The oil tanker seized by US forces on Wednesday had a track record of faking or concealing its location information, apparently to hide its activities, ship tracking data shows.

On Wednesday evening, the US confirmed that its forces seized a vessel during a helicopter-launched raid near the coast of Venezuela. BBC Verify confirmed the ship was the Skipper by matching a sign seen in footage released by the US to a reference photo supplied by TankerTrackers.com, a site which monitors oil shipments.

Data held by publicly accessible tracking sites paints an incomplete picture of the vessel's movements, and before its seizure it hadn't declared its position since 7 November. Maritime analytics firm Kpler also suggested that the vessel had engaged in a ship-to-ship transfer.

US Attorney General Pam Bondi described the vessel as a "crude oil tanker used to transport sanctioned oil from Venezuela and Iran".

The US Treasury department first sanctioned the ship in 2022, when it was sailing under the name Adisa, and was accused of being part of an "international oil smuggling network".

The Skipper has sailed under the flag of Guyana, but the government was quick to release a statement saying that the 20-year-old tanker was "falsely flying the Guyana Flag as it is not registered in Guyana".

Experts told BBC Verify that the Skipper was likely a part of the so-called "dark fleet" - a global network of oil tankers that seek to evade oil sanctions by obscuring their ownership, identities and travel histories.

Hiding its position

Under a UN treaty, all ships above a certain tonnage must have an onboard tracker called an Automatic Identification System (AIS). These trackers broadcast information about the ships, including their location, and can be followed on websites like MarineTraffic.

But there is an incomplete and misleading public record of the Skipper's movements. According to MarineTraffic, the Skipper's last known port call was at Soroosh in Iran on 9 July, where it arrived after stopping in Iraq and the UAE.

But Kpler suggests that this is part of a pattern of misleading entries by the Skipper. Analysts at the firm said the ship had previously loaded crude oil from Venezuela and Iran, while falsifying its position via its onboard tracker, a process known as spoofing.

Venezuela has some of the world's largest reserves of oil, but exports were placed under sanctions in 2019 by the US in a bid to force the transition of power from President Nicholas Maduro's administration, which has been widely accused of election rigging.

The firm noted that while its AIS showed the ship at Iraq's Basrah Oil Terminal on 7 and 8 July, terminal reports showed no record of the vessel there. Instead, the Skipper loaded crude oil at Kharg Island in Iran, Kpler said.

The Skipper then sailed east, tracking data shows, where Kpler suggested it conducted a ship-to-ship transfer between 11 and 13 August. The cargo was later unloaded in China, where Kpler said it was "falsely declared".

It returned via Iran and sailed towards the Caribbean. The Skipper last declared its position on 7 November, several miles off the coast of Guyana. Its onboard only reappeared on 10 December, after the US raid.

In the interim period, satellite images identified byTankerTrackers.com and confirmed by BBC Verify show that the Skipper was present in the Port of Jose in Venezuela on 18 November and not appearing on tracking sites at the time.

Since the imposition of sanctions, analysts say it has become common for ships to spoof or conceal their positions while loading oil in Venezuela.

Kpler analysts said the ship loaded "at least 1.1 million barrels of Merey crude" by 16 November at the terminal and listed Cuba as the destination.

There is also evidence that the Skipper was involved in a ship-to-ship transfer with another vessel on 7 December, just days before it was boarded by US troops. Satellite images seen by Kpler appeared to show the exchange, with one of the vessels identified by Kpler as the Skipper.

The transfer took place just off the coast of Venezuela, near the city of Barcelona. According to MarineTraffic, the Skipper had last appeared off the coast of Guyana weeks earlier.

Such sanction evading activity is not unusual for Venezuelan oil exports, Kpler said. The company said that tankers often transfer their cargo off the coast of Malaysia, before the oil is imported into China.

Former Belgian naval lieutenant and analyst Frederik Van Lokeren told BBC Verify that while such ship-to-ship transfers are not illegal or wrong, they are "extremely uncommon". He said such activities were normally a sign of vessels trying to evade sanctions, transferring oil to ships not publicly associated with smuggling.

Mr Van Lokeren said that Venezuela's refining capacity has been significantly degraded in recent years and is "dependent" on its allies in Iran and Russia to convert its crude oil into more commercially lucrative products.

Who owns the Skipper?

MarineTraffic lists the beneficial owner and operator as Nigeria-based Thomarose Global Ventures Ltd and it lists the registered owner as Marshall Islands-based Triton Navigation Corp.

In 2022, the US Treasury said that Triton was being used by a sanctioned Russian oil magnate - Viktor Artemov - to facilitate a global "oil smuggling network".

At the time, US officials said Mr Artemov used an expansive network of ships often registered obscurely to transport Iranian oil.

In its statement, the US Treasury said that Triton had "materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, material, or technological support for, or goods or services to or in support of, Artemov".

BBC Verify is attempting to contact both companies for comment.

What do you want BBC Verify to investigate?

"Angry" residents have spoken out over mountains of dumped waste appearing near homes, with one of the spots described as an "environmental horror".

Inquiries are under way into two suspected illegal waste sites emerging in Worcestershire.

A photo of one of the scenes in Evesham appears to show masses of rubbish dumped in a large trench.

Further complaint centres on a farm in the village of Peopleton where estate agents have reportedly told residents not to sell their homes, as property prices were falling due to the issue.

With regard to the scene on Haselor Lane in Evesham, Wychavon District Council (WDC) said it was first made aware in October, adding it had identified "potential issues" at the site, and "waste crime" across the district.

The Environment Agency (EA) said the second site, on Stone Arrow Farm, Peopleton, had seen "illegal waste-dumping activity".

Two residents of Peopleton, which has a population of 640, have spoken to the BBC on condition of anonymity.

One said: "There is a level of anger, and you can feel that on a daily basis."

The resident said: "I moved here six years ago from another village in the area and I moved because I didn't want my children growing up in the rat race.

"I wanted to give them a nice safe environment and to be able to look out their window and look out over green fields.

"You develop a sense of anger because you get to a point where we don't actually like living where we live."

The second resident added some people in the village - where the waste was described as an "environmental horror" - now felt "trapped".

"One of the villagers went to go to an estate agent and when they gave their postcode they were told to be realistic because there were doubts it would sell and they were also told they'd have to take a huge drop in price.

"They advised them not to sell at the moment."

Councillor Linda Robinson, who sits on Worcestershire County Council, and WDC for Peopleton and the surrounding area, described the village as a "very sleepy, rural" place "with a very proactive community".

She said they had a "very close knit community" who had endured "noise, disturbance and dust" for the last 18 months.

"I think many of them are at the end of their tether and would actually quite like to leave Peopleton and are actually now trapped," Ms Robinson said.

"The effect of this is lowering the value of their properties or making them impossible to sell, so it's an untenable position for them and something I would like to help them do something about."

An EA spokesperson told the BBC waste "scars our communities".

"[It] is something we're committed to tackling together with local councils and the police," they said.

"Together we're pulling every lever available to us to disrupt those who profit from the harm illegal waste sites cause."

WDC said that while its powers were limited, staff were working "proactively with partners", including the EA.

"We are currently following the required legal process and will take further enforcement action if necessary," the authority explained.

The MP for Droitwich and Evesham, Nigel Huddlestone, said he was "very concerned by the ongoing activities at Stone Arrow Farm".

"Having met local residents on several occasions about this matter, I know how damaging these activities are for the local community," he said.

"Since the problems first arose in autumn last year, I have been engaging with district and county councils, the Environment Agency, West Mercia Police and external stakeholders such as HMRC, the Health and Safety Executive and the DVSA.

"I have also raised written questions in parliament and attended last month's debate in the House of Commons on illegal waste activity.

"I remain absolutely committed to working with all stakeholders and to do whatever I can to help bring this situation to an end, for the benefit of my constituents."

Follow BBC Hereford & Worcester on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.

The judgement in the tribunal of a nurse suspended from her job in a row over trans women using single-sex changing rooms has been amended following complaints a quote used in it was "made up".

On Monday, an employment tribunal outlined four ways in which NHS Fife harassed Sandie Peggie, but dismissed all her other claims.

Ms Peggie had brought the case after she was suspended following a disagreement between her and Dr Beth Upton - who is a trans woman.

Campaigners claimed that the 312-page judgement in the Peggie case contained a "made up" quote from another legal case.

The tribunal has now issued a "certificate of correction" stating there had been "clerical mistake(s), error(s)or omissions(s)". This does not change the overall verdict.

The case has attracted international interest as it concerned whether transgender women – biological males who identify as women – could use female-only changing rooms.

Following the tribunal ruling, one of Ms Peggie's most high-profile supporters, campaigner Maya Forstater, said a reference in the judgement to her own case against the Centre for Global Development Europe was "completely made up".

The Peggie ruling originally stated the verdict in Ms Forstater's case emphasised that the Equality Act does not create "a hierarchy of protected characteristics."

On the social media platform X, Ms Forstater posted a screenshot of the text from the tribunal and said: "One of the many things wrong with the Sandie Peggie judgment.

"This 'quote' from my judgment doesn't come from my judgment. It is completely made up."

A new quote from the Forstater case has now been added.

The revised version of the Peggie judgement then states: "We consider that quotation provides support for the proposition that the Equality Act 2010 does not create a hierarchy of protected characteristics."

Under employment law, a judge may "at any time correct any clerical mistake or other accidental slip or omission" and an amended version issued.

Ms Forstater said she was astonished how the error happened and that she wanted an explanation.

She added other mistakes had been spotted in the verdict and that they "severely undermine people's confidence in the legal process."

The employment tribunal, which was held over several weeks earlier this year, was high-profile and controversial.

It was brought by Ms Peggie, a nurse who has worked for the NHS for 30 years.

She refused to share a women's changing room with Dr Upton - a biological male who identifies as a woman - at Victoria Hospital, in Kirkcaldy, and was suspended from work at the beginning of 2024.

This followed an encounter between the due in the changing facilities on Christmas Eve 2023, where Ms Peggie told Dr Upton she did not feel comfortable about the doctor's presence there.

She also referenced Isla Bryson - a rapist who changed gender while awaiting trial.

Bryson was initially remanded to a women's jail after being found guilty, but was then moved to a men's facility.

The rapist was later jailed for eight years.

Ms Peggie claimed her own experiences amounted to harassment and took legal action against the health board and Dr Upton, citing the Equality Act 2010.

On Monday, the 312-page judgement found in her favour on four counts, but dismissed her other claims against both the health board and Dr Upton.

It found that some of Ms Peggie's comments towards Dr Upton "amounted to an incident of harassment" and breached the health board's bullying and harassment policy.

A separate hearing will take place at a later date to decide on the "remedy" for Ms Peggie, which could result in her being awarded compensation.

However the verdict was criticised by some campaigners, including Sex Matters - the group Ms Forstater is chief executive of.

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German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said the latest peace plan draft for Ukraine has been presented to US President Donald Trump - including a proposal on territorial concessions Kyiv may be prepared to make.

But Merz highlighted the territorial issue was "a question that must be answered primarily by the Ukrainian president, and the Ukrainian people."

"We also made this clear to President Trump," Merz pointed out.

In recent weeks European leaders have worked closely with Ukraine to come up with a new iteration of a peace plan that addresses Kyiv's interests and concerns.

Trump appears to have grown frustrated with the intricacies of the question of sovereignty over Russian-occupied Ukrainian territories.

Because his negotiating team has previously worked closely with Moscow, Kyiv's European allies fear the US president might eventually seek to impose a Russian-led solution on Ukraine.

"It would be a mistake to force the Ukrainian president into a peace that his people will not accept after four years of suffering and death," Merz said in a joint news conference with Nato chief Mark Rutte.

He added that in Wednesday's "constructive" phone call with Trump, he, France's Emmanuel Macron and UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer had "made it clear" that Europeans needed to have their interests heard too.

For his part, Trump said the participants had "discussed Ukraine in pretty strong words" and added that he was yet to decide whether to attend a meeting in Europe. "We don't want to be wasting time," he said.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky has long signalled he would be prepared to talk to Trump directly to discuss the sticking points of a deal, but the US president has suggested all issues had to be ironed out before such a meeting could take place.

The territorial question is one of the thorniest. Russia demands that Ukraine withdraws entirely from the parts of the eastern Luhansk and Donetsk regions which it still holds - something Kyiv refuses to do, both on principle and because it fears it would allow Moscow a foothold for future invasions.

"We have no legal right to [cede territory], under Ukrainian law, our constitution and international law," Zelensky said earlier this week. "And we don't have any moral right either."

Zelensky is set to hold more talks with his allies today as he co-chairs a coalition of the willing call alongside Merz, Macron and Starmer.

As high-level, frantic diplomatic activity of the last few weeks has taken place among US, European and Ukrainian officials, with frequent statements from all sides, Moscow has remained remarkably tight-lipped.

Any comments from Russia have sought to cement the impression that Moscow and Washington are aligned on their hopes for the terms of a peace deal.

On Thursday Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov praised Trump for trying to broker a deal and said the recent meeting between Vladimir Putin and US envoy Steve Witkoff at the Kremlin had "eliminated" the "misunderstandings" which had arisen since last summer's Trump-Putin summit in Alaska.

At the time, Russia and the US agreed Ukraine should return to a non-aligned, neutral, and nuclear-free status, Lavrov stated.

The foreign minister also batted off suggestions that Kyiv could be given security guarantees in the form of foreign troops stationed in Ukraine.

"This is yet another return to the sad logic of Zelensky's so-called peace formula," Lavrov said, adding that Moscow had handed the US "additional" proposals on collective security and that Russia was ready to give legal guarantees not to attack Nato or EU countries.

Yet Kyiv and its European allies believe that without security guarantees any peace settlement could be rendered meaningless.

But because Russia has previously violated ceasefire and truce deals, neither Ukraine nor Europe are likely to take any promise by Moscow at face value. In recent weeks European and Ukrainian officials have pushed for the US to be involved in guaranteeing that Kyiv doesn't become the target of renewed attacks.

Earlier this week Zelensky said he was ready to hold elections if the US and European countries could guarantee Ukraine's security during the vote. His five-year term as president was due to end in May 2024, but elections have been suspended in Ukraine since martial law was declared after Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022.

Not for the first time, Nato chief Mark Rutte said on Thursday that too many of the alliance's allies did not feel the urgency of Russia's threat in Europe.

"We are Russia's next target," he warned, adding that Nato had to make all efforts to prevent a war that could be "on the scale of war our grandparents and great-grandparents endured".

The oil tanker seized by US forces on Wednesday had a track record of faking or concealing its location information, apparently to hide its activities, ship tracking data shows.

On Wednesday evening, the US confirmed that its forces seized a vessel during a helicopter-launched raid near the coast of Venezuela. BBC Verify confirmed the ship was the Skipper by matching a sign seen in footage released by the US to a reference photo supplied by TankerTrackers.com, a site which monitors oil shipments.

Data held by publicly accessible tracking sites paints an incomplete picture of the vessel's movements, and before its seizure it hadn't declared its position since 7 November. Maritime analytics firm Kpler also suggested that the vessel had engaged in a ship-to-ship transfer.

US Attorney General Pam Bondi described the vessel as a "crude oil tanker used to transport sanctioned oil from Venezuela and Iran".

The US Treasury department first sanctioned the ship in 2022, when it was sailing under the name Adisa, and was accused of being part of an "international oil smuggling network".

The Skipper has sailed under the flag of Guyana, but the government was quick to release a statement saying that the 20-year-old tanker was "falsely flying the Guyana Flag as it is not registered in Guyana".

Experts told BBC Verify that the Skipper was likely a part of the so-called "dark fleet" - a global network of oil tankers that seek to evade oil sanctions by obscuring their ownership, identities and travel histories.

Hiding its position

Under a UN treaty, all ships above a certain tonnage must have an onboard tracker called an Automatic Identification System (AIS). These trackers broadcast information about the ships, including their location, and can be followed on websites like MarineTraffic.

But there is an incomplete and misleading public record of the Skipper's movements. According to MarineTraffic, the Skipper's last known port call was at Soroosh in Iran on 9 July, where it arrived after stopping in Iraq and the UAE.

But Kpler suggests that this is part of a pattern of misleading entries by the Skipper. Analysts at the firm said the ship had previously loaded crude oil from Venezuela and Iran, while falsifying its position via its onboard tracker, a process known as spoofing.

Venezuela has some of the world's largest reserves of oil, but exports were placed under sanctions in 2019 by the US in a bid to force the transition of power from President Nicholas Maduro's administration, which has been widely accused of election rigging.

The firm noted that while its AIS showed the ship at Iraq's Basrah Oil Terminal on 7 and 8 July, terminal reports showed no record of the vessel there. Instead, the Skipper loaded crude oil at Kharg Island in Iran, Kpler said.

The Skipper then sailed east, tracking data shows, where Kpler suggested it conducted a ship-to-ship transfer between 11 and 13 August. The cargo was later unloaded in China, where Kpler said it was "falsely declared".

It returned via Iran and sailed towards the Caribbean. The Skipper last declared its position on 7 November, several miles off the coast of Guyana. Its onboard only reappeared on 10 December, after the US raid.

In the interim period, satellite images identified byTankerTrackers.com and confirmed by BBC Verify show that the Skipper was present in the Port of Jose in Venezuela on 18 November and not appearing on tracking sites at the time.

Since the imposition of sanctions, analysts say it has become common for ships to spoof or conceal their positions while loading oil in Venezuela.

Kpler analysts said the ship loaded "at least 1.1 million barrels of Merey crude" by 16 November at the terminal and listed Cuba as the destination.

There is also evidence that the Skipper was involved in a ship-to-ship transfer with another vessel on 7 December, just days before it was boarded by US troops. Satellite images seen by Kpler appeared to show the exchange, with one of the vessels identified by Kpler as the Skipper.

The transfer took place just off the coast of Venezuela, near the city of Barcelona. According to MarineTraffic, the Skipper had last appeared off the coast of Guyana weeks earlier.

Such sanction evading activity is not unusual for Venezuelan oil exports, Kpler said. The company said that tankers often transfer their cargo off the coast of Malaysia, before the oil is imported into China.

Former Belgian naval lieutenant and analyst Frederik Van Lokeren told BBC Verify that while such ship-to-ship transfers are not illegal or wrong, they are "extremely uncommon". He said such activities were normally a sign of vessels trying to evade sanctions, transferring oil to ships not publicly associated with smuggling.

Mr Van Lokeren said that Venezuela's refining capacity has been significantly degraded in recent years and is "dependent" on its allies in Iran and Russia to convert its crude oil into more commercially lucrative products.

Who owns the Skipper?

MarineTraffic lists the beneficial owner and operator as Nigeria-based Thomarose Global Ventures Ltd and it lists the registered owner as Marshall Islands-based Triton Navigation Corp.

In 2022, the US Treasury said that Triton was being used by a sanctioned Russian oil magnate - Viktor Artemov - to facilitate a global "oil smuggling network".

At the time, US officials said Mr Artemov used an expansive network of ships often registered obscurely to transport Iranian oil.

In its statement, the US Treasury said that Triton had "materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, material, or technological support for, or goods or services to or in support of, Artemov".

BBC Verify is attempting to contact both companies for comment.

What do you want BBC Verify to investigate?

The government of Bulgarian Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov has resigned after protesters took to the streets in cities across the country and filled the centre of the capital Sofia on Wednesday night.

Zhelyazkov's dramatic move came ahead of a vote of no confidence in parliament, and 20 days before Bulgaria joins the euro.

Protesters had accused his minority centre-right government, in power since January, of widespread corruption. The government had already scrapped a controversial budget plan for next year in response to the demonstrations last week.

"We hear the voice of citizens protesting against the government," Zhelyazkov said in a TV address.

"Both young and old have raised their voices for [our resignation]," he added. "This civic energy must be supported and encouraged." A statement on the government website said ministers would continue in their roles until a new cabinet was elected.

Between 50,000 and 100,000 people turned out in Sofia's central Triangle of Power and Independence Square on Wednesday evening calling for the government to go. The words "Resignation" and "Mafia Out" were projected onto the parliament building.

They were backed last week by President Rumen Radev who had also called on the government to stand down.

Zhelyazkov's government had already survived five votes of no confidence and was expected to get through a sixth on Thursday.

Many of the protesters have been angered by the roles of two figures, oligarch Delyan Peevski and ex-prime minister Boyko Borissov, and Wednesday's rally was organised under the slogan "Resignation! Peevski and Borissov Out of Power", Bulgaria's BTA news agency reported.

Peevski has been sanctioned by the US and UK for alleged corruption and his party has helped prop up the government.

Borissov is part of Zhelyazkov's Gerb party, which came first in October 2024 elections, and he was reported to have said on Wednesday that the coalition parties had agreed to remain in power until Bulgaria joined the eurozone on 1 January.

Borissov was prime minister when anti-corruption protests brought down his government in 2020 and there have been seven elections since.

Despite the political drama in Sofia, Bulgaria's move to join the euro is not seen as under threat.

In his resignation statement, the outgoing prime minister said Bulgaria faced a major challenge and its citizens would need to produce "authentic proposals" on what the next government should look like.

Bulgaria ranks among the lowest in Europe in Transparency International's index for public sector corruption, between Hungary and Romania.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said the latest peace plan draft for Ukraine has been presented to US President Donald Trump - including a proposal on territorial concessions Kyiv may be prepared to make.

But Merz highlighted the territorial issue was "a question that must be answered primarily by the Ukrainian president, and the Ukrainian people."

"We also made this clear to President Trump," Merz pointed out.

In recent weeks European leaders have worked closely with Ukraine to come up with a new iteration of a peace plan that addresses Kyiv's interests and concerns.

Trump appears to have grown frustrated with the intricacies of the question of sovereignty over Russian-occupied Ukrainian territories.

Because his negotiating team has previously worked closely with Moscow, Kyiv's European allies fear the US president might eventually seek to impose a Russian-led solution on Ukraine.

"It would be a mistake to force the Ukrainian president into a peace that his people will not accept after four years of suffering and death," Merz said in a joint news conference with Nato chief Mark Rutte.

He added that in Wednesday's "constructive" phone call with Trump, he, France's Emmanuel Macron and UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer had "made it clear" that Europeans needed to have their interests heard too.

For his part, Trump said the participants had "discussed Ukraine in pretty strong words" and added that he was yet to decide whether to attend a meeting in Europe. "We don't want to be wasting time," he said.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky has long signalled he would be prepared to talk to Trump directly to discuss the sticking points of a deal, but the US president has suggested all issues had to be ironed out before such a meeting could take place.

The territorial question is one of the thorniest. Russia demands that Ukraine withdraws entirely from the parts of the eastern Luhansk and Donetsk regions which it still holds - something Kyiv refuses to do, both on principle and because it fears it would allow Moscow a foothold for future invasions.

"We have no legal right to [cede territory], under Ukrainian law, our constitution and international law," Zelensky said earlier this week. "And we don't have any moral right either."

Zelensky is set to hold more talks with his allies today as he co-chairs a coalition of the willing call alongside Merz, Macron and Starmer.

As high-level, frantic diplomatic activity of the last few weeks has taken place among US, European and Ukrainian officials, with frequent statements from all sides, Moscow has remained remarkably tight-lipped.

Any comments from Russia have sought to cement the impression that Moscow and Washington are aligned on their hopes for the terms of a peace deal.

On Thursday Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov praised Trump for trying to broker a deal and said the recent meeting between Vladimir Putin and US envoy Steve Witkoff at the Kremlin had "eliminated" the "misunderstandings" which had arisen since last summer's Trump-Putin summit in Alaska.

At the time, Russia and the US agreed Ukraine should return to a non-aligned, neutral, and nuclear-free status, Lavrov stated.

The foreign minister also batted off suggestions that Kyiv could be given security guarantees in the form of foreign troops stationed in Ukraine.

"This is yet another return to the sad logic of Zelensky's so-called peace formula," Lavrov said, adding that Moscow had handed the US "additional" proposals on collective security and that Russia was ready to give legal guarantees not to attack Nato or EU countries.

Yet Kyiv and its European allies believe that without security guarantees any peace settlement could be rendered meaningless.

But because Russia has previously violated ceasefire and truce deals, neither Ukraine nor Europe are likely to take any promise by Moscow at face value. In recent weeks European and Ukrainian officials have pushed for the US to be involved in guaranteeing that Kyiv doesn't become the target of renewed attacks.

Earlier this week Zelensky said he was ready to hold elections if the US and European countries could guarantee Ukraine's security during the vote. His five-year term as president was due to end in May 2024, but elections have been suspended in Ukraine since martial law was declared after Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022.

Not for the first time, Nato chief Mark Rutte said on Thursday that too many of the alliance's allies did not feel the urgency of Russia's threat in Europe.

"We are Russia's next target," he warned, adding that Nato had to make all efforts to prevent a war that could be "on the scale of war our grandparents and great-grandparents endured".

A judge has ordered the immediate release of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was mistakenly deported in March and brought back to the US to face criminal charges, from immigration custody.

"Since Abrego Garcia's return from wrongful detention in El Salvador, he has been re-detained, again without lawful authority," Judge Paula Xinis wrote in her order.

Mr Abrego Garcia was sent to a prison in El Salvador earlier this year, which the US government later admitted was in error. He was returned to the US to face human smuggling charges and has been held since then.

Judge Xinis also wrote that the government did not have a removal order, which blocks it from deporting Mr Abrego Garcia "at this juncture".

The Trump administration contends Mr Abrego Garcia is a member of the violent criminal MS-13 gang, which he denies. This spring, the administration flew a large group of migrants it alleged were in the gang to El Salvador's CECOT prison. But a previous court order had barred the US from sending Mr Abrego Garcia to the country.

Mr Abrego Garcia also has pleaded not guilty to the smuggling charges, which are part of a trial in Tennessee.

Judge Xinis, who was hearing his challenge to deportation in a federal court in Maryland, said he must now follow the conditions of his release from jail in Tennessee.

Residents in the Pacific Northwest of the US and Canada are bracing for what could be record setting floods as an atmospheric river dumps heavy rain on already swollen rivers.

The US National Weather Service warns that catastrophic flooding is possible in the states of Oregon and Washington along the Skagit and Snohomish rivers.

In Canada, major highways to Vancouver have been closed because of flooding, debris and the risk of avalanches.

There are evacuation orders in place for thousands of people in the US and Canada, and authorities have that warned more rain is on the way on Thursday.

In the US, the governor of Washington state, Bob Ferguson, declared a statewide emergency on Wednesday and estimated 100,000 residents could soon face evacuation orders.

The emergency declaration warned that continued rain and snow at mountain elevations would exacerbate flooding conditions. Supply chains and transportation could be severely impacted, the declaration added.

Skagit County, a major agricultural area north of Seattle, has issued an immediate evacuation order to residents who live on the floodplain.

Some 75,000 people would be evacuated from low-lying areas on Skagit River, the director of the Washington Military Department's Emergency Management Division, Robert Ezelle, told reporters on Wednesday.

Snohomish County Sheriff's Office said in an overnight social media post that they had rescued "multiple" people by helicopter after they became trapped in their homes in Sultan, Washington, a community roughly 40 miles (65km) northeast of Seattle.

The sheriff's office warned residents on Thursday morning that the eastern region of the county is most affected after the Skykomish River crested above 24ft (7m) overnight - just shy of a record.

They said the Snohomish River is also experiencing major flooding and "dancing with records" as water laps against a local flood wall.

King county and Snohomish county officials have said there are multiple closures on state and local roads, with more likely on Thursday.

The Pierce County Sheriff's office in an video post on Wednesday said their swiftwater team had to rescue three people from an RV park on Orting, a community about 42 miles south of Seattle. Multiple roads are also closed in that county.

Across the border in Canada's British Columbia, there are evacuation orders in place for the communities of Tulameen and Eastgate, and several other areas.

The City of Abbotsford ordered urgent evacuations for 371 properties at 23:00 local time on Wednesday (07:00 GMT on Thursday).

City officials said the Nooksack River is expected to overflow its banks early on Thursday, and said they anticipate flooding though not as severe as in the province in 2021, when it caused significant damage and five deaths.

All major highways to the Lower Mainland are now closed, according to the travel information website Drive BC.

The US-Canada Sumas Border crossing is also closed in both directions.

The entire region, spanning parts of both the US and Canada, has received torrential rain from an atmospheric river, which is a phenomenon where water evaporates into the air and is carried by the wind and forms long currents that surge through the sky like rivers flow on land.

The heaviest rainfall is expected to subside by Thursday afternoon, but the water will continue to work its way into rivers.

Another storm is expected on Sunday.