Ukraine is running out of cash to keep its military and its economy going, after almost four years of Russia's full-scale war.

For Europe, the solution to plugging Kyiv's budget hole of €135.7bn (£119bn; $159bn) for the next two years lies in frozen Russian assets sitting in Belgian bank Euroclear and EU leaders hope to sign that off at their Brussels summit next week.

Russian officials warn the EU plan would be an act of theft and Russia's central bank announced on Friday it was suing Euroclear in a Moscow court even before a final decision is made.

'Only fair' to use Russia's assets

In total, Russia has about €210bn of its assets frozen in the EU, and €185bn of that is held by Euroclear.

The EU and Ukraine argue that money should be used to rebuild what Russia has destroyed: Brussels calls it a "reparations loan" and has come up with a plan to prop up Ukraine's economy to the tune of €90bn.

"It's only fair that Russia's frozen assets should be used to rebuild what Russia has destroyed – and that money then becomes ours," says Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz says the assets will "enable Ukraine to protect itself effectively against future Russian attacks".

Russia's court action was expected in Brussels. But it is not just Moscow that is unhappy.

Belgium is worried it will be saddled with an enormous bill if it all goes wrong and Euroclear chief executive Valérie Urbain says using it could "destabilise the international financial system".

Euroclear also has an estimated €16-17bn immobilised in Russia.

Belgian Prime Minister Bart de Wever has set the EU a series of "rational, reasonable, and justified conditions" before he will accept the reparations plan, and he has refused to rule out legal action if it "poses significant risks" for his country.

What is the EU's plan?

The EU is working to the wire ahead of next Thursday's summit to come up with a solution that Belgium can accept.

Until now the EU has held off touching the assets themselves directly but since last year has paid the "windfall profits" from them to Ukraine. In 2024 that was €3.7bn. Legally using the interest is seen as safe as Russia is under sanction and the proceeds are not Russian sovereign property.

But international military aid for Ukraine has slipped dramatically in 2025, and Europe has struggled to make up the shortfall left by the US decision to all but stop funding Ukraine under President Donald Trump.

There are currently two EU proposals aimed at providing Ukraine with €90bn, to cover two-thirds of its funding needs.

One is to raise the money on capital markets, backed by the EU budget as a guarantee. This is Belgium's preferred option but it requires a unanimous vote by EU leaders and that would be difficult when Hungary and Slovakia object to funding Ukraine's military.

That leaves loaning Ukraine cash from the Russian assets, which were originally held in securities but have now largely matured into cash. That money is Euroclear property held in the European Central Bank.

The EU's executive, the European Commission, accepts Belgium has legitimate concerns and says it is confident it has dealt with them.

The plan is for Belgium to be protected with a guarantee covering all the €210bn of Russian assets in the EU.

Should Euroclear suffer a loss of its own assets in Russia, a Commission source explained that would be offset from assets belonging to Russia's own clearing house which are in the EU.

If Russia went after Belgium itself, any ruling by a Russian court would not be recognised in the EU.

In a key development, EU ambassadors are expected to agree on Friday to immobilise Russia's central bank assets held in Europe indefinitely.

Until now they have had to vote unanimously every six months to renew the freeze, which could have meant a repeated risk to Belgium.

The EU ambassadors are set to use an emergency clause under Article 122 of the EU Treaties so the assets remain frozen as long as an "immediate threat to the economic interests of the union" continues.

Why Belgium is not yet satisfied

Belgium is adamant it remains a staunch ally of Ukraine, but sees legal risks in the plan and fears being left to handle the repercussions if things go wrong.

A usually divided political landscape in this case has rallied behind Prime Minister Bart de Wever, who is under pressure from European colleagues and having talks with UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer in London on Friday.

"Belgium is a small economy. Belgian GDP is about €565bn – imagine if it would need to shoulder a €185bn bill," says Veerle Colaert, professor of financial law at KU Leuven University.

While the EU might be able to secure sufficient guarantees for the loan itself, Belgium fears an added risk of being exposed to extra damages or penalties.

Prof Colaert also believes the requirement for Euroclear to grant a loan to the EU would violate EU banking regulations.

"Banks need to comply with capital and liquidity requirements and shouldn't put all their eggs in one basket. Now the EU is telling Euroclear to do just that.

"Why do we have these bank rules? It's because we want banks to be stable. And if things go wrong it would fall to Belgium to bail out Euroclear. That's another reason why it's so important for Belgium to secure water-tight guarantees for Euroclear."

Europe under pressure from every direction

There is no time to lose, warn seven EU member states including those closest to Russia such as the Baltics, Finland and Poland. They believe the frozen assets plan is "the most financially feasible and politically realistic solution".

"It's a matter of destiny for us," warns leading German conservative MP Norbert Röttgen. "If we fail, I don't know what we'll do afterwards. That's why we have to succeed in a week's time".

While Russia is adamant its money should not be touched, there are added concerns among European figures that the US may want to use Russia's frozen billions differently, as part of its own peace plan.

Zelensky has said Ukraine is working with Europe and the US on a reconstruction fund, but he is also aware the US has been talking to Russia about future co-operation.

An early draft of the US peace plan referred to $100bn of Russia's frozen assets being used by the US for reconstruction, with the US taking 50% of the profits and Europe adding another $100bn. The remaining assets would then be used in some kind of US-Russia joint investment project.

An EU source said the added advantage of Friday's expected vote to immobilise Russia's assets indefinitely made it harder for anyone to take the money away. Implicit is that the US would then have to win over a majority of EU member states to vote for a plan that would financially cost them an enormous sum.

Iranian security forces have "violently arrested" Nobel Peace Prize winner and women's rights activist Narges Mohammadi, her foundation has said.

The Narges Foundation said her brother confirmed Ms Mohammadi was detained in the eastern city of Mashhad, along with other activists.

It has called for the immediate release of the 53-year-old and the activists detained alongside her. Iran does not appear to have commented.

Ms Mohammadi was awarded the 2023 Nobel Peace Prize for her activism against female oppression in Iran and promoting human rights.

In December 2024, she was given a temporary release from jail for three weeks on medical grounds, after being held in Tehran's notorious Evin prison since 2021.

She was expected to return to prison soon after, where she was serving multiple sentences.

Her latest arrest reportedly came as she attended a memorial ceremony for Khosrow Alikordi, a lawyer found dead in his office last week.

Norway-based group Iran Human Rights had called for an independent inquiry to establish how he died, saying the circumstances around his death were "suspicious".

Several other activists were detained at the ceremony, where it's reported they shouted slogans, including "death to the dictator" and "long live Iran".

Taghi Rahmani, Ms Mohammadi's husband, told BBC Persian: "They arrested Narges violently. The brother of the lawyer witnessed her arrest at the memorial.

"This act is against human rights laws, and amounts to some kind of revenge.

"This happened in Mashhad today and is concerning because the establishment's crackdown has intensified recently."

Ms Mohammadi had recently accused the Iranian authorities of intensifying repression since the June ceasefire with Israel.

Last week she wrote an article for Time magazine about the Iranian state controlling all aspects of personal or public life.

"Their peace is disrupted by surveillance, censorship, arbitrary arrest, torture, and the constant threat of violence," she said.

She had also told the Nobel Committee she had received warnings from "agents of the regime" through indirect channels and her lawyers.

"The threats conveyed to Ms Mohammadi make it clear that her security is at stake, unless she commits to end all public engagement within Iran, as well as any international advocacy or media appearances in support of democracy, human rights, and freedom of expression," the Nobel committee's statement added.

Over the past year, she has continued to remain defiant, refusing to wear the mandatory headscarf and meeting fellow activists across the country.

Across her lifetime, Mohammadi has been arrested 13 times and been sentenced to more 36 years imprisonment and 154 lashes, according to her foundation.

Eritrea has withdrawn from East African regional bloc Igad, accusing the organisation of "becoming a tool against" countries like itself.

In a statement on Friday, Eritrea's foreign ministry said Igad had strayed from its founding principles and failed to contribute to regional stability.

The withdrawal comes amid a fierce war of words between Eritrea and neighbouring Ethiopia, leading to fears of renewed armed conflict.

In response to Eritrea's statement, Igad (Intergovernmental Authority on Development) said the country had not made any "tangible proposals" or engaged with reforms.

Igad was established to promote regional stability and food security in East Africa, and also includes Ethiopia, Kenya, Sudan, South Sudan, Uganda, and Djibouti.

The government in Eritrea's capital, Asmara, has long accused Igad of siding with Ethiopia in regional disputes.

Eritrea previously left the bloc in 2007, during its border dispute with Ethiopia. It only rejoined in 2023.

"Eritrea finds itself compelled to withdraw its membership from an organisation that has forfeited its legal mandate and authority; offering no discernible strategic benefit to all its constituencies," Eritrea's foreign ministry said on Friday.

In its response, Igad said that since the country returned to the bloc it had not "participated in IGAD meetings, programmes, or activities".

The withdrawal comes as tensions have been increasing between Eritrea and Ethiopia, two countries that have a long history of deadly conflict.

Since 2023, Ethiopia's Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has been demanding access to the Red Sea through Eritrea, resulting in a furious response from Asmara.

After a decades-long battle for independence, Eritrea officially seceded from Ethiopia in 1993, leaving the latter landlocked.

In calling for sea access, Abiy and other senior Ethiopian officials have gone as far as questioning Addis Abba's recognition of Eritrean independence.

Abiy won a Nobel Peace Prize in 2019 for making peace with Eritrea's strongman President Isaias Afewerki, after a two-decade long border dispute that sparked a war in which more than 100,000 people died.

During this conflict, Eritrea was accused of destabilising the region by interfering in the internal affairs of Igad member countries, an allegation Asmara always denied.

Instead, Eritrea accused its neighbours of siding with Western powers to destabilise it.

At the instigation of Addis Ababa, Igad demanded the African Union and UN Security Council impose sanctions on Eritrea.

Eritrea cut diplomatic ties with Djibouti, which hosts the Igad headquarters, following a 2009 border dispute between the two countries.

Former Ethiopian Foreign Minister Workneh Gebyehu is currently the head of Igad, adding to Asmara's suspicion of the organisation.

Igad has been criticised by many for failing to bring stability and regional integration to the Horn of Africa, a region beset by civil wars, terrorism and intra-state confrontations.

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On a bank holiday evening in 2016, Robert Rhodes turned to his child and said: "Do you want to get rid of Mum?"

Those words, the child recalled years later, were the start of a plot for Rhodes to kill his wife, Dawn, in their Surrey home and cover up her death as an act of defence - of himself and his child.

For years, Rhodes painted himself as a victim of an attack in the killing he planned and covered up.

Described as swift and protective, jurors heard accounts of a father who moved to protect his child from their knife-wielding mother, who lost her life in the skirmish that ensued.

'Web of lies'

But now, that account has fallen apart, revealed to be a web of lies created and maintained by Rhodes over more than nine years.

Instead, a new trial revealed a complex tale of abuse, control and a murder plot with the coercion of a child at its heart.

On 2 June 2016, the child, who cannot be named for legal reasons, went to their mother and said: "I drew a picture for you, close your eyes and hold out your hands."

Then, with the child leaving the room and locking themselves in the bathroom, Rhodes cut his wife's throat with a kitchen knife.

To cover up the killing, Rhodes once again turned to his child, telling them he "needed a favour".

The favour, the child told police in 2022, was to stab their father in the back of the shoulder, with the same knife used to kill Dawn, and then let him cut their arm.

"I didn't want to do any of it. I just felt guilty but I did what I was told," the child said during the police interview.

Despite the child crying and objecting at the time, Rhodes reportedly said: "We've done this now. There's no going back."

The child also told their therapist in 2021 that Rhodes had stabbed himself in the back of the head, causing himself another wound he would claim was caused by his wife.

As they were under 10 years old at the time of the murder, the child bears no criminal responsibility for aiding the attack.

Life insurance

The death of Dawn Rhodes followed the end of a marriage in turmoil, with the couple in the process of separating after revelations of infidelity.

The pair had known each other for more than 20 years, having met when Rhodes was 21 and Mrs Rhodes was 18, the court heard.

Having married in 2003, the couple lived in Epsom and across Surrey, before settling in Wimborne Avenue in Earlswood, near Redhill.

But on Christmas Eve in 2015, Robert Rhodes found out about an affair that Mrs Rhodes had been having with a co-worker.

From that point, Mrs Rhodes would claim to family members that Rhodes would self-harm in front of her and threaten to kill himself.

Internet searches made by Rhodes show him researching methods of suicide, as well as about life insurance.

He told the court: "I didn't see a future in our marriage."

Rhodes also admitted to creating a fake Facebook profile and contacting the wife of Mrs Rhodes' new partner to tell her about the affair.

Later, he would message his wife's partner: "Thank you for screwing my life and wife."

'Like the Hulk'

The child continued in their second set of police interviews: "There was a plan and we went through with it. I was told to lie and I did."

But shortly after the killing, the child originally told police how, after another argument between Rhodes and his wife, they had tried to intervene.

As part of the cover-up of their father's attack, the child said their mother picked up a knife and swung it at their arm, delivering the cut to their arm which was, in fact, administered by Rhodes.

The child described Dawn's "rage" and "anger" in a police interview in May 2017, before being told to run upstairs and "lock yourself in the bathroom".

In his own police interview, an emotional Rhodes told officers how he "grabbed the blade" of the knife and "held it as tight as I could".

Weaving his story together, he told officers: "I was scared, and it takes a lot to scare me.

"It's like one minute she [Dawn] is fine and the next minute she's like the Hulk," he added, referring to the comic book superhero.

Rhodes was previously acquitted of murder during a trial at the Old Bailey in May 2017.

'Snitches get stitches'

Despite the façade put up by the child, witnesses in the trial pointed to signs that the truth lay beneath.

In a conversation while together in a car, when asked about their scar from the incident, the child would tell one adult: "It was the sharp bit [of the knife], that's how dad did it."

The child would later allege that, while on supervised visits, their father would attempt to speak to them, telling them to "stick to the plan".

They would later suggest their father would message them on a phone he had secretly given them, again urging them to continue backing his version of events.

In an unrelated conversation years later, other witnesses revealed how they heard Rhodes tell the child: "Snitches get stitches."

Years passed, and the child continued at school and made new friends, while the truth of what happened continued to eat at them inside.

In November 2021, the child confided the truth in a close friend, who recalled: "I asked if they felt guilty, they said yes - like this guilt had been bothering them. They were distraught."

The following day, the child would then tell their therapist, who alerted police.

Double jeopardy

Following an appeal to the Court of Appeal in November 2024, Rhodes was retried under the double jeopardy rules.

It meant that, due to the compelling new evidence brought forward by the child, he could be reexamined for the crime he was acquitted of in 2017, as well as charges of child cruelty, perverting the course of justice and perjury.

At his new trial, Rhodes would often sit staring ahead, his eyes occasionally darting over to the 12 people hearing his case.

While the court listened to more gruesome details of the murder, Rhodes would hunch over and stare at the floor and, on one occasion when evidence was being read out, he sat shaking his head and mouthing "nope" out into the courtroom.

As jurors convicted him, he stood silently in the dock.

'Motherhood brought her joy'

Following the trial, Mrs Rhodes' family - mother Liz Spencer, sister Kirsty Spencer and brother Darren Spencer, paid tribute.

Her mother said: "Dawn was a loving daughter, sister and mother. Being a mother was what brought joy to Dawn.

"During her life, Dawn was looking for someone to build a life with. She was looking for someone to love and be loved by someone to trust and be trusted by and someone to respect and be respected by."

Kirsty added: "Dawn was my sister and I loved her dearly.

"I know my sister would want us to find freedom, a freedom that she was deprived of."

Her brother Darren added: "Dawn was a very capable woman, but unfortunately went through hell in the last few years of her life.

"The pressures on her at the time meant that she wasn't the Dawn we all knew, and the last few times we saw her before she was taken from us, she was at the end of her tether."

Rhodes will be sentenced at Inner London Crown Court on January 16.

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Author Joanna Trollope has died aged 82, her family has announced.

The writer was affectionately known as the "queen of the Aga saga" because her novels often focused on romance and intrigue in middle England.

In a statement, her daughters Louise and Antonia said their "beloved and inspirational mother" had died "peacefully at her Oxfordshire home" on Thursday.

Trollope's novels include The Rector's Wife, Marrying The Mistress and Daughters in Law.

Trollope's literary agent James Gill said in a statement: It is with great sadness that we learn of the passing of Joanna Trollope, one of our most cherished, acclaimed and widely enjoyed novelists.

"Joanna will be mourned by her children, grandchildren, family, her countless friends and - of course - her readers."

This is a breaking news story, further updates to follow.

Reform UK claims it is now the largest political party in Britain, following reports Labour has lost more members.

According to the Times newspaper, internal figures show Labour's membership has fallen below 250,000.

Reform said it had more than 268,000 paid-up members, which would mean it has overtaken Labour to become the biggest party by membership in the UK.

Labour refused to comment on the accuracy of the membership figures in the Times, with a spokesperson saying they would be published in the party's annual report.

There is no legal obligation for political parties to publish their membership figures, which are not verified by outside bodies.

Reform tracks its membership figures using a live online counter, which the party said only included people who had paid an annual fee of £25 or £10 for under-25s.

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage said: "As we have suspected for some time, Reform has overtaken Labour to become the largest political party in British politics - a huge milestone on our journey to win the next election.

"The age of two-party politics is dead."

The party has consistently been leading in national opinion polls since the spring.

Labour's membership has been steadily falling since Sir Keir Starmer became leader in April 2020, according to the latest publicly available figures.

The party's annual accounts published in August put the party's membership at 333,235 at the end of last year, down from a peak of more than 530,000 under Jeremy Corbyn.

Despite the party's landslide election victory, it shed 37,000 members over the course of 2024 and reports suggest this trend has continued.

In February, the LabourList website reported the party's membership had fallen to around 309,000 and the Times says the figure has now dropped below 250,000.

A Labour Party spokesperson said: "Our membership figures are published in our annual report. We do not give a running a commentary on them throughout the year."

The party's standard membership fee is £70.50 a year, with reduced rates of £35.50 or £12 available for certain groups.

Meanwhile, the Green Party says it has seen a surge in membership since Zack Polanski took over as the party's new leader in September, rising from around 70,000 to more than 180,000.

The Conservatives do not routinely publish their membership figures.

Some 131,680 members were eligible to vote in last year's Tory leadership election but reports suggest the party's membership has fallen to around 123,000 since then.

The number of Liberal Democrat members has also dropped, almost having over the last five years to around 60,000.

Your Party - the new left-wing outfit founded by Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana - says it has 55,000 paid-up members.

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Two funeral directors who kept bodies in an unrefrigerated room for more than a month have been found guilty of preventing lawful burial.

Richard Elkin, 49, and Hayley Bell, 42, were also convicted at Portsmouth Crown Court of intentionally causing a public nuisance and fraud.

Prosecutors said 46 bodies were kept in the uncooled mortuary at Elkin and Bell Funerals in Gosport, Hampshire, in 2022 and 2023.

The pair will be sentenced on 19 February.

Warning: The following report contains distressing details and images

Lesley Bates KC, prosecuting, previously said the bodies of two elderly men were found by court agents who were repossessing the premises because of debts including more than £13,000 in unpaid rent.

Ms Bates said: "Water was coming in through a leak in the roof of the mortuary room, it was running down the walls.

"The room was not refrigerated. The temperature within the mortuary room was no different to elsewhere in the premises."

Ms Bates said one body, of William Mitchell, 87, "showed obvious signs of decomposition" after remaining in the room for 36 days.

She said Mr Mitchell's family were "incredulous" when they learned his body had not been cremated.

Prosecutors said the firm continued to trade despite being insolvent and unable to meet its obligations.

Elkin was additionally convicted of making and using a false instrument by displaying a forged certificate from the National Association of Funeral Directors, they added.

Rachel Robertson from the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said the pair, of Nobes Avenue, "showed a grave disregard for the dignity owed to the deceased in their care and the trust placed in them by grieving families".

The CPS said the mortuary was left unrefrigerated between June 2022 and December 2023 and many of the bodies were left there for more than 30 days.

Assistant Chief Constable Paul Bartolomeo said: "Our officers turned over every stone to bring Elkin & Bell to justice using legislation that is hundreds of years old.

"Sadly we are aware of other similar cases across the country

"We need new legislation rather than relying on common law.  We also need better regulation.

"This can help ensure that all funeral directors act, as the majority do, with professionalism and compassion."

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Iranian security forces have "violently arrested" Nobel Peace Prize winner and women's rights activist Narges Mohammadi, her foundation has said.

The Narges Foundation said her brother confirmed Ms Mohammadi was detained in the eastern city of Mashhad, along with other activists.

It has called for the immediate release of the 53-year-old and the activists detained alongside her. Iran does not appear to have commented.

Ms Mohammadi was awarded the 2023 Nobel Peace Prize for her activism against female oppression in Iran and promoting human rights.

In December 2024, she was given a temporary release from jail for three weeks on medical grounds, after being held in Tehran's notorious Evin prison since 2021.

She was expected to return to prison soon after, where she was serving multiple sentences.

Her latest arrest reportedly came as she attended a memorial ceremony for Khosrow Alikordi, a lawyer found dead in his office last week.

Norway-based group Iran Human Rights had called for an independent inquiry to establish how he died, saying the circumstances around his death were "suspicious".

Several other activists were detained at the ceremony, where it's reported they shouted slogans, including "death to the dictator" and "long live Iran".

Taghi Rahmani, Ms Mohammadi's husband, told BBC Persian: "They arrested Narges violently. The brother of the lawyer witnessed her arrest at the memorial.

"This act is against human rights laws, and amounts to some kind of revenge.

"This happened in Mashhad today and is concerning because the establishment's crackdown has intensified recently."

Ms Mohammadi had recently accused the Iranian authorities of intensifying repression since the June ceasefire with Israel.

Last week she wrote an article for Time magazine about the Iranian state controlling all aspects of personal or public life.

"Their peace is disrupted by surveillance, censorship, arbitrary arrest, torture, and the constant threat of violence," she said.

She had also told the Nobel Committee she had received warnings from "agents of the regime" through indirect channels and her lawyers.

"The threats conveyed to Ms Mohammadi make it clear that her security is at stake, unless she commits to end all public engagement within Iran, as well as any international advocacy or media appearances in support of democracy, human rights, and freedom of expression," the Nobel committee's statement added.

Over the past year, she has continued to remain defiant, refusing to wear the mandatory headscarf and meeting fellow activists across the country.

Across her lifetime, Mohammadi has been arrested 13 times and been sentenced to more 36 years imprisonment and 154 lashes, according to her foundation.

Stanley Baxter was for decades one of the biggest stars on British television.

His huge talent for comic sketches, mimicry and song was awarded with similarly huge budgets by grateful commissioners.

His lavish productions for ITV and the BBC brought in enormous audiences and were a staple of the schedules throughout the 1970s and 80s.

But times changed, and after twice being axed from his prime slots he retired from the medium which had made him a star.

His longevity - he has died at the age of 99 - was such that few under the age of 40 will remember who he was.

But for those who knew his work he was a much-loved reminder of a different age - when more than 20 million people would tune into a show and collectively understand and enjoy its references, jokes and songs.

He was born in 1926 in Glasgow and grew up in the city's west end.

His father, Fred, was a quiet insurance executive but the young Stanley inherited a love of all things theatrical from his mother, who encouraged his early attempts at impressions and songs.

Baxter's younger sister, Alice Dale, became an actor and writer based in Australia and it is clear Bessie was a big influence on both.

"I probably became an entertainer to please mother," he once said. "She was forthright, while father was a retiring man. I was more like him in nature but to please her I pushed myself forward."

She took him round church halls and family gatherings before he made his professional debut on the Scottish edition of the BBC's Children's Hour aged just 14.

The young performer from Glasgow was hooked but world events intervened.

During World War Two he was a "Bevin Boy", conscripted to work in the Lanarkshire coal mines.

He moved from there to National Service in Malaya, where he took to the stage with the Combined Services Entertainments Unit, putting on shows to boost troop morale.

It was during this period that he met Kenneth Williams.

He became a life-long friend of the future Carry On star, though Williams's published diaries reveal their relationship constantly veered between the confessional, supportive and rivalrous.

Back in Glasgow in the late 1940s, Baxter worked at the Citizens Theatre as assistant stage manager, and appeared in Macbeth and in Tyrone Guthrie's 1948 Edinburgh Festival production of The Thrie Estaites.

But he really found his feet and fame in variety theatre.

Over the coming decade he appeared with Jimmy Logan, Rikki Fulton and Jack Milroy on stage at Glasgow's Alhambra Theatre and on the radio show It's All Yours. Early on in his career, Baxter also became a notable panto dame.

Inevitably, London called.

He was cast in On The Bright Side, a comedy sketch show where he first performed what would become one of his most popular sketches.

'Parliamo Glasgow' was a spoof language programme where, instead of teaching Italian, Baxter's earnest presenter tutors the rest of the world in the language of his home city.

Altering words and adding the odd slang term, a typical example was: "Zarra marra onna barra, Clara?"

Baxter would say the phrase in a thick Glasgow accent before providing the translation:

"Is that a marrow on your barrow, Clara?"

That Baxter could pull this off without causing offence or appearing to patronise his Scottish roots for a wider audience was a testament to his brilliance as a performer.

The 1960s saw his TV career bloom.

The Stanley Baxter Show was a huge success on the BBC in 1963 and ran for eight years.

There were films too, such as The Fast Lady and Crooks Anonymous. But cinema comedies, with their need for proper stories and well-rounded, believable characters, never really suited Baxter's talents.

He was best at broader caricatures, impressions and sketch comedy and as his reputation and audiences grew, so did his ambition and control over his programmes.

He moved to London Weekend Television (LWT) in 1973 with the Stanley Baxter Picture Show. In this series and the Moving Picture Show that followed, his speciality was parodying film and television favourites.

Baxter played most of the parts, bolstered by a riot of colour, fabulous sets, costuming and sharp scripts. He was an exacting performer who insisted on high production values.

That meant relatively few episodes were made, though they won multiple Baftas for Baxter. His portrayal of the Queen (always billed as The Duchess of Brendagh) was perhaps his most lauded impression.

After nine years of specials, he moved to a weekly slot with The Stanley Baxter Series in 1981, although a greater number of programmes per year did not equate to a drop in production values.

And while the high cost of his work was undoubtedly a factor in his subsequent sacking from LWT, his friend Kenneth Williams made a good point in a diary entry in 1981.

He wrote: "We watched the Stanley Baxter show on ITV and again I was struck by Stanley's obsession with the past; it was all about old films, film directors, film stories re-jigged, film personalities (Jimmy Durante etc.) & so was fine for the middle-aged but had nothing for the young."

The show was cancelled and he returned to the BBC with Stanley Baxter's Christmas Hamper in 1985 and Stanley Baxter's Picture Annual the following year.

The big budgets and long production schedules were still a part of his process but times had changed and he was followed to the BBC by the man he blamed for his sacking from LWT - John Birt.

According to Baxter it was Birt who once again ended his contract.

He appeared in the children's show Mr Majeika before retiring from television in 1990, gracing the stage in Scotland as a panto dame for a few more years before finally hanging up his wig.

There were occasional specials for BBC Radio 4 and he appeared in a Christmas show on ITV in 2008, in which he introduced archive of his work and performed with guests who had been influenced by him.

Despite his ability to make people laugh, he always considered himself a character actor rather than a comedian.

Off-screen and stage he was something of a reluctant celebrity, giving few interviews and declining to appear on chat shows.

In 1993, he took legal action to ensure nothing about his private life would be revealed by the publication of his late friend Kenneth Williams's diaries.

Baxter had helped Scottish journalist Brian Beacom write a book about his life. He had intended that it would be published posthumously but appeared to change his mind in 2020.

The Real Stanley Baxter described his long struggle with his sexuality. At the age of 94, he confirmed that he had always been gay but had initially hidden the truth to avoid arrest in the years before decriminalisation.

In fact, he had been arrested in 1962 and contemplated suicide rather than see his career in ruins. The charges were subsequently dropped.

He insisted that Moira - his wife of more than 45 years - had been fully aware of the situation. She had even given her blessing to Baxter bringing boyfriends home.

The couple married in 1951 but by the 1970s were living apart. They never divorced and lunched together almost daily.

Moira died in 1997 and Baxter's long-term partner, Marcus, died in 2016.

Baxter never came to terms with his sexuality. He told Brian Beacom: "I never wanted to be gay and I still don't. The truth is, I don't really want to be me."

And he once spoke of his feelings about fame and the work of the actor, telling a journalist:

"All this rubbish about the man behind the mask. I've had it again and again and again. The mask is what's important."

Germany has accused Russia of a cyber-attack on air traffic control and attempted electoral interference, and summoned the Russian ambassador.

A foreign ministry spokesman said Russian military intelligence was behind a "cyber-attack against German air traffic control in August 2024".

The spokesman also accused Russia of seeking to influence and destabilise the country's federal election in February this year.

The spokesman said that Germany, in close co-ordination with its European partners, would respond with counter-measures to make Russia "pay a price for its hybrid actions".

There was no immediate response from Russia.

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Ukraine is running out of cash to keep its military and its economy going, after almost four years of Russia's full-scale war.

For Europe, the solution to plugging Kyiv's budget hole of €135.7bn (£119bn; $159bn) for the next two years lies in frozen Russian assets sitting in Belgian bank Euroclear and EU leaders hope to sign that off at their Brussels summit next week.

Russian officials warn the EU plan would be an act of theft and Russia's central bank announced on Friday it was suing Euroclear in a Moscow court even before a final decision is made.

'Only fair' to use Russia's assets

In total, Russia has about €210bn of its assets frozen in the EU, and €185bn of that is held by Euroclear.

The EU and Ukraine argue that money should be used to rebuild what Russia has destroyed: Brussels calls it a "reparations loan" and has come up with a plan to prop up Ukraine's economy to the tune of €90bn.

"It's only fair that Russia's frozen assets should be used to rebuild what Russia has destroyed – and that money then becomes ours," says Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz says the assets will "enable Ukraine to protect itself effectively against future Russian attacks".

Russia's court action was expected in Brussels. But it is not just Moscow that is unhappy.

Belgium is worried it will be saddled with an enormous bill if it all goes wrong and Euroclear chief executive Valérie Urbain says using it could "destabilise the international financial system".

Euroclear also has an estimated €16-17bn immobilised in Russia.

Belgian Prime Minister Bart de Wever has set the EU a series of "rational, reasonable, and justified conditions" before he will accept the reparations plan, and he has refused to rule out legal action if it "poses significant risks" for his country.

What is the EU's plan?

The EU is working to the wire ahead of next Thursday's summit to come up with a solution that Belgium can accept.

Until now the EU has held off touching the assets themselves directly but since last year has paid the "windfall profits" from them to Ukraine. In 2024 that was €3.7bn. Legally using the interest is seen as safe as Russia is under sanction and the proceeds are not Russian sovereign property.

But international military aid for Ukraine has slipped dramatically in 2025, and Europe has struggled to make up the shortfall left by the US decision to all but stop funding Ukraine under President Donald Trump.

There are currently two EU proposals aimed at providing Ukraine with €90bn, to cover two-thirds of its funding needs.

One is to raise the money on capital markets, backed by the EU budget as a guarantee. This is Belgium's preferred option but it requires a unanimous vote by EU leaders and that would be difficult when Hungary and Slovakia object to funding Ukraine's military.

That leaves loaning Ukraine cash from the Russian assets, which were originally held in securities but have now largely matured into cash. That money is Euroclear property held in the European Central Bank.

The EU's executive, the European Commission, accepts Belgium has legitimate concerns and says it is confident it has dealt with them.

The plan is for Belgium to be protected with a guarantee covering all the €210bn of Russian assets in the EU.

Should Euroclear suffer a loss of its own assets in Russia, a Commission source explained that would be offset from assets belonging to Russia's own clearing house which are in the EU.

If Russia went after Belgium itself, any ruling by a Russian court would not be recognised in the EU.

In a key development, EU ambassadors are expected to agree on Friday to immobilise Russia's central bank assets held in Europe indefinitely.

Until now they have had to vote unanimously every six months to renew the freeze, which could have meant a repeated risk to Belgium.

The EU ambassadors are set to use an emergency clause under Article 122 of the EU Treaties so the assets remain frozen as long as an "immediate threat to the economic interests of the union" continues.

Why Belgium is not yet satisfied

Belgium is adamant it remains a staunch ally of Ukraine, but sees legal risks in the plan and fears being left to handle the repercussions if things go wrong.

A usually divided political landscape in this case has rallied behind Prime Minister Bart de Wever, who is under pressure from European colleagues and having talks with UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer in London on Friday.

"Belgium is a small economy. Belgian GDP is about €565bn – imagine if it would need to shoulder a €185bn bill," says Veerle Colaert, professor of financial law at KU Leuven University.

While the EU might be able to secure sufficient guarantees for the loan itself, Belgium fears an added risk of being exposed to extra damages or penalties.

Prof Colaert also believes the requirement for Euroclear to grant a loan to the EU would violate EU banking regulations.

"Banks need to comply with capital and liquidity requirements and shouldn't put all their eggs in one basket. Now the EU is telling Euroclear to do just that.

"Why do we have these bank rules? It's because we want banks to be stable. And if things go wrong it would fall to Belgium to bail out Euroclear. That's another reason why it's so important for Belgium to secure water-tight guarantees for Euroclear."

Europe under pressure from every direction

There is no time to lose, warn seven EU member states including those closest to Russia such as the Baltics, Finland and Poland. They believe the frozen assets plan is "the most financially feasible and politically realistic solution".

"It's a matter of destiny for us," warns leading German conservative MP Norbert Röttgen. "If we fail, I don't know what we'll do afterwards. That's why we have to succeed in a week's time".

While Russia is adamant its money should not be touched, there are added concerns among European figures that the US may want to use Russia's frozen billions differently, as part of its own peace plan.

Zelensky has said Ukraine is working with Europe and the US on a reconstruction fund, but he is also aware the US has been talking to Russia about future co-operation.

An early draft of the US peace plan referred to $100bn of Russia's frozen assets being used by the US for reconstruction, with the US taking 50% of the profits and Europe adding another $100bn. The remaining assets would then be used in some kind of US-Russia joint investment project.

An EU source said the added advantage of Friday's expected vote to immobilise Russia's assets indefinitely made it harder for anyone to take the money away. Implicit is that the US would then have to win over a majority of EU member states to vote for a plan that would financially cost them an enormous sum.

A popular Ghanaian social media influencer known as Abu Trica, whose real name is Frederick Kumi, has been arrested over allegations he orchestrated a romance scam that defrauded elderly Americans of over $8m (£5.9m).

Prosecutors said he used AI tools to create fake online identities, targeting victims through social media and dating sites, earning their trust then extorting their money.

Kumi faces charges in the US of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and a money laundering conspiracy and faces up to 20 years in prison if found guilty.

The 31-year-old was arrested in Ghana following a joint operation between the two countries and the US will now seek to extradite him.

He has not yet commented on the allegations.

Kumi, who is also known as Emmanuel Kojo Baah Obeng, flaunted luxury items online to his more than 100,000 Instagram followers.

This raised suspicions about the sources of his income.

''The perpetrators built trust through frequent, intimate conversations by phone, email, and messaging platforms" with victims, said prosecutors.

"They then requested money or valuables under false pretences, such as urgent medical needs, travel expenses, or investment opportunities.''

The monies, or valuables, were then directed to co-conspirators posing as third parties. Kumi allegedly distributed the money to his associates in US and in Ghana.

The case is being prosecuted under the US Elder Abuse Prevention and Prosecution law.

US authorities have in recent months stepped up their crackdown on criminal networks operating in the US and West Africa who seek to defraud elderly Americans.

In July this year, an alleged Ghanaian fraudster, popularly known as Dada Joe Remix, was extradited to the US for using romance and inheritance schemes to defraud Americans.

Earlier this month, a court in the US also sentenced Oluwaseun Adekoya, a Nigerian ringleader of nationwide bank fraud and money laundering conspiracies, to 20 years in prison for laundering over $2m.

Additional reporting by Natasha Booty

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A Sudanese paramilitary commander, whose role in the el-Fasher massacre was revealed by BBC Verify, has been sanctioned by the UK government.

Brig Gen Al-Fateh Abdullah Idris, also known as Abu Lulu, was filmed shooting dead at least 10 unarmed captives after the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) seized the city in late October.

Thousands of people are believed to have been killed by the RSF after the army withdrew from el-Fasher. UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said the atrocities taking place in Sudan were "a scar on the conscience of the world" which "cannot, and will not, go unpunished."

The UK has also sanctioned three other RSF commanders, including deputy head Abdul Rahim Hamdan Dagalo.

Dagalo, who was also placed under EU sanctions in November, was shown in verified footage touring an army base in the city in the hours after el-Fasher fell. He is the brother of RSF chief Mohamed "Hemedti" Dagalo.

Sudan's civil war - sparked after the RSF and the military's fragile ruling coalition collapsed - has now raged for more than two years, killing hundreds of thousands of people and displacing millions more.

El-Fasher was the army's last major stronghold in Darfur, the traditional stronghold of the RSF paramilitary.

An investigation by BBC Verify revealed the brutal tactics used by the RSF during the protracted siege, which included detaining and torturing people trying to smuggle supplies into the city and building a massive sand barrier around it to prevent civilians and army troops from escaping.

In its statement announcing the sanctions, the UK foreign office said it believed that Abu Lulu was "responsible for violence against individuals based on ethnicity and religion, and the deliberate targeting of civilians".

Footage confirmed by BBC Verify in October showed Abu Lulu executing several unarmed captives with an AK-style rifle in a sandy, dusty area north-west of the city. RSF troops who witnessed the incidents were later seen celebrating their commander's actions.

UK officials accused Abu Lulu, Dagalo, Gedo Hamdan Ahmed and Tijani Ibrahim Moussa Mohamed of carrying out "heinous" acts of violence, including mass killings, systematic sexual violence and deliberate attacks on civilians. The men have been placed under travel bans and any assets they hold will be frozen.

"Today's sanctions against RSF commanders strike directly at those with blood on their hands, while our strengthened aid package will deliver lifesaving support to those suffering," Cooper said.

Citing satellite images - previously published by Yale University's Humanitarian Research Lab - the foreign office said piles of bodies and mass graves could be seen in el-Fasher after the massacre.

Cooper also pledged an additional £21m to provide food, shelter and health services for civilians impacted by fighting in remote areas.

In the days that followed the el-Fasher massacre, RSF leader Gen Mohamed "Hemedti" Dagalo admitted that his troops had committed "violations" and said the incidents would be investigated.

Among those arrested was Abu Lulu. In a carefully choreographed and edited video posted on the RSF's official Telegram account he is shown being led into a cell at a prison, which was geolocated by BBC Verify to the outskirts of el-Fasher.

The commander, who previously featured heavily in propaganda videos posted online, has not been seen since his arrest. A TikTok account that documented his activities was removed by the company in October after BBC Verify approached the tech giant for comment.

The UK's move comes just two days after the US announced its own set of sanctions against a network of companies and individuals it accused of recruiting former Colombian soldiers and training individuals to fight in Sudan's civil war.

The US Treasury Department said that hundreds of Colombian mercenaries have travelled to Sudan since 2024, including to serve as infantry and drone pilots for the RSF.

Last month, US President Donald Trump pledged to "start working on Sudan" alongside Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, posting on social media that "tremendous atrocities" were taking place.

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