Tens of thousands of people marked the first anniversary of a train station roof collapse in the Serbian city of Novi Sad, observing 16 minutes of silence for the 16 victims of the tragedy. Many blame the tragedy on government negligence and corruption.
Published On 1 Nov 20251 Nov 2025
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Tens of thousands of people are converging on the northern Serbian city of Novi Sad for a commemoration of the victims of a tragedy a year ago that killed 16 people.
Regular student-led protests have gripped Serbia since the collapse of the canopy at the newly renovated railway station in the country’s second largest city on November 1, 2024, which became a symbol of entrenched corruption.
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Protesters first demanded a transparent investigation, but their calls soon escalated into demands for early elections.
Students, who called for the “largest commemorative gathering” on Saturday, and others, have been pouring into Novi Sad since Friday, arriving by car, bicycle, or on foot.
Thousands marched from Belgrade for some 100km (62 miles) and other parts of the country, including Novi Pazar, about 340km (210 miles) south of the capital. It took them 16 days to finish the march.
Residents of Novi Sad took to the streets to greet the marchers, blowing whistles and waving flags, many visibly moved.
Reporting from the city on Saturday, Al Jazeera’s Milena Veselinovic said local residents have provided marchers with food and shelter.
She added the student organisers of the event have stressed they want it to be peaceful and only about the victims, rather than the country’s politics.
Dijana Hrka’s 27-year-old son was among the victims.
“What I want to know is who killed my child so I can have a little peace, so that I don’t keep going through hell,” she told Al Jazeera.
Hrka added: “I am looking for justice. I want no other mother to go through what I am going through.”
The protests over the station’s collapse have led to the resignation of the prime minister, the fall of his government and the formation of a new one. But nationalist President Aleksandar Vucic has remained defiantly in office.
Vucic regularly labelled demonstrators as foreign-funded coup plotters, while members of his SNS party pushed conspiracy theories, claiming that the train station roof collapse may have been an orchestrated attack.
But in a televised public address on Friday, Vucic made a rare gesture and apologised for saying things that, he said, he now regretted.
“This applies both to students and to protesters, as well as to others with whom I disagreed. I apologise for that,” Vucic said and called for dialogue.
Saturday’s commemorative rally at the Novi Sad railway station will start at 11:52am (10:52 GMT), the time when the tragedy occurred, with 16 minutes of silence observed for 16 victims.
Thirteen people, including former construction minister Goran Vesic, were charged in a criminal case over the collapse.
A separate anticorruption probe continues alongside a European Union-backed investigation into the possible misuse of EU funds in the project.
The government has declared Saturday a day of national mourning while the head of the Serbian Orthodox Church (SPC), Patriarch Porfirije, is to serve a mass for the victims at the Belgrade Saint Sava church.
“On this sad anniversary, we appeal to everyone … to act with restraint, to de-escalate tensions and to avoid violence,” the EU delegation in Serbia said in a statement.
Aleksandar Popov, a Serbian political analyst, told Al Jazeera that “sky-high” corruption is a major issue in the country that needs to be addressed.
“We’re not talking about tens of millions of euros, but hundreds of millions of euros spun through large infrastructure projects, perhaps billions of euros,” he said.
“This government and the president have captured all key institutions of state, like the judiciary,” he added.
The protests have remained largely peaceful, but, in mid-August, they degenerated into violence that protesters blamed on heavy-handed tactics by government loyalists and police.
Polish director Jan Komasa might be best known in the United States for his 2019 Oscar-nominated film “Corpus Christi,” but his biggest box-office success was in Poland for his 2014 film “Warsaw 44,” about the Warsaw Uprising, the bloody effort by the Polish resistance to expel the occupying German army from the city toward the end of World War II.
Komasa knows authoritarianism in its most flagrant, brutal forms, but his new film “Anniversary” imagines a scenario in which fascism doesn’t stomp in, jackbooted, but creeps, pretty and ladylike, on kitten-heeled feet. It’s a thought experiment more than anything else, from a story by Komasa and Lori Rosene-Gambino, the latter who wrote the screenplay.
“Anniversary” maps five years in the life — and obliteration — of an American family, a microcosm of a larger rapid political devolution that turns suburban utopia into a dystopia with a speed that could make your head spin.
Meet the Taylors — we’ll get to know them across reunions and celebrations starting with an anniversary party for Ellen (Diane Lane) and Paul (Kyle Chandler). She’s a professor at Georgetown, a public intellectual caught up in the university culture-wars debate; he’s a chef, and they have four children upon whom they dote: Cynthia (Zoey Deutch, also in this week’s “Nouvelle Vague”), an environmental lawyer, Anna (Madeleine Brewer), a provocative comedian, high-school science nerd Birdie (Mckenna Grace) and brother Josh (Dylan O’Brien), a nebbishy, struggling writer. The camera knits them all together in long shots, swirling around their idyllic backyard.
Josh has brought home a new girlfriend, Liz (Phoebe Dynevor, of 2023’s “Fair Play”), who is carefully coiffed and poised, immaculately presented and mannered, though her perfection gives his sisters pause. After the introductions, she and Ellen have a quiet, awkward moment together. As one of Ellen’s former students, Liz wrote a thesis that scandalized the professor, which Ellen describes to her husband as having “radical anti-democratic sentiments,” advocating for a single-party system. The title? “The Change.”
While Liz says she “came here with the best of intentions” and claims she and Josh were introduced by their shared agent, Ellen is suspicious and rightly so. The enigmatic Liz is mild-mannered and quiet, but her ideas are anything but. As she hugs Ellen, she whispers, “I used to be afraid of you but I don’t think I am anymore.” That is never more clear than when she sends Ellen a copy of her newly published book, “The Change,” dedicated to “the haters, the doubters and the academic stranglers.”
Two years later, the Change is officially afoot. Liz is a celebrity, now working with a mysterious organization called the Cumberland Company. She and Josh are married, pregnant with twins, and he’s achieved a conservative glow-up. New flags are popping up in the Taylor’s well-heeled neighborhood and things are shifting in ways that make Ellen uncomfortable, enraged even. But in the spirit of politeness and family unity, she acquiesces to Paul’s desire for a nice family Thanksgiving, despite their political differences.
Therein lies what might be “Anniversary’s” biggest warning: Don’t let the fox into the henhouse, even if it seems rude not to. Ellen maintains an appropriately wary distance and skepticism of Liz, but Paul’s fatal flaw is his assumption of good faith. He hasn’t even read “The Change” because, frankly, he doesn’t want to know. But as Liz attaches herself to Josh like a parasite, perhaps in an attempt to enact revenge on her former professor, so too do the other Taylor children topple as the nation changes under their feet.
Some might find “Anniversary” too vague: What, precisely, is Liz’s political stance that makes her so powerful and so repugnant to Ellen? She has advocated for a “single-party system” branded under the guise of “solidarity,” but the result is an autocratic surveillance state that suppresses free speech, upheld by a violent paramilitary police force. The film never gets into the specifics, perhaps because the only ideology of fascism is the concentration of power. “Anniversary” suggests the rhetoric doesn’t matter when we can turn on each other so easily, humanity and freedom crushed under such a state.
It is fascinating that recent movies that attempt to grapple with contemporary sociopolitical issues often feminize the threat: the #MeToo cancel culture fable “Tár” or this year’s academia scandal film “After the Hunt.” “Anniversary” situates a nonthreatening woman as the vessel for such evil, even as Liz’s male host, Josh, starts to embody the most extreme outcomes of what she has set in motion.
“Anniversary” is a deeply nihilistic film that can’t be described as a cautionary tale — that horse has already left the barn. Rather, it’s a hypothetical question as character study, an examination of how this happens and an assertion that a system like this shows no mercy, not even to its most loyal subjects, despite what we want to believe.
Walsh is a Tribune News Service film critic.
‘Anniversary’
Rated: R, for language throughout, some violent content, drug use and sexual reference
Running time: 1 hour, 51 minutes
Playing: In wide release Wednesday, Oct. 29
THIS the stuff of Dreams for millions of fans across the globe and now there’s fresh hope for a Fleetwood Mac reunion.
The group have not performed together since 2019 and they were left devastated when Christine McVie died in 2022.
But I’ve been told that there are serious discussions behind the scenes about a series of projects involving all of the remaining members to celebrate the 50th anniversary of their album Rumours, which is among the best-selling and most critically acclaimed records of all time.
At the centre of the plans is said to be Mick Fleetwood, who is leading peace talks between former couple Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham, as well as John McVie.
A one-off show, a TV special and a documentary about the making of Rumours are among options being discussed for the 2027 milestone.
And Warner Records is also preparing a special re-release of the album featuring unheard material from the original studio sessions.
A source close to Mick in the US said: “Fleetwood Mac are discussing new projects and how to mark Rumours’ big 5-0. For certain there is a special edition version of the album coming, which the band and label have been secretly looking at.
“But also there is a significant hope that it is time for the definitive documentary on all the chaos in the studio that created the magic on record.
“John and Christine were divorcing and she was dating their lighting guy. Stevie and Lindsey were over just before she and Mick enjoyed a brief fling. And drugs and booze were everywhere.
“The desire is for everyone to sit down and present their side of events on screen.
“And then of course comes the potential for a stage reunion and concert. That is the goal from Mick.
“Stevie has said it would not feel right being on stage without Christine, but also she and Lindsey are on a healing journey right now, which could be the path to a new show.
“However there is a desire to pay tribute to Christine in some way and a live show around Rumours seems a very fitting way.
“The gig would fill a stadium dozens of times because of the love they command.
“But unless some major shift happens, a tour is unlikely at this stage.”
Aaron Bay-Schuck, co-chairman and CEO of Warner Records confirmed at LA’s City of Hope gala that “some very special” music leftover from the making of Rumours had been found.
He said: “We will do everything in our power to respect that anniversary as long as they’ll let us.”
Last month, Stevie and Lindsey suggested relations had thawed when they reissued their 1973 Buckingham Nicks album.
And in March, Mick admitted: “I always have a fantasy that [Stevie] and Lindsey would pal up a bit more and just say everything’s OK for them both.”
They are beloved by an entirely new generation now thanks to social media, so there will be millions around the globe hoping they can patch things up for one last hurrah.
Aaron Bay-Schuck was at City of Hope’s Spirit of Life gala to celebrate co-chairman and Warner Records COO Tom Corson, who was honoured at the event.
It is the centrepiece of the music, film and entertainment industry’s annual philanthropic campaign and raised nearly $6million.
Funds from the campaign are fueling leading research and survivorship programs for young adults, including music therapy.
Michael Buble, Cher and members of Linkin Park were among other guests who were there in LA last week.
KRISTEN Bell fans have been left horrified after she shared a “weird” wedding anniversary post to husband Dax Shephard.
The Nobody Wants This actress, 45, was celebrating being wed to Dax, 50, for 12 years.
In the Instagram post Kristen can be seen with her legs wrapped around the Parenthood star, as he pulls her close to him.
However, it wasn’t the picture that caused a stir with fans – it was the caption.
Writing next to the post Kristen wrote: “Happy 12th wedding anniversary to the man who once said to me: ‘I would never kill you. A lot of men have killed their wives at a certain point. Even though I’m heavily incentivized to kill you, I never would.’❤️”
But some fans thought this was an “odd” thing to write to commerate such a milestone in their relationship.
Taking to the comments, a follower wrote: “I don’t get it! That was weird.”
Another echoed this with: “That’s….a very weird thing to say.
This fan added: “What an odd thing to say.”
A fourth said: “May this type of relationship never find me.”
However other fans were loving the post, with one saying: “That’s the most romantic thing I’ve heard! Lol.”
Another added: “I get this, this them. It’s sweet.”
This one commented: “Love you guys!”
This isn’t the first time that the couple have caused a stir.
In July, Dax shared a NSFW picture of his wife doing a handstand in the nude.
In the snap, Kristen can be seen completely naked – except for a pair of knee-length compression socks – while doing a handstand.
In the caption, he penned, “People might not know everything that happens behind the scenes in order to create an Emmy nominated performance like Kristen’s.
“This may or may not have been a part of her training, but it felt right.
“CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!”
Fans in the comments were divided by the post, with some finding it hilarious, others in awe of Kristen’s toned body, and some other saying how Kristen would be mad.
“Hahaha she’s gonna kick your a**,” joked one person.
“She’s gonna kill you,” echoed another.
“Why the f**k would you post this?” said this fan.
However, this fan said: “I wouldn’t be mad at Dax for posting if I also looked this good! Go girl.”
Another echoed: “I’d love the confidence to cartwheel naked lmao.
Kristen and her husband Dax began dating back in 2007, with them announcing their engagement in 2010.
The couple then delayed their marriage until the state of California passed legislation on legalising same-sex marriage, and when this happened in 2013, Kristen then asked Dax to marry her on social media.
The famous pair wed at the Beverly Hills County Clerk’s Office in the fall of 2013.
Kristen and Dax share two daughters: Lincoln (born March 2013) and Delta (born December 2014).
When it was first published in 1975, “Mystery Train: Images of America in Rock ‘n’ Roll Music” was immediately recognized as something new. In six taut, probing, far-ranging essays about certain popular or otherwise forgotten musicians, author Greil Marcus cracked open a world of sojourners, tricksters, killers and confidence men — the lost subterranean underlife of America as inflected in the music itself.
“Mystery Train” was a landmark in cultural criticism that took on Rock ‘n’ Roll as a subject of intellectual inquiry. In 2011, Time magazine named “Mystery Train” one of the 100 greatest nonfiction books of all time. For the book’s 50th anniversary, a new edition has been published, with a wealth of new writing from Marcus that brings his book up to date.
On a recent Zoom call, I chatted with him on the 50th anniversary of his book about its lasting impact, the anxiety of influence and the staying power of criticism.
An exclusive look at what we’re reading, book club events and our latest author interviews.
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(Please note: The Times may earn a commission through links to Bookshop.org, whose fees support independent bookstores.)
Book jacket of “Mystery Train” by Greil Marcus.
(Penguin Random House)
Congrats on 50 years of “Mystery Train.” Could you have possibly imagined that it would still have a life in 2025 when you wrote it in 1975?
For this book to have this kind of a life, you can’t predict it. I had a miserable time writing it. I’d never written a book before. I rented a room at a house near our little apartment, and just stayed there all day, trying to write or not trying to write, as the case may be. I didn’t have any hopes or ambitions for it. I just wanted it to look good.
This is the thickest edition of “Mystery Train” yet. Your “Notes and Discographies” section, where you update the reader on new books and recordings about the artists, among other things, is longer than the original text of the book.
That’s what’s kept the book alive. I mean, I still think the original chapters read well. I’m glad they came out the way they did, but for me, they opened up a continuing story, and that has sort of kept me on the beat so that I obsessively would follow every permutation that I could and write them in the notes section.
“Mystery Train” changed the way popular music was written about. Who were your literary antecedents?
Edmund Wilson, Pauline Kael, D.H. Lawrence’s critical studies. Hemingway’s short stories, just as a way to learn how to try to write. There was another book that was important to me, Michael Gray’s “Song and Dance Man,” which was a rigorous examination of Bob Dylan’s music. It was totally intimidating. His knowledge of blues, novels, poetry — I thought there’s no way I can write something as good as this. So I started doing a lot more reading, and listening more widely.
For many readers of the book, it was the first time they came across artists like Robert Johnson or Harmonica Frank. How did you discover these artists?
I was an editor at Rolling Stone magazine in 1969 when the Altamont disaster happened, when people were killed at a free Rolling Stones concert. It was an evil, awful day. I was drained and disgusted with what rock ‘n’ roll had become, and I didn’t want to listen to that music anymore. I found myself in this little record store in Berkeley, and I saw an album by Robert Johnson that had a song called “Four Until Late” that Eric Clapton’s band Cream had covered, so I took it home and played it, and that was just a revelation to me. It led me into another world. It became the bedrock of “Mystery Train.”
Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger signs autographs at Altamont Speedway. Later, on Dec. 6, the Stones gave a concert where one fan was stabbed to death by a Hell’s Angel.
(Associated Press)
Your book explores how certain myths transfer across vastly disparate cultures. Had you read the great mythologist Joseph Campbell prior to writing the book?
I read a lot of Joseph Campbell in graduate school. Probably a half-dozen of his books. In some ways they cover the same territory as “Mystery Train.” Campbell makes the argument that myths persist, they don’t even need to be cultivated. They cultivate us, and they are passed on in almost invisible ways. That really struck a chord with me when reading Campbell’s work.
You’re very good at explaining what music sounds like. Are you influenced by fiction at all?
I’d say fiction is part of my work. One of the books that hovered over me when I was writing “Mystery Train” was “The Great Gatsby.” Certain lines, they sang out.
What is the purpose of criticism?
My next book is about Bryan Ferry, the leader of the band Roxy Music. Now, you listen to a song like Roxy Music’s “More Than This” and you say, what makes this so great? How did that happen? What is going on here? That’s what criticism is, just wrestling with your response to something. That thing where someone has captured a moment so completely that you sort of fall back in awe. That’s what I’ve been doing my whole life as a writer. There is this urge to, not exactly take possession of something, but to become a part of it to some small degree.
Your book plumbs the murky depths, exploring the mysterious dream life of America as transmuted through certain music. Are there any mysteries left for you?
Oh, yes, absolutely. I remember when I met Bob Dylan in 1997. He was getting an award, the Dorothy and Lillian Gish Prize, and I was to give a talk. We met and he asked what I was working on. I had just published a book called “Invisible Republic,” about his “Basement Tapes.” He said, “You should write a sequel to that. You only just scratched the surface.” Now, I’m not saying I did a bad job. He said that to me because certain music has infinite depth. So, yes, there are certainly more mysteries to think about.
(Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
Valerie Castallanos Clark loves Jade Chang’s new novel, “What a Time to Be Alive,” calling it “equal parts love letter to Los Angeles, narrative about being a first-generation Asian American, exploration of grief and love and a found-family novel featuring an adoptee that doesn’t put reunion as the emotional climax.”
With “Shadow Ticket,” Thomas Pynchon has delivered a late-career gem, according to David Kipen: “Dark as a vampire’s pocket, light-fingered as a jewel thief, ‘Shadow Ticket’ capers across the page with breezy, baggy-pants assurance — and then pauses on its way down the fire escape just long enough to crack your heart open.”
Finally, Cerys Davies chats with Mychal Threets about his new gig as host of the long-running TV show “Reading Rainbow.”
Stories Books & Cafe is on Sunset Boulevard in Echo Park.
(Claudia Colodro)
Ever since it opened its doors in 2008, Stories Books & Cafe has been a community cornerstone. A snug yet carefully curated store, with loads of obscurantist art books and choice indie press titles, Stories also has a cafe tucked in the back that is always bustling. Owner Claudia Colodro runs the store as a creative cooperative with her five co-workers. I talked to the team about the shop on Sunset.
What’s selling right now?
“Mother Mary Comes to Me” by Arundhati Roy, “Martyr!” by Kaveh Akbar, and Thomas Pynchon’s “Shadow Ticket” are a few of our recent big sellers.
Stories is small, yet I always see titles in there I don’t see anywhere else.
Stories prides itself on its painstaking curation, influenced by every employee’s area of expertise. Much like the community we have garnered, Stories leans toward the eclectic, esoteric and even fringe. Over our 17 years in existence, Stories has been a bookstore that loves our local authors and independent publishers, and encourages readers to come in with an open mind more than a predetermined list.
Remarkably, you have endured in a neighborhood that has seen a lot of store closures, post-COVID.
In a world predominantly automatized and authoritative, we like our people and books to be a countermeasure to the mainstream creature comforts — in hopes to push people out of the path of least resistance and into the unseen abundance.
Stories Books & Cafe is at 1716 W. Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles.
North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un vowed to turn the country into a ‘socialist paradise’ during a huge ceremony for the 80th anniversary of the founding of the Workers’ Party of Korea.
Published On 10 Oct 202510 Oct 2025
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The surviving members of progressive rock titans Rush will reunite for a 50th anniversary tour in 2026.
Rush co-founders Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson will play 12 dates in honor of the band’s late drummer Neil Peart, whose monumental percussion talents made Rush a defining act in prog rock. The tour will begin June 7 at the Kia Forum — the site of the band’s last show with Peart in 2015.
“After all that has gone down since that last show, Alex and I have done some serious soul searching and come to the decision that we f— miss it,” Lee said in a statement announcing the tour. “And that it’s time for a celebration of 50-something years of Rush music.”
The question of a Rush reunion without Peart, who died of brain cancer in 2020, was a fraught one. Even up to last year, Lifeson had told Rolling Stone that “there’s no chance that we’re going to get a drummer and go back on the road as the rebirth of Rush or something like that.”
For this tour, the band will be joined by Anika Nilles, a German drummer acclaimed for her work with Jeff Beck.
“As we all know, Neil was irreplaceable,” Lee said in the band’s statement. “Yet life is full of surprises, and we’ve been introduced to another remarkable person; an incredible drummer and musician who is adding another chapter to our story while continuing her own fascinating musical journey. Her name is Anika Nilles, and we could not be more excited to introduce her to our loyal and dedicated Rush fan base, whom, we know, will give her every chance to live up to that near-impossible role.”
In their own statement, Peart’s wife Carrie Nuttall-Peart and daughter Olivia gave their blessing for the tour: “We are thrilled to support the Fifty Something Tour, celebrating a band whose music has resonated and inspired fans for generations, and to honor Neil’s extraordinary legacy as both a drummer and lyricist.”
NORFOLK, Va. — President Trump did not let the government shutdown interfere with a stop in Virginia on Sunday to salute the Navy as it celebrates its 250th anniversary.
“I believe, ‘THE SHOW MUST GO ON!’” Trump posted Friday night on his social media site. And he wrote before leaving the White House for Naval Station Norfolk, “This will be a show of Naval aptitude and strength.”
The government shutdown that began Wednesday has triggered partisan blame in both directions as military personnel are working without pay, several thousand federal employees are furloughed and Trump has put on hold energy projects in Democratic-run areas such as New York and Chicago.
There is the possibility that an event designed to honor the Navy could be dragged into the bitter politics.
Trump accused Democrats in his post of enabling the shutdown and trying “to destroy this wonderful celebration of the U.S. Navy’s Birthday.”
Senate Democrats rejected efforts to preserve a continuation of government operations when the new budget year started Wednesday. They cited the lapse in subsidies that could cause health insurance costs to climb rapidly for people who get coverage through the 2010 Affordable Care Act. Democratic lawmakers also have sought to reverse cuts to Medicaid that Trump signed into law.
On top of that, both sides cite a mutual sense of distrust.
Democrats oppose Trump’s move to have his administration decline to spend congressionally approved funds, saying it undermines the budgeting process, among other concerns. Meanwhile, Trump has threatened to lay off federal workers at what he called “Democrat Agencies.”
Among those joining Trump for the festivities were First Lady Melania Trump, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Navy Secretary John Phelan, Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins and U.S. Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-Texas), a former Navy rear admiral who was a White House doctor during Trump’s first term.
After his arrival in Norfolk, Trump went to the USS George H.W. Bush and spoke to the sailors and handed out challenge coins.
The Trumps watched a military demonstration while standing on the deck of the aircraft carrier. Navy destroyers launched missiles and fired shells into the Atlantic, Navy SEALs descended from helicopters and fighter jets catapulted off.
Awaiting Trump’s speech was a large crowd on a pier, mostly sailors in their dress white uniforms and some families.
Trump on Tuesday addressed a gathering of military leaders abruptly summoned by Hegseth from across the globe to Virginia. The Republican president proposed using U.S. cities as training grounds for the armed forces and spoke of needing military might to combat what he called the “invasion from within.” Hegseth declared an end to “woke” culture and announced new directives for troops that include “gender-neutral” or “male-level” standards for physical fitness.
The administration is seeking to reshape Pentagon culture and use military resources for the president’s priorities, including quelling domestic unrest and fighting what he calls a surge in violent crime, despite statistics to the contrary.
Trump has also engaged the U.S. military in an armed conflict he says is targeting foreign drug cartels, leading to four deadly strikes on boats in the Caribbean that Washington says were involved in trafficking. Critics have called the attacks extrajudicial killings in violation of international law.
Boak and Finley write for the Associated Press and reported from Washington and Norfolk, respectively.
CHANNEL 4 is making a documentary on the Dunblane massacre to coincide with the 30th anniversary of the tragedy next year.
The BBC has already announced it will be doing its own programme, which will also mark three decades since 16 pupils and a teacher were killed by a gunman at Dunblane Primary School.
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But I can reveal the Channel 4 one will have special meaning for its creators.
A TV insider said: “It is being made by production company Candour whose founder, Anna Hall, grew up in the Scottish town that was hit by the tragedy on March 13, 1996.
“So it will be imbued with real poignancy and, of course, it will be handled with extreme sensitivity.”
Chief Creative Officer Anna’s first ever film was about the tragedy — Dunblane: Remembering our Children premiered on ITV on the first anniversary of the shootings in 1997.
The programme was nominated for numerous awards including the RTS Best Single Documentary, an Emmy and a Prix Italia.
Now she and the rest of the Candour team — who also made the recent C4 documentary about the death of Jay Slater — are taking another look at the events of that dark day.
The massacre, which also left 15 people injured, remains the deadliest mass shooting in British history and led to a change in the law prohibiting the possession of most handguns in the UK.
Last week the BBC announced it had commissioned a one-off hour-long documentary called Dunblane: The Shooting that Changed Britain.
Made by IWC Media it also looks at what happened in Dunblane, as well as the effect it had on the law.
Channel 4 have yet to confirm the commissioning of its documentary, though it is expected to be filmed this autumn, ready for broadcast in March.
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THE third series of BBC thriller Vigil sees Rose Leslie and Suranne Jones joined by newcomers Jeppe Beck Laursen, Tornike Gogrichiani and Steven Miller.
DCI Silva and DI Longacre head to an Arctic research station, where a special forces operative has been killed.
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HOLLYWOOD star Bill Murray is heading to Ireland for a new BBC travelogue.
The six-parter will see Ghostbusters and Caddyshack legend Bill and celeb pals tour the Emerald Isle’s top golf courses.
Insiders say the show’s about life, chance encounters and the joy of going off course.
Bill said: “I started out caddying, and golf was the best education I ever received.
“Ireland feels like the right place to put all that to work.
“They’ve got this wonderful word there, ‘craic,’ which means fun, but it means a lot of other things.
“A lot of good things.
“And this show will be about us finding it.”
Off Course (working title) is on BBC Two later this year.
HOLLYOAKS actress Gemma Bissix has signed a new contract to stay on the E4 soap after her explosive comeback as Clare Devine.
Incorrect rumours claimed she had quit but a source told me: “Gemma recently finished filming her first stint back as Clare – but she will be back after a short break.”
For 90 years, Social Security has provided Americans with a financial safety net. Today, Americans are concerned about potential cuts to the program.
Surveys may be little more than a snapshot in time, but they can provide an interesting peek into the minds of fellow Americans. This year, as Social Security turns 90, the Bipartisan Policy Center’s (BPC) American Savings Education Council polled Americans on how they feel about the current state of the program. Here’s what they learned.
Image source: Getty Images.
Whether they’re just beginning to plan for retirement or have been chipping away at it for years, Americans value Social Security. The following represents their concerns, anxieties, and hopes.
According to Jonathan Burks, Executive Vice President of Economic and Health Policy for the BPC: “Americans across the political spectrum agree strongly that Social Security matters, and they want to see bipartisan work to strengthen the program for the future. Now it is up to lawmakers to build on this consensus and do the hard work of forging a path forward.”
If Congress doesn’t take steps to shore up the Social Security program, it’s expected that the Social Security trust fund will run dry in 2033. At that time, the Social Security Administration would begin across-the-board cuts of 23%. For example, a Social Security recipient with a monthly benefit of $2,000 would see their checks reduced to $1,540.
While it’s impossible to see the future, here are some of the expected consequences of cuts to Social Security:
“The only way we get a fix is if the two parties hold hands and jump together,” Shai Akabas, Vice President of Economic Policy at BPC, said in the report. “These results show that the American people understand and support that outcome. It’s time for our elected leaders to follow suit.”
Big Brother has released photos of the new-and-improved house ahead of the ITV2 show’s 25th anniversary series, with hosts AJ Odudu and Will Best returning to host the show
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UNION J singer Jaymi Hensley has paid tribute to his beloved fiancé Olly who tragically died last year – marking their anniversary.
Former X Factor star Jaymi Hensley, 35, who rose to fame as a member of boyband Union J, marked the sad occasion with heartfelt words.
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The singer’s world was turned upside down following the death of his partner, hairstylist Olly Marmon, 33, who fell more than 30ft from their hotel suite in Northamptonshire in August 2024.
The happy couple had been in a relationship since 2009 and got engaged in 2014.
The grieving star penned a tear-jerking post on Instagram and wrote: “For 14 years this was the happiest day of my year, every year without fail!
“Our anniversary! The day you made me the man I am today by saying yes to being my boyfriend!
“To say this day, for the past two has been pretty much unbearable would be an understatement! (sic).
“Today was supposed to be our 1st wedding anniversary, our 16th anniversary together and today it just feels like the year mark from the day I laid you, my beautiful boy, to rest!
“I don’t know how I’ve survived without you! You were without a shed of doubt the best thing that has and will ever happen to me!
“The glue that held us all together. I want you to know on this day that it will always be our anniversary, I will always be yours!
“In all of our years together I only have one regret – I’m not sure many people can say they only have one in a relationship as long as ours!
“It’s that I couldn’t fulfil yours and my dream of making it down the aisle!“
He continued: “The day you officially became mine. I always laugh at me swearing at all our friends taking the p** making smooching sounds lol.
“The best day of my entire life and always will be! I love you Oliver more than anyone has ever loved another person!
“Until I’m in your arms again I will never be complete or whole, but I will for you live as much as I can!
“I’m trying not to get too upset writing this because it’s taken more of me than I thought I had this past year to even survive but I can’t help it.
“I miss you, I miss me, I miss us, our life. I miss the life we were robbed of!
“I know you were only loaned to me for 15 incredible years but I wanted and still want more!
“One thing I had never felt since the day you walked into my life was lonely, but now it me all I feel (sic).
“There are so many wonderful people around me, but I said it before, the 8 billion people on this planet couldn’t patch the hole you’ve left in my heart, even a fraction!“
He concluded: “I love you my beautiful boy! Ever thine, even mine, ever ours. 24 XXIV. Happy anniversary.”
Jaymi was one of the founding members of Union J in 2012 – formerly known as Triple J.
The singer starred in the ninth series of The X Factor alongside contestants George Shelley, JJ Hamblett and Josh Cuthbert.
The foursome came fifth in the competition, which was eventually won by solo singer James Arthur – beating Rylan into fifth, in the same series as Ella Henderson.
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SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Bad Bunny fans drowned out memories of Hurricane Maria in one booming voice on the anniversary of the devastating storm.
Saturday was a concert for Puerto Ricans by Puerto Ricans to remind the world about the power of la isla del encanto — the island of enchantment.
“We’re not going to quit. The entire world is watching!” Bad Bunny thundered into his microphone as he looked into a camera streaming his last show in Puerto Rico this year to viewers around the world, concluding a historic 30-concert residency in the U.S. territory.
The crowd roared as thousands watching via Amazon Music, Prime Video and Twitch joined them, marking the first time Bad Bunny was streamed across the globe.
The residency was more than just a series of concerts. Saturday marked the end of an extended love letter that Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio sang to his homeland. He tapped into what it means to be Puerto Rican, to delight in the island’s beauty, to defend its land and fight for its people.
“This is for you,” Bad Bunny said from the rooftop of a famed Puerto Rican house installed at the concert venue as he raised his glass and the crowd raised their glasses in return.
Saturday marked the eighth anniversary of Hurricane Maria, which slammed into Puerto Rico as a Category 4 storm on Sept. 20, 2017.
An estimated 2,975 people died in the sweltering aftermath of the storm that crippled the island’s electric grid, leaving some communities without power for up to a year. Anger and frustration over the pace of reconstruction continues to simmer as chronic power outages persist.
In a report issued Sept. 11, the U.S. Office of Inspector General found that 92% of approved and obligated projects related to Puerto Rico’s crumbling grid were incomplete and that $3.7 billion of available funds had not been obligated.
“Over seven years after Hurricane Maria, FEMA does not know when Puerto Rico’s electrical grid will be completely rebuilt. The grid remains unstable, inadequate, and vulnerable to interruptions,” the report stated.
On Saturday, the number of estimated deaths was printed on the backs of T-shirts and written on Puerto Rican flags that the crowd waved.
“We are still emotional and carry the trauma of having gone through a horrible thing,” said Marta Amaral, 61, who attended Saturday’s concert. “Beyond the sadness and remembering the negativity of having gone through a traumatic event, this is a celebration that we are still here, standing.”
At every concert this summer, Bad Bunny invited new celebrities — among them LeBron James, Penélope Cruz, Darren Aronofsky, DJ Khaled and Kylian Mbappé — and sang with different musicians, including Rubén Blades, Residente, Gilberto Santa Rosa, Rai Nao and Jorge Drexler.
But Saturday, the noise from the crowd hit new levels as Bad Bunny rapped with Puerto Rico heavyweights Ñengo Flow, Jowell y Randy, Dei V and Arcángel and De la Ghetto. Thousands of fans flexed their knees in unison to thumping rap and reggaetón.
Then, the crowd gasped in disbelief as Marc Anthony appeared on stage after Bad Bunny pleaded with his fans to join him because he was going to sing a song he hadn’t sung in public in some 20 years.
“Yo te quiero, Puerto Rico!” the crowd cried as the two singers embraced at the end of the iconic “Preciosa,” whose lyrics say, “I love you, Puerto Rico.”
Thousands gathered outside the concert venue Saturday hours before the concert, with Puerto Rico’s national flower, the flor de maga, tucked behind their ears and the traditional straw hat known as a pava set at a jaunty angle on their heads.
But not all were celebrating.
Darlene Mercado milled around, asking strangers if they knew of anyone with tickets she could buy for herself and her daughter, who had flown in from New Jersey.
They were around number 122,000 in a virtual waiting line to buy tickets for Saturday’s sold-out concert and weren’t able to get any after waiting eight hours online.
“This is not only the anniversary of the hurricane, but it’s also the anniversary of me no longer having cancer and it’s my birthday. We wanted to celebrate everything with a bang,” Mercado said.
Saturday’s concert was open only to residents of Puerto Rico, as were the first nine concerts of Bad Bunny’s residency, but the others were open to fans around the world.
Overall, the concerts attracted roughly half a million people, generating an estimated $733 million for Puerto Rico, according to a study by Gaither International.
Most foreign visitors came from the Dominican Republic, Colombia and Spain, with an average stay of nearly nine nights, the study found. Overall, about 70% of concertgoers were female, with an average age of 33, according to the study.
Among those attending was Shamira Oquendo. “It’s going to be an emotional night,” the 25-year-old said, noting that Hurricane Maria was her first hurricane. “It was very sad. A lot of people around me lost their things.”
Puerto Rico’s party with Bad Bunny ended early Sunday, but the superstar who recently clinched 12 Latin Grammy nominations will go on a worldwide tour in December, with concerts planned in Costa Rica, Mexico, Brazil, Australia, Spain, France and Sweden. Notably, he is skipping the mainland U.S., citing concerns over the federal government’s immigration arrests.
On Saturday, Bad Bunny thanked his fans for their love.
“I’m going to miss you a lot. I’m going to miss this energy,” he said as he urged the crowd to embrace love no matter the situation.
At that moment, friends and family in the crowd began to hug one another, some with tears in their eyes.
After more than three hours of singing with Bad Bunny, fans were not quite ready to let go. As the crowd filed down the stairs and into the night, one man yelled, “Yo soy boricua!” and the crowd responded, “Pa’ que tú lo sepas!”
It’s a traditional cry-and-response yell that lets people around them know they’re Puerto Rican and proud of it.
Coto writes for the Associated Press.
A POPULAR rock star has pulled out of his band’s 25th anniversary tour – after his wife’s death.
Greg Tribbett, 56, is the lead guitarist and a founding member of Mudvayne.
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Writing on social media, Greg’s bandmates confirmed his absence from their 25th anniversary tour following his wife Debbie’s passing.
They penned on social media: “Tour starts today!
“We are going to miss our brother Greg on this tour, sending him and his family all the love.
“- Chad, Matt, Ryan, & Mudvayne crew.”
Mudvayne’s tour began on September 11 and will continue until October 26.
According to a GoFundMe campaign, Debbie had been diagnosed with Angiosarcoma, a rare form of cancer.
Meanwhile, a fan page wrote on social media earlier this week: “With the heaviest of hearts we mourn the loss of our dearest most beautiful friend Debbie Tribbett.
“Anyone who has been here from the start of the Mob family knows she was a huge integral part of this page and the family she did take a step back once she needed to but was still watching and sharing as she always did.
“She was fiercely supportive of MUDVAYNE and her loving husband Greg always so proud!
“I thank her for bringing her love and light to so many of us who were lucky enough to connect with her.
“We miss you beautiful sweet friend more than words can say god bless you and may your family be blessed with strength.”
One person commented: “Ah man this is so sad to hear. Praying for Greg and the children. This is tough.”
Another added: “I heard the news yesterday and cried my eyes out. Makes my heart hurt for her babies.”
Mudvayne formed in 1996 with Greg, vocalist Chad Gray, drummer Matthew McDonough and bassist Shawn Barclay.
Ryan Martinie joined the group a year later, to replace Barclay as bassist.
Mudvayne went on hiatus in 2010 before returning to the stage in 2021.
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Tens of thousands of people gather in Hanoi to celebrate declaration of independence from French colonial rule.
Published On 2 Sep 20252 Sep 2025
Vietnam has marked the 80th anniversary of its declaration of independence from France with a large military parade in the capital Hanoi.
Tens of thousands of people gathered in Hanoi on Tuesday in a strong display of nationalism in the Communist-run country.
Authorities showcased a wide variety of military equipment, including missiles, helicopters and fighter jets, during the celebrations at Ba Dinh Square, where revolutionary leader Ho Chi Minh declared independence from colonial rule on September 2, 1945.
Officials said that nearly 16,000 soldiers joined the parade, which also included honour guards from China, Russia, Laos and Cambodia.
In a speech to mark the occasion, To Lam, the general secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam, paid tribute to those who died fighting for independence, and reiterated the governing party’s goal for Vietnam to become a “powerful, prosperous and happy nation” by 2045.
“In this sacred moment, we respectfully remember our ancestors,” Lam said.
“Our nation has overcome countless difficulties and challenges. Our country has transformed from a colony into an independent and unified nation, steadily advancing towards modernity.”
University student Vu Thi Trang said she had staked out her position to observe the celebrations two days in advance.
“Something inside just pushed me to be here,” the 19-year-old told the AFP news agency.
“I am grateful for the sacrifices of the previous generation, so that we have peace and freedom to grow up.”
As part of anniversary festivities, Vietnam last week announced it would hand out 100,000 dong ($3.80) to each of its 100 million citizens.
Vietnamese President Luong Cuong also announced that 13,920 prisoners, including 66 foreigners, would be released before the end of their jail terms.
France did not recognise Ho Chi Minh’s declaration of independence, but a disastrous military defeat at Dien Bien Phu in 1954 led to the European power’s full-scale retreat from the country, as well as from neighbouring Laos and Cambodia.
Following the division of Vietnam with the 1954 Geneva Accords, the Communist North and US-backed South fought the two-decade-long Vietnam War.
The Vietnam War ended when Communist forces captured Saigon on April 30, 1975, and the country was unified.
Almost 10 years to the day after a show at the Troubadour that marked the release of her album “Emotion,” Carly Rae Jepsen brought the 2015 LP back to the same West Hollywood club on Tuesday night for a sold-out one-off gig in which she played “Emotion” from beginning to end. The follow-up to Jepsen’s un-follow-uppable 2012 smash “Call Me Maybe,” “Emotion” wasn’t exactly the hit the singer and her team were hoping for. Yet over time, the album — which Jepsen made with a host of hip producers and songwriters including Rostam, Ariel Rechtshaid and Blood Orange’s Dev Hynes — became a cult favorite beloved for its squirmy ’80s R&B grooves and its tone of unabashed yearning. “We are blown away,” Jepsen, 39, said as the crowd loudly welcomed her and her band to the stage. Here are nine highlights from the show:
1. You knew the audience was in Jepsen’s pocket when, even before she came out, fans cheered the sight of a stagehand gripping a saxophone — the instrument whose silky wail opens “Emotion” like a siren call for unrequited lovers.
2. One of Jepsen’s most effective tricks as a pop sort-of-star is the modesty of her presentation, which lends a crucial believability to her many songs about feeling overwhelmed. Here, for instance, she used an electric fan — but a very small one — to blow her hair around just a little during “I Really Like You.”
3. After “Making the Most of the Night” — which, according to the internet, she hadn’t played live since 2018 — Jepsen talked about moving to Los Angeles from her native Canada when she was 26. “I had brought a little suitcase, and I kept calling my parents and saying, ‘Send more clothes!’” she said. “Five years later, I was like, I think I live here now. I’m very happy to say L.A. has become my home.”
Carly Rae Jepsen sang her 2015 album “Emotion” from beginning to end.
(Jasmine Safaeian)
4. In 2015, Jepsen’s celebrity guests at the Troubadour included Lorde and Tom Hanks, the latter of whom starred for some reason in the video for “I Really Like You.” This time, her mom and dad sat proudly in the balcony, shooting videos on their phones.
5. Can we give the bass player some love? Bobby Wooten III might have been Jepsen’s secret weapon on Tuesday, not least in the stretch from “Gimmie Love” to “All That” to “Boy Problems,” where his chewy pop-funk licks gave the music real bite.
6. “When I Needed You” climaxed with a moving a cappella singalong that had virtually the entire crowd belting Jepsen’s lines about discovering how far is too far to go to accommodate a selfish partner. (Say this for Jepsen’s faithful: They’ve got impeccable pitch.) The moment had big Robyn-fans-in-the-subway energy.
7. Jepsen famously said at the time of “Emotion’s” release that she’d written something like 200 songs for the album. “I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do, so for me the only solution was to keep writing, and hopefully that would lead to something,” she told me that year. “It was a purpose, a hunger.” In 2016, she dropped eight of her outtakes on an EP called “Emotion: Side B,” and here she revealed that she’ll release half a dozen more — “C-sides,” she called them — on a 10th anniversary reissue of “Emotion” due in October. It’s hard to think of another artist who’s made such a deep vault of a single LP.
8. The strangest song Jepsen has ever written, according to Jepsen: “Store,” the improbably exuberant bop about grocery shopping that she sang at the Troubadour while two-stepping down an imaginary frozen foods aisle.
9. Tuesday’s show ended with Jepsen’s traditional closer, “Cut to the Feeling,” yet another “Emotion” outtake that’s taken on a second life as the subject of a durable internet joke about swords. (Say this for Jepsen’s faithful: They have memes.) Before that, though, she inevitably reached back for “Call Me Maybe,” delivering the song while pulling daffy faces that made her look like the star of some forgotten ’30s screwball comedy. “Before you came into my life, I missed you so bad,” she sang — still an all-timer of a pop lyric.
Afghanistan has marked the anniversary of its independence from British influence with a military display staged by the Taliban’s defence ministry. The event commemorates the signing of the Anglo-Afghan Treaty in 1919.
Published On 20 Aug 202520 Aug 2025
The Taliban’s leader has warned that Afghans ungrateful for its hardline rule will be severely punished by God in a statement marking the fourth anniversary of the group’s return to power.
The statement from Haibatullah Akhunzada was made in a social media post on Friday to commemorate “Victory Day”, four years on from the chaotic United States and NATO withdrawal from the country after more than 20 years of war as the Taliban retook the capital, Kabul.
The threat was a stark reminder of the sweeping restrictions and repression of rights, especially of women and girls, that has taken place under the Taliban’s rule, which is based on its strict interpretation of Islamic law.
In his statement, Akhunzada said Afghans had faced hardships for decades in the name of establishing religious law in the country, which he said had saved citizens from “corruption, oppression, usurpation, drugs, theft, robbery and plunder”.
“These are great divine blessings that our people should not forget and, during the commemoration of Victory Day, express great gratitude to Allah Almighty so that the blessings will increase,” his statement said.
“If, against God’s will, we fail to express gratitude for blessings and are ungrateful for them, we will be subjected to the severe punishment of Allah Almighty.”
He also advised government ministers to remove the word “acting” from their job titles, signalling the consolidation of his administration’s rule in the country amid a lack of internal opposition.
Four years on from its return to power, the Taliban government remains largely isolated in the international arena over the severe rights restrictions imposed under its rule although Russia became the first country to officially recognise the Taliban administration in early July.
It also has close ties with China, the United Arab Emirates and a number of Central Asian states although none of these officially recognises the Taliban administration.
Victory Day parades were planned in several Afghan cities on Friday, and in Kabul, helicopters were scheduled to drop flowers across the city. Photographs of an official ceremony in Kabul to open the commemorations showed a hall filled exclusively with male delegates.
Rather than celebrating, members of the activist group United Afghan Women’s Movement for Freedom staged an indoor protest in the northeastern province of Takhar against the Taliban’s oppressive rule, The Associated Press news agency reported.
“This day marked the beginning of a black domination that excluded women from work, education and social life,” the group said in a statement to the agency.
“We, the protesting women, remember this day not as a memory, but as an open wound of history, a wound that has not yet healed. The fall of Afghanistan was not the fall of our will. We stand, even in the darkness.”
Afghan women also held an indoor protest in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, the agency reported.
The United Nations, foreign governments and human rights groups have condemned the Taliban for their treatment of women and girls, who are banned from most education and work, as well as parks, gyms and travelling without a male guardian.
Inspectors from the Vice and Virtue Ministry require women to wear a chador, a full-body cloak covering the head, while a law announced a year ago ordered women not to sing or recite poetry in public and for their voices and bodies to be “concealed” outside the home.
Last month, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants against Akhunzada and the country’s chief justice on charges of committing gender-based persecution against women and girls.
ICC judges said the Taliban had “severely deprived” girls and women of the rights to education, privacy, family life and the freedoms of movement, expression, thought, conscience and religion.
At least 1.4 million girls have been “deliberately deprived” of their right to an education by the Taliban government, a UN report from August 2024 found.
Among the restrictions imposed on women is a ban on working for nongovernmental groups, among other jobs. A UN report this month revealed that dozens of Afghan women working for the organisation in the country had received direct death threats.
The report said the Taliban had told the UN mission that its cadres were not responsible for the threats and a Ministry of Interior Affairs investigation is under way. An Interior Ministry spokesman, Abdul Mateen Qani, later told The Associated Press news agency that no threats had been made.
In the meantime, Iran, Pakistan and the US have been sending Afghan refugees back to Taliban rule, where they risk persecution.
Four years have passed since Hanifa Girowal fled Afghanistan on a US evacuation flight. But every August, her mind returns to the same place.
Like many Afghans evacuated amid the August 15 Taliban takeover of Kabul, Girowal, who worked in human rights under the former Afghan government, still remains stuck in “legal limbo” in the United States. She is steadfastly pursuing a more stable status in the US, even as the political landscape surrounding her, and thousands of other Afghans in similar situations, shifts.
“I somehow feel like I’m still stuck in August 2021 and all the other Augusts in between, I can’t remember anything about them,” Girowal told Al Jazeera.
She often recalls the mad dash amid a crush of bodies at the crowded Kabul International Airport: people shot in front of her, a week of hiding, a flight to Qatar, then Germany and then finally, the US state of Virginia.
Followed by the early days of trying to begin a new life from the fragments of the old.
“Everything just comes up again to the surface, and it’s like reliving that trauma we went through, and we have been trying to heal from since that day,” she said.
The struggle may have become familiar, but her disquiet has been heightened since US President Donald Trump took office on January 20. His hardline immigration policies have touched nearly every immigrant community in the US, underscoring vulnerabilities for anyone on a precarious legal status.
There is a feeling that anything could happen, from one day to the next.
“I have an approved asylum case, which gives a certain level of protection, but we still don’t know the future of certain policies on immigration,” Girowal said. “I am very much fearful that I can be subjected to deportation at any time.”
Four years after the US withdrawal, much remains unclear about how Trump’s policies will affect Afghans who are already in the US, estimated to total about 180,000.
They arrived through a tangle of different avenues, including 75,000 flown in on evacuation flights in the immediate aftermath of the withdrawal, as the administration of US President Joe Biden undertook what it dubbed “Operation Allies Welcome“. Thousands more have since sought asylum by making treacherous journeys across the world to traverse the US southern border.
Some have relocated via so-called Special Immigrant Visas (SIVs), reserved for individuals who worked directly with the US military in Afghanistan, under a notoriously backlogged programme.
Others have been resettled through a special State Department programme, known as Priority 1 (P1) and Priority 2 (P2), launched by the administration of President Biden, meant for Afghans who face persecution for having worked in various capacities on behalf of the US government or with a US-based organisation in Afghanistan.
Adam Bates, a supervisory policy counsel at the International Refugee Assistance Programme, explained that some of those pathways, most notably the SIV and refugee programmes, provide a clear course towards US residency and, eventually, citizenship.
But, he clarified, others do not – a fact that advocates have warned leaves members of the population subject to perpetual uncertainty and political whims.
“A lot of the advocacy to the Biden administration officials was about finding more permanent legal pathways for Afghans,” Bates told Al Jazeera. “That was with one eye towards the potential of giving the Trump administration this opportunity to really double down and target this community.”
During Trump’s new term, his administration has taken several concrete – and at times contradictory – moves that affect Afghans living in the US.
It ended “temporary protected status” (TPS) for Afghans already in the country at the time of the Taliban takeover, arguing the country shows “an improved security situation” and “stabilising economy”, a claim contradicted by several human rights reports.
At the same time, the Trump administration added Afghanistan to a new travel ban list, restricting visas for Afghans, saying such admissions broadly run counter to US “foreign policy, national security, and counterterrorism”.
These actions underscore that “the situation in Afghanistan seems to be whatever it needs to be, from the Trump administration’s perspective,” according to Bates.
Trump has offered his contradictory messaging, criticising the Biden administration on the campaign trail for its handling of the withdrawal, and as recently as July, pledging to “save” evacuated Afghans subject to deportation from the United Arab Emirates.
Meanwhile, the administration terminated a special status for those who entered the US via the CBP One app in April, potentially affecting thousands of Afghans who entered via the southern border.
Advocates warn that many more Afghans may soon be facing another legal cliff. After being evacuated in 2021, tens of thousands of Afghans were granted humanitarian parole, a temporary status that allowed them to legally live and work in the US for two years, with an extension granted in 2023. That programme is soon set to end.
While many granted the status have since sought other legal avenues, most often applying for asylum or SIVs, an unknown number could be rendered undocumented and subject to deportation when the extension ends. Legislation creating a clearer pathway to citizenship has languished in Congress for years.
The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has not publicly released how many evacuated Afghans remain in the US on humanitarian parole, and did not respond to Al Jazeera’s request for the data.
Evacuated Afghans’ unease has been compounded by Trump’s aggressive approach to immigration enforcement, which has increasingly seen those without criminal histories targeted for deportations and permanent residents targeted for their political advocacy.
“It’s just an escalation across the board and a compounding of fear and instability in this community,” Bates said. “It’s hard to make life decisions if you aren’t sure what’s going to happen tomorrow or next week or in a year”.
Meanwhile, for the thousands of Afghans continuing to seek safety in the US from abroad, pathways have been severely constricted or have become completely blocked.
The Trump administration has paused asylum claims at the US southern border, citing a national emergency. It has almost completely suspended the US Refugee Program (USRAP), allowing only a trickle of new refugees in amid an ongoing legal challenge by rights groups.
Advocates say the special P1 and P2 programme created for Afghan refugees appears to have been completely halted under Trump. The administration has not published refugee admission numbers since taking office, and did not reply to Al Jazeera’s request for data.
“It feels as if we have pulled the rug out from many of our Afghan allies through these policy changes that strip legal protection for many Afghans in the US and limit pathways for Afghans who are still abroad to come to the US safely,” Kristyn Peck, the chief executive officer of the Lutheran Social Services of the National Capital Area, told Al Jazeera.
She noted that the SIV pipeline has continued to operate under Trump, although there have been some limitations, including requiring those approved for relocation to pay for their own travel.
Meanwhile, resettlement agencies like Lutheran have been forced to seriously curtail their operations following a stop-work order from the administration on January 24. As of March, Peck said, the organisation has been forced to let go of about 120 of its staff.
Susan Antolin, the executive director of Women for Afghan Women, a non-profit organisation that offers mental health, legal and social support to Afghans in the US, said organisations like hers are also bracing for sustained uncertainty.
“We are diversifying our funding and trying very hard, as so many other organisations are, to find other avenues to bring in that funding to continue to support our programmes,” she told Al Jazeera. “As organisations that deal with this kind of work, we have to step up. We have to do 10 times more, or 100 times more, of the work.”
The unstable situation in the US reflects a broader global trend.
The Taliban government, despite promising reforms in a push for international recognition, has continued to be accused of widespread human rights abuses and revenge killings. Still, it has upgraded diplomatic ties with several governments in recent years, and in July, Russia became the first country to formally recognise the group as the legitimate government of Afghanistan.
At the same time, the governments of Pakistan and Iran have accelerated expulsions of Afghans back to Afghanistan, with more than 1.4 million Afghans either being expelled or leaving Iran alone from January to July of 2025, according to UNHCR.
The Reuters news agency also reported in July that the UAE had notified Washington that it had begun returning evacuated Afghans.
Germany, too, has begun deporting Afghans back to Afghanistan, in July, it conducted its second deportation flight since the Taliban came to power, despite continuing not to recognise or maintain diplomatic ties with the group.
The collective moves send a clear message, evacuee Girowal said: “We know that Afghanistan is no more a priority for the world.”
Still, she said she has not abandoned hope that the US under Trump’s leadership will “not forget its allies”.
“I know the resilience of our own Afghan community. We are trained to be resilient wherever we are and fight back as much as we can,” she said.
“That’s one thing that gives me hope.”
