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Stolen treasures, a crown dropped as thieves fled - and serious questions for Louvre security

Jb Reed/Bloomberg via Getty Images The antique Empress Eugenie Brooch, an antique diamond bow brooch, pictured in a black velvet box with a red exterior. It is a lavish bow shape with trailing strands of diamonds in the shape of two large tassels, and four further strands hanging from the bow Jb Reed/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Authorities say the Empress Eugénie Brooch was among the stolen items

It is the most spectacular robbery at the Louvre museum since the Mona Lisa disappeared in 1911.

And it poses serious questions about levels of security covering French artworks, at a time when they are increasingly being targeted by criminal gangs.

According to France's new interior minister Laurent Nunez, the gang that broke into the Apollo Gallery Sunday morning was clearly professional.

They knew what they wanted, had evidently "cased the joint" in advance, had a brazenly simple but effective modus operandi, and needed no more than seven minutes to take their booty and get away.

In a truck equipped with an elevating platform of the type used by removal companies, they parked on the street outside, raised themselves up to the first floor, then used a disc-cutter to enter through a window.

Inside the richly decorated gallery they made for two display-cases which contain what remains of the French crown jewels.

Most of France's royal regalia was lost or sold after the 1789 Revolution, but some items were saved or bought back. Most of what was in the cases, though, dates from the 19th Century and the two imperial families of Napoleon and his nephew Napoleon III.

According to the authorities, eight items were taken including diadems, necklaces, ear-rings and brooches.

They had belonged to Napoleon's wife the empress Marie-Louise; to his sister-in-law Queen Hortense of Holland; to Queen Marie-Amelie, wife of France's last King Louis-Philippe, who ruled from 1830 to 1848; and to the empress Eugénie, wife of Napoleon III, who ruled from 1852 to 1870.

A crown of the empress Eugénie was left at the scene and is being examined to see if it is damaged.

In a statement the culture ministry said that the alarms had sounded correctly. Five museum staff who were in the gallery or nearby followed protocol by contacting security forces and protecting visitors.

It said the gang had tried to set fire to their vehicle outside but were prevented by the intervention of a museum staff-member.

'An embarrassment': BBC's Andrew Harding reports from scene of Louvre robbery

The heist took place in a gallery just a short walk from some of the world's most famous paintings – such as the Mona Lisa.

But the criminal groups that order heists like this do not target world-famous paintings that cannot ever be displayed or sold. They prefer items that can be converted into cash – and jewels top the list.

However huge their historical and cultural value, crowns and diadems can easily be broken apart and sold in bits. Even large and famous diamonds can be cut. The final sales price might not be what the original artefact was worth, but it will still be considerable.

Two recent museum thefts in France had already alerted the authorities to the growing audacity of art gangs, and a security plan drawn up by the culture ministry is gradually being put into effect across France.

"We are well aware that French museums are vulnerable," said Nunez.

In September thieves took raw gold – in its mineral state – from the Natural History Museum in Paris. The gold was worth about 600,000 euros (£520,000) and will have been easily disposed of on the black market.

In the same month thieves took porcelain worth 6,000,000 euros from a museum in Limoges – a city once famous for its chinaware. The haul could well have been commissioned by a foreign buyer.

An illustration showing the position of the Gallery of Apollo as it relates to the rest of the Louvre, overlooking the River Seine

The Louvre contains thousands of artworks that are famous around the world, and an equal number of more obscure items that are nonetheless culturally significant.

But in its 230-year history there have been relatively few thefts – largely thanks to the tight security in place.

The most recent disappearance was of a landscape by the 19th Century artist Camille Corot. Le Chemin de Sèvres (The Road to Sèvres) was simply removed from a wall in 1998 when no-one was looking, and has not been seen since.

But by far the most famous theft was the one that took place in 1911, when Leonardo da Vinci's La Joconde – better known now as the Mona Lisa – was taken. The culprit back then was able to roll it up and put it inside his jacket.

It turned out he was an Italian nationalist who wanted the artwork brought back home. It was found in Italy in 1914 and returned to the Louvre.

Unless they have a quick success in catching the thieves, today's investigators are unlikely to be so lucky.

The first aim of the gang will be to disperse the jewels and sell them on. It will not be hard.

Harper Lee's newly found stories reveal 'a brilliant writer in the making', her family say

Getty Images Author Harper Lee smiles before receiving the 2007 Presidential Medal of Freedom in the East Room of the White House November 5, 2007 in Washington, DCGetty Images

Molly Lee is talking to me about the tales her aunt Nelle, known to the world as Harper Lee, would weave for her when she was a little girl. "She was just a great storyteller," says the 77-year-old from her home in Alabama.

That's an understatement if the success of Harper Lee's Pulitzer-prize winning novel To Kill A Mockingbird is anything to go by. Since its publication in 1960, when it was an instant hit, the book has sold more than 42 million copies worldwide

Based around the story of Tom Robinson, a black man falsely accused of rape, it's told through the eyes of two white children, Jean Louise 'Scout' Finch and her brother Jem - and is often described as an American classic.

But at the point Molly is describing, before the world had heard of Lee, she was simply an aunt enchanting her niece with stories, often by riffing on one of her favourite authors, the British novelist Daphne Du Maurier.

"The stories that she told me, she would make them up but they all seemed to be based around, 'It was a dark and stormy night'... It seemed to me they were always on the moor and she would just take me into the dark," Molly says.

Molly's cousin is 77-year-old Ed Lee Conner. His earliest memories of his aunt date back to the late 1940s, when he was tiny. "She sang to me in a way that was very funny," he recalls. "And I laughed."

He gives me a rendition, half-singing I've Got a Little List from the musical The Mikado. Ed says he only realised much later that "she was singing to me songs from Gilbert and Sullivan", the Victorian-era duo Lee "adored" all her life.

It seems some of Lee's influences were British, even if her roots were in Monroeville, Alabama at a time of strict segregation, when schools, churches and restaurants were divided on race lines.

Casey Cep Photo showing Harper Lee's nephew, Dr Edwin Lee Conner on the left -- smiling & with sun glasses and wearing dark blue shirt and niece, Molly Lee in pale blue shirt, also smiling. Molly has grey short hair and is wearing large pearl earrings
Casey Cep
Harper Lee's nephew, Dr Edwin Lee Conner and niece, Molly Lee, who said their aunt was "funny" and "a brilliant writer"

The cousins are sharing their memories of their aunt - who died in 2016 - on the eve of the publication of a new book, The Land of Sweet Forever.

It's a series of newly discovered short stories Lee wrote in the years before Mockingbird, as well as previously published essays and magazine pieces.

Ed explains: "I knew there were unpublished stories, I had no idea where the manuscripts of those stories were."

They were discovered in one of his aunt's New York City apartments after she died, a time capsule from the start of Lee's career which help explain how a young woman from Alabama became a best-selling author whose work addressed the turbulent issues of her age.

Molly is "very pleased" that the stories have been found. "I think it's interesting to see how her writing evolved and how she worked on her craft," she says. "Even I can tell how she improved."

Getty Images Harper Lee  sitting outside on a reclining chair in short sleeved dress looking upwards, next to her father in dark suit and glasses, with a newspaper on his lap. Plants on shelf in the backgroundGetty Images
Harper Lee with her father, Amasa Coleman Lee, newspaper editor and lawyer, who was the inspiration for Atticus Finch, a character who also features in the short story, The Pinking Shears

Some elements will be familiar to fans of To Kill A Mockingbird.

Versions of Jean Louise Finch appear, although she hasn't gained her nickname Scout yet.

In one of the stories, The Pinking Shears, the character is a spirited little girl called Jean Louie who gives a friend a haircut and faces the wrath of the child's father. Perhaps a hint of the forthright Scout to come?

In another, The Binoculars, a child starting school is berated by the teacher for already knowing how to read. A version of that story appears early on in Mockingbird.

Some of them are set in Maycomb, Alabama, the fictional town which also stands for Monroeville in To Kill A Mockingbird.

Getty Images Actress Mary Badham, short pudding bowl styledark hair eating an apple & dressed in dungarees and Harper Lee  seated on swing bench in porch on the set of the film "To Kill A Mockingbird"Getty Images
Actress Mary Badham and Harper Lee on the set of the To Kill A Mockingbird film, in 1961 at Monroeville, Alabama

Ed, who's a retired English professor, calls them "apprentice stories" which aren't "the fullest expression of her genius and yet there's genius in them".

"She was a brilliant writer in the making and you see something of her brilliance in these stories."

I found one, The Cat's Meow, an unsettling read through a modern lens. Set in Maycomb, it sees two siblings, clearly Lee and her older sister Alice, confounded by her sister's black gardener Arthur, who's from the North but has apparently decided to work in the segregationist South. The older sister tells the younger one he's a "Yankee" who has "as much education as you have".

Written in 1957, seven years before the groundbreaking Civil Rights Act of 1964, Lee's own approach to the civil rights movement appears to be evolving.

Some of the language in the story and at times, even the narrator's own attitudes, are uncomfortable to read.

Ed thinks that's a "fair assessment"

He points to Go Set A Watchman, the novel Lee published just a year before she died after the manuscript was found decades after she wrote it.

As liberal as the narrator thinks she is, "she's not entirely liberated from her own prejudices, let's put it that way", Ed says.

"And I don't say that in any demeaning sense because for white southerners, it's not easy to rid ourselves of all the prejudices that we have born over the centuries."

Getty Images Courtroom scene from the film of To Kill A Mockingbird shows Gregory Peck on the left seated in pale suit and waistcoat with glasses, and papers and hat on desk in front. On his right is Brock Peters who played Tom Robinson in dark dungarees and shirt. Both have serious expression on their faces.
Behind them people in the courtroom.Getty Images
Gregory Peck won an Oscar for his role as Atticus Finch, who defended Tom Robinson (Brock Peters)

The publication of Go Set A Watchman sparked controversy. Atticus Finch, the anti-racist hero of To Kill A Mockingbird, is portrayed as a racist.

There were questions about whether Lee, who had significant health issues by then, had the capacity to give full consent. (An investigation by the state of Alabama found claims of elder abuse were unfounded).

I ask whether it's an invasion of Lee's privacy to publish posthumously these stories that Lee didn't choose to make public in her lifetime. Ed Lee Conner is clear that, when it comes to The Land of Sweet Forever, "that's an easy judgment to make, she attempted to publish all these stories".

And he believes - like Mockingbird - the stories have something to say about modern race relations in the US which is "part of the continuing relevance of what she wrote".

To Kill A Mockingbird "had a huge influence on the way a lot of people thought about race relations in the United States".

Writing a book about a black man's struggle that's centred on white characters, particularly Atticus Finch, the white lawyer played by Gregory Peck in the 1962 film, has led, in later years, to accusations of white saviourism.

Ed tells me his aunt "was writing a novel primarily for a white audience who I think would need to see a figure like Atticus Finch much more clearly and much more humanly in their lives, even as a fictional character, in order to influence them as much as she could".

Getty Images President George W. Bush in dark suit and blue tie, putting the  Presidential Medal of Freedom around Harper Lee's neck. Harper smiling, wearing glasses, dressed in black and white dog tooth outfit, holding hand of man in uniformGetty Images
President George W. Bush awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Harper Lee in 2007, for her contribution to literature

In an interview in 1964 for the New York radio station WQXR, Harper Lee described the "sheer numbness" she felt at the reaction to her debut novel.

"I never expected that the book would sell in the first place," she said. "I was hoping for a quick and merciful death at the hands of the reviewers. I was hoping that maybe somebody might like it well enough to give me some encouragement about it."

Ed's side of the family had been given it in proof, ahead of publication. At age 13, he read the whole book in two days. "I was absolutely enthralled and it was one of the highlights of my youth."

He says the whole family shared her feelings of numbness at its reception. "We all loved it and thought it was a terrific novel, but we had no idea... that it would go on to be as phenomenal a success as it was."

Harper Lee had looked after Molly and her brother while she was writing it. "She was in her bedroom typing away and she locked the door and she'd come out and play with us and then go back to typing."

When Molly read the book, as a 12-year-old, "I'm not sure that I ever looked up from it. I was totally engrossed."

Dr Edwin Lee Conner/Harper Lee Estate On the left: Sepia photo of young Harper Lee in short brown wavy hair, in cream white lacey dress with trees behind her.
On the right: Black and white photo of Harper Lee's grandfather in a suit sitting on the floor with his grandchildren. Including Ed Lee with a hat in white shirt and trousers and Molly standing up  in a checked dress with her arms behind her backDr Edwin Lee Conner/Harper Lee Estate
On the left: Harper Lee's father, Amasa Coleman Lee in his home in Monroeville with his grandchildren (including Ed Lee Conner with hat and Molly Lee standing) in 1953, and on the right, a previously unseen photograph of Nelle Harper Lee

I play them part of the WQXR interview that their aunt did four years after the book came out. It's the only known recording of Harper Lee talking about To Kill A Mockingbird.

She retired from public life soon afterwards. Ed says she wasn't a recluse as some have suggested and was very sociable with the people she knew. She'd simply realised, after the novel's success and then the hugely popular film, that she didn't need to promote it anymore.

"She did not particularly enjoy public appearances," he recalls. "She had no interest whatsoever in being a celebrity. So there was a point at which she decided no more interviews."

Michael Brown Sepia photo of a smiling Harper Lee looking to camera -- side on. with her right arm on her waist. She's wearing a white short sleeved blouse and white skirt.
Background og brick wall.Michael Brown
Harper Lee, whose writing changed "the way we saw each other, and then the way we saw ourselves" -- in a tribute from the former US President Barack Obama

Listening to her speaking on this precious recording is its own time capsule.

In her soft southern accent, melodic and lilting, she talks not just about being numbed at the reaction to the book, but also why she believes the southern states are "a region of storytellers" and how she wants to be "a Jane Austen of South Alabama".

Hearing her voice again "just makes me smile," Molly says.

"I love hearing it," agrees Ed, clearly moved. "It's wonderful."

The Land of Sweet Forever by Harper Lee is published on 21 October 2025.

Airport inferno could cost Bangladesh $1bn in damages - experts

Watch: Bangladesh's Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport engulfed in flames

Business leaders in Bangladesh fear losses of more than $1bn (£750m) after a devastating fire broke out in the logistics section of the country's main airport on Saturday.

Clothes and raw materials were among the goods destroyed, which could put some businesses at risk, according to the country's export associations.

The cause of the fire - which took 27 hours to extinguish - is still being investigated. The blaze had forced the temporary suspension of flights and airport operations.

Bangladesh is the word's second-largest exporter of clothes after China, supplying global retailers like H&M and Walmart.

Bangladesh's garment sector generates around $40bn a year, accounting for over a tenth of its gross domestic product.

Local media reports say around 35 people were injured while working to contain the blaze.

The damaged airport cargo village is among the country's busiest logistics hubs, especially during the pre-Christmas rush. The centre stored fabrics, pharmaceuticals, chemicals and other goods.

Some of the goods destroyed were "essential" samples for securing new buyers, which means affected businesses could lose out on future opportunities, Inamul Haq Khan, senior vice-president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufactuers and Exporters Association, told Reuters.

In an email to the BBC, the International Air Express Association of Bangladesh also estimated damages of more than $1bn.

Getty Images A thick smoke spread across cargo village area after a massive fire broke out where imported goods, including clothes were stored at the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Heaps of cargo are scattered across the tarmac.Getty Images
The centre where the fire broke out stored fabrics, pharmaceuticals, chemicals and other goods

The garments association has asked all its members to submit a list of damaged goods to determine the full extent of the losses.

Saturday's blaze was Bangladesh's third major fire within a week.

On Tuesday, a deadly warehouse fire killed at least 16 people and injured many others. And on Thursday, another fire burned down a seven-story clothing factory in Chittagong.

While investigations into Saturday's airport fire are still underway, conspiracy theories have been circulating online, linking it to the two earlier incidents and claiming all three were "pre-planned".

In the past, the causes of such major incidents had been used by political parties to attack one another, with parties accusing opponents of exploiting the tragedies for political gain. Experts say the heightened speculation this time stems from a history of uninvestigated accusations, where no one was ever held accountable.

The interim government of Bangladesh issued a statement on Saturday, saying it would take immediate and firm actions if "any credible evidence of sabotage or arson is found".

Large fires are frequent in densely-populated Bangladesh. These are often blamed on poor infrastructure and weak safety enforcement. Hundreds of people have been killed in fires in recent years.

Additional reporting by BBC Bangla.

Two dead after cargo plane skids off Hong Kong runway into sea

BBC Breaking NewsBBC

A cargo plane has skidded off a runway at Hong Kong International Airport and landed in the sea, killing at least one person, local media have reported.

The Emirates flight, operating as Aerotranscargo, was arriving from Dubai just before 04:00 local time when it hit a vehicle on the north runway, local media reports.

Four crew members on board have been rescued and taken to hospital, but two ground staff "fell into the sea", a statement from the Civil Aviation department says. Their condition is unclear.

The affected runway is closed, but the airport's other two runways are still in operation.

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.

China's economic growth slows as trade tensions with US flare up

Getty Images A women in a yellow attire holds a green circuit board in a production facility in East ChinaGetty Images
The 4.8% growth in the third quarter marked a slowdown from 5.2% in the three months to July

China's economic growth slowed in the three months to the end of September as trade tensions with the US flared up.

The world's second-largest economy grew by 4.8% compared to the same period in 2024, its weakest pace in a year, official figures released on Monday show.

The data comes after China imposed sweeping controls on its exports of rare earths - minerals essential for the global production of electronics, a move that rocked its fragile trade truce with the US.

The third quarter gross domestic product (GDP) growth will set the tone for a gathering of China's top leaders this week to discuss the country's economic blueprint between 2026 and 2030.

The 4.8% growth in the third quarter marked a slowdown from 5.2% in the three months to July.

China's National Bureau of Statistics said the economy showed "strong resilience and vitality" against pressure . It credited momentum in its technology sector and business services as key growth drivers.

Beijing has set a goal of "around 5%" economic growth this year and has so far avoided a sharp downturn, helped by government support measures.

US President Donald Trump responded swiftly to China's controls on rare earths by threatening an additional 100% tariffs on imports from China.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said he expects to meet Chinese officials this week in Malaysia in a bid to ease tensions and set up a meeting between Trump and his counterpart Xi Jinping.

Before the recent flare-up, Chinese businesses had taken advantage of the trade truce with Washington to ship goods to the US, resulting in China's exports rising by 8.4% in September. The total value of imports to China was also up.

China's industrial output grew by 6.5% last month from a year earlier, with its 3D-printing, robotics and electric vehicles manufacturers among its strongest performers.

Its service sector, which includes IT support, consultancies, and transport and logistics companies, also grew.

Artillery shrapnel hits vehicles on California highway during Marines celebration

Getty Images JD Vance claps while at podium with dozens of marines standing behind himGetty Images

Vice President JD Vance celebrated the 250th anniversary of the US Marine Corps at an event that included a live artillery demonstration.

That demonstration - which took place at Camp Pendleton in Southern California - drew the ire of the state's governor Gavin Newsom, in part because the exercise closed a section of a popular interstate.

"Firing live rounds over a busy highway isn't just wrong — it's dangerous," Newsom, a Democrat who has often disagreed with the Trump administration, said in a statement.

During his remarks, Vance recalled his time in the Marines, railed against what he called a Democrat-caused government shutdown and critiqued previous military diversity initiatives.

Getty Images Clouds of black artillery smoke appear over an oceanside cliffGetty Images
The Marines fired live artillery as part of a demonstration commemorating their 250th anniversary

The demonstration was the largest in a decade in the continental US, the Marines said, and involved fighter jets, Navy vessels, helicopters and live fire from a towed howitzer.

In response to the exercise, Newsom said he closed a section of Interstate 5 in Southern California "due to extreme life safety risk and distraction to drivers, including sudden unexpected and loud explosions".

But officials in the vice-president's office disputed Newsom's remarks that the demonstration was dangerous and accused the California governor of trying to stoke fears.

Getty Images JD Vance raises his fist as a military helicopter flies byGetty Images

"If Gavin Newsom wants to oppose the training exercises that ensure our Armed Forces are the deadliest and most lethal fighting force in the world, then he can go right ahead," William Martin, Vance's communications director, told CNN. "It would come as no surprise that he would stoop so low considering his pathetic track record of failure as governor."

Vance, who spoke in front of hundreds of marines, praised his time in the military.

"I would not be here today, I would not be the vice president of the United States, I would not be the man I am today were it not for those four years that I served in the Marine Corps," he said.

Vance spent four years in the Marines and served a tour in Iraq in 2005.

But his remarks largely focused on politics, and in part he attacked "woke" aspects of the military.

"It is our common purpose, it is our common mission and it is the fact that every single person here bleeds Marine Corps green," the vice president said.

Getty Images JD Vance watches along side military members as boats reach the shores of a beachGetty Images

One of the Trump administration's focuses has been eliminating diversity initiatives, particularly within the Pentagon.

Vance also used the stage time to rail against the nearly three-week long government shutdown and put blame on Democrats, particularly Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.

"I bring greetings today from our commander in chief, Donald J Trump, and he wanted me to tell each and every single one of you that he's proud of you, that he loves you and that despite the Schumer shutdown, he is going to do everything he can to make sure you get paid exactly as you deserve," he said.

While thousands of federal workers are working without pay, the Defence Department is paying troops.

India sparkles as millions celebrate Diwali festival

Getty Images Hindu devotees light oil lamps on the banks of the river Ganges on the occasion of the Hindu religious festival of Dev Deepawali in Kolkata, India, on November 15, 2024. Getty Images
People light up their homes and streets with tiny earthen lamps, called diyas in Hindi

Millions of Indians are celebrating Diwali, the festival of lights, one of Hinduism's most significant and widely observed festivals.

While lamps and firecrackers light up homes and streets during the festival, they also worsen air pollution - a problem especially pronounced in northern India, where winter months already bring poor air quality.

This year, the Supreme Court has permitted the sale and use of "green crackers" in the capital, Delhi, to help curb air pollution, ending a ban on crackers that has been in place since 2020.

"Green crackers" claim to emit 20–30% less pollution than traditional firecrackers, but critics doubt their actual effectiveness in protecting the environment.

In recent years, several states have restricted or banned firecrackers to combat rising air pollution, but the rules are often flouted, further worsening air quality in the days after Diwali.

Getty Images People commute on vehicles along a street amid smoggy conditions after Diwali celebrations, the Hindu festival of lights, in Hyderabad, India, on November 1, 2024.Getty Images
Authorities have been cracking down on traditional firecrackers as pollution levels rise
Reuters People light firecrackers on the occasion of the Diwali festival in Mumbai, India, 12 November 2023. Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights, symbolizes the victory of good over evil and commemorates Lord Rama's return to his kingdom, Ayodhya, after completing a 14-year exile.Reuters
Fireworks light up the streets and sky as people celebrate Diwali
Getty Images India, Diwali Festival Sweets. Getty Images
Food plays a central role in the celebrations

But Diwali is about much more than fireworks. Food plays a central role in the celebrations.

Families prepare a variety of traditional Indian sweets which are shared with friends and neighbours. Festive meals often include rich curries, savoury snacks, and special breads.

In the days leading up to the festival, people clean and decorate their homes, shop for new clothes, and buy traditional sweets to exchange as gifts with friends and family.

Many also create traditional and colourful rangoli designs outside their doors to invite luck and positivity. On Diwali itself, families worship Lakshmi, the Hindu goddess of wealth.

Diwali's appeal goes beyond religion, drawing people from different communities and faiths to join in the celebrations.

Across India's cities and towns, markets bustle with shoppers buying sweets, gifts, decorations, and firecrackers, giving a significant boost to the economy each year.

Debarchan Chatterjee/NurPhoto via Getty Images People buy decorative lights ahead of the Diwali festival celebration in Kolkata, India, on October 12, 2025. Debarchan Chatterjee/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Markets bustle with shoppers buying gifts and decorations, giving a significant boost to the economy
Getty Images People shop for lanterns displayed at roadside stalls in Mumbai on October 14, 2025, ahead of 'Diwali', the Hindu festival of lights.Getty Images
People decorate their homes with colourful paper lanterns to celebrate the festival
Getty Images Elderly women at Pramod Talukdar Memorial Old Age Home light Diya oil lamps as they celebrate Diwali in Guwahati, India, on November 1, 2024. Getty Images
The festival unites communities as people of all faiths join in festivities
Getty Images People celebrated Diwali with firecrackers at Shivaji Park in Mumbai. Diwali is certainly one of the biggest, brightest, and most important festivals, on October 31, 2024 in Mumbai, India.Getty Images
A building in Mumbai city lit up with paper laterns hung outside houses

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Tel Aviv derby called off by police after 'violent riots'

Tel Aviv derby called off by police after 'violent riots'

A view of Bloomfield Stadium before kick-off in the cancelled match between Maccabi Tel Aviv and Hapoel Tel AvivImage source, Israel police
Image caption,

Bloomfield Stadium in Tel Aviv was filled with smoke before the scheduled kick-off

  • Published

The Israeli Premier League derby between Maccabi Tel Aviv and Hapoel Tel Aviv was cancelled before kick-off on Sunday, after what police described as "public disorder and violent riots".

"Dozens of smoke grenades and pyrotechnic devices were thrown," Israeli police posted on X, adding "this is not a football game, this is disorder and serious violence".

Twelve civilians and three officers were injured, police said, while nine people were arrested and 16 detained for questioning.

The unrest comes just days after officials in the UK said that Maccabi Tel Aviv fans should not be allowed to attend the Europa League match at Aston Villa in England next month because of safety concerns.

Hapoel Tel Aviv criticised the derby cancellation, accusing Israeli police of "preparing for a war, not a sporting event", including during discussions in the lead-up to the highly-anticipated match.

"The shocking events outside the stadium and following the reckless and scandalous decision not to hold the match only demonstrate that the Israel Police has taken control of the sport," Hapoel Tel Aviv said in a statement on X, external.

Maccabi Tel Aviv has not yet commented, except to confirm the match was cancelled.

The decision by Birmingham's Safety Advisory Group (SAG) to ban Maccabi Tel Aviv fans from the Aston Villa match on 6 November has sparked widespread criticism.

The UK government has since said it is working to overturn the ban and exploring what additional resources might be required to ensure the fixture can be hosted safely.

Villa told their matchday stewards that they did not have to work at the game, saying they understood that some "may have concerns".

On Thursday, West Midlands Police said it supported the ban and classified the fixture as "high risk" based on intelligence and previous incidents.

That included "violent clashes and hate-crime offences" between Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv fans before a match in Amsterdam in November 2024, when more than 60 people were arrested.

There have been protests at various sporting events over the war in Gaza, including when Israel played Norway and Italy in recent football World Cup qualifiers.

Related topics

Israel says it will return to ceasefire after Gaza strikes

Getty Images Various people walking along in Gaza, mainly away from the camera, with huge piles of debris in the background.Getty Images
The US state department says a Hamas attack on Palestinians would be a ceasefire violation

The US State Department says it has "credible reports" that Hamas is planning an "imminent" attack on civilians in Gaza, which it says would violate the ceasefire agreement.

A statement released on Saturday said a planned attack against Palestinians would be a "direct and grave" violation of the ceasefire agreement and "undermine the significant progress achieved through mediation efforts".

The state department did not not provide further details on the attack and it is unclear what reports it was citing.

The first phase of the ceasefire deal between Hamas and Israel is currently in progress - all living hostages have been released and bodies of the deceased are still being returned to Israel.

Also part of the agreement, Israel freed 250 Palestinian prisoners in its jails and 1,718 detainees from Gaza.

Washington said it had already informed other guarantors of the Gaza peace agreement - which include Egypt, Qatar and Turkey - and demanded Hamas uphold its end of the ceasefire terms.

"Should Hamas proceed with this attack, measures will be taken to protect the people of Gaza and preserve the integrity of the ceasefire," the statement said.

Hamas has not yet commented on the statement.

President Donald Trump has previously warned Hamas against the killing of civilians.

"If Hamas continues to kill people in Gaza, which was not the Deal, we will have no choice but to go in and kill them," Trump said in a post on Truth Social earlier this week.

He later clarified that he would not be sending US troops into Gaza.

Last week, BBC Verify authenticated graphic videos that showed a public execution carried out by Hamas gunmen in Gaza.

The videos showed several men with guns line up eight people, whose arms were tied behind their backs, before killing them in a crowded square.

BBC Verify could not confirm the identity of the masked gunmen, though some appeared to be wearing the green headbands associated with Hamas.

On Saturday, Israel said it had received two more bodies from Gaza that Hamas said are hostages, though they have yet to be formally identified.

So far, the remains of 10 out of 28 deceased hostages had been returned to Israel.

Separately on Saturday, 11 members of one Palestinian family were killed by an Israeli tank shell, according to the Hamas-run civil defence ministry, in what was the deadliest single incident involving Israeli soldiers in Gaza since the start of the ceasefire.

The Israeli military said soldiers had fired at a "suspicious vehicle" that had crossed the so-called yellow line demarcating the area still occupied by Israeli forces in Gaza.

There are no physical markers of this line, and it is unclear if the bus did cross it. The BBC has asked the IDF for the coordinates of the incident.

The Israeli military launched a campaign in Gaza in response to the 7 October 2023 attack, in which Hamas-led gunmen killed about 1,200 people in southern Israel and took 251 others hostage.

At least 68,000 people have been killed by Israeli attacks in Gaza since then, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, whose figures are seen by the UN as reliable.

In September, a UN commission of inquiry said Israel had committed genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. Israel categorically rejected the report as "distorted and false".

'Priceless' jewels stolen in raid on Louvre Museum in Paris

EPA/Shutterstock Image shows the exterior of the LouvreEPA/Shutterstock
The Louvre is one of the world's most famous museums

The Louvre Museum in Paris has been closed following a robbery, France's culture minister says.

Rachida Dati wrote on X that the robbery happened on Sunday morning as the museum was opening. She said she was at the site, where police are investigating

The museum confirmed it was closing for the day "for exceptional reasons," without providing further details. Various French media reports say jewellery has been stolen.

The Louvre is the world's most visited museum and houses many famous artworks and other valuable items.

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.

Giuffre thought she might 'die a sex slave' at hands of Epstein and his circle, memoir reveals

Virginia Giuffre Virginia Giuffre and Prince Andrew in a photo reportedly taken in London in 2001.Virginia Giuffre
Virginia Giuffre says she was forced to have sex with Prince Andrew on three separate occasions

Virginia Giuffre says she feared she might "die a sex slave" at the hands of Jeffrey Epstein and his circle, her posthumous memoir reveals.

The BBC has obtained a full copy of Nobody's Girl, written by the prominent accuser of convicted sex offender Epstein ahead of its publication on Tuesday, almost six months after she took her own life.

In the memoir, Ms Giuffre also says she had sex with Prince Andrew on three separate occasions, including once with Epstein and approximately eight other young women.

Prince Andrew, who reached a financial settlement with Ms Giuffre in 2022, has always denied any wrongdoing.

The memoir, which the BBC bought from a book store in central London days before its official release date, paints a picture of a web of rich and powerful people abusing young women.

At the centre of the abuse was Epstein and his former girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell, who is currently serving a 20-year sentence on sex-trafficking charges.

Ms Giuffre says that even decades later, she remembers how much she feared them both.

Much of the book makes for extremely harrowing reading, as Ms Giuffre details the sadistic abuse that Epstein put her through.

She says Epstein subjected her to sadomasochistic sex which caused her "so much pain that I prayed I would black out".

On Friday, Prince Andrew announced that he was voluntarily deciding not to use his titles and giving up membership of the Order of the Garter - the oldest and most senior order of chivalry in Britain.

He will no longer use his Duke of York title, an honour received from his mother, the late Queen Elizabeth II.

In his statement, he said: "I vigorously deny the accusations against me."

However the new book, written by Ms Giuffre and ghostwriter Amy Wallace, causes further embarrassment for the prince.

In the memoir, Ms Giuffre says she first met Prince Andrew in March 2001.

She writes that Maxwell woke her up and told her it was going to be a "special day" and that "just like Cinderella" she was going to meet a "handsome prince".

She says that when she met Prince Andrew later that day, Maxwell told him to guess her age.

The prince, who was then 41, "guessed correctly: seventeen", Ms Giuffre said. "My daughters are just a little younger than you," she recalls him saying.

That night, she says she attended London's Tramp nightclub with Prince Andrew, Epstein and Maxwell, where she says the prince "sweated profusely".

In a car on the way back to Maxwell's house afterwards, Ms Giuffre writes that Maxwell told her: "When we get home, you are to do for him what you do for Jeffrey."

She wrote that back at the house they had sex.

"He was friendly enough, but still entitled - as if he believed having sex with me was his birthright," she says.

"The next morning, it was clear that Maxwell had conferred with her royal chum because she told me: 'You did well. The prince had fun.'"

Ms Giuffre writes that she "didn't feel so great", adding: "Soon, Epstein would give me $15,000 for servicing the man the tabloids called 'Randy Andy' - a lot of money."

Ms Giuffre claims she had sex for a second time with the prince around a month later at Epstein's townhouse in New York.

She says the third occasion was on Epstein's island as part of what Ms Giuffre called "an orgy".

She writes that she said in a sworn declaration in 2015 that she was "around 18".

"Epstein, Andy, and approximately eight other young girls and I had sex together," she says.

"The other girls all appeared to be under the age of 18 and didn't really speak English.

"Epstein laughed about how they couldn't really communicate, saying they are the easiest girls to get along with."

Getty Images Virginia Giuffre holding a picture of herself as a teenagerGetty Images
Virginia Giuffre, seen here holding a picture of herself as a teenager, took her own life earlier this year

Later in the book, Ms Giuffre touches on her 2022 out-of-court settlement with Prince Andrew after she brought a civil case against him.

"I agreed to a one-year gag order, which seemed important to the prince because it ensured his mother's Platinum Jubilee would not be tarnished any more than it already had been," she writes.

While Ms Giuffre's alleged interactions with Prince Andrew have been widely reported by the British press, the book's content is wider in scope - littered with sinister details of Epstein's sex trafficking.

The girls were required to look "childlike", Ms Giuffre says, and her childhood eating disorder was "only encouraged" under Epstein's roof.

"In my years with them, they lent me out to scores of wealthy, powerful people," she writes.

"I was habitually used and humiliated - and in some instances, choked, beaten, and bloodied.

"I believed that I might die a sex slave."

Epstein was convicted in Florida in 2008 for soliciting prostitution from a person under the age of 18. He died in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.

On Sunday, the Metropolitan Police said it was "actively" looking into media reports that Prince Andrew tried to obtain personal information about Ms Giuffre through his police protection officer (PPO).

According to the Mail on Sunday, the prince asked the officer to investigate Ms Giuffre just before the newspaper published a photo in February 2011 of her first meeting with the prince.

A royal source told the BBC there are currently no plans for the removal of the prince title that Andrew was born with.

"The headlines are taking a lot of oxygen out of the royal room," they added, referring to press about Prince Andrew diverting attention away from King Charles's engagements.

In 2019, the prince repeatedly told BBC Newsnight that he did not remember meeting Ms Giuffre "at all" and that they "never had any sort of sexual contact."

Buckingham Palace has not commented.

Virginia Giuffre's brother calls on King to strip prince Andrew of 'prince' title
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Trump ends aid to Colombia and calls country's leader a 'drug leader'

Reuters Donald Trump at a podium in the Oval Office pointing as he takes questions from reporters. Reuters

President Donald Trump has said the US will return two people who survived a strike on what he called a "drug-carrying submarine" to their countries of origin, Ecuador and Colombia.

Writing on social media, Trump said two other people were killed in the US strike on the vessel, which he said US intelligence confirmed was "loaded up with mostly Fentanyl, and other illegal narcotics".

The attack on Thursday is at least the sixth US strike on ships in the Caribbean Sea in recent weeks. It is the first time survivors have been reported.

At least 27 people were killed in the prior five boat strikes in the waters off Venezuela, according to figures released by the administration.

The two survivors were rescued by a US military helicopter and then shuttled onto a US warship in the Caribbean, unnamed US officials told US media earlier.

In recent weeks, Trump has ramped up threats against Venezuela's leadership over claims that the country is sending drugs to the US. Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has accused Trump of trying to make the South American nation "an American colony".

Trump has defended the ongoing boat attacks, saying they are aimed at stemming the flow of drugs from Latin America into the US, but his government has not provided evidence or details about the identities of the vessels or those on board.

"It was my great honor to destroy a very large DRUG-CARRYING SUBMARINE that was navigating towards the United States on a well known narcotrafficking transit route," Trump said in his Truth Social post on Saturday.

"The two surviving terrorists are being returned to their Countries of origin, Ecuador and Colombia, for detention and prosecution."

He added that no US military personnel were injured in the attack.

On Friday, the US president had said the submarine targeting the latest attack was "built specifically for the transportation of massive amounts of drugs".

"This was not an innocent group of people. I don't know too many people who have submarines, and that was an attack on a drug-carrying, loaded submarine," he added.

UN-appointed human rights experts have described the US strikes as "extrajudicial executions".

Trump earlier told reporters that he had authorised the CIA to conduct covert operations in Venezuela, and that he was considering launching attacks on Venezuelan soil.

Narco-subs have become a popular way to transport drugs as they can go largely undetected, and can be sunk after delivery. They are often homemade and constructed using fibreglass and plywood.

The US, as well as other coastal nations, have previously intercepted some of these subs.

'Priceless' jewels stolen in raid on Louvre Museum

EPA/Shutterstock Image shows the exterior of the LouvreEPA/Shutterstock
The Louvre is one of the world's most famous museums

The Louvre Museum in Paris has been closed following a robbery, France's culture minister says.

Rachida Dati wrote on X that the robbery happened on Sunday morning as the museum was opening. She said she was at the site, where police are investigating

The museum confirmed it was closing for the day "for exceptional reasons," without providing further details. Various French media reports say jewellery has been stolen.

The Louvre is the world's most visited museum and houses many famous artworks and other valuable items.

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.

Ex-Kenyan leader Raila Odinga buried after days of memorial events

AFP via Getty Images Senior members of the Kenya Army in ceremonial uniform tip their hats to the coffin, draped in a Kenyan flag.AFP via Getty Images

Former Kenyan prime minister and revered long-time opposition leader Raila Odinga was buried in the west of the country after a service attended by thousands on Sunday.

"Now finally Baba is home," his son, Raila Odinga junior, said beside his father's casket, draped in the Kenyan flag.

The burial concluded days of memorials that at times led to chaos, with at least five mourners dying at other events and dozens injured at a public viewing on Saturday.

Odinga died on Wednesday aged 80 in an Indian hospital.

He became prime minister after the bloody and disputed 2007 election, and was the main opposition leader for many years, losing five presidential campaigns, most recently three years ago.

He retains a devotional following in the west of the country. Former US President Barack Obama, whose Kenyan family hails from the same region, called Odinga a "true champion of democracy".

Politicians, relatives and throngs of his supporters waved Kenyan flags and held his picture aloft as they gathered at Sunday's memorial service, which was held at a university in Bondo.

"Even in the grave, he still remains our hero," one mourner told the AFP news agency.

Military personnel carried Odinga's coffin to the front, where a choir sang and speakers, including Kenyan President William Ruto, remembered him.

"His courage, his vision, and his unyielding faith in our collective destiny will forever illuminate the path of our nation," Ruto said in a post on Facebook about the event.

"His return to Bondo was not merely a homecoming; it was the embrace of a grateful Republic bidding farewell to one of its greatest sons, a patriot who devoted his life to the cause of justice, democracy, and the enduring unity of our beloved Kenya."

Odinga was buried nearby at his late father's homestead, where there is a family mausoleum.

Multiple memorial events had already taken place, including a state funeral in Nairobi on Friday and a public viewing in a stadium in his home city of Kisumu on Saturday.

At the viewing, tens of thousands filed past his open coffin, many crying out the phrase "we are orphans".

At least three people were killed when police opened fire to disperse mourners, with dozens more injured in the chaotic scenes that followed.

Millions turned out for anti-Trump 'No Kings' protests across US

Getty Images A person waves a flag that reads, "NO KINDS IN AMERICA" with the blue sky above it at a Washington DC rally on 17 October - one day before the No Kings protests scheduled in cities across the US. Getty Images

Republican governors in several US states have placed National Guard troops on standby in preparation for a nationwide protest to oppose Donald Trump and his policies.

The organisers of the "No Kings" protests say that gatherings will take place at more than 2,500 locations around the US. Trump allies have accused the protesters of being allied with the far-left Antifa movement.

Governors in Texas and Virginia have activated their state's National Guard troops, however it is unclear how visible the military presence will be.

Organisers say that at the last No Kings protest, held in June, more than five million people took to the streets to denounce Trump's political agenda.

The protest organisers say the protest will challenge Trump's "authoritarianism".

"The president thinks his rule is absolute," they say on their website.

"But in America, we don't have kings and we won't back down against chaos, corruption, and cruelty."

Some Republicans have dubbed the protests "Hate America" rallies.

"We'll have to get the National Guard out," Kansas Senator Roger Marshall said ahead of the rallies, according to CNN.

"Hopefully it'll be peaceful. I doubt it."

Texas Governor Greg Abbott on Thursday activated the state's National Guard ahead of a protest scheduled in Austin, the state's capital.

He said the troops would be needed due to the "planned antifa-linked demonstration".

Democrats denounced the move, including the state's top Democrat Gene Wu, who argued: "Sending armed soldiers to suppress peaceful protests is what kings and dictators do — and Greg Abbott just proved he's one of them."

Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin also ordered the state National Guard to be activated.

Trump ends aid to Colombia and calls country's leader a 'drug dealer'

Reuters Donald Trump at a podium in the Oval Office pointing as he takes questions from reporters. Reuters

President Donald Trump has said the US will return two people who survived a strike on what he called a "drug-carrying submarine" to their countries of origin, Ecuador and Colombia.

Writing on social media, Trump said two other people were killed in the US strike on the vessel, which he said US intelligence confirmed was "loaded up with mostly Fentanyl, and other illegal narcotics".

The attack on Thursday is at least the sixth US strike on ships in the Caribbean Sea in recent weeks. It is the first time survivors have been reported.

At least 27 people were killed in the prior five boat strikes in the waters off Venezuela, according to figures released by the administration.

The two survivors were rescued by a US military helicopter and then shuttled onto a US warship in the Caribbean, unnamed US officials told US media earlier.

In recent weeks, Trump has ramped up threats against Venezuela's leadership over claims that the country is sending drugs to the US. Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has accused Trump of trying to make the South American nation "an American colony".

Trump has defended the ongoing boat attacks, saying they are aimed at stemming the flow of drugs from Latin America into the US, but his government has not provided evidence or details about the identities of the vessels or those on board.

"It was my great honor to destroy a very large DRUG-CARRYING SUBMARINE that was navigating towards the United States on a well known narcotrafficking transit route," Trump said in his Truth Social post on Saturday.

"The two surviving terrorists are being returned to their Countries of origin, Ecuador and Colombia, for detention and prosecution."

He added that no US military personnel were injured in the attack.

On Friday, the US president had said the submarine targeting the latest attack was "built specifically for the transportation of massive amounts of drugs".

"This was not an innocent group of people. I don't know too many people who have submarines, and that was an attack on a drug-carrying, loaded submarine," he added.

UN-appointed human rights experts have described the US strikes as "extrajudicial executions".

Trump earlier told reporters that he had authorised the CIA to conduct covert operations in Venezuela, and that he was considering launching attacks on Venezuelan soil.

Narco-subs have become a popular way to transport drugs as they can go largely undetected, and can be sunk after delivery. They are often homemade and constructed using fibreglass and plywood.

The US, as well as other coastal nations, have previously intercepted some of these subs.

Questions surround US singer D4vd weeks after teen's body found in his Tesla

Getty Images D4vd sings into a microphone. He wears a yellow sports jersey, lots of diamond jewelry, a silk scarf tied around his head and sunglassesGetty Images
D4vd performed at Coachella music festival months before a body was discovered in the trunk of his car

The day after a body was found in his car in Hollywood, singer D4vd was belting his TikTok hit Romantic Homicide - a brooding breakup song about killing an ex with no regret - to a sold-out crowd in Minneapolis.

The US recording artist had self-launched his music career from his sister's closet while working a part-time gig at Starbucks. It led him to viral fame, millions of followers online, and a global tour.

But all of it came to an abrupt halt last month with the discovery of a severely decomposed body in the front trunk of his Tesla.

The corpse was identified as that of 15-year-old runaway Celeste Rivas Hernandez.

A month later, mystery still surrounds the teen's death, as well as her relationship to the 20-year-old singer, whose legal name is David Anthony Burke.

Getty Images Wearing a white jacket and surrounded by white roses, D4vid sings into a microphoneGetty Images
D4vd performs on Jimmy Kimmel Live!

Deep dives into his macabre oeuvre - which is peppered with references to death, remembrance, violence and bloody motifs - have led some to question if life was imitating art and vice versa.

The young singer has yet to publicly comment on the case or the grim discovery in his car. His spokesperson has only said that that he is "fully cooperating with authorities" and he has since hired a prominent criminal defence attorney who has represented celebrities such as Mel Gibson, Lindsay Lohan, Kanye West and Britney Spears.

Representatives for the singer - including his lawyer Blair Berk, Universal Music Group, Darkroom Records and Sony Music Publishing - did not respond to the BBC's requests for comment.

Rivas Hernandez's cause of death has yet to be determined.

The county's medical examiner has said her body was "severely decomposed" when it was found and has deferred making a ruling on how she died - an investigation they say could take months.

Getty Images CelesteGetty Images

Police have also not named a suspect or person of interest in case, even weeks after discovering her body.

The Los Angeles Police Department has not offered many details in the case or the probe, calling it an open death investigation. The department would not comment on multiple questions posed by the BBC about the case, the investigation and any connections the singer may have to Rivas Hernandez.

"It's just such a strange one," Neama Rahmani, a former prosecutor and Los Angeles attorney, told the BBC. "It keeps getting more bizarre each day that goes on without an arrest."

That lack of information has also seemed to fuel intrigue. Fans, true-crime enthusiasts and internet sleuths have launched their own inquiries, locking in on details that appear to connect the teen girl with the gamer-turned-songwriter, who was once heralded by GQ as a "Mouthpiece for Gen-Z Heartache".

A runaway teen found dead in a Tesla

Rivas Hernandez - who lived about 75 miles away from where her body was discovered - had last been reported missing by her family in April 2024, but it was not the first time she had run away from their Lake Elsinore home.

A first-generation daughter of immigrant parents from El Salvador, neighbours recognised her as a girl who would visit the corner store almost daily to buy candy and soda, according to the Los Angeles Times.

She first went missing on Valentine's Day 2024, and her family filed a missing persons report the next day.

Posters of her face were put up in her neighbourhood and her mother posted pleas on Facebook in Spanish for her return - public overtures that apparently irked the teen.

Over the next two years, her parents would file at least two more missing-persons reports.

Her family and friends told the newspaper that every time Rivas Hernandez ran away, she would eventually return and blend back into her life as a middle schooler.

Getty Images A memorial for Getty Images

When the teens' remains were found in a bag in D4vd's Tesla on 8 September, the medical examiner said that she was wearing a tube top, size small black leggings and jewellery, including a yellow metal stud earring and a yellow metal chain bracelet.

She also had a tattoo that read "Shhh…" on her index finger - a marking nearly identical to that on the pop singer's own index finger.

The decomposition of her body indicated that she had already been "deceased for several weeks", investigators said.

Her family, who described her as a beloved daughter, sister, cousin and friend, has said they are "heartbroken and devastated by this tragic loss". They have since solicited money on a crowdfunding website to pay for her funeral, which took place earlier this month.

A singer on the precipice of main-stream fame

D4vd's rise to stardom - fuelled by TikTok and online gaming - is a paradigm for his generation.

Growing up near Houston, Texas, he was home-schooled and said he exclusively listened to gospel music until he was 13. He became an avid Fortnite player in 2017 and launched his music career using pop songs to soundtrack gameplay montages that he posted on YouTube.

He started making his own music when he ran into copyright hurdles, beginning by recording songs on The BandLab app in 2021 and uploading his work on SoundCloud.

Soon, he saw his music breaking through with thousands of listens. He then released what would become his two biggest hits thus far: Romantic Homicide and Here With Me.

The songs went viral on TikTok and led to billions of streams on Spotify, where he has amassed 33 million monthly listeners.

He signed with Darkroom and Interscope Records and released his debut EP, Petals and Thorns, in 2023. That same year, he landed on Variety's Young Hollywood list and opened for SZA on her SOS tour.

Last spring, he made his Coachella debut - known as the festival for up-and-coming talent to break into mainstream fame. He was also commissioned by Fortnite - which he has said shaped his story as an artist - to create the game's first official anthem, Locked & Loaded.

Getty Images D4vid sits down, wearing a matching jean jacket and baggy pants, black shades, and carrying a pink Labubu dollGetty Images

A discovery that broke a family and halted a career

But this ascent to fame came to a pause when his Tesla was towed to an impoundment lot and authorities found a bag inside the front trunk that contained Rivas Hernandez's decomposing remains after someone complained about a foul smell.

His world tour was cancelled within days of the discovery, and Sony Music Publishing reportedly suspended promotion of his sophomore album.

Los Angeles police soon raided the posh Hollywood Hills mansion where the singer was living, just blocks from where his Tesla had been towed.

US retailer Hollister and footwear giant Crocs dropped D4vd from marketing campaigns and Telepatía singer Kali Uchis announced she was taking down their collaboration, Crashing.

But while his career ground to a screeching halt, authorities have been silent on the investigation into Rivas Hernandez's death.

Investigators have not released any new information in the case since 29 September.

The agency also said that it is still unclear whether there is any criminal culpability beyond the concealment of her body.

CBS News A parking lot with cars, including a black Tesla with the trunk popped openCBS News
Footage of the Tesla where Rivas Hernandez's body was found

While online sleuths have been quick to speculate, legal experts say that there is still much we don't know.

"You have this connection to David that seems pretty strong," Mr Rahmani, the former prosecutor, told the BBC. "There is a lot of smoke but look, he could be absolutely innocent and it could be someone else who had access to his vehicle."

Mr Rahmani said while there are many questions in this case, the biggest for him is "what is taking the LAPD so long".

"They haven't released any real information," he said. "This isn't a good look for the LAPD and it's a terrible look for D4vd."

He added that a case like this has added pressures: it involves a teen girl's death, it has garnered global headlines, and the investigation involves a celebrity.

Mr Rahmani noted that technology and potential for video footage is likely to be a "treasure trove" for investigators. Telsa vehicles come with advanced technology that tracks vehicles, notifies users when things like the trunk is open and are also outfitted with a slew of cameras as part of its Sentry Mode systems.

On top of this, the Hollywood home where he was living also had cameras. When authorities searched the home last month, investigators took a DVR that stores video and other data from the surveillance system.

Malden Trifunovic, the owner of the Hollywood Hills home D4vd was renting, has told the BBC that he has hired a private investigator to help uncover what might have happened inside his multi-million-dollar abode.

D4vd's manager Josh Marshall, the founder of Mogul Vision, rented the home for D4vd and has distanced himself from the singer. He vehemently denied rumours that he is connected to the death investigation.

The widening mystery

In addition to the mystery surrounding the cause of Rivas Hernandez's death, it is still unclear what relationship the teenager had with the 20-year-old singer.

Rivas Hernandez would have turned 15 the day before her body was found by police.

In California, the age of consent is 18.

Family, friends and those who knew her have told local media that she had been dating someone named David and said he was a music artist.

A former middle-school science teacher blamed her last attempt to run away from home, in the spring of 2024, on her dating a music artist she'd met online.

"She's been missing since I taught her," the teacher said in a viral video after Rivas Hernandez's body was identified.

Online sleuths have also connected her to the singer in a number of ways, from their matching tattoos to photos he posted online that appear to show them together.

Getty Images A faint tattoo is seen on a close-up picture of D4vd's fingerGetty Images
A close up of D4vd's tattoo on his finger

But D4vd has not addressed the rumours, nor have police.

Like many who don't follow indie pop music, his landlord Mr Trifunovic said he had never heard of D4vd until news broke about the discovery. He didn't even know it was D4vd who was renting his home because the lease had been signed by the singer's manager, Mr Marshall.

"I share the same anxiety and desire to understand what happened to poor Celeste as everyone else does," Mr Trifunovic told the BBC.

Although he said he trusts the LAPD to conduct a thorough investigation, he too, is anxious for information.

"There is absolutely no question that a crime was committed," he said.

"She did not place herself in the front trunk of the Tesla or move the vehicle to where it was found."

Taliban and Pakistan agree to ceasefire after days of deadly clashes

EPA Two young men, one in all black holding a spade and another in white carrying a brick, stand amid the rubble of a destroyed building in KabulEPA
The Taliban has accused Pakistan of carrying out attacks on the Afghan capital Kabul

Pakistan and Afghanistan's Taliban government have agreed to an "immediate ceasefire" after more than a week of deadly fighting.

The foreign ministry of Qatar, which mediated talks alongside Turkey, said both sides had agreed to establish "mechanisms to consolidate lasting peace and stability".

Zabihullah Mujahid, a spokesman for the Taliban, said ending "hostile actions" was "important", while Pakistan's foreign minister called the agreement the "first step in the right direction".

Both sides claim to have inflicted heavy casualties during the clashes, the worst fighting since the Taliban returned to power in 2021.

Islamabad has long accused the Taliban of harbouring armed groups which carry out attacks in Pakistan, which it denies.

Clashes intensified along the 1,600-mile mountainous border the two countries share after the Taliban accused Pakistan of carrying out attacks on the Afghan capital Kabul.

Rumours had circulated the blasts in Kabul were a targeted attack on Noor Wali Mehsud, the leader of Pakistan Taliban. In response, the group released an unverified voice note from Mehsud saying he was still alive.

In the days that followed, Afghan troops fired on Pakistani border posts, prompting Pakistan to respond with mortar fire and drone strikes.

At least three dozen Afghan civilians have been killed and hundreds more wounded, the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan said on Thursday.

A temporary truce was declared on Wednesday night as delegations met in Doha, but cross-border strikes continued.

On Friday, the Taliban said Pakistan had carried out an air strike which killed eight, including three local cricket players.

Under the new agreement, the Taliban said it would not "support groups carrying out attacks against the Government of Pakistan", while both sides agreed to refrain from targeting each other's security forces, civilians or critical infrastructure.

Pakistan's Defense Minister Khawaja Asif said the latest ceasefire meant "terrorism from Afghanistan on Pakistan's soil will be stopped immediately", with the two sides set to meet in Istanbul for further talks next week.

Pakistan was a major backer of the Taliban after its ouster in 2001 following a US-led invasion.

But relations deteriorated after Islamabad accused the group of providing a safe haven to the Pakistan Taliban, which has launched an armed insurgence against government forces.

The group has carried out at least 600 attacks on Pakistani forces over the last year, according to the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project.

Police to look into claims Prince Andrew sought information on accuser

Getty Images A close-up of Prince Andrew, who is outside in front of some railings - he is wearing a dark blue suit jacket and a white shirt which can just be seen and is looking at the camera with a neutral expression Getty Images

The Metropolitan Police said it is "actively" looking into media reports that Prince Andrew tried to obtain personal information about his accuser Virginia Giuffre through his police protection.

"We are aware of media reporting and are actively looking into the claims made," the force said on Sunday.

It comes after Ms Giuffre's brother called on King Charles III to strip Andrew of his "prince" title, following the announcement he would stop using his other titles.

Prince Andrew has not commented on the reports, but consistently denies all allegations against him. Buckingham Palace has been contacted for comment.

Ms Giuffre, who took her own life earlier this year, said she was among the girls and young women sexually exploited by convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and his wealthy circle.

She also claimed that she was forced to have sex with Andrew on three occasions, including when she was 17.

According to the Mail on Sunday, Andrew asked his police protection officer to investigate her just before the newspaper published a photo of Ms Giuffre's first meeting with the prince in February 2011.

The paper alleged that he gave the officer her date of birth and confidential social security number.

On Friday, Andrew announced that he was voluntarily handing back his titles and giving up membership of the Order of the Garter - the oldest and most senior order of chivalry in Britain.

He will also cease to be the Duke of York, a title received from his mother, the late Queen Elizabeth II.

Why John Bolton case is more serious than those against other Trump critics

Bloomberg via Getty Images Former national security adviser John Bolton arrives at court on Friday.Bloomberg via Getty Images
Former national security adviser John Bolton arrives at court on Friday.

President Donald Trump has made no secret of his desire to see his critics investigated, pressuring the Justice Department to prosecute former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James.

"We can't delay any longer, it's killing our reputation and credibility," the president wrote last month in a Truth Social post.

"They impeached me twice, and indicted me (5 times!)" he said, referencing the four criminal cases he faced after leaving the White House in 2021 and James's civil case.

Both have since been charged, in cases that many experts have said appear to be politically motivated and difficult to win in court.

But the latest charges against a Trump critic, former national security adviser John Bolton, stand apart, legal specialists and former prosecutors say.

"I would say, comparing Bolton's charges to Comey's and James' is like comparing apples to oranges," said Mark Lesko, a former acting US attorney for the Eastern District of New York.

Bolton has been criminally indicted on federal charges pertaining to the alleged mishandling of classified information. Since leaving the White House in 2019, he has become a vocal Trump critic, going so far as to call him "stunningly uninformed" and unfit for office in his memoir.

Experts say that while there may be political reasons to go after Bolton, the procedures used to secure an indictment and the evidence compiled against him indicate a potentially stronger case than the Justice Department brought against Comey or James.

"This misconduct that's being alleged is both more serious and appears to have occurred over a significant period of time," said Carissa Byrne Hessick, a professor at the University of North Carolina School of Law.

During his time as Trump's national security adviser, and after his 2019 White House departure, prosecutors alleged that Bolton put the country at risk by improperly retaining and transmitting classified information to family members using insecure means, including AOL. Some of the documents were labeled top secret.

The indictment alleges that at one point a hacker gained access to Bolton's account where documents were stored and sent an apparent threat to cause "the biggest scandal since Hillary [Clinton]'s emails were leaked".

Bolton pleaded not guilty during a court appearance on Friday to 18 separate charges of mishandling classified information.

Retribution or a strong case?

The timing of his indictment - coming on the tails of charges against Comey and James - has renewed questions about political pressure on the justice system.

Trump once suggested Bolton belonged in jail, and called him a "sleazebag". Bolton, for his part, wrote a book about his time in the Trump administration that was highly critical of the president.

"There's no question that the timing of this indictment, when combined with others, has raised questions about the strength of these charges, and why these charges are being brought now," said Jamil Jaffer, founder and executive director of the National Security Institute at the George Mason University Antonin Scalia Law School.

However, he added, "if the Justice Department is able to prove the facts alleged and demonstrate the information is properly classified, his conduct may very well have violated the law".

Charging such a high-ranking official for mishandling classified documents is "rare" but not unprecedented, said Carrie Cordero, a senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security.

"Cases that involve classified information present challenges to prosecute, but they can and are brought against both low-level and high-level officials, from time to time," she said.

Similarities to investigations into Trump and Biden

Trump similarly faced charges of improperly storing classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida and obstructing their return, but that case was ultimately dismissed by a federal judge and negated by his re-election as president.

A special counsel also found that former President Joe Biden improperly stored classified documents from his time as vice president, but did not criminally charge him.

Bolton's case bears similarities to Trump's and Biden's classified documents issues, said Mr Lesko, who also held a top national security role at the Justice Department.

Strict procedures govern the handling of classified documents. To win a conviction, the government must prove that Bolton knew the information he was transmitting was classified, and he had to knowingly transfer it to someone not entitled to receive it.

"Because of the classified nature of the material at issue in this case, we don't have a lot of details about why the government believes things like the diary entries and the other information he communicated by email, and why there were classified," said Mr Jaffer.

A more traditional prosecution

The process by which the Justice Department brought this case will be under scrutiny, after Trump publicly posted his desire to see his political opponents prosecuted and some of those indictments came to fruition.

But Mr Lesko said in Bolton's case, prosecutors seem to have followed protocol.

"The Bolton prosecution and ultimately the indictment seemed to have followed the regular process including the rules and norms within the Department of Justice," he said.

Unlike Comey's brief, two-page indictment, Bolton's was a more "traditional" document that "clearly sets forth the details involving the facts and circumstances here," Mr Lesko said.

"It seems fairly consistent with a long line of cases... where government officials mishandled and transmitted classified material."

Israel launches air strikes in Gaza, accusing Hamas of 'blatant violation of ceasefire'

Getty Images Various people walking along in Gaza, mainly away from the camera, with huge piles of debris in the background.Getty Images
The US state department says a Hamas attack on Palestinians would be a ceasefire violation

The US State Department says it has "credible reports" that Hamas is planning an "imminent" attack on civilians in Gaza, which it says would violate the ceasefire agreement.

A statement released on Saturday said a planned attack against Palestinians would be a "direct and grave" violation of the ceasefire agreement and "undermine the significant progress achieved through mediation efforts".

The state department did not not provide further details on the attack and it is unclear what reports it was citing.

The first phase of the ceasefire deal between Hamas and Israel is currently in progress - all living hostages have been released and bodies of the deceased are still being returned to Israel.

Also part of the agreement, Israel freed 250 Palestinian prisoners in its jails and 1,718 detainees from Gaza.

Washington said it had already informed other guarantors of the Gaza peace agreement - which include Egypt, Qatar and Turkey - and demanded Hamas uphold its end of the ceasefire terms.

"Should Hamas proceed with this attack, measures will be taken to protect the people of Gaza and preserve the integrity of the ceasefire," the statement said.

Hamas has not yet commented on the statement.

President Donald Trump has previously warned Hamas against the killing of civilians.

"If Hamas continues to kill people in Gaza, which was not the Deal, we will have no choice but to go in and kill them," Trump said in a post on Truth Social earlier this week.

He later clarified that he would not be sending US troops into Gaza.

Last week, BBC Verify authenticated graphic videos that showed a public execution carried out by Hamas gunmen in Gaza.

The videos showed several men with guns line up eight people, whose arms were tied behind their backs, before killing them in a crowded square.

BBC Verify could not confirm the identity of the masked gunmen, though some appeared to be wearing the green headbands associated with Hamas.

On Saturday, Israel said it had received two more bodies from Gaza that Hamas said are hostages, though they have yet to be formally identified.

So far, the remains of 10 out of 28 deceased hostages had been returned to Israel.

Separately on Saturday, 11 members of one Palestinian family were killed by an Israeli tank shell, according to the Hamas-run civil defence ministry, in what was the deadliest single incident involving Israeli soldiers in Gaza since the start of the ceasefire.

The Israeli military said soldiers had fired at a "suspicious vehicle" that had crossed the so-called yellow line demarcating the area still occupied by Israeli forces in Gaza.

There are no physical markers of this line, and it is unclear if the bus did cross it. The BBC has asked the IDF for the coordinates of the incident.

The Israeli military launched a campaign in Gaza in response to the 7 October 2023 attack, in which Hamas-led gunmen killed about 1,200 people in southern Israel and took 251 others hostage.

At least 68,000 people have been killed by Israeli attacks in Gaza since then, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, whose figures are seen by the UN as reliable.

In September, a UN commission of inquiry said Israel had committed genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. Israel categorically rejected the report as "distorted and false".

Louvre museum in Paris closed after robbery

EPA/Shutterstock Image shows the exterior of the LouvreEPA/Shutterstock
The Louvre is one of the world's most famous museums

The Louvre Museum in Paris has been closed following a robbery, France's culture minister says.

Rachida Dati wrote on X that the robbery happened on Sunday morning as the museum was opening. She said she was at the site, where police are investigating

The museum confirmed it was closing for the day "for exceptional reasons," without providing further details. Various French media reports say jewellery has been stolen.

The Louvre is the world's most visited museum and houses many famous artworks and other valuable items.

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.

Father 'finally home', says daughter of dead hostage returned to Israel

Reuters Heavy machinery seen amid the rubble of Gaza CityReuters
Hamas says it has been working to recover the remains of dead hostages beneath the rubble left by Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip

The Red Cross has received two bodies in Gaza that Hamas says are hostages, the Israeli military has said.

The remains will be transported to Israel and formally identified. Hamas earlier said the bodies had been recovered in the Palestinian territory on Saturday.

Prior to Saturday, the remains of 10 of 28 deceased hostages had been returned to Israel.

The delay has caused outrage in Israel, as the terms of last week's ceasefire deal stipulated the release from Gaza of all hostages, living and dead. Hamas says it has struggled to find the remaining bodies under rubble.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office has ordered the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt to remain closed until further notice, and said its reopening would be considered based on the return of the final hostage remains and the implementation of the ceasefire agreement.

The IDF has stressed that Hamas must "uphold the agreement and take the necessary steps to return all the hostages".

But the US has downplayed suggestions that the delay amounts to a breach of the ceasefire deal, which President Donald Trump claimed as a major victory on a visit to Israel and Egypt last week.

The text of the deal has not been published, but a leaked version that was seen in Israeli media appeared to account for the possibility that not all of the bodies would be immediately accessible.

Hamas has blamed Israel for making the task difficult, as air strikes on Gaza have reduced many buildings to rubble, and Israel does not allow heavy machinery and diggers into the territory.

UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher told the BBC News Channel that the Gaza Strip "is now a wasteland", with people picking through the rubble for bodies and trying to find their homes - many of which have been flattened.

As part of the US-brokered ceasefire deal, Hamas also returned all 20 living hostages to Israel.

Israel's military confirmed the identity of the tenth deceased hostage returned by Hamas on Friday. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) named him as Eliyahu Margalit, whose body was taken from Nir Oz kibbutz after he was killed on 7 October 2023.

Hostages and Missing Families Forum Eliyahu Margalit in a blue shirt sat near flowers outsideHostages and Missing Families Forum
Israel's Hostages and Missing Families Forum described Mr Margalit as "a cowboy at heart" who managed a horse stables for many years

Also as part of the deal, Israel freed 250 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails and 1,718 detainees from Gaza.

The bodies of 15 Palestinians were handed over by Israel via the Red Cross to officials in Gaza on Saturday, the Hamas-run health ministry said, bringing the total number of bodies it has received to 135.

Separately on Saturday, 11 members of one Palestinian family were killed by an Israeli tank shell, according to the Hamas-run civil defence ministry, in what was the deadliest single incident involving Israeli soldiers in Gaza since the start of the ceasefire.

The Israeli military said soldiers had fired at a "suspicious vehicle" that had crossed the so-called yellow line demarcating the area still occupied by Israeli forces in Gaza.

There are no physical markers of this line, and it is unclear if the bus did cross it. The BBC has asked the IDF for the coordinates of the incident.

The Israeli military launched a campaign in Gaza in response to the 7 October 2023 attack, in which Hamas-led gunmen killed about 1,200 people in southern Israel and took 251 others hostage.

At least 68,000 people have been killed by Israeli attacks in Gaza since then, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, whose figures are seen by the UN as reliable.

In September, a UN commission of inquiry said Israel had committed genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. Israel categorically rejected the report as "distorted and false".

Is this island the new Bali? Some think so - but not everyone's impressed

Getty Images Back view of a man lying on his surf board at sunset as a wave crashes into him. In the background are fishing boats and a large hill.Getty Images
Indonesia is on a mission to turn Lombok island into another Bali - and put it on a tourist bucket list

Damar, one of the best surf guides on the Indonesian island of Lombok, feels right at home taking tourists out to sea.

With his fluent English and effortless banter, you would never guess what was his childhood fear: foreigners.

"When I was 10 or maybe seven, I used to cry - I used to just pee in my pants when I saw white people," Damar, now 39, tells the BBC.

That diffidence waned as the laidback island he calls home slowly found its popularity among Western travellers.

Just east of Bali, Lombok boasts the same azure beaches and stunning views as its famous neighbour, but without the exasperating crowds. Lombok's beaches are still a hidden gem among surfers, as is Mount Rinjani for hikers. Travel sites still liberally use the word "untouched" to describe the island as they offer reasons to venture beyond Bali.

So it should come as little surprise that the Indonesian government has sensed the opportunity to create another lucrative tourist haven on the sprawling archipelago.

The mission is to create more "Balis" - and Lombok will be one of them.

For islanders, this promise of "Balification" is a welcome opportunity but they are also wary of what it brings.

And the change has already begun to hit home in more ways than one.

Getty Images An aerial view of a volcano, with white smoke billowing from the crater. It's surrounded by green water in a crater lake.Getty Images
Mount Rinjani, an active volcano sitting at Lombok's highest point, is a hiker's dream

Mandalika in the south has been chosen as the heart of the "new Bali".

Its rustic coastline has already given way to glitzy resorts, cafes and even a racetrack. Earlier this month, nearly 150,000 spectators showed up to watch the motorcycle Grand Prix.

Between 2019 and 2021, dozens of families were evicted from their village homes for the construction of the Mandalika circuit. Damar's was among them.

Confronted with what activists decried as a messy resettlement plan and unfair compensation, he and his neighbours were helpless, Damar recalls.

"I was angry, but I cannot do much. I cannot fight against the government," he says.

Since the eviction, Damar has bought a plot of land and built his own house, something that many of his neighbours haven't been able to do. As a surf guide, he estimates that he earns twice as much as a fisherman - a generational profession in his community.

"I've never really been to school, so joining the tourism industry was one of the best choices that I have ever made," Damar says. "Meeting a lot of people from many different countries… It has opened my mind."

Damar's indignation about his eviction even comes with a scrupulous caveat: "I'm not angry at the tourists. I'm just angry at my own government."

Supplied Damar wearing a bucket hat, black t-shirt and board shorts surfing on a wave, with water splashing around him. His hand is pointed in the air for balance, and he is looking intently into the distance.Supplied
Damar's own story mirrors the transformation of Lombok from a quiet island to a budding tourist spot

The makings of a tourist magnet

The drive to transform Lombok is part of a wider effort to lure travellers away from Bali, which has for decades played an outsized role in Indonesia's tourism industry.

The island makes up less than 1% of the country's land area and less than 2% of its 280 million-plus population. Yet last year it accounted for nearly half of all visitors to Indonesia.

But increasingly Bali's unrelenting traffic and pollution - a direct result of its success as a top tourist pick- are leaving those very tourists disappointed with what has long been touted as the "last paradise".

As it turns out, that elusive paradise lies just an hour's boat ride away.

But perhaps not for long.

More and more travellers are catching on to Lombok's appeal. Last year, 81,500 foreign tourists touched down at its airport, a 40% jump from the year before - still, a far cry from the 6.3 million foreigners who flocked to Bali.

Eager for Lombok to follow in Bali's footsteps, Indonesian authorities have secured hundreds of millions of dollars in investment, along with a $250m loan from the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.

Getty Images Aerial view of a beach lined with green trees. A giant sign that reads "Kuta Mandalika" can be seen on a structure covered by green plants. Boats can be seen floating in the sea in the distance.Getty Images
"Bali-fication" has come to Kuta

This has accelerated the island's makeover.

In Kuta, a popular town in Mandalika, scrappy surfers' hostels have been replaced by a mosaic of chlorinated pools and plushy sunbeds, and an international school for the children of expats.

While authorities are hailing it as Lombok's success story, some see a cautionary tale.

The cost of paradise

A stone's throw away on the beach of Tanjung Aan, cafe owner Kartini Lumban Raja told the BBC that locals there "don't want to be 'organised' like Kuta".

"When beaches start to look like Kuta, they lose their charm. We lose opportunities. We lose natural beauty," she said.

For months, rumours of evictions had been swirling on Tanjung Aan, which was earmarked for ambitious development plans.

Days after the BBC's visit in July, they came like a rolling wave.

Security forces descended upon the beach to demolish nearly 200 stalls, including Kartini's.

Videos from that day show masked men tearing shop fences down with their bare hands as stall owners protested.

"They were banging on things, kicking plywood… it's truly inhumane," Ella Nurlaila, a stall owner, told the BBC. "My goodness, this eviction was so cruel."

Just Finance International Ella Nurlaila in a peach coloured long-sleeved shirt, looking into the camera with a burrowed eyebrows. Behind her is a large banner that reads: "Save Tanjung Aan, let the local build the grow, don't let us suffer, don't destroy our nature, say no to ITDC".Just Finance International
Ella Nurlaila had sold food on Tanjung Aan for three years before the beach was cleared of all stalls in July

The state-owned company leading Mandalika's tourism drive, InJourney Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC), has secured 2.1 trillion rupiah ($128m; £96m) to build a luxury hotel on Tanjung Aan.

Authorities said the project will create jobs and boost the local economy. But that's little consolation for stall owners like Ella and her husband Adi, who have sold coconuts and coffee on the beach for the past three years.

"Thousands of people here depend on [coastal land] for their livelihood," Adi said. "Where else are we supposed to go to earn a living?"

The couple said they had paid taxes for their stall - which, according to Adi, sat on land belonging to his parents.

But ITDC representatives told the BBC that Tanjung Aan is "state-owned land", and that the tax paid by those businesses "does not equate to legal ownership or land legitimacy".

This is just the latest bout of tensions over Mandalika's tourism push.

Just Finance International, a development finance watchdog, has repeatedly flagged "a pattern of rights violations linked to the Mandalika project" in recent years.

Just Finance International Police with helmets and riot shields, as well as men in green camouflge uniform,  crowd in front of a hut that has a large wooden sign that reads "Aloha".Just Finance International
Security forces arrived on 15 July to demolish the stalls on Tanjung Aan beach

UN human rights experts estimate that more than 2,000 people "lost their primary means of livelihood overnight" because of the Tanjung Aan evictions. Stall owners were given neither "adequate notice" nor "suitable" resettlement plans, they said in a statement in August.

"The people of Mandalika must not be sacrificed for a project that promises economic growth at the expense of human rights," they said.

'If they want Bali, they should go to Bali'

In its quest for a remarkably different future, Lombok will also have to contend with what this means for local culture.

The predominantly Muslim island is home to thousands of mosques and the indigenous Sasak ethnic group. Compared to Bali, alcohol is not as readily available in parts of the island. On travel forums, tourists are encouraged to ditch bikinis and hot pants for more modest attire.

Such conservative sensitivities may change, or at least be driven further inland, as tourism heats up along the coastline. Travellers who have come to love Lombok are not happy about that either.

"Lombok is so special because it still has its own nature and people come to see that," said Swiss tourist Basil Berger, a sceptic of the"Bali-fication" of the island.

"If they want to see Bali, they [should] go to Bali," he said. Turning Lombok into another Bali "is the "the worst thing that they can do".

There are also environmental concerns. The motorcycle Grand Prix last year drew 120,000 spectators to Mandalika, leaving behind 30 tonnes of rubbish that authorities struggled to clear.

"Before it gets to Bali's stage of development, Lombok could learn. Because it's showing the same kind of strain," says Sekar Utami Setiastuti, who lives in Bali.

The government should ensure "tourism development brings welfare to a lot of people, instead of just bringing tourists to Lombok", she adds. "Lombok has to find its own identity - not just [become] a less crowded Bali."

Getty Images Aerial view of a large motorcycle race track along the coast, with blue sea seen to the right of the circuit.Getty Images
The race track is just one of many development plans that worry locals and regular visitors who have come to love a quieter Lombok

No matter where that search leads, a new era has dawned on Lombok.

Andrew Irwin is among the foreign investors who have taken an early interest in Lombok's budding tourism. The American is the co-owner of LMBK Surf House, one of Mandalika's most popular surf camps.

The way he sees it, businesses like his are helping to uplift local employees and their families.

"It's giving people more opportunities to earn more money, send their kids to proper school, get proper insurance, get proper healthcare, and essentially live a better quality of life," he said.

While there's "not necessarily much one can do" about Lombok's changing landscape, he says, "we can just hope to bring a positive change to the equation".

Tourism has certainly ushered prosperity into the lives of many locals, who have decided to try their hand at entrepreneurship.

"As long you want to work, you'll make money from tourism," says Baiq Enida Kinang Lare, a homestay owner in Kuta, known to her guests as Lara. Her neighbours too have started homestays.

Lara started her business in 2014 with four rooms. She's now at 14, not counting a separate villa under construction.

As excited as she is about her prospects, she is also a little wistful as she recalled life before the hustle.

"It's difficult to find time to gather and see everyone. This is what we miss. We feel like the time flies very, very fast because we're busy," she says.

This is a feeling that would surely be shared by locals from Bali to Mykonos to Cancun, whenever tourism took off in their patch of paradise: "I miss the past, but we like the money."

Louvre museum in Paris closed after robbery, French culture minister says

EPA/Shutterstock Image shows the exterior of the LouvreEPA/Shutterstock
The Louvre is one of the world's most famous museums

The Louvre Museum in Paris has been closed following a robbery, France's culture minister says.

Rachida Dati wrote on X that the robbery happened on Sunday morning as the museum was opening. She said she was at the site, where police are investigating

The museum confirmed it was closing for the day "for exceptional reasons," without providing further details. Various French media reports say jewellery has been stolen.

The Louvre is the world's most visited museum and houses many famous artworks and other valuable items.

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.

Israel launches air strikes in Gaza accusing Hamas of 'bold violation of ceasefire'

Getty Images Various people walking along in Gaza, mainly away from the camera, with huge piles of debris in the background.Getty Images
The US state department says a Hamas attack on Palestinians would be a ceasefire violation

The US State Department says it has "credible reports" that Hamas is planning an "imminent" attack on civilians in Gaza, which it says would violate the ceasefire agreement.

A statement released on Saturday said a planned attack against Palestinians would be a "direct and grave" violation of the ceasefire agreement and "undermine the significant progress achieved through mediation efforts".

The state department did not not provide further details on the attack and it is unclear what reports it was citing.

The first phase of the ceasefire deal between Hamas and Israel is currently in progress - all living hostages have been released and bodies of the deceased are still being returned to Israel.

Also part of the agreement, Israel freed 250 Palestinian prisoners in its jails and 1,718 detainees from Gaza.

Washington said it had already informed other guarantors of the Gaza peace agreement - which include Egypt, Qatar and Turkey - and demanded Hamas uphold its end of the ceasefire terms.

"Should Hamas proceed with this attack, measures will be taken to protect the people of Gaza and preserve the integrity of the ceasefire," the statement said.

Hamas has not yet commented on the statement.

President Donald Trump has previously warned Hamas against the killing of civilians.

"If Hamas continues to kill people in Gaza, which was not the Deal, we will have no choice but to go in and kill them," Trump said in a post on Truth Social earlier this week.

He later clarified that he would not be sending US troops into Gaza.

Last week, BBC Verify authenticated graphic videos that showed a public execution carried out by Hamas gunmen in Gaza.

The videos showed several men with guns line up eight people, whose arms were tied behind their backs, before killing them in a crowded square.

BBC Verify could not confirm the identity of the masked gunmen, though some appeared to be wearing the green headbands associated with Hamas.

On Saturday, Israel said it had received two more bodies from Gaza that Hamas said are hostages, though they have yet to be formally identified.

So far, the remains of 10 out of 28 deceased hostages had been returned to Israel.

Separately on Saturday, 11 members of one Palestinian family were killed by an Israeli tank shell, according to the Hamas-run civil defence ministry, in what was the deadliest single incident involving Israeli soldiers in Gaza since the start of the ceasefire.

The Israeli military said soldiers had fired at a "suspicious vehicle" that had crossed the so-called yellow line demarcating the area still occupied by Israeli forces in Gaza.

There are no physical markers of this line, and it is unclear if the bus did cross it. The BBC has asked the IDF for the coordinates of the incident.

The Israeli military launched a campaign in Gaza in response to the 7 October 2023 attack, in which Hamas-led gunmen killed about 1,200 people in southern Israel and took 251 others hostage.

At least 68,000 people have been killed by Israeli attacks in Gaza since then, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, whose figures are seen by the UN as reliable.

In September, a UN commission of inquiry said Israel had committed genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. Israel categorically rejected the report as "distorted and false".

Millions join anti-Trump 'No Kings' protests across US

Getty Images A person waves a flag that reads, "NO KINDS IN AMERICA" with the blue sky above it at a Washington DC rally on 17 October - one day before the No Kings protests scheduled in cities across the US. Getty Images

Republican governors in several US states have placed National Guard troops on standby in preparation for a nationwide protest to oppose Donald Trump and his policies.

The organisers of the "No Kings" protests say that gatherings will take place at more than 2,500 locations around the US. Trump allies have accused the protesters of being allied with the far-left Antifa movement.

Governors in Texas and Virginia have activated their state's National Guard troops, however it is unclear how visible the military presence will be.

Organisers say that at the last No Kings protest, held in June, more than five million people took to the streets to denounce Trump's political agenda.

The protest organisers say the protest will challenge Trump's "authoritarianism".

"The president thinks his rule is absolute," they say on their website.

"But in America, we don't have kings and we won't back down against chaos, corruption, and cruelty."

Some Republicans have dubbed the protests "Hate America" rallies.

"We'll have to get the National Guard out," Kansas Senator Roger Marshall said ahead of the rallies, according to CNN.

"Hopefully it'll be peaceful. I doubt it."

Texas Governor Greg Abbott on Thursday activated the state's National Guard ahead of a protest scheduled in Austin, the state's capital.

He said the troops would be needed due to the "planned antifa-linked demonstration".

Democrats denounced the move, including the state's top Democrat Gene Wu, who argued: "Sending armed soldiers to suppress peaceful protests is what kings and dictators do — and Greg Abbott just proved he's one of them."

Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin also ordered the state National Guard to be activated.

US warns of 'imminent' breach of Gaza ceasefire with planned attack on civilians

Getty Images Various people walking along in Gaza, mainly away from the camera, with huge piles of debris in the background.Getty Images
The US state department says a Hamas attack on Palestinians would be a ceasefire violation

The US State Department says it has "credible reports" that Hamas is planning an "imminent" attack on civilians in Gaza, which it says would violate the ceasefire agreement.

A statement released on Saturday said a planned attack against Palestinians would be a "direct and grave" violation of the ceasefire agreement and "undermine the significant progress achieved through mediation efforts".

The state department did not not provide further details on the attack and it is unclear what reports it was citing.

The first phase of the ceasefire deal between Hamas and Israel is currently in progress - all living hostages have been released and bodies of the deceased are still being returned to Israel.

Also part of the agreement, Israel freed 250 Palestinian prisoners in its jails and 1,718 detainees from Gaza.

Washington said it had already informed other guarantors of the Gaza peace agreement - which include Egypt, Qatar and Turkey - and demanded Hamas uphold its end of the ceasefire terms.

"Should Hamas proceed with this attack, measures will be taken to protect the people of Gaza and preserve the integrity of the ceasefire," the statement said.

Hamas has not yet commented on the statement.

President Donald Trump has previously warned Hamas against the killing of civilians.

"If Hamas continues to kill people in Gaza, which was not the Deal, we will have no choice but to go in and kill them," Trump said in a post on Truth Social earlier this week.

He later clarified that he would not be sending US troops into Gaza.

Last week, BBC Verify authenticated graphic videos that showed a public execution carried out by Hamas gunmen in Gaza.

The videos showed several men with guns line up eight people, whose arms were tied behind their backs, before killing them in a crowded square.

BBC Verify could not confirm the identity of the masked gunmen, though some appeared to be wearing the green headbands associated with Hamas.

On Saturday, Israel said it had received two more bodies from Gaza that Hamas said are hostages, though they have yet to be formally identified.

So far, the remains of 10 out of 28 deceased hostages had been returned to Israel.

Separately on Saturday, 11 members of one Palestinian family were killed by an Israeli tank shell, according to the Hamas-run civil defence ministry, in what was the deadliest single incident involving Israeli soldiers in Gaza since the start of the ceasefire.

The Israeli military said soldiers had fired at a "suspicious vehicle" that had crossed the so-called yellow line demarcating the area still occupied by Israeli forces in Gaza.

There are no physical markers of this line, and it is unclear if the bus did cross it. The BBC has asked the IDF for the coordinates of the incident.

The Israeli military launched a campaign in Gaza in response to the 7 October 2023 attack, in which Hamas-led gunmen killed about 1,200 people in southern Israel and took 251 others hostage.

At least 68,000 people have been killed by Israeli attacks in Gaza since then, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, whose figures are seen by the UN as reliable.

In September, a UN commission of inquiry said Israel had committed genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. Israel categorically rejected the report as "distorted and false".

Colombia accuses US of 'murder' after strike on boat

Reuters Donald Trump at a podium in the Oval Office pointing as he takes questions from reporters. Reuters

President Donald Trump has said the US will return two people who survived a strike on what he called a "drug-carrying submarine" to their countries of origin, Ecuador and Colombia.

Writing on social media, Trump said two other people were killed in the US strike on the vessel, which he said US intelligence confirmed was "loaded up with mostly Fentanyl, and other illegal narcotics".

The attack on Thursday is at least the sixth US strike on ships in the Caribbean Sea in recent weeks. It is the first time survivors have been reported.

At least 27 people were killed in the prior five boat strikes in the waters off Venezuela, according to figures released by the administration.

The two survivors were rescued by a US military helicopter and then shuttled onto a US warship in the Caribbean, unnamed US officials told US media earlier.

In recent weeks, Trump has ramped up threats against Venezuela's leadership over claims that the country is sending drugs to the US. Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has accused Trump of trying to make the South American nation "an American colony".

Trump has defended the ongoing boat attacks, saying they are aimed at stemming the flow of drugs from Latin America into the US, but his government has not provided evidence or details about the identities of the vessels or those on board.

"It was my great honor to destroy a very large DRUG-CARRYING SUBMARINE that was navigating towards the United States on a well known narcotrafficking transit route," Trump said in his Truth Social post on Saturday.

"The two surviving terrorists are being returned to their Countries of origin, Ecuador and Colombia, for detention and prosecution."

He added that no US military personnel were injured in the attack.

On Friday, the US president had said the submarine targeting the latest attack was "built specifically for the transportation of massive amounts of drugs".

"This was not an innocent group of people. I don't know too many people who have submarines, and that was an attack on a drug-carrying, loaded submarine," he added.

UN-appointed human rights experts have described the US strikes as "extrajudicial executions".

Trump earlier told reporters that he had authorised the CIA to conduct covert operations in Venezuela, and that he was considering launching attacks on Venezuelan soil.

Narco-subs have become a popular way to transport drugs as they can go largely undetected, and can be sunk after delivery. They are often homemade and constructed using fibreglass and plywood.

The US, as well as other coastal nations, have previously intercepted some of these subs.

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