Month: September 2026

Canada pledges 100 million Canadian dollars ($71m) in aid for Palestinians as the UK and France call for action against Israeli settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has announced that Canada is pledging 100 million Canadian dollars ($71m) in international assistance for Palestinians in an effort to preserve “the possibility of a two-state solution”.

Speaking on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), Carney outlined that 80 percent of the funding will go towards direct humanitarian aid. The remaining 20 percent will be allocated to “support peace and security”, including Canada’s multiyear initiative to train Palestinian police in the occupied West Bank.

Carney prefaced the pledge by noting that Palestinians in Gaza continue to endure “immense human suffering”, while Israelis confront “existential threats from Hamas and from Iran and its proxies”.

The prime minister was also critical of Israel’s E1 settlement project, with the “intention to bring forward trade restrictions targeting goods produced in those illegal Israeli settlements”.

Canada is one of the 12 states that announced restrictions on trade in goods ⁠with settlements in the occupied territory.

Since the beginning of Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza, Ottawa has pledged more than 600 million Canadian dollars ($426m) in aid for Palestinian civilians.

‘Shame on all of us’

Carney was not the only Western leader to speak on Palestine. French President Emmanuel Macron also slammed world leaders for restrictions on aid in a UNGA speech on Tuesday.

“There are those who claim that peace has been achieved, but this has not opened the way for humanitarian aid deliveries. This sight is shameful. Shame on all of us,” he said.

“But what is our credibility worth if we remain inactive in the face of Gaza?” he added.

British Prime Minister Andy Burnham said failure to deliver a two-state solution will “corrode trust” in politicians who have talked about the issue but not taken action.

Burnham told delegates from dozens of countries that the UK has also banned trade with illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank because the E1 settlement expansion plan is “a deliberate attempt to block a two-state solution”.

“We all live in an era of low trust in politics. Many people in this room, many politicians around the world, have spoken for decades about a two-state solution. But if we fail to back those words with deeds, we will further corrode trust in the political, diplomatic and international process,” Burnham added.

President’s move clears hurdles to long delayed election and raises concern he can now wield unchecked power.

South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir has dissolved the country’s transitional unity government and appointed a caretaker administration as the country prepares for its first-ever national elections.

The decree on Tuesday ended a power-sharing arrangement set up under a 2018 peace deal that halted years of civil war, and raised concerns that Kiir could now wield unchecked power.

The decree, read out by the national broadcaster, said all vice-presidents, ministers and local administrators have been removed and that the national and state assemblies have been dissolved.

The judiciary and security institutions remain in place, while Kiir will stay in office “during the election period until the next elected president assumes office”, it said.

The decree came a day after the parliament approved changes to the National Elections Act that allowed Kiir to stay in power during the election period, while removing all vice presidents, who were appointed under the 2018 peace deal.

The changes mean that South Sudan can move towards elections scheduled for December 22, without first completing a permanent constitution or census – two processes that were previously tied to the transition.

The main opposition alliance has rejected the changes.

Elections were initially expected in 2022 but have been postponed twice.

Tasks still outstanding under the 2018 peace deal include drafting a permanent constitution, registering voters and unifying the armed forces loyal to rival parties.

That agreement followed five years of civil war that killed about 400,000 people and displaced millions, according to the United Nations.

Amnesty International, a prominent rights group, called Kiir’s decree a “decisive step” towards the country’s first-ever elections. But Tigere Chagutah, Amnesty International’s regional director for East and Southern Africa, urged the authorities to “ensure that a conducive environment exists for people to vote and stand in elections”.

Analysts meanwhile warned that the changes offered Kiir unfettered control.

“Kiir will be the only person in power, without vice-presidents, without the executive, without the parliament,” Michael Wani, a lawyer and former member of the constitution drafting committee, told the AFP news agency.

Independent analyst Machot Amuom told AFP there was a lot of “ambiguity” in the legal changes. “The new law gives the president full powers … He can decide even not to go for elections for another year or another two years,” Amuom told AFP.

Last week, Kiir also replaced the head of the elections commission without giving a reason. South Sudan Broadcasting Corporation (SSBC) said the new chief, Gabriel Bol Deng Majok, had been given a “fresh mandate” to oversee preparations for the polls.

The preparations come as Kiir’s longtime rival Riek Machar, who leads the opposition Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-in-Opposition (SPLM-IO), remains under house arrest. He is on trial on charges including treason and murder, which he denies.

The transition is also taking place under tight security.

AFP reported checkpoints and road closures around the government complex in the capital, Juba, while security personnel were ordered to remain on heightened alert for three days.

California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta’s deal to allow the $111-billion Paramount-Warner Bros. merger to proceed was struck amid political pressure from state leaders and concern from some Democratic attorneys general that concessions from the studio fell short, according to multiple sources familiar with the negotiations.

As recently as this weekend, New York Atty. Gen. Letitia James and Connecticut Atty. Gen. William Tong — who had signed on to the lawsuit — had said they needed more concessions, according to three knowledgeable sources close to the negotiations.

In an interview with The Times on Tuesday, Tong said Bonta was “doing his very best in very difficult circumstances” to steer the coalition to a favorable outcome, but amid “a lot of political pressure” from others in California that “did not help.”

“I’m not going to sugarcoat it. This is ultimately not what I wanted,” Tong said.

Tong said one of his chief concerns — shared by others in the 12-member coalition of states — was with the merger’s consolidation of CNN and CBS News under Paramount Skydance Chief Executive David Ellison, the billionaire media mogul close to President Trump and son of Oracle co-founder and Republican mega-donor Larry Ellison.

Tong raised similar concerns after the announcement of the deal, when he said publicly that his state had “led the fight to the bitter end to protect the editorial independence of CNN and CBS News,” and that he was “deeply disappointed that we could not do more.”

Paramount declined to comment.

With its economy and global reputation heavily intertwined with Hollywood’s allure and ability to survive, California had more at stake in the negotiations.

In exchange for the states lifting their antitrust challenge, Bonta said Monday that the studio had agreed to either produce 30 or more films annually for the first five years of the combined company or divest the Miramax film studio; separately negotiate basic channel agreements for Paramount and Warner Bros. or divest from major cable channels; spend $300 million more each year on film production in the U.S.; maintain its Melrose Avenue and Burbank lots; and establish a board to ensure editorial independence at CNN and CBS News, which also fall under the merger.

Bonta said the deal has “real teeth,” and that he “will hold Paramount accountable” moving forward.

Since then, however, other Democrats have voiced less confidence, and some in the coalition believed they could have held out for better terms as the midterm elections approached.

Some also questioned whether Bonta and other California leaders were swayed by Ellison’s threat to move Paramount out of the state.

Gov. Gavin Newsom, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and Xavier Becerra — the front-runner in the race to succeed Newsom as governor — had all urged Bonta to settle the case. In his initial statement on the deal, Ellison thanked the Democratic attorneys general for working through their differences, but also thanked Newsom for “his support throughout this process.”

Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), the ranking Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights, said Bonta and the other state attorneys general “took on one of the most powerful media companies in the world, a company backed by the full weight of the White House,” and that Paramount had answered “with what amounted to extortion” by threatening to withdraw from California if the deal was blocked.

Booker claimed the merger remains illegal and questioned the independence of any editorial board picked by and reporting to Ellison — saying it would not stop him from making “sweeping changes at CNN” to please Trump.

“This is what happens when federal enforcers abandon their posts. States are left to carry the fight alone, and even the strongest state enforcers cannot outlast a company willing to say anything and spend anything,” Booker said. “That is not justice. That is a price tag.”

Dissent before the deal

The pace of the negotiations, which had been on-again, off-again for weeks, quickened last week, and Bonta’s office had reached a deal with Paramount by Friday, sources said.

But there was a last-minute hiccup: Some members of the coalition felt the deal fell considerably short of what they had been seeking.

Among other things, James was dismayed that the Writers Guild of America — which had separately sued to block the deal — hadn’t been brought into the negotiations. She pushed to include the WGA and to bolster Paramount’s commitment to the WGA’s health and pension fund.

Over the weekend, Paramount agreed to increase its health fund commitment from $10 million to $17.5 million. Still, the WGA had largely been shut out of the process, and said Monday that it continued to “believe the merger will cause damage to writers and the industry at large.”

One source familiar with the negotiations said the states had four separate votes against settling on Sunday, but the resistance eventually crumbled with word that the WGA was backing out of the fight. Two sources familiar with the matter said some in the coalition were caught off guard by the speed with which Bonta’s “tone” changed and the deal was reached. Some had felt Paramount may be more inclined to grant concessions once it had to start increasing its payout to Warner Bros. investors starting Oct. 1.

On Tuesday, Bonta told The Times that he would not comment on “what specifics led up to” the deal, except to note that all 12 state attorneys general in the coalition signed on to it.

“It was unanimous, and I’ll leave it at that,” he said.

Bonta said there was certainly “a lot of interest” in the case from other elected officials, some of whom made their positions clear, but that “none of it had any influence” on him.

“I need to look at the law and the facts,” he said. “If we’re able to get a solution to our antitrust concerns, we take it.”

Bonta said he could not comment on what effect Ellison’s threats to move Paramount out of California might have had on his decision and that his “focus was on the antitrust concerns” — which he believes the deal substantially addresses.

A source close to the governor’s office said Newsom communicated frequently with Bonta and Ellison, acted as an unofficial mediator and urged them to reach a resolution, but did not try to control the terms of the deal and respects Bonta’s role as the state’s independently elected law enforcement leader. Newsom appointed Bonta as California’s attorney general in 2021 after Becerra, who was serving in that post, accepted a position in President Biden’s cabinet. California voters elected Bonta as attorney general in 2022.

The source said Newsom wanted the two sides to settle the case because he was concerned that the state could face protracted litigation, ultimately lose in court and end up with nothing. Paramount leaving California for Nashville — a destination floated by Ellison — also would have been an economic blow to the state.

Newsom has tried to keep businesses headquartered in the state due to the economic and budgetary impacts of losing companies and their wealthy chief executives to other places, and recently signed legislation to create a new post-production tax credit for studios. Last year, he doubled the state’s existing film and television tax credit in an effort to support the industry.

Mixed reaction

Newsom and many of Bonta’s fellow attorneys general echoed his claims of victory.

James said the deal “will allow the film and television industry to continue to thrive with more movies produced in America and $1.5 billion of new investment in film production.” Oregon Atty. Gen. Dan Rayfield said it “keeps real competition in place, ensures that productions will continue, and ensures journalistic independence.” Arizona Atty. Gen. Kris Mayes said it would protect businesses, including local movie theaters. Colorado Atty. Gen. Phil Weiser said it would protect “moviegoers and producers.”

In a statement, Newsom thanked Bonta for his work to reach the deal, which he called “a practical path forward” that “protects California jobs while putting a safeguard in place to help preserve editorial independence for two of America’s most important news organizations.”

Still, it was clear that others viewed the deal as a partial win at best.

New Mexico Atty. Gen. Raúl Torrez called it a “great first step.” Massachusetts Atty. Gen. Andrea Joy Campbell said the states were “unable to secure every protection we fought for,” and that she “would have liked to see more.” Minnesota Atty. Gen. Keith Ellison stressed that the deal should not be seen as an endorsement of the merger.

“I believe mergers like this are never done with the best interests of consumers, workers and small businesses in mind and are instead designed to help a select few get richer,” he said.

Some outsiders were even more forthright with their skepticism. Rich Greenfield, a longtime media analyst, called the deal a “slam dunk win” for Paramount because it didn’t require the company to sell off any assets. Norm Eisen, co-founder of the Democracy Defenders Action group, said the “so-called independence board” to oversee CNN and CBS News “appears to be sorely lacking in independence.”

Bonta said the deal does set out structural divestment remedies if Paramount does not follow its other terms — including by requiring it to sell off Miramax if it doesn’t produce enough films, and to sell off BET, VH1, Comedy Central and other channels if it doesn’t negotiate cable agreements for Paramount and Warner Bros. separately.

He said that if the state had held out and gone to trial on its antitrust arguments, it would not have been able to negotiate any journalistic oversight for CNN and CBS, whereas the “creativity and flexibility of settlement” allowed them to establish the oversight panel.

“Does that transform our information ecosystem broadly, to make sure that there’s no more misinformation or disinformation? No. Does it make sure that all broadcast news and cable channel news organizations are only telling fair, fact-based, independent, objective news? No. Does it even ensure that happens every single time at CBS News or CNN? No,” Bonta said. “Does it improve the likelihood, vastly, significantly, that that outcome will occur? It does.”

Sept. 22, 2026 6:56 PM PT

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration plans to limit the number of refugees admitted to the country to 17,500 mostly white South Africans, the administration told Congress on Tuesday, as it continues to transform a program that at one point served as a pathway to safety for people fleeing war and strife from countries around the world.

In a notice to Congress obtained by the Associated Press, the administration said the white South Africans faced seizures of their land and other forms of persecution and would be likely to assimilate when they come to America. The South African government has repeatedly rejected the idea that the white South Africans, who are Afrikaners, are a persecuted minority in the home country.

The Trump administration has dramatically altered a refugee program that historically enjoyed strong bipartisan support as it welcomed tens of thousands of refugees from countries around the world to new lives in America, and instead the administration has transformed it into a vehicle to resettle white South Africans in America.

The administration told Congress in the announcement that it intended to spend about $500 million to resettle the new arrivals to the U.S.

Presidents set the cap on how many refugees the U.S. will approve through the program each year, and historically, they’ve allocated those numbers across various geographic regions while factoring in wars or conflicts that spark humanitarian needs around the globe.

Santana and Kim write for the Associated Press.

Irish taoiseach [prime minister] Micheal Martin said comments made by the Israel Football Association about the Republic of Ireland manager Heimir Hallgrimsson are “unacceptable” and “should be withdrawn”.

Israel’s football governing body accused Hallgrimmson of “ignorance, hypocrisy and stupidity” regarding comments made last week when he said: “We’re not playing with genocide, we’re playing against genocide. We’re playing against Israel, we’re not playing with Israel.”

The teams are set to meet twice in the space of a week in the Nations League, with Israel’s ‘home’ game in Debrecen, Hungary on Sunday, with the return fixture also in a neutral venue of Backa Topola, Serbia on 4 October.

On Monday, the Israel FA posted a message on X, saying: “We have contributed to the world and humanity in countless fields, earning an impressive number of Nobel Prizes along the way.

“Unfortunately, we have not yet found a cure for stupidity, ignorance and hypocrisy displayed by @IrelandFootball team coach.

“We’re not playing with ignorance, hypocrisy and stupidity, We’re playing against the coach who embodies them.”

While the Football Association of Ireland [FAI] did not respond, Martin did comment.

“They are unacceptable remarks and should be withdrawn,” he told reporters in New York, where he is attending the UN General Assembly.

“We’re very clear and I think [UN secretary-general] Antonio Guterres said it again this morning, he has never in his lifetime seen the level and scale of death and destruction as he witnessed in terms of the Israeli government’s war on Gaza in the aftermath of the horrific Hamas attack preceding the war. Our manager is saying the exact same thing.

“Israel can’t keep denying what the world knows and what the world understands.”

The Royal Air Force (RAF) is deploying one of its Voyager aerial refueling jets to help Saudi Arabia defend against ongoing attacks from the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels of Yemen. The decision marks the first publicly known international military assistance offered to Saudi Arabia specifically for its fight against the Houthis, which erupted over the summer. The move came hours before U.S. President Donald Trump told the United Nations General Assembly meeting that he believes a peace deal with Iran will be reached after the U.S. midterm elections in November.

The British action is significant because, while it involves just one tanker, other key Saudi allies have yet to heed the Kingdom’s request for military help specifically to battle the Houthis. Although it’s important to note some assets already deployed to defend against Iranian attacks could be helping with the Houthi threat now.

Last week, Trump turned down a direct plea from Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the kingdom’s de facto leader, to attack the Houthis. Meanwhile, Pakistan and Turkey, which signed the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement with Saudi Arabia, have yet to provide any direct military aid. The pact holds that an attack on one is considered an attack on all; however, it doesn’t stipulate exactly what actions should be taken. 

Saudi Arabia, under repeated Houthi missile and drone attacks as well as suspected strikes from Iranian-backed militias in Iraq, is struggling to defend its oil infrastructure. The Kingdom is also facing a challenge supporting the anti-Houthi forces it backs in the Yemen civil war that reignited in the wake of the U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran that began Feb. 28.

At issue beyond protecting the Saudis is growing concern over the Bab al-Mandab Strait, a key chokepoint now largely controlled by the Houthis, who are preventing the Saudis from using it to ship oil. 

Earlier this year, the Houthis imposed a blockade on the Strait, and began striking Saudi ships in the southern part of the Red Sea as well as critical energy terminals on that body of water. Iranian proxies have also struck the vital East-West pipeline that feeds oil to be transferred and shipped via the Red Sea in order to bypass the Strait of Hormuz, where Iran vastly curtailed shipping after the launch of Operation Epic Fury. The pipeline reportedly reopened today after being shut down following a long-range drone attack.

The stark reality is that if Saudi refineries are destroyed and the pipeline is shut down for months if not longer, the last major lifeline from the region, and especially to Europe, would be closed off, sparking a deeper energy crisis.

Concern over these factors spurred Britain to act, the Ministry of Defense (MoD) noted. It said it was acting on a request from Saudi Arabia and that the jet would “support Saudi Arabia’s defensive operations in aid of the legitimate Yemeni government.”

“Escalating tensions in the Gulf could have negative consequences here in the UK—such as rising prices, disruptions to energy supplies, and increased costs for British businesses,” the ministry explained. “The Houthis pose a threat to stability in the Middle East; therefore, it is in the UK’s national interest—economically and in terms of security—that they do not succeed in their aims.”

“We unequivocally condemn Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia, and our position is clear: both Saudi Arabia and the Yemeni government have the right to self-defense,” the ministry added. 

The jet will operate from a U.K. air base in Cyprus and will begin air-to-air refueling operations in the coming days, the BBC reported.

The MoD said the Voyager will fly only in support of missions to shoot down missiles and drones, though Saudi aircraft are also bombing Houthi ground positions in Yemen, in part to get at drone and missile launchers and storage sites. Houthi officials have accused the Saudis of killing civilians in some of these attacks.

It should be noted that, more than a decade ago, the U.S. was supporting the Saudi coalition’s previous bombing campaign against the Houthis by providing aerial refueling and intelligence. However, then-Defense Secretary James Mattis ended that in 2018 during the first Trump presidency after growing concerns over the large number of civilian casualties.

The Voyager can only refuel the Royal Saudi Air Force Eurofighter Typhoons, Panavia Tornados, and Italian Air Force Typhoons that have been in the Kingdom since before the fighting with the Houthis broke out, as well as any other similarly equipped allied aircraft. That’s because the tanker only has probe-and-drogue aerial refueling, not the boom required for gassing up other receptacle-equipped aircraft. You can read more about this in our story here.

The Voyager will not be the first British asset to be sent to help Saudi Arabia since the launch of Epic Fury. In March, the U.K. sent its Sky Sabre air defense system and troops to the Kingdom to help defend against attacks from Iran.

“This support builds upon the UK’s existing military contribution to Saudi air defense, which includes the deployment of an air defense system and British personnel to help protect against missile and drone attacks,” the MoD pointed out on Tuesday. “Saudi Arabia and Yemen are steadfast partners of the UK and play a vital role in regional stability. It is in the UK’s interest to safeguard regional stability, protect vital trade and energy supplies, and encourage a diplomatic resolution to the conflict in Yemen.”

The civil war in Yemen erupted in 2014 and expanded a year later when a Saudi-led coalition joined forces with the government ousted by the Houthis. The fighting between Saudi-led forces and the Houthis largely abated after a tenuous ceasefire was signed in 2022. The Saudis held off on getting involved in the recent Red Sea conflict which saw the U.S. and coalition warships duking it out with the Houthis, and eventually led to a U.S.-led air campaign over Yemen. The United Kingdom was the other significant player in that air campaign.

Tensions, as we noted earlier in this story, reignited in recent weeks after the Houthis joined the U.S.-Iran conflict on the side of their major supporter. 

On Tuesday, Houthi spokesman Brig. Gen. Yahya Sare’e claimed that Saudi Arabia conducted 19 airstrikes across rebel-held territory in Yemen that involved the latest round of civilian casualties. The Saudis have not directly responded.

As we stated earlier in this story, hours after the U.K. announced it was sending a Voyager tanker to Saudi Arabia, Trump addressed the ongoing conflict with Iran during his speech to the U.N. General Assembly in New York.

The American leader called for international isolation of Iran and repeated his stance that he was at an inflection point on deciding what course to take moving forward. The situation has settled into an uneasy pause interrupted by sporadic Iranian attacks on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. It has been weeks since the U.S. last struck Iranian targets.

“Will a deal be made with Iran that lets them rebuild and create a far greater country than it ever was before?” Trump asked rhetorically. “Or do I annihilate the Islamic Republic and do it quickly, never giving them a chance to kill and destroy people and countries again?”

Trump added that he believes he will make a peace deal with Iran after the upcoming U.S. midterm elections, which could decide which party controls Congress. With gasoline and diesel price increases damaging the economy, the war and Trump’s handling of it have been very unpopular with voters.

In a CNN and SSRS poll, released Tuesday, 64% of those responding said the U.S. is not winning the war in Iran, while 36% disagreed. In addition, 78% of participants said Trump is not doing enough to end the conflict with Iran and 22% said he was.

“Children of Blood and Bone” director Gina Prince-Bythewood’s son Cassius Bythewood was honored by Miami Police department last week for saving a woman from a near-fatal attack.

Cassius accepted the hero award from the city of Miami Police Department at a ceremony recognizing his bravery on Wednesday.

“It’s surreal to be able to be this proud of my child,” Gina told reporters at the event. “I’ve always been proud of him, but this is such an incredible thing that he did.”

In May, Cassius heard the nearby screams of Miami woman Caitlin Dydzuhn, who was walking her dog near her downtown condominium when she was brutally attacked by a man wielding a homemade shank. Cassius, 25, ran toward the screams and jumped in to stop the assault by kicking and shoving the alleged assailant Raydean Johnson, 49, who was arrested at the scene of the incident shortly after the attack.

Dydzuhn was punched and stabbed, and suffered severe cuts and damage to one of her eyes, according to NBC Miami. Doctors told her she would likely never regain her vision in the wounded eye, but she has since recovered.

Cassius told the outlet that he was raised not to panic in intense situations and to help those in need. He also said his lifelong training in martial arts helped equip him to step in.

“Fight or flight,” he said, per 7 News. “I’m glad that fight kicked in.”

“He saved my life,” Dydzuhn told reporters at the ceremony. “My last memory was screaming for my life, kind of blocking punches, blocking stab wounds, and feeling that no one was coming to save me.”

Dydzuhn continued that Cassius guided her to safety and spoke calmly, telling her, “There’s a man here with a weapon. I need to get you out of here.”

Gina Prince-Bythewood, also known for “The Woman King” and “Love & Basketball,” posted coverage of the ceremony on social media, writing, “Firstborn@CassiusMandela living the incredible example set by his pops,” adding a thank-you to her husband, Reggie Rock Bythewood, for “all that you instilled in our sons.”

Reggie added his own accolades for his son in the comments, writing, “My son. So grateful you’re safe. Grateful Caitlin is recovering well. I’m grateful that Mom was able to be with you. I admire how you were calm and empathetic under extreme pressure. Now you know why I call you CHAMP.”

Shonda Rhimes, Viola Davis and Gabrielle Union all applauded Cassius in the comments, calling him an incredible young man.

Dydzuhn also weighed in, writing that she’s only alive because of the values of courage and integrity instilled in Cassius, calling him her hero.

Nneka Ogwumike answered the same question she’s been facing for almost two months.

Why now? Why leave the WNBA when she still leads the Sparks in scoring and rebounding, has played a central role in helping the league negotiate a transformative new collective bargaining agreement and returned to the city where her pro career began?

Ogwumike is at peace with her decision. And when she steps onto the court in a Sparks jersey for the last time Thursday, she will do it without regrets.

“I’m mostly grateful,” Ogwumike said. “I haven’t really been thinking much else besides just being grateful for the opportunity to have had a 15-year career in the WNBA and also to finish in a Sparks jersey.”

There is a lot for which to be grateful.

Ogwumike entered the WNBA as the No. 1 overall pick of the Sparks in 2012. Now, 15 seasons later, she is leaving the league as one of its most accomplished players — and as the most prolific scorer in Sparks history.

Sparks forward Nneka Ogwumike, left, tries to drive past Lynx forward Napheesa Collier during a game in Minneapolis.

(Matt Krohn / Getty Images)

“It feels freeing,” Ogwumike said of her decision to retire. “It feels like there’s a level of autonomy that I’m able to have, and I’m very happy about that.”

The numbers only begin to tell the story.

Ogwumike was rookie of the year after averaging 14 points and 7.5 rebounds per game. Four years later, she produced the best season of her career, averaging 19.7 points per game, winning MVP and leading the Sparks to their third WNBA championship.

She spent 12 seasons with the Sparks before leaving for Seattle, then returned to Los Angeles this season to finish her career.

Along the way, she established herself among the most productive players in league history. Ogwumike will finish her career fourth all-time in scoring with 8,013 points, behind Diana Taurasi, Tina Charles and DeWanna Bonner. She is third all-time in rebounds with 3,571 and third in steals with 716.

And on July 17, she added one more piece of history to the résumé, passing Lisa Leslie to become the Sparks’ all-time leading scorer.

Sisters Chiney, left, and Nneka Ogwumike pose for a photo at the Bird’s Eye View After Party during WNBA All-Star weekend.

(Daniel Boczarski / Getty Images for Vox Media)

“This is where it all started [for me],” Ogwumike said. “So very happy to be able to share this time, both the beginning and the end of my career in L.A., and I had a majority of my career playing for this organization, so it really does mean a lot to be able to finish in it as well.”

The return, however, did not unfold quite the way Ogwumike or the Sparks had envisioned.

Los Angeles entered the season with playoff expectations after bringing Ogwumike back, signing Erica Wheeler and trading for Ariel Atkins. The Sparks had not made the postseason since 2020, and the hope was that Ogwumike’s return could help change that.

Instead, the season became a struggle. The Sparks will finish 10 games out of a playoff spot, leaving Ogwumike’s final games less about a postseason push and more about what she could leave behind.

“The season is not at all what I expected, but it doesn’t mean that I can’t come out here to do my job and try and be great, and be great as a result,” Ogwumike said. “And as always, playing with my teammates as well.”

That has meant spending time with the young players who will carry the Sparks forward after she is gone.

Sparks coach Lynne Roberts and Nneka Ogwumike talk on the sideline during a win over the Indiana Fever in July.

(Katelyn Mulcahy / Getty Images)

Ogwumike has particularly focused on Cameron Brink, the young forward who represents a significant part of the organization’s future.

“I think right now I’m really spending a lot of my time trying to pour into Cam as well,” Ogwumike told reporters this week. “I really do think that she’s the future of the league. … I’m happy to be able to leave whatever I can before I throw my feet up.”

It is a fitting final role for a player whose career has stretched across generations of the WNBA.

“She’s poured into me since I got into the league,” Dream forward Angel Reese said in August. “Kind of like one of my first vets, always being there for me, always texting me, and also really like educating me on the things that were going on, knowing that it was a big CBA coming up.”

Her final contribution might not be something that appears in a box score. It might be what she passes on.

“She’ll be missed,” said Valkyries forward Gabby Williams, who played with Ogwumike in Seattle the previous two seasons. “As a friend, but also as a fan. I’ll miss watching her in the W.”

Williams knows what Ogwumike’s career has meant to the league, but she also understands what comes next.

“I’m really happy for her,” Williams said. “Happy she gets to take that next step. I know what it means to her. I’m glad her last year was pivotal for the CBA and she’ll always have her name written on that.”

Ogwumike, though, isn’t spending much time looking backward.

She hasn’t thought about what her final moments in the WNBA will feel like, only the gratefulness she feels to have had her 15-year career.

“I haven’t,” Ogwumike said when asked if she has thought about her last moments in the league. “Still just focused on playing.”

Iranian media has reported the sound of an explosion near Iran’s Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz, though the cause remains unclear.

Iran’s aviation officials negotiate with Oman and Iraq as Secretary Bessent targets carriers seven months into the conflict.

Flights from Iran to Baghdad and Muscat will be cancelled starting at midnight ahead of new United States sanctions taking effect Wednesday, Tasnim News Agency reported.

A spokesman for Iran’s Civil Aviation Organization told the news agency on Tuesday that the agency is “negotiating so that flights whose destination is Baghdad can be redirected to [Iraq’s] Najaf Airport”.

Iran’s ISNA news agency reported that negotiations with Oman were likewise ongoing, adding that all remaining international flights, including those to Istanbul, will operate as scheduled.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Monday that all Iranian airlines would be shut down on September 23 through the threat of secondary sanctions on aviation service providers, seven months into the war between the US and Iran.

Bessent told CNBC that when Iranian carriers land at an airport, “you cannot provide them with fuel, you cannot provide them with landing services, you cannot sell them tickets, or you will be knocked out of the dollar system”.

The move marks the latest step in Washington’s expanding sanctions campaign against Tehran. Aviation analysts told Al Jazeera that although the US lacks authority to close foreign airspace, targeting local refuelling and ground-handling providers achieves a similar outcome by cutting off essential operational support.

Earlier this month, the US issued stricter measures administered by the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), placing restrictions on trade, energy and financial institutions.

The administration of President Donald Trump also expanded secondary sanctions in late August, warning that foreign firms doing business with Iran across shipping, technology, gold and digital assets face penalties of their own.

Tehran, however, signalled on Saturday that it remains open to talks mediated by Qatar to reach a long-term resolution, while maintaining a combative stance towards Washington.

“It is in Washington’s interest to accept these conditions,” Mohsen Rezaei, Iran’s security chief, told Al Jazeera in an interview last week. “Trump’s threats will not achieve any results. We are prepared for a decisive war.”

Bake Off has been shaken up for the new Channel 4 series with Nigella Lawson replacing Prue Leith alongside Paul Hollywood

Nigella Lawson spent her breaks filming the Great British Bake Off lying on a chaise longue reading books – with the show hosts in awe and only entering her room when summoned. The TV cook, 66, has replaced Dame Prue Leith on the series, who herself replaced Berry in 2017.

Speaking about working with her, host Alison Hammond said: “Unbelievable. Yeah, she is so beautiful. When she walked in, I was like that, everyone just stops in their tracks- and looks, and you’re like. How is she that beautiful? She’s so lovely as well. Really nice.”

Co-host Noel Fielding added: “We have these little sort of shepherd’s huts that we all sort of have, and they face each other, and you can just see Nigella in her shepherd’s hut currently reading.

“She’s got a stack of books- and she sort of lies like- Cleopatra would lie. On a chaise longue. And sometimes as you’re walking by, she summons you in, and you sort of kneel down at her feet- because she lies across the whole thing- so there’s nowhere to sit. Like a child in assembly. She’s amazing.”

The pair also said Nigella’s fellow judge Paul Hollywood sometimes strips down to a vest and cook pizzas during his breaks from filming – with Alison being particularly impressed.

Speaking on the Dish podcast, Alison revealed: “He’s got a pizza oven, obviously. An inbuilt pizza oven- doesn’t he? Anywhere he goes, he wheels a pizza oven. I think when we were filming Bake Off in the bubble during the pandemic, he brought his pizza oven.

“So, he would do a pizza night- and he’d get out that big shovel, you know. And he’d always have sort of some vest top on, so his muscles would be out. He’d be getting bronzed by the fire- like an advert. Diet Coke advert. And he’d be up there with like, you know, tea towel tucked in. That got me excited.”

Hollywood has described his new Bake Off co-judge Nigella Lawson as being “warmer” to the contestants than Mary Berry.

Speaking to the Radio Times about his on-screen chemistry with his new co-star, baker Paul described her as a “very warm person, especially to the bakers”.

He said: “There’s a very nurturing nature to Nigella, which was quite strong this year.”

Comparing Nigella to the previous judges, he continued: “Mary was different to Prue, Prue was different to Nigella and Nigella is different to Mary.

“They each bring their own character to it, and Nigella is a very warm person, especially to the bakers. More so than Mary was and I think more akin to Prue.

“There’s a very nurturing nature to Nigella, which was quite strong this year. Whereas me, I suppose I’m the constant. So I remain in my position of being constructively critical.”

* The full interview with Alison and Noel is on the Dish from Waitrose podcast, out now.

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Celtic will “come together and support” manager Martin O’Neill after a “painful” week for the club, chief executive Michael Nicholson has said.

O’Neill had indicated that he would use the international break to consider his future following two defeats to Rangers, either side of a home loss to Ferencvaros in the Europa League.

In the wake of Sunday’s 1-0 derby defeat at Celtic Park, 74-year-old O’Neill had said “it might be time to wrap it up”.

However, Nicholson suggested the club will rally round the manager who has delivered nine trophies over two spells.

His remarks came with the latest financial figures revealing a drop of nearly £33m in revenue.

A loss of £4.8m is largely down to the failure to reach last year’s Champions League and Celtic have missed out again, squandering a 4-0 aggregate lead in their play-off with LASK last month.

“Having started well in the Premiership this season, we experienced disappointment in the Champions League play-off,” said Nicholson in a written statement accompanying the financial results.

“Reaching the league phase of the Champions League is an objective for us all, and we are sorry not to have achieved it.

“On top of that, the losses in the last week have been painful for us all. We will now come together and support Martin and the players, as we focus our efforts on achieving success domestically and in the Europa League.”

The former vice president joins Abdul El-Sayed on the campaign trail in Detroit to bolster Democratic unity in a key swing state.

Democratic Senate candidate for the US state of Michigan Abdul El-Sayed says he wants former Vice President Kamala Harris’s campaign stop in Detroit to unify Democrats in the key swing state ahead of the final sprint to lock down a victory in November’s midterm elections.

The visit comes as the Democratic Party works to bridge deep internal factions that were glaringly evident during a hotly contested primary last month between El-Sayed and four-term Democratic congresswoman Haley Stevens, who had overwhelming support from the Democratic Party establishment and pro-Israel political action committees.

“We’re building an electoral coalition here,” El-Sayed said on Tuesday, speaking about the economy hours ahead of a planned appearance with the former vice president. He added that her presence in Michigan, “speaking to communities that were really empowered by her voice throughout her political career”, will serve to further unite and strengthen the Democratic Party.

Black voters could prove especially paramount for El-Sayed, who faces pressure among white Jewish voters who typically back Democrats. The joint appearance targets Wayne County, the state’s largest Democratic stronghold and home to Detroit’s predominantly Black electorate, which El-Sayed failed to carry during the August Democratic primary.

The move follows Harris’s 2024 electoral defeat to US President Donald Trump in Michigan, a state heavily influenced by its critical Arab-American voting bloc. As a result of her pro-Israel policies, many Arab Americans in Michigan, who had voted reliably blue for years, ditched the party altogether, refusing to support Harris in her presidential bid.

El-Sayed also issued a call for solidarity ahead of the midterms, affirming that the 2024 presidential election “ended where it did because we could not find the places of agreement to be able to bring people together or move in the direction that we need to move”, emphasising that he and Harris both want to focus on helping voters who are struggling economically.

At the time, many advocates had argued that as long as Harris maintained her pledge to continue to arm Israel and refused to distance herself from former President Joe Biden’s unconditional support for the US ally, nothing would help her standing with Arab and Muslim voters.

All eyes are on November’s consequential race where El-Sayed will go head to head with former Representative Mike Rogers, the Trump-backed Republican Senate nominee, who ran unopposed in the Republican primary.

Rogers’ campaign framed Harris’s visit as a sign of weakness for both Democrats.

El-Sayed rejected the criticism at the Detroit event, emphasising that assembling a winning coalition requires confronting past differences directly rather than avoiding them.

“We don’t have to agree on everything to understand what is at stake,” El-Sayed said, urging voters to rally around shared economic priorities. “The only way forward is by doing the hard work of bringing people into the same room and moving together.”

The settlement with 12 state attorneys general that cleared the way for Paramount to move forward with its $111-billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery contained a surprise for CNN and CBS News.

The merged company will have an oversight board that will monitor adherence to editorial independence from its owners and shareholders. The editorial board is part of an agreement to end the states’ antitrust fight that threatened to delay the completion of the deal for months.

But the initial reaction among media observers and opponents of the merger was to question how much teeth editorial overseers will have as they will be appointees of Paramount’s board. The board is controlled by Paramount Chief Executive David Ellison’s family and RedBird Capital Partners.

“The so-called independence board appears to be sorely lacking in independence. It’s appointed by and answerable to the board of the combined Ellison-controlled entity, which can also remove the independence board members,” said Norm Eisen, founder of Democracy Defenders Action and one of the leaders of the Block the Merger group.

Agreements on editorial boards or ombudsmen are typically made to assuage regulatory concerns over a change in media ownership.

CBS News installed Kenneth R. Weinstein as an ombudsman ahead of Ellison’s acquisition of Paramount last year. But he has had a scant presence at the network, according to CBS News insiders.

When Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. took over the Wall Street Journal in 2007, a five-member committee was created to ensure the editorial independence of the newspaper and Dow Jones’ other news services. The Journal has largely been successful in keeping its news-gathering operation separate from its right-leaning opinion pages reflecting the values of its owners.

The oversight board at Paramount adds a new layer of uncertainty as to how the two news divisions will operate in the merged company. CBS News has already seen significant upheaval since Ellison installed Bari Weiss as editor in chief.

Weiss, the founder of the heterodox digital news site the Free Press, has disrupted CBS News with major changes to its signature program “60 Minutes.” Her push to consider more conservative talking points and voices in stories led to accusations that she is tilting the program’s political bent to please President Trump, who has a friendly relationship with the Ellisons.

CNN insiders have been watching the discord at CBS News with concern. Trump and Larry Ellison, the tech mogul and father of David, have reportedly discussed personnel changes at CNN once the takeover of its parent, Warner Bros. Discovery, is complete.

Trump has never been happy with CNN’s coverage, but the hostility intensified last Friday when he banned the organization along with MS NOW and Politico from the White House grounds. The three news organizations are challenging Trump’s ban in federal courts on the grounds that it violates their 1st Amendment rights.

But amid all the turmoil, veteran news executives inside and outside the companies involved were scratching their heads over exactly how an editorial board would operate.

“This was formed up in haste, and the fact that it looks like it’s kind of half-baked is not surprising,” said Tom Bettag, a former network news producer and lecturer at the Philip Merrill College of Journalism at the University of Maryland. “But they were in a hurry to get this merger approved by hook or by crook.”

The agreement says the board will be in charge of “resolving any disputes between CBS News employees, CNN employees, and management of the combined entity regarding alleged reporting bias or failure to meet” agreed upon reporting standards.

Back in June, “60 Minutes” correspondent Scott Pelley angrily questioned Weiss’ decision to fire several of his colleagues. As a result, he was dismissed as well.

It’s unclear whether similar confrontations would be resolved by the new Paramount board and, if so, what that would mean for the authority of the top executives at CBS News and CNN.

Paramount did not respond to requests for comment.

The creation of the editorial board was a compromise brokered among the coalition of state attorneys general. The proposal came about in the final two days of negotiations, according to two people familiar with the matter who were not authorized to comment publicly.

William Tong, the Connecticut attorney general, said in an interview that he agreed to the editorial board after pushing for the divestiture of CNN and CBS News as a condition for approving the merger.

“I’m not going to sugarcoat it. This is ultimately not what I wanted,” Tong told The Times. “However, a week ago, they weren’t willing to do anything.”

He added: “Their view was, ‘We’re buying it. We get to control it.’ … And so, you know, by Friday we had broken them down, and they were willing to do this editorial independence board for both CBS News and CNN. That’s what we were able to secure and it has to be all journalists on this five-person board.”

No Paramount executives, including Weiss, can serve on the board.

Sept. 22, 2026 3:42 PM PT

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to intervene in a custody dispute over a 5-week-old child who was born in Texas after a surrogate refused a California couple’s wishes to have an abortion.

Justice Elena Kagan denied the request from McKenna West, who was seeking conservatorship over a baby boy she gave birth to in Dallas.

The brief order did not detail the legal reasoning, as is typical in emergency appeals. The decision came from Kagan because she handles appeals of cases out of California.

West had previously been rejected by other courts in her efforts to have a say in the treatment of the child, who was born with a life-threatening heart condition. She gave birth to the boy in Dallas, where most abortions are banned, after she refused the couple’s wishes to end the pregnancy.

West had asked the Supreme Court to halt a California court order that recognizes Omar Ahmed and Nausheen Gilkar as the parents of the child whom she calls Gabriel and they call Rumi.

Lawyers for the couple had urged the court to reject the request, questioning what an intervention would do for medical decision-making at an already chaotic time. They also accused West of overstating the prognosis for children born with the heart condition.

“Such chaos would be devastating for Respondents and, most importantly, their child,” the couple told the court.

The legal battle over surrogacy and abortion has attracted the attention and support of Republican officeholders and anti-abortion groups. West has said she believes the couple will not provide life-saving care, citing their request for an abortion at 23 weeks. Gilkar and Ahmed have denied those claims.

The boy was born Aug. 12 with hypoplastic left heart syndrome, a life-threatening condition that prevents normal blood flow to the organ. He underwent surgery soon after he was born. The couple’s attorney said in August that the newborn had been in critical condition and appeared to be “suffering from potential complications.”

Without treatment, children affected by the heart defect can die within days or weeks. Surgical repairs are not necessarily cures, and additional surgeries or heart transplants may be needed, according to the CDC.

Wilder and Whitehurst write for the Associated Press.

When Inglewood High traveled to Texas last month to play Westlake High from Austin, two football players who were listed on the Southern Section transfer portal as not cleared played in the game, according to video obtained by The Times.

Last week, in a game against Long Beach Poly played at SoFi Stadium, Inglewood coach Mil’Von James was not on the sideline, according to a report from the Daily Breeze.

The Southern Section cannot make personnel changes when a school violates rules, but it can prevent teams from playing in the playoffs if schools don’t self-report violations and decline to take action.

The Southern Section and Inglewood Unified School District have declined comment. The two players are still eligible to play this season if cleared. One was cleared last week with a valid change of address. The other has not been cleared. Both are missing from Inglewood’s roster on MaxPreps.

James came to Inglewood, which is 4-1 this season, after being fired at Hawkins in 2016 following the discovery of ineligible players, resulting in Hawkins forfeiting all its games and going 0-13. Since then, the City Section established a rule that teams must exchange rosters before games to verify that players are eligible, known as the “Hawkins rule.”

James took over at Inglewood in 2019 and has built a successful program.

It’s not known if James’ absence will be for one game or multiple games. The only other Southern Section action would be forcing Inglewood to forfeit games the players played in, but the school lost to Westlake, making a forfeit moot.

A member of Donald Trump’s political party has issued a rare call for a congressional investigation into the foreign dealings of the United States president’s eldest son.

US Senator John Curtis, a Republican from the state of Utah, on Tuesday said “questions have arisen” about Donald Trump Jr’s relationships with foreign business figures and acceptance of “significant gifts”, alleging he may have personally benefited from his relationship with the president.

In a letter to the Republican and Democratic leaders of the US Senate Judiciary Committee, Curtis referenced a ProPublica report that found Trump Jr’s Bahamian wedding party in May was funded by a Russian oligarch.

“These reports raise legitimate questions about foreign access to members of a sitting president’s family and whether such relationships can create actual or perceived expectations of favorable treatment,” Curtis wrote. “They also may create expectations of a returned favor that would not be in the best interests of the American people or our allies, and could even create national security vulnerabilities.”

The letter comes as a small but slowly growing number of Republicans have spoken out against Trump, who has largely avoided criticism from members of his own party. But record-low approval ratings sparked by the war in Iran and concerns over the cost of living in the US have forced some Republicans to reconsider that support as they face growing prospects of major losses in the congressional midterm elections.

If Democrats retake one, or both, chambers of the US Congress in November, investigations into Trump, including his family’s dealings, are likely. But those probes are less likely under Republicans wary of the president’s wrath.

A spokesperson for the Senate Judiciary Committee, which is under Republican control, told the Associated Press that it had received Curtis’s letter but did not say whether there would be an investigation.

Trump vs Biden

Curtis, who isn’t up for re-election until 2030, also called on the chamber’s panel to subpoena Trump Jr, as well as the son of former US President Joe Biden, a Democrat.

“The country should not have to accept one standard for the family of a Republican president and another for the family of a Democratic president,” Curtis wrote, referencing the scrutiny and investigation Biden’s son Hunter faced from Republicans.

Hunter Biden responded to Curtis’s letter in a post on social media, calling for the Senate committee to “bring it on” as he vehemently denied any foreign business dealings while his father was president.

“I’ll sit next to Don Jr. and testify any time, any place,” Biden wrote on X as he called for the president’s youngest son, Eric, and son-in-law, Jared Kushner, who serves as a US envoy, to testify as well. “No need for a subpoena. Let’s all do it tomorrow.”

After the ProPublica report, Trump Jr and his wife, Bettina, released a joint statement on social media saying the Russian oligarch, Umar Kremlev, was a “dear friend” who “very generously hosted two incredible nights of celebrations for us AFTER our wedding”.

The president, who did not attend the wedding, said his son had reimbursed Kremlev.

“It’s totally allowed, and a lot of people give parties and things like that — but it’s totally allowed,” Trump said. “But as I understand it, he paid him back. He didn’t want it.”

US Senator Dick Durbin, the ranking member on the Senate Judiciary Committee, said that while Biden’s son “has already given a sworn deposition to Congress”, Trump Jr “has not”.

“For the committee to ignore this matter is to run the risk of being complicit in a coverup,” Durbin said. “I will join in supporting Senator Curtis’ request of the Senate Judiciary Committee.”

Curtis’s office did not immediately reply when asked by Al Jazeera what prompted the senator’s letter and whether any fellow Republicans have indicated if they would support an investigation into the president’s family.

Trump has also been meeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, British Prime Minister Andy Burnham and leaders from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman.

Earlier, Guterres gave his farewell speech as UN secretary general, urging unnamed superpowers to recognise “that their power isn’t so super”.

“The fault lines in our world are widening,” Guterres said, citing geopolitical rivalries, wars, climate change and artificial intelligence.

By contrast, Trump criticised international institutions, accusing the UN of a “far-left agenda of globalist bureaucrats who nobody ever elected”.

The US president instead emphasised national sovereignty and “unmatched” American military power.

“There is no global government,” he said.

He also warned that the US would not allow threats to establish themselves anywhere in the Western hemisphere.

“If necessary, we will use our unmatched military might to secure the vital national interests of the United States,” he said.

Trump accused Cuba’s communist government of cultivating ties to left-wing groups in the US, including the Communist Party USA, Antifa and the Democratic Socialists of America.

The Cuban delegation also appeared to walk out of the assembly chamber as Trump turned his sights on them, referring to the island as a “failed state”.

Tempting Fortune got off to a dramatic start as a contestant left her group scrambling to protect their £300,000 prize pot

Tempting Fortune descended into chaos just minutes into its return.

Contestant Sarah fell ill in the Malaysian jungle, leaving her fellow Fortune Seekers facing a huge £30,000 decision. The Channel 4 hit show returned tonight (September 22) for a brand-new series, with comedian Rob Beckett taking over as host from Paddy McGuinness.

The latest series sees 12 strangers attempt a gruelling 13-day trek through the Malaysian jungle while trying to protect a shared £300,000 prize pot.

But the contestants quickly discovered just how difficult the challenge would be when Sarah began struggling with the harsh conditions on only the second day of the trek.

The group had spent the previous night in a basic camp and had been surviving on simple rations, including rice and beans. Sarah admitted she wasn’t feeling well and appeared particularly affected by the food.

She said: “Just thinking of them now. I feel like I want to be sick. Oh, they’re the most disgusting thing I’ve ever met.” One of her fellow contestants expressed concern for her, while another pointed out that Sarah needed to eat more.

But things soon became more serious when the group continued their trek through the jungle. Sarah suddenly stopped walking and told the others: “I feel really sick and dizzy. And just so hot.”

The contestants had travelled less than a kilometre when Sarah was forced to stop. The rest of the group gathered around her as she sat down on the jungle floor.

Sarah admitted she was struggling with the experience, saying: “I feel like shit. It’s just… I knew it was going to be tough, but… I didn’t prepare for it. It’s just so bad.”

With Sarah’s condition worsening, a medic stepped in to assess her. The situation left Sarah facing a huge decision – whether to continue with the challenge or leave Tempting Fortune altogether and return home to the UK.

But quitting would have had major consequences for everyone else. If Sarah decided to leave, the group would lose £30,000 from their potential winnings.

Instead, the group was presented with another option. They could spend £2,000 from the shared prize pot on a taxi to take Sarah to the next checkpoint, allowing her to rest and giving her the chance to recover without having to abandon the competition.

After discussing the options, the group agreed to spend the £2,000. The decision meant Sarah could be driven to the next camp rather than being forced to walk through the jungle while feeling unwell.

For the group, the maths was simple – spending £2,000 was better than losing £30,000 if Sarah was forced to quit. Sarah was then chauffeur-driven to the next camp while her fellow Fortune Seekers continued their gruelling trek on foot.

The dramatic start comes as Tempting Fortune enters its third series with a new host and a fresh group of contestants. The format sees the Fortune Seekers start with a £300,000 prize pot, but throughout their journey they are offered tempting luxuries, with every pound spent coming directly out of the shared winnings.

This series also sees the contestants split into two groups from the outset, adding another layer of pressure as they attempt to trust strangers while protecting their share of the cash.

You can stream Tempting Fortune on Channel 4