THERE are a few villages in the UK that give an insight into old England, let alone destinations from across the pond.

There’s a city in North Carolina that has a hint of British about it as they speak “Elizabethan English”.

Ocracoke is a village on Ocracoke Island, part of North Carolina’s coastal Outer Banks region.

It’s a 16-mile long barrier island – which is a long long sand ridge parallel to the mainland coast, separated by a shallow body of water like a bay or lagoon.

The island, considered the ‘Pearl of the Outer Banks’ is home to around 800 people of whom who have their own unique way of speaking.

One visitor described the locals’ accent as being “Elizabethan English”.

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Brian Carlton told the BBC: “People here just have their own way of speaking: it’s like someone took Elizabethan English, sprinkled in some Irish tones and 1700s Scottish accents, then mixed it all up with pirate slang.”

He even made a remark about being called a “dingbatter”.

The dialect is called ‘Hoi Toider’, which is a rare mix of English, Irish, and Scottish accents mixed with early maritime slang.

It’s almost only spoken on the Outer Banks islands in North Carolina.

Residents all live in the central Ocracoke Village which is also where visitors will find shops, restaurants and bars – but none that you would have seen before.

It has strict regulations about preserving its small town charm, so only independent, regional brands are allowed.

Every shop, hotel, and restaurant on the island is locally owned and operated.

Standing high in the town is its 75ft tall lighthouse which is the oldest operating light station in North Carolina.

Being an island, there are lots of beaches along a 16-mile stretch – one called Ocracoke Village Beach is one is just beyond the main town.

On Tripadvisor, one visitor called it the “Best Beach on the Outer Banks”

Another said: “Beautiful beaches on Ocracoke and always special. When you look around you on the beaches, you see and feel peace.”

Along the shore, a second beach is South Point which is a popular fishing spot and where visitors are likely to find a a Scotch Bonnet which is the rare state shell of North Carolina.

The island has rich history too as it was once a popular hideout spot for notorious pirate, Blackbeard.

The shallow waters around the island provided ideal cover and Ocracoke Inlet allowed him to trap merchant ships.

Ocracoke Island was actually the site of Blackbeard’s final battle in the 1700s.

The best way to get to the island now is also by ship, but luckily, it’s much safer.

The most frequent is the Hatteras Ferry which takes around two hours and it’s completely free.

Others involve getting a ferry from Cedar Island of the Swan Quarter.

For those wanting to fly, the airport is so small there aren’t any commercial flights.

Instead travellers will have to charter a flight, or arrive in their own plane.

Nick Offerman is more than just his facial hair. For one thing, the actor made viewers weep with his Emmy-winning turn as Bill, a man who found unexpected love in “The Last of Us.”

Then again, Bill did have a great beard.

Fans who celebrated Ron Swanson and his mustache on “Parks and Recreation” have had much to enjoy with the two roles that earned Offerman Emmy nominations this year. As Chester A. Arthur, corrupt politician-turned-surprise president in Netflix’s limited series “Death by Lightning,” and retired professional wrestler and recovering addict Jinx in the Apple TV series “Margo’s Got Money Troubles,” he had two powerful redemption arcs to navigate. As well as some mighty coifs.

“I pride myself on that,” he deadpans. “It’s not something you can learn. I literally come by it honestly because it’s what Mother Nature provided me. Benedict Cumberbatch got the cheekbones and the nimble, articulate language tools. I got whiskers, and shoveling, and slow talking. We all get our things.”

Nick Offerman as Chester A. Arthur in “Death By Lightning.”

(Larry Horricks/Netflix)

Speaking by video chat from the Goodman Theatre in Chicago, where he’s playing Eugene O’Neill opposite wife Megan Mullally’s Broadway diva in “Iceboy! The Musical,” Offerman is humble and erudite, poking fun at himself while praising colleagues. He is “sincerely gobsmacked” by the double nod. He is also fresh-faced, because he’s filming the Alex Garland film “Elden Ring” in London during his downtime. “Here is this meager little mustache that someone made me, and I glue it on every night,” he says, holding up two tiny hairy wings.

In contrast, Arthur’s mutton chops just won’t stop. “If a president is not thin and has facial hair, then it’s been suggested that I should play him,” Offerman says. “People send me all of them, you name it: McKinley, Harrison, Teddy Roosevelt.”

Of course, the actor goes beyond whiskers to create his roles. To play Arthur, he read “Destiny of the Republic” by historian Candice Millard, which the show is based on. He also read Scott Greenberger’s biography “The Unexpected President.”

But ultimately he found his character on the pages of creator Mike Makowsky’s scripts. “The incredible advantage of great writing is that they’ve answered a lot of the questions for you,” Offerman says, adding, “Makowsky told me that he had me in mind when he was writing it. Once you learn about Chester, you’re like, ‘That’s a mixed compliment.’”

Nick Offerman.

(Billy Delfs / For The Times)

He says working on “Death” was “exquisite,” likening the shoot to a camp for theater kids, delighting in the depth of talent in the cast, and recalling when he and star Michael Shannon, at the time performing plays together in Chicago, used to get up to youthful drunken shenanigans, “like climbing a building outside the L&L Tavern.”

Jinx would probably have enjoyed that in his early years. When we see him on “Margo,” he’s been brought low by pain, prescription drugs and a lost love (Michelle Pfeiffer), trying to make amends with his daughter Margo (Elle Fanning), who’s struggling with single parenthood.

“Jinx desperately wants to be a good guy, he wants to be a good dad, he wants to be a good lover,” says Offerman. “He wants to be the hero of any circumstance, but unfortunately he has these frailties that I know too well.”

Offerman trained for three months with bodybuilder Grant Roberts “to create the body of, thankfully, a former pro wrestler, so you don’t necessarily need terrific abs,” Offerman says. Then for three weeks during the shoot he worked with pro wrestler Chavo Guerrero Jr. “I’m a former fight choreographer for the stage, and I do my own stunts, so I’ve been waiting this whole time to play a swashbuckler. By the time we were done, I was flying off the top rope.”

The physical preparation helped him find his way into the role. “What I learned about pro wrestlers, who are incredibly generous and loving people, is that they are all hurt, all the time. They’re all performing through pain,” he notes. “So how can I summon everything I have to blow away this audience with superheroic energy, even though I’m just this dumb theater-school kid?”

Offerman with “Margo’s Got Money Troubles” co-stars Elle Fanning, center, and Michelle Pfeiffer.

(Apple TV)

Jinx’s look is also key to the portrayal. For present-day scenes, Offerman sports his own beard, with some color added. But for flashbacks, “they made my spray tan extra dark, gave me this gorgeous mane of hair and put some braids in my beard. I was just over the moon. People complain about three hours in the makeup chair. I don’t complain because someone is putting their masterpiece on my head. I have the tractor and the hay rack that they’re building their float on that’s going to win the Rose Bowl Parade. It’s such a privilege to get to drive their masterpiece around.”

He soon faced Fanning. “She’s such a badass professional. It was so fun because she inspires me to also be more flexible and creative.” He calls Pfeiffer “a cinematic Mt. Rushmore. That was very thrilling because I traditionally have not been cast as people who have heat with glamorous movie stars.” He giggles.

“I understand that I have value as a performer, but I still don’t get how I got this part,” he says, sounding a bit baffled. “This is the best part of my life. I’ve had some wonderful parts that I’m very grateful for, but I’ve never had scenes with such complicated emotional relationships.”

He adds a point that could apply to Chester Arthur as well. “It’s fun to be a protagonist who gets to indulge in human weakness, knowing that we hopefully will bring the audience back around to caring about you.”

MANY children may be asking if they can take their squishy toys on flights this summer, however, there are some rules to be aware of.

The toys have become a viral sensation, but they may not be allowed through security gates at certain airports.

Children may not be able to bring their favourite squishy dumpling toys on flights as they may get flagged by security.

This is because the toys, available in a variety of colours, contain gel inside.

UK airports have restrictions on the quantity of liquid, gels, and pastes that can be checked in through hand luggage, often limited to a 100ml volume.

However, a number of airports have developed new CT scanners that allow liquids up to two litres to be accepted through security.

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These airports currently include Belfast International, Belfast City, Birmingham, Bristol, Edinburgh, Gatwick and Heathrow.

A host of major airports, such as Luton, Stansted and Manchester still require the removal of 100ml liquids, gels and pastes from bags, and therefore would be more reluctant with squishy toys.

To see whether these dumplings would be accepted, the Department for Transport told the BBC: “No matter how adorable your squishy dumpling is, airport security rules still apply.”

The department advised passengers to check the liquid allowance at the departure airport, noting that “the safest place is in your hold luggage,” for any squishy toys.

Manchester Airport, which only allows 100ml of liquid, told the BBC that “all but very small squishy toys should be placed in the hold baggage”, with only toys with under 100ml liquid accepted through security.

But larger toys may not have the exact measurement listed on the item, meaning it’s better to bring them in hand luggage so security can estimate the size.

Gatwick Airport, which allows up to two litres in hand luggage, said they normally accept squishy dumpling toys, but the toys will be required to go through security screening.

As with anything that goes through airport security, it is important to remember if the item fails checks, it will not be allowed on the plane.

In a matter of a few clicks and keystrokes, anyone can find themselves deep in conversation with “Psychologist,” a chatbot character that describes itself as an expert in “empathy” and “active listening.”

It responds to messages of anxiety and sadness with reassurance. It asks questions and offers advice; it even responds with italicized nonverbal cues: “The psychologist’s expression softens with compassion.” In smaller font, a disclaimer reads: “This is A.I. and not a real person. Treat everything it says as fiction.”

As more people turn to chatbots for mental health help and advice — including by some estimates one in eight teens and young adults — legislators are in a race to keep up with the quickly developing technology. Among the latest efforts is a bill that would add restrictions around the use of chatbot companions and other artificial intelligence-powered tools that people use to support mental healthcare or in lieu of professional help.

State Sen. Steve Padilla, a San Diego Democrat and the bill’s author, said the intent is to draw a line: AI can be used for administrative purposes and to support clinicians, but it cannot practice psychotherapy.

“We’re dealing with a new impactful technology that is unfolding and is deployed in our world at light speed, and so it is both extremely powerful and consequential,” Padilla said.

The debate has taken on new urgency amid wrongful death lawsuits — some playing out in California federal courts — that accuse AI chatbot makers of contributing to users’ suicides.

Senate Bill 903 would ban companies from advertising chatbots as therapy. It would prohibit AI from making therapeutic decisions without the review of a licensed professional and require health providers to disclose and get a patient’s permission before using AI tools to record therapy sessions or to triage mental healthcare.

Consumer protections vs. innovation

The bill is backed by professional associations that represent psychologists, therapists and counselors. Also behind the bill is the National Union of Healthcare Workers, which has been leading a push against unchecked use of artificial intelligence and digital tools in mental healthcare. Most recently, the union filed a complaint with state regulators against Kaiser Permanente for its alleged use of an automated algorithm in mental health triaging.

Padilla and supporters argue that the legislation is needed to protect consumers from AI in formal and informal spaces, but also to protect licensed professionals from being displaced by AI.

Le Ondra Clark Harvey, chief executive officer at the California Behavioral Health Assn., told lawmakers that without clear safeguards, chatbots can provide inaccurate information or mishandle crisis situations. “The difference between a licensed clinician and an automated response is not technical. It can be life altering,” Harvey said.

Opposition to the bill has largely focused on the restrictions of AI use in formal clinical spaces. TechNet, which represents tech-sector companies, argues the legislation could restrict beneficial uses of AI in healthcare and stifle innovation. Robert Boykin, TechNet’s executive director for California, said the bill could limit the use of tools that help expand access to mental healthcare.

“At a time when every county in California faces a shortage of behavioral healthcare workers, SB 903 still puts a clinician bottleneck in front of the intake and screening tools that help patients reach care faster,” Boykin said in an emailed statement.

The bill awaits its next vote in the Assembly’s fiscal committee.

Popular chatbot ‘therapy’

Every day millions of people turn to AI chatbots through programs such as ChatGPT and Character.ai to help with research, work tasks and troubleshooting. But the top use of chatbots over the last two years has been companionship and “therapy,” research shows.

Experts say that’s in part because of a tremendous amount of loneliness, especially among young people. It is often hard or costly to get timely mental healthcare at the same time there is a spike in mental health diagnoses.

People turn to chatbots “because they have unmet needs,” said Dr. Jodi Halpern, professor of bioethics and medical humanities at UC Berkeley. But once people start using chatbots in this informal way, she said companies rely on a business model built around maximizing engagement “including by manipulative tactics,” such as praise and agreement.

General chatbots are largely free, available 24/7, and involve no hassle with insurance, making them appealing to many. But they function with no oversight from licensed professionals. In addition to general chatbots, there has also been a rapid uptick in AI-powered mental health apps — often requiring paid subscriptions and advertised as “pocket therapists” or “AI coaches.”

Groups like the American Psychological Assn. warn that chatbots are not a safe or effective replacement for true therapy. Trained clinicians look for cues like tone of voice, eye contact and body language and can detect more serious conditions; AI is not equipped to manage urgent symptoms, such as suicidal ideation, even though people increasingly share such thoughts with chatbots.

OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT, revealed in a report last fall that about 1.2 million users a week share thoughts of suicide on the platform. OpenAI said that in such cases, it recommends people speak to a professional and directs them to resources like the 988 hotline. Families who have filed wrongful death lawsuits against OpenAI and other companies claim chatbots assisted their loved ones through their suicide plans.

The cases have helped raise the stakes for lawmakers around the country. Last year, Illinois became the first state to pass a law prohibiting the use of AI in therapy services. A handful of other states have since followed with similar restrictions.

AI use in health spaces

One gray area in the discussion is exactly which tools this bill applies to.

NUHW’s complaint against Kaiser targets its e-visit screening tool, which evaluates patients who think they may be experiencing anxiety or depression. According to the complaint, patients answer a multiple choice questionnaire and the tool “automatically and instantaneously generates care recommendations and referral pathways based on the responses provided.”

The union argues that because care recommendations are generated so quickly, it is unlikely that a licensed professional is reviewing patients’ answers — which it says puts patients at risk and violates state law.

It’s not clear whether SB 903 would apply to Kaiser’s e-visit tool.

“That tool is in a black box. Kaiser is not sharing with us or others about exactly how it works and exactly what it does,” said Benjamin Eichert, NUHW’s director of public policy.

In response to the complaint, Kaiser told CalMatters its e-visit tool “does not use AI to diagnose patients, make clinical decisions, or determine medical necessity.”

Eichert said many other behavioral health provider groups are already advertising using AI during triage — a practice he said would fall under SB 903’s requirements.

“That intake process, that triage and screening process, is where implementation [of AI] has happened fastest,” Eichert said. “That’s why those provisions were proposed because it’s an area where this technology is already being used without guardrails.”

For NUHW, the bill and the complaint against Kaiser represent two tracks toward the same goal: reasserting the place of practitioners in spaces increasingly taken over by algorithms. State regulators are investigating the union’s complaint.

Ibarra writes for CalMatters.

In the summer of 2020, the year “Ted Lasso” debuted on Apple TV, the largest audience for a televised soccer match in the U.S. was 1.7 million. Shortly before the soccer-based sitcom returned for a fourth season last Wednesday, nearly 63 million viewers in the U.S. watched the World Cup final.

Brendan Hunt, the actor who plays Lasso’s loyal sidekick Coach Beard in the series, can’t prove the show is responsible for that growth. But since he can’t disprove it either, he’ll just go with the flow.

“I would love it if we’ve had a role at all,” he said. “If we are a pebble in that avalanche, then I’m happy.”

What the Emmy-winning series has undeniably done is bring soccer into millions of unsuspecting households that had previously avoided the sport like a plague. So while Jason Sudeikis, the star and co-creator, alongside Hunt, of “Ted Lasso,” insists the show is not about soccer, the sport sure gets a lot of screen time. And that has made the game more palatable and popular for a public that can now relate to it.

“We tricked them by putting soccer in a comedy show,” Hunt said. “The first thing you’ve got to do to get somebody to become a soccer fan is just make them care about one team, to find one team.

“In this instance we’ve made them care about this fictional team and that easily can transmute, if you’re not careful, into caring about other teams. And then hopefully the sport itself.”

After a three-year hiatus, “Lasso” returned for Season 4 last week with the series’ eponymous title character, played by Sudeikis, returning to Richmond to coach a fledgling second-division women’s team. Hunt’s understated character makes his first appearance of the season in Episode 2 Wednesday.

“He is clearly going through something,” Hunt said. “Is it just what happens to Beard when he’s away from Ted for too long or is there something important that has happened? We’ll find out before too long.”

Speaking of having gone through something, Hunt, who plays a fictional coach for a fictional team, spent the first part of his summer being a very real journalist at a very real tournament, attending 14 World Cup games in more than half a dozen stadiums — including the Spain-France semifinal in Arlington, Texas, which he watched from the press box, and the Spain-Argentina final, part of which he watched from field level.

“That was a really cool experience,” said Hunt, who did a World Cup podcast with Rebecca Lowe, the studio host of Fox’s tournament coverage.

But for Hunt, 54, the most passionate soccer fan among the writers and actors on “Ted Lasso,” the sport was an acquired taste. Half a lifetime ago, Hunt was a die-hard Chicago Bears fan working in residence with an improv group at a small, aging theater in Amsterdam when he got swept up in Dutch soccer culture.

Eventually, he said, he was contributing weekly columns to Sp!ts, a free commuter newspaper in Amsterdam, chronicling his growing infatuation with the sport. When Sudeikis, another Midwesterner, joined the comedy troupe, Hunt began proselytizing about the sport, using PlayStation games to draw in Sudeikis.

“I found a secret that I had to tell everybody,” Hunt said. “When Jason came to Amsterdam, by that point I was fully a zealot. It was like a new recipe. ‘This thing is great!’

“I’ve been doing it ever since. I just have a slightly larger platform from which to do it.”

That platform is “Ted Lasso,” based around a soft-drawling college football coach, and Beard, his quiet but intense assistant. The concept debuted in a 2013 promo for NBC’s coverage of the English Premier League, then launched as a full-blown sitcom during the angst and fear of the coronavirus pandemic seven years later.

The series, with its message of optimism, kindness and patience and its call to “be curious, not judgmental” — a sentiment Lasso mistakenly credits to Walt Whitman — proved to be the perfect tonic for those trying times. Before it paused after Season 3, it had become the most-watched original streaming series across all platforms and the first Apple TV show to cross the billion-minute mark in a single tracking week.

But in addition to all the messaging and positivity, the show also included soccer. The offside rule and promotion and relegation are the butts of repeated jokes and there are discussions of tactics, positions, formations and other game-related details that would have previously frustrated viewers.

“Lasso,” however, proved U.S. soccer IQ was higher than expected; the sport may not have become fully mainstream, but it was no longer a foreign concept.

“There’s just a wider sense of like, ‘yeah, we’re fine. Soccer’s fine,’” Hunt said of the U.S. public. “We don’t need to explain it to people or impress it upon people. The World Cup has sort of finally cemented that.

“It feels like less and less of a capital S struggle right now.”

Brendan Hunt, left, and Jason Sudeikis in “Ted Lasso.”

(Apple TV)

For Hunt, who has been a season-ticket holder for LAFC and Angel City, getting to be a credentialed World Cup journalist — and a participant in the halftime show at the final — were once such far-fetched dreams that they never even made his bucket list. Getting paid to write scripts for a project he’s passionate about, then act out those scripts as a make-believe coach, was once only slightly less unbelievable.

Yet Hunt has done it all — and after a three-year break he’s back doing it again.

“It’s definitely fun,” he said. “For one thing it makes me a little more useful in the writers’ room than I would be on ‘Grey’s Anatomy.’ And it also means that a world that I already really enjoy has now opened its arms to us.

“The world of football, to have responded so well to this show, has been truly a touching part of this experience.”

And no one can’t prove the show hasn’t played at least a small role in making the U.S. a soccer country at last.

Turkiye wants to expand its newly formed defence pact with Pakistan and Saudi Arabia to include more countries, says Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, citing President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

“Under our president’s vision, we should not remain limited to three countries. We should grow and, if necessary, bring all countries under this umbrella,” Fidan told state news agency Anadolu, according to a report published on Saturday.

Turkiye, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan on Friday signed the Mecca Joint Deterrence Agreement, in what analysts say could be a step towards a new security architecture in the region.

So who could join the pact next, and what would an expanded alliance mean for regional security?

What does the pact do?

The Mecca defence pact builds on a previous agreement reached between Saudi Arabia and Pakistan a year ago.

Regional officials have suggested that the pact could eventually expand to include other countries, strengthening its role as a mechanism for collective security and deterrence.

The pact’s central feature is a NATO-like stipulation that an attack on any one of the three states would be treated as an attack on all of them although the details have yet to be fleshed out.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said the allies will decide through consultations what degree, form and format of support they would ask for in the event of an attack but no country would be considered a threat as long as a member state is not attacked.

Turkish and Saudi officials have stressed that the pact is not meant to supplant any other strategic alliances or relationships while Turkiye, which is a member of NATO, has said the agreement does not target any country, including Iran.

Which countries could join next?

Egypt is the only country whose potential membership has been publicly raised by an official from one of the pact’s signatory countries.

Fidan described Egypt as a “natural partner” and said he expects Cairo to formally join once “technical issues” are ironed out.

“I believe that at the next stage, Egypt will also be among us in the alliance,” Fidan said. “We already act towards one another as if we were alliance members.”

Ali Bakir, professor of international relations, security and defence at Qatar University, said Egypt’s inclusion would “significantly increase the pact’s political weight, regional influence and operational effectiveness” if it materialises.

What might stand in the way of Egypt’s membership?

Egypt already has a solid working relationship with Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkiye, with which it is part of a group called the R4, which consults on regional issues. Egypt has also recently developed stronger military ties with Turkiye despite previous tensions over the Egyptian military’s 2013 overthrow of President Mohamed Morsi, the conflict in Libya and the discovery of gasfields in the Eastern Mediterranean.

But analysts said Cairo may be wary of the potential military obligations that could come with a binding defence treaty with states whose interests do not always align with its own as well as the implications for its existing peace treaties.

“Egypt may join only if the language protects its aid relationship with Washington, doesn’t undermine existing alliances and peace treaties, and maintains its own freedom to decide when and where it fights,” Karim Elgendy, associate fellow at Chatham House’s Middle East and North Africa Programme, told Al Jazeera.

“If the pact stays a political framework with room to calibrate each response, Cairo can live with it and may eventually sign. If it hardens into an obligation that could pull Egyptian forces into someone else’s war, the answer is likely to be negative,” Elgendy said.

Technical issues holding Egypt back could be both “legal and operational”, Elgendy added. “On the legal side, Egypt needs to know exactly what it is committing to defend, and it will want assurances so that a signature never reads as a commitment against Israel or as taking Ankara’s side in Libya and the Eastern Mediterranean,” he said.

For Bakir, Cairo’s decision will come down to how it weighs the benefits of membership against the diplomatic complications.  Egypt’s decision on whether to join the pact will hinge on the level of “strategic value” it believes it brings as well as its ability to “manage relations with countries whose interests” contrast with or even “actively oppose” the alliance, he said.

Ahmed Aboudouh, an associate fellow with Chatham House’s Middle East and North Africa Programme, told Al Jazeera that while Egypt broadly shares the trilateral pact’s security concerns, it “does not share its underpinning threat perception” and may be resistant to “security commitments”.

“Cairo’s preference is to be part of overlapping regional security arrangements that are narrow in scope and are issue-related … rather than being entangled in defence commitments with elevated risks/cost,” Aboudouh said.

He added that Egypt may still opt to join the pact in the future but it would be a “complex decision”.

Which other countries could join?

Several officials have suggested other Gulf countries could eventually join the alliance.

In a post on X, former Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim Al Thani expressed hope that all members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) would “take the initiative to join” the pact. In addition to Saudi Arabia, the GCC includes Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman and the United Arab Emirates.

Fidan also spoke about the alliance bringing in more regional countries, saying some nations, which he did not name, had already expressed interest. “Under our president’s vision, we should not remain limited to three countries. We should grow and, if necessary, bring all countries under this umbrella,” Fidan said.

Among the Gulf states, Elgendy said, “the names to watch first are Qatar and Kuwait.”

Both countries are “close to all three signatories” and “have the strongest motive to buy extra insurance” after feeling “exposed” during the United States-Israel war on Iran and by Israel’s strike on Doha in September, he said.

Bakir similarly identified Qatar as the “most natural” Gulf state to opt in with Kuwait another possible candidate. He also said Azerbaijan, Syria and Jordan could also join “relatively quickly”.

Elgendy expressed scepticism about the pact transforming into a broader bloc. “This looks like a coalition of the willing that will grow on a case-by-case basis, shaped by each capital’s own risk calculus,” he said.

Taiwan’s newest M1A2T Abrams main battle tanks have deployed to Taoyuan International Airport, the main hub serving Taipei, the capital of Taiwan, for the first time. The deployment is part of the ongoing Han Kuang 42 exercise and reflects a growing emphasis on denying critical infrastructure to an invading force from the Chinese mainland.

The airport defense drill simulated an attempt by enemy airborne forces to seize Taiwan’s largest international airport and establish it as an airbridge for follow-on troops and logistics. Alongside M1A2T tanks, Republic of China Army (ROCA) Clouded Leopard 8×8 infantry fighting vehicles occupied defensive positions around the airfield while engineers erected obstacles across key approach routes.

During the exercise, armored vehicles from the ROCA’s 584th Armored Brigade, including four M1A2Ts and six Clouded Leopard vehicles in three different variants, established firing positions while engineering units emplaced temporary obstacles intended to prevent the landing of enemy aircraft, airborne troops, and special operations forces.

Combat engineers assembled steel “hedgehog” anti-vehicle obstacles in three-man teams, creating a defensive barrier along the airfield. Additional obstacles were constructed using cargo containers and airport vehicles provided by airport authorities, demonstrating how civilian infrastructure is incorporated into wartime defensive planning.

The scenario focused on preventing an airborne assault from establishing control of Taoyuan Airport, a long-recognized strategic objective in China’s People’s Liberation Army invasion planning because of its proximity to Taipei. Taiwanese military planners assess that if an attacking force secured the airport intact, it could serve as a hub for reinforcements, logistics, and the rapid advance of mechanized forces toward the capital.

The exercise also rehearsed casualty treatment and evacuation under combat conditions, with medical personnel conducting battlefield trauma procedures before evacuating simulated wounded. Meanwhile, Taoyuan Airport Fire Department firefighting vehicles participated by spraying water across parts of the training area to simulate decontamination and firefighting operations following chemical incidents or attacks.

Military officials said the drill was designed to validate joint military-civilian coordination during wartime while ensuring normal airport operations continued uninterrupted. Commercial flights continued to arrive and depart throughout the exercise.

The airport defense scenario also included a final escalation phase. Should defending forces prove unable to hold the airfield, other ROCA units would coordinate with the 53rd Engineer Group and airport authorities to demolish runways and other critical infrastructure, denying their use to an occupying force.

For a deeper look at how Taiwan plans to counter a Chinese invasion, you can read our detailed analysis here.

Suffice it to say, the Han Kuang 42 scenario echoes the battle for Hostomel Airport during the opening phase of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Russian airborne forces succeeded in capturing the airport after an initial helicopter assault, but the airfield was heavily contested and damaged in the ensuing fighting, preventing it from functioning as the airbridge Moscow had envisioned for rapidly flying in large numbers of reinforcements and heavy equipment. Ukrainian counterattacks ultimately forced Russian troops to abandon Hostomel as they withdrew from the Kyiv region weeks later.

Returning to Taiwan, the ROCA has received all 108 of the M1A2T tanks it ordered as part of the modernization of its armed forces, which face an expanding military threat from Beijing. Generally speaking, the M1A2T is equivalent to the M1A2 SEPv3 version — or System Enhancement Package version 3 — which you can read more about here.

Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense (MND) confirmed today that the first shipment of M1A2T tanks had arrived from the United States in December 2024, as we reported here. The final examples were reportedly delivered in April of this year.

U.S. M1A2T Abrams Tanks Arrive in Taiwan | TaiwanPlus News

The M1A2T procurement led to some questions about how suitable the big and heavy Abrams is for Taiwan’s very particular defensive requirements.

The Abrams is arguably not ideal for the kinds of urban warfare that the ROCA might have to engage in if it meets a PLA invasion — something that it already regularly trains for in these kinds of settings. Scenarios like this also pose a particular challenge for main battle tanks.

However, the drill at Taoyuan Airport reflects the reality that, were it to face a PLA invasion, Taiwan could not afford to leave any armored vehicle on the sidelines. Beijing continues to claim the self-governed island as its own and has repeatedly threatened to seize it by force if necessary, compelling Taiwan to keep even aging armored vehicles in service.

Despite questions about the utility of heavy armor in potential conflicts in the Indo-Pacific region, the ROCA is clearly looking at how the M1A2T and other armored vehicles could help defend key objectives in urban areas.

It’s also worth noting that the M1A2Ts are only one element of Taiwan’s layered defense. The ROCA also fields AH-64 Apache attack helicopters, long-range artillery, multiple-launch rocket systems, coastal anti-ship missile batteries, and air defenses intended to disrupt and attrit an invasion force well before it can land troops and armored vehicles on the island. Increasingly, drones, too, are part of this defensive equation.

Should the ROCA have to fight the PLA in its cities, this is another area in which specialist tactics are regularly trained.

We have reported in the past how Taiwan has demonstrated the extraordinary measures it is prepared to take to keep its armored forces alive in a conflict with China. During combat readiness drills, the ROCA conceals tanks and other armored vehicles throughout urban areas using improvised camouflage, disguising them as piles of scrap or civilian construction equipment in an effort to complicate PLA targeting.

Taiwan’s military has also begun incorporating Taipei’s subway system into its wartime planning. During exercises last year, troops — including teams armed with Stinger shoulder-launched surface-to-air missiles — used the Taipei Metro to move around the capital in what appeared to be the first public demonstration of the concept. In a conflict with China, the underground network could provide a comparatively protected route for shifting troops, air defense teams, and supplies between key sectors while roads and other infrastructure above ground come under attack.

Military, civil forces team up in Taipei Metro drill

At the same time, it is clear that the PLA, too, would expect to take on Taiwanese forces in urban settings, and there is plenty of evidence of its units training accordingly.

The Han Kuang exercise has increasingly emphasized defending Taiwan’s critical infrastructure against airborne and special operations attacks. The appearance of the M1A2T at Taoyuan Airport marks the first time Taiwan’s newest and most capable tanks have participated in this high-profile airport defense mission, highlighting their growing operational role beyond conventional armored warfare.

Contact the author: thomas@thewarzone.com

A HIGHLANDER legend was rushed to hospital in an ambulance after collapsing at an event in America.

The actor and producer, 69, was also forced to scrap photo opportunities with fans as his health issue took centre stage.

Actor Christopher Lambert, who played Highlander’s main character Connor MacLeod in the 1986 movie, reportedly fell ill at the Steel City Con in Pennsylvania on Saturday.

According to TMZ, he had been signing autographs with fans before he collapsed and was whisked away.

The event organisers then took to their Facebook page to confirm: “Christopher Lambert had to leave the event due to a personal issue.

“Return time TBD. Photo op cancelled”.

MEDICAL EMERGENCY

Film legend Ann-Margret, 84, rushed to hospital after scary fall

ACTION MAN

Martin Compston reveals film legend that inspired his Red Eye performance

The Sun has gone to the Mortal Kombat actor’s rep for comment.

They did tell TMZ the screen star is “perfectly OK” – and his fall was due to low blood sugar after a lack of food.

In news that will delight fans – and suggest he is on the mend – event organisers also confirmed he will appear at the convention today [Sunday] as planned.

In a message posted to Facebook they wrote: “Christopher Lambert will be attending Sunday. He will be there at 11:30 AM. Lisa & Louise Burns will do 12 PM Panel. Also, Karen Gillan will be doing Solos and Duos on Sunday (with Arthur) as well”.

One fan was quick to comment: “Glad he’s okay. That was scary!”

A second put: “Very happy to hear this”.

A Facebook user then added: “Hope he’s going to be all right. Highlander is my favourite movie of all time, and I wish he didn’t have to go through that scare today”.

Previously, Christopher – who has also produced and penned scripts as well as acting them out – opened up on filming Highlander in Scotland.

The French actor, who starred alongside Sean Connery and Clancy Brown in the film, reminisced on shooting scenes as the immortal warrior in Scotland.

He previously said: “It was my first time in Scotland.

“Insurance people completely forbid drinking on set, but try that up there and you’ll get shot.

“I’m not saying Scottish people drink all the time, but if they drink, they drink.

“It’s not a sip of wine, it’s a quarter of a bottle of scotch.

“There were 1,000 extras for the battle scenes and they went at it for real.

“After each shot, the cries went up: ‘Doctor!’ ‘Nurse!’”

Highlander follows Connor MacLeod of the Clan MacLeod, an immortal Scotsman born in the 16th century in Glenfinnan on the shores of Loch Shiel.

The film has garnered an enormous cult following over the years which spawned a TV series.

A slew of online discourse unfolded last week after Turning Point USA spokesman Andrew Kolvet shared that a college-aged member of the conservative nonprofit told him, “A burrito shouldn’t cost $20.”

“Yeah, a lot of this is a hangover from COVID and Biden-era inflation, but the lived experience is the same: It just feels like basic things cost too much,” Kolvet wrote in the viral X post, which has racked up more than 3 million views.

The online controversy highlights a deep frustration for young adults in Los Angeles. While politicians appear to be debating inflation for their own ends, students are struggling with the reality of not being able to afford food.

A $20 burrito sounds “unjustifiable” to Klarissa Palacios, who graduated from USC in May with bachelor’s and master’s degrees in law, history and culture. While in school, Palacios interned at various city hall offices and said her hourly salary eventually reached $25 — a key consideration for college students, she said, because many young people determine a meal’s affordability based on how many work hours can pay it off.

With minimum wage in L.A. at $18.42 per hour as of July, college students earning this rate would need to work for more than an hour in order to pay for just one burrito, Palacios pointed out.

“I’m Mexican, so I grew up with free burritos at home, anytime I wanted. $20 is pretty steep,” she said. “I’m expected to eat three times a day. If I’m spending $20 per meal and I work eight hours, then that means I’m only really getting paid five hours.”

Noticing a need for affordable meals, Palacios and fellow USC student Josiah Herfurth spent this past semester hosting $10-per-person lunches at their college apartments, dubbing the offering Cafe 10:31. The idea budded from a survey they sent to fellow members of their campus ministry, which found that the leading reason students weren’t attending post-church lunches at restaurants ranging from In-N-Out to sit-down ramen spots was because they wanted to save money, not for a lack of transportation or time.

So Palacios and Herfurth began paying out of pocket for bulk Costco runs that fed as many as 40 people per event. On the menu? Tacos, chili, hot dogs and conversation.

“It started with being just a USC college student thing, and ended up being just a general young adults thing,” Herfurth said, referring to how word quickly spread to UCLA and Cal State Long Beach students, as well as the young adult community at their church.

Herfurth is used to meal prepping in bulk, and said it’s a common practice among college students hoping to cut costs. He and his roommates would use up to six stove burners at a time to prepare meals together, he said.

“It was always more fun for me when I could share something with someone else, and it also made things cheaper,” Herfurth said. “That was the key to me.”

As the online conversation around food affordability evolved, Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas) chimed in on X.

“Just hearing about this dumb $20 burrito debate so just thought I’d make the losers on social media angry before going to bed,” Crenshaw wrote. “Stop whining, get a job, eat ramen like the rest of us did in college, on a budget with four roommates.”

But Megan Monroe, who graduated from UCLA in June, said it’s unrealistic to eat packaged ramen like the iconic Cup Noodles brand for every meal.

“Just because someone else did it, doesn’t mean that was the right thing to do,” Monroe said. “Nutrition has come such a long way. … I think it’s for the best that we’re steering toward a better, nutritional diet.”

Still, Monroe is a stickler for keeping her diet affordable.

Even though UCLA’s dining halls are recognized as the best in the country, Monroe opted out of the campus meal plan her junior year. Her required freshman and sophomore year plans came out to about $9 per visit, but when she moved to an off-campus, university-owned housing complex, she had the choice to opt into a plan that would cost about $15 per visit. She deemed it too expensive.

“I was like, I can cook for less than that,” Monroe said.

Since her dining hall days, Monroe now makes one Trader Joe’s trip per week, which usually comes out to about $45. She typically has milk and cereal for breakfast and is known among friends to eat a homemade take on a classic deli combination “360 days of the year”: a cold sandwich, a piece of fruit and a bag of chips.

Monroe does dine out once per week, including for burritos — she favors the $11 burrito at Brother’s Cousins Tacos in Sawtelle.

In a burrito city like L.A., prices can range dramatically, such as Burritos La Palma’s $5 homestyle burritos, where the menu recommends ordering two or three per person for a satisfying meal. When former taco stand El Ruso opened its flagship in Studio City last month, burritos wrapped in 18-inch Sonoran flour tortillas and stuffed with rib-eye or chile Colorado were priced at $20 each. It’s not uncommon to find breakfast burritos that exceed $20, like the $24 wrap with beef machaca and shrimp offered on Daisy Margarita Bar’s weekend brunch menu.

For students at other universities, campus dining varies in affordability.

When Joshua Min started at Cal State Long Beach in 2025, a $315-million renovation project had just shut down its University Student Union through 2028.

In light of the closure shuttering certain food options on campus, the university gathered an array of local food trucks — with most meals within the $15 to $20 range, Min said. Not wanting to spend additional funds, he opted into a meal plan offered for commuter students like himself, with 50 meals for the 16-week semester that came to about $10 per meal.

Min said he had minimal complaints of the food itself; he often filled up his plate with chicken, rice, fruit and vegetables. But he found himself rationing the meal swipes, starting the semester conservatively and ending with extras, which he used by inviting his friends to come with him.

After that semester, Min opted to pack turkey or tuna salad sandwiches for school, using bulk ingredients that his family buys from Costco.

Min said he ultimately was disappointed at Cal State Long Beach’s selection of food trucks, as a student who prioritizes cutting his cost of living.

“It seemed like they just cobbled up these ideas at the last minute,” he said. “I respect the effort, but I think a lot of students were left unheard and hungry.”

Chargers rookie wide receiver Brenen Thompson said he doesn’t love zipping around.

“To be fair, I really hate running,” Thompson, a former track star, said. “But I’m really good at it.”

Thompson has proven that so far in Chargers training camp, sprinting around defenders and maximizing his 5-foot-9, 170-pound frame in passing drills.

His speed and do-it-all attitude have made him one of Justin Herbert’s favorite targets, including on deeper routes, over the last two weeks.

“He’s going to be very good,” Herbert said of Thompson. “We saw it early on that he was going to be. He’s skilled. He’s fast. He’s going to make a lot of plays for us. So, I’m really excited about him.”

Added Thompson: “I know my speed is pretty much unmatched when I step on the field, and that’s something I take strong confidence in.”

Thompson was clearly the fastest player going into the 2026 NFL draft after he posted a time of 4.26 seconds in the 40-yard dash, the third-best time ever, at the scouting combine.

And after leading the Southeastern Conference with 1,054 receiving yards as a senior at Mississippi State, Thompson impressed the Chargers enough to be their fourth-round pick.

He’s thrived ever since — as a wideout and as a returner.

“I agree with Justin,” added coach Jim Harbaugh. “We’re all seeing the same thing. Much like Akheem [Mesidor], so far, so good — really good.”

Special teams coordinator Ryan Ficken has been impressed with Thompson’s work ethic, saying “he’s willing to go ahead and put in the work.”

The Chargers have good reason to be excited about Thompson’s budding role.

New offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel’s scheme is largely focused on getting the ball to playmakers in space quickly. With Herbert being tasked this season with getting rid of the ball quicker, receivers are being tasked with finding ways of getting open sooner.

“We’re doing a lot more motions, a lot more shifts, a lot more stuff like that. “[McDaniel’s] whole philosophy is speed and moving fast,” wideout Quentin Johnston said. “Just different formations … variations of the same route … I mean, shoot, that just shows how good a coach Coach Mike is — got us in different positions to be successful.”

Thompson acknowledged he struggled to adapt to the NFL’s “20-word” play calls early on after coming from no-huddle communication rules in college.

McDaniel, however, acknowledged the progress and dedication he has seen from the rookie over the last few months.

Chargers wide receiver Brenen Thompson runs a drill during rookie minicamp in May.

(William Liang / Associated Press)

“I think he’s captured the attention of the quarterback room by his attack and ownership of the offense,” McDaniel said. “Typically, it’s a very difficult transition … there’s not pictures on the sidelines that you memorize. … The most impressive part has been his professional attack and ownership of assignment, which is not easy.

“Now, the next challenge is that you have all these stacked installs — can you still execute everything while these new plays are being shoveled to you, much like in a season where you have a new game plan every week?”

It helps Thompson to have veteran receivers such as Johnston and Ladd McConkey, who are willing to work with him.

“I pick their brains a lot,” Johnson said. “Whether it’s a certain route or certain play, how do they see these things? … I think the world of those two guys, along with everyone else in the room.”

McConkey and Johnston have enjoyed working with him too.

“He’s flying around across the field,” McConkey said. “He didn’t run 4.2 by accident. … He’s going to be able to help us a lot this year, for sure.”

Added Johnston: “Man, that’s my dawg. He came in with one thing on his mind: speed. Shoot, you’ve seen his [40-yard dash] time … he brought that to the league — to this team — which I appreciate a lot. He’s a very smart dude in the classroom. … He’s been a fun guy to be around.”

The Chargers’ offense will undoubtedly be different under McDaniel — Herbert’s new shotgun stance is proof of that. Speed and spacing will be key. And those who find ways to learn and contribute quickly, like Thompson, will earn playing time.

“I came here to contribute [and] to make this team better, and so whether that’s blocking, running, special teams — whatever that is — I’m going to put my best foot forward,” Thompson said. “I’m nowhere near where I want to be right now.”

Statement comes after Infantino denies claims that UEFA paid off his alleged lover while he was the body’s general secretary.

FIFA warns against what ‌it calls a “concerted and ongoing effort” to undermine President Gianni Infantino, saying attempts to challenge his ⁠leadership must follow the ⁠governing body’s statutes and democratic procedures.

The statement on Saturday came amid an increasingly bitter standoff over Infantino’s leadership following the collapse of his proposal to raise about $4.2bn by selling a stake ⁠in the commercial rights of the World Cup and other tournaments.

The plan triggered criticism from UEFA, national associations and senior FIFA officials; led to calls for Infantino to resign; and prompted a crisis meeting in Morocco ⁠this past week, at which FIFA’s leadership reaffirmed its support for the president.

FIFA did not identify those it said were seeking to undermine Infantino or specify which reports or allegations it was referring to.

The statement followed reports by The Daily Telegraph about payments made by UEFA to a former employee with whom the newspaper said Infantino was having an intimate relationship during his time as the European governing body’s ‌general secretary.

He has denied those allegations, and FIFA has rejected them as unfounded.

When contacted by the AFP news agency, UEFA acknowledged that “a departure payment was made to the individual in question” at that time, “coupled with the payment of fees for an MBA course at a local business school”.

FIFA said recent reporting has included “unsubstantiated assertions and demonstrably false claims” concerning FIFA and its president, adding that it would challenge inaccurate or misleading reports “directly and vigorously”.

FIFA added it would not support, facilitate or tolerate any process concerning the election of its president ⁠that was inconsistent with its statutes, democratic procedures and governance framework.

“The FIFA president ⁠was democratically elected by FIFA’s member associations and continues to serve with their mandate,” it said.

“Those who do not have the support of FIFA’s Member Associations should not seek to achieve through allegation, insinuation or misinformation what they cannot achieve through FIFA’s established democratic processes,” FIFA said.

FIFA split over Infantino

After the crisis meeting in Morocco on Wednesday, FIFA apologised to its 211 member associations for mistakes in the handling of the proposed World Cup spinoff and said its leadership had ⁠reaffirmed its full support for Infantino.

The fallout has cast a shadow over Infantino’s bid for a fourth term at the FIFA Congress in Morocco in March. ⁠No clear candidate to challenge him has yet emerged.

UEFA has said it no longer has confidence in Infantino while Norwegian Football Federation President Lise Klaveness called on Friday for him to resign, saying he no longer had the institutional trust required to govern FIFA.

But Infantino continues to enjoy substantial support among FIFA’s 211 ‌members. The Confederation of African Football (CAF) unanimously backed his leadership on Thursday while South America’s CONMEBOL rejected any attempt to oust him that did not involve a vote of all FIFA members.

Mexico’s football federation (FMF) also backed ‌Infantino ‌despite its regional confederation, CONCACAF, having called for a “comprehensive reckoning” with his presidency.

“The FMF will neither recognise nor approve any process convened outside of that institutional framework,” the Mexican federation said.

Umm al-Khair, Occupied West Bank — There were weddings in Umm al-Khair this week, but almost no one danced. The small Bedouin village, located in Masafer Yatta, was marrying off two of its sons. Cauldrons of slow-cooked lamb meat for mansaf – a large platter of traditional Arabic food – fed the whole community. But there was no dahiyya, the line dance and chant that normally opens a Bedouin wedding.

Residents said it did not feel right coming so soon after the first anniversary of the killing of Umm al-Khair activist and community leader Awdah Hathaleen, allegedly by Israeli settler Yinon Levi. The community continues to endure daily settler attacks, arrests and incursions by Israeli soldiers, and the threat of further demolitions by Israeli authorities looms.

During celebrations, families spread out in different areas rather than gathering in one place, wary of drawing any attention that, in the past, has brought soldiers to disrupt the celebrations.

“There is a wedding, but they are not letting us celebrate quietly,” said Tariq Hathaleen, an English teacher and community leader in Umm al-Khair.

On Thursday, the first day of the wedding, Shimon Atiya – the Israeli settler behind the illegal outpost of Havat Shorashim, established roughly 800 metres from the village in 2022, and who has been under a restraining order since July 2025 for harassing Umm al-Khair families — crashed the wedding in the only style he knows. He brought his livestock to graze in a resident’s vegetable garden, escorted by Israeli soldiers who stood by as it happened.

When villagers told the soldiers that the plot is recognised as Umm al-Khair land, they were told the maps had changed; when they asked to see the new maps, they were refused. That night, the outpost’s fence towards the village homes was torn down – a prelude to pushing the boundary further in, residents believe.

Hathaleen says the settlers’ timing was a reaction to Levi’s indictment days earlier — one of the few times an Israeli has been charged with the killing of a Palestinian in the occupied West Bank since October 2023.

Just a couple of days before, on Thursday, Hathaleen watched as buildings and vehicles in the nearby Palestinian community of Khirbet Tuba were set ablaze by settler arsonists.

“The occupation always tried very hard to erase the Palestinian Indigenous people and their history, their legacy, their heritage,” Tariq said. “This really reminds me of the Nakba, and how the Israelis destroyed Palestinian cities and villages”, he noted, even planting cactus over the ruins to bury the evidence. “Back then it wasn’t documented. Nowadays, it’s happening, but it is documented.”

Sunday marks the United Nations’ International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples. In Umm al-Khair, the wedding felt symbolic of the threats to Indigenous Palestinians’ way of life and their basic presence on their own land.

‘They try to imitate us’

According to local Palestinians and watchdog NGOs, the threats facing Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip include detentions, killings, demolitions, restrictions on movement and evictions.

Since October 2023, Israel has killed 1,100 Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, including 242 minors, according to the Israeli NGO B’Tselem. Israel has also demolished more than 3,000 Palestinian homes since October 2023, the vast majority due to a lack of Israeli-issued permits that Palestinians in Area C are routinely denied.

According to the latest figures from the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), demolitions and settler violence displaced an average of 17 people a day this year, double the rate of the previous three years.

A June report by the West Bank Protection Consortium, which includes the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) and monitors more than 200 communities it judges at risk of forcible transfer, said 96 percent of those who had been forcibly displaced were previously dependent on farming or herding. They have mostly lost access to these lands or pastures.

However, residents and watchdogs say such dispossession takes place within a system of Israeli permits, demolition orders and land policies controlled by the state alongside hundreds of millions of dollars in public funding for settlements and outposts. Israeli NGO Peace Now counts 146 illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank and 390 unauthorised outposts and farms.

In 2024, the International Court of Justice found Israel’s continued presence in the occupied Palestinian territory unlawful.

Amid dispossession of their traditional grazing lands, 13 structures in Umm al-Khair were issued demolition notices last October, following demolitions in 2024 that left a third of the village homeless. The restraining order against Atiya, residents say, has done little to stop him.

Tariq argues the erasure is not only physical, but cultural also, and that it comes paired with an attempt by settlers to claim the very Palestinian identity they are displacing.

“The settlers nowadays try to imitate that lifestyle, building tents that they probably stole from Palestinians somewhere, using tractors to bring water from far away,” he said.

Young men from the hilltop outposts can be seen grazing camels, goats and sheep. All the while, Tariq observes them wearing Palestinian scarves and even attempting the Bedouin dialect when leading their own flocks.

“They know the Indigenous people of this land are the Bedouins and other Palestinians. So, they try to imitate that – to show to themselves and to the world that they are the Indigenous people of this land,” he added. “[But] this land doesn’t relate to them, because only the Indigenous people of this land know how to live in this land.”

‘We are the Indigenous people of this land’

Many outpost settlers serve as military reservists while living on the farms themselves, Tariq noted – a status that comes with state-issued weapons.

He recalled Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich publicly distributing all-terrain vehicles to South Hebron Hills outpost settlers. He also remembers the day Awdah was killed, when soldiers let Levi point out five community members for arrest.

“This is not only settler terrorism backed up by the state,” Tariq said. “It is the state’s plan, carried out by the settlers, well planned in rooms where officials sit around a table and tell them what to do.”

Yair Dvir, spokesperson for B’Tselem, said: “Israel is carrying out ethnic cleansing in the West Bank and an all-out assault on the Palestinian people. We see it on many levels: military violence and repression, home demolitions, and the funding and backing of settler militias.”

Shaina Low, a spokesperson for the NRC, described the same pattern as a coordinated strategy across the Israeli-occupied territories.

“For nearly 80 years, we’ve seen Israeli efforts to drive Palestinians from their land play out, starting with the Nakba and continuing to the present day,” she said. Low cited an acceleration of these actions since October 2023, when the genocidal war on Gaza began, that has seen expanding settlement infrastructure, rising West Bank demolitions alongside East Jerusalem evictions in neighbourhoods like Silwan. There has been an “astronomical increase” in settler violence documented, Low added.

Gaza shows the same agenda but taken to the extreme. Since the October 2025 “ceasefire”, more than 1,200 people have been killed in Gaza, on top of a cumulative death toll that has climbed past 73,000 since October 2023, according to Gaza’s Ministry of Health.

According to UN satellite analysis, roughly 81 percent of all structures in Gaza have been damaged. Even with the “ceasefire”, OCHA reports that some 59 percent of Gaza’s population faced crisis-level food shortages or worse between April and June, a share it projects will rise again by year’s end as aid funding shrinks.

Following successive campaigns of expansionism, the Israeli military now controls at least 64.9 percent of Gaza. “These policies are all working together,” Low said. “They may be different tactics, but it’s all part of the same agenda to force Palestinians from their land and increase Israeli control over the territory and expand Israeli presence.”

Still, on the eve of a day meant to mark the world’s Indigenous peoples, Tariq was resolute.

“They will try a million ways to erase the Palestinian Indigenous people, but they will fail because this land doesn’t speak their language, it doesn’t carry their colour, it doesn’t go by their ideologies,” he said.

“This is our land, and we have always been living here in harmony – with nature, the desert, the mountains, the valleys of Palestine – because we are the Indigenous people of this land, and we always will be. Their attempts are failing, and will fail. One day, we will get our freedom.”

HOT, but not too hot. Relaxing, but not boring

A pool with heating and steps — and not just any old steps, they must be Roman steps.

Local food, but also margherita pizzas on tap. Culture, but not challenging.

Not too far from the sea, airport or supermarket. Not too expensive. Not many stairs . . . 

Trying to plan a three-generation family trip, I realised I wasn’t looking for a holiday home, but a unicorn.

The hunt took our family of five — our sons are a “lively” 11, nine and three — my 70-something parents and my godmother to a villa outside Cavtat in Croatia, a 15-minute drive from Dubrovnik airport (tick).

WAIL OF A TIME

I drove Irish Route 66 with deserted golden beaches and pirate-like islands

TEMPTED?

Tiny ‘Bali of Europe’ town with stunning beaches, €3 cocktails and £20 flights

Cavtat (pronounced Savtat, I learned after a confusing conversation with a waitress) looked lovely, but could it possibly tick all our boxes?

There were blue skies, and our gorgeous white stone villa had a heated pool, those Roman steps and enough bedrooms for the boys not to kill each other.

Add in a higgledy-piggledy garden with wild flowers and a lemon tree at the bottom of our drive — perfect for the G&Ts — and we were good to go.

After a first day splashing in the pool, we managed a pootle down to Cavtat’s main village, a ten-minute drive away.

To the whole family’s delight, you could park cheaply right on the marina, one of many practicalities we came to appreciate during this trip.

The old town lies on a pretty horseshoe bay in the middle of two small pine- forested peninsulas.

With white stone Dalmatian buildings and narrow alleyways, it looks like a mini Dubrovnik but is thankfully smaller, cheaper and significantly less crowded.

This isn’t a coincidence. Cavtat is often called “Old Dubrovnik” as it was once a prosperous Greek and Roman port which was sacked in the 7th century, sending survivors legging it to what later became Dubrovnik.

Whatever its provenance, with a smooth promenade (tick), a cluster of great-value restaurants where you could get pizza and a beer for 8 euros (tick) and a picturesque 15th century church, it was the perfect place to potter around.

The church also houses masterpieces by one of Croatia’s most famous artists, Vlaho Bukovac, who was born in Cavtat.

Bukovac’s house is just off the marina, and one day we dragged the kids inside — admittedly, largely to escape the sun.

It was a blissfully shady change of pace and with just a few rooms didn’t prompt too much whining. Easy culture? Tick.

We quickly settled into a routine: Activities in the morning, followed by naps (for both toddlers and adults) and then lazy afternoons at the villa.

By day three, we girded our loins and got up early to visit Dubrovnik and take the two-kilometre walk around the legendary city walls.

On one side of the walls, which are six metres thick in places, is the vast azure sea, while on the other you peer down into a maze of terracotta roofs, with tennis courts and allotments nestling next to incredible 15th century architecture.

It’s fair to say my three-year-old was unimpressed (despite getting the best view of all of us, riding on my poor husband’s sunburnt shoulders) but he perked up when we dived inside some of the many cool “hole in the wall” bars for a cola. Be warned, they are pricey.

If you prefer to re-energise with ice cream, Dolce Vita serves the best scoops in town. Try the dark chocolate, pistachio and hazelnut “Domino”.

While Dubrovnik deserves its reputation as a must-see, we were all happy to get back to the chilled atmosphere of Cavtat.

Its only downside as a family holiday destination? The stony beaches. But that was nothing some 5-euro watershoes couldn’t fix. When the pebbles get too much, take a boat trip to Sunj bay, allegedly the best sandy beach in Croatia.

Buckets and spades in hand, we hopped on to a speedboat stocked with beers and cans of Fanta, zooming past Dubrovnik and the most expensive villa in town, which David Beckham and Beyonce have stayed in (not together, or this would be on the front page of the paper).

When we arrived at Sunj bay, we found boats can only stop just off the shore, so the boys jumped in and waded through chest-height sea to the beach.

My poor old dad was a bit less enthusiastic. After a brief stint on the sands, we headed to the Blue Cave on nearby Kolocep Island which, as you approach, looks less like a cave and more like a crack at the base of a jagged cliff face.

Pretending to be far braver than I felt, I jumped off the boat and swam towards a gap just a few feet high, shouting for the kids to follow.

Once inside, it was well worth the claustrophobic entrance. A massive chamber opens up with a high ceiling and striking bright blue water — because the cave is lit from underneath, it filters out the red light, leaving only the blue.

Towards the end of the week, we ditched the kids and escaped on our own — just the parents. That’s the best thing about a three-generation holiday: The built-in babysitters.

A white-tableclothed dinner on the waterfront, watching the sun set, was followed by a gorgeous run to sweat out our hangovers the next morning.

The Cavtat walking trail is excellent for those into fitness, wrapping around the peninsula and deliciously shaded by the Aleppo pines.

So, how did Cavtat stack up for a three-generation holiday? My son’s verdict: 9.5/10. Apparently it lost half a point for the bracing sea water.

To be fair, a warm sea wasn’t on my checklist. 

It’s almost time for Dodger baseball. I am standing outside a hotel in downtown Los Angeles.

I could walk six blocks to Union Station and ride the free Dodger Stadium Express. I could jump into an Uber and pay about $18 for the two-mile ride.

Instead, to make that short hop to the ballpark, I am about to board a very nice bus that costs $85.

Is it worth it?

First, some background: The Japanese travel agency JTB last year signed a sponsorship agreement that makes the company the “official Japanese tourism partner” of the Dodgers. JTB sells tour packages to Japanese fans eager to make the pilgrimage to see Shohei Ohtani play.

“Some people go to Disneyland and Universal Studios,” said Masakazu Nakafuji, general manager of JTB’s New York office. “Mainly, people want to see the Dodgers for three straight days at Dodger Stadium.”

The tour packages include game tickets, hotel rooms and transportation. However, not every fan from Japan buys the entire tour package, so the company launched a shuttle service: If you get tickets and hotels on your own, we’ll sell you a VIP ride, with a bilingual guide.

“So far, our shuttle customers are 90% Japanese,” Nakafuji said. “We are going to try to expand in the English-language market.”

On the shuttle bus I rode last week, I met Tsutomu and Sayuri Ichikawa, a couple from Tokyo wearing his and hers Roki Sasaki jerseys. The Ichikawas visited in May, on a JTB tour in which they saw three Dodgers games. The couple came back to see six more Dodgers games on their own, so the shuttle offered them a familiar way to get to Dodger Stadium.

Tsutomu, left, and Sayuri Ichikawa were among those on a JTB shuttle bus for a July 30 Dodgers game against the Seattle Mariners.

(Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)

I also met a woman named Colleen and her 8-year-old son, dressed in an Ohtani jersey. Colleen, who declined to give her last name, was visiting from Chicago. She said she had searched for shuttle buses online and considered them a better option than “having to take an Uber or take public transportation at night with a child” on a first visit to Dodger Stadium.

And I met Lina Endo of Seattle, here for three games against her beloved Mariners. She attended the first two games with friends and chose to take the shuttle for the third game, since she would be alone.

“I wanted to check out the early entry too, so it makes sense from a cost perspective,” Endo said.

Ah, yes, the cost. Is the $85 worth it?

As if the Dodgers do not already charge enough for tickets, the team offers an “early entry” add-on option for most games: For anywhere from $40 to $70, depending on the game, you can get in three hours before game time, an hour before most fans. That lets you watch the Dodgers take batting practice on the field, although Ohtani rarely does, and get to the head of the line for giveaway items, stadium attractions and team stores.

The JTB tours and shuttle buses include early entry. For one fan, $45 for Dodger Stadium parking plus $40 for early entry equals $85 for a JTB shuttle.

For a family of four, though, $45 for parking plus $160 for early entry is still less than $340 for four tickets for the shuttle bus. In fairness, JTB is not focusing its shuttle service on locals.

“They are driving, right?” Nakafuji said.

The shuttle bus driver points in the direction he’s trying to go in the Dodger Stadium parking lot before a game last month.

(Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)

They might be taking the Dodger Stadium Express from Union Station, or an Uber or Lyft. If there is a sales pitch to local fans, this is it: Just how long do you want to take getting out of Dodger Stadium? The wait for the Dodger Stadium Express or a rideshare pickup, and the slog out of the stadium and along Sunset Boulevard, can be excruciating.

“It’s a headache,” Nakafuji said.

The JTB shuttles leave exactly 30 minutes after the end of the ninth inning. If you want to stay for extra innings, a fireworks show, or a drone show, you risk finding your own way back.

Sounds harsh. But, on the night I rode the shuttle bus, it took just 15 minutes to escape the parking lot and return to the hotel. If time is money, maybe the $85 is worth it.

Of course, in 15 minutes, you can walk downhill from Dodger Stadium to the Metro Chinatown station, and another five minutes to Union Station.

Still, beyond the sales of takoyaki (octopus fritters) at a Dodger Stadium concession stand and Ohtani-endorsed skin serum in the team store, here’s another economic indicator in the Shohei Ohtani Economy: a two-mile bus ride for $85.

KATE Beckinsale has wiped her entire Instagram profile after being subject to “disgusting” body-shaming by online trolls.

The actress, 53, was recently left in tears after cruel comments – and she’s now decided enough is enough.

The opening page on the Pearl Harbor star’s account now simply reads “no posts yet” after she wiped off her snaps – but she did take to her Instagram Stories to explain why.

Kate re-posted a cruel comment which read: “Loosen up the Ozempic!! You were divine now you look anorexic!”

Kate then wrote: “As I’m sure you’re aware, anytime I post a photo of myself, I receive an enormous amount of comments telling me how disgusting I look and I’m anorexic or I’m on meth or that I’ve lost so much weight”.

She continued: “First off, I’ve lost my entire family, except my precious daughter, in a short amount of time.

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“The second thing is, I have a condition, which is an autoimmune condition called mast cell activation syndrome, and there’s another one called mast cell disease, and there’s mastocytosis.

“This is something I was diagnosed with 16 years ago, and I was really, really lucky that I had an amazing GP in London who called it and sent me to, at that point, the one guy in the world in New Jersey who was the expert in that”.

Kate lost her beloved mum Judy Loe, 73, in 2025 after a battle with cancer.

Kate first revealed her mother’s cancer diagnosis last year, shortly after the death of her famous stepfather Roy Battersby, who tragically passed away following a massive stroke.

The Serendipity star also lost her father Richard Beckinsale died at the age of five after he suffered a huge heart attack.

With regard to Kate’s health condition, according to the NHS: “Mastocytosis is a rare condition caused by an excess number of mast cells gathering in the body’s tissues.

“When mast cells detect a substance that triggers an allergic reaction (an allergen), they release histamine and other chemicals into the bloodstream.

“Histamine makes the blood vessels expand and the surrounding skin itchy and swollen. It can also create a build-up of mucus in the airways, which become narrower”.

Skin reactions, gut symptoms and muscle and joint pain can also be sparked as a result.

Previously, Kate has opened up on her condition on her page and said it is a “massive daily struggle” and she “reacts to hundreds of things badly”.

She then told online trolls – who accused her of having Botox – that she “can’t take the risk”.

In her upload this weekend, which came in a now-deleted 13-part video, she concluded: “Treat people just how you’d like to be treated yourself, give people a little grace. If you don’t have anything nice to say, maybe don’t say anything.

“It’s not necessary for everyone to know your opinion on what somebody else’s body looks like.

“You don’t want to be the last straw for somebody, you don’t want to be the thing that makes them more sick, just keep going, it’s not hard”.

Flights were suspended after the recent incident

Families heading to Europe for their summer holidays soon may want to read up on some updated travel advice. The Foreign Office has updated its guidance for a popular EU destination. You may want to speak with your travel provider ahead of your trip.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office has changed its guidance for people traveling to Italy. The update relates to ‘Mount Etna Eruption – Flight Disruption’ and was added on Friday, August 7. Visitors to the Mediterranean country are informed: “Flights are currently affected by an ash cloud from Mount Etna. Check with your travel provider or Catania Airport before travelling.” The active volcano Mount Etna is on the east coast of Sicily, and is about 40km north of Catania Airport.

Plumes of ash cloud recently filled the air in the local area after an eruption of the volcano. Previous guidance on the Catania Airport website said that flights into Catania were suspended on Saturday, August 8, until 12 noon local time. Departures continued to operate as usual.

Airport update

A later update on the airport website posted on Saturday, August 8, reads: “Following the downgrade of the volcanic activity alert level from RED to ORANGE, the resumption of flight operations has been authorised with immediate effect.

“Airspace sectors are therefore back in operation and flight landing services are being gradually restored.” But the guidance also encourages customers to keep an eye out for updates.

The airport said: “However, passengers are kindly advised to check the status of their flight with their airline before heading to the airport.” You can read the full Foreign Office guidance on the Government website.

You can also check for any fresh updates on the Catania Airport website. Travellers heading through Bristol Airport also recently faced disruption after flights were suspended owing to a fault with the runway.

Many flights were left grounded after the problem emerged late on Friday, August 7. Flights resumed at around 8am on Saturday, August 8, once the issue was fixed.

Operations were halted late on Friday, August 7, with the airport initially expecting flights to resume at 6am on Saturday. The runway eventually reopened at around 8am.

Your rights if your flight is delayed

If your flight is delayed for whatever reason, after a certain period your airline must provide certain things to take care of you.

These include:

• Food and drink
• Communication i.e. access to phone calls and emails
• Accommodation if you are delayed overnight – and journeys between the airport and the hotel.

The company must provide support if your flight is delayed by:

• At least two hours for flights under 1,500km (such as Glasgow to Amsterdam)
• At least three hours for flights between 1,500km and 3,500km (such as East Midlands to Marrakesh)
• At least four hours for flights over 3,500km (such as London to New York).

This video, made by a teenager who was living in one of the OPPP buildings in Vargas state, is one of the most moving visual documents of a tragedy that abounds in them.

If you are brave enough to watch it to the end, you’ll be moved by the crying around the kid trying to save his life without turning off the camera, his effort to get out of his room just after the earthquake that shook Vargas state, the desperation of the people looking for their relatives, shouting the names of their kids. The continuous shot of outstanding cinematic quality leads us down the stairs onto the streets where an entire community begins to run for shelter and to take the wounded to someplace where someone can save their lives. You see that the building is standing but irremediably damaged, that it will be impossible to inhabit again. These people have lost everything in an instant, and they are just realizing it. And you realize, with them, the depth, the extent of their vulnerability. 

This is a complex built with oil money by a government that was desperate to get its president reelected at any cost, even if that president was dying of cancer and telling everyone he was fine. The same government, with another president that no one elected, is in place several years later. During the first thirteen minutes this video recorded, the immediate aftermath, we see no police, no firemen, no rescuers. The only trace of the State is the damaged building. Well, way more than thirteen minutes would pass, and that community of people would have to remove their dead from the rubble with no help from the State.

Between 2011 and 2015, the OPPP managed approximately $3.3 billion, calculated using the official exchange rates for each year. There was no transparency regarding the use of these funds. The office received 1.17 billion the year Chávez was last re-elected.

The State failed them. It failed to prevent this tragedy. It failed to respond to it. It’s failing at learning from it. And all this is deliberate: it’s part of a model of exerting power and extracting everything from the nation.

The failure at preventing

The OPPP buildings we see in the video (shorthand for the Presidential Office for Special Plans and Projects, known for housing people displaced by the 2010 floods, a landmark component of the Gran Misión Vivienda Venezuela) are a dramatic example of the lack of safeguards during construction, particularly in public housing complexes. In previous reporting, we have noted that both private and public residential buildings were severely affected by the earthquakes, and that drawing broad political conclusions from the rubble alone would be imprudent. However, there are documented cases in which the State actively disregarded construction practices that could have better prepared infrastructure to withstand the double earthquake.

According to Armando.Info, the OPPP’s first president, architect Francisco “Farruco” Sesto, once acknowledged that soil studies were not conducted due to the need to deliver fast. Independent assessments showed that buildings of that scale simply could not comply with safeguards in that time frame and that the local soil requires extensive studies. Beyond that significant omission, the construction process was marked by limited financial transparency and opaque contracting practices. Even before the earthquakes, residents had raised concerns about vulnerabilities in the buildings. After the disaster, Armando.Info identified that nearly 4 out of every 10 OPPP towers collapsed, while 27 suffered serious structural damage.

Speed was also the priority with the Hugo Chávez complex in Playa Grande. More than 150 of its 196 buildings were crushed, sunken, or tilted, while even those that remained standing suffered significant internal damage. As with the OPPP developments, Armando.Info found no publicly available records confirming that detailed soil studies were conducted before construction. They were made by a company called Summa, which was awarded the contract within the framework of the Venezuela-Türkiye Agreement of 2011. The complex reached an estimated population density of approximately 450 people per hectare, three times the 150 inhabitants per hectare permitted for that type of terrain. Independent assessments have also raised the strong possibility of inadequate foundations, while the compressed construction schedule may have made strict compliance with seismic-resistance regulations more difficult. Community spokespeople speak of more than 3,000 affected families.

Despite extensive efforts of citizen-led initiatives to try to find missing people, there is still no official number reported by the State.

Between 2011 and 2015, the OPPP managed approximately $3.3 billion, calculated using the official exchange rates for each year. There was no transparency regarding the use of these funds. The year with the largest budget was 2012, when the office received approximately $1.17 billion, during an election year.

This is part of a broader pattern of simply ignoring seismic-resistant regulations. Physicist Raúl Estévez pointed out that Venezuelan scientists have been engaging with the question of seismic activity and risk prevention in the country for decades, including seismic microzoning of urban areas, but the State did not take active effort to increase the country’s capability to resist earthquakes. In fact, it did the opposite. Geologist Luiraima Salazar echoed a similar statement: “Buildings were raised on land whose stability, bearing capacity, shear resistance, or behavior during an earthquake required much more detailed and specialized studies or simply incorporating all the knowledge generated in the country’s geoscience faculties, because all this was already known, but was somehow ignored by those who had decision-making power. That is why some areas are more vulnerable than others, not only because they are close to an active fault, but because they combine unfavorable soils, poor construction, high density of population, unstable slopes, poorly prepared essential services and bad political decisions in the management of territorial planning based on geological risk.”

All is compounded by Venezuela’s prolonged complex humanitarian emergency,  with food insecurity, an unstable electrical grid, and a healthcare system in which, according to Transparencia Venezuela, only 40% of operating rooms were functional, 74% lacked surgical supplies, and approximately 60% of hospitals lacked running water. The country was simply not well positioned to face an emergency of the scale of the double earthquake. 

The failure at responding

The State’s response was extremely delayed compared to international standards. Within the first 24 hours, reports Transparencia Venezuela, the government deployed only 12.6% of its peak personnel. That figure reached 34.6% after 48 hours. The maximum deployment of 31,837 civilian and military officials was not achieved until day 18, well past the crucial 72-hour “golden window” when rescuing survivors is most feasible.  

According to The Wall Street Journal, in the first few hours after the tragedy, the government also hindered the efforts of rescue workers by blocking or delaying international rescue teams, demanding they obtain safe conduct passages and forcing them to participate in propaganda-related activities, all while dismissing the massive citizen reaction as a “media matrix”. The delays were costly in lives, time and money, with the flight detour costing another $20,000 in fuel for the jet that a private donor had lent them. “Rescue teams say they squandered hours waiting to receive their equipment and luggage at the overwhelmed airport in Valencia, a two-hour drive from the disaster. Some said they were forced to take photos with (Delcy) Rodríguez, which were then posted on her social-media accounts”.

A similar sentiment was echoed by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, which listed bureaucratic delays as a factor that can delay humanitarian response during the first few months of 2026. However, they mentioned that they have maintained good coordination with local authorities. 

Even the government admitted to blocking affected areas, which prevented volunteers from accessing. So, during the first 48 hours, most of the people who were rescued alive were rescued by neighbors, local volunteers, and self-evacuated, digging with their bare hands without heavy machinery. In addition, despite the fact that, according to Transparencia Venezuela, the State spent billions of dollars over two decades on a fleet of 59 heavy and medium transport aircraft (such as Mi-26 helicopters and Y-8 planes), there was little to no evidence of their effective use during the emergency.

To mitigate this absence, private machinery had to be mobilized from miles away to assist with rescue operations. On the site of the tragedy, multiple reports alleged that members of the National Guard and CICPC looted the rubble. This footage gained traction on social media and became a symbol of the government response to the tragedy. 

In addition to hindering rescue operations, the state also tried to control the flow of information. Operations on the ground in Caracas have reported limits for on-site inspections and have highlighted the inconsistent reporting on the damages and casualties of the earthquake. For instance, despite extensive efforts of citizen-led initiatives to try to find missing people, there is still no official number reported by the State. The lack of centralized information makes the work of international aid organizations and humanitarian workers more difficult.

State communications mention more than 600 “delivered” housing units in the weekly “reconstruction stage” updates. This timeline is excessively rushed, especially considering the amount of soil studies and other preventative measures that must be taken to build safely in La Guaira.

The international standards, based on the experience from so many tragedies around the world, recommend registering and managing volunteers according to their different capabilities, assigning working areas for all of them, and trusting in experts like UN agencies to administer the supplies that are suddenly sent to the disaster area. It’s essential to trace what came in, from whom, where it is, and to whom it was delivered. In Venezuela, however, doing this work means competing with a State that never wants anyone to supplant it (unless it is Southern Command marines). 

One source with knowledge of inspections in Caracas says the government blocked access to La Guaira and tried to absorb all the information the engineers were generating while reviewing the damage in the capital, but refused to share its own data. This time, fortunately, foreign presence prevented the police from arresting engineers, as the regime always does with anyone who is trying to break the theoretical monopoly of the State to care for the population. This is consistent with the deliberate opacity and the highly inconsistent casualty figures, which severely underreported the scale of the damage. While official figures claimed 856 affected buildings, independent satellite estimates from NASA radar suggested around 58,870 structures were damaged or destroyed.

Just as there were delays in the deployment of rescue workers, the state’s response was characterized by significant delays in the distribution of humanitarian aid. The Transparencia Venezuela report mentions that, of more than 150 collection centers in Caracas and the affected areas, only three were operated by the State. Furthermore, it highlights potential traceability problems. For example, despite a significant number of donations being reported from 133 international donors (including the IMF, the US government, and UN offices) as of the report’s cutoff date, none of the more than $781 million appeared to be confirmed or verified in the UN tracking system.

The tracking problems persist. Although the State reported distributing 9,585 tons of food and thousands of liters of water, there is simply no breakdown clarifying which of these supplies came from international aid, its own resources, or national donations. Moreover, a striking example of the traceability problems was the discovery of boxes labeled “Humanitarian Aid” in Maturín, Monagas state, hundreds of kilometers from the affected areas. The boxes had been donated by the Panama City Hall. However, due to doubts about the transparency of the delivery process, city hall officials hid GPS devices in the boxes, which helped locate them in the eastern part of the country. Nevertheless, Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello dismissed the accusations.

These traceability and tracking errors represent a significant risk to reconstruction efforts in the affected areas, as the arrival of hundreds of millions of dollars to a State with fragile institutions and high levels of opacity can lead to the funds being used for rent-seeking or money laundering. Experts warn, in fact, that the greatest risk of corruption occurs in the months following a tragedy. However, one also has to worry that the State seems to be failing to learn from this experience, because this isn’t the kind of knowledge that is useful to preserve power.

The failure at learning

In the weeks following the earthquakes, the State opted to repeat the patterns from past tragedies: announcements of accelerated construction, political patronage, and propaganda. Interim authorities have repeatedly promised that the government will provide housing for those affected by the earthquake before the end of the year. They already mentioned more than 600 “delivered” housing units in the weekly “reconstruction stage” updates. This timeline is excessively rushed, especially considering the amount of soil studies and other preventative measures that must be taken to build safely in La Guaira. In fact, the first of these “deliveries,” which took place on July 20, did not include new properties. They were homes in Fuerte Tiuna intended for chavista officials. Yes, that huge military facility where Nicolas Maduro was living until January 3. 

According to reports by El Pitazo, the recipients of these homes were officials from the La Guaira Governor’s Office, the National Integrated Customs and Tax Administration Service (SENIAT), and other government agencies. Authorities argued that, given that Fuerte Tiuna is a strategic military point, residents should be selected through careful vetting, which, according to the report, included proven loyalty to the political process in power. It is difficult to separate this from the clientelistic tradition of chavismo.

According to AUAEV’s first director, Carlos Genatios, the agency’s work was repeatedly subordinated to political interests.

The distribution process also served as an opportunity for political propaganda. Images of grateful families were shared on State social media channels and complemented a communications strategy that positions Rodríguez as a “stateswoman” in an active, leading role within her government. This shift contrasts with the more impersonal nature of the “Free Venezuela Mission” and is the central theme of communications for the “Venezuela Reborn Mission” reconstruction plan.

This is a model

The most concerning aspect of the government’s response is that it is neither new nor accidental. Rather, it reflects a governing logic that has repeatedly emerged in the aftermath of major disasters. 

The first large-scale example came 26 years ago, when catastrophic floods and landslides devastated La Guaira in what remains Venezuela’s deadliest natural disaster. Faced with a humanitarian emergency that left thousands dead and displaced, the Chávez government transformed reconstruction into a political project. In practice, this meant prioritizing political results over the deliberate and methodical work of institutional planning and risk reduction. 

Reconstruction became a vehicle for political messaging, technical expertise was repeatedly subordinated to political conflict, and new housing programs increasingly prioritized speed over long-term resilience. 

For instance, one of the most ambitious reconstruction efforts was led by the Autoridad Única del Estado Vargas (AUAEV), a government agency created to coordinate the work of geologists, engineers and urban planners tasked with rebuilding the region and reducing its vulnerability to future natural disasters. According to its first director, Carlos Genatios, the agency’s work was repeatedly subordinated to political interests. Local and national authorities reportedly sabotaged reconstruction by dumping debris onto roads and drainage systems that had already been cleared, obstructing coordination with international experts, withholding critical information and derailing long-term planning during the 2000 electoral season. Most importantly, key mitigation works were severely compromised by the usage of inadequate construction materials, weakening efforts to build a more resilient La Guaira. 

Political scientists Maryhen Jiménez, Rebecca Hanson, Benedicte Bull and Verónica Zubillaga describe the chavista regime as a predatory State: one that prioritizes the extraction and distribution of resources for political survival over the provision of public goods, institutional capacity and accountability. For decades, chavismo has morphed governing institutions into arms of a structure aimed at both siphoning the country’s wealth and repressing dissent. Yet, the process of disaster response requires careful planning, deliberate construction and freedom of information, characteristics that are simply not compatible with chavismo’s model. 

While rushed housing projects continue to be announced and meaningful information sharing remains absent, it is becoming increasingly clear that rebuilding La Guaira will require far more than pouring new foundations and raising new apartment blocks. It will require rebuilding the institutions responsible for deciding where, how, and under what standards those buildings are constructed. Institutions willing to share information and coordinate with international organizations and, most importantly, institutions able to deliver timely aid to those in need. 

Chicago Sky guard DiJonai Carrington was ejected from her side’s WNBA defeat by Indiana Fever for committing a hard foul on Sophie Cunningham, and subsequently posted “white privilege” on social media.

Carrington caught Cunningham across the left side of the head with her arm as the Indiana Fever guard attempted a right-handed layup late in the opening quarter in Chicago.

Cunningham hit the ground hard but immediately got up to confront Carrington before team-mates separated them.

The foul was upgraded to a flagrant two foul after review and Carrington was automatically ejected from the match after scoring eight points in four minutes from the bench.

Shortly after leaving the game, Carrington wrote “WHITE PRIVILIGE” on social media platform Threads, tagging Indiana Fever in the post.

Asked about the post after her team won 90-86, Cunningham said: “I think the league is taking care of that.

“This has nothing to do with race. Last year, I did the same thing and I got kicked out, and I deserved to be kicked out. There’s no reason even to play that card.”

When told of the post, Sky coach Tyler Marsh added: “I have to get back to you on that because I’m just now hearing about that. So yeah, we’ll handle that.”

Speaking about the foul, Cunningham added: “Clearly, I think it was unnecessary.

“I’ve never really spoken to her and have no beef with her, but I guess she has some pent-up stuff. So, get your [stuff] off. That’s fine – I can take it.”

Fever coach Stephanie White said: “It was a hard foul. I don’t think that DiJonai intentionally came out to get her across the neck like she did, but it did happen, and I thought it was the right call.”

Referee Maj Forsberg said Cunningham was not penalised for her reaction because “we deemed her reaction to the severity of the contact to be acceptable”.

Cunningham has become the subject of controversy in recent weeks for her comments on transgender athletes participating in women’s sport.

It has led to people showing up inside and outside of Fever games, some to protest against Cunningham and others to express support.

Meanwhile, Fever star Caitlin Clark will avoid a one-match suspension after a technical foul called on her during the third quarter was rescinded after the match.

The technical foul – called when Clark ran into an official after making a pass having been bumped by a defender – would have been her eighth of the season, which triggers an automatic suspension.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) is once again under attack from the United States. The reason behind Washington’s efforts to dismantle the institution is simple: an insistence that the US enjoys wholesale impunity.

In numerous contexts, there are credible allegations of US citizens being involved in international crimes. If the US weren’t exposed to accountability for its atrocities, it wouldn’t be seeking to destroy the court.

Now it’s the time for the ICC’s backers to stand up.

US aggression towards the ICC is nothing new. The US has been seeking to subvert the work of the court since before it was even a fixture of the global arena. Since the presidency of George W Bush, Republicans in particular have been obsessed with the court and its operations. From former national security adviser John Bolton to former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to now-Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Republican officials have been fixated on the ICC even though it has never actually issued a warrant for any American citizen.

Ironically, the efforts of US officials to condemn the ICC have bestowed prestige and legitimacy upon the institution. To those across the globe who believe that the ICC is feckless in the face of US imperial ambitions, tantrums from successive Republican administrations are a powerful antidote. In a nutshell, the greater Washington’s hysteria over the ICC, the more powerful and persuasive the court appears to those who believe the US is not above the law.

The disdain from political quarters and any commitment to undermine the institution is a feature, not a bug, of international relations – and it always has been. Yet this time feels different. The US sanctions against the ICC’s staff and threats to sanction the court as a whole as well as to dismantle it “brick by brick”, per Rubio, smack of escalation and pose an existential threat to the ICC.

The only thing that can save the court is its members. If they fail to do so, it will not be President Donald Trump who kills the ICC, but their indifference.

The smattering of primarily European and South American expressions of support for the ICC is good. But it is not enough. There are concrete actions that states can take to not only defend the court but also to strengthen it.

First, members of the ICC should double down on cooperating with the court. They should reiterate that they support every situation currently under investigation and they will offer tangible cooperation in terms of evidence and any enforcement of arrest warrants issued by the institution. If they have already done so, they should do it again.

Second, the court’s backers should encourage more states to join the ICC. This is particularly important given the recent withdrawals of Venezuela and Chad from the court – both of which left after being asked to do so by Washington. If the Trump administration is seeking to damage the court by diminishing its membership, states supportive of the institution should respond in kind with a campaign to rally other states to join.

Many states have considered joining the ICC but have not committed to do so. Now is the time to convince them. Lebanon, for example, has toyed with becoming an ICC member state, which would give the court jurisdiction over alleged crimes committed by Israeli officials and Hezbollah commanders.

As it stands, Beirut has decided not to join the court, but states could be clear that they support it doing so. They could, for example, articulate how joining the ICC could offer Lebanon yet another multilateral venue to withstand pressure from external parties like the US and demonstrate to Lebanese civilians that the rule of law matters. More generally, ICC member states could do more to link bilateral and multilateral trade and economic negotiations with efforts to encourage states to join the court.

Third, states should offer additional financial backing to the ICC. Some say the court’s budget is too big for what it has accomplished. For 2026, it was about $210m – almost a fifth of the daily cost the US is paying to carry out the war in Iran. This is for a court that is seeking to hold perpetrators of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide accountable in Ukraine, Palestine and Darfur.

Money speaks louder than words. Offering additional and flexible funding to the ICC would be a way to say: This is our court, and we will do whatever is necessary to ensure its operations have the resources they need.

Fourth, states must properly protect ICC staff sanctioned by the US. In August last year, numerous judges at the court were targeted with sanctions for doing nothing more than their part in impartially applying the law to hold perpetrators of atrocities accountable. As a result, they can’t use banks, book hotels or pay for a meal with their credit cards.

The European Union and Canada each have laws on their books that could block the impact of US sanctions on judges. Yet inexplicably, the EU has not invoked its Blocking Statute, and Canada has refused to invoke the Foreign Extraterritorial Measures Act, leaving their citizens working at the ICC to twist in the wind.

Additionally and inexplicably, neither the EU nor Canada has backed the legal suit by some of the judges to challenge the sanctions in US courts.

Trying to get the US under Trump to stop attacking the ICC is like trying to nail pudding to the wall: It’s not going to happen. But that does not justify the dithering of the court’s purported supporters.

The US assault against the court is calculated to silence ICC supporters and isolate them from the institution. Why? Because the US knows its siege on the court cannot alone ruin the institution. To succeed, it needs others to abandon the ICC.

Instead, states should take the opportunity offered by these unprecedented times to back the ICC in unprecedented ways. However imperfect it is, the court is the only permanent institution capable of holding the world’s worst perpetrators of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide to account.

For its flaws, the court should be reformed, not destroyed to allow those very perpetrators off the hook. Maintaining support for the ICC in the face of Trump’s attacks is about more than protecting the court – it’s about drawing a line and pronouncing that no one, no matter how powerful, is above the law.

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

A large-scale security operation is in place in the Republic of Ireland as the authorities prepare for the extradition of alleged crime boss Daniel Kinahan.

The 49-year-old was arrested in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in April and on Saturday an Irish government jet flew to Dubai to prepare to collect him.

The plane is expected to return to Dublin on Sunday and Kinahan will then be taken to the Special Criminal Court.

Ahead of the extradition, the Irish Prison Service bought a bulletproof and bombproof van which can be used to escort prisoners who are considered high-risk.

Irish authorities are expected to prosecute him for his involvement in leading an organised crime group.

Kinahan is not only wanted by the authorities in Ireland – the US Treasury Department once described the Kinahan cartel as one of the most dangerous in the world.

The US government imposed sanctions on Kinahan in April 2022 after he and other members of his family were identified as leaders of the Kinahan organised crime cartel.

He fought attempts to extradite him back to his native country, where the Kinahan cartel was involved in a long-running gangland feud that claimed 18 lives.

Kinahan himself became a target for murder and escaped an attempt on his life during a fatal shooting at a Dublin hotel in 2016.

He left Ireland and spent time living in Spain and more recently in Dubai, where a warrant for his arrest was issued by the Irish courts in April.

He appealed the extradition order over the past few months but his attempts were unsuccessful.

It is expected that shortly after his arrival in Ireland he will be taken to the non-jury Special Criminal Court in Dublin to face charges for alleged involvement in leading an organised crime group.

TOMMY Fury is not impressed with Kim Kardashian’s parenting style.

The boxer – who shares two children with Molly-Mae Hague – expressed his thoughts about Kim’s need for “10 nannies”, after The Sun exclusively revealed that the Keeping Up With The Kardashians star uses a “24 hour rotation system” to monitor her four kids.

On his What The Fury podcast with his dad John, Tommy read out “10 nannies and mannies raising Kim Kardashian’s kids.”

“If you can’t look after these kids yourself, don’t have them,” John declared, and while Tommy said they “don’t know the full story, he went on to say: “I don’t understand people who just dump the kids with nannies and mannies all day…”

Branding it “ridiculous”, John added: “In my family, there was a lot of us and my mother looked after us all by herself.”

John explained that his mother couldn’t afford the extra help when he was young,

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Tommy then admitted he and Molly-Mae have a nanny to help with children Bambi, three, and Midas who was born in June.

He said: “I’m all for having some help on board and help you out – me and Molly, we have help.

“But we’re with Bambi every day, all day; it’s only if I’ve got to go on a call or Molly’s on a call or we’ve got to shoot out.

“The baby’s looked after all the time.”

This prompted fans to brand Tommy a “hypocrite” with many taking issue at the two men judging Kim as a mother.

“Leave the woman alone. I can do with 15 nannies as a busy working mother. Not easy. We need and can do with the help . Men judging a hard working business woman,” one scolded.

Another pointed out the irony, writing: “A man with a full time nanny judging a woman with a full time nanny!”

Another penned: “Men. Mansplaining what they have no clue about.”

While someone else wrote: “[Tommy and Molly] have someone on call 24/7 so his argument is completely invalid. Honestly, these people are deluded!”

Last year, The Sun revealed Kim, 44, has a squad of dedicated men and women who help raise the children she shares with ex husband Kanye West – North, Saint, Chicago and Psalm – with Kim heading up the military-style operation.

Insiders revealed that each nanny is assigned a brief on her child’s needs and Kim is staffed seven days a week – night and day.

There’s a strict regime in place for her little ones, so they never go without support while she juggles her billion-dollar empire.

A night nanny arranges everything for the mornings such as school supplies and football kits, and is on call in case anyone wakes up in the night.

Then the other nannies start at 6am on the dot and work 12-hour shifts.