Warning: This story contains distressing details

Police in the US state of Mississippi have arrested a man in connection with the death of a black woman found hanged from a tree, and say they could soon take more people into custody.

Tasia Fortune’s body was found in the lot of an abandoned home in Jackson in August, but police only announced they were treating her death as a possible homicide earlier this week.

“That arrest today is an important development in this investigation, but it is not the conclusion,” Jackson Police Chief RaShall Brackney said on Friday. “This case remains active.”

Fortune’s death has worried locals in Jackson, a majority-black city in a state with a history of racial violence and lynching.

During Friday’s news conference, Brackney said the medical examiner had confirmed Fortune’s cause of death was homicide and said there would be a murder charge.

She identified the suspect as Jarques Ratliff, 51, and said there was an “association” between Ratliff, who is also black, and Fortune, but would not elaborate further.

“Additional arrests will be pending as our investigators continue to follow the evidence,” Brackney said, adding that they had interviewed 15 people in the case.

Fortune’s mother, Christy Spivey, told the BBC that she cried when police called to update her about the arrest, saying: “I guess I do feel like a little sigh of relief…like a little bit of peace just come over me.”

“I just hope that they’ve got the right person,” she added.

The arrest of a suspect followed weeks of what Spivey and residents in Jackson described as relative silence and inaction from local officials.

Combined with the grim nature of Fortune’s death and Mississippi’s history of racial lynchings, the lack of information about the case had left the community in shock and fear.

Spivey earlier told the BBC she had tried contacting Jackson police several times over the last two weeks, leaving multiple voicemails, and had not heard back.

Brackney addressed the family’s frustration on Friday, saying: “We have been in constant contact with the mother and the stepfather, as well as the biological father, throughout this case.”

A letter Spivey wrote to officials about the limited communication and speed of the investigation was read during a public city meeting on Tuesday – moments before Jackson police made the announcement about a possible homicide.

“I’m kind of like in awe,” Spivey said. “Like, I can’t believe it. That was quick.”

Earlier this month, Fortune’s death was described by a member of the US Congress as part of a pattern of “possible modern-day lynchings”.

More than 50 members of Congress this week sent a letter, external to the FBI and justice department, saying they were “extremely alarmed by reports of black people found hanging from trees in numerous states” and calling for an independent investigation into the deaths of black Americans.

“The series of deaths raise significant suspicion of foul play given the role of lynching in our nation’s history,” it states.

So far this year there have been at least 10 reported hangings of black people in the US, they said, adding that there were more than 70 lynchings documented between 2000 and 2025.

Warning: This story contains graphic details of the aftermath from the 9/11 attacks.

On 11 September 2001, photographer and documentary filmmaker Paul Berriff was living and working in New York City.

He was caught up in the 9/11 attacks and still remembers the day in vivid detail.

More recently, he has become one of thousands of survivors to be diagnosed with terminal illnesses connected with the long-term effects of that day.

Now aged 80 and living near Northallerton in North Yorkshire, Berriff has recalled the events.

“Somebody came into the office and said a plane had hit the twin towers,” he said.

First thinking it was likely to be a light aircraft or helicopter, often seen flying around the landmark, he phoned his wife who was at their home in Lower Manhattan.

She told him about “fire engines and people running around” and his “news instinct kicked in” and he travelled to the scene to document the events on camera.

As Berriff, a sound recordist and assistant producer approached, they could see “both towers were on fire”.

“We could see these black dots coming down from the side of each building and we wondered what it was,” he said.

“As we got nearer, we could see it was people jumping, so we knew it was pretty serious.”

They headed to the base of the towers, where assistant fire commissioner Steve Gregory was sending firefighters in.

The sanctions were launched alongside France and Canada, who in a joint statement with the UK said the action “marks a further turning point in our approach to protecting the two-state solution”.

Settlements are illegal under international law, and there has been a rise in violence towards Palestinians in the West Bank by settlers in recent months.

In a statement to MPs, Miliband said: “The British government agrees that there is ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in areas of the West Bank, perpetrated by settler terrorists.

“And all too often the Israeli government has turned a blind eye to this and worse, members of it have made statements and taken actions to support the forced displacement of Palestinians.”

He said ethnic cleansing was defined by the UN as a “purposeful policy designed by one ethnic or religious group to remove by violent means another ethnic or religious from certain areas”.

Miliband said the official view of the government was that the Israeli occupation of the West Bank was unlawful because of the “entrenchment of its control, its intention to extend permanent sovereignty, and its expansionist agenda via illegal settlements”.

He said this position, which is in line with a 2024 advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice, should be reflected in the UK’s “economic relationship” with the occupied West Bank.

As a result, over the next six to nine months, the UK will introduce “a new comprehensive sanctions regime”, he said.

The foreign secretary also announced a ban on advertising illegal West Bank settlements in the UK.

“The sanctions regime will target illegal settlements and settlement expansion, not Israel,” Miliband added.

Later on Tuesday, Prime Minister Andy Burnham said the targeted measures were “aimed not at the Israeli people, but in support of the two-state solution”.

Announcing the closure of the consulate – which represents the UK government in Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza – Israel’s Foreign Minister Saar said at a press conference: “We know that we have many friends in Britain.

“Unfortunately, we have a hostile Labour government that is consistently operating against the State of Israel, and it has left us no choice but to respond to its hostile actions.”

He added that 11 UK MPs, including Jeremy Corbyn, Diane Abbott and all five sitting Green Party MPs, would be banned from entering Israel, accusing them of “antisemitic and anti-Israel activity”.

The UK also issued a joint statement with 11 other countries; France, Canada, Denmark, Spain, Finland, Ireland, Iceland, Norway, Poland, Portugal and Sweden.

It said the group was unequivocally committed to the two-state solution and would introduce national measures or support European restrictions on trading goods with West Bank settlements.

Music also features heavily, from the time Sir Paul McCartney made him a cheese sandwich after a soundcheck at the Hammersmith Apollo, through to being friends with David Bowie from the 80s.

“He was very inquisitive. He used to call me Smithy. He used say, ‘Smithy, why have you got that book? What’s that there?’ He was a very curious man.”

And things came full circle when Sir Paul was commissioned to design a T-shirt to accompany Bowie’s final album Black Star.

“I had a hint he was ill because he was in Switzerland a lot,” he reveals. “So, we lost him for a while.”

For those who heard Sir Paul Smith on Desert Island Discs in 1992 it may be a surprise that he has written a book at all.

When asked to pick his book, he told presenter Sue Lawley: “I have to admit that I’m not a reader at all, because I’ve got this very, very busy mind and it just leaps around all the time and I just can’t hold a book for any length of time.”

He opted for the 1974 Beano Annual, because it had “16 pages of Roger the Dodger”.

In Threads, he explains that he is dyslexic and it was undiagnosed throughout his school days.

“It hasn’t impacted me at all. I just can’t read very well,” he explains. “So when I do talks, which I do quite a lot, I just do it out of my head and hope it sounds all right.”

Hundreds of protesters gathered in Portsmouth on Sunday night after around 140 migrants in a single dinghy were rescued in the English Channel.

In the second major anti-migrant protest of the weekend, police faced off with demonstrators as they blocked roads in an effort to stop the people who had arrived on the small boat from leaving the city.

Hampshire Police urged people to avoid the Eastney Landing ferry port area, where the migrants were brought ashore, and said a dispersal order was in place, meaning anyone failing to comply could be arrested.

The government condemned “the intimidating and thuggish behaviour” of the protesters, many of whom were dressed in black and wore masks.

Conservative MP for Isle of Wight East Joe Robertson said on X it was “extremely concerning to see an illegal migrant crossing this far west”.

Protesters said they were trying to stop authorities transporting the migrants to the Manston processing centre in Kent.

Police carrying riot shields protected a number of coaches parked on a road leading a away from Eastney Marina as protesters blocked traffic.

Daniel Thomas, known as Danny Tommo – an associate of far-right activist Tommy Robinson – was livestreaming from the scene.

“Roads are all blocked, they are never going to be able to leave here,” he said.

A government spokesperson said: “The right to peaceful protest is fundamental to our democracy, but it must never cross a line into disorder.”

“We thank the emergency services who are working to safely manage this situation.”

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage posted on X: “This week Andy Burnham struck an agreement for 45 more officers on French beaches. Today a boat launched from Baie de Seine, 170 miles from Calais, arriving on the beaches of Hampshire for the very first time. This is a joke. Only Reform will send the boats back.”

Chawawa fell in love with the theatre when he went to see The Lion King when he was 16 and realised it was like “the best movie you’ve ever seen, but in real life”.

However, returning as an adult, he felt out of place as a black man. “In the shows I was going to, it didn’t feel as though they were too welcoming to me being there, just through the small social cues.”

He had a lightbulb moment after watching For Black Boys Who Have Considered Suicide When the Hue Gets Too Heavy by Ryan Calais Cameron, which “I still think is the best play I’ve ever seen”. Chawawa found himself thinking, “I wish every black boy in the world could watch this play.”

So he took a group of teenagers to watch it, which he describes as “the most fulfilling and magical and deeply moving experience”.

Inspired by their reactions, Chawawa set up the Black Boys Theatre Club to take groups every month to plays ranging from Dracula to One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest – followed by a post-show discussion in Nando’s.

“Every time we go and see a play, it’s not about the boys skipping out of it going, ‘I want to be the next Billy Elliot’,” he says. “It’s more just them realising it’s a safe space for you. It can be your home if you want it to be. You will thrive on stage or as an audience member, but just know that theatre is a part of your multiverse.”

With Springbok captain Siya Kolisi calling on his team to honour those who died in nearby Soweto during the fight against apartheid, and national pride stung by New Zealand coach Dave Rennie’s criticism of their scrum technique, Soccer City was braced for a fast start by the hosts.

New Zealand’s smarts initially defused the fire and fury inside the cauldron, however.

After a brave Peter Lakai turnover had halted South Africa momentum, Will Jordan streaked clear to switch play to the other 22.

South Africa fly-half Feinberg-Mngomezulu was shown yellow for knocking down Ardie Savea’s offload and, from the resulting penalty, the All Blacks rolled round the back of a short-range line-out, clearing room for Savea to sweep through some under-staffed fringe defence and score.

With Cheslin Kolbe, with a perfect goal-kicking record so far in the series, having departed with a head knock, South Africa had taken a dent to their confidence, as well as the scoreboard.

New Zealand had ducked and dived to minimise the effect of South Africa’s set-piece supremacy.

Fast strikes from hooker Asafo Aumua had got the ball away from a fast-retreating scrum, while trick plays and the addition of Lakai as a jumping option kept South Africa from competing successfully at the line-out.

South Africa built momentum regardless though and All Black discipline frayed as Damian de Allende shrugged off Carter and fed Kurt-Lee Arendse to score in the 21st minute after a string of penalty offences from the away side.

New Zealand pulled back 12-5 ahead soon after with the agility and speed of second rows Sam Darry and Tupou Vaa’i buying territory and Savea on hand to scoop up and scoot over following Arendse’s tackle on Carter out wide.

It is impossible to keep the South Africa’s coshing scrum power out of the game, however.

Rennie had accused South Africa’s front row of ‘walking around’ their opposite numbers in their second Test win in Cape Town last weekend. Marx, Wilco Louw and Ox Nche duly took route one, ploughing through the All Blacks front row to force a penalty try and ensure parity at half-time.

While another Test awaits in the United States, the sense of an unofficial series being on the line was tangible.

New Zealand have won on South African soil only once before, when the Incomparables of 1996 returned with a 2-1 victory.

Fly-half Ruben Love missed a long-range shot at goal after the interval with the stakes suffocatingly high.

Jordan’s try, from Carter’s pop off the floor, briefly opened up scoreboard space on 55 minutes, but South Africa edged ahead for the first time two minutes later as Kriel shrugged off a soft tackle and scampered in.

The hosts took a 19-17 advantage into the final quarter and, with the All Blacks lacking Savea’s leadership after their captain was forced off with a shoulder injury in the first half, the Boks landed a knockout blow in familiar fashion.

Scrum pressure forced New Zealand replacement Fletcher Newell to his knees, the Springboks punted the resulting penalty into the 22m and a monster maul rumbled infield and forward with Marx crashing over.

Feinberg-Mngomezulu added the extras for a 26-17 lead and slotted a 70th-minute penalty to push the lead out to 12 points.

The 85,976-strong crowd went through their celebratory songbook, dusting off their Cranberries-inspired ode to head coach Rassie Erasmus.

Taukei’aho’s try was too little, too late to change the tune of the contest, but the rest of the rugby world will take heart from how hard his side have pushed the Springboks in all three of their meetings.

South Africa: Kolbe; Arendse, Kriel, De Allende, Hooker; Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Reinach; Nche, Marx, Louw, Etzebeth, Nortje, Kolisi, PS du Toit, Wiese

Replacements: Fourie, Steenekamp, T du Toit, De Jager, Esterhuizen, Hanekom, Van den Berg, Libbok

New Zealand: McKenzie; Jordan, Tupaea, J Barrett, Carter; Love, Roigard; Bower, Aumua, Lomax, Vaa’I, Darry, Lakai, Jacobson, Savea

Replacements: Taukei’aho, Numia, Newell, Holland, Sititi, Preston, Lienert-Brown, Moorby

There is major disruption at the Port of Dover due to a large group of masked men holding a demonstration.

Kent Police said it was aware of a demonstration currently taking place at the ferry terminal and was “engaging with protesters”.

Traffic has been stopped from going in and out of the port.

Images from the scene appear to show hundreds of protesters, all dressed in black and wearing face coverings.

P&O Ferries said it would get passengers on to the next available sailing if they missed their scheduled crossing.

Ferry operator DFDS said it was aware of the “current traffic disruption” and would accommodate passengers on the next departure once they arrived.

Traffic is stopped in both directions on the A20, between the A256 York Street and the A2 Jubilee Way in Dover, according to National Highways.

It is reporting three miles (4.8km) of congestion and delays of up to 30 minutes.

Dover and Deal MP Mike Tapp told the BBC the incident was causing “absolutely awful disruption” for residents.

“My understanding is, a number of individuals have travelled to the area, wearing black, wearing balaclavas, and have blocked a number of roads leading into the port area,” he said.

If both make it on to the field, they will become the second pair of brother-sister siblings to play for New Zealand on the same day, following Xavier and Annaleah Rush, who took on Australia at Sydney Football Stadium on 29 August 1998.

Wallace and Amarante’s father Semo Sititi, who played for Borders and Newcastle and captained Samoa, has travelled to Johannesburg for the match.

“Representing this country is a privilege but doing it alongside my brother is something special. I will always hold it in my heart,” said Amarante., external “It’s pretty surreal. I’m still buzzing out that I get to be here with my brother but it’s really cool and I’m so grateful.”

South Africa: Kolbe; Arendse, Kriel, de Allende, Hooker; Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Reinach; Nche, Marx, Louw, Etzebeth, Nortje, Kolisi, PS du Toit, Wiese

Replacements: Fourie, Steenekamp, T du Toit, De Jager, Esterhuizen, Hanekom, Van den Berg, Libbok

New Zealand: McKenzie; Jordan, Tupaea, J Barrett, Carter; Love, Roigard; Bower, Aumua, Lomax, Vaa’I, Darry, Lakai, Jacobson, Savea

Replacements: Taukei’aho, Numia, Newell, Holland, Sititi, Preston, Lienert-Brown, Moorby

Elissa and Johnnie believe quality control during the build was lacking and more “stringent legislation” is needed so builders know “they can’t build more rubbish homes”.

Elissa says a senior Stonebridge employee told her they were under “pressure” to increase output and sometimes that compromised quality.

We asked Stonebridge Homes about this, along with all the points of criticism raised above, but the company did not provide specific answers.

It told the BBC that customer service was one of its top priorities as well as access to “clear, transparent processes for raising concerns and seeking independent resolution where required”.

One of the biggest issues for homebuyers, says ombudsman Cates, is not the defects they find, but the way they feel treated by developers when they complain.

“For most people, this is the biggest purchase they’ll ever make. So, when something goes wrong, they need the developer to be on it straight away, take them seriously, really value them, understand them and put it right,” he tells us.

New homes are inspected several times during construction by either local council building inspectors or a registered building control approver, to make sure they meet legal, national building regulations. Most developers also use insurance providers, who carry out their own checks and offer 10-year warranties.

The government has set itself a target of building 1.5 million homes in England by 2029. As housebuilding speeds up, the industry could be “setting itself up for a huge fail”, says John Cooper, director of snagging company New Home Quality Control.

His inspectors frequently find breaches of building regulations, he tells us, including insulation, brickwork and carpentry problems. “We see some horrors,” he says, adding that current checks on new homes before handover are insufficient.

A panel of experts recently told MPs on the Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee that parts of the building industry are like the “wild west” and there needs to be a more robust, uniform system.

Cates, who sat on the panel, told MPs that residents not covered by NHOS faced a “patchwork of [building] codes” not designed to help homeowners.

He tells the BBC there is “a big difference between having a code, and standards very specifically tailored to modern home sales, and the issues coming with that”.

“It’s critical for the whole industry… that everyone has the same protections, access to an ombudsman service and an impartial investigation,” he adds.

The body representing big developers, the Home Builders Federation, says it supports a statutory ombudsman, so all new-build buyers are covered, but wants the government to reduce what it describes as the “regulatory burden”, including extra taxes and policy costs, which have rendered many potential sites, and businesses, “no longer viable”.

For Jess and her partner Darryl, NHOS could not help as it does not cover shared-ownership homes. The couple found black mould in their house 10 days after moving in.

The mother of three from Somerset told BBC Your Voice they put all their savings into the home. “We feel like we’re living in a nightmare”.