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CAIRO: An Egyptian-Spanish archaeological mission has uncovered a 4,300-year-old tomb near Cairo belonging to an ancient judge who heard the grievances of ordinary people, local authorities said.

The tomb was found at Saqqara, a sprawling necropolis south of the capital, and dates back to the reign of Pharaoh Djedkare Isesi, one of the most influential rulers of Egypt’s Fifth Dynasty who oversaw a period of administrative reform in the 24th century BC, the Egyptian tourism and antiquities ministry said.

It was built for Yunmen, a high-ranking official whose duties included listening to the appeals of the kingdom’s subjects and weighing their complaints before the state.

Amr Al-Tayeb, director of the Saqqara archaeological site, told AFP that Yunmen’s duties “align with the ancient Egyptian concept of Maat”, the goddess and principle of truth, justice and social order.

The find was discovered during this summer’s excavation season in the Mariette Cemetery area of northern Saqqara, as part of a long-running joint project by the Autonomous University of Barcelona and Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities.

The newly discovered mastaba, a flat-roofed tomb typically built for elite officials, contains two funerary chapels: one for Yunmen and another for his father, Ity, a senior scribe responsible for overseeing agricultural lands and offerings.

Yunmen’s chapel is adorned with finely carved reliefs depicting farmers at work, servants carrying offerings and scenes associated with funerary rites. Many of the paintings have retained their original colors despite spending more than 40 centuries buried beneath the desert sands, the ministry said.

Archaeologists also uncovered an ornate facade covered with funerary inscriptions, alongside formal depictions of the tomb owner.

In the neighboring chapel, dedicated to Ity, traces of painted offering scenes survive, alongside a false door, a symbolic gateway through which the dead were believed to receive sustenance from the living.

The discovery comes as Egypt seeks to promote new archaeological finds to support tourism, a key source of foreign currency for the country.

When Andrea Pallaoro’s The Echo Chamber premiered at the 83rd Venice International Film Festival on Sunday evening, it earned an eight-minute standing ovation. For its stars— Luca Marinelli, Alicia Vikander, and Susan Sarandon— it was a warm reception to one of the festival’s most anticipated world premieres.

Based on Bernardo Bertolucci’s final screenplay and reworked with his original co-writers, Ilaria Bernardini and Ludovica Rampoldi, the film is both intimate and unsettling, telling a story in which physical pain, emotional dependence, desire, and love gradually become impossible to separate.

At its center is Leo, played by Marinelli, a troubled music producer whose life has been pushed to the edge by addiction and chronic pain. He meets Anne, a physiotherapist played by Vikander, who comes into his life initially to treat his body but ends up reaching something much deeper. Both carry the scars of painful pasts.

Their relationship is vivid, sensual, and sometimes overwhelming: two damaged souls who must learn not simply to love one another, but to let love pass through them and inhabit them without turning it into dependence, possession, or control. Anne becomes Leo’s lifeline. But the rescue is mutual. In trying to save him, she is also brought back to life herself.

Running through their story is another presence: Ava, the aging singer played by Sarandon. Once celebrated for her voice, Ava now confronts the changes age has brought as she works on what may become her final album. Leo becomes her producer. He is emerging from an overdose; she is emerging from the loss of a long relationship and grappling with the uncomfortable question of who she is when the person who shared so much of her life is gone.

The three characters are therefore connected by different forms of damage — and by the possibility that another person can become both a mirror and a way back to oneself.

The danger of being comfortable

For Sarandon, who admits she rarely arrives on a film set feeling safe, that emotional instability made the role frightening. But fear is part of the process, she says. “I would always rather surrender to a director that has a vision than somebody who is already got it marketed and, you know, the studios figured it out.”

Pallaoro had approached her about the role after taking on the daunting task of adapting Bertolucci’s screenplay. Sarandon initially had questions about the character and even imagined a somewhat different musical direction, suggesting artists such as Joni Mitchell. But the director persisted. He traveled to London to meet her and eventually won her trust.

She had trepidation about singing, even though she had once heard Marianne Faithfull perform a duet with David Bowie that, she believed, sounded awful — so why not? “I am always frightened,” she admits. “It takes me weeks to settle down.

And if I am on stage, it takes many performances before I feel like I know what I am doing. I think the fear is part of the responsibility. I don’t have a plan, but I know what I don’t want. To be comfortable for me is always dangerous.”

It is an unexpectedly revealing sentiment from an actress whose career has often been associated with confidence, sensuality, and political fearlessness. But what Sarandon describes is something very different from fearlessness: a willingness to remain exposed. She speaks of waiting for the other actors, staying open to the unexpected, and letting a scene change her. That surrender— to uncertainty, to other people, and to forces beyond her control — runs through The Echo Chamber, a film about what happens when people stop controlling every part of themselves.

Two broken souls learning how to love

Leo and Anne’s relationship is at the heart of the film. He is a man whose body and mind are both in crisis; she is a woman whose own emotional history has left her vulnerable. Their attraction is immediate and intense, but so is the danger it contains.

The film repeatedly asks where care ends, and dependence begins. Pallaoro himself describes the story — the first he has ever directed that was written by someone else — as one in which physical and emotional pain distort the search for intimacy, while tenderness can gradually become control and possession.

Their love becomes a kind of mutual resurrection. Neither arrives whole. Neither can simply ‘fix’ the other. Instead, they have to learn to let themselves be changed by the encounter. This is one reason Sarandon sees her own character’s relationship with Leo as so important. Ava, too, is at a threshold. She has lost the person who defined much of her adult life and is suddenly forced to confront an unfamiliar version of herself.

Sarandon understands that loss as something more complicated than simply losing another person. “When you form any kind of a partnership, that becomes an identity too,” she says. “The partnership identity. And I remember going off on location and being kind of scared. Because I’d be in some terrible motel or hotel in the middle of Texas somewhere. But I was like, okay, I remember, this is who I am. Opening your bag by yourself and you’re scared. But at the same time, it’s good to kind of review that. Before someone dies, it’s good to remember who you are.”

Ava’s aging voice

Ava is a singer, and her voice is no longer what it once was. That becomes part of the character’s vulnerability. She records a new album with Leo, whose own artistic ambitions and personal demons collide. The songs become more than music: they are fragments of Ava’s former self, echoes of a woman she once was.

The Echo Chamber offers no clean transformation. The past does not disappear simply because the future arrives. Instead, Ava has to find a way to carry the woman she used to be into the person she is becoming. Sarandon compares it to a butterfly: transformation is not an erasure of what came before, but a continuation of it. That idea is particularly poignant because the character’s voice— her most obvious instrument of power — is precisely what has changed with age.

Asked about the power of using one’s voice — and why people so often fail to use it — Sarandon does not immediately talk about speaking. She talks about listening.

“People speak out; they do. But do you know what people don’t do? They don’t listen. When my boys were starting to date, I would say, look, learn to cook two meals, and learn to listen. You don’t have to be entertaining, trust me. Just really listen, and you’re going to be fine with everybody. Because I think listening is a lost art. On screen, my superpower… I am a good listener,” she adds with a laugh. “Being present and really listening.”

That quality is perhaps one of the keys to understanding her performance. Sarandon does not approach acting as a demonstration of emotion. She describes it instead as an act of openness— allowing another actor, a piece of music, or an unexpected moment to reach her. “I’m against that theory that you have to be really messed up to be talented,” she says. “I think it’s harder to be both a human being and an artist, but it is possible.”

Social activism and Palestine

That philosophy extends well beyond the set. Sarandon has spent years speaking publicly about AIDS activism, Haiti, social justice, and, more recently, Palestine. Her outspoken support for Palestinians has had professional consequences: she continues to lose film roles, and agencies have discouraged producers from hiring her. The United Talent Agency dropped her in 2023 because of her political statements and pro-Palestinian activism.

Yet when asked about courage, Sarandon rejects the word. “I don’t feel like I have courage at all,” she says. Instead, she describes what she calls an “overdeveloped need for justice,” tracing it back to her childhood. She remembers being disturbed by unfairness even as a child, swapping her dolls’ dresses to make sure they would all take turns wearing the best outfit, and later becoming involved with ACT UP when the mainstream media was failing to adequately cover the AIDS crisis.

“I just see myself as a little flashlight to put on information that maybe…” She pauses before returning to the same principle that seems to guide her acting: she does not claim to know what effect she will have. “It’s not that it’s necessarily successful or that I think I can make a huge difference or change them, but … I don’t want to change myself.”

There is also a lighter side to Sarandon’s relationship with her public image. For audiences across the Arab world, where her outspoken positions have made her a beloved figure, the word ‘queen’ has become part of the vocabulary surrounding her. During our conversation, I tell her that someone in the newsroom had essentially instructed me: ‘You have to speak to Susan. She’s our queen’.

Sarandon bursts out laughing. “Wait, does that include real estate?” Beneath the joke lies something touching: the affection she has accumulated far beyond the borders of Hollywood.

Her political positions have cost her professionally in the US, but they have also reinforced her connection with international audiences who see her as an artist unwilling to separate her work from her conscience. In Venice, she spoke openly about the price she has paid for her positions on Palestine, while also making clear that she feels welcomed by filmmakers and audiences outside the US.

The Bertolucci echo

There is, inevitably, another voice inside The Echo Chamber: that of Bertolucci. Pallaoro inherited the screenplay rather than writing it himself, taking on the challenge of making his own film from the final work of one of cinema’s great auteurs. The director has spoken about the freedom that distance gave him— allowing him to approach themes that were already close to his own cinema while making the material his own.

For Sarandon, Bertolucci’s presence was also personal. She knew him and remembers the profound effect his films had on her, particularly The Conformist. The visual world of The Echo Chamber carries traces of that legacy without attempting simply to reproduce it.

The apartment becomes both refuge and prison. Rooms, mirrors, corridors, and reflections constantly alter the distance between the characters. Music exists inside the world of the film rather than simply sitting on top of it. Pallaoro has described the apartment as a space where care and control become increasingly difficult to distinguish.

And that is where the title becomes particularly resonant. An echo is not an original voice. It returns, changed by the space through which it has traveled.

“That’s what keeps you hooked“

For Sarandon, acting seems to work in much the same way. She never studied acting formally and does not describe herself as someone who retreats into a method and stays there. She can reach an emotional state, she says, but she also wants to be surprised — by another actor, by music, by something that happens in the moment. When she goes home to her children, she leaves the character behind.

Sarandon’s outspoken positions on Palestine have made her a beloved figure in the Arab world where she is often referred to as the ‘queen’

The vulnerability comes not from living permanently inside the role, but from being willing to open the door again every time she returns to set. “That’s what keeps you hooked, I think.”

In The Echo Chamber, almost everyone is looking for a way out: from addiction, grief, an old identity, loneliness, the fear of aging, and intimacy itself. But perhaps the film proposes something more complicated than escape. Maybe we do not evolve by leaving our broken selves behind, but by allowing another person, another voice, another love to reach the places we had stopped allowing anyone to enter.

And for Sarandon, the answer seems simpler still: listen, remain open, accept the fear, and refuse to become someone else simply because the world would find it more convenient. “I don’t want to change myself,” she says.

At 79, in a film about voices, echoes, and reinvention, it is a fitting place to leave her.

Uzbek and Saudi creative communities gathered in Riyadh’s Diplomatic Quarter to mark the 35th anniversary of Uzbekistan’s independence through a unique celebration of shared artistic heritage.

Titled The Art of Al-Mounamnamat: From Bukhara to Arabia — Stories Along the Routes of the Sacred, the exhibition at The Space in Al-Mashtal brought together artists, academics, and diplomats to examine how Islamic miniature art serves as a living bridge between Central Asia and the Arab world.

The event featured panel discussions on how manuscript illustration, sacred geometry, and visual storytelling have documented spiritual and cultural practices across generations. Tracing the historic journey of miniature painting from Transoxiana to the modern Middle East, participants explored how the borderless medium continues to evolve.

Nodirjon Turgunov, ambassador of Uzbekistan to Saudi Arabia, said: “Events like The Art of Al-Mounamnamat strengthen ties between Saudi Arabia and Uzbekistan by bringing people together through Islamic art and our shared cultural heritage. They offer an opportunity to learn about one another’s traditions, exchange ideas and build friendships that deepen the relationship between our countries.

“Holding this event in Riyadh is particularly meaningful. Saudi Arabia has great potential in the field of Islamic art, and we see opportunities for closer cooperation between our artists and cultural institutions. We want to develop cultural diplomacy as a way to bring our peoples closer together, encouraging exhibitions, creative exchanges and joint initiatives. Through these connections, we can celebrate our shared heritage while creating new opportunities for future generations.”

Turgunov added: “As a next step, we plan to organize a similar exhibition featuring Saudi artists in Uzbekistan in the coming years, giving Uzbek audiences an opportunity to discover and appreciate Saudi artistic traditions. We also hope to expand these exchanges to other art forms that reflect the rich cultural heritage of our two nations, building a lasting dialogue between our artists and communities.”

In a session titled From Bukhara to Arabia: Contemporary Practice and Artistic Dialogue, contemporary miniature painter Firuz Kurbanov from Bukhara joined Fahad Al-Jebreen, a Saudi visual artist and assistant professor of art education at King Saud University, to discuss how traditional techniques inform modern creative education.

Highlighting the diplomatic weight of cultural programming, Mirzohid Eshonkulov, first secretary at the Embassy of Uzbekistan in Riyadh, highlighted the role of creative engagement in deepening bilateral ties.

“It’s a very important part of bilateral and multilateral relations, because we also call this ‘people-to-people’ diplomacy, because when people love each other, the governments strengthen bilateral relations,” Eshonkulov said. “That’s why we are, as an embassy, ready to boost these cultural ties in Mounamnamat.”

The personal resonance of the art form was highlighted during a joint presentation by Kurbanov and Saudi artist Afnan Tash, founder of Al-Mihrab.

Tash recalled how her journey into miniature painting began following her experience during the Hajj pilgrimage in Makkah in 2018.

“Once I went to this journey and I came back, I was unable to talk; I was unable to express my feelings,” Tash said, adding that she subsequently discovered miniature art as an expressive outlet. She said that her recent works draw inspiration from historic Hajj certificates, created to honor her parents who completed the pilgrimage seven decades ago.

Responding to her narrative, Kurbanov said that while Tash’s work echoes the pattern work of his own Central Asian cultural tradition, his individual practice approaches miniatures through mathematical algorithms and a structured scientific lens.

The evening illustrated how Islamic storytelling continues to serve as an effective mechanism for soft diplomacy, uniting artists across regions through a shared aesthetic tradition.

The midfielder, who will return to training in two weeks, will miss Wednesday’s Champions League game against Arsenal.

Scotland midfielder Scott McTominay has had successful surgery on a minor heart issue on Tuesday and will return to training in two weeks’ time, his club Napoli said.

The former Manchester United player recently experienced a heart rhythm disorder, something which is not considered serious but did require surgery.

“On Tuesday morning, Scott McTominay underwent an ablation procedure at Spire Manchester Hospital. The operation was a complete success,” the Serie A club said in a statement.

“McTominay will rest for two weeks and then resume training.”

McTominay, 29, has been a key player for Napoli since joining from Manchester United in 2024, scoring 27 goals in 82 matches.

But he was off-form in their opening two Serie A games.

Napoli previously said McTominay would miss Scotland’s upcoming Nations League fixtures against Slovenia (twice), Switzerland and North Macedonia.

Napoli, who have just three points from their opening three Serie A games this season, host Arsenal in the Champions League on Wednesday and then play Bologna and Fiorentina before the international break.

LONDON: The UK government is banning trade with Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, where it says “settler terrorists” are carrying out ethnic cleansing of Palestinians.

Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband says the UK will ban imports of all goods from the settlements, and some services including financing, construction, infrastructure, real estate and advertising for settlements.

In a toughening of its stance against Israel’s occupation, Miliband told lawmakers in the House of Commons that the government was acting to preserve the chance of a two-state solution.

Developing…

Jerusalem: Israel’s President Isaac Herzog warned against British sanctions on settlements in the occupied West Bank, expected to be announced on Tuesday, saying the decision would “fall on the wrong side of history”.

“Later today, we expect to see headlines announcing certain British trade sanctions on Israeli settlements in Judea and Samaria,” Herzog said, using the biblical term for the West Bank.

“If this happens – and other nations may join – I believe it will prove to be a grave miscalculation, a decision that will fall on the wrong side of history,” he added.

The expected UK move follows weeks of increasing settler attacks against Palestinians in the occupied territory.

It also comes as the right-wing government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ramps up settlement construction in the West Bank, which some western governments fear threatens a two-state solution.

British government minister Pat McFadden said Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband would make a statement to parliament laying out “measures specifically targeted at the expansion of these settlements, which are illegal under international law, in the West Bank”.

He told Sky News that the changes, on which he provided no further detail, would be motivated by “the idea of keeping alive this possibility of seeing a Palestinian state alongside Israel”.

“I think it’s also important to say that Israel is an important trading partner for the UK. This isn’t intended to be a boycott of all Israeli goods.”

UK government ministers have suggested recently that goods coming out of settlements could be subject to trade restrictions as part of the changes.

Herzog on Tuesday said: “Sanctions are not a solution. Dialogue is.”

“I say to all foreign governments: Stop! Step away from the dead-end of sanctions and boycotts. And turn toward constructive dialogue and toward cooperation,” he added.

Israel has since 1967 occupied the West Bank, where more than 500,000 Israelis live in settlements among some three million Palestinians.

With Israel headed to the polls next month, Herzog said the UK move, if announced, “would be a gross interference in the democratic elections of a sovereign nation”.

“It will serve no one. It will directly harm – unfortunately – Palestinians, robbing them of business and employment,” he added.

Tehran has threatened “serious consequences” for South Korea if it interferes in the US-Israel war on Iran.

The warning comes amid reports that Seoul is mulling contributing to the US naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz passage, which has hampered Iran’s oil exports.

In a statement posted on X on Monday, Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said Iran and South Korea had more than 64 years of diplomatic relations based on mutual respect and that Tehran values that friendship.

However, if South Korea joins the United States in its military actions against Iran at a time when the country is defending itself from what he called US aggression and “war crimes against women and children”, then there will be consequences, he warned.

Baghaei threatened that Iran would regard any military presence or participation in operations by another country in the Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz “would inevitably be regarded as direct support for the aggressor and would have serious consequences”.

“No sovereign and responsible country should succumb to US pressure and intimidation and become complicit in acts of aggression and horrific crimes against the great Iranian nation,” he added.

Seoul did not respond directly, but a Ministry of Foreign Affairs statement on Monday said it is communicating with the international community over the situation in the passageway.

Here’s what we know about how South Korea is getting roped in:

Why is South Korea involved?

Seoul, a close ally of Washington, has been under pressure from US President Donald Trump.

The issues began in mid-August, when Trump revealed in an interview, and later online, that he had spoken to South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and asked that Seoul give “a little hand” in the war on Iran.

According to media reports, the two leaders had spoken over the phone on May 17.

Seoul said, “No, thanks!”, according to Trump’s message on social media.

However, as South Korea now knows, saying no to Trump has repercussions.

On August 16, Trump announced that the US would significantly scale back joint military drills it holds annually with South Korea – the evening before they were scheduled to begin.

The Ulchi Freedom Shield (UFS) exercises are meant to sharpen Seoul’s readiness in case of a North Korean attack. They usually last for more than 11 days but were reduced to five.

In a post on his Truth Social site, Trump claimed the drills were “costly” and that they send a “hostile” signal to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, with whom he is trying to build a relationship. South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun said in parliament there was no warning from the US.

Trump also questioned why South Korea would refuse his request when thousands of US soldiers are stationed on the Korean Peninsula.

The US also cancelled another military exercise scheduled for September, although South Korea’s military revealed it received a notification much earlier in June, with Washington citing constraints due to the war on Iran.

How has South Korea responded?

President Lee, a liberal who pushes for a dialled-down defence posture, has opted to negotiate. His office earlier released statements saying it hopes for “meaningful dialogue” with Trump.

South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reported on Monday that Washington has, however, “ratcheted up pressure” on Seoul.

On Friday, a South Korean presidential official told Yonhap that Seoul could consider a military contribution to international measures seeking to free up navigation in the passageway as long as it does not affect the country’s defence readiness.

South Korea is looking at various options, the official said, including possible cooperation with France, the United Kingdom and other allies on sending noncombat and search-and-rescue forces.

The South Korean military has also started reviewing assets and troops that could be deployed, including maritime patrol aircraft, explosive ordnance disposal teams and unmanned mine detection and clearing systems, he added.

Such a move would be unpopular. The opposition has spoken out against a possible deployment, as have some within Lee’s ruling Democratic Party. Many South Koreans have also protested against the US-Israel war on Iran.

What is the history of US-South Korea relations?

South Korea became one of the US’s closest allies after Washington backed Seoul against Pyongyang in the Korean War of 1950.

The US supported Seoul’s economic and military growth in the years after. Under a treaty, some 29,000 US soldiers have been stationed permanently on the Korean Peninsula since the end of the war. Seoul has also relied on US defence might to deter nuclear-armed North Korea.

In return, South Korea supported several US wars, including the Iraq War, and is designated an important non-NATO ally.

In 2025, however, Washington imposed a 25 percent tariff on the country, testing relations. Seoul opted to negotiate rather than retaliate, leading the US to lower tariffs to 15 percent.

Many South Koreans were also alarmed after hundreds of South Koreans were arrested in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids on a Hyundai plant in Georgia in September 2025.

Last October, Trump travelled to Seoul in a historic state visit, and earlier this year, President Lee visited the US. Lee is also trying to resume dialogue between Washington and Pyongyang.

How is South Korea being affected by the US-Israel war on Iran?

South Korea is facing an economic crisis. The country relies on the Gulf supplies via the Strait of Hormuz for 60 to 70 percent of crude imports, meaning supply is being severely hit. The war has led to soaring inflation, causing the Korean won to fall to a 17-year low.

Seoul therefore has an interest in freeing up the strait. However, under Korean law, the government will require parliament’s approval before a military deployment, although some governing party members could oppose it.

Trade tensions soar as Canada matches US tariffs ‘dollar-for-dollar’, impacting 700 products and multiple industries.

Canada’s retaliatory tariffs on imports from the United States have taken effect, escalating the trade dispute between the two countries.

Tariffs ranging from 15 percent to 50 percent will apply to nearly $20bn worth of US imports from 12:01am ET (04:01 GMT) on Tuesday, matching US-imposed levies on Canadian goods including machinery, textiles and consumer products.

The new retaliatory tariffs apply to products including steel, household appliances, agricultural equipment and dairy.

“Canada will match Washington’s new tariffs dollar for dollar in order to protect Canadian workers, farmers, families, and businesses,” Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney told reporters in late August.

US President Donald Trump announced 50 percent tariffs against Canada in July, citing “discriminatory treatment” of US products. The announcement prompted the countries to enter trade talks in August, but a final deal failed to materialise before a deadline imposed by Trump.

“Canada wants the benefits of being a State, without being one!!!” Trump posted on Truth Social in response to Canada’s announcement in August.

The Canadian government said in a statement that the counter-tariffs will impact more than 700 products, adding that it would launch a $5.42bn support package for affected small and medium-sized businesses and workers.

On the eve of Ottawa imposing its tariffs, Trump threatened to block Canada-based aircraft manufacturer Bombardier from selling its planes in the US unless it began manufacturing them in the country.

The dispute has also extended beyond tariffs, with Trump signing an order last month renaming Lake Ontario “Lake America” for US federal use.

The retaliatory tariffs could place a financial burden on US automakers as Canada is the largest buyer of US-manufactured cars.

Americans could soon see increased prices on 550 consumer goods from Canada. According to a report from the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, US importers and consumers absorb 96 percent of the tariff burden.

GENEVA: Nearly 130 countries on Saturday agreed on a text defining lethal autonomous weapons systems (LAWS) — “killer robots” to their critics — a first step toward talks on a possible international treaty to regulate them.

The text agreed upon has not yet been made public — but campaign groups following the talks have already criticized leading countries for dragging their feet on the issue.

Dutch Foreign Minister Tom Berendsen announced the agreement, by 128 countries, on Saturday. The Netherlands has been overseeing the talks.

Countries are already developing and using weapons capable of selecting targets and using force against them without human intervention.

But the International Committee of the Red Cross warned in a statement that “the unconstrained development and use of autonomous weapon systems pose serious legal, ethical and humanitarian challenges.”

The ICRC and several campaigning groups have called for international legally binding rules to restrict and regulate their use.

Nicole van Rooijen, executive director of Stop Killer Robots, an international alliance of campaign groups, accused the United States, Russia and their allies of trying to weaken the agreed text.

Lex International, a Geneva-based philanthropic group funding work on key policy issues, also criticized some nations’ position.

“The United States, Russia, India and Israel are among the key opponents of negotiations,” it said.

“The governments of Brazil, Ireland, and Norway are leading efforts to get such negotiations started in November,” it added.

UN member states will decide at November talks of the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons whether to move toward an international treaty regulating such weapons.

RABAT: Moroccan media have criticized a Spanish police report that accused Morocco’s security forces of failures as tens of thousands of migrants crossed into the Spanish territory of Ceuta.

More than 70,000 migrants entered Ceuta from Morocco on July 30 and 31 in an unprecedented, chaotic surge that left scores dead and sparked European Union infighting over the touchy issue of migration.

The Spanish police report seen by AFP flagged a Moroccan police response of “total permissiveness” that it said facilitated the rush, with some officers directing migrants toward the water.

Moroccan police numbers around the border post were “clearly smaller than usual” and officers “made no serious attempt” to stem the surge, said the report.

But Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has consistently avoided blaming Morocco, noting that there was no “solid proof” that the North African country orchestrated the migrant rush.

Sanchez’s leftist government has tried for years to improve the countries’ historically delicate relations — notably over the status of Ceuta and Spain’s other north African territory, Melilla.

Moroccan authorities have yet to comment on the leaked police report, but several Moroccan media outlets have weighed in on its allegations.

Moroccan news site Hespress on Friday called it “particularly weak,” saying it lacked material evidence and contained “glaring contradictions.”

Hespress said the police report sought to make Morocco “the scapegoat” in Spanish political and judicial disputes.

Moroccan news site Le Desk on Thursday described the report as “botched,” pointing to factual errors including a reference to June 30 instead of July 30.

And TelQuel said that claims by some media that the report directly accused Morocco of “planning and executing” the influx were false, adding that the allegations did not name any Moroccan official as responsible.

News site Medias24 challenged the “permissiveness” claim by arguing that it was based solely on one satellite image that was “obviously just a snapshot.”

Last month, a senior Moroccan official told AFP on condition of anonymity there had been no Moroccan security failures during the influx.

Cairo, Egypt – Four days after he disappeared from the Egyptian team camp at the 2026 Under-20 World Wrestling Championships in Slovakia last month, 19-year-old wrestler Ziad Hajjaj Abu Gabal posted a message on Facebook.

“I don’t want my mother and father to be upset with me,” he wrote on August 29. “I did this so I could see myself as a man. I won’t go back to Egypt, my beloved country, until I bring it honour.

“Everything I earn in a month is 700 Egyptian pounds [$13.7], and I’m an international [athlete] … After all this pressure, there was no way I could go back.”

On August 27, another Egyptian wrestler, Mohamed al-Shami, 23, had escaped while his team transited through Rome on their way home from the Mediterranean Games in Taranto, Italy.

In his Facebook post on August 29, Al-Shami said he had come to feel like a financial burden on his family and that he wanted to start earning money for them.

“At a certain point I felt my father was exhausted, that life had become too hard for him,” he wrote. “I’m the eldest of my siblings, so someone had to make a sacrifice and take responsibility.”

While the authorities in Egypt may now try to take legal action against the two athletes, their posts drew a wave of sympathy from Egyptians on Facebook, with many saying they understood the pressures that pushed the athletes to escape from a country mired in poverty.

Indeed, Hajjaj and al-Shami are far from the first Egyptian wrestlers to flee while abroad, and the hardships they describe are widely shared across the sport in Egypt.

Debt and despair

A 27-year-old wrestler, who won several gold medals for Egypt and asked not to be named, told Al Jazeera that fellow athletes under 20 years old earn 700 Egyptian pounds ($13.7) to 800 ($15.7) Egyptian pounds a month.

Older international players reportedly receive between 5,000 pounds ($98.2) and 12,000 pounds ($235.7) a month, depending on their achievements.

“Wrestlers often go into debt to cover supplements and living costs while waiting for prize money that may or may not arrive,” he said.

Ahmed Baghdouda left for France in 2023 immediately after winning silver at the African Wrestling Championships, reportedly over low pay. Tarek Abdel Salam defected to Bulgaria in 2017 amid alleged medical neglect and later won European gold under Bulgaria’s flag. That year, Ibrahim Ghanem also chose to stay in France, subsequently winning a World Championship title for the country.

In October 2025, Mohamed Ibrahim el-Sayed – popular as Kishu and a six-time African wrestling champion, two-time U23 world champion, and bronze medallist in the 67kg category at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics – announced he had taken “the first step” towards switching his sporting allegiance to represent the United States, posting training photos from a facility with the US flag behind him.

Asked by Al Jazeera through a messaging app why wrestlers keep fleeing Egypt, Kishu blamed the wrestling federation.

“It’s the only body that can provide a suitable environment, but the opposite keeps happening,” he said from the US. “The problem isn’t just about money – it goes much deeper than that. When I retire, what am I supposed to do? God forbid I get injured – what happens to me then?”

“I would take the same decision again and again and I advise Egypt’s international players to focus on their training and acquire their rights because it’s their lives that are being wasted.”

Al Jazeera reached out to the president and the vice president of the Egyptian Wrestling Federation (EWF), as well as the president of the Egyptian National Olympic Committee (ENOC), for their comments, but none of them responded.

However, the EWF’s team psychologist Hossam Mohamed said the disappearance of players abroad is not simply down to poor financial compensation or neglect, insisting the state provides good support to wrestlers – whether through financial bonuses, training camps abroad, or accommodation and meals. He said medal bonuses can reach 5 million Egyptian pounds ($98,135) for an Olympic gold.

“The wrestling federation, compared to major sports federations, has limited resources in light of the absence of broadcasting rights and the commercial and audience revenues enjoyed by football,” he noted.

“[But the] core problem for [athletes] isn’t only what they receive during their playing years, but what awaits them after retirement or injury.”

On Hajjaj and al-Shami, he said they competed in international championships, but “receiving bonuses is tied to achieving results – a player who doesn’t finish in a top position doesn’t receive a tournament bonus”, and neither was able to achieve podium finishes in recent competitions.

Gamal el-Badrawy, a former head of Egypt’s kickboxing federation, called on the Ministry of Youth and Sports to impose tighter oversight of national sporting federations and to review bonuses, allowances and health insurance.

“[Athletes] cannot be entirely absolved of responsibility, but the weak financial and administrative system is the main driver,” he told Al Jazeera.

Prosecutors investigate

Meanwhile, Egypt’s Ministry of Youth and Sports has referred Hajjaj and al-Shami to the public prosecutor, accusing them of breaking the rules governing national delegations.

The ENOC separately referred Brigadier General Ibrahim Adel – EWF secretary-general and head of the wrestling delegation at the tournament in Taranto – to its ethics committee for investigation and suspended him from his duties for allowing al-Shami to escape.

Adel refused to comment on the criticisms against the EWF, but told Al Jazeera he believed the moves against him were unfair, pointing to precautionary measures already in place before the trip: notarised undertakings signed by both the players’ guardians and the players themselves committing them to return to Egypt.

Meanwhile, fleeing athletes often leave behind distressed families.

Hajjaj’s father, Hajjaj Abu Gabal, told Al Jazeera over the phone that he was deeply worried for his son after he left the national team in Slovakia, noting that he had switched off his phone for a long time and did not respond to calls.

“I signed the notarised parental consent required for my underage son to travel,” he said, as 21 is the age of full legal adulthood in Egypt. “But no one from the wrestling federation had contacted me since the escape.”

Hajjaj, according to his father, said wrestling required expenses for food, drink, clothing and other needs, including costs related to the training period and participation in championships, and these expenses were a burden on him and the family.

“Whatever happens, he’s still my son,” the father said.

“I keep praying for him to be safe and secure, and may God compensate him for the difficult times he went through.”

This article was published in collaboration with Egab, a platform that empowers journalists from across the Global South to publish stories in international media outlets.

For the first time since World War II, a far-right party is within reach of power at state level in Germany, after coming first in Saxony-Anhalt on Sunday.

The Alternative for Germany (AfD) won 44 percent of the vote, stopping short of an overall majority but making clear its wide political significance.

On election night, AfD’s leader in the state called on other political groups to cooperate. “As a democrat, I will reach out to all those who wish to work with us to bring about a fundamental political turnaround,” Ulrich Siegmund said.

Yet, forming a government will prove difficult. The AfD has been classified as “far-right extremist” by the domestic intelligence agency and other political groups remain wary of striking an alliance.

The AfD has dismissed accusations of extremism and mainstream parties have been unable to halt its surge in the polls over recent months. Latest polling indicates the party, which stands for strong restrictions on immigration, restoring ties with Russia, cutting support to Ukraine and quitting the euro, is Germany’s most popular at national level.

The Saxony-Anhalt election could be a harbinger of a historic return of the far-right in the 2029 national election, when forecasts say the AfD stands a realistic chance of finishing first.

What happened in Saxony-Anhalt?

Siegmund, the charismatic 35-year-old who attracted thousands to his campaign rallies, said AfD “made history”.

“The people have made it absolutely clear that they finally want political change and, above all, they have shown that they want it with ⁠us,” he told supporters.

The AfD achieved its best-ever election result in Saxony-Anhalt with 44 percent of the vote, leaving all other parties far behind. The incumbent centre-right Christian Democrats (CDU), led by Chancellor Friedrich Merz, scored less than half of that share with 17 percent.

The AfD is projected to gain 39 of the 83 seats in the state parliament in Magdeburg, leaving it three short of the 42 needed for an absolute majority.

That means the party must find allies, but all other mainstream parties refuse to work with the far-right, a strategy of non-cooperation known as the “firewall”. The AfD has so far never participated in a governing coalition in Germany’s 16 states nor in its federal government.

While he now appears willing to strike deals with other parties to come to power, previously Siegmund signalled unwillingness to find middle ground with other political groups. Leading up to the vote, he stated that he was only interested in governing alone to bring about fundamental political change in Germany.

How did AfD fare in recent elections?

The election takes the AfD one step closer to advancing its agenda, while also reflecting the growing unpopularity of Germany’s ruling coalition.

In Saxony-Anhalt, the party more than doubled its vote share — from 21 percent in the last election. By contrast, the CDU’s vote halved from 37 percent to 17 percent, its worst result ever in the east-central German state.

Federal elections last year similarly resulted in a landmark performance by the AfD, which emerged as the largest opposition faction in the Bundestag, the German federal parliament in Berlin. The party came second with 21 percent of the vote, securing its highest-ever showing.

In state elections in Baden-Wurttemberg and Rhineland-Palatinate earlier this year too, the AfD more than doubled its seats — though it still finished third. In 2024, the AfD emerged victorious in the Thuringia state election and second in the Brandenburg state election — both were firsts for the party.

The AfD’s electoral gains in Saxony-Anhalt mirror growing dissatisfaction among voters — especially in the former East Germany — about the stagnant economy, high unemployment and domestic security, which the party largely pins on immigration.

What challenges lie ahead for AfD?

Since its formation in 2013, the AfD has been embroiled in various scandals and has faced major controversies, including alleged foreign espionage links, secret deportation plans and internal nepotism.

The party went from a fringe Eurosceptic group to the country’s most powerful opposition force in little more than a decade, becoming too extreme even for the European Parliament’s far-right Identity & Democracy group. It kicked the party out in May 2024 after lead AfD candidate Maximilian Krah stated that not everyone in the SS – Adolf Hitler’s infamous Nazi paramilitary organisation – was a criminal.

Krah has also been under investigation by German prosecutors for alleged illegal payments, bribery and money laundering linked to China and Russia. The German parliament last year decided to lift the far-right legislator’s immunity to help investigators.

AfD politicians have also come under fire for employing family members, including in Saxony-Anhalt, where several parliamentarians are reported to have employed relatives.

Bundestag President, Julia Klockner, banned seven AfD employees from entering the German parliament over security concerns, after they failed internal background reliability checks due to their ties to right-wing extremist networks and past criminal convictions.

Senior AfD figures also faced a backlash for attending a secretive meeting to discuss mass deportation plans for people with a migration background.

What are the AfD’s prospects for the national election in 2029?

Pollsters are unanimous in forecasting the AfD as the largest party in Germany in the next national election in 2029, with around 28 percent of the vote.

That would mark a major transformation in the German political landscape from 2025, when the CDU and its ally the Christian Social Union together won 28.5 percent of the vote.

Yet even that outcome would not necessarily give AfD the ability to govern. If other parties maintain a “firewall” policy, that could prevent the far-right party from forming a coalition government.

Still, the Saxony-Anhalt election has been received by some politicians as a call for change. “Politics begins with considering reality,” Cem Ozdemir, head of government in the southwestern state of Baden-Wurttemberg and a member of the Green Party, wrote on X.

“That means the AfD is the election winner in Saxony-Anhalt. And that must mean for all democratic forces that nothing can remain as it is, and we must fundamentally reconsider our politics and our political style.”

NEW YORK: Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz will be under the microscope again on Sunday taking on 20th-seeded American Tommy Paul for a place in the US Open quarter-finals.

The Spaniard, playing his first tournament since a four-month absence with a wrist injury, acknowledges he has yet to play his best but says he’s “getting there” with both the sharpness of his shots and his on-court decision making.

He headlines a day that also features women’s two-time defending champion Aryna Sabalenka and third-ranked American Jessica Pegula — just one of the players with a chance to supplant Sabalenka atop the world rankings in New York.

Surprise Wimbledon champion Linda Noskova will try to continue her progress toward another Grand Slam against dangerous Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk while US hope Frances Tiafoe faces the always tricky former champion Daniil Medvedev.

AFP Sport looks at three matches to watch on Day 8 of the US Open:

Tommy Paul (USA x20) v Carlos Alcaraz (ESP x2)

Alcaraz leads head to head 6-2

— Although Alcaraz has dominated their meetings — Paul’s last win over the Spaniard was back in 2023 — the defending champion said the American is “really dangerous for everyone on the tour.

“The way he plays, the way he hits the ball, it’s really complicated to dominate the ball, dominate the points,” said Alcaraz, who won their last meeting in the Australian open quarter-finals on the way to the title that made him the youngest man to claim a career Grand Slam.

Alcaraz said he was looking forward to another great battle — and having some fun.

“We pull off great points, great shots,” he said. “It’s going to be really fun to watch, fun to play, as well.”

Ben Shelton (USA X8) v Stefanos Tsitsipas (GRE)

Tsitsipas leads head to head 1-0

— A resurgent Tsitsipas has Shelton’s attention. The former top-five player from Greece upset red-hot Arthur Fils in the first round and ousted 18th-seeded Jiri Lehecka in the third and is deeper into a Grand Slam than he’s been in more than two years.

Playing pain free after back problems derailed his 2025 campaign, the two-time Grand Slam finalist is also working with a new coach, having replaced his father Apostolos in that role.

“I have been watching his matches,” Shelton said. “I think he’s playing great. I think that his style of tennis can be very, very effective on all surfaces, all-court game, great athlete.”

Shelton said his three four-set wins in the first three rounds — against Tallon Griekspoor, Hubert Hurkacz and Denis Shapovalov — had him well prepared for anything Tsitsipas might throw at him.

“I think this is a great way to start the tournament in terms of variety. I have dealt with a lefty, dealt with a big hitter, dealt with a feel guy, dealt with a massive server, dealt with a spot server, serve and volleyer.”

Aryna Sabalenka (BLR x1) v Taylor Townsend (USA)

First meeting

— Sabalenka knows she’ll be in hostile territory when she takes on 96th-ranked American Townsend on Arthur Ashe Stadium.

“I think I’m ready for the crowd situation,” Sabalenka said. “She’s, I’d say, tricky player, because she brings the variety — comes to the net, really make you think during the game.”

Townsend is in the fourth round for a second straight year, but it has been anything but a straightforward 12 months for the 30-year-old, who says she has “been through a lot over this past year.” It hasn’t dimmed her desire to win, and Townsend said she was “pumped” to take on Sabalenka in a quest for a first Grand Slam singles quarter-final.

“I’m built for these moments,” Townsend, a three-time Grand Slam doubles winner, said. “I’m ready to take it. I’m ready to go.”