News Desk

As Israel prepares to mark three years since the October 7 attacks and with less than a month to go to parliamentary elections, one topic is dominating the electoral agenda.

Media reports that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was warned by the United Arab Emirates before the attacks have put his alleged responsibility back in the spotlight.

“Did he know?” is the question on everyone’s lips.

Listening to the accusatory choir, one might think that Israeli society finally is acknowledging the real meaning of October 7. Yet the opposite is true.

Instead of giving a platform to a reckoning, the elections function to scapegoat Netanyahu for his alleged role in facilitating Hamas’s attack while absolving Israeli society and the Zionist movement of its collective responsibility for the preceding violence and ensuing genocidal aggression.

For example, it does not insist on investigating whether the “Hannibal Directive” was deployed as part of the Israeli military response on October 7 and whether it killed Israeli citizens and how many.

It does not scrutinise subsequent Israeli military operations or whether they put the Israeli hostages in danger or how many were killed by Israeli bombs.

There is no questioning of why key Palestinian negotiators were attacked during ceasefire and hostage negotiations, including Ismail Haniyeh, Hamas’s chief negotiator, in July 2024 in Tehran and Hamas’s negotiating delegation in September 2025 in Doha.

There is no debate about why the Israeli government repeatedly rejected ceasefire proposals that could have brought the hostages back much earlier.

There is little attention paid to the fact that Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant face arrest warrants from the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity.

None of these made the cut. Why?

The answer lies in the psychological state of Israeli society. For many Israelis, October 7 became a psychological rupture, making it difficult to reconcile their sense of humanity with their complicity in the criminal reality that followed.

The problem, then, is not that Israelis are in denial or misinformed. It is that a large portion of the society is complicit in criminality and actively avoids reckoning with it.

The absence of Gaza and Palestinians more broadly from Israeli political discourse is because of their complete dehumanisation by Israeli society.

How else could one explain the absence from the election rhetoric of questions about, and subsequent accountability for, actions against the Palestinian people?

Why has the Israeli military killed at least 74,000 Palestinians, the vast majority of them civilians? Why has it carried out mass and arbitrary detentions, torture and enforced disappearances of Palestinians?

Why has it targeted journalists, medical workers and academics? Destroyed and occupied hospitals? Wiped out ancient landmarks and irreplaceable cultural heritage sites?

Why has the sadistic and often sexually deviant celebration of destruction, subjugation, ethnic cleansing and death by Israeli soldiers been allowed?

What’s more, there is also little interrogation of the consequences of bombing and invading Lebanon, killing nearly 9,000 people since October 2023. Or bombing Syria and Yemen.

These are not isolated abuses. They are symptoms of a system of theft and domination driven by greed and sustained through psychological conditioning, segregation, fear and rewards for aggression. In line with the “Wired to Steal” model, dehumanisation helps produce consent for aggression while escalation following acts of resistance leads to normalisation of further expansion and robbery.

Thus, this election is not about a reckoning with October 7 or its horrifying aftermath. It is a lens onto a fascistic settler society engaged in denial and dehumanisation of an Indigenous “other” as a means of evading and normalising its own ongoing genocidal actions. Although Netanyahu may become the scapegoat, replacing him does not address the underlying machinery of domination and may instead serve to entrench it further.

That machinery remains firmly in place. The continuity between the violence unleashed since October 7 and the longer history of Zionist colonial expansionism is striking, with no lessons learned other than how to improve and grease the machinations of genocide. Fear, victimhood and the construction of a permanently besieged “us” against a dehumanised “them” continue to produce consent for further aggression and expansion.

October 7, therefore, has become not an occasion for genuine reckoning but another means of avoiding one. Netanyahu seeks to focus responsibility for the attacks on questions of what he knew and when while leaving the much broader record of what Israel has done since largely outside the electoral debate. His opponents, meanwhile, have their own complicity and ambitions to answer for. Thus, there is little political interest in a genuine reckoning with October 7. The fixation on Netanyahu allows the wider political establishment and Israeli society to avoid confronting the system of domination in which they remain invested.

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

MICHAEL Douglas has denied he’s a sex addict and said he was a “healthy product of the Sixties” after his affair revelation with Kathleen Turner.

The actor, 82, confessed to having a relationship with Kathleen as they filmed their 1984 action flick Romancing The Stone.

At the time, Michael was married to his first wife Diandra Luker.

The Basic Instinct star opened up about his colourful love life and insisted he was not a “sex addict” despite his multiple flings.

Speaking to The Times, he was asked if he ever wondered why he had slept with so many women.

Michael replied: “I don’t know if I slept with so many women, I don’t see it that way. No, not me, no. I was a healthy product of the Sixties.”

He added: “My curiosity is why, of all countries, of all the press that I do, why are the Brits so consumed with the issues of sex?”

In the nineties, it was reported that Michael had entered rehab for a sex addiction.

But Michael has said in an excerpt from his upcoming memoir One Helluva Ride: “I was never a ***ing sex addict.”

Shared by People, Michael dished about his extramarital romance with Kathleen.

Michael penned: “Kathleen was smart, funny, and sexy with a deep, sultry voice that became her signature.

“I instantly liked her, and we were immediately attracted to each other.”

Michael then claimed that his marriage to Diandra “was in a bad place” and that he had been having an affair with Romancing The Stone screenwriter Diane Thomas prior to meeting Kathleen.

In the book, he described himself as “technically married, but separated” as he had an affair with Kathleen.

He noted that audiences spotted their chemistry, and they were forced to deny everything and put it down to them both being “terrible flirts” due to him being married.

“It was a lie meant to protect my wife and son, a lie we told the world for 40 years.”

In his book, Michael confessed: “The truth is that during the production of Romancing the Stone, Kathleen and I fell hard for each other and began a relationship.”

He said that their relationship “grew naturally” and noted how much they respected and cared for one another, “and how attracted we were to each other”.

Michael added: “Like every other guy in the world at the time, I was knocked sideways by Kathleen….”

They continued their romance until it fizzled out when his wife visited on set and made it clear to Kathleen they were still married.

Diandra warned her off and Kathleen “didn’t want to interfere”.

Although their romantic relationship was over, they continued to star in movies together until 1989.

His first marriage to film producer Diandra Luker lasted from 1977 to 2000.

After 18 years together, Diandra filed for divorce in 1995, leading to a protracted legal separation which was finalised in 2000.

Michael is now smitten and happily married to Catherine Zeta Jones.

Catherine and Michael first met in August 1998 at the Deauville American Film Festival in France.

The British Museum has announced changes to how visitors see the Bayeux Tapestry exhibition after concerns over long queues and overcrowding.

The measures include plans for longer opening hours, as well as an audio guide, additional seating and clearer signage.

A museum spokesperson said the public response to the 11th Century embroidery had been “extraordinary”, but acknowledged that some visitors had waited longer than they would have wanted.

Some people reported waits of up to two hours, while hundreds of ticket holders were reportedly turned away due to backlogs when the museum closed early last week due to a private event.

Some ticket holders took to social media to complain about the disruption.

One disappointed visitor said the trip had been a “big event” they had looked forward to, while another wrote she had been waiting since she was seven to see the Bayeux Tapestry, and bought tickets only to be turned away after queuing.

The museum later apologised to those who had been unable to enter and said they would be issued refunds and priority booking slots for a rearranged time.

From Monday, visitors will be offered an audio guide with more information about the embroidery, while additional signage and seating will be provided for those queuing to reach the main exhibition.

The museum said it planned to introduce longer opening hours to prevent queues building during the day and allow people with later bookings more time to view the exhibition.

Details of the extended hours have not yet been disclosed.

THEY soared up the charts in the early noughties with an impressive rap cover of Bananarama’s We’re Really Saying Something.

Over two decades later, girl group Buffalo G may be a distant memory to the music industry, but one star has become very successful in her own right.

Formed of duo Naomi Lynch and Olive Tucker, Buffalo G were an Irish duo who disbanded shortly after the success of their rap hit.

Their song reached the UK top 20 Charts and peaked at #13 in the Irish charts.

Naomi is the sister of Boyzone’s Shane Lynch and B*Witched singers Edele and Keavy Lynch, but has disappeared from the spotlight herself since rising to fame in 2000.

However, her bandmate Olive has become a success in another sector – swapping rap for the hair industry.

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Olive is now a multi-award winning hairdresser and educator – often sharing snippets of her hair career online.

With 10K followers on Instagram regularly updates her fans with family and work life snaps.

She also has her own podcasts with her two sisters, dubbed Tuck In Sisters.

When it comes to her personal life, Olive shares 12-year-old daughter Lola – a budding dancer – and son Sonny, nine, with her husband.

Olive was just 17 at the time of her fame with Naomi, and the pair still follow one another on social media 26 years later – suggesting they are still in touch.

Naomi now works as a fire dancer and choreographer, travelling around the world for work.

She shares two sons with her TV producer husband, Rowland French.

Speaking at the final rally of his right-wing alliance ahead of Bosnia’s October 4 election, Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik delivered a predictably controversial statement.

“Bosnia-Herzegovina is dead. It is an impossible country, it makes no sense,” Dodik told supporters of the Alliance of Independent Social Democrats (SNSD) party in Banja Luka on Friday.

“It is now nothing more than an empty shell … for those who are trying to keep it alive, so they can prove themselves right about something,” said the former president of Republika Srpska, who is known for frequent separatist threats and for challenging the country’s constitution.

Dodik’s comments came as Bosnia remains deeply divided over its political future more than three decades since the 1995 Dayton peace agreement. It split the country into two semi-autonomous parts – the Serb-majority Republika Srpska entity and the Federation entity, where most Bosniaks and Croats live.

The agreement ended the 1992–95 Bosnian War and established a political framework for power-sharing among Muslim Bosniaks, Orthodox Serbs and Catholic Croats.

On Sunday, voters across the country cast ballots to elect the three members of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s multiethnic presidency, representatives to the national parliament and leaders of institutions in the country’s two entities.

Dodik himself is not on the ballot after being stripped of his post last year, following his conviction for refusing to carry out decisions issued by Christian Schmidt, the international peace envoy who oversees the implementation of the Dayton peace agreement.

‘No political relevance’

Elvis Fejzic, a professor at the Faculty of Political Science in Sarajevo, said attempts by figures such as Dodik to dismantle Bosnia and Herzegovina amount to “populist rhetoric”.

“Politicians and political parties that act unconstitutionally do not determine the fate of Bosnia and Herzegovina,” Fejzic told Al Jazeera, arguing that Bosnia and Herzegovina’s status as a UN member and internationally recognised state is secure.

“Bosnia and Herzegovina … will outlive all those who, through inflammatory statements, seek to obstruct its path towards integration and development,” he said. “Their statements have no political relevance whatsoever.”

Political analyst Tanja Topic said that while Dodik was not officially a candidate, he remained a central figure in the campaign and sought to present himself as a “senior official in international relations”.

Topic told Al Jazeera that the election result could produce several political scenarios in Bosnia and Herzegovina, from “cohabitation in Republika Srpska”, through the formation of a grand coalition, to a “blockage at the state level and the Council of Ministers continuing to operate in a caretaker capacity”.

Dodik’s rhetoric marks ‘long escalation’

Expert Adnan Cerimagic said Dodik’s rhetoric should be taken “seriously” and viewed as part of a “long escalation” rather than a reflection of the country’s current reality.

“For the past four years, his moves against the Dayton order and against Bosnia’s EU and NATO path have reached a new and dangerous level: in March 2025 the country came close to an armed standoff between Republika Srpska and state police,” Cerimagic, a senior analyst at the European Stability Initiative, told Al Jazeera.

“Casting Bosnia as a front-line in a supposed war between Christianity and Islam, and himself as a defender of Christian Europe, is aimed at the one people in Europe against whom a genocide has been committed since the Second World War and recognised as such by two international courts,” he added.

Cerimagic added that Dodik’s rhetoric may reflect uncertainty over the electoral prospects of his preferred candidate, as well as a belief that the European Union has less leverage over Bosnia than it once did.

Initial results are customarily released by the Central Election Commission late on election night and then refreshed every few hours.

In the days that follow, the commission progressively inputs votes from polling stations that remain outstanding, mobile voting teams, as well as ballots sent by mail and those cast at diplomatic and consular missions.

The final, official results must be published by November 20 at the latest.

Nico Hulkenberg – 7/10

Missing Q2 was disappointing but he responded with a strong recovery on Sunday. Climbed from 15th on the grid to finish just outside the points and comfortably ahead of Audi team-mate Bortoleto after the Brazilian’s penalty.

Lance Stroll – 6.5/10

A much more competitive weekend for Aston Martin generally. Stroll joined Alonso in Q2 and kept himself out of trouble through a chaotic race to finish 12th, even if his team-mate ultimately extracted more from the opportunity.

Franco Colapinto – 7/10

Started 21st due to grid penalties, so 13th represented a very respectable recovery. Kept things clean after his costly mistake last time out and made up plenty of ground in difficult conditions.

Oliver Bearman – 5/10

Another fairly anonymous weekend for Haas. Knocked out in Q1 and although he gained a couple of places during the race, 14th was about all there was to show for it.

Esteban Ocon – 5/10

Frustrated with Haas’ qualifying run plan after going out in Q1 and never really recovered from there. Great start and was fighting well inside the top 10. Ultimately finished behind Bearman and was unable to make the changing conditions work sufficiently to threaten the points.

Pierre Gasly – 5.5/10

Qualifying ninth was an excellent start but Sunday unravelled almost immediately. Nearly lost the car on slicks during the formation procedure and ultimately fell all the way to 16th as Alpine’s gamble failed to pay off.

Carlos Sainz – 6/10

Williams struggled for pace throughout the weekend but 13th represented a good qualifying. His race was then further compromised by contact with Bortoleto, for which the Audi driver was penalised, so 17th doesn’t tell the whole story.

Gabriel Bortoleto – 4.5/10

There was plenty to like about reaching Q3 in the Audi, but the race undid that good work. Contact with Sainz earned him a penalty and left him 18th after starting inside the top 10.

Sergio Perez – 4/10

Qualified last and never looked likely to make meaningful progress even amid all the chaos. Reaching the chequered flag was at least something for Cadillac, but 19th completed another difficult weekend.

George Russell – 8/10

A far better race than his eighth place in qualifying suggested. Made an excellent start, ran inside the top three for virtually the entire afternoon and, even if he couldn’t match Mercedes team-mate Antonelli, was heading for another podium before a power-unit failure stopped him with five laps remaining.

Alex Albon – 4.5/10

Williams lacked pace from the outset and qualifying 20th left him with an enormous amount of work to do. His eventual retirement was caused by a gearbox problem rather than a driving error, but there had been little sign of any kind of meaningful challenge before then.

Valtteri Bottas – 3.5/10

A weekend to forget. Qualified ahead of Cadillac team-mate Perez but admitted his decision to run slicks was a risk before spinning into the gravel on lap nine and triggering the first safety car.

CANADIAN singer Sass Jordan has died aged 63, her family have announced.

Heartbreaking tributes have poured in for the Montreal rocker who passed away “peacefully” on Friday evening.

Sharing the news of her death on social media, her family wrote: “On Oct. 2 2026, surrounded by her loving family, Sass Jordan peacefully crossed over to the other side.”

Her family remembered her as “an inimitable force of nature” and “an irreplaceable being of light and joy”.

Sass, behind iconic tracks Racine and Make You a Believer, was born in Birmingham, England.

She moved to Montreal aged three with her French literature professor father and former British Ballerina mother.

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Aged 16 she was fronting bands in downtown Montreal clubs, later becoming singer and bassist for local favourites The Pinups.

Her debut album, Tell Somebody, won Sass the Juno Award for Most Promising Female Vocalist of the Year in 1989.

Three years later, after moving to Los Angeles, Billboard magazine named her Female Rock Artist of the Year after her album Racine.

It became the defining album of her career, selling an estimated 450,000 copies worldwide and 100,000 in Canada.

That same year she recorded the duet Trust in Me with Joe Cocker for ‘The Bodyguard’, a soundtrack that sold more than 45million copies.

Throughout her career Sass toured alongside Aerosmith, The Rolling Stones, AC/DC and Van Halen.

Later in 2003 she would join Canadian Idol as the only female judge on the panel.

She remained on the show for all six seasons.

Sass is survived by her husband, Derek Sharp, daughter Stella Jordan-Sharp, stepdaughter Brianne Sharp and brother Daniel Jordan.

Her family has asked for privacy to grieve and has thanked fans for their tributes to her remarkable life.

Tributes have flooded in for the late singer, with fans and fellow musicians paying tribute.

Deep Purple singer and bassist Glenn Hughes posted on Instagram: “So suddenly, I’m heartbroken.

“A true friend, we had so much love, joy and laughter and music together.

“RIP my Sasseroonie Girl.”

American rock and blues singer Ian Moore posted: “Love you Sass. Soul mama supreme.”

Others said her voice and art had “defined a generation”.

One user posted: “Thank you for everything and may your presence continue to be such a joy and comfort to us all.”

An attack by the copilot on the pilot during a Flydubai flight has raised many questions regarding aviation security, and some of the official versions of the incident have come under scrutiny from online commentators and aviation enthusiasts.

About two and a half hours after Flight FZ1073 departed from Dubai International Airport on Wednesday, it went into a sharp descent before eventually making an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia.

Media reports said the copilot attacked Captain Smit Machchhar. Passengers were able to overpower the copilot, identified by media as Hamam al-Hammami, after Machchhar managed to open the cockpit door during the attack, which the prosecutor general of the United Arab Emirates said was carried out with the cockpit’s crash axe.

While investigators continue working to establish a motive for the attack, several questions have arisen about the incident more generally across social media.

Here are five questions that are being asked:

Why was al-Hammami allowed to fly despite being flagged over security concerns?

Al-Hammami has been identified as an Omani national, according to media reports.

On Friday, The Wall Street Journal quoted unnamed sources as saying that Omani authorities previously blocked the suspect from flying in the country due to concerns over his ideological views.

On Saturday, CNN reported, quoting a regional diplomatic source, that the copilot had also been removed from flight training over similar concerns and was later reassigned to another position.

It added, quoting two sources familiar with the matter, that the pilot was removed from a job at Oman’s national airline last year over concerns about his views.

It remains unclear how al-Hammami managed to get the Flydubai route despite these security concerns.

The possibility of a plumber stabilising plane before reserve pilots stepped in

Reports have emerged that Machchhar managed to open the cockpit door while covered in blood, allowing passengers to subdue the copilot.

One of those who subdued al-Hammami was Yaniv Hayoun, whom Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described as a plumber.

In a video with Netanyahu, who met him at the airport, Hayoun, 50, was asked how he knew what to do at the plane’s controls before another pilot took control. He said: “I watch Air Crash Investigation, Mr Prime Minister.”

“I jumped back, grabbed the controls and started pulling back the handles” the way he had seen in the Canadian investigation show, in which experts analyse plane crashes.

People on social media have questioned how a plumber could have handled an aircraft in the air.

No report of mass injuries despite fall of 5,180 metres

According to the flight-tracking website Flightradar24, the Flydubai flight rapidly descended about two and a half hours after takeoff, dropping more than 5,180 metres (17,000ft) in less than two minutes.

While the midair drop caused mass panic among passengers, no one was reportedly harmed, according to the publicly available information about the incident. An Air India flight that dropped 90 metres (300ft) during turbulence in August injured at least 17 passengers.

A flight instructor, who recreated the Flydubai jet’s near-vertical dive in a simulator, said the plane would have exceeded its maximum structural speed and anything unsecured would have flown all over the cabin during the recovery’s negative G-forces.

Why was the copilot allowed to fly despite being an Omani national?

Israel does not have official diplomatic relations with Oman, and Netanyahu has previously said such countries were not generally allowed to operate flights to Israel.

On Friday, Netanyahu said Israel was looking into whether the copilot had acted under anyone’s direction, warning that anyone involved would pay a “heavy price”.

On Saturday, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported that government officials had received in advance the list of crew members and passengers who were on the flight, including the Omani copilot.

Security sources told Haaretz that the government bodies responsible for monitoring and checking foreign flight crews landing in Israel are the Ministry of Transport and Road Safety’s Security Department and the security agency Mossad.

Copilot prayed before attack

According to The Times of Israel, Machchhar spoke to Netanyahu on Saturday. He told the prime minister that al-Hammami had asked to pray before the attack. Four or five minutes later, Machchhar was hit with “a big blow” to the back of his head, he said.

The flight departed from the UAE at 7:05am (03:05 GMT). The attack reportedly took place about two and a half hours later (05:35 GMT).

The predawn prayer time in the Emirates on Wednesday was 04:51am (12:51 GMT), which would mean al-Hammami’s prayer did not align with Islamic prayer times.

However, al-Hammami could also have been performing a different personal prayer before the attack.

Major bridges in Kyiv have been hit by Russian drone strikes for four consecutive days, as Moscow ramps up attacks on critical infrastructure in Ukraine’s capital.

Two people were injured when the Pivnichnyi (Northern) Bridge was struck on Sunday morning for the second day in a row, while the Pivdennyi (Southern) Bridge was hit multiple times earlier in the week.

The latest attack came as German Chancellor Friedrich Merz made a surprise visit to Kyiv in a show of support against Russia’s continuing full-scale invasion.

Russia’s military said it would be intensifying strikes on Kyiv and other Ukrainian regions. It earlier said it had hit the two bridges used to transfer Ukrainian troops.

Video footage of Sunday’s strike, verified by the BBC, shows cars moving on Pivnichnyi Bridge as a drone crashes into it before exploding, creating a ball of fire. A cloud of black smoke can be seen rising above the bridge.

Other videos and pictures have emerged on social media showing a gaping hole in the middle of a traffic lane on the bridge.

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said two people were injured in the latest Russian attack. He earlier said that the Pivnichnyi Bridge’s roadway was hit.

Kyiv’s eight bridges across the wide Dnipro River link the western (right) and eastern (left) parts, and many of the capital’s estimated three million residents rely heavily on the metro lines and trains to travel across the city.

Some 500,000 vehicles use the bridges every day.

The two struck bridges are still standing – but the damage and restrictions to traffic and public transport have caused gridlock in parts of the capital at times.

“To get from the left bank to the right one and back – it’s just hell,” Kyiv resident Roman told the BBC on Sunday.

Large numbers of commuters cross the river, especially on weekdays. Repair teams are working to fix the damage and officials say they are planning temporary pontoon bridges, ferry services and even a tunnel under the river to keep Kyiv connected.

Klitschko also said a separate Russian drone strike had damaged a heating main, adding that there would be a temporary lack of hot water in the north-eastern Desnyanskyi district as a result.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenksy said on Sunday morning Russian drones had also attacked a warehouse in the north-eastern region of Sumy, killing one person.

Meanwhile, in the central city of Dnipro, six people were injured after a communications facility was struck, he said.

Ukraine’s Air Force said that overnight Russia had launched 135 drones, including 52 jet-powered ones. It said that 125 projectiles had been shot down.

As emergency services responded to the incidents, Germany’s Merz met Zelenksy in Kyiv. They laid wreaths to Ukrainian soldiers who have been killed in the war.

Merz reaffirmed his country’s support for Ukraine, writing on X: “Ukraine is facing decisive weeks. That is why I travelled to Kyiv today with the message: You can rely on us.

“Germany’s security also depends on the outcome of this war. That is why we are helping out of our own self-interest as well.”

THE NIECE of Hollywood star Rob Lowe has penned a heartbreaking tribute to her sister following the teenager’s tragic death.

Fiona Lowe, 13, the daughter of director Chad Lowe, 58, and his wife Kim Painter, 52, died by suicide in Los Angeles on Tuesday.

Her family confirmed the tragedy in a social media post with her grief-stricken parents paying tribute to “the light of our lives.”

Now, Fiona’s elder sister Mabel, 17, has penned her own heartbreaking tribute and made a touching vow to her.

Taking to Instagram, Mabel shared a series of childhood photographs of the pair of them, including playing on the beach, dancing together at home, and happy family picnics and outings.

“I love you so much Fiona,” she wrote in the caption.

“I wish your short time here was easier and I hope your mind is at ease now.

“I will honor you forever and keep your memory alive. I love you, I hope you knew just how much.”

Her mother Kim commented below saying, “Oh Mabel. I love you so much.”

Meanwhile, fellow celebrities sent their love and well wishes to the family that has been shattered by Fiona’s loss just weeks before her 14th birthday.

“Bless you dear Mabel. My deepest condolences to you and the family,” actor Jeremy Renner wrote.

Meanwhile, Grey’s Anatomy’s Jessica Capshaw said, “What a beautiful tribute to your sister.

“I have had you and your family in my thoughts and prayers and I’m sending you all so much love.”

Pretty Little Liars actress Ashley Benson, who starred in the show alongside Mabel’s father Chad, simply commented with dove and prayer emojis.

Meanwhile, her Emmy-nominated uncle is said to have “dropped everything” to race to his brother’s side as the family was plunged into grief and shock.

A source told journalist Rob Shuter that “Chad is his little brother, and the second he heard, Hollywood stopped mattering.”

“There was nowhere else Rob was going to be except Chad’s side.

“Rob knows there are no words that can fix this,” another source said.

“He can’t take away Chad’s grief. What he can do is be present, protect his brother and make absolutely certain he never has to face this alone.”

Chad and Kim also share their youngest daughter, ten-year-old Nixie.

“We are deeply heartbroken by the loss of our beloved Fiona,” the Lowe family wrote in a statement on September 29.

“She was a loving young girl who was smart, creative, and loved to dance.

“She was adored by her sisters, and she was deeply loved by her parents.

“In fact, she was the light of our lives. Her passing is devastating for our entire family and we ask for prayers and privacy at this time.”

The family ended the statement with the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline and her cause of death was confirmed by a medical examiner on Thursday.

If you or someone you know is affected by any of the issues raised in this story, call or text the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988, chat on 988lifeline.org, or text Crisis Text Line at 741741.

German chancellor visits Kyiv amid air raid sirens, pledging strong support as Russian strikes disrupt the capital.

Russia has struck a key bridge in Kyiv just as German Chancellor Friedrich Merz arrived in the Ukrainian capital to meet President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

The unannounced visit, marked by the sound of air sirens and explosions, came on Sunday to underscore Germany’s support for the nation at a time when Russian attacks on Ukrainian cities are increasing.

In a written statement, Merz said he “travelled to Kyiv today because Ukraine needs all our support in the coming weeks”.

“If Russia is not stopped, its war machine will sooner or later turn against us,” he said.

Merz and Zelenskyy met at the National Academy of Sciences, which was struck by a Russian drone on September 28.

Zelenskyy told Merz that Kyiv’s citizens are going through “terrible nights and days” due to the ongoing Russian attacks.

Merz was accompanied by his economy minister, as well as executives from several large German companies, such as Siemens Energy and Diehl Defence.

Ukraine and Germany are also expected to finalise a deal to produce drones and other weapons together that can travel more than 600 miles (965.6km) in an effort to strike deeper into Russia.

Germany has been one of Ukraine’s staunchest supporters. In April, the two countries signed a military pact worth more than $4bn. On Sunday, a $1.1bn military aid package is set to be announced, alongside $394m to repair damage to Ukraine’s energy sector.

Merz’s visit comes a day after Russia warned foreign diplomats and nationals to leave the capital to avoid getting hurt.

Russia’s Ministry of Defence promised to intensify strikes on Ukraine after Zelenskyy said in an interview with the Reuters news agency that it is doubling down on targeting Russian oil refineries after several civilians were killed and wounded over the weekend.

The strike that hit the Northern Bridge over the Dnipro River on Sunday also damaged a road and the supply of hot water in the area, according to a social media statement from Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko. It is the second bridge in the capital to be hit this weekend.

Russia’s all-out war on Ukraine is in its fifth year. Both sides have increased the number of drone and missile attacks on infrastructure, logistics and military sites in recent months.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry says reopening the strait has been its main goal, while the US continues to focus on nuclear talks.

The Strait of Hormuz is going to remain closed until the United States accepts Tehran’s seven-day plan to reopen the waterway, Iran’s top negotiator and parliament speaker has said.

Iranian state-linked news agency Nournews, quoting ⁠Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, reported on Sunday that Washington made “some proposals through a mediator” days after the US replied ⁠to Iran’s diplomatic proposal.

The US should know “that the era of wasting time and dictating unilateral demands is over”, Ghalibaf said, adding Iran’s position remains “clear and definite”.

He emphasised that “the Strait of Hormuz will not open until our seven conditions based on the Islamabad memorandum are met”, and that Iran is “present on the military battlefield and will confront them with new surprises”.

He added that Iran was neither “excited” nor “intimidated” by the latest US proposals and would “both fight and negotiate”.

US President Donald Trump ruled out an Iranian proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz last week, hours after Iran put forward a roadmap to reopening the strait, through which one-fifth of global oil and natural gas is shipped during peacetime.

Last month, Trump threatened to “annihilate” Iran in his speech on the floor of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).

On Sunday, Iranian Foreign ⁠Minister Abbas Araghchi also said Iran is “serious about finding diplomatic solutions just as we are serious about defending ourselves”.

Speaking to foreign ambassadors and diplomats in Tehran, Araghchi said Iran had clearly explained ⁠its conditions for reopening the strait and ⁠that Tehran hoped Washington would choose diplomacy and accept its proposal.

However, Araghchi warned that if the US takes military action again, Iran is “more prepared than before and will take whatever action is necessary to defend ourselves”.

Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei added that Tehran used the UNGA platform last month to provide world leaders with its position on ending the US-Israel war on Iran.

He said the US has continued to focus on nuclear talks, while reopening the strait has been Iran’s main goal.

“We are at this stage mainly focusing on the strait, and our principal concern is to reach a solution and to have peace and stability restored within this waterway,” Baghaei said.

The Strait of Hormuz has been largely blocked and disrupted for more than seven months, since the US and Israel launched strikes on Iran on February 28, driving one of the worst maritime shipping disruptions in decades.

AN international megastar is being lined up to headline Brighton and Hove Pride.

The Sun can exclusively reveal how Jennifer Lopez is deep in discussions to take to the stage for her first full-length UK gig in 15 years.

The Jenny From The Block hitmaker, 57,  has been approached by organisers to perform at the event, which takes place next summer.

It comes after the high profile bash, which raises funds for LGBTQ+ charities, has previously welcomed a series of superstars onto its stage, including Diana Ross, Paris Hilton, Raye, Mariah Carey, Christina Aguilera, Kylie Minogue and Britney Spears.

A source said: “The event gets bigger and bigger every year and organisers are in the planning stages of booking talent and have reached out to JLo’s team, everyone is really excited to pull it off.

“She’d be a perfect headliner, they’re just working out schedules.”

YES SIR

Jennifer Lopez takes inspiration from Maya Jama in The Gentleman with new look

GOING FOR GOLD

J-Lo & Jennifer Lawrence stun in sheer gowns as they lead Golden Globes glam

After headlining World Pride in Washington, D.C. in 2025, Lopez revealed her priorities in her life changed.

She said: “I played Pride last year and I felt like it was the beginning of the new chapter of my life.

“The LGBTQ+ community, for me, has always been a loyal and big part of my fanbase.”

J.Lo last headlined a gig in the country on her Dance Again World Tour when she played London’s O2 Arena in 2012.

This year, Raye and superstar Diana Ross headlined the festivities which are held every year at Preston Park in Brighton in August.

The year before, Girls Aloud played their only UK festival appearance as part of their 2024 reunion at the event.

Close race expected as left-wing Lula seeks fourth non-consecutive term against right-wing Flavio Bolsonaro, son of convicted former president.

Polls have opened in Brazil’s presidential election, once again pitting left-wing incumbent Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva against a right-wing candidate from the Bolsonaro family – Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, the eldest son of former President Jair Bolsonaro.

Some 160 million registered voters are eligible to cast ballots in Sunday’s elections, which will elect lawmakers, governors and senators.

If no presidential candidate wins more than 50 percent of valid votes, the top two contenders will proceed to a run-off on October 25.

Most opinion polls ahead of the vote showed a close contest, with Lula holding a marginal advantage over Bolsonaro that tightens further in a potential second round.

Lula, of the Workers’ Party, is seeking a fourth nonconsecutive term. The 80-year-old, who previously served as president from 2003 to 2010, wants to continue his series of social programmes aimed at addressing inequality.

Bolsonaro, of the Liberal Party, has promised a hard stance on crime and insecurity. The 45-year-old has also pledged close collaboration with the United States under President Donald Trump.

His father is currently serving a 27-year prison sentence over his role in a coup plot following his election loss to Lula by 1.8 percentage points in 2022. The far-right leader’s conviction and that of several military officers raised questions about the strength of Brazilian democracy, reviving past traumas of the 21-year-long period during which Brazil was ruled by a US-backed military dictatorship.

The presidential election has been dominated by issues such as crime, insecurity and the high cost of living. Corruption and concerns about US intervention in the country’s domestic affairs have also loomed over the campaign.

A recent survey by Quaest says violence was cited as the biggest concern by 31 percent of respondents, followed by corruption (20 percent), economy (19 percent) and healthcare (12 percent).

“The stakes of this election are incredibly stark because the candidates stand for such opposing visions about what Brazil’s recent history means,” Andre Pagliarini, an assistant professor of history and international studies at Louisiana State University and the author of a book on Lula, told Al Jazeera.

He added that while Lula embodies the “consolidation of Brazilian democracy since the end of the dictatorship”, the Bolsonaro family argues that “the institutions that Brazilian democracy has erected since the end of dictatorship are either rotten and unresponsive”.

With reporting by Brian Osgood

Tens of thousands of people have rallied across Spain as protests have spread since the conservative-dominated parliament rejected a bill proposing measures to tackle a housing crisis.

Parliament on Friday voted down two decrees proposed by Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s minority left-wing coalition government that were intended to address the housing crisis.

The protests erupted late last month after an 87-year-old woman was evicted from her home of 70 years in the capital, Madrid. Maria del Carmen Abascal’s eviction came after an international investment fund bought her building and hiked the rent.

Local media reports have suggested that Sanchez could call snap elections for as early as November after watching the strength of Saturday’s protests across the country. Spain’s current legislative term is set to end next summer.

Will the housing crisis trigger snap elections? Here’s what we know:

What happened on Friday in parliament?

The emergency measures proposed by Spain’s leftist government to tackle the country’s housing affordability crisis failed to pass on Friday.

The government had proposed two measures to protect renters in the country. The first decree was meant to stop evictions of vulnerable people, make real estate speculation harder, impose tighter restrictions on short-term leases and provide tax incentives to encourage renting and the construction of housing.

The second decree proposed making leases automatically renew when they are set to expire, essentially making them indefinite. A property owner would have to pay a tenant 12 months of rent to break the contract.

Sanchez, who leads a coalition government composed of his Socialist Party and the far-left Sumar, ⁠appealed to lawmakers in the run-up to the vote to put aside political calculations and pressure.

“Think about ordinary people, about those who most need the protection of public institutions. Think about the millions of young people who ⁠cannot afford to ⁠move out of their parents’ homes. Think about the families living with the constant ⁠anxiety of ever-rising rents,” he said before the voting.

But his government’s proposed measures were shot down by the majority of ⁠the 350-seat lower house of parliament.

The right-wing ⁠Catalan separatist ⁠party Junts refused to back the housing decrees, saying they would ultimately tighten the housing market. The centre-right Popular Party and far-right Vox also voted against the measures.

Miriam Nogueras of Junts argued the decrees would lead only to owners removing their properties from the rental market and thus driving up prices even further.

“If they really wanted to protect people, collar the vulture funds, and reactivate housing, they would have already done it. They’ve had eight years,” she added on X, referring to Sanchez’s government.

Health Minister Monica Garcia said on X that the right-wing parties “have voted for a feudal economy in which a minority extracts the salary from a majority that works for their luxuries. And they do it against their own voters, who also suffer increasingly high rents, live in fear that the contract will end and can even be evicted.”

“Today the right has given rent-seeking a parliamentary majority that it doesn’t have on the street, but it’s going to pay for it sooner rather than later,” she added.

Before the parliamentary vote, Marta Soler Gallart, head of the Department of Sociology at the University of Barcelona, explained that neither of the two decrees addressed the housing problem in the medium or long term.

“Models such as Vienna’s with its low rents are cited in support of these decrees, but it is overlooked that the Vienna model and others have low rents because of their long history of creating and maintaining public social housing,” Soler Gallart told Al Jazeera on September 30.

“In Spain, however, public funds are invested in social housing which, after a while, the recipients sell at market price.”

Soler Gallart also said the new measures disadvantage landlords with small or few properties by extending five-year tenancy agreements by a further two years and by providing an indefinite extension of their leases.

“However, these extensions are not compulsory if the landlord can prove that they need the property for their own use,” she said.

Why are people protesting across Spain?

Protests erupted across Spain in late September after 87-year-old Abascal was evicted from her home. The investment fund that bought her building hiked her rent by more than 200 percent to roughly $1,880 a month, a move aimed at pushing out the long-term tenant to make way for lucrative tourist apartments.

In recent years, Spain has seen protests against mass tourism, which has been linked to the housing crisis and soaring cost of living. Spain is the second most visited country in the world, attracting 97 million tourists last year.

While Abascal has returned to her home, according to her representatives, she has become the face of the country’s housing crisis, and people across Spain have been demanding the government address the issue.

Angered by parliament’s rejection of the government measures, tens of thousands of people took to the streets.

“It’s a shame,” Nando de Anguulo, 26, who joined Saturday’s protest in Madrid, told the Reuters news agency.

“It only proves that it is us, the people, who have to adapt to the political parties and not the politicians to what the people want, and this can’t go on like that.”

While the protests were mostly peaceful, in the southeastern city of Valencia, police fired rubber bullets and tear gas to break up demonstrations. About 30 protesters managed to get inside the City of Arts and Sciences, a landmark cultural building, before police removed them.

Meanwhile, in Madrid, Spanish police arrested three members of a far-right group and fired rubber bullets on Saturday night.

Far-right activists, some of whom performed Nazi salutes, tried to reach demonstrators camped out in the Puerta del Sol, a central square in the Spanish capital, the Spanish government said.

Valeria Racu, a spokesperson for the Tenants’ Union, said Saturday’s rallies revealed “a new energy that we haven’t seen in a long time and energy that is showing that eight days of people’s power can achieve more than eight years of progressive government”.

“Now begins real politics – politics which has always belonged to the people and which will return once and for all to the streets,” Racu added.

Could the housing crisis lead to snap elections?

Housing is a sensitive issue in Spain because it impacts how people vote. The average rent in the country has almost doubled in the past 10 years. The average price per square metre has risen from 8.20 euros (about $9.08 at the time) in 2016 to 15.1 euros ($17.15) this year, according to the real estate website Idealista.

In an October 1 article for Vanity Fair, Spanish journalist Jorge Dioni Lopez noted that after eight years in power, housing is what is causing Sanchez to lose support among educated young people, children of the middle classes.

“The government faces a difficult situation. Firstly, because most of the relevant powers lie with other levels of government. Secondly, because Spain is a nation of homeowners. Unlike in other European countries, almost all the public housing that has been built has ended up in private hands, and historically, homeownership has been more attractive than renting,” he wrote.

“Housing is our savings system and also the primary means of transmitting wealth between generations,” he added.

After Spain’s parliament rejected the government’s housing reform bills on Friday, the leader of the centre-right People’s Party, (PP) Alberto Nunez Feijoo, urged Sanchez to “call elections as soon as possible”, claiming he had the support of “neither the streets nor parliament”.

While Sanchez has not officially announced new elections, the Spanish online news site El Diario has reported that elections could take place as early as November 29. Spain’s general elections are currently scheduled for July 2027.

The anonymous arts group known as Secret Handshake has gone international with its piquant form of satirical anti-Trump artwork, this time placing a playable video game console called “Nuuk ‘Em All” in, yes, Nuuk, Greenland. The group sent a picture of the console to The Times. It sits alone on a barren cliff above the sea, with a smallish iceberg visible in the water below. The peaked roofs of a nearby town can be seen in the distance.

Secret Handshake has created more than a dozen pieces of guerrilla art mocking Trump since last year — all of which appeared on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., until July when a golden, 10-foot tall “Iran War Participation Trophy,” cropped up in New York City. That piece arrived at the Minnesota State Capitol in early August.

Greenland is ambitious though, even for a collective that revels in creating outsize splashes with its work (see the Trump-Epstein “Best Friends Forever” sculpture). Asked via email how the group transported the full-size video game console to the country — which has weathered a series of unwelcome overtures from Trump to become part of the U.S. since he retook office early last year — a representative wrote, “You have no idea — it was honestly very difficult. A true ‘planes, trains, and automo … ships’ situation. Did you know that the arctic is actually quite far? And they’re not used to whipping over arcade games.”

“Nuuk ‘Em All” is the second satirical video game Secret Handshake has released since July when it first introduced the world to “Operation Epic Furious: Strait to Hell,” which finds Trump waging a futile war with Iran while making all kinds of bumbling choices including whether to order a Diet Coke or bomb the country.

The game arrives in Greenland shortly after the Trump administration signed an agreement with the country and Denmark to expand the U.S. military presence in the Arctic while seemingly dropping threats to annex the semi-autonomous Danish territory.

Three additional cabinets of the game were simultaneously placed at the D.C. War Memorial on the National Mall, and can be played online on any old computer. The game begins with an animation of the White House, its lawn covered with cranes and backhoes. “The year is 2026,” the scrolling text reads. “The White House is under constant construction, reconstruction and construction of the reconstruction.”

The action moves to Trump’s Mar-a-Lago headquarters where Trump is approached by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who apologizes for waking Trump from his “tactical nap” to tell him about some “issues with Iran.” Trump asks if the Strait of Hormuz is 100% open and Hegseth replies, “Yes, sir. It’s so open that we’ve used up all our missiles, and gas now costs more than bourbon.”

I haven’t had the chance to play the game for long, but Secret Handshake’s email details what to expect, “In this game, Iran is going great (spoiler — it’s not), so Trump heads north to check on his new frozen frontier. Along the way, he battles unthinkable evils like Fully Vaccinated Children, Woke Yetis, and the happiest people on Earth, the Danish. All the while, the player’s greatest challenge is trying to keep President Trump from falling back asleep.”

Secret Handshake didn’t have any information about how Greenland has responded to the game, with the rep noting, “I think there is a lot of hope and relief over there right now that this agreement is the end of the barrage of bullying and threats from the US. But our feeling—and I truly hope we’re wrong— is that it’s just the beginning. Especially with Trump refusing to answer if an invasion is completely off the table now.”

Regardless of what happens in Greenland, the rep continued, “the thing I really like the most about this new game is that between all the satire, and jokes, and silliness, it actually ends up back in reality — the character is still stuck in an endless loop of war in Iran. And that, sadly, is still just as true as when we released the Iran game almost half a year ago.”

I’m Arts editor Jessica Gelt screaming into the void. This is your arts and culture news for the week.

The week ahead: A curated calendar

FRIDAY

Boston Marriage
David Mamet’s 1999 epigram-filled comedy about two women sorting out their affairs while maintaining their standard of living at the turn of the 20th century. Directed by Bernardo Cubría. With Nicole Pacent, Heather Wake and Dulce Valencia.
8 p.m. Fridays-Saturdays (and one Thursday, Oct. 22): 2 p.m. Sundays, through Oct. 24. European House LA, 12355 Rye Street, Studio City. ticketsource.com

Yvette Janine Jackson With Radio Opera Workshop
The ensemble integrates electronics, acoustic instruments, voice and images to produce new music by the award-winning composer and sound artist. Presented by CAP UCLA in collaboration with the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music and the UCLA Center for Musical Humanities.
8 p.m. The Nimoy, 1262 Westwood Blvd. cap.ucla.edu

The Little Women Ballet in action.

(Edie Tyebkhan-Melissa O’Gara)

Little Women Ballet
The dance troupe’s Autumn Immersive Experience brings audiences into the world of Louisa May Alcott through movement amid Victorian Era architecture.
6:30 p.m. Friday, 3 and 6:30 p.m. Saturday-Sunday. Heritage Square Museum, 800 Homer St., Montecito Heights. littlewomenballet.org

Outside Mullingar
An Irish romance written by Pulitzer Prize and Academy Award winner John Patrick Shanley that premiered on Broadway in 2014 finds a middle-age man and woman, longtime neighbors, circling an uneasy relationship in uncertain times. Michael Kirby, Liza Seneca, Armin Shimerman and Kitty Swink star. Directed by Matthew Leavitt.
8 p.m. Fridays-Saturdays, 2 p.m. Saturdays, 4 p.m. Sundays, through Oct. 25. Sierra Madre Playhouse, 87 W. Sierra Madre Blvd. sierramadreplayhouse.org

Gretchen Parlato
The jazz singer-songwriter performs music from her new album, “The Wise Ones,” joined by her band Alan Hampton on bass and guitar, Mark Guiliana on drums and percussion and Gerald Clayton on piano and keyboards.
8 p.m. Carpenter Center, 6200 E. Atherton St., Long Beach. carpenterarts.org

SATURDAY

Isaiah Collier performs Saturday at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts.

(Johanna Brinckman)

Isaiah Collier Plays Coltrane
The rising jazz musician and composer pays tribute to the saxophone legend by applying his own sound and reaffirming the music’s ability to evolve. 
7:30 p.m. Segerstrom Center for the Arts, Samueli Theater, 600 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa. scfta.org

Democracy Sessions 2026
Music collective Wild Up expands upon its successful election-themed 2024 event examining how art can function as a democratic practice in this time of censorship, polarization and shifting public trust. The new month-long festival was developed in partnership with MOCA, REDCAT and CalArts, with related programming independently conceived and presented by Clockshop, 2220 Arts + Archives, Human Resources, Performance Art Museum and Living Earth, for the run-up to the Nov. 3 midterms.
Saturday through Nov. 3, various locations. wildup.org

A calavera mask designed by artist Leo Limon and a paper marigold for Self Help Graphics & Art’s Dia de los Muertos Community Art Workshop Series in October 2026.

(Self Help Graphics & Art)

Día de los Muertos Community Art Workshop Series
Self-Help Graphics & Art launches the holiday season with five free Saturday community art workshops. Participants of all ages will learn crafts to honor ancestors and loved ones. Each week features papel picado (tissue paper with cutout shapes) and a paper marigold craft activity, plus a special project: Stamp collages with SHG Lead Printer Dewey Tafoya (Oct. 3); Calavera (skull) masks featuring a design by artist Leo Limon (Oct. 10); Recuerdo (memory) posters with Victoria Delgadillo (Oct. 17); “Living candle” mini paintings with Ivan Zuno (Oct. 24); and Candle decorating with Nupur Behera (Oct. 31).
Noon-3 p.m. Saturdays through Oct. 31. East Los Angeles County Library, Community Room, 4837 E. 3rd St. selfhelpgraphics.com

Woof
A revised version of “Go Play,” written and directed by Barra Grant, featuring the same loquacious dogs with new insights into their clueless owners.
Previews, 2 and 7 p.m. Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday and Oct. 10; opens 7 p.m. Oct. 10; 2 and 7 p.m. Saturdays, 2 p.m. Sundays, through Nov. 8. Odyssey Theater, 2055 S. Sepulveda Blvd. odysseytheatre.com

SUNDAY

Come From Away
The award-winning Broadway hit musical, written by the husband-and-wife team of Irene Sankoff and David Hein, tells the true story of a Canadian town that sheltered thousands of airline passengers whose flights had been diverted on Sept. 11, 2001. Directed by Julia Rodriguez-Elliott, with music direction by Rod Bagheri.
Previews, 2 p.m. Sunday, 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Thursday and Oct. 9; opens Oct. 10 through Nov. 8. A Noise Within, 3352 E. Foothill Blvd. Pasadena. anoisewithin.org

WEDNESDAY

The Best Medicine
Caroline Aaron stars in the West Coast premiere of this solo comedy by playwright Robin Gerber and directed by Jane E. Unger.
Previews, 8 p.m. Wednesday-Friday; Opening, 8 p.m. Saturday; 8 p.m. Fridays-Saturdays, 2 p.m. Sundays, through Nov. 15. Odyssey Theatre, 2055 S. Sepulveda Blvd. odysseytheatre.com

B+ Mom (An Enthusiastic Guide to Imperfect Parenting)
Melissa Greenspan wrote and performs this solo comedy directed by Guy Picot.
7:30 p.m. Wednesdays, through Oct. 28. Rogue Machine at the Matrix Theatre, upstairs on the Henry Murray Stage, 7657 Melrose Ave. roguemachinetheatre.org

Charlemagne Palestine
The Brick and Piano Spheres presents the visual artist and musician performing “Strumming Music,” which he describes as “an evolutionary liquid sound continuum process” and performed hundreds of versions over the last 50+ years.
8 p.m. The Brick, 518 N. Western Ave. the-brick.org

THURSDAY

Ronald K. Brown / Evidence
The landmark African diasporic dance company led by choreographer Brown recently celebrated its 40th anniversary. West Coast fans will have the chance to experience the New York-based company’s unique blend of contemporary, African and African American dance traditions with this program of four pieces that includes tributes to some of Brown’s most enduring collaborators. (Eloise Rollins-Fife)
7:30 p.m. Thursday-Oct. 10. The Wallis, 9390 N. Santa Monica Blvd., Beverly Hills. thewallis.org

Wives
East West Players presents the Southern California premiere of Jaclyn Backhaus’ feminist comedy examining a selection of “great men” in 16th century France, 1920s India and 1960s Idaho. A primarily South Asian and South Asian American cast, under the direction of Hypokrit Live Arts NYC co-founder and artistic director Arpita Mukherjee, brings this redress of women’s erasure in history to astringent comic life. (Charles McNulty)
Through Nov. 1, check website for specific dates. East West Players, Union Center for the Arts, David Henry Hwang Theater, 120 Judge John Aiso St. eastwestplayers.org/wives

Yamel Cucuy
Austin’s Glass Half Full Theatre returns with this production, last seen in L.A. at the Latino Theater Company’s 2024 Encuentro theater festival. The tale of a girl on the verge of adulthood facing the threat of immigration agents and haunted by specters from Mexican folklore is told through live actors, sophisticated puppetry and an original score of Indigenous percussion. Written by Gricelda Silva, Indigo Rael and Caroline Reck, with additional writing by Jesus I. Valles and Connor Hopkins. Directed by Reck.
8 p.m. Thursdays-Saturdays, 2 p.m. Sundays, through Nov. 1. Los Angeles Theatre Center 514 S Spring St. latinotheaterco.org

The SoCal scene

Wendy Raigosa, 27, Long Beach, uses repurposed materials in her art project at Kate Ingold’s bi-monthly Samizdat Sundays workshop at the Wende Museum.

(Carlin Stiehl / For The Times)

Times contributor Miranda Huang wrote about bi-monthly classes at the Wende Museum called “Samizdat Sundays” in which teacher Kate Ingold teaches participants samizdat, “a practice in which Soviet dissidents hand-typed literature, criticism and poetry to bypass state censorship. Each week, Ingold opens the workshop with a new prompt related to speech suppression — an issue with renewed currency today.”

Vincent Price Art Museum is currently staging a unique exhibit featuring the work of Anida Yoeu Ali, a Cambodian-born artist who lives in Tacoma, Wash. It’s called “The Buddhist Bug” and features a 328-foot-long orange insect, which Ali will occupy on opening day, and again on closing day. “Ali’s numerous performance-based exhibits explore her Cambodian American identity and Buddhist and Muslim religions. The bug is her ‘totally humorous take on hybridity’,” writes contributor Siran Babayan.

Ed Ruscha’s new poster for Alejandro Iñárritu’s “Digger,” featuring the Boy Scout Utility Modern font, which Ruscha designed himself and has used exclusively since around 1980.

(Ed Ruscha)

Times staff writer Laura Zornosa headed to LACMA over the weekend to attend a private lunch featuring filmmaker Alejandro González Iñárritu, Tom Cruise and Ed Ruscha, for the unveiling of a poster Ruscha made for Iñárritu’s new film, “Digger,” starring Cruise.

Segerstrom Center for the Arts turned 40 last month and Times contributor Jenelle Riley made the drive to interview the organization’s leaders, including President and Chief Executive Casey Reitz, about how the campus grew out of windswept lima bean fields to become the epicenter of art and culture in Orange County.

Contributor Leah Ollman had such a hard time narrowing down her list of must-see shows for our Fall Arts preview, that we asked her to create another list of 14 off the beaten path shows that art lovers should be sure to see.

RM, leader of the K-pop group BTS, speaks at SFMOMA in advance of an art show he curated featuring many pieces from his personal collection.

(Mags Ng)

RM, the leader of K-pop supergroup, BTS, is also a serious art lover with a collection of more than 400 pieces. This month he is co-curating a show at SFMOMA featuring more than 100 pieces from his private stash paired with art from the museum meant to compliment its themes.

Architecture critic Sam Lubell went to the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art last weekend and was sorry to see that the museum has erected gates around its main courtyard. Lubell, like many, had been under the impression that the courtyard was meant to function as a grand civic plaza, so he penned a piece of commentary questioning the founders’ motives for cordoning off the area. “It’s hard not to wonder whether these barriers represent something more than security: the extension into public space of the gated, closely guarded world inhabited by co-founders George Lucas, Mellody Hobson and those in their orbit,” Lubell writes.

A rendering of the Las Vegas Museum of Art, designed by architect Francis Kéré.

(Kéré Architecture / Las Vegas Museum of Art)

Culture News

Earlier this week the long-gestating Las Vegas Museum of Art hosted a preview of its Grand Central Galleries — a multipurpose media lab and exhibition space located in Symphony Park down the street from the museum’s future main building. Scheduled to open in April 2027, the 15,000-square-foot space will act as an entry point to the museum and is slated to host a variety of exhibitions and programs while the museum’s Francis Kéré-designed building remains under construction through 2029.

The Grand Central Galleries exhibition program was organized by the LVMA in collaboration with LACMA, and will open with “A Shared Light: Monet, Impressionism, and the American Landscape,” organized by Shannon Vittoria, LACMA’s associate curator of American art, along with David Bardeen, LACMA’s assistant curator of European painting and sculpture. It features nearly 60 works by artists including Claude Monet, Paul Cézanne, John Singer Sargent, Pierre-Auguste Renoir and James McNeill Whistler.

— Jessica Gelt

And last but not least

Yes, they did that. The Food staff compiled a list of 20 of its favorite sundaes and banana splits in L.A. Since summer is never going away, this seems like the perfect time.

With elections one month away, the media discourse in Israel has narrowed in on one question about one man: What did Benjamin Netanyahu know before October 7?

The prime minister is suing the Israeli newspaper that reported the claim, while the right-wing Channel 14 insists none of it matters. Missing from the coverage is any reckoning with what Israel has done in Gaza.

Contributors:
Dan Perry – Author, Ask Questions Later on Substack
Diana Buttu – Human rights lawyer
Ron Skolnik – Political consultant, Partners for Progressive Israel
Yael Berda – Associate professor, Hebrew University of Jerusalem

On our radar

Donald Trump gathered some of the biggest names in AI this week and got them to agree to regulate themselves. Meenakshi Ravi examines the “morally binding” pact.

Kidfluencers: The business of broadcasting childhood

One of the most popular genres of online content these days is made by children – or rather, made of them.

Family vlogging has become one of the internet’s most profitable genres. But questions remain over its stars’ labour protections and ability to consent to what is published about them. The Listening Post’s Tariq Nafi looks at the business of broadcasting childhood.

Featuring: 
Caymi Barrett – Former child influencer
Fortesa Latifi – Author, Like, Follow, Subscribe
Sarah Adams – Founder, Mom.Uncharted

Voters cast their ballots for a dizzying number of officials across multiple tiers of government.

Polls have opened in Bosnia and Herzegovina for a general election to choose new leaders at the national and regional levels, in a vote that could affect the country’s European Union membership bid.

On Saturday, about 3.4 million voters are choosing the three members of the country’s multiethnic presidency, lawmakers for the national Parliament and heads of institutions for the country’s two entities: the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FBiH) and Republika Srpska, which is dominated by ethnic Serbs.

Bosnia’s complex web of governing institutions was created by a United States-brokered peace agreement in 1995 in an effort to manage the ethnic divisions between Muslim Bosniaks, Orthodox Serbs and Catholic Croats that gave rise to the 1992-95 war.

The major parties’ repeated focus on war-era rhetoric and division was frustrating for some voters, activist Adi Selman of the Karton Revolucija protest group told the AFP news agency.

“I don’t think these new elections in Bosnia will change anything,” the 34-year-old said in the northern Bosnian town of Tuzla, ahead of the vote.

“The choice is limited to political parties that have already been around for 30 years and basically pick up votes by harping on about war, tensions, divisions and the past.”

“Bosnia and Herzegovina is dead; it is an impossible country,” Republika Srpska’s former president, Milorad Dodik, told the final rally of his right-wing Alliance of Independent Social Democrats (SNSD) in the entity’s capital Banja Luka late on Friday.

EU membership bid

In the FBiH, Bosniak parties are pushing for a stronger central state, with incumbent Bosniak presidency member Denis Becirovic pledging a renewed path to the EU and NATO.

The EU granted Bosnia candidate status in December 2022, but accession negotiations scheduled for 2024 were delayed as Brussels demanded the country pass stronger anticorruption laws and reform its judicial system.

Croat nationalist parties are also pushing for electoral reform, demanding a greater say in choosing the Croat member of the presidency in the entity they share with the more numerous Bosniaks.

Meanwhile, Russia is accused of slowing down the country’s path towards joining the EU, while also holding close ties with the SNSD, which favours secession for Republika Srpska.

This general election is the first in the country in which new electronic tools are being used to scan ballot papers and carry out biometric fingerprint verification in a move to reduce fraud during the election.

Polls close at 7pm (17:00 GMT) and first results are expected later on Sunday.

The Fletcher family are back on Sunday with a new instalment of Fletcher’s Family Farm

Kelvin and Liz Fletcher reflected on what the future holds for their Cheshire Farm on Sunday’s Fletcher’s Family Farm.

The episode, airing today, sees the couple, who share the highs and lows of farming in their ITV series, Liz floated the idea of a maize maze with a cafe, while leaving room for Kelvin to grow oats.

Before the couple sat down to discuss their options for the farm, Kelvin had a bone to pick with Liz over the dishes. He said, “Liz made tea last night, and then she just leaves everything as it was last night. When I make tea, as soon as I finish making it, I tidy up. “

Liz chimed in sarcastically, “And on today’s lesson of how to clean, Kelvin is going to talk you through it,” to which the former soap star replied, “What can I say? I like a tidy ship. And before we talk through our plans for the farm, we’ve got a couple of domestic issues to clean up.”

Turning to his wife, he asked, “Tell me why you keep buying eggs and why you’re buying that many eggs when we’ve got chickens?”

As Liz retorted back that they were the farm’s eggs, Kelvin pointed out, ” They’ve got stamps on them though, darling. I can’t get my head around it. Why’d you buy eggs?”

“Because I can’t keep wasting time looking for eggs,” Liz explained. “So I just think if I’ve bought them, I’ve definitely got them. It’s a bonus.”

“Sometimes I just don’t want to be the parent or the wife. I just want to be like 18 again. I’ve got no responsibilities,” Liz added before turning her attention to the future of the farm. “Should we just discuss the front fields with the crop? Got my notebook, which will also make Kelvin annoyed.”

“Are we sitting next to each other or not?” Kelvin asked, prompting Liz to joke: “No, I’m not your friend.” Kelvin added, “Living and working together can sometimes be a challenge, but we always kiss and make up. Eventually.”

Despite the teasing, Liz had a clear idea of how they could divide the field between their two ambitions. She told Kelvin, “Let’s split it. So I’d like to do the maize in this bottom bit, and then you can have your oats in this top bit. Because I’d like to do a maze with something happening in the middle, a cafe.”

Explaining why she wanted to try something different, she added: “Because I don’t want to waste the whole field on oats again, just in case it doesn’t work, and at least we can lift this, and maybe make some money out of it as an event and as a crop.”

“Yeah. Okay,” Kelvin nodded in agreement, to which a surprised Liz asked, “Is that just a straight yes?”

Kelvin added, “Yeah, that’s a good plan.”

Fletcher’s Family Farm airs on Sunday at 11.25am on ITV.

Students, teachers and volunteers in a working-class Dakar neighbourhood have joined forces to clean up the dilapidated Medina Gounass Elementary School in advance of the new academic year, highlighting wider concerns over public education and sanitation in Senegal’s capital.

On Saturday, pupils, members of environmental organisations and residents swept classrooms, cleared drains and collected piles of plastic and household waste from the school in Medina Gounass, a densely populated suburb of Dakar.

The initiative comes as the 2026-27 school year is set to begin on Monday for staff and Tuesday for students.

Footage from the scene shows young students wielding brooms and shovels alongside older volunteers.

Medina Gounass, like many outlying districts of Dakar, struggles with inadequate waste management, blocked drainage and overcrowded classrooms, problems that often worsen during the rainy season.

Organisers say the cleanup is meant not only to ready the school for reopening but also to raise awareness among students and residents about the importance of environmental protection and shared responsibility for public spaces.

Maysa Abu Daoud and her daughter Mary al-Najjar among five Palestinians killed in Gaza City attack.

The Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, has expressed his “deep sorrow and grief” over the “tragic” killing of two Christian women in an Israeli air attack on Gaza City.

Maysa Abu Daoud and her daughter Mary al-Najjar were among five Palestinians killed in the attack that hit the ground floor of a building in the Remal neighbourhood on Saturday, in the latest Israeli violation of a United States-brokered “ceasefire” agreement with the Palestinian group Hamas.

In a statement, the patriarch extended his “heartfelt condolences” to the loved ones of the two women and to the Christian community in Gaza.

Their funeral took place on Saturday at Saint Porphyrius Church in Gaza City’s Old City.

The two women were Palestinian Christians from Gaza City who devoted their time to helping parishioners and displaced people sheltering at the Holy Family Church, according to Palestine’s Higher Presidential Committee for Church Affairs.

The committee’s chairman, Ramzi Khoury, described their deaths as a “painful loss” for their families, the church and its parishioners.

Mary’s son, 14-year-old Fouad al-Najjar, told the Anadolu news agency the strike hit the building at about 1:30am (22:30 GMT).

“My grandmother and my mother died. May God have mercy on them,” he said.

Al-Najjar appealed for an end to Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza, saying Palestinians were losing their loved ones every day.

“We are exhausted by this war and have endured so much,” he said. “For almost three years, we have been living through the same destruction, the same grief and the same war.”

Palestinian Lutheran pastor Munther Isaac, who serves in Ramallah and directs the Bethlehem Institute for Peace and Justice, wrote on X: “The genocide continues in Gaza.”

The Gaza Strip is home to fewer than 1,000 Christians. The community was already small before the war, and many of its members have been killed since then in attacks on their homes and churches throughout the war that began in October 2023.

On October 19, 2023, an attack on the Saint Porphyrius Church compound killed at least 18 people. Two months later, the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem said an Israeli sniper shot dead a woman and her daughter inside the Holy Family parish compound in Gaza.

An Israeli strike on the Holy Family Catholic Church compound on July 17, 2025 also killed three people and wounded others, including parish priest Father Gabriel Romanelli.

According to the Ministry of Health in Gaza, Israeli attacks have killed at least 74,228 people, including at least 1,445 since the start of the “ceasefire” in October 2025.