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AUSTIN, Texas — Denis Bouanga had two goals and an assist on Sunday night to help LAFC beat Austin FC 4-1 and sweep the best-of-three series in the first round of the MLS Cup playoffs.

LAFC, which won Game 1 2-1, plays at second-seeded Vancouver in the one-game Western Conference semifinals.

Son Heung-min added a goal and an assist for No. 3 seed LAFC. Jeremy Ebobisse replaced Son in the 88th minute and capped the scoring in the third minute of stoppage time.

Son, on the counter-attack, hesitated to freeze defender Ilie Sánchez at the top of the area and then exploded toward the left end line and blasted a shot from the corner of the six-yard box inside the back post to open the scoring in the 21st. About four minutes later, Son fed Bouanga for a finish — the 30-year-old’s 100th goal across all competitions for LAFC — into a wide-open net to make it 2-0.

Bouanga cut inside to evade defender Brendan Hines-Ike — who fell to the ground — and then flicked a shot into the net from the left center of the area in the 44th minute.

Bouanga is the only active player — and is one of just nine in history — with at least 10 career goals in the MLS Cup playoffs.

LAFC’s Hugo Lloris — who was second in MLS with 12 shutouts in the regular season — had three saves, including a diving stop on a penalty kick by Myrto Uzuni in the 39th minute after a hand ball in the area by Bouanga.

Ryan Porteous was shown a yellow card for a foul in the area and Dani Pereira converted from the spot in the sixth minute of stoppage time to make it 3-1 at halftime.

CJ Fodrey appeared to have cut sixth-seeded Austin’s deficit to 3-2 in the 71st minute but an offsides call nullified the would-be goal.

India is celebrating after winning a first women’s World Cup title, drawing comparisons to the men’s memorable 1983 triumph.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi led the tributes to India’s women cricketers following their “historic” triumph in the World Cup final on Sunday, while team captain Harmanpreet Kaur hoped it would be a watershed moment for the women’s game in the country.

After suffering heartbreak in the final of the 2005 and 2017 editions of the 50-overs showpiece, India beat South Africa by 52 runs to secure their first title in front of 40,000 delirious home fans at Navi Mumbai’s DY Patil Stadium.

Three defeats in a row earlier in the tournament had nearly derailed India’s campaign before they bounced back to storm into the semifinals, where they pulled off a record chase to eliminate seven-time champions Australia.

‘Dream big and chase those dreams’

“The team showed exceptional teamwork and tenacity throughout the tournament. Congratulations to our players,” Prime Minister Modi said on social media. “This historic win will motivate future champions to take up sports.”

The Indian cricket board announced the team would receive a reward of 510 million Indian rupees ($5.8m) for their title triumph, a victory which the Indian Express newspaper termed “Herstoric” on its front page.

Harmanpreet said it could be a turning point for the women’s game in the cricket-mad country.

“We have been talking about this for many years – we’ve been playing good cricket, but we had to win one big tournament,” the batter said.

“Without that, we couldn’t talk about change. At the end of the day, fans and the audience want to see their favourite team win.

“It’s not that we weren’t playing good cricket, but we were waiting badly for this moment, and today we got a chance to live it.”

The fairytale triumph of the Indian men’s team at the 1983 World Cup is considered the catalyst for the country’s rise to becoming a powerhouse of the game, both on and off the pitch, and batting great Sachin Tendulkar said Sunday’s win was “a defining moment in the journey of Indian women’s cricket”.

“1983 inspired an entire generation to dream big and chase those dreams,” he wrote on social media.

“Today, our women’s cricket team has done something truly special. They have inspired countless young girls across the country to pick up a bat and ball, take the field and believe that they too can lift that trophy one day …”

Mithali Raj, who led India to the 2017 women’s final, said the victory for Harmanpreet’s side had made her dreams come true.

“I’ve seen this dream for over two decades, to watch the Indian women lift that World Cup trophy,” she wrote on X.

“Tonight, that dream finally came true. From the heartbreak of 2005 to the fight of 2017, every tear, every sacrifice, every young girl who picked up a bat believing we belong here, it all led to this moment.”

A spectacular win by the Indian team in the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025 Finals. Their performance in the final was marked by great skill and confidence. The team showed exceptional teamwork and tenacity throughout the tournament. Congratulations to our players. This…

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) November 2, 2025

Two days ago, Shohei Ohtani rolled into Dodger Stadium as a man on a mission.

After struggling for the previous couple weeks — mired in a postseason slump that had raised questions about everything from his out-of-sync swing mechanics to the physical toll of his two-way duties — the soon-to-be four-time MVP decided it was time to change something up.

Over the previous seven games, going back to the start of the National League Division Series, the $700-million man had looked nothing like himself. Ohtani had two hits in 25 at-bats. He’d recorded 12 strikeouts and plenty more puzzling swing decisions. And he seemed, in the estimation of some around the team, unusually perturbed as public criticisms of his play started to mount.

So, during the team’s off-day workout Wednesday at Dodger Stadium, ahead of Game 3 of the NL Championship Series, Ohtani informed the club’s hitting coaches he wanted to take batting practice on the field.

It was a change from his normal routine — and signaled his growing urgency to get back on track.

“If this was a regular-season situation and you’re looking at an expanse of small sample — eight, nine games, whatever it might be — he probably wouldn’t be out on the field,” manager Dave Roberts said later.

But “with the urgency [of] the postseason,” the manager continued, Ohtani “wanted to make an adjustment on his own.”

Whatever Ohtani found that day, evidently (and resoundingly) clicked. He led off Game 3 with a triple. He entered Game 4 looking more comfortable with his swing. And then, in one of the incredible individual displays ever witnessed in playoff history, he lifted the Dodgers straight into the World Series.

In a 5-1 defeat of the Milwaukee Brewers that completed an NLCS sweep and gave the Dodgers their 26th pennant in franchise history, Ohtani hit three home runs as a hitter, and struck out 10 batters over six-plus scoreless innings as a pitcher.

Shohei Ohtani pitches during Game 4 of the NLCS against the Brewers. Ohtani struck out 10 over six scoreless innings for the Dodgers.

(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

He made his previously disappointing playoffs a suddenly forgotten memory, earning NLCS MVP honors and to the astonished amazement of all 52,883 in attendance.

And he delivered the kind of game the baseball world dreamed about when the two-way phenom first arrived from Japan, fulfilling the prophecy that accompanied him as a near-mythical prospect eight years earlier.

Back then, Ohtani’s 100-mph fastball and wicked off-speed repertoire had tantalized evaluators. His majestic left-handed swing had tortured pitchers in his home country.

Not since Babe Ruth had the sport seen anything like him.

There were some early growing pains (and injuries) during his transition to the majors. But over the last five years, he blossomed in the game’s definitive face.

A look at the three home runs Shohei Ohtani hit in Game 4 of the NLCS on Friday.

All that had been missing, in a resume chock full of MVPs and All-Star selections and unthinkable records even “The Great Bambino” never produced, was a signature performance in October. A game in which he dominated on the mound, thrilled at the plate, and single-handedly transformed a game on the sport’s biggest stage.

During that Wednesday workout this week, Ohtani got himself ready for one, stepping into the cage during his on-field batting practice — as his walk-up song played through the stadium speakers and teammates gathered near the dugout in curious anticipation — and swatting one home run after another, including one that soared to the roof of the right-field pavilion.

On Friday, in an almost unimaginable showcase of his unprecedented talents, he managed to do exactly the same thing.

After stranding a leadoff walk in the top of the first with three-straight strikeouts, Ohtani switched from pitcher to hitter and unleashed a hellacious swing. Brewers starter José Quintana left him an inside slurve. Ohtani turned it into the first leadoff home run ever by a pitcher (in the regular season or playoffs). The ball traveled 446 feet. It landed high up the right-field stands.

Three more scoreless innings of pitching work later, Ohtani came back to the plate and hit his second home run of the night even farther. In a swing almost identical to his titanic BP drive two days prior, he launched a ball that darn near clipped the pavilion roof again, a 469-foot moonshot that landed in the concourse above the seats in right.

Somehow, there was still plenty more to come.

With the Dodgers up 4-0 at that point, Ohtani then did his best work as a pitcher, following up two strikeouts that stranded a leadoff double in the fourth — and had him excitedly fist-pumping off the mound — with two more in both the fifth and the sixth.

His fastball was humming up to triple-digits. His sweeper and cutter were keeping the Brewers off balance. His splitter wasn’t touched once any of the five times they tried to swing at it.

Shohei Ohtani runs the bases after hitting his third home run of the game against the Brewers in Game 4 of the NLCS at Dodger Stadium on Friday night.

(Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)

Anything he did immediately became magic.

Ohtani’s loudest roar came in the bottom of the seventh, after his pitching start had ended on a walk and a single led off the top half of the inning.

For the third time, he flung his bat at a pitch over the plate. He sent a fly ball sailing deep in a mild autumn night. He rounded the bases as landed beyond the center field fence.

Three home runs. Six immaculate innings. A tour de force that sent the Dodgers to the World Series.

All of it, just two days removed from Ohtani being seemingly at his lowest.

All of it, when the baseball world was most closely watching.

Dodgers players and coaches celebrate after sweeping the Milwaukee Brewers in the NLCS at Dodger Stadium on Friday night.

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

After starting with four pars, Lowry – who is without an individual victory since September 2022 – carded back-to-back birdies at the fifth and sixth holes.

The former Open champion vaulted into a share of the lead with a run of five straight birdies from the par-four 11th before picking up a shot at the last to edge ahead of Nakajima.

“It’s not that hard when you hit it in play out there, but you start missing fairways it becomes quite tricky, so I’m happy with that,” said Lowry.

He added: “You need to shape it around the course, hit it in position off the tee and it’s all about your iron play. That’s one of my strengths and I took advantage of that today and managed to roll a few putts in on the back nine, which was nice.”

Lowry added there was a “little bit” of Ryder Cup chat with playing partners Fleetwood and Donald.

“We could hear the horns from the road, it was not as off-putting as the Bethpage [Black] crowd,” he said with a smile, referring to the hostile New York fans at last month’s Ryder Cup.

Fleetwood mixed four birdies, an eagle and two bogeys to sit four shots back.

Donald, who is playing his first tournament since his second Ryder Cup success as captain, carded five birdies and a bogey to match fellow Englishman Fleetwood and 2023 Open champion Brian Harman.

Playing with McIlroy, US Ryder Cup player Ben Griffin opened with a 68 while McIlroy’s European team-mate Viktor Hovland signed for a 71.

During a 19-year playing career that yielded 123 bookings and 12 red cards, Muscat was once branded the “most hated man in football”.

Post-retirement, he revealed, external former Rangers manager Alex McLeish did not trust him to play in an Old Firm derby during his brief spell at Ibrox.

It is to the Australian’s credit that he has since gone on to somewhat shake off his hot-head image in an impressive 13 years in management.

His glowing CV attracted Rangers two years ago, but he reportedly missed out on the job when the club opted for Philippe Clement instead.

At that time, former Rangers team-mate Neil McCann told BBC Scotland that the Ibrox side would be getting someone with “presence” who “understands the league, the intensity, the rivalry and how to get the job done”.

Muscat was then first-team boss at Yokohama F Marinos, where he won 2022 J-League after taking over from Ange Postecoglou following his exit for Celtic.

He also succeeded Postecoglou at Melbourne Victory after a period working under the current Nottingham Forest head coach.

It was in Melbourne where Muscat’s managerial career began, winning the A-League Championship twice in five-and-a-half years before his move to Japan.

Runners-up spots in the J-League in 2021 and 2023 bookended his 2022 triumph in Yokohama.

Muscat became a title winner in a third different country last year in China, and he is on the verge of another with just four games remaining as his side sit top with a two-point lead.

Across his managerial tenures in Australia, Japan and China, his win rate stands at 54%, with his teams scoring an average of 1.9 goals per game while conceding 1.2.

His Shanghai Port side scored 96 times in a 30-game league-winning campaign last year.

Those numbers suggest this is a coach who can win while implementing a front-foot approach. How that translates to Scottish football is unclear, though.

India wasted little time in completing a clean sweep over West Indies to give Shubman Gill his first Test series win as captain.

Opener KL Rahul hit an unbeaten half-century as India sealed a seven-wicket win on the fifth morning in Delhi.

It keeps the hosts third in the early stages of the World Test Championship (WTC) standings,, external behind Australia and Sri Lanka.

The win was set up by centuries in the first innings by Yashasvi Jaiswal (175) and Gill (129*).

West Indies were bundled out for 248 in reply but did manage to fight back and make India bat again with a better second-innings showing.

John Campbell and Shai Hope hit dogged centuries, taking the tourists to 271-3 before Hope was bowled by Mohammed Siraj and the middle order collapsed.

Six wickets fell for 40 runs, before some late hitting by number 11 Jayden Seales added enough runs to give India a chase of sorts.

However, the hosts were always going to win once Rahul and Sai Sudharsan, who added 39 to his first-innings 87, put on 79 for the second wicket.

India’s next assignment is a white-ball tour of Australia, which will be broadcast ball by ball on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra, before they welcome South Africa for a two-Test series.

West Indies begin a tour of New Zealand on 5 November. They are sixth in the WTC standings, with New Zealand, Pakistan and South Africa only below them because they are yet to complete a Test in this latest cycle.

Hope for peace

TODAY marks the dawn of a new era of hope for the Middle East.

As US Vice-President JD Vance said yesterday, a truce brokered by Donald Trump has brought the region to “the cusp of true peace”.

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While other world leaders postured and bewailed, the US President used his extraordinary power of persuasion to force Hamas and Israel to strike a deal to end two years of bloodshed.

It means thousands of Palestinians will return to what is left of their homes and get the food and medical aid they need, and Israelis can welcome back loved ones taken hostage during the terrorist massacre which started the conflict.

The 19th Century German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck once said that politics is “the art of the possible”.

But hard-nosed businessman President Trump has proved it can also be “the art of the deal”.

The path to lasting peace is still littered with pitfalls.

Hamas must be made to disarm and Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu will have to be persuaded to drop his opposition to a future, self-ruling Palestinian state.

More tears will be shed in the days to come.

Much trauma awaits Israeli families whose loved ones return alive but emaciated or, tragically, in body bags.

There will also be anger if terrorist killers are freed as part of the deal.

Yet despite these hurdles, this is the brightest glimmer of hope the region has seen in a generation.

And if, one day, it leads to a lasting peace, the whole world will rejoice.

Win for justice

THE phrase “justice must be seen to be done” is as relevant today as when it was first uttered in court a century ago.

That is why The Sun challenged an order banning a child rapist from being identified as an asylum seeker.

In a shocking example of two-tier justice, both the prosecution and the offender’s lawyer had opposed our attempt to report his status.

But this newspaper chalked up a landmark victory for open justice and Press freedom by fighting to have the order overturned.

Judge Maria Lamb gave an instant ruling that we were right.

The jury took just two-and-a-half hours to convict the serial offender.

A double triumph for common sense.

Silly Mili

ED Miliband’s fixation with Net Zero gets more desperate and costly by the day.

The Energy Secretary is targeting well-off families with £7,500 “bribes” to fit green heat pump systems most of us can’t afford.

His barmy campaign confirms what we already knew about Mr Miliband’s obsession with meeting unrealistic carbon emission targets.

It’s a waste of money — and he is a waste of space.

PHOENIX — A’ja Wilson scored 31 points, Chelsea Gray and Jackie Young both added 18 and the Las Vegas Aces won their third WNBA championship in four seasons, beating the Phoenix Mercury 97-86 on Friday night for a four-game sweep of the Finals.

The Aces made quick work of the league’s first best-of-seven Finals. It was another offensive onslaught from Las Vegas, which scored 54 points in the first half and averaged more than 90 points per game in the series.

Wilson — honored as the Finals MVP — was in the middle of the action once again even if she didn’t have the best shooting night. The four-time regular-season MVP finished seven of 21 from the field, but made 17 of 19 free throws. Gray made four three-pointers, including two in the fourth quarter to help turn back a final rally by the Mercury.

The Aces were presented the championship trophy by embattled WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert, who was greeted with boos from the sizable contingent of Las Vegas fans who made the trip to Phoenix.

The Aces led 76-62 going into the fourth quarter, but the Mercury went on an 8-0 run early that cut the deficit to 76-70 with 7:56 left. That was as close as they would get.

Kahleah Copper led the Mercury with 30 points, shooting 12 of 22 from the field. Alyssa Thomas had 17 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists.

Mercury coach Nate Tibbetts was ejected in the third quarter after receiving two quick technical fouls from official Gina Cross. Tibbetts was arguing a foul call against Mercury guard Monique Akoa Makani, and reacted in disbelief as he was escorted off the court.

DeWanna Bonner and Copper also got called for technical fouls in the fourth quarter.

The Aces never trailed in the series clincher, building a 30-21 lead by the end of the first quarter on 55% shooting. Jewell Loyd, Gray and Dana Evans made three straight threes early in the second quarter to put Las Vegas ahead by 19.

Las Vegas settled for a 54-38 halftime advantage. Wilson had 14 points before the break while Gray added 10.

The Mercury were without forward Satou Sabally, who suffered a concussion near the end of Game 3. They suffered another injury blow on Friday when Thomas had to leave just before halftime after taking a hard hit to her right shoulder on a screen from Loyd.

Thomas returned for the second half but was hampered by the injury.

The Mercury enjoyed a deep playoff run under Tibbetts, but couldn’t find a way to slow down the Aces. Phoenix made it to the finals after beating the defending champion New York Liberty in the opening round and knocking off the top-seeded Minnesota Lynx in the semifinals.

Phoenix lost in the WNBA Finals for the second time in five years, also falling to the Chicago Sky in 2021. The Mercury have won three championships, with the last coming in 2014.

With back-to-back wins over Palos Verdes and Inglewood, Leuzinger High’s football team has vaulted to the top of the Bay League hierarchy.

On Thursday night, despite losing quarterback Russell Sekona to a fractured hand in the second quarter, Leuzinger (5-0, 2-0) relied on its defense and the play of running back-turned-quarterback Journee Tonga to come away with a 40-14 victory over Palos Verdes at SoFi Stadium.

Tonga contributed touchdown runs of 14 and 21 yards on option plays. Then Leuzinger’s speed back, Kelton Strickland, ran 84 yards for a touchdown late in the third quarter. And Tonga added a 61-yard touchdown pass. All this came with Palos Verdes (4-3, 1-1) thinking the 5-foot-8 Tonga wasn’t going to be much of passing threat. Aided by his offensive line, Tonga found holes in the Sea Kings’ defense.

The Olympians’ defense frustrated Palos Verdes quarterback Ryan Rakowski, who was ejected with 11:41 left after getting into a squabble with Leuzinger linebacker Samu Moala. The game was delayed as the officials talked to both coaches trying to determine ejections. Moala was ejected along with two teammates.

“High emotion,” Moala said. “Lesson learned.”

Those ejected can be sidelined for one to three games depending on the officials’ report.

Rakowski had 12 yards passing at halftime and finished with 87 yards.

Palos Verdes made a brief rally in the fourth quarter, recovering an onside kick, recovering another fumble and closing to 27-14 on two touchdown passes by senior quarterback Giorgio Di Mascio. But Pakipole Moala clinched Leuzinger’s victory with a 100-yard interception return for a touchdown. Then Tonga added his third rushing touchdown of the night.

Some 8% of adults surveyed said they use the technology to give them ideas for where to go on holiday, up from 4% a year earlier, a poll suggests

Double the number of people are turning to artificial intelligence (AI) for holiday planning inspiration compared to last year, fresh research reveals.

Travel industry body Abta, which commissioned the study, branded the technology a “creative co-pilot” that holidaymakers can utilise to research, plan and book their getaways. Around 8% of participants in a survey of 2,001 UK adults carried out in July admitted they use AI to spark ideas for their holiday destinations.

This marks a rise from 4% twelve months ago. Abta’s director of communications Graeme Buck suggested there is “a potential for this acceleration” to persist, stating: “I wouldn’t be surprised if that 8% becomes 16% next year.”

The most recent findings showed that those aged 25-34 are most inclined to harness the technology for holiday brainstorming, with 18% of participants in this age bracket confirming they do so.

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This was followed by 35 to 44 year olds (14%). Among those 65 and over, the proportion dropped to merely 1%.

AI travel applications encompass services including chatbots and resources for translation and itinerary creation.

More than two in five (43%) survey participants indicated they would feel somewhat confident using AI to organise a holiday, though this fell to 38% when it came to actually making reservations.

Steve Heapy, CEO of Jet2, addressed travel industry leaders at Abta’s annual convention in Calvia, Spain, stating that technology like AI will “continue to become a bigger part of what customers do before they book”.

He added: “We’re all going to have to work harder to justify the margin that we want to earn by demonstrating superior knowledge of the product and providing that anticipation and excitement.”

Neil Swanson, UK managing director of Tui, forecasted that AI will “completely transform” the travel industry, but many customers will still prefer to book their trips through human travel agents.

He said: “That is not going away anytime soon, in my view, because of that group of customers who value that. They use the technology a lot of those customers, but they still want to go in and look someone in the eye when they’re booking something. They value that trust element.”

Abta CEO Mark Tanzer said: “The challenge is to harness the potential which AI has to support our businesses, while continuing to celebrate and champion the value of the personal touch and expertise which comes with booking with a travel agent or tour operator.”

Kevin Sinfield, who was awarded a CBE for his services to the motor neurone disease community after his friend Burrow’s diagnosis inspired him to raise more than £10m to fund research and awareness, sent Moody a message of support and made a fresh vow to tackle the disease.

“I’m obviously very saddened by the news,” said Sinfield, who is the skills and kicking coach for the England national team. “I’d like to wish Lewis, and all his family and friends, the very best.

“I’ll support in any way I can. We have to keep fighting MND [motor neurone disease] together.”

Andrea Pinchen, CEO at Leicester Tigers where Moody made 223 appearances, winning seven English titles and two European crowns over 14 years, also paid tribute to Moody as a person, as well as a player.

“The figures, trophies and awards tell you what an incredible player Lewis was, but that is only half the story,” said Pinchen.

“One minute he’s parading around with the World Cup trophy and the following Friday he’d be in the ticket office where I worked, answering the phone to supporters if we were really busy and helping sell tickets.

“As an individual, his commitment to his club along with his warmth and passion shone through, which endeared him to team-mates, staff and supporters alike.

“Always looking to help others, Lewis together with his wife Annie have worked tirelessly through the Lewis Moody Foundation, supporting research into brain tumours and helping affected families.

“He absolutely threw himself in. It was very much lead by example. He would never ask somebody to do something he wouldn’t do himself. He is utterly fearless.”

Football’s Leicester City added their support, describing Moody as “a sporting great of our city”., external

LAS VEGAS — A’ja Wilson and Dana Evans each scored 21 points, and the Las Vegas Aces beat the Phoenix Mercury 89-86 in Game 1 of the WNBA Finals on Friday night.

Wilson scored 12 of her points over the final 14 minutes, and Phoenix’s Satou Sabally missed a long 3-pointer with 2 seconds left that would have tied it.

Game 2 is Sunday in Las Vegas.

Evans led an Aces bench that outscored the Mercury’s reserves 41-16. Reserve Jewell Loyd scored 18 points for second-seeded Las Vegas, and starter Jackie Young had 10. Wilson had 10 rebounds, and Chelsea Gray had 10 assists.

Kahleah Cooper scored 21 points for the fourth-seeded Mercury. Sabally added 19 points and Alyssa Thomas had 15 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists.

Copper scored 19 points in the first half, one off her playoff career high for a half. Her personal best also came against the Mercury, when she scored 20 points for Chicago in the first half of Game 3 of the 2021 Finals. Copper’s five 3-pointers in the first half topped her previous high of four for a game.

If this game was any indication, these Finals — a best-of-seven series for the first time — figure to be tight throughout. The largest lead was nine points, and there were 12 lead changes and nine ties.

The Mercury threatened to take control several times, only for the Aces to respond with a run. In the end, it was Las Vegas that nearly pulled away, only for Phoenix to keep it close.

With Phoenix Down a point with 24.6 seconds left, Thomas went to the free-throw line but missed both. Young was fouled on the other end with 13.5 seconds remaining and made both free throws for the final margin.

West Jerusalem, Israel – Two blocks from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s residence in West Jerusalem, where Balfour and Gaza Streets meet behind layers of steel barricades and weekly pro-hostage rallies, a tiny cornerside cafe, oddly unnamed and half-hidden, buzzed with mid-morning chatter.

As phones lit up with news that United Kingdom Prime Minister Keir Starmer had announced formal recognition of a Palestinian state, a few patrons looked up, while others shrugged.

“Of course I’m angry,” said Shira Hazan, 55, a shop owner and longtime supporter of Netanyahu’s Likud party. “But what changes? Britain doesn’t bury our soldiers. It’s just politics while Iran is shooting at us.”

A man sitting next to her, like most of those at the cafe, waved the headline off with a flick of the hand, treating it as little more than background noise.

“It’s colonial arrogance, nothing less,” he said, wearing a knitted kippah and barely looking up as be scrolled through his phone.

But the UK’s recognition of Palestine, while not a United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) vote like Israel’s in 1948, could still set off a wave. The decision marks the first time a major Western power that once held the Mandate for Palestine – given to Britain by the UN predecessor, The League of Nations, after the end of World War I to administer what is today the area that includes Gaza, the West Bank and Israel – has formally recognised Palestinian statehood.

Australia and Canada have also issued recognitions in what appeared to be a coordinated move, piling pressure on Israel and placing the three countries at odds with the United States.

The announcement comes shortly before a special summit on the war in Gaza, to be held by the UNGA on Monday. The gathering is part of a diplomatic initiative led by France and Saudi Arabia to revive the two-state solution as the only viable path to ending the decades-long conflict in the region.

Several countries, including France, Belgium, Luxembourg and Malta, have said they will join the more than 145 UN members that already recognise a Palestinian state.

Political push back

Though anticipated for some time now, the statehood declaration set off an immediate and forceful backlash, with leaders across Israel’s divided political establishment and segments of the public urging swift and sweeping retaliation.

Within hours, far-right Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said he would push for an immediate annexation of the occupied West Bank, describing the recognition as “a prize for the murderous Nukhba terrorists”, a reference to the Hamas unit that led the October 7, 2023, assault in southern Israel.

He pledged “the complete dismantling of the ‘Palestinian’ Authority” and added that he intended to “submit a proposal for the application of sovereignty at the upcoming cabinet meeting”.

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum – a group that campaigns for the safe return of captives taken to Gaza during the 2023 attack on Israel, which has camped out for more than 740 days outside Netanyahu’s home in Tel Aviv – condemned what it called “the unconditional recognition of a Palestinian state while turning a blind eye to the fact that 48 hostages remain in Hamas captivity”.

The outcry extended to the opposition. Benny Gantz, the centrist former defence minister and a leading Netanyahu rival, warned that the move would only harden Hamas’s grip and complicate efforts to free the captives held in Gaza.

“Recognising a Palestinian state after October 7 ultimately only emboldens Hamas, extends the war, distances the prospects of a hostage deal, and sends a clear message of support to Iran and its proxies,” Gantz said. In an English-language post on X directed at Western capitals, he added: “If advancing peace & stability in the Middle East is what you seek, dear Western Leaders – and not buckling to domestic political pressure, then maximum pressure must be applied to Hamas to relinquish power and return the hostages before anything else.”

One of the lone voices calling Starmer’s recognition “a step in the right direction” is left-wing Israeli parliamentarian Ofer Cassif. He told Al Jazeera that the Israeli government treats recognition as “a win-lose game”, when in reality, it could be a win for all sides.

In January 2024, Cassif signed a petition supporting South Africa’s genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice, prompting efforts to expel him from the Knesset on the grounds of supporting armed struggle. He was eventually suspended for six months.

“Recognition is a crucial first step toward a just peace, and all other countries that have not yet done so should follow suit,” Cassif told Al Jazeera. “But it must not become an end goal by itself. A complete arms embargo on Israel must follow, until the government of death and destruction ends the genocide in Gaza and dismantles the illegal occupation of the Palestinian territories.”

Asked about further UN actions, he said that he would “absolutely” support a peacekeeping force and reactivating anti-apartheid mechanisms used in South Africa, which included weapons and oil embargoes, among other moves.

‘The absolute worst moment’

Noam Achimeir, 29, a PhD candidate at Jerusalem’s Hebrew University who described himself as left-leaning, took issue with the timing of the Palestinian statehood announcements.

“Look, I believe in two states, I’ve marched for peace; I’ve argued with my parents about the occupation for years. But this?” Achimeir said. “This is the absolute worst moment. We’re under missile fire, families are hiding in shelters, and people are still held hostage. When countries make a grand gesture right now, it feels like rewarding the people doing that to us.”

However, he also argued that Israel cannot “control millions of Palestinians forever”.

“Maybe it’s symbolic. But symbols matter,” he told Al Jazeera. “If Britain recognises Palestine, maybe it forces us to admit this conflict won’t just vanish.”

Eliyahu Korenman, 42, a religious Zionist from the illegal settlement of Shilo north of Jerusalem who said he backed Ben-Gvir at the last election, said that London’s decision “tells Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran to keep firing rockets, holding hostages, killing Jews – and the world will reward you”.

“Every Israeli knows Palestine is just another word for surrender,” Korenman said. “If anything, the timing proves we were right all along. The only way forward is to hold on tighter, to build more, to show the world we don’t need their approval. The world doesn’t understand that.”

Yael Ben Eshel, 27, a veterinary apprentice from West Jerusalem who voted for Netanyahu’s Likud, was also dismissive.

“Honestly? Who cares? Britain hasn’t mattered here in decades. They can recognise Palestine, they can recognise the moon, it changes nothing on the ground,” she told Al Jazeera. “We don’t wake up tomorrow and give up land because of what they say.

“It’s for their politics, for the immigrants and the refugees, so forgive me if I don’t get worked up about a British speech,” Ben Eshel added, echoing Netanyahu’s comments last week on Israel’s increased international isolation, which the prime minister blamed in part on Muslim minorities in the West, rather than Israel’s killing of more than 65,000 Palestinians in Gaza.

‘Britain cannot wash its hands of history’

The announcement lands amid a tense military escalation, where the Israeli army recently deployed a third division into Gaza City as part of an operation dubbed “Gideon’s Chariots B”, expanding a months-long offensive in the enclave that has killed hundreds in an area where famine has also been declared.

It also followed a drumbeat of moves by Israel’s hard-right government aimed at forestalling Palestinian statehood. Minister of Finance Bezalel Smotrich last week unveiled a proposal to annex 82 percent of the occupied West Bank, an idea he framed as a permanent bulwark against a two-state solution.

Meanwhile, Netanyahu signed a controversial settlement expansion agreement this month, reiterating his long-held rejection of a Palestinian state and declaring that “there will be no Palestinian state; this place belongs to us”.

“Britain set the stage. First, it promised Arabs freedom if they fought the Ottomans, then, secretly carved up the region in Sykes-Picot [treaty]. It told Jews one thing in the Balfour Declaration and told Arabs another,” Achimeir said, in criticism of the UK’s policy in the aftermath of World War I.

Daniel Darby, 51, an anti-Zionist from Pardes Hanna, north of Tel Aviv, agreed, stating that London’s recognition of a Palestinian state today is “an empty, symbolic gesture that will not change a thing for the people in the occupied West Bank and for the people who are now suffering horrific genocide in Gaza”.

“The UK, which together with other European imperialistic forces is responsible for the creation of the Zionist state, is now even more fully responsible for the horrific acts taking place in occupied Palestine by supplying reconnaissance, intelligence, and all kinds of military support for Israel,” Darby said.

He added that recognition alone is meaningless without real consequences.

“The UK will not clear its past and its responsibility unless it takes action now, with a full weapons embargo and full sanctions on the state of Israel.”

This article is published in collaboration with Egab.

The 26th Annual Latin Grammy Awards, which are heading back to Las Vegas after a three-year hiatus, now have their nominees set in stone.

This year’s list of top nominees include Bad Bunny (12), Edgar Barrera (10), Ca7riel & Paco Amoroso (10), Rafa Arcaute (eight), Natalia Lafourcade (eight) and Federico Vindver (eight).

The awards show will be held Nov. 13 in Las Vegas’ MGM Grand Garden Arena, and broadcast live on Univision.

Bad Bunny’s 12 nominations this year will bring his total career nods to 52. With her eight nominations this year, Lafourcade looks to bolster her collection of 18 trophies from the awards show — the most wins for any female artist.

Nabbing eight more nominations, Edgar Barrera continues to pad his stats as the awards show’s most nominated person of all time with 72 nods, along with 24 wins. Spanish artist Alejandro Sanz received four nods this year, which brings his career total to 51.

November’s show will be the debut of the new Visual Media field and its new category, Music For Visual Media, which will honor scores for film and television. Also added to this year’s awards is the category for Best Roots Song.

Several notable first-time nominees — whom De Los has previously profiled — are up for some of the biggest awards of the night, including Fuerza Regida, Ca7riel & Paco Amoroso, Ivan Cornejo and Judeline.

Here’s the list of nominees in all general categories:

Record Of The Year

“Baile Inolvidable” — Bad Bunny

“DtMF” — Bad Bunny

“El Día Del Amigo” — Ca7riel & Paco Amoroso

“#Tetas” — Ca7riel & Paco Amoroso

“Desastres Fabulosos” — Jorge Drexler & Conociendo Rusia

“Lara” — Zoe Gotusso

“Si Antes Te Hubiera Conocido” — Karol G

“Cancionera” — Natalia Lafourcade

“Ao Teu Lado” — Liniker

“Palmeras En El Jardín” — Alejandro Sanz

Album Of The Year

“Cosa Nuestra” — Rauw Alejandro

“Debí Tirar Más Fotos” — Bad Bunny

“Papota” — Ca7riel & Paco Amoroso

“Raíces” — Gloria Estefan

“Puñito De Yocahú” — Vicente García

“al romper la burbuja” — Joaquina

“Cancionera” — Natalia Lafourcade

“Palabra De To’s (Seca)” — Carín León

“Caju” — Liniker

“En Las Nubes – Con Mis Panas” — Elena Rose

“¿Y Ahora Qué?” — Alejandro Sanz

Song Of The Year

“Baile Inolvidable” — Marco Daniel Borrero, Antonio Caraballo, Kaled Elikai Rivera Cordova, Julio Gaston, Armando Josue Lopez, Jay Anthony Nuñez, Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio and Roberto Jose Rosado Torres, songwriters (Bad Bunny)

“Bogotá” — Andres Cepeda, Mauricio Rengifo and Andres Torres, songwriters (Andrés Cepeda)

“Cancionera” — Natalia Lafourcade, songwriter (Natalia Lafourcade)

“DtMF” — Bad Bunny, Marco Daniel Borrero, Scott Dittrich, Benjamin Falik, Roberto José Rosado Torres, Hugo René Sención Sanabria and Tyler Spry, songwriters (Bad Bunny)

“El Día Del Amigo” — Rafa Arcaute, Gino Borri, Catriel Guerreiro, Ulises Guerriero, Amanda Ibanez, Vicente Jiménez and Federico Vindver, songwriters (Ca7riel & Paco Amoroso)

“Otra Noche De Llorar” — Mon Laferte, songwriter (Mon Laferte)

“Palmeras En El Jardín” — Manuel Lorente Freire, Luis Miguel Gómez Castaño, Elena Rose and Alejandro Sanz, songwriters (Alejandro Sanz)

“Si Antes Te Hubiera Conocido” — Edgar Barrera, Andres Jael Correa Rios and Karol G, songwriters (Karol G)

“#Tetas” — Rafa Arcaute, Gino Borri, Ca7riel, Gale, Ulises Guerriero, Vicente Jiménez and Federico Vindver, songwriters (Ca7riel & Paco Amoroso)

“Veludo Marrom” — Liniker, songwriter (Liniker)

Best New Artist

Alleh

Annasofia

Yerai Cortés

Juliane Gamboa

Camila Guevara

Isadora

Alex Luna

Paloma Morphy

Sued Nunes

Ruzzi

A full list of all the nominees in every category can be found here.

American Ben Griffin warmed up for the Ryder Cup by moving into a three-shot lead at the end of the second round of the Procore Championship.

Griffin, who is part of a 12-strong United States team to play the Ryder Cup from 26-28 September in New York, shot a second round 66 in Napa, California.

The 29-year-old sank six birdies without dropping a shot as he moved to 14 under.

“I’ve been pretty focused on this golf tournament,” said Griffin, who was a captain’s pick by US Ryder Cup skipper Keegan Bradley and will be making his debut in the event.

“Without a doubt, off the golf course hanging out with the guys and stuff, there’s been some Ryder Cup presence. But once I get on the first tee, I’m thinking I’m trying to play well here.

“This week I’m trying to literally do the same stuff I’m doing. I’m trying to stay confident, stay motivated and keep the pedal down.”

China, through its Belt and Road Initiative, is playing a role in promoting “global prosperity,” as this is the shared goal of the Global South. During the United Nations’ celebration of Global South Day on September 12, 2025, China calls on countries of the Global South to actively participate in and lead the reform of the global economic governance system, which will further unite developing countries and make them companions on the path to development and recovery. Under the leadership of President Xi Jinping, China also supports civilizational dialogue and harmony with diversity among various developing countries of the Global South under the umbrella of China’s Belt and Road Initiative, as this represents the true nature of the world pursued by the Global South. China proposed “enhancing communication and dialogue and supporting each other in taking a modernization path appropriate to national conditions.” China also announced that it would take the lead in establishing a “Think Tank Cooperation Alliance for the Global South,” which will inject new impetus into mutual learning among the world’s civilizations.

  Chinese President Xi Jinping affirmed, while delivering a speech at the “BRICS Plus Leaders’ Dialogue” on October 24, 2024, that “China will take the lead in establishing a (collaborative alliance of think tanks in the Global South). In this context, the Chinese capital, Beijing, hosted the “Conference of Think Tanks of the Global South” on October 21, 2024. Representatives from more than 70 countries from the Global South participated in the conference, which was held under the theme of “Peace, Development, and Security.”

  China positions the Belt and Road Initiative as a key platform for South-South cooperation. From an academic standpoint, I can classify the BRI as South-South cooperation, triangular cooperation, and a hybrid paradigm for many reasons. From my academic perspective, as an internationally renowned Egyptian expert on Chinese politics and the policies of the ruling Communist Party of China, I believe that China’s Belt and Road Initiative serves as a model for cooperation between China and developing countries in the Global South, as well as for trilateral cooperation. The Chinese Belt and Road Initiative, under the slogan of “Working together for modernization and building a community with a shared future,” has led to increased political mutual trust between China, developing countries in the Global South, and all countries that have joined the Chinese Belt and Road Initiative. This has been achieved through coordinating positions and policies to reach consensus on regional issues and global challenges, thus strengthening the power of countries in the Global South and raising the voice of developing countries, led by China.

   Here, Chinese President Xi Jinping put forward new ideas and proposals for building a “high-level community with a shared future between China and developing countries of the Global South,” with China announcing new measures and procedures for practical cooperation with countries of the South, addressing new topics, such as “state governance, industrialization and agricultural modernization, peace and security, as well as high-quality cooperation within the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative,” and others, to the mutual benefit of all, in accordance with Chinese President Xi Jinping’s well-known principle of “win-win and mutual benefits for all.”

 China’s Belt and Road Initiative represents a new Chinese journey toward modernization, the advancement of a community with a shared future between China and the global South, and a new chapter in the friendship between the Chinese people and the people of developing countries, generating strong momentum for global modernization.

  From my academic perspective, China’s Belt and Road Initiative is an attempt by China to propose an alternative global economic system in cooperation with developing countries of the Global South, in opposition to US hegemonic policies. China opposes the current global economic order dominated by the United States and its Western allies, which is based on protectionism, unilateralism, and hegemony. Therefore, Beijing is working to present an alternative vision for a global economic system based on cooperation, a point President “Xi” sought to emphasize at the forum, describing his initiative as a comprehensive alternative to the Washington-led global order.

  Unsurprisingly, in the context of this vision, Chinese President Xi Jinping reiterated his criticism of what he called “unilateral sanctions, geopolitical competition, and bloc policies.” This was an implicit reference to recent US policies toward Beijing, which, in Washington’s view, are a means of mitigating risks, while Beijing views them as aimed at hindering its development and rise.This vision was also expressed in the “white paper,” in which Beijing described the Belt and Road Initiative as an alternative to the current global economic model, which is “dominated by a few countries.”

  Based on the above analysis, we understand the reasons behind China’s support for developing countries in the Global South through its Belt and Road Initiative and its efforts to establish a think tank for an alliance of developing countries in the Global South. For years, China has made no secret of its dissatisfaction with the current US-dominated global order, which it describes as a system built on Western hegemony and treating other countries with duplicity and condescension. It asserts that this system has failed to resolve international crises, emphasizing the need for a new, more just, and effective system. China argues that the current global order is unfair and excludes the interests of developing countries, citing economic disparities, political interventions, and the imposition of Western standards on the majority of the world’s countries.

The Cincinnati Bengals have started 0-2 or worse in the past three seasons and Joe Burrow was 1-9 in the first two weeks in his career, so their one-point win against the Cleveland Browns will be a huge relief.

Even more encouraging was the fact the much-maligned defence stepped up to clinch their 17-16 victory.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers receiver Emeka Egbuka became only the second rookie since the 1970 merger to score a game-winning touchdown in the final minute as they edged Atlanta thanks to the Falcons missing a last-gasp field goal.

Las Vegas Raiders rookie running back Ashton Jeanty scored as they beat the Patriots in New England, and Washington’s Jacory Croskey-Merritt had an even better debut with 82 yards and a score as the Washington Commanders dominated the New York Giants.

Matthew Stafford became the 10th player in NFL history to reach 60,000 passing yards as the Los Angeles Rams beat the Houston Texans, while the San Francisco 49ers lost George Kittle to a hamstring injury in victory over the Seattle Seahawks.

Headline rookie Travis Hunter made his eagerly anticipated debut for the Jacksonville Jaguars, taking six catches for 33 yards as a receiver and playing six snaps on defence in a comfortable win over Carolina.

Top overall draft pick Cam Ward lost on his debut as the Tennessee Titans were beaten by the Denver Broncos.

CATO, N.Y. — Federal agents forced open the doors of a snack bar manufacturer and took away dozens of workers in a surprise enforcement action that the plant’s co-owner called “terrifying.”

Video and photos taken at the Nutrition Bar Confectioners plant Thursday showed numerous law enforcement vehicles outside the plant and workers being escorted from the building to a Border Patrol van. Immigration agents ordered everyone to a lunchroom, where they asked for proof the workers were in the country legally, according to one 24-year-old worker who was briefly detained.

The reason for the enforcement action was unclear. Local law enforcement officials said the operation was led by U.S. Homeland Security Investigations, which did not respond to requests for information. Nutrition Bar Confectioners co-owner Lenny Schmidt said he was also in the dark about the purpose of the raid.

“There’s got to be a better way to do it,” Schmidt told the Associated Press on Friday at the family-owned business in Cato, N.Y., about 30 miles west of Syracuse.

The facility’s employees had all been vetted and had legal documentation, Schmidt said, adding that he would have cooperated with law enforcement if he’d been told there were concerns.

“Coming in like they did, it’s frightening for everybody — the Latinos … that work here, and everybody else that works here as well, even myself and my family. It’s terrifying,” he said.

Cayuga County Sheriff Brian Schenck said his deputies were among those on scene Thursday morning after being asked a month ago to assist federal agencies in executing a search warrant “relative to an ongoing criminal investigation.”

He did not detail the nature of the investigation.

The lack of explanation raised questions for state Sen. Rachel May, a Democrat who represents the district.

“It’s not clear to me, if it’s a long-standing criminal investigation, why the workers would have been rounded up,” May said by phone Friday. “I feel like there are things that don’t quite add up.”

Worker describes raid

The 24-year-old worker, who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because he feared retribution, said that after he showed the agents he is a legal U.S. resident, they wrote down his information and photographed him.

“Some of the women started to cry because their kids were at school or at day care. It was very sad to see,” said the worker, who arrived from Guatemala six years ago and became a legal resident two years ago.

He said his partner lacked legal status and was among those taken away.

The two of them started working at the factory about two years ago. He was assigned to the snack bar wrapping department and she to the packing area. He said he couldn’t talk to her before she was led away by agents and didn’t know Friday where she had been detained.

“What they are doing to us is not right. We’re here to work. We are not criminals,” he said.

Schmidt said he believed immigration enforcement agents are singling out any company with “some sort of Hispanic workforce, whether small or large.”

The raid came the same day that immigration authorities detained 475 people, most of them South Korean nationals, at a manufacturing site in Georgia where Korean automaker Hyundai makes electric vehicles.

Without his missing employees, Schmidt estimated production at the food manufacturer would drop by about half, making it a challenge to meet customer demand. The plant employs close to 230 people.

“We’ll just do what we need to do to move forward to give our customers the product that they need,” he said, “and then slowly recoup, rehire where we need.”

Dozens held

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, said the workers detained included parents of “at least a dozen children at risk of returning from school to an empty house.”

“I’ve made it clear: New York will work with the federal government to secure our borders and deport violent criminals, but we will never stand for masked ICE agents separating families and abandoning children,” she said in a statement.

The advocacy group Rural and Migrant Ministry said 50 to 60 people, most of them from Guatemala, were still being held Friday. Among those released late Thursday, after about 11 hours, was a mother of a newborn who needed to nurse her baby, said the group’s chief program officer, Wilmer Jimenez.

The worker who was briefly detained said he has been helping to support his parents and siblings, who grow corn and beans in Guatemala.

He said he took Friday off but plans to get back to work Monday.

“I have to go back because I can’t be without work,” he said.

Hill writes for the Associated Press. AP writers Olga Rodriguez in San Francisco and Carolyn Thompson in Buffalo, N.Y., contributed to this report.

McLaren have traced the engine failure in last weekend’s Dutch Grand Prix that dented Norris’ title hopes to a broken oil line – a McLaren issue rather than a problem with the Mercedes engine.

Leclerc’s fastest time was his third attempt to do a lap on the soft tyres after aborting his first two runs.

The second incident led to a scare because Leclerc passed a Sauber just after a red flag was thrown because of gravel on track, despite braking as hard as he could.

He was worried he would receive a penalty, but stewards immediately reviewed the incident and accepted there was nothing he could do.

Verstappen was 0.575secs off Hamilton, while the second Williams of Alex Albon was seventh.

A number of drivers ran wide during the session, and the red flag was as a result of Racing Bulls’ Isack Hadjar running off track at the Ascari chicane and spraying the circuit with gravel.

Gravel at the second Lesmo, deposited by Norris, also needed to be cleared.

Other drivers to run wide and kick up gravel included Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso, who was ninth fastest behind George Russell’s Mercedes.

Russell ended the session parked on the grass beside the track before the Roggia chicane as a result of a power loss, which left him stuck in seventh gear with the rear wheels locked.

Hadjar completed the top 10.

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) 25th summit, held early September in Tianjin, China, unprecedentedly redefined its diverse future ambitions; global governance, sustainable development, and security are emerging as the cornerstones—and China is at the forefront of this transition. With strategic alliances in the background, India and Russia, together with SCO’s regional members and the Global South, are unwaveringly playing complementary roles towards establishing a more inclusive, participatory, and fairer world. In other words, the SCO summit served as a space for dialogue and multilateral cooperation, working to strengthen regional security, economic development, and political collaboration.

Our latest insight into reports: Chinese President Xi Jinping affirmed in his opening speech at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Tianjin, China, that “the SCO represents a model for a new type of international relations, and that we must advocate for equal and orderly multipolarity in the world, inclusive economic globalization, and promote the construction of a more just and equitable global governance system.”

Chinese President Xi Jinping’s speech was unanimously approved by all participating leaders, especially with UN Secretary-General António Guterres also stating emphatically that “China plays a fundamental role in supporting global multilateralism.” From a multitude of different perspectives, Jinping’s strategic position to lead the new geopolitical architecture is primarily to challenge the prevailing western-controlled unipolar order. His “peace or war” narrative signals an effort to position China as a primary actor in global decision-making processes and to position China and its partners as influential drivers.

It’s worth noting that China is leveraging current global instability to advance a multipolar framework and further pursuing an assertive shift in global power dynamics, directly challenging the longstanding dominance of Western nations. Significantly, Xi Jinping’s proposal to pursue consistently a bold commitment to world peace and sustainable development, seeking a broad representation in multilateral institutions and organizations (including the United Nations, IMF, and World Bank), is explicitly grounded in renewing primary principles that respect diversity. A concrete example is the call for UN Security Council reform, where China supports expanding representation to better reflect today’s world, including countries from Africa, Latin America, and Asia.

Why Multipolarity Matters to Russia

It is well-known and glaringly visible across the world that China has comparatively wider or broader consolidated economic clout and has displayed these past several years, indiscriminately strengthening its economic cooperation with Latin American, African, and Asian countries. On the other side, Russia seemed to be selecting its own ‘reliable partners,’ which offered some limitations despite the official position advocating for tectonic multipolarity. Russia’s world is, more or less, divided into ‘friends and enemies’ according to its definition and understanding of one world, one planet.

Following the sudden collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Russia has been exploring economic transformation, modernizing and upgrading its economy, as seen unfolding now. And of course, there have been challenges and obstacles. In practical terms, Russia has come a long way with its current perestroika and glasnost in the country and its relations with former Soviet neighbors and consolidating foreign policy around the world.

In conclusion of his official visit to the SCO summit in China, Vladimir Putin, at the final media conference on September 3rd, pointed out that most of the documents adopted by participants look to the SCO’s future in the emerging new world. “In this context, I would like to point out China’s global governance initiative. More importantly, this initiative is aimed at promoting positive sentiments between the countries that attended the summit in China and potential partners among the countries that are not willing today to proclaim their readiness for new partnership.”

As part of the partnership, Putin stressed that “Russia has always opposed Ukraine’s membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. But we have never questioned its right to conduct its economic and business activities as it wishes, including joining the European Union.” As for whether the multipolar world has formed or not—generally, its contours have certainly taken shape. Multipolarity does not mean the emergence of new hegemons. Among many other countries with similar perspectives, Russia and China consistently advocate for a fairer world order based on the global majority. There are economic powerhouses, such as India and China, and either within the SCO or within BRICS, all participants in international affairs should have equal rights, and all should be in the same position from the standpoint of international law. 

Putin’s expressions throughout the SCO summit, interlaced with candid viewpoints on the emerging world—in fact, the current world system—should concentrate on building relations and interactions on the basis of the world’s majority. “The idea—I mentioned this earlier—is that the world should be multipolar, meaning that all participants in international communication should be equal, and more equal than others should not exist, and the unipolar world must cease to exist, including in the interests of those, at least in the interests of the peoples of those countries, whose leadership still upholds this moribund and, one might even say, already obsolete system,” underscored Putin at the media conference.

China’s Comparative Advantages as Global Leader

China is situated in the Asian region. Despite its large population of 1.5 billion, which many have considered an impediment, China’s domestic economic reforms and collaborative strategic diplomacy with external countries have made it attain superpower status over the United States. While United States influence is rapidly fading away, China has indeed taken up both the challenges and unique opportunities to strengthen its position, especially its trade, investment, and economic muscles.

Arguably, China has worked on all aspects of its economy and external investment footprints; these combined are now recorded as its grandiose achievements. Still, for example, China is engaging in a long-term competition with the U.S., and that is the challenge for the United States. China’s global investment and trade are just unimaginable and give the country global power.

It has systematically transformed its economy at the same time and maintained the political structure. Its major cities and coastal areas are far more prosperous compared to rural and interior regions. Of course, the United States has also developed its individual states, while Russia’s regions look not too far different from the typical Soviet era.

Experts vehemently argue and vividly show how useful the population (demography) has been as a factor for China’s success down the years. It is a matter of how to get the population to support the growth of the economy. With the 1.5 billion population, China has brought more people out of extreme poverty than any other country in history. China reduced extreme poverty by 800 million. The United States has a population of 380 million, two times more than Russia, which has a meager 140 million in relation to the size of the country. In one of his previous speeches, Putin declared that Russia’s population could reach 146 million by 2025, mainly as a result of immigration. Russia has been expelling foreign labor out of the country instead of deploying this labor to the regions, in industries and agricultural fields, to increase its exportable presence in the countries in need and in the external markets.

It is highly likely that Russia would be missing its opportunity, especially due to a shortage of labor. It has to develop its regions and modernize most of the Soviet-era industries to produce export goods, not only for domestic consumption. Its investment and trade in consumables is only developing at a snail’s pace compared to China. While China’s Belt and Road Initiative has expanded significantly over the previous years, Russia is more focused significantly on oil and gas as export products. In recent years, Russia has significantly strengthened bilateral ties with Asian countries such as China, India, North Korea, and Vietnam. With new agreements signed at the 25th SCO summit, China and India would be extending their economic tentacles to Russia’s Far East, producing in the special industrial zones and exporting massively across, utilizing the northern transport corridor to the European Union. 

Certainly, superpower status has to be attained by practical, multifaceted, sustainable development and maintaining appreciably positive relations with the world. In a global context dominated by diverse tensions, Beijing already presents itself as a stable and reliable alternative for international collaboration. From the analysis, China is practically up to this world’s leadership.

Background: The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), a Eurasian political, economic, and security bloc, has become a key platform for China and Russia to promote alternatives to Western-dominated institutions. Against the backdrop of strained ties with the United States and global economic turbulence, the bloc converged in Tianjin, China, with leaders from over 20 non-Western countries in attendance. 

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization is steadily increasing its influence in addressing pressing international issues. It serves as a powerful driver of global development processes and the establishment of genuine multilateralism. As of today, in addition to its ten (10) full members, the SCO also engages two observer states—Mongolia and Afghanistan—as well as 15 dialogue partners. It was established in 2001 and has actively worked to promote peace, security, trust, and cooperation across the Eurasian continent.