takeaways

US President Donald Trump has appeared on the CBS News programme 60 Minutes just months after he won a $16m settlement from the broadcaster for alleged “deceptive editing”.

In the interview with CBS host Norah O’Donnell, which was filmed last Friday at his Mar-a-Lago residence and aired on Sunday, Trump touched on several topics, including the ongoing government shutdown, his administration’s unprecedented crackdowns on undocumented migrants, the US’s decision to restart nuclear testing, and the trade war with China.

Trump, who regularly appears on Fox News, a right-wing media outlet, has an uneasy relationship with CBS, which is considered centrist.

In October 2020, the president walked out of a 60 Minutes interview in the lead-up to the 2020 election he lost, claiming that the host, Lesley Stahl, was “biased”.

Here are some key takeaways from the interview:

The interview took place one year to the day after Trump sued CBS

The president’s lawyers sued CBS owner Paramount in October 2024 for “mental anguish” over a pre-election interview with rival candidate Kamala Harris that Trump claimed had been deceptively edited to favour Democrats and thus affected his campaign.

CBS had aired two different versions of an answer Harris gave to a question on Israel’s war on Gaza, posed by host Bill Whitaker. One version aired on 60 Minutes while the other appeared on the programme Face the Nation.

Asked whether Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, listened to US advice, Harris answered: “We are not going to stop pursuing what is necessary for the United States – to be clear about where we stand on the need for this war to end.”

In an alternative edit, featured in earlier pre-broadcast promotions, Harris had given a longer, more rambling response that did not sound as concise.

The network argued the answer was edited differently for the two shows due to time restrictions, but Trump’s team claimed CBS “distorted” its broadcasts and “helped” Harris, thereby affecting his campaign. Trump asked for an initial $10bn in damages before upping it to $20bn in February 2025.

Paramount, in July 2025, chose to settle with Trump’s team to the tune of $16m in the form of a donation to a planned Trump presidential library. That move angered journalist unions and rights groups, which argued it set a bad precedent for press freedom.

Paramount executives said the company would not apologise for the editing of its programmes, but had decided to settle to put the matter to rest.

The company was at the time trying to secure federal approval from Trump’s government for a proposed merger with Skydance, owned by Trump ally Larry Ellison. The Federal Communications Commission has since approved the merger that gives Ellison’s Skydance controlling rights.

On October 19, Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, and Steve Witkoff, US special envoy to the Middle East, were interviewed on 60 Minutes regarding the Israel-Gaza war.

He solved rare-earth metals issue with China

After meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Korea last Thursday, Trump praised his counterpart as a “strong man, a very powerful leader” and said their relationship was on an even keel despite the trade war. However, he blamed China for “ripping off” the US through its dominance of crucial rare earth materials.

Trump told 60 Minutes he had cut a favourable trade agreement with China and that “we got – no rare-earth threat. That’s gone, completely gone”, referring to Chinese export restrictions on critical rare-earth metals needed to manufacture a wide range of items including defence equipment, smartphones and electric vehicles.

However, Beijing actually only said it would delay introducing export controls for five rare-earth metals it announced in October, and did not mention restrictions on a further seven it announced in April this year. Those restrictions remain in place.

Xi ‘knows what will happen’ if China attacks Taiwan

Trump said President Xi did not say anything about whether Beijing planned to attack autonomous Taiwan.

However, he referred to past assurances from Xi, saying: “He [Xi] has openly said, and his people have openly said at meetings, ‘We would never do anything while President Trump is president’, because they know the consequences.”

Asked whether he would order US forces to action if China moved militarily on Taiwan, Trump demurred, saying: “You’ll find out if it happens, and he understands the answer to that … I can’t give away my secrets. The other side knows.”

There are mounting fears in the US that China could attack Taiwan. Washington’s stance of “strategic ambiguity” has always kept observers speculating about whether the US would defend Taiwan against Beijing. Ahead of the last elections, Trump said Taiwan should “pay” for protection.

He doesn’t know who the crypto boss he pardoned is

When asked why he pardoned cryptocurrency multibillionaire and Binance founder Changpeng Zhao last month, Trump said: “I don’t know who he is.”

The president said he had never met Zhao, but had been told he was the victim of a “witch hunt” by the administration of former US President Joe Biden.

Zhao pleaded guilty to enabling money laundering in connection with child sex abuse and “terrorism” on his crypto platform in 2023. He served four months in prison until September 2024, and stepped down as chief executive of Binance.

Binance has been linked to the Trump family’s cryptocurrency company World Liberty Financial, and many have questioned if the case is a conflict of interest.

In March 2025, World Liberty Financial launched its own dollar-pegged cryptocoin, USD1, on Binance’s blockchain and the company promoted it to its 275 million users. The coin was also supported by an investment fund in the United Arab Emirates, MGX Fund Management Limited, which used $2bn worth of the World Liberty stablecoin to buy a stake in Binance.

This part of the interview appeared in a full transcript of the 90-minute interview, but does not appear in either the 28-minute televised version or the 73-minute extended online video version. CBS said in a note on the YouTube version that it was “condensed for clarity”.

Other countries ‘are testing nuclear weapons’

Trump justified last week’s decision by his government to resume nuclear testing for the first time in 33 years, saying that other countries – besides North Korea – are already doing it.

“Russia’s testing, and China’s testing, but they don’t talk about it,” Trump said, also mentioning Pakistan. “You know, we’re an open society. We’re different. We talk about it. We have to talk about it, because otherwise you people are gonna report – they don’t have reporters that gonna be writing about it. We do.”

Russia, China, and Pakistan have not openly conducted tests in recent years. Analyst Georgia Cole of UK think tank Chatham House told Al Jazeera that “there is no indication” the three countries have resumed testing.

He’s not worried about Hamas disarming

The president claimed the US-negotiated ceasefire and peace plan between Israel and Hamas was “very solid” despite Israeli strikes killing 236 Gazans since the ceasefire went into effect. It is also unclear whether or when the Palestinian armed group, Hamas, has agreed it will disarm.

However, Trump said he was not worried about Hamas disarming as the US would force the armed group to do so. “Hamas could be taken out immediately if they don’t behave,” he said.

Venezuela’s Maduro’s ‘days are numbered’

Trump denied the US was going to war with Venezuela despite a US military build-up off the country’s coast and deadly air strikes targeting alleged drug-trafficking ships in the country’s waters. The United Nations has said the strikes are a violation of international law.

Responding to a question about whether the strikes were really about unseating Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro, Trump said they weren’t. However, when asked if Maduro’s days in office were numbered, the president answered: “I would say, yeah.”

US government shutdown is all the Democrats’ fault

Trump, a member of the Republican Party, blamed Democrats for what is now close to the longest government shutdown in US history, which has been ongoing since October 1.

Senators from the Democratic Party have refused to approve a new budget unless it extends expiring tax credits that make health insurance cheaper for millions of Americans and unless Trump reverses healthcare cuts made in his tax-and-spending bill, passed earlier this year.

The US president made it clear that he would not negotiate with Democrats, and did not give clear plans for ending the shutdown affecting 1.4 million governent employees.

US will become ‘third-world nation’ if tariffs disallowed

Referring to a US Supreme Court hearing brought by businesses arguing that the Trump government’s tariff war on other countries is illegal and has caused domestic inflation, Trump said the US “would go to hell” and be a “third world nation” if the court ordered tariffs to be removed.

He said the tariffs are necessary for “national security” and that they have increased respect from other countries for the US.

ICE raids ‘don’t go far enough’

Trump defended his government’s unprecedented Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids and surveillance on people perceived to be undocumented migrants.

When asked if the raids had gone too far, he responded: “No. I think they haven’t gone far enough because we’ve been held back by the judges, by the liberal judges that were put in by [former US Presidents Joe] Biden and [Barack] Obama.”

Zohran Mamdani is a ‘communist’

Regarding the New York City mayoral race scheduled for November 4, Trump said he would not back democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani, and called him a “communist”. He said if Mamdani wins, it will be hard for him to “give a lot of money to New York”.

Frontrunner Zohran Mamdani, former Governor Andrew Cuomo and Republican Curtis Sliwa faced off in the final debate of the New York City mayoral race on Wednesday, in a final push to woo voters before the November 4 vote.

But the attack lines they deployed against each other, and their defences, were mostly along predictable lines, as their track records, United States President Donald Trump and Israel’s war on Gaza dominated their clash at LaGuardia Community College in the borough of Queens.

Mamdani, the Democratic nominee, maintains a sizeable lead in the polls, after surging to a surprise victory in the June primary on a platform of affordability: pushing free buses, rent freezes, and universal childcare, paid for, in part, by raising taxes that favour the wealthy.

Cuomo has sought to portray Mamdani’s promises – most of which would require buy-in from state lawmakers – as unrealistic and has repeatedly taken aim at the 34-year-old Democratic Socialist’s lack of experience in governing. The race has narrowed since the current mayor, Eric Adams, exited the race, leaving just Mamdani, Cuomo and Sliva in the contest.

Here were the top takeaways from the debate:

Experience versus the future

The night began with Cuomo and Mamdani hammering home the themes that have defined the final stretch of the race.

Cuomo called himself the candidate who “can get it done, not just talk about it”.

“He’s never run anything, managed anything. He’s never had a real job,” he said of Mamdani.

Mamdani called himself the “sole candidate running with a vision for the future of this city”.

“He is a desperate man lashing out because he knows that the one thing he’s always cared about, power, is now slipping away from him,” Mamdani said of Cuomo.

Later in the night, Sliwa took a swipe at both his opponents: “Zohran, your resume could fit on a cocktail napkin, and Andrew, your failures could fill a public school library in New York City.”

Countering Trump

The US president has loomed large over the New York City mayoral race. Wednesday’s debate also came hours after immigration agents raided Manhattan’s Chinatown, an escalation of federal enforcement measures in America’s largest city.

Trump has pledged to deploy the National Guard and to cut federal funding to the city if Mamdani is elected. Cuomo, who shares many of the same donors as Trump, has seized on those threats to portray a win for his rival as dangerous for the city.

“[Trump] has said he’ll take over New York if Mamdani wins, and he will, because he has no respect for him. He [Trump] thinks he’s a kid, and he’s going to knock him [Mamdani] on his tuchus,” Cuomo said.

“I believe [Trump] wants Mamdani, that is his dream, because he will use him politically all across our country, and he will take over New York City,” he said. “Make no mistake, it will be President Trump and Mayor Trump.”

Mamdani called Cuomo “Donald Trump’s puppet”.

“You could turn on the TV any day of the week, and you will hear Donald Trump share that his pick for mayor is Andrew Cuomo, and he wants Andrew Cuomo to be the mayor, not because it will be good for New Yorkers, but because it will be good for him,” he said.

Support for Palestine again looms large

Mamdani was again asked about his staunch support for Palestinian rights, which Cuomo has repeatedly decried, baselessly, as anti-Semitic.

Mamdani said he “will be the mayor who doesn’t just protect Jewish New Yorkers, but also celebrates and cherishes them”. He said Cuomo was using false claims of anti-Semitism to “score political points”.

Cuomo accused him of stoking “the flames of hatred against Jewish people”.

Sliwa falsely accused Mamdani of endorsing “global jihad”.

“That is not something that I have said and that continues to be ascribed to me,” Mamdani responded, “and frankly, I think much of it has to do with the fact that I am the first Muslim candidate to be on the precipice of winning this election.”

Mamdani announces pick for police commissioner

The leading candidate also broke some news during the debate, announcing he would ask current Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch to stay on in her post if he wins.

That may upset some of Mamdani’s supporters, who could see the police chief, who is serving under current Mayor Adams, as out of step with the police reforms he has promised.

Tisch, whose family is worth billions, has championed increasing so-called “quality of life” enforcement that critics say disproportionately harms minority communities. She has also pushed to make some criminal laws stricter.

Cuomo grilled on sexual assault

Cuomo was repeatedly asked by his opponents about the sexual misconduct allegations from his employees that saw him leave his post as New York governor early in 2021.

Investigators with the state attorney general later found that Cuomo had “sexually harassed a number of current and former New York State employees”.

Cuomo has claimed the cases have been closed “legally”, but litigation in several cases continues.

During the debate, Mamdani revealed that one accuser, Charlotte Bennett, who Cuomo is currently suing for defamation, was in the audience.

“What do you say to the 13 women who you sexually harassed?” he asked Cuomo.

Cuomo pushed back, arguing that the sexual harassment cases have been dropped. “What you just said was a misstatement, which we’re accustomed to,” he responded to Mamdani.

Washington, DC – United States President Donald Trump has addressed hundreds of US generals in Virginia on topics ranging from climbing up stairs to the crisis in Ukraine – often repeating his talking points and bouncing between subjects.

Trump’s self-described “weave” – his tendency to knit multiple stories and subjects into one set of remarks – grew large on Tuesday as he spoke for more than one hour and 10 minutes.

He aired familiar grievances about his political opponents, lauded his own foreign policy and called for improving the appearance of warships.

But the US president’s most consequential message to the generals was that the military will be focusing on missions at home.

Here are five key takeaways from Trump’s speech:

Focusing on the ‘enemy within’

Trump suggested throughout the address that he wants the military to respond to perceived threats at home, including what he sees as riots and unauthorised immigration.

“Last month, I signed an executive order to provide training for a quick reaction force that can help quell civil disturbances,” he said.

“This is gonna be a big thing for the people in this room because it’s the enemy from within and we have to handle it before it gets out of control.”

Trump has ordered the deployment of military forces in Los Angeles, California; Washington, DC; Memphis, Tennessee; and Portland, Oregon.

On Tuesday, he suggested he will send the military to other major cities, including San Francisco, Chicago and New York, likening the push to war.

“This is going to be a major part for some of the people in this room. That’s a war too. It’s a war from within,” Trump said.

The campaign – which is already facing challenges in the courts – has raised legal questions about the role of the US military and possible violations of the law.

The US Constitution’s 10th Amendment gives all duties not otherwise specified to be federal powers to the states, and that includes policing.

Moreover, the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878 bars the US military from engaging in civilian law enforcement in the US unless “expressly authorised” by the law.

Ironically, Trump’s Republican Party has long championed state rights against expanding federal powers.

Making a case for the Nobel Peace Prize

The US president sought to portray himself as a peacemaker as he enumerated several global crises that he said he personally solved, including clashes between India and Pakistan in May.

He suggested that he deserves a Nobel Peace Prize for that effort.

“Will you get the Nobel Prize? Absolutely not,” Trump said. “They’ll give it to some guy that didn’t do a damn thing.”

He added that it would be a “big insult” to the US if he does not receive the award.

In the first nine months of his second term, Trump has bombed Iran and Yemen, intensified drone strikes in Somalia, and he has been carrying out attacks against boats in the Caribbean that he said are carrying drugs.

But his administration has not provided concrete proof that the deadly air raids targeted drug smugglers. Trump and his aides have joked that the waters near Venezuela are no longer safe for fishermen due to the US military campaign.

Plan to end Gaza war

Trump suggested a ceasefire in Gaza is close, saying Israel and Arab and Muslim nations have accepted his peace plan and now Hamas needs to agree.

He suggested that his 20-point plan could settle the entire region.

“I said, ‘How long have you been fighting?’ ‘Three thousand years, sir.’ That’s a long time, but we got it, I think, settled. We’ll see,” the US president said.

In reality, the Palestinian-Israeli conflict started in the early 1900s with the Zionist colonisation of Palestine, and the first Arab-Israeli war took place in 1948.

Earlier on Tuesday, Trump said he is giving Hamas three or four days to respond to his proposal or it will face a “very sad end”.

Disappointment in Putin

Trump said he is still working to end the war in Ukraine, blaming Russian President Vladimir Putin for the continuation of the conflict.

Trump also suggested that Russia is struggling militarily in the conflict, saying thousands of soldiers are being killed on each side weekly.

“I’m so disappointed in President Putin,” Trump said.

“I said I thought he would get this thing over with. He should have had that war done in a week. And I said to him, ‘You know, you don’t look good. You’re four years fighting a war that should have taken a week. Are you a paper tiger?’”

Trump held direct talks with Putin in Alaska last month, and he has been pushing for a summit between the Russian president and his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

But so far, US diplomacy has failed to stop the fighting.

Last week, Trump said Ukraine could win back all of the areas captured by Russia during the war, appearing to reverse earlier assertions that Kyiv would have to give up some territory to secure a peace deal with Moscow.

Biden grievances

Throughout the speech, Trump took digs at his predecessor Joe Biden, claiming that the chaotic US withdrawal from Afghanistan under his watch is what motivated Putin to invade Ukraine.

He repeatedly described the Biden administration as “incompetent”.

“You’ll never see four years like we had with Biden and that group of incompetent people that ran this country that should have never been there,” he told the generals.

Trump said he takes stairs carefully to avoid tripping down as Biden did on a couple of occasions when he was president.

“We have great peace through strength. America is respected again as a country,” he said. “We were not respected with Biden. They looked at him falling down stairs every day. Every day, the guy’s falling down stairs.”

PA Media

Taking aim at Reform UK

Hard truths on migration

PA Media

A focus on apprenticeships

Starmer’s version of patriotism

PA Media

Looking back – and ahead – to tough Budget decisions

In a darkened airport hotel ballroom room, a bevy of California Democrats sought to distinguish themselves from the crowded field running for governor in 2026.

It was not an easy task, given that the lineup of current and former elected officials sharing the stage at the Sunday morning forum agreed on almost all the issues, with any differences largely playing out in the margins.

They pledged to take on President Trump, make the state more affordable, safeguard immigrants and provide them with Medi-Cal healthcare benefits, and keep the state’s over-budget bullet train project intact.

There is not yet any clear front-runner in the race to run the nation’s most populous state, though former Orange County Rep. Katie Porter has had a small edge in recent polling.

Aside from a opaque dig from former state Controller Betty Yee, Porter was not attacked during the debate.

They were joined onstage by former U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra, California Supt. of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond and former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. State Sen. Toni Atkins, who was supposed to participate, dropped out due to illness. Wealthy first-time political candidate Stephen J. Cloobeck withdrew due to a scheduling conflict.

The forum was sponsored by the National Union of Healthcare Workers, in partnership with the Los Angeles Times and Spectrum News. It was held in Los Angeles and moderated by Associated Press national planning editor Lisa Matthews, with L.A. Times California politics editor Phil Willon, Spectrum News 1 news anchor Amrit Singh and Politico senior political reporter Melanie Mason asking the questions.

Sen. Alex Padilla and businessman Rick Caruso have also both publicly flirted with a bid for the state’s top office, but have yet to make a decision.

Two major GOP candidates, Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco and conservative commentator Steve Hilton, are also running for California governor, but neither were invited to the debate because they did not complete an endorsement questionnaire from the union.

With Prop. 50 in the forefront, a lack of attention on the race

California’s June 2 gubernatorial primary is just eight months away, but the horde hoping to replace Gov. Gavin Newsom has been competing for attention against an extraordinarily crowded landscape, with an unexpected special election this November pulling both dollars and attention away from the race for governor. To say nothing of the fact that the race had been somewhat frozen in place for months until the end of July, when former Vice President Kamala Harris finally announced she would not be running.

The candidates reiterated their support for Proposition 50, the Newsom-led November ballot measure to help Democrats win control of the U.S. House of Representatives next year by redrawing California congressional districts. Newsom pushed for the measure to counter efforts by Republican-led states to reconfigure their congressional districts to ensure the GOP keeps control of Congress.

“This is not a fight we actually wanted to have,” Yee said. “This is in response to a clear attempt to mute our representation in Washington. And so we have to fight back.”

A focus on immigrant backgrounds, and appeals to Latino voters

The candidates repeatedly focused on their families’ origins as well as their efforts to protect immigrants while serving in elected office.

Thurmond raised his upbringing in his opening remarks.

“I know what it is to struggle. You know that my grandparents were immigrants who came here from Colombia, from Jamaica? You know that I am the descendant of slaves who settled in Detroit, Mich.?” he said.

Becerra highlighted his support for undocumented people to have access to state healthcare coverage as well as his successful lawsuit protecting undocumented immigrants brought to this nation as young children that reached the Supreme Court.

“As the son of immigrants, I know what happens when you feel like you’re excluded,” he said.

Becerra and Thurmond addressed the diverse audience in Spanish.

Yee, who spoke about sharing a room with her immigrant parents and siblings. also raised her background during a lightning-round question about what the candidates planned to dress up as on Halloween.

“My authentic self as a daughter of immigrants,” she said.

Differing opinions on criminal justice approaches and healthcare

The debate was overwhelmingly cordial. But there was some dissent when the topic turned to Proposition 36, a 2024 anti-crime ballot measure that imposed stricter penalties for repeat theft and crimes involving fentanyl.

The ballot measure — which undid key parts of the 2014 criminal justice reform ballot measure Proposition 47 — sowed division among California Democrats, with Newsom and groups including the ACLU strongly opposing it. Its passage marked a turning of the tide in Californians’ attitudes about criminal justice reform and response to crime, following years of support for progressive policies that leaned away from punitive prison sentences for lower-level crimes.

First, Villaraigosa contended that he was the only candidate on stage who had supported Proposition 36, though Porter and Becerra quickly jumped in to say that they too had supported it.

But Porter also contended that, despite her support, there were “very real problems with it and very real shortcomings.” The measure should have also focused on prevention and incarcerating people for drug offenses doesn’t make anyone safer, she said.

Thurmond strayed sharply from the pack on the issue, saying he voted “no” on Proposition 36 and citing his career as a social worker.

“Prop. 36, by design, was set up to say that if you have a substance abuse issue, that you will get treatment in jail,” Thurmond contended, suggesting that the amount of drugs present in the prison system would make that outcome difficult.

As governor, he would more money into treatment for substance abuse programs and diversion programs for those who commit minor crimes, he said.

When the candidates were asked to raise their hands if they supported a single-payer healthcare system, Porter and Villaraigosa did not, while Becerra, Yee and Thurmond did.

The need to build more housing

Issues of affordability are top of mind for most Californians, particularly when it comes to housing.

Thurmond said he would build two million housing units on surplus land on school sites around the state and provide a tax break for working and middle class Californians.

Villaraigosa also focused on the need to build more housing, criticizing bureaucratic red tape and slow permitting processes.

Villaraigosa also twice critiqued CEQA — notable because the landmark California Environmental Quality Act was once held seemingly above reproach by California Democrats. But the law’s flaws have become increasingly accepted in recent years as the state’s housing crisis worsened, with Newsom signing two bills to overhaul the the law and ease new construction earlier this year.

Porter said that if she were governor, she would sign SB 79, a landmark housing bill that overrides local zoning laws to expand high-density housing near transit hubs. The controversial bill — which would potentially remake single-family neighborhoods within a half-mile of transit stops — is awaiting Newsom’s signature or veto.

THE best takeaways in the UK and Ireland have been revealed – and your local favourite could be on the list.

Uber Eats has announced a shortlist of 12 finalists competing in this year’s Restaurant of the Year Awards.

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Takeaway fans have been voting for their favourite restaurant to claim the top prize, which will be announced later this year.

A total of 130 restaurants originally made the nominations list.

Now one takeaway from each region has been selected to have a shot of becoming the overall winner.

These are the finalists:

• London – Sanjugo
• Yorkshire – Silver’s Deli
• Scotland: YAYAS
• North West: Burg N Ice
• North East: Sushi Me Rollin’
• West Midlands: Taqi’s Grill
• Wales: Sharkbite Burgers
• South West: Low & Slow
• South East: Umami Street Food
• East Midlands & Anglia: Wok & Grill
• Northern Ireland: Seed
• Ireland: Urban Health

London gem Sanjugo has an impressive 4.8 stars out of 5 on Google Reviews.

The Japanese sushi restaurant currently has locations in Angel, Shoreditch and Victoria.

Another Japanese restaurant to make the cut is Sushi Me Rollin’ in Newcastle Upon Tyne.

It’s known for its hand-crafted sushi with wacky names, including The Attenborough and The Karate Squid.

Two burger restaurants are also on the list.

There’s Burg N Ice, which offers smashed burgers and crispy chicken tenders alongside sweet treats like ice cream and waffles.

Meanwhile Sharkbite Burgers in Cwmbran, Wales, serves up giant burgers like the Daddy Shark and the Megalodon.

It was set up by competitive bodybuilder Mark, also known as Sharkey, and his partner Tash.

Barbecue and grill restaurants also feature among the finalists.

Taqi’s Grill in Birmingham is known for its Cajun Chargrilled Doner Kebab, Signature Burger and Beef Smash Burger.

Meanwhile Low & Slow in Bristol smokes its delicious meat dishes for up to 20 hours to get the perfect texture and taste.

Leicester’s Wok & Grill offers a fusion of authentic Indo-Chinese and flame-grilled dishes.

You can get everything from noodle and rice boxes to peri peri chicken and gourmet burgers.

The winner of the sought-after title will be crowned in London.

They will receive a huge £100,000 prize to invest into their business.

All the finalists will receive a £5,000 prize and a tailored support package from Uber Eats to help boost their business.

The winners will be judged by experts such as Levi Roots, Eating with Todd, Clodagh McKenna, and 2024 Restaurant of the Year winner Natty Crutchfield.

More than 60% of restaurants on Uber Eats are small or medium-sized businesses.

Matthew Price, general manager of Uber Eats UK, Ireland and Northern Europe, said: “Independent restaurants are the beating heart of the UK and Ireland’s food scene.

“Whether it’s your local burger joint, a climate-conscious vegan cafe, or a TikTok-famous pop-up, Uber Eats is proud to support the businesses that bring flavour, jobs, and culture to our communities.”

Ferguson, a second-round draft pick from Oregon, made his debut after sitting out the first two preseason games because of a hamstring injury.

Ferguson was quiet the first quarter, but in the second he got a chance to show why the Rams selected him to be the heir apparent to veteran tight end Tyler Higbee.

Lining up in the left slot, the 6-foot-5, 247-pound Ferguson broke toward the sideline and made an over-the-shoulder catch for a 33-yard gain. Ferguson, not realizing he slid out of bounds, got to his feet and ran to the end zone.

“It was a big thing for me to have that first catch and be able to stretch the field a little bit, showcase some vertical speed,” Ferguson said during the television broadcast.

A few plays later, Ferguson lined up in the right slot, caught a short pass and turned it into a 15-yard gain.

That was all coach Sean McVay and his staff needed to see.

“You feel him,” McVay told reporters in Cleveland after the game. “He’s just got a nice pace to his game. Thought it was great to be able to get him out there.”

Ferguson showed he will be a factor in a tight end group that also includes Colby Parkinson and Davis Allen.

Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford walks on the field before a preseason win over the Dallas Cowboys on Aug. 9.

(Kyusung Gong / Associated Press)

Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford was scheduled to work out on Saturday, a chance for the 17th-year pro to test his injured back.

But before the Rams played the Chargers at SoFi Stadium, when asked to confirm whether Stafford went through the workout, a Rams official declined to comment and said coach Sean McVay would address the situation Monday.

It was the latest mysterious and potentially troublesome turn in a saga that began at the start of training camp and continues as the Rams prepare for their Sept. 7 opener against the Houston Texans at SoFi Stadium.

Stafford, 37, is working through an aggravated disc, according to McVay, a situation that has prevented him from practicing with the team.

Last Saturday, before the Rams’ preseason opener against the Dallas Cowboys, Stafford went through a workout in Woodland Hills that included more than 60 passes, McVay said after the Rams’ 31-21 victory. The plan was for Stafford to participate in individual drills two days later.

But Stafford did not practice last week. And after a joint practice with the New Orleans Saints on Thursday, McVay said Stafford would go through another workout in Woodland Hills on Saturday.

Aubrey Pleasant, the Rams assistant head coach, served as head coach for the game against the Chargers and appeared for the postgame news conference. McVay was not made available to reporters.

In the lead-up to his much-touted Friday summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin, United States President Donald Trump expressed confidence in his ability to make concrete progress towards securing a ceasefire in Ukraine at the meeting.

Putin received the red carpet treatment as he was met with a lengthy handshake by Trump as he deplaned at the Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson military facility in the Alaskan city of Anchorage.

The warm greeting set a congenial tone for what were always going to be tough negotiations. But there was a more subdued atmosphere a few hours later as Trump and Putin departed on their respective planes – with no clear breakthrough on the war in Ukraine.

Here are some key takeaways from their meeting:

‘No deal until there’s a deal’

While the meeting was anticipated to take about seven hours, it wrapped up in less than three. Trump and Putin addressed a gathering of journalists after the talks with relatively brief pre-prepared statements. Neither leader took any questions.

Putin said his country is committed to ending the war, but the conflict’s “primary causes” must be eliminated for an agreement to be long-lasting.

Putin also warned Ukraine and the European Union against throwing a “wrench in the works” and cautioned against attempts to use “backroom dealings to conduct provocations to torpedo the nascent progress”.

A relatively subdued Trump praised the “extremely productive meeting”, in which he said “many points were agreed to”. He said there is a “very good chance of getting there” – referring to a ceasefire – but conceded that there remain sticking points with Moscow, including at least one “significant” one.

He cautioned that it’s “ultimately up to them” – referring to Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. “There’s no deal until there’s a deal,” he said.

And there was none by the time Trump and Putin left Alaska.

A PR coup for Putin

The Russian leader has become an increasingly maligned and isolated figure in the West since waging war on Ukraine in February 2022.

But on Friday, that ended, with a red carpet welcome, a flypast by US fighter jets and warm applause from Trump.

Putin himself seemed pleased, grinning out the window as he drove off the tarmac with Trump in the presidential Cadillac limousine known as “The Beast”.

“For three years they [Western media] have been talking about Russia’s isolation, and today they saw the red carpet that greeted the Russian president in the United States,” Maria Zakharova, spokesperson for the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, gloated after the summit, on Telegram.

Talking business

Before the meeting, it was widely anticipated that Putin would attempt to dilute peace talks with talk of bilateral trade and cooperation.

Trump had asserted that there would be no discussion of business with Putin until the pair had made substantive progress on bringing about a ceasefire in Ukraine.

This plan, however, seems to have been derailed somewhat, with the Russian president saying in his post-meeting statement that the pair discussed their collaboration in the areas of tech and space.

“It’s clear that US and Russian investment and business cooperation has tremendous potential. Russia and the US can offer each other so much. In trade, digital, high-tech and in space exploration, [and] we see that Arctic cooperation is also very possible,” he told reporters.

Russia has previously tried to pitch its vast reserves of rare earth minerals – critical for several cutting edge sectors – to the US to broker a breakthrough.

Next up: Another meeting – and pressure on Ukraine

As Trump thanked Putin for his time, he said he hoped they would meet again soon. Putin quickly responded by saying, in English with a laugh, “Next time, in Moscow”.

“I’ll get a little heat on that one, but I could see it possibly happening,” he said in response.

Trump has previously asserted that he hopes to host a trilateral meeting on ending the war in Ukraine very soon, this time attended by Ukraine’s Zelenskyy, too. In Alaska, the US leader said he would now call NATO officials and Zelenskyy to discuss the meeting.

In an interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity after the meeting, Trump was asked how he rated the summit on a scale of 10. He described the meet as a “10 out of 10”.

“We got along great,” he said.

Then, he emphasised the importance of the Ukrainian leader agreeing to a deal.

“Now, it’s really up to President Zelenskyy to get it done. And I would also say the European nations, they have to get involved a little bit. But it’s up to President Zelenskyy,” he said, adding that he’ll attend the next meeting “if they’d like”.

“Make a deal,” he said, in a message apparently for Zelenskyy.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrived on Wednesday in Berlin for a virtual summit with European officials and United States President Donald Trump, convened by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.

The call was meant to bring European leaders together with Trump before the planned August 15 Alaska meeting between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Those on the call included Merz and the US president, as well as US Vice President JD Vance, Zelenskyy, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron and Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof, among others.

Here are the key takeaways:

What happened on Wednesday?

The prospect of Trump meeting alone with Putin has left European leaders uneasy. Since the Alaska summit was announced, they have worked to secure Trump’s ear one last time, and on Wednesday, that effort resulted in a series of high-level calls.

About 12:00 GMT, European leaders and NATO members held a video conference with Zelenskyy. Roughly an hour later, Trump and Vice President JD Vance joined the discussion.

Chancellor Merz and President Zelenskyy then delivered joint statements, followed by a separate address from Trump at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC.

Later in the day, the “Coalition of the Willing”, a group of 31 countries committed to strengthening support for Ukraine against Russian aggression, met in a separate virtual session, issuing a statement.

What were the key takeaways from all these talks?

Here is a breakdown.

EU leaders:

Following the talks with other European leaders and Trump:

• Merz said that European and Ukrainian security interests must be respected at Friday’s Alaska summit. He underlined the importance of Ukraine having a seat at the table in any peace discussions, with a ceasefire as the essential first step.
• “We have made it clear that Ukraine will be at the table as soon as there is a follow-up meeting,” Merz told reporters in Berlin alongside Zelenskyy. “President Trump wants to make a ceasefire a priority,” he added.
• Any territorial exchange in Ukraine “must only be discussed with Ukraine”, French President Macron told reporters in Bregancon, France, following the call.
• “Trump was very clear on the fact that the US wants to obtain a ceasefire at this meeting in Alaska,” Macron said.  “We must continue to support Ukraine, and when I say ‘we’, I mean Europeans and Americans,” he added.

• Ukraine needs credible security guarantees as part of any peace deal, a spokesperson for Prime Minister Starmer said following the virtual summit. The United Kingdom’s support for Ukraine is “unwavering”, he added.

Zelenskyy statements:

• Zelenskyy, during the news conference with Merz, said Putin is “bluffing” about being interested in peace. “Russia is attempting to portray itself as capable of occupying all of Ukraine. That is undoubtedly what they want,” Zelenskyy said.
• The Ukrainian leader also warned that “talks about us, without us, will not work”.
• “Everything concerning Ukraine must be discussed exclusively with Ukraine. We must prepare a trilateral format for talks. There must be a ceasefire,” Zelenskyy added.
• He also said “there must be security guarantees – truly reliable ones”.
• Among the agreed principles, Zelenskyy said, is that Russia must not be allowed to block Ukraine’s path to joining the European Union or NATO, and that peace talks should go hand in hand with maintaining pressure on Russia.

• The Ukrainian leader also emphasised that sanctions should be strengthened if Russia fails to agree to a ceasefire during the Alaska summit. “These are effective principles. It is important that they work,” Zelenskyy added.

Thank you for your support! https://t.co/8GyunlWhwf

— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) August 13, 2025

Trump’s news conference:

Following the call, Trump spoke at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC:

• “We had a very good call. I would rate it a 10, very friendly,” Trump explained. The US leader then went on to discuss potential next steps ahead of Friday’s meeting.
• “There’s a very good chance that we’re going to have a second meeting, which will be more productive than the first. Because the first is: I’m going to find out where we are and what we’re doing,” he said.
• Trump also mentioned the possibility of a later meeting “between President Putin and President Zelenskyy and myself, if they’d like to have me there”, after the first meeting between him and Putin.
• Trump also said he plans to call Zelenskyy and other European leaders after Friday’s discussions with Putin.
• The US president also said there will be “very severe consequences” for Russia if Putin doesn’t agree to end the war after Friday’s meeting.

• “Do you believe you can convince him to stop targeting civilians in Ukraine?” one journalist asked Trump. “I’ve had that conversation with him,” Trump said.
• “Then I go home and I see that a rocket hit a nursing home or a rocket hit an apartment building and people are laying dead in the street. So I guess the answer to that is no, because I’ve had this conversation,” he added.
• However, he reaffirmed his intention to find a solution: “I want to end the war. It’s Biden’s war, but I want to end it. I’ll be very proud to end this war, along with the five other wars I ended,” he said, without explaining which other conflicts he was referring to. He has claimed credit for ceasefires between India and Pakistan in May and Israel and Iran in June, and helped mediate truce pacts between Azerbaijan and Armenia, and between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda. Trump has also repeatedly made it clear that he covets a Nobel Peace Prize and believes he is deserving of one.

The Coalition of the Willing:

The coalition issued a statement outlining four key requirements they believe should form the basis of Friday’s talks.

• They said “meaningful negotiations can only take place in the context of a ceasefire or a lasting and significant cessation of hostilities”.
• Second, if Russia refuses a ceasefire in Alaska, sanctions and other economic measures should be intensified to further strain its war economy.
• Third, “international borders must not be changed by force”.
• Fourth, Ukraine should receive strong security guarantees, with the Coalition of the Willing ready to help, including a reassurance force after hostilities end. “No limitations should be placed on Ukraine’s armed forces or on its cooperation with third countries,” the statement said. And Russia cannot veto Ukraine’s path to EU or NATO membership.

Will the European intervention influence the Alaska summit?

It’s unclear, but analysts say that Wednesday’s calls show how Europe has managed to make sure that Trump can’t ignore the continent.

“Even if certain commitments are given, we don’t know what will happen once Putin and Trump find themselves in a room,” Lucian Kim, a senior analyst for Ukraine with the International Crisis Group, told Al Jazeera.

“The Europeans have quite a lot of power and even more than they realise themselves,” he said, adding that it was an “achievement” for European leaders to get Trump’s attention, and there is now a difference in tone.

“It was not a given when Trump first got into office that he would listen to the Europeans,” he said. Kim also noted that Europe has used its power and influence to pressure Russia over the war.

“Russia was heavily dependent on Europe, not the United States, and this lack of trade is hurting Russia,” he said. “Also, you have European banks that are holding hundreds of billions of dollars in Russian government assets.”

“Trump has realised that without the Europeans, it will be very hard to reach any solution in Ukraine.”

What has Russia said so far about any peace agreement?

On Wednesday, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Alexey Fadeev told a news conference that Moscow’s position remained unchanged since President Putin outlined it in June 2024.

At the time, Putin had said that a ceasefire would take effect immediately if the Ukrainian government withdrew from four Ukrainian regions partially occupied by Russia – Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhia. He also insisted that Ukraine must formally abandon its bid to join the NATO military alliance.

Russia currently controls about 19 percent of Ukraine, including the entirety of Crimea and Luhansk, more than 70 percent of Donetsk, Zaporizhia and Kherson, as well as small portions of the Kharkiv, Sumy, Mykolaiv, and Dnipropetrovsk regions.

Chargers quarterback Trey Lance passes during the second half Sunday.

(Eric Thayer / Associated Press)

With a strong showing in the preseason opener — earning both the trust and praise of the coaching staff — Trey Lance has seemingly closed the gap in what was once considered a foregone decision for the backup quarterback spot.

The growing confidence in his game showed Sunday — trusting his legs to extend plays — as he extended his second series with 13- and 17-yard scrambles in the second quarter. He capped the drive with a designed quarterback draw near the goal line for a five-yard touchdown run.

“It allows you to move the chains,” Harbaugh said of Lance’s running ability. “You make the right decisions, that’s what it really comes down to. … Not everybody can do that.”

Harbaugh added, “I’m glad he’s getting that game-time experience. We thought he would be good.”

Most of Lance’s production came on the ground, rushing seven times for 48 yards. He also completed seven of 14 passes for 55 yards.

“[I’m] just trying to have great practices and stack those on top of each other, and then great games and continue to stack those,” Lance said. “Like I said last week, I thought it was a good starting point. And this week, another one.”

Taylor Heinicke, who sat out the preseason opener, looked rusty in his first action, starting the game but finishing one for five for eight yards with one sack.

During his lone quarter of work, he overshot several receivers — Tyler Conklin downfield and Kimani Vidal near the sideline. Several drives stalled with Heinicke under center, as the Chargers started deep in their territory and pressure collapsed the pocket.

CANTON, Ohio — Trey Lance welcomes any opportunity that comes his way — a vexing four NFL seasons have only made him more eager — so Thursday night felt especially good.

Lance, the onetime third overall pick of the San Francisco 49ers, is battling for the Chargers’ backup quarterback job, and he made a compelling case in the Hall of Fame Game against the NFC darling Detroit Lions.

Although he didn’t put up gaudy numbers — completing 13 of 20 passes for 120 yards and two touchdowns — he was as relaxed and at ease in front of the crowd of 18,144 at Tom Benson Stadium, as refreshing as the gentle evening breeze after a day of sprinkling rain.

“I was excited that we got this fourth preseason game,” Lance said after the 34-7 victory. “If I could play four games I’d be fired up about that.”

Lance, competing with Taylor Heinicke for the backup job to Justin Herbert, is on his third NFL team since being drafted in 2021. He was sidelined by injuries with the 49ers, then unseated by Brock Purdy. After that, Lance was a third-stringer for two seasons in Dallas. And keep in mind, he only played one full season at North Dakota State.

NFL analyst Sam Monson crunched the numbers and came up with this forehead-slapping stat: Lance has thrown a total of 781 pass attempts since he was 16. Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes, for instance, had 664 last season alone.

“He had the same kind of composure and poise and was just in control,” Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh said of Lance after the game. “There’s a presence that I’ve been seeing all camp. He’s had a heck of a camp, and then he went out in the game and did that. Just the feeling of — he needs game reps, and you know he’s going to get them. It’s a great start for him tonight.”

Chargers quarterback Trey Lance passes in the first half of the Hall of Fame Game on Thursday.

(David Richard / Associated Press)

As for that relatively minuscule number of pass attempts since high school?

Lance just turned 25 in May.

“Gosh, to be 25 again,” the coach said. “Wow, that’s the fat part of the bat, you know, for a quarterback. Excited about where he’s headed, happy to be in the middle of that story too. Just keep rolling. More reps next week.”

Here are five observations from the Chargers’ preseason opener:

Sin-caraz here to stay

The level of shot-making and athleticism produced by Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz as their fast-developing rivalry continued in the men’s singles final was a joy to behold.

Except, perhaps, if you’re one of the guys trying to usurp them. The pair look set to maintain a stranglehold on the men’s game for the foreseeable future.

Certainly it will take something extraordinary for somebody to prevent Sinner or Alcaraz winning the US Open and sweeping the Grand Slams for the second successive season.

Swiatek joins all-court greats

Few would have picked Iga Swiatek pre-tournament as their women’s champion.

But the 24-year-old Pole has now won majors on all the surfaces after needing just 57 minutes to beat Amanda Anisimova in a scarcely believable 6-0 6-0 win.

Despite a difficult year where she dropped down the rankings, Swiatek has reasserted some of her authority after becoming the youngest woman since Serena Williams in 2002 to win Grand Slam titles on all three surfaces.

Time catching up with Djokovic

In truth, this has been apparent for a while. Novak Djokovic has not won a major title since the 2023 US Open and it was widely accepted Wimbledon represented his best chance of breaking the Sinner-Alcaraz duopoly.

The 38-year-old Serb continues to defy the ageing process but losing to Sinner in the semi-finals – ending his bid for a standalone record 25th major title – was another indication he doesn’t have enough in the tank to match the young guns.

Humans versus technology

The ongoing topic of humans being made redundant by technology spilled over into Wimbledon.

The All England Club replaced line judges with an electronic line-calling system, but had to apologise after the technology was turned off in error and missed three calls in one game.

Leaders of the BRICS bloc have sharply rebuked the United States and Israeli bombardments of Iran in June, calling them a “blatant breach of international law” while voicing strong support for the creation of a Palestinian state.

But their joint declaration on Sunday, issued at a summit in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro, was largely silent about another major war that is now in its fourth year and in which a founding BRICS member – Russia – is the aggressor: the conflict in Ukraine. Instead, it criticised Ukrainian attacks on Russian soil.

The carefully worded declaration, released amid escalating trade tensions with the US, condemned aggressive economic policies without directly naming US President Donald Trump. Almost all 10 members of BRICS, a bloc of emerging world economies, are currently engaged in sensitive trade talks with the US and are trying to assert their positions without provoking further tensions.

However, the BRICS statement did take aim at “unilateral tariff and non-tariff barriers” that “skew global trade and flout WTO [World Trade Organization] regulations”, a clear, though indirect critique of Trump’s protectionist agenda, before a deadline on Wednesday for new US tariffs to potentially kick in.

Trump responded to the BRICS declaration within hours, warning on his social media platform, Truth Social, that countries siding with what he termed “anti-American policies” would face added tariffs.

“Any Country aligning themselves with the Anti-American policies of BRICS, will be charged an ADDITIONAL 10% Tariff. There will be no exceptions to this policy,” he wrote.

Which countries are part of BRICS, and who attended the summit?

The first BRICS summit was held in 2009 with the leaders of Brazil, Russia, India and China coming together. South Africa joined in 2010, and the bloc has since become a major voice for the Global South.

Last year, Indonesia, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates joined the group, expanding its influence further and turning the bloc into a 10-nation entity.

There is growing interest from emerging economies to join the bloc with more than 30 nations queueing up for membership. Argentina was expected to join but withdrew its application after ultra-conservative President Javier Milei, an ally of Trump, took office in December 2023.

The Rio summit was led by Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. Most other member countries were represented by their leaders with three exceptions: Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian were absent.

Xi had attended all previous BRICS summits since taking office in 2013 while Putin has avoided most international trips since the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant against him over his role in the war on Ukraine in March 2023. Brazil is a member of the ICC and would have been required under the Rome Statute, which established the court, to arrest Putin if he visited.

Russia and Iran were represented by their foreign ministers and China by Premier Li Qiang.

This was the first summit attended by Indonesia after its induction into the bloc this year.

The BRICS statement also welcomed Belarus, Bolivia, Kazakhstan, Cuba, Nigeria, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Uganda and Uzbekistan as new BRICS partner countries – a status that places them on a perch below full membership and allows the bloc to increase cooperation with them.

Condemnation of US-Israel strikes on Iran

In their declaration, member states described the recent Israeli and American attacks on Iran as a “violation of international law”, expressing “grave concern” about the deteriorating security situation in the Middle East.

The conflict began on June 13 when Israel launched air strikes on Iranian military, nuclear and civilian sites, killing at least 935 people, including top military and scientific leaders. Iran’s Ministry of Health reported 5,332 people were injured.

Tehran retaliated with missile and drone strikes on Israel, killing at least 29 people and injuring hundreds more, according to figures from Israeli authorities.

A US-brokered ceasefire came into effect on June 24 although the US had supported Israeli strikes just days earlier by dropping bunker-buster bombs on Iranian nuclear facilities on June 21.

The BRICS statement underscored the importance of upholding “nuclear safeguards, safety, and security. … including in armed conflicts, to protect people and the environment from harm”.

Gaza war and Palestinian statehood

As Israel’s 21-month-long war on Gaza continues, BRICS denounced the use of starvation as a weapon of war and rejected the politicisation or militarisation of humanitarian aid.

The bloc threw its support behind UNRWA, the UN aid agency for Palestinian refugees, which has been banned by Israel.

In late May during its blockade on aid for Gaza, Israel allowed the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a private US organisation, to provide food to the people in the enclave. The move has been widely criticised by global rights bodies, especially since hundreds of Palestinians seeking aid have been shot and killed while approaching the GHF’s aid distribution sites.

BRICS also reaffirmed its position, one that is widely held globally, that Gaza and the occupied West Bank are both integral parts of a future Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital.

On October 7, 2023, nearly 1,200 people were killed in Israel in Hamas attacks, during which Palestinian fighters also took more than 240 people captive. Since then, Israel has waged a war on Gaza, killing more than 57,000 Palestinians, the majority of them women and children, and destroying more than 70 percent of Gaza’s infrastructure. In that same period, Israel has also killed more than 1,000 people in the West Bank.

Opposition to unilateral sanctions

The BRICS declaration strongly condemned the imposition of “unilateral coercive measures”, such as economic sanctions, arguing that they violate international law and harm human rights.

BRICS members Iran and Russia have been targets of longstanding US sanctions.

After the 1979 Iranian Revolution and the attack on the US embassy in Tehran, Washington imposed a wide range of sanctions. Those were ramped up in the 2010s as the US under then-President Barack Obama tried to pressure Iran to negotiate a nuclear deal in exchange for sanctions relief. But two years after that deal came into effect, Trump, who succeeded Obama as president, pulled out of the agreement and slapped tough sanctions back on Iran. Since then, the US has imposed more sanctions on Iran, including a set of measures last week.

Russia, formerly the US’s Cold War rival, has also faced repeated waves of sanctions, particularly after its 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

Trump tariffs called a ‘threat’

With the global economy in turmoil over Trump’s trade policies, BRICS voiced concern over his tariffs regime.

Trump has set Wednesday as a deadline to finalise new trade agreements, after which countries failing to strike deals with Washington will face increased tariffs.

The BRICS bloc, a major force in the global economy, is projected to outpace global average gross domestic product growth in 2025.

According to April data from the International Monetary Fund, the economies of BRICS countries will collectively grow at 3.4 percent compared with a 2.8 percent global average.

The world’s top 10 economies by size include the wealthy Group of Seven nations – Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and US – and three BRICS nations – Brazil, China and India.

The group warned that protectionist trade policies risk reducing global trade, disrupting supply chains and heightening economic uncertainty, undermining the world’s development goals.

Pahalgam attack condemned

Two months after the Pahalgam attack in India-administered Kashmir, in which gunmen killed 26 civilians, BRICS condemned the incident “in the strongest terms”.

But even with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi present, the statement did not mention Pakistan, which New Delhi has accused of supporting the attackers in April.

The two countries fought a four-day war in May after Indian strikes inside Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir. Pakistan has denied involvement in the Pahalgam attack and called for a “credible, transparent, independent” investigation.

The BRICS statement urged “zero tolerance” for “terrorism” and rejected any “double standards” in counterterrorism efforts.

Silence on Ukraine war

The lengthy statement made no direct mention of Russia’s war in Ukraine except to call for a “sustainable peace settlement”.

However, it did condemn Ukrainian strikes on Russian infrastructure in May and June, citing civilian casualties and expressing its “strongest” opposition to such actions.

WASHINGTON — Donald Trump’s upbringing in a deeply dysfunctional family makes him a uniquely destructive and unstable leader for the country, his estranged niece writes in a scathing new book released Tuesday, perhaps the most personal in a series of deeply unflattering tell-all accounts about the president.

Mary Trump, a clinical psychologist, describes her uncle as deeply insecure and unscrupulous, saying he paid a friend to take his SAT so he could get into college. She accuses him of “twisted behaviors” and “cheating as a way of life,” citing a lifelong habit of lying.

“Donald is not simply weak, his ego is a fragile thing that must be bolstered every moment because he knows deep down that he is nothing of what he claims to be. He knows he has never been loved,” writes the 55-year-old daughter of the president’s eldest brother, Fred.

The Times obtained an early copy of her 240-page book, “Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World’s Most Dangerous Man,” before its official release.

The book, which portrays the president as almost pitifully desperate for affirmation, provides a harsh contrast to Trump’s self-made image as a tough and successful businessman. It also represents an extraordinary breach in the wall of secrecy that he has erected around his life.

More than any modern president, Trump has gone to extraordinary lengths to conceal or distort major details of his private life, barring his schools from releasing transcripts, refusing to disclose his tax returns or detailed health information, and requiring employees and others to sign nondisclosure agreements to prevent release of unflattering material about his business and personal affairs.

The author says the president’s late father, Fred Sr., was domineering and a “high-functioning sociopath,” and his late mother, also named Mary, was “emotionally and physically absent.” They left Trump, she argues, without empathy and “fundamentally incapable of acknowledging the suffering of others.”

“Honest work was never demanded of him, and no matter how badly he failed, he was rewarded in ways that are almost unfathomable,” she writes.

“Now the stakes are far higher than they’ve ever been before; they are literally life and death. Unlike any previous time in his life, Donald’s failings cannot be hidden or ignored because they threaten us all,” she adds.

The president, the fourth of five Trump siblings, argued that in writing the book, his niece violated a nondisclosure agreement that she signed two decades ago as part of the settlement of a bitter dispute over the family fortune.

His younger brother, Robert, sued to block the book’s release, but a New York appeals court decided that publisher Simon & Schuster could distribute the book. Another state judge ruled on Monday that Mary Trump could not be barred from publicly speaking about the book’s contents, saying that “would be incorrect and serve no purpose.”

She had told the court that the confidentiality agreement should be declared invalid because Trump lied about his net worth and other business affairs during the negotiations.

Sarah Matthews, a White House deputy press secretary, said her allegation in the book that Trump paid someone to take the College Board admissions test for him “is completely false.” Trump enrolled at Fordham University in 1964 but transferred two years later to the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in business.

Matthews also said “the president describes the relationship he had with his father as warm and said his father was very good to him.”

According to the book, the Trump family was caustic, cold and calculating.

“Donald suffered deprivations that would scar him for life,” Mary writes, and he developed personality traits that included “displays of narcissism, bullying, grandiosity.”

He also became practiced at bending the truth, a precursor to becoming a president who has uttered and tweeted thousands of falsehoods since taking office.

“For Donald, lying was primarily a mode of self-aggrandizement meant to convince other people he was better than he actually was,” Mary writes.

According to her account, Trump got his older sister, Maryanne, to complete his school homework, and he paid a friend to take his College Board admissions test.

“That was much easier to pull off in the days before photo IDs and computerized records,” Mary writes. “Donald, who never lacked for funds, paid his buddy well.”

Mary Trump relies on her training as a clinical psychologist to analyze the president. She blames him for the unraveling of her father, Fred Jr., who died in 1981 at age 42 after struggling with alcoholism.

Fred Jr., often called Freddy, had been expected to take over the family real estate business, but he was uninterested, and Fred Sr. ended up favoring Donald instead.

“Donald, following the lead of my grandfather and with the complicity, silence, and inaction of his siblings, destroyed my father,” Mary writes.

Freddy became a commercial airline pilot, disappointing his father, who described him as a “bus driver in the sky.” While Fred Jr. was living in Massachusetts with his wife, Donald visited and berated him for his alleged failings.

“You know, Dad’s really sick of you wasting your life,” Donald said, according to the book.

Fred Jr.’s drinking worsened, and an attempt to return to the family business didn’t pan out. At the end of his life, no family members accompanied him when he was taken to the hospital, Mary writes. She says Donald went to the movies the night his brother died.

According to the book, Trump internalized Fred Sr.’s treatment of Freddy.

“He had plenty of time to learn from watching Fred humiliate his older brother and Freddy’s resulting shame,” Mary writes. “The lesson he learned, at its simplest, was that it was wrong to be like Freddy: Fred didn’t respect his oldest son, so neither would Donald. Fred thought Freddy was weak, and therefore so did Donald.”

Trump, not known for introspection, has expressed rare doubts about his treatment of his older brother. “I do regret having put pressure on him,” he told the Washington Post last year.

After Fred Sr. died in 1999, Mary and her brother, known as Fritz, were angered to learn that they would inherit far less than they expected. When they challenged the will, the Trump family cut off their medical insurance — a devastating blow to Fritz, whose new son was born with cerebral palsy and needed constant care.

Mary and Fritz eventually settled for less money than they felt they were entitled to, but the legal sparring had consequences down the road.

In the book, Mary reveals herself as the key source for the New York Times’ investigation into Trump’s alleged tax fraud as he inherited his father’s real estate empire. She communicated with one of the reporters using an untraceable phone and visited her former lawyer’s office to collect computer files and nineteen boxes of documents.

The book also describes unflattering comments made by Maryanne, Trump’s older sister and a retired federal judge. When he announced he was running for president, Mary writes, Maryanne dismissed him as “a clown.” And when he started to build support among evangelical voters, she was outraged.

“The only time Donald went to church was when the cameras were there,” Maryanne said, according to the book. “It’s mind boggling. He has no principles. None!”

Trump’s well-documented lewdness extends to his interactions with his niece, she says. After asking Mary to help ghost write one of his books, he refused to grant an interview but provided her with “an aggrieved compendium of women he had expected to date but who, having refused him, were suddenly the worst, ugliest, and fattest slobs he’d ever met.”

Around that time, Mary went with her uncle to Mar-a-Lago, his Florida resort. She writes that when he spotted her in a bathing suit, the future president looked at his 29-year-old niece “as if he’d never really seen me before” and told her “you’re stacked!”

Several former senior members of Trump’s inner circle have also shared withering criticism of the president as he seeks reelection.

Last month, John Bolton, Trump’s third national security advisor, released a scorching behind-the-scenes account of what he viewed as the president’s incompetence and servile behavior toward authoritarian leaders.

Washington, DC – Three days, three countries, hundreds of billions of dollars in investments and a geopolitical shift in the United States’s approach to the region: Donald Trump’s trip to the Middle East has been eventful.

This week, the United States president visited Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates in the first planned trip of his second presidency, after attending Pope Francis’s funeral last month.

Trump was visibly gleeful throughout the trip as he secured investments, criticised domestic political rivals and heaped praise on Gulf leaders. The word “historic” was used more than a few times by US officials to describe the visits.

With Trump returning to the White House, here are five key takeaways from his trip:

A rebuke of interventionism

Addressing an investment summit in Riyadh, Trump promoted a realist approach to the Middle East — one in which the US does not intervene in the affairs of other countries.

He took a swipe at neoconservatives who oversaw the US wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, as he lauded Gulf leaders for developing the region.

“This great transformation has not come from Western intervention or flying people in beautiful planes, giving you lectures on how to live and how to govern your own affairs,” he said.

“The gleaming marbles of Riyadh and Abu Dhabi were not created by the so-called nation-builders, neo-cons or liberal nonprofits like those who spent trillions and trillions of dollars failing to develop Kabul, Baghdad, so many other cities.”

Trump built his political brand with his “America First” slogan, calling for the US to focus on its own issues instead of helping — or bombing — foreign countries.

But his words at the investment summit marked a stern rebuke of the neo-cons who dominated Trump’s Republican Party a decade ago.

“In the end, the so-called nation-builders wrecked far more nations than they built, and the interventionists were intervening in complex societies that they did not even understand themselves,” Trump said.

Israel sidelined, but no Gaza solution

It is rare for US presidents to travel to the Middle East and not visit Israel, but Trump omitted the US ally from his itinerary as he toured the region.

Skipping Israel was seen as a reflection of the deteriorating ties between the US administration and the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

This week’s trip also came in the context of several moves perceived as evidence of the US marginalising Israel. The US has continued to hold talks with Israel’s rival Iran, announced a ceasefire with the Houthis in Yemen, and conducted unilateral negotiations to release Israeli soldier Edan Alexander, a US citizen, from Hamas captivity.

Moreover, while touring the Gulf, Trump did not use his remarks to prioritise the establishment of formal diplomatic ties between Saudi Arabia and Israel, which had been a top goal during his first term.

It remains unclear how Trump’s decisions will affect the “special relationship” between the two allies, but experts say it is becoming increasingly apparent that the US no longer views the Middle East solely through the lens of Israel.

“Is it a tactical problem for Netanyahu and the entire pro-Israel lobby? I think it is,” Khaled Elgindy, a visiting scholar at Georgetown University, said of Trump’s shift.

“It does throw a wrench in the machinery because it is a president who is showing openly daylight with Israeli decision-making, and not just in rhetoric, but acting on it — leaving Israel out of the process.”

With that chasm emerging, some Palestinian rights advocates had hoped that the US president’s trip to the region would see Washington pursue a deal to end Israel’s war on Gaza.

But as Trump marvelled at the luxurious buildings in the Gulf, Israel intensified its bombardment to destroy what’s left of the Palestinian territory.

No ceasefire was announced, despite reports of continuing talks in Doha. And Israel appears to be pushing forward with its plan to expand its assault on Gaza as it continues to block aid for the nearly two million people in the enclave, leading to fears of famine.

United Nations experts and rights groups have described the situation as a genocide.

But despite preaching “peace and prosperity” for both Israelis and Palestinians, Trump made no strong push to end the war during this week’s trip.

On Thursday, Trump suggested that he has not given up on the idea of depopulating Gaza and turning it over to the US — a proposal that legal experts say amounts to ethnic cleansing.

“I have concepts for Gaza that I think are very good. Make it a freedom zone,” he said. “Let the United States get involved, and make it just a freedom zone.”

Lifting Syria sanctions

In a move that surprised many observers, Trump announced from Riyadh that he will offer sanction relief to Syria, as the country emerges from a decade-plus civil war.

Trump also met with interim Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa and described him as a “young, attractive guy”.

A wholesale lifting of sanctions was not expected, in part because of Israel’s hostility to the new authorities in Syria. Israeli officials often describe al-Sharaa, who led al-Qaeda’s branch in Syria before severing ties with the group, as a “terrorist”.

But Trump said he made the decision to lift the economic penalties against Syria at the request of Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Turkiye’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

“I will be ordering the cessation of sanctions against Syria in order to give them a chance at greatness,” the US president said.

The White House said on Wednesday that Trump had a list of requests for al-Sharaa, including establishing diplomatic relations with Israel and deporting “Palestinian terrorists”.

Removing US sanctions, which had been imposed on the government of former President Bashar al-Assad, is likely to be a boost for the new Syrian authorities, who are grappling with an ailing economy after years of conflict.

“Lifting sanctions on Syria represents a fundamental turning point,” Ibrahim Nafi Qushji, an economist, told Al Jazeera.

“The Syrian economy will transition from interacting with developing economies to integrating with more developed ones, potentially significantly reshaping trade and investment relations.”

A carrot and a stick for Iran

In Saudi Arabia, Trump declared that he wants a deal with Iran — and he wants it done quickly.

“We really want them to be a successful country,” the US president said of Iran.

“We want them to be a wonderful, safe, great country, but they cannot have a nuclear weapon. This is an offer that will not last forever. The time is right now for them to choose.”

Trump warned Iran that, if it rejects his “olive branch”, he would impose a “massive maximum pressure” against Tehran and choke off its oil exports.

Notably, Trump did not threaten explicit military action against Iran, a departure from his previous rhetoric. In late March, for instance, he told NBC News, “If they don’t make a deal, there will be bombing.”

Iran says it is not seeking nuclear weapons and would welcome a stringent monitoring programme of its nuclear facilities.

But Israel and some hawks want the Iranian nuclear programme completely dismantled, not just scaled back.

US and Iranian officials have held multiple rounds of talks this year, but Tehran says it has not received an official offer from Washington. And Trump officials have not explicitly indicated what the endgame of the talks is.

US envoy Steve Witkoff said last month that Iran “must stop and eliminate” uranium enrichment, but days earlier, he had suggested that enrichment should be brought down to civilian energy levels.

Several Gulf countries, including the three that Trump visited this week, have welcomed the nuclear negotiations, as relations between Iran and its Arab neighbours have grown more stable in recent years.

Investments, investments and more investments

Before entering politics, Trump was a real estate mogul who played up his celebrity persona as a mega-rich dealmaker. He appears to have brought that business mindset to the White House.

While in the wealthy Gulf region, Trump was in his element. He announced deals that would see Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE buy US arms and invest in American firms. According to the White House, Trump secured a total of $2 trillion in investments from the Middle East during the trip.

And his administration is framing the deals as a major political and economic victory for Trump.

“While it took President Biden nearly four years to secure $1 trillion in investments, President Trump achieved this in his first month, with additional investment commitments continuing to roll in,” the White House said.

“President Trump is accelerating investment in America and securing fair trade deals around the world, paving the way for a new Golden Age of lasting prosperity for generations to come.”

The TV industry and buyers of commercial time were able to breathe a little easier going to their annual week of presentations known as the upfronts.

Not long before the curtain went up Monday at Radio City Music Hall for NBCUniversal’s event, President Trump announced he would hold off on tariffs on China, easing some of the economic uncertainty going into the selling season for television networks.

But the messaging from media executives throughout the week acknowledged that advertisers will be under pressure to get more from their marketing dollars. Between performances by Lizzo, Lady Gaga and the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, ad buyers heard about the new artificial intelligence-powered tools for targeting specific audiences.

While traditional TV still commands the bulk of U.S. advertising spending, advertisers’ increasing comfort with streaming was apparent.

Seven years ago, YouTube executives had to reassure sponsors that the company would work harder to keep their ads from running in user-created videos that pushed conspiracy theories or hate speech.

But at the Google-owned platform‘s gathering at Lincoln Center on Wednesday, the audience saw a glowing testimonial video from Marc Pritchard, chief branding officer for Procter & Gamble, a company known for being meticulous about its marketing and media decisions.

Netflix and Amazon marched into the week buoyed by the growing number of streaming subscribers who see ads. Netflix said its service carrying commercials now reaches 90 million subscribers worldwide while Amazon’s Prime Video is now at 130 million in the U.S.

The week of parties and parade of celebrities offered a glimpse into the current state of the TV business. Here’s what stood out:

Live sports rule, especially the NFL

Walt Disney Co.’s TV lineup is packed with big-name talent. But the company kicked off its upfront with an opening number by an unlikely singing duo — former NFL quarterbacks Eli and Peyton Manning.

The audience at North Javits in Manhattan saw two more NFL stars, Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes and Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley, before a single actor appeared on stage. It was a sign of the NFL’s vital importance to the company and the TV business writ large.

Disney — where not too long ago Chief Executive Bob Iger mused about spinning off ESPN — wasn’t alone in touting its commitment to the league.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell did a walk-on at the YouTube presentation to announce the platform’s first exclusive livestream of a league game, the Los Angeles Chargers season opener against the Chiefs in Brazil on Sept. 5.

Roger Goodell speaks onstage during Netflix’s Upfront 2025 on Wednesday in New York.

(Roy Rochlin / Getty Images for Netflix)

On the Netflix stage, Goodell was joined by Cowboys owner Jerry Jones to plug a documentary series on the franchise and announce this year’s two Christmas games that will be carried on the platform.

Jason and Travis Kelce promoted their Wondery podcast at Amazon’s show. Former tight end Rob Gronkowski showed up at two upfront presentations, one for Fox where he is part of the network’s NFL coverage and later at YouTube because, well, why not?

NFL games accounted for 95 out of the top 100 most-watched TV programs last year and is now setting records on streaming. Netflix had its most watched Christmas Day in history when 65 million U.S. viewers streamed some portion of its NFL double header. (Goodell wore a Santa Claus suit for his announcement of this year’s Netflix games).

For TV industry veterans, the emphasis on live sports was surprising. “Traditionally entertainment was the driver of the upfront,” Ben Silverman, co-CEO of production company Propagate, told CNBC.

Or as ABC late night host Jimmy Kimmel put it during his annual Disney upfront roast: “This is all sports. What happened? We used to be so gay.”

But as the audience continues to be atomized by the growing number of streaming options, sports are more valuable than ever for advertisers who want to reach a mass audience.

Executives at Netflix, long on the leading edge of providing niche offerings to fit every consumer’s taste, now extol the virtues of the mass audience viewing experience now that it carries NFL games.

Live sports have become a lifeline to traditional TV, as most young viewers have turned to streaming for scripted series and movies. The trend was reflected in NBCUniversal’s presentation, which emphasized the arrival of the NBA on the network that will cost $2.5 billion a year.

“Tonight” host Jimmy Fallon may have summed it up best when he said, “Good morning, I’m glad to be at the NBA upfront — I mean NBC upfront.”

Planning for life after cable

Warner Bros. Discovery stunned the crowd at the Theater at Madison Square Garden with the announcement that its streaming service Max will once again be called HBO Max. The company stripped HBO from the name in 2023, believing the HBO brand name was too exclusive for the service’s ambitions to broaden its audience.

Dropping the prestigious HBO logo from the name of the service was a dubious decision from the start. But restoring it was a recognition of an undeniable fact: the future belongs to streaming, so why relegate a familiar and respected brand name to the waning cable box?

CNN and ESPN announced that their direct-to-consumer streaming services rolling out later this year will use the network names that have been familiar to cable viewers for more than four decades. The monikers will not carry a plus sign or any other designation that suggest the product differs from what’s on TV, and that’s by design.

Younger viewers may be forgoing cable subscriptions, but they know the CNN and ESPN brand names through their digital content. For those viewers, streaming isn’t an add-on, it is the way they watch TV

Movies are open for ad business, too

Not so long ago, seeing a movie star on stage at a network upfront presentation was a big deal.

But streaming has blurred the line by offering both series and original movies, and media companies are using that to their advantage when pitching to advertisers. The trend has given the platforms a bit more sizzle in their pitches.

Charlize Theron speaks onstage during Netflix’s upfront presentation Wednesday in New York.

(Jamie McCarthy / Getty Images for Netflix)

Arnold Schwarzenegger riffed at length about his upcoming Christmas film for Amazon, “The Man With the Bag.” The moment got added mileage when the former California governor’s “True Lies” co-star Jamie Lee Curtis joined him on stage.

Charlize Theron took the stage at the Perelman Performing Arts Center to plug her upcoming Netflix feature “Apex.”

NBCUniversal teased the sequel to “Wicked,” which will eventually run on its Peacock streaming service.

Warner Bros. Discovery touted its sponsor partnerships for the theatrical blockbuster “A Minecraft Movie” and brought out James Gunn and Peter Safran, keepers of DC Studios, to say there will be opportunities for the upcoming Superman movie and other projects.