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Throughout the spring and summer of 2020, across the U.S. and the world, millions of quarantined citizens appeared nightly at their windows and balconies, offering thanks to the healthcare workers whose lives were dedicated to saving theirs. In my little corner of Silver Lake, 7 p.m. commenced a daily cacophonous communal concert of pots and pans banging, trombones and trumpets blaring, dogs and coyotes howling: a grateful group roar. I was 67 with a history of respiratory illness: extra high risk. My younger neighbors, knowing this, grocery-shopped for me, sweetening my mornings with fresh milk and fruit during those long, grim days.
“Sacrament” is Susan Straight’s homage to a small fictional band of ICU nurses battling the 2020 COVID-19 surge at a San Bernardino hospital. Her 10th novel follows the beat she’s been covering, and living, since her first. “Aquaboogie,” her 1990 debut, was set in Rio Seco, a fictional stand-in for Riverside, where Straight grew up and still lives. The first in her bloodline to graduate high school, Straight earned an MFA at the University of Massachusetts and brought it home to UC Riverside, where she’s been teaching creative writing since 1988. Her twin passions for her homeland and lyrical artistry bloom on every page. “All summer, there had been fewer cars on the road in Southern California, and everyone remarked on how with no smog, the sunsets weren’t deep, heated crimson. Just quiet slipping into darkness.”
As Susan Straight’s work invariably does, “Sacrament” challenges the prevailing notion that the overlooked Californians she centers in her work and in her life are less worthy, less interesting, less human than their wealthier, whiter, more visible urban counterparts.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
The Los Angeles Times dubbed Straight the “bard of overlooked California,” and “Sacrament” proves the praise. Straight’s African American ex-husband and three daughters; her Latino, Filipino, white, Native and mixed-race neighbors; and her immersion in overlooked California bring new meaning to the advice “write what you know.” Straight’s personal and literary missions extend to who she knows.
In “Sacrament,” Straight turns her singular focus to a handful of nurses camping in a wagon train of funky, sweltering trailers near the hospital they call Our Lady. Separated from their spouses and kids — “Six feet apart or six feet under,” Larette’s son Joey chants — Larette, Cherrise, Marisol and their colleagues are themselves underprotected from the virus, which they eventually contract, and from the domestic dramas that seep from home into their pressure-cooker days. Fearful that her mom will die, Cherrise’s teenage daughter, Raquel, convinces Joey to drive her to the hospital from the date farm where Raquel has been deposited into her Auntie Lolo’s care. The drive should take two hours, but the teens are MIA for two nightmare days. Having narrowly escaped a would-be captor, Raquel remains haunted by her near fate. “The fingers in her hair pulling so hard her scalp felt like it had tiny bubbles under the skin. Wait till I pull your hair for real, bitch. She heard him even now.”
Diving deeper than the quotidian insults of her characters’ loneliness, poverty and fear, Straight brings us inside their exhausted minds. Attempting a nap, Larette lies on the break room cot, eyes closed, to no avail. “Ghost fingers in her left palm. Her right hand holding the phone on FaceTime for the wives. The husbands. The children who were grown,” she writes. “All their faces. Stoic. Weeping. Biting their lips so hard.” Later, Larette tells her husband, “Everyone you see on TV, banging pots and pans, everyone doing parades, it’s so nice. But then I have to be all alone with — their breath. Their breath just — it slows down and it’s terrifying every time.”
Perhaps most painful among the nurses’ many miseries is their isolation: the secrets they keep in hopes of sparing their loved ones an iota of extra suffering. “None of us are telling anyone we love about anything, Larette thought. She hadn’t told [her husband] anything true in weeks.”
As Straight’s work invariably does, “Sacrament” challenges the prevailing notion that the overlooked Californians she centers in her work and in her life are less worthy, less interesting, less human than their wealthier, whiter, more visible urban counterparts. Programmed to equate “rugged independence” with success, many advantaged Americans first appreciated human interdependence (berries in our cereal, test kits on our porches) in lockdown. In Straight’s world, raising each other’s kids, feeding each other’s elders, keeping each other’s secrets, mourning the dead and fighting like hell for the living is not called exigence. It’s called life.
“Sacrament” broadens the reader’s understanding of community beyond flesh-and-blood friends, family and neighbors. The love and care that flow within her community of characters draws the reader into their bright, tight circle, making the characters’ loved ones and troubles feel like the reader’s own.
Spoiler alert: The nurses’ sacrifices, strengths and foibles; their families, robbed not only of their moms and wives and daughters but also of any shred of safety; and their patients — who have tubes stuffed into their urethras and down their throats, blinking their desperate last moments of life into iPads as they take their final breaths — will likely make the reader see and respect and love not only these characters, but the consistently brilliant author who gave them life on the page of this, her finest book.
Maran, author of “The New Old Me” and other books, lives in a Silver Lake bungalow that’s even older than she is.
1 of 2 | A portrait of President Donald Trump is draped on the front of the Department of Labor Headquarters in Washington, D.C., on August 30. On Friday, the department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics is expected to release the Consumer Price Index report. File Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI | License Photo
Oct. 24 (UPI) — The Bureau of Labor Statistics is set to release the Consumer Price Index report Friday, two weeks after calling back economists and other employees to prepare the document despite the government shutdown.
The CPI report was originally scheduled to be published Oct. 15, but the shutdown delayed work. However, federal law requires the Social Security Administration to make its cost-of-living adjustment annually based on inflation from the third quarter.
That adjustment, known as COLA, must be published by Nov. 1, though it was originally expected to be released in mid-October.
The BLS called back economists and IT specialists to prepare the report the second week of October.
Economic experts expect Friday’s report will show that inflation has risen to its highest level since May 2024 — 3.1%, ABC News reported. The Federal Reserve‘s target annual inflation rate is 2%.
NBC News reported the report is expected to be released at 8:30 a.m. EDT.
Thursday marked the 23rd day the government was closed for business pending the passage of a stopgap funding bill, making it the second-longest federal shutdown in U.S. history. Friday is Day 24.
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La.,, speaks during a press conference on the 23rd day of the government shutdown at the U.S. Capitol on Thursday. Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI | License Photo
Weekly insights and analysis on the latest developments in military technology, strategy, and foreign policy.
South Korea has launched its biggest and most ambitious submarine yet, the Jang Yeong-sil, as the first of the second batch of its locally designed and built KSS-III program. The boat, first of three in this sub-class, is notable for its expanded vertical launch cell arrangement, but also boasts a host of other advanced features.
In a ceremony yesterday, the Republic of Korea Navy and South Korea’s Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) held a launching ceremony for the ROKS Jang Yeong-sil at Hanwha Ocean’s Geoje shipyard, in the southern part of the country.
The launch ceremony for the ROKS Jang Yeong-sil at Hanwha Ocean’s Geoje shipyard yesterday. ROKN
A construction contract for the submarine was signed in 2019, followed by the steel-cutting ceremony in 2021, while the keel-laying ceremony took place in 2023.
The Jang Yeong-sil, as the first of the Batch II submarines, follows on from KSS-III Batch I, also known as the Dosan Ahn Chang-ho class.
The first of the KSS-III Batch I submarines, ROKS Dosan Ahn Changho, during trials. Defense Acquisition Program Administration
There are some significant differences between the two sub-classes.
The Batch II boats have a surfaced displacement of around 3,500 tons, compared to 3,300 tons for the Batch I submarines. The Batch II is also longer, at 293 feet, compared to just under 274 feet for the Batch I.
More importantly, Batch II brings new capabilities, which the Republic of Korea Navy and DAPA summarize as “enhanced detection, strike capability, stealth, and survivability.”
In terms of detection, Batch II incorporates an updated combat system and sonar system, which are said to offer enhanced information processing and target detection capabilities.
The expanded strike potential of the new submarine is centered around its land-attack capability.
In its Batch I form, the KSS-III already had provisions for six vertical launch system (VLS) cells that are able to accommodate cruise missiles or even submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs). The Batch II, meanwhile, increases the capacity to 10 VLS cells.
The KSS-III submarines put South Korea in a select group of countries that operate submarines with an SLBM capability. Unusually for a weapon of this type, the South Korean weapon has a conventional warhead.
Successful underwater ejection tests of an SLBM from the first of these submarines were reportedly first conducted around September last year.
Few details are known about the SLBM itself, which is variously named Hyunmoo-IV-4 or K-SLBM. Early reports suggested the missile has a range of 311 miles and that it could be a naval variant of the Hyunmoo 2B ballistic missile. More recently, it has been attributed to a range of 497 miles.
A land-based launch of a Republic of Korea Army Hyunmoo 2B ballistic missile:
Beyond SLBMs, the VLS cells could be used to eventually accommodate hypersonic cruise missiles, a type of weapon that Seoul is currently exploring via the Hycore demonstrator program. A submarine-launched hypersonic cruise missile would give South Korea considerable advantages when it comes to conducting short-notice standoff strikes, especially against highly defended and time-sensitive targets.
Test launch of a Hycore missile from a ground platform. via @mason_8718
Other armament on the Batch II comprises six 533mm torpedo tubes that can be loaded with Tiger Shark torpedoes or C-Star-III anti-ship cruise missiles, or alternatively, Submarine Launched Mobile Mines (SLMM).
Stealth and mission endurance are enhanced by the Batch II’s advanced new lithium-ion battery-based submerged propulsion system. This enables it to “operate underwater for longer durations and sustain high-speed maneuvers, thereby reducing the risk of exposure during operations.” While it is still a diesel-electric submarine at its core, with diesel generators and batteries that charge from those generators, the advanced battery tech can take the place of air-independent propulsion (AIP) technology while offering similar, and in some cases superior, capabilities. Even more interesting, is this new boat also has a fuel-cell-based ‘auxiliary’ AIP capability, so it can presumably charge its batteries or even provide propulsion aside from them, while submerged.
Back in early 2017, The War Zone’s Tyler Rogoway looked at the benefits of lithium-ion batteries, which not only offer advantages over traditional lead-acid cells but could challenge AIP technology for use in new-build submarines overall. This prediction now seems to be playing out.
Other stealth features introduced on the Batch II include various noise and vibration reduction technologies, among them a rubber acoustic coating, which combines to ensure the boats produce less underwater radiated noise.
Another view of the ROKS Jang Yeong-sil at its launch ceremony. ROKN
No less importantly, as a domestically designed and produced submarine, the KSS-III Batch II incorporates a greater proportion of locally developed and manufactured components. This reduces South Korea’s reliance on foreign manufacturers and, very importantly, makes it easier to export the design. The KSS-III is already in the running for Canada’s new submarine requirement, with up to 12 boats planned, and there are growing opportunities for selling advanced diesel-electric subs in the Indo-Pacific region and elsewhere.
The ROKS Jang Yeong-sil will soon embark on a series of sea trials and evaluations, and it’s scheduled to be delivered to the Republic of Korea Navy at the end of 2027. Another two Batch II boats, so far unnamed, are now under construction.
The importance of Seoul’s submarine program has increased in recent years, including the decision to abandon plans to build its first aircraft carrier and instead focus on its underwater fleet, which has received more funding.
A model of the CVX design from Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI), displayed at the International Maritime Defense Industry Exhibition 2021. YouTube screencap
In particular, the KSS-III program has emerged as a cornerstone of the Korea Massive Punishment and Retaliation program, or KMPR, also known as Overwhelming Response, an effort to develop ways to retaliate against North Korea, using conventional weapons, should Pyongyang launch a first strike. In particular, submarines are valuable here for bringing the survivable conventional strike capability that the KMPR plan calls for.
The combination of the KSS-III and SLBMs is part of Seoul’s broader focus on missile programs that are being developed and fielded in response to North Korea’s expanding missile capabilities. These also include more powerful land-based weapons, but the SLBM is a much more survivable option, which is of particular importance, bearing in mind the threat of a preemptive strike from the North.
Should the North launch a nuclear attack, the survivability of the submarines should allow a conventional response, even if land-based missiles may have been taken out already. In this way, the SLBMs could be fired against regime targets and command and control facilities, hitting them with much less notice and more kinetic power than a cruise missile barrage. The fact that this quasi-second-strike capability exists should also help dissuade North Korean aggression in the first place.
These submarines and their SLBMs also carry a political dimension, reducing South Korea’s dependence on the United States when it comes to deterrence.
Potentially, South Korea’s experience with the KSS-III program could lead to even bigger and more ambitious submarines.
In the past, there has been discussion of a potential follow-on nuclear-powered submarine design. With previous missile restrictions on South Korea having been removed, these submarines could potentially be armed with new and bigger SLBMs offering much greater range.
Until the Biden administration scrapped missile restrictions that had been in place since 1979, South Korea was limited to developing missiles with a maximum range of 500 miles. This change could open the door to South Korea developing SLBMs with a range greater than 500 miles, in excess of the Hyunmoo-IV-4.
As it now stands, the KMPR initiative is based around conventional weapons only, but there has been growing speculation that Seoul might eventually commit to developing nuclear warheads, too. SLBMs would be the obvious candidate to deliver these and having this option already integrated into existing submarines would allow for Seoul to move rapidly to fielding a second-strike strategic deterrent if the choice was ever made to do so, which still seems very unlikely at this time.
For now, the Republic of Korea Navy can look forward to starting operations with its most capable submarine so far, providing a powerful and versatile bulwark to fast-paced missile and nuclear developments in North Korea.
Celebrity Traitors stars Jonathan Ross and Cat Burns could be about to come to blows in the latest episode of the hit BBC show, a body language expert has predicted
Celeb Traitors stars Jonathan Ross and Cat Burns set to come to blows(Image: BBC)
The talk show legend, 64, and viral TikTok singer Cat, 25, are both taking part in the hit reality series in which a host of famous faces live in a castle and have to work out which of them is one of the titular Traitors, all guided by Strictly Come Dancing‘s Claudia Winkleman.
Both Jonathan and Cat are in fact Traitors, as is comedian Alan Carr but the other contestants are all Faithfuls, and now body language expert Judi James has explored the ‘subtle but revealing’ signs that things were not right between them during last night’s episode.
Normally, during the part in the show where the Traitors remove their hoods, there is often fits of laughter between them. But explaining what was different this time, Judi explained: “Last night’s meet-up was different though because, for Jonathan and Cat, the masks never came off. They surveyed each other without any signals of relief.”
She added: “Their body language was subtle but revealing, proving they, both now recognise they are enemies. Last night’s meet-up was different though because, for Jonathan and Cat, the masks never came off. They surveyed each other without any signals of relief.
“We saw them ignore Alan to stare at each other, and Jonathan performed a thin ‘smile’ of recognition, which was returned by Cat. There was no pretence between them, but no open declarations of war. Jonathan let Cat know he knew what she was doing and she stared him back to let him know she intends to carry on doing it.”
Jonathan adopted a dominant, alpha pose, leaning his weight onto his hands that clutched the rail in front, leaning forward in a way that could be seen as an attempt to to silently ‘threaten’ Cat. What’s more, the singer smiled when she looked at Alan but the smile quickly faded when she clapped eyes on Jonathan.
It’s also been noted that Cat moved her ‘weight from one foot to the other,’ and this can imply a ‘fight or flight’ stance when coming face-to-face with an enemy.
But the body expert also explained how Cat held her own, adding: “Cat even showed higher status to Jonathan, raising her chin and her brows when she spoke to him and looking down her nose while he bowed his head down low.”
At the end of last night’s episode, Stephen Fry was banished from the castle despite being a Faitful. Speaking to his fellow celebrities, Stephen said he had the “best fun for years” and called the group “an extraordinary and wonderful bunch of people”.
Insisting he would hold “no hard feelings” over his banishment, he said that being involved had been a “privilege and an honour” that had filled him with “deep delight”.
On spin-off, Uncloacked, Stephen said he thought Cat, Joe and David were the Traitors, but he got the shock of his life when he found out the truth…
“Jonathan?! FFS!” he said. “Oh he played a blinder, we knew he was a superfan, but he convinced me he wanted to be Faithful!”
“Alan?! What will Paloma say? Wow does he want to end the realtionship?! Alan Carr, I don’t believe it! Two big dogs, and one small Cat!”
The Celebrity Traitors continues on 29 October at 9pm on BBC One.
Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney is set to begin his first official trip to Asia to strengthen trade and security ties, as the country aims to reduce its heavy reliance on the U. S. and seek new markets. During his week-long visit, he may meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping to improve a previously strained relationship impacted by a trade conflict. Analysts emphasize the need for Carney to convey that Canada has its own independent agenda and is moving away from strict alignment with the U. S., especially as U. S. President Donald Trump has made remarks about annexing Canada.
Carney’s trip follows Canada’s recent trade agreement with Indonesia, which aims for duty-free access for most goods. Canada is also targeting trade agreements with the Philippines, Malaysia, South Korea, and Japan. He will participate in the ASEAN summit in Kuala Lumpur, have meetings in Singapore, and attend the APEC summit in South Korea. Despite Carney’s focus on diversifying exports, Canada is still highly dependent on the U. S., with about 75% of its exports heading there.
Experts believe that Asia presents greater business opportunities for Canada than Europe. However, any agreements with China could be affected by the ongoing geopolitical tensions between the U. S. and China. The prime minister may find it challenging to resolve existing disputes with China without improved relations between the two superpowers. Canadians themselves are hesitant about closer ties with China, with a significant portion viewing the country negatively.
Under Carney’s leadership, who has international experience and banking credentials, there is hope for credibility in negotiations with China. He recently spoke with Chinese Premier Li Qiang and anticipates further discussions with senior Chinese leaders. Observers note the importance of Carney’s demeanor in his meetings, particularly with Xi Jinping, as it can influence perceptions of strength and diplomacy.
Kitty has provided plenty of comedic material for her husband over the years – the most famous being his hilarious sketch about Kitty trying to put her tights on.
Michael and Kitty live together in Hampstead, London,
When did they get married?
Michael and his wife Kitty tied the knot in 2003.
He wrote in his 2010 book Life and Laughing: “She was the girl I had been looking for. In the romantic comedy that was my life, this would have made a good ending.
“We would fall happily ever after. Within moments of seeing her and chatting to her I was totally up for that ending. Unfortunately, she wasn’t.”
But the comedian managed to woo Kitty, and the pair began dating.
He revealed on Desert Island Discs that his family found it difficult to accept he had a girlfriend.
McIntyre said: “Unfortunately my grandma didn’t really like it when I got a girlfriend. She was trying to break us up which was funny for a while but then it became quite vicious, an untenable situation.”
However, Michael developed a strong relationship with Kitty’s own parents – Alexandra and Simon Ward, an actor who starred in Young Winston.
After he passed away in 2012, Michael revealed: “He was one of my closest friends. He would come to my gigs in the early days.”
Do they have any children?
The pair have two sons together named Lucas and Oscar.
Both of Michael’s sons have been the subject of his comedy sketches.
Michael pictured with his sister-in-law Sophie WardCredit: Rex
In a sketch about the nightly struggle of putting his sons to bed, the comedian joked: “You never love your children more than when they’re unconscious, but still breathing.”
In another gag about his kids, he said: “My son’s got two words: car and map, that’s all he can say. ‘Car, car, map, car!’
“I’m fairly worried he’s trying to escape. So if the next word is passport, we’re in serious trouble.”
When is the Wheel back on TV?
The Wheel is spinning its way back onto BBC One and iPlayer.
Hosted by Michael, three contestants and seven celebrity experts will once again be answering questions for cash prizes as the show enters its sixth season.
The new series kicks off on Saturday, October 25, 2025 at 8.20pm.
As the Netherlands gears up for a snap parliamentary election on October 29, less than halfway through parliament’s usual four-year term following the collapse of the ruling coalition, the likelihood of another win for the country’s far-right Party for Freedom (PVV) is mounting.
An outright win is next to impossible. The Netherlands has always had a coalition government formed by a minimum of two parties due to its proportional representation electoral system, under which seats in parliament are awarded to parties in proportion to the number of votes they win.
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The PVV, headed by Geert Wilders, also won the most votes in the last election in November 2023. It then partnered with three other far-right parties – the Farmer-Citizen Movement (BBB), New Social Contract (NSC), and the People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) – to form a coalition government.
But in June, PVV made a dramatic exit from the coalition government over a disagreement on immigration policy. PVV had wanted to introduce a stricter asylum policy that included closing borders to new asylum seekers and deporting dual nationals convicted of crimes, but the other parties demanded further discussions.
In a dramatic move, Wilders took to X to announce that the failure by other parties to agree to PVV’s plans meant it would leave the coalition.
Coalition partners slammed this decision and accused Wilders of being driven by self-interest. VVD leader Dilan Yesilgoz said at the time that Wilders “chooses his own ego and his own interests. I am astonished. He throws away the chance for a right-wing policy”.
Following the pull-out, Prime Minister Dick Schoof – an independent – announced that he would resign and a snap election would be held this month.
Then, in August, the NSC’s Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp also resigned after he failed to secure support for new sanctions against Israel over its war in Gaza and the humanitarian situation in Gaza City. In solidarity with Veldkamp, other NSC party members left the coalition, leaving only two parties remaining.
Now, with an election imminent, opinion polls suggest the PVV will secure the most seats in the 150-seat parliament. While a winner needs 76 seats to form a government, no single party ever makes it to that figure, which has led to a history of coalitions.
According to a poll by the Dutch news outlet, EenVandaag, on October 14, the PVV is projected to secure 31 seats. The centre-left Green-Labour alliance (GroenLinks-PvdA) is polling at 25 seats, and the centre-right Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) is polling at 23.
PVV’s former coalition partner, the centre-right VVD, could take 14 seats and the BBB, four. So far, the NSC is not projected to secure any seats at all.
Frans Timmermans (left), leader of the Green Left-Labour Party (PvdA), Henri Bontenbal (centre), leader of the Christian Democratic Appeal Party (CDA), and Geert Wilders (right), leader of the Party for Freedom (PVV), in The Hague, the Netherlands, September 18, 2025 [Remko De Waal/EPA]
Immigration fears
At the end of September, EenVandaag polled 27,191 people and found that the main sticking point between voters – and, hence, between the leaders, PVV and GroenLinks-PvdA – is immigration. Half of all voters said it was the key issue on which they would be voting this year. Housing was the second-most important issue at 46 percent, and “Dutch identity” came third at 37 percent.
While the PVV is firmly anti-immigration and wants to impose a much stricter border policy and asylum laws, GroenLinks-PvdA would prefer to allow a net migration figure of 40,000 and 60,000 migrants per year.
Tempers are running high over this issue. Last month at The Hague, a right-wing activist known as “Els Rechts” organised an anti-migration protest that attracted 1,500 attendees. According to reports, protesters threw stones and bottles at the police, set a police car alight and smashed windows of the left-wing Democrats 66 (D66) party offices.
While left-wingers argue that the immigration issue has been wildly hyped up by the far right, they are losing control of the narrative.
Esme Smithson Swain, a member of MiGreat, a Dutch non-governmental campaign group that calls for freedom of movement and equal treatment for migrants in the Netherlands, told Al Jazeera that the far right in the Netherlands and in the United Kingdom, more widely, had “constructed a narrative that there is a migration crisis”.
“They’ve managed to construct this idea of a crisis, and that distracts our attention away from populism, away from arms trades, away from social services and the welfare state being sold off.”
Whatever its merits, the right-wing message that immigration is at the root of many social ills seems to be taking hold. The far-left, pro-immigration BIJ1 party, which rejects this message, is not projected to win any seats at all in this election.
Immigration “is a key term especially for right-wing political parties to win the election”, Noura Oul Fakir, a candidate for the BIJ1 party, told Al Jazeera. “We don’t focus on it because we look at everything that’s been going on from a systemic point of view, that every form of oppression is interlinked … This fight for equality and justice, it’s about more than just immigration, but it’s also interlinked with other issues that we see nowadays.”
A protester wearing a flag as a cape poses for a photo in front of a banner bearing the colours of the Dutch flag and reading ‘send them home’ during an anti-immigration rally in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, October 12 [Robin van Lonkhuijsen/EPA]
People ‘more emboldened to express racist views’
By January 1, 2024, the Netherlands was hosting 2.9 million migrants (16.2 percent of the population), compared to the average across European Union member states of 9.9 percent (44.7 million people in total).
Similarly, Germany hosts 16.9 million migrants (20.2 percent of the population); France, 9.3 million (13.6 percent of the population); Spain, 8.8 million (18.2 percent of the population); and Italy, 6.7 million (11.3 percent of the population), according to figures from the EU.
Mark van Ostaijen, an associate professor in public administration and sociology at Erasmus University Rotterdam, explained that immigration has become a mainstream talking point in “housing, care, educational and cultural policy domains”.
For instance, the Netherlands is currently short of 434,000 homes, including for 353,000 asylum seekers and 81,000 Dutch first-time buyers, according to figures commissioned by the Ministry of Housing and Spatial Planning (VRO).
Immigration has, therefore, been blamed for what is seen as a housing crisis.
According to Statistics Netherlands (CBS), 316,000 migrants arrived in the country in 2024, 19,000 fewer than in 2023. But CBS also found that population growth is still mainly down to net migration, with the largest number of migrants coming from Ukraine and Syria.
“I think this is indeed something that will continue the electoral legitimacy of far-right parties, or right-wing parties, even more, given the fact that the Netherlands was already quite leaning towards the conservative angle,” van Ostaijen told Al Jazeera.
“This will be a topic that will haunt our politics and our democratic decision-making and discourse for quite a while,” he said.
Anecdotal evidence bears this out. Fakir has noticed a change in the experiences of immigrant residents she and her colleagues have spoken to in the country following the growth of the PVV.
“In their personal life [they have seen] a noticeable shift where people feel more free or emboldened to express racist views, both online and in real life. Others are telling them those classic things of ‘go back to your own country, or you’re not Dutch’,” she said.
For Nassreddin Taibi, a recent graduate who works as a political analyst and plans to vote for GroenLinks-PvdA, the anti-immigration protests at the Hague “further cemented polarisation among Dutch voters” and have caused centrist parties to fall into line with the right-wing narrative.
“These protests have influenced the discourse in the sense that centrist parties now say that cutting immigration is necessary to win back trust of voters in politics,” he said.
Nearly half of voters still undecided
While the far-right PVV is projected to win the most seats in this election, it will still face an uphill journey to form a government, as other parties such as the centre-right People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) have ruled out joining a coalition government.
Furthermore, the PVV’s leader, Wilders, has not escaped controversy with his Islamophobic comments and anti-migration stance despite the rise in anti-immigration sentiment across the country as a whole.
Notable incidents over the years include Wilders’ likening of Islam to Nazism in 2007 and his reference to the Muslim holy book, the Quran, as “fascist” in a letter to a Dutch news outlet. His letter and comments led to Wilders being prosecuted for inciting hatred and discrimination, which he denied. In 2011, he was acquitted by a judge who ruled that his comments had fallen within the scope of free speech.
More recently, in August this year, Wilders posted an image on X that depicted a smiling, blonde and blue-eyed woman, representing the PVV; and a wrinkled, angry-looking elderly woman wearing a headscarf, representing the PvdA. It was accompanied by the words: “The choice is yours on 29/10.”
Fake news and misinformation have also driven the rise in far-right narratives, analysts say.
The Facebook page ‘Wij doen GEEN aangifte tegen Geert Wilders’ (We are NOT filing charges against Geert Wilders), which claims to be a PVV supporters’ page boasting 129,000 followers, said it does not intend to be “discriminatory, hateful, or incite violence”, but has nevertheless posted AI-generated images of this nature.
In one such image, which received 1,700 likes, a white family is seemingly being harassed by men of colour.
In another, a white woman is seen in a supermarket paying for groceries while surrounded by Muslim women wearing hijabs and niqabs, with the caption: “No mass immigration, no Islamisation, no backwardness of the Dutch.” The post received 885 likes.
While the outgoing home affairs minister, Judith Uitermark, has said the government is examining new ways to combat fake news, she added that the Netherlands is somewhat protected from the rise of extremism by its proportional representation system, under which no one party ever wins a majority.
Still, the Dutch Data Protection Authority has warned voters not to use AI chatbots to help them decide who to vote for.
And a large number are still deciding. EenVandaag found that some 48 percent of voters are still undecided about which candidate they will choose. If the GroenLinks-PvdA can disengage from right-wing talking points and, instead, focus on its own policies more, it may perform better than expected, analysts say.
This will be no easy task, however.
“We find ourselves doing this also as a civil society organisation, as campaigners, trying to fight off the narrative and fight off the kind of populist ideals of the far right faster than we can push for our own agenda as well. And I think a lot of the time that leaves left-wing parties in the Netherlands seeming a bit hollow,” Swain said.
Still, she says that she is holding out hope for this election, despite what feels like a “vast and growing far-right bulk of the population”.
“I think it’s very easy to kind of feel that division between ‘us and them’. Us campaigning on the left and this growing mass of the far right,” Swain said.
“We need to tackle fighting the influence of lobbying and of fake news in our political structures. And I think that becoming more united as a population would naturally fall from that.”
England international Marcus Rashford joined Barcelona on loan from childhood club Manchester United in July.
Published On 24 Oct 202524 Oct 2025
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Barcelona forward Marcus Rashford says he hopes to remain at the Spanish club beyond his loan spell from Manchester United, describing the move as the change he needed after spending his entire career in England.
Barcelona are covering Rashford’s wages during this season-long loan after the Manchester-born player accepted a pay cut with an option to buy set at about 30 million euros ($35m).
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Rashford’s United contract runs through 2028, but his future at Old Trafford appears bleak after falling out with manager Ruben Amorim last year. The 27-year-old has since rediscovered his form under Barcelona coach Hansi Flick.
“For sure,” Rashford told ESPN on Thursday when asked if he wanted to remain in Barcelona. “I’m enjoying this football club, and I think for anybody who loves football, Barcelona is one of the key clubs in the history of the game. For a player it is an honour.”
The England international, who first revived his form during a short loan spell at Aston Villa last season, has gone a step further at Barcelona, scoring five goals and providing six assists in 12 appearances across all competitions.
Before what would be his first El Clasico on Sunday, Rashford said his move abroad has given him a new perspective.
“People forget this, but 23 years of my life was with Manchester United. So sometimes you just need a change. I think maybe this is the case with me, and I’m enjoying everything,” he said.
Let’s just kick the elephant out of the room right away. It’s hard to write a guide to Highland Park without addressing the “G” word. The neighborhood has been described as a poster child of gentrification, and for anyone who spends time there, it’s easy to see why.
Get to know Los Angeles through the places that bring it to life. From restaurants to shops to outdoor spaces, here’s what to discover now.
Within the Northeast neighborhood nestled between downtown L.A. and Pasadena, you’ll see the Highland Park of the past: find remnants like the stone castle that was once the home of Charles F. Lummis, a poet and journalist who famously walked from Cincinnati to Highland Park — yes, you read that correctly — to accept a job at the Los Angeles Times in the mid 1880s. (He later went on to found the Southwest Museum, L.A.’s first museum, close by.)
You’ll see the Highland Park that remains: a working-class hub where bandas practice outside for all to hear, the smell of street tacos fills the air, multigenerational families play together at the park and iconic fixtures like the 22-foot-tall Chicken Boy statue that hovers over North Figueroa like a friendly mascot.
And you’ll see the Highland Park that’s emerging: an L.A. hot spot where young people flock to sip on fancy cocktails along York Boulevard and hang out at a chic Prohibition-era bowling alley.
Somehow, all these versions exist together. These days, it’s common to see luxury companies like Le Labo, which sells candles for upward of $90, move next door to small businesses such as the beloved Mexican family-ownedDelicias Bakery & Some that has been serving fresh pan dulce for nearly 35 years. The community collectively mourned when its100-year-old historic movie theater closed last March.
As one of L.A.’s first suburbs, Highland Park began the 20th century as an artsy oasis that was dotted with charming Craftsman homes. By the 1960s, the neighborhood had transformed into an epicenter for Latino life. The evolution of Highland Park has brought all the usual tensions between longtime residents and newcomers, many of whom were priced out of areas like Silver Lake and South Pasadena.
In spite of that, Highland Park has managed to hold onto its roots and small-town charm. This is in part thanks to nonprofits like the Highland Park Heritage Trust and community members who have been working to preserve the neighborhood’s rich history and cherished cultural hubs.
“A lot of the identity is still here, things that just make it feel like home,” says Michael Nájera, 35, whose family has lived in the neighborhood for three generations. He and his wife co-founded a running club calledTofu Scramble that meets at local coffee shops on Friday mornings.
“There’s a strong sense of community here. Even with everything going on these days, it’s amazing to see people out — some of us because we can, and others at risk because they have to,” he adds, referring to the recent ICE raids. “And still, this feels like a place where it’s OK to be brown and to be outside.” It’s common to see local businesses displaying Know Your Rights cards in support of their neighbors.
Rocio Paredes, a director and photographer who attended Franklin Middle School and High School in Highland Park, adds that “Chicanoism is very engraved in our DNA here.” You can see the culture’s influence in spaces like the Centro de Arte Público and the Mechicano Art Center, both of which were home to Highland Park’s Chicano Arts Collective, an organization that helped advance the political aims of L.A.’s Chicano movement in the 1970s. And also at local restaurants. At Las Cazuelas, a family-run Salvadoran pupuseria that’s been open since 1985, Parades says, “It’s like a f— time capsule.”
From historic Craftsman homes, beautiful hills, bountiful green spaces, cuisine from various cultures, vintage shops of varied prices and a vibrant nightlife scene, there’s so much to appreciate about Highland Park.
What’s included in this guide
Anyone who’s lived in a major metropolis can tell you that neighborhoods are a tricky thing. They’re eternally malleable and evoke sociological questions around how we place our homes, our neighbors and our communities within a wider tapestry. In the name of neighborly generosity, we may include gems that linger outside of technical parameters. Instead of leaning into stark definitions, we hope to celebrate all of the places that make us love where we live.
Our journalists independently visited every spot recommended in this guide. We do not accept free meals or experiences. What L.A. neighborhood should we check out next? Send ideas to [email protected].
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said that the North’s military alliance with Russia would “advance non-stop,” state-run media reported Friday. Kim, seen here in a September photo, made the remarks at a groundbreaking ceremony for a memorial museum dedicated to North Korean soldiers dispatched to Russia. File Photo by KCNA/EPA
SEOUL, Oct. 24 (UPI) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un vowed that his country’s alliance with Russia would “advance non-stop” and had reached a “historic peak,” as Pyongyang marked the first anniversary of its troops’ deployment to the Ukraine war, state-run media reported Friday.
Kim made the remarks Thursday at a groundbreaking ceremony in Pyongyang for a new memorial museum honoring North Korean soldiers who fought alongside Russian forces, the official Korean Central News Agency reported.
“Just one year ago from today the last group of the combatants of our expeditionary forces left for Russia,” Kim said, according to KCNA. “The sacred journey marked the beginning of a new history of militant solidarity between the DPRK and Russia.”
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea is the official name of North Korea.
According to Seoul’s National Intelligence Service, North Korea has sent weapons and some 15,000 troops to Russia since 2024, primarily to help recapture lost territory in Kursk Province from Ukrainian forces. The agency said in September that around 2,000 of the dispatched soldiers have been killed.
Kim hailed the combatants as “defenders of justice” who have elevated the North Korea-Russia relationship to a “historic peak.”
“The years of militant fraternity, in which a guarantee has been provided for the long-term development of the bilateral friendship at the cost of precious blood, will advance non-stop,” he said.
Kim shoveled the first spadeful of earth to mark the start of construction, KCNA said. Senior Korean People’s Army officials and Russian diplomats, including Ambassador to North Korea Alexandr Matsegora, attended the ceremony.
South Korea’s Unification Ministry spokesman Kim Byung-sam said Friday that the memorial and Kim’s remarks were aimed at maintaining public support for the deployment.
“Overall, I believe this is intended to promote regime stability and showcase the North Korea-Russia alliance by glorifying veterans and providing commensurate benefits,” Kim said.
Moscow and Pyongyang have grown closer since Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine. The two signed a comprehensive strategic partnership treaty in June of last year, which includes a defense clause that calls for mutual military assistance in the event either country is attacked. In return, North Korea is believed to be receiving financial aid and advanced military technology to bolster its illicit weapons programs.
On Wednesday, North Korea tested a “new cutting-edge weapons system” involving hypersonic missiles, KCNA reported. It was the country’s first launch in five months and came just days before U.S. President Donald Trump‘s visit to South Korea for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Gyeongju next week.
The show of solidarity with Moscow comes as attention shifts toward the possibility of renewed diplomacy with Washington. Speculation has swirled about a potential Trump-Kim meeting during the visit, with the DMZ truce village of Panmunjom touted as a possible site.
Trump, who held two summits and a third brief meeting at Panmunjom with Kim during his first term, has said repeatedly that he would meet with the North Korean leader again. In September, Kim said he has “fond memories” of Trump but warned that denuclearization would be off the table in any future talks.
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung has expressed support for a Trump-Kim summit, urging Trump to play “peacemaker” during his White House visit in August.
On Friday, Unification Ministry spokesman Kim said that the likelihood of a meeting next week appeared low but added that it would be “meaningful.”
“I expect both North Korea and the United States will consider this an important opportunity and carefully consider the timing,” he said.
The Trump administration says it has ‘terminated’ all trade talks with Canada over a commercial published by the Ontario government that features comments on tariffs by the late US President Ronald Reagan, which his foundation says are misleading.
The new BBC documentary dives into the ‘truth of being a young woman thrust into the spotlight’
Little Mix’s Perrie Edwards is set to feature in the BBC documentary centred on iconic girl groups(Image: BBC)
Perrie Edwards is set to reveal what it’s really like being part of a girl band.
After the success of last year’s Boybands Forever, BBC Two is launching its female equivalent, Girlbands Forever. The three-part documentary will explore ‘girl band fever throughout the 90s and beyond,’ featuring personal contributions from the Little Mix star, along with singers from Atomic Kitten, Sugababes and All Saints.
A preview for the upcoming programme provides a taste of what audiences can anticipate, with interview clips from some of the celebrity participants scheduled to appear. It delves into the nostalgic 90s and noughties period when ‘girl band fever’ was rampant, reports OK!
Presenter Sara Cox describes the period as an “era of young women suddenly having a voice,” before noting: “But it was a small window”.
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The brief 25-second trailer also shows Perrie discussing the backstage challenges of Little Mix, who rose to stardom after triumphing on The X Factor. She disclosed: “We battled the social media trolls together.”
The girl group entered the limelight during the early 2010s, so their journey provides a unique viewpoint on the difficulties female bands encountered in the social media era.
According to the BBC, audiences can anticipate hearing from Heidi Range (Sugababes), Kelle Bryan (Eternal), Kerry Katona (Atomic Kitten), Melanie Blatt (All Saints), Perrie and Su-Elise Nash (Mis-Teeq).
The programme will also feature chats with industry names such as Andy McCluskey, Clara Amfo, Darcus Beese OBE, Lucie Cave, MNEK, Nicki Chapman, Pete Tong, Pete Waterman, Scott Mills and Tulisa.
Girlbands Forever is a product of Louis Theroux’s production house, Mindhouse. Ahead of the show’s debut, Louis expressed: “I couldn’t be more thrilled to be part of making this wonderful series.
“I well remember when the Spice Girls, Eternal and All Saints burst on the scene in the 90s. It was a special time in pop music and British culture generally.”
He added: “Then in their wake came a parade of girl bands, made up of girls who were all in different ways beautiful, talented and often very funny.
“Going back and rediscovering all that music and those videos and the interviews they did has been an absolute pleasure.”
Girlbands Forever debuts on BBC Two and iPlayer on November 1.
A Palestinian child has died of wounds sustained during an Israeli military raid in the Askar camp in Nablus, in the latest violence against civilians in the occupied West Bank, as a fragile ceasefire in Gaza brings little respite to Palestinians in the destroyed enclave.
Israeli forces on Friday also stormed the town of Aqaba, north of Tubas in the West Bank, and made a number of arrests earlier today in Hebron and Tal.
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The Israeli army said they arrested 44 Palestinians in the occupied West Bank over the past week. A military statement says operations were carried out in various parts of the territory and all people detained were wanted by Israel. It added that troops also confiscated weapons and conducted interrogations during the operations.
Last week, 10-year-old Mohammad al-Hallaq was shot dead by Israeli forces while playing football in ar-Rihiya, Hebron.
According to the United Nations, more than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed by the Israeli army and settlers since October 7, 2023, in the West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem.
A fifth of the victims are children, including 206 boys and seven girls, the UN said. The number also includes 20 women and at least seven people with disabilities. This does not include Palestinians who died in Israeli detention during the same period, the UN added.
A United States-brokered Gaza ceasefire deal has seen nearly 2,000 Palestinian detainees released from Israeli jails, many bearing visible signs of abuse.
Dozens of Palestinian bodies returned have been badly mutilated and show signs of torture and execution.
Meanwhile, in tandem with the military’s sustained crackdown in the occupied territory, Israeli settlers have rampaged near Ramallah, destroying Palestinian property at an alarming rate daily with impunity, protected by the military.
Settlers set fire to several Palestinian vehicles in the hill area in Deir Dibwan, east of the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah, at dawn this morning, the Wafa news agency reported.
On Sunday, an Israeli settler brutally assaulted a Palestinian woman while she was harvesting olives in the West Bank town of Turmus Aya.
Afaf Abu Alia, 53, suffered a brain haemorrhage due to the attack.
“The attack started with around 10 settlers, but more kept joining,” one Palestinian witness told Al Jazeera. “I think by the end, there were 40, protected by the army. We were outnumbered; we couldn’t defend ourselves.”
According to data from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), settlers have attacked Palestinians nearly 3,000 times in the occupied West Bank over the past two years.
UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, said on Friday that since October 7, 2023, “the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, has also witnessed a sharp escalation in violence”.
“The increasing annexation of the West Bank is happening steadily in a gross violation of international law,” UNRWA said, referring to the expansion and recognition of illegal Israeli settlements.
US lays down law to Israel on annexation
After a vote in the Israeli parliament on Wednesday advancing a bill that would formalise the annexation of the occupied West Bank, senior US officials have been adamant it won’t happen under their watch.
US President Donald Trump said on Thursday, “Israel is not going to do anything with the West Bank” amid growing condemnation of an Israeli parliamentary motion that seeks to formally annex the occupied Palestinian territory.
Earlier in the day, in an interview with Time Magazine, Trump said that the US is firmly against Israeli annexation. “It won’t happen. It won’t happen. It won’t happen because I gave my word to the Arab countries. And you can’t do that now,” Trump told Time.
US Vice President JD Vance, meanwhile, while in Israel, also said that Trump’s policy remains that the occupied West Bank won’t be annexed by Israel, calling the parliamentary vote in favour of annexation a “very stupid political stunt” that he “personally” took some insult from.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, in Israel to shore up the Gaza ceasefire and second-phase plans, has also lined up in the Trump’s administration’s firm opposition to Israeli annexation.
Explosions were heard in the vicinity of Khartoum International Airport amid uncertainty over its reopening.
The paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have targeted Sudan’s capital Khartoum and its main airport with drones for a fourth consecutive day, as the government-aligned Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) attempts to resume air traffic after regaining control of the city several months ago.
Drones and surface-to-air missiles were heard above the capital in the early hours of Friday morning, residents living close to the Khartoum International Airport told Al Jazeera, before loud explosions went off.
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It is unclear whether the capital’s main airport was successfully hit and the extent of the damage.
A single plane operated by the local Badr Airlines landed on Wednesday, before an airport official told AFP on condition of anonymity that the airport’s reopening has been postponed “under further notice” because of incoming attacks.
Al Jazeera’s Hiba Morgan, reporting from Khartoum, said that “despite authorities saying that operations are scheduled to start on October 26, there are concerns that this will not happen”.
The war, which started in April 2023, has killed tens of thousands of people, displaced about 12 million more and left 30 million people in need of humanitarian assistance, making it the world’s largest humanitarian crisis.
Return to Khartoum
The Sudanese military retook the capital from the paramilitary force in March. Since then, residents have been tentatively returning to their homes, often to find them destroyed.
Alfatih Bashir’s house in Omdurman, which he built using all his savings, has collapsed ceilings and damaged walls. “I built it when I was working abroad,” Bashir told Al Jazeera, adding that now he did not posses the necessary funds to repair the damage.
“I’m not working, I’m just sitting idly with my wife and two children. We sometimes barely have enough to eat. How can I even start to rebuild?” he said.
Authorities are still assessing how many houses have been damaged in the conflict, but the scars of the battle between the military and the RSF are visible across the capital.
Another resident, Afaf Khamed, said she fainted when she saw the extent of the damage.
“This house is where we were born, where all our family members got married. I now live here with my sister, and we can’t rebuild because we don’t have anyone to help us,” she told Al Jazeera.
The collapse of the local currency makes reconstruction an impossible feat even for those who have retained a job during the war. While salaries have remained stable, the Sudanese pound spiked from 600 pounds to the US dollar in April 2023, when the conflict started, to 3,500 pounds.
Goods are also hard to come by in the war-torn country, hampering reconstruction. Shop owner Mohammed Ali said materials take too long to arrive because of security checks, and that makes them more expensive. As a consequence, “fewer and fewer people are coming to buy building materials”, he said.
Sudan’s government has pledged to rebuild the capital, but its focus as so far has been on state institutions, while residents are left to figure out how to rebuild on their own.
DAVID and Victoria Beckham have publicly thrown their support behind their eldest son Brooklyn in a rare social media move that has tongues wagging.
Brooklyn, 26, showed off his kitchen skills in a new Instagram video, flipping fluffy buttermilk pancakes to Eric Clapton’s Wonderful Tonight.
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David and Victoria Beckham have supported eldest son Brooklyn on social media amid their family feudCredit: GettyBrooklyn shared another cooking video on Instagram last nightCredit: InstagramDavid and Victoria were seen to be liking the postCredit: Getty
While he’s been keeping his distance from the famous family for months, both Posh and Becks quietly “liked” the clip in a huge hint that the frosty feud could be thawing.
The gesture comes after Brooklyn and wife Nicola Peltz failed to publicly support Victoria on socials as her hit Netflix documentary landed earlier this month.
They were also notably absent from her Paris Fashion Week show and the premiere of the documentary.
The couple snubbed David’s lavish 50th birthday celebrations earlier this year in a move that left the family heartbroken.
Sources previously claimed the rift had reached breaking point, with Victoria and David having “accepted they won’t see Brooklyn for the foreseeable future.”
Meanwhile, the Beckhams’ other children are busy making their own mark in the spotlight.
Romeo, 23, is following in his dad’s football footsteps, Cruz, 20, has formed a band and is gigging around London, and 14-year-old Harper is said to be keen on following in her mums footsteps into fashion and beauty.
Victoria recently defended her kids from “nepo baby” criticism, telling The Sun: “It’s not their fault — give them a chance.”
Cruz is releasing his first single today and has already received critical acclaim, being signed to a top music management company — all off his own bat.
“Cruz has got music coming out soon,” Victoria told The Sun.
“He’s spent the last ten years learning his craft — much like I did with Roland — learning to play instruments.
“He taught himself to play about seven instruments. He writes his own songs, he’s put a band together.
“He’s properly done it from the grass roots up. He hasn’t just come in and sung his songs, or demanded anything.
“I mean I can’t really give him any advice — the industry has changed so much.
“But I told him, ‘Don’t expect immediate success’. It’s almost better if it isn’t an immediate success.
“You know, it’s like with my fashion thing — it’s taken me 20 years to get it to where it is.
“You’ve got to start small and build it up. And that’s exactly what he’s doing, playing tiny venues, no fuss, doing his thing.
“I am so proud of him.”
She added: “But he is a nepo. I mean, I feel sorry for these kids that are considered nepo-babies.
“The kids are simply the kids of their parents. It’s not their fault.
“Give them a chance. What matters is that people are good and kind.
“It is fine to be ambitious, but it is more important to be kind. Let the music speak for itself before you judge.”
Cruz Beckham’s new singles “Optics” and “Lick the Toad” are out today.Credit: cruzbeckham/TikTokCruz teased the single earlier this weekCredit: Instagram
Oct. 24 (UPI) — A district attorney in Southern California has filed manslaughter and DUI charges against a 21-year-old man in connection with a highway crash that killed three people and injured several others.
Jashanpreet Singh, 21, of Yuba City, was arrested Tuesday after the semi-truck he was driving at a high rate of speed crashed into stopped traffic on the 10 Freeway West near Ontario, Calif.
San Bernardino County District Attorney Jason Anderson filed a four-count complaint Thursday charging Singh with three counts of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and one count of driving while under the influence of a drug causing injury, with great bodily injury and multiple victims enhancements.
Three people were killed and at least three others were injured, at least two seriously, according to the complaint.
One of the deceased victims has been identified in court documents as Jamie Flores Garcia. The other two were identified as Jane Doe and John Doe.
Federal immigration authorities have identified Singh as an Indian citizen and an undocumented immigrant.
Anderson rebuked law enforcement over the crash, which he said “was easily avoidable if the defendant was not driving in a grossly negligent manner and impaired.”
“Had the rule of law been followed by state and federal officials, the defendant should have never been in California at all,” he said in a statement.
The Department of Homeland Security on Thursday said it has lodged an immigration detainer for the suspect. It said Singh entered the United States in 2022 through the southern border and was then released into the country.
It blamed the Biden administration for the crash.
“It’s a terrible tragedy three innocent people lost their lives due to the reckless open border policies that allowed an illegal alien to be released into the U.S. and drive an 18-wheeler on America’s highways,” Assistant DHS Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement.
The crash comes amid a political immigration fight, with the Trump administration seeking to carry out mass deportations of undocumented immigrants.
The Trump administration and Republicans frequently blame the previous Biden administration and Democrats.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy rebuked Democrat-run California for failing to “enforce my new rules for obtaining licenses to operate trucks.”
The office of California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat feuding with President Donald Trump, responded that Duffy was manipulating facts “to score cheap political points” as the state does not determine commercial driver’s license eligibility.
“The FEDERAL government approved and renewed this individual’s FEDERAl employment authorization multiple times — which allowed him to obtain a commercial driver’s license in accordance with FEDERAL law,” it said on X.
“State rules and regulations for commercial driver’s licenses must be CONSISTENT with the standards set by FEDERaL law.”
Singh is to be arraigned Friday at the Rancho Cucamonga Superior Courthouse. No bail was set and the San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office said it will request the suspect not be granted bail due to the seriousness of the offense and his potential to be a flight risk.
Richard Tunnicliffe’s 3,713 votes saw Labour drop to third amid a 27% swing away from the party in one of its strongholds
In a matter of moments, more than 100 years of history came crashing down for Labour as the results were read out.
For Plaid Cymru’s Lindsay Whittle, his victory – at the 14th time of asking – must feel like it has been a long time coming.
This could be the sign that voters see his party as a viable alternative to Labour, with next May’s Welsh Parliament election on the horizon.
The Labour stronghold has been breached and Plaid has stormed it.
For Reform, who had such high expectations, there are lessons to be learned.
Despite surging across the UK, they fell short in this big test.
Their ambition to be the biggest party after next year’s Welsh Parliament election has taken a knock.
There will be questions about how effective the party is at getting their supporters out to vote, as the party had been banking on a high turnout being good for them.
The turnout was 50.43% – higher than any previous Senedd election.
For Labour, this was an awful result.
If their 11% vote share is mirrored across Wales next May, under the new proportional voting system, they could be facing a wipe out.
Mark Lewis/BBC
Rhun ap Iorwerth’s Plaid Cymru has breached Welsh Labour’s stronghold
Before the vote, one source told me about the concept of a good defeat – something the party could work off.
This was not it.
The party’s MSs meet this morning to start the difficult conversation of how to turn this round.
One Labour source has suggested to me that the party will need a “retail offer” – something stand-out – that will grab voters’ attention.
“People are desperate for material improvement to their lives,” the source said.
“We can talk about improvements and we can talk about legacy issues like free prescriptions but there needs to be a big sell on something new.”
The deputy first minister Huw Irranca-Davies said the party needed a “compelling story”.
Matthew Horwood
Llyr Powell was predicted to be a contender for victory in the by-election
Another source said that First Minister Eluned Morgan needs to try to differentiate herself even further from her UK colleagues.
She has tried this with her concept of the Red Welsh Way, but has also spoken of a partnership in power.
Welsh Labour and UK Labour working together has its benefits, but it was never going to be easy.
Voters in Caerphilly have not bought the idea that two Labour governments working together is better for Wales.
Next May, the entire Welsh electorate could deliver the same verdict.
For now, whatever happens, Caerphilly has written itself into the pages of Welsh political history.
We are about to find out if this result is an eye-opening anomaly or a genuinely new chapter.
A new expanded edition of Maia Kobabe’s award-winning graphic memoir “Gender Queer” will be released next year.
Oni Press has announced that “Gender Queer: The Annotated Edition” will be available in May. The special hardcover edition of the seminal LGBTQ+ coming of age memoir includes commentary by Kobabe as well as other comic creators and scholars.
“For fans, educators, and anyone else who wants to know more, I am so excited to share ‘Gender Queer: The Annotated Edition,’” Kobabe said in the news release. “Queer and trans cartoonists, comics scholars, and multiple people who appear in the book as characters contributed their thoughts, reactions, and notes to this new edition.”
The new 280-page hardcover will feature “comments on the color design process, on comics craft, on family, on friendship, on the touchstone queer media that inspired me and countless other people searching for meaningful representation, and on the complicated process of self-discovery,” the author added.
Released in 2019, “Gender Queer” follows Kobabe, who uses e/em/eir pronouns, from childhood into eir young adult years as e navigates gender and sexuality and eir understanding of who e is. The books is a candid look into the nonbinary author’s exploration of identity, chronicling the frustrations and joys and epiphanies of eir journey and self discovery.
A page from “Gender Queer: The Annotated Edition” by Maia Kobabe.
(Oni Press)
“It’s really hard to imagine yourself as something you’ve never seen,” Kobabe told The Times in 2022. “I know this firsthand because I didn’t meet someone who was out as trans or nonbinary until I was in grad school. It’s weird to grow up and be 25 before you meet someone who is like the same gender as you.”
In addition to commentary by Kobabe, “Gender Queer: The Annotated Edition” will feature comments from fellow artists and comics creatives Jadzia Axelrod, Ashley R. Guillory, Justin Hall, Kori Michele Handwerker, Phoebe Kobabe, Hal Schrieve, Rani Som, Shannon Watters and Andrea Colvin. Sandra Cox, Ajuan Mance and Matthew Noe are among the academic figures who contributed to the new edition.
“It’s been almost seven years since I wrote the final words of this memoir; revisiting these pages today, in a radically different and less accepting political climate, sparked a lot of new thoughts for me as well,” Kobabe said in the news release. “I hope readers enjoy this even richer text full of community voices.”
A page from “Gender Queer: The Annotated Edition” by Maia Kobabe.
Incursion follows series of drone incidents and airspace violations that have prompted fears that Russia is testing NATO.
Published On 24 Oct 202524 Oct 2025
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Two Russian military aircraft have briefly entered Lithuania’s airspace in what appeared to be a new provocation from Moscow as European Union leaders discussed how to strengthen their defences amid deepening concerns the war in Ukraine could spill over into their nations.
Lithuania’s armed forces said in a statement that the two aircraft – an Su-30 fighter and an Il-78 refuelling tanker – may have been conducting refuelling exercises in the neighbouring Russian exclave of Kaliningrad when they flew 700 metres (0.43 miles) into the country at 6pm local time (15:00 GMT) on Thursday.
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“This is a blatant breach of international law and territorial integrity of Lithuania,” said President Gitanas Nauseda on X, adding that his country would summon Russian embassy representatives to protest against reckless and dangerous behaviour.
Two Spanish Eurofighter Typhoon jets from the NATO Baltic Air Police were scrambled in response and were patrolling the area, the Lithuanian military said.
Russia’s Defence Ministry denied the incursion had taken place, saying the flights were conducted “in strict compliance” with rules and “did not deviate from their route and did not violate the borders of other states”.
The incident occurred after Nauseda and his fellow EU leaders attended a Brussels summit on Thursday, endorsing a plan dubbed Readiness 2030 to ensure that Europe can defend itself against an outside attack by the end of the decade.
It follows a series of mysterious drone incidents and airspace violations by Russian warplanes in recent weeks that have heightened anxiety that Russian President Vladimir Putin might be testing NATO’s defensive reflexes.
Three Russian military jets violated Estonia’s airspace for 12 minutes on September 19 in what was described by Tallinn as an “unprecedented and brazen intrusion”.
Nine days before, NATO jets had shot down 20 Russian drones that entered Polish airspace, marking the first time an alliance member had engaged directly with Russia since the start of the Ukraine war.
Fellow Baltic state leaders Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal and Latvian Foreign Minister Baiba Braze both expressed full solidarity with Lithuania.
Polish Defence Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz said the incident showed that “Russia is in no way calming down or retreating” and that continued vigilance is required.
Thursday’s EU summit also saw the bloc greenlight a major package of sanctions against Russia for its war on Ukraine.
It stopped short of endorsing the use of Russian frozen assets to give Kyiv a large loan. Russia had threatened a “painful response” if its assets were seized.
