Thousands of Venezuelans have taken to the streets in several cities to demand free elections and other political changes, in the first nationwide opposition protest in nearly two years.

US President Donald Trump and acting President Delcy Rodriguez have said there would be elections, but no date has been set for a vote to decide on a successor for Nicolas Maduro, after the former Venezuelan president was captured by US forces in a military raid in January.

Opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Corina Machado, who has been outside the country for nearly a year after living in hiding following a contested 2024 election, has said elections must take place by July 2027.

Her Vente Venezuela movement organised the protest, which took place in the capital Caracas and other cities, including Valencia, Maracay, San Cristobal and Maracaibo.

“Seeing this makes me happy because I know change is possible,” said 18-year-old cosmetology student Leosmary Hernandez, as she gathered with hundreds of others in northern Maracay. “I’ve been through so many hardships, so many problems because of the dollar, and difficulties studying. I have high hopes for my country and for our next leader and president, Maria Corina.”

“I went out to protest before, when things were much tougher, and I’m even less afraid today because I want my voice to be heard,” she added.

Since January 3, the country has been led by interim President Delcy Rodriguez of the long-governing United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV).

PSUV leaders have been accused of carrying out human rights abuses against political dissidents, including arbitrary arrest, imprisonment and torture.

After the United States launched a military operation to abduct and jail former President Nicolas Maduro, the PSUV remained in power with the support of the White House.

US President Trump has backed Rodriguez’s leadership, despite her having been Maduro’s vice president.

His administration has maintained an active role in Venezuela, exerting control over its oil resources and pressuring the Rodriguez government for reforms.

Minimal security presence

Venezuela’s socialist movement, in power since 1999 under late President Hugo Chavez and then Maduro, has in the past deployed security forces against protesters, but government forces had minimal presence at protest sites on Thursday, and in many smaller cities demonstrators dispersed before dark.

The ruling Socialist Party called for its supporters to march from Caracas’ Plaza Venezuela, the same place the opposition planned to gather two hours later, to a location near the presidential palace to commemorate Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello, known for his close ties to the security services, was pictured on state television attending the march, while the opposition supporters moved their protest to a nearby location.

US-backed talks continue

Talks between a faction of the opposition and the interim government, aimed at remaking the top court and the electoral council ahead of eventual elections, held their latest session this month, but changes could take significant time.

The negotiations, backed by the US, do not include Machado’s political movement, though she has said she will not stand in the way of their progress.

Machado’s proxy Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia claims to have won the 2024 election according to vote tallies by the opposition. But the government, which never released full counts, backed Maduro, as did the country’s legal and electoral institutions.

Machado has for years sought US support, aligning with hawks in the Trump team who argued that Maduro, through alleged links to drug gangs, represented a direct threat to US national security. Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, are facing drug and torture charges in the US. They have pleaded not guilty.

High winds propelled the blaze across the army base in Wainwright, killing four soldiers and injuring dozens more.

A fire that killed four soldiers at a western Canadian military base was sparked by an exercise using live grenades, a military official said.

The deadly fire broke out on a grenade launcher range during military exercises on Saturday, with high winds propelling it across the base, Brigadier-General Vanessa Hanrahan, commander of the Canadian Forces Military Police Group, told reporters on Thursday.

“A subsequent change in wind direction and velocity significantly increased the fire’s intensity,” she added, with the flames spreading to a training area at the Wainwright military base in Alberta.

Due to the blaze being in the “permanent danger area” of the range, firefighters were unable to directly combat it, Hanrahan added.

The fire spread on Saturday afternoon during high-intensity combat training involving Charlie Company of the 3rd Battalion, Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry.

The military base lies in the prairies, a landscape of wide, open grasslands, rolling plains and scattered groves of trees.

About 84 soldiers were split between a grenade range and an area where they practised attacks on simulated enemy positions. The fire swept into the second training area.

Four soldiers died and 39 were injured, with 27 requiring hospitalisation. The incident was one of the worst peacetime tragedies for Canada’s military.

The soldiers and reserve members were participating in exercises ahead of a planned deployment to Latvia, where Canadian forces have their largest international military operation.

The Wainwright base is one of the largest bases operated by the Canadian Armed Forces. It regularly hosts training exercises involving military personnel from NATO countries.

During the final months of World War II and for several months in 1946, the base was used as an internment centre for German prisoners of war.

Amid all the turmoil of 2026, some may yearn to dial the culture back to 2016 — in all its rainbow-saturated, Rio de Janeiro Instagram-filtered glory.

Neoperreo, the Latin American genre born of that internet era, turns 10 this year. Artists built it as a reimagining of reggaeton music, by and for femmes and freaks: cis and trans women, as well as the frikis from Latin America’s punk and alt scenes, who never fit the mold. For them, this cutting-edge sound and the internet community around it offered a lifeline.

A decade after the term first circulated, neoperreo (as in, the new perreo) has exapanded from SoundCloud and DIY parties into a global network of artists, DJs and festivals.

The genre takes a distinctly techno-infused approach to the dembow rhythm, stripping reggaeton of any acoustic elements and assembling them anew on a laptop to sound colder and faster. With the bass hollowed out and Auto-Tune cranked up, the vocals take on a metallic sheen — as women spit risqué verses claiming their rightful place as subjects, as opposed to the sex objects that men would relegate them to.

Both released in 2016, two of the songs that defined the genre early on — Tomasa del Real’s “Bien y Mal” and Ms Nina’s “Tu Sicaria” — pair hooks you can perrear to with beats that sound like they were built in a bedroom, because they actually were.

Beyond its sound, the genre created worlds: digital networks where outsiders across the Americas and Europe found each other, and parties where queer, trans and friki Latines could show up exactly as they were.

As trans and Latine communities face mounting attacks on their rights and safety, those spaces, alongside the new ones they’ve inspired, keep carrying weight.

“It didn’t have a name yet, but it was born from this desire to experiment and create something new at its core,” says Elisa Espinoza, the 34-year-old Swiss Army knife of an artist known as DJ Lizz. Raised in the southern Chilean town of Hualpén, she traces that initial spark to her country’s history.

“Chile is a country [that experienced] a dictatorship, a country that always sought a kind of homogeneity — a sickness that hopefully we’d all think the same, look the same, act the same,” she says. “At that moment, everyone was trying to create something, to identify with [who] we really are. Out of that constant search comes experimentation, which goes hand in hand with sexual liberation, liberation from social class. That spoke to a revolutionary spirit.”

For Espinoza, that liberation meant reclaiming a femininity she had once feared, by drawing from drag culture and the ’80s vogue tradition. “I hypersexualized myself, I hyperfeminized myself, just like a drag queen — and that somehow empowered me even more,” she says, recalling men who yelled obscenities at her on the street or tried to grab her ass when she wore shorts.

“Men were the owners of women’s sexuality, and now we’re the owners of our sexuality,” she says.

From the other end of the country, artist Tomasa del Real, born Valeria Cisternas, began to approach music with a similar ethos in her hometown of Iquique, which sits on Chile’s northern coast. When both eventually moved to, and met in, Santiago, they realized that other artists from around the world were chasing the same idea.

“On the internet, people found freedom they didn’t find in their own country or city,” says Espinoza. “We were all united by the same search.”

From this virtual community came neoperreo’s signature sound: a hedonistic mix of reggaeton and Latin rhythms with industrial, electronic, funk and trap elements. “What came out was, for some people, a work of art; for other people, a monster,” says Espinoza.

As cisgender, straight women, the community they describe both includes and extends beyond their own identities. “It was the first time someone said, ‘No, this music I make, at least in Latin America, isn’t for men.’ It’s for women, and it’s for gays,” Espinoza says.

The term “neoperreo” came about almost by accident. On an episode of Red Bull Radio in 2016, Cisternas, now 39, says she tried to explain in her “basic English” that she wasn’t really sure the music she made should be called reggaeton at all. Reggaeton came from Puerto Rico, by way of reggae en español; her lyrics and rhythms were different, and the people collaborating with her came from electronica, not the island.

She didn’t want to appropriate a culture that wasn’t hers, so she reached for another way to describe it: not as the new reggaeton, but the new music you can perreo to. Twerking, she wanted to explain, a woman can do alone; but perreo takes two. “So I meant to say el nuevo perreo, but in English, I said neo — neoperreo,” she says.

And the name just stuck.

That same year, Cisternas and Espinoza started throwing parties in Santiago under the hashtag #NeoPerreo. They called in a crowd from society’s margins: a community “of DJs, dancers, strippers, tattoo artists, of the alternative world, the more gothic world, the misfits themselves,” says Cisternas.

At their first event, the line wrapped around the block.

“It was a really important moment for the history of reggaeton, because there were no spaces where someone gay could show up with [both] their metalhead friend and their crazy girlfriend to dance reggaeton. Those spaces didn’t exist; reggaeton was very marginal, completely removed from society. This brought us closer,” says Cisternas.

The scene also became a way to make money. “It gave work to a lot of us who didn’t have access to money that immediately; we created a lot of work for ourselves,” she says. “A lot of people built their careers at that moment too.”

Jorgelina Andrea del Valle Torres, the Argentine neoperreo artist known as Ms Nina, also remembers those first parties affectionately. “It widened the audience,” she says. “In the end, we created a community where everyone feels seen and safe.”

But neoperreo wasn’t always received so warmly. “People didn’t understand it because they weren’t used to it. They were used to basic reggaeton,” Torres says. “There was a scene in Spain too, with trap and reggaeton built on SoundCloud and turned-up Auto-Tune. [But it was] a new kind of music nobody else was making. Everybody kind of hated it. And now everybody’s doing it.”

Growing up in central Argentina, Torres always felt judged and bullied for being different; she’s spent the last 20 years in Alicante, Spain, where she says she finally feels free to explore her bisexuality. Still, the cumbia villera of her childhood — a heavily synthesized subgenre born in the outskirts of Buenos Aires in the late 1990s — runs through everything she makes.

Argentina, like Chile, was barely a generation out from a military dictatorship when it had partnered with Augusto Pinochet’s regime to hunt down dissidents. Music of the margins — which before neoperreo was punk rock and hip-hop — had been framed in opposition to polite society.

Although reggaeton originated in the streets, the genre hit its zenith in the mainstream this year, thanks to Bad Bunny’s historic Super Bowl halftime show and Karol G’s headlining set at Coachella. Yet Cisternas, despite having performed at Coachella herself in 2019, argues that neoperreo will never be mainstream in the same way.

“It’s too weird — and that’s fine,” she says. “The weirder, the better.”

For the often overlapping worlds of sex work and queer nightlife, the underground movement provided a natural shelter for those unsafe to be themselves in the mainstream, from the leading artists who candidly promote their music alongside erotic content on OnlyFans, to trans artists like Sasha Sathya, who discuss gendered violence and labor in their lyrics. And as governments in Argentina and the U.S. roll back protections for queer and trans people, the freedoms cultivated on the dance floor remain far from assured outside it.

“Above all, because of the trans laws, that’s where there’s still a long way to go,” she says. “It’s important that we keep going.”

Yet now, 10 years in, the movement’s heirs may not call themselves neoperreo at all.

On another late summer night in New York, under the red glow of the DJ booth and a canopy of globe string lights, the rooftop’s wooden floorboards dip beneath scores of platform heels. An outdoor thermometer clocks a temperature of 100 degrees as the sounds of Y2K-era reggaeton reverberate. There’s no shortage of snapbacks, piercings, baby bangs and baggy jorts.

For queer people who never had the canonical experience of grinding in their high school gym, a party called Trakata fills that primal need — and operates on the same queer, rebellious frequency as neoperreo.

At these incandescent parties, Trakata founder Tani Shimizu, a 26-year-old trans man, can be found entrenched on the dance floor, often perreando with one or more beautiful, curly-haired femmes. At a local Caribbean cafe, complete with pastel floral tiles, plastic-covered couches, and the trills of guitar from “Pa’ Que Retozen” echoing through maxed-out speakers, he explains how it all began.

When looking to fundraise for his top surgery last winter, the 26-year-old joined together with some friends from the trans collective Body Hack to throw a queer-friendly perreo party. Hosted at the Bush, a Brooklyn lesbian bar Shimizu had been infamously bartending at, the first event drew close to 600 attendees. “People were like, ‘Oh, my God, we’ve been dying for this,’” he says.

The turnout convinced Shimizu there was a market for the party, along with the chance to create paid work for himself and others. “I cared a lot about how this could be an opportunity for people to make money, myself included,” he says. “I believe in compensating people fairly, even my friends.”

Shimizu, a first-generation Peruvian from Los Angeles, admits he isn’t too familiar with the specifics of neoperreo. Though Ms Nina’s “Tu Sicaria” makes its way onto the playlist some nights, his resident DJs mostly stick to the classics at their parties, and that’s intentional.

Whereas artists back home innovate to push against the status quo, in predominantly white U.S. spaces — especially for queer Latines — the older reggaeton tracks feel more alt.

“Trans and queer people are often pigeonholed to this idea of being really alternative in sound,” he says. “There’s something arguably subversive about going, ‘No, it’s actually OK to honor culturally what we have always held onto’ — and what was principal in our identities, regardless of these other subversive or subaltern identities that we embody.”

While the sonic identity of the space roots itself in nostalgia and reconnection, Shimizu strives to balance novelty in the construction of the space, while reaffirming the desire for Trakata to reflect what has been historically true of queer gatherings.

“There’s this deeper desire and this deeper politic. It just so happens to take place in the context of a club on a Friday, or Saturday night, at these hours.”

Nearly a year into his transition, he reflects on a newfound enlightenment. “Transness has given me the liberty to not be so consumed with what I look like,” Shimizu says. “I’m not dwelling any longer, which is really freeing. [It] gives you a lot of mental space to focus on things that are more important.”

That freedom from the mirror is core to neoperreo’s mission: The pursuit of a dance floor where your body, and everyone else’s, are besides the point. Shimizu has built that into Trakata’s foundation. “I want people of all body types and existences,” he says.

Shimizu also wants to make it clear that Trakata isn’t for people who just want to look hot online. “It’s anyone who is interested in engaging with the cultural experience that we’re co-creating, and if you want to come to dance, and you want to stay off your damn phone.”

Trakata wasn’t created with neoperreo in mind; but with the same sweaty dance moves and the same people finding each other, it’s hard to tell where one stops and the other begins. Since Cisternas and Espinoza threw their first neoperreo party 10 years ago, their legacy has carried over to popular Boiler Room sets and underground queer sanctuaries in equal measure.

“[For] anyone who felt like a bit of a misfit, unwelcome in reggaeton,” says Cistnernas, “neoperreo is their home.”

This story was produced in partnership with the Trans Journalists Assn.

NEW YORK — Artemi Panarin had two goals, Brandt Clarke scored in overtime and the Kings won their second consecutive game, 3-2, at the New York Islanders on Thursday night.

The Kings have back-to-back victories after losing their first six games. They were the final NHL team without a win before defeating Washington on Tuesday night.

The Kings were outplayed for much of the game and were outshot 43 to 26. Panarin beat rusty backup Semyon Varlamov glove side twice, and Darcy Kuemper kept making stops even as his rebound control was lacking, finishing with 41 saves.

Kuemper cracked for the first time with just under six minutes left in the second period when rookie Victor Eklund’s shot squeezed through on a power play. Matthew Schaefer wired a wrist shot past Kuemper 7:06 into the third.

Clarke scored the winner with 2:18 left in overtime after he and his teammates possessed the puck for several shifts in a row.

Varlamov, the 38-year-old making his first home start since Nov. 25, 2024, after double partial knee replacements, denied Adrian Kempe on a penalty shot and made some big-time saves after giving up the soft goals to Panarin on the Kings’ first five shots.

Panarin has four points in two games after four combined over the first six.

Kings forward Quinton Byfield was out after getting hurt against the Capitals. Byfield did not take part in the morning skate and is considered day to day with an upper-body injury.

Up next for the Kings: at the New Jersey Devils on Saturday.

Israeli pogroms on Palestinian farmers and their lands during the olive harvest season intensify.

Israeli forces have arrested 36 Palestinians during raids across the occupied West Bank, as attacks on Palestinian farmers and their lands during the olive harvest season ramp up.

In Jenin governorate, Israeli forces raided towns and villages on Thursday, arresting 10 Palestinians, the Palestinian news agency Wafa reported, citing data from the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society.

Israeli forces also raided the town of Tuqu in the Hebron governorate on Thursday and arrested former prisoner Shorok al-Badan, along with five others from other parts of Hebron, according to Wafa.

The Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission said on Thursday that Israeli forces arrested 14 people in Khirbet Jawaya village of Masafer Yatta in Hebron, while Wafa reported that three other Palestinians were arrested across the Hebron governorate, citing a security source.

In Nablus and Jerusalem, three more Palestinians were arrested during Israeli raids in the village of Burin, the town of Awarta, and the Qalandiya refugee camp.

Attack pattern

The Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission said it documented 17 pogroms by Israeli forces and settlers on Thursday against Palestinian farmers and their land during the olive harvest.

The incidents were recorded across occupied West Bank governorates, including Hebron, Qalqilya, Nablus, Ramallah and el-Bireh, Jenin and Salfit.

According to the Commission, the attacks included assaults on farmers, preventing them from reaching their land, theft of crops and agricultural equipment, damage and burning of olive trees, as well as arrests, threats at gunpoint and live fire.

The Commission says the pattern represents an escalation in attacks targeting the olive harvest and undermines Palestinians’ ability to access and cultivate their land and maintain their livelihoods.

Israeli attacks on Palestinian farmers garnered international attention and condemnation. US Democratic congressional candidate Brad Lander was briefly detained on Wednesday by the Israeli military with a warning while volunteering to help Palestinian farmers harvest olives in the occupied West Bank.

The U.S. Air Force is exploring options for adding air-to-air combat capabilities to its bombers as part of efforts adjacent to its latest fighter force structure plans. The service has raised the possibility of the B-21 Raider, specifically, taking on an air-to-air role, and potentially doing so in cooperation with Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) drones, in the past. As TWZ has explored for years, the B-21’s inherent attributes – size, extreme range, high operating ceiling, broadband low-observability (stealthiness), and advanced sensors – could actually make it especially well suited to taking part in air-to-air combat missions. The Air Force’s other bombers could also be part of these future plans.

Aviation Week was first to report on the potential for bombers to help bolster the Air Force’s air-to-air combat capacity after obtaining a copy of a new long-term fighter force structure report submitted to Congress last week. Media coverage of this report first began to appear earlier this week following a roundtable on Tuesday with Lt. Gen. David Tabor, the service’s Deputy Chief of Staff for Plans and Programs. The full report, which is unclassified, was not disseminated to reporters at that time.

The Air Force’s central goal now is having 1,509 combat-coded fighters in inventory by 2035, which is hundreds more than it has in service today. This will come from the acquisition of new F-35As, F-15EXs, and F-47s. There are already questions about how realistic this plan might be, and the service has acknowledged several hurdles it will need to overcome. You can read more about this in our initial reporting here.

“Accordingly, the USAF is also evaluating additional recapitalization options, including a new capacity fighter, increased reliance on CCAs [Collaborative Combat Aircraft], and developing air-to-air capabilities on bombers,” the latest fighter force structure report says, per Aviation Week.

“A new capacity fighter” may refer to the possible acquisition of new-production F-16 Vipers, which Lt. Gen. Tabor said at the roundtable could be an option in the future, according to an earlier story from Air & Space Forces Magazine. He also said making any such decision was not an “urgent” priority. This is just one possibility here. The Air Force has floated ideas for other new fighter concepts beyond the F-47 in recent years. Lockheed Martin has talked about the potential for expanding on the F-35 design.

At the roundtable on Tuesday, Tabor also made clear that the introduction of CCAs would influence future fighter force structure plans, but the expected scale and scope of those impacts remain unclear. He does not appear to have addressed the role bombers could play in this equation at that time. The new fighter report itself does not elaborate further on the potential use of bombers, based on Aviation Week’s story. TWZ is seeking more information.

When it comes to the possibility of Air Force bombers, and the B-21 more specifically, taking on an air-to-air role, this is not the first time the possibility has been raised, as mentioned earlier.

“As the NGAD [Next Generation Air Dominance] review goes forward, like, is it possible that what that ends up with could be the B-21 taking a larger role?” reporter Stephen Losey, working at the time for Defense News, asked then-Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Allvin at the Military Reporters & Editors (MRE) Conference in 2024.

“We have not taken that off the table,” the Air Force’s top officer said in response to Losey’s question, but did not elaborate.

B-21 Takeoff and Landing

At that time, the Air Force’s NGAD program was undergoing a deep review, and the future of the sixth-generation fighter component of the effort had come into question. The decision was ultimately made to continue pursuing plans for what has now become the F-47.

For years now, TWZ has been highlighting how the B-21 could serve in multiple roles beyond just that of a traditional bomber, including in an air-to-air capacity. Air Force officials have themselves described the Raider as having multi-mission capabilities, which could extend into the realm of air-to-air combat.

“If we were to characterize it [NGAD] as a fighter, we would be… thinking too narrowly about what kind of airplane we need in a highly contested environment,” then-Air Force Maj. Gen. Scott Pleus told what was then just Air Force Magazine back in 2019. This could be “a B-21 that also has air-to-air capabilities” and can “work with the family of systems to defend itself, utilizing stealth – maybe that’s where the sixth-generation airplane comes from.”

Pleus’ comments had tied in with adjacent discussions at the time and thereafter about how the B-21 might operate together with future CCA drones. Pleus, who was subsequently promoted to lieutenant general and whose lasting posting was as Director of Staff at the Air Force’s top headquarters at the Pentagon, retired in August of this year.

It remains unclear how the Air Force might be considering employing the B-21, or any of its other existing bombers, in air-to-air combat. This could entail loading out bombers for direct air-to-air engagements, or the integration of new capabilities to help them find targets or to otherwise enable new supporting roles, or a mix of all of the above. The process of achieving air superiority is not limited to neutralizing aerial threats, either.

As TWZ has written in the past in the context of an air-to-air role for the Raider in particular:

“The Raider has the potential to serve as a launch platform for air-to-air missiles, especially outsized very long-range types. Its payload capacity would give it the ability to carry a large volume of smaller air-to-air missiles, as well. B-21s could also employ air-to-ground munitions in support of the suppression and destruction of enemy air defenses mission (SEAD/DEAD), which is also part of the air superiority equation.”

“Maybe most significantly, the B-21s could also act as airborne nerve centers in support of counter-air missions, especially for controlling drones like the Air Force’s planned fleets of Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA), and have the ability to do so even in the most heavily contested of airspaces. Uncrewed aircraft, in turn, could feed targeting data back to Raiders with air-to-air loadouts. B-21s might even be able to launch some of those drones themselves.”

Deeply networked ‘kill webs’ that bring together distributed arrays of sensors and other supporting elements across vast distances and multiple domains, coupled with very-long-range air-to-air missiles, open up new operational possibilities more generally. This applies to Air Force bombers beyond the B-21.

When it comes to longer-range air-to-air missiles, the Navy has notably already fielded the AIM-174B air-launched version of the Standard Missile-6 (SM-6). The service more recently disclosed another such missile in flight testing now, the AIM-424 Malice.

The Air Force has pursued similar missile developments in the past and put out a call for a new anti-air missile with a maximum range of at least 1,000 nautical miles just in June. The service has been exploring multi-stage types with modular designs that could be configured for longer- and shorter-range engagements, as well. These are all just programs we know about, and do not speak to the developments the Air Force and others could have underway in the classified realm.

There is also the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) LongShot program, which the Air Force, as well as the U.S. Army and Navy, have been involved with over the years. The aim of that effort is to demonstrate the concept of an air-to-air missile-carrying drone to help extend the reach and reduce the vulnerability of tactical fighters and bombers.

On top of all this, tactical fighters are generally ill-suited to, and in some cases outright incapable of, carrying the kinds of outsized payloads being discussed here. This underscores the potential value of incorporating bombers into this equation as a means to engage targets at extreme ranges.

Even in a closer proximity support role of fighter aircraft, B-21s, as well as B-52s, could contribute to air-to-air fight as arsenal ships for longer-range weapons, firing on demand from the rear in coordination with crewed and uncrewed platforms operating at the tip of the tactical edge. B-21s could also use their penetrating capabilities to command drones of their own that provide penetrating fighter-like capabilities.

New air-to-air capabilities on Air Force bombers could include self-protection systems, too. Years ago now, the B-21’s prime contractor, Northrop Grumman, patented an anti-missile defense system for stealthy aircraft designed to fire hard-kill interceptors. The Air Force, as well as the Navy, have openly expressed interest in similar defensive capabilities for aerial refueling tankers and other larger planes. Just being able to provide localized close-in defensive ‘bubbles’ around individual bombers could impact the calculus when it comes to future air-to-air combat requirements.

To reiterate, these are all concepts we have discussed in depth for roughly a decade.

Speaking more broadly about Air Force future fighter force structure demands, as we wrote previously:

“In recent years, sustainment costs, broadly, have only become an increasingly serious concern for the Air Force, as well as the other branches of the U.S. military, especially when it comes to complex manned platforms, such as the F-22 Raptor and the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. Fleet size and the readiness of those fleets are also highly pressing issues. So, at least in the near term, it’s not surprising that NGAD may end up focusing more on exploring available lower-cost options with distributed capabilities as alternatives to traditional air combat assets with highly centralized capabilities, such as manned fighter jets packed with ‘exquisite’ technologies.”

Despite the decision in the end to proceed with the more exquisite F-47, these points have only become more pronounced as time has gone on. How many F-47s the Air Force ultimately intends to buy is another question that looks to remain unanswered by the latest fighter force structure report. At the same time, there are clear signs that the Air Force is planning to significantly increase its planned B-21 fleet size. The official acquisition target has long been at least 100 Raiders, but the Air Force and Northrop Grumman have said a new topline figure is expected to come in the Fiscal Year 2028 budget proposal next year. The service is now explicitly aiming to have at least 500 CCA drones in service by 2032, too. All of this will compete for funding and other resources, at least to a degree.

In the meantime, there has been a “persistent decline in AA [aircraft availability] rates across the USAF tactical fighter fleet,” which “is the direct mathematical consequence of operating an inventory with an average age exceeding 31 years,” the Air Force’s latest fighter force structure report says, according to Aviation Week. “As legacy platforms – such as the F-16C/D, F-15E, and A-10C – operate well beyond their original engineering service lives, they experience compounding structural fatigue, widespread corrosion, and subsystem degradation.”

“Achieving the mandated AA rates required for a peer-conflict scenario necessitates aggressive divestment of the oldest airframes to fund the procurement of highly available, modernized platforms like the F-35A and F-15EX,” the report adds, per that outlet. Furthermore, “to counter the [Chinese] industrial capacity and numerical advantage in fielding fighters like the J-20 and J-16, the USAF must embrace a hybrid force of manned and unmanned systems.”

With all this in mind, active consideration of new air-to-air roles for bombers, as well as the possibility of “increased reliance on CCAs” and the potential to acquire new current-generation F-16s, at least seems to reflect a hedge strategy on the part of the Air Force.

If nothing else, the door clearly remains open to bombers being a key part of the Air Force’s ‘fighter’ vision in the future.

Contact the author: joe@twz.com

“Heated Rivalry” will soon steam up a movie theater near you. Special Season 1 marathon screenings will celebrate the one-year anniversary of the smash sports romance series that set HBO Max ablaze last November.

Three sets of paired episodes will screen Nov. 6-30 in more than 650 theaters around the world (in the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Australia and New Zealand): over 275 Regal theaters and 375 others, including AMC and Cinemark locations, distributor Sphere Abacus announced Thursday.

Tickets will cost $9.99 per screening, and Regal showings will include filmed greetings from the cast and show creator-writer-director Jacob Tierney. (The show is based on the novel of the same name by Rachel Reid.) Advanced tickets are available now at Regal (showtimes: Episodes 1 and 2, 3 and 4, and 5 and 6).

”Heated Rivalry” is a global phenomenon creating a rush of social media and press activity wherever it lands. We’re very excited to give audiences the opportunity to watch the drama unfold on big screens,” Hana Palmer, Sphere Abacus’ executive director of global distribution and partnerships, said in a statement.

For a limited time, participating locations will offer themed cocktails, including “Summer in Montreal” and “Russians Don’t Blush.” Shane (Hudson Williams) plays for the fictional Montreal Metros hockey team; although Shane’s cottage, where Ilya (Connor Storrie) agrees to spend the summer, is technically in Lanaudière, Québec, two hours outside of Ottawa.

Ilya, a gruff Russian from Moscow, is a fellow professional hockey player for the fictional Boston Raiders. The latter cocktail references a scene in the Raiders’ locker room: One of Ilya’s teammates sees him secretly texting Shane. “You’re straight up blushing,” he tells him. “Never in life have I blushed,” Ilya snaps back. “Russians do not do this.”

“Heated Rivalry” stars Hudson Williams as Shane Hollander and Connor Storrie as Ilya Rozanov.

(Sabrina Lantos / HBO)

“When a series connects with audiences the way ‘Heated Rivalry’ has, we look for ways to bring it to the big screen and give fans a reason to experience it together,” Regal’s SVP of U.S. content Brooks LeBoeuf said. “Nearly a year after its premiere, we’re proud to work with our partners to turn a season fans have watched again and again into a true theatrical event. It’s a chance to celebrate the story, its creators, and its performances before Season 2 arrives in 2027.”

Filming and production are still underway on Season 2, which is slated for release in spring 2027 on Crave and HBO Max.

This quaint town in Somerset has been named one of the best places to live in the UK time and time again – so I headed back to find out what all the fuss is about

I recently found myself back in Somerset for the first time in several years, taking a nostalgic journey with my friend who had flown halfway across the globe to mark their mum’s 60th birthday. A road trip from the capital to sweeping fields of countryside felt like the perfect way to spend a crisp autumn weekend.

My friend is originally from Frome, Somerset, but now lives on the shores of New South Wales. I hadn’t visited this charming West Country town for nearly eight years, yet had noticed its name cropping up in headlines as one of Britain’s finest places to live.

In fact, it appeared so frequently that I’ve lost track. It featured once more on Muddy Stiletto’s Top 260 Best Places to Live in 2025.

I’d never given it much thought, as Frome has always simply been my mate’s hometown, but if it’s collecting awards repeatedly, there must be something I’ve overlooked over the past decade.

What’s more, Frome’s Rye Bakery also earned a mention in Britain’s Best Bakeries by Milly Kenny Ryder. The Times even branded the town “Wokeville”, home of the “conscious hipster”. Yet to me, it’s always been a tight-knit community hub that’s cricket-obsessed, where everybody knows one another, and where pints are shockingly affordable compared to London prices.

Nestled on the edge of the Mendip Hills, Muddy Stilettos described Frome as a “community-minded town packed with arty, artisan shops, eateries and other businesses, with an indie cinema and a music venue where the likes of Paul McCartney ‘just pop in’. And it hosts the best designer-maker-producer street market in the West.”

Either I’d never properly clocked it before or the town has experienced a remarkable transformation during my eight-year absence. The town centre, filled with cobbled side streets that climb upwards, is lined with tiny boutiques and quirky independent shops, stocking everything from vintage clothing and antiques to its very own apothecary emporium.

Make sure our latest travel stories always appear at the top of your Google Search by setting us as a Preferred Source. Click here to activate or add us as a Preferred Source in your Google search settings.

Streets like Cheap Street and Catherine Hill are packed with independent retailers, upmarket coffee shops, and sufficient micropubs and wine bars to keep you busy for ages. What Muddy Stilettos celebrated as “interesting indies”, my mate’s mum labelled “artisanal… and we aren’t the artisanal type”.

Another draw for both locals and visitors from further away is Frome’s abundance of markets, which by pure coincidence were running the weekend I wasn’t there. At the Frome Independent Market you’ll discover designer makers alongside artisan food and drink producers.

You’d struggle to spot many chain shops or restaurants here, which is brilliant if you’re keen to avoid the overwhelming presence of typical high street brands. I spotted just one Costa Coffee, and that was it.

My first real stop was Rye Bakery at its Station Approach site. The other branch can be found inside a church on Whittox Lane.

Even the old railway house at the station has been transformed into a compact independent food market and events venue. Alongside Rye Bakery, you’ll discover its sister wine bar, cheesemonger The Cheese Lord, Indian and Trinidadian street food, a charcutier, another wine bar, plus a community sauna and cold plunge.

Oh, and there’s a milk vending machine thrown in for good measure. You genuinely wouldn’t need to venture beyond the station.

Naturally, it would be churlish not to sample Rye’s offerings. I devoured a cinnamon bun alongside my iced coffee (on a freezing cold Sunday morning), plus a special sandwich crammed full of salami, Glastonbury cheddar, and salsa verde mayo.

It’s precisely the sort of fare I crave from a bakery, though I can appreciate that to some it might appear a touch… gentrified. The sandwich was bursting at the seams, with the heat of the salami tempered by the zesty mayo and punchy cheddar. All these trendy new bakeries have turned the humble sarnie into something rather fashionable.

Rye’s cinnamon bun proved just as delightful as the sandwich, boasting soft, fluffy dough and beautifully spiced cinnamon sugar. Not overly sickly sweet, but sweet enough to satisfy my appetite.

We even discovered an Australian serving behind the counter, and if that’s not an indication of quality coffee, I don’t know what is.

It was also pleasant to revisit some of the neighbourhood drinking establishments. You’ll encounter a mixture of traditional country pubs or independent craft beer venues. Personally, I’d head just beyond the town limits for an authentic taste of Somerset living.

I nearly shed a tear when I discovered a pint of cider for under £6. It makes me appreciate just how costly London has become, and truly, that the prices needn’t be as eye-wateringly steep as they are.

Frome has both evolved and remained unchanged. It’s still the same charming Somerset town where everybody knows everybody; where the tranquillity of the town centre feels so unfamiliar to someone from London.

The residents may not have altered, but it appears the atmosphere has, attracting a fresh generation of people to its cobbled streets. There’s a feeling of togetherness that you only encounter in small towns like Frome.

It offers an escape from hectic urban existence, where you can retreat into the countryside within moments rather than hours. It may not be exactly the same Frome I recall, but I’ll always maintain a warm attachment to the town.

Manchester United linked with Antonio Conte, Unai Emery, Eddie Howe and Julian Nagelsmann among others if they part ways with manager Michael Carrick, Arsenal targeting Atletico Madrid’s Alex Baena and monitoring Monza striker Gustavo Varela.

Manchester United technical director Jason Wilcox appears to prefer appointing ex-Newcastle United boss Eddie Howe if the club sack manager Michael Carrick. (Talksport), external

Manchester United would consider Julian Nagelsmann if they part ways with Carrick and the former Bayern Munich and Germany boss is keen on the role. (Telegraph – subscription required), external

Aston Villa boss Unai Emery is also among Manchester United‘s dream candidates to replace Carrick. (i news), external

Manchester United have opened talks with former Chelsea and Tottenham manager Antonio Conte about the possibility of returning to the Premier League. (La Repubblica – in Italian), external

Manchester United, external would likely have to pay a world record fee if they want to replace Carrick with Fabian Hurzeler and prise the German away from Brighton. (Telegraph – subscription required), external

However, Brighton boss Hurzeler would not be interested in the Manchester United job if it became available. (Talksport), external

Arsenal are targeting a potential move for Atletico Madrid and Spain’s World Cup-winning winger Alex Baena, 25, in the January window. (FootballTransfers), external

Arsenal are also monitoring Monza striker Gustavo Varela, 21, with Napoli and Benfica also interested in the Portuguese player. (Gazzetta dello Sport – in Italian) , external

Brazil defender Gleison Bremer is wanted by Bayer Leverkusen and the 29-year-old could leave Juventus in January. (Gazzetta dello Sport – in Italian), external

Tech-heavy Nasdaq falls 2.6 percent as debate rages over whether AI is a bubble.

US tech stocks have dropped sharply amid market jitters over the sustainability of companies’ enormous capital investments in AI.

The Nasdaq Composite, which is dominated by tech firms linked to the AI boom, fell 2.6 percent on Thursday, its steepest fall since the index tumbled 4.2 percent on June 5.

The broader S&P 500 slid 1.21 percent, the benchmark’s biggest drop since a 1.52 percent decline on July 29.

Apart from Apple, each of the “Magnificent 7”, which make up more than one-third of the overall market, saw substantial losses.

Meta dropped nearly 7 percent after it raised its projected capital spending for this year to $135bn to $145bn in its latest earnings report, even as the Facebook parent company’s net profit fell short of expectations.

Amazon fell 4.6 percent, while Nvidia dropped 4.4 percent.

Tesla and Alphabet both fell 3.1 percent, while Microsoft declined 2.2 percent.

Apple rose 1.2 percent.

The sell-off extended to other major tech players, including Intel and Advanced Micro Devices, both of which fell about 8 percent, and Broadcom, which slid 4.3 percent.

Rising oil prices since February, due to the fallout of the US-Israel war on Iran, added to the downbeat mood.

Brent crude futures rose 4 percent on Thursday and continued to climb on Friday morning, taking the international benchmark above $114.20 a barrel, its highest since May.

Stocks slip in Asian trading

Major stock markets in Asia opened lower on Friday, following the losses on Wall Street.

Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 fell more than 2 percent in morning trading before recovering some ground, while South Korea’s KOSPI dropped as much as 3.5 percent.

The Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong fell about 0.5 percent.

Jay Goldberg, a senior analyst at Seaport Research Partners in San Francisco, said the swings in the market appeared to be driven more by sentiment than underlying fundamentals.

“In short, nothing has changed. Investors have just decided to be afraid this week. Everyone I speak to points to a different cause for the downfall … It’s just a giant wall of worry,” Goldberg told Al Jazeera.

“There are legitimate concerns about the AI trade, but this level of shift in the markets is driven much more by investor sentiment than any tangible reason.”

US tech companies’ huge investments in AI have stoked intense debate about whether a market bubble is forming similar to the one that preceded the 2000 dot-com crash.

While some Wall Street analysts view current levels of investment in datacentres and graphics processing units as unsustainable, others argue that AI will revolutionise society to a degree that justifies the eye-watering sums involved.

Global AI investment is forecast to reach $2.7 trillion in 2026 and $3.6 trillion in 2027, according to technology insights company Gartner.

Caracas, October 22, 2026 (venezuelanalysis.com) – Students from the Venezuelan Experimental University of the Arts (UNEARTE) have staged multiple demonstrations in recent days to press for solutions to infrastructural and administrative issues.

Students from the UNEARTE branch in Maracay, Aragua State, blocked a major intersection on Tuesday to demand “dignified” studying conditions.

“We are staging a peaceful demonstration to demand improvements to our academic conditions,” student José Pérez told local reporters. “We do not have our own campus, and the facilities are inadequate for the artistic areas we are studying.”

Protesters held billboards and banners calling for a “dignified campus.” UNEARTE’s Maracay education programs function in different rented spaces, which students have complained are in deteriorating condition.

The Maracay demonstration followed a number of protests and sit-ins at UNEARTE’s main campus in Caracas. Students denounced that multiple university installations are shut down or in a state of disrepair. The Modest Bor center, which houses UNEARTE’s music program, has been partially closed for several years.

In addition, students decried that UNEARTE centers’ cafeterias have been shuttered for months, while many have additional grievances including inoperative bathrooms and software issues that  left many students unable to properly register for classes. 

In response to the protests, Venezuelan authorities vowed to address the concerns raised by students. UNEARTE Rector Ignacio Barreto approached students during a demonstration and promised that the registration process would start over.

The Ministry of Culture, which is responsible for UNEARTE alongside the Ministry of Higher Education, held an assembly with all university personnel and announced the creation of working groups with student representatives in several areas.

“This commission, apart from listening to the students and the authorities, should have a weekly plan that can be supervised,” Culture Minister Alejandro López told press. “Accountability before the students is key.”

López, Barreto and other officials were seen inspecting several university facilities last week. The minister pledged to address issues of running water, internet connectivity, and transportation in the near term.

UNEARTE was created by former President Hugo Chávez in 2008, bringing together several educational institutes dedicated to the arts with the aim of advancing a popular and anti-colonial pedagogical approach. It offers degrees in music, dance, film, theater, photography, and plastic arts.

The protests over UNEARTE’s disrepair and deficient conditions coincided with the Venezuelan government’s launch of the José Antonio Abreu Music University. Acting President Delcy Rodríguez headlined the inauguration ceremony earlier this month.

The new public university will have its state-of-the-art campus in the traditionally middle-class southwestern Caracas parish of El Paraíso, including three concert halls and a research center. It will also have 18 regional branches, with a maximum enrolment capacity of around 3,500 students.

Other Venezuelan universities have likewise seen student demonstrations in recent days. In the “Dr. Humberto Fernández-Morán” National Sciences University, students held a protest and an assembly on Monday over what they characterized as inadequate transportation.

The campus is located in Los Teques, some 25 kilometers outside Caracas, and was formally inaugurated in December 2024. Though the university promised to provide transportation, students have complained that the assigned buses are unreliable and have insufficient capacity.

Higher education trade unions have also been at the forefront of regular labor protests in recent months. Venezuelan working-class organizations have called for non-wage bonuses to be converted to salaries and for the restoration of collective bargaining agreements.

Edited by Lucas Koerner in Philadelphia, USA.

CLAYFACE

(18) 108mins

★★★★☆

YOU don’t need to be a DC Universe superfan to have heard of many of Batman’s nemeses.

The Joker, The Penguin and Catwoman have each been cultural references for decades.

But even the most ardent Detective Comics devotee may not have heard of Clayface, who first popped up in 1940 drawings.

In 1992, a two-part Batman TV series introduced Matt Hagen, a disfigured actor dependent on an experimental cream that restored his appearance — but this turned him into a shape-shifting monster.

Now, 34 years later, this brilliantly terrifying origin story shows us exactly why Clayface is who he is.

DULCIE PEARCE

Austin Abrams turned a tough gig into a compelling story with Whalefall

DULCIE PEARCE

One Night Only has huge plot holes & a flat ending that become a turn-off

Handsome actor Matt Hagen (Tom Rhys Harries) has risen from Gotham’s streets to become one of the world’s most sought-after stars.

We meet him at the height of his career — working non-stop, featured on the cover of every glossy magazine, and even nominated for an Oscar.

On top of that, he seems like a decent bloke who looks out for his mates and treats everyone with respect.

But soon, a sexy run-in at a nightclub leads to him having his face horrifically disfigured by a Gotham gangland boss, who puts out a smear campaign on his character.

With his career collapsing and his reputation in tatters, Matt turns to experimental scientist Dr Caitlyn Corr (Naomi Ackie), who is practising with various AI treatments to put right such disfigurements.

While she explains her research is in its early, undeveloped stages, Matt feels he has nothing to lose — and so they give it a try, naturally.

It restores said good looks, but it also begins to affect Matt other ways, giving him mind and face-altering abilities. Quite the combination for someone hell-bent on revenge for those who betrayed him.

This thrilling horror has experience at the helm, with Speak No Evil’s James Watkins directing and The Haunting Of Hill House’s Mike Flanagan writing the screenplay, along with Hossein Amini.

With a bevy of British talent playing Americans in the supporting cast — including Eddie Marsan as a dodgy lawyer and Max Minghella as a good cop trying his best in a corrupt city — this is a high-quality psychological thriller that often feels grittier than anything DC has done before.

Not to mention it’s also a superb introduction to a new DC character, who makes a great nemesis.

GHOSTS: THE POSSESSION OF BUTTON HOUSE

(PG) 97mins  

★★★★☆

IT’S three years since BBC sitcom Ghosts shut the dusty doors on Button House and its crazy residents after five series of the show, which originated with the comedy troupe that created Horrible Histories.

This film sees series director Simon Hynd bringing back the spirited company of characters including disgraced Tory MP Julian (Simon Farnaby), Edwardian matriarch Fanny (Martha Howe-Douglas) and World War Two captain James (Ben Willbond).

The gang bicker and reminisce about the former living residents, Alison (Charlotte Ritchie) and Mike (Kiell Smith-Bynoe), who they miss dreadfully. So bored are the friendly ghosts that they learned a takeaway menu that was pushed through the door.

But soon a new crew enters their home – kids who want to play Ouija.

This kicks off an outer-and-inner-body adventure for the ghosts, who seek out Alison and Mike to help them keep their abode.

There’s gentle thrills and some rubbish local-cop car chases. Watch for funny cameos from great British comedians and nods to coming-of-age shows like Stranger Things.

Fun for the whole family.

ALI G: WHO IZ I?

(15) 89mins

★★★☆☆

ON hearing that Ali G creator Sacha Baron Cohen was revisiting the character to make a film, I did a sharp intake of breath.

It feels like a dangerous climate for a white actor to play a character who claims to be black.

But the film addresses this early, with Slough-born Ali discussing cultural appropriation in the only way he can.

He reflects that many of his haters claimed he wasn’t black, and decides to head to America with his eight-months pregnant girlfriend, Julie (Morgana Robinson), to get back in the spotlight.

This brings together a fascinating, hilarious cast of characters who, like the successful original comedy show, are not in on the gag.

Having given them a good kicking in his Borat films, Baron Cohen again makes the endlessly ridiculous and terrifying right-wing Americans his targets, as well as the ultra-woke liberals.

And while I laughed out loud many times, some jokes felt tired. But the stunt at the end works brilliantly, and this formerly much-loved character just about gets away with it.

It’s in cinemas this weekend only.

Oct. 22, 2026 6:53 PM PT

WEDNESDAY’S RESULTS

City Section

Birmingham 46, Chatsworth 0

Brio College Prep 7, Alliance Levine 0

Cleveland 13, El Camino Real 0

Collins Family 19, Camino Nuevo 0

East Valley 27, SOCES 0

L.A. Hamilton 6, L.A. University 0

Narbonne 26, San Pedro 0

Orthopaedic 28, Annenberg 6

Smidt Tech 19, Animo De La Hoya 6

Westchester 25, WISH Academy 6

Wilmington Banning 13, King/Drew 12

THURSDAY’S RESULTS

City Section

Contreras 12, Bernstein 6

Elizabeth 6, Marquez 0

Foshay 7, Santee 0

Franklin 7, GALA 6

Huntington Park 7, Legacy 0

Jefferson 40, Angelou 0

L.A. University 13, Fairfax 6

L.A. Wilson 33, L.A. Marshall 6

RFK Community 41, Mendez 0

Sotomayor 26, Maywood CES 12

South Gate 18, South East 6

Venice 40, L.A. Hamilton 6

Westchester 28, Palisades 0

Trump advises the Republican gubernatorial candidate to keep running the controversial advertisement.

US President Donald Trump has backed Republican Vivek Ramaswamy amid controversy over an attack advertisement by the Ohio gubernatorial candidate against his Democratic rival.

Trump said in a social media post on Thursday that Ramaswamy should keep running the advertisement that features Democratic candidate Amy Acton’s estranged mother.

In the advertisement, Donna Arthur, Acton’s mother, disputes her daughter’s account of a childhood involving homelessness and ⁠⁠sexual abuse by her stepfather, urging Ohioans not to vote for her.

Acton says she has not seen her mother since 1978. Acton’s brother has supported her account of being sexually abused by her stepfather when she was a child. The stepfather, who died in 2004, was charged with rape.

“Anybody whose mother spoke about a daughter in that way would normally lead to the daughter being precluded from serving in office,” Trump said.

The US president also attacked Republican Ohio Governor Mike DeWine, who advised Ramaswamy to take down the advertisement, labelling him “disloyal” to the Republican party.

‘It’s wrong’

At a gathering with reporters at the Ohio Statehouse, DeWine recalled the painful experiences of rape victims he dealt with as a county prosecutor and state attorney general.

“It’s wrong to run this ad,” he said. “And, even at this late time – my wife, Fran, saw the advertisement just run this morning on TV – I would just urge the Ramaswamy campaign to take this down.”

Acton’s brother, Philip Stearns, called the advertisement ⁠⁠a “desperate, disgusting attack”, while Acton campaign spokesperson Addie Bullock called Ramaswamy’s decision to promote it “both despicable and entirely predictable”.

Vice President JD Vance, campaigning on Wednesday with Ramaswamy ⁠⁠and US Senator Jon Husted, an Ohio Republican, had brushed aside ⁠⁠the blowback.

Vance, a former senator from Ohio, expressed disgust with Republicans “whining” about the advertisement as low and in poor taste.

Ramaswamy’s campaign said it was spending $4m to promote the advertisement.

Opinion polls suggest Acton is narrowly leading Ramaswamy in a tight race to replace the term-limited DeWine.

The Mirror’s Pride of Britain Awards has become a huge event in the calendar with the country’s unsung heroes being honoured for their bravery

The 2026 Mirror Pride of Britain Awards ceremony is being screened on ITV tonight (Thursday, October 22) as the nation’s unsung heroes are recognised for their inspiring contributions to society and acts of bravery.

The awards were presented inside at London’s Grosvenor House Hotel on Monday infront of a star-studded line up including King Charles, England legend Jude Belllingham, presenter Davina McCall and comedian Alan Carr.

Hosted by Carol Vorderman and Ashley Banjo, viewers will witness plenty of emotion and surprises along with inspirational stories of bravery, achievement and selflessness as well as a special performance from boyband Blue.

And just minutes into the broadcast of the awards – which have been a firm fixture since their launch in 1999 – ITV viewers could not hold back their emotion as they shared how important they think the awards are.

READ MORE: Tears and triumph as Pride of Britain Awards honour our greatest quiet heroes

One said: “Get the hankies ready (two crying emojis).” A second posted: “It’s that time of the year again…spend all night crying.” A third shared: “#PrideOfBritain never fails to put life into perspective The reminder that real heroes walk among us.”

Another said: “Pride of Britain shows that while the world can be cruel, it also shows there are some truly brilliant human beings around. It never fails to put a smile on my face just knowing there are still plenty of good folk about.” A fifth commented: “The #PrideOfBritain Awards shows how Beautiful, British #Heroes really are.”

One viewer expressed: “#Prideofbritain. Restores your faith in humanity. There are still the most wonderful people out there. We should be praising them all (clapping emojis).”

This year’s awards include the Child of Courage accolade which was won by quick-thinking Zac Howells who was just 12 years old when his mum Nicola Crump suddenly passed out while driving them at 60mph on a dual carriageway.

The mum and son, from Ebbw Vale, Wales, were on their way to a Christmas market last December when Nicola fainted, remaining unconscious for around seven minutes.

With her foot pressed on the accelerator, Zac steered the car to safety, bumping it into the central reservation to slow it down, preventing a potentially devastating high speed crash. He then called 999 and gave their location. Nicola says: “It must have been really frightening for him but he knew he had to do something.”

The mum and son appeared on Good Morning Britain on Tuesday, hours after the ceremony, when host Susanna Reid listened in to the 999 call Zac made. She admitted: “I’m in tears listening to it, oh my goodness.”

**Ensure our latest Strictly stories always appear at the top of your Google Search by making us a Preferred Source. **Click here to activate** or add us as Preferred Source in your Google search settings**

Other recipients included Elaine Oakey (P&O Cruises Inspiration Award) who has spent more than a decade transforming the lives of young amputees through football. Elaine’s mission was inspired by her son Jamie, 23, who was born without a foot and missing the lower part of his right leg.

Elaine Roberts received the Special Recognition award. Her son Andrew took his own life ten years ago, aged just 23, and she and her son-in-law Luke Ambler set up a male suicide prevention charity that has saved thousands of lives.

Andrew Franks from Manchester was handed the Outstanding Bravery award after tackling a knife-wielding terrorist during an attack on his synagogue last year, buying vital time for the congregation to barricade themselves behind the doors.

The Pride of Britain Awards 2026 are available to watch on ITVX