In the aftermath of the Republican Party's sweeping defeat in Tuesday's midterm elections, Donald Trump said he would be willing to work with the newly ascendent Democrats in Congress.

On Friday, however, he elevated Stephen Miller, his bare-knuckled political operative and longtime adviser, to replace Susie Wiles as White House chief of staff.

Far from an olive branch to Congress, Miller's promotion could be a sign that the president is girding for political battle by installing a partisan firebrand in the top White House job.

"The mission now is more clear than ever: Fight with all of our soul to support our president and defend this magnificent republic," Miller posted on X, adding that he was "honored beyond words" to be Trump's pick for the job.

One of the most powerful positions in Washington, the chief of staff is gatekeeper to the president, agenda-setter in the White House and chief negotiator with Congress and other outside political interests.

"Stephen Miller's been with me since the beginning," Trump said in comments to reporters after announcing the move on his Truth Social website. "He gets it."

Miller is best known for being the driving force behind the Trump administration's aggressive immigration enforcement policies, which has included ramping up funding for enforcement operations across the US.

He made headlines when he called Alex Pretti, who was shot and killed by federal immigration officials during a massive deportation operation in Minneapolis, a "domestic terrorist" and an "assassin". He would later walk back those words, saying federal agents "may not have been following" proper protocol.

He has also reportedly played a leading role in the US military operations in Venezuela and against suspected drug trafficking operations in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific, which critics have condemned as extra-judicial killings.

Miller joined Trump's political operation early in his 2016 presidential bid as a strategist and incendiary warm-up speaker at his raucous campaign rallies.

He was one of the few senior White House staffers to persevere through the entirety of his first term. He stayed loyal to Trump during his political exile following attempts to overturn his ballot-box defeat in 2020 failed. He then returned in the influential role of deputy chief of staff for policy in Trump's second term.

Wiles, who co-managed the president's successful 2024 re-election campaign, developed a reputation as a cool professional who avoided the White House staffing upheavals, dramatic policy reversals and personality clashes that typified Trump's first presidential term.

The president, however, began souring on Wiles in recent months, as his political standing in the US declined, culminating in Tuesday's electoral rout. He also reportedly chafed at news stories indicating that those in Wiles' orbit were landing lucrative consulting jobs through their connections to the president.

While Trump praised Miller's effectiveness as a manager on Friday, working with Congress could prove to be a challenge.

It is difficult to overstate how disliked Miller is by most Democrats – and some Republicans.

"Stephen Miller is a dangerous xenophobe and reckless extremist who has American blood on his hands," Democratic House leader Hakeem Jeffries wrote on X. "His presence in government should be eradicated like a malignant tumor."

Earlier this year, Miller posted on social media that James Talarico, who had just secured the Democratic nomination to run for Senate in Texas, was "their first transgender Senate candidate".

The Democratic Party offered a terse, obscenity laced reply, telling Miller to shut up.

Now Miller will have to negotiate with a US Senate that includes a newly elected Talarico as one of its rising stars, after an election in which polls found that 58% of voters believe the administration's immigration enforcement actions had "gone too far" and Hispanics decisively turned against Republican candidates.

On Wednesday, in a social media post attempting to explain the Republican midterm defeats, Vice-president JD Vance - who is an early frontrunner for the Republican 2028 presidential nomination - wrote that he was "open to the idea that we should change enforcement- by focusing more on businesses that hire illegal labor, for instance".

That now seems less likely with an immigration hardline taking the White House helm.

Thom Tillis, the North Carolina Republican senator who is retiring at the end of the year, has been particularly vocal in condemning Miller. He has called him "incompetent" and "the architect of some of the dumbest proposals from the Trump White House".

Other Republicans, however, have sung his praises.

"Stephen Miller has been a true conservative warrior since his days as a Senate staffer, a staunch defender of law and order against illegal invasions and leftist lawlessness, and a steadfast fighter for President Trump for over a decade," Utah Senator Mike Lee posted on X after Trump's announcement.

At a time when congressional Democrats are promising to launch new investigations and oversight into the Trump administration, it appears that a "warrior" and a "fighter" is the kind of person the president wants to have running his White House.

Follow the twists and turns of Trump's second term with North America correspondent Anthony Zurcher's US Politics Unspun newsletter. Readers in the UK can sign up here. Those outside the UK can sign up here.

Paraguay's President Santiago Peña has been impeached and placed under house arrest after a bank collapse triggered a crisis that left more than half of the country's population without access to their accounts.

Peña was arrested on Friday minutes after lawmakers, including from his own party, unanimously voted to remove him from office following the collapse earlier this week of Ueno Bank, which has links to his private business interests.

He had offered to step down on Thursday. Rather than accept his resignation, senators impeached Peña and charged him with misconduct, meaning he has been stripped of the immunity usually granted to ex-presidents.

Peña, who until last year held shares in the company that owned the bank, has denied any wrongdoing.

The impeachment charges that led to Peña's removal alleged he had conflicts of interest, manipulated regulatory oversight, diverted pension funds, and participated in an institutional cover-up involving the central bank.

He is due to be questioned on Saturday over allegations of breach of trust, influence peddling, and misappropriation of funds, prosecutor Silvia Margarita Gonzalez Vester said.

Peña's deputy, Pedro Alliana, has been sworn in as the new interim president and promised not to "abandon" the millions of people affected by the scandal.

"Compatriots who are now going through a difficult time as a result of the financial collapse will be fully compensated," said Alliana, who will serve as president until 2028.

The demise of the digital bank left more than half of Paraguay's population without access to their savings after it was seized by Paraguay's central bank.

Long lines of people trying to withdraw money from Ueno branches snaked down the streets of the capital Asuncion on Tuesday and Wednesday.

An estimated three million depositors remain unable to access their savings and pensions, prompting public outrage particularly in the capital, Asunción.

Protests erupted across the country in response, with thousands taking to the streets on Thursday to demand their money.

Earlier demonstrations featured clashes with the police, who used tear gas and water cannons on the crowd.

Peña's impeachment passed with 44 out of 45 senators voting in favour of it. One lawmaker was absent.

"It was never my intention to betray the trust you placed in me," Peña said in a video posted on X announcing his resignation, adding his priority was "the peace of mind of Paraguayans who entrusted their savings to our financial system".

Afterwards, senate president Basilio Núñez said Peña was found guilty of "dereliction of duty".

Senator Rafael Filizzola said: "We are facing the biggest corruption scandal in our democratic history – a tremendous blow to the state, to private citizens, and to the country's credibility and image."

Analysts say Peña is likely to now be prosecuted over the bank's collapse.

His defence lawyer Ricardo Preda described the allegations as a "reckless accusation" that was "irresponsible and opportunistic".

Overnight drone and ballistic missile attacks damaged Ukrainian energy infrastructure, President Volodymyr Zelenskyhas said, causing blackouts and disrupting water supplies.

Zelensky said 12 Ukrainian regions came under attack with the capital Kyiv hit hardest.

Nine people are reported to have been hurt across the country, including one child, in the wave of attacks that consisted of more than 30 ballistic missiles and over 170 drones.

The attacks come before Ukrainian and Russian delegations are due to take part in trilateral talks in Abu Dhabi next week.

Zelensky wrote on Telegram that Moscow was preparing for the talks by launching attacks on Ukraine's "critical infrastructure".

Temperatures are dropping in Ukraine, and parts of the country have had the first winter snow.

"The situation in the capital is difficult, with disruptions to electricity, water, and heating supplies. Residential buildings, the North Bridge, and a kindergarten have been damaged," Zelensky said.

"In the Kyiv region, there were strikes on substations that connect the Rivne and Khmelnytsky nuclear power plants to Kyiv and central Ukraine."

In his latest update, Kyiv's Mayor Vitali Klitschko said the city's water supply system is back to operating normally. He also said around 60% of the city's apartment buildings were connected to the heating system.

The energy minister, Denys Shmyhal, said there were power cuts in five regions but did not say how many homes were affected.

Zelensky added that beyond Kyiv, substations were damaged in Vinnytsia, Zhytomyr, Rivne, Kharkiv and Dnipro regions.

The latest attacks come after US First Lady Melania Trump hosted Russian and Ukrainian delegations at the White House on Thursday.

She called for a "more enduring" ceasefire in Ukraine following a truce last week in the southern region of Kherson.

Hundreds of residents of the Russian-occupied Ukrainian town of Oleshky facing starvation and constant bombardment were able to evacuate during a six-day ceasefire, which both Moscow and Kyiv credited Trump with brokering.

"The lives of innocent people must transcend the division of war. I hope Oleshky inspires greater peace," she said.

Earlier this week, a number of people were killed when glide bombs hit an aid centre near Zaporizhihia, with the death toll rising to 55 as teams search deeper into the ruins.

Zelensky added in his Telegram post on Saturday following the latest attacks that Ukraine was counting on increased bilateral support from the United States.

He wrote: "We are counting on unity between both parties on issues of security, support for Ukraine, condemnation of Russian aggression, and increased sanctions pressure on Putin.

"The resolve and consistency of the United States in supporting Ukraine are of great importance in bringing peace closer."

Meanwhile, Zelenksy's spokesperson would not be drawn on reports that the Ukrainian president is to be invited to the UK for a state visit next year.

Additional reporting by Daniel Wittenberg

Pope Leo XIV has told reporters travelling with him to Latin America he is "in pretty good health", in his first comments on his condition since having surgery for lung cancer.

The Pope has arrived in Uruguay, the first stop of a 12-day tour which he is undertaking only three weeks after his operation.

The pontiff, 71, also said he was "very happy" to be able to make the trip which was thrown into doubt last month when doctors discovered a tumour during a routine scan.

The tour will cover Argentina and a much anticipated return to Peru, which the Vatican described as a "homecoming" as the Pope was based there for many years as a missionary, then a bishop.

"I must confess that, from the very first day, I never had any doubts; I was convinced that this journey had to go forward," the Pope told journalists on his plane to Uruguay.

"Thanks to the marvellous medical staff... I believe I am in quite good health," Pope Leo confirmed.

Last month's operation to remove a tumour was successful and his doctors say the cancer has not spread.

On Friday, he arrived in Monetevideo to a seafront lined with crowds shouting his name as his Popemobile passed.

In his first speech of the trip, the Pope said universal healthcare should be "accessible to everyone".

He told the crowd in Plaza Independencia the care he received made him think of the "many men and women who lack the means to obtain a timely diagnosis" or receive treatment.

He capped his day with a prayer at the Montevideo Cathedral.

Pope Leo will cover more than 20,000 miles on his sixth international tour.

On Sunday he will travel to Argentina, the homeland of his predecessor Pope Francis who did not return during his own papacy.

The Pope said his visit was about being near the people who were looking to the Church for a message of "hope".

Shares in artificial intelligence and technology firms have recovered slightly from an enormous sell-off that wiped trillions of dollars off stock values.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq stock index closed in positive territory following a market rout that began in the US on Thursday before spilling over to Asian and European markets into Friday.

Investors had been selling off tech shares in part due to concerns the Democrat victory in the midterm elections would mean slower artificial intelligence development.

However the latest US employment figures added to a mixed picture for American markets on Friday morning, with an unexpectedly strong 165,000 jobs added to the economy in September.

On Thursday, businesses closely linked to artificial intelligence development took a hammering on stock markets, particularly chip and semiconductor makers.

But the Nasdaq Composite bounced back slightly on Friday, ending the day up 1.1%, partly reversing some of its 5.5% fall.

The S&P 500, which tracks the share prices of the largest publicly-traded US companies, closed up 0.3%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average was flat through the day before ending slightly down 0.4%.

Companies that lost hundreds of billions in market value recovered some ground on Friday, including Nvidia, SpaceX and Tesla.

However, stock markets in Asia and Europe fared worse.

The Kospi in South Korea closed down 6% on Friday, with shares in chipmaker SK Hynix plunging more than 10%. European markets also fell, with the main indexes in Germany, France and Spain ending the day down.

In the UK, the FTSE 100, which tracks the largest companies on the London Stock Exchange, declined 1.01%.

In addition to the recent market volatility, UK traders were also digesting the latest Bank of England decision to raise interest rates and the signal that another rate rise could be on the cards to curb rising prices.

The market fluctuations also come after the sweeping Democrat victory in the midterm elections.

A number of Democrats campaigned for new rules and regulations for artificial intelligence (AI) and data centres, and the party has since won control of both houses of congress as well as key contests in states that have been part of the AI data centre race.

US President Donald Trump on Friday reiterated his supported for what he calls "super intelligence", saying only "foolish leadership" would "say no to the riches they bring".

However, there have also been concerns over whether the enormous amounts of money being spent on AI will pay off.

Russ Shaw, founder of global tech advocacy firm Tech London Advocates, said the election result was sending a message that a rethink was needed on AI.

"The incoming Congress is going to really focus on AI in a very dramatic way," he told the BBC's Business Today.

"I'm a big fan of AI, but I'm watching what these companies are doing, and they're not communicating effectively at all, particularly in the US, about what the benefits of AI are all about."

Pierre Baqué, chief executive of AI platform Neural Concept, said the share movements were a "necessary market correction" that reflected a legitimate concern about the amount of money being poured into AI infrastructure.

"The industry must move beyond unchecked infrastructure investment and demonstrate greater financial discipline," he said.

"We are entering a critical transition phase, a market purgatory where raw tech must prove its widespread economic value."

Dan Coatsworth, head of markets at AJ Bell, said it had been a brutal week for markets, and the key question was whether the jump in the S&P 500 and Nasdaq would be sustained.

"Once investors have had the weekend to catch their breath, next week could give a clearer indication of whether the tech trade is going down the pan or fighting back."

As well as the fallout of the midterms and the plunge in artificial intelligence stocks, US traders will also be digesting the latest jobs figures.

And those numbers were better than expected: US employers added 165,000 new jobs in October, well above the average monthly increase and more than double what analysts had expected.

Overall the unemployment rate, which counts the number of people who are out of work but actively looking for a job, eased slightly to 4.1% from 4.2% in September.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) said the unemployment rate has remained in the narrow range of 4.1% to 4.3% since March.

Neil Birrell, chief investment officer at investment firm Premier Miton, said while the jobs figures may feel like second billing to the market movements they were still important.

"The US economy is running hard which may mean the risks the markets are worrying about at the moment are not such a risk to the real economy as is being feared," he said.

European airlines have again been hit with a new wave of bomb threats - in the third such incident this week.

On Friday multiple flights to and from Lisbon, Rome, Prague and Sofia were targeted and the threats saw three planes escorted by Hungarian fighter jets, authorities said.

It also saw a number of high-profile media organisations, including Ireland's public broadcaster RTÉ, evacuated after threats were made against them - although there has been no concrete links between the messages against airlines and the broadcasters.

The disruption comes after nearly 30 aircraft and several airports across Europe were impacted by threats earlier this week, in what the UK called a "malicious hoax".

A Ryanair flight scheduled to leave Lisbon for Rome on Friday was targeted with a threat, the airline said, while at least 11 flights were targeted in the Czech Republic and Bulgaria, according to AFP.

France also reported at least four of its flights were targeted by threats, however they all landed safely.

No explosives have been found on any planes as of Friday.

As airlines were dealing with this latest wave of threats, several media outlets, including RTÉ, were evacuated after similar warnings were made against them.

Staff at the Irish Independent newspaper and the Dublin offices of radio stations NewstalkFM and TodayFM, were also advised to leave their buildings and UK broadcaster Sky said it also received a security threat.

In a statement, gardaí (Irish police) said they were "aware of a threat made against media organisations here and in Europe".

While no link has been established between the threats against airlines and media outlets, the Irish government has warned it is a "likely coordinated campaign of disruption".

In a statement, it said: "Hoax threats such as these cause fear, distress and disruption to people going about their daily lives and activities; they achieve no positive purpose whatsoever. It is not known yet who is responsible for these threats, whether it is individuals or a centralised or co-ordinated effort.

Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin described the situation as "worrying" and added his government's first priority was the safety of the Irish public.

"Yesterday, there appeared to be coordinated efforts to disrupt air travel," he said.

Martin told RTÉ it was not yet known if the threats had come from individuals or if it was a "coordinated attack" but said they were being taken seriously.

Ireland is scheduled to host two high-profile European Union meetings in Dublin next week.

Broadcaster Sky confirmed it had received a security threat, hours after RTÉ had evacuated its building.

The broadcaster, which is owned by Comcast, said in a statement read by a presenter on its news channel that the broadcaster had "carried out a security assessment and reported the matter to the relevant authorities".

"The safety and security of our colleagues is our primary concern, and we are working closely with authorities to ensure our people and operations remain secure."

Friday's disruption comes after the Russian extremist group "Male State", named in this week's hoax bomb threats to Italian airports, denied any link to the false warnings.

Replying to the BBC Russian Service, an account on Telegram - one of several linked to the so-called "Male State" and its founder Vladislav Pozdnyakov - mocked any suggestion the group was involved in emailing the threats.

"What Male State? Where have you seen it? It hasn't existed for many years," the message on the channel reads. "If tomorrow they sign a [threat] letter, say, from Putin, will you then try to reach our president to ask your stupid question?"

European Union prosecutors have begun investigating the possible misuse of EU funds meant for upgrading the Spanish railway line where a train crash killed 69 people last week.

Prosecutors backed by a special unit of Spain's Guardia Civil security force said they were conducting the inquiry at the offices of Adif rail infrastructure authority and rail safety agency AESF.

The 28 October accident on the Madrid-Seville high-speed line was one of the worst railway disasters in Europe this century.

It is the second EU fraud inquiry opened into Spain's railways this year, after 46 people were killed on the same line at Adamuz in January.

Last week, a train operated by state-owned operator Renfe ploughed into the back of a stationary train belonging to private Spanish company Iryo outside the village of Urda, around 130km (80 miles) south of Madrid.

The LZB communication system that monitors the position of trains had gone down, and the Renfe train had been given the all clear to start running at normal speed, even though the Iryo train ahead of it had been unable to restart.

The two accidents nine months apart on the same line have claimed 115 lives and dozens more injuries.

The European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO) said on Friday it had begun conducting investigative measures at Spain's rail authorities "after the opening of an investigation into possible fraud affecting EU funds allocated to the renovation and upgrading of safety, signalling and communications systems on the Madrid-Seville high-speed railway line".

The EPPO highlighted high public interest in the case, but said no further details would be made public.

As part of the process, a Spanish judge assigned to the case has to ensure the investigation complies with legal safeguards, including authorising any measures that might involve house searches or phone-tapping.

The Urda disaster has damaged the Socialist-led government of Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez ahead of a 29 November general election and the party is trailing the conservative People's Party (PP) in most opinion polls.

Close Sánchez ally Óscar Puente resigned this week as transport minister, after seeing two deadly accidents on his watch this year.

The PP and far-right Vox say Puente's resignation is not enough and they have demanded that Sánchez resign too.

Many people in Spain have now become wary of taking the train, with reports of widespread cancellations and empty station platforms.

A funeral for the 69 victims at Urda will take place on Tuesday at Toledo cathedral, in the same province that the disaster happened.

Puente's successor, Carlos Cuerpo, has vowed to take all necessary measures to "restore the confidence of Spaniards in our high-speed rail".

Cuerpo met survivors of January's Adamuz disaster on Friday and they handed him a list of 11 demands for improving safety on Spain's railways.

A Kenyan court has sentenced the leader of a doomsday cult, Paul Mackenzie, to 200 years in prison for murdering 191 people, all but one of them children.

Alongside 28 others, Mackenzie was found guilty of the murders for instructing members of his cult to starve their children to death so they could "meet Jesus".

Justice Diana Mochache said Mackenzie bore the "primary criminal culpability" for ordering his followers to fast to death, in one of the world's deadliest episodes of cult activity.

"The sentence is appropriate and just, to send an unmistakable message that such atrocities warrant the maximum penalties allowed by law," the judge added.

The self-styled pastor was arrested in 2023 after the discovery of more than 400 bodies in shallow graves in Shakahola forest near the Kenyan coast. The sprawling investigation into the cases shocked Kenya and drew international attention.

The court sentenced Mackenzie to 100 years in prison for homicide and another 100 years for offences related to starvation.

The sentences within each category will run concurrently, but the two sets will run consecutively, bringing his total prison term to 200 years.

Mackenzie also faces separate manslaughter and terrorism charges, which he denies.

Prosecutors had sought the death penalty, arguing that the scale and circumstances of the killings warranted the harshest punishment.

However, Justice Mochache declined to impose the death penalty, despite ruling that the case met the threshold for its consideration.

"Nevertheless, the court declines the invitation to impose the death penalty on any of the victims," she said, adding that capital punishment would eliminate any prospect of rehabilitation and disengagement. The death sentence has not been carried out in Kenya since 1987.

Mackenzie was tried alongside 28 accomplices, including guards who enforced his fasting orders and gravediggers who helped conceal the victims' bodies in mass graves.

They received varying prison sentences of up to 160 years.

Justice Mochache described the killings as "cold and calculated", saying the perpetrators had shown no remorse and had even declared their willingness to fast to death themselves.

Before the hearing began on Friday morning, Francis Wanje, who lost eight relatives including two grandchildren in Shakahola forest, told the BBC's Newsday programme that he was "hoping for... a sentence which will match his [Mackenzie's] deeds in the forest".

Mackenzie and the co-accused had asked for leniency from the court.

Before their conviction on 19 October, they had all pleaded not guilty and repeatedly insisted that nobody was forced to die.

Mackenzie's followers believed he was "Jesus's mouthpiece", Justice Mochache said as she delivered her eight-hour judgement last month.

Those who opposed Mackenzie's teachings were beaten to death.

One of his co-accused said he had told his followers that anyone who "resisted the directive to fast must be forced to go to heaven through kicks and blows".

Burials inside the forest where the cult was based were called "weddings" and those who died "were celebrated as having wedded with Jesus" the judge said.

The judge found that the deaths arose from an organised system, including religious teachings and directives that compelled followers to follow the deadly fasting.

Post-mortem results showed the cause of deaths to be starvation for most victims, while others died from suffocation, strangulation or head injuries.

The cause of death could not be determined for some, with their bodies having decomposed, while others died soon after their rescue as they were so emaciated.

The Shakahola deaths have shone a spotlight on the lack of oversight of rogue religious activities and how they could have carried on for so long.

The gravity of the case prompted President William Ruto to set up a commission of inquiry, although this was later declared unconstitutional.

Investigations by the state-funded Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) revealed that local administration and law enforcement officials had repeatedly turned a blind eye to the cult's activities.

"We expected at that time the police would take action immediately to go and rescue the other members there, but it didn't happen," said Wanje, who reported the case to the police in March 2023.

Wanje said a relative of his in the police force and a former cult participant had managed to save his grandson at the time. The child told the police what had happened and showed them the grave of his siblings.

"It was [supposed to be] his last day.. they [would have killed] my grandson."

The cult leader had previously been arrested and later released for lack of evidence.

Mackenzie established Good News International Ministries in 2003.

Over the next 16 years, the church grew in popularity, drawing thousands of followers in its branches across Kenya.

The church ran a television station called Times TV which would broadcast his sermons from his church in Malindi.

His End Days sermons included conspiracy theories that described education as "evil", healthcare as "against the doctrine" and digital identity cards as "the mark of the devil".

The main church shut down in 2019 and Mackenzie moved to Shakahola forest, encouraging his devotees to follow him.

While the conclusion of the murder cases may bring a sense of justice for the victims and their families, the convictions only account for 191 victims, while more than 400 bodies were exhumed from the forest.

Go to BBCAfrica.com for more news from the African continent.

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A young girl and an 18-year-old man have died after a bus crashed in eastern France, local authorities have said.

The bus was travelling between Lyon and Bourg-en-Bresse when it crashed at around 07:00 local time on Friday in the town of Lent.

The bus was carrying 43 passengers, including 15 children, the Bourg-en-Bresse prosecutor's office said. Three people are in a critical condition and at least 13 others have sustained minor injuries.

French President Emmanuel Macron said his thoughts were with the victims, the injured, and their families.

In a post on X, he said the nation stood by their side and thanked the rescue teams involved.

The town's mayor Yves Cristin told French media the bus "left the road and hit a tree in the ditch".

The two people killed have been identified by authorities. However, there have been differing reports as to the age of the girl.

The prosecutor's office said it was "opening an investigation into the incident, on charges of road homicide and aggravated road traffic injuries".

The driver has been taken to hospital after sustaining injuries and has not yet been questioned by police. French Transport Minister Philippe Tabarot said initial tests indicated there were no traces of alcohol or drugs in his blood.

Photos circulating in French media show a blue and white bus tilted in what appears to be a ditch on the roadside. Trees line the side of the road. The front of the bus appears to be heavily damaged.

Local mayor Cristin told BFM TV: "I arrived minutes after the accident and people were in shock.

"The side of the bus was torn off, and clearly, the people who were on that side must have been seriously injured."

Addressing weather conditions at the time of the crash, the mayor told Le Figaro "there was a bit of fog, the road was wet" but there were "no major difficulties".

Speaking to the same paper, Fabrice Pannekoucke, head of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, said: "At this stage, there are no particular explanations or interpretations that can be given."

Tabarot said the bus did not operate "exclusively on school routes" but that there were "many schoolchildren on board".

French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu said the accident was tragic, and thanked the firefighters, medical teams and police who attended the scene.

Earlier, French Education Minister Édouard Geffray said it was "always difficult when our children are victims of accidents of this nature".

Emergency services were at the scene and medical helicopters were deployed to take victims with serious injuries to a specialised hospital.

More than 100 firefighters and 50 gendarmes were also at the scene.

The local town hall was opened to provide shelter and coordinate with emergency services, the local mayor said.

In August this year, 26-year-old Isaac Valdez had an epileptic seizure while browsing in his local library, causing him to convulse and strike his head against the ground.

He lost consciousness. Later, in hospital, it transpired Isaac had hit his head with such force it had led to a brain haemorrhage.

Treatment was seriously complicated by the fact that, as a Jehovah's Witness, Isaac carried a "No Blood" card, an indication that he would not accept treatment involving any form of blood transfusion because of his religious beliefs.

As a result, a procedure to drain fluid from Isaac's brain did not take place.

But his family, from Waxahachie, Texas, were encouraged by the fact that he regained consciousness and even started to talk again. He was able to confirm that he stood by his "no blood" beliefs.

The family's relief at his apparent improvement was short-lived. Isaac slipped into a coma and his condition worsened rapidly.

A neurosurgeon told Isaac's family the only way to save his life was an emergency operation, but that it was one that required blood transfusion.

His family took the decision to abide by Issac's wishes as a lifelong Witness not to accept such a procedure.

Isaac - who his twin brother Jacob Valdez describes as an intelligent man who loved volunteering and helping the elderly - died on 26 August 2026 when doctors turned off his life support.

Just 23 days later, the Jehovah's Witnesses' Governing Body announced a seismic change in teaching that would, in effect, have given Isaac the religious green light to have the life-saving treatment he had refused.

The change suddenly means the vast majority of medical procedures using donated blood are no longer prohibited to followers. Now, decisions on whether to accept such treatments are to be left to individuals.

Jacob, already dealing with the death of his twin, was angered at the Jehovah's Witnesses' leadership for not coming to their conclusion sooner. He told BBC News he believes Isaac could well still be alive if they had.

The original rule on blood transfusions dates back to 1945, towards the very end of a war during which the use of blood transfusions had been increasingly widespread. The leaders of Jehovah's Witnesses announced that their believers were not permitted to accept transfusions.

This was based on their interpretation of Bible verses from both the Old and New Testaments prohibiting the consumption of blood, including one from the Book of Acts that instructs believers to abstain from blood, from food offered to idols, and from things that had been strangled.

So, why has the Jehovah's Witnesses' Governing Body, based in New York state, now decided to change the rules, 81 years after introducing them?

It comes after years of pressure from both within and outside the faith, but that is not how leaders of the faith describe the decision.

"The change is basically the application of Bible principles to modern medicine and its methods," says the Jehovah's Witnesses international spokesperson, Paul Gillies, who described it as both a fresh look at scripture and at medical advances.

We meet Gillies at the Jehovah's Witnesses UK headquarters set in 85 acres of Essex countryside. It is a vast modern complex where hundreds of volunteer followers of the faith live and work without pay.

He insists the basic teaching has not changed and that the transfusion of whole blood is still prohibited. However, for decades, most transfusions have not used whole blood, instead using the specific components of blood that are needed by the patient.

The change is being justified by permitting the use of blood components, like plasma and red blood cells and platelets, in the huge numbers of medical procedures that were previously banned.

Gillies says the Bible references "abstaining from blood" but not "various components that could be extracted from blood".

He says the Governing Body felt it their duty to avoid scriptural "overreach" and only apply what was specifically described in the Bible.

But that explanation has stunned many and led them to ask if it was not a huge overreach 81 years ago to ban blood transfusions in the first place, when transfusions are not specifically mentioned in the bible.

Others are then also asking why it has taken so long to come to this landmark decision, given that transfusions that do not use whole blood have been the norm for decades.

These are questions Jacob asked as soon as the ban was lifted, just days after a memorial service for Isaac.

Jacob, who had already left the Jehovah's Witness faith he was brought up in, texted prominent figures from Isaac's congregation in Texas after Isaac's death. The messages are full of angst, and painful to read.

He asked them to consider "the part you played in encouraging so many people to sacrifice their life for something that was never God's will".

Most did not reply, but one "elder" responded saying he could not understand why Jacob was so angry and fixated on the policy shift.

This all further infuriated Jacob, who particularly wants the faith's decision-makers to be accountable for all the lives lost.

"I want to ask them if they could apologise directly, I would like not to have a deflected answer, just straightforward apology," he says.

It is extremely difficult to say how many Jehovah's Witnesses, among the estimated nine million followers of the faith worldwide, died each year having refused treatment involving blood transfusions. But research in one medical journal in 2016, The Obstetrical & Gynecological Survey, put the figure at around 1,100.

"We're sympathetic to their feelings, and if individuals have lost family members and are concerned about some of these questions, they deserve to be heard compassionately," says Gillies.

But there was little clarity about why the change did not come earlier.

"Why has it taken this time? Well, I guess because it takes time, it doesn't necessarily mean that there is some magic change that's taken place," says Gillies.

And when asked, Gillies deflects calls for the leadership to apologise, saying that many lives had, in fact, been saved because faithful Jehovah's Witnesses had not been exposed to blood contamination scandals.

He also insists that even after the new edict, some Jehovah's Witnesses could still decide they did not want to accept a transfusion, and that may have been the case even if the edict had come years ago.

Indeed, the BBC spoke with Alex Ball, 58, a Jehovah's Witness from West Sussex, who says in 2012 a doctor told him he would not survive the chemotherapy he needed to treat his blood cancer unless he also had a transfusion.

"I wanted to adhere as closely to the scriptures as possible when I was sick, and I think I did that well."

With help from what is called "a Jehovah's Witness Hospital Liaison Committee", Alex found an American consultant who could perform a treatment to boost Alex's blood cells without the need for any products from someone else. His UK consultant agreed to treat him using the new method and it worked.

More than a decade later, Alex says he would make the same decision again, despite the change in blood policy that would have permitted the transfusions he had been told he needed.

It is not just receiving blood which has been an issue.

Elisha Cummings, 50, a Jehovah's Witness from Trinidad and Tobago, was unable to donate blood to her aunt, who died, because of the rules.

They also cost her her marriage too, with her husband of 10 years leaving the faith and divorcing her after it came to light that he had had a blood transfusion as a child, something that was looked down upon in her Witness community.

"Since the blood policy change, I have not been myself," she says. "It left me in a sort of depressed mode."

"How many houses did I go to trying to convince people about the blood doctrine? And you're coming now and it's something totally different," Elisha says.

Elisha says her beliefs as a whole have been shaken, yet she feels reluctant to leave the faith, partly because it is what provides her with her community and she fears isolation.

In the past, those who disagreed with "blood doctrine" were ostracised or felt like they needed to leave the faith. Will they now be able to come back?

"Any individual that wants to come back to the faith is warmly welcomed," says Gillies, speaking of those who had left the faith because they had accepted a transfusion for themselves or a relative.

"If they would like to become one of Jehovah's Witnesses again and would like to speak to the elders, then they're very welcome to do so."

Ballots are still being counted in the US midterm elections but the political landscape is already pivoting to the 2028 White House race.

Buoyed by major gains in Congress, Democrats will have momentum as they prepare for the contest to succeed President Donald Trump.

But a good showing in the midterms does not guarantee a White House win two years later. Barack Obama was re-elected in 2012 despite huge Republican gains in 2010.

No one has yet entered the presidential race but potential candidates will be preparing behind the scenes.

Vice-President's JD Vance's reflection on where the midterms went wrong for Republicans has been interpreted as him paving the way for a 2028 run.

The results of Tuesday's election and the historic size of Democratic gains could shape the White House race in several ways. Here are four takeaways.

Several prominent potential presidential candidates were running in the 2026 midterms - and some emerged looking strong.

Georgia Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff won by a sizeable margin in the politically competitive state that Trump won in 2024.

While he has previously said he has no plans to run for president, his successful campaign, with several viral moments, helped boost his national profile.

Another potential Democratic nominee, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, swept aside his Republican challenger.

Shapiro has not committed to a 2028 run but analysts point to his broad appeal in swing-state Pennsylvania as a sign that he could be competitive on the national stage.

Illinois Governor JB Pritzker also won after a campaign pundits in his state described as a "tune-up" for a presidential run.

California Governor Gavin Newsom could not run for re-election in the midterms but he is invested in the outcome of a ballot initiative to tax the state's wealthy residents which he campaigned against.

On the Republican side, there were two potential 2028 names running in Arkansas.

Republican Senator Tom Cotton and Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders - a one-time Trump administration press secretary - were able to stay in office by a narrower margin than before, both earning just above half of the votes in the conservative state.

Exit polls suggest the swing against Republicans was partly due to anger felt by voters at the actions of the Trump administration.

That could present a challenge to his potential successors who come from the ranks of the current leadership, including Vice-President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

"The one person who has been hurt badly by this election campaign is Vance," said Karen Beckwith, a professor of political science at Case Western Reserve University in Ohio.

Vance has already sought to distance himself from defeat - and from a foreign policy adventure in Iran that was politically disastrous for his party.

"The reason we lost is the war," he wrote on X.

Rubio has denied reports he is considering leaving his post ahead of a 2028 presidential run.

Other possible Republican candidates may benefit from not being part of the administration. Some have been staking out a position on what went wrong and what next.

In a lengthy post on X, Senator Ted Cruz, who was not running this year, said that too many Republican politicians seem like "they didn't care" about the economic issues faced by voters.

"It is dark right now, but it is always darkest before the dawn, and morning is coming," he wrote. "That is my fervent prayer, and that is my commitment to you."

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who abandoned his 2024 presidential run after being trounced by Trump early on, was similarly critical and pointed to Republican victories in Florida as a sign of what can be accomplished.

Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie was blunt in his assessment: "The Trump era is over."

Both the centrist and left wings of the Democratic Party have claimed victory from the results as each side sifts through possible 2028 contenders.

Dozens are already making moves, Obama's former adviser Jim Messina has told the BBC.

El-Sayed's win in Michigan was a breakthrough moment for left-wing Democrats because he triumphed in a swing state.

His supporters now claim his win could supercharge left-wing candidates in the 2028 election.

"The old notions of electability are out the door, and bold economist populist outsiders proved they can win in battleground states," said Adam Green, the co-founder of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee.

Green added that the "water is now warm" for candidates such as New York Democratic representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to run in presidential primaries and "know that they can win."

Moderate Democrats, however, claimed victories across the country, with the "Blue Dog Caucus" of moderate and conservative Democrats gaining at least 14 seats in Congress, nearly doubling its current size.

This has led many within that wing of the party to conclude that centrist candidates that bill themselves as pragmatic and willing to work with conservatives could woo Republican voters.

Given the success of Democratic candidates who focused on cost of living issues, an economy-first approach will likely be a focus again in two years.

Amirah Siquierah, the director of federal affairs at the Working Families Party, said successful candidates in 2028 will combine economic populism with newer concerns such as data centres.

Both parties must contend with a changing political map and a shifting coalition of support for 2028.

Once "safe" Republican parts of the country can no longer be considered conservative strongholds.

Texas is left with only one Republican at a statewide level, which means its 40 electoral college votes could be up for grabs in 2028.

Christina Pascucci, a political commentator and one-time Senate candidate in California, said the midterms "challenge long-held political assumptions" and show that "neither party can afford to take its traditional strongholds for granted".

That is true of both Democrats and Republicans who will need to win over swing voters, added Pascucci, now the CEO of Atlas Global, a global communications and advisory firm.

"Neither party owns these voters," she said.

The Trump coalition of working class and Latino voters faltered, reversing many of the gains he had made with those electorates in his successful 2024 campaign.

Driena Sixto, a former spokesperson for Turning Point USA and a conservative political commentator, told the BBC that she believed that Republicans will have to change their messaging to Latino voters ahead of 2028 for any future candidate to be able to reverse the trend.

"Last time, the campaign message was one of safe communities and fighting back against trafficking," she said.

"After the president was sworn in, I think a lot of messaging from the White House did too much to highlight deportations. That was the divide."

• GLOBAL: Midterms results spark fears in Israel over US ties
• DATA: How America voted in maps and charts
• EXPLAINING: What Democrats can and can't do with power
• ANALYSIS: Vance walks tightrope with scathing critique on Iran

With no fewer than 32 bomb threats affecting a dozen airlines in the space of four days, the aviation industry is facing another potential crisis.

Some of the threats apparently came from phone calls, others via email, and although they have all turned out to be hoaxes, they were each clearly serious enough to force emergency action.

Some planes had to be escorted by military jets, others were quietly inspected mid-air by cabin crew - desperate not to cause alarm.

A number had to be re-routed from their original destinations, landing at different airports, sometimes in different countries. An Aer Lingus flight had to land at an airbase 1,000 kilometers from its intended destination after running low on fuel.

All this poses a serious challenge to the airlines, who have little idea who is causing the severe disruption they have faced almost every day this week.

Although so far all threats have turned out to be hoaxes, airlines have no choice but take each threat seriously.

"They have a triage system, but follow the same protocols for each until they are absolutely sure there is no threat," says Marco Chan, a former commercial airline pilot and aviation expert at Kingston University.

"That could involve a mid-air inspection, but definitely a search once the plane has landed.

"Passengers might not even know there is an issue until they are told to disembark. It can cause disruption, but that is a small price to pay when safety is at stake", he adds.

The sight of sniffer dogs and specialist teams on the tarmac searching for explosives on commercial planes may cause alarm.

So far, the disruption too has been limited to the few thousand passengers who have been directly involved.

Paul Mason, an aviation security expert, says there will be a financial cost to the airline involved, but planes get diverted every day.

"The number can sometimes run to over a hundred planes daily, for things like technical issues, medical emergencies, even the weather," he adds. "They far outweigh the few which have been diverted due to hoaxes. So airlines are well equipped at dealing with the unexpected."

It is also unlikely that customers will be able to get refunds, he explains, because these incidents are not the fault of the airlines.

The more worrying aspect over the past few days will be the seeming random nature of the targets and the lack of any credible intelligence regarding who is behind the threats.

Aside from emails suggesting that an extremist misogynist group had claimed responsibility for a handful of the incidents - although since denied by its founder - there appear to be few leads.

With 20 years of military experience as well, Paul Mason says the incidents bear the hallmarks of hybrid warfare, which involves unconventional methods such as cyber attacks.

"It does feel co-ordinated," he says. "Russia has said it's got nothing to do with it, but it could be proxies. It's a very easy way to create disruption and chaos, with plausible deniability."

"That's the problem. Someone can have an opinion on who is behind it, but if the perpetrators are using sophisticated technology, it will be very hard to trace them."

He does say however that if misguided individuals try to copy the threats they could find themselves in serious trouble.

The Aviation Security Act 1982 states that "intentionally communicating false, misleading, or deceptive information that endangers - or is likely to endanger - the safety of an aircraft in flight is a serious criminal offence".

The maximum sentence is life imprisonment.

There is precious little that airports and airlines can do to guard against actually receiving threats, as they can come from a vast range of sources. But the punishment is designed to act as a deterrent.

As Paul Mason warns: "Someone might think it's a laugh and very easy to do, but unless they are very sophisticated, they are highly likely to be traced. And find themselves facing prison."

As the sun rises over the Indian Ocean, waves lap onto the golden sands while palm fronds rustle in the cool sea breeze. Welcome to... Mogadishu.

This is the image that one young Somali woman wants the world to have of her home city - in contrast to the one of suicide attacks and young men wielding AK-47s that many people currently associate with Somalia's capital.

Sucdi Abdul Fattah Abdul Khader is among a growing number of local guides taking visitors beyond the headlines to explore Mogadishu's beauty spots, historic sites and culture.

Her favourite spot is Jazeera beach, where visitors can enjoy the sea before heading to nearby sand dunes.

"It's one of the tourist attractions where we bring our guests. It's a nice place," says the 23-year-old.

The dunes, she adds, remind some visitors of the Sahara.

But her tours are about more than scenic views. She also takes visitors to the fish market, where they discover the variety of marine life available along Somalia's extensive coastline and to parts of the city that reflect its history as a busy Indian Ocean trading centre, with the influences of both its Ottoman and Italian former rulers.

Visitors can also sample Somali food, including camel meat, samosas and traditional tea.

Sucdi says many arrive in the city with expectations shaped by years of hearing about the insecurity.

"Mostly, they are surprised by how beautiful the country is and how welcoming people are," she says.

At the fish market, she says, visitors are particularly impressed by the variety of fish species.

Guiding tours runs in Sucdi's family. Her father worked in the profession for over three decades, taking journalists, photographers and visitors from different countries around Somalia.

He introduced her to the business nearly three years ago.

"I started this job as a hobby, but it has become something that I like and am passionate about," she says.

She now works alongside her father and a team of guides, building on his experience while using social media to reach a wider audience.

She shares videos of her tours on TikTok, offering people outside Somalia a glimpse of places they may never have imagined visiting.

She is also considering producing content in English to reach audiences who do not speak Somali.

Tourism remains a relatively new field in Somalia, she says, with only a handful working as guides in Mogadishu.

The business is seasonal, but Sucdi says this year has been particularly encouraging, although numbers are still fairly low. Having five tourists a week is considered a success but she is confident that numbers will grow.

However, she says many visitors are still concerned about security.

Since the collapse of Somalia's central government in 1991, Mogadishu has endured decades of civil war, destruction and displacement. Much of the city centre was reduced to rubble, and basic services and infrastructure largely broke down.

But following the withdrawal of the Islamist militant group al-Shabab from most of the city in 2011, and the establishment of the federal government in 2012, Mogadishu has undergone a gradual transformation.

Returning members of the Somali diaspora, local entrepreneurs and investors helped fuel a construction boom, with new hotels, restaurants, businesses and residential developments reshaping the capital.

Today, Mogadishu is a growing commercial hub, although insecurity and the legacy of conflict remain part of everyday life.

About 10,000 tourists visited Somalia in 2024, a 50% increase on the previous year, according to the country's tourism department.

Many visitors ask about their safety before travelling and often encounter security checkpoints around the city.

But she says their experience on the ground is generally positive.

"What they heard from the news and everywhere else is not the same as what they see in the country," she says.

Although some question whether Mogadishu is safe enough for a young woman to be working as a tour guide, Sucdi is determined to continue.

She wants visitors to experience a Somalia that is rarely seen.

"I would want them to see the beautiful, welcoming side of Mogadishu, and not the side that they heard from the media, which is explosions and bombs," she says.

Somalia has Africa's longest mainland coastline, stretching more than 3,000km (1,860 miles) along the Indian Ocean and Gulf of Aden.

Its beaches and sand dunes sit alongside historic coastal cities such as Mogadishu, whose culture reflects centuries of Indian Ocean trade.

For some tourists, that contrast between the country's reputation and what they experience can be striking.

American travel content creator Chris Reese, who goes by the name Authentic Travelling, has visited Mogadishu twice.

His first trip, almost a year ago, was a solo visit. He enjoyed it so much that he decided to return with a group of friends, who had seen videos of his visit on social media.

"I had such a positive experience - I really enjoyed seeing the country for the first time - that I opted to bring back a group of my friends," he says.

What stands out for Chris is the city's coastal setting, its food and atmosphere.

"It is such a beautiful tropical place. I love the vibe, the weather and the food," he says.

During the group's visit, they enjoy lunch overlooking the Indian Ocean before heading out to explore the beaches and sand dunes.

"The desert is beautiful and picturesque. It is also amazing that it's barely a 30-minute drive from Mogadishu," he says.

Before his first trip, Chris says, much of what he knew about Somalia came from international news coverage.

"If you only read the news reports about Somalia, you would be scared to visit. And honestly, that's what I saw in the media before I came, mostly negative headlines."

But visiting the country challenged those perceptions.

"Coming here, on my very first trip, showed me that there is so much more to this country than what is shown in the headlines," he says.

Mihaela Patap, from Romania, loves Somalia's natural beauty.

Although she has spent only a few hours in Mogadishu, she has already visited the sand dunes and taken in the Indian Ocean coastline.

"The desert was so beautiful to see. I have also enjoyed the beach, and the ocean. It is inspiring," she says.

Having travelled to Somalia from neighbouring Ethiopia, she says she has been struck by the people's friendliness.

"I don't see anything dangerous. I feel safe and the people are warm," she says.

An experienced traveller, Mihaela says she prefers to visit new countries without having preconceived ideas.

"I travel the world to see new places, to see countries, to see the differences. I don't take a picture in my mind to compare the reality with. I'm just expecting the new to come to me," she says.

She hopes to share her experience and encourage others to visit Somalia.

"I'm going to post my pictures and say good things about what I'm experiencing. I'm going to promote it," she says.

For Sucdi, that potential is personal.

She is continuing a family profession while building a business in an industry with few women and using digital platforms to reach audiences far beyond Mogadishu.

"Somalia still has a long way to go before tourism becomes a major industry," she says.

"Through my tours, I am giving visitors an opportunity to experience its landscapes, our culture and people beyond the familiar negative headlines."

For her, every visitor is another opportunity to tell a fuller story of Mogadishu.

Go to BBCAfrica.com for more news from the African continent.

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As the US midterm election results rolled in, long-held Israeli assumptions about the transatlantic alliance began to shatter.

"For us in Israel, this will be a generational sea change," wrote one prominent journalist in Israel's biggest-selling newspaper, right-leaning Yedioth Ahronoth. "The [prime minister, Benjamin] Netanyahu government sowed the wind and reaped the tsunami."

Israel's opposition leaders have lined up to blame their prime minister, with one saying the US results showed "just how toxic Netanyahu has become" among both Democrats and Republicans.

The prime minister himself has so far remained silent.

"Israel's political establishment understood intellectually that things have been shifting. They have not understood how much and how quickly," one US official with knowledge of the situation told me.

Israel's relationship with the US was a campaign issue in races across America.

Many Democratic candidates were sharply critical of Israel's actions in Gaza and the occupied West Bank, and the costs of the joint US-Israeli war on Iran was a key issue for many voters.

The US president himself blamed the Iran War for the Republican rout – a war that Israel's leader is widely seen as having promoted to him.

And US Vice-President JD Vance cited the US relationship to Israel as one of four key reasons voters had deserted the party, hammering home the message that the relationship is now seen as a political problem by its key ally.

"That might be even worse than what happened in the midterms," Israeli political and security analyst Yaakov Katz told me. "Because the Democrats we knew about, now [Vance] is pointing the finger and saying: 'Our voters want us to change our position on Israel' – and Israelis don't fully understand where this is going."

The question plaguing Israelis now is what this means for Israel's security and influence.

The sense of staunch US military and diplomatic support had remained unshaken in Israel despite growing anger among US voters, President Donald Trump's public insults to Netanyahu, and differences over Israel's actions in Iran and Lebanon.

Israel's prime minister continually boasted of his closeness to Trump, describing his "true friendship" and "unwavering support".

And just nine months ago, Israelis watched their armed forces wage war on Iran hand in hand with the US military, as the "unprecedented" coordination of the two allies became a daily mantra among military spokespeople and politicians.

So Trump's unexpected statement during a Fox News interview this week that he would stop $3.8bn (3.4bn euros; £2.8bn) in US military aid to Israel two years earlier than planned, caused shock here – not so much for the loss of aid as for what the move said about Israel's status as a diplomatic partner.

Israel's president said the announcement came as "a bolt from the blue".

"Nobody knows anything," was the headline in a report by Yedioth Ahronoth, adding that officials were still struggling to understand whether Trump's remark was serious, two days on.

The Israeli prime minister's office responded to the news several days later, saying that the shift from US aid to partnership showed "the strength and sophistication" of the bilateral relationship.

US military aid is less than 10% of Israel's annual military budget. But Yaakov Katz, author of several books about Israel's defence and security, said Trump's announcement was the tip of a much larger question around future funding, arms sales and joint military projects with Israel. All of this could be slowed or stalled by a Democrat-controlled Congress, even without the two-thirds majority it would need to overrule Trump.

"Everything that Israel used to get in a simpler, easier process will now potentially be much more complicated, and Israel has to be prepared that this is a new reality," he told me.

"Our entire Air Force is American-made military planes, we're dependent on American spare parts and American weapons. The last three years have shown us how dependent we are on American missile-defence systems. [If] those don't show up at the same pace, that's a real difference – that changes your calculation of what you're able to withstand if you go to war."

Katz believes the midterms could also translate into tougher demands on Israel over its actions in Gaza and Lebanon, and a requirement not to undermine an agreement with Iran.

"Something will change in the US-Israeli relationship, but it's a question of scale," said the US official I spoke to, who was not authorized to speak on the record. "It means shifting to [being] willing to criticise Israel when it's warranted, but the bedrock fundamental relationship will still be there."

In an interview on Israeli television, the US ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee signalled little shift so far in core American positions, including on Israel's occupation of the West Bank, describing the sanctions imposed by other countries as "irrational" and counterproductive.

Israel's ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, told another Israeli channel that Trump would be in the White House for the next two years, and that Israel could "feel good" about the US veto in the UN Security Council – something Washington has repeatedly used in the past to block resolutions that target Israel.

"But we have to pay attention to the voices – not only in the Democratic Party but also the Republican Party – criticising Israel," he said. "It will be harder for us."

Questions over its key alliance have come at a particularly sensitive time for Israel, less than two weeks after its own parliamentary elections left neither government nor opposition with a clear majority. Discussions are now taking place with the country's president, who will decide whether Netanyahu or his centrist rival, Gadi Eisenkot, will get the first chance to form a governing coalition.

"Under my leadership, we will renew and deepen that [US] partnership, strengthen the bipartisan foundations that have long sustained it," Eisenkot said in a social media post.

Another member of his opposition bloc, Yair Lapid, said: "What do we do?"

"We go back to the rule that worked for us for seventy years, and which broke in 2015 when Netanyahu went to speak against [US president] Obama in Congress. Israel doesn't choose sides in America. We work with everyone."

Netanyahu's speech to the US Congress in 2015 is seen as a defining moment in Israel's relationship with the US, when the Israeli leader appealed over the head of America's Democratic president to urge Republicans in Congress not to back a nuclear agreement with Iran.

Since then, Netanyahu has increasingly anchored the alliance in Trump's Republican party, even as alienation among Democrats has grown.

The US official I spoke to said that, before the midterms, Netanyahu could have improved the relationship with Washington by getting rid of his two far-right ministers.

"I think everyone understands now it's bigger than [that]," he said.

How much the new tone in transatlantic relations will play into the task of building a new government in Israel is being closely watched.

Some government supporters argue it has increased the need for political stability, and that Netanyahu provides much-needed continuity and a deep knowledge of the US and its leaders.

"We cannot afford to be dragged into endless political disputes and election campaigns," said one opinion writer in Israel's largest-circulation daily, the right-wing Israel Hayom.

Whoever heads Israel's next government, its American ally may demand more than rhetoric.

In the noisy debate around what this will mean for Israel, the silence of its prime minister – once the whisperer of Washington's elite – is perhaps the most telling voice of all.

Ballots are still being counted in the US midterm elections but the political landscape is already pivoting to the 2028 White House race.

Buoyed by major gains in Congress, Democrats will have momentum as they prepare for the contest to succeed President Donald Trump.

But a good showing in the midterms does not guarantee a White House win two years later. Barack Obama was re-elected in 2012 despite huge Republican gains in 2010.

No one has yet entered the presidential race but potential candidates will be preparing behind the scenes.

Vice-President's JD Vance's reflection on where the midterms went wrong for Republicans has been interpreted as him paving the way for a 2028 run.

The results of Tuesday's election and the historic size of Democratic gains could shape the White House race in several ways. Here are four takeaways.

Several prominent potential presidential candidates were running in the 2026 midterms - and some emerged looking strong.

Georgia Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff won by a sizeable margin in the politically competitive state that Trump won in 2024.

While he has previously said he has no plans to run for president, his successful campaign, with several viral moments, helped boost his national profile.

Another potential Democratic nominee, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, swept aside his Republican challenger.

Shapiro has not committed to a 2028 run but analysts point to his broad appeal in swing-state Pennsylvania as a sign that he could be competitive on the national stage.

Illinois Governor JB Pritzker also won after a campaign pundits in his state described as a "tune-up" for a presidential run.

California Governor Gavin Newsom could not run for re-election in the midterms but he is invested in the outcome of a ballot initiative to tax the state's wealthy residents which he campaigned against.

On the Republican side, there were two potential 2028 names running in Arkansas.

Republican Senator Tom Cotton and Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders - a one-time Trump administration press secretary - were able to stay in office by a narrower margin than before, both earning just above half of the votes in the conservative state.

Exit polls suggest the swing against Republicans was partly due to anger felt by voters at the actions of the Trump administration.

That could present a challenge to his potential successors who come from the ranks of the current leadership, including Vice-President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

"The one person who has been hurt badly by this election campaign is Vance," said Karen Beckwith, a professor of political science at Case Western Reserve University in Ohio.

Vance has already sought to distance himself from defeat - and from a foreign policy adventure in Iran that was politically disastrous for his party.

"The reason we lost is the war," he wrote on X.

Rubio has denied reports he is considering leaving his post ahead of a 2028 presidential run.

Other possible Republican candidates may benefit from not being part of the administration. Some have been staking out a position on what went wrong and what next.

In a lengthy post on X, Senator Ted Cruz, who was not running this year, said that too many Republican politicians seem like "they didn't care" about the economic issues faced by voters.

"It is dark right now, but it is always darkest before the dawn, and morning is coming," he wrote. "That is my fervent prayer, and that is my commitment to you."

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who abandoned his 2024 presidential run after being trounced by Trump early on, was similarly critical and pointed to Republican victories in Florida as a sign of what can be accomplished.

Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie was blunt in his assessment: "The Trump era is over."

Both the centrist and left wings of the Democratic Party have claimed victory from the results as each side sifts through possible 2028 contenders.

Dozens are already making moves, Obama's former adviser Jim Messina has told the BBC.

El-Sayed's win in Michigan was a breakthrough moment for left-wing Democrats because he triumphed in a swing state.

His supporters now claim his win could supercharge left-wing candidates in the 2028 election.

"The old notions of electability are out the door, and bold economist populist outsiders proved they can win in battleground states," said Adam Green, the co-founder of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee.

Green added that the "water is now warm" for candidates such as New York Democratic representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to run in presidential primaries and "know that they can win."

Moderate Democrats, however, claimed victories across the country, with the "Blue Dog Caucus" of moderate and conservative Democrats gaining at least 14 seats in Congress, nearly doubling its current size.

This has led many within that wing of the party to conclude that centrist candidates that bill themselves as pragmatic and willing to work with conservatives could woo Republican voters.

Given the success of Democratic candidates who focused on cost of living issues, an economy-first approach will likely be a focus again in two years.

Amirah Siquierah, the director of federal affairs at the Working Families Party, said successful candidates in 2028 will combine economic populism with newer concerns such as data centres.

Both parties must contend with a changing political map and a shifting coalition of support for 2028.

Once "safe" Republican parts of the country can no longer be considered conservative strongholds.

Texas is left with only one Republican at a statewide level, which means its 40 electoral college votes could be up for grabs in 2028.

Christina Pascucci, a political commentator and one-time Senate candidate in California, said the midterms "challenge long-held political assumptions" and show that "neither party can afford to take its traditional strongholds for granted".

That is true of both Democrats and Republicans who will need to win over swing voters, added Pascucci, now the CEO of Atlas Global, a global communications and advisory firm.

"Neither party owns these voters," she said.

The Trump coalition of working class and Latino voters faltered, reversing many of the gains he had made with those electorates in his successful 2024 campaign.

Driena Sixto, a former spokesperson for Turning Point USA and a conservative political commentator, told the BBC that she believed that Republicans will have to change their messaging to Latino voters ahead of 2028 for any future candidate to be able to reverse the trend.

"Last time, the campaign message was one of safe communities and fighting back against trafficking," she said.

"After the president was sworn in, I think a lot of messaging from the White House did too much to highlight deportations. That was the divide."

• GLOBAL: Midterms results spark fears in Israel over US ties
• DATA: How America voted in maps and charts
• EXPLAINING: What Democrats can and can't do with power
• ANALYSIS: Vance walks tightrope with scathing critique on Iran

The mayor of Houston, Texas, has directed the city's police to limit co-operation with federal immigration officials.

The move by John Whitmire, a Democrat, comes on the heels of stunning victories by the party in Texas during this week's midterm elections. It breaks with policy set by Republican Governor Greg Abbott, who lost his re-election bid.

"I do this to begin a healing process," Whitmire said on Friday, and to "reduce fear and anxiety across our community". He added: "I also do this knowing that elections matter."

There has been months of public outcry in Houston after an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer fatally shot a man who was driving to work.

Houston police chief Noe Diaz said on Friday that officers will now only contact ICE if someone they arrest for a jailable offence also has an administrative ICE warrant, which are issued internally by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), within which ICE operates.

"For example, if our police officers pull someone over for a minor traffic infraction and they write a citation, that person receives a citation and goes about their day," Diaz said.

Under the previous rules, Houston police officers were required to inform ICE if anyone they were dealing with came up as having one of these warrants attached to their name when they were searched on the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) - a digital database that includes records on wanted persons, stolen property, certain missing people and those arrested and fingerprinted for serious offences.

Whitmire said on Friday that he had directed the Houston Police Department to make the changes through an executive order.

He also called on Congress to change federal immigration rules, saying "ICE needs better training. They need body cameras. They need to be trained in de-escalation."

He added, "But this can only be done in Washington. I can only control what I can control."

In response, a spokesperson for the DHS told Houston's NBC affiliate, KPRC 2, in a statement: "We remain disappointed that sanctuary politicians seek to limit cooperation with ICE, as our law enforcement are simply fulfilling their sworn duties to serve and protect our communities."

"Partnerships with law enforcement are critical to having the resources we need to arrest criminal illegal aliens across the country," the spokesperson added.

Another Texas city, Austin, has also begun implementing a similar policy change.

Democrats won both the US Senate and House of Representatives in Tuesday's midterms, taking control of Congress for the rest of Donald Trump's presidency.

Texas, a long-time Republican stronghold, was the site of one of the most stunning upsets in the vote, with the state electing its first Latina governor, Gina Hinojosa, as the first Democrat governor since 1995. It also elected its first Democratic senator since 1988.

Whitmire has previously faced criticism for abiding by immigration enforcement policies under the Trump administration.

He had resisted previous calls to implement similar changes over concerns that the White House could send a surge of immigration officials in response.

Abbott has also threatened to take pull millions in funds from cities like Houston, Dallas and Austin unless they allow police to cooperate fully with federal immigration officials.

The BBC has contacted Abbott's office for comment.

Whitmire's announcement comes a week after an ICE officer was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon after he allegedly hit a man with a vehicle in Texas.

Earlier this year, large protests broke out in Houston after an ICE officer fatally shot a man driving to work.

The deceased, Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a 52-year-old Mexican national who lived in the US as an undocumented immigrant for decades, was not the intended target, officials said after the incident.

As the sun rises over the Indian Ocean, waves lap onto the golden sands while palm fronds rustle in the cool sea breeze. Welcome to... Mogadishu.

This is the image that one young Somali woman wants the world to have of her home city - in contrast to the one of suicide attacks and young men wielding AK-47s that many people currently associate with Somalia's capital.

Sucdi Abdul Fattah Abdul Khader is among a growing number of local guides taking visitors beyond the headlines to explore Mogadishu's beauty spots, historic sites and culture.

Her favourite spot is Jazeera beach, where visitors can enjoy the sea before heading to nearby sand dunes.

"It's one of the tourist attractions where we bring our guests. It's a nice place," says the 23-year-old.

The dunes, she adds, remind some visitors of the Sahara.

But her tours are about more than scenic views. She also takes visitors to the fish market, where they discover the variety of marine life available along Somalia's extensive coastline and to parts of the city that reflect its history as a busy Indian Ocean trading centre, with the influences of both its Ottoman and Italian former rulers.

Visitors can also sample Somali food, including camel meat, samosas and traditional tea.

Sucdi says many arrive in the city with expectations shaped by years of hearing about the insecurity.

"Mostly, they are surprised by how beautiful the country is and how welcoming people are," she says.

At the fish market, she says, visitors are particularly impressed by the variety of fish species.

Guiding tours runs in Sucdi's family. Her father worked in the profession for over three decades, taking journalists, photographers and visitors from different countries around Somalia.

He introduced her to the business nearly three years ago.

"I started this job as a hobby, but it has become something that I like and am passionate about," she says.

She now works alongside her father and a team of guides, building on his experience while using social media to reach a wider audience.

She shares videos of her tours on TikTok, offering people outside Somalia a glimpse of places they may never have imagined visiting.

She is also considering producing content in English to reach audiences who do not speak Somali.

Tourism remains a relatively new field in Somalia, she says, with only a handful working as guides in Mogadishu.

The business is seasonal, but Sucdi says this year has been particularly encouraging, although numbers are still fairly low. Having five tourists a week is considered a success but she is confident that numbers will grow.

However, she says many visitors are still concerned about security.

Since the collapse of Somalia's central government in 1991, Mogadishu has endured decades of civil war, destruction and displacement. Much of the city centre was reduced to rubble, and basic services and infrastructure largely broke down.

But following the withdrawal of the Islamist militant group al-Shabab from most of the city in 2011, and the establishment of the federal government in 2012, Mogadishu has undergone a gradual transformation.

Returning members of the Somali diaspora, local entrepreneurs and investors helped fuel a construction boom, with new hotels, restaurants, businesses and residential developments reshaping the capital.

Today, Mogadishu is a growing commercial hub, although insecurity and the legacy of conflict remain part of everyday life.

About 10,000 tourists visited Somalia in 2024, a 50% increase on the previous year, according to the country's tourism department.

Many visitors ask about their safety before travelling and often encounter security checkpoints around the city.

But she says their experience on the ground is generally positive.

"What they heard from the news and everywhere else is not the same as what they see in the country," she says.

Although some question whether Mogadishu is safe enough for a young woman to be working as a tour guide, Sucdi is determined to continue.

She wants visitors to experience a Somalia that is rarely seen.

"I would want them to see the beautiful, welcoming side of Mogadishu, and not the side that they heard from the media, which is explosions and bombs," she says.

Somalia has Africa's longest mainland coastline, stretching more than 3,000km (1,860 miles) along the Indian Ocean and Gulf of Aden.

Its beaches and sand dunes sit alongside historic coastal cities such as Mogadishu, whose culture reflects centuries of Indian Ocean trade.

For some tourists, that contrast between the country's reputation and what they experience can be striking.

American travel content creator Chris Reese, who goes by the name Authentic Travelling, has visited Mogadishu twice.

His first trip, almost a year ago, was a solo visit. He enjoyed it so much that he decided to return with a group of friends, who had seen videos of his visit on social media.

"I had such a positive experience - I really enjoyed seeing the country for the first time - that I opted to bring back a group of my friends," he says.

What stands out for Chris is the city's coastal setting, its food and atmosphere.

"It is such a beautiful tropical place. I love the vibe, the weather and the food," he says.

During the group's visit, they enjoy lunch overlooking the Indian Ocean before heading out to explore the beaches and sand dunes.

"The desert is beautiful and picturesque. It is also amazing that it's barely a 30-minute drive from Mogadishu," he says.

Before his first trip, Chris says, much of what he knew about Somalia came from international news coverage.

"If you only read the news reports about Somalia, you would be scared to visit. And honestly, that's what I saw in the media before I came, mostly negative headlines."

But visiting the country challenged those perceptions.

"Coming here, on my very first trip, showed me that there is so much more to this country than what is shown in the headlines," he says.

Mihaela Patap, from Romania, loves Somalia's natural beauty.

Although she has spent only a few hours in Mogadishu, she has already visited the sand dunes and taken in the Indian Ocean coastline.

"The desert was so beautiful to see. I have also enjoyed the beach, and the ocean. It is inspiring," she says.

Having travelled to Somalia from neighbouring Ethiopia, she says she has been struck by the people's friendliness.

"I don't see anything dangerous. I feel safe and the people are warm," she says.

An experienced traveller, Mihaela says she prefers to visit new countries without having preconceived ideas.

"I travel the world to see new places, to see countries, to see the differences. I don't take a picture in my mind to compare the reality with. I'm just expecting the new to come to me," she says.

She hopes to share her experience and encourage others to visit Somalia.

"I'm going to post my pictures and say good things about what I'm experiencing. I'm going to promote it," she says.

For Sucdi, that potential is personal.

She is continuing a family profession while building a business in an industry with few women and using digital platforms to reach audiences far beyond Mogadishu.

"Somalia still has a long way to go before tourism becomes a major industry," she says.

"Through my tours, I am giving visitors an opportunity to experience its landscapes, our culture and people beyond the familiar negative headlines."

For her, every visitor is another opportunity to tell a fuller story of Mogadishu.

Go to BBCAfrica.com for more news from the African continent.

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Cornell University's academic staff have passed a vote of no confidence over its leadership's handling of what staff call a "crisis of sexual assault" after a former student alleged she was gang raped while attending.

The woman, known anonymously as Jane Doe, is suing her former university and the fraternity over an alleged incident involving several men at the Chi Phi fraternity house in October 2024.

All seven of the accused have denied wrongdoing when contacted by the BBC's US partner CBS. None has been charged with a crime.

Friday's no-confidence vote passed by 75 votes to 50. It is largely symbolic because the faculty senate does not have the power to remove leaders.

The resolution states that the faculty senate, which represents academic staff, "has no confidence in the ability of the central administration to effectively address the ongoing crisis of sexual assault at Cornell University".

It did not make any specific recommendations or suggest what administrators did wrong in response to the accusation.

It is a rebuke of university leaders including President Michael Kotlikoff, whom Doe has accused of asking why she waited several weeks to report the incident.

The Ivy League institution in upstate New York has said her account of Kotlikoff's reaction is "incorrect".

Doe's lawyer, Thomas Giuffra, responded to the vote's outcome in a statement, saying: "We recently learned that Cornell's Faculty Senate made a finding of no confidence in the Central Administration's ability to address the longstanding crisis of sexual assault at Cornell.

"We believe that the Faculty Senate did not reach this decision lightly and considered all available information."

Giuffra added: "We are hopeful that this will be yet another step forward to educate and support the Cornell community by addressing the longstanding scourge of sexual assault on campus."

The board of trustees, which does have the power to fire Kotlikoff, said in a statement that it "remains confident" that he and his administration "are the right leaders to thoughtfully and comprehensively address the serious problem of sexual assault on our campus".

Trustees board chairwoman Anne Meinig Smalling, added: "This confidence is rooted not only in the administration's actions to date and plans moving forward, but also in its track record of navigating complex problems."

She also said that the vote of no confidence "reflects the deep anger across our campus and sends a clear signal that what happened to Jane Doe is unacceptable".

Backlash against Cornell has been intense since Doe filed her lawsuit in September. She reported the alleged assault to campus police after it happened but the local prosecutor declined to bring charges at the time.

Cornell, after initially defending its disciplinary measures, has acknowledged it fell short in its handling of her case and has hired a former attorney general to conduct an independent review of the case. It also recently announced a series of measures due assault, including cancelling fraternity parties.

New York state prosecutors, led by Attorney General Letitia James, are carrying out their own investigation to decide if criminal charges are warranted.

Earlier this week, New York Governor Kathy Hochul announced that state police would investigate any future sexual offence complaints at the university.

In the aftermath of the Republican Party's sweeping defeat in Tuesday's midterm elections, Donald Trump said he would be willing to work with the newly ascendent Democrats in Congress.

On Friday, however, he elevated Stephen Miller, his bare-knuckled political operative and longtime adviser, to replace Susie Wiles as White House chief of staff.

Far from an olive branch to Congress, Miller's promotion could be a sign that the president is girding for political battle by installing a partisan firebrand in the top White House job.

"The mission now is more clear than ever: Fight with all of our soul to support our president and defend this magnificent republic," Miller posted on X, adding that he was "honored beyond words" to be Trump's pick for the job.

One of the most powerful positions in Washington, the chief of staff is gatekeeper to the president, agenda-setter in the White House and chief negotiator with Congress and other outside political interests.

"Stephen Miller's been with me since the beginning," Trump said in comments to reporters after announcing the move on his Truth Social website. "He gets it."

Miller is best known for being the driving force behind the Trump administration's aggressive immigration enforcement policies, which has included ramping up funding for enforcement operations across the US.

He made headlines when he called Alex Pretti, who was shot and killed by federal immigration officials during a massive deportation operation in Minneapolis, a "domestic terrorist" and an "assassin". He would later walk back those words, saying federal agents "may not have been following" proper protocol.

He has also reportedly played a leading role in the US military operations in Venezuela and against suspected drug trafficking operations in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific, which critics have condemned as extra-judicial killings.

Miller joined Trump's political operation early in his 2016 presidential bid as a strategist and incendiary warm-up speaker at his raucous campaign rallies.

He was one of the few senior White House staffers to persevere through the entirety of his first term. He stayed loyal to Trump during his political exile following attempts to overturn his ballot-box defeat in 2020 failed. He then returned in the influential role of deputy chief of staff for policy in Trump's second term.

Wiles, who co-managed the president's successful 2024 re-election campaign, developed a reputation as a cool professional who avoided the White House staffing upheavals, dramatic policy reversals and personality clashes that typified Trump's first presidential term.

The president, however, began souring on Wiles in recent months, as his political standing in the US declined, culminating in Tuesday's electoral rout. He also reportedly chafed at news stories indicating that those in Wiles' orbit were landing lucrative consulting jobs through their connections to the president.

While Trump praised Miller's effectiveness as a manager on Friday, working with Congress could prove to be a challenge.

It is difficult to overstate how disliked Miller is by most Democrats – and some Republicans.

"Stephen Miller is a dangerous xenophobe and reckless extremist who has American blood on his hands," Democratic House leader Hakeem Jeffries wrote on X. "His presence in government should be eradicated like a malignant tumor."

Earlier this year, Miller posted on social media that James Talarico, who had just secured the Democratic nomination to run for Senate in Texas, was "their first transgender Senate candidate".

The Democratic Party offered a terse, obscenity laced reply, telling Miller to shut up.

Now Miller will have to negotiate with a US Senate that includes a newly elected Talarico as one of its rising stars, after an election in which polls found that 58% of voters believe the administration's immigration enforcement actions had "gone too far" and Hispanics decisively turned against Republican candidates.

On Wednesday, in a social media post attempting to explain the Republican midterm defeats, Vice-president JD Vance - who is an early frontrunner for the Republican 2028 presidential nomination - wrote that he was "open to the idea that we should change enforcement- by focusing more on businesses that hire illegal labor, for instance".

That now seems less likely with an immigration hardline taking the White House helm.

Thom Tillis, the North Carolina Republican senator who is retiring at the end of the year, has been particularly vocal in condemning Miller. He has called him "incompetent" and "the architect of some of the dumbest proposals from the Trump White House".

Other Republicans, however, have sung his praises.

"Stephen Miller has been a true conservative warrior since his days as a Senate staffer, a staunch defender of law and order against illegal invasions and leftist lawlessness, and a steadfast fighter for President Trump for over a decade," Utah Senator Mike Lee posted on X after Trump's announcement.

At a time when congressional Democrats are promising to launch new investigations and oversight into the Trump administration, it appears that a "warrior" and a "fighter" is the kind of person the president wants to have running his White House.

Follow the twists and turns of Trump's second term with North America correspondent Anthony Zurcher's US Politics Unspun newsletter. Readers in the UK can sign up here. Those outside the UK can sign up here.

A six-year-old boy who was critically injured in a suspected arson attack at his family home in County Waterford has died.

Elliot English died on Friday at Children's Health Ireland (CHI) hospital in Crumlin in Dublin.

His parents, Kim English and Philip English, and two of his siblings, 12-year-old Callum and nine-year-old Jayden, died in the house fire on Birch Avenue, on the outskirts of Waterford on 13 October.

Another child, who was also critically injured in the attack, remains in hospital.

A multiple murder investigation was launched by Gardaí (Irish police) following the fire.

In a brief statement on Friday, Irish police said: "The thoughts of all members of An Garda Síochána are with the extended English family at this sad time."

A number of people arrested by police in connection with the attack have all been released without charge.

In the days after the attack, hundreds of people attended a prayer vigil.

President Donald Trump has named Stephen Miller, the architect of his hardline immigration policy, as his new chief of staff following historic losses in the US midterm elections.

Miller replaces Susie Wiles, who submitted her resignation after Republicans lost control of both chambers of Congress, delivering a blow to the prospects for Trump's agenda in his final two years in the White House.

Speaking to reporters, Trump said Wiles had "done a very good job", but "we've got to make moves sometimes".

Miller, a Trump loyalist and deputy chief of staff who served as a senior adviser during his first administration, is set to take on the new role on Monday.

One of Trump's closest aides, Miller, 41, stuck by the president following his 2020 election defeat and followed him back into power last year.

Writing on X on Friday, Miller called Trump "the most transformative political leader in American History" who has "single-handedly saved America from those who would destroy it".

He thanked Wiles - who was seen as one of the most powerful figures in the Trump administration and someone particularly close to the US president - for her years of devoted service and for her friendship.

"The mission now is more clear than ever: Fight with all of our soul to support our President and defend this magnificent Republic," Miller said.

Wiles' resignation came days after Democrats won both the US Senate and House of Representatives in the midterm elections - taking control of Congress for the rest of Donald Trump's presidency.

She gave her resignation to Trump on Thursday night, a US official told CBS News, the BBC's US partner. Three sources told CBS her resignation was tied to the midterm losses.

Trump said that Wiles would be moved to the "Trump Political Operation". It was unclear if her deputies would remain at the White House.

Wiles wrote on X that being on Trump's team had been "the honour of a lifetime".

"I'm so proud to have been a part of what we've accomplished together," she said, adding: "While my role may be changing, my commitment to the President and the mission never will," she said.

Asked last month whether Wiles could be replaced soon, Trump said there was "zero chance" and that "Susie is here and she's gonna be here for a long time".

Wiles, 69, recently had cancer but announced in September that she was in remission.

She had planned to stay in her role until the end of the year or early next year, sources familiar with her thinking told CBS. However, the president accelerated her departure, the sources said.

Wiles is not the only Trump administration official to leave following the midterms. Several justice department (DOJ) officials, who carried out some of Trump's top priorities, have also resigned.

Harmeet Dhillon, the chief of the civil rights division - which focused on non-citizen voting and eliminating diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives - stepped down on Thursday. She also put a greater focus on protecting gun owners' rights and adopted legal positions that opposed civil rights protections for transgender people.

John Eisenberg, head of the DOJ's National Security Division - who had also worked in Trump's first administration - stepped down, as did Jason Reding Quiñones, a US attorney in Florida, was at the centre of Trump's ​efforts to use the DOJ to prosecute perceived political foes.

Asked why he elevated Miller to chief of staff, Trump told reporters on Friday: "Stephen's been with me from the beginning. He gets it, very good politically ... and he's a very good manager. He'll do a great job."

Democrats took to social media to criticise Miller's appointment, accusing the president of doubling down despite voters' anger with his party's agenda.

Democratic Congressman Robert Garcia, who will lead the House Oversight Committee when the party takes control of the chamber, said he would continue to investigate Miller and his "misconduct".

"Stephen Miller is the architect of the unconstitutional ICE raids that have terrorized our communities and kidnapped and killed American citizens and immigrant families," he said, referencing US Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Democratic House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said Miller was "a dangerous xenophobe and reckless extremist who has American blood on his hands".

"His presence in government should be eradicated like a malignant tumour," Jeffries said.

Trump administration communications director Steven Cheung praised Miller.

"There is no bigger advocate for the Trump agenda than Stephen, and he will help the Administration deliver on monumental victories for the rest of this historic second term," he said.

Miller comes from an Ashkenazi Jewish family in Santa Monica, California. In high school, he developed a taste for politics and voiced controversial opinions.

He attended Duke University in North Carolina and, in 2009, became an aide to ultra-conservative Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions, the first senator to endorse Trump.

During this time, Miller developed his hardline immigration policies and worked to kill a bipartisan immigration reform bill. He joined Trump's presidential campaign in January 2016 and has been loyal since.

Miller spearheaded Trump's use of executive orders to advance his agenda, staunchly defending the administration's use of executive power.

He championed "zero-tolerance" family separations, drove policies behind travel bans during Trump's first term, advocated for third-country deportations and urged immigration officials to make up to 300 arrests a day.

A staunch supporter of Israel, Miller has also been hawkish about the US and Israel's joint military action in Iran.