Facing the biggest challenge of his life, Sir Chris Hoy opens up about his journey with terminal cancer and how the mental strength he honed as a six-time Olympic cycling gold medallist is now helping him to inspire others.

Watch Sir Chris Hoy: Cancer, Courage & Me on Thursday, 18 December at 21:00 GMT on BBC One, BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sport website & app.

Huge US arms package for Taiwan includes HIMARS rocket systems, howitzer artillery, antitank missiles, and drones.

The United States has approved $11.1bn in arms sales to Taiwan, one of Washington’s largest-ever weapons packages for the self-ruled island, which Beijing has promised to unify with mainland China.

The US State Department announced the deal late on Wednesday during a nationally televised address by President Donald Trump.

Weapons in the proposed sale include 82 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, or HIMARS, and 420 Army Tactical Missile Systems, or ATACMS – worth more than $4bn – defence systems that are similar to what the US had been providing Ukraine to defend against Russian aerial attacks.

The deal also includes 60 self-propelled howitzer artillery systems and related equipment worth more than $4bn and drones valued at more than $1bn.

Other sales in the package include military software valued at more than $1bn, Javelin and TOW missiles worth more than $700m, helicopter spare parts worth $96m and refurbishment kits for Harpoon missiles worth $91m.

In a series of separate statements announcing details of the weapons deal, the Pentagon said the sales served US national, economic and security interests by supporting Taiwan’s continuing efforts to modernise its armed forces and to maintain a “credible defensive capability”.

Taiwan’s defence ministry and presidential office welcomed the news while China’s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Reuters news agency.

Washington’s huge sale of arms to Taiwan will likely infuriate China, which claims Taiwan is part of its territory and has threatened to use force to bring it under its control.

“The United States continues to assist Taiwan in maintaining sufficient self-defence capabilities and in rapidly building strong deterrent power,” Taiwan’s defence ministry said in a statement.

Taiwan presidential office spokesperson Karen Kuo said Taiwan would continue to reform its defence sector and “strengthen whole-of-society defence resilience” to “demonstrate our determination to defend ourselves, and safeguard peace through strength”.

China’s Taiwan Affairs Office said on Wednesday that it opposed efforts by the US Congress to pass bills “related to Taiwan and firmly opposes any form of military contact between the US and Taiwan”.

“We urge the US to abide by the one China principle and the provisions of the three Sino-US joint communiques : Stop ‘arming Taiwan’, stop reviewing relevant bills, and stop interfering in China’s internal affairs,” the office’s spokesperson Zhu Fenglian said in a statement.

Zhu said Taiwan’s political leaders were pursuing “independence”, and were “willing to let external forces turn the island into a ‘war porcupine’,” which could result in the population becoming “cannon fodder” and “slaughtered at will, which is despicable”.

Taiwan’s President William Lai Ching-te last month announced a $40bn supplementary defence budget, to run from 2026 to 2033, saying there was “no room for compromise on national security”.

Police in the UK have said they will arrest people who hold placards or chant the phrase “globalise the intifada,” arguing that the slogan now carries heightened risk in the wake of recent attacks on Jewish communities, Anadolu reports.

The term “intifada,” an Arabic word meaning “uprising,” came into widespread use during the Palestinian uprising against Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip in 1987.

In a joint statement, London’s Metropolitan Police and Greater Manchester Police said the move followed Sunday’s mass shooting at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia.

Fifteen people were killed on Sunday when two suspected shooters—father and son—opened fire along the beach in Sydney, the New South Wales capital and Australia’s largest city by population.​​​​​

The two forces also referred to a knife attack at the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue in Manchester, northern England, on Oct. 2, in which two people were killed.

“Violent acts have taken place, the context has changed—words have meaning and consequence. We will act decisively and make arrests,” the police said.

They added: “We know communities are concerned about placards and chants such as ‘globalise the intifada,’ and those using it at future protests or in a targeted way should expect” the two forces “to take action.”

The statement said frontline officers would be briefed on what police described as an “enhanced approach,” and that powers under the Public Order Act would be used, “including conditions around London synagogues during services.”

“Visible patrols and protective security measures around synagogues, schools, and community venues have been stepped up in London and Greater Manchester. We are intensifying investigations into hate crime, and Counter Terrorism Policing continues to operate 24/7 to identify and disrupt threats,” it added.

The UK’s chief rabbi told the BBC this week that chants of “globalise the intifada” had helped lead to the two attacks.

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said in parliament on Wednesday that his government has increased funding for Jewish security.

“I’m pleased to do that, but I’m sad to do that,” he said, adding that he has ordered a review of protest and hate crime laws.

A different type of British invasion had EDM fans in a trance at the Queen Mary in Long Beach.

Armed with turntables, social media-star-turned-professional-party-starter Fish56Octagon made his U.S. festival debut Nov. 21 and 22 at Insomniac’s Dreamstate SoCal, where he performed alongside some of the world’s most preeminent electronic artists, including Tiësto, Paul Oakenfold, Gareth Emery, Ferry Corsten and Chicane.

Fish, as he’s called, is a 46-year-old from the London suburbs who joined TikTok on a drunken whim after being introduced to the app by friends in 2021. Now boasting over a million followers across platforms, he’s seen his life flip because of that choice — quitting a full-time marketing career to become a DJ, produce music and play sets at some of the world’s biggest music festivals in the four years since he uploaded his first video.

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Though his initial post was about his watch collection, the self-described “petrol head” quickly went deep into creating content about cars and made a successful side hustle within a couple years. Crossover between auto enthusiasts and the music lovers in his audience meant the dance songs he used to soundtrack his car videos and sporadic vinyl-haul unboxings spawned passionate discussion in the comments about the classic rave songs Fish was sharing with the world.

He also benefited from an accidental, scroll-stopping visual hook repeated across videos born from his employer asking him to ensure it didn’t look like he was posting during business hours: middle-aged, thin and bald, dropping dad moves in front of his sprawling Technics decks and pumping his fists to the beat between bites of Weetabix biscuits, all while wearing a red and black dressing gown (what Americans would call a robe), gifted to Fish’s wife by his mother.

Screen shot of Fish DJing on TikTok in his bathrobe

(TikTok)

“That gown is elegant,” wrote a fan in the comments.

“It was legit my mum’s but she found it too hot,” Fish responded.

“You the same build as your mum” another person wrote back, punctuating the comment with a sweating smiley face emoji.

Fish also began to livestream on TikTok late into the night, playing his own mixes for the first time in 20 years.

“I remember seeing people commenting on the Live going, ‘Mate, we were watching you before we went out. We’ve just gone on a whole night out in our city, come back and you’re still here playing,’” Fish said. “I just love it. Sharing and being able to get out those obscure records. Sometimes it’s the big anthems everyone knows and sometimes it’s a tune that was an anthem to me.”

He’s had a decades-long education in electronic music. Fish was introduced to the genre on the cusp of his teen years through an episode of the British detective show “Inspector Morse.” One episode took place in the illegal rave scene and he thought it looked like fun to party in an old warehouse.

Fish’s taste quickly developed by listening to pirate radio and vinyl. He pieced together his first setup with two hi-fi record players his dad had in the attic. Only one had pitch control. He learned to beatmatch by plugging a player into each side of his amplifier and using the balance knob to fade between them. He was given Soundlab DLP-1 belt-driven turntables for his birthday and his obsession accelerated over the next several years.

Fish56Octagon performing at the Dreamstate music festival in Long Beach.

(Niyaz Pirani)

“By then I was just spending every penny that I had on vinyl building my record collection up. It was all rave music, early old school, hardcore jungle, and then happy hardcore, drum and bass around that sort of time, early to mid-’90s,” he said. “I played quite a few house parties.”

He became a de-facto resident DJ in college, spinning vinyl in the student union, and dabbled in music production at the same time. He eventually sold his analog kit and synthesizers when he switched to Ableton. He downsized his record collection as he converted them to MP3s.

The demands of his post-college marketing career meant the DJ dream disappeared for many years. That was until his TikTok Live sets gave him a second chance as club promoters reached out in the hope of booking him. Fish admits a lack of confidence caused him to stay on the sidelines. It was an offer in February 2024 to play a solo show at Hidden in Manchester — about the same time he switched his channel over entirely to music — that got him out of his house and onto a stage.

“Even if I wasn’t sure that people would come, I knew that anyone that did come would be coming to see me,” he said. “ … I ended up putting a night on where I played for five hours straight, just me from the start to the end. When the tickets went on sale, it sold out a good couple of months before the event.”

Fish wondered if it was a one-off event or the beginning of a life-changing run. Then the offers came in from other big U.K. cities — FishTales in Newcastle; acid techno at Beaverworks in Leeds; raves in Liverpool and Birmingham. He hired an agent. Dropped some merch.

“Not sure how this happened! But I’m here for it and hope you are too,” he wrote online.

A 20-date summer tour featured three different sets at the famed Glastonbury Festival, and appearances at Reading and Creamfields. He also traveled to Ireland, Scotland and Malta, marking his first time playing professionally outside of England.

He quit his day job in August 2024 to DJ and focus on music production full time with the support of his wife, children and parents.

“They support me even though it comes at a cost that I can’t always spend as much time with them, but they understand that I’m following my dream, following my passion, and doing something positive,” he said.

He’s gained an appreciation as a historian of the genre. Fish’s followers have grown to include Skrillex, David Guetta, Disclosure, Bicep and more of the artists he has admired and now counts among his peers.

“For about the first year, I often would wake up in the morning — I’m gonna get a little bit emotional just talking about this — but I’d wake up in the morning and just think, ‘Wow, that was all a dream, wasn’t it?” he said. “Then I look at my phone. I can see that actually it was real.”

Fish attributes his success to social media, though he said it’s a mistake to think just having social media followers guarantees bookings and the upward trajectory of one’s career.

“They’re actually a function of each other. It’s because I was making content that proved to be popular about music that I managed to build up a following and have those opportunities come my way,” he said. “I’ve now played, getting on for, 200 professional gigs at various clubs, festivals, events, raves, all around the world.”

Fish waited until November 2025 to make his first trek to North America with an 11-date run featuring his first U.S. festival booking. He chose Dreamstate because he’s always had a special place in his heart for trance and the emotional connection people have with the music.

“I love all dance music, but trance is the one that can kind of tug at your heartstrings a bit with those melodies, and the chord progression, and the way that the beats can be so crisp when they come in, and the way the bass hits,” he said.

Fish performed Friday night on “The Vision.” It’s the same stage played by legends Chicane and Paul Oakenfold this year and Darude last. He also co-headlined an hour-long B2B with Night 1 Dreamstate headliner Gareth Emery early Sunday morning, as the top-billed act for the festival’s afterparty in the Grand Salon of the iconic Queen Mary.

He made his way to LAX after stepping off stage at 3 a.m. to fly to New York and play the last three hours of a 24-hour rave.

Chicane and Fish56Octagon run into each other in the lobby of the Long Beach Hilton after playing the same stage Night 1 of Dreamstate.

(Niyaz Pirani)

Fish has tour dates in New Zealand and Australia toward the end of the year, plus the largest show of his career March 28 at London’s O2 Academy Brixton. He’s also releasing music for himself and others under his record label Octagon Discs.

As his audience multiplies, Fish’s earliest followers remain enthralled by his seemingly infinite rise.

“How did the dude who recommends second-hand cars get to this. So happy for you dude,” one fan wrote in the comments of his Dreamstate recap video post.

“Music was my number 1 passion but i thought I was too old. Thanks for the support bro,” Fish replied.

“Amazing,” another chimed in. “But I would not recognize u in the wild without the bathrobe.”

SUNRISE, Fla. — Sam Bennett scored 10 seconds into the third period, Brad Marchand had two assists and the Florida Panthers beat the Kings 3-2 on Wednesday night to sweep the two-game season series.

Anton Lundell and Carter Verhaeghe also scored for Florida, which has won six of its last seven games. Daniil Tarasov made 27 saves for the Panthers, including a breakaway stop against the Kings’ Trevor Moore with just under five minutes left to preserve a one-goal lead.

Joel Armia and Kevin Fiala had the goals for the Kings, who fell to 0-2-2 in their last four contests. The four-game winless streak matches a season-long slide for the Kings, who were 0-2-2 from Oct. 11 through Oct. 18 as well.

Anton Forsberg stopped 25 shots for the Kings. Armia had the only goal in the first period, and Fiala made it 3-2 when a clearing attempt by Florida deflected off his shin and went past Tarasov with 15:12 left.

The Kings had a chance in the final minutes to tie the game, after Florida’s Anton Lundell was called for high-sticking with 3:05 left. The Kings managed only one shot on the ensuing power play — about half of which was with a two-man advantage after Forsberg was pulled for an extra attacker — and the Panthers held on from there.

Bennett’s goal that gave Florida a 3-1 lead tied for the third-fastest to start any period this season.

Kirill Marchenko scored for Columbus seven seconds into a second period against Minnesota on Oct. 11; Jackson LaCombe scored for the Ducks nine seconds into a second period against Vancouver on Nov. 26; and Connor McDavid scored for Edmonton 10 seconds into a third period against Buffalo on Dec. 9.

Up next

Kings: Visit Tampa Bay on Thursday night. Panthers: Host Carolina on Friday night.

Dec. 16 (Asia Today) — Nearly half of South Korea’s small business owners say policies to boost domestic demand and consumer spending are the most urgently needed form of support, according to a new survey released Tuesday.

The Korea Federation of SMEs said 49.5% of respondents cited domestic demand and consumption stimulus as their top policy priority, according to its “Survey Results on Small Business Owners’ Management Status and Policy Tasks.”

The survey was conducted from Nov. 4 to 21 among 800 small businesses in daily life-related sectors, including wholesale and retail trade, lodging and food services, and manufacturing.

The results showed a largely pessimistic outlook for next year. About 89.3% of respondents said they expect business conditions to remain similar to this year (51.3%) or worsen (38.0%), while only 10.8% reported a positive outlook.

Asked about the biggest management burdens this year, respondents most frequently cited rising prices, including higher raw material and supply costs (56.3%), followed by declining sales due to weak domestic demand (48.0%), rising labor costs and labor shortages (28.5%), and loan repayment burdens (20.4%). Despite these pressures, 97.4% said they are not considering closing their businesses, which the federation attributed to the high share of livelihood-based startups, accounting for 91.4% of respondents.

The survey also found increased reliance on online platforms. The share of small business owners using online platforms rose 3.5 percentage points from a year earlier to 28.1%. Platform use was highest in the lodging and food service sector (44.3%), compared with wholesale and retail trade (20.3%) and manufacturing (15.5%). Among platform users, platform-based sales accounted for an average of 41.7% of total revenue, up 6.3 percentage points from a year earlier.

About 25.7% of respondents said their loan balances increased compared with the previous year, with the average interest rate on current loans at 4.4%. Among small business owners with loans, 90.4% said interest and principal repayments were burdensome.

Assessing the effectiveness of domestic demand stimulus policies implemented this year, 52.3% of respondents in the lodging and food service sector said they felt policy effects, compared with 18.0% in wholesale and retail trade and 8.5% in manufacturing. Among those who reported effects, 65.4% said the impact was temporary, while 19.7% cited short-term sales increases.

Looking ahead, respondents said future consumption-promotion policies should focus on concentrating spending in local commercial districts (41.8%), expanding the scale and duration of support (31.8%), and strengthening policy promotion (24.5%).

When asked about the most urgent tasks for the National Assembly or government, respondents cited stimulating consumption and reviving local economies (52.1%), addressing rising labor costs and labor shortages (45.0%), easing loan burdens caused by high interest rates (42.8%), and reducing energy costs (26.3%).

Choo Moon-gap, head of the Economic Policy Division at the Korea Federation of SMEs, said persistent inflation, weak domestic demand and a high exchange rate have worsened business conditions for small business owners. While consumption-stimulating measures such as livelihood recovery coupons have had some effect, he said, mid- to long-term growth policies that small business owners can clearly feel are also needed.

– Reported by Asia Today and translated by UPI.

© Asia Today. Unauthorized reproduction or redistribution prohibited.

Austria is buying 12 M-346F Block 20 light combat aircraft from Italian defense contractor Leonardo, as part of an overhaul of its air force, the Luftstreitkräfte. Austria does already operate 15 Eurofighter Typhoons, which were procured under controversial circumstances. Those jets have notably limited capabilities compared to other Typhoons, as well as high operating costs, which have prompted attempts to offload them.

Leonardo announced the Austrian contract today. As well as the dozen M-346s, the deal includes simulation systems for pilots, training for maintenance technicians, spare parts and equipment, plus logistical support for six years. The total cost is around $1.7 billion, and the first aircraft is due to be delivered in 2028.

According to Leonardo, the Austrian Air Force will use the M-346Fs for the “defense needs of Austria’s national airspace and territory,” as well as for training.

M-346FA

The two-seat M-346 was originally developed as an advanced jet trainer, but light combat versions have long been offered for sale. Block 20 standard variants are notably well-equipped for aircraft of their size and weight. They come with a pair of large-area displays (LAD) in each cockpit, an active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar, a Link 16 datalink, and electronic countermeasures. The jets are capable of being configured to employ various air-to-air and air-to-surface weapons options, but can also be operated as pure trainers.

In the trainer role, the M-346Fs will serve as a successor to the Austrian Air Force’s Saab 105 jets, which were retired in 2020, and are seen in the video below.

Action: Saab 105 im Flug

The M-346 has been developed by Leonardo as part of an integrated advanced flight training system. Beyond the jets themselves, this includes a ground-based training system (GBTS), which is based around the live, virtual, and constructive (LVC) concept. In this way, simulated elements and scenarios can be combined with real-life training flights.

Austria is already familiar with the M-346 as its pilots already train on it at the International Flight Training School (IFTS), which Leonardo and the Italian Air Force operate together in Decimomannu, Italy.

IFTS – International Flight Training School

According to Leonardo, the complete training system for Austria will include capabilities related to air-to-surface missions. This would be a new development for the Austrian Air Force, which is currently optimized for air defense.

It will also allow pilots to train for aerial refueling, something else that hasn’t previously been featured in the Alpine air arm’s operations. It is worth noting here that the Luftstreitkräfte does not currently operate any tankers itself.

Most notably, however, as well as advanced training, Austria will fly the M-346 in the “dual role of fighter for lower-intensity operations,” according to Leonardo.

Imagery related to the M-346F Block 20 released to date includes pictures of a demonstrator aircraft armed with wingtip AIM-9L/M Sidewinder infrared-guided air-to-air missiles. It has also been seen loaded with laser-guided bombs and Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAM). Reportedly, Austria will integrate the IRIS-T infrared-guided air-to-air missile (already used on its Typhoons), 20mm gun pods, and LAU-32 seven-round rocket launchers for its M-346s, as well as Israeli-made electronic countermeasures pods.

While the now-retired Saab 105s had a limited air-policing role, the M-346F’s capabilities mean that certain, more expansive operational missions could be ‘downloaded’ from the expensive Typhoon and onto the smaller and more economical jet.

Nonetheless, this would still be a significant augmentation for the Typhoon force, not least because Austria is a small country and the M-346F would be capable of responding to most routine threats, especially thanks to its AESA radar.

Furthermore, the Austrian Typhoons have no beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile armament, so the M-346Fs wouldn’t be at a disadvantage in terms of weaponry, either.

In fact, an argument could be made for Austria having ordered the M-346F, or a similar light combat aircraft, rather than the Typhoon in the first place.

The Typhoon acquisition was far from straightforward. Austria selected the Eurofighter design over the Saab JAS 39C/D Gripen in 2002, but only finished paying off the €2 billion ($2.3 billion at the rate of conversion at the time of writing) purchase costs for the 15 single-seat jets (an order that was also reduced from a planned 18 aircraft) in 2014. The deal was also overshadowed by accusations of deception, fraud, and bribery, including a high-level lawsuit filed by the defense ministry against Airbus and Eurofighter.

Overall, the Austrian Ministry of Defense has been far from happy with the Typhoon. It has called into question the jet’s operating costs and lack of certain critical capabilities — including the PIRATE infrared sensor, a helmet-mounted display, and the EuroDASS self-defense suite. As mentioned above, the Austrian jets have no beyond-visual-range air-to-air missiles and lack any air-to-ground capability.

Österreichs Luftstreitkräfte – Luftraumüberwachung

As long ago as 2017, Austria outlined plans to phase out the Typhoons by 2023, arguing that it would be cheaper than upgrading them. Since these are the baseline Tranche 1 jets, equipped to the most basic standard, it is far harder to modernize them. At this time, it was envisaged that they would be replaced by 18 new fighters, which would also supersede the Saab 105s.

More recently, efforts were made to try to sell the Typhoons to Indonesia, as you can read about here.

Somewhat ironically, back in 2020, Austria’s Green Party called for the replacement of both the Typhoon and the Saab 105 with the M-346.

As TWZ noted at the time, “Austrian Typhoon pilots already train on the M-346 in Italy, and in many ways it would seem to make an ideal replacement for the two-seat Saab. However, it lacks the raw performance and sophisticated avionics of a modern fighter jet, which would render it less suitable for the air policing role now undertaken by the Typhoon.”

However, the M-346F Block 20 is a much more capable proposition in terms of avionics, although it remains subsonic.

As a non-aligned nation, Austria can’t rely on NATO support to defend its airspace, so having additional, more economical light combat aircraft to help do this job will be welcome.

The M-346 also has the benefit of an established user base and supply chains to go along with it. As a trainer, existing M-346 customers include Greece, Italy, Israel, Poland, Qatar, and Singapore. The Italian Air Force has also selected it as the future aircraft for its aerobatic team, the Frecce Tricolori.

Leonardo, as part of a team-up with Textron in the United States, has also been offering a navalized M-346N version to the U.S. Navy as a possible replacement for that service’s T-45 Goshawk jet trainers. You can read more about the M-346N, which was rebranded as a Beechcraft product earlier this year, here. Beechcraft is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Textron.

M-346 Jet Trainer Walk-Around Tour With Its Test Pilot.

The only country known to have already introduced a light combat aircraft version of the M-346 is Turkmenistan, which reportedly acquired just four M-346FA (Fighter Attack) versions, as well as two trainers. It’s unclear exactly what kinds of weapons the country’s jets carry.

However, Nigeria now looks to be lining up to buy the M-346FA, as well, with a potential deal for as many as 24 of the jets reportedly on the cards.

Buying the M-346 also further cements the Austrian Ministry of Defense’s own relationship with Leonardo, from which it previously acquired 36 AW169M Light Utility Helicopters (LUH) under two contracts signed in 2022 and 2023.

The Austrian order and the possibility of a larger sale to Nigeria are good news for Leonardo, which is continuing to evolve the M-346 from an advanced jet trainer into an ever more versatile multirole light combat aircraft.

The overall market space for light fighters based on advanced jet trainers is steadily growing globally, too. Korea Aerospace Industries has seen particular success with its FA-50 version of its T-50 trainer. The possibility of Boeing developing a light fighter based on its T-7 Redhawk for the U.S. Air Force has also come up in the past.

On the other hand, the Austrian Air Force remains stuck with the Typhoon, something of a costly white elephant when it’s considered that its primary mission is peacetime air policing over neutral airspace. Ultimately, perhaps, the Typhoon might be retired without a direct replacement, leaving the future M-346Fs to take on all frontline fighter roles.

Contact the author: thomas@thewarzone.com

Here’s what you need to know about potential changes to the BBC TV Licence

An annual fee in the UK could be replaced by “sliding scale” payment rates going forward. The BBC TV Licence could be due for some major changes.

The UK Government will examine reforms to the TV licence fee and explore additional commercial revenue streams for the BBC as part of proposals set out in its Royal charter review. The BBC’s existing charter, which spans a decade, concludes in December 2027.

The yearly licence fee has endured extensive examination under the previous Conservative administration, remaining static at £159 for two years before rising in April 2024 and again in April 2025 to £174.50, aligned with inflation rates.

As reported by the Daily Record, Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy has previously indicated she might be receptive to substituting the fixed licence fee with a graduated payment system. A fresh public consultation regarding these reforms has been initiated alongside the Green Paper and remains accessible until March 10, 2026.

The charter establishes the BBC’s public mission and serves as the constitutional foundation for the corporation, which is primarily financed through the licence fee, collected from UK households that watch television.

The Green Paper, outlining prospective BBC reforms was released on Tuesday and “consults on a wide range of options being considered for the future of the BBC”.

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) stated the UK Government will examine whether licence-fee reductions require updating, possibilities for the BBC to create additional commercial income, and funding alternatives for the World Service to ensure sustainable financing for minority-language broadcasting. Lisa Nandy expressed: “We want the BBC to continue to enrich people’s lives, tell Britain’s story and showcase our values and culture at home and overseas, long into the future.

“My aims for the charter review are clear. The BBC must remain fiercely independent, accountable and be able to command public trust. It must reflect the whole of the UK, remain an engine for economic growth and be funded in a way that is sustainable and fair for audiences.

“As a Government, we will ensure that this charter review is the catalyst that helps the BBC adapt to a rapidly changing media landscape and secures its role at the heart of national life.”

Options in the Green Paper the government is considering and seeking views on in this area include:

• Strengthening the BBC’s independence so the public continues to have trust in the organisation and its programmes and content, including considering the government’s role in board appointments
• Updating the BBC’s Mission and Public Purposes to give accuracy equal importance alongside impartiality and improving transparency of editorial decision-making to ensure the BBC explains journalistic processes and how its coverage evolves, especially during high profile events
• Giving the BBC new responsibilities to counter mis/disinformation, potentially alongside additional requirements on media literacy to help the public navigate technological change and develop digital skills, including around AI
• Introducing specific duties around workplace conduct to ensure BBC staff are protected and the organisation sets the standard for the rest of the sector to follow – including new responsibilities for the BBC Board to ensure action is taken against workplace misconduct

The DCMS said: “A BBC that is sustainably funded for decades to come to support its vital public service role.”

Options the UK Government is considering and seeking views on in this area include:

• Reform of the licence fee, whether licence fee concessions should be updated, and options for the BBC to generate more commercial revenue
• Options for funding the World Service and supporting sustainable funding for minority language broadcasting, including S4C
• Options the government is considering and seeking views on in this area include:
• Placing a new obligation on the BBC to drive economic growth, build skills and support the creative economy across the UK
• Ways in which the BBC can further support the production sector across the nations and regions, including by ensuring budgets and decision-making power for commissioners are spread across the UK, and by supporting minority language broadcasting
• Empowering the BBC to be an ethical and economic leader in adapting to new digital technologies, and enabling it to invest in Research and Development to support growth and drive public service benefits
• Encouraging the BBC to deliver more through collaborations and partnerships for growth and public value outcomes, including with organisations across the creative economy, and with local news outlets

Public consultation

People across the UK are being encouraged to give their views on the UK Government’s Green Paper public consultation and answer a set of questions.

Responses will be used to help inform policy changes which will be set out in a White Paper expected to be published in 2026.

You can view the consultation on GOV.UK.

DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. — President Trump on Wednesday paid his respects to two Iowa National Guard members and a U.S. civilian interpreter who were killed in an attack in the Syrian desert, joining their grieving families as their remains were brought back to the country they served.

Trump met privately with the families at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware before the dignified transfer, a solemn ritual conducted in honor of U.S. service members killed in action. The civilian was also included in the transfer.

Trump, who traveled to Dover several times in his first term, once described it as “the toughest thing I have to do” as president.

The two Iowa troops killed in Syria on Saturday were Sgt. Edgar Brian Torres-Tovar, 25, of Des Moines, and Sgt. William Nathaniel Howard, 29, of Marshalltown, according to the U.S. Army. Both were members of the 1st Squadron, 113th Cavalry Regiment, and have been hailed as heroes by the Iowa National Guard.

Torres-Tovar’s and Howard’s families were at Dover for the return of their remains, alongside Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, members of Iowa’s congressional delegation and leaders of the Iowa National Guard. Their remains will be taken to Iowa after the transfer.

A U.S. civilian working as an interpreter, identified Tuesday as Ayad Mansoor Sakat, of Macomb, Mich., was also killed. Three other members of the Iowa National Guard were injured in the attack. The Pentagon has not identified them.

They were among hundreds of U.S. troops deployed in eastern Syria as part of a coalition fighting the Islamic State group.

The process of returning service member remains

There is no formal role for a president at a dignified transfer other than to watch in silence, with all thoughts about what happened in the past and what is happening at Dover kept to himself for the moment. There is no speaking by any of the dignitaries who attend, with the only words coming from the military officials who direct the highly choreographed transfers.

Trump arrived without First Lady Melania Trump, who had been scheduled to accompany him, according to the president’s public schedule. Her office declined to elaborate, with spokesperson Nick Clemens saying the first lady “was not able to attend today.”

During the process at Dover, transfer cases draped with the American flag that hold the soldiers’ remains are carried from the belly of a hulking C-17 military aircraft to a waiting vehicle under the watchful eyes of grieving family members. The vehicle then transports the remains to the mortuary facility at the base, where the fallen are prepared for burial.

Iowa National Guard members hailed as heroes

Howard’s stepfather, Jeffrey Bunn, has said Howard “loved what he was doing and would be the first in and last out.” He said Howard had wanted to be a soldier since he was a boy.

In a social media post, Bunn, who is chief of the Tama, Iowa, police department, said Howard was a loving husband and an “amazing man of faith.” He said Howard’s brother, a staff sergeant in the Iowa National Guard, would escort “Nate” back to Iowa.

Torres-Tovar was remembered as a “very positive” family-oriented person who always put others first, according to fellow Guard members who were deployed with him and issued a statement to the local TV broadcast station WOI.

Dina Qiryaqoz, the daughter of the civilian interpreter who was killed, said Wednesday in a statement that her father worked for the U.S. Army during the invasion of Iraq from 2003 to 2007. Sakat is survived by his wife and four adult children.

The interpreter was from Bakhdida, Iraq, a small Catholic village southeast of Mosul, and the family immigrated to the U.S. in 2007 on a special visa, Qiryaqoz said. At the time of his death, Sakat was employed as an independent contractor for Virginia-based Valiant Integrated Services.

Sakat’s family was still struggling to believe that he is gone. “He was a devoted father and husband, a courageous interpreter and a man who believed deeply in the mission he served,” Qiryaqoz said.

Trump’s reaction to the attack in Syria

Trump told reporters over the weekend that he was mourning the deaths. He vowed retaliation. The most recent instance of U.S. service members killed in action was in January 2024, when three American troops died in a drone attack in Jordan.

Saturday’s deadly attack followed a rapprochement between the U.S. and Syria, bringing the former pariah state into a U.S.-led coalition fighting the Islamic State group.

Trump has forged a relationship with interim Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, the onetime leader of an Islamic insurgent group who led the ouster of former President Bashar Assad.

Trump, who met with al-Sharaa last month at the White House, said Monday that the attack had nothing to do with the Syrian leader, who Trump said was “devastated by what happened.”

During his first term, Trump visited Dover in 2017 to honor a U.S. Navy SEAL killed during a raid in Yemen, in 2019 for two Army officers whose helicopter crashed in Afghanistan, and in 2020 for two Army soldiers killed in Afghanistan when a person dressed in an Afghan army uniform opened fire.

Price writes for the Associated Press. AP writers Konstantin Toropin and Darlene Superville in Washington, Isabella Volmert in Lansing, Mich., and Hannah Fingerhut in Des Moines, Iowa, contributed to this report.

Pat Cummins takes his second wicket of the innings as Joe Root is caught behind for 19 as England fall to 71-4 in their first innings, 300 runs behind Australia’s 371, as the home side take control on day two of the third Ashes Test in Adelaide.

FOLLOW LIVE: The Ashes third Test – day two

Available to UK users only.

Philippine official said ‘a mere visit’ to the country does not support claims the men underwent ‘terrorist training’.

There is no evidence the suspected gunmen in the deadly Bondi Beach attack received military training in the southern Philippines, Manila’s national security adviser has said, as Australia announced plans to introduce measures to tighten the country’s hate speech laws.

In a Wednesday statement, Philippine National Security Adviser Eduardo Ano confirmed the two suspects in Sunday’s attack in Sydney, Australia – which saw 15 people killed after gunmen opened fire at a Jewish event – were in the country from November 1 to 28 this year.

Ano said immigration records showed that 50-year-old Sajid Akram and his 24-year-old son Naveed Akram travelled via the Philippine capital Manila to Davao City on the southern island of Mindanao. He added that Sajid had entered the country on an Indian passport, while Naveed entered on an Australian one.

Ano added that there was “no evidence” that the men had received “any form of military training” while in the country.

“A mere visit does not support allegations of terrorist training, and the duration of their stay would not have allowed for any meaningful or structured training,” he said.

The men mostly stayed in their hotel rooms when in Davao, according to a report by local news outlet MindaNews. Staff at the hotel said the pair checked in on November 1 and rarely went out for more than an hour at a time during their almost monthlong stay.

Australian authorities announced on Wednesday that Naveed Akram had been charged with 59 offences for his role in the attack, including murder and terror charges, when he woke from his coma. Sajid Akram, his father, was shot dead by police at the scene.

Ano also suggested that reports describing Mindanao – a Muslim-majority region in the Catholic-majority country, plagued by a decades-long secessionist conflict – as a “hotspot for violent extremism or Islamic State ideology” were “outdated and misleading”.

“Since the 2017 Marawi Siege, Philippine security forces have significantly degraded ISIS-affiliated groups in the country,” he said, referring to a five-month battle in which the ISIL-inspired Maute group seized the southern city and fought government forces.

“The remnants of these groups have been fragmented, deprived of leadership, and operationally degraded,” Ano added.

A 2014 peace agreement, which saw rebels drop their secessionist aspirations in exchange for a more powerful and better-funded Muslim autonomous region called Bangsamoro, has also brought a degree of calm to Mindanao.

But smaller rebel groups continue to carry out sporadic, deadly attacks across the restive southern Philippines’ region.

‘Also an attack on the Australian way of life’: Anthony Albanese

On Thursday, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese pledged to introduce new legislation cracking down on hate speech in response to the Bondi Beach attack, as he acknowledged that Australia had witnessed an increase in anti-Semitism since the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, attacks on Israel, and Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza.

Announcing the new measures at a news conference, Albanese said his government will seek to introduce legislation making it easier to charge people promoting hate speech and violence – including religious preachers – while new powers will be created to cancel or reject visas of people who spread “hate and division”.

The legislation would also develop a regime to target organisations whose leaders engage in hate speech, Albanese added.

Albanese said rising anti-Semitism “culminated on Sunday in one of the worst acts of mass murder that this country has ever seen”.

“It was an attack on our Jewish community – but it was also an attack on the Australian way of life. Australians are shocked and angry. I am angry. It is clear we need to do more to combat this evil scourge, much more,” he said.

New South Wales Premier Chris Minns said on Wednesday he would recall the state parliament next week in order to pass urgent reforms on gun laws.

HELEN Flanagan was issued a warning from her fans after threatening to “destroy” her ex Scott Sinclair.

The former Coronation Street actress split up from her footballer fiance in 2022, but the pair has struggled to co-parent their three children with Helen recently lashing out at him on Instagram.

Helen called Scott “a piece of s**t” for missing their youngest son’s nativity play, but it seems trouble must have been brewing weeks ago.

The actress posted to TikTok wearing a sexy, animal print corset top and brushed her blonde her as an audio recording of boxer Tyson Fury played over the top.

The audio from 2017 was Tyson saying: “I will destroy you, I will dismantle you, I will dissect you like an insect, smash you to pieces without no hesitation.”

It was a warning to fellow Brit boxer, Anthony Joshua and Helen joked that she too was using it as a threat to Scott.

HEL & BACK

How Helen Flanagan’s split from Scott turned nuclear & why Xmas may spark clash

hel no

Helen Flanagan cuts last tie with ex Scott Sinclair after lashing out at footballer

“My voice notes to my baby dad ( I’m 5ft 4, and struggle to open a bottle of water),” Helen captioned the TikTok.

Her fans were divided about the video and shared their thoughts in the comment section.

“Please be careful posting content like this Helen, if he ever took you to Court over child access, his representation would happily use this against you. Also, your eldest is at an age where she may see this and whatever has happened between you as adults seeing stuff like this about her Dad may upset her,” wrote one person.

Another added: “Hope your kids don’t see this. Take the high ground hun. Even if he is a piece of s***. Your future self will thank you.”

And a third commented: “All I’ll say is yes queen.”

Things seemed to go nuclear between Helen and Scott this week when she slated him online for missing son Charlie’s nativity play.

Helen this week lashed out this week at the Bristol Rovers footballer who was living it up in Abu Dhabi, rather than at Charlie’s big day.

The actress labelled her ex a “piece of s**t” after he posted photos of himself at the F1 Grand Prix in Abu Dhabi over the weekend.

She shared his post to her Instagram stories and added: “How dare you not turn up to Charlie’s nativity.”

The couple who split in 2022, share children Matilda, 10, and seven-year-old Delilah as well as son Charlie, four.

And now, a source has revealed that Helen was expecting Scott to watch Charlie’s nativity play due to her busy workload.

She is currently starring as The Wicked Queen in a production of Snow White in Liverpool.

WASHINGTON — FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino said Wednesday that he will resign from the bureau next month, ending a brief and tumultuous tenure in which he clashed with the Justice Department over the handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files and was forced to reconcile the realities of his law enforcement job with provocative claims he made in his prior role as a popular podcast host.

The departure, which had been expected, would be among the highest-profile resignations of the Trump administration. It comes as FBI leadership has been buffeted by criticism over Director Kash Patel’s use of a government plane for personal purposes and social media posts about active investigations.

Bongino announced his planned departure in a post on X in which he said he was grateful for the “opportunity to serve with purpose.” He did not say precisely when in January he would leave or detail his future plans.

President Trump said earlier Wednesday, in response to a question about Bongino’s fate: “Dan did a great job. I think he wants to go back to his show.”

Bongino was always an unconventional pick for the No. 2 job at the FBI, a position that historically has entailed oversight of the bureau’s day-to-day operations and typically has been held by a career agent. Though he had previously worked as a New York City police officer and Secret Service agent, neither he nor Patel had any experience at the FBI before being picked for their jobs.

Nonetheless, Bongino was installed in the role in March by Trump after years as a conservative podcast host, where he used his platform to repeatedly rail against FBI leadership and to encourage conspiracy theories related to the Epstein sex-trafficking case and pipe bombs discovered in Washington on Jan. 6, 2021.

Once in the position, Bongino struggled to placate elements of Trump’s base who expected him to quickly deliver the reform he had claimed was needed at the FBI and to uncover the truths he had said had been hidden by the federal government.

On the Epstein case, for instance, he had previously challenged the official ruling that the wealthy financier had taken his own life in a New York jail soon after his 2019 arrest. But once in the FBI, he said in a Fox News interview: “I’ve seen the whole file. He killed himself.”

Bongino had separately speculated as recently as last year that the pipe bombs placed on the eve of the Jan. 6 Capitol riot were an “inside job” and part of a “massive cover-up.” But after the FBI earlier this month arrested a 30-year-old Virginia man with no evident connection to the federal government, Bongino was pressed about his prior comments.

“I was paid in the past for my opinions,” Bongino said in a Fox News interview. “One day I will be back in that space, but that’s not what I’m paid for now. I’m paid to be your deputy director, and we base investigations on facts.”

Tucker writes for the Associated Press.

Puka Nacua thinks NFL referees are “the worst.”

He feels they fabricate calls just so their friends can see them on TV.

But, to be honest, the Rams star receiver doesn’t seem too upset about the situation.

During a livestream Tuesday with YouTubers N3on and Adin Ross, Nacua was asked if he thought referees might bend the truth at times when making their calls.

“Oh, a hundred percent,” Nacua answered matter-of-factly. “Yes, the refs are the worst.”

The third-year player continued in the same casual manner, saying that NFL officials are generally part-time employees who probably get a thrill when they appear on screen during national broadcasts — even if it’s while making a call.

“These guys are lawyers, and like really they want to be on TV, too, bro,” Nacua said. “You don’t think he’s texting his friends in the group chat like, ‘Yo, you guys just saw me on “Sunday Night Football.” Like, that wasn’t [pass interference], but I called it.’”

He added: “I mean, these guys are normal human beings, too.”

The NFL’s competition committee states on the league’s football operations website that “criticism of officiating has always been considered conduct detrimental to the League.” Such conduct is often met with a fine. Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett, Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes and Chiefs coach Andy Reid have all been fined for public criticism of officiating in recent years.

The NFL did not immediately respond to questions from The Times on a possible fine for Nacua.

During another portion of the livestream, Nacua agrees to do a celebration dance of Ross and N3on’s choice after his next touchdown. With Nacua out of earshot, the two YouTubers discuss whether the 2023 Pro Bowl player would get in trouble if they have him perform a move that references an offensive stereotype about Jewish people. Ross is Jewish, but he often performs the move and teaches others how to do it in his livestreams.

He ends up teaching the move to Nacua, who practices it with Ross and promises to do it during a game. Ross does not explain the meaning of the move to Nacua, and the star receiver gives no indication he knows its background.

The Times reached out to the Rams and Nacua’s agent and did not receive an immediate response.

Dec. 17 (UPI) — In a relatively brief, campaign-style speech on Wednesday night, President Donald Trump touted what he described as successes achieved by his administration during his first year back in office, while bashing his predecessor, former President Joe Biden, and the Democrats.

Before Christmas trees and a Christmas laurel decorating the mantel of the Diplomatic Reception Room fireplace, the commander-in-chief said he has returned the United States from a place of destitution to a level of unparalleled success.

“Our country is back stronger than ever before. We’re poised for an economic boom the likes of which the world has never seen,” he said.

“We will celebrate the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. There could be no more fitting tribute to this epic milestone than to complete the comeback of America that began just one year ago.”

The speech comes amid economic concerns and fears of war in the United States, though Trump only touched on the former during the address. A day earlier, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported unemployment had risen to its highest level since September 2021 during the pandemic. An ongoing U.S. military buildup in the Caribbean continues, and on Tuesday, Trump ordered a naval blockade of Venezuela oil tankers.

In the 18-minute speech, Trump described the country he inherited as a “mess” marked by inflation, high prices, rampant illegal immigration, unaffordability, transgender women playing women’s sports, “transgender for everybody,” censorship and crime.

“This is what the Biden administration allowed to happen to our country, and it can never be allowed to happen again,” he said.

“Our country was laughed at all over the world, but they are not laughing anymore.”

In the last 11 months, Trump said he has ushered more positive change into Washington “than any administration in American history.”

“There’s never been anything like it. And I think most would agree,” he said.

Trump also trumpeted his border policies, claiming they have resulted in “zero” undocumented migrants allowed to enter the United States. — an apparent reference to Customs and Border Protection data showing that, beginning in May, no migrants apprehended at the border were released into the U.S. interior.

“Do you remember when Joe Biden said he needed Congress to help with legislation to close the border?” he said. “As it turned out, we didn’t need legislation, we just needed a new president.”

This is a developing story.

Maxwell, a former British socialite and Epstein accomplice, says her conviction for trafficking a ‘miscarriage of justice’.

Ghislaine Maxwell, former girlfriend and accomplice of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, has asked a federal judge in the United States to set aside her sex trafficking conviction and quash her 20-year prison sentence.

Maxwell made the long-shot legal bid in a Manhattan court on Wednesday, saying “substantial new evidence” had emerged proving that constitutional violations spoiled her trial in 2021 for recruiting underage girls for wealthy financier Epstein, who died in 2019.

In the lengthy filing, Maxwell, 63, argues that “newly discovered evidence” proves that she “did not receive a fair trial by independent jurors coming to Court with an open mind”.

“If the jury had heard of the new evidence of the collusion between the plaintiff’s lawyers and the Government to conceal evidence and the prosecutorial misconduct they would not have convicted,” Maxwell wrote.

She said the cumulative effect of the constitutional violations resulted in a “complete miscarriage of justice”.

Maxwell submitted the filing herself, not in the name of a lawyer.

Proceedings of the type brought by Maxwell are routinely denied by judges and are often the last-ditch option available to offenders to have their convictions overturned, the AFP news agency reports.

Maxwell’s filing also comes just days before records in her legal case are scheduled to be released publicly as a result of US President Donald Trump’s signing of the Epstein Files Transparency Act.

The law, which Trump signed after months of public and political pressure on his administration, requires the Department of Justice to provide the public with Epstein-related records by December 19.

The circumstances of Epstein’s death and his influential social circle, which spanned the highest reaches of business and politics in the US, have also fuelled conspiracy theories about possible cover-ups and unnamed accomplices

Critics also continue to press President Trump to address his own once-close relationship with Epstein.

The Justice Department has said it plans to release 18 categories of investigative materials gathered in the massive sex trafficking probe, including search warrants, financial records, notes from interviews with victims, and data from electronic devices.

Epstein was arrested in July 2019 on sex trafficking charges but was found dead a month later in his cell at a New York federal jail, and his death was ruled a suicide.

Maxwell, once a well-known British socialite, was arrested a year later and convicted of sex trafficking in December 2021.

In July, she was interviewed by the Justice Department’s second-in-command and soon afterwards moved from a federal prison in Florida to a prison camp in Texas.

Maxwell’s transfer from the Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) Tallahassee – a low-security prison in Florida – to the minimum-security Federal Prison Camp in Bryan, Texas, was carried out without explanation at the time.

PinkPantheress broke out in 2021 with a series of charming and inventive singles that placed her high, breathy vocals over skittering beats built around easily recognizable samples. It was as though the English singer and producer were trying to insert herself into pop-music history from behind a laptop in her bedroom — which is pretty much what ended up happening.

In 2023, her song “Boy’s a Liar Pt. 2,” a collaboration with Ice Spice, went to No. 3 on Billboard’s Hot 100; several months later, she landed a song on the hit soundtrack of Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie.” Last year she went on the road as an opening act for Olivia Rodrigo, and now she’s nominated for her first two Grammy Awards: dance/electronic album for this year’s “Fancy That” and dance pop recording for the project’s opening track, “Illegal.”

With nine songs in only 20 minutes, “Fancy That” maintains the TikTok-era economy of PinkPantheress’ early work. It’s also full of samples from the likes of Underworld, Basement Jaxx and Panic! at the Disco — one reason, perhaps, the singer, 24, describes it as a mixtape rather than an album. (An accompanying remix set, “Fancy Some More?,” features appearances by Basement Jaxx, Kylie Minogue, Sugababes, Ravyn Lenae and Groove Armada, among many others.)

Yet “Fancy That” showcases an expanding emotional palette too — it’s by turns funny, wistful, horny, melancholy and unimpressed. She spoke about it over matcha lattes in Los Angeles, where she lives when she’s not back home in London. “If you’re a musician, it’s sold as the place to be,” she says of L.A. “I was trying not to like it, but I really do.”

You’re enjoying the city despite yourself.
I think for me, it was just a case of: When I’m comfortable somewhere, I don’t enjoy exploration. What I know to be safe is where I stay.

Why?
It’s something with the way my brain works — I don’t think it’s a choice. My brain associates change — different environments and travel — with fear. I don’t go on holiday because of that reason. I find it very difficult because I genuinely don’t feel safe. Doesn’t matter where I am.

What do you do in L.A.?
I hang out with my friends. I get food. I do all the regular things. But it’s taken me years. When I first got here, I wasn’t like, Oh my God — the Hollywood sign! It was just like, Lemme find my footing. I think getting my house was when I was OK. I don’t like the stress of going out somewhere and being worried about how I come across to people.

If you’re at a restaurant, it’s hard for you not to think about the fact that someone might know who you are.
On occasion, if I’m not disguised well enough.

What are the disguises?
I think I’m gonna stop wearing my hair out in public.

So pop stardom — enjoyable or not?
It’s as absurd as everyone says. But it is 100% what I’ve always wanted to be. So I can’t complain now.

I mean, you could.
But I shan’t.

That would be poor form?
I’m a big believer of my words having an effect on everything I do going forward. So if I was to become comfortable complaining about my job — when I worked so hard to get here — then it’s gonna carry with me and it’ll come out in my behavior.

Do you drive?
I love driving. That’s another reason I like it here, because I can drive.

You like driving here more than in London?
I have a nicer car here. Well, actually, I don’t have a car in London anymore. The police took it.

Why?
Don’t know.

You must know.
I actually just don’t know. I literally got there and it was gone, and I was like, Fine. It was so cheap — like 2,000 pounds.

What kind of car was it?
A Peugeot 208.

In a recent interview with Zane Lowe, you named the people you called your blueprints: M.I.A., Kelela and Tinashe. All are well–regarded trailblazers, but none of them, I would say, is a pop superstar. That made me wonder: Do you want to be top of the pops?
I feel like in order to be top of the pops, I’d have to compromise a lot about my artistic choices. However, if the post-“Brat” era has taught us anything about music, it’s that you can actually be as experimental as you want, and if it translates, it will translate. So actually it’s not necessarily a recipe that’s too formulaic, as one would think.

Do I want to be top of the pops? I think that might be too much pressure. I don’t enjoy having to explain myself, and I worry that being big would make me have to explain a lot about myself. However, I do want to be well-regarded. I do want to be influential. And I do want to not have to worry, How well will this do? It’s less about top of the pops and more about having a very loyal fan base, which I prioritize above everything else.

I spoke with Lorde recently, and she told me she aches to be understood even though she wishes she didn’t. You said you don’t like explaining yourself. But do you feel compelled to?
I would say I definitely under-explained myself early on. And unfortunately that was a crucial error because — had I been on top of explaining my music and my musical mind from the jump — maybe now I’d be taken more as a producer. But because I didn’t, and because of the way I present myself, I do think people take me as more surface-level pop, and I’m actually not — I’m actually fully an art girl, like all the women I’ve mentioned.

So it’s kind of gone from not explaining myself to explaining too much. I hated that, too, because then it got people asking me more questions. Now I don’t want to explain anything anymore.

You’ve got the Sugababes on your remix album. Great example of an act that’s beloved in England but couldn’t get arrested in the States. Why do you think some U.K. acts cross over and some don’t?
If you have someone on your marketing team that prioritizes America, then I’m 99% sure you can always do it. I don’t think American people are put off by Britishness — I don’t think the music is too crazy for them to get it. The reason I did well in America was because I used a platform where the majority of users are American.

You mean TikTok. Did you use TikTok because that was the platform you were good at or because you knew it was the platform with the broadest reach?
I had no idea how it worked — I just thought about what has the most reach. I’m a child of the internet. I’ve always been online.

What’s bad about the internet?
There was a time when I would have said nothing.

At what age?
Sixteen — even older, honestly. The whole push of generated stuff has made it so unbelievably different. Back when I was on the internet, you wouldn’t have to second-guess any post you saw.

Whereas now you have to question whether something is real or AI.
Is this propaganda or is this not? That’s bad.

Is TikTok still fun?
I don’t really go on social media at all, so I don’t know.

You just make your posts —
And dip. Or I interact with people that help me towards my craft. People that make fan edits, I love it, so I’ll interact with them. But I don’t really scroll.

Did someone say to you, “Listen, you need to stop scrolling”?
No. I actually have no vices, so I didn’t have a problem with it.

Everyone’s addicted to scrolling.
Hell no — I’m not. If I want to stop something, I can stop right now.

Do you drink? Smoke weed?
I can’t do any drugs. I get drunk once or twice a month, and that’s my limit. I make sure to count that.

Why no drugs?
I’m a hypochondriac.

What are you afraid of happening?
Dying. Also, it’s just not enjoyable for me. When I get drunk, that’s the best amount of chaos I can experience in my inner self.

Dying?
Too much coke could kill you — cause an arrhythmic heart. And as I’ve said, if I fear something, I’m not gonna step foot towards it.

“I don’t think American people are put off by Britishness,” says PinkPantheress. “I don’t think the music is too crazy for them to get it.”

(Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)

Who said no to being on the remix album?
No one said no. But I don’t ask people that I know are gonna say no — I just refuse to ask them. There was one person that was like, “Oh, I saw this too late” [makes “Yeah, right” face]. And one person didn’t reply. Maybe two people didn’t reply.

Were your feelings hurt?
No. Yeah. Maybe. When it comes to features and everything like that, I very much understand — I get how the mind of a singer works. I think people that get hurt are maybe not putting themselves in their shoes.

Surely you’ve said no to people at this point.
It’s a horrible feeling. And I try and make it work as much as possible. But sometimes it just doesn’t make sense. The vibes are off.

Have you heard the Lily Allen album?
Yes.

Thoughts?
Really good. And earnest.

She’s just laying out all her business.
She’s a Brit — that’s what we do.

Are Brits essentially earnest?
I think there’s something in our music that’s extremely earnest. That’s why you get someone like an Adele or someone like a Raye right now. You can feel them bleed. They’re bleeding out onto the stage — bleeding out onto the pieces of paper.

Beyond what we’ve talked about, I know virtually nothing about your personal life.
Exactly.

Whereas now I know a tremendous amount about Lily Allen’s. What do you make of that impulse to dump everything out into the world?
What I love about Lily Allen is that she’s always been very honest from Day 1. She’s an open book in interviews — she’s an open book everywhere. It works for her because it makes her very personable and makes her music all that more enjoyable because we feel like we’re actually experiencing her as a human being.

I would love to be that earnest. I simply don’t think I’ve gone through half the amount she’s gone through in her life. Because I fear so much, I end up not being in very exciting or controversial situations, and that could translate as boring. But I wouldn’t say I was a boring person. I relish in the mundaneness of interacting with others and the excitement of being myself. I’m actually obsessed with myself. When I’m with my best friend, we’re just so fun together. Other people, they’re like, “The f—?”

You’re on Coachella next year. You’ve talked about festivals not being your ideal performance venue.
I’m definitely better now, for sure. Two years ago, I was pretty s—.

What’d you learn from the tour you just finished?
Oh, a lot. I learnt that I’m in control of my body. I learnt that I’m in control of pretty much every element when I’m onstage. One thing I’m realizing as I talk is that the reason I don’t like drugs is because I like full control. When I’m onstage, for some reason, I always imagine that I’m gonna lose control — I’m gonna have to faint or have to run. I don’t know why, but that’s my biggest fear with performing, and hence why I’ve always been quite nervous.

But doing that tour made me realize that I can choose if I want to have a good time right now. And I chose to have a really good time — it was a really fun experience. I’m still learning how to dance. I’m still learning how to look good onstage. I think I’m built in quite a funny way, which makes me look long. And when you’re shaped in a long way and you have long limbs, you look bad at dancing.

You’re taller than I expected.
Every single person says that.

Why do we all think you’re going to be shorter?
My voice is quite high. I also think I shrink myself — less in physical ways and more in how I portray myself. I’m not like [shouts], “I’m here!” I’m more like [whispers], “I’m here.”

A pair of blue and yellow earplugs dangle on Jose’s neck while waiting for work as a day laborer out of the Home Depot in Cypress Park.

They’ve been a necessity for laborers in the area since late November, when Home Depot installed three machines in the parking lot that emit a high-pitched tone. The noise, typically kept on all day, is a piercing sound that “penetrates your bones,” he said.

The Instituto de Educacion Popular del Sur de California (IDEPSCA), a nonprofit that supports day laborers, held a press conference at Home Depot Wednesday, calling for the company remove the machines and vocalize opposition to the ICE raids taking place in its parking lots, part of a growing number of protests targeting corporate cooperation with immigration enforcement.

Home Depot locations nationwide have been a prime target for ICE raids under President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown. In early November, ICE agents detained a man at the Cypress Park location and then drove off with his toddler in the back of the vehicle.

Around 50 people have been detained at the Cypress Park location this year, said Maegan Ortiz, IDEPSCA’s executive director. The machines are an attempt to push day laborers off its lots, she said.

The machines were turned off by the company during the press conference, but were turned back on about an hour after it ended, according to workers. The noise is in earshot of the IDEPSCA’s day laborer center, one of five operated by the organization that have supported workers for over two decades.

“We have been here and remain open through global pandemics, providing services and creating community,” Ortiz said. “We’re not going to let sound machines, gates and intimidation get rid of us. Day laborers are here to stay. IDEPSCA is here to stay. The immigrant community is here to stay.”

Evelyn Fornes, a spokesperson for Home Depot, wrote to The Times that the company “has several initiatives we use to keep our stores safe, including human and technology resources.” The company did not address questions on why or when the machines were installed.

George Lane, a company spokesperson, previously told The Times that the company doesn’t coordinate with ICE or Border Patrol.

“We’re not involved in the operations. We aren’t notified that immigration enforcement activities are going to happen, and often, we don’t know operations have taken place until they’re over,” Lane wrote.

Jose’s earplugs, which IDEPSCA provided to workers, help muffle the sound, but aren’t enough to completely mask it, he said. The noise causes workers headaches, nausea and dizziness, said Jose and Andres Salazar, the center’s site coordinator.

Salazar said the noise often follows him home, still ringing in his ears long after he’s left the parking lot.

The machines were installed only days after the latest raid at the location in late November, during which day laborers were taken and IDEPSCA staff members were harmed, Ortiz said.

The machines were installed on light posts in the parking lot situated directly under the 5 freeway overpass. Hernandez and Ortiz said that portion of the parking lot is Caltrans property and not owned by Home Depot. They urged the city to look into the machine’s installations.

Home Depot also installed yellow barriers that close off access to the parking lot near IDEPSCA’s day labor center, located at the corner of the Cypress Park location.

The machines are “a deliberate choice by a multi billion dollar corporation that absolutely knew what it was doing and chose to weaponize sound literally,” said Councilwoman Eunisses Hernandez, who represents the city’s first district. “Devices like these are used as torture against our people.”

Home Depot relies on immigrant and Latino communities, Hernandez said, including customers who shop inside and day laborers, who seek work outside their storefronts.

The day laborer center is more than just a workplace, said Jose, who asked to withhold his last name for fear of retaliation by immigration agents. For many day laborers, it’s a second home, and for some, their only one. The center is bursting with greenery – plants that are cared for by the workers themselves.

“This space is something truly beautiful,” Jose said. “But, everything they’re doing with the noise and the barriers, it is affecting us…We’re here to help serve the community, not steal from the company.”

The noise is an added another layer of stress to day laborers, who are already struggling with less work opportunities and navigating lingering trauma from ICE raids. Jose was at the Home Depot when the last raid took place, only days before the company implemented the noise machines.

He watched in horror as coworkers were taken and volunteers were beaten.

“It made me angry, but I felt so impotent because, well, what do I do?” Jose said. “If I start fighting them, they’re going to knock me down, they’re going to take me.”

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In October, a small electronics manufacturer in the western Indian state of Gujarat shipped its first batch of chip modules to a client in California.

Kaynes Semicon, together with Japanese and Malaysian technology partners, assembled the chips in a new factory funded with incentives under Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s $10bn semiconductor push announced in 2021.

Modi has been trying to position India as an additional manufacturing hub for global companies that may be looking to expand their production beyond China, with limited success.

One sign of that is India’s first commercial foundry for mature chips that is currently under construction, also in Gujarat. The $11bn project is supported by technology transfer from a Taiwanese chipmaker and has onboarded the United States chip giant Intel as a potential customer.

With companies the world over hungering for chips, India’s entry into that business could boost its role in global supply chains. But experts caution that India still has a long way to go in attracting more foreign investment and catching up in cutting-edge technology.

Unprecedented momentum

Semiconductor chips are designed, fabricated in foundries, and then assembled and packaged for commercial use. The US leads in chip design, Taiwan in fabrication, and China, increasingly, in packaging.

The upcoming foundry in Gujarat is a collaboration between India’s Tata Group, one of the largest conglomerates in the country, and Taiwan’s Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation (PSMC), which is assisting with the plant’s construction and technology transfer.

On December 8, Tata Electronics also signed an agreement with Intel to explore the manufacturing and packaging of its products in Tata’s upcoming facilities, including the foundry. The partnership will address the growing domestic demand.

Last year, Tata was approved for a 50 percent subsidy from the Modi government for the foundry, along with additional state-level incentives, and could come online as early as December 2026.

Even if delayed, the project marks a pivotal moment for India, which has seen multiple attempts to build a commercial fab stall in the past.

The foundry will focus on fabricating chips ranging from 28 nanometres (nm) to 110nm, typically referred to as mature chips because they are comparatively easier to produce than smaller 7nm or 3nm chips.

Mature chips are used in most consumer and power electronics, while the smaller chips are in high demand for AI data centres and high-performance computing. Globally, the technology for mature chips is more widely available and distributed. Taiwan leads production of these chips, with China fast catching up, though Taiwan’s TSMC dominates production for cutting-edge nodes below 7nm.

“India has long been strong in chip design, but the challenge has been converting that strength into semiconductor manufacturing,” said Stephen Ezell, vice president for global innovation policy at the Washington, DC-based Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF).

“In the past two to three years, there’s been more progress on that front than in the previous decade – driven by stronger political will at both the central and state levels, and a more coordinated push from the private sector to commit to these investments,” Ezell told Al Jazeera.

Easy entry point

More than half of the Modi government’s $10bn in semiconductor incentives is earmarked for the Tata-PSMC venture, with the remainder supporting nine other projects focused mainly on the assembly, testing and packaging (ATP) stage of the supply chain.

These are India’s first such projects – one by Idaho-based Micron Technology, also in Gujarat, and another by the Tata Group in the northeastern Assam state. Both will use in-house technologies and have drawn investments of $2.7bn and $3.3bn, respectively.

The remaining projects are smaller, with cumulative investments of about $2bn, and are backed by technology partners such as Taiwan’s Foxconn, Japan’s Renesas Electronics, and Thailand’s Stars Microelectronics.

“ATP units offer a lower path of resistance compared to a large foundry, requiring smaller investments – typically between $50m and $1bn. They also carry less risk, and the necessary technology know-how is widely available globally,” Ashok Chandak, president of the India Electronics and Semiconductor Association (IESA), told Al Jazeera.

Still, most of the projects are behind schedule.

Micron’s facility, approved for incentives in June 2023, was initially expected to begin production by late 2024. However, the company noted in its fiscal 2025 report that the Gujarat facility will “address demand in the latter half of this decade”.

Approved in February 2024, the Tata facility was initially slated to be operational by mid-2025, but the timeline has now been pushed to April 2026.

When asked for reasons behind the delays, both Micron and Tata declined to comment.

One exception is a smaller ATP unit by Kaynes Semicon, which in October exported a consignment of sample chip modules to an anchor client in California – a first for India.

Another project by CG Semi, part of India’s Murugappa Group, is in trial runs, with commercial production expected in the coming months.

The semiconductor projects under the Tata Group and the Murugappa Group have drawn public scrutiny after Indian online news outlet Scroll.in reported that both companies made massive political donations after they were picked for the projects.

As per Scroll.in, the Tata Group donated 7.5 billion rupees ($91m) and 1.25 billion rupees ($15m), respectively, to Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) just weeks after securing government subsidies in February 2024 and ahead of national elections. Neither group had made such large donations to the party before. Such donations are not prohibited by law. Both the Tata Group and the Murugappa Group declined to comment to Al Jazeera regarding the reports.

Meeting domestic demand a key priority

The upcoming projects in India – both the foundry and the ATP units – will primarily focus on legacy, or mature, chips sized between 28nm and 110nm. While these chips are not at the cutting-edge of semiconductor technology, they account for the bulk of global demand, with applications across cars, industrial equipment and consumer electronics.

China dominates the ATP segment globally with a 30 percent share and accounted for 42 percent of semiconductor equipment spending in 2024, according to DBS Group Research.

India has long positioned itself as a “China Plus One” destination amid global supply chain diversification, with some progress evident in Apple’s expansion of its manufacturing base in the country. The company assembles all its latest iPhone models in India, in partnership with Foxconn and Tata Electronics, and has emerged as a key supplier to the US market this year following tariff-related uncertainties over Chinese shipments.

Its push in the ATP segment, however, is driven largely by the need to meet the growing domestic demand for chips, anticipated to surge from $50bn today to $100bn by 2030.

“Globally, too, the market will expand from around $650bn to $1 trillion. So, we’re not looking at shifting manufacturing from China to elsewhere. We’re looking at capturing the incremental demand emerging both in India and abroad,” Chandak said.

India’s import of chips – both integrated circuits and microassemblies – has jumped in recent years, rising 36 percent in 2024 to nearly $24bn from the previous year. An integrated circuit (IC) is a chip serving logic, memory or processing functions, whereas a microassembly is a broader package of multiple chips performing combined functions.

The momentum has continued this year, with imports up 20 percent year-on-year, accounting for about 3 percent of India’s total import bill, according to official trade data. China remains the leading supplier with a 30 percent share, followed by Hong Kong (19 percent), South Korea (11 percent), Taiwan (10 percent), and Singapore (10 percent).

“Even if it’s a 28 nm chip, from a trade balance perspective, India would rather produce and package it domestically than import it,” Ezell of ITIF said, adding that domestic capability would enhance the competitiveness of chip-dependent industries.

Better incentives needed

The Modi government’s support for the chip sector, while unprecedented for India, is still dwarfed by the $48bn committed by China and the $53bn provisioned under the US’s CHIPS Act.

To achieve scale in the ATP segment for meaningful import substitution – and to advance towards producing chips smaller than 28nm – India will need continued government support, and there is a second round of incentives already in the works.

“The reality is, if India wants to compete at the leading edge of semiconductors, it will need to attract a foreign partner – American or Asian – since only a handful of companies globally operate at that level. It’s highly unlikely that a domestic firm will be competitive at 7nm or 3nm anytime soon,” Ezell said.

According to him, India needs to continue focusing on improving its overall business environment – from ensuring reliable power and infrastructure to streamlining regulations, customs and tariff policies.

India’s engineers make up about a fifth of the global chip design workforce, but rising competition from China and Malaysia to attract multinational design firms could erode that edge.

In its latest incentive round, the Indian government limited benefits to domestic firms to promote local intellectual property – a move that, according to Alpa Sood, legal director at the India operations of California-based Marvell Technology, risks driving multinational design work elsewhere.

“India already has a thriving chip design ecosystem strengthened by early-stage incentives from the government. What we need, to further accelerate and build stronger R&D muscle – is incentives that mirror competing countries like China [220 percent tax incentives] and Malaysia [200 percent tax incentives]. This will ensure we don’t lose the advantage we’ve built over the years,” Sood told Al Jazeera.

Marvell’s India operations are its largest outside the US.

The Trump effect

India’s upcoming chip facilities, while aimed at meeting domestic demand, will also export to clients in the US, Japan, and Taiwan. Though US President Donald Trump has threatened 100 percent tariffs on semiconductors made outside the US, none have yet been imposed.

A bigger concern for India-US engagement – so far limited to education and training – is Washington’s 50 percent tariff on India over its Russian crude imports. Semiconductors remain exempt, but the broader trade climate has turned uncertain.

“Over half the global semiconductor market is controlled by US-headquartered firms, making engagement with them crucial,” Chandak said. “Any alignment with these firms, either through joint ventures or technology partnerships – is a preferred option.”

The global chip race is accelerating, and India’s policies will need to keep pace to become a serious player amid growing geo-economic fragmentation.

“These new 1.7nm fabs are so advanced they even factor in the moon’s gravitational pull – it’s literally a moonshot,” Ezell said. “Semiconductor manufacturing is the most complex engineering task humanity undertakes – and the policymaking behind it must be just as precise.”

Winter storms are worsening conditions for hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians in Gaza, as aid agencies warn that Israeli restrictions are preventing lifesaving shelter assistance from reaching people across the besieged enclave.

The United Nations has said it has tents, blankets and other essential supplies ready to enter Gaza, but that Israeli authorities continue to block or restrict access through border crossings.

In Gaza City’s Shati refugee camp, the roof of a war-damaged family home collapsed during the storm, rescue workers said on Wednesday. Six Palestinians, including two children, were pulled alive from the rubble.

It comes after Gaza’s Ministry of Health said a two-week-old Palestinian infant froze to death, highlighting the risks faced by young and elderly people living in inadequate shelters.

A spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the storms had damaged or destroyed shelters and personal belongings across the territory.

“The disruption has affected approximately 30,000 children across Gaza. Urgent repairs are needed to ensure these activities can resume without delay,” Farhan Haq said.

The Palestinian Civil Defence in Gaza added in a statement that “what we are experiencing now in the Gaza Strip is a true humanitarian catastrophe”.

Ceasefire talks and aid access

The worsening humanitarian situation comes as Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani held talks in Washington, DC, with United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio on efforts to stabilise the tenuous ceasefire in Gaza.

According to Qatari officials, the talks focused on Qatar’s role as a mediator, the urgent need for aid to enter Gaza, and moving negotiations towards the second stage of a US-backed plan to end Israel’s genocidal war against the Palestinian people in Gaza.

Al Jazeera’s Alan Fisher, reporting from Washington, said Sheikh Mohammed stressed that humanitarian assistance must be allowed into Gaza “unconditionally”.

“He said aid has to be taken into Gaza unconditionally, clearly making reference to the fact that a number of aid agencies have said that Israel is blocking the access to aid for millions of people in Gaza,” Fisher said.

The Qatari prime minister also discussed the possibility of an international stabilisation force to be deployed in Gaza after the war, saying such a force should act impartially.

“There has been a lot of talk in the US over the past couple of weeks about how this force would work towards the disarmament of Hamas,” Fisher said.

Sheikh Mohammed also called for swift progress towards the second phase of the ceasefire agreement.

“He said that stage two of the ceasefire deal has to be moved to pretty quickly,” Fisher said, adding that US officials were hoping to announce early in the new year which countries would contribute troops to a stabilisation force.

Israeli attacks continue

Meanwhile, violence continued in Gaza despite the ceasefire, with at least 11 Palestinians wounded in Israeli attacks in central Gaza City, according to medical sources.

The Israeli army said it is investigating after a mortar shell fired near Gaza’s so-called yellow line “missed its target”.

Al Jazeera journalists in Gaza reported Israeli artillery shelling east of the southern city of Khan Younis. Medical sources said Israeli gunfire also wounded two people in the Tuffah neighbourhood of eastern Gaza City.

In the occupied West Bank, where Israeli military and settler attacks have escalated in recent days, Palestinian news agency Wafa reported that Israeli troops shot and wounded a man in his 20s in the foot in Qalqilya. He was taken to hospital and is reported to be in stable condition.

Since October 2023, at least 70,668 Palestinians have been killed and 171,152 wounded in Israeli attacks on Gaza, according to Palestinian health authorities. In Israel, 1,139 people were killed during the Hamas-led October 7 attack, and more than 200 others were taken captive.