The mayor of Yokohama has apologised for insulting colleagues after an official publicly accused him of making offensive remarks.

At a news conference, the Japanese city's human resource chief, Jun Kubota, alleged that Mayor Takeharu Yamanaka had used terms such as "idiot" and "human scum" to disparage staff.

It is highly unusual in Japan for a serving city official to openly accuse a sitting mayor and demand an apology.

Yamanaka initially denied the allegations, but later admitted to some of them. "I want to frankly apologise for placing a psychological burden on the personnel director," he said.

At a news conference on Thursday, Kubota accused Mayor Yamanaka of repeatedly making remarks towards officials - including himself - that could amount to workplace harassment.

The mayor was accused of calling officials "useless", "silly" and "low-spec", as well as making comments about colleagues' appearance and likening them to animals.

He is also accused of threatening Kubota, saying he would have to "commit seppuku" - a Japanese ritual suicide by disembowelment - if he failed to secure an international conference bid.

Kubota demanded an apology from Yamanaka and called for an investigation.

Yamanaka initially published a statement on his personal website, denying the allegations.

But on Friday, he publicly acknowledged some remarks - such as using words like "idiot" and "human scum" - and apologised.

"I am reflecting on this. I will be more careful with my words and behaviour," Yamanaka said.

He said those comments were made during discussions over personnel evaluations.

However, the mayor denied other accusations, including insulting colleagues' appearance.

Yamanaka said an investigation was being considered under the supervision of the deputy mayor, adding that he would co-operate "sincerely" if an investigation takes place.

In response, Kubota insisted Yamanaka had made the comments he has not admitted to, saying: "The mayor doesn't understand anything. I cannot accept that as an apology. I want him to change."

Police in Uganda have denied allegations that presidential candidate Bobi Wine was abducted on Friday evening as vote counting continues in the East African nation amid an internet blackout.

Wine's party said a helicopter landed in the grounds of his house in the capital, Kampala, and forcibly took him to an unknown location.

Initially Wine's son, Solomon Kampala, said both his parents had been seized, but later claimed his father "escaped" and his mother was still under house arrest, leading to confusion over the whereabouts of the opposition leader.

The latest electoral figures from Thursday's vote give Museveni 72% of the vote, with Wine on 24%, based on returns from 94% of polling stations.

Speaking at a press conference on Saturday morning, police spokesman Kituuma Rusoke said the National Unity Platform (NUP) party leader was still in his home in Kampala and that it was Wine's family members who were spreading "untrue" and "unfounded" claims.

He said Wine's movements were restricted because his home was an area of "security interest".

"We have controlled access to areas which are security hotspots," Uganda's Daily Monitor paper quoted him as saying.

"We cannot allow people to use some places to gather and cause chaos. All our actions are intended to prevent anybody from creating violence or destabilising our security," he said.

On Friday, Wine had told his supporters to ignore the "fake results" that have been announced, saying the authorities have been "stealing the vote". He did not provide any evidence to back up his claim and the authorities have not responded to his allegations.

Wine's son Solomon Kampala, who has been posting updates on social media, admitted overnight he was getting conflicting reports about the security situation at his parents' home.

"Amidst the raid my father was able to escape, my mother is still currently under [house] arrest, still nobody is allowed to enter the house," he posted on X on Saturday morning.

Difficulty accessing the internet in the country has made it hard for people to verify information.

News that at least seven opposition supporters were killed in disputed circumstances in Butambala, about 55km (35 miles) south-west of the capital, on Thursday only emerged later on Friday.

The US embassy then issued an alert to its citizens because of reports the security forces were "using tear gas and firing into the air to disperse gatherings".

During Thursday's vote, voting was delayed by up to four hours in many polling stations around the country as ballot boxes were slow to arrive and biometric machines, used to verify voters' identity, did not work properly.

Some have linked the problems to the network outage.

Electoral chief Simon Byabakama said on Friday that the vote counting had not been affected by the internet blackout and the final results would be out before 17:00 local time (14:00 GMT] on Saturday.

Thursday's election followed an often violent campaign, with President Museveni, 81, seeking a seventh term in office. He first took power as a rebel leader in 1986.

Wine, a 43-year-old pop star-turned-politician, who says he represents the youth in a country where most of the population is aged under 30, has promised to tackle corruption and impose sweeping reforms, while Museveni argues he is the sole guarantor of stability and progress in Uganda.

Although there are six other candidates, the presidential poll is a two-horse race between Museveni and Wine.

The campaign period was marred by the disruption of opposition activities - security forces have been accused of assaulting and detaining Wine's supporters.

Rusoke, the police spokesperson, dismissed these complaints, accusing opposition supporters of being disruptive.

Internet access was suspended on Tuesday, with Uganda's Communications Commission saying the blackout was necessary to prevent misinformation, fraud and the incitement of violence - a move condemned by the UN human rights office as "deeply worrying".

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

Justice Secretary David Lammy has intervened to block the transfer of a killer to an open prison after it emerged he had released drill music with lyrics referencing the murder, under a pseudonym.

Jake Fahri was sentenced to life in 2009 for killing 16-year-old Jimmy Mizen by throwing an oven dish at him that shattered and severed the arteries in his neck.

He was released on licence in 2023 but was later recalled after the Sun published a story that alleged Fahri was making music, including about the murder, as balaclava-clad artist TEN.

Two years on, the Parole Board has said he should now be moved to an open prison - but a Ministry of Justice spokesperson said Lammy's intervention was for "public protection".

In its decision summary, the board had said Farhi had initially disputed that the music was "about his own life" but after being recalled to prison, he accepted that he was the artist TEN.

It added that Farhi "needed to reflect" on "why he failed to be open and honest with the professionals managing his case" but this "could be achieved" in an open prison.

Lammy's reversal has been welcomed by Mizen's mother Margaret, who told the Sun she was "shocked" by the Parole Board's initial recommendation.

"I would much prefer this decision didn't have to be made because he would have turned his life around. I'm really sad that he hasn't," she said.

But the reversal shows Farhi had "not changed his attitude".

"He got into the witness box at his trial and lied through his teeth. Clearly, he hasn't changed, and I'm glad the justice secretary has seen through it."

Farhi had been given a minimum 14 year prison term - but, as with all minimum terms, that is the point at which release can be considered, usually with conditions attached about the criminal's behaviour outside prison.

Music by TEN was showcased on BBC 1Xtra. who were unaware of his real identity at the time of broadcast.

There is fresh paint in Reform HQ - and a fresh face in its line-up.

Before Thursday, the last time Robert Jenrick walked into Millbank Tower, a fabled address in Westminster where lots of political campaigns have been run, was decades ago as an eager Conservative activist.

Now, he's Reform UK's biggest prize so far - the best-known Tory to defect, and a favourite of Conservative party members.

Like or loathe Jenrick's tactics he has campaigning guile, a knack for grabbing headlines, experience of government, knowledge of Parliament and, of course, insider knowledge of what Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch and her team are up to.

So how will this big political character adapt to a new political tribe? And could his huge move be swallowed up by a big fight on the right, at a time when Reform UK are busy trying to appeal to the whole country?

From speaking to Jenrick yesterday, he is plainly deadly serious about his political future, hitching his wagon to the biggest party in the polls right now. But any defection brings with it deep questions about whether that person can be trusted.

Some Conservatives are accusing him of lying and treachery. They say he sat in meetings with colleagues in the last seven days discussing party strategy normally.

He even, one source claimed to me, told the chief whip when challenged on the morning of his defection that it was "nonsense" and that he was "gobsmacked".

Hours later, Jenrick did appear grinning alongside Reform UK leader Nigel Farage for the public handshake sealing the deal after, remember, being sacked.

Did he serially deny thinking about going to Reform in the last few months?

Yes.

Do we know now that he'd been talking to them since the autumn?

Yes to that too.

Jenrick's answer to accusations of lying, and to the evidence he misled people, is to claim he is the one now being truly honest about the state of the country and the demise of the Conservative Party. He told us that he'd only made a final decision to leave at Christmas.

Whether you have sympathy for him, think his behaviour is appalling, or something in between, there's clearly a poisonous row raging over what he did. That row does nothing for the sense of trust in politicians.

He wouldn't be drawn on whether it was one of his own team who leaked his plans to defect, but you can be sure today won't be the last word on that.

One of the reasons for Jenrick's exit from the Tories is that he wanted to strike a more strident tone than his colleagues were willing to do. Political parties traditionally stand or fall on being able to disagree privately but agree in public. Without that discipline, it's chaos.

We asked him if he now agreed with Reform's position on benefits for bigger families – his answer was that the party "needs to think it through". Not exactly the same as the script.

And what about the NHS? Jenrick wasn't ready to agree with Farage's previous comments that it could possibly move to an insurance-based model. But it highlights an area where Reform will be under pressure to take a clearer position.

Political parties aren't just about what colour your banner or tie is, but what you believe in and stand for.

Once upon at time, Jenrick was seen as a 'Cameroon', a devotee of David Cameron's Waitrose-style politics: modern, socially liberal, middle-class-friendly. It is one thing to shift right, shaped by changes in the country and his own experience at the Home Office, for which he quit government in frustration. It's another to take the leap into a party that has a whole different system of beliefs.

And politicians are by nature ambitious people. Jenrick told me he hadn't been offered a job by Farage, but it's crackers to imagine that he doesn't want a prominent position.

How will his arrival go down with Reform's small number of other big names - Richard Tice or Zia Yusuf? Ambition - for themselves and their party, and, they'd say, the country - is what gets politicians out of bed in the morning. Sharing the spotlight is not something they all exactly love.

Jenrick told me he and Farage's previous barbs against each other were just "rough and tumble".

But given their exchanges have involved trading insults including fraud, hypocrite and unserious, we'll have to see how their working relationship evolves.

Jenrick's defection raises one of the biggest questions in politics right now; whether Reform UK can, as Jenrick says he wants to, "unite the right".

It has spent months miles ahead in the polls even as the Tories have pepped up a touch in recent weeks. But as Jenrick himself used to claim, there is a risk that if voters choose Reform that will split the votes on the right, making it easier for Prime Minister Keir Starmer to win next time round.

Truly "uniting the right" would require the Tories limping off - or, what right now seems far-fetched, the opposite. Or indeed doing a deal, which both groups swear blind they wouldn't.

There's no sign Badenoch has the appetite for anything other than a fight to the death.

As Chris Mason wrote yesterday, there is a risk that recruiting Jenrick and others gives Reform the flavour of being a repository for grumpy Conservatives, not the radical insurgent force Farage would like to claim. But nothing would suit Labour more than for the two to stay locked in combat, reminding the public of years of Tory spats and showing that both Reform and the Conservatives are focused on each other, not No 10.

Jenrick has clearly thought deeply about leaving the party that gave him his career and the opportunity to wield power. Over time, you can see that he has come to believe that the problems of the country need something more radical than either of the traditional big parties are prepared to countenance.

Reform will now have his knowledge and backing to help answer that call with a credible offer to the public. The Conservatives, in his view, need more than a fresh coat of paint.

Top image credit: Getty Images

BBC InDepth is the home on the website and app for the best analysis, with fresh perspectives that challenge assumptions and deep reporting on the biggest issues of the day. Emma Barnett and John Simpson bring their pick of the most thought-provoking deep reads and analysis, every Saturday. Sign up for the newsletter here

Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch has insisted Britain is not broken after her former minister Robert Jenrick criticised the party for failing to campaign on that line.

Writing in the Daily Telegraph, she said: "Ours is still one of the most successful, resilient and influential countries on Earth," adding that telling voters their "country is finished" only "drags them down".

She also insisted that the Conservatives were stronger after Jenrick was sacked, ahead of his defection to Reform.

In an interview with the BBC's Laura Kuenssberg on Friday, Jenrick said a shadow cabinet meeting where colleagues failed to agree that the country was broken had been the final straw for him.

In her editorial, Badenoch said there were problems in the UK, some of which were getting worse, but that the country's best days lay ahead.

She insisted the Conservatives were best placed to offer solutions to the country's problems, saying that Reform were destined to fail as they welcomed "toxic people" who "destroy organisations".

"A movement built on grievance and serial disloyalty is doomed to fail, and they will be at each other's throats soon enough," the opposition leader wrote.

Speaking to BBC Newsnight, Reform UK deputy leader Richard Tice praised Jenrick as "the only cabinet minister who resigned on a matter of principle from the Conservative government".

This was in reference to Jenrick's decision to resign from Rishi Sunak's government, saying it was not going far enough to find a solution to fast-rising immigration levels.

Tice continued: "That makes him uniquely qualified to actually to explain where things went so badly wrong on both legal and illegal immigration, which is to the fury of tens of millions of British people."

Badenoch said that Jenrick's defection "was never about principle, it was about ambition" and "every criticism he now makes occurred when he was in government".

The Conservative party are now a "stronger and more united team", she wrote.

Badenoch hopes her sacking of Jenrick will strengthen her position as Tory leader and make her look decisive.

But Reform UK now has a new, prominent MP who is intent on publicising what he sees are the many mistakes of his former party.

Four people have been taken to hospital and several people have been arrested after a protest outside the Iranian embassy in London.

One protester climbed across balconies onto the embassy roof removing a flag on Friday night before being detained, said police.

It added police officers had been injured after missiles were thrown at them, although the ambulance service has not said whether it was police or protesters who were taken to hospital.

Demonstrations have been taking place outside the embassy after widespread anti-government protests in Iran, where more than 2,600 protesters have been killed, according to a US-based human rights group.

The man who removed a flag from the embassy's roof was arrested on suspicion of criminal damage, trespass on diplomatic property and assaulting police, the Metropolitan Police said.

It added "a number" of people had also been arrested on suspicion of violent disorder and a section 35 dispersal order had been imposed outside the embassy "as a result of ongoing disorder".

"A significant police presence remains in place, including additional officers who have been deployed during the evening to prevent further disorder."

A London Ambulance Service spokesperson said it was called at 20:45 GMT "to reports of an incident at the junction of Exhibition Road and Kensington Road".

Four people had been taken to hospital while two others were treated at the scene, it said.

Earlier this week the Iranian ambassador in London was summoned to the Foreign Office after the killings of protesters in Iran.

Last Saturday, two people were arrested at a protest outside the embassy where a protester also climbed onto the building's balcony and appeared to tear down the Iranian flag.