The state Legislature was tasked with developing a better recall system after Gov. Gavin Newsom faced a gubernatorial challenge in 2021, costing state and local governments more than $200 million.
Newsom defeated the recall attempt after nearly 62% voted to keep him in office. Had he been ousted, conservative talk radio host Larry Elder was the leading candidate to replace him with less than 49% of the vote.
Former state Sen. Josh Newman, who was recalled in 2018 and later reelected to office, co-authored the measure that made it to the ballot. He believes that the elimination of a second simultaneous vote for a replacement removes “the political incentive for gamesmanship around recalls.”
“My solution is really simple: It’s to eliminate that second question and maintain the recall as a valid, powerful tool of accountability,” he said.
It’s not uncommon for someone to get appointed to fill an official’s term if they leave office before their time is up. Newman said that slotting the lieutenant governor into the role of governor in the event of a recall would follow a precedent.
The lieutenant governor currently serves as acting governor when the governor leaves the state.
Tom Kim topped the men’s leaderboard after the third round at the Asian Games as he seeks a gold medal that will significantly reduce the time he is required to spend in South Korea’s military.
Having started two shots off the lead, Kim hit a brilliant five-under 65 that included five birdies and an eagle, taking him a stroke clear at 12 under par with one round to play.
Able-bodied South Korean males are usually required to undertake between 18 and 21 months of military service before the age of 28.
However the government rewards Asian Games gold medals and Olympic medals of any colour with a service exemption bar basic training, which lasts less than a month.
Athletes who have previously secured the exemption include former Tottenham footballer Son Heung-min, who served for only three weeks in 2020 having won the Asian Games two years earlier.
Kim hurried from the Presidents Cup in the United States to tee off at the Kasugai Country Club in Japan, having to manage on just six hours of sleep and a 14-hour time difference.
The 24-year-old previously came close to securing an exemption at the Paris Olympics in 2024, finishing day one tied for third before ultimately finishing eighth.
Having looked visibly emotional after that result, Kim is now chasing another chance to stop military service stalling his promising career, which has already featured an Asian Tour order of merit crown and four PGA Tour titles.
The world number 32’s lead would have been larger had he not missed birdie putts on the 14th and 18th holes, but he stands clear of Taiwan’s Wang Wei-hsuan, who had led overnight, and Japan’s Kazuki Higa going into day four.
The men’s team event title offers another route for military exemption, with South Korea also topping the men’s leaderboard by one stroke.
Gold in that event will exempt Tom Kim and SH Kim, 28, regardless of the individual result, but it would come too late for the third team member, Mun Do-yeob, who has already served.
“I think about it. It’s so tough,” SH Kim said of the possibility of military service.
“I am 100% nervous, for sure. It’s a lot of pressure. I could stay on the PGA Tour (with a gold). That’s my goal.”
United Kingdom police have arrested a 25-year-old British-Iranian man in relation to a security incident at a Royal Air Force (RAF) station near Fairford, England, this week
The man, described by police as a “dual UK/Iranian national” and detained on suspicion of preparing “terrorist” acts, is the sixth person to be arrested in what British authorities said was potentially an Iran-backed plot. The five other people arrested earlier were released on bail on Monday.
list of 3 itemsend of list
The investigation began when British authorities were alerted early on Sunday about unusual activity near the airbase, including oddly parked vans and a group of masked men. After searching the vans, authorities found no weapons or explosives but did recover a “quantity of petrol”.
The RAF station has been used by the United States for military operations, including by bombers during the US-Israel war on Iran.
Here’s what we know about the latest development in the case:
British counterterrorism police announced the arrest of a 25-year-old British-Iranian dual national in Westminster, London, on Thursday. Iran, however, does not recognise dual citizenship, and treats Iranians with a second passport solely as Iranian.
The man was detained on “suspicion of preparation of terrorist acts under Section 5 of the Terrorism Act 2006”, the same offence cited in the arrests of the five other suspects. In line with standard police practice, none of the suspects has been named ahead of any charges being made.
Police said they also conducted searches of two properties in the London area. They appealed to the public for any information that could assist the investigation.
The Times newspaper reported that the British-Iranian suspect is being investigated as a possible “recruiter” in the still-opaque plot or as someone otherwise believed to have played a significant role.
The media reported that the man was placed under surveillance after the arrest of the first five men. He has not been named.
The UK has pointed to an Iranian connection but has so far kept the reason for that assessment under wraps.
On Wednesday, Prime Minister Andy Burnham said there are “strong indications” of Iran’s involvement in the incident and an “ongoing, complex and serious police investigation” is continuing.
He did not give information on what the suspects may have been planning or what intelligence has led the UK to suspect the involvement of Iran, saying only that he would “update people more in due course”.
In the US, President Donald Trump said the case “might be” Iran-linked and the US had been keeping tabs on the suspects “for a long time”. Trump criticised the UK’s decision to release the first five suspects on bail.
In Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his government had forewarned the UK about a potential “Iranian-sponsored attack” but did not specify if that was related to the same RAF base incident.
Iranian officials have firmly denied any connection to the incident. Deputy Foreign Minister for Political Affairs Majid Takht-Ravanch called the claims “false and ridiculous”.
Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned British Ambassador Hugo Shorter on Thursday to protest against the allegations.
Authorities received two early-morning calls on Sunday alerting them to suspicious activity near the Fairford airbase, including three vans parked strangely and a group of hooded, masked men.
Unusually, the first call to the UK’s emergency line was made by one of the suspects who would later be arrested.
Police responded and arrested five British men in their early 20s in the nearby Whelford area, saying they were suspected of explosives offences. Counterterrorism police later took over the investigation and said the men were suspected of preparing “a terrorist act”.
The suspects were released on bail on Monday but remained subject to “stringent conditions on their movement and contact with others”, according to the UK’s head of counterterrorism policing, Laurence Taylor.
After searching the vans located near the airbase, police said they found no explosives but did retrieve a “quantity of petrol”.
That’s one of the big unanswered questions.
Under British “counterterrorism” law, police may hold suspects for up to two weeks before charging them. However, if authorities find little evidence to support their initial suspicion of “terrorism”, they have far less time – usually 24 to 36 hours, Chris Phillips, a former head of the UK’s National Counter Terrorism Security Office, told Al Jazeera.
Other security experts told Al Jazeera that police likely released the first five suspects because they did not deem them to be an imminent security risk or found that their potential involvement in any plot was unwitting.
“In cases involving terrorism, suspects can still be released on bail when the authorities feel relatively confident that these individuals do not pose an imminent danger of either carrying out or organising a terrorist attack,” Andrew Silke, professor of criminology at Royal Holloway, University of London, told Al Jazeera.
“Individuals may have been involved unknowingly or in a peripheral manner to potential terrorist activity. This seems possible in the current case,” he added.
Afzal Ashraf, a visiting fellow in international relations and security at Loughborough University and a former senior RAF officer, agreed that police likely have assessed that the five released suspects do not pose “any immediate danger”.
“We can reasonably assume that police judged that these individuals did not present any immediate danger nor did they have any credible means or intention of creating further danger to the public or to government installations,” Ashraf told Al Jazeera.
However, he said their release on bail should not necessarily be taken to mean the incident in question “was minor or that the Iranian-involvement hypothesis has been rejected”.
British authorities said they are continuing to investigate all aspects of the case, including the possibility of it being a foreign-backed “plot”.
Silke said authorities will likely be thoroughly analysing all suspects’ communications and interactions, looking for information on contacts who may have organised their involvement and for any payment the suspects may have received.
“The authorities can investigate all of these links to establish if they lead back to foreign government sources or agencies,” he said.
Silke added that authorities will also look into any links between the RAF airbase incident and previous plots carried out on British soil.
Phillips said he believes the suspects could have been recruited online by foreign actors to carry out some type of malicious activity, such as “setting fire to something”.
He said both Russia and Iran have allegedly paid “stooges” to carry out such acts in recent years. “At first glance now, it seems that that may be the case, but time will tell,” Phillips added.
Iran and Russia have also previously been accused of orchestrating plots in the UK. Those plots have involved “surveillance, sabotage, arson or physical violence”, MI5 Director General Ken McCallum said last year.
IT’S GOOD news for travellers in the north as a regional airport left abandoned for four years is set to reopen.
Doncaster Sheffield Airport closed back in 2022 after becoming “commercially unviable” and has been left empty since.
But now the airport is set to reopen to passengers in 2028 as part of a £193million project.
The airport is home to one of the longest runways in Europe, measuring 2,893 metres, which means it could host big jets for long-haul routes.
Before it closed, the regional airport acted as a gateway to Europe for those living in the north.
Airlines that used to fly from the airport included TUI and Wizz Air.
Read more on travel inspo
However, no airlines have been confirmed for the airport yet.
Christian Foster, Director of FlyDoncaster – the company set up to manage the airport – told Sun Travel: “It does feel like the world has changed post-Covid, whereas people were focused two weeks in Spain or Greece, nowadays we’re seeing a lot of people keen to take city breaks.
“We’d love to fly to places like Croatia, and other destinations that are a bit more quirky like Azerbaijan.
“We’re keen to look at emerging places to visit as well, like India.“
Inside, there are plans to fill the airport terminal with local businesses instead of your usual Costa or Starbucks.
There would be a mixture of restaurants, bars and shops.
Back in July, the airport also gained approval was given by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to move forward with a public consultation.
During the public consultation, locals can express their opinions on the reopening of the airport before October 4.
In the airport’s latest update, three fire appliances have also been ordered for the airport ahead of its reopening next year and before welcoming passengers in 2028.
A Royal Australian Air Force F/A-18F Super Hornet has been photographed carrying an inert AIM-260 Joint Advanced Tactical Missile (JATM) during a major U.S. Navy test event in California. The development comes weeks after Australia announced that it would buy the new missile, with its Super Hornets being the first RAAF aircraft to receive it.
The photograph was released by the U.S. Navy and shows an RAAF F/A-18F assigned to No. 1 Squadron taking off from Naval Base Ventura County Point Mugu on September 11 during Gray Flag 2026. The loadout also includes a CATM-9X — the inert training variant of the AIM-9X — and a CATM-120, the inert training version of the AIM-120 AMRAAM, three external fuel tanks, an AN/ASQ-228 ATFLIR targeting pod, and a Tactical Combat Training System (TCTS) pod.
Gray Flag is the naval aviation test community’s flagship large-force test event, providing opportunities for large-scale integration of new capabilities across services, platforms, industry, and allied forces. Gray Flag 2026 was the largest edition of the exercise to date. According to the Navy, more than 3,000 personnel from over 150 organizations participated, flying more than 750 sorties and logging over 2,000 flight hours across hundreds of multi-domain test objectives.
Previous iterations of Gray Flag have been used to test new and still-developmental weapons in increasingly complex, operationally representative scenarios, including actual missile engagements against realistic targets. Making use of the sprawling Point Mugu Sea Range, the event has also become an important opportunity for working out how sensors, weapons, aircraft, and networks interact as part of larger kill chains and kill webs. A new, longer-range air-to-air missile is especially relevant when it comes to developing tactics, techniques, and procedures within a broader, networked air-combat architecture.
Beyond being the first apparent glimpse of an Australian JATM in any context, integration of the weapon onto Australia’s Super Hornet fleet has already progressed to the point of carrying the missile — in inert form — during a major U.S.-based test and integration exercise.
As TWZ reported in August, Australia is set to become the first country outside the United States to operate the AIM-260 following a roughly $480-million procurement through the U.S. Foreign Military Sales program. The Australian government said at the time that the missile would first be integrated onto the RAAF’s F/A-18F fleet, before being fielded on the F-35A and EA-18G Growler. Looking further ahead, the RAAF’s MQ-28 Ghost Bat collaborative combat aircraft (CCA) could also emerge as a candidate for integration with JATM.
Australia’s announcement did not provide a delivery schedule or specify when JATM would enter Australian service.
The overall proportions and external configuration of the AIM-260 were revealed when an example appeared on a U.S. Navy F/A-18F in May of this year. That aircraft, operated by Air Test and Evaluation Squadron 31 (VX-31), provided the first publicly known photographic view of the highly classified missile.
The AIM-260’s exact specifications remain classified. It is intended to provide substantially greater range than the AIM-120 AMRAAM while retaining a broadly similar form factor. That compact configuration is important because the missile is designed not only for external carriage but also for internal carriage by aircraft such as the F-22 and F-35.
The weapon has been developed as a response to the increasingly long-range air-to-air threat posed by China’s PL-15 and other advanced missiles. Official range figures have not been released, although previous reporting has pointed to an intended range of at least 120 miles and potentially considerably more.
The Australian procurement therefore represents an important expansion of the JATM program beyond the U.S. fleet.
The timing of the Point Mugu photograph is particularly interesting. Gray Flag is specifically intended to bring together large numbers of aircraft, weapons, sensors, networks, and other systems for demanding integration and test activities. An Australian Super Hornet carrying JATM at such an event would be entirely in line with the purpose of the exercise.
It is not clear, however, what role the missile was playing. The photograph does not establish whether it was an Australian-owned operational weapon, a U.S. test asset, or a missile being used for a particular integration activity. Blue bands on the missile body confirm that it’s a training missile with an inert rocket motor and/or warhead.
Public evidence of an Australian aircraft carrying the AIM-260 is another important milestone in the weapon’s transition from a closely guarded U.S. development program toward allied service.
It also underscores the most interoperability aspect of the Australian acquisition. Canberra is buying into a U.S. long-range air-to-air weapon program at a time when the Royal Australian Air Force and U.S. forces are increasingly expected to operate together across the Indo-Pacific.
The exercise also comes as the U.S. moves to accelerate development and future production of the AIM-260. In September, the Pentagon and Lockheed Martin reached a framework agreement laying the groundwork for a future multiyear procurement deal, while the Air Force Test Center confirmed that the missile is already undergoing both ground and airborne testing. The agreement is intended to give Lockheed Martin and its suppliers the demand signal needed to expand production capacity, although the number of missiles, costs and delivery schedule remain undisclosed.
The development should also be seen in the context of broader U.S.-Australian cooperation on air-launched weapons. RAAF F/A-18Fs are also being integrated into the U.S.-Australian Hypersonic Attack Cruise Missile (HACM) effort under the Southern Cross Integrated Flight Research Experiment (SCIFiRE), with Australia providing test infrastructure for the weapon’s flight-test program. You can read more about this program here.
The video below shows a hypersonic test conducted at Woomera in 2016 under the U.S.-Australian Hypersonic International Flight Research Experimentation (HiFIRE) program.
DST | One step closer to hypersonic flight | HIFiRE
Australia said its F/A-18Fs would be the first RAAF aircraft to receive JATM, and an Australian Super Hornet has now been photographed carrying one during a major U.S. Navy test event. For the RAAF, getting JATM onto its frontline fighters is consequently an increasingly urgent requirement, giving its Super Hornets a credible long-range counter to the weapons they could face in a future high-end fight.
Contact the author: thomas@thewarzone.com
09:21, 02 Oct 2026Updated 09:23, 02 Oct 2026
Big Brother star Charlotte has opened up about the unseen moment she was reduced to tears on the ITV show(Image: ITV)
A Big Brother star has revealed one of her co-stars reduced her to tears in a scene fans never saw.
Charlotte Nott is a quadruple amputee who entered the famous house earlier this month, and revealed it was always her dream to join the ITV2 competition. But the 18-year-old student “reached her limit” after just 13 days and decided to quit.
She has since been sharing behind-the-scenes truths with viewers, including key moments that didn’t make it to air. Charlotte has now opened up about the unseen moment she ‘broke down crying’ during her appearance on Good Morning Britain.
The programme on Friday, October 1, saw hosts Kate Garraway and Ranvir Singh asking the teenager about her first TV experience. They soon touched on a controversial comment that fellow housemate Rochelle Rackham made about Charlotte’s limb loss.
The 57-year-old told Charlotte, who lost her limbs to meningitis, that she has “a bit of a fear” of people with “no arms”. She went on to admit: “It’s just something that’s always freaked me out a bit.
“And when I saw you I was like ‘Oh my god’. And I feel so ashamed because now I don’t even look at it and to have what you’ve had done is just like unbelievable.”
Charlotte later confided in the other housemates about the comment, claiming: “I’m not, like, offended but obviously it was rude.” Although ITV viewers watched the conversation, they didn’t see the emotional fallout it sparked days later.
On GMB, Charlotte shared: “A few days after that, they didn’t show it, but I did break down crying in the garden. Not that it offended me, but I just felt like I was uncomfortable around her. Because I was like ‘Well, she’s told me she’s scared of me and like I’m, how can I sit across [from] her?'”
The interaction left a mark on the student but she has insisted it wasn’t the sole reason for her early exit, although she confessed: “I think it just kind of added to it maybe a little bit”.
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The former housemate has also posted the story on her TikTok page, explaining: “A few days after the Rochelle comment me and Yas had a heart to heart in the garden one night. I broke down crying saying it did actually bother me and I felt really uncomfortable in the house.”
Charlotte became the first housemate to voluntarily walk out of the current series after less than two weeks in the Big Brother house. She left just hours after the latest evicted star, Chelsey Ammari, who has also been shedding light on unseen moments from the show.
Good Morning Britain and Big Brother can be streamed on ITVX
The measure is backed by four of the five supervisors. During the February meeting, Horvath, who authored the initial motion, said that binding arbitration would promote transparency and push the sides to reach a deal. She said that 21 California jurisdictions, including Sacramento and San Francisco counties, have implemented binding arbitration.
Supervisor Hilda Solis called this “another tool in the toolbox.”
A battery of labor unions representing county workers are on board, including the International Assn. of Firefighters Local 1014, the Assn. for Los Angeles Deputy Sheriffs and the Los Angeles County Lifeguard Assn.
Dave Gillotte, president of IAFF Local 1014, which represents more than 3,000 L.A. County Fire Department employees, said contract negotiations with the county generally are intense and lengthy. He said the goal is never having to resort to binding arbitration, but that if required, this would allow a “neutral third party” to make the final decision.
“Binding arbitration really brings about leverage to move both parties to work hard to get a contract done, where we don’t have that now,” Gillotte told the Times.
WEDNESDAY’S RESULTS
City Section
Arleta 20, North Hollywood 6
Birmingham 8, Cleveland 7
Eagle Rock 39, Verdugo Hills 0
Fremont 29, Hawkins 6
GALA 35, Hawkins 0
GALA 18, Fremont 0
Granada Hills Kennedy 32, El Camino Real 20
Locke 19, New Designs University Park 6
Manual Arts 6, Los Angeles 0
MSAR 37, Valor Academy 0
Narbonne 28, Los Angeles Wilson 26
North Hollywood 36, Arleta 21
Port of Los Angeles 14, Crenshaw 13
SOCES 40, AMIT 0
South Gate 19, Maywood Academy 0
Taft 19, Chatsworth 12
Venice 13, Los Angeles Marshall 6
View Park 7, USC Hybrid 6
Southern Section
Adelanto 30, Indian Springs 0
Alemany 32, Louisville 8
Alhambra 27, Arroyo 0
Aliso Niguel 6, Mission Viejo 0
Arrowhead Christian 7, Woodcrest Christian 0
Azusa 25, Nogales 0
Baldwin Park 36, Duarte 0
Beckman 46, San Clemente 39
Bishop Amat 6, St. Mary’s Academy 6
Bishop Montgomery 68, Sacred Heart of Jesus 0
Buena Park 13, Katella 0
California 24, Mayfair 0
California Military Institute 25, Rim of the World 0
Cerritos 28, Santa Fe 0
Cerritos Valley Christian 47, Capistrano Valley Christian 0
Chino 13, Ontario 0
Compton 39, Dominguez 6
Corona del Mar 28, Marina 12
Cypress 13, Esperanza 12
Don Lugo 24, Chaffey 18
Downey 34, La Serna 20
Eastvale Roosevelt 22, Corona 18
El Rancho 26, San Gabriel 8
Fillmore 42, Bishop Diego 8
Flintridge Sacred Heart 49, Immaculate Heart 22
Gabrielino 13, La Canada 7
Garden Grove 28, La Palma Kennedy 21
Gardena Serra 71, St. Anthony 0
Godinez 12, Costa Mesa 7
Hacienda Heights Wilson 12, Rowland 0
Heritage 19, Elsinore 0
Huntington Beach 27, Edison 26
Irvine University 27, Laguna Beach 7
La Habra 18, Santa Ana Foothill 8
Lakewood St. Joseph 33, Fountain Valley 6
La Puente 27, Bassett 13
Linfield Christian 37, Aquinas 6
Long Beach Cabrillo 20, Compton Early College 0
Long Beach Poly 26, Long Beach Wilson 7
Magnolia 12, Century 6
Millikan 33, Lakewood 0
Montebello 12, El Monte 6
Monrovia 33, South Pasadena 0
Newport Harbor 29, Los Alamitos 0
North Torrance 12, El Segundo 0
Northview 14, Charter Oak 6
Ontario Christian 32, Riverside Notre Dame 6
Palos Verdes 32, Mira Costa 7
Panorama 39, Brentwood 0
Paramount 12, La Mirada 6
Patriot 27, La Sierra 7
Pioneer 21, Whitney 0
Pomona 12, Workman 0
Quartz Hill 26, Lancaster 0
Ramona Convent 40, Mary Star of the Sea 6
Rancho Alamitos 26, Estancia 13
Riverside King 74, San Jacinto 0
Rosary 13, Irvine 6
Rosemead 6, Mountain View 0
Saddleback 6, Los Amigos 2
Sage Hill 39, Northwood 7
San Juan Hills 45, Dana Hills 0
San Marino 45, Temple City 12
Santa Ana Valley 26, Bolsa Grande 18
Schurr 30, Bell Gardens 0
Segerstrom 32, Placentia Valencia 14
Sierra Canyon 31, Chaminade 0
Sierra Vista 7, Garey 6
Sonora 18, El Dorado 13
South El Monte 28, Keppel 0
St. Margaret’s 32, Newport Beach Pacifica Christian 7
St. Paul 38, Cantwell-Sacred heart 0
Troy 27, Brea Olinda 21
Tustin 16, Ocean View 0
Villa Park 19, El Modena 7
Warren 47, Bellflower 7
West Covina 19, Covina 0
Westminster 12, Laguna Hills 6
Westminster La Quinta 18, Garden Grove Santiago 6
Westridge 26, Chadwick 6
Whittier 27, Glenn 6
Woodbridge 48, Portola 12
Yorba Linda 27, Anaheim Canyon 0
Yucaipa 27, Citrus Valley 6
Intersectional
Eagle Rock 14, Vasquez 6
Panorama 39, Brentwood 0
Vasquez 38, Verdugo Hills 0
THURSDAY’S RESULTS
City Section
Contreras 26, Bernstein 6
Contreras 14, Hollywood 7
Elizabeth 6, Maywood Academy 0
Foshay 59, West Adams 0
Garfield 27, Bell 24
Jefferson 51, Diego Rivera 0
Los Angeles Hamilton 55, WISH Academy 0
Los Angeles Roosevelt 24, Legacy 12
Mendez 25, Roybal 12
Narbonne 56, Gardena 6
Palisades 7, Fairfax 6
RFK Community 27, Mendez 0
RFK Community 20, Roybal 0
San Pedro 13, Carson 12
Santa Paula 52, Bishop Diego 0
Santee 15, Los Angeles 0
Sotomayor 14, Marquez 0
Torres 0, Maywood CES 0
Venice 26, LACES 0
Westchester 8, Los Angeles University 6
Wilmington Banning 14, King/Drew 7
Southern Section
Antelope Valley 12, Eastside 6
Brentwood 33, Burbank Providence 6
Buena 24, Del Sol 12
Castaic 13, Valencia 6
Compton 6, Compton Early College 0
Gahr 14, California 6
Hart 32, Golden Valley 6
Hueneme 40, Cate 19
Inglewood 34, Culver City 7
JSerra 33, Sierra Canyon 12
Mater Dei 39, Beaumont 19
Moorpark 19, Royal 13
Oaks Christian 28, Newbury Park 22
Oxnard 25, Dos Pueblos 24
Oxnard Pacifica 20, Channel Islands 8
Palmdale 6, Knight 0
Redondo Union 19, Torrance 12
Santa Monica 21, Lawndale 0
Santa Paula 52, Bishop Diego 0
SEED: LA 25, Windward 6
Sherman Oaks Notre Dame 20, Chaminade 19
Simi Valley 27, Oak Park 25
South Torrance 28, Peninsula 0
St. Bonaventure 28, Fillmore 24
St. Margaret’s 38, Dana Hills 6
Tesoro 32, Capistrano Valley 12
Vasquez 30, Westridge 7
Village Christian 26, Rio Hondo Prep 0
Warren 45, Cerritos Valley Christian 26
West Torrance 12, Wiseburn Da-Vinci 6
Westlake 20, Agoura 0
Woodbridge 47, Corona Centennial 0
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – The phone hasn’t stopped ringing in recent days. Raf*, a leader of refugees from Myanmar who are living in Malaysia, receives more than 100 calls a day, and they follow a common pattern.
“They are crying, asking me to do something,” Raf told Al Jazeera.
The Malaysian government on Tuesday deported nearly 1,500 refugees, part of its stated plan to send back at least 5,000 refugees as part of a deal with the military government of Myanmar. That move, from a country that had long taken in the refugees, has sparked fear among the tens of thousands of other refugees from Myanmar in the country, who have one question at the top of their minds: Who might be next?
The deportation was carried out during escalating raids on refugee communities by immigration officials, which have led to the detention of more than 50,000 refugees this year alone. Those working with refugees in Malaysia said the frequency of the raids has increased since June when Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim announced the repatriation agreement with Myanmar.
“[We’ve seen] a sharp increase. Raids are happening every single day. There’s up to 50 raids or more happening every day,” said Heidy Quah, founder and executive director of the Malaysian nonprofit Refuge for the Refugees.
Minister of Home Affairs Saifuddin Nasution told local media that the government has conducted more than 9,700 such operations from the beginning of this year until September 17. That’s an average of 37 operations a day.
There are now more than 10,000 Myanmar nationals in Malaysia’s immigration depots, according to the Ministry of Home Affairs.
In all, Malaysia is home to more than 215,000 refugees, according to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Nearly 194,000 are from Myanmar. There are more than 126,000 Rohingya refugees in Malaysia, where they have been the target of widespread hate speech on social media in recent months. Apart from the Rohingya, the Myanmar refugees in Malaysia include nearly 16,000 from the Chin community and 33,000 from other Myanmar communities. The non-Myanmar refugees in Malaysia include small numbers of Pakistanis, Yemenis, Somalis, Afghans, Syrians, Sri Lankans, Palestinians and Iraqis.
The Myanmar refugee community in Malaysia has yet to identify any Rohingya among the first nearly 1,500 people deported on Tuesday, community leaders told Al Jazeera. Instead, many are from Myanmar’s other ethnic minorities, who are more likely to have valid national identification documents, community leaders said.
“The Rohingyas are a problem for deportation because Myanmar denies their citizenship,” Raf said. “So I don’t think that Myanmar will agree and accept all those Rohingyas.”
Myanmar officially treats the Rohingya as Bangladeshi immigrants despite the community’s long roots in Myanmar and their distinct ethnic identity. The Myanmar army has repeatedly cracked down on the Rohingya minority, including a wave of violence in 2017 that many rights groups have described as genocide. It set off a major refugee crisis when hundreds of thousands of Rohingya fled to Bangladesh, Malaysia, India and other neighbouring nations.
Myanmar community leaders also said the raids this year appear to have targeted locations highlighted in anti-refugee videos on social media in which content creators filmed refugee-populated areas, portraying them as hubs of chaos. These videos have been shared thousands of times on platforms such as Threads, TikTok and Facebook.
Al Jazeera contacted the Immigration Department to verify the link between the videos and raids but had not received a response at the time of publication. Accounts that had posted and shared antirefugee sentiment also did not respond to requests for comment.
The increase in hostilities towards refugees in Malaysia coincides with a sharp decline in the capacity of local and international aid groups to support them, especially since the closure of the United States Agency for International Development in July 2025.
In Malaysia, this severely shrank resources for organisations helping refugees with basic needs, such as healthcare, Quah told Al Jazeera.
“Then slowly, United Nations organisations were being defunded, and even within the UN High Commissioner for Refugees in Malaysia, they lost a lot of staff,” Quah said. The job cuts reflected global retrenchments by UNHCR last year.
The agency continues to struggle with a funding crisis, saying on Tuesday that it faces a $5.79bn funding gap and, as of July, has received 32 percent of the funds it needs this year.
In Malaysia, this has led to even less protection for refugees and higher rates of exploitation, Quah said.
“Even UNHCR cardholders are arrested and remanded for about 14 days [while the] cards are verified,” she said.
For instance, an asylum-seeking woman who had scheduled an appointment to meet UNHCR representatives this month was recently detained, and immigration authorities demanded a letter from the organisation to prove that she was an asylum seeker, Quah said.
Although UNHCR confirmed the woman was seeking asylum, she remains in detention, Quah said.
UNHCR and rights groups in Malaysia have urged the Malaysian government to stop the deportations as violence continues in Myanmar.
A day before Malaysia’s deportation of the refugees on Tuesday, an air strike by Myanmar’s military was reported to have killed at least 33 people in Rakhine state, the historical home of the Rohingya. The Arakan Army group said the victims included vendors, shoppers and pedestrians. In June, the UN said Myanmar’s military was responsible for more than 700 civilian deaths over a six-month election period that started in August last year.
The Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (SUHAKAM) said that while Malaysia is not a party to the Refugee Convention of 1951, the principle of nonrefoulement has become part of customary international law and Malaysia, therefore, is bound to abide by it. The principle protects people from being returned to a place where they face a real risk of persecution, torture or other serious harm.
Particular attention should also be given to children, SUHAKAM said, highlighting that Tuesday’s deportation included 27 children, some reportedly as young as eight years old.
“No child should be returned to danger. Their safety, dignity and best interests must come first,” it said.
Myanmar community leaders in Malaysia told Al Jazeera the ships that departed on Tuesday will arrive in Yangon on Sunday.
“After that, we will [learn] whether they are allowed to leave the port safely [or are detained],” said one community leader who requested anonymity due to the increase in violence towards refugees in Malaysia.
Still, even those who are allowed to leave the port may need to spend months or years in Yangon because it is unsafe to travel across the country, the community leader said.
![Rohingya refugees facing evicted from their homes amid rising local tensions and online misinformation, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, July 27, 2026 [Hasnoor Hussain/Reuters]](https://i0.wp.com/occasionaldigest.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/2026-07-27T123715Z_206813602_RC2BMMA6AR5R_RTRMADP_3_MALAYSIA-REFUGEE-1787872480.jpg?w=640&ssl=1)
Rights groups further criticised the Malaysian government’s framing of the deportations as “voluntary”, saying individuals should have sufficient information about conditions in their home countries before making such a decision.
“While authorities say the returns are voluntary, those returned had been held in immigration detention. This raises serious questions about whether decisions to return were genuinely free and informed,” UNHCR Assistant High Commissioner for Protection Edem Wosornu said.
The Malaysian government said people were selected for deportation based on a list of names shared by the Myanmar government in an official diplomatic note.
“Such [a] ‘voluntary’ decision must be determined by an independent authority, such as the UNHCR, and not by the Immigration Department,” SUHAKAM said .
UNHCR told Al Jazeera that it was not involved in the latest return process and did not have access to the individuals concerned. “[We were,] therefore, not in a position to independently ascertain the voluntariness of their decisions to return,” it said.
“We continue to encourage the government to ensure that return processes include individual assessments, access to protection procedures and safeguards to ensure that any decision to return is free, informed and genuinely voluntary,” it said.
The deportations come at a time when Malaysia is simultaneously positioning itself as welcoming to refugees and their needs.
In 2015, the Malaysian government launched a Refugee Registration Document (DPP) programme. On paper, it is supposed to help register refugees, giving them official documentation.
Raf welcomed the DPP as long as the registration and documentation of refugees in Malaysia leads to access to work, education and healthcare.
“If these three things are provided, I think that’s a good solution for temporary refugees staying here.”
But the Malaysian branches of Amnesty International and Asylum Access said the latest deportations raise profound concerns about the purpose of the DPP. The programme should not be used to fast-track unlawful deportations, the groups said in a joint statement.
*Name changed to protect the individual’s identity
09:00, 02 Oct 2026Updated 09:28, 02 Oct 2026
Is Austria’s Gastein valley one of Europe’s most romantic winter getaways(Image: Atelier Wolkersdorfer)
There are ski resorts built for thrill seekers, and there are ski resorts built for those searching for glamour. Then there is the Gastein Valley in Austria, a place that seems designed for something else entirely – romance.
Hidden deep within the Alps in the province of SalzburgerLand, the valley’s twin spa towns of Bad Gastein and Bad Hofgastein combine sweeping mountain scenery, healing thermal waters and classic wooden ski huts that ooze quintessential Austrian charm.
While German may not be known as a romantic language, the Austrian alpine culture all but makes up for it with its cosy wooden lodges with roaring fires, extremely good local wines (I promise it’s not just Riesling), and let’s not forget about the fondue. Something I indulged in for the first time on a recent trip, surrounded by a roaring fire in said cosy lodge, at Bellevue Alm Gastein. Washed down with a good quantity of schnapps, of course.
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With plenty of lodges to curl up in, it’s clear why the region has quietly gained a reputation as one of the Alps’ most romantic winter destinations. The resort of Bad Gastein itself is unusual. Rather than spreading gently across a valley floor like most Alpine resorts, it clings dramatically to the side of a steep gorge.
After a walk around the town during golden hours on a brisk February evening, looking at the mountain views and the marvels of architecture that surrounded me, it hit me – I’m in a Wes Anderson film. The streets were lined with grand pastel coloured hotels perched perilously onto the mountainside, just like in one of my personal favorite films, The Grand Budapest Hotel. I walked through the flakes, feeling as though I had just stumbled onto a film set with Ralph Fiennes and Bill Murray.
But this wasn’t just a figment of my imagination. The cult-classic director is said to have traveled to Bad Gastein, seeking alpine inspiration for the Oscar-nominated hit. Clearly, he found it. It is especially easy to spot when looking up at the façade of the Grand Hotel de l’Europe. The hotel looks out over a cliff, a gentle waterfall crashing below, with all but a bright pink 19th-century funicular distinguishing it from the film itself.
As I continued my wander, the noise of the waterfall offered its own theatrical backing track – and one that becomes even more magical in winter, when mist from the waterfall freezes into crystals and snow dusts the pastel-coloured buildings. This is a magic that has been enchanting people for centuries, with the town having inspired many Romantic composers.
Franz Schubert and Johann Strauss found musical inspiration from the valley, while it is said Mozart himself was born in Bad Gastein before his pregnant parents moved to the nearby city of Salzburg.
Today, that historic grandeur remains, giving the resort a slightly surreal atmosphere that feels part Hollywood and the perfect place for a day together on the slopes.
Donald Trump has said he may ask European countries to release some of their diesel reserves as he considers banning US exports of the fuel.
The US President’s comment comes after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent urged Europe to get ready to release diesel supplies immediately, arguing that US farmers, truckers, and businesses “should not be left carrying the burden” as prices soar.
The US has threatened to restrict diesel exports after the war in Iran caused sharp price rises for US voters ahead of the midterm elections in November.
On Thursday, the UK held talks with European partners about the potential release of diesel reserves in response to any ban.
Banning exports would flood the US market with diesel, and could bring prices down significantly for American drivers.
But experts warn such a ban would put further pressure on diesel prices in other countries, unless they can access further supplies.
The US is a vital supplier of diesel to the world, exporting between 1.2 and 1.5 million barrels per day.
Over half of the UK’s diesel is imported, with 31% of the imports coming from the US.
On Thursday, Trump was asked whether he would call on European countries to release some of their own diesel reserves.
“We may do that. They have some diesel,” he said.
An earlier post from Bessent on social media said European countries should “make additional supplies immediately available”.
The president is set to travel across the US campaigning for Republicans in the coming weeks in hopes of keeping control of the House and Senate in the November’s elections.
Diesel prices in the UK hit record highs this week and are hovering just under 200p per litre, according to motoring organisation the RAC.
UK Energy Minister Martin McCluskey was on a call with European counterparts on Thursday to discuss the potential ban.
A source familiar with the discussions told the BBC it was prudent to prepare a co-ordinated response with other countries, including those across EU, but added that there were still European reserves left from a coordinated release of strategic fuel stocks earlier in the year.
“We have a diverse and resilient supply. We continue to engage with our international partners and the UK fuel industry,” a government spokesperson said.
The government has stressed that there is no cause for concern about potential diesel shortages, though prices are expected to rise further.
“Grey’s Anatomy” and “One Tree Hill” actor Sophia Bush reveals in her new memoir, “And I Will Tell You Mine: Notes From a Life in Progress,” that she married former professional soccer player Ashlyn Harris in summer 2025.
The private ceremony took place in upstate New York with Harris’ children, Sloane and Ocean, attending, Bush and Harris revealed in a Vogue exclusive published Wednesday. The couple said they later made the rounds, visiting friends and family to divulge their secret nuptials.
Sophia Bush, in a 2025 episode of “Grey’s Anatomy,” told Vogue she married Ashlyn Harris in a private ceremony with Harris’ children in attendance.
(Anne Marie Fox / Disney)
“We got to have personal experiences with everyone we love, and once we got through all of those, how do we put it out? Because I don’t want to keep sitting on panels or in interviews and being like, ‘My partner,’” Bush told Vogue over Zoom, then turning to Harris. “You’re not my partner, you know? You’re my wife. And it feels so amazing to say that.”
After Harris described her kids running around, picking flowers and generally having fun, stepmom Bush recalled the family roasting marshmallows on their wedding night: “It was so precious, and zero pressure. I will never forget it.”
The newlyweds also explained that, though they value privacy, optics are important for at least one very important reason.
“We understand how sacred and how pure our love is. But the visibility piece matters,” Harris said, “because there are still kids hiding who don’t feel seen, and if we make room and space for one person, that’s worth maybe costing us a little bit of peace in the public eye.”
Hong Kong listing reforms and surging deposits show regional markets funding Asia’s future.
This article appears in the October issue of Global Finance Magazine.
When the International Monetary Fund and World Bank convene their annual meetings in Bangkok this October, it will be the first time the joint gathering has returned to the city in 35 years. IMF officials have taken to calling Asia the “driving force” of the global economy — shorthand for a region that accounts for one-third of global gross domestic product, 29% of global public equity market capitalization, 56% of listed companies and 52% of global venture capital activity, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s Asia Capital Markets Report
The question for chief financial officers isn’t whether Asia is growing — it’s whether the region can finance that growth on its own terms, or whether it still depends on capital, listings, and liquidity from the West. The answer, based on bank data, exchange records, and conversations with practitioners and economists on the ground, turns out to be both.
Alex Ibrahim, until recently corporate CFO of Yanolja, the Seoul-headquartered travel technology company, said Asia is a picture of change. Its financial sector has matured in the decades since the 1960s to 1990s, when headlines proclaimed the rise of the Asian Tigers and countries became synonymous with rapid, export-driven industrialization funded largely from abroad.
“Back then, the economies were growing very fast, and a lot of the money was coming from the U.S. to invest,” said Ibrahim, who before joining Yanolja spent nearly a decade running international capital markets at the New York Stock Exchange. “If you look now, capital has developed locally and the financial infrastructure in Asia is much more robust.”
Marc Iyeki, a board advisor who formerly led the NYSE’s Asia-Pacific listing sector and shepherded about 100 companies to market, said the shift reflects a change in decision-making. “Decades ago, the money was in New York. Decisions were made in New York,” he said. Since then, regional private equity and venture firms have placed people on the ground in Asia who understand the home market and make the calls themselves, often after training at global firms and bringing that experience back. The region has also produced homegrown standouts such as PAG, Hillhouse Investment, MBK Partners, and Peak XV Partners.
That evolution is seen in how Asia’s own exchanges are performing. Over the past ten years, Hong Kong’s equity market has moved through cycles in liquidity and new issuance, but 2025 marked a rebound from the post-pandemic slowdown. Average daily turnover on the Hong Kong stock exchange rose from HK$66 billion in 2016 to HK$248 billion in 2025, nearly 3.7 times the level a decade earlier. Initial public offering proceeds were more volatile: HK$194 billion was raised in 2016, followed by several weak years before rebounding to HK$285 billion in 2025.
Japan’s exchange has risen more steadily. On the Tokyo Stock Exchange’s Prime Market, average daily trading value for domestic common stocks rose from 3.2 trillion yen in fiscal year 2022 to 4.3 trillion yen in fiscal year 2023, and 6.7 trillion yen in fiscal year 2025.
Iyeki recalled that when Alibaba first wanted to list in Hong Kong in 2013, the exchange turned it away over governance requirements — and New York landed the IPO. Losing a flagship company forced a reckoning. Some in Hong Kong worried that loosening listing rules would weaken protections for retail investors; others warned the market would be “hollowed out,” as local companies sought listings in New York and London. Hong Kong changed its rules, and years later Alibaba came back for a dual listing. The infrastructure now absorbing record IPO volumes and Alibaba-scale capital was built, in part, out of that earlier loss.
One of the people behind that financial infrastructure is Larry Li, a Hong Kong-based fintech founder who worked on Stock Connect, a market access program that links the stock markets of mainland China and Hong Kong. It has become a major cross-border equity trading tie between China and international investors. Its northbound turnover more than doubled to 345 billion yuan in the first half of 2026; southbound turnover hit a new high of $123 billion yuan. “It’s a closed loop, so capital cannot fly out of the system,” Li said.
Li, a director of Digital Asset Clearing Center, which aims to develop a financial settlement and clearing infrastructure that can integrate digital and tokenized assets into mainstream capital markets, argued that areas like Hong Kong, Singapore, and Shanghai have pockets of innovation in financial AI. Li said the region’s token economy “drives market infrastructure upgrades, attracts capital globally, and enjoys support from governments as a strategic force of growth.”
Li pointed out that the region’s tokenized economy fosters “co-opetition” between the banking industry and fintech enterprises. Consumers across the region have largely turned to fintech-developed super apps like Alipay and WeChat Pay, while banks have doubled down on the regulated back end: cross-border settlement, know your customer, and other compliance rules.
Some of the same banks figuring out Asia’s patchwork of KYC and settlement rules are also among the world’s fastest-growing lenders. Banking data makes the same point in numbers. S&P Global Market Intelligence’s 2026 ranking of Asia-Pacific’s 50 largest lenders by assets found China’s big four — Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Agricultural Bank of China, China Construction Bank, and Bank of China — grew assets about 16% year over year in US-dollar terms as of December 31, 2025. S&P also singled out Singapore’s three largest banks — DBS, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp., and United Overseas Bank — for strong double-digit asset growth, driven by regional deposit inflows rather than capital raised abroad.
China’s financial system is bank-led and primarily state-directed, according to Standard & Poor’s. The country’s household savings, pensions, and corporate liquidity flow into banks rather than capital markets, giving lenders a large, stable funding base that the government then channels toward priority sectors. Beijing has supported that base with a 520 billion yuan capital injection into four state-owned banks in 2025, followed by plans announced in March 2026 to issue another 300 billion yuan in special bonds to recapitalize ICBC and Agricultural Bank of China.
“As the primary liquidity conduit for fiscal stimulus, state-owned banks increased their financial investments by 19% in 2025,” Iris Tan, a senior equity analyst at Morningstar, said in the S&P report. These financial investments were “fueled by a record 28% surge in government bond issuance,” according to Tan.
None of this means that Asia’s approximately 48 countries are growing equally. Sam Van, managing partner of SRO Partners and an advisor on Vietnamese capital markets, said the region is still layered by tier. Blue-chip regional companies can borrow cheaply from local banks at rates set by well-capitalized central banks — sometimes so cheaply, he said, that “it’s better to borrow money from the bank than actually issue a bond.” Midsize companies, those earning under $50 million in revenue, are a harder sell to credit officers weighing thin margins against career risk, which pushes some smaller businesses toward informal lenders. Van sees this gap as a reality in a still-maturing system rather than evidence that the system isn’t working.
Van, who recently co-authored a book that chronicles Vietnam’s economic rise, said the country illustrates how quickly a market can mature once the incentives align. Vietnam’s IMF-linked compliance upgrades — the product of what Van calls the government “consistently wanting to meet that standard” since joining the IMF in the 1990s — helped it earn an upgrade to FTSE Russell’s emerging-market status in September.
Two economists watching from outside the deal room caution against overstating the region’s financial self-sufficiency. Bala Ramasamy, professor of economics at the China Europe International Business School in Shanghai, argued that “the driver in Asia, for Asia and by Asia is definitely China” — its outbound foreign direct investment to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations alone can match what comes from the EU or the US, and the reconfiguration of trade around geopolitical frictions is relocating supply chains in ways that are boosting growth across Southeast and South Asia. Japanese and Taiwanese capital, he noted, is increasingly heading toward the US to secure market access and stay aligned with Trump-era industrial policy, even as flows from Europe and the US slow elsewhere. “I don’t think Asia can do without it,” he said.
Prema-chandra Athukorala, emeritus professor of economics at the Australian National University, said Asia’s growth is substantial, but its export-driven economy still relies heavily on the rest of the world. Domestic savings rates across the region dwarf the emerging-market average of roughly 25% — Singapore’s is near 58%, China’s near 49.5%, India’s around 30% — and in most Asian economies, investment rates run below those savings rates, meaning the region is, on balance, a net exporter of capital rather than an importer of it. Intraregional FDI from China, Korea, Taiwan, and Singapore has grown substantially over the past two decades. However, Athukorala said that extra-regional FDI still accounts for the larger share of investment in Vietnam, Malaysia, Thailand, and Cambodia, where Western multinationals remain central to “China+1” supply-chain strategies, and even domestically financed activity depends heavily on global demand. “Over two-thirds of the regional exports are still destined to extra-regional markets,” he said.
Taken together, the practitioners and the professors describe a region that finances far more of its own growth than it used to, yet remains clearly reliant on the rest of the world.
Weld Royal is a contributing writer based in the U.S.
08:29, 02 Oct 2026Updated 09:18, 02 Oct 2026
Ryanair has consistently railed against Nats(Image: Mrkit99 via Getty Images)
Budget carrier Ryanair has issued an update, confirming that it cancelled 1,000 flights.
It partly attributed the recent “collapse” of Britain’s air traffic control system for the scrapping more than 1,000 flights in September. The Irish airline said the cancellations stemmed from two separate air traffic control (ATC) failures within a fortnight of one another last month, alongside ATC strikes in Belgium and widespread disruption across Europe caused by volcanic ash clouds from eruptions at Mount Etna.
The head of Britain’s National Air Traffic Services (Nats), Martin Rolfe, has faced mounting calls to quit following a string of air traffic failures that led to thousands of flight cancellations across the industry last month, leaving hundreds of thousands of passengers stranded.
The most recent incident was triggered by a “connectivity issue” at its Prestwick centre in Scotland, which was unrelated to an ATC software fault on September 8 that sparked widespread travel chaos.
Ryanair has been among those demanding Mr Rolfe’s resignation, while Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander has arranged a meeting with Nats chairman Sir Warren East, the former chief executive of Rolls-Royce, in the coming weeks to address the ongoing issues.
Ryanair’s most recent traffic statistics revealed the airline operated over 111,700 flights last month, carrying 20.1 million passengers, a rise of 4% year on year. Wizz Air also released passenger data showing a 24% increase year on year in passengers flown last month, reaching 7.78 million, with capacity up 25.3%.
Yet Wizz announced recently it would slash its flight schedule by 5% over the second half of 2026 owing to broader Iran war pressures on the travel sector and spiralling fuel costs.
Following the latest disruption, easyJet said it “calls into question the resilience of Nats’ systems” and Jet2 said customers and airlines need “action, accountability and proper resilience”.
On September 21, chief operations officer for Ryanair Neal McMahon said: “Martin Rolfe has presided over repeated system failures, repeated passenger disruption and repeated failures to deliver an effective back-up system.
“Enough is enough. Martin Rolfe should resign today.”
Tim Alderslade, chief executive of industry body Airlines UK, said ATC was “critical national infrastructure” which “must be resilient enough to keep people moving”.
He added: “Yet another Nats failure is causing delays and disruption for passengers and airlines alike, and comes just days after its report into the most recent major outage. Passengers and airlines deserve better and the independent CAA (Civil Aviation Authority) report, together with the forthcoming Civil Aviation Bill, must address the underlying weaknesses in the system so that these failures stop happening.”
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Democratic State Assemblymember Jacqui Irwin is facing off against Republican candidate and nonprofit leader Samuel Gallucci in the race for California’s 26th Congressional District.
They are seeking to claim the open seat created by the retirement of Rep. Julia Brownley, who has represented the region for the last 12 years. The district stretches from the the Pacific Ocean through the foothills of the Santa Monica mountains, encompassing most of Ventura County and the L.A. County communities of Calabasas and Agoura Hills. It includes the communities of Oxnard, Thousand Oaks, Simi Valley, Ventura and Camarillo as well as wide swaths of vineyards and agricultural land.
As with most Californians, the rising cost of living and especially the price of housing are major concerns for constituents. Many communities sit at the wildland-urban interface, making wildfire prevention and response another essential issue. The district is home to a significant immigrant community in agricultural areas such as Oxnard and Camarillo, which have been the site of Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids and protests.
The seat is ranked as solidly Democratic by Cook Political Report.
The ultimate aim for O’Neill is to lead his young squad to a first major tournament since 2016 when the next Euros roll around in 2028.
Their return to the second tier in the Nations League has been successful so far, with Charles scoring a 99th-minute winner in Georgia before the team showed their character with a goalless draw at home to Hungary.
The players definitely looked tired in the closing stages of the draw, which can be put down to the 5000-mile return trip to Tbilisi, but they held their own against Dominik Szoboszlai’s side.
Before that, Northern Ireland had kept Paris Saint-Germain winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia quiet in the opener.
While Ukraine do not have the individual star power of the other teams in League B2, O’Neill knows they are still a dangerous side.
He described them as favourites on Friday night, and pointed to the fact that manager Andrea Maldera had made 10 changes between their opening 1-0 win in Hungary and the goalless draw with Georgia in their second game.
“Ukraine’s strength is in their collective as a team, rather than what we faced against Georgia with Kvaratskhelia and Hungary with Szoboszlai, who are top European players.
“I think that Ukraine have many players that have potential to be on that level and go to the big, big clubs in Europe.
“We haven’t highlighted any one individual, but we’ve looked very closely at how they play, with the ball and without the ball, and I believe their strength is in the collective of the team.”
Judge Leibowitz’s decision underscores state jurisdiction over voter qualifications, limiting federal actions.
Published On 2 Oct 20262 Oct 2026
A United States federal judge has ruled that a law criminalising voting by noncitizens is unconstitutional, dealing a setback for President Donald Trump’s administration as it cracks down on alleged election fraud ahead of November’s midterm elections.
US District Judge David Leibowitz in Miami dismissed a federal case on Thursday against Chelsea Cox, a Florida resident originally from Jamaica who had been charged in October 2025 with illegally voting in the 2020 presidential election.
list of 3 itemsend of list
Leibowitz, who was nominated to the bench by former Democratic President Joe Biden, found that under the US Constitution, only individual states, not the US Congress, have the authority to set voter qualifications.
Since every state already requires US citizenship to vote, he wrote, it is up to Florida, not the Department of Justice, to prosecute Cox for breaking that rule. “Florida can and does,” he wrote, noting the state already has its own laws against the conduct Cox is accused of.
The ruling applies only to Cox’s case and it does not bind judges elsewhere, though about 45 similar cases remain pending nationwide. At least four other defendants have raised the same constitutional challenge.
Court filings show Cox entered the US as a tourist in 1999, overstayed her visa, and later used a fraudulent birth certificate from the US Virgin Islands, a US territory in the Caribbean, to obtain a Florida driver’s licence and register to vote in 2012.
Trump has falsely claimed that noncitizen voting, which is already illegal and rare, cost him the 2020 election, and has cast it as part of a broader effort by Democrats to dilute Republican support.
The Department of Justice has charged at least 60 people with the offence since Trump returned to office in January 2025.
Among 129 people charged with “voting by an alien” since 2021, none was accused of conspiring to sway an election, backing a candidate, or being paid to vote, according to Reuters. Most were found to be lawful permanent residents who had registered by mistake or on the incorrect advice of an election worker or government clerk.
Cox’s lawyer, Bruce Udolf, welcomed the ruling and said he hoped authorities would not now seek to deport her, citing her declining health conditions.
Lin bags her second Asian Games gold medal, three years on from her success in Hangzhou in the 57kg class.
Published On 2 Oct 20262 Oct 2026
Taiwan boxer Lin Yu-ting, the Olympic champion who found herself embroiled in a major gender row at Paris 2024, has won gold at the Asian Games.
Lin beat China’s Yang Chengyu 5-0 on Friday in the women’s 60kg (132lb) final in Nishio, Japan, giving her a second Asian Games gold after winning in the 57kg (126lb) class in Hangzhou, China, three years ago.
list of 4 itemsend of list
The 30-year-old was backed by a small pocket of vocal Taiwan supporters in the Nishio Gymnasium in Nishio, southeast of Nagoya.
Towering over her opponent, Lin used her superior reach to take control of the bout and had a clear advantage heading into the third and final round.
She held off a late assault from Yang to take gold, celebrating with the minimum of fuss.
Lin told the AFP news agency before the Games that she had considered retiring after the Paris Olympics but wanted to carry on fighting in part to defy those who questioned her eligibility.
Lin and Imane Khelif of Algeria were disqualified from the 2023 world championships by the International Boxing Association (IBA) after the organisation said they failed unspecified gender eligibility tests.
However, the International Olympic Committee allowed them to compete in Paris, saying they were victims of “a sudden and arbitrary decision” by the widely discredited IBA. Both went on to win gold.
07:19, 02 Oct 2026Updated 07:29, 02 Oct 2026
Celebrity Traitors fans have worked it out!
Celebrity Traitors fans will have to wait until this evening to find out who was recruited and who was murdered – but some think a huge clue in the first episode has already revealed who stays.
The BBC show ended on a cliffhanger last night when it was revealed that James Acaster and Amol Rajan had been hauled in front of the two Traitors – Maya Jama and Richard E Grant – to be given their fate.
And with them face to face with the two ‘murderers’, there was only one way it would end. They had to plead their case to be saved and recruited or face instant ‘death’ and become the first person to leave the show.
Following the huge cliffhanger, there has been much discussion on who might go and who might become a Traitor and fight to save another day – with a big twist expected.
However, fans of the BBC show are convinced they’ve worked out who is off – with them claiming BBC bosses left a rather large clue in the first episode on who would be waving goodbye.
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“Amol’s diary room bits scream ‘I’m not seeing any more of this,'” one said of who might be chosen. As another replied: “He got a lot of screen time, think he’s a goner.” A third shared: “Definitely Amol got murdered.”
Fans are also convinced the reports that James had a panic attack on set ‘proves’ he will stay.
“Too much in the news about James being so stressed the others in there had to calm him down. So far he hasn’t had time in there for all that. (I guess),” one wrote.
Another added: “The fact that we’ve already heard that Acaster has a panic attack at a round table at some point in the show surely spoils that it’s Amol who goes – unless Acaster had the panic attack while the traitors were being chosen?”
“If it’s true (I remember reading that he had a panic attack but don’t remember if it was specified it was a roundtable) that’s a massive ball to have dropped for the first cliffhanger,” a third shared.
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