News Desk

Far-right and far-left parties gain ground in local elections as Merz’s approval rating sinks.

Chancellor ⁠Friedrich Merz has hit out at what he called political “extremism” in Germany after recent stinging defeats in local elections to far-right and far-left parties.

“This is a task for ⁠our society as ⁠a whole, and it is ⁠one I intend ⁠to play ⁠my part in,” he said on Wednesday at an ‌event in Berlin.

Merz said “extremism” was forcefully making its way into the country’s parliaments, a day after a member of the far-right Alternative for ‌Germany (AfD) was elected president of the state parliament in Saxony-Anhalt and the Left Party won out in Berlin’s state election last month.

“Anyone who casts their vote for ⁠the AfD is ⁠playing the extremists’ game and undermining credibility,” ⁠Merz said. “In ⁠any case, this is incompatible with the values of ‌my party, the CDU [Christian Democratic Union of Germany].”

Despite winning the vote in the September 6 election in Saxony-Anhalt, the AfD fell three seats short of the absolute majority it had had sought. AfD lawmaker Tobias Rausch won the presidency of the parliament in the eastern German state Tuesday, backed by the left-populists in a secret ballot.

Founded in 2013 as a Eurosceptic movement, the AfD won over voters with an increasingly hardline opposition to immigration after about a million people fled to Germany in 2015, many of them from war-torn Syria.

The party has since become a dominant political force in much of eastern Germany, especially among voters disillusioned with mainstream parties, though most traditional parties have pledged not to enter coalitions with the AfD.

Berlin election

Merz’s comments followed the far-left Left Party’s victory in the Berlin state election on September 20, in another defeat for the chancellor’s ruling Christian Democrats.

Lead ‌candidate Elif Eralp campaigned on the soaring cost of housing in the German capital and immediately promised to follow through with a pledge to nationalise private housing associations that account for a large share of the city’s housing stock.

The result, which roughly doubled the party’s previous score, could see her become the first mayor of Berlin from the Left Party, which grew out of the former East German communist party following the reunification of the country 36 years ago.

Eralp, the 45-year-old daughter of left-wing Turkish parents who fled a coup in 1980, said the increasingly difficult rental situation was the biggest social problem in the capital.

She promised to proceed with nationalising the housing associations she said drove property speculation, in accordance with a referendum from 2021 in which 58 percent of voters backed a proposal to promulgate the move.

While the AfD has attracted most attention, the ⁠Left Party has also benefitted from a general turn against the mainstream centre-left and centre-right parties.

Meanwhile, Merz has received a record low approval rating. Earlier this month, a survey by Germany’s public broadcaster ARD found that only one in 10 respondents were satisfied or very satisfied with his performance, the lowest figure for any chancellor since the survey began in 1997.

Another major election test will come in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany’s most populous state, where voters are set to elect a new parliament in April.

Prime Video has unveiled a brand new one-off special as he takes on a “world first”.

Clarkson’s Farm fans will be seeing even more of Jeremy Clarkson as he takes on his toughest challenge yet.

Jeremy Clarkson fans can rejoice as Prime Video has just unveiled a brand-new special episode forming part of the beloved Clarkson’s Farm franchise, which will return for season six. In a one-off instalment, titled Jeremy Grows a Car: A Clarkson’s Farm Special, Jeremy Clarkson goes back to his Top Gear roots.

Prime Video teased the former Grand Tour star will use his automotive experience to undertake a world first, as he bids to grow and build his very own car from produce grown at Diddly Squat Farm. The streamer said: “During his tenure as one of the country’s most famous farmers, Jeremy Clarkson has tried to grow it all: wheat and barley, potatoes and mushrooms, even wasabi.

“But never before has he tried to grow something this ambitious. In fact, no one has. Growing a car is not for the faint-hearted.” Jeremy has decided to put his foot down when it comes to buying cars, saying he would rather make one himself.

Frustrated by modern motoring’s “nanny-state technology“, he will take it upon himself to build his new car. The framework for his grand plan will involve the Jaguar F-Type V6S, a car Jeremy thinks “represents the sweet spot between analogue driving thrill and modern practicality”.

But of course, this is no ordinary restoration, and alongside his very own Diddly Squat leather interior and wool carpets, he will attempt to grow a crop of flax fibre and turn it into a revolutionary and sustainable alternative to carbon fibre.

He will not be taking on the challenge alone, as helping him will be legendary car designer Ian Callum CBE – the man who designed the original F-Type. Prime Video concluded: “Jeremy’s redesigned Jaguar will feature everything he believes the iconic British brand should stand for: style, luxury and performance.”

The one-off special will be on Prime Video worldwide next year, while season six of Clarkson’s Farm will also launch in 2027. Clarkson has been open about the future of his beloved farming series, and in September he announced filming had pretty much wrapped.

Speaking exclusively to Radio Times after collecting the gong for reality docuseries at the National Television Awards, he shared: “We’ve nearly wrapped on six. A couple of weeks away from finishing that, and then it’ll be edited and translated and so on. But nearly done six, and then who knows?”

The latest season paid particular attention to his health scare after he was diagnosed with prostate cancer, but giving a further update on his current state, he shared: “I’m mended, I’m made of rock and steel. “Takes more than a little bit of prostate cancer…

“I would just say to everybody, if you’re my age, get tested. Just get tested, because I did, and they caught it early and were able to mend it. I was back at work in two weeks – so get tested.”

Clarkson’s health is not holding him back by any means as he continues to explore new ventures and find ways to utilise everything Diddly Squat Farm has to offer. He has also recently opened up about some extreme security measures he had to take to stop thieves at the farm, admitting “in the countryside, everything is stolen all the time”.

In his latest column for The Times, he told readers that thieves most frequently target quad bikes, hedge clippers, chainsaws, GPS systems and diesel. He said he’d introduced security measures to protect his diesel tanks, which are “safer than the three most secure places on earth”: Fort Knox in Kentucky, the Federal Reserve in New York and the Global Seed Vault in Svalbard.

Jeremy Grows a Car: A Clarkson’s Farm Special will air on Prime Video in next year.

Rising borrowing costs have pushed mortgage applications to lowest level since February 2025.

Mortgage rates in the United States have hit their highest level in nearly three years, as cost-of-living concerns weigh on Americans less than a month before the midterm elections.

The average cost for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage jumped 19 basis points to 7.49 percent for the week ending October 2 , according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s weekly report released on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, applications for mortgages tumbled 4.2 percent from the previous week, according to the report. Applications are at their lowest level since February 2025 and have fallen by almost half since the beginning of the year.

“Very few homeowners have an incentive to refinance at these rates, and the jump in borrowing costs has caused many potential borrowers to step back from the purchase market,” Joel Kan, vice president and deputy chief economist at the Mortgage Bankers Association, said in a press release.

Mortgage rates are closely tied to US 10-year Treasury notes. Earlier this week, those hit a 24-year high of 5.3 percent amid surging oil prices tied to ongoing tensions with Iran.

Meanwhile, the yield on 30-year Treasury bonds rose to its highest level since 2002, at 5.7 percent on Wednesday.

Mortgage rates have jumped since late February, when the US and Israel first struck Iran. Since the strikes, mortgage rates have climbed 1.4 percent. Inflation, which has risen by 3.4 percent from a year ago, is also putting pressure on mortgage rates.

It comes as the cost of living is top of mind for voters as they approach the congressional midterm elections that could decide the balance of power in Washington, DC. According to a Reuters/Ipsos poll in late August, 47 percent of voters said that the cost of living was the single most important issue ahead of the midterms.

In a separate Reuters/Ipsos poll in September, 17 percent of voters said they approved of US President Donald Trump’s handling of cost of living-related issues.

Protesting students demand accessible education in French-speaking areas of the country.

Police in Belgium have detained more than 100 people after demonstrations in the city of Liege against the rising cost of education turned violent in some places, as similar protests grip neighbouring France.

Students rallied in the city on Tuesday and Wednesday against overcrowded classrooms and difficulty accessing resources in Belgium’s French-language education system.

Eighty people were detained during the protests, and 27 were formally arrested, the Belga news agency reported, citing the Liege police.

Some protesters damaged property and set fires, the police added.

Attendees insisted that shortcomings in the education system gave them no choice but to take to the streets.

“When we saw nothing was changing without protests, we decided we would start,” said Amelia Di Salve, a 19-year-old studying to become a teacher, who added that protests in “France did influence us a little”.

“We support each other because we’re facing pretty much the same issues,” Alfred, another 19-year-old ⁠student, told the Reuters news agency.

‘Peaceful way’

Authorities were attempting to defuse tensions and head off further unrest.

“Dialogue can be established,” Willy Demeyer, the mayor of the city of Liege, told Belgian broadcaster RTBF, adding that he hoped “young people can express their grievances in a peaceful way and if possible have those concerns heard”.

In Belgium, education is managed independently by the country’s linguistic communities, and there is no single national curriculum.

Instead, the Flemish population regulates education in Belgium’s Dutch-speaking Flanders region while French-speaking Wallonia oversees its own curriculum.

Parents can decide where to enrol children in the bilingual capital Brussels.

The protests in Liege follow sporadic violent demonstrations over the summer in Brussels against an increase in tuition fees for students in French-speaking areas from 835 euros ($930) to 1,194 euros ($1,340).

Belgium’s education budget has been under pressure as a result of a cost-of-living crisis and the spiralling cost of energy, issues that are helping fuel student protests in France as well.

A new Pixar animated film, the sequel to Lionsgate’s “Michael” and a large crop of indie projects are among the latest films to be awarded a California tax credit for in-state production.

In total, 35 films — including 28 independent projects — received production incentives in the latest round of incentives.

Together, the projects are expected to contribute more than $1 billion in direct production spending in-state and hire more than 5,400 cast and crew members and more than 24,800 background actors, the California Film Commission said Wednesday.

“California is the home of entertainment, full stop,” Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a statement. “We’re not just protecting that legacy; we’re investing in its future.”

Pixar received the largest credit ($40.1 million) for an untitled animated film, followed by Lionsgate, which was awarded $30.8 million for the sequel to “Michael,” the film based on the life of Michael Jackson. Paramount Pictures got $29.3 million for an untitled crime thriller.

The latest round of tax credit awards comes less than a month after Newsom signed a bill to create the state’s first post-production incentive. Industry editors, sound mixers, visual effects artists and composers had said such a credit was necessary to lure jobs back from overseas.

On a national level, a bipartisan coalition of lawmakers is pushing to create a federal tax credit for film and TV. The bill is expected to be introduced in Congress in early November and backers are aiming to get it passed by Dec. 11, when the current Congress ends. If passed, the credit would take effect in 2027 and would be stackable with states’ production incentives.

European football leaders meet on Wednesday with the aim of shaping strategy to oust Gianni Infantino as FIFA president.

European football leaders were gathering Wednesday with time pressing to find a candidate and shape their strategy for trying to oust Gianni Infantino as president of FIFA.

UEFA has called its 55 member federations to a previously scheduled summit on Thursday in Berlin that arrives in the midst of European efforts to get a new leader for football’s world body.

Infantino’s divisive World Cup private investment plan – that failed within days of being revealed in July – pushed UEFA to act on longstanding mistrust of its former employee’s increasingly executive presidency at FIFA.

UEFA’s longer-term plans include preparing a criminal complaint against Infantino in Switzerland for possible financial mismanagement in the World Cup sell-off deal. It has asked courts in the United States to authorise discovery of evidence.

“Somewhere along the way things went too far with FIFA, and we’re looking to put things back where they belong,” UEFA general-secretary Theodore Theodoridis said last month.

Europe’s 55 count for more than a quarter of FIFA’s 211 member federations that can vote in the election on March 18 in Rabat, Morocco. Research by The Associated Press news agency suggests Infantino already has about 90 votes pledged – albeit before any potential opponent is known.

Still, UEFA is not a united bloc. Infantino has support promised from Azerbaijan, the home country of a close aide, and Latvia. On Wednesday he met with football and government officials in the Czech capital Prague.

First, UEFA and its allies worldwide need to agree on at least one candidate to challenge Infantino by the November 18 deadline to enter the race.

UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin was joined in August by his fellow FIFA vice presidents from Asia and North America in denouncing Infantino for deception and breach of trust over the World Cup sell-off plan.

Still, neither Ceferin nor his counterparts at the AFC and CONCACAF, Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa of Bahrain and Victor Montagliani of Canada, currently look set to be on the FIFA ballot.

Ceferin has long dismissed any talk of himself running to lead FIFA, though he said last month at UEFA meetings in Greece there were “many, many” potential candidates.

Montagliani is expected to focus on his own re-election at CONCACAF in February.

Sheikh Salman has been Infantino’s FIFA election opponent before. He had been favourite in a five-man campaign that Infantino eventually won in February 2016.

Speculation has often pointed to Paris Saint-Germain president Nasser Al-Khelaifi, a close ally of Ceferin. The Qatari member of UEFA’s executive committee ruled himself out last week at a meeting of the influential European Football Clubs group he leads.

Infantino is part of UEFA’s focus in Berlin for the biennial business meeting of top executives from its member federations, which can debate policy, strategy and international football competitions.

The meeting is expected to discuss proposals for a more transparent FIFA and a presidential candidate willing to commit to those reforms.

Mérida, October 6, 2026 (venezuelanalysis.com) – The Venezuelan acting government is resorting to a Qatar-led financing agreement in order to regain access to multilateral loans from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).

According to specialized outlet Bitácora Económica, Qatar is preparing to establish a specialized rescue fund to settle Venezuela’s estimated US $2.5 billion debt with the IDB.

Under the proposed mechanism, the Qatari fund would immediately clear Venezuela’s overdue principal and interest payments, while issuing a new, long-term loan with favorable interest rates for the South American nation.

Venezuelan economist José Guerra claimed that Qatar will be joined by the United Arab Emirates and that the Gulf countries will back the financing initiative with their sovereign wealth funds.

The Qatari-backed initiative would reportedly allow Venezuela to address short-term liquidity constraints and access a new IDB credit line worth as much as $8 billion. The financing would be used for public infrastructure projects, including the national road network, water distribution systems, and stabilizing the national electric grid, as well as providing additional funding for state budgets.

The proposed Gulf-backed debt arrangement comes amid a broader, deliberate push by Caracas to re-establish formal relations with major US-led multilateral financial institutions.

Over recent months, high-level Venezuelan delegations have held technical and institutional meetings with representatives from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank, and the Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean (CAF).

In September, Acting President Delcy Rodríguez met in New York with IMF Director Kristalina Georgieva, as well as senior World Bank and IDB officials.

Caracas’ rapprochement with Western multilateral institutions has coincided with a geopolitical shift in its foreign policy since the January 3 US military strikes and kidnapping of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. The Venezuelan government, headed by Acting President Delcy Rodríguez, reestablished ties with Washington while also strengthening relations with US allies such as Qatar and the UAE.

Doha initially provided intermediation for US control over Venezuelan oil export revenues, with funds deposited in Qatari bank accounts. The scheme was later transferred directly to the US Treasury Department. Energy firms from Qatar and the UAE were recently announced as stakeholders in a Venezuelan offshore natural gas project as well.

Venezuela’s reengagement with Washington-based financial institutions saw the IDB officially reopen its country office in Caracas on October 2, seven years after halting operations in the Caribbean nation.

The IDB had suspended all active credit lines and disbursements to Venezuela in May 2018 following payment arrears. The relaunched local office follows the formal reinstatement of Venezuela’s voting rights in June, when the IDB Board accepted Calixto Ortega as the country’s governor at the IDB.

During an expanded session of the National Economic Council in Caracas on October 2 with IDB officials, Acting President Rodríguez emphasized the importance of access to international multilateral credit for both the public and private sectors.

“This agenda that we have been developing with the multilateral financial system is for development, for investment and financing in infrastructure and services,” she stated during the televised session. “In Venezuela, there is a very important installed industrial capacity to develop, and a boost in financing will bring us to full capacity.”

Rodríguez added that the renewed engagement aims to ensure that private companies, communal production units, and small businesses can access international loan programs to expand local production.

While direct sovereign lending to the Venezuelan government remains contingent on fully clearing arrears, the multilateral’s private-sector arm, IDB Invest, has already initiated direct financial assistance to key Venezuelan corporations and commercial banks.

Under recently approved financing structures, IDB Invest is reportedly delivering commercial-rate loans and capital support to food processing conglomerate Empresas Polar, as well as private commercial banks Banco Mercantil and Banesco.

The allocations for Banco Mercantil and Banesco are designed to strengthen liquidity and capitalization within the national banking system, while also boosting local credit lines for businesses.

Meanwhile, the funds directed to Empresas Polar are earmarked for agricultural development projects and supply-chain expansion, particularly targeting grain production in Portuguesa state, according to reports.

Unlike traditional development loans, the IDB Invest credits are extended at market interest rates, focusing directly on private-sector growth and sustainability.

The Venezuelan government’s current strategy marks a departure from the former President Hugo Chávez’s stance toward multilateral lending institutions.

In November 2008, at a Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America (ALBA) summit, Chávez criticized the IDB, labeling it an “instrument of political pressure” used by Washington to impose orthodox economic policies on sovereign nations.

At the time, Chávez called on Latin American governments to withdraw from both the IDB and the IMF, which he labeled as a “weapon of US imperialism,” advocating instead for regional alternatives such as the Bank of the South to replace traditional multilateral lenders.

The BBC’s natural history unit appear to have done it again with Blue Planet III and David Attenborough once again telling incredible stories from our oceans

The new natural history series Blue Planet III with David Attenborough has taken four years to create – but it looks worth the wait.

It will build on the groundbreaking legacy of the previous two BBC series, redefining underwater wildlife film-making and telling untold stories and allowing us to see our oceans like never before.

The series will launch in the coming weeks, and follows on from Blue Planet II in 2017 which galvanised a global movement to rid our oceans of single use plastic. After invited guests were given a first glimpse of some scenes, the BBC released a trailer for the TV show.

Sir David, who turned 100 earlier this year, sent a recorded message to the launch event and said: “Twenty-five years ago, when I narrated the first Blue Planet series it didn’t occur to me that I would be narrating a third series in my centennial year. The ocean is an endlessly fascinating place.

To see more of the stories you love from The Mirror and to find them easily in Google then make us your preferred source. Free and easy-to-do, just click on the link here to find more from The Mirror at the top of your feed.

“In these new programmes we uncover a further wonderful array of under-water life, which is more surprising, more sophisticated and even more important than we ever realised. I am proud and delighted to be associated with Blue Planet III.”

The six part series will show remarkable marine wildlife alongside Sir David’s astonishing storytelling. The highly anticipated series was a project Sir David said he was “proud and delighted” to be associated with.

The new series is accompanied by an original score from Hans Zimmer and Bleeding Fingers Music along with an original song, Into The Deep (Seas Cry) co-written by Jade, which features in the trailer.

Zimmer, who also scored Blue Planet II, said the series was the “most important work” he has ever done.

He said: “I’ve worked on a lot of films throughout my career, but nothing affects humanity, our world and our planet as much as the work being done by the Natural History Unit in Bristol.

“I think everybody who comes to Blue Planet comes to it with the knowledge that it is something that changes the world by making you fall in love with the world.

“It’s not something where you’re being lectured or cajoled about things but it’s something that just shows you how spectacular and beautiful our world truly is and how we need to preserve it and how we need to love it and how whatever we love we need to treat with great kindness and great respect.”

Jade, born Jade Thirlwall and best known for being a member of the pop group Little Mix, said she was a “huge fan” of the franchise and praised Sir David as being “a true hero” of hers.

* The six-part series Blue Planet III will air on the BBC later this autumn.

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South Korea signals cuts to military exemptions for gold medallists after backlash over athletes’ Asian Games comments.

South Korea’s sports minister says the government will review the military service exemption for gold-medal-winning athletes after public backlash to some controversial comments from winners at the Asian Games.

Three players from the men’s football team came under fire for comments following South Korea’s 1-0 win over Japan in the Asian Games final last weekend in Japan.

All three apologised, but a broader debate had already reignited over whether athletes should receive special treatment for sporting achievements, particularly as common citizens, as even members of BTS – the globally famous K-pop group – had to complete their mandatory service.

Al Jazeera Sport takes a closer look at the furore surrounding the comments at the Asian Games.

Culture, Sports and Tourism Minister Choi Hwi-young on Wednesday said the alternative military service exemption system for artists and athletes “will inevitably have to be scaled back”.

“It is true that the system has contributed to helping outstanding artists and athletes maintain and develop their abilities,” Choi told the National Assembly’s Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee.

“However, the values attached to fairness and public perceptions of military service have changed. I agree that the system should be comprehensively reviewed once again.”

What does military service look like in South Korea?

Most South Korean men must complete 18 to 21 months of military service by the age of 28.

Since 1973, however, Olympic medallists and Asian Games gold medallists have been able to replace the full term with a supplementary service, which consists of three weeks of basic training.

Three of the footballers, including Yang Min-hyuk, who assisted the winning goal against Japan, made comments that were viewed as insensitive.

“The medal and winning the championship weren’t important. I played the game with only one thing in mind – the reward of a military service exemption,” Yang, who joined Tottenham Hotspur in 2025 and is currently on loan at Belgian club Westerlo, said.

Newcastle United midfielder Park Seung-soo posted a photo on social media showing him wearing a cap associated with soldiers who have completed their service. In a post-match interview, captain Lee Gi-hyuk held up his gold medal and said, “I’m not going to the military.”

What has been said elsewhere in South Korea about the controversy?

A number of politicians, including Ahn Cheol-soo of the People Power Party, said it was time to change the system.

“Some players’ remarks after the match were outrageous,” Ahn posted on social media. “Even the captain bragged about not having to serve in the military. Are all the young people who enlist every year fools?”

Former lawmaker Yoo Seong-min said the flippant comments had provoked resentment and asked: “Is it really fair that BTS has to serve in the military while Asian Games gold medallists are exempt?”

In a Korea Herald editorial on Tuesday, the newspaper declared that the practice was outdated.

“South Korea now stands shoulder to shoulder with the world’s leading nations,” the newspaper said. “The days when finishing first in Asia could meaningfully enhance the country’s national prestige are long gone. It is time to reconsider.”

That was the message from Defence Ministry spokesperson Chung Binna during a press briefing in Seoul.

“Ultimately, we have plans to cut back or scrap the supplementary service, including one designed for artists and athletes,” Chung said.

What other athletes gained military-service exemptions?

The footballers were among many winners from the Asian Games who qualified for the military exemption.

Golfer Tom Kim won the men’s singles on Saturday after flying across the Pacific when the Presidents Cup competition ended so he could compete in Japan. Asked about the military exemption, he took the gold-medal approach.

“I’m more proud that I’m able to bring a medal for my country,” he said.

Sixteen South Korean baseball players are also exempt after defeating Japan 3-1 in the Asian Games final. So are three South Koreans who won gold in esports, an event at the Asian Games.

London, United Kingdom – Claire, 52, lives in the Scottish countryside, not far from Edinburgh.

She describes her work as “low-level administration” and does not use social media. She lives a quiet life with her dog, reading and baking in her spare time. Until three years ago, she did not consider herself political.

Now, she faces 14 years in prison for her suspected show of support for Palestine Action.

Claire, who requested Al Jazeera withhold her surname, is one of the many people in the United Kingdom who, until three years ago, did not consider themselves activists.

But as the genocide in Gaza was livestreamed, many have rallied around the cause of Palestinian solidarity.

Organisations like Defend Our Juries, Artists for Free Palestine, Workers for Free Palestine, and virtually every other insert-profession-here for Palestine have cropped up across the UK.

In the summer of 2023, Claire read I Shall Not Hate by Dr Izzeldin Abuelaish, a Palestinian physician in Gaza who lost his three daughters to Israeli tank fire. Not long after finishing the book, Claire watched the aftermath of October 7 unfold online.

“For me, there wasn’t a delay between ‘Israel has a right to defend itself’ and then lies,” she told Al Jazeera.

She went to a pro-Palestine rally on Armistice Day, calling for a ceasefire, and “was horrified” by then Home Secretary Suella Braverman, who called the protests “hate marches”.

“I was determined not to ignore [Palestine],” she says.

She continued to march, writing letters to lawmakers and fundraising for various Palestinian aid programmes.

In August 2025, she began publicly protesting against the proscription of Palestine Action with Defend Our Juries, the group behind a campaign of civil disobedience aimed at lifting the ban. To date, more than 3,000 people have been arrested for showing support for the pressure group that was banned in 2025.

Earlier this year, police arrived at her door to arrest Claire under Sections 11 and 12 of the Terrorism Act: “Being a member of a proscribed organisation and encouraging others to join a proscribed organisation.”

“I’ve never been in trouble before,” she says. “I’m not backing down.”

Marji, 70, lives in Colchester and had a similar feeling after hearing Braverman’s words.

“I had never been to a protest in my life,” she says, until she carried a “Ceasefire Now” sign at an Armistice Day march in 2023.

“I knew it wasn’t a ‘hate march’.”

Marji’s father served in the British Army, and her father-in-law was in the Royal Air Force and taken as a prisoner-of-war in Japan during World War II.

“Our parents’ generation fought fascism,” she says. “Now Britain is breaking British law.”

Marji, who also requested to be identified only by her first name, had a successful career in financial services, while her husband held an executive-level role.

They are now retired grandparents.

In July, they were arrested in Westminster under Section 12 of the Terrorism Act and are now waiting to see if charges will be laid.

“We’ve had to decide … is it safe to have grandchildren here? When the police could come to the door?”

Her children remain supportive.

“I think they’re proud of us, even if there’s been fear on their part.”

Across sectors, from the arts to railways, financial services and administration, Britons have risked professional and legal repercussions for the sake of Palestinian solidarity.

Hundreds of thousands have taken to the streets to protest against Israel’s genocidal campaign in Gaza and what they see as the UK’s role in the conflict. They have urged the UK government to cease all arms sales to Israel and cut diplomatic and trade ties as the genocide goes on in Gaza and violence escalates in the occupied West Bank.

This week, tensions have flared again as the Metropolitan Police warned pro-Palestine protesters against rallying on the three-year anniversary of October 7. The force said on Wednesday that five people were arrested outside the Board of Deputies of British Jews in north London for “inciting racial hatred, involving allegedly shouting or chanting slogans calling for Intifada”.

Israel’s latest war on the Gaza Strip – it has waged several since 1948 – began after Hamas, the group that governs Gaza, attacked southern Israel. About 1,200 people were killed that day, while more than 240 were taken captive, including Israeli soldiers, citizens and some foreign nationals.

Since October 7, 2023, Israel’s relentless bombardment has killed more than 74,000 people and  devastated Gaza, making life for survivors nearly impossible. The small territory is now home to the largest group of child amputees in modern history.

“The narrative that we had grown up with was wrong – that the people who were there and living peacefully have been cast as ‘terrorists’, when they have suffered terrorism,” Marji says.

Both Marji and Claire spoke about their belief that the UK government is “complicit” in the genocide.

“The government participation, complicity, and their lies. Their gaslighting makes people more determined,” says Claire.

As the legal dangers and rhetorical backlash mount against pro-Palestine protesters, Marji, whose maternal grandmother was Jewish, is only more resolved: “We knew that saying ‘stop the genocide’ doesn’t mean you’re an anti-Semite. We’re not stupid, we can differentiate between Jewish people and people who support illegal occupation.”

Workers for Free Palestine, which includes a range of trade unions, formed in late 2023 and soon began holding protests.

“Many people oppose how their labour is used to prop up an apartheid state, but have been told there is nothing they can do as individuals,” a spokesperson told Al Jazeera.

Many workers are nervous to speak out against their workplace’s role in producing weapons, their investments in Israel, or other ways of enabling Israel’s war.

“Many are unfamiliar with their rights as workers and are afraid of the repercussions of speaking up – and these repercussions can be very real,” the spokesperson said.

Still, for some, there is not just resolve but optimism.

“Doing nothing makes us feel sick, angry and powerless,” says Marji. “I hope people will wake up and see how our own civil liberties … are being eroded to protect the interests of Israel.”

The Super Bowl is coming to Disney+.

The Walt Disney Co. announced Wednesday that ESPN’s telecast of the NFL’s marquee event on Feb. 14 at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif. will be available to Disney+ subscribers. The company also said Disney+ will carry two ESPN “Monday Night Football” games in the current season.

ESPN is producing the Super Bowl for the first time in its history. The game is airing on Disney’s broadcast network ABC which last carried the game in 2006, and on ESPN and the ESPN app.

The addition of Disney+ makes the game available to casual fans who may not have cable or subscribe to a sports TV channel. The Super Bowl is the most-watched TV event of the year, with audiences exceeding 120 million viewers in recent years.

Streaming platforms are bringing in additional advertising revenue for the networks that carry the game.

In 2025, the Fox telecast of Super Bowl LIX averaged 13.6 million viewers on Tubi, the ad-supported streaming service owned by the network’s parent company. Fox was able to sell streaming-only ads on the telecast at around $2 million for a 30-second commercial. The spots aired in the commercial breaks for local Fox TV affiliates.

Disney is offering advertisers the opportunity to buy streaming-only ads across Disney+, the ESPN app, Hulu Live and Fubo. The company has already sold out the commercial time on the ESPN and ABC telecasts with some 30-second spots going for $10 million.

As a lead-up to the game, Disney+ will carry ESPN’s “Monday Night Football” match-up between the Dallas Cowboys at Philadelphia Eagles on Oct. 26 and another contest later in the season.

Disney+ has been adding sports to its lineup, with select ESPN college football games and Formula E races now available on the platform.

Paramount Skydance has completed its takeover of Warner Bros Discovery, bringing CNN and CBS News under the same corporate ownership, in a deal that has raised concerns about editorial independence and freedom of speech.

The acquisition, worth about $110bn including debt, combines two of Hollywood’s biggest studios after months of legal challenges lodged by state attorneys general and unions.

The new company, Skydance Corporation, brings together HBO, CBS, Nickelodeon, Showtime, Comedy Central, DC Studios and Food Network, alongside streaming services Paramount plus and HBO Max.

But its control of two major US news organisations has drawn particular scrutiny. David Ellison, Skydance’s chairman and chief executive, has promised to preserve their editorial independence, but his father, Oracle cofounder Larry Ellison is a major financial backer of the deal, and has previously donated funds to US President Donald Trump and Israel.

Asked about the takeover on Tuesday, Trump welcomed it. “They’re terrific people, and it’s going to be a great company,” he said.

Why was the merger challenged?

The takeover faced initial opposition from Hollywood workers, politicians and state prosecutors concerned about the mounting concentration of power in an industry already dominated by a handful of companies.

Netflix initially reached an agreement to buy part of Warner Bros Discovery. Paramount then launched a competing bid, prompting a bidding war before Netflix walked away.

A California-led coalition of 12 state attorneys general sued to block the deal, saying that it would reduce competition and raise prices. The Writers Guild of America brought a separate challenge.

Both cases were settled in September when Paramount agreed to commitments relating to film production, support for displaced workers and protections for the news networks, including the creation of a new editorial independence board.

But the settlement did not end opposition to the deal. “This merger will stifle creativity, weaken free speech and cost people their jobs,” actor and activist Mark Ruffalo has said.

Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren linked the takeover to Trump’s efforts to restrict media access. “As Trump tries to ban CNN from the White House, it would be a massive mistake to cave on the Paramount merger,” she said, referring to the US president’s so-far thwarted attempt last month to bar reporters from several news organisations, including CNN, from accessing the White House.

Can an editorial independence board protect CNN and CBS?

One condition of the settlement requires Skydance to establish a “News Editorial Independence Board” within 180 days of completing the takeover.

The five-member body is to include active or retired journalists with at least 10 years of experience. It is intended to establish editorial principles and address disputes involving the news networks and corporate management.

However, its members will be appointed by, and will report to, Skydance’s board of directors, which Ellison chairs. Two members can belong to the same political party, and there is no requirement to publish its findings.

The condition has left critics with a multitude of questions, including: How can a member of an independent editorial board be a member of a political party? How can there be scrutiny if its findings are not public? How can it be independent if it is appointed by a board of directors, themselves appointed by the CEO of the company?

Seth Stern, chief of advocacy at the Freedom of the Press Foundation, said, “A Paramount-appointed editorial independence board for CNN and CBS is worthless. The fish rots from the head, and this particular fish is headed by a compromised oligarch with a history of throwing journalists under the bus to advance his business interests.”

Stern also questioned whether government enforcement of the settlement could itself threaten press freedom. “The editorial board creates the same First Amendment problems it’s supposed to solve – the government meddling in the news.”

The First Amendment provides constitutional protection for freedom of speech and the press.

Ellison argues that the two networks will continue to operate independently. “We’re going to make sure that CNN and CBS News are completely editorially independent,” he said on Tuesday.

On Monday, Skydance announced that Mark Thompson would remain CNN’s chairman and editor-in-chief, while Bari Weiss will continue as CBS News’s editor-in-chief, easing previous fears that Weiss would immediately take charge of both networks.

Why are there fears for editorial independence?

The takeover gives the Ellison family control of CNN less than a month before the November 3 US midterm elections, and follows Trump’s repeated attacks on the network as it seeks to hold the US president to account.

Shortly after Paramount launched its bid in December, Trump accused CNN of spreading “poison and lies” and said it was “imperative” that it be sold, while the Trump administration has moved to bar CNN from reporting in certain areas of the White House.

Ellison donated roughly $45m to a political nonprofit group supporting Trump’s election efforts in 2024, while he donated $16.6m to Friends of the Israel Defense Forces, a charity supporting Israeli soldiers – its largest single donation at the time.

Earlier this year, the White House criticised CNN’s coverage of the US-Israeli war on Iran, while Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth told reporters that “the sooner David Ellison takes over that network, the better.”

Sovereign wealth funds from Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates also hold indirect financial interests in the combined company. They have no voting stakes, although their involvement adds another layer of scrutiny over its funding.

Concerns about the future for editorial integrity, however, intensified after Skydance acquired Paramount in 2025, and layoffs followed, alongside the closure of CBS News Radio and changes to CBS News flagship investigative programme 60 Minutes.

High-profile firings enacted under CBS News Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss and Skydance Media CEO David Ellison included correspondents Sharyn Alfonsi and Cecilia Vega, as well as 60 Minutes executive producer Tanya Simon.

The programme’s September season premiere attracted about 21 percent fewer viewers than a year earlier.

In 2025, Paramount also agreed to pay Trump $16m to settle a lawsuit over the editing of a 60 Minutes interview with then-presidential candidate Kamala Harris.

In a June 2 letter, nine advocacy groups, including Reporters Without Borders, the Freedom of the Press Foundation and the Committee for the First Amendment, warned that CNN could face similar upheaval and firings.

“Bari Weiss’ shameless actions fulfil the Ellisons’ commitment to President Trump to remake CBS to his liking,” they alleged, referring to the firings and changes at 60 Minutes.

“Larry Ellison has reportedly promised to do the same at CNN if allowed to take control through the pending Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery merger. Not because it makes any business sense, but because they seek to control the public discourse.”

The groups described the proposed takeover as an “existential threat to the free press, independent media, and free speech in this country and beyond”.

Islamabad, Pakistan – More than 9.5 million people have received subsidised petrol under a special fuel relief scheme launched by Pakistan’s prime minister, Federal Minister Shaza Fatima Khawaja told Al Jazeera on Wednesday.

The initiative, aimed at lower-income citizens, comes as the government attempts to help households deal with fuel price increases tied to the war on Iran.

The scheme, launched in September, offers 100 rupees ($0.36) off every litre of petrol to owners of motorcycles, rickshaws and small cars, through a text-message system.

Petrol prices have risen by nearly 50 percent since the war began on February 28, adding to Pakistan’s economic hardship and putting further pressure on consumers already grappling with rising inflation.

How the scheme works

Explaining the process, Khawaja, the minister for information technology and telecommunications, said applicants text their national ID number, vehicle registration, and province to 9771. A second message, sent before each visit to a pump, generates a token redeemable anywhere in the country.

Two- and three-wheelers get 500 rupees ($1.80) a week, capped at four tokens a month. Cars with engines of up to 800cc get 1,000 rupees ($3.60) every 10 days, for three tokens monthly.

After complaints, registration, once a paid service, was made free, and a five-litre minimum purchase was scrapped for the same reason.

Khawaja told Al Jazeera the system had been redesigned based on experiences of users on the ground.

Riders no longer need the vehicle to be registered in their own name, as long as they can supply the exact registration date shown on the documents.

“Even in my own house, there’s a bike registered in our name that our cook uses for daily errands,” Khawaja said, explaining why the ownership requirement for two- and three-wheelers was dropped on September 20.

An earlier cash-transfer scheme in April had reached just over a million bike owners, she said, largely because disbursement required a bank account most riders did not have.

‘The relief is decent’

Government officials say that the scheme has been expanded to include wider sections of society, especially those who depend on their vehicles to generate income.

“There’s a benefit; it’s not like there’s nothing,” Shakeel Ahmed, 45, an electrician in Islamabad, told Al Jazeera. “The relief is decent for people who use it normally, for local trips. But for people like us, who put in 1,000 to 1,500 rupees [$3.60-$5.40] of petrol a day, it’s not enough.”

Safiya Aftab, an economist, told Al Jazeera the scheme has reached the people it was meant to.

“The scheme has indeed reached low-income segments of society, people who typically use two-wheelers and 800cc cars. So yes, it’s a good thing that they are subsidising the poor,” she said.

Aftab, however, also pointed to a levy – 114 rupees ($0.41) for every litre – that the government charges. This, she said, was helping the government raise revenue. She said the government is now earning more than 100 billion rupees ($361m) a month from the levy, which is fuelling inflation.

“The levy was originally meant as a sort of environmental tax, to discourage the use of petrol. Now it has become a full revenue earner for the government, one that helps keep the fiscal deficit down,” the economist said.

What it costs and for how long

The Pakistani government has approved 75 billion rupees ($271m) for the scheme’s first three months, through November.

Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik put the running cost at 25-30 billion rupees ($90m-$108m) a month at launch. By late September, he said, it had risen to 35-40 billion rupees ($126m-$144m).

Malik has said the government is prepared to run the scheme for up to 10 months, or “until the end of the war”, if needed.

Pakistan is currently under a $7bn International Monetary Fund programme, and an IMF team is in Islamabad this week for talks with the government as it seeks to keep its fiscal commitments on track while responding to the fuel shock.

Officials familiar with the government’s talks with the IMF say the Fund wants relief capped at three months and routed instead through the Benazir Income Support Programme, the country’s main cash-transfer scheme.

Khawaja said the IMF’s position from the outset was that relief had to be targeted, not universal, which was why the scheme was built around actual token use rather than a blanket price cut.

Who it leaves out

But there are claims that the relief is not reaching all. Cars with engines larger than 800cc, diesel vehicles and public transport are excluded entirely, leading some experts to suggest that the subsidy scheme risks missing the most vulnerable sections of Pakistani society.

“A poor household that uses public transport, walks to work, or relies on diesel-powered transport may receive nothing while still facing higher food and transport costs,” Khaqan Najeeb, a former adviser in Pakistan’s Ministry of Finance, told Al Jazeera.

More than 8.1 million tokens had gone to two- and three-wheelers by late September, compared with fewer than 380,000 for cars, Malik said. A November 2024 Gallup Pakistan survey found that 79 percent of respondents, in rural and urban areas alike, said they use public transport such as buses or wagons.

Does the relief go far enough?

At 100 rupees a litre, the maximum monthly saving is 2,000 rupees ($7.20) for a motorcycle user and 3,000 rupees ($10.80) for an eligible car owner, Najeeb said, calling it “useful household relief, but not enough to offset the broader cost-of-living shock”.

Petrol has climbed from 266 rupees ($0.96) a litre before the war to nearly 395 rupees ($1.42), despite a partial rollback in April. Inflation rose to 10.3 percent in September from 7 percent in February, Najeeb said.

Sajid Amin Javed, a senior economist at the Sustainable Development Policy Institute in Islamabad, said the relief was “minimal”, but added that this was understandable given the IMF constraints on Pakistan.

“The relief is minimal, and that is understandable as we are in an IMF programme,” Javed told Al Jazeera, arguing that cutting the petroleum development levy, which still adds 114 rupees to every litre, would deliver broader relief than a capped subsidy.

“The government is using the petroleum development levy to fill its revenue gap, but that comes at a significant cost in terms of inflation, growth and household welfare,” Javed said.

Najeeb, however, argued the scheme should not become a permanent fixture of Pakistan’s energy policy – and should be used only to make oil price shocks “less damaging”.

KATIE Price told her ex-husband Kieran Hayler’s alleged child rape victim she would “make her a little star”, a court heard today.

The former glamour model, 48, made the comment in a message while quizzing the girl about whether she had kissed Hayler, jurors were told.

The message exchange happened in May 2017 – eight months after the last alleged attack by Hayler, it was said.

The former stripper is accused of three counts of rape and one count of sexual assault against the girl between June and October 2016 – when she was 13 and Hayler and Katie were married.

In the May 2017 exchange, mother-of-five Katie asked the girl if she and Hayler, 39, had kissed.

Katie wrote: “I WON’T say anything and I PROMISE I’ll protect you!

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“I’m only asking as this is a serious allegation to say.”

The girl, who was 14 at the time of the message exchange, replied: “It was just a flirt thing and he knew it was wrong. Nothing happened.”

Katie said: “Was it just a flirt and what did he do to realise it was wrong? Did he try (to) kiss you?

“I won’t bring (it) up anymore (I) just want (the) truth! I will make you a little star.

“Please help and tell me… as long as I know the truth, I won’t say. I PROMISE.”

The girl replied: “I never wanted to have this conversation with you and this was over eight months ago… maybe longer. I’m really sorry.”

Katie then queried if Hayler ever said he “liked or fancied you”, to which the girl responded: “Yes, but I took it as a joke.

“Please don’t get angry at him because of me.”

Asked by defence barrister Arlette Piercy what she took the “little star” message to mean, she said: “I think I just ignored it.”

Ms Piercy asked if she had said it before, to which she replied: “No.”

The girl, now 23, reported her allegations to the NSPCC children’s charity in 2021.

The charity then referred it to police and she was interviewed by cops in December 2021, with Hayler questioned the following month.

The alleged attacks are said to have happened at a West Sussex address.

She claims Hayler described sex as “special” to her before the first alleged rape, and says the third alleged attack happened in a bathroom.

She says that after the third alleged rape, Hayler sent her a text saying: “I love you. Good night”, to which she responded: “I love you too.”

Ms Piercy suggested the messages were never sent but the alleged victim claimed Hayler asked her to delete them.

Giving evidence from behind a screen, she said: “They’ve long gone, some years ago.

“I don’t have them anymore, it was ten years ago.”

She added: “Mr Hayler was asking me to delete my messages.”

The girl, who cannot be named for legal reasons, is not a member of Hayler nor Katie’s family.

Hayler, wearing a white shirt and blue suit jacket in court today split from Katie in 2018.

He denies all of the allegations.

The Lewes Crown Court trial continues.

Goals from Hammam Al-Hammami and Firas Al-Buraikan give the hosts their fourth Arabian Gulf Cup trophy.

Saudi Arabia have ended a long wait for an Arabian Gulf Cup trophy with a 2-0 win over the United Arab Emirates amid a charged atmosphere at the King Abdullah Sports City Stadium in Jeddah.

The hosts held on to an early lead, thanks to goals from Hammam Al-Hammami and Firas Al-Buraikan, to lift the regional crown on Tuesday.

Saudi Arabia set an early attacking pace in the game and were rewarded when Al-Hammami scored the opening goal in the 11th minute from the edge of the penalty area, setting off wild celebrations in the stands.

The home team’s dream start continued as, two minutes later, Al-Buraikan doubled the score with a close-range shot after a precise assist from Nasser Al-Dosari.

Saleh Abu Al-Shamat almost scored the third goal for Saudi Arabia in the 16th minute, but the ball was deflected off the goalpost after a one-on-one with UAE goalkeeper Khaled Issa.

The UAE’s first attack came in the 24th minute, when Nicolas Gimenez’s shot hit the post.

Six minutes before halftime, UAE’s Bruno thought he had won a penalty, only to be reversed by the video assistant referee.

Saudi Arabia’s head coach Georgios Donis credited his team’s discipline for the long-awaited home win.

“There were many difficulties, but the players showed focus and discipline and gave their best on the pitch,” he said after the match.

“I think we turned those difficulties into a title, and that’s important. We were the best team in this tournament. This title gives us confidence for the future, and we must continue to show the same qualities.”

Asian Cup boost

At the start of the second half, Saudi goalkeeper Mohammed Al-Owais saved a close-range shot from substitute Sultan Adel to maintain his impressive clean sheet in the tournament.

Despite Saudi Arabia’s wastefulness in front of goal, their coach was pleased with the team’s efforts.

“After the World Cup, we realised we made mistakes and went through bad moments, but we learned from that experience,” Donis said.

“We improved our level and developed our style of play. And I think they deserve this result. It reflects our hard work.”

Saudi Arabia have now won four Gulf Cup titles, with the last one clinched in 2004.

The Green Falcons exited the FIFA World Cup 2026 in the group stage but will look at their performance in the Gulf Cup as a foundation for the upcoming AFC Asian Cup 2027.

Saudi Arabia will host the continental tournament from January 7 to February 5, as it gears up to become the second Gulf country after Qatar to host the FIFA World Cup in 2034.

Scientists honoured for solving mystery of asymmetric ‘mirror image’ molecules that has helped in manufacture of pharmaceuticals.

Scientists Henri Kagan and Kenso Soai have won the 2026 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for solving a longstanding riddle of asymmetric “mirror image” molecules, a discovery hugely important for pharmaceutical manufacturing.

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said on Wednesday the pair – Kagan, 95, from France; and Soai, 76, from Japan – were honoured “for the discovery of nonlinear effects and autocatalysis in asymmetric organic synthesis”.

Their findings showed how chemical reactions can be driven to favour a single molecular mirror image, work that has been key for chemists who design reactions for the manufacture of pharmaceuticals.

Many of the molecules essential to life exist in two forms that are mirror images of each other, like left and right hands. Yet living organisms almost exclusively use only one version, a phenomenon known as “homochirality” – from the Greek word for hand – that has puzzled chemists for more than a century.

“The left-handed version of the drug can have one effect, and the right-handed version can have another effect, and then we need methods for selectively preparing them,” said Peter Somfai, a member of the Nobel Committee for Chemistry.

“In developing such methods, the findings of this year’s laureates are important. They provided powerful tools for that,” he said.

Heiner Linke, chair of the committee, said the two scientists provided “a solution to a chemical mystery that is over a century old: how homochirality can emerge spontaneously”, calling the chemical reactions they developed “spectacular”.

‘Most exciting day’

Soai, speaking by phone to the Nobel Prize news conference, said he had been out shopping when he received the news.

“This is the most exciting day in my life, I am very glad to share this prize with Professor Henri Kagan,” he added.

Last year’s chemistry award went to scientists Susumu Kitagawa, Richard Robson and Omar Yaghi for the development of so-called metal-organic frameworks, molecular constructions that can help tackle challenges such as climate change and lack of freshwater.

The chemistry Nobel is always the third prize to be awarded during Nobel week, following those for medicine and physics.

The literature laureate will be revealed on Thursday, while the keenly anticipated peace prize is due on Friday.

Established in the will of Swedish inventor and businessman Alfred Nobel, the prizes for achievements in science, literature and peace have been awarded since 1901, with a few interruptions mostly due to the world wars.

Nobel, a chemist by trade, amassed huge wealth in the 19th century from inventions primarily tied to warfare, most notably dynamite. The economics prize is a later addition funded by the Swedish central bank.

Two Corrie stars are making their way back to the cobbles years after their last appearance, as Sarah Platt faces prison for the murder of Theo Silverton

Coronation Street is welcoming two stars back to the cobbles. Ahead of Sarah Platt’s murder trial, both James Weber-Brown and Amelia Curtis will return later this month.

James played prosecution barrister Robin Winchester in 2017 and appeared on the show on and off for the following six years. His character was last seen on Corrie as part of the legal team that put Justin Rutherford (Andrew Still) in prison for ten years after he carried out an acid attack on Daisy Midgely (Charlotte Jordan) and Ryan Connor (Ryan Prescott).

Meanwhile, Amelia, who also played Juliette Holiday on Emmerdale, will return as legal barrister Georgina Romney, appearing on the show for the first time in more than six years.

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Georgina was last on the show in 2020, when Yasmeen Nazir (Shelley King) was on trial for the attempted murder of her abusive husband Geoff Metcalfe.

Both barristers are expected to appear often during a week of episodes about Sarah Platt’s (Tina O’Brien) trial. The character faces prison after she murdered Theo Silverton (James Cartwright).

Theo was a huge villain on the show. He arrived in 2025 and started a relationship with Todd Grimshaw (Gareth Pierce). He often exhibited controlling and abusive behaviour, slowly isolating Todd from his family and friends. During the Corriedale crossover, Theo left Billy Mayhew (Daniel Brocklebank) to die, knowing that Billy had cottoned on to what he was doing to Todd.

Todd and Theo also got married, after which Theo started beating his husband. Todd eventually called the police, but Theo started stalking him. In April, he was discovered murdered outside of the flat he had shared with his husband and a whodunnit ensued.

It was later revealed that Sarah, one of Todd’s closest friends and his ex, had murdered Theo. She hit him to death with a scaffolding pole after Theo taunted her about the dead son she shared with Todd.

A dramatic new trailer teasing what is to come for Sarah Platt has already been released. In the sneak peek, Gary Windass (Mikey North), who helped Sarah cover up her crime by hiding the weapon, is seen insisting that her actions were in self-defence.

Tina O’Brien, who has played Sarah since 1999, said: “Sarah is absolutely terrified, she has been desperate for this day to come, but the reality of being brought up from the cells and standing in the dock is overwhelming.

“As the prosecution’s case is laid out, she is not sure things will go her way.” The dramatic episodes will air from Wednesday, October 14th on ITV, ITVX, STV and YouTube.

When Tina was first cast as Sarah, she was central to a controversial teenage pregnancy storyline and over the years, her character has been kidnapped several times. Her stepfather, who turned out to be a serial killer, infamously tried to drown her and the rest of the family by driving them all into a canal.

Since returning in 2015, Sarah has been married and divorced, and got away with covering up the murder of her drug dealer ex, Callum Logan, who was killed by her now-deceased sister-in-law, Kylie.

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The first-ever F-16 Block 72 has taken to the air, marking a major milestone for the program and for Morocco’s long-running effort to field what Lockheed Martin describes as the most advanced version of the Viper.

The first of the jets for the Royal Moroccan Air Force (RMAF), a two-seat F-16D, completed its maiden flight at Lockheed Martin’s facility in Greenville, South Carolina, the company announced today. The aircraft will now proceed through flight testing ahead of its delivery to Morocco.

Interestingly, one of the photos of the jet published by Lockheed Martin shows the pilot in the front cockpit wearing a Digital Joint Helmet Mounted Cueing Systems (D-JHMCS). This advanced helmet is not often seen worn by F-16 pilots and it is not clear if it has been ordered by Morocco.

Regardless, Morocco was the first customer to select the Block 72 configuration when the U.S. government approved its purchase in March 2019.

At that time, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency said Morocco was seeking 25 F-16C/D Block 72 aircraft in a package estimated at $3.787 billion. The proposed aircraft were to be equipped with the AN/APG-83 Scalable Agile Beam Radar (SABR), an active electronically scanned array type, new mission computers, Link 16 Multifunctional Information Distribution Systems, modernized navigation systems, helmet-mounted cueing systems, and a range of air-to-air and air-to-ground weapons.

The distinction between the Block 70 and Block 72 is the engine. The Block 70 uses General Electric’s F110-GE-129, while the Block 72 uses Pratt & Whitney’s F100-PW-229, providing fractionally more power. The two configurations otherwise share the same major avionics and systems modernization package.

The F-16 began life as a Pratt & Whitney-powered fighter, with the F100 selected to power the original F-16A/B. But reliability and maintainability problems with early F100s prompted the U.S. Air Force to launch its Alternate Fighter Engine competition in the 1980s, leading General Electric to develop the F110 as an alternative. The resulting “Great Engine War” established two competing F-16 engine families, with Pratt & Whitney’s F100 and GE’s F110 ultimately becoming the principal powerplants for later F-16C/Ds. Although U.S. procurement eventually became heavily concentrated on the GE-powered F-16, Pratt & Whitney continued to supply F100-powered aircraft to international customers.

For Morocco, the choice of the Block 72 is based on ensuring as much fleet commonality as possible. The RMAF already operates F-16C/D Block 52+ aircraft powered by F100 engines, making the new aircraft a natural fit within its existing support infrastructure.

Morocco is also upgrading its existing F-16 fleet to the F-16V configuration, which is broadly similar to the new-build Block 70/72 standard.

That will eventually provide the RMAF with a larger fleet centered around a common, substantially modernized F-16 standard.

A separate notification in March 2019 covered the upgrade of Morocco’s existing 23 F-16C/D Block 52+ aircraft to the F-16V standard.

Morocco’s new and upgraded F-16s could also provide a significant boost to combined operations with its other international partners. In recent years, Moroccan F-16s participated in the campaign against ISIS, while the country has also deployed the aircraft on missions against Houthi rebels as part of the Saudi Arabia-led coalition in Yemen. In 2015, a Moroccan F-16 crashed in Yemen. Although the Houthis claimed they had shot down the aircraft, Moroccan authorities attributed the loss to a technical malfunction.

Outside of combat operations, the RMAF also frequently takes part in exercises with its allies, including the African Lion series, the largest annual, multinational joint military exercise led by U.S. Africa Command (USAFRICOM) and partner nations.

Meanwhile, the new-build Moroccan aircraft also arrives at an interesting point in the F-16 program.

The Block 70/72 has attracted customers across Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and elsewhere, with Bahrain, Bulgaria, Jordan, Peru, the Philippines, Slovakia, Taiwan, and Turkey also having selected the latest-generation Viper configuration. So far, only Block 70s have been ordered, although tbe Block 72 has been offered to some customers and potential customers. There is also apparent U.S. Air Force interest in a version of the Block 70 tailored for its specific needs and referred to by the manufacturer as the F-16G.

Morocco’s position as the Block 72 launch customer means the aircraft now flying is effectively the prototype-standard production aircraft for an export configuration that other countries can now buy.

The Moroccan F-16 program is also increasingly tied to a broader effort to develop the country’s military-industrial and sustainment infrastructure.

Lockheed Martin says it is working with Moroccan industry, including Maintenance Aero Maroc, on an upcoming MRO facility at Benslimane. The more than 86,000-square-foot facility is intended initially to support heavy maintenance and modernization of C-130 Hercules aircraft, with plans to expand into additional platforms, including the F-16.

That could eventually give Morocco a greater role in sustaining its own expanding fleet and potentially supporting other aircraft in the region.

The F-16 program itself is part of a much broader U.S.-Moroccan defense relationship that dates back more than five decades. The Royal Moroccan Armed Forces now operate a range of U.S.-supplied systems, while Morocco is also set to receive HIMARS and has expanded its rotary-wing capabilities with AH-64E Apache attack helicopters.

For the RMAF, however, the F-16 remains central to its combat-aircraft modernization and, once it arrives, it will be the spearhead of the country’s fighter fleet.

Contact the author: thomas@thewarzone.com

A quick glance from the sidewalk shows a midsize home in the Valley. Fallen leaves from a large tree scatter across the neatly trimmed front lawn. It’s just like any other house in a suburban neighborhood outside of Los Angeles.

Inside, there’s a whole network TV operation going on.

The three-bedroom chateau is packed with people. Every inch of space in the house is being used to make “Good Night With Ben Gleib” happen. The living room TV displays the multiple angles of cameras spread across the house. The pantry doubles as a control room while the backyard shed was turned into a venue for the musical guest.

It’s not a traditional late-night talk show. It’s not on a legacy network, it isn’t filmed in a studio, and the U.S. president isn’t calling the host a “deranged lunatic.”

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This show is filmed in a room of Gleib’s house that was converted into an 18-seat studio. The host drinks a cocktail as he delivers his topical monologue in front of blue drapes, and after the taping concludes the cameras continue to roll and capture the nightcap, where Gleib mingles with audience members.

Rather than following the traditional path — from stand-up or sketch comedy to eventually landing behind a late-night desk — Gleib built his own opportunity and releases it on YouTube, a trend becoming more prominent in the comedy world.

“The landscape has changed very largely,” Gleib said. “It’s hard to make your mark in TV and a stand-up appearance on late night doesn’t change your career like it use to, you really have to find creative ways to create your dream career.”

Production staff controls the taping of the show “Good Night With Ben Gleib” on Sept. 16.

(Brian Feinzimer / For The Times)

Since “Lazy Sunday” from “Saturday Night Live” hit the airwaves and caught a second wind on YouTube, the comedy landscape “had changed forever,” according to Seth Meyers.

“What made it so great then and still today is that it was an instant hit but also felt DIY in a way things hadn’t for so long,” said the “Late Night” host in an interview with GQ.

Social media platforms like YouTube have helped make it easier for anyone with a camera to create original content and spread it to the masses. The hashtag “comedy” has 20 billion views on TikTok and genres such as stand-up and sketch comedy grow every year, according to Business Insider. Meanwhile, late-night television has taken a dip in audience and ad revenue.

The old guard of comedy is changing and the DIY movement has transformed fame in the comedy world. Comics no longer have to wait to get stage time on a late-night talk show, they just need to get it done, said Nicole Blaine, owner of the Crow comedy club. It is also inexpensive to create digital content. With platforms like TikTok, Instagram and YouTube, the ability to be seen is easier, she added.

“I don’t think you can count on anyone to ‘make it,’” Blaine said. “I think you literally have to make it yourself and I do believe that the industry [is] paying attention behind the scenes in more ways than the artists know.

“You want to be your own showrunner,” she added.

Makeup artist Lisa Lopez gets musical guest Ada Pasternak ready in the kitchen of Ben Gleib’s home, also the set of “Good Night.”

(Brian Feinzimer / For The Times)

Representation comes and goes, but the fan base a comedian creates for themselves stays with them, Blaine said. Creating digital content for social media to back up a career in stand-up demonstrates that success is completely within the control of comics, she continued.

The DIY formula relies on taking advantage of the skills each performer has and using them to self-produce material to build a fan base, a concept that comedian Emmy Browning is putting into practice. Using her background in screenwriting, she pitched “Hands!” to the Elysian Theater and performed it for its Spaghetti Festival, designed to showcase new work, within three months.

“I essentially wrote, cast, directed, produced, got a crew together …,” she said. “It was just a crazy team of people that came together for no money to make this thing happen.”

“Hands!” spoofs FX’s “The Bear,” while satirizing TV conventions, like the will-they-won’t-they romantic plotlines, multicamera operation and filming in front of a live studio audience. Browning’s show was performed live while a camera crew shot different angles that were being projected on screens located on stage.

It made the stream of the show feel like an actual live performance. Now the stream can be seen by anyone, anywhere in the world, at any time. Browning said when her comic friends began to create clips for social media, they were able to travel around the country and perform for the fans they’ve garnered from their content.

“There are so many different ways and opportunities to be seen first,” Browning said. “…If you have the stamina to generate content online that promotes yourself, you can really make a living or create a fan base yourself.”

Self-producing isn’t only about promotion, it’s about creative ownership.

“There’s nothing as creatively freeing as being your own boss and not having to conform to network notes or the comedic ideas and opinions of people who have never been comedians and have never been recognized for their comedy skills,” Gleib said.

Guests are interviewed during the taping of “Good Night With Ben Gleib.”

(Brian Feinzimer / For The Times)

The sentiment is shared by Ron Lynch, a comedian known for voicing Hugo, the neurotic health inspector in Fox’s animated series “Bob’s Burgers,” who’s produced a variety show at the Elysian Theater called “Tomorrow!” for 20 years now.

The show gives participants the opportunity to do whatever they want, within a five-minute time frame. Half the acts are stand-ups, the other half “are just weird.”

“We’re not responsible for sponsors or anything like that,” Lynch said. “We can basically do whatever we want.”

Self-producing allows creators to explore their voice without any limitations.

“What we do is provide entertainment,” Lynch said.

In the new DIY era, it is not a matter of when a performer will make it, but rather how much a performer really wants it, Blaine said. It’s a lot of work that needs to get done, even after a day job, but it will separate the people who want it badly over those not wanting to put in the time, she added.

It isn’t about landing a late-night talk show, it is about creating.

“It isn’t easy,” Blaine said. “But artists will always find a way if we really want to do it.”

The DIY movement also comes with big risks that will not work unless the comedian believes in it, said Gleib. His team is putting a lot on the shoulders of the comedian to reinvent late night and make it a lucrative business.

And if the big swing doesn’t work?

“I’ll have to come crawling back to the traditional entertainment industry, hoping that I still have a place there,” he added.

Israeli air strike kills Palestinian Civil Defence rescue volunteer as he was travelling to help wounded people near Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahiya, northern Gaza, a medical source says.

Israeli attacks have killed at least four Palestinians, including a rescue worker, and wounded several others across Gaza.

The Palestinian Civil Defence rescue volunteer was killed in an air strike as he was travelling to help wounded people near Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahiya, northern Gaza, a medical source said on Wednesday.

The Civil Defence identified the victim as Mohamed Tamous.

Meanwhile, an Israeli drone strike in the southern city of Khan Younis killed Hisham Ibrahim Abu Mustafa, 60,  and injured several others, Nasser Hospital said.

The body of a 17-year-old Palestinian was also brought to Nasser Hospital after he was killed in an Israeli drone strike in the Qizan Abu Rashwan area south of Khan Younis, Turkiye’s state news agency Anadolu reported, citing a medical source.

A teenage boy died from wounds sustained last month when Israeli forces opened fire east of Khan Younis, Anadolu reported, citing a medical source.

Also on Wednesday, a girl was injured by Israeli gunfire directed at displaced Palestinians’ tents in the Al-Amal neighbourhood, Anadolu reported.

Additionally, in Khan Younis, the Israeli military carried out two demolitions in the northeastern and eastern parts of the city.

The military also carried out demolitions east of Gaza City’s Tuffah neighbourhood.

Israel has killed more than 74,245 Palestinians since it launched its genocidal war on Gaza in response to the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, attack on Israel.