| | | | | | | It's been a busy start to the year for news and we've got an update on the astonishing escape of 379 people from a burning airliner in Japan. We hear how Ukrainians greeted 2024, after a second Christmas marred by war, and explain what's likely to emerge when court filings relating to late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein are unsealed. Scroll down to read how a photographer is using his work to piece together memories, following a dementia diagnosis. |
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| | | | | | Questions Answered | | The unsealing of the Epstein filings explained |  | | Disgraced millionaire Jeffrey Epstein mixed with high-profile figures from the worlds of politics, business and royalty. Credit: Reuters |
| | A long list of people associated with the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein is expected to be made public in the coming days. The disclosures may throw new light on the sex trafficking network directed by Epstein, who died in 2019, and his associate Ghislaine Maxwell. | | | | Why are these names being made public? | | The identities are being revealed under a settled lawsuit against Maxwell, the daughter of a British media tycoon. She is serving a 20-year prison term for the crimes she committed with Epstein. The names were kept secret under a court-ordered seal. But last month a judge in New York lifted the order. | | What did the judge say about the names? | | Judge Loretta Preska noted that many of the individuals named in the lawsuit had already been publicly identified by the media or in Maxwell's criminal trial. She added many others "did not raise an objection" to the release of the documents. Some of the names on the list will remain sealed, including those belonging to child victims. | | Whose names may be on the list? | | A mixture of people accused of wrongdoing, people making these accusations, and others who were potential witnesses to crimes. There could be employees of Epstein, or people who visited his home or went on his private plane. Prince Andrew is expected to be on the list. The court filings include 40 documents of evidence from a woman who has made accusations against the prince. Buckingham Palace has previously said the allegations are "categorically untrue". | | | | • | Who was Jeffrey Epstein? Read our profile of the financier charged with sex trafficking, who died in a prison cell while awaiting trial. | | • | Secret lives: Watch how the trial of Ghislaine Maxwell offered a glimpse into the lavish lifestyle she shared with Jeffrey Epstein. |
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FROM THE SCENE |  Ukraine | | How war-weary Ukrainians began 2024 |  | | Several areas of Kyiv have been targeted in recent days, as both sides launched major aerial assaults. Credit: Getty Images | | Ukrainians have seen in a second new year under some of the heaviest aerial bombardment since Russia’s full-scale invasion. Some shared their accounts of a grim start to 2024. |  | | Olga Malchevska, BBC News |
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| "There is another air raid siren right now," said Ukrainian international politics analyst Hanna Shelest, in a text message sent as she ran to a basement car park in the southern city of Odesa for shelter, with a glass of champagne in her hand. It was 01:00 on New Year's Day and it was the second time since clocks had struck midnight that Odessa residents had been forced to flee what she called "Russian fireworks". She wrote: "The Shahed drones are coming. The first time we came down here at midnight, and now here it is again."
The threat for people living under Russian occupation in Crimea was very different. Although Ukraine has targeted Russia's navy at ports, there is little risk for most of the peninsula's residents. One resident sent news of their celebrations via an encrypted messenger app. A picture showed a Christmas tree and one of the baubles displaying a yellow trident, Ukraine's national symbol. A tree decorated in the blue and yellow colours of Ukraine could be deemed "extremist" by occupation authorities if it were discovered, the resident said. |
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| | The big picture | | Making - and rebuilding - memories |  | | Jason Scott Tilley photographed Elton John and other celebrities. Credit: Getty Images |
| | At Christmas in 2020, photographer Jason Scott Tilley suffered a series of mini strokes, which had an impact on his short-term memory. But using his images as prompts, the 55-year-old can vividly recall details of covering local and international news stories, as well as capturing celebrities and trips to India exploring his Anglo-Indian heritage. | | | | |
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| | | For your downtime | | Killing the travel selfie | | The movement to end inconsiderate tourist behaviour at beauty spots. | | |
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| | And finally... in Nigeria | | Imagine having to sit an exam using a computer, when you’ve never before typed on a keyboard. That was exactly the situation facing some youngsters taking their university admission test in Nigeria, where only about 45% of people aged 15 to 35 are thought to have word-processing skills. So, a group in the south-eastern town of Ngwo decided to take action to improve youngsters’ chances, as Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani writes, in our Letter from Africa series. |
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