epic seven years to complete.

Along the way, he wrote 1,907 pages of orchestral score; and even invented new instruments for the residents of the alien planet Pandora to play.

And, with director James Cameron tinkering with the edit until the very last minute, the British musician only finished his final musical cue five days before the film was printed and delivered.

In total, Avatar contains "four times as much" music as a standard Hollywood film, says Franglen, with almost the entirety of its 195-minute running time requiring music.

"But I got 10 minutes off for good behaviour," he laughs.

Fire and Ash is the third instalment in the record-breaking series, continuing the saga of the blue Na'vi population, who are protecting their planet from human invaders, intent on stripping its natural resources.

The new film, released on 19 December, takes audiences back to the astonishingly vivid landscapes of Pandora, but it also sends them on a visceral emotional journey.

At the start of the film, the two main characters Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) and Neytiri (Zoe Saldana) are mourning the death of their teenage son, Neteyam.

Unable to see eye-to-eye, the grief threatens to tear the couple apart.

Franglen was tasked with creating a score that could reflect the depth of their despair.

"I wanted to make sure that you felt that sense of distance that was growing between them," he says.

"So what I would do is, I would take two lines [of music] and I'd have them moving apart, or I would make them go wrong, so that they felt austere and cold and disconnected."

"Grief is not something that is ever addressed in these sorts of films," he continues, "but for any family, the loss of a child is the worst thing you can go through.

"Musically, the important stuff is often the quiet moments."

A hoedown on a galleon

By contrast, when Franglen composed the music for the Wind Traders - a nomadic clan of salesmen, who travel by airship - he could let his imagination run wild.

Their swashbuckling themes are inspired by the action movies of the 1930s and 40s, but they also feature brand new instruments, unique to Pandora.

"When we meet the wind traders [they're having] a hoedown on their enormous Galleon," says Franglen.

"The problem was that, if you are having a Pandoran party, what do they play? I can't give them guitar, bass and drums. I can't give them a banjo.

"You have to have a real instrument that would be designed for three metre-tall, blue people with four fingers.

"And because Avatar is not animation, when there are instruments on screen, you have to have the real thing," he says, referring to Cameron's rule that everything on screen has to be rooted in reality, even though the film's imagery is largely computer-generated.

"So I sketched out some instruments, and gave them to the art department, who made these beautiful designs."

Franglen's creations included a long-necked lute, similar to a Turkish saz, with strings that represent the rigging of the Wind Traders' ship.

A percussion instrument was also designed, with the drum head using the same material as the vessel's sails.

The art department's renders were then given to prop master Brad Elliott, who built the instruments on a 3D printers, and the actors played them for real on set.

For now, however, these inventions have no official name.

"They are currently called 'the stringy things' and 'the drummy things'," laughs Franglen.

"I'm sure there's a better name. Somebody said we should have a competition."

Franglen's musical career started when he was just 13 years old- he wrote a letter to the BBC asking how someone would go about becoming a record producer.

Mistakenly assuming he was asking about radio production, the corporation advised him to study electronics - leading him to a course at Manchester University in the early 1980s.

He arrived just as the Hacienda Club opened ("I was member 347") and spent his free time booking bands for the college's concert venue.

"I remember booking Tears for Fears and 11 people came," he says.

After graduating, he was hired to work as a synth programmer, and was introduced to Trevor Horn - who set him to work on pivotal 80s albums by Yes and Frankie Goes To Hollywood.

Eventually, he decided to try his luck in America where, "after six months of doing almost nothing", he became an in-demand session musician and programmer.

Credits started to rack up on hits like Toni Braxton's Unbreak My Heart, All 4 One's I Swear and Whitney Houston's I Have Nothing; and he eventually found himself programming drums for Michael Jackson's HIStory album.

"The pressure was to make it great," he says. "To have that sense of groove, what we call, 'the pocket'.

"And a big part of my career is that I had a good pocket. I understood where things should feel and how they should hit. And that is as important with film scores as it is when you're making a Michael Jackson record."

Franglen's first experience of film scoring came when Bond composer John Barry asked him to assist on Kevin Costner's Oscar-winning Dances With Wolves. He was later hired to do the "dark and nasty stuff" on David Fincher's Se7en.

"My job was to provide the dystopian edge that that score has. So I would take squealing brakes, make samples of them, and then play all the violin lines with squealing brakes underneath.

"There was a lot of experimental stuff, which was incredibly fun."

Franglen first met Avatar director James Cameron after being hired by legendary film composer James Horner, to work "on a film he had no money for".

The film was Titanic - a notorious white elephant, dismissed as a vanity project, and predicted to bring about the collapse of film studios Fox and Paramount.

The composer had seen the headlines, but when Cameron showed him the scene where the Titanic broke in half and started to sink, he realised the press had got it wrong.

"It was just astonishing, in comparison to anything you'd seen before. I knew it was special."

Even so, there was no budget left for the music, Franglen had to borrow equipment and instruments from the manufacturers, and the majority of the score was recorded on synthesizers in a rented apartment.

"Part of the reason that Titanic sounds the way that it does, is because there wasn't enough money for [an] orchestra everywhere," he says.

The opposite is true on Avatar.

"Jim [Cameron] still believes that the good things take time. And as a composer, having that ability to refine and to make something special is something that is rare these days."

The director also went to great lengths to ensure his latest film is free from artificial intelligence.

"He very specifically asked me, 'So, we're not using any AI? We're not putting any real musicians out of work'," Franglen recalls.

"It's fair to say that if you gave a lot of film producers the option to save money, they would take that option.

"Jim is in a situation where he will not compromise, and that's as important when it comes to the music as it is to the live performances of the actors."

As the film prepares to open, Franglen is celebrating a Golden Globe nomination for the theme song, Dream As One, sung by Miley Cyrus.

But he's also thinking about what comes next. Cameron has already completed the scripts for Avatar Four and Five; scheduled to come out in 2029 and 2031.

"Four is… I think it's astonishing," says Franglen. "It goes into whole new territories, and I love it."

Initial footage has already been shot, but Cameron says completing the film will depend on the box office performance of Fire and Ash.

"I really hope that we break even, so that we can make it," says Franglen.

"I think they said after Avatar Two that the break even point was $1.4 billion (£1 billion).

"I have no way of knowing, but I presume that it's a similar number for this one.

"So if the audience tells us that they want an Avatar Four, I'm very much looking forward to doing that."