holds

Preparations are also under way for a Gaza summit in Egypt, with US President Donald Trump expected to attend.

Manchester City captain Bernardo Silva says he knows “exactly” what he is going to do when his contract ends, but “now is not the right time to talk about it”.

The 31-year-old midfielder, whose deal expires at the end of the season, said it is a “big honour and responsibility” to wear the armband.

The Portugal midfielder, in his ninth season with City, has been linked with a move, with reported interest from Juventus and Benfica this month.

Silva has won every major trophy with City, including the Champions League and seven Premier League titles.

He was linked with a move away earlier this year, but opted to stay.

“I know exactly what I’m going to do but it’s not the time to focus on it,” he said.

“It’s to do my best, to put the club back to where it belongs. We’ve had a lot of captains who’ve left but it’s for the guys who have the most experience to pass it on to the young guys.”

Silva was speaking in a pre-match news conference before he faces his former club Monaco in the Champions League on Wednesday (20:00 BST).

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola, asked about what Silva brings to the team, said “he cannot do better as a captain”.

Silva succeeded Kevin de Bruyne in wearing the armband after the Belgian left in the summer before joining Napoli on a free transfer.

“He is one of the best in training. He is an extraordinary player – so intelligent and smart. He can play in so many positions. We’re really happy to have him,” Guardiola said of Silva.

FARMINGDALE, N.Y. — Europe painted Bethpage Black in blue scores Saturday with exquisite golf that demolished and disheartened the Americans, and proved to be the best response to a New York Ryder Cup crowd that was so hostile extra security was brought in to keep it from getting worse.

When a long, loud and obnoxious day ended, Europe set a record for the largest lead going into Sunday singles under the format that dates to 1979: Europe 11½, USA 4½.

“I didn’t imagine this,” European captain Luke Donald said. “Every time the Americans came at us, we came back. The resiliency and confidence they have is really, truly incredible.”

Rory McIlroy caught the brunt of verbal abuse and at one point turned to the spectators and said, “Shut the (expletive) up.” And then he stuffed his shot to five feet for birdie that closed out the foursomes match for another blue point.

It was like that all day. The louder the crowd, the better Europe played. And barring the greatest comeback — or collapse — in Ryder Cup history, the Europeans will be heading back across the Atlantic Ocean with that precious gold trophy.

“I’m seeing what looks like to be historical putting. They’re making everything,” U.S. captain Keegan Bradley said. “They’re a great team. They’re great players. They’re a tough team to beat.”

The previous record after the four sessions of team play was 11-5. No team has rallied from more than a four-point deficit on the last day. Europe needs to win only three of the 12 singles matches for the outright win.

Scottie Scheffler also made it into the Ryder Cup record book. The world’s No. 1 player is the first to go 0-4 under the current format.

Nothing summed up the week for the Americans quite like the 10th hole in fourballs. Tommy Fleetwood hit a wedge about two feet under the hole. Scheffler followed with a shot that hit the hole and the base of the pin, then caromed into the rough.

But it was far more than one shot. Europe holed putts everywhere, often getting shouted at by the spectators as they lined up the shots. Nothing stopped them.

The Americans had a lead in only three of the 70 holes played in fourballs Saturday afternoon. U.S. Open champion J.J. Spaun hit it tight on the 17th and 18th for birdies as he and fellow San Diego State alum Xander Schauffele squeezed out one of only two U.S. points on the day.

The other belonged to Bryson DeChambeau and Cameron Young in the opening foursomes match.

The New York fans didn’t turn on the Americans for their performance. They cranked up the noise against Europe, shouting at them in the moments before — but not during — their shots, booing at every turn.

“Look, in between shots, say whatever you want to me,” McIlroy said. “That’s totally fine. Give us the respect to let us hit shots, and give us the same chance that the Americans have.”

New York State police spokesman Beau Duffy said two fans were ejected. The PGA of America said it added security to the McIlroy match and the other three. It also posted a message on the large video boards on “Spectator Etiquette.”

“Attendees consuming alcohol should do so in a responsible manner. Overly intoxicated attendees will be removed from the premises.”

Fans booed when the message was displayed.

McIlroy ultimately got the last laugh. He has won all four of his matches and can become the first European to go 5-0 on the road.

Whatever chances the Americans had might have ended on the final hole of the final match. Patrick Cantlay holed a few more big putts to keep them in the game, and a win on the 18th hole would have cut the deficit to five points.

Matt Fitzpatrick hit out of a bunker to two feet. Tyrrell Hatton, a last-minute sub for Viktor Hovland and his sore neck, hit wedge that nicked his teammate’s ball. It was another example of Europe’s superior play.

Cantlay’s shot spun back against the thick collar of the rough, and Sam Burns could only manage a shot to about 20 feet. Both missed. The throaty cheers of “Ole, Ole, Ole, Ole” returned, and the few American fans who stuck around that long were on their way home.

It got a little testy inside the ropes, too.

Fleetwood and Rose had a three-up lead on the 15th over Scheffler and DeChambeau. Rose was first to putt from about 15 feet. But he felt DeChambeau’s caddie was in his space as he was lining up his putt and he told him so.

Rose made the putt, and DeChambeau matched him from 12 feet. DeChambeau barked at them going to the 16th tee and soon the caddies were involved.

There was warm handshakes a hole later when Europe won.

“I didn’t feel like that space was being honored,” Rose said. “I made my feelings known — asked him to move, maybe not as politely as I could have done, but in the scenario, it’s coming down the stretch. We both have a lot on our minds and it’s intense out there.

“I said to them, ‘If I should have done it a different way, I apologize.’ But other than that, I had to step up and hit a huge putt with a lot going on.”

Bradley was asked what message he would give to his team to keep hopes alive, and the New England native pointed to the Patriots’ stunning comeback against the Atlanta Falcons in 2017.

“Twenty-eight to three. I was at that Super Bowl,” Bradley said. “I watched it. What a cool thing to have witnessed live in person.”

The way this Ryder Cup has played out, 11½ to 4 ½ feels much bigger.

Ferguson writes for the Associated Press.

Shaun Murphy fought off a spirited fightback from world number one Judd Trump to reach the quarter-finals of the British Open in Cheltenham.

England’s Murphy, who won the Masters in January, looked comfortable with a 3-1 lead but gave up successive frames before wrapping up a 4-3 win against his compatriot.

Trump also suffered a premature exit at last week’s English Open, losing in the last 16, and he is yet to reach a semi-final this season.

Murphy faces fellow Englishman Mitchell Mann in the last eight after he beat Barry Hawkins 4-2.

World number 91 Mann has only previously featured once in the quarter-finals of a ranking tournament – reaching that stage of the Northern Ireland Open in 2021.

Defending champion Mark Selby laid down a marker to his rivals with a comprehensive 4-0 win over China’s Chang Bingyu.

Meanwhile, Mark Williams beat English Open champion Mark Allen 4-3 in the third round before returning for the evening session to win 4-1 against China’s Lei Peifan.

England’s Selby and Williams will square off in the quarter-finals in a repeat of the 2023 final, when the Welshman came out on top to claim his second title after also winning in 2021.

Stan Moody, 19, came through a back-and-forth battle with Ali Carter to win 4-3 and meets Louis Heathcote, who beat Wales’ Liam Davies 4-2.

Moody, ranked world number 55, showed experience and composure beyond his years to reach his second ranking quarter-final.

Barred from Eurovision, Russia held its own rival song contest called ‘Intervision’ featuring singers from 23 countries. Moscow presented the event as a showcase of ‘family values’, while Ukraine condemned it as ‘hostile propaganda’.

For this article, I asked myself: Where would I start investing if I had less than $100 to invest?

Image source: Getty Images.

An AI ETF that’s concentrated and full of leading and profitable companies

This answer to my question popped into my head: I’d want a concentrated exchange-traded fund (ETF) focused on leading and profitable companies heavily involved in artificial intelligence (AI), but with enough differences among themselves.

Why an ETF? Because I’d not want to put all my (investing) eggs in one basket.

Why AI? Because it’s poised to be the biggest secular trend in many decades or even generations.

Why concentrated? Because I believe if investors are going to buy a very diversified ETF, they might as well buy the entire market, so to speak, and buy an S&P 500 index ETF. Indeed, buying an S&P 500 index fund is a good idea for many investors, and recommended by investing legend Warren Buffett. That said, over the long run, I think an AI ETF full of only leading and profitable companies will beat the S&P 500 index.

Roundhill Magnificent Seven ETF (MAGS): Overview

And bingo! There is such an ETF — the Roundhill Magnificent Seven ETF (MAGS 1.92%). It has seven holdings — the so-called “Magnificent Seven” stocks: Alphabet (GOOG 4.38%) (GOOGL 4.53%), Amazon (AMZN 1.42%), Apple (AAPL 1.06%), Meta Platforms (META 1.18%), Microsoft (MSFT 1.01%), Nvidia (NVDA -0.10%), and Tesla (TSLA 3.54%). This ETF closed at $62.93 per share on Friday, Sept. 12.

These megacap stocks (stocks with market caps over $200 billion) were given the Magnificent Seven name a couple of years ago by a Wall Street analyst due to their strong growth and large influence on the overall market. The name comes from the title of a 1960 Western film.

Two other main traits I like about this ETF:

• Its expense ratio is reasonable at 0.29%.
• It provides equal-weight exposure to the seven stocks. At each quarterly rebalancing, the stocks will be reset to an equal weighting of about 14.28% (100% divided by 7).

Since its inception in April 2023 (almost 2.5 years), the Roundhill Magnificent Seven ETF has returned 160% — 2.4 times the S&P 500’s 65.9% return.

Roundhill Magnificent Seven ETF (MAGS): All stock holdings

Stocks are listed in order of current weight in portfolio. Keep in mind the ETF is rebalanced quarterly to make stocks equally weighted.

Data sources: Roundhill Magnificent Seven ETF, finviz.com, and YCharts. EPS = earnings per share. Data as of Sept. 12, 2025.

All these companies are profitable leaders in their core markets, and heavily involved in AI. Nvidia produces AI tech that enables others to use AI, while the other companies mainly use AI to improve their existing products and develop new ones.

Alphabet’s Google is the world leader in internet search. Its cloud computing business is No. 3 in the world, behind Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft Azure. The company also has other businesses, notably its driverless vehicle subsidiary, Waymo. (You can read here why I believe Nvidia is the best driverless vehicle stock.)

Nvidia is often described as the world’s leading maker of AI chips — and that it is. But it’s much more. It’s the world leader in supplying technology infrastructure for enabling AI. It’s also the global leader in graphics processing units (GPUs) for computer gaming.

Apple’s iPhone holds the No. 2 spot in the global smartphone market, behind Samsung. However, it dominates the U.S. market. The company’s services business is attractive, as it consists of recurring revenue and has been steadily growing.

Amazon operates the world’s No. 1 e-commerce business and the world’s No. 1 cloud computing business. It also has many other businesses, notably its Fresh and Amazon Prime Now (Whole Foods) grocery delivery operations.

Meta Platforms operates the world’s leading social media site, Facebook, as well as Instagram, Threads, and messaging app WhatsApp.

Microsoft’s Word has long been the world’s leading word processing software. Word is part of Microsoft Office, a suite of popular software for personal computers (PCs). Its Azure is the world’s second-largest cloud computing business.

Tesla remains the No. 1 electric vehicle (EV) maker, by far, in the U.S. despite struggling recently. In the first half of 2025, China’s BYD surpassed Tesla as the world’s leader in all-electric vehicles by number of units sold. CEO Elon Musk touts that the company’s robotaxi and Optimus humanoid robot businesses will eventually be larger than its EV sales business.

In short, the Roundhill Magnificent Seven ETF is poised to continue to benefit from the growth of artificial intelligence. Technically, it doesn’t have a long-term history. But if it had existed many years ago, it’s easy to tell that its long-term performance would be very strong because the long-term performances of all its holdings have been anywhere from great to spectacular.

Arab and Islamic foreign ministers are gathering in Doha after Israel’s unprecedented missile strikes on Qatar that killed five Hamas members and a Qatari officer. The summit aims to formulate a collective regional response, with leaders warning Israel’s attack crossed ‘all red lines’, as Al Jazeera’s Resul Serdar explains.

Funeral services have been held for the six people killed in an Israeli strike targeting Hamas leaders in the Qatari capital Doha, as Arab leaders continue to visit the Gulf nation to express solidarity.

One coffin bearing a Qatari flag and five others bearing Palestinian flags were brought to Doha’s Imam Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab Mosque, live footage from Qatar television showed on Thursday.

“The mood has been sombre since the death toll from Israel’s failed assassination attempt against the leadership of Hamas in Doha was announced earlier this week,” Al Jazeera’s Osama Bin Javed reported.

“We heard the Qatari prime minister giving special prayers for him at the funeral ceremony,” he added.

The Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani was also present, standing in the front row, “signalling that Qatar stands by its people, especially with those who gave their lives in this unprecedented attack on a Gulf Cooperation Council country”, Bin Javed said, reporting from the Qatari capital.

The Israeli military targeted Hamas leaders in Doha on Tuesday as they were meeting to discuss the latest Gaza ceasefire proposal put forth by US President Donald Trump.

At least six people were killed in the attack, including five low-ranking Hamas members. However, the group said its leadership survived the assassination bid.

Qatari Lance Corporal Badr Saad Mohammed al-Humaidi al-Dosari was also among the killed.

In the aftermath of the Doha attack, US President Donald Trump said he felt “very badly” about the location of the attacks and later told reporters he was “not thrilled” by Israel’s actions.

Former Israeli government adviser Daniel Levy says Israel’s attack against a Hamas delegation in Qatar sends a message not just to the Palestinian group, but to the region.

“Either get on board with our project of regional hegemony, which includes the displacement and ethnic cleansing of Palestinians, or we dare you because we have America on our side and we are unassailable militarily,” Levy said.

Arab states express solidarity

A slew of Arab and Muslim leaders descended on Doha since Israel’s unprecedented attack, including United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who met the emir on Wednesday.

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also arrived in the Qatari capital to express his country’s show of support for the tiny Gulf nation. Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was expected in Doha on Thursday.

The Qatari Emir also received a verbal message of solidarity from Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi on Thursday, conveyed by his Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty during a meeting in Doha.

Egypt’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Abdelatty’s visit was aimed at expressing the country’s “full solidarity” with Qatar and “to discuss ways to deal with the dangerous Israeli escalation and coordinate positions” with senior Qatari officials.

Qatar will convene an emergency Arab-Islamic summit to discuss Israel’s attack, according to the state news agency QNA, a possible hint of what shape a collective regional response would take.

The summit will take place in Doha on Sunday and Monday.

The announcement came as the United Nations Security Council opened an emergency session on Thursday to discuss the attack, which was delayed a day to allow the Qatari prime minister to attend the meeting.

Hamas condemns the attack

Hamas spokesperson Fawzi Barhoum, in a televised statement on Thursday, said the Israeli attempt to assassinate Hamas’s negotiating delegation in Doha and continued threats to target the movement’s leadership abroad showed Israel’s “failure to achieve its goals” after 23 months of genocidal war on Gaza that has killed more than 64,000 Palestinians.

In the Palestinian group’s first address since Tuesday’s attack, Barhoum said that the group will keep fighting despite the assassination attempt.

“The Israeli attack cannot dent our resolve by targeting our leaders,” the Hamas spokesperson said. “The crime did not target the negotiating delegation, but rather the entire negotiation process.”

The attack on Tuesday was the first such attack by Israel on Qatar, which has been a key mediator in ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas. Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani has dubbed Israel’s targeting of Hamas leaders “state terrorism”.

“There is a response that will happen from the region. This response is currently under consultation and discussion with other partners in the region,” he told US media outlet CNN on Wednesday, adding that “the entire Gulf region is at risk”.

However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu seemed undeterred, threatening further attacks on Qatar.

“I say to Qatar and all nations who harbour terrorists, you either expel them or you bring them to justice. Because if you don’t, we will,” Netanyahu said on Wednesday.

Israel has assassinated many of Hamas’s top military and political leaders in the last two years, such as top political leader Yahya Sinwar; military commander Mohammed Deif, one of the founders of the Qassam Brigades in the 1990s; and political chief Ismail Haniyeh, who was assassinated in Iran’s capital, Tehran.

Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the Israeli prime minister’s comments, calling them a “shameful attempt … to justify the cowardly attack that targeted Qatari territory, as well as the explicit threats of future violations of state sovereignty”.

On Thursday, the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs “condemned and denounced” Netanyahu’s comments, calling them “hostile”.

“Any aggression against a GCC member state constitutes an attack on the collective Gulf security framework,” the ministry said, stressing that “the continuation of such provocative and hostile rhetoric undermines prospects for stability and pushes the region towards extremely dangerous trajectories”.

Portugal’s Joao Almeida outpaced overall leader Jonas Vingegaard to win the gruelling 13th stage of the Vuelta a Espana – as the race was again disrupted by pro-Palestinian protesters.

Almeida of UAE Team Emirates-XRG took over the lead from team-mate Felix Grossschartner with less than six kilometres to go to the summit finish at the Alto de Angliru.

The Portuguese and Vingegaard, the top two in the general classification, then broke away from Jai Hindley and 2023 winner Sepp Kuss with three kilometres to the summit before the duo battled it out in for the stage win up the steep ascent.

Earning bonus seconds with his first stage win at the Vuelta, Almeida closed the gap to Visma-Lease a Bike’s Vingegaard to 46 seconds in the overall rankings.

“This is a special one, I still don’t believe it,” Almeida said.

“I just put my pace from the bottom and I just did my bit the best I could. Jonas was always on my wheel. We were both on the limit and I was waiting for his attack anytime.

“I think this is the hardest climb in the world, its crazy, I’m really sore.”

Great Britain’s Tom Pidcock remains third overall despite finishing seventh in the stage, but he is now two minutes 18 seconds off two-time Tour de France winner Vingegaard.

Australia’s Hindley, who took third in the 202.7km ride from Cabezon de la Sal to Alto de L’Angliru, sits fourth in the general classification.

Protesters waving Palestinian flags disrupted the stage before the climb to Angliru, affecting lead riders Jefferson Cepeda, Bob Jungels, and Nico Vinokurov.

The stoppage lasted a few seconds before security intervened.

“We were slowed down a bit by a demonstration during the race, but that didn’t change anything – we knew we would be caught by the best,” said Vinokurov, who held a three-minute lead over the peloton before the disruption.

The race organisers were forced to end stage 11 without a winner on Wednesday because of protests.

Meanwhile, the Asturias government boycotted Friday’s stage while urging Israel-Premier Tech to pull out of the race.

Stage 13 finished in Asturias, with two more stages on Saturday and Sunday also passing through the principality.

Gimena Llamedo, vice-president of the principality, said “it would be best for everyone” if Israel-Premier Tech withdrew from this year’s Vuelta.

“We don’t have the capacity to prevent your participation,” Llamedo said.

“Not even the government of Spain has it. But what we can and want to do is express our disagreement.”

After stage 11, the team, owned by Israeli-Canadian businessman Sylvan Adams, said pulling out of the race would “set a dangerous precedent” in cycling.

“We must not be impassive or indifferent to what is happening in Gaza. It is a matter of conscience, of mere humanity,” said Llamedo, urging the protesters not to endanger the safety of the cyclists or disrupt the race.

The Israeli military launched a campaign in Gaza in response to the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.

At least 64,231 people have been killed in Israeli attacks in Gaza since then, according to the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry.

The ministry also says 370 people have so far died during the war as a result of malnutrition and starvation, including three over the past 24 hours.

Dutch rider Olav Kooij won the opening stage of the Tour of Britain after fending off a strong challenge from Tord Gudmestad.

The pair went toe-to-toe in the closing stage of the 167.6km route between Woodbridge and Southwold.

But the 23-year-old Team Visma-Lease a Bike rider crossed the finish line ahead of Norway’s Gudmestad, of Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale, to claim a fifth stage win at the Tour of Britain since his debut in 2023.

“It’s a really good feeling, of course. It’s always nice to win a race, and I have good memories from here two years ago,” Kooij said.

“I was happy to come back to this race, and I’m really happy to continue the success of two years ago.”

France’s Hugo Hofstetter of Israel-Premier Tech finished third, while Ineos Grenadiers’ Samuel Watson was the first British rider to cross the line in sixth place.

Kooij leads the general classification with Gudmestad in second and Hofstetter third after stage one, which needed an early diversion because of a burst water main.

Great Britain’s Joshua Golliker, meanwhile, is fifth in the overall standings.

The 2025 Tour of Britain will also be the final professional race of Geraint Thomas’ illustrious 19-year career.

The 39-year-old Welshman, who won the Tour de France in 2018, sustained a puncture on the opening stage but recovered to finish with the main field.

The second stage on Wednesday will start and finish in Stowmarket, with the sixth and final stage finishing in Thomas’ home city of Cardiff on Sunday.

Julian Sayin had a 40-yard touchdown pass to Carnell Tate early in the fourth quarter, Ohio State’s defense got a couple key stops in the red zone and the third-ranked Buckeyes opened their season with a 14-7 victory over top-ranked Texas on Saturday.

It was the fourth time the AP’s No. 1 team in the preseason poll has met the previous season’s national champion in the opener. The defending champ has won the last three.

Arch Manning completed 17 of 30 passes for 170 yards and a touchdown with an interception for the Longhorns.

Texas was one of five on fourth down, including being stopped twice in the red zone. The Longhorns were driving for a tying touchdown late in the game but Jack Endries was stopped by Caleb Downs on yard short of a first down to end hopes of a comeback.

Sayin was 13 of 20 passing for 126 yards. His best pass of the day came with 13:08 remaining in the game, when Tate beat Texas cornerback Jaylon Guilbeau for the long score. Tate juggled the ball before pulling it down in the end zone to put the Buckeyes up by two touchdowns.

CJ Donaldson opened the scoring midway through the second quarter on a one-yard run up the middle to cap a 13-play, 87-yard drive that took eight minutes off the clock. The Buckeyes benefitted from a pair of penalties, including a face-mask call on Colin Simmons that wiped out an incomplete pass on third and four.

Texas finally got points with 3:28 remaining in the fourth quarter when Manning connected with Parker Livingstone on a 32-yard touchdown.

The Longhorns defense forced a three-and-out, giving Texas a chance to tie.

at No. 12 Illinois 52, Western Illinois 3: Hank Beatty returned a punt 69 yards for a touchdown and broke Red Grange’s nearly 102-year-old Illinois record for yards on punt returns in the Illini’s rout Friday night to open the season.

Beatty had four returns for 133 yards to break Grange’s mark of 125 set against Nebraska on Oct. 6, 1923. The third-quarter TD return was the Illini’s first since D’Angelo Bailey did it against Ohio State in 2013.

at No. 20 Indiana 27, Old Dominion 14: Fernando Mendoza scored on a five-yard run in his debut as Indiana’s quarterback and Jonathan Brady returned a punt 91 yards for a score. Mendoza, the starter at California last season, finished 18-of-31 passing for 193 yards and ran six times for 34 yards. His TD run late in the first half gave the Hoosiers a 17-7 lead.

Indiana’s 309-yard rushing attack was led by Maryland transfer Roman Hemby, who had 23 carries for 110 yards. Kaelon Black added 92 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries. Indiana won its ninth straight home game to improve to 9-0 at Memorial Stadium under second-year coach Curt Cignetti.

Old Dominion started fast, with quarterback Colton Joseph faking out the Hoosiers’ defense on the first offensive play of the game and sprinting 75 yards for a TD, and the Monarchs controlled most of the first quarter. Brady’s punt return tied the game with nine seconds left in the quarter.

Joseph added a 78-yard TD run midway through the fourth quarter that got ODU within 27-14. He finished with a career-high 179 yards rushing on 10 carries and completed 11 of 22 through the air for 96 yards with three interceptions.

at No. 24 Tennessee 45, Syracuse 26: Joey Aguilar completed 16 of 29 passes for 247 yards and three touchdowns. He threw a 73-yard touchdown pass to Braylon Staley in the second quarter and found Star Thomas for a seven-yard score in the third. He also helped close out the win when he passed to Miles Kitselman for a two-yard TD in the fourth.

Star Thomas had 92 yards on 12 carries for Tennessee, which opened a 38-14 lead in the third. DeSean Bishop and Peyton Lewis each rushed for a TD. Tennessee (1-0) rolled to 493 yards of offense, compared to 377 for Syracuse (0-1).

Syracuse quarterback Steve Angeli was 23-of-40 passing for 247 yards and a touchdown in his first start with the Orange. He also had a pass intercepted and was sacked five times.

Notes

The Barry Odom coaching era at Purdue got off to a fast start in a 31-0 rout of Ball State when the Boilermakers scored in the first 40 seconds on a 49-yard touchdown pass from Ryan Browne to Arhmad Branch. … BYU transfer Jake Retzlaff passed for a touchdown and added a 69-yard scoring run in his Tulane debut, and the Green Wave rolled to a 23-3 victory over Northwestern. … Matthew Schecklman threw four touchdown passes and Northern Iowa defeated Butler 38-14 in a season opener to give Todd Stepsis a win in his debut as the Panthers’ head coach. … Evan Simon set a career high with six touchdown passes and Temple snapped an FBS-worst 20-game road losing streak in a 42-10 season-opening win over UMass.

SEOUL, Aug. 12 (UPI) — North Korea conducted artillery firing drills to boost combat readiness, state-run media reported Tuesday, as the United States and South Korea prepare to kick off a large-scale joint military exercise.

A firing practice contest of tactical artillery sub-units was held on Monday under a “combat drill plan of the [Korean People’s Army] General Staff for perfecting the capability to fight a war and battle readiness of the entire army,” the official Korean Central News Agency reported.

The KCNA report said the participants hit and destroyed targets “in the course of mastering rapid mobile and surprise operations and … steadily increasing the efficiency and operation of the artillery weapon systems.”

The drills “served as an occasion to demonstrate the strong will of the army to thoroughly contain military gangsters in the land adjacent to the border,” KCNA said.

Pak Jong Chon, vice chairman of the ruling party’s Central Military Commission, oversaw the contest. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, who usually supervises the military’s artillery firing drills, did not attend.

The contest came a week before Seoul and Washington are scheduled to launch their summertime Ulchi Freedom Shield joint military exercise, set for Aug. 18-28. Pyongyang regularly denounces the allies’ joint drills as rehearsals for an invasion.

North Korea’s defense chief on Monday condemned Ulchi Freedom Shield and warned of “negative consequences.”

The North will “strictly exercise the sovereign right of the DPRK at the level of the right to self-defense in a case of any provocation going beyond the boundary line,” Defense Minister No Kwang Choi said in a statement.

The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea is the official name of North Korea.

The allies have repeatedly stressed that the exercises are defensive in nature.

On Monday, a representative of the South Korea-U.S. Combined Forces Command said that No’s statement was relatively restrained.

“If you actually look at North Korea’s statement, it’s a little bit tame compared to historical norms,” the representative told reporters in a background briefing.

The administration of South Korean President Lee Jae Myung has been making efforts to improve frayed relations with Pyongyang.

Last week, the South’s military removed loudspeakers that had been installed along the DMZ to blast anti-Pyongyang messages across the border. On Saturday, North Korea began removing its own speakers in some forward areas, Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said.

Half of Ulchi Freedom Shield’s 44 planned field training exercises have been rescheduled to next month, with military officials citing a heatwave and flooding damage to training areas as the primary reasons. Local media have reported that the move was also made to help Seoul’s bid to mend ties with the North.

Oscar Piastri controlled the rain-delayed race, extending his F1 Championship lead over McLaren teammate Lando Norris.

Oscar Piastri passed McLaren teammate and title rival Lando Norris with a bold early move to win the rain-delayed Belgian Grand Prix and extend his Formula One lead to 16 points.

Charles Leclerc was a distant third for Ferrari on Sunday, as reigning champions McLaren celebrated their sixth one-two finish in 13 races and the third in a row.

The race at Spa-Francorchamps was red-flagged after an initial formation lap and delayed by an hour and 20 minutes due to the weather, with standing water and heavy spray affecting visibility.

Piastri was in no mood for hanging around when the racing got going with a rolling start after four laps behind the safety car to check conditions.

The Australian slipstreamed Norris through the daunting Eau Rouge section of the track and then scythed past down the Kemmel straight into Les Combes in a move of total commitment in the treacherous conditions.

“I knew lap one would be my best chance of winning the race. I got a good exit out of Turn One; lifted as little as I dared out of Eau Rouge,” he said.

“The rest of the race we managed really well. I struggled at the end. Maybe the mediums were not the best for the last five or six laps. We had it mostly under control.”

The win was his sixth of 2025, making the 24-year-old the first Australian – on a list that includes past world champions Jack Brabham and Alan Jones – to win that many races in a single F1 season.

Norris had a slight battery issue, with the Briton asking over the radio why he had “no pack”, before his race engineer assured him it was coming back, but he was not looking for any excuses afterwards.

“Oscar just did a good job. Nothing more to say. Committed a bit more through Eau Rouge, and had the slipstream and got the run,” he said.

“So, nothing to complain of. He did a better job in the beginning, and that was it. Nothing more I could do after that point. I would love to be up top, but Oscar deserved it today.”

Two-horse race

Piastri now has 266 points to Norris’s 250. The Red Bull’s reigning champion Max Verstappen is third but 81 points off the lead. The championship is more than ever a two-horse race, with Hungary up next weekend before the August break.

McLaren lead the constructors’ standings, with 516 points to Ferrari’s 248, while Mercedes fell further behind their Italian rivals on 220.

Piastri pitted on lap 12 of 44 to switch from intermediates to medium tyres on a drying track. Norris followed a lap later, but he opted for the hards and rejoined nine seconds behind.

The Briton might have hoped Piastri would have to pit again, but the Australian made the tyres last to the chequered flag on a one-stop strategy.

Piastri crossed the line 3.415 seconds clear of Norris, who had been chasing a third win in a row, and managed to reduce the gap in the final laps before late mistakes left the ever-calm Australian under no pressure.

Saturday sprint winner Verstappen finished fourth in his team’s first Grand Prix since the dismissal of team boss Christian Horner, with George Russell fifth for Mercedes.

Williams’s Alex Albon held off Ferrari’s seven-times world champion Lewis Hamilton – last year’s winner with Mercedes – to secure sixth.

Hamilton had been one of four drivers due to start from the pit lane, but given a big boost by the switch to a rolling getaway and a fresh engine installed overnight.

The Briton was also the first to make the decision to switch to slicks and pit, gaining six places.

Liam Lawson was eighth for Racing Bulls, with Gabriel Bortoleto ninth for Sauber and Pierre Gasly securing the final point for Alpine.

This Morning’s Alison Hammond and Dermot O’Leary were on hand to deliver the latest headlines to ITV viewers on Tuesday’s show.

Emotions were at an all-time high during Tuesday’s instalment of This Morning.

During the ITV show, viewers saw Alison Hammond and Dermot O’Leary speak to one dad whose son has suffered severe burns.

At the time, nine-year-old William Tyler ran across boiling hot sand, which had still been scorching from a disposable barbecue.

As a result, William needed multiple surgeries on his burns. During the show, his father, Toby, was overcome with emotion as he recalled hearing his son in pain.

Alison said, “So, you’re having a lovely time. You’re there with your wife Claire, your daughter Lily, and William, having a lovely time on the beach. Then the two kids go off, have a little run, and the next thing you hear is your son William, screaming.”

He said: “Yeah, that was a-“, Toby started to choke up with emotion as he recalled the horrific moment.

Realising his struggle, Alison commented: “Oh, I’m so sorry.”

Toby added: “It was a really hard point because it was so out of the blue, and it’s something that doesn’t go away. They were literally just playing, and his feet sank into sand where the barbeque had been several hours before.

“We were clueless about what had happened. We thought’ he’d trodden on something sharp, so it took a minute to work out what had happened.”

Alison told viewers the sand was still extremely hot, despite it being hours after the barbecue had been moved.

He added: “As soon as he comes out, you could see his foot basically stripped of the skin. I think that was the difficult thing. It looked extraordinary.

“We couldn’t work out what he’d done, we thought something had pierced it to take the skin off, there was no blood. Literally, the skin had died across his foot straight away.”

With their car far away, Toby had to carry his son on his shoulders as he recalled William being in ‘extraordinary pain’.

Praising his son, Toby added: “He was incredible really, just managing to sustain things whilst we got him to hospital.”

After William was given some pain relief, he had to be transferred to another hospital to a burns unit, where he spent nine days.

In the end, the child needed skin grafts to replace the skin on his feet.

This Morning is available to watch on ITVX.

Bedouin families leave Druze-majority city after truce in the southern province halts bloody clashes between the communities.

The Syrian government is evacuating hundreds of Bedouin families trapped inside the southern city of Suwayda, where a fragile ceasefire is holding after Druze and Bedouin fighters fought for a week.

The first Bedouin families left on Monday on buses and trucks accompanied by Syrian Arab Red Crescent vehicles and ambulances. They were taken to nearby Daraa as the government plans to evacuate 1,500 people.

“At least 500 people have already left on 10 buses this morning, and more are expected to exit Suwayda in the next few hours,” Al Jazeera’s Mohamed Vall said about noon (09:00 GMT) on Monday in a report from the capital, Damascus.

The clashes between the Druze minority and Bedouin clans, which began on July 13, killed nearly 260 people and threatened to unravel Syria’s post-war transition. The violence also displaced 128,571 people, according to the United Nations International Organisation for Migration.

Israel intervened and launched air attacks on Syria’s Ministry of Defence buildings in the heart of Damascus. Israeli forces also hit Syrian government forces in Suwayda province, claiming it was protecting the Druze, whom it calls its “brothers”.

Vall said some Bedouin families were evacuating the province voluntarily.

“There are seven districts of Suwayda that are inhabited partly or … mostly by Arab Bedouins, and they are all under threat – or they feel under threat – and some of them are willing to leave [on their own],” he said.

Syrian Interior Minister Ahmad al-Dalati told the SANA news agency that the evacuation process will also allow displaced civilians from Suwayda to return as efforts for a complete ceasefire are under way.

“We have imposed a security cordon in the vicinity of Suwayda to keep it secure and to stop the fighting there,” al-Dalati told the agency. “This will preserve the path that will lead to reconciliation and stability in the province.”

According to the United Kingdom-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor, the ceasefire agreed on Saturday says the Bedouin fighters will release Druze women they are holding captive and leave the province.

After talks for a captives swap fell through late on Sunday, the observatory and activist groups in Suwayda reported hearing what they said were Israeli air strikes and helicopters over villages where some skirmishes took place between the Bedouins and the Druze.

The Israeli military said it was “not aware” of any overnight strikes in Syria.

Meanwhile, an initial Syrian Arab Red Crescent convoy entered Suwayda on Sunday, carrying UN humanitarian assistance, including food, water, medical supplies and fuel, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said.

Interim Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa has tried to appeal to the Druze community while slamming its factions loyal to spiritual leader Sheikh Hikmat al-Hijri who have been involved in the clashes. He promised to hold accountable perpetrators of targeted attacks and other violations.

The Druze minority largely celebrated the downfall in December of the al-Assad family, which ruled Syria for 53 years.

But al-Hijri, who had some allegiance to deposed President Bashar al-Assad in the past, and his supporters have taken a more confrontational approach with al-Sharaa, contrary to most other influential Druze figures.

England were held up by India captain Shubman Gill’s patient century as their bowlers fought admirably on day one of the second Test at Edgbaston.

After captain Ben Stokes opted to bowl first again, his bowlers battled against Gill’s calmness and another flat pitch to limit India to 310-5 at the close.

Chris Woakes bowled KL Rahul off the inside edge in a fine new-ball spell and Brydon Carse found extra bounce to have Karun Nair caught at slip for 31 shortly before lunch.

But opener Yashasvi Jaiswal complied an elegant 87 and after he was caught behind off Stokes, Rishabh Pant put on 66 with Gill as the new-ball zip faded in the Birmingham sunshine.

England hung in, however, and Pant’s patience broke after tea when he hit Shoaib Bashir to long-on for 25. Nitish Kumar Reddy was bowled shouldering arms to Woakes in the next over.

That left India at risk of collapse but Gill remained unflustered and reached three figures for the second match in a row in 199 deliveries. He put on 99 with Ravindra Jadeja to see out the final 90 minutes of play.

The tourists, who made three changes including leaving out star bowler Jasprit Bumrah, will be content but memories of England’s win at Headingley only adds to the feeling India have a long way to go to bat Stokes’ side out of the game.

Hollywood’s relationship with artificial intelligence is fraught, as studios balance the need to cut costs with growing concerns from actors, directors and crew members. But in China, efforts to use AI in entertainment are taking a more no-holds-barred approach.

The China Film Foundation, a nonprofit fund under the Chinese government, plans to use AI to revitalize 100 kung fu classics including “Police Story,” “Once Upon a Time in China” and “Fist of Fury,” featuring Jackie Chan, Jet Li and Bruce Lee, respectively. The foundation said it will partner with businesses including Shanghai Canxing Culture & Media Co., which will license 100 Hong Kong films to AI companies to reintroduce those movies to younger audiences globally.

Chow Yun-fat stars in director John Woo’s “A Better Tomorrow” in 1986.

(Cinema City)

The foundation said there are opportunities to use AI to tell those stories through animation, for example. There are plans to release an animated version of director John Woo’s 1986 film “A Better Tomorrow” that uses AI to “reinterpret” Woo’s “signature visual language,” according to an English transcript of the announcement.

“By empowering cultural storytelling with technology, we can breathe new life into the classics and tell China’s stories farther and louder,” said Zhang Pimin, chairman of the China Film Foundation, at the Shanghai International Film Festival earlier this month.

The project raised eyebrows among U.S. artists, many of whom are deeply wary of the use of AI in creative pursuits.

The Directors Guild of America said AI is a creative tool that should only be used to enhance the creative storytelling process and “it should never be used retroactively to distort or destroy a filmmaker’s artistic work.”

“The DGA strongly opposes the use of AI or any other technology to mutilate a film or to alter a director’s vision,” the DGA said in a statement. “The Guild has a longstanding history of opposing such alterations on issues like colorization or sanitization of films to eliminate so-called ‘objectionable content’, or other changes that fundamentally alter a film’s original style, meaning, and substance.”

The project highlights widely divergent views on AI’s potential to reshape entertainment as the two countries compete for dominance in the highly competitive AI space. In the U.S., much of the traditional entertainment industry has taken a tepid view of generative AI, due to concerns over protecting intellectual property and labor relations.

While some Hollywood studios such as Lionsgate and Blumhouse have collaborated with AI companies, others have been reluctant to announce partnerships at the risk of offending talent that have voiced concerns over how AI could be used to alter their digital likeness without adequate compensation.

But other countries like China have fewer guardrails, which has led to more experimentation of the technology by entertainment companies.

Many people in China embrace AI, with 83% feeling confident that AI systems are designed to act in the best interest of society, much higher than the U.S. where it’s 37%, according to a survey from the United Nations Development Program.

The foundation’s announcement came as a surprise to Bruce Lee Enterprises, which oversees legal usage of Lee’s likeness in creative works.

Bruce Lee’s family was “previously unaware of this development and is currently gathering information,” a spokesperson said.

Woo, in a written statement, said he hadn’t heard from the foundation about the AI remake, noting that the rights to “A Better Tomorrow” have changed hands several times.

“I wasn’t really involved in the project because I’m not very familiar with AI technology,” Woo said in a statement to The Times. “However, I’m very curious about the outcome and the effect it might have on my original film.”

David Chi, who represents the China Film Foundation’s Special Fund for Film and Urban Development, said in an interview that Chan is aware of the project and he has plans to talk with Chan’s team. A representative of Chan’s did not respond to a request for comment.

“We do need to talk … very specifically how we‘re using animated or AI existing technology, and how that would combine with his image rights and business rights,” Chi said. Chi did not have an immediate response to the DGA, Bruce Lee Enterprises and Woo’s statements.

AI is already used in China for script development, content moderation and recommendations and translation. In postproduction, AI has reduced the time to complete visual effects work from days to hours, said He Tao, an official with the National Radio and Television Administration’s research center, during remarks at the festival.

“Across government agencies, content platforms, and production institutions, the enthusiasm to adopt and integrate AI has never been stronger,” He said.

During the project’s announcement, supporters touted the opportunity AI will bring to China to further its cultural message globally and generate new work for creatives. At the same time, they touted AI’s disruption of the filmmaking process, saying the “A Better Tomorrow” remake was completed with just 30 people, significantly fewer than a typical animated project.

China is a “more brutal society in that sense,” said Eric Harwit, professor of Asian studies at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. “If somebody loses their job because artificial intelligence is taking over, well, that’s just the cost of China’s moving forward. They don’t have that kind of regret about people losing jobs and there are less opportunities for organized protest against the Chinese government.”

A scene from the movie “Once Upon A Time In China.”

(Golden Harvest)

Hollywood guilds such as SAG-AFTRA have been outspoken about the harm AI could have on jobs and have fought for protections against AI in contracts in TV shows, films and video games. The unions have also pushed state and federal legislators to create laws that would give people more protections against deep fakes, or videos manipulated to show a person endorsing an idea or product that they don’t actually support. There is no equivalent of that in China.

“You don’t have those freestanding labor organizations, so they don’t have that kind of clout to protest against the Chinese using artificial intelligence in a way that might reduce their job opportunities or lead to layoffs in the sector,” Harwit added.

U.S. studios are also going to court to challenge the ways AI companies train their models on copyrighted materials. Earlier this month, Walt Disney Co. and Universal Pictures sued AI startup Midjourney, alleging it uses technology to generate images that copy the studios’ famous characters, including Yoda and Shrek.

In China, officials involved in the project to remaster kung fu films said they were eager to work with AI companies. They said that AI will be used to add “stunning realism” to the movies. They are planning to build “immersive viewing experiences” such as walking into a bamboo forest duel and “feeling the philosophy of movement and stillness.” In areas such as animation, new environments could be created with AI, Chi said.

“We are offering full access to our IP, platform, and adaptation rights to partners worldwide — with the goal of delivering richer, more diverse, and high-quality AI enhanced film works to global audiences,” said Tian Ming, chairman of Shanghai Canxing Culture & Media Co. in his remarks earlier this month. Tian said there is no revenue-sharing cap and it is allocating about $14 million to co-invest in selected projects and share in the returns.

The kung fu revitalization efforts will extend into other areas, including the creation of a martial arts video game.

Industry observers said China is wise to go back to its well of popular martial arts classics out of Hong Kong, which have inspired U.S. action movies for decades.

There’s also not as much risk involved for China, said Simon Pulman, a partner at law firm Pryor Cashman.

“They’ve got very little to lose by doing this,” Pulman said. “If it can potentially enhance the value of those movies, there’s very little downside for them.”

China’s film industry has grown significantly compared to decades ago, boosted by the proliferation of movie theaters, including Imax screens, in the country.

In the past, China’s box office relied heavily on U.S. productions like movies from the “Fast & Furious” and Marvel franchises, but now local movies dominate the market. The Chinese animated movie “Ne Zha 2” grossed $2.2 billion at the box office globally.

But those Chinese productions generally don’t draw large U.S. audiences when they’re released in the States. The classic martial arts movies, however, have a global following and enduring legacy.

“People love martial arts movies, because action travels,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Comscore. “It doesn’t matter what language it’s in, if you have a great action sequence and great fighting sequences.”

A state funeral has been held in Iran for about 60 people, including military commanders and nuclear scientists, killed during the 12-day conflict with Israel.

Coffins draped in the Iranian flag, bearing portraits of deceased commanders, were flanked by crowds near Tehran’s Enghelab Square.

The conflict ended with a ceasefire earlier this week, after the US became directly involved by bombing key nuclear sites in Iran.

Huge crowds of mourners dressed in black chanted slogans, waved Iranian flags and held portraits of those killed.

Ahead of the event, a media campaign urged people to participate, with authorities providing free bus and metro rides. Government offices were shut for the day.

Among those laid to rest on Saturday was Mohammad Bagheri, the highest-ranking military officer in Iran who was chief of staff of Iran’s armed forces.

Bagheri was to be buried with his wife and daughter, who were killed in an Israeli strike. In total, Iranian authorities said 627 people were killed in Iran. Israeli officials said 28 people were killed in Israel following missile attacks by Iran.

Hossein Salami, commander-in-chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards, and nuclear scientists including Mohammad Mehdi Tehranchi – head of Azad University in Tehran – were also among those laid to rest.

The funeral was attended by prominent figures including Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Rear Admiral Ali Shamkhani – an advisor to the country’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei – state television showed. Shamkhani was injured in an Israeli strike earlier this month.

It comes after US President Donald Trump said he would “absolutely” consider bombing Iran again.

Responding to a question from the BBC’s Nomia Iqbal at a White House press briefing on Friday, he said he would “without question” attack the country if intelligence concluded Iran could enrich uranium to concerning levels.

Trump has also repeated his assertions that Iran was “decimated”, writing: “Why would the so-called ‘Supreme Leader’ Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, of the war-torn country of Iran, say so blatantly and foolishly that he won the war with Israel, when he knows his statement is a lie.”

Trump also claimed to have known “exactly where he [Khamenei] was sheltered”, saying he “would not let Israel, or the US Armed Forces… terminate his life”.

“I saved him from a very ugly and ignominious death, and he does not have to say, ‘thank-you, president Trump!'”, Trump posted on his Truth Social platform.

Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, warned Trump against making “disrespectful” comments about Khamenei, who claimed US and Israeli strikes on Iranian nuclear sites had achieved “nothing significant”.

“If President Trump is genuine about wanting a deal, he should put aside the disrespectful and unacceptable tone towards Iran’s Supreme Leader, Grand Ayatollah Khamenei,” Araghchi posted on X.

“The Great and Powerful Iranian People, who showed the world that the Israeli regime had no choice but to run to ‘Daddy’ to avoid being flattened by our Missiles, do not take kindly to Threats and Insults.”

Araghchi has admitted that “excessive and serious” damage was done to Iran’s nuclear sites by the recent bombings.

The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has said it is still not known how much of Iran’s nuclear capabilities – including highly-enriched uranium and the centrifuges needed to purify the metal – have been destroyed or moved.

The agency’s director general Rafael Grossi also said that stopping Iran from being able to build nuclear weapons would not be achieved through military attacks.

“You are not going to solve this in a definitive way militarily, you are going to have an agreement,” he told the BBC’s US partner CBS News.

On social media, Trump claimed that in recent days he had been “working on the possible removal of sanctions, and other things, which would have given a much better chance to Iran at a full, fast, and complete recovery”.

But he said Khamenei’s comments had deterred him, declaring: “Instead I get hit with a statement of anger, hatred, and disgust, and immediately dropped all work on sanction relief, and more.”