Rachel Reeves has insisted ministers "never dismissed the concerns of victims" of grooming gangs, as she defended the decision to launch a national inquiry after months of pressure.

The chancellor said Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer was focused on victims "and not grandstanding".

Sir Keir has faced criticism for resisting calls for such an inquiry, with the Conservatives claiming they forced him into a U-turn.

Former detective Maggie Oliver, who resigned from Greater Manchester Police over the way grooming cases were handled in Rochdale, said the Conservatives and Labour had both been "dragged kicking and screaming to this point".

The prime minister said on Saturday he had read an independent report into child sexual exploitation by Baroness Louise Casey and would accept her recommendation for an inquiry, covering England and Wales.

The report is expected to be published on Monday and Home Secretary Yvette Cooper is set to address the findings of the review in Parliament.

At the start of the year, the government dismissed calls for a national inquiry.

Sir Keir and other ministers argued the issue had already been examined in a seven-year inquiry led by Professor Alexis Jay.

Appearing on the BBC's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme, Reeves was asked whether the prime minister had been wrong to initially resist the idea.

She replied: "We've never dismissed the concerns of victims. These are the most important people in those discussions."

Reeves said the government had been focused on implementing the recommendations of Professor Jay's review.

"But the prime minister wanted to assure himself he was doing everything that was necessary, which is why he asked Baroness Casey to do this rapid review," she added.

When asked if Sir Keir had changed his mind on the need for a national inquiry, Reeves replied: "Our prime minister has always been really focused on the victims, and not grandstanding but actually doing the practical things to ensure something like this never happens again."

Ms Oliver said the inquiry was "an important step on the journey to change" and that Baroness Casey's report would "lift the lid on what has been going on".

But she said Labour and the Conservatives had "equally failed" to confront the issue of grooming gangs, so "won't get a single bit of thanks" from her.

"For me, I can only look at them with contempt, because I see on the ground the suffering that their neglect has caused," she added.

Appearing on the same programme, shadow chancellor Sir Mel Stride said the decision to launch the inquiry should have happened "far, far earlier".

He said the Conservatives had been "calling for this for many, many months" and accused Sir Keir of dismissing their concerns as "some kind of far-right bandwagon".

"That was the wrong response," Stride said. "This is just another example of the prime minister being pressurised by us into U-turning."

The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) said it was pleased the prime minister accepted the recommendations of Baroness Casey's report.

But the charity's chief executive Chris Sherwood said "a national inquiry into abuse by organised networks must not delay urgent action on child sexual abuse that is long overdue".

He said survivors had already waited more than two years for the recommendations from Professor Jay's report to be implemented.

Professor Jay's inquiry found institutional failings, with tens of thousands of victims across England and Wales.

The seven-year investigation concluded child sexual abuse was "epidemic" across the two nations and made 20 recommendations in the final report published in 2022.

The grooming gangs issue was thrust into the spotlight at the start of this year, fuelled partly by tech billionaire Elon Musk, who criticised Sir Keir for not calling a national inquiry.

A row between the two centred on high-profile cases where groups of men, mainly of Pakistani descent, were convicted of sexually abusing and raping predominantly young white girls in towns such as Rotherham and Rochdale.

In January, the government stopped short of launching a statutory national inquiry into grooming gangs, despite the idea receiving support from some Labour MPs.

The statutory inquiry now backed by the prime minister will be able to compel witnesses to provide evidence.

The government has already announced plans for five local inquiries, to be held in Oldham and four other areas yet to be named.

A senior government source said the national inquiry would "co-ordinate a series of targeted local investigations".

Are you missing the drama of The Traitors? Fear not because the New Zealand version drops on BBC Three and iPlayer on Monday.

But that's not all the next seven days have in store.

Yungblud’s new album is out, 28 Years Later is released in UK cinemas, gaming fans have Date Everything to look forward to, and Benson Boone is also dropping a new album.

Read on for what's coming up this week...

Your next Traitors fix

This Monday, we’re gearing up to watch 22 New Zealanders lie, cheat and betray their way to winning up to $100,000 (£44,000).

That’s right, it’s time for series two of The Traitors NZ, filmed at Claremont Manor at the foot of Mount Horrible (no, really).

As with the British version, the show is a study in human nature, as alliances form early on, and suspicions run rife.

The series already aired in NZ, with the New Zealand Herald saying it could be “the reality TV hit of the year”.

But one thing it doesn’t have is Claudia Winkleman and her epic wardrobe.

Instead, it's hosted by New Zealand broadcaster Paul Henry. Don’t worry, his outfits are just as fabulous.

Yungblud's shackles are off

Yungblud, the chart-topping singer who set up his own festival, is dropping his new album Idols on Friday.

I was lucky enough to see him at a party in central London recently, where I got a sneak preview of the new album - a blend of his signature pop-punk and emotional depth.

The 27-year-old artist - whose real name is Dominic Richard Harrison - was there alongside Florence Pugh, who stars in the music video for one of his new songs, Zombie.

He said the new record, made in the north of England with his best mates, was his "most ambitious and exciting music to date".

Yungblud is known for his committed young fanbase and, with his new album, he's said he wants to make that community even bigger.

Harking back to the sounds of Queen and David Bowie, he told my colleague Mark Savage that it would "reclaim the good chords" (Asus4 and Em7, in case you're wondering). "The shackles are off," he said.

28 Years Later hits cinemas

By Alex Taylor, culture reporter

Batten down the hatches and don't make a sound - this week sees director Danny Boyle and writer Alex Garland unleash 28 Years Later.

It's a long-awaited return for the UK-based zombie horror series that first infected audiences in 2002 with 28 Days Later.

The protagonist, 12-year-old Spike (Alfie Williams), lives with his parents Jamie (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) and Isla (Jodie Comer). He's only ever known life on an island connected to the quarantined British mainland by a single, heavily defended causeway.

I've seen a sneak preview, and while I can't say much, the trademark realism and unrelenting tension persists. Fans of The Last of Us will love this.

As for those fan theories sparked by the trailer? Despite speculation that Cillian Murphy appears as a zombie, Boyle has confirmed to IGN that the Oscar-winner, who made his name in the original film, will only reprise his role as Jim in the next instalment - already shot and due for release next year.

Objects of affection

By Tom Richardson, Newsbeat reporter

It is perhaps not so surprising that a video game created by two veteran voice actors opens with the main character at risk of losing their job to AI.

But where Date Everything! goes next is somewhat more unexpected.

Players don a pair of high-tech glasses called "Dateviators" that turn household objects including fridges, doors and lamps into potential love interests.

Creators Robbie Daymond (Critical Role) and Ray Chase (X-Men '97, Jujutsu Kaisen) obviously raided their contact books, as each item is brought to life in the form of a human cartoon avatar created by a star from the worlds of gaming and anime.

In a bit of fortuitous timing, this celebration of their craft arrives on consoles and PCs from Tuesday, just days after a months-long video game acting strike was suspended.

Flip out over Benson Boone's new album

By Mark Savage, music correspondent

King of the backflip Benson Boone had the most-streamed track in the world last year with Beautiful Things - earning enough money to buy his first house - but now he's ready to move on.

"I'm getting to the point where I just want people to know that there's more than just that song," he told Rolling Stone earlier this year.

The results have been mixed. His comeback single Sorry I'm Here For Someone Else, a propulsive new wave anthem, peaked at number 20 in the UK charts, while Beautiful Things still continued to remain stubbornly lodged in the top 10.

But his new album, American Heart, is worth your attention. The title track is a widescreen anthem about a near-fatal car accident he got into as a teenager; Mr Electric Blue is a spirited tribute to his dad (featuring the lyric, "Watch the way you talk to me/If you want to keep your two front teeth"); and the second single Mystical Magical features a falsetto so ridiculous its almost endearing.

Repackaging the sounds of Queen and Elton John for the TikTok generation, it's efficient and catchy – though I'd avoid the saccharine Momma Song if you have an aversion to schmaltz.

Other highlights this week

• Untold Legends: Hedy Lamarr drops on the BBC World Service on Monday
• Gianni Versace Retrospective opens at Arches London Bridge on Monday
• Supersonic, a documentary about Oasis, is re-released in a limited number of cinemas on Monday
• Royal Academy Summer Exhibition opens on Tuesday
• Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, series two, drops on Netflix on Wednesday
• Sheffield DocFest starts on Wednesday
• Heston: My Life with Bipolar is released on BBC Two and iPlayer on Thursday
• The Isle of Wight Festival starts on Thursday
• Haim's new album, I Quit, drops on Friday
• Grenfell: Uncovered is released on Netflix on Friday

A person has suffered serious injuries after an "incident" involving a vehicle at a multi-storey car park at London Luton Airport, police said.

Emergency services were called to the car park shortly before 11:00 BST.

Bedfordshire Police said their officers, ambulance and fire crews are still on the scene.

The force urged any witnesses to contact them.

Follow Beds, Herts and Bucks news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.

Doctors in India say 270 bodies have been recovered from the site of Thursday's plane crash in Ahmedabad.

The London-bound aircraft crashed into a residential area shortly after take-off killing all but one of the 242 passengers, a 40-year-old British man.

Officials have been trying to establish how many people were killed on the ground and have been continuing the slow process of matching DNA samples to confirm the victims' identities.

Vigils honouring the dead have taken place across India and the UK.

The company building the HS2 rail line between London and Birmingham has reported one of its subcontractors to the tax authorities over possible fraud.

Whistleblowers made allegations over the way pay was handled for some construction staff on the high-speed line.

HS2 Ltd said last month it was conducting its own investigation, looking into two firms who supplied it with workers. The company has now also referred the matter to HMRC.

The firms in question were providing workers to Balfour Beatty Vinci (BBV), a contractor for HS2.

Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander is expected to raise the issue in Parliament this week. It is the latest difficulty to beset the troubled giant rail infrastructure project.

HS2 has faced myriad challenges and spiralling costs since it was first announced in 2009.

It was originally designed to boost capacity on the railways between the north and south of England but the last, Conservative, government decided to scrap the second phase of the project, which included building lines to Manchester and Leeds.

Earlier this year whistleblowers flagged concerns over the way some subcontracted staff were being paid. They said self-employed workers had been falsely declared as salaried staff, with "fake" payslips submitted at a higher payrate. The allegations were first published in the i newspaper in May.

One of the labour suppliers is understood to remain suspended from new contracts while inquiries continue.

An HS2 spokesperson said: "We treat all whistleblower allegations seriously and are continuing to conduct our own investigation."

The firm said it encouraged anyone with relevant information to report it via confidential internal channels.

The Department for Transport said last month it had "a zero-tolerance attitude towards fraud, bribery, and corruption" and would ensure any claims of wrongdoing were thoroughly investigated.

Large asylum seeker sites like Wethersfield air base in Essex are set to be expanded under plans to end the use of asylum hotels, the BBC can reveal.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves pledged to stop using taxpayer-funded hotels by 2029 in her Spending Review, saying this would save £1bn.

One of the ways the Home Office hopes to achieve this is by moving asylum seekers from hotels into cheaper alternative forms of accommodation.

Sir Keir Starmer pledged to close the Wethersfield asylum facility during last year's election campaign, but the BBC understands that site and another in Huddersfield are among those under consideration for extensions.

A Home Office spokesperson said the government was "making strong strides to deliver a more sustainable and cost-effective asylum accommodation system".

"This includes ending the use of hotels, testing new locally-led models, and working closely with local authorities and other departments to ensure a fairer, more efficient approach," they added.

"Our use of any property or Home Office-owned site will be used in line with the permissions set by planning permissions."

The taxpayer cost of asylum hotels has rocketed in recent years, with total accommodation contracts now set to be worth £15.3bn over a 10-year period.

But while extending large sites might be cheaper, the move is likely to anger local residents and refugee rights groups.

In April last year, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said the Wethersfield site couldn't be "seen as either a sustainable solution for housing asylum seekers nor value for money for the taxpayer".

Conservative MP Sir James Cleverly, whose Braintree constituency includes Wethersfield, said the existing cap on the number of people living at the facility "was there to protect the safety and security" of constituents, and "those working at and living on the site".

Sir James, who became home secretary shortly after the first asylum seekers moved into Wethersfield, said the government plan to potentially expand the site was "disgraceful and shows just how out of touch they are with the concerns of local communities".

In March, the High Court found the previous Conservative government's use of Wethersfield to house asylum seekers was unlawful, after three men argued they were living in "prison-like" conditions.

The former RAF base has been housing asylum seekers since 2023. It has a current capacity of 800, but is thought to house closer to 500 people at present.

The Home Office contract for the base is held by Clearsprings, whose founder Graham King recently became a billionaire, according to the Sunday Times rich list.

The Helen Bamber Foundation, a human rights groups, has previously said that accommodating people at the base causes harm to their physical and mental health.

Kamena Dorling, the group's director of policy, told the BBC that Wethersfield "should be closed immediately, not extended".

She said: "Housing people, including survivors of torture and trafficking, in an isolated, overcrowded camp reminiscent of an open-air prison, with inadequate healthcare and legal services, is an inhumane way to treat those seeking protection."

Savings target

A pair of former student accommodation blocks in Huddersfield, acquired by the Home Office last year, could also be extended.

The buildings, constructed in 2019, have a current capacity of 650 but have never been occupied because of safety concerns.

Any extensions to asylum seeker accommodation would be paid for using money earmarked for investment from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, meaning it could be borrowed without falling foul of the chancellor's strict spending rules.

Home Office figures released last month show that as of March, there were about 100,000 asylum seekers in government-funded accommodation, with about 32,000 of those in hotels.

Cooper hopes to end the use of hotels by reducing small boat crossings, speeding up the asylum application process and moving people into alternative accommodation.

Following the chancellor's Spending Review, there had been some confusion over what that alternative accommodation might be.

Chief secretary to the Treasury Darren Jones told BBC Newsnight the government would be "upgrading current facilities, which will include some extensions".

But on Thursday, the prime minister's official spokesman refused to comment on whether new accommodation would be built.

A senior Home Office source has now confirmed to the BBC that while there were no plans for entirely new accommodation blocks, extensions of current facilities will be built and other existing accommodation such as unused student blocks will be rented.

The £1bn saving which the chancellor said would come from reducing hotel use has already been taken out of the Home Office budget.

The Home Office has a new target for how much additional asylum accommodation needs to be created to help achieve the saving, but that exact figure is unknown.

The BBC understands that moving around 14,000 asylum seekers from hotels into other forms of accommodation would likely achieve a saving of £1bn.

A senior Home Office source said they were "confident" they could save the required money, but acknowledged that failing to hit the target would force the department to ask Reeves for more funding to avoid having to make cuts elsewhere.

The number of asylum seekers in hotels is far lower than the record figure in 2023, but has increased since Labour came to power last year.

The latest statistics go up to March and therefore don't take into account the knock-on effect of increased small boat crossings in the months since.

The UK's Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) has advised against all travel to Israel amid an escalation in the country's military activity with Iran.

The advice, which covers Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories, means travel insurance could be invalidated if individuals do not follow it.

It comes as missiles have been launched by both countries in recent days with Israeli airspace remaining closed.

"The situation has the potential to deteriorate further, quickly and without warning," the FCDO said.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves says the government will do "everything in [its] power" to protect people in the UK from the knock-on economic effects of the conflict between Iran and Israel.

She would not "take anything off the table" in response to the threat of rising energy costs, she told the BBC's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme.

The global oil price rose sharply on Friday following the initial attacks by Israel and Iran's subsequent response.

A rise in the cost of oil pushes up petrol and diesel prices and can fuel inflation more broadly.

Following Russia's full scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, oil prices spiked to nearly $130 a barrel, contributing to higher prices for UK shoppers on everything from transport to food.

However the cost of a barrel of oil, currently around $75, is still lower than it was in January.

"There is no complacency from myself or the Treasury," Reeves told the BBC.

In 2022, following the start of the Ukraine war, the Conservative government responded to higher energy prices by stepping in to help households with their bills.

"We are not anywhere near that stage at the moment," the chancellor said.

Household energy bills respond slowly to rising wholesale energy prices, and average bills, as set by the price cap, are due to come down in July.

If the conflict continues, and in particular if there is disruption to shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, the waterway off the south coast of Iran, the price of oil and gas could rise further.

However, oil market experts say there is currently less upward pressure on the price of oil than there was three years ago.

• How the Israel-Iran conflict could affect energy prices

Reeves said the situation in the Middle East was part of the reason that she had raised spending on both defence and energy security, in her announcement last week, which outlined the government's budgets for the rest of the parliament.

"A lack of investment in our own domestic energy production has left us exposed," she said.

"The investment [announced in the Spending Review] in nuclear energy, in offshore wind, in onshore wind, in carbon capture and storage, is all about ensuring we are more self-sufficient as a nation," she said.

Many of those investments will take several years to complete, but some of the government's planned investments could have an impact "in the shorter term" such as investment in home insulation, she added.

Lord John Browne, former chief executive of the energy giant BP, said he also believed it was time to "push very hard" on energy security, and on the transition away from fossil fuels.

Lord Browne, who now chairs BeyondNetZero, a fund investing in carbon transition technologies, told Laura Kuenssberg some of the government's plans were "too bullish" and would take more time than planned.

Shadow chancellor Mel Stride said the implications of the latest conflict for "oil prices, equity prices... trading and inflation and therefore interest rates and the general state of the world economy" were very important.

He said the UK economy needed to be "much stronger" to cope with the challenges it is now facing, adding that the government had made the wrong choices by increasing taxes on business.

Plans for borrowing and spending had kept inflation higher, he said.

Rachel Reeves has insisted ministers "never dismissed the concerns of victims" of grooming gangs, as she defended the decision to launch a national inquiry after months of pressure.

The chancellor said Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer was focused on victims "and not grandstanding".

Sir Keir has faced criticism for resisting calls for such an inquiry, with the Conservatives claiming they forced him into a U-turn.

Former detective Maggie Oliver, who resigned from Greater Manchester Police over the way grooming cases were handled in Rochdale, said the Conservatives and Labour had both been "dragged kicking and screaming to this point".

The prime minister said on Saturday he had read an independent report into child sexual exploitation by Baroness Louise Casey and would accept her recommendation for an inquiry, covering England and Wales.

The report is expected to be published on Monday and Home Secretary Yvette Cooper is set to address the findings of the review in Parliament.

At the start of the year, the government dismissed calls for a national inquiry.

Sir Keir and other ministers argued the issue had already been examined in a seven-year inquiry led by Professor Alexis Jay.

Appearing on the BBC's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme, Reeves was asked whether the prime minister had been wrong to initially resist the idea.

She replied: "We've never dismissed the concerns of victims. These are the most important people in those discussions."

Reeves said the government had been focused on implementing the recommendations of Professor Jay's review.

"But the prime minister wanted to assure himself he was doing everything that was necessary, which is why he asked Baroness Casey to do this rapid review," she added.

When asked if Sir Keir had changed his mind on the need for a national inquiry, Reeves replied: "Our prime minister has always been really focused on the victims, and not grandstanding but actually doing the practical things to ensure something like this never happens again."

Ms Oliver said the inquiry was "an important step on the journey to change" and that Baroness Casey's report would "lift the lid on what has been going on".

But she said Labour and the Conservatives had "equally failed" to confront the issue of grooming gangs, so "won't get a single bit of thanks" from her.

"For me, I can only look at them with contempt, because I see on the ground the suffering that their neglect has caused," she added.

Appearing on the same programme, shadow chancellor Sir Mel Stride said the decision to launch the inquiry should have happened "far, far earlier".

He said the Conservatives had been "calling for this for many, many months" and accused Sir Keir of dismissing their concerns as "some kind of far-right bandwagon".

"That was the wrong response," Stride said. "This is just another example of the prime minister being pressurised by us into U-turning."

The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) said it was pleased the prime minister accepted the recommendations of Baroness Casey's report.

But the charity's chief executive Chris Sherwood said "a national inquiry into abuse by organised networks must not delay urgent action on child sexual abuse that is long overdue".

He said survivors had already waited more than two years for the recommendations from Professor Jay's report to be implemented.

Professor Jay's inquiry found institutional failings, with tens of thousands of victims across England and Wales.

The seven-year investigation concluded child sexual abuse was "epidemic" across the two nations and made 20 recommendations in the final report published in 2022.

The grooming gangs issue was thrust into the spotlight at the start of this year, fuelled partly by tech billionaire Elon Musk, who criticised Sir Keir for not calling a national inquiry.

A row between the two centred on high-profile cases where groups of men, mainly of Pakistani descent, were convicted of sexually abusing and raping predominantly young white girls in towns such as Rotherham and Rochdale.

In January, the government stopped short of launching a statutory national inquiry into grooming gangs, despite the idea receiving support from some Labour MPs.

The statutory inquiry now backed by the prime minister will be able to compel witnesses to provide evidence.

The government has already announced plans for five local inquiries, to be held in Oldham and four other areas yet to be named.

A senior government source said the national inquiry would "co-ordinate a series of targeted local investigations".

The UK's Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) has advised against all travel to Israel amid an escalation in the country's military activity with Iran.

The advice, which covers Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories, means travel insurance could be invalidated if individuals do not follow it.

It comes as missiles have been launched by both countries in recent days with Israeli airspace remaining closed.

"The situation has the potential to deteriorate further, quickly and without warning," the FCDO said.

A man has died and several people including an eight-year-old girl have been injured in a flat fire in Perth.

Police officers on patrol noticed the blaze had broken out in the top floor of the four-storey building on the corner of Scott Street and South Street at about 01:50.

About 40 residents were evacuated from neighbouring properties, while 12 fire crews worked through the night to extinguish the flames and deal with structural collapses.

The eight-year-old girl and a 27-year-old man were taken to hospital while two firefighters, one of whom had been hurt by falling masonry, were also given medical treatment. A man was pronounced dead at the scene.

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service said one fire engine remained on the scene on Sunday morning to make the area secure.

'Major incident'

The roof and top floor of the building, which houses the Royal Bar on the ground floor, has been completely destroyed.

The evacuated residents were taken to the Salutation Hotel which is being used as a respite centre.

First Minister John Swinney, the MSP for Perthshire North, said he was "terribly sorry" to hear of the man's death.

In a post on X, he said: "Concerned also for the condition of those who are receiving hospital treatment. This is a major incident and I am thankful to the emergency services."

A joint investigation has been launched by police and the fire service.

Ch Supt Nicola Russell said inquiries were at a very early stage and as part of this, a temporary airspace restriction - which includes drones - had been put in place in the area until 13:00 on Wednesday.

She said: "You must check if it is legal to fly in your area. Drone users are responsible. It is a criminal offence to fly in restricted airspace.

"A police cordon remains in place and members of the public are asked to avoid the area."

Scott Street and South Street are still closed.

Satellite imagery shared with BBC Verify has provided a clearer picture of damage inflicted on two of Iran's key nuclear sites as well as other military targets.

Imagery from two different providers shows damage to the Natanz nuclear facility as well as a missile site south of the city of Tabriz - hit in the first round of strikes against Iran on Friday.

Other images show damage to other known missile bases.

Israel is continuing to target numerous sites across Iran, which has prompted retaliatory strikes.

Nuclear sites

Newly released optical satellite imagery from Maxar shows the clearest picture yet of what happened at key Iranian nuclear sites at Natanz and Isfahan.

At Natanz, we can see damage to the pilot fuel enrichment plant and an electrical substation, according to analysis by the Institute for Space and International Security (ISIS).

This follows on from earlier analysis of radar imagery that first showed the damage.

On Friday the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Grossi, told the UN Security Council that "the above-ground part of the pilot fuel enrichment plant, where Iran was producing uranium enriched up to 60% U-235, has been destroyed".

Uranium-235 is essential both for nuclear power stations and also for nuclear weapons.

Verified footage taken shortly after the strikes show several plumes of smoke rising from the site.

Justin Bronk of the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), told BBC Verify that, while inconclusive, the pattern of explosions "would fit with penetrating bombs being used. Probably GBU-31(V)3s or even possibly more specialised penetrating GBU-28s".

These munitions, known as "bunker busters", have been used by Israel in the past to target underground facilities in both Gaza and Lebanon.

However, Mr Grossi said there is "no indication of a physical attack on the underground cascade hall containing part of the pilot fuel enrichment plant and the main fuel enrichment plant".

On Saturday, the IAEA confirmed that four "critical buildings" were damaged at Isfahan, including the Uranium conversion facility and the fuel plate fabrication plant.

BBC Verify analysis of the latest images from Maxar found visible damage to at least two structures at Isfahan and an apparent scorch mark near the periphery of the site.

The IAEA has said that "no increase in off-site radiation" has been recorded at either Natanz or Isfahan.

Maxar also provided imagery from two other key Iranian nuclear sites which showed no visible evidence of damage, specficially the the Arak heavy water reactor or the Fordow enrichment facility.

Iranian media had reported the latter site was targeted, but the IDF have since denied this.

Missile/Radar sites

Imagery and analysis captured on Friday by Umbra Space reveals damage to several parts of a missile complex near the city of Tabriz in north-western Iran.

The damaged sites include weapon storage areas, missile shelters and silos, according to the annotated graphic provided by Umbra with analysis by geospatial intelligence consultant Chris Biggers.

In Kermanshah, low resolution imagery from Planet Labs shows what appears to be extensive burn marks to an area near a known missile base, and possible damage to two buildings.

Footage we verified from the same site on Friday showed at least three large plumes of smoke rising from the base.

Maxar also provided imagery showing significant damage to one structure at Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Ghadir ballistic missile base near Tehran, and considerable damage to the IRGC radar site in Piranshahr in West Azerbaijan Province.

Protests against President Donald Trump have taken place in towns and cities across the US, organised by a group called "No Kings".

The demonstrations were held to counter a rare military parade hosted by Trump in Washington DC, and came after days of protests in Los Angeles and elsewhere over his immigration policies.

Lawmakers, union leaders and activists gave speeches in cities including New York, Philadelphia and Houston to crowds waving American flags and placards critical of Trump.

The military parade on Saturday evening, also Trump's birthday, was timed to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the US Army. He warned that any protests at the parade would be met with "heavy force".

Organisers said there were hundreds of protests with millions of participants.

In Philadelphia, people gathered in Love Park. "I just feel like we need to defend our democracy," Karen Van Trieste, a 61-year-old nurse, told the Associated Press.

She said Trump's staffing cuts to public health agencies were one of the reasons why she turned out.

One of the larger crowds was in Los Angeles where leaders and law enforcement have been on high alert during days of protests, sometimes violent, against a series of deportation raids.

Trump sent in the state's National Guard a week ago against the wishes of Governor Gavin Newsom and to the anger of local officials.

On Saturday, Jose Azetcla, a member of the civil rights group the Brown Berets, told the BBC in Los Angeles that it was immigration that brought him out on to the streets.

"It's not harsh, it's evil. You don't separate families," he said.

There were confrontations between protesters and National Guard soldiers near the Federal Building and tear gas was fired to disperse the crowds.

But a block or two away, hundreds of protesters continued marching peacefully.

Despite the largest outpouring of protests since Trump was re-elected, opinion polls indicate his immigration policies remain broadly popular with the public.

A CBS/YouGov survey last week found 54% of Americans approved of his policy to deport immigrants who are in the US illegally - 46% disapproved.

A plurality of Americans (42%) said Trump's programme was making them safer and 53% said he was prioritising the deportation of dangerous criminals.

The "No Kings" name of the protests refers to criticism that Trump has overstepped the limits of presidential power in his second term.

The president stood to salute as some of the thousands of uniformed soldiers taking part in the parade marched past, alongside dozens of tanks and military vehicles, plus marching bands.

He spoke briefly to thank those present for their service.

"Our soldiers never give up. Never surrender and never, ever quit. They fight, fight, fight. And they win, win, win."

Some politicians and former military leaders have criticised the event as a costly vanity project. The price tag is between $25m and $45m (£18.4m to £33.2m), according to the Army.

But many of those attending told the BBC that for them it was about celebrating the military, to which some of them held a deep connection.

When Melvin Graves returned from fighting in Vietnam, he got no parade, he said, so this was as close as he would come to one.

Mr Graves acknowledged politics played a part in the event but added: "This is about honouring these men and women who served, to thank them for their service."

The last US military parade was held by President George HW Bush in June 1991, celebrating the US-led victory in the Gulf War.

A crowd of 200,000 people attended the parade to cheer on veterans, peaking at 800,000 who watched the fireworks display, the LA Times reported at the time.

The numbers at Saturday's event was well below that, partly due to wet conditions and the forecast of heavy rain.

For younger veterans, the parade was something they never saw during their time in service.

Brian Angel, a former infantryman from Virginia who served in the Army between 2014 and 2017, including a stint at the border between South and North Korea, told the BBC he wanted to see more of this.

"Every branch should get some sort of parade or recognition."

Some experts saw an uneasy juxtaposition between US soldiers marching through the capital while troops had been deployed by the president to deal with protests in LA.

Security expert Barbara Starr told the BBC: "Because of that polarisation right now over this immigration debate and the use of troops in uniforms carrying weapons, I think it does overhang this parade in a way that was perhaps not originally envisioned by the army."

• Hiding in fields - farm workers in California fear deportation

Some of the "No Kings" demonstrations in the state of Minnesota were cancelled by organisers after flyers for the event were found in the car of the man accused of fatally shooting a state politician and her husband.

Governor Tim Walz urged people not to attend protests until the suspect had been arrested but that did not stop thousands turning out.

The Prince and Princess of Wales have shared new photos of Prince William with their three children to mark Father's Day.

One is a portrait shot showing the prince standing with his arms around George and Charlotte while Louis stands in front of him - the other is a landscape image in black and white appearing to show the four lying on the grass in an embrace.

The two photos, shared on the couple's official social media account, are accompanied with the caption "Happy Father's Day, Papa (before and after!) We love you! G, C & L" along with a heart emoji.

It comes as the family attended Trooping the Colour on Saturday celebrating the King's official birthday.

A family photo from Saturday's event was shared on the same Instagram account featuring Prince William dressed in uniform, Catherine and Charlotte in blue dresses with George and Louis in suits with red ties.

The Father's Day photos shared on Sunday were taken by Josh Shinner who has taken pictures of Prince William and Catherine's family before, including their Christmas card for 2023.

Last year's Father's Day photo was taken by Catherine.

It featured the prince standing with his three children, their arms around each other, looking out to sea.

The royal couple typically share images of their children to mark special occasions such as birthdays.

Seven people have died in a helicopter crash in the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand, officials have said.

According to local media reports, the aircraft was flying from the state capital, Dehradun, to a popular pilgrimage site in the Himalayan mountains.

It is understood that rescue teams were immediately dispatched and a coordinated operation to retrieve the bodies has been carried out with local police.

The pilot and a two-year-old child were among those killed, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation said, adding that the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) will investigate the crash.

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.

Fur imported and sold in the UK should be banned, an MP has said.

While fur farming has been banned in Wales and England since 2000, many types of fur are still legally imported and sold.

Ruth Jones, Labour MP for Newport West and Islwyn, has introduced a Private Members' Bill to Parliament that would prohibit the import and sale of new fur products.

The British Fur Trade Association (BFTA) accused Jones of being the "wardrobe police", adding the ban would be "unenforceable and unworkable" and may breach trade agreements with the EU and the US.

Jones said: "Twenty years ago, a Labour government banned fur farming because it was cruel and inhumane.

"If we think it's cruel and inhumane to farm it, why are we importing it? It doesn't make sense."

The MP added: "Caged animals are kept in dreadful, inhumane conditions just to provide fur for a declining industry.

"Faux fur could do the job just as well."

Sonul Badiani-Hamment, UK director for animal welfare organisation Four Paws, recently presented a petition with one-and-a-half million signatures in support of a fur-free Britain, alongside other campaigners.

"There isn't any justification for the cruelty experienced by these animals on fur farms," she said.

"Country after country are leaving the market. Sweden recently committed to decommissioning the fur trade entirely."

The British Fashion Council attended one of the campaign group's events in Parliament to support the proposed bill, she said.

Ms Badiani-Hamment said she had noticed the fashion industry changing, adding there were "very few designers left in the country handling fur".

"It's just not desirable."

But Mel Kaplan, who works at Vintage Fur Garden in London, said demand for vintage fur was growing.

"We have queues going out the door in the winter," she said.

"Over the past three years, there's been a resurgence in the want for vintage fur.

"I think younger people especially are looking more to vintage clothing in general. I think fast fashion has taken a decline in popularity."

Furriers in the UK sell a variety of fur that has been imported from other countries.

The import or export of cat and dog fur, and products containing their fur, is banned. There is also a ban on selling cat and dog fur in the UK market.

The new bill calls for a ban on all new fur being imported or sold in the UK and would not apply to vintage items.

Ms Kaplan said all the coats and jackets in their store were from the 1950s, 60s, 70s, and 80s.

The shop has a rigorous process when acquiring fur products to ensure that what they are selling is vintage, not new fur, she added.

Ms Kaplan also said vintage fur was sustainable, adding: "If it were to be discarded, it would go back into the earth, everything - all the fibres and the fur is natural.

"I don't support the making of new furs, I don't support the farming and I don't support the sale of it, but I can get behind a piece that was already made with the intention of being worn so it can carry on being worn."

In a statement, the BFTA warned that a ban could cost thousands of skilled British jobs.

"Standards in the fur sector are among the highest of any form of animal husbandry with rigorous and comprehensive animal welfare standards, third-party inspection and strict international and national laws," it said.

"Fur is popular as evidenced by the number of young people choosing to wear it who are rejecting oil-based fast fashions often made in sweatshop conditions.

"MPs like Ruth Jones should respect that others are happy to wear high-welfare fur, rather than acting like the wardrobe police."

The second reading of the bill is expected to take place in Parliament on 4 July.

Meanwhile, the UK government said it was building a "clear evidence base to inform future action", with an updated animal welfare strategy due to be published later this year.

A couple who went to India to celebrate their engagement have been named among the victims of the Air India plane crash.

More than 240 people were killed on Thursday when a Boeing 787 bound for Gatwick crashed shortly after take-off in Ahmedabad.

Prayers have been taking place at the Shree Hanuman Temple in Leicester to remember the victims, including engaged couple Hardik Avaiya and Vibhooti Patel.

Friends of the couple were among those paying their respects, with one saying "Hardik was like my small brother, and Vibhooti was like my small sister".

The plane was carrying 242 people when it crashed shortly after taking off from Ahmedabad airport, in western India.

There were 169 Indian nationals, 53 Britons, seven Portuguese nationals and one Canadian on the flight.

The Leicester temple held a hymn festival to pray for all victims and come to terms with the tragedy.

Friends of the couple said Ms Patel was a physiotherapist, while Mr Avaiya worked in a warehouse

Mr Avaiya was described by the Melton Road temple's secretary as a "model devotee and volunteer".

Dhaval Patel, who worked with Mr Avaiya, said: "We were on our way to pick him up when I got a call to say a plane to Gatwick had crashed in Ahmedabad.

"So we immediately checked the ticket and matched the flight number and we just cried."

Staff said Mr Avaiya attended a couple of times a week to help with events at the temple.

Mr Patel said: "He didn't like the limelight, he just worked in the background to get things done.

"He was jovial, liked to crack a joke. He was dedicated, hard working, very pleasant.

"He was model devotee and volunteer because he had selfless service."

"When he left he asked the staff if the temple needed anything bringing back, that's the kind of person he was."

While the staff at the temple heard about the crash early on, news of the casualties only came through afterwards and confirmation came from Mr Avaiya's friends.

Mr Patel said: "We were absolutely devastated, its like losing a family member.

"Events like this people come together and give their respects and gives us some sort of a release from the feeling of shock and feeling distraught.

"It's a feeling of helplessness, emptiness, normally if something goes wrong, we can sort things out but this has been very difficult."

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

This week's G7 summit in Canada will be dominated by war - only not one of those that the world leaders had expected.

High on the agenda had been Russia's war against Ukraine and Donald Trump's tariff war against America's trading partners.

Instead the three-day gathering in the Rocky Mountains of Alberta will inevitably be focused on war in the Middle East.

Israel's decision to attack Iran will force the Group of Seven western powers to spend less time on other issues and instead discuss ways of managing the conflict.

Like so many of their discussions, that will involve Britain, France, Germany and Italy - along with Canada and Japan - seeking to influence the United States.

For although Israel might have launched these strikes without explicit American support, the US president is the only leader with real leverage over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

• Follow latest on Israel-Iran attacks
• What are the worst-case scenarios?

The G7 leaders, due to arrive in Canada on Sunday, know the global security and economic risks if this conflict escalates, dragging in other countries, sending oil prices soaring.

Yet they may struggle to achieve a common position. Some, such as UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and President Emmanuel Macron of France, have called for restraint and de-escalation.

But others such as Japan's Prime Minister, Shigeru Ishiba, have condemned Israel's attack as "intolerable" and "extremely regrettable". For his part, Mr Trump praised Israel's strikes as "excellent".

Hiding the divisions

All this is a long way from what Mark Carney, the new Canadian Prime Minister, had planned for the talks in the wilderness retreat of Kananaskis. He wanted a summit to mark the G7's 50th birthday that avoided rows with Mr Trump.

Much of his agenda was non-controversial, about energy security, protecting mineral supply chains, accelerating the digital transition and tackling forest fires.

There was little mention of issues such as climate change, on which Mr Trump is a sceptic. Canadian officials even decided not to have a summit communique to avoid textual disputes dominating the gathering.

Instead, world leaders will agree a number of "short, action-oriented statements" that maintain consensus and ignore divisive issues.

• Starmer heads to Canada for G7

Canadians well remember the last time they hosted a G7 gathering in 2018 when there was a row over - yes - Donald Trump's trade tariffs. The president stormed out early and, on the plane home, withdrew his support for the summit communique after watching Justin Trudeau, the then Canadian Prime Minister, give a press conference Mr Trump described as "very dishonest and weak".

This summit Mr Carney may arrange a visit to Kananaskis golf club to try to keep Mr Trump onside.

An awkward family gathering

Beneath this caution lingers a fundamental question about whether these annual gatherings are still worth it, given Mr Trump's clear disdain. He prefers bilateral dealmaking to multilateral consensus-building.

This is the president's first such foray onto the world stage since his inauguration and his six partners will be looking anxiously to see whether he wants to pick a fight - or look statesmanlike - for voters back home.

• Who's who in famous G7 photo from 2018

Max Bergmann, director of the Europe, Russia and Eurasia Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said: "The question now is not so much 'is this an awkward family gathering?' That's almost a given. I think the question is: 'is this still a family?'"

In one respect, the dramatis personae in Kananaskis helps. There are several new faces around the table - Sir Keir Starmer, Chancellor Merz of Germany, Mr Ishiba and Mr Carney himself. The more veteran G7 leaders - President Macron and Prime Minister Meloni of Italy - get on well with the US president.

Other leaders also attending the summit, from Mexico, India, Australia, South Africa, South Korea and Brazil, are not expected to pick a fight.

Tackling Trump over tariffs

The most obvious test of the G7's existential tensions will be Mr Trump's trade war.

This club of some of the world's richest industrial nations was set up in the 1970s to discuss global economic crises. And yet now the G7 finds itself dealing with damaging tariffs imposed by one of its members.

The argument world leaders will make to Mr Trump is that if he wants them to help him counter longer-term threats, economic or otherwise, from China, then it makes little sense for him to punish his allies. They will want to make explicit that there is a trade-off between putting America First and taking on Beijing.

Josh Lipsky, senior director, Atlantic Council's GeoEconomics Center, said: "If the question is how we coordinate on China, how we coordinate on technology, how we coordinate on Russia and Ukraine - how can we have this kind of alliance between advanced-economy democracies if we're also creating economic hardship on our countries by something that's coming from another member?"

Pressing Russia over Ukraine

Key to that debate will be Ukraine. President Zelensky will join the discussions on Tuesday. His aim, along with other leaders, will be to assess the current state of President Trump's thinking towards Russia.

Ukraine's allies want to put more pressure on President Putin to come to the negotiating table. To do that, they want to hit his economy harder.

First, they want to reduce the price much of the world pays for Russian oil.

They already agreed in December 2022 to cap the price of Russian crude oil at $60 a barrel, making that a condition of access to western ports and shipping insurance and port. But this has been rendered less effective by falling energy prices.

The European Commission wants a cap at $45. Ukraine wants it even lower, at $30. What is not clear is where Mr Trump's thinking is on this. Already some officials say allies may have to lower the cap without US support.

Second, Ukraine's western allies also want a tough new package of economic sanctions.

The European Commission has already proposed a fresh round of penalties aimed at Moscow's energy revenues, banks and military industry.

US senators, led by Lindsay Graham, are also pushing tough new sanctions that that would impose steep tariffs on countries that buy cheap Russian oil, most particularly China and India.

It used to be said the G7 was a kind of "steering committee" for the free world. This week may reveal whether the club's driving days are over

Doctors in India say 270 bodies have been recovered from the site of Thursday's plane crash in Ahmedabad.

The London-bound aircraft crashed into a residential area shortly after take-off killing all but one of the 242 passengers, a 40-year-old British man.

Officials have been trying to establish how many people were killed on the ground and have been continuing the slow process of matching DNA samples to confirm the victims' identities.

Vigils honouring the dead have taken place across India and the UK.

The man accused of being responsible for holding the missing American journalist Austin Tice has claimed that ousted Syrian President Bashar al-Assad ordered his execution, security sources have told the BBC.

Major General Bassam Al Hassan is a former commander in the Republican Guards who was part of President Assad's inner circle.

He was also the Chief of Staff of the National Defence Forces (NDF), the paramilitary group that a BBC investigation uncovered was responsible for holding Mr Tice after his abduction in 2012.

The discovery was made as part of an upcoming BBC Radio 4 podcast about the disappearance of Austin Tice.

The American journalist vanished near the Syrian capital of Damascus in August 2012, just days after his 31st birthday.

He had been working as a freelance journalist and was leaving Syria when he was abducted.

The fallen regime consistently denied knowing of his whereabouts - the BBC investigation showed that was false and that Mr Tice was being held in Damascus.

Al Hassan, who is subject to UK, EU, Canadian and US sanctions, oversaw the facility where Mr Tice was held.

Earlier this year, he is said to have met with US law enforcement at least three times in Lebanon.

Sources claim that at least one of those meetings was in the US embassy complex.

During these conversations, he is said to have told investigators from the FBI and CIA that the now-ousted President Assad ordered the execution of missing American journalist Austin Tice.

Sources familiar with the conversations told the BBC that Al Hassan claims to have initially tried to dissuade President Assad from killing Mr Tice, but that he eventually passed on this order and that it was carried out.

Al Hassan is also understood to have provided possible locations for the journalist's body. Sources familiar with the FBI investigation have said that efforts to confirm the validity of Al Hassan's claims are ongoing, and that a search is intended to happen of the sites where Mr Tice's body could be.

Western intelligence sources familiar with the details of Al Hassan's claim that President Assad gave the order to kill Mr Tice are sceptical that he would directly give such an instruction, as he is known for having mechanisms for distancing himself from such actions.

The BBC accompanied Mr Tice's mother, Debra, to Beirut as the 13th anniversary of her son's disappearance approaches. Upon finding out that Bassam al Hassan had spoken to US officials, Debra Tice attempted to meet with Al Hassan herself and contacted the US embassy requesting assistance.

She told the BBC: "I just want to be able to speak to him as a mother and ask him about my son." Her attempt to meet with Al Hassan was unsuccessful.

When asked about the claims by Al Hassan, she said her feeling was that he "fed the FBI a story that they wanted to hear" to help them close the case.

Debra Tice has led a tireless and determined campaign to bring her son home and remains committed to finding him. She told the BBC: "I am his mother, I still believe that my son is alive and that he will walk free."

Separately, a former member of the NDF with intimate knowledge of Austin Tice's detention told the BBC "that Austin's value was understood" and that he was a "card" that could be played in diplomatic negotiations with the US.

Bassam Al Hassan was considered one of President Assad's most trusted advisors. After the Syrian regime's collapse in December, Mr Al Hassan had fled to Iran.

Sources close to him have told the BBC that while in Iran, Al Hassan received a phone call and was asked to come to Lebanon to meet with US officials. It is believed that he was given assurances that he would not be detained.

For years, consecutive US presidents have said that Mr Tice, a former US Marine captain, who served in Iraq and Afghanistan and was a law student at the prestigious Georgetown University in Washington, was alive.

In December 2024, then President Joe Biden told reporters at the White House that "we believe he's alive," and that "we think we can get him back, but we have no direct evidence of that yet".

Protests against President Donald Trump have taken place in towns and cities across the US, organised by a group called "No Kings".

The demonstrations were held to counter a rare military parade hosted by Trump in Washington DC, and came after days of protests in Los Angeles and elsewhere over his immigration policies.

Lawmakers, union leaders and activists gave speeches in cities including New York, Philadelphia and Houston to crowds waving American flags and placards critical of Trump.

The military parade on Saturday evening, also Trump's birthday, was timed to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the US Army. He warned that any protests at the parade would be met with "heavy force".

Organisers said there were hundreds of protests with millions of participants.

In Philadelphia, people gathered in Love Park. "I just feel like we need to defend our democracy," Karen Van Trieste, a 61-year-old nurse, told the Associated Press.

She said Trump's staffing cuts to public health agencies were one of the reasons why she turned out.

One of the larger crowds was in Los Angeles where leaders and law enforcement have been on high alert during days of protests, sometimes violent, against a series of deportation raids.

Trump sent in the state's National Guard a week ago against the wishes of Governor Gavin Newsom and to the anger of local officials.

On Saturday, Jose Azetcla, a member of the civil rights group the Brown Berets, told the BBC in Los Angeles that it was immigration that brought him out on to the streets.

"It's not harsh, it's evil. You don't separate families," he said.

There were confrontations between protesters and National Guard soldiers near the Federal Building and tear gas was fired to disperse the crowds.

But a block or two away, hundreds of protesters continued marching peacefully.

Despite the largest outpouring of protests since Trump was re-elected, opinion polls indicate his immigration policies remain broadly popular with the public.

A CBS/YouGov survey last week found 54% of Americans approved of his policy to deport immigrants who are in the US illegally - 46% disapproved.

A plurality of Americans (42%) said Trump's programme was making them safer and 53% said he was prioritising the deportation of dangerous criminals.

The "No Kings" name of the protests refers to criticism that Trump has overstepped the limits of presidential power in his second term.

The president stood to salute as some of the thousands of uniformed soldiers taking part in the parade marched past, alongside dozens of tanks and military vehicles, plus marching bands.

He spoke briefly to thank those present for their service.

"Our soldiers never give up. Never surrender and never, ever quit. They fight, fight, fight. And they win, win, win."

Some politicians and former military leaders have criticised the event as a costly vanity project. The price tag is between $25m and $45m (£18.4m to £33.2m), according to the Army.

But many of those attending told the BBC that for them it was about celebrating the military, to which some of them held a deep connection.

When Melvin Graves returned from fighting in Vietnam, he got no parade, he said, so this was as close as he would come to one.

Mr Graves acknowledged politics played a part in the event but added: "This is about honouring these men and women who served, to thank them for their service."

The last US military parade was held by President George HW Bush in June 1991, celebrating the US-led victory in the Gulf War.

A crowd of 200,000 people attended the parade to cheer on veterans, peaking at 800,000 who watched the fireworks display, the LA Times reported at the time.

The numbers at Saturday's event was well below that, partly due to wet conditions and the forecast of heavy rain.

For younger veterans, the parade was something they never saw during their time in service.

Brian Angel, a former infantryman from Virginia who served in the Army between 2014 and 2017, including a stint at the border between South and North Korea, told the BBC he wanted to see more of this.

"Every branch should get some sort of parade or recognition."

Some experts saw an uneasy juxtaposition between US soldiers marching through the capital while troops had been deployed by the president to deal with protests in LA.

Security expert Barbara Starr told the BBC: "Because of that polarisation right now over this immigration debate and the use of troops in uniforms carrying weapons, I think it does overhang this parade in a way that was perhaps not originally envisioned by the army."

• Hiding in fields - farm workers in California fear deportation

Some of the "No Kings" demonstrations in the state of Minnesota were cancelled by organisers after flyers for the event were found in the car of the man accused of fatally shooting a state politician and her husband.

Governor Tim Walz urged people not to attend protests until the suspect had been arrested but that did not stop thousands turning out.

The homes of two Minnesota state lawmakers have been targeted in shootings early on Saturday morning, CBS News, the BBC's US news partner, reported.

They were the homes of State Senator John Hoffman and Minnesota House Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman, both from the Democratic-Farmer-Labour (DFL) Party, in Champlin and Brooklyn Park, neighbouring cities near Minneapolis.

It is unclear who was shot in the homes or their condition, CBS reported.

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz earlier said "targeted shootings" had taken place.

Brooklyn Park Police Department has issued a shelter-in-place order for a three-mile (4.8 km) radius of Edinburgh Golf Course.

Zach Lindstrom, the mayor of nearby Mounds View, said elected officials had received a "safety alert".

Authorities are warning people in the area not to answer their door for a police officer unless there are two officers together, local outlet Fox 9 reported.

Mayor Lindstrom said on X that he had heard the suspect was someone impersonating an "officer and they haven't been caught".

Walz said on X that authorities are "monitoring the situation closely" and he has activated a State Emergency Operations Center - used for managing disasters or emergencies.

The government has written to Sainsbury's and Morrisons asking them to stop "advertising and promoting" heated tobacco products, which it says is against the law.

The BBC reported in February the supermarkets were displaying posters and video screens showing devices which create a nicotine-containing vapour by heating tobacco with an electric current.

At the time, both supermarkets said they believed the adverts were legal.

In response to the letter, Sainsbury's said it was in "close contact with the government", while Morrisons said it would reply "in due course".

In 2002, the Labour government under Tony Blair passed a law banning tobacco advertising. It defined a tobacco product as something designed to be "smoked, sniffed, sucked or chewed".

Morrisons has argued that this means that it doesn't apply to heated tobacco products, as they don't produce smoke.

Advertising for Philip Morris International's (PMI) iQos heated tobacco device on posters and video screens was still on display in Sainsbury's and Morrisons stores visited by the BBC in June, where they were visible to children.

PMI said it believes the Department of Health's interpretation of the law is wrong, and said it has "complied with all applicable laws and regulations" since it launched iQos in 2016.

The government has now written to the supermarkets clarifying that in its opinion, the law does apply to these products.

A Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) spokesperson told the BBC: "In May, we wrote to supermarkets reiterating that the Tobacco Advertising and Promotion Act 2002… applies to all tobacco products currently on the market, and formally requested they stop advertising and promoting heated tobacco products in stores.

"All tobacco products are harmful to health," the spokesperson added.

Surveys by the charity Action on Smoking and Health suggest that awareness of heated tobacco products has risen sharply over the past year, and is even higher among young adults, compared with those over 40.

Among 11 to 17-year-olds, nearly a quarter had heard of heated tobacco, up from 7.1% in 2022, the last time they were surveyed.

Some 3.3% of respondents to their survey said they had tried heated tobacco, and for 11 to 17-year-olds, the figure was 2.7%. While low, the charity said this was still "worryingly similar to the levels of use among adults".

Experts say that although research on the health effects of heated tobacco is limited, it is likely to be less harmful than cigarettes, but worse for you than vapes, and less effective at helping smokers quit.

• Are heated tobacco products a new health risk?

A spokesperson for Morrisons said it was reviewing the letter and would respond "in due course".

Sainsbury's said it believed its ads were compliant with the law. A spokesperson said: "We remain in close contact with the government and industry partners and are planning our transition to ensure we also comply with planned incoming legislation."

It would be for a court to rule definitively whether the government is right that heated tobacco advertising is banned under current law - but so far no-one has brought a case.

The law will be clarified when the government passes the Tobacco and Vapes Bill, which is expected to conclusively ban all tobacco and vape advertising and sponsorship.

The bill is making its way through parliament and is currently at the committee stage in the House of Lords.

Hazel Cheeseman, the chief executive of Action on Smoking and Health, urged the government to pass the law as quickly as possible.

"It is outrageous that certain supermarkets still do not seem to be prepared to comply with the law, even when told they are in breach.

"The longer this takes to resolve, the more children will be exposed to tobacco product marketing," she added.

The Tobacco Advertising and Promotion Act applies UK-wide, but health is a devolved issue. The devolved administrations in Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland all said they agreed with the DHSC in England that advertising heated tobacco is banned.

Asda and Tesco both said they do not accept tobacco advertising.

On the frozen frontline in the east of Zaporizhzhia, a Ukrainian soldier surveyed the fallout from a Russian assault. It was the middle of January 2024 and the ground was covered in ice. Two weeks earlier, an 18-strong Russian assault team had broken through the line and seized three positions, killing five Ukrainians and losing 10 Russians before ceding the thin stretch of land back to the Ukrainians just hours later. The three positions that had changed hands were each just a few foxholes in the ground –⁠ dots on a devastated landscape of craters and shredded trees.

The Ukrainian soldier filmed as he looked over the remains of his fallen comrades. "This is Vitas, the small one," he said, using the dead man's callsign. He examined another body. "A silver ring, this is Grinch," he said. With difficulty, he turned over another frozen body. It was in bad condition, but the face was recognisable. The soldier sighed. "What can I find to cover you, so that you won't get cold," he said to the dead man. He picked up a nearby helmet and placed it over the damaged face. "We have found the Penguin," he said.

A year later, in January 2025, a Russian soldier was frog-marched down the corridor of a rundown local courthouse in Zaporizhzhia flanked by five Ukrainian soldiers and a large rottweiler trained on the Russian's scent and straining at its leash to attack him. Dmitriy Kurashov, callsign 'Stalker', was about to go on trial for the alleged battlefield execution of Vitalii Hodniuk, a veteran 41-year-old Ukrainian soldier known by the callsign 'Penguin'.

The trial was to be the first of its kind. According to Ukrainian authorities, Russian troops have executed at least 124 prisoners of war on the battlefield since the full-scale invasion began, but Kurashov is the first person to be brought to trial in Ukraine for the crime. His case is one of a tiny number among the tens of thousands of open war crimes cases where a suspect has been captured and can be made to stand in the dock. Adding to the unprecedented nature of the event, three members of Kurashov's own unit had agreed to testify against him.

In the bright, boxy courtroom, Kurashov was locked in a glass-enclosed dock. Short in stature, his head often bowed, he cut a subdued figure. When he did look around, he was forced to swivel his head because he had lost one eye to a grenade at the front. It was not Kurashov's first time in the dock; he had been jailed twice before in Russia, and was among the thousands of prisoners freed by the state to take part in the war.

The prosecutor read the charges. Kurashov was accused of shooting Hodniuk execution style as the Ukrainian soldier attempted to surrender – a violation of the laws of war. Kurashov had intially pleaded not guilty, during the pre-trial phase, but now in court he switched his plea to guilty. Informally, he maintained his innocence, and was making the switch purely to speed up the process, he said.

According to the UN, battlefield executions by Russians have increased at an alarming rate over the past year. In a February report, the UN human rights mission in Ukraine said it had found evidence of 79 executions by Russian forces since August 2024, as well as evidence of three illegal killings by Ukraine using first-person drones. The UN also said it had found at least three calls by Russian public officials ordering or approving executions, and according to Ukraine there is evidence of Russian battlefield commanders ordering executions up and down the frontline.

The assault on the front by Kurashov's unit was to be his first proper operation, just a few weeks after joining the war. The unit was part of "Storm-V", a detachment of the 127th motorised rifle division made up almost entirely of freed prisoners. The Storm-V units have been used by Russia as cannon fodder, sent to stage assaults on the worst parts of the frontline. They are a grim echo of similar units formed by Stalin, characterised principally by their extremely high rate of attrition.

The operation began early on the morning of 6 January 2024 under a dense fog. The 18-strong Storm-V team approached the frontline in two armoured vehicles and a tank and the assault began. Kurashov was directed towards the small cluster of foxholes where Hodniuk and others were hiding, following a Russian artillery barrage.

This is where Kurashov's account diverges from that of the prosecution and the Russian soldiers testifying against him. They say Kurashov called into a foxhole for those inside to surrender and Hodniuk emerged unarmed and kneeled on the ground, only for Kurashov to shoot him with a burst from his AK-47. Kurashov says that it was not him who fired the shots but another Russian, a medic with callsign "Sedoy", who was later killed.

The Russians could not hold the position for long. Overpowered by Ukrainian forces just hours later, Kurashov and the other survivors crawled out of the foxholes and surrendered. They were marched away from the front to a Ukrainian armoured vehicle and taken as prisoners of war. Ukrainian soldiers who saw Hodniuk's body told the country's state security service, the SBU, that it lay face down with no weapon nearby.

The SBU could not access the scene, because it was too close to the contact line, but the agency began what would become an extensive remote investigation. At an SBU location in Zaporizhzhia last month, the officer in charge – who spoke on condition of anonymity because of his work in the security service – drew a map of the scene and explained how they put Kurashov in the dock.

"The first step was interrogating the eight prisoners of war," he said. "They were questioned as witnesses and later their identities were fully confirmed via social networks, mobile phones, and partial radio intercepts that preceded the event. The entire unit in that sector was tracked."

Initially, there were two suspected executions. Another Ukrainian, callsign 'Grinch', had been beaten to death with a shovel, one witness said. But the SBU couldn't prove it. "The polygraph didn't confirm the information and when the bodies were eventually recovered from the battlefield, none of them had such injuries," the investigator said. "My opinion, after examining all the facts, is that this was made up."

It was, he said, an example of Ukraine's ability to investigate and prosecute war crimes impartially, despite being the victim and under an ongoing state of war from the aggressor. "Look, we have one suspect on trial for an execution," the SBU investigator said, referring to Kurashov. "I signed it and sent it to court because we've gathered enough evidence that points to guilt. If our goal was simply to suspect anyone and send them to court we would have ten prisoners passing through every day."

The seriousness with which Ukraine is treating this criminal prosecution is apparent. The SBU investigation produced more than 2,000 pages of evidence. Each of the witnesses was put through filmed reconstructions of the event on a Ukrainian army shooting range. In court, all efforts have been made by the prosecutor and the judges to ensure that Kurashov understands his rights, that he can understand his translator, and is given the opportunity to cross examine witnesses against him – an opportunity he has so far declined. (Kurashov's state-appointed lawyer declined to speak to the BBC. She has spoken only briefly in court, on administrative matters and to clarify some descriptions of the event by witnesses.)

The three Russian witnesses all testified on the first day of Kurashov's trial – three former prisoners who like Kurashov had gambled on surviving the war to gain their freedom. One had been serving 25 years to life for killing two drug dealers, another nine years for grievous bodily harm for killing a man with a brick in a fight, a third eight years, also for grievous bodily harm.

• Families of Ukraine's missing fear peace will not return them
• Ukraine's front-line soldiers eye Russia talks with hope
• How Ukraine carried out daring 'Spider Web' attack

They gave evidence via video link from an adjacent courtroom, so they could be locked in their own dock. Dmitry Zuev, 44, was to be the key witness. He told the court that he saw Kurashov call for the Ukrainians to come out of the foxhole and surrender, after which Hodniuk emerged and knelt with his hands up. Then there were more gunshots and explosions, Zuev said, and he saw Hodniuk fall face down into the mud. Zuev also told the court that he personally knew the medic, Sedoy, who Kurashov has accused of the killing, and Sedoy was not there.

Oleg Zamyatin, 54, testified that Hodniuk was not holding a gun when he emerged from the foxhole. Zamyatin did not see Kurashov fire the alleged shots, he said, because there were explosions at the same moment.

"But I can say that it was him," Zamyatin told the court. "Because there was no one else at that spot except him."

Konstantin Zelenin, 41, the commander of Kurashov's small assault group, told the court he was hiding in a crater when he saw Hodniuk exit the foxhole on the right side with his hands up.

"Then, just a split second later, as the shelling began again, I heard a burst from an automatic rifle," Zelenin said.

"On the right side was Stalker, and he was there alone."

In the dock, Kurashov sat largely mute as his former unit mates testified against him, speaking only occasionally to his lawyer through a slim gap in the enclosure's door. It is not clear yet if he will testify on his own behalf. The day after one of his hearings, he agreed to talk to the BBC about how he had ended up on trial in Ukraine.

The interview was co-ordinated by the SBU and conducted at a derelict building in Zaporizhzhia being used as a kind of safe house by the service, which confirmed the basic facts of Kurashov's life. Kurashov appeared in good condition and said he had agreed freely to take part. The lead judge in his case permitted the interview, for which an SBU press officer was present some of the time. Kurashov's remarks to the BBC will not be admissible in court.

His journey to that miserable stretch of front where Hodniuk died – to becoming Stalker – began in an orphanage in Gremyachinsk, a decayed old coal town about a thousand miles from Moscow on the way to Siberia. Orphaned at birth, Kurashov was raised in a group home. As a teenager, he got into a fight with a police officer and was imprisoned for assault. He served four years, but on his release he had no family, friends or place to live, so he became a vagrant. He began robbing summer houses and shops for food and money, he said, resulting in another imprisonment, this time in a remote penal colony alongside men serving life sentences for the some of the most brutal crimes.

Six months into that sentence, representatives from the Russian military came to the penal colony and told the convicts they had an opportunity to turn a new page in their lives. Kurashov still had five years to serve. "They told us you can have a clean slate, become a clean person," he said. "Just sign this contract and go."

"Go" meant to the "special military operation" in Ukraine. Kurashov knew little about it, he said, but he thought anything was better than five more years in the penal colony or being turned out into the streets at the end of his sentence. So he signed, and was taken immediately to a training camp in occupied territory in Ukraine.

Kurashov described his unit as made up entirely of "people who had been pushed down by life and rejected by society, who were outside of society". They were given 21 days training, he said, during which they were drunk almost all the time. "They did not want to study or train," he recalled. "They all said they were just there to die."

There was no training on the Geneva Convention, to which Russia and Ukraine are both signatories, and which prohibits the killing of people who have surrendered or no longer pose a threat. In fact, the trainers told them the opposite, Kurashov said. "The ones who taught us how to take positions told us not to take any prisoners," he said. His description matches accounts from his unit mates, who told Ukrainian investigators they were instructed to execute prisoners and throw grenades into dugouts even if the enemy had surrendered.

It also matches accounts from other Russian prisoners of war. "I don't recall training on international humanitarian law," a Russian POW told the UN recently. "During our military training and later, commanders told us not to take [Ukrainian soldiers] as prisoners of war. It is logistically cumbersome."

According to Kurashov, the unit were told they would be carrying out logistical operations like digging trenches, but instead found themselves headed immediately for battle. During the brief assault on the Ukrainian position, Kurashov's impression was not one of an able military unit at war. "What I saw was people who just laid down and died," he said. Within hours, 10 of the 18-strong assault team were dead and the remaining eight were in captivity.

Within a fortnight, the incident had become one of Ukraine's many thousands of war crimes cases. Ukraine has no specialist war crimes courts, so the cases generally fall to whichever court is local to the offence. In this case, the Zavodskyi District in Zaporizhzhia.

Prior to the full scale invasion, 32-year-old Zavodskyi District prosecutor Mykyta Manevskyi had taken on a range of civil crimes like robbery, vandalism and fraud, plus two murder cases, but never a war crime. "When you're working with an ordinary murder case, it has difficulties but it's pretty simple," Manevskyi said. "You know where the murder took place, you can collect DNA and fingerprints, you can find the murder weapon. You have almost immediate access to the body. You can conduct forensic tests."

In this case, Manevskyi's murder scene was on the contact line. "We could not even extract the body for two months," he said. "It made it difficult to perform any kind of forensic examination. The body was too long under the sun, the rain and snow, and it was harmed by artillery strikes."

That made it difficult to ascertain anything concrete about the nature of the shots that killed Hodniuk. "This is not the level of detail, unfortunately, that we need when investigating a murder," Manevskyi said. "So we had to focus more on working with the witnesses we had."

In fact, the prosecution is relying almost totally on the testimony of the Russian soldiers. There are no other eyewitnesses, no drone footage of the actual event and the physical evidence is circumstantial, much of it badly degraded by the battlefield conditions which persisted for weeks before the bodies could be recovered.

But the testimony is not without its complications. The witnesses are all POWs, being held by the nation prosecuting the case. They were each interrogated up to 10 times by the Ukrainian state security service, during which time some of their stories evolved. One bore a grudge against Kurashov from their time together in training, he told investigators. Another said he resented the defendant for, in his view, getting them caught.

"It is a tricky area," said Sergey Vasiliev, a professor of international law at the Open University of the Netherlands. "POWs are a particularly vulnerable category of witnesses, any evidence they give should be taken with a grain of salt." There was nothing inherently wrong with POWs testifying, Vasiliev said, but various factors could have affected their decision to appear for the prosecution. "Maybe they are expecting better treatment in Ukrainian custody, maybe they expect to be prioritised in a prisoner swap," he said. "They could have various incentives to lie."

Kurashov maintains his story about the medic, Sedoy. He told the BBC he had pleaded guilty because he believed the sooner the trial was over the sooner he could be exchanged back to Russia.

But if Kurashov is found guilty, he is no longer a prisoner of war. He is simply a prisoner in Ukraine's civil legal system. Yuriy Belousov, the head of the war crimes department of Ukraine's Office of the Prosecutor General, told the BBC that Russian soldiers convicted of war crimes would go to prison in Ukraine and stay there. "We prosecute on behalf of the victims and their relatives and they should feel justice has been done," Belousov said.

In the end, it may not be that simple. Russia has captured many thousands of civilians during its full scale invasion of Ukraine and is effectively holding them hostage in Russian prisons. If the Kremlin decides it wants Kurashov back, it may have leverage to get him.

"That is less of a legal and more of an ethical issue," Belousov said. "If, let's say, 100 people would be offered to exchange for this one, then yes maybe. It is our obligation to prosecute on behalf of victims, but it is also our obligation to save our people who have been kept in Russia."

Belousov and his colleagues are aiming at bigger fish than Kurashov. Their goal for this year and next is to bring cases against middle and higher level Russian command, he said. According to the testimony from the captured Russians in Kurashov's unit, their senior commander issued an order directly before the assault that no prisoners should be taken.

According to Belousov, similar evidence has been found up and down the frontline. Grim video evidence, sometimes shared on Russian social media, appears to bear that out. Russia has in turn accused Ukrainian troops of extra-judicial killings, and Ukraine has launched several investigations into its own forces (the exact number is unclear). But the number of allegations against Russia far outweighs that against Ukraine. Russia has previously denied committing war crimes in the conflict.

The UN has also documented several cases of Russian public figures calling for executions. Last July, after Ukraine's Azov Brigade posted a social media video showing one of its members shooting a Russian soldier in a dugout, the deputy head of Russia's Security Council, Dmitry Medvedev, called for "total executions" of Ukrainian servicemen.

"No words about mercy. No humanity. No pardon. They have no right to life. Execute, execute and execute," Medvedev wrote on the Telegram social media platform.

Medvedev's words will not cost him anything. Instead they run downhill until they reach the level of Vitalii Hodniuk, Dmitry Kurashov, and all the other Russian and Ukrainian men killing each other in service of the war's obscure goals. In this case, one of those men stands accused of breaking the laws of the killing he had been sent to do – laws he may well have been ordered to disregard.

If found guilty, Kurashov faces up to life in prison. At the end of his conversation with the BBC, he said that he had no real vision for the future, other than a desire to return to Russia. "At least I will have a disability," he said, referring to the loss of his eye, and the anticipated benefits it would draw. "I won't have to be a vagrant anymore."

Vitalii Hodniuk cannot return home, of course. It was two months before his body could even be recovered. His family did not want to speak publicly about his passing, but they did assist in the SBU in its investigation. Hodniuk's record shows that he was an experienced soldier who defended Ukraine against Russian-backed forces from 2015 to 2020 and joined up to fight again in 2022.

Last May, six months after he died, the Penguin was brought back to his village to be buried. On a bright morning, just a stone's throw from where he grew up and went to school, people lined the street on their knees to watch his coffin pass by.

Kurashov's trial continues.

Daria Mitiuk contributed to this report. Photographs by Joel Gunter.

The paternity leave offer for new dads in the UK is "one of the worst in the developed world", according to a new report published this week.

The government says the system needs to be "improved" and has promised to review parental leave. But how does the situation in the UK compare to elsewhere?

BBC News spoke to dads across Europe about how much time they can take off work after the birth of their children - and how that has changed fatherhood for them.

When Jamie's daughter Kiara was born three years ago, he says it was "incredibly difficult".

"I had to watch my partner struggle looking after our child," Jamie says. "The biggest thing I remember was the crying. My daughter clearly needed support and my wife was noticeably struggling and exhausted."

A few weeks after Kiara was born, Jamie's mother-in-law flew from Zimbabwe to support the family, because Jamie was only entitled to statutory paternity leave.

Rules in the UK allow new fathers and second parents in full-time employment to take up to two weeks off work. That applies to all partners, regardless of gender, after the birth, surrogacy or adoption of a baby, but not those who are self-employed or dads earning less than £123 a week.

Those eligible receive £187.18 a week, or 90% of their average earnings, whichever is lower. This works out as less than half of the National Living Wage.

Jamie, from Ashford in Kent, says the statutory pay "was frankly pennies".

He and his partner are now expecting their second child, in August - something they began saving for before Jamie's wife Zanele even fell pregnant.

Jamie says his "frustration" about paternity pay led him to attend the world's first "dad strike" earlier this week, when fathers from across the country protested outside the government's Department for Business and Trade in Westminster.

"Seeing things change relatively recently in other countries... why are we not keeping up?" Jamie says.

For Octavio, spending four months at home with his daughter Alicia has made "a tremendous difference".

He split his paternity leave into two parts - six weeks - which was mandatory -immediately after Alicia was born, and the remaining 10 weeks when his wife went back to work.

"The extended quality time with Alicia allowed us to develop a strong bond that I believe wouldn't have formed as deeply otherwise," says Octavio, a computer engineer from Seville.

Over the past few years, Spain has increased the amount of time given to new fathers. In 2019, dads were entitled to five weeks off work. But from 2021, that was extended to 16 weeks at full pay, including for those who are self-employed. There is no cap on the salary paid. It means parental leave is now equal between mums and dads in Spain.

"These changes have truly made a significant difference," says Octavio.

France has also made progressive steps on paternity leave in recent years.

Antoine is an architect who lives on the outskirts of Paris, and has benefitted from the changes. When his son Thibault was born five years ago, Antoine, who works full-time, was entitled to two weeks paternity leave.

But in September 2020 paternity leave in France doubled, meaning Antoine got four weeks off work when his second child was born in 2023.

"It allowed me to support my wife and children," he says. "Fathers should be allowed to be more present during these family life periods that enrich all relationships and allow them to fully take their place as full-time parents."

France's paternity leave rules mean dads - including those who are self-employed - must take a week off work immediately after their child is born. Pay is covered by the employer for the first three days, but after that is state-funded.

The remaining 21 days, which can be split into two chunks, are optional and can be taken anytime within the next six months. Pay is capped at €3,428 (£2,921) a month.

André, who was born in Portugal and spent nine years living in England, says the prominent role played by dads in Denmark was one of the first things he noticed when he moved there.

"You see dads strolling around with their kids and young babies," André says. "I was like: 'Wow, I'm not used to this.'"

Dads in Denmark, including those who are self-employed, can take up to 24 weeks off work at full pay by the state.

After eleven weeks, the remaining 13 can be transferred to the birth partner if wanted, so they can use them as extra maternity leave. One of the parents can postpone up to 13 weeks of parental until their child is aged nine.

André decided to split his parental leave - taking two weeks immediately after his baby Miro was born and saving the remaining 11 weeks - so he can look after his nine-month-old son when his partner returns to work.

"In Denmark, it's expected that the partner is more present," André says. "You're not only connecting with your child, but you want to develop the family as a whole together."

Dads with full-time jobs in Poland are entitled to two weeks of paternity leave. But unlike in the UK, the salary is paid at 100%, which Kamil says was "great".

Shortly after his daughter Marianna's first birthday, Kamil took another nine weeks of non-transferable parental leave, which must be taken in the first year. This is available to both parents, as long as they are employed, and is paid at 70% of a full-time salary.

"For many families, the 70% nine weeks is very low," Kamil says, "but... when I took the leave my wife started going back to work. I earned 30% less, but she started earning more, so it was beneficial for our family."

Kamil says those extra nine weeks alleviated a lot of "stress" as his wife transitioned back into work after a year off on maternity leave.

"I was confident," Kamil says. "I felt as though I was doing a good job - and my daughter felt good with me."

Mattias, from Stockholm, says comforting his three-month-old son is "the best feeling I've ever experienced".

Mattias is able to take advantage of one of the most generous paternity leave policies in the world. Parents in Sweden, including those who are self-employed, can share up to 480 days of parent leave, with 90 days reserved specifically for each parent.

Ringfencing time off for dads was first introduced in Sweden in 1995, with the introduction of a "daddy month" - 30 days just for fathers. This use-it-or-lose-it model increased to 60 days in 2002, and 90 days in 2016.

The first 390 days for each parent are paid at 80% by the government, up to a monthly salary cap of SEK47,750 (£3,590). After that, there's a daily statutory compensation of SEK180 (£14).

Mattias took six weeks off when Otto was born and will use another nine months of parental leave from November.

"We could share the load in the beginning when everything was new," Mattias says. "Those six weeks allowed us to be parents together - that made a huge difference. "

Paternity leave - the view from the UK

Some companies, both in the UK and abroad, pay out of their own pocket for enhanced paternity leave policies beyond the statutory minimum. But research from 2023 showed just 12% of fathers from low-income households had access to their full entitlement of employer-enhanced parental leave and pay.

Alex Lloyd-Hunter, co-founder of The Dad Shift, says "money is the single biggest barrier" to dads taking time off work and wants the government to fund better paternity leave for all dads.

A report, published this week by the Women and Equalities Committee (WEC) said statutory pay in the UK was "completely out of kilter with the cost of living". It suggested the government should consider increasing paternity pay to 90% or more and paternity leave to six weeks in a phased approach.

The report also looked at shared parental leave, introduced in 2014, which allows parents to share up to 50 weeks of leave and up to 37 weeks of pay after the birth or adoption of a child. The review found many families considered it "unnecessarily complex". It is used in fewer than 2% of all births and a report from 2023 suggests almost half (45%) of dads were not even aware shared parental leave was an option.

"We know the parental leave system needs to be improved," a spokesperson for the Department for Business and Trade said, adding the government would review maternity leave, paternity leave and shared parental leave.

They also pointed to changes which mean dads will soon no longer have to be employed by a company for 26 weeks to be entitled to statutory paternity leave.

Stark images, captured from a drone by environmental campaigners and shared with the BBC, appear to show how nickel mining has stripped forests and polluted waters in one of the most biodiverse marine habitats on Earth.

The Raja Ampat archipelago - a group of small islands in Indonesia's Southwest Papua Province - has been dubbed the "Amazon of the Seas".

But mining for nickel - an ingredient in electric vehicle batteries and in stainless steel - has ramped up there in recent years, according to the organisation Global Witness.

In a move that was welcomed by campaigners, the Indonesian government this week revoked permits for four out of five mining companies operating in the region.

In a statement published online, Indonesia's Ministry for the Environment said: "Raja Ampat's biodiversity is a world heritage that must be protected.

"We pay great attention to mining activities that occur in the area."

But photographs - taken by Global Witness as part of an investigation - appear to show environmental damage already done.

Aerial images show forest loss and sediment run-off into waters that are home to biodiverse coral reefs.

Global Witness told the BBC that land use for mining, across multiple small islands in the archipelago, increased by 500 hectares - equivalent to about 700 football pitches - between 2020 and 2024.

Some conservationists, including the organisation Greenpeace, are concerned that the government's decision could be reversed by legal action by the mining companies.

And one company that operates on Gag island, which has particularly rich deposits of nickel, has been allowed to continue its operations. The government said it would order the "restoration of the ecological impacts that occur" there.

Coral reef conservationist and ecologist Dr Mark Erdmann told BBC News that he was "blown away, and so happy" about the government's decision to revoke the mining permits.

"This is the global epicenter of marine biodiversity," he told BBC News.

Dr Erdmann has worked in Raja Ampat for more than two decades and is one of the founders of a shark rewilding project there called Reshark. He added: "It was a voice of outrage form Indonesian people that made the government pay attention."

But this ecological controversy is an example of how the demand for the metals needed to power battery technology - for electric cars and other low carbon energy sources - can damage the environment.

Indonesia now accounts for more than half of the world's nickel mine production, according to a report last year by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis.

And while the beauty and biodiversity of the Raja Ampat has drawn attention to mining activity there, mining has been linked to ecological damage elsewhere too.

A 2024 study by Forest Watch Indonesia found a link between the loss of forests associated with mining activity and increased local flooding and landslides.

Increasing demand for so-called critical minerals is shaping economic decisions around the world. It was the driving force for President Trump's recent executive order to jumpstart the mining of metallic nodules from the deep sea in international waters. It is a move that China has called illegal.

Dr Erdmann pointed out that balancing economic growth with environmental protection was a particular dilemma for Indonesia. "It has a lot of nickel - one way or the other, some of it's going to come out of the ground," he said.

Dr Michaela Guo Ying Lo from the University of Kent led a study in 2024 of the impact of mining on local communities in Sulawesi, the large Indonesian island that has most of the country's nickel deposits.

That concluded that mining activity reduced poverty slightly, but that there was significant "worsening of environmental well-being" including increased local water and air pollution.

"Indonesia is positioning itself globally in the nickel market," Dr Lo told BBC News. "But it's important not to forget what's happening locally."

Imam Shofwan, an environmental campaigner from an organisation called Jatam, based in Jakarta, told BBC News: "They say nickel is a solution to the climate crisis. But it's causing deforestation and destroying farmland."

He also pointed out to the BBC that low-lying coastal areas, where some nickel deposits are found, are some of the places most vulnerable to the effects of climate change, including rising sea levels.

Dr Erdmann commented: "The nickel dilemma is a horrible one.

"Mining is always going to be environmentally impactful and we all tend to think that electrification is a good idea. But what is the acceptable damage that we're willing to see?"

The BBC contacted the Indonesian government for comment, but did not receive a reply.

Listen to this article on BBC Sounds

We are driving at speed through the green hills of rural Hertfordshire. Through the passenger seat window, large elegant houses flash by. Each front lawn is neat, each hedgerow well-kept. It looks like England from a storybook - but this part of the country is actually on the frontline of a relatively new (and some might say divisive) approach to crime prevention.

In the driver's seat is Robert, a guard employed by Blueline Security. His car is painted with blue and yellow stripes, meaning it looks a lot like a police car. Inside there's a walkie-talkie, a first-aid kit, and a Belgian Malinois dog called Bella (given similar training to a police dog, I'm told).

But Robert - who wears a bullet-proof vest and carries a pair of handcuffs - is careful to point out that he is not a real policeman.

"The more keen eye will realise that this isn't a police car," he says as he flicks his indicator. He points out that they follow the regulations on vehicle markings designed to distinguish police cars from other cars.

"But it looks similar enough where criminality will see it at a distance and think, 'Let's maybe not go there'."

Blueline is one of a handful of "private policing" firms that have emerged in recent years. It has operated mostly in wealthy enclaves of southern England since 2019 and, for a fee, its team of ex-police or ex-army guards can patrol villages, looking for burglars and car thieves. Robert, in fact, spent 14 years working in the police force.

Various similar businesses have sprung up around the UK in recent years, including My Local Bobby, which was founded in 2016 and now has almost 150 security guards, as well as a fleet of cars.

According to some customers who spoke to the BBC, this fills a gap left by the real police, who they claim they no longer trust to turn up promptly to a 999 call in their villages.

To residents who can afford these firms, they are a "lifeline", as one customer tells me. But to others, they represent an affront to the values on which British policing was founded; a step towards a country in which the wealthy get better access to law enforcement than the poor.

One former senior figure in the Metropolitan Police says she fears the emergence of a "two-tier society".

So, with pressures on real police growing, is there room for private firms to help ease the load - or do so-called "private bobbies" blur the lines between police and profit?

Rise of 'private policing'

The firms offering "private policing" that I've spoken to say that demand for their services has risen.

According to a paper published last year by criminologists from the universities of Sheffield and Brunel, the UK's private security industry grew substantially between 2008 and 2021, with an increase in revenue and in the number of licensed security guards.

And, according to the Home Office, the number of real police officers in England and Wales fell most years from 2009 onwards, reaching a low of about 122,000 in 2017 - before ticking back up, to about 147,000 last year.

The study's co-author, Dr Matteo Pazzona, a Senior Lecturer in Economics at Brunel University, describes a shift in policing from the "public to the private" realm. Whilst most UK security guards work in shops and other businesses, his data does also signal a rise in the sort of residential work carried out by private firms, he says.

There are lots of reasons why the security industry might have grown over this period. But David Spencer, a former Detective Chief Inspector at the Metropolitan Police, thinks that private firms could be filling the gaps left by police.

"If you've got money and you don't feel that the police are effective, then it's no surprise if you decide to use your resources to keep your family safe," he says.

Confidence 'hangs by a thread'

Until the 19th Century, protection from crime was largely a privilege enjoyed by the rich. Wealthy people employed "thief takers" to guard their property, whilst ordinary folk had to make do with volunteer watchmen, who focused on the more basic task of keeping order.

That changed when Sir Robert Peel, a Tory prime minister, started London's Metropolitan Police - Britain's first modern, professional force funded from general taxation.

He instilled in the force several principles that can still be reeled off from memory by many constables today: being visible in the community; treating members of the public equally, regardless of wealth or social standing - and perhaps more important than all: policing with trust.

Now, some worry that trust is being undermined.

Most burglaries and car thefts go unsolved. A YouGov survey from last month found that 50% of adults in Great Britain held "not very much confidence" or "no confidence at all" in their local force - up from 42% in 2019.

The government's police inspector, Andy Cooke, said in a report in 2023 that confidence in police "hangs by a thread" (although his report last year noted some improvements).

Mr Spencer, who is now head of crime and justice for the centre-right Policy Exchange think tank, says demands on police time have risen dramatically. Online fraud has shot up in recent decades, and police have recognised the need to tackle issues that were once considered "private" (like domestic abuse and sexual violence). And police resources are failing to keep up pace, he says.

This, he thinks, helps explain the interest in so-called private police.

A deterrent to burglars?

Laura (who didn't want to share her full name) signed up for private security to patrol her road a few weeks ago, after a spate of burglaries in the area. She lives in rural Hertfordshire with her husband and one of her three children.

She already had CCTV installed and, on the night that her neighbour was burgled, it showed a gang of masked men sitting on her garden chairs. "You can see them looking at the camera, and they've seen it's zoomed in on them. And then they went."

Her neighbours held a meeting; about 40 households decided to subscribe to a private firm. Each pays £1,500 per year. In return, guards patrol the area daily. Laura says she can call a guard at any time.

"I don't think we can afford to be confident that [the police] would get here in good time," she says.

However, private guards have no more power than a member of the public. The aim for many is not to catch or restrain criminals but to act as a deterrent.

Jamie Strickland, a former soldier who founded Blueline, stresses that he does not regard his business as a replacement for the police and argues that even a perfectly-resourced force would struggle to reach remote areas of the countryside.

"The police can't be everywhere all the time," he adds.

But a spokesperson for the National Police Chiefs' Council says they remain "resolutely committed" to attending the scene of crimes, and that all English and Welsh police forces now aim to attend a property following every burglary report.

They added that private firms "should not replace or supplement police and it is for properly trained officers to intervene when a crime has been committed".

'I'm lucky I can afford it'

The question, though, is whether so-called private police firms signal the emergence of an unfair two-tier system, in which the wealthiest can pay to be better protected from crime.

This is a concern for Parm Sandhu, a former chief superintendent at the Metropolitan Police who left the force in 2019 and has since written a book about her experiences of prejudice.

"If you're living on a council estate, you cannot afford to pay for policing," she says. "Does that mean you deserve to be burgled, sexually assaulted, or mugged? No you don't."

She argues that the correlation between falling police numbers and an expanding private security industry signals something "totally wrong".

Andy, who also lives in rural Hertfordshire, near Laura, and employs a private security firm, has his own feelings on this. "I look at it and say, 'It's £1,500 a year, I'm lucky I can find that,'" he says.

But he argues that not everyone who uses the service is wealthy. "You watch the CCTV [of burglaries], you feel worried for your family." The expense, he adds, is worth it for that reason.

Still, doubts remain.

Ms Sandhu points out that the police-like appearance of some of these security firms could be confusing. "If you've got somebody who's under the influence [of] drugs or alcohol, they will look up quickly and think, 'Oh, this is a police officer'," she says. "It's really important to have that differential between police officers and security guards.

"Members of the public [could] go to them thinking they're talking to police officers, and take their advice."

Which raises the question of what, exactly, private guards can do. The companies I speak to are clear that their staff can restrain somebody they suspect to be a criminal, only in the same way that any member of the public can, a power commonly known as a "citizen's arrest".

And it comes with risk. Under English and Welsh law, a citizen's arrest can only be used for an "indictable" offence - a serious crime tried at the Crown Court. You cannot use a citizen's arrest for a lesser "summary" offence (tried at the magistrates' court).

In the heat of the moment, it may be difficult for a guard to judge the difference - and if they get it wrong, they could be guilty of a crime themselves.

Questions about accountability

There are also questions about accountability. Police forces are inspected by the Government's Inspectorate of Constabulary; if a serious complaint is made against a constable, it will be investigated by an independent regulator.

Few such tools of accountability exist for private firms - other than having their licence revoked by the Security Industry Authority.

But Martin Gill, a criminology professor and the director of Perpetuity Research, a security consultancy, points out that in shopping centres and hospitals, the "majority of policing is undertaken by private police forces" (in other words, security guards). Most of them, he argues, do a "very good job".

In his view, when a private firm starts operating in a residential area, the local police force should engage.

The founder of My Local Bobby, David McKelvey, says he now has a "good relationship" with police forces, after a rocky start. "There was a lot of reticence [from the police] in the first place, but now they're starting to see the benefit of [our service]," he claims.

He would like police to work closer with firms. "At the moment, there's a reticence still within policing to sharing information [and] intelligence. Often that information is absolutely vital for us to do our job."

The College of Policing has said police forces should only share intelligence under strict circumstances.

Not quite Starsky & Hutch

Ultimately, the sort of work carried out by 'private bobbies' is a tiny fraction of the real police work carried out across the country. But whether more residential communities will in future opt for the private model depends largely on whether the police are able to restore public confidence, says Mr Spencer of Policy Exchange.

"If it doesn't, then I think it's inevitable we will see more people […] turning to private providers," he says.

Back on the road with Robert, midway through his patrol, his radio buzzes. A customer has called: a horse is loose and wandering in a country lane. Within minutes, he has driven there and helped return it to its field.

It's not quite Starsky & Hutch, Robert concedes, but it's an insight into the sort of work they do. And yet, he admits, there are limits.

He recalls one shift, on an April night this year, when he drove along a country road in his patch and saw a car that looked like it was being used for drug dealing.

"If they've had drugs and they're behind a wheel, that's a summary offence - I have no power to deal with it," he says.

Instead, he sat in his car and called the real police.

Top image credit: Getty Images

BBC InDepth is the home on the website and app for the best analysis, with fresh perspectives that challenge assumptions and deep reporting on the biggest issues of the day. And we showcase thought-provoking content from across BBC Sounds and iPlayer too. You can send us your feedback on the InDepth section by clicking on the button below.

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