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The street-by-street details for the six British-based stages that will start both the men’s and women’s editions of the 2027 Tour de France have been revealed.

The three-week men’s race gets under way with a stage from Edinburgh to Carlisle on 2 July. It is followed by a route between Keswick and Liverpool before Wales hosts a third and final grand depart stage from Welshpool to Cardiff on 4 July.

The women’s event starts on 30 July with a race from Leeds to Manchester, before moving back across the Pennines to Yorkshire with a finish in Sheffield.

A testing team time trial around the streets of central London will complete the opening section of that nine-stage race.

The collaboration is a first for both races in a Super Grand Depart – the finer details of which were announced at a ceremony hosted by the Tour’s organisers ASO on Paris’ Palais de Congres on Thursday.

Men’s race director Christian Prudhomme added: “Just a few weeks apart, the Tour de France and the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift will each take their respective pelotons on a journey through the roads of the United Kingdom.

“Along with what we anticipate will be a warm and massive welcome for the champions, Great Britain also offers us a symbol that further ties the two races together. From the start on 2 July at the foot of Edinburgh Castle, which will be the northernmost in the history of the Tour, to a team time trial in London on 1 August.

“Needless to say, there will be thousands of thrills and emotions.”

Stages of the Tour have been held in the UK before, in 1974, 1994 and 2007 in London and the Yorkshire Grand Depart in 2014.

This will be the first time both men’s and women’s events have come to the same nation outside France in the same year.

Cameron Winter had one last knife to twist for the Dodger faithful in the audience at Hollywood Forever on Thursday night.

“My husband lost everything but the kitchen sink, because he spent it all on DraftKings,” Winter deadpanned during the band’s closing hit “Trinidad,” where he typically sneers ad-libs about domestic nihilism. “He bet everything on the Dodgers, and they f—ing lost.”

The crowd cracked up in grim commiseration (as a Mets fan, Winter could probably sympathize). It felt cathartic when he hit that song’s freaked-out chorus — “There’s a bomb in my car!” — in a hail of guitar noise.

Geese had an atypical, if kind of old-fashioned, run on the hype train for a young rock band. Structured around Winter’s twitchy, stentorian vocals with contortions of feedback and meditative jams, the New York City quartet is, to paraphrase something Brian Eno said about My Bloody Valentine, “The vaguest music ever to have been a hit.” A group rooted both in Sonic Youth’s avant-garde pedal squalling and haunted, pre-Beatles rock ’n’ roll, they can still play “Saturday Night Live” and get its frontman a luscious prestige concert doc filmed at Carnegie Hall directed by Paul Thomas Anderson.

That sudden ascent, for a band spiritually in league with the Velvet Underground and Suicide, led some to wonder what exactly happened behind the social media scenes to get them there (one conspiratorial phrase got thrown around in particular). Geese were always an odd band to pin to anxieties about fabricated culture — if a label had resources and abilities to manufacture stars, why not do it for a 100x-hyperscaling pop act instead? But if they didn’t have the goods after three LPs so far, they’d fade out soon enough.

At Hollywood Forever, Geese showed they did indeed have the mettle to run their scabrous noise into arenas. Much has been made of Winter’s idiosyncratic star power, and as an extremely tall, wet-dog-handsome instrumental virtuoso with a one-of-a-kind voice and just enough self-aware wit and lacerating lyricism to keep it relatable, that’s indisputable.

Geese perform at Hollywood Forever on Oct. 15.

(Lewis Evans)

But Geese is also a band, in the sense that every musician matters to a distinct aesthetic. I was just as compelled by guitarist Emily Green’s swells of reversed reverbs and sad-eyed, contrapuntal melodies, or drummer Max Bassin’s patience in building moods before firing off a relentless, redlining backbeat halfway between outlaw country and krautrock. Bassist Dominic DiGesu brought gnarled ballast to everything, and even touring keyboardist Sam Revaz added texture and levity (what was up with that twenty-second, heavily filtered sample of Randy Newman’s “I Love L.A.” halfway through “2122”?)

Last year’s LP “Getting Killed” raised the stakes formidably, both for the band’s fame and their songwriting prowess. From “Long Island City Here I Come” onward, the band were merciless but measured in their attack. The slinky, lurching “Husbands,” “Islands of Men” and frantic “Bow Down” sounded meaner and more electric than on the record. “Au Pays du Cocaine” hit even more mournful and lonesome in an actual cemetery — “You can stay with me, and just pretend I’m not there” never felt so apropos.

A few tracks from 2023’s “3D Country” like “Cowboy Nudes” and “Gravity Blues” showed their insouciant Americana streak — you can easily imagine Bruce Springsteen getting wind of another grimy New York noise-rock act to champion. To judge from the lines of young, very devoted fans snaking around the cemetery, Geese has already built the requisite subculture to thrive longer-term. In decades past, some greasy label dude would probably tell them to go write a real hit next. These days, what they’re doing now already feels like one.

Winter will have some tough choices about how to balance both Geese and his regal piano-centric solo career (his late 2024 solo LP “Heavy Metal” is fantastic, and captivated no less an authority than PTA himself). You can see why Olivia Rodrigo wanted to get dinner with him. But for the next couple of nights in L.A., a genuinely beguiling and astringent new rock band is at the height of its powers and has captured the zeitgeist. Savor that.

On October 8, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim received Myanmar’s President Min Aung Hlaing in Putrajaya with a guard of honour and an official luncheon, in the military chief’s first visit since the 2021 coup. Nine days earlier, Malaysia sent 1,476 Myanmar nationals back by sea in the first phase of a plan to return 5,000 people.

Kuala Lumpur calls this pragmatic diplomacy. In reality, it lends a middle power’s credibility to the Trump administration’s retreat from international accountability, weakening the laws and institutions smaller states rely on most.

Domestic pressures

Since May, a surge of online hate speech and misinformation has targeted the Rohingya, Malaysia’s largest refugee community. By late July, at least nine Rohingya community schools had closed or faced closure orders, and more than 100 Rohingya told UNHCR that residents of their Penang village had driven them out.

The hostility ignores the facts: Malaysia’s police chief says Rohingya account for 0.02 percent of crime. Yet research by INITIATE.MY and the Center for the Study of Organized Hate found AI-generated content amplifying anti-Rohingya disinformation across Malaysia, Indonesia, India and Bangladesh, casting refugees as a threat and legitimising vigilante violence.

Electoral politics plays a part. After heavy losses in three state elections, and with a general election due by February 2028, Anwar’s coalition may see a hard line on Rohingya returns as a show of control, though voter disillusionment and right-wing rivals make any electoral gains uncertain.

Impunity goes mainstream

Malaysia is not acting alone. Mongolia hosted Vladimir Putin in 2024 despite an ICC arrest warrant, and Hungary welcomed Benjamin Netanyahu in 2025 despite another. Kuala Lumpur denies this is recognition, yet Anwar says Malaysia will work towards Myanmar’s full reintegration into ASEAN, and Min Aung Hlaing wants a seat at the bloc’s November summit in Manila. Each welcome makes the next easier and tells leaders accused of atrocities, from Netanyahu to Min Aung Hlaing, that diplomatic rehabilitation is possible without accountability.

ASEAN has tried this before. In April 2021, Min Aung Hlaing agreed to the Five-Point Consensus, then ignored it: The violence continued, the ASEAN special envoy never met Aung San Suu Kyi, and inclusive dialogue never began. The bloc’s one real lever was excluding military leaders from its summits. Myanmar Specialist, Arkar Hein, said “Welcoming him back with nothing asked in return rewards that defiance and tells Naypyidaw that time and a staged election can achieve what
compromise would otherwise require. Each handshake abroad also makes the regime less willing to offer its opponents real concessions, and convinces them that only the battlefield will decide Myanmar’s future.”

A question of consistency

Malaysia has spent decades building its credibility as a regional peacemaker, a hard-won reputation it now puts at risk. It has facilitated the Bangsamoro peace process since 2001, helping negotiate a landmark peace agreement in the southern Philippines, and has facilitated talks in southern Thailand since 2013. In November 2024, Anwar welcomed the ICC’s arrest warrants for Netanyahu and his former defence minister, saying they “should be arrested even if they are visiting other countries”. That same month, the ICC prosecutor sought an arrest warrant for Min Aung Hlaing for alleged crimes against humanity targeting the Rohingya, and an Argentinian court has since issued its own.

The Gambia’s genocide case against Myanmar at the International Court of Justice centres on the 2016-17 operations Min Aung Hlaing commanded, which killed thousands of Rohingya, included mass rapes and burned hundreds of villages, driving more than 700,000 people into Bangladesh. UN investigators called for him to face genocide charges. Malaysia is not a party to the Rome Statute and has no legal duty to arrest him. But its credibility as a peacemaker and on Palestine rests on applying one standard to everyone.

Returns without safeguards

The returns rest on assurances no independent body can verify. UNHCR says it was not involved in the returns and had no access to verify that they were voluntary, and that safe conditions do not exist. Those returned reportedly included 27 children. Though not a party to the Refugee Convention, Malaysia is bound by the customary principle of non-refoulement, and the UN Special Rapporteur on Myanmar has warned of substantial risks.

Naypyidaw says no Rohingya are involved because it does not recognise them as citizens, but other returnees also risk arbitrary detention, prosecution and forced recruitment. The military does not even control Rakhine State, where the Arakan Army holds more than 90 percent of the territory. On September 28, a day before returns began, a military air attack reportedly killed at least 50 civilians there, following more than a dozen other mass killings by the military earlier this year.

Nor can the military-backed government deliver the peace that safe return requires. Its election saw no voting in 67 of 330 townships, and when Min Aung Hlaing offered peace talks in April, the National Unity Government (NUG) and major ethnic armed groups refused. Without a ceasefire and an inclusive political process, assurances of safe return ring hollow.

Malaysia’s frustration is nonetheless legitimate. It has hosted refugees for decades with little international support, and resettlement has shrunk since the Trump administration suspended United States refugee admissions in January 2025. But failed burden-sharing cannot justify returns without safeguards.

Pressure on the court

The ICC exists so that victims of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity can find justice when their own states fail them. That mission now faces unprecedented pressure. On October 9, hours after former ICC judge Navi Pillay won the Nobel Peace Prize, the Trump administration sanctioned the court itself. Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, Chad and Venezuela have announced their withdrawal.

Yet middle powers can push back. Seventy-nine ICC members, including Canada, Brazil, Mexico and South Africa, backed the court after the first US sanctions in February 2025, and in May Hungary’s new government reversed its predecessor’s withdrawal. In Southeast Asia, the Philippines surrendered former President Rodrigo Duterte to The Hague, and on October 8 judges found him fit to stand trial for crimes against humanity, with proceedings due to begin on November 30.

Middle powers should say no

Middle powers like Malaysia, and blocs such as ASEAN and the European Union, cannot stop US sanctions, but they need not follow the Trump administration’s lead. As Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney told the World Economic Forum in January, middle powers “must act together, because if we’re not at the table, we’re on the menu”.

Malaysia and its neighbours should lead by saying no: No to efforts to weaken the court, no to treating Min Aung Hlaing’s presidency as a clean slate, and no to Rohingya returns into an active conflict. Malaysia should back efforts to hold him accountable if ICC judges issue a warrant, and reconsider acceding to the Rome Statute, a move it abandoned in 2019.

Saying no does not mean disengaging. Kuala Lumpur should tie Myanmar’s reintegration into ASEAN to real progress on the Five-Point Consensus, starting with an end to violence and inclusive dialogue involving the NUG and ethnic armed organisations. At home, it should pause returns until an independent body confirms they are safe and voluntary, and hold accountable those who evict, threaten or attack refugees.

Malaysia should not carry this burden alone. ASEAN partners, members of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation and donors should fund refugee registration, education and integration, and resettlement countries should restore their commitments. Governments should also hold tech platforms accountable for amplifying anti-refugee disinformation and require swift action against incitement.

For years, Malaysia has offered refuge to the Rohingya and others fleeing Myanmar when few countries would. That record gives it the standing, and the responsibility, to defend the system of international justice it has long championed.

The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera’s editorial stance.

Cuban American poet Kyle Carrero Lopez first learned what sanctions were as a child — not as a political measure, but as a gendered one. In his poem “Sanctions,” he describes how his father, a surly Cuban refugee who worked as a DJ, laid out the terms of acceptable masculinity.

“No dance class/no “girl toys”/don’t walk like that,” writes Carrero. “His anthem, his law, hammered, hammered, into me.”

The poem features in his debut book of poetry, “Party Line,” released in July by indie publisher Graywolf Press. As a gay, Black Cuban American, Carrero uses social etiquette as a springboard to critically examine how marginalized people learn to negotiate space — whether at a nightclub; in the stratified gay mecca of Fire Island; at a socialist magazine party; or in line for customs at the U.S. border. He cites Black cultural figures like the queen of salsa Celia Cruz, American fashion journalist André Leon Talley, the late French singer and dancer Josephine Baker and political activist Assata Shakur as guiding lights.

“There are two sides of me,” he told De Los. “Between the party girl and the politico is Kyle Carrero Lopez.”

Born in 1995 to Cuban parents in New Jersey, Carrero is now based in New York City, where he earned a master of fine arts in poetry at NYU and published his award-winning 2022 chapbook, “Muscle Memory.” He answered my phone call in South Carolina, while overlooking the Atlantic Ocean; his mother was on the precipice of getting married a second time. Carrero, already a poet, scholar, political organizer and nightlife host, would flaunt yet another title that weekend as wedding officiant. “My work is naturally in conversation,” he explained.

Many of the poems in “Party Line” came to Carrero after visiting Cuba for the first time in 2017, through the CubaOne Foundation. Inspired by the Birthright Israel program for Jewish youth, the nonprofit sponsored trips for Cuban Americans to connect with Cubans on the island. Yet for Carrero, this strengthened his political dissonance with many Cubans in the U.S., who’ve supported economic sanctions on the communist nation. In order to force regime change, in January the Trump administration levied an oil blockade on Cuba, triggering a humanitarian crisis.

Written with an unmistakably Caribbean verve and snappy, conversational meter, Carrero defines his stance on Cuba in no uncertain terms.

“This book really is for Cuban Americans,” he said. “Those of us who are not trying to destroy Cuba, that is.”

Carrero spoke to De Los about party politics, Black Cubanidad and how visiting the island changed his writing for the better. The following interview has been lightly edited for clarity and length.

A lot of people fall back on these ideas about immigrant communities being all hard work and drudgery — but we come from a festive, dance-fueled culture. How did you get the idea to combine poems about parties with poems about politics?

I’ve always been involved in politics. I’ve done a lot of canvassing. In high school, I was in a learning community called the Civics and Government Institute. We did a “social reformers” panel, where you had to play somebody from a social movement. They had me up there dressed up as Elijah Muhammad in the 10th grade, asking me what I’d think of Obama. I had to drag Obama! These Nation of Islam people were not feeling the moderate Democrats.

But that informed my political engagement to this day. I was concerned with the language surrounding the embargo and U.S. aggression against Cuba. In my poem “Torricelli,” I talk about how [former New Jersey congressman and senator] Bob Torricelli wrote the Cuban Democracy Act, which he designed to, quote, “wreak havoc on that island.”

And I write a lot about nightlife. It is a family industry for me on both sides. My maternal grandfather ran a social club in New Jersey, a games parlor. My mom was a club kid. She was out all the time. Parenthood changed some things, but my father still had DJ gigs. Our basement was his studio. He’d leave the house at 9, 10 o’clock to go to the gigs. You know that new Jordan Firstman movie, “Club Kid”? I’m the original club kid.

How do you write for those who may not be ready to receive the club kid and the politico at once?

I like challenging assumptions that political people are drab and unglamorous — and that party people are brain-dead, escapist and have nothing to say. One of the problems I have with the ’90s club kid scene, as it existed, is they were extremely apolitical. And not only were they apolitical, but I would go so far as to say the club kids in the ’90s were a white supremacist entity. We don’t talk enough about how their whole thing was like whiteness and white privilege. All we’re here to do is have fun — and we see what that mentality leads to, right?

[The movie] “Party Monster”!

Yes, “Party Monster”! Michael Alig literally killed a man of color. That is not the party world that I live in. We don’t take off who we are just because there’s low lighting and fog and loud music. I’m going to respond the same way to harassment and perceived injustice as I would any other space.

To this day, there are white club kids in New York who are in the club talking in black-ccents and wearing imitations of black people’s hairstyles. And then if you call them out, they’re like, “Why? It’s a party!” And I’m like, “OK, but it’s a party where all of the music comes from Black people … you are a guest in this space.” Before I’m going to serve you a history lesson, let’s at least start with decency.

And though you may not think you’re doing politics … politics will still do you. Your club kid parents experienced politics by coming to the U.S. from Cuba. Can you tell me about their journey?

My father emigrated from Havana as a child. My mother was born to parents who emigrated in the 1950s during Batista’s regime. Cubans have a privileged relationship to immigration — the pipeline available to us [political asylum] was not the same for most people of Latin American descent.

My family came here not only as Cuban immigrants, but as Black immigrants. Politics happened to them. My father came to the U.S. in the late ’60s, getting called the N-word walking home from school with his two sisters…. They got hit so hard with belts that they would go home having soiled themselves. They were not only Black, but they didn’t even know what language or culture they were trying to assimilate to. There were layers of hatred…. When people talk about Cuban Americans, they think of white, rich Miami Cubans. It’s irresponsible to think in such a flat and one-dimensional way.

In the poem “Usefulness,” which was originally published in the Yale Review, you speak of how Black Cubans exist at the nexus of two different political agendas: the pro- and anti-Revolution contingents. Can you talk about that?

My opinion is very useful to many agendas. I joke that I would make a great Republican talking head. If I decided tomorrow that I wanted to get the GOP bag and be like, “Democrats are liars! I hate immigrants! I hate welfare! There’s two genders! We don’t need gay marriage!” — I would be a millionaire in under six months.

There’s a tokenism that happens when you exist at this nexus of identities. It’s true of the left as well sometimes. You could ask five different people in Cuba what they think about the government and they will give you five different answers. And that is OK! We need to allow that to be the case.

I don’t want what Trump and the Marco Rubios of the world want for Cuba — which is to seize it, to subjugate it and turn it into the next Puerto Rico. If people who are progressive and committed to Cuba’s autonomy don’t want that, I think part of [the work] is talking to Cuban people and hearing them out. I don’t think it’s acceptable to seek out only the opinions that match your own.

You bring up a historical moment that not a lot of Cuban Americans know about, which was the 1976 bombing of Cubana Flight 455, by an anti-Castro Cuban exile group. You said they planned on bombing a flight to Havana the week before, which your mom and her sister were on. How did they manage to avoid that?

[My grandfather] was an influential man. He knew the right people. So he heard something was going down and said, “I’m not putting my kids on that flight.” The flight went on as planned, but these men knew my grandfather and heard that his daughters were getting on the plane. To me that’s like getting on the list … sometimes you get into the party, or the plane [isn’t] bombed. It’s the same negotiation. Or just a moment of alignment.

What was it like visiting Cuba for the first time after the Obama administration eased travel and trade restrictions?

I don’t give Obama much, but he did try to normalize relations there. Unfortunately, Biden didn’t follow through with that, but for a second, we did care about Cuba.

The first time I went was in 2017, when I was 22. It was an incredible experience. My mother traveled to Cuba as a teenager; my father never went back. But they never discouraged me from going. I know that’s the case for a lot of Cuban Americans; there’s so much baggage. But once there was an easy path to go, it changed my life.

I write about Amiri Baraka’s time in Cuba, when he was earlier in his poetry journey — and his writing changed from being there. He wrote a poem called “Betancourt,” named after a young radical there. It made me more politically serious. I feel closer to my heritage, having done that.

What made you close the book with “I Saw Assata In Havana”? Did you really see Assata Shakur?

That was an imagined encounter. But it was the vision of what I imagine was her new life in Cuba — her second chance. I thought that it was a good ending note to land on, pushing against prevailing narratives.

I think the ways that we talk about our radicals — the Huey Newtons of the world, people like Kwame Ture or Angela Davis — we think of them as mythical beings, or, depending on who you ask, terrorists. But that disconnects them from their humanity. I wanted to create a portrait of [Shakur] as a normal lady who needed to pick up groceries sometimes. These were regular people who saw what was going on in the world and decided that they needed to do something about it. Each of us has that ability to enact change.

There are so many ways to make societal shifts, whether that’s writing to your officials or protesting or creating art that is challenging. What Shakur did was to say, “I don’t like this for my people. I don’t like this for the world I’m living in.” The same boot that’s on the necks of Black American people is on the necks of people in the Congo, people in Palestine, people of the global majority. We all have to share the planet. If we work together, we can have a world that can actually sustain itself.

My last question for you is: What would you like to see happen for Cuba?

I’m not a politician; I’m an artist. My duty is not toward any specific government; it is toward truth. My Cuba position, as a Cuban American, is focused first and foremost on my home country’s contribution to the conflict. If Cuba is truly no more than a failed state, why not lift all of the restrictions? Let’s see what happens when Cuba is unimpeded by hostile U.S. policy. That’s how you can best prove your point, right? Unless, of course, you’re afraid of what Cuba could be.

A man who fell from the upper tier of a stand during a football match and injured fans below has been found not guilty of assault.

Maidstone United supporter John Ryan fell on to Joanne Peters and her partner Aaron Rose at Ipswich Town’s Portman Road ground during an FA Cup clash in January 2024.

Ryan, 62, of Railway Street, Chatham, Kent, denied one count of assault by beating and one count of actual bodily harm and told Ipswich Crown Court he had been unable to stop himself during goal celebrations.

Ryan could be seen crying in the dock as the jury returned verdicts of not guilty to both charges and said afterwards “it’s been very stressful”.

Peters had been in tears when she told the court she initially thought the supporters’ box behind her had collapsed and she thought she “could have died”.

Ryan had been one of thousands of Maidstone United supporters who saw their non-league side win 2-1 over Ipswich, who were heading to promotion from the Championship that season.

He told the court the game had been “the biggest match in the club’s history” and he had been celebrating a “special” goal.

The jury was told he had been in Cobbold Stand upper tier when he fell, slid down the sloping roof that covers the boxes, and landed on the Ipswich supporters below.

Ryan told the jury he had been unsure if he had been pushed or his foot had slipped when he fell.

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia – As renewed fighting in Ethiopia’s Tigray region threatens to destabilise the Horn of Africa, public backing by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) of Ethiopia’s federal government and Saudi Arabia’s record of regional diplomacy are drawing scrutiny.

Both Gulf powers have strategic interests in the Horn of Africa, but their roles differ. The UAE has publicly backed Ethiopia’s government while Saudi Arabia has previously helped broker an Ethiopia-Eritrea rapprochement and was reported to have offered to mediate between the two countries in 2025.

The renewed fighting threatens to unravel the November 2022 Pretoria peace agreement, which ended a war between Ethiopia’s federal government and Tigrayan forces. As tensions with Eritrea add to the risks of a wider confrontation, the positions of Abu Dhabi and Riyadh offer a window into the interests of external powers in the crisis.

The UAE: Clear alignment, unproven leverage

On September 25, the UAE condemned attacks by the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) and its allied armed groups against Ethiopian federal forces, the seizure of airports in Tigray and the escalation in the neighbouring regions of Afar and Amhara.

Sheikh Shakhboot bin Nahyan Al Nahyan, the UAE minister of state, expressed solidarity with Ethiopia’s government and people, reaffirmed support for the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and called for an end to hostilities, the protection of civilians and adherence to the Pretoria Agreement.

The statement made Abu Dhabi’s public position clear: It backs Ethiopia’s federal government while calling for de-escalation and dialogue. It did not establish whether the UAE was providing military assistance or had secured commitments from the parties to end the fighting.

The UAE also has commercial interests across the Horn of Africa. Dubai Ports World (DP World) operates Berbera port in Somaliland, and a shipping route launched in 2025 connects the port with Jebel Ali in the UAE, providing an additional corridor for cargo serving inland destinations, such as Ethiopia. Landlocked since Eritrea’s independence in 1993, Ethiopia relies heavily on Djibouti for access to international trade.

These commercial links help explain Abu Dhabi’s interest in regional stability and its relationship with Addis Ababa. However, they do not establish that the UAE can influence the TPLF, persuade Eritrea to de-escalate or change Ethiopia’s military calculations.

The extent to which Abu Dhabi can use its relationship with the federal government to encourage a political response to the conflict remains unclear.

Saudi Arabia: Diplomatic experience, uncertain engagement

Saudi Arabia has yet to publicly announce its position on the latest fighting in Tigray.

The kingdom has not publicly commented on the renewed war, according to an October 1 analysis by Critical Threats, although it undertook diplomatic efforts earlier this year to reduce tensions between Ethiopia’s federal government and the TPLF.

Saudi Arabia has previously sought to mediate between Ethiopia and Eritrea. In November 2025, Chatham House reported that sources said Riyadh had offered to mediate between the two countries amid rising tensions over maritime access and regional security.

A June 2026 analysis by Germany’s SWP think tank said previous Saudi mediation efforts had failed, partly because negotiations did not address Ethiopia’s interest in the Eritrean port of Assab.

The kingdom’s broader regional alignment also matters. An August 2026 analysis by the Soufan Center described Saudi Arabia and Egypt as backing Eritrea in opposition to Ethiopia’s ambitions for Red Sea access.

This is an assessment of regional alignment, however, not evidence that Saudi Arabia is directly providing military support to Eritrea or the TPLF in the current fighting.

Saudi Arabia has a strong interest in Red Sea security, a vital corridor for international shipping and its own oil exports. Whether Riyadh will take a more public diplomatic role as tensions escalate remains unclear.

Egypt’s rivalry with Ethiopia adds to regional tensions

Egypt’s role in the crisis is shaped by its longstanding dispute with Ethiopia over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) and its growing ties with Eritrea.

Cairo has also stressed that responsibility for the governance and security of the Red Sea rests with countries bordering the waterway, a position shared by Asmara. The issue has added to regional tensions as Ethiopia seeks reliable access to the sea.

In September, Ethiopia’s army chief, Field Marshal Birhanu Jula, accused Egypt and Sudan of supporting armed groups fighting the federal government, including the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF).

His remarks, reported by Al Jazeera on September 28, did not provide evidence substantiating the accusation. Egypt’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Nader Zaki, subsequently reaffirmed Cairo’s commitment to state sovereignty and non-interference, rejecting suggestions that it had departed from those principles.

He did not directly address the specific allegation of Egyptian support for the TPLF.

Egypt’s relationship with Eritrea has nevertheless become an important part of the regional picture. President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi met Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki in Cairo on June 8, 2026.

According to Egypt’s presidency, the talks covered bilateral cooperation, developments in the Horn of Africa and Red Sea security.

The two leaders also stressed the importance of coordination to maintain regional stability. The meeting highlighted closer cooperation between Cairo and Asmara, but did not establish that either country was involved in the renewed fighting in Tigray.

For Cairo, the dispute with Ethiopia extends beyond Tigray to the Nile and the balance of power in the Horn of Africa.

Its relations with Eritrea and its disagreements with Addis Ababa form part of the wider regional context, but they are not evidence of direct Egyptian involvement in the renewed conflict. Whether these regional relationships will affect the course of the fighting remains uncertain.

From Tigray to a wider regional crisis

The risks extend beyond Tigray. Ethiopia’s pursuit of maritime access has become a source of tension with Eritrea, whose Red Sea coastline includes the port of Assab. Addis Ababa argues that reliable access to the sea is a national priority while Asmara rejects any threat to its sovereignty.

Ethiopia has accused Eritrea of sending troops across the border and supporting armed groups. Eritrea denies the allegations and has called on the United Nations Security Council to intervene. The allegations remain contested, but deteriorating relations have raised the stakes of renewed fighting in northern Ethiopia.

A wider confrontation could put more civilians at risk, complicate humanitarian access and disrupt regional trade and security. It would also test whether external partners could encourage restraint without appearing to endorse either side’s military objectives.

The UAE’s close ties with Addis Ababa could provide a channel for diplomatic engagement while Saudi Arabia’s record of regional diplomacy offers a possible opening for renewed talks. However, the available public evidence does not establish that either country is currently leading an initiative to contain the crisis.

Influence must be measured by outcomes

The UAE and Saudi Arabia should not be cast as pursuing opposing strategies simply because one has publicly backed Ethiopia’s federal government while the other’s current position is less visible. Their interests and diplomatic approaches differ, but the evidence does not show that either has decisive influence over the fighting.

Their contribution should be assessed by whether they can help secure concrete steps towards de-escalation, renewed political dialogue and a reduction in tensions between Ethiopia and Eritrea. Public statements, commercial interests and past diplomatic achievements may create opportunities for engagement, but they are not substitutes for progress on the ground.

The Pretoria Agreement remains the framework for a political settlement in Tigray, yet renewed fighting underscores the difficulty of sustaining peace while underlying disputes persist. A durable settlement will depend primarily on the parties themselves. External partners could contribute by encouraging restraint and supporting credible negotiations.

For now, the UAE’s public alignment with Ethiopia and Saudi Arabia’s diplomatic record offer different potential channels for engagement. Whether either country can turn those relationships into a meaningful contribution towards de-escalation remains unresolved.

Former Tottenham Hotspur defender Ramon Vega says he intends to stand as a candidate in next year’s Fifa presidential election.

The 55-year-old is the first person to confirm they want to challenge Gianni Infantino, who has defied calls to step down in the wake of his failed plan to sell off stakes in the World Cup to private investors, which has sparked a major backlash across football.

A former Switzerland centre-back, Vega also played for Celtic and Watford and has worked in finance since retiring from football in 2004.

“I am standing to reunite the global football family, deliver genuine and lasting reform, modernise Fifa for the 21st Century, restore stability and credibility, and rebuild the trust that our game urgently needs,” he said.

Meanwhile, Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa – president of the Asian Football Confederation – has written to Infantino, distancing himself from an external review of Fifa’s governance system.

In his letter – seen by BBC Sport – Sheikh Salman proposes that Fifa’s council sets up a working group to examine potential reforms, “rather than being outsourced to an external party”.

Last month, Infantino said he was “fully committed to leading Fifa” despite Uefa, Concacaf and the Asian Football Confederation calling for him to quit.

Vega considered running for Fifa’s top job in 2015 following the suspension of former president Sepp Blatter.

Four years later he said he would stand against Infantino, but failed to garner enough support to be included in the ballot, having required the backing of five of Fifa’s 211 member federations.

Candidates must also be proposed by a member association and have played an active role in the game for two of the past five years, as well as passing an eligibility check by a review committee.

“I am standing because my life has prepared me to serve the game,” Vega said in a statement announcing his candidacy.

“Football does not belong to presidents, confederations or administrators. Football is greater than any position, any individual or any institution.

“It is the people’s game and belongs to everyone: the players, coaches, referees, supporters, volunteers, clubs, leagues, associations and communities that give football its life.

“It belongs to every child discovering the game, every professional carrying the hopes of a nation, and the billions of supporters whose passion makes football the world’s game.

“Football must always come first. Yet for too long, division has fractured our football family.

“The current leadership has demoralised the game. Weak governance has damaged Fifa’s credibility and eroded trust across the global football family. We must stop this conflict from escalating.

“Ego-driven battles within football administration must never be allowed to damage those who matter most: the players, coaches, referees and supporters around the world. They are not responsible for these conflicts. They deserve better.”

Vega concluded: “Football is in the emergency room, on life support. We cannot wait any longer. Fifa needs a new direction and fundamental reform.

“We must reunite the football family, restore trust, bring stability and modernise Fifa’s governance. This requires decisive change – not cosmetic adjustments.”

The case against the woman who authorities allege fired multiple bullets at pop singer Rihanna’s Beverly Hills mansion can move forward, a judge ruled Tuesday.

Florida woman Ivanna Lisette Ortiz, 36, was deemed mentally competent by Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Maria Cavalluzzi, meaning the criminal case can proceed after a competency evaluation delayed it for more than four months.

Case documents with Ortiz’s psychiatric evaluations were marked as confidential and sealed.

Officials allege that she put “numerous lives at risk” on March 8 when she drove a white Tesla to Rihanna’s neighborhood and fired about 20 rounds from an assault-style rifle. Rihanna, her partner A$AP Rocky and their three young children were home at the time.

Police discovered bullet holes or impacts on the exterior of the gate of Rihanna’s residence, a fence, the front windshield of an Airstream trailer, a patio area and on the exterior wall of a nursery room, according to a police document reviewed by City News Service.

At the time of the shooting, Rihanna and A$AP Rocky were inside the trailer, and their kids were inside the nursery room, according to reporting by the Associated Press.

Ortiz is facing 14 felony counts, including one count of attempted murder, 10 counts of assault with a semiautomatic firearm and three counts of shooting at an inhabited dwelling, vehicle or other target, court records show.

Ortiz had several prior arrests in her home state, The Times has reported. She was involved in a bankruptcy case in 2013, arrested on suspicion of careless driving in 2021, and arrested in 2023 on suspicion of domestic violence and battery.

Though she had no known affiliation with Rihanna, Ortiz often posted on social media about celebrities. In February, she shared a meme alleging Rihanna had AIDS and tagged Rihanna in a post on Facebook telling her to “say something to me directly instead of sneaking around.”

Another hearing is set for Wednesday morning at the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center, court records show.

City News Service contributed to this report.