Chinese technology giant Huawei is facing a landmark criminal trial in the United States amid Washington’s long-running tech rivalry with Beijing.

The trial began in federal court in Brooklyn, New York, on September 9, with US prosecutors portraying Huawei as a criminal enterprise that spent two decades stealing technology from US companies, deceiving banks and circumventing sanctions on Iran.

Huawei has pleaded not guilty and says the US government is attempting to turn ordinary business disputes and the actions of individual employees into evidence of a company-wide conspiracy.

The trial is expected to last about three months and overlaps with Chinese President Xi Jinping’s September 23-25 visit to Washington, where trade, artificial intelligence, tariffs and access to critical technologies are likely to be on the agenda.

Here is what you need to know:

What are the allegations against Huawei?

US prosecutors have accused the company of racketeering, money laundering, bank and wire fraud, sanctions violations, obstruction and conspiring to steal trade secrets from five US technology companies.

Prosecutors say the alleged wrongdoing stretched from about 1999 to 2020.

“Theft, lies, cover-up,” Justice Department lawyer Taylor Stout said in his opening remarks.

Prosecutors allege Huawei stole technology, including internet-router source code from Cisco and a robotic arm used by T-Mobile to test phones.

They also accuse Huawei of concealing the nature of its operations in Iran to move US dollars through the financial system despite US sanctions.

The government also alleges that Huawei supplied equipment that could help Iranian authorities monitor protesters during demonstrations in 2009.

How has Huawei responded?

Huawei, a major manufacturer of telecommunications equipment, denies any wrongdoing.

The tech giant’s lawyer Brian Heberlig told jurors the case was about “competition, not conspiracy. Innovation, not theft. Ordinary business dealings, not criminal conduct.”

Heberlig accused prosecutors of “cherry-picking isolated events” to construct a conspiracy that did not exist. Huawei’s defence says some incidents involved individual employees whose actions were dealt with internally, rather than reflecting company policy.

He told jurors that prosecutors will describe routine activities by global tech companies “but will twist those ordinary activities to try to make them look criminal”.

Huawei separately described the broader prosecution as an attempt to undermine its competitiveness, saying the US government’s “overarching narrative is demonstrably false” and that it had “the utmost respect for intellectual property”.

The case originated during Donald Trump’s first presidency. His administration placed Huawei on a US trade blacklist in 2019 and pushed allies to exclude the company from 5G networks, arguing its equipment could present national security and espionage risks.

Huawei has repeatedly denied that its technology is used for spying.

What has China’s response been?

Beijing has strongly criticised the prosecution, which has come weeks ahead of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to the US.

On Thursday, a Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson said “the Chinese government firmly opposes the US side’s suppression and containment of Chinese enterprises”, when asked about the case and the American prosecutor’s “criminal enterprise” description.

China “firmly supports Chinese enterprises in safeguarding their legitimate rights and interests”, the spokesperson said at a regular news conference.

What is Huawei, and has the tech giant faced investigations before?

Huawei is one of the world’s largest telecommunications equipment manufacturers. It also produces smartphones and has become increasingly important to China’s semiconductor and AI industries.

Its activities have drawn scrutiny well beyond the current US trial.

Belgian prosecutors launched an investigation in 2025 into suspected bribery involving the European Parliament allegedly for Huawei’s benefit.

The European Parliament subsequently suspended access for Huawei lobbyists. Huawei said it had “zero-tolerance” for corruption and would cooperate with authorities.

Huawei chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou made worldwide headlines in 2018 when she was arrested on a US warrant after landing in Vancouver, straining both US-China and China-Canada relations.

The warrant was filed after a sealed indictment accused her and the company of bank fraud for misleading HSBC and other banks about Huawei’s business in Iran.

She returned to China in 2021 under a deferred prosecution agreement, and the charges against her were later dismissed.

Admissions Meng made as part of that agreement can, however, be presented as evidence in Huawei’s current trial after a US judge ruled them admissible in June.

They are legally separate but form part of a much wider economic and technological competition between Washington and Beijing.

Huawei became one of the most prominent targets of US restrictions during Trump’s first term.

Since then, the rivalry has expanded from telecommunications and 5G into semiconductors and AI, with Washington restricting China’s access to advanced US chips and chipmaking technology.

Last week, Dario Amodei, the CEO of Anthropic, warned that a “Chinese lead in AI would pose grave danger for the US and the world” and urged Washington to maintain restrictions on cutting-edge AI tech. He also called for action against alleged “distillation” of US models by Chinese AI laboratories.

China’s Foreign Ministry on September 14 accused the US tech giant of “fearmongering”.

“Fomenting various threats, engaging in confrontation and malicious competition will only disrupt the process of global governance of artificial intelligence and is not in the interests of any party,” said ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun.

The state-backed Global Times newspaper went further, describing Amodei’s proposal as a “Cold War playbook” whose real purpose was to curb Chinese AI development and preserve US technological dominance.

China and the US were engaged in a tit-for-tat tariff war at the beginning of Trump’s presidency in 2025. The trade war ended in a truce, but the world’s two largest economies have failed to strike a trade deal.

Beijing, meanwhile, has used its dominance of critical minerals as leverage and accelerated efforts to build domestic alternatives to American technology.

Currently, China controls most of the world’s rare earth minerals, including metals that are necessary for the manufacture of many technological items, from smartphones to fighter jets. The world’s second-largest economy has 60 percent of these minerals and processes 90 percent of the world’s supply.

In October, Beijing announced plans to require foreign companies to obtain permission to export Chinese rare earth equipment or material.

This meant companies anywhere in the world would need a licence to export rare earth magnets and certain semiconductor materials that contain even trace amounts of minerals sourced from China or produced using Chinese technology.

China’s Ministry of Commerce said its export controls on rare earths, which Trump had labelled “surprising” and “very hostile”, were introduced in response to a series of US measures.

ZOE Kravitz fans are convinced they’ve worked out who is behind a burner account trolling her new romance with popstar Harry Styles. 

Eagle-eyed fans have spotted a major clue that her ex Channing Tatum may be behind the anonymous page. 

Online users have been sent into a frenzy, after a private Instagram page under the name Nonya Bidness went viral for leaving nasty comments on content related to Zoe and her new beau Harry. 

Ex-One Direction singer Harry and Zoe, who played Catwoman in The Batman, have dated since August last year.

They went public with their relationship in Rome but have since kept matters private and not commented on their status in which they are engaged.

It came after Zoe’s high profile relationship with Channing with the pair calling time on their relationship in October 2024 after three years together and an engagement.

ZO INTERESTING

Zoe Kravitz’s ex Channing Tatum shares cryptic post after her engagement

adore you

Harry Styles is more loved-up than ever with fiancee Zoe Kravitz on cosy picnic

It has now been revealed that the burner account may be linked to ex Channing. 

The page has left comments under related posts of Harry and Zoe, which said: “Just here for the hate.”

Another read: “When I see these two I think back at how her former fiancé called her the most intentional person he knows. I wonder how contextual he was being…”

Replying to a fan, a third comment said: “To me intentional = calculated. He was speaking in terms of film-making but leaning towards her as a person in general too.

“Now she is constantly spotted with Harry compared to the ex who we heard about long before they were seen together. 

“And when they were seen together it was far less frequent. It could be nothing but it just made me think.”

Fans now believe that Channing is the user behind the account after reportedly discovering that he is the only one to be following the page. 

Channing seemingly no longer follows the account and it remains unclear to whether the screenshots of the page have been edited. 

The Sun has gone to Channing’s rep for comment.

Fans have taken to X to share their own thoughts on the account with one user saying: “There’s no way Channing Tatum is leaving hate comments on Deuxmoi with his burner account only he follows.”

“Lmaooooo he’s his only follower on his burner on threads as well. Pack it up.

“We can’t even give him the benefit of the doubt of “it’s a fan he just happened to follow cause they said nice things about him,” insisted another. 

A third wrote: “That is insane if there’s any truth to it, men always go crazy when their ex dates Harry.” 

For months, current and former high school coaches have been asked to respond to my simple question:

“What’s the best lesson a player taught you?”

It’s so hard to come up with an answer that many can’t do it immediately. They’re forced to think, which means the question is very good.

Stories are always written about lessons learned by students in the classroom and on the field, but what do coaches, most of them teachers, learn from their students?

Here are some answers.

Weeks before he died last March, Venice football coach Angelo Gasca told me the story of a player who wanted to quit and what he learned. That player later became one of his assistant coaches.

“I’m not accepting your resignation today,” Gasca told him. “You need to go home and think about it.”

Venice coach Angelo Gasca showing off the City Division I title trophy in 2021.

(Cliff Kensinger)

“He said he went home and thought about it and stayed on the team and was our starting center. He taught me the best thing we can teach is come to school and you never know what connections you’ll make at the school you grew up at. He taught me there’s more to coaching than winning games and scoring touchdowns. In our lives as teachers and coaches, we do learn from players. When we stop learning from our players, it’s time to stop coaching.”

Former Edison football coach Dave White remembers suspending his team’s best player before a trip to Hawaii for a team rule violation. He had to stay home even though his parents had paid money for the trip.

Dave White speaks to a crowd, including the football team, during the official naming of the Belcher White Strength Training Facility at Edison High School in 2022.

(Scott Smeltzer / Los Angeles Times)

“He taught me that I made the right decision and it was best for the team and in the long run best for him,” White said. “I was proud how he handled things. There are consequences for bad decisions. I really enjoyed and respected him more after that.”

Granada Hills girls volleyball coach Tom Harp said he had a player with a disability. She lost sight in an eye during an accident.

“She taught me how to overcome a difficult situation with a positive attitude,” he said. “She was a shining example of how to overcome adversity. It showed me my little problems aren’t as bad as they seem if she can overcome that.”

Lorenzo Hernandez, the football coach and athletic director at Whittier and former head football coach at Garfield, said a comment from a player made him realize to change tactics.

Former Garfield coach Lorenzo Hernandez runs onto the field with his players and assistant coaches.

(Hernandez family)

“You grow up in a certain era and have to adapt,” he said. “These kids want to enjoy themselves. They taught me to keep it as fun as possible. We worked on discipline. A kid said, ‘That’s great coach, but I don’t think we’re having fun.’ It made me take a step back. We have to understand it’s a different era of athletes and they require different ways to handle things. That’s helped me build better relationships. I’ll meet you halfway.”

Former Crenshaw football coach Robert Garrett said he learned to talk to students about their personal lives to understand why they are behaving in certain ways. He discovered one of his players had nowhere to wash his clothes.

Longtime Crenshaw football coach Robert Garrett talks to De’Anthony Thomas, one of his best former players, in 2011.

(Robert S. Helfman)

“Some don’t have a stable household,” he said. “You don’t learn that until you talk to them. I knew he was intelligent and studious but until I found out his hygiene wasn’t good, I realized the environment he was up against. It wasn’t until he shared with me what he was going through I offered assistance to wash his clothes.

“He didn’t need tough love. He needed kid gloves. Every day I try to find at least one child I didn’t know and have a personal conversation, ‘What middle school he went to, where does he live, are his studies OK.’ I try to learn the child before I learn the body. Adults never talk to kids. We just assume a kid is a certain way until you have a conversation and know their background and what they are going through.”

Former Hart baseball coach Jim Ozella, retired and watching his grandson play sports, told the story of his former player, Jack Ralston, reaching the major leagues this year taught him about perseverance.

“Everyone wants instant gratification,” Ozella said. “Here’s a kid who didn’t make the major leagues until he was 29. For us, he was an outstanding pitcher. We made it to the CIF final. Then he walked into UCLA, didn’t pitch as a freshman or sophomore, pitched a little as junior, then boom as a senior. He got drafted. His lesson has been off the charts for me.

Dodgers pitcher Tyler Glasnow with Hart coach Jim Ozella, who coached him in high school.

(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)

“You can’t expect results immediately. You’re talented, put in all the work and effort. In this case, it didn’t work. He kept plugging along. His lesson is everyone is different. His was keep plugging away and it will happen. I called him after he gave up a home run. He said, ‘Today I woke up and it’s a new day.’ What a role model. Don’t expect everything overnight. It takes time. Be patient.”

Then Ozella quoted a famous line, “The day you plant the seed is not the day you eat the fruit.”

Hall of Fame football coach Paul Knox had a situation early in his coaching days at Dorsey dealing with two brothers and figuring out what you’re supposed to do when they’re different.

“They were very close in age,” he said. “I learned by trying to coach them you can’t coach everyone the same. Whatever I tried, one was very coachable and his younger brother all the things I tried never worked with him. We went back and forth.

Dorsey coach Paul Knox celebrates a miracle win in the 2001 City championship game at the Coliseum.

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

“I found out I had to find a whole other way to reach him. I learned you can say how you treat everyone the same, but you approach some kids differently. You never really know precisely who’s listening to you and sometimes the satisfaction of being a teacher or mentor is delayed and you don’t know until years later.”

AS Cruise Week draws to a close today, we’ve been highlighting the best deals and giving you inspiration for your next trip.

But what if you’re yet to step onboard?

We asked cruise experts for top tips for first-timers.

Scott Sanders, cruise director of Marella Cruises, TUI’s UK line, says: “One of the biggest mistakes I see is guests sticking to what they know and not trying something new.

“Whether it’s a dance class, a quiz or one of our West End-style shows, some of the best holiday memories come from stepping outside your comfort zone.”

Scott also encourages guests to make staff aware of any special occasions.

WAIL OF A TIME

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

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

“If you’re celebrating a birthday, anniversary or another milestone, let us know,” he said. “We love helping guests mark those special moments and making their holiday even more memorable.

“And take time to chat to cabin stewards, as they often have some really good tips on ports of call on your sailings or the best places on the ship for a quiet drink or sundowner cocktails.”

Scott also advises familiarising yourself with the ship before embarking.

“Many guests spend their first day trying to work out where everything is.

“Watching an official ship tour or browsing guest videos online before your cruise can help you get your bearings before you even step on board.”

Finally, Scott says to check your phone.

“I always remind guests to switch their phones to airplane mode when we’re at sea and use the onboard wifi instead. It can save people from unexpected roaming charges when they get home.”

Bob McGowan, chief experience officer at Ambassador Cruise Line, has some advice for packing the essentials.

He says: “Always carry the essentials on your person when travelling to your destination (even if that is your cabin). Aside from passport, wallet and personal items, a change of clothes, medication, toothbrush and toiletries are worth packing in hand luggage, as you may arrive to your cabin ahead of the rest of your luggage.

“Handy items to bring on your first cruise include a backpack – great for a big day out enjoying any onshore excursions – and a small evening bag for carrying a few essentials when on the move around the ship.”

He adds: “Seasickness tablets or sea bands are a must. While most first-time cruisers find their sea legs soon after setting sail, if you’re prone to motion sickness it’s better to be safe than sorry.”

And he’s got advice for choosing your cabin, too.

“If you like to have plenty of downtime relaxing in the privacy of your cabin, you may prefer to book one with a balcony to ensure you can make the most of the weather and scenery.

“But if you plan on spending the sailing out-and-about socialising and enjoying all the fantastic experiences on offer, an inside cabin could be better suited and will be a more affordable option.

“If you or a fellow traveller suffers from the occasional bout of seasickness, choosing a lower level midship cabin offers a more stable position, so could be the best choice.”

The fourth China-Africa Peace and Security Forum was held in Beijing, China, from September 15 to 17, 2026, coinciding with the 13th Xiangshan Forum and the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and African countries. Military representatives and defense officials from the African Union and 41 African nations participated. This expansion of bilateral military relations between Beijing and African countries comes at a time when Beijing and Washington are vying for influence on the African continent, while African nations seek to diversify their partners and strengthen their security capabilities, particularly in regions facing escalating threats, such as the Horn of Africa. The fourth China-Africa Peace and Security Forum, held in Beijing, represents a pivotal milestone reflecting the growing military and defense cooperation between China and 41 African countries, along with the African Union, as Beijing seeks to solidify its security presence on the African continent.  The most prominent theme of the forum and defense cooperation was the speech by Chinese Defense Minister Admiral Dong Jun, who called for deepening strategic coordination and developing mechanisms for defense exchange and maritime security based on equality and mutual benefit, without political dictates or conditions, between China and African countries. This reflects the growing African interest in partnership with China, driven by a desire to diversify military options and avoid the pressures and conditions associated with Western and American partnerships. The China-Africa Peace and Security Forum witnessed the signing of bilateral memoranda of understanding to enhance military capabilities, training, and the exchange of expertise between China and some participating countries, such as Mauritania.

The fourth session of the China-Africa Peace and Security Forum, held in Beijing, China, witnessed a significant deepening of bilateral military cooperation between China and Africa. On the sidelines of the forum, the Islamic Republic of Mauritania and the People’s Republic of China signed two memoranda of understanding to strengthen and develop military cooperation between the two countries. This signing took place during a meeting between Mauritanian Defense Minister Hanan Ould Sidi and his Chinese counterpart, Admiral Dong Jun.  The most prominent areas of the memoranda of understanding included strengthening military and security capabilities to address challenges in the Sahel region and Africa, particularly combating terrorism and organized crime. They also focused on military education and training for African military personnel and the exchange of expertise, intelligence, and security experiences between the two sides. This move is part of a broader Chinese strategy to enhance defense partnerships with African countries (with representatives from 41 nations participating), emphasizing joint military training and coordination.

In this context, cooperation between the Chinese People’s Liberation Army and African armies is steadily increasing, encompassing training, counter-terrorism exercises, and peacekeeping operations.  The most prominent forms and areas of military cooperation between China and Africa include joint military exercises, where the Chinese army conducts joint drills with African countries, such as the Peace Unit exercises with Tanzania and Mozambique to combat terrorism on land and at sea. This cooperation also encompasses peacekeeping and assistance efforts, with China participating in numerous UN peacekeeping missions in Africa and deploying warships to combat piracy off the coast of Somalia. Simultaneously, there is an increase in military education and training programs, with Chinese military academies hosting African leaders, defense ministers, and officers to enhance professional exchanges and build long-term strategic relationships. To this end, China regularly organizes the China-Africa Peace and Security Forum to strengthen defense coordination and consultation with various countries on the continent. The objectives of the Chinese military presence in Africa include modernizing African military expertise, providing the People’s Liberation Army with field operational experience in diverse and complex security environments, and protecting Chinese interests and securing massive Chinese investments and economic projects related to the Belt and Road Initiative. With increasing practical cooperation between China and Africa, Beijing is bolstering its diplomatic and strategic influence on the African continent in the face of international competition with Washington.

China’s military presence in Africa can be summarized as achieving three major strategic objectives, such as modernizing African military expertise, providing the Chinese People’s Liberation Army with field experience, and protecting the substantial investment interests of China’s Belt and Road Initiative. These three objectives and their shared benefits can be detailed as follows:

1) Modernizing African Military Expertise:

China seeks to present itself as a reliable and alternative security partner for African countries through various modernization mechanisms, including:

– Technology Transfer and Training: By providing advanced training programs for African officers at Chinese military academies and transferring modern tactical and operational knowledge.

– Defense Infrastructure Development: By contributing to the construction of bases, logistics centers, and training facilities for African armies.

– Arms and Equipment Sales: By supplying African countries with modern weapons systems at competitive prices, such as drones, armored vehicles, and communication systems, thereby enhancing the combat effectiveness of these armies.

– Counterterrorism and Counter-Piracy: By building joint capabilities between the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) and local African armies to counter unconventional security threats in conflict zones and maritime piracy areas, such as the Gulf of Aden.

2) Gaining Field Operational Experience for the PLA

The diverse and complex African security environment represents an important real-world testing ground for the Chinese military, which lacks modern field combat experience outside its borders. This benefit is achieved through:

– Testing Chinese weapons, military equipment, and armaments: By experiencing the effectiveness and quality of Chinese weapons and military equipment in harsh climatic and geographical environments (desert, tropical).

– Remote Operations Management: Developing the ability to command and control forces across vast geographical distances and testing the effectiveness of cross-border supply and logistics.

– Participation in peacekeeping forces: China’s extensive involvement in UN peacekeeping missions in Africa, such as in Mali, South Sudan, and the Central African Republic, provides Chinese officers with experience interacting with international militaries and managing complex security crises.

– Naval and operational presence: Utilizing the Chinese military base in Djibouti as a launchpad for evacuation operations, counter-piracy efforts, and protecting shipping lanes enhances the flexibility of the Chinese navy.

3) Protecting interests and securing investments under China’s Belt and Road Initiative

Africa is a key pillar of China’s Belt and Road Initiative, and the military role in protecting these massive Chinese investments is complemented by:

– Securing critical infrastructure: Protecting ports, railways, mines, and energy fields financed and operated by Chinese companies against any political instability or terrorist attacks.

– Securing Maritime Routes: Ensuring the safety of vital maritime trade routes for transporting raw materials from Africa to China and Chinese goods to global markets via the Red Sea and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.

– Protecting Chinese Communities: Providing security and rapid intervention capabilities to evacuate thousands of Chinese workers and citizens from African conflict zones when necessary.

From the preceding presentation and analysis, we understand the importance of the China-Africa Peace and Security Forum in strengthening defense exchange mechanisms, defining and deepening regional cooperation in maritime security, combating terrorism and extremism, and building defense capabilities in emerging areas to address escalating security risks on the African continent, such as the Sahel region. The Forum provides an opportunity to enhance consultation and exchange views between China and African countries on various peace and security issues and to develop prospects for cooperation between China and African countries in related fields. China-Africa cooperation encompasses military training, naval exercises and patrols, counter-terrorism, mine clearance, and securing shipping lanes, as well as the transfer of expertise and technology and the marketing of Chinese weapons.

ITV’s new drama The Blame starring Michelle Keegan and Douglas Booth tackles misogyny that can be found in the UK police force

Deeply offensive messages sent by serving police officers in a group chat are the basis of a storyline featured in ITV‘s gripping new drama starring Michelle Keegan.

Six-part series The Blame, based on the 2023 book of the same name by Charlotte Langley, starts off when the body of a young woman is found in a small town where DI Crane (Michelle Keegan) and DI Radley (Douglas Booth) work.

The duo team up to uncover what happened to a teenage figure skater, Sophie Madsen, and discover “a tangled web of lies, institutional cover-ups and a moral compromise”.

The show tackles misogyny that can be found in the UK police force, and the official synopsis confirms that Keegan’s DI Crane “must navigate both a murder investigation and the treacherous politics inside her own team”.

It also depicts actual text messages from the real-life Metropolitan Police group chat scandals, in which multiple investigations exposed deep-rooted and systemic racism, homophobia, and sexism, dismissed as “banter”, poisoning the country’s top police force.

Speaking about The Blame at ITV Showcase 2026 earlier this year, actor Douglas Booth explained: “There was a Panorama about the Charing Cross WhatsApp messages and texts that are completely sickening, and that was a bit of a basis and model for this group chat to let this toxic behavior spread and rot the department.”

He added: “Every single character in this show is trying to be a good person and nearly all of them are touched by some sort of institutional failure and hold some form of moral injury.”

An official investigation was launched by the Independent Office for Police Conduct, which exposed the highly damaging revelations involving officers based at London’s Charing Cross Police Station who shared deeply offensive, racist, misogynistic, and homophobic messages on WhatsApp and Facebook.

First exposed globally in a landmark February 2022 report by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), the scandal triggered widespread public outrage and directly contributed to the resignation of Metropolitan Police Commissioner Dame Cressida Dick.

The IOPC’s Operation Hotton uncovered a toxic culture within the station’s impact team between 2016 and 2018, which officers routinely dismissed as “banter”.

The watchdog noted a pervasive culture of bullying where good officers were too intimidated to challenge or report their peers. The initial 2022 report led to multiple fast-track misconduct hearings, resulting in several officers being sacked, forced to resign, or barred from policing.

Secret filming aired during BBC’s Panorama Undercover in the Police revealed evidence of racism, misogyny and officers revelling in the use of force at Charing Cross.

Assistant Commissioner Matt Twist said at the time: “Enquiries were immediately launched by our Directorate of Professional Standards into allegations of criminality and misconduct by officers and staff based at Charing Cross Police Station.The behaviour as reported is disgraceful and rapid steps to secure evidence and protect the public have also been taken.

“In addition, we are scrutinising more widely the leadership and culture within these teams, led by Professional Standards and senior leaders, to root out any further failings. The leadership of these teams failed to create the right culture that identified warning signs or generated confidence in junior colleagues to report. This is one of the reasons we are taking such assertive exceptional action.

“The Met’s leadership has been very clear that it will not tolerate behaviour that fails to meet the organisation’s standards of professionalism and integrity.”

The Blame airs Sunday, September 20 on ITV1 at 9pm

Chinese schoolgirl Yu Zidi lit up the opening day of the Asian Games with a record‑breaking 200m butterfly gold medal secured by a performance she described as “only so‑so”.

The 13‑year‑old claimed her first major gold in two minutes 05.08 seconds, an Asian Games record that took almost half a second off compatriot Zhang Yufei’s mark from three years ago.

Yu, who is strongly tipped to make an impact at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, won by over three seconds in Tokyo from her team-mate Chang Mohan.

“It was only so-so,” a smiling Yu said after receiving her medal, adding that her butterfly technique “is still slightly lacking”.

“I hope I can swim even faster. I improved my time by 0.9 seconds here, and I believe I will perform better next time,” she continued.

Yu, who will take part in two more individual events at the Asian Games, became the youngest ever swimmer to win a medal at the World Championships when she took bronze as a 12-year-old as part of China’s 4x200m freestyle relay team last year.

The top U.S. Air Force officer in Europe, who also serves as the NATO Allied Air Command leader, said he has been tasked with enacting new alliance plans to defend against cruise missiles and drones. He was responding to questions about a drone that NATO had to shoot down after it entered Lithuanian airspace overnight. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Tuesday morning that the incident was “part of a broader pattern of Russian aggression and provocation against Europe, testing our readiness and our resolve.”

The drone incursion into Lithuania took place against the backdrop of the ongoing Russian war on Ukraine and amid a spate of so-called ‘hybrid’ or ‘gray zone’ actions Moscow has been accused of carrying out throughout Europe, including a recent attempted drone attack on the Leipzig-Halle airport in Germany.

“I don’t know what’s in the mind of Putin or his fielded forces about those one-way attack drones or even cruise missiles, like we’ve seen enter Polish airspace just a few months ago. In July, we had an AS-23 cruise missile enter Poland,” Lt. Gen. Jason T. Hinds, Commander, U.S. Air Forces in Europe/U.S. Air Forces Africa (USAFE), and Commander of the Allied Air Command, said in response to a question about the drone shootdown over Lithuania. He was speaking during a media roundtable at the Air & Space Forces Air, Space and Cyber Conference that TWZ is attending.

Hinds added that while he doesn’t “know the why behind” the drone incursion into Lithuania, he has been tasked by U.S. Air Force Gen. Alexus G. Grynkewich, who serves as NATO Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR), “to fully implement EVA [Enhanced Vigilance Activity] Eastern Sentry and now its Standing Defense Plan 12000, which gives the nations the capabilities that they need to defend their airspace against either one-way attack drones like the one that you described last night, or a cruise missile.”

EVA Eastern Sentry is a mission NATO stood up in September 2025 after “an unprecedented number of Russian drones and planes violated the airspace of several NATO Allies,” according to the alliance. “Allies are contributing additional capabilities and assets to NATO’s deterrence and defense – for instance, more fighter jets, helicopters, transport aircraft, air defense systems, surveillance aircraft and frigates – and improving the coordination of these assets through NATO.”

Is the Kremlin testing Europe’s defenses with drone incursions? | DW News

Standing Defense Plan 12000 is a new plan for integrated air and missile defense across the alliance. Grynkewich introduced the concept during testimony to Congress in March.

Hinds acknowledged that Russia could be testing the alliance.

“It’s not about the small UASs; that’s typically a national responsibility, and it could be probing,” the Air Force general noted. “Regardless of the intent behind it, what we want to be prepared for is the second that a one-way attack drone or a cruise missile is first and foremost detected – hopefully well before it enters NATO territory – we want to know it. We want to know where it’s coming from. We want to have the capability to sense it. We want to be able to have the C2 [command and control] systems to be able to decide what to do about it, and then have the right kit to be able to act.”

Despite an integrated air and missile defense system that includes Patriot surface-to-air missile batteries, NATO currently is primarily “using air power” against drones and cruise missiles “and that’s not putting us on the right side of the cost curve,” Hinds stated. “But we want to get there.”

Using NATO jets to take down drones “is very effective, just like what you saw last night, and many other times,” but not necessarily efficient, Hinds explained. 

Video shows debris after NATO jets shoot down a drone over Lithuania

“I think there’s been at least five other cases of allied nations providing air power to shoot down one-way attack drones,” he proffered. “I want to get to the point where we’re doing it efficiently, using lower-cost interceptors, hopefully ground-based, and in some cases air-based that are cheaper to use, so we’ll see what the intent may be. Intelligence organizations are going to provide us with that intelligence later on, but I just don’t know yet.”

You can see one of those NATO jet engagements with drones in the following video.

It should be noted that Europe is starting to follow the American lead in using less expensive laser-guided, air-to-air rockets as drone-killing weapons. TWZ was the first to report about the use of 70mm Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System (APKWS) rockets by the U.S. The U.K. Royal Air Force announced in May of this year that its Typhoons were now equipped with APKWS rockets while the French recently tested their own 68mm laser-guided rockets from Rafale fighters.

The Defence Procurement Agency has successfully completed integration testing of 68 mm laser-guided rockets on the Rafale fighter jet. The time between the contract being awarded for this new capability and initial operational capability being achieved was less than 8 months. pic.twitter.com/rR2Nij9EzY

— French Aid to Europe 🇨🇵 🇪🇺 (@aidefranceukr) July 13, 2026

As the threats have evolved, NATO has “transitioned away from air policing, and we’ve transitioned to air defense for some specific reasons,” the general pointed out. “One is readiness. Air policing is a readiness decrementing mission that the alliance has done for years. There’s also an assurance mission that we did for 32 nations. That’s transitioned to air defense now. Air defense means we have the right kit, multi-domain, to be able to be put in the right place based on indications, warnings, or real threats, like you saw last night, inside of the Baltic nations, to be able to respond decisively and quickly.”

“There’s also a deterrence value there,” Hinds added. “So if Russia does fly a one-way attack drone or a cruise missile, they know that we’re going to be in the right spot to be able to detect it and then defend against it.”

“These are limited incursions, right? Small numbers. Here’s what I see: hybrid activities may, in fact, only be one of the few levers that Putin has available to him, because he sees that he does not have an advantage in geography, domain, or readiness,” Hinds suggested.

“Think about that,” he urged. “So what are we seeing? We’re not seeing a massing of forces across the opposite side of Finland, a new NATO nation. We’re not seeing a massing of forces whatsoever in any domain opposite of Poland, Latvia, Lithuania, or Estonia. You’re seeing a significant number of one-way attack drones in the Black Sea targeting Ukraine. Some of them are entering Romania. What you’re not seeing is a direct confrontation in geography. We’re not seeing direct competition in domains. And I think Putin knows that we are ready. I know he knows that we’re a defensive alliance. I know he knows that we have an advantage in every domain against them, and I think that’s likely why you’re seeing things like what you’re seeing with hybrid activity.”

Though below the level of armed conflict, these Russian activities raise the potential for something worse, Hinds posited.

“The risk about hybrid activity, from my perspective, is it could lead to escalation, and that’s where I hope that we get back towards deterrence again, and that the nations they’re going to decide to do what they want to do when it comes to these hybrid activities,” the general said. “Some of them are law enforcement. Some of them are military responses, and that’s up to the nations to decide how they’re going to deal with that. Not me.”

“But what I owe General Grynkewich is to ensure that we are demonstrating our deterrence each and every day, and we’re doing that effectively across all domains,” Hinds added. “And to ensure that Putin knows that if he tries something against the alliance, that we will be there, and we’re ready to win decisively if challenged.”

Contact the author: howard@twz.com

To attract patrons, the Los Angeles County Library turned to some of the most familiar faces on earth: Hello Kitty and her friends.

The bet seemed to be paying off Friday, as thousands of adults flocked to local branches to snag library cards featuring the adorable anthropomorphic gang on launch day.

The county’s library director, Skye Patrick, told The Times Thursday evening that they were bracing for “complete mayhem.”

A library spokesperson said they were still tallying the number of card sign-ups, but at least 4,400 had been issued as of Friday afternoon.

One of them went to Mar Vista resident Sisa Salazar.

“I thought it was super cute,” the 22-year-old said as she waited in line at the Marina del Rey branch Friday afternoon.

The florist used to frequent the library in high school, checking out books and watching shows. But she lost her card in recent years.

So when she came across the special Hello Kitty-themed card on Instagram, she took the opportunity to get a replacement.

Shortly after 2 p.m. Friday, the line for Hello Kitty library cards at the Marina del Rey branch stretched out the door.

(Iris Kwok / Los Angeles Times)

The Marina del Rey library remained busy throughout the afternoon, with a steady line of more than 50 people stretching out the door. Across town, dozens of people lined up outside the South Whittier Library before its 10 a.m. opening, hoping to be among the first to snag the card.

The West Hollywood, Carson, West Covina, La Mirada, Marina del Rey and Alondra branches ran out of cards on the first day, library spokesperson Jessica Lee wrote in an email. She noted the cards can still be found at other locations and roving bookmobiles.

In addition to Hello Kitty, the card depicts several other recognizable characters produced by the Japanese company Sanrio: My Melody, Kuromi, Pompompurin, Keroppi, Cinnamoroll, Chococat and Pochacco.

Many people in line in Marina del Rey chatted about their favorite Sanrio characters and exchanged childhood memories.

Playa del Rey resident Rebecca Leach, 43, already has an L.A. County Library card, which she often uses to read e-books on the Libby app.

Playa del Rey resident Rebecca Leach said she wanted to get the Hello Kitty library card because she grew up with the character and finds it nostalgic.

(Iris Kwok / Los Angeles Times)

But for the registered nurse, who dons a Hello Kitty badge reel at work, nostalgia was part of the card’s appeal. She has fond childhood memories of playing with a color-changing Hello Kitty plush toy. Leach visited several branches Friday before finding a manageable line in Marina del Rey.

“I think it’s great that they’re promoting the library more and doing outreach,” said Jolyne Jimenez, 51, a library assistant at the Santa Monica Public Library and fan of My Melody.

She spent her day off at the Marina del Rey library waiting for the card. (The Santa Monica Public Library is independent of the L.A. County Library system.)

Limited-edition library cards aren’t new in L.A. County. Previous popular designs have included cards commemorating the centennial of the 19th Amendment and the FIFA World Cup, Patrick said.

“What is uncommon is this amount of buzz,” Patrick said, adding that she hoped the heavy interest in the card would translate to increased awareness of the library’s offerings — not just books and e-books, but streaming content, household tools, musical instruments and podcast equipment.

The Hello Kitty card is available through Oct. 18, Patrick said. The library has permission to use Sanrio’s characters for one month for free and plans to restock the cards before the collaboration period ends.

Great Britain will play in November’s Davis Cup Finals as Henry Patten and Neal Skuspki won their doubles match to give the nation an unassailable 3-0 lead in their qualifying tie against Ecuador.

Toby Samuel and Arthur Fery both triumphed in their singles matches at a sold-out Copper Box Arena in London on Saturday to get Britain off to a winning start in the best-of-five tie.

Patten and Skupski then took to the court on Sunday and booked Britain’s ticket to the ‘Final Eight’ event in Bologna at the earliest opportunity with a 6-3 6-4 win over Gonzalo Escobar and Diego Hidalgo.

“We’re feeling great,” said Patten in his on-court interview.

“[Captain] Leon [Smith] was giving us the team talk and saying we needed to be ready for the singles so we’re very, very happy to get it done on the first match.”

Great Britain had not reached the knockout stage of the Davis Cup since 2023 and, even against underdogs Ecuador, there were doubts if captain Leon Smith could end that run given his inexperienced team in London.

Jack Draper ended his difficult season early, while Jan Choinski and Jacob Fearnley were both unavailable through injury.

Smith was then dealt a late blow when British number two Cameron Norrie pulled out on Friday after feeling pain in his arm during a practice session.

However, Samuel – after a breakthrough season that has seen him rise from outside the world’s top 250 to 95th in the rankings – stepped up on his Davis Cup debut.

Just weeks after winning his first Grand Slam match at the US Open, the 24-year-old overcame nerves and fought back from a set down to beat Andres Andrade 4-6 6-4 6-1.

Fery, meanwhile, was making just his second Davis Cup appearance as the British number one claimed an assured 7-5 6-0 win over Alvaro Guillen Meza.

And with world number one Patten and new US Open champion Skupski to call upon for Sunday’s doubles rubber, victory seemed to be well within Britain’s grasp.

The pair, despite not playing together on the ATP Tour, combined effortlessly and did not face a single break point against the Ecuadorians.

“I made my debut in 2019 with all the other guys like Jamie Murray, Andy Murray, Evo [Dan Evans] and now I guess I am the oldest in the team,” said 36-year-old Skupsi, who was making his 16th Davis Cup appearance.

“It’s been amazing to be back with the team, it’s been a big 18 months and it’s such an honour to play for your county, especially in front of a home crowd like you guys coming out to support – it’s been amazing.”

Players celebrate podium finish that brings exemption from conscription, saying the pressure was ‘out of this world’.

Iran withstood a late fightback to beat China 79-70 and win the Asian Games men’s basketball bronze, an achievement that left their players “speechless” after months of war back home.

China led 31-29 at half-time in Nagoya, but Iran took charge in the third quarter to lead 55-46 going into the fourth and held on to prompt wild celebrations and secure a place on the podium on Sunday.

“To be honest with you, I’m just speechless,” said 6ft 8in (203cm) power forward Arsalan Kazemi, who, in 2013, was the first Iranian to be drafted into the NBA by the Washington Wizards but never made a regular-season appearance.

“The pressure that we had on us is just out of this world,” he added.

“Not a lot of athletes can say that, with the way that it has been for almost six months, what we have been through, what our families have been through.”

“I just congratulate the people of Iran because they deserve much better.”

“And I think my teammates and I put our hearts out on the court today just to get this win and make them happy,” Kazemi said.

Teammate Arman Zangeneh said the squad had been through a lot, but it was worth it.

“If you get the medal at the Asian Games, you don’t need to go to the army any more, so it’s huge for some players,” said the 6ft 6in (198cm) forward.

“We had a very tough two months. We went to the Philippines to play the qualifiers, then immediately we came here.”

“It was really difficult. And living in a container, with the food and everything, it was hard, very hard.”

“In the end, we got to the point where we go home with a medal, and it means a lot,” Zangeneh added.

Male athletes from the country’s national teams who win medals at the Asian Games are granted exemption from mandatory military conscription in a move announced by Iran’s former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in 2018.

Previously, only medallists at the Olympic or world games were exempt from the draft, according to Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency.

Iranian males reaching the age of 18 are required to serve two years on active duty and are then transferred to the reserve force.

October half-term has had a nasty habit in recent years of making holiday prices go even more silly than usual.

With summer getting more and more expensive, you end up competing with thousands of other families for the same handful of dates, the same flights and the same hotels that properly cater for families and children.

So I went digging through our booking data to see where families were still getting decent value for the October school holidays.

And, as a dad of two young kids myself, I asked myself one more question: would I actually book it?

For me, a cheap family holiday isn’t much of a bargain if the flight times are horrendous, the hotel has nothing for the kids or you’ve got to spend half the holiday buying meals and snacks on top.

Every deal I found falls inside the school holidays, is all-inclusive for a family of four, still has availability for October half-term and comes with direct flights.

9. Melia Durres Albania, Albania – from £510pp

I’ll start with the most expensive hotel on the list, but probably one of the best examples of why I wouldn’t judge these deals purely on the number at the bottom.

Melia Durres is a proper five-star resort, and it feels much more expensive than the price I’ve found.

You’re getting that big, contemporary resort feel, a huge pool running through the heart of the hotel and a beachfront location rather than a basic base for exploring.

Albania is also one of the destinations I’d be watching closely for family holidays.

It doesn’t yet have the familiarity of Spain, Greece or Turkey for British families, and that can create some really interesting value when the obvious half-term destinations become expensive.

At £510pp all-inclusive during the school holidays, I think this is the one for parents who were already expecting to spend a little more but want something that genuinely feels like an upgrade.

The direct Stansted flights also work nicely: out on Sunday 25 October and back on Friday 30 October, so you’re getting the break firmly inside half-term without eating into school days.

Book a five-night all-inclusive stay at Melia Durres Albania from 25 October, with direct return flights from London Stansted, for £510pp.

8. Duja Didim, Turkey – from £420pp

Turkey has become one of my go-to recommendations when families ask me how to make their budget work harder – and this is exactly why.

Duja Didim is a five-star ultra-all-inclusive resort with eight swimming pools, separate areas for children, a kids’ club for four to 12-year-olds and its own 250-metre private beach.

And even in October half-term, you can bag all of that for just £420pp.

This is the sort of hotel where, once you’ve checked in, you don’t really need a plan: pool, food, kids’ club, beach, another pool, repeat.

And that matters to me with young kids, because there’s a huge difference between a hotel that accepts families and one that’s been designed around keeping them occupied.

Didim also gives you another advantage at this time of year: you’re heading considerably further south than many of the other options on this list, which is worth bearing in mind when you’re chasing the last bit of proper heat before winter.

Book a five-night all-inclusive stay at Duja Didim from 25 October, with direct return flights from London Stansted, for £420pp.

7. Marrakech Ryads Parc & Spa, Morocco – from £410pp

I love a wildcard holiday, and for this list, this is it.

When people think October half-term, I suspect plenty immediately start searching the Canaries, Spain, Portugal… but I wouldn’t ignore Marrakech.

For one thing, you’re buying yourself a much better chance of proper warmth without going long-haul.

And this hotel, Marrakech Ryads Parc, works particularly well if you like the idea of Morocco but aren’t quite ready to drag the kids around the medina from breakfast until bedtime.

It’s a resort-style property away from the busiest part of the city, with a big outdoor pool, kids’ club, daily activities, sports and all-inclusive food and drink.

So you can have the easy family resort holiday and still have Marrakech sitting there when you fancy actually going out and seeing something.

The other thing I like is the flight: direct from Manchester, with an 18:40 return flight, meaning you get a full extra day exploring Marrakech – a perfect pick for families with older kids.

At £410pp, I think this is a very strong half-term alternative to falling into the same trap of booking Spain again.

Book a five-night all-inclusive stay at Marrakech Ryads Parc & Spa from 27 October, with direct return flights from Manchester, for £410pp.

6. Tivoli Alvor Algarve Resort, Portugal – from £410pp

This one’s the same price as Morocco, but for a very different holiday.

Tivoli Alvor is the hotel I’d show someone who says: “Yes, we need somewhere brilliant for the children, but I’d quite like it to feel like a holiday for me as well.”

This is a five-star all-inclusive resort with six swimming pools, four restaurants, two bars, a junior club, wellness centre and a shuttle into Alvor.

Some brilliant family hotels are essentially enormous children’s entertainment centres with bedrooms attached, but Tivoli feels far more suited to adults too, without sacrificing the things that make a family holiday easy.

Alvor itself is another reason I’d choose it, because you’re not trapped in an isolated resort: you’ve got a lovely Algarve town nearby if you fancy getting out for a wander.

And at £410pp for a family of four for a five-star all-inclusive school-holiday break, I think the hotel quality you’re getting for the money is excellent.

Book a five-night all-inclusive stay at Tivoli Alvor Algarve Resort from 24 October, with direct return flights from London Stansted, for £410pp.

5. Canvas by Mitsis Messonghi, Corfu – from £368pp

This is probably my personal favourite pick on the list.

Beach, pools, slides, an all-inclusive wristband… very little thinking required.

Canvas by Mitsis Messonghi has four outdoor pools, three children’s pools, a mini aquapark with waterslides and a kids’ club for four to 12-year-olds, alongside its beachfront setting.

That’s exactly the kind of combination I look for when I’m comparing family hotels because it gives you options.

If the children are bored of the main pool, there’s the aquapark.

And if they’re bored of you, there’s the kids’ club.

Or if everybody’s had enough of chlorine, you’ve got the beach.

And £368pp is where this list starts getting particularly tempting.

In the deal I found, you’re flying direct from Gatwick on Tuesday 27 October and returning Sunday 1 November, staying at a four-star Greek all-inclusive hotel – all for under £400pp.

Book a five-night all-inclusive stay at Canvas by Mitsis Messonghi from 27 October, with direct return flights from London Gatwick, for £368pp.

4. Puente Real, Torremolinos – from £330pp

This is one I’d call the safe pair of hands.

Torremolinos isn’t going to win any prizes for being an undiscovered holiday destination.

But sometimes, particularly when you’re travelling with kids, being a known quantity is a selling point.

Puente Real sits right by the beach and has the stuff families actually use: pools, children’s entertainment and a kids’ club for ages four to 12.

Its all-inclusive package also includes meals, local drinks and snacks between restaurant sittings.

And because you’re in Torremolinos rather than a purpose-built resort in the middle of nowhere, you’ve got plenty around you when you fancy getting out.

The price is the headline for me, though: £330pp in October half-term, all inclusive, with direct Bristol flights.

Once you start looking at what families can easily spend on a UK break during the same week – before you’ve bought three meals a day – this deal starts to look very, very sensible.

Book a five-night all-inclusive stay at Puente Real from 27 October, with direct return flights from Bristol, for £330pp.

3. O7 Be Klub, Alcudia, Majorca – from £283pp

This is our first hotel to come under the £300pp mark, so it’s officially time to start taking notes.

You might recognise this hotel by its old name, Bellevue Club, but it’s now O7 Be Klub – and the sheer scale of this place is a big part of the appeal for families.

The resort covers around 250,000 square metres and has 11 swimming pools, including pools specifically designed for babies, plus two children’s waterpark areas with slides, fountains and playgrounds.

That’s worth knowing because a three-star rating can sometimes make people scroll straight past a hotel, but I wouldn’t here.

If your priority is having loads for the kids to do rather than marble reception desks and fancy toiletries, this is exactly the sort of place where the star rating tells you less than the facilities list.

You’re also based in Alcudia at this hotel, which remains one of my favourite easy recommendations for families in Majorca because of the huge sandy beach and very family-orientated resort.

For £283pp all-inclusive in the school holidays, this is seriously cheap.

Book a five-night all-inclusive stay at O7 Be Klub from 27 October, with direct return flights from Birmingham, for £283pp.

2. Magic Sports, Oropesa del Mar – from £268pp

This is the hotel I’d expect kids to pick themselves.

Magic Sports is Spain’s first sports-themed hotel, with rooms themed around sports including football, basketball, tennis and motorsport, plus a sports-themed waterpark with some properly substantial slides.

And Oropesa del Mar is an interesting resort to pick too.

It doesn’t have the same instant name recognition as Benidorm, Salou or Alcudia, which is probably part of why bargains can still appear here.

But for families, there’s a huge resort and a long beachfront – without you paying purely for the destination name.

I’ve previously flagged Magic Sports as one of those under-the-radar Spanish family hotels worth knowing about, and this price only reinforces it.

Because I found a deal for a family of four, all inclusive during October half term, for just £268pp.

That’s flights and hotel for less than plenty of families could spend on accommodation alone for a UK staycation during a school holiday week.

Book a five-night all-inclusive stay at Magic Sports from 27 October, with direct return flights from London Gatwick, for £268pp.

1. Ohtels La Hacienda, La Pineda – from £263pp

I’ve been banging the La Pineda drum for a while now, and this hotel shows exactly why.

Ohtels La Hacienda is a four-star hotel in La Pineda, just 250 metres from the beach, with its own children’s waterpark, outdoor pools, spa, football and padel facilities.

And there’s another reason I really like the location for families: PortAventura World is less than three miles away.

So if you’ve got older children who need more than five straight days around the pool, you’ve got one of Europe’s biggest theme park resorts practically on your doorstep.

You don’t need to do it, obviously – the hotel has enough going on that this still works perfectly well as a straightforward all-inclusive break – but having the option is a massive plus.

A family of four can get away for £1,050 in total (£263pp), with direct Gatwick flights, during the school holidays.

That is the sort of half-term price I’d personally stop scrolling for.

Book a five-night all-inclusive stay at Ohtels La Hacienda from 27 October, with direct return flights from London Gatwick, for £263pp.

Israel’s Rafael and Lockheed Martin are working to accelerate integration of the 1,000-pound-class SPICE standoff weapon with the Israeli Air Force’s F-35I Adir. The development could potentially open the door for the precision-guided munition to be offered to other Joint Strike Fighter operators.

Rafael Advanced Defense Systems announced the effort September 15 during the Air & Space Forces Air, Space and Cyber Symposium that TWZ is attending. The work is being conducted as a joint project with Lockheed Martin at the U.S. contractor’s facilities in the United States and is expected to take several months.

Rafael says the effort could eventually make the weapon available to other F-35 operators. “At a later stage, F-35 operators worldwide will be able to field SPICE 1000,” the company said.

The effort was previously referenced in U.S. government documentation before Rafael’s announcement. Published in August, the Pentagon F-35 Modernized Selected Acquisition Report identified the weapon as the “Israel-unique Smart, Precise Impact, Cost-Effective 1000B,” or SPICE 1000B, and said its integration was progressing “with a strategy to accelerate the implementation via a SPICE Lite process.”

The report does not explain what the “SPICE Lite” process entails.

SPICE — which stands for Smart, Precise Impact, and Cost-Effective — is a family of electro-optically guided standoff weapons developed by Rafael. The family includes SPICE 2000, SPICE 1000, and SPICE 250, with the numbers corresponding broadly to the weight class of the underlying warheads.

SPICE 250, SPICE 1000 & SPICE 2000 Air-to-Surface Missiles

Based around a 1,000-pound-class bomb, SPICE 1000 uses pop-out wings to achieve a manufacturer-stated range of approximately 125 kilometers, or 78 miles. Rafael gives the weapon a claimed circular error probable of around three meters.

The glide bomb combines inertial and satellite-aided navigation with an electro-optical seeker. During the terminal phase, its seeker can compare the observed target area with stored imagery using scene-matching algorithms, allowing the weapon to continue its attack without relying exclusively on GPS. That feature allows it to engage targets autonomously, offering the launch aircraft a true ‘fire and forget’ capability, and provides resilience in GPS-denied or GPS-degraded environments.

SPICE can also be programmed to approach a target from a particular azimuth and impact angle. This provides flexibility in selecting the terminal attack geometry and can support steep attack profiles against targets where penetration from above is desirable.

SPICE 1000 is not a new Israeli capability. It has been operational with the Israel Air Force since 2017 and is already integrated with Israeli F-16I Sufa, F-16C/D Barak, F-15I Ra’am, and F-15 Baz fighters.

“SPICE 1000 has been sold to several countries and is in operational service with a number of air forces worldwide,” Rafael said. “It has served as a primary munition of the Israeli Air Force for several years, including extensive use in recent long-range operations flown from F-15 and F-16 aircraft.”

The Israeli Air Force has released footage showing SPICE weapons being used during recent operations, including imagery from the weapon’s own perspective during its terminal attack.

Israel’s F-35I is already unusual within the international Joint Strike Fighter fleet. The IDF has developed and demonstrated an external Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) carriage capability, and said in March 2025 that the Israeli Adir was the only F-35 to have conducted operational strikes with an external weapons configuration. You can read more about that here.

However, according to The Jerusalem Post, the SPICE weapon is expected to be carried internally by F-35Is equipped with Technology Refresh 3, or TR-3, hardware, which would maintain its low-observable configuration. Neither Rafael nor Lockheed Martin has publicly detailed the specific carriage configuration, aircraft modifications or software associated with the current integration effort.

The long-delayed TR-3 is a major upgrade to the F-35’s computing architecture and provides the processing infrastructure required for subsequent Block 4 capabilities. Israel received its first three F-35Is equipped with TR-3 hardware in January of this year.

Lockheed Martin describes Block 4 as the F-35 program’s “most significant evolution of F-35 capabilities to date,” encompassing more than 70 major upgrades, including increased weapons capacity, advanced electronic warfare capabilities, and improved target recognition.

It remains unclear if the SPICE 1000 integration itself requires the full Block 4 configuration.

The potential significance of the Israeli integration extends beyond the Israel Air Force. If SPICE 1000 ultimately becomes available to other F-35 operators, the completed Israeli integration could provide those countries with another pathway toward fielding a precision standoff weapon rather than requiring them to begin an integration effort entirely from scratch.

Integrating national weapons onto the F-35 can be a lengthy process. It involves not only the weapon itself, but aircraft software, interfaces, weapons-bay compatibility, flight testing, mission-system integration and certification within the U.S.-led F-35 program.

The United Kingdom’s experience with MBDA’s SPEAR 3 provides a good example of the challenges.

In 2022, the U.K. Ministry of Defence said that scheduled delivery dates for SPEAR 3 had been delayed because of “prioritisation in the overall F-35 development programme,” which is managed by the U.S.-led F-35 Joint Program Office.

The program has continued to progress, including F-35B integration work and flight testing. But in June 2026, the U.K. government said that completion of mission-systems integration and jettison trials remained part of a wider weapons-integration program and that SPEAR 3 integration and subsequent release to service would occur in the early 2030s.

The United Kingdom has consequently approved the acquisition of the GBU-53/B Small Diameter Bomb II as an interim standoff weapon for the F-35B until SPEAR 3 enters service.

Nevertheless, another F-35 operator would not be able to adopt the Israeli SPICE integration without additional work. National configurations, software baselines, certification requirements, weapons procurement, and export approvals would still have to be addressed.

Already, however, aided by its uniquely configured test jet, Israel has demonstrated an unusual ability to integrate nationally developed capabilities onto its F-35I. This has been aided by privileged access to the Joint Strike Fighter’s closely guarded software codes.

A U.K. parliamentary report noted delays in integrating British weapons onto the F-35B while contrasting that with Israel’s ability to integrate domestic electronic warfare systems, sensors, and communications technology onto its Adir.

Meanwhile, Rafael and Lockheed Martin already have experience working together on the SPICE family.

The companies signed a teaming agreement in 2019 covering the joint development, marketing and manufacture of SPICE guidance kits for the U.S. market. In 2021, they expanded the agreement to include SPICE 250, including development for potential sales to the United States and Poland. With some unque capabilities, SPICE could be of particular interest to the U.S. military, especially as it seeks to leverage multiple sources of precision munitions.

The SPICE family also extends beyond the 1,000-pound-class weapon now being integrated with the F-35.

At the other end of the family is SPICE 250, a much smaller weapon designed around a 250-pound-class payload. It incorporates a man-in-the-loop capability that allows an operator to redirect the weapon during its flight and abort the attack if necessary.

SPICE 250 – Stand-Off Air-to-Surface Weapon System

Its smaller dimensions also allow substantially greater weapon carriage. Rafael has marketed configurations in which a fighter can carry as many as 16 SPICE 250 weapons.

SPICE 1000, by comparison, is a substantially heavier weapon intended to provide longer-range precision attack capability with a larger warhead.

The SPICE effort is taking place alongside several other Israeli initiatives aimed at extending the F-35I’s range and weapons capabilities.

The Pentagon’s F-35 documentation has referenced ongoing work on extended-range fuel tanks and electronic warfare pods for the Israeli Air Force, although it did not provide fielding dates.

In May 2026, Israel’s defense ministry awarded an extended-range capability development contract for the F-35I to Elbit Systems subsidiary Cyclone. The capability is intended to increase the aircraft’s radius of action and reduce its reliance on aerial refueling during long-range missions.

Israel has also announced a major expansion of its F-35I fleet, with plans to increase the number of aircraft from 50 to 100. The country is simultaneously expanding its forthcoming F-15IA fleet from 25 to 50 aircraft.

For the F-35I, SPICE 1000 adds a long-range strike option that pairs the aircraft’s low observability with substantial standoff range and a relatively heavy warhead. This offers a survivability advantage in increasingly contested environments, allowing attacks from farther outside capable air defense systems and under heavy electronic warfare conditions. This factor will only become more important as integrated air defense systems become more capable and the F-35 more detectable.

Exactly how the weapon will be integrated remains undisclosed. Rafael and Lockheed Martin have not announced the final carriage configuration, aircraft software requirements, flight-test schedule, or expected date for operational clearance.

At the same time, Rafael is explicitly positioning the effort as a potential pathway for SPICE 1000 to become available to the wider F-35 community. This would conceivably give other operators another option at a time when integrating a new standoff weapon onto the fighter can take years.

Contact the author: thomas@thewarzone.com

Premiering Sunday on PBS, “Trespasses,” a four-part adaptation of Louise Kennedy’s 2022 debut novel, is a story of love in a time of choler. Set outside of Belfast in 1975 during the Troubles, it follows a clandestine affair between Cushla Lavery (Lola Petticrew, the serial killer in “Furious”), a 24-year-old Catholic elementary school teacher, and Michael Agnew (Tom Cullen), an older, married Protestant barrister known for defending stone-throwing Catholic youth with an eye to keeping them out of the IRA.

Emptying the thesaurus, press materials stress the hot stuff — “scandalous,” “risqué,” “racy,” “torrid,” “titillating” and “steamy” — and while there is more than a modicum of modest sex scenes, the actual tone of the limited series, as adapted by Ailbhe Keogan and directed by Dawn Shadforth, is quite measured; it runs on talk. That’s not to say, given the setting and the setup, which betokens tragedy as surely as Romeo meeting Juliet, it doesn’t throb with tension, let’s say, three-quarters of the time.

Along with teaching, Cushla works for her brother Eamonn (Martin McCann) at the family bar. The clientele includes Catholics and Protestants, united in their love of whiskey, lately including Michael — whose opposition to extremism grants him the honor of being disliked by both sides — seemingly there expressly, even too expressly, to gaze upon Cushla while he pretends to do crosswords. And she gazes back. Moving through discussions of Malcolm McDowell’s typecasting and group lessons in Irish, led by Cushla, they will go beyond gazing.

She’s a ray of light; he’s magnetically mature. You may or may not buy the mutual attraction the series insists upon, or for that matter, trust the lovers’ motivations. (I think we’re meant at least not to wholly trust Michael, as the older party, with a reputation as a womanizer — I didn’t, anyway.) But you will also be invited to change your mind. Because the camera never leaves Cushla’s side, anything there is to learn we learn along with her, which pays some dramatic dividends and means we’ll be forced to revise earlier judgments, usually for the better.

It’s a dangerous liaison. Michael, who is given to speechifying (and actual speechmaking), declares, “We cannot let the old bigots and the boys with guns tell us how to live … Otherwise nothing will ever change. Hate wins” and, in a favorite refrain, “We must find the bravery to choose freedom over fear.” Cushla, however notes that she comes “from a long line of Catholics that have survived by keeping their heads down and their mouths shut. Having a big opinion like yours, it’s a luxury I don’t have.”

Gerry Harkin (Oisin Thompson), left, Cushla’s colleague and confidant.

(Peter Marley / Channel 4)

Many shots are framed as if Cushla and Michael are being watched, whether or not they are, though sometimes they are, including by each other. (“They like to let me know they know where I am,” Michael says, when Cushla mentions seeing a patrol car outside his flat.) We’re shown the oppressive presence of loyalist troops, and some anti-Catholic vandalism, and a neighbor reflexively checking his car for a bomb, but the greater violence comes through as background noise on the radio or TV news, or reported by Cushla’s young students.

Fortunately, if no less terribly, there is more to the story, and many of the most compelling scenes have little or nothing to do with Michael. (Every scene is a Cushla scene.) She’s wonderful with her class, and her colleague and confidant Gerry Harkin (Oisin Thompson), who will jump onstage at a school assembly to interrupt a strident, bigoted superior, leading the students in a peace song — “Take away the hate and the violence / Bring love into our hearts.” Viewers will consider his bowl haircut a romantic nonstarter, but there are levels to be revealed.

Cushla may not have the luxury of big opinions, but as an obviously good person, whatever one thinks of adultery, she’s unafraid to go against the grain in support of her student Davy McGeown (Daithi Ó Haragain), whose mother (Emily Taaffe) is Protestant and whose Catholic father, in the child’s words, has been “beat up for loving my mummy.” She’s also supportive of Davy’s bright older brother Tommy (Conlaoch Gough-Cunningham), teetering on the edge after the attack on his father.

Above all, there is Cushla’s mother, Gina, played by Gillian Anderson, in a downward spiral since the death of her husband, some two years earlier. Introduced in a state of drunken collapse, Anderson — fearful, bitter, despairing, protective — is quite magnificent limning different levels of intoxication. But she’s even more impressive in her sober scenes, participating in the world beyond her couch, bringing food to the McGeowns and, finally, acting as a mother to Gina.

Michael’s declarations not even aside, Keoghan has a gift for writing dialogue that feels native to the speaker and doesn’t land heavily on a point, and apart from the lovemaking interludes and a gauzy montage of a romantic trip to Dublin, Shadforth’s naturalistic direction enhances the drama by not underscoring it. She has an especially convincing way with party scenes — a school disco, a wedding, an art opening, a birthday party (at which Michael performs a soulful, foreshadowing version of the Carter Family’s “The Last Move For Me”) — where so many productions fall down.

Come for the promised steaminess. Stay for the rest of it.

Cardiff have plenty of firepower in the backs but need to provide a platform if they are to make the next step.

The Blue and Blacks qualified for the play-offs last season by finishing sixth but were comprehensively beaten by Stormers in the quarter-finals.

“It is obvious, our set-piece needs to improve,” said flanker Dan Thomas in the immediate aftermath of the Cape Town loss.

“The Stormers were dominant and we didn’t cope. We knew it was coming and still couldn’t stop it.”

Loose-head prop Scott Sio, who won 74 caps for Australia, arrives from Exeter charged with helping to drive improvement in that department.

“One of the biggest things Cardiff want to pride themselves on is that set-piece,” said the 34-year-old.

“Hopefully I can be a good cog in the wheel there and provide some experience.”

Sio made the last of his 86 appearances for Chiefs in June’s Prem final at Twickenham and still harbours ambitions of reaching a third World Cup, now with Samoa.

“He is very experienced and wants to look after the boys around him in the changing room, in the gym, on the pitch,” said head coach Corniel van Zyl.

Israeli settlers have stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem again and performed Jewish prayers in the courtyard.

The weekend witnessed a series of provocative acts by Israeli politicians and settlers in the build-up to Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar, and next month’s Israeli election.

On Thursday, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and others again stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound for Yom Kippur. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also visited a labyrinth of tunnels below occupied East Jerusalem on Saturday.

Early on Sunday morning, Netanyahu released videos and photographs on his official Instagram account documenting his participation in Jewish “Selichot” prayers at the Western Wall, known as the al-Buraq Wall to Muslims.

The tunnels lie underneath occupied East Jerusalem’s bustling Old City and the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, making the incursions particularly sensitive for the occupied territory’s Palestinian population.

Translation: Happy New Year and a good final signature to all Israelis from the Western Wall.

Under the protection of security forces, Netanyahu, accompanied by several government ministers and thousands of Israeli settlers, made his way onto the plaza of the wall in occupied East Jerusalem on Saturday evening, ahead of Yom Kippur.

Footage shared by the prime minister showed him performing the rituals from behind bulletproof glass. In another video, Netanyahu and his wife, Sara, passed through one of the excavation tunnels running beneath the Western Wall while Jewish prayers took place.

“Well, we are in the tunnels at the al-Buraq Wall. It is moving to touch the rock of our existence. We are here very close to the Holy of Holies. We are here, and we will always remain here,” Netanyahu stated in the video.

Translation: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife in prayer for the safety of Israeli soldiers tonight at the Western Wall.

Yom Kippur incursions

The prime minister’s subterranean visit unfolded alongside a wave of settler incursions into the holy site above ground.

On its official Facebook page, the Palestinian Jerusalem governorate reported that about 570 settlers had stormed the courtyards of the Al-Aqsa Mosque by 10am local time on Sunday. According to the governorate, the settlers performed Talmudic rituals and “epic prostrations” to mark Yom Kippur.

The Palestinian group Hamas strongly condemned the incursions in a press statement published on its official Telegram channel.

“The storming by Benjamin Netanyahu, against whom an arrest warrant has been issued by the International Criminal Court, of the tunnels and excavations beneath the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque and the al-Buraq Wall, and the provocative statements and false claims accompanying it about the so-called Holy of Holies, represents a blatant attack on the identity of the Al-Aqsa Mosque and its status, and a provocation to the feelings of our Palestinian people and the Arab and Islamic nations,” the statement in Arabic said.

The group emphasised Al-Aqsa’s exclusively Islamic heritage and rejected Israel’s ongoing excavations under the holy site.

Religious or political?

Israel has been digging beneath occupied East Jerusalem for years, a move that has been condemned by archaeologists and the United Nations. The works are believed to be intended to find proof of the rampart wall of the Second Temple, but experts say there is no proof of this claim. Others view these measures as an attempt by Israel to cement its rule over occupied Palestinian land.

In 2022, Netanyahu led a cabinet meeting in the labyrinth, describing Israel as the “landlords of Jerusalem”. East Jerusalem has been earmarked as the capital of a future Palestinian state by Palestinians.

The timing of Saturday’s visit not only comes on the eve of Yom Kippur but also at a time of huge political significance for the Israeli leader, who trails in the polls against his rival Gadi Eisenkot, leader of the Yashar party.

Ahmed al-Hila, a political analyst specialising in Middle East affairs and the Arab-Israeli conflict, told Al Jazeera that Netanyahu is using religious symbolism to try to secure his political survival ahead of October’s general election.

“Benjamin Netanyahu wanted, through this visit … creating this symbolism for himself as a leader spearheading the right wing to consolidate the Israeli political and religious narrative in the Al-Aqsa Mosque, to attempt to gather the largest possible number of votes to serve as an electoral lever for him,” said al-Hila.

“As for the intense security mobilisation and Benjamin Netanyahu’s appearance behind a bulletproof glass shield [during a speech above ground], this is a direct indication that this city has not, up to this moment, submitted to Israeli security control, despite the repeated and frequent talk that Jerusalem is ‘the capital of the State of Israel’.”

The visit could also be a message to the wider world, amid global criticism of the controversial illegal settlement project E1, which the Israeli government has issued tenders for, and which appears designed to sever East Jerusalem from the occupied West Bank.

“What further confirms this conclusion is that initiating the settlement project called E1 does not only isolate the northern West Bank from its south … but this settlement project completes the isolation of the city of Jerusalem from its Palestinian surroundings,” Al-Hila said. “Therefore, this visit with its political symbolism confirms the idea of Israeli sovereignty over the city of Jerusalem.”

“WHO sang Bat Out Of Hell? Was it: A, Meatballs; B, Tom Jones; C . . . ?”

“A!” shouts my partner Sophie, and I duly push the button.

Speed, you see, is key to this quiz.

But, then again, so is the right answer.

We are aboard Tui’s Aria for its Dutch Delta Discovery sailing, taking in the waterways and canals of the Netherlands and Belgium.

And the quiz we are playing, where each team has a handset to record and time their answers, is just a small part of the nightly entertainment.

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Other fun includes cabaret, themed dance nights and musical bingo. And one of the joys is how laid-back it all is compared to the more glitzy shows of the huge ocean-going liners.

But while Aria, one of Tui’s quaint ships designed specially for river waterways, was significantly smaller than any ocean liner, it wasn’t less comfy.

With 96 cabins and enough room for 200 passengers, it feels spacious throughout.

There are two main communal areas: the bright Observatory Bar & Lounge on deck three, with floor-to-ceiling windows, and Verdastro restaurant below for plentiful breakfasts, lunches and dinners.

There is also a pool, covered at night to become the Reflections Italian restaurant.

The main package is Full Board Plus, which includes three meals a day and selected drinks, including wine and beer, with lunch and dinner.

And although you may not have a choice of restaurant every night, the changing menu covered all tastes, with elegant dishes of beef wellington, artichoke souffle and a fresh catch of the day.

Our cabin was large, with plenty of storage and huge glass doors from which to watch the river banks pass by. A daily joy was throwing back the curtains to see what port we had woken up in.

We began our six-night journey in Amsterdam then stopped in Rotterdam, Veere, Ghent and Antwerp before circling back to our starting point. Our favourite was perhaps Rotterdam, the Netherlands’ second city.

It’s built along the river and 99 per cent of the buildings on the north bank were flattened in 15 minutes during a World War Two bombing raid.

It was rebuilt from the Fifties onward and is known for its unusual architecture.

One example is the Cube House development, an eccentric array of 38 bright yellow, cube-shaped houses connected together at stark angles in the sky.

They look like they would be awkward to live in. But don’t just ponder on it from the outside. If you want to find out what it’s like inside, you can tour one for 3.50 euro — and it’s great value.

Aside from the architecture, a major reason Rotterdam delighted Sophie and me was because it was one of the two times we took advantage of the daily guided trips put on by Tui.

The trip was actually a 20-minute taxi boat ride away in Kinderdijk, home to 19 historic windmills from the 1700s.

Now, I knew the Netherlands was famous for windmills, but I was surprised to learn their purpose was not for grinding wheat — but as an ingenious water-management system.

With much of the country reclaimed from marshland, and below sea level, it is prone to flooding when heavy rains swell rivers and overwhelm drainage ditches.

To get round this, the windmills had huge wheels with paddles to scoop out the water from ditches and chuck it into a storage reservoir, which could then be let out into the rivers and sea.

But this aside, they are easy on the eye and it all feels so very Dutch.

If outdoor time is a big selling point for you, then you’ll love Veere in Zeeland (the next call on our trip), which is the region of islands and peninsulas that make up the west of the Netherlands.

If you feel energetic, I’d recommend hiring bikes for a scoot around the very flat landscape. There are lots of cycle lanes, which take you through gorgeous nature reserves and past vast lakes.

You can reward your efforts at the next port of call, Ghent in Belgium, as you sample beer, sausage and cheese on another Tui tour.

Ghent is a medieval gem with cobbled streets lined by fascinating, old-world buildings. It was so easy to immerse ourselves that we almost missed the boat before it set sail.

There’s no need to panic if you struggle to remember those daily timings, though. Tui’s own Navigate app will keep you up to date with the schedule and you can also use it to check menus or book trips.

With our cruise nearing an end, it was back to Amsterdam, a city renowned for its canals and laidback cafes.

You can’t run out of things to do but, in our short time, we opted to visit the Anne Frank Museum. Make sure you book it as soon as you pay for the cruise as you have to reserve weeks in advance.

The secret annex that hid Anne and her family from the Nazis is accessed through a doorway concealed by a movable bookcase. It is a sombre experience climbing into the hideout but a powerful reminder of one of history’s greatest terrors.

It left us feeling even more grateful for the evening feast we were about to tuck into back on board Aria.

A cheeseboard was a definite — I just wonder if they have any Meatloaf.