It comes after a parliamentary panel earlier this year recommended that medically assisted dying – known as Maid in Canada – should not be expanded.

On Wednesday, Canada’s justice minister, Sean Fraser, said that “while there is not a perfect consensus on this issue, we believe this is the correct approach”.

Supporters of extending the programme to those with mental illness alone argue that not doing so violates their constitutional rights and access to healthcare.

A federal case remains before the courts challenging the government’s earlier decision to delay access to Maid for people with mental illness.

Wednesday’s announcement means that Canadians with mental illness as their sole condition will not be able to access assisted dying by March 2027 as previously planned.

Medically assisted dying became legal in Canada in 2016 for people with terminal illnesses, who still account for the vast majority of cases.

Following a court case in Quebec, it was expanded in 2021 to people with incurable conditions but whose death was not imminent. In Canada, that mechanism is known as “track two” Maid.

The expansion has been the subject of controversy, with disability advocacy groups reporting cases where assisted dying was offered to people with disabilities without a patient requesting it themselves.

Canada was first set to expand its assisted dying laws to people whose sole condition is mental illness in 2023, but it delayed doing so twice to allow for time to study its potential delivery.

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Author and former politician Jeffrey Archer dies aged 86

Oil prices rise as storms and air strikes threaten supply

Archer sold more than 300 million books in his five-decade writing career, including the Clifton Chronicles and Kane and Abel, and often set the novels in his home town of Wellington, Somerset.

In a statement, Archer’s publisher HarperCollins said the author died “suddenly and peacefully at home” on Monday between writing sessions.

The former Conservative MP was jailed for perjury in 2001 after being found guilty of lying and cheating in his 1987 libel case against the Daily Star.

Archer was born in north London on 15 April 1940 but would quickly move to Weston-super-Mare in Somerset, where his family bought a house from John Cleese’s mother.

In 1969, Archer was elected MP for the Lincolnshire constituency of Louth.

He served as an MP for five years before becoming Conservative Party deputy chairman.

His political career was paused in 2001 when he was jailed for four years for perjury and perverting the course of justice.

He was found to have lied in libel action he had brought against The Star newspaper, in which he was awarded £500,000 in damages.

He was released in 2003 and returned to the House of Lords until he retired in 2024.

His last book, Adam and Eve, is set to be released this week, HarperCollins added, describing him as a “master storyteller” whose readers “meant everything to him”.

Last week, Archer returned to his former school to promote his last book.

“It’s wonderful to come back. What I got a real thrill about when I was walking towards the library is seeing the young boys and girls and thinking, ‘that’s the next generation’,” Archer said at Wellington School.

Archer was due to attend the Cheltenham Festival on Saturday to discuss his final novel.

He and his wife Mary had celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary this year, HarperCollins said.

The pair have two sons and five grandchildren.

Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch described Archer’s death as a “huge shock”.

Writing on X, she said: “I am incredibly saddened to hear this news. He had sent me a lovely message just this morning and was always a great source of encouragement to me personally.”

Paying tribute to the bestselling author, Kate Elton, HarperCollins UK CEO and Jeffrey’s editor, said: “It has been one of the great privileges of my publishing life to have been Jeffrey Archer’s editor.

“He was the master storyteller and an editor’s dream – phenomenally hard-working, utterly committed to completing draft after draft to get every word as perfect as possible, and a true champion of the ‘team’ nature of great publishing.”

HarperCollins said the author had been at the Leicester Square Theatre in London on Sunday, signing books for fans with broadcaster Gyles Brandreth.

Writing on X, Brandreth said: “Just yesterday I did a show with Jeffrey Archer to celebrate his new novel – he said it was to be his last.

“He was in the most wonderful, ebullient form and had such a great reception from a packed house. He was funny, engaging and self-deprecating – a great storyteller to the last.”

Former Conservative chancellor Nadhim Zahawi paid tribute to the bestselling author on X, describing him as a “dear friend and extraordinary human being”.

He wrote: “His gift for storytelling was matched by his wit, warmth and boundless energy. Life was never dull in Jeffrey’s company.”

Brent futures rose 93 cents, or 0.92%, to $101.51 a barrel by 0022 GMT. ‌US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose 82 cents, or 0.92%, to $90.25.

US forecasters said on Tuesday a storm forming in the Gulf of Mexico would become the first Atlantic hurricane of 2026 within two days and would likely hit oil and gas producing facilities.

The offshore ​areas in the Gulf in the storm’s path produce 15% of US crude oil and 5% ​of the country’s natural gas.

KCM Trade chief analyst Tim Waterer said the storm was an “unwelcome ⁠complication for crude, raising the prospect of production and refining disruptions at a time when the market ​already has enough supply-side headaches”.

The storm could affect six refineries.

Refineries in US Gulf states account for about 50% of ​the national capacity of 18.2 million barrels per day (bpd).

US crude oil and gasoline inventories fell, while distillate stocks rose marginally last week, market sources said on Tuesday, citing data from the American Petroleum Institute.

Crude stocks fell by 2.09 million barrels in the week ended ​October 2.

Supply had been rising as the East-West pipeline hit 5.8 million barrels a day, according to Saudi ​Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman on Tuesday.

Around 12 million barrels per day of crude oil and 2 million bpd of ‌refined products ⁠were leaving the Middle East on tankers in the last 7 to 10 days, the head of Vitol said.

However, Saudi Arabia’s airports in Jazan and Najran were targeted in two attacks on Monday evening, the Saudi aviation authority said, as hostilities between the kingdom and Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis escalated.

The attacks occurred as Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces pressed a ​major offensive to retake territory ​from the Houthis, after ⁠weeks of rebel advances, with Riyadh stepping up airstrikes in support of the campaign.

Attacks and refinery outages are “likely to keep the cracks elevated and scarcity will transmit to ​crude. Prices will stay elevated near a $100 level without any material de-escalation emerging,” ​said Mukesh Sahdev, ⁠chief oil analyst at X Analysts in Sydney.

US-Iran relations are no closer to repair with US President Donald Trump saying on Tuesday that nobody knew who was running Iran during the eight-month US-Israeli war with Iran.

“Their leaders are gone, their ⁠second group ​of leaders are gone, and the biggest problem I have is ​nobody knows who the hell is running the country,” Trump said.

Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman said on Sunday Washington knows very well who their ​counterpart is in Iran and how the decision-making system in Iran works.

The agreements form part of efforts by the two countries to deepen their bilateral relations and expand areas of mutual cooperation.

India’s External Affairs Minister, Dr Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, is in Ghana for a two-day official visit, during which both sides are expected to explore new opportunities to enhance economic and diplomatic ties.

Speaking to the media at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ghana’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, disclosed that Cabinet had approved Ghana’s application to join the BRICS group of emerging economies.

He said the decision was informed by Ghana’s interest in strengthening its economic partnerships with the countries that make up the BRICS bloc.

Mr Ablakwa said Ghana hoped to leverage its existing relations with member countries to create new opportunities for economic cooperation, trade and investment.

He also outlined the potential benefits of Ghana’s proposed membership and said the government would work towards advancing the application process.

For his part, Dr Jaishankar said India’s relationship with Ghana dates back to the country’s independence in 1957 and has continued to develop over the years.

He said India remained committed to strengthening the partnership and exploring areas that would deliver mutual benefits to both countries.

The Indian minister also indicated that Ghana’s interest in joining BRICS would be considered as part of the broader engagement between the two countries.

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Ghana, Egypt deepen cooperation in defence, pharmaceuticals and infrastructure

All six passengers presumed dead after plane went missing off US coast

The two leaders reached the understanding during a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the 8th African Union Mid-Year Coordination Summit, held alongside the maiden Alamein Africa Forum in Egypt.

The discussions focused on strengthening the longstanding relationship between the two countries while exploring new areas of cooperation to support economic development and regional security.

President Mahama and President El-Sisi also reflected on the historical ties between Ghana and Egypt, recalling the Pan-African vision shared by Ghana’s first President, Dr Kwame Nkrumah, and former Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser.

They agreed that the historic relationship between the two countries should provide a foundation for addressing contemporary development challenges across Africa.

President Mahama expressed appreciation to Egypt for its support for Ghana’s resolution on reparations at the United Nations and urged President El-Sisi to maintain that support as discussions on the issue continue.

On trade, the two leaders discussed measures to strengthen political consultations and expand commercial activities between Ghana and Egypt.

Pharmaceuticals emerged as a key area of interest, with discussions focusing on facilitating the registration of Egyptian pharmaceutical products in Ghana to improve access to medicines and encourage investment in the sector.

Defence and regional security also featured prominently in the meeting. President Mahama expressed Ghana’s interest in expanding security cooperation with Egypt, particularly in intelligence sharing, capacity building and counter-terrorism.

He pointed to Egypt’s defence industry as a model from which Ghana could draw lessons as it seeks to strengthen its own security capabilities.

The discussions also covered support for the Sahel-Gulf of Guinea Accord and the development of social housing.

On infrastructure and urban development, President Mahama said Ghana was interested in learning from Egypt’s experience in executing large-scale projects, particularly the development of its New Administrative Capital.

According to the Presidency, Ghana hopes to draw on Egypt’s technical experience as it advances its own strategic plans for a new capital city.

The latest discussions come as both countries seek to broaden their longstanding relationship beyond political ties to include practical cooperation in trade, healthcare, security and infrastructure development.

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On Sunday evening, the United States Coast Guard said it was ending its search for survivors off the coast of Nantucket, a Massachusetts island.

“We must now face the heartbreaking reality that the four members of our Latitude team, our patient and the patient’s family escort, who were aboard Heartbeat 104, are presumed to have died,” Latitude Air Ambulance said in a statement shortly thereafter.

“Our thoughts are first and foremost with their families, loved ones, friends, and colleagues.”

The Federal Aviation Administration lost contact with the Gulfstream G-100 plane just after 01:00 local time (05:00 GMT) on Saturday morning.

On Saturday evening, authorities located a “debris field” confirmed to be from the aircraft.

The plane departed from Bermuda’s L.F. Wade International Airport at 23:40 local time on Friday night, according to FlightAware data, and was due to land at Boston’s Logan International Airport at 01:30 EDT (05:30 GMT).

Four Canadian nationals and two Bermudian nationals were onboard.

“This is an unimaginable loss for our Latitude family and for everyone who loved the six people aboard Heartbeat 104,” said Peter Byl, President of Latitude Air Ambulance, on Sunday evening.

“Our focus now is on supporting their families, supporting our people and assisting the authorities. We will honour our colleagues by remembering the care, professionalism, and commitment they brought to their work every day.”

Latitude Air Ambulance is a Canadian company that provides international medical flights for patients returning home.

Two pilots and two medical staff, both Canadian, had flown to Bermuda to collect a patient and their relative, Clarence Togeretz, director of flight operations at Latitude, told CBC News.

FlightAware’s tracker shows that the aircraft significantly dropped in altitude before its communications went dark, plummeting from around 7,300m (24,000ft) to 3,300m (11,000ft).

Radio transmissions show trouble with communications between the air traffic controller and the pilot, the Boston Globe reported, based on transmissions provided by LiveATC.net.

“You’re coming in blind? Is that what you said?” the air traffic controller asked. “Are you declaring an emergency, or no?”

The pilot’s response was inaudible.

“You’re coming in a little weak so I didn’t hear what your response was, if you were declaring an emergency or not,” the air traffic controller said, according to the Globe.

The air traffic controller later confirmed the pilot had declared an emergency.

An area fire dispatcher asked emergency crews just after 01:00 EDT to prepare to meet a plane with an “electrical issue”.

The dispatcher later said “the aircraft has lost radio and radar”.

Latitude said in a statement on Sunday evening that it would continue to cooperate with the relevant authorities in ongoing recovery efforts and investigations.

“Determining the circumstances and cause of an aviation accident is a careful and methodical process, and we will not speculate about what occurred,” the company said.

The Federal Aviation Administration told the BBC it had lost contact with the Gulfstream G-100 plane just after 01:00 local time (05:00 GMT) on Saturday, while it was travelling from Bermuda to Boston, Massachusetts.

The search for survivors continues off the coast of Nantucket, a Massachusetts island, the US Coast Guard said.

Authorities have notified the next of kin of those on the flight, four Canadian nationals and two Bermudian nationals.

“Search crews located a debris field confirmed to be from the aircraft off the coast of Nantucket,” the US Coast Guard said in an update on Saturday night. It added that ships, helicopters and planes were involved in searches that would through continue the night.

The plane departed from Bermuda’s L.F. Wade International Airport at 23:40 local time, according to flight data from FlightAware, and was due to land at Boston’s Logan International at 01:30 EDT (05:30 GMT).

According to the tail number released by the Coast Guard, the plane belonged to Latitude Air Ambulances, a company that provides international medical flights for patients returning home.

Among those on board were two pilots and two medical staff, both Canadian, Clarence Togeretz, director of flight operations at Latitude, told CBC News.

The crew flew to Bermuda to collect a patient and their relative, who are not Canadian, Togeretz said.

FlightAware’s tracker shows the aircraft significantly dropped in altitude before its communications went dark, plummeting from around 7,300m (24,000ft) to 3,300m (11,000ft).

Radio transmissions shows trouble with communications between the air traffic controller and the pilot, the Boston Globe reported based on transmissions provided by LiveATC.net.

“You’re coming in blind? Is that what you said?,” the air traffic controller asked. “Are you declaring an emergency, or no?”

The pilot’s response was inaudible.

“You’re coming in a little weak so I didn’t hear what your response was, if you were declaring an emergency or not,” the air traffic controller said, according to the Globe.

The air traffic controller later confirmed the pilot had declared an emergency.

An area fire dispatcher asked emergency crews just after 01:00 EDT to prepare to meet a plane with an “electrical issue”

The dispatcher later said “the aircraft has lost radio and radar”.

The Coast Guard said it would provide an update on Sunday morning local time.

The social messaging app’s new tools will give parents a range of options, such as being told when their child joins or leaves a group. It will also let them decide on privacy settings for their account.

In a blog post, WhatsApp clarified that parents would not be given the ability to see the messages their teen sends and receives, which, along with calls, would remain private and protected by end-to-end encryption.

And it said the controls were optional, which social media analyst Matt Navarra called an “obvious weakness”.

He said the move was “fairly convenient” for Meta, which owns WhatsApp, because it reduced the company’s reliance on age verification by putting some responsibility on parents and teenagers.

“Meta is trying to show regulators we have a child safety system, we have parental controls, and we’re rolling it out across our platforms,” he said.

“I think the big unanswered question is whether enough families will actually use it.”

The minimum age to use WhatsApp is 13 in the UK, although it is higher in some countries.

According to the firm, parents will be able to adjust or switch off the controls at any time.

The settings will be “straightforward to set up” using a Pin set by a parent, which teens will need if they want to switch off the controls.

Some of the new privacy tools include selecting who can see a child’s profile photo and who can add them to groups.

Parents can also choose how their teenager uses Channels, which allows organisations and public figures to send out content.

And they will have the option of choosing between the default 13+ setting for Meta AI, the app’s optional built-in AI assistant, or a stricter “Limited Content” option.

“All of these controls are being designed to support open conversations about how to use WhatsApp between parents and teens, while keeping everyone’s personal messages private,” the company said.

The changes come as pressure mounts on tech companies from governments and regulators to change the way they operate in order to better protect children using their platforms.

In June, the government announced it plans to ban under-16s from social media platforms, with the restrictions expected to come into force in March 2027.

It said “highly effective age assurance” measures would be used to check the age of those using social media.

WhatsApp is currently excluded from the ban because the government considers it a messaging service.

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Describing the event ​as “a highly severe security incident,” Netanyahu said Saudi authorities would interrogate ⁠the co-pilot of flydubai flight FZ1073 from the United Arab Emirates to Israel.

The alleged ​assailant, who an Israeli official identified as an Omani national, was arrested after the ​plane landed, Netanyahu said.

“All passengers are out of harm’s way,” Netanyahu, who described the passengers as being almost all Israeli, said in a video statement released by his office.

The Israeli leader quoted a ​passenger as saying that passengers along with a member of the crew broke into ​the cockpit after the aircraft “entered a tailspin and began to dive” and found the co-pilot “trying to ‌sabotage ⁠the plane’s systems.”

“They saved many lives. They prevented a heavy disaster,” he said.

An Israeli official had earlier told Reuters the plane transmitted emergency signals. The aircraft’s data appeared to show that it had suddenly and rapidly descended by nearly 14,000 feet in less ​than 30 seconds before ​a first emergency ⁠signal was sent, according to flight-tracking website Flightradar24.

Around the time the plane landed in Saudi Arabia, Doron Spielman, a spokesperson for ​the Israeli prime minister’s office, told Reuters the incident was not ​believed to ⁠have been a hijacking, describing it as a “different incident”.

The Israeli officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity to brief reporters, said Israel’s current assessment is that the incident was ⁠an attempted “terror ​attack” and not related to any kind of ​mental health issue with either of the pilots.

Caleb Flynn, 40, fatally shot Ashley Flynn twice in the back of the head while she slept at their Ohio home on 16 February this year, then tried to claim that intruders had shot her.

Flynn wept in court as the jury delivered its verdict after deliberating for less than three hours.

He also was found guilty of the other eight charges against him, which included aggravated murder and tampering with evidence. He faces life in prison without parole.

Closing arguments ended on Tuesday in Flynn’s trial after eight days of testimony, including a song played in court that prosecutors say he wrote and dedicated to the woman with whom he was having an affair.

Throughout the trial, the prosecution presented evidence including police body camera footage, and activity on Flynn’s iPhone and Apple Watch around the time of the murder.

They also called dozens of witnesses, including his former mistress Alleigha Botner, whom he met while she was an intern at his church.

Some of their 100,000 exchanged text messages were read aloud in court. The defence called no witnesses.

“I was up until 4am last night crying, literally thinking of ways to kill her and not go to jail,” Flynn wrote in a message to Botner, 24, in August 2025.

In another message, he wrote: “I just want her dead and gone.”

Testifying in court, Botner said she now hates Flynn “because I believe that he murdered his wife”.

During closing arguments on Tuesday, prosecuting attorney Paul Watkins leaned heavily into Flynn’s text exchanges, which he said demonstrated the defendant’s “hatred” for his wife.

An emotional Flynn was seen in court at times sniffling and wiping tears from his eyes.

Watkins also said that when police arrived at the family home in Tipp City in the early hours on 16 February, Flynn told police he had been in his daughters’ bedroom when he heard gunfire.

Flynn said he found his 37-year-old wife dead in the bedroom, after noticing the garage side door was open. Watkins said Flynn later told investigators he had not been to the garage, contradicting his earlier statement.

Flynn’s defence lawyer Patrick Mulligan, meanwhile, told the court there was no concrete evidence, saying: “Connecting a couple of meaningless dots doesn’t solve the case.”

Mulligan said the issue was not whether Flynn was a good husband and that evidence of infidelity was not evidence of murder.

“They can’t find the gun, therefore they blame it on him?” Mulligan questioned, referring to the charge of tampering with evidence that Flynn also faced.

Flynn’s gun, which had been kept in the console of his truck, has been missing since investigators arrived at the scene and found the truck’s centre console open.

Earlier in the trial, Botner took the stand as a witness for two days, offering testimony about her nearly 18-month relationship with Flynn.

In addition to reading some of their text exchanges, she also explained the lyrics line by line from an AI-generated song.

Video of the jury’s reaction to the song, including what looked like laughter, went viral.

Prosecutors also called Joseph Wilhelm, a special agent from Ohio’s Bureau of Criminal Investigations, as a witness.

He said multiple apps were uninstalled from Flynn’s phone before his wife’s death, including Instagram and an AI-music generating app.

The music-generating app, Wilhelm said, “related to his relationship with Alleigha Botner”.

Flynn appeared in 2013 on the 12th series of American Idol. He was featured in televised auditions, and was given a “golden ticket” to go to Hollywood, but he never reached the main competition.

“Music is all I know, it’s what I live to do and I love to sing, so that’s why I auditioned,” he said in videos shown on the programme.

“Maybe my wife kinda nudged me a little, too.”

He is due to be sentenced on 5 October.

Patrick Branco Ruivo, who has been director general of the Paris landmark since 2018, will leave his job at the end of the year, the company SETE said in a statement.

It said an internal investigation found that “operational flaws and shortcomings” in organising the visit led to the “unacceptable” removal of female staff.

They were replaced by male colleagues as a delegation of around 100 people linked to the Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS) group visited the Eiffel Tower earlier this month.

BAPS – a movement whose beliefs originate in the 18th Century – strictly separates men and women, including in temple activities and building entrances.

At the time, SETE said the Hindu delegation had requested that the visit be organised so as to limit “interactions with women” and said that “these conditions should not have been accepted”.

A staff union representative said “women were asked to leave their places of work” and felt “humiliated”.

Staff at the monument said female employees were also “instructed not to go through or cross certain areas while the delegation was present”.

The visit led to the closure of the tower as staff went on strike to show their outrage and politicians condemned the incident.

Yaël Braun-Pivet, the president of France’s National Assembly, said after the visit: “I refuse to allow women to be compelled to step aside in order to meet the demands of foreign visitors.”

The Socialist mayor of Paris, Emmanuel Gregoire, called it an “absurd, unjust and unacceptable decision” and ordered two separate investigations.

SETE chair Ariel Weil said on Tuesday that he had requested measures and training programmes promoting gender equality to be implemented.

“The coming months will allow us to prepare for the leadership transition under the best possible conditions,” he said.

BAPS apologised “for any pain or inconvenience caused” earlier this month, adding “we believe in the universal values of mutual respect and service”.

On its website, the group describes itself as a “spiritual, volunteer-driven fellowship dedicated to improving society” through Hindu values.

It has temples in major cities around the world, including London, Los Angeles and Sydney.

It draws its beliefs from the teachings of Lord Swaminarayan, a late 18th-Century celibate ascetic who is regarded by his followers as an incarnation of Vishnu, the revered Hindu god of preservation.

BAPS says the segregation of men and women was introduced for the benefit of women, but critics say 18th-Century beliefs have no place in today’s world, and keeping women out in the name of religious practices is discriminatory.

The incident happened on Monday when the man, identified as 57-year-old Yaw Boahene, was leaving a Manhattan-bound train at the Utica Avenue station in Brooklyn’s Bedford-Stuyvesant neighbourhood when his shopping bag became caught between the subway’s doors.

The man was subsequently dragged backwards, pulled between train cars and onto the tracks, ABC7 reports, citing investigators.

New York police, who received a 911 call about the accident at about 6.05pm ET on Monday, said that Yaw Boahene was from Brooklyn.

“Upon arrival, officers were informed that a 57-year-old male was discovered unconscious and unresponsive on the roadbed of the northbound ‘A’ train. EMS responded and pronounced [the man] deceased [at the] scene.

The New York City Office of Chief Medical Examiner will determine the cause of death, and the investigation is ongoing,” New York police said in a statement.

Speaking to ABC7, a witness said she was returning home from school when the incident unfolded, prompting people on the subway platform to panic.

While subway accidents are rare, in 2022 a 20-year-old man was killed after his clothes were caught between the doors of a 1 train at Columbus Circle station in Manhattan during rush hour.

According to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which oversees New York City’s transit system, subway customer accidents increased slightly in 2025 by 2%.

However, the MTA noted, “Ridership grew at a greater rate than accidents,” adding: “As a result, the 12-month rate decreased by 4.7%.”

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• Twelve women killed in one part of South Africa since July; here’s what we…

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The latest bodies were found in Ekurhuleni between Saturday and Monday morning, according to local police.

Police have made arrests in three of the cases, which do not appear to be related to the others. Nevertheless, police have said they cannot rule out the possibility of a serial killer.

The discoveries have caused widespread alarm in Ekurhuleni, particularly around Kempton Park, and come against the backdrop of longstanding concerns about high levels of violence against women in South Africa.

Here’s what we know.

Busisiwe Mahlangu

Case 1

Busisiwe Mahlangu’s body was found in Kempton Park on 15 July 2026, the first of a string of bodies found in Ekurhuleni within a two-month period. The 37-year-old was found naked with her hands bound with cable ties.

Police arrested a suspect, believed to be her partner, two days after her murder. He has been in police custody since then and has not been linked to the other deaths that followed.

Itumeleng Kekana

Case 2

Itumeleng Kekana, 32, was the second woman whose body was found in the same area on 3 August 2026.

The young mother disappeared in July and her body was found badly bruised, partially clothed and dumped on a bridge in Kempton Park.

No arrests have been made so far.

Nomfesane Mjobo

Case 3

Nomfesane Mjobo’s body was found on 26 August, also in Kempton Park.

Few details around her death have been released but like most of the victims, she was found partially or fully naked with bruises.

No arrests have been made.

Unknown woman

Case 4

Police confirmed the discovery of an unknown woman, in her 20s, on 7 September. The woman’s body was found floating in a river in Olifantsfontain wearing only her underwear.

No further details have been shared about her death and no arrests have been made.

Gracious Nkomo

Case 5

Gracious Nkomo was the fifth woman whose body was discovered, again in the Kempton Park area.

Her partially clothed body was found on 10 September along a road close to South Africa’s busiest airport. No arrests have been made in the 28-year-old’s death.

Elizabeth “Tsontso” Moselakgomo

Case 6

Elizabeth Moselakgomo was the sixth woman to be found, after a highly publicised nationwide search for her. The 38-year-old went missing while out for a daily run near her home in Kempton Park.

Her body was found badly bruised and partially clothed on 12 September. It was the discovery of her body that really raised the alarm about the spate of killings. No arrests have been made in her case.

Unidentified woman

Case 7

Police confirmed the discovery of another body just two days after Moselakgomo was found. The body was found in Olifantsfontein on 14 September, but police have withheld her name as her family has not yet been informed.

No arrests have been made.

Dineo Motapane

Case 8

The body of Dineo Motapane, 38, was discovered on 15 September just two days after she was last seen alive.

Motapane’s battered and partly burned body was found on the side of the road in Springs, another part of Ekurhuleni.

She leaves behind a young child. No arrests have been made in her case.

Jabulile Ntimba

Case 9

The body of Jabulile Ntimba, in her 30s, was discovered half-naked and wrapped in a sheet on the side of a road in Boksburg on 17 September. This was the ninth body found in Ekurhuleni.

According to police, it appears Ntimba was killed because of a possible love triangle. Three people, two women and a man, were initially arrested for her grisly murder but the man was released due to insufficient evidence.

The two women have been charged with premeditated murder and defeating the ends of justice.

Ntombifuthi Nxumalo

Case 10

The body of Ntombifuthi Nxumalo, the 10th body found in Ekurhuleni, was discovered at a cemetery in the Tembisa neighbourhood north-east of central Johannesburg on 26 September. She was found naked with serious head injuries as well as stones near her body.

This has led to police believing she may have been stoned to death.

A 36-year-old man was arrested a day after Nxumalo’s death after he had travelled to another province. He faces a murder charge.

Unidentified woman

Case 11

The body of a yet-to-be identified woman was found in Springs on Sunday – the 11th body found in Ekurhuleni.

The grim discovery was made by a security company patrolling the area.

The woman was found in an open field, but no further details have been shared.

No arrests have been made.

Unidentified woman

Case 12

Another woman was shot and killed on Monday in Tembisa Ekurhuleni, this time in an apparent robbery. The 23-year-old woman was on her way to work when she was gunned down and her belongings were also taken.

She has not yet been named.

This is the 12th body found in the same area but police have not found any link between this case and the discovery of the other bodies.

While most of the bodies were found in the same area, police confirmed the discovery of another body about 39 miles (63 km) away from Ekurhuleni on 20 September.

The body of a young woman, believed to be in her 20s, was found wrapped in a duvet in a dam in Soweto, south-west of Johannesburg.

It’s unclear if her murder is linked to those in Ekurhuleni.

President Cyril Ramaphosa said the killing of these women and others was a “stain on our national conscience”.

South Africa has one of the highest homicide rates, with 5,427 people murdered between April and June this year alone.

South African police statistics do not differentiate victims by gender but the South African Human Rights Commission said last week that 569 women were killed between April and June this year. This works out as an average of six women killed each day.

Police have set up a task team to investigate these murders and have offered a reward of 400,000 rand ($24,000; £18,000) for information that could lead to arrests.

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• 10th woman found dead in South Africa’s string of killings

• Two mass shootings in South Africa leave 27 dead

Audio firm Taction Technology claimed in 2021 that Apple had infringed two of its patents for haptics systems, which enable vibrations for actions such as receiving a message or pressing a button.

This tech is built into devices like the iPhone and Apple Watch.

Apple has been approached for comment. In a statement given to news outlets including CNBC, the company said it had not used Taction’s vibration tech and would appeal the verdict.

“While we thank the jury for their consideration, we strongly disagree with today’s verdict and the damages awarded, which are entirely unsupported by the facts,” Apple said.

“Apple’s Taptic Engine is fundamentally different from Taction’s technology, which Taction’s own testing of Apple’s products confirmed during trial.”

Haptics allow people to interact with devices by simulating the sense of touch or feel through vibrations.

They have become a hallmark of modern devices, with smartphones, watches and video game controllers among those containing small motors that move in response to specific electronic signals.

Apple’s “Taptic Engine” system—enabling haptic feedback in its devices—first debuted with the Apple Watch in 2014.

Since then, it has improved its underlying system, and with that expanded haptics in its devices.

Taction, which makes headphones and gaming headsets, claimed in 2021 that these improvements infringed patents it was issued in 2020.

It wrote in its complaint that by producing better haptic vibrations in its devices, Apple had been able to improve its overall user experience.

As such, the tech giant had been “capitalising on Taction’s innovation and success by selling devices that infringe [its] patents”, Taction said.

It also accused Apple of using its inventions “without license or authority.”

A San Diego judge ruled in 2023 that Apple did not infringe upon Taction’s patents.

However, an appeal was subsequently taken up by a federal appeal circuit – resulting in a September jury trial at the US District Court for the Southern District of California which found in its favour.

In Friday’s verdict, jurors did not find that Apple had infringed the patents in question willingly.

It marks one of many similar lawsuits the tech giant has defended itself against in recent years.

In November 2025 a judge ordered Apple to pay $634m to medical tech firm Masimo after a jury found it had infringed a patent for blood-oxygen reading tech.

In his first comments on the recent military developments, Army Chief of Staff Field Marshal Berhanu Jula said the army was responding to what he called provocations from the Tigray front with “wisdom and restraint”.

He accused Eritrea of funding and supporting armed groups to weaken Ethiopia, describing the “Tsimdo” alliance as an extension of a longstanding pattern of hostile alliances, which he said cannot confront the state without outside backing.

Eritrea, wary that landlocked Ethiopia may be seeking to invade it to gain access to the Red Sea, denied the accusations.

The fighting has spread from Tigray into neighbouring Afar and Amhara regions after seven armed groups announced an alliance, the Ethiopian Peoples’ Forces Alliance for Survival, committed to removing Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s government.

In Afar, the latest battles have taken place around Abala, where the military has been trying to prevent rebels from seizing control.

Separately, in North Wollo, a zone of Amhara bordering Tigray, the army said on Thursday it had killed 272 Tigrayan fighters and wounded 260 in a counter-offensive, reporting heavy losses for the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF).

The TPLF’s Tigray Army said the federal government had launched a “full-scale offensive” involving infantry, mechanised units and drones.

Addisalem Balema, a TPLF central committee member, told Al Jazeera the situation had become a “full war”.

Fighting has also continued around Sama, Soqota and Raya Alamata, with government forces reportedly closing in on the town of Alamata.

The army command said it prefers a strategy of “strategic calm” over a large-scale military confrontation, arguing the Tigray front’s popular support is dwindling and its leadership divided.

Internet access was reportedly cut across northern Ethiopia on Friday, a day after the UN said it was alarmed by reports of drones being used against civilians there.

The renewed fighting has put the 2022 Pretoria Agreement, which ended a brutal two-year civil war in Tigray, under severe strain. It comes weeks after Washington lifted sanctions on Ethiopia and Eritrea tied to atrocities from the last war, saying the “national emergency … has expired”.

It marks the most serious challenge yet to that agreement, raising fears of a wider regional conflict that could draw in armed groups from across Ethiopia.

Addressing the UN General Assembly, Ethiopia’s president sought to portray the country as a force for regional stability, accusing unnamed external actors of meddling in Ethiopia’s affairs while highlighting Addis Ababa’s role in supporting peace efforts in neighbouring Sudan.

Alemayehu Weldemariam, a professor of law at Indiana University, told Al Jazeera that the federal government bears much of the blame for the collapse of the Pretoria Agreement.

“This war has been in the making for a while now. Much of the provisions in the cessation of hostilities [in the 2022 agreement] were primarily sabotaged by the federal government itself,” he said, citing fuel, service and cash restrictions imposed on Tigray, and the government’s failure to set up the interim administration the deal had promised.

“What was supposed to be an interim arrangement turned out to be permanent,” with Tigray excluded from national elections since,” he added.

Services provided by state-owned telecoms operator Ethio Telecom have been completely cut, although those from the smaller private firm Safaricom remain operational.

Internet monitoring group NetBlocks earlier posted on X that network data indicated a sub-national internet shutdown in northern Tigray.

“Last night telecommunications got knocked out,” Duke Burbridge, an American humanitarian worker in Tigray’s capital, Mekelle, told the BBC’s Newsday programme.

The BBC has contacted Ethiopia’s authorities for comment.

Sources have told the Reuters news agency that the group which controls Tigray, the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), ordered the communications blackout, with one suggesting it was to disrupt government drones.

The TPLF has not commented.

The BBC is unable to report from Tigray and surrounding areas.

Even before the current disruption, finding video and images to establish what is happening on the ground has been a challenge.

So far, other than footage from Mekelle, most of what has been shared online has been from outside the region.

Burbridge said there had been a scarcity of cash in Tigray for the past eight months, with people unable to access ATMs so the lack of internet services would be “devastating for everybody”.

Many people rely on banking and mobile money applications for transactions, with the majority using Ethio Telecom and Safaricom’s networks to access these services.

On Thursday a Mekelle resident who we are only identifying as Fitsum made a similar point.

He told the BBC “there is almost no cash” in the city.

With the outbreak of war, people were limiting their movements and the city was all quiet – “it’s like a curfew has been placed,” he said.

Clashes between Tigrayan forces and their allies and Ethiopia’s federal troops broke out on Wednesday, prompting fears of a return to a full scale civil war and reports of panic buying.

A humanitarian source in the neighbouring region of Afar told the AFP news agency there was “heavy fighting overnight”, including drone strikes, around the town of Abala in the mountains between Afar and Tigray, as “federal forces pushed the rebels from entering the town”.

There have also been reports of fighting near the town of Lalibela in the Amhara region, which is home to churches hewn out of rock, recognised as a UN World Heritage site. The US has warned against travel to all three regions.

During the two-year conflict which ended in 2022, Tigray was totally cut off from the outside world.

Limited access to cash, food and medicine pushed hundreds of thousands into famine-like conditions.

It was one of the most deadly conflicts this century – with estimates that some 600,000 people died as the fighting drove the region to the precipice of famine.

On Sunday, the TPLF announced an alliance with six other armed groups to oust the government.

On Wednesday, its forces seized control of three airports from federal police.

Following the seizure of the airports, Ethiopian Airlines has cancelled all flights to Tigray.

The unnamed woman filed a lawsuit in 2024 claiming she had been drugged and raped by Jay-Z, real name Shawn Carter, and Sean “Diddy” Combs at a party after the MTV Video Music Awards in 2000.

The stars denied the allegation and she dropped the lawsuit last year. Carter then sued her and her lawyers.

In a statement filed in that case on Thursday, she wrote: “Shawn ‘Jay-Z’ Carter never raped me. I have never met or spoken to Mr. Carter. Mr. Carter never engaged in any inappropriate conduct toward me whatsoever.”

The woman, known in court documents by the pseudonym Jane Doe, also said: “My claims that Mr Carter and Mr Combs raped me while a third celebrity, [name redacted] watched are false. There is no truth to any of my claims against Mr Carter.

“I understand my false accusations have caused Mr Carter immense pain, suffering, and damage that can never be fully undone.”

Jay-Z and family’s ‘trauma’

Carter had vehemently denied the accusations, saying they were a “blackmail attempt” and describing them as “frivolous, fictitious and appalling allegations”.

When the accuser dropped her case in February 2025, the rapper, who is married to singer Beyoncé, said: “The trauma that my wife, my children, loved ones and I have endured can never be dismissed.”

The woman, from Alabama, has now been removed from Carter’s lawsuit.

She said she had not received any money from the rap superstar or anyone acting on his behalf, and had not been paid to make her latest declaration.

The rapper is still suing the woman’s former lawyers, led by Tony Buzbee.

In a statement to Rolling Stone, which first reported Jane Doe’s new declaration, Buzbee said he had not seen it.

He said: “We have multiple lawyers (at least four) who dealt with Ms Doe long before she met me. She gave the exact same story to each. If for some reason now she is claiming she lied to us and the court, that’s new information.”

When Carter filed his lawsuit against the woman and her lawyers in February 2025, Buzbee claimed at the time that Carter’s investigators had “repeatedly harassed, threatened and harangued this poor woman for weeks, trying to intimidate her and make her recant her story”.

In her new declaration, the woman said: “I never received any threat from Mr Carter or anyone acting on his behalf.”

‘No due diligence’

Setting out the events that led to her allegation, the woman said she saw an advert on Facebook in September or October 2024 looking for people who might have sexual assault claims against Combs. “The ad triggered memories of being raped when I was 13 years old,” she said.

She was contacted by a law firm but was not provided with a draft of the lawsuit containing her allegations and did not authorise it before it was filed in October 2024, she said.

She also said Buzbee and other lawyers acting on her behalf filed it “without conducting any independent investigation, background inquiry, or due diligence, and without obtaining any corroboration of the allegations”.

She said: “The October Complaint alleges that Mr Carter and Mr Combs raped me when I was a minor while an unnamed celebrity watched. As discussed above, these allegations were false.”

Buzbee also represents numerous other people who have made allegations against Combs.

Combs denied Jane Doe’s claims, which his lawyer described at the time as one of a number of civil cases “pushed forward by an attorney more focused on media headlines than legal merit”.

The BBC has contacted Buzbee for comment.

In July 2025, Combs was convicted by a criminal court on prostitution-related charges involving his two ex-girlfriends, and is currently serving a four-year prison sentence.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs disclosed this following a meeting between Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs, James Gyakye Quayson, and Morocco’s Ambassador to Ireland and Dean of the African Diplomatic Corps in Dublin, Dr Lahcen Mahraoui.

The meeting formed part of Mr Quayson’s official working visit to Ireland ahead of the planned reopening of Ghana’s Mission there.

The two diplomats discussed matters of mutual interest, including opportunities to strengthen Ghana-Ireland relations and promote closer cooperation among African diplomatic missions in Ireland.

The Ministry said the engagement reflects Ghana’s commitment to sustained dialogue and collaboration as it works to deepen diplomatic partnerships and advance shared interests.

The reopening of the mission is expected to provide a stronger platform for Ghana to engage with Ireland on areas of mutual interest.

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• The agreement, signed in New ​York on Wednesday by Alake and ​US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau, ⁠covers geological data, mineral exploration, mineral development ​and processing, infrastructure, and technical capacity building
• The deal ​follows Washington’s push to strengthen ties with mineral-producing countries and diversify supply chains for critical minerals used ​in technologies such as electric vehicle batteries ​and renewable energy infrastructure
• Nigeria estimates its mineral resources are ‌worth ⁠about $700 billion and is seeking to diversify the economy away from oil
• “Nigeria cannot remain a source of raw materials while others capture ​most of ​the value. ⁠We want more local processing, quality jobs, stronger skills and greater ​opportunities for Nigerian businesses,” Alake said ​in ⁠a statement
• Nigeria hopes the partnership will help attract investment into its largely underdeveloped mining industry, ⁠including ​the emerging lithium sector, ​where Chinese companies have been among the most active foreign ​investors

“But we do not ​wish to continue. It’s America that must choose whether ​it wants to end this or not,” Pezeshkian said, ⁠responding to the question in an interview aired on ​Thursday on Fox News’ “Special Report with Bret Baier” show.

Iran’s president ​told the UN General Assembly on Wednesday Tehran would never surrender to US pressure as the two sides have remained far apart on how ​to end the war.

US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday ​he could “annihilate” Iran if there is no deal to end the war, ‌but ⁠also suggested an agreement could come soon.

Trump has offered shifting goals and timelines for the war that began on February 28 when the US and Israel attacked Iran and Tehran responded ​with its own ​strikes on ⁠Israel and Gulf states that host US bases.

US-Israeli strikes on Iran and Israeli attacks on Lebanon ​have killed thousands and displaced millions.

Trump has cited weakening ​Iran’s nuclear ⁠capabilities as one of his war objectives.

Iran, which does not have nuclear weapons, denies seeking them. The US is nuclear-armed.

Tehran ⁠says it ​has the right to develop nuclear ​technology for peaceful purposes as a party to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

For Saturday’s afternoon celebration, an altar has been built on the Place de la Concorde, and police have sealed off a large area around the Champs-Élysées.

Some 600,000 Catholic faithful are expected to cram the avenue up to the Arc de Triomphe and beyond.

Large crowds are also expected at other stages of the Pope’s itinerary, reflecting an enthusiasm the Church attributes to growing spiritual thirst among the French and other Europeans.

President Emmanuel Macron will greet the Pope at Orly airport on Friday morning, and then hold talks with him at the Élysée Palace on geopolitical issues and artificial intelligence (AI). He will also deliver a speech with the Pope in Metz.

However, the president will not be at any of the Pope’s Masses, largely to avoid breaching France’s strict separation of state and religion.

Instead, his wife Brigitte and Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu will attend the Champs-Élysées Mass. Several candidates for next year’s presidential election are also due, including Marine Le Pen of the nationalist right, centrists Edouard Philippe and Gabriel Attal, and conservative Bruno Retailleau.

There were reports of tensions between Macron and the Vatican team sent to make arrangements, with the president allegedly frustrated in his wish for a more ceremonial aspect to the visit.

This was dismissed this week by Élysée officials, who said it was customary to offer a visiting head of state – which the Pope is – a range of high-profile events, such as a cavalry escort down the Champs-Élysées. But they said they never expected the Pope to take the offer up.

They did confirm that Pope Leo turned down Macron’s idea of a meeting with artisans who helped rebuild the fire-devastated Notre-Dame cathedral. They said his agenda was too tight.

After a Popemobile ride through crowds to Notre-Dame Cathedral on Friday afternoon, Pope Leo XIV will be joined in the evening by 80,000 young people at the Stade de France in northern Paris.

On Sunday 150,000 have signed up to attend mass in the Pyrenean sanctuary of Lourdes.

On Monday the Pope will be in Metz, in northeast France, where he will pay tribute to Robert Schuman (1886-1963), a founding father of the European Union and a fervent Catholic who is today a candidate for beatification.

The Pope will also meet a group of migrants in Paris, and in Lourdes some victims of sexual abuse by members of the Catholic clergy.

Born in Chicago in 1955, Pope Leo XIV was originally called Robert Prevost – a French name.

In fact his paternal grandmother was born in Le Havre in Normandy in 1894. When she married in the US many years later, she and her Italian husband took the name Prevost, her mother’s maiden name.

France has a historically complex relationship with the Catholic Church of Rome. The country was long known as the “Eldest Daughter of the Church” because, supposedly but inaccurately, it was the first kingdom to convert to Christianity. Actually, Armenia, Georgia and Ethiopia preceded it.

In the 14th century, the papacy came into exile in Avignon in southern France, and over the following centuries French armies periodically intervened in Italian politics, where popes were secular rulers as well as heads of the Church.

Napoleon held two popes in captivity.

Recent popes have all come to France, most notably John-Paul II, who came several times between 1980 and 2004, and Pope Francis who came three times, but avoided Paris, going instead to Strasbourg, Marseilles and Corsica.

Today France has secularised with the rest of Europe, and less than half of the population identifies as Catholic.

The number of regular worshippers has fallen from 35% of the population in 1960 to less than 5% today, while the number of priests has shrunk by two-thirds from 25,000 in 1990 to fewer than 9,000.

But in recent years there have been signs of a growing interest in religious tradition, with the number of adult baptisms more than doubling in five years to hit 10,000 in 2025.

“France has indeed secularised, but there is a void where God and values used to be,” said Cardinal François Bustillo, Bishop of Ajaccio.

“People are searching for something. Maybe they go to India or Tibet or the Amazon. And now the Pope comes here from Rome, bringing a reminder to people of their own roots.

“It was John-Paul II who awoke the East. Now Leo XIV will awake the West,” he said.

Natalie and Joshua Strong say they spent years navigating injections, hormones, medication and the emotional strain of fertility treatment before finally welcoming their long-awaited baby girl in 2025.

But what should have been one of the happiest moments of their lives quickly turned into a devastating discovery.

According to the couple and their lawsuit, routine blood work conducted after their daughter was born showed that her blood type was incompatible with Joshua being her biological father. A subsequent DNA test reportedly found a zero per cent probability that Joshua was the child’s biological father.

The couple now alleges that Brown Fertility in Jacksonville, Florida, mistakenly used another man’s sperm to create the embryo that resulted in their daughter.

The clinic has denied the allegation.

Natalie said the discovery was particularly difficult because it came almost immediately after she had given birth.

“I was so happy I had her and I love her more than anything in the world. But to hear that right after you have your baby is devastating,” she told CBS News.

Despite the circumstances surrounding her conception, Natalie stressed that the revelation has not changed how she feels about her daughter.

The couple’s IVF journey began in 2023, when they sought to have a biological child together. Their first attempt was unsuccessful, forcing Natalie to go through another round of injections, hormones and medication before the second attempt resulted in a pregnancy.

“We finally got our beautiful baby girl, and it was the best day of my life,” she recalled.

Their happiness, however, was short-lived.

Joshua said he became suspicious after being told their newborn daughter was B positive, while both he and Natalie have negative blood types. The lawsuit alleges that the result raised questions about the child’s biological parentage.

“Within a day they told us her blood type and I pretty much knew immediately that something was messed up at that point,” Joshua said.

The subsequent DNA test confirmed that suspicion, leaving the couple searching for an explanation for how an embryo created through their IVF treatment could have resulted in a child who was not biologically related to Joshua.

They are now suing Brown Fertility and lead physician Dr Samuel Brown as they seek answers about the identity of their daughter’s biological father and what happened to Joshua’s sperm.

The case has also raised another deeply troubling question for the couple: whether Joshua’s sperm could have been mistakenly used in another patient’s IVF treatment.

“We have no idea if they still have it, if they’ve used it elsewhere,” Joshua told CNN. “If there are other potential children somewhere, we have no idea.”

The Strongs say they still have three embryos stored at the clinic, but they do not know whose sperm was used in those embryos.

For Joshua, the uncertainty has added another layer to an already painful situation. While he says he loves his daughter and is grateful to have her, he has described the experience as an emotional struggle that remains difficult to process.

“I think about it every day,” he said at a press conference. “It’s just overwhelming at times.”

The couple’s lawsuit now seeks to establish what went wrong during the IVF process, identify the biological father of their daughter and determine whether any other embryos or patients may have been affected.

For Natalie and Joshua, the questions go far beyond a laboratory error. They say the discovery has changed their understanding of the family they spent years fighting to build, even as they remain determined to raise and love the daughter they had long hoped for.

In a major setback for Trump in one of his biggest battles with the media, US District Judge Tim Kelly issued his order in a lawsuit that the news organizations filed contesting the ban that the Republican president announced on September 18.

Kelly ordered the Trump administration to ​immediately return the outlets’ press passes and blocked officials from enforcing the ban for 14 days. The judge rejected the government’s assertion that the ​ban was motivated by national security concerns.

“The record lacks factual support for defendants’ contention that the revocation of plaintiffs’ hard ⁠passes will in fact protect national security or that national security will be endangered if the court orders their passes reinstated while this litigation proceeds,” he ​said, adding that Trump himself had stated the ban was due to “alleged lack of truthfulness and negativity” of the outlets’ reporting.

The White House and representatives for the ​outlets did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Trump had said on social media that the three outlets “shouldn’t be able to constantly write or report FICTION and LIES,” and Justice Department lawyers had sought to justify the ban on national security grounds.

The three outlets sued Trump and other members of his administration in federal court in Washington on Monday, saying the ban ​violated the US Constitution’s First Amendment protections for free speech and a free press, as well as their due process rights.

They requested a temporary restraining ​order that would immediately reinstate their White House access while their legal challenge plays out.

The legal battle has unfolded just weeks before the November 3 midterm elections in which Trump’s ‌fellow Republicans ⁠are fighting to retain control of Congress. Trump’s job approval ratings are at record lows in opinion polls amid concerns over issues such as the Iran war and inflation.

Kelly said at a Wednesday hearing that two precedents from the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit made clear that journalists are entitled to due process before their White House press passes can be revoked.

The judge added that it did not appear that the White House had given the ​targeted news outlets a meaningful opportunity to ​contest the revocation of their access.

A ⁠lawyer for the news outlets told Kelly that they were banned without legally required advance notice or opportunity to contest the decisions, which he said were unprecedented, unreasonable and severe punishments.

A Justice Department lawyer told the judge that the Trump administration provided a sufficient explanation for the revocation of press passes in letters sent to news outlets on Tuesday. But the judge ⁠signalled scepticism about that argument, noting that the letters were sent after the revocation and the lawsuit were filed.

In a legal filing on Tuesday, the Justice Department argued that access to the White House is a privilege, not an entitlement, and that the president has the authority to suspend access by news organisations.

A coalition of press ⁠freedom groups ​and dozens of news organizations filed a legal brief on Wednesday supporting the three news outlets. ​They asserted that “stripping journalists and news outlets of their rights because of perceived editorial viewpoint violates decades of Supreme Court jurisprudence.”

The brief was signed by the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, Reuters, The Washington Post, and Fox News, among others.

The 48-year-old was fatally wounded in a shooting reported near Lake Road, between Murphysboro and Carbondale, at about 5 p.m. on Saturday.

The Jackson County Sheriff’s Office said deputies who responded to the scene found Akamani injured, and he was subsequently taken to Memorial Hospital of Carbondale, where he was pronounced dead.

Dr Akamani was a professor in SIU Carbondale’s Department of Forestry, where he taught subjects including forest recreation and conservation social science.

His death has triggered an investigation by the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office, which said his 35-year-old wife, Betty Akamani, had been arrested in connection with the incident and was facing multiple charges.

Authorities said the circumstances surrounding the shooting remain under investigation and cautioned that the case was still in its early stages.

The Jackson County Ambulance Service, Jackson County Coroner’s Office and Jackson County State’s Attorney’s Office assisted the sheriff’s office with the investigation. No further details have been released by authorities.

Dr Akamani’s academic journey began in Ghana at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), where he earned a Bachelor of Science in Development Planning with a specialisation in Urban Planning.

He later obtained an MPhil from the University of Oslo’s Centre for Development and the Environment in 2006 before earning a PhD in Natural Resources from the University of Idaho.

During his doctoral studies, he returned to Ghana for six months to research collaborative forest management and its impact on the social and ecological resilience of two forest-dependent communities in the Ashanti Region

Under the plans, there would be a gradual approach to children using social media which would include banning under-13s from accessing platforms.

Those aged 13 to 15 would only be able to access platforms for an hour per day via “mini accounts” set up through their parent’s or guardian’s social media account.

The European Commission said social media companies would need to prove platforms were safe by design or face fines of up to 6% of their global sales. EU chief Ursula von der Leyen said the move would “put parents back in the driving seat”.

She added the legislation – called the EU Kids Act – would give parents “the tools to help their children navigate a safer world”.

The restrictions would not just affect well-known apps such as TikTok, Instagram, and Snapchat but also YouTube and other video sharing platforms as well as AI chatbots and online games.

“Too many children are being exposed too early to an online world they are not ready to navigate – an environment where bullying can follow you home, where every mistake can be recorded forever,” von der Leyen said.

Under the act, only children aged 15 and over would be able to set up their own social media accounts.

But von der Leyen told the EU Parliament on Thursday that “an age limit does not mean letting tech companies off the hook for the content on the platform.”

She added that under the legislation, if it is approved, companies would be required to submit detailed child safety plans.

“For every person under 18, the platforms must follow the principle of safety by design, no toxic or addictive features, no traps, etc,” she said.

Some individual EU countries have already announced their own plans to restrict social media for children, including France and Spain.

The proposed EU-wide legislation would supersede those, and member states will not be able to opt out from what would be a legally binding regulation.

It is understood the Commission has warned some member states they would need to repeal any national laws passed before the EU Kids Act comes into effect.

The new plans need to be agreed by EU member states and approved by the European Parliament.

Already there are questions about how this EU-wide legislation would be enforced and the plans are likely to face opposition in the months to come.

France provides an indication of how the path ahead could be bumpy as individual member states may try to strengthen or weaken the proposals.

The Macron government drew up legislation for a ban on social media for under-15s but last month the country’s top court blocked it, ruling that it infringed upon freedom of expression.

French ministers have now amended their original plans.

Some critics of social media bans for children cite privacy concerns.

They worry about teenagers being forced to submit personal information as they go through an age verification process to prove they are old enough to access platforms.

The Commission has said age would be verified using the EU’s preexisting age verification app, and no personal data would be collected or shared.

Social media companies will also make their position on the restrictions clear as the act is debated in the months to come.

Von der Leyen had previously proposed a social media “delay” for children in Europe, saying in May that “the discussion about a minimum age for social media can no longer be ignored.”

The policy, formally outlined on Thursday, was also trailed in the EU chief’s annual address on Wednesday.

In July, the EU said Meta must change the “addictive” design of Facebook and Instagram or face a heavy fine.

In preliminary findings, the European Commission said features such as infinite scroll, autoplaying videos and personalised recommendations could encourage “compulsive use”, particularly among children and teens.

A spokesperson for the tech giant told the BBC it disagreed with the findings, “which don’t accurately take into account the significant steps we’ve taken to protect teens.”

In a separate case, Meta agreed in August to a $18bn (£13.3bn) settlement with US states and territories to resolve claims that Facebook and Instagram harmed children. It denied any wrongdoing as part of the settlement.

The European Commission said its proposed legislation built on findings from its special panel on child safety online, which recommended age-appropriate regulation for children, with different guidance for each age group.

It also cited recent EU survey data, which found 92% of respondents considered the need to strengthen children’s protection online as a top policy priority.

Von der Leyen said the Commission had “looked at Australia,” which banned social media platforms for under-16s last year, when putting together the proposal.

The ban has been difficult for the country to enforce, with its Communications Minister Anika Wells admitting earlier this month that so far no tech firm had been fined despite research showing many under-16s were still on platforms.

A similar ban for under-16s is set to come into force in the UK in spring next year.

Nusrat Osman, 47, was freed on Thursday during an operation on the outskirts of the southern city of Blantyre, police said.

Officers exchanged gunfire with the suspected kidnappers, who police said were armed with an AK-47 rifle and a pistol.

“The criminals got shot and were rushed to the hospital where they succumbed to the injuries,” the Malawi Police Service said in a statement.

Deputy Inspector General of Police Noel Kayira, who was involved in the operation, also sustained gunshot injuries and is being treated in hospital. The police statement said he was in a stable condition.

Osman was reunited with her family following the rescue and was also taken to hospital for treatment, and for physical and mental health assessments, local media reported.

Osman’s younger brother, Shobi Jiwa, praised the Malawian police for securing her release, telling the UK’s Sun newspaper that the family was deeply grateful for the force’s efforts in investigating the kidnapping.

He also paid tribute to Kayira, the police chief who was shot during the rescue operation, describing him as the family’s “hero” for putting his own life at risk to save her.

Police have not identified the four suspected kidnappers who were killed and have not provided further details about how officers located the group.

Osman was abducted by four unidentified men in Blantyre’s Mount Pleasant neighbourhood on 11 September.

Police said she had been driving home when the men blocked her vehicle, forced her into another car and drove away.

Her disappearance prompted a major search operation, with authorities offering a reward of 30 million Malawian kwacha ($17,000; £12,500) for information leading to her rescue and the arrest and conviction of those responsible.

Osman, who is from Leicester in the UK, has lived in Malawi for several years and works for an auditing firm. She is married and has two young children.

The UK Foreign Office earlier told the BBC that it was aware of reports that a British national had been abducted in Malawi and was in touch with local authorities.

The case had puzzled investigators because police said there had been no known ransom demand or communication from the kidnappers following her disappearance.

Her family had made emotional public appeals for her safe return, describing the disappearance as deeply distressing and urging anyone with information to contact police.

The kidnapping also caused concern among Malawi’s business community and British nationals living in the southern African country, where abductions of foreign nationals are relatively uncommon.

Police have not disclosed a possible motive or said whether they believe other people were involved.

They said investigations were continuing to establish the full circumstances surrounding the kidnapping and the subsequent rescue operation.

Authorities have urged the public to remain calm while the investigation continues.

Conflict in Ukraine and the Middle East has tightened oil and gas supplies globally, ​driving fuel prices to record highs in some countries ahead of peak harvest ​and winter demand.

The Reuters Power Up newsletter by columnist Ron Bousso provides everything you need to know about the global energy industry.

Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger depend heavily on fuel imports ⁠from coastal neighbours including Ghana and Ivory Coast. The three Sahelian countries are ​ruled by military governments that seized power in coups and are battling Islamist insurgencies linked ​to al Qaeda and Islamic State.

BOST managed to supply only half of the 80,000 metric tons of fuel Burkina Faso requested in July and August, Awoonor told Reuters on the sidelines of an ​energy conference in Bangkok.

During the same period, BOST exported 10,000 tons of fuel to ​Mali, though the country had requested an extra 40,000 tons for August and September, he added.

In Ghana, where fuel importer and distributor BOST holds a 30% market share, diesel consumption continues to grow as economic activity expands, Awoonor said.

“Supply is available, but it’s at a high cost,” Awoonor said, adding that sharp increases in demand had strained supplies and complicated efforts ​to keep domestic fuel ​prices stable. Diesel accounts ⁠for two-thirds of BOST’s supplies.

Ghana’s fuel prices rose earlier this year on global supply fears but have since eased, helped ​by a stronger currency and government intervention.

Awoonor also said BOST plans to build a liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) terminal in the industrial city of Tema by the fourth quarter next year and to start importing cooking gas.

The company plans to build an LPG ⁠storage ​facility in Kumasi, Ghana’s second-largest city, to distribute the ​fuel, he said, adding that the plan was to build terminals at six locations in phases.

Brent crude futures dropped $1.24, or 1.2%, to $104.59 a barrel by 0049 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures were down $1.14, or 1.1%, at $101.29. Both contracts ​fell about $3 on Wednesday.

“Concerns over supply tightness eased slightly following news that Saudi Arabia would ​ship cargo via Oman,” said Hiroyuki Kikukawa, chief strategist of Nissan Securities Investment, ⁠a unit of Nissan Securities.

“Expectations of progress toward easing tensions in the Middle East ahead of ​the U.S.-China summit next week are also capping price gains,” he added.

Saudi Arabia is offering more crude oil loadings to Asian refiners via ship-to-ship transfers off Oman’s Sohar port, people familiar with the matter said, blunting some of the impact on global supply from attacks on Saudi Arabia’s East-West pipeline to the Red Sea.

Oil prices rose ​to about four-month highs earlier this week after shipping industry sources said crude loadings at Saudi ​Arabia’s Red Sea export hub of Yanbu had been suspended and Riyadh had cancelled some cargo deliveries to European customers. The ‌suspension followed attacks ⁠on the East-West pipeline, which feeds the Saudi port of Yanbu.

Yanbu became Saudi Arabia’s main outlet for oil exports after Iran began blockading the Strait of Hormuz after the U.S. and Israel attacked the country at the end of February. Prior to the war, Hormuz was the conduit for one-fifth of ​the world’s oil supply.

Two pumping stations serving the East-West pipeline were damaged in an attack last week, with the repair timeline unclear, according to assessments from three oil and security sources.

Despite the oil price decline on Thursday, worries about the intensifying war in the Middle East remain.

Saudi warplanes pounded ​Yemen and ⁠Houthi fighters launched drones and missiles at Saudi cities, the Iran-backed movement said on Wednesday, after a lightning advance that has extended Tehran’s reach in the Middle East war.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Energy Information Administration on ⁠Wednesday reported ​a smaller-than-expected draw from U.S. crude inventories last week. Crude oil ​stocks in the top-producing nation fell about 640,000 barrels last week, the EIA data showed, compared to expectations of a 1.62 ​million-barrel draw according to a Reuters poll of energy analysts.

The Trump administration has criticised South Africa over several issues, including policies aimed at addressing racial inequality that it says discriminate against Afrikaners, descendants mainly of Dutch and French settlers.

South Africa has repeatedly denied the claim.

“The South African government has not adequately addressed the previously laid ​out concerns,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement announcing the restrictions on Tuesday.

He said the visa restrictions would target those who promote “race-based discrimination, incite violence, or enable land confiscation without compensation in South Africa.”

Rubio did not immediately name any individuals targeted by the restrictions.

Relations between the two countries have been on a downward spiral since President Donald Trump returned to office early last year, with the US leader cutting aid, expelling the South African ambassador and offering “refuge” to white South Africans fleeing “persecution.”

But the South African government has repeatedly rejected allegations that it is persecuting white people or confiscating their land.

It said claims of a white genocide had been widely discredited and lacked reliable evidence.

South Africa’s latest crime statistics do not indicate that more white people have fallen victim to violent crime than other racial groups.

Trump offered refugee status to Afrikaners last year after South African President Cyril Ramaphosa signed a law allowing the government to seize land without compensation in rare instances.

The legislation allows the state to expropriate property in the public interest and provides for circumstances in which compensation may be set at zero. But it also requires authorities, in most cases, to first try to reach an agreement with property owners, and disputes can be taken to court.

Land ownership remains a highly sensitive issue in South Africa more than three decades after the end of apartheid, under which the black majority was dispossessed of land and denied many basic rights.

The government says land reform is necessary to address those historic inequalities and insists the new law does not permit arbitrary seizures.

Most private farmland is owned by white South Africans, who make up just over 7% of the population.

In a separate social media post on Tuesday, Rubio accused South Africa’s government of pursuing “racial grievance against the Afrikaner minority” and said those responsible for what he described as injustices “have no place in the United States”.

He said the South African government had failed to adequately address US concerns about what Washington describes as “government-sponsored discrimination” against Afrikaners and other minorities.

“The United States will not allow such behaviour to go unchecked,” he added.

He said the actions targeted by the policy undermined “peace, economic stability and the rule of law.”

The South African government is yet to respond to the US restrictions.

The US embassy in Pretoria said Washington believed dialogue with South Africa had run its course and accused the African country of failing to demonstrate a commitment to strong bilateral relations.

It warned that the new visa restrictions were the beginning of tougher measures, adding: “This visa restriction policy is only the first step in a series of escalatory measures that will show America’s firm resolve in this matter.”

South Africa made efforts to soothe tensions with US, with Ramaphosa going to the White House last May with a large delegation that included white members of his coalition government and also famous white South African golfers.

But Trump ambushed the Oval Office meeting with claims that white South African farmers were being killed and “persecuted” – producing unsubstantiated evidence that has been widely discredited.

Further efforts by South Africa to mend the relationship have failed, with Africa’s largest economy being hit in August with 30% tariffs on goods being exported to the US – the highest rate in sub-Saharan Africa.

The latest visa restrictions are being imposed under a provision of US immigration law that allows the secretary of state to bar foreign nationals whose entry is considered potentially damaging to US foreign policy interests.

A photo posted on Telegram by a regional governor showed a white vehicle with blown-out windows and a line of what appeared to be blood streaming down its side. Reuters has not verified the image.

“There is no military ​logic to this, just another act of brutality,” Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on social media, urging the ​U.S. and Europe to press ahead with toughening sanctions against Russia.

ESCALATING STRIKES ON ECONOMIC TARGETS

Moscow ⁠and Ukraine have traded escalating strikes in recent months on logistics and other economic targets, aimed at hampering each ​other’s war effort and damaging morale.

With Ukraine’s airspace closed since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, buses and trains have become ​a vital transport link for ordinary Ukrainians and businesses.

The drone attack on the passenger bus near the frontline city of Nikopol killed four men and a woman early on Wednesday, police said.

A further seven people were injured in the attack, said the governor of the ​surrounding Dnipropetrovsk region, Oleksandr Hanzha, who posted the photo.

There was no immediate comment from Russia on the attack. Both ​Ukraine and Russia deny deliberately targeting civilians in the war, triggered by Moscow’s full-scale invasion of its neighbour.

ATTACK ON PASSENGER TRAIN

A Russian ‌drone ⁠also attacked a passenger train in Ukraine’s southern Mykolaiv region, the acting regional governor said.

All 168 passengers and crew were evacuated and no one was injured, Heorhii Reshetilov said on Telegram. The train was attacked twice more after the first strike, he said.

Zelenskiy said that, in addition to the Mykolaiv train attack, a locomotive in Kovel — near the border ​with Poland — was also struck.

The ​incidents follow similar attacks recently, ⁠including on a train near Ukraine’s border with NATO-member Poland on Sunday, shortly after European diplomats and political figures had used the same line.

Russia has intensified its attacks on Ukrainian ​railways, hitting 120 passenger wagons, 304 locomotives and 43 railway stations so far this ​year, the state ⁠rail operator told Reuters.

The company said that Russia has attacked 1,700 railway facilities in total since the start of the year, up from 1,206 facilities in 2025 and 842 in 2024.

“Russian forces strike passenger trains, locomotives, stations, and railway routes knowing ⁠exactly how ​essential they are for civilians, evacuations, and Ukraine’s economy,” Ukraine’s Foreign Minister ​Andrii Sybiha said on X.

“This is not collateral damage. It is a systematic hunt for people and an attempt to paralyse civilian life,” he ​said.

The effective interest rate on US government bonds with a 10-year maturity, known as the 10-year Treasury yield, rose as high as 5.04% but has since eased.

Government bond yields have been rising globally for months, driven by concerns that inflation from the oil price surge since the start of the US-Israel war with Iran will lead to higher interest rates.

The US has been buying back bonds in a bid to drive Treasury yields down, with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent calling the intervention “successful”.

The global benchmark wholesale oil price rose to over $109 a barrel on Tuesday, up from around $86 at the end of August, after renewed concerns about Saudi Arabia’s ability to export oil following rising tensions in the region.

Investors are anticipating the US Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh will raise interest rates to combat the inflation caused by higher oil prices.

However, US President Donald Trump opposes a rate hike, having long argued lower rates are great for boosting the economy.

He fell out with Warsh’s predecessor Jerome Powell over his decision not to cut rates.

Higher interest rates and inflation tend to drive up the yields bond investors demand on government borrowing.

Bond yields can also indicate how much faith investors have in a given government, with higher yields reflecting lower confidence.

Competition for debt from artificial intelligence (AI) firms is also driving up yields.

Tech giants are borrowing massive piles of cash to build huge data centres. This raises interest rates on tech firms’ debt, which increases government bond yields in response.

Carol Schleif, chief market strategist at BMO Wealth Management, said bond markets had been signalling for weeks that higher interest rates may be needed.

While the rise in borrowing costs has been “orderly” this year, rather than sudden, she said rates could remain elevated if geopolitical tensions and high energy prices remain “front and centre”.

Brent crude futures fell 93 cents, or 0.86%, to $107.82 a barrel at 0028 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures were down 97 cents, or 0.92%, at $104.86 a barrel.

Both benchmarks settled more ​than $3 higher and at their highest levels since May 19 on Tuesday, as ​the Yanbu loading suspension stoked supply concerns and Saudi Arabia cut oil shipments ⁠to Europe

U.S. crude oil, gasoline and distillate inventories all rose last week, market sources said on ​Tuesday, citing data from the American Petroleum Institute.

Crude inventories rose by 7.1 million barrels in ​the week ended September 11, the sources said, citing API data. That compared with analysts’ expectations for a draw of about 1.6 million barrels, according to a Reuters poll.

API’s data showed unexpected builds in gasoline and diesel inventories, which have weighed on prices, but regional stock increases do not change the underlying tightness in the global crude market, Haitong Futures said in a note.

Sources said on Tuesday that oil loadings ‌at ⁠Saudi Arabia’s Yanbu port had been suspended after the world’s biggest crude exporter shut its East-West pipeline following an attack by Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis on Friday.

Saudi Arabia has used the pipeline to reroute around 4 million barrels per day, or about 4% of global supply, to the Red ​Sea port.

The U.S. energy ​secretary said crude ⁠should resume flowing through Saudi Arabia’s vital East-West pipeline within days.

However, sources who spoke to Reuters gave varying estimates of how long the pipeline could ​remain offline. One said repairs could take five to six weeks, ​while another said ⁠the pipeline could resume partial pumping sooner as repairs continue.

In Libya, unrelated to the Iran conflict, the National Oil Corporation (NOC) said operations at three oil fields were suspended after protesting members of the Petroleum Facilities Guard shut off a valve on the Hamada-Zawiya crude export pipeline.

However, Libya’s oil production has not been significantly affected by the shutdowns and remains at about 1.4 million ​barrels per day, NOC Chairman Massoud Suleman told Reuters.

Also read:

• Oil prices slide 2% on Iran-Oman talks to reopen Strait of Hormuz

• Oil prices jump more than 2% after new strikes on Saudi, Strait of Hormuz

A post on her Instagram account – attributed to the couple – said that two nights of their three-day wedding festivities on a private island in the Bahamas were partially funded by Umar Kremlev, a Russian oligarch with close ties to Putin.

The statement was released Monday after investigative journalism outlet ProPublica published a story detailing that Kremlev paid “hundreds of thousands of dollars” for the celebration.

Donald Trump Jr., one of the US president’s sons, is a private citizen, so it’s not illegal for him to accept gifts from a foreign national.

“Our dear friend Umar very generously hosted two incredible nights of celebrations for us AFTER our wedding. It was an extraordinarily generous wedding gift from a friend, and something for which we were and remain incredibly grateful,” the couple said in the statement.

But ethics watchdog groups said it still presented the appearance of a conflict of interest for the president’s son to accept lavish gifts from someone associated with a foreign head of state – even if he is not a US government employee.

“People don’t just give hundreds of thousands of dollars to a random acquaintance without wanting something,” said Jordan Libowitz, vice president of communications for Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW).

“You can see how [Putin] would enjoy all this press about how people in his circle are cozying up to people in the president’s circle.”

According to the ProPublica article, the couple was married on a private island in the Bahamas, then held a two-day celebration on a separate island that rents for approximately $100,000 per night. Kremlev also paid other costs for the party, including a roughly $70,000 fireworks display, the report found.

Kremlev runs the International Boxing Association (IBA), an organization funded by the state-backed Gazprom energy company. The Olympic Committee suspended the group in part over its failure to report its ties to the Russian energy giant.

Earlier this year Kremlev was part of a delegation that visited China with Putin. The Russian president also gave Kremlev the Order of Friendship, a top state honor, according to ProPublica.

A spokesperson for Trump Jr. told the news outlet that the president’s son and Kremlev were personal friends and did not have “a business relationship.”

An ally of Trump Jr. referred the BBC to the Instagram statement.

In a statement to ProPublica, Kremlev’s office said “Mr. Kremlev and Mr. Trump Jr have a friendly relationship.” The statement said the men met a few years ago.

Kremlev attended part of the wedding, the outlet reported. Other attendees included one of the US president’s daughters, Ivanka Trump, and her husband, Jared Kushner, who has worked for the US on diplomatic negotiations with Iran, Russia and in the Middle East.

The Trump campaign and family faced controversy for potential ties to Russia during the 2016 presidential election, resulting in a special counsel investigation. During the campaign Donald Trump Jr. brokered a meeting at Trump Tower with a Russian operative that was closely scrutinized during the probe.

Libowitz, of CREW, said either the president, who is a billionaire, or Trump Jr. — who is worth $300 million, according to Forbes — could have paid for the full wedding to avoid a conflict of interest.

“His father is worth billions he could have picked up the tab. Clearly they just didn’t want to pay for it,” Libowitz said. “They don’t really care about the ethical ramifications.”

The justices upheld a federal judge’s order that temporarily blocked the US Postal Service (USPS) from moving forwards with new requirements for postal ballots.

But it is unlikely to be the final word on the matter. Justice Brett Kavanaugh, a conservative, agreed with the ruling, but indicated he might later rule in Trump’s favour as litigation in the case continues.

Trump, who argued the rules would combat electoral fraud, signed an executive order in March directing the USPS to deliver ballots only to voters on lists of citizens.

Legal challenges argued that the move violated states’ constitutional rights to run elections.

Justice Kavanaugh wrote in the opinion that there was “at least a fair prospect that the final rule falls within the Postal Service’s statutory authority.” But he argued that “applying the rule in the 2026 elections would be arbitrary and capricious.”

Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas, also conservatives, dissented. They wrote that the challenge to Trump’s order was a “Hail Mary pass” that was ultimately unlikely to succeed.

“The Postal Service has broad authority to regulate the mail,” they added.

The White House did not immediately comment on the decision.

About 30% of voters, mostly Democrats, cast postal ballots in the general election two years ago.

Since returning to the White House, Trump has sought to restrict voting by mail. While he himself has voted by post, he has long claimed this method allows non-citizens to cast ballots and is prone to fraud.

In March’s executive order, the president directed USPS to introduce unique barcodes on postal ballot envelopes.

State and local election officials would also be required to supply information to an online portal about voters who receive mail ballots.

Twenty-three states and Washington DC sued to stop Trump’s order.

The postal workers’ union also said clerks could not be trained in time for the election.

In court filings, the Trump administration maintained the new USPS rules were constitutional.

It said states “cannot choose to use the federal mails to carry out their elections but then insist that their election-related mail is somehow exempt from the Postal Service’s rule-making authority, conferred by Congress”.

Boston-based Judge Indira Talwani imposed an injunction on 4 September blocking Trump’s order. She ruled that implementing the measures close to November’s elections could disenfranchise voters.

Last week, a US appeals court refused to put Judge Talwani’s order on hold.

On Sunday, another federal judge, Judge Carl Nichols, ruled against Trump’s order.

Some states have already begun distributing mail-in ballots ahead of the midterm elections, which will decide which party controls Congress.

It is not the first setback for Trump’s postal ballots before the Supreme Court.

In June, the justices ruled that states may count ballots postmarked by election day, rejecting the Trump administration’s push to block votes being tallied when they are received after polls close.

Trump has previously made false claims that he lost the 2020 election owing to widespread electoral fraud.

Citizens deemed to have “harmed” China’s national security or interests while overseas can also be barred from leaving China for up to three years after they return, while those who violate technological import and export regulations may also be banned from leaving.

Chinese authorities say the rules are to “safeguard national sovereignty and security” and deny that they restrict the travel of “ordinary citizens”.

But critics say the new rules could further boost Beijing’s ability to exert pressure on its nationals’ activities abroad.

“This is another tool designed to control what Chinese citizens do and say overseas,” Professor Tom Kellogg, Executive Director of the Centre for Asian Law at Georgetown University, told BBC Chinese.

“In some cases, in order to prevent individuals from criticising the Chinese government overseas or to punish their rights advocacy activities, state security authorities directly refuse to issue passports,” Kellogg adds.

According to the rules taking effect on Tuesday, Chinese citizens may be prohibited from leaving the country if they violate technology import and export regulations that “may endanger national industrial or technological security.”

Piyao, a Chinese government “rumour-refuting” platform, posted a statement last week saying the new rules “do not restrict the travel of ordinary citizens, but rather serve as a preventative measure against high-risk destinations and individuals with unusual travel patterns”.

The regulations were issued to address “problems” such as people being deceived into leaving the country or engaging in illegal gambling and scam activities abroad, the statement said.

But some Chinese nationals have reported facing murky travel restrictions for years.

One 26-year-old Chinese citizen, who wished to be identified only as Pipi, told BBC Chinese that his passport application in 2023 was rejected and he believes it was because he attended the massive pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong in 2019.

According to Pipi, he was interviewed by Hong Kong media outlets during the protests. When he returned to mainland China, he was questioned by state security police.

He said one immigration official told him that he could not get a passport “because of the Hong Kong issue” – but this was not confirmed in writing to him.

“If they have given me an official document, I could apply for administrative reconsideration. But all they said was one sentence: ‘You can’t go,'” Pipi said.

Pipi said he did not dare to escalate the matter, fearing he would “end up in prison”.

“I’m just an ordinary person, right? I’m a young man, and I haven’t done anything bad,” he said.

“I don’t know whether I’ll ever be able to leave [China].”

According to publicly available information, Chinese citizens currently cannot check whether they are subject to exit controls on their own.

Unless official written or verbal notification is issued, people generally only discover they are restricted from leaving when applying for documents or attempting to depart.

Under China’s Administrative Licensing Law, when an administrative authority decides not to grant an administrative licence, it should explain the reasons in writing. But some people interviewed by the BBC said this requirement is not enforced.

China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and immigration authorities did not respond to enquiries from BBC Chinese.

Chinese authorities have drastically tightened exit bans on their citizens in recent years, according to data provided to the BBC by the rights group Safeguard Defenders.

While China’s supreme court database showed only 89 records mentioning exit bans in 2016, a figure that rose to 188,760 by last year.

The percentage of civil verdicts involving exit bans surged more than 30-fold between 2019 and 2025, from around 0.23% to 7.3%. The actual volume of such cases are believed to be even higher, owing to an increasing number of withheld judgments.

Under the new rules taking effect on Tuesday, border officials are now also required to advise Chinese nationals against travelling to countries and regions deemed “high-risk”.

But prior to this, some in China – ranging from civil servants and state-owned enterprise employees to ordinary citizens – already faced restrictions from going to certain countries.

A man identified by his pseudonym, Xiao Wang, who works at a state-owned financial institution in Beijing, told BBC Chinese that his fellow employees have long been required to surrender their passports and get approval for overseas travel.

The 32-year-old said managers have verbally reminded staff that “sensitive countries such as Japan are definitely off-limits”.

Some of his civil servant friends, even those working in museums, find it “very difficult” to travel abroad and have been told they cannot directly apply for passports because of their jobs, Xiao Wang said.

Kellogg, the legal expert, called the expanding travel restrictions “deeply concerning” and said they reflect a “growing ideological control under Chinese leader Xi Jinping”, which is reminiscent of Mao Zedong’s era.

China was largely cut off from the world under Mao’s decades-long regime, and international travel only became a part of life for Chinese people in the 1990s, after China underwent a series of reforms and opening up.

Today’s various travel restrictions, Kellogg said, “bring back memories of that painful era”.

The initial public offering (IPO) is for roughly 3% of the Dangote refinery, with the billionaire saying he wanted to give ordinary Nigerians the chance to share in the plant’s success.

The refinery, which started production in 2024, is one of the largest in the world and took more than a decade to complete.

It now supplies more than 70% of Nigeria’s energy consumption, and many Nigerians have expressed excitement at the prospect of owning a part of it.

Among them is Isah Salisu, who told the BBC he withdrew 50,000 naira (£28; $37) from his savings to invest.

“My hope is that my small money will one day grow big. I don’t want to miss out as many I know are also investing,” he said.

The IPO lasts for a month and the minimum purchase is 10 shares, costing about $4.

Economy and business expert Dr Abdulrazak Ibrahim Fagge told the BBC that Monday’s event was historic.

But he warned investors that the price of the shares could fall, meaning people could lose some of their money.

“What prospective buyers, especially first-time buyers, should know is that they shouldn’t invest all their money or money they would need in a couple of months,” he said.

“They should invest something they could do without for the next three, four, five years.”

He also warned people to be wary of scammers, saying there are people who would want to take advantage of those without good knowledge of the process.

“I will advise people to only deal with the institutions that have been listed,” he said.

Nigeria is Africa’s biggest oil producer but until the refinery was opened, most of the country’s fuel had to be imported because of a lack of refining capacity in the country.

Born in Kano, Dangote, 67, has a net worth of around $28bn, according to Forbes magazine.

He made his fortune in cement and sugar in Nigeria before expanding to 16 other African countries.

His company Dangote Cement is Africa’s largest cement producer.

The Lagos refinery was first announced in 2013 with an initial estimated cost of around $19bn, but construction did not begin until 2017. It was further delayed by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The site, in the Lekki Free Zone near Lagos, required massive land reclamation, with 65 million cubic metres of sand moved.

The refinery has a processing capacity of 650,000 barrels per day, making it the seventh-largest in the world.

The money raised by the share offer is intended to help double its capacity.

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Brent crude futures rose $2.90, or 2.77%, to $107.51 per barrel as of ​2313 GMT. WTI futures rose $2.27, or 2.27%, to $102.32 per barrel. Prices had initially risen more than 3% at ​market open.

Saudi Arabian state media on Sunday released video footage of damage to homes ⁠and a mosque from what it said was a Houthi attack on the country’s southern Jazan province. The Houthis ​said they had also struck a Saudi military base in a neighbouring province.

A vessel in the Strait of ​Hormuz was struck by a projectile, causing a fire and forcing the crew to be evacuated, the British maritime security agency UKMTO said on Sunday.

Iran said one person was killed and four crew wounded aboard an Iranian commercial vessel struck off its ​coast.

Oil prices had been expected to rise on Monday amid growing concerns about risks to supply from Saudi ​Arabia, the world’s largest oil exporter, whose East-West oil pipeline was shut on Friday by a drone strike that originated in ‌Iraq.

The ⁠loss of the pipeline, which helped Saudi Arabia re-route its exports avoiding the Strait of Hormuz, threatens up to 4% of global oil supply.

Meanwhile, Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis had reached the strategic island of Perim on Friday, moving to tighten their control over the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, another key oil transit lane that has been shipping ​4-5% of global supply in ​recent months.

Oil surged 8% ⁠higher on the week due to the disruptions, rising above $100 for the first time since July.

“Looking ahead, unless this week’s talks in Oman produce something operational — or ​the East-West pipeline is brought back online quickly — the risk is that crude oil ​continues to ⁠extend its gains toward the $119.48 high of early March,” IG market analyst Tony Sycamore said in a note on Sunday.

Omani Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi said on X later on Sunday, however, that a scheduled Monday meeting in ⁠Oman between ​Gulf countries and Iran to discuss the Strait of Hormuz had ​been postponed.

No peace talks have been held in the war, launched six months ago by the United States and Israel, since an ​interim agreement in June collapsed after a few weeks.

The Virgo Transport 8 ship carrying 243 people went missing in bad weather early on Sunday, the rescue agency said. Authorities have since rescued 108 people from the ship, which was travelling from Surabaya in East Java to Banjarmasin in South Kalimantan.

Choppy waters with high waves and strong winds were impeding the search on Monday, ​said Mohammad Syafii, head of the national rescue agency.

The agency has deployed at least 622 personnel, 17 ships, five helicopters and aircraft to find the ​missing passengers, Syafii added. Some of the ships have arrived at the location but it was difficult for rescuers to make their ⁠way into the capsized and partially submerged ship, he said.

“We would also deploy personnel with underwater rescue skills but the current conditions do not allow us to,” he ​said.

“While waiting for the weather conditions to improve, we are identifying more personnel with special skills,” he said, adding the death toll remained at six.

In a video shared by ​the rescue agency, a large red-and-black ship was capsized and partially submerged in choppy blue water, with its red-painted underside visible above the surface.

Two small boats, each carrying people, were seen floating in rough waters near the capsized ship.

The location of the capsized boat is around 80 nautical miles (nearly 150 km) from the command centre at Trisakti Port in Banjarmasin, another official at the rescue agency told Reuters.

“The ​conditions there are quite windy, making it difficult for the (rescue) vessels to dock,” the official, Arianto Ardi, said.

As of Monday afternoon, none of the 129 missing people ​have been found, Arianto said, adding that rescuers are still unable to conduct a search for the victims due to the weather.

THREE-METRE WAVE CRASHES INTO SHIP

The weather was very poor when the ‌incident happened, ⁠with waves as high as three metres crashing into the ship, Syafii said.

It takes around five hours to reach the location from Trisakti Port in good weather but requires up to nine hours in rough conditions.

On Sunday, Edy Prakoso, another official at the agency, said the ship leaned heavily to one side after strong waves hit its starboard side.

Transport Minister Dudy Purwagandhi said the capsized boat had the capacity to contain 500 passengers, so it was not overloaded.

The incident took place in the Java Sea – the waters between ​Indonesia’s four most populated islands of Java, ​Sumatra, Sulawesi and Borneo – has been ⁠the site of some of Indonesia’s deadliest maritime disasters.

A portion of the sea – around the Masalembo islands – is often referred to as Indonesia’s Bermuda Triangle, given the number of air and maritime accidents that take place there.

In 1981, the ship Tampomas II ​sank in the area, killing nearly 600 people by some estimates. There was also an air plane crash in the ​same area in 2007 ⁠that killed over 100 people.

Freddy Manuhua has been anxiously awaiting news of his brother Stefiyansah at Surabaya port since Sunday. His brother had worked as a keyboard player for the ship’s entertainment show for the past two months.

He remembers taking his brother, who was very excited about his new job, to Surabaya port last Saturday before the vessel left for ⁠Banjarmasin.

“I will accept ​whatever happens and would be grateful if I can still see my younger brother again, no matter ​what condition he is in,” he said.

Indonesia relies on ferries across its 17,000 islands, with sea travel cheaper and more accessible than flying, but there have been numerous accidents.

Last month, two passenger ferries caught fire in ​separate incidents, killing six people — five off Madura island and one on a route from the island of Bali.

Lawrence Wong will see an increase of 1.4 million Singapore dollars ($1.1m; £818,000) in his annual pay package. He has said he will donate this pay increase to charity over the next five years.

Wong said that raising the pay of ministers was necessary to attract better talent. The government has previously argued that paying ministers high salaries deters corruption.

But the move has attracted criticism in Singapore where there is deep concern about job security and the rising cost of living.

Even before his pay raise kicks in, Wong is still by far the highest paid world leader.

He currently receives an annual salary of S$2.2m and will now see his pay go up by more than 60% to S$3.6m ($2.8m).

Next is Hong Kong chief executive John Lee, who earns about $719,000, followed by Switzerland’s president Guy Parmelin with $606,000.

US president Donald Trump earns $400,000 a year, while British PM Andy Burnham takes in $230,000.

On Tuesday, Wong acknowledged that Singapore ministers’ salaries have attracted scrutiny given that they were much more than what most citizens earn. The median monthly income in the country is S$5,775.

But he argued that he has faced difficulty convincing business leaders and top civil servants to run for political office.

While the government cannot match what some of these people earn, “we do not make the financial hurdle unnecessarily high” for them to give up their careers and join  politics, he said.

“Overall, I believe this will give me and future prime ministers a better chance of persuading capable Singaporeans to step forward, and of building the strongest possible team for Singapore,” he said.

Currently, the base pay package of ministers is about S$1.1m. With the new pay scheme, that will increase to around S$1.2m.

But Wong said he expects most of these ministers to receive even more than that – around S$1.35m – by the end of the current term of government, as pay will increase based on performance.

Part of their pay package is determined by whether the country reaches certain targets for unemployment rate, income growth, and GDP growth.

The topic of high salaries for Singapore’s ministers has long been a lightning rod of criticism for the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP), which has led the country since independence.

In a landmark general election in 2011 the PAP saw its lowest vote share in decades, fuelled partly by voters’ unhappiness over ministers’ pay as well as immigration policies. The following year, the government slashed ministers’ salaries.

Wong’s predecessor, Lee Hsien Loong, had also pledged to donate his salary increase to charity for several years back in 2007.

The government has for years pointed to its lack of corruption – Singapore consistently ranks near the top of Transparency International’s annual Corruption Perceptions Index – as proof that the ministerial pay system works, arguing that it reduces the temptation for ministers to accept bribes.

But in a country where the average income is far below such sums, the issue continues to rankle and the latest announcement is no exception.

On Tuesday many online posted comments critical of the pay raise, saying it was “tone deaf” given current concerns about retrenchments, jobs for fresh graduates and inflation.

Retrenchments in Singapore hit their highest level in more than five years in the last quarter, according to government figures.

But there were a few who agreed with the move, saying it was necessary to have “the best of the best” running the country.

Raids took place in 12 provinces over the weekend as part of a campaign dubbed “My Family is Safe” that the Turkish government says has been designed to protect family values.

One of the targets of the operation was LGBTQ+ association Kaos GL.

Same-sex marriage is not recognised in Turkey, with growing pressure on gay couples. Human rights groups in Turkey have accused the government of using the campaign to target the LGBTQ+ community.

Officers detained 26 people and seized drugs, digital equipment, smuggled alcohol and a firearm during the raids, according to the Istanbul chief prosecutor’s office.

In a separate statement, the Ankara chief prosecutor’s office said another 21 people had been detained as part of an investigation into Kaos GL.

The organisation said 50 activists had been detained, more than 10 taken after police raids on their homes.

It said that authorities had blocked several websites and social media accounts linked to LGBTQ+ organisations.

According to the group, authorities have accused Kaos GL of making “obscenity” in online posts that are available to children and had demanded the shutting down of the Kaos GL X account, as well as those of around 15 other LGBTQ+ organisations.

Same-sex relations are not an offence in Turkey but homophobia is common, with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan describing LGBTQ people as “perverts” responsible for the falling birth rate.

As part of “My Family is Safe”, Turkish Justice Minister Akin Gurleksays legal proceedings have been started against more than 160 people and a number of organisations and companies across the country.

Gurlek did not say how many people had been taken into custody, but said the raids came in the context of the “Decade of the Family” campaign.

However, the Turkish Human Rights Association says the Turkish government has been using the campaign to target the LGBTQ+ community in recent years.

“The real name of this operation is not ‘My Family is Safe’; it is state-led discrimination, politics of fear and the dismantling of civil society,” the organisation said on X.

He spent day two of his visit at Trump International Golf Links in Doonbeg, County Clare, for the Irish Open.

On Saturday, Trump told reporters he would love to see a united Ireland while at a meeting with the Taoiseach (Irish PM) Micheál Martin in Dublin.

Speaking on Sunday at his Doonbeg golf resort, he said it would be natural to put Ireland and Northern Ireland “together”.

He spoke to reporters after watching the eventual tournament winner, Irish golfer Shane Lowry, tee off.

He described what he said about a united Ireland as “a fairly routine comment”.

“I’ve always loved the people of Ireland. It just seems to me you have Northern Ireland and Ireland,” he said

“It seems that one of the naturals of all time is to put them together.

“That’s only my opinion, and by the way many people agree.”

The president sidestepped a question about Scottish independence.

“I won’t talk about Scotland yet I will save that,” he said.

Asked about Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s remarks that there would be no poll on Irish unity until a majority in Northern Ireland were likely to vote in favour, Trump added: “Everybody says that and then things happen.”

The taoiseach said the president’s remarks did not come as a “surprise” to him.

Speaking on Sunday at The Open, Martin referred to Trump asking about a “merger” of Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland at an event in Washington during the Saint Patrick’s Day celebrations, which some believed to be a comment on unity.

“He would make the point this is his view. He believes unity is the logical way for the island to be configured and organised,” Martin said.

He added: “I think some of the reaction is an overreaction. It shouldn’t be a surprise. He takes a different sort of perspective on things.”

On Sunday, Trump handed over the winner’s trophy at the Trump International golf resort in Doonbeg to Irish Open winner Shane Lowry.

In a speech during the ceremony, Trump announced he will lift the tariffs on Irish whiskey.

This marked the end of his two-day trip to Ireland.

Protests continue against Trump visit

More than 10,000 people marched through Dublin on Saturday to show their opposition to the US president.

Others protesting against the visit arrived in buses to Doonbeg on Sunday, with about 100 protesters present.

A small crowd were moved from the president’s hotel by Gardai (Irish police), Irish broadcaster RTÉ is reporting.

On Saturday evening, three women were arrested for trespassing on the golf links at Doonbeg and appeared at a special sitting of Ennis District Court.

Rev Steven Foster, a Methodist minister from Galway, attended the anti-Trump protest in Doonbeg.

“I’m here because Trump is the exact opposite of everything I stand for as a follower of Jesus,” he told BBC  News NI.

Foster added: “As a church leader, it’s important for me to be visible, and the church needs to be visible in this regard.”

Foster said the “type of welcome he has been given sends out a terrible message”.

Golf course is a ‘massive employer’

However, others have praised Trump for the benefits and jobs his golf course brings to the local area.

Martin Kelly is a local businessman from Doonbeg and said the village is “very fortunate” to have the Trump International Golf Course.

“It’s a massive employer here to be honest with you,” he told BBC News NI.

“There’s nothing else about here at that scale; they’re very decent people to work for, they’re very fair.”

He said local people are “very proud” that the golf tournament is taking place there.

“We’re not into politics here, we’re into business. And it’s a massive business to us. Doonbeg is one of the best links course in the world. Donald Trump isn’t perfect but look he’s not doing a bad job either.

“Hopefully Shane Lowry can win now with the help of God, and hopefully he can come to Doonbeg afterwards for a beer, I’ll buy him one if he does.”

Seoirse Comerford owns the Comerford bar in Doonbeg. He described the tournament as “unbelievable”.

“If you look at the red double decker buses going up and down the street full of people, we never thought we would have seen the like of that.”

He said the golf course is a big employer and is keeping Doonbeg “alive”.

“Most rural villages in west Clare are all dying a death, young people going away to college, they don’t come back.

“Like there’s over 300 people employed up there at the golf course , it’s a big boost to the local economy. You’ve got big companies in Dublin, like Intel, the golf course is our Intel down here.

“I probably wouldn’t have taken over the bar business other than the golf course being up there.

“We would have had 1,000 plus through the pub on Saturday night and the same Friday night, so there’s a lot of people around the village, which is great to see.”

The arrival of the baby was confirmed by sources to People and Page Six, although details about the child, including the name, sex and date of birth, have not yet been disclosed.

The couple were recently spotted together with their newborn in Northern California, marking their first public appearance as a family of three since news of the baby’s arrival emerged.

Gaga and Polansky became engaged in April 2024 after dating for several years. The singer later shared details of the proposal during an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live! in October 2024.

According to Gaga, Polansky proposed after the pair had gone rock climbing. She said the entrepreneur’s approach was very much in keeping with his personality, as he first asked her if he could ask her a question before popping the big question.

The couple have also worked together professionally. Polansky received writing credits on Gaga’s 2025 Grammy-winning album, Mayhem, and on her song “Glamorous Life”, which featured on The Devil Wears Prada 2 soundtrack.

Gaga has previously spoken openly about her desire to become a mother. During a 2025 appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, she said motherhood was a role she hoped to take on next.

The singer had also spoken about having children as part of her future plans in a 2019 YouTube interview.

The birth of the couple’s first child marks a new chapter in Gaga’s personal life as she continues her career in music, film and entertainment.

Phra Wachirayan Wi, a former abbot at the prominent 14th-Century Wat Phutthaisawan in the ancient capital of Ayutthaya, allegedly pocketed donations meant for the temple on more than 20 occasions over two years.

In Thailand, Buddhist monks take a vow of celibacy and also renounce material possessions. He was defrocked after his arrest. He has yet to comment publicly.

The latest arrests come just over a year after another sex-and-blackmail case involving senior monks rocked Thailand’s monastic community.

The 66-year-old was known for creating a highly-coveted coin amulet. Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul reportedly owns some of his creations.

Thailand’s Buddhist institution has long been plagued with reports of monks breaking their vow of celibacy, trafficking drugs and committing financial crimes.

In July last year, police opened a hotline for people to report “misbehaving monks” after at least nine monks were found to have had sex with a woman. She then blackmailed them with photos and videos of the acts for nearly $12 million.

Police on Friday said they identified two streams of money linked to donation receipts Phra Wachirayan had issued in the temple’s name – one was meant for temple renovations, while the other was payment for amulets and other sacred objects.

“But the money from both streams did not enter the temple’s account. Not a single baht,” lead police investigator Pattanasak Bupphasuwan told a news conference, according to reports.

Police found cash and gold bars worth more than 100 million baht while raiding Phra Wachirayan’s residence on Thursday, with counting going on until late into the night, Thai news outlet The Nation reported.

While examining CCTV footage in the residence, police found a clip of him having sex with a woman on his dining table.

Authorities identified her as 47-year-old Punyavee Rungrueang, who has been arrested on charges of abetting a state official in illegal activities. She has yet to comment publicly.

Many monks in Thailand receive stipends from the government and are therefore considered state officials.

Police seized 35 gold amulets, along with about 1.5kg of gold bars and jewellery, worth an estimated 6.04 million baht, from Punyavee’s home.

Police believe Punyavee helped Phra Wachirayan manage his embezzled proceeds, noting that tens of millions of baht circulated through her bank accounts each year, The Bangkok Post reported.

Investigators say they started looking into the case in mid July, after receiving an anonymous tip alleging Phra Wachirayan of misconduct and misuse of temple funds.

Two or three other people could be involved in the case, they say.

The force has declared an extraordinary event and it will see gardaí perform 10,000 12-hour shifts between Friday and Sunday.

US President Donald Trump is expected to touch down on Air Force One at Dublin Airport on Saturday morning for a two-day visit.

There will be disruption and traffic restrictions in Dublin and County Clare.

Gardaí said they have been involved in intense, extensive planning for this policing and security operation over recent weeks.

Two water cannon will be sent from Northern Ireland.

What is Trump’s itinerary?

Trump will arrive at Dublin Airport on Saturday 12 September.

He will spend the morning at Phoenix Park, visiting Ireland’s President Catherine Connolly at the Áras an Uachtaráin (official residence) and the Taoiseach (Irish PM) Micheál Martin at Farmleigh House.

Trump is also expected to make a speech at US Ambassador Edward Walsh’s Deerfield Residence.

In the afternoon, Trump will be flying into Shannon Airport, County Clare, to attend the Irish Open at Trump International Golf Links in Doonbeg.

He will leave from the Shannon Airport on Sunday evening.

What disruption is expected?

As a result of the visit, Phoenix Park will be closed to the public until events finish.

That means attractions such as Dublin Zoo and the Magazine Fort will be shut.

Temporary traffic restrictions will be in place on the M50 motorway, with the peak times for these restrictions expected between 08:00-09:00 and 12:00 -13:00 local time, between Junction 3 and 6.

Traffic restrictions are already in place on perimeter roads around Dublin Airport and will remain until Saturday afternoon.

Flight and drone restrictions are also in place around the airport and the Doonbeg golf course.

A temporary maritime exclusion zone and associated outer control area will be in operation on rivers close to Shannon Airport and Doonbeg.

Gardaí have said that normal operations will continue at Dublin Airport and Shannon Airport at all times.

They said members of the public should allow additional time to arrive at the airport due to possible rolling road closures.

At Shannon Airport, there will be additional security checks and passengers should have photo ID and valid flight documentation available for inspection.

Gardaí said access to the areas surrounding Doonbeg village, Trump International Golf Links and Hotel Doonbeg and the wider west Clare areas will be restricted.

Access and traffic along the N67, between Clonadrum Cross (north) and Doonbeg (south) will be restricted from 11 September until the evening of Sunday 13 September.

Protest groups are anticipated at both Shannon Airport and in Doonbeg village.

Sharon Dolan D’Arcy, a journalist with the Clare Champion, said the garda presence in Doonbeg had “certainly ramped up a gear”.

She told the BBC’s Evening Extra programme that: “Every street, every entrance to a farm, every unoccupied house that’s for sale, you will see a garda outside it.”

Despite the heightened security, she described the atmosphere in the village as “very relaxed”, with locals out drinking coffee and “spirits” good.

“It’s almost like a holiday atmosphere. But in the background, in the ether, you have the security and the Gardaí.”

What to do as a golf spectator

Only those working at or attending the Irish Open will be allowed to access the Trump International Golf Links and Hotel.

The event can only be accessed via park and ride bus transfers, with no parking or pedestrian access.

There will be airport-style security checks with small bags allowed onsite.

Gardaí said those attending should allow further additional time to arrive and progress through ticket checks and search zones.

The discovery was made on Thursday when revenue staff searched a passenger’s baggage and found the drugs inside bags of confectionery.

In follow-up searches, gardaí seized €16,000 (£13,700) in cash and more controlled drugs valued at €14,500 (£12,500).

A man in his 60s who was arrested and charged in connection with the seizure appeared in court on Friday morning.

Lee Cheuk-yan, 69, and Chow Hang-tung, 41, were convicted last month of inciting others to subvert state power, under the city’s controversial national security law. A third defendant, Albert Ho, 74, had pleaded guilty in January.

The office of United Nations human rights chief Volker Türk called for “these sentences to be quashed”.

Hong Kong and Macau were for years the only places on Chinese soilwhere people could hold gatherings to mark the Tiananmen crackdown – a highly sensitive and heavily censored topic in mainland China.

These gatherings were banned by Hong Kong’s authorities in 2020, citing Covid-19 policies, but never resumed. That same year, the national security law, which makes illegal a wider range of dissenting acts, officially came into force.

Authorities say the law is necessary to maintain stability, but critics argue it has eroded Hong Kong’s autonomy and created a climate of fear.

Lee, Chow and Ho were charged in 2021. They faced up to 10 years in prison after their conviction.

On Friday, the court sentenced Lee to seven years in prison, while Chow was handed seven years and three months. Ho, who pleaded guilty, was sentenced to five years in prison.

As the court session started, Chow and Lee stood up and smiled at the public gallery, which was full of people. Ho wore a serious expression.

After their sentences were handed down, Lee appeared to pray as he was led out of the dock, while Chow blew a kiss to those seated in the public gallery.

According to a court summary in August, Lee and Chow had “incited other persons to organise, plan, commit or participate in acts by unlawful means with a view to subverting the state power”.

Chow told the court in May the law itself was on trial.

A key part of the trial concerned the group’s slogan of “ending one-party dictatorship”, which the court said had incited people to undermine the Chinese Communist Party.

Lee’s wife, Elizabeth Tang, told Reuters that it was a “sad day” for her.

“I cannot imagine that he has to spend another three years in jail, it is really unacceptable,” she said, adding that Lee intended to appeal his sentence.

Chow’s mother Medina told a crowd outside the court not to be “overly saddened” about the verdict. “Do not lose heart. And above all, do not feel guilty,” she said, Reuters reported.

Speaking to the BBC before her arrest in 2022, Chow said she was “prepared to be arrested” and “willing to pay the price for fighting for democracy”.

The defendants were leaders of the now-disbanded Hong Kong Alliance, a group founded in May 1989 to support students holding pro-democracy rallies.

Weeks later, the Chinese Communist Party sent troops and tanks to crush pro-democracy protests in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square. Estimates of the death toll range from a few hundred to many thousands.

Over the next three decades, the Hong Kong Alliance called on authorities to accept responsibility for the crackdown, free dissidents and introduce democratic reform.

The group also held yearly vigils commemorating the Tiananmen Square crackdown. Organisers said some of the gatherings attracted more than 100,000 people, though police had lower estimates of the turnout.

On Friday, the court also handed a HK$1.5m fine ($191,000; £142,000) to the Hong Kong Alliance.

“This sentencing is a triple tragedy: for the activists being unjustly punished; the survivors and victims of the Tiananmen crackdown itself; and the generations of Hongkongers denied the space to discuss one of the most consequential events in modern Chinese history,” said Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director Sarah Brooks.

“The harsh sentences against peaceful Tiananmen vigil organisers expose the cruelty and insecurity of a government afraid of memory and the people,” Human Rights Watch said in a statement.

The cocaine was concealed ⁠inside a container of plastic ​waste arriving from Ghana. The ​shipment was initially destined in part for Antwerp.

The cocaine has since been destroyed ​and the French prosecutor has ​opened an investigation.

France’s judicial police targeted the ‌criminal ⁠network alleged to be behind the shipment before the seizure.

Charges under investigation include the organised importation ​of narcotics ​and participation ⁠in a criminal association carrying penalties of up ​to 10 years’ imprisonment.

French ​customs ⁠seized 108.81 tonnes of narcotics across France in 2025, covering all ⁠drug ​types, with an estimated ​value of €2.197 billion.

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Zelensky and his wife, Olena, were on their plane at Chisinau, ahead of Wednesday’s funeral of Norway’s King Harald V, when the unmanned Russian aircraft crossed over the Moldovan border.

The drone prompted an immediate airspace shutdown, and Zelensky’s jet was left on the runway for around an hour before it was cleared for take off.

The flight was only authorised after it was confirmed the drone had come down 160km (100 miles) away in the village of Mihailenii Vechi.

Zelensky’s plane had been due to take off at around 16:30 local time (14:30 GMT) from Chisinau International Airport.

But Moldovan government spokesman Dumitru Ciorici told the BBC that Moldova had closed its airspace after noticing a Russian drone had entered it from the direction of Ukraine.

“Three departures and four arrivals were delayed as a result,” he added.

“After 17:20 (15:20 GMT), the authorities confirmed that the drone had come down and exploded… some 160 kilometres from Chisinau International Airport.”

Zelensky and his wife arrived safely in Oslo on Tuesday evening, where he held talks with Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre and other officials about military aid.

They joined other dignitaries for King Harald’s funeral before flying on to Iceland for a brief visit and then to Canada for further talks.

There had initially been concerns about the threat from the drone incursion when he was in Chisinau.

Støre had told public broadcaster NRK: “His flight was almost hit by a drone when it was taking off from Moldova.”

But a Ukraine source told Agence France Presse the risk had been “exaggerated”.

Russian drones have been targeting Ukraine with increasing intensity in recent weeks and an attack on a Moldovan border crossing at Starokozache killed two people overnight into Tuesday.

The Russian army has new jet-powered unmanned aircraft that are much faster and more difficult to intercept.

Analysis by BBC Verify has shown the capital Kyiv has now suffered more air raid alerts than at any time since 2022 – on average ten times a day.

Ukraine has also had success with its use of drones and on Thursday announced what it called a “record hit” on Russia gas plants.

Drones flew more than 3,000km (1,864 miles) into Russia on Wednesday to hit a gas processing plant in the Yamalo-Nenets autonomous district of Northern Siberia.

Ukraine’s Special Operations Forces said this was its deepest attack into Russia since the war began. Yamalo-Nenets is one of Russia’s key oil and gas processing regions.

Overnight Russian forces attacked a petrol station in Kyiv, seriously injuring four people.

Oil company Ukrnafta’s CEO Bohdan Kukura said on Facebook: “This is terror and intimidation of the civilian population.”

Russia has attacked hundreds of Ukrainian petrol stations in recent months in an attempt to disrupt the country’s military forces.

It has been locked in war with Ukraine since it invaded the country in February 2022.

Peace talks, led by the US’s Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, are ongoing but have failed so far to find a solution to end the conflict.

President Xi Jinping called for urgent search and rescue efforts and a swift investigation.

Premier Li Qiang called for “trapped” people to be rescued and stressed the need to “prevent secondary disasters”.

The vessel was undergoing maintenance at a shipyard in the city of Qingdao when the blaze occurred at 11:15 local time (03:15 GMT), state news agency Xinhua said.

The headline launch was the iPhone Duo, Apple’s first foldable smartphone and a major new direction for its flagship product line.

The Duo opens into a 7.6-inch display and closes into a compact device with a 5.4-inch outer screen.

Apple said the foldable is its thinnest iPhone when opened and is designed to support viewing, gaming, and multitasking on a larger screen.

Priced at $1,999, the Duo will go on sale on October 23. It also supports Apple Pencil input and features a redesigned iOS experience aimed at taking advantage of the larger display.

The launch puts Apple into a foldable smartphone market that has already been developed by rivals including Samsung and Google, with Apple betting that its hardware design and software ecosystem can attract consumers willing to pay a premium for the new form factor.

Apple also introduced the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max, with prices starting at $1,199 and $1,299, respectively.

Both models feature Apple’s new A20 Pro chip, a 48-megapixel Fusion Main camera with variable aperture, and a smaller Dynamic Island.

Apple said the new camera system gives users greater control over photography and video, while the Pro Max delivers the biggest battery-life improvement in iPhone history.

The new Pro models will be available for pre-order from September 12 and go on sale September 18.

Apple is also introducing Siri AI through iOS 27, with the company placing greater emphasis on artificial intelligence while stressing privacy and on-device processing.

Apple expanded its wearable and audio lineup as well.

The Apple Watch Series 12 introduces a new Health Sensing System with more frequent heart-rate and heart rate variability measurements and a new “readiness” score designed to give users an indication of how prepared their bodies are for the day. It starts at $399.

The Apple Watch Ultra 4, aimed at athletes and outdoor users, also gets the new health-sensing system and offers up to 45 hours of outdoor workout tracking. It starts at $799.

Apple also announced AirPods 5, adding active noise cancellation to its open-ear design, along with improved sound, Siri AI integration, and live translation. Prices start at $129, with availability from September 18.

The event was particularly significant for Ternus, who became Apple CEO on September 1 after succeeding longtime chief executive Tim Cook. Wednesday’s presentation was his first major product keynote in the role.

The launch therefore represents more than a new iPhone cycle. With the Duo, Apple is entering a category where competitors have had a head start, while its latest Pro phones, watches, AirPods and AI features show the company continuing to expand its ecosystem around increasingly intelligent devices.

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