Thousands of hectares of fertile land, including olive trees that have survived for millennia, have been destroyed in the country’s agricultural heartland

The house is gone but the land is still at the forefront of his mind. “We were supposed to harvest the ashta now. They’re hanging on the trees just waiting for us,” says Munif Zein, sitting on the terrace of a relative’s house in Hammana, in the Lebanese mountains. The ashta, or custard apples, he is talking about – light green with creamy flesh – grow in his fields in Mansouri, a village on Lebanon’s southern coast.

His family had to leave Mansouri abruptly when the Israeli army started intense bombing on 23 September .

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Even those unfamiliar with 90s drum’n’bass will feel invited in and educated by an impeccably crafted account of this charismatic and vibrant pioneer

Deep diving, broad ranging and impeccably crafted, this film about the late Stevie Hyper D, an MC from west London whose music and performances in the 1990s helped to create and shape drum’n’bass, is simply terrific. Not least because it manages to introduce the genre in such a way that even viewers entirely unfamiliar with the junglist sound will feel invited in, educated and ultimately won over to its mesmeric power, especially as practised by the charismatic subject himself.

Carved from a mountain of footage and audio recorded on VHS, cassettes, early digital formats and the like (supplemented by recently shot interviews with friends and family), director Jamie Ross-Hulme scrolls through the brief timeline of Stevie’s life. Literally, in fact given the graphics look much like the timelines on editing software across which the camera pans back and forth as the narrative jumps around to key moments in his life, including a triumphant New Year’s Eve performance in Ilford, Essex just before his death in 1998. That emphasis on the means of production fits with the way the documentary lays out how integral making, collaboration, the nature of sound systems and so on were to the rise of Stevie’s sound. Onscreen text defining terms is also especially welcome for newbies who might not know exactly what the difference and/or relationship is between jungle and drum’n’bass.

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Every Guy Fawkes Night excited man-children light up much of Britain with their Intergalactic Megaboxes. And we just trust them not to make a hash of it

Near my house, there are some incredible firework enthusiasts. In November 2020, when I’d just moved in, I thought it was an optical illusion created by lockdown; there were no municipal displays, no bonfires. Obviously a few catherine wheels coming out of a garden was going to look spectacular. OK, it looked more like a thousand catherine wheels, then 15 minutes straight of sky-filling light cascades, like beautiful waterfalls, that have technical firework names such as Whistling Palms, but that couldn’t be right: how much would that cost? Even if everyone on the block chipped in, they couldn’t have had a bigger budget than the London mayor Sadiq Khan.

In 2021, civic life had almost returned to normal, firework-wise, and amateur-hour across the road still looked pretty professional. That year, I ran over the road to say thanks. And the year after, feeling like a freeloader, I gave them £20. Both times they looked puzzled, like, “What’s the big deal? We are merely lighting up our neighbourhood like the Commonwealth, which is what any normal person would do.”

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Britain’s biggest pharmaceutical company raises 2024 profit forecast and announces $3.5bn US investment

• Business live – latest updates

AstraZeneca has said that the drugmaker is taking investigations by Chinese authorities into its business in the country “very seriously” and will “fully cooperate” with them.

Authorities are thought to be investigating the importation of two cancer treatments manufactured by Britain’s biggest pharmaceutical company into China.

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Tehran cites 1888 charts in effort to prove ownership of islands near strait of Hormuz that are also claimed by UAE

Maps drawn up more than 130 years ago on the instruction of the Marquess of Salisbury, the then British foreign secretary, have been cited by Iran in its deepening dispute with the Gulf states over the ownership of three strategic islands at the entrance to the critical strait of Hormuz waterway.

The dispute is threatening to damage Iran’s current efforts to form closer relations with its Gulf partners, and has also turned into an additional roadblock to improving Iran’s relations with the European Union.

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Victim of serial abuser John Smyth joins calls for archbishop of Canterbury to quit as 10,000 people sign petition

The archbishop of Canterbury has been urged to stand in solidarity with abuse victims by resigning after a report into a cover-up in the Church of England.

A petition started by three members of the General Synod – the church’s parliament – calling for Justin Welby to quit has reached more than 10,000 signatures.

In the UK, the NSPCC offers support to children on 0800 1111, and adults concerned about a child on 0808 800 5000. The National Association for People Abused in Childhood ( Napac ) offers support for adult survivors on 0808 801 0331. In the US, call or text the Childhelp abuse hotline on 800-422-4453. In Australia, children, young adults, parents and teachers can contact the Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800; adult survivors can seek help at Blue Knot Foundation on 1300 657 380. Other sources of help can be found at Child Helplines International

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With the former striker’s exit from the presenter’s chair confirmed, we look back at his most notable episodes

• BBC confirms Lineker’s Match of the Day departure

No one gave Leicester City a hope of winning the 2015-16 Premier League: apparently not even Lineker, who began his playing career with the Foxes in 1978 and remains a loyal fan. In mid-December 2015, the BBC1 anchorman vowed to present an episode of Match of the Day wearing only his pants if Claudio Ranieri’s side ultimately managed to pull off one of the most surprising title wins in history. Five months after Lineker’s promise on Twitter (now X), Leicester’s glory arrived in May 2016. Lineker was as good as his word , beginning the next season’s opening highlights show in mid-August wearing a mercifully baggy white pair of Leicester City-branded boxer shorts as Alan Shearer and Ian Wright looked on from the pundits’ chairs. The former Tottenham and Barcelona forward remained in his pants for about 30 minutes of the broadcast, by which point no one could question his willingness to treat MotD viewers to a laugh at his own expense.

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Leading Social Democrats and opposition conservatives reach agreement but date must be approved by president

Germany is expected to hold a snap election on 23 February after an agreement reached on Tuesday morning by parliamentary factions from the leading Social Democrats and opposition conservatives.

The date must now be officially confirmed by the president, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, but this is considered to be a formality.

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Corporation says presenter will quit highlights programme at end of 2024-25 season but will cover 2026 World Cup

Gary Lineker is to step down as the presenter of Match of the Day at the end of the season, it has been confirmed.

The BBC confirmed earlier reports that Lineker would stay with the broadcaster to cover the 2026 Fifa World Cup in the US, Canada and Mexico, but step back from the highlights programme at the end of the 2024-25 season.

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