A man has been arrested over "disgusting and appalling" racist abuse sent over social media to England footballer Jess Carter.

Police began investigating after receiving reports that the messages had been sent to the 27-year-old defender during the UEFA Women's Euros in July.

A 59-year-old man from Great Harwood was arrested earlier by Lancashire Police on suspicion of malicious communications and has since been released under investigation.

Chief Constable Mark Roberts of Cheshire Police, which led the investigation, said the messages sent to Carter were "appalling" and "nobody should be subjected to such racist abuse".

Carter, from Warwick, said she was taking a step back from social media after she was targeted with online racism during the tournament.

After the messages, the UK Football Policing Unit (UKFPU) launched an investigation involving social media companies to track down those responsible.

'Vile comments'

"I would like to commend her for standing up to this abuse and assisting with our investigation," Chief Constable Roberts said.

He is also the National Police Chief Council (NPCC) lead for football policing, and said he expected the arrest to be "the first of many over the coming months".

He said: "We want to make it clear that racist abuse of this nature will not be tolerated.

"Everyone is responsible for what they do and say, and we want to ensure offenders cannot hide behind a social media profile to post vile comments."

Lancashire Police has shared body cam footage of the arrest at the man's home in Great Harwood.

PC Dan Fish from the force said: "Lancashire Police does not tolerate hate of any form, either in person or online".

He said he hoped the arrest sends out a message that police "will leave no stone unturned in identifying those who engage in such unacceptable behaviour – no matter how long it takes".

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The first electric car (EV) models eligible for the £3,750 discount under the government's grant scheme have been announced.

The Department for Transport confirmed Ford's Puma Gen-E or e-Tourneo Courier would be discounted as part of plans to encourage drivers to move away from petrol and diesel vehicles.

Under the grant scheme, the discount applies to eligible vehicles costing up to £37,000, with the most environmentally friendly ones seeing the biggest reductions. Another 26 models have been cleared for discounts of £1,500.

Carmakers can apply for models to be eligible for grants, which are then automatically applied at the point of sale.

More vehicles are expected to be approved in the coming weeks and the DfT said the policy would bring down prices to "closely match their petrol and diesel counterparts".

The government has pledged to ban the sale of new fully petrol or diesel cars from 2030.

But many drivers cite upfront costs as a key barrier to buying an EV and some have told the BBC that the UK needs more charging points.

The grants to lower the cost of EVs will be funded through the £650m scheme, and will be available for three years.

There are around 1.3 million electric cars on Britain's roads but currently only around 82,000 public charging points.

Full list of EVs eligible for the £1,500 discount

• Citroën ë-C3 and Citroën ë-C3 Aircross
• Citroën ë-C4 and Citroën ë-C4 X
• Citroën ë-C5 Aircross
• Citroën ë-Berlingo
• Cupra Born
• DS DS3
• DS N°4
• Nissan Ariya
• Nissan Micra
• Peugeot E-208
• Peugeot E-2008
• Peugeot E-308
• Peugeot E-408
• Peugeot E-Rifter
• Renault 4
• Renault 5
• Renault Alpine A290
• Renault Megane
• Renault Scenic
• Vauxhall Astra Electric
• Vauxhall Combo Life Electric
• Vauxhall Corsa Electric
• Vauxhall Frontera Electric
• Vauxhall Grandland Electric
• Vauxhall Mokka Electric
• Volkswagen ID.3

The up-front cost of EVs is higher on average than for petrol cars.

According to Autotrader, the average price of a new battery electric car was £49,790 in June 2025, based on manufacturers' recommended prices for 148 models.

The equivalent for a petrol car was £34,225, but the average covers a broad range of prices.

Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said the grant scheme was making it "easier and cheaper for families to make the switch to electric".

Edmund King, president of the AA, said drivers "frequently tell us that the upfront costs of new EVs are a stumbling block to making the switch to electric".

"It is great to see some of these more substantial £3,750 discounts coming online because for some drivers this might just bridge the financial gap to make these cars affordable."

The Reform UK leader of Nottinghamshire County Council has banned a local newspaper from speaking to him or any of his councillors "with immediate effect".

Mick Barton has banned the Nottingham Post and its online arm Nottinghamshire Live over what the BBC understands was a disagreement about a story it ran on local government reorganisation.

Also included in the ban are BBC-funded journalists who work at the publication as part of the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS).

Senior editor Natalie Fahy said she was "very concerned" by the "unprecedented ban".

Reform took control of the authority at the local elections in May, winning 40 of 66 seats.

Barton, who has been a councillor on Mansfield District Council since 2003, was elected to the county council for the first time in May and later announced as leader.

A spokesperson for the council said: "The ban, which will only be lifted for emergency scenarios like flooding and weather-related cases, incidents at council-run schools, adult social care, or public safety issues, has come into immediate effect."

The authority will stop sending press releases to the publication, and Barton and his colleagues will not give interviews or invite them to council events.

Reporters from Nottinghamshire Live and the LDRS will continue to attend public meetings.

Nobody from Reform at the council was available for comment.

'Direct attack'

Nottinghamshire Live editor Ms Fahy said those who applauded Reform's decision "should think carefully".

"We pride ourselves on our balanced and accurate coverage of all political parties across the county and our treatment and coverage of Reform has been no different to any other parties," she said.

"We see this as a direct attack on the free press and our ability to hold elected members to account. Ultimately, we will struggle to find out where taxpayers' money is being spent, so those who applaud this decision by Reform should think carefully.

"My concern as a journalist of 20 years is that we are increasingly seeing attacks of this kind which affect how we can carry out our jobs effectively. We'll continue to speak out and fight against them in the hope of bringing about change."

The Liberal Democrats have written to Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, urging him to intervene.

Liberal Democrat culture, media and sport spokesperson, MP Max Wilkinson, called it a "dangerous and chilling" decision.

"Reform's move to block local journalists from reporting on their work is straight out of Donald Trump's playbook," he added.

The leader of the opposition on Nottinghamshire County Council, Conservative Sam Smith, called the ban an "extremely dangerous step".

He added: "It's not just the press Reform are shutting out in Nottinghamshire. It's the voice and views of residents."

The BBC funds 165 LDRS reporters across the UK, three of which are funded in Nottingham.

A spokesperson for the BBC said: "Independent journalism is vital to local democracy, and journalists must be free to question those in power without fear of reprisals.

"We continue to support Notts Live in seeking a resolution."

Follow BBC Nottingham on Facebook, on X, or on Instagram. Send your story ideas to eastmidsnews@bbc.co.uk or via WhatsApp on 0808 100 2210.

An injunction that would temporarily block asylum seekers from being housed at an Essex hotel creates a "risk of a precedent being set", the Court of Appeal has heard.

Lawyers for the Home Office and the Bell Hotel in Epping are trying to lift an injunction on the hotel being used to accommodate asylum seekers.

At the start of a day-long hearing, barristers said the order to clear the hotel of 138 asylum seekers had been made without taking into account the precedent it would set.

Edward Brown KC, for the home secretary, said: "The judge erred in declining to allow the Secretary of State to participate in the proceedings, given her unique institutional competence and her statutory duty."

The court was told that the outcome of the case was of national importance because of the wider impact it could have on the asylum accommodation programme.

Other councils have suggested that they will go to court to seek similar injunctions against the use of hotels in their areas.

Last week, Mr Justice Eyre ruled the hotel cannot be used to accommodate asylum seekers from 12 September after an injunction sought by Epping Forest District Council.

The council claimed that planning rules had been breached. It asked for it to be granted after thousands of people protested against the use of the hotel as asylum seeker accommodation.

Somani Hotels Limited said in a written submission to the court: "The issue of the use of hotels for asylum seekers is one of national importance and scrutiny."

It said there was no evidence it had deliberately set out to breach planning laws and said the loss of accommodation would impact on the Home Office's ability to perform its legal duties towards asylum seekers.

There was "no evidence where exactly they would go" if the injunction was not overturned, it added.

The Bell Hotel became the focal point of several protests and counter-protests in recent weeks after an asylum seeker housed there was charged with sexually assaulting a teenage girl last month.

Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu has denied the offence and has been on trial this week.

Follow Essex news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.

Witnesses to a mass shooting in the US state of Minneapolis have described the "terrifying" scenes after an attacker opened fire on a church in which children were celebrating Mass on Wednesday morning.

One young boy described being protected by a friend who got hit himself.

Two children were killed and 17 others injured in an incident that the FBI is treating as an anti-Catholic hate crime.

The attacker, named as 23-year-old Robin Westman, died at the scene from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Authorities have not yet given a suspected motive.

The young survivor, 10-year-old Weston Halsne, explained to CBS affiliate station WCCO that his friend saved him from bullets by lying on top of him.

"I was like two seats away from the stained glass window," he said. "My friend, Victor, saved me though, because he laid on top of me, but he got hit."

He continued: "My friend got hit in the back, he went to the hospital... I was super scared for him but I think now he's okay."

Weston said he and his classmates were well-drilled in what to do in a shooting situation - but not in the environment in which they found themselves. "We practise it every month, but not in church, only in the school," he said.

• Full story: FBI investigates shooting as anti-Catholic hate crime
• What we know about the attack so far

The suspect Westman is believed to have approached the side of the Annunciation Church, which also houses a school, and fired dozens of shots through the windows using three firearms. Police also found a smoke bomb at the scene.

Officials are investigating whether the shots were fired from inside the building or outside it, noting that no casings from bullets were found inside.

Locals described their confusion when they heard the shots ring out. One man, Mike Garrity, told NBC News that he believed it was the sound of a nail gun at a nearby construction site.

Bill Bienemann, who lives two blocks away, spoke to reporters near the scene and recalled the moment: "I said there's no way that could be gunfire because there's so much of it."

Another local resident, PJ Mudd, who was working from home on Wednesday morning, told the Wall Street Journal he heard three booms. "It suddenly dawned on me - it was a shooting."

Mr Mudd then ran to the church, where he saw three magazine cartridges on the ground.

Witnesses including Mr Garrity also described the horrifying spectacle of children emerging from the church covered in blood.

Another neighbour, Patrick Scallen, told the BBC that he saw three children fleeing the building - one of them a girl with a head wound.

"She kept saying, 'please hold my hand, don't leave me', and I said I wasn't going anywhere."

A nanny who works nearby said she was relieved to see some children leaving the building unharmed, but was disturbed by "the looks on their faces alone".

"You see videos online, but it does not compare to seeing it and witnessing it in person," Madee Brandt told NBC. "That was rough... it is terrifying."

Hundreds of people attended a vigil for the victims on Wednesday evening at another nearby school.

Those who were injured in the shooting are expected to recover, and some have already been released from hospital.

One mother told CNN that she was relieved her children were not hurt in the incident, but that she had "such mixed feelings right now".

Carla Maldonado spoke of being "incredibly sad and angry that this has to be a thing in any school". She went on to say: "The lives that were lost [are] too much. One is too much. It's not okay."

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz offered a similar sentiment, saying the situation was "all too common - not just in Minnesota, but across the country".

Walz said US President Donald Trump and his team had expressed their "deep condolences" and offered assistance.

Trump later said the US flag would be flown at half-mast at the White House as a show of respect to the victims.

Pope Leo XIV, the first American pope, was among those who paid tribute to the young victims, saying he was "profoundly saddened" by the attack.

When Laura Burns was asked to leave her flat as her landlord was selling up, she discovered she didn't have enough money to move.

Energy debts and removal costs meant she needed hundreds of pounds to get a new flat.

Feeling trapped and facing eviction, the mother-of-one turned to a charity and asked for £600. The money came through almost instantly.

"I was like, 'oh my goodness', this is a weight off my mind," says the 32-year-old from Didcot, in Oxfordshire. "There are no words to describe leaving that stress behind."

Greater Change, the charity that helped Laura, believes giving money to people who are homeless or those at risk of losing their properties with few strings attached can help tackle homelessness. So far this year, it says the charity has paid out £699,000 to 403 people.

The initiative is small in scale – the homeless charity Shelter estimated there were more than 350,000 homeless people in England at the end of last year. But Greater Change says the scheme has the potential to save money in the long-run.

"We're giving people dignity of choice," says the charity's chief executive, Jonathan Tan. "Very often, in a homelessness pathway, it feels like it's things being done to you and so we're giving people the ability to make choices about their lives."

The money is paid out through a support worker and the charity says it will listen to all requests for help. It says people typically spend the money on rent deposits, bills or tackling debts.

Greater Change, which was formed by two university friends in 2018, is funded from donations, philanthropists, grant-making bodies and councils. It says its approach saves taxpayers tens of thousands of pounds per client by preventing people from becoming homeless and therefore needing support from their local authority.

"We're happy to fund anything under the sun as long as it aligns with the individual's ambitions and helps them to take that next big step out of homelessness," says Mr Tan. The charity says 86% of people it has supported moved into stable housing, with almost half finding a job.

But one concern is homeless people could spend the money on feeding addictions.

Asked how the charity ensures the money it gives out isn't spent on drugs and alcohol, Mr Tan says: "The first and most important thing to say is the international evidence is that people tend to make pretty good choices."

He says almost half of those supported were able to get a job.

One of the studies he points to is the New Leaf project, in Vancouver, Canada. It gave 50 people who were homeless around £4,000 (CAD$7,500) each directly rather than via a support worker. It also monitored another 65 homeless people who they didn't help. A follow-up study showed that after a year, those who had received the money spent fewer days without a home. There was also no evidence that they had increased spending on things like drugs, alcohol and tobacco.

A smaller scale project in the UK has shown similar results. The Personal Grants project, which involved 81 people, led by the London-based St Martin-in-the-Fields charity working alongside organisations in Glasgow, Oxford and Swansea, paid money directly into the bank accounts of homeless people.

The Personal Grants project has not had "a single adverse incident among any participants", according to the Centre for Homelessness Impact, which also worked on the scheme. They say people spent the money on furniture, books, clothes or simply saved it. "None spent the money on drugs, alcohol, or gambling," say the Centre.

They are now recruiting 250 people in Belfast and London to test the concept on a larger scale, with the project overseen by researchers from Kings College, London.

Greater Change acknowledges that its support is most effective when it is used as an early intervention - when someone is sofa surfing, or at risk of homelessness - rather than for helping entrenched rough sleepers who might need intensive mental health support for instance. Various campaigns over the years have actively discouraged people from giving money to people on the streets, arguing the funds could be misused.

These projects also do not tackle the fundamental cause of most homelessness - there is a widespread acknowledgement that a lack of affordable housing is the key to solving the crisis and the government has committed to building 1.5m homes by August 2029. But the charity says such innovative schemes can be extremely helpful to some people.

Since receiving her grant, Laura Burns' life has been transformed – she now has a new home, a job and is about to get married. The money she received was the right help, at the right time. "I know you don't get much for £600 these days. But for me it was a life-saving amount of money. Life is now dandy."

A teacher who was attacked by a student in a triple stabbing at a school last year said she "could never" return to work.

Liz Hopkin, along with fellow teacher Fiona Elias and a pupil, was stabbed during break time at Ysgol Dyffryn Aman in Carmarthenshire on 24 April 2024.

The girl, who was 13 at the time and cannot be named, was sentenced to 15 years in detention earlier this year, after she was found guilty of attempted murder.

In her first interview since the attack, Ms Hopkin recalled grabbing the teenager who had lunged at her colleague with a knife as she shouted "I'm going to kill you".

"It's been a long time but it's still very much vivid there in my head," Ms Hopkin told BBC Wales.

"It was intent. Had Fiona been there on her own at that point, the outcome would have been very different.

"She stabbed me in the leg and then she came towards me and stabbed me in the neck and then twice in the back."

The girl had told fellow pupils on the morning of the attack she would stab Ms Elias.

Ms Hopkin said she did not know the student and only learned her name after the attack.

"There were so many children around and I just wanted to keep them safe," she added.

"I thought that was the end, really. I haven't been back to work. I can't ever imagine doing that work again, I can't imagine going into a school, I can't go past the front of the school.

"I feel like I've got a lot to offer but everything stopped that day."

Earlier this year, the trial at Swansea Crown Court heard the girl would carry a knife to school every day.

A multi-agency review was published on Wednesday which outlined how the teenager was fascinated by war and weapons.

The report suggested the girl had a troubled childhood and mental health challenges.

Its author, Gladys Rhodes White, made 11 recommendations to agencies and said the girl would have benefitted from "targeted help" if information had been "fully shared and assessed".

Ms Hopkin said she welcomed the report but still had concerns.

"The recommendations and what has come up in that report isn't anything new," she said.

"Thinking that there were times where perhaps people or agencies in particular could have discussed or shared this information and worked together, it could have made a massive difference.

"What will help is that if people take the report seriously and don't just shelve it.

"The incidents that are happening are the tip of the iceberg. There isn't enough action.

"I want the Welsh government to be looking more deeply into why these situations happen. Nothing has changed."

Ms Hopkin's calls have been echoed by unions and politicians including Plaid Cymru Senedd member and former Ysgol Dyffryn Aman pupil Adam Price, who called on the Welsh government to implement a policy response.

"Two of the most striking things are the need for an overhaul of the way information is shared between agencies, if that jigsaw had been connected, could it have helped prevent this incident from happening?" said Mr Price.

"We've had the summit but what we haven't yet seen is a vision and a way forward, implementing practical concrete policy changes in a whole host of areas, building on the lessons and recommendations learned in this report, but insights from teaching unions and others too.

"Because my fear is if that doesn't happen, then we could, and probably will be looking at other tragedies in the future which could be even more serious."

In a joint statement, Carmarthenshire council, the headteacher of Ysgol Dyffryn Aman, Dyfed-Powys Police and Hywel Dda health board said they acknowledged the "challenging and difficult circumstance faced by the victims and the whole community" after the incident.

"We have received the independent report in respect of the Multi-Agency Professional Forum (MAPF), and will work with all partners to develop an action plan to address its recommendations," they said.

"While it is not usual to publish reviews of this type, or for such a review to be undertaken independently, it was agreed for the Mid and West Wales Safeguarding Children's Board to publish the report on behalf of the agencies involved in the MAPF to ensure all possible efforts have been made to learn from these events and to do so in a transparent and open way."

The Welsh government said: "It is vital lessons are learnt from this tragic and shocking event to ensure incidents like this never happen again.

"It is clear the school did everything it could in response to the incident."

It added it was working with partners "to develop more effective, multi-agency approaches to address behaviour issues in schools".

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un attending a military parade in the centre of Beijing, alongside Russian president Vladimir Putin and China's leader Xi Jinping, is quite the photo-op.

It's also a key diplomatic win for Xi.

The Chinese leader has been trying hard to project Beijing's power on the international stage - not just as the world's second-largest economy, but also as a diplomatic heavyweight.

He has emphasised China's role as a stable trading partner while Trump's tariffs upended economic relationships.

Now, while a deal with Putin to end the war in Ukraine continues to elude the US President, Xi is getting ready to host him in Beijing.

Kim's attendance, a surprise announcement, is no less significant. Trump said last week, in a meeting with the South Korean president, that he wanted to meet Kim Jong Un again.

His last shot at diplomacy with the reclusive dictator ended with no breakthroughs - despite two summits that captivated the world. Trump is suggesting he wants to try again.

Meanwhile, the Chinese leader is signalling that he may hold the geopolitical cards in this game, and that his influence – though limited – on both Kim and Putin may prove crucial in any deal.

The parade on 3 September will see a display of China's military might to mark 80 years since Japan surrendered in World War Two, bringing an end to its occupation of parts of China.

But now Xi has also turned it into a display of something more - and the timing is key. The White House has suggested that President Trump could be in the region at the end of October and is open to meeting Xi.

There is plenty on the table for them to discuss, from a long-awaited tariffs deal and the sale of TikTok in the US, to Beijing's ability to persuade Putin to agree to a ceasefire or more in Ukraine.

Now, having met both Kim and Putin, the Chinese leader would be able to sit down with Trump without feeling like has has been left out of the loop – and given his close relationship with both leaders, he may even have information his US counterpart does not.

Russia and North Korea are pariahs in the eyes of the western world. Kim for much longer than Putin because of his weapons programme, but his support for Moscow's invasion of Ukraine has renewed the condemnation.

So the invitation to Beijing is a big step for him - the last time a North Korean leader attended a military parade in China was in 1959.

There has been little public contact between Xi and Kim since 2019, when they met to mark the 70th anniversary of China-North Korean ties. Beijing was also Kim Jong Un's first stop in 2018 before his summits with President Trump to curb Pyongyang's nuclear programme.

More recently, Xi even appeared to be on the sidelines of a deepening Moscow-Pyongyang alliance, one that perhaps Beijing wanted no part of.

China has tried to stay publicly neutral on the war in Ukraine, while urging a peaceful solution. But the US and its allies have accused Beijing of supporting Moscow's efforts by supplying components Russia can use in its war effort.

Some analysts wondered if China's relationship with North Korea had soured as Kim grew closer to Putin. But Kim's visit to Beijing next week suggests otherwise.

It's not a relationship the North Korean leader can easily give up - his economy depends heavily on China, which provides almost 90% of food imports. And being on that stage with not just Putin and Xi, but other leaders, from Indonesia, Iran etc, also offers Kim legitimacy.

For Xi, this is diplomatic leverage with Washington ahead of a possible summit with Trump.

The two countries have continued talks to try and strike a deal and avert ruinous tariffs and a trade war. Another 90-day pause is under way but the clock is ticking, so Xi will want the strongest hand possible as negotiations go on.

He has much to offer: China has helped Trump in the past when he tried to meet Kim Jong Un. Could Xi do that again?

More important perhaps is what role China could play in ending the war in Ukraine.

The most striking question of all: could there be a meeting between Xi, Putin, Kim and Donald Trump?

'Put this club back on the map' - what did they have to say about it?

How big a shock was this?

The value of small parcels shipped from China to the UK under an import tax exemption more than doubled last year to £3bn, exclusive data obtained by the BBC shows.

Chinese e-commerce giants such as Shein and Temu are thought to be drivers of this increase as sales of cheap goods to online shoppers in the UK continue to rise.

The UK government is reviewing the rules that mean imports of small packages worth £135 or less currently avoid customs duties.

But UK business owners and industry groups say they want swifter action to protect High Street retailers from being undercut, and consumers from potentially faulty goods.

Low-value imports sent from China to the UK totalled around £3bn in 2024-25, according to HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) figures obtained by the BBC via a Freedom of Information request.

That was well over twice the £1.3bn recorded during the previous financial year.

The value of these deliveries from China made up 51% of all the small parcels shipped to the UK from around the world last year. That is up from 35% in 2023-24.

Katerina Buchy, director of Sheffield-based giftware wholesaler Ancient Wisdom, said low-value imports were hitting her company's business because it couldn't compete with the prices on sites like Shein and Temu.

"It's affecting our customers as well. They're not ordering from us because they know their customers can get it cheaper online," said Ms Buchy, who has worked at the firm since 2004.

"I think the government should not allow these companies to export such high quantities of products under these rules because it's just ridiculous.

"I'd like to know how much they are losing in taxes. We pay taxes. We employ more than 100 people."

Temu and Shein have become popular among UK consumers in recent years for selling affordable items including clothes, homeware, electronics and toys.

Founded in China but now headquartered in Singapore, Shein recorded soaring profits last year.

It has tried to get itself on the New York and London stock exchanges, but has yet to secure a listing on either.

Both companies were questioned by MPs earlier this year over labour standards linked to the making of products sold on their platforms.

Natalie Berg, retail analyst at NBK Retail, said it was no surprise that the increase in the value of small parcels from China had coincided with the expansion of companies like Shein and Temu.

"They've gone from niche newcomers to retail powerhouses in a very short period of time," she said.

But she warned that the removal of the tax exemption could disproportionately hit lower-income consumers, and small firms who use it to import goods.

She added: "This is a loophole that needs to be plugged, but the government must ensure that any changes don't ultimately harm consumers or small businesses."

'Significant and growing threat'

The Treasury announced a review of low-value imports in April following lobbying from major retailers including Next and Sainsbury's, which argued the exemption enabled overseas companies to undercut them.

But the British Retail Consortium (BRC) has called on ministers to take action now.

Andrew Opie, the BRC's director of food and sustainability, said low-value imports posed "a significant and growing threat" to investment in UK High Streets as retailers faced unfair competition.

He added that they also exposed consumers to "unregulated, potentially unsafe products" because they did not go through the same customs check process as other goods.

A spokesperson for Temu said the company aimed to have at least half of the sellers using its UK platform based in the country by the end of the year.

"This approach helps consumers access affordable products while giving UK businesses a low-cost channel to reach new customers and grow," the spokesperson said.

A spokesperson for Shein said the firm's "on-demand" business model allowed it to make savings that it could pass on to its customers.

They added: "Vendors are required to comply with Shein's code of conduct and stringent safety standards."

Treasury review ongoing

The US recently ended its so-called "de minimis" exemption on imports of low-cost goods from China and Hong Kong, which had allowed those valued at $800 (£596) or less to enter the country without paying any tariffs.

It is due to drop the exemption for other countries on 29 August.

The European Union also recently announced plans to charge a €2 flat fee on small packages worth €150 (£129) or less entering the bloc.

While the value of small parcels arriving in the UK from China has soared, when it comes to the actual number of items entering the country, the picture is less clear.

HMRC said it only records the number of customs declarations used for goods worth £135 or less, and multiple items can be included under one declaration.

It recorded around 281,000 customs declarations for low-value imports dispatched from China in 2024-25 – about 12% of the total.

A Treasury spokesperson said Chancellor Rachel Reeves' review of the customs treatment of low-value imports was ongoing and would be published "in due course".

They added: "We are a pro-business government that is backing Britain's High Streets by protecting and extending business rates relief that would have ended without our action, permanently lowering rates for retailers from next year, and capping corporation tax at the lowest level in the G7 to encourage investment and growth."

Additional reporting by Kris Bramwell.

Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen has summoned the top US diplomat in Copenhagen, following a report that American citizens have been conducting "covert influence operations" in Greenland.

Denmark's public broadcaster DR quoted sources as saying the aim was to infiltrate Greenland's society and promote its secession from Denmark to the US, although it was unable to clarify whether the men were working on their own.

Rasmussen said in a statement that "any attempt to interfere in the internal affairs of the Kingdom [of Denmark] will of course be unacceptable", and the US charge d'affaires had been summoned in that light.

The BBC has approached the US embassy for comment.

However, US President Trump has said several times he wants to annex Greenland, an autonomous part of the Kingdom of Denmark, and Vice-President JD Vance has accused Copenhagen of underinvesting in the territory.

On a visit to Greenland a few months ago, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen warned the US that "you cannot annex another country".

The US currently has no ambassador in Copenhagen, so Rasmussen has summoned Mark Stroh, who as charge d'affaires is the most senior diplomat in the Danish capital.

Denmark's foreign minister said in a statement to the BBC that the government was "aware that foreign actors continue to show an interest in Greenland and its position in the Kingdom of Denmark".

"It is therefore not surprising if we experience outside attempts to influence the future of the Kingdom in the time ahead," he added.

Denmark is a member of Nato and the European Union and has long seen the US as one of its closest allies, and Danes have been shocked by Trump's determination to control its semi-autonomous territory. The US president said this year he would not rule out seizing it by force.

Lars Lokke Rasmussen has already summoned the US ambassador to Denmark this year in response to a separate report in May suggesting US spy agencies had been told to focus their efforts on Greenland.

DR's report on Wednesday gave details of a visit by one American to Greenland's capital Nuuk, saying he was seeking to compile a list of Greenlanders who backed US attempts to take over the island. The aim would be to try to recruit them for a secession movement, DR said.

The earlier May report in the Wall Street Journal also referred to learning more about Greenland's independence movement, as well as attitudes to American mineral extraction.

At the time, US Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard did not deny the report but accused the Journal of "breaking the law and undermining our nation's security and democracy".

A record one million hectares - equivalent to about half the land area of Wales - have burned across the European Union so far this year, making it the worst wildfire season since records began in 2006.

Spain and Portugal have been hit especially hard, with roughly 1% of the entire Iberian Peninsula scorched, according to EU scientists.

The worsening fire season in the Mediterranean has been linked directly to climate change in a separate study by the World Weather Attribution group at Imperial College London.

Experts warn that more frequent and severe fires across Europe are likely to continue in the future.

More than two thirds of the area burned in the EU is in Spain and Portugal alone.

In Spain, more than 400,000 hectares have burned since the beginning of this year up until 26 August, according to the Copernicus European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS).

This record is more than six times the Spanish average for this time period between 2006 and 2024.

Neighbouring Portugal has also suffered a record burn area of 270,000 hectares so far - almost five times the average for the same period.

The combined burn area across the Iberian peninsula this year is 684,000 hectares - four times the area of Greater London, and most of it burned in just two weeks.

Fires have been concentrated in forested areas of northern Portugal and in Spain's north-western regions of Galicia, Asturias and Castile and León.

Protected areas like Picos de Europa National Park have been impacted, as well as major routes on the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage network which usually attracts more than 100,000 visitors in the summer months.

The events have triggered the largest known deployment of the EU civil protection mechanism's firefighting force.

Smoke from fires has dramatically decreased air quality in the area, with southerly wind sending smoke as far as France and the UK.

Climate change makes the conditions leading to wildfires more likely, but in a vicious cycle, the fires also release more planet-warming carbon dioxide gas (CO2) into our atmosphere.

CO2 released by fires in Spain this year has reached a record 17.68 million tonnes, according to the EU. This is more than any total annual CO2 emissions since 2003 from wildfires in that country, when data was first recorded by satellites.

For comparison, it is more than the total annual CO2 emitted by all of Croatia in 2023.

Firefighters have been battling blazes right across Europe this summer.

Climate change caused by humans made fire-prone conditions in Turkey, Greece and Cyprus about 10 times more likely, according to a rapid attribution study by World Weather Attribution group at Imperial College London.

It was responsible for a 22% increase in the extreme weather conditions behind the fires, said WWA.

It is causing more extreme heat, which dries out vegetation, increasing flammability, said Theodore Keeping, wildfire scientist at the centre for Environmental Policy, Imperial College London.

The continued burning of fossil fuels will lead to more of these extreme fires, the researchers warned.

"It was urgent 10 years ago to stop burning fossil fuels," said Dr Fredi Otto, Professor in Climate Science at Imperial and leader of the WWA, describing it as "lethal for people and ecosystems".

"Today, with 1.3C of warming [since pre-industrial times], we are seeing new extremes in wildfire behaviour that have pushed firefighters to their limit," said Mr Keeping.

The scientists have begun a rapid analysis on the wildfires in Spain and Portugal and expect similar findings related to climate change.

Across Southern and Eastern Europe, rural depopulation is also contributing to the intense wildfires, Mr Keeping added.

In regions like Spain and Portugal, a rising number of young people are relocating to cities in search of more profitable employment. Once-managed agricultural land is being abandoned and becoming overgrown, eliminating fire breaks and increasing the amount of flammable vegetation vulnerable to intense blazes.

Fire-hardy ecosystems struggling to cope

Fires have always been an important component of Mediterranean ecosystems and much of the natural wildlife has co-evolved to exist alongside fire.

In fact, species like the Iberian hare benefit from the newly opened habitat and native cork oaks can quickly colonise burned land.

Management techniques such as prescribed burning and vegetation removal have long kept yearly fires in check.

And regrowth of burned vegetation have typically offset the carbon emissions from wildfire as carbon once again became stored in plants and soil.

However, modern wildfires are larger, more frequent and more severe. Where forested regions struggle to regrow before the next fire, they can become part of a climate feedback loop, according to Dr Thomas Smith, Associate Professor in Environmental Geography at the London School of Economics.

"A warming climate is driving more frequent and larger fires, which is in turn driving carbon emissions that remain in the atmosphere, which is leading to a warmer climate," he explained.

The escalating risk from a hotter and drier climate makes fire management more difficult and poses a threat to long-term ecosystem stability.

There are also risks of accelerated soil erosion and water contamination from ashes washed into rivers and reservoirs, according to Professor Stefan Doerr, Director of the Centre for Wildlife Research at Swansea University.

Efforts to manage excess vegetation in fire-risk areas, as well as advances in preventing ignitions, fire detection and fire fighting could help reduce the number and severity fires in future.

Sign up for our Future Earth newsletter to keep up with the latest climate and environment stories with the BBC's Justin Rowlatt. Outside the UK? Sign up to our international newsletter here.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un attending a military parade in the centre of Beijing, alongside Russian president Vladimir Putin and China's leader Xi Jinping, is quite the photo-op.

It's also a key diplomatic win for Xi.

The Chinese leader has been trying hard to project Beijing's power on the international stage - not just as the world's second-largest economy, but also as a diplomatic heavyweight.

He has emphasised China's role as a stable trading partner while Trump's tariffs upended economic relationships.

Now, while a deal with Putin to end the war in Ukraine continues to elude the US President, Xi is getting ready to host him in Beijing.

Kim's attendance, a surprise announcement, is no less significant. Trump said last week, in a meeting with the South Korean president, that he wanted to meet Kim Jong Un again.

His last shot at diplomacy with the reclusive dictator ended with no breakthroughs - despite two summits that captivated the world. Trump is suggesting he wants to try again.

Meanwhile, the Chinese leader is signalling that he may hold the geopolitical cards in this game, and that his influence – though limited – on both Kim and Putin may prove crucial in any deal.

The parade on 3 September will see a display of China's military might to mark 80 years since Japan surrendered in World War Two, bringing an end to its occupation of parts of China.

But now Xi has also turned it into a display of something more - and the timing is key. The White House has suggested that President Trump could be in the region at the end of October and is open to meeting Xi.

There is plenty on the table for them to discuss, from a long-awaited tariffs deal and the sale of TikTok in the US, to Beijing's ability to persuade Putin to agree to a ceasefire or more in Ukraine.

Now, having met both Kim and Putin, the Chinese leader would be able to sit down with Trump without feeling like has has been left out of the loop – and given his close relationship with both leaders, he may even have information his US counterpart does not.

Russia and North Korea are pariahs in the eyes of the western world. Kim for much longer than Putin because of his weapons programme, but his support for Moscow's invasion of Ukraine has renewed the condemnation.

So the invitation to Beijing is a big step for him - the last time a North Korean leader attended a military parade in China was in 1959.

There has been little public contact between Xi and Kim since 2019, when they met to mark the 70th anniversary of China-North Korean ties. Beijing was also Kim Jong Un's first stop in 2018 before his summits with President Trump to curb Pyongyang's nuclear programme.

More recently, Xi even appeared to be on the sidelines of a deepening Moscow-Pyongyang alliance, one that perhaps Beijing wanted no part of.

China has tried to stay publicly neutral on the war in Ukraine, while urging a peaceful solution. But the US and its allies have accused Beijing of supporting Moscow's efforts by supplying components Russia can use in its war effort.

Some analysts wondered if China's relationship with North Korea had soured as Kim grew closer to Putin. But Kim's visit to Beijing next week suggests otherwise.

It's not a relationship the North Korean leader can easily give up - his economy depends heavily on China, which provides almost 90% of food imports. And being on that stage with not just Putin and Xi, but other leaders, from Indonesia, Iran etc, also offers Kim legitimacy.

For Xi, this is diplomatic leverage with Washington ahead of a possible summit with Trump.

The two countries have continued talks to try and strike a deal and avert ruinous tariffs and a trade war. Another 90-day pause is under way but the clock is ticking, so Xi will want the strongest hand possible as negotiations go on.

He has much to offer: China has helped Trump in the past when he tried to meet Kim Jong Un. Could Xi do that again?

More important perhaps is what role China could play in ending the war in Ukraine.

The most striking question of all: could there be a meeting between Xi, Putin, Kim and Donald Trump?

Sir Keir Starmer is replacing the top civil servant in his Downing Street office.

Principal private secretary Nin Pandit runs the prime minister's team at No 10 and has only been in the role for ten months.

She is the third senior staff member the prime minister has appointed and later let go, after chief of staff Sue Gray left in October and director of communications Matthew Doyle stood down in March.

Ms Pandit's appointment had been announced by No 10 in the same press release that marked Ms Gray's departure.

The BBC understands the prime minister had become concerned Ms Pandit was ineffective in the role, although No 10 contests this and allies of the prime minister said he retained trust and confidence in her.

It is expected Pandit will move to another role in government.

No 10 said Ms Pandit remained in post but would not comment on whether her departure was imminent. The BBC has contacted Ms Pandit for comment.

The prime minister's principal private secretary (PPS) is one of the most prized jobs in the civil service and often a precursor to running major government departments or the service as a whole.

They act as the prime minister's gatekeeper to the official government machine and "run their life" according to one former insider.

They control the information flow to the prime minister, shape their diary and are often the last person in the room when major decisions are made.

The PPS usually sits alongside the chief of staff just outside the prime minister's office in No 10.

Before becoming PPS, Ms Pandit ran the No 10 policy unit during Rishi Sunak's premiership. Earlier in her career she was chief of staff to the chief executive of NHS England.

After a series of Labour parliamentary rebellions before the summer break, many in government are also expecting Sir Keir to soon begin a reshuffle of his junior ministers.

Sign up for our Politics Essential newsletter to keep up with the inner workings of Westminster and beyond.

North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un will attend a military parade in Beijing on 3 September, China's foreign ministry has said - in what is believed to be his first international level meeting of leaders.

The so-called "Victory Day" parade will mark the 80th anniversary of China's war against Japan and the end of World War Two.

Russia's President Vladimir Putin will also be among the 26 heads of state expected to attend the event.

China is expected to display its latest weaponry including hundreds of aircraft, tanks and anti-drone systems - the first time its military's new force structure is being fully showcased in a parade.

The highly choreographed parade will see tens of thousands of military personnel march in formation through Tiananmen Square, including troops from 45 of the so-called echelons of China's military as well as war veterans.

The 70-minute parade, which will be surveyed by Chinese leader Xi Jinping, is expected to be closely watched by analysts and western powers.

Kim attending the parade in the centre of Beijing standing alongside Russia's Putin and China's Xi will be quite the photo op.

But it will also be a key diplomatic win for Xi.

US President Donald Trump is trying to make a deal with Putin to end the war in Ukraine. He has also in the last week announced he wants to meet Kim again.

The Chinese leader is signalling here that he holds the geopolitical cards in this game. He has influence – although it is limited – on both leaders.

The timing is also key. The White House has suggested that President Trump could be in the region at the end of October and is open to meeting Xi.

The Chinese leader would go into any summit with the US president fully briefed by Kim and Putin and will know he is not being left out of the loop.

It's been six years since Kim visited Beijing - he last attended the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries in 2019.

The reclusive North Korean leader also visited Beijing three times in 2018, marking a particularly busy year for international trips as he rarely travels abroad.

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

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

The White House says it has fired the director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Susan Monarez, after she refused to resign on Wednesday.

In a statement, it said she was "not aligned with the president's agenda" and she had been removed from her position at the health agency.

The US health department earlier announced her departure, which prompted a statement from Dr Monarez's lawyers who said she had not been told of her removal and she would not resign.

They said she was being targeted for refusing "to rubber-stamp unscientific, reckless directives and fire dedicated health experts" and accused Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr of "weaponising public health".

"As her attorney's statement makes abundantly clear, Susan Monarez is not aligned with the president's agenda," the White House said later on Wednesday, adding that she had been terminated from her position as director.

A long-time federal government scientist, Dr Monarez was nominated by President Donald Trump to lead the CDC and was confirmed in a Senate vote along party lines in July.

Her nomination followed Trump withdrawing his first pick, former Republican Congressman Dave Weldon, who had come under fire for his views on vaccines and autism.

Almost immediately after Dr Monarez's departure was first announced by the health department, at least three senior CDC leaders resigned from the agency.

Among them was Chief Medical Officer Debra Houry, who warned about the "rise of misinformation" about vaccines in a letter seen by the BBC's US partner CBS News. She also argued against planned cuts to the agency's budget.

Daniel Jernigan, who led the National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, also quit citing "the current context in the department".

Head of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, Demetre Daskalakis, also said he was no longer able to serve "because of the ongoing weaponising of public health".

There are also reports, including by NBC News, that Dr Jennifer Layden, director of the Office of Public Health Data, Surveillance and Technology, has also resigned.

The exodus comes as health experts voice concern over the agency's approach to immunisations under the leadership of Kennedy, a vaccine sceptic.

Earlier on Wednesday, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved new Covid vaccines while limiting who could receive them.

The vaccines will be available for all seniors, but younger adults and children without underlying health conditions will be excluded.

"The emergency use authorizations for Covid vaccines, once used to justify broad mandates on the general public during the Biden administration, are now rescinded," Kennedy wrote on X.

Dr Monarez was the first CDC director in 50 years to not hold a medical degree. Her background is in infectious disease research.

In her month as the CDC leader, she helped comfort agency employees after the CDC's headquarters in Atlanta was attacked by a gunman who believed he had been harmed by Covid vaccines.

The attack, in which hundreds of bullets struck the building, killed one police officer.

Earlier this month, current and former employees of the agency wrote an open letter accusing Kennedy of fuelling violence towards healthcare workers with his anti-vaccine rhetoric.

Dr Monarez departure comes about a week after a union representing CDC employees announced that it had fired about 600 employees.

The wide-ranging layoffs included employees working on the government's response to infectious diseases, including bird flu, as well as those researching environmental hazards and handling public record requests.

Alongside the taxis waiting outside Union Station in Washington DC, the sight of uniformed troops standing next to armoured military vehicles has been greeting passengers getting off their trains.

It is a striking symbol of President Trump's efforts to tackle a "crime emergency" in the US capital, which has seen his administration take over its police department and send National Guard troops, FBI and ICE agents on to the streets.

Trump says his crime crackdown, which began on 11 August, has had an immediate effect: "The numbers are down like we wouldn't believe, but we believe it".

And he has claimed that it has led to an extended period of time without any murders, a trend he says has not been seen in the city US in decades.

So what do the crime figures show?

Violent crime has fallen

There has been a significant fall in overall violent crime since the crackdown started, according to Washington's Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

It recorded 75 violent crimes from 12-26 August, a drop of 23% on the previous two weeks.

Property crimes, such as burglary and vehicle theft, fell by about a quarter over the same period.

There was a smaller fall in the crime of "assault with a dangerous weapon" and an increase in recorded "sex abuse".

US crime analyst Jeff Asher says this may not reveal the whole picture though.

"Reporting [of crime] always lags so some of that decline is likely artificial. You probably need six weeks or so for incident-based reporting to catch up and make a comparison of the most recent period."

MPD figures also show violent crime has fallen in the city over the past fortnight when compared to the same period last year.

Trump has repeatedly criticised police figures - which showed violent crime falling in 2024 and so far in 2025 - but we cannot find instances of him publicly rejecting the latest police data showing another fall during his crime crackdown.

More than 1,000 people arrested

US Attorney General Pam Bondi has been posting a daily tally of arrests since the DC takeover started.

On August 25, she posted there had been 1,007 arrests.

She has not given a detailed breakdown but US Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said nearly half were "illegal criminals who never should have been in this country to begin with".

The MPD said from August 11 to August 25, 2025, it made 1,048 arrests - it would not give a breakdown either.

The Office of the US Attorney General for DC, Jeanine Pirro, told us 88% of arrests in this period have led to charges being filed.

Criminologists caution against citing arrest figures as a successful measure of tackling crime.

They stress that even if an arrest does lead to a charge, prosecutions can fall apart or the defendant can be found not guilty.

Pressure on the court system

The impact of the arrests and charges was evident when BBC Verify visited DC's District Court on Tuesday.

Some defendants have found themselves arrested over crimes which would normally be dealt with by a lower court but are now facing federal offences, which generally result in longer jail time.

Lawyers told us that the court was now struggling to process a bigger caseload.

We have asked for the latest figures of cases coming through.

Magistrate Judge Zia M. Faruqui said from his bench that the criminal justice system in DC "was not keeping up" with the large rise in federal prosecutions being brought.

In one hearing, the judge warned suspects were being held in detention for much longer than they should be.

"If there's going to be a surge in prosecutions there has to be a surge in the protection of human dignity," he said.

Assistant Federal Defender Tezira Abe told the court her client, Darious Phillips, was "very obviously a victim of this incursion in DC of federal agents".

Mr Phillips was arrested on a gun charge last Thursday and remained in detention five days later.

Court documents seen by BBC Verify show the FBI and other federal agents were involved in the arrest, in which a Mac 9 machine gun was allegedly found.

Judge Faruqui said he was concerned that the defendant was now on "suicide watch" and had not yet had the opportunity to enter a plea.

The prosecutor argued in court that Mr Phillips remains a danger to the public and should stay in pretrial detention, not least because he served five years in jail for shooting a man at a gas station in 2018.

The Pentagon has sent 20 military lawyers from its Judge Advocate General (JAG) Corps to the US Attorney's Office for DC to help with prosecutions.

The president has also signed a new Executive Order calling for the hiring of additional civilian prosecutors.

US Attorney General for DC Ms Pirro has said tougher sentences need to go hand in hand with the crackdown on crime.

In a statement, she condemned Judge Faruqui's comments and accused him of being soft on gun crime.

What about murders?

On 22 August, Trump told reporters that this is "the first time in anybody's memory, that you haven't had a murder in a week."

It is true that in the week Trump was referring to there had not been any homicides (a police term which includes both murder and manslaughter).

However, the homicide-free streak is not as rare as the president claimed.

DC police figures show there were several similar length periods earlier this year when no homicides were reported.

This happened in the week between 4 and 11 May, for example, and during the two-week period between 25 February and 13 March.

Trump said on 25 August that there had been "no murders in 11 days".

This was true at the time when the last homicide reported by DC police had been on 13 August.

But on 26 August a man was fatally shot in southeast Washington.

What do you want BBC Verify to investigate?

Two children, aged 8 and 10, were killed and 17 people were injured when an attacker fired through the windows of a Minneapolis Catholic church at people celebrating Mass, police said.

Annunciation Church, which also houses a school, was filled with students when the shooting happened on Wednesday. Of the 17 injured victims, 14 are children and all are expected to survive.

The attacker, 23-year-old Robin Westman, died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound at the scene and had no "significant criminal history", authorities said.

"This was a deliberate act of violence against innocent children and other people worshipping," Police Chief Brian O'Hara told reporters.

"The sheer cruelty and cowardice of firing into a church full of children is absolutely incomprehensible," he added.

The motive for the shooting is still unknown. It is being investigated as an act of domestic terrorism and a hate crime against Catholics, FBI Director Kash Patel said.

Police began receiving calls of a shooting just before 08:00 local time (14:00BST) on Wednesday.

The attacker approached the side of the building and fired dozens of shots through the church windows using three firearms - a rifle, a shotgun and a pistol. Police also found a smoke bomb at the scene.

Officials are investigating if he shot inside the building or if all the shots came from outside the church, noting that no casings from bullets were found inside.

"I could hear 'boom, boom, boom'," P.J Mudd, who lives close to the church and was working from home on Wednesday morning, told the Wall Street Journal. "It suddenly dawned on me - it was a shooting."

He then ran to the church where he saw three magazine cartridges on the ground.

A 10-year-old boy who survived the attack told CBS affiliate WCCO that his friend saved him from bullets by lying on top of him.

"I was like two seats away from the stained glass window," he said. "My friend, Victor, saved me though, because he laid on top of me, but he got hit."

"My friend got hit in the back, he went to the hospital... I was super scared for him but I think now he's okay," he said.

The school, located in a residential area of southern Minneapolis, is home to students aged between 5 and 14.

The attacker's mother, Mary Grace Westman, previously worked at the school, according to a school newsletter from 2016. A post on Facebook says she retired from the role in 2021.

Police did find a note the suspect scheduled to publish online at the time of the shooting. The FBI assisted officials and took it down.

Governor Tim Walz said President Donald Trump and his team had expressed their "deep condolences" and offered assistance.

He said the situation is "all too common - not just in Minnesota, but across the country", adding that he hoped no community or school ever had to go through a day like this.

Trump later said the US flag would be flown at half-mast at the White House as a show of respect to the victims.

North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un will attend a military parade in Beijing on 3 September, China's foreign ministry has said - in what is believed to be his first international level meeting of leaders.

The so-called "Victory Day" parade will mark the 80th anniversary of China's war against Japan and the end of World War Two.

Russia's President Vladimir Putin will also be among the 26 heads of state expected to attend the event.

China is expected to display its latest weaponry including hundreds of aircraft, tanks and anti-drone systems - the first time its military's new force structure is being fully showcased in a parade.

The highly choreographed parade will see tens of thousands of military personnel march in formation through Tiananmen Square, including troops from 45 of the so-called echelons of China's military as well as war veterans.

The 70-minute parade, which will be surveyed by Chinese leader Xi Jinping, is expected to be closely watched by analysts and western powers.

Kim attending the parade in the centre of Beijing standing alongside Russia's Putin and China's Xi will be quite the photo op.

But it will also be a key diplomatic win for Xi.

US President Donald Trump is trying to make a deal with Putin to end the war in Ukraine. He has also in the last week announced he wants to meet Kim again.

The Chinese leader is signalling here that he holds the geopolitical cards in this game. He has influence – although it is limited – on both leaders.

The timing is also key. The White House has suggested that President Trump could be in the region at the end of October and is open to meeting Xi.

The Chinese leader would go into any summit with the US president fully briefed by Kim and Putin and will know he is not being left out of the loop.

It's been six years since Kim visited Beijing - he last attended the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries in 2019.

The reclusive North Korean leader also visited Beijing three times in 2018, marking a particularly busy year for international trips as he rarely travels abroad.

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

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

Ukraine has come under heavy Russian bombardment overnight, with a child among three people killed in Kyiv, Ukrainian officials said early on Thursday.

Mayor Vitali Klitschko said the attack on Ukraine's capital was "massive" with military officials confirming at least 24 people had been injured.

A five storey-building collapsed in the Darnytski district and a fire had also been reported in a high-rise residential building in the neighbouring Dnipro district, the mayor added.

The wave of missiles comes after more than 100,000 Ukrainian homes were left without power by the latest Russian drone attacks on energy infrastructure, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Wednesday.

In a post on Telegram, Tymur Tkachenko, the head of Kyiv's military administration, said the child who was killed was a 14-year-old girl. At least five children had been injured in the latest drone strikes.

He noted more than 20 districts had been targeted, with many buildings including a kindergarten catching on fire.

Three and a half years after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, fighting on the ground shows no sign of abating.

The latest international effort to achieve a ceasefire in Ukraine was launched by US President Donald Trump earlier this month. He met his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Alaska and Zelensky with European leaders in Washington.

Trump has been pushing for a Putin-Zelensky summit. Ukraine's president has backed the move, but he has sought security guarantees from Western allies to prevent any future Russian attack in the event of a peace deal.

On Tuesday, Zelensky met the head of Britain's armed forces, Adm Sir Tony Radakin, in Kyiv, where they discussed efforts to end the war.

US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff has said he would meet Ukrainian representatives in New York this week, telling Fox News "we talk to the Russians every day".

The EU's foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, has warned that handing over Ukrainian territory to Russia as part of a peace deal was a "trap".

A record one million hectares - equivalent to about half the land area of Wales - have burned across the European Union so far this year, making it the worst wildfire season since records began in 2006.

Spain and Portugal have been hit especially hard, with roughly 1% of the entire Iberian Peninsula scorched, according to EU scientists.

The worsening fire season in the Mediterranean has been linked directly to climate change in a separate study by the World Weather Attribution group at Imperial College London.

Experts warn that more frequent and severe fires across Europe are likely to continue in the future.

More than two thirds of the area burned in the EU is in Spain and Portugal alone.

In Spain, more than 400,000 hectares have burned since the beginning of this year up until 26 August, according to the Copernicus European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS).

This record is more than six times the Spanish average for this time period between 2006 and 2024.

Neighbouring Portugal has also suffered a record burn area of 270,000 hectares so far - almost five times the average for the same period.

The combined burn area across the Iberian peninsula this year is 684,000 hectares - four times the area of Greater London, and most of it burned in just two weeks.

Fires have been concentrated in forested areas of northern Portugal and in Spain's north-western regions of Galicia, Asturias and Castile and León.

Protected areas like Picos de Europa National Park have been impacted, as well as major routes on the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage network which usually attracts more than 100,000 visitors in the summer months.

The events have triggered the largest known deployment of the EU civil protection mechanism's firefighting force.

Smoke from fires has dramatically decreased air quality in the area, with southerly wind sending smoke as far as France and the UK.

Climate change makes the conditions leading to wildfires more likely, but in a vicious cycle, the fires also release more planet-warming carbon dioxide gas (CO2) into our atmosphere.

CO2 released by fires in Spain this year has reached a record 17.68 million tonnes, according to the EU. This is more than any total annual CO2 emissions since 2003 from wildfires in that country, when data was first recorded by satellites.

For comparison, it is more than the total annual CO2 emitted by all of Croatia in 2023.

Firefighters have been battling blazes right across Europe this summer.

Climate change caused by humans made fire-prone conditions in Turkey, Greece and Cyprus about 10 times more likely, according to a rapid attribution study by World Weather Attribution group at Imperial College London.

It was responsible for a 22% increase in the extreme weather conditions behind the fires, said WWA.

It is causing more extreme heat, which dries out vegetation, increasing flammability, said Theodore Keeping, wildfire scientist at the centre for Environmental Policy, Imperial College London.

The continued burning of fossil fuels will lead to more of these extreme fires, the researchers warned.

"It was urgent 10 years ago to stop burning fossil fuels," said Dr Fredi Otto, Professor in Climate Science at Imperial and leader of the WWA, describing it as "lethal for people and ecosystems".

"Today, with 1.3C of warming [since pre-industrial times], we are seeing new extremes in wildfire behaviour that have pushed firefighters to their limit," said Mr Keeping.

The scientists have begun a rapid analysis on the wildfires in Spain and Portugal and expect similar findings related to climate change.

Across Southern and Eastern Europe, rural depopulation is also contributing to the intense wildfires, Mr Keeping added.

In regions like Spain and Portugal, a rising number of young people are relocating to cities in search of more profitable employment. Once-managed agricultural land is being abandoned and becoming overgrown, eliminating fire breaks and increasing the amount of flammable vegetation vulnerable to intense blazes.

Fire-hardy ecosystems struggling to cope

Fires have always been an important component of Mediterranean ecosystems and much of the natural wildlife has co-evolved to exist alongside fire.

In fact, species like the Iberian hare benefit from the newly opened habitat and native cork oaks can quickly colonise burned land.

Management techniques such as prescribed burning and vegetation removal have long kept yearly fires in check.

And regrowth of burned vegetation have typically offset the carbon emissions from wildfire as carbon once again became stored in plants and soil.

However, modern wildfires are larger, more frequent and more severe. Where forested regions struggle to regrow before the next fire, they can become part of a climate feedback loop, according to Dr Thomas Smith, Associate Professor in Environmental Geography at the London School of Economics.

"A warming climate is driving more frequent and larger fires, which is in turn driving carbon emissions that remain in the atmosphere, which is leading to a warmer climate," he explained.

The escalating risk from a hotter and drier climate makes fire management more difficult and poses a threat to long-term ecosystem stability.

There are also risks of accelerated soil erosion and water contamination from ashes washed into rivers and reservoirs, according to Professor Stefan Doerr, Director of the Centre for Wildlife Research at Swansea University.

Efforts to manage excess vegetation in fire-risk areas, as well as advances in preventing ignitions, fire detection and fire fighting could help reduce the number and severity fires in future.

Sign up for our Future Earth newsletter to keep up with the latest climate and environment stories with the BBC's Justin Rowlatt. Outside the UK? Sign up to our international newsletter here.

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey has said he will boycott the banquet for Donald Trump's state visit next month, to "send a message" to the US president over the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

Sir Ed said it went against his "instincts" to decline an invitation from the King, describing this as an "honour".

But he added that Trump's influence over Israel, Qatar and other Gulf states meant "he has the power to stop the horrifying starvation and death in Gaza and get the hostages released".

Trump and his wife Melania will be hosted by King Charles and Queen Camilla for the US president's second state visit from 17 to 19 September, which includes a banquet in St George's Hall in Windsor Castle.

Around 150 guests are typically invited to the grand dinners, ranging from politicians and diplomats to religious leaders and celebrities.

As leader of the UK's third biggest party, Sir Ed has previously attended several state banquets, including for French President Emmanuel Macron's visit last month.

Sir Ed said: "Emily and I have spent all summer thinking about this and have prayed about it. There is no honour like an invitation from the King, and not to accept his invitation goes against all of our instincts.

"But I fear we could have a situation where Donald Trump comes to our country, is honoured with a lavish dinner at one of our finest palaces, yet no one reminds him that he has the power to stop the horrifying starvation and death in Gaza and get the hostages released.

"If Donald Trump tells [Israeli Prime Minister] Benjamin Netanyahu to stop this, it ends tomorrow. If Donald Trump uses his influence over Qatar and other Gulf states that Hamas relies on, all the hostages could come home tomorrow.

"Boycotting the banquet is the one way I can send a message to Donald Trump and Keir Starmer that they can't close their eyes and wish this away. We have to speak up, they have to act. Donald Trump must act to end this humanitarian crisis."

Trump has consistently backed Netanyahu during the conflict but acknowledged last month that there was "real starvation" in Gaza, something Israel has denied.

The United Nations has said there is "man-made" famine in Gaza, accusing Israel of restricting the amount of aid entering the territory.

Israel has rejected claims it is responsible for food shortages.

Israel's military launched a campaign in Gaza in response to the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.

At least 62,819 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the territory's health ministry.

Trump was hosted by the late Queen Elizabeth II for a state visit in 2019, during his first term in office.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has described the second invitation as "historic" and "unprecedented".

Traditionally, second-term presidents are not offered a state visit and have instead been invited for tea or lunch with the monarch.

While he will be given a full ceremonial welcome, Trump will not get an opportunity to address MPs as the House of Commons breaks up for the annual party conference season the day before he is due to arrive in the UK.

In 2019, then-Lib Dem leader Sir Vince Cable declined to attend Trump's state banquet, saying British politicians should not be "hobnobbing with a man who is on record as a misogynist and a racist".

Then-Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and Commons Speaker John Bercow were also among those who declined their invites.

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The value of small parcels shipped from China to the UK under an import tax exemption more than doubled last year to £3bn, exclusive data obtained by the BBC shows.

Chinese e-commerce giants such as Shein and Temu are thought to be drivers of this increase as sales of cheap goods to online shoppers in the UK continue to rise.

The UK government is reviewing the rules that mean imports of small packages worth £135 or less currently avoid customs duties.

But UK business owners and industry groups say they want swifter action to protect High Street retailers from being undercut, and consumers from potentially faulty goods.

Low-value imports sent from China to the UK totalled around £3bn in 2024-25, according to HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) figures obtained by the BBC via a Freedom of Information request.

That was well over twice the £1.3bn recorded during the previous financial year.

The value of these deliveries from China made up 51% of all the small parcels shipped to the UK from around the world last year. That is up from 35% in 2023-24.

Katerina Buchy, director of Sheffield-based giftware wholesaler Ancient Wisdom, said low-value imports were hitting her company's business because it couldn't compete with the prices on sites like Shein and Temu.

"It's affecting our customers as well. They're not ordering from us because they know their customers can get it cheaper online," said Ms Buchy, who has worked at the firm since 2004.

"I think the government should not allow these companies to export such high quantities of products under these rules because it's just ridiculous.

"I'd like to know how much they are losing in taxes. We pay taxes. We employ more than 100 people."

Temu and Shein have become popular among UK consumers in recent years for selling affordable items including clothes, homeware, electronics and toys.

Founded in China but now headquartered in Singapore, Shein recorded soaring profits last year.

It has tried to get itself on the New York and London stock exchanges, but has yet to secure a listing on either.

Both companies were questioned by MPs earlier this year over labour standards linked to the making of products sold on their platforms.

Natalie Berg, retail analyst at NBK Retail, said it was no surprise that the increase in the value of small parcels from China had coincided with the expansion of companies like Shein and Temu.

"They've gone from niche newcomers to retail powerhouses in a very short period of time," she said.

But she warned that the removal of the tax exemption could disproportionately hit lower-income consumers, and small firms who use it to import goods.

She added: "This is a loophole that needs to be plugged, but the government must ensure that any changes don't ultimately harm consumers or small businesses."

'Significant and growing threat'

The Treasury announced a review of low-value imports in April following lobbying from major retailers including Next and Sainsbury's, which argued the exemption enabled overseas companies to undercut them.

But the British Retail Consortium (BRC) has called on ministers to take action now.

Andrew Opie, the BRC's director of food and sustainability, said low-value imports posed "a significant and growing threat" to investment in UK High Streets as retailers faced unfair competition.

He added that they also exposed consumers to "unregulated, potentially unsafe products" because they did not go through the same customs check process as other goods.

A spokesperson for Temu said the company aimed to have at least half of the sellers using its UK platform based in the country by the end of the year.

"This approach helps consumers access affordable products while giving UK businesses a low-cost channel to reach new customers and grow," the spokesperson said.

A spokesperson for Shein said the firm's "on-demand" business model allowed it to make savings that it could pass on to its customers.

They added: "Vendors are required to comply with Shein's code of conduct and stringent safety standards."

Treasury review ongoing

The US recently ended its so-called "de minimis" exemption on imports of low-cost goods from China and Hong Kong, which had allowed those valued at $800 (£596) or less to enter the country without paying any tariffs.

It is due to drop the exemption for other countries on 29 August.

The European Union also recently announced plans to charge a €2 flat fee on small packages worth €150 (£129) or less entering the bloc.

While the value of small parcels arriving in the UK from China has soared, when it comes to the actual number of items entering the country, the picture is less clear.

HMRC said it only records the number of customs declarations used for goods worth £135 or less, and multiple items can be included under one declaration.

It recorded around 281,000 customs declarations for low-value imports dispatched from China in 2024-25 – about 12% of the total.

A Treasury spokesperson said Chancellor Rachel Reeves' review of the customs treatment of low-value imports was ongoing and would be published "in due course".

They added: "We are a pro-business government that is backing Britain's High Streets by protecting and extending business rates relief that would have ended without our action, permanently lowering rates for retailers from next year, and capping corporation tax at the lowest level in the G7 to encourage investment and growth."

Additional reporting by Kris Bramwell.

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When Laura Burns was asked to leave her flat as her landlord was selling up, she discovered she didn't have enough money to move.

Energy debts and removal costs meant she needed hundreds of pounds to get a new flat.

Feeling trapped and facing eviction, the mother-of-one turned to a charity and asked for £600. The money came through almost instantly.

"I was like, 'oh my goodness', this is a weight off my mind," says the 32-year-old from Didcot, in Oxfordshire. "There are no words to describe leaving that stress behind."

Greater Change, the charity that helped Laura, believes giving money to people who are homeless or those at risk of losing their properties with few strings attached can help tackle homelessness. So far this year, it says the charity has paid out £699,000 to 403 people.

The initiative is small in scale – the homeless charity Shelter estimated there were more than 350,000 homeless people in England at the end of last year. But Greater Change says the scheme has the potential to save money in the long-run.

"We're giving people dignity of choice," says the charity's chief executive, Jonathan Tan. "Very often, in a homelessness pathway, it feels like it's things being done to you and so we're giving people the ability to make choices about their lives."

The money is paid out through a support worker and the charity says it will listen to all requests for help. It says people typically spend the money on rent deposits, bills or tackling debts.

Greater Change, which was formed by two university friends in 2018, is funded from donations, philanthropists, grant-making bodies and councils. It says its approach saves taxpayers tens of thousands of pounds per client by preventing people from becoming homeless and therefore needing support from their local authority.

"We're happy to fund anything under the sun as long as it aligns with the individual's ambitions and helps them to take that next big step out of homelessness," says Mr Tan. The charity says 86% of people it has supported moved into stable housing, with almost half finding a job.

But one concern is homeless people could spend the money on feeding addictions.

Asked how the charity ensures the money it gives out isn't spent on drugs and alcohol, Mr Tan says: "The first and most important thing to say is the international evidence is that people tend to make pretty good choices."

He says almost half of those supported were able to get a job.

One of the studies he points to is the New Leaf project, in Vancouver, Canada. It gave 50 people who were homeless around £4,000 (CAD$7,500) each directly rather than via a support worker. It also monitored another 65 homeless people who they didn't help. A follow-up study showed that after a year, those who had received the money spent fewer days without a home. There was also no evidence that they had increased spending on things like drugs, alcohol and tobacco.

A smaller scale project in the UK has shown similar results. The Personal Grants project, which involved 81 people, led by the London-based St Martin-in-the-Fields charity working alongside organisations in Glasgow, Oxford and Swansea, paid money directly into the bank accounts of homeless people.

The Personal Grants project has not had "a single adverse incident among any participants", according to the Centre for Homelessness Impact, which also worked on the scheme. They say people spent the money on furniture, books, clothes or simply saved it. "None spent the money on drugs, alcohol, or gambling," say the Centre.

They are now recruiting 250 people in Belfast and London to test the concept on a larger scale, with the project overseen by researchers from Kings College, London.

Greater Change acknowledges that its support is most effective when it is used as an early intervention - when someone is sofa surfing, or at risk of homelessness - rather than for helping entrenched rough sleepers who might need intensive mental health support for instance. Various campaigns over the years have actively discouraged people from giving money to people on the streets, arguing the funds could be misused.

These projects also do not tackle the fundamental cause of most homelessness - there is a widespread acknowledgement that a lack of affordable housing is the key to solving the crisis and the government has committed to building 1.5m homes by August 2029. But the charity says such innovative schemes can be extremely helpful to some people.

Since receiving her grant, Laura Burns' life has been transformed – she now has a new home, a job and is about to get married. The money she received was the right help, at the right time. "I know you don't get much for £600 these days. But for me it was a life-saving amount of money. Life is now dandy."

Two children, aged 8 and 10, were killed and 17 people were injured when an attacker fired through the windows of a Minneapolis Catholic church at people celebrating Mass, police said.

Annunciation Church, which also houses a school, was filled with students when the shooting happened on Wednesday. Of the 17 injured victims, 14 are children and all are expected to survive.

The attacker, 23-year-old Robin Westman, died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound at the scene and had no "significant criminal history", authorities said.

"This was a deliberate act of violence against innocent children and other people worshipping," Police Chief Brian O'Hara told reporters.

"The sheer cruelty and cowardice of firing into a church full of children is absolutely incomprehensible," he added.

The motive for the shooting is still unknown. It is being investigated as an act of domestic terrorism and a hate crime against Catholics, FBI Director Kash Patel said.

Police began receiving calls of a shooting just before 08:00 local time (14:00BST) on Wednesday.

The attacker approached the side of the building and fired dozens of shots through the church windows using three firearms - a rifle, a shotgun and a pistol. Police also found a smoke bomb at the scene.

Officials are investigating if he shot inside the building or if all the shots came from outside the church, noting that no casings from bullets were found inside.

"I could hear 'boom, boom, boom'," P.J Mudd, who lives close to the church and was working from home on Wednesday morning, told the Wall Street Journal. "It suddenly dawned on me - it was a shooting."

He then ran to the church where he saw three magazine cartridges on the ground.

A 10-year-old boy who survived the attack told CBS affiliate WCCO that his friend saved him from bullets by lying on top of him.

"I was like two seats away from the stained glass window," he said. "My friend, Victor, saved me though, because he laid on top of me, but he got hit."

"My friend got hit in the back, he went to the hospital... I was super scared for him but I think now he's okay," he said.

The school, located in a residential area of southern Minneapolis, is home to students aged between 5 and 14.

The attacker's mother, Mary Grace Westman, previously worked at the school, according to a school newsletter from 2016. A post on Facebook says she retired from the role in 2021.

Police did find a note the suspect scheduled to publish online at the time of the shooting. The FBI assisted officials and took it down.

Governor Tim Walz said President Donald Trump and his team had expressed their "deep condolences" and offered assistance.

He said the situation is "all too common - not just in Minnesota, but across the country", adding that he hoped no community or school ever had to go through a day like this.

Trump later said the US flag would be flown at half-mast at the White House as a show of respect to the victims.

Two women who reported being drugged and raped by prolific sex offender Zhenhao Zou said they were attacked within 24 hours of each other, the BBC has established.

The first woman who says she was raped told us she was shocked to learn about the second attack and had since felt guilt for not reporting her rape sooner.

Metropolitan Police detectives investigating Zou's offences initially questioned whether the two women might be the same person, because the two attacks sounded identical and happened in such a short space of time.

This timing showed Zou was confident, a source familiar with the investigation told the BBC World Service. "He was getting away with it, so he wanted to do it more and more," they said.

Warning: This story contains descriptions of sexual violence

Zou was sentenced to life in prison, with a minimum term of 24 years, in June.

The Chinese national was convicted for drugging and raping 10 women - three in the UK and seven in China - between September 2019 and May 2023. All victims appear to have been Chinese.

But after his trial, detectives - having described Zou as one of the UK's "most prolific predators" - said they feared he may have attacked 50 more women.

Since Zou's trial, 24 women have come forward in both the UK and China, including the victims of these two attacks.

The first woman, who we are calling Rachel, says she met Zou for drinks in late October 2022. He drove her to his waterside villa in Zhupingsha village, near the Chinese city of Dongguan, where he gave her a whisky cocktail that left her so dizzy that she says she could barely move. After she lay down upstairs to recover, she says he raped her.

Phone records and messages shared with the BBC reveal Rachel had tried to call a friend for help afterwards, but Zou had grabbed her phone from her and spoke to the friend himself.

Zou did not return Rachel's phone to her until the following afternoon. In a series of frantic messages on the Chinese app WeChat, Rachel told her friend she was still in Zou's house and asked why she hadn't been able to come and get her.

Her friend explained that she had heard Rachel crying out for help on the phone, but that Zou wouldn't reveal his address.

"My friend was afraid that if she kept asking, he'd go to extremes and hurt me," Rachel later told the BBC. She says Zou ended up dropping her home just before 14:00. "The man treated me as a toy," she said.

Rachel said she didn't report her rape to police in China because she feared she did not have sufficient evidence and was worried about people finding out.

We do not know exactly what else was in the cocktail that Rachel drank, but when UK police raided Zou's London apartment they found a substance called butanediol - which converts into date-rape drug GHB in the body.

Butanediol is a controlled substance in the UK, but it can be easily bought without a prescription in China to treat insomnia, where it costs as little as $3 (£2.22) per 500ml, the BBC has found.

Zou had also repeatedly searched online for information around the sleeping drug triazolam, which is a banned substance in the UK but available on prescription in China, according to evidence shown at his trial.

A screenshot of WeChat messages circulating among Zou's former classmates, seen by the BBC, shows Zou had begun researching prescription sleeping pills in China in January 2020, asking a friend there if he knew anyone who had been prescribed them from whom he could "buy from directly".

• Student who raped 10 women jailed for 24 years
• Chinese victims tell BBC about serial rapist

The second victim who was attacked on the same day in October 2022 is referred to as Female D, because her identity was not known to UK police at the time of Zou's trial. He was, however, convicted of raping her using video evidence from his devices. She contacted UK police shortly after his trial ended in March 2025, having learned of his conviction.

Through documents shown at his trial, we have established that Zou met Female D for a date just a few hours after he had driven Rachel home. He drugged and raped her, filming the attack. In a victim impact statement read at Zou's sentencing in June, Female D said that she had been unable to escape until 04:00 the following day.

Rachel - the first victim from late October 2022 - also decided to report her experiences to the Met Police in March 2025. With the help of an independent translator, she submitted an anonymous statement over email.

Responding to her report, a police officer sought more information on Rachel's identity, saying it "seemed we may have already had contact with this person" and that the account sounded "very much identical to one we already have from this time period".

Rachel said she clarified that she had never reported the case to Chinese or British police.

The BBC has verified that initials shared by the Met in the correspondence to check Rachel's identity with her, in fact belonged to Female D.

The Met Police told us its investigation into Zou continued, including liaising with the Crown Prosecution Service around potential further charges.

Det Ch Insp Tariq Farooqi said: "The scale of his offending – which spanned two continents – makes him one of the most dangerous sexual offenders the Met has ever brought to justice."

In her victim impact statement, Female D said she had been haunted by nightmares after the attack and "couldn't be alone after dark".

Rachel says she feels if she had called the police the next day, Female D might not have become a victim. "I know everyone will say this is his fault, not mine, but I still feel sorry."

Since his conviction, former schoolfriends of Zou in China have revealed how he asked them for advice about assembling spy cameras that may have helped him keep a record of his crimes - including just before UK police first arrested him.

A series of messages, shared with the BBC, appear to show Zou asking one friend for advice about building mini cameras on 21 December 2023. Documents submitted to court during Zou's trial show he searched online for "hidden camera" and "electric alarm clock camera" on the same day and made purchases on eBay of surveillance equipment.

Zou messaged the same friend once again on 17 January 2024.

He was arrested by police seven days later.

During a search of his London apartment, police later found a spy camera in a box alongside a memory card containing video evidence of his rapes.

• Details of help and support with sexual violence are available at BBC Action Line

If you have information about this story that you would like to share with us please get in touch.

You can speak to BBC journalist wanqing.zhang@bbc.co.uk in Chinese or English - please include contact details if you are willing to speak to her.