Senators, critical of the US president's approach to Ukraine, said they spoke with the US secretary of state Marco Rubio, who told them the plan is a "wish list" from the Russians and not a proposal offering Washington's positions.

Ukraine war latest: Washington denies backing 'Moscow wish list'

The US state department has called that account "blatantly false", with Mr Rubio saying that the senators were mistaken and that Washington was responsible for the proposals.

The 28-point plan has surprised many for being so favourable to Moscow.

Explained: Trump's peace plan in full

Republican senator Mike Rounds is among those who have claimed the plan was not drafted by Washington.

"This administration was not responsible for this release in its current form," he said at a security conference in Canada. "They want to utilise it as a starting point."

Mr Rounds added: "It looked more like it was written in Russian to begin with."

Independent senator Angus King said Mr Rubio told them the plan "was not the administration's plan" but a "essentially the wish list of the Russians".

The senators said they spoke to Mr Rubio after he contacted them while on his way to Geneva for talks on the plan.

According to the Reuters news agency, some US officials also said the plan contains material that the US secretary of state has previously rejected and neither he, nor anyone in the state department, was aware of the plan before it was announced.

These latest claims have added to growing confusion over who was involved in drawing up the 28 points.

European leader asks: 'Who authored the plan?'

Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk has raised concerns about its origins. On Sunday, he wrote on X: "It would be good to know for sure who is the author of the plan and where was it created."

In a post on X, Mr Rubio insisted that "the peace proposal was authored by the US... but it is also based on previous and ongoing input from Ukraine".

A former adviser to Vladimir Putin had denied that Russia was behind the peace plan. Sergei Markov told Sky News "it is American" and the points were a "very good basis for diplomatic negotiation".

Mr Markov insisted there were "some positive moods in Russia about it" but also accused Europe and Ukraine of wanting to continue the war, despite Russia unilaterally launching and pursuing a full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

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American special envoy Steve Witkoff and Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner met Kirill Dmitriev in Miami at the end of October to work on the proposals, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter.

Mr Dmitriev, who is a close ally of the Russian president, was blacklisted by the US government in 2022 following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Trump rows back on demands

The US president initially demanded that Ukraine accept the peace plan by Thursday. But he has since rowed back from that position, instead saying the proposal was not his final offer.

The plan currently on the table calls for major concessions by Kyiv, including ceding territory to Russia, pledging not to join NATO and abandoning certain weaponry.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has not rejected the proposals outright, but said he would not betray Ukraine's interests. Meanwhile, Mr Putin has described the plan as the basis of a resolution to the conflict.

Separately, Senator Roger Wicker, the Republican chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, has been equally dismissive of the proposals.

"This so-called 'peace plan' has real problems, and I am highly sceptical it will achieve peace," he said.

Sarah Forrester, 55, was described as a "kind" and "considerate" after she was pronounced dead at an address in the Wiltshire town on Friday evening.

A statement from mental health charity The Kelly Foundation, where Ms Forrester worked, said everyone was "heartbroken at the sudden loss of our lovely Sarah".

"She was completely committed to the charity and devoted to her two young children," the charity said.

"Sarah was pivotal in the work that we do here at the Kelly Foundation and her loss is a hugely traumatic event, not just for us and her colleagues but more especially for her children and family.

"Sarah was an incredible person, kind, thoughtful, considerate, caring and funny and she embodied everything that we hope our charity is and can be."

Kerry Marsh, Ms Forrester's neighbour in Swindon and friend of seven years, told Sky News: "Sarah was a good friend of mine. She was a kind soul who would help anyone.

"She was a great mum and did so much with her children, and I was lucky enough to class her as a friend."

Stuart Gould, a friend of Ms Forrester who saw her just a few hours before she was found dead, told Sky News: "I popped in to see her on Friday lunchtime to present her with a box of Maltesers as she has organised an event at the Pinetrees Community Centre for me.

"In my short time of knowing Sarah, she was a beautiful, enthusiastic woman who put others before herself. On the Friday afternoon in question she was talking to two other ladies and helping them. It's so sad."

Wiltshire Police said the 13-year-old girl arrested on suspicion of murder has been bailed.

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Detective Chief Superintendent Guy Elkins said: "Our thoughts are with Sarah's friends and family at this awful time.

"An investigation into her death is being led by our Major Crime Investigation Team and local residents will continue to see increased policing activity in the area.

"A 13-year-old girl arrested on suspicion of murder has been bailed and I can confirm that we are not looking for anyone else in connection with Sarah's death."

Police have asked people not to speculate about the incident online as this could prejudice the case.

Speaking from the G20 Summit in South Africa, the prime minister told broadcasters his former deputy is "the best example ever" of social mobility and he is still in touch with her.

Asked if she could make a comeback this side of a general election, Sir Keir said: "I've always said I want Angela back. Even back in September at the time I said she is going to be a big voice in the Labour movement.

"Do I want Angela back at some stage? Yes absolutely.

"I think she is the best example ever in the United Kingdom of social mobility - going from a pretty challenging childhood to being deputy prime minister of the United Kingdom. She is the story of social mobility above all other stories."

Asked if he missed having her around, Sir Keir said: "I’m friends with Angie and I like Angie a lot and we talk a lot. We still do.

"It's always good to have Angela."

Ms Rayner's meteoric rise to the top of Labour came after she left school aged 16, pregnant and with no qualifications.

She was elected deputy Labour leader by the membership in 2020, and was made deputy prime minister then housing secretary by Sir Keir.

She resigned from all of those positions in September, after it emerged she had not paid the higher rate of stamp duty on a second home she bought in Hove, East Sussex, saving her about £40k.

It followed a tearful interview with Sky's political editor Beth Rigby about the "complex living arrangement" regarding her first home, which was sold to a trust following her divorce to provide stability for her teenage son, who has lifelong disabilities and is the sole beneficiary of the trust.

An investigation by the prime minister ethic's watchdog found she breached the ministerial code by failing to get correct tax advice, but that she acted "with integrity".

Ms Rayner is still a backbench MP and recently did not rule out a return to the front bench herself - telling the Daily Mirror during a visit to a care centre in her constituency that she had "not gone away".

Other cabinet ministers have also supported her return.

During the Labour Party Conference a few weeks after she resigned, Health Secretary Wes Streeting paid tribute to her work on the Employment Rights Bill and said Labour "wants her back and needs her back".

Israel's military said it targeted and killed Hezbollah's chief of staff, Haytham Ali Tabtabai.

The deputy chair of Hezbollah's political council, Mahmoud Qamati, told journalists a high-ranking militant may have been killed but did not share further details.

Lebanon's Health Ministry has said at least five people were killed and 25 others have been wounded.

Smoke could be seen in the busy Haret Hreik neighbourhood, with one video circulated on social media showing dozens of people crowded around the area of the strike, which appeared to be on an apartment building.

Residents told Reuters news agency they heard the roar of warplanes before the blast.

Gunshots were fired to disperse the crowds as rescue workers and firefighters reached the damaged building. The Lebanese military cordoned off the area.

Benjamin Netanyahu's office said on Sunday afternoon: "A short while ago, in the heart of Beirut, the IDF attacked the Hezbollah Chief of Staff, who had been leading the terrorist organisation's build-up and rearmament.

"Prime Minister Netanyahu ordered the attack upon the recommendation of the defence minister and the IDF chief of staff.

"Israel is determined to act to achieve its objectives everywhere and at all times."

It is the first Israeli airstrike on Beirut since June and comes days before Pope Leo is scheduled to visit Lebanon.

Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon have intensified in recent weeks. Israel says Hezbollah is attempting to rebuild its military capabilities there, which the Lebanese government has denied.

Hezbollah is one of the most heavily armed non-state groups in the world and regarded as an Iranian proxy force.

It is a sworn enemy of Israel and has openly called for the destruction of the "Zionist regime in Palestine".

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Israel has accused Hezbollah of trying to rearm since a US-backed ceasefire last year. The militant group says it has abided by requirements for it to end its military presence near the Lebanon-Israel border and for the Lebanese army to deploy there.

Lebanon and United Nations peacekeepers have criticised the ongoing Israeli attacks, accusing them of violating the ceasefire agreement.

Well, that's exactly what the Hare family did, who relocated to Russia from the United States two years ago because they felt "persecuted".

"We were noticing a great upsurge in LGBT-type policies coming into the government, especially the school system," Leo Hare says.

"This is where we drew a line in the sand," his wife Chantelle adds. "This is a complete demonic attack against the conservative Christian families."

The devout Christians, who have three sons aged 17, 15 and 12, describe themselves as "moral migrants".

I'm chatting to them at their apartment in Ivanovo, a city 150 miles from Moscow. It's a big change from Texas, where the family lived on a farm and had their own shooting range.

But in a country where so-called "LGBT propaganda" is banned, they say they feel safer than before.

"There are laws that say: 'no you can't just run wild and have gay pride parades and dance in front of all the children'. You can't do this. I like this," Leo tells me.

The family was granted asylum last year in a ceremony that was covered on state TV. But as unusual as their story may sound, the Hares aren't the only ones who have turned to Russia in search of sanctuary.

According to the latest figures from Russia's interior ministry, 2,275 Westerners have applied for a new shared values visa, which was introduced by Vladimir Putin last August.

It's aimed at those who think the West has become too woke.

Citizens from countries Russia considers unfriendly (which includes Britain, the US and most of the EU) are offered a three-year residency permit without meeting any language requirements or skills criteria.

On the ninth floor of a skyscraper in Moscow's financial district, a group of adults are holding pens in their mouths and making strange noises.

We're observing a Russian language class that's been put on by an expat club to help its members integrate into the local society.

Among those with the bit between their teeth is British national Philip Port from Burnley, Lancashire.

He runs a visa agency for those going in the opposite direction - Russians to the UK - and has been coming to Russia on and off for 20 years. He says he applied for the shared values visa for both practical and ideological reasons.

"I love Russia," he tells me unapologetically, describing it as "safe as houses".

"There's no crime, the streets are clean, it's well-developed," he adds.

His view of the UK is nowhere near as complimentary.

"I'm all for gay rights, don't get me wrong, but I think when they're teaching them to children in school - I've got a seven-year-old son, I don't want him being influenced in that way."

It's unclear how many British nationals have migrated to Russia under the shared values visa, but Philip Hutchinson, whose company Moscow Connect helps Westerners apply for the pathway, says he receives between 50 and 80 inquiries a week from the UK.

"There's a huge amount of people that are frustrated by the way the country's got in," he tells me. "Taxes keep going up and up and up. And we're giving all this money to Ukraine."

Mr Hutchinson stood as a candidate for the Conservative Party in last year's local elections in Britain.

He moved to Moscow earlier this year after his Russian wife was unable to obtain a UK visa, bucking a trend that saw most Western expats flee Russia after its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

I ask him if the war bothers him or his clients.

"It doesn't," he answers without hesitation. "As far as I'm concerned, I'm not getting involved in that. You know, I'm not here to deal with politics."

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But is politics at play here?

After arriving in Russia, many of the "ideological immigrants" post slick videos on social media about how wonderful their new life is.

One prominent American blogger called Derek Huffman, who moved to Russia with his family from Arizona, has even joined the Russian army to fight in Ukraine.

It's the perfect PR for a country that markets itself as a beacon of conservative values, and as the antidote to moribund, Western liberalism. But Russia insists it's not running a recruitment campaign.

"We don't give any social security guarantee or any free housing," says Maria Butina, the Russian lawmaker spearheading the shared values programme.

"People come on their own with their own money, own families, at their own expense."

Not everyone's had a positive experience, though. The Hares say they were scammed out of $50,000 (£38,200) by the family who initially put them up when they arrived in Russia.

And their two oldest sons have returned to America, because of problems finding a school. The family weren't aware that children are required to speak Russian to be eligible for a state education.

So, do they regret moving here?

"Moving so fast? Probably," Leo admits.

"At times though, your pathway in life takes you places you wouldn't have willingly gone. But through God and providence, you're meant to go through this."