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Prince William met Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman after landing in the country on Monday, where he is spending three days at the UK government's request as it seeks to improve ties with the country's de-facto leader.

The trip is set to focus on energy transition and young people - key areas of development in a country undergoing significant change - and presents diplomatic sensitivities given Saudi Arabia's human rights record.

The Prince of Wales joined local youth squad players at a training session and heard about female participation in sport in the Gulf state.

The visit comes during a challenging period for the Royal Family following fresh allegations against Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor in relation to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Mountbatten-Windsor has always denied any wrongdoing.

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Ghislaine Maxwell, the convicted associate of sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, refused to answer questions from the US House Oversight Committee on Monday.

Maxwell appeared virtually for a closed-door deposition from the Texas prison where she is serving a 20-year sentence for sex trafficking.

Republican House Oversight Committee chairman James Comer said that "as expected", Maxwell pleaded the Fifth Amendment, invoking her right to remain silent.

Democratic Representative Melanie Stansbury told reporters after the hearing that Maxwell used the opportunity to "campaign for clemency".

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US news presenter Savannah Guthrie has said her family believes their abducted mother is still alive, as she issued a new appeal to anyone with information.

As a reported ransom deadline for the safe return of Guthrie's mother Nancy passed on Monday, officials said they had still not identified a suspect or person of interest.

The 84-year-old disappeared in the middle of night from her home in Tucson, Arizona, and was last seen on 31 January.

Authorities believe she was taken against her will.

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The world's largest social media companies have been accused of creating "addiction machines" as a landmark trial began in California examining the mental health effects of Instagram and YouTube.

In his opening argument, lawyer Mark Lanier argued that his client, plaintiff "K.G.M.," suffered from mental health issues as a result of her social media addiction.

Lawyers for Meta and YouTube told the jury that K.G.M.'s addiction stemmed from other issues in her life, not their negligence.

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Buckingham Palace says King Charles has made clear his “profound concern” at allegations about the conduct of his brother Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and that he stands ready to support the police if approached.

The British police have said they are assessing suggestions that the former Prince shared confidential information with Jeffrey Epstein, during his time as the UK’s trade envoy. Mr Mountbatten-Windsor has previously apologised for his ties with Epstein but has denied wrongdoing.

Prince William, on.a visit to Saudi Arabia, has also said he is “deeply concerned” by the continuing allegations emerging from the release of the Epstein files.

Reeta Chakrabarti presents BBC News at Ten reporting by Daniela Relph.

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The British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is under intense political pressure, with calls for him to resign, over his decision to appoint Lord Mandelson as the UK’s ambassador to the United States, despite his links to the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

The leader of Sir Keir’s Labour Party in Scotland, Anas Sarwar, has become the Prime Minister's most senior colleague to say he must step down for the sake of his party and the country.

Sir Keir nominated Lord Mandelson for the UK’s top diplomatic post in December 2024, despite knowing he had continued his relationship with Epstein after his conviction and jail sentence. Sir Keir was forced to dismiss Lord Mandelson nine months later, when email exchanges between the two men were released.

The scandal developed into a crisis threatening Sir Keir’s leadership, with the recent release of documents by the US Justice Department which appear to show that Peter Mandelson leaked market-sensitive information to Epstein, when he was a government minister.

Sir Keir’s chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney, has resigned, taking responsibility for advising the Prime Minister to appoint Lord Mandelson as ambassador. Sir Keir’s head of communications has also left his job.

For now the Prime Minister has won the support of some of his members of parliament, but is facing open speculation that his days in office may be numbered.

Reeta Chakrabarti presents BBC News at Ten reporting by political editor Chris Mason.

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Keir Starmer has addressed his MPs and seems to have rallied some support after Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar called for him to quit.

In a press conference in Glasgow, Sarwar emphasised his concerns for Scotland ahead of the May elections, and told reporters “the leadership in Downing Street has to change".

The move prompted statements supporting the prime minister from cabinet ministers and other key labour figures including potential rivals Angela Rayner and Wes Streeting.

The PM has been facing mounting pressure in recent days with two of his top aides Tim Allen and Morgan McSweeney resigning following the aftermath of revelations about the appointment of former US ambassador Peter Mandelson.

James and Alex are in for Adam to talk through what it all mean.

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00:00 Anas Sarwar calls for Starmer to resign

06:06 What did Starmer say to his MPs

10:41 Implications for the Scottish elections

13:56 Which MPs have backed Starmer?

19:55 Will the Welsh Labour leader follow Sarwar?

24:40 Are UK PMs doomed to resign?

26:22 What's next for Starmer?

China has sentenced the Hong Kong media tycoon and political activist Jimmy Lai to 20 years in prison.

His supporters have called it a death sentence - so are hopes for Hong Kong's pro-democracy movement totally dashed?

The UK has condemned China's prosecution of Mr Lai — who is a British citizen — as politically motivated, and the US has called his sentence "unjust and tragic".

Could Prime Minister Keir Starmer or President Donald Trump intervene on his behalf?

The Global News Podcast's Celia Hatton, a long-time China correspondent, tells us how Beijing has sought to silence critics like Jimmy Lai, and the diplomatic consequences.

New episodes of the Global News Podcast are published twice a day. You can listen here: https://link.mgln.ai/GNP-YT

And you can find more of our YouTube episodes here: https://bbc.in/GlobalNewsPodcast

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King Charles has made his first intervention in the Epstein scandal, saying he is ready to support the police as they consider allegations against Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor.

"The King has made clear, in words and through unprecedented actions, his profound concern at allegations which continue to come to light in respect of Mr Mountbatten-Windsor's conduct," a Buckingham Palace spokesman said.

"While the specific claims in question are for Mr Mountbatten-Windsor to address, if we are approached by Thames Valley Police we stand ready to support them as you would expect," he said.

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AI Decoded focusses on one of the most urgent, tangible uses of artificial intelligence: health care — we speak to Dr Regina Barzilay, an MIT professor who is building machine-learning AI models to predict disease.

She herself was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2014, and has used that experience and knowledge to target her research towards prevention — the AI model she and her team built, named MIRAI, is now able to detect a patient’s risk of developing breast cancer within five years.

Are we on the brink of a revolution in treating cancer for everyone? Find out on AI Decoded...

Joining presenter Christian Fraser is AI Decoded co-host Stephanie Hare and the BBC's AI correspondent Marc Cieslak

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