mason rist and max dixon were stabbed to death just metres from mason's front door in bristol. as it goes on longer, i know that it's real, and it's my reality. and i know that max is not coming home. we discover how zombie—style knives and machetes can still be bought online — a month after being banned in england and wales. also tonight — bitter cold, barbed wire, and the border wall between iran and turkey — the lengths people go to, to flee afghanistan and the taliban. 4,000 illegal miners are holed up underground in south africa — being denied food and water by the authorities. former tory mp william wragg gives his first broadcast interview after the scandal that

ended his career. and a musical first at wembley arena — mercury prize winners ezra collective become the first jazz band to headline there. and stay with us here on bbc news for more continuing coverage and analysis from our team of correspondents here in the uk and around the world. good evening. four teenagers and a man in his 40s have been convicted of murdering two best friends — in a case of mistaken identity. 15—year—old mason rist and 16—year—old max dixon were attacked with knives and machetes in bristol injanuary, just metres from mason's front door. the jury was told that the friends were wrongly identified as having

thrown bricks at a house earlier that day. max's mother said the trial had been emotionally draining, but they now had some sort of justice for their boys. 0ur correspondent phil mackie was in court. just a typical teenager messing around. he was a great character. he was always full of laughs. max dixon was 16 and mason rist, his friend, was 15. quite a happy child. he just had the gift of the gab. the pair had known each other since nursery school. in january, they went out for a late night pizza just as another group of teenagers were hunting the streets, heavily armed, looking for someone to attack. these boys were cut down in the prime of their lives, and that's a horrible word to use. but they were attacked with swords for no reason whatsoever. as it goes on longer, i know that it's real and it's my reality. and i know that max

is not coming home. so if they said to me tomorrow...sorry... no, you need to go, nikki, and we need to bring mason back, i'd happily go. earlier that night, in a completely separate incident, a woman was hurt when a group of armed youths attacked this house. it was in the hartcliffe area, and a group from there set out to get revenge in neighbouring knowle west, where max and mason lived. they were completely innocent. they were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. police recovered two weapons. they were both nearly a foot and a half long. you're further arrested for another count of murder, 0k, so you don't have to say anything. five people were charged with murder. the only adult was antony snook, who drove the gang to and from knowle west. the others were riley tolliver, who we can identify because he's 18, and three boys aged 15, 16 and 17 who can't be named because of their ages. as the verdicts were read out in court and all five defendants in turn were found guilty of murder, the families of max and mason

were sitting in the public gallery hugging one another, some of them in tears. these animals took away a son, a brother, a nephew, an uncle and a grandchild, and we must now navigate the rest of our lives. there are no words to express how thankful i am to everyone. i will be forever grateful to them. it'sjust i wish we didn't have to be here today, but we've got some sort ofjustice for our boys. so thank you, everybody, thank you. this is another shocking case where children have been killed by other children, over something trivial. and yet again, it's destroyed the lives of those who've been left behind. phil mackie, bbc news, bristol. one month after they were banned in england and wales, zombie—style knives and machetes are still available to buy online. bbc news was able to purchase four knives from online retailers with uk websites.

tonight the prime minister responded to the bbc�*s report and said the availability of knives had to be reduced — and that those carrying them had to face real consequences. 0ur west of england correspondent danjohnson reports. a few days after we placed orders, look what arrived in the post. oh, that's got to be illegal. we were sold these, online, after the law changed. that is sharp as well, that is not a toy. banned weapons... there's a serrated edge on that. ..delivered to the door. we checked knife retailers�* websites... it says, we ship within the united kingdom. ..and found these. and that looks familiar. even the knife used to demonstrate what's restricted is actually the weapon pictured on the home office poster. these four knives came from three british websites. it was a zombie knife, cost £19.99. that was the cost of the life of my son. this grieving father knows

the true cost of a knife. we want to remember malc when we come here. he's always smiling. malcolm was 17 when he was stabbed. you've agreed we can show you what we found. indeed. and this one. that looks exactly, almost exactly like... that is longer. is enough. i'm sorry to show you those. mm. when i see this, it scares me, because lives are being lost daily because of the availability of this. and our investigation�*s drawn reaction from the highest office. i'm worried about young people getting any knives. and i think that we've got to do three things. reduce the availability of knives in the first place. secondly, pull young people out of the system if they're getting into trouble, as some of them are, and to make sure that there are real consequences for those that are carrying knives. this pair of serrated machetes came

from hunting and knives, who told us they were taking banned weapons off their site, and didn't intend any to reach customers. this fantasy sword came from overseas, despite ninefit saying it ships within the uk. the company didn't respond to our questions. this hunting knife was also sent from abroad. the retailer, hunting crossbows, described this as a display knife that can't hurt anyone. be in no doubt, this knife is really sharp and i've spoken to so many bereaved families who know the real deadly impact that these weapons can have. so there are questions for retailers as well as the police and border force. and this is just some of what we found on the internet. there's a bigger challenge on social media, and that's the focus of a government review to try to stop these knives reaching the streets and the hands of teenagers. dan johnson, bbc news. in the us, the political reality of donald trump's re—election as president is becoming clearer as he continues to announce some

controversial choices for his team, in the run—up to taking office in january. he's nominated the prominent vaccine sceptic robert f kenneder to lead the department of health. other key choices are the florida senator marco rubio as secretary of state, who leads on foreign affairs. a fox news host, pete hegseth, is being nominated as defence secretary — he has served in the us army but has never held political office. one of the most divisive choices is florida congressman matt gaetz as attorney general — he's faced an ethics investigation in the house of representatives. there are still key roles to be filled — including for the treasury. 0ur north america editor sarah smith reports. donald trump is rewarding his most loyal acolytes with big jobs. robert kenneder dropped his own bid for the white house to back trump, and now the president—elect wants to put him in charge of america's public health. and he's going to help make

america healthy again. he is a provocative choice because he's a vocal vaccine sceptic who repeats debunked theories about links to autism and questions other accepted scientific findings. he does say he won't stop anyone from getting vaccinated. anybody who wants to take a vaccine, i'm not going to get in their way. if you want a vaccine or if you want to vaccinate your children, those vaccines will be available. please welcome the president of the united states. as donald trump was savouring victory last night, he had a gentle warning for those closest to him. people like you, bobby. don't get too popular, bobby. you know, you've reached about the level. matt gaetz is the most controversial nominee. donald john trump. donald trump wants to make him attorney general because he would agree to use the justice system to persecute trump's opponents. but lawmakers are demanding to see the results of a congressional

investigation into allegations of sex—trafficking before they agree. he is not popular — even with fellow republicans. mr gaetz breaks things to break things, and then once he breaks it, he breaks it even more. and that is somebody who should not be the attorney general of the united states. trump's shock troops are eager to see him pursue his enemies. you tried to destroy trump, you tried to imprison trump, you tried to break trump. he's not breakable. you couldn't destroy him. and now he has turned on you. and he's put a firebrand in charge of mainjustice, the department ofjustice. republicans will control both houses of congress, but that does not guarantee donald trump will get his way. the senate must approve his cabinet choices, and some members have grave reservations. trump is daring them to defy him, determined to prove he wields the power in washington.

donald trump is putting loyal supporters in place because they are true believers who he thinks will implement his agenda in full. he faced a lot of internal opposition in his first administration and doesn't want to deal with that again, but every of these appointees will have to go through confirmation hearings in congress and their lack of experience and in many cases they're very controversial views could make that tricky, so this will become a real test of whether donald trump can either persuade or compel his republican senators to support his republican senators to support his choices, or whether he can find a way to bend the rules and circumvent the usual processes. either way, circumvent the usual processes. eitherway, it's circumvent the usual processes. either way, it's going to be a battle. thank you, sarah smith reporting there. the chancellor rachel reeves has said she's not satisfied with the latest growth figures, which show the economy grew byjust 0.1% in the three months from july to september. that's a sharper slowdown than analysts expected — and some businesses say that uncertainty while they waited

for the budget was at least in part to blame. the government has made economic growth its number one mission. the truth is, our economy has not grown in the way that it should do and in the way that our competitors have these last few years. i'm determined to turn that around. newsnight is coming up on bbc two shortly. here's adam fleming. a journalist from the telegraph newspaper is being investigated for a post on social media that she deleted a year ago. the police say they act without fear or favour. her allies say it's 0rwellian. we'll look at this new chapter in the debate about free speech. and we'll ask a public figure who has joined the "x—odus" — the people leaving elon musk�*s social network. newsnight at 10.30pm on bbc two, bbc news and iplayer. the labour government has promised to "smash the gangs" that bring people over the channel in small boats. illegal migration has proved to be

an intractable problem that has seriously challenged previous governments as well. the latest annual figures from the home office show that it's people from afghanistan who are the largest nationality trying to get to the uk by this route. theirjourney takes them through iran and turkey, then up through mainland europe into germany and france before they head for the uk. 0ur south asia correspondent yogita limaye reports on the factors pushing some to leave their homeland and head west. in afghanistan run by the taliban, a third of the people are struggling to eat. women live under brutal restrictions and those who worked for the former military fear for their safety. it's why afghans are among the biggest groups fleeing their homes, going to the uk and other parts of the world. this former military officer is risking his life to speak to us. he's tried three times to make the perilous

journey out of afghanistan. translation: i'll keep trying to flee, even ifi lose my life. | 0ur circumstances are such that we are dying every moment. we drove through kabul to get to where the officer started his journey. it's from this bus stop in kabul that many of the people we've spoken to have told us that they've taken buses to the western border with iran, where they've met up with people smugglers. and from there on, at each point they're passed from one people smuggler to another as they try to make their way from iran to turkey, and eventually to europe. this is one of the main routes out of the country. afghans waiting to slip into iran on foot. a crossing that's become particularly dangerous. a month ago, iran was accused of indiscriminately shooting afghan migrants. this video of the injured and dead, verified by the bbc. if they make it through iran,

migrants must cross this border wall into turkey. a smuggler puts a ladder against the iranian side, cuts the razor wire to make a path. many break their limbs, making thejump. and this is video from last winter. "run, run," the smuggler shouts. "don't be scared." that people are willing to endure this is testament to how desperate they are to flee. 0n the other side of the wall, these afghans are pleading for help, allegedly beaten by turkish forces. turkey has not responded to the allegations. the video can't be independently verified by the bbc, sent to us by an afghan smuggler in iran — who we found after weeks of digging through their networks. you're endangering the lives of afghans, taking thousands of dollars from them,

engaging in this criminal activity. how do you justify that? translation: we don't force people to take these risks. _ we tell them they could be killed or imprisoned. what are we supposed to do when people tell us their family is going hungry in afghanistan? the uk is one of the main destinations that afghans want to reach, seen to offer more work opportunities than most countries in europe. and by the time afghan migrants get to this final leg, the risk of crossing the channel feels like nothing compared to what they've endured. in liverpool, we met an asylum seeker who arrived in a small boat six months ago. a former government employee, she protested against the taliban. she could be eligible for one of the uk's resettlement schemes, but the safe legal routes have simply been too slow, which means she's had to undertake

a traumaticjourney. translation: | come - from a well-known family. i've never done anything illegal, but i was afraid i would be detained and tortured in afghanistan. a difficult decision to come a world away from everything she knows, because home can't provide the most basic of human needs — safety, food, freedom. yogita is with me. you've reported extensively from afghanistan in recent months and seen the situation with your own eyes. does it explain the risks that people are taking to get out? we have been on the ground in we have been on the -round in the we have been on the ground in the past three years, witnessin- past three years, witnessing crushing restrictions being brought bit by bit against women, girls cannot study past the age of 13, women cannot work in most sectors. the voices of women are not allowed to be heard in public, they have to

be fully covered up from head to toe, the full face covered and with every diktat that is past the supreme leader appears to be getting more extreme and a few days ago there was a public execution which will remind many of the taliban regime in the 1990s and of course there is widespread hunger which has existed in afghanistan for a long time, priorto existed in afghanistan for a long time, prior to the taliban, but we had the latest report from the world food programme which cis malnutrition rates are rising at an alarming level and we have seen that in hospitals, on the ground and falling in front of our eyes. and then people who worked for the former police or military, not necessarily for the former governments but fighting alongside former governments against the taliban are men who are now running the country so there is fear of reprisal and that is like many afghans will feel like it is worth the risk, worth that extraordinary risk to make the journey.- the risk, worth that extraordinary risk to make the journey. risk to make the “ourney. thank you very much. — risk to make the journey. thank you very much. yogita _ risk to make the journey. thank you very much, yogita limaye. - a serving metropolitan police officer who gained access to files relating to the murder

of sarah everard without reason has been sacked. ms everard, who was 33, was kidnapped and killed by a serving officer, wayne couzens, in 2021. pc myles mchugh was one of three officers found to have committed gross misconduct by a disciplinary tribunal. the tv presenter davina mccall has had surgery to remove a benign brain tumour. earlier she posted a video to explain that she's been diagnosed with a rare type of tumour called a colloid cyst. in a post on instagram, her husband said she was exhausted but thanked everyone for all their messages of love and support. it's six months since the former tory mp william wragg was duped into sharing colleagues' phone numbers with someone who used a fake profile on a gay dating site. now, in his first broadcast interview, william wragg says he feels guilt and shame and that the whole experience has left him experiencing panic attacks and even considering ending his life. a warning, this report from our political investigations correspondentjoe pike contains references to suicide.

we've got rishi at the top with that one. we've got theresa here and then we've got boris. william wragg is no longer a politician, but the scars of what happened in that career remain. i was having suicidal thoughts, essentially, because i felt so bad. he says it all started with loneliness, and a message he sent on the gay dating app grindr. he said he recognised me. isaid, well, i hope that's not a problem. i realise that not everybody�*s cup of tea is a conservative member of parliament. but he said "no, no, that's fine." and he seemed quite confident and cocky in a sense, all of which were quite attractive qualities. but the pictures were fake, and so was the name "charlie". you were a member of parliament, using grindr, sending naked pictures of yourself to somebody. was that wise? obviously it wasn't wise. but when you're...

you know...in the moment it wasn't a consideration. they spoke on the phone, but when they planned a date, charlie never appeared. then he started asking william wragg to send him the phone numbers of colleagues. i think it's something like you've got a minute or two minutes or something to send me these numbers. do you think you were being blackmailed? i don't know, but i certainly felt an element of threat. he sent charlie a dozen phone numbers and also agreed to lie to colleagues, saying charlie had worked for him. you drew other people into all of this and potentially made them victims as well. yeah, and that's why i felt guilt. and i think when i found out that that had happened, that's why i felt so, so sorry and, you know, shameful. william wragg, who already struggled with his mental health, stopped taking his antidepressants and started considering how to kill himself. his mum took him to hospital.

six months on, he's looking for work and coming to terms with his mistakes. i'm much better than, you know, than i was at the time. you know, it's just about trying to see life ahead and looking at that wider horizon. this honey trap is still being investigated. police have arrested and bailed a former member of the labour party. but with authorities claiming catfishing — the use of fake dating profiles — is on the rise, politicians and voters are still very much at risk. joe pike, bbc news, greater manchester. and if you've been affected by any of the issues raised injoe pike's report, you can get advice at bbc.co.uk/actionline or hear recorded advice by calling 0800 066 066. up to 4,000 miners operating illegally in south africa are involved in an extraordinary stand—off with police. they're holed up in a disused mine

and are refusing to return to the surface for fear of arrest. so food and water supplies have been cut off to try to force them out. here's nomsa maseko. protests near the mine shaft. relatives angered by government comments that their loved ones would be "smoked out". my children, the reason why they are underground is because of hunger. they are trying to bring food to the table. the police minister visited the scene, but the authorities aren't keen to risk their own safety to get the illegal miners out of the mile—deep shaft. we have taken a decision that no police officer, no soldier, no government official will go down to an abandoned mine. firstly, there are hazardous gases that are flowing there. there's a high risk of loss of life. illegal mining is big business here, run by gangs who are often heavily armed.

here they've taken over an abandoned mine shaft in search of gold deposits, which are often sold on the black market. community workers in the area are critical of the police's approach, saying that even if they are criminals, the miners deserve help. 0ur government has launched a case against israel for not providing food to people. now we are here in south africa, the very same government cannot provide food to the people that are dying in the same land. volunteers will be returning to the shaft in the morning, doing what they can to help while the standoff continues. nomsa maseko, bbc news, stilfontein, south africa. the former heavyweight champion mike tyson, who's now 58, is hours away from his first competitive boxing match in nearly 20 years — when he faces the youtuber turned boxerjake paul.

there's a 30—year age gap between them — and people have been questioning whether the fight should be happening at all, asjo currie reports. a fiery weigh—in ahead of what's set to be a controversial night of boxing — and one many will need convincing is actually sport. unconventional bouts have become part of boxing's appeal to youngerfans, and this fight promises, well, plenty of drama, if not quality. jake paul is a 27—year—old youtuber who took up boxing in 2018. his opponent, mike tyson, was once the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world, who officially retired 19 years ago. he's now stepping back into the ring at the age of 58. i don't care what anybody thinks, myjob is not to prove anybody wrong. myjob is not to change anybody�*s opinion. traditionalists have criticised the bout, but 60,000 tickets have been sold for the fight in texas, and it's also being streamed on netflix. some have asked why tyson — a controversial figure in and out of the ring, with a rape conviction in 1992 —

would even consider taking part. the answer could be the £15 million he's being paid. i don't care about his age. he's, you know, taking this so seriously. and this can cap off his legacy by finishing me. what makes the fight even more galling is it's overshadowing the richest and most competitive fight in female boxing history. the rematch between world champion katie taylor and amanda serrano is having to play second fiddle. without a doubt, it's creating curiosity, argument, debate. boxing snobbery. you say that's what it's created. jake paul is in one stage of his life. mike tyson's been there, done that, worn the t—shirt. like it or not, unorthodox fights are here to stay. it's the new world of boxing that's attracting fresh fans. but it's yet to be seen if tonight is just a gimmick or the true texas showdown promoters are promising. jo currie, bbc news. they were the first jazz act to win the mercury prize —

and tonight ezra collective became the first british jazz band to headline wembley arena. they formed after meeting at a club — set up to teach music to young people for free. 0ur entertainment correspondent colin paterson has been talking to the band. ezra collective at their sound check, hours before becoming the first british jazz act to headline wembley arena. a far cry from where it all began in 2013, with a gig to 30 people. in foyles book shop in london. brothers femi and tj koleoso took us back there. to be here and later tonight we are playing at wembley arena, it's a beautiful moment to be in this space and remember the whole journey. in my head, this is where the story began because this is the first show that i remember thinking, our name is in a pamphlet. who was there that night?

mum, dad. friends, family. not much has changed. i'm expecting to see my mum and dad tonight. mates that i grew up with. the same, just a few added. ezra collective. the band reached a whole new audience when they won last year's mercury prize, presented to them by dj jamz supernova, who has a theory as to why they can now fill arenas. they have changed the face of whatjazz looks like to people who have stereotypes. these are young boys from inner city london. they are a multicultural band. that energy makes it seem a bit less scary and less elite. it's a far cry from the days when the british jazz scene was almost entirely centred around ronnie scott's in london. back at wembley arena, ezra collective were readying themselves for what they hope will be a massive party. i love that it's on a friday night. no one is thinking about work tomorrow. we can really throw down tonight. there is no premier league.

we can just concentrate on tonight. perfect. and future goals? what about next door? ezra collective, wembley stadium. put it this way, it is far beyond our wildest dreams, so why put a cap on what can happen? but for now, i'm just trying to do our best tonight and see where we end up, you know what i mean? colin paterson, bbc news, wembley arena. if you want to continue watching the bbc news at ten, please turn over to bbc one or you can watch on iplayer. next, it's newsnight. a police investigation into a journalist's social media post reignites the great british free speech debate.

the force involved say they act without fear or favour.