The UK economy had zero growth between July and September, revised official figures show.

Initial figures had suggested the economy had grown by just 0.1% between July and September - and shrank during September itself. But that figure has now been revised down to 0%.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves said the challenge to fix the economy was "huge" and October's Budget would "deliver sustainable long-term growth, putting more money in people's pockets".

But one of the UK's leading business groups, the CBI said its latest company survey suggested "the economy is headed for the worst of all worlds".

The CBI, which claims to represent 170,000 firms, said companies expect to "reduce both output and hiring" and raise prices as a result of the tax rises announced in the government's Budget.

The UK economy is measured by gross domestic product - a measure of all the economic activity of companies, governments and people in the country.

The ONS puts out initial estimates on the UK's economic performance and revises them once it receives more data.

On Monday it also revised down growth figures for April to June to 0.4% from 0.5%.

It said the economy was weaker than initially estimated as bars and restaurants, legal firms and advertising firms performed less well.

Warning: This story contains descriptions of sexual abuse

The Pelicot rape trial, which ended in France on Thursday, held a terrible fascination for almost every woman I know. As it unfolded in an Avignon court, I found myself following every awful detail, then discussing it with my female friends, my daughters, colleagues, even women in my local book club, as we tried to process what happened.

For nearly a decade, Gisèle Pelicot's husband had been secretly drugging her and inviting men he'd met on the internet to have sex with his "Sleeping Beauty" wife in the marital bedroom while he videoed them.

These strangers, ranging from 22 to 70 years in age, with jobs that included fireman, nurse, journalist, prison warden and soldier, complied with Dominique Pelicot's instructions. Such was their desire for a submissive female body to penetrate, they blithely had sex with a retired grandmother whose heavily sedated body resembled a rag doll.

There were 50 men in court, all living within a 50km (30 mile) radius of Mazan, a small town in southern France where the Pelicots lived. They were, apparently, just like "any other man".

One woman in her 30s told me "When I first read about it, I didn't want to be around men for at least a week, even my fiancé. It just horrified me."

Another in her late 60s, so close to Gisèle Pelicot's age, couldn't stop thinking about what men's minds could be harbouring, even her husband and sons. "Is this just the tip of the iceberg?"

As Dr Stella Duffy, 61, an author and therapist, wrote on Instagram on the day the verdict was delivered: "I hope and try to believe #notallmen, but I imagine the wives and girlfriends and best mates and daughters and mothers of Gisèle Pelicot's village thought that too. And now they know different. Every woman I talk to says this case has changed how she views men. I hope it's changed how men view men too."

Now that justice has been done, we can look beyond this monstrous case and ask: where did these men's callous and violent behaviour come from? Could they not see that sex without consent is rape?

But there is a broader question too. What does the fact that so many men in a relatively small area shared this fantasy of extreme domination over a woman say about the nature of male desire?

How the internet changed the norm

It is hard to imagine the scale of the orchestrated rapes and sexual assaults of Ms Pelicot without the internet.

The platform on which Dominique Pelicot advertised for men to rape his wife was an unmoderated French website, which made it easier to bring together people who shared sexual interests, with no holds barred, than it would have been in the days before the internet. (It has now been closed down.)

One of Ms Pelicot's lawyers likened the site to a "murder weapon", telling the court that without it the case "would never have reached such proportions".

But the internet has played a role in gradually changing attitudes to sex in consensual and non-abusive settings too, normalising what many might have once seen as extreme.

In the shift from old school skin mags and blue movies bought in a murky Soho sex shop to modern-day websites like PornHub, which had 11.4 billion mobile visits globally in the month of January 2024 alone, the boundaries of porn have expanded hugely. Adding in more and more extreme or niche activity ramps up the expectation, so "vanilla" sex may become mundane.

According to a survey of UK online users in January 2024, almost one in 10 respondents aged between 25 and 49 years reported watching porn most days, the great majority of them male.

Twenty-four-year-old university graduate Daisy told me that most people she knows watch porn, including her. She prefers to use a feminist site whose search filters include "passionate" and "sensual", as well as "rough". But some of her male friends say they no longer watch porn "as they couldn't have a nice time having sex because of watching too much porn when they were just kids".

A 2023 study for the children's commissioner for England, Dame Rachel de Souza, found that a quarter of 16 to 21-year-olds first saw pornography on the internet while still at primary school.

At the time Ms de Souza said: "The adult content which parents may have accessed in their youth could be considered 'quaint' in comparison to today's world of online pornography."

Does porn really shape attitudes?

Children who regularly viewed porn on mobiles before puberty inevitably grow up with different sexual expectations than those aroused by Playboy in the 20th century.

While no direct causal link has been established, there is substantial evidence of an association between the use of pornography and harmful sexual attitudes and behaviours towards women.

According to government research before the Covid-19 pandemic: "There is evidence that use of pornography is associated with greater likelihood of desiring or engaging in sexual acts witnessed in porn, and a greater likelihood of believing women want to engage in these specific acts."

Some of those acts may involve aggressive, dominating behaviour such as face slapping, choking, gagging and spitting. Daisy told me: "Choking has become normalised, routine, expected, like neck-kissing. With the last person I was seeing, I told him from the start that I wasn't into choking and he was fine with that."

But she believes that not all women will speak out. "And in my experience most men don't want a woman to be dominant in the bedroom. That's where they want to have the power."

Forty years older than Daisy, Suzanne Noble has written about her own sexual adventures and now has a website and podcast called Sex Advice for Seniors. She believes that the availability of porn that depicts rape fantasies normalises an act that is rooted in violence and depicts rape as an activity women crave.

"There's simply not enough education about the difference between re-enacting a fantasy that involves a pseudo-rape, with a completely non-consensual version of the same," she argues.

From small ads to real life

Just as the internet brought porn out of backstreets and into bedrooms, it has also facilitated easier access to events in real life. Previously people into, say, S&M (sadomasochism), might have connected through small ads in the back of "contact" magazines, using Post Office boxes rather than mail to their own homes. It was a very slow and arduous way of setting up a sexual encounter. Now it's far easier to connect with those groups online then plan to meet in person.

In the UK, it has become mainstream to find love and relationships through dating apps, and so too is it easier to connect with people who wish to try out particular sexual kinks, with a plethora of social apps such as Feeld, which is designed for people to explore "desire outside of existing blueprints". Its online glossary includes a list of 31 desires, including polyamory, bondage and submission.

Albertina Fisher is an online psychosexual therapist who, in the course of her job, talks to her clients about their sexual fantasies. "There is nothing wrong with having a sexual fantasy — the difference is if fantasy becomes behaviour without consent," she says.

Male and female fantasies are different she tells me, "but they very often include submission and domination. The key thing about sexual preferences such as BDSM (bondage, discipline or domination, sadism, and masochism) is that it is safe, sane and consensual. What two people want to do together is absolutely fine." This, she stresses, is the case when both consent.

All of this is, of course, entirely separate to the Pelicot case. "That is sexual violence," she says. "And it's extremely distressing that this can happen within what appeared to be a loving relationship. Acting out a fantasy without consent is an extreme form of narcissism.

"With the partner incapacitated, all their needs are denied. So you have a fantasy of a woman who you don't have to worry about pleasing."

Questions around desire

A key and problematic aspect of the whole question of fantasy is desire. In the post-Freudian age it has become a truism that desires should not be repressed. And much of the liberation theory of the 1960s emphasised self-actualisation through the realisation of sexual desire.

But male desire has become an increasingly contested concept, not least because of the questions of power and domination often entangled within it.

The men who stood trial in the Pelicot case struggled to see themselves as perpetrators. Some argued that they assumed Ms Pelicot had consented, or that they were taking part in a libertine sex game. As many of them saw it, they were simply pursuing their desires.

There is a dark borderline where a very basic form of heterosexual male desire - (or the primal urge to have sex with a woman, or women, in the most uncomplicated manner) - can grow into a shared endeavour, creating an esprit de corps of boundary-pushing that may pay little heed or care to the female experience.

This perhaps explains why an OnlyFans performer, Lily Phillips, recently drew a huge queue of participants in her quest to have sex with 100 men in one day.

The tendency to objectify women may in some cases also develop into a desire to annihilate the whole question of female desire, let alone agency.

Obviously male desire takes many forms, most of an entirely healthy nature, but it has traditionally been constrained by cultural limits. Now those limits have shifted radically in the UK and elsewhere in the West, and the underlying conviction that the realisation of desire is an act of self-liberation amounts to a potent and sometimes troubling combination.

The appeal of Andrew Tate

Andre de Trichateau, a therapist based in South Kensington, London, brought up the appeal of masculinist influencers such as Andrew Tate, a self-proclaimed "misogynist", who has 10.4 million followers on X.

Mr de Trichateau says that he has encountered men feeling demeaned and displaced by the rise of feminism. "Some men don't know who to be," he says. "Men are socialised to be dominant but also expected to be in touch with their emotions, able to show vulnerability.

"This confusion can lead to anger, directed to the feminist movement, and [in turn this can lead them to] people such as Tate."

With a 60% male client base, Mr de Trichateau observes that "men can be socialised to view power and dominance as part of their identity".

"This is not to justify anything like the Pelicot case," he continues, "but objectively I can see that such behaviour is an escape from powerlessness and inadequacy. It's tantalising and forbidden.

"The case is disturbing because it shows the extremities that people will go to."

He also pointed out that online groups such as the one Mr Pelicot used can be very powerful. "In a group you are accepted. Ideas are validated. One person says its OK then everyone will go along with it."

Many of the conversations during and since the Pelicot trial have focused on how to make the distinction between consensual and non-consensual sex and whether it should be better defined in law - but the problem is that what consent amounts to is a complex question.

As 24-year-old Daisy sees it, some women of her age tend to go along with men's sexual preferences regardless of their own feelings. "They think something is hot if the man they are with thinks it's hot."

So, if heterosexual men, in particular, really are increasingly taking their sexual cues from pornography, then that prompts further questions about the changing shape of male desire. And if young women can feel that the price of intimacy is to go along with those desires, however extreme, then arguably consent is not a black and white matter.

Ultimately, there may be widespread relief that the Pelicot case is over and that justice was served, but it leaves behind even more questions - questions that, in the spirit of an amazingly strong French woman, are perhaps best discussed out in the open.

Lead image credit: Getty

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President-elect Donald Trump has demanded Panama reduce fees on the Panama Canal or return it to US control, accusing the central American country of charging "exorbitant prices" to American shipping and naval vessels.

"The fees being charged by Panama are ridiculous, highly unfair," he told a crowd of supporters in Arizona on Sunday.

"This complete rip-off of our country will immediately stop," he said, referring to when he takes office next month.

His remarks prompted a quick rebuke from Panama's president, who said "every square metre" of the canal and surrounding area belong to his country.

President José Raúl Mulino added that Panama's sovereignty and independence were non-negotiable.

Trump made the comments to supporters of Turning Point USA, a conservative activist group that provided significant support to his 2024 election campaign.

It was a rare example of a US leader saying he could push a country to hand over territory - although he did not explain how he would do so - and a sign of how American foreign policy and diplomacy may shift once he enters the White House following his inauguration on 20 January.

Trump's comments followed a similar post a day earlier in which he said the Panama Canal was a "vital national asset" for the US.

If shipping rates are not lowered, Trump said on Sunday, "we will demand that the Panama Canal be returned to us, in full, quickly and without question".

The 51-mile (82km) Panama Canal cuts across the central American nation and is the main link between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.

• Can the Panama Canal save itself?
• Will Trump's victory spark a global trade war?
• What Trump tariffs could mean for consumers

It was built in the early 1900s and the US maintained control over the canal zone until 1977, when treaties gradually ceded the land back to Panama. After a period of joint control, Panama took sole control in 1999.

Up to 14,000 ships cross the canal per year, including container ships carrying cars, natural gas and other goods, and military vessels.

As well as Panama, the president-elect also took aim at Canada and Mexico over what he called unfair trade practices. He accused them of allowing drugs and immigrants into the US, although he called Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum a "wonderful woman".

Trump hits the usual themes

Trump made his remarks in front of thousands at Turning Point's annual conference, one of the country's largest gatherings of conservative activists.

Turning Point poured huge resources into get-out-the-vote efforts in swing states designed to bolster Trump and other Republicans during the election campaign.

It was his first speech since a deal passed Congress this week to keep the US government open, after several provisions were removed including one that would have increased the country's debt ceiling.

Trump had supported raising the debt ceiling, which restricts the amount of money the US government can borrow.

But his speech on Sunday avoided that issue entirely, instead recapping his election victory and hitting on themes – including immigration, crime and foreign trade – that were mainstays of his campaign.

He did, however, mention Elon Musk.

"You know, they're on a new kick," he said. "All the different hoaxes. The new one is that President Trump has ceded the presidency to Elon Musk."

"No, no, that's not happening," he said. "He's not gonna be president."

Several speakers here at the conference were critical of government spending and of politicians in both parties – however the divisions inside the Republican Party which have played out in Congress in recent days were mostly muted.

Whether it's opening presents or the long-awaited Christmas dinner, the festive season involves plenty of things that could go wrong.

It's the little things that count at this time of year - and your etiquette is no exception.

The BBC has chatted with experts about potentially awkward moments you might face over the next few days, so you can try to avoid them.

A common festive issue is getting a present you do not like. Is it best to tell the person who gave it to you, or lie that you love it?

It depends on how well you know the person who gave you the gift, according to Rupert Wesson from professional coaching company Debrett's.

To lie - or not to lie

"There are some people [to whom] you can say the gift isn't for you, and for some you have to smile and tell them a little white lie that you like it," he tells the BBC.

But whatever you do, "don't make a funny face" at the gift when you open it, warns etiquette coach Laura Windsor.

"Just pretend you do [like it], and make a little comment on how useful the gift will be," she says. "The etiquette is always to be kind."

Both etiquette coaches say it's fine to give an unwanted present to charity or re-gift it for someone else in the future.

Mr Wesson suggests you should "always" keep a gift receipt when buying a present just in case - and he has these words of reassurance: "We can't all be perfect at buying exactly the right thing."

Open up about the cost

While the cost of turkey and Brussels sprouts have gone down this year, the price of root vegetables have gone up and some families are feeling the pinch this winter.

Ms Windsor advises that you can make a "Christmas pot" that everyone contributes to ahead of the big day.

Alternatively, she says you could ask each guest - or family member - to buy an item of food or drink each.

"There's no shame in this day and age in saying: 'I'm getting people together for Christmas, would you be able to provide this?'," Mr Wesson adds.

Stay upbeat - and avoid certain subjects

Sometimes petty arguments can flare up when the whole family is together - perhaps having eaten or drank too much.

Ms Windsor says "don't take it personally, just try to smooth it over," adding that you should not give people the "power to keep them complaining".

She advises to try and change the topic of conversation, but to avoid difficult subjects.

"You've got to keep the conversation upbeat."

If there are any existing tensions among the guests ahead of 25 December, Mr Wesson suggests attempting to address them upfront when you're putting together your plans before Christmas Day.

"Almost make the invitation [to guests or extended family] conditional that someone isn't going to kick off," he says.

Is it possible to say 'thank you' too much?

Ms Windsor advises against saying "thank you" to the host too much as it "loses its value".

She suggests showing your appreciation to the host in other ways, including offering to help them with anything, bringing a gift for them - such as a bottle of wine or a plant - and mingling with other guests.

"Mix it up a bit by complimenting them on the quality of the food," Mr Wesson says.

"Appreciation of how good the food is goes a long way."

Both etiquette experts advise sending a thank you note to the host after Christmas Day which is something that Mr Wesson calls "the gold standard of thank yous".

Be upfront about dietary requirements

If you have dietary requirements, such as being vegetarian or vegan, let whoever is hosting your Christmas dinner know ahead of time and not on 25 December, Ms Windsor stresses.

"It's about prevention, preventing discord - everything has to be organised beforehand," she says.

Mr Wesson adds: "It does fall to the host to really identify what the requirements are and then the host can plan."

Ms Windsor says that if there is any tension between people about the dietary requirements, "be empathetic" but stop the conversation.

"If they make a non-cordial remark, don't take it to heart."

The Christmas dinner rules

If your stomach is growling for Christmas dinner and you're growing impatient at how long it's taking to cook, Mr Wesson suggests you could offer to help.

"Then you're going to find the lay of the land and maybe suggest we can share something [to eat ahead of Christmas dinner]," he says.

But when you're finally tucking into the dinner, what do you do if you don't like it?

Say "yes" when asked if you're enjoying the food, Ms Windsor says.

"If you don't want to eat it, leave it," she adds - and you could always just say you've "had enough" to eat.

Mr Wesson advises to "try and draw as little attention" as possible to the fact you are not eating the meal.

To prevent this situation happening, try to see if the host will let everyone plate up their own food and then "don't pile too much on" in case you dislike it.

What to do if cards and gifts arrive after Christmas

Work, childcare, school - lots of things in life can get in the way and cause you to miss the cut-off date for sending Christmas cards and presents in time for 25 December.

Ms Windsor says organisation is "very, very important" because it shows that "you've put a lot of thought and put in the time and effort to make sure they get it in time for Christmas".

However, she says that you have to "take into account people's daily situation".

Mr Wesson says that "better late than never is the way ahead" but advises people to send a message to whoever the card or present is addressed to, letting them know it is on the way and apologise for the lateness.

'The golden rule'

Christmas Day all comes down to preparation - both organising the day and planning around family relationships, Mr Wesson says.

"It's trying to expect the best but also accept the possibility things might go a little awry," he says.

"Often these things aren't really that serious and often doesn't ruin the whole day."

"The golden rule: treat others as you'd like to be treated," Ms Windsor adds. "You won't go wrong with that."

Tory leader Kemi Badenoch has insisted she will not be rushed into policy positions, claiming there is no "quick fix" following the party's defeat in July's general election.

Badenoch became the party's sixth leader in less than nine years when she was elected at the start of November.

In an interview with BBC Radio 4's Today programme, she said the public "kicked out" the Conservatives because the party was not trusted and did not deliver, adding building trust is "something that takes a while".

Badenoch also dismissed concerns that her approach of not pinning down policy positions could leave a vacuum that might be filled by Reform UK.

Speaking to Amol Rajan, Badenoch said: "Reform is saying stuff because it hasn't thought it all through. You can give easy answers if you haven't thought it all through.

"I do the thinking and what people are going to get with new leadership under me is thoughtful Conservatism, not knee-jerk analysis."

"We are about what we are for, not just what we are against," she said earlier in the interview.

Badenoch said she would not "rush out" policy positions within six weeks and people would need to be "patient", but that she wanted to ensure people could believe she was telling the truth so she could earn their trust.

In response, Reform leader Nigel Farage said the Conservative leader "doesn't understand that the level of betrayal means that the Tory brand is broken. She personally bears heavy responsibility for this".

During the leadership contest, Badenoch deliberately avoided specific policy positions, focusing instead on Conservative "principles".

But some in the party - including Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen - have warned against leaving a void on key issues such as migration that could be filled by Reform.

Houchen told the BBC this month there was a "big opportunity" for the Tories because Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer had "left the field" on the issue of migration, and called for the party to put forward a "sensible narrative".

'Let people down'

In the interview, Badenoch acknowledged again that her party had "let people down" in the area of migration.

She said the numbers were too high, having previously pledged to put a cap on arrivals into the UK – though she has not specified what level she would consider acceptable.

Net migration hit a record in the year to June 2023 - with the difference between those arriving in the UK and leaving standing at 906,000 according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The net figure dropped to 728,000 in the year to June 2024.

The previous Conservative government's key migration policy was the Rwanda deportation scheme designed specifically to deter small boat crossings.

No flights were able to take off to the east African country before July's election after numerous legal challenges, and Labour swiftly scrapped the scheme after winning power.

The new government has focused on tackling the criminal gangs involved in people smuggling, with Sir Keir announcing an extra £75m to go to policing UK borders in November.

At a press conference last month, Badenoch said the Conservatives still believed a "deterrent" was necessary but did not commit to a revival of the Rwanda scheme.

In the Today interview, Badenoch also acknowledged the local elections scheduled for May next year would be difficult for her party, but said it was a marathon not a sprint.

She said: "The Conservative Party is under changed leadership and I think that the voters will start to see that, but it's going to be slow and steady. It's the tortoise strategy, not the hare."

Musk 'challenge'

Farage told the BBC last week that Reform was in "open negotiations" with US billionaire Elon Musk about donations to the party.

Mr Musk will hold a role within the US government from January with President-elect Donald Trump appointing him as lead for the Department of Government Efficiency (Doge).

Asked whether she was concerned about the prospect of Mr Musk donating to Reform, Badenoch downplayed the possibility it would happen but said she "believes in competition".

She said: "So I think that if Elon Musk is giving a party, a competitor party money, then that is a challenge for me to make sure that I raise the same."

She said it might be "counterproductive" for Reform, claiming people in the UK "don't necessarily like to see politics being bought".

It belonged to his grandmother. Something solid. A thing to hold in his hands, and run his fingers across, and trace the path of memory. A small thing of beauty, inlaid with a delicate mosaic.

René opens the music box, and a tinkling music begins to play, the same song heard long ago in his Damascus sitting room.

"This is all I have left of my home," he says.

Everything about this young man suggests gentleness. René Shevan is short in height, slender and speaks softly.

All week his emotions have gone back and forth. Joy at the fall of Bashar al-Assad. Heartbreak at the memories it has triggered of his months in Syrian prisons.

"There was a woman. I still have her image here in my head. She was standing in the corner, and she was pleading…it's clear that they raped her.

"There was a boy. He was 15 or 16 years old. They were raping him, and he was calling his mother. He was saying, 'Mama... my mother... Mom.'"

There was his own rape and sexual abuse.

When I first met René, he had just escaped from Syria. That was 12 years ago. He sat opposite me, shaking and in tears, terrified of showing his face on camera.

The secret police had picked him up because he had gone to a pro-democracy demonstration. They also knew that he was gay.

Three of them gang raped René. He begged for mercy, but they laughed.

"Nobody heard me. I was alone," he recalled back in 2012.

They told him this was what he got for demanding freedom. Another officer abused him every day. For six months he suffered this abuse.

When images appeared on television this week of prisoners walking free in Damascus, René was carried back to images of his own.

"I'm not in prison now, I'm here. But I saw myself in the photos and the images of the people in Syria. I was so happy for them, but I saw myself there... I saw the old version of me there. I saw when they raped me, and when they tortured me. I saw everything in flashback."

He is weeping and we stop the interview. A few minutes, he says.

I look at his sitting room wall.

There is a photo of his ruined home in Syria, one of René running in a marathon in Utrecht. Then an image of the Jesuit priest, Father Frans Van Der Lugt, 75, a psychotherapist and ecumenical activist in Syria, until he was assassinated in 2014.

It was Father Van Der Lugt who told René - struggling in a deeply conservative environment - that he was a normal human being, that Jesus loved him whatever his sexual orientation was.

René takes a glass of water, then asks to continue our conversation.

Why has he agreed to show his face in front of a camera now, I wondered?

"Because the republic of fear is gone. Because I am I'm not scared of them anymore. Because Assad is a refugee in Moscow. Because all the criminals in Syria ran away. Because Syria returned to all Syrian people," he replies.

"I hope we will be able to live as a people in freedom, in equality. I'm so proud of myself as a Syrian, Dutch, as LGBT."

That doesn't mean he feels confident about living in Syria as a gay person just yet.

Under the Assad regime, homosexual acts were criminalised.

The country's new rulers have fundamentalist religious roots and have been implicated in violence and persecution against gay people.

"There are many Syrian LGBT who fought," René says.

"They were part of the revolution, and they lost their life. [The Syrian regime] killed them just because they were LGBT, and because they were part of the revolution."

René tells me he is "realistic" about the prospect of change. He is also concerned that all religious and ethnic groups - including the Kurds - are given protection.

René is among around six million Syrians who fled the country and found safety either in neighbouring countries like Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey - the majority - or further afield in Europe.

Several European countries have already paused asylum applications from Syrians, following the overthrow of the Assad regime. International human rights groups have criticised the move as premature.

There are an estimated one million Syrians in Germany. Among them, a remarkable disabled Kurdish girl I first met in August 2015, when she had joined a vast column of people who had landed on the Greek island of Lesbos.

She travelled on through Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia and Austria on her way north.

To reach Europe from northern Syria, Nujeen had crossed mountains, rivers and the sea - her sister, Nisreen, pushing the wheelchair.

"I want to be an astronaut, and maybe meet and alien. And I want to meet the Queen," she said.

I crouched beside her on a dusty road, where thousands of asylum seekers lay exhausted in the midday heat. Her good humour and hopefulness were infectious.

This was a girl who taught herself fluent English by watching American television programmes. Nujeen grew up in Aleppo and then, as the war escalated, she went to her family's hometown of Kobane, a Kurdish stronghold which subsequently came under attack from the Islamic State (IS) group.

I meet her now in the bustling Neumarkt Square in Cologne, surrounded by Christmas market stalls where locals eat sausage and drink mulled wine, and the dramas of Syria seem far away.

But not for Nujeen.

All week she has been up watching television, long after the rest of the family has gone to bed. No matter that she has an exam for her business administration course. She will manage.

Never again, Nujeen understands, will there be a moment quite like the fall of Assad, a moment of such singular hope.

"Nothing lasts forever. Darkness is followed by dawn," she says.

"I knew that I would never come back to a Syria that had Assad as president, and that we would never have the chance to be a better nation with that man in charge. We knew that we would never find peace unless he's gone. And now with that chapter over, I think the real challenge begins."

Like René, she wants a country that is tolerant of diversity and cares for those with disabilities.

"I don't want to go back to a place where there is no lift and only stairs up to an apartment on the fourth floor."

As a Kurd, she is well versed in her people's experience of suffering in the region.

Now, as the Kurdish forces are forced to pull out of cities in the oil producing north, Nujeen sees the danger posed by a new regime that is backed by Turkey.

"We know these people that came into power now. We know the countries and the powers that are backing them, and they're not exactly fans of Kurds. They do not exactly love us. That's our biggest worry right now."

There is also the fear of a potential regrouping of IS if Syria's new leaders cannot achieve stability in the country.

There are constant calls to family still living in the Kurdish areas.

"They are anxious and worried about the future as we all are," says Nujeen.

"We never stop calling, and we are always worried if they don't pick up after the first ring. There's a lot of uncertainty about what's going to happen next".

The uncertainty is amplified by the change in asylum policy in Europe.

Still, this is a young woman whose experience of life - the experience of serious disability since birth, witnessing the terrors of war, travelling across the Middle East and Europe to safety - has created a capacity for hope.

In the near decade that I have known her, it is undimmed. The fall of Assad has only deepened her faith in Syria and its people.

"There are many people who are waiting to see Syria fall into some kind of an abyss," she says.

"We are not people who hate or envy or want to want to eliminate each other. We are people who were raised to be afraid of each other. But our default setting is that we love and accept who we are."

"We can and will be a be a better nation - a nation of love, acceptance and peace, not one of chaos, fear and destruction."

There are many hearts in Syria and beyond who will be hoping she is right.

On a hill overlooking the city of Palermo, in Sicily, sits a lesser-known gem of Italian art: the cathedral of Monreale.

Built in the 12th century under Norman rule, it boasts Italy's largest Byzantine-style mosaics, second in the world only to those of Hagia Sophia in Istanbul.

Now, this Unesco World Heritage site has undergone an extensive restoration to bring it back to its former glory.

The Monreale mosaics were meant to impress, humble and inspire the visitor who walked down the central nave, following the fashion of Constantinople, the capital of the surviving Roman empire in the east.

They span over 6,400 square meters and contain around 2.2kg of solid gold.

The restoration lasted over a year, and in that time the cathedral was turned into a bit of a building site, with a maze of scaffolds set up on the altar and transept.

Local experts from the Italian Ministry of Culture led a series of interventions, starting with the removal of a thick layer of dust that had accumulated on the mosaics over the years.

Then they repaired some of the tiles that had lost their enamel and gold leaf, making them look like black spots from down below.

Finally, they intervened in the areas where the tiles were peeling off the wall and secured them.

Working on the mosaics was a challenge and a big responsibility, says Father Nicola Gaglio.

He has been a priest here for 17 years and has followed the restoration closely, not unlike an apprehensive dad.

"The team approached this work almost on their tiptoes," he tells me.

"At times, there were some unforeseen issues and they had to pause the operations while they found a solution.

"For example, when they got to the ceiling, they realised that in the past it had been covered with a layer of varnish that had turned yellowish. They had to peel it off, quite literally, like cling film."

The mosaics were last partly restored in 1978 , but this time the intervention had a much wider scope and it included replacing the old lighting system.

"There was a very old system. The light was low, the energy costs were through the roof and in no way it made justice to the beauty of the mosaics," says Matteo Cundari.

He's the Country Manager of Zumtobel, the firm that was tasked with installing the new lights.

"The main challenge was to make sure we'd highlight the mosaics and we'd create something that answers to the various needs of the cathedral," he adds.

"We also wanted to create a completely reversible system, something that could be replaced in 10 or 15 years without damaging the building."

This first tranche of works cost 1.1 million euros. A second one, focussing on the central nave, is being planned next.

I ask Fr Gaglio what it was like to see the scaffolding finally come off and the mosaics shine in their new light. He laughs and shrugs.

"When you see it, you're overwhelmed with awe and you can't really think of anything. It's pure beauty," he says.

"It's a responsibility to be the keeper of such world heritage. This world needs beauty, because it reminds us of what's good in humanity, of what it means to be men and women."

Emergency doctors in the UK have issued a safety warning over water beads, which could be given to children as gifts over Christmas.

The beads, also known as jelly balls, sensory beads, or water crystals are marketed as crafting tools and homeware items - but also toys.

They are typically only a few millimetres but some can expand up to 400 times their original size in about 36 hours when exposed to liquid, creating a hidden danger. If a child swallows one, they can cause bowel obstruction and the consequences can be fatal.

The Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM) advises that the beads should be kept well away from children aged under five.

The "safety flash" is for doctors to make sure they know what to look out for while on duty, but the college also wants parents and carers of be aware of the dangers.

The beads are not visible on X-rays.

They can also cause choking and have harmed children in the UK, with reports linking them to deaths overseas, the government's Office for Product Safety and Standards said in September.

Its safety alert added the beads should only used with older children or vulnerable adults under close supervision.

The RCEM advises parents and carers to seek medical attention immediately if there is any suspicion a child may have swallowed a water bead.

"Having seen the effects first hand, which can be devastating and detrimental, we are asking people to please think twice about the dangers these pose while selecting and gifting presents this season," Dr Salwa Malik, vice president of the RCEM, told PA Media.

The RCEM alert also highlights the potential danger to children and vulnerable adults of button or coin batteries and magnets, if swallowed.

Emergency doctors in the UK have issued a safety warning over water beads, which could be given to children as gifts over Christmas.

The beads, also known as jelly balls, sensory beads, or water crystals are marketed as crafting tools and homeware items - but also toys.

They are typically only a few millimetres but some can expand up to 400 times their original size in about 36 hours when exposed to liquid, creating a hidden danger. If a child swallows one, they can cause bowel obstruction and the consequences can be fatal.

The Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM) advises that the beads should be kept well away from children aged under five.

The "safety flash" is for doctors to make sure they know what to look out for while on duty, but the college also wants parents and carers of be aware of the dangers.

The beads are not visible on X-rays.

They can also cause choking and have harmed children in the UK, with reports linking them to deaths overseas, the government's Office for Product Safety and Standards said in September.

Its safety alert added the beads should only used with older children or vulnerable adults under close supervision.

The RCEM advises parents and carers to seek medical attention immediately if there is any suspicion a child may have swallowed a water bead.

"Having seen the effects first hand, which can be devastating and detrimental, we are asking people to please think twice about the dangers these pose while selecting and gifting presents this season," Dr Salwa Malik, vice president of the RCEM, told PA Media.

The RCEM alert also highlights the potential danger to children and vulnerable adults of button or coin batteries and magnets, if swallowed.

Rome's world-famous Trevi Fountain has re-opened after a three-month restoration.

Built in the 18th Century by Italian architect Nicola Salvi on the façade of the Poli Palace, the historic fountain is one of the city's most visited spots.

Between 10,000 and 12,000 tourists used to visit the Trevi Fountain each day, but a new queuing system has been installed to prevent large crowds massing near the landmark.

Speaking on Sunday Mayor of Rome Roberto Gualtieri said imposing the limit will "allow everyone to better enjoy the fountain, without crowds or confusion".

Gualtieri also said city authorities were considering charging a modest entry price to finance the fountain's upkeep.

Sunday's re-opening took place under light rain in the presence of several hundred tourists, many of whom followed the mayor by throwing a coin into the fountain.

The three-month cleaning project involved removing mould and calcium incrustations.

The fountain and other key city sites have been cleaned ahead of the jubilee of the Roman Catholic Church which begins on Christmas Eve.

Its poor structural condition was exposed in 2012 when bits of its elaborate cornice began falling off after an especially harsh winter which required a multi-million euro renovation the following year.

Making a wish and tossing a coin into the water is such a tradition that the city authorities used to collect around €10,000 (£8,300; $10,500) a week.

The money was donated to a charity that provides meals for the poor.

The Trevi fountain

• Commissioned by Pope Clement XII in 1730
• It is the end point of one of the aqueducts that supplied ancient Rome with water
• The Acqua Vergine runs for a total of 20km (12 miles) before flowing into the fountain
• Tourists can drink from a special tap tucked away at one side
• According to legend, the water source was discovered in 19 BC by thirsty Roman soldiers directed to the site by a young virgin - which is why it is called Virgin Waters
• The tradition of throwing coins into the fountain was made famous by Frank Sinatra's Three Coins in the Fountain in the 1954 romantic comedy of the same name

He had a licence to charm on screen, with his sultry voice and suave, chiselled good looks. But in private, actor Sir Roger Moore - who played James Bond in seven films - was equally as comfortable behind the camera.

A new BBC documentary to air on Christmas Day will reveal never-before-seen home video footage, filmed by Sir Roger himself, of his family and very famous friends - including actor Kirk Douglas and singer Olivia Newton-John.

A young Sir Elton John is also spotted descending from the skies in a helicopter ready for lunch with Sir Roger and other celebrity guests - the likes of Joan Collins and David Attenborough.

Sir Roger's son Geoffrey, who found the old video cassettes in the cupboards and garage at his family's home in Switzerland, remembers the gathering in France well.

He played a game of tennis with Sir Elton, he recalls, in an exclusive interview for BBC News, before the singer flew off to Cannes to film the music video for his hit song, I'm Still Standing.

Sir Roger also got behind the camera to film much more intimate occasions with his three children - Geoffrey, Deborah and Christian - and their mother, his third wife, Italian actress Luisa Mattioli.

Bringing the memories of the past back to life again on screen proved poignant for Geoffrey and his siblings.

"I think the way he was just filming was as any father would film his children. It was just a family guy recording, documenting a time," says Geoffrey.

"I think it was also because [the camera] was a new toy, so he wanted to use it."

Growing up, being surrounded by stars from the silver screen was normal for Geoffrey.

"I mean [Frank] Sinatra was very close to the family and we used to spend a lot of Thanksgivings and Easters together. Kirk Douglas, Cary Grant, Gregory Peck, they were all very, very dear friends."

Sir Roger's daughter Deborah remembers her father couldn't keep up with Frank Sinatra's drinking and would secretly pour his whisky into the plant pots.

The family would watch comedy duo Morecambe and Wise on TV on a Friday night, says Geoffrey, and then Eric and Ernie would come over for Sunday lunch.

He also remembers meeting Clint Eastwood and Sean Connery - the first James Bond - as well as stars from Hollywood's golden age, such as Fred Astaire and Olivia De Havilland.

"I mean, if I think about how lucky we were… to the point where even Roger would say, 'Goodness, look at that, we've got Gene Kelly sitting there. Isn't that wonderful!'".

But despite being surrounded by stardom, Sir Roger was very "self-deprecating", says Geoffrey.

"I always say, the bigger the talent, the smaller the limousine. And he was incredibly humble," he says.

At the end of a day's filming, Sir Roger would simply enjoy watching TV with his family in his dressing gown and slippers.

"His treat was baked beans on toast," says Geoffrey. "He didn't need caviar."

Sir Roger came from humble beginnings. He grew up in Stockwell in south London. His father was a police officer and his mother worked in a tearoom. He crafted his aristocratic English accent at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (Rada) and earned money modelling knitting patterns.

His big break came in 1962, playing Simon Templar in the TV series, The Saint.

Geoffrey recalls the phone call his father received when he found out he had been chosen to take over the role of Britain's most famous secret agent.

The last three digits of Sir Roger's phone number just happened to be 007.

"He answered the phone with '007', because that's what you do, and the voice said, 'That you are Roger,'" says Geoffrey.

Sean Connery was the closest to author Ian Fleming's depiction of the character in his spy novels, says Geoffrey, as in "I'm going to sleep with you and kill your boss tomorrow".

"Whereas, Roger didn't want to fire a gun really," says Geoffrey, "he just sort of killed them with charm."

He always had a very sardonic approach, says Geoffrey, and that was his interpretation, he adds.

"Let's make James Bond Roger Moore," he says, "[as] opposed to Roger having to play a hired gun who is licensed to kill. And I think he was more like 'licensed to thrill.'"

This took an enormous amount of talent, says Geoffrey.

Of the Bond films that starred Sir Roger, Geoffrey says his father's favourite was The Spy Who Loved Me.

Growing up on movie sets was fantastic, recalls Geoffrey, but having James Bond as your father attracted quite a bit of attention on the school run.

When Sir Roger came to pick him up from school one day, he remembers the car was suddenly surrounded by pupils - keen to catch a glimpse of the star.

"I thought, 'Oh, okay, he's known, I'm not the only one that sees him on the box,'" he says.

But living in the public eye could be difficult when there was a scandal.

Geoffrey recalls a phone call his father made to him one morning, letting him know the papers had got hold of the story that he was leaving his mother.

"I said, 'Well, thanks for the heads up! How long have I got?'" says Geoffrey.

The press had already surrounded his mother's house. It creates "a small scar to see that your pain is exposed," says Geoffrey. "I think that's the worst part of being famous."

After his split from Luisa, Sir Roger went on to marry his fourth wife, Kristina Tholstrup, otherwise known as Kiki. He had also been previously married to actress and professional ice skater Doorn van Steyn and singer Dorothy Squires.

Sir Roger died in 2017 at the age of 89. In his later years, actress Audrey Hepburn had asked him to take on her humanitarian work for the children's charity Unicef, says Geoffrey.

"It says a lot about his love for humanity, his love for children. And that, I think, is probably his greatest role."

From Roger Moore with Love will be broadcast on Wednesday 25 December at 21:00 GMT on BBC Two and BBC iPlayer.

Hundreds of Tibetans protesting against a Chinese dam were rounded up in a harsh crackdown earlier this year, with some beaten and seriously injured, the BBC has learnt from sources and verified footage.

Such protests are extremely rare in Tibet, which China has tightly controlled since it annexed the region in the 1950s. That they still happened highlights China's controversial push to build dams in what has long been a sensitive area.

Claims of the arrests and beatings began trickling out shortly after the events in February. In the following days authorities further tightened restrictions, making it difficult for anyone to verify the story, especially journalists who cannot freely travel to Tibet.

But the BBC has spent months tracking down Tibetan sources whose family and friends were detained and beaten. BBC Verify has also examined satellite imagery and verified leaked videos which show mass protests and monks begging the authorities for mercy.

The sources live outside of China and are not associated with activist groups. But they did not wish to be named for safety reasons.

In response to our queries, the Chinese embassy in the UK did not confirm nor deny the protests or the ensuing crackdown.

But it said: "China is a country governed by the rule of law, and strictly safeguards citizens' rights to lawfully express their concerns and provide opinions or suggestions."

The protests, followed by the crackdown, took place in a territory home to Tibetans in Sichuan province. For years, Chinese authorities have been planning to build the massive Gangtuo dam and hydropower plant, also known as Kamtok in Tibetan, in the valley straddling the Dege (Derge) and Jiangda (Jomda) counties.

Once built, the dam's reservoir would submerge an area that is culturally and religiously significant to Tibetans, and home to several villages and ancient monasteries containing sacred relics.

One of them, the 700-year-old Wangdui (Wontoe) Monastery, has particular historical value as its walls feature rare Buddhist murals.

The Gangtuo dam would also displace thousands of Tibetans. The BBC has seen what appears to be a public tender document for the relocation of 4,287 residents to make way for the dam.

The BBC contacted an official listed on the tender document as well as Huadian, the state-owned enterprise reportedly building the dam. Neither have responded.

Plans to build the dam were first approved in 2012, according to a United Nations special rapporteurs letter to the Chinese government. The letter, which is from July 2024, raised concerns about the dam's "irreversible impact" on thousands of people and the environment.

From the start, residents were not "consulted in a meaningful way" about the dam, according to the letter. For instance, they were given information that was inadequate and not in the Tibetan language.

They were also promised by the government that the project would only go ahead if 80% of them agreed to it, but "there is no evidence this consent was ever given," the letter goes on to say, adding that residents tried to raise concerns about the dam several times.

Then, in February, officials told them they would be evicted imminently, while giving them little information about resettlement options and compensation, the BBC understands from two Tibetan sources.

This triggered such deep anxiety that villagers and Buddhist monks decided to stage protests, despite knowing the risks of a crackdown.

'They didn't know what was going to happen to them'

The largest one saw hundreds gathering outside a government building in Dege. In a video clip obtained and verified by the BBC, protesters can be heard calling on authorities to stop the evictions and let them stay.

Separately, a group of residents approached visiting officials and pleaded with them to cancel plans to build the dam. The BBC has obtained footage which appears to show this incident, and verified it took place in the village of Xiba.

The clip shows red-robed monks and villagers kneeling on a dusty road and showing a thumbs-up, a traditional Tibetan way of begging for mercy.

In the past the Chinese government has been quick to stamp out resistance to authority, especially in Tibetan territory where it is sensitive to anything that could potentially feed separatist sentiment.

It was no different this time. Authorities swiftly launched their crackdown, arresting hundreds of people at protests while also raiding homes across the valley, according to one of our sources.

One unverified but widely shared clip appears to show Chinese policemen shoving a group of monks on a road, in what is thought to be an arrest operation.

Many were detained for weeks and some were beaten badly, according to our Tibetan sources whose family and friends were targeted in the crackdown.

One source shared fresh details of the interrogations. He told the BBC that a childhood friend was detained and interrogated over several days.

"He was asked questions and treated nicely at first. They asked him 'who asked you to participate, who is behind this'.

"Then, when he couldn't give them [the] answers they wanted, he was beaten by six or seven different security personnel over several days."

His friend sustained only minor injuries, and was freed within a few days. But others were not so lucky.

Another source told the BBC that more than 20 of his relatives and friends were detained for participating in the protests, including an elderly person who was more than 70 years old.

"Some of them sustained injuries all over their body, including in their ribs and kidneys, from being kicked and beaten… some of them were sick because of their injuries," he said.

Similar claims of physical abuse and beatings during the arrests have surfaced in overseas Tibetan media reports.

The UN letter also notes reports of detentions and use of force on hundreds of protesters, stating they were "severely beaten by the Chinese police, resulting in injuries that required hospitalisation".

After the crackdown, Tibetans in the area encountered even tighter restrictions, the BBC understands. Communication with the outside world was further limited and there was increased surveillance. Those who are still contactable have been unwilling to talk as they fear another crackdown, according to sources.

The first source said while some released protesters were eventually allowed to travel elsewhere in Tibetan territory, others have been slapped with orders restricting their movement.

This has caused problems for those who need to go to hospital for medical treatment and nomadic tribespeople who need to roam across pastures with their herds, he said.

The second source said he last heard from his relatives and friends at the end of February: "When I got through, they said not to call any more as they would get arrested. They were very scared, they would hang up on me.

"We used to talk over WeChat, but now that is not possible. I'm totally blocked from contacting all of them," he said.

"The last person I spoke to was a younger female cousin. She said, 'It's very dangerous, a lot of us have been arrested, there's a lot of trouble, they have hit a lot of us'… They didn't know what was going to happen to them next."

The BBC has been unable to find any mention of the protests and crackdown in Chinese state media. But shortly after the protests, a Chinese Communist Party official visited the area to "explain the necessity" of building the dam and called for "stability maintenance measures", according to one report.

A few months later, a tender was awarded for the construction of a Dege "public security post", according to documents posted online.

The BBC has been monitoring the valley via satellite imagery for months. For now, there is no sign of the dam's construction nor demolition of the villages and monasteries.

The Chinese embassy told us authorities were still conducting geological surveys and specialised studies to build the dam. They added the local government is "actively and thoroughly understanding the demands and aspirations" of residents.

Development or exploitation?

China is no stranger to controversy when it comes to dams.

When the government constructed the world's biggest dam in the 90s - the Three Gorges on the Yangtze River - it saw protests and criticism over its handling of relocation and compensation for thousands of villagers.

In more recent years, as China has accelerated its pivot from coal to clean energy sources, such moves have become especially sensitive in Tibetan territories.

Beijing has been eyeing the steep valleys and mighty rivers here, in the rural west, to build mega-dams and hydropower stations that can sustain China's electricity-hungry eastern metropolises. President Xi Jinping has personally pushed for this, a policy called "xidiandongsong", or "sending western electricity eastwards".

Like Gangtuo, many of these dams are on the Jinsha (Dri Chu) river, which runs through Tibetan territories. It forms the upper reaches of the Yangtze river and is part of what China calls the world's largest clean energy corridor.

Gangtuo is in fact the latest in a series of 13 dams planned for this valley, five of which are already in operation or under construction.

The Chinese government and state media have presented these dams as a win-win solution that cuts pollution and generates clean energy, while uplifting rural Tibetans.

In its statement to the BBC, the Chinese embassy said clean energy projects focus on "promoting high-quality economic development" and "enhancing the sense of gain and happiness among people of all ethnic groups".

But the Chinese government has long been accused of violating Tibetans' rights. Activists say the dams are the latest example of Beijing's exploitation of Tibetans and their land.

"What we are seeing is the accelerated destruction of Tibetan religious, cultural and linguistic heritage," said Tenzin Choekyi, a researcher with rights group Tibet Watch. "This is the 'high-quality development' and 'ecological civilisation' that the Chinese government is implementing in Tibet."

One key issue is China's relocation policy that evicts Tibetans from their homes to make way for development - the same fate awaits the villagers and monks living near the Gangtuo dam. More than 930,000 rural Tibetans are estimated to have been relocated since 2000, according to Human Rights Watch (HRW).

Beijing has always maintained that these relocations happen only with the consent of Tibetans, and that they are given housing, compensation and new job opportunities. State media often portrays it as an improvement in their living conditions.

But rights groups paint a different picture, with reports detailing evidence of coercion, complaints of inadequate compensation, cramped living conditions, and lack of jobs. They also point out that relocation severs the deep, centuries-old connection that rural Tibetans share with their land.

"These people will essentially lose everything they own, their livelihoods and community heritage," said Maya Wang, interim China director at HRW.

There are also environmental concerns over the flooding of Tibetan valleys renowned for their biodiversity, and the possible dangers of building dams in a region rife with earthquake fault lines.

Some Chinese academics have found the pressure from accumulated water in dam reservoirs could potentially increase the risk of quakes, including in the Jinsha river. This could cause catastrophic flooding and destruction, as seen in 2018, when rain-induced landslides occurred at a village situated between two dam construction sites on Jinsha.

The Chinese embassy told us that the implementation of any clean energy project "will go through scientific planning and rigorous demonstration, and will be subject to relevant supervision".

In recent years, China has passed laws safeguarding the environment surrounding the Yangtze River and the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau. President Xi has personally stressed the need to protect the Yangtze's upper reaches.

About 424 million yuan (£45.5m, $60m) has been spent on environmental conservation along Jinsha, according to state media. Reports have also highlighted efforts to quake-proof dam projects.

Multiple Tibetan rights groups, however, argue that any large-scale development in Tibetan territory, including dams such as Gangtuo, should be halted.

They have staged protests overseas and called for an international moratorium, arguing that companies participating in such projects would be "allowing the Chinese government to profit from the occupation and oppression of Tibetans".

"I really hope that this [dam-building] stops," one of our sources said. "Our ancestors were here, our temples are here. We have been here for generations. It is very painful to move. What kind of life would we have if we leave?"

Additional reporting by Richard Irvine-Brown of BBC Verify

Warning: This story contains descriptions of sexual abuse

The Pelicot rape trial, which ended in France on Thursday, held a terrible fascination for almost every woman I know. As it unfolded in an Avignon court, I found myself following every awful detail, then discussing it with my female friends, my daughters, colleagues, even women in my local book club, as we tried to process what happened.

For nearly a decade, Gisèle Pelicot's husband had been secretly drugging her and inviting men he'd met on the internet to have sex with his "Sleeping Beauty" wife in the marital bedroom while he videoed them.

These strangers, ranging from 22 to 70 years in age, with jobs that included fireman, nurse, journalist, prison warden and soldier, complied with Dominique Pelicot's instructions. Such was their desire for a submissive female body to penetrate, they blithely had sex with a retired grandmother whose heavily sedated body resembled a rag doll.

There were 50 men in court, all living within a 50km (30 mile) radius of Mazan, a small town in southern France where the Pelicots lived. They were, apparently, just like "any other man".

One woman in her 30s told me "When I first read about it, I didn't want to be around men for at least a week, even my fiancé. It just horrified me."

Another in her late 60s, so close to Gisèle Pelicot's age, couldn't stop thinking about what men's minds could be harbouring, even her husband and sons. "Is this just the tip of the iceberg?"

As Dr Stella Duffy, 61, an author and therapist, wrote on Instagram on the day the verdict was delivered: "I hope and try to believe #notallmen, but I imagine the wives and girlfriends and best mates and daughters and mothers of Gisèle Pelicot's village thought that too. And now they know different. Every woman I talk to says this case has changed how she views men. I hope it's changed how men view men too."

Now that justice has been done, we can look beyond this monstrous case and ask: where did these men's callous and violent behaviour come from? Could they not see that sex without consent is rape?

But there is a broader question too. What does the fact that so many men in a relatively small area shared this fantasy of extreme domination over a woman say about the nature of male desire?

How the internet changed the norm

It is hard to imagine the scale of the orchestrated rapes and sexual assaults of Ms Pelicot without the internet.

The platform on which Dominique Pelicot advertised for men to rape his wife was an unmoderated French website, which made it easier to bring together people who shared sexual interests, with no holds barred, than it would have been in the days before the internet. (It has now been closed down.)

One of Ms Pelicot's lawyers likened the site to a "murder weapon", telling the court that without it the case "would never have reached such proportions".

But the internet has played a role in gradually changing attitudes to sex in consensual and non-abusive settings too, normalising what many might have once seen as extreme.

In the shift from old school skin mags and blue movies bought in a murky Soho sex shop to modern-day websites like PornHub, which had 11.4 billion mobile visits globally in the month of January 2024 alone, the boundaries of porn have expanded hugely. Adding in more and more extreme or niche activity ramps up the expectation, so "vanilla" sex may become mundane.

According to a survey of UK online users in January 2024, almost one in 10 respondents aged between 25 and 49 years reported watching porn most days, the great majority of them male.

Twenty-four-year-old university graduate Daisy told me that most people she knows watch porn, including her. She prefers to use a feminist site whose search filters include "passionate" and "sensual", as well as "rough". But some of her male friends say they no longer watch porn "as they couldn't have a nice time having sex because of watching too much porn when they were just kids".

A 2023 study for the children's commissioner for England, Dame Rachel de Souza, found that a quarter of 16 to 21-year-olds first saw pornography on the internet while still at primary school.

At the time Ms de Souza said: "The adult content which parents may have accessed in their youth could be considered 'quaint' in comparison to today's world of online pornography."

Does porn really shape attitudes?

Children who regularly viewed porn on mobiles before puberty inevitably grow up with different sexual expectations than those aroused by Playboy in the 20th century.

While no direct causal link has been established, there is substantial evidence of an association between the use of pornography and harmful sexual attitudes and behaviours towards women.

According to government research before the Covid-19 pandemic: "There is evidence that use of pornography is associated with greater likelihood of desiring or engaging in sexual acts witnessed in porn, and a greater likelihood of believing women want to engage in these specific acts."

Some of those acts may involve aggressive, dominating behaviour such as face slapping, choking, gagging and spitting. Daisy told me: "Choking has become normalised, routine, expected, like neck-kissing. With the last person I was seeing, I told him from the start that I wasn't into choking and he was fine with that."

But she believes that not all women will speak out. "And in my experience most men don't want a woman to be dominant in the bedroom. That's where they want to have the power."

Forty years older than Daisy, Suzanne Noble has written about her own sexual adventures and now has a website and podcast called Sex Advice for Seniors. She believes that the availability of porn that depicts rape fantasies normalises an act that is rooted in violence and depicts rape as an activity women crave.

"There's simply not enough education about the difference between re-enacting a fantasy that involves a pseudo-rape, with a completely non-consensual version of the same," she argues.

From small ads to real life

Just as the internet brought porn out of backstreets and into bedrooms, it has also facilitated easier access to events in real life. Previously people into, say, S&M (sadomasochism), might have connected through small ads in the back of "contact" magazines, using Post Office boxes rather than mail to their own homes. It was a very slow and arduous way of setting up a sexual encounter. Now it's far easier to connect with those groups online then plan to meet in person.

In the UK, it has become mainstream to find love and relationships through dating apps, and so too is it easier to connect with people who wish to try out particular sexual kinks, with a plethora of social apps such as Feeld, which is designed for people to explore "desire outside of existing blueprints". Its online glossary includes a list of 31 desires, including polyamory, bondage and submission.

Albertina Fisher is an online psychosexual therapist who, in the course of her job, talks to her clients about their sexual fantasies. "There is nothing wrong with having a sexual fantasy — the difference is if fantasy becomes behaviour without consent," she says.

Male and female fantasies are different she tells me, "but they very often include submission and domination. The key thing about sexual preferences such as BDSM (bondage, discipline or domination, sadism, and masochism) is that it is safe, sane and consensual. What two people want to do together is absolutely fine." This, she stresses, is the case when both consent.

All of this is, of course, entirely separate to the Pelicot case. "That is sexual violence," she says. "And it's extremely distressing that this can happen within what appeared to be a loving relationship. Acting out a fantasy without consent is an extreme form of narcissism.

"With the partner incapacitated, all their needs are denied. So you have a fantasy of a woman who you don't have to worry about pleasing."

Questions around desire

A key and problematic aspect of the whole question of fantasy is desire. In the post-Freudian age it has become a truism that desires should not be repressed. And much of the liberation theory of the 1960s emphasised self-actualisation through the realisation of sexual desire.

But male desire has become an increasingly contested concept, not least because of the questions of power and domination often entangled within it.

The men who stood trial in the Pelicot case struggled to see themselves as perpetrators. Some argued that they assumed Ms Pelicot had consented, or that they were taking part in a libertine sex game. As many of them saw it, they were simply pursuing their desires.

There is a dark borderline where a very basic form of heterosexual male desire - (or the primal urge to have sex with a woman, or women, in the most uncomplicated manner) - can grow into a shared endeavour, creating an esprit de corps of boundary-pushing that may pay little heed or care to the female experience.

This perhaps explains why an OnlyFans performer, Lily Phillips, recently drew a huge queue of participants in her quest to have sex with 100 men in one day.

The tendency to objectify women may in some cases also develop into a desire to annihilate the whole question of female desire, let alone agency.

Obviously male desire takes many forms, most of an entirely healthy nature, but it has traditionally been constrained by cultural limits. Now those limits have shifted radically in the UK and elsewhere in the West, and the underlying conviction that the realisation of desire is an act of self-liberation amounts to a potent and sometimes troubling combination.

The appeal of Andrew Tate

Andre de Trichateau, a therapist based in South Kensington, London, brought up the appeal of masculinist influencers such as Andrew Tate, a self-proclaimed "misogynist", who has 10.4 million followers on X.

Mr de Trichateau says that he has encountered men feeling demeaned and displaced by the rise of feminism. "Some men don't know who to be," he says. "Men are socialised to be dominant but also expected to be in touch with their emotions, able to show vulnerability.

"This confusion can lead to anger, directed to the feminist movement, and [in turn this can lead them to] people such as Tate."

With a 60% male client base, Mr de Trichateau observes that "men can be socialised to view power and dominance as part of their identity".

"This is not to justify anything like the Pelicot case," he continues, "but objectively I can see that such behaviour is an escape from powerlessness and inadequacy. It's tantalising and forbidden.

"The case is disturbing because it shows the extremities that people will go to."

He also pointed out that online groups such as the one Mr Pelicot used can be very powerful. "In a group you are accepted. Ideas are validated. One person says its OK then everyone will go along with it."

Many of the conversations during and since the Pelicot trial have focused on how to make the distinction between consensual and non-consensual sex and whether it should be better defined in law - but the problem is that what consent amounts to is a complex question.

As 24-year-old Daisy sees it, some women of her age tend to go along with men's sexual preferences regardless of their own feelings. "They think something is hot if the man they are with thinks it's hot."

So, if heterosexual men, in particular, really are increasingly taking their sexual cues from pornography, then that prompts further questions about the changing shape of male desire. And if young women can feel that the price of intimacy is to go along with those desires, however extreme, then arguably consent is not a black and white matter.

Ultimately, there may be widespread relief that the Pelicot case is over and that justice was served, but it leaves behind even more questions - questions that, in the spirit of an amazingly strong French woman, are perhaps best discussed out in the open.

Lead image credit: Getty

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A suspect has been arrested in New York over the death of a woman who was set on fire on a subway train in Brooklyn.

Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch described the incident on Sunday as "one of the most depraved crimes one person could possibly commit against another human being".

She said the woman was sleeping on a stationary F train to Brooklyn when she was approached by the suspect who used a lighter to ignite her clothing.

The victim died at the scene, she said, adding that the suspect had been taken into custody after he was detained on another subway train.

Police said the woman, who has not been named, was sleeping in a subway carriage at the Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue station in Brooklyn at about 07:30 local time (12:30 GMT) when a man approached her.

There was no interaction before the attack, police said, adding that they did not believe the two people knew each other.

The man got off the train as police officers on patrol in the station rushed to the fire.

"What they saw was a person standing inside the train car fully engulfed in flames," Ms Tisch said.

Police are still working to identify the victim and the motive for the attack.

If you asked TV viewers to name a favourite double act, chances are the two stars of Vengeance Most Fowl would be close to the top of the list.

It's Wallace & Gromit's first major appearance in over a decade, and the first film not to feature the voice of Peter Sallis as the cheese-loving inventor.

"It has been quite emotional [doing this production] since we lost Peter, he was such an original, unique voice," says Nick Park of Sallis, who died in 2017 at the age of 96.

"So it's very hard for anyone to step into his shoes. But we have been blessed with a youngish actor whom we've known for many years who can do a fantastic Wallace impersonation.

"He's stepped in very kindly, and is just great. It's hard to tell them apart."

Take a bow, Ben Whitehead - the 47-year-old actor and voice artist says he feels honoured to be taking on the role. But also admits to feeling a degree of pressure.

"Enormous pressure!" he tells the BBC.

"Because it's a very popular character. I got to work with Peter [Sallis] a couple of times for [2005's] The Curse of the Were-Rabbit film.

"So yeah, there's a great deal of pressure with that. And I feel very grateful to Aardman for giving me so much time to build the character.

"You kind of have to do the 'hmm' and the 'hee-hee'," he continues - demonstrating some Wallace-isms that sound indistinguishable from Peter Sallies's Yorkshire tones.

"Definitely the elongation of the vowels like 'cheeeeese'!"

Why return now?

Fans have been clamouring for more from the plasticine pair for years. So why now?

"Whenever we've done talks around the world, the last question is always, 'When is the next Wallace & Gromit film?', explains Park. "The last time we did that I just came home burning with this idea that's been around for years."

The idea was - what if Wallace created a pre-programmed, voice-controlled smart Gnome.

Enter Norbot, but of course regular viewers of Wallace & Gromit will be unsurprised to learn that the inventor's well-intentioned idea, as usual, ends up causing mayhem.

This isn't the only familiar element to appear in this latest story.

This new adventure also features an old villain, the criminal mastermind Feathers McGraw, a chicken-impersonating-penguin whom Wallace & Gromit - mostly Gromit - defeated in 1993's The Wrong Trousers.

"Whenever we're out and about talking about the future of Wallace & Gromit, the single most asked question is 'when will Feathers be back?", says Merlin Crossingham, who directs Vengeance Most Fowl alongside Nick Park.

"Everybody loves a villain, it's often said your film is only as good as its villain, [so it] seemed a perfect opportunity to bring Feathers back for this story."

Wallace & Gromit were first introduced to audiences with 1989's A Grand Day Out. Since then their adventures have involved everything from malfunctioning clothing to mysterious were-rabbits.

"I think Wallace & Gromit have so many facets to their relationship," says Crossingham.

"They are best pals. They're kind of partners in crime, they're man and dog. And hopefully in the films, their stories, and their relationship everybody young and old relates to them.

"I truly think it's that relatability, not just of their simplicity of lifestyle from which madness erupts.

"But everybody somewhere in the stories connects with them on some level.

"And I think that what Nick has created, right back at the beginning with A Grand Day Out, has really struck a chord with people."

'Christmas day ratings battle'

The last time a new Wallace & Gromit adventure went out on Christmas Day was in 2008 with A Matter of Loaf and Death. It was day's most-watched show, with more than 16 million viewers tuning in.

It was also the most-watched show of the entire year.

While it's still possible that it could repeat that feat, it's up against some extremely tough competition.

"Bring it on, Gavin & Stacey!" jokes Crossingham, acknowledging the huge popularity of the Essex and Barry-based comedy, whose finale also goes out on Christmas Day.

However while Gavin & Stacey might be reaching its conclusion, this definitely isn't a finale for Wallace & Gromit.

"[It's] certainly not the end," says Nick Park. "I think there's plenty of bounce still in their bungee.

"We'll carry on. There's always ideas worth kicking about."

"Give us a minute though," Interjects Merlin. "They take a while to make!"

Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl is on BBC One at 18.10 on Christmas Day.

Rome's world-famous Trevi Fountain has re-opened after a three-month restoration.

Built in the 18th Century by Italian architect Nicola Salvi on the façade of the Poli Palace, the historic fountain is one of the city's most visited spots.

Between 10,000 and 12,000 tourists used to visit the Trevi Fountain each day, but a new queuing system has been installed to prevent large crowds massing near the landmark.

Speaking on Sunday Mayor of Rome Roberto Gualtieri said imposing the limit will "allow everyone to better enjoy the fountain, without crowds or confusion".

Gualtieri also said city authorities were considering charging a modest entry price to finance the fountain's upkeep.

Sunday's re-opening took place under light rain in the presence of several hundred tourists, many of whom followed the mayor by throwing a coin into the fountain.

The three-month cleaning project involved removing mould and calcium incrustations.

The fountain and other key city sites have been cleaned ahead of the jubilee of the Roman Catholic Church which begins on Christmas Eve.

Its poor structural condition was exposed in 2012 when bits of its elaborate cornice began falling off after an especially harsh winter which required a multi-million euro renovation the following year.

Making a wish and tossing a coin into the water is such a tradition that the city authorities used to collect around €10,000 (£8,300; $10,500) a week.

The money was donated to a charity that provides meals for the poor.

The Trevi fountain

• Commissioned by Pope Clement XII in 1730
• It is the end point of one of the aqueducts that supplied ancient Rome with water
• The Acqua Vergine runs for a total of 20km (12 miles) before flowing into the fountain
• Tourists can drink from a special tap tucked away at one side
• According to legend, the water source was discovered in 19 BC by thirsty Roman soldiers directed to the site by a young virgin - which is why it is called Virgin Waters
• The tradition of throwing coins into the fountain was made famous by Frank Sinatra's Three Coins in the Fountain in the 1954 romantic comedy of the same name

The rhetoric on social media following the murder of healthcare CEO Brian Thompson in New York earlier this month has been "extraordinarily alarming", US Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas says.

"It speaks of what is really bubbling here in this country, and unfortunately we see that manifested in violence, the domestic violent extremism that exists," he told CBS's Face the Nation on Sunday.

Some on social media have celebrated Luigi Mangione, the man accused of shooting dead Mr Thompson, and shared anger at America's private health insurers.

Mayorkas said he was "alarmed by the heroism that is being attributed to an alleged murderer of a father of two children on the streets in New York".

Mr Thompson, the 50-year-old CEO of the largest US health insurer UnitedHealthcare, was gunned down outside a Manhattan hotel early on 4 December triggering a massive manhunt for the killer.

Mr Mangione, 26, was arrested days later in Pennsylvania and flown to New York where he is facing both federal and state charges, including first-degree murder in furtherance of terrorism.

Investigators accuse him of carrying out a targeted killing, pointing to evidence that suggests a long-held animosity towards the US healthcare industry. On social media, support for Mr Mangione has often been accompanied by grievances and complaints with the health insurance sector.

• The dark fandom behind CEO murder suspect

"We have been concerned about the rhetoric on social media for some time," Mayorkas said on Sunday. "We've seen narratives of hate. We've seen narratives of anti-government sentiment. We've seen personal grievances in the language of violence."

Mayorkas, whose homeland security department is in part responsible for protecting Americans from domestic terrorism, said his department sees a "wide range of narratives" that "drive some individuals to violence."

"It's something that we're very concerned about," he said. "That is a heightened threat environment."

But the 65-year-old, whose time at the helm of the department will end next month, stressed that Mr Thompson's killing was "the actions of an individual [and] not reflective of the American public".

Mr Mangione will remain behind bars in New York as his lawyers said last week that they would not present an application for bail. He is in federal custody at the Metropolitan Detention Center Brooklyn, the same facility where Sean 'Diddy' Combs is being held.

He will likely be assigned a roommate and have daily visits from medical and psychological services, law enforcement sources told the BBC's US partner CBS.

While New York does not have the death penalty, he faces four federal charges, including murder and stalking, which could make him eligible for the punishment. He also faces multiple state charges.

He is expected to be arraigned on those state charges in New York on Monday. Mr Mangione faces 11 counts, including murder in the first degree and murder as a crime of terrorism.

Belfast City Airport's runway will be closed for the rest of Sunday after an Aer Lingus plane suffered an emergency incident while landing during strong winds.

The plane had flown from Edinburgh to Belfast at about 16:00 GMT with four crew members but no passengers on board.

Pictures appear to show the aircraft with a collapsed nose wheel sitting on the runway.

It is understood no-one was seriously hurt.

It was a "positioning flight" operated by Emerald Airlines on behalf of Aer Lingus.

Emerald Airlines said it "experienced a hard landing upon arriving into Belfast City Airport due to adverse weather conditions".

Two flights - from London City and Leeds Bradford - due to land at the airport have since arrived at Belfast International Airport after being diverted.

President-elect Donald Trump has demanded Panama reduce fees on the Panama Canal or return it to US control, accusing the central American country of charging "exorbitant prices" to American shipping and naval vessels.

"The fees being charged by Panama are ridiculous, highly unfair," he told a crowd of supporters in Arizona on Sunday.

"This complete rip-off of our country will immediately stop," he said, referring to when he takes office next month.

His remarks prompted a quick rebuke from Panama's president, who said "every square metre" of the canal and surrounding area belong to his country.

President José Raúl Mulino added that Panama's sovereignty and independence were non-negotiable.

Trump made the comments to supporters of Turning Point USA, a conservative activist group that provided significant support to his 2024 election campaign.

It was a rare example of a US leader saying he could push a country to hand over territory - although he did not explain how he would do so - and a sign of how American foreign policy and diplomacy may shift once he enters the White House following his inauguration on 20 January.

Trump's comments followed a similar post a day earlier in which he said the Panama Canal was a "vital national asset" for the US.

If shipping rates are not lowered, Trump said on Sunday, "we will demand that the Panama Canal be returned to us, in full, quickly and without question".

The 51-mile (82km) Panama Canal cuts across the central American nation and is the main link between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.

• Can the Panama Canal save itself?
• Will Trump's victory spark a global trade war?
• What Trump tariffs could mean for consumers

It was built in the early 1900s and the US maintained control over the canal zone until 1977, when treaties gradually ceded the land back to Panama. After a period of joint control, Panama took sole control in 1999.

Up to 14,000 ships cross the canal per year, including container ships carrying cars, natural gas and other goods, and military vessels.

As well as Panama, the president-elect also took aim at Canada and Mexico over what he called unfair trade practices. He accused them of allowing drugs and immigrants into the US, although he called Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum a "wonderful woman".

Trump hits the usual themes

Trump made his remarks in front of thousands at Turning Point's annual conference, one of the country's largest gatherings of conservative activists.

Turning Point poured huge resources into get-out-the-vote efforts in swing states designed to bolster Trump and other Republicans during the election campaign.

It was his first speech since a deal passed Congress this week to keep the US government open, after several provisions were removed including one that would have increased the country's debt ceiling.

Trump had supported raising the debt ceiling, which restricts the amount of money the US government can borrow.

But his speech on Sunday avoided that issue entirely, instead recapping his election victory and hitting on themes – including immigration, crime and foreign trade – that were mainstays of his campaign.

He did, however, mention Elon Musk.

"You know, they're on a new kick," he said. "All the different hoaxes. The new one is that President Trump has ceded the presidency to Elon Musk."

"No, no, that's not happening," he said. "He's not gonna be president."

Several speakers here at the conference were critical of government spending and of politicians in both parties – however the divisions inside the Republican Party which have played out in Congress in recent days were mostly muted.

Women's charities have praised the yoga instructor who was seriously injured during this summer's Southport stabbings for being "so courageous" while recently speaking in public for the first time about her experiences.

Leanne Lucas was overseeing a Taylor Swift-themed dance and yoga class in the Merseyside town on 29 July when a knifeman entered and killed three girls. He stabbed eight other girls and a local man who had rushed to protect them.

Ms Lucas, who was also trying to shield two girls from the knifeman, suffered serious stab wounds.

At a vigil in Liverpool last month to remember women and girls who had lost their lives to male violence, she said: "The guilt, shame and fear we can feel as women will be outshone by courage, fierceness and our ability to connect."

Addressing the crowd, she added: "Raise your voice and share your stories. Often we don't realise how powerful we are."

Sandy Withe, who is involved with the Birkenhead-based Tomorrow's Women charity, described Ms Lucas's actions as "so brave and courageous".

She added: "I admire people like that – for it to be recent to happen to her and then to stand up in front of those people and to let people know that there is help out there as well."

Since 2009, 74 women and girls have been killed in Merseyside, which has seen some of the highest rates of violence by men against women and girls in England.

High-profile cases include the stabbing of Ava White, who was just 12 when she was attacked by a boy at a Christmas lights switch-on event in 2021.

Other victims include nine-year-old Olivia Pratt-Korbel, 28-year-old Ashley Dale, and 26-year-old Elle Edwards, who was shot on Christmas Eve 2022.

The Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Merseyside (RASA) charity, which was involved in November's vigil in Liverpool, believes it is vital to keep the issue of violence against women and girls in the public eye.

Operations manager Lorraine Wood said: "The names are read of all the women that have lost their lives and each year the number [is] growing.

"It's really important that we do come together regularly to remember those women - those women should never be forgotten."

Violence against women and girls has been described as a national emergency by Home Secretary Yvette Cooper.

In January, for the first time, Liverpool will join other cities taking part in the UK Women's March.

Among other things, it will highlight and condemn the rise in violence against women and girls.

Merseyside Police said tackling it was a priority for the force, and that officers were putting women's voices at the heart of their work.

Listen to the best of BBC Radio Merseyside on Sounds and follow BBC Merseyside on Facebook, X, and Instagram. You can also send story ideas to northwest.newsonline@bbc.co.uk

Sign up for our morning newsletter and get BBC News in your inbox.

Slovakia's Prime Minister Robert Fico has made a surprise visit to Moscow for talks with Vladimir Putin - becoming only the third Western leader to meet the Russian leader since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine three years ago.

Fico - a vocal critic of the European Union's support for Kyiv in the war - said they discussed supplies of Russian gas to Slovakia - which his country relies on.

A deal with Russian gas giant Gazprom to transit energy through Ukraine to Slovakia is due to expire at the end of this year.

"Top EU officials were informed about my journey and its purpose... on Friday," Fico wrote on Facebook.

Fico said the meeting in Moscow was a reaction to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky telling EU leaders that Ukraine remains opposed to Russian gas being piped through its territory.

The Slovakian PM, who survived being shot earlier this year, also said he had a "long conversation" with Putin and the two "exchanged views on the military situation in Ukraine".

Both discussed "the possibilities of an early, peaceful end of the war" and mutual relations between Russia and Slovakia, Fico wrote on Facebook.

• Russia sanctions: What impact have they had on its oil and gas exports?
• Watch BBC challenge Putin on his 25 years in power in Russia

Slovakia and Hungary, which both depend on Russian gas, have raised concerns about the prospect of supplies being interrupted.

In October 2023, when Fico became prime minister again, he ended Slovakia's military aid to Ukraine.

But, he has insisted he wants to be a "good, friendly neighbour" to Ukraine.

Fico's meeting with Putin came as the leaders of Italy, Sweden, Greece and Finland met on Sunday for a security summit.

Speaking afterwards, Finland's Prime Minister Petteri Orpo said Russia was a "permanent and dangerous threat" to the EU.

He also stressed the need for increased defence spending and support for Ukraine.

At least 28 people, including children, have died in a wave of Israeli military strikes throughout the Gaza Strip, according to Gaza's civil defence agency.

A school sheltering displaced families was among the facilities struck, killing eight people including four children over the weekend, the agency said.

It comes as the UN issues a plea for Israel to cease its attacks in the vicinity of a hospital in Gaza's north.

The Israeli military claimed a Hamas command centre was inside the compound of the Musa bin Nusair school in Gaza City, and has not commented on reports of attacks by the hospital.

"Hamas systematically violates international law," the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said on social media, adding that Israel's response would be to "act with force and determination against the terrorist organizations".

Gaza's civil defence agency spokesperson Mahmoud Bassal told the AFP news agency that the school had been repurposed as a shelter for Palestinians displaced by the war.

One displaced man who had been staying at the school, Abu, told BBC Arabic that the attack came while he was asleep.

"We were sleeping peacefully, then suddenly we woke up to the sound of a very powerful explosion," he said.

Another man Mahmoud said he was asleep in a tent in the schoolyard when the attack took place.

"Stones and shrapnel were flying, the school's walls fell on our heads," he told BBC Arabic.

On Sunday, Pope Francis condemned the Israeli attacks on Gaza for a second day in a row.

He expressed pain thinking "of such cruelty, to the machine-gunning of children, to the bombing of schools and hospitals".

The director of the Kamal Adwan hospital, Dr Hussam Abu Safiya, said its generators had been hit and claimed the Israeli army was targeting the fuel tank.

The head of the World Health Organization (WHO), Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, issued a plea to the IDF to cease attacks in the vicinity of the hospital.

Saturday night's reports of "bombardment near Kamal Adwan Hospital and order to evacuate the hospital are deeply worrisome," he said in a statement on social media.

"We call for an immediate ceasefire in the vicinity of the hospital and to protect the patients and health workers."

The hospital's director also released a statement that said Israeli forces were treating the hospital "as if we were a military installation".

"Anyone who steps outside the hospital is at risk of being targeted," Dr Hussam Abu Safiya said.

He added that relocating the operations of the hospital would jeopardise the patients, and called for health staff "be allowed to operate without the threat of evacuation".

Israel has not commented on the reports of an evacuation order.

The BBC has approached the IDF for comment.

Palestinian groups involved in the fighting have told the BBC that a ceasefire deal is "closer than ever".

More than 45,000 Palestinians have been killed during the 14-month war between Israel and Hamas, according to figures from Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry.

The war began when Hamas-led gunmen carried out an unprecedented attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, during which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.

The rhetoric on social media following the murder of healthcare CEO Brian Thompson in New York earlier this month has been "extraordinarily alarming", US Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas says.

"It speaks of what is really bubbling here in this country, and unfortunately we see that manifested in violence, the domestic violent extremism that exists," he told CBS's Face the Nation on Sunday.

Some on social media have celebrated Luigi Mangione, the man accused of shooting dead Mr Thompson, and shared anger at America's private health insurers.

Mayorkas said he was "alarmed by the heroism that is being attributed to an alleged murderer of a father of two children on the streets in New York".

Mr Thompson, the 50-year-old CEO of the largest US health insurer UnitedHealthcare, was gunned down outside a Manhattan hotel early on 4 December triggering a massive manhunt for the killer.

Mr Mangione, 26, was arrested days later in Pennsylvania and flown to New York where he is facing both federal and state charges, including first-degree murder in furtherance of terrorism.

Investigators accuse him of carrying out a targeted killing, pointing to evidence that suggests a long-held animosity towards the US healthcare industry. On social media, support for Mr Mangione has often been accompanied by grievances and complaints with the health insurance sector.

• The dark fandom behind CEO murder suspect

"We have been concerned about the rhetoric on social media for some time," Mayorkas said on Sunday. "We've seen narratives of hate. We've seen narratives of anti-government sentiment. We've seen personal grievances in the language of violence."

Mayorkas, whose homeland security department is in part responsible for protecting Americans from domestic terrorism, said his department sees a "wide range of narratives" that "drive some individuals to violence."

"It's something that we're very concerned about," he said. "That is a heightened threat environment."

But the 65-year-old, whose time at the helm of the department will end next month, stressed that Mr Thompson's killing was "the actions of an individual [and] not reflective of the American public".

Mr Mangione will remain behind bars in New York as his lawyers said last week that they would not present an application for bail. He is in federal custody at the Metropolitan Detention Center Brooklyn, the same facility where Sean 'Diddy' Combs is being held.

He will likely be assigned a roommate and have daily visits from medical and psychological services, law enforcement sources told the BBC's US partner CBS.

While New York does not have the death penalty, he faces four federal charges, including murder and stalking, which could make him eligible for the punishment. He also faces multiple state charges.

He is expected to be arraigned on those state charges in New York on Monday. Mr Mangione faces 11 counts, including murder in the first degree and murder as a crime of terrorism.

Whether it's opening presents or the long-awaited Christmas dinner, the festive season involves plenty of things that could go wrong.

It's the little things that count at this time of year - and your etiquette is no exception.

The BBC has chatted with experts about potentially awkward moments you might face over the next few days, so you can try to avoid them.

A common festive issue is getting a present you do not like. Is it best to tell the person who gave it to you, or lie that you love it?

It depends on how well you know the person who gave you the gift, according to Rupert Wesson from professional coaching company Debrett's.

To lie - or not to lie

"There are some people [to whom] you can say the gift isn't for you, and for some you have to smile and tell them a little white lie that you like it," he tells the BBC.

But whatever you do, "don't make a funny face" at the gift when you open it, warns etiquette coach Laura Windsor.

"Just pretend you do [like it], and make a little comment on how useful the gift will be," she says. "The etiquette is always to be kind."

Both etiquette coaches say it's fine to give an unwanted present to charity or re-gift it for someone else in the future.

Mr Wesson suggests you should "always" keep a gift receipt when buying a present just in case - and he has these words of reassurance: "We can't all be perfect at buying exactly the right thing."

Open up about the cost

While the cost of turkey and Brussels sprouts have gone down this year, the price of root vegetables have gone up and some families are feeling the pinch this winter.

Ms Windsor advises that you can make a "Christmas pot" that everyone contributes to ahead of the big day.

Alternatively, she says you could ask each guest - or family member - to buy an item of food or drink each.

"There's no shame in this day and age in saying: 'I'm getting people together for Christmas, would you be able to provide this?'," Mr Wesson adds.

Stay upbeat - and avoid certain subjects

Sometimes petty arguments can flare up when the whole family is together - perhaps having eaten or drank too much.

Ms Windsor says "don't take it personally, just try to smooth it over," adding that you should not give people the "power to keep them complaining".

She advises to try and change the topic of conversation, but to avoid difficult subjects.

"You've got to keep the conversation upbeat."

If there are any existing tensions among the guests ahead of 25 December, Mr Wesson suggests attempting to address them upfront when you're putting together your plans before Christmas Day.

"Almost make the invitation [to guests or extended family] conditional that someone isn't going to kick off," he says.

Is it possible to say 'thank you' too much?

Ms Windsor advises against saying "thank you" to the host too much as it "loses its value".

She suggests showing your appreciation to the host in other ways, including offering to help them with anything, bringing a gift for them - such as a bottle of wine or a plant - and mingling with other guests.

"Mix it up a bit by complimenting them on the quality of the food," Mr Wesson says.

"Appreciation of how good the food is goes a long way."

Both etiquette experts advise sending a thank you note to the host after Christmas Day which is something that Mr Wesson calls "the gold standard of thank yous".

Be upfront about dietary requirements

If you have dietary requirements, such as being vegetarian or vegan, let whoever is hosting your Christmas dinner know ahead of time and not on 25 December, Ms Windsor stresses.

"It's about prevention, preventing discord - everything has to be organised beforehand," she says.

Mr Wesson adds: "It does fall to the host to really identify what the requirements are and then the host can plan."

Ms Windsor says that if there is any tension between people about the dietary requirements, "be empathetic" but stop the conversation.

"If they make a non-cordial remark, don't take it to heart."

The Christmas dinner rules

If your stomach is growling for Christmas dinner and you're growing impatient at how long it's taking to cook, Mr Wesson suggests you could offer to help.

"Then you're going to find the lay of the land and maybe suggest we can share something [to eat ahead of Christmas dinner]," he says.

But when you're finally tucking into the dinner, what do you do if you don't like it?

Say "yes" when asked if you're enjoying the food, Ms Windsor says.

"If you don't want to eat it, leave it," she adds - and you could always just say you've "had enough" to eat.

Mr Wesson advises to "try and draw as little attention" as possible to the fact you are not eating the meal.

To prevent this situation happening, try to see if the host will let everyone plate up their own food and then "don't pile too much on" in case you dislike it.

What to do if cards and gifts arrive after Christmas

Work, childcare, school - lots of things in life can get in the way and cause you to miss the cut-off date for sending Christmas cards and presents in time for 25 December.

Ms Windsor says organisation is "very, very important" because it shows that "you've put a lot of thought and put in the time and effort to make sure they get it in time for Christmas".

However, she says that you have to "take into account people's daily situation".

Mr Wesson says that "better late than never is the way ahead" but advises people to send a message to whoever the card or present is addressed to, letting them know it is on the way and apologise for the lateness.

'The golden rule'

Christmas Day all comes down to preparation - both organising the day and planning around family relationships, Mr Wesson says.

"It's trying to expect the best but also accept the possibility things might go a little awry," he says.

"Often these things aren't really that serious and often doesn't ruin the whole day."

"The golden rule: treat others as you'd like to be treated," Ms Windsor adds. "You won't go wrong with that."

Giovanni Pernice, a former professional dancer on Strictly Come Dancing, has won an Italian dance show months after he left the UK following a BBC investigation into allegations about his behaviour.

Pernice said his Ballando Con Le Stelle win with partner Bianca Guaccero, who is also his girlfriend, was a dream, adding: "after a difficult year I'm back".

The show is Italy's version of Strictly Come Dancing and its US spin-off Dancing With The Stars.

It comes after the BBC upheld "some, but not all" of the complaints made against him by his 2023 Strictly partner Amanda Abbington.

Pernice and Guaccero, who is an actress and singer, won the 19th season of Ballando Con Le Stelle, after performing dances including the Argentinian Tango and the Charleston.

The pair had recently confirmed their status as a romantic couple.

Italian-born Pernice shared several posts on Instagram about his win and thanked UK fans for their support.

In September, the BBC apologised to Pernice's former partner Amanda Abbington and upheld findings of harassment and verbal bullying against him but he was cleared of allegations of physical aggression.

Abbington, who played Mary Morstan in Sherlock, has since said she felt vindicated and that she had "no regrets" after making the complaints.

Pernice said at the time he was "relieved that the allegations that I was threatening and abusive were found not to be true."

On Instagram on Sunday, Pernice said: "We did it!! WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS !! after a difficult year."

He added: "It felt amazing to be in the final again doing what I love - and then to win as well was a dream and definitely something I will never forget!"

The day before he addressed his "dear friends in the UK, saying that he and his partner could tell where the votes for the show were coming from as it is "all about likes on social media".

Pernice wrote: "We just want to say a massive thank you, because realistically, we couldn't do anything without you.

"We can totally see which part of the votes are coming from the UK and you are being unbelievably amazing."

Belfast City Airport's runway will be closed for the rest of Sunday after an Aer Lingus plane suffered an emergency incident while landing during strong winds.

The plane had flown from Edinburgh to Belfast at about 16:00 GMT with four crew members but no passengers on board.

Pictures appear to show the aircraft with a collapsed nose wheel sitting on the runway.

It is understood no-one was seriously hurt.

It was a "positioning flight" operated by Emerald Airlines on behalf of Aer Lingus.

Emerald Airlines said it "experienced a hard landing upon arriving into Belfast City Airport due to adverse weather conditions".

Two flights - from London City and Leeds Bradford - due to land at the airport have since arrived at Belfast International Airport after being diverted.

A woman has been charged with the murder of a five-year-old boy.

Lincoln Button died at an address in Windstar Drive in South Ockendon, Essex, on 15 December.

A woman was taken to hospital for treatment and she was arrested and questioned after her condition improved.

Claire Button, 35, of Windstar Drive, South Ockendon, has been charged with murder and is due to appear before magistrates in Southend on Monday.

Det Ch Insp Alan Blakesley, from Essex Police, said: "This continues to prove to be an immensely complex investigation into the death of a young child.

"My thoughts and the thoughts of all the investigative team remain with the family of Lincoln Button as we continue to support them through this awful time.

"It has taken a huge amount of work and dedication from the investigative team to reach this stage in our investigation and I would continue to call upon the public to refrain from speculating about the circumstances around this case."

In a statement released last week, Bonnygate Primary School said it was working closely with the authorities as Lincoln's death was investigated.

"His love for school, laughter and cuddles will be remembered and missed dearly," said a spokesperson.

"The school's priority is to support those within the community who need help to come to terms with this tragic loss."

Members of his family also said in a statement: "Link was a cherished, loved, sweet, beautiful young soul who was adored by all and will be sorely missed every day."

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