Sir Keir Starmer is expected to announce the UK's recognition of a Palestinian state in a statement on Sunday afternoon.

The move comes after the prime minister said in July the UK would shift its position in September unless Israel met conditions including agreeing to a ceasefire in Gaza and committing to a long-term sustainable peace deal that delivers a two-state solution.

It represents a major change in British foreign policy after successive governments said recognition should come as part of a peace process and at a time of maximum impact.

The move has drawn fierce criticism from the Israeli government, hostage families and some Conservatives.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu previously said such a move "rewards terror".

However, UK ministers argue there was a moral responsibility to act to keep the hope of a long-term peace deal alive.

Government sources said the situation on the ground had worsened significantly in the last few weeks. They cited images showing starvation and violence in Gaza, which the prime minister has previously described as "intolerable".

Israel's latest ground operation in Gaza City, described by a UN official as "cataclysmic", has forced hundreds of thousands of people to flee.

Earlier this week, a United Nations commision of inquiry concluded Israel had committed genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, which Israel denounced as "distorted and false".

Ministers also highlighted the continued expansion of Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, which are illegal under international law, as a key factor in the decision to recognise Palestinian statehood.

Justice Secretary David Lammy, who was foreign secretary in July when the path to recognition was announced, cited the controversial E1 settlement project which critics warn would put an end to hopes for a viable, contiguous Palestinian state.

He said: "The recognition of a Palestinian state is as a consequence of the serious expansion that we're seeing in the West Bank, the settler violence that we're seeing in the West Bank, and the intention and indications that we're seeing to build for example the E1 development that would run a coach and horses through the possibility of a two-state solution."

Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas welcomed the UK's recognition pledge when he visited Sir Keir earlier this month, with Downing Street saying both leaders had agreed Hamas had no role in future governance of Palestine.

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said she wanted to see a two-state solution in the Middle East.

But writing in The Telegraph over the weekend, she said: "It is obvious, and the US has been clear on this, that recognition of a Palestinian state at this time and without the release of the hostages, would be a reward for terrorism."

Meanwhile, in an open letter to Sir Keir on Saturday, family members of some of the hostages taken by Hamas urged the Prime Minister not to take the step until the remaining 48, of whom 20 are believed to still be alive, had been returned.

The announcement of the forthcoming recognition had "dramatically complicated efforts to bring home our loved ones", they wrote. "Hamas has already celebrated the UK's decision as a victory and reneged on a ceasefire deal."

During a state visit to the UK this week, US President Donald Trump also said he disagreed with recognition.

Sir Keir had set a deadline of the UN General Assembly meeting, which takes place this week, for Israel to take "substantive steps to end the appalling situation in Gaza, agree to a ceasefire and commit to a long-term, sustainable peace, reviving the prospect of a two-state solution".

Speaking in July, he said: "I've always said we will recognise a Palestinian state as a contribution to a proper peace process, at the moment of maximum impact for the two-state solution.

"With that solution now under threat, this is the moment to act."

A number of other countries including Portugal, France, Canada and Australia have also said they will recognise a Palestinian state, while Spain, Ireland and Norway took the step last year.

Palestine is currently recognised by around 75% of the UN's 193 member states, but has no internationally agreed boundaries, no capital and no army - making recognition largely symbolic.

The two-state solution refers to the creation of a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, with East Jerusalem as its capital. Israel currently occupies both the West Bank and Gaza, meaning the Palestinian Authority is not in full control of its land or people.

Recognising a Palestinian state has long been a cause championed by many within the Labour Party. The PM has been under mounting pressure to take a tougher stance on Israel, particularly from MPs on the left of his party.

Shortly before he gave his speech in July, more than half of Labour MPs signed a letter calling for the government to immediately recognise a Palestinian state.

However, critics questioned why the government had appeared to put conditions on Israel but not on Hamas, when it set out its path to recognition.

The Chief Rabbi, Sir Ephraim Mirvis, called on the government to pause its decision.

"The intended recognition is not contingent upon a functioning or democratic Palestinian government, nor even upon the most basic commitment to a peaceful future," he said.

"Astonishingly, it is not even conditional upon the release of the 48 hostages who remain in captivity."

Government sources insisted their demands for Hamas to release the hostages and agree to a ceasefire had not changed.

But officials in the Foreign Office argued statehood was a right of the Palestinian people and could not be dependent on Hamas, which the government views as a terrorist organisation.

Speaking on Thursday when he hosted President Trump at Chequers, Sir Keir reiterated that Hamas could play "no part" in any future Palestinian state.

The Israeli military launched its Gaza campaign in response to the unprecedented Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 were taken hostage.

At least 64,964 people have been killed in Israeli attacks in Gaza since then, according to the territory's Hamas-run health ministry.

States are there to protect. But so are fathers.

Abdel Aziz Majarmeh was standing next to his 13-year-old son, Islam, as he was shot dead by Israeli forces this month at the entrance to Jenin refugee camp, in the occupied West Bank.

"My son fell to the ground, and then I heard the sound of a shot," he said. "An army jeep came up and five or six soldiers pointed their weapons at me, telling me to leave. I didn't even know my son was martyred. I started dragging him away."

Abdel Aziz said he had gone to the camp – occupied by Israel's army since January – to retrieve family documents from his home there.

"There is no one for me to complain to," he told me. "They control everything. The Palestinian Authority can't even protect itself – it only implements the decisions of the Jews."

As a Palestinian, Abdel Aziz is resigned to his powerlessness. As a father, he's tormented.

"In my mind, I keep asking that soldier: why pick on a 13-year-old boy? I'm standing right next to him. Shoot me. Why are you shooting children? I'm here, shoot me."

Israel's army said it had fired to neutralize a threat posed by suspects who had approached them in a closed military area, and was examining the incident.

It refused to clarify what threat the teenager had posed.

Cities like Jenin were put under the full control of the Palestinian Authority three decades ago, under the Israeli-Palestinian Oslo Peace Accords.

They were meant to be the seeds from which statehood would grow.

But Israel says it was terrorism that flourished there. In January, it sent tanks into Jenin and the neighbouring city of Tulkarem to crush armed Palestinian groups, saying it would apply lessons learned in Gaza.

Since then, Israeli forces have remained, razing large areas of the camps in both cities, and demolishing buildings in other areas.

The UK, France and other countries are now set to recognise a Palestinian state, as Israeli control spreads across the West Bank and the Gaza War grinds on.

Jenin's mayor, Mohammed Jarrar, took me to the camp entrance near where Islam was shot. The army vehicles stationed here on my previous visits are nowhere to be seen, but a large earth berm now blocks the road in, and locals say Israeli snipers still scan the area from the buildings overhead.

Mr Jarrar told me around 40% of Jenin was now a military area for Israeli forces, with around a quarter of residents – including the entire camp – displaced from their homes.

"It was clear from the beginning this was a major political plan, not a security operation," he told me. "This Israeli government wants to annex the West Bank and in preparation for that, it wants to prevent any [armed] opposition to its plan."

Israel has also placed the Palestinian Authority under a long-term economic siege, withholding tax revenues the PA needs to pay teachers and police.

Israel accuses it of funding terrorism by compensating the families of Palestinian militants who are killed. The PA says it has now scrapped that payment scheme.

Mr Jarrar said it was now very challenging to provide even basic services to the local population, and to persuade young people not to leave.

Against this backdrop, he said, the recognition of a Palestinian state by Britain, France and others is important, even after more than 140 other nations have already done so.

"It confirms the fact that the Palestinian people possess a state, even if it is under occupation," he told me. "I know that this recognition will lead to [greater] occupation of the West Bank. But even so I believe recognition is more important, because it will shape the future of the Palestinian people, and the international community will be called on to defend their rights."

Recognition of a Palestinian state by the UK and France is also a recognition of the political chasm between Israel and its European allies over this issue.

"There will be no Palestinian state," Israel's prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, told settlers in the West Bank last week. "This place is ours. We will see to our heritage, our land and our security."

Netanyahu has built his career on preventing a Palestinian state, and his government has pushed hard on expanding settlements in the West Bank.

His far-right allies have been pushing for formal annexation, with Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich recently outlining a plan to annex 82% of West Bank, with the remaining Palestinian enclaves cut off from each other.

US President Donald Trump has opposed the recognition of a Palestinian state, but has not publicly criticised Israeli moves towards annexation.

Israel seized the West Bank from Jordan in the 1967 Arab-Israeli war, and has never left.

Establishing civilian settlements on occupied land is illegal under the Geneva Conventions, but Israel argues that it has a historic Jewish right to the West Bank.

Around half a million settlers now live there, and the Israeli organisation, Peace Now, which tracks settlement expansion, says more than 100 new outposts have appeared across the West Bank in the past two years.

Outposts are illegal under both international and Israeli law, but they receive tacit approval from Netanyahu's government as well as state support in the form of roads, security and utilities.

Earlier this summer, Ayman Soufan saw new neighbours arrive on the hill next to his house, in the hills south of Nablus.

From his window, he and his grandchildren have a clear view of the simple wooden shelter and corrugated iron shed put up by Israeli settlers that Ayman says are from the nearby settlement of Yitzhar.

"This outpost they set up here is to push us out of our house. Every day a settler comes, bangs on the house, shouting 'leave, leave!'," he told me. "They throw their garbage at our doorstep. I call the authorities and they say, "We'll send the army". But the army never comes. The settlers are the army, they are the police, they are everything."

Ayman's family built this house, near the village of Burin, a few years after Israel occupied the West Bank in 1967.

Israel was temporarily given control over rural areas like this under the Oslo peace accords, with the intention that they would eventually be transferred to a future Palestinian State, after negotiations over settlements there.

But Israeli control has remained, settlements have mushroomed, and human rights groups say Israeli forces are increasingly supportive of settler attacks.

Ayman said his father had died from a heart attack as settlers set fire to the house in 2003, and that his home had been torched several more times since then.

"Who is supposed to protect me," Ayman asked. "The Palestinian police? They can't even prevent this happening in the cities, how will they come here? Here, my security is in the hands of the people who occupy me."

International recognition of a Palestinian state is a good thing, he says, even if little will change on the ground.

"What's coming is worse," he said. "But if I ever leave this house, it'll be when I'm carried out dead. This house where I was born, where I grew up and lived my childhood; every corner has a memory for me. How can I leave it?"

In the decades since the Oslo Accords, Israeli narratives have hardened, armed Palestinian groups have strengthened, and the control of the Palestinian Authority government has been eaten away.

"Palestine was never theirs and will never be theirs," said bereaved father Abdel Aziz Majarmeh. "Sooner or later, today, tomorrow, in a year or two, they will leave this country. And Palestine will be liberated."

The UK and France have clung to the idea that two separate states – Israeli and Palestinian – are the solution to the conflict here, even as Palestinian territory was taken, and Palestinian institutions undermined.

Now the Gaza war, and questions over who will govern Gaza afterwards, have forced that political gridlock into open confrontation, as Netanyahu's far-right allies push hard for annexation.

Some Israelis say the West Bank is like the Wild West: a place where statehood and sovereignty are decided not by laws and declarations but by facts on the ground.

Israel has long argued there can be no Palestinian state without its agreement.

Now, by pushing ahead with recognition, the UK, France and others are signalling that Israel can't cancel statehood alone.

A political fact by Israel's allies to counter its facts on the ground.

Sir Ed Davey is calling on the UK's communications regulator Ofcom to "go after" Elon Musk over "crimes" he claims are being committed on the tech mogul's social media platform X.

The Liberal Democrat leader said Musk should be held personally accountable for breaches of the Online Safety Act, which the billionaire has said is putting free speech at risk.

In an interview with the BBC's Laura Kuenssberg, Davey claimed X had shown "adverts for people who want to show videos with paedophile images, self-harming, grooming".

He called on Ofcom to launch an investigation into Musk and X, as his party gathered in Bournemouth for its annual conference. X has been contacted for a response.

Under the Online Safety Act, which came into force earlier this year, internet companies have been forced to introduce stricter age verification checks and face big fines for failing to remove illegal content.

The government insists the laws, passed by the previous Conservative government but brought into effect by Labour, will protect children.

But it has faced a backlash from US tech giants, with Elon Musk saying last month that its real purpose was "suppression of the people" and that Ofcom had taken a "heavy-handed approach" to enforcement.

But Sir Ed claimed Musk "had taken away the child safety team" at X, allowing harmful and illegal content on to the platorm.

"He [Musk} is actually, I think, committing crimes," he told Laura Kuenssberg.

"Ofcom should go after him. The laws are there. What his business is doing is against the law because it is disgusting."

Sir Ed has already clashed with Musk over his criticism of the tech mogul's appearance, via video link, at last weekend's United the Kingdom rally in London.

Addressing the rally organised by far-right activist Tommy Robinson, Musk criticised "uncontrolled migration" and said: "Whether you choose violence or not, violence is coming to you. You either fight back or you die."

Sir Ed accused Musk of "inciting violence" and called on him to face sanctions, prompting the X and Tesla owner to brand him a "craven coward".

The Lib Dem leader plans to use his keynote speech at his party's conference on Tuesday to step up his criticism of Musk, accusing him of meddling in British democracy.

"It's not because he cares about the British people, and our rights and our freedoms. It's all about his ego, power and wealth," Sir Ed will say.

"He rails against the Online Safety Act, but not because he cares about free speech.

"Like so many on the far-right – or the far-left – Elon Musk doesn't really believe in free speech. He just believes in free speech for people who agree with him.

"It's because he wants to carry on running his social media platform without taking any responsibility for the terrible harm it is causing – especially to our children."

The Lib Dems also plan to table a motion when Parliament returns summoning Musk to appear before MPs to be held to account for his actions at the Unite the Kingdom rally.

They will attempt to activate a little-used Parliamentary device to summon Musk to the bar of the House of Commons to be reprimanded by MPs.

Watch the full interview with Sir Ed Davey on Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg at 0900 BST and on BBC Iplayer

As the clock counted down to 16:00, Tianna Hunkins braced herself for a mad rush.

She had been given a shift at a nearby fast food restaurant that started precisely when her lecture ended.

Luckily, she was already wearing her uniform under a hoodie, so "nobody would know".

"I always make it on time," she says.

The 19-year-old is one of a growing number of students juggling paid work alongside their studies because maintenance loans don't cover their living costs.

Recent research from the Higher Education Policy Institute (Hepi) suggests students in England need £61,000 over a three-year degree "to have a minimum socially acceptable standard of living".

The think tank found the maximum annual maintenance loan covers "just half the costs faced by freshers", while a Save the Student survey published this week suggested that, on average, maintenance loans have fallen short of covering living costs – by £502 per month.

From 30-hour working weeks to two-hour commutes from their family home, students have been speaking to the BBC about the lengths they're going to in order to make up the maintenance loan shortfall - even with family help.

"I wouldn't put myself through this stress [of a job alongside studying] if I didn't have to," says Tianna, who is from Nottingham but has just returned to Newcastle for her second year at Northumbria University.

Tianna is set to receive a £4,915 maintenance loan for this academic year, which is far below what she needs to cover her rent (£7,932).

She's grateful her parents can help pay for her accommodation, so her maintenance loan can cover food, transport, socialising and pricey law books.

She also plans to save money from her part-time work for a house deposit.

But for Tianna, part of the appeal of going to university was the chance to embrace hobbies and make friends - so she knew she had to find a part-time job to fund her busy social life, as well as sports like netball and ice skating.

After applying for "over 100 jobs" she landed a contract at a fast-food chain in the second term of first year. She soon found herself working about 30 hours a week - often finishing at 02:00.

With public transport done for the day by that time, Tiana would shell out £8 for an Uber ride to avoid walking alone at night - and to give herself more sleep ahead of 09:00 lectures.

Sometimes working involved making sacrifices.

"One of my friends got an opportunity to do a legal internship through this paralegal event that I wasn't able to go to because I was at work," she says. "I missed out on that."

The amount students can borrow for living costs has risen in England, Wales and Northern Ireland this year.

The maximum maintenance loan for students from England living away from their parents outside of London, for example, is now £10,544. The amount you can borrow depends on your household income.

But still, more and more students are working part time to cover their costs.

Recent research from Hepi and Advance HE suggested that 68% of UK students were in paid employment during term time, up from 35% in 2015.

Faith Webb, 20, says she sees "a lot of people in lectures in a work uniform" on her linguistics course at the University of Manchester.

Faith's maintenance loan covered the cost of her halls in first year, but wasn't enough to pay for her room in the flat she rented with friends in second year.

This year her loan is £6,600. With many of her friends not renting this year, she was faced with the prospect of moving back into halls - which she didn't want to do because she didn't enjoy that in first year - or renting alone, which she couldn't afford.

So, Faith chose a third option.

"I've decided to move back home and commute to uni rather than living in Manchester itself," she says

Home, for Faith, is with her parents in Birkenhead, Wirral.

Her new commute will mean catching a 06:30 bus to Liverpool, a train to Manchester, and a 20-minute walk. She expects it to take around an hour and a half each way and to cost £2,300 for the year.

She is planning on treating university "like a nine 'til five", studying on campus every day between classes.

But it will sometimes mean missing out on seeing friends in the evening at the Taylor Swift society.

"If I've been away from home since 06:00, I wouldn't really have any motivation," she says.

Faith has chosen to commute rather than picking up a term-time job because she would "rather focus more on the education… while I have the opportunity".

"I'm paying so much money to do this," she adds.

Prof Andy Long, vice chancellor and chief executive at Northumbria University, says around 38% of students commute to his university.

"It's not a lifestyle choice," he says. "[It's] an additional burden that students having the traditional university experience simply don't have to deal with."

Northumbria University is holding dedicated freshers events to build a sense of community among commuter students this term, and is looking into whether contact hours can be condensed into fewer days to help them and those with part-time jobs.

He says, like other universities, students have been able to apply for deadline extensions because of working commitments in recent years, and have the option to catch up on recorded lectures when they can't attend in person.

"It's supposed to reinforce what you have learned in the lecture, but obviously for those students, that may not be a choice for them," he says.

Prof Long wants the Department for Education (DfE) to reintroduce maintenance grants in England when it publishes its post-16 white paper this autumn.

He says the amount that students can borrow for living costs should increase with inflation, and the household income threshold that determines which students receive the maximum maintenance loan should rise "significantly".

Skills minister Jacqui Smith says the government "recognises that too many students are facing real financial hardship".

She said she was "determined to deliver change" and that the DfE's white paper, would "soon set out how we plan to improve access for students from disadvantaged backgrounds".

Other students got in touch with the BBC via Your Voice, Your BBC News to share their financial concerns.

Josh Anderton is from Doncaster and studies politics and international relations at Lancaster University. He says he is considering walking for two hours a day to get to and from lectures because of bus fares. His maintenance loan covers about two thirds of his rent.

"I buy a bus pass, but it's just getting more and more expensive," he says, adding that it now costs £150 a term. "I think I'd rather walk at this point."

Ava Wylde, 19, has had to fork out on train fares to get from her family home in Southampton to Durham, where she studies environmental geoscience and works in a corner shop to pay her rent, as her maintenance loan only covers just over half of what she needs.

She enjoys her job, but feels like she's had less time to consolidate her notes since taking it on.

It can sometimes mean turning down events with her rugby club or nights out with friends - many of whom don't have term-time jobs, though some are trying to find one.

"Even if you know that you shouldn't be going out and spending money in the evenings, you really want to - and your friends want you to," she says. "It's quite hard to tell your friends, 'No, sorry, I can't'."

Tianna had to leave her fast-food job at the end of last term because she wasn't allowed to pause it for the summer holidays and come back.

She worked in a night club in Nottingham over the summer and hopes to get a job in a pub in Newcastle this year.

"I'm not doing [night club work] in uni because it's insane hours," Tianna says. "I literally finish at 04:00 - I'm not doing that when I've got to get up the next day."

Additional reporting by Kris Bramwell and Bernadette McCague

More than a decade after Agnes Wanjiru, a 21-year-old mother, was killed in Kenya, allegedly by a British soldier, a Kenyan court has issued an arrest warrant for a UK national. If there is an extradition, it would be the first time a serving or former British soldier is sent abroad to face trial for the murder of a civilian – a move her friends would welcome.

On the night she went missing on 31 March 2012, Agnes begged her childhood friends Friend A and Friend B to come out with her.*

Agnes and Friend A were both new mothers, both 21-years-old, both wanting to let off some steam.

Friend B was eager to go out too, and agreed to meet them at the bar at Lions Court Hotel - located in the business district of Nanyuki, a market town in central Kenya, around 124 miles (200km) north of Nairobi.

That evening, Friend B's mother agreed to watch over Agnes's five-month-old daughter for a small babysitting fee. With childcare settled, Agnes and Friend A set off, making their first stop at a bar called Sherlock's.

"There were a lot of muzungu (white) men there," says Friend A. "I remember some were in plain clothes and some were in army clothes."

The British Army has a permanent training support base in Nanyuki, and white men, many of them soldiers, were a familiar presence. Locals referred to them as Johnnies, a nickname that carries unsavoury connotations.

"They made me uncomfortable because I'd heard bad things about muzungu men," Friend A recalls.

"Muzungus don't treat us Kenyan women well," adds Friend B. "Johnnies, especially, mistreat us. They disrespect us."

For young women like Agnes, the risks of engaging with these men were often weighed against the struggle to make ends meet.

"When women are financially desperate, they will do almost anything to survive," Friend A says. "I don't believe Agnes was a sex worker though. I never saw her do that. She was very poor."

Her friends say that on a good day Agnes would earn around 300 Kenyan shillings - less than £1 ($1.35). On a bad day there was nothing at all, and she relied on the goodwill of her loving elder sister.

Agnes did not have any financial support from the father of her child, and her friends say she was constantly trying to earn money, mostly working in salons and braiding people's hair, at times turning to more unconventional means.

One method, Friend A recalls, was simple: Agnes would befriend someone who offered to buy her a drink, then quietly ask the bartender to skip the drink and hand her the cash instead.

At Sherlock's bar that night, Friend A was scrolling through Facebook when she noticed Agnes in what appeared to be a tense exchange with a white man.

"When I approached her to ask her if she was OK, she told me to go to Lions Court as planned and that she would join me shortly."

Friend A continued on to the hotel, where Friend B and several others were already dancing. A crowd of white men was also present.

Agnes joined them a little while afterwards.

She told her friends she had "cheekily" tried to take a muzungu's wallet, but a bouncer had intervened. The matter seemed resolved, her friends say. And to her friends, Agnes seemed relaxed.

"She was in high spirits," says Friend A. "She was joking around."

At around midnight, Friend A left for home, leaving Friend B and Agnes and their friends dancing.

"The muzungus were buying us drinks, and Agnes was returning them to the bar in exchange for money," Friend B adds. The two started mingling with other friends. A little while later, Friend B says she saw Agnes leave the bar with one of the white men and assumed that they had come to a consensual arrangement. Other reports say that Agnes was seen leaving with two men.

The next morning, Friend B went to Agnes's house and saw her worried sister, who told her that Agnes had not returned. She rushed to her own mother's house, where she found Agnes's baby still in her care.

By early evening when Agnes had still not returned, Friend B and another friend went to Nanyuki police station to report her missing, and return the baby to Agnes's sister.

For days, Agnes's friends searched for her. At Lions Court, a watchman told them there had been "a big fight" in one of the hotel rooms that weekend and a window had been broken.

Nearly three months later, Agnes's body was discovered in a septic tank near the hotel. She had been stabbed. Friend B and another friend went to the mortuary to see Agnes's body.

"I felt terrible," Friend B says. "I couldn't imagine something like this could happen."

It would take years before Agnes Wanjiru's murder drew wider attention.

Kenyan judge Njeri Thuku concluded after an inquest in 2019 that Agnes had been murdered by one or two British soldiers. The Sunday Times exclusively revealed that Agnes's killing, allegedly by a British soldier, was well-known amongst the troops in Nanyuki. The publication reported that the soldier was struck off by the army but continues to live freely in the UK.

"I believe that there are many men responsible for Agnes's death," Friend A says. "Many men know what happened, and many have covered it up."

Momentum built again in 2024 when Open Democracy reported that the British Army had failed to discipline soldiers for paying for sex despite such conduct being explicitly banned in 2022, following the allegations involving UK troops in Kenya.

This prompted an internal investigation in August 2025, which revealed that some soldiers at the base were still engaging in transactional sex with women, many of whom were vulnerable, coerced, or trafficked into sex work.

In April this year, UK Defence Secretary John Healey met Agnes's family, in Kenya to offer his condolences and issue a statement saying the British government "will continue to do everything we can to help the family secure the justice they deserve".

On 16 September, a Kenyan High Court issued an arrest warrant for a British national suspected of murdering Agnes Wanjiru.

If extradited, it would be the first time a serving or former British soldier is sent abroad to stand trial for the killing of a civilian.

"It is highly welcome and a positive step towards the arch of justice," says Kelvin Kubai, a lawyer at the African Centre for Corrective and Preventive Action. "However the battle isn't yet won, given the legal hurdles of extradition proceedings, and we hope the relevant government institutions of both states shall continue cooperating to meet the ends of justice."

Agnes's niece, Esther Njoki, has created a GoFundMe page in order to raise money to support the family, travel to the UK and create more awareness about the murder of her aunt.

"We need to push for financial security for Agnes's daughter," Esther says, adding that she is now a teenager.

And Agnes's friends agree that justice has been delayed too long.

"The British Army cannot keep ignoring the murder of our friend," Friend A says. "We want justice for Agnes and her daughter."

The BBC has asked the Ministry of Defence for comment.

*The BBC has changed the name of all people listed as witnesses by a Kenyan High Court

You may also be interested in:

• Agnes Wanjiru murder: Kenya family's anger over UK army 'cover-up'
• Kenyans sue the British army over fire at wildlife sanctuary
• 'I felt an unspoken pressure to smile' - Kenyan women in the workplace

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

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

Two newspapers have published an email said to have been sent by the Duchess of York, Sarah Ferguson, to paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, calling him a "supreme friend" - despite his conviction for sex offences.

The Sun and the Mail on Sunday reported that the email from 2011 was sent weeks after the duchess had publicly distanced herself from the disgraced financier.

A spokesperson for the duchess - the former wife of the Duke of York - said the email was to counter a threat Epstein had made to sue her for defamation.

In an interview in 2011, the duchess said her involvement with Epstein had been a "gigantic error of judgment".

At the time, the duchess also promised she would never have anything to do with Epstein again, saying: "I abhor paedophilia and any sexual abuse of children."

"I cannot state more strongly that I know a terrible, terrible error of judgement was made, my having anything to do with Jeffrey Epstein. What he did was wrong and for which he was rightly jailed," she added.

Epstein had been jailed three years earlier for soliciting prostitution from a minor.

But The Sun and Mail on Sunday said shortly after giving the interview in 2011, she emailed Epstein, saying she had not used the word "paedophilia" in reference to him him.

"As you know, I did not, absolutely not, say the 'P word' about you but understand it was reported that I did," she wrote.

"I know you feel hellaciously let down by me. You have always been a steadfast, generous and supreme friend to me and my family."

A spokesperson for the duchess said the email was sent after Epstein had threatened to sue her for defamation - in an effort to assuage him.

"The Duchess spoke of her regret about her association with Epstein many years ago, and as they have always been, her first thoughts are with his victims," they said.

"Like many people, she was taken in by his lies. As soon as she was aware of the extent of the allegations against him, she not only cut off contact but condemned him publicly, to the extent that he then threatened to sue her for defamation for associating him with paedophilia."

The spokesperson added that the duchess stood by her public condemnation of Epstein.

"She does not resile from anything she said then. This email was sent in the context of advice the Duchess was given to try to assuage Epstein and his threats."

Epstein, a well-connected financier and convicted sex offender, was found dead by suicide in 2019 while awaiting a trial for sex trafficking.

Successive UK governments have said recognition of a Palestinian state should be part of a peace process at a time when it can have maximum impact.

In July, amid the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza and under growing pressure from his own MPs, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer decided that time was now.

He announced the UK would recognise a Palestinian state in September, coinciding with the UN General Assembly, unless Israel met certain conditions.

Those included agreeing to a ceasefire and committing to a long-term sustainable peace that delivers a two-state solution.

Downing Street knew the conditions were unlikely to be met, with the current Israeli government strongly opposed to progressing towards a two-state solution.

Sources inside the Foreign Office when the decision was made insist it will be a galvanising moment, which will have an impact on the ground.

But even they admit it would be disingenuous to pretend domestic politics was not a factor.

Recognition of a Palestinian state has long been a Labour manifesto promise. Back in 2014, Ed Miliband, the Labour leader at the time, backed a non-binding motion to do so in the Commons.

Now in government, this is undeniably a significant shift in British foreign policy.

The decision came after mounting calls from Labour MPs, with more than half the parliamentary party signing a letter demanding the government immediately recognise a Palestinian state.

Behind the scenes, several cabinet ministers had also been pushing for recognition, with several of them at risk of losing their seats because of anger over Gaza.

"I would not underestimate the pressure MPs are getting, anywhere there is a university town, or a large Muslim population, or both," one Labour MP told the BBC.

"There is a small segment of people for whom this is central to their sense of identity."

There was also international pressure. The UK's announcement came shortly after France became the first of the G7 group of the world's richest countries to say it would recognise a Palestinian state at September's UN General Assembly.

Since then, Australia and Canada have made similar announcements.

Before the election, Sir Keir promised to lead a Labour Party "no longer in thrall to gesture politics".

Critics of this move argue recognition is just that; a symbolic move that will have little impact on the ground in Gaza.

One sceptical Labour MP said it was a "nice political gesture that doesn't butter any parsnips."

The Conservatives branded the move "political posturing", arguing it won't bring Israeli hostages home or deliver a ceasefire.

Others go much further, pointing to the fact the government placed conditions on Israel but not on Hamas.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said it "rewards Hamas's monstrous terrorism".

The UK's Chief Rabbi, Sir Ephraim Mirvis, called for the government to pause its decision. "It is a reward for terrorism, while the hostages remain in chains, and has been celebrated by Hamas as 'one of the fruits of 7th October'," he said.

Sources in government strongly deny the move is symbolic. They point to the first statement from Arab nations calling for Hamas to disarm and end its rule of Gaza as evidence that British recognition can shift the dial in the Middle East.

But it also puts the UK at odds with the US.

During his state visit to the UK, President Donald Trump, who is strongly opposed to recognising a Palestinian state, acknowledged he had a "disagreement" with Sir Keir on the issue.

Back at home, there is no doubt among Labour MPs that the party's position on Gaza has driven some Labour voters towards the Green Party and pro-Gaza independent candidates.

"We have been behind the curve," said one Labour MP who wants the government to go further.

"I think this is a step in the right direction," they added, but noted the majority of UN member states have long recognised a Palestinian state.

"It shows we're late," they said. "But better late than never."

Labour's difficulties over the war in Gaza began long before it came to power. In the eyes of many Muslim voters, Sir Keir's original sin was in a 2023 LBC interview shortly after the 7 October Hamas attacks, when he appeared to say Israel had the "right" to cut off water and energy to Gaza.

Then a month into the conflict, several shadow ministers resigned and 56 of his MPs rebelled over Sir Keir's refusal to back a vote for an immediate ceasefire.

Three months later in February 2024 the party changed from supporting a "humanitarian pause" to an "immediate ceasefire".

Party strategists believe some voters are still punishing them for these initial positions, and have not given them credit for the changes since then.

Officials in Downing Street argue that within a year of coming to power, Labour has driven a major shift in British policy in the Middle East. Ministers point to the fact the government has now suspended some arms export licences to Israel, sanctioned some Israeli ministers, and moved to recognise a Palestinian state.

But there is little sense this will appease the anger on Labour's backbenchers about the situation in Gaza, nor the calls for the government to go further.

Dr Simon Opher, a Labour MP blocked by Israel from entering the country this week, said the government had tried to use the threat of recognition as leverage to achieve a ceasefire but it had not worked.

"Now we have to very categorically opt out of any arms deals with Israel, stop any cooperation, and we need to think about proper trade sanctions. We still do quite a lot of trade with Israel so that will be the next logical step."

However, other Labour MPs fear the move panders to the party's left, and has not achieved anything.

"It was the final diplomatic card we had to play," one said. "You only get to do this once and actually this is not going to catalyse a peace process but drive Israelis away from it."

Others said it would please the party's members and core supporters, but was not a factor in those constituencies that would decide the next election.

"It feeds into the narrative that the government cares more about Palestinian flags than Union flags," another Labour MP said.

"It gives the impression we care more about borders in the Middle East than the borders at Dover."

So will it make a difference to Labour's political fortunes? Few in government think so.

Some hope it might help navigate the party's conference when activists largely supportive of the Palestinian cause flock to Liverpool next week.

But, as one senior aide said, the question will be whether the situation on the ground in Gaza has changed come election time.

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The Pentagon has told journalists they must agree not to disclose unauthorised information or else risk losing access to the building.

The change is among a number of new restrictions, which also seek to impose limits on the movement of journalists within the facility, which is home to the Department of War, formerly known as the Department of Defense.

It follows a series of leaks in recent months.

Pete Hegseth, who was recently given the new title of Secretary of War, said on social media: "The 'press' does not run the Pentagon — the people do. The press is no longer allowed to roam the halls of a secure facility. Wear a badge and follow the rules — or go home."

The new restrictions were set out in a briefing note sent to members of the press, which they will be required to sign in order to maintain their Pentagon press credentials.

The department said it "remains committed to transparency to promote accountability and public trust".

But it added: "DoW information must be approved for public release by an appropriate authorising official before it is released, even if it is unclassified".

It asks signatories to acknowledge that determinations on press credentials for the building "may be based on the unauthorised access, attempted unauthorised access, or unauthorised disclosure" of classified national security information, or information designated as controlled unclassified information.

"The guidelines in the memo provided to credentialed resident media at the Pentagon reaffirms the standards that are already in line with every other military base in the country," said Chief Pentagon Spokesman Sean Parnell in a statement. "These are basic, common-sense guidelines to protect sensitive information as well as the protection of national security and the safety of all who work at the Pentagon."

Hegseth has previously come under scrutiny for his own handling of sensitive information after it was revealed he shared details about the bombing of Yemen on a group chat that included a reporter in March. Former national security advisor Michael Waltz, who was recently confirmed as the US's ambassador to the UN, had invited the journalist to the chat inadvertently.

The administration reacted angrily in June when a leaked intelligence report appeared to contradict statements it had made about the damage caused by US strikes on Iran's nuclear programme.

I have some in my cupboard. And I'm far from alone - creatine has become the supplement of choice for millions.

Originally known for enhancing the performance of bodybuilders and athletes in the 1990s, this white powder is now entering the spice cupboards (well, that's where I store mine) of women in their 40s.

It's arguably one of the world's most researched supplements. Thousands of studies have been carried out over the past few decades evaluating its ability to increase muscle mass and overall strength.

"Creatine has become so big, you feel that if you are not using it, you are kind of losing out," says Dr Henry Chung, a lecturer in sport and exercise science at the University of Essex. "It's moved from elite sport into the mainstream. It's not about whether to take it anymore, it's about when to take it - before or after exercise? Everyday? How much?

"In which form is best? Powder, tablets, gummies?"

Creatine is a naturally occurring compound which is stored in our muscles, and helps our cells produce energy. It is a vital component in the ATP-CP system, the fastest, most powerful energy system in our bodies.

It fuels the first 10-20 seconds in high intensity workouts - giving that quick, powerful burst of energy. From lifting weights to sprinting round the track, research suggests creatine supplementation can help improve performance.

And away from the gym, there is a growing, but still relatively limited, body of evidence to suggest it can also help with our short-term memory, mood and focus.

So, can this supplement improve our ability to think, remember and respond?

And for me, and many others, will it help clear our brain fog, a catch-all term that describes an inability to think clearly, string a sentence together, and remember the simplest of things?

For some people with serious post-viral conditions, brain fog can be longer term and potentially life-changing. If you have concerns, it is best to seek medical help.

For most, brain fog is usually temporary and can happen because of an illness or certain types of medical treatment. For millions of women, it can be a symptom of the perimenopause, due to hormonal fluctuations.

Katie Mansell believes creatine has helped in many parts of her life. The 46-year-old from Merseyside lifts weights, runs 30-40 miles a week, has a full-on job as the chief financial officer of a software company, and a busy home life with a teenage son and two dogs.

"A few months ago, I was out of sorts. I was finding training really hard work and I was struggling to focus on things," she says.

"It was my friend who recommended it - she said it was a game changer."

Katie, who is also perimenopausal, started taking six grams of creatine a day three months ago, and is beginning to feel a difference. Her mood feels a bit lighter, she can lift heavier weights and the fog that had descended on her brain has started to lift.

"I've got more motivation to do things, especially when it comes to training. I feel stronger when I'm lifting and bouldering, and I can also think more clearly."

Katie does caveat this - she's also on magnesium supplements and has started on hormone replacement therapy (HRT), but she's confident that creatine is making an impact and will continue with her daily dose.

There are others who believe it's made little difference and there is divided opinion on whether the majority of us get the amount of creatine we need through our diets. Katie, who is a vegetarian, says she was probably missing out. While it's understood our bodies produce one gram of it naturally, the rest comes from high-protein food like meat and fish.

The supplement's impact on male athletes has been documented since the early 1990s but, as with a lot of scientific research, female biology was missing from the equation.

"I used to have to guess what my female athletes needed," explains Dr Susan Kleiner, a high-performance nutritionist from the US state of Washington. "All the research was based on men."

It wasn't until a few years ago that women's hormonal fluctuations were taken into account, says Dr Kleiner, an adviser on the board of Creatine Health, a global initiative set up to promote research on the supplement. "And that was when scientists started to see a real impact in other parts of the body."

Instead of just concentrating on how creatine interacts with our muscles in a sport setting, scientists have begun to discover how it could potentially affect reproductive health, bone health and brain function - all of which can be affected during perimenopause, she explains.

So does that mean that creatine can help my brain fog?

"That's an interesting thought," says Professor Emeritus Trevor McMorris. "It might do."

Having been in the field for more than 40 years, he has carried out many studies into creatine supplementation.

He says perimenopausal brain fog could have a similar impact to sleep deprivation, something he has researched extensively, finding that high doses of creatine could mitigate the effects of too little sleep.

When people use the supplement, the brain may - like other muscles in the body - increase its stores of creatine. This helps produce more energy, which could help improve memory and the ability to process information.

But Prof McMorris say it won't work for everyone. His most recent research suggests people need to be under a level of stress - for example, being sleep deprived or not having enough creatine in their diet - for it to make a difference.

So, in short, when it comes to helping me with my brain fog - maybe - there's potential. The experts I have spoken to believe it's an "an exciting time" in this line of research, but that more studies are needed.

Dietician Lucy Upton warns that we could start to see more side effects to creatine use because of the supplement's surge in popularity.

"While there is extensive research, that has been in a controlled environment," she says. "Now we need to think about the variation of body sizes, doses and any pre-existing conditions."

Currently, known side effects are the risk of stomach upset, muscle cramps and bloating. People with conditions affecting their kidneys should consult a doctor before taking it.

While Dr Chung sees no harm in healthy adults "trying it out", he also says results tend to be "minimal gains", adding that "it is not, by any means, a wonder drug".

As for me, I started taking the creatine in my cupboard but stopped after a month (blame it on the brain fog).

Perhaps I'll give it another try.

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As the clock counted down to 16:00, Tianna Hunkins braced herself for a mad rush.

She had been given a shift at a nearby fast food restaurant that started precisely when her lecture ended.

Luckily, she was already wearing her uniform under a hoodie, so "nobody would know".

"I always make it on time," she says.

The 19-year-old is one of a growing number of students juggling paid work alongside their studies because maintenance loans don't cover their living costs.

Recent research from the Higher Education Policy Institute (Hepi) suggests students in England need £61,000 over a three-year degree "to have a minimum socially acceptable standard of living".

The think tank found the maximum annual maintenance loan covers "just half the costs faced by freshers", while a Save the Student survey published this week suggested that, on average, maintenance loans have fallen short of covering living costs – by £502 per month.

From 30-hour working weeks to two-hour commutes from their family home, students have been speaking to the BBC about the lengths they're going to in order to make up the maintenance loan shortfall - even with family help.

"I wouldn't put myself through this stress [of a job alongside studying] if I didn't have to," says Tianna, who is from Nottingham but has just returned to Newcastle for her second year at Northumbria University.

Tianna is set to receive a £4,915 maintenance loan for this academic year, which is far below what she needs to cover her rent (£7,932).

She's grateful her parents can help pay for her accommodation, so her maintenance loan can cover food, transport, socialising and pricey law books.

She also plans to save money from her part-time work for a house deposit.

But for Tianna, part of the appeal of going to university was the chance to embrace hobbies and make friends - so she knew she had to find a part-time job to fund her busy social life, as well as sports like netball and ice skating.

After applying for "over 100 jobs" she landed a contract at a fast-food chain in the second term of first year. She soon found herself working about 30 hours a week - often finishing at 02:00.

With public transport done for the day by that time, Tiana would shell out £8 for an Uber ride to avoid walking alone at night - and to give herself more sleep ahead of 09:00 lectures.

Sometimes working involved making sacrifices.

"One of my friends got an opportunity to do a legal internship through this paralegal event that I wasn't able to go to because I was at work," she says. "I missed out on that."

The amount students can borrow for living costs has risen in England, Wales and Northern Ireland this year.

The maximum maintenance loan for students from England living away from their parents outside of London, for example, is now £10,544. The amount you can borrow depends on your household income.

But still, more and more students are working part time to cover their costs.

Recent research from Hepi and Advance HE suggested that 68% of UK students were in paid employment during term time, up from 35% in 2015.

Faith Webb, 20, says she sees "a lot of people in lectures in a work uniform" on her linguistics course at the University of Manchester.

Faith's maintenance loan covered the cost of her halls in first year, but wasn't enough to pay for her room in the flat she rented with friends in second year.

This year her loan is £6,600. With many of her friends not renting this year, she was faced with the prospect of moving back into halls - which she didn't want to do because she didn't enjoy that in first year - or renting alone, which she couldn't afford.

So, Faith chose a third option.

"I've decided to move back home and commute to uni rather than living in Manchester itself," she says

Home, for Faith, is with her parents in Birkenhead, Wirral.

Her new commute will mean catching a 06:30 bus to Liverpool, a train to Manchester, and a 20-minute walk. She expects it to take around an hour and a half each way and to cost £2,300 for the year.

She is planning on treating university "like a nine 'til five", studying on campus every day between classes.

But it will sometimes mean missing out on seeing friends in the evening at the Taylor Swift society.

"If I've been away from home since 06:00, I wouldn't really have any motivation," she says.

Faith has chosen to commute rather than picking up a term-time job because she would "rather focus more on the education… while I have the opportunity".

"I'm paying so much money to do this," she adds.

Prof Andy Long, vice chancellor and chief executive at Northumbria University, says around 38% of students commute to his university.

"It's not a lifestyle choice," he says. "[It's] an additional burden that students having the traditional university experience simply don't have to deal with."

Northumbria University is holding dedicated freshers events to build a sense of community among commuter students this term, and is looking into whether contact hours can be condensed into fewer days to help them and those with part-time jobs.

He says, like other universities, students have been able to apply for deadline extensions because of working commitments in recent years, and have the option to catch up on recorded lectures when they can't attend in person.

"It's supposed to reinforce what you have learned in the lecture, but obviously for those students, that may not be a choice for them," he says.

Prof Long wants the Department for Education (DfE) to reintroduce maintenance grants in England when it publishes its post-16 white paper this autumn.

He says the amount that students can borrow for living costs should increase with inflation, and the household income threshold that determines which students receive the maximum maintenance loan should rise "significantly".

Skills minister Jacqui Smith says the government "recognises that too many students are facing real financial hardship".

She said she was "determined to deliver change" and that the DfE's white paper, would "soon set out how we plan to improve access for students from disadvantaged backgrounds".

Other students got in touch with the BBC via Your Voice, Your BBC News to share their financial concerns.

Josh Anderton is from Doncaster and studies politics and international relations at Lancaster University. He says he is considering walking for two hours a day to get to and from lectures because of bus fares. His maintenance loan covers about two thirds of his rent.

"I buy a bus pass, but it's just getting more and more expensive," he says, adding that it now costs £150 a term. "I think I'd rather walk at this point."

Ava Wylde, 19, has had to fork out on train fares to get from her family home in Southampton to Durham, where she studies environmental geoscience and works in a corner shop to pay her rent, as her maintenance loan only covers just over half of what she needs.

She enjoys her job, but feels like she's had less time to consolidate her notes since taking it on.

It can sometimes mean turning down events with her rugby club or nights out with friends - many of whom don't have term-time jobs, though some are trying to find one.

"Even if you know that you shouldn't be going out and spending money in the evenings, you really want to - and your friends want you to," she says. "It's quite hard to tell your friends, 'No, sorry, I can't'."

Tianna had to leave her fast-food job at the end of last term because she wasn't allowed to pause it for the summer holidays and come back.

She worked in a night club in Nottingham over the summer and hopes to get a job in a pub in Newcastle this year.

"I'm not doing [night club work] in uni because it's insane hours," Tianna says. "I literally finish at 04:00 - I'm not doing that when I've got to get up the next day."

Additional reporting by Kris Bramwell and Bernadette McCague

The popcorn blockbusters that filled cinemas over the summer might be as distant a memory as the smell of sun cream, but the film industry is now gearing up for the most exciting time of the year - awards season.

Hamnet, Sinners and Christy are just a few of the titles you can expect to hear more about now the awards race is under way, although some of the potential contenders haven't even premiered yet.

A huge number of Oscar-tipped movies launched at the recent Venice, Telluride and Toronto film festivals, joining others that had already generated buzz at Sundance and Cannes earlier in the year.

As we begin the long journey to the Oscars on 14 March, here are 12 frontrunners - plus a few extras - to keep an eye on:

1. Hamnet

If you were to write the perfect recipe for a potential best picture Oscar nominee, the ingredients would broadly resemble Hamnet.

Adapt a wildly popular novel (by Maggie O'Farrell), hire a recent Oscar winner (Nomadland's Chloé Zhao) to direct it, and cast two popular young actors (Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal) in the leading roles.

Set in 1596, Hamnet examines the death of William Shakespeare's 11-year-old son, and the events that led the Bard to write his play Hamlet.

Last weekend, the film won the Toronto People's Choice Award, usually an indicator of Oscars success. It will be released in UK cinemas on 9 January 2026.

2. One Battle After Another

Always the bridesmaid, never the bride is a phrase that could have been invented for director Paul Thomas Anderson.

Nearly all of his previous films - including Licorice Pizza, Phantom Thread and There Will Be Blood - have scored several Oscar nominations, but none has ever won him best picture or best director.

That could change this year with One Battle After Another, a rapturously received film starring Leonardo DiCaprio about a group of former revolutionaries who reunite to rescue the kidnapped daughter of one of the group's members.

Critics have broadly agreed the best picture contender broadly earns its 2hr 50min length thanks to some gripping storytelling and rapid pacing. In UK cinemas from 26 September.

3. Sinners

A vampire movie released unusually early in the awards year doesn't exactly scream Oscars contender.

And yet, Ryan Coogler's Sinners is just the kind of film that gives Hollywood hope in an era of low morale - an original idea and box office smash at the same time.

The film focuses on twin brothers who return home to the Mississippi Delta for a fresh start, not realising an evil force awaits them. It's available to buy or rent digitally.

4. Bugonia

Emma Stone's latest film sees her play a powerful CEO who is kidnapped by two conspiracy theorists who believe she's an alien.

But there's a lot more going on beneath the surface than meets the eye, as you'd expect from a film by Poor Things and The Favourite director Yorgos Lanthimos.

While Stone has won best actress twice in the last decade, her co-star Jesse Plemons could score his first best actor nomination for the film. Released in the UK on 7 November.

5. Christy

From Jerry Maguire and King Richard to The Blind Side, the Oscars have always been partial to a sports biopic.

There are three in the race this year. The first stars Euphoria's Sydney Sweeney as Christy Martin, one of America's most famous female boxers.

Christy, directed by David Michôd, follows Martin's rise in the 1990s, and her husband's attempt to murder her in 2010. Sweeney could land her first Oscar nomination for the film, which is released in UK cinemas on 28 November.

6. Anemone

Daniel Day-Lewis announced his retirement from acting in 2017, ahead of the release of his apparently final film Phantom Thread.

But last year, it was announced that the three-time Oscar winner had been tempted out of the Hollywood wilderness to appear in a movie directed by his son Ronan.

Appropriately, the film follows a former soldier who reunites with his brother after living in isolation in the woods for 20 years.

Let's get this out of the way now: It's pronounced ah-NEM-uh-nee. Released in UK cinemas on 7 November.

7. The Smashing Machine

Another sports drama in the running is The Smashing Machine, which sees blockbuster star Dwayne Johnson play UFC fighter Mark Kerr in the early days of the sport in the 1990s.

The Rock transforms in more ways than one. Not only is his physical appearance significantly different, but it also marks something of a career pivot and the first genuine Oscars contender of his career.

Benny Safdie won the best director award at Venice for the film, which is released in UK cinemas on 3 October.

8. Sentimental Value

As the winner of the Grand Prix, Sentimental Value was one of the breakout hits at Cannes this year.

The film focuses on two estranged sisters who reconnect with their distant father after the death of their mother.

Best actress contender Renate Reinsve reunites with director Joachim Trier, four years after their acclaimed hit The Worst Person in the World. Released in the UK on 26 December.

9. After the Hunt

This one is definitely going to generate what the internet likes to call "discourse".

A promising college student (Ayo Edebiri) accuses one of her professors (Andrew Garfield) of rape, leaving another of the teachers (Julia Roberts) caught in the middle.

Director Luca Guadagnino will hope this film can land him back in the awards conversation after his previous two, Queer and Challengers, were shut out last year. Released in UK cinemas on 22 October.

10. It Was Just An Accident

Following in the footsteps of last year's best picture winner Anora, Jafar Panahi's film won the prestigious Palme d'Or at Cannes in May.

Against a backdrop of political repression in Iran, it follows a man who recognises the former intelligence officer who tortured him in prison after a chance encounter at a garage.

The film is likely to be nominated in the international category, having been selected to represent France rather than its home country Iran, and could well show up in best picture too. Released on 5 December.

11. Marty Supreme

There are far too few Hollywood films about table tennis for our liking - something this Josh Safdie movie intends to put right.

Starring recent Oscar nominee Timothée Chalamet, Marty Supreme is loosely based on real-life player Marty Reisman's pursuit of greatness. Released on 1 January 2026.

12. Wicked: For Good and Avatar: Fire and Ash

We're cheating here by shoehorning two films into one entry, but the Wicked and Avatar sequels have a lot in common.

Both are likely to bulldoze the box office this side of Christmas, both are new instalments of previous best picture nominees, and both have colons in their titles.

Jon M Chu's Wicked: For Good will conclude the origin story of Elphaba, the wicked witch of the west, while James Cameron's Avatar: Fire and Ash will see the Na'vi encounter an aggressive new tribe.

With an expanded best picture category, the Academy likes to nominate some blockbusters, particularly because it helps the ceremony stay relevant to younger audiences.

Which other films are in the race?

We didn't have the space to mention every awards contender above, so here's a brief outline of a few others:

• Guillermo del Toro's Frankenstein is likely to show up in the technical categories and could score a supporting actor nomination for Jacob Elordi
• Jay Kelly could see George Clooney back in the awards conversation thanks to his portrayal of an ageing Hollywood actor
• This year's music biopic is Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere, which sees The Bear's Jeremy Allen White play The Boss. (Having said that, there's also Song Sung Blue, about a Neil Diamond tribute band)
• Missile thriller A House of Dynamite marks the return of Kathryn Bigelow, the first woman to win best director (for The Hurt Locker in 2010)
• Motherhood drama If I Had Legs I'd Kick You was divisive at Sundance, but could see some overdue recognition for actress Rose Byrne
• After his Oscar win for The Whale in 2022, Brendan Fraser returns with Tokyo-set drama Rental Family
• Strong contenders in the international film category include No Other Choice (South Korea), The Secret Agent (Brazil), Sirāt (Spain) and The Voice of Hind Rajab (Tunisia). Several could easily break into the best picture field too, given the Academy's increasingly international voter base
• Other films in the race include Russell Crowe's historical epic Nuremberg, the John Bishop-inspired Is This Thing On?, gambling drama Ballad of a Small Player, loneliness study Train Dreams, Lorenz Hart biopic Blue Moon, survival thriller The Lost Bus and Shakers musical The Testament of Ann Lee

What would you do if you were stuck on a ship, far from loved ones, and you had no idea how - or when - you'd get home? A BBC podcast follows the story of how one young woman's life took an unexpectedly wild turn.

It is New Year's Eve 2019 and Giulia Baccosi is at a party with friends when her phone pings.

The 31-year-old has recently accepted a new job in Sicily, but isn't sure she's made the right call.

"My heart was telling me maybe I should reconsider," Giulia says. "I look up at the sky and ask the universe for a sign - to let me know if I am on the right path."

The message that flashes up on Giulia's phone is from a friend. It says a cargo ship carrying rum and olive oil from Europe to Central America is about to set sail - and it needs a cook.

Giulia has previously worked as a ship's cook and decides she'll take this new job rather than the one in Sicily.

"I'll come with you to Mexico," she says on the phone to the ship's owner, "and then I'll leave."

It is anticipated this leg of the voyage will take about three months - after which Giulia plans to return to her life in Italy. But that's not how things work out.

In early January, excitement builds aboard the Avontuur - a 100-year-old schooner - as it sets sail from Germany and heads towards the rough waters of the North Sea. Giulia will be cooking three meals a day for the hungry crew and managing supplies.

The first port of call is Santa Cruz de Tenerife and as the Avontuur approaches, the crew can hear the distant drums of the city's enormous carnival. After 36 days at sea, everyone is keen to let their hair down. Once on shore the crew find themselves surrounded by thousands of revellers in dazzling outfits.

"We were just like, 'What to do? Let's join the party!'" Giulia remembers.

The following morning, slightly hungover, a rumour reaches them about some holidaymakers on the island who have fallen ill with a mystery virus and been quarantined in their hotel. But it is soon forgotten as the crew prepare to set sail again.

One morning soon after, as Giulia is chopping fruit and stirring porridge, the night watch tells her about an unusual little light that's been spotted on the horizon.

The Avontuur is 45 nautical miles off the coast of Gran Canaria and the light is too far out to be a fishing boat. Suddenly commands are shouted, sails are dropped, and the engine - used only in emergencies - is turned on.

"What is happening?" Giulia says. "Is this really what I think it is?"

As the light comes closer, she sees a small, wooden fishing vessel with five women and 11 men on board, packed so tightly they can barely stand.

"They are waving," Giulia says, "from a distance we can hear them shouting."

As the Avontuur approaches, the people onboard the tiny boat become increasingly distressed.

"They all wanted to be the first one out of that nightmare," Giulia says. "They are the most fragile and vulnerable version of a human being you can be."

The boat's occupants have been drifting at sea for more than 10 days and have run out of water, food, and fuel. The crossing they have tried to make, from West Africa to the Canaries, is one of the most dangerous in the world. Tens of thousands attempt this journey each year, and thousands die.

Brought aboard the Avontuur, the exhausted migrants are fed, watered and given medical attention.

"I remember one of them telling me, 'I didn't know the sea was so big,'" Giuila says.

The Avontuur can't carry an extra 16 passengers, so the coastguard is called.

"There are no heroes... none of us feels like one," Giulia later writes in her diary. "We did what every decent human being should - and would - do in our place."

Days later, the Avontuur is back out in the Atlantic, when the crew is asked to gather on deck. The captain reads out an email from the ship's owner.

"The world as you know it no longer exists," the email begins. "Ports are closing, airports are closing, flights are cancelled. Supermarkets, shops, borders - everything has shut."

There is a moment of silence.

"We were all looking at each other a bit astonished, a bit confused," Giulia says. "What is happening to the people we love that are [back] at home?"

The world is beginning to lock down because of Covid - but no one really understands yet exactly what this means.

"I wanted to talk with my boyfriend, I wanted to call my mum, my grandma, my brother," Giulia says. "I was grabbed by the fear that something would happen to them while I was out in the ocean and I can't even speak to them one last time."

The crew's only point of contact with the rest of the world is a single daily satellite email that connects the ship to its headquarters in Germany. Phone signal is still at least six days away.

Unsure if they will now be allowed to dock anywhere, the Avontuur sails on towards the Caribbean. As the ship nears Guadeloupe, Giulia sits on deck clutching her phone, waiting for a signal. When the call finally connects she explodes in tears.

"What are you going to do?" Giulia's partner asks.

"I have no idea about anything at all," she replies. "Nobody does."

Normally arrival in a new port means loading and unloading cargo, shore leave, and ordering provisions. For the crew it should be an opportunity to rest, walk on dry land, make phone calls, send messages, and take time for themselves.

"If you have a ship you are sharing with 15 people - you are never more than a few metres away from all the other humans you are living with," Giulia says.

There seems to be little activity at Guadeloupe port, but eventually staff wearing surgical masks approach. They ask the Avontuur to depart Guadeloupe as soon as possible, leaving the ship's crew in disbelief.

Denied shore leave after more than three weeks at sea and still reeling from the news the world is in lockdown, the crew are concerned about what lies ahead. Their next port of call, Honduras, could be as much as a fortnight away.

"Is it really wise to keep going?" Giulia says.

In the weeks that follow, while people on dry land are denied the ability to mix freely, the Avontuur's crew are prevented from stepping ashore at most ports.

It becomes clear any planned arrivals and departures to and from the ship - including Giulia's plan to leave in Mexico - are off the table. It also seems unlikely anyone will be able to set foot on dry land at any port, until the Avontuur is back in Germany.

This means sourcing food becomes increasingly difficult, leaving Giulia worried about how she will continue to feed the 15-strong crew, now confined to a space roughly the size of a basketball court - and among whom tensions are growing.

Giulia's thoughts return repeatedly to her loved ones. She drafts a message, ready to post on Instagram.

"It feels quite surreal to be confined on this floating bubble," she writes. "I hope you are all safe and sound out there."

To fight boredom and anxiety, the crew embrace crafts, drawing, and playing instruments. They rig a cargo net to swim safely off the stern. Some find a release in romantic relationships.

"There is chemistry, there is attraction," Giulia says. "To look for physical intimacy and physical touch is very human. In those moments you can forget there is something outside that you can't control."

The crew also find comfort in the wonders of the ocean - dolphins and flying fish, and one night an encounter with a pod of friendly minke whales, swimming in bio-luminescent water.

"They are so close we can smell their breath," Giulia says. "The most beautiful moment - which is so magnificent and marvellous and dreamy - and yet, it smells of farts."

At one point the Avontuur has to take evasive action to avoid a hurricane and sails as far north as Newfoundland - off the coast of Canada.

Fresh food is now running out and when Giulia makes an inventory she realises there is not enough dry food to make it back to Germany. Some items, including coffee - "the one thing that propels a sailor" - must be rationed. Then Giulia discovers the gas is also running out.

"It is our main energy to cook," Giulia says, "and we don't have any plan B."

An improvised fireless slow cooker is built from little more than a wooden box, expanding foam, and a yoga mat - and it works.

"Somehow, out of a very serious and worrying situation, we end up enjoying some of the best stew I've ever cooked in my life," she says.

In June 2020 the Avontuur finally makes landfall in Horta, in the Azores - a lush, volcanic archipelago off the west coast of Portugal. The crew, all EU citizens, should be allowed ashore - but first, they must test for Covid.

Days later, the call comes. After four and a half months at sea, they're permitted to land - and Giulia wants to savour every moment.

"I want the flowers, I want the grass, I want the bar, I want the people, I want to go and buy some chocolate," she says, "the possibility to walk and decide if you are going to turn left or right."

Good spirits return among the crew, and they begin to look forward to the final leg of their journey, back towards Europe.

"We know that we are sailing home," Giulia says.

At the end of July, after 188 days at sea, the Avontuur finally approaches the port of Hamburg in Germany. The crew hold hands as the ship docks.

"My eyes filled with tears," Giulia says. "We have been waiting for this for so long - and now it is real."

But amid the excitement there is still work to do. The ship's hold is full of sacks and the 15 sailors unload the 64 tonnes of olive oil, coffee, cacao, and rum brought from the Caribbean.

"Our duty is done - it is time to celebrate!" Giulia says.

At a homecoming party the crew wear T-shirts printed with the words, "The world as you know it no longer exists" - but Giulia feels changed.

"I am back, but I am not the same as before," she says. "I wonder how I will fit - as a new me - in my old life."

Despite the wild turn Giulia's voyage on the Avontuur took, it didn't put her off a life at sea. She never expected to still be working as a ship's cook, but five years on, she's aboard another boat, somewhere off the coast of Greenland.

And every now and then, just as she did on New Year's Eve five years ago, Giulia looks up at the sky and asks the universe for a sign - to make sure she's on the right path.

You're in a sweaty nightclub in Essex. You're hammered. And your pushy best friend is trying to sort out your love life. It's Jane Austen's Emma, but not as you know it.

For the uninitiated, the 1815 novel follows the charmed life of our protagonist in Regency England as she busies herself interfering in her friends' relationships (or matchmaking, depending on your point of view).

In Ava Pickett's fresh adaptation, being staged at London's Rose Theatre, Emma Woodhouse still has all the trademark traits of our beloved original heroine – she's clever, quick-witted, meddling, haughty and occasionally cruel.

But instead of navigating society balls and dowries, Pickett's modern Emma is poking her nose into her friends' online dating profiles, having returned home after failing her exams at Oxford University.

Emma is the first from her family to go to university and isn't about to come clean to her proud working class dad about why she's suddenly back.

Pickett herself, who hails from Clacton in Essex, was also one of the first in her family to go to university.

Although she finished her degree, she says she "felt like a failure" and became "defensive" afterwards when she went back home and couldn't find work (having trained as an actor). That "manifested as being quite contrary and overconfident in how everyone else should be living... and how I needed to be", she says. "And so I think a lot of that is at play with Emma."

At 31, Pickett is making a name for herself as one of the UK's most prolific and talented young writers. She's penned scripts for TV dramas including Sky's Brassic and the BBC's Ten Pound Poms, had her debut play 1536 staged at London's Almeida theatre, and is writing a film about Joan of Arc with Baz Luhrmann, no less.

She tells me that though she hadn't read Emma before being approached by the Rose's Christopher Haydon, who is directing the play, she was hooked once she started it.

"I really identified with that feeling of [being] 21. She's so young, but is on the cusp of adulthood. She believes she knows everything about everyone else's life and what they need to do in order to get to happiness. She reminded me so much of me at that age."

Austen is definitely having a moment (not that she's ever really been away). This year marks the 250th anniversary of her birth, and in recent years we've enjoyed BBC TV series Miss Austen, a film adaptation of Emma starring Anya Taylor Joy, and the West End's Clueless musical (based on the cult 90s teen film adaptation of Emma, which Pickett calls a "masterpiece").

There's also a new adaptation of Pride and Prejudice starring Emma Corrin coming to Netflix.

Toxic dating apps

Pickett says she wanted to do a contemporary adaptation of Emma, rather than a period version, after "talking to a lot of my friends about it, how they felt about dating, and I felt like I was beginning to recognise Emmas in my life".

This Emma (played by Amelia Kenworthy) and the other main players, including love interest George Knightley (Kit Young), are more likely to spend their spare time in the pub or local nightclub than sipping tea from the finest china or practising the piano.

And there's always a spare half hour here or there to obsess over your online dating profile and potential matches (or should we say suitors).

"It's so brutal because I think the apps can get really addictive, so that your validation comes from how many likes you have, how many matches you get... It becomes a kind of game... so a lot of your self-worth is coming from a number on your screen," Pickett says.

"This idea of ghosting someone can be really, really cruel," she adds.

"In my experience, a lot of young men have found the apps toxic too... They are perpetuating a value system that doesn't value human complexity or awkwardness."

Young, who has starred in TV shows such as Netflix's Shadow and Bone, adds: "This production really showcases that technology is just another lens of confusion, because someone can... get it wrong. We have much more facility for communication, but that doesn't mean that we communicate any better and... that's actually the chaos of it all."

His character is a steady presence in Emma's life and they are a more similar age than in the book, where George is about 17 years older.

Pickett explains: "I wasn't really interested in her being an ingénue."

Young adds: "George is very astute, very smart. He doesn't hate where he's from, and he's quite comfortable there.

"The one person that grinds his gears is Emma. You can absolutely love someone and hate someone at the same time."

Kenworthy, who plays the lead, is sympathetic to her character.

"Every choice she makes is because she's just trying to help people, and it's messy and it's complicated. But her heart's in the right place. She probably just needs to see a therapist!"

Emma's long-suffering best friend Harriet (Sofia Oxenham) has remained in their home town while Emma has been away studying, and has a more rounded and significant role in Pickett's version than in the novel.

"I really love writing female friendships because I think they are wonderful but brutal and difficult. No-one teaches you at school that it's work to stay friends for a long time," Pickett says.

One of Austen's most famous quotes comes courtesy of Emma, who says to Harriet: "You must be the best judge of your own happiness" (before ironically talking her into turning down a proposal from farmer Robert Martin due to her own snobbery).

"I really wanted to dig into that a lot. It's something Emma has to learn," Pickett says.

The writer is hoping the universal appeal of Austen will translate to audiences more than 200 years after Emma was first published.

"The human condition is, in lots of ways, still the same. Jealousy is jealousy. Love is love."

Emma is on at the Rose Theatre in Kingston, London, from 17 September until 11 October 2025.

President Donald Trump and other prominent American political figures are heading to Arizona to speak at a memorial for Charlie Kirk, the 31-year-old conservative activist who was killed two weeks ago.

The event, organised by Turning Point USA (TPUSA), is on Sunday at State Farm Stadium in Glendale and could be attended by more than 100,000 people.

Heightened security is expected, including "TSA-level screening", according to TPUSA.

Kirk, who co-founded Turning Point USA when he was 18, was shot at a speaking event on a Utah university campus on 10 September, reigniting concerns about political violence in the US.

A polarising figure, differing perspectives about his legacy and possible motives for the shooting have exacerbated deep divisions in the US.

In addition to Trump, those expected to speak at the service include Kirk's widow, Erika, who took over his role as TPUSA CEO; Vice President JD Vance; the president's eldest son, Donald Trump Jr; right-wing political commentator Tucker Carlson; homeland security adviser and White House deputy chief of staff for policy Stephen Miller.

Public shootings in the US are normally met with calls from political leaders for calm, prayer and unity.

But the Trump administration has been seeking to blame and crack down on the "radical left", which in turn has prompted accusations of government overreach and claims Kirk's death is being used as a pretext to intrude on civil liberties.

Doors open at 08:00 local time (16:00 BST), with the official program due to start at 11:00 (19:00 BST). The dress code is "Sunday best - red, white or blue".

The stadium can hold just over 63,000 people, with the TPUSA website stating entry on Sunday will be on a "first come, first served" basis. A nearby 20,000 capacity stadium has been allocated as an overflow area.

It will also be live-streamed on Charlie Kirk's Rumble account, TPUSA said.

At the stadium, organisers said there will be "enhanced security measures" in place with "TSA-level screening".

A senior Department of Homeland Security official told CBS that the memorial service has the same security designation as high-profile events such as the Super Bowl.

The Secret Service told the outlet that a man was "observed exhibiting suspicious behaviour" at the stadium on Friday.

Agents approached the man, who was armed and claimed he was a member of law enforcement, CBS reported.

Officials said the man was booked for impersonating law enforcement and carrying a weapon in a prohibited place, but has been released on bond. TPUSA spokesman Andrew Kolvet later said the man was a private security advisor for a "known" guest who was checking the area ahead of the event.

"We do not believe this person was attempting anything nefarious, however the advance was not done in proper coordination with the TPUSA security team or US Secret Service," he said on social media. "Also important to note that this was before the site had been fully sealed and locked down. Every precaution is being taken to ensure everyone's safety."

Tensions are high following the killing of Kirk.

Much is still unknown about the suspected shooter's motive. Utah's governor said Tyler Robinson, 22, who was charged in the shooting and remains in jail, has a "leftist ideology". And shell casings with anti-fascist slogans were found, according to officials.

But the exact meaning of those and other messages is still unclear.

Sir Keir Starmer is expected to announce the UK's recognition of a Palestinian state in a statement on Sunday afternoon.

The move comes after the prime minister said in July the UK would shift its position in September unless Israel met conditions including agreeing to a ceasefire in Gaza and committing to a long-term sustainable peace deal that delivers a two-state solution.

It represents a major change in British foreign policy after successive governments said recognition should come as part of a peace process and at a time of maximum impact.

The move has drawn fierce criticism from the Israeli government, hostage families and some Conservatives.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu previously said such a move "rewards terror".

However, UK ministers argue there was a moral responsibility to act to keep the hope of a long-term peace deal alive.

Government sources said the situation on the ground had worsened significantly in the last few weeks. They cited images showing starvation and violence in Gaza, which the prime minister has previously described as "intolerable".

Israel's latest ground operation in Gaza City, described by a UN official as "cataclysmic", has forced hundreds of thousands of people to flee.

Earlier this week, a United Nations commision of inquiry concluded Israel had committed genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, which Israel denounced as "distorted and false".

Ministers also highlighted the continued expansion of Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, which are illegal under international law, as a key factor in the decision to recognise Palestinian statehood.

Justice Secretary David Lammy, who was foreign secretary in July when the path to recognition was announced, cited the controversial E1 settlement project which critics warn would put an end to hopes for a viable, contiguous Palestinian state.

He said: "The recognition of a Palestinian state is as a consequence of the serious expansion that we're seeing in the West Bank, the settler violence that we're seeing in the West Bank, and the intention and indications that we're seeing to build for example the E1 development that would run a coach and horses through the possibility of a two-state solution."

Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas welcomed the UK's recognition pledge when he visited Sir Keir earlier this month, with Downing Street saying both leaders had agreed Hamas had no role in future governance of Palestine.

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said she wanted to see a two-state solution in the Middle East.

But writing in The Telegraph over the weekend, she said: "It is obvious, and the US has been clear on this, that recognition of a Palestinian state at this time and without the release of the hostages, would be a reward for terrorism."

Meanwhile, in an open letter to Sir Keir on Saturday, family members of some of the hostages taken by Hamas urged the Prime Minister not to take the step until the remaining 48, of whom 20 are believed to still be alive, had been returned.

The announcement of the forthcoming recognition had "dramatically complicated efforts to bring home our loved ones", they wrote. "Hamas has already celebrated the UK's decision as a victory and reneged on a ceasefire deal."

During a state visit to the UK this week, US President Donald Trump also said he disagreed with recognition.

Sir Keir had set a deadline of the UN General Assembly meeting, which takes place this week, for Israel to take "substantive steps to end the appalling situation in Gaza, agree to a ceasefire and commit to a long-term, sustainable peace, reviving the prospect of a two-state solution".

Speaking in July, he said: "I've always said we will recognise a Palestinian state as a contribution to a proper peace process, at the moment of maximum impact for the two-state solution.

"With that solution now under threat, this is the moment to act."

A number of other countries including Portugal, France, Canada and Australia have also said they will recognise a Palestinian state, while Spain, Ireland and Norway took the step last year.

Palestine is currently recognised by around 75% of the UN's 193 member states, but has no internationally agreed boundaries, no capital and no army - making recognition largely symbolic.

The two-state solution refers to the creation of a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, with East Jerusalem as its capital. Israel currently occupies both the West Bank and Gaza, meaning the Palestinian Authority is not in full control of its land or people.

Recognising a Palestinian state has long been a cause championed by many within the Labour Party. The PM has been under mounting pressure to take a tougher stance on Israel, particularly from MPs on the left of his party.

Shortly before he gave his speech in July, more than half of Labour MPs signed a letter calling for the government to immediately recognise a Palestinian state.

However, critics questioned why the government had appeared to put conditions on Israel but not on Hamas, when it set out its path to recognition.

The Chief Rabbi, Sir Ephraim Mirvis, called on the government to pause its decision.

"The intended recognition is not contingent upon a functioning or democratic Palestinian government, nor even upon the most basic commitment to a peaceful future," he said.

"Astonishingly, it is not even conditional upon the release of the 48 hostages who remain in captivity."

Government sources insisted their demands for Hamas to release the hostages and agree to a ceasefire had not changed.

But officials in the Foreign Office argued statehood was a right of the Palestinian people and could not be dependent on Hamas, which the government views as a terrorist organisation.

Speaking on Thursday when he hosted President Trump at Chequers, Sir Keir reiterated that Hamas could play "no part" in any future Palestinian state.

The Israeli military launched its Gaza campaign in response to the unprecedented Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 were taken hostage.

At least 64,964 people have been killed in Israeli attacks in Gaza since then, according to the territory's Hamas-run health ministry.

British fighter jets have conducted a Nato air defence mission over Poland as part of an allied response to Russian drone incursions into Polish airspace, the Ministry of Defence said.

The RAF Typhoon jets were deployed over Poland on Friday night as part of the military alliance's mission to bolster its eastern flank.

Tensions have escalated following repeated Russian violations of Nato members' airspace this month - with a drone detected over Romania and then warplanes in Estonia's airspace following the incursions into Poland. Russia has denied or downplayed the violations.

Defence Secretary John Healey said the RAF flights sent "a clear signal: Nato airspace will be defended".

He added: "I'm proud of the outstanding British pilots and air crew who took part in this successful operation to defend our allies from reckless Russian aggression."

Two fighter jets took off from RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire on Friday night to patrol Poland's skies, supported by an RAF Voyager air-to-air refuelling aircraft, before returning to the UK early on Saturday, the MoD said.

Nato had announced the mission, dubbed the Eastern Sentry, on 10 September following 19 drone incursions into Polish airspace.

Then Healey confirmed that the UK would be involved when he visited RAF Brize Norton five days later.

Describing Russia's actions as "reckless, dangerous and unprecedented," he said: "When we are threatened, we respond together."

Moscow maintains that it has "no plans to target" facilities in Poland.

Drones and missiles have sporadically veered into countries bordering Ukraine in the years since Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022.

But the arrival of 19 drones into Poland on a single day was the most serious incident of its kind and the first time a Nato member has directly engaged Russian drones since the war began, with Poland shooting down three of them.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said it was "the closest we have been to open conflict since World War Two".

Romania was the second Nato country to report a Russian drone had breached its airspace on 14 September.

Then on Friday, Estonia requested an urgent consultation with other Nato members after three Russian warplanes entered its airspace "without permission and remained there for a total of 12 minutes". Russia has denied violating Estonia's airspace.

Nato's Article 4, first triggered by Poland after Russia's drone incursion, allows member countries to bring any issues of concern to the North Atlantic Council, the alliance's main political decision-making body.

The RAF operation comes 85 years after the Battle of Britain, when Polish pilots fought alongside the RAF to thwart sustained German air attacks in Britain's skies during World War Two.

"It is especially poignant that RAF pilots and crew are once again standing shoulder to shoulder with Poland in defence of our shared security," Healey said.

Marshal Harv Smyth, chief of the Air Staff, said the UK's "partnership with Nato has never been stronger".

"We remain agile, integrated, and ready to project airpower at range."

Strictly Come Dancing has returned for its 21st season, with the new parings of celebrities and dancers revealed.

Saturday's launch show saw performances from last year's winners Chris McCausland and Dianne Buswell, as well as a singer Jessie J - returning to the spotlight with her new single Living My Best Life.

Among the new pairings, Apprentice star Thomas Skinner - who has been under the spotlight since his participation in the show was announced - will dance with professional Amy Dowden, who missed the 2023 season after a cancer diagnosis.

The race is now on for the Glitterball trophy, building up to the grand final on 20 December.

Among the highlights was the performance by McCausland and Buswell - recreating their waltz to You'll Never Walk Alone, their performance of which was voted the most memorable moment at the 2025 Baftas.

Speaking about his victory in 2024, McCausland said it was "the most proud I've ever been of anything in my life".

The performance by Jessie J marked a milestone in her turn to the spotlight, just months after she revealed she had been diagnosed with breast cancer.

Ahead of the show she shared a picture of herself with professional Amy Dowden, who had to step away from Strictly after receiving her own cancer diagnosis.

Taking to the stage, she asked the audience: "Strictly, are you ready to dance?"

Among one of the tweaks to this year programme, for the first time, there will be no phone voting - with it moving to a fully online model.

Announcing the change, the BBC said the premium-rate phone voting "is now an outdated system and also expensive to run".

The pairings

Perhaps the contestant who the most has been written, business man and personality Thomas Skinner has been paired with Amy Dowden.

Ahead of the show he was involved in an incident which saw him leave a news conference early, and pick up a journalist's phone - something which he apologised for.

The Apprentice star Skinner said he was "over the moon" to be partnered with Dowden and added: "I hope you can teach me a few moves because I'm useless at the minute."

Reality TV star Vicky Pattison said she was "thrilled" to be paired with professional dancer Kai Widdrington on the show.

Doctor Who actress Alex Kingston was revealed to be the partner of Johannes Radebe, who she described as her "number one".

EastEnders star Balvinder Sopal said being on Strictly was a "dream come true" before it was revealed she had been partnered with Australian dancer Julian Caillon.

Former England rugby union captain Chris Robshaw said he watched clips of Nadiya Bychkova after he learned they would be dance partners.

Model Ellie Goldstein, who is the first person with Down's syndrome to compete on the main series of Strictly, was revealed to be partnered with Vito Coppola - with the pair showing off a "secret handshake" during the launch show.

Internet star George Clarke was paired with US dancer Alexis Warr who said she wanted Clarke to "embody this show" and "enjoy it".

Gladiators star Harry Aikines-Aryeetey was revealed to be partnered with Karen Hauer, who said their first dance would be a cha cha cha to Salt-N-Pepa's Push It.

Love Island winner Dani Dyer-Bowen said she was "honestly so happy" after it was revealed she would be dancing with Nikita Kuzmin.

Former footballer Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink looked pleased when he met his dance partner Lauren Oakley for the first time.

Former Lioness Karen Carney was revealed to be partnered with Carlos Gu on the show.

Singer and drag performer La Voix joked "that's the one I said I didn't want" when they met their dance partner Aljaz Skorjanec for the first time.

Former Emmerdale actor Lewis Cope said he was "over the moon" to be paired with professional dance Katya Jones.

ITV entertainment reporter Ross King told his dance partner Jowita Przystal "you drew the short straw" when it was revealed they would be dancing together on Saturday.

Neighbours actor Stefan Dennis was partnered with Dianne Buswell, who referred to their partnership as the "Aussie dream team".

The White House has announced that US companies will now control TikTok's algorithm and Americans will hold six of seven board seats for the app's US operations in a much-anticipated deal with China.

Press secretary Karoline Leavitt said a deal could be signed "in the coming days", but Beijing is yet to comment.

The US has sought to take the video-sharing app's US operations away from Chinese parent company ByteDance for national security reasons.

TikTok was previously told it had to sell its US operations or risk being shut down.

But US President Donald Trump delayed implementing the ban four times since it was first announced in January, and earlier this week extended the deadline again to December.

Leavitt said that data and privacy for the app in the US will be led by tech giant Oracle, which is owned by Larry Ellison, one of the world's richest people and a Trump ally.

"The data and privacy will be led by one of America's greatest tech companies, Oracle, and the algorithm will also be controlled by America as well," she told Fox News.

"So all of those details have already been agreed upon. Now we just need this deal to be signed."

Mr Ellison's son, David Ellison, recently acquired media company Paramount, which owns CBS News, making the Ellisons one of the country's most powerful families in media.

Trump said on Friday that he and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping approved a deal on the future of TikTok's US operations during a phone call, although there was no confirmation from Beijing.

Trump wrote on Truth Social that the call was "productive" and he "appreciated" Xi's approval of deal, which would reportedly see TikTok's US business sold to a group of US investors.

China's official state news agency Xinhua left the outcome of their discussion less clear, with Xi quoted as saying that Beijing "welcomes negotiations over TikTok".

A sticking point in negotiations appears to have been over who will own the powerful algorithm that pushes content to TikTok's 170 million American users.

Speaking alongside British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer in the UK on Thursday, Trump sidestepped a question from a reporter about whether an American buyer would need to build a new algorithm, or if they could continue to use the current algorithm.

While Trump initially called for TikTok to be banned during his first term, he has changed course. He turned to the hugely popular platform to boost his support among young Americans during his successful 2024 presidential campaign.

In January, the US Supreme Court upheld a law first passed in early 2024, banning the app unless ByteDance divested from its US operations. The app went "dark" only briefly at the time, before the ban was delayed.

The US Department of Justice previously expressed concerns that TikTok's access to the data of US users posed a national security threat of "immense depth and scale".

Heathrow is among several European airports hit by a cyber-attack affecting an electronic check-in and baggage system.

The airport warned of possible delays due to a "technical issue" affecting software provided by Collins Aerospace to several airlines.

Brussels Airport said a cyber-attack on Friday night meant passengers were being checked in and boarded manually, while Berlin's Brandenburg Airport also said a "technical issue at a system provider operating across Europe" was causing longer waiting times.

RTX, which owns Collins Aerospace, said it was "aware of a cyber-related disruption" to its system "in select airports" and that it was working to resolve the issue as quickly as possible.

The company added: "The impact is limited to electronic customer check-in and baggage drop and can be mitigated with manual check-in operations."

Heathrow said additional staff were on hand in check-in areas to help minimise disruption.

It added: "We advise passengers to check their flight status with their airline before travelling to the airport and arrive no earlier than three hours before a long haul flight or two hours for a domestic flight."

Brussels said the disruption meant a "large impact on the flight schedule", including causing cancellations and delays.

Europe's combined aviation safety organisation, Eurocontrol, said airline operators had been asked to cancel half their flight schedules to and from the airport between 04:00 and 12:00 GMT due to the disruption.

It said "similar issues" were affecting Heathrow and Berlin, and that "measures may be required".

There have been nearly 100 delays in and out of Heathrow as of 10:00 BST on Saturday, according to tracker FlightAware, while there have been nearly 70 delays in Brussels and 15 in Berlin.

Former Lib Dem leader Tim Farron draped himself in an England flag and declared his love for his country at the opening night rally of the party's conference in Bournemouth.

"We will not have our history, our heritage, and our home stolen by the poison of nationalism," the MP roared as he called on members to "reclaim patriotism" from the far right.

Confetti cannons rained glitter over him as the brass bombast of Land of Hope and Glory rang out and a giant union jack appeared on the screen behind him.

The theatrics seemed to work, as a membership sometimes mocked for its mild-mannered approach got to its collective feet and filled the air with whoops of approval and the flutter of hundreds of mini flags.

Farron told a hall full of activists to "stop being so flaming squeamish and English" and reclaim the UK's flags from groups who seek to "divide and destroy".

"Be proud of your country, the British flag and the flags of our four nations," he said. "They are ours. They belong to all of us. Let's take them back. Let's wave them with pride."

"Let us reclaim our flags for those who would reunite and rebuild, not divide and destroy, because we will not yield our identity, our flag, or our country, to the nationalists.

"A Britain that may be broken by the wickedness of hatred, fake news and isolation, but a Britain that I passionately believe is not beyond healing."

At the end of his speech, the MP for Westmorland and Lonsdale held aloft a giant English flag bearing the slogans "Pride of Lancashire" and "Rovers til I Die", in support of his football team Blackburn Rovers.

The Liberal Democrats are going all out this week to claim that they are the true patriots, in contrast to Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, who they have dubbed a "plastic patriot".

They have even created a "plastic patriot" Farage Lego figure, which is included in a welcome pack being handed out to journalists.

For a party that has largely shunned flag-waving displays of national pride, this is a new departure.

But the party's MPs are eager to take the fight to Reform and insert themselves into the national debate, as St George's Cross and Union flag are displayed in towns and cities across the UK.

Leader Sir Ed Davey was greeted by a flag-waving crowd of party activists as he led a marching band through Bournemouth Central Gardens, twirling a baton - a deliberately patriotic twist on his trademark stunts.

The band, which had arrived on the ferry from the Isle of Wight, played Sweet Caroline, a favourite among England football fans, as they came to a halt in front of the Bournemouth conference centre.

Elsewhere, a group calling themselves "Bournemouth Patriots" protested outside a hotel in the town being used to house migrants.

The group stood with national flags outside of the Roundhouse Hotel in the centre of the town, and were met by a counter-protest.

The Lib Dem leader told reporters: "The vast majority of people who've got decent values, respect for the rule of law, tolerance, who love our country like the Liberal Democrats do.

"They want to see a party that is true to British values but will change our country."

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The Indian government has said a new $100,000 (£74,000) fee for applicants seeking US skilled worker visas will have "humanitarian consequences".

President Donald Trump on Friday ordered the new fee for H-1B visa applications, which is more than 60 times the amount currently charged, to go into effect on 21 September.

Workers from India receive by far the most skilled visas in the programme, at just more than 70% of those issued.

Some US tech companies reportedly advised employees with H-1B visas to stay in the US or, if they were out of the country, to try to return immediately. The White House then on Saturday clarified the fee will not apply to current visas or renewal applications.

A statement from the Indian Ministry of External Affairs on Saturday said the fee would have humanitarian consequences "by way of the disruption caused for families".

The Indian government "hopes that these disruptions can be addressed suitably by the US authorities", it also said.

The exchange of skilled workers has "contributed enormously" to both nations, the statement said, adding: "Policy makers will therefore assess recent steps taking into account mutual benefits, which include strong people-to-people ties between the two countries."

The statement did not provide specifics on any potential response from India's government.

Since Trump imposed punshing tariffs on India last month for purchasing Russian oil, the two countries have been locked in tense trade negotiations. The US exported $41.5bn worth of goods to India in 2024, and imported more than double that, $87.3 bn, according to the US Trade Representative's office.

On Saturday, the Indian government said its commerce minister Piyush Goyal would visit the US on Monday for trade talks, according to Reuters.

Making such a major change to the H-1B programme in such a narrow window of created "considerable uncertainty for businesses, professionals, and students across the world", India's leading trade body Nasscom said.

In announcing the planned change, the White House said the visas were not being used as intended, citing data it said suggests some visas are being "abused" to undercut American wages and outsource IT jobs.

But the order allows for "case-by-case exemptions if in the national interest", the White House said.

The skilled visa route is intended to allow companies in the US to temporarily employ foreign workers with "highly specialised knowledge".

Just under 400,000 H-1B visas were approved in 2024, of which around 260,000 were renewals, according to US-based Pew Research Center.

Data from US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) shows that in the first half of 2025 Amazon received the most H-1B visa approvals, with 10,044.

In second was Indian technology company Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), with 5,505.

Trump's proclamation applies to applications submitted for workers currently outside the US, which must be "accompanied or supplemented by a payment of $100,000" (about 8.8mn Indian Rupees). Currently, the administrative fees for an application total $1,500.

Amazon, Microsoft and JP Morgan were among the companies to advise employees with H-1B visas to remain in the US, and for those outside of the US to try and return before the deadline, according to Reuters.

The advisories appeared to be precautionary, given the order did not say H-1B visa holders would be barred from re-entering the country or charged the new fee if they were temporarily out of the country, after Sunday.

According to an internal advisory, seen by Business Insider, Amazon said employees unable to return to the US before the order takes effect should avoid attempting US re-entry "until further guidance is provided".

England outlast France after nervy first half

Gavin And Stacey star Joanna Page has said she was "groped" by a TV host after being warned about him.

The actress said a female producer told her he could be "very handsy" and is "probably going to start touching you"

The actress made the comments in an interview with The Times.

She added she was not naming the person for legal reasons.

In the interview ahead of the release her autobiography, the 48-year-old said: "Halfway through filming, he starts groping me.

"I hit his hands and said, 'What do you think you're bloody doing? I feel like I'm in Bristol Zoo being mauled by the lions.'"

After that he stopped, she said.

"It was bizarre, a female producer telling you this was going to happen, but it's what you got used to," Ms Page added.

As well as starring in Gavin and Stacey, Ms Page hosts BBC podcast Off The Telly, with EastEnders star Natalie Cassidy, and has appeared in films including From Hell and Love Actually.

If you have been affected by the issues raised in this story you can visit the BBC Action Line for details of organisations who can offer support.

London Fashion Week comes to a close on Monday after showcasing the best of British design and beyond.

This autumn's festival of style has seen the brand Dreaming Eli's debut show held inside St Cyprian's Church, as well as H&M making a return and Oxfam hosting their own catwalk.

Bake Off star Dame Prue Leith, singer-songwriter Matt Goss and Romeo Beckham were just a few of the stars to appear at the event.

The week was opened by a returning H&M at 180 Strand, with a show featuring star power such as Iris Law and Romeo Beckham, and over 700 guests including model Emily Ratajkowski.

Singer Lola Young performed two of her songs for the audience, including her chart-topping Gen-Z anthem Messy.

Location location location

As always, catwalks have been taking place in a variety of striking locations in London including Battersea Power Station, the Royal Horseguards Hotel, the Royal Opera House - and several of the capital's historic churches which each provided their own distinctive backdrops.

Making a statement

And of course it wouldn't be Fashion Week without some more outlandish outfits, adorning some stylish star names.

TV presenter Dame Prue Leith turned heads at Vin + Omi: Dysphoriana show when she walked the runway in an bright red RAF parachute that had been redesigned as a dress.

The design duo known for their avant-garde and eco-conscious creations.

Elsewhere, Oxfam hosted a runway in honour of second-hand September, featuring celebrities including the singer Sam Ryder, model Jade Parfitt and the writer and presenter Katie Piper.

The Liberal Democrats want every police force in England and Wales to open counters in venues such as supermarkets, shopping centres, and libraries.

The party says the move would boost public confidence in policing and make it easier for people to report crime and share information.

It says the costs of the increased presence could be covered by scrapping police and crime commissioners (PCCs), the elected officials that oversee forces.

The party has announced the policy at the start of its four-day annual conference, which begins in Bournemouth on Saturday.

The Lib Dems say their own research has revealed a "shocking" decline in the number of front counters, which are typically located inside police stations, over the past decade.

In a speech, Hazel Grove MP Lisa Smart, the party's home affairs spokesperson, will argue that "too many people say they never see a police officer" after cuts under the previous Conservative government.

But she will also accuse Labour of offering "little more than pointless soundbites" on community policing during its year in power so far.

The party has not specified exactly how many new counters should be opened, but its "police desk promise" would see at least one counter opened in every local council area across England and Wales.

It says the costs of the scheme would be covered by scrapping police commissioners, which the party has previously estimated cost over £100m in the four years to 2023, cash which it has also earmarked for rural crime teams.

The Labour government has announced plans for PCC responsibilities to be taken on by a new wave of elected mayors in the coming years.

'Few people'

The Lib Dems say the desks would not fulfil all the functions of police stations, but would allow members of the public to share information and report crime.

This would mean they have a more extensive role than engagement centres or pop-up desks typically used by neighbourhood police teams, which are sometimes set up in places such as libraries and community centres.

Some forces have also experimented with installing touch-screen terminals in supermarkets in order to boost crime reporting rates.

Almost half of London's remaining station front counters are set to close in an attempt to save costs. The Metropolitan Police began closing front counters in 2013.

The capital's Labour mayor, Sir Sadiq Khan had previously pledged to retain at least one 24-hour counter in each of the 32 boroughs.

But last week he said he had changed his mind, arguing that counters were only used by "very few people" and the £7m savings generated by the cuts would be better spent on an improved command and control centre.

It comes as Lib Dem activists gather in Bournemouth for the party's autumn conference, which will culminate in a speech on Tuesday by leader Sir Ed Davey.

The party, which won a swathe of Tory-held seats at last year's general election to take its number of MPs to 72, is expected to use the event to try to appeal to more liberal-minded Conservative voters by presenting itself as the party of understated patriotism.

Party strategists believe this could help the party open up opportunities to take further seats off the Tories in areas such as Surrey, Hertfordshire and Devon.

However, the party also faces a battle for attention in an increasingly fragmented political landscape, with Reform UK topping opinion polls, new leadership at the Green Party, and former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn promising to set up a new political party.

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The son of an British couple detained by the Taliban in Afghanistan for nearly eight months has said he is "overwhelmed" by their release.

Peter Reynolds, 80, and his wife Barbie, 76, who lived in Afghanistan for nearly two decades, are due to fly to the UK on Saturday after being reunited with their daughter in Qatar.

Jonathan Reynolds told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that he was "ecstatic and massively grateful" to those who were involved in securing their release.

The Taliban, who detained the couple on their way home on 1 February, said the pair had broken Afghan laws and were released after judicial proceedings - but the Islamist group has never disclosed a reason for their detention.

There were emotional scenes on Friday as the couple's daughter, Sarah Entwistle, met her parents as they stepped off the plane in Doha.

"We are looking forward to returning to Afghanistan if we can. We are Afghan citizens," Barbie told Agence France-Presse at Kabul airport after Qatar-brokered negotiations for their release.

Their son Jonathan echoed those hopes, saying "their desire would be to carry on living there and to do the work they were doing".

UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer praised the "vital role" played by Qatar in securing their release.

Peter and Barbie Reynolds married in Kabul in 1970 and spent the past 18 years running a charitable training programme that had been approved by local Taliban officials when the armed group reclaimed power in 2021.

"They have not just a heart for the people of Afghanistan, but they have strategy as well, and the work they've been doing has been very fruitful and has a massively positive impact," Jonathan told the BBC.

He said a few weeks ago he had managed to share the results of "really encouraging" reports about their programmes with his parents over the phone.

He said Barbie's initial reaction had been that they had "more work to do".

"But how do you do that in a country where you're not welcome," Jonathan added.

Their affection for Afghanistan was demonstrated by their decision to remain in Bamiyan province after the authoritarian regime seized control in August 2021, while many other Westerners left.

The couple's release follows months of public lobbying by their family, who have described the harrowing conditions of their detention.

Jonathan said in July that his father had been suffering serious convulsions and his mother was "numb" from anaemia and malnutrition.

A Qatari official told the BBC the couple were moved from Kabul's central prison to a larger facility with better conditions during the final stage of negotiations over their release.

Taliban officials maintained they received adequate medical care during their detention and that their human rights were respected.

The couple were receiving medical checks in the Qatari capital, Doha, before leaving for London. They will arrive on a commercial flight on Saturday morning, AFP reports.

The UK does not recognise the Taliban government and closed its embassy in Kabul when the group returned to power.

The Foreign Office says support for British nationals in Afghanistan is therefore "severely limited" and advises against all travel to the country.