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Real won their fifth straight game across all competitions and are finding their footing under veteran Jose Mourinho.

A Kylian Mbappe double, three vital points and bragging rights.

Sunday night could not get any better for Real Madrid fans.

When the action kicked off under the lights at Camp Nou for the Clasico, Jose Mourinho’s side were far from the favourites. But after 90 minutes of drama and fiery football, Real had the last laugh, beating rivals Barcelona 2-1 in a tantalising match.

The victory has renewed belief among the Bernabeu faithful, who are counting on Mourinho to lead them back to glory days.

Here are the key takeaways from Real’s El Clasico win against Barcelona:

Real earn bragging rights and snap Barca’s perfect record

Mbappe’s brace – which took his tally to 14 goals this season – was enough to silence the tens of thousands of Barcelona supporters at Camp Nou.

With that, Los Blancos became the first side to beat Barcelona in the league this season, ending the Catalan club’s nine-game winning streak in the top flight. Had Barcelona won, they would have broken Real’s 1968-69 record for a best-ever start in the Spanish top flight.

It also marked a second straight defeat for Hansi Flick’s side, coming only days after they fell to Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League.

As for Real, victory brought home bragging rights. Real now lead the head-to-head record with 107 wins to Barca’s 106 in their all-time Clasico record.

Mbappe hits a century of Real goals

A day before the world tunes in to watch the Ballon d’Or ceremony for the best player of the 2025-26 season, Mbappe achieved another milestone.

The French forward’s brace brought up his 100th goal for Real across all competitions since joining in 2024 from PSG.

The 27-year-old, the second-best La Liga scorer this season, is building on a remarkable performance last campaign, which saw him finish as La Liga and the Champions League’s top scorer, the World Cup Golden Boot winner and the all-time leading World Cup scorer.

Those statistics have made him one of the frontrunners for the Ballon d’Or ahead of Monday’s gala in London.

Real are slowly closing the gap on Barcelona

Defeats to Real Betis and Atletico Madrid last month shook Real’s top-flight campaign, but recent results reflect stability.

Real have now won five matches in a row – three in La Liga and two in the UCL – and seem to be coming into strong form.

Even though Sunday’s victory was just a second in eight games against Barcelona, Real are slowly reducing the gap on Barca this season, with just over a quarter of the season played.

After 10 matches, they are third in the league standings on 24 points, three points behind Barcelona, while Atletico are sandwiched in between, sitting second with 25 points.

Can Mourinho bring Real back to glory days?

The improvement in form suggests Mourinho’s Real can challenge Barcelona’s recent La Liga dominance in his first season back in Spain.

After two seasons without trophies, Real turned to old boss Mourinho to find a way to stop Barca’s dominance.

Although Mourinho has not won a league title since guiding Chelsea to the Premier League crown in 2014-15, his record as one of football’s most decorated managers remains formidable.

Thirteen years after his first spell at Real ended, Mourinho’s return to the Clasico offered a chance to make an immediate statement, and victory over Barcelona made it all the sweeter.

The result should also help to boost morale and build unity within the Real squad. ‌‌‌‌More importantly, Mourinho now has evidence that his methods can help return Real to the summit of Spanish football.

“If we win today but lose at El Sardinero, it counts for nothing, because Madrid isn’t ‌‌‌‌playing ‌‌‌‌to win at the Camp Nou,” Mourinho said. “They’re playing to win the championship.”

Mourinho has made his intentions clear.

After celebrating Sunday’s Clasico win with his trademark knee slide, the 63-year-old manager knows his job is far from over.

Having led Real to three trophies during his first spell, including a record-breaking La Liga ⁠⁠⁠⁠triumph, Mourinho knows best what Real are capable of achieving.

In just 11 days, millions of Americans will head to the polls to vote on key local races and decide the fate of Congress.

Perhaps no voting bloc will be more crucial in swinging the balance of power than Latinos.

In 2024, after decades of reliably supporting Democrats, the electorate of roughly 36.2 million people (about 15% of all total voters) shifted massively to the right and supported Donald Trump at previously never-before-seen rates. After the election, armchair pundits and paid professionals proclaimed that Ronald Reagan had been right all along. Latinos were Republican. They just needed to realize it.

It didn’t take long for that narrative to start crumbling. A year after Trump’s reelection, Latinos in California helped pass Proposition 50, which allowed Democrats to redraw the state’s congressional map in their favor to counter a successful effort by Texas Republicans to do the same — coincidentally, the Texas gerrymander was at least partially motivated by said gains with Latino voters.

Latinos also helped Democrats pick up governorships in Virginia and New Jersey in 2025 — with two-thirds of their votes going for Abigail Spanberger and Mikie Sherrill, respectively.

Whatever gains Republicans made with Latino voters appear to have vanished. Recent polls show the demographic to be experiencing buyers’ remorse, citing the increased cost of living, the Trump administration’s heavy-handed immigration enforcement tactics, involvement in wars abroad and a stagnating economy as reasons for the disillusionment.

President Trump’s approval rating among Latinos dipped to 27% in an early October NBC News survey. That same poll found that Democrats have a 24-point lead on whom Latino voters want to see in control of Congress.

But don’t expect this whiplash back to the left to be permanent.

“It’s not a realignment, it’s a de-alignment,” said Mike Madrid, a former Republican political consultant and author of “The Latino Century: How America’s Largest Minority Is Transforming Democracy.”

“Latinos are completely moving away from both parties and that’s what’s created this dramatic swing of 25 points towards Trump in four years and then massive swings back.”

So how will the Latino vote shake out in two weeks? Below are five races we are keeping tabs on.

L.A. mayoral race

You don’t need to go outside the city limits to find proof that Latino voters aren’t political ideologues.

During the 2022 mayoral primary, billionaire Rick Caruso won the largest share of the Latino vote (34%). A few months later, Karen Bass became mayor, winning 51% of the Latino vote.

Bass once again won the Latino vote during the 2026 primaries, carrying 35 Latino-majority neighborhoods in the June 2 election — compared with seven for her current challenger, Councilmember Nithya Raman.

Four months, much campaigning and the botched response to a massive warehouse fire in heavily Latino Boyle Heights later, Raman — a democratic socialist — now has a 24-point lead among Latino voters, according to an October Berkeley IGS/L.A. Times poll.

Notably, 34% of Latinos remain undecided heading into the Nov. 3 election.

“Latinos are about a third of the voters in L.A.,” Fernando Guerra, a professor of political science and Chicana/o studies at Loyola Marymount University, told The Times this month. “While they show preferences, they are not deeply committed to either candidate, so they are the quintessential swing voters who decide late.”

Will the embattled incumbent keep her job, or will Los Angeles become the next big city to elect a mayor backed by the Democratic Socialists of America? Latino Angelenos will decide.

California 22nd district

Will Democrats’ Proposition 50 redistricting gambit pay off? Voters of this newly reconfigured Central Valley district populated by blue-collar and agrarian Latinos will decide.

Republican David Valadao is the incumbent and is being challenged by activist and educator Randy Villegas. In 2024, voters in the district backed failed Republican Senate candidate Steve Garvey.

Political forecasts have Villegas — a progressive populist — with a narrow lead over the incumbent.

Part of his appeal, Madrid said, was his messaging.

“[His message is] the establishment’s not working and that institutions aren’t working,” Madrid said. “It’s a much more populist message. I don’t believe this is ideological one bit.”

Colorado 8th district

It doesn’t get more battleground than this congressional district located in the Denver suburbs. It is the center of Latino voting power in Colorado — Latinos account for 40% of the total electorate. .

The incumbent is Republican Gabe Evans and Trump carried the purple district by less than two percentage points.

Evans currently has a slight lead over Democratic candidate Manny Rutinel, an attorney and economist. Rutinel’s messaging has focused on the rising cost of living and the Republicans’ immigration policies.

It could get him elected. A local survey found that 56% of Latino voters in Colorado approve of Democrats in Congress, while 39% said they do not approve.

Florida 27th district

Will disassociating from Trump help this Republican incumbent keep her job?

Journalist-turned-Congress member María Elvira Salazar, a Cuban American, made headlines in September after releasing a political ad calling out the president’s immigration enforcement, alleging that Trump, who carried the majority Latino district by 15 points in 2024, had betrayed her constituents.

Elvira Salazar currently holds a narrow lead over her Democratic rival Elliott Rodriguez, who is also Cuban American.

“She’s trying to show distance and trying to show an independent streak,” Madrid said of the three-term incumbent. “She’s trying to say, ‘I’m not that.’ And you can’t do that on the economy as a Republican, because that changes all the time. What you can do as a Latino in a Latino district … is say your policies have gone too far.”

Texas

Okay, I’ll admit that I’m cheating with this one. But there’s just so much going on in Texas that it deserves its own section. The Lone Star State is ground zero for this supposed great political de-alignment.

In 2025, at the behest of Trump, Texas Republicans undertook an unprecedented mid-decade congressional redistricting in hopes of gerrymandering a map that would give the party an advantage in the 2026 midterm elections. They factored in the historic gains with Latino voters.

“They drew those districts based on what they thought were the 2024 numbers,” said Matt Barreto, a professor of political science and Chicana/o & Central American studies at UCLA. “And now those 2024 numbers are evaporating.”

The plan appears to be backfiring spectacularly, at least in south Texas.

Trump won Texas’ 15th congressional district in 2020 and 2024, and in 2022 the majority Latino electorate voted for Republican Monica De La Cruz. But polls now show that Democratic candidate and singer-turned-politician Bobby Pulido has a seven-point lead. Pulido, who bills himself as a moderate, has focused his messaging on affordability and the rising cost of living.

A similar situation is taking place in the Latino-dense 34th and 35th districts, where Republicans Eric Flores and Carlos De La Cruz, respectively, are hoping to take advantage of the redrawn Republican-friendly boundaries to flip those seats red. Both face uphill battles as polls show them neck-and-neck with their Democratic opponents.

“You now have these two districts, Texas 9th and 35th, that are 51% Latino, but now Latinos are telling us they have lost confidence in the Republican Party,” Barreto said. “What we’re seeing is very strong evidence that Latinos are shifting back even more so against Trump and Republicans because they did not deliver on any of their promises from 2024.”

In the statewide Senate and gubernatorial races, Democrats are feeling hopeful. Democratic challenger James Talarico currently has a slight lead on his Republican opponent Ken Paxton. Among Latinos, that lead was clocked at a whopping 30 points in an October Fox News survey.

But what has been Talarico’s key to connecting with Latino voters?

“He’s turning away from race and ethnic-based politics to class consciousness,” Madrid said. “[He’s acknowledged] that Latinos have had their futures taken away from them.”

The seminary student and educator has also been critical of his own party — calling it out for ineptitude, leaving voters behind — and arguing that anti-establishment messaging is enticing to Latinos who have been spurned by both major parties.

If Texas gets its first Democratic senator since 1993, it’ll be thanks to the Latino vote.

Texas Latinos’ faith in the ruling party is so low that even the state’s governor, Republican powerhouse Greg Abbott, finds himself in a tight race with Democratic challenger Gina Hinojosa. Roughly 56% of Latinos were in favor of Hinojosa over the incumbent, an October poll found.

“Latinos are the only voters voting rationally in a broken system,” Madrid said. “We’re shifting by 25 points. If you don’t pay attention to our priority issues, we’ll vote you out, that’s how the system was designed.”

Latinos appear to be swinging back to the left, but Democrats shouldn’t take those gains for granted, Madrid said.

“The Democratic Party has done nothing to win these voters back. They’re just not Republicans,” Madrid said. “And for the moment, that’s good enough.”

(Jackie Rivera / For The Times; Martina Ibáñez-Baldor / Los Angeles Times)

Join De Los for a Día de Muertos event at Hollywood Forever

Dia de los Muertos at Hollywood Forever

(Diana Ramirez / De Los)

This Saturday, join De Los at Hollywood Forever Cemetery to celebrate Día de Muertos. We’ll have an altar set up from noon to 8 p.m. where visitors can write ofrendas that will be displayed throughout the event.

There will also be a photo booth run by Las Fotos Project on site from 2 to 6 p.m.

This is an all-ages event and will feature performances by música Mexicana act DannyLux, soul singer Trish Toledo, psychedelic cumbia group Tropa Magica and indie rock band Los Shadows.

Registration and event information can be found here.

If you’re looking for more places to partake in Día de Muertos festivities this year, check out De Los’ list of 50 ways to celebrate the holiday throughout Southern California.

Stories we read this week that we think you should read

Unless otherwise noted, stories below were published by the Los Angeles Times.

Politics and immigration

Arts and entertainment

Southern California

In a letter outlining 42 questions, UEFA gives FIFA until November 2 to release documents on Infantino’s aborted plans.

UEFA has given FIFA a deadline of November 2 to release documents relating to its president Gianni Infantino’s aborted attempts at a secretive investment plan for the World Cup and other governance issues.

The latest move in a power struggle between the global and continental governing bodies was revealed on Monday, days after European football’s top officials were disappointed by what they perceived as a lack of clarity from Infantino over the issues at a FIFA Council meeting last week.

Infantino provided no documents about the $4.2bn World Cup sell-off plan he launched and quickly dropped in July amid a fierce backlash led by Europe.

Among the 42 questions to which UEFA is demanding answers are: Infantino’s personal remuneration package, financial payments made to singer Marc Anthony, the handling of USA striker Folarin Balogun’s disciplinary case, business and political relationships involving US President Donald Trump and his family, and the operational independence of FIFA’s judicial, electoral and ethics committees.

UEFA asked US federal courts to authorise subpoenas compelling the production of documents and sworn testimony about the abandoned investment plan called FIFA Forward Enterprise.

FIFA lawyers have claimed UEFA is harassing Infantino.

Al Jazeera reached out to FIFA for a comment but did not receive a response.

Deep dissatisfaction

The formal letter, signed by UEFA general secretary Theodore Theodoridis on behalf of European FIFA Council members, stated Infantino’s apology for his actions and subsequent explanation failed to address their core concerns.

“These explanations have not begun satisfactorily to address a number of fundamental questions raised by Council members. Others remain unanswered, and the information and documentation requested have not been [provided],” the letter said.

“The withdrawal of FFE, the recognition of mistakes, and the announcement of ‘potential governance reforms’ do not answer how the relevant decisions were taken or why the FIFA Council was not involved at the appropriate stage.”

According to media reports, the letter further said: “Any refusal to disclose information or documents should be justified individually, with a clear explanation of the specific grounds relied upon.”

Tight timeline

UEFA submitted 42 detailed questions to FIFA, demanding responses by November 2 — 16 days before the nomination deadline for the presidential election on March 18, 2027.

With the next FIFA Council meeting scheduled for December 16 in Doha, Qatar — after nominations close — UEFA insisted that answers cannot wait.

“These questions require answers now. They cannot be deferred until the next meeting of the FIFA Council — nor can future governance reforms substitute for scrutiny of decisions already taken and accountability for them,” the letter emphasised.

The earlier deadline would give federations time to assess FIFA’s answers — or its failure to answer — while they can still nominate or endorse a challenger.

Passengers were not happy after airline Ryanair poked fun at one type of passenger onboard their planes – encouraging them the ‘stop’ making a key mistake onboard

Ryanair has hit out at passengers who make one key mistake when traveling on one of their planes for a short haul flight. This follows the airline previously advising passengers to ‘please stop wearing’ jeans during flights.

When flying many people have three basic priorities, having a good seat, being as comfortable as possible while onboard, and spending as little money as possible. And while remaining seated in the same spot for extended periods can be decidedly uncomfortable, particularly when you’re short on legroom, people have started to take further steps to help pass time while onboard aeroplanes.

With cabin humidity on many commercial flights dropping below 20%, which is drier than a desert, many people opt to take facemasks, moisturiser and eye cream onboard in their hand luggage.

The thought behind the process it to prevent passenger’s skin from feeling tight, dull, or irritated upon arrival. Ryanair has established a reputation on social media, where they frequently poke fun at their own passengers, and jokingly threaten to introduce even more regulations and charges than they currently impose – such as extra legroom seats or late check-in fees.

What shouldn’t passengers do when on a short haul flight with Ryanair?

Nevertheless, Ryanair has now criticised travellers who insist on keeping their skin moisturised while onboard one of their aircrafts. Posting on their Facebook page, the airline issued a statement to their passengers.

They wrote: “Stop doing skincare onboard, it’s a 2-hour flight.” However, many passengers were furious with the airline and quickly flocked to the comment section to express their own views.

One person said: “Stop measuring my bag with a ruler like it’s national security, it’s a 2-hour flight.”

A second person added: “Please tell the cabin crew to put a smile on their face – It’s just a 2-hour flight.”

A third added: “Carry on like this and I’ll allow my husband to bring his foot file and use it on our trip over to UK on the November 5.”

A fourth said: “What are these bizarre Ryanair posts about?! You’d think their marketing team would manage social media in a more sophisticated way?!”

Others, however, commented on the post to express their own bugbears on short haul flights.

One person said: “Travel pillows for 1-2 hour flights still intrigue me more than skincare.”

A second added: “Skincare? I’ve actually seen a man clipping his nails! This should be strictly prohibited under financial sanctions!”

A third said: “Don’t start clapping before the plane has even landed!”

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Uefa has posed a great number of questions about FFE.

“When was the idea of FFE first explored, by whom and with what objective?” Uefa asked. “Who within Fifa authorised the development of the project, and which members of the Fifa administration were involved?

“What concrete measures will Fifa put in place to ensure that the shortcomings identified in the FFE process cannot occur again in the future?”

Uefa requested information on whether Infantino would have held or expected to hold any position, role or function in FFE, either during or following his tenure as Fifa president.

The relationship with Joshua Kushner’s Thrive Capital was covered in detail, asking why an agreement granting exclusivity to the company was signed without prior consultation of the Fifa Council.

“Why was Thrive Capital selected as lead investor, without any competitive tendering process and under conditions of strict confidentiality, despite its links to the family of the recipient of the Fifa Peace Prize?” Uefa asked.

Kushner is the brother of Donald Trump’s son-in-law, while the US president was awarded the Peace Prize.

Uefa also requested answer about the award of the Peace Prize, specifically who decided to establish it, for what purpose, and who decided that Trump should receive it.

When the FFE plan was revealed in the days following the World Cup final, Infantino told the 211 member associations (MAs) they would receive $40m (£30m) if they backed it. He then set a deadline of 19 September for federations to accept his plans if they wanted to access an initial $20m (£15m).

However, once the scheme was abandoned, Uefa and Concacaf called on Fifa to pay at least $10m (£7.5m) from its cash reserves to each of the MAs and, last week, Infantino agreed, proposing to increase the amount of money handed out for football development across the world by $3.4bn (£2.6bn).

The releasing of cash from its reserves will result in double the level of planned distribution funding for MAs from 2027 to 2030, with $25m (£19m) available per member association.

“Why was substantially increased funding for MAs presented in connection with FFE and external investment, rather than being financed directly from Fifa’s own resources?” Uefa has asked.

“Given Fifa’s strong financial position, why was it considered necessary to seek investment from private investors? What financial or strategic advantages would such an arrangement have offered compared with funding football development directly from Fifa’s own resources, particularly in light of Fifa’s subsequent proposal to do precisely that on a substantially increased scale?”

Major deals include Proofpoint’s acquisition of Varonis Systems, International Paper’s European packaging business attracting private equity bids, CCC Intelligent Solutions being acquired by a consortium led by GTCR, Galderma acquiring ZO Skin Health, Bumble’s buyout by Ithaca Holdings, IonQ’s acquisition of Elisity, STERIS acquiring Xodus Medical, Amazon’s negotiations to buy Decart AI, and Softbank’s interest in Allied Universal.

Venezuela is once again debating a renewal of its institutions, as if the problem could be solved simply by replacing the people in office. This remains the crucial question: what would have to change among those who wield power so that new rules are respected, even when doing so is inconvenient for them?

We are talking about rebuilding the State, restoring judicial independence, or recovering institutional integrity, often attributing agency to structures that, in practice, operate through human decisions. Behind every appointment, court ruling, or agreement are individuals driven by interests, convictions, fears, and power dynamics. No reform can overlook them.

When a future Supreme Court (TSJ) justice faces the uncomfortable decision of ruling against the interests of those who made their appointment possible, they will recall that the Constitution guarantees their independence; yet, they will also realize that their decision hinges on the safeguards available to them and the personal consequences of challenging those in power.

Individuals who uphold institutions

Following the fall of the Pérez Jiménez dictatorship on January 23, 1958, key political leaders realized that democratic survival required agreements that predated any constitutional framework. Rómulo Betancourt, Rafael Caldera, and Jóvito Villalba represented the parties that signed the Pact of Puntofijo in October of that year. The 1961 Constitution came later, built upon a foundation of compromises reached by former adversaries who had experienced the failure of 1945–1948. The agreements preceded the rules they were meant to uphold.

Those agreements, however, were not all-encompassing. The Communist Party was excluded from the pact, and the system of elite conciliation studied by Juan Carlos Rey ultimately revealed significant limitations regarding representation. Moreover, civilian consensus does not guarantee military obedience. In May and June 1962, the uprisings known as the Carupanazo and the Porteñazo put the Betancourt government to the test.

The 1999 Constitution already provided a Judicial Nominations Committee with civil society participation—much like the one we now expect—yet its operations ultimately became subordinate to political control. 

Democracy survived because key sectors of the Armed Forces remained loyal to the constitutional order, even though their defense of it was accompanied by restrictions and repressive measures. Institutions require individuals willing to uphold them against those seeking to tear them down.

Institutions that sustain individuals

Four decades later, Venezuela embarked on another institutional transformation. The 1999 Constitution promised to expand citizen participation and strengthen rights, yet its existence did not prevent the progressive concentration of power. In 2004, the Organic Law on the Supreme Tribunal of Justice (TSJ) expanded the court from 20 to 32 justices, facilitating political control over the body. In the presidential elections of July 28, 2024, the National Electoral Council (CNE) declared Nicolás Maduro the winner without publishing the disaggregated results backing its announcement. The electoral fraud exposed a fundamental contradiction: the body charged with guaranteeing the popular will ended up proclaiming a result contrary to the available electoral evidence.

The problem was not simply the gap between a sound Constitution and poor leaders. Over the years, relationships of dependency were built that made it possible to subordinate formally autonomous institutions. Consequently, public offices, judicial decisions, and oversight mechanisms increasingly served the preservation of a political project. The result was that an institution could retain its name, legal powers, and procedures while losing the actual capacity to constrain those in power. The rules remained, but those charged with defending them lacked the independence to do so.

US influence on the process also raises questions about the extent to which agreements reflect the priorities of the Venezuelan people.

In 2026, the debate resurfaces under different circumstances. Following Maduro’s removal on January 3, the government of Delcy Rodríguez is negotiating the renewal of the branches of government. Dinorah Figuera, president of the National Assembly elected in 2015, announced a schedule that seeks to revamp the Supreme Court of Justice (TSJ) by November and complete work on the National Electoral Council (CNE) by December. These are announced political timelines that remain subject to negotiation.

But who is actually negotiating, and to whom are they accountable? US influence on the process also raises questions about the extent to which agreements reflect the priorities of the Venezuelan people. Furthermore, any given concession can be instantly interpreted on social media—by polarized audiences—as either a victory or a betrayal, thereby raising the political cost of negotiation.

The broader audience watching this process is not solely in Venezuela. Millions participate from abroad in public conversations about the country’s future and will also play a role in defending the institutions that may eventually be rebuilt. Institutional reconstruction must incorporate both the Venezuelans who remain in the country and those who have had to build their lives elsewhere. The experience of exile, diverse life paths, and political differences should not become obstacles to participating in defining our shared future. After so many years of division, the challenge also lies in recognizing ourselves as part of the same society, one in which no one is considered expendable in the effort to rebuild democracy.

Added to this is an issue that no agreement between civilians can sidestep: the continued existence of a military and security structure formed under chavismo. The conduct of those who control the weapons will be a decisive test for any new institutional order.

Society vs. institutional boundaries and agreements

The answer to the initial question (“what must change among those in power so that new rules are respected, even when doing so is inconvenient for them?”) requires concrete guarantees. For a judge to rule independently, the processes of selection and tenure must be shielded from those who expect obedience in exchange for the appointment. The 1999 Constitution already provided a Judicial Nominations Committee with civil society participation—much like the one we now expect—yet its operations ultimately became subordinate to political control. However, the 2024 election also taught us that when the CNE failed in its duty of transparency, citizens and organizations gathered and preserved the tally sheets that allowed the official results to be challenged.

Venezuelan society demonstrated that it can generate evidence and demand accountability, even when an institution fails.

Reconstruction therefore demands reforms capable of altering the incentives for those in power, guarantees for those who have suffered persecution, and oversight mechanisms that do not rely on the goodwill of those governing. Yet, it also requires a society capable of upholding those boundaries. The armed forces also need to find a place within that balance. Transparent rules for promotion and retirement, professionalization, and subordination to civilian authority could offer an alternative to personal loyalty. Their incorporation into the new order cannot imply impunity; distinguishing individual responsibilities and ensuring independent investigations will be essential to prevent inclusion from merely reproducing the privileges of the past.

The experience of the 2024 vote tallies offers a concrete possibility: transforming that capacity for civic organization into permanent oversight of the new authorities.

That capacity also depends on a democratic culture that recognizes the value of disagreement. A democracy is not built among equals, but among people who think differently yet still find reasons to reach compromises. Alterity—understood as recognizing the other in their difference—allows for the acceptance that an adversary also has the right to participate in shaping shared rules. Agreements require this disposition not only to emerge but also to endure and be revised when circumstances change.

For Venezuelans abroad, such participation requires more than just invitations to return: it demands guarantees for exercising political rights, effective mechanisms for participation, and conditions that allow their skills and capabilities to be linked to the country’s reconstruction. Within Venezuela, the experience of the 2024 vote tallies offers a concrete possibility: transforming that capacity for civic organization into permanent oversight of the new authorities, with access to public information and spaces to demand answers.

Institutional frameworks cannot remain static, either. Rules that once facilitated coexistence may require adjustments in the face of new social demands and political transformations. The contemporary challenge lies in the speed of these changes, which demands a greater capacity for understanding from those who govern and better tools for evaluating consequences from society. A democratic civic culture must allow institutions to evolve without becoming subject to the will of whoever happens to hold power at the time.

Domestic and international economic and financial sectors also need reasons to commit to this order. Legal certainty, transparent public contracts, and independent courts would allow informal influences to be replaced by relationships governed by established rules. However, such a commitment requires abandoning advantages gained through discretionary practices. An economy capable of long-term investment needs institutions that protect legitimate activity without relying on personal proximity to power.

Venezuela can overhaul its courts, appoint new electoral officials, and even draft another Constitution. None of that, on its own, will resolve the power dynamics that enabled authoritarianism. Institutions require rules that protect those who enforce them, as well as citizens capable of defending them when their own leaders seek to disregard them. Legitimacy is neither imported from Washington nor decreed from Caracas; it is built through the decisions of those who wield power and a society’s capacity to hold them accountable for those decisions.

Just six months after the first Jet2 service from Manchester to La Palma in the Canary Islands took off, the airline has scrapped the route due to a lack of demand

Jet2 has cancelled all flights to a popular Spanish island.

Just six months after the first Jet2 service from Manchester to La Palma in the Canary Islands took off, the airline has scrapped the route. Jet2 has been running two weekly services on Monday and Friday for the four-and-a-half-hour journey since April 3.

The airline had planned to launch budget Friday flights to the island from London Stansted on 6 November, but that has now been abandoned. The decision to end the route is due to a lack of customer demand. The last flight between Manchester and La Palma is expected to leave on 30 October.

At the time, Stephen Turner, chief commercial officer at Manchester Airport, said: “We’re proud to connect people in the North with the places they want to fly to, and the Canary Islands is among the most popular holiday destinations for sunseekers travelling from Manchester. That’s why it’s great to see Jet2 adding a fifth destination in this part of the world to its route network here at Manchester.”

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An airline spokesperson confirmed that affected customers would be contacted directly and offered the choice to rebook or receive a full refund. They explained that the decision followed a programme review and assessment of customer demand. As the route concludes on 30 October, most passengers with bookings during the October half-term should remain unaffected.

A spokesperson for Jet2 said: “As a customer-focused business, we continually review our programme in response to what our customers want, and we will make adjustments where required. This gives us the ability to add flights and holidays in response to demand, and very occasionally we may withdraw them too. Following this latest review, we have taken the difficult decision to withdraw flights and holidays to La Palma.

“Where customers are affected, we will contact them or their independent travel agent to let them know their options, which include rebooking another holiday or receiving a full refund. We would of course like to apologise to affected customers, however with a fantastic programme of services to a huge range of destinations, we are offering superb choice when it comes to rebooking their holidays with us.”

TUI is now the only airline running direct flights from the UK to La Palma.

La Palma is the greenest and quietest of the Canary Islands, nicknamed “La Isla Bonita”. It’s popular with walkers and stargazers rather than beach holidaymakers. Volcanic landscapes, banana plantations and lush laurel forests surround the Caldera de Taburiente, a huge crater with excellent hiking trails. The Roque de los Muchachos observatory sits among some of the clearest skies in Europe, and the island is a certified Starlight Reserve. Beaches are mostly black sand. The capital, Santa Cruz de La Palma, has colourful colonial balconies. The 2021 Cumbre Vieja eruption reshaped parts of the south and is still part of the island’s story, but visiting is safe.

As well as announcing player deals, England also confirmed new-look backroom teams underneath Test head coach Stephen Fleming and white-ball counterpart Brendon McCullum.

Fleming has brought in Richard Dawson, who leaves his position as Glamorgan head coach, alongside former England wicketkeeper James Foster and South African Eric Simons. Fleming worked with both Foster and Simons at Indian Premier League side Chennai Super Kings.

Marcus Trescothick, who took interim charge of the Test team for the home series against Pakistan, remains with the red-ball team.

McCullum keeps the bulk of the staff who worked with him across formats: Sarah Taylor, Jeetan Patel and Tim Southee. Kevin Pietersen will also work with the white-ball teams in the run-up to the 50-over World Cup in southern Africa next year.

Of the 39 players handed England deals, 30 have full central contracts and nine are on development contracts.

The large number of players on England deals is a result of high-earners like Ben Stokes and Mark Wood retiring from international cricket and freeing up space in the budget.

Eleven players, including Test captain Joe Root and white-ball captain Harry Brook, are given two-year contracts.

In an unprecedented move for an uncapped player, pace bowler Henry Crocombe is also given a two-year contract.

———————————————————

England’s centrally contracted players: Joe Root* (Yorkshire), Harry Brook* (Yorkshire), Rehan Ahmed (Leicestershire), Jofra Archer* (Sussex), Gus Atkinson* (Surrey), Sonny Baker* (Hampshire), Tom Banton (Somerset), Shoaib Bashir (Derbyshire), Jacob Bethell* (Warwickshire), Jos Buttler (Lancashire), Brydon Carse (Durham), Sam Cook (Essex), Jordan Cox* (Essex), Henry Crocombe* (Sussex/Surrey), Sam Curran* (Surrey), Liam Dawson (Hampshire), Ben Duckett (Nottinghamshire), Emilio Gay (Durham), Matthew Fisher (Surrey), Will Jacks* (Surrey), Dan Lawrence (Surrey), Saqib Mahmood (Lancashire), Jamie Overton (Surrey), Ollie Pope (Surrey), Matthew Potts (Durham), Adil Rashid (Yorkshire), Ollie Robinson (Sussex), Phil Salt (Lancashire), Jamie Smith (Surrey), Josh Tongue* (Nottinghamshire)

*Denotes two-year deal through until 30 September 2028.

England development contracted players: James Coles (Sussex), Mason Crane (Glamorgan), Josh Hull (Leicestershire), Eddie Jack (Hampshire), Ben McKinney (Durham), Liam Patterson-White (Nottinghamshire), Thomas Rew (Somerset). Matthew Revis (Yorkshire), Mitch Stanley (Lancashire).

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Crocombe is one of five specialist fast bowlers to be given a multi-year deal, joining Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Sonny Baker and Josh Tongue.

Before the Derby incident, Carse had not played for England since the Ashes in January because of a wrist injury.

Prior to the injury, the Durham man was an international regular across formats and was the only England seamer to play in all five Tests in Australia.

With inexperienced bowlers like Baker and Crocombe receiving longer contracts, Key was asked if a lack of extension for Carse revealed England’s feelings on his international future.

“No,” replied the former Kent batter. “I think it means if he gets a chance to come back and play for England he’s got to try to maximise his career and be the best bowler he possibly can be.

“That investigation is going on with the Regulator. I don’t know a lot about what happens in that investigation, because that is with them and we deal with that afterwards. There’s nothing really I can say about that. We haven’t had those conversations. We’ll find out more in due course. We’ll find out more when that investigation comes to a head.”

Along with Crocombe, Emilio Gay, Jordan Cox, Dan Lawrence, Tom Banton, Sam Cook and Matt Fisher are given full central contracts for the first time.

Ollie Robinson returns to the contract list after missing out for the past two years, rewarded following his superb return to the Test team in the home summer.

Off-spinner Shoaib Bashir keeps his deal and is the only specialist red-ball spinner on the list. However, Mason Crane and Liam Patterson-White are given developmental deals as an indication of how England could grow their Test spin-bowling options.

EXPLAINER

Atletico vs Man United and Man City vs PSG headline the Champions League match day two action as the competition returns.

The UEFA Champions League (UCL) 2026-27 enters its second round of matches this week, with 36 teams in action across Europe as clubs return to the elite football competition.

After the first set of league fixtures, two-time title holders Paris Saint-Germain lead the points table with three points, followed by six-time champions Bayern Munich and five-time winners Barcelona, who also won their opening matches.

The competition’s league phase format, now in its third year, started in September and runs until January 2027. It will be followed by the knockout rounds, with the champions crowned in early June.

Here’s all you need to know about this year’s competition:

What is the Champions League?

The Champions League is an annual club competition that features the best teams from across Europe.

This season marks the third time that 36 teams will participate in the main round, an increase from 32 under the old format.

What is the 2026-27 Champions League format?

Since 2003, the UCL has featured 32 clubs split into eight groups of four, with the top two from each section advancing to the last 16.

That has changed radically in recent years.

From the 2024-25 season, the 36 clubs are pooled into a single league in a “Swiss system” more commonly associated with chess.

Earlier, participating teams played six games in the group stage, facing each opponent home and away. Now, each club plays eight games, one each against eight different opponents.

How does the Champions League knockout format work?

At the end of the league phase, the top eight qualify directly for the knockouts, while those between the ninth and 24th places have to compete in two-legged knockout-phase playoffs.

Teams ranked 25th and below are eliminated.

The UCL knockout format is straightforward – it begins with the round of 16, followed by the quarterfinals, semifinals and the final.

When are the league phase and knockout matches?

The league phase matches are scheduled for:

• Match day 1: September 8-10
• Match day 2: October 13 and 14
• Match day 3: October 20 and 21
• Match day 4: November 3 and 4
• Match day 5: November 24 and 25
• Match day 6: December 8 and 9
• Match day 7: January 19 and 20
• Match day 8: January 27

The knockout phase matches are scheduled for (all dates in 2027):

• Playoffs: February 16, 17 and 23, 24
• Round of 16: March 9, 10 and 16, 17
• Quarterfinals: April 6, 7 and 13, 14
• Semifinals: April 27, 28 and May 4, 5
• Final: June 5

Which are the best Champions League matches to watch?

The key matches to follow on matchdays two and three are as follows:

Top five UCL matches to watch this week

• Arsenal vs Lille, Tuesday 19:00 GMT
• Atletico vs Manchester United, Tuesday 19:00 GMT
• Galatasaray vs Barcelona, Tuesday 19:00 GMT
• Manchester City vs PSG, Wednesday 19:00 GMT
• AS Roma vs Real Madrid, Wednesday 19:00 GMT

Top five Champions League matches to watch next week:

• PSG vs Barcelona, October 20, 19:00 GMT
• Liverpool vs Villarreal, October 20, 19:00 GMT
• Como vs Manchester United, October 21, 16:45 GMT
• Bayern Munich vs Arsenal, October 21, 19:00 GMT
• Real Madrid vs RB Leipzig, October 21, 19:00 GMT

What are the key UCL storylines to follow?

Man City’s home clash with PSG headlines the upcoming round of matches, marking the troubled Etihad club’s first Champions League match since an independent commission found them guilty of breaking more than 100 Premier League financial rules.

Elsewhere, City’s crosstown rivals, under-fire Man United, are also in action this week. They head to Madrid to face an in-form Atletico, hoping to register just their third win this season.

Meanwhile, manager Jose Mourinho will face his former club AS Roma when Real travel to the Italian capital.

Who are the top players to watch in the Champions League?

PSG’s Ferran Torres, who scored a hat-trick in the first UCL match, is a joint top scorer in this year’s UCL alongside Ermedin Demirovic of Stuttgart.

Also watch out for Man City’s Erling Haaland, Bayern Munich’s talented Michael Olise and PSG forward Ousmane Dembele, all of whom scored two goals in their respective UCL openers.

From this month the new rule will start coming in at all UK airports with it fulling in force by early 2027

Anyone with a passport has been warned of a major change for all travellers – coming in early 2027. People who may hve been hit by delays getting back into the UK and tryin to use an eGate has been told of the rule change.

From early 2027, passengers arriving in the UK will be able to pass through the gates without showing their passports, according to the Home Office. East Midlands Airport became the first to offer the new system this week, which uses facial technology to scan passengers on approach.

After taking a photo, the system checks the passenger against verified immigration, travel and passport information. The gate then opens automatically once the checks are complete, meaning passengers do not need to place their passport on the e-gate reader.

If further checks are needed, travellers will need to put their passport on the reader or may be directed to a Border Force officer. After opening at the Leicestershire hub, the Home Office said all UK airports will have contactless e-gates by early 2027. Passengers must still carry their passports, though.

Here’s how it works:

• passengers approach an eGate and have their photo taken
• the system checks this live image against verified immigration, travel and passport information
• the eGate opens automatically once these checks are complete

The system uses state-of-the-art facial technology to verify a passenger’s identity before the UK’s robust border security checks are carried out in full. Legitimate travellers can then simply walk through, without needing to place their passport on the eGate reader.

If further checks are needed, passengers will need to place their passport on the reader or may be directed to a Border Force officer, as happens today. Border Force officers will continue to monitor all eGates offering assistance, and passengers should keep their passport with them at all times.

Testing shows the new contactless system is up to 25% faster than using a passport on an eGate.

The phased rollout starts at East Midlands Airport, initially for British citizens, before expanding to more airports and other nationalities already eligible for eGates over the coming months.

Phil Douglas, Director General of Border Force, said: “This is a win for travellers coming to our brilliant country. By using state-of-the-art technology, we are making journeys smoother and faster, all while fully maintaining the UK’s robust border security.

“Our digital transformation also builds on our work this summer to extend eGates to children aged eight and above, making life a little easier for families.

Karen Dee, chief executive of AirportsUK, the trade body for UK airports, said: “This will be excellent news for the passenger and demonstrates how UK airports continue to be at the forefront of new technologies to keep our borders safe, while improving the travelling experience.

“It is vital that we have the fast, efficient borders that arrivals into the UK now expect, and we will work closely with our members and government officials to ensure a smooth rollout.”

Chris Wilson, Head of Terminal & Capacity Planning at Birmingham Airport, said: “We’re pleased to be one of the first airports in the UK to introduce UK Border Force’s contactless eGates.

“Working closely with our industry partners and government agencies, we have actively supported the rollout of the new UK Border Force system here at Birmingham Airport.”

Customers arriving into the UK will benefit from this new speedier and smoother arrival through the border. Millions of people already use eGates every year – the fastest way for legitimate travellers to enter the UK. This marks the latest step in the government’s efforts to modernise the UK border, delivering on the Immigration White Paper.

Earlier this year to e-gates at UK airports were expanded to include younger children allowing, children aged eight and nine returning to the UK to use e-gates.

The gates use facial recognition technology to check passengers’ identities against the photo in their passport, which is generally quicker than manual inspections. Children must be at least 120cm tall so they can be seen by biometric scanners, and accompanied by an adult.

Under previous rules, only passengers aged 10 and above were allowed to use the gates, forcing families with younger children to queue for passport booths.

In addition to the 13 UK airports with e-gates, children aged eight and nine are also now permitted to use them at ports in Brussels and Paris, where juxtaposed checks take place.

EasyJet chief executive Kenton Jarvis announced that the airline is removing a further 600,000 to 700,000 seats from its winter schedule, on top of 700,000 that have already been cancelled

EasyJet is cutting thousands of flights this winter, with customers urged to check one date before their flight is due to depart.

EasyJet chief executive Kenton Jarvis told reporters in Brussels on 8 October that the airline is removing a further 600,000 to 700,000 seats from its winter schedule because of elevated fuel costs. This comes after it announced around 700,000 seats would be removed earlier this year, bringing the total reduction to between 1.3 million and 1.4 million seats.

EasyJet CEO Kenton Jarvis told the FT: “People are taking capacity out, we see that across all competitors,” adding that was “no surprise” given fuel costs. However, he admitted that the high cost of fuel had not been expected. “I honestly think it’s been quite a surprise for the industry that fuel has stayed as high as it is,” he said.

Do you have a travel story to share? Email webtravel@reachplc.com

Jet fuel costs have doubled following the start of the Iran conflict, which led to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Although prices have started to fall, they remain far higher than airlines expected when the war began.

EasyJet passengers have been urged to check their tickets for one date. If your booking is cancelled, you may not get paid compensation. Whether you do or not depends on your flight date, when you were notified of the cancellation, the reason recorded for that particular cancellation and the timings of the replacement journey.

Under the law UK261, passengers notified between seven and 14 days before departure are entitled to compensation unless the replacement leaves no more than two hours earlier and arrives less than four hours later . Passengers notified fewer than seven days before departure are entitled to compensation, unless the replacement leaves no more than one hour earlier and arrives less than two hours later.

Compensation ranges from £220 to £520 depending on the distance, unless easyJet proves that extraordinary circumstances caused the cancellation. It is unlikely that they will be able to in this instance. Passengers notified at least 14 days before departure are not entitled to fixed compensation, although their refund or rerouting rights remain fully intact.

Refund and rerouting rights apply separately. Passengers who still need to travel should therefore compare the proposed replacement before accepting a refund. If another airline can reach the destination significantly sooner, the CAA says the passenger may have the right to be rerouted on that alternative service.

An easyJet spokesperson said: “Like all airlines, we review our schedule on an ongoing basis and sometimes make some changes. The changes to our winter flying represent a tiny proportion of our flying programme. We make any changes in advance and typically choose multi-daily frequency flights so customers can easily move to an alternative flight.”

The airline originally released more than 25 million seats across almost 138,000 flights between 19 October and 31 January, giving an average of approximately 181 seats per flight. On that basis, the latest reduction is equivalent to roughly 3,300 to 3,900 one-way flights, with the total winter cuts equivalent to approximately 7,200 to 7,700 one-way flights.

These are capacity estimates, not confirmed cancellation numbers. EasyJet has not published the affected routes, the proportion involving UK services or how many removed seats had already been sold. The airline has said it makes changes in advance and typically targets routes with several daily services so passengers can be transferred to another flight.

Anton Radchenko, aviation expert and CEO of AirAdvisor , said: “Airlines commonly describe these decisions as capacity management, but passenger-rights law examines the individual booking. If a flight was sold and subsequently withdrawn, the airline should be able to show when the passenger was informed, the specific reason that service was removed and what comparable rerouting was offered; a general reference to higher fuel costs would not, by itself, establish extraordinary circumstances.

“The most revealing cases will be passengers transferred between services on a route that operates several times a day. Moving someone from a morning flight to an evening departure may appear to be a straightforward consolidation. Still, the resulting arrival time can change the compensation position, and the existence of a substantially earlier flight with another carrier may determine whether the rerouting offered genuinely met the earliest-opportunity requirement.”

“Passengers affected by a schedule change should retain the original itinerary, the timestamped cancellation email and every replacement option offered. Those three records will be considerably more important to an individual claim than the airline’s overall capacity figure.”

The leading candidates in Michigan’s heated Senate race have faced off in their first televised debate, with less than a month remaining before the United States midterm elections.

Thursday’s hour-long debate was a microcosm of how tense the toss-up race has become.

Democratic nominee Abdul El-Sayed, formerly the health director for Wayne County, repeatedly sought to paint his Republican adversary Mike Rogers as a yacht-owning millionaire out of touch with ordinary voters.

For his part, Rogers, a former member of the US House of Representatives, lobbed accusations at El-Sayed that he was soft on “terrorism” and had foreign sympathies.

The Michigan-born El-Sayed has repeatedly faced Islamophobic attacks while on the campaign trail, with Republican President Donald Trump labelling him an “extremist, terrorist sympathizer” whose history “goes back to the days of the Jihad”. If elected, El-Sayed would be the first Muslim member of the US Senate.

The two candidates spent much of their hour onstage together speaking over one another, as they exchanged pointed barbs.

“He can’t condemn a terrorist act that happened on our soil in the state of Michigan. He can’t bring himself to condemn –,” Rogers began, referencing a March attack on a synagogue.

“I did condemn it,” El-Sayed said, jumping in. “No, you did not,” Rogers replied, with El-Sayed quickly responding, “You make stuff up. You make stuff up.”

The Senate race in Michigan is considered key to the battle for control of the US Senate. Democrats are seeking to flip both chambers of Congress, but shifting control of the Senate will be a tougher prospect, given that only a third of its 100 seats are on the November 3 ballot.

Host Rick Albin at times struggled to keep the debate on track, as tensions rose.

“We’ve got dozens of questions we want to get to. You can’t litigate all of these with 14 different rebuttals, so please work with me,” Albin told the two candidates at one point.

Here are the key takeaways from the evening’s debate.

Rogers insinuates El-Sayed family ties to ‘terrorism watch list’

The ferocity of the debate was underscored by the high volume of ad hominem attacks the candidates deployed against each other.

But Rogers repeatedly pushed a series of attacks that seemed to centre on El-Sayed’s identity as a Muslim.

In response to a question about healthcare, Rogers said that El-Sayed has “taken money from individuals on his campaign who openly support Hamas, Hezbollah, al-Qaeda”.

Later, when asked about his position on surveillance by Flock cameras, Rogers argued that such technology has helped catch people suspected of terrorism. He then implied that El-Sayed’s concerns about the cameras were suggestive.

“Why would that bother you?” Rogers asked El-Sayed. “Well, if you have somebody in your family that might be on the terrorism watch list …”

El-Sayed interjected, seeming to dare Rogers to continue his thought.

“Are you going to go ahead and say that I’m a – go ahead and say it,” El-Sayed said. “You’ve been tiptoeing about it the whole time. Just say it. Just say it. Go ahead and say it.”

Muslim and Arab candidates in the US have frequently been subjected to Islamophobic attacks on the campaign trail, accusing them of support for “terrorism” and Islamic fundamentalism.

Both sides agree on ending the Iran war

There were issues, however, on which both candidates found a measure of common ground.

Both Rogers and El-Sayed agreed the US-Israeli war against Iran should end, but they had opposite views on Washington’s relationship with Israel and its role in the conflict.

High gasoline prices and inflation, El-Sayed said, were directly caused by the Iran war, and he blamed the Trump administration for Iran’s decision to shut down the Strait of Hormuz, a critical trade route.

“This is what happens when you start wars you never should be fighting,” El-Sayed said. “We literally taught the Iranian regime that they have a choke on the Strait of Hormuz, and now we’re living in that reality.”

Rogers agreed that “we need [the war] to come to an end”, but he also justified the conflict, saying that Iran’s uranium enrichment programme had been “set back twenty years”, echoing a frequent White House talking point.

The Trump administration has argued that the war was necessary to prevent Iran from creating a nuclear weapon, a goal Tehran has long denied.

Rogers’s position led El-Sayed to accuse him of “cheerleading” for the war and the Trump administration.

Rogers backs continued Israel aid, El-Sayed calls for end

As part of the debate about US foreign policy, the candidates were also pressed on their positions about the US alliance with Israel.

The country is considered the largest overall recipient of US aid since World War II. From the start of Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza in October 2023 through September 2025, experts estimate that Israel received nearly $21.7bn in military aid.

El-Sayed has openly called for ending aid to Israel, and he has repeatedly denounced the conflict in Gaza as a genocide, in line with evaluations from United Nations experts and human rights watchdogs.

During the debate, he indicated he preferred US taxpayer dollars to be spent on domestic concerns like education and healthcare, rather than Israeli aid.

“He wants unconditional support for a foreign government,” El-Sayed said of Rogers. “I want unconditional support for kids in our schools, unconditional support for our healthcare, childcare.”

He also blamed Israel for the US military action in Iran. “I don’t want to be pushed into war by Israel, and I don’t want to be in war with Iran,” El-Sayed said.

Rogers, meanwhile, has joined most of his fellow Republicans in continuing to support aid for Israel. He argued that the country had “the right to defend itself in a very difficult neighbourhood”.

“Is there anything Israel could do that would lose your support?” the debate host asked.

“Listen, if they’re talking about using nuclear weapons, they would definitely lose my support,” Rogers replied.

Rogers calls immigration crackdown ‘not appropriate’

Another hot-button issue during the debate was Trump’s crackdown on immigration.

The Republican leader has pledged to carry out the largest mass deportation effort in US history, and his campaign has spurred human rights concerns.

When asked how they would approach the crackdown, both Rogers and El-Sayed agreed on tempering the militarised nature of the campaign.

In several cities, including Minneapolis, Minnesota, immigration authorities have been accused of racial profiling and using excessive force against immigrants and protesters, as well as violating their rights to due process.

Multiple fatal shootings have occurred during immigration enforcement operations, including the deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in January.

Rogers indicated he would not have supported such confrontational operations, but he repeated a Trump claim that the raids were taking dangerous criminals off the streets.

“I think the public efforts in Minnesota were probably not appropriate,” Rogers said. “You always want to go in quiet, get the bad guy, get out of the neighbourhood for less problems. So that, to me, was something that they could have done differently.”

He later claimed that, under Trump, the country had seen “the largest decrease in murders ever recorded”.

El-Sayed, meanwhile, has previously voiced support for abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), a key agency in Trump’s deportation campaign. He defended that stance on the debate stage.

“ICE right now is not about immigration enforcement. ICE is about terrorising our streets,” he said.

Candidates debate Canada trade war and tariffs

Donald Trump’s trade war with Canada, felt acutely in neighbouring Michigan, was another key topic of conversation.

El-Sayed depicted Rogers as an uncritical backer of Trump and his tariffs and tied him to past free trade deals such as the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which paved the way for companies to shift manufacturing facilities out of the US – though Rogers did not enter Congress until 2001, eight years after NAFTA passed.

“You did that, man. That was your policy. NAFTA, that was your policy,” said El-Sayed.

Rogers sought to distance himself from the current trade war but expressed support for a deal with Canada that would loosen some of Ottawa’s tariffs on US goods.

“I would like to see the deal made,” said Rogers, adding that high Canadian tariffs for US goods “should be eliminated”.

Both candidates tried to strike a balance between criticism of the economic fallout of the trade war and qualifying their support for more selective tariffs, favoured by some industries and labour unions as a means of protecting domestic jobs.

Saudi civil aviation authorities say Houthi attacks on Abha and King Khalid International airports have killed three civilians, including two women, and injured 36 others.

Brazil’s closely watched presidential election is heading to a second round between leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and right-wing Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, prolonging a deeply polarised race with major implications for the country and the wider region.

Brazil’s electoral court confirmed on Sunday that the two candidates will advance to a run-off on October 25 after neither won the majority needed to secure the presidency outright, with Bolsonaro leading at 55.8 million votes to Lula’s almost 53.2 million.

Lula, 80, is seeking a fourth, non-consecutive term after a political career spanning nearly five decades.

Bolsonaro, 45, is the eldest son of former President Jair Bolsonaro and is trying to return his father’s right-wing movement to power, even as the former president serves a 27-year prison sentence for plotting a coup after losing the 2022 election.

The election comes at a pivotal time for Latin America’s largest economy. Brazilians are grappling with concerns over crime and the cost of living, while the country faces an increasingly tense relationship with the United States. The vote is also being closely watched across a region that has shifted sharply to the right in a series of recent elections.

While a second round was widely expected, the first-round result did not play out quite as pollsters had predicted.

Here are some of the key takeaways from the election so far.

Brazil is heading for another Lula-Bolsonaro run-off

With nearly 99 percent of votes reported, Bolsonaro had about 47 percent of valid votes, compared with 44.9 percent for Lula. Neither reached the 50 percent threshold needed to win in the first round.

That sets up another Lula-Bolsonaro showdown, four years after Lula narrowly defeated former President Jair Bolsonaro. This time, he will face the former president’s eldest son.

The race could be extremely close, as polling ahead of Sunday’s vote suggested Lula and Flavio Bolsonaro were roughly tied in a potential run-off.

That puts voters who backed one of the other 10 candidates in the first round at the centre of the fight for the presidency over the next three weeks.

Ronaldo Caiado and Renan Santos, who together received about 5.3 million votes, have previously said they will not endorse either candidate in the run-off.

Flavio Bolsonaro did better than polls suggested

Most polls leading up to election day predicted the race would be pushed into the second round, but had Lula finishing the first round ahead of Bolsonaro.

Instead, Bolsonaro emerged with a lead of two percentage points, raising questions about why the final polls underestimated his support.

On Sunday, Bolsonaro said the results showed that Brazilians want change.

Analysts told the Reuters news agency that Bolsonaro may have benefitted from “protest votes” from people who may have preferred another candidate but saw defeating Lula as the priority. Many had been expected to shift their support to Bolsonaro only in a second round, meaning this could have consequences for his support in three weeks.

“The protest vote foreshadows what is to come in the run-off,” political analyst Rafael Favetti told Reuters. “While this should benefit Flavio Bolsonaro now, his growth potential in the second round drops precisely because that support has already been front-loaded.”

After the results came in, Lula said the votes were “unexpected” but that he would come back stronger in the run-off.

“I admit, I was convinced I would win in the first round. The game is about to start. We are in extra time. In extra time, we will win over the Brazilian people,” the 80-year-old said.

The right had a strong night in Congress, too

Bolsonaro’s surprising performance in the first round was part of a broader show of strength for Brazil’s right.

Right-wing parties, led by Bolsonaro’s Liberal Party (PL), were performing strongly in both houses of Congress, with the PL on track to emerge as the largest force in the Chamber of Deputies and making gains in the Senate.

This included victories for other members of the Bolsonaro family, including former First Lady Michelle Bolsonaro, Flavio’s stepmother, who won a Senate seat in the Federal District, her first elected office.

His brother, Carlos Bolsonaro, was elected to the Senate in Santa Catarina.

The results show that the political movement built around former President Jair Bolsonaro – known as “bolsonarista” – remains a powerful electoral force, even with the former president barred from running himself.

“The fact that far-right candidates for the legislature have exceeded all expectations suggests a deeper popular grounding for the bolsonarista project than many expected,” Andre Pagliarini, an assistant professor of history and international studies at Louisiana State University and author of a book on Lula, told Al Jazeera.

“Millions of Brazilians right now evidently feel the right best reflects their values and vision for the future,” he added.

The congressional results matter beyond election night, too. Both houses were already dominated by conservative lawmakers, and a stronger right-wing presence could make it even harder for Lula to push through his agenda if he wins another term.

A Bolsonaro victory, meanwhile, could give him more room to pursue his own priorities, including his pledge to seek an amnesty for his father.

What should be a little more straightforward is giving Kieron Bowie another start.

The Sassuolo striker was sacrificed just over 10 minutes into his first Scotland start to make space for Welsh in defence.

His partnership with Oli McBurnie showed promising signs in the 20 minutes or so they were together in Slovenia, but there was little time to build on that cameo against the Swiss. Surely he and the Hull City striker will get another chance?

If there were any concerns McBurnie wasn’t up for the fight – five years on from his last international involvement – they have been quashed in these past two games.

His work-rate as a largely solo striker – hauling his team up and holding the ball in – was commendable. If only Bowie was still on the field for the flurry of flick-ons he won in the first half.

Pocognoli has inherited one of the overriding problems Clarke wrestled with during his spell – scoring goals. That’s four games now without one, and the Scots are just 25 minutes away from setting a new – unwanted – record for failing to score.

In 1970-71, they went 447 minutes without finding the back of the net – it’s been 422 minutes of football since McGinn’s deflected strike against Haiti in Boston.

If there’s ever a time, boys…

A travel expert has issued a crucial warning about the four key checks holidaymakers should make before jetting off abroad, including during the upcoming October half-term

Jetting off abroad is always an exciting time, but it’s easy to get caught out at the airport by common passport mistakes. The passport’s expiry date is an obvious check, while the 10-year rule is equally crucial when travelling to the Schengen area.

However, holidaymakers must also be aware of blank pages in their passports and the overall condition of their travel document. Even the slightest defect in a passport can render it invalid, leaving the traveller unable to fly and missing their holiday altogether.

To help Brits feel prepared before jetting off abroad, particually ahead of the October half-term, a travel expert has issued a warning and highlighted the four key checks to make. It’ll take just a few minutes and could be the difference between soaking up the sun in Malta during that well-earned winter escape and being stuck indoors in the grizzly British weather, wishing you had just checked your passport sooner.

Four key passport checks

On what other crucial checks are required before jetting off abroad, Rhys Jones, travel insurance expert at Go Compare Travel, said: “It’s important to remember that passport rules are about more than expiry dates.” He advised: “Travellers should check whether their passport was issued within the accepted period for their destination, is valid for long enough after their trip, has enough blank pages where required, and is not too damaged to travel.

Brits travelling to countries in the Schengen area must make sure their passport was issued less than 10 years before the date they enter the country. They must also ensure that their passport is valid for at least three months after the day they plan to leave the country.

Passport damage

Inspecting for passport damage is an easy thing to forget to do, particularly by seasoned travellers, but it’s a crucial part of pre-holiday checks. Rhys warned: “A damaged passport can quickly become a much bigger problem than many travellers realise. Water damage is particularly risky because it can warp pages, blur personal details, affect stamps or visas, and make the passport harder to scan or verify. Even if it looks usable to you, airline staff or border officials may decide it is too damaged for travel.

“If you turn up at the airport with a passport that is visibly damaged, you could be refused boarding before you even reach border control. Airlines have to be confident that passengers will be accepted at their destination, so a passport with water stains, peeling laminate, torn pages, missing pages, unreadable details or a damaged chip can lead to serious disruption.”

He advised: “The key guidance is to check your passport well before departure, keep it dry and protected while travelling, and replace it if there is any doubt about whether it will be accepted.”

The expert added: “If you notice damage while you are still in the UK, the safest option is to replace the passport before you travel. But if you are already abroad and your passport is lost, stolen, damaged, full, recently expired or otherwise unusable, you may need to apply for an Emergency Travel Document (ETD). This is designed to help British nationals travel urgently from abroad when they cannot use their passport.

Can travel insurance help me?

It depends on what your policy says. Rhys said: “Travel insurance can sometimes help here, but it depends on the policy and the circumstances. Some policies include cover for lost or stolen passports abroad and may contribute towards the cost of an ETD, replacement documentation, or reasonable extra travel and accommodation costs if the issue disrupts the trip. However, cover limits, excesses and exclusions vary, and insurers will usually expect travellers to report the issue promptly, keep receipts, and take reasonable care of their documents. If your passport was lost because of your own negligence, it’s likely your insurer won’t pay out.”

For more information on passport rules to check, you can visit Go Compare’s guide on their website.

Do you have a travel story to share? Email webtravel@reachplc.com

The Fraud Act 2006 states that dishonestly making a false representation with the intention of making a gain or avoiding a loss can lead to individuals being imprisoned for 10 years and facing an unlimited fine, if charges are brought and proven.

“Surely the Man City findings are now a police matter,” said Lord Cruddas, a banker and businessman.

“If accounts have been falsified and auditors have been misled then it is potentially a criminal matter. The auditors will call in the police, directors are personally liable for any fraud of a UK company even if it is foreign-owned.”

For the case to move from football wrongdoing to something more, there would first need to be an investigation by the relevant authorities.

The bodies who can investigate potential financial crimes in the UK include regional police forces, the National Crime Agency, HMRC and the Serious Fraud Office.

BBC Sport has contacted each of those bodies and been given no indication that any kind of investigation has begun, but some do not routinely confirm investigations owing to confidentiality.

But former Manchester City chairman David Bernstein – who left the club five years before its current owners took control – raised the possibility during an interview on BBC Radio 5 Live.

“This is very serious and I wonder whether some of these issues might need to be referred to authorities outside of the league,” Bernstein said.

“My immediate thoughts are – can the board of directors continue and should the people involved be suspended immediately?”

Football finance expert Kieran Maguire feels wider investigation may be unlikely.

“HMRC might consider it but there is not a lot for them to go on,” he said. “There is certainly no corporation tax to recover. Football clubs lose money and City would have lost more money had it not been for the activities it undertook.”

The 81st United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) concluded on Monday with artificial intelligence (AI), the Israel-Palestine conflict and the US-Israel war on Iran dominating world leaders’ addresses during the general debate.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, in his final address before his term ends, warned that the future of the world would be shaped by four tests: AI, climate change, wars and inequality.

“Across all four tests, the decisive issue is power. Power over force, money, energy, technology, rules and the future. That is why the UN Charter – and the work of the United Nations – matter more than ever,” Guterres said.

Speeches ranged from calls to reform the UN to appeals for upholding international law, as the global body has been undermined by the unilateral foreign policy pushed by United States President Donald Trump.

Here are the biggest takeaways from this year’s summit:

Palestine

The situation in Palestine was a key issue among members amid Israel’s ongoing genocidal war on Gaza despite the so-called “ceasefire” and escalating settler pogroms in the occupied West Bank.

France, Canada, Iraq, the United Kingdom and others called for Palestinian sovereignty during their speeches.

“What credibility do we have if we continue to remain inactive in the face of Gaza,” French President Emmanuel Macron said in his address.

“Some boast of a supposed peace, but this peace hasn’t reopened humanitarian routes for a single second,” he said, adding: “Must we stand by and watch this spectacle that shames us all?”

Macron, British Prime Minister Andy Burnham, his Canadian counterpart Mark Carney and Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud chaired a meeting at the UNGA on Palestinian statehood, which is being actively undermined by Israel. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government has accelerated construction of illegal settlements and provided impunity to settlers in the occupied territory.

At the same time, the US-led Board of Peace unveiled a 66-project reconstruction blueprint with proposed funding of $2.4bn for the Gaza Strip on the sidelines of the UNGA.

However, the board’s plan excludes the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), saying it has no role in the future of Gaza. The decision was described by Palestinian political analyst and playwright Ahmed Najar to Al Jazeera as aligned with Israeli efforts to “marginalise and ultimately dismantle the agency, removing it not only from Gaza’s present but from its future”.

Dozens of delegates left the hall in protest as Netanyahu delivered his speech, in which he declared that Israeli forces would continue fighting against Hamas and Iran.

Trump defends military action on Venezuela, Iran

In his address, Trump emphasised that while others spoke of peace, he “made peace”.

Trump defended his actions in abducting the then-Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in January and said, since his military operation, hundreds of political prisoners had been freed in the South American country and that Caracas had signed the largest oil deal in history last month, covering “65 billion barrels of oil, which will benefit both Venezuela and the United States enormously and help drive down the cost of energy all over the world”.

“It was perhaps the biggest deal ever made. To the victor belong the spoils – you’ve all heard that,” Trump boasted.

Trump reiterated that he would never allow Tehran to have nuclear weapons and that the 12-day war in July 2025 had “obliterated their nuclear programme beneath mountains of rubble” as the ongoing US-Israel war on Iran had sunk “159 ships of their navy” to the bottom of the sea.

“I have a big decision to make – will a deal be made with Iran that lets them rebuild and create a far greater country than it ever was before … or do I annihilate the Islamic Republic and do it quickly, never giving them a chance to kill and destroy people and countries again,” he said, adding: “I believe we make a deal right after the elections.”

Popular Iranian officials

During sideline talks and one-on-one meetings, Iranian officials were in demand.

In his speech to delegates, President Masoud Pezeshkian emphasised that Iran had only “defended ourselves” amid attacks on his country and killings of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, scientists and children.

“We are not terrorists, our innocent people have been the targets of cowardly attacks and aggressions imposed upon our country,” he said.

Pezeshkian added Iran would not accept that peaceful nuclear technology is held exclusively in the hands of a few countries.

“We will not bow our head and give up the right that is inherently ours,” he said.

Meanwhile, on the sidelines of the summit, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi met his counterparts from India, Qatar, Turkiye, Pakistan, Ukraine and other countries.

He also met US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner in a four-hour meeting mediated by Qatar.

AI dominance

World leaders used their time at the podium to call for a global approach to using AI as interest in the technology grows, but fears that it could escalate if unchecked are also growing.

In his address, Finnish President Alexander Stubb said AI was the “most consequential technology in the history of mankind”.

“It will impact science, the economy, politics, security, and the very essence of our humanity. Humans can and should be in the driver’s seat. We have a choice: we can compete, cooperate or slow down. For me, cooperation is the best way forward,” he said.

While discussions are moving away from a good-versus-bad dichotomy, officials disagreed on approaches.

While Guterres and the European Union called for safety standards and international rules, Trump said AI innovation should not be constrained by international regulation, adding that the US should control its AI sector.

Xi skips the UNGA

Chinese President Xi Jinping skipped the UNGA despite being in the US for a summit with Trump. He sent Vice President Han Zheng to attend.

Xi rarely attends the UNGA. He had sent Premier Li Qiang in his place last year. In 2024, Foreign Minister Wang Yi attended the annual gathering.

Without mentioning Iran in his address, Han reiterated Beijing’s position that “sovereignty and security of countries in the Middle East, including the Gulf, should be respected”.

“China calls for advancing the governance of the West Bank and the post-conflict reconstruction of Gaza in accordance with the principle of the Palestinians governing Palestine. It also calls for bringing the Palestinian question back onto the right track of the two-state solution at an early date,” he said.

Han also called for a “people-centred approach and develop AI for the positive and for good, narrow the digital divide, and promote development that is universally beneficial”.