Trump issues 'last warning' to Hamas as US confirms direct hostage talks

17 minutes ago Share Save Hafsa Khalil & Jake Lapham BBC News Share Save

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US President Donald Trump has issued what he called a "last warning" to Hamas to release the hostages being held in Gaza. "I am sending Israel everything it needs to finish the job, not a single Hamas member will be safe if you don't do as I say," Trump said in a lengthy post on his Truth Social platform. It comes just hours after the White House confirmed it is holding direct talks with Hamas over the hostages. Washington has until now avoided direct engagement with the group, and there is a longstanding US policy against having direct contact with entities it lists as terrorist organisations.

In his social media post, Trump said there would be "hell to pay" if the hostages were not released, while not specifying the nature of the support he was sending Israel. "Release all of the hostages now, not later, and immediately return all of the dead bodies of the people you murdered, or it is OVER for you," he added. "For the leadership, now is the time to leave Gaza, while you still have a chance." He also appeared to threaten civilians: "Also, to the People of Gaza: A beautiful Future awaits, but not if you hold Hostages. If you do, you are DEAD!" It's not the first time Trump has threatened Hamas. In December, he said there would be "all hell to pay" if hostages were not released by the time he took office. The post came after Trump met with a group of hostages in the White House who had been recently released under the ceasefire. Meanwhile, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed the US has been negotiating directly with Hamas to try to secure the release of the hostages. Israel had been consulted prior to the talks, she added.

President Trump believed in doing what was in the best interest of the American people, Leavitt told reporters. The special envoy for hostages, Adam Boehler's work was a "good faith effort to do what's right for the American people", she added. "Two direct meetings" have taken place between Hamas and a US official, "preceded by several communications", a Palestinian source told the BBC. Israel said there are still 59 hostages being held in Gaza, with up to 24 believed to be alive. US citizens are also among the captives. News of the talks was first reported by Axios, which said the two sides were meeting in Qatar to discuss the release of US hostages as well as a wider deal to end the war.

Watch: White House press secretary confirms US in talks with Hamas over hostages

US pauses intelligence sharing with Ukraine

US has 'taken a step back' on sharing intelligence with Ukraine - Mike Waltz

French President Emmanuel Macron later announced a meeting of European army chiefs in Paris next week, saying in a televised speech that France must be prepared to move forward without US help.

He added that the Trump administration was pausing and reviewing "all aspects of this relationship".

"We have, we have taken a step back," Waltz told reporters when asked about suspending intelligence sharing.

The future of US support for Ukraine is being pushed further into doubt, with National Security Adviser Mike Waltz confirming on Wednesday that the US has paused intelligence sharing with Ukraine.

"I want to believe the US will stay at our side, but we must be ready if that is not the case," Macron said.

Saying that Europe is in a "new era", Macron called for it to increase its defence spending.

He also said that France, along with Ukraine and others, have prepared a durable peace plan.

The US has shared intelligence with Ukraine since the early stages of Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022.

It paused military aid to Kyiv on Monday following a dramatic breakdown in relations in the Oval Office last week, when Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky was told to leave after an angry meeting with US President Donald Trump.

It remains unclear if the pause on intelligence sharing is partial or complete, and how long it will remain in effect.

CIA Director John Ratcliffe also appeared to confirm the decision in an interview on Fox Business on Wednesday, saying Trump "had a real question about whether President Zelensky was committed to the peace process, and he said 'let's pause, I want to give you a chance to think about that'."

He said the response came swiftly with Zelensky's statement saying he was ready for peace.

Ratcliffe then added: "On the military front and the intelligence front, the pause that allowed that to happen, will go away and we'll work shoulder to shoulder with Ukraine."

Waltz also suggested a more conciliatory tone was emerging between the US and Ukraine, adding that the military aid and intelligence sharing pause could be lifted in the near future.

"I think if we can nail down these negotiations and move towards these negotiations, and in fact, put some confidence-building measures on the table, then the president will take a hard look at lifting this pause," he told Fox News.

He also said he had "good talks" with his Ukrainian counterpart about the location and substance of potential negotiations, adding there will be movement in "very short order".

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt addressed the military assistance during a press briefing on Wednesday, saying the US has simply paused it and is "reconsidering" funding.

Ukraine has heavily relied on the US for military assistance for the three years since Russia's invasion, and the decision to pause aid may have a significant effect on the war.

Halting intelligence support, too, would likely have serious consequences on the battlefield.

The information is believed to help Ukraine both strategically understand Moscow's next moves and also tactically, for example providing information on Russian troop positions for weapons guidance and targeting.

Mick Mulroy, a former deputy assistant secretary of defence and retired CIA paramilitary officer, told the BBC that cutting off intelligence to Ukraine "will have an immediate impact" on its ability to defend itself.

"There is no way to replace the capabilities that the US intelligence can provide from our European allies," he said.

"This will likely inspire Russia to push harder on their efforts to take more terrain from Ukraine and away from the negotiating table."

Additional reporting by Bernd Debusmann Jr at the White House

Child dies after being hit by car on sports pitch

The car hit two children on a pitch at Kendal Rugby Union Football Club

One child has died and another has been injured after they were hit by a car on a sports pitch.

A man in his 40s has been arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving, Cumbria Police said, after the crash at Kendal Rugby Union Football Club.

It is being treated as an isolated incident and there is no suggestion it is terror-related.

A black BMW i40 car was involved in the collision at the club in Shap Road at around 17:00 GMT, police said.

Chris Mason: Starmer finds subtle way to deal with Team Trump

Watch: Sir Keir Starmer pays tribute to UK troops after JD Vance comments

Week after week, there used to be a grim but poignant ritual at the start of Prime Minister's Question Time.

The prime minister of the day would begin by acknowledging by name and by rank the British servicemen and women killed serving their country.

But what happened this week was different.

Not different in how it was done or the solemnity of the moment as MPs fell quiet and listened respectfully.

But different because this time Sir Keir Starmer was marking the anniversaries of deaths rather than recent ones, which does not happen normally.

And he was doing so intentionally to mark in actions, not commentary, what the government thought of the US Vice President JD Vance's remarks about the military sacrifices of America's allies.

It is a case study in the dilemma UK ministers face: they are striving to have a close and productive relationship with a White House known for shooting its mouth off.

No 10's approach is one of discretion and avoiding the temptation to commentate.

Or to put it more crudely, don't get into a slanging match with Team Trump because you are certain to lose.

So when European leaders were tapping out various levels of social media opprobrium on Friday evening after President Zelensky's bumpy meeting in Washington, Downing Street were not.

The prime minister, we were later told, was on the phone to both President Trump and President Zelensky to try to patch things up.

In other words, leveraging the relationship he has with both to try to move things forward: governing, not commentating.

Now put yourself in the prime minister's shoes.

The Football Associations of England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales have expressed their intention to submit a joint bid to host the 2035 Women's World Cup.

The announcement follows a decision by world governing body Fifa which recommended the tournament is hosted in Europe or Africa in that year.

Bids for the 2031 and 2035 finals will have to be submitted in the fourth quarter of 2025.

The United States are the favourites to host the 2031 tournament after pulling out of the vote for 2027, which was won by Brazil.

Netflix has already secured the rights in the US to show live coverage in both of those years.

In the UK, the Women's World Cup is one of the 'crown jewel' sporting events which must be offered to free-to-air broadcasters.

The 2023 World Cup was shown on the BBC and ITV, with a peak audience of 12 million viewers watching Spain's victory over England in the final.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said any bid will have the UK government's "full support".

"Football is and always will be at the core of our country's identity," he added. "That pride was on full display when England hosted the Women's Euro 2022. It not only showed the best of our nation to the world but inspired a generation of girls into the game, all whilst boosting the economy."

A UK bid in 2035 could reportedly face a challenge from South Africa, who also withdrew from the race to host the 2027 event.

Statements from the English, Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish FAs on Wednesday expressed their delight at being part of a joint bid.

"We strongly believe that we could organise a fantastic tournament, building on the success of the Women's Euros in 2022 and the subsequent rapid growth of the women's game in England," said FA chief executive Mark Bullingham.

His counterpart at the Scottish FA, Ian Maxwell, added that it would be "part of a 10-year journey to accelerate the women's game at grassroots, domestic and international levels".

The UK has enjoyed success in recent years in hosting European football tournaments, but a World Cup has proven elusive.

The men's Euro 2028 is being played across England, Scotland, Wales and the Republic of Ireland, while England and Scotland held Euro 2020 games, with the final at Wembley in July 2021 because of Covid-related delays.

The last major tournament held in the UK was the Women's Euro 2022, when England defeated Germany in front of 87,192 fans in the Wembley final and helped further elevate the profile of the women's game.

While England hosted a men's World Cup in 1966, the UK has never hosted the women's tournament.

The past two bids by England for the men's World Cup both failed.

The 2018 bid attracted only one vote other than its own Fifa executive committee member, while in 2006 England were knocked out in the second round again with only two votes.

The UK's chances of securing the 2035 Women's World Cup are seen as much stronger, with decisions now taken by all 211 member nations.

Gardener wins case against Paddy Power over £1m prize

1 hour ago Share Save Tess de la Mare BBC News, Gloucestershire Share Save

PA Media Corrine Durber, with her husband Colin (left) and her solicitor Peter Coyle (right) outside the High Court

A gardener who was told by Paddy Power her £1m jackpot from an online game was a computer error has vowed to "enjoy retirement" after a High Court judge ruled she was entitled to the entire sum. Corrine Durber, from Gloucestershire, played the Wild Hatter game in October 2020 - a two-part game involving a fruit machine and a wheel of fortune. After spinning the jackpot wheel, Mrs Durber's iPad Screen displayed she had won the "Monster Jackpot", which was stated as £1,097,132.71. But the gambling giant only paid out £20,265 telling her she had won the smaller "Daily Jackpot", with the difference attributed to a programming error with the game's display.

Mrs Durber sued PPB Entertainment Limited, which trades as Paddy Power and Betfair, for breach of contract and for the rest of her winnings, based on what she was shown on screen. In a judgment on Wednesday, Mr Justice Ritchie granted summary judgment in her favour, meaning she won her case without a trial. He said: "When a trader puts all the risk on a consumer for its own recklessness, negligence, errors, inadequate digital services and inadequate testing, that appears onerous to me." Speaking to ITV news, Mrs Durber said the money would be lifechanging for her family. "Obviously it will look after the children, from that we'll pay their mortgages and we're going to enjoy our retirement," she said.

PA Media Corrine Durber said she would never bet with Paddy Power again

PPB had said that the outcome was determined by a random number generator, which had said she had only won the daily jackpot, but an error affected the animations of the game and showed her the wrong result. Mr Justice Ritchie said that the idea of "what you see is what you get" was central to the game. He continued in a 62-page ruling: "Objectively, customers would want and expect that what was to be shown to them on screen to be accurate and correct. "The same expectation probably applies when customers go into a physical casino and play roulette. "They expect the house to pay out on the roulette wheel if they bet on number 13 and the ball lands on number 13." The judge found that the result from the random number generator was different from the result on screen due to human error in mapping the software, which had affected 14 plays over 48 days.

'Relieved and happy'

Mrs Durber said she was "relieved and happy" that the judge had confirmed she won "fairly and squarely" £1m from Paddy Power. She added: "But why couldn't Paddy Power pay-up straight away instead of putting me through this legal torment?" Following the ruling, a spokesperson for Paddy Power, said: "We always strive to provide the best customer experience possible and pride ourselves on fairness. "We deeply regret this unfortunate case and are reviewing the judgment."

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Mahmood rejects sentencing changes after 'two-tier' claims

3 hours ago Share Save Sam Francis • @DavidSamFrancis Political reporter Dominic Casciani • @BBCDomC Home and Legal Correspondent Share Save

EPA

The justice secretary has called for the scrapping of planned changes which would make the background of offenders from minority groups a bigger factor when deciding whether to jail them. Shabana Mahmood called for the Sentencing Council to reverse course, after the Conservatives accused Labour of overseeing "two-tier justice", in which prison sentences are less likely for ethnic or faith minorities. On Wednesday, the council - which is independent but sponsored by the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) - published new guidelines for judges aimed at avoiding bias and cutting reoffending. But Mahmood said she would write to its leaders to "register my displeasure and to recommend reversing" the change.

"As someone who is from an ethnic minority background myself, I do not stand for any differential treatment before the law, for anyone of any kind," Mahmood said. "There will never be a two-tier sentencing approach under my watch."

The updated sentencing guidance, which is due to come into force from April, places a greater emphasis on the need for pre-sentence reports for judges. Pre-sentence reports give judges details on the offender's background, motives and personal life before sentencing - then recommend a punishment and what would work best for rehabilitation. But over recent years their use has decreased. Magistrates and judges will be advised to get a pre-sentence report before handing out punishment for someone of an ethnic or faith minority - alongside other groups such as young adults, abuse survivors and pregnant women. These factors are not an exhaustive list, the council said. A pre-sentence report can still be necessary if an individual does not fall into one of these cohorts.

Carmakers win reprieve from Canada and Mexico tariffs

1 hour ago Share Save Natalie Sherman BBC News Share Save

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US President Donald Trump said he would temporarily spare carmakers from a new 25% import tax imposed on Canada and Mexico, just a day after the tariffs came into effect. The announcement by the White House came even as Trump continued to blast Canada for not doing enough to stop drugs from entering the US. "Nothing has convinced me that it has stopped," Trump wrote on social media after a phone call with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau about the economic disruption caused by new trade tariffs. News of the relief helped to boost US shares, which closed higher after two days of declines that had wiped out gains the S&P 500 had seen since the presidential election in November.

The tariff exemption is for cars made in North America that comply with the continent's existing free trade agreement. That deal, which was negotiated by Trump during his first term, sets out rules for how much of a car must be made in each country to qualify for duty-free treatment. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump had backed a one-month exemption to the tariffs for the car industry after pleas from Ford, General Motors and Stellantis, which have supply chains that stretch across North America. The new tariffs - which are a tax applied as goods enter the country - were poised to disrupt a third of car production in North America within a week, according to analysts at S&P Global Mobility. Shares in Ford were up by more than 5% after the announcement, while General Motors shares rose more than 7%. Stellantis shares in the US rose more than 9%. "The president is open to hearing about additional exemptions," Ms Leavitt added. "He always has open dialogue and he'll always do what he believes is right for the American people."

Goods worth billions cross the borders of the US, Canada and Mexico each day and their economies are deeply integrated. The Canadian Chamber of Commerce warned that affordability would be hurt and business relationships would suffer, despite the chances for targeted relief. "We've seen this movie before. President Trump puts tariffs in place and then doles out exemptions one at a time," said Matthew Holmes, the organisation's chief of public policy. "That is not how a long-lasting trade alliance is built." Ontario Premier Doug Ford told Canadian media that the one-month reprieve for automakers would not alter his plans for retaliation, which have already included a halt to sales of US liquor in the province.

Trump's moves, and his threats to impose "reciprocal" tariffs on countries around the world, have raised fears of a wider trade war. As well as Mexico and Canada, he hit goods from China with an additional tariff on Tuesday, raising levies to at least 20% and prompting the country to retaliate against US exports, including agricultural products. Canada also responded with its own retaliatory import levies on US goods after Washington's 25% tariffs on its two neighbours came into effect on Tuesday, affecting items including peanut butter, oranges and wine. Mexico also said it would respond, including with its own tariffs. "I don't know where we go with this and how it ends. I just hope that it ends quickly," said Iowa farmer Bob Hemesath, the board president for lobby group Farmers for Free Trade, which has raised concerns about the tariffs.

Beavers captured from Scotland have been released into the wild in England for the first time under new rules that were announced last week.

They were set free on a river bank in Dorset as part of a plan by conservationists who say that the beavers love of dam building will increase biodiversity.

The farmers union has said the release is a mistake and that beavers damage agricultural fields.

Scientists crack how aspirin might stop cancers from spreading

7 hours ago Share Save James Gallagher • @JamesTGallagher Health and science correspondent Share Save

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Scientists believe they have discovered how the cheap painkiller aspirin can stop cancers spreading. In animal experiments they showed the drug enhanced the ability of the immune system to fight back. The team at the University of Cambridge said it was an exciting and surprise discovery that could eventually lead to cancer patients being prescribed the drug - but not yet and people are advised against just taking the pills themselves. Regular aspirin comes with risks and trials are still trying to figure out which patients are most likely to benefit.

Tantalising data from more than a decade ago showed people who were already taking a daily aspirin were more likely to survive if they were diagnosed with cancer. But how? It appears to centre on a moment of vulnerability for a cancer - when a lone cell breaks off from the original tumour and tries, like a seed on the wind, to spread elsewhere in the body. This process is called metastasis and is the cause of the majority of deaths from cancer. Part of our immune defences - a white blood cell called a T-cell - can swoop in and destroy the spreading cancer as it tries to take root. But the study showed that another part of our blood - the platelets that normally stop bleeding - were suppressing the T-cells and making it harder for them to take out the cancer. Aspirin disrupts the platelets and removes their influence over the T-cells so they can hunt out the cancer. Prof Rahul Roychoudhuri, from the University of Cambridge, told me: "What we've discovered is that aspirin might work, surprisingly, by unleashing the power of the immune system to recognize and kill metastasizing cancer cells." He thinks the drug would work best in cancers that have been caught early and could be used after treatment such as surgery to help the immune system find any cancer that might already have spread.

Should I take aspirin for cancer?

The most natural question for anybody with cancer to ask is should they be taking aspirin. "If you are a cancer patient, don't rush to your local pharmacy to buy aspirin just yet, but actively consider participation in ongoing or upcoming trials of aspirin," says Prof Mangesh Thorat, a surgeon and cancer researcher at Queen Mary University of London. He says the study provided "the missing piece of the jigsaw puzzle" in understanding how aspirin works, but there were still questions to answer. Aspirin can cause dangerous internal bleeding including strokes so the risks have to be balanced. It is also not clear whether the effect works for all cancer or just specific ones. And this is still animal research so while the scientists think this would apply in people that will still need to be confirmed. Some patients - with Lynch syndrome, which increases the risk of cancers - are already recommended aspirin. But it will still take proper clinical trials to understand whether more patients would benefit too. These are already under way. Prof Ruth Langley, from the MRC Clinical Trials Unit at University College London, is leading the Add-Aspirin trial to see if aspirin can stop early stage cancers from coming back. She said the study's results were "an important discovery" as they would help to work out "who is most likely to benefit from aspirin after a cancer diagnosis". However, she again warned of the risks of taking aspirin and to "always talk to your doctor before starting". In the long-run, Prof Roychoudhuri suspects new drugs would be developed that take the benefits of aspirin, but with fewer of the risky side-effects.

'Eureka moment'

'Depraved and cowardly' rapist may have attacked 50 more women

8 hours ago Share Save Daniel Sandford • @BBCDanielS UK correspondent Share Save

BBC

Warning: This article contains distressing details and descriptions of rape When he was arrested in January 2024, serial rapist Zhenhao Zou was living on the 39th floor of an expensive block of London flats with views across the city. A PhD student from China, he had been studying at University College London (UCL) and was paying more than £4,000 a month in rent. Police found his bedroom had been equipped with hidden cameras and discovered a wardrobe stocked with alcohol, ecstasy and an industrial chemical that the human body turns into the "date rape" drug GHB. He had a pipette for carefully measuring doses of the dangerous liquid. But detectives also found 1,277 videos on his electronic devices. At least some were filmed by Zou showing him raping unconscious women. The footage had been filmed in both the UK and China. Police were able to charge him with multiple assaults on women in both countries - including the rapes of women who have never come forward and have never been identified.

Police enter Zhenhao Zou’s London flat and arrest him on suspicion of rape

During his trial at Inner London Crown Court, jurors had to watch footage found on Zou's devices of nine of the rapes. Zou, now 28, claimed he had been sleeping with five different women a month and taking cocaine, ketamine, ecstasy and what he called "liquid E" - the "date rape" drug GHB. He admitted that having sex with unconscious women was one of his fantasies, but he claimed the women in the videos found on his phone and cameras were "acting" - helping, he claimed, to bring his rape fantasies to life in exchange for money and gifts. However, the jury ultimately decided he was a serial rapist who had been drugging young women and filming the attacks. Zou has now been found guilty of 11 rapes of 10 different women - two who have been identified and another eight who have yet to be traced - across two different continents. Detectives say they fear he may have raped as many as 50 more women. "This man may well turn out to be one of the most prolific sexual predators that we've ever seen in this country," Commander Kevin Southworth, from the Metropolitan Police, told the BBC.

'Machiavellian individual'

Many of the women he raped were completely unconscious. One - who we are calling Ms L - said she woke up to find Zou raping her before she drifted back into unconsciousness. Another - who we are calling Ms N - only discovered Zou had secretly filmed himself raping her when detectives found the video in his flat, eight months after she had first reported him. "I think he is a devious and Machiavellian individual," Commander Southworth told the BBC. He said Zou would meet women socially, or through social media, and then take them back to his flat where he would ply them with drink laced with drugs. "He would commit those sexual assaults while they're incapacitated and possibly even while they're asleep and completely unaware," added Commander Southworth.

Metropolitan Police Inside Zou's flat police found a bottle of liquid used to drug women, along with a pipette to measure it out

Metropolitan Police

Zou - who comes from Dongguan City, in southern China, close to Hong Kong - grew up in a wealthy family who owned several properties in China and were able afford the hefty fees for his higher education in the UK. His nickname was Pakho, the name some of the women he later raped knew him by. At the age of 20 he moved to Northern Ireland to finish the final two years of his mechanical engineering degree at Queen's University, Belfast (QUB). In September 2019, he then moved to London to study a Masters in mechanical engineering at UCL, but returned to China the following year during the Covid-19 pandemic. While there, in November 2020, he used an obscure messaging app to download what amounted to an instruction manual on how to drug and rape young women. One advert police found on his phone had the words "effects guaranteed" splashed across pictures of sleeping, naked women. On his telephone police also found seven videos of him raping women in China. They were referred to in court as Females B, C, D, E, F, G, H. Five of the women looked completely unconscious in the videos. One, Female G, appeared to wake briefly while Zou was raping her, but struggled to maintain consciousness. Female H could be heard snoring. Another woman, Female D, was unconscious when the rape began but came round and repeatedly told Zou "please, no", while trying to fight him off. The videos were so disturbing that the judge, Rosina Cottage KC, made sure the jurors watched them as little as possible. Detectives have not been able to track down the women in China.

'No comment': Video shows police interviewing Zhenhao Zou

Although some of his victims were raped in China, Zou could be put on trial in the UK because he was resident here. Saira Pike, from the Crown Prosecution Service, said it was important to bring justice for the unknown females who Zou could be seen raping in videos. "It was really important that we fight for them," she said. "I was determined to go forward with that and not use the fact that we couldn't identify the females as a deterrent from getting justice for them." But Zou did not only rape women in China.

'I hate you'

Two of the most distressing videos showed the rape of Female A at Zou's student accommodation in Bloomsbury, central London. Police have never been able to establish who Female A is, and it is unclear if she was raped before or after Zou's trip to China during the pandemic. At the start of the first video, Female A was seen to be unconscious, but woke and pleaded with Zou to stop. "I hate you," she can be heard saying. "It's pointless," Zou replied. "The sound insulation here is very good." The second video is similar. Both had been filmed on a tiny spy camera the size of a thumb, placed on a shelf on the other side of the room. When detectives first found the videos they could not extract the sound. At first Zou insisted the woman in the video was fully consenting to sex. But just before the trial, detectives managed to recover the sound, showing Female A was clearly under the influence of drugs or alcohol, and that she was begging him to stop. Zou then changed his story, telling the jury it was "rape role play" and the young woman had been acting. "Zou is plainly a depraved and cowardly individual who's preyed on his victim survivors in the most despicable manner," Commander Southworth said.

Metropolitan Police A thumb-sized spy camera recorded Zou raping Female A

Police have never been able to trace Female A. However, two women did give evidence against Zou during the trial. Ms N, a young Chinese student, described how she first met Zou in May 2023. He had been helping her with maths. A few days later, they both went to a party at another flat in his luxury block, the UNCLE building, in Elephant and Castle. After the party, he persuaded her to go back to his flat where he plied her with drinks. The court heard Zou then dragged her into his bedroom where he raped her.

'Finish the drink'

Some of their conversation in the flat was recorded on a spy camera beside Zou's bed, which was triggered by a motion sensor. "Finish the drink," Zou kept saying on the video. "Finish the drink. It should not be wasted." Ms N does not remember much after drinking the large glass of vodka. She reported the rape to the police soon afterwards, but unsure of the law, and she says discouraged by the officers' response - including a poor translation of her 999 call - she decided not to pursue the allegation. The Metropolitan Police have said it was regretful victims did not get the best translation. "There is undoubtedly some learning from the first response that these victims received," Commander Southworth added. Eight months after Ms N first spoke to police, detectives contacted her again, telling her they had found the videos of Zou plying her with drink, and photographs on his phone showing her being raped.

Ms N was so upset about her ordeal that she also posted on the Chinese social media app Red Note (Xiaohongshu) warning other women about Zou. This was spotted by another woman - Ms L - who replied and said she had had a similar experience. Ms L said she met Zou when she was 19, in August 2021. They had consensual sex a couple of times and had agreed to meet up with friends at a restaurant in London's Chinatown. The group moved onto a private room at another restaurant, drinking several bottles of Jack Daniel's. She has little memory of what happened after, but she ended up at Zou's Bloomsbury flat. "When I woke up I found him on top of me having sex," she said.

Metropolitan Police Detectives found controlled drugs in Zou's flat

Metropolitan Police

When they searched Zou's flat after his arrest, police found four spy cameras. The court heard they also found a yellow Fendi "trophy box" in the wardrobe containing jewellery and clothing which police think may have belonged to women he raped. Police have not found any phones, computers or cameras from his time in Belfast so they do not know if his campaign of drug rape had already begun while he was studying there. UCL said Zou was suspended on 27 January 2024 and he stopped studying there "as soon we were informed about the allegations". The university said its online portal was available for students and staff affected by the case and that it was supporting the police appeal.

Zou was found guilty of 11 charges of raping 10 women, three counts of voyeurism, three counts of possessing a controlled drug with intent to rape, and one count of false imprisonment. The jury found him not guilty of charges of possessing MDMA, Ketamine and Xanax with intent to rape. They also found him not guilty of two charges of possessing extreme pornography depicting rape. Commander Southworth added: "We have video evidence of as many as potentially 50 further victim survivors who we are desperate to trace so that we can establish what has happened to them." "Such is the insidious nature of this offending, I think there is a possibility that many more victim survivors may not even know that he has raped them," he added. Detectives are asking any woman who may have spent any time alone with Zou - whether in China or in the UK - to come forward.

Where can the government cut billions from the welfare budget?

4 hours ago Share Save Ben Chu BBC Verify Share Save

PA

Chancellor Rachel Reeves has earmarked "several billion pounds" in draft spending cuts to welfare ahead of her Spring Statement, according to the BBC. When asked about the welfare budget, the Justice Secretary, Shabana Mahmood said: "Our current situation is unsustainable… we've seen a huge rise in that welfare budget." BBC Verify has examined this budget and where the cuts might fall.

How big is the welfare budget?

Before looking at where the welfare budget might be cut, it is necessary to understand the size of the budget and how it has grown. At the time of the October 2024 Budget, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) forecast that total spending on health and disability benefits would rise from £64.7bn in 2023-24 to £100.7bn in 2029-30.

And the OBR projected that the biggest contributor to this increase would be from welfare spending on working-age adults, defined as those aged between 16 and 64. The OBR projected spending on this sector would rise from £48.5bn in 2023-24 to £75.7bn in 2029-30.

Why is the welfare bill growing?

The OBR cited rising numbers of people coming on to incapacity and disability benefits as driving its latest forecasts. The forecaster is essentially assuming the trend of rising benefits claims in recent years will continue. In the five years after 2009-2010, more people were coming off incapacity benefits than on.

But in recent years - and especially since the 2020-21 Covid pandemic - more people have been coming on to benefits than off them. And the OBR forecast the share of the working-age population in receipt of an incapacity benefit would rise from 7% in 2024 to a record high of 7.9% in 2029. The reasons for this are not totally clear. Some experts point to the damaging and lasting impact of the pandemic on physical health. Others reference the rise in mental ill health, especially among younger people. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has reported that the number of people aged 18 to 24 who are not in education, employment or training (Neet) rose to 907,000 at the end of last year, a 30% increase on the level before the pandemic in 2020 (although the ONS also cautioned the survey used to collect the data was potentially unreliable). Other experts place the emphasis on financial incentives in the welfare system - where people can get higher payments for being on sickness benefits than from being unemployed or in low-paid, part-time work. The standard allowance for a single person on Universal Credit is £311.68 per month. If someone is deemed to have "limited capacity for work-related activity", the criteria to receive incapacity benefits, they are eligible for an extra £416.19 per month on top. But there is no consensus on what's causing the trend. "It is not yet known what factors are driving this increase," says Eduin Latimer of the Institute for Fiscal Studies. "Figuring out what is behind the recent rise must surely be a top priority for the government if it is going to be able to respond appropriately."

Which elements of the welfare bill might be cut?

Ministers have not said where they will seek cuts, but the largest element of the working-age welfare bill is incapacity or long-term sickness benefits - paid via Universal Credit or the legacy system of Employment and Support Allowance. If the government wants to make significant savings from the working-age welfare bill it will probably need to find some savings here. But the second largest single element of the working-age welfare bill is Personal Independence Payments (PIP) - a benefit for people under state pension age who need help with daily activities because of a long-term illness or disability. PIP claimants can be in work. In 2023-24, PIP totalled £18bn and that's projected to almost double to £34bn by 2029-30. That would mean the number of claimants rising from 2.7 million to 4.2 million. As with the rise in the overall welfare bill, there's no consensus among experts on what's driving rising PIP claims, but this is also somewhere the government might well look to make some savings. The previous Conservative government had explored making it harder for younger people with mental health conditions to claim PIP.

Can significant savings be made?

Zelensky's conciliatory letter to Trump suggests he's out of options

Last night, Ukraine's leader gave his evening address from the courtyard outside Kyiv's Presidential Office. It was the same spot where he gave the now famous "we are all here" speech with his cabinet on the second day of Russia's invasion.

"The president behaved with dignity" said former MP Boryslav Bereza, who described Zelensky's softening of tone as an "apology".

"A very bad decision," remarked blogger and army serviceman Yuriy Kasyanov, who thinks the US "won't help Ukraine with anything" after this mineral deal is signed.

Whether Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky's decision to patch up relations with his US counterpart Donald Trump is wise depends on who you ask in Ukraine.

Back then, he'd turned down offers to leave. Many in the West expected Russia to be in the capital within days, with the president being captured or killed.

Three years on, it seems his choice to keep fighting has gradually been taken away from him.

He said he was ready to work under Trump's "strong leadership" and that it was "time to make things right".

Washington's hostile rhetoric, that Oval Office meeting and the "pausing" of US military aid have forced him to bend to Trump's peace vision.

Up until last week, Zelensky had held firm that Ukraine would only agree to peace if its security was guaranteed, otherwise it would fight on.

He also accused Trump of living in a "disinformation space" after the US president repeated some of Moscow's claims.

All of this served as a prelude to Friday's fiery exchange with Trump and US Vice-President JD Vance, who accused Zelensky of having "disrespected" the US and ultimately told him to leave.

The Ukrainian leader had a warmer reception from European leaders at the weekend - but while they pledged to help secure Ukraine in the future, they made clear peace would still require US involvement.

Then, on Tuesday, Trump paused US military aid to Ukraine, raising concerns it may only be able to hold out for a matter of months - and leaving Zelensky to make his peace with the situation.

In a letter to the US president, he even gave specifics on what the first stage of a peace process could involve, including a naval and aerial ceasefire - proposals first suggested by France's President Emmanuel Macron over the weekend.

Trump said he appreciated the letter, in a sign of cooling tensions between the two leaders, and that Zelensky had agreed to strike a peace deal.

What is more telling is Zelensky's willingness now to sign a mineral deal without the security guarantees he is hoping for - and had portrayed as essential until very recently.

The US has suggested the presence of US companies mining for natural resources would be enough to put Russia off breaking a ceasefire. However, American businesses didn't exactly put Moscow off from launching its full-scale invasion.

What's even more telling are the lack of compromises Russia would seemingly have to make in any peace agreement.

Perhaps Zelensky has run out of political road, and with his European allies acknowledging that they still need the US, Washington seems still to be the only place for him to turn to.

Nine things about Lesotho - the country 'nobody has ever heard of'

4 hours ago Share Save Basillioh Rukanga BBC News Share Save

AFP People from Lesotho are called Basotho

US President Donald Trump has said that "nobody has ever heard of" the African country of Lesotho - a comment that has "shocked" its government. It is a small country in southern Africa that almost entirely consists of mountains and is completely surrounded by South Africa. Here are nine things to know about the country:

'The Kingdom in the Sky'

The Kingdom of Lesotho is made up mostly of highlands, where many villages can only be reached on horseback, by foot or light aircraft. It is known as the "Kingdom in the Sky" and is the only independent state in the world that lies entirely above 1,000m (3,281ft) in elevation, according to Encyclopaedia Britannica. Its lowest point is at 1,400m. It is known to have one of the world's most intimidating airstrips to land on - the Matekane Airstrip has a short runway and with long drops at both ends. The Business Insider website describes flying from the airport as "essentially the same as when a bird is pushed out of the nest in order to learn to fly".

It's completely surrounded by South Africa

Lesotho is completely encircled by South Africa, but separated by the forbidding mountain ranges. Not much of its land is available for farming, with its population vulnerable to food shortages and relying on income from jobs in South Africa. Over the decades thousands of workers have been forced by the lack of job opportunities at home to find work in South Africa. The people of Lesotho, who number more than two million, share some cultural and language similarities with South Africans. Their language, Sesotho, is also one of South Africa's 11 official languages. In fact, more people speak it in South Africa - 4.6 million - than in Lesotho.

Watch: Trump says "nobody has ever heard of" Lesotho

Lesotho's biggest resource is 'white gold'

Resources are scarce in Lesotho - a consequence of the harsh environment of the highland plateau and limited agricultural space in the lowlands. Its biggest resource is water - known locally as white gold - which is exported to South Africa. Diamonds are another major export. Who benefits from Lesotho’s ‘white gold’?

The highest ski resort in sub-Saharan Africa

AFP Snowboarders and skiers from across the world travel to Lesotho's AfriSki

When you think of skiing and snowboarding, you may imagine the snowy slopes of Europe and North America. But Lesotho has been making itself known on the snowsports scene. It has the highest ski resort in sub-Saharan Africa, one of just a handful on the continent. Afriski is situated 3,222m above sea level, high up in Lesotho's Maloti mountains and attracts visitors from Africa and beyond. WATCH: Is Lesotho the next top ski resort?

People from Lesotho are called Basotho

People from Lesotho are referred to as Basotho. Some of the cultural items associated with the Basotho people are their blankets and the Basotho traditional conical hats, known as the mokorotlo. The hat is a national symbol and appears in the middle of the country's flag. The blankets are made from thick wool, with their intricate and colourful patterns each telling a different story of the Basotho people's history. The Basotho wear them as shawls at special events and give them as gifts.

AFP The Basotho people are well known for their traditional blankets

It has one of the highest HIV rates in the world

Lesotho has one of the highest rates of HIV prevalence in the world, with one in five adults living with HIV, and more infections per 100,000 people than most other countries, including neighbouring Namibia, Botswana and Eswatini. The US government has committed nearly $1bn to help the country deal with HIV since 2006, including for prevention, care and treatment services, according to the US State Department.

Prince Harry has long-standing personal charity interests in Lesotho

Like the United Kingdom, Lesotho is a constitutional monarchy. This means that although it has a royal family, an elected prime minister runs the country. Lesotho's Prince Seeiso - the younger brother of current King Letsie III - is close friends with the UK's Prince Harry. The pair have set up a charity in Lesotho - Sentebale, which means "forget me not". The organisation works with local communities in the country at grassroots level, helping young people affected by HIV/Aids. Prince Harry first went to Lesotho as a 19-year-old and has returned to the country many times since then.

It exports jeans to the US

Jeans have long been associated with the American West but nowadays, many of the pairs worn in the US have come from halfway across the world, in Lesotho. Lesotho's garment factories have made jeans for iconic American brands such as Levi's and Wrangler in recent years. As a result, Lesotho has become known as the "denim capital of Africa". And it is not just jeans - Lesotho is one of sub-Saharan Africa's largest exporters of clothing in general to the US. Last year, Lesotho exported $237m (£184m) worth of clothes and textiles to the US through the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa), which allows eligible African countries to send some goods to the US without paying taxes. It is ranked second by value of goods exported under the deal. Many of Lesotho's clothing and textile factories are owned by Chinese and Taiwanese migrants. WATCH: 'Our textiles use iconic symbols of Lesotho'

Getty Images The mokorotlo, a traditional Basotho hat, is worn here by Lesotho's former King Moshoeshoe II

The country with the world's highest suicide rate

The mountain kingdom has the world's highest suicide rate, with 87.5 people per 100,000 of the population taking their own life every year, according to the UN World Health Organization. This is nearly 10 times the global average of nine and more than double the country with the second highest rate, Guyana, which has about 40. There is no single reason for this shocking statistic - experts point to the abuse of drugs and alcohol, the shortage of jobs and the lack of mental health counselling. The small African country with the world's highest suicide rate Additional reporting by Wedaeli Chibelushi

Getty Images/BBC

Man swallows stolen Tiffany earrings before police arrest him

An alleged thief in Florida swallowed stolen earrings worth more than half a million dollars moments before police took him into custody last week.

Orlando police have accused the man, 32-year-old Jaythan Gilder, of lying to Tiffany & Co. employees in a Florida store by telling them he represented "a professional athlete", which led employees to show him "several high-value pieces".

Mr Gilder then allegedly stole the earrings and ran out of the store.

When officers caught up with him later that day, they saw Mr Gilder "swallowing several objects believed to be the stolen earrings," police said.

Real-life shipwreck story wins major book award

4 hours ago Share Save Ian Youngs Culture reporter, BBC News Share Save

Getty Images Maralyn and Maurice Bailey, pictured back on the water the year after their ordeal

The true story of a British couple who spent four months adrift on a life raft in the Pacific Ocean, after their boat was sunk by a whale, has been named the best book of last year at a prestigious ceremony. Maurice and Maralyn: An Extraordinary True Story of Shipwreck, Survival and Love, by Sophie Elmhirst, won the £30,000 Gold Prize at the Nero Book Awards, on Wednesday. It tells the story of Maurice and Maralyn Bailey, who sold their Derbyshire bungalow to build a boat and set sail for New Zealand, in 1972, but had to survive at sea for 118 days after it sank. Author Bill Bryson, who chaired the judges, called it "an enthralling, engrossing story of survival and the resilience of the human spirit".

Small sharks

The Baileys set off in search of adventure in 1972 but struck disaster the following year, en route to the Galapagos Islands. After the whale cracked a hole in their boat's hull, they had time to deploy their 4ft (1.2m) life raft and rescue a small amount of rations. Maralyn crafted a fishing line, using a safety pin from a first-aid kit and a piece of string, and survived on raw fish, turtles and small sharks. She also invented card and word games and made dominoes out of scraps of paper, to keep their minds occupied.

Sophie Davidson Author Sophie Elmhirst came across the Baileys on a website dedicated to castaway stories

Elmhirst, a journalist, came across the Baileys on a website dedicated to castaway stories, and set about researching their journey using Maralyn's diary and books Maurice published after their rescue. Her book won the Nero Book Awards Non-Fiction category in January and has now won the overall Gold Prize for Book of the Year 2024.

'Unfolding drama'

Bryson said: "Impressively novelistic in its narrative approach, it is a gripping retelling of a true but forgotten story. "It is a story of a marriage as much as of an adventure at sea, one that subtly explores the dynamics of a relationship under the greatest imaginable stress." Elmhirst's writing was "understated but powerful, immersing the reader intimately in the unfolding drama and the horror of struggling to survive against the odds with very few resources", he added. The other judges were novelist Bernardine Evaristo and journalist Emily Maitlis. "We unanimously agreed that Maurice and Maralyn is a non-fiction work that reaches the highest literary eminence," Bryson added. The Nero Book Awards are the successors to the Costa Book Awards and were founded in 2023.

Briton captured while fighting for Ukraine jailed in Russia

The UK Foreign Office said Mr Anderson was sentenced on "false charges" and described him as a prisoner of war.

The 22-year-old is the first British national to be convicted by Russia during the war.

James Scott Rhys Anderson was reportedly captured in Russia's Kursk region last November, where Ukraine had launched a cross-border incursion, and was charged with terrorism and mercenary activity.

A British man who was captured while fighting for Ukraine's armed forces has been jailed for 19 years by a Russian military court.

A statement released by the Russian court claimed Mr Anderson had pleaded guilty but this cannot be verified, as he has not been heard from independently since he was taken.

On Wednesday, a Russian military court ruled that Mr Anderson would spend the first five years of his sentence in prison before being transferred to a penal colony with "strict" conditions.

Russian investigators had accused him of "committing a terrorist act" as part of an organised group, illegally crossing the border into Russia, causing "significant damage to property" and having "destabilised" the activities of authorities.

But those claims were rejected by a UK Foreign Office spokesperson, who said they "strongly condemn" Mr Anderson's sentencing on "false charges".

"Under international law, prisoners of war cannot be prosecuted for participating in hostilities.

"We demand that Russia respect these obligations, including those under the Geneva Conventions, and stop using prisoners of war for political and propaganda purposes.

"We remain in close contact with Mr Anderson's family and are providing consular support."

Mr Anderson's three-day trial was held behind closed doors. Video footage released by the Kursk court showed Mr Anderson being led into court in handcuffs wearing a winter hat and jacket that appeared to be prison uniform.

Reports of Mr Anderson's capture first came to light after a video circulated online showing a man identifying himself while being captured. In another video, he identified himself as a former British Army soldier from Oxfordshire.

While Mr Anderson is the first UK citizen accused of fighting for Ukraine to be captured and convicted by Russia, two British captives were sentenced to death in Russia-occupied Donetsk - however, they were later released in a prisoner exchange.

Serbia's opposition under fire for smoke and flare protest in parliament

4 hours ago Share Save Guy Delauney BBC Balkans correspondent Share Save

Watch: Chaos as MPs throw smoke grenades inside Serbian Parliament

The cleaners had scrubbed the debating chamber clean before MPs arrived for Wednesday's session in Serbia's National Assembly. Spent smoke bombs, smears of egg yolk and a dusting of white fire extinguisher powder had all been removed from the benches and tables after the mayhem of the previous day. The police had also been on the scene. They were gathering evidence for potential criminal charges against the MPs who had plunged the parliament into a fug of pink and black smoke as they unfurled banners accusing the government of corruption.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic labelled the scenes "hooliganism". He said he was "looking for responsibility, criminal law" to be applied. Three female MPs were hurt. One of them was hit on the back of the head by an object, although it was unclear who threw it, and another apparently suffered a stroke. The EU said a parliament should be a place for democratic debate and that it was very concerned. Opposition party MPs were unabashed. The co-leader of the Green-Left Front, Radomir Lazovic, had let off a fire extinguisher from his seat in the chamber.

EPA Opposition seats in parliament were deserted on Wednesday

He described the intervention as "a response to the violence that has been perpetrated against the citizens of Serbia for 13 years". That covers the period that the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) has been in power. Under the leadership of Vucic - who previously served as deputy prime minister and prime minister - the party has been an election-winning machine. The SNS has emerged victorious from no fewer than five parliamentary elections since it first formed a governing coalition in 2012.

Serbian PM quits after months of mass protests

Fury over Serbia station tragedy prompts first arrests Its opponents claim that has more to do with the party's domination of Serbia's media outlets and state institutions than its policies. But Vucic has successfully projected an image of strong, effective leadership that appeals to a large proportion of Serbia's electorate - particularly outside the main urban areas. He has weathered plenty of protest movements over the years. All of them have fizzled out without dislodging the president or his party.

Liverpool complete one of the biggest smash and grabs in Champions League history to come away from their last-16 first leg against Paris St-Germain with a win.

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