Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce celebrated Patrick Mahomes’ 30th birthday Sunday night after the pop superstar stealthily attended her beau’s game on Sunday.
The couple appeared to be in high spirits despite the Kansas City Chiefs losing to the Philadelphia Eagles earlier.
Country singer Kane Brown and his wife, Katelyn Brown, shared a photo of themselves posing alongside Swift, Kelce, Mahomes, and Mahomes’ wife, Brittany Mahomes.
Kelce also posed with sports commentator Chandler Parsons at the bash. iNSTAGRAM/Haylee Parsons
Swift wore a plaid vest and miniskirt set by Simkhai, which she paired with sky-high Gucci platform heels and a Chanel necklace.
In Brown’s second slide, he posted a video of Mahomes clapping and blowing out his birthday cake lit with sparklers.
Brittany happily clapped for her husband as a man singing happy birthday to Patrick could be heard in the background.
The NFL athlete — who was dressed casually in a white shirt, black pants, a black hat and sneakers — celebrated early as his actual birthday is on Sept. 17.
Kane captioned the post, “Happy birthday Pat & congrats TT❤️ thanks for hosting us Britt 🙏🏽.”
The bash was held at Kelce and Mahomes’ 1587 Prime steakhouse in Kansas City., Mo.
Kelce posed for a picture with sports commentator Chandler Parsons in a photo shared by Parsons’ wife, Haylee Parsons, on Instagram.
Kelce flashed a huge smile in the photo while Parsons put his arm around him, definitely in a better mood after he made headlines during Sunday’s game for slamming his helmet on the sidelines in an emotional outburst.
The tight end, 35, was still sporting his Thom Browne shorts suit he wore to the game.
Swift snuck into the Chiefs vs. Eagles game Sunday with an elaborate barrier to hide her.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is investigating social media posts by at least seven different accounts that appeared to indicate foreknowledge of the assassination of Charlie Kirk, according to three people familiar with the investigation and screenshots obtained by the Washington Free Beacon.
The posts—one of which referenced the date of Kirk’s assassination, September 10, more than a month before it took place—were all deleted in the days following the killing. Several of the accounts appear to belong to transgender individuals, and at least one of them followed suspect Tyler Robinson’s roommate, with whom Robinson was allegedly in a relationship, on TikTok.
The FBI has received archived copies of the posts, according to a person who flagged them for the agency. Screenshots of the posts have been circulating online but had not been previously authenticated.
While the posts do not establish that any of the individuals knew or conspired with Robinson, the 22-year-old gunman who allegedly shot Kirk, several of them mention the conservative activist by name and fantasize about his death.
“itd be funny if someone like charlie kirk got shot on september 10th LMAO,” one X account posted on September 3.
Another account posted on August 6—more than a month before the shooting—that “september 10th will be a very interesting day.” After Kirk’s assassination, the account followed up: “I plead the fifth.”
The morbid quip was reposted by an account named “churbum75m (SAW TYLER JUNE 30),” who appears to follow Robinson’s roommate, Lance Twiggs, on TikTok, where Twiggs’s username is “lanclotl.”
Minutes after Kirk was pronounced dead, churbum75m posted on X: “WE FUCKING DID IT.”
Several of the accounts under investigation appear to be associated with LGBT subcultures. One individual, “Osamu bin Tezuka,” used the X handle “@fujoshincel,” a reference to a genre of anime that depicts romantic relationships between men.
Donald Trump’s trade adviser Peter Navarro made remarks as the US chief negotiator arrived in Delhi on Monday for a day-long talk on the trade deal.
President Donald Trump’s trade adviser Peter Navarro on Monday said that India was “coming to the negotiating table”, a remark that came ahead of a US team arriving in Delhi to hold key talks with Indian officials on the bilateral trade deal.
“India is coming to the table. Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi sent out a very conciliatory, nice, constructive tweet, and President (Donald) Trump responded to that. We’ll see how this works,” he told CNBC.
Last week, Mr Trump said that India and the US are “continuing negotiations to address the trade barriers”.
“I look forward to speaking with my very good friend, Prime Minister Modi, in the upcoming weeks. I feel certain that there will be no difficulty in coming to a successful conclusion for both our countries,” he posted on Truth Social.
In response, PM Modi said that he was “confident that our trade negotiations will pave the way for unlocking the limitless potential of the India-US partnership”. India and the US are “close friends and natural partners”, he wrote on X.
“Our teams are working to conclude these discussions at the earliest. I am also looking forward to speaking with President Trump. We will work together to secure a brighter, more prosperous future for both our people,” PM Modi said.
Mr Navarro, who has in the past called India “the Maharaja of tariffs”, reiterated that India has the “highest tariffs” of any major country.
“They have very high non-tariff barriers. We had to deal with that, like we’re dealing with every other country that does that,” he said.
He also criticised India for buying Russian oil, saying it never did so before the Russia-Ukraine war broke out in 2022.
“The Indian refiners got in bed with the Russian refiners immediately after the invasion, and they’re making out like bandits. It’s crazy stuff because they make money off of us in unfair trade. So American workers get screwed. Then they use that money to buy Russian oil, and then the Russians use that to buy weapons. And then we, as taxpayers, have to pay more for the defence of Ukraine,” Mr Navarro said.
He also said that PM Modi wouldn’t have felt “comfortable” sharing the stage with China’s Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier this month.
“And watching Modi on a stage with China, which has been its long-term existential threat. And Putin, that was an interesting stretch. I don’t think he felt comfortable doing it,” he said, referring to the three leaders meeting at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Tianjin on September 1.
US Chief Trade Negotiator In Delhi
Mr Navarro’s remarks came hours before US chief negotiator Brendan Lynch arrived in Delhi on Monday for a day-long talk on the proposed India-US bilateral trade agreement (BTA).
New Delhi and Washington have so far held five rounds of negotiations. The sixth round of talks, scheduled from August 25-29, was postponed after Mr Trump imposed a 50 per cent tariff on Indian goods, including 25 per cent for purchasing Russian oil.
“We have indicated that in the past also the discussions are going on, the chief negotiator of the US is visiting India tonight and tomorrow will be holding talks to see what can be the picture “It is not the sixth round of negotiations but it is definitely discussions on the trade talks and trying to see how we can reach an agreement between India and the US,” Rajesh Agarwal, India’s chief negotiator and a special secretary in the commerce ministry, said on Monday.
The DHS used Martinez’s example to justify the Donald Trump administration’s crackdown on immigration and said, “This is exactly why we are removing criminal illegal aliens to third countries.”
Chandra Mouli Nagamallaiah (left) was beheaded by Yordanis Cobos-Martinez
Yordanis Cobos Martinez, a 37-year-old undocumented immigrant in the US, who is accused of killing an Indian motel manager in Dallas, Texas, last week, is now facing deportation. Condemning the beheading of Indian national Chandra Nagamalliah, the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has said the gruesome tragedy could have been completely prevented if the previous Joe Biden administration had not allowed the illegal Cuban national to stay in America.
Taking to X, DHS said, “This vile monster beheaded a man in front of his wife and child and proceeded to kick the victim’s head on the ground. This gruesome, savage slaying of a victim at a motel by Yordanis Cobos-Martinez was completely preventable if this criminal illegal alien was not released into our country by the Biden Administration, since Cuba would not take him back.”
The DHS used Martinez’s example to justify the Donald Trump administration’s crackdown on immigration and said, “This is exactly why we are removing criminal illegal aliens to third countries.”
“President Trump and Secretary Kristi Noem are no longer allowing barbaric criminals to indefinitely remain in America. If you come to our country illegally, you could end up in Eswatini, Uganda, South Sudan, or Centro de Confinamiento del Terrorismo (CECOT),” it added.
Chandra Nagamalliah’s Beheading
On September 10, 37-year-old Martinez, an employee at the Downtown Suites motel on Samuell Boulevard in Dallas, fatally attacked the motel manager, Nagamallaiah, and decapitated him and then dumped his head in a trash bin. The accused was arrested and charged with capital murder and is presently being held in the Dallas County Jail.
The Trump team’s reaction came a day after the President himself condemned the grisly killing and promised to prosecute the accused to “the fullest extent of the law” by charging him with “murder in the first degree.” He also vowed to make “America safe again” and said his administration won’t be “soft” on illegal “immigrant criminals”.
Last week, a CCTV footage from the Downtown Suites motel went viral on social media, showing Martinez, who has a violent criminal history and was recently released from custody, repeatedly assaulting the motel manager, Nagamallaiah, with a machete in front of his wife and 18-year-old son.
police mugshot shows Tyler Robinson, the suspect in the fatal shooting of U.S. conservative commentator Charlie Kirk during an event at Utah Valley University, in Orem, Utah, U.S., in this photo released by the Utah Department of Public Safety on September 12, 2025. Utah Department of Public Safety/Handout via REUTERS Purchase Licensing Rights
The suspect accused of assassinating right-wing activist Charlie Kirk in Utah wrote a text message before the shooting that he planned to kill Kirk, FBI Director Kash Patel said on Monday.
In an appearance on Fox News’ “Fox & Friends,” Patel said investigators believe Tyler Robinson also wrote a physical note saying he had the “opportunity to take out Charlie Kirk” and would do so. The note was destroyed, Patel said, but investigators have collected forensic evidence that it had existed and confirmed its contents through interviews.
Patel did not say who had received the text message or whether anyone had seen the written note before the attack.
Investigators have not publicly identified a motive. Law enforcement authorities have said they believe Robinson acted alone when he shot Kirk but are investigating whether anyone else had a role in plotting the killing.
Separately, the Washington Post reported on Monday that Robinson had sent a message via the online platform Discord to friends apparently confessing to the crime on Thursday night, shortly before he was arrested.
“It was me at UVU yesterday. im sorry for all of this,” read a message from the account belonging to Robinson, the newspaper reported, citing two people familiar with the chat as well as screenshots it had obtained.
Kirk, an influential ally of U.S. President Donald Trump who co-founded the leading conservative student group Turning Point USA, was killed by a single rifle shot last Wednesday during an event at Utah Valley University in Orem, about 40 miles south (65 km) of Salt Lake City.
COURT HEARING BY VIDEO
Robinson, 22, is expected to be formally charged on Tuesday, around the same time that he makes an initial court appearance by video from his jail cell.
Patel told Fox News that DNA matching the suspect’s was found on a towel that was wrapped around the rifle believed to be the murder weapon and on a screwdriver found on the rooftop that served as the shooter’s sniper perch.
Robinson has not cooperated with authorities, Utah Governor Spencer Cox said on Sunday, but investigators have been interviewing his friends and family in an effort to determine the motive for the shooting.
The killing has shaken a country already gripped by a spike in political violence, fueled by deepening polarization between the right and the left.
Both sides have universally condemned Kirk’s slaying as an indefensible act of political violence, though partisan differences have emerged over the framing of that message.
Some Republicans, including Trump, have blamed liberal groups for Kirk’s murder despite a lack of evidence, while Democrats have noted that left-wing figures have also been the targets of political violence in recent years.
The left and right also disagree over Kirk’s legacy and how he should be remembered.
LEGACY DIVIDED
Kirk’s supporters cast him as an influential and charismatic figure who galvanized support for Trump among younger voters in 2024, and the Republican president has honored Kirk by ordering flags flown at half staff on public buildings.
Civil rights advocates and liberals have criticized Kirk as a divisive figure who embraced Trump’s unsubstantiated claims of a stolen election in 2020 and has marginalized Blacks, women, the LGBT community, Muslims and immigrants with derogatory rhetoric.
In an appearance on Kirk’s eponymous podcast on Monday, Vice President JD Vance said the “incredibly destructive movement of left-wing extremism” had helped lead to Kirk’s killing.
While Robinson was raised in a Mormon household by religious parents in a deeply conservative region of the state, “his ideology was very different than his family,” Cox said on Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press” program, without going into specifics.
State records show Robinson had registered to vote without choosing a party affiliation and did not vote in the 2024 presidential election. But a relative told police that Robinson had grown more political and had expressed dislike for Kirk in a recent conversation.
House Speaker Mike Johnson and three other top members of the House Republican leadership held a brief vigil on Monday for Kirk, attended by dozens of lawmakers, friends and supporters in Statuary Hall of the U.S. Capitol.
Back in Utah, at the scene of Kirk’s assassination, scores of mourners have flocked to makeshift memorials in recent days to leave flowers and handwritten notes, and to inscribe messages in chalk on campus sidewalks, many of them Bible verses.
U.S. military officers observed joint war games between Russia and Belarus on Monday for the first time since Moscow used Belarus as a launchpad to enter Ukraine, as U.S. President Donald Trump deepens ties with Moscow’s closest ally.
The presence of the U.S. officers, less than a week after neighbouring Poland shot down Russian drones that crossed into its airspace, is the latest sign that Washington is seeking to warm ties with Belarus.
Last week, Trump’s representative John Coale visited Minsk and said Trump wanted to reopen the U.S. embassy there soon, normalise ties and revive trade.
TRUMP MAY BE SEEKING DIPLOMATIC GAINS
The U.S. military did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Western foreign policy analysts speculate that Trump may be trying to peel Belarus away from Russia, a strategy widely viewed as unlikely to succeed, or to exploit its close ties with Moscow to promote a deal to end the war in Ukraine.
At least two U.S. military officers – Air Force Lt. Col. Bryan Shoupe and another unidentified officer – were in Belarus to observe the “Zapad-2025” war games, which were also being watched by Russian Deputy Defence Minister Yunus-Bek Yevkurov.
Fighter jets, attack drones and helicopters flew over a training ground hemmed in by trees as infantry practised firing automatic weapons, mortars and missile systems and riding into combat on motorcycles.
The exercise, being held at training grounds in both countries, is a show of force that Russia and Belarus say is designed to test combat readiness.
A Belarusian Mi-35 attack helicopter flies during the joint Russia-Belarus “Zapad-2025” military drills near Borisov, Belarus September 15, 2025. REUTERS/Ramil Sitdikov Purchase Licensing Rights
But it has unnerved some neighbouring countries after the drone incursion into Poland as Moscow’s war in Ukraine grinds towards its fourth year. Warsaw has temporarily closed its border with Belarus as a precaution.
Long a staunch Russian ally, President Alexander Lukashenko allowed Moscow to use Belarus to send tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine in February 2022, and has since allowed Russia to station tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus.
TRUMP COURTS BELARUS PRESIDENT LUKASHENKO
Trump, who has suggested that the drone incursion may have been the result of a mistake, last week lifted sanctions on Belarus’s national airline Belavia, allowing it to service and buy components for its fleet, which includes Boeing aircraft.
He did so after Lukashenko – who regularly talks to Russian President Vladimir Putin and was given a friendly hand-signed letter from Trump by Coale – agreed to free 52 prisoners, including journalists and political opponents.
Belarusian Defence Minister Viktor Khrenikov personally greeted the two U.S. officers, who shook his hand and, speaking in Russian, thanked him for inviting them.
“We will show whatever is of interest for you. Whatever you want. You can go there and see, talk to people,” the minister told the Americans, who declined to speak to reporters afterwards.
Russian Northern Fleet frigate Admiral Golovko launches a Zircon hypersonic missile during a strategic exercise with Belarus, in the Barents Sea, in this image released September 14, 2025. Russian Defence Ministry/Handout Purchase Licensing Rights
Russia said on Sunday that it had fired a Zircon (Tsirkon) hypersonic cruise missile at a target in the Barents Sea and that Sukoi Su-34 supersonic fighter-bombers had carried out strikes as part of joint military exercises with Belarus.
Russia’s “Zapad”, or West, joint strategic exercise with Belarus began on Sept. 12 aiming to improve military command and coordination in the event of an attack on either Russia or Belarus, the defence ministry said.
Moscow and Minsk have said the exercises are exclusively defensive and that they do not intend to attack any NATO member, though the U.S.-led military alliance announced an “Eastern Sentry”, operation after the incursion of Russian drones into Poland on Sept. 9-10.
Russia’s defence ministry released footage of the Northern Fleet’s Admiral Golovko frigate firing a Zircon hypersonic missile at a target in the Barents Sea. The footage showed a missile being launched vertically from the frigate and then powering off at an angle into the horizon.
“According to objective monitoring data received in real time, the target was destroyed by a direct hit,” the ministry said.
The ministry said that long-range anti-submarine aircraft of the Northern Fleet’s mixed aviation corps were also involved in the exercise. It said Su-34 crews practiced a bombing strike against ground targets.
U.S. and Chinese officials concluded a first day of talks in Madrid on Sunday on their strained trade ties, a looming divestiture deadline for Chinese short-video app TikTok, amid Washington’s demands that its allies place tariffs on imports from China over its purchases of Russian oil.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told reporters as he left the central government palace: “We’ll start again in the morning.”
Talks between delegations led by Bessent and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng and China’s top trade negotiator, Li Chenggang, at the baroque Palacio de Santa Cruz, which houses Spain’s foreign ministry ended after about six hours.
They mark the fourth time in four months that the delegations have met in European cities to try to keep a fractured U.S.-China trade relationship from collapsing under President Donald Trump’s tariffs.
They last met in Stockholm in July where they agreed in principle to extend for 90 days a trade truce that sharply reduced triple-digit retaliatory tariffs on both sides and restarted the flow of rare-earth minerals from China to the United States.
Trump has approved the extension of current U.S. tariff rates on Chinese goods, totaling about 55%, until November 10.
TIKTOK DEADLINE EXTENSION LIKELY
Trade experts said there was little likelihood of a substantial breakthrough in the talks hosted by Spain.
The most likely result of the Madrid talks is seen as another extension of a deadline for the popular TikTok app’s Chinese owner, ByteDance, to divest its U.S. operations by September 17 or face a U.S. shutdown.
A source familiar with the Trump administration’s discussions on TikTok’s future said the deadline would be extended for a fourth time since Trump took office in January.
TikTok has not been discussed in previous rounds of U.S.-China trade talks in Geneva, London or Stockholm. But the source said the issue’s public inclusion as an agenda item on the Treasury’s announcement of the talks gives the Trump administration political cover for another extension.
“I’m not expecting anything substantive between the U.S. and China unless and until there is a one-on-one meeting between Trump and (Chinese President Xi Jinping). Setting that up is really what these talks are all about,” said William Reinsch, a senior fellow and trade expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington think tank.
Senior U.S. and Chinese led by U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng and Chinese trade negotiator Li Chenggang meet to discuss trade and economic issues and TikTok, in Madrid, Spain, September 14, 2025. United States Treasury/Handout via Reuters Purchase Licensing Rights
Trump has repeatedly expressed interest in such a meeting, but Reinsch said that the Chinese would not agree to one until they know the outcome, and are pushing for further easing of U.S. export controls on chips and other high-tech goods.
“This meeting is an opportunity to measure each other’s positions and to learn more about each side’s red lines,” Reinsch said.
Wendy Cutler, a former USTR trade negotiator and head of the Asia Society Policy Institute in Washington, said she too expected more substantial “deliverables” to be saved for a potential Trump Xi meeting later this year, perhaps at an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Seoul at the end of October.
These may include a final resolution on TikTok, and a lifting of restrictions on Chinese purchases of American soybeans and reduction of fentanyl-related tariffs on Chinese goods, she added.
“Frankly, I don’t think China is in any rush to do an agreement where they don’t get substantial concessions on export controls and lower tariffs, which are their key priorities,” she said. “And I don’t see the United States in a position to make major concessions on either, unless there’s some breakthrough on its demands to China.”
RUSSIAN OIL PRESSURE
The Treasury has said the Madrid talks also would cover joint U.S.-Chinese efforts to combat money laundering, a reference to its longstanding demands that China clamp down on illicit shipments of technology goods to Russia that aid its war in Ukraine.
Bessent urged Group of Seven allies on Friday to impose “meaningful tariffs” on imports from China and India to pressure them to stop buying Russian oil, a move aimed at bringing Moscow into Ukraine peace negotiations by curbing its oil revenues.
The G7 finance ministers said on Friday they discussed such measures and agreed to speed up discussions to use frozen Russian assets to aid Ukraine’s defense.
Bessent and Greer said in a separate statement that G7 allies should join the United States in imposing tariffs on imports from countries that buy Russian oil.
The man arrested in the killing of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk is not cooperating with authorities, but investigators are working to establish a motive for the shooting by talking to his friends and family, Utah Governor Spencer Cox said on Sunday.
Cox said the accused gunman, Tyler Robinson, 22, would be formally charged on Tuesday. He remains in custody in Utah.
Investigators have yet to piece together why Robinson allegedly scaled a rooftop at Utah Valley University during an outdoor event and shot Kirk in the neck at long range on Wednesday.
Kirk, a staunch ally of President Donald Trump and co-founder of the conservative student group Turning Point USA, was killed by a single rifle shot during the event attended by 3,000 people in Orem, about 40 miles south (65 km) of Salt Lake City.
The killing fuelled fears of a spike in political violence in the United States and an ever-deepening divide between the left and the right.
Robinson has not confessed to investigators, Cox told the ABC program “This Week.”
“He is not cooperating, but all the people around him were cooperating, and I think that’s very important,” the Republican governor said.
One person who is apparently talking to investigators is Robinson’s roommate, who was also a romantic partner, Cox said, citing the FBI. Cox described the roommate as “a male transitioning to female,” and said the roommate has been “incredibly cooperative.”
Reuters has not been able to locate the roommate, or representatives for the roommate, to seek comment. Reuters could not determine who is serving as Robinson’s legal representative.
Asked on CNN’s “State of the Union” program whether the roommate’s gender identity is relevant to the investigation, Cox said, “That’s what we’re trying to figure out right now … It’s easy to draw conclusions from that, and so we’ve got the shell casings, other forensic evidence that is coming in – and trying to piece all of those things together.”
Investigators found messages engraved into four bullet casings, which included references to memes and video game in-jokes. An affidavit filed by authorities in the case described these messages. One of the inscriptions, according to the affidavit, read: “hey fascist! CATCH!” followed by a combination of directional arrows, an apparent reference to a sequence of button presses that unleashes a bomb in a popular video game.
Another casing, according to the affidavit, read, “If you read This, you are GAY Lmao,” short for “laughing my ass off.”
Kirk’s charged rhetoric, which often involved anti-LGBT and anti-immigrant comments, attracted legions of conservatives, but also engendered strong feelings from liberals and drew widespread criticism.
A police mugshot shows Tyler Robinson, the suspect in the fatal shooting of U.S. conservative commentator Charlie Kirk during an event at Utah Valley University, in Orem, Utah, U.S., in this photo released by the Utah Department of Public Safety on September 12, 2025. Utah Department of Public Safety/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab Read less
Robinson, a third-year student in the electrical apprenticeship program at Dixie Technical College, part of Utah’s public university system, was taken into custody at his parents’ house, about 260 miles (420 km) southwest of the crime scene after a 33-hour manhunt.
INVESTIGATORS SEARCH FOR MOTIVE
Relatives and a family friend alerted authorities that he had implicated himself in the crime, Cox said previously.
While Robinson was raised by religious parents in a deeply conservative region of the state, “his ideology was very different than his family,” Cox said on Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press” program, without going into specifics.
State records show Robinson was a registered voter but not affiliated with any political party. A relative told investigators that Robinson had grown more political in recent years and had once discussed with another family member their dislike for Kirk and his viewpoints, according to the arrest warrant affidavit.
Robinson was “not a fan” of Kirk’s, Cox said on Sunday.
The killing has stirred outrage among Kirk’s supporters and condemnation of political violence across the ideological spectrum.
Trump has blamed “the radical left” for Kirk’s death, despite a lack of evidence, even as he and his allies have often invoked violent rhetoric against their opponents.
“The problem is on the left,” Trump told reporters on Sunday. “A lot of people that you would traditionally say are on the left … (are) already under investigation.”
Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, a Democrat who faced an arson attack in April, said Trump had an obligation to lower the temperature.
“Violence transcends party lines — and the way to address it and have true peaceful debate is for leaders to speak and act with moral clarity. That needs to start with the President,” he said on social media.
Cox assigned some blame to social media, saying it has played a “direct role” in every political assassination attempt in recent years.
Israeli forces destroyed at least 30 residential buildings in Gaza City and forced thousands of people from their homes, Palestinian officials said, as U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrived on Sunday to discuss the future of the conflict.
Israel has said it plans to seize the city, where about a million Palestinians have been sheltering, as part of its declared aim of eliminating the militant group Hamas, and has intensified attacks on what it has called the last bastion of the militant Palestinian group.
Hamas’ political leadership, which has engaged in on-and-off negotiations on a possible ceasefire and hostage release deal, was targeted by Israel in an airstrike in Doha on Tuesday in an attack that drew widespread condemnation.
Qatar will host an emergency Arab-Islamic summit on Monday to discuss the next moves. Rubio said Washington wanted to talk about how to free the 48 hostages still held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip and rebuild the coastal strip. Only 20 are believed to be alive.
“What’s happened has happened,” he said. “We’re gonna meet with them (the Israeli leadership). We’re gonna talk about what the future holds,” Rubio said before heading to Israel where he will stay until Tuesday.
Once there, Rubio visited the Western Wall Jewish prayer site in Jerusalem. He was expected to hold talks with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The Western Wall visit was “reaffirming America’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s eternal capital,” according to a statement from the State Department.
In late 2017, during his first term as president, Donald Trump formally recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and subsequently moved the U.S. embassy there from Tel Aviv.
Philippe Lazzarini, commissioner-general of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), said in a post on X on Sunday that the agency had stopped services at the Beach camp clinic, which he said is the only health care available in the enclave north of Wadi Gaza.
Water and sanitation services are now at half capacity, Lazzarini said, adding that 10 UNRWA buildings have been struck in Gaza City in the past four days.
ABRAHAM ACCORDS AT RISK
U.S. officials described Tuesday’s strike against Hamas members in Qatar, a close U.S. ally, as a unilateral escalation that did not serve U.S. or Israeli interests. Rubio and U.S. President Trump both met Qatar’s Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani on Friday.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visit the Western Wall, Judaism’s holiest prayer site, in Jerusalem’s Old City, September 14, 2025. REUTERS/Nathan Howard/Pool Purchase Licensing Rights
Netanyahu signed an agreement on Thursday to push ahead with a settlement expansion plan that would cut across West Bank land that the Palestinians seek for a state, a move the United Arab Emirates warned would undermine the U.S.-brokered Abraham Accords that normalised the UAE’s relations with Israel.
Aid agencies say an Israeli takeover of Gaza City would be catastrophic for a population already facing widespread malnutrition.
Two more Palestinians have died of malnutrition and starvation in Gaza in the past 24 hours, the territory’s health ministry said on Sunday, raising the death toll from such causes to at least 422 people, including 145 children.
Israel, which blocked all food from entering Gaza for 11 weeks earlier this year, has been allowing more aid into the enclave since late July to prevent further food shortages, though the U.N. says far more is needed.
Israel says it wants civilians to leave Gaza City before it sends more ground forces in. Tens of thousands of people are estimated to have left but hundreds of thousands remain in the area. Hamas has urged people to stay.
Israeli army forces have been operating inside at least four eastern suburbs for weeks, turning most of at least three of them into wastelands. It is closing in on the centre and the western areas of the territory, where most of the displaced people are taking shelter.
Many of those people are reluctant to leave, saying there is not enough space or safety in the south, where Israel has told them to go to what it has designated as a humanitarian zone.
Some say they cannot afford to leave while others say they were hoping the Arab leaders meeting on Monday in Qatar would pressure Israel to scrap its planned offensive.
“The bombardment intensified everywhere and we took down the tents, more than twenty families, we do not know where to go,” said Musbah al-Kafarna, who is among the displaced in Gaza City.
Israel said it had completed five waves of air strikes on Gaza City over the past week, targeting more than 500 sites, including Hamas reconnaissance and sniper sites, buildings containing tunnel openings and weapons depots.
When Shahnaz went into labour, her husband Abdul called a taxi to take them to the only medical facility accessible to them.
“She was in a lot pain,” he says.
A 20-minute drive away, the clinic was in Shesh Pol village in Afghanistan’s north-eastern Badakhshan province. It was where their two older children were born.
Abdul sat next to Shahnaz comforting her as they drove over gravel tracks to reach help.
“But when we reached the clinic, we saw that it was closed. I didn’t know it had shut down,” he said, his face crumpling with agony.
The clinic in Shesh Pol is one of more than 400 medical facilities that closed down in Afghanistan, one of the world’s poorest countries, after the Trump administration cut nearly all US aid to the country earlier this year, in a drastic and abrupt move following the dismantling of the US Agency for International Development (USAID).
A single-storey structure with four small rooms, white paint peeling off its walls, the Shesh Pol clinic has USAID posters tacked up everywhere with information and guidance for pregnant women and new mothers.
It doesn’t look like much but in Badakhshan’s mountainous, unforgiving terrain, where a lack of access has been a major reason for historically high maternal mortality rates, the clinic was a critical lifeline, part of a wider programme implemented during the tenure of the US-backed government in the country, to reduce maternal and newborn deaths.
It had a trained midwife who assisted around 25-30 deliveries every month. It had a stock of medicines and injections, and it also provided basic healthcare services.
Other medical facilities are simply too far from Abdul’s village, and it was not without risk for Shahnaz to travel on bumpy roads. Abdul also didn’t have money to pay for a longer journey – renting the taxi cost 1,000 Afghani ($14.65; £12.70), roughly a quarter of his monthly income as a labourer. So they decided to return home.
“But the baby was coming and we had to stop by the side of the road,” Abdul said.
Shahnaz delivered their baby girl in the car. Shortly after, she died, bleeding profusely. A few hours later, before she could be named, their baby also died.
“I wept and screamed. My wife and child could’ve been saved if the clinic was open,” said Abdul. “We had a hard life, but we were living it together. I was always happy when I was with her.”
He doesn’t even have a photo of Shahnaz to hold on to.
There’s no certainty the mother and baby would’ve survived if they’d been treated at the clinic, but without it, they didn’t stand a chance, underlining the undeniable impact of US aid cuts in Afghanistan.
For decades, America has been the largest donor to Afghanistan, and in 2024, US funds made up a staggering 43% of all aid coming into the country.
The Trump administration has justified withdrawing it, saying there were “credible and longstanding concerns that funding was benefiting terrorist groups, including… the Taliban”, who govern the country. The US government further added that they had reports stating that at least $11m were “being siphoned or enriching the Taliban”.
The report that the US State Department referenced was made by the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR). It said that $10.9m of US taxpayer money had been paid to the Taliban-controlled government by partners of USAID in “taxes, fees, duties, or utilities”.
The Taliban government denies that aid money was going into their hands.
“This allegation is not true. The aid is given to the UN, and through them to NGOs in provinces. They identify who needs the aid, and they distribute it themselves. The government is not involved,” said Suhail Shaheen, the head of the Taliban’s political office in Doha.
The Taliban government’s policies, especially its restrictions on women, the harshest in the world, have meant that after four years in power, it is still not recognised by most of the world. It’s also a key reason donors have been increasingly walking away from the country.
The US insists no one has died because of aid cuts. Shahnaz and her baby’s deaths are not recorded anywhere. Neither are countless others.
The BBC has documented at least half a dozen first-hand, devastating accounts in areas where USAID-supported clinics have shut down.
Right next to Shahnaz’s grave, villagers who had gathered around us pointed to two other graves. They told us both were of women who died in childbirth in the past four months – Daulat Begi and Javhar. Their babies survived.
Not far from the graveyard, we met Khan Mohammad whose wife, 36-year-old Gul Jan, died in childbirth five months ago. Their baby boy Safiullah died three days later.
“When she became pregnant, she would go to the clinic for check-ups. But midway through her pregnancy it shut down. During the delivery she had a lot of pain and blood loss,” Khan Mohammad said. “My children are sad all the time. No one can give them the love of a mother. I miss her every day. We had a sweet and loving life together.”
A roughly five-hour drive from Shesh Pol, in Cawgani, another village where a USAID-backed clinic closed down, Ahmad Khan, the grief-stricken father of Maidamo showed us the room in their mud and clay home where she died giving birth to baby Karima.
“If the clinic had been open, she might have survived. And even if she had died, we would not have had regrets knowing the medics tried their best. Now we’re left with regret and pain. America did this to us,” he said, tears rolling down his face.
In another home a few lanes away, Bahisa tells us how terrifying it was to give birth at home. Her three other children were born in the Cawgani clinic.
“I was so scared. In the clinic, we had a midwife, medicines and injections. At home I had nothing, no painkillers. It was unbearable pain. I felt like life was leaving my body. I became numb,” she said.
Her baby girl, named Fakiha, died three days after she was born.
The closure of clinics in villages has resulted in a surge of patients at the maternity ward of the main regional hospital in the provincial capital Faizabad.
Getting to it, through Badakhshan’s treacherous landscape is risky. We were shown a horrifying photo of a newborn baby, who was delivered on the way to Faizabad, and whose neck snapped before he got to the hospital.
We had visited the hospital back in 2022, and while it was stretched then, the scenes we saw this time were unprecedented.
In each bed, there were three women. Imagine having gone into labour, or just having gone through a miscarriage, and not even having a bed to yourself to lie in.
It’s what Zuhra Shewan, who suffered a miscarriage, had to endure.
“I was bleeding severely and didn’t even have a place to sit. It was really hard. By the time a bed is free, a woman could die bleeding,” she said.
Dr Shafiq Hamdard, the director of the hospital, said: “We have 120 beds in the hospital. Now we’ve admitted 300 to 305.”
While the patient load is swelling, the hospital, too, has faced sharp cuts in its funding.
“Three years ago our annual budget was $80,000. Now we have $25,000,” Dr Hamdard said.
By August this year, there had been as many maternal deaths recorded as there were for the whole of last year. Which means that at this rate, maternal mortality could increase by as much as 50% over last year.
Newborn deaths have already increased by roughly a third in the past four months, compared with the start of the year.
Razia Hanifi, the hospital’s head midwife, says she’s exhausted. “I have been working for the past 20 years. This year is the toughest, because of the overcrowding, the shortage of resources and the shortage of trained staff,” she said.
But no reinforcements are coming because of the Taliban government’s restrictions on women. Three years ago, all higher education, including medical education was banned for women. Less than a year ago, in December 2024, training for midwives and female nurses was also banned.
At a discreet location, we met two female students who were midway through the training when it was closed. They didn’t want to be identified for fear of reprisal.
Anya (name changed) said they both were in graduate courses at university when the Taliban took over. When those were closed in December 2022, they began midwife and nursing training, as it was the only path left to getting an education and a job.
“When that was also banned, I became depressed. I was crying day and night, and I wasn’t able to eat. It’s a painful situation,” she said.
In a livestreamed speech, Erika Kirk thanked US President Donald Trump, US Vice President JD Vance and supporters who had “shown their love” for her husband. Kirk, the CEO and co-founder of the conservative youth organization Turning Point USA, was a top podcaster, culture warrior and ally of Trump.
After years of complaints from the right about “cancel culture” from the left, some conservatives are seeking to upend the lives and careers of those who disparaged Charlie Kirk after his death. They’re going after companies, educators, news outlets, political rivals and others they judge as promoting hate speech.
A campaign by public officials and others on the right has led just days after the conservative activist’s death to the firing or punishment of teachers, an Office Depot employee, government workers, a TV pundit and the expectation of more dismissals coming.
This past weekend, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy posted that American Airlines had grounded pilots who he said were celebrating Kirk’s assassination.
“This behavior is disgusting and they should be fired,” Duffy said on the social media site X.
As elected officials and conservative influencers lionize Kirk as a warrior for free expression who championed provocative opinions, they’re also weaponizing the tactics they saw being used to malign their movement — the calls for firings, the ostracism, the pressure to watch what you say.
Such tactics raise a fundamental challenge for a nation that by many accounts appears to be dangerously splintered by politics and a sense of moral outrage that social media helps to fuel. For his part, Trump on Sunday suggested he was already using the government to look into his political adversaries when asked if he would investigate them after Kirk’s death.
“They’re already under major investigation, a lot of the people that you would traditionally say are on the left,” Trump told reporters.
The aftermath of Kirk’s death has increasingly become a test of the public tolerance over political differences. Republicans are pushing not only to punish the alleged killer but those whose words they believe contributed to the death or dishonored it. At the same time, some liberals on social media have criticized those, such as actress Kristin Chenoweth, who expressed sympathy online over Kirk’s death.
“This pattern that we’ve seen for decades seems to be happening much more now and at this moment than it ever has before,” said Adam Goldstein of the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression. He dates the urge to persecute people for their private views on tragedies at least to the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. “If there was ever time to support the better angels of our nature, it’s now.”
Goldstein noted that it’s unpopular speech, like people praising the assassination, that stands as the greatest test of acceptance of the First Amendment — especially when government officials get involved. “The only time you’re really supporting free speech is when it’s unpopular,” Goldstein said. “There’s no one out there trying to stop people from loving puppies and bunnies.”
Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, a Republican, has cautioned that the motive for the assassination has not been confirmed. He said the suspect in custody clearly identifies with the political left and had expressed dislike of Kirk before the shooting. But he and other authorities also say the suspect was not known to have been politically engaged.
Kirk was seen as an architect of President Donald Trump’s 2024 election win, helping to expand the Republican outreach to younger voters. That means many conservatives see the remarks by liberals as fomenting violence, rather than as acts of political expression.
“I think President Trump sees this as an attack on his political movement,” said Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., on NBC as he noted the two assassination attempts against Trump as well as Kirk’s killing. “This is unique and different. This is an attack on a movement by using violence. And that’s the way most Republicans see this.”
Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., who is running for governor, called on social media for the firings of an assistant dean at Middle Tennessee State University and professors at Austin Peay State University and Cumberland University.
All three lost their jobs for comments deemed inappropriate for expressing a lack of sympathy, or even for expressing pleasure, in the shooting of Kirk. One said Kirk “spoke his fate into existence.”
Some NFL teams chose on Sunday to hold a moment of silence for Kirk. Football teams have in the past chosen to memorialize victims after school shootings or an attack on a house of worship. They have also marked notable deaths of public figures, weather-related disasters and international crises such as Hamas’ attack on Israel in October 2023.
Because conservatives previously felt canceled by liberals for their views, Trump on his first day back in office signed an executive order prohibiting everyone in the federal government from engaging in conduct that would “unconstitutionally abridge the free speech of any American citizen.”
In February at the Munich Security Conference, Vice President JD Vance criticized the preceding Biden administration for encouraging “private companies to silence people who dared to utter what turned out to be an obvious truth” regarding the pandemic. He assailed European countries for censoring political speech.
“Under Donald Trump’s leadership, we may disagree with your views, but we will fight to defend your right to offer it in the public square, agree or disagree,” Vance said at the time.
Still, the Trump administration has also cracked down on immigrants and academics for their speech.
Goldstein noted that Trump’s State Department in the minutes after Kirk’s death warned it would revoke the visas of any foreigners who celebrated Kirk’s assassination. “I can’t think of another moment where the United States has come out to warn people of their impending cancellation,” Goldstein said.
The glimmer of bipartisan agreement in the aftermath of the assassination was in a sense that social media was fueling the violence and misinformation in dangerous ways.
Taylor Swift is in attendance at her fiancé Travis Kelce’s first home game of the 2025-26 NFL season.
The pop superstar quietly snuck into the the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles game Sunday at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Mo., Page Six can confirm.
Swift got to her seat by walking behind a large screen to her suite, a rare move for the singer who is normally photographed on her way into the stadium.
Another video appeared to show a glimpse of Swift’s mom, Andrea, walking behind the screen as well.
Taylor Swift snuck into fiancé Travis Kelce’s first home game of the 2025-26 NFL season. Getty Images
Reps for Swift did not immediately return Page Six’s request for comment.
The tight end and his teammates’ first game of the season took place last Friday in São Paulo, Brazil, which saw the Los Angeles Chargers win 27-21.
Swift was not at that matchup, nor was she at the VMAs two days later.
The pop superstar and the football player, both 35, began dating in the summer of 2023.
The couple went public with their relationship at one of his home games in September of that year.
On Aug. 10, immediately after Swift recorded her debut on Kelce’s “New Heights” podcast, he proposed in the garden-esque backyard of his Leawood, Kan., estate.
Follow Page Six’s Taylor Swift live updates for the latest news, photos, fan theories and more
The athlete presented the singer-songwriter with an old mine brilliant-cut diamond ring that he he helped design.
Ahead of his game on Sunday, Kelce told Erin Andrews he shed some tears during his proposal and “can’t wait to spend the rest of my life” with Swift.
Swift waited about two weeks before announcing the engagement.
“Your English teacher and your gym teacher are getting married 🧨,” she and Kelce captioned a joint Instagram post on Aug. 26 that featured several photos from the moment he got down on one knee.
“They were about to go out to dinner, and he said, ‘Let’s go out and have a glass of wine.’… They got out there, and that’s when he asked her, and it was beautiful,” Kelce’s dad, Ed Kelce, later dished of the big surprise.
Ed went on to reveal that his son asked Swift’s dad, Scott Swift, “for permission” to marry his daughter about a month prior to popping the question.
Ivanka Trump stepped out in a show-stopping gown for a gala night with husband Jared Kushner on Saturday.
The businesswoman turned heads in a semi-sheer silver Georges Hobeika Couture design at Michael Rubin’s REFORM Alliance Casino Night in Atlantic City, N.J.
Previously seen on Nicole Scherzinger on the red carpet earlier this year, the sparkling style featured a scooped neckline and draped bodice.
Ivanka Trump wore Georges Hobeika Couture gown to Michael Rubin’s REFORM Alliance Casino Night in Atlantic City, N.J., on Saturday. Getty Images for REFORM Alliance
She accessorized minimally with matching silver heels and a black woven Bottega Veneta clutch.
Trump, 43, styled her blond locks straight for the occasion, while Kushner sported a classic black suit with a bow tie.
The duo appeared in good spirits sitting at a table with Jay-Z, Beyoncé and other attendees.
Trump was also photographed at a casino table with Rubin.
The first daughter is known to put on fashionable displays for events, recently pulling out all the stops for Lauren Sánchez and Jeff Bezos’ wedding week in Venice, Italy.
She stunned in a strapless pink Tony Ward gown with a sequined floral pattern while heading to the couple’s ceremony in June.
The following day, she slipped into a little black dress from Carolina Herrera for Sánchez and Bezos’ farewell bash.
Last weekend, she kept it casual in a black bikini while soaking up the sun on a yacht with her pal Gisele Bündchen.
Trump often gives glimpses of her outfits via Instagram while documenting everything from her Bahamas vacation to her “summer Sundays.”
Job anxiety is a concern among fresh graduates, but the new graduate industry traineeships are not a clear-cut choice for young jobseekers.
Office workers walking in Singapore’s central business district. (File photo: iStock/3yephotography)
After applying to more than 150 jobs, AN, a 24-year-old computer science graduate, found herself in a dilemma familiar to many fresh graduates – hold out for a stable job, or consider an internship that pays less but promises a few months of industry experience.
With no offers in hand despite months of effort, she took on a part-time data role paying S$1,000 (US$780) a month while continuing to apply. After half a year of searching, she landed a full-time software developer job in September.
Nevertheless, the lengthy hunt for employment was a demoralising experience, said Ms N, who wanted to be identified by her initials only.
After a three-and-a-half-year slog earning a computer science degree at the Singapore Institute of Management, she was expecting good prospects upon graduation.
“As a fresh grad, you have all these ideas of like, I can’t wait to start my first job and do really well, and have all these things to show for myself,” she said.
“But no, you can’t even do that. The only comforting factor is that I know many, many people are going through the same thing as me.”
So when the new government-sponsored graduate industry traineeships, also known as GRIT, was announced in August, she had mixed feelings about the programme.
From October, the traineeship scheme will offer fresh graduates up to 800 traineeships in the private and public sectors.
It is an initiative of the Singapore Economic Resilience Taskforce that was set up in April to help businesses and workers deal with the impact of the United States’ tariffs.
These traineeships will last from three to six months and pay a monthly allowance of S$1,800 to S$2,400, with 70 per cent co-funded by the government.
The scheme aims to help fresh graduates transition into full-time employment by allowing them the opportunity to gain experience and skills that future employers are seeking.
But not all jobseekers who CNA spoke to were certain which path to take.
If the option for traineeships had been available during Ms N’s six-month job search, she might not have applied.
“This is a long time without a proper income,” she said, pointing out that the allowance is below a typical starting salary. She also felt the scheme would benefit from a “clear pathway to full-time conversion”.
“If companies hosting traineeships were required or encouraged to consider trainees for permanent roles, at least this would give fresh grads more confidence that they’re not just stuck in a cycle of temporary stints, making it more of a step towards stable employment.”
GROWING JOB ANXIETY
A CNA straw poll of more than 100 recent graduates last month found that intense competition from their peers was the top concern, followed by the limited job openings and low starting salaries.
The choice between continuing a seemingly fruitless job search and accepting a temporary internship or traineeship is a real one for graduates – even in fields such as tech, where demand for talent is still robust.
Over the past month, CNA also interviewed 10 computer science or computer engineering undergraduates and recent graduates to dive deeper into their job-related anxieties and their experiences searching for a job.
Statistically, the fresh graduate employment outcomes for computer science graduates remains fairly strong, according to the most recent Graduate Employment Survey.
The proportion of computer science bachelor’s degree holders in full-time permanent employment six months after graduation was 87.8 per cent in 2024, which is comparable to other fields, though it fell marginally from the 91.9 per cent in 2023.
Nevertheless, Manpower Minister Tan See Leng last month cited feedback from graduates that despite the availability of jobs, many employers are also looking for individuals with years of relevant working experience to fill them.
“But graduates cannot obviously obtain the required experience if they are not offered the opportunity in the first place,” he said.
The undergraduates and recent graduates CNA spoke to felt that internship and job applications had become more competitive now, compared to when they started their university education.
“Everybody was freaking out. Everyone was trying to get any internship, any job, any kind of certification,” Ms N said of her final year in university.
Jobseekers like SW, 27, who similarly asked to be identified by his initials, found it frustrating that work experience is required even for junior roles.
He graduated from Nanyang Technological University in 2023 with a degree in computer engineering. The Singaporean found a job in an investment firm in China but left after a year as he found it a poor fit.
This year, he started a part-time masters programme in maritime studies to learn how to apply his software development skills to the sector. He is simultaneously applying for full-time jobs.
He said he was hearing back from fewer companies now compared to right after he received his bachelor’s degree. He estimated receiving four replies for every 10 applications he sent now, compared to six to seven replies back then.
“It’s still harder than I thought to find a job right now,” he said, despite having some work experience under his belt.
He feels that the new traineeship scheme could be a good starting point.
He said the scheme was “attractive” with a decent allowance, but wanted to find out more about the participating organisations and roles available before deciding whether to apply.
CAN TRAINEESHIPS CLOSE THE GAP?
The government had previously introduced government-supported traineeships in times of economic uncertainty.
The SGUnited Traineeship was launched during the COVID-19 pandemic and supported training stints of up to six months that paid S$1,500 to S$2,500 a month.
From June 2020 to March 2022, more than 12,500 trainees went through the programme. Close to nine in 10 found employment within six months after their traineeship, said Ms Gillian Woo, director of Workforce Singapore’s (WSG) enterprise programmes division.
WSG did not provide a breakdown of whether the trainees who found employment were hired by their host organisations or other companies.
Statistics available from midway through the programme show that at the end of August 2021, 2,300 out of 7,200 trainees were employed by their host organisations and 3,500 were hired by other companies after ending their traineeships.
Former SGUnited trainees felt the programme was good for gaining experience, but some said it could be improved with clearer criteria for full-time employment coupled with effective mentorship.
Psychology graduate Wei Yongji, 29, was a trainee for half a year in 2021. He earned S$2,300 a month as a programme executive in a government agency, which did not hire him afterwards.
Mr Wei said that while his work was meaningful, he felt that six months was too short to learn much and that there was a lack of autonomy.
“It’s not like we were doing purely (menial tasks) or admin work, but at the same time, it felt like there was quite a limit to what we were doing.”
Financially, he felt that his lower traineeship salary also partially affected his monthly salary at his first full-time job in the related social impact sector earning S$3,100 a month.
Under a traineeship, there is no employment relationship between the company and the trainee, so benefits like Central Provident Fund (CPF) payments and leave entitlement are not legally required.
The lack of CPF contributions added up for Mr Wei. And when he and his partner wanted to apply for a Build-To-Order flat, they did not meet the employment criteria for a housing grant as they were both on traineeships.
He suggested that host organisations be upfront about the possibility of converting a traineeship to full-time employment in their job postings, adding that this would have influenced his decision of where to apply.
Mr Wei, who now works at Access Singapore, a social mobility charity that provides disadvantaged students with career exposure opportunities, said his experience in a traineeship felt like being an “extended intern”.
He felt that the new graduate industry traineeship scheme was cast in a similar mould to the SGUnited one. “If it is just an extended internship, then we can’t really call it a traineeship, a career springboard.”
TRAINEESHIPS, INTERNSHIPS AND MORE
Access Singapore’s founder Clarence Ching, 31, agreed that an internship would have similar outcomes to a traineeship.
“In other jurisdictions, what traineeships mean is that it is a strong stepping stone towards your future careers,” he told CNA. In his view, the new traineeship scheme would likely not do this.
Mr Ching felt that a traineeship should have added value through structured elements like workshops on confidence building and how to prepare for a career.
He also called for clearer employment and learning outcomes: “For example, if you do this, this, this, this – then the company will hire you.”
When Mr Ching made this argument in a LinkedIn post last month, Minister of State for Trade and Industry and National Development Alvin Tan responded in the comments section that traineeships give fresh graduates skills and exposure, and “they do not necessarily need to or should be employed by their host organisations”.
“Traineeships are an option,” Mr Tan said in his comment, adding that graduates can also choose to take up apprenticeships, internships, work-study programmes or full-time employment.
Given the number of options available, some, like former SGUnited trainee Bernice Leong, 28, felt that it was essential for young people entering the workforce to have a clearer grasp on the pros and cons of each pathway.
“It would be nice if fresh grads now have an understanding of how this GRIT scheme is different from just a regular internship,” she said. This would enable them to make an informed decision between a traineeship and other opportunities.
Ms Leong was paid S$3,500 a month during her six-month traineeship at a statutory board. She told CNA she would not have accepted the offer if it was within the stipulated S$1,500 to S$2,500 range.
During her traineeship, she benefited from the mentorship from her manager who gave her close guidance.
She was told there was no possibility of full-time employment. But towards the end of her stint, her employer managed to find the headcount to hire her.
Another former SGUnited trainee, Terence Tian, 31, also converted his traineeship to a full-time offer in three months.
A business diploma holder at the time, he was paid S$1,800 a month and said the lack of employee benefits was not ideal since his working hours and responsibilities were similar to a full-time employee.
“But given the poor job market at the time, it was still better than being unemployed. At least I could apply what I had learned in school, gain experience, and have some financial support,” he said.
The stint met his expectations, leading to real work exposure and a full-time job. He felt the new scheme would also be a good initiative giving fresh graduates “a stepping stone into the working world”.
BETTER THAN A PROLONGED JOB HUNT
In any case, having a traineeship scheme would mean that jobseekers could be picking up work experience in the time that they are looking for a full-time job, as opposed to spending all their time on a prolonged unsuccessful job search.
The latter can deal a blow to confidence and make it harder to land a job, said Mr Wei, the former SGUnited trainee.
“You are not getting the results, and then you feel, maybe I’m not that good. Then actually you give up and you go to the gig economy.”
Computer science students and graduates told CNA that a tepid job market has added to the pressure to stack internships and made some avoid job-hopping, as they believe that they need to stand out in an oversaturated job market.
Thai coffee is having its moment, with demand for specialty local beans surging. But the industry faces multiple challenges including poor yields due to climate change, rising costs and intense competition.
Chatree Saeyang, a veteran coffee farmer, inspecting his plantation in Chiang Mai province. (Photo: CNA/Jack Board)
As mist rolls in along a mountain ridge high above Chiang Mai, Chatree Saeyang climbs up steep wooden stairs to his rustic village cafe, a hideaway in the clouds for coffee drinkers.
Chatree, 39, is a third-generation farmer and a tinkerer.
Littered behind the cafe counter is an assemblage of coffee paraphernalia for his caffeinated creations. As his espresso machine whirs, the headbanded master also starts to prepare a pour-over coffee from beans he grew, fermented and roasted himself.
He knows which trees produced which fruit and how that will translate to the cup. His specialty coffee is celebrated, part of a national movement increasingly prizing organic, artisanal processes.
Yet the natural ecosystem that fosters the practices of farmers like Chatree faces unprecedented challenges.
Thailand’s coffee industry is being reshaped by a paradox. Climate change is stressing highland farms and pushing production downward, even as a booming cafe culture in the country’s urban hubs drives record domestic demand.
With prices rising and imports surging to fill the gap, Thailand’s coffee scene is undergoing a rapid transformation marked by fierce competition, bold innovation and a growing push for sustainability.
Farmers sit at the start of the chain.
Chatree’s mature forest plantation sits in Khun Chang Kian village, recognised as one of Thailand’s earliest coffee growing regions and located about an hour’s drive through windy mountain roads from the downtown of Chiang Mai.
Chatree’s family has grown the crop for five decades, and his deep experience on this land tells him things are changing here.
The rain is becoming erratic, he observes, and the trees bend and shape to their environment.
It will play out when their cherries are ready to pick in a few months’ time; their flavour will change and if the conditions are not right, there will be fewer of them to process.
“Less yield means less money. But the coffee plants are tough like us; they have to adapt to survive in the changing conditions,” he said.
“Global warming certainly has an impact, but it won’t be the end for coffee. There is still a future.”
CLIMATE CHANGE HITTING COFFEE INDUSTRY
Chatree’s optimism is at odds with global trends. Extreme weather is playing havoc with farmers’ ability to produce arabica coffee – a typically more expensive variant compared to robusta, with complex flavours and preferred by artisanal cafes.
Productivity has plummeted. In 2023, Thailand produced only 15,651 tonnes of coffee beans – about two-thirds of it arabica – where output in the past once hit more than 86,000 tonnes in 2001.
A combination of rising temperatures, inconsistent and damaging rainfall events, prolonged droughts and pests is increasingly jeopardising yields.
Land under cultivation has also dropped as more farmers shifted to monoculture of crops like maize or those with higher value, like durians.
“The effects go beyond lower yields. It also causes quality to drop — the crop no longer meets the standards we used to expect,” said Jiraporn Inthasan, a master trainer in regenerative agriculture at Maejo University in Chiang Mai.
“In 20 years we might not have arabica in Thailand anymore. It won’t be possible,” she said.
Thailand is not alone in its climate struggles. Brazil and Vietnam, two of the world’s biggest coffee producers, suffered disastrous growing seasons in 2024, contributing to global coffee prices hitting a 50-year high in February.
There are industry-wide fears that many small-scale farmers will abandon cultivation and new farmers will be reluctant to choose coffee. This type of production is important; smallholders are responsible for growing 70 per cent of the world’s coffee.
Key coffee-growing areas are right in the climate hitting zone. The crop is mostly grown in a region known as the Coffee Belt – between 20 degrees north and 30 degrees south of the equator. That is also a part of the world among the most vulnerable to climate change impacts.
“It’s serious. I’d even call it severe,” said Naruemon Taksaudom, the founder of HILLKOFF, a business focusing on coffee innovation, training and value‑chain development.
In the hills of Chiang Dao, north of Chiang Mai, PANA Coffee, a company that covers every step in processing coffee from seed to cup, saw about 11 hectares of its plantations lost to a forest fire last year.
The year before, it lost a “lot of crops” due to unseasonal rain, said its founder Kompit Panasupon.
It was a reminder of the challenge everyone faces, he said, when dealing with the fragilities of crop-growing amid climate change.
“Everyone is feeling the effects right now. It’s a big problem that we all have to be serious about. And it’s not just about coffee. It’s basically every agriculture-related business and every farmer’s job,” Kompit said.
Adaptation is possible through investments in climate-resilient varieties and the more widespread adoption of crop diversification and agroforestry. But the clock is ticking as the planet heats further.
A DEMAND THAT CANNOT BE STOPPED
Back when coffee cultivation began in Thailand in the late 1960s, Thais hardly drank coffee. Initially, the arabica crop was introduced to the northern highlands and promoted as part of an alternative development model to replace the illicit cultivation of opium.
The sector has evolved and in 2025, the broader domestic market is valued at 65 billion baht (US$2 billion), according to Thailand’s ministry of commerce.
From 1995 to pre-pandemic 2020, annual consumption of coffee in the country increased by more than tenfold. Thais now consume an average of 340 cups of coffee every year.
Internationally, the market was estimated to be worth US$245 billion last year, according to Precedence Research, and is projected to grow by about 4.5 per cent per year to US$382 billion by 2034.
The organic segment is expected to register the fastest growth in the coffee market during the forecast period, the research found.
Within that, Thailand is carving out its niche, not as a major volume player, but rather as a producer of high-quality, specialty and smallholder produced coffee. It is pivoting towards value.
Specialty coffee in Thailand accounts for only about 10 per cent of quantity – at around 5,000 tonnes annually – but for 20 per cent of total value. It is a cash cow for those who are able to navigate its nuances and complexities in an increasingly challenging growing environment.
While “specialty coffee” is a technical industry term that has evaluation requirements and a scoring set for attributes like aroma, flavour, acidity, body, balance and aftertaste, in Thailand it is more commonly used to describe coffee grown by smallholder farmers, with traceability and served in third-wave cafes.
While some Thai coffee undergoes technical grading, “specialty” is often a looser cultural label.
“Thailand has been lucky: Consumers welcomed coffee culture, and demand – along with interest in new coffee varieties and flavour profiles – grew faster than supply,” said Naruemon.
In the ever-sprawling city of Chiang Mai, there are signs of that demand.
Last year, 1,700 new coffee shops opened in Chiang Mai, while 400 closed in the same period, delivery and lifestyle platform LINE MAN Wongnai reported.
Akha Ama Coffee Roasters is among this next generation of cafes driving demand for Thai coffee. Even before its 8am opening time, customers are already peering over the chain-link fence blocking the entrance.
More than a retail location, co-founder Lee Ayu Chuepa wants it to be a social enterprise committed to sustainability and promoting the efforts of indigenous hilltribe communities who grow the coffee.
Lee is also promoting Thai coffee overseas; an Akha Ama roastery opened in Tokyo last year.
“We could not stop the demand. It definitely will grow and that’s probably a good thing,” he said.
He said consumers want to know where their coffee comes from; and he can offer both that story and an anchor of support to his people.
“We’re finding a balance between generations. Our families have really old wisdom about doing agriculture, so we blend those skills with modern techniques and young people are finding a job that can sustain their living,” Lee said.
Not all farmers have such options. Specialty coffee production remains an outlier activity that requires an investment in skills, knowledge, equipment and, often, marketing.
“Most of the farmers up in the hills are hill‑tribe communities or smallholders who don’t have the time to hand‑sort beans. So larger companies step in to buy their coffee and then develop the branding themselves. Ninety per cent are primarily concerned with one thing: How to maximise their yield,” Naruemon said.
But she acknowledged that demand for specialty coffee has become an opportunity for farmers to lift their quality of life if done right.
“It becomes a virtuous circle. That’s my perspective: Healthy soil, good yields, better quality, and healthier lives,” she said.
PANA Coffee is one company trying to connect smallholder farmers and consumers.
It is attempting to do specialty coffee at scale and has made major investments in infrastructure at its sprawling complex on the outskirts of Chiang Mai city to ramp up processing of organic high-end beans.
The company’s philosophy is to lift the entire industry from seed to cup, to improve livelihoods, value and enjoyment of coffee, Kompit said.
PANA runs an initiative called Project Shade that involves 22 different grower groups spanning multiple provinces to help farmers implement organic practices into their operations.
“Thailand doesn’t produce enough coffee for ourselves. So, there’s still room to grow. Whether that’s enough land to grow, that’s another story. But I really believe that with the existing land, and if more farmers embrace shared, grown organic practice, they can produce a lot more specialty grade coffee,” he said.
In addition, the company runs education courses through an academy to upskill coffee professionals and also invites farmers to taste their own coffee – a rarity for many.
“Then when they go back, it’s like a paradigm shift for them, like, ‘Oh, if I do this, if I do that, my coffee will taste like this, and more people will want to buy it’,” he said.
“Basically, it’s exposure to what the consumers like that allows people who grow coffee to know what to do with their crops, and it’s like building a bridge.”
For Lee, he sees the changes starting to manifest in local communities: Young people are staying in the mountains instead of seeking jobs in the city, or returning home with new skills and enthusiasm.
“You look at the other jobs in agriculture, not many people are proud to do them. But in coffee, you feel like a pioneer and we’re proud to do it,” he said.
“I think this is a game changer for Thailand, if we can keep growing the quality.”
FROM COMMODITY TO LUXURY PRODUCT?
Coffee roasteries and specialty cafes around the country are being forced to walk a fine line between serving a burgeoning trend and making their business work in a period defined by inflationary costs, a sluggish local economy and limited supply of beans on the market.
The rise in the global price in coffee has been profound over the past decade, but especially this year.
Arabica coffee has increased in cost by 63 per cent from 2015 to 2024, when it averaged US$5.63 per kilogram. In February this year, it topped US$9 per kg.
Robusta – higher in caffeine and usually used for instant coffee or blends – has seen similar trends and nearly a threefold increase in price since 2020.
As yields have dropped in Thailand, the scramble to access beans of high quality, to suit what customers increasingly want, has gone full tilt.
Cafes are competing for the same domestic supplies and are having to secure coffee through contracts years into the future.
“It’s so competitive. It’s almost silly at this point. You have to make a commitment to pay for coffee that is not even on the trees yet. And for some people, it might be a huge risk,” said Han Wang, an artisanal coffee roaster and co-founder of PHIL Coffee in Bangkok.
Thailand will also need to import approximately 80,000 tonnes of coffee beans, instant coffee and other coffee products this year to meet local demand, the government said in March.
Coffee from non-ASEAN markets, which would include popular source countries in Africa and South America, attracts an import duty of up to 90 per cent.
Roasteries and retailers are the ones bearing the raised costs, said Wang. The high levels of competition makes it difficult to significantly increase the price of a cup of coffee, he explained.
“The only way to counteract the import duties is to improve the local coffee. It’s actually way better than, like, two decades ago. It’s actually crazy good now,” he said.
“But then, we still face a problem of quantity, in terms of local production.”
As thousands of cafes open each year in Thailand, the tough market conditions means closure rates are high. LINE MAN Wongnai reported that 43 per cent of Thai cafes are shuttering within their first year.
JENNA Ortega has gone topless for an ultra-sexy look at the Emmy Awards on Sunday night.
The Wednesday actress left little to the imagination as she rocked a massive jeweled necklace that covered up just enough of her bare chest as she made her way down the Emmys red carpet.
Jenna Ortega attends the 77th Primetime Emmy Awards at Peacock Theater on September 14, 2025, in Los Angeles, CaliforniaCredit: Getty Images – Getty
Besides the bejeweled piece, which was custom-designed by Givenchy, Jenna, 22, was not wearing anything else for her risky top.
The crystal jewels were strategically placed to cover part of her chest, but a lot of skin was still visible for the nearly-naked look.
She completed the outfit with a black maxi skirt that also kept it sexy with a thigh-high slit.
The young Hollywood starlet rocked her signature darker makeup, complete with a smoky eye and burgundy lipstick.
She pulled her hair back into a ponytail as her long, wavy bangs framed her face.
Fans were floored by the look, which some are saying is Jenna’s “sultriest” one yet.
“OH MY GOD JENNA i was not prepared to be gagged like this,” one Emmys viewer wrote.
“Obsessed is an understatement holy f**k she’s so hot,” another exclaimed.
“That stomach. That face. Jenna Ortega the woman that you are,” a third said alongside a row of heart-eye emoji’s.
“This top is a SERVE and her face card NEVER declines. Get it mama!!! Already my #BestDressed,” one more said.
While Jenna is not nominated tonight, she is there to promote season 2 of her hit Netflix show, Wednesday.
The Palm Springs, CA native was nominated for her role as Wednesday Addams at the 2023 Emmy Awards.
Season 2 of the series was released in early September – making it ineligible for the 2025 Emmy nominations deadline.
SEEING STARS
Besides Jenna, many more of the largest stars in Hollywood made their way down the red carpet at the Peacock Theater in Downtown Los Angeles for TV’s big night.
Selena Gomez strutted down the carpet with her fiancé Benny Blanco, wearing a form-fitting red dress with a long train.
Sydney Sweeney is a presenter at the ceremony and sported a strapless ruby gown that showed off her cleavage.
Severance creator Ben Stiller was joined by his wife Christine Taylor, as they both looked stunning as they posed for photos at the venue.
Dancing With The Stars star Derek Hough looked dapper in his black tie double-breasted ensemble.
Meanwhile, Walton Goggins flaunted his chest in a thin white shirt and matching jacket on the carpet.
The White Lotus star Jennifer Coolidge rocked a skintight black gown, with matching full-length gloves, and her blonde hair in an updo.
Comedian Megan Stalter shocked viewers when she opted for an extremely casual look.
The Hacks star donned Levi jeans, a white Hanes t-shirt, which she declared in an interview.
She paired the simple fit with ballerina flats, a black shoulder bag with the handwritten message “Cease Fire” on the front, sunglasses, and her brunette hair falling straight down.
Kathy Bates, who’s nominated for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series for her role in Matlock, also drew attention with her ensemble.
AT LEAST 15 people were killed in a devastating fireball crash in a Mexican highway, officials confirmed.
The deadly smash unfolded after a truck packed with workers crashed into a car and a taxi, erupting in flames.
At least 15 people were killed in a horror crash in MexicoCredit: Yury Tamayo
They were driving on a road linking the towns of Merida and Campeche, in Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula, when tragedy happened.
Shocking footage captured the tragic aftermath of Saturday’s crash, showing a vehicle engulfed in flames and thick black smoke.
The head-on impact caused the truck to erupt in flames, leaving 14 people – including the driver – charred or crushed inside, Diario de Yucatán reported.
Another victim died at the scene, bringing the death toll to 15.
The local outlet reported that three more were pulled out alive and rushed to nearby hospitals.
Witnesses told Diario de Yucatán of the gruesome scene, with people trapped in the burning wreckage as others tragically laid lifeless on the road.
Firefighters, paramedics and state police raced to put out the flames and rescue survivors.
Meanwhile, the National Guard and forensic teams secured the crash site.
Authorities have not yet released the identities of the victims or the exact cause of the crash.
The local outlet said the collision ranks as the worst road tragedy in Yucatán in 50 years.
The previous deadliest crash was in 1979, when a bus overturned, killing 11 and injuring 43.
Governor Joaquin Diaz Mena offered condolences to grieving families.
“We express our solidarity and support to the affected families during this painful moment,” he said in a statement on X.
He added: “Since the first report, emergency, security, and health services are attending to the situation to provide immediate assistance.”
Just days ago, a train slammed into a double decker bus – leaving ten dead and dozens injured.
The speeding freight train T-boned a coach full of people at a grade crossing in Atlacomulco, 80 miles northwest of Mexico City.
Footage showed the entire bus folding and being carried along by the train, which continued for hundreds of metres.
CHARLIE Kirk’s suspected killer was spotted kissing his transgender partner just two weeks before the assassination, The Sun can reveal.
Tyler Robinson, 22, had reportedly been living with his unidentified lover at a home in Utah.
Robinson is accused of killing Donald Trump ally Charlie KirkCredit: Getty
The partner is said to be fully cooperating with the FBI on its investigation into the shooting of the conservative activist Kirk.
Robinson’s neighbour Josh Kemp, 18, confirmed the alleged gunman was in a relationship with his roommate who he described as “weird”.
Kemp said: “I saw them holding hands. They drove off in Tyler’s car. It was about two weeks ago.
“They looked like they were a couple and he was dressed all in black.
“I thought he was weird because of the way he walked and I’ve never seen anyone dressed like that. He was wearing a mask.
“I believed he was transitioning because I heard them talking about a doctor’s appointment.”
The 22-year-old suspect recently moved into a smart condo with a wreath on the door in a complex which includes a hot tub, swimming pool, fitness centre and walking trails.
The property is five miles from his family home, and there is a vehicle parked in the numbered space.
Sources told the New York Post that the partner was transitioning from male to female.
Text messages and other communications the transgender individual exchanged with Robinson reportedly helped cops catch the accused assassin.
It comes after authorities revealed on Friday that a “roommate” had helped the investigation by revealing messages from a contact named “Tyler”.
The same contact described bullet casings with similar “meme” messages found to those at the scene, and discussed the “need to retrieve a rifle from a drop point”.
Kirk, the 31-year-old Trump ally and co-founder of Turning Point USA, was fatally shot in the neck on Wednesday while addressing students at Utah Valley University.
The last question he was ever asked was: “Do you know how many transgender Americans have been mass shooters over the last 10 years?”
Kirk was one of the most popular young conservative figures in America – and his death was the latest in a storm of political violence that has swept the US.
Utah governor Spencer Cox called the attack a “dark chapter” and a “watershed moment” for American politics.
And it comes off the back of shocking cases such as the attempted assassination of President Trump last July, and the killing of Democrat state rep Melissa Hortman.
With no official motive – both sides are now scrambling to distance themselves from college dropout Robinson as people try to piece together his politics.
But in the most definitive statement yet, Gov. Cox told the Wall Street Journal: “It’s very clear to us and to the investigators that this was a person who was deeply indoctrinated with leftist ideology.”
The picture emerging of the assassin paints him as quiet and geeky – seemingly not someone who was overtly politically engaged.
Friends describe him as loving video games, spending time on Reddit, and at the press conference yesterday it was confirmed he used the chat service Discord.
Robinson, 22, who was raised a Mormon, was taken into custody on Thursday night near his family home in southern Utah.
The shooting of Kirk was immediately dubbed a “political assassination” – and quickly saw Trump and his allies rage against the “radical left”.
The former student comes from a Trump-supporting family and had a conservative and gun-loving upbringing, but one pal said he was “left wing”.
And meanwhile messages he allegedly wrote on bullets have been linked to both anti-fascist causes and online meme culture.
The connections to the irreverent humour led some to speculate he could have been linked to the alt-right Groyper movement.
Millions of children in West and Central Africa are being forced out of attending school due to worsening insecurity. Despite efforts to combat banditry and conflict the crisis continues, particularly in North Nigeria.
More and more children across Africa are being forced out of school and sent to work in dangerous locations like mineshafts insteadImage: Safidy Andrianantenaina/UNICEF
A September 2025 report by the UN has revealed that nearly 15,000 schools were closed in West and Central Africa as of mid-2025.
The situation is particularly prevalent in Nigeria and Cameroon, where insecurity and conflict has forced millions to relocate from their original places of abode.
According to the UN, insecurity in the region has disrupted education for “more than 3 million children” though experts believe the reality is widely underreported.
Busola Rafiat Ojo-oba, a social worker and a gender-based violence specialist in Lagos, believes the actual number hovers around “over 5 million school children,” with nearly 500 schools closed in Nigeria alone.
“In a country [where] poverty is multidimensional and people will not be able to break the cycle of poverty anytime soon, the number of out-of-school children and the rate of unemployment is skyrocketing, because teachers and school administrators cannot continue teaching,” she told DW.
Many children pushed out of education system
The UN report indicates that throughout the region, “[b]etween June 2024 and June 2025 alone, the number of closed schools rose from 14,364 to 14,829, disrupting the education of more than 3 million children.”
“Many children have been out of school for years,” the report further indicated.
Efe Johnson, a Youth Leader and Rights Advocate based in the Nigerian capital Abuja, says that although the overall rate of such school closures may have declined in recent months, the impact of previous closures continues to put the education of many school children in jeopardy.
“In the Northeast for example, so many schools shut down at the height of the [Boko Haram] insurgency. And the reality is that a lot of those schools never reopened, and they probably never will. Many children who were pushed out of the system never went back. They’ve just grown up outside the system,” Johnson told DW.
Experts however also believe that more sinister elements might be at play: In the case of boys, many fear that some might be recruited as child fighters while with girls, there is the concern of teenage pregnancies keeping some from returning to school.
Either way, the developments of the last decade have had some devastating effects on education, with no apparent end in sight.
Families fearing for their children
The doors of many schools in some major population areas like Anka, Bukuyyum, Maru, Shinkafi, Tsafe and Zurmi remain shut — all located in Zamfara State in northwest Nigeria.
Some schools, like the Government Day Secondary School, remain operational but many children attend their lessons in fear, which also is causing a decline in attendance, explains Umar Rabat, a teacher at the school.
“The kidnapping and banditry have created a lot of fear, so families — especially those with daughters — will feel like it’s safer to just keep them at home than risk them being abducted on their way to school,” he explained.
Ojo-oba agrees, saying that families are too busy adjusting their lives to cope with the situation every day, causing some parents to take drastic measures, including keeping their children, especially females, out of school.
“Parents can’t risk receiving that call to say their children are being kidnapped or held hostage. In addition to this fact, in the middle of insecurity their needs will revolve around food, shelter, clothing and safety. So, education will not be on the forefront of their needs,” she added.
Limited government intervention
Umar meanwhile further highlights precautions that have been taken by authorities in areas with inadequate security, such as motorcycles and vehicles being provided to security personnel and community guards to reinforce safety with day and night patrols.
Some other government interventions have included the relocation of students from conflict-prone areas to safer localities.
Especially with internally displaced populations (IDPs), the Nigerian government has also established a national framework of mini camps, built to allow children to continue their education.
However, some experts say these efforts are by far not enough to get Nigeria’s education system back on track:
“They are mostly short-lived because if funding runs out or the program stalls, what’s next?” says Efe.
COVID-era solutions to the rescue
In Nigeria’s West African neighbor, Ghana, at least 44 schools have also been closed with nearly 5,000 pupils displaced due to conflicts in the country’s Savannah Region.
Think tank Africa Education Watch describes conflict as a “destructive factor in basic education,” with its executive director, Kofi Asare, saying that part of the problem is the fact that teachers are vacating their posts over fear for their own lives.
“In Ghana as we speak, teachers have fled Gbinyiri, which is a community in the Savannah Region, where conflict in the past three weeks alone has killed over 30 and displaced 5,000 pupils, denying them access to basic education.”
Asare adds that therefore there is a dire need for authorities across West and Central Africa to implement the Education and Emergency Plan once more, which was adopted by West African countries during COVID-19; he finds that this plan provides a framework for the deployment of learning to occur on virtual technologies, as conflict is only bound to continue.
Voter turnout was 58.5%, much higher than the 51.9% from the last local elections in 2020Image: Revierfoto/IMAGO
North Rhine-Westphalia is CDU’s ‘powerhouse’ — state premier
North Rhine-Westphalia state premier Hendrik Wüst of the conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party called his state “the powerhouse of the CDU.”
Wüst wrote on X after initial projections on Sunday evening showed that his party is set for victory in Germany’s most populous state.
The result also demonstrates that the center-right party in North Rhine-Westphalia is “the pacesetter for strong election results for the CDU throughout Germany,” Wüst said.
SPD co-leader disappointed by NRW election results
Bärbel Bas, the co-chairperson of the center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD), said she is disappointed at her party’s showing in local elections in North Rhine-Westphalia on Sunday.
Bas, who is also the federal Labor Minister, acknowledged to regional public broadcaster WDR that the party was unable to “stop the downward trend.”
“The results do not make me happy, of course,” she added.
The SPD is projected to finish second, with around 22% of the vote.
However, Bas insisted that the outcome is not the disaster for the SPD that had been predicted ahead of the vote.
“We must, of course, ask ourselves how we can get out of this slump,” said Bas, who added that the performance of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) should be a concern for all democratic parties.
The SPD has struggled at the ballot box recently. February’s federal election was the party’s worst result since 1887.
Germany beats Turkey to win EuroBasket title
Germany’s men’s basketball team won its second ever European title after defeating Turkey in the EuroBasket 2025 final in Riga on Sunday night.
The reigning world champions beat the Turks 88-83 thanks to a strong showing from NBA star Dennis Schröder, who was named the MVP of the tournament.
Legacy of racist Nuremberg Laws still lingers in Germany
Who is German — and what exactly makes someone German? Germans have been arguing about these issues for centuries.
The constitution, called the Basic Law, is clear: a German is anyone with a German passport.
Citizenship cannot be revoked, and discriminating against citizens on the basis of their religion, origin or language violates the Basic Law’s fundamental values.
This is one of the lessons learned from the Nazi regime’s reign of terror from 1933 to 1945, which systematically disenfranchised, terrorized and murdered Germany’s Jewish population in particular. Sinti and Roma, homosexuals, disabled people and political opponents, among others, were also targeted and were denied their German identity.
Thieves steal almost all ripe grapes from 2 vineyards
Nearly all of the ripe grapes have been stolen from two vineyards covering an area of around 8,000 square meters in the western state of Rhineland-Palatinate .
The theft is estimated to cost two independent winemakers in the village of Gundheim “several thousand euros,” police said in a statement.
The village is near the city of Worms, which is about 60 kilometers (37 miles) south of Germany’s financial capital Frankfurt am Main.
The grape varieties affected are Riesling and Sauvignon blanc.
Authorities said the alleged perpetrators had “acted professionally and with considerable logistical effort.”
“Due to the amount of stolen goods, it must be assumed that at least one larger vehicle or several means of transport were used,” police said.
Anyone witnessing suspicious people or vehicles near the vineyards between September 6 and Sunday has been asked to contact the police.
AfD is now a ‘major party’ — Chrupalla
Tino Chrupalla, the co-leader of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) with Alice Weidel, hailed the initial forecasts, which predict that his far-right party has more than tripled its share of votes in the local elections in North Rhine-Westphalia.
“We are a major party and we all bear a great responsibility for Germany,” he posted on X.
Top CDU lawmaker Spahn hails NRW vote boost, warns over far-right gains
The outcome of North Rhine-Westphalia’s local elections gives the federal ruling coalition a lift, according to CDU parliamentary leader Jens Spahn. The coalition led by Friedrich Merz consists of the conservative CDU/CSU block and the center-left SPD.
“The strong result in NRW is the reward for good local work and gives the coalition in Berlin a tailwind,” said the native of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW).
Spahn described the outcome of the municipal vote as motivation for “calm, pragmatic work,” which he said voters clearly value. But he warned that the surge of the far right, illustrated by the increasing support for the AfD, must be a wake-up call. According to the lawmaker, this shows that issues like poverty-driven migration, welfare abuse and failed integration “must not be taboo” and require concrete action.
Following the Sunday vote in Germany’s NRW state, projections indicate the CDU will secure 34.2% support, roughly matching its historically poor 34.3% in 2020. The SPD followed with 22.6%, down 1.7 points. The AfD more than tripled its 2020 result, reaching 16.4%.
Germany’s Green Party suffer heavy losses in local elections
Following the NRW vote, the Green Party is due to win 11.7% of the vote — a massive drop compared to 20% they won in the 2020 municipal election.
On Sunday, the Greens federal co-chair Felix Banaszak said the party would have to wait and see “where we end up.”
He described the poor result as a sign of the current mood, saying ecological and progressive politics are facing headwinds, not only in Germany but elsewhere.
Banaszak said the Greens are in a difficult position that is partly of their own making.
He also acknowledged mistakes made by the previous ruling coalition led by former Chancellor Olaf Scholz, which also included the Green Party.
Banaszak said a party does not lose eight percentage points “if it did everything right.”
The names of Kulman Ghising, Om Prakash Aryal, Rameshore Khanal, and Bala Nanda Sharma have been sent to Nepal’s President as Nepal’s interim Prime Minister Sushila Karki finalises her Cabinet.
Kulman Ghising is credited with eliminating load-shedding nationwide. (Image: Facebook)
Nepal’s interim Prime Minister Sushila Karki has finalised several names for her Cabinet, with recommendations already sent to the President’s Office, sources at Sheetal Niwas (Rashtrapati Bhawan) said. Among them is Kulman Ghising, the former Nepal Electricity Authority chief credited with power sector reforms, who is expected to take charge of the Energy Ministry.
Alongside Ghising, senior lawyer Om Prakash Aryal has been recommended for Home, former Finance Secretary Rameshore Khanal for Finance, and retired Lieutenant General Bala Nanda Sharma for Defence.
Sources close to Karki said discussions on the remaining ministerial portfolios will be held later. Sheetal Niwas indicated that the swearing-in ceremony could take place as early as Monday.
Other expected appointments include former national cricket captain Paras Khadka for the Ministry of Youth and Sports, and Aseem Man Singh Basnet, founder of ride-sharing platform Pathao Nepal, for the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport.
Kulman Ghising is best known for ending years of daily power cuts during his tenure at the Electricity Authority. He’s a popular figure, who was one of the contenders proposed by sections of protesting Gen Z groups as the interim head of government.
Sushila Karki, who assumed office on Sunday just days after the fall of KP Sharma Oli’s government, has pledged to serve only six months before handing over authority to a newly elected Parliament. “My team and I are not here to taste power. We won’t stay for more than 6 months. We won’t succeed without your support,” she said in her first address to the nation.
Cops called the violence they faced ‘wholly unacceptable’
AT LEAST 25 protesters have been arrested in London after 150,000 people turned up to a Tommy Robinson rally in the capital.
Violence erupted across the capital with 26 riot cops injured, including four seriously, after being punched, kicked and attacked with projectiles, the Met police confirmed.
Protesters taking part in a ‘Unite the Kingdom’ rally are held back by police officers in central LondonCredit: EPA
One was left with broken teeth as another was sent to hospital for a possible broken nose and concussion.
Surging crowds headed to Whitehall, central London, this afternoon for the “Unite the Kingdom” march as the numbers far exceeded what the police had been expecting.
More than 1,600 officers had been deployed to the capital on Saturday afternoon, with the Met calling in hundreds of officers from across the country.
Cops faced “significant aggression” as protesters descended on London.
Projectiles were launched as clashes broke out as certain individuals tried to enter a designated “safe space” and reach counter Stand Up To Racism protesters.
A statement from the Met said: “When officers intervened to block their path they were assaulted with kicks and punches.
“Bottles, flares and other projectiles were also thrown and concerted attempts to get past barriers were made.”
Assistant Commissioner Matt Twist added: “Officers went into today’s operation knowing it would be busy and potentially challenging.
“There is no doubt that many came to exercise their lawful right to protest, but there were many who came intent on violence.
“They confronted officers, engaging in physical and verbal abuse and making a determined effort to breach cordons in place to keep everyone safe.
“The violence they faced was wholly unacceptable.
“26 officers were injured, including four seriously – among them broken teeth, a possible broken nose, a concussion, a prolapsed disc and a head injury.
“The 25 arrests we have made so far is just the start. Our post-event investigation has already begun.
“We are identifying those who were involved in the disorder and they can expect to face robust police action in the coming days and weeks.”
Dozens of Robinson’s pals spoke at the rally including Ant Middleton, Laurence Fox and Katie Hopkins.
Elon Musk even appeared via video link as he congratulated Robinson for “putting together an amazing event”.
Asked by Robinson why he was supporting the event, South African-born Musk said: “I’m of primarily British heritage, British ancestry.
“I want Britain to be greater than it ever has been, I want Britain to remain Britain, there’s something beautiful about being British.
“What I see happening is a destruction of Britain, initially slow erosion but a rapidly increasing erosion with massive uncontrolled migration.
“The Government has failed in its duty to protect the people.”
It ended just after 6:35pm – running over by 35 minutes – as Robinson urged the crowds to thank the police as they left.
Thousands left peacefully but dozens remained for some time at the scene around Nelson’s Column.
Afterwards Robinson posted on X as he claimed millions attended the march.
Cops said the real number sat somewhere in between 110,000 to 150,000.
The far-right activist continued: “We came, we saw, we conquered.
U.S. President Donald Trump’s top diplomat, Marco Rubio headed to Israel on Saturday, amid tensions with fellow U.S. allies in the Middle East over Israel’s strike on Hamas leaders in Qatar and expansion of settlements in the occupied West Bank.
Speaking to reporters before departure, Rubio reiterated that the U.S. and President Donald Trump were not happy about the strikes.
Rubio said the U.S. relationship with Israel would not be affected, but that he would discuss with the Israelis how the strike would affect Trump’s desire to secure the return of all the hostages held by Hamas, get rid of the militants and end the Gaza war.
“What’s happened, has happened,” he said. “We’re gonna meet with them. We’re gonna talk about what the future holds,” he said.
“There are still 48 hostages that deserve to be released immediately, all at once. And there is still the hard work ahead once this ends, of rebuilding Gaza in a way that provides people the quality of life that they all want.”
Rubio said it had yet to be determined who would do that, who would pay for it and who would be in charge of the process.
After Israel, Rubio is due to join Trump’s planned visit to Britain next week.
Israel’s nearly two-year-long campaign has killed more than 64,000 people in the Palestinian enclave, according to local authorities. It has sparked a hunger crisis and led to allegations that Israel is committing genocide, including this month by the world’s biggest group of genocide scholars.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks to members of the media, before departing for Israel at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, U.S., September 13, 2025. REUTERS/Nathan Howard/Pool Purchase Licensing Rights
Israel launched its campaign after Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attacks on Israel that killed 1,200 people and resulted in the capture of 251 hostages, according to Israeli figures.
Hamas still holds 48 hostages, and Qatar has been one of the mediators, along with the U.S., trying to secure a ceasefire deal that would include the captives’ release.
On Tuesday, Israel attempted to kill the political leaders of Hamas with an airstrike on Doha. U.S. officials described it as a unilateral escalation that did not serve American or Israeli interests.
The strike on the territory of a close U.S. ally sparked broad condemnation from other Arab states and derailed ceasefire and hostage talks brokered by Qatar.
On Friday, Rubio met with Qatar’s Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani at the White House, underscoring competing interests in the region that Rubio will seek to balance on his trip. Later that day, U.S. President Donald Trump held dinner with the prime minister in New York.
Rubio’s trip comes ahead of high-level meetings at the United Nations in New York later this month. Countries including France and Britain are expected to recognize Palestinian statehood, a move opposed by Israel.
Horses graze in Plauru, Romania, September 5, 2023. REUTERS/Andreea Campeanu/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
Romania scrambled fighter jets on Saturday when a drone breached the country’s airspace during a Russian attack on Ukrainian infrastructure near the border, the defense ministry said.
Defense Minister Ionut Mosteanu said the F-16 pilots came close to taking down the drone as it was flying very low before it left national airspace toward Ukraine.
A threat of drone strikes also prompted Poland to deploy aircraft and close an airport in the eastern city of Lublin on Saturday, three days after it shot down Russian drones in its airspace with the backing of aircraft from its NATO allies.
Romania, a European Union and NATO state which shares a 650-km (400-mile) border with Ukraine, has had Russian drone fragments fall onto its territory repeatedly since Russia began waging war on its neighbor.
On Saturday, it scrambled two F-16 fighter jets and later two Eurofighters – part of German air policing missions in Romania – and warned citizens in the southeastern county of Tulcea near the Danube and its Ukrainian border to take cover, the defense ministry said in a statement.
It added the jets detected a drone in national airspace, which they followed until it dropped off the radar 20 km southwest of the village of Chilia Veche.
Mosteanu told private television station Antena 3 that helicopters will survey the area near the border to look for potential drone parts, “but all information at this moment indicates the drone exited airspace to Ukraine.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on social media platform X that data showed the drone breached about 10 kilometers into Romanian territory and operated in NATO airspace for around 50 minutes.
“It is an obvious expansion of the war by Russia – and this is exactly how they act,” he said. “Sanctions against Russia are needed. Tariffs against Russian trade are needed. Collective defense is needed.”
NATO announced plans to beef up the defense of Europe’s eastern flank on Friday, after Poland shot down drones that had violated its airspace, the first known shots fired by a member of the Western alliance during Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Richard Marles, Australian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence, speaks during an announcement at the Royal Australian Navy base HMAS Kuttabul, in Sydney, Australia, September 10, 2025. REUTERS/Hollie Adams/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
The United States will be able to use planned defence facilities in Western Australia that are to help deliver nuclear-powered submarines under the trilateral AUKUS nuclear submarine deal, Australian Defence Minister Richard Marles said on Sunday.
Australia will spend A$12 billion ($8 billion) to upgrade facilities at the Henderson shipyard near Perth, as part of a 20-year plan to transform it into the maintenance hub for its AUKUS submarine fleet, the government said on Saturday.
The AUKUS pact, sealed by Australia, Britain and the U.S. in 2021, aims to provide Australia with attack submarines from the next decade to counter China’s ambitions in the Indo-Pacific region.
President Donald Trump’s administration is undertaking a formal review of the pact led by Elbridge Colby, a top Pentagon policy official and public critic of the agreement.
Asked on Sunday if the U.S. would be able to use dry docks at the facility for its nuclear-powered submarines, Marles said, “This is an AUKUS facility and so I would expect so.”
“This is about being able to sustain and maintain Australia’s future submarines but it is very much a facility that is being built in the context of AUKUS,” he told Australian Broadcasting Corporation television. “I would expect that in the future this would be available to the U.S.”
The centre-left Labor government made an initial investment of A$127 million last year to upgrade facilities at the shipyard, which will also build the new landing craft for the Australian army and the new general-purpose frigates for the navy, supporting around 10,000 local jobs.
Under AUKUS – worth hundreds of billions of dollars – Washington will sell several Virginia-class nuclear-powered submarines to Australia, while Britain and Australia will later build a new AUKUS-class submarine.
Before the Virginia-class submarines, the facility will receive “a rotation of U.S. and UK vessels”, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Sunday.
“This will provide for a significant benefit for our allies, which is part of the AUKUS arrangement,” Albanese told a press conference in Perth.
The Republican and Democratic heads of a U.S. congressional committee for strategic competition with China expressed strong support for AUKUS in July.
F-35 fighter jets taxi on the runway at the former Roosevelt Roads military base in Ceiba, Puerto Rico, September 13, 2025. REUTERS/Ricardo Arduengo Purchase Licensing Rights
Five U.S. F-35 aircraft were seen landing in Puerto Rico on Saturday after President Donald Trump last week ordered 10 of the stealth fighters to join a military buildup in the Caribbean to counter drug cartels amid rising tensions with Venezuela.
The F-35s were seen landing at the former Roosevelt Roads military base in Ceiba, Puerto Rico, by Ricky Arduengo, a contract photographer working for Reuters. U.S. helicopters and Osprey aircraft as well as other U.S. transport aircraft and military personnel have been seen at the base in recent days.
The latest sightings come after a surprise visit to Puerto Rico this week by U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth along with the top U.S. general amid escalating tensions with Venezuela.
Asked about the aircraft, a Pentagon duty press officer said: “We have no force posture changes to announce currently.”
Sources told Reuters last week that the Trump administration ordered the deployment of 10 F-35 fighter jets to Puerto Rico to conduct operations against drug cartels.
In announcing the plan last week to send more aircraft to the region, Trump said the United States was not talking about regime change in Venezuela.
Last week, the U.S. military killed 11 people in a strike on a vessel from Venezuela allegedly carrying illegal narcotics in the first known operation since the Trump administration’s recent deployment of warships to the southern Caribbean.
Venezuela has said none of the 11 people killed were drug traffickers.
A poster of conservative activist Charlie Kirk is displayed at a memorial following the fatal shooting of Kirk, at the Turning Point USA headquarters in Phoenix, Arizona, U.S., September 12, 2025. REUTERS/Thomas Machowicz/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
After the fatal shooting of right-wing influencer Charlie Kirk, U.S. Republicans have a warning for Americans: Mourn him respectfully or suffer the consequences.
Over the past several days, Democratic and Republican leaders have widely condemned the murder of Kirk, a 31-year-old activist and Trump world celebrity known for his hard-right views and pugnacious debating style.
A smattering of commentators – including ordinary people joking about and sometimes celebrating Kirk’s death to lawmakers and pundits dwelling on his history of bigoted rhetoric – has also surfaced, only to be targeted in organized campaigns.
At least 15 people have been fired or suspended from their jobs after discussing the killing online, according to a Reuters tally based on interviews, public statements and local press reports. The total includes journalists, academic workers and teachers. On Friday, a junior Nasdaq employee was fired over her posts related to Kirk.
Others have been subjected to torrents of online abuse or seen their offices flooded with calls demanding they be fired, part of a surge in right-wing rage that has followed the killing.
Some Republicans want to go further still and have proposed deporting Kirk’s critics from the United States, suing them into penury or banning them from social media for life.
“Prepare to have your whole future professional aspirations ruined if you are sick enough to celebrate his death,” said conspiracy theorist Laura Loomer, opens new tab, a prominent ally of President Donald Trump and one of several far-right figures who are organizing digital campaigns on X, the social media site, to ferret out and publicly shame Kirk’s critics.
U.S. lawmaker Clay Higgins said in a post on X, opens new tab that anyone who “ran their mouth with their smartass hatred celebrating the heinous murder of that beautiful young man” needed to be “banned from ALL PLATFORMS FOREVER.” The U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau said on the same site that he had been disgusted to “see some on social media praising, rationalizing, or making light of the event, and have directed our consular officials to undertake appropriate action.”
Republicans’ anger at those disrespecting Kirk’s legacy contrasts with the mockery some of the same figures – including Kirk – directed at past victims of political violence.
For example, when former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband Paul was clubbed over the head by a hammer-wielding conspiracy theorist during a break-in at their San Francisco home shortly before the 2022 midterm elections, Higgins posted a photo making fun of the attack. He later deleted the post.
Loomer falsely suggested, opens new tab that Paul Pelosi and his assailant were lovers, calling the brutal assault on the octogenarian a “booty call gone wrong.” Speaking to a television audience a few days after the attack, a grinning Kirk called for the intruder to be sprung from jail.
“If some amazing patriot out there in San Francisco or the Bay Area wants to really be a midterm hero, someone should go and bail this guy out,” he said.
WEBSITE “EXPOSE CHARLIE’S MURDERERS” REGISTERED
The campaign to fire Kirk’s critics has not slowed. Calls to run people out of jobs have flooded across X. A newly registered site, “Expose Charlie’s Murderers,” has 41 names of people it alleged were “supporting political violence online” and claims to be working on a backlog of more than 20,000 submissions.
A Reuters review of the screenshots and comments posted to the site shows that some of those featured joked about or celebrated Kirk’s death. One was quoted as saying, “He got what he deserved” and others were quoted providing variations on “karma’s a bitch.” Others, however, were critical of the far-right figure while explicitly denouncing violence.
Still others appear to have done little more than point out that a longtime gun control foe had been shot to death. At least three accurately quoted Kirk’s 2023 comments in which he told a crowd that some gun deaths were “worth it,” saying that the annual drumbeat of firearms-related killings in the United States was “a prudent deal” in exchange for the Constitution’s Second Amendment.
One person who was featured on the site said their employer had been bombarded by phone calls, with callers threatening not to let up until they were fired or disciplined. The person said they plan to avoid the office in the coming days.
When Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered this week’s attempted assassination of Hamas leaders in Qatar, he took a major gamble in his campaign to pound the group into submission.
With signs growing that the mission failed, that gamble appears to have backfired.
Netanyahu had hoped to kill Hamas’ senior exiled leaders to get closer toward his vision of “total victory” against the militant group that attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, and pressure it into surrendering after nearly two years of war in the Gaza Strip.
Instead, Hamas claims its leaders survived, and Netanyahu’s global standing, already badly damaged by the scenes of destruction and humanitarian disaster in Gaza, took another hit.
The airstrike Tuesday has enraged Qatar, an influential U.S. ally that has been a key mediator throughout the war, and drawn heavy criticism across the Arab world. It also has strained relations with the White House and thrown hopes of reaching a ceasefire into disarray, potentially endangering the 20 hostages still believed to be alive in Gaza.
But while the strike marks a setback for Netanyahu, the Israeli leader shows no sign of backing down or halting the war. And with his hard-line coalition still firmly behind him, Netanyahu faces no immediate threat to his rule.
Netanyahu’s hope for an ‘image of victory’ for his government
Five low-level Hamas members and a Qatari security guard were killed in the strike. But Hamas has said the intended target, senior exiled leaders meeting to discuss a new U.S. ceasefire proposal, all survived. The group, however, has not released any photos of the leaders, and Qatar has not commented on their conditions.
If the airstrike had killed the top leadership, the attack could have provided Netanyahu an opportunity declare Hamas’ destruction, said Harel Chorev, an expert on Arab affairs at Tel Aviv University.
“It’s all very symbolic and it’s definitely part of the thing which allows Netanyahu at a certain point to say ‘We won, we killed them all,’” he said.
Israel’s fierce 23-month offensive in Gaza has wiped out all of Hamas’ top leadership inside the territory. But Netanyahu has set out to eradicate the group as part of his goal of “total victory.”
That is now looking increasingly unlikely, making it even harder for Netanyahu to push a ceasefire through his hard-line coalition.
Far-right members of Israel’s governing coalition have cornered Netanyahu, threatening to topple his government unless Israel pushes ahead with an expanded operation in Gaza City, despite serious misgivings by many in the military leadership and widespread opposition among Israel’s public.
A successful operation in Qatar could have allowed Netanyahu to placate the hard-liners, even though it would have eliminated the very officials responsible for negotiating a possible ceasefire.
Burning the channel with Qatar
Israel has had the ability to target Hamas leaders in Doha from the start of the war but did not want to antagonize the Qataris while negotiations took place, Chorev said.
Qatar has helped negotiate two previous ceasefires that have released 148 hostages, including eight bodies, in exchange for thousands of Palestinian prisoners. Israel’s military has rescued just eight hostages alive, and retrieved the bodies of 51 hostages.
While Israel has complained that Qatar was not putting pressure on Hamas, it had continued to leave that channel open — until Tuesday.
“Israel, by the attack, notified the whole world that it gave up on the negotiations,” Chorev said. “They’ve decided to burn the channel with Qatar.”
Asked if ceasefire talks would continue, Qatar’s prime minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said that after the strike, “I don’t think there’s anything valid” in the current talks. But he did not elaborate and stopped short of saying Qatar would end its mediation efforts.
How Netanyahu hopes to win the release of the remaining hostages remains unclear.
On Thursday, Sheikh Mohammed accused Israel of abandoning the hostages.
“Extremists that rule Israel today do not care about the hostages — otherwise, how do we justify the timing of this attack?” Sheikh Mohammed told the U.N. Security Council.
Nonetheless, he said his country was ready to resume its mediation without giving any indication of next steps. On Friday, Sheikh Mohammed met in Washington with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who was scheduled to visit Israel this weekend in a sign of how the Trump administration is trying to balance relations between key Middle East allies.
Straining ties with the US
Netanyahu, who has received ironclad support from the U.S. since President Donald Trump returned to office, appears to have strained ties with his most important ally.
Trump said he was “very unhappy” about the airstrike and assured the Qataris such an attack would not happen again.
Trump, however, has not said whether he would take any punitive action against Israel or indicated that he will pressure Netanyahu to halt the war.
Netanyahu, in the meantime, remains undeterred and threatened additional action if Qatar continues to host the Hamas leadership.
The message to Hamas is clear, he said Thursday: “There is no place where we cannot reach you.”
Little impact on the war in Gaza
Israel is pressing ahead with its expanded offensive aimed at conquering Gaza City. The military has urged a full evacuation of the area holding around 1 million people ahead of an expected invasion.
“Netanyahu’s government is adamant to go on with the military operation in Gaza,” said Gayil Talshir, a political scientist at Hebrew University in Jerusalem.
Israel has brushed off calls to halt the war from the United Nations, the European Union and a growing number of major Western countries who plan to recognize a Palestinian state at the U.N. Security Council later this month, she said.
The only one who might be able to change this trajectory is Trump, she added, by telling Israel “enough is enough.”
India Today visited casinos near the India-Nepal border in cities like Dhangadhi and Kanchanpur, where the aftermath of recent violent protests is clearly visible. Several of these facilities were targeted during the unrest, and were vandalised and looted.
Nepal is slowly emerging from five days of violent protests that have left at least 50 people dead and caused widespread damage across several cities. While the protests initially targeted government offices and infrastructure, the unrest soon spread to private businesses, including one of Nepal’s most prominent and lucrative sectors: the casino industry.
Casinos in Nepal, particularly those located near the India-Nepal border in cities like Dhangadhi and Kanchanpur, catering primarily to Indian tourists and foreign nationals as local Nepali citizens are not permitted to gamble, have been vandalised and looted.
In Kanchanpur, one of the city’s biggest casinos was stormed by a large crowd during the peak of the unrest. The mob reportedly forced entry into the building, damaged slot machines and gaming tables, looted cash and valuables, and caused extensive destruction across multiple areas of the facility, including the dance floor and restaurant sections.
The remnants of broken furniture, shattered mirrors and disconnected electrical systems are visible throughout the property, which now remains sealed off.
The recent turmoil has also put a heavy economic toll. In Dhangadhi, where India Today visited the site of a major casino, the building stands locked and deserted. There is no activity inside and security guards are not letting anyone near the premises.
These establishments, often housed within or attached to large hotels, play a significant role in the tourism economy of the region. However, following the wave of unrest, many of these casinos have either been vandalised or ransacked and all have now been shut down indefinitely.
According to local sources, the casinos has been closed since the protests turned violent. Business owners and hotel operators in the area have expressed concern over safety, especially after reports emerged that a mob had attacked and set fire to the Hilton Hotel nearby, a property closely linked to one of the largest casinos in the region.
Hilton Hotel in Kathmandu, which alone reported damages exceeding Rs 8 billion, My Republica news portal reported, quoting a HAN statement.
Additionally, Nepal’s hotel industry, a key pillar of its tourism-driven economy, has incurred losses exceeding Rs 25 billion following widespread vandalism, looting and arson during the recent student-led anti-government protests, according to a media report released Friday.
Nearly two dozen hotels across major cities including Kathmandu Valley, Pokhara, Butwal, Bhairahawa, Jhapa, Biratnagar, Dhangadhi, Mahottari and Dang-Tulsipur were damaged during the unrest. Both domestic and international hotel brands were affected.
According to the Hotel Association Nepal (HAN), many of the damaged properties will remain closed until significant repairs and reconstruction are completed, putting the jobs of more than 2,000 hotel workers at risk.
Meanwhile, the appointment of Sushila Karki as Nepal’s first woman interim Prime Minister has brought some hope of political calm. However, the road to recovery for the tourism and casino sectors is expected to be long.
Normalcy is gradually returning to Kathmandu and other areas of Nepal. During a visit to the capital this morning, India Today observed vehicles, including public transport, moving freely, indicating that daily activities are slowly resuming.
India, after finding cross-border links to the Pahalgam attack, launched Operation Sindoor and attacked multiple terror sites in Pakistan and PoK, including Lashkar-e-Taiba’s headquarters in Muridke.
The Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terror outfit is quietly orchestrating the reconstruction of its demolished headquarters, Markaz Taiba in Muridke of Pakistan’s Punjab, following its destruction by the Indian Air Force on May 7 during Operation Sindoor, according to the dossier prepared by India’s intelligence agencies that NDTV exclusively accessed.
At 12:35 am Pakistan Standard Time, Indian Mirage aircraft penetrated deep into Punjab province to strike three core structures within the 1.09-acre Markaz Taiba campus. The targets included a red multi-story block used for cadre accommodation and weapons storage, and two yellow-painted buildings known as Umm-ul-Qura, which served as training facilities and senior commander residences.
Only skeletal remnants remained standing, with analysts praising the Indian strike as the most severe blow dealt to Lashkar’s infrastructure since the 2008 Mumbai attacks.
Demolition And The Road To Rebirth
By August 18, LeT deployed heavy machinery, razing the already crippled structures. HUMINT-sourced video reveals rubble-strewn grounds and cadres supervising clearance.
Demolished red building
On September 4, the yellow Umm-ul-Qura block was reduced to dust. Three days later, the red building followed suit.
The group now eyes February 5, 2026 – Kashmir Solidarity Day – as the symbolic deadline to inaugurate the reconstructed complex, timed with its annual convention. Intelligence suggests that the rebuilt Markaz will once again serve as the epicentre of training, indoctrination, and operational planning.
Leadership In Command
The reconstruction drive is being personally overseen by Maulana Abu Zar, the director of Markaz Taiba, LeT’s chief trainer, revered as Ustad ul Mujahiddin and Yunus Shah Bukhari, the commander with operational oversight.
The outfit temporarily relocated its training wings to Markaz Aqsa in Bahawalpur and later to Markaz Yarmouk in Patoki, Kasur district, under Abdul Rashid Mohsin, a trusted aide of deputy chief Saifullah Kasuri.
Pakistan’s Pivotal Role
According to the dossier, Islamabad publicly pledged financial assistance for LeT and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) facilities that were destroyed during Operation Sindoor.
In August, LeT received PKR 4 crore (around Rs 1.25 crore) from the Pakistani government as seed money. Insiders estimate that the total cost of restoration will exceed PKR 15 crore (around Rs 4.7 crore).
The revelation lays bare the double standards of Pakistan’s counterterrorism posture. While posturing at global forums as a victim of extremism, the state actively bankrolls outfits waging bloodshed across the border.
Fundraising Under Humanitarian Guise
To plug the financial gap, LeT has also launched a fundraising campaign disguised as flood relief operations.
Cadres, often flanked by Pakistani Rangers, stage photo opportunities distributing token supplies before diverting the bulk of donations to Muridke’s resurrection.
The pattern is eerily familiar. After the 2005 earthquake in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), LeT (then fronting as Jamaat-ud-Dawa) raised billions in the name of humanitarian aid. Subsequent investigations revealed that 80 per cent was funnelled into terror infrastructure, including the construction of Markaz Abbas in Kotli, which was also destroyed during Operation Sindoor.
The Proxy War Endures
Despite Operation Sindoor’s tactical success, LeT’s rapid rebound demonstrates its enduring resilience. The group’s planned unveiling of a rebuilt Markaz by February 2026 serves as both defiance and propaganda, reaffirming its centrality in Pakistan’s proxy war against India.
LeT’s mushrooming proxy fronts – The Resistance Front (TRF), People’s Anti-Fascist Front (PAFF), Kashmir Tigers, and the Mountain Warriors of Kashmir (MWK) – allow Islamabad plausible deniability while maintaining a constant stream of anti-India violence.
The case of Muridke epitomises the entrenched nexus between Pakistan’s state apparatus and terror outfits. Far from curtailing terror, Islamabad’s funding, facilitation, and indifference ensure that groups like LeT not only survive but expand.
The “New York Declaration” seeks to breathe new life into the two-state solution to the Israel-Palestinian conflict.
Former German Foreign Minister and President of the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly Annalena Baerbock speaks during a General Assembly meeting to vote on two states solution to the Palestinian question at United Nations headquarters (UN) on Sep 12, 2025 in New York City. (Photo: AFP/ANGELA WEISS)
The UN General Assembly voted Friday (Sep 12) to back the “New York Declaration”, a resolution which seeks to breathe new life into the two-state solution to the Israel-Palestinian conflict – without the involvement of Hamas.
The text was adopted by 142 votes in favour, 10 against – including Israel and key ally the United States – and 12 abstentions. It clearly condemns Hamas and demands that it surrender its weapons.
Although Israel has criticised UN bodies for nearly two years over their failure to condemn Hamas’s attack on Oct 7, 2023, the declaration, presented by France and Saudi Arabia, leaves no ambiguity.
Formally called the New York Declaration on the Peaceful Settlement of the Question of Palestine and the Implementation of the Two-State Solution, the text states that “Hamas must free all hostages” and that the UN General Assembly condemns “the attacks committed by Hamas against civilians on the 7th of October”.
It also calls for “collective action to end the war in Gaza, to achieve a just, peaceful and lasting settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict based on the effective implementation of the Two-State solution”.
The declaration, which was already endorsed by the Arab League and co-signed in July by 17 UN member states, including several Arab countries, also goes further than condemning Hamas, seeking to fully excise them from leadership in Gaza.
“In the context of ending the war in Gaza, Hamas must end its rule in Gaza and hand over its weapons to the Palestinian Authority, with international engagement and support, in line with the objective of a sovereign and independent Palestinian State,” the declaration states.
The vote precedes an upcoming UN summit co-chaired by Riyadh and Paris on Sep 22 in New York, in which French President Emmanuel Macron has promised to formally recognise the Palestinian state.
“SHIELD” AGAINST CRITICISM
“The fact that the General Assembly is finally backing a text that condemns Hamas directly is significant,” even if “Israelis will say it is far too little, far too late,” Richard Gowan, UN Director at the International Crisis Group, told AFP.
“Now at least states supporting the Palestinians can rebuff Israeli accusations that they implicitly condone Hamas,” he said, adding that it “offers a shield against Israeli criticism.”
In addition to Macron, several other leaders have announced their intent to formally recognise the Palestinian state during the UN summit.
The gestures are seen as a means of increasing pressure on Israel to end the war in Gaza, which was triggered by the Oct 7, 2023 attacks by Hamas.
The New York Declaration includes discussion of a “deployment of a temporary international stabilisation mission” to the battered region under the mandate of the UN Security Council, aiming to support the Palestinian civilian population and facilitate security responsibilities to the Palestinian Authority.
More than 20 others were injured in the night-time attack on the Thayet Thapin village in Kyauktaw township, an area controlled by the ethnic Arakan Army, said an armed group and local media reports.
Debris is seen after an alleged army airstrike hit two private schools in Thayet Thapin village in Kyauktaw township in Rakhine state, Myanmar, Friday, Sep 12, 2025. (AP Photo)
An airstrike by Myanmar’s military on two private schools in a village in Myanmar has killed at least 18 people, most of them students, an armed group and local media reports said Friday (Sep 12).
More than 20 others were injured in the night-time attack on the Thayet Thapin village in Kyauktaw township, the area controlled by the ethnic Arakan Army in the western Rakhine state, they said. The military has not announced any attack in the area.
Khaing Thukha, a spokesperson for the Arakan Army, told The Associated Press that a jet fighter dropped two bombs on Pyinnyar Pan Khinn and A Myin Thit Private High Schools.
He said most of the victims were “17 to 18-year-old students from the private schools.”
The situation in the village could not be independently confirmed, with access to the internet and cellphone service in the area mostly cut off.
Kyauktaw, 250 kilometres southwest of Mandalay, the country’s second-largest city, was captured by the Arakan Army in February last year.
Myanmar has been in turmoil since the army seized power from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi on Feb 1, 2021, triggering widespread popular opposition. After peaceful demonstrations were put down with lethal force, many opponents of military rule took up arms, and large parts of the country are now embroiled in conflict.
More than 7,200 people are estimated to have been killed by security forces since then, according to figures compiled by non-governmental organisations.
The military government has recently stepped up airstrikes against the armed pro-democracy People’s Defence Force. The resistance forces have no effective defense against air attacks.
The Arakan Army is the well-trained and well-armed military wing of the Rakhine ethnic minority movement, which seeks autonomy from Myanmar’s central government.
It began its offensive in Rakhine in November 2023 and has now gained control of a strategically important regional army headquarters and 14 of Rakhine’s 17 townships.
Wai Hun Aung, who directs relief work in Rakhine, told the AP that those killed in the airstrike were among 30 to 40 boarders from the schools.
Robinson, 22, had no criminal history. A schoolmate described him as “just a regular student with an interest in music”, while a family member told investigators he had become more political in recent years.
A police mugshot shows Tyler Robinson, the suspect in the fatal shooting of US conservative commentator Charlie Kirk during an event at Utah Valley University, in Orem, Utah, in this photo released by the Utah Department of Public Safety on Sep 12, 2025. (Photo: Handout via REUTERS/Utah Department of Public Safety
Eighteen-year-old Tyler Robinson seemingly had a bright future ahead of him.
The Utah teen had scored in the top percentile on his college entrance exam and earned himself a four-year scholarship to Utah State University in Logan. His proud mother posted a video on Facebook in which her firstborn son, the oldest of three, read aloud the school’s letter offering him the grant.
“He’s so excited to start his journey and it’s going to be so amazing for him!” she wrote in another post.
Four years later, authorities say, Robinson fired a rifle shot on Tuesday (Sep 9) from atop a building at another university campus, killing conservative influencer Charlie Kirk and triggering a new round of national anxiety over rising political violence.
Investigators are still working to understand what allegedly led Robinson to that rooftop. Officials have not yet identified a precise motive for the shooting, though they offered some clues on Friday morning in announcing his arrest.
Utah Governor Spencer Cox told reporters that a family member interviewed by law enforcement said Robinson had recently mentioned Kirk’s scheduled appearance at Utah Valley University, where he was shot.
“They talked about why they didn’t like him and the viewpoints he had,” Cox said, without offering further details.
Robinson had also become more political in recent years, the family member told investigators, and authorities said he had engraved what appeared to be anti-fascist messages on bullet casings they found with the suspected murder weapon.
Robinson, now 22, was arrested for aggravated murder and other charges. He has no criminal history, according to state records reviewed by Reuters.
He was a registered voter but was not affiliated with a political party, according to voter records. He is listed as an “inactive” voter, which indicates he did not cast a ballot in last year’s presidential election, when Republican Donald Trump defeated Democrat Kamala Harris.
At the time of the shooting, Robinson was living at his parents’ house in Washington, a farming and residential community of approximately 28,000 near Zion National Park in southwestern Utah.
Robinson’s grey Dodge Challenger – the vehicle that authorities say he drove to the site of the shooting on Tuesday – was parked on Friday outside the two-story stucco home, in a relatively new housing development built among alfalfa fields.
Dozens of media members were gathered outside, along with half a dozen police cars parked along the street. Officers were stopping reporters from approaching the home.
A neighbour, Steven Green, said he knew the family from attending the same Mormon church down the street.
“Great family, good kids,” he said, though he added he did not know Tyler Robinson well.
Canaan Timothy, 21, said he was in the year below Robinson at high school. Robinson, he said, was just a regular student with an interest in music, who hung out with members of the school band.
“I knew him in passing. Just your average kid,” said Timothy, who lives two blocks from the Robinson family. “Tyler, he was quiet, but not too quiet.”
Robinson was arrested late on Thursday without incident after a family friend called authorities and said Robinson had either confessed or implied that he was responsible for Kirk’s murder, officials said.
ATTENDED UNIVERSITY BRIEFLY
Robinson graduated in 2021 from Pine View High School in St George, Utah. A video online of the commencement ceremony shows him carrying his diploma on stage as attendees cheer.
He briefly attended Utah State University in Logan for one semester that fall, the school confirmed to Reuters.
It was not immediately clear why he left, but Dixie Technical College, part of Utah’s public university system, confirmed that he is a third-year student in the school’s electrical apprenticeship program.
A Facebook post from his mother said Robinson had earned a score of 34 in high school on the ACT college entrance exam, which would put him in the top 1 per cent of test takers, according to the Princeton Review test preparation company.
He has two younger brothers, according to his parents’ Facebook posts. His mother listed her job online as a social worker at a non-profit healthcare company, while his father is the principal of a company that makes stone countertops, according to state records.
His mother’s Facebook posts over the years – most of which were deleted on Friday – mostly doted on her family, documenting trips to Alaska, the Caribbean and Disneyland; celebrating school plays, Halloween costumes and adopted pet rabbits; expressing pride as the three boys moved up in school.
Polls predict strong gains for the far-right Alternative for Germany in the country’s most populous state this weekend. That makes the local elections in North Rhine-Westphalia a concern for the government in Berlin.
Almost a quarter of Germany’s 81 million people live in North Rhine-Westphalia Image: Revierfoto/dpa/picture alliance
It is “only” local elections. But it is the first election in Germany since the nationwide government took office in May. The coalition includes the conservative Christian Democratic Union and their Bavarian sister party the Christian Social Union (CDU/CSU) and the center-left Social Democrats (SPD).
“It is effectively a litmus test for the federal government,” Oliver Lembcke, a political scientist at the Ruhr University Bochum, told DW of the vote in North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) on September 14.
The Social Democrats in particular face a further decline in their former heartland, while the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) is gaining in the polls.
The election is also meaningful because the western state is Germany’s most populous, with 18 million residents. Its economic and societal diversity also makes it a microcosm of the country. It contains large cities such as Cologne, Düsseldorf and Dortmund, plus rural areas, industry and services as well as agriculture. The structural change in the Ruhr district transitioning from coal and steel production toward the service sector, is a development reflected in many areas. In NRW, one in every four residents has an immigration background, the same as Germany overall.
A test for Chancellor Merz
The local elections are widely seen both as a test case for the federal government of Merz, who hails from NRW, but also for state Premier Hendrik Wüst and his state government.
Fifty-year-old Wüst (CDU) has been governing with the Green Party since 2022 and has been tipped as a possible successor to 69-year-old Friedrich Merz. While they have had their disagreements in the past, this week the two men are now demonstrating unity.
The election results will impact not only the two politicians and their CDU party, but also the Social Democrats and SPD Labor Minister Bärbel Bas, who hails from the Ruhr Valley town of Duisburg. That region has always been considered to be the SPD’s home turf, the “heart of social democracy.”
Feeling let down by politics
On September 14, city and municipal councils, county councils, mayors and district administrators will be voted in — about 20,000 seats in total. In local government elections, individuals often play a more important role than parties: Local representatives are on the ground, dealing with grassroots issues, for example, schools, local public transport and the local economy. That is why people sometimes vote for a different party than in the federal elections, which focus on “big picture” policies.
However, it is already clear: Many people in NRW are dissatisfied with the state of their communities, especially with the infrastructure, said Oliver Lembcke: “Streets, bridges, local transport, schools — people are very quickly dissatisfied, especially if they feel those in power are not taking care of it.”
But it is not all about local problems. “We are also seeing on the campaign trail that topics which are matters for the federal government also play a part: especially immigration; being overwhelmed by immigration, the integration demands of immigration.” Fixing these problems are not necessarily the domain of local politics, but “they still matter for this election,” according to Lembcke.
Far-right AfD catching up in the West
According to the polls, the Social Democrats must expect the heaviest losses, especially in the cities of the Ruhr area, such as Gelsenkirchen or Duisburg, while the far-right AfD is likely to gain in strength there. These industrial areas were the traditional strongholds of the SPD. In the previous local elections 5 years ago, the AfD received only about 5% of the vote, in the February 2025 general election, that had gone up to 20% in some towns in the Ruhr Valley. Now, pollsters predict a strong showing, but expect results to be below the AfD’s results in eastern Germany, which are well over 30%.
Vice Chancellor Lars Klingbeil of the SPD warned his fellow party members during the election campaign: “We need to address people’s concerns.” Many workers in the steel, chemical or automobile industries fear for their jobs.
Political scientist Oliver Lembcke points out that the AfD connects housing shortages, high rents or bad schools with immigration. “This connection is what the AfD thrives off; that is its winning topic. The SPD is losing here the most because it — in many ways rightly — does not see these connections so strongly and also rejects them on principle. However, they tend to gloss over the issues rather than address them.”
Despite this, Lembcke thinks that the AfD will probably not gain a mayoral position, for which the absolute majority of over 50% of the vote is required. “The other parties will unite behind the most promising candidate and thereby prevent mayoral posts from going to the AfD,” Lembcke predicts. “But in county councils and the parliaments of the municipalities, we will see growth of the AfD representation.”
Great dissatisfaction with the federal government
The mood in NRW aligns with the results of the latest nationwide ARD Deutschlandtrend survey from September 3. These numbers are also unsettling for the federal governing parties in Berlin.
According to that poll, only 22% of voters are satisfied with the work of Friedrich Merz’s federal government. Perception of the AfD’s competence to solve problems has risen significantly in many different fields, including economic policy, foreign policy, and financial policy. With regard to refugee and asylum policy, for the first time, those surveyed thought the AfD was the most competent party of all.
Earlier this year, Friedrich Merz confidently announced that an economic upswing was coming and would be felt by the summer. However, the economy hasn’t come out of recession, while the number of unemployed has now risen to more than 3 million for the first time in 10 years.
Strong results for the AfD in NRW could put pressure on the governing coalition in Berlin, especially when it comes to questions of immigration, internal security and social issues. It would also confirm a political polarization in western Germany, which until now was predominantly in the eastern states, where the AfD is significantly stronger than in the west.
Chancellor Friedrich Merz seems to want to cover himself against possible bad results in NRW: “Local elections are local elections,” he said during a recent visit to the state, downplaying the national significance of the vote, arguing that while they are held against a backdrop of state and national politics, the results in local elections depend on the popularity of the individual candidates on the ground.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr’s son is getting married to a Brazilian pop star next summer, and the guest list is shaping up to be a motley crew of disaffected dynasties and political rivals — including Donald Trump and Brazil’s Marxist leader.
Conor Kennedy, 31 — Kennedy’s eldest son, who once dated Taylor Swift — is set to marry Giulia Be, 26, in the US in June.
Conor Kennedy and Giulia Be have scheduled their wedding for June, 2026, and plan to invite both Donald Trump and Brazilian president Luis Inacio Lula da Silva. Getty Images
Be made the announcement this week in an interview with Brazilian media after announcing that the wedding, originally scheduled for November in Sao Paulo, had been postponed until after the release of her new album.
“Conor’s father has his list of invitees, and Conor and I have ours,” said the Latin Grammy nominated singer, whose real name is Giulia Bourguinon Marinho.
“If Trump’s on that list, then Lula is also on the list.”
Be supported the Marxist leader’s campaign in 2022, according to Brazilian media reports.
The guest list could lead to some serious tension following this week’s Supreme Court decision in Brazil to convict former president and Lula rival Jair Bolsonaro of leading a coup, with his supporters descending on the Brazilian capital to attempt to overturn Lula’s election victory in 2022.
The former army captan was sentenced to more than 27 years in prison Thursday. Trump has said he is “very unhappy” with the conviction.
Following his mother Mary Richardson Kennedy’s suicide in 2012, Conor began dating Swift.
He had just turned 18, and the megastar, then 23, was reportedly so smitten she bought a seven-bedroom house in the Kennedy compound in Hyannis Port. Swift later sold the home after the summer romance ended.
Conor and Be, who live in Los Angeles, announced their engagement last year in a series of Instagram posts and a video.
The “Loose Girl” singer captioned one of the posts showing off her diamond engagement ring, “Easiest ‘Yes’ of all time.”
Charlie Kirk’s wife, Erika, has officially broken her silence on the conservative pundit’s fatal shooting.
The former Miss Arizona addressed the nation via a YouTube livestream on Friday night, remembering him as the “perfect” father and husband.
Erika began by thanking law enforcement and first responders who were present on the day of Charlie’s passing as well as those who protected their Turning Point USA team.
She went on to tearfully thank President Donald Trump as well as Vice President JD Vance and his wife, Usha, before jumping into her speech.
Charlie Kirk’s wife, Erika, broke her silence on her husband’s death on Friday via a YouTube livestream. Turning Point USA
“Two days ago, my husband Charlie went home to see the face of his savior and his God. Charlie always said that when he was gone, he wanted to be remembered for his courage and for his faith,” Erika started.
After acknowledging the couple’s faith and the “worldwide outpouring” of support she’s received in light of her husband’s death, she went on to send a pointed message to Charlie’s alleged killer.
“The evildoers responsible for my husband’s assassination have no idea what they have done,” she said.
“They should all know this: if you thought that my husband’s mission was powerful before, you have no idea. You have no idea what you have just unleashed on this country,” Erika continued, adding that “the cries of this widow will echo around the world like a battle cry.”
“No one will ever forget my husband’s name and I will make sure of it,” she vowed. “My husband’s mission will never end”
She then recalled how she broke the news of her husband’s death to their 3-year-old by telling her that he was on a “work trip with Jesus.”
She closed by addressing her husband, promising to “never let [his] legacy die” and said “I can’t wait to see you again, one day.”
Erika signed off, offering a final thank you and a “God bless” to Charlie’s fans.
Charlie, who founded the conservative youth activist organization Turning Point USA, died on Sept. 10 after he was shot during his speaking engagement at Utah Valley University. He was 31.
His appearance at the college was apart of his “American Comeback Tour,” which was traveling to multiple college campuses across the country. In her address, Erika promised that the tour will go on as planned.
Celebrities and public figures alike all mourned Charlie’s death on social media including Trump.
“The Great, and even Legendary, Charlie Kirk, is dead,” he wrote on his Truth Social account soon after Charlie’s death was confirmed.
“No one understood or had the Heart of the Youth in the United States of America better than Charlie. He was loved and admired by ALL, especially me, and now, he is no longer with us,” the president wrote.
Former National Security Adviser John Bolton allegedly used a private email account that was at one point hacked by a “foreign entity,” an FBI search warrant affidavit released Friday revealed.
The 41-page document – used by federal investigators to justify the raid of Bolton’s Maryland home last month – suggests the hacking incident gave the FBI reason to believe the former Trump administration official mishandled classified records.
The Post previously reported that Bolton allegedly used his personal email account to send “highly sensitive” documents to his family while working in the White House.
The FBI is investigating allegations Bolton mishandled classified information. AP
“Hack of Bolton AOL Account by Foreign Entity,” reads a section of the affidavit, where investigators explained the probable cause for the searches.
The roughly 10 pages detailing the hacking incident are completely redacted. It’s unclear which foreign nation may have been responsible.
FBI Director Kash Patel recently reopened a dormant probe into Bolton’s alleged use of a private email account to send classified national security documents to his wife and daughter before he was fired by President Trump in September 2019, The Post reported last month.
The probe was initially opened in 2020, and continued into the Biden administration, which froze the investigation.
Bolton, 76, has not been arrested and is not currently charged with any crimes.
The sensitive emails Bolton allegedly sent to his family members were obtained by the US intelligence community when it retrieved them from an adversary government’s spy agency, sparking the initial probe into the longtime diplomat, the New York Times and NBC News have reported.
The hacked emails collected by the US intelligence community appear to show that Bolton mishandled classified information, according to the outlets.
“While Bolton was a national security adviser, he was literally stealing classified information, utilizing his family as a cutout,” a senior US official told The Post last month.
The search warrant affidavit also notes that the manuscript for Bolton’s 2020 book, “The Room Where it Happened,” appeared to contain “significant amounts” of classified information, including top-secret level material, when it was reviewed by a National Security Council (NSC) official before publication.
Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook attends the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City’s 2025 Jackson Hole economic symposium, “Labor Markets in Transition: Demographics, Productivity, and Macroeconomic Policy” in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, U.S., August 23, 2025. REUTERS/Jim Urquhart/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
A loan estimate for an Atlanta home purchased by Lisa Cook, the Federal Reserve governor accused of mortgage fraud by the Trump administration, shows that Cook had declared the property as a “vacation home,” according to a document reviewed by Reuters.
The document, dated May 28, 2021, was issued to Cook by her credit union in the weeks before she completed the purchase and shows that she had told the lender that the Atlanta property wouldn’t be her primary residence. The document appears to counter other documentation that Cook’s critics have cited in support of their claims that she committed mortgage fraud by reporting two different homes as her primary residence, two independent real-estate experts said.
Reuters was unable to reach Cook for comment. She has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing regarding her properties, which also include a home in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and an investment property in Massachusetts.
Administration officials led by Bill Pulte, director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, have used mortgage documents from her Atlanta and Michigan properties to accuse Cook of claiming both as her “primary residence.” The allegedly false claims of residence, which could improve mortgage and tax implications for a homeowner, led Pulte to refer the matter to the Department of Justice, prompting a federal investigation and an order by President Donald Trump to dismiss her.
Cook, who remains at the Federal Reserve, has sued the president to resist her dismissal. Reuters was unable to determine whether Pulte or administration officials are aware of Cook’s Atlanta loan estimate. Spokespeople at the FHFA, the agency led by Pulte, didn’t respond to a request for comment.
The documents cited by Pulte, opens new tab include standardized federal mortgage paperwork which stipulates that each loan obtained by Cook for the Atlanta and Michigan properties is meant for a “primary residence.” But documentation reviewed by Reuters for the Atlanta home, filed with a court in Georgia’s Fulton County, clearly says the stipulation exists “unless Lender otherwise agrees in writing.” The loan estimate, a document prepared by the credit union, states “Property Use: Vacation Home.”
The document appears to help Cook’s case, said two real-estate experts who aren’t involved in representing her. That’s because it indicates that during the loan-application process, she told the lender she intended to use the property as a vacation home.
The lender, Washington-based Bank-Fund Staff Federal Credit Union, didn’t respond to a request for comment.
In another point that could help Cook’s case, she never requested a tax exemption for the Georgia home as a primary residence, according to property records and a Fulton County tax official.
A separate document reviewed by Reuters, related to a federal form completed by Cook as she obtained security clearance for her role at the Federal Reserve, shows that in December 2021 she also declared the Atlanta property as a “2nd home.” Though unrelated to the mortgage, the declaration on that document, a supplement to a U.S. government national security form known as SF-86, is consistent with the claim on her Atlanta loan summary.
Surrounding the accusations against Cook is a battle over Trump’s effort to wield more control over the Federal Reserve, the central bank of the United States and an independent institution meant to be free of political meddling. Trump has often criticized Fed governors because of their reluctance to cut interest rates since he returned to the White House earlier this year.
South Korean workers who returned home on Friday after being detained for a week by U.S. immigration authorities described their horror over the raid at their workplace in the state of Georgia and their relief at being reunited with their families.
“It was like a military operation,” said one of the workers of the September 4 raid at the car battery plant that is owned by Hyundai Motor and LG Energy Solution, adding the authorities had deployed across the site in less than 10 minutes.
Like many others who spoke to Reuters after their charter plane landed at Incheon airport, he declined to give his name due to the sensitivity of the matter.
A second worker said U.S. government agents had arrived at the site in helicopters and armoured vehicles and had separated workers according to visa type, arresting those on the ESTA visa-waiver programme or with a B-1 business traveller visa.
Workers’ phones were confiscated, and some were unable to inform their families back home until their eventual release.
In total, some 475 workers – including more than 300 South Korean nationals – were detained at the plant, in the biggest single-site operation conducted by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in its history.
U.S. officials said the workers were engaged in activities beyond the scope of their visa authorisation or had overstayed their visas.
RELIEF AND ANGER
“I am really relieved now,” said Hwang In-song, the brother of a detained engineer. “I was so worried and couldn’t sleep well for a week.”
The anxiety of the detainees and their families increased further when diplomatic wrangling over the terms of their release delayed their departure.
A South Korean worker who was detained in a huge immigration raid last week at the site of a U.S. car battery project involving Hyundai Motor and LG Energy Solution in the U.S. state of Georgia, hugs a family member in the long term parking lot at the Incheon International Airport in Incheon, South Korea, September 12, 2025. REUTERS/Kim Soo-hyeon Purchase Licensing Rights
“I didn’t know when I would actually be able to leave. That was the hardest part,” said one of the workers.
Asked about life at the detention center in Folkston, Georgia, where they were held, he said: “It was the worst.”
Others complained about the quality of the food and said the water smelt of bleach.
The United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement did not immediately respond to Reuters’ questions about the allegation of poor conditions at the facility.
A view shows oil pump jacks outside Almetyevsk, in the Republic of Tatarstan, Russia July 14, 2025. REUTERS/Stringer/ File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
Group of Seven nations’ finance ministers discussed in a call on Friday further sanctions on Russia and possible tariffs on countries that they consider “enabling” its war in Ukraine, as the U.S. called on its allies to impose tariffs on purchasers of Russian oil.
Canadian Finance Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne chaired the G7 meeting, which was held to discuss further measures to increase pressure on Russia to end its war against Ukraine, according to a statement from Canada, the head of the rolling G7 presidency.
The ministers agreed to speed up discussions to use frozen Russian assets to fund Ukraine’s defense, and discussed a “wide range of possible economic measures to increase pressure on Russia, including further sanctions and trade measures, such as tariffs, on those enabling Russia’s war effort,” the statement said.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told finance ministers during the call that they should join the U.S. in imposing tariffs on countries that purchase oil from Russia, Bessent and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said in a separate statement following the meeting.
“Only with a unified effort that cuts off the revenues funding Putin’s war machine at the source will we be able to apply sufficient economic pressure to end the senseless killing,” Bessent and Greer said.
Bessent and Greer welcomed commitments made during the call to increase sanctions pressure and explore using immobilized Russian sovereign assets to benefit Ukraine’s defense, according to the joint statement.
Earlier in the day, a U.S. Treasury spokesperson called on G7 and European Union allies to impose “meaningful tariffs” on goods from China and India to pressure them to halt their purchases of Russian oil.
President Donald Trump has imposed an extra 25% tariff on imports from India to pressure New Delhi to halt its purchases of discounted Russian crude oil, bringing total punitive duties on Indian goods to 50% and souring trade negotiations between the two democracies.
But Trump has refrained from imposing additional tariffs on Chinese imports over China’s purchases of Russian oil, as his administration navigates a delicate trade truce with Beijing.
Seven technology companies are being probed by a US regulator over the way their artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots interact with children.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is requesting information on how the companies monetise these products and if they have safety measures in place.
The impacts of AI chatbots to children is a hot topic, with concerns that younger people are particularly vulnerable due to the AI being able to mimic human conversations and emotions, often presenting themselves as friends or companions.
The seven companies – Alphabet, OpenAI, Character.ai, Snap, XAI, Meta and its subsidiary Instagram – have been approached for comment.
FTC chairman Andrew Ferguson said the inquiry will “help us better understand how AI firms are developing their products and the steps they are taking to protect children.”
But he added the regulator would ensure that “the United States maintains its role as a global leader in this new and exciting industry.”
Character.ai told Reuters it welcomed the chance to share insight with regulators, while Snap said it supported “thoughtful development” of AI that balances innovation with safety.
OpenAI has acknowledged weaknesses in its protections, noting they are less reliable in long conversations.
The move follows lawsuits against AI companies by families who say their teenage children died by suicide after prolonged conversations with chatbots.
In California, the parents of 16-year-old Adam Raine are suing OpenAI over his death, alleging its chatbot, ChatGPT, encouraged him to take his own life.
They argue ChatGPT validated his “most harmful and self-destructive thoughts”.
OpenAI said in August that it was reviewing the filing.
“We extend our deepest sympathies to the Raine family during this difficult time,” the company said.
Meta has also faced criticism after it was revealed internal guidelines once permitted AI companions to have “romantic or sensual” conversations with minors.
The FTC’s orders request information from the companies about their practices including how they develop and approve characters, measure their impacts on children and enforce age restrictions.
Its authority allows broad fact-finding without launching enforcement action.
The regulator says it also wants to understand how firms balance profit-making with safeguards, how parents are informed and whether vulnerable users are adequately protected.
Shushila Karki is widely regarded as having a clean image
Nepal’s former Supreme Court chief justice Sushila Karki has become the country’s interim prime minister after deadly anti-corruption protests ousted the government.
The 73-year-old was sworn in during a brief ceremony, becoming the first woman to lead the impoverished Himalayan nation after a deal was reached with protest leaders.
More than 50 people were killed in clashes with riot police during this week’s mass protests sparked by a ban on social media platforms.
The ban was lifted on Monday – but by then protests had swelled into a mass movement. Angry crowds set fire to parliament and government buildings in the capital Kathmandu on Tuesday, forcing Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli to resign.
Earlier on Friday, President Ram Chandra Poudel’s press adviser had confirmed to the BBC that Karki would take the oath of office that evening.
The agreement between the president and the protest leaders was reached after days of consultations. Legal experts were also involved.
Parliament was dissolved late on Friday and it was announced that general elections would be held on 5 March next year.
Karki is expected to appoint ministers to her cabinet within a few days.
She is widely regarded as having a clean image, and her leadership of the interim government is being supported by student leaders from the so-called “Gen Z” movement.
But her cabinet will face multiple challenges, including restoring law and order, reconstructing parliament and the other key buildings that were attacked, reassuring the Gen Z protesters who want change – and others in Nepal who are fearful its young democracy and constitutional order could be derailed.
Another key task will be to bring those responsible for violence to justice.
Karki’s appointment is a compromise resulting from talks that were brokered by Nepal’s army chief this week. Elated Gen Z supporters are expressing their happiness on social media, and many see this as the next step in the new political course they want the country to take.
On Tuesday, Karki visited the protest site in Kathmandu where 19 people were killed in clashes with police the day before. She also met some of the injured who were being treated in hospital.
The new PM was born in a family with close contacts with the Koirala political dynasty, from the country’s largest democratic party Nepali Congress, and later married the then-leader Durga Subedi.
She has said that her husband’s support played a major role in her journey from a lawyer to Nepal’s chief justice in 2016.
But Karki has not been free from controversy, having faced an impeachment incident during her nearly 11-month tenure as chief justice.
Nepal’s army is still patrolling the streets of Kathmandu as the country reels from its worst unrest in decades. Restrictions were only briefly lifted to allow residents to buy essential items.
Ukraine insists on the return of children who were forcibly transferred from occupied Ukrainian territories to Russia, saying this a ceasefire condition.
In 2022, children in Berlin protested against Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine Image: Hannibal Hanschke/AP Photo/picture alliance
Fourteen-year-old Sasha from Mariupol in southeast Ukraine had tears in his eyes when European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told his story during her State of the Union address to the European Parliament in Strasbourg on Wednesday.
He was only 11 when Russia launched its full-scale invasion of his homeland in 2022. After the storming of Mariupol, Russian soldiers took him and his mother to a “filtration camp.” Russia has set up such camps in the territories it occupies to subject Ukrainians to ideological screening before transferring them to Russia.
Sasha was separated from his mother in the camp and taken to occupied Donetsk. He was able to call his grandmother, Liudmila, who lives in an area under Ukrainian control. She brought Sasha back, but his mother’s fate remains unknown.
Sasha and his grandmother were guests of honor during von der Leyen’s speech, in which she emphasized that theirs was not an isolated case. Russia denies that Ukrainian children were abducted.
Since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russian authorities have abducted tens of thousands of children from their homes in occupied Ukrainian territories and either placed them in orphanages or handed them over to adoptive families in Russia.
The fate of these children became the focus of recent peace talks. The Ukrainian government has made the return of deported children to Ukraine a prerequisite for a possible ceasefire and a long-term peace deal.
However, Russia denies that the children were abducted and deported. In June, the head of the Russian delegation, Vladimir Medinsky, claimed that Ukraine was “staging a show on the topic of lost children.” He even said that Russian soldiers had “rescued” these Ukrainian children.
Mounting pressure on Russia over abducted children
In August, 38 countries, the Council of Europe and the European Union issued a joint statement demanding Russia return the children, provide information on their whereabouts and well-being and “cease to alter” their identity. US First Lady Melania Trump, wife of US President Donald Trump, wrote to Russian President Vladimir Putin reiterating the call, and US senators have made similar demands.
The Wall Street Journal newspaper reported in August that it had taken months of lobbying for the repatriation of Ukrainian children from Russia to cross the Trump administration’s radar. In April 2025, 40 faith leaders in the US appealed to Trump and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio to help return the children.
A bipartisan group of Republican and Democratic senators put forward a resolution in March calling for the return of the children and insisting that the US should provide support to Ukraine in this matter.
Conflicting numbers of Ukrainian children
The US Senate resolution from March spoke of at least 20,000 children, though the Ukrainian president’s “Bring Kids Back” initiative mentions 19,546 children whose names are known. Verifying the figures is difficult because the Ukranian government keeps the list confidential.
“It’s not only about the personal data of minors in need, but about their safety,” Myroslava Kharchenko, a lawyer with the NGO Save Ukraine, which is strongly involved with the campaign to bring back repatriated children, told DW.
The Russian authorities have repeatedly stated that the list of 19,546 children is “fake.” In a recent interview, the Russian Commissioner for Children’s Rights, Maria Lvova-Belova, said that the list was based on figures from reports of children with whom contact had been lost since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Even some members of the Bring Kids Back initiative unofficially have doubts about the list. “It’s probably based partly on lists from boarding schools in the occupied territories and partly on research from open sources and social networks. Some of the children may have moved to Russia with their parents, and some of them have since moved to Europe,” a representative of an international organization, who asked to remain anonymous, told DW.
Since children from the occupied territories have ended up in Russia in different ways, compiling a uniform list is challenging. The Ukrainian authorities recorded the first cases as early as 2014, when children from boarding schools in the self-proclaimed “People’s Republics” of Donetsk and Luhansk in Donbas were taken to Russian recreation camps.
In early February 2024, just before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the “People’s Republics” called on the Kremlin to evacuate all orphanages. Around 500 children ended up in different parts of Russia.
They were followed by other minors, from Mariupol, for example. Like Sasha, some of them were separated from their parents in “filtration camps.”
In early 2023, the Ukrainian government said that there were 4,390 Ukrainian children from special children’s institutions in the territories under Russian control. It said that they were orphans and children deprived of parental care.
According to Kharchenko, roughly the same number of children were in family-like orphanages. She pointed out that, in legal terms, the Ukrainian state was responsible for these children.
Putin simplifies procedure for obtaining Russian citizenship
In May 2022, before he signed “accession treaties” and formalized the illegal annexation of four occupied regions of Ukraine in September of the same year, Putin simplified the procedure for obtaining Russian citizenship for orphans and children without parental care from these regions.
Consent from biological parents or legal guardians in Ukraine was no longer required. This exception was partly justified on humanitarian grounds, as Russian citizenship enabled access to social benefits, medical care and education. Lvova-Belova explained in an interview that Putin had ordered that Ukrainian children without legal guardians be placed in Russian foster families.
Journalists and researchers suspect that many more Ukrainian children were handed over to Russian families than is currently estimated. The Ukrainian government says this is a war crime and act of genocide against the Ukrainian people. In March 2023, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Putin and Lvova-Belova for the war crime of unlawful deportation and transfer of children. In April, the Council of Europe welcomed this decision.
Though Russia does not recognize the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court and rejects all the allegations, it did react to the arrest warrants against Putin and Lvova-Belova. In 2023, Russia stopped transferring Ukrainian children en masse — at least officially. Instead, Lvova-Belova has said that Russia is promoting the return of children to Ukraine — but only on condition that they are personally handed over to blood relatives. That applies to parents, if they have regained custody, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, grandmothers and grandfathers. Kharchenko said that DNA tests were increasingly required.
Save Ukraine is currently helping to bring back between 60 and 70 children to Ukraine each month. Relatives first need to obtain custody under Ukrainian law and then travel to Russia, where they have to go through the same bureaucratic process again.
“Russian law is quite strict when it comes to the adoption of children by foreigners,” Kharchenko explained. “And the deported children have all been granted Russian citizenship already.”
The Ukrainian leader said that Russian President Vladimir Putin cannot stop his war machine “unless he is forced to fundamentally change his personal goals.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called on allies to urge China to use its influence with Russia to stop its offensive in UkraineImage: Ukraine Presidency/Ukrainian Pre/Planet Pix/ZUMA/picture alliance
US signals commitment to defending NATO territory after Russian drone incursion
Washington’s ambassador to the UN, Dorothy Shea, on Friday told the UN Security Council that the United States would “defend every inch of NATO territory,” as the Council discussed a Russian drone incursion into Poland earlier this week.
The incident has set off alarm bells among European leaders who have called the incident an intentional Russian escalation.
The 19 drones were shot down by NATO aircraftearly Wednesday. It is the first time since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 that Russian military hardware has been destroyed on the territory of a NATO member state.
“These actions, now with the addition of violating the airspace of a US ally — intentionally or otherwise — show immense disrespect for good-faith US efforts to bring an end to this conflict,” Shea told the Council.
Russia has denied sending the drones into Poland and maintains it was attacking Ukraine at the time of the drone incursions.
“There were no targets marked on Polish territory,” Russia’s UN Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia said, adding that it would have been “physically impossible” for the drones used in the strikes to have reached Polish territory.
“We know that it was not a mistake,” Poland’s Secretary of State Marcin Bosacki told the Council. He showed photos of a downed drone, pointing out Russian lettering on parts of it.
Shea’s statement also lamented Russia’s increased strikes on Ukraine following a meeting between US President Donald Trump and Russia’s Vladimir Putin in Alaska last month. Trump has signaled frustration with Russia as he tries to mediate an end to the war.
The US also signed a joint statement, read by Bosacki ahead of the Security Council meeting, on Friday that expressed concern about the drone incursion, accused Moscow of violating international law, while calling on Russia to stop “its war of aggression against Ukraine.”
Zelenskyy warns Putin wants to occupy all of Ukraine
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned that Russian President Vladimir Putin still wants to occupy all of Ukraine, as US mediation efforts have thus far failed.
At a press conference in Kyiv, Zelenskyy said, “Putin’s goal is to occupy all of Ukraine. And no matter what he tells anyone, it is clear that he has set the war machine in motion to such an extent that he simply cannot stop it unless he is forced to fundamentally change his personal goals.”
The Ukrainian leader also called on allies to urge China to use its influence with Russia to stop its offensive in Ukraine.
“China certainly has the ability to make the Russians stop killing. But the world has seen no effort by China to apply that to Russia,”
Zelenskyy said.
NATO launches operation ‘Eastern Sentry’ to protect eastern flank
NATO chief Mark Rutte said that the alliance will be launching a new operation “Eastern Sentry” to protect its eastern flank after Russian drones entered Polish airspace.
“Our assessment of the incidents on Wednesday is ongoing and whether or not Russia’s actions were deliberate, Russia violated NATO airspace,” Rutte said about the incident.
“Whether intentional or not, it is dangerous and unacceptable,” he added.
Rutte said that Russia’s attack on Polish airspace was the most significant violation of NATO airspace, though not the first. Similar violations have occurred in Estonia, Romania, Latvia, and Lithuania in the past.
Trump running out of patience with Putin
US President Donald Trump said that he was running out of patience with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin.
“It’s sort of running out and running out fast, but it does take two to tango,” Trump told Fox News when asked about Russia’s refusal to end the war.
He hinted that Russia might face tougher sanctions because of the war and suggested that Ukraine should compromise as well.
“It’s amazing. When Putin wants to do it, (President Volodymyr) Zelenskyy didn’t. When Zelenskyy wanted to do it, Putin didn’t. Now Zelenskyy wants to and Putin is a question mark. We’re going to have to come down very, very strong,” Trump added.
Kremlin accuses Europe of ‘hindering’ peace talks
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters that peace talks between Russia and Ukraine were “on pause,” blaming Europe.
“Our negotiators have the opportunity to communicate through channels. But for now, it is probably more accurate to talk about a pause,” he said.
“The Russian side remains ready to pursue the path of peaceful dialogue. But the fact that the Europeans are hindering this is indeed true,” he added.
US President Donald Trump’s efforts for a deal to end the fighting have failed to materialze.
European leaders had gone to the White House with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy ahead of Trump’s summit with Russia’s Vladimir Putin in Alaska, to push for security gurantees for Kyiv.
Ukraine also wants uropean troops to be deployed to the country as a peacekeeping force.
Meanwhile, Moscow maintained a series of hardline demands, including that Ukraine fully cedes the eastern Donbas region.
Germany summons Russian envoy over Poland airspace incursion
The German Foreign Ministry said it summoned the Russian ambassador in Berlin to protest the violation of Polish airspace with by Russian drones, two days after the incident.
The action was “dangerous” and “unacceptable,” the ministry said.
“NATO stands united to defend our alliance territory and our security,” the ministry wrote on social media platform X.
Germany joins other EU countries, including France and the Netherlands, in summonening Russian envoys over the incident.
On Wednesday, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said he shared Warsaw’s assessment that “the Russian government’s claim that this was a coincidence or an oversight, so to speak, is not credible.”
NATO: No immediate military threat against allies from drills
The AFP news agency is reporting, citing an unnamed NATO official, that the alliance sees no military threat in Russia and Belarus’ joint military exercivse.
“We call on Russia and Belarus to act in a predictable and transparent manner in line with their international commitments,” the official was quoted as saying. “We do not see any immediate military threat against any NATO ally.”
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte and Supreme Allied Commander Europe Alexus Grynkewich are due to give a joint news conference at the alliance’s Brussels headquarters at 5 p.m. local time (15:00 GMT).
In response to the incursion of Russian drones into Polish airspace, NATO is launching a new operation called “Eastern Sentry” to protect its members who are vulnerable to Russia.
NATO’s top commander, Alexus Grynkewich (left), stated that the alliance would defend every inch of its territory Image: Dursun Aydemir/Anadolu Agency/IMAGO
NATO chief Mark Rutte announced on Friday that the alliance is launching a new operation, “Eastern Sentry,” to protect its eastern flank in response to Russian drones entering Polish airspace.
“Our assessment of the incidents on Wednesday is ongoing and whether or not Russia’s actions were deliberate, Russia violated NATO airspace,” Rutte said about the incident.
“Whether intentional or not, it is dangerous and unacceptable,” he added.
Rutte said that the Russian drone incursion in Poland on Wednesday was the most significant violation of NATO airspace, though not the first. Similar violations have occurred in Estonia, Romania, Latvia, and Lithuania.
The new mission is set to involve a range of assets integrating air and ground bases. It will involve “allies, including Denmark, France, United Kingdom, Germany, and others,” Rutte said.
Speaking alongside Rutte, NATO’s top commander, Alexus Grynkewich, said the alliance would defend every inch of its territory.
“Poland and citizens from across the Alliance should be assured by our rapid response earlier this week and our significant announcement here today,” he said.
Grynkewich said Eastern Sentry was designed to be a flexible operation that would strengthen defenses along NATO’s entire eastern flank. This area extends from Finland and the Baltic states in the north to Romania and Bulgaria in the south.
Two separate incidents this week in DR Congo have killed at least 193 people. Dozens are missing as rescue work continues.
Boat capsizings are common in DR Congo Image: Justin Kabumba/AP Photo/picture alliance
Two separate boat accidents in the Democratic Republic of Congo this week have killed at least 193 people, authorities said Friday.
The accidents occurred on Wednesday and Thursday at locations in the northwestern Equateur province, around 150 kilometers (93 miles) from each other.
What do we know about the boat accidents?
One boat carrying nearly 500 passengers capsized after catching fire while traveling on the Congo River near Malange village, Lukolela territory, on Thursday evening, the Ministry of Social Affairs said.
In a report, the ministry said 209 survivors had been rescued, while 146 people were missing.
The boat drifted downstream as it burned, the report said, adding that the fire had destroyed the vessel’s cargo and ignited 15 homes on the riverbank.
Naval personnel and volunteers from the local community were assisting in search and rescue operations, which were still ongoing on Friday.
On Wednesday, at least 86 people — most of them students — died after a motorized boat capsized at the confluence of the Nsolo and Great Maringa rivers in Basankusu territory, according to state media.
Several people were still missing, although it was unclear how many. State media said eight survivors were rescued from the water by local residents.
The accident was caused by “improper loading and night navigation,” according to the report, which is “formally prohibited,” civil society activist Akula Mboyo said.
The “New York Declaration” outlines steps towards a Palestinian state and an end to Hamas rule in Gaza. Israel has rejected the resolution. Follow DW for the latest.
The resolution calls for “collective action to end the war in Gaza, to achieve a just, peaceful and lasting settlement” Image: Lev Radin/Pacific Press/picture alliance
Israel rejects UN resolution on two-state solution
Israel rejected a UN declaration that outlines steps towards a two-state solution between Israel and Palestinians.
In a post on X, Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesperson Oren Marmorstein said the declaration demonstrated the General Assembly was a “political circus detached from reality.”
“In the dozens of clauses of the declaration endorsed by this resolution, there is not a single mention that Hamas is a terrorist organization,” Marmorstein wrote.
Hamas is designated as a terror organization by Israel, the US, EU, Germany and others.
“The resolution does not advance a solution of peace, on the contrary, it encourages Hamas to continue the war,” he continued.
The document called for Hamas to end its rule in the Palestinian enclave and hand over its weapons to the Palestinian Authority with the support of a temporary international stabilization mission.
It also called for the release of Israeli hostages. In turn, Israel is called on to cease settlement activities in the occupied West Bank and end its military strikes on the Gaza Strip.
On Thursday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed there “will never be a Palestinian state,” as he signed off on the controversial expansion of a Israeli settlement in the occupied West Bank.
Spain, Israel trade accusations after Netanyahu ‘genocidal threat’ claim
Tensions between Madrid and Jerusalem escalated after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez of issuing a “genocidal threat” against Israel.
“I don’t think Netanyahu is exactly the person entitled to lecture anyone while committing the atrocities he is committing in Gaza,” Spanish Defense Minister Margarita Robles told Antena 3 television in response.
The dispute stems from Sanchez’s Monday announcement of measures to “put an end to the genocide in Gaza,” including an arms embargo, a ban on fuel shipments for the Israeli military and restrictions on imports from illegal settlements.
“Spain does not have nuclear bombs. Nor does it have aircraft carriers or large oil reserves. We alone cannot stop the Israeli offensive, but that does not mean we will stop trying,” Sanchez said.
Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares has summoned Israel’s charge d’affaires in Madrid, Dana Erlich, to protest comments from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office.
Spain’s Foreign Ministry said Albares called in Erlich to “categorically reject the false and slanderous statements from the Israeli prime minister’s office.”
On Thursday, Netanyahu’s office claimed those remarks amounted to a “blatant genocidal threat on the world’s only Jewish state.” Spain’s foreign ministry swiftly rejected the allegation as “false and slanderous,” stressing that “the Spanish people are friends of the people of Israel as of the people of Palestine.”
Rubio to visit Israel ahead of French push for Palestinian recognition
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will travel to Israel on Saturday to show support before French-led efforts to recognize a Palestinian state, the State Department said.
Rubio will meet Israeli leaders to reaffirm “our commitment to fight anti-Israel actions including unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state that rewards Hamas terrorism,” State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said.
Dozens reported killed in Israeli strikes on Gaza City
Palestinian medical sources say that Israeli airstrikes on Friday have killed at least 35 people across the Gaza Strip, most of them in northern Gaza City. The reports could not be independently verified.
One strike on a house in northern Gaza City was said to have killed 14 people, and many others were believed to be trapped under rubble.
The Israeli military said it would investigate and released a list of areas for Gaza City residents to evacuate ahead of an operation to seize control of the city. Suggested destinations include Nuseirat and Deir al-Balah in central Gaza, aa well as several neighborhoods of Khan Younis in the south.
UN backs resolution urging two-state solution for Israel and Palestine
The UN General Assembly has overwhelmingly approved a resolution supporting a declaration that calls for “tangible, timebound, and irreversible steps” toward a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians, without the involvement of Hamas.
The seven-page declaration stems from a July UN conference hosted by Saudi Arabia and France on the decades-long conflict. The United States and Israel boycotted the meeting.
The resolution passed with 142 votes in favor, 10 against, and 12 abstentions.
US unveils biggest sanctions yet on Yemen’s Houthis
The United States has announced new sanctions against 32 individuals, entities and four vessels linked to Yemen’s Houthi rebels, in what the Trump administration called its largest action against the Iran-aligned group.
The US Treasury said the measures aim to disrupt the Houthis’ fundraising, smuggling and attack operations. Targets include several China-based firms accused of moving military-grade components and other companies that arrange shipments of dual-use goods, along with petroleum smugglers and Houthi-linked shipping firms.
Netherlands to boycott Eurovision if Israel competes
Dutch broadcaster AVROTROS says Netherlands will skip next year’s Eurovision Song Contest if Israel participates, citing the “ongoing and severe human suffering in Gaza.”
The Netherlands joins a growing list of countries threatening to pull out of the 2026 contest in Vienna, including Ireland and Spain.
The complaint said Tesla relies heavily on H-1B visa holders for technical roles. In 2024 alone, Tesla reportedly hired approximately 1,355 visa workers while laying off more than 6,000 US employees, the majority believed to be American citizens.
Taub alleged he was discouraged from applying for a position after being told it was H-1B only. (File Photo)
A lawsuit filed against Tesla, the electric vehicle company led by Elon Musk, alleges the company systematically prefers H-1B visa holders over American citizens when hiring and firing employees to save on labour costs. The proposed class-action complaint was submitted Friday in San Francisco federal court and accuses Tesla of violating federal civil rights laws.
According to the complaint, Tesla’s alleged bias disproportionately affects US citizens, particularly in highly skilled roles that the company often fills with H-1B visa holders. The lawsuit claims that this practice allows Tesla to pay lower wages to visa-dependent employees compared with American workers performing similar duties.
ALLEGED BIAS AGAINST AMERICAN APPLICANTS
The lawsuit was brought by software engineer Scott Taub and human resources specialist Sofia Brander. Both individuals say Tesla refused to hire them after finding they would not require employment sponsorship, indicating that they were US citizens.
Taub alleged he was discouraged from applying for a position after being told it was H-1B only. He claimed the company excluded him from an interview for a second role.
Brander, who had previously worked at Tesla as a contract employee, said she was denied interviews for two positions despite her prior experience with the company.
“While visa workers make up just a fraction of the United States labour market, Tesla prefers these candidates over US citizens, as it can pay visa-dependent employees less than Americans performing the same work–a practice known in the industry as wage theft,” the complaint states.
ELON MUSK’S H-1B RELIANCE
The complaint said Tesla relies heavily on H-1B visa holders for technical roles. In 2024 alone, Tesla reportedly hired approximately 1,355 visa workers while laying off more than 6,000 US employees, the majority believed to be American citizens.
The lawsuit also quoted a social media post by Musk from December 27, 2024, in which the Tesla CEO acknowledged his own reliance on the H-1B system. Musk wrote that the visa had been critical for him and other key individuals who helped build companies such as SpaceX and Tesla.
Brittany Mahomes appeared to address Charlie Kirk’s assassination with a cryptic social media post.
On Thursday, the Kansas City Current co-owner reposted via her Instagram Story quotes by author Sharon McMahon that read, “Hate will not get us out of this mess.”
“Your feelings might lie and try to tell you otherwise, but hate doesn’t know how to heal or build, only how to harm and destroy.”
Mahomes has not confirmed whether the post is about Kirk, the right-wing activist who was shot dead while at a speaking engagement at Utah Valley University on Wednesday.
Her reps also did not immediately return Page Six’s request for comment.
Brittany Mahomes shared a post that appeared to be in response to Charlie Kirk’s killing. Instagram/Brittany Mahomes
However, the wife of Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes has been a subtle supporter of the Republican party — although she has never publicly stated for whom she voted.
In August 2024, she was called out for “liking” a “Make America Great Again” post on Instagram.
She said in response at the time, “To be a hater as an adult, you have to have some deep rooted issues you refuse to heal from childhood.
“There’s no reason your brain is fully developed and you hate to see others doing well.”
Chris Pratt wrote via X shortly after the shooting, “Praying for Charlie Kirk right now, for his wife and young children, for our country. We need God’s grace. God help us.”
Tim Allen also chimed in online, “On this sad and day remembering 9-11. I add a somber prayer for Charlie Kirks family. This is a very dark moment.”
CHARLIE Kirk’s heartbroken widow Erika Frantzve was seen for the first time since her husband’s shocking assassination.
The 31-year-old former Miss Arizona arrived in Phoenix on Thursday night alongside Vice President JD Vance and his wife Usha.
US Vice President JD Vance, his wife Usha and Charlie Kirk’s widow Erika Frantzve exit Air Force Two Credit: Reuters
Wearing dark sunglasses and clutching a rosary, brave Erika descended Air Force Two hand-in-hand with Usha before watching the conservative firebrand’s coffin be transferred to a hearse.
Kirk, 31, was fatally shot in the neck Wednesday by a sniper who opened fire from a rooftop 200 yards away as he launched his “American Comeback” tour at Utah Valley University.
Vance, who cancelled plans to attend a 9/11 commemoration at Ground Zero, personally arranged for Kirk’s casket to be flown to Arizona and stood at Erika’s side throughout the heartbreaking journey.
Earlier on Thursday, the 41-year-old vice president helped carry Kirk’s wooden casket onto Air Force Two during a private ceremony at Roland R. Wright Air National Guard Base in Salt Lake City.
Mum-of-two Erika and second lady Usha watched in silence as the coffin was placed aboard.
Vance paid tribute to Kirk in a moving post on X, calling him a true friend.
He wrote: “Charlie was constantly calling and texting, checking on our family and offering guidance and prayers.
“After every event, he would give me a big hug, tell me he was praying for me, and ask me what he could do.”
He recalled their unlikely first exchange in 2017 after a TV appearance, describing Kirk as “fascinated by ideas and always willing to learn and change his mind”.
“When others were right, he learned from them. When he was right –as he usually was – he was generous. With Charlie, the attitude was never, ‘I told you so.’ But: ‘welcome,’” Vance said.
Vance revealed Kirk had even campaigned for him before he ran for the Senate, saying: “no reason to do this, no expectation that I’d go anywhere… He did it because we were friends, and because he was a good man.”
Erika, who married the Turning Point USA founder in 2021, had been in Utah with Kirk’s parents when the assassination unfolded.
The couple shared two young children.
President Trump told reporters Thursday he had spoken at length with the devastated widow.
“I spoke to Erika, his wife. And we had a long talk,” Trump said.
“And she’s devastated. She is absolutely devastated, as you can imagine.”
Trump confirmed he will attend Kirk’s funeral, calling it an “obligation,” and announced the conservative firebrand would be posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
And on Friday morning, Trump revealed a suspect in Kirk’s assassination is in custody after being turned in by his own father.
Speaking on Fox & Friends, the President said cops have a “high degree of certainty” they have the “person they are looking for,” adding: “They have somebody that they think did it.”
Trump explained the dad, urged by a church minister, drove his son to police HQ after the sniper evaded capture for more than 24 hours.
He added: “They drove into the police headquarters. He’s there now.”
The President cautioned he was “always subject to be corrected” but said it was looking “real good.”
It comes as chilling CCTV footage released by the FBI shows the assassin sprinting across the roof of UVU’s Losee Center seconds after firing the fatal shot.
The grainy clip captures the suspect — described as a male who “appears to be of college age” — racing across the roof before lowering himself over the edge, leaping down, and blending into the crowd of students.
He left behind a palm print, footwear impression, and forearm imprints before vanishing into a wooded area, where investigators later recovered a high-powered bolt action rifle believed to be the murder weapon.
TYLER Robinson has been identified as the suspect behind the shocking assassination of right wing influencer Charlie Kirk.
The 22-year-old has been pictured for the first time today after being arrested in connection to the horror shooting.
Robinson’s mugshot has now been released Credit: Utah County Jail
His name was reported by multiple US media sources as Donald Trump sat down with Fox & Friends this morning.
During that interview, the President said cops had a “high degree of certainty” they got the “person they are looking for”.
Little is known about Robinson at this time, but it is understood he was a student at Utah State University.
Pictures from social media shed some light on the suspect, who was reported to dislike Charlie Kirk.
They also include a snap of a Halloween costume showing him “riding” Donald Trump.
Robinson had reportedly “become more political in recent years” according to his family, and had made his disdain for Kirk clear at home.
One video on Facebook shows him reading a letter that had been selected to receive a scholarship at the college.
It has been confirmed at an FBI press conference he is 22 years old, meaning he will have been born in 2002 or 2003.
The presser also confirmed that he is from Utah, where he had lived in a $600,000 six-bedroom home.
After a lengthy manhunt to chase down a suspect linked to Kirk’s shooting, Robinson was identified earlier today.
Some sources have reported that his own dad turned him in to cops.
But the Utah governor suggested it was a family friend.
In his Fox interview, Trump said that “someone very close” to the suspect had turned him in.
Robinson’s dad was involved with law enforcement, according to reports.
Sources have told the press that Robinson confessed to him, who then tipped off the authorities.
Messages were found inscribed onto bullet casing from unused ammunition.
One read: “Oh, Bella Ciao, Bella Ciao, Bella Ciao Ciao Ciao” in reference to a popular Italian anti-fascist song sung during World War II.
Others include disturbing messages such as “If you read this, you are gay lmao”.
Speaking at a press conference following Robinson’s apprehension, Utah governor Spencer Cox said a family member revealed the suspect “had become more political in recent years”.
Upon learning that Charlie Kirk was coming to town, they had “talked about why they didn’t like him”.
Investigators had interviewed one of his college roommates during their probe.
They said he had made a “joke” on the platform Discord.
Cox went on: “The content of these messages included messages affiliated with the contact Tyler stating a need to retrieve a rifle from a drop point, leaving the rifle in a bush, messages related to visually watching the area where a rifle was left, and a message referring to having left the rifle wrapped in a towel.”
XI Jinping’s largest and most advanced warship was spotted cruising past Taiwan – in China’s latest warning of an impending invasion.
The menacing carrier, dubbed the Fujian, steamed through the Taiwan Strait – issuing a chilling reminder to the West that the island nation must come under Chinese control.
China’s aircraft, the Fujian, was seen sailing through the Taiwan Strait on Friday Credit: AP
It comes as Beijing continues to pump out baseless propaganda claiming the self-governing island is part of China’s territory.
The behemoth aircraft carrier made the daring trip for the first ever time on Friday, the CCP said.
They added that the colossal vessel was doing “sea trials” ahead of its commissioning and was en route to the South China Sea.
Beijing claimed the carrier was not targeting anyone else, while state TV made similar claims.
The Fujian sailed southwest alongside two guided-missile destroyers.
The US Navy and other Western nations occasionally send warships through the strait in order to deter China’s territorial ambitions.
The red scare was seen as Xi Jinping’s newest effort to send a message to the rest of the world – that Taiwan will one day become part of China.
Although the US does not formally recognise Taiwan’s government, it does provide weaponry for its defence.
The White House also encourages that any differences between the two nations should be settled diplomatically.
Taiwan and China split in the civil war that brought the communists power in 1949.
The defeated Nationalist government fled to Taiwan and set up its own government on the island.
Beijing claimed last week it was on high alert after the Canadian frigate Quebec and the Australian destroyer Brisbane sailed through the strait.
It accused the two ships of provocative actions and claimed the journey heightened security risks.
Japan’s military said it spotted China’s latest carrier for the first time on Thursday afternoon.
The convoy was reportedly sailing about 200 kilometres from the disputed Senkaku islands, which are named the Diayou islands in China.
Both Japan and China claim the remote and uninhabited stretches of land.
It comes after President Xi Jinping wheeled out his flashy new hypersonic nukes, laser cannons and robot dogs among a slew of other impressive weapons at his major military parade in Beijing earlier this month.
With the world watching, Xi smiled as he walked flanked by Kim Jong-un and Vladimir Putin as the latest weapons were put on show.
The parade – marking the 80th anniversary of the end of World War 2 – was a big chance for Xi to flaunt his military might on the world stage.
An endless row of tanks, drones, armoured trucks, missiles and both sea and air planes were all shown off to both the Chinese people and the country’s rivals.
But some are still doubting the true nature of Beijing’s weaponry and their ability to even use them on the battlefield.
PRESIDENT Donald Trump announced that the National Guard will be deployed to another city in the United States.
Trump revealed the next city on the list for his administration’s crackdown on crime during a television appearance on Friday morning.
St. Louis, Missouri is also one of the places Trump wants to deploy the National Guard (Stock Image)Credit: Getty
“Maybe I’ll be the first to say it right now again. We’re going to Memphis,” he said during an appearance on Fox & Friends on September 12, describing the Tennessee city as “deeply troubled.”
“We’re going to Memphis, I’m just announcing that now, and we’ll straighten that out,” he said during the interview.
“We’re bringing the military too if we need it.”
According to Trump, both the governor of Tennessee, Bill Lee, and the mayor of Memphis, Paul Young, a Democrat, are “happy” with this development.
“The mayor is happy, he’s a Democrat mayor. The mayor is happy, and the governor of Tennessee. The governor’s happy,” Trump said.
“We’re gonna fix that just like we did Washington.”
He said, “Memphis is a great music city, home of Elvis and everything.”
According to Trump, he spoke with the head of Union Pacific, who is also on the board of FedEx, about which US cities he would like to see the National Guard deployed in next.
“He said, ‘Sir, Memphis would be good,'” Trump said.
“He’s on the board of FedEx. He said, ‘When I walk to my hotel, they won’t allow me to do it. They put me in an armored vehicle with bulletproof glass to take me one block.”
Memphis, Tennessee was listed on the FBI Crime Data Explorer as one of the highest nationally for its homicide rates in the year 2024.
It also ranks the highest for violent crime rates, sitting at 9,400.3 out of 100,000 residents.
But Memphis is not the only southern city that was suggested to Trump as his next target.
“I said to him, ‘Where else should we go?’ He said, ‘Sir, please, do me a favor. St. Louis has been so badly hit, it’s been hard. Very, very hard,'” Trump said of the Union Pacific boss, suggesting the city had been hit badly by crime and was ripe for similar intervention.
He claimed that corporate leaders flagged St. Louis as a growing problem, foreshadowing that it could be next in line for the National Guard sweep.
Trump also dropped a nod to Chicago, Illinois, telling Fox & Friends hosts he “would have preferred going to Chicago” instead of Memphis.
The president has previously said Chicago is one of the nation’s most violent cities and has pleaded for federal intervention.
But local politicians blocked him from taking action.
Chicago’s Mayor Brandon Johnson signed an executive order on August 30, 2025, blocking city police from working with National Guard troops or federal agents.
“Let’s not lie to the public, you and I both know you have no authority to take over Chicago,” Illinois Governor JB Pritzker said to Trump on X last month.
TRUMP’S WAR ON CRIME
On August 11, 2025, Trump announced a crackdown and deployed troops in Washington, DC.
This crackdown on the first day alone made a total of 23 arrests, consisting of homicide, firearms, and drug possession with intent to distribute.
His crackdown in DC led to over 2300 arrests as reported by Fox News.
Soccer Football – FIFA Club World Cup – Final – Chelsea v Paris St Germain – MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey, U.S. – July 13, 2025 A Chelsea fan waves a flag as they celebrate after winning the FIFA Club World Cup IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters/Vincent Carchietta/ File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
Chelsea were hit with 74 charges by the Football Association on Thursday after the London club were accused of breaching regulations covering football agents, intermediaries and third-party investment in players spanning more than a decade.
The FA did not elaborate on the charges but Chelsea said the matters were ‘self-reported’ by the club after the change in ownership in May 2022.
“The conduct that is the subject of the charges ranges from 2009 to 2022 and primarily relates to events which occurred between the 2010-11 to 2015-16 playing seasons,” the FA said in a statement.
At the time, the London club was owned by Roman Abramovich, but the Russian billionaire put Chelsea up for sale in 2022 following sanctions after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Abramovich, who bought the club in 2003, completed the sale to an investment group led by Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital.
“During a thorough due diligence process prior to completion of the purchase, the ownership group became aware of potentially incomplete financial reporting concerning historical transactions and other potential breaches of FA rules,” Chelsea said in a statement.
“Immediately upon the completion of the purchase, the club self-reported these matters to all relevant regulators, including the FA.
“The club has demonstrated unprecedented transparency during this process, including by giving comprehensive access to the club’s files and historical data.
“We will continue working collaboratively with the FA to conclude this matter as swiftly as possible.”
The FA said Chelsea have until September 19 to respond to the charge.
A source at the club told Reuters they had opened their books to the FA so England’s soccer governing body can make educated judgements on the historical payments.
The source could not reveal the nature of the charges or the irregular payments as it is an ongoing legal matter but confirmed they were related to the men’s team.
Chelsea are also hoping the FA takes their transparency into account if the alleged breaches result in sanctions which could range from fines, points deductions or even transfer bans.
PREVIOUS PUNISHMENTS
FIFA had handed Chelsea a transfer ban in 2019 after they were found guilty of breaching rules regarding 29 overseas players under the age of 18.
In July 2023, European soccer body UEFA had reached a settlement with Chelsea over the submission of incomplete financial information, related to “historical transactions” between 2012-2019.
At the time, the owners said they had proactively reported instances of potentially incomplete financial reporting to UEFA.
Two weeks later, the Premier League said it was investigating potential financial rule breaches at Chelsea under Abramovich’s ownership.
The Times reported that the inquiry encompasses multi-million-pound payments to undisclosed offshore entities, with connections to football intermediaries.
Reiterating India’s stance on the Ukraine conflict, Jaishankar said that India favours an “early end to hostilities and a durable solution for the Ukraine conflict”.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said India favours an “early end to hostilities and a durable solution for the Ukraine conflict”.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar spoke to Poland’s Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski and conveyed India’s concern over recent developments affecting Poland’s security.
In a post on X shared on Thursday, Jaishankar said: “Spoke to Foreign Minister @sikorskiradek of Poland today. He shared his concern about recent developments pertaining to Poland’s security.”
Reiterating India’s stance on the Ukraine conflict, he said that India favours an “early end to hostilities and a durable solution for the Ukraine conflict”.
Earlier, French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday announced the deployment of three Rafale fighter jets to Poland in response to recent Russian drone incursions, saying the move was aimed at strengthening NATO’s eastern flank and protecting European security.
In a post on X, Macron said, “Following the Russian drone incursions into Poland, I have decided to deploy three Rafale fighter jets to contribute to the protection of Polish airspace and of NATO’s Eastern Flank together with our Allies.”
In the photographs, a young man wearing a baseball cap and sunglasses was captured in a stairwell of a building.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Utah authorities have released new photos of the “person of interest” in connection with the murder of conservative activist and President Donald Trump’s close ally, Charlie Kirk, at Utah Valley University.
In the photographs, a young man wearing a baseball cap and sunglasses was captured in a stairwell of a building. He was seen carrying a black backpack and wearing a shirt with what appeared to be an American flag printed on it.
“We are asking for the public’s help identifying this person of interest in connection with the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University,” the FBI’s Salt Lake City office said on X on Thursday, while sharing four new images of the suspect.
The shooter who assassinated Kirk and then vanished off a roof and into the woods remained at large more than 24 hours later.
What We Know About Suspected Shooter
The screenshots were taken from the campus’s surveillance footage from before Kirk was shot dead, the Utah Department of Public Safety said.
According to authorities, the suspect is believed to be a college-aged individual. The FBI has announced a reward of up to $100,000 for information leading to the identification and arrest of the person responsible for Kirk’s murder.
Officials said they are working “around the clock” to locate the individual as the manhunt for the killer continues. Authorities also recovered a “high-powered bolt action rifle”– the weapon believed to be used in the deadly shooting. It was found in a towel in the wooded area near where the shooting took place, according to Salt Lake City FBI Special Agent Robert Bohls.
A spent cartridge was recovered from the chamber, and three other rounds were loaded in the magazine. The weapon and ammunition were being analysed by law enforcement at a federal lab.
He further stated that a “footwear impression” and “a forearm imprint” have also been found, which are also in the process of being studied.
“I can tell you this was a targeted event”, Bohls commented on the attack.
Earlier, police said Kirk was killed by a single bullet fired from the roof of the school’s Losee Centre, a campus building 100-200 yards (roughly 90-180 metres) from the event area.
But they had yet to name a suspect or cite a motive in the killing they were treating as the latest act of political violence to convulse the United States across the ideological spectrum.
Charlie Kirk’s Murder
The attack, carried out in broad daylight as Kirk spoke about social issues from a university courtyard, was captured on grisly videos that spread on social media.
The videos show Kirk, a close ally of President Donald Trump who played an influential role in rallying young Republican voters, speaking into a handheld microphone when suddenly a shot rings out. Kirk can be seen reaching up with his right hand as blood gushes from the left side of his neck. Stunned spectators gasp and scream before people start running away.
The shooter, who investigators believe blended into the campus crowd because of a “college-age” appearance, fired a single shot from the rooftop where they were perched before jumping off.
In this photo provided by the North Korean government, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, center right, and his daughter attend a completion and operation ceremony of Kangdong Greenhouse Farm in Pyongyang, North Korea, March 15, 2024. Independent journalists were not given access to cover the event depicted in this image distributed by the North Korean government. The content of this image is as provided and cannot be independently verified. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP, File)
Likely in her early teens and bearing a close resemblance to her mother, the daughter of North Korea leader Kim Jong Un is increasingly viewed as his likely heir.
The girl, believed to be named Kim Ju Ae, was in the spotlight again as she accompanied her father on his high-profile China trip, his own first visit to a major gathering of world leaders and her first known trip abroad.
Video and images carried by North Korean state media showed her right behind her father and ahead of Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui as they got off a train in Beijing, clapping as officials at the North Korean Embassy in Beijing bowed to her father, and standing near him as he was seated with senior officials in a meeting room inside his train.
South Korea’s spy agency said Sept. 11 that it assesses that the trip solidified her status as her father’s likely heir.
She is believed to be 12 or 13 years old. Not much else is known about her, but her repeated appearances at high-profile events with her father have prompted speculation that she’s being groomed as North Korea’s next leader.
China trip is analyzed intensively
In a closed-door briefing for lawmakers, the South Korean National Intelligence Service said Kim Jong Un was believed to have brought his daughter to China to help her acquire overseas experience and cement her status as his likely heir, according to lawmaker Park Sunwon, who attended the meeting.
The spy agency cited coverage of her appearances in China in the country’s main state TV station and newspaper, which target the ordinary citizens, according to lawmaker Lee Seong Kweun, who was also present at the meeting.
Her name and age are unconfirmed
North Korean state media outlets have never published her name, referring to her as Kim Jong Un’s “respected” or “most beloved” child.
The belief that she is named Ju Ae is based on an account by former NBA champion Dennis Rodman, in which he recalled holding Kim Jong Un’s baby daughter during a trip to Pyongyang in 2013.
Her exact age is unconfirmed but South Korean intelligence officials believe she was born in 2013.
In 2023, South Korea’s spy agency told lawmakers it assessed Kim Jong Un and his wife Ri Sol Ju also have an older son and a younger third child whose gender is unknown.
She’s being increasingly showcased in her father’s events
Kim Jong Un allowed his daughter to be seen in public for the first time during a test launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile in November 2022. Photos in state media showed Kim Ju Ae wearing a white coat and red shoes as she watched a soaring missile from a distance and walked hand-in-hand with her father.
Her carefully-crafted appearances have included missile tests, military parades, and the launch of a naval destroyer in April.
Kim Jong Un has recently expanded his daughter’s public appearances beyond military events to include some of his most ambitious economic projects and cultural events, including the opening of a beach resort in June.
Protesters stage a rally against the detention of South Korean workers during an immigration raid in Georgia, near the U.S. Embassy in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2025. The signs read “A tariff bomb and workers confinement.” (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
President Donald Trump’s push to revitalize American manufacturing by luring foreign investment into the U.S. has run smack into one of his other priorities: cracking down on illegal immigration.
Hardly a week after immigration authorities raided a sprawling Hyundai battery plant in Georgia, detained more than 300 South Korean workers and showed video of some of them shackled in chains, South Korean President Lee Jae Myung warned that the country’s other companies may be reluctant to take up Trump’s invitation to pour money into the United States.
The detained South Koreans were released Thursday and most were flown home.
If the U.S. can’t promptly issue visas to the technicians and other skilled workers needed to launch plants, then “establishing a local factory in the United States will either come with severe disadvantages or become very difficult for our companies,” Lee said Thursday. “They will wonder whether they should even do it.”
The raid and subsequent diplomatic crisis show how the Trump administration’s mass deportation goals are running up against its efforts to bring in money from abroad to drive the U.S. economy and create more jobs. Moves like workplace immigration enforcement and visa restrictions could risk alienating allies that are pledging to invest hundreds of billions of dollars in the U.S. to avoid high tariffs.
South Korea is already a big investor in the US
Trump’s economic agenda is built around using hefty tariffs on imports, including a 15% levy on South Korean products, as a cudgel to force manufacturing to return to the U.S. He’s repeatedly said foreign companies can escape his tariffs if they produce in America. South Korea, already a top investor, pledged to invest $350 billion in the U.S. when the two sides announced a trade deal in July.
It made more investments in new construction, such as factories, on previously undeveloped land than any other country in 2022. Last year, it ranked 12th in the world with $93 billion in total American investment — including acquisitions of existing companies, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.
But the dramatic roundup of South Koreans and others working to set up the battery plant threatens to put a chill on the investment push. Indeed, Trump seems to be trying to undo the damage.
While demanding that foreign investors “LEGALLY bring your very smart people,” Trump also promised to “make it quickly and legally possible for you to do so.”
“President Trump will continue delivering on his promise to make the United States the best place in the world to do business, while also enforcing federal immigration laws,” White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said in a statement Thursday.
For now, the South Koreans are furious and immigration experts are puzzled. It’s been common practice for decades for foreign companies — such as the Japanese and German carmakers that have built factories in the American Midwest and South — to send technical specialists from their home countries to help open plants in the United States. Most of them train U.S. workers, then go home.
“Japanese managers, senior engineers, other technical experts had to come to the United States to set this stuff up,” said Lee Branstetter, a professor of economics and public policy at Carnegie Mellon University who’s studied Japanese auto plants in the U.S.
American companies do the same thing, sending U.S. workers overseas temporarily to get operations started.
Some experts call it a baffling, ‘performative’ raid
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement launched the roundup last week at a manufacturing site that state officials have touted as Georgia’s largest economic development project.
“It’s really baffling to me why this raid would have occurred,” said Ben Armstrong, executive director of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Industrial Performance Center. “The existence of these workers shouldn’t have been a surprise.”
U.S. immigration officials could have audited the workers’ documents without the drama, retired immigration lawyer Dan Kowalski said, adding that “raiding and arresting and putting them in chains and shackles is 100% performative.”
It had to do with “wanting to look tough — arresting as many foreigners as possible for the photo-op,” said Kowalski, who is now a writer and editor.
U.S. work visa categories make it a challenge to bring in foreign workers quickly and easily, said Kevin Miner, an immigration lawyer in Atlanta.
Some run on a highly competitive lottery system, are for seasonal workers and have a cap, or are restricted to managers and executives. Other short-term visas have strict limits on employment.
After meeting with Secretary of State Marco Rubio this week in Washington, South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun said they agreed to set up a joint working group for discussions on creating a new visa category to make it easier for South Korean companies to send their staff to work in the United States.
Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau also plans to visit Seoul this weekend.
An active-duty Navy chief saw four tic-tac shaped UFOs off the coast of California while working on the USS Jackson — and convinced a doubting radar officer the craft were real with an undeniable “checkmate.”
US Navy Senior Chief Petty Officer Alexandro Wiggins witnessed multiple UFOs on radar on the evening of February 15, 2023 — observing the first one emerge seamlessly out of the ocean, he said.
“What am I seeing?” recounted Chief Wiggins, who spoke to The Post on behalf of himself as an individual and not as a representative of the Navy. “From my observations, it did in fact come from the water.”
US Navy Senior Chief Petty Officer Alexandro Wiggins during the congressional hearing on Tuesday where he became the first active duty Naval officer to publicly testify about a UFO sighting. Youtube
“It was first seen on radar and once I saw it on radar, I wanted to confirm visually what I was seeing on radar if it was clouds and atmospherics and something else.”
Wiggins then moved out to the core bridge wing of the USS Jackson and went through his mental checklist of things the object could be — but was convinced by an odd maneuver it made that it was not standard human technology.
“It [was] rising into the air high enough to where I’m like, alright, that’s definitely: A. too fast and B. not something I’ve seen before,” the 21-year Navy veteran said.
The keen-eyed officer saw three other objects moving in coordination roughly 8 nautical miles away from the USS Jackson — then reported the unknown objects to a tactical officer and rushed to observe the craft on a Sapphire radar.
A video recording of the Sapphire radar tracking was published by George Knapp and Jeremy Corbell on the Weaponized Podcast in April.
“From the video, that’s what you get, you see that original Tic-Tac object that I visually saw off the port bridge wing,” Wiggins said.
The clip showed an oval-shaped black spot on the radar moving up and down with apparent ease — and then rendezvousing with three other similarly shaped crafts.
“In utilizing the Saphire system, you’re able to see silhouettes and heat signatures of different objects. So, in relation to the tic-tacs – once it went away at near instantaneous speed, we had some skeptics in ICC-1,” Wiggins said of the other Navy men on the bridge.
At least one of the radar operators claimed the object was likely a plane, but Wiggins said he knew what he saw.
Then an actual plane passed by on the radar and its form was clearly visible, unlike the tic-tac-like figures they had just observed.
“About 30, 45 seconds pass, and I see an incoming or a passing by commercial aircraft. And so I tell the CSM, slew into that aircraft around the same location, and lo and behold, you see the air signature coming off the back. You see the wings perfectly. You see the tailwing. The side wings. You see the shape of the nose of the aircraft. You see it perfectly.”
Surveillance cameras captured the accused, identified as 37-year-old Yordanis Cobos-Martinez, retrieving a machete before charging at the victim, Chandra Mouli ‘Bob’ Nagamallaiah, outside the Downtown Suites motel. In the video, the suspect can be seen sprinting behind Nagamallaiah, grabbing him and launching a violent assault amid piercing screams.
A 50-year-old Indian-origin motel manager was brutally beheaded in Dallas, Texas, in the US, on Wednesday after a dispute with a co-worker. The killing took place in front of his wife and his 18-year-old son in broad daylight.
The most chilling details emerged through CCTV footage, now central to the investigation. Surveillance cameras captured the accused, identified as 37-year-old Yordanis Cobos-Martinez, retrieving a machete before charging at the victim, Chandra Mouli ‘Bob’ Nagamallaiah, outside the Downtown Suites motel. In the video, the suspect can be seen sprinting behind Nagamallaiah, grabbing him and launching a violent assault amid piercing screams.
Graphic Footage Warning: Visuals can be disturbing. Viewers’ discretion advised.
Horrific Graphic Visual. 50-year-old Chandra Nagamallaiah, Indian American, was beheaded at a Dallas motel on Wednesday morning. The police have arrested suspect as 37-year-old Yordanis Cobos-Martinez. It is also a factual truth in American societies that racism and… https://t.co/iKL07xDnl5
Another clip shows Nagamallaiah desperately fleeing toward the motel office where his wife and 18-year-old son were present. The attacker pursued him inside, ignoring their desperate attempts to intervene. In front of his terrified family, Cobos-Martinez slit Nagamallaiah’s throat, an act that left his family horrified.
Accused Seen Walking With Victim’s Severed Head
Perhaps the most disturbing sequence comes from footage in the parking lot. The victim’s severed head is seen rolling several feet before the accused returns into frame. He is seen wiping his hands, casually lifting the head and placing it against a wall. The video then shows him walking calmly toward the road even as emergency vehicles arrive, while panicked pedestrians run from the scene.
Police later confirmed that the argument stemmed from a broken washing machine. Cobos-Martinez, with prior arrests in Houston for auto theft and assault, allegedly grew furious after Nagamallaiah asked someone else to translate instructions instead of addressing him directly.
Accused Arrested
The suspect has since been arrested and charged with capital murder, reported PTI. He is being held without bond and prosecutors have indicated he could face either life imprisonment without parole or the death penalty if convicted.
G7 finance ministers will debate new US proposals for tougher economic measures on Russia, as Washington urges allies to escalate pressure and accelerate Europe’s shift from Russian energy.
G7 leaders at the Summit at Kananaskis in June this year. (Photo: PTI)
The Donald Trump administration in the US will pressure G7 countries to hit India and China with sharply higher tariffs for buying Russian oil in an attempt to force Moscow into peace talks with Ukraine, British daily Financial Times reported, citing people briefed on the plans.
The suggested tariff levels are said to be between 50 and 100 percent. Finance ministers from the G7 — Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States — are scheduled to discuss the proposal in a video call on Friday.
This follows President Trump’s earlier appeal this week for the European Union to implement similar tariffs.
“Chinese and Indian purchases of Russian oil are funding Putin’s war machine and prolonging the senseless killing of the Ukrainian people. Earlier this week, we made it clear to our EU allies that if they are serious about ending the war in their own backyard, they need to join us and impose meaningful tariffs that will be rescinded the day the war ends,” the US Treasury department spokesperson told Financial Times.
Canada, which holds the G7 presidency, confirmed the meeting, saying it would consider “further measures to increase pressure on Russia and limit their war machinery”.
The push comes as Washington steps up pressure on allies to align with Trump’s “Peace and Prosperity Administration” initiative aimed at bringing Russia to the negotiating table. The US administration believes that exerting economic pressure on India and China, Russia’s largest oil buyers, could significantly weaken Moscow’s economy.
Last month, the Trump administration raised tariffs on Indian imports to 50 per cent, — 25 per cent reciprocal duty and a 25 per cent punitive levy tied to India’s Russian oil purchases. In April, Trump also hiked tariffs on Chinese imports but partially rolled them back in May after facing a sharp market backlash.
Last week, Donald Trump called on the European Union to hit China and India with tariffs of up to 100 per cent to force Russian president Vladimir Putin to end the war in Ukraine. The US president made the demand during a meeting between US and EU officials, discussing options to increase economic pressure on Russia.
The European Union, however, remains hesitant. Officials are wary of slapping steep tariffs on two of their biggest trading partners, citing economic risks and the likelihood of retaliation from Beijing. Instead, Brussels is pushing to accelerate its 2027 deadline for phasing out Russian energy imports, while also considering tighter sanctions.
(Left to right) David St Hubbins, Derek Smalls and Nigel Tufnel of the fictional Squatney band Spinal Tap, pictured in 1984
Spinal Tap have never had much luck with drummers.
As fans of the parody British rock band will know, their original sticksman, John “Stumpy” Pepys, died in what was described in the original 1984 mockumentary as “a bizarre gardening accident”.
His replacement, Eric “Stumpy Joe” Childs, fared no better. He died having choked on (someone else’s) vomit, while the next man behind the kit, Peter “James” Bond, also perished in mysterious circumstances. He exploded on stage, taking the rock ‘n’ roll death cliche to its natural comic conclusion.
Now, more than 40 years after the release of This Is Spinal Tap – the film that would go on to inspire many other deadpan, fake documentaries including The Office – the band are back together for a sequel which finds them in search of a new drummer, to help them fulfil a freshly triggered contractual obligation: one last gig in New Orleans.
“We looked everywhere [for a drummer] but people knew our history somehow and they said, ‘no thank you’,” says frontman David St Hubbins, played by Michael McKean, but speaking to us in character alongside his two bandmates.
The film sees drum heroes Questlove, Lars Ulrich and Chad Smith all sounded out about taking on the most dangerous role in rock, but they decline, leaving room for newcomer Didi Crockett (Valerie Franco).
“They thought of all these reasons not to play, and then here comes this lovely girl who says, ‘I’ll play in your bloody band. I will dare the Reaper’,” he explains.
Bassist Derek Smalls, played by Harry Shearer – also the voice of Mr Burns in The Simpsons – confirms: “People made up excuses like, ‘I’ve got to wash the dog.’
“But the key was to get somebody who was fully breathing. And had no dog.”
“Yeah that helped a lot,” agrees guitarist Nigel Tufnel, portrayed by Christopher Guest in his best mockney accent. “Young is good as well because you’ve got a better chance of survival.”
In truth, Spinal Tap exist in a weird realm somewhere in-between fiction and reality.
While the hilariously inept “British” band were the brainchild of the American improvisers who play them, along with US director Rob Reiner, such has been their popularity since the first film that they have gone on to perform in real life to fans at Wembley Arena, Glastonbury Festival, the Royal Albert Hall and Carnegie Hall.
The foursome won a legal battle in 2020, after four years in court, to reclaim the rights to their own creation – which they claimed had earned them next to nothing due to some alleged “Hollywood accounting” – and potentially revive the franchise.
In Spinal Tap II: The End Continues, Reiner, who also directed Stand By Me and When Harry Met Sally, reprises his role as documentary filmmaker Marty DiBergi.
He investigates what the rockers have been up to in the 15 years since their tumultuous split as a way to immortalise their reunion gig.
The concert has come about after Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood’s country cover of the band’s track Big Bottom went viral, propelling them back into the charts (think Kate Bush and Stranger Things).
DiBergi finds Tufnel working as a cheesemonger in Berwick-upon-Tweed, Smalls as the proprietor of London glue museum and St Hubbins living in Los Angeles making answering machine jingles.
The groundbreaking first film – Ricky Gervais’s favourite – focused on Tap’s disastrous US tour, and the band still brand DiBergi’s treatment as “a hatchet job”.
It wasn’t a huge box office success at first but slowly became a cult classic (“a cult with no leader,” jokes Smalls), as videotapes (and later DVDs and links) got passed down the generations.
As well as their countless comically deceased drummers, the 1980s band were also known for being the loudest around. Their amps, like the volume settings on BBC’s iPlayer and Tesla cars, famously went all the way up to 11. Lesser bands stuck on 10 could only dream of such dizzy sonic heights.
In 2002, the phrase “up to eleven” entered an Oxford English Dictionary phrasebook to describe anything going beyond its supposed maximum.
I wonder, how will they sound in the modern era?
“Marshall made me a new amplifier some years ago,” reveals Tufnel. “It goes to infinity on the dial. It just keeps turning.
“There should be no boundary at all in terms of sound, of volume or anything else. And so they’ve done that for me as a custom feature.”
“They actually test those amplifiers on fish,” St Hubbins chips in.
“It’s carp actually, the saddest fish really, isn’t it?” Tufnel continues.
“But if you blast them underwater speakers, it’s the only time it makes them have an expression on their face.”
The film has received some positive early reviews. Awarding four stars, the Guardian said the “still funny” mockusequel was full of “pin-sharp laughs and melancholy”.
The Radio Times suggested “such beloved characters deserve a better film”, while the Telegraph offered only three stars, telling fans to “dial down your expectations to -11”.
“Despite some great lines and an inspired climax, the rock spoof’s sequel doesn’t come close to the comic genius of the original,” the newspaper said.
Actors Chris Addison and Kerry Godliman recently told The One Show it had become a sort of “holy text of comedy”.
Addison plays the band’s pompous new promoter while Godliman plays the daughter of their late manager who is now looking after their legal affairs in light of a newly discovered chart return gig clause.
While the likes of Steven Tyler, Axl Rose and Ozzy Osbourne didn’t find the original that funny as it was all too real for them, it has become a rite of passage for bands to experience their own “Spinal Tap moment”: when everything goes spectacularly wrong.
Some of the funniest moments from the first film, including the band getting lost backstage, or the ridiculous food requests on their rider, are at least in-part inspired by true stories. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers apparently got lost backstage, while Van Halen prohibited the presence of any brown M&Ms.
Reiner recently told the Discourse podcast with Mike DeAngelo: “We tried to be as honest as we could as to what really happens on rock ‘n’ roll tours and I think that’s what resonates with people.
“When I first met Sting, he told me he’s seen it many times and every time he watches it he doesn’t know whether to laugh or cry.”
He added: “We love rock ‘n’ roll… but there are excesses that we can make fun of.”
No-one knows more about all that than actual rock ‘n’ roll knights of the realm, Sirs Elton John and Paul McCartney who both feature in the new film.
DONALD Trump has revealed Charlie Kirk’s heartbroken wife Erika is “absolutely devastated” after the conservative firebrand was shot dead.
The former beauty queen, 36, held a “long talk” with the US President earlier today after a cowardly rooftop sniper opened fire on Kirk at a university event in Utah.
Heartbroken wife Erika Kirk today paid tribute to Charlie after the assassination of KirkCredit: Instagram/charliekirk1776
Kirk and Erika shared a three-year-old daughter and a one-year-old son.
Speaking to reporters outside of the White House Donald Trump opened up on his phone call with a shaken Erika.
He said: “I spoke to Erika his wife and we had a long talk and she is devastated, she’s absolutely devastated as you can imagine.”
Erika is yet to publicly comment on the loss of the 31-year-old MAGA ally who often said raising a family was his “greatest privilege.”
Just two weeks ago, Kirk had posted online saying: “Having a family will change your life in the best ways.”
His killer remains on the run with the FBI continuing to search for the gunman who pulled off the chilling targeted assassination.
Kirk’s body is due to be returned to his home in Arizona in the coming days where he will be reunited with Erika.
Vice President JD Vance arrived in Salt Lake City, Utah, earlier today on Air Force Two to pick up his late friend’s remains.
Though hailed as one of Donald Trump’s most powerful young allies, Kirk’s life away from the political spotlight was devoted to Erika and their children.
Rather than red-carpet parties, the couple preferred trips to Sesame Street sets and basketball games with their kids.
The proud dad wrote once: “Raising my children with Erika was the greatest privilege.”
Erika, crowned Miss Arizona USA in 2012, described her husband in a recent speech: “He is my husband Charlie Kirk, he is a force. He is the force.
“He is bold when the world demands silence. He is fearless where others flinch.”
The pair regularly shared their affection in public and Erika often urged women to “empower and encourage and love your husband.”
She added: “If you married the right man and equally yoked this is easier to do.”
THE RISE OF A FIREBRAND
Kirk went from high school dropout to founder of Turning Point USA — a non-profit he built into a $100million political powerhouse credited with helping deliver Trump’s second presidential win.
He cut his teeth carrying bags and fetching Diet Cokes for Donald Trump Jr, who remembered him last night as “like a little brother to me — and to millions of people around the world — he was a true inspiration.”
Charlie’s outspoken podcast The Charlie Kirk Show and campus tours made him a household name among conservative Gen Z voters.
But his proudest role was father. “Raising my children with Erika was the greatest privilege,” he wrote.
HORROR IN UTAH
Kirk was assassinated while speaking at Utah Valley University, the first stop of his “America Comeback Tour.”
Authorities say he was shot dead by a sniper positioned on a rooftop a few hundred yards away.
Two people initially arrested were later released, and a huge manhunt is now under way.
The FBI says the suspect is a male of “college age” who used a high-powered bolt action rifle.
Forensic experts recovered a palm print and forearm imprints, and investigators are tracing his movements before and after the attack.
If they fail to track him down soon, images of the suspect may be released.
Trump quickly turned to Truth Social to share his grief.
Confirming Kirk’s death on Truth Social, he wrote: “The Great, and even Legendary, Charlie Kirk, is dead.”
Hours later he appeared on video, saying he was “filled with grief and anger at the heinous assassination of Charlie Kirk” and branding it a “dark moment for America.”
“Multiple leads are currently being investigated, but no suspect is in custody,” say Utah law enforcement officials.
A man places a candle during a vigil at Orem City Center Park, after US right-wing activist and commentator, Charlie Kirk, an ally of US President Donald Trump, was fatally shot during an event at Utah Valley University, Sep 11, 2025. (Photo: Reuters/Jim Urquhart)
US President Donald Trump urged supporters on Thursday (Sep 11) to respond peacefully to the killing of right-wing campaigner Charlie Kirk, as the murderer continued to evade a manhunt more than 24 hours after the shooting put an already divided US on edge.
Trump, who soon after the killing angrily pledged a wide-ranging response against the “radical left”, told reporters that Kirk had been “an advocate of nonviolence”.
“That’s the way I’d like to see people respond,” he said.
Kirk, a 31-year-old superstar on the Republican right who sparked surging youth support for Trump, was shot while addressing a large crowd at Utah Valley University on Wednesday.
A day later, authorities said the gunman remained at large.
“Multiple leads are currently being investigated, but no suspect is in custody,” Utah law enforcement officials posted, after cancelling a previously scheduled media briefing.
“We’re doing everything we can to find him, and we’re not sure how far he has gone yet,” FBI Special Agent Robert Bohls said earlier.
The FBI, which described the attack on Kirk as “targeted”, published grainy photos of a young person it called “the potential shooter”.
The pictures showed a man wearing a black baseball cap, dark sunglasses, and what appeared to be jeans, with a long-sleeved top emblazoned with a design that included an American flag.
A reward of up to US$100,000 was posted for information leading to his capture.
Police say they believe the shooter fired a single bullet from a rooftop up to 180m, hitting Kirk in the neck.
A high-powered bolt-action rifle was recovered in a wooded area.
“DARK MOMENT”
Reflecting the highly political nature of the killing, Kirk’s coffin was transported to his home city of Phoenix on JD Vance’s official plane.
Footage showed the vice president with his hands on the casket as it was carried to Air Force 2.
Kirk’s widow, Erika, held hands with Vance’s wife as they got off the plane in Arizona, the headquarters of the powerful Turning Point USA.
The right-wing mediasphere remained in a state of heightened emotion Thursday, with Fox News contributors recounting the impact Kirk had on their lives.
Conspiracy theories ricocheted around the internet, while calls for a return to civility vied with those demanding vengeance.
“THIS IS WAR” wrote the popular right-wing X account of @LibsofTikTOK
Fox News host Jesse Watters on Wednesday said the killing signified that his side of the political spectrum was under attack.
“Whether we want to accept it or not, they are at war with us. And what are we going to do about it?” he asked his audience.
“MARTYR” FOR THE RIGHT
Students at Utah Valley University on Thursday described the shock and their broader fears as political divisions deepen across the country.
Dave Sanchez told AFP that witnessing the killing made him “sick to my stomach”.
“We watch him all the time, and so it really does feel like one of your own family members, your own brother’s been killed,” said Sanchez, 26.
Kirk, who supporters have hailed as a “martyr” for conservative ideals, had an outsized influence in US politics.
He co-founded Turning Point USA in 2012 to drive conservative viewpoints among young people, with his natural showmanship making him a go-to spokesman on television networks.
Kirk used his enormous audiences on TikTok, Instagram and YouTube to build support for anti-immigration policies, outspoken Christianity and gun ownership, and to spread carefully edited clips of his interactions during debates at his many college events.
Three months ago, a Minnesota man shot dead a Democratic lawmaker and her husband in their home, and Trump survived an assassination attempt during his election campaign in July 2024.
Javed Ali, an associate professor of practice at the University of Michigan’s Gerald R Ford School of Public Policy, said it is difficult to form a complete picture of the gunman. He noted that the individual appeared capable of carrying out the attack but then acted rashly and carelessly afterward.
Ali, a former senior official at the National Security Council during the first Trump administration from 2017 to 2021, added that this kind of targeted political violence is not new.
The Trump administration wants to drastically cut how long foreign journalists are allowed to live and work in the US. Media groups, including DW, say the move would erode press freedoms.
Media groups say current visa rules already provide ‘for strict accountability, transparency and compliance’Image: Alex Brandon/AP Photo/picture alliance
Over 100 media organizations from around the world have called for the United States government to roll back a proposal that would severely shorten how long foreign journalists are permitted to live and work in the country.
Under the current regulations, journalists holding the I visa are permitted to stay in the US for periods of five years that can be renewed indefinitely.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) under Kristi Noem, a conservative ally of US President Donald Trump, wants to shorten that period to just 240 days.
What have the world’s media said about the proposal?
In a joint statement, 118 media groups — including DW — urged the Trump administration to keep the I visa program in place.
Allowing journalists to spend “years, not months” in the country serves US interests by “ensuring that America’s policies, culture, and leadership are clearly and accurately communicated to international audiences in their own languages,” the statement said.
Disrupting the current system “risks leaving the world less informed about American news and current affairs,” it added.
“Rival nations and powerful adversaries will waste no time in filling the resulting vacuum with narratives about the US that serve their own interests before the truth,” the media groups warned.
“The US has always stood for openness, freedom of expression and a strong, independent press. Restricting foreign media access risks undermining that legacy because it emulates countries where press freedom is near extinct. That would damage, not enhance, America’s global standing,” they said.
In a statement, DW’s Director General Peter Limbourg said, “The proposed changes to US visa regulations would directly affect our ability to maintain a strong journalistic presence in the United States.
“It would limit access for our international correspondents, undermining our mission to provide independent news coverage. Deutsche Welle stands firmly with its international media partners as we call on US authorities to ensure fair conditions for foreign media organizations,” Limbourg said.
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) also urged the Trump administration to “abandon” the proposal, saying “it serves no purpose other than to erect unnecessary barriers for foreign reporters and will produce a chilling effect on press freedom.”
Who else would be affected by the proposed visa changes?
The DHS also wants to limit holders of F and J visas, which affect foreign students and people visiting as part of exchange programs.
It explained that since 1978, foreign students holding F visas have been able to remain in the US for “an indefinite amount of time without further screening and vetting.”
These students “have taken advantage of US generosity and have become ‘forever’ students, perpetually enrolled in higher education courses to remain” in the country, the DHS said in a press release.
“For too long, past Administrations have allowed foreign students and other visa holders to remain in the US virtually indefinitely, posing safety risks, costing untold amounts of taxpayer dollars, and disadvantaging US citizens,” a DHS spokesperson said.
“This new proposed rule would end that abuse once and for all” and ease “the burden on the federal government to properly oversee foreign students and their history,” it added.
Just hours after Congress released Jeffrey Epstein’s so-called “birthday book,” which included a note from Leon Black, MoMA welcomed the financier and art collector — along with another Epstein associate — to a swank bash.
On Monday Congress released the book, which most famously includes a drawing that appears to have been signed by Donald Trump, showing for the first time a poem apparently penned by Black to honor Epstein’s 50th birthday. (Trump denies that he signed the book).
Soon after Congress released Jeffrey Epstein’s so-called “birthday book,” financier Leon Black arrived at a MoMA party. REUTERS
The verse in the 2003 tribute includes lines like “A liver, a lover, a Jeff, a Jeffrey/Let’s all give a cheer for today he’s 50” and “Wet dream and cauchemar, an architecht’s wild spree/Moscow, Paris, Santa Fe, Alhambar East jamboree.”
So art insiders were wide-eyed to see Black, as well as fellow Epstein pal Glenn Dubin, stride into a private party, apparently hosted by the institution itself, at the Midtown museum a few hours later.
Black — who owns, among other important pieces, a version of Edvard Munch’s “The Scream” — stepped down as chairman of the museum in 2021 after protest from artists and workers over his connections to Epstein.
On Tuesday, a rep for Black told us, “Mr. Black was proud to be at the dinner as a longtime supporter of the arts and member of the MoMA board.”
Black has said that he had a “limited relationship” with the late pedophile and that he regrets their association. A review carried by a legal firm found that, while Black paid him millions for financial services, the former Apollo Global Management head didn’t know about his sexual misconduct.
Also on the scene was Dubin, who was also a longtime pal of Epstein’s. Epstein victim Virginia Giuffre claimed that Epstein’s girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell once instructed her to sleep with Dubin.
A rep for Dubin strongly denied the allegation to the Post in 2024 after Giuffre testified about the alleged tryst, calling her statements “unsubstantiated.”
Both Black and Dubin have galleries in MoMA named after them.
Wasn’t this the plot of the Zendaya movie “Challengers”?
Sports Illustrated Swimsuit model Brooks Nader was romantically playing doubles with both men’s finalists at the 2025 US Open, a source tells us.
The reality honey deuce was dating both the tennis tournament’s No. 1 and 2 seeds — archrivals Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner — at the time of the tournament, a source tells Page Six.
Brooks Nader was dating tennis pros Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz during the US Open, a source tells Page Six. Getty Images
Call it the opposite of a double fault!
Nader’s tennis romance buzz was first served up on SiriusXM’s Page Six Radio late last month when the star of the new Hulu reality show, “Love Thy Nader,” and her sisters revealed the Sports Illustrated alum was playing the field (or the court?) with “a little roster” of suitors.
Grace Ann Nader said her older sister was seeing men from “every field and court” — but “not the NBA” kind.
Grace Ann then dropped another clue about her sister’s beau, telling us his name “rhymes with winner.” (Meaning Italian star Sinner!)
The chatty sibling quipped, “There are many players in the game,” before Brooks, 28, told her, “Stop talking! I’m going to punch you when we get home already.”
After the Page Six Radio exclusive, late-night host Jimmy Kimmel asked Brooks flat out if she was dating Sinner, to which she replied, “Is this, like, an interrogation? I’m so scared right now,” before adding, “You’re close… you’re warm.”
Then on Wednesday, Grace Ann threw us a curveball when she told to E! her sister was actually romancing 24-year-old Sinner’s biggest competitor.
“Dating is such a loose term, but I do know he’s the man of the hour,” Grace Ann revealed.
Brooks had been sitting front row when Alcaraz, 22, played Arthur Rinderknech at the Open on Aug. 31. The Spanish athlete then went on to beat Sinner in the finals on Sept. 7.
Reps for Nader did not comment, and reps for Alcaraz and Sinner did not immediately get back to us.
Conservative influencer Charlie Kirk’s killer remains at large after his shooting on a Utah college campus. The FBI officials on Friday released a video footage showing the suspect running and jumping from a rooftop.
Charlie Kirk shooting: Suspect seen fleeing rooftop after fatal attack
The US investigators on Friday (Thursday in US time) released new photos and video footage of a person of interest in the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, saying they had recovered the rifle believed to have been used in the politically charged shooting.
At a press briefing, officials said security-camera footage showed a man climbing stairwells to reach a campus rooftop, firing the fatal shot, then running and jumping down before fleeing the area.
Video also captured the suspect crossing a street and heading into a wooded area where police later found a “high-powered, bolt-action” rifle. Investigators said the man left a palm print and other DNA evidence on the building.
The FBI offered a USD 100,000 reward for information leading to the shooter’s arrest and circulated grainy security-camera images showing the suspect dressed in a black long-sleeved top with a bald eagle and US flag print, black sunglasses, a dark baseball cap, and carrying a backpack. Utah authorities later released slightly clearer images showing more details of the man’s clothing, backpack, and Converse shoes.
Officials have not yet identified the suspect or confirmed a motive. US President Donald Trump, who called Kirk’s death a “heinous assassination,” told reporters that he had some indication of the killer’s motive but did not elaborate, saying, “We’ll let you know about that later.” He added that law enforcement was making “big progress” in the case.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was speaking during a signing ceremony for a controversial settlement that would effectively cut the occupied West Bank off from East Jerusalem.
The E1 project could further isolate Israel from its Western allies, who have largely condemned the plansImage: Menahem Kahana/AFP
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that “there will be no Palestinian state.”
Netanyahu made the remarks during a visit to the Maale Adumim settlement in the occupied West Bank.
He formally signed a proposal that will see thousands of new homes built nearby as part of controversial plans to expand West Bank settlements.
“We are going to fulfill our promise that there will be no Palestinian state, this place belongs to us,” Netanyahu said.
“We will safeguard our heritage, our land and our security,” the Israeli prime minister added during the event, which was livestreamed by his office.
What do we know about the E1 settlement project?
The project will see around 3,400 new homes built on a tract of land known as E1 that is roughly 12 square kilometers (five square miles) in size.
It will cut through the occupied West Bank, isolating it from East Jerusalem.
Palestinians view East Jerusalem as the capital of a potential future state. The principle is central to the two-state solution, which the majority of the international community supports.
The project was approved last month by Israel’s right-wing government
Several Western governments, including Germany, have condemned the plans.
The project had been stalled for years amid strong opposition from the international community.
Israeli settlements in the West Bank, which Israel occupied in 1967, are illegal under international law.
“Multiple leads are currently being investigated, but no suspect is in custody,” say Utah law enforcement officials.
A man places a candle during a vigil at Orem City Center Park, after US right-wing activist and commentator, Charlie Kirk, an ally of US President Donald Trump, was fatally shot during an event at Utah Valley University, Sep 11, 2025. (Photo: Reuters/Jim Urquhart)
US President Donald Trump urged supporters on Thursday (Sep 11) to respond peacefully to the killing of right-wing campaigner Charlie Kirk, as the murderer continued to evade a manhunt more than 24 hours after the shooting put an already divided US on edge.
Trump, who soon after the killing angrily pledged a wide-ranging response against the “radical left”, told reporters that Kirk had been “an advocate of nonviolence”.
“That’s the way I’d like to see people respond,” he said.
Kirk, a 31-year-old superstar on the Republican right who sparked surging youth support for Trump, was shot while addressing a large crowd at Utah Valley University on Wednesday.
A day later, authorities said the gunman remained at large.
“Multiple leads are currently being investigated, but no suspect is in custody,” Utah law enforcement officials posted, after cancelling a previously scheduled media briefing.
“We’re doing everything we can to find him, and we’re not sure how far he has gone yet,” FBI Special Agent Robert Bohls said earlier.
The FBI, which described the attack on Kirk as “targeted”, published grainy photos of a young person it called “the potential shooter”.
The pictures showed a man wearing a black baseball cap, dark sunglasses, and what appeared to be jeans, with a long-sleeved top emblazoned with a design that included an American flag.
A reward of up to US$100,000 was posted for information leading to his capture.
Police say they believe the shooter fired a single bullet from a rooftop up to 180m, hitting Kirk in the neck.
A high-powered bolt-action rifle was recovered in a wooded area.
“DARK MOMENT”
Reflecting the highly political nature of the killing, Kirk’s coffin was transported to his home city of Phoenix on JD Vance’s official plane.
Footage showed the vice president with his hands on the casket as it was carried to Air Force 2.
Kirk’s widow, Erika, held hands with Vance’s wife as they got off the plane in Arizona, the headquarters of the powerful Turning Point USA.
The right-wing mediasphere remained in a state of heightened emotion Thursday, with Fox News contributors recounting the impact Kirk had on their lives.
Conspiracy theories ricocheted around the internet, while calls for a return to civility vied with those demanding vengeance.
“THIS IS WAR” wrote the popular right-wing X account of @LibsofTikTOK
Fox News host Jesse Watters on Wednesday said the killing signified that his side of the political spectrum was under attack.
“Whether we want to accept it or not, they are at war with us. And what are we going to do about it?” he asked his audience.
“MARTYR” FOR THE RIGHT
Students at Utah Valley University on Thursday described the shock and their broader fears as political divisions deepen across the country.
Dave Sanchez told AFP that witnessing the killing made him “sick to my stomach”.
“We watch him all the time, and so it really does feel like one of your own family members, your own brother’s been killed,” said Sanchez, 26.
Kirk, who supporters have hailed as a “martyr” for conservative ideals, had an outsized influence in US politics.
He co-founded Turning Point USA in 2012 to drive conservative viewpoints among young people, with his natural showmanship making him a go-to spokesman on television networks.
Kirk used his enormous audiences on TikTok, Instagram and YouTube to build support for anti-immigration policies, outspoken Christianity and gun ownership, and to spread carefully edited clips of his interactions during debates at his many college events.
Three months ago, a Minnesota man shot dead a Democratic lawmaker and her husband in their home, and Trump survived an assassination attempt during his election campaign in July 2024.
Poland shot down suspected Russian drones in its airspace on Wednesday with the backing of aircraft from its NATO allies, the first time a member of the Western military alliance is known to have fired shots during Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk told parliament it was “the closest we have been to open conflict since World War Two,” though he also said he had “no reason to believe we’re on the brink of war.”
Polish F-16 fighter jets, Dutch F-35s, Italian AWACS surveillance planes, and NATO mid-air refuelling aircraft scrambled in an operation to shoot down drones entering Polish airspace from Tuesday evening until morning, officials said.
One drone smashed into pensioner Tomasz Wesolowski’s two-storey brick house in the eastern Polish village of Wyryki-Wola at 6:30 a.m. while he was downstairs watching news about the incursion.
The roof was destroyed, and debris was strewn across the bedroom. Wesolowski told Reuters the house “needs to be demolished.”
A blackened spot in a field elsewhere in southeastern Poland showed where some other drones had fallen.
MOSCOW DENIES RESPONSIBILITY
Moscow denied responsibility for the incident, with a senior diplomat in Poland saying the drones had come from the direction of Ukraine. Russia’s Defence Ministry said its drones had carried out a major attack on military facilities in western Ukraine, but it had not planned to hit any targets in Poland.
U.S. President Donald Trump spoke with Polish President Karol Nawrocki, a conservative nationalist and political ally whom Trump hosted at the White House last week. “This conversation is part of a series of consultations I’ve been conducting with our allies,” Nawrocki said in a post on X. “Today’s talks reaffirmed our unity.”
Ahead of the phone call, Trump posted on social media: “What’s with Russia violating Poland’s airspace with drones? Here we go!” He did not elaborate.
The leaders of France, Britain, Germany, and Canada were among the NATO leaders to condemn the suspected Russian incursion.
European leaders, who have been trying to persuade Trump to join them in tightening sanctions on Russia and boosting support for Kyiv, said it justified a collective response.
Slovenia, Denmark, Greece, France, and Britain have asked the United Nations Security Council to meet on Friday over what they deemed Russian violations of Polish airspace, diplomats said.
Poland said 19 objects had entered its airspace during a large Russian air attack on Ukraine, and that it had shot down those posing a threat.
Tusk called the incident a “large-scale provocation” and said he had activated Article 4 of NATO’s treaty, under which alliance members can demand consultations with their allies.
Neither Poland nor NATO has yet given a full account of what they suspect the drones were doing. One senior military source said at least five of the drones’ flight paths indicated they were headed towards Rzeszow airport, NATO’s main hub for arms supplies to Ukraine.
A member of the Polish Army inspects a damaged house, after Russian drones violated Polish airspace during an attack on Ukraine and some were shot down by Poland, in Wyryki, Lublin Voivodeship, Poland, September 10, 2025. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel Purchase Licensing Rights
TESTING NATO CAPABILITIES?
The source said Russia may have been testing the capabilities of NATO’s air defences and warning systems.
NATO referred questions to alliance chief Mark Rutte’s remarks earlier when he said an investigation was ongoing but that the incursion was “absolutely reckless.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said, after speaking by phone to Tusk, Rutte, and other European leaders, that the drone incursion into Poland meant Europe had to work on creating a joint air defence.
Andrey Ordash, Russia’s charge d’affaires in Poland, was cited by the RIA state news agency as calling accusations of an incursion “groundless” and said Poland had not given any evidence that the drones were of Russian origin.
The Kremlin declined to comment directly on the incident, but spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said the EU and NATO “accuse Russia of provocations on a daily basis.”
The Czech Defence Ministry said it was ready in the coming days to send three Mi-171S helicopters to Poland to aid its defence against drones at lower altitudes.
During the incident, the Operational Command of the Polish Armed Forces urged residents to stay home, with three eastern regions at particular risk.
Several Polish airports were temporarily closed, including Rzeszow, which has been used as the main access point for Western officials and supplies travelling to Ukraine overland.
The suspected incursion was conducted at least in part with Gerbera drones, according to a Polish army official. It is a cheap long-range drone that Ukrainian intelligence says is assembled from kits supplied by Chinese manufacturer Skywalker Technology at Russia’s Yelabuga facility.
Countries bordering Ukraine have reported occasional Russian missiles or drones entering their airspace during the war, but not on such a large scale, and they are not known to have shot them down. Two people were killed in Poland in 2022 by a Ukrainian air defence missile that went astray.
Since NATO’s creation in 1949, Article 4 has been invoked seven times, most recently in February 2022 following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
“This is going to shock the NATO alliance and the border countries, they’re all in the same situation,” said Riki Ellison, an expert on missile defence close to U.S. and allied military forces.
“It’s not the beginning of World War Three, but it’s evolving Russia’s understanding of how we fight and our weaknesses.”
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Russian President Vladimir Putin walk with Chinese President Xi Jinping as they attend a military parade marking the 80th anniversary of the end of World War Two, in Beijing, China, September 3, 2025, in this picture released by the Korean Central News Agency. KCNA via REUTERS/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
Beyond the bonhomie of Xi Jinping’s unprecedented meeting with Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un last week, there are limits to what the European Union described as an “autocratic alliance” defying the West, diplomats, lawmakers and analysts said.
While the gathering at China’s Sept. 3 military parade sparked concern among some world leaders that they were bearing witness to an important geopolitical shift, Beijing, Moscow and Pyongyang are far from forming a cohesive bloc, the sources said.
They pointed to the lack of an official trilateral summit during the event and uncertainty over marquee economic deals like a pipeline project. Vague pledges of closer cooperation may be aimed more at gaining leverage in mooted talks with U.S. President Donald Trump, they added.
“I don’t see this as a declaration of a new order,” said Victor Cha, head of the geopolitics and foreign policy department at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington DC-based think tank.
“It is a declaration of disorder and opportunism based on myopic self-interest,” said Cha, who formerly served as the Director for Asian Affairs at the White House National Security Council.
Even so, “optics do matter,” said a long-serving U.S. diplomat in Asia, requesting anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter.
“While China, Russia, and the DPRK will no doubt continue to have differences on specific policy areas, all three have made clear they are united in their antipathy for the U.S.-led international system,” the diplomat said, using the acronym for North Korea’s official name.
Japan’s outgoing Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba used his resignation speech on Sunday to note that the image of its nuclear-armed neighbours standing side-by-side underscored a severe security risk. The EU’s foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas earlier described the gathering as a burgeoning “autocratic alliance”.
Trump said in a post on Truth Social that Xi, Putin and Kim were conspiring against him, a comment the Kremlin suggested was ironic. A U.S. official said Trump is “disappointed to see some countries siding with the Chinese” and that “America is going to re-evaluate” the situation, but gave no details.
STICKING POINTS
The parade capped a diplomatic tour de force for Xi, helped Putin combat Western narratives about his international isolation over the Ukraine war, and gave Kim implicit support for his banned nuclear weapons, analysts said.
But while Xi hosted one-to-one talks with both Putin and Kim, the trio did not sit down together for a formal summit.
“China did not seem to be signalling that formal trilateral cooperation is starting,” said Jenny Town, director of 38 North, a Washington-based project that monitors North Korea.
That suggests a more direct show of force like three-way joint military drills remains a distant prospect, analysts said.
It also stands in contrast to rival superpower, the United States, which relies on security alliances like the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and multilateral summits with Japan and South Korea, and the ‘Quad’ group with Japan, Australia and India, to project its global power.
On the economic front, there appeared to be more tangible results, headlined by a “binding memorandum” between Russia and China on a vast gas pipeline announced during the summit.
However, despite its promotion by Putin, China did not mention the pipeline in any of its official readouts and deflected questions on the subject at a regular press briefing.
Sticking points on the long-stalled project to ship gas some 3,000 km (1,860 miles) through Siberia to China, like price and terms, remain.
Beijing is also refusing to open its winter wheat market, according to agriculture minister Oksana Lut, who travelled with Putin to Beijing in the hope of securing access to China.
Since the summit, there have been signs that China is moving to open its domestic bond markets to Russian companies shut out from Western capital. Russia’s finance ministry, however, has cautioned they would prefer bonds be issued locally.
TRUMP FACTOR
The ensemble of senior Chinese economic officials that participated in Xi’s first in-person meeting with Kim in six years suggests trade was likely also on the agenda, said one senior foreign diplomat in Beijing, requesting anonymity.
Beijing’s official readout of those talks also made no mention of “denuclearisation” for the first time in years, in what some analysts said was a major concession to Kim.
In response, South Korea’s foreign ministry urged Beijing to play a constructive role in bringing Pyongyang to dialogue over its nuclear programme.
Xi told Kim in a letter after the summit that China was also ready to enhance strategic communications with North Korea, Chinese state media reported on Tuesday.
The German share price index DAX graph is pictured at the stock exchange in Frankfurt, Germany, September 10, 2025. REUTERS/staff/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
World stocks idled near all-time highs and there was little reaction from either the euro or the dollar on Thursday after the European Central Bank kept its interest rates steady and U.S. inflation data nudged higher.
The ECB’s hold at 2% had been widely expected and with it trimming its inflation forecasts and its chief Christine Lagarde in the midst of her press conference, traders were waiting for any kind of signal on when another rate cut might come.
The euro ticked fractionally lower to $1.1672 having soared nearly 13% versus the dollar this year, while the bond vigilantes hadn’t yet managed to decisively push politically strained France’s borrowing costs above Italy’s.
August U.S. consumer price inflation data had just come in too at headline rate of 2.9% from a year earlier – the highest rate since January – while the core measure held at 3.1%.
That was almost bang in line with forecasts so stock markets largely shrugged.
Wall Street futures stuck to pricing more record highs for the S&P 500 and Nasdaq after a 36% leap in Oracle shares on Wednesday had been the latest driver, while the pan European STOXX 600 (.STOXX), opens new tab was up 0.4% ahead of Lagarde.
ABN AMRO strategist Benoit Begoc said with the ECB having been widely expected to hold rates, the focus is on whether Lagarde keeps the door ajar for further cuts any time soon.
“I think the question will be why are you not cutting rates more?” Begoc said. “We know we have some deflationary pressures and there is no big rise in consumer confidence, so what is the rationale behind that?”
Oracle’s U.S. surge meanwhile had helped Asia overnight where Japan, Taiwan and South Korea’s main bourses all scored record peaks too.
As Lagarde started to speak, Germany’s 10-year bond yield eased to 2.63% having touched 2.80% – its highest since March – just last week. GVD-EUR
In the commodity markets, oil prices also dipped 1.2% after gaining for three days straight. On Wednesday Poland’s downing of suspected Russian drones had triggered fresh talk of sanctions while Israel attacked Hamas leadership in Qatar the day before.
Safe-haven gold edged away from its recent record highs too and bellwether metal copper took a breather from its more than 20% rally since U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade tariffs shook global markets back in April. /GOL
TRADERS BET ON TRIO OF FED CUTS
The higher U.S. consumer price data was not expected to prevent a much-anticipated interest rate cut from the Federal Reserve next week given recent signs of weakness in the jobs market.
Wall Street futures pointed to more fractional gains when markets resume at record levels shortly. Oracle’s (ORCL.N), 36% leap on Wednesday had been the biggest one-day gain since 1992 for the 48-year-old tech giant.
Investors have now fully priced in a quarter-point move from the Fed at next week’s meeting, with an 8% chance of a 50 basis-point cut.
“Despite the modest inflation uptick, market expectations remain anchored around a 0.25% rate cut next week” Katy Stoves, an Investment Manager at Mattioli Woods said, adding a more aggressive 0.5% “mega cut” remained unlikely despite the labour market concerns.
Turkey’s central bank was also back in the spotlight as it cut its interest rates by a larger-than-expected 250-basis-point amid rising concerns about a clampdown on the country’s political opposition and after recent higher-than-expected inflation.
Elisabeth Rebeccah,22, prepares a meal at the Muchacha primary school after recently fleeing from Shonga village following clashes between M23 rebels and the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (FARDC) in Sake, the Democratic Republic of Congo February 6, 2024. REUTERS/Arlette Bashizi/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
Governments in sub-Saharan Africa have provided school meals to roughly 20 million extra children over the past two years, the World Food Programme (WFP) said on Wednesday, showing a move away from dependence on foreign aid and a stronger commitment to education.
The region saw the biggest rise in school feeding of any region, by nearly a third to 87 million in 2024. Ethiopia, Rwanda and even severely impoverished Madagascar and Chad all managed to feed six times as many over the period.
“Government investments in school meals … (signal) a significant shift from reliance on foreign aid to recognising school meals as a strategic public investment in children’s education (and) health,” the report said.
It was a welcome bright spot on a continent plagued by rising numbers of hungry people as a result of extreme weather linked to climate change, armed conflict and food inflation.
A U.N. report at the end of July found that more than one in five Africans, 307 million, were chronically malnourished, meaning hunger is worse than two decades ago. It predicted the continent would have 60% of the world’s hungry people by 2030.
Poor countries face falling aid from their rich counterparts, with U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration gutting its aid arm and some European nations slashing assistance to reallocate spending to defend themselves against Russia.
Police officers in riot gear clash with demonstrators in Paris. REUTERS/Abdul Saboor Purchase Licensing Rights
Protesters across France obstructed highways, burned barricades and clashed sporadically with police on Wednesday in a show of anger against President Emmanuel Macron, the political elite and planned spending cuts.
Authorities deployed more than 80,000 security personnel across the country, removing barriers and spraying water hoses at demonstrators as tensions flared in several places.
In Paris, riot police periodically used teargas to disperse crowds. Nearly 200 people were detained in the capital.
The “Block Everything” movement – a broad expression of discontent that has spread on social media – sprang up online in May among right-wing groups but has since been co-opted by the left and far-left.
The unrest added to the political turmoil on a day when conservative Sebastien Lecornu took office as President Emmanuel Macron’s new prime minister, after his predecessor was ousted by parliament over his unpopular plans for sharp budget cuts.
“It’s the same shit; it’s the same, it’s Macron who’s the problem, not the ministers,” said Fred, a CGT union official at the Paris public transport company RATP. “He has to go.”
France is under pressure to lower a budget deficit that stands at nearly double the European Union’s 3% ceiling, and a debt pile equivalent to 114% of GDP.
In Paris, students and school age youngsters swelled the protesters’ ranks. Over 300 protesters were arrested across the country, though many rallies were peaceful.
Nearly 200,000 people across France participated in the movement, a mobilisation outgoing Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau described as “significant” though he added that “those who wanted to block the country failed to do so.”
The movement reflects anger with what protesters say is a dysfunctional ruling elite bent on austerity – the discontent deepened after the last government proposed cuts of 44 billion euros ($52 billion) in government spending.
Outside the Gare du Nord train station in Paris, hundreds of youths chanted anti-Macron slogans. One carried a placard with the Tricolor flag and the slogan “The rich elite’s Republic”.
“We’ve come to make some noise,” said Sorbonne student Emma Meguerditchian, 17. “We want them to know we can’t take this any more, we want another type of government.”
ANGER OVER BUDGET CUTS
In the west, protesters in Nantes blocked a highway with burning tires and bins. Police used teargas to disperse people trying to occupy a roundabout. In Rennes, a bus was torched.
In Montpellier, in the south, police fired teargas at protesters who had set up a barricade to block traffic at a roundabout. A large banner at the site read: “Macron resign”.
Paris police fired teargas at youths blocking the entrance to a high school and firefighters removed burnt bicycles and trash cans from numerous barricades. Scuffles broke out on the fringes of a protest near the Chatelet shopping mall in the centre of the capital and firefighters put out a fire that broke out in a nearby building.
The ‘Block Everything’ movement has drawn comparisons with the ‘Yellow Vest’ rebellion that erupted in 2018-2019 over taxes and the cost of living and forced Macron to make policy concessions costing billions of euros.
Three former senior officials have said they were fired without cause as part of a “campaign of retribution” against those who had worked on previous criminal investigations against Donald Trump.
The lawsuit alleges FBI director Kash Patel knew the firings were illegalImage: Allison Bailey/NurPhoto/picture alliance
Brian Driscoll, the former acting director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), along with two other former senior FBI officials, sued the Trump administration and FBI Director Kash Patel on Wednesday, alleging they were dismissed for political reasons.
The three officials said in the lawsuit, filed in a Washington DC federal court, that they were fired by FBI Director Kash Patel in a “campaign of retribution” to purge officials considered disloyal to President Donald Trump.
“Patel not only acted unlawfully but deliberately chose to prioritize politicizing the FBI over protecting the American people,” the lawsuit said.
In the complaint, Driscoll said that Patel told him that the firings were “likely illegal,” but maintained that he could not stop them because the White House and the Justice Department are determined to remove anyone involved in previous criminal investigations of Trump.
Purge of Trump investigators
According to the lawsuit, Patel told Driscoll in August that “the FBI tried to put the president in jail and he hasn’t forgotten it.”
It alleges that Patel authorized the firings to protect his own job. It added that the fired top officials had opposed moves to remove or punish agents who had worked on investigating Trump.
Since Trump took office and tipped loyalist Patel as FBI director, concerns have grown over the integrity of the US’ top law enforcement agency as officials with years of experience are either fired or step down.
Along with Driscoll, other plaintiffs in the lawsuit are Steve Jensen, the former assistant director of the Washington field office, and Spencer Evans, the former top official in the Las Vegas field office.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk told parliament it was “the closest we have been to open conflict since World War II”, though he also said he had “no reason to believe we’re on the brink of war”.
A damaged drone lies after falling in the eastern Polish village of Czosnowka, in this picture obtained from social media, in Czosnowka, Poland, on Sep 10, 2025. (Photo: Reuters/Dariusz Stefaniuk)
Poland shot down suspected Russian drones in its airspace on Wednesday (Sep 10) with the backing of aircraft from its NATO allies, the first time a member of the Western military alliance is known to have fired shots during Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk told parliament it was “the closest we have been to open conflict since World War II”, though he also said he had “no reason to believe we’re on the brink of war”.
Polish F-16 fighter jets, Dutch F-35s, Italian AWACS surveillance planes, and NATO mid-air refuelling aircraft scrambled in an operation to shoot down drones entering Polish airspace from Tuesday evening until morning, officials said.
One drone smashed into pensioner Tomasz Wesolowski’s two-storey brick house in the eastern Polish village of Wyryki-Wola at 6.30am local time (12.30pm, Singapore time) while he was downstairs watching news about the incursion.
The roof was destroyed, and debris was strewn across the bedroom. Wesolowski told Reuters the house “needs to be demolished”.
A blackened spot in a field elsewhere in southeastern Poland showed where some other drones had fallen.
MOSCOW DENIES RESPONSIBILITY
Moscow denied responsibility for the incident, with a senior diplomat in Poland saying the drones had come from the direction of Ukraine. Russia’s Defence Ministry said its drones had carried out a major attack on military facilities in western Ukraine, but it had not planned to hit any targets in Poland.
United States President Donald Trump spoke with Polish President Karol Nawrocki, a conservative nationalist and political ally whom Trump hosted at the White House last week.
“This conversation is part of a series of consultations I’ve been conducting with our allies,” Nawrocki said in a post on X. “Today’s talks reaffirmed our unity.”
Ahead of the phone call, Trump posted on social media: “What’s with Russia violating Poland’s airspace with drones? Here we go!” He did not elaborate.
The leaders of France, Britain, Germany, and Canada were among the NATO leaders to condemn the suspected Russian incursion.
European leaders, who have been trying to persuade Trump to join them in tightening sanctions on Russia and boosting support for Kyiv, said it justified a collective response.
Slovenia, Denmark, Greece, France, and Britain have asked the United Nations Security Council to meet on Friday over what they deemed Russian violations of Polish airspace, diplomats said.
Poland said 19 objects had entered its airspace during a large Russian air attack on Ukraine, and that it had shot down those posing a threat.
Tusk called the incident a “large-scale provocation” and said he had activated Article 4 of NATO’s treaty, under which alliance members can demand consultations with their allies.
Neither Poland nor NATO has yet given a full account of what they suspect the drones were doing. One senior military source said at least five of the drones’ flight paths indicated they were headed towards Rzeszow airport, NATO’s main hub for arms supplies to Ukraine.
TESTING NATO CAPABILITIES?
The source said Russia may have been testing the capabilities of NATO’s air defences and warning systems.
NATO referred questions to alliance chief Mark Rutte’s remarks earlier when he said an investigation was ongoing but that the incursion was “absolutely reckless”.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, after speaking by phone to Tusk, Rutte, and other European leaders, that the drone incursion into Poland meant Europe had to work on creating a joint air defence.
Andrey Ordash, Russia’s charge d’affaires in Poland, was cited by the RIA state news agency as calling accusations of an incursion “groundless” and said Poland had not given any evidence that the drones shot down were of Russian origin.
The Kremlin declined to comment directly on the incident, but spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said the EU and NATO “accuse Russia of provocations on a daily basis. Most of the time without even trying to present at least some kind of argument”.
The Czech Defence Ministry said it was ready in the coming days to send three Mi-171S helicopters to Poland to aid its defence against drones at lower altitudes.
During the incident, the Operational Command of the Polish Armed Forces urged residents to stay home, with three eastern regions at particular risk.
Several Polish airports were temporarily closed, including Rzeszow, which has been used as the main access point for Western officials and supplies travelling to Ukraine overland.
The suspected incursion was conducted at least in part with Gerbera drones, according to a Polish army official. It is a cheap long-range drone that Ukrainian intelligence says is made of plywood and foam and assembled from kits supplied by Chinese manufacturer Skywalker Technology at Russia’s vast Yelabuga facility.
Countries bordering Ukraine have reported occasional Russian missiles or drones entering their airspace in the past during the war, but not on such a large scale, and they are not known to have shot them down. Two people were killed in Poland in 2022 by a Ukrainian air defence missile that went astray.
Since NATO’s creation in 1949, Article 4 has been invoked seven times, most recently in February 2022 following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
“This is going to shock the NATO alliance and the border countries, they’re all in the same situation,” said Riki Ellison, an expert on missile defence close to US and allied military forces.
“It’s not the beginning of World War Three, but it’s evolving Russia’s understanding of how we fight and our weaknesses, and the weaknesses of the alliance.”
Russia has long said it has no intention of stoking a war with NATO and that Western European countries suggesting it is a threat were trying to worsen relations.
Prince Harry says his dad King Charles III is doing “great” after their momentous reunion.
The Duke of Sussex stoically gave the update before thanking reporters during a reception for his Invictus Games on Wednesday, per the Daily Mail.
He appeared in good spirits as he went on to rub shoulders with the games’ corporate sponsors and government officials, the outlet added.
The royal reportedly arrived at the reception immediately after leaving his meetup with the king.
Prince Harry gave an update on his dad King Charles III following their momentous reunion on Wednesday. Getty Images for The Invictus Games Foundation
A rep for the Duke of Sussex did not immediately respond to Page Six’s request for comment.
Prince Harry was spotted arriving at King Charles’ London home, Clarence House, for a “private tea” earlier on Wednesday, marking their first meeting in over a year amid their long-reported feud.
The father-son duo chatted for a little under an hour — a promising sign since it went much longer than their previous 30-min chat in February 2024 after the sovereign announced his cancer diagnosis.
Harry, 40, arrived to the meeting in a black SUV, photos obtained by Page Six revealed.
Prince Harry has been embroiled in a contentious family feud with his father, 76 and brother, Prince William, 43, since he and his wife, Meghan Markle, resigned from their royal duties in 2020.
Harry and the Duchess of Sussex went on divulge royal family secrets in some of their bombshell interviews about the royal family after moving to Montecito, Calif.
Harry even went so far as to share intimate details of his feud with his dad and his older brother in his 2023 memoir “Spare.”
The rift seemed to be further fueled by the prince’s legal battle to have his publicly funded security reinstated while in the UK.
Prince Harry previously argued that he was treated unfairly when he was stripped of his security detail after his resignation. He also claimed that his father had the power to resolve the situation for him.
Though, Harry has recently made attempts to mend his relationship with the royals.
Maggie Rogers wears the brand on repeat for her performances Getty; Daniella Shevel
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DONALD Trump has broken his silence after Russia’s “deliberate” drone incursion brought Europe to the brink of war.
In an ominous post on Truth Social, the US president said: “What’s with Russia violating Poland’s airspace with drones. Here we go!”
More British troops could be despatched to Poland to shore up the borderCredit: Getty
It comes as the government said more Brit troops could be deployed to Poland to bolster Nato’s eastern flank against Russia’s rising threat.
Nato has vowed to defend “every inch” of allied land after Kremlin drones invaded Polish airspace overnight – forcing Warsaw to shoot them down and trigger Nato Article 4, one below the threshold of war.
Answering calls from Poland and Ukraine, the UK today vowed it would step up to meet Putin’s “test”.
Defence Secretary John Healey condemned Russia’s “reckless, dangerous and unprecedented” escalation after meeting with E5 defence officials from Germany, France and Italy – with Poland’s defence minister diverted by the crisis.
He said: “Following our discussions today, I’ve asked our UK Armed Forces to look at options to bolster Nato’s air defence over Poland.”
The UK already has around 300 troops in Poland as part of a “regular air policing mission” – and Healey vowed to “do what we can” to make that more robust.
That could mean increasing the number of boots on the ground in the eastern European nation.
Healey added: “Russia’s actions are reckless, they’re dangerous, they’re unprecedented. We see what Putin is doing. Yet again he is testing us. Yet again we will stand firm.”
Earlier, Sir Keir Starmer condemned Russia’s “egregious and unprecedented violation” of Nato airspace and slammed it as proof of Putin’s “blatant disregard for peace”.
He said he had spoken to Polish PM Donald Tusk to show Britain’s support, adding: “My sincere thanks go to the NATO and Polish forces who rapidly responded to protect the Alliance.”
No10 also confirmed the RAF played no part in the Nato emergency response to the Russian drones, after our six Typhoons were rotated out of Poland in July.
Poland’s Prime Minster Donald Tusk said 19 Russian drones sailed across the border amid an onslaught against western Ukraine, taking his country to the “closest to conflict since WW2”.
He said four were shot down by Nato fighter jets – understood to be from Poland, Italy, the Netherland the US – and officials later said seven had been found on the ground.
This is the first time since the outbreak of war that Nato has directly clashed with Russia, though jets have been scrambled many times without engaging.
Kremlin spokespeople have denied there is any evidence the drones were Russian, and even outrageously implied they had been launched by Kyiv.
Calling for action from allies, Zelensky said it sets an “extremely dangerous precedent for Europe”.
“A strong response is needed and it can only be a joint response by all partners: Ukraine, Poland, all Europeans, the United States,” he said.
Nato chief Mark Rutte said the Security Council met this morning to discuss Poland’s request for Article 4.
He said: “Allies are resolved to defend every inch of allied territory.”
Rutte wouldn’t confirm whether Vlad’s drones were being treated as deliberate – but branded the night’s events “absolutely reckless” either way.
And the EU’s foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, said the incursion looked “deliberate”.
Article 4, a clause in Nato’s founding treaty, brings all of the allies together when the security or territory of one is threatened.
But it stops short of Article 5’s key promise that an attack on one is an attack on all that demands a military response.
The only previous “hot” exchange between Putin’s Russia and a Nato member came in 2015 when a Turkish F-16 shot down a Russian Su-24 attack aircraft which violated its airspace.
The incident came during the Syrian civil war where Russia was backing the former Assad regime against rebels.
Former Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said the Poland drone strikes were proof of a “deliberate policy shift by Putin”.
He welcomed Poland’s decision to trigger Nato’s Article 4 – and urged allies to stand up “to bullying behaviour”.
He told The Sun: “Over the last month we have seen bomb damage to British Council and the EU headquarters in Kyiv, we have seen the first strikes on Ukrainian government buildings in Kyiv, and now these strikes on Poland.
“Putin is trying to make us back off. He is trying to send a warning to the US and Nato that he is no longer going to turn a blind eye to our support for Ukraine.”
Wallace vowed: “We always had a reaction to that kind of bullying behaviour – no one will tell us who we can and can’t help.”
NATO warplanes roared into action when the fleet of hostile drones breaches Polish airspace.
Air defences blasted several out of the sky – damaging a house in the eastern village of Wyryki.
Wreckage was also found in Czosnowka as terrified residents were ordered to stay indoors across three regions.
Polish F-16s, Dutch F-35s, Italian AWACS planes and NATO refuelling aircraft all took part in the overnight operation, while Patriot systems tracked the swarm on radar.
Nato sources stressed the drone incursion is not being treated as a Russian “attack”, but confirmed it was the first time alliance aircraft had directly engaged threats in allied airspace.
Explaining its reaction, Poland’s Defence Ministry said: “Polish airspace was repeatedly violated by drones, which posed a direct threat.”
It said that in order to ensure security, the commander of the Polish army “activated all necessary procedures” and the drones were shot down “pre-emptively”.
A senior Nato source told The Sun: “We should ramp up support to Ukraine big time.”
They warned Putin was “flexing his muscles” and the tyrant has “a skip in his step” after his back-to-back red carpet meeting with President Donald Trump and China’s Xi Jinping.
The source claimed Moscow was deliberately probing Nato’s eastern flank and gambling on Trump’s reluctance to support Europe.
Only days earlier, Trump welcomed Poland’s new president Karol Nawrocki to the White House with a military flyover.
Don pledged to keep – and even increase – US troops in Poland and strongly guaranteeing the country’s security on NATO’s frontline.
Now, the pressure is on for him to keep that promise after Putin’s drone swarm tore into Polish skies overnight.
Republican representative Joe Wilson, a senior member of the Foreign Affairs Committee, said Russia was “attacking NATO ally Poland” with drones.
He called it an “act of war” and urged Trump to respond with sanctions “that will bankrupt the Russian war machine”.
Wilson added: “Putin is no longer content just losing in Ukraine while bombing mothers and babies, he is now directly testing our resolve in NATO territory.”
Polish President Karol Nawrocki called the strikes an “unprecedented moment in NATO’s and Poland’s history”.
EU chief Ursula von der Leyen branded Russia’s actions a “reckless and unprecedented violation” of Polish airspace and demanded tougher measures.
She told MEPs: “Europe stands in full solidarity with Poland. The message is clear, and our response must be equally clear.
“We need more pressure on Russia to come to the negotiating table. We need more sanctions.”
Von der Leyen said the bloc is working on a 19th sanctions package – with options including a faster phase-out of Russian fossil fuels and action against the Kremlin’s shadow fleet, while urging more support for Ukraine.
Meanwhile, Britain’s ambassador to Poland said she was “deeply concerned” by the drone incursion, praising Warsaw’s “speedy response” and insisting: “The UK stands with Poland.”
Millions of citizens in Podlaskie, Mazowieckie and Lublin were ordered to stay indoors as chaos unfolded overnight.
They were also sent chilling SMS alerts warning: “Attention! Due to the operation to neutralise objects which have violated the border of the Polish Republic, inform services about drones and locations where they fall. Do not approach them.”
Videos captured the roar of military aircraft soaring above Lublin in eastern Poland.
And missile tracking maps showed several Shahed style attachments drones entered Ukrainian air space.
Some appeared to have turned round to strike Ukraine from the west.
It came ahead of major Zapad 2025 war games between Russia and authoritarian ally Belarus, which borders NATO states Poland, Lithuania and Latvia.
The military exercises – which will include rehearsing for nuclear strikes on the West – are scheduled to kick off on September 12.
CONSERVATIVE activist and Donald Trump ally Charlie Kirk has died at 31 after he was shot during an event in Utah.
Graphic video showed a single bullet striking Kirk in the neck, causing him to collapse while hosting an outdoor student debate event at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, on Wednesday afternoon.
People ran from the event at Utah Valley University after gunfire broke outCredit: Reuters
A person of interest was taken into custody but later released, FBI director Kash Patel said.
The shooter is still at large and officials are asking for any information that could lead to their capture.
Officials described the shooting as a targeted political assassination and said only one shot was fired.
Kirk, an outspoken commentator who frequently appeared on Fox News, was best known for co-founding Turning Point USA, a conservative nonprofit organization aimed at organizing students.
Donald Trump posted a video message on Truth Social, saying he was “filled with grief and anger at the heinous assassination of Charlie Kirk,” adding it was a “dark moment for America”.
Trump earlier announced Kirk’s death in a separate Truth Social post, writing: “The Great, and even Legendary, Charlie Kirk, is dead,”
“No one understood or had the Heart of the Youth in the United States of America better than Charlie.”
Kirk is survived by his wife, Erika Lane Frantzve, and their two young children.
ASSASSINATION SCENE
The pro-gun activist was speaking about shootings in the moments before he was murdered at the university with a single gunshot.
Just seconds after he paused during a student Q&A at the school, the shot was heard ringing out in horrifying footage of the shooting.
Blood was seen gushing from Kirk’s neck as he fell off his chair, as bystanders screamed, “Get down! Get down!”
He was rushed to the hospital in critical condition and was pronounced dead just hours later.
Just minutes before the reports rang out, Kirk’s social media accounts shared videos and pictures of the activist smiling as he met students.
He was speaking about mass killings committed by transgender Americans and was asked how many mass shootings had happened in the US in the past 10 years.
Kirk was beginning to answer by asking, “Counting or not counting gang violence?” when he was hit.
Former Representative Jason Chaffetz, a Republican from Utah who was attending the event, spoke about the immediacy of the violent attack on Fox News.
“I was watching Charlie,” Chaffetz said.
“I can’t say that I saw blood. I can’t say that I saw him get hit, but I did see him fall immediately backwards into his left.”
The politician continued, “As soon as the shot went out, everybody hit the deck and everybody started scattering and yelling and screaming, as you might imagine.
Chaffetz said he went from watching Kirk speak to looking over to check if his loved ones were safe.
‘LACK OF SECURITY’
One witness, Tyler McGettigan, said he was shocked about how little security there was at the outdoor event, especially after such a large crowd had amassed.
He said that no one even checked the ticket that he brought when he walked up to the amphitheatre where Kirk was speaking.
“I was expecting when I got here that I’d have to pass through some kind of security, but that just wasn’t a thing,” he told NBC News.
“No one checked the barcode or the QR code.
“There was no checkpoint to get in. It was literally, anyone could walk in if they wanted.”
UNIDENTIFIED SUSPECT
One person, described initially as a “suspect” and “person of interest,” was released on Wednesday night after questioning, FBI Director Kash Patel confirmed on X.
“The subject in custody has been released after an interrogation by law enforcement,” Patel said.
“Our investigation continues and we will continue to release information in interest of transparency.”
The shots were fired from the roof of the Losee Center, about 200 yards away from the stage where Kirk spoke, officials said.
Videos taken from the scene appeared to show a figure running across the roof of the Losee Center in the seconds after Kirk was shot.
Another video, apparently taken outside the event before the shooting, appeared to show a person dressed in dark clothing lying down on the roof of the building.
Cops initially arrested a man named George Zim at the scene, but it was later confirmed that he wasn’t the suspect.
He has been booked in the county jail for obstruction of justice, cops said.
The university’s campus was shut down and classes were canceled for the afternoon.
UVU students were told to leave the premises immediately.
“Those on campus, secure in place until police officers can escort you safely off campus,” wrote the university.
FIRST STOP ON TOUR
Kirk was on campus representing his organization, Turning Point USA, which hosts events advocating for conservative politics.
This was the first stop on the group’s American Comeback Tour, which had multiple more stops scheduled this fall.
Ahead of the tour, a petition was created on August 29 by students who didn’t want Kirk to visit USU.
“Utah State University has consistently worked towards fostering an inclusive space for all its students and faculty,” the Change.org petition said.
“Letting a figurehead, whose speeches often seem to undermine the essence of inclusivity, use our beloved institution as a platform contradicts this mission.”
The petition had over 6,000 signatures before it was closed on Wednesday.
KIRK’S LEGACY
Kirk founded Turning Point USA in 2012 when he was just 18, dropping out of college to do so.
The organization inspired spin-off groups including Turning Point Endowment, Turning Point Action, and the website Professor Watchlist.
He quickly became a known presence on cable TV for his early support of Trump’s first presidential bid.
Kirk became close with Trump and went on a mission to make conservatism cool by targeting college campuses.
TRUMP’S MESSAGE
Donald Trump posted a video message on Truth Social, saying he was “filled with grief and anger at the heinous assassination of Charlie Kirk.”
The US president said: “Charlie inspired millions and tonight all who knew him and loved him are united in shock and horror.
“Charlie is a patriot who devoted his life to the cause of open debate and the country that he loves so much, the United States of America.
“He’s a model for truth and freedom, and there’s never been anyone who was so respected by youth.”
Trump added that “Charlie was also a man of deep, deep faith. And we take comfort in the knowledge that he is now at peace with God in heaven,” while asking God to protect Kirk’s wife and children “in this terrible hour of heartache and pain.”
“This is a dark moment for America,” he continued.
Trump also vowed a crackdown on “political violence,” promising his administration would “find each and every one of those who contributed to this atrocity and to other political violence”.
He said “radical left political violence has hurt too many innocent people”, pointing to the assassination attempt against him and the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson last year.
The president has long drawn criticism for blaming the “radical left” for America’s divisions, with opponents arguing his rhetoric has itself fueled violence against his political rivals.
POLITICAL activist Charlie Kirk’s last words before being fatally shot during a debate event in Utah have emerged.
The Conservative activist, 31, was doing a Q&A at Utah Valley University in Orem when a single shot was fired at him on Wednesday afternoon.
Charlie Kirk was shot and killed during a debate in Utah Credit: AP:Associated Press
Kirk, a father of two, was hosting an event for Turning Point USA, a nonprofit he founded at 18 which works with conservative youth on college campuses, when he was struck.
The event was previously described as a “high-energy evening featuring a candid conversation about conservative values.”
A video circulating on social media shows the activist speaking from a tent with “The American Comeback” written on it as gunfire rang out.
Moments before he was shot, Kirk was discussing gun violence throughout the country.
“Do you know how many mass shooters there have been in America over the last 10 years?” one audience member asked Kirk.
“Counting or not counting gang violence,” he replied before being cut off by the gunshot.
FBI director Kash Patel said in a statement on X that the person responsible for the shooting had been arrested.
However, when asked about the statement, Utah officials said that a person of interest was being interviewed.
Chilling footage showed Kirk recoil back to his left and fall into his chair.
Blood could be seen pouring down from his neck as the crowd began to panic.
Attendees screamed and chaotically fled the stage area after Kirk collapsed.
Witness Justin Higgens told NBC News that he saw the speaker get hit by the bullet.
“We heard a big loud shot, I saw a bunch of blood come out of Charlie, I saw his body kind of kick back and go limp, and everybody dropped to the ground,” Hickens said.
As people began to dash for the exit, Hickens said he felt safe as no more gunshots rang out after Kirk was hit.
“I kind of turned around and all of a sudden I saw officers walking with this very elderly gentleman with white hair,” Hickens said.
“They had him arrested, they had him on his knees and he was screaming about his rights and all that stuff.
“They cuffed him and put him away.”
Witness Tyler McGettigan also told NBC News that there was no security going into the event.
“I was expecting when I got here that I’d have to pass through some kind of security, but that just wasn’t a thing,” McGettigan said.
“No one checked the barcode or the QR code. There was no checkpoint to get in. It was literally, anyone could walk in if they wanted.”
DECLARED DEAD
Donald Trump confirmed the death of his longtime friend on social media.
“The Great, and even Legendary, Charlie Kirk, is dead. No one understood or had the Heart of the Youth in the United States of America better than Charlie,” he posted.
“He was loved and admired by ALL, especially me, and now, he is no longer with us. Melania and my Sympathies go out to his beautiful wife Erika, and family. Charlie, we love you!”
Kirk leaves behind his wife Erika and their two young children, a one-year-old son and a daughter who turned three just weeks ago.
Initial statements reported that Kirk was in critical condition as he was being treated at a local hospital.
“[Kirk] is in the hospital, and we are praying for him at this time,” Turning Point USA initially confirmed to NBC News.
Utah Governor Spencer Cox posted on X immediately after the shooting, declaring that he will hold those responsible “fully accountable.”
“I am being briefed by law enforcement following the violence directed at Charlie Kirk during his visit to Utah Valley University today. We will continue to share updates,” the governor posted.
“Those responsible will be held fully accountable. Violence has no place in our public life.
“Americans of every political persuasion must unite in condemning this act. Our prayers are with Charlie, his family, and all those affected.”
‘DISGUSTING’ ATTACK
Politicians and fellow political activists were quick to condemn the shooting of Charlie Kirk.
“The attack on Charlie Kirk is disgusting, vile, and reprehensible,” Democratic California governor Gavin Newsom posted on X.
“In the United States of America, we must reject political violence in EVERY form.”
Trump also begged for prayers as Kirk fought for his life.
Kirk rose to fame after being an early supporter of Trump’s bid for president in 2012, when he was just 18 years old.
The two came together for presidential rallies and events hosted by Kirk’s organization.
In January, the day before he was sworn into office, Trump spoke about Kirk, who was in attendance at an event.
FOOTAGE of an American missile bouncing off a mystery orb shows weapons are useless against UFOs, a Pentagon insider said.
The video, released in Congress on Tuesday, shows a U.S. Reaper drone launching a precision Hellfire strike at a mysterious glowing orb off the coast of Yemen – only for the weapon to appear to rebound and vanish into the waves.
The footage shows an MQ-9 Reaper drone tracking the glowing orb before unleashing an AGM-114 Hellfire missile. Credit: NewsNation
Instead of being blown to pieces, the unidentified object kept on flying as if nothing had happened.
“This is some sort of technology that is making our premiere missile system completely and utterly useless,” warned former Pentagon insider Lue Elizondo.
“It is making it almost irrelevant. America has a problem right now.”
The jaw-dropping clip, captured in October 2024 but only just released, was played during a House Oversight hearing into Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena – the government’s term for UFOs.
“This is a significant problem from a strategic perspective, from a tactical perspective, from a national security perspective,” Elizondo said.
He continued: “This video is extremely compelling and I wish more of these types of videos would be released.”
The footage shows an MQ-9 Reaper drone tracking the glowing orb before unleashing an AGM-114 Hellfire missile.
The Hellfire is considered one of the world’s deadliest precision weapons, capable of blowing up tanks, bunkers and terror compounds with pinpoint accuracy.
“It has such a degree of precision that we can literally fly it through a window and take out a bunch of terrorists,” Elizondo explained.
But against the bizarre orb, it didn’t even leave a scratch.
“That’s a Hellfire missile smacking into that UFO, and bouncing right off – and it kept going,” said journalist George Knapp, testifying at the hearing.
“What the hell is that?” he added.
Representative Eric Burlison, who played the video in the hearing, branded it “startling evidence.”
“A Reaper drone fired a Hellfire missile at this thing,” Burlison said. “And the missile didn’t seem to have any effect.”
He told the room: “I’m not going to explain it to you, you’ll see exactly what it does.”
The clip, zoomed in and replayed, shows a flash as the missile appears to make contact – but the object carries on, unchanged.
“This is when it’s zoomed out, you can still see it travelling,” Burlison said. “It kept going – and it looks like the debris was taken with it.”
Knapp insisted this was not a one-off.
“I have heard about events like this. I have heard about this event,” he told Congress.
“There are servers where there is a whole bank of these kinds of videos that Congress has not been allowed to see, that the public hasn’t been allowed to see.
“Occasionally, some of that stuff gets out in the wild and it comes our way, but it should be going to you. The public should be seeing this stuff, and why you’re not allowed to, I don’t know.”
“The public should be seeing this stuff,” he repeated.
HULK Hogan’s will has only confirmed the family feud that became a top story in the final years of the WWE icon’s life.
A new report has revealed the amount of money that the late Hogan left behind.
Hogan died at 71 in July after suffering a cardiac arrest.
Just days before his death, the 71-year-old and his daughter, Brooke Hogan, shared a short but emotional conversation after years of not talking.
Recently, Hogan’s son, Nick, revealed that the wrestling legend had left behind $5 million in assets, per court documents filed after his death.
The documents, filed by Nick and received by US Weekly, also uncovered that Hulk didn’t list Brooke as a beneficiary to his estate.
Instead, Nick is the sole beneficiary of his father’s estate, and Hulk’s widow and third wife, Melanie Sky Daily, is listed as his surviving spouse.
The docs reveal that the wrestler left behind $2000 in cryptocurrency, about $800,000 in person and intellectual property, publicity rights valued at $4 million, and a potential medical malpractice lawsuit with a value that has yet to be confirmed.
But Nick didn’t list his dad’s real estate portfolio in the documents.
Nick and Brooke filed new documents to be named the no-personal representatives of their father’s estate alongside Hogan’s financial advisor, Terry McCoy, on Tuesday.
Hulk was known to own two properties alongside each other in Clearwater, Florida, with an estimated combined value of $11 million.
The paperwork also revealed that Nick claimed his dad made a will in 2016 and amended it four times, with the last adjustment occurring in July 2023.
The 37-year-old Brooke reportedly asked to be taken off her father’s will in 2023 because she didn’t trust the people around him and didn’t want to get caught in a financial battle when he passed.
Brooke is married to former NHL player Steve Oleksy.
Five days after the news of Hogan’s passing was announced, she posted a long message on social media, opening up about their relationship.
“My father and I never “fought,” Brooke wrote on Instagram.
“It was a series of private phone calls no one will ever hear, know, or understand.”
Last month, Brooke revealed she felt Hogan was starting to cut her off, saying he no longer wanted help from her despite his health problems.
“We’d been through almost 25 surgeries together, and all of a sudden he didn’t want me at all surgeries,” she said.
In March, months before Hulk’s death, Brooke spoke about the relationship with her parents after she had become estranged from both.
She explained experiences in her childhood “robbed” her of “self esteem” and “confidence.”
“It took me many years to figure out the things that were seemingly done ‘for me’ really benefited someone else in a greater capacity.”
She claimed to have received texts from family members with “unbelievably hurtful words” that “cannot be forgiven.”
“My family is very skilled at war. I so badly wanted to see good in them, protect, help, and start anew—just to be disrespected again and again. I longed for a normal family, but it never came to fruition.
Recent protests in Nepal, driven by Gen-Z, erupted in response to the government’s ban on 26 social media apps and widespread corruption. Initially peaceful, the movement escalated into violence, resulting in tragic deaths and destruction of public property, including government buildings.
Protesters celebrate at the parliament building after it was set on fire during a protest against social media ban and corruption in Kathmandu, Nepal. Photo : AP
Nepal in the past few days witnessed events unfolding at turbulent speeds that have shocked the world and its own people. In what is being termed a Gen-Z protest, the world saw a surge of thousands and lakhs of young people angry over the government’s decision to ban as many as 26 social media apps, including global platforms like Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, and X.
The youth’s agitation was not just against the government’s ban on social media apps, but also against corruption, as citizens had been witnessing how politicians and their families were living luxurious lives while common people struggled. Many reports say the government banned social media because a youth-driven movement was in the making to expose the lavish lifestyles of politicians and their children.
Social media posts—before the ban—were exposing the ultra-luxurious lives of netas and their families like studying in foreign universities, vacationing in global destinations, rich, powerful, and full of privileges, at the expense of taxpayers who were struggling for basic needs.
The agitation turned violent when several protesters were allegedly killed by the security forces in an attempt to thwart and control them. What followed after this was an unprecedented mess as agitators, in a fit of rage, set fire to their own Parliament, the President’s House, the Prime Minister’s residence, and other ministers’ homes—forgetting that all of this was funded by taxpayers and that they were burning down their own infrastructure.
Disturbing scenes emerged on Tuesday evening when the violent mob lost full control and went full throttle against politicians. Their houses were targeted, and families were seen running for lives.
The angry mob chased them, thrashed them, brutally beat them, and even attempted attacks with the intent to kill. One particularly horrifying event unfolded on August 9, when the wife of a former Prime Minister was reportedly burned alive. While some reports suggested that she succumbed to injuries, many claimed she’s alive, undergoing treatment and recovering.
While this was one case that was seen and recorded on camera, it’s enough to hint to the world what was happening on the ground.
While the youth may have started their agitation with pure intentions—to punish a corrupt government—the scenes also show that even the protesters crossed many red lines. Yet, they are still being praised instead of being held accountable for the destruction they caused, which affected many businesses with no connection to politics.
How It All Began
The sentiment didn’t take long to spread like a wildfire, and soon it turned into a full-scale revolutionary movement that the government in power failed to anticipate.
What began as a peaceful protest quickly became a nightmare for the ruling dispensation under the leadership of now-resigned Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli.
The protest began with demands to restore social media sites, which had been banned following a Supreme Court order that the government enforced. The youth also demanded action against corrupt politicians and a complete overhaul of the government.
As seen in protests worldwide, the empowered youth locked horns with the administration, which resorted to traditional means of force—water cannons, baton charges, and tear gas—to disperse and control the crowd.
But the agitators, young and determined, refused to tolerate the mess any longer. When they advanced their protest toward VVIP areas like the Parliament, President’s House, Prime Minister’s residence, and other ministers’ homes, the situation turned violent.
At least 19 people were killed in crossfire, while many accuse the administration of instigating. This became the tipping point, after which the youth lost control and turned into a violent mob.
Nepal’s Gen-Z protest was fully justified in its basic demands: Like action against corrupt leadership and the restoration of social media as a tool for freedom of expression.
During the week-long movement, the agitators succeeded in forcing the government to wave the white flag first and accept all their demands—including restoring social media and the resignation of key ministers, including Finance, Home, and even the Prime Minister. The resignation of the Prime Minister meant the collapse of the government—the ultimate goal of the agitators.
So, they should have stopped right there. But what followed was shocking and disturbing.
Crossing the Red Line
Once the youth realised they had the edge, they turned more violent—and that’s when they crossed the red lines.
Protesters misused their advantage by setting fire to public property, including the PM and President’s residences and even the Parliament. They ransacked public buildings, private offices, media houses, and looted valuables.
Some posts on social media also showed how demonstrators were so agitated and rampant in creating chaos, damaging public and private property that was hurting their own citizens. One video on X showed a woman along with a child pleading protesters not to vandalise the place but the ‘wild GenZ agitators’ didn’t spare them.
This is the BIGGEST FAFO video from the Nepal GenZ Protests!
A young female protester tries to protect a building. She is crying and weeping.
These acts do not justify the praise Gen-Z has been receiving from many voices across the world who say, “Hey look, look at Gen-Z, they won’t tolerate this… they will bring change, they want accountability, they want instant results, they are impatient and they take no nonsense.”
Well, sorry—when you misuse your advantage and commit mistakes against the very acts you were protesting against, you’re no saint but an equal offender of the law.
Attacking and chasing politicians with murderous intent, setting their houses on fire, and burning family members of a former head of state, setting on fire your own infrastructure like a 5-star hotel, puts the protesters under the same scrutiny they were demanding—and this cannot be swept under the carpet of praise.
This sends absolutely wrong signals to other nations and youth. In fact, some in India have already started laying the early foundations, just as they did when similar scenes were witnessed in Bangladesh, when a student-led movement toppled the government last year.
In less than 48 hours, Gen-Z protesters in Nepal:
Burned down multiple politicians’ houses
Continued protests despite curfews and firing across multiple cities
Forced the Prime Minister to resign
Entered Parliament and set it ablaze
The Ripple Effect
Many in India are now portraying and instigating youth to take cues from Nepal’s “Gen-Z revolution,” indirectly tempting them to raise similar anarchic ideologies to destabilise the nation. These are not the right signals.
The misdeeds committed by Gen-Z in Nepal during the ongoing protests must be called out as vocally as their praise for leading a nation toward change.
Their acts are well documented. Many young people don’t view with a long term planning and are easily manipulated into movements that could put them—and their nation—in danger.
We’ve seen this in Bangladesh, Afghanistan, and Sri Lanka. These movements, if not executed, paused, and ended at the right moment, often come back to haunt the very people who planned them.
A Bigger Game?
Another point to note is that these movements are rarely spontaneous. According to geopolitical experts and political analysts, such events are often planned well in advance and are part of regime change operations. These events typically occur when economically weak nations refuse to bow down before superpowers.
There is hardly any doubt that the recent events in Nepal are a product of foreign funding.
Let’s not forget that India too has been targeted by regime change operations—movements that could have affected its economic progress. Deep-state actors like George Soros have been called out for sponsoring protests and public movements to create anarchic agitations. The goal? To turn people into rebels, erode trust in government, and ultimately collapse the nation to a point where it can no longer resist foreign influence.
It’s not just the dazzling colours and slick moves of Australia’s dancing spiders that make them special.
There are more than 100 different species of the peacock spider, whereas most animals have only five or ten.
Researchers believe that’s partly down to the spider’s ‘dark DNA’ – a mysterious part of the animal’s genetic code, and they are studying it to find out more.
They think that this dark DNA might enable it to adapt rapidly to changing environmental circumstances by developing into new species.
What the scientists find out, they say, might help to explain why there is so much variation in the natural world.
“We are interested in how the spiders evolve to become that diverse,” Jonah Walker, of the Sanger Institute told BBC News.
“When you go outside you see so much variation in species of plants and animals,” he said.
“Peacock spiders are at the extreme end of that. And so, by studying them, we can use that extreme case to try to understand what processes produce variation in general.”
Peacock spiders are found across Australia and each one is the size of a pin head. It is so-named because of the brilliant colours males have on their abdomen, which they show off in a beguiling mating ritual.
They create a drumming sound with their feet, a spider song of sorts, and move rhythmically while displaying their dazzlingly patterned features. What is remarkable about these creatures is how varied they are in their appearance, songs and dance moves.
Mr Walker used to be scared of spiders, but he overcame his phobia because he was so drawn to the science behind the spiders and took the project on as part of his PhD research.
“When I told friends and family that I was going to study spiders in Australia I got some worried looks and I was obviously apprehensive myself. But just a few seconds of watching them dance was enough for any fears to be washed away.”
Mr Walker worked with his group leader, Dr Jonana Meier and an international team to collect each and every one of the species discovered so far.
They then painstakingly categorised precise details about each one’s behaviour, movement and songs. The final piece of the jigsaw was to cross-reference all this information with the DNA of each species.
The flying peacock spider: each different species has different colours and behaviours
By comparing the results of each species, they hope to find out which genes are responsible for each trait and ultimately why there are so many different types of peacock spider.
The research is a work in progress but the team already has a strong scientific lead to investigate further.
“It is early days, but one of the tantalising things we have discovered is that it may not only be the genes that are responsible for the diversity, but the bits in between, the so-called ‘dark DNA’, that may influence how spiders evolve,” says Mr Walker.
DNA consists of a long string of molecules. Some parts of them are involved in deciding specific traits. In the case of humans they can decide height or eye colour. These sections are called genes.
But the bulk of the sections of DNA are not genes, and no one really knows what they do. The Sanger researchers think that this so-called dark DNA may be responsible for peacock spiders’ diversity.
They have three times more dark DNA than humans.
Some butterflies and moths also have an exceptionally large number of species. Dr Meier has already decoded the DNA of a thousand species of butterflies and moths.
But spiders, butterflies and moths are just the start of one of the most ambitious genetic projects ever undertaken. The plan is to decipher the genetic code of every single plant, animal and fungus on the planet in the next 10 years.
“Just like all plants, animals and fungus we have very similar DNA,” Dr Meier told BBC News.
“By understanding the DNA of all the different organisms, we learn about the general principles of how genes work and what the function of dark DNA is, and so it also helps us find out a lot about ourselves”
Charlie Kirk, founder of Turning Point USA and staunch Trump ally, was shot dead at a Utah campus event. He was known for fiery Christian nationalist rhetoric and mobilising young conservatives.
Charlie Kirk speaks before he is shot during Turning Point’s visit to Utah Valley University in Orem (Photo: AP)
Charlie Kirk, a 31-year-old conservative activist and close ally of US President Donald Trump who was instrumental in mobilising young Republican voters, was shot dead on Thursday during a college event in Utah.
The assassination occurred during an event that marked the launch of Kirk’s planned college tour, spanning from Colorado to Virginia and dubbed ‘The American Comeback Tour,’ aimed at rallying young voters behind Trump and the Republican Party.
A door-to-door manhunt has been launched for the shooter, but law enforcement authorities have yet to detain anyone in connection with the murder.
The attack comes amid rising political violence across the United States, spanning both the left- and right-wing movements.
US President Donald Trump led the tributes, calling Kirk “the great, and even legendary, Charlie Kirk.” He blamed the ‘radical left’ for the murder and vowed to find everyone responsible for the killing.
In a statement on Truth Social, Trump praised Kirk’s unique bond with America’s younger generation. “No one understood or had the Heart of the Youth in the United States of America better than Charlie. He was loved and admired by ALL, especially me, and now, he is no longer with us,” Trump said.
Offering condolences to Kirk’s family, Trump added: “Melania and my Sympathies go out to his beautiful wife Erika, and family. Charlie, we love you!”
As tributes poured in, Trump issued a symbolic gesture of national mourning. In a Truth Social post, he wrote: “In honor of Charlie Kirk, a truly Great American Patriot, I am ordering all American Flags throughout the United States lowered to Half Mast until Sunday evening at 6 P.M.”
NO SUSPECT IN CUSTODY AS PROBE INTO SHOOTING CONTINUES
FBI Director Kash Patel said that the person who was in custody in relation to the death of conservative influencer Charlie Kirk has been released after being interrogated by law enforcement.
“The subject in custody has been released after an interrogation by law enforcement. Our investigation continues and we will continue to release information in interest of transparency,” he said in a post on X.
FROM DEBATE TO VIOLENCE IN SECONDS
Videos posted to social media show Kirk seated under a white tent bearing the slogans “The American Comeback” and “Prove Me Wrong,” speaking into a handheld microphone. Kirk was speaking at a debate hosted by his nonprofit political organisation. He was in the middle of a question-and-answer session on gun violence when the attack occurred.
An audience member asked him, “Do you know how many transgender Americans have been mass shooters over the last 10 years?”
Kirk replied, “Too many.”
The questioner pressed further: “Do you know how many mass shooters there have been in America over the last 10 years?”
Kirk responded, “Counting or not counting gang violence?”
Moments later, a single shot rang out. Video shows Kirk reaching toward his neck as blood poured from the left side. Gasps and screams filled the tent as panicked spectators fled.
Authorities said a person was detained after the shooting but clarified that the individual was not the suspect. It remained unclear Wednesday night whether law enforcement was still searching for a gunman.
The shooting comes amid a string of political violence across the United States, including the assassination of a Minnesota lawmaker, a firebombing in Colorado, and last year’s attempted assassination of Donald Trump.
KIRK’S RISE AS A CONSERVATIVE FORCE
Kirk, who co-founded Turning Point USA in 2012 at just 18, rose to national prominence with his unapologetic conservatism, frequent cable television appearances, and close alignment with Trump.
President Donald Trump shakes hands with moderator Charlie Kirk, during a Generation Next White House forum at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House complex in Washington, Thursday, March 22, 2018 (AP Photo)
His appearance had drawn opposition on campus. An online petition urging university administrators to block him from speaking collected nearly 1,000 signatures. But last week, Utah Valley University said it would not cancel the event, citing First Amendment protections and its “commitment to free speech” and “constructive dialogue.”
Founded in suburban Chicago with tea party activist William Montgomery, Turning Point initially struggled before Kirk’s confrontational style attracted wealthy conservative donors. That support helped transform the group into a powerhouse of the American right.
Taylor Swift was reportedly a supportive bride-to-be at a soft launch event for fiancé Travis Kelce’s 1587 Prime Steakhouse.
The “Blank Space” singer celebrated the upscale eatery alongside the NFL star — who co-owns the Kansas City restaurant with Chiefs teammate Patrick Mahomes — Monday evening, according to a new report from TMZ.
Sources told the outlet that the newly engaged couple arrived “hand in hand” at around 6:15 p.m. local time, where they ascended a grand staircase to meet with other supportive friends and family at the event. Throughout the evening, they kept things “low-key but affectionate,” per TMZ.
The “Cruel Summer” hitmaker, 35, reportedly wore a blue denim dress with wedge heels, styling her blond locks into a side-swept look. Meanwhile, the Chiefs tight end, also 35, rocked a low-key vibe in a cap and a green striped top as they enjoyed quality time in a semi-private corner booth.
Taylor Swift reportedly supported Travis Kelce at a soft launch for his new restaurant, 1587 Prime Steakhouse, in Kansas City Monday evening. (The couple is pictured above on a previous outing.) Tatiana / BACKGRID
The insider added that the pair “acted like any normal couple” at the soft opening, sneaking in kisses from time to time. The athlete was reportedly also spotted joking around with teammates and stealing glances at his fiancée from across the room.
The couple’s BFFs, Patrick and Brittany Mahomes, also reportedly attended the soirée with their children — but were seated “separately” from Kelce and Swift.
Per the outlet, they took some time to chat with the singer and her husband-to-be, with Swift even holding their infant daughter, Golden, 8 months, and playing with their other kids: Sterling, 4, and Bronze, 2.
The outlet’s insider noted that the restaurant’s staff and guests were thrilled by the power couple’s appearance, sharing that Swift was “funny, gracious and approachable” while getting to know people at the event. They also reportedly gushed over the singer making time to “greet everyone she passed.”
Reps for Swift and Kelce did not immediately respond to Page Six’s requests for comment. A spokesperson for 1587 Prime was unavailable for comment.
The restaurant is set to hard launch on Sept. 17.
The couple’s high-profile appearance at Kelce’s new venture comes days after he made a stylish appearance ahead of the Chiefs’ season opener in Brazil.
Swift did not appear at Friday’s game against the Los Angeles Rams, which the Chiefs lost, due to the grueling 13-hour flight to São Paolo.
FILE PHOTO: A view of a National Australia Bank (NAB) logo in Sydney, Australia, May 5, 2025. REUTERS/Hollie Adams/File Photo
National Australia Bank is cutting 410 jobs in its technology and enterprise operations in Australia and creating 127 roles in India and Vietnam, a spokesperson said, confirming cuts first revealed by the country’s financial services union.
The NAB changes come one day after rival ANZ Group said it would cut 3,500 jobs over the next year as new chief executive Nuno Matos aims to cut duplication and simplify the bank’s structure.
NAB shares were trading 1.2 per cent higher on Wednesday at A$43.29, while the broader S&P/ASX200 index was flat.
“The environment we operate in is constantly changing and we need to have the right structures alongside the right skills and capabilities in the right locations to help us deliver for our customers,” NAB said in a statement, adding some separate technology roles were being created in Australia.
Activists holding signs that reads “No one is illegal!”, chant slogans during a press conference to protest against a huge immigration raid last week at the site of a U.S. car battery project involving Hyundai Motor and LG Energy Solution in the U.S. state of Georgia, in front of the U.S. embassy in Seoul, South Korea, September 9, 2025. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji Purchase Licensing Rights
Many South Korean workers were sent to the U.S. on questionable documents despite their misgivings and warnings about stricter U.S. immigration enforcement before last week’s raid on a Hyundai site, according to workers, officials and lawyers.
For years, South Korean companies have said they struggle to obtain short-term work visas for specialists needed in their high-tech plants in the United States, and had come to rely on a grey zone of looser interpretation of visa rules under previous American administrations.
When that changed in the early days of U.S. President Donald Trump’s second term, some workers were denied entry to the United States under statuses that did not fully allow work, according to Reuters interviews with more than a dozen workers from various companies, government and company officials, and immigration lawyers.
More than 300 South Koreans were among the 475 people swept up and detained by U.S. federal authorities at Hyundai Motor’s (005380.KS), opens new tab car battery plant near Savannah, Georgia, on Thursday, in the largest single-site enforcement operation in the history of the Department of Homeland Security’s investigative operations.
Many of the people arrested were skilled workers who were sent to the U.S. to install equipment at the near-complete factory on a visa waver programme, or B-1 business traveller visas, which largely did not allow work, three people said.
“It’s extremely difficult to get an H-1B visa, which is needed for the battery engineers. That’s why some people got B-1 visas or ESTA,” said Park Tae-sung, vice chairman of Korea Battery Industry Association, referring to the Electronic System for Travel Authorization.
One person who works at the Georgia site told Reuters that this had long been a routine practice. “There was a red flag … They bypass the law and come to work,” the person said, asking not to be named because of the sensitivity of the matter.
The arrests shocked South Korea although workers had previously expressed concern that they could be caught in between Trump’s immigration crackdown and corporate efforts to protect investments in the United States that are at the centre of ongoing trade and tariff talks.
‘I BEGGED THEM’
An equipment technician in South Korea, who previously worked with six of the people arrested, said: “I warned them they could screw up their lives if they are caught.”
“I begged them not to go to the United States again,” he said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
He said he had once obtained a B-1 visa from the United States by claiming he was a supervisor, rather than an equipment specialist.
Another equipment technician working as a contractor with LG Energy Solution said his application for a B-1 visa to work at Hyundai’s Georgia factory was rejected earlier this year, without explanation. When he then tried to fly to Mexico and cross the border, he was blocked from boarding the flight in Seoul.
“We thought the U.S. was our ally … but they are treating me like an illegal immigrant,” he said.
LG Energy Solution (373220.KS), is working with Hyundai to build the factory.
Officials at LGES were aware of the long-standing issues and some of the companies’ employees and contractors were reluctant to travel to the United States for fear of being denied entry, two of the sources said.
“LG Energy Solution has been actively working to resolve visa issues” for its employees and subcontractors, including holding visa briefing sessions through law firms to “prevent legal issues,” LGES said in a statement when asked by Reuters about its employees’ visas.
In response to Reuters’ questions about the allegations of immigration violations by subcontractors at the site, Hyundai Motor referred to a statement that said it has “zero tolerance for those who don’t follow the law” and would investigate the employment practices of suppliers and their subcontractors.
LGES said 47 of its employees were arrested in the Georgia raid, and warned the rest of its workers in the United States to leave or shelter at home.
There was no sign that any Hyundai employee was detained. Most of the people detained were employees of subcontractors, rather than direct employees, LGES and Hyundai Motor have said.
‘CUT CORNERS’
The detainees in Georgia are now set to be released and sent home, but the raid casts a shadow over business ties between the U.S. and South Korea, a major source of foreign investment into the United States.
Foreign Ministry official Kim Dong-min told Reuters in July that a lack of proper work visas for contractors forced them to turn to the ESTA to travel to the U.S. quickly, leading some to be denied U.S. entry.
He was speaking to Reuters on the sidelines of a seminar on “visa refusals” held by Korea Battery Industry Association whose member companies include LGES and their suppliers.
South Korea has long called for creating a new U.S visa category for skilled workers similar to the ones for U.S. free trade partners like Australia and Singapore, but the move has made little progress.
JEFFREY Epstein’s so-called “birthday book” has finally been released – and the contents are as twisted as the late paedo financier’s life.
The 238-page scrapbook, handed to Epstein in 2003 for his 50th, has been published by a US congressional panel alongside his will and infamous address book.
Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell pictured frolicking topless in a pool Credit: House Oversight Committee
It is a grotesque mash-up of alleged tributes, bizarre notes and deeply creepy photos – with topless Ghislaine Maxwell, weird animal pornography and gushing messages from world figures all stuffed between the pages.
One of the biggest bombshells appears on page 108 – a photo of Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s long-time companion and co-conspirator, topless in a swimming pool.
In the snap, she is seen clinging onto Epstein and smiling, the pair looking carefree in the water.
The image has been described as chilling in hindsight, given Maxwell’s later conviction for grooming underage girls for Epstein.
What may have looked like a playful birthday keepsake now carries a far darker weight.
Things get even darker on page 115, where Epstein is shown allegedly acting out a murder plot.
Wearing tights pulled over his head like a makeshift mask, he strikes a pose alongside another man.
The bizarre photo has been interpreted as Epstein’s attempt at black humour – a macabre “joke” among his inner circle.
Scribbled across the page is the line: “Was Jack the Ripper Jeffrey Epstein?”
The bizarre question is paired with references to author Patricia Cornwell’s decades-long work on unmasking the Victorian killer.
It’s unclear who wrote the line or whether it was meant as a joke.
Britain’s Lord Peter Mandelson appears repeatedly throughout the book – with entries on pages 139, 144 and 145.
In one tribute, Mandelson calls Epstein “my best pal” and describes meeting his “interesting” friends.
Photographs alongside the messages show the Labour peer pictured with women whose faces are obscured, believed to be guests at Epstein’s parties.
Mandelson’s spokesperson has stressed he “very much regrets ever having been introduced” to Epstein and that this connection has long been a matter of public record.
Still, the warm words in the birthday book sit uneasily with his later attempts to distance himself.
Former US President Bill Clinton also features in the documents – with a letter signed with his name praising his “childlike curiosity”.
Clinton has always denied any knowledge of Epstein’s crimes during their frienship.
Perhaps the most unsettling section comes on page 155, where Epstein’s friends contributed cartoonish sketches.
One drawing shows him in 1983, handing balloons to a group of children.
On the facing side, Epstein is depicted in 2003, sprawled on a sunbed with bikini-clad women massaging his feet and shoulders.
The caption underneath reads: “What a great country!” – a message that now feels more grotesque than celebratory.
Other drawings in the book reportedly include safari scenes of lions and zebras in sexual poses – bizarre and crude attempts at humour that seem deeply inappropriate for any kind of birthday album.
On page 207, a handwritten message by an unknown woman makes a subtle reference about the ever-present cameras in Epstein’s life.
“Visiting you down in Palm Beach… can’t get a second of privacy with you and a camera around. Ha!” the note reads.
The breezy tone suggests the writer was a friend poking fun at Epstein’s obsession with recording everything – a habit which later fuelled theories about him compiling blackmail material.
Among the strangest pages are a set of wildlife shots.
A lion looms over a lioness whose face is frozen in what looks like an oddly ecstatic moment, while a baboon is pictured on a branch with its mouth wide open, caught in a pose that seems uncomfortably suggestive
Towards the end of the book, pages 216 and 217 display sprawling photo collages – dozens of snaps showing Epstein on beaches, on boats, and with various women.
More than 500 employees in Singapore were laid off as a result of Jetstar Asia’s closure.
Pilots and cabin crew on Jetstar Asia’s last flight out of Singapore walking towards the departure checkpoint for the last time at Changi Airport Terminal 4 on Jul 31, 2025. (File photo: CNA/Justin Ong Guang-Xi)
Most pilots and cabin crew who lost their jobs after Singapore-based Jetstar Asia ceased operations about six weeks ago have secured jobs or interviews, labour chief Ng Chee Meng said.
The airline’s closure, which was announced in June, resulted in more than 500 employees in Singapore being laid off.
The National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) said after the announcement that it was committed to supporting those laid off.
This included organising a three-day job matching exercise in June at Jetstar Asia’s premises, which involved more than 450 job roles across 1,400 job vacancies.
In an update on the laid-off employees’ situation, Mr Ng, the NTUC secretary-general, said on Wednesday (Sep 10) that 90 per cent of the affected pilots and cabin crew had secured interviews or jobs with companies such as the Singapore Airlines (SIA) Group and Marina Bay Sands.
In a Facebook post, Mr Ng also said he met recently with former Jetstar Asia employees – pilots, cabin crew, and corporate staff – who had just transitioned to SIA Group’s budget carrier Scoot.
“They told me their experiences were a blend of anxiety and joy, particularly for one new father welcoming his second child while facing the challenges of Jetstar’s closure,” he said.
“As mid-career workers, they also voiced concerns about adapting to new technologies and fitting into a new company culture.”
NTUC said in June that the SIA Group, including Scoot, was primarily supporting the recruitment efforts for Jetstar Asia’s pilots and cabin crew.
Other employers involved in the June job matching exercise included Airbus Singapore and Satair, Changi Airport Group, SATS, SIA Engineering Company, SMRT and the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore.
CNA asked NTUC about the employment situation of Jetstar Asia’s corporate staff and how many of its pilots and cabin crew have secured jobs, but the labour movement declined to comment.
RISING COSTS
Jetstar Asia flew its final flight from Changi Airport on Jul 31, concluding more than 20 years of operations.
Before its closure, the airline had been reeling from rising supplier costs, higher airport fees and intensifying competition among low-cost carriers.
This challenged its ability to deliver returns comparable to the stronger-performing core markets in the Qantas Group.
Qantas Group CEO Vanessa Hudson said previously that the company had seen some supplier costs rise by up to 200 per cent, materially changing its cost base.
The condition of our lungs can reveal a great deal about our wider health. Luckily you can also get them into better shape.
How old do you think your lungs are? With every breath, they are exposed to a myriad of pollutants, microbes, dust and allergens. Unsurprisingly this can take a toll on these delicate organs, accelerating how they age. But they also can affect how the rest of your body ages too.
In early May 2025, an international team of respiratory experts published one of the first ever studies to assess how human lung function varies as we age. Based on data from some 30,000 men and women collected over the course of the 20th Century, it showed that our lung function peaks in our early to mid-20s. Women’s lung capacity typically tops out a few years earlier than men’s – before declining thereafter.
This, according to Judith Garcia-Aymerich, a professor at the Barcelona Institute for Global Health who led the study, appears to be a biologically programmed part of ageing, she says. Factors such as smoking, air pollution and flare-ups of conditions like asthma can all exacerbate this decline.
The better your lung capacity is at this peak age, however, the more resilience you will have against chronic respiratory diseases and other lung-related health conditions later in life, says Garcia-Aymerich. But lung health is also linked to a wide range of other more surprising aspects of your health, affecting your immune system, your weight and even your brain (read on to find out why later in this piece).
So just how healthy are your lungs? And can you do anything to improve the state they are in?
Studies like the one described above use expensive equipment to measure lung health, but there is a simple way to test your lungs at home. All you need is a large plastic bottle, a bucket or bathtub and a length of rubber tubing. And then do the following (you might want to do it in a sink or outside as it can get a bit messy):
1. First, measure out 200ml (7fl oz) of water into a measuring jug, transfer to the plastic bottle and use a pen to mark the water level.
2. Add another 200ml of water, mark the new water level and repeat the process until the bottle is full.
3. Fill the bucket or bathtub with water and dip the now full bottle into it, turning the bottle upside down under the water.
4. Keeping the bottle in this position, place the rubber tubing inside the bottle neck. It doesn’t have to fit tightly.
5. Take a deep breath and blow into the tube.
6. Count how many lines of water you can blow out of the bottle.
7. Multiply the number of lines by 200ml. (eg three lines is 600ml). This number is your vital lung capacity, also referred to as forced vital capacity or FVC.
“The test looks at the volume of air you can breathe out, which has been termed vital [lung] capacity,” says John Dickinson, who heads the exercise respiratory clinic at the University of Kent. “This term was first used by English surgeon John Hutchinson in the 1840s. He started to notice that those who could only breath small volumes of air had less time to live.”
According to the American Lung Association, FVC can decrease by about 0.2 litres per decade, even in healthy people who have never smoked, due to the effects of ageing. Research suggests that a normal healthy FVC is between three and five litres.
Dickinson says that you should not be overly concerned if you get a lower reading from this home health test. “A lot of people will struggle to completely empty their lungs so may get false low readings,” he says.
But there are also ways of improving your lung health and combating any decline in their performance. And if you want to age gracefully, this may be a vital step.
How your lungs affect your wider health
Research shows that as we age, we experience a loss of elasticity in our lung tissue, a weakening of respiratory muscles like the diaphragm and changes in the rib cage that limit its ability to expand and contract. “If the loss of lung function is excessive, people can feel symptoms like shortness of breath,” says Garcia-Aymerich. “It can lead to a condition called chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) characterised by low lung function levels.”
But worsening lung health does not only make you more susceptible to lung disease. It is also linked to a surprising range of other illnesses, from elevated blood pressure to autoimmunity, metabolic diseases, frailty and even cognitive decline.
Dawn Bowdish, a professor at McMaster University in Canada, who specialises in ageing and immunity, says one reason for this is that the lungs are inextricably linked to the heart and the circulation, as well as having a major connection with the health of our wider immune system via what she calls the “lung-immune axis”.
“The lung has millions and millions of immune cells that have important functions like clearing particulate air pollution, fighting infections, and repairing the damage that comes from the constant stretching of breathing in and out,” she says.
According to Bowdish, if the lung’s immune cells are unable to clear all the particles that gather in the lungs, they trigger increasing levels of inflammation, which can lead to lung scarring, known as pulmonary fibrosis. This makes the lungs stiffer and less able to function. Inflammation in our lungs can also lead to changes in the way our body reacts to respiratory infections as the immune response can cause further harm.
Lower lung function has also been found to precede other age-related health issues, including heart disease, osteoporosis, type 2 diabetes and reductions in memory – although the exact nature of this relationship is still to be understood. Bowdish believes inflammation from our lungs may spread throughout the body.
The benefits of healthy lungs
The relationship between our lungs and wider health is also two-way. Bowdish says that if we keep our lungs relatively healthy, we are more likely to remain disease free for longer in later life.
“Even though lung capacity declines with age, this is not a cause for concern for those who look after their lung health,” adds Dickinson. “Healthy lungs have more than enough capacity to supply the body with oxygen and remove carbon dioxide throughout the lifespan. However, if the rate of decline increases, our health and quality of life may be impacted.”
If you are concerned about your lungs, Dickinson recommends going to your doctor for a proper lung function test, which involves breathing into a device called a spirometer which measures the volume and speed of your breath.
A spirometer will calculate your FVC to medical-grade accuracy along with your forced expiratory volume (FEV1) – the amount of air you can exhale in one second after taking a deep breath. It will also give you the ratio of the FEV1 to FVC, which can indicate if you have anything obstructing your airflow. Combined, these metrics provide an overall picture of your lung health.
“Ideally, I would recommend people have their lung function [clinically] assessed every 10 years if they are not experiencing any symptoms, but they should have it tested immediately if they are experiencing abnormal breathlessness symptoms,” says Dickinson.
Improving your lung function
Once you know the state of your lungs, evidence shows there are some preventative steps which you can take to improve your lung capacity and help mitigate age-related decline.
Regular exercising, for example, can reduce airway inflammation and improve the strength and endurance of breathing muscles. Lowering salt in the diet could also be beneficial as research suggests that excess dietary salt can worsen lung inflammation and fibrosis. A diet richer in fish oils, antioxidants and vitamins C and E, meanwhile, is also thought to help protect the walls of the lungs from damage.
Bowdish recommends quitting both smoking and vaping to avoid ingesting any potentially inflammatory chemicals. According to Daniel Craighead, an assistant professor at the University of Minnesota, another way of maintaining good lung function is to keep to a healthy weight and avoid acquiring excess body fat. “Abdominal fat can impede the ability of the lungs to fully fill with air,” says Craighead.
But there’s another means by which we may be able to actually improve lung function. Since the mid 1990s, inspiratory muscle training (IMT) or breathing in through a device which provides a resistance, has become known as a way of boosting respiratory muscle strength in groups ranging from athletes and singers to people with existing breathing difficulties such as asthma and COPD. Research has shown that IMT can improve exercise capacity and lower blood pressure.
The gold standard method for IMT is a medical device known as Powerbreathe which is recognised as an approved medical product by the UK’s National Health Service (NHS) and other health services. It has been highlighted by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as a tool to support Covid recovery and is also utilised by hospitals around the world for prehabilitation – improving people’s lung function ahead of surgery to increase their chances of making a good recovery – as well as a treatment for pulmonary fibrosis, and to support those who have been on ventilators in intensive care.
According to Craighead, studies have typically shown that two 30-breath IMT sessions a day is sufficient to improve respiratory muscle strength.
Sabrina Brar, medical officer at Powerbreathe International, compares carrying out IMT through the device to weightlifting for your arm and leg muscles. “Strengthening the muscles responsible for breathing in, much like strengthening any other muscle in the body, will increase respiratory muscle endurance and strength and reduce age-related lung function decline,” says Brar. “The idea is to engage the diaphragm and intercostal muscles and then periodically increase the resistance over time as lung strength improves.”
Another option is to simply take up singing or playing a wind instrument. Researchers at the Louis Armstrong Centre in New York City have pioneered this approach through attempting to improve the lung function of people with asthma by teaching them to play various wind instruments. Other scientists have even designed an electronic version of a type of flute called the ocarina to assist in improving lung function.
As an assistant professor at the University of Southern Denmark and a trained classical singer herself, Mette Kaasgaard has been involved in a number of trials looking at how singing can potentially help people with COPD.
He polished silver for kings, poured tea for queens, and stood quietly in the shadows as royal dramas played out — but now, one witness to the Windsors’ most private moments is pulling back the curtain.
Former Buckingham Palace butler Grant Harrold reveals Prince Philip’s searing four-word verdict on Prince Harry’s wedding to Meghan Markle, why King Charles will never again trust him and William’s plan to modernize the monarchy in his bombshell new book, “The Royal Butler.”
“The king doesn’t trust Harry, because of what Harry has said. He worried that he would use it to his advantage. And he has,” Harrold told Page Six.
During his time as Charles’s butler, Harrold also catered for Prince William and Kate Middleton. Getty Images
“He’s done what household members typically do and spilled the beans. It’s a big thing for the family to have one of their own do this.
“They were all so close, and to see that relationship completely destroyed, I do not see them coming back from it.”
Harry, 40, is in the UK this week, where he is rumored to have an audience with the king, but Harrold warns he and Meghan’s podcast, book and TV deals rule them out of any significant re-entry to the royal circle.
“If they reconcile, then fall out again, what’s to say there won’t be another book, Netflix series or interview about it?” he asked.
Harrold, who was butler to King Charles between 2004 and 2011 (when his title was Prince of Wales) said Wiliam and Harry were still incredibly close during his service.
“The two of them were not just the best of friends, they were inseparable,” he tells us. “At Highgrove [Charles’ private residence], they were always together. They were walking together, in the pub together, on motorbikes together. Very rarely did they do stuff separately.”
The former palace staffer, 47, notes in the book, to be released Sept. 23, how everything changed once Harry met Markle in July 2016.
“As soon as Meghan came into his life, everything changed,” Harrold tells Page Six. “It could be that Harry had his own awakening and suddenly decided he didn’t like the organization, but the problem is that Meghan was with him when it happened.
“The biggest change in Harry’s life is Meghan.”
Still, the ex-staffer also believes “something bigger happened” between Harry and William.
“I was genuinely shocked when they fell out,” he said. “There must be something deeper going on that we’re not being told.”
Among various digs at his brother in his memoir “Spare,” Harry accused William of physically attacking him and knocking him to the floor, breaking a dog bowl, in 2019. He also calls him his “beloved brother and arch-nemesis” in the book.
Still, the brothers were still on good terms when Harry and former “Suits” star turned lifestyle influencer Markle married in 2018.
They wed in a lavish ceremony at St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle, with both the late Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, in attendance. Harrold said Philip couldn’t resist uttering one of his trademark one-liners to mark the occasion.
“Once all the formalities were over, we watched as the happy couple, and then the other members of the Royal Family, filed out of the chapel.
“When Prince Philip came out, he turned to the Queen and said, ‘Thank f–k that’s over.’
“It was very funny. I think he was speaking for the majority of people, but he was the man who actually said it.”
“I was standing opposite him and it was so funny,” Harrold recalled to Page Six, sharing an exclusive photo of the moment with us.
Harrold added the comment made the Queen, who passed away in 2022, turn to her husband and grin.
Once installed as an official royal, Meghan was seen to be a disruptor. During the less than two years she was a working member of the royal family, she quicky became known for attempting to do things her way and putting many noses out of joint.
Harrold recalled one instance where the “Suits” alum, now 44, wanted to host some of her friends for lunch on a day she was slated to carry out a royal engagement.
“She would rather have lunch with her friends, thinking that was fine and it wasn’t,” Harrold divulged, noting the royal diary is set six months in advance.
“That’s not how it works. You can’t change it. She obviously thought she could come in and do her thing, and you can’t,” he added.
“I think the problem with Meghan is that she went into the organization and she assumed that after watching all the Disney princesses that she thought it was going to be like that. When you join the royal family, you are given rules and protocols to follow.”
Meanwhile, in the book Harrold says despite the royal family’s admiration for tradition, he expects William, 43, to scrap a lot of the long-standing formalities once he becomes monarch, using his reign to press a “reset button” and slim down the central figures in the family.
“The reality is, when [William and Princess Catherine’s children] George, Charlotte and Louis become of age and start getting involved, the monarchy will be the Prince and Princess of Wales and their three children only,” Harrold says.
“The monarchy will get more fragile as the years go on, and it’s changing. It’s become more of a celebrity thing than a historical firm. Harry was the first celebrity royal,” he added.
The Wales family, Harrold notes, will also continue to live without a butler — something William and Princess Catherine, 43, have done for many years.
“I wanted to butler, to look after [William and Catherine], and they didn’t want any of it,” Harrold said. “They wanted to do stuff themselves. They were carrying their own stuff, doing their own washing up, their own cooking.”
“They are very much still like that. [William] is very hands-on. To this day, I’m the only one that has ever done any butlering for him.”
Harrold also notes in his book how working for the royal household can go to the head of some members, and certain people like to throw their weight around.
The White House on Tuesday said it would support a forensic analysis of the signature on a letter purportedly given by Donald Trump to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein that Trump’s aides say is not the president’s.
Trump, who was friends with Epstein before becoming president but had a falling out with the former financier years before his death, has denied giving him a letter that appears in a birthday book for Epstein with the sketch of a woman’s body and a note about secrets.
Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives on Monday released the letter, written more than 20 years ago, to the public. The White House quickly denied its authenticity.
Trump told reporters on Tuesday it was not his signature or his speaking style in the note. “That’s not my language. It’s nonsense,” he said.
The release of the document and others involving Epstein have brought renewed attention to an issue that has become a political thorn in the president’s side. Though he has urged his supporters to move on from the topic, appetite for details about Epstein’s crimes and who else may have known about them or been involved with him has remained high.
Karoline Leavitt, the president’s spokeswoman, told reporters the White House would back an analysis of the signature to prove Trump right.
“The president did not write this letter. He did not sign this letter,” she said.
Leavitt said Trump also had not signed a check to Epstein that allegedly had his signature on it.
“The president has one of the most famous signatures in the world, and he has for many, many years,” she said.
House Oversight Committee chair James Comer, who is leading the congressional Epstein investigation and subpoenaed the Epstein estate for documents including the so-called birthday book, said he believed Trump.
“The president says he did not sign it, so I take the president at his word,” the Kentucky Republican told reporters.
PUBLIC SUSPICIONS
A birthday letter that U.S. President Donald Trump allegedly wrote to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein more than 20 years ago is seen as presented by the Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives on their X account September 8, 2025. The letter, the existence of which was reported by the Wall Street Journal in July, appears to have been signed by Trump, but he has denied doing so and has said the card does not exist, and the White House has denied its authenticity. Democrats on the House Oversight Committee/Handout via REUTERS Purchase Licensing Rights
Lawmakers met with Epstein victims last week at the U.S. Capitol. Asked if he would meet with victims, Trump said he had not considered that.
“Certainly I don’t like that whole situation with respect to anybody being abused or hurt, but I haven’t, I haven’t even thought about that,” he said.
A Reuters/Ipsos poll completed on Tuesday found the U.S. public continues to harbor suspicions about the Epstein case, with 65% of respondents saying the government is hiding information about his 2019 death in prison, which was ruled a suicide, and 72% saying the government is hiding information about the accused sex trafficker’s client list. Both figures were up slightly from a similar survey in July.
However, the survey of 1,084 adults found a bright spot for Trump: 44% of Republican respondents said they approved of the way he was handling the Epstein matter, up from 35% in July. Overall, only 17% of the public approved of his handling of the issue.
Four Republicans in the House of Representatives have signed on to a bipartisan petition seeking to force the Trump administration to release all documents on Epstein.
Republican Representative Thomas Massie said he hoped Comer’s committee would investigate what he said looked like Trump’s signature on the birthday note.
“I’m not a forensic expert, but it looks like his signature,” Massie told reporters. “Hopefully they can do some kind of forensics on it and figure that out, so we don’t have to debate the knowable.”
Comer said his committee was unlikely to invest in examining a signature from so many years ago.
Leavitt accused Democrats of trying to hurt the president by focusing on the Epstein case.
Protests in Nepal continued despite the government lifting the social media ban, leaving 22 dead and more than 300 injured. Gen Z protesters torched PM Oli’s residence, set fire to parliament buildings, and attacked homes of senior leaders.
Nepal Parliament set on fire by Gen-Z protesters (Photo: PTI)
Protests in Nepal escalated on Tuesday despite the government lifting the social media ban, leading to Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli’s resignation. Gen Z protesters torched all three branches of government – the parliament, Singha Durbar (the executive seat), and the Supreme Court. At least 22 people were killed and over 300 were injured in the unrest, which broke out on September 8. Protesters also stormed prisons across the country, reportedly freeing around 900 inmates.
Here are the latest developments
Nepal Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli resigned as violent protests over the government’s social media ban intensified. In his resignation letter, Oli said he was stepping down “to facilitate a solution to the problem and to help resolve it politically.”
Chief of Army Staff General Ashok Raj Sigdel urged calm, calling on protesters to suspend their agitation and enter talks. “Easing the uncomfortable situation, protecting national heritage, public and private property, common citizens, diplomatic missions, and ensuring a sense of security is our common duty,” Sigdel said in a statement.
The Nepal Army had warned protesters against vandalism, looting, or arson, saying some groups were exploiting the unrest. It stressed that if such activities continued, all security forces, including the army, would take “decisive measures” to restore order.
KP Sharma Oli’s residence was torched, and Finance Minister Bishnu Prasad Paudel was chased through Kathmandu’s streets. Protesters also set fire to parliament building, clashed with police, and attacked the homes of senior leaders, including former Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba.
The death toll in Nepal’s protests rose to 22 on Tuesday, with more than 300 people injured as demonstrations entered their second day despite the government lifting the social media ban.
The Nepal Army on Tuesday took control of Kathmandu’s Tribhuvan International Airport after agitators attempted to enter its premises in the evening.
Former Nepal Prime Minister Jhalanath Khanal’s wife, Rabi Laxmi Chitrakar, died after sustaining critical burn injuries when their home in Dallu was set on fire. According to Nepali outlet Khabar Hub, Chitrakar was rushed to the Kirtipur Burn Hospital but did not survive.
Gen Z protesters broke into Nakkhu Jail and freed Nepal’s former Deputy Prime Minister and Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) chief Rabi Lamichhane. Following his release, nearly 900 other inmates also walked out of the facility shortly afterward.
The brother of accused Charlotte light rail butcher Decarlos Brown Jr. blamed the system that allowed the mentally ill ex-con to go free on cashless bail for the horrific murder of Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska — and said his kin should suffer the consequences.
“I think they could have pretty much prevented it then,” Jeremiah, who shares a father with Brown, told The Post — referring to the lax terms that a magistrate judge set for Decarlos Brown Jr. when he was released from jail for a prior arrest in January.
Brown, 34, a schizophrenic homeless man with a prison record and numerous arrests for violence, now stands accused of murdering the 23-year-old, who fled war-torn Ukraine with her mother, brother and sister in 2022 to start a new life in America.
This booking photo provided by the Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office on Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2025, shows Decarlos Brown Jr., who is charged with the fatal stabbing of a Ukrainian refugee. AP
“I didn’t even know he had mental problems…You can’t just let him walk free especially because of mental issues,” Jerimiah said.
“He could do it again. They should still treat him for his mental issues but there are consequences for his actions.
“I think he should suffer the consequences.”
Jeremiah, 19, said he was shocked to see Brown — who he only met “once or twice” — on the news last month, but revealed that his family has a troubled history of violence.
“He was on my father’s side. They have a record of being in jail and stuff,” he said.
The father, Decarlos Sr. and older brother, Stacey, both did time for violent crimes.
Stacey, now 32, is serving 27-36 years in prison for the 2014 murder of 65-year-old Robert Heym in Charlotte, whom Stacey and another man, Rodderick Derrick Crawford, shot dead during a robbery, according to WBTV.
In a chilling parallel, Stacey, whose mugshot bears a striking resemblance to his murder suspect half-brother, took the Charlotte light rail to escape after the shooting.
Jeremiah said he was in elementary school when the killing happened, and that he remembers seeing his older brother on a news report at the time, much like he’s seeing Decarlos Jr. now.
