Exit polls from a key election in Japan project the ruling coalition is set to lose its majority, putting the country's Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba under immense political pressure.

Voters headed to the polls earlier on Sunday for the tightly-contested election, being held amid public frustration over rising prices and the threat of US tariffs.

Earlier polls had indicated that Ishiba's Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and its junior partner Komeito were at risk of losing their majority, having already lost their majority in Japan's more powerful lower house.

The coalition needs 50 seats to retain control of the 248-seat upper chamber - with an exit poll from public broadcaster NHK projecting them to win between 32 and 51.

NHK projected it "may be difficult for the ruling coalition to maintain their majority".

Half of the seats in the upper chamber were being voted on in Sunday's election, with members elected for six-year terms.

If the coalition takes home less than 46 seats, it would mark its worst performance since it was formed in 1999.

Ishiba's centre-right party has governed Japan almost continuously since 1955, albeit with frequent changes of leader.

The expected result underscores voters' frustration with Ishiba, who has struggled to inspire confidence as Japan struggles against economic headwinds, a cost-of-living crisis and trade negotiations with the United States.

Many are also unhappy about inflation - particularly the price of rice - and a string of political scandals that have beleaguered the LDP in recent years.

The coalition's loss would critically undermine its influence over policymaking, opening it up to major compromises with opposition parties, and could prompt Ishiba to quit less than a year after he was elected.

The last three LDP premiers who lost a majority in the upper house stepped down within two months, and analysts had predicted that a significant loss in this election would yield a similar outcome.

This would open the field for a potential run at the leadership by other notable LDP members, including Sanae Takaichi, who finished second to Ishiba in last year's general election; Takayuki Kobayashi, a former economic security minister; and Shinjiro Koizumi, the son of former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi.

In any case, a change of leadership within the ruling party would almost certainly unleash political drama and destabilise Japan's government at a pivotal moment in US-Japan trade negotiations.

Support for the ruling coalition appears to have been eroded by candidates from the small, right-leaning Sanseito party, which drew conservative votes with its "Japanese First", anti-immigration rhetoric.

Sanseito first gained prominence on YouTube during the Covid-19 pandemic, spreading conspiracy theories about vaccinations and a cabal of global elites.

The fringe party's nativist rhetoric widened its appeal ahead of Sunday's vote, as policies regarding foreign residents and immigration became a focal point of many parties' campaigns.

Going off the NHK exit polls, it is on course to win seven seats.

Famous for its isolationist culture and strict immigration policies, the island nation has experienced a record surge in both tourists and foreign residents in recent years.

The influx has further driven up prices for Japanese people and fuelled a sentiment among some that foreigners are taking advantage of the country, aggravating discontent.

Against that same backdrop, Ishiba last week launched a task force aimed at tackling "crimes or nuisance behaviours committed by some foreign nationals", including those relating to immigration, land acquisitions and unpaid social insurance.

A sustained Ukrainian drone attack on Russia caused Moscow's major airports to be temporarily closed and saw at least 140 flights cancelled, officials said.

More than 230 Ukrainian drones were downed over Russia since Saturday morning - including 27 over the capital - according to the Russian defence ministry.

According to Russia's aviation watchdog, the four major airports serving the capital were disrupted and more than 130 flights also had to be redirected. All have since resumed normal operations.

Meanwhile, at least three people were killed during Russian air strikes on Ukraine overnight, according to regional officials.

Russia's Association of Tour Operators (Ator) said on Sunday that Moscow airports were closed 10 times in 24 hours due to the strikes.

The Kaluga region, southwest of Moscow, was also affected. Russia's defence ministry said it had intercepted 45 drones since Saturday morning, resulting in Kaluga International Airport also being temporarily closed.

Russia's defence ministry said drones were also shot down over regions near the Ukrainian border including Rostov and Bryansk, as well as over the Black Sea. No fatalities were reported.

This is not the first time that Ukrainian drone attacks have caused travel disruption in Russia. In May, at least 60,000 passengers were stranded at airports across the country after Kyiv launched more than 500 drones in a 24-hour period, according to Russia's defence ministry.

• Trump weapons pledge marks major step forward for Ukraine
• Rosenberg: Russia more relieved than rattled by US tariff threat

Regional officials in Ukraine said two people died after Russian air strikes in different parts of Donetsk, while a 78-year-old woman died after residential buildings burned down in Sumy.

Ukraine's air force said it shot down 18 out of 57 Russian drones overnight into Sunday, while a further seven drones were lost after their radars were jammed.

As well as Sumy and Donetsk, other front-line areas of Kharkiv and Dnipropetrovsk were attacked, as was Zaporizhzhia.

The latest attacks come as the Kremlin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said that Russian President Vladimir Putin was ready to move towards a peace settlement with Ukraine but that Moscow's priority was to "achieve our goals".

"President Putin has repeatedly spoken of his desire to bring the Ukrainian settlement to a peaceful conclusion as soon as possible. This is a long process, it requires effort, and it is not easy," he said in a televised interview.

It has been nearly three-and-a-half years since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

On Saturday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky proposed a new round of talks with Moscow, aimed at restarting negotiations that halted last month.

Previous attempts by Russia and Ukraine to negotiate an end to the fighting have failed to achieve a ceasefire, but have resulted in prisoner swaps.

Zelensky also repeated his readiness to meet Russia's Vladimir Putin face-to-face, saying: "A meeting at the leadership level is needed to truly ensure peace."

Ukraine was this week given a boost when US President Donald Trump - who has in the past often expressed support and admiration for Russia's leader - announced that the US would send "top-of-the-line weapons" to Ukraine via Nato countries.

Trump also threatened Russia with severe tariffs if a deal to end the war is not reached within 50 days, and later told the BBC that he was "disappointed" with Putin but "not done".

Reacting to this in Sunday's interview, Peskov said: "Everyone has grown accustomed to his [Trump's] rather harsh and straightforward rhetoric.

"At the same time, he reaffirms his intention to continue doing everything possible to facilitate a peaceful settlement."

The Israeli military has issued evacuation orders for a crowded part of central Gaza where it has not launched a ground offensive during its 21 months of war against Hamas.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said on Sunday that residents and displaced Palestinians sheltering in the city of Deir al-Balah should evacuate immediately and move towards al-Mawasi on the Mediterranean coast.

The evacuation demand, which could signal an imminent attack, has caused widespread panic among tens of thousands of Palestinians, as well as the families of Israeli hostages who fear their relatives are being held in the city.

The IDF has conducted airstrikes in the area, but it has not yet deployed ground troops.

On Sunday, the Israeli military dropped leaflets from the sky ordering people in several districts in southwest Deir al-Balah to leave their homes and head further south.

"The (Israeli) Defense Forces continues to operate with great force to destroy the enemy's capabilities and terrorist infrastructure in the area," the military said, adding that it had not yet entered these districts during the war.

The affected neighbourhoods of Deir al-Balah are crowded with displaced people living in tents.

Israeli sources told Reuters news agency that the reason the army has stayed out of these districts so far is because they suspect Hamas might be holding hostages there.

At least 20 of the remaining 50 hostages in captivity in Gaza are believed to still be alive.

Most of the Strip's population of more than two million people have been displaced at least once during Israel's war with Hamas, with repeated Israeli evacuation calls covering large parts of the territory.

The new evacuation orders came as health officials at Gaza City's Shifa Hospital said more than 40 people were killed and dozens injured by Israeli fire as crowds gathered to await the entry of UN aid lorries on Sunday morning.

Hospitals in the south said more people were also killed at aid points there.

The BBC has contacted the Israeli military to ask for a response.

The UN says civilians are starving in Gaza and has called for an urgent influx of essential goods.

But there have been almost daily reports of Palestinians being killed while seeking aid since the US- and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) began operations in late May. Witnesses say most have been shot by Israeli forces. Israel says the new distribution system stops aid going to Hamas.

Israel launched its war in Gaza in retaliation for the Hamas-led attacks on 7 October 2023, which killed about 1,200 people and led to 251 others being taken hostage.

Israeli attacks have since killed more than 58,895 people in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run health ministry. The ministry's figures are quoted by the UN and others as the most reliable source of statistics available on casualties.

A "cautious calm" has returned to the Syrian city of Suweida after a week of deadly tribal clashes between Druze fighters, Bedouin gunmen and government forces, a UK-based monitoring group has said.

Residents reported that fighting stopped on Sunday as Syria's Islamist-led government declared the Bedouins had withdrawn from the predominantly Druze city "after days of bloody battles and chaos", the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said.

It followed a ceasefire announced by Syria's president on Saturday, which did not quell fighting straight away.

More than 1,000 people have been killed in the clashes and there is now a severe shortage of medical supplies in the city, the SOHR added.

At least 128,000 people have been displaced by the violence, the United Nations migration agency said on Sunday.

"Activists have reported that Suweida has been experiencing a cautious calm since the early hours of Sunday morning," the SOHR said.

"Meanwhile, the Syrian government security forces closed roads leading to Suweida to tribes, using soil barriers to prevent vehicles from crossing, except for ambulances, in a move to contain tensions."

The SOHR added that the city remains under the control of local Druze fighters, while tribal gunmen have withdrawn from several areas within the province.

Long-running tensions between Druze and Bedouin tribes erupted into deadly sectarian clashes a week ago, after the abduction of a Druze merchant on the road to the capital Damascus.

Interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa's government responded by deploying forces to the city.

Both Druze and Bedouin fighters have been accused of atrocities over the past seven days, as well as members of the security forces and individuals affiliated with the interim government.

On Saturday, al-Sharaa announced a ceasefire and sent security forces to Suweida to end the fighting.

It has been reported that Druze fighters pushed Bedouin gunmen out of the city on Saturday evening - but violence continued in other parts of the province. This has not been verified by the BBC.

On Sunday morning, fighting could not be heard, AFP correspondents near Suweida reported.

Meanwhile, the SOHR warned that the humanitarian situation in the city was worsening, pointing to a "severe shortage" of basic medical supplies.

An unnamed resident said that aid was needed immediately, telling the Reuters news agency: "The smell of corpses is spread throughout the national hospital."

Kenan Azzam, a local dentist speaking as the city was gripped by what he called a "tense calm", said the hospitals were "a disaster and out of service".

A Suweida medic told AFP that "no relief or medical assistance" had entered the city before Sunday.

Japanese voters headed to the polls on Sunday in a tightly contested election amid public frustration over rising prices and the imminent threat of US tariffs.

The ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and its junior coalition partner Komeito need to secure a combined 50 seats to retain an overall majority in the upper house but the latest polling shows they might fall short.

This election comes at a difficult time for Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and his ruling coalition as US President Donald Trump ramps up pressure on Tokyo during tense tariff negotiations.

Japan's massive auto industry, which accounts for eight percent of the country's jobs, is reeling from painful levies already in place.

Weak export data last week stoked fears that the world's fourth-largest economy could tip into a technical recession.

Despite Ishiba securing an early meeting with Trump in February, and sending his trade envoy to Washington seven times, no agreement has been reached.

For voters, tackling rising prices is a also a central concern.

The cost of rice, a staple food for Japanese households, has nearly doubled since last year.

For the past few months, the government has had to tap into its emergency stockpiles to tackle the shortage.

Since last year's lower house election, which saw the coalition fall short of a majority, the LDP has not been able to regain the trust of voters who are disgruntled with stagnant wages and relentless inflation.

Meanwhile, the populist Sanseito party, which has been using social media to attract younger voters, has seen a surge in popularity.

Polls show its "Japanese First" slogan has struck a chord with some conservatives, although its hardline stance on foreigners has drawn criticism.

The party wants "stricter rules and limits" on immigration, opposes "globalism" and "radical" gender policies, and wants a re-think on decarbonisation and vaccines.

If Ishiba's ruling coalition fails to secure 50 seats, it will have lost majority in both chambers of parliament, which could threaten his leadership and lead to political instability.

Ishiba's centre-right party has governed Japan almost continuously since 1955, albeit with frequent changes of leader.

The last time the LDP and Komeito failed to win a majority in the upper house was in 2010, having already fallen below the threshold in 2007.

That was followed by a rare change of government in 2009, when the now-defunct Democratic Party of Japan governed for a rocky three years.

A sports coach at a Taiwanese university has issued a formal apology over a research project that allegedly involved her coercing students into giving blood, according to local media.

Chou Tai-ying, 61, said that her intention was to help her team "because I had only a few players and they were often injured", but it is not known exactly what the blood was being taken for.

A Taiwanese politician, Chen Pei-yu, brought the case to light in 2024, alleging students were told that they would lose academic credits if they did not take part.

An internal investigation at National Taiwan Normal University (NTNU) in Taipei later found the blood sampling had started in 2019 and continued into 2024 for different "research projects".

Coach Chou, who admitted asking unqualified students to help withdraw the blood, apologised on Saturday for placing "any pressure on the school and the students" through her "reckless words and behaviour," Taiwan's Focus News agency reported.

"It is definitely my fault for making you feel the way you did," she said to the students via a statement.

Professor Chen Hsueh-chih, leader of one of the unspecified research projects, also issued an apology.

He said the aim was to help student athletes, but admitted it had unintentionally brought them and their families harm.

The internal investigation indicated that students had given blood once a day. The samples were thrown out after the investigation found fault with the way the blood was drawn.

Chen Pei-yu originally alleged that the research project required players to give three blood samples a day for 14 days straight. She said the players were required to take part in the project over several years.

NTNU principal Wu Cheng-chi apologised on Saturday for what he called the school's negligence. He said the institution's ethics and oversight procedures would be reviewed.

Taiwan's deputy education minister said the case would be reviewed by their department, as well as the actions of Chou and Chen.

Separately, the education ministry said on Thursday it might revoke the coaching license of an NTNU women's football coach, without naming the individual.

At least 14 people have died in floods and landslides caused by days of torrential rain in South Korea, the country's disaster management office has said.

There are fears the death toll could rise as rescue efforts continue, with 12 people reported missing.

Footage showed people wading through thick mud in the landslide-hit resort town of Gapyeong on Sunday as they made their way across a damaged bridge to evacuation shelters.

Further south, an entire village was covered with earth and debris following a landslide in the central Chungcheon region, according to video taken in the area on Saturday.

Nearly 10,000 people have evacuated their homes since the downpour began on Wednesday, while more than 41,000 households have temporarily lost power, as reported by local media.

The rain has largely subsided in the worst-hit southern and central areas, but more downpours are expected in capital Seoul and the country's northern regions on Sunday.

Thousands of roads and buildings have been damaged and submerged by raging floodwaters, with reports of damage to farmland and the widespread death of livestock.

Much of the destruction has been in the country's south, with six people killed and seven missing in Sancheong county.

Casualties have also occurred in a northern mountainous region near Seoul, as well as other western and northern areas.

Two people were killed and four were reported missing in Gapyeong on Sunday after a landslide engulfed properties.

Sixty-three people have been rescued while 285 others evacuated the area, Gyeonggi Province Fire Department said.

Serious landslide warnings have been issued in several regions nationwide.

The government launched a multi-agency recovery effort on Sunday.

At least 20 people have been injured after a vehicle drove into a crowd on Santa Monica Boulevard in Los Angeles, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD).

Up to five people have been critically injured and up to 10 are in a serious condition, the emergency services said.

The incident happened at 02:00 local time (09:00 GMT) in East Hollywood.

Pictures from the scene show a grey car on a pavement with debris strewn on the ground, and a large police presence.

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Twenty-eight people have died after a tourist boat capsized in Vietnam in bad weather, according to local reports.

At least 14 people are said to be missing following the incident in Halong Bay, a popular tourist destination in the north of the country, the reports say.

Most of the passengers were reportedly Vietnamese visiting from Hanoi.

Heavy rain has been hindering the search for survivors, rescuers say.

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Usyk still top of the heavyweight pile

Dubois left with another rebuilding job

The Syrian presidency says it will deploy a new force to halt the deadly sectarian clashes between Bedouin and Druze fighters in the south of the country.

Syrian interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa's office urged "all parties to exercise restraint", amid reports of renewed fighting near the city of Suweida on Friday.

Almost 600 people are reported to have been killed since the violence erupted on Sunday. Government troops deployed to the area were accused by residents of killing Druze civilians and carrying out extrajudicial executions.

Israel later struck targets in Syria to force the troops to withdraw from Suweida province. On Friday, the US ambassador to Turkey said that Israel and Syria had agreed a ceasefire.

In a post on X, ambassador Tom Barrack said that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Sharaa "have agreed to a ceasefire" embraced by Syria's neighbours Turkey and Jordan.

"We call upon Druze, Bedouins, and Sunnis to put down their weapons and together with other minorities build a new and united Syrian identity in peace and prosperity with its neighbours," the envoy said.

Israel and Syria have not publicly commented on the reported ceasefire agreement.

Shortly before Sharaa's office announced its planned military deployment to the south, an Israeli official said Israel had agreed to allow the limited entry of Syrian Internal Security Forces personnel into Suweida for 48 hours to protect Druze civilians "in light of the ongoing instability".

Suweida's predominantly Druze community follows a secretive, unique faith derived from Shia Islam, and distrusts the current jihadist-led government in Damascus.

The BBC correspondent in the Syrian capital says that sectarian hatred of the Druze is now spreading across the country.

The Druze are a minority in Syria, as well as in neighbouring Lebanon and Israel.

Earlier this week, the UN human rights chief, Volker Türk, said his office had received credible reports indicating widespread violations and abuses, including summary executions and arbitrary killings in Suweida.

Among the alleged perpetrators were members of the security forces and individuals affiliated with the interim government, as well as local Druze and Bedouin armed elements, Türk said in a statement.

"This bloodshed and the violence must stop," he warned, adding that "those responsible must be held to account".

The BBC has contacted the Syrian government and security forces about allegations of summary killings and other violations.

In a televised address early on Thursday, Sharaa vowed to hold the perpetrators accountable and promised to make protecting the Druze a "priority".

"We are eager to hold accountable those who transgressed and abused our Druze people because they are under the protection and responsibility of the state," he said.

He went on to blame "outlaw groups", saying their leaders "rejected dialogue for many months".

Twenty-eight people have died after a tourist boat capsized in Vietnam in bad weather, according to local reports.

At least 14 people are said to be missing following the incident in Halong Bay, a popular tourist destination in the north of the country, the reports say.

Most of the passengers were reportedly Vietnamese visiting from Hanoi.

Heavy rain has been hindering the search for survivors, rescuers say.

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Pop star Charli XCX has confirmed her marriage to George Daniel, drummer of band The 1975, after a video snapped by a passer-by sparked online speculation of a wedding.

The pair were spotted posing on the steps of Hackney Town Hall on Saturday afternoon - Daniel in suit and tie and the 'brat' idol in white.

A TikTok post from the singer several hours later confirmed the nuptials, racking up 3.9m views and thousands of congratulatory comments for "Mr and Mrs XCX".

Charli XCX's album, Brat, became a global cultural phenomenon on its release last year. Filling social media feeds with viral videos and receiving critical acclaim, its success saw her perform a headline slot at Glastonbury in June.

The singer confirmed the news while dressed in an off-the-shoulder white dress and her signature dark wraparound sunglasses.

She stomped away from the camera – pretending to be annoyed – on a video beneath text that read, "When George isn't crying when he sees me walking down the aisle."

But "Luckily he did xx" was the accompanying caption.

A later post, which included shots of Daniel wearing Charli's veil, gave "bridal party energy", according to XCX.

The footage from outside Hackney Town Hall suggests the couple had an intimate ceremony.

The two have been public about their relationship for several years and shared engagement photos in 2023.

They have also worked together multiple times, first collaborating on Charli's song Spinning and then on Brat, with Daniel named as co-producer and co-writer of two songs.

He also took part in the viral "Apple dance" at one of Charli's London shows, appearing on the concert's screens in front of thousands of fans.

His band The 1975 is fronted by singer Matty Healy and are well known for their song Chocolate. Daniel has released several tracks as a solo artist in recent years.

Anti‑immigration protests have taken place in dozens of towns and cities across Poland.

Most demonstrations attracted several hundred people or fewer on Saturday - but police estimated that about 3,000 took part in the largest rally in the southern city of Katowice.

The protests were organised by far-right political group Konfederacja, and another nationalist organisation.

Politicians from Konfederacja and the opposition Law and Justice party have been warning about a flood of illegal migration in Poland - but official figures do not support their claims.

"Without closing Poland to illegal immigration, without starting deportation campaigns, without abandoning political correctness... security will gradually deteriorate," Konfederacja co-chairman Krzysztof Bosak told the crowd in the eastern city of Bialystok.

A minute's silence was held at some gatherings in memory of a 24-year-old Polish woman murdered in the central city of Torun.

In the capital Warsaw, rival rallies took place just metres away. There were no reports of violence.

Police have since arrested a Venezuelan man in the case.

Right-wing politicians claim Poland is in danger of being flooded by illegal migrants.

Immigration has increased over the last decade - but official figures show that migration is lower so far this year than in previous years.

Earlier this month, Poland introduced checks on its borders with Germany and Lithuania after Berlin began turning away asylum seekers. Germany introduced its own controls on the Polish and Czech borders in 2023.

In March, Poland temporarily suspended the right of migrants arriving in the country via its border with Belarus to apply for asylum.

Being taught to love Russia starts early for children in occupied areas of eastern Ukraine.

At a nursery school in Luhansk, more than 70 youngsters line up holding a long black and orange Russian military banner in the shape of a letter Z, the symbol of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Across the city, seven little girls jump up and down and gesture in front of a Russian flag to the brash song "I am Russian" that blares out of loudspeakers. When the music stops they shout out together: "I'm Russian."

In an occupied town called Anthracite, nursery school children have made trench candles and blankets for Russian soldiers.

It is all part of a campaign that seeks not only to erase Ukraine's national identity, but also turn young Ukrainians against their own country.

To do that with children you need teachers, and as many Ukrainian teachers have fled, the government in Moscow has begun offering lump-sums of 2m roubles (£18,500) to Russian teaching staff willing to relocate to occupied parts of Ukraine.

The biggest and most powerful Russian organisation involved with children is Yunarmia (Youth Army).

Affiliated with the Russian defence ministry, it accepts members as young as eight. It operates across all of Russia, and now has branches in occupied areas of Ukraine.

"We're providing children with some basic skills which they'll find useful should they decide to join military service," says Fidail Bikbulatov, who runs Yunarmia's section in occupied areas of the Zaporizhzhia region in south-east Ukraine.

Bikbulatov was deployed from Russia's Bashkortostan, where he headed the "Youth Guard" division of the ruling United Russia party.

The EU has sanctioned Yunarmia, and Bikbulatov personally, for "the militarisation of Ukrainian children". Yunarmia is also targeted by UK sanctions for being part of Russia's campaign of "brainwashing" Ukrainian children.

Yunarmia is not alone. Other Russian state-sponsored organisations that have moved in include "Movement of the First Ones" and "Warrior", a network of centres for "the military and athletic training, and patriotic education of young people" set up on Russian President Vladimir Putin's orders.

These groups organise competitions such as Zarnitsa games rooted in the Soviet era, where Ukrainian children are required to demonstrate "general military literacy, knowledge of Russian statehood and military history, firearms firing skills".

As the children progress through the education system, they are taught in Russian, using the Russian curriculum and textbooks that justify Russia's war against Ukraine.

One such book portrays Ukraine as little more than a Western invention created to spite Russia, and argues that human civilisation would have possibly ended had Russia not invaded Ukraine in 2022.

Lisa, who attended a school in occupied Donetsk, says students there were forced to take part in events celebrating Russia and the USSR.

"When they were preparing a parade of some sort, I, the whole of my class and the whole of my year were forced to attend every weekend and train. We had to hold posters. I could not say no, it wasn't my choice. I was told I had to do it to graduate," Lisa says.

"Every time lessons started, our teacher made us stand up, put a hand on our hearts and listen to the Russian anthem, which she made us learn by heart, too."

Lisa now lives in the US and has been posting about her experiences on TikTok.

Serving Russian soldiers also play a role in the campaign of indoctrination, visiting schools to give so-called "bravery lessons". They glorify their exploits at war and depict Ukrainian forces as violent, unruly neo-Nazis.

Pavel Tropkin, an official from the ruling United Russia party now based in the occupied part of Kherson region, says these lessons are held "so that children understand the objectives" of what the Kremlin calls "the special military operation" in Ukraine.

Outside school, Ukrainian children are taken to see specially organised exhibitions glorifying Russia and the "special military operation".

One centre catering for such trips is hosting exhibitions called "Russia - My History" and "Special Military Operation Heroes" in Melitopol in Zaporizhzhia region.

The trips do not stop there.

The Kremlin has also launched a big campaign to take Ukrainian children on tours of Russia as part of efforts to instil pro-Russian sentiments.

Russia's culture minister Olga Lyubimova claims that more than 20,000 children from occupied Ukrainian territories have been taken to Russia under one programme alone, called "4+85". According to the Russian government's concert agency Rosconcert, which runs the programme, it seeks to "integrate the new generation into a unified Russian society".

However, Russia's "integration" campaign goes far beyond indoctrination.

Thousands of Ukrainian children taken to Russia during the three years of the full-scale invasion have not been allowed to return.

According to the Ukrainian government, more than 19,000 Ukrainian children have been forcibly deported to Russia. The UK government estimates that some 6,000 Ukrainian children have been relocated to a network of "re-education camps" in Russia.

International humanitarian law bans activities like this. For example, the Fourth Geneva Convention says that an occupying power may not enlist children "in formations or organizations subordinate to it" and that it may apply "no pressure or propaganda which aims at securing voluntary enlistment" of locals in occupied areas into its armed or auxiliary forces.

In 2023, the ICC issued an arrest warrant for President Putin, in part for the unlawful deportation of children. Putin and his government deny the charges.

Waging its war on Ukraine, Russia is not only after territory. It is also trying to put its stamp on the people who live there, no matter how young they are.

For decades, the Indian elite have sought escape in Raj-era private clubs and gymkhanas, scattered around the swankiest neighbourhoods in the country's big cities, hillside resorts and cantonment towns.

Access to these quintessentially "English" enclaves, with their bellboys, butlers, dark mahogany interiors and rigid dress codes, has been reserved for the privileged; the old moneyed who roam the corridors of power - think business tycoons, senior bureaucrats, erstwhile royals, politicians or officers of the armed forces.

This is where India's rich and powerful have hobnobbed for years, building social capital over cigars or squash and brokering business deals during golf sessions. Today, these spaces can feel strangely anachronistic - relics of a bygone era in a country eager to shed its colonial past.

As Asia's third largest economy breeds a new generation of wealth creators, a more modern and less formal avatar of the private members-only club - that reflects the sweeping economic and demographic changes under way in India - is emerging. This is where the newly well-heeled are hanging out and doing business.

Demand for such spaces is strong enough for the international chain Soho House to plan two new launches in the capital Delhi and in south Mumbai in the coming months. Their first offering - an ocean-facing club on Mumbai's iconic Juhu Beach - opened six years ago and is wildly successful.

The chain is one of a host of new club entrants vying to cater to a market that is booming in India.

Soho House started in London in the mid-90s as an antidote to the upscale gentlemen's clubs that lined Pall Mall. It came in as a refreshingly new concept: a more relaxed club for creators, thinkers and creative entrepreneurs, who might have felt like they didn't belong in the enclaves of the old aristocracy.

Thirty years later, India's flourishing tech-driven economy of start-ups and creators has birthed a nouveau riche that's afforded Soho House exactly another such market opportunity.

"There's growth in India's young wealth, and young entrepreneurs really need a foundation to platform themselves," Kelly Wardingham, Soho House's Asia regional director, told the BBC. The "new wealthy require different things" from what the traditional gymkhanas offer.

Unlike the old clubs, Soho House does not either "shut off" or let in people based on their family legacy, status, wealth or gender, she says. Members use the space as a haven to escape the bustle of Mumbai, with its rooftop pool, gym and private screening rooms as well as a plethora of gourmet food options. But they also use it to drive value from a diverse community of potential mentors and investors, or to learn new skills and attend events and seminars.

Reema Maya, a young filmmaker, says her membership of the house in Mumbai - a city "where one is always jostling for space and a quiet corner in a cramped cafe" - has given her rare access to the movers and shakers of Mumbai's film industry - which might otherwise have been impossible for someone like her "without generational privilege".

In fact, for years, traditional gymkhanas were closed off for the creative community. The famous Bollywood actor, the late Feroz Khan, once asked a gymkhana club in Mumbai for membership, only to be politely refused, as they didn't admit actors.

Khan, taken aback by their snootiness, is said to have quipped, "If you'd watched my movies, you would know I am not much of an actor."

By contrast, Soho House proudly flaunts Bollywood star Ali Fazal, a member, on its in-house magazine cover.

But beyond just a more modern, democratic ethos, high demand for these clubs is also a factor of the limited supply of the traditional gymkhanas, which are still very sought after.

Waiting queues at most of them can extend "up to many years," and supply hasn't caught up to serve the country's "new crop of self-made businessmen, creative geniuses and high-flying corporate honchos", according to Ankit Kansal of Axon Developers, which recently released a report on the rise of new members-only clubs.

This mismatch has led to more than two dozen new club entrants - including independent ones like Quorum and BVLD, as well as those backed by global hospitality brands like St Regis and Four Seasons - opening in India. At least half a dozen more are on their way in the next few years, according to Axon Developers.

This market, the report says, is growing at nearly 10% every year, with Covid having become a big turning point, as the wealthy chose to avoid public spaces.

While these spaces mark significant shifts, with their progressive membership policies and patronage of the arts, literary and independent music scene they are very much still "sanctums of modern luxury", says Axon, with admission given out by invite only or through referrals, and costing several times more than the monthly income of most Indians.

At Soho House for instance, annual membership is 320,000 Indian rupees ($3,700; $2,775) - beyond what most people can afford.

What's changed is that membership is based on personal accomplishment and future potential rather than family pedigree. A new self-made elite has replaced the old inheritors - but access remains largely out of reach for the average middle-class Indian.

In a way the rising take-up for these memberships reflects India's broader post-liberalisation growth story – when the country opened up to the world and discarded its socialist moorings.

Growth galloped, but the rich became the biggest beneficiaries, growing even richer as inequality reached gaping proportions. It's why the country's luxury market has boomed, even as the high street struggles with tepid demand, with most Indians without money to spend on anything beyond the basics.

But growing numbers of newly-minted rich present a big business opportunity.

India's 797,000 high-net worth individuals are set to double in number within a couple of years - a fraction of a population of 1.4 billion, but enough to drive future growth for those building new playgrounds for the wealthy to unwind, network and live the high life.

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The Syrian presidency says it will deploy a new force to halt the deadly sectarian clashes between Bedouin and Druze fighters in the south of the country.

Syrian interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa's office urged "all parties to exercise restraint", amid reports of renewed fighting near the city of Suweida on Friday.

Almost 600 people are reported to have been killed since the violence erupted on Sunday. Government troops deployed to the area were accused by residents of killing Druze civilians and carrying out extrajudicial executions.

Israel later struck targets in Syria to force the troops to withdraw from Suweida province. On Friday, the US ambassador to Turkey said that Israel and Syria had agreed a ceasefire.

In a post on X, ambassador Tom Barrack said that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Sharaa "have agreed to a ceasefire" embraced by Syria's neighbours Turkey and Jordan.

"We call upon Druze, Bedouins, and Sunnis to put down their weapons and together with other minorities build a new and united Syrian identity in peace and prosperity with its neighbours," the envoy said.

Israel and Syria have not publicly commented on the reported ceasefire agreement.

Shortly before Sharaa's office announced its planned military deployment to the south, an Israeli official said Israel had agreed to allow the limited entry of Syrian Internal Security Forces personnel into Suweida for 48 hours to protect Druze civilians "in light of the ongoing instability".

Suweida's predominantly Druze community follows a secretive, unique faith derived from Shia Islam, and distrusts the current jihadist-led government in Damascus.

The BBC correspondent in the Syrian capital says that sectarian hatred of the Druze is now spreading across the country.

The Druze are a minority in Syria, as well as in neighbouring Lebanon and Israel.

Earlier this week, the UN human rights chief, Volker Türk, said his office had received credible reports indicating widespread violations and abuses, including summary executions and arbitrary killings in Suweida.

Among the alleged perpetrators were members of the security forces and individuals affiliated with the interim government, as well as local Druze and Bedouin armed elements, Türk said in a statement.

"This bloodshed and the violence must stop," he warned, adding that "those responsible must be held to account".

The BBC has contacted the Syrian government and security forces about allegations of summary killings and other violations.

In a televised address early on Thursday, Sharaa vowed to hold the perpetrators accountable and promised to make protecting the Druze a "priority".

"We are eager to hold accountable those who transgressed and abused our Druze people because they are under the protection and responsibility of the state," he said.

He went on to blame "outlaw groups", saying their leaders "rejected dialogue for many months".

A US tech company says its chief executive has quit after he was reportedly caught on a big screen at a Coldplay concert embracing a woman, in a clip that went viral.

Astronomer said in a statement: "Andy Byron has tendered his resignation, and the Board of Directors has accepted."

The clip showed a man and a woman hugging on a giant screen at the arena in Foxborough, Massachusetts, before they abruptly ducked and hid from the camera.

The pair were identified in US media as Andy Byron, a married chief executive of Astronomer, and Kristin Cabot, the firm's chief people officer. The BBC has been unable to independently confirm the identities of either person in the video.

The company statement said on Saturday: "As stated previously, Astronomer is committed to the values and culture that have guided us since our founding.

"Our leaders are expected to set the standard in both conduct and accountability, and recently, that standard was not met."

The firm said its board would begin a search for the next leader and their chief product officer would keep serving as interim CEO.

The video of the pair swaying to music at Wednesday night's concert and quickly trying to hide gained millions of views.

After seeing the pair duck, Coldplay lead singer Chris Martin said to the crowd: "Either they're having an affair, or they're just very shy."

Astronomer announced it was launching an investigation into the relationship and placed the CEO on leave shortly after the video went viral.

Ukraine has proposed a new round of peace talks with Russia, President Volodymyr Zelensky has said, in a move aimed at restarting negotiations that halted last month.

Senior security official Rustem Umerov has offered to meet the Russian side next week, Zelensky said in his evening address, adding that everything had to be done to get a ceasefire.

Zelenksy also repeated his readiness to meet Russia's Vladimir Putin face-to-face. "A meeting at the leadership level is needed to truly ensure peace," he said.

The proposal came hours after Ukraine was hit with another widespread air bombardment by Russia, which killed three people.

• Buildings burn as another wave of Russian attacks hits Ukraine
• Ukrainians unimpressed by Trump's 50-day ultimatum to Putin

Ten regions of Ukraine, including several cities, were hit in the night between Friday and Saturday, Zelensky said earlier on Saturday.

Ukraine's military said more than 340 explosive and dummy drones and 35 cruise and ballistic missiles had been used, but many were downed.

Earlier this week, President Donald Trump said the US would send "top-of-the-line weapons" to Ukraine via Nato countries, while also threatening Russia with severe tariffs if a deal to end the war is not reached within 50 days.

Trump also warned that the US would impose 100% secondary tariffs targeting Russia's remaining trade partners if a peace deal with Ukraine was not reached by his deadline.

Two rounds of talks in Istanbul between Moscow and Kyiv have so far failed to result in any progress towards a ceasefire, but large-scale prisoner exchanges and deals to return the bodies of killed soldiers were agreed.

After the last round, which ended in early June, Ukrainian negotiators said Russia had again rejected an "unconditional ceasefire" - a key demand by Kyiv and its allies in Europe and the US .

Russia also outlined a list of demands, including calls for Ukraine to cede more territory and to reject all forms of Western military support.

At the time, Zelensky accused Moscow of "doing everything it can to ensure the next possible meeting is fruitless".

Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Russia currently controls about 20% of Ukraine's territory, including the southern Crimea peninsula Moscow annexed in 2014.

At least 20 people have been injured after a vehicle drove into a crowd on Santa Monica Boulevard in Los Angeles, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD).

Up to five people have been critically injured and up to 10 are in a serious condition, the emergency services said.

The incident happened at 02:00 local time (09:00 GMT) in East Hollywood.

Pictures from the scene show a grey car on a pavement with debris strewn on the ground, and a large police presence.

This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly. Please refresh the page for the fullest version.

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At least 32 Palestinians seeking food have been killed by Israeli gunfire near two aid distribution points close to Khan Younis and Rafah in southern Gaza, according to the territory's Hamas-run health ministry.

Dozens were also injured near the two sites run by the controversial US and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), it said.

The GHF said there were no incidents "at or near" their sites, but that there had been "Israel Defense Forces (IDF) activity" hours before their sites were due to open.

One eyewitness told the Reuters news agency that the Israeli gunfire seemed "targeted to kill".

• Aid contractor tells BBC he saw colleagues shoot at hungry Palestinians
• At least 20 killed in crush at US-backed GHF aid site in Gaza

The Palestinian ministry of health said a number of bodies were taken to nearby Nasser hospital on Saturday morning.

There are almost daily reports of Palestinians being killed while seeking aid since the GHF began operations in late May. Witnesses say most have been shot by Israeli forces.

The IDF told the BBC that in the latest incident, troops fired warning shots to prevent "suspects" approaching them, saying the incident happened before the aid sites opened.

Mohammed Al-Khalidi, speaking to Reuters, pointed the finger at the Israeli army for the attack.

He said he was part of a group of Palestinians who had been told the GHF aid distribution centre was open, but when they arrived tanks began moving towards them and opened fire.

"It wasn't shots that were to scare us or to organize us, it was shots that were targeted to kill us, if they wanted to organize us they would have, but they meant to kill us."

The GHF uses private security contractors to distribute aid from sites in Israeli military zones. Israel and the US say the system is necessary to stop Hamas from stealing aid. The UN refuses to co-operate with it, describing it as unethical and saying no evidence has been offered of Hamas systematically diverting aid.

On 15 July, the UN human rights office said it had so far recorded 674 killings in the vicinity of the GHF's four sites in southern and central Gaza over the past six weeks.

Another 201 killings had been recorded along routes of UN and other aid convoys, it added.

The GHF denies that there have been any deadly incidents in close proximity to its sites and accused the UN of using "false and misleading" figures from Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry. The ministry's figures are widely seen as a reliable count of bodies seen by Gazan hospitals.

Israel does not allow international news organisations, including the BBC, to send journalists into the territory.

The UN also said this week that the number of acutely malnourished children has doubled since Israel began restricting food entering the territory in March. Despite the creation of the GHF significant amounts of aid, including baby formula, is still being blocked at the border.

On Friday, the director of one field hospital said in a statement that they had an unprecedented influx of patients suffering from severe exhaustion, emaciation and acute malnutrition.

So far, 69 children have died from malnutrition during the increasing humanitarian crisis, according to the Hamas government media office.

On Friday, US President Donald Trump once again suggested a ceasefire deal was very near – but a Palestinian official told the BBC that talks remain blocked, with a latest troop withdrawal map proposed by Israel still unacceptable to Hamas.

Twenty-eight people have died after a tourist boat capsized in Vietnam in bad weather, according to local reports.

At least 14 people are said to be missing following the incident in Halong Bay, a popular tourist destination in the north of the country, the reports say.

Most of the passengers were reportedly Vietnamese visiting from Hanoi.

Heavy rain has been hindering the search for survivors, rescuers say.

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At least three people have died following another widespread air bombardment by Russia.

Two people were killed in the eastern Dnipropetrovsk region, the regional governor, Sergiy Lysak, said, while a woman died of her injuries after being rescued from a burning apartment in Odesa, according to emergency services.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said 10 regions of Ukraine, including a number of cities, were hit in the overnight assault. Ukraine's military said more than 340 explosive and dummy drones and 35 cruise and ballistic missiles were used.

Although it said 90% of these were shot down, suppressed electronically or lost, more than 30 got through.

One of the strikes hit a residential block in the southern city of Odesa, causing a fire on its upper floors.

Rescuers said five people were rescued from burning apartments - including the woman who later died. At least another six people were wounded.

The eastern city of Pavlohrad was subjected to what Serhiy Lysak called a "hellish night and morning".

He said there had been "explosion after explosion" caused by drone and missile strikes, adding it had been the biggest-scale attack on the city to date.

Targets reportedly included industrial sites, a fire department, a clinic, a school, and a cultural institution.

Zelensky wrote of "important infrastructure" being damaged there. A missile plant is based in Pavlohrad, and the city has been struck in the past by Russia.

Russia's defence ministry said it struck military-industrial enterprises that produce components for missiles and drones overnight, but did not specify where.

• Is Ukraine's new drone scheme gamifying war?
• Ukrainians unimpressed by Trump's 50-day ultimatum to Putin

The north-eastern city of Sumy was also attacked. Zelensky said critical infrastructure had been damaged, cutting power to several thousand families.

There have also been strikes - including with guided bombs - on another town in the region, Shostka, which lies less than 50km (30 miles) from the Russian border. Officials said a "targeted hit" there had caused a fire. They did not say what had been struck.

Unverified video footage posted online purportedly of the incident shows a fierce fire and billowing clouds of grey smoke.

Zelensky once again stressed the importance of bolstering air defences, both in terms of supplies from allies, but also producing them in Ukraine, including more interceptor drones.

The Trump administration recently moved to free up weapons supplies, even if some of these - including much-needed Patriot air defences - will be paid for by other Nato allies.

Russia said it shot down more than 70 Ukrainian drones overnight into Saturday, most of them over the regions of Rostov, Moscow and Bryansk.

The acting governor of Rostov, Yuri Slyusar, said the attack had been massive, affecting areas close to the border with occupied parts of Ukraine. Houses, he said, were damaged by what he said had been falling debris, and several settlements suffered temporary power cuts.

Slyusar said one railway worker had been injured, and rail traffic disrupted. Several supply routes into Ukraine run through the area.

Meanwhile, on the front lines, Russian forces continue to attack one of their key objectives - the town of Pokrovsk in the eastern region of Donetsk.

Late on Friday, Ukraine's commander-in-chief, Oleksandr Syrskyi, acknowledged it faced increasing pressure, but insisted its defence was "steadfast". He said Russia had been trying to get to the city with small groups of soldiers attacking for sabotage and reconnaissance purposes, claiming one such group had been destroyed. Russia has been trying to encircle Pokrovsk for months.

The Democratic Republic of Congo and M23 rebels have signed ceasefire deal in Qatar to end fighting between the warring sides.

Dubbed the Declaration of Principles, Saturday's agreement seen by the BBC, says both sides must refrain from attacks, "hate propaganda" and "any attempt to seize by force new positions on the ground".

The declaration is intended as a roadmap towards a permanent settlement.

The two sides agreed to implement the deal's terms by July 29. A final peace deal is due by 18 August and must align with last month's US-brokered deal between DR Congo and Rwanda, which denies accusations it backs M23.

Decades of conflict escalated earlier this year when M23 rebels seized control of large parts of the mineral-rich eastern DR Congo including the regional capital, Goma, the city of Bukavu and two airports.

The UN says thousands of people have been killed and hundreds of thousands of civilians forced from their homes following since. The M23 disputes the figures, saying fewer than 1,000 people have died.

DR Congo spokesperson Patrick Muyaya said the deal took the government's "red line" into account - including the "non-negotiable withdrawal" of the M23 from occupied areas.

But in a video posted on X, M23 negotiator Benjamin Mbonimpa said the deal did not mention such a pull-out.

It is the first direct accord between the two sides since the rebels launched their offensive at the turn of the year.

Qatar said negotiations were set to continue.

The African Union Commission called the declaration a "milestone" in lasting peace efforts and security in the region.

The declaration also outlines a commitment to reinstating state authority in eastern DR Congo.

This is the latest in a long line of failed peace deals in the region.

One of the main players in today's conflict - the M23 rebels - emerged from a failed peace deal 16 years ago that never delivered on demobilisation.

In March, DR Congo's President Félix Tshisekedi and his Rwandan counterpart Paul Kagame met in Qatar and both called for an immediate ceasefire.

The following month, DR Congo and M23 group agreed to a ceasefire facilitated by Qatar, but fighting continued on the ground.

The Washington deal, which came about in June, has been met with widespread criticism as a key incentive for the US' intervention is access to the DR Congo's vast mineral wealth. President Trump boasted of this feat.

There has been talk of Tshisekedi and Rwanda's President Paul Kagame going to Washington to meet Trump together, though no date has been fixed.

Additional reporting by Emery Makumeno

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A building collapse that killed 34 construction workers and injured dozens more in the Western Cape, town of George last May was "entirely preventable", South Africa's government says.

A newly released report into the 2024 tragedy revealed that serious safety concerns had been raised well before the partially-built five-storey apartment block came crashing down.

Public Works Minister Dean Macpherson said the collapse was the result of multiple failures including the use of substandard materials, structural cracks, and visible gaps.

"There were a number of red flags that were continually raised about this project," said a visibly angry Macpherson.

Some of the defects in the building were detected a year before the building collapsed. The health and safety officer even resigned in protest but work continued the report found.

"The work should have stopped" Macpherson said.

Macpherson added that these signs were a chance to turn back but instead, problems with the building were "covered up".

Workers reported feeling vibrations in the partially built structure, and being told to cover up holes with sand and substandard concrete, the report revealed.

Following what the minister described as an "emotional and painful" private meeting with survivors and families of victims, he called for criminal accountability for those found to have been negligent.

A police investigation is still ongoing but no arrests have been made.

Many survivors are still facing trauma, medical bills and struggling to put food on the table, Macpherson said.

One survivor of the disaster, Elelwani, tearfully told local media, that her life had changed dramatically in the last year.

She lost many of her teeth, struggles to eat and has been the subject of bullying. She appealed for money from well wishers.

Macpherson pledged to introduce regulations to improve oversight in construction and reform outdated legislation.

The probe was conducted by the Council for the Built Environment and a parallel investigation by the Engineering Council of South Africa.

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

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At least 20 people have been injured after a vehicle drove into a crowd on Santa Monica Boulevard in Los Angeles, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD).

Up to five people have been critically injured and up to 10 are in a serious condition, the emergency services said.

The incident happened at 02:00 local time (09:00 GMT) in East Hollywood.

Pictures from the scene show a grey car on a pavement with debris strewn on the ground, and a large police presence.

This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly. Please refresh the page for the fullest version.

You can receive Breaking News on a smartphone or tablet via the BBC News App. You can also follow @BBCBreaking on X to get the latest alerts.

At least 20 people have been injured after a vehicle drove into a crowd on Santa Monica Boulevard in Los Angeles, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD).

Up to five people have been critically injured and up to 10 are in a serious condition, the emergency services said.

The incident happened at 02:00 local time (09:00 GMT) in East Hollywood.

Pictures from the scene show a grey car on a pavement with debris strewn on the ground, and a large police presence.

This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly. Please refresh the page for the fullest version.

You can receive Breaking News on a smartphone or tablet via the BBC News App. You can also follow @BBCBreaking on X to get the latest alerts.

The Syrian presidency says it will deploy a new force to halt the deadly sectarian clashes between Bedouin and Druze fighters in the south of the country.

Syrian interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa's office urged "all parties to exercise restraint", amid reports of renewed fighting near the city of Suweida on Friday.

Almost 600 people are reported to have been killed since the violence erupted on Sunday. Government troops deployed to the area were accused by residents of killing Druze civilians and carrying out extrajudicial executions.

Israel later struck targets in Syria to force the troops to withdraw from Suweida province. On Friday, the US ambassador to Turkey said that Israel and Syria had agreed a ceasefire.

In a post on X, ambassador Tom Barrack said that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Sharaa "have agreed to a ceasefire" embraced by Syria's neighbours Turkey and Jordan.

"We call upon Druze, Bedouins, and Sunnis to put down their weapons and together with other minorities build a new and united Syrian identity in peace and prosperity with its neighbours," the envoy said.

Israel and Syria have not publicly commented on the reported ceasefire agreement.

Shortly before Sharaa's office announced its planned military deployment to the south, an Israeli official said Israel had agreed to allow the limited entry of Syrian Internal Security Forces personnel into Suweida for 48 hours to protect Druze civilians "in light of the ongoing instability".

Suweida's predominantly Druze community follows a secretive, unique faith derived from Shia Islam, and distrusts the current jihadist-led government in Damascus.

The BBC correspondent in the Syrian capital says that sectarian hatred of the Druze is now spreading across the country.

The Druze are a minority in Syria, as well as in neighbouring Lebanon and Israel.

Earlier this week, the UN human rights chief, Volker Türk, said his office had received credible reports indicating widespread violations and abuses, including summary executions and arbitrary killings in Suweida.

Among the alleged perpetrators were members of the security forces and individuals affiliated with the interim government, as well as local Druze and Bedouin armed elements, Türk said in a statement.

"This bloodshed and the violence must stop," he warned, adding that "those responsible must be held to account".

The BBC has contacted the Syrian government and security forces about allegations of summary killings and other violations.

In a televised address early on Thursday, Sharaa vowed to hold the perpetrators accountable and promised to make protecting the Druze a "priority".

"We are eager to hold accountable those who transgressed and abused our Druze people because they are under the protection and responsibility of the state," he said.

He went on to blame "outlaw groups", saying their leaders "rejected dialogue for many months".

When Jack Posobiec walked into the Department of Justice in Washington, DC last February, he thought he would finally get some answers about Jeffrey Epstein.

But when he and other MAGA supporters were given essentially just rehashed, already-public material - and when the government put a damper on the release of any new information this July - they balked.

"We were all told more was coming. That answers were out there and would be provided. Incredible how utterly mismanaged this Epstein mess has been. And it didn't have to be," Posobiec posted on social media on 7 July.

Now, Donald Trump is finding it hard to shake loose the conspiracy theories that have animated his base since he first broke through into Republican politics a decade ago.

Posobiec, who emerged from the fringes of the internet in 2016 when he spread false rumours about a child abuse ring based in a Washington DC restaurant - a conspiracy theory that became known as Pizzagate - is just one of many MAGA die-hards who believes officials are hiding key truths about Epstein's life and death.

The disgraced financier and convicted sex offender died by suicide in a New York prison cell in 2019 while he was awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.

On a recent podcast hosted by Breitbart News editor Alex Marlow, Posobiec said the MAGA base see this case as shorthand for the thorough rot of the so-called "deep state".

"It's not that they care about Epstein personally," he said. "It's that they care that there's this optic that Epstein was somehow involved with a shadowy system that actually has control over our government, control over our institutions, control of our lives, and really is a ruling power over us."

Over the years, some have claimed that government officials possess files on Epstein that reveal sordid details, including that a "client lint" exists with notable names on it who may have participated in some Epstein's alleged crimes.

Trump has, in the past, played to that crowd. During last year's election campaign, he said he would have "no problem" releasing Epstein case files, and after the election directly answered a question about whether he would "declassify" the files by saying: "Yeah, yeah, I would."

Conspiratorial thinking has been a part of President Trump's movement from the outset. His entry into the once-crowded world of Republican Party politics a decade ago came as he amplified the false theory that Barack Obama wasn't born in the United States.

Now, however, the world of conspiracy is biting back.

Epstein's crimes are real and horrific, and there remains the possibility that further information could emerge about them.

But they have also become subsumed by grander narratives – Pizzagate, and later QAnon, the sprawling interactive conspiracy theory that swamped the internet during Trump's first term, pushing the idea that the highest echelons of society were controlled by a child-abusing elite cabal. The conspiracy theory spread through cryptic messages posted by a pseudonymous character called Q.

Mike Rothschild, author of several books on Trump-era conspiracies, including The Storm Is Upon Us: How QAnon Became a Movement, Cult and Conspiracy of Everything, said Epstein was mentioned in several such messages dating back to late 2017.

"Epstein is seen as one of the major players in a global 'paedo elite' that's been trafficking children for centuries, and that Q and Trump were supposed to put an end to once and for all," he told the BBC.

But after the justice department meeting in February, administration officials, including FBI director Kash Patel and his deputy Dan Bongino - who both stoked Epstein rumours for years - started to dampen talk of any major revelations.

Then, on 8 July, the Department of Justice and FBI said in a memo that Epstein's cause of death was suicide and there was no evidence he had a "client list".

The president seemed eager to move on, calling the Epstein case "sordid, but it's boring" while also blaming Democrats for continuing to make it an issue.

Many Trump supporters are happy to follow the president's lead. But a subset of extremely online MAGA supporters are still deeply passionate about the Epstein case.

• Trump orders officials to release Epstein court documents
• Prosecutor in Diddy and Epstein cases fired by justice department
• Trump's Epstein strategy could pit him against loyal supporters

Several MAGA voices, including former Fox News host Tucker Carlson, have alleged that Epstein was employed by the Israeli security services. And among more extreme elements of the movement, the conspiracy theories around Epstein sometimes veer into the antisemitic.

But Rothschild said most of the people in MAGA world are simply itching for more information – if it indeed exists – about the financier's connections with Bill Clinton and other Democrats and Trump opponents. Epstein cultivated powerful people from both major US political parties.

The long history of MAGA's Epstein obsession mean Trump is now finding it difficult to satisfy the conspiratorial elements in his base.

The story took another twist late on Thursday as The Wall Street Journal reported Trump had sent Epstein a "bawdy" birthday greeting in 2003. The pair's one-time friendship is well-known, but Trump says he cut ties with Epstein long ago and filed a lawsuit against the Wall Street Journal's parent company, its owner and two reporters following the report.

Meanwhile, Trump seemed more willing to indulge the conspiracy theorists, posting on Truth Social: "Based on the ridiculous amount of publicity given to Jeffrey Epstein, I have asked Attorney General Pam Bondi to produce any and all pertinent Grand Jury testimony, subject to Court approval."

There is no doubt that conspiracy theories clearly have the power to motivate some of the president's base. QAnon supporters were among some of the most visible participants at the January 2021 riot at the US Capitol.

In a survey conducted just before last November's election, the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) think tank found that nearly a fifth of Americans agree with QAnon-linked statements, including most pointedly: "The government, media, and financial worlds in the US are controlled by a group of Satan-worshipping paedophiles who run a global child sex trafficking operation."

Many see the Epstein case as a confirmation of those views, and the QAnon-believing population is heavily pro-Trump, the PRRI found, with 80% backing the president.

And with that support has come influence. Posobiec, the Pizzagate and Epstein conspiracy theorist who was at the DOJ meeting in February, reportedly accompanied Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth on a recent trip to Europe.

He also has been photographed meeting with neo-Nazi's, although he denies being a white nationalist himself.

He did not respond to the BBC's request for comment.

He is adamant that Epstein's case is connected to the wider conspiracy world.

"It ties to Covid, it ties to lockdowns, it ties to vaccines," Posobiec said, on the Alex Marlow podcast, which was recorded at a conference last week where multiple speakers brought up Epstein and demanded further revelations.

"It ties to so many different buckets of the anger people are feeling."

Rich Logis, a former longtime Trump supporter who broke ranks and started an organisation called Leaving MAGA, said that these outlandish theories serve "as ties that bind many within the MAGA community", even amongst those who doubt them.

Logis says Trump's dismissal this week of their concerns this left some supporters "feeling confused and stunned".

"They expected Trump to keep his promise and reveal those who allegedly aided and abetted Epstein," he said.

If the Epstein case presents a political quagmire for Trump, there is also a problem for his supporters, particularly the vocal influencer class, in figuring out where to funnel their rage. Targeting the president could backfire when it comes to their own followers.

"Many of the major influencers are furious," Rothschild said, "and while they might not take it out on Trump, they might take it out on the GOP (Republican Party) in general."

Trump has so far stood by Pam Bondi, his attorney general. But she, Patel and Bongino may increasingly feel the pressure if MAGA's conspiracy wing continues to demand more files - whether or not they actually exist.