News Desk

Given their league positions, form and pedigree there could only have been one winner predicted.

Fleetwood played Arsenal on Tuesday with 83 places separating the teams and most home fans arriving in hope rather than any expectation. But remarkably, it was the hosts who booked their place in the Carabao Cup quarter-final thanks to their penalty shootout win over the Gunners.

For the Cod Army, who won six promotions in 12 years in their impressive journey from non-league, this result will surely be remembered longest of all. Against the reigning Premier League champions, the club from a small seaside town in Lancashire created history in claiming one of the biggest cup upsets ever.

Aaron Loupalo-Bi gave the hosts the lead after 21 minutes but, after the break, Viktor Gyokeres pulled the visitors level.

And from there, they might have been expected to take charge but Fleetwood remained resolute, prospering from a wasteful performance from Arsenal that included Max Dowman being sent off for kicking out after a robust challenge from Harrison Neal.

Fleetwood, who sit 18th in League Two having won just once in their past eight league games, dared to dream and took the game to penalties, with fans spilling on to the pitch in the after Conor Haughey’s decisive spot kick.

“The biggest night in the club’s history in terms of opposition coming to town and we’ve managed to beat the champions,” boss Matt Lawlor told Sky Sports in the aftermath of his side’s stunning victory.

“I’m a big football fan and I watch National League all the way through to the Premier League, Championship. So for me it was a tough game to prepare for, but I’m just so glad that the lads have the feeling the way they are and took that performance in to make that town, the club, everyone proud.”

TWO major stars have been ruled out as the mystery fourth actor currently vying to be the next James Bond.

The coveted role has been up for grabs following the release of 007 blockbuster No Time To Die in 2021, Craig’s fifth and final outing as the Martini-swilling secret agent.

Final screen tests were held with four remaining hopefuls at London’s Bray Studios over the weekend, but an official announcement is yet to be made by new franchise owners Amazon MGM Studios.

It’s understood that three of those actors – understood to be Jack Lowden, Callum Turner and Josh O’Connor – were joined by a fourth, currently unnamed star, as decisive auditions got underway.

But two British actors, both previously linked with the role, have been ruled out as the final candidate – widely thought to be Jack Barton.

“We’ve heard, reliably so, that Harris Dickinson and Nicholas Hoult are not the 4th person. Testing is said to be occurring today and going into the weekend,” read an article shared by The Hollywood Reporter on Friday.

READ MORE ABOUT BOND HERE

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LICENCE TO THRILL

James Bond fans ‘work out’ secret fourth actor up for 007 role

Dickinson, 30, is currently in the midst of back-to-back shooting schedules for director Sam Mendes’ ambitious four-film Beatles project, in which he will play John Lennon.

Meanwhile, Hoult, 36, has four major films in post-production – among them the eagerly anticipated DC adventure Man Of Tomorrow, which sees him reprise his role as Superman nemesis Lex Luthor.

Australian star Jacob Elordi is also out the running, while the much-fancied Idris Elba, Theo James and James Norton are believed to be out of contention.

Instead, Amazon MGM Studios are said to be keen on the lesser known Barton, 31, whose past screen credits include the popular Netflix drama Heartstopper.

Other than a handful of other minor TV roles, little else is known about the young actor, but he reportedly impressed producers enough to earn critical screen tests alongside his three Bond rivals.

Despite Barton’s emergence, fans remain convinced they have already worked out who the final star in the James Bond race is – and Taylor Swift fans will be very familiar with him.

The latest Bond theory suggests that the singer’s ex-boyfriend Joe Alwyn, 35, who she dated for six years until 2023, is the secret actor.

Fans believe the link to the actor and the 007 role is Bond casting director Nina Gold, 59.

Taking to Reddit to discuss, a fan wrote: “Nina Gold was one of the casting directors for Thor, too, and cast Joe in his first movie role. She knows him as far back as drama school”

Agreeing this person penned: “Nina Gold is doing the casting and knows Joe and cast him in the brutalist and Hamnet so he’s known by the department and may be on the radar of the casting team”

A third added: “Yeah, and he is supposed to be filming in NYC for a Rom com. but was in London this week for a friend’s wedding and potentially this audition.”

A fourth agreed: “Never thought about him as a contender before, but it makes sense.”

Daniel Craig’s fifth and final outing as James Bond was five years ago, and since then a whole host of high-profile actors have been linked to the famous franchise.

But Amazon MGM Studios, who paid $20million for full creative control of the franchise, is said to be picking a more “alternative” actor, rather than a mainstream Hollywood star.

Al-Bureij, Gaza Strip – A Sack of Flour, an 11-minute documentary by the emerging filmmaker Mona Abu Qass, draws on her personal experience to examine Israel’s use of starvation against Palestinians in Gaza during Israel’s genocidal war on the enclave.

The film is one of five documentaries by Palestinian women screened Monday at the opening of the second Gaza International Women’s Film Festival, which also marked the official launch of the Gaza Cinema Academy.

The event took place at the site of the al-Nakheel Hall in al-Bureij, central Gaza, under the slogan “Women Creating Life from Death”. The hall is destroyed, like the majority of buildings in Gaza, after three years of Israel’s war, which has killed more than 74,000 Palestinians.

The film captures Palestinians’ struggle to find food in Gaza, the dangers at aid distribution points and the lives lost while trying to obtain flour.

Through Abu Qass’s own experiences, A Sack of Flour explores how the trauma of hunger continues to affect families even after food becomes available again.

Those experiences have renewed relevance as Israeli restrictions on goods entering Gaza and cuts to food assistance have caused shortages and fears of a return to famine.

“The idea for the film stems from a personal experience and a true story,” Abu Qass told Al Jazeera. “It documents daily life in Gaza, weighed down by bombardment, destruction, siege, hunger, and loss.”

“I want to capture details that reveal suffering and people’s determination to hold on to their life,” she added. “I seek to show reality as people experience it and help viewers understand what the war has done to their relationships, dreams, and hopes.”

Highlighting struggles of the disabled

Another film, Beyond Silence, by emerging filmmaker and journalist Raghda al-Buhaisi, explores wartime struggles in Gaza for people with disabilities through the story of a deaf artist who never learned to read, write or communicate through sign language. His art studio in southern Gaza’s Rafah was destroyed by Israel, and his parents and several family members were killed.

After being displaced to Deir el-Balah in central Gaza, another family took him in and set up a modest studio by the roadside. His paintings reflect loss and displacement, expressing what words cannot through colour and line.

“I want to highlight the additional challenges people with disabilities face during war, including displacement, family loss, and the destruction of livelihoods,” al-Buhaisi told Al Jazeera. “Art can cross barriers of language and silence, turning an individual experience of pain into a visual message that conveys Gaza’s suffering to the world.”

Alongside those films were three others by emerging Palestinian women filmmakers – Soso: The Lifeline, Remnants of Light, and Dandana. The films document life in Gaza and the suffering brought by war.

Soso: The Lifeline follows an orphaned child and his donkey, who help people survive in Gaza. Remnants of Light follows a filmmaker struggling with the loss of her family and home, while Dandana tells the story of a mother whose eight children were killed, and who turns to Palestinian songs with her surviving family to cope with her grief.

The five documentaries were produced through a filmmaking diploma programme that began in March and brought together 25 young Palestinian women.

Preserving Gaza’s stories

Festival director Ezzedine Shallah said the films draw on experiences women and girls lived through during the war, offering visual testimony to daily life and giving women space to tell their stories in their own voices.

“Though their subjects differ, the films turn individual pain into broader human stories, revealing war’s psychological and social scars,” he told Al Jazeera. “They preserve stories that might otherwise never reach the screen, transforming suffering into cinematic testimony and bringing Gaza’s stories to audiences beyond its borders.”

The festival, which runs until October 31, features 73 films from 24 countries and offers a broader platform for filmmakers from Gaza and beyond.

But even with events like the festival, filmmaking in Gaza comes with formidable challenges. The destruction of cultural institutions, scarce equipment, limited funding, power and internet outages, and the pressures of war and displacement have severely restricted opportunities for film production. Women filmmakers also struggle to access training, production opportunities and international festivals.

Filmmaker Rima Mahmoud, a co-founder of the festival, said that war and the Israeli siege on Gaza – which predates 2023 – have hindered young women’s filmmaking, pushing some to use simple methods, self-fund projects and document Gaza’s reality even with the difficulties.

“Despite limited resources, these films deserve international exposure,” Mahmoud said. “Their makers need technical and financial support, translation, and partnerships with festivals and platforms.”

Resisting attempts at erasure

Palestinian filmmaker Mai Masri, based in Lebanon and another co-founder of the festival, said the films help young women tell their own stories, resist erasure and preserve collective memory, while building skills and accessing work in Gaza or through digital platforms.

The academy has also developed a filmmaking diploma in cooperation with al-Quds Open University and accredited by the Palestinian Ministry of Education.

Masri said that the academy is also now trying to help directors reach international festivals.

“We are seeking agreements with distributors to screen these films in educational and cultural institutions outside Palestine, and through international platforms and festivals focused on women’s and human rights,” she said.

“This would bring the voices of Palestinian women to a global audience, shed light on their human experiences and artistic creativity, strengthen the presence of Palestinian cinema internationally, and open new horizons for young female directors to reach global screening platforms and film festivals,” Masri added.

Coronation Street star Catherine Tyldesley is reportedly set to leave The Good Ship Murder in the Christmas special after taking time out of her soap role to film her exit scenes

Catherine Tyldesley is reportedly set to leave The Good Ship Murder in the upcoming Christmas special.

The actress, 43, is best known for playing Rovers Return landlady Eva Price on Coronation Street but, since 2023, she has also played the part of First Officer Kate Woods on the hit Channel 5 drama series.

She stars alongside X Factor winner Shayne Ward, who previously played her partner Aidan Connor on Coronation Street and now plays cruise ship singer Jack Grayling on The Good Ship Murder.

A source said: “When Cath decided to leave it was a huge blow to The Good Ship Murder. Bosses had brought Cath and Shayne back together following their time together on Corrie.”

Within the story of The Good Ship Murder, Kate has had an on-off romance with Jack over the course of its three series so far and whilst writers are thought to have considered killing her off, it has now been claimed that she will in fact exit the series alive in case of a potential return.

Speaking to The Sun, the source added: “Initially they thought about killing her off but decided that it would be better to leave the door open for a possible return in the future.

“She filmed the Christmas special back in May and it will see her say a tearful goodbye to Jack ahead of the new series starting next year.”

Channel 5 commissioning editor Greg Barnett previously said: “Audiences have truly embraced the show’s unique combination of mystery, music and escapism, and we are excited to continue Jack’s journey with even more surprises and new faces in store

Executive producer Andy Morgan added: “It’s a bittersweet moment as we bid a fond farewell to a beloved character and friend, but we’re very excited about the next voyage for The Good Ship Murder.”

Shortly before joining Coronation Street as Eva in 2011, Catherine had appeared in Emmerdale and prior to that starred as Iris Moss in the BBC drama Lilies.

She left Coronation Street in 2018 and went on appear on Strictly Come Dancing and in the short-lived BBC sitcom

She was also set to star in a cancelled touring production of Bonnie and Clyde: The Musical and went viral over a social media scandal known as Cakegate in late 2023 before ultimately making her comeback to the cobbles in late 2025.

Like this story? For more of the latest showbiz news and gossip, follow Mirror Celebs on TikTok , Snapchat , Instagram , Twitter , Facebook , YouTube and Threads .

The media reports come a day after Supreme Court ordered Bolsonaro hand over passport as part of money laundering probe.

A senior US State Department official has said that the Trump administration will issue visas to Brazilian Senator Flavio Bolsonaro and his family, allowing them to enter the US after news outlets reported that Bolsonaro had fled Brazil following his loss in the country’s presidential election.

The news came on Tuesday, one day after Brazil’s Supreme Court ordered Bolsonaro to turn over his passports as part of a probe into alleged money laundering. Bolsonaro has denied any wrongdoing and said on Monday that he would stay in the country and lead the opposition.

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who has previously accused members of the Bolsonaro family of courting US interference in Brazilian affairs for their political benefit, called the right-wing senator’s actions shameful.

“This is what the Bolsonaro family is like,” Lula said. “Brazil is their second nation, the US is their first.”

Bolsonaro, the son of former right-wing president Jair Bolsonaro, initially refused to acknowledge the election results and said he would seek their annulment. His party released a statement on Monday saying it accepted the results of the election, which the conservative candidate lost by more than 4.4 million votes.

US President Donald Trump reacted by casting doubt on the election result, telling reporters it “looked like another rigged election”.

No evidence has emerged that the vote was marred by malfeasance. While critics seized on a last-minute decision to extend polling hours, Lula’s eventual victory was commanding, and the extension was unlikely to change the outcome.

Serbia has released the first footage of its TSMB M-25 heavy self-propelled mortar in action, revealing an unusual artillery system that puts a massive 203mm weapon on a comparatively light, six-wheeled truck. The system is designed to hurl projectiles weighing around 220 pounds at targets up to approximately seven-and-a-half miles away, bringing super-heavy firepower to a platform that looks surprisingly modest for the job.

The Serbian Ministry of Defense published the brief footage in a larger video montage, seen immediately below, but has not disclosed when or where the firing tests took place or what they demonstrated. Regardless, the M-25’s configuration alone makes it stand out.

Tehnološki razvoj odbrambene industrije Srbije i doprinos povećanju borbene moći Vojske Srbije

The Teški Samohodni Minobacač (TSMB, translated as heavy self-propelled mortar) M-25 was developed by Serbia’s state-owned Military Technical Institute and first appeared publicly at the Partner 2025 defense exhibition in Belgrade. Its design lineage stretches back to the Yugoslav M-65 155mm howitzer, itself a licensed copy of the widely used American M114, first introduced in World War II.

The M-25 takes that heritage in a different direction, with a 203mm barrel measuring 24 calibers in length and an automated loading mechanism for mortar projectiles. The mortar barrel has an elevation range from 0° to 75°, and the barrel must return to 0° in elevation for the next round to be loaded from the muzzle end.

The standard 203mm mortar bomb weighs around 220 pounds, including approximately 60 pounds of explosive material. This results in a claimed destruction radius of around 250 feet, using impact fuzing.

The system is intended to fire both high-explosive and concrete-piercing ammunition, making it particularly suited to attacking hardened positions and fortifications. Developers have also provided for rocket-assisted projectiles to extend its range and precision guidance kits to improve the accuracy of compatible rounds.

The weapon is mounted on a FAP 2026 three-axle truck in a 6×6 configuration, a general-purpose off-road type made by Serbian vehicle manufacturer Fabrika automobila Priboj. This platform provides a range of 500 miles and a top speed of 50 miles per hour on the road. The vehicle has an armored cab for a crew of four, while its fire-control suite includes an inertial navigation system, a ballistic computer, communications equipment, and a dedicated gunner’s computer. The same truck has also been adapted to mount a 152mm gun/howitzer, under the name NORA B-39.

The wheeled chassis is the defining feature of the M-25. While a weapon of this size would normally be either towed or mounted on a large tracked vehicle, Serbia has opted for a lighter truck-based arrangement. This offers advantages in road mobility and makes the system easier to move between firing positions, using “shoot and scoot” tactics. A general-purpose truck is cheaper to acquire and operate, and easier to maintain. It can also be more easily transported by air, although out-of-area operations are not generally on the Serbian Armed Forces’ agenda. However, its cross-country performance and overall survivability will be reduced compared to a tracked chassis.

The M-25 is intended to deliver heavy fire against targets such as bunkers and other fortified positions, then relocate before an opponent can respond. Its relatively short stated range compared with many modern 155mm howitzers makes it a specialized system rather than a direct replacement for conventional long-range artillery. Its appeal lies instead in combining a very large projectile with a comparatively compact and mobile platform.

Mortars have a long and grim history in the Balkans, particularly during the wars that accompanied the breakup of Yugoslavia in the 1990s. The steep trajectories of mortar rounds made them useful in the region’s mountainous terrain and in fighting around fortified positions and during sieges, while their ability to deliver indirect fire meant crews could engage targets without a direct line of sight.

As far as we know, the M-25 is the only 203mm mortar in current development and/or production. There are a few larger mortars on mobile platforms, notably Russia’s 2S4 Tyulpan, a 240mm self-propelled mortar, but this is on a significantly bigger tracked chassis.

At approximately 19 metric tons, the M-25 is substantially lighter than the 2S4 Tyulpan, which weighs around 27.5 metric tons. Its tracked platform reflects a very different approach to moving super-heavy mortar firepower around the battlefield. The Tyulpan can deliver a 300-pound standard mortar round to a range of around six miles, or up to 11 miles away when using rocket-assisted rounds. 

Serbia claims the M-25 has a rate of fire of up to three rounds per minute, thanks to the automated loading mechanism. In contrast, the Tyulpan can hurl a maximum of one round every 62 seconds. Indeed, its sluggish rate of fire is one of the reasons that saw it fall from more widespread Russian use.

There are still important unknowns. The newly released footage does not establish whether the advertised firing rate was achieved, how the weapon performs under sustained fire, or whether the system has entered operational service. Serbia has shown the M-25 at an exhibition and now in live-fire footage, but detailed test results have not been made public.

Still, the concept is striking: a high-mobility wheeled truck carrying a 203mm mortar is a distinctly different take on super-heavy firepower, but one that might just find a niche in the Balkan environment.

Contact the author: thomas@thewarzone.com

GEORGE Ezra has given fans a glimpse into life away from the spotlight — revealing the recording studio he has built in his hometown.

The Shotgun singer has been quietly working behind the scenes on Hotel Québec in his hometown of Hertford, opening its doors to other musicians.

While his own social media accounts have been silent since July 2024, George has been pouring his energy into creating a space where artists can write, record and rehearse.

Originally created for his own musical projects, the studio has since become a business welcoming other performers and producers.

In a message on its website, George described his venture as a “truly special place” and shared his excitement about welcoming fellow musicians.

He said: “I look forward to hearing what you create here at Hotel Québec.”

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Set inside a restored 18th-century listed building near the River Lea, the studio features a huge live room, control room and lounge.

There is even a roof terrace where musicians can relax between sessions.

And visiting artists can get their hands on George’s personal guitar collection, alongside an array of keyboards and recording equipment.

The studio marks a new chapter for the singer, who became a household name with breakthrough hit Budapest.

The track reached No3 in the UK, while his debut album Wanted On Voyage topped the charts in 2014 and went on to sell more than a million copies here.

He followed it with Staying At Tamara’s in 2018, scoring another No1 album and spawning hits including Paradise and Shotgun.

The latter became his first UK No1 single, cementing his status as one of Britain’s biggest pop stars.

His success was recognised at the 2019 Brit Awards, where he was crowned British Male Solo Artist.

The dad of one completed a hat trick of chart-topping albums with Gold Rush Kid in 2022, which featured the hit singles Anyone For You and Green Green Grass.

George previously had to postpone gigs in London and Leeds in March 2023 after being diagnosed with acute vertigo.

His official website currently lists no upcoming live shows.

US president seeks to underscore Latin American military operation, as Iran war causes midterm affordability threat.

United States President Donald Trump has featured a ship he said is carrying Venezuelan oil during a visit to Texas, where he will hold two rallies one after the other in the hopes of boosting Republican chances in a make-or-break Senate race.

Speaking at Corpus Christi on Tuesday on his fourth trip to the state this campaign season, Trump pointed to a ship in the distance.

“It’s got 1 million barrels of oil on it from Venezuela,” he said, adding the cargo was “thanks to our big victory in our recent war with Venezuela”.

The emphasis on the oil comes as US consumers have wrestled with high fossil fuel prices amid the US-Israel war with Iran, a key issue in the upcoming midterm elections.

“We’re celebrating the greatest oil victory in history,” Trump said.

It was not immediately clear under what pretext the oil had been shipped or whether the details Trump gave were correct. The US had received crude oil shipments from Venezuela before the US abduction of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro on January 3, but those transfers have increased this year.

In August, the Trump administration announced a deal giving the Pentagon a 35 percent stake in North America Blue Energy Partners, a new company overseeing 65 billion barrels of proven oil reserves. The White House said in September that the first shipment from the deal would likely hit US reserves in November, although experts have cast doubt on whether the deal will have any short-term impact.

Speaking to reporters earlier in the day, Trump referred to the shipment as a “gift” from Venezuela. The country’s interim leader, Delcy Rodriguez, has not commented on the specific shipment.

At the rally, Trump also floated making Venezuela the “51st state”.

Key race

Trump’s frequent visits to Texas underscore the state’s significance for Republicans.

Trump endorsed Attorney General Ken Paxton in the Republican primary over incumbent Senator John Cornyn. The scandal-ridden Paxton now faces a punishing contest against Democrat James Talarico, a Presbyterian seminarian.

Polls have regularly shown Talarico leading Paxton, although that lead has largely remained within the margin of error. A RealClearPolitics average of polls had Talarico leading Paxton by 1.7 points.

Talarico’s victory would mark a sea change in a state that has not elected a Democrat to statewide office since 1994.

It would also represent a major rebuke to Trump, whose Republican Party is fighting to maintain its narrow control of the Senate. Democrats are widely projected to take control of the US House of Representatives in the November 3 vote.

Talarico has used the final stretch of the race to focus on years of corruption allegations against Paxton, while drawing a contrast to voters’ affordability concerns.

“Ken Paxton represents everything that’s wrong with this broken, corrupt system,” he said during an event in Houston last week.

Paxton has sought to portray Talarico as too “radical” for Texas, saying his policies would hurt a state known for its pro-business policies.

Trump and other administration officials, notably Vice President JD Vance, have regularly focused on cultural issues, distorting Talarico’s past comments on transgender rights and border security.

Speaking in Corpus Christi, Trump repeated those attacks and urged his supporters to vote as if he were on the ballot.

“If you go out, and if you all vote, we win in a landslide,” Trump said.

The United States is once again at war in the Middle East, and most Americans say it isn’t worth the cost.

Al Jazeera’s Josh Rushing asks why the US keeps fighting: oil, a $2.4 trillion defence industry, lobbyists or a political system that rarely holds anyone to account?

Retired General Mark Kimmitt and journalist Spencer Ackerman debate why, and whether voters can end the forever wars.

Contributors:

Mark Kimmitt – Retired US Army brigadier general and former assistant secretary of state for political-military affairs

Spencer Ackerman – Journalist, author and writer of the Forever Wars newsletter

THE dreary Coronation Street cobbles were left behind on Tuesday as soap star Ryan Prescott prepared for a new role in a Hollywood film.

The actor, best known for playing Ryan Connor in the long-running ITV show, has won a part in director Rocky Rodriguez Jr.’s forthcoming comedy drama, Waif.

Currently filming on location in London, Ryan, 37, shared a selfie with established co-stars Jason Flemyng and Dexter Fletcher during a break between scenes.

Sharing the photos with Instagram followers, he wrote: “We are rollllliiiing, first week in to the WAIF shoot and loving it, thank you all for the amazing energy on set!” [sic]

The Mancunian actor will play ‘a drifting art collector living life on his own terms amid the skateparks, guitar shops and art openings of east London.’

Actress Helen Foster has been cast as Prescott’s romantic interest in the new film, writer-director Rodriguez Jr.’s third feature.

READ MORE ABOUT RYAN HERE

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Commenting on the post, one enthusiastic follower wrote: “Love this!!!!!!”

A second added: “Love it .. smash it Ryan. Can’t wait to see it.”

While a third shared: “Top drawer actor my favourite on the cobbles at the moment.”

Ryan broke into acting with a short-lived role as Flynn Buchanan on ITV soap Emmerdale before winning a prominent role on Coronation Street in 2018.

Drafted in to play the returning Ryan Connor, a role previously played by Ben Thompson, and later, Sol Heras, the actor has tackled a series of turbulent storylines on the hit soap – among them a bitter feud with gangster Ronald Truman.

In 2023, Ryan was central to a harrowing new storyline that saw his character bear the brunt of a vicious acid attack.

Connor was left with horrific burns to his face and neck after protecting intended target Daisy Midgely from the attack, orchestrated by crazed stalker Justin Rutherford.

Discussing the storyline on This Morning shortly after the episode aired, Ryan said Coronation Street would be focusing on his character’s slow recovery long into the future.

“That’s one thing we wanted to include was to have some longevity within the parameters of soap, which obviously moves very quickly,” he confirmed.

“We wanted to have some kind of longevity in the aftermath.

“Acid attack survivors go through hundreds of operations, multiple skin grafts and quite often a lifetime of post-traumatic stress disorder.

“We want to show the different stages of his recovery.”

BREAKINGBREAKING,

The official results are due to be published on November 4, more than a week after the vote.

Exit polls following what many pundits and voters have billed as the most pivotal election in Israel’s history indicate no clear winner in the hard-fought contest.

According to exit polls, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s bloc is projected to secure 50 seats, while the bloc led by opposition candidate Gadi Eisenkot is expected to win 52 or 53 seats. Sixty-one seats are needed to form a majority government. Arab parties are projected to collectively win 18 seats.

Polling stations closed at 10pm (20:00 GMT) local time. Preliminary results are expected on Wednesday, followed by a final tally on Friday. The official results are due to be published on November 4, eight days after the vote.

Exit polls are based on interviews with voters immediately after they have cast their ballots. The interviews help project the election’s outcome and have in previous elections tended to anticipate the results closely.

Voter turnout in the Israeli election reached 74.3 percent as of 8pm (18:00 GMT), according to data released by the Central Elections Committee. By comparison, turnout in the 2022 election was 70.63 percent.

Polls predicted a tight race between incumbent Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and leading opposition candidate Gadi Eisenkot, the leader of the Yashar party and a former army chief.

Israel’s Central Elections Committee rejected a request by Netanyahu’s Likud Party to extend voting hours.

The election is the first since Israel launched its genocidal war on Gaza three years ago, following Hamas-led attacks on the country, and is widely seen as a referendum on Netanyahu’s handling of the events on October 7, 2023 and the conflicts that followed.

Arsenal’s match with Fleetwood Town in the last-16 of the Carabao Cup was delayed for more than eight minutes after a drone was flown above the stadium during the match.

Referee Michael Salisbury stopped play with one minute and 40 seconds on the clock after spotting the drone flying above the pitch while Arsenal waited to take a free-kick at Highbury Stadium.

The game was halted while the referee spoke to the management and staff on both benches with police also investigating.

The match got back underway with 10 minutes on the clock; the commentator on Sky saying police had located the drone operator.

More to follow.

KELLY Osbourne was reduced to tears while spending quality time with her infant son on Tuesday – after brother Jack reunited with their estranged sister.

The TV personality choked up after son Sidney, four, her only child with ex-fiancé Sid Wilson, presented her with a thoughtful gift for her 42nd birthday.

Celebrating her second birthday without late father Ozzy, Kelly was overwhelmed after opening the present, a small keyring fashioned in the shape of a bat – a poignant reference to the legendary Black Sabbath rocker.

Reading the trinket’s accompanying message for social media followers, she said. “When life turns you upside down, look ahead and don’t look round.

“Even in stillness you can see, your strength awakened, alive and free.”

Sharing a video of the moment with Instagram followers, she wrote: “If today was not emotional enough already, but then my favorite little man in the world went and did this!

READ MORE ABOUT KELLY HERE

KELL TELLS ALL

Kelly Osbourne opens up on her weight & says ‘I’ve gained 2st in 6 months’

GLAM SQUAD

Kelly Osbourne & Nadiya Bychkova wow in glam gowns at star-studded gala

“I’m so lucky that I get to be his mummy! He truly is the best thing that has ever happened to me!”

Kelly’s birthday comes after younger brother Jack, 40, reunited with their estranged sister Aimee in Los Angeles.

Recent photos show the TV personality hugging his eldest sister, 43, as their mum Sharon watches on.

Jack – who took part in last year’s I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! – is also shown warmly embracing his mother.

Back in September, Kelly ended her relationship with sister Aimee – and says there’s no chance of reconciliation.

The pair have been feuding for years, with Kelly admitting she felt Aimee was “embarrassed” of the family.

Aimee, 43, who famously opted out of appearing on the family’s iconic reality show, The Osbournes, is accused of “never truly acknowledging” her siblings.

In an emotional interview on Paul C Brunson’s We Need To Talk podcast, Kelly, 42, expressed deep resentment over never having a supportive older sister, and explains why she has cut her out of her life permanently.

Asked of there was hope for a reconciliation, she said: “No… I respect her, I accept her, but we’re different, and that’s okay…

“If you’re not going to accept me for who I am, and constantly be trying to change me and say horrible things about me, and truly seem to thrive when I’m not doing well, I don’t want you in my life.”

The Osbournes aired on MTV from 2002 to 2005 and ran for four series.

United States Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr has sparked uproar with comments he has made denying Arab contributions to mathematics, science and literature.

In a high-voltage rant on Monday, the US health secretary said, “There’s five hundred million Arabs in the world. And yet they don’t produce science. They don’t win the Nobel Prize. They don’t win the Fields Prize. They don’t win the Wolf Prize. They don’t produce literature.”

RFK Jr, who has been involved in anti-vaccine campaigns and has promoted a debunked theory linking vaccines to autism, made the comments during a US election campaign event in Grand Rapids, Michigan while supporting Republican nominee Mike Rogers, who is up against Arab-American Democrat nominee Abdul El-Sayed, in a tightly contested battle for Michigan’s Senate seat in next week’s midterm elections.

Critics said the comments were racist, Islamophobic and factually inaccurate, pointing to modern and historic Arab innovation in multiple fields.

Here’s how Arabs have made vital contributions to the human understanding of maths, science and literature through the centuries.

Arab contributions to maths, science and humanities

The period known as the Islamic Golden Age, from around 750 AD to 1258 AD, produced many key Arab contributions to medicine at a time when Europe was said to be in its Dark Ages. During this time, Arabic was the language of science and scholarship.

1st-4th centuries: The numerals 0-9, which originated in ancient India, were adopted by Arab mathematicians who spread them across the world. They displaced Roman numerals as a more advanced number system in mathematics.

8th century: Arab and Persian mathematicians were studying the ancient Indian concept of zero in mathematics in Baghdad, long before the Europeans. The number zero was crucial to the development of mathematics – but was absent from widely used Roman numerals in Europe.

813-833: The Arab mathematician Muḥammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi – one of those studying the number 0 – is often referred to as the “father of algebra” as he was the first to treat the method as a separate mathematical discipline in his work, Al-Jabr. This method provided the first linear and quadratic equations, still used as a core part of mathematical study today.

965-1040: Ibn al-Haytham, known as the “father of modern optics”, explained the role that light entering the eye plays in human vision. He was born in Basra in Iraq, but spent most of his working life in Cairo attending to noble families.

936-1013: Abu al-Qasim al-Zahrawi, called “the father of modern surgery”, was considered the greatest surgeon in the Middle Ages. He wrote a 30-volume encyclopaedia detailing medical practices and designed and illustrated many surgical instruments. Born in Azahara, in Andalusia, he was known as Abulcasis in Europe.

9th century: Fatima al-Fihri founded the University of al-Qarawiyyin in Fez, Morocco. It is often cited as the oldest continually operating university.

1213-1288: Ibn al-Nafis described pulmonary circulation – the process by which blood passes through the lungs – several centuries before Europeans understood it. He wrote more than 110 volumes of work on surgery, ophthalmology and philosophy while working as a chief physician in Egypt.

915-965:  Abu al-Tayyib al-Mutanabbi, regarded as the greatest poet in the Arabic language, was Yemeni and grew up immersed in Bedouin Arabic culture. He wrote in classical Arabic and many of his verses became sayings used in everyday Arabic.

1100-1165: Muhammad al-Idrisi was a geographer known for making the Tabula Rogeriana, one of the most accurate and detailed medieval world maps, and a high point of Islamic geography. He was born in Ceuta in Morocco.

Prize-winning Arabs

In more modern times, RFK Jr’s assertion that Arabs do not win Nobel prizes for science and literature is very far from the truth. Here are some of the highlights:

1960: Nobel Prize for Medicine

Peter Medawar won the Nobel Prize for Medicine for work on for work on acquired immune tolerance, which underpins organ transplantation. He was born in Brazil to a Lebanese father.

1966: The Fields Medal

Michael Atiyah won the Fields Medal, the most prestigious award for mathematics, in 1966. He was born in London to a Lebanese father and Scottish mother. Educated in Egypt, he spent much of his childhood in Cairo and Khartoum.

1988: Nobel Prize for Literature

Egyptian Naguib Mahfouz won the Nobel Prize in Literature for his body of work, including the Cairo Trilogy, which the Swedish Academy said formed “an Arabic narrative art that applies to all mankind”. He is still the only winner of the prize who wrote in Arabic.

1990: Nobel Prize for Chemistry

Elias James Corey won the Nobel Prize for Chemistry for developing retrosynthetic analysis. He is an American of Lebanese descent.

1993: Wolf Prize for Chemistry

Egyptian Ahmed Zewail won the Wolf Prize for Chemistry. The Wolf Prize is an international award which has been presented to living scientists and artists every year in Israel by the Wolf Foundation since 1978.

1999: Nobel Prize for Chemistry

Zewail also won the Nobel Prize for Chemistry for pioneering femtochemistry, which is the study of chemical reactions on extremely short timescales. He also won the Wolf Prize in Chemistry in 1993.

2005: Nobel Peace Prize

Egyptian scientist Mohamed ElBaradei shared his Nobel Prize with the International Atomic Energy Agency, which he led.

2018: Wolf Prize for Chemistry

Omar M Yaghi,  born in Jordan to a Palestinian refugee family, won the Wolf Prize in Chemistry in 2018 for work on metal-organic frameworks. He shared the prize with Japan’s Makoto Fujita. The Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI) condemned his acceptance of the award because the prize is awarded by an Israeli foundation.

2023: Nobel Prize for Chemistry

Moungi Bawendi won the Nobel Prize for Chemistry for the discovery and synthesis of quantum dots. He was born in France to a Tunisian father, but based in the US.

2025: Nobel Prize for Chemistry

Yaghi also won the Nobel Prize for Chemistry for developing metal-organic frameworks. These are crystalline materials with large internal cavities that can capture and store gases, harvest water from air, and trap pollutants. He shared the prize with Susumu Kitagawa from Japan and Richard Robson from Australia.

In a post on X, vaccine scientist Peter Hotez of the Texas Medical Center weighed in on historical Arab scholarship, saying, “It was the Arab scientists of the Middle Ages who kept Aristotle, Hippocrates, Galen alive to hand it down in the Renaissance.”

Broadcaster Mehdi Hasan described RFK Jr’s comments as “racist” and, in a post on X, wrote: “One of the men who won the Nobel Prize for Chemistry last year was a Palestinian-American, Omar Yaghi.”

The Council on American-Islamic Relations called for the US health secretary to be removed. It said: “To stand on a public stage as a sitting US cabinet official and dehumanise half a billion people – and millions of Muslim and Christian Arab Americans – with fabricated, white supremacist talking points is utterly disqualifying for public office. His sweeping erasure of Arab contributions to humanity is not only maliciously false, but it also fans the flames of anti-Arab and anti-Muslim hate at a time when communities are already vulnerable to bigoted attacks from other public officials nationwide.”

An experienced keeper at a Dutch zoo has died days after being mauled in a leopard enclosure, the safari park has confirmed.

The woman, who had worked at Beekse Bergen park for 40 years, was caring for two Persian leopards in an indoor facility when she was attacked on Saturday.

She sustained injuries to her head and neck but despite undergoing surgery, the park confirmed her death on Tuesday.

An independent investigation will be launched into the incident, it added in a statement.

Announcing her death, Beekse Bergen – in the south of the Netherlands – said the keeper began her career there when she was 17 and had worked there on-and-off for four decades.

“Her passing has deeply affected us all, and our hearts go out to her family, friends, and loved ones. At this moment, our primary focus is on supporting her family and her colleagues,” the statement added.

The two leopards, which are usually kept away from staff, had been brought inside due to bad weather conditions.

It is not clear exactly what happened in the enclosure because there are no CCTV cameras inside.

Local news website NL Times reported that despite her injures she managed to alert colleagues via her walkie-talkie. She was then taken to hospital in a helicopter in a critical condition before she died days later.

A park spokesperson told Omroep Brabant, a local media outlet, that the leopards were behaving naturally and they would not be euthanised.

“They are, and remain, predators.”

Beekse Bergen said it would create a memorial location for guests and staff members to share their condolences.

Susan Saint James, the TV star who shared the screen with Rock Hudson as his on-screen wife in “McMillan & Wife” and co-led the heartfelt, blended family comedy “Kate & Allie” with Jane Curtin, has died.

The Los Angeles native died Monday after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, according to People, which first reported the actor’s death. She was 80.

Saint James’ family remembered the actor for her warm personality and kindness, writing in a statement shared with the magazine, “Every person she met became the most important person in the room at that moment, from a fellow board member to the clerk at the shoe store, who usually walked away knowing her entire life story.”

Her acting career spanned almost six decades — she broke out as Peggy Maxwell in NBC series “The Name of the Game” — from the mid-1960s to the 2020s across TV and film, but audiences know the actor best for starring as Hudson’s detective wife in “McMillan & Wife.” The NBC series, which aired from 1971 to 1977, centered on San Francisco police commissioner Stuart “Mac” McMillan and wife Sally McMillan as they solve a variety of crimes. Saint James earned four Emmy nominations for her work.

She pivoted to film and TV movies after the series ended, garnering roles in “Love at First Bite,” “The Kid from Nowhere,” and “Don’t Cry, It’s Only Thunder.”

After nearly a decade away from the TV series scene, Saint James returned in CBS’ unconventional sitcom, “Kate & Allie.” She starred as Kate McArdle, one of the series’ titular divorcées who decide to raise their children under the same roof. Saint James’ Kate was the modern and no-nonsense counterpart to Curtin’s old-fashioned, sweet Allie. The series aired from 1984 to 1989 and earned Saint James two additional Emmy nominations.

When the stars and creative team of “Kate & Allie” reunited amid the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021, Saint James reflected on how the show was representative of a same-sex household and how mothers raising their own children related to the show’s material. She and her co-stars also said they knew at the time that the series was something special.

“It wasn’t like we went back and said, ‘You don’t know what you got ‘till it’s gone.’ It was just fun,” she said.

Saint James mostly stayed away from Hollywood in the decades following “Kate & Allie,” save for brief appearances in series including “Law & Order: SVU,” “Suits” and “Upload.” She notably found herself in the spotlight again in the early 2000s, but for family tragedy.

Her son Edward “Teddy” Ebersol died at age 14 in a 2004 Colorado plane crash that also claimed the lives of two other people. Teddy Ebersol, whom Saint James shared with husband and former NBC Sports Chairman Dick Ebersol, was aboard a chartered Canadair CL-601 Challenger jet with his father and older brother, Charles, on Nov. 28, 2004, when it crashed during takeoff in light snow and freezing temperatures from the airport near Montrose, Colo. The pilot and a flight attendant were also killed in the crash. Dick and Charlie sustained injuries in the crash, and a copilot was critically injured.

“Here’s the bad part … I’ve never touched his clothes, I’ve never been able to move his things,” Saint James told Oprah in a 2006 interview. She continued to speak publicly about her grief in the following years.

“The thing that could move me on was that I could embrace Teddy finally in a way that was, ‘he’s my kid,’” she said during a 2009 panel on grief. “They can take his body, but I own that boy and I love that boy.”

Beyond her screen work and family tragedy, Saint James was also known for her longtime advocacy in the sports world. Saint James supported the mission of the Special Olympics since an early iteration of the games in California in 1972. The first Special Olympics was held in Chicago in 1968.

In a statement published Tuesday, Special Olympics said Saint James “believed deeply in the power of inclusion” and she served as a board member and a campaign co-chair for Special Olympics Connecticut. Her advocacy included founding the annual Susan Saint James poker tournament fundraiser. The organization’s Susan Saint James Leadership Award honors individuals who “embody her remarkable spirit of leadership, generosity, and dedication to our mission,” the post said.

“Thank you, Susan, for being an extraordinary champion of our athletes,” Special Olympics added in its statement. “Your legacy will live on through the lives you touched and the inclusive future you helped build.”

The actor, born Aug. 14, 1946 and raised in Rockford, Ill., received her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2008 and partially attributed her success in the industry to her connection with Special Olympics. Former California first lady Maria Shriver, daughter of Special Olympics founder Eunice Kennedy Shriver, attended the ceremony.

During that ceremony, Saint James said she managed to achieve her dream of becoming a Hollywood movie star “through the good works of a lot of wonderful people that created a loving and home-like environment for me all those years.”

“But the thing that really contributed to my success and happiness with my career was coupling it up with the work that I did with the Special Olympics,” she said, adding, “you can guess that being associated with them turned out to be getting to know some pretty amazing people since I’m now really cozy with the first lady of the state of California.”

Saint James was married three times, first to scriptwriter Richard Neubert from 1967 to 1968, according to People. She remarried in 1971 to makeup artist-turned manager Thomas Lucas. They share two children — daughter Sunshine and son Harmony — and divorced in 1977.

Saint James remarried to then-NBC executive Dick Ebersol after they met in 1981 when she hosted “Saturday Night Live.” They welcomed children Charles, William and Edward (Teddy.)

As Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva celebrated his election victory on Sunday in Sao Paulo, he placed his hand on the head of a man standing beside him and beaming in a green and yellow Brazilian football jersey.

Lula thanked him for his role in the campaign, calling him “our general”.

Andre Janones, a 42-year-old Brazilian congressman who had spent the final weeks of the presidential run-off building a mass online movement to get Lula re-elected, then embraced the president.

“He played an exponential role in this campaign in lifting the morale of our troops every day, morning, noon and night,” Lula told thousands of supporters who packed Paulista Avenue, the city’s main artery.

Just three weeks earlier, the president seemed to be in trouble. He had finished behind his right-wing rival Flavio Bolsonaro after the first round of voting, his campaign struggling to keep up with the right’s powerful social media operation.

Janones, who had also helped coordinate Lula’s digital operation in his run-off against Jair Bolsonaro in 2022, was convinced Lula’s campaign needed a change – and that he could help turn things around.

He posted a video declaring, “We are going to win this election. Lula will be re-elected president of Brazil.”

His plan centred on a WhatsApp channel he had launched months earlier.

Called Exercito do Lula, or “Lula’s Army”, it had about 60,000 followers after the first round.

By election day, Lula’s Army had grown to almost 11 million subscribers, with Janones widely credited with helping Lula stage his comeback.

How Andre Janones built Lula’s WhatsApp army

Janones is a lawyer and congressman who grew up in a working-class family in Minas Gerais. He made a name for himself through his social media commentary during Brazil’s 2018 truckers’ strike and was elected to Congress that year.

In 2022, he dropped his own presidential bid to endorse Lula, joining his run-off campaign.

“At the time, he became widely known for employing tactics similar to those used by Bolsonarism, despite operating on the left,” said Viktor Chagas, a professor at Fluminense Federal University who studies digital politics and online campaigning.

Janones coined the term “cultural Janonism” to describe his approach, which relied on urgent messages, memes and calls for supporters to take action, as well as what Chagas described as the occasional use of negative campaigning and “content of questionable origin”.

But the scale of Lula’s Army in 2026 was unprecedented, Chagas said.

In the video declaring that Lula would win, Janones urged supporters to enlist as “soldiers” by posting saluting emojis and joining his WhatsApp channel, where he assigned them what he called “missions”.

The tasks were simple, from recruiting three friends to sharing campaign videos to promoting hashtags.

They came in a relentless stream of messages from Janones himself, often written in capital letters. Supporters couldn’t reply, but they could forward the messages or react with emojis, often doing so in the tens of thousands.

Chagas described the strategy as a form of “electoral gamification”, with Janones setting targets for supporters to reach together.

For Andre Pagliarini, an assistant professor of history and international studies at Louisiana State University and the author of a book on Lula, the appeal of Janones’s approach was giving people something they could actually do to help Lula win.

“It became an organising platform that grew exponentially because it spoke to a desire that many Lula supporters evidently had to do something tangible to defeat Flavio Bolsonaro,” he said.

How Lula’s campaign changed its message

But the path to victory wasn’t just about mobilising supporters online.

Pagliarini credited the campaign for also finding a more effective way to tell the story of the president’s working-class past.

“The campaign’s mistake in the first round was to present this history as a finished monument, worthy of admiration but distant from the lives of the people it was meant to represent,” he wrote.

After Bolsonaro mocked the president for having nine fingers during the final televised debate, for example, Lula responded by recalling how he lost a finger at 17 while working a night shift at a factory. He then linked his experience to workers injured as a result of employers’ negligence.

“Unlike Flavio, he reminded voters, he knew the world of work because he had lived in it,” said Pagliarini.

After the debate, Janones spread the message online, promoting the hashtag #SomosTodos9Dedos, or “We Are All Nine Fingers”. Supporters shared the slogan, with some posting photographs of their own amputated fingers in solidarity.

Janones had also publicly called for simpler, less polished campaign videos that showed a more relatable side of Lula, drinking coffee, visiting people’s homes and talking to ordinary Brazilians. Around the same time, the campaign started posting more informal, selfie-style videos.

“Lula was looser in his political communication, less mediated,” Pagliarini said.

Did Lula’s WhatsApp army help him win?

It is difficult to establish whether Janones’s digital army actually delivered votes.

“I am not sure there is a way to empirically connect the group to the outcome,” Pagliarini said.

But he believes Janones helped turn the campaign around.

“Janones himself became a kind of character in the campaign, a cheerleading strategist who seemed confident in a plan that had been missing throughout much of the race,” wrote Pagliarini.

Chagas agreed that it was “difficult to imagine the outcome we achieved without Lula’s Army”, adding that the channel brought together left-wing supporters who had previously been scattered across fragmented online communities, and gave them a way to work together.

The challenge now is keeping that momentum going, Chagas said, pointing to the far right’s use of “permanent campaigning”, maintaining the engagement of supporters between elections.

On election night, at least, Janones kept his soldiers busy.

“EVERYONE TO PAULISTA TO CELEBRATE,” he wrote, urging them to gather on Sao Paulo’s Paulista Avenue. “NOW.”

Later, he asked them not to go to sleep, adding that he’d let them go once he got back from the celebrations.

“Then we’ll discuss a few days off for you,” he joked in a message that drew more than 225,000 reactions.

Two British nationals have appeared in court in connection to an alleged Iran-linked plot at RAF Fairford last month.

Mohmed Abdulkarim, 24, from Westminster, London, has been charged with assisting a foreign intelligence service, which police earlier said they believed to be Iran.

Nouman Essghir, also 24 and from Westminster, has been charged with entering a prohibited place for a purpose prejudicial to the UK on 22 August – weeks before he was arrested near the airbase in Gloucestershire alongside four other men.

The pair appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday.

A major incident was declared after three suspicious vans were seen near the US-operated airbase on 27 September.

Dozens of residents were evacuated and a large cordon was put up in the area around the base. No explosive materials were found in the vans by police but a quantity of petrol was seized.

The court heard vans bearing the logo “Fuel2You” were spotted close to the base.

In the early hours, the vans came across a Ministry of Defence Police cordon and re-routed to another location.

Police arrived and arrested five men. They later revealed that one had called 999 and reported what was going on.

During the hearing at Westminster Magistrates’ Court, Essghir stood in the dock wearing a grey sweatshirt and confirmed his name and address.

Abdulkarim is charged with helping with the plot.

He appeared in court in a wheelchair wearing a checked shirt, jeans and a baseball cap. He confirmed his name and address.

Both men are charged under the 2023 National Security Act.

Essghir has been remanded in custody, while Abdulkarim has been granted bail with conditions including the surrender of his passport.

The case will be next heard at the Old Bailey on 20 November.

“Night Watch” has an easy hook, starting with its setting. The immersive monster show is staged inside an ominous white van.

Yes, a real van. It’s creepy, and pulls equal inspiration from immersive theater, video games, escape rooms and environmental design. At a little over 30 minutes or so, it’s refreshingly approachable, a bite-sized slice of interactive, participatory theater that lingered with me long after I saw it. And not just because there were moments that startled me. “Night Watch,” like any good monster story, has metaphors on its mind.

“Night Watch” is the creation of Sara Biel and KJ Knies, a husband-and-wife creative team with day jobs working for a themed entertainment design firm. On their own, however, they go by Bee’s Knees. There’s buzz around “Night Watch.” Its initial October dates sold out nearly instantly, but the couple is extending the run at least into mid-November. Additional tickets will go on sale Wednesday at 9 p.m., and those interested are advised to join the waitlist.

The couple’s experience in theme park design is evident in “Night Watch,” as its small cargo van is ripe for exploration, with TVs, monitors, filing cabinets and more outfitted with vintage tech and lore-building corporate paraphernalia. Before the show properly began, I started frantically combing through folders and flipping through notebooks.

KJ Knies and Sara Biel are the creators of “Night Watch,” an immersive horror story set in a van.

(Bee’s Knees)

Yet I soon learned my goal here was not so much to find clues, like in a typical escape room, but to build a personality profile. Participants are assigned the role of an overnight security guard to monitor a mysterious tech firm. You’re unaware, at least at the start, of what kind of business the company is in, but “Night Watch” wants you to get to know the person who held the job before you. The van is outfitted with posters of national parks, hinting at someone who was longing for a life with more freedom and travel than a working-class career provides.

“Night Watch,” off the bat, wants us to grapple with how personal dreams can clash — or become lost — with the corporate world. It feels personal, and that’s no accident, says Biel, as the show was informed by the couple’s own talks about their future.

Throughout “Night Watch,” attendees are tasked with examining security footage.

(Bee’s Knees)

“I moved to L.A. to become a writer. KJ moved to L.A. to become a filmmaker,” Biel says. “Now we’re on this different corporate path. Is this the path that we should be on or should we have listened to our gut and went a more artistic direction? I feel like all of our friends are going through this. You move to this city to do one thing, and you fall into a different path. That’s not bad. I’m of the opinion that you follow the doors that open as you go, but that’s what we were grappling with and what we wanted to bring into this show.”

With monsters, of course.

I completed “Night Watch” solo, but the show can accommodate up to four people (tickets for two start at $90). You’ll interact with an actor who plays your co-worker during the production, primarily via a two-way radio. At times, you’ll monitor the action outside of the van. Other moments have you digging into the digital files of the previous security guard, who is said to have mysteriously left his job. But mostly you’ll just talk with your unseen co-worker, who might push you into philosophical discussions about your hopes for a better life. This creates an inherent tension in “Night Watch.” You might know on one level that this is a monster story, and yet like me, find yourself opening up about personal details, trying to manifest a better day for yourself.

Details inside the van.

(Bee’s Knees)

With “Night Watch’s” emphasis on security footage and old computer logs, Knies says he was influenced by full-motion video games, citing the work of Sam Barlow and his voyeuristic crime game “Her Story.” It isn’t hard to see the show as a thinly veiled statement about our current tech-obsessed era, with each day bringing with it seemingly fresh announcements about some new site, social media add-on, gadget or AI tool that promises to improve our lives (but rarely, if ever, does). There’s a moment when you start to wonder if the business you’re providing security for is actually one of the “good guys.”

The project’s story, says Knies, began with a simple sketch from Biel: “The first idea that Sara pitched me was a monster sucking souls and pooping gold.” It spiraled from there, and the last half of “Night Watch” comes quick as we unravel its multiple mysteries. And that’s where the frights, heightened by the intimacy of the van, come in.

“We really wanted to play with having a confined space that we could manipulate to our advantage,” Biel says. “We wanted to play with the effects of moving the van and shaking the van and closing off your viewpoint.”

The confined venue — a dimly lit storage van — helps participants narrow in on the mission.

(Bee’s Knees)

The van has other benefits, too, especially in L.A. where it’s hard to find a unique venue for a limited-run show. “The cheapest and easiest places you can get are white walls with tile floor, but then you’re going to spend so much money decking that out to make it feel like a lived-in space,” Knies says.

“Night Watch” is currently staged outside of Hatch Escapes, home to some of the city’s finest escape rooms, in Arlington Heights. Biel says the two are talking to Hatch about hosting the show there long-term, but there is one hitch. The van is a rental, and at some point it will need to be returned.

“Don’t tell Enterprise that we painted on their walls,” Knies says.

This week in SoCal theme parks

An audio-animatronic Indiana Jones figure hangs above guests on Disneyland’s Indiana Jones Adventure.

(Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)

• Indiana Jones is adventuring again. Disneyland’s popular Indiana Jones Adventure reopened after a six-week refurbishment on Friday with a number of changes. Most of them will be invisible to guests, but Disneyland engineers worked behind-the-scenes to make the attraction more reliable and found ways to increase its capacity. They also added some spiders. Read all the details here from my walk-through of the attraction last week.
• A bookstore for us immersive, theme park geeks. Coming next year to Los Angeles, near the corner of Melrose and Fairfax avenues, is Genres Book Society, boasting a design led by former Walt Disney Imagineer Ann Morrow Johnson. Genres is part bookshop, part speakeasy and part immersive venue. There’s a dragon, a secret bar and a tree with glowing books. Read more about this bookshop dreamed up by Clare Grant and Karissa Marston here.
• Nikki, meet Nikki. One of my highlights of this year’s Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios Hollywood was interacting with a scare actor playing the role of Nikki from the film “Obsession.” The other week, the actor who initiated the role in the movie, Inde Navarrette, visited the horror event and had her own dalliance with one of the park’s Nikki performers.
• Still need Halloween plans? The doors of downtown’s Clifton’s, a venue some say inspired Walt Disney (although this isn’t really confirmed by any official sources), will be open for an immersive theater dinner show. Expect roving actors, multiple storylines to follow and an otherworldly wedding that may or may not involve monsters. The current operators of the historic space have big plans for programming similar such events throughout the holiday season. “The Dark Wedding” runs Friday through Sunday, and tickets start at $65.

A farewell to Halloween season (but mostly just to Cars Land’s zombie car)

A mostly deceased “zombie car” struggles to come to life at Cars Land in Disney California Adventure.

(Todd Martens / Los Angeles Times)

The first Oogie Boogie Bash at Disney California Adventure was held this year on Aug. 18, which means Halloween season is coming to a close after a 2½-month celebration. Our local theme parks will be wrapping up Halloween festivities this weekend, and it was a good one. Universal Studios Hollywood shined with a “Sinners”-inspired maze, but the star of the event was its dedication to Ozzy Osbourne. And Knott’s Berry Farm was wise to partner with the Magic Castle.

But in terms of pure decor, the Disneyland Resort has everyone beat, and I wanted to take a moment to salute my favorite Halloween adornment. I was initially nervous, as when the resort debuted its Halloween look in August the zombie automobile in Cars Land was missing. I make a beeline to it each season because it’s such a demented tale that I want to make sure it hasn’t left the park. This mostly dead skeleton car sits outside Radiator Springs Curios, owned by the character of Lizzie. Lizzie is a widow, lovesick at the loss of her husband Stanley.

The shop was under refurbishment earlier in the season, hence the reason for the zombie car’s late arrival, but I was relieved when it finally materialized a couple weeks ago, its body trying to emerge from the ground from under a tree. It’s a morbid story. Lizzie, see, has created a “ghoul-ant” (coolant, get it?) in the hopes of bringing dead cars back to life. She wants to use it on Stanley, but not until its perfected. It’s not. This mostly lifeless car struggles every few seconds to get its engine going. Occasionally, it musters enough strength to get the radio powered on. But it’s mostly just trapped in a near-dead state.

This zombie car is nothing more than the result of a failed experiment, and the implication is there will be more, as Lizzie will not stop until she’s reunited with Stanley. It’s more than a little sick, but also a statement about the way a lost love can forever haunt us. In that sense, it’s perfect, and I adore it. See you, hopefully, next year, zombie car.

The best thing I ate at the parks this week

The short rib lasagna from the Hearthstone Lounge.

(Todd Martens / Los Angeles Times)

With the heat briefly lifting a little bit ago, it was time to revisit my favorite dish at the Disneyland Resort. It’s heavy, hence the reason I was eager to tackle it when things cooled down. I’ve ordered the short rib lasagna from the Grand Californian’s Hearthstone Lounge three or four times over the past year, and I’m now convinced it’s among the best items on the menu at any restaurant at the resort, including the high-end fine dining establishment Napa Rose. It’s that good. And yes, it’s pricey at $42, but it’s a large portion and could easily be split. In fact, I wish I had done the latter, but I was at the park solo and had to immediately end my night after feasting on this decadent dish because I was simply too full to continue exploring. The tender short rib easily peels apart with a fork, and it’s plentiful. A trio of cheeses, and a heavily creamy Bechamel sauce, coupled with a buttery Mascarpone, make this the perfect winter dish. I’ll be at Disneyland on Thanksgiving, and am half thinking of making this my holiday meal rather than turkey.

Tell us your stories. Ask us your questions.

Have a theme park tale to share? Whether it was a good day or less-than-perfect day, I would love to hear about it. Have a question? A tip? A fun photo from the parks to share? Email me at todd.martens@latimes.com. I may feature your note in an upcoming newsletter.

Ride on,

Todd Martens

P.S.

Morning crowds at Disneyland just after park opening, known as “rope drop.”

(Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)

Late breaking theme park news arrived Tuesday morning courtesy of trade group the Themed Entertainment Assn., which released its 2025 global attendance report. The news for the theme park sector is … mixed? Here in SoCal, attendance at Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure increased ever-so-slightly, at 0.4% each. Disneyland drew 17.4 million in 2025, making it once again the second most-visited park in the world, behind only Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom. Just over 10 million visitors took in California Adventure.

Universal Studios Hollywood fared less great, suffering an attendance dip of 8%. The report attributes the downtown to our devastating wildfires early in the year, as well as a decline in international tourism to the region. It’s worth noting that the park in 2023 opened Super Nintendo World, and it’s newness may have worn off a bit for local visits last year. Overall, the park drew 8 million guests.

Also suffering declines in attendance were Knott’s Berry Farm and Six Flags’ Magic Mountain, each dipping about 4%. Knott’s drew 4.3 million attendees while the Valencia park brought in 3.2 million visitors.

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The deportation was the first of its kind since a mass border crossing into the territory from Morocco in July.

Spain has deported more than a dozen migrants from its North African enclave of Ceuta, prompting criticism from Amnesty International, which said Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s left-wing government was endangering their human rights.

It was the first deportation of its kind since a mass border crossing into the territory from Morocco in July.

The Spanish Interior Ministry said on Tuesday that it had deported the migrants from Ceuta after their asylum applications were rejected, and that Morocco had agreed to receive them.

Nongovernmental organisations (NGOs) told the Reuters news agency that 16 people from African, Middle Eastern and Asian countries had been deported.

About 80,000 people entered from Morocco over a 48-hour period in late July. At least 100 people died during the mass crossing into the autonomous city, which covers just 18.5 square kilometres (7.2sq miles) and has a population of about 80,000.

The crisis has evolved into a major political challenge for Sanchez, who is seeking re-election in snap polls scheduled for November 29.

Tens of thousands of protesters have gathered across Spain in recent months to denounce the government’s handling of the situation. Meanwhile, right-wing parties have used the crisis to attack Sanchez.

The leader of the far-right Vox Party, Santiago Abascal, has branded the prime minister a “traitor”.

Human rights guarantees

Amnesty International has warned that the human rights of those deported from Ceuta on Tuesday could be at risk.

“Spain, despite its [progressive] speeches in Europe, is not ensuring that human rights guarantees are met for people who cross its borders in Ceuta and Melilla,” said Virginia Alvarez, an Amnesty International researcher.

“Morocco does not respect many human rights.”

However, Madrid disputes the rights group’s accusations. In a statement, the interior ministry told Reuters that the European Union considers Morocco to be a safe country, adding that deportations are carried out “with all the necessary safeguards”.

Most of those who entered Ceuta in late July left within days. However, about 8,000 migrants still remain. Some are sleeping on the streets, while others are being housed by Spain, charities and civil society groups.