Satellite images of Jamaica show the scale of devastation caused by Hurricane Melissa, with huge areas of towns and cities destroyed by high winds and flooding
Verified videos from the strategic Ukrainian town of Pokrovsk show a Russian flag being raised, as well as drone strikes
We've debunked an AI-generated image going viral online apparently showing a woman and child about to be killed in Sudan
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Edited by Adam Durbin
Thomas Copeland
BBC Verify Live journalist
Earlier today we showed you satellite imagery from the Jamaican town of Black River, which has been devastated by Hurricane Melissa.
I’ve been assessing the damage in other places in the south-western part of the island, where the storm first made landfall. Among those also badly hit is a fishing village of around 4,000 people called White House, a little over 20 minutes drive along the coast road.
In this first side-by-side comparison we can see the roof of a large circular structure has been ripped to shreds, while the Marva’s and Pelican Lookout restaurants next to it appears to have completely gone.
Up the main road is what remains of a collection of shops, cafes, a pharmacy and a deli. These businesses are all now barely distinguishable from the surrounding debris.
Just a half hour walk back down the road towards Black River, there’s a small hamlet called Sandy Ground with neat rows of ocean-view homes, some of which are rented out as guesthouses.
The damage here appears to be more mixed. The roofs of some of the houses appear to be intact, with the red tiling still clearly visible, while others have fared far worse and have gardens littered with building debris.
Peter Mwai
BBC Verify senior journalist
New verified footage has emerged providing further evidence that a prominent fighter from the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has been involved in carrying out in executions in el-Fasher.
The city in western Sudan was the last major army stronghold in the Darfur region and fell to the RSF on Sunday.
Yesterday, we verified a clip of the fighter, known as Abu Lulu, executing an injured man in civilian clothing. The new video shows him repeatedly firing a pistol into motionless people in a ditch, then raising the gun into the air.
We can confirm it was filmed was the same place to north-west of el-Fasher as earlier footage we’ve analysed, as we can see the same vehicles on fire and dozens of bodies scattered around the area.
Abu Lulu’s clothing matches and we can identify another man who appears alongside him in both clips.
Yesterday, RSF commander Gen Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti, acknowledged that his fighters may have committed violations in el-Fasher. He pledged to investigate and hold anyone found guilty accountable.
We are also looking at reports by the World Health Organization (WHO) that more than 450 people were killed in a hospital in el-Fasher.
The RSF has issued a statement dismissing the claim saying as “baseless”. We will update you if we find more on this.
Peter Mwai, Merlyn Thomas and Matt Murphy
BBC Verify
Warning: This post contains graphic descriptions of executions.
Abu Lulu (left) appears in several of the execution videos
Fighters from the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have executed a number of unarmed people after capturing the Sudanese city of el-Fasher, new videos analysed by BBC Verify show.
Most of the clips are recorded in dusty rural locations, making it hard to say where exactly they took place. However, we did geolocate one video showing the summary shooting of an unarmed man at a university building in el-Fasher.
The clip showed the man sitting amid dozens of dead bodies in a hallway. As the video progressed, he was seen turning towards the camera which followed an armed man who was descending the stairs. The fighter then raised his rifle and fired a single shot knocking the unarmed man to the ground, where he lay motionless.
A number of similarly distressing clips are circulating online, but are difficult to geolocate as they are recorded outside the city itself where there are very few visible landmarks. But BBC Verify has managed to place one of the fighters – a man who goes by the name of Abu Lulu online and who appeared in multiple execution videos – in the area around el-Fasher in recent days.
To find out more about how BBC Verify authenticated these clips read our full story here.
We’ve been working over the last few days to authenticate footage of killings carried out by Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) after capturing the city of el-Fasher earlier this week.
While much of the graphic material appearing online is real, one image that has gathered millions of views online was actually generated using artificial intelligence.
The image appears to show the shadows of two men holding guns in front of a woman on the ground holding a young boy. In the background there are scorch marks on the ground, as if to indicate that houses or tents have been torched.
How do we know it’s AI-generated?
There are some immediate visual clues which tell us it was made with AI, like how we can see what appears to be shadows of the men, but there are no shadows behind the woman.
The AI image being shared has a small watermark in the bottom left with a username. This led us to an Instagram account which first posted an animated version of this same scene.
The caption on the post says the scene is AI-generated and the creator describes themselves as a “Creative AI Specialist” in their profile.
In the animated scene, there are more obvious visual clues of AI generation, like how the woman’s and boy’s arms move through each other in impossible ways.
We also ran the image through Google’s deepfake detection tool and it found Google AI generation digital watermarks in the image.
Paul Brown
BBC Verify senior journalist
We've been watching for signs of Russian advances in the strategic town of Pokrovsk in eastern Ukraine. President Volodymyr Zelensky mentioned the city in his daily message to Ukrainians yesterday, saying it was the "toughest situation" on the front line "where Russian forces are most concentrated".
The fight for control of Pokrovsk has been raging for two years as part of Russia’s efforts to seize control of Ukraine’s Donetsk region – and Zelensky even visited the town in November last year, where he took a selfie at the monument marking its western entrance.
I’ve verified footage showing a Russian flag installed at the same spot recently, a move apparently prompted drone strikes from both sides. according to one video we've seen.
In a compilation video, one clip shows a drone strike on the newly-installed Russian flag, followed by a second shot from the viewpoint of a drone hitting a Ukrainian flag that forms part of the Pokrovsk monument.
We'll continue to review social media footage and satellite imagery of the town, which Russian forces have secured a foothold and look closer to capturing than ever before. Thomas Copeland
BBC Verify Live journalist
This morning I’ve been reviewing the latest satellite imagery from Jamaica which reveals the scale of devastation left behind by Hurricane Melissa, which killed four people as it ripped across the island yesterday.
The town of Black River on the island’s south-west coast "has literally been totally destroyed" by the category five storm, Jamaica's PM Andrew Holness told the BBC.
In these side-by-side comparisons of satellite pictures from before and after Melissa struck we can see the impact right where the Black River flows into the Caribbean.
In this first wider view it’s clear most of the buildings in the town have been heavily damaged and there’s debris lining every street.
In the bottom right you can see that the Black River has burst its banks and along the waterline sediment runoff has left a brown strip of muddy water.
When we zoom in closer to the town centre we can identify specific buildings. The large white building in the middle is the Black River Market – its roof has been ripped clean off. The same has happened to the orange roof of a warehouse at the top right.
The fire station to the right of the market in this picture appears to be still standing but badly damaged. Most other buildings here in the town centre are in far worse shape, like the soul food cafe just above the market – it looks like it’s gone entirely. 
Adam Durbin
BBC Verify Live editor
Welcome to BBC Verify Live.
Satellite images of Jamaica show the scale of destruction inflicted by Hurricane Melissa. Large areas of cities and towns across the island have been devastated by high winds and floods, and at least five people are confirmed to have been killed. We’ll bring you before-and-after comparisons of specific places to show you the extent of the damage, as well as specialist satellite analysis highlighting areas particularly affected by flooding.
We’re also looking into videos showing Russian flags and drone strikes around the strategic Ukrainian town of Pokrovsk, which recent reports indicate is close to falling to Moscow’s forces after two years of fighting. Ukraine has been defending the key settlement from intensifying Russian assault in recent months, with Ukrainian troops there outnumbered eight to one and losing ground.
Plus, after the team verified footage from Sudan showing the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces executing civilians, we’ve found that an image has gone viral apparently showing a woman and child about to be killed which is actually AI-generated.
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