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Search for survivors after Houthis sink second Red Sea cargo ship in a week

Diaplous/Handout via Reuters A crew member said to be from the cargo ship Eternity C, which sank after being attacked by the Houthis, is seen in the Red Sea during a rescue operation in this handout image released Greece-based maritime security firm Diaplous on 9 July 2025Diaplous/Handout via Reuters
Maritime security firm Diaplous released a photo showing at least five Eternity C crew members being rescued

Six crew members have been rescued and at least three others killed after a cargo ship was attacked by Yemen's Houthis and sank in the Red Sea, a European naval mission says.

The Liberian-flagged, Greek-operated Eternity C was carrying 25 crew when it sustained significant damage and lost all propulsion after being hit by rocket-propelled grenades fired from small boats on Monday, according to the UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency.

The attack continued on Tuesday and search rescue operations commenced overnight.

The Iran-backed Houthis said they attacked the Eternity C because it was heading to Israel, and that they took an unspecified number of crew to a "safe location".

The US embassy in Yemen said the Houthis had kidnapped "many surviving crew members" and called for their immediate release.

Authorities in the Philippines said 21 of the crew were citizens. Another of them is a Russian national who was severely wounded in the attack and lost a leg.

It is the second vessel the Houthis have sunk in a week, after the group on Sunday launched missiles and drones at another Liberian-flagged, Greek-operated cargo ship, Magic Seas, which they claimed "belong[ed] to a company that violated the entry ban to the ports of occupied Palestine".

Video footage released by the Houthis on Tuesday showed armed men boarding the vessel and setting off a series of explosions which caused it to sink.

All 22 crew of Magic Seas were safely rescued by a passing merchant vessel.

Since November 2023, the Houthis have targeted around 70 merchant vessels with missiles, drones and small boat attacks in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.

They have now sunk four ships, seized a fifth, and killed at least seven crew members.

The group has said it is acting in support of the Palestinians in the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, and have claimed - often falsely - that they are targeting ships only linked to Israel, the US or the UK, which have carried out air strikes on Yemen in response.

EPA Screenshot of a video released by Yemen's Houthis that appears to show explosive charges being detonated on the cargo ship Magic Seas after armed men boarded the vessel (8 July 2025)EPA
The Houthis released video footage on Tuesday showing armed men boarding another cargo ship, Magic Seas, and detonating explosive charges

On Wednesday the EU's naval mission in the Red Sea, Operation Aspides, said it was participating in the international response to the attack on the Eternity C and that "currently six castaway crew members have been recovered from the sea".

An Aspides official told AFP news agency that five were Filipinos and one was Indian, and that 19 others were still missing.

The Greece-based maritime security firm Diaplous released a video on Wednesday that showed the rescue of at least five seafarers who it said had spent more then 24 hours in the water, according to Reuters news agency.

"We will continue to search for the remaining crew until the last light," Diaplous said.

Reuters also cited maritime security firms as saying that the death toll was four.

The US state department condemned the attacks on the Magic Seas and Eternity C, which it said "demonstrate the ongoing threat that Iran-backed Houthi rebels pose to freedom of navigation and to regional economic and maritime security".

"The United States has been clear: we will continue to take necessary action to protect freedom of navigation and commercial shipping from Houthi terrorist attacks, which must be condemned by all members of the international community."

In May, the Houthis agreed a ceasefire deal with the US following seven weeks of intensified US strikes on Yemen in response to the attacks on international shipping.

However, they said the agreement did not include an end to attacks on Israel, which has conducted multiple rounds of retaliatory strikes on Yemen.

The secretary-general of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) called for intensified diplomatic efforts following the new wave of attacks.

"After several months of calm, the resumption of deplorable attacks in the Red Sea constitutes a renewed violation of international law and freedom of navigation," Arsenio Dominguez said.

"Innocent seafarers and local populations are the main victims of these attacks and the pollution they cause," he warned.

Greece suspends asylum applications for migrants from North Africa

Getty Images A large crowd of migrants waits on a concrete jettyGetty Images
Crete has seen an increase of 350% in migrant arrivals since the start of the year

Greece has suspended the processing of asylum applications from North Africa for three months after a surge in migrant numbers.

Arrivals by boat from the region will be arrested and detained, conservative Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said.

He added that Greece was "sending a message of determination... to all traffickers and all their potential customers that the money they spend may be completely wasted, because it will be difficult to reach Greece by sea."

"This emergency situation requires emergency response measures."

Mitsotakis added that the provisions would be based on the same legal reasoning Greece applied in 2020 to stop thousands of people from crossing the land border with Turkey.

Draft legislation will be put before parliament on Thursday.

"Clear message: stay where you are, we do not accept you," said migration minister Thanos Plevris on X.

Mitsotakis' announcement follows a considerable rise in migrant arrivals on the southern islands of Crete and Gavdos.

More than 2,000 migrants landed on Crete in recent days and another 520 were rescued off its coast early on Wednesday, bringing the total number since the start of 2025 to 9,000.

This was an increase of 350% since last year, said the president of the Western Crete Coast Guard Personnel Association Vasilis Katsikandarakis. "Immigration is suffocating us... Our personnel are literally on their knees," he said.

"The flows are very high," government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis told Action 24 channel on Tuesday, adding that the wave was "growing and ongoing".

According to public broadcaster ERT, authorities in Crete are under significant logistical strain as the pace and scale of arrivals continues to exceed the capacity of available accommodation infrastructure.

Several hundred people have had to temporarily be put up in a sweltering market hall, local media said, adding that among the migrants are 30 families with young children and infants.

ERT said that redistributing migrants to other areas of the country is a particularly slow process as the tourist season means fewer buses and ferries are available.

On Tuesday Greek, Italian and Maltese ministers as well as the EU's migration commissioner travelled to Libya to discuss the surge in migrant depatures.

But they had to turn back when the Government of National Stability (GNS) - a rival to the UN-recognised Government of National Unity (GNU) - blocked them from entering the country, accusing them of violating Libyan sovereignty.

Still, Mitsotakis said the Greek army was prepared to cooperate with the Libyan authorities to prevent the departure of the boats from the Libyan coast.

NGOs have repeatedly criticised attempts by European governments to forge deals with Libyan authorities to stem the flow of migrants.

The people who are intercepted by the Libyan coastguard and brought back to shore are often imprisoned in detention camps, where they are subject to inhuman treatment and dire conditions.

"Attempts to stop departures at any cost show a complete disregard for the lives and dignity of migrants and refugees," Amnesty International said.

Days after Texas floods, at least 150 people are still missing in one county

Watch: Texas resident survived floods by standing on electrical box for three hours

At least 161 people are still missing in a single Texas county four days after deadly and devastating flash floods hit parts of the state last week, Governor Greg Abbott said, as hope fades for survivors to be found alive.

The missing in the hard-hit Kerr County include five campers and one counsellor from Camp Mystic, a Christian all-girls summer camp located on the banks of Guadalupe river.

At least 109 people have died in the disaster, including 94 in the Kerrville area alone, Abbott said in a news conference on Tuesday.

Texas is not alone. New Mexico saw a flash flood emergency as well, with the National Weather Service (NWS) warning of intense flooding on Tuesday night.

In Texas, frantic search and rescue efforts continue, with Abbott vowing emergency crews "will not stop until every missing person is accounted for".

Abbott added that it is very likely more missing will be added to the list in the coming days, and urged people to report anyone they think is unaccounted for.

General Thomas Suelzer from the Texas National Guard said search efforts include Chinook and Black Hawk helicopters with rescue hoists.

He said there are 13 Black Hawk helicopters helping in the search effort, including four that arrived from Arkansas. He added that authorities were also using reaper drones.

Responders from various agencies are working together on rescue efforts, including agents from border patrol, the FBI and the National Guard.

More than 250 responders from various agencies have been assigned to the Kerrville area alone to help with search and rescue.

One of those rescue volunteers, named Tim, told the BBC he has never seen any destruction at this scale before.

"I've done the floods down in East Texas and Southeast Texas, and hurricanes, and this is a nightmare," he said.

Another rescue volunteer, named Justin, compared the effort to "trying to find a single hay in a haystack".

"There's a wide trail of destruction for miles, and there's not enough cadaver dogs to go through all of it," he told the BBC.

"It's hard to access a lot of it with heavy machinery. Guys are trying to pick at it with tools and hands, and they're not even putting a dent in it – not for lack of effort."

Questions have been raised about whether authorities provided adequate flood warnings before the disaster, and why people were not evacuated earlier.

Experts say there were a number of factors that contributed to the tragedy in Texas, including the extreme weather, the location of the holiday homes and timing.

The governor, who had spent part of the day surveying the flood zone, said authorities had issued a storm warning and knew about a possible flash flood, but "didn't know the magnitude of the storm".

No one knew it would lead to a "30-foot high tsunami wall of water", he said.

The governor responded to a question about who was to "blame" for the enormous death toll, saying: "That's the word choice of losers."

He made a sports analogy, saying American football teams make mistakes; champion teams are the ones who don't "point fingers".

Watch: Drones and dogs help in Texas rescue

Most of the victims died in Kerr County, where the Guadalupe River was swollen by torrential downpours before daybreak on Friday, the July Fourth public holiday.

Camp Mystic had earlier confirmed at least 27 girls and staff were among the dead.

Those who survived are now focused on trying to rebuild.

Justin Brown has lived along the Guadalupe River for more than 25 years.

A week ago, he lived in his mobile home at the Blue Oak RV Park with his two young daughters and dog. Now, there is a huge puddle where his home once stood – his RV swept away in the floods.

"We were one of the few parks that got almost everybody out," Mr Brown told the BBC as he described the efforts of his landlord and emergency workers, who evacuated almost all of the park's residents.

Looking out over the empty lot where his home once stood – now just debris – he said he hopes to move back in as soon as he can.

President Donald Trump will travel to the flood-ravaged areas with First Lady Melania Trump on Friday.

Separately, in New Mexico, the NWS declared a flash flood emergency on Tuesday and told residents of Ruidoso to be on high alert for flooding.

Officials there are already working to rescue people trapped in floodwaters and houses are reportedly being washed away.

A flood wave on the Rio Ruidoso has reached 15 feet (4.5m), the NWS in Albuquerque said in a post on X.

The waters receded about two hours later, according to CBS, the BBC's US partner.

Officials had to perform some swift boat rescues and some people were unaccounted for as of Tuesday evening.

Watch: Moment house is swept away in New Mexico flash flooding

Red Bull sack team principal Horner after 20 years

Red Bull sack team principal Horner

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner before the 2025 British Grand PrixImage source, PA Media
Image caption,

Christian Horner was F1's youngest team principal when he was appointed by Red Bull in January 2005

  • Published

Christian Horner has been sacked by Red Bull after 20 years as team principal.

The 51-year-old has been in charge of the Formula 1 team since its inception in 2005.

Since then, Red Bull have won the drivers' championship eight times, with Max Verstappen winning the past four titles.

The move comes after months of declining form for the team and internal disputes at the highest level, and 17 months after Horner was accused of sexual harassment and coercive, controlling behaviour by a female employee.

Horner was twice cleared of the claims by the team's parent company, Red Bull GmBH.

"Red Bull has released Christian Horner from his operational duties with effect from today and has appointed Laurent Mekies as CEO (chief executive) of Red Bull Racing," Red Bull GmbH said in a statement on Wednesday.

Under Horner, Red Bull won the constructors' championship six times, with Sebastian Vettel wining the drivers' championship from 2010-2013.

"We would like to thank Christian Horner for his exceptional work over the last 20 years," added Oliver Mintzlaff, Red Bull's chief executive of corporate projects and investments.

"With his tireless commitment, experience, expertise and innovative thinking, he has been instrumental in establishing Red Bull Racing as one of the most successful and attractive teams in Formula 1.

"Thank you for everything, Christian, and you will forever remain an important part of our team history."

Horner's dismissal comes amid uncertainty about the future of star driver Verstappen.

The four-time world champion is under contract to Red Bull until 2028 but is being courted by Mercedes to potentially join them for next season.

Red Bull have won only two races this season as McLaren have taken over their position as the team to beat.

Their decline started in the middle of last season; while Verstappen won his fourth straight world title, he won only twice in the final 14 races.

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French police raid on National Rally HQ prompts outrage from party leaders

Getty Images National Rally leader Marine Le Pen stands on the left in a red coat clutching her necklace, and Jordan Bardella stands to her right in a beard and wearing a white shirt and black tieGetty Images
Jordan Bardella, 29, was not in Paris at the time of the raids and there was no immediate comment from Marine Le Pen

France's far-right National Rally party has accused authorities of a "new harassment campaign", after police raided its headquarters in an inquiry into its campaign finances.

Party president Jordan Bardella said the "spectacular and unprecedented operation" was a "serious attack on pluralism and democratic change".

Prosecutors said they were investigating potential acts of "fraud committed against a public figure" and alleged violations involving loans and donations during election campaigns in 2022 and 2024.

Wallerand de Saint-Just, the party's former treasurer, said National Rally (RN) had done nothing wrong.

"This process that looks completely unacceptable and outrageous. We're being persecuted on a daily basis," he told reporters outside the party's Paris headquarters.

"All our campaign accounts have been approved and reimbursed."

Despite a series of legal setbacks, RN are ahead in French opinion polls, and Bardella, its 29-year-old president, has topped one recent poll as the most popular political figure in the country.

Earlier this year, RN leader Marine Le Pen was convicted by a French court of helping to embezzle European Union funds. She was barred from running for office for five years, in a blow to her ambitions to run for the presidency for a fourth time.

She has appealed the conviction, which she has condemned as a "witch hunt", but last month accepted she may have to hand the baton to her young lieutenant ahead of the 2027 presidential vote.

Bardella was not present during the police raid as he was attending a European Parliament session in Strasbourg, but he said 20 finance brigade police had used the search as an excuse for seizing internal party documents and to raid his office.

There was no immediate comment from Le Pen.

Police also raided the head offices of several companies and their bosses.

The raids were linked by Paris prosecutors to an inquiry launched exactly a year ago into allegations of embezzlement, forgery and fraud centring on Le Pen's party.

Prosecutors said on Wednesday that the inquiry should establish whether the party's 2022 presidential and parliamentary election campaign and its 2024 European election campaign were funded by "illicit payments by individuals that benefited the National Rally party or candidates.

They said they would also investigate whether inflated or fictitious invoices had been submitted as campaign expenses to be paid back by the state.

RN said the allegations of illicit campaign financing are based on the fact that no French bank was prepared to help with funding. It previously secured loans from banks in Russia and Hungary.

In another setback for National Rally, the European Union public prosecutor's office formally launched an investigation this week into a former political grouping at the European Parliament that RN was part of.

Identity and Democracy was dissolved last year and is suspected of misusing Parliament funding. RN is now part of the Patriots for Europe group, which includes far-parties from Belgium, the Netherlands, Austria, Spain and Portugal.

Bardella said on Tuesday that the inquiry was a "new harassment operation by the European Parliament".

Ukraine suffers heaviest attack as Trump criticises Putin

DSNS Ukraine Firefighters put out a fireDSNS Ukraine
Firefighters battled fires sparked by explosions in the Kyiv region

President Volodymyr Zelensky says Ukraine has been hit by the biggest ever aerial attack from Russia - 728 drones and 13 cruise or ballistic missiles hit cities around the country in multiple waves.

Zelensky condemned the "telling attack", adding: "It comes precisely at a time when so many efforts have been made to achieve peace, to establish a ceasefire, and yet only Russia continues to rebuff them all."

The overnight strike came after President Donald Trump said the US would send more weapons to Kyiv - a reversal of last week's suspension which US media said Trump had not known about.

On Tuesday, the US leader expressed growing frustration at Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"We get a lot of bullshit thrown at us by Putin, if you want to know the truth," Trump told reporters. "He's very nice to us all the time, but it turns out to be meaningless."

"He's very nice to us all the time, but it turns out to be meaningless," Trump said.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow was "pretty calm about this. Trump's way of talking is generally quite harsh, the phrases he uses."

The two leaders have been in regular contact but this has so far failed to translate into tangible steps towards a ceasefire in Ukraine - something Trump once said he would be able to achieve in a day.

Last week, following a phone call with the Russian president, Trump said he was "very unhappy".

"He wants to go all the way, just keep killing people, it's no good," Trump said of Putin.

The criticism came even as the Trump administration announced a suspension of military aid to Ukraine, reportedly authorised by US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth and Elbridge Colby, the under-secretary of defence for policy.

Asked by reporters on Tuesday who had taken the decision, Trump - sitting right next to Hegseth - replied: "I don't know. Why don't you tell me?"

The reversal of the decision may now mean that 10 Patriot missiles may be sent to Ukraine, according to US outlet Axios.

Kyiv relies on the interceptors to try to counter Russia's missile and drone attacks, which continue to grow in intensity and frequency.

Although the east of the country and Kyiv come under fire on a regular basis, no corner of Ukraine has been spared by Russian strikes.

The city of Lutsk - which lies 90km (56 miles) from the Polish border and is a transit hub for military and humanitarian aid - suffered the brunt of Tuesday's overnight attack.

Explosions were also reported in the western cities of Lviv and Rivne.

Two rounds of ceasefire talks between Russia and Ukraine took place earlier this year but no other meetings have so far been scheduled - and neither Moscow nor Kyiv appear optimistic that diplomacy will solve the conflict, which was sparked by Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Meanwhile, Russia's summer offensive in eastern Ukraine grinds on.

"We are moving forward," said Peskov on Wednesday. "Each new day the Ukrainians have to accept the new realities."

Horner sacked as Red Bull team principal after 20 years

Red Bull sack team principal Horner

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner before the 2025 British Grand PrixImage source, PA Media
Image caption,

Christian Horner was F1's youngest team principal when he was appointed by Red Bull in January 2005

  • Published

Christian Horner has been sacked by Red Bull after 20 years as team principal.

The 51-year-old has been in charge of the Formula 1 team since its inception in 2005.

Since then, Red Bull have won the drivers' championship eight times, with Max Verstappen winning the past four titles.

The move comes after months of declining form for the team and internal disputes at the highest level, and 17 months after Horner was accused of sexual harassment and coercive, controlling behaviour by a female employee.

Horner was twice cleared of the claims by the team's parent company, Red Bull GmBH.

"Red Bull has released Christian Horner from his operational duties with effect from today and has appointed Laurent Mekies as CEO (chief executive) of Red Bull Racing," Red Bull GmbH said in a statement on Wednesday.

Under Horner, Red Bull won the constructors' championship six times, with Sebastian Vettel wining the drivers' championship from 2010-2013.

"We would like to thank Christian Horner for his exceptional work over the last 20 years," added Oliver Mintzlaff, Red Bull's chief executive of corporate projects and investments.

"With his tireless commitment, experience, expertise and innovative thinking, he has been instrumental in establishing Red Bull Racing as one of the most successful and attractive teams in Formula 1.

"Thank you for everything, Christian, and you will forever remain an important part of our team history."

Horner's dismissal comes amid uncertainty about the future of star driver Verstappen.

The four-time world champion is under contract to Red Bull until 2028 but is being courted by Mercedes to potentially join them for next season.

Red Bull have won only two races this season as McLaren have taken over their position as the team to beat.

Their decline started in the middle of last season; while Verstappen won his fourth straight world title, he won only twice in the final 14 races.

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Musk's Grok chatbot praises Hitler and insults politicians

Reuters Tesla CEO Elon Musk attends the Saudi-U.S. Investment Forum, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 13 May, 2025. Reuters

Elon Musk's artificial intelligence start-up xAI says it is working to remove "inappropriate" posts on the multi-billionaire's social network X.

The announcement came after the platform's Grok AI chatbot shared multiple comments that were widely criticised by users.

"Since being made aware of the content, xAI has taken action to ban hate speech before Grok posts on X," the company said in a post.

According to media reports, Grok made multiple positive references to Hitler this week when queried about posts that appeared to celebrate the deaths of children in the recent Texas floods.

In response to a question asking "which 20th century historical figure" would be best suited to deal with such posts, Grok said: "To deal with such vile anti-white hate? Adolf Hitler, no question."

"If calling out radicals cheering dead kids makes me 'literally Hitler,' then pass the mustache," said another Grok response. "Truth hurts more than floods."

The incident came as xAI was due to launch its next-generation language model, Grok 4, on Wednesday.

On Friday, Musk posted on X that Grok had improved "significantly", but gave no details of what changes had been made.

"You should notice a difference when you ask Grok questions," he added.

The chatbot drew criticism earlier this year after it repeatedly referenced "white genocide" in South Africa in response to unrelated questions - an issue that the company said was caused by an "unauthorised modification".

X, which was formerly called Twitter, was merged with xAI earlier this year.

Chatbot developers have faced extensive scrutiny over concerns around political bias, hate speech and accuracy in recent years.

Musk has also previously been criticised over claims that he amplifies conspiracy theories and other controversial content on social media.

China rejects German claim it targeted military plane with laser

Reuters/Taiwan Coast Guard A Chinese warship off the coast of TaiwanReuters/Taiwan Coast Guard
Germany said the laser was fired from a Chinese warship, pictured here off the coast of Taiwan last year

China has disputed Germany's claim that it targeted a military plane with a laser fired from a warship, as a diplomatic spat between the two countries deepens.

Germany accused China of attempting to disrupt one of its aircraft earlier this month as it was taking part in European Union-led operations aimed at protecting ships in the Red Sea from missiles launched by Yemen's Houthi rebel group.

The German foreign ministry has summoned the Chinese ambassador and described the incident as "entirely unacceptable". China's EU envoy has also been summoned by the bloc, Reuters reports.

Beijing has pushed back, saying Germany's account was "totally inconsistent with the facts known by the Chinese side".

On Tuesday, Germany said a reconnaissance plane was targeted as it flew over the Red Sea, where several European countries have been contributing to surveillance and defensive efforts since early 2024 to protect ships from regular attacks launched from Yemen.

The laser was fired from a Chinese warship, which had been spotted several times and had made no communication with the passing aircraft, Germany said.

The plane was forced to abandon its mission and return to a military base in the East African nation of Djibouti as a precaution, according to the foreign ministry.

Berlin has reacted furiously to the incident, accusing China of "endangering German personnel and disrupting the operation".

The Chinese government responded on Wednesday, with spokesperson Mao Ning telling a press conference that its navy had been carrying out "escort operations" in the Gulf of Aden and off the coast of Somalia.

She said Germany and China should "take a fact-based attitude and strengthen communication in a timely manner to avoid misunderstanding and misjudgement".

China has been accused of using lasers to target military aircraft before, primarily by the US. China has denied doing so.

Lasers can be used to blind pilots, and a new class of powerful lasers capable of disabling targets in the air are under development by militaries around the world.

China established a permanent military presence in the region in 2017 when it opened a base in Djibouti, which Beijing says is used for anti-piracy and freedom of maritime navigation operations.

Western governments have expressed concerns about China's ambitions in the region since opening the base in Djibouti, where the US, Japan, France and others also have military installations.

It is located at a strategically important pinch point leading on to the Red Sea and Suez Canal - one of the world's most important shipping routes.

'Shoot in the leg' - Kenyan leader orders police to curb violent protests

EPA A close-up of a protester holding two spent bullets in Nairobi EPA
The UN has criticised the use of lethal force during Monday protests

The number of people killed in Monday's anti-government protests in Kenya has risen to 31, the country's human rights commission said, sparking public outage and calls for justice.

The state-run commission previously said that 11 people had died.

More than 100 people were injured and about 532 arrested in the protests which hit the capital Nairobi and other major cities, said the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KHRCR).

The UN said it was deeply troubled by the killings and criticised the Kenyan police for using "lethal ammunition" against protesters.

The Kenya police still says that 11 people died.

There has been rising tension in the country since the death of blogger Albert Ojwang in police custody last month brought people back onto the streets, a year after young protesters stormed parliament angered by a wave of tax rises.

Monday's protests were intended to commemorate Kenya's decades-long struggle for democracy but they quickly escalated into deadly clashes in 17 out of the country's 47 counties, local media reported.

Many of those demonstrating chanted "Ruto must go" and "wantam", meaning "one term", a popular rallying call demanding President William Ruto leave office.

In a statement issued on late Tuesday, the KHRCR said the sharp rise in the death toll was "deeply troubling".

"The KHRCR strongly condemns all human rights violations and urges accountability from all responsible parties, including police, civilians and all other stakeholders," it added.

The commission also documented widespread looting and destruction of both public and private property by unidentified individuals.

Among those killed was a 12-year-old pupil who was hit by a stray bullet while at home in Kiambu, in the outskirts of the capital, local media reported.

"It is very concerning that these latest incidents come barely two weeks after more than 15 protesters were reportedly killed and many more injured in Nairobi and other parts of Kenya on 25 June," said Ravina Shamdasani, spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.

"Lethal ammunition, rubber bullets, tear gas, and water cannons were used," Shamdasani added.

At least two hospitals were damaged after unidentified attackers raided the facilities and stole medical equipment and harassed staff, Reuters news agency reported.

Religious and rights groups have demanded a prompt and independent investigation into the killings, destruction of property and arbitrary arrests.

However, Interior Minister Kipchumba Murkomen has praised police officers for containing the protests, which he said were infiltrated by criminals.

Opposition leaders on Tuesday accused the government of deploying unmarked police vehicles to transport armed gangs to perceived opposition strongholds during the protests.

They called for a national boycott of all businesses affiliated with President Ruto's administration, accusing his government of deploying state-sponsored violence and extrajudicial killings on Kenyans.

"This regime is hostile. It cannot be reasoned with. It must be resisted. We will not rest. We will not retreat. We will not surrender," the opposition said in a joint statement.

Kenya's Chief Justice Martha Koome has cautioned the country against the increasingly violent protests, saying they risked the nation's democratic fabric.

Monday's demonstrations were organised primarily by the so-called Gen-Z young people, demanding good governance, greater accountability, and justice for victims of police brutality, continuing the wave of anti-government protests since last year.

On 25 June, at least 19 people were killed and thousands of businesses looted and destroyed in a day of nationwide protests that were being held in honour of those killed in last year's anti-tax protests.

More than 140 people have been killed since 2023 in protests, according to a tally by The Star newspaper.

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Ukraine suffers heaviest attack after Trump criticises Putin

DSNS Ukraine Firefighters put out a fireDSNS Ukraine
Firefighters battled fires sparked by explosions in the Kyiv region

President Volodymyr Zelensky says Ukraine has been hit by the biggest ever aerial attack from Russia - 728 drones and 13 cruise or ballistic missiles hit cities around the country in multiple waves.

Zelensky condemned the "telling attack", adding: "It comes precisely at a time when so many efforts have been made to achieve peace, to establish a ceasefire, and yet only Russia continues to rebuff them all."

The overnight strike came after President Donald Trump said the US would send more weapons to Kyiv - a reversal of last week's suspension which US media said Trump had not known about.

On Tuesday, the US leader expressed growing frustration at Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"We get a lot of bullshit thrown at us by Putin, if you want to know the truth," Trump told reporters. "He's very nice to us all the time, but it turns out to be meaningless."

"He's very nice to us all the time, but it turns out to be meaningless," Trump said.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow was "pretty calm about this. Trump's way of talking is generally quite harsh, the phrases he uses."

The two leaders have been in regular contact but this has so far failed to translate into tangible steps towards a ceasefire in Ukraine - something Trump once said he would be able to achieve in a day.

Last week, following a phone call with the Russian president, Trump said he was "very unhappy".

"He wants to go all the way, just keep killing people, it's no good," Trump said of Putin.

The criticism came even as the Trump administration announced a suspension of military aid to Ukraine, reportedly authorised by US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth and Elbridge Colby, the under-secretary of defence for policy.

Asked by reporters on Tuesday who had taken the decision, Trump - sitting right next to Hegseth - replied: "I don't know. Why don't you tell me?"

The reversal of the decision may now mean that 10 Patriot missiles may be sent to Ukraine, according to US outlet Axios.

Kyiv relies on the interceptors to try to counter Russia's missile and drone attacks, which continue to grow in intensity and frequency.

Although the east of the country and Kyiv come under fire on a regular basis, no corner of Ukraine has been spared by Russian strikes.

The city of Lutsk - which lies 90km (56 miles) from the Polish border and is a transit hub for military and humanitarian aid - suffered the brunt of Tuesday's overnight attack.

Explosions were also reported in the western cities of Lviv and Rivne.

Two rounds of ceasefire talks between Russia and Ukraine took place earlier this year but no other meetings have so far been scheduled - and neither Moscow nor Kyiv appear optimistic that diplomacy will solve the conflict, which was sparked by Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Meanwhile, Russia's summer offensive in eastern Ukraine grinds on.

"We are moving forward," said Peskov on Wednesday. "Each new day the Ukrainians have to accept the new realities."

Red Bull sack team principal Horner

Red Bull sack team principal Horner

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner before the 2025 British Grand PrixImage source, PA Media
Image caption,

Christian Horner was F1's youngest team principal when he was appointed by Red Bull in January 2005

  • Published

Christian Horner has been sacked by Red Bull after 20 years as team principal.

The 51-year-old has been in charge of the Formula 1 team since its inception in 2005.

Since then, Red Bull have won the drivers' championship eight times, with Max Verstappen winning the past four titles.

The move comes after months of declining form for the team and internal disputes at the highest level, and 17 months after Horner was accused of sexual harassment and coercive, controlling behaviour by a female employee.

Horner was twice cleared of the claims by the team's parent company, Red Bull GmBH.

"Red Bull has released Christian Horner from his operational duties with effect from today and has appointed Laurent Mekies as CEO (chief executive) of Red Bull Racing," Red Bull GmbH said in a statement on Wednesday.

Under Horner, Red Bull won the constructors' championship six times, with Sebastian Vettel wining the drivers' championship from 2010-2013.

"We would like to thank Christian Horner for his exceptional work over the last 20 years," added Oliver Mintzlaff, Red Bull's chief executive of corporate projects and investments.

"With his tireless commitment, experience, expertise and innovative thinking, he has been instrumental in establishing Red Bull Racing as one of the most successful and attractive teams in Formula 1.

"Thank you for everything, Christian, and you will forever remain an important part of our team history."

Horner's dismissal comes amid uncertainty about the future of star driver Verstappen.

The four-time world champion is under contract to Red Bull until 2028 but is being courted by Mercedes to potentially join them for next season.

Red Bull have won only two races this season as McLaren have taken over their position as the team to beat.

Their decline started in the middle of last season; while Verstappen won his fourth straight world title, he won only twice in the final 14 races.

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Gaza truce talks reportedly stall despite second Netanyahu-Trump meeting

Watch: The BBC asks about the Trump administration's vision for Gaza

US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met on Tuesday evening for the second time in as many days to discuss the ongoing war in Gaza.

The meeting came after Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff suggested Israel and Hamas had one remaining issue to agree on for a 60-day ceasefire deal.

Netanyahu arrived at the White House shortly after 17:00 EST (21:00 GMT) on Tuesday for the meeting, which was not open to members of the press.

Earlier on Tuesday, Netanyahu met with vice-president JD Vance. He also met with Trump for several hours during a dinner at the White House on Monday.

It marks Netanyahu's third state visit to the US since Trump's second term.

The meeting of the two leaders lasted around two hours.

Netanyahu also met with the Republican House of Representative Speaker Mike Johnson.

After that meeting, the Israeli Prime Minister said he did not believe Israel's military campaign in Gaza was done, but that negotiators are "certainly working" on a ceasefire.

"We still have to finish the job in Gaza, release all our hostages, eliminate and destroy Hamas' military and government capabilities," Netanyahu said.

Witkoff later said that Israel and Hamas were closing the gap on issues that previously prevented them from reaching a deal, and that he hoped a temporary, 60-day ceasefire will be agreed on this week.

"We had four issues and now we're down to one", Witkoff said of the sticking points in negotiations.

He added that the draft deal would also include the release of 10 hostages who are alive, and the bodies of nine who are deceased.

Before the Israeli Prime Minister's meeting with Trump on Monday, a Qatari delegation arrived at the White House and spoke with officials for several hours, Axios reported, citing a source with knowledge of the talks.

Trump told reporters on Monday evening that ceasefire talks are "going very well". But Qatar, which has played a mediator role in negotiations, said on Tuesday morning that more time was needed for negotiations.

"I don't think that I can give any timeline at the moment, but I can say right now that we will need time for this," Qatar's foreign ministry spokesman Majed Al-Ansari said.

Before discussions resumed on Tuesday, a Palestinian source familiar with the talks told the BBC they have not made any headway.

The latest round of negotiations between Hamas and Israel began on Sunday.

The ongoing Gaza war began on 7 October 2023 when Hamas attacked Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages, according to Israeli figures. Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed at least 57,500 in Gaza according to the territory's Hamas-run health ministry.

US cuts visa validity for most Nigerian applicants

Andrew Harnik via Getty Images Some Nigerians watch as former US Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks at the US Embassy in Abuja in 2021Andrew Harnik via Getty Images
The State Department says visa policies remain "subject to ongoing review" and may change

The United States has announced sweeping changes to its non-immigrant visa policy for Nigeria, cutting the duration and conditions under which most Nigerian travellers can enter the country.

Staring 8 July, the US Department of State says nearly all non-immigrant and non-diplomatic visas issued to Nigerian citizens will now be single-entry and valid for only three months.

It says this is part of a global reciprocity realignment, a sharp shift from previous visa terms, which often allowed for multiple entries over two years or more.

Nigeria also offers single-entry visas valid for three months only for those planning to visit the country from the US.

The Nigerian government has not yet commented.

The State Department says visa policies remain "subject to ongoing review" and may change depending on evolving diplomatic, security, and immigration benchmarks.

In a statement, the US government said it was working closely with Nigerian authorities to ensure the country meets key international standards.

These include:

  • issuing secure travel documents
  • managing visa overstays
  • sharing security or criminal data for public safety purposes

The US also ordered that the social media accounts of all foreigners applying for visas, including from Nigeria, would be vetted for "any indications of hostility toward the citizens, culture, government, institutions, or founding principles of the United States".

Nigerians account for one of the highest number of student-visa applications to the US in the world.

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More than 100 hurt as efforts to contain Marseille wildfire continue

Getty Images A fire currently burning in the hills north of Marseille, in the area of Les Pennes-Mirabeau, is producing thick smoke visible from the Vieux-Port. A large grey smoke cloud can be seen above orange-roofed buildings by the waterside, with small boats in the foreground.Getty Images
Smoke from the fire in the hills north of Marseille was visible from the city's Vieux-Port

A rapidly spreading wildfire has reached the outer edge of Marseille, France's second largest city.

"The marine firefighter battalion is waging guerrilla warfare, hoses in hand," said the city's Mayor Benoît Payan, referring to Marseille's fire and rescue service.

The prefect of the Bouches-du-Rhône area, Georges-François Leclerc, urged local residents to remain indoors and said firefighters were "defending" the city.

He said that while the situation was not static, it was "under control".

Marseille Provence airport has been closed for the rest of Tuesday.

Some residents have been advised to stay inside, close shutters and doors, and keep roads clear for emergency services.

The fire, which broke out earlier on Tuesday near Pennes-Mirabeau, north of Marseille, is said to have covered about 700 hectares (7 sq km).

Local authorities said the blaze was sparked by a car that caught fire on the motorway, and that it could continue to spread as strong winds are set to blow until late this evening.

"It's very striking - apocalyptic even," Monique Baillard, a resident of the town, told Reuters news agency. She said many of her neighbours had already left.

The local fire service said 168 firefighters had been deployed to fight the blaze, as well as fire engines and helicopters.

Marseille's mayor, Benoit Payan, asked residents to remain "extremely vigilant" and to limit their movements. Locals told French TV of dense traffic jams as people tried to evacuate the city.

Footage posted online showed huge plumes of smoke above Marseille as fire raged in a hilly area to its north.

The Bouches-du-Rhône area has not recorded a single drop of rain since 19 May, according to French broadcaster BFMTV.

Elsewhere in France, another wildfire that started near Narbonne on Monday remains active, fanned by winds of 60km (38mph) per hour. Some 2,000 hectares have burnt, local officials said.

Wildfires were also reported in other parts of Europe, including Spain's Catalonia region, where more than 18,000 people were ordered to stay at home because of a wildfire in the eastern province of Tarragona.

Emergency units were deployed alongside 300 firefighters as high winds overnight fanned the flames, which have spread across nearly 3,000 hectares (7,413 acres) of land.

Several other parts of Spain - which experienced its hottest June on record - were on high alert for wildfires.

In Greece, some 41 wildfires broke out across the country on Monday. Of those, 34 were contained early while seven remained active into Monday evening, according to the fire service.

Much of western and southern Europe was hit by a scorching early summer heatwave, sparking fires that saw thousands evacuated from their homes.

'You did it': How doctor realised mushroom cook was a killer

Watch: CCTV and audio shown to court in mushroom trial

Within minutes of Erin Patterson walking into a tiny hospital in rural Victoria, doctor Chris Webster realised she was a cold-blooded killer.

"I knew," he tells the BBC.

"I thought, 'Okay, yep, you did it, you heinous individual. You've poisoned them all'."

Dr Webster had spent the morning frantically treating two of the four people a jury this week found Erin had intentionally fed toxic mushrooms - concealed in a hearty beef Wellington lunch served at her home in July 2023.

She was convicted of the murders of her in-laws, Don and Gail Patterson, both 70, as well as Gail's sister, Heather Wilkinson, 66. Erin was also found guilty of attempting to murder local pastor Ian Wilkinson – Heather's husband – who recovered after weeks of treatment in hospital.

But initially, when Heather and Ian presented to Leongatha Hospital with intense gastroenteritis-like symptoms, Dr Webster and his team thought they were dealing with a case of mass food poisoning.

The Age/Jason South Dr Chris Webster standing outside, a bare tree in the foreground. A stethoscope is around his neck and he is wearing a blue check shirt.The Age/Jason South
Chris Webster is one of the GPs that runs Leongatha Hospital

Heather had described for him a "lovely" afternoon at Erin's house, the physician told the trial.

"I did ask Heather at one stage what the beef Wellington tasted like and she said it was delicious," Dr Webster said.

His suspicion had fallen on the meat, so the doctor took some blood samples as a precaution and sent them off for analysis in a town with better medical facilities, before hooking the Wilkinsons up with fluids.

But soon he would receive a call from the doctor treating Don and Gail at Dandenong Hospital, about a 90-minute drive away, and his stomach dropped.

It wasn't the meat, it was the mushrooms, she told him. And his patients were on the precipice of irreversible slide towards death.

He immediately changed tack, beginning treatment to try and salvage their failing livers, and preparing to transfer them to a larger hospital where they could receive specialist care.

Supplied Heather and Ian Wilkinson smile at the camera, while sitting in a room. Heather is wearing a yellow patterned shift while Ian is wearing a blue shirt with his phone and glasses each tucked into his shirt pockets.Supplied
Heather and Ian Wilkinson had been treated by Chris Webster

It was at this point that someone rang the bell at the front of the hospital.

Through a Perspex security window was a woman telling him she thought she had gastro.

"I'm like, 'Oh, hang on, what's your name?' And she said, 'Erin Patterson'," Dr Webster says.

"The penny dropped… it's the chef."

He ushered Erin into the hospital and told her he suspected she and her guests were all suffering from life-threatening poisoning from toxic mushrooms. He quizzed her on the source of the fungi included in her home-cooked dish.

"Her answer was a single word: Woolworths," he says.

"And it all just suddenly coalesced in my brain."

There were two things that convinced him of her guilt in that moment, Dr Webster explains.

One, it was a far-fetched answer. Admitting she had foraged wild mushrooms, as many locals in the area do, wouldn't have set off alarm bells. Saying they came from a major grocery chain with stringent food safety standards, on the other hand, was suspicious.

And two, there was no concerned reaction from the mother-of-two – despite being metres from where Ian and Heather, relatives she said she loved, lay on beds desperately sick.

"I don't know if she even acknowledged their presence," he says.

Briefly leaving Erin with nurses to undergo some basic health checks, he went to see the Wilkinsons off to Dandenong Hospital. He recalls watching the elderly couple being loaded into an ambulance, Heather calling out to thank him for his care as the vehicle doors were closed.

"And I knew," he says, trailing off.

"It's actually quite difficult to talk about without getting emotional.

"She could have quite easily done the complete opposite and screamed… 'Thanks for nothing'.

That may have been easier to accept than her sincere gratitude, he says. "You know, I didn't catch it [the poisoning] earlier."

ABC/Danielle Bonica The Leongatha Hospital sign beside a road in the townABC/Danielle Bonica
Leongatha is about a two-hour drive from Victoria's capital Melbourne

But he had no time to process the gravity of their last interaction, rushing back to the urgent care room only to find Erin had discharged herself against medical advice.

After desperately trying to call her on her mobile phone, gobsmacked and concerned, Dr Webster decided to call police.

"This is Dr Chris Webster from Leongatha Hospital. I have a concern about a patient who presented here earlier, but has left the building and is potentially exposed to a fatal toxin from mushroom poisoning," he can be heard saying in the call played at the trial.

He spells her name for the operator, and gives them her address.

"She just got up and left?" they ask. "She was only here for five minutes," Dr Webster replies.

At her trial, Erin said she had been caught off guard by the information and had gone home to feed her animals and pack a bag, pausing to have a "lie down" before returning to the hospital.

"After being told by medical staff you had potentially ingested a life-threatening poison, isn't it the last thing you'd do?" the prosecutor asked her in court.

"It might be the last thing you'd do, but it was something I did," Erin defiantly replied from the witness stand.

Getty Images Erin Patterson wearing a grey sweater speaks to media in front of her red car in August 2023Getty Images
Erin Patterson claimed the poisoning was a tragic accident

But before police reached her house, Erin had returned to hospital voluntarily. Dr Webster then tried to convince her to bring in her children – who she claimed had eaten leftovers.

"She was concerned that they were going to be frightened," he said in court.

"I said they can be scared and alive, or dead."

Erin told the jury she wasn't reluctant, rather overwhelmed by the doctor who she believed was "yelling" at her. "I've since learnt this was his inside voice," she added.

Dr Webster clocked off shortly after, but the trial heard medical tests performed on Erin and her children would return no sign of death cap poisoning, and after a precautionary 24 hours in hospital, they were sent home.

Guilty verdicts a 'relief'

Getty Images Ian Wilkinson looks at the camera from behind the shoulders of two people in front of him. He is wearing a black coat and a white checked shirt.Getty Images
Ian Wilkinson recovered after a liver transplant and weeks in an induced coma

Two years later, when news of the jury's verdict flashed on his phone on Monday, Dr Webster began shaking.

He was one of the prosecution's key witnesses, and had struggled with the "weight of expectation".

"If the picture is going to make sense to the jury, if a small puzzle piece is out of place, it could upset the whole outcome of the trial… I really didn't want to crack under the scrutiny."

It's a "relief" to have played his part in holding Erin Patterson – who he calls "the definition of evil" – accountable.

"It does feel like [there's] that reward of justice."

For him though, the biggest sense of closure came from seeing Ian Wilkinson – the only surviving patient – for the first time since sending him and his ailing wife off in an ambulance.

"That memory of Heather being sort of taken away in that fashion, that's now bookended by seeing Ian standing on his feet again."

"That brought some comfort."

Musk's AI firm deletes posts after chatbot praises Hitler

Reuters Tesla CEO Elon Musk attends the Saudi-U.S. Investment Forum, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 13 May, 2025. Reuters

Elon Musk's artificial intelligence start-up xAI says it is working to remove "inappropriate" posts on the multi-billionaire's social network X.

The announcement came after the platform's Grok AI chatbot shared multiple comments that were widely criticised by users.

"Since being made aware of the content, xAI has taken action to ban hate speech before Grok posts on X," the company said in a post.

According to media reports, Grok made multiple positive references to Hitler this week when queried about posts that appeared to celebrate the deaths of children in the recent Texas floods.

In response to a question asking "which 20th century historical figure" would be best suited to deal with such posts, Grok said: "To deal with such vile anti-white hate? Adolf Hitler, no question."

"If calling out radicals cheering dead kids makes me 'literally Hitler,' then pass the mustache," said another Grok response. "Truth hurts more than floods."

The incident came as xAI was due to launch its next-generation language model, Grok 4, on Wednesday.

On Friday, Musk posted on X that Grok had improved "significantly", but gave no details of what changes had been made.

"You should notice a difference when you ask Grok questions," he added.

The chatbot drew criticism earlier this year after it repeatedly referenced "white genocide" in South Africa in response to unrelated questions - an issue that the company said was caused by an "unauthorised modification".

X, which was formerly called Twitter, was merged with xAI earlier this year.

Chatbot developers have faced extensive scrutiny over concerns around political bias, hate speech and accuracy in recent years.

Musk has also previously been criticised over claims that he amplifies conspiracy theories and other controversial content on social media.

At least three dead in New Mexico flash flooding

Watch: Moment house is swept away in New Mexico flash flooding

At least three people are dead in the village of Ruidoso, New Mexico after heavy rain caused flash flooding.

Up to 8.8cm (3.5in) of rain fell, causing the Ruidoso river to rise to an historic level. The floodwaters have now receded.

A man and two children died after being swept downstream, local officials confirmed on Tuesday evening.

Village of Ruidoso spokesperson Kerry Gladden told CBS search and rescue crews were still out in the field, and a hotline has been set up for people looking for missing family members.

Emergency crews in Ruidoso carried out at least 50 swift water rescues in the area, with residents urged to move to higher ground.

Three people had been treated for injuries at the local hospital, Ms Gladden said in a statement.

Social media footage captured by local artist Kaitlyn Carpenter showed at least one house being swept away by floodwaters, with Ruidoso Mayor Lynn Crawford unable to confirm how many homes had been lost.

Speaking on a local radio station, Mr Crawford said: "It got ugly really quick".

Reuters A male first responder dressed in neon yellow PPE surveys debris and mud covering a roadway in Ruidoso, New Mexico.Reuters
The full extent of the damage is Ruidoso is still being assessed

The NWS had warned that two 'burn scars' around Ruidoso were high risk for flash-flooding, as the charred soil left behind by last year's wildfires would be "as water-repellent as a pavement".

Southern New Mexico was hit by wildfires in June 2024. Ruidoso was evacuated as two fires burned approximately 10,000 hectares (25,000 acres) of land on either side of the village.

Two people were killed and hundreds of homes were destroyed.

Subsequent reports said that the risk of flash floods would be increased for at least two years due to the fires, and the likelihood of significant flooding events in the area was "dramatically increased".

News of the flash flooding in New Mexico came just hours after Texas Governor Greg Abbott gave an update on the aftermath of last Friday's devastating flash floods in the southern state.

He said that the death toll stands at 109 people, with 161 others missing.

Anger after sharp rise in death toll from Kenya's anti-government protests

EPA A close-up of a protester holding two spent bullets in Nairobi EPA
The UN has criticised the use of lethal force during Monday protests

The number of people killed in Monday's anti-government protests in Kenya has risen to 31, the country's human rights commission said, sparking public outage and calls for justice.

The state-run commission previously said that 11 people had died.

More than 100 people were injured and about 532 arrested in the protests which hit the capital Nairobi and other major cities, said the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KHRCR).

The UN said it was deeply troubled by the killings and criticised the Kenyan police for using "lethal ammunition" against protesters.

The Kenya police still says that 11 people died.

There has been rising tension in the country since the death of blogger Albert Ojwang in police custody last month brought people back onto the streets, a year after young protesters stormed parliament angered by a wave of tax rises.

Monday's protests were intended to commemorate Kenya's decades-long struggle for democracy but they quickly escalated into deadly clashes in 17 out of the country's 47 counties, local media reported.

Many of those demonstrating chanted "Ruto must go" and "wantam", meaning "one term", a popular rallying call demanding President William Ruto leave office.

In a statement issued on late Tuesday, the KHRCR said the sharp rise in the death toll was "deeply troubling".

"The KHRCR strongly condemns all human rights violations and urges accountability from all responsible parties, including police, civilians and all other stakeholders," it added.

The commission also documented widespread looting and destruction of both public and private property by unidentified individuals.

Among those killed was a 12-year-old pupil who was hit by a stray bullet while at home in Kiambu, in the outskirts of the capital, local media reported.

"It is very concerning that these latest incidents come barely two weeks after more than 15 protesters were reportedly killed and many more injured in Nairobi and other parts of Kenya on 25 June," said Ravina Shamdasani, spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.

"Lethal ammunition, rubber bullets, tear gas, and water cannons were used," Shamdasani added.

At least two hospitals were damaged after unidentified attackers raided the facilities and stole medical equipment and harassed staff, Reuters news agency reported.

Religious and rights groups have demanded a prompt and independent investigation into the killings, destruction of property and arbitrary arrests.

However, Interior Minister Kipchumba Murkomen has praised police officers for containing the protests, which he said were infiltrated by criminals.

Opposition leaders on Tuesday accused the government of deploying unmarked police vehicles to transport armed gangs to perceived opposition strongholds during the protests.

They called for a national boycott of all businesses affiliated with President Ruto's administration, accusing his government of deploying state-sponsored violence and extrajudicial killings on Kenyans.

"This regime is hostile. It cannot be reasoned with. It must be resisted. We will not rest. We will not retreat. We will not surrender," the opposition said in a joint statement.

Kenya's Chief Justice Martha Koome has cautioned the country against the increasingly violent protests, saying they risked the nation's democratic fabric.

Monday's demonstrations were organised primarily by the so-called Gen-Z young people, demanding good governance, greater accountability, and justice for victims of police brutality, continuing the wave of anti-government protests since last year.

On 25 June, at least 19 people were killed and thousands of businesses looted and destroyed in a day of nationwide protests that were being held in honour of those killed in last year's anti-tax protests.

More than 140 people have been killed since 2023 in protests, according to a tally by The Star newspaper.

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Ex-Bangladesh leader authorised deadly crackdown, leaked audio suggests

AFP Students clash with the police during a protest in Dhaka on July 18, 2024AFP

A deadly crackdown on student-led protests in Bangladesh last year was authorised by then prime minister Sheikh Hasina, according to audio of one of her phone calls verified by BBC Eye.

In the audio, which was leaked online in March, Hasina says she authorised her security forces to "use lethal weapons" against protesters and that "wherever they find [them], they will shoot".

Prosecutors in Bangladesh plan to use the recording as crucial evidence against Hasina, who is being tried in absentia at a special tribunal for crimes against humanity.

Up to 1,400 people died in last summer's unrest, according to UN investigators. Hasina, who fled to India, and her party reject all charges against her.

A spokesperson for her Awami League party denied the tape showed any "unlawful intention" of "disproportionate response".

Listen: Sheikh Hasina's leaked phone call recording

The leaked audio of Hasina's conversation with an unidentified senior government official is the most significant evidence yet that she gave direct authorisation to shoot anti-government protesters, tens of thousands of whom had taken to the streets by last summer.

The protests began against civil service job quotas for relatives of those who fought in the 1971 war of independence and escalated into a mass movement that ousted Hasina, who had been in power for 15 years. It the worst violence Bangladesh had seen since the 1971 war.

Some of the bloodiest scenes occurred on 5 August, the day Hasina fled by helicopter before crowds stormed her residence in Dhaka.

The BBC World Service investigation established previously unreported details about a police massacre of protesters in the capital - including a much higher death toll.

A protester holding a stick faces police lines in Dhaka in July 2024

Hasina was at her residence in Dhaka, known as the Ganabhaban, for the duration of the call which took place on 18 July, a source with knowledge of the leaked audio told the BBC.

It was a crucial moment in the demonstrations. Security officials were responding to public outrage at police killings of protesters captured on video and shared across social media. In the days following the call, military-grade rifles were deployed and used across Dhaka, according to police documents seen by the BBC.

The recording the BBC examined is one of numerous calls involving Sheikh Hasina that were made by the National Telecommunications Monitoring Centre (NTMC), a Bangladeshi government body responsible for monitoring communications.

The audio of the call was leaked in early March this year - it's unclear by whom. Since the protests, numerous clips of Hasina's calls have appeared online, many of them unverified.

The leaked 18 July recording was voice matched by the Criminal Investigation Department in the Bangladesh Police with known audio of Sheikh Hasina's voice.

The BBC conducted its own independent verification by sharing the recording with audio forensics experts Earshot, who found no evidence the speech had been edited or manipulated and said it was highly unlikely to have been synthetically generated.

Earshot said the leaked recording was likely to have been taken in a room with the phone call played back on a speaker, due to the presence of distinctive telephonic frequencies and background sounds. Earshot identified Electric Network Frequency (ENF) throughout the recording, a frequency that's often present in audio recordings due to interference between a recording device and mains-powered equipment, an indicator that the audio has not been manipulated.

Earshot also analysed Sheikh Hasina's speech – the rhythm, intonation and breath sounds - and identified consistent noise floor levels, finding no evidence of synthetic artefacts in the audio.

"The recordings are critical for establishing her role, they are clear and have been properly authenticated, and are supported by other evidence," British international human rights barrister Toby Cadman told the BBC. He is advising Bangladesh's International Criminal Tribunal (ICT), the court hearing cases against Hasina and others.

An Awami League spokesperson said: "We cannot confirm whether the tape recording referenced by the BBC is authentic."

Alongside Sheikh Hasina, former government and police officials have been implicated in the killings of protesters. A total of 203 individuals have been indicted by the ICT, of whom 73 are in custody.

BBC Eye analysed and verified hundreds of videos, images and documents detailing police attacks against demonstrators across 36 days.

The investigation found that in one incident on 5 August in Jatrabari, a busy Dhaka neighbourhood, at least 52 people were killed by police, making it one of the worst incidents of police violence in Bangladesh's history. Initial reports at the time suggested 30 dead in Jatrabari on that day.

Outside the UK, watch on YouTube

The BBC investigation uncovered new details about how the massacre started and ended.

Gathering eyewitness footage, CCTV and drone imagery, BBC Eye established that police opened fire indiscriminately on protesters immediately after army personnel, who were separating the police from the protesters, vacated the area.

For more than 30 minutes the police shot at fleeing protesters as they tried to escape down alleyways and on the highway, before the police officers sought shelter in a nearby army camp. At least six police officers were also killed as protesters retaliated hours later, setting fire to the Jatrabari police station.

A spokesperson for the Bangladesh Police told the BBC that 60 police officers had been arrested for their role in the violence in July and August last year.

"There were regrettable incidents in which certain members of the then police force engaged in excessive use of force," said the spokesperson. "Bangladesh Police has launched thorough and impartial investigations."

AFP People gather to see burnt Jatrabari police station as anti-government protestors set fire in Dhaka on August 6, 2024AFP
People gather to see burnt Jatrabari police station after anti-government protesters set fire to it last August

Sheikh Hasina's trial began last month. She has been charged with committing crimes against humanity, including issuing orders that led to mass killings and targeted violence against civilians, as well as incitement, conspiracy and failure to prevent mass murder.

India has so far failed to comply with a Bangladeshi request for her extradition. It is unlikely that Hasina will return to the country for the trial, Mr Cadman said.

The Awami League maintains that its leaders are not liable for the force used against protesters.

"The Awami League categorically denies and rejects claims that some of its senior leaders, including the prime minister herself, were personally responsible for or directed the use of lethal force against crowds," a spokesperson for the party said.

"The decisions made by senior government officials were proportionate in nature, made in good faith and intended to minimise the loss of life."

The party has rejected the findings of United Nations investigators, who said they had found reasonable grounds to believe the actions of Hasina and her government could amount to crimes against humanity.

The BBC approached the Bangladesh army for comment but did not receive a response.

Since Hasina's fall, Bangladesh has been ruled by an interim government led by Nobel Prize winner Muhammad Yunus.

His government is preparing for national elections. It's unclear if the Awami League will be allowed to contest the vote.

Days after Texas floods, at least 161 people are still missing in one county

Watch: Texas resident survived floods by standing on electrical box for three hours

At least 161 people are still missing in a single Texas county four days after deadly and devastating flash floods hit parts of the state last week, Governor Greg Abbott said, as hope fades for survivors to be found alive.

The missing in the hard-hit Kerr County include five campers and one counsellor from Camp Mystic, a Christian all-girls summer camp located on the banks of Guadalupe river.

At least 109 people have died in the disaster, including 94 in the Kerrville area alone, Abbott said in a news conference on Tuesday.

Texas is not alone. New Mexico saw a flash flood emergency as well, with the National Weather Service (NWS) warning of intense flooding on Tuesday night.

In Texas, frantic search and rescue efforts continue, with Abbott vowing emergency crews "will not stop until every missing person is accounted for".

Abbott added that it is very likely more missing will be added to the list in the coming days, and urged people to report anyone they think is unaccounted for.

General Thomas Suelzer from the Texas National Guard said search efforts include Chinook and Black Hawk helicopters with rescue hoists.

He said there are 13 Black Hawk helicopters helping in the search effort, including four that arrived from Arkansas. He added that authorities were also using reaper drones.

Responders from various agencies are working together on rescue efforts, including agents from border patrol, the FBI and the National Guard.

More than 250 responders from various agencies have been assigned to the Kerrville area alone to help with search and rescue.

One of those rescue volunteers, named Tim, told the BBC he has never seen any destruction at this scale before.

"I've done the floods down in East Texas and Southeast Texas, and hurricanes, and this is a nightmare," he said.

Another rescue volunteer, named Justin, compared the effort to "trying to find a single hay in a haystack".

"There's a wide trail of destruction for miles, and there's not enough cadaver dogs to go through all of it," he told the BBC.

"It's hard to access a lot of it with heavy machinery. Guys are trying to pick at it with tools and hands, and they're not even putting a dent in it – not for lack of effort."

Questions have been raised about whether authorities provided adequate flood warnings before the disaster, and why people were not evacuated earlier.

Experts say there were a number of factors that contributed to the tragedy in Texas, including the extreme weather, the location of the holiday homes and timing.

The governor, who had spent part of the day surveying the flood zone, said authorities had issued a storm warning and knew about a possible flash flood, but "didn't know the magnitude of the storm".

No one knew it would lead to a "30-foot high tsunami wall of water", he said.

The governor responded to a question about who was to "blame" for the enormous death toll, saying: "That's the word choice of losers."

He made a sports analogy, saying American football teams make mistakes; champion teams are the ones who don't "point fingers".

Watch: Drones and dogs help in Texas rescue

Most of the victims died in Kerr County, where the Guadalupe River was swollen by torrential downpours before daybreak on Friday, the July Fourth public holiday.

Camp Mystic had earlier confirmed at least 27 girls and staff were among the dead.

Those who survived are now focused on trying to rebuild.

Justin Brown has lived along the Guadalupe River for more than 25 years.

A week ago, he lived in his mobile home at the Blue Oak RV Park with his two young daughters and dog. Now, there is a huge puddle where his home once stood – his RV swept away in the floods.

"We were one of the few parks that got almost everybody out," Mr Brown told the BBC as he described the efforts of his landlord and emergency workers, who evacuated almost all of the park's residents.

Looking out over the empty lot where his home once stood – now just debris – he said he hopes to move back in as soon as he can.

President Donald Trump will travel to the flood-ravaged areas with First Lady Melania Trump on Friday.

Separately, in New Mexico, the NWS declared a flash flood emergency on Tuesday and told residents of Ruidoso to be on high alert for flooding.

Officials there are already working to rescue people trapped in floodwaters and houses are reportedly being washed away.

A flood wave on the Rio Ruidoso has reached 15 feet (4.5m), the NWS in Albuquerque said in a post on X.

The waters receded about two hours later, according to CBS, the BBC's US partner.

Officials had to perform some swift boat rescues and some people were unaccounted for as of Tuesday evening.

Watch: Moment house is swept away in New Mexico flash flooding

Trump delays tariffs as the rest of the world plays hardball

Getty Images US President Donald Trump wearing a blue suit and a white cap with USA on itGetty Images

Donald Trump's White House had grandly promised "90 deals in 90 days" after partially pausing the process of levying what the US president called "reciprocal" tariffs.

In reality, there won't even be nine deals done by the time we reach Trump's first cut-off date on 9 July.

The revealing thing here, the poker "tell" if you like, is the extension of the deadline from Wednesday until 1 August, with a possibility of further extensions - or delays - to come.

From the US perspective, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says all focus has been on the 18 countries that are responsible for 95% of America's trade deficit.

The jaunty letters being sent from the US to its trading partners this week are simply a reincarnation of that infamous White House "Liberation Day" blue board.

The rates are basically the same as were first revealed on 2 April. The infamous equation, which turned out to use a measure of the size of the deficit as a proxy for "the sum of all trade cheating" lives on, in a form.

This is all being announced without the market turmoil seen earlier this year because of this additional delay.

Financial markets believe in rolling delays, in the idea of TACO, that Trump Always Chickens Out - although they may embolden foot-dragging on all sides that lead to a renewed crisis.

However, the real takeaway here has been the Trump administration's inability to strike deals. The letters are an admission of failure.

The White House may be playing hardball, but so are most other nations.

Japan and South Korea were singled out for the first two letters, which effectively further blow up their trade deals with the US.

The Japanese have done little to hide their fury at the US approach.

Its finance minister even hinted at using its ownership of the world's biggest stockpile of US government debt - basically the biggest banker of America's debts - as a source of potential leverage.

The dynamic from April has not really changed.

The rest of the world sees that markets punish the US when a trade war looks real, when American retailers warn the White House of higher prices and empty shelves.

And there is still a plausible court case working its way through the system that could render the tariffs illegal.

But the world is now also starting to see the numerical impact of an upended global trade system.

The value of the dollar has declined 10% this year against a number of currencies.

At Bessent's confirmation hearing, he said that the likely increase in the value of the dollar would help mitigate any inflationary impact of tariffs.

The opposite has happened.

Trade numbers are starting to shift too. There was massive stockpiling before tariffs, there have been more recent significant falls.

Meanwhile, Chinese exports to the US have fallen by 9.7% so far this year.

But China's shipments to the rest of the world are up 6%. This includes a 7.4% rise in exports to the UK, a 12.2% increase to the 10 members of the ASEAN alliance and 18.9% rise to Africa.

The numbers are volatile, but consistent with what might be predicted.

Revenues from tariffs are starting to pour into the US Treasury coffers, with record receipts in May.

As the US builds a tariff wall around itself, the rest of the world is likely to trade more with each other - just look the recent economic deals between the UK and India, and the EU and Canada.

It is worth nothing that the effective tariff rate being imposed by the US on the rest of the world is now about 15%, having been between 2% and 4% for the past 40 years. This is before the further changes in these letters.

The market reaction is calm for now. It might not stay that way.

Russian minister's death serves as warning to political elite

EPA Roman Starovoit arrives at a meeting of President Putin with Venezuelan President Maduro at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, 07 May 2025. EPA

It was a dramatic start to the week in Russia.

On Monday morning, President Vladimir Putin sacked his transport minister, Roman Starovoit.

By the afternoon Starovoit was dead; his body was discovered in a park on the edge of Moscow with a gunshot wound to the head. A pistol, allegedly, beside the body.

Investigators said they presumed the former minister had taken his own life.

In the tabloid Moskovsky Komsomolets this morning there was a sense of shock.

"The suicide of Roman Starovoit just hours after the president's order to sack him is an almost unique occurrence in Russian history," the paper declared.

That's because you need to go back more than thirty years, to before the fall of the Soviet Union, for an example of a government minister here killing themselves.

In August 1991, following the failure of the coup by communist hardliners, one of the coup's ring leaders - Soviet interior minister Boris Pugo - shot himself.

The Kremlin has said little about Starovoit's death.

"How shocked were you that a federal minister was found dead just hours after being fired by the president?" I asked Vladimir Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov on a Kremlin conference call.

"Normal people cannot but be shocked by this," replied Peskov. "Of course, this shocked us, too.

"It's up to the investigation to provide answers to all the questions. While it's ongoing, one can only speculate. But that's more for the media and political pundits. Not for us."

The Russian press has, indeed, been full of speculation.

Today several Russian newspapers linked what happened to Roman Starovoit to events in the Kursk region that borders Ukraine. Before his appointment as transport minister in May 2024, Starovoit had been the Kursk regional governor for more than five years.

Under his leadership - and with large sums of government money - Governor Starovoit had launched the construction of defensive fortifications along the border. These were not strong enough to prevent Ukrainian troops from breaking through and seizing territory in Kursk region last year.

Since then, Starovoit's successor as governor, Alexei Smirnov, and his former deputy Alexei Dedov have been arrested and charged with large-scale fraud in relation to the construction of the fortifications.

"Mr Starovoit may well have become one of the chief defendants in this case," suggested today's edition of the business daily Kommersant.

The Russian authorities have not confirmed that.

But if it was fear of prosecution that drove a former minister to take his own life, what does that tell us about today's Russia?

"The most dramatic part of this, with all the re-Stalinisation that has been happening in Russia in recent years, is that a high-level government official [kills himself] because he has no other way of getting out of the system," says Nina Khrushcheva, professor of International Affairs at The New School in New York.

"He must have feared that he would receive tens of years in prison if he was going to be under investigation, and that his family would suffer tremendously. So, there's no way out. I Immediately thought of Sergo Ordzhonikidze, one of Stalin's ministers, who [killed himself] in 1937 because he felt there was no way out. When you start thinking of 1937 in today's environment that gives you great pause."

Roman Starovoit's death may have made headlines in the papers here. But this "almost unique occurrence in Russian history" has received minimal coverage on state TV.

Perhaps that's because the Kremlin recognises the power of television to shape public opinion. In Russia, TV is more influential than newspapers. So, when it comes to television, the authorities tend to be more careful and cautious with the messaging.

Monday's main evening news bulletin on Russia-1 included a four-minute report about Putin appointing a new acting transport minister, Andrei Nikitin.

There was no mention at all that the previous transport minister had been sacked. Or that he'd been found dead.

Only forty minutes later, towards the end of the news bulletin, did the anchorman briefly mention the death of Roman Starovoit.

The newsreader devoted all of 18 seconds to it, which means that most Russians will probably not view Monday's dramatic events as a significant development.

For the political elite, it's a different story. For ministers, governors, and other Russian officials who've sought to be a part of the political system, what happened to Starovoit will serve as a warning.

"Unlike before, when you could get these jobs, get rich, get promoted from regional level to federal level, today, that is clearly not a career path if you want to stay alive," says Nina Khrushcheva.

"There's not only no upward mobility to start with, but even downward mobility ends with death."

It's a reminder of the dangers that emanate from falling foul of the system.

Instagram wrongly accuses some users of breaching child sex abuse rules

Getty Images The logos of Instagram and FacebookGetty Images

Instagram users have told the BBC of the "extreme stress" of having their accounts banned after being wrongly accused by the platform of breaching its rules on child sexual exploitation.

The BBC has been in touch with three people who were told by parent company Meta that their accounts were being permanently disabled, only to have them reinstated shortly after their cases were highlighted to journalists.

"I've lost endless hours of sleep, felt isolated. It's been horrible, not to mention having an accusation like that over my head," one of the men told BBC News.

Meta declined to comment.

BBC News has been contacted by more than 100 people who claim to have been wrongly banned by Meta.

Some talk of a loss of earnings after being locked out of their business pages, while others highlight the pain of no longer having access to years of pictures and memories. Many point to the impact it has had on their mental health.

Over 27,000 people have signed a petition that accuses Meta's moderation system, powered by artificial intelligence (AI), of falsely banning accounts and then having an appeal process that is unfit for purpose.

Thousands of people are also in Reddit forums dedicated to the subject, and many users have posted on social media about being banned.

Meta has previously acknowledged a problem with Facebook Groups but denied its platforms were more widely affected.

'Outrageous and vile'

The BBC has changed the names of the people in this piece to protect their identities.

David, from Aberdeen in Scotland, was suspended from Instagram on 4 June. He was told he had not followed Meta's community standards on child sexual exploitation, abuse and nudity.

He appealed that day, and was then permanently disabled on Instagram and his associated Facebook and Facebook Messenger accounts.

David found a Reddit thread, where many others were posting that they had also been wrongly banned over child sexual exploitation.

"We have lost years of memories, in my case over 10 years of messages, photos and posts - due to a completely outrageous and vile accusation," he told BBC News.

He said Meta was "an embarrassment", with AI-generated replies and templated responses to his questions. He still has no idea why his account was banned.

"I've lost endless hours of sleep, extreme stress, felt isolated. It's been horrible, not to mention having an accusation like that over my head.

"Although you can speak to people on Reddit, it is hard to go and speak to a family member or a colleague. They probably don't know the context that there is a ban wave going on."

The BBC raised David's case to Meta on 3 July, as one of a number of people who claimed to have been wrongly banned over child sexual exploitation. Within hours, his account was reinstated.

In a message sent to David, and seen by the BBC, the tech giant said: "We're sorry that we've got this wrong, and that you weren't able to use Instagram for a while. Sometimes, we need to take action to help keep our community safe."

"It is a massive weight off my shoulders," said David.

Faisal was banned from Instagram on 6 June over alleged child sexual exploitation and, like David, found his Facebook account suspended too.

The student from London is embarking on a career in the creative arts, and was starting to earn money via commissions on his Instagram page when it was suspended. He appealed after feeling he had done nothing wrong, and then his account was then banned a few minutes later.

He told BBC News: "I don't know what to do and I'm really upset.

"[Meta] falsely accuse me of a crime that I have never done, which also damages my mental state and health and it has put me into pure isolation throughout the past month."

His case was also raised with Meta by the BBC on 3 July. About five hours later, his accounts were reinstated. He received the exact same email as David, with the apology from Meta.

He told BBC News he was "quite relieved" after hearing the news. "I am trying to limit my time on Instagram now."

Faisal said he remained upset over the incident, and is now worried the account ban might come up if any background checks are made on him.

A third user Salim told BBC News that he also had accounts falsely banned for child sexual exploitation violations.

He highlighted his case to journalists, stating that appeals are "largely ignored", business accounts were being affected, and AI was "labelling ordinary people as criminal abusers".

Almost a week after he was banned, his Instagram and Facebook accounts were reinstated.

What's gone wrong?

When asked by BBC News, Meta declined to comment on the cases of David, Faisal, and Salim, and did not answer questions about whether it had a problem with wrongly accusing users of child abuse offences.

It seems in one part of the world, however, it has acknowledged there is a wider issue.

The BBC has learned that the chair of the Science, ICT, Broadcasting, and Communications Committee at the National Assembly in South Korea, said last month that Meta had acknowledged the possibility of wrongful suspensions for people in her country.

Dr Carolina Are, a blogger and researcher at Northumbria University into social media moderation, said it was hard to know what the root of the problem was because Meta was not being open about it.

However, she suggested it could be due to recent changes to the wording of some its community guidelines and an ongoing lack of a workable appeal process.

"Meta often don't explain what it is that triggered the deletion. We are not privy to what went wrong with the algorithm," she told BBC News.

In a previous statement, Meta said: "We take action on accounts that violate our policies, and people can appeal if they think we've made a mistake."

Meta, in common with all big technology firms, have come under increased pressure in recent years from regulators and authorities to make their platforms safe spaces.

Meta told the BBC it used a combination of people and technology to find and remove accounts that broke its rules, and was not aware of a spike in erroneous account suspension.

Meta says its child sexual exploitation policy relates to children and "non-real depictions with a human likeness", such as art, content generated by AI or fictional characters.

Meta also told the BBC a few weeks ago it uses technology to identify potentially suspicious behaviours, such as adult accounts being reported by teen accounts, or adults repeatedly searching for "harmful" terms.

Meta states that when it becomes aware of "apparent child exploitation", it reports it to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) in the US. NCMEC told BBC News it makes all of those reports available to law enforcement around the world.

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Trump and Netanyahu hold second meeting for Gaza ceasefire talks

Watch: The BBC asks about the Trump administration's vision for Gaza

US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met on Tuesday evening for the second time in as many days to discuss the ongoing war in Gaza.

The meeting came after Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff suggested Israel and Hamas had one remaining issue to agree on for a 60-day ceasefire deal.

Netanyahu arrived at the White House shortly after 17:00 EST (21:00 GMT) on Tuesday for the meeting, which was not open to members of the press.

Earlier on Tuesday, Netanyahu met with vice-president JD Vance. He also met with Trump for several hours during a dinner at the White House on Monday.

It marks Netanyahu's third state visit to the US since Trump's second term.

The meeting of the two leaders lasted around two hours.

Netanyahu also met with the Republican House of Representative Speaker Mike Johnson.

After that meeting, the Israeli Prime Minister said he did not believe Israel's military campaign in Gaza was done, but that negotiators are "certainly working" on a ceasefire.

"We still have to finish the job in Gaza, release all our hostages, eliminate and destroy Hamas' military and government capabilities," Netanyahu said.

Witkoff later said that Israel and Hamas were closing the gap on issues that previously prevented them from reaching a deal, and that he hoped a temporary, 60-day ceasefire will be agreed on this week.

"We had four issues and now we're down to one", Witkoff said of the sticking points in negotiations.

He added that the draft deal would also include the release of 10 hostages who are alive, and the bodies of nine who are deceased.

Before the Israeli Prime Minister's meeting with Trump on Monday, a Qatari delegation arrived at the White House and spoke with officials for several hours, Axios reported, citing a source with knowledge of the talks.

Trump told reporters on Monday evening that ceasefire talks are "going very well". But Qatar, which has played a mediator role in negotiations, said on Tuesday morning that more time was needed for negotiations.

"I don't think that I can give any timeline at the moment, but I can say right now that we will need time for this," Qatar's foreign ministry spokesman Majed Al-Ansari said.

Before discussions resumed on Tuesday, a Palestinian source familiar with the talks told the BBC they have not made any headway.

The latest round of negotiations between Hamas and Israel began on Sunday.

The ongoing Gaza war began on 7 October 2023 when Hamas attacked Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages, according to Israeli figures. Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed at least 57,500 in Gaza according to the territory's Hamas-run health ministry.

Families anxious over safety of Indians kidnapped in Mali

Koteswara Rao A photo of Amaralingaeswara RaoKoteswara Rao
Amaralingaeswara Rao is among the three men who have been missing since they were abducted in Mali

A week after three Indians were kidnapped in Mali, their families say they still have no information about their whereabouts and are concerned about their safety.

India's foreign ministry said the men, who worked in a cement factory in Mali, were "forcibly taken" by a group of "armed assailants" last Tuesday.

The Mali government is yet to comment, but the abductions took place on a day an al-Qaeda linked group - Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam wal Muslimin (JNIM) - claimed it had carried out several attacks in the African country.

According to government data, some 400 Indians live in Mali, a country that India has had trade relations with since the 1990s.

Last week's incident comes after five Indian citizens were kidnapped in Niger, in April during an attack by armed men who also killed a dozen soldiers, Reuters news agency reported. There's no update on their whereabouts.

Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso are fighting an insurgency linked to al-Qaeda and the Islamic State (IS) that began in northern Mali in 2012 and has since spread to neighbouring countries.

Mali is the eighth-largest nation in the African continent and falls in the Sahel region of Africa, which the Global Terrorism Index (GTI) described as the "epicentre of global terrorism" earlier this year. The region accounts for "over half of all terrorism-related deaths", according to GTI.

In a statement a day after the abductions, India's foreign ministry urged citizens living in Mali to "exercise utmost caution, remain vigilant and stay in close contact with the Indian embassy in [Mali's capital] Bamako".

The men were taken from the Diamond Cement Factory, operated by Indian-business conglomerate Prasaditya Group, in Kayes city. The firm and factory have not issued any statements so far. The BBC has reached out to them for a response.

The same day the men were abducted, Jihadist fighters had launched a series of simultaneous attacks on military posts across numerous towns in Mali.

A resident of Kayes, where the cement factory was located, told the BBC that gunshots could be heard "everywhere" during the attack.

The abductions have sparked a wave of panic among the Indian relatives of those living in Africa.

The Indian government said it was in touch with the authorities in Mali, the factory where the men worked, and the relatives of the kidnapped men - but BBC Telugu has spoken to family members of two of the men who said they had little information about their relatives.

AFP via Getty Images Soldiers of the Malian Armed Forces dressed in combat uniforms can be seen holding guns in Mali (file photo)AFP via Getty Images
Military bases in Mali were attacked several times in the last month

The mother of Panad Venkatramana, one of the abducted men who worked as an engineer at the factory, said she last spoke to her son on 30 June.

"He said he was going to work and would call later," Narsamma, who goes by only one name, said.

"Three days later, we received a call from the company, but we couldn't understand what the caller was saying. Later, we saw on television that my son had been kidnapped," she added.

Venkatramana is from the eastern state of Odisha and his family have lodged a complaint with the local police, seeking their help to find him.

They have found support from former Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik who posted on X, urging Foreign Minister S Jaishankar to "personally intervene in the matter" and ensure "early and safe release" of Venkatramana.

In the southern states of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, the family members of another of the abducted men - Amaralingaeswara Rao who worked as an assistant general manager at the factory - are waiting anxiously for him to return home.

His father Koorakula Venkateswarlu told BBC Telugu that his son went to Mali eight years ago to support his family.

"The salary [in India] was low. He has three children to raise," Mr Venkateswarlu said.

His son was planning to visit India in October and had booked flight tickets. But now, he says, they have no idea when they will see him.

Follow BBC News India on Instagram, YouTube, Twitter and Facebook.

Seoul returns six North Koreans with 'strong desire' to go back

South Korea Ministry of Unification A wooden boat in the middle of the sea. Two people are seen standing on the boatSouth Korea Ministry of Unification
All six North Koreans had consistently expressed their desire to go back, South Korean authorities say

South Korea has repatriated six North Koreans who accidentally drifted into South Korean waters earlier this year. All six had consistently expressed their desire to go back, Seoul's Ministry of Unification said.

Two of the North Koreans had veered into southern waters in March and stayed on for four months - the longest period recorded for non-defectors.

The other four are sailors who drifted across a disputed maritime border between the North and the South in May.

This is the first such return under the presidency of South Korea's Lee Jae-myung, who had campaigned on improving inter-Korea ties. The two countries unsuccessfully tried to coordinate the return for months.

There have been several previous cases of North Koreans sailing unintentionally into the South. They often use small, wooden boats that cannot be easily steered back onto their course once adrift.

In the past, authorities in the two countries would coordinate to send those who wished to return to the North back via their land border.

However, Pyongyang had cut off all inter-Korea communication lines in April 2023 amid heightened tensions.

Eight months later, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un declared that unification with the South is no longer possible.

The only known channels of communication that remain are the US-led United Nations Command and through the news media.

Seoul's Ministry of Unification said it had tried to twice to inform the North of its intention to send these six people home via the United Nations Command, but did not receive a response.

North Korean patrol vessels and fishing boats were spotted at the handover point on Wednesday morning, leading some observers to believe the two Koreas would have agreed on a repatriation plan "behind the scenes".

"If you set a boat adrift in the vast ocean without any coordination, there's a real risk it could drift away again," says Nam Sung-wook, the former head of the Korea National Strategy Institute think tank.

Nam believes the six people will be interrogated at length when they return to the North.

"They'll be grilled on whether they received any espionage training or overheard anything sensitive. [It will be] an intense process aimed at extracting every last piece of information," he tells BBC Korean.

Once the investigation is over, they may be asked to help spread propaganda. Their desire to return to the North "strengthens the legitimacy of [Kim's] regime", adds Lim Eul-chul, a professor specialising in North Korean studies in Kyungnam University.

Michael Madden, a North Korea expert from the Stimson Center in Washington, pointed out that the boats drifted south when South Korea was being led by interim presidents following former President Yoon Suk Yeol's impeachment.

"This may have delayed some decision making in both Koreas.  

"Pyongyang certainly did not trust the Yoon remnants in South Korea, and both Koreas could have been open to accusations of an unlawful repatriation out of political expedience by the international community," he said.

Wednesday's repatriations have left some North Korean defectors baffled.

Activist Lee Min-bok says the six people "should have been given a chance to talk to defectors and learn more about South Korean society".

"If I'd had the chance to speak with them, I would have told them the truth [about inter-Korean history] and warned them that they could eventually face punishment from the North Korean regime, simply because they had already experienced life in the South," says Mr Lee, who used to float balloons with anti-Kim leaflets into the North.

However, his team of activists have largely stopped their activities as they expect crackdowns from South Korea's new, pro-engagement administration.

Seoul's National Assembly is currently debating a bill to ban such balloon launches.

Lee Jae-myung, who was elected South Korea's president in June, has pledged to restart dialogue with Pyongyang and to reduce tensions between the two countries.

A week after he took office, South Korea's military suspended its loudspeaker propaganda broadcasts across the border to North Korea - in what it described as a move to "restore trust in inter-Korean relations and achieve peace on the Korean Peninsula".

Some analysts, however, do not expect a major improvement of ties between the Koreas.

North Korea has "built up solid cooperation" with Russia, and now has "little need" to engage the South, says Celeste Arrington, director of The George Washington University Institute for Korean Studies.

Public opinion in the South also suggests little appetite for engaging with the North, she says.

"Thus, there are few signals, if any, of reestablishing lines of communication between the North and the South, let alone meaningful warming of relations."

Australian childcare operator to install CCTV after abuse claims

Getty Images A CCTV camera on a wall with blurred buildings in the backgroundGetty Images
G8 Education says it will fast track the installation of CCTV at all its centres

One of Australia's largest private childcare operators will speed up the rollout of CCTV across more than 400 centres, days after child sex abuse allegations against an employee emerged.

G8 Education will also let parents and carers choose who can change their children's nappies and take them to the toilet, the firm said.

Joshua Dale Brown, 26, is charged with more than 70 offences, including child rape, allegedly committed against eight children at a G8 Education-owned centre in Melbourne between 2022 and 2023.

The firm's boss said the allegations were "deeply disturbing" and apologised for the "unimaginable pain caused to our families".

The Australian-listed company operates almost two dozen childcare centre brands and employs about 10,000 staff who look after about 41,000 children.

In an announcement on Tuesday, the company's managing director Pejman Okhovat said it will also commission an independent review of the allegations against Brown once the police investigation and criminal proceedings have finished.

"Our primary focus right now is on supporting all families who are impacted, as well as our team members in Victoria," he said.

The rollout of CCTV across all of G8 Education's centres will be "accelerated" and comes after a trial at some locations, the firm said, but it did not give a timeline on the rollout.

"While installation will take time, we are committed to transparency and will keep our families and team informed with timely updates as more information becomes available," a company spokesperson said.

Asked if families and staff will have to give consent before being monitored, the company said it understands "the importance of adhering to child safety, child dignity, privacy and data protection requirements".

The company will also "commit to adherence with all relevant privacy laws and sector regulations and the adoption of best practice cyber security measures", it added.

The spokesperson did not say who will operate the CCTV systems, who will have access to the footage or how long the footage will be stored.

For child safety expert and ex-detective Kristi McVee, CCTV "will only be as good as the humans who manage it".

"It can be circumvented and evidence can be destroyed to protect the interests of the organisation," she told the BBC.

In the case of Ashley Paul Griffiths - currently serving a life sentence for raping and sexually abusing almost 70 young girls in childcare centres in Australia and overseas - CCTV at the centres where he worked did not act as a deterrent, McVee said.

Professor Daryl Higgins, who heads Australian Catholic University's Institute of Child Protection Studies, echoed those concerns.

"It's not a silver bullet," Professor Higgins said, "and would require significant consultation about if, where, how and why we'd implement it".

"Who would view the footage and how would it be used?" he asked.

Martyn Mills-Bayne, a senior lecturer in early childhood education at the University of South Australia, worries CCTV will provide a "false sense of security" and allow operators to delay better measures such as increasing staff ratios.

He also said that giving parents and carers the option to chose who changes nappies and takes children to the toilets may put extra pressure on female workers and could lead to gender discrimination in hiring processes.

Investigations into Brown's alleged offences found he had worked at 20 childcare centres - including centres not operated by G8 Education - between 2017 and his arrest in May this year.

This prompted health authorities to ask the families of about 1,200 children who had been under Brown's care at those centres to undergo testing for infectious diseases.

The tests were a "precaution", authorities said. The allegations against Brown also prompted state and federal governments to promise more stringent staff checks and regulations in the childcare sector.

Brown is accused of child rape and sexual assault offences as well as producing and transmitting child abuse material, relating to children between the ages of five months and two years old.

He is yet to enter a plea, but has been remanded in custody and is due to appear at Melbourne Magistrates' Court in September.

After Diddy: Why hip-hop is still struggling to have its own 'MeToo' moment

BBC A treated image showing Sean 'Diddy' Combs in black and white as he performs on stage, with smoke coming across the image BBC

One day in 2010, Sean "Diddy" Combs was in the kitchen of his Beverly Hills estate with his assistant Capricorn Clark. "Let me show you something," he said, summoning his girlfriend, Casandra Ventura, into the room.

Turning to her, he issued a string of commands: "Sit down, stand up, turn around, walk over there, hand me that. Now go back." His girlfriend obeyed his every word.

"Did you see that?" said Combs to his assistant. "You won't do that. That's why you don't have a man like me."

This account, shared by Ms Clark (also known as Cassie) in her testimony during Combs' recent eight-week trial, gave a glimpse into his dynamic with his partner - and a sense of what was happening behind closed doors.

Neilson Barnard/Getty Images Sean "Diddy" Combs attending a gala with Cassie. Both wear formal black outfits and look serious
Neilson Barnard/Getty Images
Ms Ventura's lawyer said that by coming forward, she had "brought attention to the realities of powerful men in our orbit"

Ms Ventura, an R&B singer who was previously signed to his record label, testified that throughout their long-term relationship, Combs – who was 17 years her senior – beat her, blackmailed her and coerced her into drug-fuelled sex sessions with escorts. He had, she continued, controlled her life.

Central to the trial was the claim that Combs, 55, a multimillionaire music mogul once credited with bringing rap into the mainstream, forced his partners to engage in elaborate sexual performances, known as "freak-offs", that he directed, often filmed and arranged with the help of his staff.

Last week, he was found guilty on two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution. He was acquitted on the more serious charges of racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking.

After the verdict was announced, Ms Ventura's lawyer, Doug Wigdor, said that by coming forward, she had "brought attention to the realities of powerful men in our orbit and the misconduct that has persisted for decades without repercussion".

But now, campaigners, survivors of sexual violence and insiders within the music industry are asking: Why did it take so long to hold Combs accountable?

And, in light of Hollywood's MeToo movement that uncovered and helped root out sexual harassment and abuse in the film industry, and which began nearly a decade ago - is it now time that the music industry, or more specifically, hip-hop, had a MeToo movement of its own?

'A playbook that shields predators'

Cristalle Bowen is a rapper from Chicago who was part of an all-female trio called RapperChicks. "The Diddy trial only highlights what many of us already know," she says, referring to the struggle to hold powerful people to account.

In 2022 she wrote a book about misogyny in the industry. The tagline is: Navigating Hip-Hop and Relationships in a Culture of Misogyny. "Being the token women on labels and in crews leaves you susceptible to, at the very least, name calling," she claims. "At the most… you've been abused in some way.

"When there is money involved, it becomes tricky. From hush money to stalled careers to the way we all see survivors treated… It's a difficult task."

Campaigners and industry insiders who spoke to the BBC say that sexual abuse and harassment exists across all genres in the music business, not only hip-hop. They point to a culture of silence, where they claim that predators are protected and victims risk being blacklisted, sued or fired.

Kevin Mazur/Getty Images Sean "Diddy" Combs holding up a drink in celebration
Kevin Mazur/Getty Images
Combs' label, Bad Boy Records, was praised for creating jobs and making hip-hop more mainstream. He's said to be worth around $400m (£293m)

Caroline Heldman, an academic and activist, agrees. She is co-founder of the US-based Sound Off Coalition, which advocates for the elimination of sexual violence in music, and argues that there is a history of using "threats to push out women artists who are targets of abuse by men".

"The music industry has followed a playbook for dealing with sexual abuse that shields predators, including musicians, producers, managers, executives, and other behind-the-scenes players, from liability," she claims.

Non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) – legal contracts that stop people from sharing certain agreed-upon private information – are used legitimately in the industry, for example to help protect commercial secrets. But some argue that these are being misused and can contribute to a culture of silence in cases of abuse.

"[It] makes for a very difficult decision for a lot of victims," says Arick Fudali, a New York-based lawyer. One of his clients is Dawn Richard, a singer who testified against Combs at the federal trial and has an ongoing lawsuit against him.

"I've had clients who have declined that and chosen to file their lawsuit publicly," he adds. "They can receive less money than if they had just settled privately and confidentially."

Ms Bowen argues that she has seen this happen first-hand. "Moguls write the cheques and artists need the cheques - there's usually no checks and balances when mogul money is involved."

But, there may be other reasons for not speaking out.

And in hip-hop specifically, some survivors of abuse and experts we spoke to argue that this culture of silence is exacerbated by the combined forces of racism and misogyny, and a desire to fiercely protect a genre that has created rare avenues to stardom and financial success.

A mouthpiece for liberation and resistance

Originating in the African-American and Latino communities of New York City in the 1970s, hip-hop became a mouthpiece for liberation and resistance against the authorities and social injustice.

"Hip-hop allowed young black people to tell their own stories on their own terms, it gave that generation a voice," explains Mark Anthony Neal, professor of African-American studies at Duke University, particularly when popular culture was offering a limited portrayal of black America.

It's now the most commercially successful music genre in the US, leading in album sales and streaming numbers. "Rappers are the new rock stars," says Thomas Hobbs, a writer and co-host of a hip-hop podcast, Exit the 36 Chambers. "They're the people now most likely to fill arenas."

WATCH: Video shared with BBC - Sean "Diddy" Combs holds pool parties at his Miami mansion

As an artist and businessman who ran an empire that encompassed fashion, alcohol and TV as well as his label, Bad Boy Records, Combs - who has an estimated net worth of about $400m (£293m) - has been championed not only for helping hip-hop become commercially viable but for creating jobs and opportunities, particularly for black men.

Throughout his career he has been vocal about "black excellence" – platforming achievements – as well as highlighting struggles within the black community.

This was something his legal defence raised in court, saying: "Sean Combs has become something that is very, very hard to be. Very hard to be. He is a self-made, successful, black entrepreneur."

Outside court during his trial, fans erupted in cheers after he was acquitted of the more serious charges and onlookers debated aloud whether he had been unfairly targeted. "Of course he was. He's a powerful black man," one said.

For weeks, others had been wearing and selling "Free Puff" T-shirts, after Combs' 90s stage name, next to a speaker blaring out his music.

Bryan Bedder/CP/Getty Images Sean "Diddy" Combs at a white partyBryan Bedder/CP/Getty Images
Combs, 55, a multimillionaire music mogul, was credited with bringing rap into the mainstream and hosted 'White Parties'

Sociologist Katheryn Russell-Brown has described a phenomenon she calls "black protectionism".

"Those who have managed to obtain large-scale prosperity, in spite of legal, political, economic, educational and social barriers, are given the status of racial pioneers," she wrote in her book, Protecting Our Own: Race, Crime, and African Americans, which was inspired by the OJ Simpson case.

"It is, therefore, predictable that black people as a group are suspicious when criminal charges are brought against members of its elite, protected class."

Black women in particular carry the fear that speaking out could reinforce harmful stereotypes about their community, argues Treva Lindsey, a professor in the Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Department at Ohio State University who researches misogyny in hip-hop.

"When we portray hip-hop as uniquely sexist, or sexually violent, or harmful, that has repercussions for black people of all genders," she says.

The start of a reckoning?

And yet across the entertainment industry more broadly, a retrospective focus is slowly happening now, in part because of shifts in attitudes.

Recent changes to law in some US states have also enabled people to take action over alleged historic misconduct.

New York and California passed laws in 2022 called the Adult Survivors Act that for one-year only allowed people to file sexual abuse claims, regardless of when the alleged incidents took place.

Ms Ventura filed a lawsuit against Combs in November 2023, accusing him of physical and sexual abuse. It was settled the following day, and Combs denied the claims.

Reuters Casandra "Cassie" Ventura cries on the stand in this courtroom sketch.Reuters
When Cassie Ventura filed her lawsuit, she faced online abuse and criticism from some within the hip-hop world
Reuters Sean "Diddy" Combs and his defense lawyer Marc Agnifilo in this courtroom sketch
Reuters
Combs faces more than 60 civil cases from men and women accusing him of drugging or assault. He denies all allegations

He now faces more than 60 civil cases from men and women accusing him of drugging or assault, spanning his entire three-decade career.

In a statement, Combs' team has said: "No matter how many lawsuits are filed, it won't change the fact that Mr Combs has never sexually assaulted or sex trafficked anyone - man or woman, adult or minor."

He is, however, one of several hip-hop titans of the 90s and 00s to have been accused in a relatively recent wave of allegations.

Music executive and producer Antonio LA Reid, who worked with artists including Usher, Kanye West (now known as Ye) and Rihanna, was accused of sexual assault in a lawsuit filed in 2023. He denies all claims against him.

Meanwhile, Russell Simmons, co-founder of hip-hop label Def Jam Recordings, has faced allegations of violent sexual behaviour by more than 20 women since 2017, all of which he has denied.

Getty Images Close up of Russell Simmons Getty Images
Russell Simmons, co-founder of Def Jam, has been accused of sexual violence by more than 20 women since 2017. He denies all allegations

Drew Dixon, who is former vice president of Artists and Repertoire (A&R) at Arista Records, is among them. She has claimed she was abused by both Mr Simmons and Mr Reid when she worked in the music industry in the 1990s and 2000s.

She told The New York Times: "You're not just going up against the person who assaulted you," she said. "You are going against everyone who benefits from their brand and revenue stream.

"Those forces will mobilise against any accuser. It's daunting."

Backlash after speaking out

Sil Lai Abrams, who is a writer and gender violence activist, began working as an executive assistant at the Def Jam music label in 1992. She is one of the women who accused Mr Simmons of sexual assault. He has denied all allegations.

"It's harder for women of colour to speak out against abuse in the music industry," she argues - something that she believes still applies today. "[Women have] been conditioned to see abuse of power and sexual harassment as the price one pays to work in the industry."

Then there is the question of the response from the public if people do speak out. When Ms Ventura first filed her lawsuit against Combs, she faced widespread abuse. Memes on social media accused her of being a gold-digger. Some in the hip-hop industry criticised her too.

Mark Mainz/Getty Images Sean "Diddy" Combs in a suit and sunglasses, with a cigar in his mouth 
Mark Mainz/Getty Images
Combs still awaits sentencing following his recent trial

"Quit trying to expose people for money," US rapper Slim Thug said in a video shared with his two million followers on Instagram in 2023.

Only when CNN broadcast security camera footage dating back to 2016 which showed Combs grabbing, dragging and kicking Ms Ventura in the hallway of a hotel did the sentiment towards her change.

Slim Thug publicly apologised for his comments.

Combs responded in a video statement posted on Instagram, saying: "My behaviour on that video is inexcusable. I take full responsibility… I'm committed to be a better man each and every day… I'm truly sorry."

"Before the video of Combs beating her came out and people couldn't deny the evidence, people said Cassie was a liar," says Dr Nikki Lane, assistant professor in Gender, Sexuality & Feminist Studies at Duke University.

Getty Images Megan Thee Stallion wearing white stole pictured from behind on a red carpetGetty Images
Rapper Megan Thee Stallion, who was shot in the foot in 2020, pictured at the Met Gala

Yet Dr Lane argues that more still needs to change. "Black women's bodies are constantly traded upon within the culture of hip-hop as tropes to be ridiculed".

Dr Lane points to the example of rapper Megan Thee Stallion, who was shot in the foot in 2020.

Fellow rapper Tory Lanez is currently serving a 10-year sentence for the assault, but after the incident, the artist Drake was criticised for lyrics in his 2022 song Circo Loco - "This b- lie 'bout gettin' shots, but she still a stallion" - which seemed to refer to the incident.

'Some people look the other way'

There remains the question of what happens to the art – and indeed the music – when an idol is convicted of serious crimes.

R&B singer R Kelly was sentenced to 30 years in prison in 2022 for sex trafficking, racketeering and sexually abusing women and children, but years later, his music remains popular. It generated about 780 million audio streams in the US since January 2019. On Spotify, he has around 5.2 million monthly listeners.

"There are still people [who] defend R Kelly," says Mr Hobbs. "I won't be surprised if Diddy's streams, just like R Kelly's, stay high."

"There's a kind of cognitive dissonance" from fans, he argues. "These songs become so embedded in people's lives that they find it very difficult to get rid of them… [they're] part of people's DNA.

"So, I think some people are able to look the other way."

Reuters Diddy wears sunglasses, necklaces and a black top with wide collarsReuters
The Combs verdict in itself is unlikely to lead to wider changes, according to Prof Lindsey

The bigger question, perhaps, is how should the industry react? After the MeToo movement began in 2017, at least 200 prominent men accused of sexual harassment lost their jobs, and changes were made to workplace policies.

However, the Combs verdict in itself is unlikely to lead to wider changes, according to Prof Lindsey. "I think what happens in this moment is Diddy, kind of like R Kelly in the R&B black music pantheon, is seen as exceptional… and not indicative of something else," she says.

"There isn't a cultural reset where we look inward and ask: 'How does this happen?'"

But that is exactly what is missing, argue some others in the industry, including Ms Abrams. "What is lacking is a political environment against which survivors can count on to change the material conditions that allowed someone like Combs to act with impunity," she says.

Following MeToo in Hollywood, certain changes were introduced, including making intimacy coordinators more of a standard practice when filming sex scenes. Some music insiders now hope that migrates over to music video sets.

The Sound Off Coalition is calling for new company rules that require people in positions of power in music to report accusations of sexual assault.

Tangible measures are what matter, argues Dr Lane. "The only way for me to believe that there's been a reckoning would be to see changes in laws, policies, and actual business practices of the industry… [Ones] that are not based on how long Diddy goes down for."

For all the latest reaction and analysis on the verdict, you can listen to the Diddy on Trial podcast available on BBC Sounds.

Additional reporting by Florence Freeman and Fiona Macdonald

Top picture credit: Rich Polk/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images

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