Jay Slater’s mother has given an update via a £35,000 fundraising page set up to help the search for the missing teenager.

Debbie Duncan, posting on the GoFundMe page “Get Jay Slater home”, said the family were working with the company to withdraw some of the money.

She said the money would be used to help cover accommodation and food expenses while the family were out in Tenerife helping to search for the teenager.

Ms Duncan also said they were planning to fly others out to the island “so we can support each other during these dark times”.

“It’s difficult to wrap our heads around what is happening right now, but we are not losing hope that we will find Jay and return home together,” she wrote.

“We are currently working with GoFundMe to withdraw part of the funds, which are being safely held.

“I wanted to share that these funds will be used to support the mountain rescue teams who are tirelessly searching for Jay.

“Additionally, since our stay in Tenerife needs to be extended, we will also use the funds to cover accommodation and food expenses.

“I’m surrounded by wonderful people who are by my side, but far from their loved ones, so we’ll also be using part of these funds to fly them to Tenerife so we can support each other during these dark times.”

Ms Duncan also thanked those who had sent “kind messages” and donations, adding: “This means the world to us.”

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Bolivian armed forces have taken over the capital’s central square as an armoured vehicle rammed through the entrance of the presidential palace as the president said the country is facing a coup attempt.

The country’s president, Luis Arce, warned an “irregular” deployment of troops had taken place and called for “democracy to be respected” on X as Bolivian TV showed two tanks and a number of soldiers in front of the government palace in La Paz.

Video on Bolivian TV showed Mr Arce confronting the general commander of the army, Juan Jose Zuniga, in the palace hallway, telling him: “I am your captain, and I order you to withdraw your soldiers, and I will not allow this insubordination.”

Before entering the building Mr Zuniga told journalists in the plaza: “Surely soon there will be a new cabinet of ministers; our country, our state cannot go on like this.”

Mr Zuniga said he recognises President Arce as commander in chief “for now”.

In a video surrounded by his cabinet Mr Arce said he is standing firm against an attempted coup.

Former Bolivian president Evo Morales denounced the movement of the military in the Murillo square outside the palace in a post on X, calling it a coup “in the making”.

Mr Zuniga earlier confirmed the movement of uniformed officers and said: “We are upset by the affront, enough is enough.”

He spoke on TV of “attacks on democracy” without elaborating.

Maria Nela Prada, minister of the presidency and a top Bolivian official, said military and tanks were taking over the plaza, calling it an “attempted coup d’etat”.

“The people are on alert to defend democracy,” she told local television station Red Uno.

Bolivia has faced mounting protests in recent months over the steep decline of its economy over the last two decades.

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Evan Gershkovich has been seen with a shaved head as he went on trial behind-closed-doors in Russia accused of spying.

Reporters were allowed to briefly film the US journalist on Wednesday before the start of the hearing in the city of Yekaterinburg where he is charged with espionage, which he denies.

Mr Gershkovich was seen standing in a glass box wearing a black-and-blue checked shirt before the proceedings were closed.

The next hearing was set for 13 August.

The Wall Street Journal reporter was first arrested and detained in March 2023 after Russia claimed he had been “gathering secret information” on orders from the CIA.

The 32-year-old reporter, who has already spent nearly 15 months behind bars in Moscow’s notorious Lefortovo jail, faces up to 20 years in prison if found guilty.

Russian courts convict more than 99% of the defendants who come before them, and prosecutors can appeal sentences they regard as too lenient, and can even appeal acquittals.

Last week, the first details of the allegations against him emerged as it was claimed he was seeking details about Uralvagonzavod, a facility that produces and repairs military equipment, the prosecutor general’s office said.

The authorities have not publicly disclosed any evidence to back up the accusations.

The trial is due to take place behind closed doors – something Russia says is normal in espionage cases.

Mr Gershkovich, his employer and the US government strongly deny the claims and Washington has designated him wrongfully detained.

Jay Conti, executive vice president and general counsel for Dow Jones, which publishes the Journal, described the trial as a sham, saying: “He was an accredited journalist doing journalism, and this is a sham trial, bogus charges that are completely trumped up.”

“Evan has done nothing wrong. He should never have been arrested in the first place. Journalism is not a crime,” US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said last week.

He added: “The charges against him are false. And the Russian government knows that they’re false. He should be released immediately.”

The White House has sought to negotiate Mr Gershkovich’s release, but Russia’s foreign ministry said Moscow would consider a prisoner swap only after a trial verdict.

However, that could be months away, because Russian trials often adjourn for weeks.

While Russia-US relations are fraught over the war in Ukraine, the Kremlin and Washington did agree a high-profile prisoner exchange in 2022 that secured the release of basketball star star Brittney Griner, who was serving a lengthy sentence for cannabis possession.

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Russian President Vladimir Putin has suggested Mr Gershkovic could be swapped in return for the release of Vadim Krasikov, a Russian imprisoned in Germany for assassinating a Chechen rebel leader in Berlin.

However, this would require the cooperation of Germany in a Russia-US dispute.

Mr Gershkovich, the American-born son of immigrants from the former Soviet Union, was the first US journalist detained on espionage charges since Nicholas Daniloff in 1986 at the height of the Cold War.

It followed a crackdown on freedom of speech after Mr Putin sent troops into Ukraine.