Sweden has two major political blocs featuring four parties on the right and four on the left – meaning coalition and minority governments are relatively common.
Andersson’s party, the Social Democrats, have been a major force in Swedish politics since the end of World War Two.
But SD – founded by Nazi sympathisers in the 1980s – had been shunned for years until 2022 when it became the country’s second largest party after campaigning on violent crime and immigration.
After casting her vote on Sunday, Andersson laid out the choice facing the Swedish public: “Should we have a government entirely dominated by the Sweden Democrats, something that has never happened in Sweden before? Or should we have a government led by me, which will steer Sweden in a new spirit of co-operation?”
Kristersson, for his part, said it was important he and his alliance were able to continue their work.
“I think there is a genuine enthusiasm for us being able to continue our important work,” he said after casting his ballot in his home municipality of Strangnas.
National security, gang crime and welfare spending dominated the election campaign.
Alison Hammond looked incredible as she showed off her 13 stone weight loss in a glam gown during London Fashion WeekCredit: GettyAlison looked sensational in her purple sequinned gownCredit: Getty
Alison looked sensational as she posed backstage ahead of the Vin + Omi “Anarchy” show during London Fashion Week.
The TV presenter was seen in a purple sequinned gown as she stared moodily at the camera.
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With full glam makeup and voluminous hair, Alison looked absolutely fabulous.
The TV presenter was seen in a purple sequinned gown as she stared moodily at the cameraCredit: GettyAlison is known for presenting ‘This Morning’ TV showCredit: Shutterstock EditorialAlison, who is mum to Aidan, 21, works out three to five times a weekCredit: AlamyHer astonishing weight loss is actually the result of a gym routine, a toyboy boyfriend and a £2.85 supermarket secretCredit: Getty
MADRID: The Spanish government on Sunday said more than 5,300 of the migrants who remained in Ceuta after July’s influx had returned to Morocco in a month, as it faces pressure to restore normality to the increasingly tense city.
The new figures come as criticism over the speed at which the migrants are being returned from the Spanish north African territory damages Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez before next year’s election.
More than 70,000 migrants entered Ceuta on July 30 and 31 in an unprecedented and deadly rush, with most returning to Morocco in the following hours.
The government has had to identify the thousands of migrants who have remained for weeks to check if they are entitled to asylum, while unaccompanied children cannot be summarily deported.
Angel Victor Torres, the minister tasked with leading the government’s response, said in a video posted to social media that 5,321 people had “voluntarily returned” to Morocco since August 10.
Ninety people had “given up” their request for international protection and “almost 1,000 people are being registered with the aim of being able to complete their return proceedings,” Torres added.
The minister did not say how many migrants remained in Ceuta after those returns, a figure that has consistently sparked controversy between the leftist government and the conservative-run city.
On Friday, Ceuta’s leader Juan Jesus Vivas, of the main opposition right-wing Popular Party, put their number at 13,000, but the government’s estimations have been significantly lower.
Locals have protested regularly as the migrants continue to camp on beaches and sleep in the streets, accusing the government of abandoning the overwhelmed city amid a humanitarian crisis.
The migration ministry announced on Sunday the creation of another 864 places in temporary migrant shelters, taking the total to around 4,300 and with a view to reaching 6,000 “in the near future.”
Doubts about what the government knew beforehand and the possible role of Morocco, with which Madrid has spent years trying to improve relations, have also increased the political fallout for Sanchez.
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia and the UAE stressed the need for closer coordination and a united Gulf position as they discussed efforts to contain escalating tensions across the region on Sunday.
During a phone call, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan discussed rapidly evolving regional developments and efforts to prevent further escalation with Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, the UAE’s deputy prime minister and foreign minister.
The ministers stressed on the need to align positions and strength consultations between Riyadh and Abu Dhabi to support joint Gulf action and safeguard the security and resources of GCC states.
The call comes amid renewed attacks on Gulf states, including recent Houthi strikes targeting civilian and economic sites in southern Saudi Arabia.
Prince Faisal earlier on Sunday told the BRICS summit in New Delhi that Saudi Arabia’s national security, territorial integrity and resources were “non-negotiable,” warning that GCC states would not tolerate attacks on their territories, facilities or vital interests.
He also called for a shift away from confrontation toward de-escalation and diplomatic efforts, arguing that lasting regional security depended on respect for sovereignty, non-interference and good-neighbourly relations.
Voting is under way in Sweden in a closely fought election that could see the far-right Sweden Democrats enter government for the first time, or centre-left leader Magdalena Andersson return to power.
TORONTO — Greetings from the Great White North, where the Toronto International Film Festival rolls to the end of its first weekend.
As packed as our viewing schedules have been, Amy Nicholson notices something lacking at this year’s festival: big Hollywood. In her first critical dispatch, she sees no “Frankenstein” or “Wake Up Dead Man” in the lineup.
Toronto has even resorted to rebooking the under-the-radar smash “Obsession,” the little movie that grew from a 2025 midnight TIFF launch into a global phenomenon.
Director Curry Barker and star Inde Navarrette delighted festgoers who lined up around the block to watch a special conversation.
Cynthia Erivo of the film “Prima Facie,” photographed in the Los Angeles Times Studio at RBC House during the 2026 Toronto International Film Festival.
(Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)
Cynthia Erivo stunned us in our studio space, looking fierce in a dark ensemble and scary nails. We also saw the likes of the luminous Laura Linney and the dapper Korean cast of “Possible Love.” Click through for more celebrity photos and daily surprises.
It takes thermonuclear moxie to write, direct and star in your debut feature — and cast yourself as the cad. No wonder Jordan Firstman‘s uproarious dramedy “Club Kid” blew away expectations at Cannes and has landed in Toronto ready to shake up awards season.
Firstman plays Peter, an aging New York City party promoter whose scene-y shindigs and subsequent hangovers are starting to feel old.
Enter Arlo (a self-possessed Reggie Absolom) the 9-year-old kid he never knew he had and never fathomed he would have, given that women aren’t his thing (except for that one drug-fueled night with a British girl he barely remembers).
You may think you know where the story is headed and you aren’t entirely wrong, but the route there is a riot. — Amy Nicholson
‘Alpha Gang’
A scene from the movie “Alpha Gang.”
(TIFF)
The latest from filmmaking siblings Nathan and David Zellner rolls into Toronto after having just had its world premiere at Telluride.
Their oddball sensibilities and elastic imagination means that you never quite know what to expect from one of their films and this is no exception: a wholly unpredictable story of an alien invasion told from the aliens’ point-of-view that is inscrutably absurd and touched by a startling romantic fatalism.
Two alien cadres, having assumed the looks of 1950s biker gang members, bicker and fight with one another even as they largely overlook their common enemy, the humans.
The cast is likewise a preposterous mash-up of performers you would not wholly expect to see together, including Cate Blanchett, Kelvin Harrison Jr, Léa Seydoux, Riley Keough, Chris Pine, Dave Bautista and others, making the film’s very existence seem like something dropped from outer space. — Mark Olsen
‘The Spiral’
A scene from the movie “The Spiral.”
(TIFF)
Italian horror is my happy place and this is where I’ll be tonight at midnight, sopping up what many early viewers have already described as stylish and vicious.
Director Paolo Strippoli’s domestic drama got sharp reviews out of Venice; it sounds like a cross between a Bava film and “Parasite.” I’ll investigate. — Joshua Rothkopf
With Haaland’s goal settling the match, United were unsurprisingly disappointed by the decision.
“I think it was offside,” said Martinez. “And what I can’t understand is the rules. I want to be calm now, I want to control myself.
“It’s so hard because you lose a derby, you lose three points at home, and every season they’re [referees] coming to our club, they explain for one hour the rules, and they look so confident with that, and then after [there are] five or six people doing these kind of mistakes in the Premier League – it’s unacceptable.
“It’s the best league in the world, you have the best teams in the world, the best players in the world, and now we have to go home with this injustice.”
United boss Carrick also expressed his confusion.
“We put things in place in the game now, we have people in offices with all the screens for this decision,” he said.
“It’s more worrying about if that’s the interpretation of football now. If that’s the interpretation of not interfering in the game now, that’s really worrying for me. It’s a staggering explanation.
“The decision isn’t going to change the season, but it’s had a major impact on the game.”
Wayne Rooney, part of the BBC’s MOTD2 team, said: “Surely it’s offside. Martinez is impacted by Fernandez’s movement, and he is offside.”
Gary Neville said on Sky Sports: “I think we’ll see some sort of apology from the referee’s association, there’s no doubt Fernandez is playing that ball and is trying to put off Martinez. I think it’s one they’ll recognising they got wrong.”
Micah Richards added: “I think it’s been a bad day for referees. They got the Foden decision wrong and the Fernandez decision wrong. I think they got it so wrong but I don’t think it takes anything away from City’s performance.”
Meanwhile, City boss Maresca said: “I think it was onside clearly so it’s good.”
On Monday, the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) in the Philippines will hold its first parliamentary election since it was established in 2018. The vote will officially mark the end of the transition period under the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA), an interim regional government appointed in 2019.
The election is a significant milestone in the Bangsamoro struggle. It is the outcome of decades of armed conflict and negotiations between the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the government of the Philippines.
The vote will test the Philippine government’s commitment to the peace process and the MILF’s commitment to the democratic process.
The struggle for self-determination
BARMM is located on Mindanao, the second-largest island in the Philippine Archipelago, and it covers roughly the territories inhabited by the Moro people, a native Muslim-majority group. For centuries, the Moro enjoyed self-governance in independent states and resisted Spanish colonialism. Following the Philippines’s independence in 1946, they continued their struggle for self-determination.
In 1989, the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) was created by Manila to give some devolved rights to the Moro. However, ARMM largely failed to address local grievances and demands due to its weak structural power. It was given limited autonomy in political and fiscal decision-making, but it did not manage to improve socioeconomic conditions in the region. The MILF continued the armed struggle.
In 2012, President Benigno Aquino III recognised the ARMM as a “failed experiment”. Under his administration, the Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro was signed between the government and the MILF, paving the way for a new political entity.
Six years later, under President Rodrigo Roa Duterte, the Organic Law for the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao was promulgated. This legislation granted the region greater fiscal autonomy, a regional government, a parliament, and a justice system.
Then the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro was concluded to outline the mechanism of transition from ARMM to BARMM and set up the MILF-dominated BTA to lead it. All of this is culminating in the parliamentary election, which will determine the makeup of the region’s first legislative body.
A contested election
The vote comes at a time of heightened tensions in BARMM and internal divisions within the MILF. Two camps have emerged within the movement – one loyal to MILF Chair Al Haj Murad Ebrahim and another supporting Chief Minister Abdulraof Macacua.
Last month, Macacua joined the newly formed Bangsamoro Federalist Party (BFP), which will compete in the elections against the MILF’s political wing, the United Bangsamoro Justice Party (UBJP). Shortly after, his convoy was attacked, but he survived unscathed.
In early September, Macacua and 40 commanders were dismissed from the MILF’s military wing for alleged insubordination.
These tensions have prompted increased public anxiety about possible post-election unrest. There are other factors that could overshadow the vote.
In past elections, vote-buying was widespread, election-related violence was rampant, and electoral fraud and manipulation were pervasive. If these practices repeat at a large scale, the electoral outcome may not necessarily provide a straightforward measure of the will of Bangsamoro’s people. It may also not be an accurate reflection of whether they are satisfied with the transitional government or not.
The MILF presents itself as a champion of moral governance. If it is to retain this label, it should not give in to widespread vote-buying and electoral manipulation. It should also not let internal rivalries turn violent.
But there are already some alarming signs. Prominent MILF figures have conveyed that if the UBJP, the front’s political wing, sees manipulation and fraud, its members are ready to fight. They have also suggested that since the MILF led the transition, it should remain in power. On social media, some citizens have condemned the MILF camp’s threats, calling such tactics un-Islamic.
Before the vote, Manila has deployed military forces in key areas. This has heightened people’s fears that fighting with the MILF may erupt. The tense situation might lead to a low voter turnout.
Under these circumstances, the future of the Bangsamoro is riddled with uncertainties.
Whatever happens in the election, we must remember that the future of BARMM is a shared responsibility. The Philippine government and the Bangsamoro parties are duty-bound to honour the peace agreement. In addition, the people must exercise their civic rights and responsibilities to help sustain the peace achieved after a long and painful armed conflict and to move toward a prosperous Bangsamoro land.
The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera’s editorial stance.
A child has been killed after an explosive object detonated when he touched it near Damascus. Relatives identified him as Khaled al-Ajeelah. Explosive remnants of war continue to endanger civilians across Syria. Warning: Contains distressing images.
Experienced host Emma Willis knows what to expect in some ways and just wants to bring ‘joy’ to Strictly viewers in the same way Tess and Claudia did
Strictly has a new trio hosting the show this year with Emma joined by professional dancer Johannes Radebe and comedian Josh Widdicombe.(Image: CREDIT LINE:BBC/Ray Burmiston)
Defiant Emma Willis says she knows the new Strictly Come Dancing series will bring her and the other new hosts lots of abuse and criticism – but she won’t engage with it. Emma, former Strictly professional dancer Johannes Radebe, 39, and comedian Josh Widdicombe, 43, will take over later this month from long-time hosts Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman, who stepped down last year.
Emma is used to comparisons with other hosts having fronted Big Brother after Davina McCall and Brian Dowling. But she vowed to ignore the haters and just wants to try to enjoy the experience. She said: “I’m ready for the comparisons. I am ready for the negative opinions that can come with these things. Those things I don’t engage with or read, and there are always positives as well.
“At the end of the day, I feel like it’s really simple, right? We we work in this industry, and we’ve been given the opportunity to work on a phenomenal show that is really well loved by the public and also by ourselves. We we aren’t reinventing the wheel, and we’re not rocket scientists.
“We’re working on an entertainment show about dancing that is meant to hopefully bring joy to everybody watching it. So hopefully we can be a small part of that joy and have a really lovely time doing it.”
She added: “There’s obviously a kind of fear that comes with it because of the enormity of it, and you have nerves about being good enough to kind of do the job and step into the role.”
The trio were a surprise choice to make up the presenting team and they admitted they were also a bit shocked to be picked. They gave the impression they were unsure if they were in pole position to get the jobs, saying their final audition was the “very last of the callbacks on a Friday afternoon”. They had also been told it would be a pair presenting and so Josh presumed it was “two weirdos against each other” and he was being pitched head-to-head with Johannes, only to end up working with him and more established host Emma.
Comedian Josh also said that while they would not “reinvent the show”, they would “be ourselves and our personalities will be there”. He added on taking the job: “It’s like you only get one opportunity at this career. We’re incredibly blessed that we’ve got where we are in our careers, and just why not?”
Johannes was initially nervous but after speaking with his agent was more confident. “If anybody was afforded this opportunity amongst my peers[dancers], any one of them would jump at it.”
Emma turned 50 in March, but rather than seeing that milestone as a time to reflect or slow down, is arguably enjoying her most successful stage of her career. She said: “I think maybe there’s more of a reframe needs to be had around 50 and as you’re getting older, you should slow down or change or maybe not do as much. I feel more invigorated at 50, I’m more like I’m more sure of myself. I know what I want to do. I’m not going to apologise for myself and my successes like I’ve done for the last 25 years.
“I’m not about to step down and slow down for anything. So I say, bring it on. You know, life is short. So take these opportunities when they they come your way, because at some point they’ll stop.”
* Strictly Come Dancing will return on Sunday September 19 to BBC One and iPlayer.
KYIV: Poland and Ukraine on Sunday denounced Russian strikes close to the Polish border, including on a Warsaw-bound train and near a frontier checkpoint — as an “escalation” in the war.
Ukraine’s rail operator said former British prime minister Boris Johnson and ex-US CIA director David Petraeus were at a border train station nearby around the time the train was hit.
But the strikes came as US President Donald Trump called on Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky to halt attacks on Russian refineries, saying it was causing a shortage of diesel fuel and “there are plenty of other targets”.
Ukraine has increasingly targeted Russian oil refineries in a bid to hurt Russia’s war effort.
Russia attacked western Ukraine with drones Sunday, just days after US envoys visited Kyiv and Moscow in a bid to revive talks to end Europe’s worst conflict since World War II. European nations are meanwhile worried by what they say is increased Russian-orchestrated sabotage acts on their soil.
Poland and Ukraine said a Kyiv-Warsaw passenger train was struck just two kilometers (1.2 miles) from the Polish border, but reported no casualties.
“Shortly before the locomotive was hit at the Ukrainian-Polish border, a diplomatic train was at Yagodyn station. There were, among others, security advisers from several EU member states and former European leaders on board, including former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson,” said the Ukrzaliznytsia rail operator.
“In another train that was at Yagodyn station at the very moment of the attack was former CIA Director David Petraeus,” it added. The operator did not say how far the officials were from the train attacked.
Zelensky said Moscow had “deliberately” struck the locomotive.
“It is precisely to prevent these strikes from spreading further into Europe that Ukrainian men and women fight every day, give their lives, and do not allow the aggression to expand,” Zelensky said.
– Poland warns of possible more attacks –
Poland has been one of Ukraine’s main allies and, with Ukrainian airspace closed, trains to Poland have been one of the main routes out of the war-torn country, used by refugees.
Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk chaired an emergency meeting in Warsaw following the strikes, warning he expected Russia to escalate the war “in the coming weeks”. He added: “We cannot exclude that the escalation will also affect our territory… I hope not.”
Russia said it had hit “railway infrastructure used to transport military cargo” from European countries.
– Russia ‘knocking at Europe’s door’ –
Speaking in Kyiv, Poland’s foreign minister Radoslaw Sikorski said the “escalation” should lead to allies to “double” their support for Ukraine.
“This was just a few hundred meters from the Polish border; this affects the safety of my countrymen,” Sikorski said.
“I understand that nobody died this morning in that particular attack, but it could easily have happened.”
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga said President Vladimir Putin considered Russia was “de facto” at war with Europe.
“Europe may consider, or reassure itself, that it is not at war with Russia, but Russia does not see it that way. De facto, it is already at war with the Euro-Atlantic space, carrying out various hostile actions,” Sybiga said.
“Putin’s terror is literally knocking at the door of the European Union and NATO.”
Russian attacks killed at least two people on Sunday in the frontline city of Kramatorsk.
Twenty people, including two children, were also wounded in a second day of attacks on the southern port city of Odesa, Ukrainian officials said.
– Three-way talks –
The Kremlin, meanwhile, said negotiations with Ukraine and the United States on the war could take place in October.
“We do not rule out such a possibility; we are talking about the foreseeable future,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists, cited by Russia’s Ria and Tass news agencies.
Several rounds of negotiations have failed, while US-led efforts stalled during the Middle East war.
In an interview released on Saturday, Zelensky said he would be willing to meet Putin at the G20 summit in Miami in December.
But Peskov said that was “impossible”, speaking to AFP in New Delhi on Saturday, repeating Moscow’s demand that a meeting could only take place in the Russian capital.
DUBLIN — President Trump on Sunday again played down the need for his administration to check the development of artificial intelligence, saying he worried about ceding America’s edge over China in a global competition and that winning would help address the risks from the advancing technology.
While acknowledging the need for some regulation, Trump provided no specifics about potential rules and attributed warnings about the technology moving too quickly and with little oversight to “negative forces” he did not identify, though industry pioneers have raised such concerns.
“We can put guardrails, we can do this and that, but I think you have a lot of negative forces that are bringing it up that … shouldn’t be bringing it up, and they’re bringing up things that won’t happen,” Trump told reporters during a weekend trip to Ireland. “But whoever wins with AI wins.”
The president has made similar comments in the last week. His remarks Sunday came a day after Dario Amodei, chief executive of the artificial intelligence company Anthropic, said the industry should put the brakes on its fast-moving development to give safety measures time to catch up. Other AI corporate leaders, including Elon Musk and Sam Altman, chief of OpenAI, publicly agreed with Amodei.
Asked by a reporter if the industry should slow down or be regulated, Trump said, after watching a golfer tee off in the Irish Open at his resort in Doonbeg, that the United States is leading China in the development of AI, and, “frankly, I want to keep it that way, because whoever wins AI wins.”
Chinese President Xi Jinping is due to visit the U.S. next week to meet with Trump, and AI seems certain to be among the items they discuss.
AI has become a major election-year issue in the U.S. as some of the country’s largest companies seed small towns with a national network of computing warehouses while Americans from across the political spectrum increasingly voice concerns about less farmland and water supplies and rising electricity bills. Trump has kept up his support for data centers even as both Republicans and Democrats run from them and many communities try to block them.
Former President Obama said his party should make AI a campaign issue.
“I would talk about this, and I would say, ‘Here’s our plan for safety, here’s our plan for making sure our kids are not corrupted by this.’ … I would be thinking about the economic impacts in very concrete ways and understanding what does it mean if there’s going to be job displacement. Where is that going to hit? How are we going to respond?” he said at an event last week with the top Democrat in the House, New York Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, according to a transcript released by his office.
Next steps
Kevin Hassett, director of the National Economic Council at the White House, said he expects meetings will be held this week involving administration officials who oversee cyber and science and technology policy to discuss the next steps. Trump also could meet with members of Congress, some of whom have also been sounding alarms about the fast pace of AI development.
“I think the president wants to hear from them as well,” Hassett said.
U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson acknowledged the need for “some guardrails, some safety measures” so AI “doesn’t run away.” But he echoed Trump’s position that he wants to ensure the U.S. does not “lose our edge in the global competition on this with China because that would be a national security threat.”
Johnson (R-La.) said industry leaders need to be summoned for “one big meeting and work this out together in the same room.” He said he has discussed the issue with Trump and believes a meeting held quickly should be the “next step.”
“So we’re going to pull everybody together and make sure we do this in the right way,” Johnson said, adding that it is a “top priority for me and for the Congress.”
“But we don’t need everybody to panic right now,” Johnson said.
Jeffries criticized Republican leaders for allowing members to go back to their districts for the final part of September.
“We should take decisive action now so that we can slow down, as the CEOs have recently acknowledged, … the pace of development in order to protect the American people and ensure that AI is proceeding safely,” Jeffries said. Action on AI will be a “high priority” when House Democrats meet Tuesday as a group.
Neither Johnson nor Jeffries provided concrete steps about what Congress might do. Lawmakers agree that more guardrails are needed, but even narrow attempts at imposing rules have fallen apart over the years, evidence of the congressional reluctance to regulate the technology industry.
Cooperation between U.S. and China urged
Jacob Coxon, a former Anthropic employee who resigned over AI concerns and has gone public with his fears, argued for international rules along with self-regulation by the industry.
Coxon said he has grown concerned that AI models would soon gain capabilities that could exceed human control.
“You’re building a human-level or superhuman-level mind, without understanding what it wants, or thinks, or the way it thinks,” Coxon said.
At a time of a fierce global competition for AI dominance, Coxon also urged cooperation between the U.S. and China, the two countries who are leading the race, to slow down and address safety.
“I do hope that the people in China who are looking at the same problems as we are, so they’re trying to build the same technology, will come to the same conclusion that it has to be done in a measured manner, and it should be easy to cooperate on some sort of mutual — of mutual slowing,” Coxon said.
Otherwise, he said, “we risk running the same race with China, which could be equally dangerous,.”
White House challenges AI leaders
Tech founder and investor David Sacks responded to the AI leaders’ calls for regulation with a social media post challenging them. Sacks, co-chairman of a White House advisory council on science and technology, said Amodei and others are the ones setting the pace for development.
Sacks said they have the power to slow development on their own.
“The easiest way not to build superintelligence is for you to agree not to build it,” Sacks wrote.
Superville and Tang write for the Associated Press. Tang reported from Washington.
Senne Lammens: Not as busy as he might have expected to be. Absolutely vital save from Fernandez to prevent City second. 7
Diogo Dalot: If only he had been able to control Bruno Fernandes’ chipped pass into the penalty area he might have marked his 250th Manchester United appearance with a rare goal. Didn’t look down the line to see he was clearly offside as United pressed just before half-time. Screwed shot wide after break. 4
Harry Maguire: Decent performance from veteran central defender and not far away from an equaliser with late header. Needless push on Enzo Fernandez in the box, for which he was booked. 6
Lisandro Martinez: Didn’t dive in when Bruno Fernandes played a pass towards his own goal straight to Erling Haaland and won the ball from the Norwegian. Decent effort 7
Patrick Dorgu: Replaced Luke Shaw at left back in the starting 11 and did OK but doesn’t have the same link with Rashford. Attempted block proved so crucial to City’s opener. 6
Kobbie Mainoo: Another assured display in front of England boss Thomas Tuchel. Came close to giving his side the lead just after half-time and was home side’s most effective midfielder. 8
Youri Tielemans (off 66, Sesko): Best performance of the season so far but yet to make the standout contribution expected. 7
Bryan Mbeumo: Probably United’s most-effective attacking player. Header just wide before injury-time effort saved. 8
Bruno Fernandes: Fortunate to get away with no sanction at all over the incident that led to Foden’s dismissal. Not one of his better efforts 6
Marcus Rashford (off 83, Zirkzee): Curling long-range free-kick against the post with Donnarumma beaten and shot into side-netting but still waiting for first goal since his return. 6
Matheus Cunha: Preferred to Benjamin Sesko in starting line-up and dragged early shot wide. Got involved on plenty of occasions, but again by dropping deep. Off target with a second-half opportunity. 7
Subs:
Benjamin Sesko (on 66, Tielemans): Brought on to make an impact and tried his luck from distance soon afterwards. 6
Joshua Zirkzee (on 83, Rashford) 6
Subs not used: Darlow, Mazraoui, Mount, Yoro, Santos, Heaven, Lacey.
France Televisions has removed the replay of the France 5 programme La Grande Librairie after actress Adèle Haenel used a live segment to denounce what she called a genocide in Gaza. The broadcaster says it acted as a precaution while awaiting a review by media regulator Arcom.
Seoirse Comerford owns the Comerford bar in Doonbeg. He described the tournament as “unbelievable”.
“If you look at the red double decker buses going up and down the street full of people, we never thought we would have seen the like of that.”
He said the golf course is a big employer and is keeping Doonbeg “alive”.
“Most rural villages in west Clare are all dying a death, young people going away to college, they don’t come back.
“Like there’s over 300 people employed up there at the golf course , it’s a big boost to the local economy. You’ve got big companies in Dublin, like Intel, the golf course is our Intel down here.
“I probably wouldn’t have taken over the bar business other than the golf course being up there.
“We would have had 1,000 plus through the pub on Saturday night and the same Friday night, so there’s a lot of people around the village, which is great to see.”
Stephen McGann has opened-up about his character, Dr. Turner, being played by a new actor for the drama’s prequel
Call the Midwife wraps up in emotional finale
Call the Midwife legend Stephen McGann has claimed he “cannot see” the resemblance as a new actor steps into the role of Dr. Turner.
The 12th season of the much-loved BBC period drama, based on the memoirs of Jennifer Worth, concluded earlier this year with a heartbreaking finale. The death of Sister Monica Joan (Judy Parfitt) left viewers devastated, while the future of Nonnatus House remained uncertain due to advances in the NHS.
Before the show returns with season 16, a prequel titled Sisters in Arms is set to air this festive season. The three-part mini-series will be set during the London Blitz and follow familiar characters in the early stages of their careers, including Dr. Patrick Turner.
The adored GP first arrived in Poplar during the debut episode of Call the Midwife, which aired in 2012, and has since remained a favourite among fans. The character will appear in the prequel, with This Town actor Ben Rose portraying a young Patrick Turner.
Speaking about Sisters in Arms, Stephen, 63, has offered a playful glimpse into his marriage with the show’s creator, Heidi Thomas, who thinks Ben Rose is the spitting image of her husband. “I think he’s the image of Steve,” Heidi told Radio Times. “Steve can’t see any resemblance, so the audience are going to have to draw their own conclusions.”
Stephen was quick to chime in: “Do you know what happened? I’m in my house, and when the final casting was confirmed, my good lady wife and my son were conferring, going, ‘Oh, he looks like Dad, doesn’t he? Doesn’t he look like Dad?'”
Heidi laughed: “He does, he does, but you can’t see it, can you, love?” Stephen then confirmed: “I can’t see it at all.”
Stephen and Heidi first crossed paths in 1988 and exchanged vows two years later, when they were both 27. They spent their honeymoon in Tuscany before settling down in a quaint cottage in rural Essex, before moving to Cambridge. The couple share one son, Dominic. As per Stephen’s memoir, A History of My Family in Seven Maladies, he first encountered Heidi when he auditioned for her new play at the Liverpool Playhouse.
What is Sisters in Arms about?
Call the Midwife will turn back the clock to World War II as bombs rain down in Poplar, East London, at a time when the National Health Service was non-existent. Set in 1939, it will see three familiar nuns in the early stages of their careers.
According to the BBC’s synopsis: “In September 1939, Sister Monica Joan is in her prime, Sister Julienne and Sister Evangelina are young and zealous, and Nonnatus House is the beating heart of Poplar.
“Together with Sister Alice, and local GP Dr Kit, the nuns dedicate their lives to mothers, babies and those in need. But there is no gas and air, no penicillin, no cure for TB, and no welfare state. Then war is declared – and life gets even harder.”
It adds: “While bombs rain from the sky, women give birth underground, families are shattered, children run wild, and whole streets are reduced to rubble. But courage, compassion and resilience triumph as the community unites in its efforts to survive.”
Created, written, and executive produced by Heidi Thomas, Sisters in Arms welcomes a new cast, including Coronation Street’s Hayley Cropper star Julie Hesmondhalgh as Sister Alice.
Theatre star Helena Wilson is taking on the role of a young Sister Julienne, though the original actress, Jenny Agutter, will be narrating the miniseries. Ami Metcalf, who played Lynette in the first Christmas special, is returning as Betty Buckle, the first wife of Fred Buckle, now played by Ciaran Bowling. Ben Rose also takes on the role of Dr. Turner.
The BBC has confirmed that Sisters in Arms will air on BBC One and iPlayer this Christmas, though the exact days and times are yet to be confirmed.
Call the Midwife is available to stream on BBC iPlayer
ATLANTA — Security researchers say rapid advances in artificial intelligence are making it more critical to address a flaw in Georgia’s voting equipment that can allow voters to be matched to their ballots after they have been cast.
The system’s vulnerability has been drawing increased attention, with election security advocates criticizing state election officials for failing to fix it before the November elections. Georgia election officials say they have taken steps to address the potential harm, but some advocates say the state is not going far enough.
The vulnerability does not allow votes to be changed or cast doubt on election results, but it could let someone see how others voted. That is important because ballot secrecy is a fundamental right under the state constitution, and violations could create an opening for legal challenges.
While the flaw in Georgia has been known for a few years, the widespread adoption of AI tools and the blistering pace of its sophistication have election security experts raising alarms.
This is “a bit of a wake-up call because it illustrates how much more easily vulnerabilities can be exploited now that AI can do all of the technical work for you,” said J. Alex Halderman, a voting technology specialist at the University of Michigan who was part of the team that exposed the flaw.
Other jurisdictions across the country use the same voting equipment made by Liberty Vote, which was known as Dominion Voting Systems before the company was sold. But many have applied a software update to fix the flaw, and some other states do not allow the public release of records that are needed to exploit it, said Mark Lindeman, policy and strategy director at Verified Voting, a nonpartisan group focused on election technology.
Georgia, a presidential battleground with one of the nation’s most closely watched U.S. Senate races this year, is the only place where the system is used statewide. Lindeman said that, combined with an open records law that has allowed access to key documents, creates a “perfect storm.”
“It’s really embarrassing that this is still a possibility,” Lindeman said.
How does voting work in Georgia?
Georgia voters make their selections on touchscreen voting machines that print paper ballots voters insert into scanners to tally the votes.
Such cast-vote records detail the votes from each ballot. Those records and electronic ballot images created by the scanners are randomized. But the software flaw allows them to be put back in the order they were cast, according to a report by researchers who discovered it in 2022.
Along with other publicly available data, that information could be used to match voters to their ballots, the researchers wrote.
Max Springer, a Princeton University researcher who was not involved in the original research and studies AI, said he gave a publicly available AI assistant that research. He said it was able to reverse the shuffling of electronic ballot records from Georgia’s May primary and then tell him what other records it would need to match names to ballots.
He then gave the AI assistant the early voting list for the counties he examined and the cast-vote record file, which could be obtained through a public records request. It was able to create “buckets of ballots and potential voters,” he wrote in a blog post. In many instances, that made it possible to match voters to their ballots.
In cases where ambiguity remained, he wrote, he got the public audit log for the ballot scanners and precinct check-in records and was able to match most ballots to specific voters.
“AI coding tools are essentially supercharging laymen people to exploit vulnerabilities,” Springer said in an interview.
Why does ballot secrecy matter?
Georgia’s Constitution says elections “shall be by secret ballot,” and state law requires voting machines to “permit voting in absolute secrecy so that no person can see or know any other elector’s votes.”
A lack of ballot secrecy can make it easier to buy or sell votes and increase the danger of coercion to vote a certain way by family members, political organizations, employers or government officials. It also is information that could be invaluable to political campaigns.
Gabriel Sterling, special projects manager in the secretary of state’s office, pushed back on the concerns. He said it would be easier to use mail ballots if vote-buying or coercion was the goal and that it probably would be cheaper for campaigns to just increase outreach to voters who fit a certain profile than try to identify voters this way.
State Election Board member Salleigh Grubbs proposed a rule during the board’s August meeting that would have required the secretary of state’s office to apply the software update recommended by the manufacturer by Tuesday.
“Each [voter] has one vote, and no one is entitled to know how it was cast,” Grubbs said. “That privacy protects more than the individual voter. It protects the integrity of the entire election.”
In a letter to the election board, an agency lawyer argued that the update has not been certified by the secretary of state, the implementation would take months, and the Legislature has not provided necessary funding. The board rejected Grubbs’ proposal. Some members said they did not believe they had the authority to order the secretary of state to act and they raised concerns about the short timeline before the November midterms.
Board member Sara Tindall Ghazal, who voted against the proposal, said it is “intensely frustrating” that the software update has not been applied. But she pointed out that it is a felony to reveal how someone voted, which should serve as a deterrent.
“I hate the fact that it’s even physically possible, but there are very, very severe penalties if somebody were to actually do this,” she said.
What’s being done?
The secretary of state’s office sent guidance to county election officials instructing them to refer open records requests for certain records to the secretary of state’s office. It will release them with the problematic information blacked out and decline to release other information and documents.
Sterling said the office is working with a vendor to scramble the original order of ballot images and cast-vote records before they are made public. Halderman said that precaution would be necessary to keep someone from reconstructing the order.
While some other jurisdictions have applied the software update that reportedly fixes the problem, some have done what Georgia is now trying to do by restricting public access to the records needed to exploit the flaw.
Marilyn Marks is executive director of the Coalition for Good Governance, which advocates for election transparency and security and raised the alarm about the vulnerability. She argued that withholding documents is not the solution and that steps need to be taken to ensure ballots cannot be traced to voters in the first place.
“When Georgia’s election records contain identifiers that can be used to trace ballots to voters, the only legal and acceptable answer is to stop recording that information — not restrict public access to sensitive unlawful information to insiders and commercial vendors,” she said.
With time growing short before the elections, Marks said a workable interim solution would be to collect ballots in locked boxes at precincts and then shuffle and scan them at a central tabulating center.
A new chapter in Saudi Arabia’s cultural and creative journey begins this morning as the inaugural cohort of students at Riyadh University of the Arts starts their first academic semester. The university launches with immense ambition, bold objectives, and a steadfast foundation: a Saudi identity built on global standards.
Since its inception, the university has enjoyed historic support from the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and the Crown Prince — may God protect them — alongside regulatory empowerment that reflects their dedication to the role of culture in the nation’s progress. This culminated in the royal decree authorizing its establishment and approving its charter, representing the highest regulatory authority in the Kingdom.
The overwhelming response to enrollment at the university highlights the genuine passion of Saudis for culture and the arts, a passion rooted in their authentic cultural heritage and ambitious future vision. Since the opening of applications was announced, the university has received thousands of enrollment requests across various cultural disciplines and degree programs offered in its inaugural year. This underscores a true belief in the present and future of the arts within the Kingdom’s major developmental journey, coinciding with a phase in which the entire world is witnessing a remarkable expansion in the creative economy and cultural investment.
The university serves as a major milestone in the human capability development project within the cultural sector. This massive undertaking has seen the Kingdom’s cultural ecosystem make significant strides, with human capability and development initiatives accounting for more than a quarter of all initiatives launched by the ministry and its cultural commissions over the years. These initiatives have served a long list of beneficiaries, with more than 63,000 individuals receiving education and training across various cultural sectors since the establishment of the Ministry of Culture in 2018. The project continues to grow, with its creative impact visibly reflecting on all facets of development within our flourishing society.
I congratulate all the creative men and women who began their academic journey today at Riyadh University of the Arts.
Because education is the foundation for building cultural capabilities, the university has arrived to strengthen the development of the cultural sector, achieve global excellence in culture and arts education, and elevate Saudi culture and its presence both locally and globally. It also aims to bridge the current gap in the cultural labor market, foster an environment that stimulates cultural initiatives in the private sector, and boost overall cultural production in society. This comes at a time when Ministry of Culture forecasts indicate that demand for cultural jobs will exceed 7 percent annually of total employment, with the number of jobs across various cultural sectors projected to reach nearly 346,000 by 2030. Additionally, demand for roles in arts, technology, and design is growing annually by 40 percent in the Middle East, alongside a growth in cultural tourism of more than 109 percent between 2019 and 2022.
The university offers its programs in cooperation with the world’s most prestigious universities through partnerships that facilitate knowledge transfer and the exchange of expertise. This educational framework combines academic rigor with creative innovation and the integration of technology, while balancing theoretical sciences with practical application. It further enables researchers to expand their scope of awareness and knowledge within a fertile cultural environment like Saudi Arabia, where the cultural sector has proven its ability to effectively contribute to the national economy, achieving rapid growth thanks to the support of our wise leadership and the contributions of Saudi creatives across all fields.
The university aims to become a specialized, leading institution in the field of culture in the Middle East and North Africa region, rank among the top 50 cultural universities internationally, and serve as a global hub for academic achievement, scientific research, and cultural and knowledge exchange from Riyadh to the entire world. Among its core missions, the university focuses on strengthening the value chain across all cultural sectors and supplying them with creative and leadership talents, including artists, producers, administrators, and entrepreneurs. This spans the fields of cultural management, film, music, museum management, theater, performing arts, design arts, architecture, fashion, visual arts, photography, heritage and civilization studies, culinary arts, and cultural education.
I congratulate all the creative men and women who began their academic journey today at Riyadh University of the Arts. I am entirely confident that this major milestone will enhance their creative paths, given the university’s commitment to providing top-tier education through partnerships with leading institutions. It offers an exceptional student experience through a diverse range of disciplines, programs, and innovative educational methods, while enabling research and collaboration across cultural sectors. Together, we will enhance the competitiveness of national capabilities in the cultural sector so that Saudi Arabia may flourish with diverse cultural expressions that enrich individual lifestyles, strengthen national identity, and foster cultural dialogue with the world.
I extend my thanks and appreciation to Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz, and to Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Crown Prince and Prime Minister, for the care, empowerment, and encouragement that Saudi culture receives.
— Prince Badr bin Abdullah bin Farhan is Saudi Minister of Culture and Chairman of the Board of Trustees at Riyadh University of Arts.
— This article was first published in Arabic in Asharq Al-Awsat.
Egypt can leverage the US-China rivalry and its strategic partnership with Beijing to bolster its national security and its position as a global logistics hub through several strategic avenues:
1) Enhancing its status as a global logistics and trade center, through:
– Developing the Suez Canal Economic Zone: Leveraging the massive Chinese investments and projects in the TEDA zone in Ain Sokhna to establish vital industries such as green hydrogen, solar panels, and electric vehicles, transforming Egypt from a mere waterway into a global manufacturing and logistics hub.
– Linking the Belt and Road Initiative with Egypt’s Vision 2030: Integrating Egyptian ports, such as East Port Said, Alexandria, and Ain Sokhna, into the Chinese maritime trade network, while maintaining a balance that allows for alternative investments in other ports and logistics corridors to expand its options and international network of allies.
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– Alternative Supply Chains: Egypt offers a secure regional base for global and Chinese companies seeking to diversify their supply chains away from areas of direct conflict, leveraging its strategic location connecting three continents.
2) Enhancing National Security and Red Sea Security, through:
– Diversifying Sources of Armament and Military Technology: The partnership with China allows Egypt to acquire advanced military technology, such as drones, air defense systems, and space and satellite technology, without the stringent political conditions imposed by Washington, thus strengthening the independence of Egyptian military decision-making.
– Securing Navigation in the Red Sea and the El-Mandeb Strait: This can be achieved by utilizing the Chinese military presence in Djibouti and China’s interest in maritime security to coordinate and build a joint security umbrella protecting the Suez Canal from emerging threats, such as attacks in the Red Sea, given that the stability of this waterway is a vital shared interest for both Egypt and China.
– Balancing Political Pressures: By employing flexible diplomacy and strategic balancing, Egypt’s rapprochement with China (especially after joining the BRICS group) provides it with strong leverage in its negotiations with the United States and Western international institutions, and vice versa.
3) Egyptian Expansion and Influence in Africa via China, through:
The Joint Projects (Triangular Cooperation) by acting as a strategic gateway for Chinese investments directed towards the African continent, through the implementation of joint infrastructure projects (roads, power plants, dams) in cooperation between Egyptian and Chinese companies in the Nile Basin and Horn of Africa countries, Egypt can enhance its influence and development diplomacy.
Here, Egypt can benefit from international and Chinese competition over Africa, the Red Sea, and Ethiopia, and from its partnership with China, to strengthen its national security and its position as a logistical and commercial hub. Thus, Chinese economic influence can become a factor of stability and development for Egypt, rather than a new arena for international competition in the future. Egypt can enhance its national security and logistical standing by leveraging its unique strategic location as a link between Africa, Asia, and Europe and by transforming international competition and its partnership with China into well-considered development opportunities. This can be achieved by studying and understanding the following strategic dimensions:
– First: Mechanisms for Egypt to Benefit from International Competition and the Chinese Partnership
– Developing Global Logistics Hubs: Continuing to expand and develop the Suez Canal Economic Zone in conjunction with Chinese investments, such as the TEDA Zone in Ain Sokhna, to transform the canal from a mere waterway into a global manufacturing and re-export hub.
– Continental Connectivity and Infrastructure: Leading regional connectivity projects in Africa, such as the Cairo-Cape Town Highway and the Lake Victoria-Mediterranean Waterway Project, and utilizing funding from China’s Belt and Road Initiative to connect African trade to the Red Sea.
– Diversifying security and military partnerships: Leveraging international competition in the Red Sea to secure navigation and combat piracy and terrorism through building flexible alliances and modernizing Egyptian naval capabilities (the Berenice naval base) without aligning completely with any single international power.
– Localizing industry and technology: Making technology transfer and the localization of industries, such as electric vehicles, renewable energy, and communications, a requirement in investment contracts with China and Western countries. This will reduce reliance on imports and bolster Egyptian economic security.
– Second: Chinese Economic Influence: Stability and Development or an Arena of Competition? Future indicators of Chinese influence in Egypt and the region point to two overlapping scenarios:
– The first scenario: A factor of stability and development, achieved by focusing on infrastructure, providing soft loans, creating local job opportunities, and supporting regional integration. This would have a positive impact on Egypt and Africa, contributing to easing conflicts stemming from poverty and offering African countries alternative financing options for developing their economies.
– The second scenario: Chinese influence within Africa as a negative factor, transforming it into a new arena of international competition. Increased Western (American and European) fears of Chinese hegemony and attempts to contain it through counter-initiatives or political pressure could turn the Red Sea region and Africa into areas of military and political polarization, forcing countries to choose between the Eastern and Western blocs.
– Third: Analyzing China’s role regarding the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) issue and whether Beijing can play a role in supporting stability and negotiations between Egypt and Ethiopia
On the other hand, given China’s growing relations with Ethiopia and the Nile Basin countries, its role regarding the GERD issue can be viewed positively for Egypt. Beijing can play a role in supporting stability and negotiations, even though its economic interests might make it more cautious about clashing with Ethiopia. Here, China adopts a pragmatic and cautious approach, balancing its substantial economic interests in Ethiopia with its strategic relationship with Egypt. This limits its role to quiet diplomacy and calls for negotiations without exerting direct pressure or engaging in confrontation with Addis Ababa. This can be understood through:
1) Analyzing China’s role regarding the GERD
– Technical and financial support: Chinese companies and funding have contributed directly to the infrastructure and electricity distribution stations associated with the GERD and Ethiopian projects.
– Non-interference policy: Beijing traditionally adheres to the principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of other countries and avoids taking public stances against Ethiopian development projects.
– Diplomatic balance: China is careful to issue joint statements with Egypt emphasizing the importance of international law and the need to avoid harming water security, but these remain diplomatic statements that fall short of exerting pressure through mediation.
2) Can Beijing support stability and negotiations between Egypt and Ethiopia?
– The capacity exists: China possesses significant economic and financial influence over Ethiopia, enabling it to exert influence if it so desired, given the scale of its investments and loans.
– The will to exert pressure is lacking: China refuses to become a serious mediator or a pressure party and prefers to distance itself from the sharp points of contention between Egypt, Ethiopia, and Sudan.
– Maximum possible role: Beijing’s available role is limited to quiet mediation and encouraging the parties to return to regional negotiating tables without imposing binding solutions.
3) Economic interests and avoiding confrontation:
– Deep strategic partnership: For China, Ethiopia is a key gateway and the heart of Africa for implementing the Belt and Road Initiative and penetrating the Horn of Africa.
– Interconnected projects: Chinese interests in Ethiopia are linked to agricultural, electricity, and railway projects that directly benefit from the dam’s energy.
Here, we conclude that major economic interests make China very wary of losing its Ethiopian ally, which keeps its position biased towards avoiding confrontation and refraining from imposing any forced settlement on it.
From this, we understand that Chinese influence holds enormous developmental potential for Africa, but it remains surrounded by the risks of geopolitical competition with other powers, most notably the United States. Egypt’s ability to achieve diplomatic balance and rely on a policy of multiple partners is the guarantor of transforming this influence into a stabilizing factor that supports its national security.
