Patients are being told to expect disruption as doctors start their five-day strike in England, with NHS bosses saying they are struggling to keep as many services going as they have done in recent walkouts.

NHS England said with a wave of flu placing pressure on hospitals, non-urgent services would be affected by the strike which begins at 07:00 Wednesday.

This is the 14th walkout by resident doctors, the new name for junior doctors, in the long-running pay dispute.

Health Secretary Wes Streeting said the strike had been timed to inflict most damage on the NHS and put patients at risk, but the British Medical Association said it would work with NHS bosses to ensure patient safety.

The strike is being held after the two sides held last-minute talks on Tuesday afternoon.

The talks were described as "constructive" by the government, but not enough progress had been made to call off the strike.

Resident doctors represent nearly half of the doctors working in the NHS. They will walk out of both emergency and non-urgent care with senior doctors drafted in to provide cover.

In the two most recent strikes – in July and November – NHS England said it was able to keep the majority of non-urgent operations and treatments, such as hip and knee replacements, going.

But NHS England said it expected more disruption this time. Concern has also been expressed that hospitals may struggle to discharge patients in time for Christmas as the doctors who are working concentrate on providing strike cover.

Medical director Prof Meghana Pandit said: "These strikes come at an immensely challenging time for the NHS, with record numbers of patients in hospital with flu for this time of year.

"Staff will come together as they always do, going above and beyond to provide safe care for patients and limit disruption.

"But sadly more patients are likely to feel the impact of this round of strikes than in the previous two – and staff who are covering will not get the Christmas break they deserve with their families."

Streeting added: "We have been working right up to today to try and avert these strike actions.

"Everyone knows the period leading up to Christmas and into the New Year are always the busiest for the NHS. With super flu, this year is harder.

"And that double whammy of flu plus strikes means that there is an additional burden now on other NHS staff."

NHS England said GP practices will continue to be open and urgent and emergency care services will be available for those who need them.

But even then there is likely to be some disruption. Cheltenham General Hospital's emergency department is closing for emergencies during the strike - it will remain open for minor injuries - with patients advised to use nearby Gloucestershire Royal Hospital.

NHS England said the public should use 111 online as the first port of call for urgent, but not life-threatening issues during the strike.

Patients who need emergency medical care should continue to use 999 or come forward to A&E as normal, it added.

The strike is going ahead despite a new offer from the government being made last week, which included increasing the number of speciality training posts and covering out-of-pocket expenses like exam fees.

Getting job is 'nightmare'

The speciality training jobs, which resident doctors start in year three of their training after completing medical school, have become highly competitive.

This year 30,000 applicants went for 10,000 jobs – although some of the applicants were doctors from abroad.

Dr Tom Twentyman is one of those who lost out after trying to secure an emergency medicine post. He says finding a job is an "absolute nightmare".

Since then he has been struggling to find work, juggling a handful of locum shifts each month at the same time as applying for more than 40 short-term contracts at hospitals across the country – one of which he now secured.

But this will not count towards his training, so he will now look to reapply next year.

"Some of the job adverts were coming down within two hours of going up after they received 650 applications, which is clearly an enormous number to shortlist," he says.

On Monday the BMA announced its members had voted to continue with the strike – effectively rejecting the offer in the process – after the union agreed to hold an online poll of members.

BMA resident doctor leader Dr Jack Fletcher described it as a "resounding response" and said the government needed to go further on jobs as well as pay.

Streeting has maintained he will not discuss pay as doctors have received pay rises totalling nearly 30% over the past three years.

The BMA argues that, despite the pay rises, resident doctors' pay is still a fifth lower than it was in 2008, once inflation is taken into account.

Dr Fletcher added: "It is well past the time for ministers to come up with a genuinely long-term plan.

"If they can simply provide a clear route to responsibly raise pay over a number of years and enough genuinely new jobs instead of recycled ones, then there need not be any more strikes for the remainder of this government."

But the BMA said it was committed to ensuring patient safety.

"We will be in close contact with NHS England throughout the strikes to address safety concerns if they arise," the union added.

Paul Doyle's loss of temper on the day of the Liverpool parade attack, described by the sentencing judge as "incomprehensible", may never be fully explained.

There seemed little cause for the 54-year-old to feel so aggrieved by the crowds blocking the roads as they celebrated at Liverpool FC's Premier League victory parade on 26 May.

Whatever the reason, he is now serving a sentence of 21 years and six months after pleading guilty to 31 offences including dangerous driving, affray and causing grievous bodily harm with intent.

This is how Doyle's increasing aggression on the roads developed into catastrophe over one afternoon, starting at 12:34 BST when a friend who he had agreed to drive to the parade arrived at his home.

12:34 – Paul Doyle's friend Dave Clark and his family arrive at his home in Croxteth, Liverpool. The Clark family are Liverpool fans and Doyle, an Everton fan, has agreed to drive them into the city centre to watch the parade.

12:41 – Doyle leaves home with Mr Clark and his family. On the "mundane" journey into the city, they speak about house prices, schools, football, cars, their common work in IT and family matters.

He then drops them off on Exchange Street East, where footage showed him driving calmly and following the traffic measures on Dale Street.

13:35 – Doyle arrives home after dropping his friends off on Exchange Street East. The court heard that while it did not form part of the dangerous driving charge, he "drove in a markedly more aggressive way" on his way home, jumping lanes and undertaking other vehicles.

14:30 – The victory parade starts at Allerton Maze, in the the south of Liverpool.

17:24 – Doyle sends Mr Clark a message asking "how's it going?" and is told his friend is on Castle Street, close to Dale Street and Water Street.

17:29 – Doyle sets off from his house to return to the city centre. He instructs the sat-nav system in his Ford Galaxy car to take him to Castle Street. On the way, he undertakes several cars and runs a red light.

17:40 – The Liverpool FC parade finishes when the buses arrive outside the Liver Building on the waterfront.

17:48 – Mr Clark sends Doyle a message telling him signal is poor. Doyle says he will be at Castle Street in about 10 minutes but does not reply when Mr Clark asks if he wants them to walk anywhere. Mr Clark also tells him he might find the area of Castle Street blocked.

17:54 – Doyle arrives on Dale Street from Byrom Street, having undertaken a series of other vehicles at traffic lights and gone around a roundabout in the wrong lane, coming close to pedestrians who are crossing the road.

He uses his horn and presses on down the road, despite a dense crowd of fans heading back from the waterfront. He drives through a red light at the junction with Stanley Street.

17:58 – A man walking with his child, who has not been identified, becomes concerned about Doyle's driving and places his foot on the bumper of the Ford Galaxy as he moves his child out of the way. He points at Doyle, who responds by shouting: "It's a [expletive] road."

After this interaction, Doyle continues to drive in the direction of the increasingly worried crowd, some of whom bang on his car roof.

He blasts his car horn and shouts further obscenities. Adults jump out of his way and children are pulled from his path.

He initially stops ahead of traffic cones put in place to divert traffic away from Water Street, which is full of fans, but then steers into the left lane.

The first person he hits is Jack Trotter, 23, who attempts to get out of the way but suffers an injury to his leg. He then drives into a group of people who are thrown onto his bonnet. He hits another group of people and then drives into a 10-year-old girl, before shouting "[Expletive] move".

He carries on down Water Street, striking more people, including Jacqueline McClaren, 60, and paramedic Jay Vernon, 34. He reverses and collides with an ambulance.

Doyle stops for a short time and fans surround his vehicle. One, ex soldier Dan Barr, opens the rear passenger door and gets into the car.

Doyle then accelerates again, hitting Simon Nash, who is thrown into the air. Driving sharply to the right, he hits Sheree Aldridge and the pram she is pushing, carrying six-month-old baby Teddy Eveson.

The pram, with Teddy in, is thrown into the air but the baby is uninjured. Ms Aldridge suffers a serious injury to her left thigh.

From the back of the car, Mr Barr leans forward and holds the automatic gear selector in park mode. Doyle continues to try and accelerate but eventually the car, with four people underneath it, comes to a stop.

18:01 – Doyle is dragged from his vehicle and quickly shielded from the crowd by police officers. In the two minutes since he drove into the crowd, 134 people have been hit.

Doyle pleaded not guilty to 31 charges when he appeared at Liverpool Crown Court on 4 September, with a trial scheduled for November.

Jurors were sworn in on 25 November but he changed his pleas the following day as the prosecution prepared to open its case.

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US President Donald Trump has said he is ordering a "a total and complete" blockade of all sanctioned oil tankers going into and out of Venezuela.

In a post on Truth Social, he accused Venezuela of stealing US assets, such as oil and land, and of "Terrorism, Drug Smuggling, and Human Trafficking".

"Therefore, today, I am ordering A TOTAL AND COMPLETE BLOCKADE OF ALL SANCTIONED OIL TANKERS going into, and out of, Venezuela," he added.

His post came a week after the US seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela – a move that marked a sharp escalation Washington's pressure campaign against Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro's government.

In the post, the US president said Venezuela was "completely surrounded by the largest Armada ever assembled in the History of South America".

He added that it will "only get bigger" and "be like nothing they have ever seen before".

Trump also accused Maduro's government of using stolen oil to "finance themselves, Drug Terrorism, Human Trafficking, Murder, and Kidnapping".

Venezuela has not yet responded to Trump's latest remarks.

The Trump administration has repeatedly accused Venezuela of drug smuggling and since September the US military has killed at least 90 people in strikes on boats it has alleged were carrying fentanyl and other illegal drugs to the US.

In recent months, the US has also moved warships into the region.

Venezuela - home to some of the world's largest proven oil reserves - has, in turn, accused Washington of seeking to steal its resources.

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

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Prosecutors in Los Angeles have filed murder charges against a son of Rob and Michele Reiner, the Hollywood couple who were found dead in their home with multiple stab wounds on Sunday.

Nick Reiner, 32, is facing two counts of first-degree murder and could be sentenced to life in prison if found guilty. He will be brought to court to formally face charges after he is "medically-cleared" by prison officials, District Attorney Nathan Hochman said.

During a news conference on Tuesday, Mr Hochman also said no decision had yet been made about whether to seek the death penalty.

Rob Reiner directed several iconic films in a variety of genres, including This is Spinal Tap, Misery and A Few Good Men.

Michele Singer Reiner was an actress, photographer and producer, and the founder of Reiner Light, a photography agency and production company.

Their son Nick Reiner is facing two counts of first degree murder, "with a special circumstance of multiple murders," according to Hochman. That enhancement could lead to a stiffer sentence if he is later found guilty.

District Attorney Hochman said he also is accused of using a "dangerous and deadly weapon, that being a knife".

The suspect is currently undergoing medical testing to ensure that he can attend court. He is expected to appear before a judge later on Tuesday for an arraignment hearing, where he will be able to enter a plea of guilty or not guilty.

LA Police Department Chief Jim McDonnell also spoke during the news conference, describing how the case has reverberated throughout the city.

"This case is heartbreaking and deeply personal, not only for the Reiner family and their loved ones, but for the entire city," he said.

"We extend our deepest condolences to everyone affected by this tragedy."

During the news conference, officials declined to say how the suspect was located, attributing his arrest to "good, solid police work".

District Attorney Hochman added that it is too early to say whether any "mental illness" played a role in the crime, and speculated that it could come up at trial.

"If there is evidence of mental illness, it will appear in court, in whatever details the defence seeks to present," he said.

Hollywood star Timothée Chalamet is compiling his list of five Brits who he considers to be all-time greats.

"Lewis Hamilton, David and Victoria," he begins, referring to the seven-time Formula One champion and the Beckhams.

"Fakemink," he continues, naming the underground London rapper who recently teamed up with EsDeeKid, the anonymous Liverpool drill artist who many have linked to Chalamet.

("No comment," is his reply when pressed on this. "All will be revealed.")

But Chalamet's final pick of someone who demonstrated British greatness comes totally out of left field.

After a long pause and some deep thought, he reveals his answer: "Susan Boyle."

Yes, it turns out that one of the biggest movie stars on the planet is an admirer of the 64-year-old former Britain's Got Talent star, who went on to have two US number one albums.

"She dreamt bigger than all of us," he explains, without any hint of irony.

"Who wasn't moved by that?" he says about the 2009 viral clip of the Scottish singer performing I Dreamed A Dream from Les Misérables on the talent show.

"I remember that like it was yesterday," the actor says. "That was like the advent of YouTube, you know."

Chalamet, 29, knows a lot about using social media to advance a career.

The reason he is selecting great Britons, is due to one of the many ways he has found to promote his new 1950s table tennis film, Marty Supreme.

For the last month, he has been presenting jackets bearing the film's title to people he deems as being a great.

Honourees so far include swimmer Michael Phelps, NFL legend Tom Brady and Barcelona's Spanish wonder kid Lamine Yamal.

Now his promotional tour has taken him to London, where he opened a pop-up store and is now sitting in a hotel bar looking out over Hyde Park.

I had asked him which Brits would be worth of receiving a jacket, resulting in the SuBo surprise.

Chalamet's frenetically entertaining performance in Marty Supreme has already landed him best actor nominations at both the Golden Globes and the Critics Choice Awards, and the Oscar race is currently seen as a head-to-head between him and Leonardo DiCaprio.

The film is based on real life post-war table tennis star, Marty Reisman. The semi-fictionalised film version Marty Mauser, however, has some dubious morals, getting involved in a heist and trying to destroy the marriage of his biggest sponsor, who he resents.

Despite his questionable on-screen actions, Chalamet is a big fan of his character.

"You know, when you're in your early twenties, you're an idiot," he laughs. "And this movie, in large part, is about being an idiot in your early twenties.

"And if on top of that, you have a passion that you're singular about, you risk looking foolish in addition to being an idiot."

Marty Mauser exudes the same confidence that Chalamet demonstrated while collecting his best actor SAG Award this year for playing Bob Dylan in A Complete Unknown.

During his acceptance speech he pontificated: "I'm really in pursuit of greatness. I know people don't usually talk like that, but I want to be one of the greats," before listing Daniel Day Lewis, Marlon Brando, Viola Davis and Michael Jordan, as actors who inspired him.

I ask where his confidence comes from.

"You know, it ebbs and flows. And I feel like that's kind of what keeps me on my toes," he says, in a far more humble way that he demonstrated on stage at the SAGs, wearing a bright green suit.

"It's my New York mentality insofar as if I'm on a movie or in a social situation, if things are going well, you feel great. And if not, the world's falling apart," he says, becoming far more introspective than I had expected.

"And I think increasingly in my life, like as I approach 30 here in a couple weeks, you want to be more on your feet. You want to grow into yourself. But that is a constant learning process. And it's a huge learning curve. And I try not to be too hard on myself or those around me who are also growing."

The actor's landmark birthday presents the perfect chance to ask him how he looks back at his twenties, a decade in which he has twice been nominated for best actor at the Oscars, and starred in huge box office hits including Dune and Wonka.

A huge smile comes over his face as he says: "It's been great. You know, it's been awesome.

"I feel like I'm living in a dream. I'm on top of a fancy hotel in London and talking about a film I'm deeply passionate about.

"And, you know, I got to offend somebody from Scotland the second they walked in with my English shirt," he jokes, referencing my barely disguised displeasure at his choice of interview garb.

Chalamet's dedication to roles is part of his success. He spent five years learning to play the guitar to play Bob Dylan; for Marty Supreme he embarked on seven years of table tennis lessons.

"I got approached with this project in 2018. So that basically gave me six, seven years to prepare on and off. In all my downtime, I would train as much as possible," he enthuses.

"I think the responsibility in this movie, like in the Bob Dylan movie, if you were a Dylan fan or a guitar player, that that looks real to you on screen. Similarly here, if you're a ping-pong aficionado, that that looks believable to you."

His dedication included taking his table tennis table into the desert during Dune and it was oompah-loompah ping-pong between takes on Wonka.

And he's already learning skills for film roles way in the future.

"I can't give anything away, but I do have a couple of white rabbits up my sleeve."

One thing that is totally clear, is his love of the big screen.

In the same month that Netflix has announced its intention to buy one of the major film studios, Warner Bros, Marty Supreme is a film which will have a wide cinema release and has not been made for any streaming service.

It has been produced by A24, the independent film company behind recent Oscar favourites Moonlight, Past Lives and The Brutalist.

"That is an intense question," Chalamet muses after I ask him if he thinks cinemas will actually survive the length of his career.

"I do think with streaming stuff, there's less incentive for these streaming companies to try to put things in theatres, which is dangerous.

"But equally, I do think cinemas will survive and thrive. And that's not to be a false optimist."

And he wants to play his part.

"I feel like my responsibility as a young actor especially, is less to go, 'Hey, how do we get people to revisit this traditional form?' And rather to go, "Hey, how do we take this traditional form and bring it to people?"

Chalamet sincerely believes that Marty Supreme will, in its own way, help cinemas be saved.

"This is an original film at a time where a lot of original films aren't made.

"And there's no part of me that's a salesman that's saying this, but I've never been more confident in saying, "Hey, if you bring yourself to see this movie, you won't be let down. It's really like a slingshot."

Timothée Chalamet – about to turn 30 and more than ready to channel his inner Susan Boyle and dream his dream.

Marty Supreme is released on Boxing Day.

A BBC investigation has uncovered claims that essay cheating remains widespread at UK universities despite the introduction of a law designed to stop it.

Since April 2022, it has been illegal to provide essays for students in post-16 education in England. But so far there have been no prosecutions.

The BBC has spoken to a former lecturer who describes essay cheating as an "open secret" and to a businessman who claims to have made millions from selling "model answer" essays to university students.

Universities UK, which represents 141 institutions, said there were "severe penalties" for students caught submitting work that was not their own.

One international student said the opportunity to study a master's degree at a British university was a dream come true.

Alia, whose name has been changed to protect her identity, said she and her 20 overseas classmates struggled with writing long essays during their course at the University of Lincoln – and many soon stopped engaging.

"It was both their lack of knowledge in English language and the fact that they did not care for the lesson and were talking to each other or playing on their phones," she said.

According to Alia, many of the students turned to essay-writing companies, which were easy to find online and charged about £20 for 1,000 words.

She was determined to do her own work, but said she was laughed at and called stupid by some classmates who told her: "You are losing sleep, missing your meals and getting so tired – just pay someone."

Alia claimed that by the second module, about a third of her cohort missed every class and "some would just stand behind the class door, submit their presence and leave".

It is not illegal to cheat at university, but since 2022 it has been a criminal offence to provide, arrange or advertise cheating services for financial gain to students taking a qualification at any post-16 educational institution in England.

The BBC found dozens of examples of companies continuing to advertise their essay-writing services to UK students, through their own websites and on social media.

However, both the Crown Prosecution Service and the Department for Education, which have powers to prosecute, told the BBC they had no recorded offences reaching a first hearing in a magistrate's court under the Skills and Post-16 Education Act.

Barclay Littlewood, who is from Huddersfield but based in Dubai, says he has made millions from the industry.

Mr Littlewood was working as a barrister when he started writing essays for other people in 2003. His company now claims to use a global network of 3,000 freelance writers – some of whom he says are lecturers – covering topics including law, business and sociology.

He said his prices started at £200, though larger orders for doctorate or masters-level essays could cost "up to £20,000".

When challenged by the BBC, he denied breaking English law, claiming his essays were a "model answer" on which students could base their own work.

Mr Littlewood said he had now developed his own artificial intelligence, drawing on hundreds of thousands of essays written by his company. This meant customers could have a university-level, "guaranteed grade" essay in minutes.

The BBC arranged for Steve Foster, a former lecturer, to mark an essay we generated through Mr Littlewood's tool, claiming to be of a 2:1 degree-grade standard.

Mr Foster taught English language at the International Study Centre, affiliated to the University of Lincoln, for eight years, before lecturing for four years at the university's business school.

He said he could tell the essay was not written by a student because there was no "human touch", but it was of a 2:1 standard and had "no mistakes whatsoever".

The scale of essay cheating was an "open secret" and one of the reasons he left the sector in 2024, Mr Foster said.

On one occasion, he saw a receipt from an essay-writing service fall out of a paper as his colleague marked it.

Mr Foster said he believed cheating was more prevalent among international students because some did not have good enough English language skills.

He described one overseas student scoring 2% in an exam and 99% in an essay.

"When you get that kind of disparity in the marks, it's clear the student has been cheating," he said.

"When you see a student who clearly struggled with the language and they submit an essay which William Shakespeare would have been proud of, then immediately that's going to arouse suspicion."

Mr Foster claimed many teachers "turned a blind eye" to cheating, which had allowed the problem to "snowball".

"Would you want to travel over a bridge that's been designed by one of these students?" he asked. "Would you like to put this accountant in charge of your business's operations?"

In a statement, Universities UK said the Home Office set the level of English required as part of the conditions for student visas.

"All universities have codes of conduct that include severe penalties for students found to be submitting work that is not their own," the statement added.

Universities have become increasingly reliant on higher fees from international students in recent years, as tuition fees from UK students have not kept up with inflation.

Earlier this year, a report warned more than four in 10 universities would soon be in financial difficulty, mostly because of a drop in the number of international students coming to the UK.

In the most recent year of data (2023-24), there were 730,000 non-UK students enrolled at UK universities, making up 25% of the total student population.

The BBC submitted Freedom of Information requests to every university in the UK, asking how many formal academic misconduct investigations into essay cheating had taken place in the academic year ending summer 2024, and how many involved international students.

Of the 53 higher education institutions that provided usable responses, 48 reported that international students were disproportionately represented in academic misconduct investigations.

Penalties for cheating can range from a warning or being awarded zero marks, to suspension or exclusion.

Universities UK declined to comment on the possible reasons for the high proportion of international students being investigated. But one university told the BBC it was likely because many misconduct cases were about poor practice – such as bad referencing – rather than intentional misconduct.

The University of Lincoln was one of the most extreme examples, with 78% of 387 investigations involving non-UK students, who make up only 22% of the institution's student population.

A spokesperson for the university said academic misconduct was a "sector-wide challenge". Alleged breaches were "thoroughly investigated and addressed through our established processes, with appropriate responses where misconduct is confirmed".

Higher education institutions run essays through programmes such as Turnitin, which are designed to detect plagiarism and false authorship.

Annie Chechitelli, chief product officer at Turnitin, said the rise of AI had made detection and deterrence "more critical than ever".

In more than one in 10 papers reviewed since 2023, Turnitin said its detection tool found AI wrote at least 20% of the material.

Turnitin said essay mills were still popular because of a growing demand for services that evade AI detection - preying on students' fear of being caught.

Eve Alcock, the director of public affairs at the Quality Assurance Agency, which aims to improve standards in higher education, said essay mills remained a "threat to academic integrity across the UK".

She encouraged universities to consider moving away from essay-based assessments in response to the rise of generative AI tools, to allow for more "authentic" assessments.

Alia, who has now finished her course, said she felt disillusioned by her experience.

"I have learned a lot myself, and achieved a lot, but how is the employer going to see the difference between someone like me and these people?" she asked.

"When the grades were released, for most of the modules they got better grades and were laughing at me.

"I am not proud of this degree anymore."

An advert which targeted weight-loss injections at new mums has been banned by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA).

MedExpress's social media post used a harmful gender stereotype which suggested women should prioritise losing weight soon after giving birth, the ASA said.

The ad was banned along with two by SkinnyJab and CheqUp for irresponsibly exploiting insecurities around body image. All three firms have removed the ads.

It is illegal to advertise prescription-only weight loss drugs to the public. The ASA said the "scale of the problem" was worst now as people feel extra pressure to lose weight as part of New Year resolutions.

MedExpress's video advert on Instagram featured a woman taking a selfie in the mirror with text reading: "I wish I knew sooner that I could lose post-baby weight with a medicated weight loss treatment from MedExpress".

The ASA said it understood the weight-loss medication "carried safety warnings for people who were breast-feeding". It said the advert was "irresponsible" as it "perpetuated pressure for them to conform to body image stereotypes".

MedExpress told the BBC that as a result of the ASA ban, it had "strengthened our internal sign-off processes, introduced additional sensitivity checks, and enhanced advertising governance across all conditions and categories we serve."

Stigma associated with being a certain size

All three adverts appeared on social media platforms including Facebook and TikTok where online sellers seek to gain space in the hugely popular weight-loss jab market which is now worth billions of dollars globally.

CheqUp's Facebook advert featured a woman looking in the mirror with the quote: "I don't want to be skinny, I just don't want to be the biggest person in the room".

Complaints to the ASA said this suggested a stigma associated with being a certain size.

"Furthermore, by showing the model looking into a mirror, the ad emphasised physical appearance rather than health," the ASA said.

The firm had argued that the advert's text focused on the model not wanting to be "skinny", but rather wanting to get to a healthy weight - but the advertising watchdog disagreed, saying the model was not necessarily unhealthily overweight in the first place.

CheqUp sells prescription-only weight-loss jabs as well as over-the-counter ones, and says it has a three-minute online consultation with a healthcare professional that tests buyers for suitability.

Weight-loss jabs have grown in popularity

A spokesperson for the company said it moved quickly to comply with the ASA, had removed the advert and was fully committed to taking an "ethical approach" to advertising in the health and wellness space.

Weight-loss jabs were originally developed to help patients lose weight to control their diabetes, but soon began to be used for cosmetic purposes. They gained further popularity as celebrities such as Adele, Rebel Wilson, Sharon Osbourne and Tesla-owner Elon Musk were open about the rapid weight loss they've experienced using the jabs.

Meanwhile, SkinnyJab's video of its founder talking about weight loss injections was not an educational and informative resource, as the firm had argued, but was in fact an advert and subject to the ASA's regulations. It said the firm could not promote prescription-only medicines to the public in future by, for example, using the term "SkinnyJab" in marketing material.

The firm said it had removed the advert and was conducting a full review of its branding, terminology and communications.

Learner drivers face months of delays booking practical tests because a backlog will not be cleared until November 2027, a watchdog has warned.

The National Audit Office (NAO) said there was a backlog of 1.1 million tests that were not carried out in the 2020/21 financial year because of the Covid-19 pandemic, and around 360,000 of these had still not been booked.

The average waiting time was 22 weeks in September, but at 70% of test centres the wait has hit 24 weeks – the maximum allowed.

The Department for Transport (DfT) said it was "taking decisive action to address the backlog", including employing military driving examiners.

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) had planned to cut waiting times to seven weeks by the end of 2025.

The NAO's inquiry found delays have led to people paying third parties to secure tests, some of whom were "paying significantly inflated prices of up to £500" - nearly eight times the official DVSA fee of £62 for a weekday slot.

It said the DVSA struggled to "understand the real demand for tests" because third party websites quickly book available slots using automated programmes known as bots.

"These delays can have a serious impact on learner drivers' income and the economy, with 30% of respondents to a DVSA survey saying they need to be able to drive for their jobs," the watchdog said.

The NAO also reported a lack of examiners and found many were leaving "due to uncompetitive pay and safety concerns". Despite running 19 recruitment campaigns since 2021, DVSA has only hired 83 extra examiners, far short of its 400 target.

In the 2023/24 financial year, DVSA had a total of 220 staff at its 240 test centres who were qualified examiners.

Learner driver Shiromi Gaughan, a small business owner in London, says she has been trying to book a test for the past eight months since she passed her theory exam two years ago, and felt "sick" when she found out it would cost her £350 for a slot from a third party seller.

She told the BBC: "It's really unfair and I'm extremely frustrated. As a small business owner from London, I've been really struggling over time.

"People like us are just so desperate."

Normally learners must take their practical test within two years of passing the theory test.

She urged the government to "do something about this because it's totally unacceptable".

She added: "I think the government need to review the whole system as they're actually aware of what is happening with the scammers or the third party agencies.

"Now I'm having to retake my theory test and spend more money so I'm extremely disappointed."

Learner driver Martha Machiek, a single parent from Stockport, said she is "very stressed" trying to book a driving test slot.

She needs a licence to save time and money taking her children to and from school and football practice.

Ms Machiek says her theory test certificate expires at the end of the month, and if she cannot book a practical test in time, she will have to start over, which she cannot afford.

"The system is not being fair on people like us," she said.

"I don't have money to book another one."

The NAO urged DVSA and the DfT to assess whether there was enough support for learners booking tests and to investigate how to boost the examiner workforce.

Gareth Davies, the head of the NAO, said "decisive action" needed to be taken to fix the delays and improve service.

"The current system for providing driving tests in England, Scotland and Wales is not working satisfactorily, with long waiting times and exploitation of learner drivers by resellers of test slots."

The DfT said it had inherited a system which was "frustrating" and open to abuse, leaving learners waiting weeks for a test.

A spokesperson said the government was "seeing improvement" with the measures it had been taking.

From spring, only learner drivers will be able to book tests and limits will be placed on the number of times they can move or swap a test.

The government said it hopes this will stop third-party companies "exploiting vulnerable learners and make the whole process more transparent".

"The DVSA has already carried out 74,847 extra tests between June and November this year compared to 2024, and these new measures will deliver thousands more extra tests over the next year," the spokesperson added.

The escalating tension between the US and Venezuela has led to the biggest military build-up in the Caribbean since the end of the Cold War.

The last time so many US warships and troops were sent to the region was in 1989, when Washington removed Panama's President Manuel Noriega – whom it accused of drug-trafficking – from office.

But the similarities between the two moments are outweighed by their differences.

On 16 December 1989, US Marine Lt Robert Paz was in the back of a Chevrolet Impala making his way to the Marriott Hotel in Panama City for dinner, just as US tensions with the Panamanian strongman were reaching boiling point.

When the car, which was carrying four US military personnel stationed in the country, reached a checkpoint of the Panamanian Defence Forces, six soldiers surrounded the vehicle.

Following an altercation, the Panamanians opened fire as it drove away, killing Paz. His death set in motion the US invasion of Panama four days later, on 20 December.

It remains the last major US incursion on foreign soil in the Americas.

By the end of what Washington dubbed "Operation Just Cause", around 30,000 US troops had been mobilised, and Noriega had been forced from power and whisked to Miami to face trial on drug-smuggling charges.

The UN estimates around 500 Panamanian civilians were killed in the invasion. The US claims it was far fewer, while its critics say it was many more.

The invasion of Panama was also the last time there was a major US military build-up in the Caribbean on the level we are now seeing in the waters around Venezuela.

The parallels between the two moments are noticeable, but so too are the differences.

Firstly, the similarities. They may be separated by several decades but in each instance, an escalating war of words between Washington and a Latin American strongman after years of enmity led to a major US military deployment in the region.

Both involve allegations by Washington of presidential involvement in drug trafficking which have increased the internal pressure on a beleaguered Latin American leader.

In the cases of both Noriega and Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, the US government's core argument is that they and their governments trafficked drugs.

Ultimately, the premise that the opposing president is, in essence, a drug lord has become the justification Washington has provided to the US public for all subsequent steps.

Both nations also have huge strategic importance – in the Panama Canal and Venezuela's vast oil reserves – which raises the stakes considerably.

However, the differences are also stark.

The Cold War and the 21st Century are very different moments, and George HW Bush – who was at the helm in the US in 1989 – and Donald Trump are very different leaders.

Noriega had been a CIA asset for many years and was eventually convicted on some irrefutable evidence which ranged from financial records to the testimony of men who had run drug flights or laundered drug money in Panama for the Medellín Cartel. Even one of the cartel's top leaders fingered Noriega as personally involved the illegal trade.

In the instance of Maduro, the Trump administration makes a direct link between go-fast boats which they have hit with lethal air strikes in the Caribbean and Maduro himself.

Washington's accusation against Maduro is that he heads the Cartel of the Suns, a group which allegedly comprises members and ex-members of the Venezuelan top military brass.

But many drug war analysts question whether the Cartel of the Suns is a formal criminal group or rather a loose alliance of corrupt officials who have enriched themselves from the smuggling of drugs and natural resources via Venezuelan ports.

For their part, Maduro and his administration deny the existence of any such cartel, painting it as an unfounded "narrative" disseminated by Washington to dislodge them from power.

"They have suddenly dusted off something called the Cartel of the Suns," said Venezuela's powerful Interior Minister, Diosdado Cabello. "They've never and will never be able to prove its existence because it doesn't exist. It's an imperialist invention," he said last month.

There is, however, evidence of drug-trafficking within the first family in Venezuela.

Two of Maduro's nephews through marriage were arrested in Haiti in a sting operation by the US Drug Enforcement Administration in 2015.

The children of the sister of Maduro's wife were caught trying to smuggle 800kg of cocaine into the US.

Since known as the "narco-nephews", Francisco Flores de Freitas and Efrain Antonio Campo Flores spent several years in a US prison before being returned to Venezuela in 2022 as part of a prisoner swap under the Biden administration.

The Trump administration has now hit the two alongside a third nephew, Carlos Erik Malpica Flores, with fresh sanctions.

Announcing the sanctions, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said: "Nicolás Maduro and his criminal associates in Venezuela are flooding the United States with drugs that are poisoning the American people."

"Treasury is holding the regime and its circle of cronies and companies accountable for its continued crimes," he added.

"Circle of cronies" sounds like the kind of language Washington used to describe Noriega's government in the 1980s. A US Senate subcommittee report at the time called it "the hemisphere's first narco-kleptocracy".

Fast-forward 36 years and the key plank of the Trump administration's strategy against Maduro hinges on the use of the term "narco-terrorism".

It is controversial because of the broad scope of its legal definition. As early as 1987, the US Department of Justice defined narco-terrorism as "the involvement of terrorist organisations and insurgent groups in drug trafficking" which it noted "has become a problem with international implications".

The issue in the Venezuelan context is the legal basis under international law for Washington's latest actions as it pursues its stated aim of combating "narco-terrorism" in the Americas.

The Trump administration has said it is now engaged in a "non-international armed conflict" with the drug cartels and has justified its strikes on alleged narco-boats in the Caribbean under that definition.

The Pentagon argues the vessels are valid targets under the rules of engagement. In recent days, though, serious questions have been raised over a second strike on an alleged drug-boat on 2 September, in which two survivors from an initial strike were killed.

The Trump administration has robustly defended itself against allegations that the second strike amounted to extrajudicial killings. However, the issue has not gone away nor have the calls for video footage of the strike – recently seen by senior lawmakers during a closed-door briefing to members of Congress – to be made public.

After initially suggesting he would have "no problem" with the footage of the follow-up strike being published, Trump said the decision was up to the Secretary of Defence, Pete Hegseth.

So far, the Pentagon has not published the video or the legal advice around the second strike, but the White House insists it was carried out "in accordance with the law of armed conflict".

US-Venezuela tensions continue to escalate and intensify, not least following the seizure by US forces of a tanker filled with Venezuelan crude oil.

Trump has indicated that after the US take control of the airspace and the seas around Venezuela, all that is left is to control the land. Many are holding on to the hope that some kind of negotiated solution may yet be possible – although it is hard to see one which would satisfy both Maduro and the White House.

From examining the lesson of Panama, though, one thing remains clear: while this modern conflict may be less conventional than the invasion of Christmas 1989, the combustible situation in Venezuela has no less potential to be detonated by a single moment – like the killing of Lt Robert Paz in Panama – into something much larger.