An earthquake has struck northern Afghanistan near Mazar-e Sharif, one of the country's largest cities around 20:30 GMT (01:00 local time).

The earthquake had a magnitude of 6.3 and a depth of 28km (17 miles), according to the US Geological Survey.

The agency also warned of "significant casualties" and "potentially widespread" disaster.

A Taliban spokesman in Balkh province - of which Mazar-e Sharif is the capital -wrote on X that four people have died and "many people are injured" in Sholgara district. The BBC is unable to verify this figure independently.

In an earlier post, Haji Zaid wrote that they had received "reports of minor injuries and superficial damages from all districts of the province".

"Most of the injuries were caused by people falling from tall buildings," he wrote.

Mazar-e Sharif is home to more than 500,000 people. Many of the city's residents rushed to the streets when the quake struck, as they feared their houses would collapse, AFP reported.

The Taliban spokesman in Balkh also posted a video on X appearing to show debris strewn across the ground at the Blue Mosque, a local landmark in Mazar-e-Sharif.

The religious complex is believed to house the tomb of the first Shia Imam - a religious leader believed to hold divine knowledge. It's now a site where pilgrims gather to pray and celebrate religious events.

Khalid Zadran, a Taliban spokesman for the police in Kabul, wrote on X that police teams were "closely monitoring the situation".

The quake on Monday comes after a 6.0 magnitude earthquake struck Afghanistan's mountainous eastern region in late August, killing more than 1,000 people.

That earthquake was especially deadly as the rural houses in the region were typically made of mud and timber. Residents were trapped when their houses collapsed during the quake.

Afghanistan is very prone to earthquakes because of its location on top of a number of fault lines where the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates meet.

An earthquake has struck northern Afghanistan near Mazar-e Sharif, one of the country's largest cities around 20:30 GMT (01:00 local time).

The earthquake had a magnitude of 6.3 and a depth of 28km (17 miles), according to the US Geological Survey.

The agency also warned of "significant casualties" and "potentially widespread" disaster.

A Taliban spokesman in Balkh province - of which Mazar-e Sharif is the capital -wrote on X that four people have died and "many people are injured" in Sholgara district. The BBC is unable to verify this figure independently.

In an earlier post, Haji Zaid wrote that they had received "reports of minor injuries and superficial damages from all districts of the province".

"Most of the injuries were caused by people falling from tall buildings," he wrote.

Mazar-e Sharif is home to more than 500,000 people. Many of the city's residents rushed to the streets when the quake struck, as they feared their houses would collapse, AFP reported.

The Taliban spokesman in Balkh also posted a video on X appearing to show debris strewn across the ground at the Blue Mosque, a local landmark in Mazar-e-Sharif.

The religious complex is believed to house the tomb of the first Shia Imam - a religious leader believed to hold divine knowledge. It's now a site where pilgrims gather to pray and celebrate religious events.

Khalid Zadran, a Taliban spokesman for the police in Kabul, wrote on X that police teams were "closely monitoring the situation".

The quake on Monday comes after a 6.0 magnitude earthquake struck Afghanistan's mountainous eastern region in late August, killing more than 1,000 people.

That earthquake was especially deadly as the rural houses in the region were typically made of mud and timber. Residents were trapped when their houses collapsed during the quake.

Afghanistan is very prone to earthquakes because of its location on top of a number of fault lines where the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates meet.

Donald Trump has played down the possibility of a US war with Venezuela, but suggested Nicolás Maduro's days as the country's president are numbered.

Asked if the US was going to war against Venezuela, the US president told CBS' 60 Minutes: "I doubt it. I don't think so. But they've been treating us very badly."

His comments come as the US continues to launch strikes on alleged drug-smuggling boats in the Caribbean. The Trump administration says the strikes are necessary to stem the flow of drugs into the US.

Trump rejected suggestions that the US action was not about stopping narcotics, but aimed at ousting Maduro, a long-time Trump opponent, saying it was about "many things".

At least 64 people have been killed by US strikes in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific since early September, CBS News - the BBC's US News partner - reported.

Speaking from Mar-a-Lago, Florida, Trump said: "Every single boat that you see that's shot down kills 25,000 on drugs and destroys families all over our country."

Pushed on whether the US was planning any strikes on land, Trump refused to rule it out, saying: "I wouldn't be inclined to say that I would do that... I'm not gonna tell you what I'm gonna do with Venezuela, if I was gonna do it or if I wasn't going to do it."

Maduro has previously accused Washington of "fabricating a new war", while Colombian President Gustavo Petro has said the strikes on boats are being used by the US to "dominate" Latin America.

Trump said the government was "not going to allow" people "from all over the world" to come in.

"They come in from the Congo, they come in from all over the world, they're coming, not just from South America. But Venezuela in particular - has been bad. They have gangs," he said, singling out the Tren de Aragua gang. He called it "the most vicious gang anywhere in the world".

It was Trump's first interview with CBS since he sued its parent company, Paramount, over a 2024 interview with then Vice-President Kamala Harris.

He claimed the interview had been edited to "tip the scales in favour of the Democratic party".

Paramount agreed to pay $16m (£13.5m) to settle the suit, but with the money allocated to Trump's future presidential library, not paid to him "directly or indirectly". It said the settlement did not include a statement of apology.

Trump last appeared on the 60 Minutes programme in 2020, when he walked out of an interview with Lesley Stahl because he claimed the questions were biased. He did not agree to an interview with the show during the 2024 election.

An earthquake has struck northern Afghanistan near Mazar-e Sharif, one of the country's largest cities around 20:30 GMT (01:00 local time).

The earthquake had a magnitude of 6.3 and a depth of 28km (17 miles), according to the US Geological Survey.

The agency also warned of "significant casualties" and "potentially widespread" disaster.

A Taliban spokesman in Balkh province - of which Mazar-e Sharif is the capital -wrote on X that four people have died and "many people are injured" in Sholgara district. The BBC is unable to verify this figure independently.

In an earlier post, Haji Zaid wrote that they had received "reports of minor injuries and superficial damages from all districts of the province".

"Most of the injuries were caused by people falling from tall buildings," he wrote.

Mazar-e Sharif is home to more than 500,000 people. Many of the city's residents rushed to the streets when the quake struck, as they feared their houses would collapse, AFP reported.

The Taliban spokesman in Balkh also posted a video on X appearing to show debris strewn across the ground at the Blue Mosque, a local landmark in Mazar-e-Sharif.

The religious complex is believed to house the tomb of the first Shia Imam - a religious leader believed to hold divine knowledge. It's now a site where pilgrims gather to pray and celebrate religious events.

Khalid Zadran, a Taliban spokesman for the police in Kabul, wrote on X that police teams were "closely monitoring the situation".

The quake on Monday comes after a 6.0 magnitude earthquake struck Afghanistan's mountainous eastern region in late August, killing more than 1,000 people.

That earthquake was especially deadly as the rural houses in the region were typically made of mud and timber. Residents were trapped when their houses collapsed during the quake.

Afghanistan is very prone to earthquakes because of its location on top of a number of fault lines where the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates meet.

What may be the biggest battle yet in Donald Trump's trade war is about to begin.

The Trump administration heads to the US Supreme Court on Wednesday, facing off against small businesses and a group of states who contend most of the tariffs it has put in place are illegal and should be struck down.

If the court agrees with them, Trump's trade strategy would be upended, including the sweeping global tariffs he first announced in April. The government would also likely have to refund some of the billions of dollars it has collected through the tariffs, which are taxes on imports.

The final decision from the justices will come after what could be months of poring over the arguments and discussing the merits of the case. Eventually they will hold a vote.

Trump has described the fight in epic terms, warning a loss would tie his hands in trade negotiations and imperil national security. He has even suggested he might take the unprecedented step of hearing the arguments at court in person.

"If we don't win that case, we will be a weakened, troubled, financial mess for many, many years to come," he said.

The stakes feel just as high for many businesses in the US and abroad, which have been paying the price while getting whipped about by fast-changing policies.

Trump's tariffs will cost Learning Resources, a US seller of toys made mostly overseas and one of the businesses suing the government, $14m (£10.66m) this year. That is seven times what it spent on tariffs in 2024, according to CEO Rick Woldenberg.

"They've thrown our business into unbelievable disruption," he said, noting the company has had to shift the manufacturing of hundreds of items since January.

Few businesses, though, are banking on a win at the court.

"We are hopeful that this is going to be ruled illegal but we're all also trying to prepare that it's setting in," said Bill Harris, co-founder of Georgia-based Cooperative Coffees.

His co-op, which imports coffee from more than a dozen countries, has already paid roughly $1.3m (£975,000) in tariffs since April.

A test to Trump's presidential power

In deciding this case, the Supreme Court will have to take on a broader question: How far does presidential power go?

Legal analysts say it is hard to predict the justices' answer, but a ruling siding with Trump will give him and future White House occupants greater reach.

Specifically, the case concerns tariffs that the Trump administration imposed using the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), which the White House has embraced for its speed and flexibility. By declaring an emergency under the law, Trump can issue immediate orders and bypass longer, established processes.

Trump first invoked the law in February to tax goods from China, Mexico and Canada, saying drug trafficking from those countries constituted an emergency.

He deployed it again in April, ordering levies ranging from 10% to 50% on goods from almost every country in the world. This time, he said the US trade deficit - where the US imports more than it exports - posed an "extraordinary and unusual threat".

Those tariffs took hold in fits and starts this summer while the US pushed countries to strike "deals".

Opponents say the law authorises the president to regulate trade but never mentions the word "tariffs", and they contend that only Congress can establish taxes under the US Constitution.

They have also challenged whether the issues cited by the White House, especially the trade deficit, represent emergencies.

Members of Congress from both parties have asserted the Constitution gives them responsibility for creating tariffs, duties and taxes, as well.

More than 200 Democrats in both chambers and one Republican, Senator Lisa Murkowski, filed a brief to the Supreme Court, where they also argued the emergency law did not grant the president power to use tariffs as a tool for gaining leverage in trade talks.

Meanwhile, last week the Senate made a symbolic and bipartisan move to pass three resolutions rejecting Trump's tariffs, including one to end the national emergency he declared. They are not expected to be approved in the House.

Still, business groups said they hoped the rebuke would send a message to the justices.

'An energy drain like I've never seen'

Three lower courts have ruled against the administration. After the Supreme Court hears arguments on Wednesday it will have until June to issue its decision, although most expect a ruling to come by January.

Whatever it decides has implications for an estimated $90bn worth of import taxes already paid - roughly half the tariff revenue the US collected this year through September, according to Wells Fargo analysts.

Trump officials have warned that sum could swell to $1tn if the court takes until June.

If the government is forced to issue refunds, Cooperative Coffees will "absolutely" try to recoup its money, said Mr Harris, but that would not make up for all the disruption.

His business has had to take out an extra line of credit, raise prices and find ways to survive with lower profits.

"This is an energy drain like I've never seen," said Mr Harris, who is also chief financial officer of Cafe Campesino, one of the 23 roasteries that own Cooperative Coffees. "It dominates all the conversations and it just kind of sucks the life out of you."

What could happen next?

The White House says that if it loses, it will impose levies via other means, such as a law allowing the president to put tariffs of up to 15% in place for 150 days.

Even then, businesses would have some relief, since those other means require steps like issuing formal notices, which take time and deliberation, said trade lawyer Ted Murphy of Sidley Austin.

"This is not just about the money," he said. "The president has announced tariffs on Sunday that go into effect on Wednesday, without advance notice, without any real process."

"I think that's the bigger thing for this case for businesses - whether or not that is going to be in our future," he added.

There is no clear sign of how the court will rule.

In recent years it has struck down major policies, such as Biden-era student loan forgiveness, as White House overreach.

But the nine justices, six of whom were appointed by Republicans, including three by Trump, have shown deference to this president in other recent disputes and historically have given leeway to the White House on questions of national security.

"I really do think arguments are available for the Supreme Court to go in all different directions," said Greta Peisch, partner at Wiley and former trade lawyer in the Biden administration.

Adam White, senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, said he expected the court to strike down the tariffs, but avoid questions like what constitutes a national emergency.

The case has already complicated the White House's trade deals, such as one struck in July with the European Union.

The European Parliament is currently considering ratifying the agreement, which sets US tariffs on European goods at 15% in exchange for promises including allowing in more US agricultural products.

"They're not going to act on this until they see the outcome of the Supreme Court decision," said John Clarke, former director for international trade at the European Commission.

In Switzerland, which recently downgraded its outlook for economic growth citing America’s 39% tariff on its goods, chocolatier Daniel Bloch said he'd welcome a ruling against the Trump administration.

His business Chocolats Camille Bloch is absorbing about a third of the cost of new tariffs on kosher chocolate that his firm has exported to the US for decades, aiming to blunt price increases and maintain sales. That decision has wiped out profits for the unit and is not sustainable, he said.

He hopes Trump will reconsider his tariffs altogether, because "that would be easiest".

"If the court were to make the tariffs go away of course we would see that as a positive sign," he said. "But we don't trust that that will bring the solution."

Five days after Hurricane Melissa pummelled into western Jamaica with record force, residents in devastated communities along the coast are still desperately waiting for help.

Many of the roads are blocked by debris and people are isolated with little food, no power or running water, and no idea of when normalcy will return.

The government said on Saturday that at least 28 people in Jamaica have died since the hurricane hit as a monster category five storm with 185 mph (297km/h) sustained winds.

That is a near 50% jump in the death toll overnight, and the number could rise as officials clear their way into new parts of the island in the coming days.

Local official Dr Dayton Campbell told the BBC 10 of those deaths were in Westmoreland.

Westmoreland parish is believed to have the second highest number of unconfirmed deaths, after St Elizabeth to the south east. The eye of the storm hit somewhere between the two neighbouring parishes. At St Elisabeth an estimated 90% of homes have been destroyed.

• Hurricane death toll rises as Jamaica aid effort struggles

A long stretch of road headed west into Westmoreland Parish winds through a graveyard of trees – stacks of branches and limbs, cracked and twisted, blanketing the landscape for miles. It is grim evidence of Hurricane Melissa's ferocity - it was the strongest storm to strike the Caribbean island in modern history.

Piles of debris are heaped on the parish's roadsides, next to battered buildings, shipping crates turned on their side and crowds of people wading through the destruction.

On Saturday morning, men with machetes hacked through branches as thick as their arms, clearing patches of the road where traffic jams were at a standstill.

A policeman with an automatic weapon strapped to his chest, part of a convoy accompanying an aid truck on its way to Westmoreland, hopped out of his vehicle to help direct traffic.

"We don't know what lies ahead," the officer told the BBC, describing what he has seen as "total devastation".

Those living in Whitehouse, a coastal town and commercial hub on the edge of Westmoreland Parish, say the wait for assistance is becoming frustrating.

Gary Williams said he has heard promises of incoming aid delivery, but "they no turn up".

He sat in the shade on a makeshift stool in front of a building barely standing – its entire roof gone – unsure of what to do next.

Williams said he lost his house in the storm and has "nowhere to live", suggesting he might sleep right where he is, outside on the front porch.

Another woman, who asked to remain anonymous, said: "Words can't explain the situation that we're in. It's horrible. I don't even know what to say. So many hopeless, helpless, and lifeless people here right now."

About 400,000 people in Jamaica were without power as of Friday, and an untold number more have no access to cell phone service or Wi-Fi, cut off from the outside world.

Jamaica's transportation minister Daryl Vaz announced on Saturday that more than 200 StarLink devices have been deployed across the island to help people access the internet.

He addressed criticism the government has received for its response, saying there were "several factors" contributing to delays.

"Refuelling, Areas for Landing, Accessibility and Timing/Visibility," Vaz said on X.

Jamaica's Prime Minister Andrew Holness urged that the "immediate focus is on clearing debris, restoring essential services", as well as providing food and medical supplies.

But that would only solve part of the problem.

In a tiny community just outside of Whitehouse, Robert Morris rested against a slab of broken concrete. Behind him, the fishing village he has called home his entire life has been destroyed, along with his livelihood.

"We all devastated here man," he said. He said the boat house was destroyed and is now "flat".

"Melissa take everything down," he said, including his fishing boat, which he describes as "mashed up".

Morris also told of "no help, no food, no water".

"We just have to try and see what we can do," he said, adding that his plan was to find someone whose boat was still intact so that he could join and fish.

Even then, he is not sure where he would sell his catch.

The people in these areas are filled with pride and resilience, words that are often repeated on local radio stations and visible through their optimism in the most difficult circumstances.

Seated under the facade of a badly damaged building, Roy Perry said he has lost everything, but "we have to just keep the faith and the hope is up still".

"Can't give up. Not gonna give up," he said.

It is the same tone struck by Oreth Jones, a farmer sitting in the bed of his truck selling pears, pumpkins, and sweet potatoes – the last of his produce that was spared from the storm.

Of his farm, he said: "It's all wrecked. They all destroyed." But he quickly followed up with: "We have to give God thanks we're alive."

Jones survived the strongest hurricane in Jamaican history while he was injured, wearing a homemade splint on his right leg from a fracture he suffered during a biking accident before Melissa hit.

When asked about how the community will move forward, he said: "Pray. Nothing else we can do. Nothing else."

Meanwhile, foreign aid has now started entering into Jamaica.

The US State Department announced on Friday that its Disaster Assistance Response Team had arrived. And countries including the UK have also pledged millions in aid relief funds and emergency supplies.

Nato "will stand with Ukraine up to the day in which we will have them sitting around the table for a long-lasting peace", a senior official from the military alliance has told the BBC.

Admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone, chair of Nato's military committee since January, added from an operational point of view he considered the Russia-Ukraine war was bogged down, and "it was almost time to sit and talk because it's a waste of lives".

Pointing to the fact that Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 had resulted in two more countries joining the Western alliance - Finland and Sweden - Adm Dragone described the war as a strategic failure for Russian President Vladimir Putin, despite recent slow, incremental advances by Russia on the battlefield.

"They will not get a friendly or puppet government like in Belarus. Putin will not succeed."

Asked if European nations were prepared to keep going with supporting Ukraine's defence, he said they did. It was beneficial, he believed that they had had something of a wake-up call and were now taking charge of their own defence.

In June, Nato members agreed to raise their defence spending to 5% of GDP by 2035. The move followed repeated urges from US President Donald Trump for members to do so.

On Russia's recent announcement about long-range, nuclear-powered weapons like the Burevestnik and the Poseidon, the former Italian chief of defence staff and naval aviator played down concerns by Nato, saying that it was a defensive nuclear alliance.

"We are not threatened by them," he said, "we are just ready to defend our 32 nations and our one billion people. We are a nuclear alliance."

On the risk of future invasions or attacks, Adm Dragone said if - and he emphasised the conditional here - there was to be anywhere it would likely be the Baltic states: Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.

But he pointed out that as Nato states Article 5 would be requested - which considers an attack on one nation to be equivalent to an attack on all - and that Nato would come to their defence.

Asked if that included the US, he replied: "Yes, because they have committed to this and they have underlined that they are still in the business."

Of all Nato defence needs right now, Adm Dragone said air defence was the top priority. Recent incursions by Russian drones into Poland and Romania have prompted the alliance to upgrade its air defences.

Regarding the possibility of activating a notional "drone wall" on Nato's eastern borders, he said this would be done within months and that "the alliance's Allied Command Transformation in Norfolk [Virginia] is already working on that".

"There is a lot of stuff on the market which will fulfil our immediate needs so we set up a new activity which is Eastern Sentry... integrating all the air defence that we already have on our eastern flank.

"Airspace incursions are pretty frequent, we escort them out and that's basically the game," the admiral said.

Despite no sign that Russia is changing course on the war in Ukraine and despite signs that some members - notably Slovakia and Hungary - are increasingly opposed to supporting Ukraine's defence, Adm Dragone ended on a positive note.

"The alliance is reliable, it is mature, there is a cohesion which is our centre of gravity."

"The alliance is stronger than our adversaries, and we will stay with Ukraine up to the day that peace will break out," he added.

Hamas has handed over three coffins it says contain the bodies of deceased Gaza hostages, according to the Israeli military.

Israel has received the coffins, via the Red Cross in the Gaza Strip, and transported them to Israel for formal identification.

If confirmed as deceased hostages, it would mean eight Israeli and foreign deceased hostages remain in Gaza.

Under the first phase of the US-brokered ceasefire deal with Israel that started last month, Hamas agreed to return the 20 living and 28 dead hostages it was holding.

Israel has accused Hamas of being too slow to return the deceased hostages, while Hamas has said it is working to recover bodies trapped under rubble in the territory.

Hamas's armed wing, Al-Qassam Brigades, said the remains had been found earlier on Sunday "along the route of one of the tunnels in the southern Gaza Strip".

Later, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's official X account said: "All of the hostages' families have been updated accordingly, and our hearts are with them in this difficult hour. The effort to return our hostages is ongoing and will not cease until the last hostage is returned."

Hamas and Israel have accused each other of violating the ceasefire.

On Sunday, an Israeli air strike killed a man in northern Gaza, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.

The Israeli military said it had struck a militant that was posing a threat to its soldiers.

Under the first phase of the ceasefire, all the living Israeli hostages were released on 13 October in exchange for 250 Palestinian prisoners and 1,718 detainees from Gaza.

Israel has handed over the bodies of 225 Palestinians in exchange for the bodies of the 15 Israeli hostages so far returned by Hamas, along with those of two foreign hostages - one of them Thai and the other Nepalese.

Prior to Sunday, nine of the 11 dead hostages still in Gaza were Israelis, one was Tanzanian, and one was Thai.

All but one of the dead hostages still in Gaza were among the 251 people abducted during the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, during which about 1,200 other people were killed.

Israel responded by launching a military campaign in Gaza, during which more than 68,500 people have been killed, according to the territory's Hamas-run health ministry.

The Netherlands has said it will return a stolen 3,500-year-old sculpture to Egypt.

It is "highly likely" the stone head, dating from the time of the pharaohs, was plundered during the Arab Spring in either 2011 or 2012, according to the Dutch Information & Heritage Inspectorate.

A decade later, it turned up at an arts and antiques fair in Maastricht and, following an anonymous tip-off, Dutch authorities determined it had been stolen and exported illegally.

Dutch outgoing prime minister Dick Schoof made the pledge to hand it back as he attended the opening of the archaeological Grand Egyptian Museum in Giza this weekend.

The Dutch government said the sculpture of a high-ranking official from the dynasty of Pharaoh Thutmose III is "deeply meaningful to Egypt's identity".

The statue had been offered up for sale at The European Fine Art Foundation fair in 2022. The dealer voluntarily relinquished the sculpture after authorities had been tipped off about its illegal origin.

The government said it expected to hand the stone head over to the Egyptian ambassador to the Netherlands at the end of this year.

"The Netherlands is committed both nationally and internationally to ensuring the return of heritage to its original owners," it said.

The news comes as Egypt celebrated the opening of the enormous Grand Egyptian Museum showcasing its archaeological heritage this weekend.

First proposed in 1992, the construction of the museum itself was interrupted by the Arab Spring.

Costing around $1.2bn (£910m), the facility contains 100,000 artefacts, including the entire contents of the intact tomb of the boy king Tutankhamun and his famous gold mask.

Prominent Egyptologists are hoping the museum will strengthen demands for key antiquities held in other countries to be returned.

These include the Rosetta Stone, the key to deciphering hieroglyphics, which is on display at the British Museum in London.

Five days after Hurricane Melissa pummelled into western Jamaica with record force, residents in devastated communities along the coast are still desperately waiting for help.

Many of the roads are blocked by debris and people are isolated with little food, no power or running water, and no idea of when normalcy will return.

The government said on Saturday that at least 28 people in Jamaica have died since the hurricane hit as a monster category five storm with 185 mph (297km/h) sustained winds.

That is a near 50% jump in the death toll overnight, and the number could rise as officials clear their way into new parts of the island in the coming days.

Local official Dr Dayton Campbell told the BBC 10 of those deaths were in Westmoreland.

Westmoreland parish is believed to have the second highest number of unconfirmed deaths, after St Elizabeth to the south east. The eye of the storm hit somewhere between the two neighbouring parishes. At St Elisabeth an estimated 90% of homes have been destroyed.

• Hurricane death toll rises as Jamaica aid effort struggles

A long stretch of road headed west into Westmoreland Parish winds through a graveyard of trees – stacks of branches and limbs, cracked and twisted, blanketing the landscape for miles. It is grim evidence of Hurricane Melissa's ferocity - it was the strongest storm to strike the Caribbean island in modern history.

Piles of debris are heaped on the parish's roadsides, next to battered buildings, shipping crates turned on their side and crowds of people wading through the destruction.

On Saturday morning, men with machetes hacked through branches as thick as their arms, clearing patches of the road where traffic jams were at a standstill.

A policeman with an automatic weapon strapped to his chest, part of a convoy accompanying an aid truck on its way to Westmoreland, hopped out of his vehicle to help direct traffic.

"We don't know what lies ahead," the officer told the BBC, describing what he has seen as "total devastation".

Those living in Whitehouse, a coastal town and commercial hub on the edge of Westmoreland Parish, say the wait for assistance is becoming frustrating.

Gary Williams said he has heard promises of incoming aid delivery, but "they no turn up".

He sat in the shade on a makeshift stool in front of a building barely standing – its entire roof gone – unsure of what to do next.

Williams said he lost his house in the storm and has "nowhere to live", suggesting he might sleep right where he is, outside on the front porch.

Another woman, who asked to remain anonymous, said: "Words can't explain the situation that we're in. It's horrible. I don't even know what to say. So many hopeless, helpless, and lifeless people here right now."

About 400,000 people in Jamaica were without power as of Friday, and an untold number more have no access to cell phone service or Wi-Fi, cut off from the outside world.

Jamaica's transportation minister Daryl Vaz announced on Saturday that more than 200 StarLink devices have been deployed across the island to help people access the internet.

He addressed criticism the government has received for its response, saying there were "several factors" contributing to delays.

"Refuelling, Areas for Landing, Accessibility and Timing/Visibility," Vaz said on X.

Jamaica's Prime Minister Andrew Holness urged that the "immediate focus is on clearing debris, restoring essential services", as well as providing food and medical supplies.

But that would only solve part of the problem.

In a tiny community just outside of Whitehouse, Robert Morris rested against a slab of broken concrete. Behind him, the fishing village he has called home his entire life has been destroyed, along with his livelihood.

"We all devastated here man," he said. He said the boat house was destroyed and is now "flat".

"Melissa take everything down," he said, including his fishing boat, which he describes as "mashed up".

Morris also told of "no help, no food, no water".

"We just have to try and see what we can do," he said, adding that his plan was to find someone whose boat was still intact so that he could join and fish.

Even then, he is not sure where he would sell his catch.

The people in these areas are filled with pride and resilience, words that are often repeated on local radio stations and visible through their optimism in the most difficult circumstances.

Seated under the facade of a badly damaged building, Roy Perry said he has lost everything, but "we have to just keep the faith and the hope is up still".

"Can't give up. Not gonna give up," he said.

It is the same tone struck by Oreth Jones, a farmer sitting in the bed of his truck selling pears, pumpkins, and sweet potatoes – the last of his produce that was spared from the storm.

Of his farm, he said: "It's all wrecked. They all destroyed." But he quickly followed up with: "We have to give God thanks we're alive."

Jones survived the strongest hurricane in Jamaican history while he was injured, wearing a homemade splint on his right leg from a fracture he suffered during a biking accident before Melissa hit.

When asked about how the community will move forward, he said: "Pray. Nothing else we can do. Nothing else."

Meanwhile, foreign aid has now started entering into Jamaica.

The US State Department announced on Friday that its Disaster Assistance Response Team had arrived. And countries including the UK have also pledged millions in aid relief funds and emergency supplies.

Last month's jewellery heist at the Louvre museum was carried out by petty criminals rather than organised crime professionals, Paris's prosecutor has said.

"This is not quite everyday delinquency... but it is a type of delinquency that we do not generally associate with the upper echelons of organised crime," Laure Beccuau told franceinfo radio.

She said four people arrested and charged so far over the theft that shocked France and the world were "clearly local people" living in Seine-Saint-Denis, an impoverished area just north of Paris.

Jewels worth €88m (£76m; $102m) were taken from the most-visited museum, in the French capital, on 19 October.

In Sunday's interview to franceinfo radio, Beccuau said the four arrested people - three men and a woman - "all live more or less in Seine-Saint-Denis".

She said two of the male suspects had been known to the police, as they each had multiple theft convictions.

On Saturday, a 38-year-old woman was charged with complicity in organised theft and criminal conspiracy with a view to committing a crime.

Separately, a man, aged 37, was charged with theft and criminal conspiracy.

The suspects - who have not been publicly named - both denied any involvement.

Two men who had previously been arrested were already charged with theft and criminal conspiracy after officials said they had "partially recognised" their involvement in the heist.

Investigators believe four men carried out the daylight theft, and one of them is still on the run.

Three other people detained earlier this week have been released without charge.

On the day of the heist, the suspects arrived at 09:30 local time (07:30 GMT), just after the museum opened to visitors, Ms Beccuau told reporters last week.

The suspects arrived with a stolen vehicle-mounted mechanical lift to gain access to the Galerie d'Apollon (Gallery of Apollo) via a balcony close to the River Seine. The men used a disc cutter to crack open display cases housing the jewellery.

Prosecutors said the thieves were inside for four minutes and made their escape on two scooters waiting outside at 09:38, before switching to cars.

One of the stolen items - a crown - was dropped during the escape. The other seven jewels have not been found.

The fear is that they have already been spirited abroad, though the prosecutor in charge of the case has said she is still hopeful they can be retrieved intact.

Since the incident, security measures have been tightened around France's cultural institutions.

The Louvre has transferred some of its most precious jewels to the Bank of France following the heist.

An avalanche in Italy's Dolomite mountains has killed five German climbers, including a 17-year-old girl and her father, according to rescuers.

The mountaineers, travelling in separate groups, were scaling Cima Vertana in the Ortler Alps at around 16:00 local time on Saturday when the fast-moving snow hit.

A group of three people "was fully swept away by the avalanche" and all died, said Italy's Alpine rescue service, Soccorso Alpino e Speleologico.

Separately, the father and daughter were carried away by the avalanche and their bodies were recovered on Sunday. Two other climbers in a third party survived.

The alarm was raised by the survivors, triggering the rescue operation.

Olaf Reinstadler, a spokesperson for the Sulden Mountain Rescue Service, told German media that the avalanche on the 3,545-metre (11,630ft) mountain, also called Vertainspitze, could have been caused by recent snow drifts which had not bonded to the ice below.

He said climbing tours were popular and the weather conditions were good, but wondered why the mountaineers were climbing late in the afternoon, as the descent would have then taken until nightfall.

The bodies of the three people climbing together were recovered on Saturday before rescue efforts were suspended due to fading light and safety conditions.

The Alpine rescue service said that due to fog and low visibility, helicopters could not take off at first light on Sunday.

However, once conditions improved, rescuers and avalanche dog units were airlifted to 2,600 meters before setting out on foot.

By late morning, the bodies of the two missing mountaineers - the father and daughter - were found.

US airports have been hit with widespread delays because of a shortage of air traffic controllers, who are working without pay during the federal government shutdown.

A ground stop was issued at Newark Airport on Sunday morning, a major hub servicing New York. Average delays at Newark are more than three hours and could last until Monday, the Federal Aviation Administration says.

Half of the 30 major airports in the US have staff shortages, and Transport Secretary Sean Duffy said flights will be cancelled across national airspace "to make sure people are safe".

Nearly 13,000 air traffic controllers are working without pay as the government shutdown enters its second month.

Air traffic controllers, like other essential federal workers, are required to work without pay during the shutdown, including Transportation Security Administration (TSA) agents.

The aviation agency called on lawmakers to end the shutdown so that workers "receive the pay they've earned and travelers can avoid further disruptions and delays".

The FAA said the shortages means it has had to reduce the flow of air traffic "to maintain safety".

"This may result in delays or cancellations," it added.

On Saturday, about 4,500 flights within the US were delayed and more than 500 were cancelled, according to FlightAware. In New York, the largest US city, about 80% of air traffic controllers were absent heading into the weekend, according to the FAA.

Transportation Secretary Duffy on Sunday told ABC the aviation agency would take any steps necessary to make sure travellers are safe.

"But there is a level of risk that gets injected into the system when we have a controller that's doing two jobs instead of one," he said.

He added that air traffic controllers were under a great deal of stress and working without pay.

"They don't make a lot of money, and so they may be the only person that is bringing money into the household," he said.

"They have to make a decision, do I go to work and not get a paycheque and not put food on the table? Or do I drive for Uber or DoorDash or wait tables?"

Lawmakers are at an impasse as a Republican-led bill to fund the government has failed to pass the Senate over a dozen times.

In exchange for re-opening the government, Democrats are seeking to extend tax credits that make health insurance cheaper for millions of Americans.

They are also calling for a reverse to US President Donald Trump's cuts to Medicaid, a government healthcare programme used by millions of elderly, disabled and low-income people.

Three men have been killed in a US strike on an alleged drug-smuggling boat in the Caribbean, US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has said.

It is the latest in a series of attacks on vessels the Trump administration says are being used to smuggle drugs into the US.

Since they began in September, experts have questioned the legality of the strikes under international law, which have drawn strong criticism from Latin American leaders whose citizens have been targeted.

Combatting the flow of illegal drugs is a key policy for US President Donald Trump - but some have suggested the strikes are part of efforts to influence politically opposed governments in the region.

Hegseth said the boat targeted on Saturday was operated by a designated terrorist organisation - without specifying which one - and had been travelling in international waters when it was hit.

The vessel was travelling along a known drug-smuggling route and carrying narcotics, he said, without providing evidence.

Announcements of these strikes are usually accompanied with grainy footage but no evidence of the alleged drug trafficking and few details about who or what was on board each vessel.

Hegseth's statement late on Saturday was accompanied by a video that appears to show a blurred-out boat travelling through the water before exploding.

The Trump administration has insisted that it was targeting "narco-terrorists".

Colombian President Gustavo Petro has previously described the attacks as "murder" and said they were being used by the US to "dominate" Latin America.

Meanwhile, Venezuela's Nicolas Maduro accused Washington of "fabricating a war".

The two left-wing leaders have increasingly been at odds with the Trump administration.

Following Petro's comments, the US placed sanctions on him and his inner circle, as well as removing Colombia's certification as an ally in the war on drugs. Trump has threatened military action against land targets in Venezuela.

But this, he has admitted, may require the consent of the US Congress.

However, some US lawmakers, both Democrat and Republican, have said the strikes on vessels also required congressional approval - something Trump has denied.

Others have questioned whether the lethal strikes were legal at all.

The UN's human rights chief Volker Turk said on Friday that such attacks were a violation of international human rights law.

"Over 60 people have reportedly been killed in a continuing series of attacks carried out by US armed forces... in circumstances that find no justification in international law," he said.

"These attacks – and their mounting human cost – are unacceptable."

Experts in Latin American politics have suggested the strikes in the Caribbean and Pacific were part of a suite of measures designed to influence change in Colombia and Venezuela.

The US is among many nations that consider Maduro's election last year as illegitimate, while Trump has been critical of Petro's policies on combatting the drug trade in his country, which has traditionally been a US ally.

Washington has steadily been building up a force of warships, fighter jets, marines, spy planes, bombers and drones in the Caribbean over the past few months, which it has framed as part of a crackdown on drug-trafficking but which military analysts say is much larger than what is needed.

China will begin easing an export ban on automotive computer chips vital to production of cars across the world as part of a trade deal struck between the US and China, the White House has said.

The White House confirmed details of the deal in a new fact sheet after Xi Jinping and Donald Trump met in South Korea this week.

The nations also reached agreements on US soybean exports, the supply of rare earth minerals, and the materials used in production of the drug fentanyl.

The deal de-escalates a trade war between the world's two largest economies after Trump hit China with tariffs after he entered office this year, leading to rounds of retaliatory tariffs and global business uncertainty.

Much of what is in Saturday's fact sheet was announced by Trump and other officials following the meeting between the two leaders.

Trump had described the talks, held in South Korea, as "amazing", while Beijing had said they had reached a consensus to resolve "major trade issues" - but did not immediately release details of the deal.

One of the issues addressed in the deal was the export of automotive computer chips. There had been concern that a lack of chips from Nexperia, which has production facilities in China, could create global supply chain issues.

Nexperia is a Chinese-owned company, but is based in the Netherlands. About 70% of Nexperia chips made in Europe are sent to China to be completed and re-exported to other countries.

The fact sheet states that China will "take appropriate measures to ensure the resumption of trade from Nexperia's facilities in China, allowing production of critical legacy chips to flow to the rest of the world".

It follows Beijing saying on Saturday that it was considering exempting some firms from the ban.

Last month, the likes of Volvo Cars and Volkswagen warned a chip shortage could lead to temporary shutdowns at their plants, and Jaguar Land Rover said the lack of chips posed a threat to their business.

On other key issues, Beijing will now pause export controls it brought in last month on rare earth minerals - vital in the production of cars, planes and weapons - for a year.

The White House also said it would lower tariffs brought in to curb the import of fentanyl into the US, with China agreeing to take "significant measures" to deal with the issue.

On soybeans, China has committed to buying 12 million tonnes of US soybeans in the last two months of 2025, and 25 million metric tonnes in each of the following three years.

The number of people killed in Jamaica as a result of Hurricane Melissa has risen to 28, the Caribbean nation's prime minister has announced.

Andrew Holness confirmed nine other deaths on Saturday, adding that there were reports of possible fatalities still being verified - suggesting the figure may yet rise.

Emergency responders and aid agencies have struggled to reach certain parts of the island in the aftermath of the storm due to blocked roads, debris and flooding.

The category five hurricane - the strongest type - has caused dozens of deaths across the Caribbean, bringing powerful winds and landslides to Cuba and Haiti.

The full scale of the destruction Melissa wrought on Jamaica has only become clear in the past few days as the hurricane knocked out communication systems and power to much of the island after it made landfall on Tuesday.

Communities on the island's western portion, such as Black River and Montego Bay, have seen the worst of the destruction.

Images have emerged showing buildings razed to the ground, debris and belongings strewn on streets, and whole neighbourhoods still under floodwater.

The Red Cross says that 72% of people across Jamaica still do not have electricity and around 6,000 are in emergency shelters.

Jamaican officials confirmed to news agency AFP that multiple field hospitals were being established to treat people in the worst-affected areas in the west.

Aid reaching those in need was initially held up by the temporary closure of Jamaica's airports.

Now that it is arriving in the country, landslides, downed power lines and fallen trees have made certain roads impassable - complicating its distribution.

With so many in need of clean drinking water, food and medicine, there have been reports of desperate people entering supermarkets and pharmacies to gather what they can.

Melissa has become the most powerful storm on record to hit Jamaica, and one of the strongest seen in the Caribbean.

At its peak, the hurricane had sustained winds of 185mph (295 km/h). A category five hurricane - those capable of catastrophic damage - has winds in excess of 157mph.

At least 31 people have been killed in Haiti as a result of Melissa, while at least two deaths have been reported in the Dominican Republic.

In Cuba, thousands of people have been evacuated as more than 60,000 homes have been damaged or destroyed.

The impact of climate change on the frequency of storms is still unclear, but increased sea surface temperatures warm the air above and make more energy available to drive hurricanes, cyclones and typhoons. As a result, they are likely to be more intense with more extreme rainfall.

Ahead of the start of this year's Atlantic hurricane season, the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicted above-normal activity.

US President Donald Trump has ordered the preparation of plans for military action in Nigeria to tackle Islamist militant groups, accusing the government of not doing enough to halt the killing of Christians.

Trump did not say which killings he was referring to, but claims of a genocide against Nigeria's Christians have been circulating in recent weeks and months in some right-wing US circles.

Groups monitoring violence say there is no evidence to suggest that Christians are being killed more than Muslims in Nigeria, which is roughly evenly divided between followers of the two religions.

The government of Africa's most populous nation has not responded to the threat of US military action.

However, Nigeria's President Bola Tinubu insisted that there was religious tolerance in the country and said the security challenges were affecting people "across faiths and regions".

Trump wrote in a social media post on Saturday that he had instructed the US Department of War to prepare for "possible action", a

He warned that he might send the military into Nigeria "guns-a-blazing" unless the Nigerian government intervened, and said that all aid to the country would be cut.

Trump added: "If we attack, it will be fast, vicious, and sweet, just like the terrorist thugs attack our CHERISHED Christians!"

Trump earlier announced that he had declared Nigeria a "Country of Particular Concern" because of the "existential threat" posed to its Christian population. He said "thousands" had been killed, without providing any evidence.

This is a designation used by the US State Department that provides for sanctions against countries "engaged in severe violations of religious freedom".

Following this announcement, Tinubu said his government was committed to working with the US and the international community to protect communities of all faiths.

"The characterisation of Nigeria as religiously intolerant does not reflect our national reality," the Nigerian leader said in a statement.

Jihadist groups such as Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province have wrought havoc in north-eastern Nigeria for more than a decade, killing thousands of people - however most of these have been Muslims, according to Acled, a group which analyses political violence around the world.

In central Nigeria, there are also frequent clashes between mostly Muslim herders and farming groups, who are often Christian, over access to water and pasture.

Deadly cycles of tit-for-tat attacks have also seen thousands killed, but atrocities have been committed on both sides and human rights group say there is no evidence that Christians have been disproportionately targeted.

Additional reporting by Chris Ewokor in Abuja

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

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

US President Donald Trump has ordered the preparation of plans for military action in Nigeria to tackle Islamist militant groups, accusing the government of not doing enough to halt the killing of Christians.

Trump did not say which killings he was referring to, but claims of a genocide against Nigeria's Christians have been circulating in recent weeks and months in some right-wing US circles.

Groups monitoring violence say there is no evidence to suggest that Christians are being killed more than Muslims in Nigeria, which is roughly evenly divided between followers of the two religions.

The government of Africa's most populous nation has not responded to the threat of US military action.

However, Nigeria's President Bola Tinubu insisted that there was religious tolerance in the country and said the security challenges were affecting people "across faiths and regions".

Trump wrote in a social media post on Saturday that he had instructed the US Department of War to prepare for "possible action", a

He warned that he might send the military into Nigeria "guns-a-blazing" unless the Nigerian government intervened, and said that all aid to the country would be cut.

Trump added: "If we attack, it will be fast, vicious, and sweet, just like the terrorist thugs attack our CHERISHED Christians!"

Trump earlier announced that he had declared Nigeria a "Country of Particular Concern" because of the "existential threat" posed to its Christian population. He said "thousands" had been killed, without providing any evidence.

This is a designation used by the US State Department that provides for sanctions against countries "engaged in severe violations of religious freedom".

Following this announcement, Tinubu said his government was committed to working with the US and the international community to protect communities of all faiths.

"The characterisation of Nigeria as religiously intolerant does not reflect our national reality," the Nigerian leader said in a statement.

Jihadist groups such as Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province have wrought havoc in north-eastern Nigeria for more than a decade, killing thousands of people - however most of these have been Muslims, according to Acled, a group which analyses political violence around the world.

In central Nigeria, there are also frequent clashes between mostly Muslim herders and farming groups, who are often Christian, over access to water and pasture.

Deadly cycles of tit-for-tat attacks have also seen thousands killed, but atrocities have been committed on both sides and human rights group say there is no evidence that Christians have been disproportionately targeted.

Additional reporting by Chris Ewokor in Abuja

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

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

Andrew Mountbatten Windsor arranged a private tour of Buckingham Palace while the late Queen was in residence, for businessmen from a cryptocurrency mining firm which agreed to pay his ex-wife up to £1.4m, the BBC can reveal.

Jay Bloom and his colleague Michael Evers were driven through the palace gates in the former prince's own car after being collected from their five-star Knightsbridge hotel for the visit in June 2019.

Their company, Pegasus Group Holdings, which Mr Bloom co-founded, employed Sarah Ferguson as a "brand ambassador" for a crypto-mining scheme which would lose investors millions when it failed less than a year later.

Mr Bloom, an entrepreneur who had previously set up a failed Mafia-themed museum in Las Vegas, and Mr Evers, a former actor, were met by a greeter and escorted inside the palace.

Mr Evers told the BBC they then met the Queen, although Mr Bloom disputed this.

Both Mr Evers and Mr Bloom were invited by the then-prince to his Pitch@Palace event - a Dragons' Den-style business pitching competition - at nearby St James's Palace later that day, and they dined that evening with Andrew, Ms Ferguson and their daughter Princess Beatrice.

Ms Ferguson was working with Pegasus Group Holdings at the time of the palace visit, while she was Duchess of York, to promote plans to use thousands of solar power generators to mine Bitcoin at a remote site in the Arizona desert.

But the project ultimately failed with only 615 of the planned 16,000 generators acquired and just $33,779 (about £25,000) in cryptocurrency mined.

In April 2021, some investors took legal action, claiming millions of dollars of investor funds were unaccounted for. A tribunal awarded the investors $4.1m, but Mr Bloom is seeking permission to appeal.

The revelations add to growing questions about how Andrew and his former wife have funded their lifestyle, as well as long-standing concerns about their business connections and that the then-prince may have used his royal titles and connections for private gain.

On Thursday evening, Buckingham Palace announced that it was starting the formal process of stripping Andrew of his royal titles and that he would be losing his Windsor mansion, following intense criticism of his links with the billionaire paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.

Andrew and Ms Ferguson did not respond to a detailed list of questions about their involvement with Mr Bloom and the crypto-mining venture.

Sarah Ferguson was paid more than £200,000 for her work for the company and a leaked contract reveals she was in line for a separate bonus worth £1.2m.

She also received a stake in the business, which proposed using solar generators to reduce the cost of the energy-intensive computer calculations needed to generate or "mine" the digital currency Bitcoin.

Her contract stipulated that she required first-class travel, five-star hotels and the services of a professional hairdresser and make-up artist for the maximum of four "networking events" she would attend on the company's behalf.

It said she did not "hold herself out as an expert on the solar industry" and therefore accepted no responsibility for "industry-related information or commercial assessments" used as the basis for her statements promoting the company.

A royal friendship

Sarah Ferguson first met the Las Vegas businessman Jay Bloom in May 2018 when she was at a convention in the city to promote one of her children's books.

The pair struck up a friendship and business relationship.

Pegasus documents would subsequently describe her role as to "engage with the company's clients, investors and strategic relationships" as well as involvement with the company's planned "philanthropic activities".

For Mr Bloom, it was an introduction to royal circles which would lead to visits to Buckingham Palace and St James's Palace, a tour of Ms Ferguson and Andrew's home, the Royal Lodge in Windsor, and dinners with her and her family in at least four different countries.

Eight years before the duchess signed up to be a brand ambassador for Pegasus, Mr Bloom had hit the Las Vegas headlines, accused of missing payments and deceiving investors in connection with a "mob experience" exhibition in the city. Mr Bloom denied wrongdoing, fought investors' lawsuits and vowed to repay them.

He now had a new company, Pegasus, and ambitions to build a hotel and casino in Greece.

It was there in July 2018, while considering investing in the company, that Michael Evers, a former actor and reality TV star who had made money from cryptocurrency investments, first met Ms Ferguson.

The hotel and casino did not get built, but Mr Bloom had soon pivoted Pegasus to a new idea, one that was inspired by seeing a mobile solar power generator in use at the Las Vegas motor speedway in early 2019, according to filings in the later legal action brought by investors.

Mr Bloom and his co-founders hit upon a plan to use vast banks of these units to power a crypto-mining operation. The endeavour, the company estimated, would generate millions of dollars a month.

In March 2019, Ms Ferguson had dinner with Mr Bloom in Los Angeles. They had lunch at the Beverly Hills Hotel a few days later as she helped him try to close a deal for Pegasus. One of her daughters stopped by during the meal.

Mr Evers was now working for Pegasus as well as being an investor. He said he and Mr Bloom were regularly in London over the following months as they explored taking Pegasus public on the AIM market - part of the London Stock Exchange for growing companies.

He said he got to know Ms Ferguson and her family and "through all that, I met Prince Andrew [and] Princess Beatrice and a lot of their family" who he described as "really great people, really friendly".

"We were there once a month for a week to two weeks at a time and every time the relationships just kind of grew stronger and stronger and they started offering tours of different places, I guess like behind the scenes or I don't know what you'd call it," Mr Evers said. "And just wanting to introduce us to more and more people."

As well as a tour of the Royal Lodge, Andrew and his ex-wife arranged for the pair to visit Buckingham Palace on a day in June 2019 when it was closed to the public.

They were picked up from their Knightsbridge hotel by an official driver in a dark blue Range Rover used by Andrew and driven through the palace gates in the early afternoon.

Once inside they were taken through to the inner courtyard, where a female greeter was waiting to meet them. A video taken by the men from inside the car captured their arrival.

A former Royal Household employee, who reviewed the footage, told BBC News that it was clear that palace security staff on the gate were expecting the vehicle.

"The ramp was dropped before they came out to speak to the driver," they said. "That was the reception we'd expect if we were carrying a member of the Royal Family."

What happened once they went inside is disputed by the two men.

Mr Evers said they had been told in advance that there would be an opportunity to meet the Queen. But once there, he said staff told him he was not allowed to take photos.

"They didn't want anyone knowing that we were meeting Elizabeth. And it was very, very brief, she was not doing super well, so it was more just like a hello and in passing. No touching or anything," he said.

He said it wasn't a formal meeting, "it was just like a quick, 'hello, goodbye'".

The Queen was in residence that day, with her published schedule including her regular weekly audience with the prime minister. The Palace was unable to confirm or deny whether the introduction with the two men took place.

Responding to questions by email, Mr Bloom initially said he had decided just to visit the palace as a tourist. He subsequently said the only person he met at the palace was a "staffer".

When challenged and presented with evidence from his own social media, which included footage of him being driven into the palace, and comments about spending time with Andrew, and there being "pictures I can post, the pictures I can't, and then the stuff I couldn't take pictures of... lol", Mr Bloom said he had misremembered.

He then admitted that he "was in fact shown to Andrews [sic] office and did thank him for the car and for him and Sarah arranging the tour".

He denied ever having met or been in the same room as the late Queen.

Mr Bloom made a second visit to Buckingham Palace in July 2019, photos show. On social media he made an apparently joking reference to "meeting HRH".

Helicopters and guns in the desert

Two months later, Ms Ferguson was one of two celebrity guests - alongside the motivational speaker Tony Robbins, who says he has coached figures such as Serena Williams and Hugh Jackman - at a "ground breaking" for Pegasus's energy project launch in the Arizona desert.

They were flown in, with Mr Bloom, Mr Evers and others, in two black-and-gold helicopters and posed with gold-coloured spades and construction hats at the remote site of what Pegasus promised would become a multi-billion-dollar off-grid data centre.

With armed guards with AR-15 rifles and pistols standing nearby, Mr Bloom introduced Ms Ferguson at a press conference as a "personal friend".

In the short speech that followed, Ms Ferguson praised the company, saying she was "so proud to be here" and touted the potential philanthropic uses of the technology in Africa.

That October, a month before Andrew's fateful BBC Newsnight interview where he disastrously attempted to explain his connections to Mr Epstein, Ms Ferguson signed a contract agreeing to provide specific services for Pegasus.

For reasons that remain unexplained, the contract itself was with Alphabet Capital, a British company whose owner, Adrian Gleave, ran a number of caravan and holiday parks.

A High Court ruling in London in 2024 has previously revealed that Ms Ferguson received more than £200,000 for her work for Pegasus from Alphabet Capital.

Andrew has also received money from Alphabet, including £60,500 traced to Mr Gleave and his businesses, according to court documents previously reported by the BBC.

Neither Andrew nor Mr Gleave have explained why this money was paid.

Mr Bloom said he has never heard of Alphabet or Mr Gleave and there was no connection with Pegasus.

Lawsuits and recriminations

A year after investing millions of dollars in the crypto solar scheme, some of its main investors became concerned about progress and began legal proceedings.

In 2023, judges from the Commercial Arbitration Tribunal in the US found in the investors' favour awarding them millions of dollars.

Jay Bloom has since mounted a number of legal challenges over the award in the Nevada courts.

Mr Bloom told BBC News that Pegasus emphatically disputed "any allegations of misconduct" and said they were "addressing the clearly flawed arbitral findings through established legal processes".

Andrew and Ms Ferguson did not respond to the BBC's questions, including whether Ms Ferguson planned to repay money received for her Pegasus work to the company's investors.

Mr Evers said he regretted being involved with Pegasus. He said Mr Bloom was "working very, very hard to get all the investors paid back" but that he was frustrated to still be owed money himself several years later.

• If you have any information on stories you would like to share with the BBC Politics Investigations team, please get in touch at politicsinvestigations@bbc.co.uk

Molecule, a pill promising rapid weight loss, went viral on Russian TikTok earlier this year.

Young people's feeds started filling up with captions like "Take Molecule and forget food exists", and "Do you want to sit in the back of the class in oversized clothes?"

Clips showed fridges lined with blue boxes featuring holograms and "Molecule Plus" labels.

The orders began piling in, as teenagers shared their "weight-loss journeys" on social media.

But there was a catch.

Maria, 22, had purchased the pill from a popular online retailer. She took two pills per day and, after two weeks, says her mouth dried up and she completely lost her appetite.

"I had absolutely no desire to eat, let alone drink. I was nervous. I was constantly biting my lips and chewing my cheeks."

Maria developed severe anxiety and began having negative thoughts. "These pills were having a profound effect on my psyche," she says.

Maria, who lives in St Petersburg, says she wasn't prepared for such severe side effects.

Other TikTok users mentioned dilated pupils, tremors and insomnia. And at least three schoolchildren are reported to have ended up in hospital.

In April, a schoolgirl in Chita, Siberia, needed hospital care after overdosing on Molecule. According to local reports, she was trying to lose weight quickly, in time for the summer.

The mother of another schoolgirl told local media her daughter was admitted to intensive care after taking several pills at once.

And in May, a 13-year-old boy from St Petersburg needed hospital care after experiencing hallucinations and panic attacks. He had reportedly asked a friend to buy him the pill because he was being teased at school about his weight.

Substance banned in UK, EU and US

The packaging for Molecule pills often lists "natural ingredients" such as dandelion root and fennel seed extract.

But earlier this year, journalists at the Russian newspaper Izvestiya submitted pills they had purchased online for testing and found they contained a substance called sibutramine.

First used as an antidepressant in the 1980s and later as an appetite suppressant, studies later found sibutramine increased the risk of heart attacks and strokes - while only slightly promoting weight loss.

It was banned in the US in 2010, and is also illegal in the UK, EU, China and other countries.

In Russia, it is still used to treat obesity, but available only to adults and by prescription.

Purchasing and selling sibutramine without a prescription is a criminal offence. But that hasn't stopped individuals and small businesses from selling it online - often in higher doses than legal medication - and without requiring prescriptions.

The unlicensed pills cost about £6-7 ($8-9) for a 20-day supply - much cheaper than recognised weight-loss injections like Ozempic, which on the Russian market sell for £40-160 ($50-210) per monthly pen.

"Self-administration of this drug is very unsafe," says endocrinologist Ksenia Solovieva from St. Petersburg, warning of potential overdose risks, "because we do not know how much of the active ingredient such 'dietary supplements' may contain."

Russians regularly receive prison sentences for purchasing and reselling Molecule pills. But it's proving difficult for authorities to get a grip on the drug being sold illegally.

In April, the government-backed Safe Internet League reported the growing trend involving young people to the authorities - prompting several major online marketplaces to remove Molecule from sale. But it soon began appearing online under a new name, Atom, in near-identical packaging.

A law was recently passed allowing authorities to block websites selling "unregistered dietary supplements" without a court order - but sellers have been getting around this by categorising them as "sports nutrition" instead.

On TikTok, you can find retailers selling Molecule under listings that look like they are for muesli, biscuits and even lightbulbs. And some retailers aren't even trying to hide it any more.

A few weeks ago, the BBC found Molecule listings on a popular Russian online marketplace. When approached for comment, the site said it had promptly removed any products containing sibutramine. But it admitted it was difficult to find and remove listings that didn't explicitly mention sibutramine.

If you do manage to get your hands on Molecule, it's hard to know exactly what you're getting - and it's unclear where the pills are being manufactured.

The BBC found some sellers with production certificates from factories in Guangzhou and Henan, in China. Others claim to be sourcing the pills from Germany.

Some packets state they were produced in Remagen in Germany - but the BBC has discovered there is no such company listed at the address given.

Certain Kazakh vendors selling Molecule to Russians told the BBC they bought stock from friends or warehouses in the capital Astana but couldn't name the original supplier.

• Details of support with eating disorders in the UK are available at BBC Action Line

Meanwhile, online eating-disorder communities have become spaces where Molecule is promoted, with users relying on hashtags and coded terms to slip past moderation.

Ms Solovieva says Molecule is particularly harmful when taken by young people who already have eating disorders. For those in or near relapse, an easily available appetite suppressant can be seriously dangerous, she says.

Anna Enina, a Russian influencer with millions of followers who herself has admitted using unlicensed weight-loss pills in the past, publicly warned her subscribers: "As someone who has struggled with an eating disorder… the consequences will be dire. You'll regret it tenfold."

Twenty-two-year old Maria suffered bad side effects, and is one of those who regrets it. After taking too many Molecule pills, she was sent to hospital.

Now she discourages other young women and girls from taking the pills in weight-loss forums. She even reached out to one teenage user's parents to alert them.

But Molecule remains popular online.

And every video that appears on Maria's TikTok feed is a reminder of the pills that made her sick.

A fire that broke out at discount shop in Mexico has killed at least 23 people and injured 11 others, local officials say.

The blaze broke out on Saturday in the centre of the north-western city of Hermosillo at a branch of Waldo's - Mexico's largest discount chain.

Multiple local authorities described the incident as an explosion, though regional Governor Alfonso Durazo said the exact cause had yet to be determined. The Sonora state public security secretariat said it had ruled out the possibility it was an attack or act of deliberate violence against civilians.

Children are among the victims, officials said, with a 15-year-old girl among those taken to hospital.

Images from the scene show thick, black smoke billowing from the building, with the flames appearing to have spread to cars parked in front of the shop.

After the fire was extinguished, scorch marks can be seen rising from the shop's doors and windows, one of which appears completely destroyed. The car immediately in front of this window is entirely burnt out.

"To the families who lost a loved one... I share your pain and offer you my full solidarity," Durazo said in a video address.

He added that an "extraordinary, transparent and thorough" investigation had been launched to clarify the causes of the incident and determine who was responsible.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum wrote on social media: "My heartfelt condolences to the families and loved ones of those who lost their lives."

Waldo's shops are a common sight on Mexico high streets, with hundreds of outlets across the country.

The fire comes on the weekend when Mexico celebrates the Day of the Dead, where festivities are held for people to honour deceased loved ones.

The state government said it was cancelling cultural events planned for Sunday after the incident.

A British teenager - eight months pregnant and charged with drugs smuggling - is awaiting sentencing in prison in Georgia, South Caucasus. A payment of £137,000 by her family will reduce her sentence but what are the days like for Bella Culley, incarcerated 2,600 miles (4,180km) from home?

Speaking exclusively to the BBC, Bella Culley's mother reveals her daughter - now 35 weeks pregnant - has been transferred to a prison "mother and baby" unit.

This marks a significant change for the 19-year-old after five months in a cell in Georgia's Rustavi Prison Number Five, with only a hole in the ground for a toilet, one hour of fresh air daily, and communal showers twice a week.

Lyanne Kennedy says her daughter has been boiling pasta in a kettle and toasting bread over a candle flame but is now allowed to cook for herself and other women and children in the unit, and is learning Georgian.

"She now gets two hours out for walking, she can use the communal kitchen, has a shower in her room and a proper toilet," she says, describing the improved conditions since a transfer earlier this month.

"They all cook for each other," Ms Kennedy says. "Bella has been making eggy bread and cheese toasties, and salt and pepper chicken."

Miss Culley has been held in pre-trial detention since May, after police discovered 12kg (26lb) of marijuana and 2kg (4.4lb) of hashish in her hold luggage at Tbilisi International Airport.

Some accounts from inside the jail paint a stark picture of conditions.

In September, Georgian media widely published an open letter they said had been sent from prison by Anastasia Zinovkina, a Russian political activist sentenced to eight-and-a-half years on drug possession charges.

Ms Zinovkina, who insisted the drugs were planted on her, described the sanitary conditions as "appalling" and "horrific".

"One single bar of soap is used to wash hair, body, socks, underwear, and dishes," she wrote. "If the soap runs out before the guards decide to give out a new one (which happens once every three months) then they simply don't wash.

"Toilet paper is provided once monthly, and only to those with no money on their prison account. Showering is permitted only twice weekly - on Wednesdays and Sundays - for 15 minutes.

"The girls who don't have slippers bathe barefoot or use shared slippers. They get fungal infections and pass them to each other."

The Georgian Ministry of Justice told the BBC in May that conditions in the prison had significantly improved since earlier monitoring reports by the Georgian Public Defender.

Under Georgia's new penitentiary code, which came into force in January last year, inmates "have the right to fresh air at least one hour on a daily basis", it said.

It also highlighted various reforms, including vocational education programmes, a digital university for distance learning, and improved healthcare through an online clinic.

"Georgian authorities put human-centered approach at the heart of the penitentiary reform to ensure the healthy management of prison system," it said in a statement.

The ministry also said the UN sub-committee on prevention of torture visited the prison in October 2023 and "did not express any concerns regarding the prison conditions, sanitary or issues related to out-of-cell activities/contact with outside world".

The committee's report is confidential but the UN said at the time it encouraged the Georgian government to make it public.

The case has drawn attention to Georgia's strict approach to drug-related offences and its extensive use of "plea bargaining" to resolve criminal cases.

Guram Imnadze, a criminal justice lawyer and drug policy expert based in Tbilisi, says in 2024 nearly 90% of drug-related crimes in Georgia were resolved in this way.

"Sentences are so severe that plea bargaining is in both sides' interests," Mr Imnadze explains. "The main strategy from a defence perspective is to have plea bargaining as fast as possible."

Earlier agreements typically result in softer conditions, with lower sentences and fines, he says.

For trafficking involving large amounts of drugs, Georgian law provides for sentences of up to 20 years or life imprisonment. Mr Imnadze says Miss Culley's case coincided with a new interior minister taking office, who made drug crimes a priority.

"What they want is to show the public right now what tangible results they have, and 12kg of marijuana is already a huge amount for public perception," he says.

Miss Culley claimed she had been tortured and forced to carry the drugs but was warned she was facing 20 years in prison. But, for a "substantial sum", she could be released, she was told.

Back in Tbilisi City Court last Tuesday, the teenager heard her family had managed to raise £137,000. Not the amount needed for her to walk free but enough to reduce her sentence significantly, to two years. She is due in court again on Monday to hear her final sentence.

Ms Kennedy says the family is doing everything they can to get her home "where she should be".

Miss Culley's lawyer, Malkhaz Salakaia, has previously said that, once an agreement was reached, he would appeal to the President of Georgia to pardon the British teenager.

Mr Salakaia confirmed Miss Culley had pleaded guilty to bringing drugs into the country, flying from Thailand via Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates, but said she was made to do so by gangsters who tortured her with hot iron.

Georgian police had launched a separate criminal investigation into her coercion allegations, he said.

When the teenager landed in Tbilisi on 10 May, her luggage was immediately flagged by Georgian authorities and, although she attempted to explain to police that someone was supposed to meet her at the arrivals hall, they did not follow this up and charged her, he said.

Mr Salakaia says there is a provision in Georgian law for pregnant women, raising the family's hopes that the teenager could be released before giving birth.

"It is written in the law that when a child is born, the mother must be outside until the child is one year old," he says.

Ms Kennedy, who has been traveling back and forth between the UK and Georgia, says her daughter is getting on well with staff and prisoners and she had been able to take in baby clothes for her.

Her daughter's full story "will come in time", she says.

"Until then we are just a family doing everything we can for my daughter and grandson."

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A flight carrying British aid arrived in Jamaica early on Saturday to help with recovery efforts after Hurricane Melissa, as the UK plans its first chartered flight to bring British nationals home later on Saturday.

The aid flight brought more than 3,000 emergency shelter kits as part of a £7.5 million regional emergency package.

Part of the funding will be used to match donations to the International Red Cross and Red Crescent - with King Charles and Queen Camilla among those who have donated.

Despite aid arriving in Jamaica in recent days, fallen trees and landslides have complicated distribution efforts after Hurricane Melissa devastated parts of the island, killing at least 19 people.

The hurricane made landfall in Jamaica on Tuesday as a category five storm and was one of the most powerful hurricanes ever measured in the Caribbean.

Melissa swept across the region over a number of days and left behind a trail of destruction and dozens of people dead. In Haiti, at least 30 people were killed, while Cuba also saw flooding and landslides.

Jamaica's Information Minister Dana Morris Dixon said on Friday "there are entire communities that seem to be marooned and areas that seem to be flattened".

The UK initially set aside a £2.5 million immediate financial support package, with an additional £5 million announced by Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper on Friday.

Cooper said the announcement came as "more information is now coming through on the scale of devastation caused by Hurricane Melissa, with homes damaged, roads blocks and lives lost".

The British Red Cross said, as of Saturday morning, that 72% people across Jamaica still do not have electricity and around 6,000 are in emergency shelters.

The organisation said the King and Queen's donation would help the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent (IFRC) "continue its lifesaving work" - which includes search and rescue efforts in Jamaica as well as ensuring access to healthcare, safe shelter and clean water.

Although aid is entering the country, landslides, downed power lines and fallen trees have made some roads impassable. The situation has made it difficult to get aid to the worst-hit areas.

Some communities are being affected by water shortages, while the BBC has seen queues for petrol pumps, with people waiting for hours to then be told there is no fuel left when they reach the front of the queue.

Some people are seeking fuel for generators, others for a car to reach an area in which they can contact people, as the power is still down across most of the island.

Around 8,000 British nationals were thought to have been on the island when the hurricane hit.

The UK's first chartered flight to bring British citizens home is set to leave Kingston's Norman Manley International Airport late on Saturday.

The UK foreign office has asked travellers to register their presence on the island.

The department also advises travellers to contact their airline to check whether commercial options are available.

As Zohran Mamdani walked the streets of the Upper East Side for a campaign event to greet early voters, he could barely walk a few steps without being stopped by his supporters.

Two smiling young women looked starstruck and told him they followed him on Instagram. The millennial Democratic nominee for mayor thanked them before posing with another young man who had readied his phone for a selfie.

Throngs of press surrounded Mamdani and captured his every moment, like running into the street to shake hands with a taxi driver shouting "we support you, man".

With a comfortable lead in the polls, the 34-year-old is on the brink of making history when New Yorkers vote on Tuesday, as the youngest mayor in over a century and the first Muslim and South Asian leader of the city.

A relatively unknown figure just months ago, few could have predicted his rise, from hip-hop artist and housing counsellor to New York State Assembleyman and frontrunner to lead the biggest city in the US, a job which comes with a $116bn budget and global scrutiny.

Leading a three-way race

Through viral videos and outreach to content creators and podcasters, Mamdani has reached disaffected voters at a time when faith in the Democratic party among its own members is at an all-time low.

But there are questions over whether he can deliver on his ambitious promises and how a politician with no executive experience will handle the onslaught sure to come from a hostile Trump administration.

There is also the complicated relationship he has with his party establishment, as he becomes a national figurehead for left-wing Democrats.

He describes himself as a democratic socialist, which essentially means giving a voice to workers, not corporations. It's the politics of Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez with whom Mamdani has often shared a stage.

Trump has threatened to withdraw federal funds if New Yorkers elect a "communist". Mamdani's retort is that he's more like a Scandinavian politician, only browner.

Victory would be seen as a rejection of politics as usual by New Yorkers as they struggle with the cost of living - Mamdani's number one issue.

His main rival in Tuesday's vote is former Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo who is running as an independent after losing to Mamdani in the primary.

Cuomo accuses Mamdani of an anti-business agenda that would kill New York. He says he has shown he can stand up to Trump but Mamdani calls Cuomo the president's puppet.

Curtis Sliwa, the Republican nominee, mocks both of them. In the last debate, he said: "Zorhan, your resume could fit on a cocktail napkin. And Andrew, your failures could fill a public school library in New York City."

Rent freezes and free buses

Mamdani's message has been laser-focused on affordability and quality of life issues. He has promised universal childcare, freezing rent in subsidised units, free public buses and city-run grocery stores.

It's a message that has landed with New Yorkers fed up with sky-high prices.

"I support him because I'm a housing attorney and I see how the cost of living just keeps going up and up and up," Miles Ashton told the BBC outside the candidates' debate earlier this month. "We all want an affordable city."

The costs of the Mamdani agenda would be covered by new taxes on corporations and millionaires which he insists would raise $9bn although some experts like the libertarian Cato Institute say his sums don't add up. He would also need the support of the state legislature and Governor Kathy Hochul to implement new taxes.

• From Uganda to Queens - Zohran Mamdani
• 'I don't think we should have billionaires' says Mamdani

She has endorsed him but says she is against increased income taxes. She does, however, want to work with him to achieve universal healthcare which is by far the biggest ticket item on his agenda at $5bn.

As he rode the M57 bus across Manhattan to highlight his free buses plan, he told the BBC why his focus on affordability was the right approach in the Trump era.

"It's time for us to understand that to defend democracy, it's not just to stand up against an authoritarian administration. It is also to ensure that that democracy can deliver on the material needs of working class people right here. That's something we've failed to do in New York City."

Among New Yorkers who told the BBC they were not voting for Mamdani, doubts about him being able to pay for his agenda and his inexperience were two of the biggest factors.

What New York business world thinks

After Mamdani won the Democratic primary in June, Wall Street leaders were hardly celebrating. Some threatened to leave the city.

But there's been a noticeable shift since then - the mood is less panic, more collaboration. JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon even said he would offer his help if Mamdani is elected.

Real estate developer Jeffrey Gural, who has met Mamdani, says he is too inexperienced to lead the nation's largest city. He thinks his rent freeze plan would hurt tenants and his taxes on wealthy people will drive high earners away.

He does, however, support Mamdani's universal childcare plan, a provision he gives his own staff at his casino upstate.

Part of the change in tone since the primary has been down to a concerted effort on Mamdani's part to meet his critics.

On 14 October, Alexis Bittar, a self-taught jewellery designer who grew his business into a global company, hosted Mamdani and 40 business leaders at his 1850s Brooklyn townhouse.

They were a mix of CEOs or business owners from financial, fashion and art sectors. More than half were Jewish and they were all either on the fence or opposed to Mamdani's candidacy.

There were questions about business, his management experience, and how he would finance his agenda.

"I think he came across great," Mr Bittar told the BBC. "The thing that's remarkable about him is he's incredibly equipped to answer them and diligently answer them."

• Sparks fly in second NYC mayoral debate
• How Mamdani stunned field to win primary

An apology to police

Part of Mamdani's engagement with his critics has been a willingness to change his position.

In 2020, after the murder of George Floyd, Mamdani called for the city to defund police and called the NYPD "racist". But he has since apologised and says he no longer holds those views.

Crime is the number one issue for Howard Wolfson, who worked for former Mayor Michael Bloomberg and is now a Democratic strategist. He was present during a meeting last month between the mayoral hopeful and Bloomberg, who spent $8m during the primary race trying to beat him.

Wolfson told the BBC he will judge Mamdani on how the city is policed.

"I think it's great that he reaches out and is engaged, but I'm much more interested in how he's going to govern," he said. "Public safety is really the prerequisite for success or failure."

Many see Mamdani's pledge to ask the police commissioner Jessica Tisch to stay on as a way to allay concerns he would be soft on crime.

He says he would maintain the current level of NYPD staffing and create a new department of community safety that would deploy mental health care teams instead of armed officers to non-threatening, psychiatric calls.

A city divided over Gaza

One position Mamdani has stood firm on is his criticism of Israel and lifelong support for Palestinian rights.

It represents a break from the Democratic Party establishment and could be a deciding factor for many voters in a city with the largest Jewish population outside of Israel.

He sparked outrage during the primary process when he refused to condemn the term "globalise the intifada". But after Jewish New Yorkers expressed their unease to him, telling him they felt unsafe on hearing it, he said he discouraged others from using it.

A letter signed by more than 1,100 rabbis cited Mamdani as it condemned the "political normalization" of anti-Zionism

Jewish voters are largely split between Mamdani and Cuomo in polling.

Brad Lander, the city's comptroller who teamed up in the Democratic primary with Mamdani to endorse each other's candidacy against Cuomo, says many Jewish New Yorkers like him are very enthusiastic about Mamdani.

He is a mayoral candidate deeply committed to keeping everyone safe, regardless of religious beliefs, Lander told the BBC.

Sumaiya Chowdhury and Farhana Islam of the group Muslims for Progress have canvassed for the mayoral hopeful.

Ms Islam said while they are all excited that he could be New York's first Muslim mayor, he doesn't need to lean on his identity for support.

"His policies speak for themselves and they alone are enough to make him popular."

Since his primary win, the Islamophobia Mamdani faces has increased. He now has police security and last month a Texas man was arrested on charges of making terroristic threats against him. In one message, the man said "Muslims don't belong here".

Mamdani decided to deliver an address on Islamophobia after Andrew Cuomo laughed along to a radio talkshow host saying that Mamdani would cheer another 9/11-style attack.

In an emotional speech he said he had hoped that by ignoring racist attacks and sticking to a central message, it would allow him to be more than just his faith. "I was wrong. No amount of redirection is ever enough."

Future of the party

What may propel Mamdani to victory in liberal New York may not be a recipe for success nationally. And Democrats in Congress seem worried about the implications of his ascendancy as party tensions between moderates and progressives persist.

Senator Chuck Schumer has not endorsed Mamdani while his fellow New Yorker House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries only endorsed him a few hours before early voting began.

Democratic strategists have said the problem posed by Mamdani for the party's establishment is that Trump and Republicans already cast Democrats, no matter how moderate, as socialists. And it's a tactic that is thought to have landed with some effect among Cuban and Venezuelan voters in the 2024 election.

Josh Gottheimer, the moderate Democratic representative of New Jersey, told the Washington Post he thinks Mamdani has "extremist views" at odds with the Democratic Party and he fears Republicans will use him as a kind of "bogeyman".

At a campaign event on the Upper East Side, Mamdani told the BBC how he plans to handle the intense scrutiny if he wins, pointing to the energy behind his candidacy.

There is no doubt that there will be opposition, he said, but the mass movement behind him will overcome it.

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US President Donald Trump has unveiled renovations to the bathroom in the Lincoln Bedroom, as his remodelling of the White House continues.

Trump shared photos of the new bathroom on social media, saying it had been "renovated in the 1940s in an art deco green tile style, which was totally inappropriate for the Lincoln Era".

He claimed the new black and white marble is "very appropriate for the time of Abraham Lincoln and, in fact, could be the marble that was originally there!".

It is the latest change Trump has made to the White House this year. In October, its East Wing was demolished to make way for his new multi-million dollar ballroom.

The bathroom is a part of Abraham Lincoln's office and cabinet room, which former President Harry Truman fixed up as a part of his massive renovation of the White House in the late 1940s.

The wallpaper of Lincoln's office and bedroom was once coloured in green and gold, according to the White House Historical Association.

After Trump's remodelling, it now features gold fixtures and accents for the sink, bathtub faucet and shower door, as well as a chandelier.

The US president's attempts to put his own stamp on the White House has prompted criticism from conservation groups and his political opponents.

Trump previously said his ballroom addition to the East Wing would not "interfere with the current building". But in October, he said the "existing structure" had to be torn down.

Conservationists argued Trump should have sought public review before making the changes, which they say would overwhelm the classical style of the White House.

Other changes include his decision in August to pave over grass in the iconic Rose Garden with stone, transforming a lawn into a patio.

Trump also added touches of gilded gold all over the Oval Office, including additional portraits framed in gold, gold-framed mirrors and a gold leaf for the presidential seal on the ceiling of the office.

In response to his latest bathroom renovation, the Democrats accused Trump of being more focused on remaking the White House than solving the government shutdown, which is now entering its second month.

"Donald Trump actually cares more about his toilet than he does about fixing your healthcare," Democratic Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer wrote in a post on social media.

Democrats are pushing to renew expiring health insurance subsidies, which they say will hit American families. Republicans say they will discuss the subsidies when the government reopens.

France's consumer watchdog has reported the Asian fast fashion giant Shein to authorities for selling "sex dolls with a childlike appearance" on its website.

The Directorate General for Competition, Consumer Affairs and Fraud Control (DGCCRF) said the online description and categorisation of the dolls "makes it difficult to doubt the child pornography nature of the content".

Shein later told the BBC: "The products in question were immediately delisted as soon as we became aware of these serious issues."

It said its team was "investigating how these listings circumvented our screening measures". Shein is also "conducting a comprehensive review to identify and remove any similar items that may be listed on our marketplace by other third-party vendors".

The DGCCRF has reported Shein to French prosecutors as well as Arcom, the country's online and broadcasting regulator, according to French media.

The news has emerged just days before Shein is set to open its first permanent physical shop anywhere in the world - in a Parisian department store.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said the defence of Pokrovsk is a "priority", as elite special force were deployed to the embattled town on the eastern front line.

Ukrainian army sources told the BBC that special forces from military intelligence and assault groups were being used as regular infantry to protect supply lines to troops holding the town in the Donbas region.

There have been growing reports of Russian advances around the strategic town to the west of Donetsk. Ukraine has denied claims their forces were surrounded.

Moscow wants Kyiv to cede the entire Donbas region as part of a peace deal, including the parts it currently does not control.

Russia currently controls around a fifth of Ukrainian territory, including the Crimean peninsula it annexed in 2014.

The deployment of special forces suggests officials in Kyiv are determined to try to hold onto the town, which Russia has been trying to seize for more than a year.

Local media reports that the head of Ukraine's military intelligence, Kyrylo Budanov, was in the region to personally oversee the operation.

Pokrovsk is a key transport and supply hub whose capture could unlock Russian efforts to seize the rest of the region.

But Kyiv also believes its capture would help Russia in its efforts to persuade the US that its military campaign was succeeding - and, therefore, that the West should acquiesce to its demands.

Washington has grown increasingly frustrated with the Kremlin's failure to move forward with peace negotiations - culminating in US President Donald Trump placing sanctions on its two largest oil producers and axing plans for a summit with Russia's Vladimir Putin.

Zelensky has indicated he was open to Trump's proposal for a ceasefire that would freeze the war along the current front lines. Russia has publicly insisted Ukrainian troops leave the remainder of the Donbas.

In his nightly address, the Ukrainian president said: "Pokrovsk is our priority. We continue to destroy the occupier, and that is what matters most... They must be halted where they have reached - and destroyed there."

Images shared with news agencies appear show a Ukrainian Black Hawk helicopter deploying about 10 troops near Pokrovsk, although the location and date could not be verified.

Russia's defence ministry has claimed it thwarted the deployment of Ukrainian military intelligence special forces north-west of the town, saying all 11 troops who landed by helicopter had been killed.

DeepState, a Ukrainian open-source monitoring group, estimates about half of Pokrovsk is a so-called "grey zone" where neither side is in full control.

A military source in Donetsk told the BBC that Ukrainian forces were not surrounded but their supply lines were under fire from Russian troops.

"The situation in the city has changed so much that [Ukraine's commander-in-chief, General] Syrsky is now sending elite units into the city to stabilise it," he said.

These included special forces and assault units in Ukraine's Defence Intelligence agency (GUR), he said.

"Fighting is now taking place for the railway station and the industrial zone in the west. The battles for the industrial zone have almost reduced logistics from roughly vehicle-based to foot-based.

"The Ukrainian Armed Forces are not in a physical encirclement, but in an operational one - this means that all logistics are under fire control."

The US-based Institute for the Study of War said Ukrainian forces had "marginally advanced" during recent counter-attacks north of Pokrovsk, but said the town was "mainly a contested 'grey zone'".

A sea of people flowed along the roads leading up to Novi Sad railway station.

They came in their tens of thousands to remember the 16 people who died there this time last year, on another unseasonably warm and sunny autumn day.

The victims were standing or sitting underneath a concrete canopy at the recently-renovated facility, when it collapsed. The two youngest were just six years old, the oldest, 77.

Regular protests have rocked Serbia in the 12 months that have followed. But on Saturday morning, the huge crowd participated in an event that put the emphasis on quiet commemoration.

At 11:52 (10:52 GMT), the time of the disaster, they observed a silence for 16 minutes - one for each of the victims. Family members cried. One woman needed to be physically supported by men wearing the red berets of armed forces veterans.

After the silence, relatives laid flowers at the front of the station.

The rubble of the collapsed canopy has been cleared away, but otherwise the building appears to have remained untouched since the disaster.

Twisted metal protruding from the walls and broken glass still offer evidence of the catastrophe.

• Fourteen dead in Serbia railway station canopy collapse
• Fury over Serbia station tragedy prompts first arrests

Novi Sad station was supposed to be a symbol of Serbia's progress, under President Aleksandar Vučić's Progressive Party. The country's second city would be a key stop on the high-speed railway line whipping passengers from Belgrade to Budapest in less than three hours.

Vučić and Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban jointly opened the renovated facility in 2022. Its angular, Yugoslav-era form had been upgraded as part of the high-speed project.

But now, after another renovation and the disaster that followed, the station stands as the prime example of everything that is wrong in Serbia.

For the government's flagship infrastructure project to prove deadly to its citizens was more than many people could bear. They took to the streets, carrying placards reading "corruption kills".

University students quickly took leadership.

Anti-government demonstrations are not exactly a novelty in Serbia, but in contrast to previous movements which fizzled out, the student-led anti-corruption protests have persisted.

"Every other protest movement was organised by political opposition parties and people in Serbia don't trust them," says Aleksa, a 23-year-old management student at Novi Sad University.

"We are the most trusted group in the country - that's why, even though we have made mistakes, people believe in us."

The students have shunned the opposition parties. After initially demanding accountability from the authorities, they are now calling for fresh elections.

They plan to submit a list of independent, expert candidates who could run a technocratic government. This would, they say, be the best way to rid Serbian institutions of the cronyism and corruption which they hold responsible for the railway station disaster.

In September, 13 people, including former construction, infrastructure and Transport Minister Goran Vesić, were charged in a criminal case over the collapse.

A resolution in the European Parliament last month called for full and transparent legal proceedings and an assessment "of potential corruption or negligence" - underlining the "need to examine more broadly the extent to which corruption led to the lowering of safety standards and contributed to this tragedy".

The government has denied accusations of corruption.

The student protesters' approach has gained the respect of some opposition leaders.

"They showed integrity and perseverance," says Biljana Djordjević, an MP and co-leader of the Green-Left Front.

"The new generation have found their way of participating, that is the difference this time. They have cut across generations in the families, we always wanted them to be more vocal, and now they are."

Political scientist Srdjan Cvijić, from the Belgrade Centre for Security Policy, believes the students have cut through in a way that Serbia's opposition parties simply could no longer do.

"Until last year, the regime had been effectively managing to render traditional politics disgusting to the overall population," he says.

"They haven't managed to do so with the student movement and the result is that the student movement has managed to pierce into the traditional electorate of the ruling party in a way that nobody previously managed to do."

Perhaps this explains a sudden change in tone from President Vučić. He has generally taken a combative line with the protesters, accusing them of attempting a "colour revolution" - the kind of popular movements that were behind pro-European protests which toppled governments in European countries in earlier years.

These changes in former Soviet republics in the early years of the 21st Century pushed the likes of Georgia and Ukraine in a pro-EU direction.

But on the eve of the commemoration, Vučić apologised for his fiery rhetoric towards protesters, claiming that he had "said some things that I am now sorry for saying".

The students responded dismissively. They told the president, "You have blood on your hands."

This day may have been about respect and remembrance. But the anger remains.