Denmark banned the use of civilian drones for five days next week as it steps up security ahead of a European Union summit in Copenhagen.
Denmark Bans Civilian Drones Ahead of EU Leaders Visit
Denmark banned the use of civilian drones for five days next week as it steps up security ahead of a European Union summit in Copenhagen.
The move is intended to eliminate the risk of confusing civilian-operated aircraft with hostile drones during the congregation of EU government leaders, the transport ministry said in a statement on Sunday.
The ban follows a surge of drone incursions across the country in the past week. Military authorities reported new sightings near several defense facilities overnight, marking the seventh day of such incidents. “Various capacities were deployed,” the Danish Armed Forces said in an update on Sunday, without offering details.
Police have been inundated with false alarms as public concern mounts, forcing them to raise the alert level. Authorities logged 500 reports in a single day last week.
Security will be visibly tighter in the capital during the summit, where leaders are expected to discuss defense and security, including responses to hybrid threats and Russian violations of European airspace.
Although investigators have yet to identify the source of the drone activity, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has linked it to Russia’s efforts to destabilize Europe, an accusation Russia denies.
Last week, sightings of large, professional-grade drones forced the temporary closure of several airports in Denmark, including Copenhagen’s commercial hub, sparking a large-scale police investigation. In recent days, the activity has centered around military facilities, including Karup, Denmark’s biggest air force base, which detected drones in its vicinity late on Friday.
Now main challenger to a rising Zohran Mamdani, Andrew Cuomo has blasted his candidacy as “abhorrent”, called election “battle for the soul” of Democratic party
As Eric Adams (L) drops out, Zohran Mamdani (right) is leading by a wide margin in the opinion polls, and remains a key face against the policies of President Donald Trump.(AFP)
Incumbent New York City mayor Eric Adams has dropped out of election scheduled for November, setting up a direct fight between Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani and former mayor Andrew Cuomo.
A formal Republican candidate, Curtis Sliwa is in the race too, but former governor Andrew Cuomo — contesting as an independent after losing the Democratic ticket race to Mamdani — is now the main challenger to the young leader of Indian-Ugandan origin. Eric Adams was also planning to file an independent nomination.
Leading the opinion polls, Zohran Mamdani, 33, has invited President Donald Trump’s wrath as the Republican strongman sees him as a problematic “communist”.
While some analysed Eric Adams’ expected dropout as a possible consolidation of Democratic votes for Mamdani, the NY Post report said this could be to clear the field to stop Mamdani by putting all of Trump’s strength behind Cuomo or, less likely, Curtis Sliwa.
What Eric Adams said while dropping out
“It’s been an honor to be your mayor,” Adams said in a video announcement, as per NY Post. “I know I cannot continue my campaign… I strongly encourage who ever takes over City Hall to continue what we’ve done.”
He did not endorse any of the other candidates, and even took subtle swipes at both Mamdani and Cuomo, all of them essentially on the same, Democrat side of the political binary in the US.
“I want to be clear, although this is the end of my campaign, this will not be the end of my public service,” he said, “I will keep fighting for our city no matter what because I am a New Yorker.”
Cuomo vs Mamdani
Andrew Cuomo earlier blasted Zohran Mamdani’s candidacy as “abhorrent” and termed the contest a “battle for the soul” of the Democratic party. “This is a civil war within the Democratic party where the extreme left is pulling the Democratic party and the moderates are afraid,” Cuomo said on Thursday in an interview with Bloomberg TV.
“The Democratic Party is not anti-business, it’s not anti-police. That’s not who we are,” he said, implying Mamdani is all of those things, something Mamdani has consistently denied.
Bad Bunny will be headlining Apple Music Super Bowl LX Halftime Show, set to kick off Feb. 8, 2026, at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., he announced via Instagram Sunday.
The Reggaeton superstar, 31, shared the exciting news with a video — set to his hit song “Callaita” — of him sitting on top of a goal post in a football end zone. He captioned the social media post, “Super Bowl LX. Bay Area. February 2026. #AppleMusicHalftime.”
Bad Bunny said in a press release obtained by Page Six following the announcement, “What I’m feeling goes beyond myself. It’s for those who came before me and ran countless yards so I could come in and score a touchdown… this is for my people, my culture, and our history.”
He added in Spanish, “Ve y dile a tu abuela, que seremos el HALFTIME SHOW DEL SUPER BOWL,” which translates to, “Go and tell your grandmother, that we are the halftime show of the super bowl.”
Bad Bunny has been named the 2026 Super Bowl halftime show performer. Getty Images
Bad Bunny is fresh off concluding his sold-out residency in Puerto Rico, which recently made history as the most-watched Amazon Music livestream ever, per Rolling Stone.
The Grammy winner is also no stranger to the Super Bowl stage. He was a special guest when Shakira and Jennifer Lopez co-headlined the 2020 halftime show in Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium.
He performed at the time his chart-topping track “I Like It” and a mashup of “Chantaje” with “Callaita” with Shakira, 48. J Balvin also made a guest appearance during the sizzling performance.
Jay-Z, who plays a crucial role in selecting the Super Bowl performer via his company Roc Nation, said of Bad Bunny, whose real name is Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, “What Benito has done and continues to do for Puerto Rico is truly inspiring. We are honored to have him on the world’s biggest stage.”
Jon Barker, SVP of Global Event Production for the NFL, further praised the Latin musical artist for his “global energy and cultural vibrancy that define today’s music scene.”
“As one of the most influential and streamed artists in the world, his unique ability to bridge genres, languages, and audiences makes him an exciting and natural choice to take the Super Bowl halftime stage,” Barker added.
“We know his dynamic performances, creative vision, and deep connection with fans will deliver the kind of unforgettable experience we’ve come to expect from this iconic cultural moment.”
The NFL and Apple Music cryptically teased earlier on Sunday afternoon via Instagram, “Tune into Sunday Night Football halftime for a big announcement” with a football, apple and shushing face emoji.
Leading up to the announcement, fans speculated that Taylor Swift would hit the stage for Super Bowl LX — especially after the singer bought back her masters in May and since her fiancé is Travis Kelce.
The tight end’s team, the Kansas City Chiefs, have made it to the championship game for the past three years in a row and many Swifties have been hoping for a storybook end to the current NFL season.
However, the pop superstar has been keeping a lower profile at Chiefs games recently amid rumblings that she has had serious threats made to her life and therefore has security concerns, per the Daily Mail.
Other names in the running have been Miley Cyrus and Adele, the latter of which sources exclusively confirmed to Page Six had been “in talks” for the halftime show.
The Grammy winner’s fiancé is Rich Paul, one of sports’ biggest agents, and Adele has attended the Super Bowl before as a fan, which further fueled the speculation.
Fans also speculated that Metallica would be considered given the rock band’s roots in San Francisco.
Drummer Lars Ulrich recently told Howard Stern, “I would f–king love to do it.”
Sunday’s general election will be the most crucial since Moldova gained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. Russia is doing all it can to divert the country from its European course.
Campaigners on the streets of Chisinau, the capital of MoldovaImage: Tobias Zuttmann/DW
If a flood of videos on TikTok is to be believed, the people of Moldova are currently living through a reign of terror.
These short videos claim that the country is being governed by a “dictatorship” of its pro-European President, Maia Sandu, and the ruling liberal-conservative Action and Solidarity Party (PAS).
They also allege that this “puppet regime” has sold itself to the European Union, NATO and US billionaire George Soros with a view to destroying Moldova’s agriculture, “introducing LGBTQ ideology” and leading the country into a war against the Russian Federation.
Former president’s TikTok campaign
One of the people who posts such things on TikTok almost daily is former President Igor Dodon, a devoted follower of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Dodon is leader of the Party of Socialists of the Republic of Moldova (PSRM) and head of the Patriotic Electoral Bloc alliance. The logo of the alliance features a red-and-white star surrounding a heart with the Soviet hammer and sickle at its center.
Dodon describes himself as right-wing and committed to “traditional values,” closing his videos with the Orthodox Christian salutation “God help us!”
This blend of hatred of Europe and the West, Soviet nostalgia, loyalty to the Kremlin, Orthodox Christian piety and right-wing populism appeals to a large part of Moldovan society, particularly in view of the precarious economic situation of many people in the country, especially pensioners.
Almost half of voters still undecided
This has been noticeable since late last year, when Maia Sandu was only narrowly re-elected president.
The country’s goal of joining the European Union was also confirmed by a razor-thin majority of just a few thousand votes in a referendum held on the same day.
Now, however, things could very well go the other way.
On Sunday, Moldovans go to the polls to elect a new parliament. This will be the first scheduled general election since Moldova and Ukraine were granted candidate status by the EU in 2022.
Moldova at a crossroads
For months now, the poll has been seen as a pivotal election and one that could take the country either further along the road to the EU or back to Russia.
Opinion polls in the country are considered notoriously unreliable. The unpredictability of the vote is further compounded by the fact that almost half of all voters have still not made up their mind who they are going to vote for.
Even though Sandu’s liberal-conservative, pro-European, anti-corruption civil rights party PAS is expected to remain the strongest party, it might lose the absolute majority it got in 2021.
Pro-Russian parties in the running
Two other electoral alliances that opinion polls indicate will be represented in the new parliament are both clearly pro-Russian.
These are the Patriotic Electoral Bloc and the political alliance known as Alternative, which was founded by Mayor of Chisinau, Ion Ceban.
Our Party (PN) is another party that could enter parliament. It was founded by businessman Renato Usatii, a political adventurer and populist who made his fortune in Russia and is hard to pin down politically.
Usatii could end up holding the balance of power and determining whether the country keeps its pro-European government or gets a pro-Russian one.
The Russian ambassador’s cynical threat
All this explains why President Sandu has declared the election the most important poll since the country gained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. She is warning of a potential “defeat for democracy.”
She has said that if this comes to pass, “Russia will destabilize us and rip us out of Europe.”
The pro-Russian camp is making little effort to deny this.
Dodon and his Patriotic Electoral Bloc are openly calling for an end to the country’s pro-European course and a return to the Russian structures of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU).
Russia’s ambassador to Moldova, Oleg Ozerov, recently made a cynical, thinly veiled threat to the country, saying that Russia is in favor of preserving Moldova’s territorial integrity and neutrality and that Ukraine is an example of what happens when a country gives up its neutral status.
Humiliations for Russia
In economic terms, the Kremlin doesn’t need Moldova, a small, largely agrarian country with a population of about 2.8 million.
Nevertheless, Russia’s imperial mentality led it to start its first post-Soviet war in what is now the separatist region of Transnistria in eastern Moldova in 1992. About 1,500 Russian soldiers are currently stationed there, and it has a massive stockpile of weapons.
But Moldova’s strategic value has increased since Russia invaded Ukraine in early 2022 because capturing this largely defenseless country would allow Russia to wage a war on two fronts against Ukraine.
Furthermore, it should not be underestimated that Russia’s attitude toward Moldova has much to do with the humiliations it has experienced there — such as the fact that Maia Sandu has succeeded in liberating her country from the Russian embrace and set it on a path toward Europe.
Selena Gomez and Benny Blanco are officially husband and wife after tying the knot in a romantic ceremony.
Gomez revealed the news via Instagram Saturday evening, as she shared a carousel of images from their big day, taken by photographer Petra Collins.
The photos and videos showed the newlyweds embracing, holding hands and enjoying the moment. A few close-up shots showed Gomez’s bouquet of lily of the valley and her wedding rings.
The bride and groom both rocked Ralph Lauren. Gomez wore a custom hand-draped halter-neck satin dress with embroidery, while Blanco wore a classic black tuxedo and bowtie.
Selena Gomez married Benny Blanco on Saturday. Petra Collins, courtesy of Selena Gomez
In the comments thread of the singer’s announcement, Blanco wrote, “my wife in real life.”
The couple exchanged vows at the lush Sea Crest Nursery in Santa Barbara, Calif., while surrounded by around 170 of their family and friends, according to Vogue.
Guests included Gomez’s BFF Taylor Swift, her “Only Murders in the Building” co-stars Martin Short, Steve Martin and Paul Rudd. Other attendees included Paris Hilton, Ed Sheeran, Ashley Park, and Gomez’s “Wizards of Waverly Place” co-star David Henrie.
Throughout the weekend, guests stayed at the $3,500-a-night El Encanto hotel, where Martin and Short were photographed on Friday, ahead of the couple’s rehearsal dinner. The dinner itself was held at a mansion in the private community of Hope Ranch in Santa Barbara County.
Guests were beckoned to the lavish soirée with gold-embossed invitations, asking them to join the couple “together with their families” for the seaside ceremony at 3:00 p.m.
The elegant invitations featured romantic interlocking “S” and “B” monograms and a sprig of what appeared to be dried baby’s breath flowers — tiny blossoms said to symbolize love, purity, and commitment.
After the pair’s initial wedding plans were leaked on July 14 — including the guest list, date and location — security became a high priority in planning the special day, especially ensuring the safety of the couple’s A-lists guests.
“Security for Selena’s wedding will be of the utmost importance because not only is she a public figure, many of the guests will be too,” an insider told the Daily Mail later that month.
“She is going back and forth on whether or not to allow people to have their phones as an extra measure of security and privacy, along with the fact that she wants everyone to be present,” the insider added.
Leading up to the highly anticipated nuptials, Gomez and Blanco both had their respective bachelorette and bachelor parties in August.
Gomez hosted her bachelorette party in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, and was surrounded by her close girlfriends — including longtime pals Racquelle Stevens, Ashley Cook and Courtney Lopez.
Pictures showed the bride-to-be and her besties soaking up the sun on a yacht.
Blanco, for his part, had a bachelor party at a $25,000-a-night villa in Las Vegas, according to TMZ.
The record producer first teased the wedding timeline on July 10, but said he and Gomez were both very busy and had not started planning yet.
“We’re both working on so many things that we hadn’t even had time to get into it, but we’re so excited,” the music producer told Jake Shane on the “Therapuss” podcast. He also insisted their nuptials would be “chill” but “amazing.”
Fans began speculating that Gomez and Blanco were dating when he attended her 31st birthday party in July 2023. They had been acquainted for years thanks to their similar circles in the music industry.
In December 2023, the former Disney Channel star confirmed on Instagram that she had been secretly dating the songwriter for six months.
Responding to a fan account’s Instagram post that stated, “Selena Gomez Seemingly Confirms That She Is in a Relationship,” she commented, “facts.”
Gomez then went on to elaborate on their very serious love in a string of comments, writing that Blanco is “absolutely everything” and “the best thing that’s ever happened” to her.
Once their relationship was made public, the pair could not help but pack on the PDA.
In December 2023, the couple canoodled at Swift’s 34th birthday celebration. A month later, they were all over each other while sitting courtside at a Los Angeles Lakers game.
The couple revealed that Gomez’s mom originally set them up over a decade before they became engaged.
“It’s actually very difficult to figure out. I was around 16, 17,” Gomez told Interview Magazine in February of how old she was when she first met Blanco.
“And we first had music come out in 2013 or something,” he chimed in before adding, “Her mom set up a meeting between the two of us. This is right when I became big and she wasn’t a singer yet.”
The Rare Beauty founder initially sparked engagement rumors in August 2024 when she posted a mirror selfie with a heart emoji strategically placed over her left ring finger.
However, the pop star confirmed their engagement on Dec. 11, 2024, with a sweet Instagram post.
“forever begins now,” the “Emilia Pérez” star captioned a carousel of photos showing off her diamond sparkler.
Blanco also commented on her post, “hey wait… that’s my wife.”
The “Good for You” singer’s bestie Taylor Swift also chimed in, adding, “yes I will be the flower girl.”
Blanco popped the question with a marquise engagement ring he designed with “special symbols” of their love.
Paul Thomas Anderson’s wild swing of a movie connects with the moment we’re in like nothing you’ve seen.
Warner Bros/Courtesy Everett Collection
There’s no one way to measure when a movie enters the cultural bloodstream — I mean, when it does so as powerfully as a shot of heroin. But when it happens, you can feel it. It used to happen a lot, but it’s rarer in the world we live in today, which is swimming in a universe of content, most of it splintered into separate silos. The phrase “mass culture” used to be synonymous with “hit television” or “blockbuster movie,” but even those things aren’t the dominating, all-eyes-on-this, collective-attention-grabbing forces they once were. All of which makes Paul Thomas Anderson’s “One Battle After Another” a grand throwback, the all-too-rare movie that has the chance to dominate the cultural conversation.
Let’s be clear about why that could happen. “One Battle After Another” is a movie that connects with the moment we’re in like nothing you’ve seen — and the moment we’re in is like nothing you’ve seen. As the United States gets pushed, day by day, closer and closer to autocracy, that’s a situation that ought to be setting everyone in the country on edge. Yet it’s part of the nature of autocracy to narcotize people into numbness, delusion, fear, and a kind of self-perpetuating apathy. And that’s what seems to be happening in America right now. Gavin Newsom shouldn’t be the only one saying that we’re in danger of not having real elections in 2028; tons of people (leaders, citizens, journalists) should be saying it. But too many of us are caught in a zone halfway between resistance and despair, and that’s the mood that “One Battle After Another” taps into.
It’s set in a police-state America that looks and feels like the one America could be turning into in a few years. And what’s uncanny about the film isn’t just the prophetic quality of its authoritarian setting. (No, this is not “The Hunger Games.”) It’s the way that “One Battle After Another” asks us, for two hours and 41 minutes, to live inside the cave of our anxiety and outrage, our passivity and rebellion; it’s the way the film provokes shocks of recognition and a kind of suck-in-your-breath catharsis. It’s a movie that works as a heightened mirror.
Based on its ecstatic reviews, the out-of-the-gate intensity of its awards buzz, the fact that the film’s solid box-office performance this weekend indicates that people chose to listen to the critics (something that doesn’t exactly happen every day), and the general vibe of excitement over the film that’s been coursing through social media, I think “One Battle After Another” has the potential to be a sensation — not just the rare drama for adults that becomes a hit, but a movie that provokes a thousand conversations and creates its own energy field. Even hit movies hardly do that anymore, and a lot of the films that critics champion tend to provoke a conversation-in-a-bubble. I think that’s what happened last year with “Anora” and “The Brutalist,” and maybe this year with “Materialists,” a good rom-com that set the chattering classes on both coasts talking about the place where romance meets the price of real estate.
“One Battle After Another,” on the other hand, is a wildly entertaining, awesomely unpredictable screwball political thriller that on some level forces you to confront…the fate of our fucking country. It gets you to ask: What’s happening to America? Where is this all going? Will it turn out to be as threatening as the movie makes it look? That, in a way, is a question as scary as anything in “Jaws,” and “One Battle After Another” could be the rare film that electrifies audiences because it connects directly with what’s happening in their lives.
To think of a movie that hit the zeitgeist jackpot the way this one does, you might have to go back to “Wall Street,” the Oliver Stone finance drama that had the good fortune to open just seven weeks after the 1987 stock-market crash. It’s as if that movie had been designed as headline-channeling hangover therapy for the Greed Decade. Before that, “All the President’s Men,” though it came out two years after Richard Nixon resigned the presidency, was close enough in time to the Watergate scandal to act as a national referendum on what the country had been through, how it shocked our values and in some ways reshaped them.
On that score, “One Battle After Another” almost seems to be opening in the exact right week. The Jimmy Kimmel saga, which proved to be a major victory for freedom of speech, was an inflection point. So, it seems, is the indictment of James Comey. (We can only hope that one ends as triumphantly as Kimmel.) These seismic events just fuel the movie’s urgency. On the scale of sheer relevance, “One Battle After Another” is a 10 out of 10, but as staged by Anderson, working at the peak of his powers, it’s also the kind of galvanic and enveloping movie that imprints its themes onto your headspace. You want to think about it, talk about it, debate it.
Here’s a prediction that sounds counterintuitive, but I’ll stand by it: I think a solid segment of the audience for this movie is going to come from the right. The red-state demo has tended to shun films like “Civil War,” which it views as liberal-left agit-prop, but I suspect that there’s something about the big vision of “One Battle After Another” that could prove uniquely inviting. (It doesn’t hurt to have Leonardo DiCaprio giving his most inspired and relatable performance in years.) The film depicts an underground band of revolutionary guerrillas, but instead of holding them up as shining heroes, it portrays them in shades of gray, spotlighting their naïveté and selfishness. And Sean Penn’s portrayal of the Army despot Col. Lockjaw is a satire of control-freak military manners flecked with humanity. I think people on the right will go to see “One Battle After Another” for the best reason: They’ll be curious about it. And just maybe, in ways they will or will not acknowledge, it could wind up speaking to them. In a world where Ted Cruz could take a stand against President Trump during the Jimmy Kimmel saga, I think the message is: Many things are not set in stone.
Tehran residents said they were deeply worried about the return of United Nations sanctions and a nosediving local currency. (AP video/Saeed Sarmadi)
The United Nations reimposed sanctions on Iran early Sunday over its nuclear program, further squeezing the Islamic Republic as its people increasingly find themselves priced out of the food they need to survive and worried about their futures.
The sanctions will again freeze Iranian assets abroad, halt arms deals with Tehran, and penalize any development of Iran’s ballistic missile program, among other measures. It came via a mechanism known as “snapback,” included in Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, and comes as Iran’s economy already is reeling.
Iran’s rial currency sits at a record low, increasing pressure on food prices and making daily life that much more challenging. That includes meat, rice and other staples of the Iranian dinner table.
Meanwhile, people worry about a new round of fighting between Iran and Israel — as well as potentially the United States — as missile sites struck during the 12-day war in June now appear to be being rebuilt.
Activists fear a rising wave of repression within the Islamic Republic, which already has reportedly executed more people this year than over the past three decades.
Sina, the father of a 12-year-old boy who spoke on condition that only his first name be used for fear of repercussions, said the country has never faced such a challenging time, even during the deprivations of the 1980s Iran-Iraq war and the decades of sanctions that came later.
“For as long as I can remember, we’ve been struggling with economic hardship, and every year it’s worse than the last,” Sina told The Associated Press. “For my generation, it’s always either too late or too early — our dreams are slipping away.”
Iran sanctions set to ‘snapback’
Snapback was designed to be veto-proof at the U.N. Security Council, meaning China and Russia could not stop it alone, as they have other proposed actions against Tehran in the past. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov called them a “trap” for Iran on Saturday.
France, Germany and the United Kingdom triggered snapback over Iran 30 days ago for its further restricting monitoring of its nuclear program and the deadlock over its negotiations with the U.S.
Iran further withdrew from the International Atomic Energy Agency monitoring after Israel’s war with the country in June, which also saw the U.S. strike nuclear sites in the Islamic Republic. Meanwhile, the country still maintains a stockpile of uranium enriched up to 60% purity — a short, technical step away from weapons-grade levels of 90% — that is largely enough to make several atomic bombs, should Tehran choose to rush toward weaponization.
Iran has long insisted its nuclear program is peaceful, though the West and IAEA say Tehran had an organized weapons program up until 2003.
The three European nations on Sunday said they “continuously made every effort to avoid triggering snapback.” But Iran “has not authorized IAEA inspectors to regain access to Iran’s nuclear sites, nor has it produced and transmitted to the IAEA a report accounting for its stockpile of high-enriched uranium.”
Tehran has further argued that the three European nations shouldn’t be allowed to implement snapback, pointing in part to America’s unilateral withdrawal from the accord in 2018, during the first term of President Donald Trump’s administration.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio praised the three European nations for “an act of decisive global leadership” for imposing the sanctions on Iran and said “diplomacy is still an option.”
“For that to happen, Iran must accept direct talks,” Rubio said.
However, it remains unclear how Tehran will respond Sunday.
“The Trump administration appears to think it has a stronger hand post-strikes, and it can wait for Iran to come back to the table,” said Kelsey Davenport, a nuclear expert at the Washington-based Arms Control Association. “Given the knowledge Iran has, given the materials that remain in Iran, that’s a very dangerous assumption.”
Risks also remain for Iran as well, she added: “In the short term, kicking out the IAEA increases the risk of miscalculation. The U.S. or Israel could use the lack of inspections as a pretext for further strikes.”
Hunger and anxiety grow in Iran
The aftermath of the June war drove up food prices in Iran, putting already expensive meat out of reach for poorer families.
Iran’s government put overall annual inflation at 34.5% in June, and its Statistical Center reported that the cost of essential food items rose over 50% over the same period. But even that doesn’t reflect what people see at shops. Pinto beans tripled in price in a year, while butter nearly doubled. Rice, a staple, rose more than 80% on average, hitting 100% for premium varieties. Whole chicken is up 26%, while beer and lamb are up 9%.
“Every day I see new higher prices for cheese, milk and butter,” said Sima Taghavi, a mother of two, at a Tehran grocery. “I cannot omit them like fruits and meat from my grocery list because my kids are too young to be deprived.”
The pressure over food and fears about the war resuming have seen more patients heading to psychologists since June, local media in Iran have reported.
“The psychological pressure from the 12-day war on the one hand, and runaway inflation and price hikes on the other, has left society exhausted and unmotivated,” Dr. Sima Ferdowsi, a clinical psychologist and professor at Shahid Beheshti University, told the Hamshahri newspaper in an interview published in July.
Ukraine’s Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant entered its fifth day running on emergency generators Saturday, prompting mounting safety concerns.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, meanwhile, announced a $90 billion arms agreement with the United States and criticized Hungary for carrying out “dangerous” intelligence-gathering drone activities over Ukraine.
External power to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, Europe’s largest, has been cut for more than four days in a record outage at the six-reactor facility on the front line of the war, Greenpeace Ukraine warned Saturday.
Emergency diesel generators are being used to power cooling and safety systems after the final power line was severed on Tuesday, according to the U.N. nuclear watchdog. Rafael Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, met with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday, but the external power supply was not restored.
The reactor core and used nuclear fuel must be cooled to prevent them overheating and triggering dangerous meltdowns like the ones that occurred in 2011, when an earthquake and tsunami hit the Fukushima plant in Japan. The U.N. atomic watchdog has repeatedly warned of the possibility of a radiation catastrophe like the one at Chernobyl, about 480 kilometers (300 miles) to the northwest, where a reactor exploded in 1986.
Ukrainian officials confirmed the severity of the situation. Minister of Energy Svitlana Hrynchuk told The Associated Press that “the plant remains in blackout mode, which is a significant violation of the conditions for its normal operation,” marking the 10th such incident since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022. The cause, she said, was another shelling by the Russians, which damaged the only power transmission line supplying the plant from the Ukrainian energy system.
The Russian-controlled Telegram channel for the plant said Saturday that “sufficient diesel fuel reserves are available on-site to ensure long-term autonomous operation of the generators.”
A radiation and nuclear energy specialist at Greenpeace Ukraine, Jan Vande Putte, said “emergency diesel generators are considered the last line of defense, used only in extreme circumstances.”
“These are undoubtedly the most serious and important events since the beginning of the occupation of the ZNPP by Russia in March 2022,” he said.
Images suggest Russia may be trying to restart one reactor
Putte said that it was Russia’s “deliberate actions” that led to the plant’s disconnection from the external power grid of Ukraine. He warned that the development advanced Russia’s state-owned nuclear energy company Rosatom’s “long-standing goal” to “connect to the illegally occupied power grid in Zaporizhia and Donetsk regions and restart the nuclear reactor.”
New satellite analysis by Greenpeace Ukraine suggests that Russia may be positioning to restart at least one reactor despite high-risk wartime conditions. The environmental group said Russian engineers are building 125 miles (201 kilometers) of power lines connecting substations in the occupied cities of Melitopol and Mariupol, with construction beginning in December 2024.
According to Greenpeace’s analysis, Russia has also completed construction of a new water supply system for the plant’s cooling pond and deliberately damaged a 750-kilovolt power line that had connected the facility to Ukraine’s electrical grid.
The Associated Press could not independently verify Greenpeace Ukraine’s analysis.
The plant has been held by Russia since Moscow’s invasion in 2022. Its six reactors remain fueled with uranium though they are in a so-called cold shutdown — meaning nuclear reactions have stopped. However, the plant relies on external electricity to keep its reactor cool and power other safety systems. That external power has been cut multiple times in the war, forcing the plant to rely on diesel generators on site.
The city of Zaporizhzhia, about 440 kilometers (275 miles) southeast of Kyiv, is held by Ukraine and attacks have occurred around the plant as the front line is close. The IAEA rotates staff through the facility to check the plant’s safety and offer its expertise.
Zelenskyy addresses arms deal and regional tensions
Zelenskyy detailed Saturday at a press briefing in Kyiv what he called a “mega deal” for weapons purchases from the United States, with technical meetings beginning in late September. The $90 billion package includes both the major arms agreement and a separate “drone deal” for Ukrainian-made drones that the U.S. will purchase directly.
“We discussed and agreed on the main points with the President (Trump). Now we are moving on to practical implementation,” Zelenskyy said, adding that Ukraine had provided detailed specifications of its military needs to the U.S., including requests for long-range weapons systems.
Zelenskyy also criticized Hungarian drone activity over Ukraine, saying Ukrainian intelligence tracked of at least one drone. “I believe they are doing very dangerous things — very dangerous things, first and foremost for themselves,” Zelenskyy said.
Grieving widow Erika Kirk made a rare appearance on her late husband’s podcast, sharing how his legacy and voice would live on in his absence — vowing that “The Charlie Kirk Show” is here to stay.
Kirk hosted Friday’s episode and reassured listeners that the Turning Point USA founder’s political movement and popular show will continue with a new format and a rotation of emcees, just two weeks after the 31-year-old conservative activist was viciously assassinated during a speaking event in Utah.
“‘The Charlie Kirk Show’ is not going anywhere,” the mom of two stressed.
Erika Kirk hosted “The Charlie Kirk Show” on Friday and vowed that her slain husband’s podcast will continue on. Charlie Kirk / YouTube
“My husband’s voice will live on. The show will go on. We will have rotating hosts, rotating casts, rotating people coming on. It is going to be continually the north star of the conservative movement, of the voice of the youth, of the voice of the base, and that will not end.”
Kirk, who laughed and smiled throughout the episode, recalled her mother once telling the slain right-wing influencer that he was his generation’s Rush Limbaugh — a compliment that drove him to take his show, which launched in 2019, to new heights.
She also reaffirmed her pledge to continue her sweetheart’s “American Comeback Tour” on college campuses nationwide, adding that Turning Point USA, where she was recently named CEO, is moving “full steam ahead” with even more work than she “could ever dream of.”
“We’ll never be silenced,” Kirk said.
“That’s why continuing his platform in a beautiful, honorable way will reinforce that he will never be silenced. My husband’s voice will go on.”
Her appearance comes five days after Charlie’s memorial service, where she publicly forgave Tyler Robinson, the 22-year-old accused of gunning him down at Utah Valley University on Sept. 10.
“We need a more representative and a more inclusive UN that reflects current realities,” says Foreign Affairs Minister Vivian Balakrishnan.
Singapore’s Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan addresses the 80th United Nations General Assembly at the UN headquarters in New York City on Sep 28, 2025. (Photo: Reuters/Eduardo Munoz)
Singapore has called on the United Nations to rein in the rising use of veto powers by the five permanent members of the Security Council and pressed for reforms to make the organisation more inclusive.
Delivering the country’s national statement at the UN General Assembly in New York on Sunday (Sep 28), Foreign Affairs Minister Vivian Balakrishnan said the veto is being deployed with growing frequency at a time of widening conflicts.
“The increasing, and if I may add, cynical use of vetoes by the P5 must be constrained,” said Dr Balakrishnan, adding that the wider UN membership must reach an agreement on how this veto is exercised in the future.
“Just as the world has changed dramatically in the last 80 years, it is also clear that the UN needs to reform to be fit for purpose for the next stretch,” he said. “We need a more representative and a more inclusive UN that reflects current realities.”
The five permanent members of the Security Council – China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States – hold veto power, which allows any one of them to block the adoption of any substantive resolution, regardless of how much support it has among the rest of the council.
Earlier this month, the US vetoed for the sixth time a draft resolution that would have demanded a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of hostages, saying that it fails to condemn Hamas or recognise Israel’s right to defend itself. All 14 other members of the council voted in favour of the resolution.
Dr Balakrishnan acknowledged the role of the council’s elected members, saying their presence “gives the wider membership of the UN greater agency in addressing the pressing issues of the day”. But he also called for a stronger relationship between the Security Council and the General Assembly.
In a statement at the UN Security Council open debate last year, Singapore also called for the reform of the council, including constraining the use of veto powers.
Dr Balakrishnan’s remarks on Sunday came as the UN marks 80 years since the end of World War II. The multilateral system, grounded in international law, enabled small states like Singapore to flourish, he said.
This post-war world order “has come to an end”, Dr Balakrishnan said. The current distribution of economic weight, technological sophistication and military strength is “very different from the world of 1945”.
“It is obvious that the UN and the other international organisations have not evolved to keep up with the times,” he said.
Dr Balakrishnan pointed out that the world today has become “more turbulent, more uncertain, and in some places, more violent”.
“The erosion of respect for the principles of the UN Charter, the egregious violations of international law and of international humanitarian law, have unfortunately become common, as have violations of sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
The wars in the Middle East, Ukraine and parts of Africa reflect this tragedy, Dr Balakrishnan said. He reiterated that Singapore will reconsider its position on recognising the Palestinian state if Israel “takes further steps to extinguish a two-state solution”.
The geopolitical shifts have also disrupted the multilateral and economic trading system, he said.
“Decades of progressive trade liberalisation and investments expanded opportunities and prosperity all over the globe. But today those are at risk. The tariffs, the export controls, are being used as levers to secure unilateral advantage, including sometimes to address non-trade related issues.”
“DOUBLE DOWN ON MULTILATERALISM”
Despite the prevailing pessimism, Dr Balakrishnan said small states like Singapore cannot afford to be passive.
The multilateral system, underpinned by the UN, remains the best way to uphold global peace and prosperity in a “fair and inclusive way”, he said.
“We’re here to call on all of us to double down on multilateralism founded on international law,” he said. “Even small states and middle powers have agency and we have strategic autonomy to collectively protect our long-term national interests and the global commons.”
He cited “success stories” such as the ratification of the BBNJ Agreement, a legally binding treaty to conserve and sustainably use marine biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction, which show that the multilateral system still works.
Dr Balakrishnan also said Singapore has nominated ambassador Rena Lee to serve as a judge on the International Court of Justice next year, noting that if elected, she would be the first woman and only the second person from Southeast Asia to serve on the ICJ.
He ended his address by quoting Singapore’s first Foreign Minister S Rajaratnam: “Despite cynics who focus attention on its many shortcomings, Singapore has faith in the future of the United Nations simply because without it there is no worthwhile future for humanity.”
“These words still ring true today,” Dr Balakrishnan said. “So together, let us ensure that this institution continues to serve as humanity’s best hope for peace and prosperity for all of us.”
In an interview with Singapore journalists after his speech, he said that despite being a small state, Singapore has played a constructive role at the UN.
On social media, tourists are complaining about the “expectations vs reality” of Bali – How did we get here?
Bali, Indonesia’s famed tropical paradise, has charmed plenty of tourists over the years.
But it’s also leaving a growing number disillusioned – recently among them Zoe Rae.
“Since landing in Bali, something for us has just not felt quite right,” she said in a YouTube video in July, filmed in her hotel room.
“We came to Bali with high expectations because we’d seen on social media everyone having such a lovely time.”
She added: “If you took a picture of the coffee shop and zoomed out, you would see what the reality was.”
Ms Rae did not describe the reality she saw – nor reply to the BBC’s questions. But it was unsettling enough to make her book an impromptu flight to Dubai to continue celebrating her wedding anniversary there instead.
One does not need to look far for clues.
Social media posts about “expectations vs reality” in Bali abound.
Diners enjoying the sunset at a beach-side restaurant – and the piles of rubbish along the rickety stairs to get there.
The bikini-clad pose in front of a waterfall, while a snaking line of tourists await their turn on slippery rocks.
The alfresco smoothies with bamboo straws, right beside soot-puffing motorcycles stuck on jammed roads.
Millions flock to Bali every year in search of the spiritual Shangri-La promised in the noughties memoir and film Eat, Pray, Love.
What they’re greeted by instead are crowds, traffic and the cacophony of construction, which has ramped up alongside a post-pandemic boom in tourism.
The growing strain on the island had produced plenty of eye-rolls and grumbles, but this month events took a sombre turn.
More than a dozen people died in rare floods on the island. Poor waste management and unchecked urban development had worsened the situation, officials said.
The local government has since announced it will restrict new construction. But many see such interventions as too little, too late.
How did Bali, celebrated for decades as the “last paradise”, get to this point?
#Bali on Instagram
Western adventurers have been turning up in Bali since the early 20th Century, when it was seen as an exotic backwater, home to Hindu temples and rice fields.
Spirituality and a reverence for nature run deep: monkeys, cows and birds carry sacred import, large ancient trees are thought to house spirits, and the popular trekking volcano Mount Batur is believed to be protected by a goddess.
Bali was “one of the first places that there was all this talk of utopia and great beauty and culture,” says Gisela Williams, a Berlin-based travel writer who has been visiting the island since the ’90s.
“It’s the Balinese Hindu culture that has created this myth of the place.”
Over the past decade, tourism to the island has skyrocketed, from 3.8 million visitors in 2014 to to 6.3 million last year.
This year looks set to be a record-breaker: the island appears on track to welcome more than seven million foreign tourists.
Rather than unique traditions or idyll, Bali today is better known for its beach clubs and surf houses.
Alcohol is easily available and scanty clothing is more acceptable compared to the rest of Indonesia. And most visitors also want to immerse themselves in Bali’s luxe hotels, villas and spas.
“You have a lot of Westerners who are really taking advantage of the affordability of a luxury lifestyle,” Ms Williams says. “Since social media has taken over, it’s a very superficial way of understanding a place… You just see a picture, and then you go.”
Zoe Rae’s disillusionment with the reality she encountered in Bali exposes the idealised image held by many casual travellers.
Responding to Mr Rae’s post, Hollie Marie, a British content creator living in Bali, warned in a TikTok video that “only looking up Bali on Instagram will give you a distorted reality of the island itself”.
“The problem with Bali is people come here and only stay in certain areas because they want to see cute cafes, visit Instagrammable places. And they miss out on the fact that Bali is a very culturally rich island,” Ms Marie tells the BBC.
Those who live there, or have explored beyond the obvious haunts, will tell you Bali’s natural beauty is alive and well, from dolphin-watching and dive explorations, to the lush landscape in the quieter north.
The island is “much, much more” than the “party places” that tourists tend to visit, says Canny Claudya, who moved to Bali from Indonesia’s capital, Jakarta.
“If you think that Bali is overcrowded, then you’re just not in the right places.”
‘Eroded day by day’
Still, locals say their island has certainly changed under the demands of tourism.
And when they hear of complaints that this is not the paradise travellers signed up for, some point out that such comments are dripping with irony.
“When tourists said they are disappointed with Bali being more crowded, they are also part of the crowd,” says I Made Vikannanda, a Balinese researcher who advocates for the protection of the island’s nature and people.
“It’s like when we’re in traffic, we’re like ‘Why is there so much traffic?’ But we’re in a car. We’re the ones driving the car, we’re the ones making the traffic,” he said.
Twenty-two-year-old Ni Kadek Sintya recalls a time when she used to ride her scooter through the quiet roads of Canggu, past paddy fields where she would take a lunch break.
Five years on, Canggu has some of the worst traffic on the island. And Ms Sintya’s journey to her job in a wellness resort is lined with villas and cafes, and impatient honks follow her all the way.
“I wouldn’t bother stopping, let alone rest there,” she said. “Now every time I ride past that spot I used to sit [at], there’s this feeling of sadness. I feel that Bali is being eroded day by day.”
As tourism rises, hotels, cafes and bars have been fanning out from the island’s congested south.
The latest hipster destination is Canggu, a once sleepy fishing village that has become a magnet for surfers from around the world.
Canggu follows in the footsteps of other neighbourhoods, from Uluwatu to Seminyak, quiet backwaters that have transformed as tourists search for new “hidden gems”.
This migration has seen trendy cafes, gyms and co-working spaces pop up along narrow rural roads.
Pererenan, to the north, is now being hailed as a more laid-back Canggu.
Further north, in the forests of Ubud, resorts are marketing themselves as a sanctuary to escape the bustle of the south.
“There’s a real catch-22,” Ms Marie says. “On one hand, it’s always a good thing to encourage people to visit different areas… But I think there’s a danger to that as well, because that will encourage people to build everywhere and anywhere.”
Plus, she adds, “people treat Bali a bit like a playground”.
Barely a month goes by without misbehaving tourists making headlines: they have been in serious accidents after riding scooters intoxicated or without helmets; foreigners were deported for getting naked at sacred sites; others got in trouble for drunken brawls.
Adding to recent tensions are thousands of Russians and Ukrainians who have been settling down in Bali after fleeing the war.
The head of Indonesia’s National Narcotics Agency recently warned of a growing problem with Russians and Ukrainians engaging in criminal activities in Bali.
Cleaning up
Local resentment is rising, with social media vigilantes putting misbehaving tourists on blast – even as the Balinese maintain their world-famous hospitality.
“A lot of tourists think because they’re the ones with money to spend on our island, we locals should be OK with whatever they do,” says Ms Sintya, who like many of her generation have come to rely on the stability of a career in tourism.
“It can feel like I’m being trapped,” she says, “because we live on tourism. So if we stop tourism, what will we survive on?”
Despite the “uncontrolled growth” of tourism, Mr Vikannanda, the researcher, thinks the “development of Bali and the harmony of nature can still be maintained”.
“I’m still optimistic. Especially with the participation of young people.”
Indeed, businesses and activists have launched ground-up efforts to encourage sustainable development, from waste management education to beach clean-ups.
Authorities, who have been criticised for not regulating tourism enough, are also trying to clean up the island.
Earlier this year, Bali banned single-use plastics and issued behaviour guidelines for visitors to “ensure that Bali’s tourism remains respectful, sustainable, and in harmony with our local values”.
Police have been deployed to popular areas to make sure visitors follow rules.
Pictures online showed shoes and water bottles strewn across the road where the crush happened
At least 39 people have died, including children, in a crush at a political rally in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, officials say.
Tens of thousands of people had gathered on Saturday at a campaign event for actor-turned-politician Vijay, in the southern Karur district.
It was delayed by several hours, local media reported. Images broadcast on television showed people fainting in the packed crowds.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin told reporters in Karur that the death toll included at least 17 women, 13 men and nine children. A further 51 people were receiving treatment, he said.
Compensation of one million rupees ($11,300; £8,400) will be provided to the families of the deceased, Stalin added, and there will be an inquiry into the incident.
One man told Indian news agency ANI from outside a hospital that his brother’s two sons had been at the event.
“The elder one passed away, the younger one is missing. My relatives, my sister-in-law, is in the ICU. What should I do?” he said.
Vijay wrote in an online statement that his heart was “broken” and that he was in “unbearable, indescribable pain and sorrow”.
He sent his “deepest sympathies and condolences” to the families of those who had died, and prayers for a “speedy recovery” to those in hospital.
UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper issued the statement on Iran alongside her French and German counterparts
Sweeping UN economic and military sanctions have been reimposed on Iran – 10 years after they were lifted in a landmark international deal over its nuclear programme.
The new measures took effect as the three European partners to the deal – the UK, France and Germany – activated the so-called “snapback” mechanism, accusing Iran of “continued nuclear escalation” and lack of co-operation.
Iran suspended inspections of its nuclear facilities – a legal obligation under the terms of the 2015 deal – after Israel and the US bombed several of its nuclear sites and military bases in June.
Its President Masoud Pezeshkian insisted last week that the country had no intention of developing nuclear weapons.
The reintroduction of sanctions – which Pezeshkian described as “unfair, unjust, and illegal” – is the latest blow to a deal that was heralded as a turning point in Western relations with the long-ostracised Islamist nation when it was first struck.
The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) places limits on Iran’s nuclear installations, its stockpiles of enriched uranium, and the amount of research and development it can undertake.
It aims to allow Iran to develop its nuclear power infrastructure without straying into making nuclear weaponry.
Iran stepped up its banned nuclear activity after Donald Trump pulled the US out of the agreement during his first term as president in 2016.
He has persistently criticised the deal, negotiated under his predecessor Barack Obama, as flawed, vowing to negotiate better terms.
The US and Israeli bombing of nuclear facilities in June was intended to reverse some of Iran’s nuclear progress, as well as punish it for arming regional proxies that have repeatedly attacked Israel.
While Trump said these had caused “monumental damage”, others cast doubt on the extent to which they had hindered Iran’s nuclear programme.
European allies that remain party to the deal still hope negotiations will yield a cooling of tensions.
“We urge Iran to refrain from any escalatory action,” they said in a joint statement, adding: “The reimposition of UN sanctions is not the end of diplomacy.”
Talks between the three countries and Iran on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly earlier this week failed to produce a deal which would have delayed the sanctions being reimposed.
The foreign ministers of the so-called E3 said they had “no choice” but to trigger the snapback procedure, as Iran had “repeatedly breached” its commitments.
They cited Iran’s failure to “take the necessary actions to address our concerns, nor to meet our asks on extension, despite extensive dialogue”.
Specifically, they mentioned Tehran’s refusal to co-operate with the UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
“Iran has not authorised IAEA inspectors to regain access to Iran’s nuclear sites, nor has it produced and transmitted to the IAEA a report accounting for its stockpile of high-enriched uranium,” the statement read.
The suspension of IAEA inspections began following the US/Israeli bombings, but the agency confirmed on Friday that they had resumed.
Pezeshkian has softened earlier threats of Iran quitting the Non-Proliferation Treaty altogether – but has warned that a return of sanctions would put negotiations in jeopardy.
Residents of Gaza City are still evacuating as the fighting intensifies
More than 35 people have been killed in Israeli strikes and gunfire since the early hours of Saturday morning, hospital sources in Gaza say.
A strike on a house in central Gaza left at least 11 people dead – more that half of them women and children – according to officials at al-Ahli Arab hospital in Gaza City.
Health workers said nine members of the same family were among those killed in an Israeli strike on the Nuseirat refugee camp, and at least six people are reported to have been killed while seeking aid in central and southern Gaza.
It comes a day after Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu told the United Nations that Israel “must finish the job” against Hamas.
The Israeli air force says it has hit approximately 120 targets across the Strip since Friday – including, the military says, “buildings used by terror groups, terror operatives and other infrastructure”.
It is clear there has been no let up in Israel’s recent expanded ground offensive against Hamas, which is now mainly focused on Gaza City, where Israel says is the last stronghold of the armed group.
Hundreds of thousands of residents have fled the territory’s biggest urban centre, where a famine was confirmed last month by a UN-backed body. But hundreds of thousands more remain there in dire humanitarian conditions, with health and other essential services collapsing.
“They tell us go there, then come back here… People are in the streets, in the south scattered everywhere. Where should we go?” said Salwa Subhi Bakr, as quoted by AFP.
“What does the world want from us? What does Netanyahu want? What does Hamas want?” she said.
Several members of the Bakr family were killed during a strike on Al-Shati refugee camp in Gaza City, the news agency reported, citing the Hamas-run civil defence agency.
While international calls for a ceasefire have redoubled – bolstered by multiple new recognitions of Palestinian statehood at the UN this week – Israel remains intent on maintaining maximum pressure on Hamas to try to force it into surrender.
That was the message once again from Prime Minister Netanyahu at the UN General Assembly in New York on Friday, where many delegates walked out in protest as he took to the stage.
Donald Trump has once again expressed optimism about negotiating a deal that would see the hostages released and a new ceasefire in Gaza.
The US president said his team was close to achieving this goal, as what he called “very inspired and productive discussions” were being held with countries across the region.
Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, says that the US has come up with a new 21-point peace plan for the Middle East and Gaza.
It has not been formally presented, but various media reports have laid out what is said to be its key provisions.
These reportedly go beyond the release of all hostages, large numbers of Palestinian prisoners and an immediate ceasefire, to include what The Times of Israel says would be a pathway to a future Palestinian state.
But that is something Netanyahu strongly rejected in his address to the UN.
It has also been reported that the plan would enable Palestinians to remain in the Gaza Strip, rather than encourage many to leave.
Such provisions – if they are confirmed – are certain to be talking points when Trump meets Netanyahu on Monday. The US leader’s optimism may receive a reality check at that meeting.
The Times of Israel – which says it had seen a copy of the US proposal – says that it also includes a commitment for Hamas to disarm, as well as the full demilitarisation of Gaza and the establishment of a process to de-radicalise the population.
It is clear that both Hamas and the Israeli government would have to make greater concessions than they have so far committed themselves to, if the plan as it has been reported so far is to have any chance of success.
The Israeli military launched a campaign in Gaza in response to the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.
Dr Jaishankar did not mince words, linking Pakistan to the recent barbarity of the Pahalgam terror attack in April 2025
Jaishankar’s intervention followed India’s earlier robust response to the Pahalgam tragedy, which included retaliatory strikes against terror infrastructure in Pakistan under Operation Sindoor. File pic/PTI
India’s External Affairs Minister, Dr S Jaishankar, delivered a scathing attack on Pakistan during his address to the 80th UN General Assembly (UNGA) in New York, labelling the neighbouring nation an “epicentre of terrorism”. The minister’s powerful remarks centred on the systemic and state-supported nature of terror, which he asserted remains the single largest threat to regional stability.
Dr Jaishankar did not mince words, linking Pakistan to the recent barbarity of the Pahalgam terror attack in April 2025, where 26 innocent tourists, primarily Hindu civilians, were massacred. He stressed that this act was a brutal reminder that terror hubs across the border “operate in industrial scale”, thriving due to governmental patronage. Furthermore, he condemned the disturbing normalisation of violence, highlighting that “terrorists are publicly glorified” by the state apparatus.
The EAM presented a clear demand to the international community: what is required is “relentless pressure” on the entire ecosystem that supports extremism. He outlined the immediate policy imperative to “choke the financing of terror”, calling for concerted global action to cut off the financial lifelines of terrorist organisations. India’s stance, he affirmed, is one of zero tolerance, making it clear that there will be no distinction between the terrorists and their sponsors, both of whom will be held accountable.
Musician Roger Waters, addresses pro-Palestinian demonstrators alongside Colombian President Gustavo Petro, at Dag Hammarskjold Plaza outside U.N. headquarters during the 80th United Nations General Assembly in New York City, U.S., September 26, 2025. REUTERS/Bing Guan Purchase Licensing Rights
Colombian President Gustavo Petro on Saturday dismissed the U.S. decision to revoke his visa and accused Washington of violating international law over his criticism of Israel’s war in Gaza.
The U.S. said on Friday it would revoke Petro’s visa after he took to New York’s streets on Friday to join a pro-Palestinian demonstration and urged U.S. soldiers to disobey President Donald Trump’s orders.
“I no longer have a visa to travel to the United States. I don’t care. I don’t need a visa … because I’m not only a Colombian citizen but a European citizen, and I truly consider myself a free person in the world,” Petro said on social media.
“Revoking it for denouncing genocide shows the U.S. no longer respects international law,” he added on a post on X.
Israel has repeatedly denied genocide charges over its actions in Gaza and says it is acting in self-defense.
Images of starving Palestinians, including children, have sparked global outrage against Israel’s assault on Gaza, which has killed 65,000 people, according to Gazan authorities, and internally displaced the entire population of the enclave. Multiple rights experts, scholars and a U.N. inquiry say this amounts to genocide.
Israel calls its actions self-defense after the October 2023 attack by Hamas that killed 1,200 people and in which over 250 were taken hostage.
Petro, addressing a crowd of pro-Palestinian protesters outside U.N. headquarters in Manhattan, called for a global armed force with the priority to liberate Palestinians and urged U.S. soldiers “not to point their guns at people. Disobey the orders of Trump. Obey the orders of humanity.”
The State Department posted on X that it would “revoke Petro’s visa due to his reckless and incendiary actions.”
Colombia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement that using visa revocation as a diplomatic weapon goes against the spirit of the U.N., which protects freedom of expression and guarantees the independence of member states at U.N. events.
“The U.N. should find a completely neutral host country … that would allow the Organization itself to issue authorization to enter the territory of that new host State,” the ministry said.
Petro is not the first Colombian president to have his U.S. visa revoked. In 1996, then-President Ernesto Samper’s visa was canceled over a political scandal involving allegations that the Cali drug cartel had funded his presidential campaign.
Nuclear symbol and Iran flag are seen in this illustration, July 21, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration REFILE – CORRECTING YEAR Purchase Licensing Rights
Iran’s clerical rulers face one of their gravest crises since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, caught between growing discontent at home and a stalled nuclear deal that together have left the country more isolated and divided.
The United Nations reimposed sanctions on Iran on Saturday after last-ditch talks between Tehran and European powers Britain, France and Germany failed to resolve the latest of decades of standoffs over Iran’s nuclear program.
Without a breakthrough in talks with the West, four Iranian officials and two insiders predicted Iran’s economic isolation would further intensify, stoking public fury.
Yet accepting the West’s demands risks fracturing the ruling elite and sidelining the Islamic Republic’s revolutionary beliefs in “not succumbing to Western pressure” that define Tehran’s unbowed stance, they said.
CONCERNS MOUNT IN TEHRAN OVER POTENTIAL ISRAELI STRIKES
“The clerical establishment is trapped between a rock and a hard place. The existence of the Islamic Republic is in peril,” one official said, adding that “Our people cannot handle more economic pressure or another war.”
Adding to these strains are mounting concerns in Tehran over potential renewed Israeli strikes on Iranian nuclear sites if nuclear diplomacy with the West fails, a second official said.
A 12-day war in June that began with Israeli airstrikes, followed by U.S. strikes on three Iranian nuclear installations, shocked Tehran, kicking off just a day before a planned sixth round of talks with Washington over Tehran’s nuclear program.
U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have warned they will not hesitate to hit Iran again if it resumes enrichment of uranium, a possible pathway to developing nuclear weapons.
“I think the chances of war breaking out are significant, given Israel’s aggressive posture and the strong support it currently receives from the United States,” former lawmaker Gholamali Jafarzade Imenabadi told Iranian media on Thursday.
Britain, France and Germany triggered the snapback of U.N. sanctions on August 28, accusing Iran of violating its 2015 nuclear pact with world powers. The measures took effect on Saturday after failed negotiating efforts to delay it this week during the U.N. General Assembly.
The United States, its European allies and Israel accuse Tehran of using its nuclear program as a veil for efforts to try to develop the capability to produce weapons. Iran says its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only.
TEHRAN SAYS RENEWED SANCTIONS WILL FORCE HARDER NUCLEAR LINE
Iranian authorities have said renewed sanctions will push them toward a tougher nuclear stance, but the threat of Israeli attacks has left them with scant room to manoeuvre.
A former moderate senior Iranian official doubted Tehran would take drastic steps as the leadership understands the risks amid its weakened regional position, mounting domestic pressures and the potential cost of further escalation.
Rifts are widening within Iran’s ruling elite over how to navigate the crisis — some push for a tougher line while others resist, fearing it could trigger the Islamic Republic’s collapse.
With Trump’s speedy revival of a “maximum pressure” campaign on Tehran since February with new sanctions and threats of further military action, a second official said some decision-makers in Tehran believe “maintaining the status quo — no war, no deal and continued talks — is the best option without offering further concessions.”
The new measures could significantly increase pressure on Iran’s economy, further restricting its trade with countries that have previously disregarded unilateral U.S. sanctions.
The U.N. sanctions include limitations on Iran’s oil, banking and finance sectors, an arms embargo, a ban on uranium enrichment and reprocessing, a ban on activities with ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons, a global asset freeze and travel bans on Iranian individuals and entities.
POPULAR ANGER MOUNTS OVER DEEPENING ECONOMIC WOES
Compounding Tehran’s challenges, Iran’s clerical establishment is grappling with mounting popular anger over deepening economic woes.
Many Iranians, like primary school teacher Shima, fear that revival of U.N. sanctions will further cripple the economy, already under worsening strain because of years of sanctions and mismanagement.
“We already struggle to make ends meet. More sanctions means more economic pressure. How are we going to survive?,” Shima, 36, a mother of two, told Reuters from Tehran by telephone.
The clerical leadership is increasingly concerned that mounting public anger over economic hardships could erupt into mass protests that would “further harm its position on the international stage,” the second official said.
ICE agents charge towards protesters during a protest against the U.S. President Donald Trump administration’s immigration policies, outside an ICE detention facility in Portland, Oregon, U.S., September 1, 2025. REUTERS/John Rudoff/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
U.S. PresidentDonald Trump on Saturday said he was directing the U.S. military to deploy to Portland, Oregon and to protect federal immigration facilities against “domestic terrorists”, saying he was authorizing them to use “full force, if necessary.”
Ordering the latest crackdown on a Democrat-led city, Trump said in a social media post that he was directing Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth “to provide all necessary Troops to protect War ravaged Portland, and any of our ICE Facilities under siege from attack by Antifa, and other domestic terrorists.”
Portland Mayor Keith Wilson, who like other Oregon officials learned of Trump’s order from social media, said: “The number of necessary troops is zero, in Portland and any other American city. The president will not find lawlessness or violence here unless he plans to perpetrate it.”
Violent crime in Portland has dropped in the first six months of 2025, data show. Homicides fell by 51% compared to the same period a year earlier, according to preliminary data released by the Major Cities Chiefs Association in its Midyear Violent Crime Report. That report showed Portland had 17 homicides in the period compared with 56 in Louisville, Kentucky, and 124 in Memphis, Tennessee, which have comparable population sizes.
In a press conference on Saturday, Oregon Governor Tina Kotek, a Democrat, rejected the need for troops and said she spoke with Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
“There is no insurrection, there is no threat to national security, and there is no need for military troops in our major city,” Kotek said.
“I’m going to continue communicating that to the president, and I hope he will be open to reconsidering the deployment.”
U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, a Democrat from Oregon, wrote on X that Trump “may be replaying the 2020 playbook and surging into Portland with the goal of provoking conflict and violence.”
In 2020, protests erupted in downtown Portland, the Pacific Northwest enclave with a reputation as a liberal city, following the killing in Minneapolis of George Floyd. The protests dragged on for months and some civic leaders at the time said they were spurred rather than quelled by Trump’s deployment of federal troops.
GROWING TENSIONS IN MAJOR CITIES
It was unclear whether Trump’s warning that U.S. troops could use “full force” on the streets of Portland meant he was somehow authorizing lethal force and, if so, under what conditions. U.S. troops are able to use force in self-defense on domestic U.S. deployments.
The Pentagon did not offer any clarification about whether Trump was deploying National Guard, active-duty troops or perhaps a mix of the two, as was the case in Los Angeles earlier this year.
“We stand ready to mobilize U.S. military personnel in support of DHS operations in Portland at the President’s direction. The Department will provide information and updates as they become available,” said Sean Parnell, a Pentagon spokesperson.
Asked about the Portland decision on Saturday, Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said ICE agents needed to be protected amid protests against immigration raids.
“We’re not going to put up with it. This administration is not playing games,” she said in an interview on Fox News.
Portland Police Chief Bob Day said there had already been an increase in federal law enforcement in recent days to bolster security at the ICE facility in the city’s southwest.
There have been growing tensions in major U.S. cities over Trump’s aggressive immigration crackdown days after a shooting targeting an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Dallas left one detainee dead and two others seriously wounded.
TRUMP FOCUS ON CRIME, ‘ANTIFA’
On Thursday, Trump told reporters that “crazy people” were trying to burn buildings in Portland. “They’re professional agitators and anarchists,” he said, without providing evidence.
Trump last week signed an executive order that declares the anti-fascist antifa, movement a domestic “terrorist organization” as part of a crackdown on what he claims is left-wing-sponsored political violence.
According to U.S. law enforcement, there has never been a terrorist incident in the United States connected to antifa. Trump first sought to designate the movement as a domestic terror organization during the nationwide George Floyd protests.
The most notorious episode involving the movement occurred in Portland in August 2020, when Michael Reinoehl, a self-identified antifa supporter, shot and killed Aaron “Jay” Danielson, a member of the far-right group Patriot Prayer.
Reinoehl was killed by federal and local law enforcement officers during an attempt to arrest him.
Trump has made crime a major focus of his administration even as violent crime rates have fallen in many U.S. cities. His crackdown on municipalities led by Democrats including Los Angeles and Washington has spurred legal challenges and protests.
A man holds a laptop computer as cyber code is projected on him in this illustration picture taken on May 13, 2017. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel/Illustration/ File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
Cybercriminals have stolen data on over 8,000 children attending nurseries in London operated by childcare provider Kido International, the hackers said on their dark web portal.
The gang, which calls itself Radiant, evidenced its claim by publishing the names, photos, home addresses, and family contact information of 10 children it said attended one of Kido’s 18 nurseries in Greater London.
The hack, which raises serious concerns about child safeguarding and data privacy, was the latest in a string of serious ransomware incidents in Britain that have rocked businesses in Britain this year.
“Next steps for us will be to release 30 more ‘profiles’ of each child and 100 employees,” the post on Radiant’s leak website said.
Kido International did not respond to an emailed request from Reuters for comment. In a statement, London’s Metropolitan Police said they had made no arrests. “Enquiries are ongoing and remain in the early stages within the Met’s Cyber Crime Unit,” the statement said.
Speaking over an encrypted messaging service, the nursery hackers said they had been inside Kido’s networks for weeks.
Asked where they were based, the hackers said they were in Russia, though they did not provide evidence to support that statement.
Ransomware is malicious software used by cybercriminals to encrypt a company’s data and demand payment for its release. The hackers declined to say how much money they were asking Kido International to pay.
“Cybercriminals will target anyone if they think there is money to be made, and going after those who look after children is a particularly egregious act,” Jonathon Ellison of the National Cyber Security Centre, part of Britain’s GCHQ spy agency, said in a statement.
A government source said on Thursday that the British government was considering providing financial support for carmaker Jaguar Land Rover’s suppliers after a shutdown caused by a cyberattack was extended until October.
A day earlier, police said they had arrested a man as part of an investigation into a ransomware attack against Collins Aerospace, owned by RTX (RTX.N). The attack crippled automated check-in systems at London Heathrow, Britain’s busiest airport, and caused travel chaos at other airports across Europe.
People stand next to a destroyed tank turret, following deadly clashes between Druze fighters, Sunni Bedouin tribes and government forces, in Syria’s predominantly Druze city of Sweida, Syria July 25, 2025. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi Purchase Licensing Rights
Efforts to reach a security pact between Syria and Israel have hit a last-minute snag over Israel’s demand that it be allowed to open a “humanitarian corridor” to Syria’s southern province of Sweida, four sources familiar with the talks said.
Syria and Israel had come close in recent weeks to agreeing the broad outlines of a pact after months of U.S.-brokered talks in Baku, Paris and London that accelerated in the lead-up to the United Nations General Assembly in New York this week.
The pact was intended to create a demilitarized zone that would include the province of Sweida, where sectarian violence in July killed hundreds of people from the Druze, an offshoot of Islam.
ISRAEL SAYS IT WILL PROTECT SYRIA’S DRUZE
Israel, which has a 120,000-strong Druze minority whose men serve in the Israeli military, has said it will protect the sect and carried out military strikes in Syria under the banner of defending it.
In earlier talks in Paris, Israel asked to open a land corridor to Sweida for aid, but Syria rejected the request as a breach of its sovereignty.
Israel reintroduced the demand at a late stage in the talks, according to two Israeli officials, a Syrian source and a source in Washington briefed on the talks.
The Syrian source and the source in Washington said the renewed Israeli demand had derailed plans to announce a deal this week. The new sticking point has not been previously reported.
The State Department, the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Syria’s foreign ministry did not respond to questions on the contours of the deal or the sticking points.
NO TALKS SINCE LAST WEEK
U.S. envoy Tom Barrack, who has been brokering the talks between Syria and Israel, said on Tuesday the longtime foes were close to striking a “de-escalation agreement” in which Israel would stop its attacks and Syria would agree not to move any machinery or heavy equipment near the border with Israel.
He said it would serve as the first step towards the security deal that the two countries have been negotiating. One diplomat familiar with the matter said it appeared that the U.S. was “scaling down from a security deal to a de-escalation deal.”
Speaking shortly before Barrack at an event in New York, Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, a former al Qaeda leader who led rebel forces that seized Damascus last year, expressed concern that Israel may be stalling the talks.
“We are scared of Israel. We are worried about Israel. It’s not the other way around,” he said.
A Syrian official told Reuters that conversations before the U.N. General Assembly began were “positive,” but there had been no further conversations with Israeli officials this week.
Addressing the U.N. General Assembly on Friday, Netanyahu said he believed an agreement could be reached with Syria that would respect its sovereignty and protect both Israel and the security of minorities in the region.
His office said on Wednesday that concluding ongoing negotiations was “contingent on ensuring the interests of Israel, which include, inter alia, the demilitarization of south-western Syria and preserving the safety and security of the Druze in Syria.”
Syria and Israel have been foes since Israel’s founding in 1948. A disengagement agreement in 1974 created a narrow demilitarized zone monitored by the United Nations.
But since rebels toppled Syria’s then-leader Bashar al-Assad last December 8, Israel has carried out unprecedented strikes on Syria’s military assets across the country and sent troops into the country’s south.
In the artwork for her Target-exclusive “The Life of a Showgirl: The Crowd Is Your King” vinyl, Taylor Swift wears a bodysuit by The Blonds, crystal-covered Christian Louboutin heels and a show-stopping Kallati ring. Mert Alas, Marcus Piggott and TAS Rights Management
She polishes up real nice.
Taylor Swift announced her Target-exclusive “The Life of a Showgirl: The Crowd Is Your King” vinyl on Instagram Wednesday — and in the accompanying album artwork, she sports a ring that shines even brighter than the Las Vegas lights.
Designed by family-owned fine jewelry house Kallati and priced at $27,120, the superstar’s 14-karat rose-gold sparkler is set with a show-stopping 35-carat pink sapphire framed by smaller diamonds totaling 1 carat.
The dazzling piece matches Swift’s blush velvet bodysuit — plucked from The Blonds’ Elizabeth Taylor-themed fall 2023 collection, as exclusively reported by Page Six Style — and complements the supersized 3D jewel motif on the front of the corseted design.
The late “Butterfield 8” actress and jewelry collector, after whom Swift named one of her “Showgirl” tracks, would surely adore the songstress’ gobstopper-sized pink gem.
Of course, this isn’t the only headline-making ring Swift’s shown off lately. Last month, Travis Kelce popped the question with a stunning old mine brilliant-cut engagement ring crafted by jeweler Kindred Lubeck of Artifex Fine in collaboration with the Chiefs tight end himself, as we exclusively reported.
Other standout styles seen in Swift’s “Life of a Showgirl” album artwork include several other looks from The Blonds — including a playful pink feathered corset and a crystal-encrusted maroon bodysuit paired with matching flame-inspired opera gloves — along with a number of archival Bob Mackie and Pete Menefee designs from the iconic, long-running Las Vegas show “Jubilee!”
Prince William admits that wife Kate Middleton’s cancer battle took a toll on him.
“I’d say 2024 was the hardest year I’ve ever had,” the royal shares on an upcoming episode of AppleTV+’s “The Reluctant Traveler” with Eugene Levy.
He further reflects, “You know, life is sent to test us as well and being able to overcome that is what makes us who we are.”
William also notes in the segment, which will air in full on Oct. 3, how much he prioritizes sleep, as it’s an “important part of [his] life” because he’s got three small children.
Prince William made a candid admission about how he felt during his wife’s cancer journey. Apple TV
The candid look at the future king’s life comes after Middleton — who revealed her cancer diagnosis in March 2024 — shared that she has gone into remission.
“My heartfelt thanks goes to all those who have quietly walked alongside [Prince] William and me as we have navigated everything,” the Princess of Wales wrote via Instagram in January.
Middleton underwent chemotherapy treatment that she once admitted was “incredibly tough,” as she fought the deadly disease.
However, even after she was cancer-free, the princess spoke about the lasting effects of her health woes.
“You put on a sort of brave face, stoicism through treatment. Treatment’s done, then it’s like, ‘I can crack on, get back to normal,’ but actually [that’s not the case],” she said at a Colchester Hospital visit in July.
“It’s a roller coaster, it’s not smooth, like you expect it to be. But the reality is you go through hard times.”
Selena Gomez and Benny Blanco’s upcoming wedding will reportedly be missing a major A-list guest.
Meryl Streep — who appeared alongside Gomez in “Only Murders in the Building” and is dating her co-star Martin Short — was invited to the highly anticipated nuptials, but pulled out, a source told the Daily Mail.
The insider explained to the outlet that the Oscar winner was “planning to attend but told Selena she now won’t be able to.” An exact reason for her absence from the lavish affair was not provided.
However, it’s likely Streep, 76, has been tied up with work, as she’s been filming the sequel for “The Devil Wears Prada” in New York City in recent months.
Page Six has reached out to reps for Gomez and Streep but did not immediately hear back.
Gomez and Blanco will reportedly have other stars watch them say “I do” on their big day, however.
Short, 75, and Steve Martin — who also stars on the bride-to-be’s hit Hulu show — will be in attendance, and Paris Hilton and Gomez’s BFF Taylor Swift are on the guest list, as well, per the Daily Mail.
“Taylor is planning to attend but she’ll probably be going solo as [her fiancé] Travis Kelce has a game in Kansas the next day,” the insider added. “That’s all still under discussion.”
Gomez’s other co-stars Steve Martin and Martin Short will reportedly make it to the nuptials. Penske Media via Getty Images
Gomez, 33, and Blanco, 37, are expected to walk down the aisle this Saturday.
Sources revealed to the Sun last week that the pop star and songwriter’s star-studded wedding will take place at a private estate in Santa Barbara, Calif.
Guests will stay nearby at the El Encanto hotel, where rooms go for $3,500-a-night.
Taylor Swift was seen hiding under umbrellas as she arrived for Selena Gomez’s star-studded wedding celebration.
The “Blank Space” singer was pictured stepping off an aircraft at Santa Barbara airport on Friday afternoon in a dark shirt — as several people rushed out to cover her with a cluster of black umbrellas. Only the hitmaker’s elbow could be seen in snapshots from her big arrival.
A bystander could be seen carrying some luggage and a white box — potentially a wedding gift for Gomez and her groom Benny Blanco.
Once Swift descended the plane’s steps, she hopped into a waiting black SUV.
A group rushed out to meet her with the black umbrellas as she descended the aircraft’s steps. B-TEAM / BACKGRID
A rep for Swift did not immediately return Page Six’s request for comment.
A source told Page Six earlier Friday that Swift, 35, will be lodging in a private rental home during the weekend soirée for security reasons — despite the Sun’s previous report that guests would stay at El the high-profile Encanto hotel for the wedding weekend.
“She will be renting a house near the wedding venue, which is a secret to the public,” our insider said of the decision. “Her security team feels it’s better than a hotel.”
Gomez, 33, and Blanco, 37, are reportedly expected to tie the knot at a private Santa Barbara estate on Saturday, amid a romantic two-day celebration.
“All the guests will be picked up and driven to the location without knowing their destination ahead of time,” a source told the Sun earlier this month. “Everyone is so excited despite the mystery, they know it will be an amazing time.”
As for Swift, 35, it’s unclear if the hitmaker — who became engaged to Travis Kelce in August — will bring along her fiancé, as the Kansas City Chiefs tight end is set to face the Baltimore Ravens in Missouri on Sunday.
The “Only Murders in the Building” actress announced her engagement to Blanco in December 2024 via social media, with BFF Swift taking to the comments thread to react. “Yes I will be the flower girl,” she quipped.
In August, the Disney Channel alum returned the favor with a sweet comment on Swift’s engagement to the NFL star. “When besties gets engaged,” she wrote atop an Instagram Stories repost of the power couple’s engagement announcement.
FILE PHOTO: A Microsoft logo is seen on an office building in New York City in this July 28, 2015 file photo. REUTERS/Mike Segar/Files/File Photo
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday that Microsoft should fire Lisa Monaco, who had served in the administrations of two Democratic presidents and is now Microsoft’s global affairs president.
The move appears to be the latest effort by Trump to exact retribution on those he sees on political enemies and comes one day after the indictment of former FBI Director James Comey.
Monaco had helped coordinate the Justice Department’s response to the January 6, 2021, attacks by Trump supporters on the U.S. Capitol.
She served as a security aide in the administration of President Barack Obama and was the deputy attorney general in President Joe Biden’s administration. Monaco started working for Microsoft in July to lead the firm’s engagements with governments globally, according to her LinkedIn profile.
Trump on Truth Social said Monaco was “a menace to U.S. National Security, especially given the major contracts that Microsoft has with the United States Government.
“It is my opinion that Microsoft should immediately terminate the employment of Lisa Monaco,” he posted.
Monaco’s security clearances were revoked in February. On Friday, Trump said the U.S. government has also banned her from all federal properties because of “Monaco’s many wrongful acts.”
Microsoft declined to comment on Trump’s post. Monaco also did not immediately respond.
On Thursday, Comey, who led the FBI when it began an investigation into ties between Trump’s 2016 campaign and the Russian government, was indicted on charges of false statements and obstruction of a congressional proceeding.
Trump on Friday said he expects more indictments against perceived enemies, saying to reporters: “I think there will be others” but said he did not have a list.
Since Trump returned to office in January, he has used his powers as president to hamstring law firms that represented causes he dislikes, leveraged federal funding to force changes at universities and fired prosecutors who took part in investigations against him.
He has also pushed for charges against former national security adviser John Bolton, New York Attorney General Letitia James and Democratic Senator Adam Schiff.
The Trump administration also has been involved in corporate America on an unprecedented scale, demanding that Intel’s CEO step down, before praising him and agreeing for the government to take a stake in Intel. Disney’s ABC suspended comedian Jimmy Kimmel’s show for several days under pressure from Trump and his administration.
The US$4 billion in aid spending at issue was intended by Congress for foreign aid, United Nations peacekeeping operations and democracy-promotion efforts overseas.
US President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump ride an escalator as they arrive to attend the 80th United Nations General Assembly, in New York City, New York, US, September 23, 2025. (Photo: Reuters/Kylie Cooper/File Photo)
The US Supreme Court sided again on Friday (Sep 26) with Donald Trump, allowing his administration to withhold about US$4 billion in foreign aid authorised by Congress for the current fiscal year as the Republican president pursues his “America First” agenda.
The justices for now blocked an order by Washington-based US District Judge Amir Ali that had directed the administration to promptly take steps to spend the aid at issue in the dispute. Ali’s decision came in a lawsuit by aid groups challenging the administration’s action.
The Supreme Court has a 6-3 conservative majority, and the court’s three liberal justices dissented.
COURT QUESTIONS LEGAL CHALLENGE
The court said in its unsigned order that the aid groups that sued the administration likely lacked the legal authority to bring their challenge. It also expressed concerns that ruling against Trump threatened to impair his power to conduct foreign affairs.
The case raised questions about the degree to which a president has the authority to rescind funds Congress has appropriated for programs that do not align with his policies.
The administration said in court papers that the money it targeted was “contrary to US foreign policy”, reflecting Trump’s effort to scale back assistance abroad as part of an “America First” agenda. Trump has also moved to dismantle the US Agency for International Development, the main foreign aid agency.
FOREIGN AID AT STAKE
The US government’s 2025 fiscal year ends on Sep 30. The US$4 billion in aid spending at issue was intended by Congress for foreign aid, United Nations peacekeeping operations and democracy-promotion efforts overseas.
Congress budgeted billions of dollars in foreign aid last year, about US$11 billion of which was set to expire at the end of the fiscal year.
The administration sought to block the US$4 billion through a “pocket rescission”, an unusual move aimed at avoiding spending funds appropriated by Congress. The US Constitution gives Congress the power of the purse.
DISSENT WARNS OF SEPARATION OF POWERS BREACH
The liberal justices, in a dissent written by Justice Elena Kagan, said Friday’s ruling was an affront to the principle that power is separated between the three branches of government. They noted that the Constitution “gives Congress the power to make spending decisions through the enactment of appropriations laws.”
“If those laws require obligation of the money, and if Congress has not by rescission or other action relieved the Executive of that duty, then the Executive must comply,” Kagan wrote in a dissent joined by Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson.
Ali ruled on Sep 3 that the administration cannot simply choose to withhold the money, and that it must comply with appropriations laws passed by Congress unless lawmakers change them.
SUPREME COURT SIDES WITH TRUMP
Justice Department lawyers told the Supreme Court that Ali’s injunction raised “a grave and urgent threat to the separation of powers”.
“It would be self-defeating and senseless for the executive branch to obligate the very funds that it is asking Congress to rescind,” they wrote.
Trump budget director Russell Vought has argued that the president can withhold funds for 45 days after requesting a rescission, which would run out the clock until the end of the fiscal year. The White House said the tactic was last used in 1977.
Some legal experts have said Trump’s attempted clawback of billions of dollars in congressionally appropriated funds in this manner had no historical parallel.
The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in a 2-1 ruling on Sep 5 declined to halt Ali’s order, prompting the administration’s request to the Supreme Court.
In the foreign aid case, the Supreme Court on Sep 9 paused Ali’s order while it considered how to proceed.
Palestinians inspect the site of Israeli strikes on houses at Shati (Beach) refugee camp, amid an Israeli military operation, in Gaza City, Sep 26, 2025. (Photo: Reuters/Ebrahim Hajjaj)
US President Donald Trump said on Friday (Sep 26) talks on Gaza with Middle Eastern nations were intense and that Israel and Palestinian Hamas militants were aware of the discussions, which he said would continue as long as required.
Trump met leaders and officials from multiple Muslim-majority countries this week to discuss the situation in Gaza, which has been under a mounting assault from Washington’s ally Israel.
US special envoy Steve Witkoff said Trump presented proposals to those leaders that included a 21-point Middle East peace plan.
“Intense negotiations have been going on for four days, and will continue for as long as necessary in order to get a successfully completed agreement. All of the Countries within the region are involved,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Trump had promised a quick end to the war, but a resolution remains elusive eight months into his term. Trump’s term began with a two-month ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, which ended when Israeli strikes killed 400 Palestinians on Mar 18.
“Hamas is very much aware of these discussions, and Israel has been informed at all levels,” Trump wrote. His post did not mention any further details but called the discussions “inspired and productive”.
Trump officials said this week a Gaza breakthrough was likely soon despite Israeli bombardments in the coastal territory.
Experts say China’s recent commitment marks a major step forward in global climate action, standing in stark contrast to the US’s retreat from international climate goals.
In recent days, US President Donald Trump has called climate change a “con job” and doubled down on fossil fuels, while Chinese President Xi Jinping announced new climate goals and called on nations to take action.
China has made a landmark climate pledge to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 7 to 10 per cent below peak levels by 2035.
Beijing’s reduction target marks the first time the world’s biggest emitter has committed to an actual decrease in emissions, rather than merely slowing their growth.
Chinese President Xi Jinping made the announcement at a climate leaders’ summit on Wednesday (Sep 24), where the United States was notably absent.
Analysts say China’s commitment is a pivotal moment in global climate action, with the potential to substantially improve the health of the planet.
“China is such a big emitter that it’s the only country that, if it changes its emissions significantly, it changes the (carbon footprint) of the whole of planet Earth,” said Benjamin Horton, dean of the City University of Hong Kong’s School of Energy and Environment.
Beijing’s vow is backed by promises to expand wind and solar power capacity sixfold from 2020 levels, drastically increase forest coverage and accelerate electric vehicle production.
Yao Zhe, a global policy advisor at environmental organisation Greenpeace East Asia, said Xi’s reduction target is a modest baseline.
With strong momentum in its clean energy developments, China could surpass its current pledge, she added.
“China is the world’s largest carbon emitter … but it is also the biggest clean technology provider. So, what China has to offer matters a lot,” Yao told CNA’s East Asia Tonight programme.
“I’m hopeful that the actual progress will, in fact, outpace the target on paper.”
AMERICA MISSING ON CLIMATE ACTION
Experts said China’s commitment speaks volumes at a time when the US is moving away from global climate goals.
The US is the world’s biggest historical greenhouse gas emitter and second biggest current emitter behind China.
Washington once promised major emission cuts under previous President Joe Biden – up to 66 per cent by 2035.
But those pledges are now off the table after President Donald Trump in January pulled the US out of the Paris Agreement.
“The Paris Agreement was put in place because scientists know the dangers for civilisation if we start to cross planetary boundaries … (when) global mean temperature (rises) 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial (levels),” said Horton.
The global average atmospheric carbon dioxide was 422.8 parts per million in 2024 – a record high, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), an American scientific and regulatory agency.
“The safety net for planet Earth is at around 280 parts per million. So, we’re far in excess of that. Every single year we increase our carbon dioxide … we increase our temperatures,” said Horton.
Last year was the warmest year on record.
Scientists have linked rising temperatures to more extreme weather events such as drought, wildfires, heatwaves and storms.
Horton, who is based in Hong Kong, pointed to Super Typhoon Ragasa, which in recent days wreaked havoc in the territory and nearby countries and regions.
“We need to see action and ultimately, we need to see results. We need to see our carbon dioxide volumes starting to stabilise, and as we move into the future, to decrease,” he said.
CHINA IN CONTRAST TO US’ STANCE
On Tuesday, Trump called climate change the “greatest con job ever perpetrated on the world” during his United Nations General Assembly speech. He added that climate predictions are made by “stupid people” and that countries will “fail” if they continue with the “green scam”.
In contrast, Xi urged stronger climate action from developed countries and delivered a veiled critique of the US president’s anti-climate rhetoric.
Horton said China’s pledges appear genuine, stemming from concern for environmental health and long-term economic prosperity, rather than over rivalry with the US.
“This is not about geopolitics. (The pledge) shows that the Chinese government is listening to science and is developing regulations and policies,” he said.
“It’s about an understanding of scientific information and (climate) threats posed to the population (and) the economy. If we don’t control our carbon dioxide emissions, extreme (weather) events are going to impact lives and livelihoods.”
Still, many observers said Xi’s pledge fell short of expectations.
Yao said the biggest challenge to China’s clean energy transition lies in the limited capacity of its power grid to handle increased renewable energy input.
“China has no problem producing and manufacturing such equipment, but the problem is whether the grid can absorb all this (additional) renewable energy being produced,” she said.
She added that Chinese policymakers are also trying to find a balance between decarbonisation and maintaining flexibility for future economic stimulus.
CLIMATE HEALTH LINKED TO ECONOMY
The UN has hailed Beijing’s commitments but said the world must aim higher as the clock ticks down on rising temperatures.
Alongside China, the UN said about 100 nations have signalled new climate targets ahead of the COP30 climate summit in Brazil in November.
However, there were also setbacks. The European Union is struggling to find unity on climate action, missing the September deadline to present its climate plan.
Environmental advocates warned that climate health is closely connected to that of the economy, and that environmental degradation can lead to serious financial consequences.
In an unprecedented incursion, about 20 suspected Russian drones entered Polish airspace earlier in September [FILE: September 10, 2025]Image: Dariusz Stefaniuk/REUTERS
Ukraine and Hungary spar over drone incursion
Ukraine accused Hungary of trying to spy on its border areas, saying several reconnaissance drones that had violated its airspace were “likely” of Hungarian origin.
“Ukrainian forces recorded violations of our airspace by reconnaissance drones, which are likely Hungarian,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on X.
Zelenskyy referred to “very strange incidents” on the Hungarian border, speaking in his nightly video address.
He said he had called for “thorough checks” and “if such drones appear again, to respond appropriately for the defence of our state.”
Hungary rejected the accusation and mocked Zelenskyy.
“President Zelenskyy is losing his mind to his anti-Hungarian obsession. He’s now starting to see things that aren’t there,” Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said in a post on X.
Relations between Ukraine and Hungary have soured since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has been skeptical about Western military aid for Ukraine and maintained more cordial relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin than other NATO and EU member states.
EU’s eastern members agree on ‘drone wall’ after Russian incursions
Countries along the European Union’s eastern border agreed Friday to prioritize a so-called “drone wall” that can help defend the bloc from future airspace incursions.
Defense ministers from 10 EU members met via videoconference to discuss the measures in the wake of repeated airspace violations in recent days affecting Poland, Romania, Estonia and Denmark.
Russia is believed to be behind the incursions, although Moscow has denied the allegations.
“Russia is testing the EU and NATO, and our response must be firm, united, and immediate,” European Commissioner for Defense Andrius Kubilius, who convened the talks, told a press conference after the meeting.
The defense ministers agreed to work toward establishing a “drone wall” that would be included in an Eastern Flank Watch, which would include defenses on the ground and at sea, Kubilius said.
“We shall look (at) how to build a comprehensive European Union industrial policy and financial toolbox to make the shield a reality,” he said.
Representatives from Bulgaria, Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Hungary, Slovakia and Denmark, as well as representatives from Ukraine and NATO, took part in Friday’s meeting.
In an interview with AFP news agency, Kubilius urged the bloc “to move fast” and to learn “lessons from Ukraine,” which has faced regular barrages of Russian drones and missiles.
Ukraine’s Defense Minister Denys Shmygal, who participated in the meeting, said on X that the drone wall “will create a fundamentally new defense ecosystem in Europe, of which Ukraine is ready to be a part.”
Ukraine’s military commander says Russia’s offensives in 2025 failed
Ukraine’s military chief, Oleksandr Syrskyi, has said that Russia’s offensives in Ukraine this year have not achieved their objectives.
“The Russians’ spring and summer campaign has effectively been disrupted,” he told reporters at a meeting.
The commander said the active front line was now 1,250 km (777 miles) long and that an estimated 712,000 Russian troops were engaged in combat in Ukraine.
According to Syrskyi, since the beginning of summer, the Russians had been using a tactic he termed “a thousand cuts” and described as a large number of small-scale infantry assaults.
However, he said that Russian plans to create a “buffer zone” in the Sumy and Kharkiv regions in the north and north-east, to capture the city of Pokrovsk, and to take control of the entire Donetsk region had failed.
Syrskyi added that Ukraine had hit 85 military or military-industrial facilities in Russia over the past two months, including air bases, depots, and factories.
Germany says Russia is showing lack of interest in peace process
Germany said Russia’s top diplomat’s accusations at the UN General Assembly that NATO was seeking war against his country underscored Moscow’s lack of interest in peace in Ukraine.
“That’s part of a known pattern … it shows that there is obviously no interest on the Russian side in de-escalating this conflict or to seek a solution or peace,” the government spokesperson said during a press conference.
On Thursday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov accused NATO and the European Union of using Ukraine to declare a “real war” against Russia in a speech at the United Nations.
EU to discuss €140 billion Ukraine loan using Russian assets
European Union countries were due on Friday to begin discussions on a potential new €140 billion ($163 billion) loan for Ukraine, which would be funded by frozen Russian central bank assets.
This month, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen floated the idea of using the assets for a “reparations loan,” which Kyiv would only repay when Russia compensates Ukraine for the damage inflicted by Moscow’s invasion.
On Thursday, this initiative gained the influential support of German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, a key EU decision-maker who had previously been reluctant to do more to access the Russian assets.
“That loan would only be repaid once Russia has compensated Ukraine for the damage it has caused during this war,” Merz wrote in an opinion piece for the Financial Times.
The vast majority of Russian central bank assets in the EU are held by Euroclear, an international deposit organisation based in Belgium. However, the country has firmly rejected calls to seize the assets outright and hand them to Ukraine.
What is the proposal about?
The proposal, which is currently being debated by EU ambassadors at a meeting in Brussels on Friday, would see the EU borrow funds from Euroclear that have matured into cash.
This money would then be loaned to Ukraine on the understanding that any post-war reparations paid by Russia would be used to reimburse the EU.
The scheme would be backed by the EU’s 27 member states, which would be responsible for repaying Euroclear if Russia were to reclaim the assets without paying reparations.
This proposal will be on the table for discussion when EU leaders gather for a summit in Copenhagen next week.
Belarus says nuclear power plant could provide electricity to Ukrainian regions controlled by Russia
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko told his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, that Minsk is ready to build a new nuclear power plant in eastern Belarus and supply energy to parts of Ukraine that Russia has illegally annexed.
Belarusian state media quoted Lukashenko as saying, “If a decision is made, we will immediately begin building a new power unit or a new station if there is a need in western Russia” and the Russia-controlled Ukrainian regions.
Lukashenko and Putin are meeting in Moscow as part of World Atomic Week.
Belarus is a key Russian ally, and Russia used Belarusian territory to launch its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
The first nuclear power plant in Belarus was built by the Russian state-owned company Rosatom and financed by the Russian government. Its first unit launched in 2020.
However, the Astravets power plant, located in the western Grodno region, has come under scrutiny due to safety concerns, prompting neighboring countries and international organizations to voice their concerns.
Russia only understands military power, Finnish foreign minister tells DW
“When dealing with an imperialist power like Russia, diplomacy hardly helps,” Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen said in an interview with DW on the sidelines of theUN General Assembly.
“We have tried it for so many years… Nothing worked, they just kept advancing,” she added, remembering Russia’s war against Georgia in 2008 and its aggression toward Ukraine since 2014.
“Unfortunately, it seems to be the case that Russia understands only military power,” the Finnish minister warned. “Diplomacy is good, but we also need credible deterrence and defense so that we can force Russia to negotiate and engage in diplomacy.”
In response to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s claim that NATO and the EU have declared war on Russia, she said, “That is utterly false, of course, because Russia has been waging war against Ukraine since 2014. The full-scale invasion started three and a half years ago.
“The world knows that President Zelenskyy and Ukraine have been ready for a ceasefire and negotiations,” Valtonen said, adding that, on the contrary, Russia continues to fight on the battlefield and has specifically targeted civilians with drone and missile attacks.
‘Russia seems to wage hybrid war around the world’
Valtonen stressed that Finland has never had any illusions about Russia and has invested in defense and deterrence because it is aware of the possibility that Russia might be a threat.
“What we see now is that Russia not only has the capability but also the will to threaten basically every country in the world that is dedicated to offering democracy and freedom to their people,” she said.
Valtonen noted that Russia appears to be waging a hybrid war not only in Europe but also globally, “Everybody is worried about Russia’s actions in the Sahel, in Western Africa, where they are not only supporting military coups, but also spreading misinformation and disinformation to destabilize societies.”
EU states, Ukraine to hold talks on ‘drone wall’
Following air incursions from Russia that alarmed European Union members, the bloc will hold its first talks on proposals to build an anti-drone defense system.
On Friday, European Defense Commissioner Andrius Kubilius will discuss the proposals with officials from approximately 10 of the EU’s 27 countries via video conference.
Most participants are located along the EU’s eastern border with Russia and Ukraine. However, Denmark was added to the list following recent drone incidents.
Ukraine, which has developed the ability to cheaply detect and shoot down Russian drone swarms, will also participate.
Earlier this month, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called for a “drone wall” in a keynote speech hours after NATO pilots shot down Russian drones in Poland.
MOURNERS at a funeral were left reeling when the “dead man” they’d gathered to bury suddenly walked in and announced: “I’m alive!”
The 22-year-old stunned friends and relatives as he crashed his own wake in Argentina – leaving everyone wondering who was in the coffin.
The mix-up began when a young man was mown down by a sugarcane truck last week.
Police suspected suicide, but prosecutors called it negligent homicide and ordered an autopsy.
The very next day, a woman turned up at a police station claiming the victim was her son.
She identified the body by his clothes and some features – and officers handed it over for burial.
But as mourners wept over the coffin at the weekend, her real son suddenly staggered in – alive, well, and apparently fresh off a several-day bender in Alderetes, north of Córdoba.
His shock return caused uproar at the service.
The man, who hasn’t been named, admitted he had “no idea” what was going on at home.
Police later confirmed the true victim was Maximiliano Enrique Acosta, 28, from nearby Delfín Gallo.
His body was eventually returned to his family, who finally laid him to rest on Tuesday.
But even that was bungled. His furious brother Hernán said: “Everything was wrong from the beginning.
“First, they handed over the body without proper identification. Then they made me go to the morgue twice. We shouldn’t have to go through this after everything we suffered.”
The Public Prosecutor’s Office has now launched an investigation into how the catalogue of blunders unfolded.
It comes after a man in India appeared to “come back from the dead” – after being declared deceased by doctors and sent for cremation.
Rohitash Kumar, 25, had been pronounced dead at a Rajasthan hospital, placed in a mortuary freezer for more than two hours, and taken to a temple pyre for his last rites when he suddenly began breathing again.
The deaf and mute man, who lived in a shelter in Jhunjhunu, had been rushed to Rajkiya Bhagwan Das Khetan (BDK) District Hospital with a fever last Thursday.
Doctors declared him dead and, without carrying out a postmortem, signed off paperwork before sending his body for cremation.
But as the funeral ritual began at Panch Dev temple, horrified mourners watched Kumar’s body twitch and his chest heave.
Eyewitness Subhash Poonia said: “He started moving his body. We were shocked and started running away.”
Kumar was rushed back to BDK Hospital and admitted to intensive care, where medics now say his condition is stable.
FITNESS expert Jillian Michaels dramatically stormed off her own podcast after clashing with panelists over Charlie Kirk.
Michaels was left incensed during a debate about conspiracy theories that have swirled in light of the conservative activist’s assassination.
Jillian Michaels abruptly stormed off her podcast during a debate about Charlie KirkCredit: Her Take/YouTube
She was so furious that she dramatically picked up her laptop and marched off set.
And, Michaels’ chair was left empty following the rest of the show.
Michaels, 51, was left particularly irritated when the rest of the panel discussed whether Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu had offered $150 million to Turning Point USA – the organization Kirk co-founded – to be more pro-Israel.
There’s no evidence to support the theory.
“There’s no proof of that, in fact the opposite is true,” Michaels snapped.
She reiterated her view that there was “no proof” of this.
Michaels and then fellow panellist, Lindy Li, appeared to spar and Li urged the host not to get angry at her.
The podcaster got more irritated as the discussion about the theory carried on before she left the set.
She appeared to clash with the firebrand commentator Ana Kasparian.
“This is not for me,” the exacerbated host said.
“I’m not interested in this. I love you guys. I’m sorry.
“I have zero interest in doing this.”
Michaels later addressed her dramatic podcast exit on The Today-Ish show.
She revealed that she didn’t want another show that was overtly critical about Israel.
Michaels paid a glowing tribute to Kirk after he was assassinated.
“Charlie was irreplaceable. He championed free speech and genuine dialogue,” she wrote on Instagram.
“He gave young men a vision of leadership rooted in responsibility, and he inspired young women to value themselves more deeply.
“While his absence calls on us all to step up, the truth is no one person can fill his shoes.
“But maybe—if the millions mourning him across the world each improve just a little—we can collectively carry forward an impact as profound as his.”
Tyler Robinson has been charged with the murder of Kirk.
The assassination at Utah Valley University on September 10, sparked a manhunt that lasted 33 hours.
Robinson admitted that he would turn himself into the authorities, according to text messages he sent his roommate.
Robinson was in a relationship with his roommate, according to prosecutors.
A $3-MILLION lawsuit against Jimmy Kimmel and Jackass star Johnny Knoxville’s production company is hitting the next stage after a writer claimed he was tased on the set of a prank show.
Daniel Curry, 49, alleges Knoxville tased him on the set of The Prank Panel in September 2022 – an incident caught on video that left him with a broken fibula and torn ankle ligament, according to court records.
Daniel Curry filed a lawsuit against Johnny Knoxville, ABC Signature Studios, and Kimmel’s Kimmelot Banner, and others connected to the series The Prank PanelCredit: SWNS:South West News Service
Curry, a veteran writer and producer, was serving as a consulting producer on the short-lived ABC series when the tasering happened on September 22, 2022, he claims.
The writer launched a negligence and battery lawsuit in 2024 against Knoxville, ABC Signature Studios, Kimmel’s Kimmelot banner, ITV America and others connected to the series.
Now, Curry’s lawsuit is heading to arbitration, a private process where a neutral third party decides the dispute outside of court, he said.
He claimed the incident permanently damaged his leg and is seeking $3 million in damages.
Curry said he’s ready to go public with information he’s kept private for years.
He accused comedian Eric André – who was also on set – of trying to downplay the incident as typical Jackass behavior.
“I’m not a public person,” Curry said.
“I’m trying to just write and work and do good work. I’m an artist, not an attention seeker.”
According to Curry’s account, the taser was on set WHY.
The incident began when André attempted to taser Knoxville, who took the weapon off him, Curry claimed.
Curry, who was on set writing jokes for André, heard what sounded like lightning – the electrical discharge of a police taser.
“Johnny Knoxville entered the studio from outside with what I now know is a police taser,” he said.
“There was a mass of people trying to avoid him. […] He just came into the room angry with a taser.
Despite Knoxville telling him he was “safe,” Curry says the Jackass star then “charged at me with a taser.
“When I got hit with the taser, I tried to run away,” he added.
“It seized my body and I went completely rigid and I collapsed into my leg.”
‘PERMANENT LIMITATIONS’
The impact broke Curry’s fibula and damaged two tendons in his ankle, requiring months of physical therapy and leaving him with permanent limitations, he claimed in court documents.
“I function pretty well, I do my PT exercises, but I don’t have a hundred percent functionality,” Curry added.
Curry claimed nobody from the show checked on him while he was unwell.
Five days after the attack, Curry claimed he received a text message sent from Knoxville.
The message, allegedly sent to both Curry and André, contained what he claimed were threats about what would happen if they pranked Knoxville’s girlfriend, then a costume designer on The Eric André Show.
The text, according to Curry, read, “Directly or indirectly no harm, embarrassment etc should come her way. She is a not combatant.
“And I wrote and deleted what would happen to someone should a person (may the god of your choice help him) make that fatal mistake but I decided not to include it here.”
Curry says André began acting differently towards him after the incident and told him “Don’t make a big deal out of it – Jackass guys hurt each other all the time.”
Now facing arbitration instead of a jury trial, Curry is working with Congressional representatives to expand workplace assault protections.
Curry, a dad-of-two, added, “What am I teaching my kids if I’m getting assaulted and then just playing along with it? That’s not a good look for anybody.”
Reps for Knoxville, Kimmelot, ITV America, ABC Signature Studios, Upper Ground Enterprises, Saticoy Studios and GEP Talent Services did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
KIMMEL’S DILEMMA
Meanwhile, Kimmel returned to the air on Tuesday evening after his show was temporarily suspended by ABC due to the comments he made in response to the killing of political activist Charlie Kirk.
During his evening monologue on September 15, Kimmel appeared to falsely claim that Kirk’s suspected assassin, Tyler Robinson, was a conservative, sparking a firestorm online and irking his TV bosses.
Kimmel’s show was sidelined for four days but was eventually reinstated to his usual evening slot on Tuesday.
At the time, The U.S. Sun exclusively revealed that the decision to pull Kimmel’s show was made minutes before the crew started taping on the afternoon of September 17.
His suspension came at the time when a US Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan dismissed a lawsuit filed by former Congressman George Santos against Kimmel, accusing him of copyright infringement.
Pakistan has vaccinated about 9 million adolescent girls against the virus that causes cervical cancer, as part of a continuing national campaign that has overcome early setbacks fueled by skeptics online, the health minister said Friday.
Health Minister Mustafa Kamal said the campaign that began Sept. 15 is aiming to vaccinate 13 million girls aged 9 to 14 against the human papillomavirus, or HPV, which causes most cervical cancers. He said the program so far achieved 70% of its goal.
The program has overcome what Kamal said were baseless rumors spread by some parents that the vaccine could cause infertility. He gave the vaccine to his own daughter live on stage at an event in Karachi this week to build confidence.
“By the grace of God, administering the vaccine to my daughter publicly had a huge impact,” Kamal told The Associated Press. “From the fifth day of the campaign, refusal rates began dropping and acceptance climbed to 70–80% in some districts.”
However, many parents are still reluctant.
“I have heard that the vaccination is being used to make women infertile and reduce the population of Muslims,” said Ali Sheikh, a mother of two in Karachi, the capital of Sindh province.
She said that “social media is full of such claims,” and that she was advised by relatives not to allow health workers to vaccinate her daughters.
Health worker Shamim Anwar, 52, said the job of administering the vaccines has been exhausting.
“It is very difficult work. Many parents refuse because of rumors and hesitate to let us vaccinate their daughters,” she said.
“Sometimes we even face humiliation, but we tolerate it because we have to complete the vaccination target,” she said, as she went door-to-door for the campaign in Karachi.
Cervical cancer is the third most common cancer among Pakistani women after breast and ovarian cancers. Globally, it is the fourth most common. Each year, between 18,000 and 20,000 women in Pakistan die of the disease, according to health authorities.
Experts promoted the campaign under the slogan “one jab will do the job.” Authorities set up vaccination centers and deployed teams to schools nationwide to reach as many girls as possible.
A disturbing Halloween display in Houston appears to show effigies of federal immigration agents wearing red MAGA-like hats hanging from gallows — drawing backlash just days after surging anti-ICE rhetoric led to a deadly shooting at an agency facility in Dallas.
The shocking front-yard display in the majority-Hispanic Second Ward neighborhood in Harris County showed the red hat-wearing mannequins strung up on a noose from homemade gallows that featured a small Mexican flag, Fox News reported.
The figures’ attire — black shirts, tan pants and face masks with zip ties in their pockets — drew comparisons to Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.
Two coffins flanked the gallows, and a hangman mannequin wearing a straw hat and colorful poncho stood over a fourth dummy that appeared to have its hands tied.
A Halloween display in Houston, Texas, has drawn outrage after a video circulated on social media showing mannequins wearing red hats staged in what appears to be an execution scene. FNTV
The sick display is cordoned off with barbed wire fencing, video showed.
Tens of thousands of social media users expressed their outrage at the jarring exhibit, with one extremely agitated X user writing in a viral post, “This hateful display will likely be inciting violence. It goes past free speech. Arrest who did this.”
The twisted decorations are drawing ire as conservatives continue to push back on targeted violence and an increase in incendiary political rhetoric from the left, which has resulted in real-world shootings.
Anti-ICE gunman Joshua Jahn fired on a van at the Dallas ICE facility on Wednesday, killing one detainee and injuring two others before turning the Nazi battle rifle on himself, according to law enforcement officials. He had scrawled “ANTI ICE” on the bullets.
The night before the shooting, Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom vilified ICE on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.”
“These are not just authoritarian tendencies — these are authoritarian actions by an authoritarian government,” he told the CBS host.
“That’s happening in the United States of America. Masked men jumping out of unmarked cars, people disappearing, no due process, no oversight, zero accountability,” Newsom continued.
Amazon will pay a historic $2.5 billion settlement to customers after the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) accused the e-commerce giant of enrolling site users in the Prime subscription service without their consent — and making it difficult to cancel.
Amazon will pay a historic $2.5 billion settlement — an estimated 35 million customers during the time period. REUTERS
“Today, we are putting billions of dollars back into Americans’ pockets, and making sure Amazon never does this again,” FTC Chairman Andrew N. Ferguson said in a statement.
The settlement includes a $1 billion civil penalty and $1.5 billion in refunds to affected customers — making it the FTC’s largest-ever settlement and the second-highest refund award in history.
If you meet the following criteria, you could be eligible:
Signed up for Amazon Prime between June 23, 2019, and June 23, 2025.
Or attempted to cancel your Prime subscription but were unsuccessful during that period.
You are a customer in the United States.
Refunds are capped at $51 per eligible customer, and payments will be made in two waves, CNN reported.
Automatic payouts will be made to customers who signed up for Prime via a “challenged enrollment flow” — such as the Universal Prime page, shipping option select page, Prime Video, or Amazon’s single page checkout — and used no more than 3 Prime benefits within any 12-month period of their enrollment.
People who fit the bill will receive an automatic refund within 90 days of the FTC order.
Customers who signed up through a challenged enrollment flow, or tried to cancel Prime unsuccessfully during the period, and used no more than 10 Prime benefits in any 12-month period, will need to submit a claim form after the automatic payouts are completed.
Amazon will send notification emails and letters within 30 days after automatic payments end. After you submit your claim, Amazon has 30 days to review it and issue refunds.
The FTC and Amazon have not yet published the official claims website or process details. Once available, information and links will appear on the website and app. Eligible customers will receive claim forms via email and mail after the automatic payout period.
You will have up to 180 days from receiving your claim form to submit it via email, prepaid mail, or the claims website.
Elon Musk has not publicly commented on the latest development
Billionaire Elon Musk and Prince Andrew are named in new files released by Congressional Democrats that relate to the late convicted sex offender and financier Jeffrey Epstein.
The files turned over to the House Oversight Committee by the Jeffrey Epstein Estate appear to show that Musk had been invited to Epstein’s island in December 2014.
Separately a manifest for a flight from New Jersey to Florida in May 2000 names Prince Andrew among the passengers.
Musk and Prince Andrew have been approached for comment.
Prince Andrew has previously strenuously denied any wrongdoing. Musk has previously been quoted as saying that Epstein had invited him to the island but he had declined.
The partial records are from the third batch of documents produced by the Jeffrey Epstein Estate. Democrats on the House Oversight Committee say they include phone message logs, copies of flight logs and manifests for aircrafts, copies of financial ledgers and Epstein’s daily schedule.
In addition to Musk and Prince Andrew, the files released publicly also contain the names of other prominent figures including internet entrepreneur Peter Thiel and Steve Bannon, a former advisor to Donald Trump
One line in the records dated 6 December 2014 reads: “Reminder: Elon Musk to island Dec. 6 (is this still happening?)”
A flight manifest records that Prince Andrew was on a flight with Epstein and his associate Ghislaine Maxwell from Teterboro, New Jersey, to West Palm Beach, Florida, on 12 May 2000. Maxwell was convicted in 2021 of conspiring with Epstein to traffic girls for sex.
On 11 May 2000, Buckingham Palace said on its website that Prince Andrew had flown to New York to attend a reception in New York for the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children. Andrew returned to the UK on 15 May, a later entry said.
In the files, there is also an entry referring to a planned lunch with Peter Thiel in November 2017.
There is also an entry referring to a planned breakfast with Steve Bannon 17 February 2019.
The files also mention tentative plans for a breakfast party with Microsoft founder Bill Gates in December 2014. In 2022 Gates told the BBC that meeting Jeffrey Epstein had been a “mistake”.
It is not suggested that those mentioned in the files were aware of the alleged criminal activity for which Epstein was later arrested.
Epstein died by suicide in a New York jail cell in August 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.
In 2008, he reached a plea deal with prosecutors after the parents of a 14-year-old girl told police in Florida that Epstein had molested their daughter at his Palm Beach home.
He was arrested again in July 2019 on sex trafficking charges.
Sara Guerrero, a spokesperson for the Democrats on the committee, urged Attorney General Pam Bondi to release more files related to Epstein.
Will social media embrace these novices? Or will algorithms, online scrutiny and the race to be seen swallow them up?
Social media is a minefield. It’s a place where people battle for likes, fight to be noticed, risk being cancelled and dream of going viral overnight.
For a lucky few, it’s a lucrative career path – the creator economy is expected to be worth almost $500bn (£372bn) by 2027 – but for most, it’s a confusing and unforgiving space where the algorithm decides who gets seen and who stays invisible.
So how hard is it really to break through? Three passionate people with no social media accounts took on the challenge of turning their talent into social media traction in the space of just three months.
Emily, a potter and stroke survivor, Alun, a historian, and Danyah, a theatre performer, tracked their journey on the ups and downs of trying to find an audience and surviving the emotional rollercoaster that comes with chasing online fame.
‘Engaging with comments is overwhelming’
Before she became a potter, Emily dreamt of performing on the stage but a stroke at the age of 26 changed everything, and her cognitive understanding is not what it used to be.
Pottery gave her a new purpose and expressing herself creatively felt like a form of therapy.
Emily rarely uses social media but decided to create a TikTok account in order to “reach, inspire and support people who have been in similar positions to me”.
Her first video has just two views and subsequent content about pottery and her cat also don’t perform well.
After weeks of silence and doubt, Emily’s video about how pottery saved her life reaches thousands and other stroke survivors message her to praise her content.
She is proud of the impact she makes. “That comment meant more than a thousand likes as I actually resonated with someone and that’s more valuable.”
The success of her video comes with an unexpected burden: she is overwhelmed with the responsibility of engaging with comments.
Emily also struggles to make her content feel authentic – every time she speaks to the camera she feels as if she’s putting on a performance.
“I don’t feel like I’m doing myself justice and I’m disappointed in what I’m making,” she says. “I feel like a bit of a fraud.”
Addressing sensitive topics such as recovery from a stroke means the stakes are higher for Emily.
“There is less room for error and you don’t want to say anything that could be misconstrued and that can be hard to think about constantly,” she says.
Near the end of the experiment, Emily is dealing with issues in her personal life and finds it a challenge to keep creating content. She decides to take a break from social media but may return in the future.
‘Chasing views can impact your self-worth’
Alun is a senior lecturer in history who specialises in early modern medicine and has devoted years to researching the cultural history of beards – a niche that he realised was lacking on social media.
He agreed to be part of the experiment as he felt he had a duty as an academic to educate people.
His first video on why he loves history has a couple of hundred views and that spurs him on to start posting every few days.
His videos do well but none have more than 1,000 views, something that becomes increasingly frustrating for him, and chasing the numbers takes an emotional toll.
“It starts impacting your self worth,” he admits. “If you don’t get the views, you start thinking you’re doing something wrong and people don’t like you.”
Finally, a video gets more than 10,000 views but Alun doesn’t feel the elation he thought he would.
“I was actively looking for more views and I lost my academic integrity. I crossed a boundary and oversimplified some information and I feel a bit dirty now.”
At the two-month mark, Alun is posting on TikTok every other day but has recently found himself on the receiving end of cruel and spiteful comments about his lack of hair and eyebrows due to alopecia.
“I’m finding it harder to deal with those comments than I might have thought,” he admits. “It’s made me more conscious of my appearance.”
He decides to confront the trolls and makes a video explaining his condition.
At the same time, the university, where he lectures, starts sharing his videos as promotional material to prospective students which turbo-charges his reach.
“I’ve had 350,000 views in total and in comparison, my academic articles are read a couple of hundred times a year,” he says.
Creating content won’t replace his career but it certainly amplifies it and Alun is sure he will continue posting online.
‘It’s taking up a massive amount of time – it feels like an addiction’
For theatre performer and producer Danyah, the challenge is almost the opposite – she’s used to performing but in front of a live audience, not an online one.
She joins the experiment as she wants to bring people together. She worries people are losing in-person connection as they’re chronically online.
Danyah downloads YouTube and compared to Emily and Alun, her content is slower and longer. Her first video is eight minutes long.
She’s posting regularly – from meditation guides to leaving poems across London – but the views aren’t pouring in.
Despite this, she’s having a blast.
“It’s so much fun and I keep thinking about what I’m going to share next,” she says.
Her enthusiasm doesn’t last long and soon, she finds herself down a rabbithole of trying to understand the technical side of social media. She even buys a book on how to get a million followers.
The Department of Homeland Security has placed an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer on leave after he was filmed shoving a woman to the ground at a New York immigration court.
He has been relieved of his current duties while DHS conducts a full investigation into the incident, DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement on Friday.
“The officer’s conduct in this video is unacceptable and beneath the men and women of ICE,” McLaughlin added. “Our ICE law enforcement are held to the highest professional standards.”
Video of the incident, which was widely shared on social media on Thursday, shows a crying woman approach the ICE officer in a hallway. He says “adios” to her several times before he grabs her, pushes her backwards and then knocks her to the ground.
Another video taken from a different angle showed the woman confronting the ICE officer at the centre of the investigation.
In the video, the woman can be heard shouting “take me, take me!” in Spanish.
The officer then grabs the woman and forces her several feet down the hallway and into a wall. He continues shoving the woman and pushes her to the ground.
The officer stands over the woman and says “leave!” in Spanish, before asking nearby officers to remove her from the building.
Another video shared on social media showed the woman being escorted from the courthouse.
The incident happened after federal agents tried taking the woman’s husband into custody as she and her daughter clung on to him, CBS News, the BBC’s US partner, reported.
She told reporters on Thursday that she is from Ecuador.
As part of US President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown, ICE officers have been entering federal courthouses and detaining immigrants awaiting hearings.
In New York City courthouses alone, hundreds of immigrants have reportedly been arrested.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has attacked the recognition of a Palestinian state by multiple Western countries during a combative speech at the UN General Assembly.
Netanyahu labelled the recognition moves a “mark of shame” that sent the message “murdering Jews pays off”.
Dozens of officials and diplomats staged a walk-out as he took to the podium, leaving large parts of the conference hall empty. Outside, protesters against Israel’s war in Gaza gathered in Times Square.
Israel has come under huge international pressure over its military action in Gaza, culminating in the UK, France, Canada, Australia and other countries recognising the State of Palestine this week.
In his opening remarks, Netanyahu displayed a map labelled “The Curse” that he said showed Iranian proxy groups across the Middle East. He then highlighted Israeli military operations across the past year against Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen, Hamas in Gaza, and Iran.
He thanked US President Donald Trump for American involvement in bombing Iran’s Fordo nuclear site in June, and drew parallels between Hamas’s 7 October 2023 attack on Israel and the 9/11 attack on the US. He said the two countries were fighting the same enemies, pointing to chants of “death to America” by groups linked to Iran.
The Israeli prime minister repeated that Israel would not allow a Palestinian state to exist and said this position was supported by the vast majority of Israelis.
He went on to refute the conclusion of a UN commission of inquiry that Israel had committed genocide in Gaza, claiming the charge was “baseless”.
He also rejected statements by multiple UN agencies that Israel is deliberately restricting the amount of aid entering Gaza. In August, a UN-backed body confirmed that famine was taking place in Gaza City.
Ahead of his speech, Netanyahu’s office ordered that the Israeli military mount loudspeakers on trucks near the Gaza perimeter fence in order to broadcast his words live across the territory.
Netanyahu also claimed that Israeli intelligence had hacked the smartphones of people in Gaza and would stream his speech to them directly. BBC sources in Gaza said their phones had not been affected.
He said the intention of this was for a message to reach Israeli hostages there.
“Our brave heroes,” he read on the podium. “This is Prime Minister Netanyahu speaking to you live from the United Nations. We have not forgotten you, not even for a second. The people of Israel are with you. We will not falter, and we will not rest until we bring all of you home.”
There are 48 hostages remaining in Gaza, 20 of whom are thought to be alive.
Gaza resident Fadi told the BBC World Service’s OS programme: “What does he gain by broadcasting his speech forcibly to the besieged civilians inside the tents, except to further humiliate them?”
Netanyahu devoted the latter section of his address to Israel’s regional neighbours, saying it was close to a de-escalation agreement with Syria and calling on the Lebanese government to step-up its efforts to disarm Hezbollah.
He immediately came under fire within Israel, with opposition leader Yair Lapid writing: “Today saw a weary and whining Israeli prime minister, in a speech overloaded with overused gimmicks”
“Instead of stopping the diplomatic tsunami – Netanyahu today worsened the state of the State of Israel,” he wrote on X.
Yair Golan, leader of Israel’s Democrats party said the speech showed “only victimhood, sanctimoniousness, and complete blindness to the suffering of the hostages and the sacrifice of the fighters”.
He labelled the loudspeaker stunt “invalid, childish, and insane”, saying it was “propaganda show”.
A day earlier, Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas said in his speech to the General Assembly that he is ready to work with world leaders to implement a peace plan for Israel and the Palestinians.
Shortly after Netanyahu finished speaking, Donald Trump separately told journalists: “I think we have a deal on Gaza”. He did not provide further details, though speculation has been mounting that a ceasefire deal could be close.
Pakistan has repeatedly made unverified claims of shooting down five Indian Air Force jets, assertions that India has consistently dismissed as “baseless,” citing the lack of any supporting evidence from Pakistan. Now, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has come forward with yet another unsubstantiated claim, this time alleging the downing of seven jets.
Shehbaz Sharif | X/@sidhant
Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, while addressing the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on Friday, made baseless claims of downing seven Indian jets during the military confrontation with India in May.
“Our falcons took flight and turned 7 Indian jets into scrap,” Sharif said at the UNGCA.”
“We’ve turned 7 Indian fighter jets into scrap and dust” says Pakistan’s PM at the UN. pic.twitter.com/ejP9AshRoy
Pakistan has repeatedly made unverified claims of shooting down five Indian Air Force jets, assertions that India has consistently dismissed as “baseless,” citing the lack of any supporting evidence from Pakistan. Now, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has come forward with yet another unsubstantiated claim, this time alleging the downing of seven jets.
India To Reply Tomorrow
Reportedly, tomorrow morning, India will exercise its right of reply, fielding its youngest diplomat to answer the Pakistani PM’s remarks.
Credits Donald Trump For Ceasefire
Crediting U.S. President Donald Trump for brokering peace between India and Pakistan, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif described Trump as a “man of peace.”
“Had he (Donald Trump) not intervened in a timely and decisive manner, the consequences of a full-fledged war could have been catastrophic,” he said.
“Pakistan nominated him for the Nobel Peace Prize, this is the least we could do for his love for peace.” he added.
Notably, India has repeatedly denied claims of any foreign intervention in brokering the ceasefire that followed Operation Sindoor, which targeted terror and military infrastructure in Pakistan. India’s stance has been that Pakistan’s DGMO contacted the Indian DGMO after which an agreement over ceasefire was reached.
The operation came in response to the terror attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, on April 22, which killed 26 civilians.
Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif raised strong objections to India’s decision to place the Indus Waters Treaty in abeyance while addressing the United Nations General Debate on Friday. He accused India of violating both the provisions of the treaty and international law.
Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif (File Photo)
Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif raised strong objections to India’s decision to place the Indus Waters Treaty in abeyance while addressing the United Nations General Debate on Friday. He accused India of violating both the provisions of the treaty and international law. However, Sharif did not acknowledge any steps taken by Islamabad to address terrorism originating from its own territory, a central concern cited by India for its decision.
DISPUTE OVER INDUS WATER TREATY ABEYANCE
During his speech at the UN, Shehbaz Sharif asserted Pakistan’s position on the Indus Waters Treaty. He stated, “India’s unilateral and illegal attempt to hold the Indus Water Treaty in abeyance defies the provisions of the treaty itself as well as the norms of international law. Pakistan has made it abundantly clear that we will defend the inseparable right of our people on these waters. To us, any violation of the treaty represents an act of war,” Sharif said.
Despite these claims, he did not mention Pakistan’s efforts to counter cross-border terrorism—a demand India has repeatedly raised as a precondition for reinstating the treaty’s provisions. Indian officials have described Pakistan’s approach to the treaty as a “desperate attempt” to avoid accountability for terrorism.
KASHMIR ISSUE RAISED AT UN
In addition to the water dispute, Prime Minister Sharif reiterated Pakistan’s stance on Kashmir during his UN address. He said, “I wish to assure Kashmiri people that I stand with them, Pakistan stands with them, and one day soon India’s tyranny in Kashmir will come to a halt,” directly addressing the people of Kashmir. This statement further underscores the complexity of India-Pakistan relations, as the Kashmir dispute and cross-border terrorism remain key points of contention alongside the water-sharing arrangements under the Indus Waters Treaty.
INDIA’S POSITION AND RESPONSE
India placed the Indus Waters Treaty in abeyance as a countermeasure following the Pahalgam terror attack on April 22, in which 26 civilians were killed. The Indian government linked the abeyance directly to Pakistan’s continued support of cross-border terrorism. India has accused Pakistan of manipulating the treaty process to shift attention away from terrorism concerns.
Iran has begun rebuilding missile-production sites targeted by Israel during its 12-day war in June, satellite images analyzed by The Associated Press show, but a key component is likely still missing — the large mixers needed to produce solid fuel for the weapons.
Iran has likely carried out an undeclared missile test at its Imam Khomeini Spaceport, satellite photos analyzed by The Associated Press showed Thursday, underlining Tehran’s effort to maintain its weapons program despite the 12-day war with Israel in June.
Iran has not formally acknowledged last week’s test at a circular pad that has hosted other major launches by the country’s civilian space program. A single lawmaker in Iran’s parliament, however, claimed, without offering evidence, that Tehran tested a possible intercontinental ballistic missile.
The test and the claim raise concerns that Iran may be trying to expand the reach of its missiles as tensions remain high ahead of United Nations sanctions, which are likely to be reimposed this weekend over Tehran’s nuclear program — as it also repairs missile sites that were struck by the Israelis.
“Israel’s successes in the 12-day war against Iran’s missile attacks reinforced for Tehran the importance of developing more ballistic missiles and qualitatively better versions of them,” said Behnam Ben Taleblu, an analyst at the Washington-based Foundation for Defense of Democracies. The think tank has long been critical of Iran and has been sanctioned by Tehran.
“Consider this part of Tehran’s efforts to build back better, and as quickly as possible,” he added.
Scorch marks seen on the launch pad
On Sept. 18, Iranian social media users posted images of the sky over Semnan province, showing what appeared to be a rocket’s contrail at sunset. Iranian officials did not acknowledge what caused the contrail, nor did Iranian state media report on the incident.
Satellite photos taken prior to that by Planet Labs PBC show the circular pad at Imam Khomeini Spaceport — about 230 kilometers (145 miles) southeast of Iran’s capital, Tehran, in Semnan — painted blue ringed with red, white and green lines — the colors of the Iranian flag.
But in satellite images since Sept. 18, the pad appeared discolored, though it wasn’t fully clear until a more-detailed Planet image requested by the AP taken this Wednesday. That image shows significant scorch marks, the pattern of which resembled scorching seen at the pad following past launches. When rockets launch, the flames from their engines pour down onto pads.
Fabian Hinz, a research fellow at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, who studies missiles, said the scale of the scorching suggested Iran launched a solid-fuel missile, as burning aluminum oxide particles cause such marks.
The north-south marks suggest a blast deflector being used as well to channel the flames, he said.
The claim of an intercontinental ballistic missile
Iranian parliament member Mohsen Zanganeh, appearing on Iranian state television on Saturday, claimed that the Islamic Republic had launched an intercontinental ballistic missile on Thursday. He portrayed it as a sign of Iran’s strength as it faces challenges from Israel and the West.
“We have neither abandoned (nuclear) enrichment, nor handed uranium over to the enemy, nor backed down from our missile positions,” said Zanganeh, a member of parliament’s budget committee from Iran’s Khorasan Razavi province.
“The night before last we tested one of the country’s most advanced missiles, which until now had not, so to speak, been trialed — and that test was successful,” he said.
“In other words,” he added. “I mean to say that even under these conditions we are conducting a security test of an intercontinental-range missile.”
Zanganeh did not elaborate on where he got his information, nor did he provide any evidence to support his assertion. Iranian parliament members have made exaggerated claims in the past.
Intercontinental ballistic missiles typically have ranges greater than 5,500 kilometers (3,415 miles). That would extend far beyond the range reportedly allowed by Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, which is 2,000 kilometers (1,240 miles).
The range of 2,000 kilometers encompasses much of the Middle East, including Israel and American military bases in the region. An intercontinental missile would at least put all of Europe in range. The U.S. military’s Central Command, which oversees its Mideast operations, did not respond to a request for comment.
Questions remain over the launch
Despite the lawmaker’s claims, there are still many questions surrounding the launch — including just what Iran sent into the sky.
Iran has in the past used the pad to launch solid-fueled missiles called Zuljanah, named after a horse of Imam Hussein, a grandson of the Prophet Muhammad and a key figure in the Shiite faith who was massacred with his fighters at Karbala in the 7th century.
The Zuljanah can launch satellites in space. However, the fact that it uses solid fuel and is capable of reaching space has raised concerns by the U.S. government that Iran could potentially build an intercontinental ballistic missile.
“If, as is increasingly being alleged, the test was of a space-launch vehicle, it represents a desire by Tehran to potentially threaten targets outside the Middle East, like the European continent and even the American homeland,” Taleblu said.
Such missiles can deliver nuclear weapons, but Iran long has maintained its nuclear program is peaceful. U.S. intelligence agencies also assess that Iran is not actively pursuing an atomic bomb, though it had been enriching uranium to up to 60% purity — a short, technical step away from weapons-grade levels of 90%. Iran also would need to miniaturize any possible nuclear bomb to put it atop a ballistic missile.
The “Terminator” movies may be more prescient than people thought.
With AI becoming omnipresent and advanced — techsperts worry that the human race will be wiped off the map by synthetic viruses and other means if we don’t hit the kill switch.
Computer scientists Eliezer Yudkowsky and Nate Soares made this apocalyptic prediction in their dystopian new book “If Anyone Builds It, Everyone Dies: Why Superhuman AI Would Kill Us All.”
“If any company or group, anywhere on the planet, builds an artificial superintelligence using anything remotely like current techniques, based on anything remotely like the present understanding of AI, then everyone, everywhere on Earth, will die,” the AI gurus, who work at Berkeley’s Machine Intelligence Research Institute (MIR) warned in the intro to the none-so-subtle tome.
Many techsperts see AI as offensive — which has made it ubiquitous in every sector from academia to dating — as a natural evolution and boon to humanity.
Much like in every sci-fi flick from “Ex-Machina” to “Terminator,” AI could even evolve to the point where it calculates that humans are no longer necessary, the experts say.
“Humanity needs to back off,” warned Yudkowsky, who has been warning about tech-istential risks posed by AI for years on the website he helped to create, LessWrong.com.
“If any company or group, anywhere on the planet, builds an artificial superintelligence, then everyone, everywhere on Earth, will die.”
The team of experts is taking this seriously, believing that “only one of them needs to work for humanity to go extinct.”
Experts fear that eventually power plants and factories will be run by robots instead of humans — after which they’d deem us disposable and bring about our techstinction, Vox reported.
To make matters worse, humans’ comparatively small brains might not even be able to comprehend the angle of attack in time.
Even if there was a tell, this chameleonic tech could potentially keep its malevolent intentions concealed until it’s presumably too late to pull the plug. “A superintelligent adversary will not reveal its full capabilities and telegraph its intentions,” warned the duo, the Daily Star reported.
The anti-ICE gunman who killed one migrant and wounded two others at a Dallas ICE facility on Wednesday was once a pot-obsessed slacker who hustled marijuana from Washington back to his home state of Texas, according to his ex-boss.
Joshua Jahn, 29 — who fired from a rooftop at a busload of migrants escorted by federal agents into the immigration facility before turning the gun on himself — worked a short-lived job on a legal cannabis farm in Benton City in 2017, where his ex-employer remembered him as a weed-loving drifter with little direction or drive.
Joshua Jahn, 29, worked a short-lived job on a legal cannabis farm in Benton City, WA in 2017. via REUTERS
“He was all about the weed. He wanted to be part of the scene. He lived in his car while he helped,” Ryan Sanderson, 49, who runs Golden Leaf farm, told The Post.
“He was just a young kid. When the job was over, he drove back to Texas.”
Sanderson, who supervised Jahn during a three-week harvest season, said the shooter had little interest in politics or anything beyond pot.
“He would come to work. He didn’t say a whole lot. He wasn’t an exceptional worker by any stretch,” Sanderson said.
“We never talked about politics or any of that kind of stuff. Nobody did.”
Jahn was part of a 15-person crew, “taking leaves off and listening to music” during the harvest.
“There are people who work, and there are people who go through the motions. He was one of those guys. He didn’t work that hard, probably because he was too high,” the boss recalled.
“What I believe happened is he was selling weed and then he came up here to work in the weed industry because he was all about it and that fizzled out,” he said.
“Then he had to go home. It wasn’t legal in Texas. I understand he worked at a solar plant. That’s kinda a 180, that’s a dirty, hardworking job….He probably didn’t have any direction, any work.”
Sanderson suspects Jahn could have had another motive to venture all the way out to Washington for the temporary gig.
“I just thought it was weird that someone would drive all the way to Texas to work at a temporary job. But now knowing that he was selling cannabis down in Texas and got in trouble prior to coming up here, I have a sense that his motive was to come up here and get weed,” Sanderson said.
“The job was for a three-week harvest, and then I kinda felt bad for him because he wanted to keep working, but I didn’t have a lot of work. I kept him on for three more months, trying to find more work for him,” he recalled.
“Eventually, I couldn’t justify keeping him because he wasn’t an all-star by any stretch.”
Jahn was also busted in 2015 for marijuana possession, before he began working on the cannabis farm.
Authorities are investigating the attack on the ICE processing center in Dallas on Wednesday as a targeted attack.
The words “Anti-ICE” were scrawled on a stripper clip of ammo near his body, and his beat-up Toyota Corolla had a bizarre nuclear fallout map taped to the side.
A handwritten note recovered by investigators also said, “Hopefully this will give ICE agents real terror, to think, ‘is there a sniper with AP [armor piercing] rounds on that roof?’”
The gunman is a registered independent who voted in the Democratic primary in 2020 and last cast a ballot in 2024.
Jahn had experience with firearms, his family said.
While the killer’s political motives remain under investigation, his mother, Sharon, posted a series of anti-gun rants on Facebook, blasting Texas Republican lawmakers who supported the Second Amendment.
Following a rocky few weeks, the lovebirds are finally back together and attempting to make things work
BIG Brother star Rylie Jeffries has reunited with Katherine Woodman at his Oklahoma ranch and the two are ‘very much together’ following their controversial season, The U.S. Sun can reveal.
The reality stars were at the center of drama during season 27 when many viewers perceived the bull rider’s behavior as “creepy” and insisted it “crossed the line.”
Since both of the lovebirds were evicted from the game in the middle of the season, they had been taking time apart to process the aftermath and backlash from their time on Big Brother.
However, a source close to the pair has told The U.S. Sun that Katherine, 23, has been “in Oklahoma with Rylie all week.”
“They finally reunited after weeks of processing emotions. Katherine has been really eager to see him and wanting to make things work but Rylie needed time.
“He’s doing a lot better now and was so excited to see Katherine. I know he appreciated how she had his back in the house after he got evicted and how she had his back with the public too.
“After a bumpy few weeks, it’s safe to say they have found their stride outside of the show. I wouldn’t say they’re boyfriend/girlfriend yet but it’s heading in that direction.
“But they are very much together,” the insider spilled.
TROUBLE IN PARADISE?
Following their eviction from Big Brother, it appeared the romance between Rylie, 27, and Katherine was done as he “needed space” from her to process the tumultuous response from viewers.
All of the outside noise apparently became “overwhelming” for both Rylie and Katherine following their reentry into the outside world.
So much so, it had negatively impacted their relationship.
According to an insider, they were “barely speaking at all” in the weeks after their eviction.
At the time in early September, “They still haven’t seen each other [in person].
“They talked here and there after the show, but it was very weird, very awkward.”
They continued: “The response to everything was overwhelming for both of them, and they didn’t know how to handle it.
“It drew a wedge between them. Rylie pulled away. Katherine didn’t want to push him. And now it’s basically done.
“They’ll see each other are the finale, which they’re both extremely nervous about.
“Both for how the audience and fans will be, and seeing each other.
“Rylie is trying to get back to his normal life by bull riding and going to local rodeos and forgetting all of this Hollywood drama.”
Despite some fans’ hopes that Rylie would skip or not be invited back to the live finale, The U.S. Sun previously reported that the polarizing star will indeed return.
“The plan for now is for Rylie to attend the finale. He has been asked back, and he plans to go. Katherine plans on going too.
“They will address Rylie’s comments and behavior at the finale and get his response to the backlash,” the source claimed.
‘PRODUCTION STEP IN!’
Rylie and Katherine became the most buzzed-about contestants of the season when they got into a hot and heavy showmance just days after moving into the house.
While their in-house relationship was celebrated by their fellow contestants, the reaction from the general public was much more negative.
The Oklahoma native was accused of being “creepy,” “aggressive,” and even “crossing the line” with his behavior toward Katherine.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto look on during a signing ceremony for the Indonesia-Canada Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Canada, on Sep 24, 2025. (Photo: AFP/Dave Chan)
Canada has signed a bilateral free trade agreement with Indonesia, which aims to eliminate or reduce tariffs on over 95 per cent of Ottawa’s exports to its largest market in Southeast Asia.
Several experts told AFP the strategic agreement is being made in the context of global economic turmoil, exacerbated by the protectionist policies of the United States.
“This is the right deal at the right time with the right partner,” Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney said, adding that Indonesia is Canada’s largest export market in Southeast Asia.
Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto called the agreement a “historic moment” during an official visit to Ottawa on Wednesday (Sep 24), as it is the first of its kind with an Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member country.
“I’m very lucky to be the Indonesian president who brings this back to Indonesia,” Prabowo said.
Canada’s exports include wheat, potash, timber and soybeans.
The Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) agreement allows Canada to strengthen its presence in the Indo-Pacific region, in line with the strategy that was unveiled by the previous administration under Justin Trudeau.
The agreement also provides for the elimination of more than 90 per cent of tariffs on Indonesian imports, a boon to the export of garments and leather goods to the North American market.
Donald Trump has said he will not allow Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to annex the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
The US president told White House reporters ahead of Netanyahu’s address to the UN General Assembly on Friday: “I will not allow Israel to annex the West Bank… It’s not going to happen.”
Trump, who will meet Netanyahu on Monday, also said a ceasefire deal over the war in Gaza was “pretty close”.
Israel is facing increasing global pressure to end the conflict and occupation of the West Bank, as a wave of Western states formally recognise an independent Palestinian state. Far-right Israelis view annexation as a means of preventing a Palestinian state being created.
Ultranationalists in Netanyahu’s governing coalition have repeated calls for Israel to annex the West Bank – part of the Palestinian territories – outright.
The UK and Germany say they have warned Israel against annexation, while UN Secretary General António Guterres said such a move would be “morally, legally and politically intolerable”.
Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Thursday that he had spoken to Netanyahu as well as other Middle Eastern leaders.
“We’re getting pretty close to having a deal on Gaza, and maybe even peace,” Trump said.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas told the UN General Assembly via video link the same day that he was ready to work with world leaders to implement a peace plan for Israel and the Palestinians that was announced by France on Monday.
The 89-year-old was barred from travelling to New York, where the UN headquarters are, by the US.
Abbas thanked countries which had recently recognised a Palestinian state in a wave of declarations that began with Canada, Australia, the UK and Portugal on Sunday, and was followed by France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, San Marino, Andorra and Denmark.
The US is currently opposed to recognising Palestine, saying such a move would be a reward for Hamas.
“Hamas will not have a role to play in governance,” Abbas said in his speech. He also called for a Palestinian state to assume “full responsibilities” for the Gaza Strip following an Israeli withdrawal and connect it with the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
At the UN on Tuesday, Trump met the leaders of key Arab and Muslim nations, who warned him of consequences if Israel moved ahead with annexation.
“I think the president of the US understands very well the risks and dangers of annexation in the West Bank,” Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan told reporters afterwards.
On Wednesday morning, Israel closed the only crossing between the Israeli-occupied West Bank and neighbouring Jordan, preventing more than two million Palestinians from accessing the outside world.
The closure came days after two Israeli military personnel were shot dead near the crossing by a Jordanian gunman who was killed at the scene.
In Gaza, more than 80 Palestinians, including women and children, were killed by Israeli fire on Wednesday, most of them in Gaza City, local hospitals said.
The Israeli military launched a campaign in Gaza in response to the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.
At least 65,419 people have been killed in Israeli attacks in Gaza since then, according to the territory’s Hama-run health ministry, including more than 18,000 children.
In August, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), a UN-backed body, said that more than half a million people across Gaza were facing “catastrophic” conditions characterised by “starvation, destitution and death”. Netanyahu has repeatedly denied starvation is taking place in Gaza.
A United Nations commission of inquiry found Israel has committed genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, in a report Israel’s foreign ministry categorically rejected as “distorted and false”.
Israel is under increasing pressure to end the war and occupation.
President Donald Trump, right, shakes the hand of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House, Thursday, Sept. 25, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)(AP)
United States President Donald Trump on Thursday (September 25) urged Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to stop buying oil from Russia, as Moscow’s war in Ukraine grinds on with little territorial gain. The comments came during Erdogan’s visit to the White House, where both leaders discussed bilateral ties and regional security.
“I would like him to stop buying any oil from Russia, as Russia continues its rampage in Ukraine, and they have been fighting. They have lost millions of lives already, and for what, disgraceful,” Trump told reporters.
He added that Moscow’s economy was in a “terrible” state and accused President Vladimir Putin of prolonging the war unnecessarily.
Erdogan’s neutral stance
Erdogan did not directly respond to Trump’s request on oil purchases but stressed his commitment to strengthening Turkish-American relations. Trump, however, emphasized Erdogan’s potential role in the conflict.
“They really respect Erdogan. I do, and I think he could have a big influence, if he wants to. Right now, he’s very neutral. He likes being neutral. So do I, like being neutral. But he’s somebody that, if he got involved, the best thing he could do is not buy oil and gas from Russia,” Trump said.
‘Paper Tiger’ remarks on Russia
The US President expressed frustration at Russia’s military campaign in Ukraine, noting that Moscow’s heavy bombardments had resulted in “almost no land” gained.
“With all of the heavy bombardment over the last two weeks, they’ve gained almost no land,” Trump said. “And I’m not going to ever call anybody a paper tiger, but Russia spent millions and millions of dollars in bombs, missiles, ammunition and lives, their lives, and they’ve gained virtually no land.”
Earlier this week, Trump used the term “paper tiger” on Truth Social, writing that Russia’s prolonged war effort “is very much making them look like ‘a paper tiger.’”
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov later dismissed the comment, saying: “Russia is not a tiger. Russia is more associated with a bear. Paper bears do not exist, and Russia is a real bear.”
During the G20 Foreign Ministers’ meeting, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar emphasised that terrorism poses a persistent threat to global stability and must not be tolerated.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar addresses G20 foreign ministers’ meeting on the sidelines of the UNGA.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Thursday said that terrorism remains a ‘persistent threat’ to the society adding that the world must not show any tolerance or accommodation to terrorists activities.
Speaking at the G20 Foreign Ministers’ meeting on the sidelines of the UNGA session, EAM S Jaishankar said, “A persistent threat to development is that perennial disruptor of peace, terrorism. It is imperative that the world display neither tolerance nor accommodation to terrorist activities.”
“Given the extensive networking among terrorists, those who act against them on any front actually render a larger service to the international community as a whole. As we confront conflict, economic pressures, and terrorism, the limitations of multilateralism and the United Nations in particular are visible. The need for reforming multilateralism has never been greater.” EAM said.
Adding further, the External Affairs Minister brought to the notice that the international situation is today both politically and economically volatile. “We, as members of G20, have a particular responsibility to strengthen its stability and give it a more positive direction that is best done by undertaking dialogue and diplomacy, by firmly combating terrorism, and by appreciating the need for stronger energy and economic security.”
In another statement, Jaishankar said that the focus today is on the correlation between international peace and global development.
Spoke at the G20 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting hosted by South Africa on the sidelines of #UNGA80.
Highlighted that in a politically & economically volatile international situation, G20 members have a particular responsibility to strengthen its stability and give it a more… https://t.co/1UOlg1I2v3pic.twitter.com/YQnllt0iH0
Continuing his argument, EAM said, “In recent times, that is well established, as both deteriorated in parallel. The costs, especially to the Global South, in terms of energy, food, and fertiliser security, were starkly demonstrated by ongoing conflicts, particularly in Ukraine and Gaza.”
“Apart from jeopardising supplies and logistics, access and cost themselves became pressure points on nations. Double standards are clearly in evidence. Peace can certainly enable development, but by threatening development, we cannot facilitate peace.”
Jaishankar Highlights Global Challenges On Energy Needs
Addressing on the energy challenges the world is facing, Jaishankar said, “Making energy and other essentials more uncertain in an economically fragile situation helps no one. The way out is to move the needle towards dialogue and diplomacy, not in the opposite direction towards further complications.”
Speaking on peace and global development, he said ongoing conflicts, particularly in Ukraine and Gaza, have starkly demonstrated the costs, especially to the Global South, in terms of energy, food and fertiliser security.
Goswami was reportedly part of the group that accompanied Zubeen on the yacht trip in Singapore, during which the tragic incident took place
Zubeen Garg passed away in Singapore while scuba diving.
The Special Investigation Team (SIT) of Assam Police on Thursday arrested musician Shekhar Jyoti Goswami in connection with the death of iconic Assamese singer Zubeen Garg.
Goswami was reportedly part of the group that accompanied Zubeen on the yacht trip in Singapore, during which the tragic incident took place.
Officials confirmed that Goswami was arrested after being taken into custody for questioning earlier today. However, the exact details of the allegations against him have not been disclosed.
It remains unclear whether formal charges will be filed or what the nature of Goswami’s relationship with Garg was. Several media reports have described Goswami as a close aide of the singer, with some suggesting he was the drummer in his band.
The police have yet to issue an official statement regarding this latest development.
The arrest also comes as the SIT continues its probe into the singer’s untimely death, which happened on September 19 in Singapore, where Zubeen had travelled to attend and perform at the North East India Festival. He drowned while swimming in the sea and could not be revived despite medical efforts.
Earlier today, SIT teams also carried out separate searches at the residences of two other key individuals linked to the case — Shyamkanu Mahanta, the organiser of the festival, and Siddharth Sharma, Zubeen’s manager.
A team visited Mahanta’s house in Geetanagar, where only two domestic helpers were found at home. Meanwhile, another team reached Sharma’s apartment in Dhirenpara, which was locked.
Trump has already slapped 50 per cent tariffs on Indian imports, which also includes a 25 per cent ‘penalty’ for continued purchase of Russian oil.
US President Donald Trump on Thursday announced tariffs of up to 100 per cent on imports of branded and patented pharmaceutical drugs, starting October 1, 2025. India’s pharmaceuticals sector, one of the most dependent domestic industries on trade with America, could be significantly impacted by the move.
“Starting October 1st, 2025, we will be imposing a 100 per cent Tariff on any branded or patented Pharmaceutical Product, unless a Company IS BUILDING their Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Plant in America,” the Republican leader said on Truth Social.
Trump’s posts showed that his devotion to tariffs did not end with the trade frameworks and import taxes that were launched in August, a reflection of the president’s confidence that taxes will help reduce the government’s budget deficit while increasing domestic manufacturing.
“”IS BUILDING” will be defined as, “breaking ground” and/or “under construction.” There will, therefore, be no Tariff on these Pharmaceutical Products if construction has started. Thank you for your attention to this matter,” he added.
In his latest tariff blitz, Trump also slapped 50 per cent duty on imports of kitchen cabinets and bathroom vanities, 30 per cent on upholstered furniture, and 25 per cent on heavy trucks.
While Trump did not provide a legal justification for the tariffs, he appeared to stretch the bounds of his role as commander-in-chief by stating that the taxes were needed “for National Security and other reasons.”
US President Donald Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met in Washington, DC, on February 13, 2025.
How Could India Be Impacted?
America is India’s largest export market for pharmaceutical goods. In FY 24, of India’s $27.9 billion worth of pharma exports, 31 per cent or $8.7 billion (Rs 77,138 crore) went to the US, according to the Pharmaceuticals Export Promotion Council of India, an industry body. Another $3.7 billion (Rs 32,505 crore) worth of pharma products were exported in just the first half of 2025.
Per reports, India supplies over 45 per cent of generic and 15 per cent of biosimilar drugs used in the US. Firms like Dr Reddy’s, Aurobindo Pharma, Zydus Lifesciences, Sun Pharma and Gland Pharma reportedly earn anywhere from 30-50 per cent of their total revenues from the American market.
Although the latest American tariffs appear to mainly target branded and patented drugs — a segment dominated by multinational giants — uncertainty looms over whether complex generics and speciality medicines from India would also be under the scanner. Moreover, large players already have manufacturing facilities in the US.
Ahead of his scheduled meeting with Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Field Marshal, US President Donald Trump addressed reporters from the Oval Office, saying, “they’re coming, and they may be in this room right now. I don’t know, because we’re late.”
“We have a great leader coming, the Prime Minister of Pakistan and the Field Marshal. Field Marshal is a very great guy, and so is the Prime Minister, both, and they’re coming, and they may be in this room right now,” Trump said.
According to the White House’s public schedule, Trump is set to engage in a closed-door session with Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in the Oval Office.
On September 23, Sharif also had an informal exchange with Trump following a meeting between the US President and leaders of eight Islamic-Arab countries, which also included Pakistan.
“Informal exchange followed the dialogue between President Trump and leaders of eight Islamic-Arab countries, including Pakistan. Prime Minister Shehbaz and Deputy Prime Minister/Foreign Minister Senator Ishaq Dar joined President Donald Trump in the discussion,” the Pakistan Foreign Minister stated in a post on X.
After years of strained relations, US-Pakistan ties began warming when Islamabad credited US President Donald Trump for his so-called peace intervention during the military conflict with India in May.
Trump claimed he helped broker a ceasefire between the two nuclear-armed neighbours, using trade and tariff threats–a claim that India has firmly denied.
Initially, Pakistan’s military leadership stated that the ceasefire was initiated following a direct proposal from its Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) to his Indian counterpart. However, Islamabad later shifted its stance, attributing the breakthrough to Washington’s efforts, even going so far as to nominate Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize.
The thaw continued in June when Trump welcomed Pakistan’s Army Chief, General Asim Munir, to the White House. The two leaders discussed a range of issues, including trade, economic development, and even cryptocurrency. Just a few weeks later, the Trump administration announced a new trade deal with Pakistan, alongside plans to help Islamabad tap into its “massive oil reserves.”
Munir again visited Washington in August, and during this visit, Pakistan secured a USD 500 million investment from the US, aimed at bolstering the country’s critical minerals sector.
Meanwhile, during the day, Trump signed an executive order approving a deal involving the popular video-sharing app TikTok, signalling a shift towards American ownership and control.
“This is interesting because I had a very good talk with President Xi, a lot of respect for him. Hopefully, he has a lot of respect for me, too. We talked about TikTok, and he gave us the go-ahead,” he said.
“You know, it’s run by American investors and American companies, great ones, great investors, the biggest. The young people really wanted this to happen,” he added.
Dakota Johnson ditched her bra for another sheer lace look at the Zurich Film Festival.
The “50 Shades of Grey” actress was pictured on the red carpet Thursday in an indigo blue party frock with a sheer lace mock turtleneck bodice and drop waist design. A voluminous ballgown style tulle skirt completed the jaw-dropping floor-length gown, which the “Materialists” star accessorized with two substantially jeweled statement rings.
She wore her brunette locks in soft waves, and applied a neutral makeup palette for the outing.
Johnson, 35, showed off various angles of the stunning look on the red carpet, and later stepped on stage to accept the Golden Eye award for career achievement.
Dakota Johnson turned heads in an indigo blue sheer lace dress at the Zurich Film Festival on Thursday. Getty Images
The “Madame Web” star’s appearance closely follows another sheer lace moment — earlier this month, she appeared in a completely sheer black lace dress at the Kering Foundation dinner in New York.
For that outing, Johnson slipped into a pair of black undies and a bra by Fleur du Mal to complement the long, revealing Gucci dress.
She accentuated the look with a cherry red manicure and lip, and opted for an event-worthy updo. In photos, Johnson showed off her partially exposed backside while modeling the see-through ensemble.
The actress previously showed Chris Martin what he was missing in a sheer black ensemble following their June split after nearly eight years together.
At the time, the radiant actress stepped out of New York’s Greenwich Hotel in a Nensi Dojaka bodysuit and matching tulle midi skirt for an eye-popping post-split appearance.
In February 2024, she again showcased her love for all things transparent in a crystal-embellished, mesh custom Gucci design for the premiere of “Madame Web.”
Should passengers lose sleep over cyber threats to aviation? (Picture: Metro)
A flurry of cyberattacks that grounded planes from Dallas to Berlin were designed to sow chaos and deter ordinary people from going about their lives, an expert has said.
Disruption swept some of the world’s biggest airports last weekend after an air traffic outage brought flights across the US to a standstill and a cyber attack crippled check-in and boarding systems at Heathrow, Brussels and Berlin.
Then, in another incident, mysterious drones were spotted flying over four airports in Denmark – Aalborg, Sonderborg and Esbjerg, as well as at the Skrydstrup airbase – last night and this morning.
This came after drones were spotted hovering above Copenhagen and Oslo’s airports earlier this week.
Dr Daniel Gardham, from the University of Surrey Centre for Cyber Security, said it is ‘unsurprising’ that the aviation industry has been hit.
‘There’s a reason the attackers are going after these very visible targets, he told Metro.
‘One is that it affects the everyday person – it brings your attention to these matters, whether you care about it or not.
‘And secondly, with airports in particular, they have different systems in place that have to work together so it runs more efficiently.’
These systems range from software managing the conveyor belt and baggage to the fuel pumps in the aircraft, which opens airports up to a larger possibility of being attacked.
‘It is unsurprising that they are able to find vulnerabilities at an airport, just because of the scale of the operation, and the fact that it comprises so many pieces that have to work together,’ he said.
He added that while the complexities are unlikely to disappear anytime soon despite advancements in AI and technology, an average traveller shouldn’t lose sleep over possible cyber-related flight disruption.
Dr Gardham said: ‘I’m sure the airports themselves are very worried, because they know that they’re being targeted.’
While passengers should be mindful about cybersecurity, there’s not much passengers themselves can do. He’s recommended that they take out travel insurance in case something happens.
So, how prepared is the UK for the likelihood of more cyber attacks targeting aviation – and how worried should you be?
Mantas Sabeckis, an ethical hacker and infosecurity researcher, said the UK aviation world is taking cyber threats seriously, and he feels they’re doing a good job of keeping on top of the changes.
He pointed to a recent UK Cyber Security Breaches Survey, which showed that around 76% of large UK businesses have plans in place for cyber incidents.
‘They push for basics like keeping systems updated, training staff on cyber risks, and having a solid plan to bounce back quickly if something goes wrong,’ he told Metro.
‘That being said, aviation is very complex, with lots of different companies and suppliers working together. This means there are still weak spots – like the recent cyberattack linked to Collins Aerospace is a good example of causing big headaches at airports.
‘So, even though the UK is doing well compared to many places, the job of protecting aviation cyber systems is never done. You have to keep learning, improving, and staying alert as hackers get smarter.’
Are digital boarding passes safer?
As airports remain on high alert, airlines are preparing to end the use of paper boarding passes. Ryanair, for example, is going 100% digital from November 12, a move that has been labelled a nightmare by passengers.
Mr Sabeckis said while online boarding passes usually speeds up check-in and boarding, they come with risks – especially in light of the recent attacks.
‘Staff have to fall back on manual processes like handwritten boarding passes, which slows everything down and can cause confusion,’ he said.
‘I think digital boarding passes are the future, and now is still a good time for airlines like Ryanair to continue adopting digital boarding passes, but they need to do it carefully. They should keep in mind that the aviation sector saw a 600% year-on-year increase in cyberattacks, and this means they must prepare for potentially more frequent and sophisticated cyber threats that could disrupt automated systems.’
What about the US? Are they safe from cyber attacks?
It is not just the UK and European travel hubs that have been targeted in recent years.
Airlines in the US fell victim to the Scattered Spider cybercrime network shortly after hackers paralysed Marks and Spencer payment systems in the UK, leading the FBI to issue an alert about the group in June.
The FBI said it has seen the Scattered Spider cybercriminal group ‘expanding its targeting to include the airline sector.’
‘These actors rely on social engineering techniques, often impersonating employees or contractors to deceive IT help desks into granting access,’ the FBI warned.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas pledged at the United Nations on Thursday to work with U.S. President Donald Trump, Saudi Arabia, France and the United Nations on a peace plan for Gaza overwhelmingly backed by the world body.
The 193-member U.N. General Assembly overwhelmingly endorsed this month a seven-page declaration that aims to advance a two-state solution for Israel and the Palestinians and end the Gaza war between Israel and Hamas militants.
The declaration emerged from an international conference at the U.N. in July – hosted by Saudi Arabia and France – on the decades-long conflict. The United States and Israel boycotted the event and have rejected the international efforts.
TRUMP OFFERS 21-POINT PEACE PLAN
Separately, U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff said on Wednesday that Trump had presented a 21-point peace plan for the Middle East and Gaza during a meeting with leaders of several Muslim-majority countries on the sidelines of this week’s U.N. General Assembly.
Abbas addressed the annual gathering of world leaders on Thursday via video after the United States said it give him a visa to travel to New York.
“Despite all that our people have suffered, we reject what Hamas carried out on October 7th – acts that targeted Israeli civilians and took them as hostages — because such actions do not represent the Palestinian people nor their just struggle for freedom and independence,” Abbas said.
ABBAS RULES OUT HAMAS ROLE, BUT HAMAS BEGS TO DIFFER
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas appears on screens as he addresses the 80th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), at the U.N. headquarters in New York, U.S., September 25, 2025. REUTERS/Jeenah Moon Purchase Licensing Rights
“We have affirmed — and will continue to affirm — that Gaza is an integral part of the State of Palestine, and that we are ready to assume full responsibility for governance and security there. Hamas will have no role in governance, and it – along with other factions – must hand over its weapons to the Palestinian National Authority,” he said. “We reiterate that we do not want an armed state.”
The points he raised are included in the declaration endorsed by the General Assembly.
“We declare our readiness to work with President Donald Trump, with Saudi Arabia, France, the United Nations and all partners to implement the peace plan” backed by the General Assembly, Abbas said.
Hamas rejected the remarks by Abbas.
“We consider the President of the Authority’s assertion that Hamas will have no role in governance an infringement on the inherent right of our Palestinian people to decide their own destiny and to choose who governs them, and a submission —unacceptable to us — to external dictates and schemes,” Hamas said in a statement.
The group also said that its weapons “cannot be compromised so long as the occupation remains entrenched on our land and oppressing our people,” adding: “We denounce the President of the Authority’s call to surrender them.”
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar described Abbas’ speech as “nice words” to the West and accused the Palestinian leader of failing to fight terrorism.
President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Thursday declaring that his plan to sell Chinese-owned TikTok’s U.S. operations to U.S. and global investors will address the national security requirements in a 2024 law.
The new U.S. company will be valued at around $14 billion, Vice President JD Vance said, putting a price tag on the popular short video app far below some analyst estimates.
Trump on Thursday delayed until January 20 enforcement of the law that bans the app unless its Chinese owners sell it amid efforts to extract TikTok’s U.S. assets from the global platform, line up American and other investors, and win approval from the Chinese government.
The publication of the executive order shows Trump is making progress on the sale of TikTok’s U.S. assets, but numerous details need to be fleshed out, including how the U.S. entity would use TikTok’s most important asset, its recommendation algorithm.
“There was some resistance on the Chinese side, but the fundamental thing that we wanted to accomplish is that we wanted to keep TikTok operating, but we also wanted to make sure that we protected Americans’ data privacy as required by law,” Vance told reporters at an Oval Office briefing.
Trump’s order says the algorithm will be retrained and monitored by the U.S. company’s security partners, and operation of the algorithm will be under the control of the new joint venture.
Trump said Chinese President Xi Jinping had indicated approval of the plans. “I spoke with President Xi,” Trump said. “We had a good talk, I told him what we were doing and he said go ahead with it.”
The Chinese embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment. TikTok did not immediately comment on Trump’s action.
Trump has credited TikTok, which has 170 million U.S. users, with helping him win reelection last year. Trump has 15 million followers on his personal TikTok account. The White House also launched an official TikTok account last month.
“This is going to be American-operated all the way,” Trump said.
He said that Michael Dell, the founder, chairman and CEO of Dell Technologies; Rupert Murdoch, the chairman emeritus of Fox News owner Fox Corp and newspaper publisher News Corp, and “probably four or five absolutely world-class investors” would be part of the deal.
The White House did not discuss how it came up with the $14 billion valuation.
TikTok’s Chinese parent, ByteDance, currently values itself at more than $330 billion, according to its new employee share buyback plan. TikTok contributes a small percentage of the company’s total revenue.
According to Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives, TikTok was estimated to be worth $30 billion to $40 billion without the algorithm as of April 2025.
Alan Rozenshtein, a professor at the University of Minnesota Law School, said the executive order left unanswered questions, including whether ByteDance would still control the algorithm.
“The problem is that the president has certified the deal, but he has not provided a lot of information on the algorithm,” he said.
U.S. President Donald Trump shows a signed executive order on a deal that would divest TikTok’s U.S. operations from ByteDance from its Chinese owner ByteDance, at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., September 25, 2025. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque Purchase Licensing Rights
Chinese media on Friday also painted a different picture of the TikTok agreement, suggesting ByteDance would continue to play a major or operational role.
ByteDance will set up a new U.S. company as part of the restructuring of TikTok’s U.S. operations, Chinese media outlet LatePost reported, citing sources.
The new company to be set up by ByteDance will be responsible for e-commerce, branding operations and interconnection with international operations, the report said.
The report also said the joint venture, as described by the White House and valued at $14 billion, would be responsible for U.S. digital security, safeguarding content and software as well as related local businesses.
Another Chinese financial magazine, Caixin, also reported, citing people close to the deal, that ByteDance planned to set up a TikTok U.S. entity that will receive some revenue from the new TikTok joint venture.
The White House and ByteDance did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
ORACLE AND OTHERS TO OWN TIKTOK IN THE U.S.
A group of three investors, including Oracle (ORCL.N) and private-equity firm Silver Lake, will take a roughly 50% stake in TikTok U.S., two sources familiar with the deal said on Thursday.
A group of existing shareholders in ByteDance will hold a roughly 30% stake, one of the sources said. Among ByteDance’s current investors are Susquehanna International Group, General Atlantic and KKR.
Given intense investor interest in TikTok, the 50% stake may still shift, the source noted.
Oracle and Silver Lake did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
CNBC reported earlier, citing sources, that Abu Dhabi-based MGX, Oracle and Silver Lake are poised to be the main investors in TikTok U.S. with a combined 45% ownership.
MGX did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment on the CNBC report.
Republican House of Representatives lawmakers said they wanted to see more details of the deal to ensure it represented a clean break with China. “As the details are finalized, we must ensure this deal protects American users from the influence and surveillance of CCP-aligned groups,” said U.S. Representatives Brett Guthrie, Gus Bilirakis and Richard Hudson.
The agreement on TikTok’s U.S. operations includes the appointment by ByteDance of one of seven board members for the new entity, with Americans holding the other six seats, a senior White House official said on Saturday.
The U.S. Justice Department filed criminal charges against former FBI Director James Comey on Thursday, in a dramatic escalation of President Donald Trump’s retribution campaign against his political enemies.
If convicted, Comey could face up to five years in prison. He faces charges of making false statements and obstructing a congressional investigation.
Comey, in a video posted on Instagram, said: “My heart is broken for the Department of Justice, but I have great confidence in the federal judicial system, and I’m innocent. So, let’s have a trial and keep the faith.”
His attorney, Patrick J. Fitzgerald, said in a statement: “Jim Comey denies the charges filed today in their entirety. We look forward to vindicating him in the courtroom.”
Trump has threatened to imprison his political rivals since he first ran for president in 2015, but Thursday’s indictment marks the first time his administration has succeeded in securing a grand jury indictment against one of them. Trump’s Justice Department is also investigating other antagonists including New York Attorney General Letitia James and John Bolton, who served as a national security official in Trump’s first term as president.
The charges breach decades-long norms that have sought to insulate U.S. law enforcement from political pressures. The federal prosecutor in Virginia who had been tasked with pursuing the case resigned last week after drawing Trump’s wrath for expressing doubts about the case, and others in the office have privately said the evidence does not merit criminal charges, according to sources familiar with the matter.
Trump, who has pressured Attorney General Pam Bondi to prosecute Comey and other critics, celebrated the news. “JUSTICE IN AMERICA!” he wrote on social media. “He has been so bad for our Country, for so long.”
Trump fired Comey in 2017, early in his first term in office. He has since regularly assailed Comey’s handling of the FBI investigation that detailed contacts between Russians and Trump’s 2016 campaign.
Since Trump returned to office last January, his Justice Department has been examining Comey’s 2020 testimony when he addressed Republican criticisms of the Russia investigation and denied that he had authorized disclosures of sensitive information to the news media.
The indictment alleges that Comey misled Congress by claiming he had not authorized anyone else to be an anonymous source in news reporting about an FBI investigation.
Trump’s administration has carried out a sweeping campaign to remake the Justice Department, which the president alleges was used as a political weapon when he left office in 2021. Trump faced federal charges of mishandling classified documents and trying to overturn his 2020 election defeat. Both cases have been dropped.
James Comey, former director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), is seen in a frame grab from a video feed as he is sworn in remotely from his home during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing exploring the FBI’s investigation of the 2016 Trump campaign and Russian election interference in Washington, U.S., September 30, 2020. U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
“Donald Trump has ordered the criminal prosecutions of political targets, and the Department of Justice is corruptly obeying,” said Norm Eisen, a prominent former government ethics official under Democratic President Barack Obama and currently a fellow at the Brookings Institution. “This indictment has all the hallmarks of a vindictive and meritless prosecution.”
TENSIONS WITHIN JUSTICE DEPARTMENT
The effort to target Comey had been viewed with skepticism in the Eastern District of Virginia, the U.S. attorney’s office handling the case.
After the district’s top federal prosecutor, Erik Siebert, resigned last week, others in the office told his successor, Lindsey Halligan, that charges should not be filed due to a lack of evidence, according to a source. Career prosecutors in the office also previously drafted a memo urging Halligan not to seek an indictment, saying the case lacked evidence to establish probable cause that a crime was committed, Reuters previously reported.
Underscoring the weakness of the case, the grand jury on Thursday declined to indict Comey on a third proposed charge, originally listed as count one of the indictment, of making a false statement to Congress in a different part of his Senate testimony stemming from a question related to the 2016 presidential election, court records show.
Halligan most recently served as a White House adviser, and before that was one of Trump’s personal defense lawyers.
In a highly unusual move, Halligan personally presented the evidence to the grand jury on Thursday – a task typically performed by a line prosecutor and not the U.S. Attorney, according to four people briefed on the matter.
Comey’s son-in-law, Troy Edwards, resigned from his position as a senior national security prosecutor following the news on Thursday, saying he was doing so in order to uphold his “oath to the Constitution and country,” according to a copy of his resignation letter seen by Reuters.
Comey’s eldest daughter, Maureen Comey, was fired, from her job as a federal prosecutor in Manhattan in July. She filed a lawsuit earlier this month, with her lawyers saying in the complaint that she was fired “solely or substantially because her father is former FBI Director James B. Comey.”
Trump and Comey have had an acrimonious relationship since the start of the president’s first term. Trump fired him as FBI director days after Comey publicly confirmed that the president was under investigation over his election campaign’s connections to Russia. Comey then emerged as a prominent critic of the president, calling him “morally unfit” for office.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks, on the day he signs energy-related executive orders at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., April 8, 2025. REUTERS/Nathan Howard/File photo Purchase Licensing Rights
The Trump administration intends to shift $1.8 billion in foreign aid funding toward “America First” initiatives such as pursuing investments in Greenland and countering “Marxist, anti-American regimes” in Latin America, according to a document sent to Congress.
“The national security interests of the United States require that the United States utilize these foreign assistance funds to meet new challenges in ways that make America safer, stronger, or more prosperous,” according to the Congressional Notification reviewed by Reuters on Wednesday.
The administration’s plan to shift the funding from programs previously authorized by Congress was first reported by The Washington Post.
A State Department spokesperson said the department looked forward to working with Congress “on America First Foreign Assistance,” saying foreign assistance programs must align with administration policies.
“The United States will prioritize trade over aid, opportunity over dependency, and investment over assistance,” the spokesperson said in an emailed statement.
President Donald Trump’s administration has been pursuing a massive overhaul of foreign assistance since the Republican began his second term in January. The strategy is a departure from the long-held assumption that food, medical and economic assistance is an important “soft power” component of U.S. global influence.
In the notification, dated September 12, the administration says the $1.8 billion would be obligated for programs to “strengthen U.S. global leadership,” to focus on several areas central to Trump administration policy.
These include diversifying critical mineral supply chains, promoting strategic infrastructure investment and development, countering China’s influence and “addressing the immigration crisis.”
The document says $400 million would support efforts involving Europe, including energy and critical minerals programming in Ukraine and economic development and conservation work in Greenland.
Trump has said he wants to take control of Greenland, a semi-autonomous territory within the Kingdom of Denmark. The strategically located island is rich in oil, natural gas and many minerals needed for high-tech industries.
In the western hemisphere, the document says, $400 million would support activities to end illegal immigration to the U.S., counter China’s dominance in critical minerals and artificial intelligence and “confront the Marxist, anti-American regimes of Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua.”
USAID DISMANTLED
Since January, the administration has dismantled the U.S. Agency for International Development, frozen and then slashed billions of dollars of foreign aid, saying it wants to ensure U.S. taxpayer money goes only to programs aligned with Trump’s “America First” policies.
The cutbacks effectively shut down USAID, leading to the firing of thousands of its employees and contractors. That jeopardized the delivery of life-saving food and medical aid and has thrown global humanitarian relief operations into chaos.
Senator Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said the plan outlined in the notification subverted Congress’ power, outlined in the Constitution, to control how government money is spent.
A light moves in the sky over Aalborg, amid reports of drone sightings that led to the city’s airport, used for commercial and military flights, being closed due to drones in its airspace, in Aalborg, Denmark. Morten Skov/@MSchieller69609 Purchase Licensing Rights
Denmark’s Aalborg airport, used for commercial and military flights, was closed due to drones in its airspace, police said early on Thursday, two days after the country’s main Copenhagen airport was shut over drone sightings that raised European security concerns.
Danish national police said the drones followed a similar pattern to the ones that had halted flights at Copenhagen airport for four hours a few days earlier. Local police later said the drones had left the Aalborg area after about three hours.
Denmark said on Tuesday the incident at Copenhagen airport was the most serious attack yet on its critical infrastructure and linked it to a series of suspected Russian drone incursions and other disruptions across Europe.
The closure of Aalborg airport also affected Denmark’s armed forces because it is used as a military base, police added. The Danish armed forces said they were assisting local and national police with the investigation, but declined to comment further.
Authorities in Norway also shut the airspace at Oslo airport for three hours on Monday evening after a drone was seen.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Tuesday that the drones that halted flights at Copenhagen airport were part of a “pattern of persistent contestation at our borders.”
Suspicions of Russian involvement in the Copenhagen airport incident were ungrounded, Russia’s ambassador to Denmark said on Tuesday.
Norwegian and Danish authorities are in close contact over the Copenhagen and Oslo incidents on Monday but their investigation has not yet established a connection, Norway’s foreign minister said on Wednesday.
MORE THAN ONE DRONE
Northern Jutland police told reporters “more than one drone” had been sighted near Aalborg airport and they were flying with lights on.
The drones were first seen at about 9:44 p.m. (1944 GMT) on Wednesday, according to police, and remained in the airspace until 12:54 a.m. on Thursday.
Eurocontrol, which oversees European air traffic control, had earlier said arrivals and departures at Aalborg airport would be at a “zero rate” until 0400 GMT on Thursday due to drone activity in the vicinity.
The first flight from Aalborg on Thursday is scheduled at 0420 GMT, the airport’s website showed.
Northern Jutland police said they could not specify the type of drones or whether they were the same as the ones flying over Copenhagen airport on Monday.
“It is too early to say what the goal of the drones is and who is the actor behind,” a police official said.
Northern Jutland police later said that efforts to take down the drones had been unsuccessful and the drone operators had yet to be apprehended.
Southern Jutland police said in a post on X that drones had also been observed near the airports in the Danish towns of Esbjerg, Sonderborg and Skrydstrup.
Fighter Wing Skrydstrup in Southern Jutland is the base for Denmark’s F-16 and F-35 fighter jets.
National police commissioner Thorkild Fogde said many people around the country had reported drone sightings to the police since Monday.
It only lasted a day. The U.S. Park Police removed a statue of President Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein from the National Mall at approximately 5:30 a.m. on Wednesday. The protest artwork had been placed on the east side of the mall near the U.S. Capitol building Tuesday, and there was a permit for it to remain until Sunday.
The Reddit user are-you-a-vegetable posted a video of a uniformed officer supervising a team of maintenance workers loading it onto a flatbed truck before sunrise. After the sun rose, the only thing left was an outline in the sand revealing where it had been.
Dozens of people came down to see the statue on Wednesday morning and were disappointed to learn it was already gone.
Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
“As somebody that had served this country for 17 years to ensure the freedom of speech for our fellow countrymen, it is beyond reprehensible to me,” Navy Veteran Christopher Hooper told Straight Arrow News.
“It comes down to freedom of speech and that includes art,” Hooper continued. “So the fact that it’s gone — we’re no longer in the threat of an authoritarian government, we are in an authoritarian government.”
Everyone who Straight Arrow News spoke with on the National Mall Wednesday opposes President Trump, which is typical in heavily Democratic D.C., especially when there’s a protest.
“More and more of our rights are being eliminated or usurped by this administration,” Lynn Koiner told SAN. “You can’t protest. If you say anything, like Jimmy Kimmel, you’re taken off.”
The statue had a plaque that stated, “In honor of friendship month. We celebrate the long-standing bond between President Donald J. Trump and his closest friend Jeffrey Epstein.”
Beneath the inscription was a carving of two hands held together to form a heart and a reference to the Trump message to Epstein in the “birthday book“ — “Voice Over: There must be more to life than having everything.”
The plaque is a reference to Jeffrey Epstein stating he was Trump’s “closest friend”.
“The Epstein case reminds me of the Watergate missing 18 minutes of tape,” Dan Meijer told SAN. “The truth will bubble up slowly but eventually, and so the more he panics about it, the more you realize there’s something there.”
While Trump has called the Epstein files a Democratic hoax and has so far been able to keep a bulk of them sealed, it may get harder to do that in the coming weeks. Adelita Grijalva won a special election in Arizona Tuesday night to fill a vacant seat in the House of Representatives. Once she’s sworn in, she can be the final signature needed on a discharge petition to force a vote on releasing the files.
Pessimists appear to outnumber optimists these days, with a new poll showing most Americans believe democracy “is not working,” among several other jarring findings.
The new Quinnipiac University Poll released on Tuesday found 53% of citizens believe American democracy is not working right now, compared to 41% of Americans who believe the system is going fine.
Those on the left, unsurprisingly, were much more likely to say the figurative house is burning down, with 74% of polled Democrats saying “the system of democracy in the United States is not working”; only 22% of Republicans said it is not working, and 74% of GOP voters said there is no problem at all.
A few other eye-grabbing results from Quinnipiac:
79% of American voters believe the U.S. is in a state of “political crisis”
71% of Americans believe political violence is a “very serious problem” — up from 54% who felt that way in June
53% of voters said they are “pessimistic about free speech” in the U.S.
Another 39% of respondents said they approve of how President Donald Trump is handling the economy, including 85% of Republicans. Only 5% of Democrats gave the president a thumbs up on the economy.
Quinnipiac’s poll — and the sharp jump in Americans concerned about political violence — comes two weeks after conservative activist Charlie Kirk was shot and killed at an event in Utah.
The new poll was conducted between Sept. 18-21 and is based on 1,276 self-identified registered voters nationally.
Overall, the top priority for 32% of respondents was “preserving democracy”; the next closest topic was the economy, according to 18% of respondents, and illegal immigration and crime, which both grabbed 9% of respondents.
Stassi Schroeder has turned her back on Meghan Markle after the former was left out of the latter’s recent “As Ever” PR box gifting.
“I have literally defended her when no one else did,” the “Vanderpump Rules” star shared on an episode of her “Stassi” podcast earlier this month.
“I have filmed videos about it, I’ve commented on all the things, I literally had my f–king PR reach out.”
Stassi Schroeder called out Meghan Markle after she was left out of the actress’ recent “As Ever” PR box gifting. Instagram/@stassischroeder
Schroeder, 37, claimed that Markle, 44, might not take her seriously because of her background in reality television.
“The way she moves through social media, I think that she’s stuck in 2017, and she just thinks I’m a lowly reality person,” the TV personality alleged.
“That’s what I think, and I am furious, and this is the last straw. I’m not watching her show anymore,” she added, referring to the “Suits” alum’s Netflix series, “With Love, Meghan.”
“I’m not going to talk about her anymore. I’m going to unfollow her right now … Done,” Schroeder said.
The Bravo star also called out Markle for sending PR boxes to the “Toast” podcast hosts, Claudia Oshry and Jackie Oshry, who have “questioned her.”
“When you’re sending PR boxes to people who talk s–t about you — Claudia and Jackie don’t talk s–t about her, but they literally, they’ve questioned her, and they also say, ‘I wonder what Stassi’s thinking about this.’”
“‘I wonder what Stassi’s thinking about this because Stassi’s her number one fan.’ Everyone f–king knows. No longer,” Schroeder stated. “My feelings are hurt and I’m a toxic fan … I was a toxic fan that’s now a toxic hater.”
The Bravolebrity also called out Markle for “paying attention to [her] haters” instead of her fans, alleging, “I think it’s her way of trying to control the narrative. I think she’s controlling.”
Schroeder also slammed Markle as a “control freak” and compared her to Blake Lively, though she didn’t clarify her remarks on the “Gossip Girl” alum.
Reps for Markle and Lively weren’t immediately available to Page Six for comment.
The Duchess of Sussex has lost supporters in the past, including her close friend Jessica Mulroney after the royal was allegedly left “mortified” when her pal made a “tone-deaf” comment about “white privilege” in 2020.
President Donald Trump said Tuesday NATO countries should shoot down Russian aircraft that violate their airspace. He also praised Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in his nation’s war against Russia, saying it’s “putting up one hell of a fight.”
Ukrainians were cautious Wednesday in their response to a surprise pivot in U.S. President Donald Trump’s views on their prospects for defeating Russia’s invasion, after he said they could win the three-year war and retake land captured by Moscow.
Russian officials, meanwhile, said developments on the battlefield showed Ukraine is unable to reclaim the occupied territory and dismissed Trump’s description of Russia as a “paper tiger.”
“Russia isn’t a tiger, it’s more associated with a bear,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. “There are no paper bears. Russia is a real bear.”
Wary Ukrainians hope for solid U.S. support
Some Ukrainians expressed hope that Trump’s words would be backed up by concrete support for Ukraine in Washington, while others were wary about the American president’s unpredictability.
“We need such support from America, from Donald Trump, and we hope that this will continue in the future — the same rhetoric, the same attitude toward us, toward Ukraine, and toward the war in Ukraine,” Olha Voronina, a 66-year-old Kyiv resident, said.
Volodymyr Cheslavskyi, a 48-year-old soldier recovering from a war wound, said he considered Trump to be more interested in making money than helping Ukraine, and kept people guessing about his true intentions with contradictory statements.
“He can say different things each time — he supports Ukraine, or he does not support Ukraine,” Cheslavskyi told The Associated Press in St. Michael’s Square in the Ukrainian capital.
Anna Khudimova, 43, said she believed her country’s armed forces could prevail on the battlefield against Russia’s bigger army.
“But we cannot do it without the help of NATO, without the support of Europe,” she said. “If Trump influences the situation, then perhaps this can be realistic.”
Russia has occupied around 20% of Ukraine since it annexed Crimea in 2014. The all-out invasion began in February 2022.
U.S. and Ukraine eye joint weapons production
In comments Tuesday at the United Nations and on social media, Trump took a swipe at Russian President Vladimir Putin’s leadership, made cutting remarks about Russia’s military prowess and derided the Russian economy’s performance. He also said NATO countries should shoot down Russian warplanes entering their airspace, as happened recently in Estonia.
Trump’s comments were an unanticipated departure from his previous positions on the war, when he was publicly cool, even at times hostile, toward Ukraine and apparently more amenable to Putin.
After taking office in January, Trump reversed the three-year U.S. policy of isolating Russia when he called Putin. He has also ruled out the possibility of Ukraine joining NATO, has said Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy would need to negotiate swapping land in return for a peace deal with Moscow, and on social media called Zelenskyy “a dictator without elections.”
A senior Ukrainian lawmaker said Trump’s latest remarks were unexpected but important.
“What remains important to us is not only Trump’s words, but also whether he fulfills the earlier promises regarding decisive sanctions” on Russia, Oleksandr Merezhko, chairman of the Ukrainian Parliament’s Committee on Foreign Policy and Interparliamentary Cooperation, told the AP.
The United States and Ukraine signed earlier this year a deal granting Washington access to the country’s critical minerals and other natural resources. Another agreement is in the works, with a Ukrainian delegation due in Washington next week for talks on joint weapons production, Ukraine’s Ambassador to the U.S. Olha Stefanishyna said Wednesday.
The potential deal focuses on drone manufacturing, where Ukraine is at the cutting edge of new battle-tested technology, and was discussed “in quite some detail” between Trump and Zelenskyy on Tuesday, she said.
Kremlin says it is protecting Russia’s security
Zelenskyy and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov were due to address the U.N. General Assembly later Wednesday.
Trump said on social media Tuesday: “With time, patience, and the financial support of Europe and, in particular, NATO, the original Borders from where this War started, is very much an option.”
Max Bergmann, the Director of the Europe, Russia, and Eurasia Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank, said that when he read Trump’s post, his reaction was, “the U.S. is out” and handing off to Europe.
“I feel that it’s the president sort of signing off, like: ’We’ll keep sort of doing some stuff, but this is basically your problem,’” Bergmann said on the sidelines of a defense conference in Tallinn, Estonia.
Russia’s state television channels cast Trump’s comments as part of his efforts to shift the burden of dealing with the conflict to Europe and encourage it to buy more American weapons.
Peskov, the Kremlin spokesman, challenged Trump’s comment that “Russia has been fighting aimlessly.”
A day after France led other nations in recognizing Palestinian statehood, the U.N. Security Council once again aired a deep divide between the veto-wielding United States and most of the rest of the world over how to end the war in the Gaza Strip and resolve the Mideast conflict.
At a special session to discuss the crisis, one representative after another expressed horror at Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack and Israel’s ongoing military offensive in the Gaza Strip, which has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians, destroyed vast areas and displaced around 90% of the population, many of them starving. Most nations called for an immediate ceasefire and an influx of humanitarian aid.
“Gaza has become a graveyard for humanity as well as for the global conscience,” said Pakistan’s foreign minister, Mohammad Ishaq Dar. “The time for words has passed. The time for action is now.”
But no such action is expected from the world body, where the United States has shielded Israel from numerous calls for a ceasefire. Last week, it voted against the other 14 members of the Security Council on a resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire and the release of all hostages.
The United States said the resolution did not go far enough in condemning Hamas. Washington is also opposed to the latest moves to recognize Palestinian statehood. As a permanent member of the Security Council, it could block any path to full Palestinian membership in the world body.
The context
The Security Council meeting once again reflected the deep isolation that Israel and its closest ally, the United States, face when it comes to growing international demands for accountability and an end to Israel’s war in Gaza.
Since world leaders began arriving in New York on Monday, the topic of Gaza and Palestinian statehood has towered over other diplomatic discussion, with a two-state solution conference kicking off the week of gatherings. Country after country, including most U.S. allies, used their time in the General Assembly, the Security Council and in bilateral meetings across the U.N. campus to bring attention to the growing civilian death toll and the impact the nearly two-year long war has had on Palestinian children.
During the council meeting, Israel was not present due to the Jewish new year. The Americans, who have a top-level delegation in town, sent their U.N. ambassador to represent them instead of Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
But even before heads of state and government came to Manhattan, the Security Council has held 80 meetings on the war in Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023. During those sessions, both Biden and Trump administration officials have vetoed or rejected resolutions calling for an immediate ceasefire, saying that the messages of support by the 14 other members do not go far enough.
The consistent obstructions have frustrated the U.N.’s most powerful body and have called into question its relevance and efficiency if one permanent member can continue to veto efforts that have near-unanimous support.
The players’ responses
U.S. ambassador to the U.N. Mike Waltz said it was “regrettable” that the council convened Tuesday’s meeting on the Jewish holiday of Rosh Hashana, a decision that he said had excluded Israel.
“This charade is disappointing,” Waltz said of the meeting. “It is clearly fueled by domestic politics and it has given Hamas a reward for refusing to surrender, as well as an incentive” to keep holding 48 hostages, around 20 of them believed by Israel to be alive.
He said the Security Council should instead focus on eliminating Hamas. He blamed international action in support of the Palestinians for the breakdown of ceasefire talks in recent weeks, and not an Israeli strike on Hamas negotiators in Qatar, a key mediator, which was condemned by several members of the council.
The establishment of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) development bank would give 10 Eurasian countries an alternative to Western-dominated lenders like the World Bank and IMF, say analysts.
A Chinese yuan note. REUTERS/Thomas White/Illustration/File Photo
China’s push for the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) to set up a development bank is its latest effort to internationalise the yuan and challenge Western-dominated financial institutions like the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF), analysts say.
They add that the multilateral lender could offer a lifeline to countries facing Western sanctions, while giving emerging economies an alternative source of funding and a hedge against dollar dependence.
Speaking at the SCO summit in Tianjin earlier this month, Chinese President Xi Jinping announced plans for a development bank – calling on countries to accelerate its creation.
“It should be established as soon as possible to provide stronger support for the security and economic cooperation of member states,” Xi said.
SCO member states include Russia and Iran which face Western sanctions, as well as Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, India, Pakistan, Belarus and China itself.
If successful, the SCO Bank could be more than just another lender, experts told CNA – it would join establishments like the BRICS New Development Bank (NDB) and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) as part of a growing network of Chinese-led multilateral institutions aimed at reshaping global finance by loosening the dollar’s grip.
“Chinese banks are huge,” said Charles Chang, a finance professor at Fudan University in Shanghai, noting that four of the world’s largest banks – the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), Agricultural Bank of China (ABC), China Construction Bank (CCB) and Bank of China (BOC) – were Chinese.
“There’s incredible capital accumulation there. As a result, when and how they move will necessarily have a big impact,” Chang said.
The SCO Bank comes at a critical juncture, as tariff tensions mount and the dollar’s dominance endures. As US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Bloomberg in August: “We have extraterritorial power with the dollar.”
“Why do Russia, China and Iran want to come off these dollar payment rails? Because when there’s bad behaviour, we can make it very difficult for them with sanctions,” Bessent said.
At the same time, questions remain about the viability of the new bank, with few details released so far.
How will investments and debt servicing be determined?
Will the yuan dominate or will a basket of member currencies be used? And how can the SCO bank gain credibility and ensure transparency in lending?
“The structure of the internal governance is key,” Chang said.
STARTING SMALL: HOW THE SCO BANK COULD TAKE SHAPE
An official SCO statement released hours after Xi’s speech on Sep 1 said the bloc had “decided to establish a development bank and accelerate consultations on a series of issues related to the financial institution’s operation”.
“The world has entered a new period of tumultuous change and global governance has arrived at a new crossroads,” Xi said during his address, where he also pledged US$1.4 billion in loans to SCO members over the next three years.
“The shadows of Cold War mentality, bullying, are not dissipating, and there are new challenges that are increasing, not diminishing,” Xi added.
Beijing has yet to provide a timeline, outline how the bank will be structured, or explain what its lending priorities and decision-making framework will look like.
But analysts told CNA they believe an SCO Bank would likely follow a familiar Chinese trajectory: starting small before gradually evolving into a more defined institution, much like the Beijing-based AIIB.
“We don’t know much at this point, but like many Chinese-led global governance initiatives and institutions, it will likely start small and grow into itself over time, developing a more definite set of functions,” Joe Mazur, a senior analyst at the Trivium China think tank in Beijing, told CNA.
“Whatever form it ultimately ends up taking, it will likely join the ranks of the AIIB and similar (Chinese-led) organisations that seek to form an alternative to Western-dominated institutions,” Mazur said.
Kun Fan, an arbitrator and associate law professor at the University of New South Wales (UNSW), told CNA that the bank’s credibility would ultimately rest on its legal architecture.
“It should also guard against dominance (of one state) and keep smaller members on equal footing, while ensuring independent tribunals and fair procedure,” she said.
“Having clear legal provisions and dispute resolution clauses could provide legal certainty and give smaller member states more leverage when dealing with more powerful states or state-owned enterprises,” she added.
Developed with an initial focus on Asia’s infrastructure needs, the AIIB has since grown to more than 100 members, including countries like India, Singapore, South Korea, Brunei and Australia.
Since its launch, it has expanded from funding basic infrastructure to backing major projects in energy transition, urban development and digital connectivity – which include flagship projects like Indonesia’s Batam-Bintan Bridge Project as well as renewable energy investments in the Maldives.
As of end-2024, the bank announced that it had approved 303 projects with total payments of US$58.8 billion in funding and also aims to increase its annual financing to US$17 billion by 2030.
The NDB, meanwhile, was established in 2015 by BRICS countries to mobilise resources for infrastructure and sustainable development projects in emerging markets and developing countries.
Originally formed by Brazil, Russia, India and China, with South Africa joining soon after, the bloc has since expanded to include Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, the United Arab Emirates and Indonesia.
As of July 2025, the bank said it has approved US$40 billion in loans for over 120 projects, including some within China.
Experts expect the SCO Bank to focus heavily on infrastructure and development programmes for a start.
Chang of Fudan University described it as a natural extension of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), saying early emphasis would likely be on large-scale infrastructure projects.
“Infrastructure is usually the first thing people will think about,” Chang said.
He also noted discussions were emerging around “newer core technologies” such as rare-earth minerals, artificial intelligence, digital finance, and supply-chain logistics. “That might be further down the line though,” he added.
The SCO Bank could also ultimately serve purposes beyond financing, acting as a platform for regulatory cooperation or policy dialogue outside the orbit of US-led institutions like the IMF and World Bank.
“But it remains to be seen which parties will ultimately join, fund and engage,” Chang said.
LOOSENING THE DOLLAR’S GRIP
For many members, the appeal of an SCO Bank lies in its promise to ease dependence on the US dollar, experts said.
Most international loans and trade settlements remain dollar-denominated – and for now, the US dollar remains unrivalled as the backbone of the global economy.
According to IMF data, the dollar made up nearly 60 per cent of global foreign exchange reserves in 2024 – far ahead of the euro at 20 per cent, the Japanese yen at 6 per cent, the British pound at 5 per cent and the Chinese yuan at 2 per cent.
Although dollar share has slipped from its peak of 72 per cent of reserves in 2001 as foreign reserve managers diversify into other currencies, it still remains the dominant reserve currency.
Such dominance means that when the US Federal Reserve raises interest rates, the effects ripple across the world – triggering capital outflows, weakening local currencies and increasing the cost of dollar-denominated debt.
But observers have noted that the dollar’s once unshakable grip may be loosening.
In a Xinhua commentary piece published on Jul 5, Maya Majueran, BRI director of Sri Lanka, wrote that “dollar dominance was slowly eroding” amid “multiple forces driving this transition”.
China has already been pushing bilateral currency swap deals – more than 40 worldwide – to encourage the use of the yuan in trade, investment settlement and debt repayment.
Such swaps allow central banks to exchange their currencies directly, reducing reliance on the US dollar.
Majueran said “emerging markets are diversifying their reserve portfolios, bilateral trade in local currencies is gaining momentum and the weaponisation of the dollar, particularly through sanctions, is prompting the building of parallel financial systems”.
These changes are also being “further accelerated by growing geopolitical tensions and fragmenting trade relationships”, Majueran added.
The Argentine government reached an agreement with the People’s Bank of China in 2023 – securing US$1.7 billion in yuan from a currency swap to repay part of its US$2.7 billion debt to the IMF.
The remaining US$1 billion was covered by the Development Bank of Latin America.
The yuan has also become the most popular foreign currency in Russia, surpassing the US dollar in 2023, after Western sanctions severed Moscow’s access to global financial systems following its invasion of Ukraine.
At a meeting with Xi in Beijing on May 16, Russian President Vladimir Putin also revealed that “90 per cent of all payments are already made in roubles and yuan”.
WHICH COUNTRIES STAND TO GAIN?
For countries under Western sanctions or financial isolation, such as Russia and Iran, an institution operating outside the dollar system could provide a crucial lifeline.
“China, being squarely in the cross-hairs of the US, certainly stands to benefit, which is why we see its prominence in initiating and pushing forward this initiative,” said Chang.
“But I think that all critical trade partners stand to benefit, including much of the ex-Soviet Republics and Southeast Asia.”
He added: “Keeping in mind that this is not just funding, but also potentially impacts currency dependence, trade, and other geopolitics, the most-dependent nations will tend to benefit the most.”
But this appeal is not confined to SCO members. Southeast Asian countries will also be paying attention, said Chong Ja Ian, associate professor of political science at the National University of Singapore. “ASEAN members would indeed look at the SCO Bank as an additional source of funding,” he told CNA.
Still, too little is known about the bank to assess whether it would strengthen ASEAN’s position or risk undermining its own initiatives, Chong said.
Indonesia, he added, might be attracted if the terms are favourable, but borrowing could also “turn into economic and political problems if badly handled”.
He cited maritime tensions where China’s “nine-dash line” claims overlap with Indonesia’s exclusive economic zone near the Natuna Islands.
“Greater dependence on China could complicate these issues for Indonesia,” said Chong, adding that elsewhere in the region, countries like Vietnam and the Philippines – both with ongoing territorial disputes with China – are likely to remain cautious.
“The Philippines has had negative experiences with the BRI,” he added.
In 2023, Manila dropped Chinese loans to finance three ambitious railway projects, valued at more than US$5 billion – these included the Mindanao railway, the Subic-Clark freight railway, as well as a proposed long-haul commuter railway.
AIIB lending rates were also said to have been “significantly higher” compared to funding from Japan or South Korean official development assistance, said Philippine Senator Sherwin Gatchalian.
“That would give (Manila) reason to remain wary of an SCO bank,” said Chong.
The attack took place at an ICE field office where officers conduct short-term processing of detainees who were recently arrested.
Law enforcement agents look around the roof of an apartment building near the scene of a shooting at a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement office in Dallas on Sep 24, 2025. (Photo: AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
A gunman who wrote “ANTI-ICE” on an unused bullet killed one detainee and badly wounded two others on Wednesday (Sep 24) when he fired on an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) field office in Dallas from a nearby rooftop before taking his own life, officials said.
United States President Donald Trump and members of his administration seized on the attack as the latest instance of what they characterised as an escalation of politically motivated violence incited by the left.
They accused California Governor Gavin Newsom and other Democrats of stirring hate by unfairly vilifying law enforcement and conservative political figures.
FBI Director Kash Patel posted a photo on X of what he said was the suspect’s unused ammunition, showing the shell casing of one round inscribed with the phrase “ANTI-ICE” along the side.
“While the investigation is ongoing, an initial review of the evidence shows an ideological motive behind this attack,” Patel wrote.
US Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem later said in a Fox News interview that the gunman “was targeting ICE”, based on “evidence so far in this case”.
US President Donald Trump quickly politicised the incident on his Truth Social platform, accusing “Radical Left Democrats” of stoking anti-ICE violence by “constantly demonising Law Enforcement, calling for ICE to be demolished, and comparing ICE Officers to Nazis”.
Invoking the assassination of conservative political activist Charlie Kirk two weeks ago, Trump said “Radical Left Terrorists” pose a “grave threat” to law enforcement and “must be stopped.”
Trump added he would sign an executive order this week to “dismantle these Domestic Terrorism Networks”, although he gave no evidence to support the notion that left-wing political violence posed any more of a threat than violence from the right.
In a statement about the Texas shooting, the Department of Homeland Security said the suspect fired “indiscriminately” at the ICE facility, including at a van in the building’s secured entryway where the victims were shot.
The department initially said two victims were dead and one injured, before later issuing a corrected statement that one detainee had been killed and two others were in critical condition.
Officials have not disclosed the identities of the victims.
Noem later appeared on Fox and confirmed media reports that the suspected gunman had been identified as Joshua Jahn, 29. She said he had fired into the building from a nearby rooftop.
CAR PASTED WITH ‘NUCLEAR FALLOUT’ MAP
Dallas-area television station KDFW showed video of police examining a black sedan parked below the three-story office building from where the gunshots were fired.
A US map was visible pasted to the exterior of the car on its rear passenger side, with sections of the map shaded and a message denoting the darkened areas as “nuclear radiation fallout” zones.
Jahn’s older brother, Noah, spoke with a Reuters reporter earlier in the day as Joshua Jahn’s name began circulating online in connection with the shooting.
Noah Jahn, 30, said he was not aware that his brother harboured any negative feelings about ICE.
“I didn’t know he had any political intent at all,” said the older brother, who lives in McKinney, Texas, around 30 miles north of Dallas, as did his sibling.
The shooting in Dallas came two weeks after Kirk, co-founder of the conservative student political group Turning Point USA and a close ally of Trump, was shot dead by a sniper during a speaking event on Sep 10 in Orem, Utah, fueling fears of a new wave of political violence in the US.
Kirk’s death set off a firestorm of political recriminations and deepened concerns among Trump’s critics that the Republican president would use that killing to justify further cracking down on his perceived opponents.
A 22-year-old technical college student from Utah has been charged with murder in the Kirk assassination, although authorities have not suggested a precise motive for the attack.
CASTING BLAME FOR VIOLENCE
Trump, Vice President JD Vance and other administration officials have blamed, without proof, liberal organisations for fomenting unrest and encouraging violence against the right.
On Monday, Trump signed an executive order declaring the anti-fascist movement antifa a domestic “terrorist organisation” despite the fact that there has been no evidence made public linking antifa to Kirk’s death.
White House adviser Stephen Miller posted a video on X of California Governor Gavin Newsom describing ICE raids by “masked men, jumping out of unmarked cars” with “no due process” and calling such tactics “authoritarian actions by an authoritarian government”.
Above the clip, taken from Newsom’s guest appearance on Tuesday on CBS’s “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert”, Miller wrote: “This language incites violence and terrorism.”
Perpetrators of political violence “feel like they get cover when you have leaders in this country going out there and defending those types of actions”, Noem said on Fox.
At a news briefing, Joseph Rothrock, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Dallas field office, said investigators were treating the predawn attack as an “act of targeted violence.”
The site was an ICE field office where immigration officers conduct short-term processing of recently arrested detainees.
The Trump administration’s aggressive use of ICE agents as part of its crackdown on undocumented immigrants has sparked outcries from Democrats and liberal activists.
ICE detention facilities have increasingly become sites of conflict, with heavily armed agents deploying pepper ball guns, tear gas and other chemical agents in clashes with protesters.
China, the world’s biggest source of planet-warming gases, has for the first time committed to an absolute target to cut its emissions.
In a video statement to the UN in New York, President Xi Jinping said that China would reduce its greenhouse gas emissions across the economy by 7-10% by 2035, while “striving to do better”.
The announcement comes at a time the US is rolling back on its commitments, with President Donald Trump on Tuesday calling climate change a “con job”.
But some critics said China’s plan did not go as far as hoped to keep global climate goals in reach.
“Even for those with tempered expectations, what’s presented today still falls short,” said Yao Zhe, global policy adviser at Greenpeace East Asia.
While the year’s big gathering of global leaders will be at COP30 in Brazil in November, this week’s UN meeting in New York has extra relevance because countries are running out of time to submit their new climate plans.
These pledges – submitted every five years – are a key part of the Paris climate agreement, the landmark deal in which nearly 200 countries agreed steps to try to limit global warming.
The original deadline for these new commitments – covering emissions cuts by 2035 – was back in February, but countries are now scrambling to present them by the end of September.
Speaking before the meeting UN Secretary-General António Guterres said the pledges were critical to keep the long-term rise in global temperatures under 1.5C, as agreed in Paris.
“We absolutely need countries to come […] with climate action plans that are fully aligned with 1.5 degrees, that cover the whole of their economies and the whole of their greenhouse gas emissions,” he said.
“It is essential that we have a drastic reduction of emissions in the next few years if you want to keep the 1.5 degrees Celsius limit alive,” he added.
As the world’s biggest emitter, China’s plans are key to keeping this goal in sight.
Back in 2021, President Xi announced that China would aim to peak its emissions this decade and reach “carbon neutrality” by 2060.
Today’s pledge marks the first time that China has set actual emissions reductions targets on that path.
“These targets represent China’s best efforts based on the requirements of the Paris agreement,” President Xi said.
It also covers all greenhouse gases, not just carbon dioxide, and will be measured “from peak levels” of emissions – the timing of which President Xi did not specify.
He added China would:
expand wind and solar power capacity to more than six times 2020 levels
increase forest stocks to more than 24bn cubic metres
make “new energy vehicles” the mainstream in new vehicle sales
Off track for 1.5C
Such is the scale of China’s emissions that any reduction would be significant in climate terms.
China was responsible for more than a quarter of planet-warming emissions in 2023, at almost 14bn tonnes of carbon dioxide-equivalent.
A 10% reduction in China’s emissions would equate to 1.4bn tonnes a year, which is nearly four times the UK’s total annual emissions.
But China’s new target does fall short of what would be needed to meet international climate goals.
“Anything less than 30% is definitely not aligned with 1.5 degrees,” said Lauri Myllyvirta, lead analyst at the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air.
Most scenarios to limit warming to 1.5C – or even well below 2C – would require China to make much greater cuts than that by 2035, he added.
In many cases, that would mean more than a 50% reduction.
It is further evidence of the gap between what needs to be done to meet climate targets and what countries are planning.
Earlier this week, a report by the Stockholm Environment Institute warned that governments around the world are collectively planning to produce more than double the amount of fossil fuels in 2030 than would be in line with keeping to 1.5C.
Ramp-up of renewables
What gives some observers hope is that China has a track record of exceeding many of its international climate commitments.
It had, for example, pledged to reach a capacity of 1,200 gigawatts for wind and solar power by 2030. It smashed through that goal in 2024 – six years early.
“The targets should be seen as a floor rather than a ceiling,” said Li Shuo, director of China Climate Hub at the Asia Society Policy Institute.
“China’s rapid clean tech growth […] could propel the country much further over the coming decade,” he added.
“China’s 2035 target simply isn’t representative of the pace of the energy transition in the country,” agreed Bernice Lee, distinguished fellow and senior adviser at Chatham House.
“There’s a case to be made that Beijing missed a trick in landing a more ambitious goal as it would have won broad global praise – a stark contrast to the US,” she added.
While China ramps up its renewables, it continues to rely heavily on coal, the dirtiest fossil fuel.
Without stronger action from allies, more countries will be threatened by Russia Zelensky says
Vladimir Putin “will keep driving the war forward wider and deeper” if he is not stopped, Ukraine’s President Zelensky has warned.
Speaking at the UN’s General Assembly in New York, Zelensky said more countries would be met with Russian aggression unless allies displayed a united front and ramped up support.
He said all nations were threatened by a global arms race, as military technology advances, adding that “weapons decide who survives” and calling for global rules on AI.
His comments come after US President Donald Trump shifted his position on the Russia-Ukraine war, saying for the first time that Ukraine could win back all of its land.
Zelensky criticised international institutions, suggesting they are “too weak” to offer Ukraine safety guarantees, adding – in apparent reference to Nato – that being part of a long-standing military alliance “doesn’t automatically mean you are safe”.
“We are now living through the most destructive arms race in human history,” he said.
He argued that “stopping Russia now” was cheaper than “wondering who will be the first to create a simple drone carrying a nuclear warhead”.
Zelensky called for international rules around AI and its role in weaponry, and said the development of autonomous drones and unmanned planes represented a far greater risk than traditional warfare.
The Ukrainian leader also warned that Europe cannot afford to lose Moldova – which lies between Ukraine and EU-member Romania – to Russian influence. He said the West had missed a chance to save Georgia and Belarus from Putin’s orbit.
On Thursday the pro-EU president of Moldova, Maia Sandu, accused the Kremlin of “pouring hundreds of millions of euros” into Moldova in an attempt to instigate violence and spread fear.
Voters in the former Soviet republic go to the polls on Sunday, amid what a BBC investigation found to be a barrage of disinformation spread by a network with ties to Moscow.
Last week, Estonia and Poland requested a consultation with other Nato members after Russia violated its airspace in separate incidents. Romania, another Nato member, also said Russian drones breached its airspace.
Estonia seeks Nato consultation after Russian jets violate airspace
Ukraine in maps: Tracking the war with Russia
Ukraine says three killed in ‘massive’ Russian aerial attack
Earlier on Tuesday, following his speech to the UN, Trump said Nato nations should shoot down Russian planes breaching their airspace, following the recent incursions by Russian fighter jets and drones.
Zelensky praised Donald Trump and said he had a “good meeting” with the US president.
On Tuesday, he told reporters he understood the US was willing to give Ukraine security guarantees after the war is finished.
Pressed on what this would look like, he said he did not have specific details but broached the possibility of more weapons, air defences and drones.
Trump’s suggestion on Tuesday that Kyiv could win, with support from the EU and Nato, marked an apparent U-turn after his previous comments that Ukraine would have to accept “land swaps” as a condition of peace.
The US president also described Russia as a “paper tiger” that had been “fighting aimlessly in Ukraine.”
Kremlin spokesman Dimitry Peskov responded: “Russia is in no way a tiger. It’s more associated with a bear. And there is no such thing as a paper bear.”
Peskov told reporters the US president had made the comments “apparently under the influence of the vision put forward by Zelensky”.
“This vision is in absolute contrast with our understanding of the current state of affairs.”
Trump indicated that he was in a sour mood at the UN because of a trio of mishaps that he suggested was part of a conspiracy against him.
The escalator was abruptly stopped shortly after Donald Trump and Melania stepped onto it at UN office
President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he was the victim of “three very sinister events” during his time at the United Nations on Tuesday and that the Secret Service will be looking into the issues.
The president was attending the UN General Assembly, where he gave a speech excoriating the institution for having squandered its potential. He also criticised US allies in Europe for their handling of the Russian war in Ukraine and their acceptance of immigrants as he told fellow world leaders that their nations were “going to hell.”
On his social media website, Trump indicated that he was in a sour mood at the UN because of a trio of mishaps that he suggested was part of a conspiracy against him.
First, the escalator came to a “screeching halt” with Trump and his entourage on it, an event that Trump called “absolutely sabotage.”
Stephane Dujarric, the UN spokesman, said a videographer from the US delegation who ran ahead of Trump may have “inadvertently” triggered the stop mechanism at the top of the escalator.
“The people that did it should be arrested,” Trump said on Truth Social.
Second, Trump said his teleprompter went “stone cold dark” during his address to the UN The problem with that accusation is the White House was responsible for operating the teleprompter for the president, according to a UN official who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.
Third, Trump said that the sound was off at the UN as he spoke and that people could only hear his remarks if they had interpreters speaking into earpieces. Trump said his wife, Melania, told him she couldn’t hear what he said.
“This wasn’t a coincidence, this was triple sabotage,” said Trump, who is seeking an investigation of the matter.
Trump told the UN to save its security tapes regarding the escalator stoppage as the Secret Service will be involved in the inquiry.
RIHANNA has given birth to her third child, a baby girl, and shared photos of the little one and her unique name.
The Savage x Fenty founder, 37, and her longtime partner A$AP Rocky, 36, welcomed a baby in Los Angeles.
Rihanna announced the birth of her daughter with a sweet Instagram postCredit: Instagram/rihanna
The singer shared the news with a sweet Instagram post.
She posted a photo of her cradling the newborn, dressed in a pink outfit.
A second snap captured pink baby ballet slippers strewn on the bed.
“Rocki Irish Mayers Sept 13 2025,” Rihanna announced in the caption.
The comments section flooded with congratulatory messages for the new family of five.
“FINALLY A BABY GIRLLLLLLLL” one fan wrote.
“She finally got her baby girl!” echoed another.
“Omg congratulations Rih on your baby girl,” said a third.
Following months of speculation, Rihanna confirmed her pregnancy hours before the Met Gala in May as she walked down the streets of New York City with her bare baby bump on display.
She then arrived late to the red carpet of the prestigious fashion event in a tailored suit, her bump clearly visible.
After spilling the big news, Rihanna- who is already mom to sons RZA, 3, and Riot, nearly 2- has shown off her maternity style all over the world.
At the Cannes Film Festival with A$AP Rocky in May, she showed off her bump in a cut-out blue dress.
During Paris Fashion Week in June, the singer showed off her curves in a see-through black one-piece.
The pregnant superstar also continued to model, and has posed in lingerie for her beloved brand.
As recently as early September, she has been spotted out and about with a big baby bump on Los Angeles.
TRAGIC LOSS
Sadly, Rihanna has also dealt with grief during her pregnancy, as her father Ronald Fenty suddenly died on May 30 of respiratory failure, pancreatic cancer and aspiration pneumonia. He was 70 years old.
“Robyn has had a very difficult relationship with her father over the years but his death has hit her like a ton of bricks,” a source told The Daily Mail, referring to Rihanna’s legal name.
THIS is the moment a Ukraine naval drone strikes one of Vladimir Putin’s key fuel sites – just as a fuel crisis hits Russia.
The Salavat factory was hit for the second time in less than a week amid Volodymyr Zelensky’s stunning campaign against Russian oil.
The sky is filled with the trailing smoke
Footage shows thick black smoke billowing out of the facility as an inferno rages on the ground.
A second explosion, meanwhile, is seen pounding the building.
Locals reported hearing a “loud noise” before flames ravaged the surrounding area.
The Salavat refinery, considered a linchpin in Russia’s oil industry, was last hit on September 18 – causing a “massive explosion”, according to local media.
It’s just one of a number of facilities Ukraine has targeted in recent weeks as it steps up its campaign on Russian energy infrastructure.
The strikes have sparked chaos in Moscow with petrol stations reportedly not able to stockpile fuel.
Widely used petrol – such as Ai 92 and Ai 95 – are often unavailable, according to reports.
One employee at a petrol station in the western Belgorod suggested the oil crisis had reached a tipping point, with stations forced to close “because there was no gasoline”.
She told Reuters: “The station in the neighbouring village also closed, and others simply ran out of gasoline.”
Moscow has been forced to ban fuel exports for six months, sacrificing vital revenue just to stop unrest at home.
Military intelligence expert Philip Ingram MBE previously explained how “Putin’s greatest fear” is “the Russian people rising up.”
Before the invasion, energy exports made up around 40 per cent of the Kremlin’s budget.
Even under sanctions, oil and gas still bring in 30 per cent of Russia’s income.
He showed how Ukraine has zeroed in on this “river of oil money” with pinpoint strikes hundreds of miles inside Russian territory.
Long-range drones have torched colossal refineries, exploded pumping stations and set storage tanks ablaze – systematically dismantling Moscow’s refining capacity.
The campaign has shattered Russia’s aura of invulnerability, exposed its sprawling oil empire as a fatal weakness, and brought the war crashing into the lives of ordinary Russians.
And as Ingram puts it: “It proves that in modern warfare, the most effective battle plans aren’t always about brute force on the tactical frontline, but about finding your enemy’s single point of failure – and striking it again and again with unrelenting precision.”
It comes as Donald Trump announced in his keynote speech at the UN General Assembly that Ukraine could win back “every inch” of its territory with Russia.
In a major pivot from his previous stance on the three-and-a-half-year conflict, Trump also dismissed Russia’s military strength and mocked its inability to beat Ukraine in just a few days.
Posting on his social media platform Truth Social, Trump said Ukraine “may be able to take back their country in its original form and, who knows, maybe even go further than that”.
Trump’s Vlad-bashing follows months of growing frustration at Putin’s refusal to end the offensive in Ukraine.
The defence deal between Saudi Arabia and Pakistan states that any attack on either country will be considered an aggression against both.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif meet in Riyadh(via REUTERS)
India has a very close relationship with Saudi Arabia, said South Asia analyst Michael Kugelman, reflecting on the recent defence pact between Saudi and Pakistan. While the expert noted that the defence deal is significant and a “game changer”, he also said that Saudi won’t let it get in the way of its relations with India.
Kugelman was referring to the defence deal between Saudi Arabia and Pakistan which declares that any attack on either country will be considered an aggression against both.
“Because of these terrorism concerns and the past precedent, it’s a mutual defence pact between Saudi Arabia and Pakistan…Saudi Arabia has a strong relationship with India. It’s not going to let this pact get in the way of Saudi-India relations,” Kugelman told news agency ANI.
He also referred to New Delhi’s longstanding concerns over terrorism from Islamabad, saying he believed India might “attack” Pakistan. “I think that it’s significant for India in the sense that India has a very close relationship with Saudi Arabia and also, given the history of relations between India and Pakistan, there certainly is a chance that sometime in the future, India will attack Pakistan,” he said.
However, the South Asia expert also noted that Pakistan has strengthened its alliance with several countries, including China, the US, Turkey, and Arab Gulf states. He noted that Saudi Arabia’s inclusion through “a formal institutionalised alliance” presents fresh challenges for India.
“It (India) can bank on its close partnerships with its partners in Europe, Israel, with other key players in the Middle East, and with Russia. As this has formally enshrined Pakistan in the security architecture of the Middle East, it is important for India, given how important the Middle East is to India’s own strategic interests,” Kugelman concluded.
The “Strategic Mutual Defence Agreement” between Saudi Arabia and Pakistan was recently signed in Riyadh after Israel’s military strikes on Hamas leaders based in Doha, Qatar. The treaty states that “any aggression against either country shall be considered an aggression against both”.
Trump administration imposed an additional 25 per cent tariff on New Delhi as a penalty for its purchases of Russian oil. India has called the tariffs imposed by the US “unjustified and unreasonable”.
U.S. President Donald Trump. Credit: Reuters
China and India are the “primary funders” of the Ukraine war by continuing to purchase Russian oil, US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday in his address to the UN General Assembly.
The Trump administration has imposed an additional 25 per cent tariff on New Delhi as a penalty for its purchases of Russian oil, taking the total levies imposed on India by the US to 50 per cent, among the highest in the world.
“China and India are the primary funders of the ongoing war by continuing to purchase Russian oil,” Trump said in his over an hour-long address at the General Debate of the 80th session of the UN General Assembly.
India has called the tariffs imposed by the US “unjustified and unreasonable”.
India has said that, like any major economy, it will take all necessary measures to safeguard its national interests and economic security.
In his address, Trump said that “inexcusably, even NATO countries have not cut off much Russian energy andRussian energy products” and he wasn’t happy about this when he found this out.
“Think of it, they’re funding the war against themselves. Who the hell ever heard of that one? In the event that Russia is not ready to make a deal to end the war, then the US is fully prepared to impose a very strong round of powerful tariffs, which would stop the bloodshed, I believe, very quickly.”
Trump said that for those tariffs to be effective, European nations, “all of you are gathered here right now, would have to join us in adopting the exact same measures. I mean, you’re much closer to the city. We have an ocean in between, you’re right there, and Europe has to step it up. They can’t be doing what they’re doing. They’re buying oil and gas from Russia while they’re fighting Russia.
A$AP Rocky seemingly hinted that he and Rihanna might be secretly married ahead of welcoming their third child together.
When asked by Elle Magazine in an interview published Tuesday if he was looking forward to becoming a husband, the rapper jokingly responded, “How you know I’m not already a husband?”
“I’m still not gonna confirm it,” he said while laughing.
In an interview published by Elle on Tuesday, the rapper was asked what he looked forward to in becoming a husband. Getty Images for Paramount Pictures
Rocky, however, gave an inside look at his private life with Rihanna, 37, sharing that they prioritize their family when they are both home with their two kids: RZA, 3, and Riot, 2.
“We don’t talk too much about work, because we deal with that all day, every day,” the “Everyday” crooner, 36, explained
“When you come home, it’s about family. It’s about your relationship. It’s about your household. It ain’t about all that other s–t.”
Rocky also shared that he was looking forward to the arrival of his and Rihanna’s third child, admitting that he’s hoping for a girl.
“We’re praying for a girl,” the “Sundress” singer said.
“Our first time, we wanted to know the sex of the baby. The second time, we didn’t want to know. Third time, we don’t want to know until, you know.”
“I feel like it’s going to be a girl. This pregnancy is so different from the other two. You can tell from the experience. I hope it’s a baby girl, man. I need that,” Rocky stated.
In May, Rihanna revealed that she was pregnant when she debuted her bump ahead of the Met Gala in New York City.
The “Take a Bow” songstress and Rocky, who started dating in 2020, have sparked marriage rumors several times over the past few years, including in 2022 when they staged a fake proposal in the latter’s “D.M.B.” music video.
In October 2024, Rihanna referred to herself as a wife while talking about being a “homemaker.”
Two-time “Dancing With the Stars” champ Jenna Johnson is having a “really difficult time” working with her partner this season, Corey Feldman, according to her brother-in-law, Maksim Chmerkovskiy.
“Obviously, Jenna has a bit of an uphill climb with Corey, which is easy for everybody to say from [outside], but I know that she’s having a much more difficult time with this entire thing and to the point that it is really difficult for her,” he told the Daily Mail.
Chmerkovskiy — who himself won the mirrorball trophy in Season 18 during his time as a “DWTS” pro — implored others to have “respect” for Johnson.
Jenna Johnson is having a “really difficult” experience working with her “Dancing With the Stars” partner this season, Corey Feldman, according to her brother-in-law, Maksim Chmerkovskiy. Disney via Getty Images
“You’re talking about a reigning champ, so put some respect on the name, everybody,” he said.
As for why Johnson, 31, is struggling with Feldman, 54, Chmerkovskiy surmised that it wasn’t his age, but his lack of dancing abilities and work ethic. He noted the “Stand by Me” actor was struggling with choreography and that the entire experience was out of his comfort zone.
“Don’t forget this production is not just about you and your partner dancing, it’s about this massive behemoth of everything that’s happening — the amount of people that you have to deal with, the amount of interviews, and this is all between your rehearsal time and your therapy, and you are trying to lick your wounds and all that stuff,” he shared.
Still, he had faith in Johnson’s abilities as a “tough coach.”
“That show requires you to be able to tell grown people what to do and stand your ground,” he said. “So I think Jenna will get it done.”
Both Johnson and her husband, fellow “DWTS” pro Val Chmerkovskiy, are allegedly “miserable” this season with their partners, a source also told the outlet.
Val is paired with influencer Alix Earle.
“Val and Jenna are miserable but they have been specifically warned by producers: ‘we don’t complain about our celebrity participants,’” the insider said.
Claudia Cardinale, the Tunisian-born Italian star of The Leopard, 8 1/2 and Pink Panther, has died at the age of 87.
She had a six-decade long career, rising to fame during the golden age of Italian cinema, and was directed by greats such as Federico Fellini and Luchino Visconti.
The actress died at Nemours in France in the company of her children, according to her agent Laurent Savry.
“She leaves us the legacy of a free and inspired woman both as a woman and as an artiste,” Savry told AFP news agency.
Born in Tunisia to Sicilian parents in April 1938, Cardinale won a beauty contest at 16 that saw her declared “the most beautiful Italian woman in Tunis”.
The prize was a trip to the Venice film festival, where she was approached by directors and producers to become involved in filmmaking.
She later described her reluctance to abandon her hopes of becoming a teacher to “give this cinema thing a go”, in her father’s words.
Her early career was marked by challenges. She was picking up small roles as a teenager when she was raped. When she learned that she was pregnant, a mentor convinced her to give birth in secret abroad in London. For several years, she introduced her son, Patrick, to people as her younger brother.
Because she had grown up speaking French, Arabic, and her parents’ Sicilian dialect, her accent was seen as unacceptable, and her voice was dubbed by other Italian actors.
She shot to fame in 1963 when she appeared in Fellini’s Oscar-winning 8 1/2 and the epic period drama The Leopard, which became a Visconti classic.
“Visconti wanted me brunette with long hair. Fellini wanted me blonde,” Cardinale said.
She worked in Hollywood in the 1960s, starring in Blake Edwards’ The Pink Panther and Sergio Leone’s Once Upon A Time In the West, and appearing with actors including Henry Fonda and Charles Bronson.
Critics praised her as the “embodiment of postwar European glamour”.
Reflecting on her career later, Cardinale recalled: “The best compliment I ever got was from actor David Niven while filming The Pink Panther.
“He said: ‘Claudia, along with spaghetti, you’re Italy’s greatest invention.'”
After separating from film producer Franco Cristaldi in the early 70s, she began a life-long relationship with Neapolitan director Pasquale Squitieri, with whom she had a daughter, also named Claudia.
She performed into her 80s, appearing in the Swiss TV Series Bulle in 2020.
TikTok’s efforts to stop children using the app and protect their personal data have been inadequate, a Canadian investigation has found.
Hundreds of thousands of children in the country use TikTok each year despite the firm saying it is not intended for people under the age of 13, according to the findings.
The investigation also found TikTok had collected sensitive personal information from “a large number” of Canadian children and used it for online marketing and content targeting.
TikTok told the BBC that it will introduce a number of measures to “strengthen our platform for Canadians” although it disputes some of the findings.
The investigation was carried out by Canada’s privacy commissioner, Philippe Dufresne, and privacy protection officials.
At a news conference to announce the findings, Mr Dufresne said the hugely popular short-video platform collects “vast” amounts of information from its users, including children.
“This data is being used to target the content and ads that users see, which can have harmful impacts, particularly on youth,” he added.
Mr Dufresne said that in response to the investigation TikTok had agreed to enhance measures to stop children using the platform and to more clearly indicate how their data could be used.
In statement a TikTok spokesperson said it welcomed the investigation and that Canadian officials had “agreed to a number of our proposals to further strengthen our platform”.
“While we disagree with some of the findings, we remain committed to maintaining strong transparency and privacy practices,” they added.
The BBC has asked the company to specify which findings it disagreed with.
The Canadian investigation is the latest move by governments around the world to scrutinise TikTok’s impact on users as well as national security concerns over the Chinese-owned app.
The company and Beijing have repeatedly denied such allegations.
Doctors at one of Gaza City’s last functioning hospitals say they are overwhelmed with casualties from Israeli strikes and are having to carry out operations in filthy conditions with few or no anaesthetics.
One Australian medic volunteering at al-Shifa hospital told the BBC that every day was a mass casualty event, while another described how a baby had been saved from the body of a pregnant woman who had been decapitated.
Israeli forces are now just 500m (1,640ft) away from the hospital as they expand their ground offensive to fully occupy Gaza City, which Israel’s military calls Hamas’s “main stronghold”.
Witnesses say tanks are advancing into the city centre from the south and north-west.
Israeli air and artillery strikes, attacks by quadcopter drones and detonations of remotely driven vehicles laden with explosives continue to drive tens of thousands of Palestinians from their homes each day.
Some of the Palestinians killed during the Israeli offensive in Gaza City are being buried in the grounds of al-Shifa hospital
Al-Shifa hospital was once the biggest medical complex in the Gaza Strip. After 23 months of war, it now lies in ruins, pockmarked by craters, with burned-out wards and bullet holes.
But inside medics are working beyond full stretch. Many of the beds do not even have mattresses, medicines are in short supply and the casualties are endless.
“It’s just a mass murder, a killing, a torture, a nightmare,” Dr Nada Abu Alrub, an emergency specialist from Australia volunteering at the hospital, told the BBC in a video call on Tuesday.
She said they were operating on severely wounded patients with “minimal to hardly no anaesthesia”.
“No painkillers as well, with their limbs hanging with a piece of skin and the tendon. Brain matter out. Organs are out. It’s horrific,” she added.
Last week, she said, doctors had to conduct an emergency Caesarean on a nine-month pregnant woman whose head had been blown off. They managed to save her daughter.
“The baby was a bit bradycardic, so her heart rate was low,” she recalled. “She was transferred to another hospital.”
Dr Saya Aziz, an Australian anaesthetist, described how a six-year-old boy with a fractured arm and leg had been waiting for three days for an operation to place external fixators on them because the hospital’s only orthopaedic surgeon had to prioritise more serious cases.
“Every couple of hours there are multiple amputation cases with massive resuscitation. It’s life or limb, literally,” she told the BBC.
“And you go in and you’re trying to anaesthetise them [while] they’re swatting flies in theatre.
“There’s blood over the beds. There’s no equipment. There’s no replacements. And you can see the sorrow and the sadness of the healthcare workers.”
Outside the hospital, Israel’s tanks are advancing, as the ground offensive against Hamas in Gaza City continues.
One video posted on social media showed a tank at Hamid junction in the Rimal neighbourhood, which is less than 500m from al-Shifa.
Another video showed troops to the south, only 700m from the city centre.
Palestinian journalist Fathi Sabah, who lives in southern Gaza but owns an apartment in the city’s southern Tal al-Hawa neighbourhood, said members of his family had narrowly escaped an Israeli incursion.
“My wife and son went to our flat to collect some belongings. They suddenly found themselves trapped as tanks surrounded the area,” he said.
“They lived through the hardest night of their lives before escaping through a back door. It’s unbelievable how quickly the tanks reached the heart of the city.”
Around one million Palestinians were estimated to be living in Gaza City before Israel announced its plans for the offensive last month.
The UN says more than 320,000 have fled southwards since then, while the Israeli military puts the figure at 640,000.
The Israeli military has told people to head south for their safety to a designated “humanitarian area” in al-Mawasi, where it has said medical care, water and food will be provided.
However, witnesses say the coastal al-Rashid road is severely congested and that families are struggling for hours to complete the journey.
The cost of evacuation has also reportedly soared to more than $3,000 (£2,200) per family – far beyond the reach of most residents.
The UN has also said the tent camps in al-Mawasi are overcrowded and unsafe, and that southern hospitals are operating at several times their capacity.
“The tanks are only a few metres from my house but I cannot afford the cost of fleeing,” Sultan Nassar, a 62-year-old father of five from the Sabra neighbourhood, told the BBC. “Death is everywhere, in the north and in the south.”
The Palestine Red Crescent Society said the oxygen station at al-Quds hospital in Tal al-Hawa had ceased operating after being struck by gunfire from Israeli forces, and that it only had enough pre-filled oxygen cylinders to last three days.
Israeli military vehicles were currently positioned at the southern gate of the hospital, preventing anyone from entering or leaving, it added.
On Monday, Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry said the Israeli advance and bombardment had forced al-Rantisi children’s hospital and the nearby St John Eye hospital in the northern Nasr neighbourhood to evacuate patients and shut down.
The Jordanian armed forces also decided to close their field hospital in Tal al-Hawa and relocate it to southern Gaza, with Jordan’s state news agency reporting that shelling and other intense explosions in the vicinity had damaged the facility and some medical equipment.
The Palestinian Medical Relief Society’s primary healthcare centre in Gaza City was destroyed in an Israeli air strike which reportedly injured two health workers, the World Health Organization said. The centre was providing blood services, trauma care, cancer medications, and chronic disease treatment.
Since his assassination on September 10, misinformation about Charlie Kirk has spread like wildfire.
His words have been misquoted in posts spread online, progressives have weaponized selective snippets of his debates and his ideas have been reduced to sweeping and inaccurate generalizations. Here are the most common misperceptions:
Homosexuality
Author Stephen King claimed Kirk had advocated “stoning gays” in a social media post. He later took his post down and apologized after admitting he had got it completely wrong.
In fact, Kirk was simply quoting the Bible in reaction to YouTube personality Ms. Rachel cherry-picking Biblical phrases to celebrate Pride Month.
“By the way, Ms. Rachel, you might want to crack open that Bible of yours. In a lesser reference, part of the same part of scripture, in Leviticus 18, is that ‘thou shall lay with another man shall be stoned to death.’ Just saying.”
Following his assassination, Charlie Kirk’s comments have been weaponized against him by his political opponents. Anadolu via Getty Images
By contrast, Kirk once admonished a student who said there was no room for gay men in the conservative movement by listing a number of gay Conservatives.
“What does what they do in their private life concern you so much?” he asked.
Kirk was, instead, critical of what he called the “LGBTQ agenda” in politics, telling a gay Wisconsin college student last year: “I don’t think you should introduce yourself just based on your sexuality because that’s not who you are.”
Black women
Kirk has been misquoted as saying “Black women do not have the brain processing power to be taken seriously” — an inflammatory but wildly incorrect statement which led the Financial Times to publish a retraction after printing it.
Kirk’s actual words weren’t aimed at black women as a whole. As part of a discussion about who benefits from DEI, he called out four specific women: Michelle Obama, Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, political commentator Joy Reid and the late Texas Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee.
On his show on July 14, 2023, Kirk said: “If we would have said [those women] were affirmative action picks, we would have been called racists. Now … They’re coming out and saying ‘I’m only here because of affirmative action.’ We know. You do not have the brain processing power to otherwise be taken really seriously.”
Gun violence
Kirk was speaking about gun violence when he was killed at Utah Valley University in Orem. After the 31-year-old Turning Point USA founder’s death, former Washington Post columnist Karen Attiah called him “a white man that espoused violence,” leading to her being fired.
Kirk never advocated violence and saw healthy debate as the best way to tackle it. He also strongly believed in the second amendment and the protections it affords citizens.
At a 2023 event he explained: “Driving comes with a price — 50,000 people die on the road every year. But we have decided that the benefit of driving — speed, accessibility, mobility, having products, services is worth the cost of 50,000 people dying on the road.
“So, we need to be very clear that you’re not going to get gun deaths to zero. It will not happen … You will never live in a society when you have an armed citizenry and you won’t have a single gun death. But I am — I think it’s worth it. I think it’s worth to have a cost of, unfortunately, some gun deaths every single year so that we can have the Second Amendment to protect our other God-given rights.
“People say, ‘Oh, Charlie, how do you stop school shootings?’ I don’t know. How did we stop shootings at baseball games? Because we have armed guards outside of baseball games. That’s why. How did we stop all the shootings at airports? We have armed guards outside of airports.”
Civil Rights Act
Democratic New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez blasted Kirk in a recent media release.
“We should be clear about who Charlie Kirk was, a man who believed that the Civil Rights Act that granted black Americans the right to vote was a mistake,” she said, confusing the 1964 Civil Rights Act with the Voting Rights Act, which was passed a year later.
This topic is where Kirk has most been misunderstood, as he never criticized civil rights, but the way they have been interpreted in recent times.
“I have a very, very radical view on this, but I can defend it, and I’ve thought about it,” Kirk said at a Turning Point USA event in December 2023. “We made a huge mistake when we passed the Civil Rights Act in the 1960s.
“The courts have been really weak on this,” Kirk said. “Federal courts just yield to the Civil Rights Act as if it’s the actual American Constitution.” He added that the Act led to a “permanent DEI-type bureaucracy,” referring to diversity, equity and inclusion dictates that dominated hiring at many institutions in recent years.
In subsequent comments, he praised the act, saying: “Parts of the Civil Rights Act were great,” said Kirk after being confronted on his stance by a student. “The intent was noble, which was to say that no American can be not allowed into a place of business based on the color of their skin, or their ethnic heritage.”
Women’s rights
It has frequently been repeated online that Kirk had claimed women should not vote — but that is a complete fabrication.
Kirk had frequently talking about how he believed women should be at the center of family life and that they should prioritize raising a family over their career.
In an appearance on Fox’s “The Ingraham Angle” just days before he died, he said: “Having children is more important than having a good career. And I would also tell young ladies, you can always go back to your career later, that there is a window where you should primarily should pursue marriage and having children and that is a beautiful thing.”
A sign marks the entrance to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention headquarters Aug. 27, 2025, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson, File)
Infection rates from drug-resistant “nightmare bacteria” rose almost 70% between 2019 and 2023, according to a new report from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention scientists.
Bacteria that are difficult to treat due to the so-called NDM gene primarily drove the increase, CDC researchers wrote in an article published Monday in the Annals of Internal Medicine. Only two antibiotics work against those infections, and the drugs are expensive and must be administered through an IV, researchers said.
Bacteria with the gene were once considered exotic, linked to a small number of patients who received medical care overseas. Though the numbers are still small, the rate of U.S. cases jumped more than fivefold in recent years, the researchers reported.
“The rise of NDMs in the U.S. is a grave danger and very worrisome,” said David Weiss, an Emory University infectious diseases researcher, in an email.
It’s likely many people are unrecognized carriers of the drug-resistant bacteria, which could lead to community spread, the CDC scientists said.
That may play out in doctors’ offices across the country, as infections long considered routine and easy to treat — like urinary tract infections — could become chronic problems, said Dr. Maroya Walters, one of the report’s authors.
Antimicrobial resistance occurs when germs such as bacteria and fungi gain the power to fight off the drugs designed to kill them. The misuse of antibiotics was a big reason for the rise — unfinished or unnecessary prescriptions that didn’t kill the germs made them stronger.
In recent years, the CDC has drawn attention to “ nightmare bacteria ” resistant to a wide range of antibiotics. That includes carbapenems, a class of antibiotics considered a last resort for treatment of serious infections.
Researchers drew data from 29 states that do the necessary testing and reporting of carbapenem-resistant bacteria.
They counted 4,341 cases of carbapenem-resistant bacterial infections from those states in 2023, with 1,831 of them the NDM variety. The researchers did not say how many of the infected people died.
The rate of carbapenem-resistant infections rose from just under 2 per 100,000 people in 2019 to more than 3 per 100,000 in 2023 — an increase of 69%. But the rate of NDM cases rose from around 0.25 to about 1.35 — an increase of 460%, the authors said.
A researcher not involved in the study said the increase is probably related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We know that there was a huge surge in antibiotic use during the pandemic, so this likely is reflected in increasing drug resistance,” said Dr. Jason Burnham, a Washington University researcher, in an email.
AN EX-COP was arrested at the home of Taylor Swift’s fiancé Travis Kelce while trying to serve the singer deposition papers.
The arrest was made earlier this month at the 35-year-old NFL star’s home in Leawood, Kansas, as the man attempted to deliver papers from actor Justin Baldoni’s legal team.
The arrest was made at the NFL star’s home earlier this monthCredit: AP
The server – a cop-turned-private-eye called Justin Lee Fisher – was charged with “jumping the fence onto a private residence in a private neighborhood”, according to court docs seen by Star.
Fisher was reportedly taken into custody at 2 am on September 15.
Swift became embroiled in the defamation and sexual harassment legal battle between her former pal Blake Lively and Baldoni earlier this year, after her name was listed in a countersue.
The arrest at Kelce’s home came just two days after a judge overseeing the lawsuits denied a request to depose the singer, 35.
Lively sued Baldoni in December 2024 with allegations of sexual harassment and a smear campaign against her after they co-starred in the film It Ends with Us.
In response, Baldoni filed a defamation and extortion lawsuit against Lively and her husband, Ryan Reynolds, in which Swift’s name was mentioned.
This was dismissed but allowed to be refiled.
A judge dismissed Baldoni’s defamation claims in June.
Details of the arrest at Kelce’s home were redacted from the original Leawood Police Department report, stating: “This information is restricted as the use and dissemination.”
However, additional court documents confirmed the details of the allegations against Fisher.
The former cop told Star: “I’ll be happy to talk to you about it when it is resolved.
“[I] wasn’t hurt or anything besides being arrested for doing my job and possibly losing my [private eye] license.”
He is due back in Leawood Municipal Court on October 15.
ELON Musk’s estranged father has been accused of sexually abusing his family members in a disturbing new investigation.
The allegations against Errol Musk follow Elon publicly calling his father an “evil” and “terrible human being” in previous interviews.
Errol, 79, allegedly sexually abused five of his own children and stepchildren since 1993, the New York Times reported on Tuesday.
He denied the allegations to the Times and told the outlet the claims are “false and nonsense in the extreme.”
Errol has not been charged or convicted of any sexual abuse.
He slammed the accusations as attempts from family members to get money from Elon.
The tech billionaire, 54, rarely speaks about his father.
Errol is accused of abusing five minors in South Africa and California, according to the Times, which cited police records and interviews with family members.
In 1993, Errol’s stepdaughter, who was 4 years old at the time, told her family he had touched her inappropriately at the family’s house.
Years later, she said she caught her stepfather sniffing her dirty underwear.
In 2023, Errol’s 5-year-old son said his dad had groped his behind.
Errol has denied each of the incidents.
A relative wrote a five-page letter to Elon, Errol’s oldest son, in 2010 and asked him to intervene in the alleged abuse.
“We really need your advice, help and guidance in these matters because we daily see these children suffer,” the letter said, according to the Times.
It’s unclear if Elon Musk read or responded to the plea.
In 2018, Errol had a child with his stepdaughter, who was an adult at this point.
The stepdaughter is 42 years younger than Errol. He raised her since she was 4 years old.
The news was a breaking point for some of Errol’s relationships with his family members, as he previously told The U.S. Sun that his daughters were “concerned” about the pregnancy.
In an email to the Times, Errol claimed he has a very close relationship with his son.
Elon didn’t return the outlet’s request for comment.
In 2017, Elon broke down in tears during an interview with Rolling Stone as he described his dad as “such a terrible human being.”
“You have no idea about how bad,” Elon said at the time.
DISNEY has hit its fans with price hikes in the days following the controversy with Jimmy Kimmel Live! that cost the company billions.
Subscribers can expect the cost of both Disney+ and Hulu to spike next month as the company works to boost its profits.
Disney is planning to hike prices on both Disney+ and Hulu, and fans are not happyCredit: Getty
Disney’s ABC recently suspended the beloved Jimmy Kimmel Live! show following the host’s controversial comments regarding the death of right-wing political activist Charlie Kirk.
The move dropped Disney’s stock by around $4 to $5 billion, or roughly 3% to 4% of its over $200 billion value, thanks to a flurry of backlash, including social media outrage and calls to cancel Disney+ and Hulu subscriptions.
The entertainment company quickly reversed course and reinstated the show a few days later, grappling to revive its numbers.
Following its costly move to drop Kimmel, Disney announced a price hike on its Disney+ and Hulu platforms.
The mass media and entertainment conglomerate is plotting to bump up the cost for its viewing plans in the US starting next month.
Disney+ with ads will jump from $9.99 per month to $11.99 beginning on October 21, 2025.
Disney+ Premium, which does not have ads, will climb $3 from $15.99 monthly to $18.99.
Viewers will see the Hulu standalone plan with ads cost $2 more each month as the price increases from $9.99 to $11.99 next month, while the ad-free Hulu Premium will stay at $18.99 per month.
Additionally, Disney is planning to bump up the price of ESPN Select, formerly known as ESPN+, from $11.99 per month to $12.99 on October 21.
For the time being, the introductory cost of the bundle with Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN Unlimited with ads will remain at $29.99 per month for the first 12 months.
Disney notified customers of the price hikes Tuesday on its customer support sites.
The U.S. Sun reached out to Disney for comment on the price increases but did not hear back immediately.
COUGH IT UP
The cost increase comes in the wake of drama with late-night host Jimmy Kimmel, with ABC’s suspension of the popular show prompting many Disney+ and Hulu users to cancel their subscriptions.
Many users on X speculated that the move was an effort to compensate for the subscriber loss and negative sentiment following the controversy.
“Got to make up for those few days folks cancelled their subs!” said one user, as another wrote, “They need their $4 billion back.”
The price jumps could also just be “bad timing,” as one X user put it, and simply part of Disney’s routine fee hikes.
It marks the third time in three years that the entertainment company has increased the prices of its streaming services in the US, with Disney+ and Hulu previously seeing cost spikes last October and in October 2023.
Regardless of the reason behind the more expensive streaming services, customers are not happy.
“Paying a dime for a subscription WITH commercials is such a Boomer exec move,” complained one user on X.
“They want to replicate the ‘good ole days’ of 20th century cable via 21st century streaming.”
Others commented that the price surges were a “quick way to lose subscribers” and would likely do more harm than good in the wake of Disney’s sales drop.
A PRESCHOOLER burned to death in front of his mom during ADHD treatment while trapped inside a pressurized oxygen chamber that “became a human incinerator.”
Attorneys have accused the chamber’s manufacturer and operators of “corporate greed” following the horrific death of Thomas Cooper, 5.
A pressurized oxygen chamber exploded, killing a 5-year-old patient, Thomas Cooper from Royal Oak, MichiganCredit: GOFUNDME
Fieger Law announced on Monday that it has filed a $100 million lawsuit on behalf of Thomas’s parents, James and Juana Cooper.
Thomas, from Royal Oak, Michigan, was pronounced dead at the scene on January 31 at the Oxford Center, a suburban Detroit medical facility in Troy.
He had been strapped into a pressurized oxygen chamber which exploded, killing the young patient “in seconds” and injuring his mother – who tried to rescue him.
In its filings, Fieger has accused the defendants of doing “nothing to mitigate this deadly hazard.”
It alleged they had “failed to warn James and Juana that their 5-year-old son, Thomas, would certainly be killed if the chamber caught fire.”
Per the filings, Fieger claimed the defendants “chose profits over people, consigning patients to be strapped into a chamber that became a human incinerator the instant a spark ignited.”
The lawsuit alleged their “conduct was not mere negligence. It was conscious, deliberate, and depraved.
“The defendants knew with absolute certainty that if a fire occurred in one of its chambers, the patient inside would be burned alive, with zero chance of survival.”
It also claimed, “The death of Thomas was not a tragic accident. It
was a foreseeable, inevitable, and virtually certain result of [the] defendants’ callous indifference to human life.
“Young Thomas Cooper paid the ultimate price for [the] defendants’ corporate greed.”
MURDER CHARGES
In March, four people were charged in relation to his death, including the center’s boss.
Attorney General Dana Nessel said at that time, “A single spark it appears ignited into a fully involved fire that claimed Thomas’s life within seconds.”
The center’s founder and chief executive, Tamela Peterson, 58, was charged with second-degree murder.
Facility manager Gary Marken, 65, and safety manager Gary Mosteller, 64, were charged with second-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter.
The operator of the chamber when it exploded, Aleta Moffitt, 60, was charged with involuntary manslaughter and intentionally placing false medical information on a medical records chart.
They all entered not guilty pleas on March 10 before Troy District Court Magistrate Elizabeth Chiappelli.
Defense attorneys for the accused claimed the tragedy was purely accidental.
“This was a tragic accident and our thoughts and our prayers go out to the family of this little boy. I want to remind everyone that this was an accident, not an intentional act,” Marken’s attorney Raymond Cassar said.
LAWSUIT DETAILS
The civil lawsuit names multiple defendants including the Oxford Centre and Sechrist Industries, which manufactured the hyperbaric chamber.
Other defendants are Peterson, Mosteller, Marken, and the operator of the chamber when it exploded, Aleta Moffitt.
The U.S. Sun has contacted the medical facility and Sechrist for comment on the lawsuit.
SERIOUS INJURIES
According to the legal filings, a nurse at the center had stated last December that the “goals” of Thomas’s treatment was to address “ADHD symptoms, hyperactivity, sleep and overall health.”
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy increases the delivery of oxygen to a person’s body by providing pure oxygen in an enclosed space with higher than normal air pressure, according to the Mayo Clinic.
The lawsuit alleged the center “advertised and sold treatment plans for hyperbaric treatment for over 100 conditions according to their website.”
This included treatment for “HIV, fetal alcohol syndrome, epilepsy, bladder infections, attention deficit disorder and autism.”
“In essence, it becomes a death chamber.
Per the filings, the lengthy list of conditions was mentioned by the Oxford Centre “even though the FDA had only approved treatment for 13 conditions due to the unproven efficacy of treatment for any other condition.”
In August the FDA said it was “aware of reports of serious injuries and deaths with use of hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) devices.
“Currently, the root cause of these events is not known.”
DEAD IN MINUTES
Fieger said in its filings that Thomas “was burned to death over the course of minutes.”
It alleged the Sechrist chamber had been designed in a way that made “an emergency extraction impossible.”
Furthermore, fire hazards could result in fatalities “due to the combination of an oxygen-rich, high-pressure environment with the inability to depressurize the vessel quickly for rescue.
“In essence, it becomes a death chamber,” Fieger added.
The firm claimed that Sechrist “was aware the introduction of a single spark, arc, or ignition source in its chamber-pressurized with pure oxygen-would create an inferno from which no patient could possibly escape alive.
“It becomes an uncontrollable inferno in seconds, and the pressurized door cannot be opened until the chamber has slowly decompressed.”
Several countries have recognized Palestine as a state. While Germany is not among them, political pressure on the federal government is growing.
Several European states are set to recognize Palestine as a state on Monday at the UN General Assembly. Germany, however, is not among themImage: Chris Melzer/dpa/picture alliance
France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Malta and Andorra declared that they were recognizing the state of Palestine at the UN General Assembly in New York on Monday. The day before, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and Portugal recognized Palestine. These historic decisions bring to 156 the number of countries that currently recognize the Palestinian state.
The United States, on the other hand, strictly rejects recognition, as does Israel. Its prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has described such a step as “a reward for terror” for the radical Islamist group Hamas— which is categorized as a terrorist organization by the Israel, US, EU and others — that led the terror attack on Israel on October 7, 2023 which sparked the war in Gaza.
For the Palestinian Authority, with its longtime President Mahmoud Abbas, recognition by such important states would be a prestige win and a diplomatic defeat for Israel, especially now with the conflict in Gaza escalating.
Germany looking for ‘two-state solution’
The German government won’t be taking this step “in the short term,” as it officially put it. “We won’t be joining this initiative,” said Chancellor Friedrich Merz from the governing conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) in August when Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney visited.
However, Merz’s reasoning was rather formal in nature. “We do not consider the conditions for state recognition to be fulfilled in any way at present. Recognition must be the final step in a peace process that results in a two-state solution,” he said.
The difficulty is that a two-state solution is nowhere in sight. The chance of an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel seems to have been practically reduced to zero since the beginning of the war in Gaza, which has so far killed around 65,000 people, according to the Hamas-led Gazan Health Ministry. Critics therefore argue that the German government is only putting forward this unrealistic prerequisite for recognition to avoid making a decision.
Fight against antisemitism key for Merz
The German government is faced with a particular dilemma when it comes to Israel and a Palestinian state. As a consequence of the 6 million Jews murdered during the Nazi era, Berlin feels a special responsibility for Israel’s security and has even declared this to be a matter of “reason of state.”
For the German chancellor, this is clearly not just empty rhetoric. Earlier in September, during a speech at the reopening of a synagogue in Munich that had been destroyed by the Nazis, Merz fought back tears as he said “since October 7, we have been experiencing a new wave of antisemitism, in old and new guises, blatant and poorly concealed, in words and deeds, on social media, at universities, in public spaces. I would like to tell you how ashamed this makes me, as chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, but also as a German, as a child of the postwar generation, a child who grew up with the motto ‘Never again’ as a mission, a duty, a promise.”
Nevertheless, Merz has tried to separate the fight against antisemitism from his assessment of Israel’s policies and, above all, from Israel’s military actions in Gaza.
He has sharply criticized Israel’s military actions and the resulting humanitarian catastrophe, and in the summer stopped all arms exports to Israel that could be used in the Gaza war. At a ceremony marking the 75th anniversary of the founding of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, Merz said “criticism of the Israeli government’s policies must be possible; it may even be necessary. Dissent on this issue is not disloyalty to our friendship.”
EU, civil society call on Germany to take action on Israel
However, pressure is mounting on the German government to take a stronger stance. EU foreign affairs chief Kaja Kallas has called on Germany to participate in sanctions against Israel, and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has suggested that the EU suspend trade advantages with Israel.
Jens Spahn, chairman of the center-right CDU and CSU Union parties in the German parliament, said this reminds him of the darkest chapter in German history. “What will be the consequence? ‘Don’t buy from Jews’? We’ve been through all that before,” he said on the German public broadcaster ZDF, alluding to the Nazis’ calls for a boycott of Jewish businesses in the 1930s. When it comes to Israel and Gaza, Spahn warned, “the balance is very quickly lost in Germany and it tips over into antisemitism.”
Pressure is also mounting on the domestic front. The center-left Social Democrats (SPD) in the coalition government are certainly open to the idea of sanctions, and the opposition Green party has gone even further. Its co-leader, Franziska Brantner, told the German Press Agency dpa that Merz and Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul, also of the CDU, must decide: “Will they side with those who are working for peace for all people in Israel and Palestine? Or will they stand idly by and watch as an Israeli government, parts of which are extreme right wing, continues to rage in Gaza, making the prospect of peace and the release of the hostages increasingly remote?”
An alliance of dozens of civil society organizations has also launched a petition calling on the German government to follow up its criticism of Israel with action.
Petro wants Trump to face a “criminal process” over US strikes on what Washington claims to be drug trafficking vesselsImage: John Angelillo/UPI Photo/newscom/picture alliance
Wadephul says ‘last ditch’ nuclear talks planned with Iran
European countries Germany, France and Britain are set to hold talks with Iran behind the scenes at the UN General Assembly.
German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said a plan to explore “last ditch options” comes as efforts intensify for Iran to avert sanctions over Tehran’s nuclear program.
Speaking to journalists, Wadephul struck a realistic tone regarding the talks with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.
“It must be clear to everyone that, after all of Iran’s delaying tactics, the possibilities and chances of reaching a diplomatic solution before the sanctions are triggered are extremely slim,” he said.
Continuous attempts have been made to prevent Iran from enriching uranium, due to fears Tehran is pursuing nuclear weapons.
However, Iran has maintained its nuclear program is solely for civilian purposes.
Last month, Germany, France and Britain triggered a “snapback” sanctions mechanism.
The trio accused Iran of breaching the 2015 Vienna nuclear accord, saying the current levels of uranium enrichment are beyond those needed for civilian purposes.
“Iran has been disregarding its obligations under the Vienna nuclear agreement for years,” Wadephul said. “We have drawn the necessary conclusions from this and triggered the so-called snapback mechanism, which will reinstate international sanctions against Iran at the end of this week.”
Colombia’s Petro calls for ‘criminal process’ against Trump
Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro called for a “criminal process” against US President Donald Trump in front of the UN General Assembly on Tuesday.
He argued that Trump must be investigated for missile strikes on alleged drug trafficking vessels in the Caribbean.
In a speech that was conducted earlier in the day, Trump vowed to “blow [drug smugglers] out of existence.”
More than a dozen people have died in strikes on at least three vessels in attacks UN experts have described as an “extrajudicial execution.”
Petro suspects some of those killed in the US boat strikes were Colombian and said that if the victims were indeed Colombians, “a criminal process must be initiated against those officials who are from the United States. This includes the senior official who gave the order, President Trump.”
Trump has sent eight warships and a submarine to the southern Caribbean as part of an operation he claims is to combat drug smugglers off the coast of Venezuela.
Zelenskyy tells DW he would nominate Trump for Nobel Peace Prize if he ‘ends this war’
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Ukraine would be willing to nominate Donald Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize if the US president could end Russia’s war against his country.
“Trump has a chance to end this war. If he ends it — I’m absolutely sure all Ukrainians will gladly do it [nominate him]. Because it’s an unbelievable mission — to end it,” Zelenskyy said on the fringes of the UN General Assembly.
Speaking about his meeting with Trump at the gathering in New York, Zelenskyy added: “We had a very good meeting today… It’s too early to talk about the details. It was probably the most substantive one.”
When asked whether he would want Zelenskyy to nominate him for the Peace Prize, Trump said: “Why not.”
Trump attacks UN from within, says DW’s Küfner
DW correspondent Michaela Küfner has been attending day one of the General Debate at the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
Reflecting on the demeanor and speech from Donald Trump earlier, Küfner said the US president “paused on his way to the UN podium to take in the applause.”
Küfner noted how Trump repeated “claims to have ended seven wars and dangled some hope of sanctions against Russia in front of his European allies in the room.”
“In exchange he wants Europe to stop paying Vladimir Putin for exporting energy to the continent,” Küfner added.
Trump attracted a “decent applause” at the end of his speech, prompting many to leave, in the belief they had “heard the most relevant voice,” DW’s chief political editor said.
But Trump cast a dark cloud as he departed the stage, “leaving behind a wounded United Nations — 80 years old and weakened by its inability to reform, it just got a kick by the man who wants to be seen to be the most powerful man in the world,” Küfner concluded.
Zelenskyy says China can push to end Russia’s war in Ukraine
China could pressure Russia to stop its war against Ukraine, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told the UN Security Council on Tuesday.
“If China truly wanted this war to stop, it could compel Moscow to end the invasion. Without China, Putin’s Russia is nothing,” Zelenskyy told the council.
A permanent member of the Security Council, China is not involved in the war, but Kyiv has criticized Beijing arguing that China has supplied items to Russia that can be used in its war against Ukraine.
China has denied supporting Russia’s war. Deputy Chinese ambassador to the UN, Geng Shuang, said China has been upholding an “objective, impartial position” and advocating for “peace talks towards a political settlement.”
Meanwhile, Zelenskyy hailed a “big shift” in Donald Trump’s position after the US president said Kyiv could win back all the territory captured by Russia.
Macron to meet Iranian president on Wednesday
French President Emmanuel Macron will use the occasion of the United Nations General Assembly as an opportunity to hold discussions with his Iranian counterpart.
Macron said in his speech at the UNGA that he would hold the talks with President Masoud Pezeshkian as efforts continue to avert sanctions on Tehran over its nuclear program intensify.
“Either Iran makes a gesture and goes back to the path of peace and accountability that make it possible to get back on course… or sanctions will have to be imposed,” he said.
“I’ll have an occasion to meet with the president tomorrow (Wednesday) on each of these crucial issues.”
Trump says Ukraine ‘can win back territory’ lost to Russia
US President Donald Trump appeared to shift his rhetoric about the war in Ukraine, following a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.
“After getting to know and fully understand the Ukraine/Russia Military and Economic situation and, after seeing the Economic trouble it is causing Russia, I think Ukraine, with the support of the European Union, is in a position to fight and WIN all of Ukraine back in its original form,” Trump wrote in his social media platform Truth Social.
“With time, patience, and the financial support of Europe and, in particular, NATO, the original Borders from where this War started, is very much an option,” Trump added.
Trump said Russia had been fighting “aimlessly” in a war that a “real military power” would have won in less than a week.
“Putin and Russia are in BIG Economic trouble, and this is the time for Ukraine to act,” the US president said, adding that he wished both countries well and that the US will “continue to supply weapons to NATO for NATO to do what they want with them.”
Qatar’s emir denounces Israeli strike on Doha
As the UN General Assembly was underway, Qatar’s emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, addressed the Security Council over a recent Israeli strike on Doha.
Israeli warplanes attacked a residential area in the Qatari capital on September 9, hitting the residence of Hamas leaders and their families.
Six people were killed in the attack, including the son of Hamas’ top negotiator and a Qatari security officer.
“No party seeks to assassinate a negotiating delegation except with the aim of thwarting the negotiations,” Tamim told the Security Council.
He called the strike a “treacherous assault” and “a blatant act of state terrorism.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said at the time that the attack was “fully justified” in response to the October 7 terror attack by Hamas in 2023.
Wadephul tells DW Palestinian state recognition ‘a question of when’
German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said Germany’s recognizing of the state of Palestine was “a question of when.”
Speaking to DW’s chief political editor, Michaela Küfner, in New York as the UN marks its 80th anniversary, Wadephul said EU member states “are all united in the goal of a two-state solution” and “only the question of when to recognize the state of Palestine is dividing us.”
Unlike the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, France and other Western allies of Israel, Germany has yet to formally recognize Palestinian statehood.
“You know that Germany is reluctant to do this step. It’s more a question of time, of course, because we are engaged in building a Palestinian state, but that needs some time, and that needs especially negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians,” Wadephul said when asked about European allies’ recognition of Palestinian statehood.
On the infringement of Estonian airspace and Denmark’s reports of a drone attack, Wadephul said NATO was standing together “very firmly” and making it clear that “we defend every inch of NATO territory.”
Wadephul said “a flexible response” was always NATO’s strategy.
Erdogan spotlights suffering in Gaza
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan used his UN General Assembly address Israel’s ongoing offensive in Gaza.
“A genocide is continuing in Gaza,” Erdogan said. “Even as we meet here innocent people are dying.”
He said he was speaking “on behalf of the Palestinian people,” who he said had been silenced.
“There is no war in Gaza, there are no two sides. This is an invasion, a genocide, a policy of mass massacre,” he added.
The Turkish leader’s comments come after an independent commission of the UN Human Rights Council found that Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. Israel has repeatedly denied such claims.
During his speech, Erdogan held up photos of women waiting for rations, an emaciated child and a street filled with displaced Palestinians.
Trump calls climate change a ‘con job’
US President Donald Trump called renewable energy a “joke” and the idea of man-made climate change “the greatest con job ever.”
Trump made the remarks during a wide-ranging speech to world leaders at the UN General Assembly.
The US leader’s denial of climate change goes against the overwhelming scientific consensus that fossil fuels and climate change are going to have devastating consequences for the environment and for humanity.
Trump also accused other nations of violating rules on pollution, even though the US continues to be one of the world’s most worst polluters.
The US president also repeating his criticism of “open border” migration policies.
“Immigration and the high cost of so called green, renewable energy is destroying a large part of the free world and a large part of our planet. Countries that cherish freedom are fading fast,” Trump said.
“We need strong borders and traditional energy sources if you are going to be great again,” he said as he concluded his speech, which lasted nearly an hour — well over the 15 minutes allotted to each speaker.
India and Pakistan require long-term investments and greater sensitivity to supply chain constraints for their EV sectors to take off, says Hannan Hussain of Initiate Futures.
A visitor uses her phone next to Maruti Suzuki’s e Vitara SUV at the company’s Gujarat plant in the village of Hansalpur Becharaji, India, Aug 26, 2025. REUTERS/Amit Dave
India and Pakistan are rolling out the red carpet for electric vehicle (EV) manufacturers.
So far this year, India launched incentives such as reduced customs duties for foreign automakers to invest in India’s EV sector. Suzuki Motor pledged to invest 700 billion rupees (US$8 billion) in India, and to turn its Gujarat plant into the global production hub for its EVs. Vietnamese EV manufacturer VinFast established a US$500 million EV plant in Tamil Nadu, as part of a US$2 billion investment in India.
Meanwhile, a Pakistani tycoon has teamed up with China’s Cherry Automobile to invest US$100 million in building and marketing EVs in the country. Other Chinese EV makers are making inroads into Pakistan: BYD, for instance, will build an assembly plant and launch three EV models by 2026.
Both India and Pakistan are aiming for EVs to account for 30 per cent of auto sales by 2030. But the real question is: Will their EV bets pay off?
To make credible progress, both countries will require long-term investments in EV-focused skills development, greater sensitivity to supply chain constraints, and an indigenous battery recycling framework based on international best practices.
INDIA’S NEED FOR EXPERTISE
India has been pushing for EVs as part of its target for net-zero emissions by 2070. However, that promise is undermined by China limiting exports of rare earth minerals, which are a critical component for making EV motors.
Recent actions taken by New Delhi may prove counter-productive to its EV ambitions. The 2020 China-India border clash in the Himalayas sank bilateral ties to new lows, prompting both sides to impose travel restrictions and limit the issuance of work visas. India tightened its scrutiny of Chinese EV investments in the country – it rejected a US$1 billion investment offer from BYD in 2023.
However, tensions between China and India are thawing since the US imposed a 50 per cent tariff on goods from India. The move threatens to hurt scores of Indian exporters and risks thousands of jobs. These factors may push New Delhi to court Chinese investment in its EV sector.
India lacks industry-ready local labour for EV manufacturing, but auto workers possess complementary skillsets. Upskilling and re-education in the automotive industry are key for India to prevent job losses during the planned EV transition.
PAKISTAN’S RARE EARTH DEPOSITS
Meanwhile, Pakistan needs to focus on supply chain integration to grow its EV sector. It relies heavily on imports of critical EV manufacturing materials, potentially straining the country’s modest foreign exchange reserves.
Pakistan has untapped deposits of rare earth minerals such as copper, gold and lithium. It could secure investments from stakeholders in the United States and the Middle East, to cultivate expertise in alloy development, plant production and refining technology.
Pakistan can use existing dialogue mechanisms such as the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) to gain a deeper understanding of EV supply chains and how to leverage them. Cooperation on EV manufacturing is on the SCO’s agenda, and several SCO states in Central Asia have implemented measures to encourage mineral exploration and production.
BATTERY RECYCLING
Battery recycling is another consideration for both India and Pakistan, because it will enable them to ensure a steady source of materials essential for the development of lithium-ion and next-generation EV batteries. Given the heavy upfront costs involved in the process, India and Pakistan are well-advised to prioritise recycling at a time when foreign automakers are keen to invest.
Pakistan’s reliance on EV battery imports will inhibit its goal to ramp up EV manufacturing, underscoring the need for an early battery recycling framework. While Pakistan is still many years off its EV growth targets, it is important that it assures EV investors that the framework can be translated into a battery recycling ecosystem in due course.
India appears to be weathering this challenge more effectively. From brands such as Mahindra to Ather Energy, EV model manufacturing has seen an uptick, with battery manufacturing start-ups complementing the surge. Real-time recycling will ensure that top brands have short waiting periods in mass production, sparing countries the costs of depending on EV supply chains to plug raw material shortages.
Growing interest by Chinese EV makers, including BYD, suggests that the moment is right to communicate regulatory certainty to international investors. “We do not foresee excess capacity in our system as demand in Pakistan will catch up,” said Danish Khaliq, vice president of sales and strategy at BYD Pakistan in a July news report.
A barrier lake burst its banks on Tuesday afternoon, sending a wall of water into the township of Guangfu.
A car is seen stuck in floodwaters in Hualien, Taiwan, on Sep 23, 2025, after a barrier lake burst and flooded the Guangfu township. (Photo: Taiwan’s Central News Agency via AFP)
Taiwan Premier Cho Jung-tai called on Wednesday (Sep 24) for an inquiry into what went wrong with evacuation orders in an eastern county where flooding from a breached mountain lake during a strong typhoon killed 14, as fresh warnings spooked residents.
Sub-tropical Taiwan, frequently hit by typhoons, normally has a well-oiled disaster mechanism that averts mass casualties by moving people out of potential danger zones quickly.
But many residents in Guangfu, an inundated town in the beauty spot of Hualien, thronged by tourists, said there was insufficient warning when the lake overflowed during Tuesday’s torrential rains brought by Super Typhoon Ragasa.
Cho said the immediate priority was to find the 129 still missing, but questions remained.
“For the 14 who have tragically passed away, we must investigate why evacuation orders were not carried out in the designated areas,” he told reporters in Guangfu.
“This is not about assigning blame, but about uncovering the truth.”
The barrier lake, formed by landslides triggered by earlier heavy rain in the island’s sparsely populated east, burst its banks to send a wall of water into Guangfu.
Resources were insufficient to help relocate those with disabilities, said Lamen Panay, a Hualien councillor, who added that government evacuation requests before the flood had not been mandatory.
Referring to guidance for people to head to higher floors, she said, “What we were facing wasn’t something ‘vertical evacuation’ could resolve.”
As heavy rain continued on and off in Hualien, police cars sounded sirens for a new flood warning in Guangfu on Wednesday, sending people scrambling for safer areas as residents and rescuers shouted, “the flood waters are coming, run fast”.
Taiwan has been lashed since Monday by the outer rim of Super Typhoon Ragasa, which is now hitting China’s southern coast and the Asian financial hub of Hong Kong.
LIKE A “TSUNAMI”
The water hit like a “tsunami”, said Guangfu postman Hsieh Chien-tung, who was able to flee to the second floor of the post office just in time. Later, he got home to find his car had been swept into the living room.
Fire officials said all the dead and missing were in Guangfu, where the waters swept away a major road bridge across a river.
Wang Tse-an, chief of the village of Dama, home to about 1,000 people in the township, said it had been flooded, with many still stranded.
“It’s chaotic now,” Wang told Reuters, adding that the critical task was to get people to safety in shelters, while supplies could not get through.
“There are mud and rocks everywhere. Some flooding has subsided but some remains.”
Regions across Taiwan have dispatched rescue teams to Hualien, with the military sending 340 troops to help.
In Guangfu, soldiers operating from an armoured personnel carrier to keep clear of thick mud in the streets went door-to-door handing out water and instant noodles.
About 5,200 people, or 60 per cent of the population, sought shelter on the higher floors of their own homes while most of the rest left to stay with families, government data showed.
The government said the overflow of the barrier lake released about 60 million tonnes of an estimated 91 million tonnes of water, enough to fill about 36,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools and the equivalent of a major southern reservoir.
China’s Taiwan Affairs Office offered condolences, in a rare sign of goodwill from Beijing, which has a deep dislike of Taipei’s government.
The devilish character from Pop Mart’s wildly popular The Monsters series takes over VivoCity with the Labubu Mini Market and pop-up retail store, running till Oct 19.
The Labubu Mini Market pop-up at VivoCity is a rooftop takeover with oversized installations and photo zones. (Photo: CNA/Lindsay Jialin)
Labubu fans and collectors, here’s a pop-up you won’t want to miss. Pop Mart has collaborated with VivoCity to bring The Monsters Wacky Mart Series to life across two spaces at the mall, running from now till Oct 19.
The activation spans two locations. At the Sky Park on Level 3, visitors can explore the Labubu Mini Market – a whimsical rooftop takeover featuring larger-than-life installations and immersive photo zones.
Over at East Court on Level 1, shoppers can browse exclusive merchandise and other collectibles at the pop-up retail store.
The Monsters Wacky Mart series is a food-inspired collection launched by Pop Mart in June. It features the devilish Labubu character reimagined as adorable figurines inspired by convenience store food items such as onigiri, cup noodles, shrimp tempura, milk, corn on the cob, and more. The wildly popular collection drew snaking queues at Pop Mart’s Ion Orchard store when it first launched.
The Labubu Mini Market, the first of its kind in Singapore, is a quirky, snack-filled wonderland with oversized installations and four photo zones. Highlights include the Basket of Mischief, a 3.6m wide shopping basket; Snack Attack, a quicky playground with giant chips and a jumbo milk carton, and Quick Bites, a retro style food truck.
There’s also a life-sized Labubu grocery-themed convenience store. Step inside and explore the merchandise on display, including those from The Monsters Wacky Mart series and beyond.
When you’re done with selfies, head down to Level 1 to shop at the pop-up retail store. Entry to the pop-up store, however, is by online registration only via Pop Mart Singapore’s Instagram. Walk-ins are not accepted. At the time of writing, all slots are fully booked.
Fans lucky enough to have secured a slot can pick up a variety of merchandise, while stocks last. Some pop-up exclusives from The Monsters Wacky Mart Series include the Vinyl Blister Pack, Ice Cube Tray, Cup Noodles Storage Bag, Sandwich Back Pillow, Hanging Tissue Holder and the Storage Bag Blind Box.
Other highlights include The Monsters Wacky Mart Series Figurines, Pillow (Chips) and Earphones Case. Other popular Labubu collections such as Pin for Love and Big Into Energy are also available.
You can also get your hands on pop-up store exclusive gifts – spend a minimum of S$68 or S$138 and receive The Monsters Wacky Mart Series Spinning Fan or Puffer Keychain respectively.
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan also sharply criticised the Pakistani air force for carrying out strikes on its own people.
Pakistani Army soldiers secure the area, following a militant attack on the Frontier Constabulary (FC) headquarters in Bannu, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, in Pakistan. (IMAGE: REUTERS)
India responded to Pakistani provocations at the United Nations Human Rights Council on Tuesday by reminding its neighbour that it bombs it own citizens and exports terror to cause instability globally.
“A delegation that epitomises the antithesis of this approach continues to abuse this forum with baseless and provocative statements against India,” Indian representative at the UNHRC, diplomat Kshitij Tyagi, said, in a video that is now going viral.
“Instead of coveting our territory, they would do well to vacate the Indian territory under their illegal occupation and focus on rescuing an economy on life support, a polity muzzled by military dominance, and a human rights record stained by persecution (and) perhaps once they find time away from exporting terrorism, harbouring UN-proscribed terrorists, and bombing their own people,” Tyagi said, referring to the reports of a Pakistani Air Force strike in Matre Dara village, Tirah Valley, in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province that led to a large number of civilian casualties.
Tyagi’s remarks came when he was speaking during Agenda Item 4 of the UNHRC session. He was referring to the airstrike that was conducted in the wee hours of Monday morning where Pakistani fighter jets JF-17 dropped eight LS-6 bombs on the Matre Dara village.
A report by DD News said that 30 people, including women and children, were killed in that attack. It also said that disturbing images of civilian bodies strewn about were seen in the aftermath of the strikes.
The roots of insurgency in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the former Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) go back to the early 2000s, when Al-Qaeda and Taliban fighters fleeing the US invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 sought refuge across the Durand Line.
According to the Council on Foreign Relations, groups like the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), formed in 2007 under Baitullah Mehsud, turned the tribal belt into a hub of militancy, targeting Pakistani security forces and civilians alike. The Pakistani Army launched large-scale operations such as Operation Zarb-e-Azb in 2014 and Operation Radd-ul-Fasaad in 2017, claiming major successes.
Former Nepal Prime Minister Jhalanath Khanal’s house in the Dallu area of Kathmandu was set on fire during the recent protests.
Smoke billows out from various ministries and offices after they were set on fire during a protest against social media ban and corruption in Kathmandu, Nepal. Photo : AP
Ravi Laxmi Chitrakar, the wife of former Nepal Prime Minister Jhalanath Khanal, has been flown to India. She had sustained serious burn injuries during the ‘Gen Z’ protests on September 9.
Ravi Laxmi Chitrakar was at home when the house was set on fire during violent protests. Chitrakar has suffered 15 per cent burns during the incident. Her left hand was totally damaged and she developed chest infection as her lungs were affected by smoke, her family said, according to PTI.
She was undergoing treatment at Burn Hospital in Kirtipur. Now, on the recommendations of doctors, she has been taken to New Delhi for further treatment.
Khanal’s house in Dallu area of Kathmandu was set on fire during the protests. Khanal served as the prime minister of Nepal from February to August, 2011.
At least 72 people, including three policemen, were killed in the ‘Gen Z’ protest that led to the toppling of KP Sharma Oli’s government. Nepal’s interim Prime Minister Sushila Karki has described the September 9 vandalism in Nepal as “organised criminal acts” and said that those involved in violence would be brought to justice.
Karki has also formed a three-member probe committee headed by a former Supreme Court judge to investigate the ‘Gen Z’ protests. Former justice Gauri Bahadur Karki, former additional inspector general of police Bigyan Ran Sharma and legal expert Bishweshwor Prasad Bhandari are members of the probe commission.
The probe commission has the mandate to submit its report to the government within three months.
The highest court in India has strongly criticised the country’s aviation authorities for their handling of the aftermath of the Air India plane crash that killed 260 people in June.
Leaving only one survivor, the flight bound for Gatwick airport from Ahmedabad crashed shortly after taking off, killing 241of 242 passengers on board and 19 others on the ground.
The court said it was “irresponsible” for the aviation authority to suggest, through leaks to the media, that pilot error had caused the disaster.
It called on Indian prime minister Narendra Modi for the government’s response before it rules on a case filed by activists demanding an independent investigation.
The court said the way the aviation body released its preliminary report in to the Boeing Dreamliner’s crash was “selective and piecemeal”.
The preliminary report, published by India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) in July, said fuel supply to the engines was cut off just seconds after take-off.
The report also said one of the pilots was heard asking the other “why did he cut off” in a cockpit voice recording, with another pilot responding that he did not do so.
The recording doesn’t clarify who said what. At the time of take-off, the co-pilot was flying the aircraft while the captain was monitoring.
But the findings of the report have been challenged by aviation safety group Safety Matters Foundation, which is calling for an independent investigation into the crash.
In a court hearing overseeing the aviation safety group’s petition, one of India’s Supreme Court judges said that suggestions that the pilots deliberately shut off fuel supply were “very unfortunate and irresponsible”.
The crash has left many questioning the safety of India’s airspace.
The chief of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has defended the safety record of the country, telling the BBC in July that “India’s skies have always been safe”.
That same month, the DGCA uncovered 51 safety violations at Air India in the preceding year, as part of its annual audit of the country’s airlines.
Duterte said he cracked down on drug dealers to rid the country of street crimes
Former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte has been charged with crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Court (ICC).
The 80-year-old is accused of being criminally responsible for dozens of murders that allegedly took place as part of his so-called war on drugs, during which thousands of small-time drug dealers, users and others were killed without trial.
The ICC’s charge sheet, which includes several redactions, dates from July but was only made public on Monday.
ICC deputy prosecutor Mame Mandiaye Niang said Duterte was an “indirect co-perpetrator” in the killings, which the court alleges were carried out by others, including police.
The first count laid against Mr Duterte concerns his alleged involvement in the killings of 19 people in Davao City between 2013 and 2016 while he was mayor there.
The other two charges relate to times when he was serving as president of the Philippines, between 2016 and 2022, and launched his so-called war on drugs.
The second count relates to the murders of 14 “high-value targets” across the country, while the third relates to the murder and attempted murder of 45 people in village clearance operations.
Prosecutors referred to how Mr Duterte and his alleged co-perpetrators “shared a common plan or agreement to ‘neutralise’ alleged criminals in the Philippines (including those perceived or alleged to be associated with drug use, sale or production) through violent crimes including murder”.
He has offered no apologies for his brutal anti-drugs crackdown, which saw more than 6,000 people killed – although activists believe the real figure could run into the tens of thousands.
Mr Duterte said he cracked down on drug dealers to rid the country of street crimes.
Rodrigo Duterte is the first Asian former head of state to be indicted by the ICC – and the first suspect to be flown to The Hague in Netherlands – where the court is based – in over three years. He has been in custody there since March.
His lawyer has said Mr Duterte is not able to stand trial due to poor health.
In May, the former president was again elected mayor of Davao, despite being in prison. His son Sebastian (who had been serving as mayor since 2022), has continued as acting mayor in his father’s stead.
An Ohio woman ordered Charlie Kirk’s go-to Starbucks drink on Sunday evening — and was startled to find a hateful message written on the cup.
Autumn Perkins, who lives in Middletown, Ohio, visited a Starbucks location inside Kroger and run by Kroger to order the mint majesty with two honeys.
When she received her order, she was shocked to see that an employee had written “racist’s fav drink” on the side of the cup.
“It’s time for people to stop this nonsense,” Perkins told Fox News Digital.
After speaking to the manager, Perkins learned that the employee admitted to writing the hateful message — and was subsequently fired.
“I would agree that people should be fired if they’re doing something like this,” Perkins said, adding that “actions have repercussions.”
A Starbucks cup that has “racist’s fav drink” written on it. Facebook/Autumn Perkins
“I feel like Charlie stood for respect — we don’t have to agree on everything. We can disagree on a lot of things, but we respect each other,” she went on.
“We can’t communicate and grow if we’re disrespecting each other.”
In a comment to Fox News Digital, a spokesperson for Starbucks provided the below statement.
“Writing this on a cup is unacceptable, and we have clear policies that prohibit negative messages to help preserve a welcoming environment. This Starbucks location is licensed and operated by Kroger. We understand that this associate was terminated by Kroger.”
JIMMY Kimmel’s suspension has ended and ABC has confirmed the late night host will return to the air.
In a statement obtained by The U.S. Sun, ABC said they had thoughtful conversations with the comedian since his show was pulled from the air over comments he made about the assassination of Charlie Kirk.
ABC announced Jimmy Kimmel’s return to air on Monday after having pulled his show just before it taped on Wednesday, September 17Credit: Getty Images – Getty
Kimmel will return to his usual late-night slot on Tuesday, the network confirmed.
The statement read: “Last Wednesday, we made the decision to suspend production on the show to avoid further inflaming a tense situation at an emotional moment for our country.
“It is a decision we made because we felt some of the comments were ill-timed and thus insensitive.
“We have spent the last days having thoughtful conversations with Jimmy, and after those conversations, we reached the decision to return the show on Tuesday.”
Kimmel’s show was suspended on Wednesday night following backlash over a previous monologue about activist Charlie Kirk’s death.
Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night show was suspended on Wednesday night following backlash over a controversial monologue he delivered regarding the death of activist Charlie Kirk.
As The U.S. Sun exclusively revealed last week, the decision to pull Kimmel’s show was made just minutes before the crew started taping on Wednesday afternoon.
CELEBRITY REACTIONS POUR IN
Former daytime host, Ellen DeGeneres, took to Instagram and reacted to the news, writing, “Cannot wait to hear Jimmy Kimmel’s monologue tomorrow.”
Rosie O’Donnell shared an Instagram post and captioned it “the sun will come out – tomorrow,” and hash tagged Jimmy Kimmel Live
CHAOS ON SET
“Things transpired very fast. Word filtered down to the individual stations around 3 pm that Jimmy would get pulled, and it sent station heads panicking,” the insider shared.
“Jimmy and the crew were getting ready to film when, at 3:45 pm, news broke widely, and that’s how the crew found out. They were shocked.”
According to the show’s website, taping typically begins at 4:30 pm. The insider added that Disney/ABC staffers had already been feeling uneasy in recent weeks due to heightened tensions.
Adding to the confusion, the source revealed, “ABC wouldn’t give a statement to affiliates so they could properly cover the story themselves.
That left some stations in a situation where they had to make the call to skip coverage of the Kimmel story altogether in their newscasts.”
Meanwhile, Kimmel’s $48 million contract with Disney, which owns ABC, is set to end in 2026.
WHAT HAPPENED TO KIMMEL
Kimmel’s future became uncertain after media company Nexstar urged its ABC-affiliated stations to stop airing Jimmy Kimmel Live! “for the foreseeable future.”
In a statement, Nexstar said, “Nexstar strongly objects to recent comments made by Mr. Kimmel concerning the killing of Charlie Kirk and will replace the show with other programming in its ABC-affiliated markets.”
Andrew Alford, president of Nexstar’s broadcasting division, criticised Jimmy’s remarks as “offensive and insensitive at a critical time in our national political discourse.”
He added, “Continuing to give Jimmy a platform is simply not in the public interest at the current time. We have made the difficult decision to preempt his show in an effort to let cooler heads prevail as we move toward the resumption of respectful, constructive dialogue.”
TRUMP PRAISES ABC
Meanwhile, President Donald Trump weighed in on the controversy, praising ABC’s temporary decision while taking aim at Jimmy Kimmel.
During a press conference with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Thursday, Trump remarked, “Jimmy Kimmel was fired because he had bad ratings more than anything else. And he said a horrible thing about a great gentleman known as Charlie Kirk, and Jimmy Kimmel is not a talented person.”
“You can call that free speech or not. He was fired for lack of talent,” Trump added.
KIRK’S ASSASSINATION
Charlie Kirk was killed on 10 September while engaging with students at Utah Valley University in Orem.
Tyler Robinson, 22, allegedly fired a single shot at the conservative activist Charlie Kirk, according to officials.
Robinson turned himself in 33 hours later after confessing the crime to his family, Utah Governor Spencer Cox confirmed.
Doctors call president’s warning that pregnant women should limit use of acetaminophen – also known as paracetamol – ‘highly concerning’ and ‘irresponsible’
On social media, Tylenol said ‘scientific data continues to show no proven link between taking acetaminophen and autism’. Photograph: Meir Chaimowitz/NurPhoto/Shutterstock
Medical experts are raising alarms after Donald Trump warned pregnant women to avoid taking Tylenol, baselessly linking the painkiller – also known as paracetamol – with a rise in autism among children.
From the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine (SMFM) to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), doctors have endorsed the use of acetaminophen during pregnancy after Trump said pregnant women who can’t “tough it out” without the painkiller should limit their intake.
“Suggestions that acetaminophen use in pregnancy causes autism are not only highly concerning to clinicians but also irresponsible when considering the harmful and confusing message they send to pregnant patients, including those who may need to rely on this beneficial medicine during pregnancy,” read a statement from Steven Fleischman, the president of the ACOG.
Along with Trump, health secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr said the health department was encouraging physicians to exercise their “best judgment” by prescribing the lowest effective dose for the shortest necessary duration.
The claims from Trump and his health secretary were also widely condemned by medical experts and regulators around the world.
The British health regulator MHRA said on Monday there remains no evidence linking the use of paracetamol during pregnancy with autism and that it continues to recommend it for pain relief. That view was also backed by Australia’s Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), which re-confirmed that the drug is safe for use in pregnancy on Tuesday.
A statement from the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine said “a thorough review of existing research suggesting a potential link between acetaminophen use during pregnancy and an increased risk of autism and attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children has not established a causal relationship.”
Tylenol posted on Instagram an acknowledgment that followers “may have questions about conflicting information” in recent media coverage.
“What we can tell you is: credible, independent scientific data continues to show no proven link between taking acetaminophen and autism. Medical and public organizations agree,” reads the video.
Doctors have also on social media spread the message about Tylenol’s safe use.
“If you are pregnant right now and considering whether Tylenol is safe in pregnancy, I want you to know that the best available science does not show an association between Tylenol use in pregnancy and an increased risk of autism,” said pediatrician Edith Bracho-Sanchez in a Facebook video.
Dr Monique Botha, associate professor in social and developmental psychology at Durham University, was one of a number of international medical experts to state that they were “exceptionally confident” no relationship exists.
“There are many studies which refute a link, but the most important was a Swedish study of 2.4 million births published in 2024 which used actual sibling data and found no relationship between exposure to paracetamol in utero and subsequent autism, ADHD or intellectual disability.
“This suggests no causal effect of paracetamol in autism,” she said.
The commissioner of the US Food and Drug Administration, Marty Makary, also announced that the agency was approving the medication leucovorin, a drug currently used for patients with cancer and anemia, for the treatment of autistic children upon prescription.
U.S. President Donald Trump signs an executive order in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., September 19, 2025. REUTERS/Ken Cedeno/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
U.S. President Donald Trump’s new visa fees, for foreign workers drew widespread condemnation from technology executives, entrepreneurs and investors across social media, with just a few outliers, as many saw it as a major blow to a sector that contributed millions to his re-election campaign.
Technology executives and investors said the new fees could add millions of dollars in costs for companies and disproportionately hurt startups, which may not be able to afford visas as part of their strategy.
In a confusing set of announcements beginning late Friday, Trump and other White House officials said they would charge firms $100,000 apiece for H1-B worker temporary employment visas, used by many tech majors, including Amazon.com (AMZN.O), Microsoft (MSFT.O), and Meta Platforms (META.O).
Many criticized the move and the chaotic roll-out that required the White House to clarify the hefty fees would be charged just once, not annually, and they would not apply to existing holders, including those who happened to be overseas at the time of the announcement.
Meta, Microsoft and Amazon did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Most executives at the tech giants, many of whom have forged close relationships with the Trump White House since his return to office, have not commented publicly on the proposal, which could drastically change their system of attracting talent from countries such as India and China. But others weighed in.
“America’s edge has always been that we attract smart, ambitious people from everywhere,” said Esther Crawford, a former Twitter executive and investor who now works as director of product management at Meta (META.O), according to her LinkedIn profile.
“High-skilled immigrants don’t take from us, they build with us. Some of the best colleagues in my career have been H-1B holders chasing their own American dream.”
The Trump administration has cracked down on immigration on a number of levels, including stepped-up border security and raids that have largely targeted lower-skilled workers, many of whom are undocumented migrants.
Most recently, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement raided a Georgia battery plant owned by South Korea’s Hyundai Motor that angered officials in Seoul, who have raised questions about the relationship with the United States.
Economists at Berenberg warned that the proposed visa fee hike could further burden a U.S. labor market already weakened by the lingering effects of Trump-era trade policies. While artificial intelligence may help alleviate some staffing shortages, analysts cautioned that rising costs could pressure companies and eventually affect their clients.
“By making it very expensive for companies to attract foreign talent, and by forcing some international students to leave the country after graduation, the brain drain will weigh heavily on productivity,” they wrote.
CHAOS AT AIRPORTS
The late Friday announcement caused chaos for travelers, some of whom got off planes rather than go overseas while others raced home on the advice of their companies before the White House clarified the order.
“My heart goes out to all the families and individuals anxious over their futures following the abrupt and chaotic announcement of H-1B visa changes,” said Andrew Ng, founder of DeepLearningAI, in a post on LinkedIn. “America should be working to attract more skilled talent, not create uncertainty that turns them away.”
The change met with some support from top executives, including IBM (IBM.N), Vice Chairman Gary Cohn, who served as head of the White House National Economic Council in the first Trump administration. He told CBS News the new fees as a “good idea” that would help bring in employees with high-value skillsets.
After an incursion of Russian planes into Estonian airspace, the UN Security Council is set to meet for an emergency session. Meanwhile, Russia says a Ukrainian attack on Crimea has killed three people.
Tallinn requested a meeting of the Security Council for the first time in its 34 years of UN membership [FILE: Sept 19, 2025]Image: Lev Radin/Pacific Press/picture alliance
Russia and Ukraine at odds over whether advances have taken place in Dnipropetrovsk
Russia and Ukraine on Monday disputed whether Moscow had made advances in the Dnipropetrovsk region.
Russia’s Defense Ministry claimed its forces had seized control of the settlement of Kalynivske, just inside Ukraine’s southeastern Dnipropetrovsk region.
A Ukrainian military spokesperson refuted the notion, saying that Russian troops had made less progress in the region than they had reported.
Ukraine says it is engaged in counterattacks in part of the Donetsk region, the focal point of the conflict.
Russia downs dozens of Ukrainian drones, including some en route to Moscow, officials say
Russian anti-aircraft units on Monday downed dozens of Ukrainian drones, officials said.
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said on Telegram that 21 drones were destroyed that were headed for the Russian capital over a period of about six hours.
Meanwhile, Russia’s Defense Ministry said that anti-aircraft units had downed 81 Ukrainian drones, mostly over central and southern regions, over an eight-hour period.
Mikhail Razvozhayev, the governor of the port of Sevastopol in Crimea, where Russia’s Black Sea fleet are based, said units had destroyed at least six drones near the port. Falling debris had caused a fire on open ground, but the blaze was subsequently put out.
The governor of the Tula region in central Russia, Dmitry Milyayev, said three drones were destroyed with no damage or casualties.
Nicaragua signs agreements with four Ukrainian regions annexed by Russia
Nicaragua signed cooperation agreements on Monday with the heads of four Ukrainian regions Russia claims to have annexed and the Crimean city of Sevastopol.
“We greatly appreciate this truly friendly step in the spirit of a genuine strategic partnership between our countries and see it as an open manifestation of solidarity,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said.
He stressed that Moscow sees “growing interest in the global South and East in establishing contacts with the new Russian regions.”
“Russia and Nicaragua are countries and peoples with a historic relationship of brotherhood,” special representative and son of Nicaraguan co-presidents, Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo, Laureano Ortega Murillo, said.
Nicaragua, along with North Korea and Syria, are the only countries that have recognized the legality of Russia’s annexation of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
Russia occupied and illegally annexed the autonomous city of Sevastopol and the rest of the Crimean Peninsula in 2014.
It then declared the annexation of the regions of Donetsk and Luhansk in the east and Kherson and Zaporizhzhia in the south in September 2022, months after it launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, although it only controls those four regions in part.
Tens of thousands took part in the nationwide action in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza. Clashes were reported in Milan, where about 60 police officers were hurt.
About 20,000 people demonstrated in central RomeImage: Riccardo De Luca/Anadolu/picture alliance
Thousands of workers and students across Italy have joined a general strike and staged rallies in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.
A number of grassroots unions called for a 24-hour strike on Monday, which affected transportation, schools and ports, among other infrastructure.
More than 20,000 people attended a pro-Palestinian protest in front of Rome’s central Termini railway station, while demonstrators in Bologna blocked traffic on a motorway.
Dock workers went on strike in the ports of Genoa, Livorno, Trieste and Venice, where police used a water cannon to break up protesters.
“The Palestinian people continue to give us yet another lesson in dignity and resistance,” Ricky, a protester in Genoa from a group called the Autonomous Dockworkers’ Collective, told the Reuters news agency.
“We learn from them and try to do our part,” he said.
Meloni denounces clashes with police in Milan
In Milan, protesters clashed with police at the city’s central station.
At least 10 people were arrested, and about 60 police officers suffered bruising or more serious injuries, Italy’s ANSA news agency reported.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni condemned the clashes between protesters and police in Milan.
