“Spending $185,000 (£143,000) on a private jet across the Atlantic to sign one single piece of paper in Romania,” Andrew Tate posted to his 10.8 million followers on X. “Innocent men don’t run. They clear their name in court.”

The BBC understands the brothers will appear in court for a hearing on Monday. They strongly deny the allegations against them.

The brothers, who are dual US-UK citizens, arrived in the US at the end of February after Romanian prosecutors lifted a two-year travel ban.

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Andrew Tate, 38, is a self-proclaimed “misogynist” who claims to have made millions from social media despite being previously banned from platforms for his views.

He and his brother Tristan, 36, are accused of human trafficking and forming an organised group to sexually exploit women in Romania. Andrew Tate is also accused of rape.

The brothers are also the subjects of a separate investigation in the UK into allegations of rape and human trafficking.

In the US they face a civil case from a woman who alleges the brothers coerced her into sex work, and then defamed her after she gave evidence to Romanian authorities.

Romanian prosecutors stressed the case against the brothers had not been dropped and that they remain “under judicial control” – meaning they have to regularly report to authorities and are expected to return to Romania.

However, their exit sparked concerns that prosecutors felt political pressure from US President Donald Trump’s administration. The US president said he knew nothing about the Tate brothers being released from Romania.

The Tates have a large US following and are popular figures among some elements of the American right.

Earlier in February, some of Andrew Tate’s alleged victims said they were “extremely concerned” by reports that US officials had asked for his travel restrictions to be relaxed.

Andrew Tate was put under house arrest in Romania in August 2024 when prosecutors launched a second criminal investigation against himself and his brother Tristan, as well as four other suspects. They all deny wrongdoing.

Separately, the brothers are wanted in the UK to face allegations of sexual assault, which they also deny.

The brothers have also been accused of tax evasion in the UK. A British court ruled in December 2024 that police could seize more than £2m ($2.4m) from them for failing to pay tax on £21m in revenue from their online businesses.

Andrew Tate said the ruling was “not justice” and called it a “co-ordinated attack”.

British-American influencer Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan said on Friday they have left the US and are flying back to Romania, where they face human trafficking and other charges.

“Spending $185,000 (£143,000) on a private jet across the Atlantic to sign one single piece of paper in Romania,” Andrew Tate posted to his 10.8 million followers on X. “Innocent men don’t run. They clear their name in court.”

The BBC understands the brothers will appear in court for a hearing on Monday. They strongly deny the allegations against them.

The brothers, who are dual US-UK citizens, arrived in the US at the end of February after Romanian prosecutors lifted a two-year travel ban.

Andrew Tate, 38, is a self-proclaimed “misogynist” who claims to have made millions from social media despite being previously banned from platforms for his views.

He and his brother Tristan, 36, are accused of human trafficking and forming an organised group to sexually exploit women in Romania. Andrew Tate is also accused of rape.

The brothers are also the subjects of a separate investigation in the UK into allegations of rape and human trafficking.

In the US they face a civil case from a woman who alleges the brothers coerced her into sex work, and then defamed her after she gave evidence to Romanian authorities.

Romanian prosecutors stressed the case against the brothers had not been dropped and that they remain “under judicial control” – meaning they have to regularly report to authorities and are expected to return to Romania.

However, their exit sparked concerns that prosecutors felt political pressure from US President Donald Trump’s administration. The US president said he knew nothing about the Tate brothers being released from Romania.

The Tates have a large US following and are popular figures among some elements of the American right.

Earlier in February, some of Andrew Tate’s alleged victims said they were “extremely concerned” by reports that US officials had asked for his travel restrictions to be relaxed.

Andrew Tate was put under house arrest in Romania in August 2024 when prosecutors launched a second criminal investigation against himself and his brother Tristan, as well as four other suspects. They all deny wrongdoing.

Separately, the brothers are wanted in the UK to face allegations of sexual assault, which they also deny.

The brothers have also been accused of tax evasion in the UK. A British court ruled in December 2024 that police could seize more than £2m ($2.4m) from them for failing to pay tax on £21m in revenue from their online businesses.

Andrew Tate said the ruling was “not justice” and called it a “co-ordinated attack”.

Ásthildur Lóa Thórsdóttir said in a media interview she had first started a relationship when the boy was 15 years old, and she was a 22-year-old counsellor at a religious group which he attended.

She then gave birth to his child when he was 16 years old and she was 23.

“It’s been 36 years, a lot of things change in that time and I would definitely have dealt with these issues differently today,” the 58-year-old told Icelandic media.

Iceland’s prime minister, Kristrún Frostadóttir, told the press this was “a serious matter”, although she said she knew little more than “the average person”.

“This is a very personal matter [and] out of respect for the person concerned, I will not comment on the substance,” she said.

According to Visir newspaper, Frostadóttir said she had only received confirmation of the story on Thursday night.

She immediately summoned the children’s minister to her office, where she resigned.

Thórsdóttir revealed in an interview with them that she had met the father, who RUV name as Eirík Ásmundsson, while she was working at the religious group Trú og líf (Religion and Life), which he had reportedly joined because of a difficult home life.

He was 15 years old and she was 22 at the time of their meeting. Thórsdóttir gave birth to their son when they were both a year older.

RUV report that the relationship was secret, but that Ásmundsson was present at his child’s birth and spent the first year with him.

However, the news agency writes this changed when Thórsdóttir met her current husband.

They report they have seen documents Ásmundsson submitted to Iceland’s justice ministry requesting access to his son, but that Thórsdóttir denied it, while also requesting – and receiving – child support payments from him over the following 18 years.

A relative of Ásmundsson tried twice to contact the Icelandic prime minister about the relationship last week.

Frostadóttir said last night that when the woman revealed it involved a government minister she asked for more information, which led to the revelation and the resignation.

In her TV interview with RUV last night, Thórsdóttir said she was upset that the woman had contacted the prime minister.

“I understand… what it looks like,” she said, adding that it is “very difficult to get the right story across in the news today”.

While the age of consent in Iceland is 15, it is illegal to have sex with a person under the age of 18 if you are their teacher or mentor, if they are financially dependent on you, or work for you. The maximum sentence for this crime is three years in jail.

Despite resigning from her ministerial job, Thórsdottir said she had no plans to leave parliament.

Bondi said the damage to Tesla cars, dealerships and charging stations was “domestic terrorism”.

Arrests and charges against the three suspects were previously announced by prosecutors.

Tesla dealerships across the country have been targeted in a wave of protests, but also vandalism and arson attacks, in response to Musk’s influence over the Trump administration.

There is no specific US law against domestic terrorism, but prosecutors can request longer prison sentences if convicted criminals have a terrorism-related motive.

Trump and Musk have called the attacks domestic terrorism, too. Supporters of the administration have also reportedly been “swatted” – subjected to armed police raids after hoax emergency calls.

A statement from the Department of Justice on Thursday did not name the suspects in the Tesla vandalism. However, the details of the three cases outlined in the news release match arrests and charges previously announced by prosecutors.

The suspects include Lucy Nelson, 42, who was charged with possession of a destructive device and malicious destruction of property after being spotted near the site of a Tesla dealership in Colorado.

The dealership had been targeted with a Molotov cocktail attack and graffiti which caused damage of between $5,000 and $20,000, according to a criminal complaint. That suspect has pleaded not guilty.

Adam Matthew Lansky, 41, was charged with possession of a destructive device after Molotov cocktails were thrown at a Tesla dealership in Salem, Oregon. He has yet to enter a plea and will face a preliminary hearing in April.

The third, 24-year-old Daniel Clarke-Pounder, was charged with arson after allegedly throwing Molotov cocktails at Tesla charging stations in North Charleston, South Carolina, and spray-painting the car park.

In a statement, Bondi said: “The days of committing crimes without consequence have ended.

“Let this be a warning: if you join this wave of domestic terrorism against Tesla properties, the Department of Justice will put you behind bars.”

The attorney general said the three suspects could face between five and 20 years in prison if convicted.

A federal jury in New York found Rafat Amirov and Polad Omarov guilty of plotting to assassinate reporter Masih Alinejad in July 2022. They face decades in prison.

Prosecutors said Iran’s government funded the plot and targeted Ms Alinejad over her campaigns against the mandatory wearing of headscarves for Iranian women.

Iran’s government, which has been accused in several plots targeting Ms Alinejad, has called such allegations “ridiculous and baseless”.

The two men, who prosecutors said were Russian mobsters, were found guilty on charges that included murder for hire, firearms possession and conspiracy to commit money laundering.

The Manhattan jury returned their verdict after deliberating for just over three hours following a two-week trial.

Prosecutors said Iran attempted several times over the years to silence and threaten Ms Alinejad, including a failed kidnap plot that led to the arrest of four Iranian intelligence officials in 2021.

When those efforts failed, they put a $500,000 (£385,793) bounty out for her killing, the US government said.

After the verdict, Ms Alinejad, who worked for Voice of America after leaving Iran in 2009, said she was “bombarded with emotions”.

“I have cried, I have laughed, I have even danced. Because today is not just about my survival; it is about the defeat and humiliation of a regime that believes it can silence its critics with bullets,” said Ms Alinejad, who was not in court, in a statement.

“They failed. I am still here. And I will keep fighting until every criminal in that regime faces their reckoning.”

Mike Jeffries, who was charged with sex trafficking in October, is facing multiple civil lawsuits alleging he assaulted men under the guise of modelling opportunities with the fashion brand.

The latest claims stretch back to the 1990s, when Mr Jeffries first started working at A&F and the alleged victims now include company employees as well as former models, the lawyers said.

Mr Jeffries has denied all the allegations previously made against him.

A&F is also being sued for negligence with the lawsuits claiming that it knowingly facilitated the “heinous sexual crimes” of Mr Jeffries and his British life partner, Matthew Smith.

The company – which also owns the Hollister brand – did not respond to requests for comment but has previously said it was “appalled and disgusted” by Mr Jeffries’ alleged behaviour.

In the latest allegations, some men say they were already A&F employees when they were sexually assaulted,raising questions about what steps the company took to protect staff and hold Mr Jeffries accountable while he was chief executive and chairman between 1992 and 2014.

Now 80, Mr Jeffries is under house arrest after pleading not guilty to charges of running an international sex trafficking and prostitution business along with his partner Mr Smith, 61, and their middleman, James Jacobson, 72.

Their arrests followed a BBC podcast and documentary in 2023 that revealed they were behind a highly organised operation scouting young men for sex across the US, Europe and North Africa. They face a maximum of life in prison if convicted.

Brad Edwards, a civil trial lawyer, has told the BBC he is now representing 26 alleged victims in a lawsuit seeking class action status – where one or more people sue on behalf of a wider group.

“There is strength in numbers, so more men came forward after the arrests,” Mr Edwards said, adding that many were co-operating with the authorities, and claiming it is likely more than 100 men could be victims overall.

Attorney Jared Scotto has told the BBC heis also representing more than a dozen men planning to take legal action, including some who say they were A&F employees. He said the claims date back to the autumn of 1992, the year that Mike Jeffries joined the company.

“A lot of men are coming forward to ask questions and better understand what happened to them,” said Mr Scotto. “Now they know it’s not just them affected; it was part of a larger nefarious scheme.”

Separate to the group civil action, two lawsuits have recently been filed in New York by men alleging they were raped by Mr Jeffries after being falsely promised modelling opportunities.

The first of these lawsuits alleges two men, Brandon Steele and Joseph Sterling, were assaulted on multiple occasions after being pressured to take illegal narcotics and forced to endure penis injections. These happened at “Abercrombie-themed” events where they were given A&F clothing to wear, the lawsuit says.

Both men, who were in their late teens and 20s at the time, say they were initially approached by an A&F employee or representative about possible modelling work in 2010 and 2011, according to the court papers and their attorney.

They each then met James Jacobson, who also sexually abused them, they add.

“Coercive sex is not consensual sex,” said their attorney Robert Georges, who told the BBC that Mr Sterling had been taken to France, Italy, St Barts and onboard an ocean liner sailing from Hong Kong to Australia.

“The power imbalance was extreme, and Mr Jeffries and Mr Smith used it shamelessly while Abercrombie & Fitch ignored the obvious for the sake of corporate profits.”

In the second lawsuit, two former models say they were assaulted by Mr Jeffries during a casting call at the Setai Hotel in Miami in 2011, while auditioning to be pictured on A&F’s bags.

One of the models alleges that Mr Jeffries sexually assaulted him after taking his pictures, telling him that “Abercrombie models get special treatment”.

The other, who was represented by Wilhelmina Models, a top modelling agency, claims Mr Jeffries’ assaulted him after he and his partner Matthew Smith “relentlessly” questioned him about his sexuality and expressed an interest in straight men.

Three weeks later, the men say they were contacted by James Jacobson with an offer to fly to New York to visit Mr Jeffries’ home in the Hamptons to finalise the A&F casting.

According to their lawsuit, the men allege Mr Jeffries subsequently raped them.

One says this occurred after Mr Jeffries asked if he would have sex with a man in exchange for pay, gifts, or other favours.

“No, I’m straight and have a girlfriend,” he said, according to his lawsuit. He says he was then dismissed but Mr Jeffries later accosted him in a bathroom.

In his lawsuit, he says he then grappled with Mr Jeffries and yelled at him to stop. He says when he finally did, Mr Jeffries asked: “Do you want this campaign or not?”

The mansays he rejected the offer of an A&F campaign deal and $6,000 (£4,600) to have sex with him and Mr Smith. He then tried to run out of the room, but Mr Jeffries grabbed him by the waist and raped him, the lawsuit claims.

A handler for Mr Jeffries then refused to arrange for him to return to New York without signing a non-disclosure agreement until he threatened to call the police, it adds.

Eric M Baum and Adriana Alcalde, attorneys for the two men, said it was often difficult for male survivors of sexual abuse, such as their clients, to come forward.

“Survivors may struggle for years to process what happened to them. Seeing others share their stories can reduce feelings of shame and embarrassment, serving as a catalyst for seeking justice,” they said.

US prosecutors have said that there are currently 15 victims in the criminal case against Mr Jeffries, but the BBC understands that they are continuing to interview potential witnesses, so this number may grow.

Earlier this month, a court ordered that A&F must pay Mr Jeffries’ legal fees – a bill likely to run into millions – in the criminal case as well as in all the civil lawsuits.

Mr Jeffries, Mr Smith and Mr Jacobson did not respond to the BBC’s latest requests for comment.

Mr Jacobson – the middleman – has pleaded not guilty to the criminal charges and has previously said in a statement through his lawyer that he took offence at the suggestion of “any coercive, deceptive or forceful behaviour on my part” and had “no knowledge of any such conduct by others”.

Mr Jeffries and Mr Smith have also pleaded not guilty to the criminal charges and, in response to the civil case, have previously said they “vehemently deny” the allegations.

A&F also did not respond to requests for comment, though it has previously said that it had no knowledge of alleged sexual misconduct or sex trafficking and “up until the moment that the BBC’s reporting was released in October 2023, there was nothing public about the allegations against Jeffries”.

It said that new leadership had since transformed the company, and it has “zero tolerance for abuse, harassment or discrimination of any kind”.

Following the BBC’s reporting, the retailer opened an independent investigation and suspended $1m annual retirement payments to Mr Jeffries, which he was receiving on top of his pension.

Officers from Cambridgeshire Police were carrying out patrols in Eagle Street, Cambridge, when they stopped a car just before 03:00 GMT over concerns about drug dealing.

“Two men got out of the car and one of them assaulted one of the officers with a knife,” a spokesperson for the force said.

He was taken to Addenbrooke’s Hospital but his injury is not believed to be life-threatening, they added.

“One man has been arrested and is currently on his way to custody,” the spokesperson said.

“A cordon is in place at the scene, the road is currently closed and an investigation is ongoing.”

An appeal has been launched for information

The men were part of a gang of bandits who shot the victims, including women and children, in Dehuli village in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh.

The special court said on Tuesday that the killings fell into the “rarest of the rare” category, which justifies capital punishment in India.

The men, who insist they are innocent, can appeal against the sentence in a higher court.

All the victims were from the Dalit community, which sits at the bottom of India’s rigid caste hierarchy.

Relatives of the victims have welcomed the sentence but say the decision should have come earlier.

“Justice came very late to us. The accused have lived their lives,” said Sanjay Chaudhry, whose cousin was killed in the firing.

Thirteen of the 17 men accused in the case have died in the 44 years since the crime was committed. Apart from the three men who have been sentenced to death, there is one more accused, who is absconding.

The crime took place on 18 November 1981, when 17 men – most of them from the upper caste – wearing police uniforms stormed Dehuli and started shooting at villagers.

According to the police complaint registered at the time, the violence followed the murder of a Dalit member of the robbers’ gang by his upper-caste colleagues. The gang members then attacked the village because they suspected that some Dalit villagers were providing information to the police in the murder case.

The survivors of the massacre have vivid memories of the day.

“I was doing household chores when suddenly the firing started,” says Rakesh Kumar, a witness who was a teenager at the time.

“I was hiding behind a stack of paddy and when I came out, I saw that many people, including my mother, were shot,” he said.

Mr Kumar’s mother Chameli Devi, now 80, was hit by a bullet in her leg while running from the gunfire.

“They did not spare anyone, including women or children,” she said. “Whoever they found was killed.”

The firing lasted for more than four hours and the attackers fled the scene before the police arrived, according to media reports.

The crime led to an exodus of Dalits from Dehuli, and the local administration sent police personnel to the village, where they stayed for months in a bid to reassure people. It also triggered a political uproar, and then prime minister Indira Gandhi had visited Dehuli to meet the victims.

In 1984, the case was transferred from a district court to the Allahabad Sessions Court on the orders of the state’s high court. The trial continued there on and off until 2024, when the case was shifted to the special court in Mainpuri which found the men guilty.

It’s not unusual for courts in India to take decades to finish hearing a case and deliver a verdict, especially when the victims are from disadvantaged communities. In 2023, a 90-year-old man was sentenced for life in prison for a caste crime that also took place in 1981.

All of them were dual citizens and their identities have been withheld, Canada’s foreign minister Mélanie Joly said.

A spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in Canada reportedly urged Ottawa to “stop making irresponsible remarks”, as pundits feared a further downturn in relations between the countries after years of strain.

China’s foreign ministry said on Thursday that it had acted “in accordance with the law”, while the embassy said there was “solid and sufficient” evidence for their crimes.

Beijing had “fully guaranteed the rights and interests of the Canadian nationals concerned”, the embassy said, urging Canada to respect “China’s judicial sovereignty”.

China does not recognise dual citizenship and takes a tough stance on drug crimes. However, it’s rare for the death penalty to be carried out on foreigners.

Joly said she had been following the cases “very closely” for months and had tried with other officials, including former prime minister Justin Trudeau, to stop the executions.

In a statement to Canadian media, Global Affairs Canada spokesperson Charlotte MacLeod said Canada had “repeatedly called for clemency for these individuals at the senior-most levels and remains steadfast in its opposition to the use of the death penalty in all cases, everywhere”.

China imposes the death penalty on serious crimes including those related to drugs, corruption and espionage. While the number of executions are kept secret, human rights groups believe China has one of the highest execution rates in the world.

“These shocking and inhumane executions of Canadian citizens by Chinese authorities should be a wake-up call for Canada,” said Ketty Nivyabandi from Amnesty International Canada. “We are devastated for the families of the victims, and we hold them in our hearts as they try to process the unimaginable.”

“Our thoughts also go to the loved ones of Canadian citizens whom China is holding on death row or whose whereabouts in the Chinese prison system are unknown.”

In 2019, Canadian national Robert Lloyd Schellenberg was sentenced to death in China for drug smuggling, in a high-profile case condemned by the Canadian government. He was not among the Canadians that were executed.

“We’ll continue to not only strongly condemn but also ask for leniency for other Canadians that are facing similar situations,” Joly said on Wednesday.

Relations between Canada and China have been icy since 2018 after Canada detained a Chinese telecom executive, Meng Wanzhou, on a US extradition request. China arrested two Canadians shortly afterwards, both of whom have now been released.

In 2023, Canadian media released reports, many based on leaked intelligence, about detailed claims of Chinese meddling in the country’s federal elections. China denied the reports, calling them “baseless and defamatory”.

More recently, China imposed retaliatory tariffs on some Canadian farm and food imports after Ottawa levied Chinese electric vehicles, steel and aluminium.

The remains of Morgan Harris and Marcedes Myran were recovered at the Prairie Green Landfill, north of the city of Winnipeg, said officials. Authorities had been searching for the bodies of Ms Harris and Ms Myran, both of Long Plain First Nation.

The two victims were among four indigenous women killed in 2022 by convicted murderer Jeremy Skibicki.

The search of the Prairie Green Landfill began late last year following a lengthy pressure campaign by indigenous leaders.

Ms Myran’s remains were officially identified by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) in Manitoba on Monday, while the remains of Ms Harris were identified earlier this month.

In a news release, the Manitoba government said Ms Myran’s family has been notified of the discovery and has asked for privacy.

Cambria Harris, Morgan Harris’s daughter, said in a Facebook post earlier this month that the discovery of her mother’s remains was a “very bittersweet moment”.

“Please keep our families in your hearts tonight and every day going forward as we trust this process,” she said.

Police and province initially declined to search the landfill for the remains of the women, and a federal government study concluded that a search could take three years and cost up to C$184m (£100m; $128m), with workers exposed to hazardous chemicals.

Following pressure from the families and a change in government, Manitoba’s new premier, Wab Kinew, eventually pledged C$20m for the search. The funds were matched by the federal government.

The search officially began in December. In late February, search crews recovered human remains, later identified as that of Ms Harris and Ms Myran.

The Manitoba Progressive Conservatives, who had rejected a landfill search when they formed government, issued a formal apology in the legislature to the families this month.

“Our government erred. It’s as simple as that,” said interim PC Leader Wayne Ewasko.

Premier Kinew has said that “many Canadians always understood that this was the right thing to do to search the landfill”.

“But now, we can also say with confidence, that this was also the realistic and reasonable thing to do,” he added.

Skibicki was convicted last July of the murders of Ms Harris,39, and Ms Myran,26, as well as of killing a third woman, Rebecca Contois, 24, of O-Chi-Chak-Ko-Sipi First Nation. A fourth victim is still unidentified, and has been given the name Buffalo Woman.

Their murders went undetected for months until a man looking for scrap metal in a bin outside Skibicki’s apartment found partial human remains, identified as belonging to Ms Contois.

Canada has long faced a crisis of missing and murdered indigenous women and girls. According to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, indigenous women make up 10% of the population of missing women in Canada and 16% of female homicides. Indigenous women make up about 4% of the female population in Canada.

Toyah Cordingley was stabbed at least 26 times while out walking her dog in October 2018.

The 24-year-old’s body was discovered by her father, half-buried in sand dunes on Wangetti beach between the popular tourist hotspots of Cairns and Port Douglas.

Rajwinder Singh, 40, who travelled to India the day after Ms Cordingley’s body was found, was charged with murder. He was arrested and then extradited to Australia in 2023.

But jurors at Cairns Supreme Court said they were deadlocked, and unable to reach a unanimous decision on his guilt after two-and-half days of deliberations. The judge thanked the jury for their “diligence”.

Under Queensland law, jury verdicts in murder cases must be unanimous. So Mr Singh will face another trial.

Originally from Buttar Kalan in the Indian state of Punjab, Mr Singh had been living in Innisfail at the time of the killing, a town about two hours south from the crime scene.

Prosecutors said they did not have a motive for the killing of Ms Cordingley – a health store worker and animal shelter volunteer – and there was no evidence of a sexual assault.

The trial at Cairns Supreme court heard that DNA highly likely to be Mr Singh’s was discovered on a stick in the victim’s grave.

Data from mobile phone towers also suggested Ms Cordingley’s phone had moved in a similar pattern to Mr Singh’s blue Alfa Romeo car on the day the victim went missing.

The prosecution also suggested the hurried way Mr Singh left Australia without saying goodbye to his family or colleagues pointed to his guilt.

Mr Singh had denied murder – and had told an undercover police officer he had seen the killing, then left the country, leaving behind his wife and children because he feared for his own life.

His defence lawyer said he was “a coward” but not a killer, and accused police of a “flawed” investigation that did not look sufficiently at other possible suspects.

They said DNA found at the scene, including on the victim’s discarded selfie stick, did not match Mr Singh’s profile.

“There is an unknown person’s DNA at that grave site,” defence barrister Angus Edwards told the jury.