Month: October 2026

Earlier this month, South Korea recalled its ambassador from Kyiv after Zelenskyy disclosed the prisoner transfer.

South Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs says it will withdraw additional embassy personnel from Ukraine following Kyiv’s lack of “constructive response” in a dispute about North Korean prisoners of war (POWs).

Seoul had told Kyiv of its position via multiple channels but had not received a sufficient response from Ukraine, ministry spokesperson Park Doo-soon said on Tuesday.

Earlier this month, South Korea recalled its ambassador from Kyiv after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) that Ukraine had transferred two captured North Korean soldiers to the South.

The disclosure angered Seoul, which said the operation should have remained confidential to protect the soldiers’ families in North Korea.

“This measure was taken because we judged it necessary to facilitate an amicable resolution of the issue and restore trust between the two countries,” Park told a regular press briefing, without saying how many staff members would leave.

A charge d’affaires would stay on in Kyiv to maintain diplomatic communication along with all consular staff to protect South Korean nationals, Park added.

Persistent threats of air strikes across Ukraine had also made it difficult to ensure staff safety, he said.

Seoul previously summoned the Ukrainian ambassador and threatened unspecified “further measures”.

‘Situation resolved’

Ukraine has insisted that “diplomacy must prevail over emotions” in relations between the countries, and also said Kyiv considered “the situation resolved”.

South Korea’s Foreign Minister Cho Hyun said earlier this month that Ukraine had sent a message that “included words of apology” over Zelenskyy’s disclosure, but it fell short of “the level” Seoul had in mind.

Under South Korea’s constitution, all North Koreans are considered citizens of the Republic of Korea, as the country is officially known, and those who reach its territory and seek to defect are generally allowed to stay.

CELEBRITIES attending last night’s Pride Of Britain Awards looked like they were ready for bed as they poured themselves out of the boozy after party.

Stars from big shows like Strictly Come Dancing, Love Island and EastEnders appeared to be all partied out, as they jumped into waiting cabs.

Just hours earlier they had all looked perfectly groomed as they glistened and shimmered on the red carpet at the Pride of Britain Awards.

But fast forward to the end of the night, and the stars leaving the after party at JW Marriott Grosvenor House looked like they had been enjoying the free bar.

Love Island icon Ekin-Su Culculogiu was in great spirits as she left the after party in her stunning gown.

The former Islander giggled, as she strutted out of the star-studded bash in London.

Read more Pride Of Britain

STARRY NIGHT

Helen Flanagan, Olivia Attwood & Zara McDermott wow at Pride of Britain awards

oh vorders

Carol Vorderman sparkles in figure-hugging black dress to host Pride of Britain

However, Strictly Come Dancing contestant Lacey Turner looked like she couldn’t wait to get into her PJs.

The EastEnders actress was seen heading to a waiting cab with sleepy eyes.

Fellow Strictly star Dani Dyer appeared to have been enjoying herself at the boozy bash.

The former Love Island champ left the party with a huge beam on her face as she waved out of her cab.

Katie Price‘s eldest kids Princess and Junior Andre were seen looking happy as they waved to fans in their cab.

The siblings are often spotted partying together, and it appeared they had enjoyed themselves last night.

Christine McGuinness was seen resting against a wall in her striking pink floral ball gown after enjoying the party.

But she later was seen beaming as she got into her taxi to head home to bed.

Despite looking a little sleepy, actress Helen Flanagan still looked glam in her shoulderless gown and long black gloves.

Strictly head judge Shirley Ballas was also spotted leaving the boozy bash and waved to onlookers as she headed home.

Hosted by Carol Vorderman and Ashley Banjo, Pride of Britain brings together royalty, world leaders, and hundreds of famous faces including music legends, sporting icons, Hollywood stars and TV favourites to celebrate the winners.

The Pride of Britain Awards 2026 will air on TV on Thursday at 8pm on ITV

This article provides a historical and theological overview of the Nativity of Mary, a feast celebrated on September 8th. The author explains that while the Bible does not record Mary’s birth, the tradition stems from second-century apocryphal writings detailing her parents, Joachim and Anne. The celebration began in fifth-century Jerusalem at the Basilica of Saint Anne and eventually spread through the Byzantine Empire to Rome and Western Europe. Notably, Mary is one of only three figures in Christianity whose actual birth is honored with a feast day because she was born without original sin. Although historically significant, the event is now sometimes overshadowed by the Feast of the Assumption in August. Additionally, the source mentions various contemporary global headlines spanning politics, military technology, and entertainment to provide a broader news context for the date.

National treasure and musical icon “Weird Al” Yankovic may have once titled an album “Straight Outta Lynwood” to pay homage to the Los Angeles suburb where he was raised, but he’s lived in the same Hollywood Hills home since 2001, the year he married his wife Suzanne.

Though he says the two are “homebodies,” they do enjoy getting out and exploring L.A. When he was bored during the pandemic, Yankovic made it his mission to find the city’s best culinary offerings for categories like doughnuts and chocolate chip cookies. What else would you expect from the guy who made “Eat It”?

In Sunday Funday, L.A. people give us a play-by-play of their ideal Sunday around town. Find ideas and inspiration on where to go, what to eat and how to enjoy life on the weekends.

Yankovic gets most of his food recommendations by either word of mouth or scrolling Instagram reels. “I’ll see something that looks delicious and I’ll go, ‘Oh, where’s that?’” he says. “Sometimes it’s in Tokyo, but if it’s in L.A., I’ll make a note and maybe check it out sometime.”

When Yankovic spoke to us, he was wrapping up his Bigger & Weirder tour, which spanned two years and included 165 concerts. His last appearance of the year takes place on Halloween at the Greek Theatre. The one-time event will feature a showing of “UHF,” the 1989 cult classic film that he co-wrote and starred in, along with a live orchestral performance of its score conducted by John Du Prez, a Q&A session and surprise guests.

This interview has been lightly edited and condensed for length and clarity.

8 a.m.: Planning ahead for breakfast

I wake up, fall out of bed, drag a comb across my head. Then I find my way to the kitchen for a little breakfast.

My favorite breakfast treat is Courage Bagels. I wouldn’t actually go to Courage Bagels on a Sunday morning, so the standard protocol is every six to eight weeks I drive out there and just get a big bag full of assorted loosies, as we call them. Then I immediately go home and slice them in half and wrap them in cling wrap and put them in an airtight Ziploc baggie and throw them in the freezer.

Then whenever I want one, I just take it out, I sprinkle a little water on it, toast it, cover it with Violife vegan cream cheese, a little slice of tomato, a little onion, some fresh ground pepper, some Maldon salt, a little Graza drizzle and maybe a little lemon twist.

A lot of New Yorkers might say, ‘Oh, that’s not a real bagel’ — because it’s not a real New York bagel, they call it a Montreal-style bagel — but it’s what I like.

10 a.m.: Sunday service

I go to church. I don’t manage to go to church when I’m on the road, but when I’m at home, I do.

Noon: Old and newer favorites

After church, since I’m already out and about, I pick up a little lunch to go. If I’m in the mood for Indian, I’d probably go with Curry Kingdom on Santa Monica. It’s a really small hole-in-the-wall place with great food.

If I want Thai, I’d probably do Toi on Sunset, which is one of my old standbys. I’ve been going there for decades. I love the food. I love the funky rock ‘n’ roll vibe. We probably eat in more than we take out there. If I’m dining with the family, we try to get the low table in the back where you can sit on the floor. You’re not allowed to take off your shoes, they make that very clear.

1 p.m.: Members only

There’s honestly nothing better than a Sunday afternoon nap, so that would be a big attraction for me. But if there’s something cool playing at the Directors Guild or the Writers Guild, my wife and I love doing that. The DGA is maybe the best place in L.A. to actually watch a movie. I’ve had both of the movies that I’ve done in my life screened at the DGA and I’ve never seen them look better or sound better.

I am a member of the Directors Guild and the Writers Guild. I pay my dues, so I want to take advantage of that and see as many movies there as possible. And honestly, my wife and I will go there even if it’s a bad movie because we’re just entertained by seeing the illusion of motion created by a rapidly projected series of still images.

3 p.m.: All who wander

We might do a little of what we call tumbleweeding. That’s what we call rolling around town with no set destination in mind, just going wherever the wind blows us. We just get in the car and see where we wind up.

A lot of times we’ll wind up in Silver Lake or Little Tokyo. We love to stop there and grab a little mochi candy or matcha ice cream to keep us awake.

6 p.m.: Pizza or Postmates

By that point, we’re probably ready for dinner. I hesitate to plug them because it’s already virtually impossible to get reservations there, but Pizzeria Sei has absolutely the best pizza you can get west of New York City. Their Special Margherita’s my go-to. It’s Neopolitan-style with a bit of Japanese flair. My wife and I always comment after dinner that you can eat there until you’re absolutely stuffed and you never feel gross afterwards.

But again, reservations are hard to come by, so another good option is our favorite Mexican food place, which is the Gardens of Taxco. It was off of Santa Monica Boulevard for forever. Sadly it closed down a few years ago, but you can still order their food from Postmates. The only difference is now Jaime won’t be serenading you with “Bésame Mucho” while you’re eating your quesadilla.

8 p.m.: Choose your own post-dinner adventure

My wife and I just love staying home. We celebrate whenever plans get canceled, that kind of thing. So if we’re staying at home, sometimes we’ll just grab a blanket and go into the den and get cozy on the couch and binge something on our big TV. I’ve seen a lot of shows on the road and my wife will get jealous that I watched without her, so I’ll watch the whole series again at home with her.

If we feel more energetic, because I’m not really a gym guy, I do like to walk. My wife and I are trying to stay healthy together. We never really feel like exercising, but we force ourselves, so we will drive to Beverly Hills and do the walking path along Santa Monica Boulevard, which is quite lovely. It goes through a cactus garden. It’s also fun to FaceTime our daughter while we’re walking. She’s living on the Lower East Side in New York, but we talk to her pretty much every day, and that’s a nice time to touch base with her.

We’ll walk for a couple hours, and if we’re in the mood for a drink or a treat, we’ll head across the street to heytea or Go Greek. Go Greek is a big favorite of ours, and it’s crazy busy in the evenings, but it’s definitely worth waiting for.

And if we’re feeling social, something we absolutely love is doing a ding dong. Maybe that only makes sense to a small handful of people, but it’s basically a musical dinner party, and the one that we go to is full of really cool and talented people like Eric Idle, Peter Asher, Mike Geier (who’s Puddle’s Pity Party, who I’m touring with currently), and a bunch of other amazingly talented musicians. We all just bring our instruments and have a potluck dinner, and then we’ll just sit around in someone’s living room singing old Beatles songs all night long. It’s the absolute best. It’s one of those things I can’t believe I get to do.

Late night: Rock ‘n’ roll hours

Right now, I’m sort of on my rock ‘n’ roll schedule, I tend to stay up pretty late at night anyway, and my wife has got a more normal schedule. If we can go to bed at the same time, that’s great, but if not, my wife will head to the bedroom and I’ll stay in the den with my headphones on and I’ll play video games until the wee morning hours. When I finally get tired of shooting people in the face, then I’ll snuggle in next to her and fall asleep.

Genres Book Society, a new bookshop coming to L.A., is hiding a few secrets. The first indication that something a bit fantastical is going on here is the fact that the boutique store has a mascot.

Look up upon entering the space, and you’ll meet Lore. Lore is a dragon, and this dragon is made of books. The striking sculpture will hover over a cozy space with modular bookshelves that are arranged on a floor covered in book quotes. Peer closely and you’ll see the quotes are designed in the shape of a tree.

A story is being built, a narrative that signifies that Genres aims to be not just a bookshop, but a place that feels like a real-life fairy tale. For this bookstore is also concealing a speakeasy of sorts, a secluded cafe and bar with multiple themed spaces and a two-story tree with glowing books growing out of its branches.

Stories, Genres is telling us, are life.

“This is for people who want to enter into story worlds,” says Ann Morrow Johnson of design firm Gensler. Johnson, a former creative with Walt Disney Imagineering, leads Gensler’s entertainment and experiences division, which is designing the bookshop.

She wants guests to feel transported into a fantasy universe, and understands how to make that happen. For instance? “Adding just a little bit of theatricality and sparkle helps create an invitation of suspension of disbelief,” she says.

The centerpiece of Genre’s bookstore, shown in an artist’s rendering, will be a dragon named Lore.

(Gensler)

Genres, on track to open in mid-2027 near the intersection of Melrose and Fairfax avenues, is tapping into a local trend of heavily designed thematic spaces with a penchant for fantasy. Think, for instance, of the Witch’s Cottage in North Hollywood, or the Last Canteen in the shadow of Universal Studios Hollywood. Consider it the latest evolution of the themed restaurant, and a way to bring the heavily theatrical worlds of theme parks closer to home. Johnson, for instance, says the firm’s research with the the Immersive Experience Institute has shown a hunger in younger generations to embrace spaces such as the Rainforest Cafe.

“People are seeking out a moment,” Johnson says. “Those more theatrical, highly scenic spaces are more likely to get you off your phone. Little moments of delight center you.”

Genres was dreamed up Clare Grant and Karissa Marston, who brought the project to Gensler and tapped them to lead its design. Grant, an actor/producer, says the idea came to her while experiencing the regret of missing a retreat hosted by her girlfriends, who had rented a cabin to read the latest edition in the fantasy “Crescent City” series.

“Just having a newborn, I was like, ‘Why can’t I go read this book in a fantasy-themed cabin?’ That’s literally my dream,” Grant says. “Then I started thinking about it. Why don’t I have something like this in Los Angeles, where I can pop in for an afternoon or evening where someone is handing me drinks and food in an immersive space?”

Marston, it turns out, who has experience in hospitality and marketing with an emphasis on fandom, was already dreaming of such a space. The two of them crafted a business plan for a bookstore, one that wouldn’t look out of place in a sword and sorcery fantasy novel, with a hidden speakeasy.

“I was in Paris, and I went to the Shakespeare bookstore, and it was truly the most magical experience I have ever had,” Marston says. “I walked in and felt so immersed in the books and the history and I went up to the second floor and sat up there and wept. I was like, ‘I never want to leave this place. I only ever want to feel this way and be surrounded by books and people who love books.’”

Their vision is grand. The bookstore, they hope, will become a gathering spot for authors in the fantasy and sci-fi realms. And they talk of the speakeasy as not just being a safe eatery to sit and read all day, but also a future venue for, say, immersive theater. The two-story space will house multiple themed rooms, either for hanging out and hiding, or for potential events.

“I think it’s safe to say that if you wanted to be transported to outer space, you would be pleasantly surprised,” Marston says. “Or if you wanted to escape to Dracula’s castle or some of these other really big genres that you have, readers will be pleasantly surprised at the worlds that we are building.”

Johnson says Genres will be flexible enough to welcome introverts who want to dream away the day with a book, but can also be a home for a baby shower in addition to an author signing or a theatrical event. That’s in part why the shop and ground floor of the speakeasy have a familiar fantasy vibe, one not out of place in, say, the fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm, albeit with the welcoming tone of Disney.

Genres’ founders cited “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” as an inspiration for the bookshop’s bar, depicted in an artist’s rendering.

(Gensler)

“The focal point of the space is this sort of epic woodland fantasy,” Marston says. “When we first brought this to Gensler, and showed them our inspo deck, we kept saying ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream.’”

That’s key, as everything in the space will spring from the written word. Genres, in that sense, also feels refreshing, emphasizing actual books and tactile media at a cultural moment when AI is often dominating conversations. Grant and Marston speak of being influenced by passionate social media creators who celebrate books, wanting to build a community as much as an event space. A prerequisite to be a bartender, says Marston, will need to be a love of books.

“We’re calling all our bartenders book-tenders,” Marston says. “Not only will they be well-versed in all things spirits and cocktails, but they are also someone who can give you the next book recommendation. These are very specialized employees. They can curate cocktails and books for you.”

Consider Genres a place for dinner and drinks, but one where story is always on the menu.

“People are craving more than dinner,” Grant says. “They want experience. They want magical memories that can get them through harder moments because nothing is easy right now. People want to spend money on something that is more than just dinner or going to a bar. Like whimsy.”

ONE UK airport which closed in 2022 is taking another step closer to welcoming passengers back.

Doncaster Sheffield Airport closed after becoming “commercially unviable” and has been left empty since, but it has now announced it’s set to come under public ownership.

South Yorkshire Mayor Oliver Coppard called the deal a “major milestone” towards reopening the airport.

According to reports, South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA) will buy the airport becoming the freehold owner and landlord to the City of Doncaster Council lease.

Oliver Coppard said that the airport being bought by SYMCA would also “provide long-term control, certainty and flexibility” and attract private investment too.

The proposals are subject to approval next week.

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Doncaster Sheffield Airport is preparing to reopen to passengers in 2028 as part of a £193million project.

Before it closed, the regional airport acted as a gateway to Europe for those living in the north of England.

It had airlines like TUI and Wizz Air and flew to the likes of Spain and Portugal.

When it reopens, it’s possible certain routes could be reinstated, as well as longer ones too.

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 journeys.

As of yet, no airlines have been confirmed for when the airport reopens.

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 on 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.“

Another plan for the airport is that when it opens, it will have local businesses rather than chains like Costa or Starbucks.

There would be a mixture of restaurants, bars and shops as well as seating.

The Foreign Office has issued a travel warning for France amid the country’s worst civil unrest in years, with partial curfews now imposed in cities including Paris, Nice and Lyon after rioters clashed with police, torched cars and looted thousands of businesses.

The Foreign Office has warned British travellers heading to France that local curfews could be introduced at short notice following some of the country’s worst civil unrest in years.

Rioters clashed with police, set cars alight and stormed public buildings, while a historic city hall was engulfed in flames. Around 2,400 people were detained over the weekend, and authorities said thousands of businesses had been damaged or looted.

The violence overshadowed peaceful demonstrations over rising living costs and poor school conditions, during which hundreds of thousands of people marched without incident.

By Monday evening, several French cities had introduced partial curfews after Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu gave some local mayors the power to impose restrictions.

In advice issued last night, the Foreign Office told British travellers: “In response to recent events, the French government has announced that local curfews may be introduced at short notice. To find out if you are in an affected area, check local media. Follow the instructions of local authorities.”

Have you had your travel disrupted by the protests? Email webtravel@reachplc.com

The reported restrictions were:

• Paris: Movement in parts of the capital was banned from 11pm local time on Monday until 6am on Tuesday.
• Nice: A curfew for young people ran from 9pm to 6am local time (8pm to 5am BST) each night until next Sunday.
• Lyon: A curfew ran from 9pm local time on Monday until 6am on Tuesday (8pm to 5am BST).
• Coulaines: Young people were banned from being out after 11pm local time (10pm BST).
• Lille, Douai, Wattignies and Denain: Partial curfews were reported from 8pm to 6am local time (7pm to 5am BST).

President Emmanuel Macron condemned “unrestrained violence” by “insurrectionist elements from radical far-left groups, joined by numerous criminals.” Further demonstrations could follow, with high school and university student organisations calling for protests on Thursday and Saturday.

The National High School Student Coordination group urged young people to “take to the streets” and backed continued blockades and demonstrations.

Activists seeking to revive the 2018 yellow vest movement against perceived social injustices also announced nationwide protests for Saturday under the slogan “Macron must go.”

Sebastian Roché, a research professor at the Sciences Po Grenoble political institute who specialises in policing, said the damage was comparable to the yellow vest protests at their height.

“In terms of destruction and damage, it is probably close to the first two weekends of December 2018,” Roché said.

The yellow vest movement began in opposition to fuel tax rises and led to repeated demonstrations against Macron’s government. Some descended into violence, with cars burned, shops ransacked and the Arc de Triomphe vandalised during clashes in Paris.

France also experienced days of nationwide disorder in June 2023 after police killed a 17-year-old outside Paris. Rioters looted shops and set public buildings alight, with thousands detained and hundreds injured.

In 2005, three weeks of rioting prompted the government to declare a state of emergency.

Roché, who has spent more than 30 years studying policing and violence, said injuries caused by police weapons distinguished the latest unrest from previous episodes.

“We have a toll that has not been seen in the past 40 years,” he said.

He said six people, including minors, had lost hands or eyes during three weeks of protests. Officers have faced intense scrutiny over their use of grenades and other riot-control weapons during recent demonstrations.

Authorities have repeatedly blamed some of the violence on groups of “far-left radicals,” followed by criminals exploiting the unrest to loot. Lecornu described “disorder organized in an unprecedented way.”

But Roché questioned whether the far-left fringe was large or well coordinated enough to be solely responsible for violence on this scale.

He said French intelligence services estimated the movement at around 3,000 people across various factions, which lacked formal structures.

The Clippers will have their hands full when the season opens trying to contend in the always tough Western Conference after being slapped with the harshest penalties in league history for violating salary cap circumvention rules.

With Kawhi Leonard, James Harden and Ivica Zubac gone from last season’s team, they’ll focus on developing a new core of stars, including rookie Keaton Wagler, when they open play Wednesday by hosing the Sacramento Kings at Intuit Dome.

Another positive for the team: Tyronn Lue is a proven asset as coach and he’ll be tasked with developing and blending in the younger players. Wagler spent the summer building up his body and has potential to be a strong defender.

The league’s year-long investigation is over and the Clippers have a clear path, albeit rocky, to move on and again become competitive in the West. They finished ninth in the conference last season and were eliminated by the Warriors in a play-in game.

Now fully recovered from a foot injury, two-time All-Star guard Darius Garland will be counted on to provide floor leadership. Also returning are former All-Star guard Bradley Beal, guard Kris Dunn, forward Derrick Jones Jr. and center Brook Lopez.

“I think we can surprise a lot of people,” Garland said.

Garland is fully recovered from toe and foot ligament injuries. In 19 games last season, he averaged 19.9 points with 6.4 assists. With a full offseason and training camp, Garland is expected to be one of the team’s top players.

Other young players to watch are guard Kobe Sanders, who had a productive rookie season when averaging 7.3 points and nearly 20 minutes a game as part of the rotation, and center Yanic Konan Niederhauser, who had his rookie season end early because of a foot injury but he showed promise over 41 games.

Forward Brandon Ingram, driving against Clippers forward Derrick Jones Jr. last season, is now a teammate after the Kawhi Leonard trade was completed following the salary cap circumvention investigation.

(Ronald Martinez / Getty Images)

Additions include All-Star forward Brandon Ingram and guard Gradey Dick, who were part of the Leonard trade to Toronto, wing Max Strus, guard Jalen Pickett, forward Baba Miller, forward Isaiah Jackson and forward Nick Martinelli.

“I know [there are] little to no expectations for us this year,” said Ingram, who will miss the start of the season while recovering from May surgery for a partially torn Achilles. “We have enough in the building to compete. This is what we love to do. So, we’ll go out and compete every single night, learn, go on to the next game and get better and better.”

Strus also will be out for a while after injuring his right foot during training camp.

Departed from the team are forward John Collins, guard Bogdan Bogdanovic, forward Nicolas Batum and wing Bennedict Mathurin.

Also noteworthy: owner Steve Ballmer won’t be sitting courtside after being banned by the NBA for a year as part of the team’s steep punishment for circumventing salary-cap rules. Top basketball executive Lawrence Frank has been banned for six months. The penalties included the loss of five first-round draft picks.

“I give our players a lot of credit … the leadership is great [and] the morale is great, even in these tough situations,” Lue said at the start of training camp. “That’s good to see, when you have your players coming in every day, giving everything they have; a lot of teams don’t have that.”

Staff reports contributed to this story.

Paris, France – After nationwide protests turned violent, French President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday night tried to strike a balance between acknowledging the concerns of students demanding changes to the education system and criticising rioters.

“Those who have destroyed property must pay. Those who have looted must reimburse their victims. Those who sought to bring down the republic will be held accountable,” Macron said.

But the president’s speech was not what Yanis, a 20-year-old from Ivry-sur-Seine, a suburb just southeast of Paris, wanted to hear.

“He gave his usual ‘bla bla bla speech’ without putting forward anything concrete,” he said. “We’ll be back on the streets anyway. There will be one demonstration after another until something changes – every weekend, without a break”.

As France grapples with widespread anger that bubbled over in the form of violent protests last weekend, appetite – at least among the country’s youth – for centrist politics of the kind that Macron represents appears to be rapidly shrinking.

The unrest in France comes months before the country’s 2027 presidential election and has further sharpened political divisions, with parties seeking to present themselves as the answer to the frustration visible on the streets.

The populist-left leader Jean-Luc Melenchon has embraced the student movement with enthusiasm, while far-right firebrand Marine Le Pen has focused on the disorder that came with the demonstrations, framing it as a crisis of security and authority. The centrist Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu has accused the extreme left of instigating violence as a “warm-up round” for the presidential election.

Polling before the election points to a contest in which both the far left and the far right could play a central role. But while the country is demanding change, there is little consensus on what that change should look like. Macron, who has been in power for two terms, will need to step aside after the election, as the constitution bars him from running again.

“Candidates have no choice but to take a stand and address young people,” said political analyst Beligh Nabli, a professor of public law at UPEC-Paris XII. “They have a political obligation to have a message aimed at young people. That message must not be empty, but it will have to answer their demands.”

Since launching their protest in mid-September, students have demanded better schools, more teachers and a more equal system. But the movement quickly spilled out of the schoolyards and into the streets, tapping into broader social and economic anxieties.

The protests have brought these issues to the centre of the political debate in a way that might not otherwise have happened, given young people’s comparatively low electoral participation and the tendency of political campaigns to focus on older voters and issues such as pensions, say analysts.

“If it wasn’t for this mobilisation, it would have been business as usual,” Nabli said. “We would have seen a kind of relative indifference from the candidates towards young people because they are not the social group that mobilises the most in elections, in contrast with those over 60.”

France Unbowed – La France Insoumise (LFI) in French – the left party led by Melenchon, has strongly supported the student movement to the point that critics have accused the party of spurring youth resentment and exploiting the unrest for political gain. Yet the party’s appeal among young voters predates the protests. Its programme addresses several of the movement’s central grievances, including investment in education, teachers’ pay and the abolition of Parcoursup, an online platform students must use for higher education applications that many say lacks transparency.

According to an OpinionWay poll for Les Echos, published on Thursday, Melenchon leads among voters aged 18 to 24, with 49 percent backing him – a 10-percentage-point increase compared with 2022.

For some young protesters, support for Melenchon reflects both opposition to the far right and frustration with the political centre.

“I’m going to vote for La France Insoumise to counter the far right, the National Rally, and the centre, which is basically going to give us a repeat of Macron’s policies,” said Lydia, 21, a student at the Ecole du Louvre who took part in a protest at the museum on Monday.

But she said she was under no illusion that the party would necessarily solve France’s problems. She also criticised what she sees as the demonisation of LFI by critics, arguing that even moderately left-wing positions are increasingly labelled extreme. “It’s becoming rather exceptional to have empathy; it’s becoming something extreme left-wing,” she said.

On the other side of the political spectrum, Le Pen and her National Rally party have sought to make the unrest a question of law and order, accusing the government of failing to be able to control the country, and its main competitor, Melenchon, of stoking violence. Le Pen remains the leading contender in the presidential race with 32 percent of the vote, while the National Rally ranked second among voters aged 18 to 24, behind France Unbowed.

“Yesterday, you saw our cities, our streets, and our country mistreated, battered, and looted,” Le Pen said in a video message on Sunday night. “We are experiencing a profound crisis of trust and authority – one that poses a threat to our democracy.” She added that France was “caught in a vice – effectively held hostage – between violence and powerlessness”.

Caught between these competing narratives is the centrist bloc of Macron, whose presidency began amid the Yellow Vest protests and is now approaching its end against the backdrop of another major wave of social unrest. That earlier movement, initially triggered by a rise in fuel taxes, grew into a broader revolt against the cost of living and what demonstrators saw as Macron’s favouring of the elite.

One of the differences between now and then is that any government coming next will not have the fiscal room to quell the unrest by handing a cheque. Last year, the government recorded a deficit of 5.1 percent of France’s gross domestic product, one of the highest among European countries. By contrast, the European Union average is 3.1 percent. Any future president will have to deal with Macron’s headache: How to save money without deepening public anger.

The current mobilisation has exposed a wider sense of disillusionment with the political establishment. The president’s popularity stands at 15 percent, the lowest ever.

In his speech on Sunday night, Macron blamed “insurrectionists from fringe far-left groups, joined by numerous criminals” for the violence. But he only briefly spoke about the students’ demands and offered no specific new policy measures to address them. Instead, he tasked Lecornu with bringing together students, teachers, unions and elected officials to develop proposals in the coming days, while promising a tougher response to violence.

The unrest presents an opportunity for his opponents to argue that his presidency has failed to address deep-rooted inequalities. At stake is the support of a generation of young people who feel let down by the state and increasingly disconnected from the political establishment – and who all sides of the political spectrum are poised to woo in the coming months before the election.

In a letter outlining 42 questions, UEFA gives FIFA until November 2 to release documents on Infantino’s aborted plans.

UEFA has given FIFA a deadline of November 2 to release documents relating to its president Gianni Infantino’s aborted attempts at a secretive investment plan for the World Cup and other governance issues.

The latest move in a power struggle between the global and continental governing bodies was revealed on Monday, days after European football’s top officials were disappointed by what they perceived as a lack of clarity from Infantino over the issues at a FIFA Council meeting last week.

Infantino provided no documents about the $4.2bn World Cup sell-off plan he launched and quickly dropped in July amid a fierce backlash led by Europe.

Among the 42 questions to which UEFA is demanding answers are: Infantino’s personal remuneration package, financial payments made to singer Marc Anthony, the handling of USA striker Folarin Balogun’s disciplinary case, business and political relationships involving US President Donald Trump and his family, and the operational independence of FIFA’s judicial, electoral and ethics committees.

UEFA asked US federal courts to authorise subpoenas compelling the production of documents and sworn testimony about the abandoned investment plan called FIFA Forward Enterprise.

FIFA lawyers have claimed UEFA is harassing Infantino.

Al Jazeera reached out to FIFA for a comment but did not receive a response.

Deep dissatisfaction

The formal letter, signed by UEFA general secretary Theodore Theodoridis on behalf of European FIFA Council members, stated Infantino’s apology for his actions and subsequent explanation failed to address their core concerns.

“These explanations have not begun satisfactorily to address a number of fundamental questions raised by Council members. Others remain unanswered, and the information and documentation requested have not been [provided],” the letter said.

“The withdrawal of FFE, the recognition of mistakes, and the announcement of ‘potential governance reforms’ do not answer how the relevant decisions were taken or why the FIFA Council was not involved at the appropriate stage.”

According to media reports, the letter further said: “Any refusal to disclose information or documents should be justified individually, with a clear explanation of the specific grounds relied upon.”

Tight timeline

UEFA submitted 42 detailed questions to FIFA, demanding responses by November 2 — 16 days before the nomination deadline for the presidential election on March 18, 2027.

With the next FIFA Council meeting scheduled for December 16 in Doha, Qatar — after nominations close — UEFA insisted that answers cannot wait.

“These questions require answers now. They cannot be deferred until the next meeting of the FIFA Council — nor can future governance reforms substitute for scrutiny of decisions already taken and accountability for them,” the letter emphasised.

The earlier deadline would give federations time to assess FIFA’s answers — or its failure to answer — while they can still nominate or endorse a challenger.

Jenna Dewan is “so excited” for her next performance on “Dancing With the Stars.”

The “Rookie” actor appeared in a short video posted Sunday to the show’s Instagram Stories with her temporary partner, Alan Bersten — who is filling in for suspended pro Val Chmerkovskiy — to promote their upcoming routine.

“Hi, everybody,” Dewan said while standing beside Bersten during rehearsals. “It’s ‘Dedication Night’ and we are dancing a Viennese waltz to ‘Unchained Melody’ by the Righteous Brothers, the greatest, most romantic song ever.”

The “Step Up” star shared on social media that she is dedicating this dance to her mother.

“My mom has always been my biggest cheerleader,” Dewan wrote in her Sunday Instagram post. “The one who believed in me before I even knew what was possible for myself. Who encouraged me to dream big, to keep going, and most importantly, to never lose sight of who I am along the way.”

She added: “There’s something so beautiful and full circle about getting to honor the woman who first encouraged my love of dance, through the very thing she helped me fall in love with.”

The short teaser was shared shortly after it was announced that Chmerkovskiy would be suspended for a week for posting a message on TikTok that seemed to reference Will Smith‘s infamous 2022 Oscars slap. That incident involved Smith rushing the stage and slapping host Chris Rock with an open hand after the Oscars host made jokes about Jada Pinkett Smith.

“Keep my wife’s name out your … mouth!” Smith shouted at Rock afterward.

Chmerkovskiy’s since-deleted TikTok post appeared to be in response to judge Carrie Ann Inaba‘s harsh critique of the performance by pro Jenna Johnson, his wife, and partner Harry Shum Jr. during Tuesday’s “Super Bowl Night” episode of the show.

“You almost saw Fresh Prince enter the ballroom last night,” Chmerkovskiy reportedly wrote.

“DWTS” producers BBC Studios responded with a widely reported statement that the “well-being of everyone who works on Dancing with the Stars is non-negotiable. Val’s social media post was inappropriate and does not reflect the values or standards expected of anyone connected with the show. As a result, he will not participate in next week’s show.”

Chmerkovskiy has since apologized for his remark, saying in a statement provided to Deadline that he had merely reacted on “instinct” to “defend [his] wife.”

“In a moment where my instinct was to defend my wife, I made a poor decision to reference a meme to ‘keep my wife’s name’ out of the conversation, without stopping to think through what else that reference could imply, which was genuinely never my intention,” the statement read. “Carrie Ann certainly didn’t deserve to get caught in the middle of my bad judgment, and I hate that she was.”

The dancer also reportedly posted an apology to his Instagram Stories on Thursday.

“I want to apologize from the bottom of my heart for my recent post,” he wrote. “I have reached out to Carrie Ann to apologize directly and personally, and I also want to apologize publicly as I understand my words affect so many outside of our internal DWTS family.”

Bersten, who is filling in this week as Dewan’s partner, was previously paired with celebrity chef Giada De Laurentiis before they were eliminated earlier in the season.

Passengers were not happy after airline Ryanair poked fun at one type of passenger onboard their planes – encouraging them the ‘stop’ making a key mistake onboard

Ryanair has hit out at passengers who make one key mistake when traveling on one of their planes for a short haul flight. This follows the airline previously advising passengers to ‘please stop wearing’ jeans during flights.

When flying many people have three basic priorities, having a good seat, being as comfortable as possible while onboard, and spending as little money as possible. And while remaining seated in the same spot for extended periods can be decidedly uncomfortable, particularly when you’re short on legroom, people have started to take further steps to help pass time while onboard aeroplanes.

With cabin humidity on many commercial flights dropping below 20%, which is drier than a desert, many people opt to take facemasks, moisturiser and eye cream onboard in their hand luggage.

The thought behind the process it to prevent passenger’s skin from feeling tight, dull, or irritated upon arrival. Ryanair has established a reputation on social media, where they frequently poke fun at their own passengers, and jokingly threaten to introduce even more regulations and charges than they currently impose – such as extra legroom seats or late check-in fees.

What shouldn’t passengers do when on a short haul flight with Ryanair?

Nevertheless, Ryanair has now criticised travellers who insist on keeping their skin moisturised while onboard one of their aircrafts. Posting on their Facebook page, the airline issued a statement to their passengers.

They wrote: “Stop doing skincare onboard, it’s a 2-hour flight.” However, many passengers were furious with the airline and quickly flocked to the comment section to express their own views.

One person said: “Stop measuring my bag with a ruler like it’s national security, it’s a 2-hour flight.”

A second person added: “Please tell the cabin crew to put a smile on their face – It’s just a 2-hour flight.”

A third added: “Carry on like this and I’ll allow my husband to bring his foot file and use it on our trip over to UK on the November 5.”

A fourth said: “What are these bizarre Ryanair posts about?! You’d think their marketing team would manage social media in a more sophisticated way?!”

Others, however, commented on the post to express their own bugbears on short haul flights.

One person said: “Travel pillows for 1-2 hour flights still intrigue me more than skincare.”

A second added: “Skincare? I’ve actually seen a man clipping his nails! This should be strictly prohibited under financial sanctions!”

A third said: “Don’t start clapping before the plane has even landed!”

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Rams lose stunner to Arizona

From Gary Klein: Other than the missing 23 carats of diamonds, the replica Super Bowl LVI rings fans received on Sunday at SoFi Stadium looked like the real thing.

That’s more than the Rams can claim.

The team that opened the season as the overwhelming favorite to win Super Bowl LXI continued to look like a cheap imitation.

They did not flash. They did not sparkle.

They looked dull. Lifeless.

And when Chad Ryland of the Arizona Cardinals kicked his sixth field goal as time expired, the Rams lost 18-16 in front of 72,573.

“There’s nothing positive that I can say,” Rams coach Sean McVay lamented.

First-year Cardinals coach Mike LaFleur, the Rams’ former offensive coordinator, outcoached and outmaneuvered McVay, his friend and mentor.

With just more than a third of the season complete, the Rams are 2-4.

“We are what our record is,” quarterback Matthew Stafford said.

Continue reading here

Rams summary

NFL standings

Chargers fall to 0-6

From Kathleen Gier: The Chargers hit the road to face the undefeated, AFC West-leading Kansas City Chiefs, still looking for their first victory of the season.

They were unsuccessful, falling 22-6 on Sunday evening at Arrowhead Stadium. The Chargers are 0-6 to start the season for the first time since 2000, when they finished 1-16. They’ve also lost nine straight games since last season, tying a franchise mark for most consecutive losses.

“I truly believe and was confident that we would win this game,” Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh told reporters. “We have to address everything, guys, and especially offensively.

“We’re not scoring enough points. That’s the bottom line.”

The Chargers’ offense, already weakened by a series of injuries to its offensive line and receiving corps, struggled mightily, recording their second-lowest output of the season at 259 total yards. They also lost wide receiver Ladd McConkey, who was ruled out midway through the second quarter with a concussion. He had just one catch in his return from a foot injury that kept him out last week against Denver.

Continue reading here

Chargers summary

NFL standings

UCLA moves up to No. 9 in rankings, USC to No. 16

Miami is No. 1 in The Associated Press Top 25 for the first time since 2002, No. 2 BYU has its highest ranking since its 1984 national championship season and Notre Dame and Georgia stayed in the top five Sunday after both lost close games.

The UCLA Bruins, who are 6-0 after defeating Wisconsin, moved into the top 10 at No. 9, while idle USC moved up three spots to No. 16.

The Hurricanes took over the top spot from Georgia, which lasted one week at No. 1 after losing to Auburn at home. The Bulldogs were the second No. 1 team in two weeks — Texas was the other — to lose to an unranked opponent.

The Hurricanes received 40 of the 70 first-place votes from the media voting panel and were just 22 points ahead of BYU, which won a thriller at home over Notre Dame. The Cougars got 20 first-place votes and were 26 points ahead of Ohio State. The Buckeyes got nine first-place votes and were well ahead of No. 4 Notre Dame and No. 5 Georgia.

Miami is the first No. 1 team from the Atlantic Coast Conference team since Clemson in 2020. Other than Clemson, there had not been another ACC team ranked No. 1 since Florida State in 2014.

MLB postseason schedule

All times Pacific

NLCS

No. 1 Milwaukee vs. No. 2 Dodgers
at Milwaukee 2, Dodgers 1 (box score)
at Milwaukee 7, Dodgers 4 (box score)
Milwaukee 6, at Dodgers 2 (box score)
Milwaukee 6, at Dodgers 4 (box score)

ALCS

No. 1 Tampa Bay vs. No. 2 Cleveland
Cleveland 7, at Tampa Bay 3 (box score)
at Tampa Bay 3, Cleveland 1 (box score)
at Cleveland 3, Tampa Bay 2 (box score)
Tampa Bay 7, at Cleveland 3 (box score)
Tampa Bay 3, at Cleveland 1 (box score)
Monday at Tampa Bay, 5 p.m., TBS/truTV/UniMas/HBO Max
*Tuesday at Tampa Bay, 5 p.m., TBS/truTV/UniMas/HBO Max

World Series
All games at 5 p.m. PT
All game on FOX/FOX Deportes/FOX One

No. 1 Milwaukee vs. TB/Cleveland
Friday at Milwaukee, TBD, FOX/FOX Deportes/FOX One
Saturday at Milwaukee, TBD, FOX/FOX Deportes/FOX One
Monday, Oct. 26 at TB/Cle., TBD, FOX/FOX Deportes/FOX One
Tuesday, Oct. 27 at TB/Cle., TBD, FOX/FOX Deportes/FOX One
*Wed., Oct. 28 at TB/Cle., TBD, FOX/FOX Deportes/FOX One
*Friday, Oct. 30 at Milwaukee, TBD, FOX/FOX Deportes/FOX One
*Sat., Oct. 31 at Milwaukee, TBD, FOX/FOX Deportes/FOX One

* if necessary

This day in sports history

1940 — Alabama snaps Tennessee’s defensive scoreless streak of 71 quarters but still loses 27-12. Tennessee hadn’t allowed a point since Oct. 29, 1938, when it beat LSU 14-6.

1957 — Maurice Richard of the Montreal Canadiens scores his 500th goal in a 3-1 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks.

1960 — After 13 years in Minneapolis, the Lakers opened their inaugural season in Los Angeles with a 140-123 loss at Cincinnati.

1966 — Bobby Orr makes his NHL regular season debut for the Boston Bruins.

1985 — Robbie Bosco of Brigham Young passes for 585 yards in a 45-23 victory over New Mexico.

1985 — Dale Klein of Nebraska ties an NCAA record with seven field goals in a 28-20 victory over Missouri.

1986 — Lloyd Burruss of Kansas City intercepts three passes and returns two for touchdowns to lead the Chiefs to a 42-21 victory over the San Diego Chargers.

1994 — Duke beats North Carolina 3-2 in women’s soccer to end the Tar Heels’ unbeaten streak of 101 games.

1997 — Pittsburgh goaltender Tom Barrasso makes 22 saves to earn his 300th victory with a 4-1 win over Florida. Barrasso becomes the first American-born goaltender and 13th overall with 300 wins.

1997 — Sandy Alomar of the Cleveland Indians hits the 700th World Series home run.

2002 — Avon Cobourne becomes the fifth Division I-A rusher with four 1,000-yard seasons as West Virginia beats Syracuse 34-7. Cobourne has 108 yards in the game for 1,002 yards this season.

2012 — The National Hockey League announces the cancellation of the 2012-13 regular-season schedule through November 1. A total of 135 regular-season games are now lost from Oct. 11 through Nov. 1.

2014 — Peyton Manning breaks Brett Favre’s NFL record of 508 career touchdown passes and he throws four TD passes in Denver’s 42-17 victory over the San Francisco 49ers. The record-breaker was an 8-yarder to Demaryius Thomas with 3:09 left in the first half. Manning reaches the milestone in his 246th regular-season game. Favre needed 302.

2014 — DeMarco Murray becomes the first running back in NFL history to start a season with seven straight 100-yard games in a 31-21 win over the New York Giants. Murray, with 128 yards and a touchdown, breaks Hall of Famer Jim Brown’s 56-year-old record.

Compiled by the Associated Press

Until next time…

That concludes today’s newsletter. If you have any feedback, ideas for improvement or things you’d like to see, email me at houston.mitchell@latimes.com. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.

Trump calls for Zelenskyy to be replaced as negotiator, while Ukraine’s president says arms shipments delayed.

United States President Donald Trump says someone other than Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy should negotiate on Kyiv’s behalf in talks to  end Russia’s war.

“Zelenskyy is a man that should have had settled this war a long time ago. If he would’ve listened to me, he would have made a much better deal a long time ago,” Trump told reporters outside the White House on Monday. “Maybe it’s time for Zelenskyy to get somebody else to negotiate.”

The US president has been verbally swiping at his Ukrainian counterpart for several days as a rift between the leaders deepens.

On Sunday, Trump claimed on Truth Social that Zelenskyy does not want to end the war. Earlier this month, he called for him to be replaced as president, and labelled him a “warmonger” over Ukraine’s attacks on Russian oil refineries.

Trump has also defended sanctions waivers for Russia, saying in the same Truth Social post that he wants to keep Moscow at the negotiating table.

Zelenskyy said the decision “will hurt Ukraine” and strengthen Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war effort.

Trump also announced plans on October 9 for Russia to supply more than 300,000 metric tonnes of diesel to US and global markets to tackle fuel prices that have soared since the US and Israel launched a war on Iran in late February.

The decision has angered not only Kyiv, but also European partners and US officials, who say it rewards Moscow while it continues its four-and-a-half-year war on Ukraine.

Zelenskyy told US senators at a meeting on Monday that decisions taken by the Trump administration “are hard to explain between friends”.

He said arms shipments had been delayed and intelligence sharing restricted.

“We also know that … the Pentagon is delaying the delivery of missiles that our partners have already paid for through the PURL (Prioritised Ukraine Requirements List) programme,” he said.

To his knowledge, he added, one missile package was waiting for the signature of US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.

He also said several European countries were ready to transfer Patriot interceptor missiles from their own stockpiles but were awaiting US approval.

In remarks posted in a video on Telegram, Zelenskyy said that on three occasions in the past week, Ukraine had not received the advance warning of Russian attacks generally provided by its partners.

Last week, Zelenskyy suggested a disruption of Starlink services in Ukraine was “deliberate”. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio rejected the claim.

The sparring comes as Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff is ⁠set to travel to Norway this week for the next round of negotiations on ending the war in Ukraine, the Reuters news agency reported, citing three people familiar with the matter.

Two of the sources said they expected Zelenskyy to attend the meetings.

The Oslo discussions are expected to include Zelenskyy, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store, representatives of the E4 – made up of the United Kingdom, France, Germany, and Poland – the European Union, and NATO.

With more than one million votes counted, about 76 percent supported remaining in Canada.

Alberta residents have voted to remain ⁠part of Canada in the province’s first-ever referendum on separation, in a much-needed win for Prime Minister Mark Carney as he ‌attempts to unify the country amid an ongoing trade war with the United States.

With more than one million votes counted, about 77 percent supported remaining in Canada, compared with 23 percent who backed beginning a process that could lead to separation, early results showed on Tuesday.

The vote was not a direct referendum on independence but would have set oil-rich Alberta on a path towards a future vote on separation from Canada.

Carney welcomed the result and said Albertans had made a “clear choice” in favour of unity.

“They chose unity, to build together, and to take care of each other,” he said in a statement on X.

Jeffrey Rath, a top leader of the secessionist Alberta Prosperity Project, told reporters his push for an independent Alberta will “absolutely” continue, despite the result from Monday’s vote.

“We’ve learned a lot of lessons from this fight,” he said.

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, a conservative, said she voted against independence but called the referendum to settle an issue that has divided the province.

She has said a win for the federalists would close the secession question.

Alberta has the world’s fourth-largest proven oil reserves, and much of the secessionist momentum has been driven by anger over oil industry management.

Smith has blamed Carney’s predecessor Justin Trudeau for igniting the secessionist fire, accusing him of trying to crush oil production to advance his pro-climate agenda.

Alberta’s independence push has also drawn sustained interest from the allies of US President Donald Trump, including Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who called Alberta Washington’s “natural partner”. Elon Musk, the world’s richest person and eminent Trump supporter, also posted on X that Alberta “should separate”.

Carney, who grew up in Alberta, has worked to improve relations between the province and Ottawa since taking office last year. He has partnered with Smith on advancing a new pipeline to export more Alberta bitumen overseas, a project considered a nonstarter during Trudeau’s tenure.

Young adult stories come in every imaginable flavor, and flavor combination, and several are present in “Phony,” premiering Tuesday on Hulu. Based on the four episodes (of eight) out for review, I am all in with this show, but as Doris Day so memorably sang, the future’s not ours to see.

Created and directed in part by Nick Paley (“Marcel the Shell With Shoes On”), it’s a mystery driven by an uncanny event, with the beating heart of a high school dramedy, in the sense that what is dramatic about adolescence is at the same time comical. (Given time.) Temperamentally, it’s closer to “Freaks & Geeks” or “Dazed and Confused” than, say, “Stranger Things,” but I also wrote “Robert Altman” in my notes.

To begin, we are in some mountainous slice of small-town Pacific Northwest, where the Canadian tax breaks call American producers across the 49th parallel and the landscape presses in from all sides. (A reference to Lewis & Clark College suggests the story is set in Oregon, but I can’t remember any other clues; also, it isn’t important.) It’s an ordinary world wrapped in mystery and sometimes mist, but it’s the ordinariness that gives the show its power as much as, or more than, the mysteriousness.

Sonny Cooke (Sam Nivola, from the third season of “White Lotus”) attends Delby High, where his mother, Ellen (Connie Britton), is the principal. This would be a nightmare for many teens, but for Sonny and Ellen, it’s more of a dream, as the two are unusually (which is not to say perversely) close. (There is no father in the picture, nor is one even mentioned.) He operates in the corridors as a kind of unofficial lieutenant to his mother, bringing cheer and care to his fellow students, spreading sunshine all over the place. This is a little strange, but he is not accounted a weirdo.

He has a nice girlfriend, Chloe (Mahaela Park), with whom he has just “decided to be official”; Ellen clucks at this — she’s a little protective. Sonny and Chloe call each other “Bobo,” and in a nice, authentic touch we see he has written that nickname in ballpoint pen on the white sidewall of his sneaker. As we open, Sonny and Chloe are planning to have sex for the first time; there is some comedy written around this. He’s the less mature, more nervous party. (He also has a tendency to fall over and bump into things.) His best friend, Vogel (Maliq Johnson), an injured basketball player, is miffed that he had to hear about this from Chloe and not Sonny, but not seriously and only for a moment.

Best friends Vogel (Maliq Johnson), left, and Sonny (Sam Nivola), who is trying to make sense of his feelings about his mom.

(David Astorga / Disney)

Driving to meet Chloe for their Big Night, after a rare argument with his mother, Sonny swerves to avoid a downed tree and drives into Bucket Pond, where an official sign commemorates the many deaths that have occurred there. When he wakes from a coma a week later, he doesn’t recognize Ellen, and you won’t quite either. However it’s been accomplished, by makeup (or an absence of makeup), prosthetics, digital manipulation, hypnosis or some combination of the above — and by acting, of course — this alteration of Connie Britton, a face we know well, is just enough off to be incredibly creepy. (What have you done with Connie Britton? we want to ask.) There is nothing more frightening than when the familiar starts acting strange, in movies or in life. Sonny’s symptoms mirror an actual condition, Capgras syndrome, which no one here mentions, though to be fair, he hasn’t told anyone who might offer that diagnosis, and is too freaked out to look it up himself. Only Sonny and the viewer notice the difference, which suggests that he may be wrong, or, alternatively, that everyone else is.

Completing a not-quite Scooby Gang are Mallory (Grace Brennan), returning to public school after three years of homeschooling, and her cousin Weldon (Colter Lee), a deadpan original turn on the nerd. Sonny and Mallory shared a kiss once, on a class camping trip, but for … reasons, they meet again on tentative terms. Despite or perhaps because of her offbeat upbringing (religious parents), Mallory is the embodiment of the cool girl who doesn’t need to demonstrate how cool she is, and perhaps doesn’t even know or, more to the point, care. In a series thoroughly well cast (by Jessica Kelly and Lisa Parasyn), Lee and Brennan, especially, stand out as originals, their performances drawn from life, or some private corner of their imagination.

Weldon, who is ready to credit Sonny’s story — he believes, for example, that Avril Lavigne died and was replaced by “someone named Melissa, who has a clubfoot” — connects him with Sharla (Meera Syal), a private investigator he knows from an online forum. “She’s into alternative knowledge. So cryptids, One World Order, face peelers…”

“I know what it’s like to be called crazy,” says Sharla, “but all you really need is one person to believe you.”

“Or two people,” adds Weldon.

“Yep, two people. Two weird people.”

Much of what makes “Phony” special happens alongside the main plot, or doesn’t involve any plot at all — it’s pure atmosphere, bits of background business and chatter in the school halls, and at a party in the woods that occupies much of Episode 4. (Nice use of long lenses by cinematographer Andy Rydzewski.) Party scenes are a yardstick by which I measure the authenticity of a teenage movie — are these characters acting their age, or have they been designed to?

With only four episodes available for review, and nothing revealed, it’s impossible to say where the show is going — is it science fiction, or fantasy, or some super-complicated conspiracy, though why such a thing would be constructed around these people is beyond me. There’s a chance it’ll be brilliant, a chance it’ll be less than brilliant, and a greater than zero chance it’ll be dumb, but given the résumés of the co-showrunners Paley and Anthony King — whose credits include “Search Party,” “The Afterparty” and “Broad City” — I expect it to be interesting. Everything so far is so well done, I don’t mind how it ends; I don’t want it to end at all.

Mobina Atashi’s £550 package holiday to Bulgaria was meant to be a time to relax, but turned into a nightmare after one “painful” night

A student who says she was left too scared to sleep after finding something crawling in her hotel bed has described how she first thought she had “chickenpox”. A dirty room is enough to ruin a holiday, but discovering you may be sharing your bed with blood-sucking insects is the stuff of nightmares.

Law student Mobina Atashi, 22, claims that’s what happened when she flew out on July 12 for a seven-night Jet2 break near Bulgaria’s Black Sea coast — and ended up leaving early.

Mobina says she didn’t want to kick up a fuss when she first noticed the room was dirty, as she’d arrived late and planned to report it later. But she claims she was soon woken up by intense itching.

In shock, she claims she spotted bed bugs in her bedding and soon noticed angry red welts spreading across her skin — which she documented. Mobina says she was moved to a different room, but claims that one was also grubby.

Mobina claims staff downplayed what happened, insisting the bites looked like an allergic reaction rather than bed bugs.

She says she was left with no choice but to leave early, ending her holiday after two nights and paying an extra £40 to get back to the UK. On her return, Mobina says she complained to Jet2 and asked for a refund, but claims she was told there wasn’t enough evidence to link the bites to the accommodation.

Jet2 said they take concerns such as these “very seriously” and are looking into the matter further. Mobina, from Manchester, said: “I arrived after midnight. The room was very dirty but I decided to sort it out in the morning, it had hair everywhere. After a few hours of sleeping, my body was itching and I was confused. I turned the lights on and there were so many bugs.

“My whole body had red bumps and it got worse after a few days. They were on my breast area, neck, chin, behind my ears, legs and arms. There were at least 20 on my arms, probably 100 in total. It was like I had chickenpox, it was painful and mostly itchy. I made a mistake not to check properly before getting in bed but I was so tired.

“I ran downstairs at 5am and told them to please clean my room as soon as possible. I showed them videos. One of the ladies said they would change my room and gave me a new key. The new room was also dirty. There was hair and yellow stains on the bed.

“There were no bed bugs but I was so scared to sleep that night, after that, I decided I could not stay at the hotel.

She says she reached out to Jet2 on live chat in a bid to get support, only to be directed back to the hotel to resolve it. Mobina said: “I tried to talk to Jet2 through the live chat and they told me I had to talk to the resort.

“The receptionist said it looked like an allergy and that she didn’t think it was bed bugs, but it is. When I got home, I made several complaints for a refund and I didn’t get a response. They replied after three months and called me, they said all they can do is apologise.

“They said they can’t prove the bugs were caused by the accommodation and that my bites could have been caused by something else. I wanted to go on a relaxing holiday because I have anxiety and wanted to relax by myself. I never expected this. I’m traumatised because I’m scared of insects and spiders. If I see a spider, I cry, it’s my worst fear.”

Now claiming the ordeal has left her “scared at night”, Mobina has sworn off booking holidays through Jet2 in future. Mobina said: “I said they need to at least compensate me, but they said there is no evidence. I am so scared of travelling, I will never go solo travelling again.

“I’m scared at night. If my body itches, I think it is a bug. It is so traumatic. I’m never using Jet2 in the future, especially not package holidays.”

A Jet2 spokesperson said: “We’re very sorry to hear about Ms Atashi’s experience. We take concerns like these very seriously and we are investigating in further detail. We will contact Ms Atashi directly once this investigation is complete.”

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He is unwavering in his belief that the newly constructed Lakers can compete for an NBA championship this season and that is the conviction coach JJ Redick has instilled into his group.

It is why the Lakers play the game, Redick mused, and it is the standard this organization has set.

The Lakers have won 17 NBA championships — the second most in the league — with the last coming in 2020.

So, as the Lakers prepared to open the regular season Wednesday night against the Golden State Warriors at Crypto.com Arena, Redick explained why he believes these Lakers are championship contenders.

“Well, I think that every season,” he said. “Unless somebody blatantly tells me that we’re not trying to win, I think that every year. That’s why I say I’m confident. I said the same thing last year and for all of January and February that we were going to figure it out at some point and we did. And then we had some injuries. So, being a championship-level team or being a — I don’t like the word ‘contender’ — but being a team that can make a run and can play in the playoffs and can play different ways in the playoffs, those things take time and it doesn’t mean you’re going to be in the NBA Finals.

“It’s just not the way this works, particularly with the way the playoffs work in terms of just matchups and what you can exploit and what you can’t exploit versus certain teams. But I think because of our talent, because of our fit, because of our depth, I really like our team.”

Luka Doncic said his first glimpse of what the Lakers could become was when he invited his teammates to his home country of Slovenia for a bonding experience.

As the unquestioned leader of the Lakers now that LeBron James has departed to Philadelphia, Doncic organized the trip. It was basketball, golfing and rowing. It was dinners and get-to-know-you conversations.

It was over these four or five days in August that Doncic also saw a Lakers team with championship potential.

“Since the first day. That simple,” Doncic said. “Since the first day everybody came together in Slovenia, I believed that we can win a championship.”

Yet this is a team with nine new players and Redick is trying to incorporate them on a Lakers team that is playing in the uber-tough Western Conference that most experts believe the San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder are the creme de la creme of the NBA.

The Lakers acquired Walker Kessler, a 7-foot-2 center they received from Utah in a sign-and-trade deal in which he was paid $130 million over four years and in which L.A. sent two unprotected first-round picks and two first-round swaps to the Jazz.

Lakers center Walker Kessler tries to block a shot by Warriors center Yaxel Lendeborg during a preseason game last week.

(Ethan Miller / Getty Images)

The Lakers added depth in Quentin Grimes, Collin Sexton, Matisse Thybulle, Ziaire Williams, Sandro Mamukelashvili and Kevon Looney.

They join Doncic, Austin Reaves, Jake LaRavia, Adou Thiero and others to form the 2026-27 Lakers.

“I think in terms of integrating all the new guys that have been available, which I think is everybody except for Collin in live play, it’s been pretty seamless,” Redick said. “It’s a smart group. … We’ve been able to probably install more, particularly on the defensive end, than we have in the last couple years.

“Last year we had six total practices in the preseason because of the amount of games and the back-to-backs and the travel and all that. And we played opening night, so that’s another day that we didn’t get to practice. So I think we end up with 12 [practices] this year. We get double the amount of practice time, so I think that’s a blessing when you have new guys.”

The starting five is still unclear.

Doncic, Reaves and Kessler are the sure things, but the other two spots are not certain. Those three started alongside Williams and Thybulle in the final preseason game against the Denver Nuggets on Friday night. Grimes started the first four preseason games.

Lakers guard Luka Doncic, left, bring the ball upcourt under pressure from Nuggets guard Christian Braun their final preseason game on Friday.

(Ben Liebenberg / Associated Press)

“I think we have a lot of guys that could start,” Reaves said. “Unfortunately there’s five guys that are gonna start. Like JJ said a while back, he’s pretty sure of three of them. The other two, regardless of who we roll out there, we have high confidence in.”

Reaves is the longest-tenured Laker entering his sixth season and he knows the high expectations that come with playing for the iconic franchise.

Last season, he had James to lean on, Marcus Smart was steady and Rui Hachimura was part of the fabric.

But they are all gone and now Reaves, who signed a four-year, $180-million contract extension, is one of the leaders.

“Yeah, I don’t know anything else,” Reaves said. “This is what I came to, but obviously it’s the Lakers, and it’s one of the most covered sports organizations in the world. So they’re gonna praise you when you’re doing good and not when you’re not.

“So you just gotta [know] whatever that goes on outside these walls doesn’t really matter. It’s just what goes on inside these walls. And if anybody has any questions, I’ll give them the best knowledge I have. But like I said, they’re high character guys that care about the right things. So, I think that’ll take care of itself.”

Lakers guard Austin Reaves gets past the Warriors defense for a left-handed layup during a preseason game last week.

(David Becker / Associated Press)

The Lakers were 53-29 last season, finishing fourth in the West and getting knocked out in the second round by the Thunder.

They have two more days of practice before the journey begins.

“I think you’re always trying to get better,” Redick said. “And even later in the season, you tweak plays, you tweak the offense and you tweak coverages. It’s just constantly evolving. There’s no like, ‘Oh, we’re done. Now we’re going to go play.’

“But we’re ready to go.”

On October 16, King Mohammed VI of Morocco appointed a new government headed by Prime Minister Fatima Zohra Al Mansouri. This is the first time in Moroccan history that a woman is leading the government – a precedent that was covered widely in international media.

In the Moroccan context, however, what is important is that Al Mansouri hails from the Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM), which won the most seats in parliamentary elections in September. The party was founded by Ali Himma, a close associate and adviser to the king.

PAM, which has formed a coalition with three other parties, dominates the new government. This signals continuity rather than potential for change.

A party aligned with the monarchy

When thinking about what trajectory the new government is likely to take, it is important to consider PAM’s evolution.

The party was established in 2008 with the aim of countering the rise of political Islam in Morocco and in particular, the Justice and Development Party (PJD). The Arab Spring, which saw mass protests across the country, brought changes to the Moroccan political scene, allowing more space for political forces like the PJD and, to an extent, curbing the influence of the establishment, known as the Makhzen.

In 2011, Himma distanced himself from PAM and became an adviser to the king. Yet, the party continued to be perceived by other political groups as tied to the Makhzen.

For years, PAM carried the stigma of its origins, but it persisted in trying to gain acceptance. In the 2016 elections, it challenged the PJD and secured the second-biggest number of votes, thus establishing itself as a legitimate political force. Yet this was still not enough to enable it to lead the government.

The party subsequently reinvented itself by rejuvenating its ranks and gaining experience in public affairs through its participation in the 2021 government as a coalition partner. In the latest elections, PAM finally won.

This election victory, however, needs to be put into perspective: 62 percent of eligible voters stayed away from the polls. On election day, the authorities had to call on people to go out and vote.

Apart from the low turnout, there were suspicions of irregularities, but because in some cases the official election records were not released, observers and political parties were unable to obtain tangible evidence.

There was also the familiar phenomenon of influential figures being brought into political parties at the last minute to boost electoral prospects. For example, just two months before the election, Faouzi Laaqjea, president of the Royal Moroccan Football Federation, whose popularity stems from the achievements of Moroccan football, officially joined PAM.

To secure a majority in parliament, the party has had to form a coalition with forces which had previously questioned its legitimacy. While PAM has gained legitimacy through this alliance, the other parties and their leaders may now lose credibility.

The newly formed government has retained more than half the members of its predecessor, not to mention the so-called sovereign ministries, which fall directly within the king’s reserved powers. Some Moroccans are already asking what was the point of holding elections if the same people are brought back to govern.

Challenges ahead

The new government has an ambitious programme to respond to growing domestic pressure as the cost-of-living crisis deepens. At the first Council of Ministers meeting chaired by the king on October 17 , a 2027 Finance Bill was put forward that featured greater emphasis on addressing social issues, citizens’ purchasing power and youth inclusion.

However, this agenda is facing an unfavourable international economic and financial environment, marked by rising energy prices and increasing costs of inputs for some of Morocco’s leading sectors, including phosphate production.

The state-owned OCP Group, which is in charge of phosphate extraction and the industrial processing of phosphate derivatives and is one of Morocco’s principal sources of wealth, is now experiencing difficult times.

There are also concerns about the potential effects of El Nino, which could bring more dry weather and threaten food security in a country that just endured seven consecutive years of drought.

Tourism, another major source of revenue, could also suffer from the global slowdown in travel, rising transport costs and the uncertainties arising from tensions in the Gulf and Europe.

The circumstances are therefore far from favourable for the new government, and public opinion appears broadly sceptical.

Last but not least, this government will face an experienced and outspoken opposition, represented by both the Islamist PJD and the radical left.

Even the ministers holding the so-called sovereign portfolios face serious challenges. The foreign minister must contend with public opposition to the normalisation of relations with Israel. The interior minister has to tackle allegations of electoral manipulation.

The minister of religious affairs is facing the fallout of controversial statements concerning Morocco as a secular country and remarks about Ceuta, known in Morocco as Sebta, made during a religious ceremony. These comments were poorly received by the Spanish authorities.

The new government has an ambitious agenda, indeed, but its tenure will be shaped by difficult circumstances – both at home and abroad – that are largely out of its control.

The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera’s editorial stance.