Month: October 2026

In the same news conference, Jesus said he did not expect to start Ronaldo against Denmark.

“I don’t know what’s going to happen in the game,” Jesus said. “If we need him to play, he’ll play. If not, he won’t.”

This time, the player did make the decision for the coach.

“Following the national team coach’s news conference, and after a conversation with the president of the Portuguese football federation, I decided to leave the national team’s training camp,” Ronaldo posted on social media hours after Jesus spoke.

“In due time, I will tell all the Portuguese about the reasons that motivated my departure from the national team, which I always dedicated myself to. Now it’s time to wish good luck to Portugal and all my teammates, without exception.”

Pointe aux Sables, Mauritius – “At one funeral, we scattered sand from Chagos into an elder’s tomb to honour his unfulfilled wish to breathe his last in his homeland,” says Olivier Bancoult of the Chagos Refugees Group.

For elderly Chagossians displaced from their Indian Ocean homeland decades ago, delays to a treaty allowing their return are raising fears that they may never see the islands again.

The agreement, signed by Britain and Mauritius in May 2025, would allow resettlement on islands other than Diego Garcia, which would remain a military base. But it has yet to enter into force amid opposition from US President Donald Trump.

“We remain unshaken by Trump’s interference in the Chagos deal,” Bancoult says.

“The 2019 ICJ advisory opinion in favour of the archipelago’s return to Mauritius has restored our dignity and faith in our rights as native Chagossians.”

The Chagos archipelago, a group of islands in the Indian Ocean, was separated from Mauritius by Britain in 1965, three years before Mauritius gained independence. Britain later established a military base with the US on Diego Garcia, the largest island in the group.

Between 1968 and 1973, Britain removed an estimated 1,400 to 1,700 Chagossians from the islands. Many were resettled in Mauritius and the Seychelles, with others later moving to the United Kingdom. British authorities also made it illegal to remain on or return to the islands without permission.

“If Trump wants to meddle in this matter, well, let him,” Bancoult says. “We’ve had the 2019 ICJ [International Court of Justice] advisory opinion, the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea’s 2021 judgement, and the 2025 UK-Mauritius treaty providing for Mauritius to exercise sovereignty over the archipelago. International law is squarely on our side.”

Signed on May 22, 2025, the treaty provides for Mauritius to exercise sovereignty over the Chagos archipelago, while allowing the UK to exercise rights over the Diego Garcia military base for an initial 99-year period. It also allows Mauritius to arrange for the resettlement of Chagossians on islands other than Diego Garcia. The treaty has not yet entered into force.

In April, the UK government told Parliament that the legislation needed to implement the agreement could not complete its passage during the 2024–26 parliamentary session. The session ended on April 29, meaning the bill made no further progress.

In January, Trump criticised the agreement, calling it an “act of great stupidity ” and questioning whether it adequately protected the Diego Garcia military base.

The issue returned to the diplomatic agenda in September. On September 21, British Prime Minister Andy Burnham said the UK would work with Mauritius and the US on a way forward that secures the operation of Diego Garcia and protects UK national security.

On September 26, Mauritian Prime Minister Navin Ramgoolam travelled to the UK for talks with British National Security Adviser Jonathan Powell and other officials on the Chagos issue. He remains in London, with the Mauritian government saying the discussions would cover recent developments concerning the archipelago.

For Bancoult, the central question is whether elderly Chagossians will live long enough to see the treaty’s promises fulfilled.

“Chagossians born on the archipelago are now aged between 58 and 100. We are growing old, and we have lost several Chagossian elders this year alone,” he says.

For younger Chagossians, the consequences are also cultural.

Chrisyl Wong-Hang-Sun, a PhD researcher in anthropology at the University of Edinburgh, says years of displacement and migration are making it harder to preserve Chagossian culture.

“During my fieldwork, many diaspora members expressed concerns over cultural loss, such as words in Chagossian Creole and recipes that are difficult to recreate abroad,” she says. “Descendants of Chagossians, myself included, long to know the islands of their relatives and ancestors.”

The dispute has also exposed political differences among Chagossians.

“The actions of both the British and Mauritian governments have resulted in very nuanced and differing political opinions among Chagossians across the UK, Mauritius and the Seychelles,” Wong-Hang-Sun says.

The Chagos Refugees Group is at odds with UK-based second-generation Chagossian Misley Mandarin and his supporters, who favour resettlement under British rather than Mauritian sovereignty and have received backing from Reform UK.

Wong-Hang-Sun says those differences should be recognised as negotiations continue.

Both governments, she says, need to “find ways to prioritise and engage with the Chagossian diaspora as a whole”.

Mauritius keeps talks largely private

Mauritius has disclosed little publicly about the substance of the latest talks on Chagos.

At the United Nations General Assembly in September, Foreign Minister Dhananjay Ramful reiterated Mauritius’ position that its sovereignty over the Chagos archipelago was “non-negotiable”. He also described the 2025 agreement as a vindication of international law and said Mauritius was committed to diplomacy and dialogue over the issue.

Beyond official statements and communiques, the Mauritian government has provided few details about the substance of the current discussions.

International relations consultant Bruno Donat, who has previously worked at the UN, says Mauritius should focus on sustained engagement with diplomatic partners, including the African Union, small island states, the Commonwealth Secretariat and sympathetic voices in the US Congress.

“Being in New York corridors for a photo” is not the priority, Donat says. Sustained engagement, he argues, can build pressure on Washington and prevent the issue from remaining unresolved indefinitely.

The Chagos Refugees Group has pursued a similar approach. In June, two months after the treaty stalled, its members travelled to the UK to lobby representatives of British political parties, with the exception of Reform UK.

The unresolved question of Diego Garcia

But Diego Garcia remains the most contentious part of the agreement.

Lalit, a Mauritian political organisation that has campaigned for decades for the closure of the base, opposes its continued military use. Lindsey Collen of Lalit says the treaty, as it stood in April, would have kept the base open and brought Mauritius into a closer relationship with the US military presence on the island.

“In addition to the moral responsibility, we have the knowledge that we might become a target for self-defence if our land is used this way,” she says.

Collen is also concerned about a new partnership between the Mauritius Police Force and the New Mexico National Guard, as well as what she describes as the “enormous military-looking buildings” of the new US embassy in Mauritius.

Donat argues that the treaty could instead give Mauritius greater leverage over how Diego Garcia is used.

“Mauritius has publicly stated that the strikes launched from Diego Garcia against Iran breached international law,” he says. “That is not the position of a government staying silent to protect a lease payment.”

For Bancoult, those wider strategic questions are secondary to the need to ensure that elderly Chagossians have the chance to return to their homeland during their lifetimes.

“We are opposed to war, ethically, but we are also running out of time.”

The Chagos Refugees Group hopes to soon celebrate the 101st birthday of one of its members.

“God willing, he’ll stay with us for more years,” Bancoult says.

President Masoud Pezeshkian says Iran “has never avoided” dialogue with the US, even though it’s been attacked three times during negotiations.

The opening episode ended with two players fighting for their lives but before that – what on earth was Richard E Grant thinking?

Richard E Grant’s outrageous act of self-sabotage on The Celebrity Traitors last night left producers and fellow players reeling.

Claudia Winkleman said she believed the huge gaffe, in which he openly revealed his role as a Traitor just minutes after she’d selected him, was not because he was nervous, but because he was giddy with excitement after achieving the role he’d always dreamed of.

Now viewers will have to wait until tomorrow’s episode to see if the actor can survive the first roundtable banishment – while also discovering whether it was comedian James Acaster or TV journalist Amol Rajan who met their grisly end in a coffin.

Claudia said that Richard, 69, was so desperate to be a Traitor, she had no choice but to tap him on the shoulder. “You just couldn’t not give it to him, because he wanted it so much,” she laughed at a screening last week. “I couldn’t believe he was literally in the castle. And yeah, he was giddy. The genius of the game is that everyone plays it completely differently, and he took that to the next level.

“I think it was excitement. I think he was genuinely so happy. He came into the church. He loved the game. He had to eat. He wanted to be a Traitor. He got picked for a Traitor. He just wanted to tell everyone.”

Producer Sarah Fay agreed: “Never in our wildest dreams did we think that we’d have a Traitor admit they were a Traitor five minutes on from the round table. We’ve never had anything like that happen before. I think it was just static delirium. I don’t know what he was thinking. I still can’t believe it now, but yeah, Richard E Grant, how iconic.” She confessed that the star’s astonishing faux pas had left her feeling conflicted in the moment: “It was a mixture of a little bit of sick coming up in my mouth and a punch at the same time.”

Ahead of being picked, Richard told Claudia: “If I was lucky enough to be a Traitor, that would be one of my dreams come true – it’s the only way to have some control. Friendships means diddly squit!” And he won over the audience by speaking about his late wife Joan Washington, who told him four days before she died, in 2021, that he was to find “a pocketful of happiness” each day. “I feel like I’ve got a wheelbarrowful, and then some,” he marvelled.

But it wasn’t long before he boldly told Joe Lycett that he was “a Traitor” – leaving the group stunned. Luckily for him, Jerry Hall – who claimed in the show that she’d make a good Faithful because her uncle was one of the Texas Rangers who’d caught Bonnie and Clyde – quickly dismissed his outburst. “Oh, that’s just Richard, he wanted to be a Traitor so bad,” she said. “I’ve known him for 30 years and he says and does eccentric things.”

Many of the group appeared to follow her lead, with actress Myha’la insisting he must have been joking because “he’s too smart for that”. But viewers saw Richard sigh on camera: “That might be the biggest mistake I have ever made in my life.”

Finding out her fellow Traitor was like “an unhinged uncle” left Love Island host Maya Jama, 32, realising they’d have to work hard to keep him in the game. Despite this, she wholeheartedly accepted the challenge of getting him off the hook. “Me and Richard are in it together,” she said in a solo chat. “It’s like heaving an unhinged uncle running wild in the castle – that is my partner in crime.”

Told they had to choose a new recruit to join them in the turret, the duo picked the pair who had expressed the loudest views about Richard being a Traitor – Amol, who called Richard the “lord of chaos” and James Acaster. Whoever joins the Traitors after pleading for their life and ending up in a coffin cliffhanger will now have to change their argument – or throw Richard under the bus. But what is certain is that either James, 41, or Amol, 43, will tonight follow in the footsteps of Paloma Faith by becoming the first celebrity to exit the series.

Sarah said the idea for this twist was sparked by the pop star’s swift death last year. “We thought wouldn’t it have been interesting if Paloma had had the chance to plead for her life?” she explained. “Going home first is a massive thing, but if you can slightly put the power back in their hands, how interesting would that be?”

The idea of having Claudia pop out of a coffin at the start came after the celebrities had to dig their own graves in last year’s opener. “We were racking our brains: how can we make this feel different” Sarah said. “We landed on starting in the church and ending in the church, bookmarking episode one. So opening with Claudia popping out of a coffin, and then our first murder being someone getting slammed into one.” Claudia’s own ideas, that she got into the suit of armour or emerged from the grandfather clock, were both dismissed.

Almost all of the 21 celebrities wanted to have the green cloak, with only a handful determined to be Faithful, including singer James Blunt, mathematician Hannah Fry and comedians Miranda Hart and James Acaster – who will have failed in that quest if he remains in the game.

Ross Kemp said in his entrance interview that he wanted to show people he had a good sense of humour – and he certainly provided plenty of laughs last night. But, sadly for him, the comedy he brought was mostly at his own expense after he went into a tailspin first during the mission, and then later over drinks in the castle.

The TV tough man had prepared so thoroughly by going through previous episodes that he interpreted any gesture towards him as an attempt to kill him in plain sight. First Bella Ramsay was under suspicion after placing the Captain’s hat on his head as an mark of respect because he’d excelled in the mission. Then it was Leigh-Anne Pinnock’s turn after she touched him in the bar because she felt chilly. “I’ve just had my arm rubbed – she rubbed me on the arm,” he spluttered to the group. Accusing her outright of murder, she could only insist: “Oh my gosh – calm down! Stop.”

Admitting he was caught in a spiral of doom, the 62-year-old sighed: “My guard is very much up. Anyone touching me, offering me a drink or talking to me in a slightly odd way – that could be me gone. I’m feeling pretty paranoid.” Uncloaked host Ed Gamble branded his reactions as “one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen”. He laughed: “He’s a big hard man running that mission and then immediately terrified of a member of Little Mix touching him on the arm.”

The Celebrity Traitors returns tomorrow on BBC1 at 8pm.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers have been ordered not to engage in high-speed car chases and to make vehicle stops only if they have completed specific training, under new internal guidance issued after several drivers were shot in encounters with ICE.

A memo sent to officers in ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations division and obtained by the Associated Press warned they are not any under circumstances authorized to chase vehicles that fail to pull over. Instead, officers should take down the vehicles’ information for further investigation, according to the memo signed by ICE’s executive associate director, Marcos D. Charles, and dated Wednesday.

The new guidance comes after ICE-initiated vehicle stops have repeatedly escalated when drivers have refused to cooperate or tried to flee. ICE agents have opened fire during more than a dozen such encounters since last year, killing at least four people and wounding several others.

President Trump’s administration has faced internal tension over how to handle traffic stops, which are seen as particularly high-risk encounters.

After fatal shootings of drivers in Maine and Texas in July, ICE officers were directed to temporarily pause most vehicle stops. But the next day, Trump went on social media to direct the agency to continue traffic stops, calling them “one of ICE’s most important and effective Crime Fighting tools.”

ICE has faced intense pressure from the White House to deport more people who are in the country illegally, and its arrests have reached record numbers. At the same time, the agency’s rapid hiring spree last year resulted in some poorly vetted and trained officers hitting the streets.

In a statement, ICE downplayed the significance of the memo, which said the new guidance was intended to replace and amend previous directives issued earlier this year, last year and in 2018.

“Occasionally, ICE leadership issues guidance reminders to law enforcement officers,” the statement said. “Vehicle stops and arrests of illegal aliens continue.”

The new memo outlines steps intended to improve the safety of vehicle stops for ICE officers, drivers they are targeting, their passengers and the public.

The memo told ICE’s field office directors that they must ensure vehicles used for traffic stops have lights and sirens that let the public know they are law enforcement vehicles when activated. Underthe guidance, all officers on the scenes of vehicle stops must wear and activate their body cameras.

In addition, only officers who have completed one of five specific agency training courses can conduct vehicle stops. Officers who have not completed the courses can participate in vehicle stops only “in a support capacity” as passengers and cannot be the drivers of any of the vehicles involved.

The guidance says ICE officers can continue to use a controversial technique known as pinning, which is defined as “using a vehicle or physical barrier to trap or stop a car,” but only if they have received special training. Similarly, only trained officers can use spike strips that deflate tires to prevent drivers from fleeing.

The memo came the day that courtroom testimony highlighted ways in which two ICE officers involved in a vehicle stop, pursuit and shooting that wounded a delivery driver in Austin last month would not have complied with the new guidance.

During a bond hearing for Wilber Rafael Garces Perez, testimony showed that the officer who shot him wasn’t wearing a body-worn camera. The ICE officer who did have a camera was driving in a separate car and turned it off during the pursuit.

Prosecutors presented surveillance video that showed an ICE agent chasing Garces Perez at high speeds through residential streets after he fled an initial traffic stop.

Garces Perez faces federal assault charges after investigators say he struck an ICE officer with his driver’s side mirror. That officer then shot into Perez’s vehicle, lodging a bullet in his back, officials say.

Attorneys for Garces Perez have called the charges against him “retaliation” and have argued that the camera footage was inconclusive because it didn’t fully capture the moment when he allegedly tried to flee.

Foley writes for the Associated Press. AP reporter Anna Wilder contributed to this report from Austin, Texas.

Former Wales striker Bellamy, who was appointed national boss in July 2024, faced criticism from some fans after holding talks over a potential move to Burnley in June.

In a lengthy news conference after the Norway triumph, he said he feels people “could be kinder to each other” after revealing the negativity aimed at him had also affected his family.

“It’s not me but I have kids and a wife; it’s for them – they see it,” he said.

“I’ve lived in this environment and I had it as a player, but I think there’s ways we can speak to people, and just because it’s the game we love, it doesn’t give us the right to think we can say whatever we want to.

“We’re such a small country, I’m like… why can’t we have each other’s backs? Why don’t we look after each other more? Maybe that’s me.

“I’m not saying everyone’s above criticism, far from it. But I think it’s too easy, and we’re too quick.”

Who: France vs Italy
What: UEFA Nations League 2026-27, Group A1 match
Where: Stade de France, Saint-Denis, France
When: Friday, October 2, at 8:45pm local time (18:45 GMT)
How to follow: Al Jazeera Sport will bring you all the build-up and live updates from 15:45 GMT.

It’s time for Zinedine Zidane’s homecoming.

Two-time world champions France face neighbours Italy in Friday’s Nations League match, with Zidane taking charge for the first time on home soil.

Appointed in late July as successor to Didier Deschamps, ex-captain Zidane has guided France to back-to-back away wins. Now he has the chance to complete a hat-trick of victories in front of Les Bleus faithful.

Despite losing captain Kylian Mbappe to injury, France have maintained their winning start, all thanks to their squad depth and talent across positions.

Like France, four-time World Cup winners Italy are also managed by a former player – Roberto Mancini – who is back in the job for the second time. Mancini’s first game back in charge ended in Roman jeers, but the Azzurri responded in style with an emphatic win in their second game.

Friday’s match is expected to be played in front of what will be a sell-out crowd of close to 80,000 fans at the national stadium north of Paris.

So, can Italy build on their dazzling display or will France give Zidane more reasons to rejoice?

Al Jazeera breaks down everything in this match preview:

What is the UEFA Nations League?

The UEFA Nations League was founded in 2018 to reduce the number of meaningless friendlies and give nations competitive matches against top-ranked teams.

In this competition, countries from across Europe participate in a league structure which features promotion and relegation.

How have France and Italy played in the Nations League?

France are on top of this group with six points after identical 1-0 wins over Turkiye and Belgium.

Italy, on the other hand, are second-to-last with three points after losing 2-0 to Belgium and thrashing Turkiye 4-1.

When did France and Italy last meet?

They last met in a Nations League group match in November 2024.

France defeated Italy 3-1 in Milan then, with a double from Adrien Rabiot and a Guglielmo Vicario own goal. Andrea Cambiaso netted the consolation goal for the Italians.

France vs Italy: Head-to-head

• Matches: 41
• France wins: 12
• Italy wins: 20
• Draws: 9

France vs Italy: Form guide

(Last five games, latest results first)

France: W-W-L-L-W

Italy: W-L-W-W-D

Who are the top players to watch?

Michael Olise and Desire Doue (France): Olise’s outrageous finish in Monday’s Belgium game had Zidane going berserk on the sideline. Such is his talent. He has been involved in both goals France scored in this year’s Nations League and is also enjoying a flying start at Bayern Munich this term with eight goals and four assists. Doue, 21, is equally impressive – he assisted Olise in the last game, earning player of the match.

Francesco Pio Esposito and Davide Frattesi (Italy): Pio Esposito not only scored a goal in the last game but also celebrated a sweet bit of history – he and his older brother Sebastiano played against Turkiye, marking the first time two brothers started for Italy in more than a century. Inter Milan striker Pio already has five goals in 10 Azzurri appearances. Italian fans should also watch out for Frattesi, another scorer from the last game who has also netted three times for Lazio in this year’s Serie A.

What have the coaches said?

Zinedine Zidane (France): “It is going to be really emotional,” said Zidane, whose last appearance at the Stade de France came as a player in a friendly against Mexico in 2006.

Roberto Mancini (Italy): “Facing Zidane will be a pleasure, but this isn’t a duel between us,” assured Mancini in his press conference.

“It is going to be a great game between France and Italy, teams who are still trying to figure things out. Whatever happens, I feel that this match will be very useful for the process.”

Team news and predicted line-ups

France

Mbappe is the biggest name missing from the France squad. He picked up a knee injury after scoring the winning goal against Turkiye and has since been sidelined for two weeks.

Elsewhere, central midfielder Warren Zaire-Emery is out with a thigh injury, and Matteo Guendouzi remains suspended.

Probable France XI: Mike Maignan; Jules Kounde, Jeremy Jacquet, Maxence Lacroix, Adrien Truffert; Rayan Cherki, Manu Kone, Adrien Rabiot; Desire Doue, Ousmane Dembele, Bradley Barcola

Italy

Italy have a fully fit squad.

Probable Italy XI: Gianluigi Donnarumma; Michael Kayode, Giorgio Scalvini, Alessandro Bastoni, Matteo Ruggeri; Sandro Tonali; Davide Frattesi, Nicolo Fagioli; Giacomo Raspadori, Francesco Pio Esposito, Sebastiano Esposito

France vs Italy: TV channel, livestreaming

• France: la chaine L’Équipe, TF1+
• Italy: RAI PLAY, Mediaset, Sky Italia
• United Kingdom: Prime Video UK
• United States: FOX Sports, FuboTV, ViX
• India: Sony Sports Network
• Middle East and North Africa: beIN SPORTS
• South Africa: DStv Stream

You can find your regional broadcaster on UEFA’s official broadcaster listing.