Senzo Mchunu denies all the allegations against him
South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa has placed Police Minister Senzo Mchunu on an immediate "leave of absence" after allegations of links to organised crimes were made against him.
In Sunday's live televised speech to the nation, Ramaphosa also announced a judicial commission would probe the claims, which he said undermined the constitution and threatened national security.
He added that law professor Firoz Cachalia had been appointed as interim police minister.
Mchunu denied any wrongdoing, saying in a statement that he "stood ready to respond to the accusations" against him.
In his speech, the president said that the allegations against Mchunu, which include interference in investigations into political killings and corruption within law enforcement agencies, "call for an urgent and comprehensive investigation".
He said the judicial commission, led by the country's deputy chief justice, would examine all the claims.
The commission will also investigate current and former police officials, as well as members of the national executive, Ramaphosa said.
Ramaphosa has been under growing public pressure to act swiftly over the high-profile case.
Mchunu, 67, is an influential figure in Ramaphosa's African National Congress (ANC) party.
Political analysts have suggested he could run for a leadership position at the ANC's next elective conference in 2027.
In a statement, Mchunu said: "I welcome and respect the president's decision and pledge my commitment to the process.
"Honour and integrity are the virtues I personally subscribe to and which we all need to make efforts to uphold."
He claimed Mchunu was receiving financial support from an allegedly corrupt businessman to fund his "political endeavours".
Gen Mkhwanazi also detailed a sequence of events he claimed led to the "orchestrated" disbandment of a task force that was set up in 2018 to investigate the killing of politicians, mainly in KwaZulu-Natal.
He said the team's investigations had uncovered links to high-profile individuals - including politicians, police officials, and businesspeople tied to a drug cartel syndicate - and this is why the team was disbanded.
When he dissolved the unit earlier this year, Mchunu said it was not adding value in the province, despite many cases remaining unsolved.
According to Gen Mkhwanazi, a total of 121 case files were allegedly removed from the unit on the minister's instruction and without the authorisation of his boss, the national police commissioner Gen Fannie Masemola.
"These case dockets have, since March, been sitting at the head office ever since without any investigation work done on them. Five of these dockets already had instructions to [effect] arrests," Gen Mkhwanazi said.
He also alleged Mchunu had ties to a controversial businessman who was "financially supporting" the minister's political career.
Vusimuzi Matlala had a lucrative contract with the police before it was abruptly cancelled when he was arrested for attempted murder in May. Gen Mkhwanazi shared copies of text messages and a payment allegedly made by Mr Matlala to prove this.
Two people have been fatally shot at a church in Kentucky by a gunman who had just shot a police officer nearby, officials said.
Two women, aged 72 and 32, died in Sunday's attack at Richmond Road Baptist Church in Lexington, and two male parishioners were injured, said police.
Investigators believe the suspect, who was shot dead by police, had a connection to individuals at the church.
State police said the wounded trooper was receiving medical treatment. Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear offered his condolences on social media, saying "violence like this has no place in our commonwealth or country".
The initial shooting occurred at 11:36 local time (15:36 GMT) on Sunday near the Blue Grass Airport, a regional hub in Fayette County.
A state trooper pulled over the suspect's car on Terminal Drive after receiving a registration plate reader alert, Lexington Police Chief Lawrence Weathers told a news conference.
The suspect shot the trooper, "carjacked a vehicle" as he fled and drove towards the church about 16 miles (25km) away, with law enforcement in pursuit.
Lexington Police said the injured trooper was "in stable condition receiving medical treatment".
"The suspect fired his weapon at individuals on church property," Chief Weathers told media.
"Preliminary information indicates that the suspect may have had a connection to the individuals at the church."
Four people - two males and two females - were shot on church grounds. The women were pronounced dead at the scene.
The two male victims were transported to a local hospital, with one sustaining critical injuries and the other in a stable condition.
An official from the Fayette County coroner's office said the church was small and a "majority" of attendees were either related or close friends.
"It's a very tight-knit group of people at the Richmond Baptist Church," official said.
The incident is being investigated by the Kentucky State Police and the department's Public Integrity Unit, police said.
Senzo Mchunu denies all the allegations against him
South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa has placed Police Minister Senzo Mchunu on an immediate "leave of absence" after allegations of links to organised crimes were made against him.
In Sunday's live televised speech to the nation, Ramaphosa also announced a judicial commission would probe the claims, which he said undermined the constitution and threatened national security.
He added that law professor Firoz Cachalia had been appointed as interim police minister.
Mchunu denied any wrongdoing, saying in a statement that he "stood ready to respond to the accusations" against him.
In his speech, the president said that the allegations against Mchunu, which include interference in investigations into political killings and corruption within law enforcement agencies, "call for an urgent and comprehensive investigation".
He said the judicial commission, led by the country's deputy chief justice, would examine all the claims.
The commission will also investigate current and former police officials, as well as members of the national executive, Ramaphosa said.
Ramaphosa has been under growing public pressure to act swiftly over the high-profile case.
Mchunu, 67, is an influential figure in Ramaphosa's African National Congress (ANC) party.
Political analysts have suggested he could run for a leadership position at the ANC's next elective conference in 2027.
In a statement, Mchunu said: "I welcome and respect the president's decision and pledge my commitment to the process.
"Honour and integrity are the virtues I personally subscribe to and which we all need to make efforts to uphold."
He claimed Mchunu was receiving financial support from an allegedly corrupt businessman to fund his "political endeavours".
Gen Mkhwanazi also detailed a sequence of events he claimed led to the "orchestrated" disbandment of a task force that was set up in 2018 to investigate the killing of politicians, mainly in KwaZulu-Natal.
He said the team's investigations had uncovered links to high-profile individuals - including politicians, police officials, and businesspeople tied to a drug cartel syndicate - and this is why the team was disbanded.
When he dissolved the unit earlier this year, Mchunu said it was not adding value in the province, despite many cases remaining unsolved.
According to Gen Mkhwanazi, a total of 121 case files were allegedly removed from the unit on the minister's instruction and without the authorisation of his boss, the national police commissioner Gen Fannie Masemola.
"These case dockets have, since March, been sitting at the head office ever since without any investigation work done on them. Five of these dockets already had instructions to [effect] arrests," Gen Mkhwanazi said.
He also alleged Mchunu had ties to a controversial businessman who was "financially supporting" the minister's political career.
Vusimuzi Matlala had a lucrative contract with the police before it was abruptly cancelled when he was arrested for attempted murder in May. Gen Mkhwanazi shared copies of text messages and a payment allegedly made by Mr Matlala to prove this.
The RSF posted several videos from the livestock market on social media
The Sudanese paramilitary group Rapid Support Forces (RSF) stormed the besieged city of el-Fasher on Friday in a battle that raged for seven hours, witnesses told the BBC.
RSF fighters managed to capture a cattle market, a prison and a military base while broadcasting videos of their members walking around empty stockyards.
It was the first time RSF fighters had entered the city in large numbers since the siege of el-Fasher - an ongoing battle for control of the western Darfur city - began 15 months ago.
On Saturday morning, the army retaliated and succeeded in pushing the RSF back beyond el-Fasher's limits. But Mathilde Vu, from the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), described the city as a "death trap".
"What we're hearing is stories of horror and terror and weekly shelling, attacks on civilian infrastructure," Ms Vu told the BBC Newshour programme.
"There are local volunteers - they are really struggling, risking their lives every day to try and provide a little bit of food for people who are mostly starving."
Siddig Omar, a 65-year-old resident of el-Fasher, told the BBC the RSF entered the city on Friday from the south and south-west.
The RSF, whose fighters have been mustering in trenches dug around the city, frequently attack el-Fasher. According to the army, this was their 220th offensive.
But this time, during a battle that raged for seven hours, they managed to take control of the city's livestock market, which has been closed for business for several months.
From here, they broadcast videos of their fighters walking around empty stockyards. They also briefly held Shalla prison and the headquarters of the military's Central Reserve Forces.
On Saturday morning, the army retaliated and succeeded in pushing the RSF back beyond the city limits, saying it had inflicted "heavy losses" on the paramilitary group.
But Mr Omar said RSF shelling - using drones - continued throughout Saturday.
"One of the shells hit a civilian vehicle near my house resulting in the death of five civilians who were inside the car," he said.
Sudan plunged into a civil war in April 2023 after a vicious struggle for power broke out between its army and the RSF.
It has led to a famine and claims of a genocide in the western Darfur region.
More than 150,000 people have died in the conflict across the country, and about 12 million have fled their homes in what the United Nations has called the world's largest humanitarian crisis.
El-Fasher is the only city in Darfur now controlled by the military. But a communications blackout makes it difficult to confirm information from the besieged city, as only those with satellite internet connections are contactable.
The latest RSF offensive followed weeks of artillery and drone attacks. The group recently started using large drone aircraft.
The army accuses the United Arab Emirates (UAE) of funding the RSF, an allegation the oil-rich Gulf state denies.
This weekend's attack comes three months after the RSF overran Zamzam camp on the outskirts of el-Fasher. It had been the largest displacement camp in the country and many of its residents either escaped into el-Fashir or tried to make it to Tawila, 60km (about 40 miles) away.
Ms Vu, NRC's advocacy manager in Sudan, said the team in Tawila has continued to hear horrific stories as people desperately try to find safety.
"People fleeing at night by foot, on donkeys - trying to escape armed men targeting them, maybe raping them," she said.
"We're getting people arriving into Tawila who are thirsty, who haven't eaten for weeks."
Nearly 379,000 people have now fled to Tawila, where they are facing an outbreak of cholera and expected heavy rain is likely to destroy makeshift shelters.
This week, residents of el-Fasher told the BBC Arabic's emergency radio programme more about their dire situation.
"Right now, we are suffering deeply, and everyone around us is facing the same hardship," one man said.
"There is no bread, no food, and no work to be found. Even if you have money, there's nothing available in the markets to buy.
"When someone gets sick, we can't find any medicine or treatment.
"There are no medicines in hospitals. The situation here is truly terrible."
Another man said until recently, residents had been relying on something called "ombaz", a food waste left over after pressing oil from peanut shells.
"We are in a very critical situation," he said.
"Even ombaz is no longer available, as the peanut factories have stopped working.
"We are calling out for help - please, we urgently need assistance."
Ms Vu bemoaned the international community's apathy when it came to engaging with the warring parties and their backers.
"The funding is completely decreasing and the consequence is that you can see it on the ground," she said.
"People [in el-Fasher] just rely on the solidarity of others.
"If they have a little bit of food, they will be sharing it among themselves."
Allegations of war crimes have persisted throughout the past two years, and in January 2025 the US determined that the RSF and allied militias had committed a genocide against the region's non-Arab population.
Last week, President Pezeshkian accused Israel of trying to kill him - a claim denied by Israel
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian was reportedly slightly injured during one of Israel's attacks on Iran last month.
Iran's state Fars news agency, close to the revolutionary guard, says that on 16 June, six bombs targeted both access and entry points of a secret underground facility in Tehran where Pezeshkian was attending an emergency meeting of the Supreme National Security Council.
The president is said to have suffered leg injuries as he and others escaped through an emergency shaft. Iran is now reported to be following leads of infiltration by Israeli agents.
The Fars report has not been independently verified. Israel has not publicly commented on the report.
Videos posted on social media during the 12-day war showed repeated strikes against a mountain side in north-western Tehran.
Now it has emerged that the strikes on the fourth day of war targeted a secret underground facility in Tehran where Iran's top leaders were at the time.
The Fars news agency report says the Israeli strikes blocked all the six entry and exit points, and also the ventilation system.
The electricity to the facility was also cut off - but Pezeshkian managed to reach safety.
The Supreme National Security Council is Iran's top decision-making body after Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Last week, Pezeshkian accused Israel of trying to kill him - a claim denied by Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz, who said "regime change" had not been not a goal of the war.
Israel wiped out many of top IRGC and army commanders at the very start of the war.
Iranian leaders admit they were taken completely by surprise, and there was a decision-making paralysis for at least the first 24 hours after the attack.
Israel officials admitted that Ayatollah Khamenei was also the target - but that they had lost track of him when he was moved to a secure secret location, cut off to a great extent from the outside world.
There are still many questions about how Israel had gathered critical intelligence about the whereabouts of Iran's top officials and commanders - not to mention the locations of sensitive secret facilities.
On 13 June, Israel launched a surprise attack on nuclear and military sites in Iran, saying it acted to prevent Tehran from making nuclear weapons.
Iran - who retaliated with aerial attacks on Israel - denies seeking to develop nuclear weapons and says its enrichment of uranium is for peaceful purposes.
On 22 June, the US's Air Force and Navy carried out air and missile strikes against three Iranian nuclear facilities.
US President Donald Trump later said the attack "obliterated" the facilities, even as some US intelligence agencies have taken a more cautious view.
The EU's retaliatory tariffs on US exports have been delayed again, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has announced.
The countermeasures, which were due to start on Tuesday, came in response to US President Donald Trump's initial import taxes on steel and aluminium.
The EU's retaliation, which would have hit € 21bn worth of US goods, was first suspended in March. This break has been extended until early August, von der Leyen told a press conference on Sunday.
Trade ministers are expected to meet in Brussels on Monday to discuss how to respond.
It comes after Trump wrote a letter to von der Leyen announcing his plans to impose 30% tariffs on EU imports from 1 August.
In a pre-recorded interview with Fox News which aired on Saturday night, Trump said some countries were "very upset now" but he insisted the tariffs meant "hundreds of billions of dollars" were "pouring in".
Von der Leyen told journalists on Sunday: "The United States has sent us a letter with measures that would come into effect unless there is a negotiated solution, so we will therefore also extend the suspension of our countermeasures until early August.
"At the same time, we will continue to prepare for the countermeasures so we're fully prepared."
The European Commission president insisted that the EU has "always been very clear that we prefer a negotiated solution".
"This remains the case, and we will use the time that we have now till August 1," she added.
As of Saturday, the Trump administration has now proposed tariff conditions on 24 countries and the EU, which is composed of 27 countries.
On 12 April, White House trade adviser Peter Navarro set a goal to secure "90 deals in 90 days".
So far, the president has announced the outlines of two such pacts with the United Kingdom and Vietnam as negotiations with others continue.
Muhammadu Buhari was reported to have travelled to the UK in April for a routine medical check-up but subsequently fell ill
Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari, who has died age 82 in a London clinic, was a former military ruler and self-styled converted democrat who returned to power through elections but struggled to convince Nigerians he could deliver on the change he promised.
Never a natural politician, he was seen as aloof and austere. But he retained a reputation for personal honesty - a rare feat for a politician in Nigeria.
After three failed attempts, Buhari achieved a historic victory in 2015, becoming the country's first opposition candidate to defeat an incumbent. In 2019, he was re-elected for another four-year term.
Buhari had always been popular among the poor of the north (known as the "talakawa" in the Hausa language) but for the 2015 campaign, he had the advantage of a united opposition grouping behind him.
Many of those who supported him thought his military background and disciplinarian credentials were what the country needed to get to grips with the Islamist insurgency in the north. Buhari also promised to tackle corruption and nepotism in government, and create employment opportunities for young Nigerians.
But his time in office coincided with a slump in global oil prices and the country's worst economic crisis in decades.
His administration also came under fire for its handling of insecurity. While campaigning he had promised to defeat the Islamist militant group Boko Haram. But the group remains a threat and one of its factions is now affiliated to the so-called Islamic State group.
There was also an upsurge in deadly clashes between farmers and ethnic Fulani herders in central Nigeria. Mr Buhari, a Fulani, was accused of not being tough enough on the herders or doing enough to stop the crisis.
The activities of so-called bandits in the north-western part of the country saw the abduction of hundreds of secondary school students.
Muhammadu Buhari was born in December 1942 in Daura in Katsina state in the far north of Nigeria, near the border with Niger. At the time, Nigeria was controlled by the British and it would be another 18 years before the country gained independence.
Buhari's father, who died when he was four, was Fulani, while his mother, who brought him up, was Kanuri. In a 2012 interview, Buhari spoke of being his father's 23rd child and his mother's 13th. He said his only recollection of his father was of the two of them and one of his half-brothers being thrown from the back of a horse.
AFP
After three failed attempts, Buhari won victory at the polls in 2015
The young Buhari attended primary school in Daura and then boarding school in the city of Katsina. After leaving school, he was admitted to the Nigerian Military Training College, joining the Nigerian army shortly after independence.
Buhari undertook officer training in the UK from 1962-1963 and then began his steady climb up the ranks.
In later years, Buhari attributed his disciplinarian bent to spending his formative years at boarding school, where corporal punishment was the norm, and in the military. He was "lucky" to have experienced such tough environments, which taught him to work hard, he said.
In 1966, there was a military coup and then counter-coup in Nigeria - a time of upheaval for army officers but Buhari always maintained he was too junior to have played any significant role.
Less than 10 years later, under a military government, Buhari had risen to become military governor of the north-east, an area then comprising six states.
After less than a year, Buhari, now in his mid-30s, was promoted again, becoming federal commissioner for petroleum and natural resources (in effect oil minister) in 1976 under Olusegun Obasanjo in his first spell as Nigerian head of state.
Indiscipline and corruption
By 1978, Buhari, then a colonel, had returned to being a military commander. His tough stance in 1983 - when some Nigerian islands were annexed in Lake Chad by Chadian soldiers - is still remembered in the north-east, after he blockaded the area and drove off the invaders.
The end of 1983 saw another coup, against elected President Shehu Shagari, and Buhari, now a major-general, became the country's military ruler. By his own account, he was not one of the plotters but was installed (and subsequently discarded) by those who held the real power and needed a figurehead.
Other accounts suggest he played a more active role in removing Shagari than he was willing to admit.
Buhari ruled for 20 months, a period remembered for a campaign against indiscipline and corruption, as well as for human rights abuses.
About 500 politicians, officials and businessmen were jailed as part of a campaign against waste and corruption.
Some saw this as the heavy-handed repression of military rule. Others remember it as a praiseworthy attempt to fight the endemic corruption that was holding back Nigeria's development.
Buhari retained a rare reputation for honesty among Nigeria's politicians, both military and civilian, largely because of this campaign.
As part of his "war against indiscipline", he ordered Nigerians to form neat queues at bus stops, under the sharp eyes of whip-wielding soldiers. Civil servants who were late for work were publicly humiliated by being forced to do frog jumps.
Some of his measures might have been seen as merely eccentric. But others were genuinely repressive, such as a decree to restrict press freedom, under which journalists were jailed.
Buhari's government also locked up Nigeria's greatest musical hero, Fela Kuti - a thorn in the side of successive leaders - on trumped-up charges relating to currency exports.
Buhari's attempts to re-balance the public finances by curbing imports led to many job losses and the closure of businesses.
As part of anti-corruption measures, he also ordered that the currency be replaced - the colour of the naira notes was changed - forcing all holders of old notes to exchange them at banks within a limited period.
Prices rose while living standards fell, and in August 1985 Buhari was ousted and imprisoned for 40 months. Army chief Gen Ibrahim Babangida took over.
Historic election victory
After his release and, he said, having seen the consequences of the break-up of the Soviet Union, Buhari decided to enter party politics, now convinced of the virtues of multiparty democracy and free and fair elections.
Despite this, Buhari always defended the 1983 coup, saying in 2005: "The military came in when it was absolutely necessary and the elected people had failed the country."
He also rejected accusations that his measures against journalists and others had gone too far, insisting that he had been merely applying the laws that others had been breaking.
AFP
Buhari's wife, Aisha, joined the criticism of her husband's administration
He was elected president in 2015, becoming the first opposition candidate to defeat an incumbent since the return of multiparty democracy in 1999.
As president, Buhari made a virtue of his "incorruptibility", declaring his relatively modest wealth and saying he had "spurned several past opportunities" to enrich himself.
He was plain spoken by nature, which sometimes played well for him in the media and sometimes badly.
Although few doubted his personal commitment to fighting corruption and there were several notable scalps, some questioned whether the structures enabling mismanagement had really been reformed.
And attempts to improve youth employment prospects were, at best, a work in progress.
'Bag of rice'
On the day Buhari left office, some Nigerians were asked in a video that was widely shared on social media, what they would remember most about his time in office, and all respondents said the same thing: 'Bag of rice'.
The reason was simple - rice is the staple food in the country.
A standard 50kg (110lb) bag of rice, which could help feed a household of between eight and 10 for about a month, cost just 7,500 naira ($5; £3) under President Goodluck Jonathan, who was defeated by Buhari in 2015, but went up to 60,000 naira a few years afterwards.
This led to hunger in many parts of the country.
The huge surge in the price of rice was because, in an echo of his earlier policy as a military ruler, Buhari banned the importation of rice to encourage more Nigerian farmers to grow the crop.
However, local producers were unable to meet the high demand and many of his supporters lost their faith in him.
Ismail Danyaro, a resident of the northern city of Kano, said he had backed Buhari since he first contested the presidency in 2003.
"I used to buy a 50kg bag of rice under Goodluck [Jonathan] but when Buhari came, I found it difficult to buy even a 25kg bag of rice because it became so expensive," he told the BBC.
Buhari never accepted that his measures as military ruler were repressive or over-zealous
'Baba go slow'
Nigerians love nicknames and some of the country's leaders' nicknames have stuck even long after they left office.
For example, former military leader Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida is still called "Maradona" for what people perceived as his tactical dribbles on issues and situations.
For Buhari, it was "Baba [Father] go slow" after it took him six months to name his first cabinet on assuming office in 2015.
Responding to his nickname years later, Buhari said it wasn't his fault that it took so long to get anything done.
"Yes, we are slow because the system is slow. It's not Baba that is slow but it is the system so I am going by this system and I hope we will make it," he said in 2018.
Nigerian politics in 2022-2023 remains one of the most interesting in the country's democratic history.
In the minds of many, it was the first time that a sitting president wasn't really bothered about who his successor was going to be.
Openly, Buhari declared he would support whoever won his party’s (All Progressives Congress) nomination but insiders say behind the scenes he was ambivalent.
Buhari's body language emboldened all five candidates seeking the APC's endorsement and their supporters all went around saying they had his backing.
At one point it felt as if Buhari opposed the candidacy of his eventual successor, Bola Tinubu.
What followed was the declaration of the "naira swap policy" which the Buhari administration announced would, among other things, limit the influence of money in the 2023 elections.
Many Nigerians believed that the policy was targeted at preventing Tinubu from becoming president even though he had been chosen as the APC candidate.
The policy involved the confiscation of trillions of old naira notes and their replacement with new notes for the highest denominations.
However, there were not enough new notes, leading to shortages and suffering by millions, particularly the less well-off, who rely on cash for their daily transactions.
The policy was only suspended after a Supreme Court ruling, just days before the election.
Tinubu won narrowly, with 37% of votes cast, as the opposition was divided.
Any assessment of Buhari's presidency must take account his declining health, which caused him to take significant absences from work, especially during his first term.
The former military ruler may have reinvented himself as a democrat but there was no such commitment to transparency concerning his own health, with Nigerians left uninformed about the fitness of their head of state for office.
Muhammadu Buhari married twice, first to Safinatu Yusuf from 1971-1988, and then in 1989 to Aisha Halilu, who survives him. He had 10 children.
Getty Images/BBC
Go to BBCAfrica.com for more news from the African continent.
Flood waters ripped through Camp Mystic cabins just before dawn on 4 July
US regulators reportedly granted appeals to remove many Camp Mystic buildings from official flooding risk maps years before 27 children died in severe floods.
Citing official records, the New York Times and Associated Press said maps by the Federal Emergency Management (Fema) in 2011 had initially considered the popular summer camp to be in high risk of flooding.
But they say that Camp Mystic - located in a low-lying area by the Guadalupe River - then successfully challenged those designations.
The BBC has contacted Fema and Camp Mystic, neither of which have commented publicly on the issue.
Fema describes flood maps as "a tool that communities use to know which areas have the highest risk of flooding".
Syracuse University associate professor Sarah Pralle, who has studied the Fema flood maps, said she found it "perplexing" that the riverside camp had been granted exemptions from the maps.
"I think it's extremely troubling that it's a camp for children," Prof Pralle told the New York Times.
"You'd think you want to be extra cautious - that you'd go beyond the minimum of what's required for flood protection."
Fema's official flood maps show that some of Camp Mystic's cabins were within a "floodway", a particularly hazardous area where dangerous floodwaters would be expected to flow, the New York Times reported.
It said that other cabins were within a broader zone that would also be expected to flood once every 100 years.
Those designations require the camp to have flood insurance and tighter regulations on any construction projects.
The newspaper added that the Fema maps had not been modified to incorporate Camp Mystic's written appeals.
The popular camp lost at least 27 young girls when floodwaters ripped through the premises before dawn on 4 July.
Across Texas, at least 129 people have been killed, and scores are still missing.
On Friday, President Donald Trump visited the flood-hit areas, pledging that the government would help those who lost their houses and properties to rebuild.
"I've never seen anything like it," he said.
Trump also dismissed a question from a reporter about what more could have been done to warn residents, saying: "Only an evil person would ask a question like that."
In the wake of the deadly tragedy, questions have been raised about whether adequate warnings were provided and why camps weren't evacuated ahead of the deluge.
Experts have said a number of factors led to the deadly impact of the flash flood, including the pre-dawn timing and the location of some buildings.
Gisèle Pelicot waived her right to anonimity to publicly testify at her mass-rape trial
Gisèle Pelicot, the French woman who earned international recognition after publicly testifying at her mass-rape trial last year, has been given France's top honour.
The 72-year-old was named knight of the Legion of Honour on a list announced ahead of France's Bastille Day.
Pelicot waived her right to anonymity during the high-profile trial against her husband who had drugged and raped her, in addition to inviting dozens of strangers to also abuse her over nearly a decade.
Pelicot was among 589 other people given France's highest award on Sunday.
She attended almost every day of the trial, which ended last December with Dominique Pelicot, 72, being given a maximum 20 years in jail for aggravated rape, after confessing to drugging her and recruiting around 50 men to rape her while she lay comatose in bed.
"I want all women who have been raped to say: Madame Pelicot did it, I can too," Pelicot previously told reporters, adding that she wanted to make "shame swap sides" from the victim to the rapist.
US President Donald Trump has defended Pam Bondi, America's highest-ranking prosecutor, amid growing calls from the president's supporters for her to resign.
In a lengthy social media post, Trump hit out at complaints from critics who have accused Bondi of withholding more information about the death of sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and his so-called client list.
The mounting attacks from critics come after a memo released by Bondi's Justice Department last week failed to deliver what many had hoped would be major revelations in the Epstein case.
"Let Pam Bondi do her job," Trump wrote in all caps, encouraging his supporters to "not waste time and energy" on Epstein.
US Attorney General Bondi's critics include far-right conspiracy theorist Laura Loomer, who was frequently seen with Trump on the campaign trail, and billionaire Elon Musk, Trump's biggest campaign donor.
The memo sent out on Monday, jointly released with the FBI, said there was "no incriminating client list" nor evidence to suggest Epstein had blackmailed high-profile figures suspected of being in what conservatives call the "deep state".
The government's findings were made, according to the memo, after reviewing more than 300 gigabytes of data.
The findings follow multiple pledges from Bondi to reveal potentially damaging evidence related to Epstein, including "a lot of names" and "a lot of flight logs".
Many of Bondi's past claims related to the Epstein files, and the possibility of hidden evidence, had been echoed by FBI Director Kash Patel and FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino.
After the memo was released, frustrations from Bongino led to a contentious meeting between him and Bondi in the White House on Wednesday, according to the BBC's media partner CBS News.
The feud highlighted what some have described as a growing division between the FBI and the Justice Department over the Epstein case.
On Friday, Loomer claimed on X that she was told Bongino was "seriously thinking about resigning".
Bongino did not show up to work on Friday, according to CBS News sources.
Epstein's sudden death aged 66 in a jail cell inside New York's Metropolitan Correctional Center has been a strong source of conspiracy theories for years.
The FBI and Justice Department's memo confirmed that Epstein died by suicide, which many people in Trump's orbit had questioned.
Bondi suggested to Fox News in February that Epstein's client list was "sitting on my desk right now to review".
However, she clarified those remarks in the White House on Tuesday, telling reporters that she was commenting on the entire Epstein "file" and other files.
The president's frustrations with the ongoing public interest in Epstein were on display last week in the White House, when he responded to a reporter's question with: "Are you still talking about Jeffrey Epstein?"
Conservatives have long held the conspiracy theory that high-ranking Democrats would be implicated in a full release of the Epstein files. Now liberals are asking whether a reluctance to release the files is to shield Trump.
Ten people, including six children, have been killed in an Israeli air strike while waiting to fill water containers in central Gaza on Sunday, emergency service officials say.
Their bodies were sent to Nuseirat's al-Awda Hospital, which also treated 16 injured people, seven of them children, according to a doctor there.
Eyewitnesses said a drone fired a missile at a crowd of people queuing with empty jerry cans next to a water tanker in the heart of the al-Nuseirat refugee camp.
The Israeli military has been asked to comment.
Unverified footage shared online after the strike showed bloodied children and lifeless bodies, with screams of panic and desperation.
Residents rushed to the scene and transported the wounded using private vehicles and donkey carts.
The strike came as Israeli aerial attacks across the Gaza Strip have escalated.
A spokesperson for Gaza's Civil Defense Agency said 19 other Palestinians had been killed on Sunday, in three separate strikes on residential buildings in central Gaza and Gaza City.
Israel launched a military campaign in Gaza in response to Hamas's cross-border attack on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.
At least 57,882 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.
Most of Gaza's population has been displaced multiple times.
More than 90% of homes are estimated to be damaged or destroyed. The healthcare, water, sanitation and hygiene systems have collapsed, and there are shortages of food, fuel, medicine and shelter.
This week, for the first time in 130 days, 75,000 litres of fuel was allowed into Gaza - "far from enough to meet the daily needs of the population and vital civilian aid operations", the United Nations said.
Nine UN agencies warned on Saturday that Gaza's fuel shortage had reached "critical levels", and if fuel ran out, it would affect hospitals, water systems, sanitation networks and bakeries.
"Hospitals are already going dark, maternity, neonatal and intensive care units are failing, and ambulances can no longer move," the UN said.
CCTV footage shows Ukrainian intelligence officer Ivan Voronych in Kyiv shortly before he was shot dead on 10 July
Ukraine says two agents working for Russia have been killed after a senior Ukrainian intelligence officer was shot dead on Thursday.
Col Ivan Voronych was shot several times in a Kyiv car park in board daylight, after being approached by an unidentified assailant who fled the scene.
The head of Ukraine's Security Service (SBU), Vasyl Malyuk, said in a video statement that two agents working for Russia's security service FSB had been tracked down and "liquidated" after they resisted arrest on Sunday morning.
Separately, Ukraine's national police said the agents were "citizens of a foreign country", without giving any further details. There was no immediate response from Moscow.
CCTV footage of the incident on 10 July - verified by the news agency Reuters - showed a man leaving a building in Kyiv's southern Holosiivskyi district shortly after 09:00 local time (06:00 GMT), while another man ran towards him.
The SBU said on Sunday the suspects had been tracking Col Voronych's movements prior to the attack, and were sent the co-ordinates of a hiding place where they found a pistol with a silencer.
It said that after he was shot, they then tried to "lay low," but were found following a joint investigation with national police.
The SBU mainly focuses on internal security and counter-intelligence, like the UK's MI5. But it has played a prominent role in sabotage attacks and assassinations deep inside Russia since Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Sources within Ukraine's security services told the BBC that the SBU was responsible for the killing of the high-ranking Russian Gen Igor Kirillov in December 2024.
In April, Gen Yaroslav Moskalik was killed in a car bomb attack in Moscow - which the Kremlin blamed on Kyiv.
Ukraine's security services have never officially admitted responsibility for the deaths.
This week's deaths come after Russian strikes on Ukraine have hit record levels.
Fighting has also continued on the frontlines, with Russia's military making slow gains in eastern Ukraine and retaking control of most of Russia's Kursk region that Kyiv's forces seized in a surprise offensive last summer.
Efforts to negotiate a ceasefire in the more than three-year-long war have faltered.
A man has escaped a French prison by hiding in the bag of a fellow inmate who was leaving prison after serving their sentence, officials told local media.
The prison service has launched an investigation after the man escaped from Lyon-Corbas prison in south-east France on Friday, according to broadcaster BFMTV.
He "took advantage of the liberation of his fellow inmate to hide himself in his luggage and get out", the prison service said in a statement to AFP news agency.
French media have reported that the escaped prisoner was serving several sentences and was also under investigation in a case linked to organised crime.
A judicial investigation has also been opened into possible "escape as part of an organised gang and criminal conspiracy", according to local media.
Last month, the Lyon Bar Association expressed alarm about overcrowding at the Lyon-Corbas prison.
As of 1 May 2025, around 1,200 people were detained in the prison, which has capacity for 678 places, BFMTV had reported.
Doctors also rallied and went on strike over the proposed government plans last year
Thousands of South Korean medical students are set to return to classes after a 17-month long boycott, the Korean Medical Association has announced.
Trainee doctors walked out to oppose government plans to increase medical school admissions, arguing it would lower the quality of the education they received.
No timeline for their return has been provided by the association, but the group has urged the government to restore the academic calendar and improve training conditions.
Prime Minister Kim Min-Seok welcomed the end of the boycott, describing it as a "big step forward".
"It's time to take a deeper look at the medical field, the Congress, and the government, so that citizens can help solve problems," he wrote in a statement on Facebook.
The Korean Medical Association said "we will place our trust in the government and parliament and commit to returning to school to help normalize medical education and the healthcare system," in a reported statement issued jointly with the parliament's education committee and other lobby groups.
The government wanted to increase the annual admittance of medical students to universities from around 3,000 to roughly 5,000, saying more staff were needed to meet demand.
It went back on its plan in March 2025.
Yonhap News Agency reported that 8,305 students will be subject to grade retention, requiring them to repeat the same academic year, according to the education ministry.
More than 10,000 people work at the Rubaya mine digging up coltan ore
M23 rebels in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo recently allowed the BBC to visit a huge mining site under their control which is vital to the production of the world's mobile phones - and over its vast expanse not one person was idle.
Thousands of miners dotted the landscape covered with pits and tunnels.
Some were deep underground digging up ore with shovels, others then hoisted sacks of the extracted rock containing coltan, which is used to make many electronic devices, on to their shoulders. They then took it to assembly points where others washed and filtered it with spades and by hand.
"We usually have more than 10,000 or more people working here daily," Patrice Musafiri, who has supervised the Rubaya mining site since the rebels took control of it in April last year, told the BBC.
It is tricky terrain to navigate - our team needed the aid of walking sticks, as well as Mr Musafiri's guidance, to stop us falling - yet for most of the men it is the only life they have known. It may be onerous and dangerous, but it allows them to make a small living.
"When we are deep in the mines, temperatures are very high - digging the mineral is also very hard... plus there can be other harmful gases," mineworker Peter Osiasi told the BBC.
"Sometimes cold air is pumped inside so that we can continue working," he said.
But the young man said he was grateful that since he began mining five years ago, he has been able to save a little money for a dowry and is now married with children.
"My life has really changed. Mining has really helped me."
The swathe of golden scarred earth they mine is found in the sprawling, lush Masisi Hills of North Kivu province - around 60km (37 miles) north-west of the city of Goma - and holds 15% of the world's coltan supply and half of the DR Congo's total deposits.
Little wonder that global investors have their eyes on this area.
It has provided immense wealth over the years to the various armed groups that have overseen it at different times, including the army.
Hassan Lali / BBC
The Rubaya mine supervisor said no armed men were allowed at the vast site
We arrived at the mine, which is around 10km outside Rubaya town, several days after a ceasefire deal was signed in Washington by DR Congo and Rwanda as part of the peace process aimed at ending three decades of instability in the region.
The roots of the insecurity in the east of DR Congo are notoriously complicated.
There is an ethnic dimension, with many rebel groups operating here - including an ethnic Hutu militia linked to the Rwandan genocide of 1994, which Kigali believes has Congolese backing.
In Washington both sides committed on 27 June to disarm and disengage their alleged proxies (despite denying having any).
The M23 was not party to the deal. Mainly led by ethnic Tutsis, it controls large parts of eastern DR Congo - and since January has taken control of Goma, the city of Bukavu and two airports. Rwanda has been accused by many — including the UN — of backing the M23. However, the authorities there deny sending military or financial aid.
The US's involvement in the process seems to hinge on getting access to DR Congo's mineral resources - though nothing has so far been specified.
"We're getting for the United States, a lot of the mineral rights from the [DR] Congo," said US President Donald Trump ahead of the signing.
Hassan Lali / BBC
Some women work at Rubaya mine site selling food and water to the miners
During our brief visit - we were allowed access for around 45 minutes - there was no hint that the chain of command was about to change.
The supervisor, appointed by the M23, was keen to explain how the set-up at Rubaya had been reorganised over the last year and how the rebel group had brought security to allow miners to work without fear - specifying that no armed men were allowed on the site.
"We have already solved so many issues," Mr Musafiri said.
"Presently we have a mining department that regulates and monitors safety issues and also resolves internal disputes within the mines. If a tunnel becomes dangerous, people are told to leave to avoid accidents.
"People from different groups come here to mine daily and others to buy the minerals and now we have a huge market in Goma where they can resell what they buy here."
Hassan Lali / BBC
The coltan ore must be washed ready for the buyers who trade it on - and eventually tantalum will be extracted from this for use in electronic devices
In December, a UN experts' report detailed how the M23 makes hundreds of thousands of dollars each month from taxing coltan, much of it was sent directly to Rwanda - allegations both the M23 and Kigali deny.
Surrounded by his colleagues wearing jeans, sweaters and wellington boots, all of whom buy permits to work at the site, Mr Osiasi agreed that conditions were better.
"Business is going on very well here because we have at least some semblance of peace, but the pay is very low. We are paid very little money," the miner said.
Trump's second term coincided with the M23's seizure of much of North Kivu and South Kivu provinces and the humiliating retreat of the Congolese army.
Political analyst Akramm Tumsifu says DR Congo decided to use its rich mineral reserves as a bargaining chip to get US assistance - for months it had sought military support.
With a tentative peace process under way, the Congolese authorities' great hope, he told the BBC, was that American firms would be in a position to make "massive investments" in its mining sector, which is currently dominated by Chinese companies.
US companies are reportedly already looking to cash in on the opportunity to invest in Rubaya's mining sector.
The Rubaya supervisor told us investment would be welcomed, but only initiatives aimed at boosting the local economy - with jobs, schools and hospitals - would be allowed.
"Any foreign investor can come here, as long as they come with development for our people and increase daily wages for the miners," Mr Musafiri said.
Despite the country's colossal natural endowments, most mining communities have little infrastructure, without even accessible roads to the mines where the wealth is scooped from the ground.
Mr Tumsifu reckons the presence of American investors could also act as a "caution against fighting or a resurgence of other armed groups".
But it is not yet clear how or with whom an investor would do business given the M23 is still very much in control in the east.
A parallel mediation effort led by Qatar - which involves direct talks between the armed groups and the Congolese government - may yield more clarity in the coming months.
The M23, which is part of the broader Congo River Alliance, said the Washington-backed deal had fallen short of addressing the causes of the long conflict. It maintains it took up arms to protect the rights of the minority Tutsi group in DR Congo.
While the belligerents try and hammer out their preferred pathways to peace, local people at the Rubaya mine, like elsewhere in eastern DR Congo, only hope for a definitive end to the fighting and bloodshed which has seen hundreds of thousands of people flee their homes.
"My appeal to fellow young men and our leaders is to keep and maintain peace in our area," said Mr Osiasi.
As he prepared to go back to hours of more digging, he added: "I also appeal to the owners of the mines to increase our pay because it's very little."
Additional reporting by the BBC's Robert Kiptoo and Hassan Lali
Attorney General Pam Bondi said she had ordered the charges to be dropped
The US attorney general has ordered charges to be dropped against a doctor accused of destroying Covid-19 vaccines worth $28,000 (£20,742), distributing fake vaccination record cards, and giving children saline shots instead of the vaccine at their parents' request.
Pam Bondi said Dr Michael Kirk Moore Jr. "gave his patients a choice when the federal government refused to do so". He had been indicted by the Justice Department under the Biden administration in 2023.
The plastic surgeon was already on trial in Utah, where he had pleaded not guilty to all charges including conspiracy to defraud the US.
The acting US Attorney for the district of Utah, Felice John Viti, filed to dismiss the charges on Saturday, saying this was "in the interests of justice".
Dr Moore was accused of providing fraudulently completed vaccination certificates for more than 1,900 vaccine doses, the US Attorney's office in Utah said in 2023.
These were allegedly provided, without administering the vaccine, for a charge of $50 (£37), in exchange for direct cash payments or donations to a specific charity.
The government also accused him of giving children saline shots at their parents' request so that the "children would think they were receiving a COVID-19 vaccine," according to the US attorney's office.
He was accused alongside his company - Plastic Surgery Institute of Utah, Inc. - and three others of seeking to defraud the US and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Bondi wrote on X on Saturday that she had ordered the Justice Department to drop the charges because Dr Moore "did not deserve the years in prison he was facing".
She said US Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene and Senator Mike Lee, both Republicans, had brought the case to her attention, calling them champions for "ending the weaponization of government".
Lee thanked the attorney general for "standing with the countless Americans who endured too many official lies, mandates, and lockdowns during COVID".
Dr Moore and other defendants faced up to 35 years in prison on multiple charges, according to the Associated Press news agency.
President Donald Trump has announced that the European Union and Mexico will face a 30% tariff on imports to the US from 1 August.
He warned he would impose even higher import taxes if either of the US trading partners decided to retaliate.
The announcement was made in two letters posted on Trump's Truth Social website. Similar letters were sent this week to several other countries.
The 27-member EU - America's biggest trading partner - said earlier this week it hoped to agree a deal with Washington before 1 August.
In the letter to European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, Trump wrote: "We have had years to discuss our trading relationship with the European Union, and have concluded that we must move away from these long-term-large, and persistent, trade deficits, engendered by your tariff, and non-tariff, policies and trade barriers."
"Our relationship has been, unfortunately, far from reciprocal," the letter added.
The EU has been a frequent target of Trump's criticism, and in April Washington announced levies of 20% on European goods.
In 2024, the US trade deficit with the bloc was $235.6bn (€202bn; £174bn), according to the office of the US trade representative.
This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly. Please refresh the page for the fullest version.
You can receive Breaking News on a smartphone or tablet via the BBC News App. You can also follow @BBCBreaking on X to get the latest alerts.
Palestinians seeking food and other supplies near an aid distribution site in May
The Nasser hospital in southern Gaza has said 24 people have been killed near an aid distribution site.
Palestinians who were present at the site said Israeli troops opened fire as people were trying to access food on Saturday.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said there were "no known injured individuals" from IDF fire near the site.
Separately, an Israeli military official said warning shots were fired to disperse people who the IDF believed were a threat.
The claims by both sides have not been independently verified. Israel does not allow international news organisations, including the BBC, into Gaza.
Footage seen by the BBC later on Saturday showed what appeared to be a number of body bags at Nasser hospital's courtyard surrounded by nurses and people in blood-stained clothes.
In another video, a man said people were waiting to get aid when they came under targeted fire for five minutes. A paramedic accused Israeli troops of killing in cold blood.
The videos have not been verified by the BBC.
Reuters said it had spoken to witnesses who described people being shot in the head and torso. The news agency also reported seeing bodies wrapped in white shrouds at Nasser hospital.
There have been almost daily reports of people being killed by Israeli fire while seeking food in Gaza.
Israel imposed a total blockade of aid deliveries to the Gaza Strip in March, and later resumed its military offensive against Hamas, collapsing a two-month ceasefire. It said it wanted to put pressure on the Palestinian armed group to release Israeli hostages.
Although the blockade was partially eased in late May, amid warnings of a looming famine from global experts, there are still severe shortages of food, as well as medicine and fuel.
The UN agency for Palestinian refugees, Unrwa, says there are thousands of malnourished children across the territory, with more cases detected every day.
In addition to allowing in some UN aid lorries, Israel and the US set up a new aid distribution system run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), saying they wanted to prevent Hamas from stealing aid.
On Friday, the UN human rights office said that it had so far recorded 798 aid-related killings, including 615 in the vicinity of the GHF's sites, which are operated by US private security contractors and located inside military zones in southern and central Gaza.
The other 183 killings were recorded near UN and other aid convoys.
The Israeli military said it recognised there had been incidents in which civilians had been harmed and that it was working to minimise "possible friction between the population and the [Israeli] forces as much as possible".
The GHF accused the UN of using "false and misleading" statistics from Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry.
Earlier this month, a former security contractor for the GHF told the BBC he witnessed colleagues opening fire several times on hungry Palestinians who had posed no threat. The GHF said the allegations were categorically false.
Israel launched a military campaign in Gaza in response to Hamas' cross-border attack on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.
At least 57,823 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un welcomed Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to Wonsan, North Korea
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un offered Moscow his "unconditional support" on the war in Ukraine, according to Pyongyang state media reports.
In talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in North Korea, Kim said that Pyongyang stood by "all the measures taken by the Russian leadership" to tackle the "root cause of the Ukrainian crisis".
Western officials believe Pyongyang has sent an estimated 11,000 troops to Russia over the last year to fight against Ukraine.
Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
According to North Korean state media KCNA news agency, Kim and Lavrov met on Saturday in "an atmosphere full of warm comradely trust".
The North Korean leader also expressed a "firm belief that the Russian army and people would surely win victory in accomplishing the sacred cause of defending the dignity and basic interests of the country".
On Telegram, Russia's foreign ministry posted a video showing the two men shaking hands and greeting each other with a hug.
Lavrov also met with his North Korean counterpart Choe Son Hui and thanked the "heroic" North Korean soldiers deployed to aid Russia, Russia's TASS news agency reported.
Trump told NBC News on Thursday that he had made a deal with Nato for the US to send Patriot air defence systems to Ukraine via the alliance, after a surge of Russian aerial attacks.
Pyongyang first publicly acknowledged sending troops to Russia in April, months after Ukraine and the West revealed the large-scale troop movement from North Korea to the Russian-Ukrainian frontline.
Kim signed an accord with Russian leader Vladimir Putin in June last year, agreeing to support each other if either country was dealing with "aggression".
Apart from soldiers, North Korea also promised to send thousands of workers to help rebuild Russia's war-torn Kursk region, Moscow's security chief said last month.
A federal California judge has ordered the Trump administration to stop "indiscriminately" detaining people thought to be in the US illegally.
The decision came down in a temporary restraining order issued against the government on Friday, which also bars immigration officials from denying individuals access to lawyers.
The case was brought in a lawsuit filed by three immigrants, arrested at a Pasadena bus stop while looking for work, and two US citizens who were held, one of whom had reportedly shown an ID.
The Department of Homeland Security responded to the judge's order in a social media post, accusing her of "undermining the will of the American people".
US District Judge Maame Frimpong's emergency orders are a temporary measure while the lawsuit continues.
In her order, Judge Frimpong said there was a "mountain of evidence" to support that officials have been performing "roving patrols", defined as "indiscriminately rounding up individuals without reasonable suspicion". This would violate the US Constitution, she said.
The government cannot base its immigration arrests "solely" on factors including "race or ethnicity", "speaking Spanish or speaking English with an accent", or "presence at a particular location" such as a bus stop or car wash, Judge Frimpong said.
Judge Frimpong's decision comes as the Trump administration has ramped up its efforts to crackdown on illegal immigration, particularly in California, a Democratic stronghold that has long held the ire of President Donald Trump.
Raids in Los Angeles, in particular, were met with widespread protests over immigration enforcement in the region.
Some farm workers were critically injured during the "chaotic" Ventura County raids, the United Farm Workers said in a statement.
Human rights advocates have accused the government of illegal discrimination and denying people their Constitutional rights.
"No matter the color of their skin, what language they speak, or where they work, everyone is guaranteed constitutional rights to protect them from unlawful stops," Mohammad Tajsar, senior staff attorney with the ACLU Foundation of Southern California, said in a statement.
The government, however, says it is prioritising violent criminals as ICE tries to meet a daily quota of 3,000 daily arrests, part of Trump's stated goal to launch the "largest deportation" campaign in US history.
"America's brave men and women are removing murderers, MS-13 gang members, pedophiles, rapists—truly the worst of the worst from Golden State communities," Homeland Security wrote on X, in response to the judge's order.
More than 10,000 people work at the Rubaya mine digging up coltan ore
M23 rebels in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo recently allowed the BBC to visit a huge mining site under their control which is vital to the production of the world's mobile phones - and over its vast expanse not one person was idle.
Thousands of miners dotted the landscape covered with pits and tunnels.
Some were deep underground digging up ore with shovels, others then hoisted sacks of the extracted rock containing coltan, which is used to make many electronic devices, on to their shoulders. They then took it to assembly points where others washed and filtered it with spades and by hand.
"We usually have more than 10,000 or more people working here daily," Patrice Musafiri, who has supervised the Rubaya mining site since the rebels took control of it in April last year, told the BBC.
It is tricky terrain to navigate - our team needed the aid of walking sticks, as well as Mr Musafiri's guidance, to stop us falling - yet for most of the men it is the only life they have known. It may be onerous and dangerous, but it allows them to make a small living.
"When we are deep in the mines, temperatures are very high - digging the mineral is also very hard... plus there can be other harmful gases," mineworker Peter Osiasi told the BBC.
"Sometimes cold air is pumped inside so that we can continue working," he said.
But the young man said he was grateful that since he began mining five years ago, he has been able to save a little money for a dowry and is now married with children.
"My life has really changed. Mining has really helped me."
The swathe of golden scarred earth they mine is found in the sprawling, lush Masisi Hills of North Kivu province - around 60km (37 miles) north-west of the city of Goma - and holds 15% of the world's coltan supply and half of the DR Congo's total deposits.
Little wonder that global investors have their eyes on this area.
It has provided immense wealth over the years to the various armed groups that have overseen it at different times, including the army.
Hassan Lali / BBC
The Rubaya mine supervisor said no armed men were allowed at the vast site
We arrived at the mine, which is around 10km outside Rubaya town, several days after a ceasefire deal was signed in Washington by DR Congo and Rwanda as part of the peace process aimed at ending three decades of instability in the region.
The roots of the insecurity in the east of DR Congo are notoriously complicated.
There is an ethnic dimension, with many rebel groups operating here - including an ethnic Hutu militia linked to the Rwandan genocide of 1994, which Kigali believes has Congolese backing.
In Washington both sides committed on 27 June to disarm and disengage their alleged proxies (despite denying having any).
The M23 was not party to the deal. Mainly led by ethnic Tutsis, it controls large parts of eastern DR Congo - and since January has taken control of Goma, the city of Bukavu and two airports. Rwanda has been accused by many — including the UN — of backing the M23. However, the authorities there deny sending military or financial aid.
The US's involvement in the process seems to hinge on getting access to DR Congo's mineral resources - though nothing has so far been specified.
"We're getting for the United States, a lot of the mineral rights from the [DR] Congo," said US President Donald Trump ahead of the signing.
Hassan Lali / BBC
Some women work at Rubaya mine site selling food and water to the miners
During our brief visit - we were allowed access for around 45 minutes - there was no hint that the chain of command was about to change.
The supervisor, appointed by the M23, was keen to explain how the set-up at Rubaya had been reorganised over the last year and how the rebel group had brought security to allow miners to work without fear - specifying that no armed men were allowed on the site.
"We have already solved so many issues," Mr Musafiri said.
"Presently we have a mining department that regulates and monitors safety issues and also resolves internal disputes within the mines. If a tunnel becomes dangerous, people are told to leave to avoid accidents.
"People from different groups come here to mine daily and others to buy the minerals and now we have a huge market in Goma where they can resell what they buy here."
Hassan Lali / BBC
The coltan ore must be washed ready for the buyers who trade it on - and eventually tantalum will be extracted from this for use in electronic devices
In December, a UN experts' report detailed how the M23 makes hundreds of thousands of dollars each month from taxing coltan, much of it was sent directly to Rwanda - allegations both the M23 and Kigali deny.
Surrounded by his colleagues wearing jeans, sweaters and wellington boots, all of whom buy permits to work at the site, Mr Osiasi agreed that conditions were better.
"Business is going on very well here because we have at least some semblance of peace, but the pay is very low. We are paid very little money," the miner said.
Trump's second term coincided with the M23's seizure of much of North Kivu and South Kivu provinces and the humiliating retreat of the Congolese army.
Political analyst Akramm Tumsifu says DR Congo decided to use its rich mineral reserves as a bargaining chip to get US assistance - for months it had sought military support.
With a tentative peace process under way, the Congolese authorities' great hope, he told the BBC, was that American firms would be in a position to make "massive investments" in its mining sector, which is currently dominated by Chinese companies.
US companies are reportedly already looking to cash in on the opportunity to invest in Rubaya's mining sector.
The Rubaya supervisor told us investment would be welcomed, but only initiatives aimed at boosting the local economy - with jobs, schools and hospitals - would be allowed.
"Any foreign investor can come here, as long as they come with development for our people and increase daily wages for the miners," Mr Musafiri said.
Despite the country's colossal natural endowments, most mining communities have little infrastructure, without even accessible roads to the mines where the wealth is scooped from the ground.
Mr Tumsifu reckons the presence of American investors could also act as a "caution against fighting or a resurgence of other armed groups".
But it is not yet clear how or with whom an investor would do business given the M23 is still very much in control in the east.
A parallel mediation effort led by Qatar - which involves direct talks between the armed groups and the Congolese government - may yield more clarity in the coming months.
The M23, which is part of the broader Congo River Alliance, said the Washington-backed deal had fallen short of addressing the causes of the long conflict. It maintains it took up arms to protect the rights of the minority Tutsi group in DR Congo.
While the belligerents try and hammer out their preferred pathways to peace, local people at the Rubaya mine, like elsewhere in eastern DR Congo, only hope for a definitive end to the fighting and bloodshed which has seen hundreds of thousands of people flee their homes.
"My appeal to fellow young men and our leaders is to keep and maintain peace in our area," said Mr Osiasi.
As he prepared to go back to hours of more digging, he added: "I also appeal to the owners of the mines to increase our pay because it's very little."
Additional reporting by the BBC's Robert Kiptoo and Hassan Lali
Watch: Australia’s mushroom murder case... in under two minutes
For years, from behind a computer screen, Erin Patterson built up a reputation in an online true crime community as a "super sleuth".
Today, she herself has become a true crime obsession.
When three people died – and another fell gravely ill - after eating toxic-mushroom-laced beef Wellingtons at her home in rural Victoria two years ago, her entire life was put under a microscope.
Journalists have descended from around the world to cover her lengthy murder trial, spectators have queued daily to nab a spot in the courtroom, and thousands of people have picked apart details of the case online.
But, despite a jury earlier this week finding her guilty on all charges, the frenzy of speculation and depth of fascination has only intensified.
"It has shades of Macbeth," criminal psychologist Tim Watson-Munro told the BBC.
Getty Images
The mushroom murder trial was the biggest case in recent history
It was in one of Australia's smallest courtrooms that its biggest trial in recent history took place.
Over 11 weeks, seven documentary-making teams cast their lens on the tiny town of Morwell. Podcasters here were a dime a dozen. Journalists vied for the six seats reserved for media inside the court each day. Even one of Australia's best-loved authors, Helen Garner, frequently dropped by the Latrobe Valley Law Courts, fuelling rumours that she is preparing to write another best-seller.
Waiting with the sea of tripods outside the building most mornings of the trial was a queue of camp chairs.
Come rain, frost or fog, court watchers – predominantly women, often rugged up in beanies and encased in sleeping bags – watched for the moment the glass doors would open.
Once inside, they would lay a line of belongings – scarves, water bottles, notepads, bags – outside the courtroom entry to reserve their spot.
The Patterson trial heard from more than 50 witnesses
Tammy Egglestone commuted for more than an hour to reach Morwell most days of the trial. "I'm a bit of a true crime fanatic," she explains.
She was in court when it heard evidence that Patterson was once just like her.
Patterson had been an active member in a Facebook group focussed on the crimes of Keli Lane, a woman who was found guilty of killing her two-day-old daughter in one of Australia's most notorious cases.
In 2018, Lane became the subject of a major podcast after writing to a journalist claiming to have been wrongly convicted and begging her to investigate.
At Patterson's trial, one of her online friends Christine Hunt said she was renowned among her peers for her nimble researching and tech skills.
"She was a bit of a super sleuth," she said. "She was highly regarded in that group."
Getty Images
A Melbourne lane with a mural of Erin Patterson
But as her case unfolded in Morwell, Patterson was also put on trial in the court of public opinion.
She became water-cooler talk in workplaces around the country, gossip among friend groups, and the ultimate topic of debate online.
Thousands of people theorised over a motive for the crime, provided commentary on bits of evidence, and even alleged corrupt forces were behind the case – much of the discussion unfounded, almost all of it in breach of laws designed to give defendants a fair trial.
Memes filled social media feeds. On Google Maps, someone created a restaurant listing at Patterson's home address. Others shared trial bingo cards they had created for those following it closely.
Throughout the week the jury was considering their verdict, sequestered in a hotel to protect them from the maelstrom, the question everyone had was: what were they thinking?
"What are they doing in there?" one lawyer was overheard asking in a Morwell café on day four of deliberations.
Ms Egglestone has spent hours commuting to see the trial evidence in person
With jury members bound by strict secrecy requirements, we will never know.
"In the US, they can interview jurors after a trial," criminal psychologist Tim Watson-Munro told the BBC. "We can't get into the heads of jurors in Australia… so it's really hard to know what they're thinking has been and why they've come to that conclusion."
That leaves a massive vacuum for members of the public to fill with their speculation.
People like Ms Egglestone pondered: if the poisoning was intended to kill, wouldn't Patterson have planned and executed it better?
"I've come in here [as] Switzerland," Ms Egglestone clarified, calling the discourse around the case "very pitchforky".
"And a lot of them are using hindsight reasoning. 'If I was in that situation, I wouldn't do this, this and this.' Well, you don't know what you would do in that situation."
But people like her were drowned out by the hordes proclaiming Patterson guilty.
Many said it was her lies that convinced them. Some claimed the evidence showed a clear lack of empathy and concern for those who died.
"What really gave her away was wearing white pants when she had 'gastro' and needed to go to hospital for it!" one person posted, referring to CCTV footage of her movements in the days after the lunch, which was played at the trial.
Watch: CCTV and audio shown to court in mushroom trial
Already, the case has inspired a television special, a silver screen drama series, a bevy of podcasts, several documentaries and a handful of books.
"It has those typical cliché things that make true crime sell," Ms Egglestone said, explaining why she and flocks of others have become obsessed with the case.
"The fact that she did take out family members... [she's] white, female, financially stable, you know. And they're all church people."
For David Peters, seemingly benign circumstances surrounding the crime – and the fact it was in his local area – drew him in: "The fact that it was a family sitting down to do something you would consider to be safe - have a meal - and then the consequences of that meal..."
Several people tell the BBC the case reminds them of the frenzy over Lindy Chamberlain's notorious trial in 1982. She was falsely convicted of murder after her infant daughter Azaria was taken from an outback campsite by a dingo.
It's no coincidence that both of those cases centre around women, criminology researcher Brandy Cochrane tells the BBC.
The world has long been fascinated by women who kill – in no small part because it contradicts their traditional "caring" gender role, they explain.
Those stereotypes also cast a shadow on Patterson's time in court.
EPA
"She's expected to act in a particular way, and she's not," says Dr Cochrane, a lecturer at Victoria University.
"It's like, 'Oh, obviously she's guilty, she's not crying the whole time' or 'Obviously she's guilty, she's lied about this'. The legal system in and of itself treats women very differently."
Away from the ghoulish spectre of the trial, there's anger – albeit dwindling – among the communities where the victims are from over the way the case has been dissected, local councillor Nathan Hersey tells the BBC.
Don and Gail Patterson and Heather Wilkinson were respected and adored by many in the South Gippsland region, he says, but it feels like they've been forgotten.
"This has been an extremely high-profile case that's brought a lot of attention, often unwanted through to our local community.
"[And] some people haven't had that humanity… they've certainly lost focus that for people, there is a loss, there is grief."
Valery Gergiev seen conducting an orchestra at Moscow's Red Square in 2018
Russian conductor Valery Gergiev has been barred from European stages ever since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
A close ally of Vladimir Putin for many years, the director of the Bolshoi and Mariinsky Russian state theatres has never spoken out against the war.
But a region of southern Italy has now invited Gergiev back to Europe, signalling the artist's rehabilitation even as Russia's attacks on Ukraine intensify.
Vincenzo de Luca, who runs the Campania region, insists that the concert at the Un'Estate da REfestival later this month will go ahead despite a growing swell of criticism.
"Culture… must not be influenced by politics and political logic," De Luca said in a livestream on Friday. "We do not ask these men to answer for the choices made by politicians."
The 76-year-old local leader has previously called Europe's broad veto on pro-Putin artists "a moment of stupidity – a moment of madness" at the start of the war and announced that he was "proud" to welcome Gergiev to town.
Getty Images
Russia's President Putin (R) pins a medal on conductor Gergiev (L) at the Kremlin in 2016
But Pina Picierno, a vice-president of the European Parliament, has told the BBC that allowing Gergiev's return is "absolutely unacceptable".
She calls the star conductor a "cultural mouthpiece for Putin and his crimes".
Ukrainian human rights activist and Nobel laureate Oleksandra Matviichuk said the invitation by the regional government was "hypocrisy", rather than neutrality.
Russian opposition activists have also condemned the director's sudden return. The Anti-Corruption Foundation, of the late opposition leader Alexei Navalny, wants his concert cancelled and is calling on Italy's interior ministry to ban Gergiev's entry to the country.
GEORG HOCHMUTH/APA/AFP
Valery Gergiev has been shunned by European orchestras since the full-scale war began
Before Russia's full-scale war in Ukraine, the virtuoso Gergiev was a regular visitor to stages in Italy and across Europe, despite his closeness to Putin.
His long and illustrious career includes stints at the London Symphony Orchestra and Munich Philharmonic.
But the invitations to Europe stopped abruptly on 24 February 2022.
Hours before the first Russian missiles were launched at Ukraine, Gergiev was on stage at Milan's La Scala opera house. Urged then by the city's mayor to speak out against the war, Gergiev chose silence.
He was promptly dropped from the bill.
Abandoned by his manager, despite calling Gergiev "the greatest conductor alive", he was then fired as chief conductor in Munich and removed from concert schedules across the continent.
That's why the invitation from Italy is so controversial.
Pina Picierno, who is from the Campania region herself, says her call to stop the event is not Russophobic.
"There is no shortage of brilliant Russian artists who choose to disassociate themselves from Putin's criminal policies," she told the BBC.
The European MP, who says she has received threats for her work exposing Russia's hybrid warfare, warns that allowing Gergiev to perform would be both wrong and dangerous.
"This is not about censorship. Gergiev is part of a deliberate Kremlin strategy. He is one of their cultural envoys to soften Western public opinion. This is part of their war."
Pasquale Gargano/KONTROLAB/LightRocket via Getty Images
Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni (centre) welcomed Ukraine's president and first lady to a conference in Rome last week
The cultural controversy erupted in a week when Italy was hosting heads of state from all over Europe to reaffirm their support for Ukraine and discuss how to rebuild the country once the war is over.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has been a strong and consistent critic of Vladimir Putin from the start. But her culture ministry is one of the backers ofUn'Estate da RE, which has invited Gergiev.
A senior MP from Meloni's Brothers of Italy party, Alfredo Antoniozzi, has described Gergiev as "simply a great artist".
"If Russians have to pay for the mistakes of their president, then we are committing a kind of cultural genocide," he argued.
Last month, Canada formally barred Gergiev from entry and declared it would freeze any assets.
But the European Union has shied away from formal sanctions against the conductor, who has avoided voicing open support for the war.
Gergiev has been a vocal supporter of Putin since the 1990s, later campaigning for his re-election and backing Russia's illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014.
He was handed management of Moscow's Bolshoi Theatre, in addition to the Mariinsky Theatre, taking over from a director who signed an open letter against Russia's war.
Gergiev is a state employee, but in 2022 an investigation by Alexei Navalny's team uncovered properties in several Italian cities that they say he never declared.
They also alleged he used donations to a charitable fund to pay for his own lavish lifestyle.
The activists argued that was Gergiev's reward for his public loyalty to Putin.
The BBC has so far been unable to reach the conductor for comment.
A spokeswoman for the European Commission, Eva Hrncirova, has clarified that the Un'Estate da RE festival is not receiving EU cash: it is financed by Italy's own "cohesion funds".
But she added that the commission urged European stages not to give space "to artists who support the war of aggression in Ukraine".
In Campania, the artistic director who crafted this year's festival programme declined to comment. A spokesman was confident Gergiev's performance would go ahead, though – despite the controversy.
"Yes," he assured the BBC. "For sure."
Additional reporting from Rome by Davide Ghiglione.
Investigators have uncovered a chilling discovery in the preliminary investigation into the Air India Flight 171 crash which killed 260 people in June.
Just seconds after takeoff, both the 12-year-old Boeing 787 Dreamliner's fuel-control switches abruptly moved to the "cut-off" position, starving the engines of fuel and triggering total power loss. Switching to "cut-off" is a move typically done only after landing.
The cockpit voice recording captures one pilot asking the other why he "did the cut-off", to which the person replies that he didn't. The recording doesn't clarify who said what. At the time of takeoff, the co-pilot was flying the aircraft while the captain was monitoring.
The switches were returned to their normal inflight position, triggering automatic engine relight. At the time of the crash, one engine was regaining thrust while the other had relit but had not yet recovered power.
Air India Flight 171 was airborne for less than 40 seconds before crashing into a crowded neighbourhood in the western Indian city of Ahmedabad, marking one of India's most baffling aviation disasters.
Investigators are probing the wreckage and cockpit recorders to understand what went wrong just after takeoff. The Air India flight climbed to 625 feet in clear weather before losing location data 50 seconds in, per Flightradar24. Saturday's 15-page report offers early insights.
The investigation - led by Indian authorities with experts from Boeing, General Electric, Air India, Indian regulators, and participants from the US and UK - raises several questions.
Investigators say the lever-lock fuel switches are designed to prevent accidental activation - they must be pulled up to unlock before flipping, a safety feature dating back to the 1950s. Built to exacting standards, they're highly reliable. Protective guard brackets further shield them from accidental bumps.
"It would be almost impossible to pull both switches with a single movement of one hand, and this makes accidental deployment unlikely," a Canada-based air accidents investigator, who wanted to remain unnamed, told the BBC.
If one of the pilots was responsible for shutting down the switches, intentionally or not, it "does beg the question: why... pull the switches to the off position," Shawn Pruchnicki, a former airline accident investigator and aviation expert at Ohio State University, said.
"Was it intentional, or the result of confusion? That seems unlikely, as the pilots reported nothing unusual. In many cockpit emergencies, pilots may press the wrong buttons or make incorrect selections - but there was no indication of such a situation here, nor any discussion suggesting that the fuel switches were selected by mistake. This kind of error doesn't typically happen without some evident issue," he told the BBC.
Getty Images
Air India Flight 171 crashed into a crowded neighbourhood in Ahmedabad
Peter Goelz, a former managing director of the US's NTSB, echoed a similar sentiment: "The finding is very disturbing - that a pilot has shut off the fuel switch within seconds of flying."
"There's likely much more on the cockpit voice recorder than what's been shared. A lone remark like 'why did you cut off the switches' isn't enough," he said.
"The new details suggest someone in the cockpit shut those valves. The question is, who, and why? Both switches were turned off and then restarted within seconds. The voice recorder will reveal more: was the flying pilot trying to restart the engines, or the monitoring one?"
Investigators believe the cockpit voice recorder - with audio from pilot mics, radio calls and ambient cockpit sounds - holds the key to this puzzle.
"They haven't identified the voices yet, which is crucial. Typically, when the voice recorder is reviewed, people familiar with the pilots are present to help match voices. As of now, we still don't know which pilot turned the switches off and back on," said Mr Goelz.
In short, investigators say what's needed is clear voice identification, a full cockpit transcript with labelled speakers, and a thorough review of all communications from the moment the plane was pushed back from the gate to the time it crashed.
They also say this underscores the need for cockpit video recorders, as recommended by the NTSB. An over-the-shoulder view would show whose hand was on the cut-off switch.
Before boarding Flight 171, both pilots and crew passed breathalyser tests and were cleared fit to fly, the report says. The pilots, based in Mumbai, had arrived in Ahmedabad the day before the flight and had adequate rest.
But investigators are also zeroing in on what they describe is an interesting point in the report.
It says in December 2018, the US Federal Aviation Administration issued a Special Airworthiness Information Bulletin (SAIB) highlighting that some Boeing 737 fuel control switches were installed with the locking feature disengaged.
While the issue was noted, it wasn't deemed an unsafe condition requiring an Airworthiness Directive (AD) - a legally enforceable regulation to correct unsafe conditions in a product.
The same switch design is used in Boeing 787-8 aircraft, including Air India's VT-ANB which crashed. As the SAIB was advisory, Air India did not perform the recommended inspections.
Bloomberg via Getty Images
A cockpit of a Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft, operated by Air India at an air show in India
Mr Pruchnicki said he's wondering whether there was a problem with the fuel control switches.
"What does this [bit in the report] exactly mean? Does it mean that with a single flip, that switch could shut the engine off and cut the fuel supply? When the locking feature is disengaged, what exactly happens? Could the switch just flip itself to off and shut down the engine? If that's the case, it's a really serious issue. If not, that also needs to be explained," he said.
Others, however, aren't convinced this is a key issue.
"I haven't heard of this which appears to be a low-profile FAA issuance. Nor have I heard any complaints [about the fuel switches] from pilots - who are usually quick to speak up. It's worth examining since it's mentioned, but it may just be a distraction," said Mr Goelz.
Capt Kishore Chinta, a former investigator with India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), wonders whether the switches tripped because of a problem with the plane's electronic control unit.
"Can the fuel cut-off switches be triggered electronically by the plane's electronic control unit without movement by the pilot? If the fuel cut-off switches tripped electronically, then it's a cause for concern," he told the BBC.
The report says fuel samples from the refuelling tanks were "satisfactory". Experts had earlier suggested fuel contamination as a possible cause of the dual engine failure. Notably, no advisory has been issued for the Boeing 787 or its GE GEnx-1B engines, with mechanical failure ruled out for now pending further investigation.
It also said that the aircraft's Ram Air Turbine (RAT) had deployed - a clear sign of a major systems failure - and the landing gear was found in "down position" or not retracted.
The RAT, a small propeller that extends from the underside of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, acts as an emergency backup generator. It automatically deploys in flight when both engines lose power or if all three hydraulic systems register critically low pressure, supplying limited power to keep essential flight systems operational.
"The deployment of the Ram Air Turbine (RAT) strongly supports the conclusion that both engines had failed," Mr Pruchnicki said.
A Boeing 787 pilot explained why he thought the landing gear was not retracted.
"These days, every time I take off in a 787, I notice the landing gear retraction process closely. By the time the gear handle is pulled, we're already at about 200ft (60.9m), and the entire gear retraction process completes by around 400ft - roughly eight seconds in total, thanks to the aircraft's high-pressure hydraulic system."
The pilot believes the one flying had no time to think.
"When both engines fail and the aircraft starts going down, the reaction goes beyond just being startled - you go numb. In that moment, landing gear isn't your focus. Your mind is on one thing: the flight path. Where can I put this aircraft down safely? And in this case, there simply wasn't enough altitude to work with."
Investigators say the crew tried to recover, but it happened too fast.
"The engines were switched off and then back on. The pilots realised the engines were losing thrust - likely restarting the left one first, followed by the right," said Mr Pruchnicki.
"But the right engine didn't have enough time to spool back up, and the thrust was insufficient. Both were eventually set to "run", but with the left shut down first and the right too late to recover, it was simply too little, too late."
President Donald Trump has announced that the European Union and Mexico will face a 30% tariff on imports to the US from 1 August.
He warned he would impose even higher import taxes if either of the US trading partners decided to retaliate.
The announcement was made in two letters posted on Trump's Truth Social website. Similar letters were sent this week to several other countries.
The 27-member EU - America's biggest trading partner - said earlier this week it hoped to agree a deal with Washington before 1 August.
In the letter to European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, Trump wrote: "We have had years to discuss our trading relationship with the European Union, and have concluded that we must move away from these long-term-large, and persistent, trade deficits, engendered by your tariff, and non-tariff, policies and trade barriers."
"Our relationship has been, unfortunately, far from reciprocal," the letter added.
The EU has been a frequent target of Trump's criticism, and in April Washington announced levies of 20% on European goods.
In 2024, the US trade deficit with the bloc was $235.6bn (€202bn; £174bn), according to the office of the US trade representative.
This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly. Please refresh the page for the fullest version.
You can receive Breaking News on a smartphone or tablet via the BBC News App. You can also follow @BBCBreaking on X to get the latest alerts.
Palestinians seeking food and other supplies near an aid distribution site in May
The Nasser hospital in southern Gaza has said 24 people have been killed near an aid distribution site.
Palestinians who were present at the site said Israeli troops opened fire as people were trying to access food on Saturday.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said there were "no known injured individuals" from IDF fire near the site.
Separately, an Israeli military official said warning shots were fired to disperse people who the IDF believed were a threat.
The claims by both sides have not been independently verified. Israel does not allow international news organisations, including the BBC, into Gaza.
Footage seen by the BBC later on Saturday showed what appeared to be a number of body bags at Nasser hospital's courtyard surrounded by nurses and people in blood-stained clothes.
In another video, a man said people were waiting to get aid when they came under targeted fire for five minutes. A paramedic accused Israeli troops of killing in cold blood.
The videos have not been verified by the BBC.
Reuters said it had spoken to witnesses who described people being shot in the head and torso. The news agency also reported seeing bodies wrapped in white shrouds at Nasser hospital.
There have been almost daily reports of people being killed by Israeli fire while seeking food in Gaza.
Israel imposed a total blockade of aid deliveries to the Gaza Strip in March, and later resumed its military offensive against Hamas, collapsing a two-month ceasefire. It said it wanted to put pressure on the Palestinian armed group to release Israeli hostages.
Although the blockade was partially eased in late May, amid warnings of a looming famine from global experts, there are still severe shortages of food, as well as medicine and fuel.
The UN agency for Palestinian refugees, Unrwa, says there are thousands of malnourished children across the territory, with more cases detected every day.
In addition to allowing in some UN aid lorries, Israel and the US set up a new aid distribution system run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), saying they wanted to prevent Hamas from stealing aid.
On Friday, the UN human rights office said that it had so far recorded 798 aid-related killings, including 615 in the vicinity of the GHF's sites, which are operated by US private security contractors and located inside military zones in southern and central Gaza.
The other 183 killings were recorded near UN and other aid convoys.
The Israeli military said it recognised there had been incidents in which civilians had been harmed and that it was working to minimise "possible friction between the population and the [Israeli] forces as much as possible".
The GHF accused the UN of using "false and misleading" statistics from Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry.
Earlier this month, a former security contractor for the GHF told the BBC he witnessed colleagues opening fire several times on hungry Palestinians who had posed no threat. The GHF said the allegations were categorically false.
Israel launched a military campaign in Gaza in response to Hamas' cross-border attack on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.
At least 57,823 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.
Two of Iman al-Nouri's five sons were killed on Thursday's Israeli strike, while a third was seriously wounded
Iman al-Nouri's youngest son, two-year-old Siraj, woke up crying from hunger on Thursday and asked to get some nutritional supplements.
Siraj's 14-year-old cousin, Sama, agreed to take him and two of his older brothers - Omar, nine, and Amir, five - to the Altayara health clinic in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza.
"The [medical] point was still closed, so they were sitting on the pavement when suddenly we heard the sound of the strike," Iman told a local journalist working for the BBC.
"I went to [my husband] and said: 'Your children, Hatim! They went to the point.'"
Family handout
Amir, five, was killed instantly in the Israeli strike, according to Iman
Warning: This piece contains graphic descriptions of death and violence
Iman, a 32-year-old mother of five, rushed to the scene after hearing the strike, only to find her sons and niece lying on a donkey cart that was being used to transport casualties to the hospital because there were no ambulances.
Amir and Sama were among the dead, while Omar and Siraj were seriously wounded.
"Omar still had some breath in him. They tried to revive him," Iman recalled. "Omar needed blood, and it took them an hour to get it. They gave it to him, but it was in vain."
"Why are they gone? Why? What did they do wrong?" she asked.
"They had dreams just like any other children in the world. If you gave them a small toy, they'd be so happy. They were just kids."
Family handout
Nine-year-old Omar (right), pictured with his elder brother, died of his wounds in hospital
Iman said Siraj's head was bleeding and he had lost an eye – an image that she cannot now get out of her head.
"He had fractures in his skull and... according to the doctor, not just bleeding, but [a major haemorrhage] on his brain," she added. "How long can he stay like this, living on oxygen? Two are already gone. If only he could help me hold on a little longer."
Tragically, doctors have said they are unable to treat Siraj.
"Since yesterday at 07:00 until now, he's in the same condition. He's still breathing, his chest rises and falls, he still has breath in him. Save him!" she pleaded.
Family handout
Iman said doctors had told her that they were unable to treat two-year-old Siraj
A spokesperson for the US-based aid group Project Hope, which runs the Altayara clinic, told the BBC that the strike happened at around 07:15.
Women and children were waiting outside before it opened at 09:00, in order to be first in line for nutrition and other health services, Dr Mithqal Abutaha said.
CCTV footage of the Israeli air strike shows two men walking along a street, just metres away from a group of women and children. Moments later, there is an explosion next to the men and the air is filled with dust and smoke.
In a graphic video showing the aftermath of the attack, many dead and severely wounded children and adults are seen lying on the ground.
"Please get my daughter an ambulance," one woman calls out as she tends to a young girl. But for many it was too late for help."
Dr Abutaha said 16 people were killed, including 10 children and three women.
The Israeli military said it targeted a "Hamas terrorist" and that it regretted any harm to what it called "uninvolved individuals", while adding that the incident was under review.
Project Hope said the strike was "a blatant violation of international humanitarian law, and a stark reminder that no one and no place is safe in Gaza".
Dr Abutaha said it was "unbearable" when he found out that people were killed "where they [were] seeking their basic humanitarian and human rights".
He questioned the Israeli military's statement on the strike, including its expression of regret, saying that it "cannot bring those patients, those beneficiaries back alive".
He also said that the clinic was a UN-recognised, "deconflicted humanitarian facility", and that no military actions should have taken place nearby.
Anadolu via Getty Images
The UN says there are thousands of malnourished children across Gaza
Iman said her children used to go to the clinic every two or three days to get nutritional supplements because she and Hatim were not able to give them enough food.
"Their father risks his life just to bring them flour. When he goes to Netzarim [military corridor north of Deir al-Balah], my heart breaks. He goes there to bring food or flour."
"Does anyone have anything? There's no food. What else would make a child scream if he didn't want something?"
Israel imposed a total blockade of aid deliveries to Gaza at the start of March and resumed its military offensive against Hamas two weeks later, collapsing a two-month ceasefire. It said it wanted to put pressure on the Palestinian armed group to release Israeli hostages.
Although the blockade was partially eased in late May, amid warnings of a looming famine from global experts, there are still severe shortages of food, as well as medicine and fuel.
The UN agency for Palestinian refugees (Unrwa) says there are thousands of malnourished children across the territory, with more cases detected every day.
Dr Abutaha said Project Hope had also noticed an alarming rise in cases of malnutrition among adults, which they had not observed before in Gaza.
In addition to allowing in some UN aid lorries, Israel and the US helped set up a new aid distribution system run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), saying they wanted to prevent Hamas from stealing aid. But since then, there have been almost daily reports of people being killed by Israeli fire while seeking food.
The UN human rights office said on Friday that it had so far recorded 798 such killings, including 615 in the vicinity of the GHF's sites, which are operated by US private security contractors and located inside military zones in southern and central Gaza. The other 183 killings were recorded near UN and other aid convoys.
The Israeli military said it recognised there had been incidents in which civilians had been harmed and that it was working to minimise "possible friction between the population and the [Israeli] forces as much as possible".
The GHF accused the UN of using "false and misleading" statistics from Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry.
Iman said a ceasefire "means nothing to me after my children are gone"
Dr Abutaha called on Israel to allow in enough food, medicine and fuel to meet the basic humanitarian needs of everyone in Gaza, so that "everyone could have a dignified life".
He also expressed concern that people were being given "false hope" that Israel and Hamas could soon agree a new ceasefire deal.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday that an agreement on a 60-day truce and the release of 28 hostages could be just days away.
But Palestinian officials said on Friday night that the indirect talks in Qatar were on the brink of collapse because of significant gaps remaining on issues like Israeli troop withdrawals and Hamas's rejection of an Israeli plan to move all of Gaza's population into a camp in Rafah.
"Every day they talk about a ceasefire, but where is it?" Iman said.
"They've killed us through hunger, through gunfire, through bombs, through air strikes. We've died in every possible way."
"It's better to go to God than stay with any of them. May God give me patience."
A backpacker survived nearly two weeks lost in Western Australia's outback by drinking from puddles and sleeping in a cave, police have said.
Carolina Wilga, 26, from Germany, was rescued on Friday. She had suffered from exhaustion, dehydration, "extensive insect bites" and an injured foot, according to police.
Officers said she walked 24km (15 miles) away from her van in a "confused and disorientated" state after it became stuck in remote bushland.
Ms Wilga had convinced herself she was not going to be found, police said, adding that the backpacker's family was relieved and thankful.
"She spent 11 nights exposed to the elements and survived by consuming the minimal food supplies she had in her possession, and drinking water from rain and puddles," a Western Australia police statement said.
The rescue was down to "sheer luck", acting police inspector Jessica Securo said in a news conference.
Ms Wilga was spotted by a driver and airlifted to a hospital in Perth.
Tania Henley, the driver, told Australia's public broadcaster ABC that she saw Ms Wilga waving her hands by the side of the road, and she appeared to be in a "fragile state".
"Everything in this bush is very prickly. I just can't believe that she survived. She had no shoes on, she'd wrapped her foot up," Ms Henley said.
Before her rescue, Ms Wilga was last seen at a general store in the town of Beacon, Western Australia, in her van on 29 June.
Police found her abandoned van on Thursday in dense bushland north of Beacon.
Securo said it appeared Ms Wilga had lost control of the vehicle, which became mechanically unsound and bogged.
Ms Wilga has had a "good night's sleep" in hospital and is "just taking it one day at a time", Securo said.
(File photo) Palestinians look on as a fire burns on a hilltop seized by Israeli settlers near Sinjil on 4 July
Two Palestinians have been killed in an attack by Israeli settlers on a town in the north of the occupied West Bank, according to the Palestinian health ministry.
The Israeli military said stones were thrown at Israelis near Sinjil and that "a violent confrontation developed in the area".
It added that security forces were looking into the reports of one Palestinian being killed, and the incident involving the second was under review.
There has been a surge in violence in the West Bank since Hamas's attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, which triggered the war in Gaza.
The UN says at least 910 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces in the West Bank, 13 by Israeli settlers, and another seven by either Israeli forces or settlers. At least 44 Israelis have also been killed in Palestinian attacks in Israel and the West Bank.
Sayfollah Musallet, a 23-year-old dual US citizen from Florida, was fatally beaten during the incident on Friday evening in Sinjil, the Palestinian ministry said.
The second man, Mohammed al-Shalabi, also 23, died after being shot in the chest, it added.
The US state department said it was "aware of reports of the death of a US citizen in the West Bank", and that it had no further comment "out of respect for the privacy of the family".
Sayfollah Musallet, a businessman whose nickname was Saif, travelled from his home in Tampa to the West Bank on 4 June, according to his family.
A statement alleged that he was "brutally beaten to death by Israeli settlers while he was protecting his family's land from settlers who were attempting to steal it".
"Israeli settlers surrounded Saif for over three hours as paramedics attempted to reach him, but the mob of settlers blocked the ambulance and paramedics from providing life-saving aid."
"After the mob of Israeli settlers cleared, Saif's younger brother rushed to carry his brother to the ambulance. Saif died before making it to the hospital."
The statement added: "We demand the US state department lead an immediate investigation and hold the Israeli settlers who killed Saif accountable for their crimes."
Official Palestinian news agency Wafa reported that Mohammed al-Shalabi was from the town of al-Mazraa al-Sharqiya, just south of Sinjil.
It cited the Palestinian health ministry as saying that he was shot in the chest by settlers, during the same attack in which Sayfollah Musallet was killed.
He was left bleeding for hours before paramedics were able to reach him, it added.
Wafa reported than another 10 Palestinians from Sinjil and neighbouring areas were injured in the clashes with settlers who were armed with automatic rifles.
The Israeli military said in a statement on Friday night that "terrorists hurled rocks at Israeli civilians adjacent to Sinjil", lightly injuring two of them.
"A violent confrontation developed in the area involving Palestinians and Israeli civilians, which included vandalism of Palestinian property, arson, physical clashes, and rock hurling."
The military said soldiers, police and paramilitary Border Police forces were dispatched to the area and "used riot dispersal means in response to the violent confrontation".
It added that it was "aware of reports regarding a Palestinian civilian killed and a number of injured Palestinians as a result of the confrontation", and that they were being looked into by the Shin Bet security service and the Israel Police.
When asked by the BBC on Saturday for a response to the reports that a second Palestinian was killed, the military said: "The situation is under review".
Separately, the US embassy in Jerusalem has said it condemns recent violence by Israeli settlers against the Christian town of Taybeh in the West Bank.
Most of the land there is owned by Palestinian-Americans and, according to locals, some 300 residents are US passport holders.
Attacks, including by masked men torching cars and attacking homes, have ramped up. On Monday, settlers set fields ablaze close to a fifth-Century church, leading to a call for international action from the town's priests.
The State Department said in response it had no higher priority than the safety and security of US citizens overseas and that protecting Christians was a priority for President Donald Trump.
Israel has built about 160 settlements housing some 700,000 Jews since it occupied the West Bank and East Jerusalem - land Palestinians want, along with Gaza, for a hoped-for future state - during the 1967 Middle East war. An estimated 3.3 million Palestinians live alongside them.
The settlements are considered illegal under international law - a position supported by an advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) last year - although Israel disputes this.
There has been a sharp increase in the number and severity of settler attacks in the West Bank over the same period. The UN says there were 136 attacks by settlers resulting in casualties or property damage in May alone.
On Thursday, a 22-year-old Israeli security guard Shalev Zvuluny was shot and killed when two Palestinian men opened fire and tried to stab passerbys in the car park of a shopping centre in the Gush Etzion settlement bloc, in the south of the West Bank.
The attackers were shot dead by soldiers and armed civilians present at the scene, police said.
Login
Gallo Images via Getty Images
