The US seized another oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela on Saturday
The US Coast Guard is in "active pursuit" of another vessel in international waters near Venezuela, an official has told the BBC's US partner CBS News, as tensions in the region continue to escalate.
US authorities have already seized two oil tankers this month - one of them on Saturday.
Sunday's pursuit related to a "sanctioned dark fleet vessel that is part of Venezuela's illegal sanctions evasion", a US official said. "It is flying a false flag and under a judicial seizure order."
Washington has accused Venezuela of using oil money to fund drug-related crime, while Venezuela has described the tanker seizures as "theft and kidnapping".
US President Donald Trump last week ordered a "blockade" of sanctioned oil tankers entering and leaving the country.
Venezuela - home to the world largest proven oil reserves - has accused the Trump administration of trying to steal its resources.
US authorities have not yet officially confirmed Sunday's pursuit, and the exact location and name of the tanker involved is not yet known.
As of last week, more than 30 of the 80 ships in Venezuelan waters or approaching the country were under US sanctions, according to data compiled by TankerTrackers.com.
Saturday's seizure saw a Panamanian-flagged tanker boarded by a specialised tactical team in international waters.
That ship is not on the US Treasury's list of sanctioned vessels, but the US has said it was carrying "sanctioned PDVSA oil". In the past five years the ship also sailed under the flags of Greece and Liberia, according to records seen by BBC Verify.
"These acts will not go unpunished," the Venezuelan government said in response to Saturday's incident. It added that it intended to file a complaint with the UN Security Council and "other multilateral agencies and the governments of the world".
Venezuela is highly dependent on revenues from its oil exports to finance its government spending.
In recent weeks, the US has built up its military presence in the Caribbean Sea and has carried out deadly strikes on alleged Venezuelan drug-smuggling boats, killing around 100 people.
It has provided no public evidence that these vessels were carrying drugs, and the military has come under increasing scrutiny from Congress over the strikes.
The Trump administration has accused Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro of leading a designated-terrorist organisation called Cartel de los Soles, which he denies.
Watch: Images, cassettes and high-profile figures - What's in the latest Epstein files?
A batch of files, which includes a photo of US President Donald Trump, were removed by the justice department because of concerns raised by victims, the deputy attorney general said on Sunday.
Todd Blanche said the photo that included Trump also showed unredacted images of women, and rejected criticisms that the removal was related to the president.
At least 13 files from the thousands made public on the justice department's website on Friday had disappeared without explanation by Saturday.
Democrats on the House Oversight Committee questioned the images' removal. In a social media post, they asked Attorney General Pam Bondi: "What else is being covered up?"
The US Department of Justice (DOJ) said in a post on X on Sunday that the image of Trump was flagged by the Southern District of New York "for potential further action to protect victims".
They added that they had temporarily removed the image for further review "out of an abundance of caution".
"After the review, it was determined there is no evidence that any Epstein victims are depicted in the photograph, and it has been reposted without any alteration or redaction," the DOJ said.
Blanche said that the suggestion that the photo was removed due to Trump was "laughable". "It has nothing to do with President Trump," he told NBC News.
"There are dozens of photos of President Trump already released to the public seeing him with Mr Epstein."
He added: "So the absurdity of us pulling down a photo, a single photo, because President Trump was in it, is laughable."
Blanche cited a judge in New York who "has ordered us to listen to any victim or victims' rights group if they have concerns" as a reason behind removing some of the previously posted files.
"There were a number of photographs that were pulled down after being released on Friday," he said.
Trump has consistently denied any wrongdoing in relation to Epstein and has not been accused of any crimes by Epstein's victims. There is no suggestion that these pictures imply any wrongdoing.
US Department of Justice
An image of framed photos was removed from the DOJ website and later reappeared
Congressman Thomas Massie, a Kentucky Republican who led the charge to release the files, said he was frustrated with the Trump administration's response and his focus is to get justice for the victims.
He said he is drafting inherent contempt charges for Attorney General Pam Bondi.
"They are flouting the spirit and the letter of the law," he told CBS News on Sunday. "It's very troubling the posture that they have taken. I won't be satisfied until the survivors are satisfied."
The image that was included in the removed files showed a credenza desk in Epstein's home with an open drawer filled with other photos, one of which showed the president with Trump, Epstein, first lady Melania Trump and Epstein's convicted associate Ghislane Maxwell. Framed photos also can be seen on top of the credenza desk.
That image has since been restored by early Sunday, available through a link to the website. The other files had not been restored to the site as of Sunday afternoon.
Ten of the missing files include images which appear to show the same room - a small massage parlour with clouds painted on the ceiling, and brown patterned wallpaper studded with multiple nude pictures. Some appear to be photos, others are artwork.
Most of the women pictured on the wall have had their faces redacted. However, one face is redacted in one file but plainly visible in three of the others. Another face remains unredacted in all of the files while a painted image of the same person is visible.
On Saturday, Democrats on the House Oversight Committee questioned the files' removal.
They posted the missing photo of Trump on social media and asked Attorney General Pam Bondi if it was true that the image had been removed.
"What else is being covered up? We need transparency for the American public," the committee wrote.
The files' removal comes at time of increased suspicion surrounding the US government and the so-called Epstein files.
The documents released on Friday came to light as the result of an act of Congress that forced the DOJ to release them.
The DOJ said it would comply with the congressional request to release documents, with some stipulations.
It redacted personally identifiable information about Epstein's victims, materials depicting child sexual abuse, materials depicting physical abuse, any records that "would jeopardise an active federal investigation" or any classified documents that must stay secret to protect "national defence or foreign policy".
But many of the documents that were released were heavily redacted.
There was limited new information about Epstein's crimes and things like internal DOJ memos on charging decisions were not included in the files that were released.
Additional reporting by Alison Benjamin and Benedict Garman.
There's been an outpouring of support from the community - but tension remains
As helicopters circled overhead, sirens descended on her suburb, and people ran screaming down her street on 14 December, Mary felt a grim sense of deja vu.
"That was when I knew there was something seriously wrong – again," she says, her eyes brimming with tears.
Mary - who did not want to give her real name - was at the Westfield Bondi Junction shopping centre last April when six people were stabbed to death by a man in psychosis, a tragedy still fresh in the minds of many.
Findings from a coronial inquest into the incident were due to be delivered this week, but were delayed after two gunmen unleashed a hail of bullets on an event marking the start of the Jewish festival of Hanukkah eight days ago.
Declared a terror attack by police, 15 people were shot and killed, including a 10-year-old girl who still had face paint curling around her eyes.
The first paramedic to confront the bloody scenes at the Chanukah by the Sea event was also the first paramedic on the scene at the Westfield stabbings.
"You just wouldn't even fathom that something like this would happen," 31-year-old Mary, who is originally from the UK, tells the BBC. "I say constantly to my family at home how safe it is here."
This was the overarching sentiment in the days following the shooting. This kind of thing, mass murder, just doesn't happen in Australia.
But it can and it has – twice, in the same community, within 18 months.
A sea of flowers left by shocked and grieving people at Bondi is being packed up. A national day of reflection is over. On Sunday night, Jewish Australians lit candles for the last time this Hannukah.
But the two tragedies have left scores physically scarred and traumatised, and the nation's sense of safety shattered.
'Everyone knows someone affected'
EPA
Funerals for the victims have drawn thousands of mourners this week
Bondi is Australia's most famous beach - a globally recognised symbol of its way of life.
It's also a quintessential slice of Australian community. There's a bit of "everyone knows everyone" - and that means everyone knows someone affected by the 14 December tragedy, mayor Will Nemesh told the BBC.
"One of the first people I texted was [Rabbi] Eli Schlanger. And I said, 'I hope you're OK. Call me if you need anything'," he said.
But the British-born father of five, also known as the "Bondi Rabbi", was among the dead.
The first responders, police and paramedics would have been working on members of their own community. Others had the task of having to treat the shooters who had taken aim at their colleagues.
"[Westfield Bondi Junction] was horrendous, something we're certainly not used to. And then this again was massive, catastrophic injuries," Ryan Park, health minister for New South Wales, told the BBC.
"They've seen things that are like you would see in a war zone… You don't get those images out of your head," Park added.
Mayor Nemesh fears this will forever be a stain on Bondi, and Australia.
"If this can happen here at Bondi Beach, it really could happen anywhere… the impact has reverberated around Australia."
EPA
Ryan Park says healthcare workers will take time to recover from what they've seen
'Warnings ignored'
No one is feeling this more than the Jewish community, for whom Bondi has become a sanctuary.
"I swam here every day for years on end, rain or shine. And this week… I couldn't get in the water. It didn't feel right. It felt sacrilegious in some way," Zac Seidler, a local clinical psychologist, told the BBC.
Many of the victims of the attack moved here over many decades for safety from persecution, including 89-year-old Holocaust survivor Alex Kleytman. Instead, his life was bookended by violent acts of antisemitic hate.
Mr Seidler has spent the past two years trying to convince his grandparents, who are also Holocaust survivors, to hold on to their faltering belief in the good of humanity.
"[My grandmother] kept saying, 'These are the signs. I've seen this before'. And I just kept saying, 'Not in Australia, not here. You're safe', just trying to soothe her.
"But now I kind of feel like the fool."
No community is a monolith, but one thing many Jewish Australians believe is that warnings about a rise of antisemitism in the months preceding this attack were ignored.
The year started with a spate of vandalism and arson incidents on Jewish marks in the suburbs surrounding Bondi. It has ended with mass murder targeting their community.
Watch: Jewish Australians on why Bondi is a 'sanctuary' for them
There has been resistance in the face of fear - some leaders urging Jewish Australians to double down, be more publicly Jewish and display their religious symbols with pride.
One woman perusing the flowers outside the Bondi Pavilion on Sunday admits she is too scared to do that. It took her all week to even work up the courage to visit this site, which is just metres from where many of the victims died.
"I've never felt my Jewishness before. I've never experienced antisemitism in my whole life until now," MaryAnne says. "And now, I don't want to wear my Star of David."
Community, anger and sadness
The shooting triggered a massive outpouring of support from around the nation.
When the news broke, many in the community rallied to help.
Lifeguards - volunteer and paid - put their lives on the line. Restaurants opened their doors and hid people in their store rooms and freezers, and locals ushered lost children into their apartments.
Even the New South Wales opposition leader Kellie Sloane - also the local state member - was at the scene, helping pack bullet wounds.
In the days after the shooting, thousands of ordinary Australians lined up - many for hours on end - to donate blood desperately needed to treat those injured.
Each day, a carpet of petals, handwritten notes, commemorative stones and candles grew out from the gates of the Bondi Pavilion.
Bee motifs - stickers, balloons, even pavement art - are all over the suburb, in remembrance of Matilda, the terror attack's youngest victim.
Surfers and swimmers on Friday paddled out beyond Bondi's iconic breaks to honour those who died.
A day later, surf livesavers and lifeguards stood shoulder to shoulder on the beach in solidarity with the Jewish community.
But amid the platitudes, sadness and shock is calcifying into anger and tension.
Surfers and swimmers pay tribute to victims of Bondi shooting
Last year's Bondi Junction stabbings were devastating for the community - but a shared resolution united it.
Experts say the attacker, who had schizophrenia, was in psychosis at the time of the stabbings, and his family have previously said he was frustrated at being unable to find a girlfriend. The question of whether he targeted women will likely forever go unanswered. But clear failures in the mental health system have been identified.
Last month, families of the victims asked the coroner to refer the doctor who weaned him off medication with limited supervision to regulators for investigation, and they have also argued for a massive boost to mental health service funding.
But last Sunday's events raise more uncomfortable feelings and questions.
There is palpable fury at the government, over a perceived – and admitted – failure to do more to stop antisemitism. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has been booed during public appearances this week, and talking to people visiting the site of the attack in Bondi, it isn't uncommon to hear them demand his resignation.
Many people the BBC spoke to pointed to his government's decision to recognise Palestinian statehood, alongside countries including the UK and Canada, and regular protests in Australia by members of the pro-Palestinian movement, which though largely peaceful but have been peppered with antisemitic chants and placards.
The state of New South Wales - which has in recent years tightened protest rules - has already announced it will introduce more legislation cracking down on "hateful" chants and give police more powers to investigate demonstrators. The federal government has promised similar.
The blame apportioned to these protests does not sit right with many, even some sections of the Jewish community.
"We need to hold multiple truths," Mr Seidler says. "We can be afraid, we can feel that there is deep antisemitic rhetoric going on in certain circles within Australia… while also understanding that there is a right of people in this country – especially Muslim Australians – to be concerned about what is taking place in Gaza.
"We need to get better at finding that line and calling out when that line has been crossed."
Getty
A memorial inside the Bondi Junction Westfield shopping centre where six people were stabbed to death in April last year
For others, there is anger at what they feel is the politicisation of a tragedy.
"It's a bloody photo op," one woman tells me on Sunday, as a prominent Australian businesswoman arrives and begins posing with the floral tributes outside the Bondi Pavilion.
Some - including the local federal MP Allegra Spender - worry the attack is being used to fuel anti-immigration sentiment.
"We would not have had the man who saved so many Australians if we had cut off, for instance, Muslim immigration," she said.
Mr Seidler says these arguments fail to recognise that antisemitic views - and other forms of bigotry - are formed here too.
"I heard someone say the other day that Australia thinks it's on a holiday from history, that we're somehow immune to this stuff, that it's not bred here, it's imported," Mr Seidler says.
With the anger, there is also fear: for the Jewish community of other attacks, for the Muslim community of retaliation for an act of terror they have loudly condemned.
There are questions over how Australia's security agency fumbled an alleged terrorist who at one point was on their watch list, prompting a review into federal police and intelligence agencies that was announced on Sunday.
There is frustration at NSW Police, who have for years been warned by the Muslim community of hate preachers poaching their young men.
There is animosity towards the media, driven by hurt among both Jewish and Arab Australians over a belief they and their communities have been misrepresented, and frustration at what some feel is incitement against them.
But there is also a queasiness at the treatment of traumatised victims throughout this week, some of whom were interviewed live on television while the blood of their friends still stained their hands.
Through it all, is an undercurrent of suspicion of institutions and each other.
There are varying opinions on how those rifts can heal – or even if they can. But there is a shared determination to try.
Getty Images
Many Jewish Australians are angry at the government
One UK expat who was at the beach at the time of the shooting says everyone he speaks to is adamant this will not change Bondi, or Australia.
"It's seriously unique what you have as a nation… there's a magic about it," Henry Jamieson tells the BBC.
"I'm traumatised… and I'm going to have to deal with that for the rest of my life, I know I am… even people who weren't there were traumatised.
"But I'm not gonna let it shake me and we will not let it shake this community.
"You can't let them win," he says of the alleged terrorists.
At an emotional memorial on Sunday night, seven days since the attack, the same sense of defiance was on show. It ended with the lighting of the menorah, something the crowds gathered for Hannukah last week never got to do.
The shamash, the centre candle, was lit by the father of Ahmed al Ahmed, in honour of his bravery in wrestling a gun off one of the attackers. The children of the two rabbis who were killed lit another. Others were lit by a representative of surf lifesavers and a Jewish community medic who rushed to the scene and began treating the injured before the shots had even stopped. The final candle was lit by Michael, the father of Matilda, who has been described a fountain of joy to all who knew her.
After the parade of diverse Australians had sparked flames on each arm of the menorah, Rabbi Yehoram Ulman of Bondi Chabad made a plea for more love and more unity.
"Returning to normal is not enough," he said.
"Sydney can and must become a beacon of goodness. A city where people look out for one another, where kindness is louder than hate, where decency is stronger than fear, and we can make it happen," he said, stopping for a moment as the crowd applauded.
"But only if we take the feelings we have right now and turn them into action, into continuous action."
The government has vowed to end puppy farming as part of a wide-ranging animal welfare strategy
An end to puppy farming and a possible ban on the use of electric shock dog collars are promised as part of a new animal welfare strategy being launched by the government on Monday.
The RSPCA has welcomed the plans to outlaw puppy farming but the Countryside Alliance has condemned the ban on trail hunting as "another attack on the countryside".
Environment Secretary Emma Reynolds told the BBC there would be consultation on the trail-hunting ban, which was "sometimes used as a smokescreen" for illegal fox hunting.
Getty Images
The Countryside Alliance said a ban on trail hunting was "completely unnecessary"
Puppy farming is the term used when breeders prioritise profit over animal health and welfare, often keeping large numbers of dogs in small pens and using them to produce multiple litters a year.
Current dog breeding practices will be reformed to tackle puppy farming as part of what the government calls "the biggest animal welfare reforms in a generation".
However, the whole strategy will not be delivered until the end of 2030.
David Bowles, head of public affairs at the RSPCA, said the animal welfare charity was "delighted" at the strategy and added that the plans to ban puppy farming "could be a real game-changer".
"Puppy farming is one of the most insidious problems that the RSPCA faces.
"The government will need to write the legislation on that in this coming year and the RSPCA will work with them to make sure that there are no loopholes," he said.
The government is also looking to ban the use of snare traps in the countryside and on Sunday confirmed it is to carry out a consultation on the proposed ban on trail hunting in the New Year.
Trail hunting involves using a rag with a natural scent on to lay a trail ahead of a hunt, which is then followed by the hounds but live animal scents could be picked up by the pack instead.
The secretary of state told the BBC that while Labour had previously banned fox hunting in 2004 "we have seen that people are trying to get around that ban by using trail hunting in some cases".
"Obviously that's also a problem of enforcement, it's not just the legislation, but we are determined to go further, which is why banning trail hunting is in the animal welfare strategy," she said.
"We know sometimes it is used as a smokescreen for fox hunting."
'Divisive issue'
But Tim Bonner, chief executive of the Countryside Alliance, said it was "unbelievable" that the government would be spending more parliamentary time on hunting.
He said: "Revisiting this pointless and divisive issue is completely unnecessary.
"People across the countryside will be shocked that after Labour's attack on family farms and its neglect of rural communities it thinks banning trail hunting and snares used for fox control are a political priority."
Conservative chairman Kevin Hollinrake called the ban an "attack on rural Britain and British culture", accusing the government of "punishing the law-abiding majority who support legal trail hunting".
The government is also looking at ending the use of "confinement systems" in farming including caged hens and pig farrowing crates, which are used to contain sows during birth and nursing.
The use of slow-growing chickens will be promoted over the use of controversial so-called "Frankenchickens", a term used by animal welfare campaigners to describe fast-growing breeds.
Anthony Field, head of Compassion in World Farming UK, said the government was "raising the bar for farmed animal welfare".
The National Pig Association said it would be "following the next steps closely" on farrowing crates and was itself looking towards more flexible systems.
The British Poultry Council have been approached by the BBC for comment.
A shortage of epidural kits in the UK is expected to last until at least March, the government's medicines regulator has warned.
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) told healthcare providers in a patient safety alert earlier this month that the shortage followed manufacturing issues concerning epidural bags.
Hospitals are being sent substitutes bags for the pain relief drug given to women in labour, while the Royal College of Anaesthetists is working with the NHS to advise hospitals on how to manage the situation.
Medical staff have expressed concern about these plans, the BBC understands, though the NHS said women "should come forward for care as usual".
The shortage arose after a major supplier stopped making epidural infusion bags, it is understood.
The MHRA alert on 2 December said there was a "range of alternative" bags available during the "affected period", which will require a "trust-wide approach to ensure safe implementation".
Hospitals are being sent substitutes - but these have higher drug doses and so need very careful managing.
All trusts have been asked to create teams that ensure mother-and-baby safety.
But hospital staff, pharmacists and anaesthetists - who administer epidurals to women during labour - have expressed concerns over the plans.
The head of the Birth Trauma Association, Dr Kim Thomas, argued that "there hasn't been enough communication" on how to put together these teams.
"Leaving trusts to manage a situation like this is very unfair, because you're going to get different responses in different trusts," she explained.
"It's going to mean added stress and added work for staff who are already overworked particularly at this time of year."
An NHS spokesperson said: "The safety of women in the care of NHS maternity services remains a top priority."
They added: "There are a range of alternatives available and trusts are also sharing supplies with other nearby trusts where appropriate."
Gerwyn Price lost in straight sets to Wesley Plaisier
Published
Luke Littler progressed to the third round but former champion Gerwyn Price suffered a shock exit at the PDC World Championship.
The 2021 victor Price had boldly predicted he would win a second title but was beaten 3-0 by Dutchman Wesley Plaisier.
Defending champion Littler, who was seeded to face Price in the quarter-finals, made the last 32 with a straight-set victory over David Davies.
Price's fellow Welshman Davies missed six darts at double to take the opening set.
Davies had taken time off from his full-time job as an NHS area manager to appear at Alexandra Palace and went to walk off stage at 2-2, mistakenly believing the first set was over.
Littler, 18, pushed on from there and will next meet Mensur Suljovic, who earlier denied claims from his beaten opponent Joe Cullen of cheating by deliberately playing slowly.
Price, ranked ninth, is the 12th of the 32 seeds to be knocked out.
He had the better average of 95.83 but world number 92 Plaisier hit 56% of his doubles.
"I can't believe it, I'm so over the moon. It's my biggest victory ever. I don't know how I did it," said Plaisier after setting up a meeting with Poland's Krzysztof Ratajski.
Littler only made his world championship debut two years ago, and his arrival as a teenage phenomenon has helped fuel a boom in darts' popularity.
He became the youngest world darts champion in January aged 17 when he beat Michael van Gerwen, has gone on to win five more major titles in 2025 and overtook Luke Humphries as the world number one.
On wanting to win the World Championship again, Littler said: "Since the Grand Slam and Grand Prix, the talk is the build-up to the Worlds. Back-to-back is the only thing I want."
Victory extended his winning streak to 15 senior matches, going back to 25 October.
He said Suljovic had predicted they would meet, adding: "I watched it this afternoon and he played well. When the tournament draw came out, Mensur messaged me and said 'see you in round three'. Mensur, let's have a good game."
Martin Schindler won three successive deciding legs to beat Keane Barry 3-0 and set up a third-round match against Ryan Searle.
Suljovic denies slow play 'cheating' claim from Cullen
Image source, PA Media
Image caption,
Mensur Suljovic won 3-1 against Joe Cullen
Joe Cullen says opponent Mensur Suljovic's slow style of play is akin to cheating after the 32nd seed was knocked out.
Austrian Suljovic denied using any specific tactics in his second-round success.
"I never ever do this as a provocation," said the 53-year-old. "I do it only for my game. Sorry Joe, I never do this - love you man."
England's Cullen won the first set, but became the 11th seed to crash out as he lost the following three, including throwing away a 2-1 lead in the fourth set.
Referring to the way that Suljovic slowed down play, Cullen said in a post on X: "If that's darts, I don't want no part of it.
"Always liked Mensur away from the board but that was plain for all to see! I don't think I'm alone in feeling this way. The old guard will say it's part of the game but word it how you will - it's cheating. That's not darts."
After the match, the 36-year-old shook his head as he picked up his darts case and turned to glare at the Austrian, who celebrated his win in front of the crowd.
The PDC does not have a specific, timed rule for pace of play, but deliberate slow play intended to disrupt an opponent is considered unsportsmanlike conduct and a potential rules breach.
Suljovic is next in line to take on defending champion Luke Littler, who faces David Davies on Sunday evening.
Meanwhile, 2018 champion and 17th seed Rob Cross managed to avoid a deciding set against Ian White as he won a nervy encounter 3-1.
Krzysztof Ratajski beat Ryan Joyce 3-1 to reach the third round, while Luke Woodhouse cruised past Max Hopp with a victory in straight sets.
Ross, Tom, Anne and William all revisited Lockerbie earlier in the year to pay their respects
When Anne and Ross Campbell were watching the news on the night of 21 December 1988, they already had "go-bags" ready.
The Ayrshire-based couple were part of the Radio Amateurs' Emergency Network (Raynet), a UK-wide radio communications service.
Staffed by volunteers, it was formed in the aftermath of the North Sea flood in 1953 with a simple aim: during major events and emergencies, licensed Raynet operators would step in to provide essential radio communications.
When news broke that an aircraft had crashed in a small Dumfries and Galloway town, Anne and Ross got the call from their local controller: "You're on standby for Lockerbie."
Ross and Anne Campbell were part of the Radio Amateurs' Emergency Network (Raynet)
At the time of the disaster, Anne and Ross, along with friends Tom Stewart and William Jamieson were all keen radio enthusiasts in their 20s and 30s.
And they were all members of Ayrshire's Raynet chapter.
"You worked away, doing exercises for the council and road races, but you always had in the back of your mind, there could come a general emergency," said Ross.
He had been involved in the group for a couple of years at the time but added: "You never imagined something like Lockerbie."
Pan Am 103 was flying from Heathrow to New York when a bomb exploded in the skies above the town, killing all 259 passengers and crew on board – as well as 11 people on the ground.
It remains the biggest terror attack to have taken place on British soil.
Raynet
Anne and Ross were both involved in the rescue effort
As part of the search and rescue efforts, hundreds of volunteers arrived at the scene to help – including many from Raynet.
Their expertise – and equipment – was desperately needed.
Ross said: "Strathclyde Police radios had their own frequency.
"Dumfries and Galloway Police had a separate one.
"Every police service had their own, as did ambulance services, so they couldn't communicate with one another."
Each search party at Lockerbie was teamed with a Raynet operator who would send messages back to Lockerbie Academy, the disaster control room.
They accompanied search and rescue dogs, air accident investigation units, the FBI, and the police.
Volunteer Tom, who had been in the fire service for 10 years, made the call to Anne, Ross and William to tell them to report to the scene the following morning.
Raynet
The young Ayrshire Raynet volunteers were called up to help with the Lockerbie recovery operation
Anne and Ross were both stationed at Tundergarth, in the field where the plane's nose cone lay.
"I still remember the press, with huge lenses, leaning over the fence, trying to get pictures of them bringing the bodies out," said Anne.
"That horrified me, I just thought these people deserve a wee bit of respect."
While Tom was used to scenes of emergency from his time in the fire service, nothing could have prepared him for what he saw.
"The devastation, it was horrendous," he said.
"For other members of the group that didn't have that background, it was harder."
Tom's main role was with search and rescue dog teams, which had been tasked with searching for bodies and collecting debris and evidence from the crash.
"I can still remember the Chinook helicopters flying above.
"They were bringing out body bags and rescue equipment.
"We sent messages back, and the helicopter came with bags, and they came and took them away."
The radio enthusiasts key to the Lockerbie bombing response
For William, one of the most striking moments was passing on the message that his team had found evidence of an explosion.
"We came across a baggage container, and from the damage to the container, they knew instantly there was a bomb.
"I was asked if I could radio in saying we had found evidence of a bomb, but because the press were there, they were going to be listening, and I advised them I couldn't send that message because it would be on the telly before we even got back.
"We changed it to asking for an urgent recovery of that item."
Earlier this year, William returned to Lockerbie for the first time in almost 38 years to pay his respects.
"I'd always meant to go back, but I've never been, because it does bring up memories," he said.
William, who was 22 at the time, said one of his most harrowing memories was finding a passenger still in their seat.
"To find something like that and knowing there was nothing you could do to help them, it was certainly upsetting."
Tom, who returned with his three friends, still struggles with what he experienced.
"I'd still never seen anything on that scale.
"I can still remember seeing people's letters and personal belongings and thinking that was someone's son, someone's daughter."
Anne said: "I'm proud that I managed to have a wee bit of input.
"But there were a lot of people who did a lot more than we did."
Getty Images
Anne and Ross were stationed at Tundergarth, in the field where the plane's nose cone lay.
All four feel the role of volunteers needs to be acknowledged.
Search and rescue teams and their dogs, the Salvation Army, the Women's Royal Voluntary Service, and locals from the town were all involved.
"They gave their free time willingly at Lockerbie and went back home and yet nobody knows of them," Ross said.
Assistant Chief Constable Stuart Houston from Police Scotland's organised crime, counter terrorism and intelligence unit has thanked Raynet for the role they played.
He told BBC Scotland: "The assistance Raynet provided the police and other emergency services in the aftermath of the darkest day Lockerbie has ever endured will never be forgotten.
"We are grateful for their support and expertise that afforded vital communications between emergency services at such a critical time.
"Our thoughts remain with the families and friends of those who lost loved ones in 1988 and who continue to show incredible dignity and strength."
Additional reporting by Charles Ross.
If there are issues you would like to see covered, you can get in touch via BBC Your Voice.
Nigerian authorities say they have secured the release of a further 130 schoolchildren kidnapped from a Catholic school in November, after 100 were freed earlier this month.
“Another 130 abducted Niger state pupils released, none left in captivity,” presidential spokesperson Sunday Dare said on X, in a post accompanied by a photo of smiling children.
Nigeria has recently seen a new wave of mass abductions, reminiscent of the kidnapping of schoolgirls in the town of Chibok by the militant group Boko Haram in 2014.
A UN source said the remaining schoolchildren would be taken to Minna, the capital of Niger state, on Tuesday.
The exact number of people taken and how many have remained in captivity has been unclear since the kidnapping in the rural hamlet of Papiri.
The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) said that a total of 315 students and staff were kidnapped. Some 50 escaped immediately afterwards, and on 7 December the government secured the release of about 100 more.
A statement from President Bola Tinubu then put the number of people still being held at 115 – about 50 fewer than the initial CAN figure would suggest.
It has not been made public who seized the children, or how the government secured their release.
Though kidnappings for ransom are a common way for criminals and armed groups to make money, a spate of mass abductions in Nigeria has put an uncomfortable spotlight on the country’s already grim security situation.
In November, assailants kidnapped two dozen Muslim schoolgirls, 38 church worshippers and a bride and her bridesmaids, with male farm workers, women and children also taken hostage.
The kidnappings come as Nigeria faces a diplomatic offensive from the United States, where President Donald Trump has alleged that mass killings of Christians in the west African country amount to a “genocide”.
The Nigerian government and independent analysts reject that framing, which has long been used by the Christian right in the US and Europe.
The religiously diverse country of 230 million people has myriad security concerns, from jihadists in the north-east to armed “bandit” gangs in the north-west, and its multiple conflicts have seen Christians and Muslims killed.
Progressives are pushing Medicare for All in some of the Democratic Party's most competitive Senate primaries next year, threatening the unity the party has found on attacking Republicans over expiring Obamacare subsidies.
In Maine, Graham Platner said he’s making Medicare for All a “core part” of his platform in his race against Gov. Janet Mills, the establishment pick who’s called for a universal health care program. In Illinois, Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton and Rep. Robin Kelly are both championing the concept — and calling out rival Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi for not fully embracing it.
In Minnesota, Medicare for All has emerged as a key distinction between progressive Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan and moderate Rep. Angie Craig, who supports adding a public option to the Affordable Care Act rather than Medicare for All. Flanagan said she “absolutely” expects the policy to define the primary because “it doesn’t matter if I’m in the urban core, the suburbs or greater Minnesota — when I say I’m a supporter of Medicare for All, the room erupts.”
And it’s become a flashpoint in Michigan, where physician Abdul El-Sayed, who wrote a book called Medicare for All: A Citizen’s Guide, is using his signature issue to draw a contrast with Rep. Haley Stevens and state Sen. Mallory McMorrow, who favor other approaches.
Medicare for All — government-funded health coverage for every American — is “where we need to point to,” El-Sayed said in an interview. “And I think you can galvanize a winning coalition around this issue.”
But some more moderate Democrats worry that progressives' renewed push for Medicare for All would undermine the party’s recent united front in fighting for an extension of the Obamacare subsidies that are set to expire at the end of the year, leading to a significant spike in insurance costs for millions of Americans. Their effort initially failed in the Senate, but with the help of four vulnerable Republicans who crossed party lines this week, Democrats have now secured a House vote on an extension in January.
"We have a singular message, which is: ‘Don’t let these tax credits go.’ We have Republicans on the ropes,” said a national Democratic strategist who works on Senate races and was granted anonymity to speak candidly. “I don’t think introducing ‘we need MFA’ is the right strategy right now. I think it would be unhelpful."
Several Democratic consultants pointed to recent public polling showing Americans like having individual insurance coverage, despite being dissatisfied with health care companies. An NBC News poll found 82 percent of Americans were satisfied with their plans, both private and government-sponsored. Based on that data, these consultants said allowing Americans to buy into a government-offered plan, known as a “public option,” is more politically palatable.
Centrists have long dismissed Medicare for All as both a policy pipedream and political albatross for their party — a rallying cry for the left that serves as catnip for Republican admakers looking to broad brush Democrats as socialists. They argue that surveys often fail to present voters with the full picture of how Medicare for All would work, and therefore fail to capture its electoral toxicity.
“What we need to accept is there’s a deeply held skepticism among Americans about going zero to 60 that’s entirely government run, even though they don’t love the current system,” said Adam Jentleson, a Democratic strategist and president of the Searchlight Institute. “In isolation, this thing does okay. But it’s not how it plays out in real life, and the totality will crush us.”
The once-fringe policy that Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) mainstreamed during his presidential campaigns has become a rallying cry for his favored candidates and other progressives across battleground primaries, as Democrats work to make health care costs central to next year’s midterms and as the party base clamors for fighters willing to disrupt the status quo. The push for Medicare for All, which receded during the more moderate Biden era, comes as Democrats have otherwise been unified on their health care messaging, forcing Republicans onto defense over their refusal to extend expiring Affordable Care Act subsidies.
“Do I think every single swing-seat candidate is going to come out for Medicare for All? No,” said Jess Morales Rocketto, a Democratic strategist and board member for the nonprofit Care in Action. “But if you want to signal that you’re unafraid and bold right now, and you want to say you’re not beholden to the status quo, it’s a perfect position for that.”
Progressives are emboldened by partisan and independent polling that shows most Democrats and a majority of independents support Medicare for All. A recent survey commissioned by Rep. Pramila Jayapal’s (D-Wash.) leadership PAC and first reported by POLITICO showed 90 percent of Democrats back Medicare for All and found most independents and one in five Republicans back a “government-provided system.”
Jayapal, the former chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, plans to push her colleagues to start promoting Medicare for All again in the new year. She predicted in an interview that support for the system will be a “defining factor” in the party’s primaries next year and an electoral winner in battleground House seats.
But proponents of Medicare for All argue that a government-provided system would lessen the pinch of rising health care costs. They say pushing to extend the ACA subsidies and promoting Medicare for All as an end goal are not mutually exclusive. And they point to several 2018 candidates who won tough seats while supporting the measure, including former Rep. Katie Porter in California to retiring Rep. Jared Golden of Maine.
“You can know that there are short-term stopgaps that must be taken to protect working people while also thinking that long term, we need a better system,” said Platner, who is vying against Mills to unseat GOP Sen. Susan Collins in Maine.
Platner has been extolling Medicare for All from the start of his campaign and said it gets the “most raucous” response at his events across Maine, where a recent Pan Atlantic Research poll found 63 percent support for the system (and Platner trailing Mills by 10 points).
He argued in an interview that Mills isn’t as steadfast in her support for the concept because she “doesn’t talk about it all that often” and uses “vague language” when she does. Mills has said “it is time” for universal health care and that she’s “committed to finding a way to get there” if elected. Her campaign echoed that sentiment in response to a request for comment for this story, and cited her efforts to expand Mainers access to Medicaid.
In Minnesota, Flanagan said embracing Medicare for All has been a “journey” during her Senate campaign, as she heard from Minnesotans that the “cost of health care is the thing that comes over and over and over again.” Of Craig’s support for a public option, Flanagan said voters don’t want a nominee who “nibbles around the edges” instead of being “bold and audacious.”
Craig calls the public option a “big, bold reform,” but emphasizes that it’s a policy “we could actually accomplish in this country in a fairly short time period,” she said in a video this week.
In Illinois, Stratton and Kelly, two of the three leading Democrats vying to replace retiring Sen. Dick Durbin, are jockeying for position as Medicare for All’s biggest champion in the race while their campaigns knock Krishnamoorthi for couching his support for the system. Krishnamoorthi said in a statement that while it’s “a noble goal, and I’m fighting to get us to universal coverage” his focus is on extending the ACA subsidies and reversing Republicans’ cuts to Medicaid.
And in Michigan, El-Sayed has slammed McMorrow’s call for universal health care with a public option as “incoherent” and ill-informed as the two compete for the same slice of progressive voters. McMorrow has knocked the idea of a single-payer system run by President Donald Trump and his controversial health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. And she’s promoted a public option so people who like their private insurance can keep it. Stevens’ campaign says she supports strengthening Obamacare, including through a public option, without endorsing Medicare for All.
The issue is also becoming a flashpoint in Democratic primaries for some of the most competitive House seats in the country, driven in part by Sanders-backed candidates running from California’s Central Valley to Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Valley.
“There’s immense hostility and anger toward the way the insurance industry functions, doubled up with health care itself being one of the biggest affordability issues,” said Mark Longabaugh, a progressive strategist who worked on Sanders’ 2016 presidential bid. “Progressives are smart to push the case.”
Dame Ann Limb after being appointed a dame at Buckingham Palace in 2023
The chair of the King's Foundation Dame Ann Limb has admitted being "misleading" about her doctorate qualification.
The education specialist, who was recently nominated for a life peerage by Labour, told the Sunday Times that she had not completed a PhD at the University of Liverpool, despite this appearing on her since-amended CV.
"To be completely upfront and honest about it, I never completed my PhD at Liverpool University," she told the newspaper, adding that she used the Doctor title because she had been conferred with honorary PhDs by other institutions.
The BBC has contacted Dame Ann for comment. The King's Foundation declined to comment.
Dame Ann was among nominees to the House of Lords announced by Downing Street earlier in December, having held a number of senior public and private roles.
The King's Foundation - which offers courses in practical skills to young people - announced last week that she would be stepping down from her role as chair, which she had held since January, to become a peer.
An old version of her online CV, seen by the BBC, refers to her with the "Dr" honorific and lists a PhD from the University of Liverpool in 1978 as among her qualifications.
She was referred to as Dr Ann Limb by the City & Guilds Foundation, which she also chairs, in 2020, and in the Queen's Birthday Honours list announcing her damehood in 2022.
However, a new version of her CV - made in July 2024 - omits the Dr honorific and the supposed 1978 PhD, stating that she received honorary PhDs from Anglia Ruskin University and the University of Northampton.
Her website still says that she began her teaching career in further education "whilst undertaking a PhD at the University of Liverpool".
She told the Sunday Times: "I have used the word 'Doctor'... because I have got several honorary PhDs and that's been clear to me that they're honorary.
"Perhaps my own website is not very helpful, I don't pay a lot of attention to it, but if there's anything misleading... on that I'm very happy to correct [it]."
The newspaper also reported she claimed to have gained an MA from the Institute of Linguistics, which she also admitted was untrue.
Recipients of honorary doctorates tend not to use the Dr honorific despite technically being able to out of deference to those who have undertaken the academic work to receive a PhD.
When approached for comment, a No 10 spokesperson directed the BBC to a document listing the reasons why Dame Ann had been nominated for a peerage.
That document notes she has been the chair or non-executive director of several public, private and charity bodies.
Dame Ann grew up in Moss Side in Manchester and is currently the pro-chancellor of the University of Surrey and chair of institutions including the Lloyds Bank Foundation.
She was made a dame for services to young people and philanthropy, having spent much of her career in higher education.
The police watchdog says it may investigate West Midlands Police over its handling of the decision to ban Maccabi Tel Aviv fans from attending an Aston Villa game.
The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) told the BBC it can exercise its power to investigate "if evidence available to us appears to warrant" it, but that it needed to assess that evidence "before determining our next steps".
Its director Rachel Watson is quoted by the Sunday Times as saying she was willing to use the watchdog's "power of initiative" given the "sensitivities" of the case.
Maccabi fans were prohibited from attending a 6 November match in Birmingham based on reports of hooliganism at other away games they attended.
However, the government's adviser on antisemitism has since said that some of the intelligence the force used to come to the decision was "inaccurate".
West Midlands Police also faced criticism over two of its high-ranking officers appearing to reiterate some of these inaccuracies before the committee.
The IOPC tends to investigate cases that have been referred to it by individual police forces - usually when someone has died due to police action, or if a police officer is accused of a criminal offence.
As such, instigating its own investigation without a referral is relatively rare.
The IOPC is not yet investigating the force's decision, but a spokesperson said on Sunday: "It is right for public confidence and police accountability that the force's involvement in the decision-making process is examined."
They noted HM Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services was examining the risk assessment West Midlands Police carried out before the fixture and the extent to which the intelligence it gathered "reflected the full information and intelligence picture".
They added that the Home Affairs Committee has asked the force for "additional evidence" relating to Chief Constable Craig Guildford and Assistant Chief Constable Mike O'Hara's committee appearance earlier this month.
"It is important for us to assess evidence related to these processes before determining our next steps."
The IOPC spokesperson said it had written to West Midlands Police and the region's police and crime commissioner to "seek assurances over what assessments they have made of any conduct".
They said this was important "to understand why a formal referral has not been made".
MPs previously heard that the ban was based on information given to the force by Dutch police commanders concerning violence that broke out in Amsterdam last year during a Europa League match between Ajax and Maccabi.
Following this, Dutch courts said evidence showed fans of the Israeli club faced violence, and also pointed out that the club's supporters pulled down Palestinian flags, vandalised taxis and chanted racist slogans against Arabs.
Despite West Midlands Police saying the decision "wasn't taken lightly", senior MPs, including Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, said it amounted to antisemitism.
Lord Mann told the Home Affairs Committee that there were several inaccuracies in West Midlands Police's intelligence report.
He said it cited Maccabi fans "pulling down Palestinian flags" on match day in the Netherlands, when the incident occurred the night before. It also referred to a match between Maccabi and West Ham which never happened.
This week, Maccabi Tel Aviv was fined €20,000 (£17,550) for "racist and/or discriminatory behaviour" by supporters during their game at Stuttgart in Germany on 11 December.
Fans were also given a suspended one away match ban.
The proliferation of illegal firearms from the United States has fueled a spike in gun violence in Canada, where most guns used in crimes are smuggled across the border.
Seized guns at the Toronto Police Service. In Ontario, Canada’s most populous province, which includes Toronto, 91 percent of handguns recovered from crimes in 2024 came from the United States.
PHOENIX — After three straight days of MAGA infighting here at Turning Point’s AmericaFest, top Republicans — including Vice President JD Vance — tried to find agreement on Sunday afternoon, shifting their focus to countering the opposition.
“President Trump did not build the greatest coalition in politics by running his supporters through endless, self-defeating purity tests,” Vance told the crowd to loud applause, adding later: “We have far more important work to do than canceling each other."
In his speech, Vance ripped into “far left” Democrats, casting their policies as toxic to Americans and blaming them for Charlie Kirk's September killing, which has loomed large over the gathering. He touted the Trump administration’s policies on immigration, vaccines and transgender issues, while calling for the crowd to engage ahead of next year’s midterms.
“If you miss Charlie Kirk, do you promise to fight what he died for? Do you promise to take the country back from the people who took his life?” Vance asked the crowd.
His speech at the Phoenix Convention Center is the culmination of a weekend-long festival for 30,000 of President Donald Trump’s most ardent supporters. But until Sunday, much of the weekend was clouded by an intra-party schism that kicked off during night one on Thursday, when conservative commentator Ben Shapiro ripped into a number of fellow MAGA-verse influencers, especially Tucker Carlson, Candace Owens and Steve Bannon.
“The conservative movement is in serious danger,” Shapiro said, especially from some “charlatans who claim to speak in the name of principle but actually traffic in conspiracism and dishonesty.”
Those themes carried through on Friday and Saturday, with presidential-hopeful turned Ohio GOP gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy casting the moment as “a time for choosing in the conservative movement.”
Like Shapiro, Ramasawamy focused significant time on Carlson and his interview with far-right influencer and Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes, listing some of his most inflammatory remarks and saying they “have no place in this movement.”
Then, Bannon hit the stage and reversed course, comparing Shapiro to a “a cancer, and that cancer spreads.”
“Ben Shapiro is the farthest thing from MAGA,” Bannon told the crowd.
The sold-out annual meeting is the group’s first since founder Charlie Kirk was gunned down in September. It has featured a broad array of figures from within the conservative movement, including top commentators, elected officials, candidates and religious leaders, culminating with Vance and Speaker Mike Johnson on Sunday.
Johnson called the weekend an “epic and faithful battle that truly will determine the future of our great republic” while stressing the importance of keeping control of the House ahead of next year’s midterms.
Vance also spent much of his speech talking about the midterms, bashing Democratic Senate candidates Graham Platner of Maine and Jasmine Crockett of Texas, who are both running in competitive primaries.
“We are gonna kick their ass next November,” Vance said of Democrats as the crowd immediately burst into “USA” chants. Outside of Johnson and Vance, a number of other speakers on Sunday sought to bridge the divisions that emerged in the prior days.
"I choose to build a movement, be part of a movement, that stands on principle, on strength, that loves the people in the movement, even sometimes when they piss you off,” said Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.), who is running for governor. "You can't form a winning unit if you can't stay focused on the mission at hand.”
Donald Trump Jr. also sought to shift the focus to Democrats.
“The real enemy? It’s not Steve Bannon or Tucker Carlson or Ben Shapiro, it’s the radical left that murdered Charlie and celebrated it on a daily basis,” Trump Jr. told the crowd.
The political beliefs of alleged Kirk shooter Tyler Robinson, who is facing multiple charges including aggravated murder, aren’t easily defined.
Durante dos décadas, luchó contra incendios forestales para el gobierno de EE. UU. Ahora se enfrenta al cáncer, a las deudas y a la amenaza de separarse de su hijo de 11 años.
Login
