fight

American Jake Paul to headline Christmas Eve boxing event in Dubai, with his opponent yet to be announced.

YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul will return to the ring on December 24 in Dubai just over a year after suffering a broken jaw in his knockout loss to Anthony Joshua, he said.

American Paul, 29, will headline the Christmas Eve card, with his opponent yet to be announced.

The bout will be Paul’s first since his sixth-round knockout loss to former heavyweight champion Joshua in Miami on December 19 last year, when his jaw was fractured in two places, injuries that required multiple surgeries in December and February.

“I have spent years proving people wrong, taking risks and pushing myself against opponents nobody thought I would face,” Paul said in a statement.

“Nothing that’s happened has changed my belief in myself or what I’m working toward. I am hungrier than ever and on December 24 I’m returning to the ring in Dubai to start the next chapter of my journey.

“We’ve got plenty of names on the list; let’s see who signs the contract,” he added.

Paul has a 12-2 professional record, with his only defeats coming against Britain’s Tommy Fury and Joshua.

He also fought Mike Tyson in an exhibition fight in which he beat the former heavyweight champion in a unanimous points decision, although the bout drew criticism as a sham event.

Murphy lamented his team’s indiscipline in the first half, highlighting that as a contributory factor in leaving them with a mountain to climb.

“Our scrum held up reasonably well. Everyone knows when you come to South Africa your scrum is going to be under pressure so it’s an area we need to get better at.

“We had a way we wanted to play. We probably went away from that early on in the game but we got more towards what we were trying to do towards the back end of the half and in the second half.

“You have to stick in the fight here. Plenty of teams come here and kind of roll over.

“I don’t think we did that, which I’m really proud about, the way the lads stuck to the task.”

A Stuart McCloskey pass looked to have set James McKillop galloping clear on the wing to put Ulster in with a chance of what at one stage appeared a very unlikely victory but the Ireland centre was adjudged to have had part of his foot in touch.

“Stu’s foot was probably just in touch but if he gets that away earlier we’re going into the last two minutes with a lead. But that’s the breaks,” bemoaned the Ulster coach.

Murphy highlighted the breakdown as another area his side could improve on before next week’s meeting with the Stormers in Cape Town.

“We have to learn lessons but we will benefit from these tight battles come the end of the season,” he added.

The province’s Ireland internationals will return home to join up with Andy Farrell’s international squad, which assembles on Monday, while Murphy revealed that seven squad reinforcements would be arriving in Cape Town to bolster his side’s ranks ahead of the game with Stormers.

BRAD PITT has revealed he was forced to rely on close friends for support during the lowest points of his bitter divorce from Angelina Jolie.

After 12 years together, the actress accused him of physical and verbal abuse while on a private jet with their six children in September 2016.

He denied the allegations and the FBI brought no charges, but a gruelling £300million, eight-year divorce battle followed.

Brad said: “When I think of the darker days, it was certainly my close relationships that I relied heavily on. Friends, dear close friends — a handful — close family, and was very open about my struggle.

“And being able to be that free with people who love you and have your back, and that you love back, is everything. It’s everything.”

Since working on his new movie, survival thriller Heart Of The Beast, Brad has realised just how he got through the losses and pain with the help of some of his A-list pals, including George Clooney, Bradley Cooper, Leonardo DiCaprio and Matt Damon.

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In the film Brad plays a retired Special Forces veteran navigating a gruelling 60-mile trek through the Alaskan wilderness with his traumatised combat dog, Odin, after their seaplane crashes.

And it was the survival experts Brad worked with that truly opened his eyes to what he’d been through.

In a new interview from the San Sebastian Film Festival in Spain, Brad, 62, said: “The survivalists would tell us it’s all about little wins.

“You’re going to suffer losses, you’re going to suffer pain, but it’s just getting to the next little win.

“I thought that equated to life in that way, in the sense of when we are struggling and going through many challenges, just getting to that next little win, not thinking about the big picture, just that next little win.”

There have been plenty of wins in Brad’s career, including two Academy Awards, but his personal life has been marked by significant challenges.

After falling for Angelina on the set of action comedy Mr & Mrs Smith in 2004, he divorced actress Jennifer Aniston the following year.

The pair became known as “Brangelina” and married in front of their kids — Maddox, now 25, Pax, 22, Zahara, 21, Shiloh, 20, and 18-year-old twins Vivienne and Knox — in August 2014.

But two years later, following the heated row on a flight from their £45million Chateau Miraval in France to LA, Angelina filed for divorce.

No charges were filed by the FBI and the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services closed their investigation with no finding of abuse.

In the aftermath, Brad gave up drinking for seven years, began therapy and attended Alcoholics Anonymous. He also leaned on those aforementioned friends, as well as ex-wife Jennifer.

Despite their split after four-and-a-half years of marriage, the pair were able to rebuild their friendship after Brad’s split from Angelina.

But his drawn-out divorce with the Maleficent actress, which was only settled in December 2024, caused a rift with his children.

Last month, his daughter Zahara followed in the footsteps of her siblings Shiloh and Maddox in legally dropping Pitt from her surname.

Vivienne has also filed to change her name, with the court hearing set for next month.

While Brad has declined to comment on the news, he appears to be in a good place after finding love with Ines de Ramon.

He was first linked to the 33-year-old jewellery exec in late 2022, when they were spotted at a concert.

By February 2024, Ines had moved into Brad’s California mansion and they were “happier than ever”.

And this summer, the couple were spotted attending Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s New York wedding.

Ines also accompanied Brad to the premiere of Heart Of The Beast in Nashville last month.

He says one of the greatest things about his new movie was starring alongside six-year-old German Shepherd, Uber.

Brad and the former search and rescue dog, who plays Odin, were given just three weeks to get to know each other before filming.

The actor would sit in Uber’s large kennel answering emails and making calls so the dog would get used to having him around.

Brad, who owns three dogs (Jacques, Blackout Superstar and a recent unnamed rescue), laughed: “Listen, spending a day with the dog just makes things a little better. It wasn’t without its complications. You know, there were days that amazed us.”

Despite being set in Alaska, the movie was shot on New Zealand’s South Island in 45 days.

For more adventurous scenes involving stunts, Odin was played by one of Uber’s three sons, but Brad primarily filmed with Uber.

He said: “We had a short time to shoot this film. We decided a plan of attack — whatever the dog does, we’re going to follow it. So some days, it was just incredible. I did have a really moving experience with Uber, we bonded quickly. We tried to make every day a play day for him.

“There were times he would do things that were just amazing that were not in the script.

“At the same time, there were days when the bees are buzzing and possums are coming down the hill, and things are just much more interesting in the woods than what’s going on here for my co-star.

“I had to be pretty adept at being actor-dog trainer-actor-dog-trainer in the middle of the scene. Thank God for editing!”

Brad’s secret weapon was boiled chicken, Uber’s favourite treat.

The star, who rescued a stray greyhound-mix while filming Seven Years In Tibet in Argentina in 1996, joked: “I can’t smell boiled chicken to this day. That was his favourite.”

While New Zealand’s glaciers, lakes and mountains provided a stunning backdrop, filming in such a rugged location had its drawbacks.

Brad and the crew had to spend 12-hour days outside in the wet and cold, with no heated trailers to rest in.

The actor would sit on logs between takes alongside Uber, who Brad insists is the real star.

He said: “He was pretty cool. He was first on the call sheet. He was priority number one, but he was pretty cool all the way through.

“Working with a dog was really kind of beautiful, it was kind of wonderful. And surprisingly easier than you would think.”

The presence of dogs on set brought welcome relief to an otherwise emotionally intense shoot.

Brad said: “Every day was fun. We tried to do the same thing. We’d roll up on set at six in the morning, and there is one of our dog whisperers just playing catch with Uber.

“It was just such a beautiful sight in the field.”

The story at the heart of the movie — of a man relying on the bond with his dog to get through his darkest days — left Brad with a broader message.

He said: “Yes, it’s a survival story, but ultimately it’s a love story.

“I think we could spend more time looking at where we are the same  — what binds us? What connects us?

“Then I think we could listen better through these divisional lines. But maybe just start taking care of the people around us and making sure they’re OK.

“And if everyone did that, I’d say that’s a good place to start.”

Leinster: Hugo Keenan; Tommy O’Brien, Jamie Osborne, Robbie Henshaw, Jimmy O’Brien; Joey Carbery, Jamison Gibson-Park; Andrew Porter, Ronan Kelleher, Tadhg Furlong, Joe McCarthy, James Ryan, Ryan Baird, Josh van der Flier, Dan Sheehan (capt).

Replacements: Gus McCarthy, Alex Usanov, Thomas Clarkson, Conor O’Tighearnaigh, Scott Penny, Fintan Gunne, Caspar Gabriel, Charlie Tector.

Munster: Ben O’Connor; Shay McCarthy, Sean O’Brien, Alex Nankivell, Shane Daly; Charlie O’Shea, Craig Casey; Josh Wycherley, Marnus Van der Merwe, Kieran Brookes, Fineen Wycherley, Tadhg Beirne (capt), Jack O’Donoghue, Alex Kendellen, Gavin Coombes.

Replacements: Max Clein, Mark Donnelly, Michael Ala’alatoa, Sean Edogbo, Brian Gleeson, Ben O’Donovan, JJ Hanrahan, Gordon Wood.

Yellow card: Nankivell (64)

Referee: Andrew Brace (IRFU)

Merab Dvalishvili says he has gained 19lb (1st 5lb) in just five hours after weighing in for his bantamweight title fight against Petr Yan at UFC 333 on Saturday.

The Georgian weighed 135lb (9st 9lb), which was the same as Russian champion Yan, before the pair’s co-main event fight in Abu Dhabi.

Dvalishvili later uploaded a video to Instagram showing the 35-year-old stepping on scales and weighing 154lb (11st 0lb).

“I’ve been drinking water and in only five hours I gain back 19 pounds, that’s what we do, let’s go,” he said.

“Now I’m back drinking and recovering. Now I’m going to start eating. Eat food first, then tomorrow you guys already know who I’m going to eat.”

Fighters typically cut weight by shedding water in the days before a bout, before rehydrating to regain weight – a process that can provide a physical advantage inside the octagon.

The UFC has taken a number of steps to make weight cuts safer over the years, including banning IV drips, which forces fighters to hydrate in a healthier way, and building the Performance Institute, which provides guidance for its athletes from professional health experts.

UFC fighters are recommended to lose no more than 8% of their body weight during fight week.

On fight night they are recommended to stay within 10% of their weight class.

Dvalishvili is aiming to win back the title he lost against two-time champion Yan last December.

During their face-off, the pair engaged in an intense but respectful stare-down.

In the main event, champion Alexander Volkanovski and Movsar Evloev both made weight before their featherweight world title contest.

Australia’s Volkanovski is looking to earn a record ninth win in UFC featherweight title fights against Russia’s Evloev, who is undefeated in 20 bouts.

On the undercard, British flyweight Lone’er Kavanagh takes on Uzbekistan’s Ramazan Temirov.

The 27-year-old Kavanagh is aiming to bounce back from defeat by American Brandon Royval in July.

SAN FRANCISCO — Nancy Pelosi is, beyond doubt, a figure who will long endure, her name forever pressed into the pages of the nation’s history books.

She is the first — and, so far, only — woman to wield the gavel as speaker of the House. She was indispensable to passage of the Affordable Care Act, better known as Obamacare. Working with presidents of both parties, she twice helped keep the American economy from tanking.

She played political field marshal through numerous election cycles, raising astronomical sums to help push Democrats into the majority. When a doddering Joe Biden threatened the party’s hold on the White House and foreshadowed a 2024 congressional wipeout, Pelosi used her considerable influence to not so gently ease the president aside as Democrats’ nominee for the White House.

Why, then, with so much at stake in November, would one of Pelosi‘s last acts before retirement be mucking about in the elbow-throwing, bone-crunching race between the two San Francisco Democrats vying to succeed her in January?

Is it a grudge she holds against Scott Wiener, the prolific and prolifically ambitious state senator, who boldly launched his candidacy last fall before Pelosi had even announced her plans to retire?

Is it resentment that Wiener’s years-long maneuvering blocked the ascension of Pelosi’s daughter, Christine, who’d been widely talked about as her mom’s name-brand successor? (Instead, she’s running for Wiener’s seat in 2028, or sooner if he makes it to Congress.)

Is it Pelosi once more leaning into her long-standing role as a champion of women and women in politics, which drew her to support Supervisor Connie Chan?

Perhaps it’s a bit of all three.

Pelosi, for her part, told reporters that “nobody knows Congress better than I do” and she believes, simply enough, that Chan “would be the best member of Congress.”

But maybe there’s something more elemental.

“Pelosi is the daughter of a machine politician,” said Eric Jaye, a strategist who’s spent decades working in and around San Francisco politics. “She moves from Baltimore” — where her father was a congressman and mayor — “and becomes initially a lieutenant in the political machine here and, ultimately, the general of it.

“She’s playing by the classic rules of machine politics,” Jaye said, “which is the machine has the prerogative of choosing the line of succession…. Nancy Pelosi wanted to be able to make that choice.”

Peas in a pod

Chan, a leader of the city’s progressive wing and a favorite of organized labor, was languishing until Pelosi delivered her endorsement in the final stretch of the primary campaign. Her imprimatur sent Chan surging past tech millionaire Saikat Chakrabarti to place second behind Wiener.

With less than two weeks until election day, the November runoff appears too close to call, though many give Wiener the edge.

There is little that substantively divides the two candidates, both liberals in good standing. Wiener is considered the more moderate of the two, graded on San Francisco’s very-left curve.

“Connie Chan and Scott Wiener are going to vote the same way 99.9% of the time,” said Jim Ross, another longtime San Francisco political strategist. Further, he noted, it’s going to be years before either acquires the clout needed to be a significant force on Capitol Hill. “That’s just the reality of how Congress works.”

Which makes Pelosi’s heavy involvement in their fratricidal fight all the more striking.

She’s put her hefty fundraising muscle behind Chan, helping narrow Wiener’s financial advantage. She’s appeared in pro-Chan advertising — striding in her trademark stilettos — and lent her Washington communications director to the campaign.

She’s also collared Chan a list of glossy endorsements, including Sen. Adam Schiff, former Sen. Barbara Boxer and San José Rep. Zoe Lofgren, the chair of California’s Democratic congressional delegation. Wiener has Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta and several Democratic House members in his corner.

Gov. Gavin Newsom, a former San Francisco mayor and longtime Pelosi ally, has not endorsed either candidate.

A house divided

San Francisco politics have long been personal, nasty and brutish. The city’s close quarters and intraparty rivalries help make it so, and Pelosi’s intervention has further frayed old ties and strained deep-seated alliances.

Susie Tompkins Buell, a San Francisco philanthropist and one of the Democratic Party’s most influential donors, told Politico she couldn’t understand why Pelosi would use her final months in office to torpedo Wiener’s campaign. She’s spoken to other prominent Democrats, Buell said, who felt pressured to endorse Chan because the speaker emerita hit them up.

“All you do is say, ‘Why, why is this happening?’ ” Buell wondered aloud.

It’s been nearly 40 years — going back to when Pelosi was first elected in 1987 — since San Francisco had an open congressional seat. Winning here is tantamount to a lifetime appointment; since 1964, just three people have held the seat Pelosi is vacating.

Both Wiener, who is gay, and Chan, who immigrated to San Francisco from Hong Kong, are bidding to write their own bit of history. Wiener, 56, would be the first out LGBTQ+ person to represent San Francisco in Congress. Chan, 48, would be the first Asian American.

As for Pelosi, her aggressive intervention in the contest won’t even merit “a footnote in her biography,” Jaye said.

Her place in posterity is sealed, regardless of who wins or loses Nov. 3.

What else you should be reading

Get smart: Becerra’s muted gubernatorial campaign comes to life in home stretch
The deep dive: In tight Texas Senate race, Trump’s immigration crackdown tests Republicans’ hold on voters
The L.A. Times Special: California residents accused by feds of voter fraud react with shock, confusion and anger

Until next time,
mzb
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JOEY Essex has confirmed he will be returning to the boxing ring after signing a ‘big fight deal’.

It comes a week after he took on Dapper Laughs in a Misfits Boxing event last weekend, with the clash ending in a controversial draw.

Freshened up and having swapped the gloves for a suave suit, Joey walked the Pride Of Britain red carpet on Monday.

Talking to The Sun at the event, he shared: “I feel great, there isn’t a scratch on me! I feel like I’ve come out the ring better than when I first went in – I look even better.

“But yeah, feeling good and very proud of myself, it was a good night.”

Last week, we told how an investigation was underway into the result of the fight after some fans claimed it shouldn’t have been a draw.

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Answering whether he was happy with the result, Joey replied: “Yeah of course, it’s boxing – you know?

“It’s how it goes. Win, lose or draw, you’ve got to look back and to learn. You just keep learning, experience is a massive thing in boxing so onto the next.”

And the next won’t be too far away, he says.

“I’ve signed a big fight deal, so I guess I’ll be back in [the ring] soon. I don’t know who against, but yeah, I’ll be back in soon,” confirmed Joey.

While he may appear fighting fit now, Joey says he was in the depths of a tough training camp this time last month.

“The training for boxing is very intense, the training is harder than the actual night itself.

“This time around my camp was only about 5 and a half weeks, so it was a very short camp. A lot of my opponents were dropping out and stuff so longer camps are harder. But you learn and the harder you train the better you fight.”

WASHINGTON — A federal judge on Monday questioned the Trump administration’s claims surrounding its efforts to redevelop a historic Washington golf course, challenging its contention that a recent tree-cutting spree did not indicate work was moving forward on the project, which is temporarily blocked by a court order.

“There is no universe in which all of this coincidentally happened all at the same time,” U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes said during a hearing over the fate of a project that has emerged as the latest legal flashpoint in President Trump’s campaign to leave his personal imprint on the nation’s capital.

Reyes last week ordered a halt to the golf course’s redevelopment plans until at least Oct. 26 after scolding the government for starting a large-scale tree removal at the course over a holiday weekend while providing little notice to the court or the plaintiffs trying to stop the makeover.

Then, on Sunday, Trump announced plans on social media to close the golf course for 15 months, starting on Nov. 15, and redevelop the 106-year-old park and course despite a court challenge by the D.C. Preservation League and two golfers. In a post on Monday, Trump said the work would start immediately.

Plaintiffs’ attorneys challenging the golf course renovation work have asked Reyes to extend her order that temporarily paused the work. They say the work is inflicting irreversible damage and that the redevelopment would violate the congressional act that created the park where the course is located.

The hearings on the century-old golf course have grown increasingly tense and on the eve of Monday’s hearing, Reyes rejected the administration’s request for her to recuse herself from the case. The government questioned her impartiality and accused her of engaging in “egregious” behavior from the bench during last week’s emergency hearing for the case.

Trump, a Republican, referred to Reyes as a “crazed lunatic” in his social media post on Monday.

“The United States Department of Interior wants to take a terrible and very unsafe golf course, and make it into a great, safe, and prestigious golf course. They have an absolute right to do so. It’s as simple as that!” Trump wrote.

Reyes, who was nominated by Democratic President Biden, said the government has failed “by any objective measure” to demonstrate the need for her recusal from the case.

“It is easy to weaponize selective quotations to bring a baseless recusal motion. But it is much harder to meet the demanding legal standard against a full record,” she wrote.

Trump has pledged to turn the course into a world-class golf venue — part of his grand vision for Washington, D.C., where he has torn down storied structures, remade or renamed others and deployed the National Guard for more than a year.

While it has been open to Washingtonians of all income levels, opponents of Trump’s plans for the golf course have argued it will alter the character of the space and make it less affordable to people.

Monday’s hearing started with a tense confrontation between Reyes and Justice Department official Stanley Woodward, when the judge asked if other any government attorneys in the room “as officers of the court” were willing to certify that everything within a Sunday filing was truthful and legally sound under federal rules of civil procedures.

In that filing Woodward argued that there were no final plans for the park.

“First, the plan is not final because the Park Service has not completed its review and the details of the proposal are subject to change during the review process,” the filing said.

Much of the hearing revolved around Trump’s social media posts over the weekend and his appearance last June at the golf course, accompanied by golf course architects and members of the administration and why there was such a sense of urgency for the cutting of the trees.

The witnesses at the hearing, Greg Wischer, deputy chief of staff at the Interior Department, and acting National Park Service director Jessica Bowron both acknowledged that they had only learned of the National Park Service Cultural Landscape Report in September that led to the tree cutting. That NPS report was from 2019.

Fields writes for the Associated Press.

SEAN “Diddy” Combs has been transferred to a new prison just days after he was hospitalised following a vicious brawl with another inmate, it is reported.

The disgraced music mogul was removed from his federal lock up in New Jersey, FCI Fort Dix, this morning.

Prison officials have not given a reason for the transfer to Allenwood in Pennsylvania, first reported by TMZ.

But Combs had been hauled into solitary confinement on two separate occasions for prison violations.

The former hip hop star was written up by staff at Fort Dix for phone violations and violent behaviour, the outlet reported.

Allenwood is a low security prison with just 1,000 inmates – compared with Fort Dix’s 4,000.

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Combs, who has been behind bars since October 2025, reportedly suffered a medical emergency early Saturday morning.

It was later revealed he suffered a head injury in a brawl with Jamaican drug lord Christopher Coke, known as “Dudus”.

Multiple sources inside the prison told TMZ the pair came to blows last Friday but Dudus had the upper hand.

The fight was reportedly sparked over inmates’ anger at Combs for getting exposed in a recent NBC News report about his lavish lifestyle behind bars.

The shamed rapper reportedly had access to a cellphone, alcohol and had paid other inmates for their prescription medication.

As a result of the leak, prison officials conducted two raids and confiscated cell phones from inmates – including Dudas.

The convict – serving a 23-year sentence since 2012 – is a kingpin at the prison, sources told TMZ.

Combs was said to have been conscious and speaking following the alleged incident.

He was reportedly taken back to prison grounds before sunrise the same day.

After the punch- up, both men were reportedly hauled into solitary confinement for twoweeks’s punishment.

A rep for the Grammy winner previously told Page Six: “We are aware of the reports concerning Sean Combs and are working to confirm the circumstances.”

“Sean’s health and well-being are our immediate concern,” they continued, “and we appreciate everyone who has reached out.”

The shamed rapper was sentenced to 50 months in FCI Fort Dix prison last year on two charges related to prostitution.

Combs was acquitted on more serious charges of racketeering and sex trafficking.

He was due to be let out on May 8, 2028, under his initial sentencing terms but his final day behind bars has now been moved to January 21, 2028.

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SEAN “Diddy” Combs suffered a head injury in a vicious brawl with a Jamaican drug lord, sources have claimed.

The disgraced music mogul who has been behind bars since October 2025, reportedly suffered a medical emergency early Saturday morning.

Page Six initially reported that the 56-year-old had smacked his head on a bunk bed.

But in the latest twist to the mystery hospital visit, insiders told TMZ that Combs was injured in a brawl with fellow inmate Christopher Coke, known as “Dudus”.

Multiple sources inside Fort Dix FCI told the outlet the pair came to blows last Friday but Dudus had the upper hand.

Combs suffered a severe head injury that required medical treatment.

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The Grammy winner was rushed out of the federal lockup in New Jersey at 1am local time on Saturday.

The fight was reportedly sparked over inmates’ anger at Combs for getting exposed in a recent NBC News report about his lavish lifestyle behind bars.

The shamed rapper reportedly had access to a cellphone, alcohol and had paid other inmates for their prescription medication.

As a result of the leak, prison officials conducted two raids and confiscated cell phones from inmates – including Dudas.

The convict – serving a 23-year sentence since 2012 – is a kingpin at the prison, sources told the outlet.

Combs was said to have been conscious and speaking following the alleged incident.

He was reportedly taken back to prison grounds before sunrise the same day.

After the punch- up, both men were reportedly hauled into solitary confinement for two week’ s punishment.

A rep for the Grammy winner previously told Page Six: “We are aware of the reports concerning Sean Combs and are working to confirm the circumstances.”

“Sean’s health and well-being are our immediate concern,” they continued, “and we appreciate everyone who has reached out.”

The hip-hop star was sentenced to 50 months in FCI Fort Dix prison last year on two charges related to prostitution.

Combs was acquitted on more serious charges of racketeering and sex trafficking.

His recent hospital visit follows a turbulent few months for the disgraced music producer.

In July he was reportedly thrown into solitary confinement after getting into a brawl inside his federal lockup.

Combs was accused of sparking a mass fight after being insulted by a fellow inmate.

Combs had his prison time cut again in September.

He was due to be let out on May 8, 2028, under his initial sentencing terms but his final day behind bars has now been moved to January 21, 2028.

A human defeated two of the three robots he faced in a cage fight recently held in San Francisco.

The humans behind that fight could face a battle of their own — the legal type — if they want to hold another event like “Human Vs. Robot,” the Sept. 18 competition that placed influencer Frankie LaPenna inside an octagon to battle three humanoid robots that were controlled remotely by a human operator in separate MMA-style fights.

REK (Robot Entertainment Kombat), the “humanoid robot fighting” company that staged the event, billed it as the “first human vs. robot fight in history.” Videos of the bouts have combined for more than 10 million views on YouTube.

Not everyone is a fan. On Sept. 23, the California State Athletic Commission sent a cease-and-desist order to REK, its CEO Cix Liv and “all persons holding, promoting, advertising or sponsoring unsanctioned human versus humanoid robot cage fight.”

The letter states that “any boxing or mixed martial arts contest, match, or exhibition, involving any human in the State of California” requires the prior approval of the commission and that it is a misdemeanor to hold such an event without obtaining a license or permit from the state.

A spokesperson for the California Department of Consumer Affairs, which oversees the CSAC, said in a statement emailed to The Times that the commission is “committed to protecting the safety of the public and integrity of combat sports.”

“Unsanctioned activity puts the physical and financial well-being of all those involved at risk and such activity will not be tolerated,” the statement said.

An X post by Liv on Sept. 30 indicated he’s not overly concerned about the cease-and-desist order.

“We made it boys,” he wrote in the post, which also included a photo of the commission’s letter.

Liv said in an email to The Times on Tuesday that REK did not seek CSAC approval before the event “because the law clearly states it is not a real boxing match if it doesn’t include ‘two persons,’” rather than a human vs. a humanoid robot controlled by a human.

“So they can argue in court that actuators are somehow persons,” he said. “The case would give us nonstop media coverage, even if we incurred a fine.”

LaPenna also appeared to make light of the cease-and-desist order in a pair of X posts on Oct. 1.

“I fought a robot and within 12 days the state of California passes a new law saying no more robot vs. human fights,” wrote LaPenna, who did not immediately respond to a request for comment for this article.

He added in the second post: “Good work Cix, you disrupted the system.”

According to Liv, LaPenna pushed for the opportunity to face humanoid opponents in the cage.

“We felt the robots were ready to fight amateur fighters like Frankie, but not actual MMA fighters yet,” Liv said.

The 29-year-old content creator signed a full waiver of liability, but “we didn’t actually want to hurt him,” Liv added.

The written description accompanying a “Human vs. Robot” video posted on REK and LaPenna’s YouTube pages states that “there was no predetermined outcome, both Frankie and Nick, the robot operator were told to try their best.”

Wearing spiked gloves, a helmet and protective padding, the 5-foot-6, 205-pound LaPenna held his own against all three bots. He dominated his first opponent, referred to at the fight as “the child robot.” Next came an imposing “Terminator”-inspired humanoid, which was listed on the fight video as 6-feet and 200 pounds with a kick force of 850 pounds.

The robot landed several hard kicks, including one that knocked LaPenna across the mat and another with an impact that brought the humanoid to the ground and caused its head to come off — but the human seemed to gain strength as the match went on and eventually stood triumphantly with his foot on the machine’s crumpled body.

LaPenna was dominant early in his final match, in which he faced a robot that resembled a “Predator” from the movies of the same name. After landing several punches and kicks and taking his opponent to the ground multiple times, LaPenna eventually became fatigued and called for the match to be ended.

“He doesn’t get tired. He doesn’t stay down,” LaPenna said in a postmatch interview. “Just keeps getting up. I thought he’d be dead.”

According to Liv, LaPenna emerged from the bouts basically unscathed. “The only damage he experienced was hurting his hand a bit by punching metal,” Liv said.

Since then, REK has turned its attention back to all-robot fights, although Liv said the company eventually plans to stage more human vs. humanoid bouts.

“We are avoiding it for now,” Liv said. “CSAC has no legal case but it may not be worth the battle. We may just do it in Vegas or a state that is less lame.”

WASHINGTON — With the midterm elections just over three weeks away, the fight for control of the U.S. Senate is intensifying in battleground states, as Democrats push into red regions and Republicans pour money into key contests.

Campaigns are entering a crucial stretch for persuading the independent voters who will probably determine outcomes in swing races. Nearly all of the most competitive Senate races are in states with significant swaths of people unaffiliated with either major party — the “kingmakers” in these high-stakes midterms, said Jeremy Gruber, an independent-voting expert.

“Independent voters are going to be deciding this election in every respect,” said Gruber, senior vice president of Open Primaries, an organization that advocates for states to open primary elections to unaffiliated voters.

The urgency around courting nonaligned voters has been on display at recent debates, in ads flooding the airwaves and in the campaign money pouring into key states. For Republicans, it has become an effort to put distance between themselves and President Trump; for Democrats, it’s often a rhetorical shift toward the center and away from the far left.

In Iowa, Republican Ashley Hinson used a Wednesday night debate to emphasize her willingness to break with Trump. In Kansas, Democrat Adam Hamilton is circulating a video in which he describes himself as both liberal and conservative. In Alaska, a GOP-backed ad blitz launched last week aims to persuade voters that Democrat Mary Peltola isn’t independent-minded.

Mary Peltola, a Democrat running for the U.S. Senate seat in Alaska, addresses supporters at an election watch party on Aug. 18 in Anchorage.

(Mark Thiessen / Associated Press)

Though many unaffiliated voters have made up their minds, those who remain undecided will begin making decisions soon, as mail ballots go out and early voting begins in some states.

“For Republicans who are running behind and are looking at a potentially devastating midterm election performance, what they really need to do is target the independents who lean Republican,” said Karen Kedrowski, an Iowa State University political scientist. “For Democrats in some place like Iowa … what they need to do is make it seem safe [to independents] to vote for a Democratic candidate.”

Unaffiliated constituents have long been key to victory in swing states, particularly where races are traditionally decided by small margins. They have been viewed as particularly persuadable this year, as public dissatisfaction with Trump’s economic policies puts the votes of swing voters who backed him in 2024 up for grabs.

Forecasters predict that Democrats are on track for the House majority and could hold a majority of gubernatorial seats for the first time since 2010. Though Senate control remains a toss-up, Democrats’ chances are viewed by forecasters to have significantly improved since the summer.

A set of New York Times/Siena polls reported last week showed Democratic candidates for the Senate ahead in Texas, Michigan, Alaska and Ohio and neck-and-neck in Kansas and Iowa — all states Trump carried in 2024. Republicans, meanwhile, are feeling increasingly bullish about their chances in Maine, New Hampshire and Minnesota, all states that went blue in the last presidential election.

Republicans hold a significant fundraising advantage, however, and party donors are pouring money into key races, hoping the spending can cut into the Democrats’ edge. By September’s end, GOP advertisers had more than doubled their spending compared with August, outstripping Democrats, according to tracker AdImpact. Among the nine Senate races considered the tightest by forecasters, Republicans have outspent Democrats in all, AdImpact reported.

But on Friday, the Cook Political Report, a leading election forecaster, moved 18 House races in Democrats’ direction, saying that heavy ad spending by Republicans has not begun to move the needle in their favor.

Democrats view themselves as in their “strongest position yet” to win the majority, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), who chairs the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, said in a statement last week.

“In this final stretch of the election, Democrats will continue to vigorously campaign and fight for every vote across the expanded map,” Gillibrand said.

Republicans are confident about their ability to persuade voters in key states, said Bernadette Breslin, a spokesperson for the National Republican Senatorial Committee.

“Republicans will defend the Senate majority across key battlegrounds that have trended reliably red,” Breslin said, “with candidates like Mike Rogers [in Michigan] and Roger Marshall [in Kansas] winning over independents by exposing their Democratic opponents’ radical, unaffordable agendas.”

Along with the decisions of independent and swing voters, the midterm outcomes could also hinge on the level of turnout within each party, analysts say. If a portion of the party faithful stay home in a given place — for instance, disillusioned conservatives in Kansas or frustrated Black Democrats in Michigan — that could swing individual races, analysts said.

The number of independent voters reached a record high this year, with 45% of American adults identifying as political independents in Gallup polling. Equal shares identified as Republicans and Democrats, 27% for each party. The trend is partly driven by majorities of millennial and Gen Z voters choosing to be unaffiliated with either party, according to Gallup research.

Such voters make up a majority in Alaska and between 30% and 40% of all registered voters in Maine, Iowa, New Hampshire, North Carolina and Ohio. They account for about 29% in Kansas and about 16% in Texas and Michigan, according to state data compiled by the Independent Voter Project.

Across recent polls, independent voters have favored Democrats and expressed dissatisfaction with Trump. In a late September poll from Emerson College Polling, 66% of independents said Trump has done worse than expected during his second term in office.

State Rep. James Talarico, Democratic U.S. Senate candidate, listens at a food drive at the Frederick Douglass Human Services and Justice Center on Sept. 9 in Dallas.

(Julia Demaree Nikhinson / Associated Press)

In Texas, Democrat James Talarico led Republican Ken Paxton among independents by 32 points in a September poll by Texas Public Opinion Research. The Democratic candidate in Ohio, Sherrod Brown, led Republican Sen. Jon Husted by 27 points among independents in a CNN poll released Thursday.

In Kansas, where the Senate race has become unexpectedly close amid economic-driven anger with Trump, disapproval of the president’s performance among independents appears to be rubbing off on incumbent Sen. Roger Marshall, the Republican seeking reelection.

Fifty-two percent felt unfavorably toward Marshall and 62% disapproved of Trump’s performance, according to a recent Emerson College/Nexstar poll.

In those battleground red states, that creates a tough fight for both parties, analysts said. With control of the Senate hanging in the balance, candidates are duking it out in fundraising and on the campaign trail to win every last vote.

“Both campaigns are raking in ridiculous amounts of money … and they’re spending every penny because [they] have to,” said Wichita State University political science professor Alexandra Middlewood, referring to the Kansas Senate race. “We see that they’re really going to have to fight it out all the way to the end.”

Debates are another tool for candidates to reach independent voters, said Corwin Smidt, a political science professor at Michigan State University.

Democrat Abdul El-Sayed, left, and Republican Mike Rogers meet in a Michigan Senate debate Thursday night in Grand Rapids.

(Paul Sancya / Pool Photo)

In Michigan, where the Senate candidates sparred in their first debate Thursday evening, Rep. Mike Rogers, the Republican Senate nominee, has distanced himself from Trump twice in recent weeks, first calling for an end to the war in Iran and then releasing an ad last week denouncing the tariffs against Canada. Democrat Abdul El-Sayed, meanwhile, announced a rally with former President Obama, an appeal to mainstream voters.

“They’ve got to try to both win over people who have been paying attention, but also introduce themselves to the ones who haven’t been paying attention,” Smidt said.

Winning unaffiliated voters can require a tightrope walk for candidates who are faced with the dual tasks of appealing to their party base while persuading independent constituents.

In the final stretch of the campaign, candidates seeking independent votes should telegraph a willingness to admit their party’s flaws and an understanding that voters are turned off by partisan rhetoric, said Chad Peace, legal strategist at the Independent Voter Project, which advocates for open primaries.

“They have to communicate to those folks and try to meet them where they’re at,” Peace said. “[Independents] want the campaigns of persuasion, they don’t want to hear you tell me how bad the other candidate is.”

And, Gruber said, they want to be engaged with, not ignored.

“Independent voters,” he said, “are going to be responding to those candidates and parties that actually talk to them.”

Several of today’s papers lead with the government’s review of ADHD and autism diagnoses. A “stark warning over rising demand for NHS autism and ADHD care” tops the Guardian. Elsewhere, it reports that two Latvians have been arrested after they were “found inside RAF base”. And, after it was revealed that the three sisters who died in the Brighton sea had taken their own lives, the paper describes their “final pilgrimage”.

Far-right and far-left parties gain ground in local elections as Merz’s approval rating sinks.

Chancellor ⁠Friedrich Merz has hit out at what he called political “extremism” in Germany after recent stinging defeats in local elections to far-right and far-left parties.

“This is a task for ⁠our society as ⁠a whole, and it is ⁠one I intend ⁠to play ⁠my part in,” he said on Wednesday at an ‌event in Berlin.

Merz said “extremism” was forcefully making its way into the country’s parliaments, a day after a member of the far-right Alternative for ‌Germany (AfD) was elected president of the state parliament in Saxony-Anhalt and the Left Party won out in Berlin’s state election last month.

“Anyone who casts their vote for ⁠the AfD is ⁠playing the extremists’ game and undermining credibility,” ⁠Merz said. “In ⁠any case, this is incompatible with the values of ‌my party, the CDU [Christian Democratic Union of Germany].”

Despite winning the vote in the September 6 election in Saxony-Anhalt, the AfD fell three seats short of the absolute majority it had had sought. AfD lawmaker Tobias Rausch won the presidency of the parliament in the eastern German state Tuesday, backed by the left-populists in a secret ballot.

Founded in 2013 as a Eurosceptic movement, the AfD won over voters with an increasingly hardline opposition to immigration after about a million people fled to Germany in 2015, many of them from war-torn Syria.

The party has since become a dominant political force in much of eastern Germany, especially among voters disillusioned with mainstream parties, though most traditional parties have pledged not to enter coalitions with the AfD.

Berlin election

Merz’s comments followed the far-left Left Party’s victory in the Berlin state election on September 20, in another defeat for the chancellor’s ruling Christian Democrats.

Lead ‌candidate Elif Eralp campaigned on the soaring cost of housing in the German capital and immediately promised to follow through with a pledge to nationalise private housing associations that account for a large share of the city’s housing stock.

The result, which roughly doubled the party’s previous score, could see her become the first mayor of Berlin from the Left Party, which grew out of the former East German communist party following the reunification of the country 36 years ago.

Eralp, the 45-year-old daughter of left-wing Turkish parents who fled a coup in 1980, said the increasingly difficult rental situation was the biggest social problem in the capital.

She promised to proceed with nationalising the housing associations she said drove property speculation, in accordance with a referendum from 2021 in which 58 percent of voters backed a proposal to promulgate the move.

While the AfD has attracted most attention, the ⁠Left Party has also benefitted from a general turn against the mainstream centre-left and centre-right parties.

Meanwhile, Merz has received a record low approval rating. Earlier this month, a survey by Germany’s public broadcaster ARD found that only one in 10 respondents were satisfied or very satisfied with his performance, the lowest figure for any chancellor since the survey began in 1997.

Another major election test will come in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany’s most populous state, where voters are set to elect a new parliament in April.

David Ellison emerged with his prized Hollywood juggernaut Tuesday as the merger of Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros. Discovery officially closed.

The $111-billion transaction culminated a year-long battle by the 43-year-old tech scion to add Warner Bros. Discovery to his family’s growing portfolio.

The Ellison family now controls one of the largest traditional media companies ever formed, with HBO, CNN, CBS, Comedy Central, TBS, Food Network, two traditional Hollywood studios and two major streaming services.

Shares of the new company began trading under the ticker SKYD, a switch from last week when the company went by PSKY for Paramount Skydance. Ellison has called the merged company, Skydance, the name he selected two decades ago when he began building his Hollywood studio.

This is a developing story.

Even Fox News, one of President Trump’s preferred media outlets, isn’t exempt from his go-to term for any woman he dislikes.

“She can be so nasty,” was how Trump recently described the conservative-leaning network’s senior White House correspondent Jacqui Heinrich.

Never one to hold back, the president has also had harsh words for her spouse, Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, a moderate Republican congressman. “Her husband votes against me all the time,” Trump once said. “Can you imagine?”

The double-barreled attacks don’t bother Heinrich, who as president of the White House Correspondents Assn. is leading the fight against Trump’s ban on CNN, MS NOW and Politico. When Trump delivered his insult at the WHCA’s dinner in July, Heinrich just shrugged and smiled.

“You don’t get into journalism to be well liked by the subject that you’re covering,” Heinrich said in a recent phone interview. “As long as I’m doing my job, which is to get the story and tell it fairly and fully, the rest of it is not really my business to care about. It’s probably not the last time I’ll upset him. The president still takes my calls.”

Heinrich’s durability is being put to the test as she delivers the public and private messaging on the latest battle with the White House over press freedom. Trump banned the three outlets from the White House grounds due to what he believes is their constant negative coverage.

A federal judge issued a temporary restraining order to block the move, calling it viewpoint discrimination and a violation of the outlets’ 1st Amendment rights. But the administration continues to prevent CNN from serving in
the press pool that follows the president at all times. More court hearings are ahead.

Over the last 10 days, Heinrich has issued public statements condemning the ban, monitored the legal proceedings and held back channel conversations with the White House in an effort to get Trump’s decision reversed. It’s a second job on top of covering the president and co-hosting a weekend program “The Sunday Briefing.”

Executives and journalists say privately that it’s helpful to have someone from a Trump-friendly outlet lead the organization to restore the press credentials of outlets the president views as hostile. The WHCA exists to maintain and facilitate access to the White House for its 900 members across 250 news organizations.

But for Heinrich, it’s logical that 1st Amendment arguments transcend any political leanings of any media outlet. If Trump’s ban stands, conservative news organizations could find themselves facing similar restrictions the next time a Democrat is in the Oval Office.

“When you empower the president to select who is allowed to ask them questions, it shrinks the room,” Heinrich said. “It shrinks the perspective and it hands over that same authority to the next administration, who will surround themselves with only voices that approve of or are supportive or friendly toward what they’re doing.”

Eugene Daniels, a co-host at the progressive-leaning MS NOW and a former White House Correspondents Assn. president, said the organization’s members from Fox News and the further right-leaning Newsmax were always supportive of 1st Amendment and press access issues during his tenure.

“A lot of our news organizations understand intrinsically that at some point the shoe could be on the other foot,” Daniels said. “The solidarity matters.”

Daniels has also known Heinrich since the two worked together years ago at a TV station in Colorado Springs, Colo., and believes she is well-equipped to push the WHCA’s cause.

“She’s clear eyed about the role of White House correspondents in covering any president,” he said. “She is very tough and always has been since we’ve met. She stands 10 toes down when it comes to what’s right.”

Heinrich’s respect for journalistic principles has even extended to her personal life. When Fitzpatrick first asked her out on a date five years ago, he had to wait several weeks for an answer. Heinrich checked with her Fox News bosses to see if dating an elected official was a conflict even though she was no longer assigned to covering congress.

“He was very patient,” Heinrich said. The couple was married at New York’s St. Patrick’s Cathedral in June.

Heinrich is among the correspondents at Fox News — which this week will mark 30 years on the air — whose reporting doesn’t adhere to the leanings of its opinion hosts and commentators.

In 2020, Heinrich reported on Trump’s false claims of voter fraud in the election he lost to Joe Biden, while commentators, hosts and guests on the network continued to raise doubts about the results. Her reporting angered hosts such as Tucker Carlson and Sean Hannity, who were concerned that her work was alienating viewers loyal to the president.

Carlson called on Fox News Media Chief Executive Suzanne Scott to fire Heinrich in a text that came to light three years later when Dominion Voting System filed its defamation suit against the network. Dominion claimed Fox News deliberately aired false statements about the company’s role in the 2020 election, settling the suit for $787 million.

But Heinrich said she was unaware of the conversations before they were revealed in a legal brief in February 2023. (Carlson was fired from Fox News two months later.) She has been promoted twice since 2020.

“My bosses never interfered with my reporting,” she said.

Heinrich, 37, studied international affairs at George Washington University and wanted to pursue a career in the State Department before internships at MSNBC and WRC-TV in Washington led her to journalism. After working at several local TV stations she became a Fox News correspondent in New York in 2018. She covered Congress and the 2020 presidential campaign before moving to the White House beat in 2021.

Heinrich was raised in New England in what she describes as a politically diverse family. Her parents divorced when she was young, and she split her time between a conservative father in New Hampshire, a politically moderate mother in Maine and a Bernie Sanders-supporting stepfather from Vermont. She believes her upbringing was excellent training for her profession.

“It was ‘Live Free or Die’ and socialism all under two roofs but one family,” she said. “We have developed a really keen ability to listen. I think that’s one of the most important parts of journalism, is hearing and understanding someone’s perspective enough that you can describe it to someone else in a way that is fair and complete.”

Once Heinrich gets past the current conflict with the White House, she’ll have to plan the association’s annual dinner. (The event was cut short and rescheduled this year after a gunman attempted to enter the ballroom at the Washington Hilton.)

Heinrich said even with the president’s open hostility toward the press, he will be welcomed to the event in 2027.

“We have invited the president every single year for the last 115 years and that’s not going to change just because of President Trump,” Heinrich said. “We uphold laws, norms, and traditions around here and we intend to keep it that way.”

Rapper Lucki was allegedly involved in a fight at ComplexCon in downtown Los Angeles on Saturday, leaving him with a gash on his neck, according to videos on social media.

Police confirmed to The Times on Sunday evening that four people were wounded in what appeared to be a knife attack but did not name the victims. Officers responded to reports of a fight involving multiple people near Chick Hearn Court and Georgia Street around 4:45 p.m. Saturday, police said. When officers arrived, people were still fighting, according to police.

Footage shared on X appears to show a brawl involving Lucki, 30, outside the L.A. Convention Center.

In one part of the video, as onlookers shout for a paramedic, one unidentified bloodied man shuffles to a car while holding a towel to his neck.

Although police did not confirm whether the rapper or his associates were involved in the fight, police told TMZ that Lucki was surrounded by fans for photos when a suspect “hit him on the side of his face, causing a laceration.”

Additional footage posted to TikTok appears to show a visibly shaken Lucki climbing into the back seat of a black car with a wound near his jaw.

Two people were transported to a local hospital after sustaining injuries “that appeared to be the result of a knife attack,” police told The Times. A third person self-transported to a local hospital for treatment of a severe laceration.

A fourth person approached an officer at the scene and showed a laceration to his elbow, police confirmed. The victim declined medical treatment and left the scene on his own. Authorities did not know if the victim sought medical help afterward.

Before the violence, ComplexCon shared a story to Instagram on Saturday in which the rapper said he was “happy to be here.” In a statement to People Magazine, the venue said officials were aware of the situation, adding that they “take incidents of this nature extremely seriously and remain focused on maintaining a safe and secure environment for everyone.”

Authorities did not provide any further information Sunday.

With elections one month away, the media discourse in Israel has narrowed in on one question about one man: What did Benjamin Netanyahu know before October 7?

The prime minister is suing the Israeli newspaper that reported the claim, while the right-wing Channel 14 insists none of it matters. Missing from the coverage is any reckoning with what Israel has done in Gaza.

Contributors:
Dan Perry – Author, Ask Questions Later on Substack
Diana Buttu – Human rights lawyer
Ron Skolnik – Political consultant, Partners for Progressive Israel
Yael Berda – Associate professor, Hebrew University of Jerusalem

On our radar

Donald Trump gathered some of the biggest names in AI this week and got them to agree to regulate themselves. Meenakshi Ravi examines the “morally binding” pact.

Kidfluencers: The business of broadcasting childhood

One of the most popular genres of online content these days is made by children – or rather, made of them.

Family vlogging has become one of the internet’s most profitable genres. But questions remain over its stars’ labour protections and ability to consent to what is published about them. The Listening Post’s Tariq Nafi looks at the business of broadcasting childhood.

Featuring: 
Caymi Barrett – Former child influencer
Fortesa Latifi – Author, Like, Follow, Subscribe
Sarah Adams – Founder, Mom.Uncharted

“Get away with it”

Memusi Lochede sits on a bed as her 24-year-old daughter Chaula lies motionless on the floor of their home in Archer’s Post, in the shadow of the training grounds. A donated wheelchair sits in the corner. Her daughter’s right leg is gone; metal rods brace a body so badly injured that she struggles to hold up her head.

“I have so much pain in my heart seeing my daughter in this condition,” 46-year-old Lochede tells Al Jazeera, wiping the drool from her daughter’s chin. “I feel ashamed that she needs so much help, and I don’t know how to help her.”

In 2019, Chaula, then a teenager, says she was hit by a speeding BATUK vehicle while crossing the road. Her leg was amputated and, her mother says, she was left paralysed and spent nearly three years in hospital.

A BATUK representative later came to see Lochede, she says.

“He apologised for what happened and said they don’t want a court case and would take care of my daughter — anything she needs,” she recounts.

The MOD said it “has not located a record of an approach having been made by a BATUK representative to the family.”

When her daughter was discharged, BATUK paid the hospital bills — without receipts or disclosing the amount — and disappeared, Lochede says. For years, Lochede called its community liaison officer, the Kenyan official tasked with receiving complaints like hers, who never answered. Eventually she gave up.

The MOD told Al Jazeera in August that BATUK is aware of the claim that one of its drivers “hit and injured a minor” in 2019, “resulting in permanent injuries”.

It said legal representatives have been in contact with the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights about the case and that a compensation offer has been made but the commission has not responded.

In late September, Al Jazeera asked the MOD what had been offered, when, and through whom. It did not provide those details, saying instead that BATUK “remains willing to engage with the child’s family, through an appropriate representative and on a without-prejudice basis,” but that “to date, we have been unable to establish contact with the family or an authorised representative”. Any resolution would have to rest on “verified medical and factual information” and, because the claim concerns a minor, be approved by a Kenyan court.

Ruth Getobai Nchagwa, a deputy director at the commission, says it has “never engaged with BATUK directly as our letters to them went unanswered”.

Chaula’s case “has not been addressed to date,” she notes, and the commission is not aware of any discussions about compensation. Lochede similarly says no one has ever approached her about compensation.

Before the accident, Lochede supported her five children by making beaded necklaces and selling them in Nairobi. Now she cannot leave her daughter’s side, and Chaula’s care costs about 30,000 Kenyan shillings ($230) a month — more than Lochede usually earns.

“It’s a shameful feeling to pick up the phone and call so many numbers for help, and no one picks up your call,” she explains, her lips quivering as she fights tears. “In those moments where I can’t provide for my daughter, I just lock myself inside the room and lie in my bed and cry.”

Her daughter, once healthy and active, now barely speaks.

“There are some days she wakes up and says just one word, like ‘food’ or ‘bathroom,’” Lochede says. “Those are the good days. Other days, she refuses to eat. I can see that she’s depressed and lonely. Inside, her soul is shattered.”

“These soldiers do these things because they know they can get away with it,” she adds sharply. “They know we don’t have money. We don’t have power. It’s extremely difficult for us to fight them.”

Cases like Chaula’s are far from isolated. Last year, a landmark two-year inquiry by Kenya’s parliamentary defence committee put decades of alleged BATUK abuses on the official record.

The 94-page report gathered testimony from hearings across Laikipia and Samburu, including a herder allegedly shot by a British sergeant; the alleged gang rape of 30 women at knifepoint in 1997; a boy who lost both arms and an eye to unexploded ordnance; and women with children their British fathers had never acknowledged.

BATUK declined to appear, citing its status and immunities under the defence arrangements. The committee condemned the refusal as contemptuous, calling it “emblematic of institutional contempt for the authority of Parliament and, by extension, the sovereignty of the people of Kenya”.

It concluded that BATUK “is increasingly seen as an occupying presence rather than a development partner”, with affected residents drawing parallels to colonial injustices. Witnesses told the committee that “suspected BATUK abuses are not only unpunished but actively covered up” — that whenever a BATUK member is implicated, police files often “go missing” and complainants are “intimidated into silence.”

An MOD spokesperson told Al Jazeera the UK “deeply” values its relationship with Kenya, “which has long been the UK’s defence partner of choice in East Africa”.

The MOD is “addressing concerns raised by Kenyan authorities and communities, focusing on legal accountability, ethical standards, environmental stewardship, economic benefit and social responsibility,” the spokesperson said.

Regarding road traffic incidents, the spokesperson said BATUK “cooperates fully with the local authorities and Kenyan Police”, that all such incidents are “investigated thoroughly” and that “where claims are made, BATUK submits to the jurisdiction of the Kenyan courts”.

When asked what progress the MOD had made on the concerns raised by the committee, and whether it was investigating any of the specific cases, it referred Al Jazeera to the written statement it submitted to the inquiry, which said it was “not aware of any evidence to support any allegation of collusion with security forces to suppress or dismiss complaints, or intimidate, bribe or coerce victims into silence”, and that any such evidence “would be taken extremely seriously and investigated accordingly”.

For Awino Okech, professor of feminist and security studies at SOAS University of London, the parliamentary report points beyond individual abuses. “This is no longer a case of a few bad apples but reckoning with what many will interpret as accepted militarised institutional culture,” she tells Al Jazeera.

“The fundamental question the British government is being asked to reflect on is their responsibility when there is a documented pattern of malbehaviour by their employees in a foreign country.”

Okech says the pattern cannot be separated from race. “We cannot ignore the racialised element. In this case, it is visible when crimes committed in Kenya are taken less seriously.”

When Tyson Fury was asked whether his fight against Anthony Joshua had come too late for both boxers, the Gypsy King responded: “Is it too late?… It’s the icing on the cake of two great careers.”

Former heavyweight world champions Fury and ⁠⁠Joshua came face to face ⁠⁠in London on Wednesday to allay months-long fears and rumours surrounding their long-awaited fight, which has been confirmed for December 11 in Cardiff.

The British boxing stars are 38 and 36 years old, respectively, and have kept the boxing world waiting for years.

For many fans, why it took so long to agree on a fight is almost as big a question as who will win.

Neither boxer wanted to take the hit for delaying the biggest fight in British boxing history when they appeared in front of the media in London. Fury blamed Joshua, despite reports stating Joshua insisted the fight take place in the United Kingdom for the sake of home fans.

“You’ve been crying behind the scenes to get out of this fight,” Fury said. “I’ve checkmated you. You have to fight. I’ve said I’ll fight anywhere.”

But is the Gypsy King right? Can Fury vs Joshua live up to more than 10 years of hype?

Al Jazeera Sport breaks it down:

Ten years of near misses

Joshua and Fury are prizefighters who decide their destiny in the ring, but outside of it, their promoters negotiate contracts, choose venues and make calls on top billing.

The history goes back 10 years and is full of near misses, contractual problems and other fighters entering the fray.

It all started in 2020, when the two camps agreed to a two-fight deal. A year later, contracts were signed for an undisputed heavyweight showdown. However, Deontay Wilder, an American former world heavyweight champion, won an arbitration case that forced Fury into a trilogy fight in 2021.

In 2022, Joshua reportedly accepted a 60-40 purse split in Fury’s favour, but that deal collapsed too. During this period, unbeaten Ukrainian heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk defeated Joshua twice and proceeded to beat Fury twice as well.

All this while, Fury vs Joshua failed to materialise.

Eddie Hearn vs Dana White

Online streaming platform Netflix, which holds global rights to the fight, has billed it as a collaboration between Saudi sports powerbroker Turki Alshikh’s The Ring magazine and Dana White, the owner of mixed martial arts promotion UFC.

Neither Joshua’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, nor Fury’s, Frank Warren, was named when talks of the fight resurfaced earlier this year.

Alshikh and White cofounded a boxing promotion, Zuffa Boxing, which was launched earlier this year and became a point of contention in the Joshua-Fury fight. Hearn was of the view that Joshua’s contract barred White and Zuffa’s parent company from any promotional role.

“Dana White cannot be involved with this fight promotion,” Hearn said recently.

However, Fury saw it differently and blamed Hearn for costing “the biggest fight in boxing history” in an Instagram post.

White was not seen at the London news conference, where fans booed his name.

A battle of egos

In boxing, the name that comes first on the poster usually signals the A-side, or the bigger fighter.

Joshua claimed he got a call asking whether he minded Fury’s name going first, because Fury was “unwilling to sign unless he does”.

Fury boasted: “I’m number one.”

There was also the issue of the fight venue and, specifically, the host country.

Joshua insisted he ensured it would happen in the UK, whereas White had pushed for it to be held at Madison Square Garden in New York.

“I know we are going to inspire this generation, and I know for a fact we are going to inspire the next generation,” Joshua said.

The niceties didn’t last long between the opponents as Fury claimed he would knock Joshua out.

“I’m going to catch him and, when I do, it’s going to be curtains,” Fury said.

Joshua welcomed the outburst and said: “This is the energy that we want.”

In the end, money got the deal over the line.

Reports in UK media say the fighters will share a $200m purse and will bag more than “any British fighter has earned in a fight ever”.