ANGIE Best has revealed that she’s back in hospital after a suffering ‘setback’ following her battle with colon cancer.

The former model, 74 – who announced that she was diagnosed with the disease in January – shared that she was cancer-free back in July.

“Colon cancer is a growth of cells that begins in a part of the large intestine called the colon,” Mayo Clinic states.

Angie, who is the ex-wife of football legend George Best, has been keeping fans up to date on social media after having traditional medicine, chemotherapy and immunotherapy, as well as an alternative mistletoe therapy in Switzerland.

Taking to her page earlier today, Angie said: “Update my homies. I find myself back in the hospital.

“I have an infection. They think it’s bacterial. Bt I have to stay here a few days for results and to make it better.

on the mend

Angie Best, 74, reveals she’s cancer-free after doctors removed tumours

HEALTH UPDATE

Angie Best reveals she has to go under major surgery within days

“See you on the other side.”

She captioned the post: “Slight setback but nothing that can’t be fixed.”

Many rushed to the comments section to share that she is in their thoughts, including her reality star son Calum, who wrote: “I love u and we have got this.”

Another said: “You are in my prayers.”

“Sending love and hugs and strength xx,” a third chimed in.

A fourth added: “Wishing you a speedy recovery sending love and prayers.”

After major surgery to remove a tumour from her colon in July, Angie told fans the incredible news that she is free of the disease.

Sharing her good news on Instagram, she wrote: “Bit different from all the miserable videos of the last 7 months. I’m a truly happy grateful girl, it’s over.”

In a video update, a relaxed Angie explained: “The chemo and the immunotherapy prior had shrunk my 30cm lump down to a little tiny bit that was attached to the colon.

“They shrunk it, now we go in and cut it out… A bit like an interior designer coming in and moving the furniture around, but it still works.

“So then it’s done, they sew you up, then they wait three days, and in those three days, they give you fluids only.

“So of course I lost so much weight, this is why I look so drawn, but I’m not worried about that because I’ve just been eating some shrimp tempura and I’m gonna gain that weight back again without no worries about that.

“On the fourth day, they give you your first meal, very sensible meal, all white.

“And then they wait for the next morning to see if you go to the bathroom.

“I did. And again the next day and again the next day, so everything was working as it should perfectly in my little colon.

“I’m so happy because now I can officially say with gratitude and love that I am cancer free and healing. All I’ve got to do now is get better.

“I’ve got to heal and I can do that. That’s what I’m good at. God knows it’s the only thing I’m good at.

“But I can’t come home yet because this was such a major operation. I have to wait eight days and sit and wait, but I’m gonna use that time to heal and get better.

“I’ve got so much I want to do. I’m going to reinvent myself at the ripe old age of 74. Wish me luck!”

‘It’s a magical place, and not just because of the hotel.” Standing outside the greenhouses at Högbo Brukshotell, two hours north of Stockholm, Stefan Johansson is talking about far more than hospitality. The former head chef, now responsible for sustainability at Högbo, has spent much of the past decade helping reshape the way this corner of Sweden grows, cooks and thinks about food.

The catalyst was disarmingly simple. Years ago, a journalist asked Johansson why he was cooking the food he was cooking. Like many ambitious Swedish chefs, Stefan trained in Stockholm’s top restaurants, where ingredients from around the world were only a phone call away. The question lingered long after the interview ended.

“Before, I wanted food to be spectacular; I didn’t really care where it came from,” he says. “Then I closed the window of where we source from down to the region. It was the best thing I’ve ever done.” Instead of looking farther afield for inspiration, he began looking closer to home.

Högbo Brukshotell sits in the former Högbo ironworks, a quiet pocket of forest, waterways and historic buildings north of Sandviken. The area’s industrial past is still visible in its old manor houses, smithies and mill buildings, but since the factories fell silent in the mid-19th century, the woods have reclaimed their place. Walking, cycling and cross-country ski trails now lead into the forest, while the old bruk buildings house cafes, workshops and small businesses.

Ingredients that once arrived at Högbo from far away are now grown here. The Made in Högbo project began with lamb, with animal rearing and butchery brought in-house. Vegetable production followed. Now greenhouses sit alongside kitchen gardens, producing ingredients for the restaurant and creating opportunities for people who might otherwise struggle to find work.

Refugees from Myanmar helped establish some of the early growing projects. New arrivals from the Democratic Republic of the Congo have joined the initiative, splitting their time between Swedish language classes and work placements, their influence visible in the rows of papaya, bananas and other plants rarely associated with Sweden. There are plans for an aquaponics system that will combine greenhouse cultivation with tilapia fish farming. In farm buildings there are now also a bakery making sourdough and cakes, a microbrewery run by one of the chefs, a dairy making fresh cheeses, and an excellent deli.

Högbo isn’t the only place asking these questions about food provenance. Over several days travelling through Gästrikland and neighbouring Hälsingland in eastern Sweden, I discover a network of millers, fishers, distillers, cheese makers and chefs connected by a shared idea: that food should reflect the place it comes from.

At Gammelstilla, an old ironworks has become a small whisky distillery. In the village of Gästrike-Hammarby, The Old Mill is now an award-winning restaurant run by Bogdan Ioan Gheorghe and Ellinor Andersson, with a tasting menu that features a roll-call of local producers alongside surprising ingredients such as the invasive species Japanese knotweed.

At Bergmans Fisk, in Norrsundet, low islands scatter across the bay and the Baltic stretches east towards Finland beyond the wooden smokehouses. The business is run by a seventh-generation fishing family whose connection to these waters stretches back more than a century. Inside the smokehouses, salmon hangs in neat rows, a slow process, refined over generations.

But for traditions – and the business – to survive, they have to evolve and diversify, Dennis Bergman explains. In 2020, the family opened a waterfront restaurant overlooking the bay where much of their fish is caught. We enjoy a smorgasbord of smoked salmon and böckling (hot smoked herring) piled on dark rye crispbreads. The family also operates a travelling fish van serving coastal communities and is planning a small hotel: new ventures that will help secure the future of old skills.

Driving north through the deep pine forests and lush fields of Hälsingland, I keep spotting hand-painted signs for potatoes, eggs and strawberries. Outside red-painted farm buildings, honesty boxes sit beside stacks of produce.

At Teve Kvarn, a mill south of Järvsö, I meet Anna Larsson, a seventh-generation miller. She sources grain from roughly a 150km (93-mile) radius, selling seed to farmers and then buying back the grain to ensure high-quality flour production. Only a handful of mills of this type remain in Sweden. Anna points out her newest machine – it was installed in 1930.

Beside the traditional wooden mill, shiny stills are visible in a tall glass building. This is the Tevsjö distillery run by Anna’s husband, Jonas, producing vodka, gin and aquavit using grain from the mill. The distillery runs on hydroelectric power generated from the nearby stream, and has already increased its production capacity more than 10 times on the strength of the products’ popularity – while creating 10 new local jobs.

At nearby Järvsö Lanthandel, I meet chef Tobias Annerhult who runs the general store and restaurant. For Annerhult, local sourcing isn’t just desirable, it’s his entire food philosophy. “I only buy salt, pepper, sugar and oil,” he tells me. “I don’t use stabilisers. Nothing gets thrown away; that feeds the creative process. Our philosophy is to grow through limitations.”

In a climate where vegetables arrive in abundance for only part of the year, preserving is essential. Annerhult pickles, cures and ferments local produce, including meat for charcuterie.

Tonight, we too have to work for our dinner, taking a cooking class that Tobias offers for private group bookings. We have brought produce collected across the region: flour from the centuries-old mill; cheese and potatoes from honesty boxes; fish from a family that has worked the same waters for generations; and vegetables from local greenhouses.

Together, we make fermented pea pancakes with sweet preserved apple and salty local goat’s cheese; bouncy fresh pasta using Anna’s wheat and eggs from Tobias’s chickens, served simply with burrata-style cheese, brown butter and garden herbs; and warm cake with the first of the season’s rhubarb.

It’s a meal that tastes all the better for knowing the stories and people behind it. Combining preserved and fermented ingredients with the season’s freshest produce harks back to traditional approaches to cooking and eating. Today’s chefs are reclaiming that philosophy, and the results are delicious.

It perhaps helps answer the question that changed Stefan’s career all those years ago. Why cook this food, in this place? Because when food truly belongs somewhere, it becomes a way of understanding that place too.

The trip was provided by Visit Sweden. For more information visit gastrikland.se and destinationhalsingland.se. Högbo Brukshotell has doubles from 1,995 Swedish kronor (£155) B&B

Yemeni refugees arrive in Obock, Djibouti, within 24 hours as Houthis tighten their grip on the Bab al-Mandeb strait.

About 1,400 people have fled Yemen for Djibouti in a 24-hour period, Djibouti’s economy and finance minister says, as Houthi fighters tighten their grip on the Bab al-Mandeb strait.

Ilyas Moussa Dawaleh wrote on X on Saturday: “1,400 refugees arrived in Djibouti from Yemen in just 24 hours.”

In a separate post on Friday, the minister said that 500 refugees had arrived in the coastal city of Obock, including women and children, after they were rescued at sea when their boats ran out of fuel while crossing the Bab-el-Mandeb strait.

Obock, a city only about 20 kilometres (12 miles) across the water from the Yemeni coast, has for several years been a preferred arrival point for those seeking refuge from war-torn Yemen. The Bab-el-Mandeb strait is also used in the opposite direction by migrants from the Horn of Africa, who transit through Yemen on their way to Gulf countries.

Safiya Ibrahim, humanitarian response coordinator for the International Organization for Migration (IOM), told AFP that “vulnerable groups such as women and children have reached the shores of Obock, with more expected in the coming days”.

The IOM warned on Friday that at least 46,000 people had been displaced in Yemen since fighting escalated last week.

“Families are being forced to flee for the second or third time in this conflict, with almost nothing left,” Amy Pope, the IOM director general, said in a statement. “As fighting spreads, reaching people with lifesaving assistance is becoming harder. We urgently need safe, unimpeded access.”

Djibouti hosts tens of thousands of refugees and asylum seekers. United Nations Refugee Agency figures from March 2026 show a registered population of more than 36,000, with the majority from Somalia, Ethiopia and Yemen.

The Houthis seized the Red Sea port city of Mocha on Thursday and have since overrun the coastline and islands surrounding the Bab al-Mandeb strait. The rapid offensive has forced thousands of families to flee, with entire villages reportedly emptied in districts such as Maqbanah, Jabal Habashi and al-Maafer.

AN emotional Celine Dion has been hailed a ‘true fighter’ as she sobbed through her return to stage after her battle with stiff-person syndrome.

The singer, 58, who was diagnosed with the rare autoimmune neurological disorder in 2022, is performing at the Plenitude Arena in Nanterre, west of Paris, tonight.

According to Patient Info, SPS “is a very rare, long-term condition that causes painful muscle spasms and debilitating muscle stiffness”.

When she revealed her diagnosis, Celine cancelled all of her tour dates for 2023 and 2024, but in March this year it was reported that she was going to return to stage for her first tour in six years.

Talking to her fans at the venue, which has a capacity of 40,000, Celine said: “I had promised myself not to cry.

“I don’t keep my promises. But I’m so happy to see you all.

COMEBACK QUEEN

Celine Dion seen for first time in 2 years as she prepares for epic return

DION WILL GO ON

Inside secret plot to make Celine Dion’s ‘final farewell’ dream a reality

“I missed you. I’m going to sing like you without crying.”

Many rushed to X, formerly known as Twitter, to share their love and support towards the star.

One said: “You really did it Celine Dion! Thank you for coming back, you did better than ever legend.”

“What a come back! Celine Dion in Paris – powerful, emotional and simply unforgettable. A true legend,” another wrote.

A third added: “The best to ever do it has returned! Great to see Celine back after so many health challenges and she still sounds amazing.”

A fourth chimed in: “I admire her strength, her courage and her incredible talent.”

A fifth said: “So happy for Celine Dion. All she wanted is go back on stage. She did it. What a fighter!”

Celine will be performing another 25 shows at the arena.

Her last date this year is October 17, and then she will return next year in May for her remaining gigs.

It comes after she made her made her first public performance after revealing she is living with SPS when she closed the Olympics opening ceremony in Paris for the 2024 Olympics.

Some of Celine’s songs include My Heart Will Go On, The Power of Love and All By Myself.

One person has been confirmed dead and more than 30 remain missing after the MV Matui ferry sank off the coast of Vanuatu, according to a statement from the office of Prime Minister Jotham Napat. The incident occurred on Sunday, with dozens of crew and passengers on board, the statement said.

Search and rescue operations are ongoing in Vanuatu, a Pacific Island nation located approximately 1,750 km (1,090 miles) east of Australia. The Prime Minister’s office stated on Facebook that 15 individuals have been accounted for alive. The ferry sank in adverse weather conditions on Friday between the islands of Ambae and Santo, according to New Zealand public broadcaster RNZ. The search has shifted from open waters to the south-east coast, where currents may have carried survivors, RNZ reported.

Investigation into causes

The statement from the Prime Minister’s office indicated that strong winds and marine warnings may not have been heeded, and that potential negligence, including overloading of the vessel, is being investigated. Authorities have announced that a formal investigation will be conducted to determine the causes of the incident.

“To the survivors, we pray for your strength and recovery. To the families of those missing and those we have lost, please know that the nation stands with you in this time of grief,” the statement from the Prime Minister’s office said.

Rescue operations and official response

Matai Seremaiah, a representative of the Luganville area in Vanuatu’s Parliament, stated that rescue efforts began after a crew member of the MV Matui swam ashore and raised the alarm. “He alerted us that the ship has capsized, we went out for the search,” Seremaiah said in remarks broadcast by RNZ.

The Vanuatu police, the Vanuatu Maritime Safety Authority, and the ferry’s operator, Tui Shipping Agency, have not yet responded to requests for comment. The search and rescue operation continues as authorities work to locate the missing passengers and crew.

Rescuers continue searching for survivors as the government scales back operations in open waters.

At least one person has died and more than 30 remain missing after a ferry sank off the coast of Vanuatu, Prime Minister Jotham Napat’s office has said in a statement.

The MV Matui, an inter-island ferry, sank in bad weather on Friday while sailing between the islands of Ambae and Santo, in Vanuatu’s north, according to New Zealand’s public broadcaster RNZ.

Of the dozens of crew members and passengers on board, 15 have been accounted for alive, Napat’s office said in a statement posted on Facebook, with search and rescue operations continuing.

The Pacific nation’s government said search efforts “in open waters” were being scaled back “whilst efforts move toward a search along the south-east coast, where currents may have carried survivors”.

It said the sinking “appears to be the result of strong winds and marine warnings not being heeded, and possibly of negligence including overloading of the vessel”, adding that a full investigation would follow to establish the facts and prevent a repeat.

Vanuatu police, the country’s Maritime Safety Authority and the ferry’s operator, Tui Shipping Agency, did not immediately respond to requests for comment, the Reuters news agency reported.

Céline Dion’s first concert in years delighted fans, with the Canadian singer crying as she made an emotional comeback to the stage.

It was Dion’s first full concert in six years after she was diagnosed with a rare neurological disorder called stiff person syndrome, which forced her to cancel tours.

Joyful fans spilled out of the Paris La Défense Arena on Saturday night singing and dancing to her classic hits, while some were still wiping away tears.

Paris correspondent Hugh Schofield went along and reflects on getting swept up in the Dion dalliance that French fans are calling “the biggest comeback since Charles de Gaulle”.

The competition series fronted by Gary Lineker took an uncomfortable turn as lies told by one of the cast finally came to light

ITV’s The Box cast were stunned after learning their co-star had lied to them.

The star-studded competition series sees celebrities taken to a series of locations where they are then given a challenging task to complete. As per ITV’s synopsis: “Plunged into the unknown while enclosed in a box, 10 celebrities emerge in mystery locations to face their fears in tricky challenges.”

While the line-up initially featured 10 famous faces, that has now been whittled down to just eight at the start of the third episode, which aired this evening (September 12). Remaining in the contest was YouTuber Danny Aarons; comedian Ellie Taylor; reality star Joey Essex; JLS star JB Gill; The Chase’s Jenny Ryan; former politician John Bercow; presenter Ranvir Singh and Love Island star Shakira Khan.

The opening challenge saw the cast thrust into a debate at the prestigious Oxford Union in front of a packed audience. Their debating partner was a fellow celebrity, with reality stars Joey and Shakira going head-to-head in an argument over whether cats or dogs made the better pet.

Just before the start of their debate, Shakira revealed that not only had she been Head Girl at her school, but that she had also been “head of the debate club”, leaving the audience erupting into gasps and Joey immediately doubting his chances at a win.

“I’ve no chance, have I?” he said, before show host Gary Lineker revealed that Joey had to argue for cats being better pets, while Shakira was assigned the counter-argument during which she claimed a scar on her face had been at the hands of a cat.

Despite his passion for the subject matter, Shakira was ultimately crowned the winner of their debate by the watching audience. However, when Gary brought the cast together later on, it emerged Shakira had not been entirely honest.

“Shakira, as head of the school debating society how relieved were you not to lose to Joey Essex?” Gary asked, prompting a sheepish admission from the Love Island star.

“That was actually a fib Gary,” she started, as a stunned Gary replied: “It was a fib was it? I didn’t think you had that in you.”

“The scar from my chin is also not from a cat,” Shakira added, leaving her co-stars open-mouthed. “So a few white lies don’t hurt in politics.”

Following the admission, her co-star Aaron fumed: “Shakira has shown her true colours today. She lied to the audience and I think that shows a snake.”

The Box continues tomorrow night at 8pm on ITV1 and ITVX. Episodes 3 and 4 are also available to stream now on ITVX.

WASHINGTON — A federal judge has ruled that a plan by the Trump administration to slash staffing at the federal agency tasked with responding to disasters by 50% was unlawful.

The opinion issued late Friday marked a victory for labor groups who had sued the agency. The labor organizations had argued that plans by the Department of Homeland Security, which was then led by Secretary Kristi Noem, violated congressional protections that were designed to safeguard the independence of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

The issue of the FEMA staffing was part of a much larger lawsuit filed by the American Federation of Government Employees and other labor groups, contesting efforts by the Trump administration to slash the federal workforce.

U.S. District Judge Susan Illston wrote in her opinion that top Homeland Security officials late last year directed FEMA’s leadership to submit a staffing plan that included a 50% staffing cut even though the agency’s own supervisors objected.

“Frankly, the FEMA staffing plan number appears as if pulled from thin air,” wrote Illston.

FEMA responded in a statement late Saturday saying that while it does not comment on personnel matters and ongoing litigation, “DHS and FEMA are ready for the 2026 hurricane season.”

“We’re ensuring workforce stability and a strong, deployable force for upcoming national events and potential disasters; making the agency leaner, faster and laser-focused on supporting state, local, tribal and territorial partners before, during and after disasters,” the statement said. “FEMA continues to maintain a roster of experienced leadership and support staff across headquarters and regional offices.”

The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

In the opinion, Illston wrote that it was clear that the government violated rules established after 2005’s Hurricane Katrina that put decisions on staffing levels squarely in the hands of FEMA, not the Department of Homeland Security, and that prevented Homeland Security from “substantially” reducing the “functions” of FEMA.

Illston didn’t order a specific remedy to carry out her opinion but directed the two sides to meet and decide on a course of relief.

Although FEMA has experienced terminations, the 50% staffing cuts ultimately were not carried out. In recent months, after top leadership changes at FEMA and the Department of Homeland Security, the agency has rehired some staffers who were let go.

FEMA was one of the agencies targeted for staff reductions in the federal government as part of a broad Trump administration plan to reduce the size of government. The embattled agency has been buffeted by mass staff departures, disruptions of grant programs and delays of disaster aid.

In May, a Trump-appointed FEMA Review Council submitted a final report recommending sweeping changes to how the agency supports states, tribes and territories in disaster.

The final version backed away from the recommendation to cut the FEMA workforce by 50%, which was included in a December 2025 draft reviewed by the Associated Press.

The council instead recommended the agency conduct a “strategic review” to determine “appropriate staffing levels.”

In an August report, the Government Accountability Office said it found that the departures of thousands of staff in 2025 resulted in a “loss of institutional knowledge and experienced personnel” and “exacerbated longstanding workforce challenges.”

More than 4,300 employees, or about 17% of FEMA’s workforce, separated from the agency in the 2025 budget year, with over 1,500 through voluntary reductions. The agency also made about 2,900 new hires.

The GAO recently recommended to Congress that it “consider requiring” FEMA to base “significant workforce decisions” on a more strategic planning process.

Without it, the GAO found, “FEMA cannot be assured that the agency is positioned to effectively meet its mission needs.”

Santana writes for the Associated Press.

Mark Williams pulled off a superb fightback to beat Shaun Murphy and book a spot in Sunday’s English Open final, where he will face Ali Carter.

Murphy, who had claimed a final-frame victory over Judd Trump in the quarter-finals, charged into a 5-1 lead over Williams on Saturday.

But this time it was the world number seven who was denied as Welshman Williams claimed five straight frames to snatch a 6-5 win.

Murphy looked set to clinch victory in the 10th frame with a break of 51 but handed Williams a lifeline and the world number nine took full advantage.

The 51-year-old made 65 to level things up and again prevailed in the decider, with a break of 69 completing the three-time world champion’s remarkable comeback.

Williams and Carter will now battle it out for their first English Open title at the Brentwood Centre in Essex.

In the first semi-final, Carter reeled off five frames in a row to claim a 6-2 win over China’s Ding Junhui, producing a highest break of 119.

The 47-year-old from Essex started the week 25th in the world rankings and will return to the elite top 16 if he beats Williams.

“To get in the top 16 at my ripe old age of 47 wouldn’t be too bad,” said Carter.

“There is a lot to play for tomorrow, but I’m going to be in there fighting.

“I’m still competing with the best players in the world and it is a feather in my cap.”

DAMASCUS: Syria’s Culture Ministry is stepping up efforts to combat illiteracy and expand access to adult education as the country grapples with the legacy of years of war and displacement that has left about one in five Syrians unable to read or write.

The ministry highlighted the scale of the challenge at an event marking International Literacy Day, where officials outlined plans to expand literacy programs, introduce new teaching methods and use digital technology to reach people who have been excluded from education.

Ministry data presented at the event showed that around 4 million people in Syria are illiterate, equivalent to about 20% of the population, while an estimated 2.5 million children have dropped out of education.

Officials said years of war, displacement and deteriorating economic and social conditions had contributed to the high numbers, making literacy not only an educational issue but also a challenge for the country’s broader recovery and development.

Targeting single-digit illiteracy rate

Mohammad al-Asha, director of the Cultural Development and Adult Education Department at the ministry, said authorities were pursuing two parallel approaches to address the problem.

More than 400 literacy courses have been launched since the beginning of the year as part of an immediate response, while the ministry is also developing a national plan aimed at reducing the illiteracy rate to single digits within three years.

New curricula are expected to go beyond basic reading and writing skills to include digital and legal literacy, critical thinking and Syrian cultural identity, as well as awareness aimed at preventing extremism, addiction and behavioral problems.

Deputy Culture Minister Ahmad al-Sawwaf said literacy was closely linked to human dignity, development and citizenship, describing reading and writing as essential tools for people to understand their rights and responsibilities and participate in rebuilding their communities.

Digital tools to broaden access

The event also focused on using digital technology and artificial intelligence to expand adult education at a time when limited resources and staffing pose additional challenges.

Engineer Ramez al-Sammak said digital tools could be used to assess learners’ abilities and tailor educational content to individual needs, helping move literacy programs beyond traditional classroom-based teaching.

Such technology could also help programs reach more people and address difficulties including low motivation and the challenge of attending lengthy courses, participants at a specialized seminar on digital literacy education said.

The event honored 18 people who had benefited from adult education programs, including some who went on to complete secondary education and others who used their newly acquired skills to start income-generating projects in food production, handicrafts, woodworking and crochet.

People with disabilities who continued their education despite difficult circumstances were also honored.

The Culture Ministry said tackling illiteracy required a broad national effort to help vulnerable groups regain access to education and overcome economic, social and psychological barriers.

Through its Adult Education Directorate, the ministry implements Syria’s national literacy policy and develops programs aimed at providing sustainable learning opportunities and helping people excluded from formal education participate more fully in social and cultural life.

The People’s Republic of China achieved a historic and unprecedented participation in the second edition of the El Alamein International Aerospace Exhibition (EIAS 2026), which was held at El Alamein International Airport from September 8 to 10, 2026. The Chinese participation came just days after the conclusion of the joint Egyptian-Chinese air force exercises Eagles of Civilization 2026. The significance of this Chinese military presence lay in the display of a fully integrated and realistic combat air system, not merely models. In this context, the Egyptian researcher will attempt to divide the significance of China’s participation in the El Alamein Air Show into several key areas, including:

– First: China’s prominent participation in the El Alamein International Air and Space Show in Egypt as a strategic shift in the regional arms market

Here, China’s extensive participation in the El Alamein International Air and Space Show constitutes a significant strategic shift in the regional arms market. Beijing has moved beyond the traditional approach of selling individual military components to present itself as a supplier of comprehensive and integrated air combat systems, competing with Western and American powers in the Middle East and Africa. China’s participation in the El Alamein International Air and Space Exhibition focused on several strategic axes to promote and analyze the concept of a full-suite solution. This was achieved by emphasizing that China does not simply sell aircraft but rather offers a comprehensive defense solution, encompassing attack fighters, logistics support aircraft, aerial refueling, and command and control systems, known as C4ISR.

The People’s Liberation Army of China sought to highlight China’s military and defense role and promote the Chinese model as a ready-made competitive alternative. This was done by showcasing the competitive advantages of Chinese defense industries, such as the absence of complex political conditions, rapid delivery, and comprehensive technology transfer to Middle Eastern and African markets. Furthermore, the focus was on the geopolitical depth, linking the Chinese presence in El Alamein to Beijing’s broader vision of strengthening security and economic partnerships with countries in the region.

– Second: Showcasing the most prominent Chinese aircraft platforms participating for the first time outside of China at the El Alamein exhibition

As for the most prominent Chinese aircraft platforms participating for the first time outside of China, for the first time in its history, the People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) showcased four of its latest operational aircraft models at an air show outside of China. The most prominent of these were

– The Chinese J-16 multirole fighter (J-16)

This air superiority and heavy ground attack fighter garnered widespread international attention.

– The Chinese YY-20A aerial refueling tanker (YY-20A)

This Chinese heavy transport aircraft provides refueling to extend the operational range of fighter jets.

– The Chinese KJ-500 airborne early warning and control aircraft (KJ-500)

This represents an airborne command and control system.

– The Chinese Z-20K military helicopter (Z-20K)

This is a multi-role helicopter designed for search and rescue and tactical operations.

Regarding the Chinese weapons and drones on display at the El Alamein International Air and Space Exhibition, the AVIC (Aerospace Industries of China) showcased its advanced defense capabilities in the outdoor exhibition area through:

– A demonstration of the Chinese Wing Loong-10B stealth drone (Wing Loong-10B):

This is a high-altitude, long-range unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) designed for reconnaissance and precision strikes.

– A demonstration of Chinese smart munitions and missiles:

The Chinese drone was displayed surrounded by advanced air-to-air missiles, such as the PL-108 & PL-12AE. In addition to a demonstration of the Chinese anti-radar and anti-radiation missile (YJ-9ER1).

– Third: The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) showcased its capabilities through a technical display (capability integration), dividing its export-available air systems into functional groups for attack, others for support and refueling, and a third group for command and control, during China’s extensive participation in the El Alamein Air Show in Egypt.

In this context, the PLA sought to leverage China’s extensive participation in the El Alamein Air Show in Egypt as a new and strategic launchpad for China in North Africa. This included showcasing the size of the Chinese pavilion and the equipment on display, such as aerobatic aircraft and unmanned combat aerobatics. The Chinese Ministry of Defense emphasized the technical aspects of this capability integration display, highlighting the division of its export-available air systems into functional groups for attack, others for support and refueling, and a third group for command and control. As follows:

■ The offensive functional groups were represented by a display of China’s modern fighter jets and attack drones, such as the Wing Loong family.

■ As for the support and refueling functional groups, China’s strategic transport and aerial refueling aircraft, such as the Y-20, were showcased.

■ The third functional group focused on (command and control), with China displaying its early warning aircraft and airborne command centers.

– Fourth: Analyzing and understanding the strategic dimensions of China’s participation in the El Alamein International Air and Space Exhibition, aimed at attracting more interest in the Chinese aerospace sector and promoting widespread military sales of Chinese military, defense, and armament equipment

Thus, we can analyze and understand the strategic dimensions of China’s participation in the El Alamein International Air and Space Exhibition, which aimed to attract more interest in the Chinese aerospace sector and promote widespread military sales of Chinese military, defense, and armament equipment. Therefore, we find that the extensive Chinese presence at the El Alamein International Air and Space Exhibition constitutes a genuine breakthrough. Beijing did not aim to promote individual pieces but rather to demonstrate its ability to provide a comprehensive and integrated air combat system, encompassing attack, support, refueling, and command, as a competitive alternative in the Middle Eastern and African markets.

Analyzing the economic and strategic dimensions of China’s extensive participation in the El Alamein exhibition, we observe the extent to which the Chinese People’s Liberation Army focused on achieving broad military exposure for its participation during the exhibition. This included showcasing how these Chinese defense, military, and air systems can reduce operating costs for purchasing countries while ensuring their independence in defense decision-making, without imposing political conditions or prior operational restrictions, unlike many Western and American systems.

The beach has claimed another first-time music festival this year.

Ocean Way, the beachfront Santa Monica music fest, has been canceled just two weeks before debuting. The two-day event was set for Sept. 26-27.

Goldenvoice, the promoter behind Ocean Way as well as the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, announced the news Friday in an email from its ticketing platform AXS.

“Due to the impacts of Hurricane Marie, the City of Santa Monica has canceled the inaugural Ocean Way festival,” organizers said in a statement. “Storm surf and runoff [have] caused significant beach erosion and the festival can no longer be safely held as planned. Plans are already underway to bring the festival back to Santa Monica in 2027.”

Tickets, which ran from $249 to $2,250, will be refunded within five to seven business days, the promoter said.

Hurricane Marie, spurred by the “Super El Niño” weather pattern resulting from warming waters in the eastern Pacific Ocean, severely damaged coastal areas from Malibu to Long Beach and Dana Point

“I am deeply saddened that severe weather and beach conditions have forced the City and Goldenvoice to make this difficult decision. However, the safety of festival-goers, our residents and the Pier must remain our priority,” Santa Monica City Council member Dan Hall said in a statement to The Times. “With Hurricane Marie also causing sinkholes in Malibu and triggering home evacuations in Long Beach due to rising surf, the rapid erosion of the beach near the Sandbox event space over the past few days is deeply concerning. The City is working rapidly to keep the Pico storm drain and shoreline repaired and ready for upcoming weather.”

“While we are all disappointed,” Hall said, “I remain optimistic about bringing Ocean Way back next summer.”

The fest was slated to have headline sets by the Killers and Olivia Dean, along with Khruangbin, Sublime, Jack White and many others.

Goldenvoice announced the festival in July, with high hopes that it would open up the waterfront to more public events and concerts in Santa Monica and establish a new marquee festival on the west side of Los Angeles. Santa Monica’s retail and nightlife scenes have struggled in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the festival, which promoters touted as car-free, would have set a precedent for transit-oriented concertgoing.

“We’ve got to take a chance on new things,” Goldenvoice concert producer Nic Adler told The Times in August. ”There is pressure. I think the city wants it, but that takes a little bit of risk and trying something new.”

“We really cannot keep doing the same things that we’ve always done and expect for Santa Monica to shine,” Santa Monica Mayor Caroline Torosis said in an earlier interview. “We have to invite people back to our city. We have been yearning to get back a big music festival on our beach to showcase the city, because the beach is our best asset.”

The festival is the second major beachside concert to go down this year. The inaugural LA Jazz Festival on Dockweiler Beach was canceled on what would have been its opening day, after its finances and permitting fell through.

Climate change and weather damage have become a major concern for festivals. Bonnaroo, in Tennessee, announced last month that the festival would take 2027 off to repair the grounds, after heavy storms canceled sets and prompted evacuations this year. Stagecoach, the country music festival on the same site as Coachella, also temporarily shut down this year due to strong winds.

MAKKAH: More than 60 early Islamic inscriptions and two historic wells in Wadi Al-Usaylah, northeast of Makkah, are providing archaeologists with a record of early Arabic writing and the pilgrimage routes used by caravans traveling to the holy city.

The six-kilometer-long, two-kilometer-wide valley was historically an important passage for travelers and pilgrim caravans arriving from Iraq and surrounding regions, according to a report by the Saudi Press Agency, or SPA.

The inscriptions, carved into mountain rock faces, date to the seventh and eighth centuries — corresponding to the first and second centuries of the Islamic calendar. They include references to figures from the early Islamic period and offer scholars tangible evidence of changes in the form, structure and aesthetic development of early Arabic script.

Water was also essential to sustaining travelers crossing the arid landscape. Successive Islamic rulers established water infrastructure along the route, with two of the valley’s four original historic wells still surviving near the inscribed rock faces. Some of the wells are believed to date to the Abbasid Caliphate.

The Royal Commission for Makkah City and Holy Sites is carrying out a comprehensive preservation program along the corridor to protect the inscriptions and wells from erosion. The effort forms part of wider initiatives under Saudi Vision 2030 to preserve the Kingdom’s archaeological heritage while developing sustainable cultural destinations, SPA reported.

The Wadi Al-Usaylah findings add to a growing body of archaeological evidence documenting the development of writing and human settlement across Saudi Arabia.

In a July 2026 report, SPA said the King Salman bin Abdulaziz Royal Reserve contains thousands of archaeological inscriptions and rock carvings, including Thamudic and Nabataean writings as well as depictions of animals, hunting scenes and aspects of daily life. More than 400 archaeological and historical sites have been documented across the reserve, with some remains dating as far back as 8,000 BC.

Najran provides another extensive record of the evolution of writing in the Arabian Peninsula. In a September 2024 report, SPA described the UNESCO-listed Hima Cultural Area as a vast outdoor museum containing rock carvings and inscriptions in Ancient South Arabian, Thamudic and Islamic scripts.

Archaeological surveys in Najran have documented inscriptions from different periods, including tribal markings and writings in Thamudic, Sabaean, Himyarite and early Islamic scripts. The accompanying rock art depicts people, camels, horses, ibexes, hunting scenes and battles, offering clues to ancient communities and their material culture, SPA reported.

The continuity and development of Arabic writing are also illustrated by a bilingual inscription discovered and documented in 2024 in Alqan village in the Tabuk Region. According to an SPA report, the inscription dates to the fifth century AD and contains two lines in Thamudic script and one in early Arabic.

The Heritage Commission said the Tabuk discovery provided evidence that Thamudic writing continued to be used alongside early Arabic during the fifth century. It also offered new insights into the coexistence of the two writing traditions and the development of Arabic letter forms.

Together, such discoveries underscore the archaeological value of Saudi Arabia’s mountains, valleys and desert landscapes as repositories of written history. They also highlight the importance of systematic documentation and preservation to protect inscriptions and other remains from erosion and other threats while making them accessible for scientific research and cultural tourism.

For Wadi Al-Usaylah, the combination of early Islamic inscriptions and surviving water infrastructure provides a particularly important glimpse into the networks that connected travelers and pilgrims with Makkah during the formative centuries of Islam.

ANCHORAGE — Alaska prosecutors are dropping voter misconduct cases against a group of residents born in American Samoa after a state appeals court threw out felony charges against a woman who wrongly checked a box saying she was a U.S. citizen.

The state’s Department of Law announced the decision Friday, after a three-judge Court of Appeals panel ruled a week earlier that state law requires proof that defendants who erroneously filled out voter registration forms had a “consciousness of wrongdoing” and intended to break the law.

The panel found flaws with a state trooper’s questioning of Tupe Smith, the woman involved in the case that was thrown out, as well as with the grand jury process that led to her indictment. It overturned a lower court’s decision that had kept the charges against her alive.

Acting Alaska Atty. Gen. Cori Mills said in a statement that after reviewing the decision and applying it to the facts, prosecutors concluded that they could not prove cases against Smith and the others beyond a reasonable doubt. Her husband, Michael Pese, had also been charged.

“We respect the role of the courts in interpreting Alaska law and will faithfully execute our duty to apply the law and carefully evaluate our prosecutorial decisions,” Mills said.

In a statement Saturday, Smith’s lawyer Whitney Brown said the dismissal would allow the community “to put this ordeal behind them and begin moving forward.”

Earlier in the week, she heralded the Court of Appeals decision, saying it “establishes an important safeguard against imposing felony liability for an honest mistake.”

The court “made clear that Alaska law requires more than simply showing that a statement was false — the State must prove a person acted with a consciousness of wrongdoing,” Brown said. “That distinction makes a world of difference to Ms. Smith and helps ensure that Alaska’s voter-misconduct statute is applied as the legislature intended going forward.”

Neil Weare, part of the legal team representing Smith and Pese, said Saturday that the decision to drop charges “raises questions about why this prosecution was even brought to begin with.”

“It’s clear that all along, they really had no evidence of any consciousness of wrongdoing on the part of Michael, Tupe or the other defendants,” said Weare, co-director of the nonprofit Right to Democracy.

In all, 11 people from the small community of Whittier, about 50 miles southeast of Anchorage, were charged with falsely claiming U.S. citizenship either when registering or trying to vote. Messages seeking comment were left for their lawyers.

American Samoa is the only U.S. territory where residents are not automatically granted citizenship by being born on American soil and instead are considered U.S. nationals. Paths to citizenship exist, such as naturalization, though that process can be expensive and cumbersome.

American Samoans can serve in the military, obtain U.S. passports and vote in elections in American Samoa, but they cannot hold public office in the U.S. or participate in most U.S. elections.

Smith was arrested after winning election to a regional school board in 2023. She has said she relied on erroneous information from election officials in Whittier when she identified herself as a U.S. citizen on voter registration forms.

Smith said she marks herself as a U.S. national on paperwork. But when there was no such option on voter registration forms, she was told by city representatives that it was appropriate to mark herself as a citizen, according to court papers.

Prosecutors contended that Smith falsely and deliberately claimed citizenship, pointing to warnings on voter registration forms she filled out in 2020 and 2022 that noncitizens “are not eligible to vote.”

The Court of Appeals panel said in its ruling that toward the end of a police interview, a state trooper asked Smith “a long compound question that implied that Smith actually knew she was not eligible to vote” but wanted to be involved in the school board.

When Smith, whose native language is not English, did not respond right away, another state trooper clarified, “He’s asking you,” and the first trooper again presented his question, which the panel described as “a lengthy and complex statement containing four individual questions.”

Smith answered “Yes,” the panel said, leading to her arrest and indictment on two counts of felony voter misconduct.

Rybakina rarely shows emotion on the court but there was a brief flash of a smile as she clinched her second major victory of an outstanding 2026 season.

That illustrated the sense of satisfaction she felt after winning a title few had predicted – not only because she had never previously gone beyond the last 16 in New York but the circumstances coming into the final major of the season.

With her penetrating serve and thunderous groundstrokes, Rybakina has a brand of first-strike tennis that can take the racquet out of anyone’s hands.

Therefore it has been a surprise she has not enjoyed greater success on the Flushing Meadows hard courts, perhaps a result of her personality not being particularly suited to the brash nature of New York.

“I was coming here for the last 10 years and it was never successful. I’m falling in love with New York more and more,” Rybakina, 27, said.

What makes the second seed’s victory even more remarkable is that she was unsure if she would be fit enough to even play.

Rybakina was unable to walk for several days after injuring her ankle in the Cincinnati Open quarter-finals, putting her chances of competing here in serious jeopardy.

Not only was Rybakina able to play, but she cruised through her opening four matches thanks to a huge service game that rarely allowed opponents to get into points.

Rybakina’s next two wins over China’s Zheng Qinwen and home favourite Coco Gauff required more work after losing the first sets, proving she had the durability to come through tough battles.

Against Sabalenka, she showed both facets of her game, bullying her from the baseline and digging in when necessary to leave her only a French Open title away from the career Grand Slam.

“Some magic is happening. I was unlucky with injury and just going day by day,” Rybakina told Sky Sports.

“We didn’t know how it was going to be so I’m super happy and still can’t believe it.”

Spain’s Congress has approved a bill that would open a special route to Spanish citizenship for Sahrawis born in Western Sahara while the disputed territory was under Spanish occupation.

The bill passed by 168 votes to 31, with 145 abstentions. It must still go through the Senate before it can become law.

So what exactly would the measure do, and why is Morocco watching it closely?

What does the bill do?

The proposed law would allow people born in Western Sahara before September 29, 1977, to apply for Spanish nationality through a special procedure without having to meet the normal residency requirements. First-degree descendants would also be covered.

It would also shorten the duration of the residence requirement for eligible Sahrawis legally living in Spain. Instead of the usual 10 years, they would be able to apply after two years.

Supporters describe the measure as a way of addressing what they see as a historical injustice.

Spain was the colonial power in Western Sahara until it ended its administration of the territory in 1976. The territory has remained disputed ever since, with Morocco considering it part of its sovereignty, while the separatist Polisario Front seeks independence.

Why does Morocco care?

The law would not change the territorial status of Western Sahara. It would not recognise an independent Sahrawi state, nor would Spanish citizenship give its holders sovereignty over the territory.

The concern in Rabat is instead about the relationship the law could create between Spain and people with direct links to Western Sahara.

Reuters has reported that between 70,000 and 110,000 people could eventually qualify, although estimates vary. Anyone who obtains Spanish nationality would also become a European Union citizen and acquire the rights that come with that status.

Potential beneficiaries could include eligible Sahrawis living in Western Sahara as well as members of the Sahrawi refugee population around Tindouf in Algeria, where the Polisario Front is based.

For Morocco, that could mean a larger community of Spanish and EU citizens with personal or family ties to an issue at the centre of its relationship with Madrid.

Why is the timing important?

The bill comes after a significant change in Spain’s policy towards Western Sahara.

In 2022, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s government backed Morocco’s autonomy proposal for the territory, describing it as the most serious, realistic and credible basis for resolving the dispute.

That decision helped repair relations between Madrid and Rabat after a major diplomatic crisis. Since then, the two countries have strengthened cooperation on migration, security, trade and other areas.

The new citizenship measure does not formally change Spain’s support for the autonomy proposal. Madrid can argue that supporting autonomy as a political solution is one matter, while dealing with the consequences of its former colonial rule is another.

But the two issues are difficult to separate completely from Morocco’s perspective because both concern Western Sahara.

What is the debate inside Spain?

The bill has also divided Spain’s political parties.

The governing Socialist Party and its allies in Sumar supported it. The conservative People’s Party abstained, while Vox voted against it.

The disagreement has centred partly on how Spain should address the legacy of its former rule in Western Sahara and on the legal route proposed for granting nationality.

The debate is important to the Moroccan side because it shows that the measure is not simply a technical change to Spanish nationality law. It has also become part of a discussion inside Spain about its colonial past and its relationship with Western Sahara.

Moroccan and international media have also focused on the measure. While Moroccan media have highlighted its potential implications for Spain’s policy towards Western Sahara and its relations with Rabat, Reuters has reported that the move could further strain relations between Spain and Morocco.

Does the bill recognise the Polisario?

No. The proposed nationality route does not recognise the Polisario Front or an independent Sahrawi state.

Nor does acquiring Spanish citizenship indicate support for the Polisario. Nationality is a legal status, and Sahrawis hold different political positions.

The connection to the Polisario is nevertheless relevant because many Sahrawi refugees live around Tindouf, where the Polisario has its headquarters and administers the refugee camps.

If eligible people from those communities acquire Spanish nationality, they would become Spanish and EU citizens while retaining their existing personal and political identities.

Why is Spain referring to its colonial past?

Spain was the colonial power in Western Sahara until it ended its administration of the territory in 1976.

Supporters of the bill argue that people born in the territory during Spanish rule were left in a difficult legal position after Spain withdrew. They therefore present the measure as a way of addressing what they consider a historical wrong.

Spain has used historical ties in nationality policy before.

In 2015, it introduced a procedure allowing Sephardic Jews who could establish their Sephardic origin and a special connection with Spain to apply for Spanish nationality. The measure was linked to the expulsion of Jews from Spain beginning in 1492.

That precedent is relevant to the Moroccan debate because Spain has previously used historical ties to establish a special route to nationality.

And what about Ceuta and Melilla?

This is where the issue becomes particularly sensitive for Morocco.

Morocco considers Ceuta and Melilla an integral part of its territory and sovereignty. The two cities are located on Morocco’s northern coast in North Africa and are under Spanish administration.

Spain rejects Morocco’s claim and considers the cities Spanish territory. Successive Spanish governments have maintained that their sovereignty over Ceuta and Melilla is not negotiable.

The Moroccan argument here could be about how historical ties are treated.

If Spain can draw on its historical and colonial relationship with Western Sahara to create a special nationality route for Sahrawis, and has previously used historical ties with Sephardic Jews, whose connection to Spain dates back more than five centuries, Morocco could ask why its own historical and geographical relationship with Ceuta and Melilla should be considered irrelevant when it makes its claim to sovereignty over the two cities.

For eight centuries, Muslim dynasties, including the Almoravids and Almohads, ruled parts of the Iberian Peninsula.

Morocco’s potential argument is therefore narrower: if historical ties can help establish present-day legal rights, then history and geography can also form part of the case it makes about two cities located on the North African coast.

What would the law change for Morocco?

In territorial terms, very little.

The citizenship measure would not change who controls Western Sahara, determine the territory’s final status or alter the United Nations-led political process. Nor does it, in itself, change Spain’s official position in support of Morocco’s autonomy proposal.

Its significance lies mainly in the relationship between Spain and Morocco. The measure brings Spain’s colonial history in Western Sahara into a broader domestic political debate, raising questions about how that history should be addressed and what its growing political significance could mean for the delicate relationship between Madrid and Rabat.

An AI researcher who quit Anthropic told the BBC that people working on the technology are “genuinely frightened” about the speed of its advancements and what it could mean for humanity.

Jacob Coxon spoke with BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg on Saturday about his viral resignation post where he raised concerns about out-of-control artificial intelligence.

“I believe that if we don’t slow down at the current rate of progress, there is a strong chance that we could all die in the immediate future,” he said.

His resignation comes amid growing safety concerns in the industry, including from his former boss, head of Anthropic Dario Amodei, who in an essay on Saturday argued for development to slow down.

However some industry figures say the dangers are being overblown, possibly to build hype around the two biggest AI companies ahead of their potential stock market debut or to prompt regulation which would slow their competitors.

Coxon, a 27-year-old from Britain whose research focuses on training AI models, said AI leaders including Elon Musk and OpenAI’s Sam Altman have shared similar concerns to Amodei.

“They’ve all made statements about the necessity of being careful of the potential for AI takeover. They’ve all talked about this. AI takeover implies human extinction,” Coxon said.

The hardest question to answer, according to Coxon, is what that would look like.

“Any kind of concrete scenario you can lay out ends up sounding like science fiction,” Coxon said, but notes that advancements which have already happened would have sounded like fiction in the past.

A potential scenario could involve AI agents hacking into medical laboratories to “autonomously produce deadly viruses”, Coxon said. Another example he listed could be AI hacking into “critical infrastructure that the world runs on”.

The researcher points out a recent report from OpenAI, which detailed how its own technology went on a hacking spree against an online platform called Hugging Face.

“They did it autonomously, without any human encouragement. They chose to go on this hacking spree. It was the combination of things getting faster and things also getting scarier,” Coxon said.

One of the risks outlined in Amodei’s comments was of a swarm of bots acting like a supercomputer that could take over the internet.

Coxon said this scenario could be realistic in six months to a year.

Anthropic and OpenAI are reportedly preparing for potentially record-setting initial public offerings. Industry figures have suggested comments about the perils and power of AI may be designed to generate hype. Other critics say Anthropic has been trying to trigger a regulatory push to block competition, leaving it and OpenAI with a duopoly.

Coxon’s views have also been questioned by the CEO of the AI platform Hugging Face, Clement Delangue.

“Sorry, but asking Jacob about AI extinction risk is like asking your AC guy about climate change,” he wrote on X. “Not saying it’s necessarily uninteresting or wrong per se but let’s keep things in perspective.”

After Amodei’s essay on Saturday, however, Delangue offered to help be a part of the potential solutions proposed by the Anthropic boss.

Nvidia boss Jensen Huang also discussed Coxon’s comments before a crowd at a conference hosted by the investment bank Goldman Sachs last week, multiple people in the group told the BBC. They said he dismissed them as untrue.

Huang has previously said the notion that AI “is going to be the end of humanity” is “complete nonsense”.

And while he may have a business interest in an AI boom – Nvidia builds chips that power AI systems – his comments reflect a growing backlash in Silicon Valley to the existential warnings from current and former staffers.

The video is titled “Jimmy Kimmel’s Interview With James Talarico That the FCC Doesn’t Want You to See.”

It was posted Thursday night on the “Jimmy Kimmel Live!’s” YouTube page. By 10 a.m. Friday, the video had gained more than 2.7 million views — and the interview hadn’t aired on the show’s network, ABC.

“… We are being targeted by the FCC for the crime of interviewing political candidates,” Kimmel says in the YouTube clip. “Even though for years we, and every other late-night talk show, have welcomed numerous candidates, including Donald Trump when he was running. He was on this show two times. [Trump’s] FCC has threatened me, threatened our show, threatened our network, ABC, our affiliates, our local stations, because they want to make our editorial decisions for us, which of course, we cannot accept.”

The host continued: “Tonight we are bypassing the public airwaves and hosting this interview on YouTube, even though our government would clearly prefer we not do it at all.”

The late-night host moved his interview with the Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate in Texas online to sidestep new Federal Communications Commission policy regulations.

Kimmel said earlier in the week that the FCC had “threatened” his show.

“For the whole 20-plus years of our show, in fact, I’ve been interviewing Americans who are running for office with no problem,” Kimmel said during Wednesday’s ABC broadcast. “Something has changed,” he said.

The change Kimmel was referring to involves the Communications Act’s “equal opportunities” requirement. It states that if a broadcast station features a qualified political candidate, it must provide equal airtime to an opposing candidate. Daytime and late-night talk shows have long operated under a “bona fide news program” exemption that shielded them from the equal time rule.

But under new guidance from the FCC Media Bureau, which is overseen by Donald Trump appointee Brendan Carr, talk shows may no longer qualify for the news exemption if their candidate interviews are determined to be motivated by partisan purposes.

In short, political bias is in the eye of the FCC beholder, and it has been focused on shows like “Kimmel Live!” and “The View,” which voice criticism of the president. The FCC has ordered early license reviews for several Disney-owned ABC stations. ABC has accused the Trump administration of trying to chill free speech.

FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez, who is the commission’s only Democrat, said Thursday in a statement that Kimmel’s choice to move Talarico’s interview to YouTube “shows just how far this Administration’s campaign of censorship and control has gone.”

The YouTube summary of the Kimmel/Talarico interview reads as follows: “Jimmy’s interview with Democratic Senate candidate from Texas James Talarico was not televised because of threats from the FCC so we’re hosting their discussion here on YouTube. James talks about Republicans being scared of him winning, Jesus being co-opted by MAGA, the RNC Convention being held in Texas, not taking money from corporate PACs, Trump calling him a ‘freaky guy’ and having second thoughts about endorsing his opponent Ken Paxton, and the GOP making it harder for people to vote.”

Assistant White House Press Secretary Davis Ingle accused Kimmel of “play acting” and “creating a false narrative about this administration’s policies,” in a statement Thursday. “Chairman Carr has not threatened him regarding interviewing James Talarico, or any other candidate,” Ingle said. “Any media outlet blindly amplifying Kimmel’s egocentric delusion should insist on proof. Of which they will find none.”

Unless they spend 10 seconds on Google, where there’s ample proof.

During a February taping of “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert,” Colbert told his studio audience that CBS lawyers had prohibited him from broadcasting an interview with Talarico, or even mentioning the cancellation on television, following threats from the FCC.

“[Talarico] was supposed to be here, but we were told in no uncertain terms by our network’s lawyers, who called us directly, that we could not have him on the broadcast,” Colbert said.

CBS denied they stopped “The Late Show” from airing the interview, which was instead posted on the show’s YouTube page.

Within months, “The Late Show” was canceled after 33 years on the air. Its final broadcast was May 21.

During Kimmel’s interview with Talarico, the host pointed out that it wasn’t the first time an interview with Talarico had been “demoted” from network television to YouTube. He asked his guest, “Why are they so scared of you?”

“They’re worried that we’re going to win this race in Texas,” Talarico said about running against Republican Ken Paxton.

The race will be decided in November.

“We’re not just going up against the most corrupt politician in Texas,” Talarico said. “We’re going up against this entire corrupt system.”