Journey to Kenya: Sudan’s Jiu-jitsu Team Defies the Odds | Sudan war
In 2019, a Sudanese team of jiu-jitsu athletes set out on an extraordinary quest: to travel by land from Sudan to Kenya, despite having no funding and limited resources, to compete in the LionHeart Nairobi Open.
Together members of the Muqatel Training Center for martial arts travelled across three countries, carrying not just their hopes and dreams, but the spirit of a revolution that reshaped Sudan.
Journey to Kenya is a documentary short about resilience, unity and determination — a powerful reminder that dreams can transcend borders.
A film by Ibrahim “Snoopy” Ahmed, produced by In Deep Visions.
Published On 5 Nov 2025
UK’s biggest live action show reveals plans for new historical theme park
THE UK will be getting a brand new theme park in 2026 – but it won’t have your typical thrill rides.
Kynren – An Epic Tale of England, is the UK’s largest live action outdoor theatre production and next year it will launch Kynren – The Storied Lands, a new daytime historical theme park.
Set to open in summer 2026 in County Durham, the theme park will immerse visitors in multiple live shows and experiences that “span millennia”.
Phase One of Kynren – The Storied Lands will reveal The Lost Feather and four other live-action shows and immersive experiences, including Fina, a Medieval horse show, a viking show and a Victorian Adventure with characters from the past.
There will also be The Legend of the Wear which will transform a lake into a stage, where the Lambton Worm myth will be brought to life with water stunts and special effects.
In the future, the theme park will have even more shows, as well as educational content and themed experiences inspired by Robin Hood, Excalibur and the Tudors.
Read more on travel inspo
As a whole, the attractions will form the UK’s first live-action historical theme park.
Anna Warnecke, CEO of Kynren – The Storied Lands, said: “2026 is going to be an unforgettable year.
“Not only will our award-winning night show return, but we’ll also open Kynren – The Storied Lands a unique new experience that brings history, heritage and myth to life on a scale not seen anywhere else in the UK.”
The news follows the announcement that Kynren – An Epic Tale of England is set to return next summer, with tickets now on sale.
Located in Bishop Auckland, the show involves more than 1,000 cast and crew members and mass choreography, combat, horsemanship, stunts and fireworks – all on a seven-and-a-half acre stage.
The show takes spectators on a journey of 2,000 years of history from Boudicca’s rebellion to Viking invasions, Norman conquests, Tudor drama and even Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee.
The show lasts 90 minutes, beginning at sunset and ending when the stars are out.
It will run every Saturday evening between July 18 and September 12, 2026.
Tickets cost from £30 per adult and £20 per child.
Children under the age of three, are free.
If visitors book their tickets now, they will also unlock an ‘Insider Pass’, which gives them priority access for tickets to the new Kynren – The Storied Lands when it opens next summer.
Travel writer Catherine Lofthouse, who visited this year’s show, said: “If you’ve never heard of Kynren in Bishop Auckland, Durham, you’re not alone.
“Over an hour and a half, scenes that tell the tale of our homeland, history and heritage come to life across the 7.5-acre outdoor stage.
“The 1,000 professionally trained volunteers might be amateurs, but this incredible cast put on one of the best shows I’ve seen, one that really has to be seen to be believed.
“My boys aged 12 and 10 were absolutely enthralled by the evening’s entertainment from start to finish.
“The whole event is epic – from Viking ships rising from the water to the recreation of a magnificent stained glass window in the spray of a fountain.
“Battle scenes, stunts, celebrations, historic moments, lines from Shakespeare – it’s sometimes difficult to know where to look at there’s so much to take in from one moment to the next.
“It was such a high-quality performance, I’d say it rivaled a live Disney show too.”
In other theme park news, the UK’s best value theme park has been named.
Plus, the UK theme parks with the best Black Friday discounts – from extra park tickets to free waterpark entry.
Man finds beautiful abandoned chapel in UK but makes ‘sad’ discovery inside
An explorer recently came across an abandoned chapel in the UK, and was left stunned by what he found inside. Many people were left feeling “sad” after seeing the footage
Most people recognise that the UK offers all sorts of wonderful discoveries, but occasionally explorers stumble upon the most extraordinary abandoned buildings. Recently, an urban explorer uncovered a derelict Welsh chapel, and what he discovered inside left him breathless and utterly stunned.
The man, who goes by Escapade on TikTok, recently posted footage of the property online and viewers were left heartbroken by what they witnessed inside. Whilst the chapel remains utterly beautiful, something unexpected was discovered within the building, with many people quick to admit how “sad” they found it, despite it being a spectacular location to both visit and explore.
Escapade described it as a “hidden beauty”, though he didn’t reveal its exact whereabouts. It’s not the first occasion someone has recently discovered an abandoned site that tells a haunting tale either.
In the clip, you can observe plants and flowers consuming the structure and several windows have been smashed. He confessed it was so overgrown he could “barely get in the door.”
Yet, when he ventured inside, the building was virtually untouched. The pews stayed intact, and the main windows were mesmerising as daylight continued to stream through the coloured glass.
An organ also sat in a state of decay, providing only a glimpse of what the chapel resembled in its heyday. So much heritage appears to be preserved within its walls.
Despite appearing untouched for years, the building clearly holds significant historical value. Whilst mould now covers the walls, he described the site as a “hidden gem”, noting the considerable beauty that remains within the structure.
The footage has racked up thousands of views since being posted, with numerous people leaving comments. Many described the chapel as “beautiful.”
One person said: “It’s so sad that we have turned our backs on these places.” Another added: “So beautiful. Sad it’s been left.”
A third replied: “I’d love to renovate that to a home. It’s gorgeous.” Meanwhile, a fourth commented: “What a beautiful window, but so sad to see the church in this condition.”
Someone else also chimed in with: “I find it so incredibly sad when buildings end up this way.” One more added: “It’s beautiful and needs to be saved.”
Whilst there exists a community of urban explorers who investigate derelict buildings, this practice isn’t typically recommended. Properties in advanced states of decay can pose serious safety hazards, making exploration potentially dangerous.
Additionally, permission should normally be obtained before entering any building. Even abandoned properties remain under someone’s ownership.
Consequently, entering without authorisation may constitute unlawful trespassing. This is crucial to remember.
Two new train routes could be coming to the UK that will connect major cities
TRAIN travel can be very expensive in the UK, especially when you’re travelling halfway across the country.
But one train company that offers affordable tickets has applied to start two additional direct routes between major UK cities.
Lumo, which offers affordable journeys onboard its fleet of electric trains, has plans to add even more routes to its network.
FirstGroup, which owns Lumo, has revealed that it has submitted applications to begin new direct routes between Cardiff and York, and Rochdale and London Euston.
The Cardiff to York route would run via Birmingham, Derby, and Sheffield.
Meanwhile, the Rochdale to Euston route would stop at Manchester Victoria, Eccles, Newton-le-Willows, and Warrington Bank Quay.
The company hopes these routes will be operational by December 2028.
Lumo hopes to run return services between the cities to six times a day throughout the week from Cardiff to York.
It hopes that this journey would “replicate the success of the Edinburgh to London service” which Lumo started in 2021.
As for the Rochdale to London route, the application proposes three return services on weekdays and Sundays and four services every Saturday.
Lumo said this would provide residents of the north-west a “convenient and competitively priced” direct rail service to London.
The train company also applied to extend its new route between Scotland’s Stirling and London Euston.
The service between Stirling and London has been approved and will start to run from next year.
The new application has asked for it to be extended past May 2030 when the contract currently ends.
Lumo’s new route will link London Euston directly to Stirling, calling at Milton Keynes, Nuneaton, Crewe, Preston, Carlisle, Lockerbie, Motherwell, Whifflet (serving Coatbridge), Greenfaulds (serving Cumbernauld) and Larbert.
Lumo tries to keep its train fares affordable and aims for 60 per cent of its single fares to be under £30.
Onboard a Lumo train, there are no first class seat options. But wherever you sit, you’ll have USB sockets and tray tables.
Passengers can also personalise their lighting through the button on the back of the seat in front of them.
Additional amenities include free Wi-Fi, a winged headrest for comfort and a coat hanger.
Lumo will connect two more major cities from December 2025…
Customers travelling between London and Glasgow can do so on a new Lumo service which starts in December 2025.
Lumo announced its new service on social media. It said: “Our new timetable starts on 14th December 2025!
“Our new Glasgow service will start in December and we’re also adding an additional service from Newcastle to London King’s Cross every weekday.”
Lumo plans to run two northbound and one southbound service on weekdays and one service in each direction on Sundays between London King’s Cross and Glasgow.
The new route will go between the two cities but will also stop at Falkirk High and Newcastle.
If booked in advance for journeys in 2026, tickets start from as little as £33.90. Anyone travelling from Newcastle to Glasgow can buy tickets for just £10.90.
For more on trains, here is the way that passengers can travel on UK trains without buying tickets.
Plus, this is where you can find the most beautiful train journey – it takes 10 minutes and costs £3.
Married At First Sight viewers fume to Ofcom over ‘cruel’ treatment of groom
Ofcom has received more than 100 complaints from Married At First Sight viewers over the way groom Ashley was treated during his time on the hit E4 reality series
Ofcom has received more than 100 complaints from Married At First Sight fans over the way a groom was treated. Earlier in this series of the hit E4 reality show. viewers watched as midwife Grace ‘tied the knot’ with Ashley but she was visibly not very keen from the start.
The couple made it past the initial wedding stage of the experiment, but various issues kept cropping up as they tried to embark on their new relationship and it all ended after one final argument that took place at a dinner party.
She added: “I expect you to act like a grown man capable of self-control. Sponsored by Canesten Duo.” The pair have been notably absent at various points within the series, and in the end, Ashley removed his wedding band when he decided that ‘couldn’t do anymore‘ for her without her taking issue with it as she accused him of ‘twisting’ everything.
READ MORE: Married at First Sight UK’s Ashley issues statement after sparking romance rumoursREAD MORE: Married At First Sight UK’s Grace takes brutal swipe at Ashley as fans express concern
But viewers have taken issue with the way that experts Mel Schilling, Paul C Brunson and Charlene Douglas seemingly enabled Grace’s behaviour during her time on camera. A spokesperson for Ofcom confirmed: “Complaints related to the experts allegedly enabling Grace’s treatment of Ashley.” In total, the regulator received 166 complaints from angry viewers.
It comes just one day after Grace took to social media to hit out at her ex regarding their final argument. She said: “I expect you to accept no for an answer. I expect you to prioritise my discomfort over your desire for sex. I expect you to act like a grown man capable of self-control. Sponsored by Canesten Duo.”
Things went from bad to worse for the couple during Wife Swap week, when Ashley admitted that he was ‘happier’ when his bride was not around. On the verge of tears, he explained: “I’d hate to hurt Grace’s feelings. I just feel like I can’t give any more to this. So I have to be selfish and put myself first. Grace then admitted: “I would have really liked if this had worked out I think we recognise now there was never anyway it was going to (work). But yeah, you do know that deep down.”
When viewers first met Ashley and Grace, she refused to accept a kiss on the lips when they were pronounced as husband and wife. Things got even more heated between the pair at the dinner following the wedding, when Ashley admitted that he had been raised with ‘old-fashioned’ morals and believed that a man should be the breadwinner. Grace was visibly shocked at this revelation, and in a confessional, she fumed: “God, here we go!”
Later on, Grace’s friend Georgina interrogated Ashley over his outlook on life and when he suggested he was not necessarily a feminist, she raged that someone like that was not going to be a match for Grace.
She said: “My advice was, she wants to know you respect her.” She then relayed her concerns to Grace, but insisted she had managed to warm to Ashley by explaining to him just what she thought a feminist was. This whole scene did not go down well with some viewers either, with one writing: “Grace & her friends seem like the type to bring about their own misery,” and another slamming it as the ‘most insufferable conversation’ they had ever heard.
Viewers will have to wait to see just how things pan out between Ashley and Grace on the next episode, but the trailer for next week teased that things might not be looking so good.
In a short clip, Grace raged: “Every now and then he says something, and it’s like ‘Do you know how that sounds?!'”
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Proposition 50 is a short-term victory with a big downside
One of the great conceits of California is its place on the cutting edge — of fashion, culture, technology, politics and other facets of the ways we live and thrive.
Not so with Proposition 50.
The redistricting measure, which passed resoundingly Tuesday, doesn’t break any ground, chart a fresh course or shed any light on a better pathway forward.
It is, to use a favorite word of California’s governor, merely the latest iteration of what has come to define today’s politics of fractiousness and division.
In fact, the redistricting measure and the partisan passions it stirred offer a perfect reflection of where we stand as a splintered country: Democrats overwhelming supported it. Republicans were overwhelmingly opposed.
Nothing new or novel about that.
And if Proposition 50 plays out as intended, it could make things worse, heightening the country’s polarization and increasing the animosity in Washington that is rotting our government and politics from the inside out.
You’re welcome.
The argument in favor of Proposition 50 — and it’s a strong one — is that California was merely responding to the scheming and underhanded actions of a rogue chief executive who desperately needs to be checked and balanced.
The only apparent restraint on President Trump’s authoritarian impulse is whether he thinks he can get away with something, as congressional Republicans and a supine Supreme Court look the other way.
With GOP control of the House hanging by the merest of threads, Trump set out to boost his party’s prospects in the midterm election by browbeating Texas Republicans into redrawing the state’s congressional lines long before it was time. Trump’s hope next year is to gain as many as five of the state’s House seats.
Gov. Gavin Newson responded with Proposition 50, which scraps the work of a voter-created, nonpartisan redistricting commission and changes the political map to help Democrats flip five of California’s seats.
And with that the redistricting battle was joined, as states across the country looked to rejigger their congressional boundaries to benefit one party or the other.
The upshot is that even more politicians now have the luxury of picking their voters, instead of the other way around, and if that doesn’t bother you maybe you’re not all that big a fan of representative democracy or the will of the people.
Was it necessary for Newsom, eyes fixed on the White House, to escalate the red-versus-blue battle? Did California have to jump in and be a part of the political race to the bottom? We won’t know until November 2026.
History and Trump’s sagging approval ratings — especially regarding the economy — suggest that Democrats are well positioned to gain at least the handful of seats needed to take control of the House, even without resorting to the machinations of Proposition 50.
There is, of course, no guarantee.
Gerrymandering aside, a pending Supreme Court decision that could gut the Voting Rights Act might deliver Republicans well over a dozen seats, greatly increasing the odds of the GOP maintaining power.
What is certain is that Proposition 50 will in effect disenfranchise millions of California Republicans and Republican-leaning voters who already feel overlooked and irrelevant to the workings of their home state.
Too bad for them, you might say. But that feeling of neglect frays faith in our political system and can breed a kind of to-hell-with-it cynicism that makes electing and cheering on a “disruptor” like Trump seem like a reasonable and appealing response.
(And, yes, disenfranchisement is just as bad when it targets Democratic voters who’ve been nullified in Texas, North Carolina, Missouri and other GOP-run states.)
Worse, slanting political lines so that one party or the other is guaranteed victory only widens the gulf that has helped turn Washington’s into its current slough of dysfunction.
The lack of competition means the greatest fear many lawmakers have is not the prospect of losing to the other party in a general election but rather being snuffed out in a primary by a more ideological and extreme challenger.
That makes cooperation and cross-party compromise, an essential lubricant to the way Washington is supposed to work, all the more difficult to achieve.
Witness the government shutdown, now in its record 36th day. Then imagine a Congress seated in January 2027 with even more lawmakers guaranteed reelection and concerned mainly with appeasing their party’s activist base.
The animating impulse behind Proposition 50 is understandable.
Trump is running the most brazenly corrupt administration in modern history. He’s gone beyond transgressing political and presidential norms to openly trampling on the Constitution.
He’s made it plain he cares only about those who support him, which excludes the majority of Americans who did not wish to see Trump’s return to the White House.
As if anyone needed reminding, his (patently false) bleating about a “rigged” California election, issued just minutes after the polls opened Tuesday, showed how reckless, misguided and profoundly irresponsible the president is.
With the midterm election still nearly a year off — and the 2028 presidential contest eons away — many of those angry or despondent over the benighted state of our union desperately wanted to do something to push back.
Proposition 50, however, was a shortsighted solution.
Newsom and other proponents said the retaliatory ballot measure was a way of fighting fire with fire. But that smell in the air today isn’t victory.
It’s ashes.
Sweden: Alexander Isak named in Graham Potter’s first squad, Viktor Gyokeres out injured
Arsenal striker Viktor Gyokeres has not been named in Graham Potter’s first Sweden squad, but Liverpool’s Alexander Isak has been included.
Gyokeres is set to have further tests this week amid fears he sustained a hamstring injury during the Gunners’ Premier League win at Burnley on Saturday.
The 27-year-old missed Arsenal’s Champions League win against Slavia Prague on Tuesday.
Isak, who has not played for the Reds since 22 October because of a groin problem, has been selected for the World Cup qualifiers against Switzerland (15 November) and Slovenia (18 November).
Tottenham midfielder Lucas Bergvall, who is recovering from concussion, and Newcastle winger Anthony Elanga are among the England-based players named by former Brighton, Chelsea and West Ham boss Potter.
Fire at retirement home in Bosnia-Herzegovina kills 11, injures 30
Nov. 5 (UPI) — At least 11 people were killed and 30 injured in a blaze at a high-rise retirement home in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Authorities said the fire broke out Tuesday evening at about 8.45 p.m. (2 p.m. EST) on the seventh floor of the facility in Tuzla, the country’s fourth largest city 70 miles northeast of the capital, Sarajevo.
Police said firefighters, police officers, medics, residents and staff at the home were among 20 people taken to the hospital.
Several people received treatment for carbon monoxide poisoning, with three in intensive care, said a spokesman for Tuzla University clinical center.
Images circulating online show the top floor of the building engulfed in flames.
Nermin Niksic, prime minister of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina under the country’s bipartite system of government, called the blaze “a disaster of enormous proportions.”
Tuzla is located in FBiH, one of two administrative entities portioning the country between Bosnian Muslims and Catholic Croats in the north and Bosnian-Serbs in central and southern areas born out of the 1995 U.S.-brokered Dayton accords that ended the Bosnian War.
The prime minister of the Srpska entity, Savo Minic, head of the country’s Serb region, said Tuesday night that his government stood ready to assist Tuzla in any way it could following the retirement home fire.
“The Government of the Republic of Srpska stands ready to assist the citizens of Tuzla with any kind of help following tonight’s tragedy. We feel the pain and are always ready to help. Our most sincere condolences to the families,” he said in a post on X.
Authorities said an investigation into the cause of the blaze was underway.
Dick Cheney and the sanitising of a war criminal | Opinions
And so another member of the old “war on terror” team has left the world. Dick Cheney, who served as the most powerful vice president in the history of the United States during the two-term administration of George W Bush (2001-2009), died on Monday at the age of 84.
According to a memorial statement issued by his family, Cheney was “a great and good man who taught his children and grandchildren to love our country, and to live lives of courage, honor, love, kindness, and fly fishing”.
And yet many inhabitants of the Earth will remember the late VP for rather less warm and fuzzy things than love and fly fishing. As the chief architect of the “global war on terror” – which was launched in 2001 and enabled the US to terrorise various locations worldwide under the guise of fighting “terrorists” – Cheney died with untold quantities of blood on his hands, particularly in Iraq.
In the run-up to the US invasion of Iraq in 2003, Cheney swore that the “Iraqi regime” had been “very busy enhancing its capabilities in the field of chemical and biological agents” and that the country had continued “to pursue the nuclear programme they began so many years ago”. Per the vice president’s hallucinations, this pursuit of weaponry was “for the purpose of inflicting death on a massive scale”.
As Foreign Policy magazine charmingly noted in its 2012 compilation of the “Top 100 Global Thinkers”, which included Cheney as well as numerous other characters with objectively dubious credentials in terms of thinking: “If scaring us silly were a religion, Dick Cheney would be its high priest.”
But Cheney’s fearmongering – and repeated lies concerning Iraq’s alleged weapons of mass destruction – worked like a charm in paving the way for the infliction of “death on a massive scale” in the country. It also paved the way for the lining of certain pockets, such as those associated with the US oil and engineering firm Halliburton, where Cheney himself served as CEO from 1995 until 2000 and which just happened to win $7bn in no-bid contracts in post-invasion Iraq.
Anyway, it was business as usual in the land of conflicts of interest and revolving doors.
Until his dying day, Cheney espoused a no-regrets approach to the illegal perpetration of mass slaughter and attendant suffering, telling CNN 12 years after the effective pulverisation of Iraq: “It was the right thing to do then. I believed it then, and I believe it now.” Never mind the hundreds of thousands of Iraqi deaths, the forcible displacement of millions, and the dousing of the country in toxic and radioactive munitions that will continue to impact Iraqi health basically for eternity.
Escalating cancer rates among the population have been attributed in part to the US military’s use of depleted uranium weapons, the traces of which “represent a formidable long-term environmental hazard as they will remain radioactive for more than 4.5 billion years”, as Al Jazeera has observed.
But, hey, I hear the fly fishing is great in Baghdad.
And the Iraq war is hardly Cheney’s only nonregret. In response to the 2014 CIA torture report on the US use of “enhanced interrogation techniques” such as rectal rehydration and waterboarding to extract information, Cheney stuck by his guns: “I would do it again in a minute.”
Nor is the “war on terror” the sole defining sadistic episode in the legacy of a man who was a fixture on the American political scene for decades. In December 1989, for example, the US military unleashed hell on the impoverished neighbourhood of El Chorrillo in Panama City, Panama, killing potentially several thousand civilians and earning El Chorrillo the nickname “Little Hiroshima”.
The US defence secretary presiding over the operation was none other than Cheney, this time under the leadership of George HW Bush, whose administration was eager to cure the American public of its post-Vietnam War aversion to military combat abroad with an excessive display of high-tech firepower and an easy “victory”. After the bout of devastation, during which many of El Chorrillo’s wooden shacks went up in flames along with their inhabitants, Cheney boasted that the deadly spectacle had “been the most surgical military operation of its size ever conducted”.
The “surgical” stunt in Panama was a test run for Operation Desert Storm against Iraq in 1991, which was also overseen by Cheney in his own sort of test run for the future infliction of mass death in the country.
Now Cheney is no more, joining his former comrades in war crimes Donald Rumsfeld and Colin Powell in the great beyond. In the wake of his demise, US news agencies and media outlets have restricted themselves to memorialising him as a “polarising” and “controversial” figure who, as The Associated Press diplomatically put it, “was proved wrong on point after point in the Iraq War, without losing the conviction he was essentially right”.
As usual, the corporate media can never bring themselves to call a spade a spade – or a war criminal a war criminal. But against the current backdrop of Israel’s US-backed genocide in the Gaza Strip and other global calamities, the loss of another mass murderer can hardly be considered bad news.
The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera’s editorial policy.
New financial crisis that is not your fault but will ruin you on way
EXPERTS have warned that a new financial crisis which you did nothing to contribute to but will f**k you right up is coming, so bad luck.
The predicted crash due to Trump’s policies and overinvestment in AI – both of which you vocally opposed but it isn’t up to you, is it? – means that from next year you cannot afford to run a car.
Market analyst Anthony, not his real name, said: “Oh dear. Hard times ahead because of this AI bubble. What do you mean it’s nothing to do with you? It’s your money we invested.
“The good news is we in the City made a great deal out of it, commission and suchlike, so we’re protected from its worst effects. The bad news is that you won’t be. Redundancies are expected. Belt-tightening, all that. Hope you’ve set three years of salary aside!
“You haven’t? You’re still reeling from the credit crunch? Yes well you should have known better than to allow your pension fund to go large on subprime investments. Actions have consequences. We take the actions, you suffer the consequences.”
Martin, not his real name, of Macquery, a gay Scottish Bank said: “I know capitalism’s good because iPhones, but we seem locked into a boom-and-bust cycle where the boom happens to others and the bust happens to me.
“You do know I’m still shopping at Aldi? That I never made the step back up to Tesco? Is anybody interested in that? Hello?”
Banish travel sickness in seconds with 1 ‘life-saving’ common cold remedy
Travelling by car can make some people feel queasy, but one woman has uncovered a simple trick that might make your sickness vanish – and it involves one simple cold remedy
Travel sickness can make life incredibly difficult for those who struggle with it. It makes using public transport a chore as you have to make sure you’re not going to be sick on an unsuspecting stranger on the train, and even travelling by car can be a nightmare, as many people who suffer can’t drive themselves.
There are many products on the market that claim to tackle travel sickness, such as patches and tablets, but these may not work for everyone, and aren’t always accessible if you suddenly feel motion sick and need effective relief. One woman, however, has claimed that one product most of us have in our medicine cabinets is “life-saving” for travel sickness sufferers.
In a video on Instagram, Kiki Rough explained that she was recently “fighting for her life” while trying not to be sick in the back of a taxi that was taking her to the airport.
She told the taxi driver that if she was sick in the car she would pay for the car to be cleaned and would give the driver a hefty tip for having to deal with the unpleasant situation – but the driver did something unexpected.
Instead of getting angry that Kiki was at risk of vomiting, the driver reached into her pocket and pulled out some Vicks VapoRub, which she handed to Kiki and told her to “put it under her nose”.
Kiki explained: “When I tell you, three decades of my life where I have fought to not throw up on every long-form car trip just disappeared. My nausea? Out the window.”
The kindness of the taxi driver didn’t stop there, as she also pulled out a small, empty container and scooped some of the VapoRub into it, handing it to Kiki for the rest of her journey, along with the sweet message: “Don’t get sick on your flight.”
Commenters on the video were blown away by the trick. Many said it would be “life-saving” for their upcoming trips if the smell of the Vicks product could keep them from feeling sick.
One person said: “I’m actually excited to try a long car ride now. Thank you for sharing this!”
Another added: “This is LIFE SAVING.”
A third wrote: “Did you just change my life with this?”
It’s believed that Vicks VapoRub works because the menthol scent blocks any strong smells that might be exacerbating your illness.
Getting fresh air and breathing in clean smells are proven ways to alleviate motion sickness, and the smell of Vicks could contribute to that.
Advice for dealing with motion sickness
Vicks is not designed to cure motion sickness, and the trick may not work for everyone, but there are other things you can try. According to the NHS, you can try these steps to ease the sickness yourself:
- Reduce motion by sitting in the front seat of a car or the middle of a boat
- Look straight ahead at a fixed point, such as the horizon
- Breathe fresh air if possible – for example, by opening a car window
- Close your eyes and breathe slowly while focusing on your breathing
- Break up long journeys to get some fresh air, drink water or take a walk
- Try ginger to settle the stomach, either as a tablet, in a biscuit, or in tea
The NHS also recommends that you do not do the following:
- Do not read, watch films or use electronic devices
- Do not look at moving objects, such as passing cars or rolling waves
- Do not eat heavy meals, spicy foods, or drink alcohol shortly before or during travel
- Do not go on fairground rides if they make you feel unwell
UK seaside resort’s only Christmas market is AXED after just a year
A UK SEASIDE resort’s only Christmas market has been axed after just one year.
No one has come forward to run the event after the organisers decided to “take a break” this year.
Business owners Anne-Marie Chebib, Becky Stevens and Lisa Norman brought the first Winter Fayre to Brighton’s Valley Gardens last year.
However, they have now decided to take a break from running the event after only one year.
The website Brightonwinter states: “The team have decided to take a break from the Brighton Winter Fayre this year.
“We’re so grateful for all the support the event has had, and we hope to bring it back in the future.”
Brighton and Hove City Council has confirmed no one suitable has come forward to take on a similar event in time for Christmas reports The Argus.
The popular Winter Fayre included food and drink stalls as well as a Santa’s grotto, plus children’s workshops and carol singers.
There were also winter night events for adults and live music which were deemed popular.
But, last year’s event was hit with a series of unfortunate events when it was forced to close due to the arrival of Storm Darragh.
Sadly, on opening day, the fair had to be evacuated due to high winds and a tent poll collapsing in a marquee.
Luckily it was reported that no-one was badly injured due to the incident and the team were quick to respond and make sure the marquee was cleared.
However, the fair’s final weekend also had to be cancelled due to more bad weather.
The Winter Fayre came after Brighton was left without a Christmas market back in 2023 when it was run under different organisers.
E3 Events who organised the 2022 event was forced to end their deal earlier due to Covid, rising costs and supply chain problems.
Brighton and Hove City Council then faced a race against time to find a commercial partner able to chip in around £70,000.
Sadly, they were unable to find anyone in 2023 and the fair didn’t go ahead then either.
Speaking of this year’s event, Councillor Birgit Miller, cabinet member for culture, heritage and tourism at Brighton and Hove City Council, said: “As always there will be plenty of festive events taking place across the city but, unfortunately, following the decision by the private operators of the Brighton Winter Fayre to take a break this year, there is unlikely to be a market-style event.
“This was a privately venture, not a council event, and the reality is nobody suitable has come forward offering to run a similar event in its place.”
Victorian seaside train station unveils £3.6m makeover – and it’s right next to top UK attraction
A SEASIDE train station dating back nearly 180 years has been returned to its former glory.
The train station in North Yorkshire has undergone a massive £3.6 million restoration project – and it’s just minutes away from the traditional seaside towns of Scarborough and Bridlington.
Sitting on the North Yorkshire coast, the town has been one of the most popular seaside destinations in England for decades.
In the 60s and 70s, it welcomed thousands of tourists every year to Billy Butlin’s campsite, one of the earliest holiday camps in the UK.
Nestled between Scarborough and Bridlington, in its heyday Filey pulled in more than 150,000 guests every year.
Holidaymakers at the hugely popular resort enjoyed swimming, sunbathing, dancing and amusement arcades.
In the evening, if they hadn’t retired to their chalets, they were treated to entertainment from the famous Red Coats.
The Butlin’s campsite was so popular that it had its own branch and station on the north east railway.
Despite its popularity, it was no match for the boom in affordable trips to the Spanish Costas in the 1970s.
It was shut in 1983 and by 2001 it resembled a ghost town with the shells of abandoned cabins and drained swimming pools filled with rubbish.
While the once-thriving Butlin’s resort has now been transformed into a £25 million coastal holiday village with pools, saunas, an arcade, and spa, there are still signs of nostalgia in the town for the casual visitor – none more so than at the recently revamped train station.
Main features such as the lantern roof at the station have been reinstated to what they would have looked like when it first opened in 1846.
This includes extensive glazing and tile work and adding safe walkways for easier maintenance.
The huge restoration project, which was backed by the Railway Heritage Trust, also includes improvements to the café, toilets, drainage, and in the train shed – including two ornate cast iron windows.
Network Rail has worked with partners on the refurbishment of the Grade II-listed building.
Jake Walton, Network Rail senior asset engineer, said: “Seaside stations like Filey hold a special place in the hearts of people from much further afield than their towns – being closely linked to generations of memories of days out.
“We’re delighted to have completed a wide-ranging suite of improvements here at Filey which protect the building as a piece of railway heritage while making the station fit for modern passenger use, and for generations to come.”
David Skaith, Mayor of York and North Yorkshire, said it was “great to see a building with such heritage be looked after to make sure that families and friends can come together on our beautiful coastline for another 180 years”.
The Railway Heritage Trust backed the project with contributions totalling £53,000 for restoration of the train shed windows and roofs of the ancillary buildings.
Tim Hedley-Jones, Railway Heritage Trust executive director, said the station, built by renowned North-Eastern railway architect GT Andrews, “is still fulfilling the role for which it was built”.
He added: “It retains its original character as a railway station from the first half of the 19th century.”
Brooklyn Beckham’s wife Nicola Peltz returns to social media but doesn’t mention David’s knighthood as feud rumbles on
NICOLA Peltz has snubbed her father-in-law David Beckham’s knighthood as the family feud rumbles on.
The actress returned to social media on Tuesday to share a picture of a bunch of flowers from her sister but failed to make mention of David’s honour.
Alongside the picture, she gushed: “Omg @brittanyleahpeltz thank you so so so much these are breathtaking.”
David received his knighthood from King Charles at Windsor Castle for services to sport and charity and were joined by his family for the special occasion.
His wife Victoria Beckham and parents Ted and Sandra watched on as the King bestowed the honour on him with a gentle touch of a sword on either shoulder.
His children Romeo, Cruz and Harper were also involved in celebrating the big day with their beloved dad.
READ MORE ON THE BECKHAMS
However, eldest son Brooklyn and his wife Nicola were noticeably absent from the big day and much like his other half, Brooklyn has failed to make any mention of it on social media.
Romeo and Cruz both took to Instagram to share sweet tributes to their dad but their big brother has stayed silent.
Romeo shared an adorable picture with his parents and siblings as he penned: “No one deserves this more than you, love you so much xxx. Congrats Sir dad @davidbeckham.”
While Cruz shared the moment David received his knighthood on his stories as well as sharing David’s post.
Brooklyn and Nicola’s snub comes after he is believed to have “quit” the famous family this year following rising tension.
The Beckham family feud is understood to have actually started four years ago, when Nicola refused to wear a wedding dress designed by Victoria.
Tensions then became public when Brooklyn did not publicly acknowledge fashion designer Victoria on Mother’s Day.
He then failed to show up at any of David’s 50th birthday celebrations earlier this year.
The couple reside in their mansion in Los Angeles and appear to be very close to Nicola’s side of the family.
They tied the knot in 2022 and renewed their wedding vows earlier this year, with the ceremony being officiated by her father Nelson.
Only her family were present for the big day, with the Beckhams not being involved.
Despite the ongoing tensions, David put his best foot forward to receive the biggest honour of his career and become Sir David Beckham.
It marks the end of an agonising wait for the charity ambassador, who was first put forward for a knighthood in 2011.
He took to Instagram to pen his feelings as he wrote: “I can’t even begin to describe what a special day it is for me today, a boy born in East London, to receive a Knighthood from His Majesty The King.
“I am truly humbled and so grateful for this honour.
“All I have ever wanted to do is to make my family proud.” the star gushed.
Becks then added a sweet message to his four kids as he wrote: “To my beautiful children who I am so proud of and I know this is a proud and inspiring day for them as well, they are our greatest joy in life and my inspiration every single day. I love you all so much…”
Share a tip on an a winter UK rural break | Travel
Long winter hikes, cottages with roaring fires, lazy lunches in a cosy pub … the days might be shorter but that doesn’t need to dampen the holiday fun. We’d love to hear about your favourite places in the UK for a winter rural break. Perhaps it was a cabin stay in the Lakes, a west country hotel with walks on the doorstep, an off-season seaside weekend or a hiking holiday in Wales that’s great at this time of year.
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Passage of Prop. 50 brightens Newsom’s national prospects
California voters delivered a major victory for Democrats nationwide Tuesday — and possibly for Gov. Gavin Newsom’s political ambitions — by passing a redistricting plan that could help the party seize as many as five congressional seats in the 2026 midterm elections.
The ballot measure was seen as a searing denunciation of President Trump and his administration’s policies, which have included divisive immigration raids, steep tariffs, cuts to healthcare and a military occupation of Los Angeles.
Proposition 50 was launched at warp speed in August in an attempt to counter President Trump’s successful attempt to pressure Republican-led states, most notably Texas, to gerrymander their own states to keep Democrats from gaining control of the U.S. House of Representatives after the 2026 midterm elections. If Democrats gain power they could imperil his agenda and launch investigations into his administration.
“After poking the bear, this bear roared,” Newsom said Tuesday night shortly after the polls closed and the Associated Press determined Proposition 50 had passed.
Newsom said he was proud of California for standing up to Trump and called on other states with Democrat-controlled legislatures to pass their own redistricting plans.
“I hope it’s dawning on people, the sobriety of this moment,” he said.
The president, meanwhile, in a post Tuesday morning on his social media site called the vote “A GIANT SCAM” and “RIGGED” and said it is “under very serious legal and criminal review. STAY TUNED!” The White House did not explain what he meant by “serious legal and criminal review.” After the polls closed, Trump again posted, writing enigmatically: “…AND SO IT BEGINS.”
Newsom early Tuesday dismissed Trump’s threats as “the ramblings of an old man that knows he’s about to LOSE.”
Proposition 50 will change how California determines the boundaries of congressional districts. The measure asked voters to approve new congressional district lines designed to favor Democrats for the 2026, 2028 and 2030 elections, overriding the map drawn by the state’s nonpartisan, independent redistricting commission.
The measure, placed by the ballot by the Democratic-led state Legislature and pushed by Newsom, reconfigured the state’s congressional districts in favor of Democrats, shifting five more House districts into competitive or easily winnable territory for Democrats. California has 43 Democrats and nine Republicans in the House; now the number of GOP members could be cut in half.
While Newsom and Democratic partisans framed the passage of Proposition 50 — which they had dubbed the Election Rigging Response Act — as a major blow against Trump’s iron grip on the federal government, it is far from guaranteed to flip the balance of power in the U.S. House, where Republicans hold a slim majority.
For one, spurred on by Trump, Republican-led states are busy pursuing their own redistricting plans. Several Republican-controlled states including North Carolina, Ohio and Missouri are moving ahead.
What’s more, California voters in the fall of 2026 would then have to be convinced to choose Democratic challengers over incumbent Republicans in those newly crafted districts — and many current GOP members of Congress have said they don’t plan to go quietly.
“Here’s something Newsom and his cronies don’t know: It won’t work,” said Congressman Darrell Issa, a San Diego-area Republican whose seat was targeted by the newly redrawn maps. “The worst gerrymander in history has a fatal flaw. Voters get to pick their representatives. Not the other way around. I’m not going anywhere.”
Congressman Doug LaMalfa whose Northern California district was carved up and diluted with left-leaning coastal voters, said he was “standing in the fight. They’re not going to kidnap my district here without a battle.”
What is sure, however, is that Proposition 50 is a big win for Newsom, who has propelled his fight with Trump onto the national political stage as one of the loudest voices standing against the new administration.
Campaigning for Proposition 50, Newsom mocked Trump on the social media site X with sarcastic, Trumpesque all-caps media posts. The governor won viral fame, guest spots on late-night shows and millions of dollars from Democratic donors around the country delighted to see someone jousting with the president. In recent days, Newsom has begun talking openly about a possible run for president in 2028, after telling CBS last month that he would be lying if he tried to pretend he wasn’t considering it.
The new congressional districts also are expected to set off a mad scramble among ambitious Democratic politicians.
Already, Audrey Denney, a strategist and education director, has announced she will once again mount a campaign against LaMalfa, who represents an area that has been split into two districts saturated with Democratic voters. Former state Sen. Richard Pan, meanwhile, has indicated he intends to target Congressman Kevin Kiley, who saw his hometown of Rocklin yanked out of his district and replaced with parts of more-Democratic Sacramento.
One of the biggest effects of the measure may be the way it has enraged many of the state’s rural voters, and left even those who are registered Democrats feeling as though state leaders don’t care about their needs.
“They think our voices are so small that we don’t count, and because we’re red,” fumed Monica Rossman, the chairwoman of the Glenn County Board of Supervisors in rural Northern California. “This is just one more way of them squeezing us rural people.”
Rossman described Newsom in obscene terms this week and added that “people from urban areas, they don’t realize that us people from One-Taco-Bell-Towns don’t know what it’s like to drive by a dealership and see nothing but battery-operated vehicles. By traffic, we mean Ted’s cows are out again and we have to wait for them to get out of the way. We’re going to have people making decisions about areas they know nothing about.”
But as they headed to polling places across the state, many voters said the Trump administration’s actions in California — from funding cuts to the prolonged immigration raids —convinced them that radical measures were necessary.
Adee Renteria, who came to vote at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in East Los Angeles decked out from head to toe in celebratory Dodgers gear, said she was voting yes on Proposition 50 because “I want a fricking voice.”
“I want our people to be able to walk the streets without getting kidnapped,” she said, adding that she believed the measure would allow Democrats a chance at fighting back against policies that she said had sown terror in her community.
In Buena Park, Guarav Jain, 33, said he had braved long lines to cast his ballot “to prove that we can fight back on the crazy things Trump says.”
“This is the first chance to make our voice heard since the [presidential] election last November,” he added.
The path to Proposition 50, which ranks as the fourth most expensive ballot measure in California history, began in June. That was when Trump’s political team began pushing Texas Republicans to redraw the lines for that state’s 38 congressional districts to gain five Republican seats and give his party a better shot at holding the House after the midterm elections.
When Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed on to the idea, Newsom jumped in to announce that California, which has 52 representatives, would counter by redrawing its own districts to try to pick up as many as five seats for Democrats.
“We’re giving the American people a fair chance,” Newsom said in August, adding that California was “responding to what occurred in Texas.”
The move outraged California Republicans and also angered some people, such as former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who are no fans of Trump. Some opponents argued that it was an affront to an independent congressional redistricting commission that California voters created in 2010 with the passage of Proposition 20 — an effort to provide fair representation to all Californians.
“They are trying to fight for democracy by getting rid of the democratic principles of California.… It is insane to let that happen,” Schwarzenegger said at an event at USC in September. “Doesn’t make any sense to me — that because we have to fight Trump, to become Trump.”
But Schwarzenegger didn’t do much to actively campaign against the measure and the No side was far outgunned financially. Proponents raised more than $100 million, according to campaign finance reports, while the No side raised about $43.7 million.
A star-studded cast of Democratic leaders also flooded the airwaves to support the measure, including Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren. President Obama spoke on the issue in ads that aired during the World Series. “Democracy is on the ballot Nov. 4,” the former president said.
The new congressional district maps are only temporary. They will be in place for elections next year and in 2028 and 2030. After that, California’s independent redistricting commission will resume its duties in drawing the maps.
What may be longer lasting, some rural representatives said, is a sense among many in California’s heartland that their voices don’t count.
LaMalfa, the congressman who saw his deep red district divided into two blue urban areas, said many of his constituents — who work in farming, timber and ranching — believe many state policies are “stacked against them and they have nowhere to go.”
“What they do have is a voice that understands their plight and is willing to speak for them. I am one of the people who does that,” he said. “You don’t have that anymore if you have taken all those folks and just drawn them into urban voters districts.”
Times staff writers Sonja Sharp, Katie King and Katerina Portela contributed to this report.
This week’s top high school football games
A look at two of this week’s top high school football playoff games in the Southland:
FRIDAY
Leuzinger (8-1) at Crean Lutheran (10-0), 7 p.m.
Leuzinger, the Bay League champions, has a top offensive line and an aggressive, hard-hitting defense that will try to contain Crean Lutheran’s athletic quarterback, Caden Jones, who has 29 touchdown passes. This Division 2 opener is part of a division loaded with tough first-round matchups. The pick: Leuzinger.
Laguna Beach (9-1) at Sherman Oaks Notre Dame (5-5), 7 p.m.
Can Laguna Beach deal with Notre Dame’s huge offensive line? That’s the big question in this Division 3 playoff opener. Versatile quarterback Wyatt Brown has run for 19 touchdowns. If the Knights can throw around their weight, things will look good. Laguna Beach has talented junior quarterback Jack Hurst, who has 41 touchdown passes. The pick: Notre Dame.
New York City just elected Zohran Mamdani. What now? | Start Here | Explainer
Zohran Mamdani has won the election to be the next mayor of New York City, knocking out political heavyweight Andrew Cuomo. In less than a year, Mamdani has gone from being a little-known state assemblyman to becoming one of the most high-profile politicians in the United States.
How did he do it, and what could happen now? Start Here with Sandra Gathmann explains.
This episode features:
Joseph Stepansky | US reporter, Al Jazeera Digital
Christina Greer | associate professor of political science at Fordham University and cohost of the FAQ NYC podcast
Andres Bernal | lecturer at the School of Labor and Urban Studies of the City University of New York
Published On 5 Nov 2025
‘Nothing revolutionary’ about Russia’s nuclear-powered missile: Experts | Russia-Ukraine war News
Kyiv, Ukraine – The collective West is scared of Moscow’s new, nuclear-powered cruise missile because it can reach anywhere on Earth, bypassing the most sophisticated air and missile defence systems, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has claimed.
“They’re afraid of what we’ll show to them next,” Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told the RIA Novosti news agency on Sunday.
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Days earlier, she said Moscow was “forced” to develop and test the cruise missile, which is named the Burevestnik, meaning storm petrel – a type of seabird, in response to NATO’s hostility towards Russia.
“The development can be characterised as forced and takes place to maintain strategic balance,” she was quoted by the Itar-Tass news agency as saying. Russia “has to respond to NATO’s increasingly destabilising actions in the field of missile defence”.
With much pomp, Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday handed state awards to Burevestnik’s developers.
Also awarded were the designers of Poseidon, an underwater nuclear-powered torpedo which Putin has also claimed has been successfully tested.
Russia says Poseidon can carry nuclear weapons that cause radioactive tsunamis, wiping out huge coastal areas. The “super torpedo” can move at the speed of 200km/h (120mph) and zigzag its way to avoid interception, it says.
“In terms of flight range, the Burevestnik … has surpassed all known missile systems in the world,” Putin said in his speech at the Kremlin. “Same as any other nuclear power, Russia is developing its nuclear potential, its strategic potential … What we are talking about now is the work announced a long time ago.”
But military and nuclear experts are sceptical about the efficiency and lethality of the new weapons.
It is not unusual for Russia to flaunt its arsenal as its onslaught in Ukraine continues. Analysts say rather than scaring its critics, Moscow’s announcements are merely a scare tactic to dissuade Western powers from supporting Kyiv.
“There’s nothing revolutionary about,” the Burevestnik, said Pavel Podvig, director of the Russian Nuclear Forces Project at the the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research.
“It can fly long and far, and there’s some novelty about it, but there’s nothing to back [Putin’s claim] that it can absolutely change everything,” Podvig told Al Jazeera. “One can’t say that it is invincible and can triumph over everything.”
The Burevestnik’s test is part of Moscow’s media stratagem of intimidating the West when the real situation on the front lines in Ukraine is desperate, according to a former Russian diplomat.
The missile is “not a technical breakthrough but a product of propaganda and desperation”, Boris Bondarev, who quit his Russian Foreign Ministry job to protest against the 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine, wrote in an opinion piece published by the Moscow Times.
“It symbolises not strength but weakness – the Kremlin’s lack of any tools of political influence other than threats.”
Few details about ‘unique’ missile
The problem is that officials have so far unveiled very little about the Burevestnik, which NATO has dubbed the SSC-X-9 Skyfall – a missile that has a nuclear reactor allegedly capable of keeping it in the air indefinitely.
On October 26, when fatigues-clad Putin announced Burevestnik’s successful test, he was accompanied by his top general Valery Gerasimov.
“This is a unique item; no one else in the world has it,” said Putin, in televised remarks.
Gerasimov said the Burevestnik had flown 14,000km (8,700 miles) in 15 hours during a recent test. It can manoeuvre and loiter midair, and unleash its nuclear load with “guaranteed precision” and at “any distance”.
“There’s a lot of work ahead” before the missile is mass-produced, Putin concluded, adding the test’s “key objectives have been achieved”.
A Ukrainian military expert ridiculed the Kremlin’s claims.
“Much of the news report is fake, the (Burevestnik) missile is subsonic, it can be detected and destroyed by missile defence systems,” Lieutenant General Ihor Romanenko, former deputy head of Ukraine’s general staff of armed forces who specialised in air and missile defence, told Al Jazeera.
As for the Poseidon nuclear drone, it is too destructive – and can be used only as a second-strike, retaliatory weapon after the start of a nuclear war, experts warned. As with the Burevestnik, the lack of detailed information about Poseidon casts doubt upon the Kremlin’s claims.
Trump decries ‘inappropriate’ tests
The announcements followed Washington’s scrapping of United States President Donald Trump’s summit with Putin in Budapest, Hungary.
Trump has called the Burevestnik’s test “inappropriate” and ordered the Pentagon to resume the testing of nuclear weapons and missiles.
But ahead of next year’s midterm elections, he may seek to show how he forced the Kremlin to stop hostilities in Ukraine.
“Trump will have to play with pressure on Russia,” Romanenko said. “Hopefully, the circumstances will force Trump to act.”
What Putin has not mentioned is that only two of the Burevestnik’s dozen tests, starting in 2019, have been successful.
Its 2019 launch near the White Sea in northwestern Russia killed at least five nuclear experts after a radioactive explosion, Western experts said at the time. Russia’s state nuclear agency acknowledged the deaths, but officials and media reports do not provide video footage, detailed photos or other specifics of the Burevestnik and its testing route – making Putin’s latest claims hard to corroborate or disprove.
Western experts were able to identify the Burevestnik’s probable deployment site in September. Known as Vologda-20 or Chebsara, it is believed to be 475km (295 miles) north of Moscow and has nine launch pads under construction, the Reuters news agency reported last year.
The missile’s capabilities have divided military analysts.
“In operation, the Burevestnik would carry a nuclear warhead (or warheads), circle the globe at low altitude, avoid missile defences, and dodge terrain; and drop the warhead(s) at a difficult-to-predict location (or locations),” the Nuclear Threat Initiative, a US nonprofit security group said in a 2019 report after the missile’s first somewhat successful test.
A year later, the US Air Force’s National Air and Space Intelligence Center said, if brought into service, Burevestnik would give Moscow a “unique weapon with intercontinental-range capability”.
‘Burevestnik is a mystification’
Others doubt the missile’s functionality.
“Burevestnik is a mystification for the whole seven-and-a-half years since it was first announced,” Pavel Luzin, a visiting scholar at Tufts University in Massachusetts, told Al Jazeera.
“It’s impossible to create a reactor that is compact and powerful enough to ensure a cruise missile’s movement,” Luzin said. “This is a basic physics textbook.”
Moscow claims that Burevestnik utilises nuclear propulsion instead of turbojet or turbofan engines used in cruise or ballistic missiles.
But Luzin said the smallest nuclear reactors used to power satellites weighed 1 metric tonne, supplying several kilowatts of energy – roughly equal to what a regular household consumes – while emitting some 150kw of thermal energy.
The experimental nuclear reactors developed in the 1950s and the 60s for aircraft weighed many tonnes and were the size of a railway carriage, he said.
An average engine for a cruise missile weighs up to 80kg, generates 4kw for onboard electric and electronic devices, and about 1 megawatt of energy for propelling the missile, he said.
Other analysts think that Burevestnik’s nuclear engine can function, but do not consider the weapon groundbreaking.
At L.A. Public Library literary salon, Rick Atkinson offers hope
For a historian who writes about war, Rick Atkinson is surprisingly optimistic. The Pulitzer Prize-winning author and former journalist — who recently released the second volume in a trilogy of books about the American Revolution — believes that the bedrock of American democracy is solid enough to withstand any assaults on its founding principles.
As the guest of honor at a Sunday night dinner sponsored by the Library Foundation of Los Angeles as part of its biennial Literary Feasts fundraiser, Atkinson was the most upbeat person at the event, which took place just before Election Day. Speaking to about 18 guests gathered around two circular tables carefully laid out on the back patio at the home of fellow writers and hosts Meenakshi and Liaquat Ahamed, Atkinson buoyed the flagging spirits of those certain that the country was currently dangling on the precipice of disaster at the hands of the Trump administration.
Book lovers attend a Literary Feast dinner featuring Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Rick Atkinson at the home of writers Meenakshi and Liaquat Ahamed.
(Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)
“We’re the beneficiaries of an enlightened political heritage handed down to us from that founding generation, and it includes strictures on how to divide power and keep it from concentrating in the hands of authoritarians who think primarily of themselves,” Atkinson said with the cheery aplomb of a man who has spent the bulk of his time burrowing deep inside archives filled with harrowing stories of the darkest days the world has ever seen. “We can’t let that slip away. We can’t allow it to be taken away, and we can’t allow ourselves to forget the hundreds of thousands who’ve given their lives to affirm and sustain it over the past 250 years.”
The questions and conversation that followed Atkinson’s rousing speech about the history of the Revolution — including riveting details about key players like George Washington who Atkinson noted had “remarkably dead eyes” in order to not give away a scintilla of his inner life to curious onlookers — was what the evening’s book-loving guests had come for.
“We’re the beneficiaries of an enlightened political heritage handed down to us from that founding generation,” said Rick Atkinson.
(Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)
A total of 40 authors are hosted at salon-style events at 40 houses with more than 750 guests over the course of a single evening, raising more than $2 million for the Library Foundation, which is a separate entity from the public library. Founded in 1992 in the wake of the devastating 1986 fire at downtown’s Central Library, which destroyed more than 400,000 books, the foundation seeks to continue the community-driven mission of the library when funding runs short, including supporting adult education, early literacy programs for children, and services for immigrants and the unhoused.
“I often describe it as the dream-fueling work, the life-changing work,” said Stacy Lieberman, the Library Foundation’s president and chief executive. “Because it’s a lot of the one-on-one support that people will get.”
The Foundation typically raises about $7 million to $8 million a year, with an operating budget of nearly $11 million, so money raised through the Literary Feasts is a significant slice of the funding pie. The feasts began in 1997 and have continued apace every other year since then, featuring a who’s who of literary accomplishment across every genre. Writers past and present include Sue Grafton, Jane Fonda, Ann Patchett, Viet Thanh Nguyen, Abraham Verghese, Scott Turow and Michael Connelly.
Dinner hosts fund the events themselves — no small outlay considering the lavish offerings.
Guests were served steak with roasted carrots, turnips and potatoes.
(Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)
The Ahameds delighted guests with a tangy grapefruit and greens salad, followed by tender steak with roasted carrots, turnips and potatoes; a dessert of hot apple tart à la mode drizzled with caramel sauce; and plenty of crisp red and white wine. Both hosts are literary luminaries in their own right: Liaquat, a former investment manager, won the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for history for his book “Lords of Finance: The Bankers Who Broke the World” and Meenakshi recently published “Indian Genius: The Meteoric Rise of Indians in America.”
The couple travels in bookish circles and enjoys hosting salons at their home, including one earlier this year in support of New Yorker political columnist Susan Glasser and her husband, New York Times chief White House correspondent Peter Baker. As friends of Atkinson, the Ahameds did their part to introduce him, and later tried their best to entice him to stop taking questions and eat his dinner.
The guest of honor could not be persuaded. There was too much to say. “The Fate of the Day,” which explores the bloody middle years of the Revolution from 1777 to 1780, was released in April, and Atkinson has spent the past eight months touring and speaking on panels with documentarian Ken Burns to promote Burns’ six-part documentary series “The American Revolution,” which premieres Nov. 16 on PBS.
Atkinson is a featured speaker in the series and has been involved with it for about four years.
The dinner featuring Rick Atkinson was one of 40 taking place across town that evening. The events raised $2 million for the Library Foundation of Los Angeles.
(Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)
The week before the Literary Feast, Atkinson and Burns spoke to members of Congress in Washington, D.C., and also screened a 40-minute clip at Mount Vernon where Atkinson discussed Washington’s unique talents as a general.
“I’ve seen the whole thing several times and it’s fantastic,” Atkinson said of the 12-hour film. “It’s as you would expect: beautifully filmed, wonderfully told, great narrative.”
The country is now more than four months into its semiquincentennial, which Atkinson joked “sounds like a medical procedure,” but is actually the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States. It’s well known that Trump is planning a splashy party, with festivities and commemorations intensifying over the next eight months, culminating in a grand celebration in Washington, D.C., on July 4, 2026.
Rick Atkinson’s book “The Fate of the Day,” which explores the bloody middle years of the Revolution from 1777 to 1780, was released in April.
(Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)
“My hope is that as a country, we use the opportunity to reflect on those basic questions of who we are, where we came from, what our forebears believed and what they were willing to die for,” said Atkinson. “I’m optimistic because I’m a historian, because I know our history. No matter how grim things seem in 2025, we have faced grimmer times in the past, existential threats of the first order, starting with the Revolution.”
The politically deflated might also consider World War II — the subject of Atkinson’s Liberation Trilogy — the second volume of which won the 2003 Pulitzer Prize for history. The writer knows his stuff. Guests — and readers — take heart.