An animal rights group argued Missy, Kimba, Lucky, LouLou and Jambo were effectively imprisoned at the zoo, and had filed to have them moved to an elephant sanctuary.

It tried to bring a habeas corpus claim on behalf of the animals – a legal process which allows a person to challenge their detention in court.

The Colorado Supreme Court said the matter boiled down to “whether an elephant is a person” and therefore had the same liberty rights as a human – ultimately deciding that they did not.

It ruled 6-0 in favour of a previous district court decision that said the state’s habeas corpus process “only applies to persons, and not to nonhuman animals”.

This was true “no matter how cognitively, psychologically, or socially sophisticated they may be,” State Supreme Court Justice Maria Berkenkotter added in her ruling.

While she said the five elderly African elephants were “majestic,” the court ruled the claim could not be brought “because an elephant is not a person”.

The Nonhuman Rights Project (NRP) petitioned for the elephants to be moved from Cheyenne Mountain Zoo to a “suitable elephant sanctuary” in 2023.

The group argued the animals had a right to freedom because they were emotionally complex and intelligent animals.

It claimed the elephants showed signs of “trauma, brain damage, and chronic stress” and that they were effectively “imprisoned” at the zoo.

Cheyenne Mountain Zoo rejected the claim, arguing the elephants had received remarkable care, and was supported by a district court.

After the Supreme Court ruling, Cheyenne Mountain Zoo called NRP’s lawsuit “frivolous” and said it had “wasted” time and money on the case.

It accused the group of “abusing court systems to fundraise” and claimed its goal was “to manipulate people into donating to their cause by incessantly publicising sensational court cases with relentless calls for supporters to donate”.

NRP said the decision “perpetuate[d] a clear injustice, stating that unless an individual is human they have no right to liberty”.

“As with other social justice movements, early losses are expected as we challenge an entrenched status quo that has allowed Missy, Kimba, Lucky, LouLou, and Jambo to be relegated to a lifetime of mental and physical suffering,” the group said in a statement.

An earlier bid by NRP to free an elephant named Happy from New York’s Bronx Zoo was rejected after the court judged she was not legally a person.

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The troops will not be involved in “law enforcement”, acccording to a senior military official. They will initially be used to build physical barriers and other “border missions”.

A senior military official tells BBC’s US partner, CBS News, that 1,000 army personnel and 500 marines will move to San Diego in California and El Paso in Texas. They will work on the placement of barriers and other “border missions”.

They will not be involved in law enforcement, the official says.

Two C-17 and two C-130 aircraft, along with helicopters, will also be sent to the US border with Mexico.

Acting Secretary of Defense Robert Salesses says the department will provide military airlift to support deportation flights of more than 5,000 people he describes as “illegal aliens”.

Meanwhile, all refugee travel to the US is being suspended, following a separate order, one of several signed by Trump in the first few days of his presidency.

Earlier, Trump urged Russia’s Vladimir Putin to make a deal to end the “ridiculous” Ukraine war or face new tariffs and sanctions.

In a social media post, he said he had a good relationship with his Russian counterpart but if a deal was not made soon he would impose economic penalties.

Russian ambassador to the UN Dmitry Polyanskiy responded saying, “We have to see what does the ‘deal’ mean”?

The temporary shelters in Ciudad Juarez will have the capacity to house thousands of people and should be ready in a matter of days, said municipal official Enrique Licon.

“It’s unprecedented,” Licon said on Tuesday afternoon, as workers unloaded long metal bracings from tractor trailers parked in the large empty lot yards from the Rio Grande, which separates the city from El Paso, Texas.

The tents in Ciudad Juarez are part of the Mexican government’s plan to ready shelters and reception centers in nine cities across northern Mexico.

Authorities at the site will provide deported Mexicans with food, temporary housing, medical care, and assistance in obtaining identity documents, according to a government document outlining the strategy, called “Mexico embraces you.”

The government is also planning to have a fleet of buses ready to transport Mexicans from the reception centers back to their hometowns.

Trump has vowed to carry out the largest deportation effort in U.S. history, which would remove millions of immigrants. An operation of that scale, however, would likely take years and be hugely costly.

Nearly 5 million Mexicans are living in the United States without authorization, according to an analysis by Mexican think tank El Colegio de la Frontera Norte (COLEF) based on recent U.S. census data.

Many are from parts of central and southern Mexico wracked by violence and poverty. Some 800,000 undocumented Mexicans in the United States are from Michoacan, Guerrero, and Chiapas, according to the COLEF study, where fierce battles between organized crime groups have forced thousands to flee in recent years, sometimes leaving whole towns abandoned.

MEXICO COULD STRUGGLE

The Mexican government says it is ready for the possibility of mass deportations. But immigration advocates have their doubts, fearing that the combination of mass deportations and Trump’s measures to prevent migrants from entering the U.S. could quickly saturate Mexican border cities.

The Trump administration on Monday ended a program, known as CBP One, that allowed some migrants waiting in Mexico to enter the U.S. legally by obtaining an appointment on a government app. On Tuesday it said it was reinstating Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP), an initiative that forced non-Mexican asylum seekers to wait in Mexico for the resolution of their U.S. cases.

On Monday, Jose Luis Perez, then director of migration issues for Tijuana, became one of the few Mexican officials to raise public concerns about whether Mexico was really prepared.

“Basically, with the cancellation of CBP One and deportations, the government isn’t coordinated to receive them,” he said.

Hours later, he was fired in what he said was retaliation for issuing such warnings.
The municipal government did not answer questions about his termination.

“Mexico will do everything necessary to care for its compatriots, and will allocate whatever is necessary to receive those who are repatriated,” Mexico’s Interior Minister Rosa Icela Rodriguez said on Monday during the daily morning press conference.

But with sluggish economic growth projected this year, Mexico could struggle to absorb millions of Mexicans deported from the U.S., while a significant drop in remittances could cause “serious economic disruptions” in the towns and villages across the country that depend on such income, said Wayne Cornelius, distinguished emeritus professor at the University of California-San Diego.

On Thursday evening in Ciudad Juarez, some two dozen soldiers worked at the tent shelter near a tall black cross where in 2016, Pope Francis held an open-air Mass, warned of a humanitarian crisis, and prayed for migrants. The soldiers, in the deepening darkness, began constructing an industrial kitchen to feed the deported.

A new fast-moving wildfire has erupted in Los Angeles County, prompting thousands to evacuate a region already reeling from the most destructive fires in its history.

The Hughes fire ignited about 45 miles northwest of the city of Los Angeles on Wednesday afternoon, near Castaic Lake in a mountainous area that borders several residential areas and schools.

The out-of-control blaze has grown to more than 8,000 acres in several hours fuelled by winds and dry brush that is acting as fuel. No homes or businesses have been damaged, but about 19,000 residents have been forced to flee and Interstate 5 – the primary highway running along the US West Coast from Mexico to Canada – is closed.

The new fire is burning north of the two mammoth blazes – which are still burning – that destroyed multiple neighbourhoods in the Los Angeles area earlier this month.

Reuters

Scottish researchers are working on a new AI tool that could be used by high-street opticians to spot the early signs of dementia.

Photographs taken of the retina at the back of the eye can give an indication of brain health, and by using AI software to analyse the information, scientists may be able to spot signs of disease before any symptoms are experienced.

The NeurEYE research team has collected almost a million eye scans from opticians across Scotland – the largest data set of its kind in the world – and with the help of AI has developed an algorithm that can assess the health of the blood vessels in the eye that could indicate neurogenerative diseases.

The database the team has built up can be applied to photographs taken during routine eye examinations and could eventually be used by clinicians to either prevent disease from occurring, or to diagnose conditions at a far earlier stage than is currently available.

Edinburgh Innovations

Musician Chris Brown says he’s suing a film studio over a documentary released last year which included accusations of sexual assault.

Chris Brown: A History of Violence was released by Warner Bros in October and featured testimony from an anonymous dancer who claimed he raped her on a yacht in 2020.

In a statement, the Forever singer’s lawyers say the film is “defamatory”, and her claims were “baseless” and “sensationalised”, accusing Warner Bros of “recklessly damaging” his reputation.

As well as Warner Bros, the lawsuit also names production company Ample. Neither firm responded when contacted for comment by BBC Newsbeat.

A year ago, at just 16 years old, he says he was forcibly recruited into a drug cartel in his home state of Michoacán, Mexico.

Recounting his story of horror and escape, Marcos (not his real name) says he and his family fled Michoacán with only what they were wearing.

Leaving for the pharmacy one evening to buy painkillers for his mother’s toothache, he says he was suddenly surrounded by four pick-up trucks with armed men inside.

“Get in,” he says they ordered, “or we’ll kill your family.”

They dragged him off to a shack where several other youths were in the same predicament, according to Marcos.

For months, he says he was made to be a foot soldier in a war he wanted no part of, before managing to escape with the help of a gang member who took pity on him.

Marcos has spent months inside a migrant shelter in the Mexican border city of Tijuana waiting to make his case for asylum before the US authorities, confident that he could convince them he has what US immigration courts call “credible fear” of persecution or torture in Mexico.

But now he thinks President Trump’s sweeping executive orders on immigration and border security have ruined his chances of success.

“I hope they look at the circumstances of every person and take each case on its merit,” he says, “and that Mr Trump’s heart softens to help those who truly need it.”

From the Oval Office on Monday evening, hours after returning to the presidency, Trump signed a blizzard of orders aimed at delivering on one of his central campaign promises: to drastically reduce illegal migration and asylum claims at the US border.

Among the measures were a move to declare some drug cartels terrorist organisations, paving the way for US military action and deportations.

That order has Pastor Albert Rivera, the director of a migrant shelter that primarily houses people fleeing cartel intimidation and death threats, confused.

He says there’s a contradiction at the heart of the executive order.

“If you’re going from saying these people are fleeing gangs to say they are now fleeing terrorists, surely that only makes their claims for asylum stronger,” he argues.

For Trump’s supporters on the other side of the border, in southern California, the need for these strict new measures is self-evident.

“It will be a relief,” says Paula Whitsell, the chairwoman of the San Diego County Republican Party, about the new president’s plan to launch what he’s called “the largest deportation in American history”.

“Our system here in San Diego County is very burdened by the heavy weight of all these people coming in, and we’re just not built for it. The county is not made to be able to sustain this,” she argues.

She insists the measures are not inherently anti-immigrant – “we are still a nation of immigrants” – but directed instead at removing undocumented criminals in the US and dismantling the gangs that operate people-smuggling routes across the border.

But for people waiting in Mexico, who say they have done nothing wrong and have legitimate claims for asylum, Trump’s orders have had sweeping and swift consequences.

On the morning that the president took the oath of office, around 60 migrants gathered at the Chaparral crossing in Tijuana, waiting to speak to border guards about their asylum claims. But they never got the chance, as Mexican officials instead directed them towards buses that would take them back to shelters.

The CBP One app – a mobile application launched by the Biden administration and criticised by Trump on the campaign trial – had shut down.

The app had been the only legal pathway to request asylum at the US-Mexico border, and with all of its appointments scrapped, there would no crossing the border.

For some, it felt like the end of the road.

Oralia has been living with her two youngest children for seven months in a nylon tent just walking distance from the US border.

She says she is also fleeing cartel threats in Michoacán, and that her 10-year-old boy has epilepsy. She says her hope was to get him medical attention somewhere safe in the US.

But without the CBP One app, Oralia says she has little hope that her claim will ever be heard.

“We have no choice but to go back and trust in God that nothing happens,” she says.

A local migrant rights’ lawyer has apparently advised her to wait and see how President Trump’s actions unfold. But Oralia’s mind is made up.

Her bags packed, the tent she’s called home for most of the last year is now vacant for the next family.

“It’s all been so unjust,” she says, wiping away tears.

“Mexico receives their citizens with no complaint, but it doesn’t work the other way round.

“I just hope God moves him [Trump] because there are lots of families like ours.”

The duke’s lawyers were due on Tuesday to open an eight-week trial of his allegations that journalists at News Group Newspapers used unlawful techniques to pry into his private life – and executives then allegedly covered it up.

Moments before they were to begin presenting their case, they asked for an adjournment.

However, after hours of secret discussions, and no sign of a final agreement that could change the nature of the trial, the judge demanded that the two sides begin – leading them both to say they would ask the Court of Appeal to overturn that order.

The practical effect of their objection is that the case has been delayed until at least 10 am on Wednesday – which means both sides have more time to negotiate.

It’s not clear what has been raised in the 11th-hour negotiations.

Prince Harry has repeatedly said he wants a trial so that he can get “accountability” for other alleged victims of unlawful newsgathering of private information by NGN journalists.

NGN has denied there was any wrongdoing at The Sun or that executives across the group covered it up.

The Rupert Murdoch-owned empire has long admitted that journalists at the News of the World, which closed down in 2011, did use unlawful techniques but has always denied that it was widespread.

This morning, lawyers for Prince Harry and former Labour MP Lord Tom Watson, the other remaining claimant, asked Mr Justice Fancourt to delay opening the case twice – meaning the court did not sit until 2 pm.

David Sherborne, Prince Harry’s barrister, said there was potentially a “good prospect” of an agreement that would save the court time.

“We are very close, there is an issue with time and gaining instructions,” he said.

“It is not the only factor.”

Anthony Hudson KC, for News Group Newspapers, added the parties needed more time because of “time differences” and said that both parties were involved in a “settlement dynamic”.

Mr Justice Fancourt – who has repeatedly criticised both sides for long delays and spats over how the case should be conducted – refused to give them more time, saying that the case should start, even if there were still talks behind the scenes that could change the nature of the trial.

“I am not persuaded that if there is a real will to settle this it could not have been done by today,” said the judge.

News Group Newspapers’ lawyers then asked for the court to sit in private – without the presence of the media – to hear more about what was going on.

The judge refused, saying he was not going to sit in “secret” – and then both Prince Harry’s team and NGN’s lawyers said they would ask senior judges to overturn the order to get underway.

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US President Donald Trump issued pardons or commutations for more than 1,500 people convicted or charged in connection with the US Capitol riot four years ago.

Fourteen members of the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers, two far-right groups, are among those whose sentences were commuted by the new Republican president as he took office on Monday.

Trump also signed an order directing the Department of Justice to drop all pending cases against suspects accused in the riot.

The executive action came shortly after Trump was sworn in as the 47th president of the US inside the Capitol, which was stormed by his supporters on 6 January 2021 as lawmakers met to certify Joe Biden’s election victory.

“These are the hostages, approximately 1,500 for a pardon, full pardon,” Trump said. “This is a big one.”

“These people have been destroyed,” he added. “What they’ve done to these people is outrageous. There’s rarely been anything like it in the history of our country.”

The proclamation says that it “ends a grave national injustice that has been perpetrated upon the American people over the last four years and begins a process of national reconciliation”.

According to Justice Department figures released earlier this month, approximately 1,583 defendants have been charged with crimes associated with the riot.

More than 600 have been charged with assaulting, resisting or obstructing law enforcement, including around 175 charged with using a deadly or dangerous weapon or causing serious bodily injury to an officer.

Capitol Police officers were attacked with weapons including metal batons, wooden planks, flagpoles, fire extinguishers and pepper spray.

The 14 defendants who had their sentences commuted – meaning they will be released, but their convictions will remain on the record – include Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes.

Rhodes, a former US Army paratrooper and Yale-educated lawyer, led a contingent of his militia members to Washington. They stashed weapons in a hotel room across the Potomac River in Virginia while participating in the melee.

Rhodes did not enter the Capitol but directed his members from outside, and was sentenced in 2023 to 18 years in prison.

Trump issued a blanket “full, complete and unconditional pardon” to all others who were involved in the riot.

They include former Proud Boys leader Henry “Enrique” Tarrio, who was jailed for 22 years for seditious conspiracy over the riot.

Tarrio was not present at the riot, instead watching it on TV from a hotel room in Baltimore after being banned from Washington, DC, following an arrest for weapons offenses.

Tarrio’s lawyer said his client expected to be released, and in a post Tarrio’s mother said he would arrive home in Miami from a federal prison in Louisiana on Tuesday.

The move was swiftly denounced by Democrats as an attempt to re-write history.

Former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, who was among the lawmakers forced to flee during the riot, called Trump’s actions “an outrageous insult to our justice system and the heroes who suffered physical scars and emotional trauma as they protected the Capitol, the Congress and the Constitution”.

The former top Democrat in Congress said Trump “has decided to make one of his top priorities the abandonment and betrayal of police officers” who had physically fought with protesters to defend lawmakers.

Before he was sworn into office, some Trump aides indicated that he would not issue sweeping pardons, but would instead review each conviction on a case-by-case basis.

Just days ago, Vice-President JD Vance told Fox News “if you committed violence on that day, obviously you shouldn’t be pardoned.” He also said there was a “grey area” in some cases.

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Pam Bondi, Trump’s nominee for attorney general, called for a “case-by-case” review last week during her Senate confirmation hearing when asked whether Trump’s clemency decisions would include those who attacked police officers.

“I condemn any violence on a law enforcement officer in this country,” she said.

The Republican Speaker of the House Mike Johnson also recently called for individual case reviews.

Trump’s blanket order came the same day that Joe Biden used the final minutes of his presidency to issue pre-emptive pardons for his brothers and sister, as well as members of the US House of Representatives committee whose investigation into the Capitol riot concluded Trump was to blame.

The melee at the US Capitol, after a Trump rally nearby, lasted several hours. About 140 police officers were injured.

Lawmakers fled during the disorder and an unarmed female rioter, Ashli Babbitt, was fatally shot inside the building by officers.

The Justice Department launched a nationwide manhunt for suspects in its aftermath, which continued until today.

More than half the convictions have been misdemeanours, such as disorderly conduct or trespassing. Most convictions resulted in sentences of under one year in prison or probation, and most of those convicted have already served their sentences.

Trump previously called those prosecuted for the riot “political prisoners”, who posed “zero threat”.

Democrats describe the day as an attempted insurrection, and an attack on democracy itself.

Washington state Democratic Senator Patty Murray said in a statement: “It’s a sad day for America when a President who refused to relinquish power and incited an insurrection returns to office years later only to grant violent criminals a Presidential pardon or commutation.”

She also accused Trump of trying to “paper over the history and reality of that dark day”.

Meanwhile, supporters and family members of Capitol riot defendants have been waiting outside the jailhouse in Washington DC throughout the cold on Monday, for news that their love ones will be freed by Trump.

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A number of those convicted or awaiting trial were being held at the jail, while others were serving sentences in federal prisons across the country.

“Freedom!” one woman shouted earlier, as Trump vowed to release what he refers to as the “J6 hostages” during his speech at the Capitol One arena.

People at the jail said that they expected defendants to begin leaving within hours of Trump’s action.

Derrick Storms, chief legal counsel for defendants in Capitol riot cases, told BBC News that he expects prisoners to be released from the DC jail before midnight.

 

More than 30 shelters operate in the Mexican border city located in the northwestern state of Baja California, according to local authorities. Humanitarian workers CNN spoke to said a lack of space, resources, and overall uncertainty are among the issues facing the shelters.

The director of Jardin de las Mariposas shelter, C Jamie Marín, told CNN there is concern that Trump’s potential mass deportations could trigger a humanitarian crisis related to services for both migrants going to the United States and those who have been deported. “There is collective nervousness… about the decisions made by President Trump’s administration,” Marín said.

Their worries stem from Trump’s promise to carry out mass deportations once in office.

During his inaugural speech on Monday, Trump reiterated his pledge. “We will begin the process of returning millions and millions of criminal aliens back to the places from which they came,” he said from the US CapitolBracing for the potential surge of migrants entering the city, authorities in Tijuana declared a state of emergency last week.

The state of emergency is an administrative move that allows the city to access funds to rent spaces, and pay for legal services, personnel, equipment, and supplies, according to a statement from the city shared with CNN.

However, the city’s Mayor Ismael Burgueño Ruiz said last week that Tijuana “isn’t alarmed” and calls the measure “preventive” in case Trump “really does what he says he’s going to do.” Burgueño says the city has prepared spaces should there be a surge of deportees.

‘It’s not just about providing a bed’

Yet Murphy, who has been the director of Casa del Migrante since 2013, says space is not the only issue. “You have to care for them, who is going to organize programs and training for migrants,” Murphy said, adding that he believes local authorities should work closer with the shelters to mitigate any potential crisis.

Other humanitarian workers agree. “It’s not just about providing a bed and some food, we have to create a space to help people psychologically and spiritually,” Albertina Pauletti from the Madre Assunta shelter told CNN.

Marín said shelters need “more economic resources for food, comprehensive medical services” to help with “voluntary return programs to places of origin, more programs where integration and dignity are promoted through employment, more specific attention for people of sexual diversity, [and] more mental health services.”

It is unclear how many migrants are currently in Tijuana. Government data shows that from January to August 2024 more than 30,000 migrants were in the city at some point. CNN has reached out to Mexican authorities for comment.

The Mexican federal government is also preparing for the potential influx of migrants by announcing the creation of new shelters in border towns and “attending caravans.”

Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum said on January 3 that many migrants decided to return to their country of origin “as they are walking,” CNN previously reported.

In the face of mounting uncertainty, shelters remain committed to their mission.

“With the possible mass deportations, we are working on projects to help these people psychologically and spiritually and for those who want to be a part of the Tijuana community, those who don’t want to return to their place of origin,” said Pauletti.

Mr Trump won the election in November 2024.

In America there is then a delay of two months after the election, as power changes hands from one president’s team to the next.

In order to officially become president, Mr Trump swore an oath to “preserve, protect and defend” the Constitution of the United States.

After Mr Trump was sworn in as president, cannons were fired.

He was seen celebrating with his wife, First Lady Melania Trump, his family and his new vice-president JD Vance.

Following his oath, Mr Trump gave his first speech as president – which is known as the Inaugural Address.

In it, he stated that the “golden age of America begins right now” and that the US will soon be “greater, stronger, and far more exceptional than ever before”.

He added that he felt “confident and optimistic” and that his presidency is the “start of a thrilling new era of national success”.

He also repeated his well-known phrase from the election campaign, by promising to “Make America great again.”

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In an Italian television interview, the pontiff said it would be a “disgrace” if Trump went forward with the plan, in unusually forceful language for the leader of the global Catholic Church.

“It would make the migrants, who have nothing, pay the unpaid bill,” said the pope. “It doesn’t work. You don’t resolve problems this way.”

The pope’s remarks were made during a video link from his Vatican residence with the “Che Tempo Che Fa” program on Italy’s Channel 9.

Francis, leader of the 1.4 billion-member church, is usually careful about weighing in on political issues.

The pope has made welcoming migrants a key theme of his nearly 12-year papacy, and he has previously criticized Trump’s anti-immigrant rhetoric.

During the 2016 election, he said Trump was “not Christian” in his view.

Incoming Trump administration officials said on Saturday that the president-elect was reconsidering plans, for immigration raids in Chicago next week, following reports about the plans.

Earlier on Sunday, Chicago’s Catholic archbishop, Cardinal Blase Cupich, also criticized the planned raids.

“This would be an affront to the dignity of all people and communities,” the cardinal said in a statement.

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It is unclear where the operations – threatened by Trump’s “border tsar” Tom Homan – could begin.

Earlier reports indicated deportations would start in Chicago, a city with a large migrant population, as early as Tuesday.

But Homan told the Washington Post on Saturday that the Trump administration is reconsidering after the location was leaked.

Trump has vowed to oversee the largest deportation programme in US history, and Homan has said criminals and gang members will be prioritised in such raids.

Homan told the Post that the administration’s enforcement goals are broader than just Chicago.

“ICE will start arresting public safety threats and national security threats on day one,” he said. “We’ll be arresting people across the country, uninhibited by any prior administration guidelines. Why Chicago was mentioned specifically, I don’t know.”

In an interview with Fox News this week, the border tsar promised a “big raid” across the country. He has previously said Chicago will be “ground zero” for the mass deportations.

Homan expanded on the administration’s plans on Fox News over the weekend, saying the deportations will not be “raids”, but “targeted enforcement operations”.

He described these efforts as “well planned”.

“When ICE goes out, they’re going to know exactly who they’re looking for and pretty much where they’ll find them,” Homan said.

He said he expects deportation flights to leave in the first week of Trump’s presidency and anticipates daily lawsuits for deportation efforts from organisations like the American Civil Liberties Union.

“I’m sure we’ll be sued, but bring it,” he sai

Trump, a Republican, also promised mass deportations ahead of his first presidential term back in 2017 – though he ended up removing about half the number of immigrants that President Barack Obama, a Democrat, did in his first four years.

The 47th president is coming into office with widespread support for his border policies. A New York Times and Ipsos poll published on Saturday found 55% of Americans either strongly or somewhat support such mass deportations.

The Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency deports illegal migrants all the time.

However, the operation to be launched after Trump’s inauguration on Monday is expected to target so-called “sanctuary” cities that limit co-operation with federal immigration officials, two sources familiar with the plans told CBS.

ICE officials in the Chicago area recently asked agents to join this week’s planned raids without notifying heads of the agency in Washington DC, according to CBS.

New York, Los Angeles, Denver and Miami are also due to be targeted with raids, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing unnamed sources familiar with the plans.

At a church in a mostly Latino neighbourhood of Chicago, worshippers shared their concerns with the BBC.

“I’m scared, but I can’t imagine what people without papers are feeling,” said D Camacho, a 21-year-old legal immigrant from Mexico who was in the congregation at Lincoln United Methodist Church in the Pilsen area last Sunday.

Reverend Emma Lozano said: “If someone with five children gets taken, who will take the children in? Will they go to social services? Will the family be divided?”

The rules under Democratic President Joe Biden were that ICE was generally to prioritise the arrest of illegal migrants who were serious criminals, had crossed the border recently or posed a national security threat.

While Trump’s team has signalled that it will begin with migrants who had committed crimes, all illegal migrants – including those who have lived and worked in the US for many years and have no criminal history – may be more likely to be arrested and deported.

Immigration raids at construction sites where undocumented migrants are often employed are also expected to resume, after being discontinued by the Biden administration, according to CBS.

However, the operation could pose difficulties for officials – with limited custody space to hold detainees.

At the same time, the Laken Riley Act – named after a college student who was murdered last year in Georgia by a Venezuelan illegal migrant who was previously arrested for shoplifting – is expected to be passed by Congress next week.

The proposed legislation will require the federal government to detain migrants living in the US illegally who are suspected of criminal activity.

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Trump on Sunday pledged to issue “close to 100” executive orders on his first day in office. Many of these orders will be designed to reverse or eliminate ones implemented by the Biden administration.

Stephen Miller, Trump’s incoming deputy chief of staff for policy, previewed some of those actions Sunday afternoon on a call with senior congressional Republicans.

Two sources briefed on the call described it as a rundown of what lawmakers should expect, rather than an in-depth policy briefing.

Trump’s policy operation was expected to deliver more details to Capitol Hill allies later Sunday, the sources said. They cautioned the scale and pace leading up to the inauguration have made communication and information fluid.

Miller, in the briefing with lawmakers, confirmed elements of a long-planned, sweeping suite of immigration actions, including Trump invoking a national emergency at the border as a way to unlock funding from the Defense Department for the administration’s use.

Trump will also move to designate a series of drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations and direct his administration to reinstate his first-term Migrant Protection Protocol policy, which is more commonly referred to as “Remain in Mexico.”

Trump will act to reinstate a series of his first-term immigration policy directives and actions that President Joe Biden rescinded on his own first day in office in 2021.

“Within hours of taking office, I will sign dozens of executive orders — close to 100 to be exact — many of which I will be describing in my address tomorrow,” Trump said to a crowd of donors and allies at a pre-inauguration dinner Sunday.

He added, “With the stroke of my pen I will revoke dozens of destructive and radical executive orders and actions of the Biden administration, and by this time tomorrow, they will all be null and void.”

These expected executive orders will likely face immediate legal challenges.

Moves on energy, government operations

The federal government and its operations will also be a central focus in the first hours of Trump’s second term, with the actions Miller previewed including an executive order, known as Schedule F, that would curtail or eliminate job protections for federal workers.

Trump signed a version of the executive order shortly before the 2020 election, but it was rescinded by Biden.

Actions will also be taken to officially outline the role and authorities of the Department of Government Efficiency, led by billionaire tech mogul Elon Musk and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy.

Musk’s operation, which has been working out of the Washington office of one of his companies, SpaceX, has been quietly staffing up and integrating with the Trump transition operation’s agency landing teams over the last several weeks.

Trump will sign executive orders rescinding federal government diversity, equity and inclusion policies, Miller told the lawmakers, as well as actions to remove specific gender-related executive orders put in place by Biden.

Trump is also expected to declare a national emergency related to energy as part of a significant number of actions targeting domestic energy production and the industries, permitting rules and lands that operate in the sector, according to Miller’s briefing.

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“There is an Arctic blast sweeping the Country. I don’t want to see people hurt, or injured, in any way,” Trump said on his Truth Social platform on Friday.

“Therefore, I have ordered the Inauguration Address, in addition to prayers and other speeches, to be delivered in the United States Capitol Rotunda,” Trump added.

The last time an inauguration was moved indoors because of the bitter cold was in 1985 for former Republican President Ronald Reagan’s second swearing-in when the afternoon wind chill fell into the range of minus 10 to minus 20 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 23 to minus 29 degrees Celsius).

The forecast for Washington on Monday is for a temperature at the time of Trump’s swearing-in around 19 F (minus 7 C) but it is expected to feel even colder with wind chill.

Trump said supporters can view the ceremony on screens inside the Capital One Arena, a professional basketball and hockey venue in downtown Washington that holds 20,000 people.

He said his presidential parade, which was set to involve marching bands and other groups proceeding down Pennsylvania Avenue to the White House, will be switched to Capital One Arena. It was not immediately clear how a parade would be organized inside the sports venue.

Trump said he would join the crowd at the arena after being sworn in.

NO CROWD-SIZE COMPARISONS THIS TIME
The switch means there will be no comparisons of Trump’s crowd size to previous inauguration ceremonies. After his first swearing-in, in 2017, the Republican Trump was infuriated by media reports suggesting the crowd on the National Mall was far smaller than the one that saw former Democratic President Barack Obama first take the oath of office in 2009.

The change in plans will greatly reduce the number of people able to watch the ceremony in person. Many of the more than 220,000 ticketed guests who had been due to watch from the U.S. Capitol grounds will be unable to view the swearing-in inside the building.

In addition, 250,000 unticketed members of the public were predicted to stand on the National Mall for the outdoor ceremony, according to a permit issued to Trump’s inaugural committee by the National Park Service. Just a fraction of that number will fit into the Capital One Arena.

School secretary Tammy Matte, her pastor husband Paul and their high school son Michael had tickets provided by their local congressman but cancelled the trip from Laurel, Mississippi after learning they would not see Trump in person.

Matte, 58, said they were no longer prepared to do the nearly 1,000-mile car ride to Washington. “We don’t feel it’s worth it not to see the ceremony in person,” Matte said.

The National Park Service, which oversees the National Mall, did not immediately say whether crowds will still be allowed on the Mall to watch the indoor ceremony on giant video screens already in place.
Trump is due to hold a rally with supporters inside the Capital One Arena on Sunday, the eve of his inauguration.

Alexi Worley, a spokesperson for the law enforcement agencies tasked with inauguration security, said the U.S. Secret Service was working closely with Trump’s inauguration committee and the congressional committee in charge of the swearing-in ceremony “to adapt our security plans as needed due to the expected inclement weather.”

WINTER CHILL AN INAUGURAL TRADITION
Frigid weather has featured at many a past inauguration. Temperatures for Obama’s first inauguration in 2009 were also cold, rising to around 29 F (minus 1.5 degrees C).

William Henry Harrison, the ninth U.S. president, delivered the longest inaugural address on March 4, 1841, in wet and cold conditions without a hat or overcoat.

That event and speech were thought to have contributed to his later succumbing to pneumonia. He died one month after taking office, making his presidency the shortest in American history.

During the second swearing-in ceremony for President Ulysses S. Grant on March 4, 1873, several cadets and midshipmen standing outside without overcoats collapsed and gusting winds made Grant’s address inaudible to even those close to him on the platform, according to a history published by the National Weather Service.

The morning low temperature of 4 F (-15 C) on that day remains Washington’s coldest March day on record.

Ali Razini and Mohammad Moghiseh were killed after an armed man entered the court, in the capital Tehran, on Saturday morning.

The attacker is said to have then killed themselves while fleeing the scene, according to the judiciary’s news website, Mizan. A bodyguard was also injured in the attack.

The motive for the attack is unclear, but both judges are said to have played a role in the persecution and killing of opponents of the Islamic regime throughout the 1980s and 1990s.

In a statement to state news agency IRNA, the judiciary’s media office described the attack as premeditated assassination.

It also said that, according to initial findings, the attacker had not been involved in any case considered by the Supreme Court, and an investigation had been launched to identify and arrest any further people who may have been involved in the attack.

The judiciary’s spokesman, Asghar Jahangir, told Iranian state  TV that the attacker had entered the court carrying a handgun before opening fire.

One of the judges, Razini, had survived an assassination attempt in 1998. He was one of the most senior judicial figures in Iran.

The other, Moghiseh, was sanctioned by the US in 2019, with the treasury department accusing him of having “overseen countless unfair trials, during which charges went unsubstantiated and evidence was disregarded”.

At that time, he was a judge in the Tehran Revolutionary Court. He was reportedly named to the supreme court in 2020.

Moghiseh was also among seven Iranian judges sanctioned by Canada in 2023 for what the country described as “their role in gross and systematic human rights violations”.

The “Break Ya Neck” rapper, 52, was arrested in northwestern Brooklyn and charged with assault in the third degree on Tuesday night, law enforcement officials tell Entertainment Weekly. The NYPD responded to a 911 call near the intersection of Jay Street and Front Street in Dumbo around 10:15 p.m. on Friday, wherein a 50-year-old male victim reported past harassment, which included multiple punches from an unidentified assailant.

Police say the victim experienced swelling on the left side of his face and was transported to NYC Health + Hospitals/Woodhull, where he is in stable condition.

Representatives for Rhymes, whose real name is Trevor Smith Jr., did not immediately respond to EW’s request for comment.

The New York Post reported that Rhymes’ alleged victim was his assistant, whom he allegedly berated for using his phone while working. He declined to detail the encounter during a conversation with the Post, telling the outlet, “An article in the paper as opposed to a six or seven-million-dollar settlement? I’m not risking it, sorry.

Rhymes has been vocal about his disdain for cell phones in the past. During a 2024 performance at the Essence Festival of Culture, he told the audience, “Ayo f— them camera phones, too. Let’s get back to interacting like humans. Put them weird-ass devices down!” He also said, “I ain’t from that era. Them s—s don’t control the soul, f— your phone!”

Kevin Winter/Getty Images Busta Rhymes at the 65th Grammy Awards

This isn’t the first time Rhymes has faced legal issues. The rapper was arrested in 1998 for a gun possession charge, to which he ultimately pleaded guilty in 2000. He was sentenced to five years of probation over the incident.

In 2008, Rhymes pleaded guilty to assault and drunk driving charges after his driver accused him of attacking him during a pay dispute, as well as a subsequent arrest where he told police that he’d done a shot of cognac shortly before driving. He also faced charges of attacking a fan at the AmsterJam Music Festival and driving without a valid license around this time. He was sentenced to three years’ probation for these incidents.

In 2015, Rhymes was arrested in 2015 on an assault charge after throwing a protein drink at a gym employee. He pleaded guilty to a non-criminal harassment charge after agreeing to attend anger management classes.

The accused companies allegedly defrauded their customers of CFA 20 billion (approximately $31,418,220) by promising high returns from trading in stocks, foreign currencies, and other financial instruments.

During a brief hearing on Wednesday, at the Lomé Criminal Court, the trial was adjourned to February 13, following a request from both the defendant and plaintiff’s legal teams.

Both parties raised concerns about procedural irregularities, specifically, the fact that they had only been served with a court summons 24 hours before the hearing, rather than the legally required three days, as stipulated by Togolese law.

“Our lawyers did not receive the summons on time,” said Mrs Ayaba Sahada, the spokesperson for the victims, in a press conference after the hearing.

She recounted the widespread public belief that the companies were “Engaged in legitimate activities, highlighting that the companies were allowed to hold events attended by Togolese officials, and their advertisements were even aired on state-run television.”

“As a result, they were given free rein to attract and defraud Togolese citizens,” Mrs Sahada added.

The fraudulent companies, including CACESPIC-IF SARL and J-Global Capital, emerged in Togo in 2020, during the peak of the coronavirus pandemic, offering services such as stock trading, foreign currencies, and savings and loans.

Despite their rapid expansion across the country, the companies collapsed within a year, leaving thousands of victims with significant financial losses.

After three years of out-of-court investigation, the Togolese government confirmed that the companies had absconded with the CFA 20 billion and issued arrest warrants for their key officials.

A total of 33 managing directors and senior staff members of the implicated companies were summoned to appear before the Lomé Criminal Court, but only 13 attended the hearing.

The victims, who have been waiting for justice for years, are seeking compensation and hope that the accused individuals will be convicted and their stolen funds returned.

The tragic incident occurred late Monday night as Patricia visited a male acquaintance at his derelict villa in the Lazio region, according to the Mirror UK.

Her chilling screams pierced the night as neighbours were alerted to the savage attack.

Patricia, who had relocated to Lazio from Nigeria, had reportedly gone to the house unaware that her friend was not at home.

After being attacked, Patricia was discovered critically injured, lying in a pool of blood with deep wounds across her body.

Police intervened by shooting two of the dogs to allow emergency services to reach the scene. The rest of the pack fled after the gunfire.

Medics provided immediate emergency treatment and rushed her to Santa Maria Goretti Hospital.

Despite their efforts, Patricia succumbed to the severe bite wounds and excessive blood loss.

Investigations into the incident are ongoing as local authorities work to determine how the dogs, reportedly starving, came to be in the area.

This tragedy has sparked discussions about stray animals and public safety, with local residents calling for stricter measures to prevent such devastating incidents.

A total of 246 survivors, some of them emaciated and disorientated, have been brought to the surface and immediately arrested for illegal mining and immigration since a court-ordered rescue operation began on Monday.

Volunteers who went down to the mine, located 2 km (1.5 miles) underground near Stilfontein, southwest of Johannesburg, told police late on Wednesday they could not see anyone left in the tunnels, a police spokesperson told reporters at the site.

Rescuers would keep working on Thursday to make sure all bodies and survivors had been recovered, the spokesperson said. Earlier, there were fears dozens or even hundreds more men could still be trapped.

The South African Federation of Trade Unions accused the state on Tuesday of allowing miners “to starve to death in the depths of the earth”.

“These miners, many of them undocumented and desperate workers from Mozambique and other Southern African countries, were left to die in one of the most horrific displays of state wilful negligence in recent history,” it said in a statement.

Mametlwe Sebei, a trade union leader who has been trying to help the miners, said police had begun attempting to force the miners up to the surface in August by removing a pulley system used to deliver food and water supplies to them.

A judge in Bukavu found the defendants guilty on Tuesday of money-laundering, illegal purchase and possession of mineral substances, and other charges.

Sebei said some miners had died crawling through flooded tunnels in an attempt to reach shafts that would have allowed them to climb out.

Police said 1,576 miners had got out by their own means between August and the start of the rescue operation. All were arrested and 121 of them have already been deported, they said.
“We’ve never blocked any shafts. We’ve never blocked anyone from coming out,” said Athlenda Mathe, national spokesperson for the South African police, speaking at the site earlier on Wednesday.

“Our mandate was to combat criminality and that is exactly what we’ve been doing,” she said.

“By providing food, water and necessities to these illegal miners it would be the police entertaining and allowing criminality to thrive.”

‘TAKING A CHANCE’

Illegal mining is common in parts of gold-rich South Africa. Typically, undocumented miners known as zama zamas – from an isiZulu expression for “taking a chance” – move into mines abandoned by commercial miners and seek to extract whatever is left. Some are under the control of violent criminal gangs.

Most of the miners at Stilfontein were from Mozambique, though some also came from Zimbabwe and Lesotho. Only 21 of them were South Africans, police said.

As the death toll has mounted, so has criticism of the authorities, though the government has defended the siege as part of a necessary crackdown on illegal mining.

“It’s a criminal activity. It’s an attack on our economy by foreign nationals in the main,” Mining Minister Gwede Mantashe said at the site on Tuesday. He has said illegal mining cost South Africa over $3 billion last year.

But the Democratic Alliance, the second-biggest party in the ruling coalition led by the African National Congress, said on Wednesday the crackdown at the mine had got “badly out of hand” and called for an independent inquiry.

A court ruled in December that volunteers should be allowed to send essential supplies down to the miners, and a separate ruling last week ordered the state to launch the rescue.
None of the rescued survivors were hospitalised and all were taken into police custody.

“If you come out and you are able to walk they take you straight to the cells,” said Mzukisi Jam, a civil society activist, who has been at the site throughout the rescue operation.
Only two of the bodies have been identified and claimed by their families, said Mathe.

Rescue efforts were in their third day on Wednesday, with a red cylindrical metal cage being lowered into the mine to extract survivors and corpses. The cage can hold about a dozen people or dead bodies at once.

Mannas Fourie, CEO of a private rescue firm involved in the operation, told Johannesburg’s Radio 702 that each round trip took up to 45 minutes.

“If you stand at the sides you can see the bodies being taken out of the cage and it’s incredibly distressing,” said Jessica Lawrence of civil rights group Lawyers for Human Rights, who was at the scene.

Israel and Hamas have agreed a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal following 15 months of war, mediators Qatar and the US say.

Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman Al Thani said the agreement would come into effect on Sunday so long as it was approved by the Israeli cabinet.

US President Joe Biden said it would “halt the fighting in Gaza, surge much needed-humanitarian assistance to Palestinian civilians, and reunite the hostages with their families”.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the deal’s final details were still being worked on, but he thanked Biden for “promoting” it. Hamas leader Khalil al-Hayya said it was the result of Palestinian “resilience”.

India’s latest diplomatic outreach to Afghanistan’s Taliban government signals a marked shift in how it sees the geopolitical reality in the region.

This comes more than three years after India suffered a major strategic and diplomatic blow when Kabul fell to the Taliban.

Two decades of investment in Afghanistan’s democracy – through military training, scholarships and landmark projects like building its new parliament – were swiftly undone. The collapse also paved the way for greater influence from regional rivals, particularly Pakistan and China, eroding India’s strategic foothold and raising new security concerns.

Yet, last week signalled a shift. India’s top diplomat Vikram Misri met Taliban acting foreign minister Amir Khan Muttaqi in Dubai – the highest level of engagement since Kabul’s fall. The Taliban expressed interest in strengthening political and economic ties with India, calling it a “significant regional and economic power”.

Talks reportedly focused on expanding trade and leveraging Iran’s Chabahar port, which India has been developing to bypass Pakistan’s Karachi and Gwadar ports.

How significant is this meeting? Delhi has now given the Taliban leadership the de facto legitimacy it has sought from the international community since its return to power, Michael Kugelman of the Wilson Center, an American think-tank, told me.

“The fact that this treatment is coming from India – a nation that never previously had friendly relations with the Taliban, makes this all the more significant, and also a diplomatic triumph for the Taliban,” he says.

Yoon was holed up for weeks while under investigation on charges of insurrection, following a short-lived attempt to impose martial law in December.

He is now being interrogated at the Corruption Investigation Office (CIO) – whose summonses he had previously ignored.

Investigators tried to arrest him earlier this month but had failed.

Yoon’s impeachment trial, which will decide if he is removed from office, started yesterday but ended within four minutes because of his absence.

Democratic Party floor leader Park Chan-dae says Yoon’s arrest confirms that “justice in South Korea is alive”.

This arrest “is the first step toward restoring constitutional order, democracy and the rule of law,” he said during a party meeting.

Since Yoon’s botched martial law attempt, opposition lawmakers labelled Yoon and his allies “insurrectionists” and repeatedly called for their impeachment and arrest.

They have already successfully impeached Yoon and his top officials, including acting president Han Duck-soo.

President Joe Biden is to remove the US designation of Cuba as a state sponsor of terrorism as part of a prisoner release deal, the White House said on Tuesday.

Shortly afterwards, Cuba announced it would release 553 prisoners detained for “diverse crimes”. It is hoped these will include participants in anti-government protests four years ago.

President-elect Donald Trump reinstated the country’s terror designation in the final days of his first presidency in 2021, banning US economic aid and arms exports to the country.

But on Tuesday, a Biden administration official said an assessment of the situation had presented “no information” that supported the designation.

The bodies of 100 men remain trapped in the Stilfontein mine, according to the Mining Affected Communities United in Action (MACUA), who told CNN that nine bodies were pulled out of the shaft on Monday, along with 20 survivors.

Meshack Mbangula, head of the Mining Affected Communities United in Action (MACUA), told CNN Tuesday that the men had possibly died from hunger and dehydration.

While there are varying reports on how many men have been trapped, Mbangula estimated that 500 people are still underground. Conditions in the shafts, which are several kilometers deep, are continuing to deteriorate, he said.

Video shared by Mbangula and seen by CNN shows multiple bodies wrapped in plastic in the mine.

The video, filmed by one of the miners last week, according to Mbangula, also shows shirtless, emaciated-looking men with protruding bones and ribs.

A man speaking in Zulu, pleads to be rescued in one scene. Another man says: “How many days must we live in a situation like this.”

CNN cannot independently verify the videos.

A letter written by the miners and obtained by CNN further illustrates the grim conditions the miners are facing.

“Please take us out. Please assist us to come out or if not, please give us food because [there are] people who are dead. We’ve got 109 people dead and we need plastic to wrap them because the smell is too much, we can’t stand the smell,” the miners said in the letter.

Community-led groups like MACUA say they have led the effort to help the trapped miners for months, he said, as police cut off food and vital supplies to the men in November in an attempt to force them out and close the mine.

The police’s move – a self-described crackdown on the illegal mining industry – has drawn criticism from community groups and South Africa’s Federation of Trade Unions (SAFTU), who in November called it “vindictive,” and one that may “end in a tragedy.”

Police spokesperson Athlenda Mathe told reporters in November that food and water supplies to those underground had been halted. “We are stopping and preventing food and water to go down there as a way of forcing these illegal miners to resurface because what they are doing is criminality,” she said.

Miners would face arrest upon resurfacing, according to police.

In November, a South African court ordered police to halt its standoff, provide food to the trapped miners and allow rescue teams to access the mine. The nation’s Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) also said it was investigating the police service for halting vital supplies to the miners.

On Sunday, facing intensifying public pressure and reports that many of the miners had already died, the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy said it had begun plans to conduct a rescue operation at the abandoned shaft. The mineral resources department said “the decision to deploy rescue services was made independently” and not mandated by a court.

South Africa harbors up to 100,000 artisanal miners, known locally as “zama zamas” with most of the minerals derived from artisanal mining “sold to the black market, and international illicit mineral traders,” according to SAFTU.

The nation also loses more than $1 billion to illegal mining annually, with the black market trade in gold linked to violent turf wars, according to a parliamentary brief.

The hearing ended within four minutes because of Yoon’s absence – his lawyers had earlier said he would not attend for his own safety, as there is a warrant out for his arrest on separate charges of insurrection.

In December, Yoon was suspended after members of his own party voted with the opposition to impeach him.

However he will only be formally removed from office if at least six of the eight-member Constitutional Court bench votes to uphold the impeachment.

According to South Korean law, the court must set a new date for a hearing before they can proceed without his participation.

The next hearing is scheduled for Thursday.

Yoon’s lawyers have indicated that he will show up for a hearing at an “appropriate time”, but they have challenged the court’s “unilateral decision” on trial dates.

The court on Tuesday rejected the lawyers’ request for one of the eight justices to be recused from the proceedings.

Yoon has not commented publicly since parliament voted to impeach him on 14 December and has been speaking primarily through his lawyers.

Investigators are also separately preparing for another attempt to arrest Yoon for alleged insurrection, after an earlier attempt on 3 January ended following an hours-long standoff with his security team.

Yoon is South Korea’s first sitting president to face arrest. The second attempt to take him into custody could happen as early as this week, according to local media.

The suspended leader has not commented publicly since parliament voted to impeach him on 14 December and has been speaking primarily through his lawyers.

Yoon’s short-lived martial law declaration on 3 December has thrown South Korea into political turmoil. He had tried to justify the attempt by saying he was protecting the country from “anti-state” forces, but it soon became clear it was spurred by his own political troubles.

What followed was an unprecedented few weeks which saw the opposition-dominated parliament vote to impeach Yoon and then Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, who succeeded him briefly as acting president.

The crisis has hit the country’s economy, with the won weakening and global credit rating agencies warning of weakening consumer and business sentiment.

Former presidents Roh Moo-hyun and Park Geun-hye did not attend their impeachment trials in 2004 and 2017 respectively.

In Park’s case, the first hearing ended after nine minutes in her absence.

Roh was reinstated after a two-month review, while Park’s impeachment was upheld.

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Announcing the move, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said the “unprecedented” measure was necessary to meet the country’s housing emergency.

“The West faces a decisive challenge: To not become a society divided into two classes, the rich landlords and poor tenants,” he said.

Non-EU residents bought 27,000 properties in Spain in 2023, he told an economic forum in Madrid, “not to live in” but “to make money from them”.

“Which, in the context of shortage that we are in, [we] obviously cannot allow,” he added.

The move was therefore designed to “prioritise that the available homes are for residents”, he said.

Sánchez did not provide details on how the tax would work nor a timeline for presenting it to parliament for approval, where he has often struggled to gather sufficient votes to pass legislation.

But his government said the proposal would be finalised “after careful study”.

It is one of a dozen planned measures announced by the prime minister on Monday aimed at improving housing affordability in the country.

Other measures announced include a tax exemption for landlords who provide affordable housing, transferring more than 3,000 homes to a new public housing body, and tighter regulation and higher taxes on tourist flats.

“It isn’t fair that those who have three, four or five apartments as short-term rentals pay less tax than hotels,” he said.

A human rights NGO that she runs, Redhac, was recently suspended by the government and she is due to appear before investigators to answer accusations of money laundering and funding terror groups – which she denies.

The 80-year-old says the authorities are obstructing her work and believes she is being targeted because of her legal advocacy with the LGBT community.

“I will always defend homosexuals because they risk their freedom every day, and they are thrown into prison like dogs,” she tells the BBC in a firm tone, speaking in her office in the city of Douala.

“My job is to defend people. I don’t see why I would say I’m defending everyone except homosexuals.”

Dressed in a black gown, Ms Nkom delivers her stark message in a measured voice that reflects years of thoughtful legal argument.

According to the country’s penal code, both men and women found guilty of homosexual sex can be sentenced to up to five years in prison and made to pay a fine. Members of the LGBT community also face being ostracized by their families and wider society.

As a result, Ms Nkom has been viewed as a surrogate parent to some in her country who have been open about their sexuality with their family.

The legal expert has children of her own, but hundreds, maybe thousands, of others, look up to her as their protector following her work over more than two decades to defend those accused of homosexuality.

“She’s like our father and our mother. She’s the mother we find when our families have abandoned us,” says one LGBT activist, Sébastien, not his real name.

Committed to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which is included in Cameroon’s constitution, Ms Nkom argues that freedom from discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation should be seen as a fundamental right that supersedes the penal code.

“You shouldn’t jail fundamental rights, you shouldn’t repress them – you should protect them,” she says.

This is a struggle that has landed Ms Nkom in difficulties.

She says she has been physically threatened several times in the street, and reveals that when she first started out in this area of law, she hired bodyguards to help protect her.

But her journey to become one of Cameroon’s most outspoken legal figures began well before that.

In 1969, aged 24, she became the country’s first black female lawyer, after studying in both France – the former colonial power – and Cameroon.

She says she was encouraged to pursue her studies by her then-boyfriend, who later became her husband.

Her earlier legal work involved representing the less well-off and disadvantaged but it was a chance encounter in 2003 that led her to become involved in the fight to decriminalise homosexuality.

She was at the public prosecutor’s office in Douala when she observed a group of young people handcuffed in pairs, who did not dare to look up.

“When I checked the court docket, I realised that they were being prosecuted for homosexuality,” she says.

‘Attempted homosexuality’

This offended her sense of human rights and she was very clear that sexual minorities should be included among those whose rights were protected by the constitution.

“I decided to fight to ensure that this fundamental right of freedom was respected,” Ms Nkom adds.

She went on to found the Association for the Defence of Homosexuality (Adefho) in 2003.

Since then she has been involved in dozens of cases. One of the most high-profile in recent years was her defence of transgender celebrity Shakiro and a friend, Patricia, in 2021.

The two were arrested while eating in a restaurant and then charged with “attempted homosexuality”.

They were sentenced to five years for contravening the penal code and outraging public decency.

“It’s a hammer blow. It’s the maximum term outlined in the law. The message is clear: homosexuals don’t have a place in Cameroon,” Ms Nkom was quoted as saying at the time.

Shakiro, along with Patricia, was later released pending an appeal and has since fled the country.

Since then the situation for LGBT people has not improved. LGBT activist Sébastien, who runs a charity to support families with homosexual children, feels things have got worse recently.

Last year, a song based on the popular mbolé rhythm with a title and lyrics that encouraged people to target and kill homosexuals was released. It is still being widely shared and is regularly played in the trendiest places in the country’s major cities.

“People attack us because of this song, which glorifies crime,” says Sébastien.

LGBT people have to hide their sexual identities but “some people set traps to get close to us and attack us or report us to the police”, he says.

Ms Nkom says that when Brenda Biya, the daughter of President Paul Biya, came out in public to say that she was a lesbian last year, she thought it might help to change the law.

Ms Biya – who spends most of her time outside Cameroon – has been quoted as saying she hoped that her openness could alter things at home.

Ms Nkom senses an opportunity. “I’m using the Brenda case as a precedent. Now I have a case on which I can challenge the president,” she says.

The lawyer also asked Ms Biya to do more for the cause of the LGBT community in Cameroon.

“Brenda hasn’t replied to me yet, since I made the statement in the media, but I know that she will.”

For now, though, she will continue her legal work.

She views the latest attempt to restrict her efforts as just another obstacle – certainly not enough tomake her stop the battle she has been waging since 2003.

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Around three metric tons had been taken from the mining complex in western Mali on Saturday, two sources told Reuters on Monday, with one putting the value of the gold at $245 million.

In a letter to the Malian government on Monday, Barrick said the seizure meant it would now be “obliged” to temporarily suspend mining operations at the Loulo and Gounkoto mines.

The seized gold will be transported to the state-owned Banque Malienne de Solidarite (BMS) in the capital Bamako, two sources said.

Barrick shares on the Toronto stock exchange were down 1.9% shortly before the close of trading on Monday.

One source said eyewitnesses at the mining complex had described gold being shipped in two separate air force helicopter loads. The second source said the seizure was part of a confiscation order that a judge issued last week.

In its letter to the Malian government, Barrick said the seizure of the gold meant it was no longer covered by Barrick’s insurance. It added that it was waiting for confirmation that the gold removed from its site had arrived at the Banque Malienne de Solidarite and for proof that the gold held there was insured.

In a separate court order, dated Jan. 2 and also seen by Reuters on Monday, Judge Boubacar Moussa Diarra had ordered the seizure of the stock and said Mali’s economy ministry claimed the two mines operated by Barrick in the country owed a total of $5.5 billion to the government, a much higher figure than previously estimated.

Barrick has been in a dispute with Mali’s government since 2023 over a contract based on new mining rules. The row has escalated several times, with Mali detaining senior executives and issuing an arrest warrant for Barrick CEO Mark Bristow.

On Friday, the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes registered Barrick’s request for arbitration proceedings against Mali, according to public documents.

Military governments in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger are all seeking to renegotiate terms to gain a bigger share of mining revenue at a time when gold prices have hit record highs.

Neither Barrick nor the Malian authorities immediately responded to requests for comment.

The sources spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorised to discuss publicly the confidential orders.

Barrick said in a note to Malian staff on Sunday that the government had begun enforcing an order to seize the gold, and warned again that it may have to suspend operations at the complex over the long-running dispute.

Jefferies analysts have estimated that suspending production at the mine could cut Barrick’s earnings before interest, tax and amortisation by 11% in 2025.

Mali had previously demanded about $500 million in unpaid taxes from Barrick, sources told Reuters. Barrick denies any wrongdoing.

The company’s quarterly earnings report says it did pay $85 million to the Malian government in October.

Barrick warned last month of a significant deterioration of conditions at Loulo-Gounkoto, with employees detained without cause and shipments of bullion blocked.

The company owns 80% of the mining complex, with the Mali government owning 20%.

The decision marks a shift from the view previously held by Pope Francis that gay men should not be admitted to seminaries owing to the risk of them leading a double life.

According to the guidelines, the most important thing for aspiring priests is to show “an orientation towards celibate life”.

“In the formative process, when reference is made to homosexual tendencies, it is appropriate not to reduce discernment to this aspect alone,” the CIE said on Friday, adding that “the objective of the training for priesthood in the emotional-sexual sphere is the ability [to] welcome chastity in celibacy as a gift, to freely choose and to responsibly live it.”

However, it reiterated that while the Catholic Church “deeply respects the people in question”, gay men who are sexually active cannot be admitted to seminaries or any other holy orders.

Pope Francis was forced to apologise in May last year for using an offensive slur during a discussion with bishops about admitting gay men into seminaries.

The rare papal apology followed reports in the Italian press that the pontiff had said there was already too much “frociaggine” in some seminaries. The Italian word roughly translates as “faggotness”. In his apology, the pope said he “never intended to offend or express himself in homophobic terms”.

After the incident, Il Messaggero newspaper published a letter from Lorenzo Michele Noè Caruso, a 22-year-old who said he was excluded from a seminary for being gay and described a culture of “toxic and elective clericalism”. The pope reportedly responded, inviting the young man to “go forward” with his vocational research.

Since he was elected pope in 2013, Francis has sought to adopt a more inclusive tone towards LGBTQ+ people in his public statements, much to the disdain of conservative cardinals.

Soon after becoming pope, he said in response to a question about gay priests: “Who am I to judge?”

He approved a ruling in December 2023 allowing priests to bless unmarried and same-sex couples, in a significant change of position for the Catholic Church.

The suspects were arrested on Wednesday, January 8, 2025.

Four of the suspects, excluding Mandela’s grandson, appeared before the Johannesburg Magistrate’s court on Friday, January 10.

The grandson, who is known to Independent Media but remains unnamed pending confirmation from the South African Police Service (SAPS), is embroiled in a case that raises concerns not only about the safety of citizens but the alarming state of a once-illustrious family home.

According to police reports, the hijacked vehicle was taken last night in Benoni, with the suspects believed to have driven around while still possessing the vehicle’s driver.

Details regarding the driver’s fate remain unclear, although it has been reported that he is currently at a police station in Ekurhuleni, preparing to file an official hijacking case.

The four suspects face charges of robbery with aggravating circumstance, kidnapping, and assault.

Prosecutor Tshepo Mahange kaMzizi told the court that these were the preferred charges at this stage.

He said five people were arrested, but only four were appearing at this stage.

According to Mahange kaMzizi, the prosecution will not be able to add the fifth person at this stage until further investigations

The charges relate to the robbery and assault of an Uber driver earlier this week, the court heard.

Mahange kaMzizi asked the court to postpone the matter to next Friday, January 17, for an identity parade to be held over the weekend and further investigations.

The four suspects opted to be represented by Legal Aid and their legal representative objected to the postponement, which he argued should not be more than seven days as this would violate their right to apply for bail.

The Legal Aid representative said the ID parade should have been conducted “there and then” when his clients were arrested.

Mahange kaMzizi said the State was entitled to seven days.

“The ID parade goes either way, it may assist applicants (accused) in that bail application or it may assist the state,” the prosecutor explained.

Magistrate Johan Herman remanded the matter until next Friday for bail application.

The court ordered that the suspects not be identified in any manner including publishing their faces, names, race, and gender until their second appearance as requested by Mahange kaMzizi.

In addition, Herman also ordered that Friday’s court proceedings not be recorded live and the names of the suspects not disclosed to anyone.

Mahange kaMzizi indicated that the prosecution will oppose bail and warned the suspects that they face between 15 and 25 years in prison should they be found guilty and whether the incident was their first, second, or third offence.

Xolani Fihla, spokesperson for the Johannesburg Metro Police Department, whose officers arrested the group, referred inquiries about why the grandson did not appear in court to the SA Police Service and the National Prosecuting Authority.

Donald Trump has said that a meeting is being arranged between himself and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The US president-elect gave no timeline for when the meeting might take place.

“He wants to meet, and we are setting it up,” he said in remarks at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.

The Kremlin said in response that it was open to the talks, but that no details had been confirmed yet.

Welcome to the Thistle – the UK’s first and only drug consumption room.

After nearly a decade of deadlock and wrangling over drug laws the centre is finally ready to open.

On Monday it will welcome its first clients who will come in to inject illegally-bought heroin or cocaine under medical supervision.

The Thistle is based in Glasgow’s east end, where there is a high population of users who take drugs in public.

Funded by the Scottish government, its aim is to reduce overdoses and drug-related harm as well as making drug use less visible to the community.

PA Media

US aviation giant Boeing has told BBC News it is donating $1m (£812,600) to an inauguration fund for President-elect Donald Trump.

Google and Microsoft have also confirmed they have made similar donations as the firms join a growing list of major American companies contributing to the fund.

The list also includes oil producer Chevron and technology giants Meta, Amazon and Uber.

Trump’s inauguration, marking the start of his second term in the White House, is set to take place on 20 January.

The US has announced an increased $25m (£20.4m) reward for information leading to the arrest of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro on the day he was sworn in for a third six-year term in office.

The inauguration ceremony was overshadowed by recrimination from the international community and Venezuelan opposition leaders.

Rewards have also been offered for information leading to the arrest and or conviction of Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello. A new reward of up to $15m for Defence Minister Vladimir Padrino has also been offered.

The UK also issued sanctions on 15 top Venezuelan officials, including judges, members of the security forces and military officials.

Close to $53m (£43m) in alleged illicit funds recovered from Nigeria’s former oil minister Diezani Alison-Madueke among others will be used to fund public services, the country’s justice ministry says.

The money is being sent back to Nigeria from the US, whose authorities allege that Alison-Madueke enriched herself, and others, while leading Nigeria’s state oil firm by awarding contracts in exchange for bribes.

The US alleged that the money was then used to buy a 65-metre superyacht called the Galactica Star plus multiple luxury properties in California and New York.

Alison-Madueke, 64, has always denied all allegations of wrongdoing.

AFP

Luisa Kremleva’s lawyer called in sick at the last minute last October ahead of her scheduled trial, alleging a “medical emergency” and forcing a suspension as public prosecutors tried to get her jailed for two years on conviction.

The Russian-born beauty opted to stay away from the court in the Costa del Sol capital of Malaga at the time so she didn’t have to face waiting media.

On Thursday, court officials confirmed Kremleva had been handed a six-month suspended jail sentence and fined £1,500 after striking a hush-hush plea bargain deal with public prosecutors and admitting perjuring herself by claiming France international Hernandez, 27, raped her in the back of a Porsche outside a Marbella nightclub.

The 28-year-old has been warned she will be made to do time if she reoffends in the next two years after being formally convicted of a crime of making a false criminal complaint.

The plea bargain deal is understood to have been rubber-stamped last November following talks between her defence lawyer and state prosecutors, but it was only made public today in a five-page written sentence.

Kremleva’s conviction brings to an end a near-seven-year saga which began on June 4, 2017.

The real estate boss’ daughter, who forged a name for herself on Spanish TV reality and dating shows between modelling assignments, prompted a police probe by accusing Hernandez of an early-hours rape in a friend’s Porsche Cayenne parked outside glitzy Marbella nightclub Olivia Valere where they had both been partying.

Investigators took just two days to halt their probe after viewing CCTV car park cameras showing she had fallen to the ground accidentally instead of being pushed out of the car after “forced sex” as she had claimed.

Police are also believed to have obtained a phone message Kremleva sent the Marseille-born footballer around 6.15am two hours after the supposed rape, asking him repeatedly when he was going to go home with her.

Attacking left-back Hernandez, capped 35 times by France at senior level, was never arrested before a court dismissed her rape claim and police started preparing a case against her. She was charged with making a false criminal complaint following her arrest in January 2020 on a warrant after she failed to answer a court summons.

Her trial was delayed by a string of suspensions, including one linked to medical treatment Kremleva was thought to have been undergoing in her homeland when a previous court date was set.

A public prosecution indictment submitted ahead of her scheduled trial last October and before the plea bargain deal accused her of “maliciously” making up the rape after consensual sex with Hernandez “out of revenge” for the footballer snubbing her attempts to get him to go home with her after they made out in the back of the Porsche.

In a newspaper interview after investigators dismissed her rape claims early on in their probe, Kremleva insisted: “I have proof of the attack which are on my backside and knees. “I would love it if Theo apologised. It’s the least I deserve.”

Her mum, Mila, went on Spanish TV after news of her January 13, 2020 detention broke to claim: “My daughter is not under arrest. She went to pick up a court notification. With time the truth is going to come out.”

Kremleva admitted to acting “maliciously” in accusing Hernandez of raping her as part of the plea bargain deal she struck to lift the threat of a two-year prison sentence hanging over her head if she had decided to plead innocent and go to trial.

Sentencing judge Lourdes Sanchez Esquinas ruled following the TV model’s admission of guilt, referring to her by her first name and initials in her written sentence:

“It has been proven that in the early hours of June 4, 2017, the accused Luisa T.K was in the Olivia Valere nightclub in Marbella, where she had arranged to meet up with Theo H. who was in a VIP area with a group of friends.

“About 4am both left the venue with the intention of having sex. They went to the car park and in Theo’s friend’s car they had full consensual sex before returning to the nightclub.

The accused subsequently tried but failed to get Theo to spend the night alone with her at her home, getting into a fight with other women who formed part of Theo’s group before she returned home alone without him.

“About 8am, in revenge and taking advantage of Theo’s fame she called police telling them she had been the victim of a rape and informed them about her intention of making a formal complaint before being taken by officers to hospital for a medical examination.

“On June 4 at 5.25pm she went to a police station in Marbella and maliciously reported that after initially agreeing to sex with Theo H, she said she didn’t want to continue and despite making that clear, Theo forced himself on her against her will before pushing her out of the car onto her knees and injuring her.

“She unlawfully hid the fact that she had previously fallen onto the ground by accident and then again during the aforementioned fight.”

Hernandez, who was due to give evidence at last October’s scheduled trial, is said to be close to penning a new deal with Serie A side AC Milan which will make him one of the highest-paid players in their squad.

The star footballer played a key role in his club’s 3-2 Italian Super Cup final victory in Riyadh on Monday, scoring a goal and setting up another in their stunning comeback against city rivals Inter.

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Trump had urged the top court to consider whether he was entitled to an automatic stay of his sentencing, but the justices rejected the application by 5-4.

Trump was found guilty of falsifying records to disguise reimbursements for a $130,000 hush money payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels as legal expenses in 2016.

Justice Juan Merchan, who is overseeing the case, has indicated he will not consider a jail term for Trump.

Reacting on Thursday evening, the president-elect told reporters the case was a “disgrace”, although the Supreme Court decision was a “fair decision, actually.”

“It’s a judge that shouldn’t have been on the case,” he said, apparently referring to Justice Merchan, and adding “they can have fun with their political opponent”.

Two of the Supreme Court’s conservative justices – John Roberts and Amy Coney Barrett – joined the three liberals to deny Trump’s request for a delay.

The remaining four judges – Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh – would have allowed Trump’s bid to postpone sentencing.

Alito has been criticised for speaking to Trump just a day before the decision in a phone call when the top judge recommended one of his former law clerks for a job with the incoming president’s administration.

Three lower New York courts had rejected Trump’s delay attempt before the Supreme Court made its final decision on Thursday evening to let the sentencing proceed as scheduled.

The justices denied Trump’s petition because they believed his concerns could be addressed during an appeal.

They also wrote that the burden of attending a sentencing was “insubstantial”.

Trump’s lawyers had also asked the Supreme Court to consider whether presidents-elect had immunity from criminal prosecution.

Manhattan prosecutors had urged the Supreme Court to reject Trump’s petition, arguing there was a “compelling public interest” in holding the sentencing and that there was “no basis for such an intervention”.

Following the jury’s guilty verdict in May 2024, Trump was initially set to be sentenced in July, but his lawyers successfully persuaded Justice Merchan to delay the sentencing on three separate occasions.

Last week, Justice Merchan declared the sentencing would move forward on 10 January, just days before Trump is sworn in again as president.

The days since have seen a volley of appeals and court filings from Trump’s attorneys, trying to stave off the sentencing.

But in swift succession, New York courts rejected the bids. Finally on Wednesday, Trump’s lawyers petitioned the Supreme Court to intervene.

The court should stay the proceedings “to prevent grave injustice and harm to the institution of the Presidency and the operations of the federal government”, they wrote.

Last year, the bench’s 6-3 conservative majority handed Trump a major victory, when they ruled that US presidents had immunity from criminal prosecution for “official acts” undertaken in office.

That decision gutted a federal prosecution against Trump on charges he illegally interfered in the 2020 election outcome, which he denied and pleaded not guilty.

But since his re-election, Trump’s lawyers have tried to persuade a series of judges that those presidential immunity protections should also apply to a president-elect in this Manhattan criminal case.

Manhattan prosecutors argued in their own brief to the Supreme Court that Trump’s “extraordinary immunity claim is unsupported by any decision from any court”.

“It is axiomatic that there is only one President at a time,” the prosecutors wrote.

Separately, a group of former public officials and legal scholars filed an amicus brief – effectively a letter of support – to the Supreme Court, asking the justices to reject Trump’s “attempt to avoid accountability”.

In another legal setback for Trump on Thursday, a federal appeals court in Georgia rejected a bid to block the release of a portion of special counsel Jack Smith’s report into Trump’s alleged plot to prevent the transfer of power to Joe Biden after the 2020 election.

Lawyers for Walt Nauta, a former aide, and former Mar-a-Lago property manager Carlos de Oliveira had argued that the release would unfairly prejudice potential future criminal cases against them.

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Indian authorities say they have arrested a Canadian man at Delhi airport for carrying a crocodile skull in his luggage.

The 32-year-old man was at the airport on Monday to catch his flight to Canada when he was first stopped during security check.

“Upon examination, a skull with sharp teeth, resembling the jaw of a baby crocodile, weighing approximately 777g (1.71lb), was discovered wrapped in a cream-colored cloth,” Delhi customs said in a statement on Thursday.

The man was arrested and the skull was handed over to the Department of Forests and Wildlife, they said.

The attack on Wednesday night occurred while Chadian President Mahamat Deby Itno was inside the palace, but authorities said the situation was quickly brought under control.

“The situation is completely under control. There is no fear,” Foreign Affairs Minister Abderaman Koulamallah said while surrounded by soldiers in a live Facebook broadcast filmed inside what appeared to be a quiet presidential palace late Wednesday.

In an interview with state TV, Koulamallah praised the vigilance of the palace guards, describing the attackers as disorganized and intoxicated by alcohol and drugs. When asked if the attack was terrorism, he said it was probably not, as the attackers were local youths from the capital, N’Djamena.

The attack occurred the same day as a visit by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who congratulated Deby Itno on re-establishing constitutional order.

In the immediate aftermath, rumors spread online that the attack was the work of Islamic militant group Boko Haram.

Boko Haram, which launched an insurgency more than a decade ago against Western education, seeks to establish Islamic law in Nigeria’s northeast. The insurgency has spread to neighboring West African countries including Cameroon, Niger and Chad.

Chad, a country of nearly 18 million people, has been reeling from political turmoil before and after a controversial presidential election that resulted in Deby Itno’s victory. He had led the country as interim president during the period of military rule that followed the death of his father in 2021.

The death of a teenage boy sparked violent protests in a city in north-west China, the BBC has confirmed through verified video.

In the videos shared on social media, protesters can be seen hurling objects at police and officers beating some demonstrators in Pucheng in Shaanxi province.

Authorities said the teenager fell to his death on 2 January in an accident at his school dormitory. But following his death allegations began spreading on social media that there had been a cover-up.

Protests erupted soon after and lasted several days, before they were apparently quelled earlier this week. The BBC has seen no further evidence of protest in Pucheng since then.

AFP reporters heard gunfire near the site and saw tanks on the street, while security sources reported that armed men had tried to overrun the complex.

The government later said 19 people were killed in the fighting, of which 18 were members of the 24-strong commando unit that launched the assault.

“There were 18 dead and six injured” among the attackers “and we suffered one death and three injured, one of them seriously”, government spokesman and Foreign Minister Abderaman Koulamallah told AFP.

Hours after the shooting, Koulamallah appeared in a video posted to Facebook, surrounded by soldiers and with a gun on his belt, saying “the situation is completely under control… the destabilisation attempt was put down”.

A security source said the attackers were members of the Boko Haram jihadist group, but Koulamallah later said they were “probably not” terrorists, describing them as drunken “Pieds Nickeles” — a reference to a French comic featuring hapless crooks.

He said they attacked four guards before entering the presidential complex, where they were “easily overpowered”, adding the surviving assailants were “completely drugged”.

Landlocked Chad is under military rule and faces regular attacks by Boko Haram, especially in the western Lake Chad region that borders Cameroon, Nigeria and Niger.

It recently ended a military accord with former colonial power France and has been accused of interfering in the conflict ravaging neighbouring Sudan.

Several security sources said that an armed commando unit opened fire inside the presidency on Wednesday evening around 7:45 pm (1845 GMT), before being overrun by the presidential guard.

All roads leading to the presidency were blocked and tanks could be seen on the streets, according to an AFP reporter at the scene.

As civilians rushed out of the city centre in cars and motorcycles, armed police were seen at several points in the district.

Hours before the shootout, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with President Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno and other senior officials.

Deby was in the complex at the time of the attack, according to Koulamallah.

– France’s last Sahel bases –

The former French colony hosted France’s last military bases in the region known as the Sahel, but at the end of November, Chad ended defence and security agreements with Paris, calling them “obsolete”.

Around a thousand French military personnel were stationed in the country and are in the process of being withdrawn.

France was previously driven out of three Sahelian countries governed by juntas hostile to Paris — Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger.

Senegal and Ivory Coast have also asked France to vacate military bases on their territory.

– Like father, like son –

The gunfire erupted less than two weeks after Chad held a contested general election that the government hailed as a key step towards ending military rule, but that was marked by low turnout and opposition allegations of fraud.

A call by the opposition for voters to boycott the polls left the field open for candidates aligned with the president, who was brought to power by the military in 2021 and then legitimised in a May presidential election that opposition candidates denounced as fraudulent.

Deby took power after the death of his father, who had ruled the country with an iron fist for three decades.

The desert country is an oil producer but ranked fourth from bottom in the United Nations Human Development Index.

To consolidate his grip on power, Deby has reshuffled the army, historically dominated by the Zaghawas and Gorane, his mother’s ethnic group.

On the diplomatic front, he has sought new strategic partnerships, including with Russia and Hungary.

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According to a statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation, and Moroccan Expatriates of the Kingdom of Morocco, the Ghanaian government conveyed this decision through an official document from its Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration to Morocco’s counterpart.

Ghana also confirmed that it would inform the African Union, the United Nations, and Morocco through diplomatic channels.

In the statement, Ghana reiterated its support for Morocco’s efforts to find a mutually agreeable solution to the Western Sahara dispute, commending these efforts as “good-faith initiatives.”

Ghana initially recognized the SADR in 1979, but this suspension brings it in line with 46 other countries, including 13 African nations, that have either cut or suspended ties with the SADR since 2000.

This move further underscores the diplomatic progress made by Morocco under the leadership of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, who has vigorously advocated for Morocco’s stance on the Sahara issue in international forums.

The drop came as UK 10-year borrowing costs surged to their highest level since the 2008 financial crisis when bank borrowing almost ground to a halt.

Economists have warned the rising costs could lead to further tax rises or cuts to spending plans as the government tries to meet its self-imposed borrowing target.

According to several media reports, a spokesperson for the Treasury said: “No one should be under any doubt that meeting the fiscal rules is non-negotiable and the government will have an iron grip on the public finances.”

It added that the chancellor would “leave no stone unturned in her determination to deliver economic growth and fight for working people”.

The BBC has contacted the Treasury for comment.

Earlier, the government said it would not say anything ahead of the official borrowing forecast from its independent forecaster due in March.

“I’m obviously not going to get ahead… it’s up to the OBR (Office for Budget Responsibility) to make their forecasts.”

“Having stability in the public finances is precursor to having economic stability and economic growth,” the Prime Minister’s official spokesman said.

Shadow chancellor Mel Stride claimed that the Chancellor’s significant spending and borrowing plans from the Budget are “making it more expensive for the government to borrow”.

“We should be building a more resilient economy, not raising taxes to pay for fiscal incompetence,” he said in a post on X.

The warning comes after the cost of borrowing over 30 years hit its highest level for 27 years on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the pound dropped by as much as 1.1% to $1.233 against the dollar, marking its lowest level since April last year.

The government generally spends more than it raises in taxes. To fill this gap it borrows money, but that has to be paid back – with interest.

One of the ways it can borrow money is by selling financial products called bonds.

Gabriel McKeown, head of macroeconomics at Sad Rabbit Investments, said the rise in borrowing costs “has effectively eviscerated Reeves’ fiscal headroom, threatening to derail Labour’s investment promises and potentially necessitate a painful re-calibration of spending plans.”

Globally, there has been a rise in the cost of government borrowing in recent months sparked by investor concerns that US President-elect Donald Trump’s plans to impose new tariffs on goods entering the US from Canada, Mexico and China would push up inflation.

The prospect of those policies is colliding with separate concerns about growing US debt and persistent inflation, which could also keep borrowing costs high. In the US, interest rates on 10-year government bonds also surged on Wednesday,in part reflecting new data on prices,before dropping back at mid-day to more than 4.7%, still the highest level since April.

As investors respond to changes in the US bond market, the effects are being felt globally, including in the UK.

Danni Hewson, head of financial analysis at AJ Bell, said the UK rises were similar to those in the US.

“US Treasury 10-year yields have jumped to the highest level since April, whilst in the UK 10-year borrowing costs have soared to their highest levels since the financial crisis,” she said.

Adding: “It may be a global sell-off, but it creates a singular headache for the UK chancellor looking to spend more on public services without raising taxes again or breaking her self-imposed fiscal rules.”

Ms Hewson said that with less than two weeks before Donald Trump returns to the Oval Office, “uncertainty about his tariff plans are already rattling investor nerves.”

The official forecaster, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), will start the process of updating its forecast on government borrowing next month to be presented to parliament in late March.

As the fires continue to ravage the city’s suburbs, officials report that the situation is worsening, with no immediate relief in sight.

The fires, fuelled by fierce Santa Ana winds and dangerously dry conditions, have already claimed lives, with five confirmed deaths near the Eaton Fire.

The Eaton Fire, which started Tuesday evening in the Altadena hills above Pasadena, quickly escalated to over 10,000 acres by Wednesday night.

The fire’s rapid growth in just hours has already claimed five lives, with victims found near the blaze. Sheriff Luna confirmed the tragic deaths during a press conference, but stated that the cause of death has not been determined.

He added that homicide detectives have been dispatched to investigate, ensuring a thorough examination of the situation. “At the end of the day, it’s absolutely tragic,” Sheriff Luna said.

The Palisades Fire, the largest of the wildfires, has torn through upscale coastal neighbourhoods, including those inhabited by Hollywood stars. Starting Tuesday at 10:30 AM, the fire grew rapidly from just 20 acres to over 200 acres within 20 minutes.

By Wednesday night, it had stretched to 16,000 acres, leaving over 1,000 buildings destroyed and prompting the evacuation of more than 30,000 people. Firefighters are struggling to contain the massive blaze as strong winds continue to fan the flames.

Meanwhile, the Hurst Fire north of San Fernando, which began burning late Tuesday night, has spread to 500 acres and triggered evacuation orders for nearby Santa Clarita. Authorities are urging residents to stay alert as the fire continues to threaten homes and property in the area.

The latest fire, the Woodley Fire, which broke out early Wednesday morning, has been somewhat contained, shrinking to 30 acres. While smaller than the others, it is still a concern as firefighting efforts continue.

In total, more than 1,400 firefighters are working tirelessly to battle the blazes, but the extreme weather conditions and rugged terrain are making their efforts increasingly difficult.

Meanwhile, power outages affecting over 300,000 homes and businesses have added to the chaos, making it harder for residents to evacuate and for authorities to manage the fires.

As more details emerge, the focus remains on containing the fires and providing assistance to those affected.

Nonetheless, the authorities continue to issue evacuation orders and warn residents of the ongoing risks posed by the fires.

The devastation of these wildfires has left the city in a state of crisis, with both the human and environmental toll continuing to rise.

The investigation into the five tragic deaths will continue as officials work to ensure proper protocols are followed.

Image source,Reuters

Image source,Reuters

Image source,EPA

Image source,EPA

Image source,EPA

The Los Angeles Fire Department remains in a state of emergency, with no clear timeline for bringing the fires under control.

The community is being urged to remain vigilant, and more evacuations are expected as the fires continue to spread.

The bodies were discovered Monday night during a post-flight maintenance inspection. Their identities are unknown, the airline said, and “the circumstances surrounding how they accessed the aircraft remain under investigation.”

JetBlue said the plane had most recently operated as Flight 1801 from John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York. The flight landed in Fort Lauderdale at 11:10 pm, according to the flight-tracking website FlightAware.

“A gate technician in the landing gear area noticed two males who appear to be Signal 7, advised they are not moving in the landing gear area,” an unidentified person said on Broward County Sheriff’s Office radio at 11:26 p.m., as recorded on the website Broadcastify. Signal 7 is law enforcement code for a deceased person.

“The individuals who (are) deceased are both males. Beyond that, their identities at this time are unknown,” said Carey Codd, spokesperson for the Broward County Sheriff’s Office.

“The Broward County Medical Examiner’s Office will perform autopsies to determine the causes of death of both individuals,” Codd added.

The investigation is not impacting operations at the airport, Broward County Aviation Department spokesperson Arlene Satchell told CNN.

“The passengers who arrived on the flight had already deplaned,” Satchell said.

“This is a heartbreaking situation, and we are committed to working closely with authorities to support their efforts to understand how this occurred,” JetBlue said in a statement.

“TSA is working closely with the airline, airport, FAA, and law enforcement officials and this incident remains under investigation,” a spokesperson for the Transportation Security Administration told CNN in a statement. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates JFK Airport, declined comment on the deaths.

The Airbus A320 jet was in service nearly all day Monday, according to FlightAware data, first taking off from Kingston, Jamaica, at 1:10 a.m. It arrived in New York ahead of a 7:36 a.m. departure to Salt Lake City. The jet then flew back to JFK before concluding its day in Fort Lauderdale.

The discovery comes two weeks after a body was found in the wheel bay of a United Airlines flight from Chicago to Maui.

The Federal Aviation Administration says the landing gear compartment is often used by stowaways, who don’t realize how little space is available in the bay when the gear is retracted. Stowaways who aren’t crushed often end up losing consciousness for lack of oxygen or freezing once the plane is at cruising altitude.

About 80% of people who attempt to fly in the wheel well or another external compartment of an aircraft die, according to a 2011 FAA report.

‘This keeps happening’

There have been other recent stowaway incidents that raised serious alarm over airport security during the busy holiday travel period.

A woman boarded a Delta plane Thanksgiving week, authorities said, and made it from Kennedy to Paris before she was eventually arrested.

Weeks later, a stowaway tried to hitch a ride on a Delta flight departing from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. The unticketed passenger was discovered while the plane was taxiing for takeoff to Honolulu.

“This keeps happening. People are getting onto the airport property and getting into an aircraft, and it poses a huge security danger for the aircraft,” former Department of Transportation Inspector General Mary Schiavo told CNN News Central on Tuesday.

“These people were apparently just trying to get some place, but it could have easily been someone attempting to attack aviation.”

On Tuesday, Trump reiterated his desire to acquire the autonomous Danish territory, saying it was “critical” for national and economic security.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot told French radio “There is obviously no question that the European Union would let other nations of the world attack its sovereign borders, whoever they are”.

Barrot said he did not believe the US was going to invade the vast Arctic island, but he was clear the EU should not let itself be intimidated.

Trump has repeatedly expressed an interest in buying Greenland, having mooted the idea during his first term as president.

Denmark, a long-time US ally, has made clear that Greenland is not for sale and that it belongs to its inhabitants.

Greenland’s prime minister, Mute Egede, is pushing for independence and has also made clear the territory is not for sale. He was visiting Copenhagen on Wednesday.

Trump made the remarks at a free-wheeling news conference at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, less than two weeks before he is sworn in for his second term as president.

Asked if he would rule out using military or economic force in order to take over Greenland or the Panama Canal, Trump said: “No, I can’t assure you on either of those two.

“But I can say this, we need them for economic security.”

Greenland has been home to a US radar base since the Cold War and has long been strategically important for Washington.

Trump suggested the island was crucial to military efforts to track Chinese and Russian ships, which he said are “all over the place”.

“I’m talking about protecting the free world,” he told reporters.

Speaking to France Inter radio, Barrot said: “If you’re asking me whether I think the United States will invade Greenland, my answer is no.

“Have we entered into an era that sees the return of the survival of the fittest? Then the answer is yes.

“So, should we allow ourselves to be intimidated and overcome with worry, clearly not. We must wake up, build up our strength.”

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen told Danish TV on Tuesday that “Greenland belongs to the Greenlanders” and that only the local population could determine its future.

However, she stressed Denmark needed close cooperation with the US, a Nato ally.

Greenland, which is the largest island in the world but has a population of just 57,000, has wide-ranging autonomy, although its economy is largely dependent on subsidies from Copenhagen and it remains part of the kingdom of Denmark.

It also has some of the largest deposits of rare earth minerals, which are crucial in the manufacture of batteries and high-tech devices.

Danish Broadcasting Corporation senior international correspondent Steffen Kretz, who has been reporting in Greenland’s capital, Nuuk, said most of the people he had spoken to were “shocked” by Trump’s suggestion he could use military force to take control of the territory.

While a majority of people in Greenland hoped for independence in the future, he said there was widespread acknowledgment that it needed a partner who could provide public services, defence and an economic foundation, as Denmark did now.

“I have yet to meet a person in Greenland who is dreaming of the island becoming a colony for another outside power like the USA.”

Kretz told the BBC that while the Danish government had sought to “downplay” any confrontation with Trump, “behind the scenes I sense the awareness that this conflict has the potential to be the biggest international crisis for Denmark in modern history”.

The president-elect’s son, Donald Trump Jr, paid a brief visit to Greenland on Tuesday, in what he described as a “personal day trip” to talk to people.

He then posted a photo with a group of Greenlanders in a bar wearing pro-Trump caps.

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