Miss Peru contestants stand up to violence

The beauty pageant stars give measurements of a different kind to highlight violence against women in Peru.

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The city where you will never get caught short

A new policy in a German city means "nice toilets" can be found everywhere.

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Ksenia Sobchak: The woman running against Putin for president

Ksenia Sobchak says she's running to be Russia's president next year. But who is she?

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Utah nurse gets $500,000 in blood arrest row

Battle of Beersheba charge recreated for centenary

Image copyright EPA Image caption A recreation of the World War One charge by Australian and New Zealand cavalry

Israeli, Australian and New Zealand leaders have commemorated the 100-year anniversary of the Battle of Beersheba.

The World War One battle in what is now southern Israel is considered a key moment in the Allies' efforts to break the Turkish line and capture Jerusalem.

Australian PM Malcolm Turnbull described it as "part of our history".

To mark the occasion, about 100 Australian horsemen took part in a small-scale recreation of the battle's defining charge though the desert.

On 31 October 1917, Australian and New Zealand cavalry galloped towards to the Turkish trenches and seized control of the city, a strategic crossroads and important water source.

Image copyright EPA

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the victory ultimately helped create the state of Israel.

"Exactly 100 years ago brave ANZAC [Australian and New Zealand Army Corps] soldiers liberated Beersheba for the sons and daughters of Abraham and opened the gateway for the Jewish people to re-enter the stage of history," he said.

The Battle of Beersheba led to the Balfour Declaration - the first time the British government endorsed the establishment of "a national home for the Jewish people" in Palestine.

While many Israelis believe it was the foundation stone of modern Israel and the salvation of the Jews, many Palestinians regard it as a betrayal.

Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said the "the battle has become part of our history, part of our psyche".

Image copyright Getty Images Image caption New Zealand Governor-General Patsy Reddy, Australian PM Malcolm Turnbull and Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu lay wreaths

"They spurred their horses through that fire, those mad Australians, through that fire, and took the town of Beersheba, secured the victory that did not create the State of Israel but enabled its creation," he said.

"Had the Ottoman rule in Palestine and Syria not been overthrown by the Australians and the New Zealanders, the Balfour declaration would have been empty words," he added. "But this was a step for the creation of Israel."

New Zealand Governor-General Patsy Reddy said the Beersheba victory had boosted morale, and been a significant moment for her nation in an international context.

About 500 Turkish soldiers died in the battle, according to one military historian, Jonathan King.

It also claimed the lives of 31 Australians and eight New Zealanders.

The battle was considered one of the last great cavalry charges before sophisticated weaponry rendered horses obsolete in the military.

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Miss Peru Pageant turns into gender violence protest

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Media captionMiss Peru contestants highlight violence against women

Participants in Peru's Miss Universe Pageant broke with tradition and recited statistics detailing violence against women rather than give their body measurements.

The organisers also joined in showing news material of prominent cases of gender-based attacks.

The 23 aspiring beauty queens were hoping to get through to November's Miss Universe Competition in Las Vegas.

Last year thousands of women marched in Peru against gender-based violence.

Instead of giving their bust, waist and hip size, the contestants took turns reciting a roll call of shocking data.

One contestant said a girl dies every 10 minutes due to sexual exploitation in Peru.

Another said more than 70% of women in the country are victims of street harassment.

The televised show shocked viewers who were expecting traditional light entertainment.

The contest organiser, Jessica Newton, told the AFP news agency: "Unfortunately there are many women who do not know, and think they are isolated cases.

"I think that the fact that you are looking at your regional representative, at the queen of your department, giving open and real figures about what is happening in our country is alarming."

She said out of the 150 participants in Peru who had begun the contest, five had been victims of violence, including rape.

At the end of the evening the pageant contestants were asked what they would do about violence, instead of lightweight questions about hobbies and ambitions.

The winner of the Peru pageant, Romina Lozano, representing Callao department, said her plan would be "to implement a database containing the name of each aggressor, not only for femicide but for every kind of violence against women. In this way we can protect ourselves",

The contestants are planning to lead a march to highlight violence against women in Lima in November.

According to the Observatory of Citizen Security of the Organisation of American States, Peru ranks as second only to Bolivia with the worst record of violence against women in South America.

The Peruvian government says 800 women have been murdered in gender-related violence in the six years leading up to 2015.

Peru's Congress passed a law in September 2015 providing comprehensive measures to prevent and punish violence against women and set up shelters and temporary refuges for women.

Gender-based violence has been a hot issue in Peru.

Last year tens of thousands of women demonstrated in Lima and other cities calling on the authorities to do more to stop it.

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Catalan independence: Spain high court summons dismissed leader

Czech grooves

Albania's difficult journey

Image caption Nikolin Kurti at the site of the mass grave he uncovered in 2009

A generation after the fall of its Communist dictatorship, Albania is starting to uncover evidence of thousands of people executed by the former regime.

More than 30 years after his death, the country is beginning to come to terms with the terrible legacy left by the Communist dictatorship of Enver Hoxha. And it was ordinary people who began the search for the truth about the labour camps, mass graves and secret police which characterised those times.

"Please don't ask me how difficult this was. I can't even begin to tell you how difficult it was. We were just digging out bones and skulls, trying to piece things together. It was very grim."

So says retired chemical engineer Nikolin Kurti, 68, who took us to the outskirts of the Albanian capital, Tirana, and then up Mount Dajti. It was here, now overgrown with bushes and brambles, that he had excavated a mass grave in 2010, uncovering the remains of 14 people.

Image copyright AFP Image caption Enver Hoxha ruled Albania for more than 40 years

"It all started when a policeman told me that my uncle was buried here," he explained. That uncle, a Catholic priest called Father Stephen Kurti, was executed in 1971 after he had been found guilty of secretly baptising a child.

Enver Hoxha had criminalised all forms of religion and Father Kurti paid the ultimate price for disobeying a totalitarian state that has often been compared to today's North Korea.

Now Albania itself has begun the difficult journey into its own tragic past that may result in the search for possibly hundreds of mass graves.

Albania's troubled past

1941 Italy invades. Albania's King Zog flees

1944 Following German occupation, Communist Enver Hoxha becomes leader

1946 Non-Communists purged from government positions. Regime will outlaw religion, murder political opponents and run labour camps

1961-78 After breaking with the USSR, Albania allies with China

1985 Hoxha dies, replaced by Ramiz Alia

1989 Communist rule in Eastern Europe collapses. Ramiz Alia signals changes to economic system

1991 First multiparty elections

Enver Hoxha's was one of the most brutal and paranoid of Communist regimes. An estimated 200,000 people passed through the labour camps that were modelled on Stalin's Gulag. More than 6,000 went missing. Now thousands of their relatives and friends want to know what happened to them.

Nearly all the missing people are believed to have been executed or died of neglect or torture in the camps. Many were political prisoners, suspected of opposition to the regime.

Recently, Albania's socialist government has entered negotiations about the possibility of locating and possibly opening mass graves.

Some mass graves are likely to be located near the work camps, including the particularly notorious Spac prison in northern Albania.

Image caption Etleva Demollari, director of the House of Leaves, with Sigurimi gadgets

In September, Albania's Prime Minister Edi Rama met Kathryne Bomberger, director general of the International Commission for Missing Persons. The ICMP is an intergovernmental body that works with governments on the issue of missing persons.

It has helped to discover mass graves elsewhere in the Balkans, resulting mainly from the wars in the former Yugoslavia in the 1990s. The organisation also provides the DNA testing needed to identify remains.

The government and the ICMP have discussed the next steps in establishing a programme to help locate missing people. The initial phase will concentrate on the remains discovered by Nikolin Kurti on Mount Dajti and at another site in Ballsh in southern Albania.

Matthew Holliday, head of the ICMP for the Western Balkans programme, said it was important for relatives to establish both the fate and the location of missing persons.

He said: "The issue of the missing is not about the dead; it is about the living. These are families that have a right to know. They need to know the fate of their missing relatives, and to have received the remains, to have them identified and to give them a dignified burial."

Image caption Gentjana Sula with some of the Sigurimi files

And the country's quest to come to terms with its past has manifested itself in other ways, too.

In recent months, Albania has opened as a museum the so-called House of Leaves, in the old headquarters of Hoxha's much feared secret police, the Sigurimi. It has also opened up the Sigurimi's files.

Gentjana Sula, the head of the newly created Authority on Access to Information on Sigurimi files, said: "I think the interest is high and, according to our research, about 70% of people want to know and see a benefit of knowing more of the files. The right to truth has been denied for all these years."

Ambassador Bernd Borchardt, head of presence in Albania for the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe, welcomed the opening of the files, adding: "Knowledge is the basis for liberalising narrative, for the reconstitution of a nation's memory.

"It played an important role in Germany where fortunately the files were captured by civil society at an early stage. Here it took much longer, but now the government and the parliament have decided to open these files."

Nikolin Kurti asked for DNA tests to be carried out on remains he was convinced belonged to his uncle. Sadly the tests proved negative. His search for the final resting place of Father Kurti goes on.

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Jollof dried-fish sushi

'Holy Death'

How DR Congo's wooden bikes drive profit in Goma

Locals joke that if you marry a "chukudu" driver, then you'll never go hungry.

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Hair raising

New York attacker was 'screaming in the street'

Eyewitnesses speak of shots being fired and panic as police confronted the New York attacker.

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Footage shows New York suspect tackled by police

The truck driver ploughed into cyclists before hitting a school bus and shooting with an imitation gun.

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'Naked Weinstein asked me for a massage'

Sophie Morris alleges the film producer harassed her when she was 19 years old. Weinstein has "unequivocally denied" any allegations of non-consensual sex.

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New York attack: Mayor Bill de Blasio says 'we will be undeterred'

Bill de Blasio says the deadly attack will not break the city's spirit.

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New York terror attack: Bodies and bikes lying on the street

An eyewitness filmed the moments after a driver ploughed into cyclists in a bike lane in Manhattan.

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New York truck attack: Police at scene in Manhattan

A suspect is arrested after a truck was driven along a New York cycle lane, killing at least eight people.

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Social media firms under scrutiny for 'Russian meddling’

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Media captionFacebook says hundreds of accounts backed by Russian trolls filled news feeds with inflammatory messages

US lawmakers are eying new rules for tech companies, citing concerns over Russia's use of social media platforms during the 2016 election.

The current approach is "not working", Senator Lindsay Graham said.

He spoke as executives from Facebook, Twitter and Google appeared at a Senate panel on extremist content and Russia disinformation in Washington.

The firms said they were troubled by "abuse" of their services and pledged to take it seriously.

Russia has repeatedly denied allegations that it attempted to influence the last US presidential election, in which Donald Trump beat Hillary Clinton.

But Facebook has said as many as 126 million American users may have seen content uploaded by Russia-based operatives over the past two years.

The social networking site said about 80,000 posts were produced before and after the 2016 presidential election.

Image copyright EPA Image caption Facebook's Colin Stretch (L), Twitter's Sean Edgett, and Google's Richard Salgado testify before a Senate panel

Google and Twitter have also investigated Russian-backed content appearing on their sites.

Most of the posts focused on sowing political and social divisions, the firms have said.

Google said it is developing tools to make more information about the buyers of political ads available to the public.

What is Facebook saying?

Facebook says some 80,000 posts were published between June 2015 and August 2017 and were seen by about 29 million Americans directly, according to a draft of prepared remarks seen by US media ahead of Tuesday's Senate judiciary committee hearing.

These posts, which Facebook says were created by a Kremlin-linked company, were amplified through likes, shares and comments, and spread to tens of millions of people.

Facebook also said it had deleted 170 Instagram accounts, which posted about 120,000 pieces of content.

"These actions run counter to Facebook's mission of building community and everything we stand for," Facebook's general counsel Colin Stretch said on Tuesday.

"And we are determined to do everything we can to address this new threat."

In a blog post from earlier this month, Facebook's Elliot Schrage said that many of the posts did not violate the company's content policies. They were removed, he said, because they were inauthentic - the Russians behind the posts did not identify themselves as such.

Google also revealed on Monday that Russian trolls had uploaded more than 1,000 political videos on YouTube on 18 different channels. The company said they had very low view counts and there was no evidence they had been targeting American viewers.

Meanwhile, Twitter found and suspended all 2,752 accounts that it had tracked to the Russia-based Internet Research Agency, Reuters quotes a source as saying.

---

Key recent developments:

Image copyright Reuters

• Nov 2016: Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg says "the idea that fake news on Facebook influenced the (US) election in any way is a pretty crazy idea"
• Aug 2017: Facebook says it will fight fake news by sending more suspected hoax stories to fact-checkers and publishing their findings online
• Oct 2017: Google finds evidence that Russian agents spent tens of thousands of dollars on ads in a bid to sway the election, reports say
• Oct 2017: Twitter bans Russia's RT and Sputnik media outlets from buying advertising amid fears they attempted to interfere in the election

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Casualties reported after New York 'shooting'

Number of casualties reported after an apparent shooting incident in New York's Lower Manhattan

This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly. Please refresh the page for the fullest version.

You can receive Breaking News on a smartphone or tablet via the BBC News App. You can also follow @BBCBreaking on Twitter to get the latest alerts.

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Arrest warrant issued for US actress Rose McGowan

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Media captionUS actress Rose McGowan: 'It's time to rise'

An arrest warrant has been issued in the US for the actress Rose McGowan for possession of a controlled substance.

It follows an investigation into belongings left on a United Airlines flight from LA to Washington Dulles airport in January.

The belongings reportedly belonged to McGowan and had traces of a controlled substance.

Washington police obtained the warrant on 1 February, spokesman Rob Yingling said.

The authorities say they have been trying to contact McGowan so she can appear in court in Virginia.

McGowan, 44, is among the most prominent accusers of Harvey Weinstein, the Hollywood mogul facing multiple allegations of sexual assault and harassment.

Writing on Twitter on Monday, Ms McGowan hit out at the arrest warrant, asking "Are they trying to silence me?"

McGowan has accused Weinstein of raping her at the Sundance Film Festival in 1997. She received a $100,000 (£76,000) settlement after the incident, according to a New York Times report.

Through a spokesperson, Weinstein has denied any non-consensual sexual acts.

According to the New York Times, someone approached Ms McGowan's lawyer in September to offer $1 million in exchange for her signature on a nondisclosure agreement regarding Weinstein's conduct.

She told the Times she countered with a request for $6 million, but withdrew the counter-offer when the newspaper published allegations against Weinstein from several women.

UK police said on Tuesday they were investigating sexual assault allegations against Weinstein from seven women between the 1980s and 2015.

New York police are also investigating claims against the 65-year-old, including rape and sexual assault.

Numerous allegations have been made against the movie mogul by women including actresses Angelina Jolie, Mira Sorvino and Gwyneth Paltrow.

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Kenya election: Raila Odinga rejects 'sham' repeat vote

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Media captionMr Odinga said his opposition National Super Alliance (Or Nasa) was dismayed by the vote

Kenyan opposition leader Raila Odinga has rejected the results of the re-run presidential election that saw Uhuru Kenyatta gaining a second term.

Mr Odinga called it "a sham" but made no mention of any legal challenge.

Mr Kenyatta won 98% of the vote with turnout under 40% - less than half that recorded in August's vote, largely because of an opposition boycott.

The Supreme Court annulled the first vote in August citing "irregularities and illegalities".

In his first official reaction to the re-run, Mr Odinga called for a "national resistance movement" including the formation of a "people's assembly" to bring civil society groups together to "restore democracy". But he did not explain how that would work.

"This election must not stand .... It will make a complete mockery of elections and might well be the end of the ballot as a means of instituting government in Kenya. It will completely destroy public confidence in the vote," he said.

The BBC's Alastair Leithead in Nairobi says that Mr Odinga's response to the election result was short on substance.

The opposition leader repeated claims that the re-run of August's presidential poll was unconstitutional - lawyers from both sides are still arguing about this, and the Supreme Court has a petition pending.

"We will not allow two megalomaniacs [Mr Kenyatta and his deputy] destroy the dream of freedom and democracy," Mr Odinga said.

Mr Kenyatta, who is now set to serve a second term, said if the new results were challenged in the courts he would accept the outcome.

He has appealed for calm and promised Kenyans that "their neighbour will remain their neighbour" despite political uncertainty.

About 50 people are reported to have died in violence since Mr Kenyatta was declared the winner of August's election.

---

Who is Raila Odinga?

Image copyright EPA

• Aged 72, son of Kenya's first Vice-President Jaramogi Oginga Odinga
• Nicknamed Agwambo (act of god) by supporters
• Trained as medical engineer in former East Germany
• MP for Africa's biggest slum, Kibera, for 20 years
• Has been a mainstay of Kenyan politics since the 1980s and plotted a coup in 1982
• Holds record for being Kenya's longest-serving detainee
• Also holds record for switching political parties
• Has stood four times for the presidency

---

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Kevin Spacey: Netflix halts House of Cards production

The Netflix series House of Cards has announced it will suspend production following sexual assault allegations against actor Kevin Spacey.

Spacey, who stars in the political drama, has been accused of making sexual advances to a 14-year-old boy.

The show had already said it would end after this season, but now say they will permanently "suspend production".

The Old Vic theatre in London where Spacey worked for 11 years say they are "deeply dismayed" by the allegations.

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Thalys train attack: Belgium charges two over foiled 2015 shooting

Image copyright AFP Image caption The passengers who overpowered the gunman were hailed as heroes in France

Two people have been charged in Belgium over an August 2015 attack on a French high-speed train travelling from Amsterdam to Paris.

The pair were charged with participating in "the activities of a terrorist group", prosecutors said.

They are suspected of helping Moroccan gunman Ayoub El-Khazzani, who was overpowered by passengers, including three Americans and a Briton, after he opened fire on the Thalys train.

No one died in the incident.

The suspects charged were among four people detained on Monday in Belgium after police raids. The other two people were released after being questioned.

Mr El-Khazzani, 26, is awaiting trial in France.

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George Papadopoulos: Trump trashes 'low level' indicted aide

Image copyright Reuters

US President Donald Trump has played down the importance of an ex-campaign aide indicted in the Russia inquiry.

He said his onetime foreign policy adviser George Papadopoulos was a "low level volunteer" and "liar". Mr Trump once called him an "excellent guy".

Papadopoulos, 30, this month pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his Kremlin-related contacts.

Two other ex-aides have been charged as part of the investigation into alleged Russian meddling in the US election.

What do ex-aides charges mean for Trump?

The other two, former campaign chief Paul Manafort and Rick Gates, appeared in court on Monday to deny charges including conspiracy and money laundering.

Image copyright Twitter/@GeorgePapa19 Image caption Papadopoulos says he was told the Russians possessed "dirt" on Hillary Clinton

In Tuesday morning's tweets, Mr Trump attempted to deflect scrutiny on to the Democratic party, or his tax reform proposals.

He tweeted: "The Fake News is working overtime. As Paul Manaforts [sic] lawyer said, there was 'no collusion' and events mentioned took place long before he came to the campaign.

"Few people knew the young, low level volunteer named George, who has already proven to be a liar. Check the DEMS!"

Papadopoulos appears in a photo that Mr Trump tweeted of himself in March 2016 hosting a national security meeting with his foreign policy team.

Russians laugh at Washington 'circus'

By Vitaliy Shevchenko, BBC Monitoring

The main reaction to the allegations of meddling in the US election on Russian state TV is to make fun of it.

"Of course! Vladimir Putin is in charge of everything!" a Rossiya 1 TV presenter on one of the many stage-managed political talks that dominate Russian TV schedules says to audience laughter, as he looks at a CNN graphic linking Paul Manafort to President Vladimir Putin.

The main argument is that there is no evidence that links Moscow to any of this, and that the whole thing is part of an anti-Russian campaign.

The culprits are variously described as Democrats unable to reconcile themselves to Donald Trump's election victory, or unreconstructed Western Cold Warriors worried about a newly assertive Russia.

"Can you imagine how badly Russia has undermined American democracy?" the presenter of another talk show over on Channel One asks viewers sarcastically.

A hard-line pro-Kremlin nationalist on the show thunders that Russia is being punished for standing up to a "neo-colonialist" America.

But another guest looks on the bright side, pointing out that the "circus" in Washington could help strengthen Russia's reputation as a bastion of relative stability and common sense.

In court documents released on Monday, federal investigators said Russian nationals had contacted Mr Papadopoulos to gain influence with the Trump campaign.

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Media captionManafort's indictment: Where did all the money go?

They offered "dirt" in the form of "thousands of emails" on Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton in April 2016, according to an indictment.

That was two months before a trove of embarrassing emails related to Mrs Clinton's campaign were leaked after alleged Russian hacking of Democratic accounts.

Papadopoulos, who secretly pleaded guilty weeks ago to lying to the FBI about those contacts, has been co-operating with investigators for months.

Despite White House hopes to the contrary, there is no sign that Justice Department special counsel Robert Mueller's inquiry is near to completion.

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Media captionWhite House: "Today's announcement has nothing to do with the president"

Aaron Zelinsky, a prosecutor on Mr Mueller's team, told Papadopoulos' plea hearing this month: "There's a large-scale, ongoing investigation of which this case is a small part."

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Russians' DNA taken by foreign agents, Kremlin says

Image copyright AFP Image caption DNA samples: Russian officials raised fears of foreign biological warfare research

The Kremlin says foreign agents are collecting DNA samples from Russians of different ethnicities and sending the data abroad for scientific analysis.

The agents were often working for foreign NGOs, President Vladimir Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

Mr Putin told a Russian human rights committee that the DNA collection was "systematic and professional".

Some scientists quoted in the Russian media speculated that the data could be used in US biological warfare research.

A Russian MP close to the Kremlin, Gennady Onishchenko, said new "biological security" legislation to control access to Russians' DNA "should be introduced in December" in parliament.

Mr Onishchenko formerly headed a state agency - Rospotrebnadzor - that conducts sanitary checks on imported food and drink. The agency imposed temporary bans on certain produce from Georgia and Moldova, at times of political tension with Russia.

He said foreign labs were analysing Russians' DNA and restrictions on such research were necessary.

'Military programme'

"The fact that our citizens' fluids, organs and tissues are being collected is evidence that the US has not stopped its aggressive military programme," he alleged.

Earlier Mr Putin avoided such speculation about the DNA analysis, and simply asked "why are they doing this?"

Deadly germ warfare island abandoned by Soviets

Inside the UK's secret weapons research facility

Cold War fake news: Why Russia lied over Aids and JFK

At the height of the Cold War both the US and Soviet Union researched lethal biological agents that could be weaponised.

Russian geneticist Valery Ilyinsky, quoted by RIA Novosti news agency, said biological warfare specialists might be able to exploit genetic differences between ethnic groups.

He said that, for example, about 1% of Europeans had natural resistance to HIV, the virus that triggers Aids.

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Las Vegas shooting survivors die in car crash fireball

Image copyright YouCaring Image caption Dennis and Lorraine Carver

A husband and wife from California who survived this month's massacre at a concert in Las Vegas have died together near their home in a fiery car crash.

Dennis and Lorraine Carver's vehicle careened off the road on 16 October and hit a brick wall, exploding into flames, said California Highway Patrol.

The crash came less than two weeks after they ran from a hail of bullets in America's worst mass shooting.

The couple were dancing at a concert when shots rang out on 1 October.

Mr Carver jumped on top of his wife to shield her from the bullets, the couple's adult daughter said, as a gunman opened fire on the Route 91 Harvest music festival, killing 59 people and wounding nearly 500.

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Media caption'Why me?': Survivors of a senseless act face a different kind of trauma

"That's just the kind of love they had for each other," Brooke Carver told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. "Their love was selfless."

After about three or four volleys of gunfire, they stood and ran through a hail of bullets, ultimately escaping unharmed.

The couple seemed to emerge from the shooting even deeper in love, their daughter said.

"The last two weeks of their lives were really just spent living in the moment," said Brooke Carver.

Image copyright Facebook/ Lorraine Carver

"After the shooting, they heard from all of the people they cared about most. They were so happy."

Three days after the shooting, Mr Carver bought roses for his wife to cheer her up.

"He just wanted to give my mom a reason to smile after the shooting," said Brooke Carver.

"I swear they were more in love those two weeks than the last 20 years."

Mr Carver, 52, and Mrs Carver, 53, are survived by their two daughters.

They had been together for 22 years.

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Airbnb customer allegedly murdered in Melbourne

Image copyright Getty Images Image caption A man was allegedly murdered while staying in an Airbnb property in Melbourne, Australia

A man has allegedly been murdered while staying in an Airbnb-listed property in Melbourne, Australia.

Ramis Jonuzi, 36, had rented a room in the house in Brighton East, Melbourne, paying less than A$30 (£18) a night.

As he was trying to leave the property after a week on Wednesday 25 October, he was allegedly attacked and later died in hospital.

Three men who also lived in the property have been charged with murder, and one has also been accused of rape.

Craig Levy, 36, Ryan Smart, 37, and Jason Colton, 41, did not apply for bail when they appeared at Melbourne Magistrates' Court on Friday.

A spokesman for Airbnb told Australian daily newspaper the Age that the room-rental service was "deeply saddened and outraged" by the tragedy.

"The family will have our full support and our hearts go out to them and all of his friends," the spokesman said.

"We have removed this listing from our platform and will fully co-operate with law enforcement on their investigation.

"There is no place on Airbnb for such an abhorrent act, which violates everything our global community stands for."

Mr Jonuzi, a bricklayer, had rented the room because he wanted cheap and stable accommodation while he dealt with some "personal issues", according to the Age.

However, not long into his stay, he told a friend that he planned to move out early, because he didn't like the "energy" in the house.

He allegedly argued with his three housemates over money, and then decided to cut his stay short.

On Wednesday night, he packed his belongings, loaded them into his car and was about to leave when he was allegedly attacked on the front lawn of the property.

Paramedics failed to revive him and he was taken to hospital suffering from heart failure, where he died.

Mr Levy, the Airbnb host, and Mr Smart were charged with murder. Mr Colton was charged with murder and rape.

The accused men have been remanded into custody and are next due to appear in court on 22 March 2018.

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House swept away by raging floods in New Hampshire

A house in the US state of New Hampshire was destroyed Monday after being swept into the raging river torrent in a deluge. The owner is not thought to have been at home.

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Reformation: Four things about the 500th anniversary celebrations

Image copyright AFP Image caption The groundbreaking criticism of the Roman Catholic Church by the German theologian, Martin Luther, eventually changed the face of Christianity

A special religious service is being held in the German town of Wittenberg to mark the 500th anniversary of the Reformation.

On this day in 1517, Martin Luther is said to have nailed 95 theses to the door of All Saints' Church in the town.

The theologian said Christians could not buy or earn their way into heaven but only enter by the grace of God.

His criticism led to a split with the Roman Catholic Church and the birth of Protestantism.

The Reformation caused lasting change in Europe, leading to wars and persecution, but also to greater freedom of religion and expression.

Here are four things to know about Tuesday's events:

1. German leaders attending ceremonies

Chancellor Angela Merkel and President Frank-Walter Steinmeier are attending several ceremonies in Wittenberg, starting with a service at All Saints' Church (Schlosskirche) - where Luther is said to have first displayed his list of criticisms in 1517.

Image copyright AFP Image caption The special service will take place at the All Saints' Church (Schlosskirche), where Luther is said to have nailed his criticisms to the door

It marks the end of year-long celebrations by Protestants in hundreds of German towns and cities.

Ahead of the anniversary, Mrs Merkel said the ceremonies provided "the opportunity to reflect on what changes resulted from the Reformation".

2. Re-enactments in historical city

The centre of Wittenberg has been transformed to recreate the medieval era in which Luther lived, with performances taking place throughout the day.

Image copyright AFP Image caption A traditional wood cutter at a medieval-style market in the main square in Wittenberg

Thousands of visitors from around the world have visited the town - about 100km (60 miles) south-west of Berlin - in recent months as it forms the focus of the anniversary celebrations.

Germany is also marking 31 October with a national public holiday.

What was the Reformation?

• A religious movement which challenged the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church

• Began in Germany in 1517 but soon spread throughout much of northern Europe

• Held that salvation came by grace through faith alone, not by good works or payment

• Led to the creation of Protestant churches separate from the Roman Catholic Church

• The Church of England broke from the Roman Catholic Church later in the 16th Century

Read more: The young man who shook the Catholic Church to its core

3. Catholics and Lutherans beg 'forgiveness'

As the Reformation spread through Europe, it was marked by bloody episodes of warfare and violence.

Wars were waged in central, western and northern Europe from 1524 to 1649, fuelled by the religious rivalry that Luther had unwittingly inspired.

Image copyright Wittenberg Stadtkirche Image caption Luther challenged the Catholic clerics' practice of selling "indulgences" to worshippers

Eventually, the Protestant and Catholic Churches would co-exist peacefully, but without any formal links.

On Tuesday, Catholic and Lutheran leaders issued a joint statement saying they begged forgiveness for the violence waged.

"We begged forgiveness for our failures and for the ways in which Christians have wounded the Body of the Lord and offended each other during the 500 years since the beginning of the Reformation until today," the Vatican and Lutheran World Federation said.

They added that, while the past could not be changed, its influence could be transformed to become a sign of hope for the world to overcome division.

Read more: How Martin Luther's ideas lasted 500 years

4. Row over anti-Semitic carving

After Luther realised that he would not be able to convert Jews to his version of Christianity, he unleashed a tirade of anti-Semitic writings.

He argued that Jewish synagogues, schools and homes should be set on fire, their assets confiscated and that they should be used as forced labour and expelled.

His texts, such as On the Jews and Their Lies, were used extensively by the Nazis.

Image copyright AFP Image caption The offensive sculpture on Wittenberg's town church, showing Jews suckling the teats of a sow, is an example of anti-Semitic folk art once common in Europe

Amid ceremonies marking Luther's legacy 500 years on, there have also been protests about an anti-Semitic sculpture (Judensau) which remains on the facade of another church in Wittenberg.

There have been calls to remove the offensive stone image, which shows Jews suckling the teats of a sow as a rabbi looks intently under its leg and tail.

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Kevin Spacey: Special Emmy award withdrawn after assault allegations

Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Kevin Spacey at the British Academy Britannia Awards earlier this year

Kevin Spacey has been dropped as the recipient of a special Emmy award he was due to receive next month.

The International TV Academy said in a statement that it was withdrawing the International Emmy Founders Award "in light of recent events".

It comes after actor Anthony Rapp accused Spacey of making a sexual advance 30 years ago.

Responding to the allegations, Spacey said he was "beyond horrified" but did not remember the encounter.

The International Emmy Founders Award, which was due to be presented to Spacey in a ceremony on 20 November, is a special award reserved for those "whose creative accomplishments have contributed in some way to the quality of global television production".

Previous winners include film director Steven Spielberg, Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowes and X Factor's Simon Cowell.

Image copyright Reuters Image caption Netflix has said it is ending House of Cards

The International Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, which awards International Emmys, honours programmes that have had their initial broadcast outside of the US. It has a separate awards ceremony to the main Emmys, traditionally held each January.

Netflix has also announced it will end its flagship TV series House of Cards, in which Kevin Spacey stars as ruthless politician Francis Underwood.

Filming is currently under way on the sixth series of the political drama but Netflix confirmed it would be the last.

According to a spokeswoman, the decision had been made months ago but in a statement Netflix said it was "deeply troubled" by the allegations made against Spacey.

Variety magazine is reporting that the streaming giant is instead exploring a House of Cards spin-off - with one possibility revolving around the character Doug Stamper, who plays Francis Underwood's chief of staff.

Image caption Kevin Spacey was artistic director at the Old Vic from 2003 - 2015

Spacey has been criticised for his statement responding to allegations made Rapp, who said Spacey attempted to seduce him after a party in 1986, when he was 14 years old.

Spacey said if he had behaved in the way Rapp describes then he owes him "the sincerest apology" and went on to publicly announce he was gay.

Among the latest to criticise the actor's decision to come out are US film star Zachary Quinto and British film and theatre director Sean Mathias.

Star Trek actor Zachary Quinto called Spacey's timing "a calculated manipulation to deflect attention from the very serious accusation" of assault.

Theatre and film director Sean Mathias told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that coming out should be something to "celebrate".

"Kevin Spacey coming out is very untimely," he said. "I don't think coming out when he's been accused of something else is the right thing to do. Because you're gay doesn't mean you want to sleep with children and in some people's minds this will be heightened."

The director of play No Man's Land went on to claim he too had been the victim of sexual harassment, saying he had been "coerced" into a sexual act by a "powerful" man in the industry in the early days of his career.

'Not predatory behaviour'

The Old Vic has also responded to the allegation made against Spacey, who was the artistic director there from 2003 to 2015.

A spokeswoman for the London theatre said: "During Kevin Spacey's tenure as artistic director no complaints were made against him. No complaints have been made since he left."

Meanwhile Kim Richards, the chief executive and chairman of Allied Artists International - a major film and television production company - has defended Spacey.

He tweeted his support of the Usual Suspects actor following the claims of harassment saying: "If true, acting on impulse while inebriated speaks to over-indulgence, not predatory behaviour. You're good & decent, deserving forgiveness."

Follow us on Facebook, on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts, or on Instagram at bbcnewsents. If you have a story suggestion email entertainment.news@bbc.co.uk.

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Mogadishu bombings: Daytime ban on trucks to stop attacks

Image copyright Reuters Image caption A truck packed with explosives killed at least 358 people in Mogadishu

Trucks and tankers will be banned from entering Mogadishu during the day in the wake of two deadly attacks on the Somali capital in just two weeks.

It is hoped the ban will improve security at a time when the effectiveness of its current measures are under the spotlight.

Two top security officials were fired following the most recent attack on 28 October which left at least 27 dead.

Another attack two weeks earlier killed more than 350 people.

The 14 October attack - the deadliest in Somalia's history - was carried out using a truck packed with explosives.

The capital's mayor, Thabit Abdi, announced that trucks and tankers cannot pass through the city from 07:00-20:00. Those flouting the ban risk a fine of $1,000 (£750).

The Somali government blames militant Islamic group al-Shabab for the 14 October bombing, which took place at a busy junction.

Media playback is unsupported on your device

Media captionThe aftermath of the latest bomb blast in Mogadishu

The group has denied it was behind the bombing. However, it has it was behind the 28 October attack, which involved two car bombs being detonated in quick succession, followed by a 12-hour siege in the Nasahablod Two hotel.

The militants, who have links to al-Qaeda, say they targeted the hotel on Saturday because it was frequented by security officials and politicians.

The al-Shabab gunmen were dressed as members of the security forces - apparently helping them enter the hotel unchallenged - but Information Minister Abdirahman Omar Osman has disputed allegations they had official IDs.

A senior intelligence officer, Col Ahmed Yare, had told the UK Guardian newspaper: "They had ID cards which had clear information such as names, ranks and photos so no police officer could stop them."

But Mr Osman denied this, telling the Reuters news agency: "They had the uniforms of security forces, even though they did not have ID cards."

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US sailors' rescue: Doubts emerge over survival story

Media playback is unsupported on your device

Media captionRescued US sailors Tasha Fuiava (left) and Jennifer Appel praise the US Navy for saving their lives

Doubts have emerged about the survival story told by two US women who said their lives had been saved when they were rescued by the navy after spending five months adrift in the Pacific.

The US Coast Guard said that neither Jennifer Appel nor Tasha Fuiava activated their emergency beacon.

Experts say there are inconsistencies in other details of their story.

The pair said they became adrift in May when their boat's engine failed as they headed to Tahiti from Hawaii.

They said the boat was without power or communications in the open seas about 1,500km (930 miles) south-east of Japan before a fishing vessel alerted US authorities to rescue them.

Image copyright EPA Image caption The two women were rescued by the USS Ashland and taken to Japan

The pair, travelling with two dogs, had strayed significantly from their planned course.

Ms Appel later said that she and Ms Fuiava were "incredibly lucky" to survive because they were running out of food and had endured a tiger shark attack.

Why are there doubts about the veracity of the women's story?

US Coast Guard spokesman Lt Scott Carr said that interviews with the two women - coupled with a Coast Guard review of the incident - revealed that the pair had an Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon (EPIRB) aboard, but did not turn it on.

Image copyright Getty Images Image caption The women - and their dogs - say they survived thanks to a water purifier and a store of dry food

It is not clear why they took this line of action if they were in distress and there is no suggestion they did not know how to work the EPIRB - or that it was faulty.

Lt Carr said that when the Coast Guard made contact with the Sea Nymph - the name of the women's boat - in June near Tahiti, they were reassured by them that they were not in distress and expected to return to land soon.

He said that contact was made after the pair claimed they had lost use of their engines and sustained damage to their rigging and mast because of a storm.

It is also not clear if the women tested their radio equipment before they embarked on their voyage - last week they said they had six forms of communication on board but all went dead.

They said later that they chose not to activate the EPIRB because they never feared their lives were in imminent danger.

Retired Coast Guard officer Phillip Johnson told ABC that the beacons rarely fail and are designed to be suddenly dropped in the ocean.

What other parts of the women's story have been questioned?

The pair said the tropical storm they encountered took place on their first night at sea in early May.

Image copyright Getty Images Image caption There are inconsistencies in the story of Jennifer Appel (seen here being welcomed on board USS Ashland), critics say

But National Weather Service records show there were no such storms in the region during that time.

There have also been questions as to why the two dogs travelling with the women were in such good health if they were really engaged in a struggle to survive.

In addition critics have asked why the women did not use distress flares or stop at various islands on their route - including Maui, Lanai and Christmas Island - to get help.

What do the women say?

On arrival in Japan, Ms Appel said that they owed their lives to the US Navy.

Image copyright EPA Image caption There have been questions as to why the two dogs travelling with the women were in such good health if they were running out of food

In a statement released last week they said that their engine broke at the end of May. They originally thought they would be able to reach land by relying on wind and sails.

But two months into their journey - and long past their estimated arrival time in Tahiti - they began to issue distress calls.

Ms Appel said they issued distress signals daily for nearly 100 days but received no response.

They said they managed to survive the ordeal thanks to a water purifier and more than a year's worth of dry goods such as oatmeal and pasta.

What are the details of their rescue?

On 24 October, a Taiwanese fishing vessel spotted the 50ft (15m) Sea Nymph bobbing in the ocean and contacted authorities on the US territory of Guam.

The USS Ashland, which was in the area, arrived early the following day to rescue the sailors - both from Honolulu - and their canine companions Valentine and Zeus.

In a conference call with reporters while onboard the navy ship, they described feeling like "sharkbait" and said they had wondered if each day would be their last.

"We had survived two different shark attacks and with both of them we thought it was lights out, and they were horrific," said Ms Appel, claiming that a group of seven 30ft-long sharks slapped their tails on the hull of the boat one night.

Sailors rescued after five months adrift in Pacific

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Unethical request?

Image copyright Getty Images

A filmmaker touched off a debate in Pakistan revolving around one question - can a Facebook friend request ever be considered harassment?

It began with a visit to the hospital by the sister of Oscar-award winning Pakistani filmmaker Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy. After the treatment, the sister received a friend request from her doctor.

That prompted an angry Twitter outburst by the filmmaker - and a social media storm about the definition of harassment:

Image copyright Sharmeen Obaid / Twitter

Image copyright Sharmeen Obaid / Twitter

Image copyright Sharmeen Obaid / Twitter

Obaid-Chinoy's description of the Facebook request as "harassment" triggered an angry response from many Pakistanis claiming she had overreacted. Others supported her, claiming the often abusive reaction she received revealed the misogyny of her critics.

One of Obaid-Chinoy's most vocal detractors was journalist Ali Moeen Nawazish, who wrote on his own Facebook page that comparing a social media request to harassment was "ridiculous." He added "Whats next, asking for a pen is harassment… Looking at someone for three seconds will be harassment???"

In his post, he also said that the claim "is actually taking away from real victims of harassment."

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The journalist concluded by criticising Obaid-Chinoy for "Pakistan shaming."

Nawazish later claimed that the doctor had been fired as a result of the tweets, however reports indicate that he has been suspended from Aga Khan University Hospital in Karachi while an internal investigation takes place.

Obaid-Chinoy, who won acclaim for her documentaries on "honour killings" and acid attack victims, has faced similar accusations in the past. She's been accused of being a "traitor" to Pakistan in relation to her work which exposes violent and misogynistic cultural traditions prevalent in certain parts of Pakistani society. Her tweet storm renewed those criticisms and she was repeatedly accused of having harmed the country's international image.

Some suggested she exemplified the phrase "wrong women in the wrong family" and called her an elitist. She, however, subsequently clarified she was referring to the fact that "women in my family are strong" and had not meant to "suggest a sense of privilege or power."

But that didn't stop many Pakistanis on Twitter from attacking the filmmaker. Some posted photographs of her with other men - apparently suggesting these images made her a hypocrite for complaining about alleged harassment. Facebook pages were created encouraging people to send Obaid-Chinoy friend requests.

Image copyright Saith Abdullah / Twitter

Many others, including both men and women, questioned whether a friend request amounted to harassment.

Image copyright Hamza Ali Abbasi / Twitter

But Obaid-Chinoy did find some support in newspaper columns and on social media. her defenders included they included Pakistani writer Bina Shah, who told the BBC she wasn't surprised by "the kind of abuse and vitriol" directed at the filmmaker.

"Any time you try to fight against (the patriarchy) you get an immediate backlash," Shah said.

In a subsequent statement Obaid-Chinoy wrote that "The conversation has unfortunately steered far from the safety of women, unchecked unethical practises & harassment."

She revealed that the doctor in question had conducted a "very private examination" of her sister before going online and "leaving comments on photographs & trying to add her as a Facebook friend."

She clarified she regularly receives "unsolicited friendship requests from strangers" but that she considered this episode a "serious breach of patient-doctor privilege."

The Pakistan Medical and Dental Council referred the BBC to their ethical guidelines, which don't specifically mention social media but do state that a "professional position must never be used to pursue a relationship of an emotional or sexual nature with a patient, the patient's spouse, or a near relative of a patient."

The doctor at the centre of the controversy has not been named publicly. He has, however, reportedly received a job offer from another hospital in Karachi.

Image copyright Hashmanis Hospital / Facebook

Blog by Secunder Kermani

More from Trending: 'Lack of compromise' brought Civil War

Image copyright Drew Angerer/Getty Images

President Trump's chief of staff, General John Kelly, claims an inability to compromise caused the American Civil War. The social media reaction came quick...READ MORE

You can follow BBC Trending on Twitter @BBCtrending, and find us on Facebook. All our stories are at bbc.com/trending.

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Pakistan bride charged over 'poisoned milk' killings

Image copyright AFP/Getty Images Image caption Police say the poisoned milk was turned into lassi, a yoghurt drink popular in South Asia

A newlywed woman in Pakistan has been arrested on suspicion of killing her husband and at least 12 of his relatives with poisoned milk.

Police claim Asiya Bibi had intended the deadly substance for her husband, and mixed it with his milk last week - but he failed to drink it.

Instead it was turned into a batch of lassi, a yogurt drink, and served to his extended family.

Police said the woman had been forced into an arranged marriage in September.

Such weddings are not uncommon in poorer and more rural areas of Pakistan, and are often pushed through by family members.

In this case, which took place in central Muzaffargarh, local media say the bride had tried unsuccessfully to flee her marital home and return to her parents.

Senior police official Owais Ahmad confirmed that Asiya Bibi has been charged with murder. A man alleged to be her lover, and his aunt, have also been arrested.

Police said 13 people died and 14 were hospitalised. The Pakistani broadcaster Geo TV put the number of dead at 15, with children among them.

The death toll has been rising since last Thursday, when the tainted drinks were first served and eight people initially died.

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Sacked Catalan leader not seeking asylum

Catalonia's sacked President Carles Puigdemont says he has not travelled to Belgium to seek asylum

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You can receive Breaking News on a smartphone or tablet via the BBC News App. You can also follow @BBCBreaking on Twitter to get the latest alerts.

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Many victims in Kabul blast - reports

Explosion in Afghan capital causes many casualties in diplomatic zone, reports say

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You can receive Breaking News on a smartphone or tablet via the BBC News App. You can also follow @BBCBreaking on Twitter to get the latest alerts.

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John Kelly: US Civil War caused by 'lack of compromise'

Image copyright Drew Angerer/Getty Images

President Trump's chief of staff, General John Kelly, claims an inability to compromise caused the American Civil War.

Speaking to Fox News, Gen Kelly was discussing efforts to remove Confederate monuments and symbols.

Confederate symbols have been a source of controversy in the US. Some see them as an offensive reminder of America's history of slavery while others view their removal as an effort to subvert US history and southern culture.

His remarks prompted a furious discussion on social media. The phrase "Civil War" was trending in the US - used more than 30,000 times on Twitter since Mr Kelly made his remarks on Monday night.

Chelsea Clinton and Bernice King, daughter of civil rights leader Martin Luther King, were among those to voice their opposition.

Gen Kelly also described Confederate general Robert E Lee as "an honourable man" who "gave up his country to fight for his state".

"There are certain things in history that were good, and other things that were not so good," he said.

"I think we make a mistake as a society, and certainly as individuals, when we take what is accepted as right and wrong, and go back 100, 200, 300 years or more and say, 'What Christopher Columbus did was wrong,'

"The lack of an ability to compromise led to the Civil War. And men and women of good faith on both sides made their stand where their conscience has to make their stand."

The secession of southern states in 1860-61, and ensuing armed conflict until 1865, came after decades of growing animosity over the issue of slavery, and the election of Abraham Lincoln, who was explicit in his opposition to slavery, as President in 1860.

Critics drew parallels between Gen Kelly's remarks and those made by President Trump in the wake of violence at a far right rally in Charlottesville in August.

One woman was killed and several more injured when a white supremacist drove his car into a crowd of counter-protesters.

President Trump sparked controversy at the time by blaming violence "on both sides" for the attack.

Gen Kelly's comments come as President Trump is facing renewed scrutiny over possible links between his campaign team and Russia.

Election campaign advisor George Papadopoulos has pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about the timing of meetings with alleged go-betweens for Russia.

President Trump's former campaign manager Paul Manafort, and his associate Rick Gates, have been placed under house arrest after denying 12 charges, including conspiracy to launder money and conspiracy against the United States.

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Syrian man 'planned bomb attack' in Germany

Image copyright AFP Image caption German police have been on high alert to the threat of militant attacks

A 19-year-old Syrian man has been arrested in Germany on suspicion of planning a bomb attack.

The man, identified as Yamen A, is suspected to have "concretely prepared an Islamist-motivated attack using very powerful explosives", police said.

Several apartments were searched in the town of Schwerin, in north-eastern Germany, where he was arrested.

Germany has been on high alert since December 2016 when 12 people died in a lorry attack in Berlin.

Police say the suspect had made a decision "no later than July 2017 to explode a bomb in Germany with the aim of killing and wounding as many people as possible".

He began to acquire the chemical products and materials necessary to build a bomb, they said, but it was not clear whether he had a target in mind.

It is not known whether he has any links to terror organisations, police said on Tuesday.

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India uncles convicted of raping and impregnating child, aged 10

Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Campaigners say 50% of abusers are known to the child or are "persons in trust and care-givers"

A fast-track court in India has convicted two men of raping a 10-year-old girl who gave birth to a baby girl in August.

Both the men were the child's uncles. The sentencing is set for Thursday.

Her pregnancy was discovered in mid-July when she complained of a stomach ache and her parents took her to hospital.

The second uncle was arrested after the baby's DNA sample did not match that of his older brother, the first suspect.

The final arguments were completed by the defence on Monday. On Tuesday, the two men were declared guilty in court.

The older uncle's trial took a month, while the younger uncle has been convicted in a remarkable 18-day trial, BBC Punjabi's Arvind Chhabra reports from Chandigarh.

The harrowing case of the 10-year-old has made headlines for weeks, both in India and globally.

She was 30 weeks pregnant when a local court in Chandigarh turned down her abortion plea on the grounds that her pregnancy was too advanced. A doctors' panel had advised that a medical termination would be "too risky". Later, the Supreme Court also refused to allow an abortion for her on similar grounds.

Indian law does not allow terminations after 20 weeks unless doctors certify that the mother's life is in danger.

The girl was not aware of her pregnancy, and was told her bulge was because she had a stone in her stomach, says the BBC's Geeta Pandey in Delhi. She gave birth in August and the baby was given away to child welfare authorities for adoption.

The girl initially told police and child welfare activists that she had been raped several times in the past seven months by the first uncle, who is in his 40s.

She had also testified to the court by video link and very clearly named the uncle and revealed details about her abuse.

The girl's father had told the BBC that the first uncle had not denied the charges against him. Police also said he had admitted to the allegations.

But after his DNA test results did not link him to the baby, police began searching for more suspects - and arrested the second uncle in September. A DNA test confirmed that he was the baby's father.

Image copyright AFP Image caption India is home to 400 million children

The country's courts have received several petitions in recent months, many from child rape survivors, seeking permission to abort.

In most cases, these pregnancies are discovered late because the children themselves are not aware of their condition.

In September, a 13-year-old girl was given court permission to terminate her pregnancy at 32 weeks. The boy she was carrying was born alive in Mumbai but died two days later.

In May, a similar case was reported from the northern state of Haryana where a 10-year-old, allegedly raped by her stepfather, was allowed to abort. She was about 20 weeks pregnant, doctors said.

None of the girls can be named for legal reasons.

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The scale of abuse in India

• A child under 16 is raped every 155 minutes, a child under 10 every 13 hours
• More than 10,000 children were raped in 2015
• 240 million women living in India were married before they turned 18
• 53.22% of children who participated in a government study reported some form of sexual abuse
• 50% of abusers are known to the child or are "persons in trust and care-givers"

Sources: Indian government, Unicef

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Iraq 'to take control of Kurdistan border crossings'

Image copyright Reuters Image caption Iraq's government said it would take control of all crossings after last month's referendum

The Iraqi military has said it is preparing to take control of the autonomous Kurdistan Region's only border crossings with Turkey and Syria.

A statement said a delegation had visited the Ibrahim al-Khalil and Fish Khabur posts to determine requirements.

Turkish media said troops had already been deployed at Ibrahim al-Khalil.

Iraq's government said it wanted control of all crossings after the Kurdistan Region held a controversial independence referendum last month.

Baghdad said the vote, in which people living in Kurdish-controlled areas overwhelmingly backed secession, was illegal.

The referendum was also opposed by Iran and Turkey, which both have sizeable Kurdish minorities, the United Nations and the US, a key Kurdish ally.

Turkey's state-run Anadolu news agency reported that Turkish and Iraqi forces, who have been participating in joint military exercises since mid-September, moved towards the Turkish-side of Ibrahim al-Khalil crossing on Tuesday morning.

Kurdish forces were expected to hand over the control of the Iraqi side within hours, after which the Iraqi national flag would be raised above it, it added.

Later, an Iraqi border police captain told Reuters news agency the flag was flying and the crossing was "officially under the full control of the Iraqi government".

However, an Iraqi military statement said only that a delegation led by the army's chief of staff, Lt Gen Othman al-Ghanmi, had visited Ibrahim al-Khalil and Fish Khabur to "determine the military and security requirements" for taking control.

A Kurdish official also told Reuters that the crossing had not yet been handed over, insisting that negotiations with Baghdad were "still ongoing".

Iraq's entire border with Turkey is officially located within the Kurdistan Region.

The Fish Khabur crossing with Syria is also inside the region. The Syrian side is controlled by a US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) alliance, which is led by the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) militia.

But in the past two weeks, Iraqi pro-government forces have recaptured most of the disputed territory outside the region that was seized by Kurdish Peshmerga forces in 2014 after the jihadist group Islamic State (IS) swept across northern Iraq.

The operation - involving soldiers, police, special forces and the Iranian-backed paramilitary Popular Mobilisation force - sparked clashes that left dozens dead.

Last week, the Kurdistan Regional Government called for a ceasefire and offered to "freeze" the result of the referendum and start dialogue with Baghdad. But Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi demanded that the result be annulled.

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On the rails

It has been one month since 23 commuters died in a deadly stampede on a footbridge at a busy railway station in Mumbai. The BBC's Kinjal Pandya-Wagh, who has travelled on Mumbai's trains for more than a decade, writes about her experience.

Mumbai's local trains are the lifeline of the city. Carrying more than eight million people a day, it is impossible to imagine the city without its trains. They feature in documentaries, advertisements and even Bollywood movies.

But travelling on them is a whole other experience, not necessarily for the faint of heart.

I was in college when I started travelling on the local trains. It was a two hour commute to south Mumbai where I studied. I still remember the lights, the smell and the buzz around me each time the train entered the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST) station in south Mumbai. It was all so exciting.

And eventually I became part of a community.

Unlike commuters in most other cities and countries, where travellers are often engrossed in their phones, commuters on Mumbai's local trains, over time, strike up conversations and build relationships. Given that they see each other every day for hours at a time, such relationships are in a way, inevitable.

Image caption More than eight million people travel on Mumbai's local trains every day

It is not uncommon to find groups of commuters singing their favourite Bollywood songs or playing cards as they wile away the time. In the "ladies compartment", a coach reserved for women, many celebrate birthdays by passing around cake.

Groups of men in the "general compartment" are also known to sing spiritual songs using small hand cymbals called "manjiras".

Gossip is common, and almost nothing is off the table. People discuss their in-laws, moan about "office politics" and share salacious Bollywood stories.

I remember a woman in her late twenties summing up the modern working woman's struggle in India.

''I have told my mother-in-law very clearly that I am only going to cook once, in the morning," she said. "She has to make dinner for us as I can't manage that along with office work. She can't expect me to do everything along with work and this exhausting train journey.''

Rising tempers

But the coaches are so crowded , especially during peak hours, that fights are common. Commuters often push their way into the trains by throwing themselves forward and inevitably onto the person in front of them. This obviously leads to fights.

Some arguments end soon but others can go on until one of the parties get off the train. Swear words are used liberally. The verbal abuse can also turn physical, with people pushing, slapping or even pulling each other's hair.

Image caption Commuters often shove their way into already crammed trains, leading to verbal arguments and even scuffles

I have had my shirt ripped more than once while getting onto a train because someone behind me was holding on to it to hoist themselves into the crowded coach.

Hanging on!

There have also been times when I have hung onto the footboard of the train, trying to push my way into a coach that was already packed with people. I had to scream to ask the women ahead of me to keep moving in so that I - and the other women also partly hanging out of the train - could get inside.

What is most shocking about the trains here, among the world's busiest, is that the doors don't close before the train starts moving.

Another challenge is that people have to board trains before they stop. I always timed my jump, leaping inside the coach and grabbing the handle of the door or the arm of another commuter to steady myself. If I am lucky enough to find a seat, I feel a sense of accomplishment.

Image copyright Kinjal-Pandya Wagh Image caption Travelling on Mumbai's local trains is gruelling yet thrilling

If you don't find a spot to sit, you have to ask those who are seated which station they will be getting off at and then reserve the seat accordingly.

How you feel about such gruelling train travel depends on how you think about it. You could either love it or you could hate it.

It's taught me to be more tolerant and patient. These journeys bring people from different backgrounds together every day and they share a common goal: they want to reach their destination on time and alive.

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Harvey Weinstein kicked out of Producers Guild of America

Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Weinstein was previously honoured at the 2013 Producers Guild Awards

Harvey Weinstein, the mogul accused of multiple instances of sexual assault and harassment, has been banned for life by the Producers Guild of America.

The guild said the "unprecedented step" was "a reflection of the seriousness" with which it regarded reports of his "decades of reprehensible conduct".

The lifetime ban comes four years after the PGA gave Weinstein and his brother Bob its prestigious Milestone Award.

Weinstein has "unequivocally" denied all allegations of non-consensual sex.

The guild announced earlier this month it had voted to institute termination proceedings against the Shakespeare in Love producer.

In its latest statement, the trade association said that Weinstein had "elected to resign his membership... rather than address the guild's charges".

"Sexual harassment can no longer be tolerated in our industry or within the ranks of Producers Guild membership," its statement continued.

Weinstein, 65, has already been expelled from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (Ampas) and has had his Bafta membership suspended.

The Directors Guild of America (DGA) has also filed disciplinary charges against the producer which could lead to his expulsion from that organisation.

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French economy maintains healthy growth

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The French economy grew 0.5% in the three months to September, driven by higher household consumption and rising investment, the latest figures suggest.

The expansion in the eurozone's second-biggest economy follows growth of 0.6% in the second quarter and 0.5% in the first quarter.

France expects 1.8% growth this year.

Last month, the European Central Bank (ECB) raised its 2017 growth forecast for the 19-nation eurozone to 2.2%, the fastest growth in 10 years.

The French statistics agency, INSEE, said consumer spending in the country increased by 0.5% in the third quarter, after a 0.3% rise in the previous quarter.

Investment went up by 0.8%, after a 1% increase in the second quarter.

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Nawazuddin Siddiqui: Bollywood actor recalls 'kiss and tell' book

Image copyright Getty Images Image caption The memoir was criticised for detailing his relationships with several women without their permission

Bollywood actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui has recalled a controversial memoir which was criticised for detailing his relationships with several women without their permission.

An Ordinary Life, released on 16 October, contained vivid details of the actor's relationships, including with one of his co-stars, Niharika Singh.

In a statement Singh said, "none of what he has written has been with my knowledge, let alone my consent".

Siddiqui apologised on social media.

"I am apologising to everyone who's sentiments are hurt because of the chaos around my memoir, "An Ordinary Life". I hereby regret and decide to withdraw my book," Siddiqui wrote on his Facebook and Twitter pages late on Monday.

He did not personally apologise to any of the women he had named.

The apology came after another woman, mentioned in the book as the actor's first girlfriend, also took to Facebook to accuse him of "extraordinary lies".

Siddiqui, 43, had said she broke off the relationship because he was a "struggler" when they were together.

"I did not leave you because you were poor, but because of your poor way of thinking," she said.

Siddiqui is seen as one of Bollywood's most talented actors, starring in critically acclaimed productions like Gangs of Wasseypur and Lunchbox.

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Netflix ends House of Cards amid sex claim against Kevin Spacey

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Netflix has pulled the plug on House of Cards, a day after its lead actor Kevin Spacey was accused of sexually harassing a 14-year old boy.

The media streaming company said it was "deeply troubled" by the allegation, made by the actor Anthony Rapp.

In an interview with Buzzfeed, Rapp alleged Kevin Spacey had tried to seduce him after a party in 1986.

Spacey said he was "beyond horrified" to hear the story but did not remember the encounter.

Kevin Spacey said he owed Anthony Rapp a "sincere apology" for what he said would have been "deeply inappropriate drunken behaviour".

Mr Spacey also announced that he was now living "as a gay man" but the Oscar winning actor has been widely criticized for choosing this moment to come out.

Gay rights activists have said linking his sexuality to an apology over allegations of sexual harassment was harmful to the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender (LGBT) community.

In House of Cards, Kevin Spacey plays the ruthless American politician Frank Underwood. The drama has been widely acclaimed and filming is currently on the sixth series.

While Netflix has said it will be the last, several reports have suggested that the producers had decided to end the series well before the allegation emerged.

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