Australia's prime minister has promised to take strong action following an apparent arson attack on a synagogue in Melbourne.

Police are looking for a man who poured liquid on the synagogue's front door before setting it on fire on Friday night. Some 20 people having dinner inside at the time were evacuated without any injuries.

Police are also trying to determine if the incident is linked to an attack against a Jewish-owned restaurant in the city on the same night.

A string of antisemitic attacks have occurred in Australia in the past few months, sparked by tensions over the Israel-Hamas war.

The Australian government has appointed a special envoy to combat antisemitism, and passed tougher laws against hate crimes following a wave of high-profile attacks.

"Antisemitism has no place in Australia," Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said following the attack on the East Melbourne synagogue.

"Those responsible for these shocking acts must face the full force of the law and my government will provide all necessary support toward this effort," Albanese said.

It is not clear if the incident was linked to the attack on the Miznon restaurant in the city's business district during which rioters broke in, throwing chairs and other objects while chanting "death to the IDF [Israel Defense Forces]". Some of the attackers were led away in handcuffs.

"These events are a severe escalation directed towards our community," said Alex Ryvchin, co-chief executive of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry.

"There have been too many antisemitic attacks in Australia," Israel's Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said.

"The Australian government must do more to fight this toxic disease."

The ongoing conflict in the Middle East has become a volatile political issue in Australia.

It has resulted in protests from both Jewish and Muslim communities, as well as a sharp uptick in Islamophobia and antisemitism.

The Israeli military launched a campaign in Gaza in response to the 7 October 2023 attack, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.

At least 57,268 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the territory's health ministry.

A tiny, obscure animal often sold as aquarium food has been quietly protecting our planet from global warming by undertaking an epic migration, according to new research.

These "unsung heroes" called zooplankton gorge themselves and grow fat in spring before sinking hundreds of metres into the deep ocean in Antarctica where they burn the fat.

This locks away as much planet-warming carbon as the annual emissions of roughly 55 million petrol cars, stopping it from further warming our atmosphere, according to researchers.

This is much more than scientists expected. But just as researchers uncover this service to our planet, threats to the zooplankton are growing.

Scientists have spent years probing the animal's annual migration in Antarctic waters, or the Southern Ocean, and what it means for climate change.

The findings are "remarkable", says lead author Dr Guang Yang from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, adding that it forces a re-think about how much carbon the Southern Ocean stores.

"The animals are an unsung hero because they have such a cool way of life," says co-author Dr Jennifer Freer from British Antarctic Survey.

But compared to the most popular Antarctic animals like the whale or penguin, the small but mighty zooplankton are overlooked and under-appreciated.

If anyone has heard of them, it's probably as a type of fish food available to buy online.

But their life cycle is odd and fascinating. Take the copepod, a type of zooplankton that is a distant relative of crabs and lobsters.

Just 1-10mm in size, they spend most of their lives asleep between 500m to 2km deep in the ocean.

In pictures taken under a microscope, you can see long sausages of fat inside their bodies, and fat bubbles in their heads, explains Prof Daniel Mayor who photographed them in Antarctica.

Without them, our planet's atmosphere would be significantly warmer.

Globally the oceans have absorbed 90% of the excess heat humans have created by burning fossil fuels. Of that figure, the Southern Ocean is responsible for about 40%, and a lot of that is down to zooplankton.

Millions of pounds is being spent globally to understand how exactly they store carbon.

Scientists were already aware that the zooplankton contributed to carbon storage in a daily process when the animals carbon-rich waste sinks to the deep ocean.

But what happened when the animals migrate in the Southern Ocean had not been quantified.

The latest research focussed on copepods, as well as other types of zooplankton called krill, and salps.

The creatures eat phytoplankton on the ocean surface which grow by transforming carbon dioxide into living matter through photosynthesis. This turns into fat in the zooplankton.

"Their fat is like a battery pack. When they spend the winter deep in the ocean, they just sit and slowly burn off this fat or carbon," explains Prof Daniel Mayor at University of Exeter, who was not part of the study.

"This releases carbon dioxide. Because of the way the oceans work, if you put carbon really deep down, it takes decades or even centuries for that CO2 to come out and contribute to atmospheric warming," he says.

The research team calculated that this process - called the seasonal vertical migration pump - transports 65 million tonnes of carbon annually to at least 500m below the ocean surface.

Of that, it found that copepods contribute the most, followed by krill and salps.

That is roughly equivalent to the emissions from driving 55 million diesel cars for a year, according to a greenhouse gas emissions calculator by the US EPA.

The latest research looked at data stretching back to the 1920s to quantify this carbon storage, also called carbon sequestration.

But the scientific discovery is ongoing as researchers seek to understand more details about the migration cycle.

Earlier this year, Dr Freer and Prof Mayor spent two months on the Sir David Attenborough polar research ship near the South Orkney island and South Georgia.

Using large nets the scientists caught zooplankton and brought the animals onboard.

"We worked in complete darkness under red light so we didn't disturb them," says Dr Freer.

"Others worked in rooms kept at 3-4C. You wear a lot of protection to stay there for hours at a time looking down the microscope," she adds.

But warming waters as well as commercial harvesting of krill could threaten the future of zooplankton.

"Climate change, disturbance to ocean layers and extreme weather are all threats," explains Prof Atkinson.

This could reduce the amount of zooplankton in Antarctica and limit the carbon stored in the deep ocean.

Krill fishing companies harvested almost half a million tonnes of krill in 2020, according to the UN.

It is permitted under international law, but has been criticised by environmental campaigners including in the recent David Attenborough Ocean documentary.

The scientists say their new findings should be incorporated into climate models that forecast how much our planet will warm.

"If this biological pump didn't exist, atmospheric CO2 levels would be roughly twice those as they are at the moment. So the oceans are doing a pretty good job of mopping up CO2 and getting rid of it," explains co-author Prof Angus Atkinson.

The research is published in the journal Limnology and Oceanography.

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Several people have died and others are missing after flash flooding hit parts of central Texas on Friday morning.

Disaster declarations have been issued for the Hill Country and Concho Valley regions.

Rescues and evacuations have been underway since the early morning, but there are warnings of more potential flash flooding to come.

"Even if the rain is light, more flooding can occur in those areas," Acting Governor Dan Patrick said.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott said the state was providing "all necessary resources to Kerrville, Ingram, Hunt and the entire Texas Hill Country dealing with these devastating floods".

The region is to the north-west of the Texas city of San Antonio.

Pictures show the deep flood waters swamping bridges and fast moving water swirling down roads.

Exactly how many people have died or are missing has not yet been confirmed by authorities.

"Folks, please don't take chances. Stay alert, follow local emergency warnings, and do not drive through flooded roads," Texas Department of Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller said.

Kerr County Sheriff's Office said the area had suffered a "catastrophic flooding event" and confirmed that fatalities had been reported.

It told residents near creeks, streams and the Guadalupe River to move to higher ground.

Hamas says it is consulting other Palestinian groups before giving a formal response to the latest proposal for a new Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal put forward by the US.

President Donald Trump said on Friday morning that expected to know within 24 hours whether Hamas has agreed to the plan.

On Tuesday, Trump said Israel had accepted the conditions necessary for a 60-day ceasefire, during which the parties would work to end the 20-month war.

Meanwhile, the Israeli military is continuing to bomb targets across the Gaza Strip.

Local journalists reported hearing explosions and gunfire as Israeli helicopter gunships and artillery struck the southern Khan Younis area on Friday morning.

Overnight, at least 15 Palestinians were killed in strikes on two tents housing displaced people in Khan Younis, the local Nasser hospital said.

The Israeli military has not yet commented on the strikes, but it did say its forces were "operating to dismantle Hamas military capabilities".

In a statement issued early on Friday, Hamas said it was discussing with the leaders of other Palestinian factions the ceasefire proposal that it had received from regional mediators Qatar and Egypt.

Hamas said it would deliver a "final decision" to the mediators once the consultations had ended and then announce it officially.

The proposal is believed to include the staggered release of 10 living Israeli hostages and the bodies of 18 other hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails.

Fifty hostages are still being held in Gaza, at least 20 of whom are believed to be alive.

One of Hamas's key demands is the resumption of unrestricted food and medical aid into Gaza, and the proposal reportedly says sufficient quantities would enter the territory immediately with the involvement of the United Nations and Red Cross.

It is said the plan would also include a phased Israeli military withdrawal from parts of Gaza.

Above all, Hamas wants a guarantee that Israeli air and ground operations will not resume after the end of the 60-day ceasefire.

The proposal is believed to say that negotiations on an end to the war and the release of the remaining hostages would begin on day one.

Donald Trump told reporters early on Friday that he expected to know "over the next 24 hours" whether the proposals would be accepted by Hamas.

The hope then would be the resumption of formal, indirect, talks ahead of a planned visit by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Washington next week.

"We sure hope it's a done deal, but I think it's all going to be what Hamas is willing to accept," US ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee told Israel's Channel 12 TV on Thursday.

"One thing is clear: The president wants it to be over. The prime minister wants it to be over. The American people, the Israeli people, want it to be over."

Netanyahu meanwhile promised to secure the release of all the remaining hostages during a visit to Kibbutz Nir Oz, a community near the Israel-Gaza border where a total of 76 residents were abducted during the Hamas-led attack on 7 October 2023 that triggered the war.

"I feel a deep commitment, first of all, to ensure the return of all of our hostages, all of them," he said. "We will bring them all back."

He did not, however, commit to ending the war. He has insisted that will not happen until the hostages are freed and Hamas's military and governing capabilities are destroyed.

The Israeli military launched a campaign in Gaza in response to the 7 October 2023 attack, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.

At least 57,130 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the territory's Hamas-run health ministry.

The River Seine in Paris has reopened publicly to swimmers for the first time since 1923 after a century-long ban.

The seasonal opening of the Seine for swimming is viewed as a key legacy of the Paris 2024 Olympics, when open water swimmers and triathletes competed in its waters which were specially cleaned for the event.

On Saturday morning at 08:00 local time (07:00 BST) a few dozen swimmers arrived ahead of the opening and dived into the water when they were able to do so.

There are three designated areas for public swimming in the Seine - one near the Eiffel Tower, another close to Notre Dame Cathedral and a third in eastern Paris.

Zones have changing rooms, showers, and beach-style furniture, which allow for up to 300 people to lay out their towels.

Until the end of August, the three swimming sites will be open for free at scheduled times to anyone with a minimum age of 10 or 14 years, depending on the location.

Lifeguards will also be present keeping an eye on those in the river.

• Paris to bring back swimming in Seine after 100 years
• Would you swim in the Seine?

The promise to lift the swimming ban dates back to 1988, when then-mayor of Paris and future president Jacques Chirac first advocated for its reversal.

Improvements over the last 20 years have already led to a sharp reduction in faecal bacteria entering the river.

For 100 years swimming was banned in the river because of the levels of water pollution that could make people ill.

Ahead of last summer's Olympics more than €1.4bn (£1.2bn; $1.6bn) was invested into cleaning up the Seine.

But, in the lead up to the games there were doubts as to whether the River Seine would be ready for the Olympics after it was revealed it failed water quality tests.

Organisers blamed rainfall for the increased pollution which limited athletes' abilities to train for the triathlon, marathon swimming and paratriathlon.

Last July, Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo and other members of the Olympic committee went into the Seine to prove that it was safe to swim in.

Australian actor Julian McMahon, famed for roles in popular series like Nip/Tuck and Charmed, has died aged 56.

His wife said the actor passed away in Clearwater, Florida, on Wednesday. He had been diagnosed with cancer.

"Julian loved life. He loved his family. He loved his friends. He loved his work, and he loved his fans. His deepest wish was to bring joy into as many lives as possible," Kelly Paniagua said in a statement carried by Deadline.

McMahon's career took off with the hit supernatural television series Charmed before he gained wider recognition with Nip/Tuck, the medical drama in which he played the role of plastic surgeon Dr Christian Troy.

Running for six seasons from 2003 to 2010, the show earned him a Golden Globe nomination.

Co-star Dylan Walsh told Dealine he was "stunned".

"We rode this wave together and I loved him.

"Jules! I know you'd want me to say something to make you smile — all the inside jokes. All those years you had my back, and my god, we laughed. My heart is with you. Rest in peace."

McMahon also played Doctor Doom in two Fantastic Four films in 2005 and 2007 and later appeared in three seasons of FBI: Most Wanted.

Dick Wolf, the producer of FBI: Most Wanted, said McMahon's death was "shocking news".

McMahon was the son of a former Australian prime minister and went on to play an Australian prime minister's role in Netflix's The Residence - one of his recent appearances.

McMahon married three times - the first to Australian singer-actress Dannii Minogue, sister of Kylie Minogue.

One of Sweden's most wanted gang leaders, Ismail Abdo, has been arrested in Turkey, the Swedish prosecutor's office said on Friday.

The dual Swedish-Turkish national has an extensive list of drug-related charges against him according to the global police agency, Interpol.

The 35-year-old, nicknamed The Strawberry, is a well-known leader of the Rumba crime gang in Sweden. He is accused of orchestrating illegal operations from abroad and has been the subject of an Interpol red notice since last year.

Swedish police did not identify him, but confirmed the arrest of a man "suspected of having engaged in serious drug trafficking and inciting serious violent crimes" for many years in Sweden.

He was one of 19 people who were arrested during raids in Turkey, where officers seized more than a tonne of drugs, state broadcaster TRT reported. Exactly where the raids took place has not been revealed.

Arrest warrants were issued for a further 21 suspects, of whom 14 were believed to be abroad and three already in custody on other charges. Four are still at large, TRT added.

Turkish authorities reportedly seized assets worth around 1.5bn Turkish lira (£27.8m; $38m), including 20 vehicles, bank accounts and 51 real estate properties.

Gang violence in Sweden has escalated in recent years, in part because Abdo's former friend, Rawa Majida, is the leader of a rival gang, Foxtrot.

Many people have been killed since their deadly turf war began. It entered a new, violent chapter in 2023 when Abdo's mother was murdered in her home in Uppsala, north of the capital, Stockholm.

The escalation prompted the government to bring in the army to help tackle the surge in gang killings.

In 2024, Turkish police arrested Abdo during a traffic stop, but released him on bail despite the active Interpol red notice against him - a move which drew criticism from Swedish authorities who were seeking to extradite Abdo.

The increase in gang violence that has plagued some of Sweden's biggest cities and spread to quieter suburbs and towns has shattered its reputation as a safe and peaceful nation.

Lat year, Sweden's security service, Sapo, accused Iran of recruiting Swedish gang members to carry out attacks on Israeli or Jewish interests. In October, a 13-year-old boy fired shots outside the offices of Israeli tech firm Elbit Systems. Israel's embassies in Sweden and Denmark were also both targeted.

Sweden's centre-right governing coalition, which promised to end the gang crime wave when it was elected in 2022, will see Abdo's capture as a win. However the fact that he is also a Turkish citizen could complicate the extradition process.

An estimated 14,000 people in Sweden are caught up in criminal gangs, according to a police report last year, and a further 48,000 people are said to be connected to them.

The Namibian government has announced a temporary ban on state funerals amid criticism over the rising costs of these burials.

Only President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah has the power to exempt funerals from the moratorium, the government said.

Minister of Information and Communication Technology Emma Theofelus made the announcement following a Cabinet meeting earlier this week.

She said the moratorium would last until April 2026, while a review committee looks into the "criteria and processes associated with bestowing official funerals".

Ms Theofelus told the BBC that a committee consisting of "no more than seven members" would be established to lead the review.

• Sam Nujoma: The revolutionary leader who liberated Namibia
• Namibia's late President Hage Geingob's funeral amid surge in patriotism
• Zambia's presidential feud that even death couldn't end

The government has not said whether the decision was related to mounting criticism of the increasing costs of the numerous state funerals as reported by local media.

The BBC has asked the presidency for comment.

The Windhoek Observer, a privately owned publication, said calls for the moratorium had been made as far back as 2021 when the rising cost of official burials came under scrutiny, especially at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.

It quoted Prime Minister Elijah Ngurare, who earlier this year revealed that official funerals had cost the government 38.4m Namibian dollars ($2.2m; £1.6m) in the 2024/2025 financial year.

By comparison, only 2.1m Namibian dollars was spent on 23 funerals during the 2022/2023 financial year, according to the news site.

The Observer said the state had spent 30m Namibian dollars just to transport the body of founding President Sam Nujoma around the country ahead of his state funeral in February this year.

Nujoma, who died at the age of 95, led the long fight for independence from South Africa after helping found Namibia's liberation movement, the South West Africa People's Organisation (Swapo), in the 1960s.

After independence, Nujoma became president in 1990 and led the country until 2005.

More BBC stories on Namibia:

• Namibia marks colonial genocide as reparations hang in the balance
• From freedom fighter to Namibia's first female president
• 'I wanted someone to take better care of my son'

Go to BBCAfrica.com for more news from the African continent.

Follow us on Twitter @BBCAfrica, on Facebook at BBC Africa or on Instagram at bbcafrica

US President Donald Trump is to sign his landmark policy bill into law, a day after it was narrowly passed by Congress.

The signing event at the White House on Friday afternoon, coinciding with 4 July celebrations, enacts key parts of the Trump agenda including tax cuts, spending boosts for defence and the immigration crackdown.

Trump began his victory lap at an Iowa rally on Thursday night, telling supporters it will unleash economic growth, but he must now convince sceptical Americans as polling suggests many disapprove.

Several members of his own Republican party were opposed because of the impact on rising US debt and Democrats warned the bill would reward the wealthy and punish the poor.

The 870-page package includes:

• extending 2017 tax cuts of Trump's first term
• steep cuts to Medicaid spending, the state-provided healthcare scheme for those on low incomes and the disabled
• new tax breaks on tipped income, overtime and Social Security
• a budget increase of $150bn for defence
• a reduction in Biden-era clean energy tax credits
• $100bn to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)

The bill signing will precede 4 July American Independence Day fireworks and a military picnic attended by the pilots who recently flew into Iran to try to dismantle three nuclear sites.

The celebratory mood follows days of tense negotiations with Republican rebels in Congress and days of cajoling on Capitol Hill, sometimes by the president himself.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries delayed the final vote in the lower chamber of Congress on Thursday by speaking for nearly nine hours.

He called the bill an "extraordinary assault on the healthcare of the American people" and quoted testimony from individuals anxious about its impact.

But his marathon speech only postponed the inevitable. As soon as he sat down, the House moved to a vote.

Only two Republicans went against, joining all 212 Democrats united in opposition. The bill passed by 218 votes to 214.

Earlier this week, the Senate passed the bill but US Vice-President JD Vance was required to cast a tiebreaking vote after three Republicans held out.

• Major win now but political peril awaits
• Fact-checking three key claims about the bill

Hours after the House passed the bill, the president was in a triumphant mood as he took to the stage in Iowa to kick off a years long celebration of 250 years since American independence.

"There could be no better birthday present for America than the phenomenal victory we achieved just hours ago," he told supporters in Des Moines.

"Very simply the One Big, Beautiful Bill will deliver the strongest border on Earth, the strongest economy on Earth [and] the strongest military on Earth."

The White House believes the various tax cuts will help stimulate economic growth, but many experts fear that will not be sufficient to prevent the budget deficit - the difference between spending and tax revenue in any year - from ballooning, adding to the national debt.

Analysis by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) suggests the tax cuts could produce a surplus in the first year but will then cause the deficit to rise sharply.

According to the Tax Policy Center, the tax changes in the bill would benefit wealthier Americans more than those on lower incomes, About 60% of the benefits would go to those making above $217,000 (£158,000), its analysis found.

The BBC spoke to Americans who may see a cut in the subsidies that help them pay for groceries.

Jordan, a father of two, is one of 42 million Americans who benefits from the SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) scheme targeted by the bill.

• Americans brace for Trump's welfare cuts
• What is in the bill?

He and his wife get about $700 a month to feed their family of four and the 26-year-old said if this bill reduces what he can claim he would get a second job. "I'm going to make sure that I can do whatever I can to feed my family," he says.

Along with cuts to SNAP, the changes to Medicaid - a programme that covers healthcare for low-income, elderly and disabled Americans - would result in nearly 12 million losing coverage in the next decade, the CBO estimates.

Republicans defend their changes to Medicaid, saying that by toughening up work requirements they are tackling abuse and fraud.

Polling taken before the bill passed in Congress suggests public support is low and dwarfed by numbers opposed. A recent Quinnipiac University survey pointed to only 29% endorsing the legislation, which rose to two-thirds among Republicans.

But knowledge of the bill may be low too. Reuters reported there was little awareness of the legislation among Trump supporters they spoke to at the Iowa rally on Thursday night.

As Donald Trump cheered the passage of his self-styled, and officially named, Big Beautiful Budget Bill through Congress this week, long-sown seeds of doubt about the scale and sustainability of US borrowing from the rest of the world sprouted anew.

Trump's tax-cutting budget bill is expected to add at least $3 trillion (£2.2 trillion) to the US's already eye-watering $37tn (£27tn) debt pile. There is no shortage of critics of the plan, not least Trump's former ally Elon Musk, who has called it a "disgusting abomination".

The growing debt pile leaves some to wonder whether there is a limit to how much the rest of the world will lend Uncle Sam.

Those doubts have been showing up recently in the weaker value of the dollar and the higher interest rate investors are demanding to lend money to America.

It needs to borrow this money to make up the difference between what it earns and what it spends every year.

Since the beginning of this year, the dollar has fallen 10% against the pound and 15% against the euro.

Although US borrowing costs have been steady overall, the difference between the interest rates paid on longer-term loans versus shorter-term loans - what's known as the yield curve - has increased, or steepened, signalling increased doubts about the long-term sustainability of US borrowing.

And that is despite the fact that the US has lowered interest rates more slowly than the EU and the UK, which would normally make the dollar stronger because investors can get higher interest rates on bank deposits.

The founder of the world's biggest hedge fund, Ray Dalio, believes that US borrowing is at a crossroads.

On its current trajectory he estimates the US will soon be spending $10tn a year in loan and interest repayments.

"I am confident that the [US] government's financial condition is at an inflection point because, if this is not dealt with now, the debts will build up to levels where they can't be managed without great trauma," he says.

So what might that trauma look like?

The first option is a drastic reduction in government spending, a big increase in taxes or both.

Ray Dalio suggests that cutting the budget deficit from its current 6% to 3% soon could head off trouble in the future.

Trump's new budget bill did cut some spending, but it also cut taxes more, and so the current political trajectory is going the other way.

Secondly, as in previous crises, the US central bank could print more money and use it to buy up government debt - as we saw after the great financial crisis of 2008.

But that can end up fuelling inflation and inequality as the owners of assets like houses and shares do much better than those who rely on the value of labour.

The third is a straightforward US default. Can't pay won't pay. Given that the "full faith and credit of the US Treasury" underpins the entire global financial system, that would make the great financial crisis look like a picnic.

'Cleanest dirty shirt'

So how likely is any of this?

Right now, mercifully, not very.

But the reasons why are not actually that comforting. The fact is, whether we like it or not, the world has few alternatives to the dollar.

Economist and former bond supremo Mohamed El-Erian told the BBC that many are trying to reduce dollar holdings, "the dollar is overweight and the world knows it, which is why we have seen a rise in gold, the euro and the pound, but it's hard to move at scale so there's really very few places to go".

"The dollar is like your cleanest dirty shirt, you have to keep wearing it."

Nevertheless, the future of the dollar and the world's benchmark asset - US government bonds - is being discussed at the highest levels.

The governor of the Bank of England recently told the BBC that the levels of US debt and the status of the dollar is "very much on [US Treasury] Secretary Bessent's mind. I don't think the dollar is fundamentally under threat at the moment but he is very aware of these issues and I don't think it is something that he underestimates."

Debt of $37tn is an unfathomable number. If you saved a million dollars every day, it would take you 100,000 years to save up that much.

The sensible way to look at debt is as a percentage of a country's income. The US economy produces income of around $25tn a year.

While its debt to income level is much higher than many, it's not as high as Japan or Italy, and it has the benefit of the world's most innovative and wealth creating economy behind it.

At home I have a book called Death of the Dollar by William F Rickenbacker in which he warns of the risks to the dollar's status as the world's reserve currency. It was written in 1968. Mr Rickenbacker is no longer with us - the dollar is.

But it doesn't mean that its status and value is a divine right.

Fifty years ago Arthur Ashe pulled off an amazing feat, upsetting the odds and becoming the first black man to win the Wimbledon Men's final when he beat fellow American Jimmy Connors - but it was not something he wanted to define his life.

His fight to break down barriers around racial discrimination was closer to his heart - and apartheid South Africa became one of his battle grounds.

"I don't want to be remembered in the final analysis for having won Wimbledon... I take applause for having done it, but it's not the most important thing in my life - not even close," he said in a BBC interview a year before his death in 1993.

Nonetheless his Centre Court victory on 5 July 1975 was hailed as one of those spine-tingling sporting moments that stopped everyone in their tracks, whether a tennis fan or not, and it is being commemorated with a special display at the Wimbledon museum.

Ashe was already in his 30s, tall, serene and with a quiet and even-tempered demeanour. Connors, 10 years younger and the defending champion, was an aggressive player and often described as "brattish".

Ashe's achievements and the skills and courage he displayed on the court were certainly matched by his actions off it.

In the early 1970s, South Africa repeatedly refused to issue a visa for him to travel to the country alongside other US players.

The white-minority government there had legalised an extreme system of racial segregation, known as apartheid - or apartness - in 1948.

The authorities said the decision to bar him was based on his "general antagonism" and outspoken remarks about South Africa.

However, in 1973, the government relented and granted Ashe a visa to play in the South African Open, which was one of the top tournaments in the world at the time.

It was Ashe's first visit to South Africa, and although he stipulated he would only play on condition that the stadium be open to both black and white spectators, it sparked anger among anti-apartheid activists in the US and strong opposition from sections of the black community in South Africa.

British journalist and tennis historian Richard Evans, who became a life-long friend of Ashe, was a member of the press corps on that South Africa tour.

He says that Ashe was "painfully aware" of the criticism and the accusation that he was in some way giving legitimacy to the South African government - but he was determined to see for himself how people lived there.

"He felt that he was always being asked about South Africa, but he'd never been. He said: 'How can I comment on a place I don't know? I need to see it and make a judgment. And until I go, I can't do that.'"

Evans recalls that during the tour, the South African writer and poet Don Mattera had organised for Ashe to meet a group of black journalists, but the atmosphere was tense and hostile.

"As I passed someone," Evans told the BBC, "I heard someone say: 'Uncle Tom'" - a slur used to disparage a black person considered servile towards white people.

"And then one or two very vociferous journalists stood up and said: 'Arthur, go home. We don't want you here. You're just making it easier for the government to be able to show that they allow someone like you in.'"

But not all black South Africans were so vehemently opposed to Ashe's presence in the country.

The South African author and academic Mark Mathabane grew up in the Alexandra township - popularly known as Alex - in the north of Johannesburg. Such townships were set up under apartheid on the outskirts of cities for non-white people to live.

He first became aware of Ashe as a boy while accompanying his grandmother to her gardening job at a British family's mansion in a whites-only suburb.

The lady of the house gifted him a September 1968 edition of Life magazine from her collection, and there, on the front cover, was a bespectacled Arthur Ashe at the net.

Mathabane was mesmerised by the image and its cover line "The Icy Elegance of Arthur Ashe" - and he set out to emulate him.

When Ashe went on the 1973 tour, Mathabane had only one mission - to meet Ashe, or at least get close to him.

The opportunity came when Ashe took time off from competing to hold a tennis clinic in Soweto, a southern Johannesburg township.

The 13-year-old Mathabane made the train journey to get there and join scores of other black - and mostly young - people who had turned out to see the tennis star, who they had given the nickname "Sipho".

"He may have been honorary white to white people, but to us black people he was Sipho. It's a Zulu word for gift," Mathabane, now aged 64, told the BBC.

"You know, a gift from God, from the ancestors, meaning that this is very priceless, take care of it. Sipho is here, Sipho from America is here."

The excitement generated at the Soweto clinic was not just contained to that township but had spread across the country, he said.

From rural reservations to shebeens or speakeasies (bars) - wherever black people gathered, they were talking about Ashe's visit.

"For me, he was literally the first free black man I'd ever seen," said Mathabane.

After the 1973 tour, Ashe went back to South Africa a few more times. In early 1976 he helped to establish the Arthur Ashe Soweto Tennis Centre (AASTC) for budding players in the township.

But not long after it opened, the centre was vandalised in the student-led uprisings against the apartheid regime that broke out in June of that year.

It remained neglected and in disrepair for several years before undergoing a major refurbishment in 2007, and was reopened by Ashe's widow Jeanne Moutoussamy-Ashe.

The complex now has 16 courts, and hosts a library and skills development centre.

The ambition is to produce a tennis star and Grand Slam champion from the township - and legends such as Serena and Venus Williams have since run clinics there.

For Mothobi Seseli and Masodi Xaba, who were once both South African national junior champions and now sit on the AASTC board, the centre goes beyond tennis.

They feel that fundamentally it is about instilling a work ethic that embraces a range of life skills and self-belief.

"We're building young leaders," Ms Xaba, a successful businesswoman, told the BBC.

Mr Seseli, an entrepreneur born and raised in Soweto, agrees that this would be Ashe's vision too: "When I think about what his legacy is, it is believing that we can, at the smallest of scales, move the dial in very big ways."

Ashe was initially inclined to challenge apartheid through conversations and participation, believing that by being visible and winning matches in the country he could undermine the very foundation of the regime.

But his experience within South Africa, and international pressure from the anti-apartheid movement, persuaded him that isolation rather than engagement would be the most effective way to bring about change in South Africa.

He became a powerful advocate and supporter of an international sporting boycott of South Africa, speaking before the United Nations and the US Congress.

In 1983, at a joint press conference set up by the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) and UN, he spoke about the aims of the Artists and Athletes Against Apartheid, which he had just co-founded with the American singer Harry Belafonte.

The organisation lobbied for sanctions against the South African government, and at its height had more than 500 members.

Ashe joined many protests and rallies, and when he was arrested outside the South African embassy in Washington DC in 1985, it drew more international attention to the cause and helped to amplify global condemnation of the South African regime.

He was the captain of the US Davis Cup team at the time, and always felt that the arrest cost him his job.

Ashe used his platform to confront social injustice wherever he saw it, not just in Africa and South Africa, but also in the US and Haiti.

He was also an educator on many issues, and specifically HIV/Aids, which he succumbed to, after contracting the disease from a blood transfusion during heart surgery in the early 1980s.

But he had a particular affinity with South Africa's black population living under a repressive regime.

He said that he identified with them because of his upbringing in racially segregated Richmond in the US state of Virginia.

No wonder then that Ashe was one of the key figures that South African anti-apartheid hero Nelson Mandela was keen to meet on a trip to New York, inviting him to a historic townhall gathering in 1990 shortly after his release from 27 years in prison.

The pair met on a few occasions, however Ashe did not live to see Mandela become president of South Africa following the 1994 election, which brought in democratic rule and the dismantling of apartheid.

But like Ashe, Mandela was able to use sport to push for change - by helping unify South Africa - notably during the 1995 Rugby World Cup when he famously wore the Springbok jersey, once a hated symbol of apartheid.

To celebrate this year's anniversary of Ashe's victory, the Wimbledon Championships have an installation in the International Tennis Centre tunnel and a new museum display about him. They are also taking a trailblazer workshop on the road to mark his achievement.

His Wimbledon title was the third of his Grand Slam crowns, having previously won the US and Australian Opens.

But to many people like Mathabane - who in 1978 became the first black South African to earn a tennis scholarship to a US university - Arthur Ashe's legacy was his activism, not his tennis.

"He was literally helping to liberate my mind from those mental chains of self-doubt, of believing the big lie about your inferiority and the fact that you're doomed to repeat the work of your parents as a drudge," he said.

"So that was the magic - because he was showing me possibilities."

You may also be interested in:

• 'I'm not afraid of dying': The pioneering tennis champion who told the world he had Aids
• Arthur Ashe's 1976 interview: 'Fighting the myth'
• 'Growing up black' made Arthur Ashe crave control

Go to BBCAfrica.com for more news from the African continent.

Follow us on Twitter @BBCAfrica, on Facebook at BBC Africa or on Instagram at bbcafrica

The Western Indian town of Kolhapur has found itself in an unlikely global spotlight, as thousands of local artisans who hand-craft traditional leather footwear are mounting a collective attack on luxury fashion label Prada for plagiarising their designs without credit.

The rhythmic pounding of the hammer in 58-year-old Sadashiv Sanake's dimly lit workshop bears witness to the hard grind behind handcrafting the iconic Kolhapuri leather sandals.

"I learnt the craft as a child," he tells the BBC. A day's toil goes into making just "eight to 10 pairs" of these sandals he says, that retail at a modest $8-10

Barely 5,000 artisans in Kolhapur are still in the profession – a cottage industry that struggles to compete in a mechanised world, caught in the funk of dismal working conditions and low wages.

It's no surprise then that when Italian luxury brand Prada released a new line of footwear that bore a striking resemblance to the Kolhapuri sandals - but didn't mention the design origins - local artisans were up in arms.

The backlash was swift. Social media was flooded with accusations of cultural appropriation, prompting Prada to issue a statement acknowledging the sandals' roots.

Now local politicians and industry associations have thrown their weight behind the artisans who want better recognition of the craft and its cultural legacy.

Mr Sanake was not aware of Prada's show until the BBC showed him a video of it. When told that that the sandals could retail for hundreds of pounds in luxury markets, he scoffed. "Do they have gold in them?" he asked.

Prada hasn't revealed the price tag but its other sandals retail at between £600 to £1,000 in the UK as per its website.

The earliest records of Kolhapur sandals date back to the 12th Century.

"These sandals were originally crafted by members of the marginalised Charmakar (cobbler) community, also known as chamars," said Kavita Gagrani, a history professor at the New College in Kolhapur.

Chamar is a pejorative caste term used to describe Dalits (formerly known as untouchables) who work with animal hides.

"But in the early 20th Century, the craft flourished when the then ruler of Kolhapur, Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj granted royal patronage to this community," Ms Gagrani said.

Today, nearly 100,000 artisans across India are engaged in the trade with an industry worth over $200m, according to the Maharashtra Chamber of Commerce, Industry & Agriculture (MACCIA), a prominent industry trade group.

Yet, most of them continue to work in unorganised setups under dismal conditions.

"I was never educated. This is all I know, and I earn about $4-5 a day, depending on the number of orders," said 60-year-old Sunita Satpute.

Women like her play a critical role, particularly in engraving fine patterns by hand, but are not compensated fairly for their long hours of labour, she said.

That's why Sunita's children don't want to continue the craft.

A short distance away from her workshop lies Kolhapur's famous chappal gully, or sandal lane, a cluster of storefronts - many of them struggling to stay afloat.

"Leather has become very expensive and has pushed up our costs," said Anil Doipode, one of the first sellers to open a shop here.

Traditionally, artisans would use cow and buffalo hide to make these sandals. But since 2014, when the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came to power, there have been several reports of vigilantes - self-appointed protesters or activists - cracking down on alleged cow slaughter, sometimes with physical violence. The cow is considered sacred by Hindus.

In 2015, Maharashtra state banned the slaughter of cows and the sale and consumption of beef, forcing artisans to rely on buffalo leather sourced from neighbouring states, pushing up their production costs.

Traditional sellers are also struggling to compete with synthetic copies flooding the market.

"Customers want cheaper sandals and can't always tell the difference," said Rohit Balkrishna Gavali, a second-generation Kolhapuri sandal seller.

Industry experts say the controversy highlights the need for a better institutional framework to protect the rights of artisans.

In 2019, the Indian government had awarded Kolhapuri sandals the Geographical Indication (GI) - a mark of authenticity which protects its name and design within India, preventing unauthorised use by outsiders.

Globally, however, there is no binding law that stops other countries or brands from aesthetic imitation.

Aishwarya Sandeep, a Mumbai-based advocate, says that India could raise the issue at the World Trade Organization under its TRIPS (Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights) agreement, of which it is a signatory.

But the system is cumbersome, expensive and often lacks enforceability, both in India and abroad, she adds.

Lalit Gandhi, the president of MCCIA, says his organisation is planning to patent the Kolhapuri sandal design, hoping to create a legal precedent for future cases.

But some say real change can only happen when India starts seeing its traditional heritage in a different light.

"It's about ethical recognition. India must push for royalty-sharing and co-branding," says Ritu Beri, a renowned designer. "The more we take pride in our culture, the less we will be exploited."

Of course, this isn't the first time a global fashion brand has been accused of appropriating Indian handicrafts.

Many big labels have featured Indian fabrics and embroidery work with little to no artist collaboration. "Take Chikankari (a delicate hand-embroidery style from the northern Indian city of Lucknow), Ikat (a cloth-dyeing technique), mirror work; they've all been used repeatedly. The artisans remain invisible while brands profit from their inspiration," Ms Beri says.

Mr Gandhi, however, says that Prada's endorsement of Kolhapuri sandals could also be beneficial for artisans.

"Under their label, the value [of Kolhapuri sandals] is going to increase manifold," he says. "But we want some share of that profit to be passed on to artisans for their betterment."

Rohit Balkrishna Gavali, a sandal-seller in Kolhapur, agrees - he has already begun to see the difference.

"The design Prada used wasn't even very popular, but now people are asking for it, with clients from Dubai, the US and Qatar" placing orders, he says.

"Sometimes, controversy can help," he adds. "But it would be nice if it also brought respect and better prices for those keeping this tradition alive."

The issue is unlikely to die down soon.

For now, a plea has been filed in a high court, demanding Prada pay damages and compensation to artisans, along with a court-supervised collaboration between the luxury label and artisan associations.

Prada has told BBC in a statement that it is in talks with the MCCIA on this matter.

Mr Gandhi, its chief, says a meeting between the two sides is going to take place next week.

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Two female tourists, including a British pensioner, have been killed by a charging elephant while on safari in Zambia, police have told the BBC.

The pair were attacked by a female elephant that was with a calf at the South Luangwa National Park, said local police chief Robertson Mweemba.

The two tourists were trampled to death by the nursing elephant after efforts by tour guides to stop it by firing shots failed. Both women died at the scene, he said.

The BBC has contacted the Foreign Office for comment.

Mr Mweemba said the two women were part of a guided safari group who were walking in the park when the elephant charged towards them at high speed.

The two tourists had stayed for four days at the Big Lagoon Camp, about 600 km (370 miles) from the capital, Lusaka, where the attack happened.

Female elephants are very protective of their calves and Zambian authorities have previously called on tourists to exercise extreme caution while observing wildlife around the country.

Last year, two American tourists were killed in separate attacks by elephants in the southern African country. Both cases involved elderly tourists who were in a safari vehicle when they were attacked.

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Go to BBCAfrica.com for more news from the African continent.

Follow us on Twitter @BBCAfrica, on Facebook at BBC Africa or on Instagram at bbcafrica

Amid chaotic scenes, French police waded into shallow waters off a beach south of Boulogne early on Friday morning and used knives to slash an inflatable small boat - packed with men, women and children - that was wallowing, dangerously, in the waves.

All those onboard clambered to safety as the boat collapsed.

The intervention was highly unusual.

French police usually follow strict rules that bar them from going into the sea in case they put lives at risk.

"Let's go in," said one of the gendarmes, pulling off his body armour, and taking out a small knife. His colleagues took their heavy armour off, too, placing equipment in the back of a nearby police car before rushing into the water.

It is possible to see this rare incident as evidence that the French police - under growing pressure to stop a surge of small boat migrant crossings to the UK - are changing their tactics.

But well-placed sources in France have told us that the procedural changes now being considered will almost certainly focus on the use of patrol boats at sea to intercept the "taxi-boats" before they're fully loaded, rather than on approving more aggressive interventions from police on the beaches.

A few metres offshore, the boat itself was clearly in trouble. People were crowded around the outboard motor, which had briefly stalled but was being restarted.

Waves were breaking underneath the boat, causing it to lurch wildly, and there were loud screams from several children who were in danger of being crushed onboard.

Earlier, two large groups of people already wearing orange life jackets had emerged from the nearby dunes and rushed towards the sea.

In all there were probably 80 or 100 people. But when the first "taxi-boat" - used by the smuggling gangs to collect passengers from various points along the French coast - sped past perhaps 100m from the shore, it was clearly full already and did not stop to pick anyone else up.

A few minutes later, a second boat, with almost no passengers, came towards the shore, watched by a French coastguard boat further into the English Channel.

Initially, people were ushered forwards in organised groups, holding hands, and directed by one man who appeared to be leading events.

But as the inflatable boat turned and reversed towards the shore, there was a scrum as dozens of people scrambled to climb aboard in water that was at least waist deep.

At first the gendarmes declined to intervene and stood watching from the shore.

One officer repeated a now-familiar explanation to me - that they were barred from going into the water except to rescue people.

But as the situation became increasingly chaotic, the officers at the scene clearly felt that a line had been crossed, that those on board were now in danger, and that there was a brief opportunity to disable the boat in relative safety and while any smugglers - who might have fought back - were distracted by their attempts to restart the engine.

As a policeman slashed repeatedly at the rubber, there were cries and shouts of anger and frustration from some of those onboard.

A young girl, who had been in the middle of the scrum, squashed at the stern of the boat close to the engine, was plucked to safety as others scrambled on to the nearby sand.

Moments later the boat was dragged ashore by the police as the migrants began collecting items they had dropped on the beach and then headed inland, up the sandy paths through the dunes towards the nearest village and a bus-ride back to the migrant camps further north.

Moments before the explosion, artists, students and athletes were among those gathered at a bustling seaside cafe in Gaza City.

Huddled around tables, customers at al-Baqa Cafeteria were scrolling on their phones, sipping hot drinks, and catching up with friends. At one point, the familiar melody of "Happy Birthday" rang out as a young child celebrated with family.

In a quiet corner of the cafe overlooking the sea, a Hamas operative, dressed in civilian clothing, arrived at his table, sources told the BBC.

It was then, without warning, that a bomb was dropped by Israeli forces and tore through the building, they said.

At the sound of the explosion, people nearby flooded onto the streets and into al-Baqa in a desperate search for survivors.

"The scene was horrific - bodies, blood, screaming everywhere," one man told the BBC later that day.

"It was total destruction," said another. "A real massacre happened at al-Baqa Cafeteria. A real massacre that breaks hearts."

The BBC has reviewed 29 names of people reported killed in the strike on the cafe on Monday. Twenty-six of the deaths were confirmed by multiple sources, including through interviews with family, friends and eyewitness accounts.

At least nine of those killed were women, and several were children or teenagers. They included artists, students, social activists, a female boxer, a footballer and cafe staff.

The conduct of the strike and the scale of civilian casualties have amplified questions over the proportionality of Israel's military operations in Gaza, which the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) say are aimed at defeating Hamas and rescuing the hostages still being held by the group.

Family members in Gaza and abroad spoke to the BBC of their shock and devastation at the killings.

"We were talking with each other two days ago. We were sending reels to each other. I can't believe it," said a young Palestinian man living in the US whose 21-year-old "bestie" Muna Juda and another close friend, Raghad Alaa Abu Sultan, were both killed in the strike.

The numbers of deaths analysed by the BBC were broadly consistent with figures given by the Hamas-run Civil Defence Agency, a senior local medic and the Palestinian Red Crescent in the days after the strike.

Staff at Shifa Hospital, which received the bodies, said its toll as of Thursday had reached 40 deaths, including people who had succumbed to their injuries, and unidentified bodies.

An official at the hospital said some of the bodies had been "blown to pieces", and that 72 injured patients were brought there - many having sustained severe burns and significant injuries that required surgery. He said many were students.

In a statement after the strike, the IDF said it had been targeting "terrorists" and that steps were taken to "mitigate the risk of harming civilians using aerial surveillance".

"The IDF will continue to operate against the Hamas terrorist organization in order to remove any threat posed to Israeli civilians," it added, before saying the "incident" was "under review".

The IDF did not directly respond to multiple BBC questions about the target of the strike, or whether it considered the number of civilian casualties to be proportionate.

Al-Baqa Cafeteria was well-known across the Gaza Strip, considered by many to be among the territory's most scenic and vibrant meeting spots.

Split over two floors and divided into men's and mixed family sections, it had views out to the Mediterranean Sea and television screens where people could watch football matches. It was a place to gather for coffee, tea and shisha with friends, and was a particular favourite with journalists.

Al-Baqa had remained popular even during the war, especially because of its unusually stable internet connection. The cafe, which had until now survived largely unscathed, also served up a reminder of the life that existed before the bombardments.

A cafe manager told the BBC that there was a strict entry policy. "It was known to our customers that if any person looked like a target, then they were not let inside the cafeteria - this was for our safety and the safety of the people there," he said.

On the day of the strike, the port area of Gaza City where the cafe is located was not under Israeli evacuation orders, and families of those killed on Monday say they had felt as safe as is possible when heading there.

Staff told the BBC that the strike in the early afternoon - between the Muslim prayers of Zuhr and Asr - was outside of the cafe's busiest hours.

The strike hit a section of the men's area where staff said few people were at the time.

BBC Verify showed several experts photos of the crater left in the wake of the explosion and the remaining munition fragments. Most said that they believed it was caused by a bomb, rather than a missile, with a range of size estimates given, at a maximum of 500lb (230kg).

The IDF told the BBC it would not comment on the type of munition used.

A journalist who was in the area at the time of the strike and spoke to eyewitnesses immediately afterwards told the BBC the munition that hit the cafe "was launched from a warplane - not from a drone that would usually target one or two people… It looked like they were very keen on getting their target". His account was consistent with others we spoke to.

Twenty-seven-year-old Hisham Ayman Mansour, whose deceased father had been a leading figure in Hamas' military wing, the al-Qassam Brigades, was among those in the men's section by the sea.

His brother was previously killed by Israeli forces, and one social media post mourning his death suggested the brother had taken part in the 7 October 2023 attacks.

A local Hamas source said Hisham was the target of the strike, and described him as a field commander with the group, a "mid-ranking role".

Tributes posted on social media also referred to him as a "fighter" and "member of the resistance". His cousin also described him to the BBC as a "fighter" with the proscribed group, but said he thought he was "low-level" and not currently active.

It is unclear what he was doing in the cafe that day, with two sources telling the BBC he was believed to be there for a "money drop", while another suggested he was there for "coffee and a short respite" and that he had not been involved in "militant activities" during the war.

A photo shared on social media purported to show Hisham at the same spot in the men's area of the cafe the day before the strike, wearing a cap and sports t-shirt. Photos of his body after the strike in the same outfit were shared by family and friends.

Two members of his family - one of them a child - were also killed.

The IDF would not confirm whether Hisham was the primary target, or one of a number of targets of the strike.

One former senior IDF official told the BBC he understood that "multiple Hamas operatives" were hit at the cafe, but that a so-called battle damage assessment was still ongoing. A source with Israeli intelligence connections pointed towards a social media post naming Hisham as the target.

Sources in Gaza gave the BBC the name of a more senior Hamas commander who was rumoured to have been seated on a nearby table, but posts on social media said he died the following day and did not mention the cafe.

The Hamas source said Hisham was the only person within the group killed at al-Baqa, while the IDF did not respond to questions about the commander.

An anti-Hamas activist told the BBC that "many Hamas people" were injured in the strike, including one who worked with the group but not as a fighter, who lost his leg in the explosion.

Medics could not confirm this account, but said that they dealt with many people with severe injuries, including those arriving with missing limbs or requiring amputations.

Israel does not allow international journalists access to Gaza to report on the war making it difficult to verify information, and Hamas has historically ruled the territory with an iron grip, making speaking out or any dissent dangerous.

The remainder of this article contains details some readers may find distressing.

Among the bodies and the debris in al-Baqa were traces of the civilian lives lost - a giant pink and white teddy bear, its stuffing partially exposed, a child's tiny shoe, and playing cards soaked in blood.

A displaced man who was in the area seeing family at the time of the strike was among those who went running into the cafe to try to find survivors.

"Shrapnel was everywhere… there were many injuries," he told the BBC.

He said when he entered part of the men's section that he found the bodies of waiters and other workers, and saw as one "took his last breath".

"It was crazy," said Saeed Ahel, a regular at the cafe and friend of its managers.

"The waiters were gathered around the bar since it was shady and breezy there. Around [six] of them were killed," he added, before listing their names. More were injured.

The mother of two young men who worked at the cafe screamed as she followed their bodies while they were carried on a sheet out of the wreckage on Monday.

A distraught man pointed at a dry patch of blood on the floor, where he said bits of brain and skull had been splattered. He had put them in a bag and carried them out.

Meanwhile, the grandmother of 17-year-old Sama Mohammad Abu Namous wept.

The teenager had gone to the cafe that afternoon with her brother, hoping to use the internet connection to study. Relatives said the siblings were walking into the beachside cafe when the bomb hit. Sama was killed, while her brother was rushed to hospital.

"She went to study and they killed her," she said. "Why did she have to return to her grandmother killed?"

The coach of young female boxer Malak Musleh said he was in shock at the loss of his friend of more than 10 years, having first learned the news of her killing through social media.

"She believed that boxing was not just for boys but that girls should have the right too," Osama Ayoub said. "Malak was ambitious. She didn't skip any training day."

He said he last saw Malak about 10 days before the strike, when he dropped off some aid to her and her father.

"We sat together for nearly an hour. She told me that she was continuing her training with her sister and wished I could train them. I told her unfortunately because my house got demolished I live now in Khan Younis [in southern Gaza], but as soon as I hear that there is a ceasefire I will try to go back to training," he said.

"She said to make sure to keep a space for them… She had passion in her eyes and her words."

When Osama saw the Facebook post by Malak's father announcing her death, he "didn't believe it".

"I called him and he confirmed it but I still don't believe it," he said over the phone from a displacement camp.

Artist Amina Omar Al-Salmi, better known as Frans, was also at the cafe with a well-known photographer friend.

Since the 35-year-old's death, one of her pieces depicting a dead woman with her eyes closed and covered in blood, has been shared widely online alongside an image of her after her death, with people noting the striking similarities.

Her sister, now living in Sweden, told the BBC that the last time they spoke, Frans had said that she was sure "something good was going to happen".

"She was happy and said: 'We'll meet soon. You'll see me at your place.'"

Additional reporting by Riam El Delati and Muath al-Khatib

Verification by Emma Pengelly and Richie Irvine-Brown

US President Donald Trump is to sign his landmark policy bill into law, a day after it was narrowly passed by Congress.

The signing event at the White House on Friday afternoon, coinciding with 4 July celebrations, enacts key parts of the Trump agenda including tax cuts, spending boosts for defence and the immigration crackdown.

Trump began his victory lap at an Iowa rally on Thursday night, telling supporters it will unleash economic growth, but he must now convince sceptical Americans as polling suggests many disapprove.

Several members of his own Republican party were opposed because of the impact on rising US debt and Democrats warned the bill would reward the wealthy and punish the poor.

The 870-page package includes:

• extending 2017 tax cuts of Trump's first term
• steep cuts to Medicaid spending, the state-provided healthcare scheme for those on low incomes and the disabled
• new tax breaks on tipped income, overtime and Social Security
• a budget increase of $150bn for defence
• a reduction in Biden-era clean energy tax credits
• $100bn to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)

The bill signing will precede 4 July American Independence Day fireworks and a military picnic attended by the pilots who recently flew into Iran to try to dismantle three nuclear sites.

The celebratory mood follows days of tense negotiations with Republican rebels in Congress and days of cajoling on Capitol Hill, sometimes by the president himself.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries delayed the final vote in the lower chamber of Congress on Thursday by speaking for nearly nine hours.

He called the bill an "extraordinary assault on the healthcare of the American people" and quoted testimony from individuals anxious about its impact.

But his marathon speech only postponed the inevitable. As soon as he sat down, the House moved to a vote.

Only two Republicans went against, joining all 212 Democrats united in opposition. The bill passed by 218 votes to 214.

Earlier this week, the Senate passed the bill but US Vice-President JD Vance was required to cast a tiebreaking vote after three Republicans held out.

• Major win now but political peril awaits
• Fact-checking three key claims about the bill

Hours after the House passed the bill, the president was in a triumphant mood as he took to the stage in Iowa to kick off a years long celebration of 250 years since American independence.

"There could be no better birthday present for America than the phenomenal victory we achieved just hours ago," he told supporters in Des Moines.

"Very simply the One Big, Beautiful Bill will deliver the strongest border on Earth, the strongest economy on Earth [and] the strongest military on Earth."

The White House believes the various tax cuts will help stimulate economic growth, but many experts fear that will not be sufficient to prevent the budget deficit - the difference between spending and tax revenue in any year - from ballooning, adding to the national debt.

Analysis by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) suggests the tax cuts could produce a surplus in the first year but will then cause the deficit to rise sharply.

According to the Tax Policy Center, the tax changes in the bill would benefit wealthier Americans more than those on lower incomes, About 60% of the benefits would go to those making above $217,000 (£158,000), its analysis found.

The BBC spoke to Americans who may see a cut in the subsidies that help them pay for groceries.

Jordan, a father of two, is one of 42 million Americans who benefits from the SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) scheme targeted by the bill.

• Americans brace for Trump's welfare cuts
• What is in the bill?

He and his wife get about $700 a month to feed their family of four and the 26-year-old said if this bill reduces what he can claim he would get a second job. "I'm going to make sure that I can do whatever I can to feed my family," he says.

Along with cuts to SNAP, the changes to Medicaid - a programme that covers healthcare for low-income, elderly and disabled Americans - would result in nearly 12 million losing coverage in the next decade, the CBO estimates.

Republicans defend their changes to Medicaid, saying that by toughening up work requirements they are tackling abuse and fraud.

Polling taken before the bill passed in Congress suggests public support is low and dwarfed by numbers opposed. A recent Quinnipiac University survey pointed to only 29% endorsing the legislation, which rose to two-thirds among Republicans.

But knowledge of the bill may be low too. Reuters reported there was little awareness of the legislation among Trump supporters they spoke to at the Iowa rally on Thursday night.

Several people have died and others are missing after flash flooding hit parts of central Texas on Friday morning.

Disaster declarations have been issued for the Hill Country and Concho Valley regions.

Rescues and evacuations have been underway since the early morning, but there are warnings of more potential flash flooding to come.

"Even if the rain is light, more flooding can occur in those areas," Acting Governor Dan Patrick said.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott said the state was providing "all necessary resources to Kerrville, Ingram, Hunt and the entire Texas Hill Country dealing with these devastating floods".

The region is to the north-west of the Texas city of San Antonio.

Pictures show the deep flood waters swamping bridges and fast moving water swirling down roads.

Exactly how many people have died or are missing has not yet been confirmed by authorities.

"Folks, please don't take chances. Stay alert, follow local emergency warnings, and do not drive through flooded roads," Texas Department of Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller said.

Kerr County Sheriff's Office said the area had suffered a "catastrophic flooding event" and confirmed that fatalities had been reported.

It told residents near creeks, streams and the Guadalupe River to move to higher ground.

One of Sweden's most wanted gang leaders, Ismail Abdo, has been arrested in Turkey, the Swedish prosecutor's office said on Friday.

The dual Swedish-Turkish national has an extensive list of drug-related charges against him according to the global police agency, Interpol.

The 35-year-old, nicknamed The Strawberry, is a well-known leader of the Rumba crime gang in Sweden. He is accused of orchestrating illegal operations from abroad and has been the subject of an Interpol red notice since last year.

Swedish police did not identify him, but confirmed the arrest of a man "suspected of having engaged in serious drug trafficking and inciting serious violent crimes" for many years in Sweden.

He was one of 19 people who were arrested during raids in Turkey, where officers seized more than a tonne of drugs, state broadcaster TRT reported. Exactly where the raids took place has not been revealed.

Arrest warrants were issued for a further 21 suspects, of whom 14 were believed to be abroad and three already in custody on other charges. Four are still at large, TRT added.

Turkish authorities reportedly seized assets worth around 1.5bn Turkish lira (£27.8m; $38m), including 20 vehicles, bank accounts and 51 real estate properties.

Gang violence in Sweden has escalated in recent years, in part because Abdo's former friend, Rawa Majida, is the leader of a rival gang, Foxtrot.

Many people have been killed since their deadly turf war began. It entered a new, violent chapter in 2023 when Abdo's mother was murdered in her home in Uppsala, north of the capital, Stockholm.

The escalation prompted the government to bring in the army to help tackle the surge in gang killings.

In 2024, Turkish police arrested Abdo during a traffic stop, but released him on bail despite the active Interpol red notice against him - a move which drew criticism from Swedish authorities who were seeking to extradite Abdo.

The increase in gang violence that has plagued some of Sweden's biggest cities and spread to quieter suburbs and towns has shattered its reputation as a safe and peaceful nation.

Lat year, Sweden's security service, Sapo, accused Iran of recruiting Swedish gang members to carry out attacks on Israeli or Jewish interests. In October, a 13-year-old boy fired shots outside the offices of Israeli tech firm Elbit Systems. Israel's embassies in Sweden and Denmark were also both targeted.

Sweden's centre-right governing coalition, which promised to end the gang crime wave when it was elected in 2022, will see Abdo's capture as a win. However the fact that he is also a Turkish citizen could complicate the extradition process.

An estimated 14,000 people in Sweden are caught up in criminal gangs, according to a police report last year, and a further 48,000 people are said to be connected to them.

A pall of acrid smoke hung over Kyiv on Friday morning following a night of intensive Russian strikes that hit almost every district of the capital, according to Ukrainian authorities.

The hours of darkness were once again punctuated by the staccato of air defence guns, buzz of drones and large explosions. Ukraine said Russia had fired a record 550 drones and 11 missiles during a long night of bombardment.

The strikes came hours after a phone call between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin, after which the US president said he was "disappointed" that Putin was not ready to end Russia's war against Ukraine.

A woman was killed in Russia following Ukrainian drone attacks, officials said.

The acting governor of the southern Rostov region said she had been killed in a strike on village not far from the Ukrainian border.

Russia's overnight air strikes broke another record, Ukraine's air force said, with 72 of the 550 drones penetrating air defences - up from a previous record of 537 launched last Saturday night.

Air raid alerts sounded for more than eight hours as several waves of attacks struck Kyiv, the "main target of the strikes", the air force said on the messaging app Telegram.

Ukraine's foreign minister condemned "one of the worst" nights in the capital and said "Moscow must be slapped with the toughest sanctions without delay".

"Absolutely horrible and sleepless night in Kyiv. One of the worst so far," wrote Andrii Sybiha on X.

Noting that it came directly after Putin's call with Trump, Sybiha added that "[Putin] does it on purpose" and "clearly shows his disregard for the United States and everyone who has called for an end to the war".

Footage shared on social media by Ukraine's state emergency service showed firefighters battling to extinguish fires in Kyiv after Russia's large-scale overnight attack.

At least 23 people were wounded in the attacks on Kyiv, according to Ukrainian authorities, with railway infrastructure damaged and buildings and cars set ablaze across the capital.

Friday's attacks were the latest in a string of major Russian air strikes on Ukraine that have intensified in recent weeks as ceasefire talks have largely stalled.

War in Ukraine has been raging for more than three years since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022.

Following his conversation with Putin on Thursday, Trump said that "no progress" to end the fighting had been made.

"I'm very disappointed with the conversation I had today with President Putin, because I don't think he's there, and I'm very disappointed," Trump said.

"I'm just saying I don't think he's looking to stop, and that's too bad."

The Kremlin reiterated that it would continue to seek to remove "the root causes of the war in Ukraine". Putin has sought to return Ukraine to Russia's sphere of influence and said last week that "the whole of Ukraine is ours".

Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that he hoped to speak to Trump on Thursday about the supply of US weapons after a decision in Washington to halt some shipments of critical weapons to Ukraine.

Kyiv has warned that the move would impede its ability to defend Ukraine against escalating airstrikes and Russian advances on the frontlines.

Speaking to reporters, Trump said "we're giving weapons" and "we haven't" completely paused the flow of weapons. He blamed former President Joe Biden for sending "so many weapons to Ukraine that it risked weakening US defences".

Kenyan President William Ruto says he is building a church at the presidential residence in Nairobi that he will pay for himself - and says he has nothing to apologise for.

"I am not going to ask anyone for an apology for building a church. The devil might be angry and can do what he wants," President Ruto said on Friday.

That statement alone has angered Kenyans already frustrated with his style of leadership and what they regard as the entanglement of the state and the church.

The BBC has asked the government for comment.

It is not clear who Ruto was referring to as "the devil" in his comments at state house, but he says nothing will stop the project from going ahead.

On Friday one of Kenya's leading newspapers - the Daily Nation - published architectural designs showing a large building with stained glass windows and capacity for 8,000 people.

The paper questioned whether the project was in keeping with Kenya's secular constitution.

There has also been criticism of the cost, estimated at $9m (£6.5bn), at a time when many Kenyans are struggling with the rising cost of living.

Ruto said he would pay for the church out of his own pocket, however that raises the question of whether he has the right to build such a large structure on state-owned property.

In an open letter, one MP said Kenya was not a Christian state and belonged to people of all religions.

While some 85% of Kenyans are Christian, there is also a large Muslim population of about 11%, along with other minority faiths including Hinduism and traditional African religions.

There is no mosque or temple at the presidency.

"I did not start building this church when I entered the State House. I found a church but one made out of iron sheets. Does that look befitting for the State House?" a defiant Ruto told politicians at a meeting he hosted on Friday.

You may also be interested in:

• El Chapo & Deputy Jesus - why Kenya's president has so many nicknames
• Why Kenya's evangelical president has fallen out with churches
• How African popes changed Christianity - and gave us Valentine's Day
• Ghana to investigate ex-president's controversial $400m cathedral project

Go to BBCAfrica.com for more news from the African continent.

Follow us on Twitter @BBCAfrica, on Facebook at BBC Africa or on Instagram at bbcafrica

An American teenager has been detained on an Antarctic island, creating a major delay in his attempt to fly his small plane to every continent that is being followed online by more than a million people.

Chilean authorities stopped Ethan Guo, 19, after he submitted a false flight plan, according to the BBC's US partner CBS News.

His deviation from that plan in the air had "activated alert protocols", Chile's General Directorate of Civil Aeronautics said in a statement.

Mr Guo was taken into custody after landing on King George Island, home to a number of international research stations and their staffs, where July temperatures typically stay well below freezing.

Mr Guo's small Cessna 182 aircraft took off from the city of Punta Arenas, near the southernmost point of Chile, and flew to the island off the Atlantic coast, which is claimed by Chile. It is named after England's King George III.

He was detained at Teniente R. Marsh airport.

Mr Guo had allegedly submitted a plan to fly over Punta Arenas, but not beyond that, according to regional prosecutor Cristian Cristoso Rifo, as cited by CBS.

He has been charged for violating two articles of the country's aeronautical code, including one that could lead to short-term imprisonment.

In the statement, Chile's General Directorate of Civil Aeronautics said Mr Guo had also allegedly violated the Antarctic Treaty, which regulates international relations with respect to the uninhabited continent.

Mr Guo posted an update on X on Wednesday, saying: "I'm alive everyone, I'll make an update soon."

Ethan Guo has flown his Cessna aircraft to all the other six continents in his journey spanning more than 140 days, according to his social media feed.

He is hoping to become the first pilot to complete solo flights across all seven continents in the Cessna aircraft, and simultaneously aims to raise $1m (£ 731,000) for cancer research at the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

When the gunfire started outside her home in the Damascus suburb of Ashrafiyat Sahnaya, Lama al-Hassanieh grabbed her phone and locked herself in her bathroom.

For hours, she cowered in fear as fighters dressed in military-style uniforms and desert camouflage roamed the streets of the neighbourhood. A heavy machine gun was mounted on a military vehicle just beneath her balcony window.

"Jihad against Druze" and "we are going to kill you, Druze," the men were shouting.

She did not know who the men were - extremists, government security forces, or someone else entirely - but the message was clear: as a Druze, she was not safe.

The Druze - a community with its own unique practices and beliefs, whose faith began as an off-shoot of Shia Islam - have historically occupied a precarious position in Syria's political order.

Under former President Bashar al-Assad, many Druze maintained a quiet loyalty to the state, hoping that alignment with it would protect them from the sectarian bloodshed that consumed other parts of Syria during the 13-year-long civil war.

Many Druze took to the streets during the uprising, especially in the latter years. But, seeking to portray himself as defending Syria's minorities against Islamist extremism, Assad avoided using the kind of iron first against Druze protesters which he did in other cities that revolted against his rule.

They operated their own militia which defended their areas against attacks by Sunni Muslim extremist groups who considered Druze heretics, while they were left alone by pro-Assad forces.

But with Assad toppled by Sunni Islamist-led rebels who have formed the interim government, that unspoken pact has frayed, and Druze are now worried about being isolated and targeted in post-war Syria.

Recent attacks on Druze communities by Islamist militias loosely affiliated with the government in Damascus have fuelled growing distrust towards the state.

It started in late April with a leaked audio recording that allegedly featured a Druze religious leader insulting the Prophet Muhammad. Although the leader denied it was his voice, and Syria's interior ministry later confirmed the recording was fake, the damage had been done.

A video of a student at the University of Homs, in central Syria, went viral, with him calling on Muslims to take revenge immediately against Druze, sparking sectarian violence in communities across the country.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based monitoring group, said at least 137 people - 17 civilians, 89 Druze fighters and 32 members of the security forces - were killed in several days of fighting in Ashrafiyat Sahnaya, the southern Damascus suburb of Jaramana, and in an ambush on the Suweida-Damascus highway.

The Syrian government said the security forces' operation in Ashrafiyat Sahnaya was carried out to restore security and stability, and that it was in response to attacks on its own personnel where 16 of them were killed.

Lama Zahereddine, a pharmacy student at Damascus University, was just weeks away from completing her degree when the violence reached her village. What began as distant shelling turned into a direct assault - gunfire, mortars, and chaos tearing through her neighbourhood.

Her uncle arrived in a small bus, urging the women and children to flee under fire while the men stayed behind with nothing more than light arms. "The attackers had heavy machine guns and mortars," Lama recalled. "Our men had nothing to match that."

The violence did not stop at her village. At Lama's university, dorm rooms were stormed and students were beaten with chains.

In one case, a student was stabbed after simply being asked if he was Druze.

"They [the instigators] told us we left our universities by choice," she said. "But how could I stay? I was five classes and one graduation project away from my degree. Why would I abandon that if it wasn't serious?"

Like many Druze, Lama's fear is not just of physical attacks – it is of what she sees as a state that has failed to offer protection.

"The government says these were unaffiliated outlaws. Fine. But when are they going to be held accountable?" she asked.

Her trust was further shaken by classmates who mocked her plight, including one who replied with a laughing emoji to her post about fleeing her village.

"You never know how people really see you," she said quietly. "I don't know who to trust anymore."

While no-one is sure who the attackers pledged their allegiance to, one thing is clear: many Druze are worried that Syria is drifting toward an intolerant Sunni-dominated order with little space for religious minorities like themselves.

"We don't feel safe with these people," Hadi Abou Hassoun told the BBC.

He was one of the Druze men from Suweida called in to protect Ashrafiyat Sahnaya on the day Lama was hiding in her bathroom.

His convoy was ambushed by armed groups using mortars and drones. Hadi was shot in the back, piercing his lung and breaking several ribs.

It's a far cry from the inclusive Syria he had in mind under new leadership.

"Their ideology is religious, not based on law or the state. And when someone acts out of religious or sectarian hate, they don't represent us," Hadi said.

"What represents us is the law and the state. The law is what protects everyone…I want protection from the law."

The Syrian government has repeatedly stressed the sovereignty and unity of all Syrian territories and denominations of Syrian society, including the Druze.

Though clashes and attacks have since subsided, faith in the government's ability to protect minorities has diminished.

During the days of the fighting, Israel carried out air strikes around the Ashrafiyat Sahnaya, claiming it was targeting "operatives" attacking Druze to protect the minority group.

It also struck an area near the Syrian presidential palace, saying that it would "not allow the deployment of forces south of Damascus or any threat to the Druze community". Israel itself has a large number of Druze citizens in the country and living in the Israeli-occupied Syrian Golan Heights.

Back in Ashrafiyat Sahnaya, Lama al-Hassanieh said the atmosphere had shifted - it was "calmer, but cautious".

She sees neighbours again, but wariness lingers.

"Trust has been broken. There are people in the town now who don't belong, who came during the war. It's hard to know who's who anymore."

Trust in the government remains thin.

"They say they're working toward protecting all Syrians. But where are the real steps? Where is the justice?" Lama asked.

"I don't want to be called a minority. We are Syrians. All we ask for is the same rights - and for those who attacked us to be held accountable."

Additional reporting by Samantha Granville

Russia has become the first country to formally recognise Taliban rule, with Afghanistan's Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi calling it a "courageous" decision.

He met Russia's ambassador to Afghanistan, Dmitry Zhirnov, in Kabul on Thursday, where Mr Zhirnov officially conveyed his government's decision to recognise the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.

Muttaqi said it was "a new phase of positive relations, mutual respect, and constructive engagement", and that the shift would serve as "an example" to other countries.

The Taliban have sought international recognition and investment since they returned to power in August 2021, despite reports of increasing violations on human rights.

"We believe that the act of official recognition of the government of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan will give impetus to the development of productive bilateral cooperation between our countries," Russia's foreign ministry said in a statement.

It said Russia saw the potential for "commercial and economic" cooperation in "energy, transportation, agriculture and infrastructure", and that it would continue to help Kabul to fight against the threats of terrorism and drug trafficking.

Russia was one of very few countries that did not close down their embassy in Afghanistan in 2021, and said on Telegram that "expanding the dialogue with Kabul" was critical in terms of regional security and economic development.

The country was also the first to sign an international economic deal with the Taliban in 2022, where they agreed to supply oil, gas and wheat to Afghanistan.

The Taliban was removed from Russia's list of terrorist organisations in April this year with the intention to pave the way for the establishment of a "full-fledged partnership" with Kabul, according to the Russian foreign ministry.

Russian President Vladimir Putin also referred to the Taliban as an "ally" in fighting terrorism in July last year, with representatives travelling to Moscow for talks as early as 2018.

The two countries have a complex history, after the Soviet Union invaded the country in 1979 and fought a nine-year war that cost them 15,000 personnel.

The decision to install a USSR-backed government in Kabul turned the Soviets into an international pariah, and they eventually withdrew from Afghanistan in February 1989.

Western governments and humanitarian organisations have widely condemned the Taliban government, in particular for their implementation of Sharia, which places heavy restrictions on women and girls.

In the past four years, women have been barred from accessing secondary and higher education, are unable to leave their homes without a male chaperone and are subject to strict dress codes.

Legislation has become increasingly restrictive, with the latest installation of 'virtue' laws banning women from speaking outside of their home.

The United Nations has said the rules amount to "gender apartheid", while also reporting public floggings and brutal attacks on former government officials.

Strict sanctions were placed on Afghanistan in 2021 by the United Nations Security Council, most notably the freezing of approximately $9bn in assets.

While China, the United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan and Pakistan have all designated ambassadors to Kabul, Russia is now the only country to recognise the Taliban government since their return to power almost four years ago.

A hugely popular K-pop musical animation has seen songs by its fictional bands zoom to the top 10 of music charts, rivalling the success of real-life K-pop groups.

KPop Demon Hunters, produced by Sony Pictures Animation, is currently the most streamed movie on Netflix globally, clocking up more than 33 million views in just two weeks.

The song Your Idol by a boy band in the film, Saja Boys, has reached number two on the chart. This makes them the highest charting male K-pop group in US Spotify history, according to reports - surpassing kings of K-pop BTS.

Golden, a track by the film's fictional girl group Huntr/x, hit number three on Spotify in the US, equalling Blackpink as the highest-charting female K-pop group.

The film's soundtrack shot into the top 10 of the Billboard 200 in the US, making it the highest debut for a soundtrack so far this year.

Golden is being released as an official single by Republic Records, and Netflix is submitting it for awards consideration, according to Variety.

KPop Demon Hunters follows the adventures of superstar band Huntr/x.

The three members of the all-female group - Rumi, Mira, and Zoey - are secretly "badass demon hunters" who protect their legions of fans from supernatural dangers.

During Huntr/x concerts, their music is used to protect the human world from the forces of darkness.

But rival band the Saja Boys, who are demons in disguise, are their arch enemies.

Jinu, Abbs, Romance, Baby, and Mystery have been sent by demon king Gwi-ma to steal the souls of Huntr/x's fans.

KPop Demon Hunters was directed by Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans and was based on a story by Ms Kang.

Its success should perhaps not be too surprising as top producers including Teddy Park, who has worked with Blackpink, and BTS collaborator Lindgren were part of the team that created the album.

The huge success of KPop Demon Hunters comes as South Korean mega-stars BTS are set to make their highly-anticipated comeback.

The seven-strong group announced this week that it will head to the US this month to start working on new music.

The band is due to release a new album and go on tour next year after all of its members completed their mandatory military service.

Meanwhile, Blackpink is set to start its first all-stadium world tour on 5 July.

The band, which has not released an album together since 2022's Born Pink, is due to reveal a new song at the start of the Deadline World Tour.

High-profile British sports agent Jonathan Barnett has been accused of raping a woman more than 39 times, in a US lawsuit.

In a civil complaint lodged at a US district court in Los Angeles, the unnamed woman, referred to as "Jane Doe", says Mr Barnett "trafficked" her from Australia to the UK in 2017, "tortured" and kept her as a "sex slave" over a six year period.

She says Mr Barnett made "repeated threats to her life and the lives of her minor children".

The 75-year-old known for representing leading footballers including Gareth Bale and Jack Grealish, says the charges "have no basis in reality and are untrue".

"We will vigorously defend this lawsuit through the appropriate legal process. I am looking forward to being entirely vindicated and exonerated," a statement from his lawyers said.

Mr Barnett was ranked as the world's most powerful sports agent in 2019 by Forbes magazine.

The civil case was filed on Wednesday.

According to court documents, the pair first met in the 1990s through a professional athlete in London and reconnected online and then in person in 2017.

Within a matter of weeks she relocated to the UK with her teenage children - with sports agency CAA Stellar, headed by Mr Barnett, covering moving expenses.

The filing says that upon her arrival, he told her he "owned" her and raped her in a hotel room.

Mr Barnett went on to impose strict rules to obey him at all times, referring to him as "My Master" and to "never say it hurts", according to the lawsuit.

The complaint goes on to describe alleged degrading acts that included drinking urine or ingesting faeces.

The alleged torture also included the woman "tied up overnight without food or water".

She says she was "trafficked, threatened, tortured, and held" in bondage in different locations throughout the world, including Los Angeles, from 2017 to 2023.

"Realising she was powerless against a dangerous predator, Ms Doe submitted to Barnett in order to avoid being severely beaten or even killed," the lawsuit said.

"Jane Doe" is also suing Hollywood talent firm Creative Artists Agency and sports agency CAA Stellar, where Mr Barnett was executive chairman until his retirement last year.

The court documents state the CAA Stellar's parent companies, talent agencies ICM and CAA, "failed to find and/or willfully or recklessly disregarded" that substantial payments were made between 2017 and 2023, despite the woman not being an athlete or agent.

It is claimed Barnett referred to her as "slave" in emails sent from his work account.

Court documents say Mr Barnett used his "money and power to maintain coercive control" over the woman who was "in fear of her life and the lives of her children".

Lawyers for "Jane Doe" state the case is about "institutional abuse at the highest level".

They are seeking compensation on her behalf.

According to LA Times, CAA said it first heard of the woman's allegations last year when her lawyers made settlement demands - and the press inquired.

"While the complaint attempts to connect these allegations to CAA's business, Ms Doe has never been an employee, consultant, or contractor of CAA, ICM, or Stellar, nor has she ever had any business connection to CAA, ICM, or Stellar," CAA said in its statement.

"CAA takes any allegations of this nature seriously, and through counsel, promptly urged Ms Doe to contact law enforcement in the United Kingdom."

A former security contractor for Gaza's controversial new Israel- and US-backed aid distribution sites has told the BBC that he witnessed colleagues opening fire several times on hungry Palestinians who had posed no threat, including with machine guns.

On one occasion, he said, a guard had opened fire from a watchtower with a machine gun because a group of women, children and elderly people was moving too slowly away from the site.

When asked to respond the GHF said the allegations were categorically false.

They referred us to a statement saying that no civilians ever came under fire at the GHF distribution sites.

The GHF began its operations in Gaza at the end of May, distributing limited aid from several sites in southern and central Gaza. That followed an 11-week total blockade of Gaza by Israel during which no food entered the territory.

The system has been widely criticised for forcing vast numbers of people to walk through active combat zones to a handful of sites. Since the GHF started up, Israeli forces have killed more than 400 Palestinians trying to retrieve food aid from its sites, the UN and local doctors say. Israel says the new distribution system stops aid going to Hamas.

Continuing his description of the incident at one of the GHF sites - in which he said guards fired on a group of Palestinians - the former contractor said: "As that happened, another contractor on location, standing on the berm overlooking the exit, opened up with 15 to 20 shots of repetitive weapons fire at the crowd.

"A Palestinian man dropped to the ground motionless. And then the other contractor who was standing there was like, 'damn, I think you got one'. And then they laughed about it."

The contractor, who spoke to us on condition of anonymity, said GHF managers had brushed off his report as a coincidence, suggesting that the Palestinian man could have "tripped" or been "tired and passed out".

The GHF claimed the former contractor who made these allegations is a "disgruntled former contractor" who they had terminated for misconduct, which he denies. He showed us payslips suggesting that he continued to be paid for two weeks after leaving the post.

The man we spoke to, who said he had worked at all four of the GHF distribution sites, described a culture of impunity with few rules or controls.

He said contractors were given no clear rules of engagement or standard operating procedures, and were told by one team leader: "if you feel threatened, shoot – shoot to kill and ask questions later".

The culture in the company, he said, felt like "we're going into Gaza so it's no rules. Do what you want."

"If a Palestinian is walking away from the site and not demonstrating any hostile intent, and we're shooting warning shots at them regardless, we are wrong, we are criminally negligent," he told me.

He told us that each site had site CCTV monitoring activity there, and GHF insistence that no one there had been hurt or shot at was "an absolute bare-faced lie".

GHF said that gunfire heard in footage shared with the BBC was coming from Israeli forces.

Team leaders referred to Gazans as "zombie hordes", the contractor told me, "insinuating that these people have no value."

The former contractor also said Palestinians were coming to harm in other ways at GHF sites, for example by being hit by debris from stun grenades, being sprayed with mace or being pushed by the crowds into razor wire.

He said he himself had witnessed several occasions in which Palestinians appeared to have been seriously hurt, including one man who had a full can of pepper spray in his face, and a woman who he says was hit with the metal part of a stun grenade, improperly fired into a crowd.

"This metal piece hit her directly in the head and she dropped to the ground, not moving," he said. "I don't know if she was dead. I know for a fact she was unconscious and completely limp."

Earlier this week more than 170 charities and other NGOs called for the GHF to be shut down. The organisations, including Oxfam and Save the Children, say Israeli forces and armed groups "routinely" open fire on Palestinians seeking aid.

Israel denies its soldiers deliberately shoot at aid recipients and says the GHF's system provides direct assistance to people who need it, bypassing Hamas interference.

The GHF says it had delivered more than 52 million meals in five weeks and that other organisations "stand by helplessly as their aid is looted".

The Israeli military launched a campaign in Gaza in response to Hamas's 7 October 2023 attack on Israel, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.

At least 57,130 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the territory's Hamas-run health ministry.

Additional reporting by Gidi Kleiman and Samantha Granville

Hamas says it is consulting other Palestinian groups before giving a formal response to the latest proposal for a new Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal put forward by the US.

President Donald Trump said on Friday morning that expected to know within 24 hours whether Hamas has agreed to the plan.

On Tuesday, Trump said Israel had accepted the conditions necessary for a 60-day ceasefire, during which the parties would work to end the 20-month war.

Meanwhile, the Israeli military is continuing to bomb targets across the Gaza Strip.

Local journalists reported hearing explosions and gunfire as Israeli helicopter gunships and artillery struck the southern Khan Younis area on Friday morning.

Overnight, at least 15 Palestinians were killed in strikes on two tents housing displaced people in Khan Younis, the local Nasser hospital said.

The Israeli military has not yet commented on the strikes, but it did say its forces were "operating to dismantle Hamas military capabilities".

In a statement issued early on Friday, Hamas said it was discussing with the leaders of other Palestinian factions the ceasefire proposal that it had received from regional mediators Qatar and Egypt.

Hamas said it would deliver a "final decision" to the mediators once the consultations had ended and then announce it officially.

The proposal is believed to include the staggered release of 10 living Israeli hostages and the bodies of 18 other hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails.

Fifty hostages are still being held in Gaza, at least 20 of whom are believed to be alive.

One of Hamas's key demands is the resumption of unrestricted food and medical aid into Gaza, and the proposal reportedly says sufficient quantities would enter the territory immediately with the involvement of the United Nations and Red Cross.

It is said the plan would also include a phased Israeli military withdrawal from parts of Gaza.

Above all, Hamas wants a guarantee that Israeli air and ground operations will not resume after the end of the 60-day ceasefire.

The proposal is believed to say that negotiations on an end to the war and the release of the remaining hostages would begin on day one.

Donald Trump told reporters early on Friday that he expected to know "over the next 24 hours" whether the proposals would be accepted by Hamas.

The hope then would be the resumption of formal, indirect, talks ahead of a planned visit by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Washington next week.

"We sure hope it's a done deal, but I think it's all going to be what Hamas is willing to accept," US ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee told Israel's Channel 12 TV on Thursday.

"One thing is clear: The president wants it to be over. The prime minister wants it to be over. The American people, the Israeli people, want it to be over."

Netanyahu meanwhile promised to secure the release of all the remaining hostages during a visit to Kibbutz Nir Oz, a community near the Israel-Gaza border where a total of 76 residents were abducted during the Hamas-led attack on 7 October 2023 that triggered the war.

"I feel a deep commitment, first of all, to ensure the return of all of our hostages, all of them," he said. "We will bring them all back."

He did not, however, commit to ending the war. He has insisted that will not happen until the hostages are freed and Hamas's military and governing capabilities are destroyed.

The Israeli military launched a campaign in Gaza in response to the 7 October 2023 attack, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.

At least 57,130 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the territory's Hamas-run health ministry.

US President Donald Trump is to sign his landmark policy bill into law, a day after it was narrowly passed by Congress.

The signing event at the White House on Friday afternoon, coinciding with 4 July celebrations, enacts key parts of the Trump agenda including tax cuts, spending boosts for defence and the immigration crackdown.

Trump began his victory lap at an Iowa rally on Thursday night, telling supporters it will unleash economic growth, but he must now convince sceptical Americans as polling suggests many disapprove.

Several members of his own Republican party were opposed because of the impact on rising US debt and Democrats warned the bill would reward the wealthy and punish the poor.

The 870-page package includes:

• extending 2017 tax cuts of Trump's first term
• steep cuts to Medicaid spending, the state-provided healthcare scheme for those on low incomes and the disabled
• new tax breaks on tipped income, overtime and Social Security
• a budget increase of $150bn for defence
• a reduction in Biden-era clean energy tax credits
• $100bn to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)

The bill signing will precede 4 July American Independence Day fireworks and a military picnic attended by the pilots who recently flew into Iran to try to dismantle three nuclear sites.

The celebratory mood follows days of tense negotiations with Republican rebels in Congress and days of cajoling on Capitol Hill, sometimes by the president himself.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries delayed the final vote in the lower chamber of Congress on Thursday by speaking for nearly nine hours.

He called the bill an "extraordinary assault on the healthcare of the American people" and quoted testimony from individuals anxious about its impact.

But his marathon speech only postponed the inevitable. As soon as he sat down, the House moved to a vote.

Only two Republicans went against, joining all 212 Democrats united in opposition. The bill passed by 218 votes to 214.

Earlier this week, the Senate passed the bill but US Vice-President JD Vance was required to cast a tiebreaking vote after three Republicans held out.

• Major win now but political peril awaits
• Fact-checking three key claims about the bill

Hours after the House passed the bill, the president was in a triumphant mood as he took to the stage in Iowa to kick off a years long celebration of 250 years since American independence.

"There could be no better birthday present for America than the phenomenal victory we achieved just hours ago," he told supporters in Des Moines.

"Very simply the One Big, Beautiful Bill will deliver the strongest border on Earth, the strongest economy on Earth [and] the strongest military on Earth."

The White House believes the various tax cuts will help stimulate economic growth, but many experts fear that will not be sufficient to prevent the budget deficit - the difference between spending and tax revenue in any year - from ballooning, adding to the national debt.

Analysis by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) suggests the tax cuts could produce a surplus in the first year but will then cause the deficit to rise sharply.

According to the Tax Policy Center, the tax changes in the bill would benefit wealthier Americans more than those on lower incomes, About 60% of the benefits would go to those making above $217,000 (£158,000), its analysis found.

The BBC spoke to Americans who may see a cut in the subsidies that help them pay for groceries.

Jordan, a father of two, is one of 42 million Americans who benefits from the SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) scheme targeted by the bill.

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He and his wife get about $700 a month to feed their family of four and the 26-year-old said if this bill reduces what he can claim he would get a second job. "I'm going to make sure that I can do whatever I can to feed my family," he says.

Along with cuts to SNAP, the changes to Medicaid - a programme that covers healthcare for low-income, elderly and disabled Americans - would result in nearly 12 million losing coverage in the next decade, the CBO estimates.

Republicans defend their changes to Medicaid, saying that by toughening up work requirements they are tackling abuse and fraud.

Polling taken before the bill passed in Congress suggests public support is low and dwarfed by numbers opposed. A recent Quinnipiac University survey pointed to only 29% endorsing the legislation, which rose to two-thirds among Republicans.

But knowledge of the bill may be low too. Reuters reported there was little awareness of the legislation among Trump supporters they spoke to at the Iowa rally on Thursday night.

Several people have died and others are missing after flash flooding hit parts of central Texas on Friday morning.

Disaster declarations have been issued for the Hill Country and Concho Valley regions.

Rescues and evacuations have been underway since the early morning, but there are warnings of more potential flash flooding to come.

"Even if the rain is light, more flooding can occur in those areas," Acting Governor Dan Patrick said.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott said the state was providing "all necessary resources to Kerrville, Ingram, Hunt and the entire Texas Hill Country dealing with these devastating floods".

The region is to the north-west of the Texas city of San Antonio.

Pictures show the deep flood waters swamping bridges and fast moving water swirling down roads.

Exactly how many people have died or are missing has not yet been confirmed by authorities.

"Folks, please don't take chances. Stay alert, follow local emergency warnings, and do not drive through flooded roads," Texas Department of Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller said.

Kerr County Sheriff's Office said the area had suffered a "catastrophic flooding event" and confirmed that fatalities had been reported.

It told residents near creeks, streams and the Guadalupe River to move to higher ground.