United Kingdom

Protests take place in Barcelona, Rome, Lisbon and London, where police made more than 100 arrests.

Tens of thousands of people are marching in major cities across Europe to protest against Israel’s war on Gaza, with mass rallies taking place in urban centres across the United Kingdom, Italy, Spain and Portugal.

Protests in Spain’s second-largest city, Barcelona, as well as in Madrid, were planned weeks ago, while calls for demonstrations in Rome and Lisbon followed widespread anger after Israeli forces intercepted a humanitarian aid flotilla – the Global Sumud Flotilla – that had set sail from Barcelona for Gaza, trying to break Israel’s blockade of the famine-struck Palestinian territory.

More than 40 Spaniards, including a former Barcelona mayor, are among the 450 activists that Israel detained from the flotilla’s boats this week.

Italy already saw more than two million people rally on Friday across the country in a one-day general strike to support the people of Gaza.

Spain has seen a surge of support for Palestinians in recent weeks while its government intensifies diplomatic efforts against the far-right government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Protests against the presence of an Israeli-owned cycling team repeatedly disrupted the Spanish Vuelta cycling event last month, while Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez called the war on Gaza a “genocide” and asked for the ban of all Israeli teams from international sporting events.

The calls for protests in Europe come as Hamas said it has accepted some elements of the plan laid out by United States President Donald Trump to end the two-year assault, which has killed more than 66,000 people and left Gaza in ruins.

Barcelona’s town hall said police estimated that 70,000 turned out for Saturday’s demonstration.

People packed Barcelona’s wide Passeig de Gracia, the city’s central boulevard. Many families turned out, along with people of all ages. Protesters carried Palestinian flags or wore T-shirts supporting Palestine.

Hand-held signs bore messages like “Gaza hurts me,” “Stop the Genocide,” and “Hands off the flotilla”.

Maria Jesus Parra, 63, carried a Palestinian flag high after making an hourlong trip from her home in another town to Barcelona. She wants the European Union to act against what she described as the horrors she watches on televised news on a daily basis.

“How is it possible that we are witnessing a genocide happening live after what we [as Europe] experienced in the 1940s?” Parra said. “Now nobody can say they didn’t know what was happening.”

Arrests in London

A protest in Rome is also under way, organised by three Palestinian organisations along with local unions and students. The protesters will march from Porta San Paolo and end at San Giovanni. Police expect tens of thousands to attend, state broadcaster Rai reported.

A protest in London in support of the prosribed group Palestine Action is also under way, despite police requesting a postponement following a deadly attack at a synagogue in Manchester earlier this week.

Two people were killed in the attack in the northwestern city on Thursday, and police shot dead the attacker, a British man of Syrian descent.

Police have arrested at least 175 people at the scene of Saturday’s main protest event in Trafalgar Square in central London.

Officers began carrying away protesters as seated activists wrote out slogans on placards declaring their support for Palestine Action. Onlookers chanted “shame on you” at the police.

Organisers refused requests by the police and the government to call off the demonstration, which had been announced before the attack, to protest against the banning of pro-Palestinian group Palestine Action under anti-terrorism laws.

Police claimed Saturday’s protests would draw resources away from security they have tightened around synagogues and mosques following Thursday’s attack.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer called for calm in a post on X on Saturday morning, saying: “I urge anyone thinking about protesting this weekend to recognise and respect the grief of British Jews.

“This is a moment of mourning. It is not a time to stoke tension and cause further pain. It is a time to stand together,” he said.

Thousands have also taken to the streets in Dublin, Ireland, to mark two years since Israel launched its war on Gaza and to urge the Irish government to sanction Israel, local media reported.

The protest came after 16 Irish citizens were among the hundreds detained by Israel after it intercepted the Global Sumud Flotilla, the report said.

A protest is also being staged in Athens on Saturday afternoon, although police believe a bigger one will take place on Sunday, to coincide with a pro-Israeli one.

UK police are urging organisers to cancel a pro-Palestine protest set to take place in London this weekend after Thursday’s deadly synagogue attack. Activists say the attack should not be conflated with protests over Israel’s genocidal war.

Announcement draws criticism from Anglican churches that oppose female bishops.

The Church of England has named Sarah Mullally as the next archbishop of Canterbury, the first woman to be appointed to the Church’s most senior office.

Mullally, 63, will become the spiritual head of 85 million Anglicans globally, and like her predecessors will face a Communion divided over several issues, including the role of women in the Church and the acceptance of same-sex couples.

Mullally replaces Justin Welby, who resigned due to a child abuse cover-up scandal last year.

The new archbishop addressed congregants for the first time at Canterbury Cathedral on Friday and spoke of the hope she saw in the world despite uncertain times.

Mullally said her first calling is to follow Christ and spread his message, but she also used her speech to address issues in the United Kingdom, including migration and the deadly attack on a synagogue in Manchester on Thursday, which killed two people.

“We are witnessing hatred that rises up through fractures across our communities,” Mullally said.

“I know that the God who is with us draws near to those who suffer. We then, as a Church, have a responsibility to be a people who stand with the Jewish community against antisemitism in all its forms. Hatred and racism of any kind cannot be allowed to tear us apart,” she added.

Mullally’s appointment drew criticism from conservative Anglican churches in Africa on account of her gender.

The Global Anglican Future Conference, which includes bishops from Nigeria, Rwanda and Uganda, said the appointment of Mullally would further split the Church because she “promoted unbiblical and revisionist teachings regarding marriage and sexual morality.”

“Though there are some who will welcome the decision to appoint Bishop Mullally as the first female Archbishop of Canterbury, the majority of the Anglican Communion still believes that the Bible requires a male-only episcopacy,” the Reverend Laurent Mbanda said in a statement for the group.

The Church of England’s evangelical wing called for a stop to what it referred to as a drift away from scripture.

Mullally, who has been bishop of London since 2018, has previously championed blessings for same-sex couples.

The Vatican congratulated Mullally and wished her well. King Charles III approved Mullally’s nomination and offered his congratulations.

She will officially become the archbishop of Canterbury at a ceremony in Canterbury Cathedral in January 2026.

Manchester United are currently in the bottom half of the Premier League, where they also finished last season.

Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim defended his tactical approach, insisting his much-criticised 3-4-2-1 system is not to blame for the team’s struggles as he prepares for his 50th game in charge against promoted Sunderland.

The Portuguese faces mounting pressure after United slumped to 14th in the Premier League with two wins from six games after last weekend’s 3-1 loss at Brentford prompted club great Wayne Rooney to say he had no faith in Amorim turning things around.

With United already out of the League Cup and having failed to qualify for Europe following last season’s 15th-place finish, the pressure is on Amorim to deliver in the league where they are already eight points adrift of leaders Liverpool.

“You cannot run away from the results and then your baggage from last season. But last season for me doesn’t matter. We’ve had six games this season and we’ve lost three. We have to look to the games that we lost,” Amorim told reporters on Friday.

“I am not saying this team would play better in another system or not, that is not my point. My point is that if I look back at the games we lost, the most important thing when I watch the game is not that we lost because of the system.

“That is my opinion. People have different opinions, that s OK.”

While United’s squad are still coming to terms with Amorim’s philosophy, the manager admitted his side’s performance at Brentford was ‘disjointed’ but argued that inconsistency rather than tactics was the root problem.

“You cannot say one thing that doesn’t work when it works on one weekend and on the other weekend it doesn’t work. When something doesn’t work, it doesn’t work every day,” he added.

“When it works one day and the other day it doesn’t, then the next day it works really well again, it is something about the way we do the same thing. So we need to do the same thing in the same way every day, and we are not doing that.”

Asked if he had a message for the fans to give them hope of a victory at Old Trafford on Saturday, Amorim said: “It is not time to say, it is time to show.”

Amorim was generous in his praise for Sunderland’s French boss Regis Le Bris, who has guided his side to fifth place in the standings after six games, four points behind Liverpool.

“It is a team that plays really well. It is a clear system with a lot of rotations on the side of the pitch. They know we are going to be under pressure and we need to be able to play with that,” Amorim said.

“It is not just the table and all the results that matters most, but the way they play. They have a clear identity. It is a very good manager and a very good team.”

United will also hold a minute’s silence and wear black armbands following Thursday’s attack at a synagogue in Manchester in which two men were killed.

Residents in UK’s Crumpsall say they are shocked after a car and knife attack near synagogue kills two people.

Manchester, England – As people gathered near a synagogue in Manchester, hours after an attack there killed two people, many struggled to make sense of the assault. Attacks don’t happen in places like this, locals say, not least on Yom Kippur.

About 9.30am (08:30 GMT) on Thursday, a man drove his car into people near the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue in Crumpsall in the north of Manchester before emerging to attack others with a knife.

The synagogue’s security staff and members of the public prevented him from entering the building before police arrived and fatally shot the assailant, who appeared to be wearing an “explosive device”, police said. Four injured people were admitted to hospital in serious condition.

Two people have been arrested since the attack, said the Metropolitan Police’s head of counterterrorism policing, Assistant Commissioner Laurence Taylor. The identity and potential motives of the attacker have not been disclosed.

Standing with some of his family on the corner of a nearby road with a police helicopter hovering overhead, 23-year-old Zaki said he still can’t believe what happened.

“I heard the shots this morning,” he told Al Jazeera. “It didn’t seem believable. I thought it was fireworks.”

Zaki echoed the comments of many who gathered around the synagogue. These things don’t happen here, onlookers said. Crumpsall has long been a multicultural area. “Everyone in our community gets on well,” Zaki said. “Our neighbours are Jewish.”

Another resident, 41-year-old Sam Martin, also described struggling to understand the attack.

“There’s everyone here,” he told Al Jazeera, “Muslims, Jews, everyone. I’ve known nothing but love and kindness from our Jewish community. I’m just shocked this could happen.”

According to many people in the neighbourhood, even Israel’s war on Gaza hasn’t caused any great division within the community. However, many expressed concerns that far-right groups – their confidence fuelled after an August campaign to hang English flags across the country and a mass rally in London a month later – would seek to take advantage of the attack to further unrest.

Far-right activist Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, who uses the pseudonym Tommy Robinson, quickly seized upon the attack, assigning blame to groups from the Board of Deputies of British Jews to the United Kingdom’s ruling Labour Party for the assault despite the identity and potential motives of the attacker remaining unclear.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar criticised British authorities, accusing them of failing to curb anti-Semitism.

“Blatant and rampant antisemitic and anti-Israeli incitement, as well as calls of support for terror, have recently become a widespread phenomenon in the streets of London, in cities across Britain, and on its campuses,” he wrote on X.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the attacker was a “vile” person who was motivated to attack Jews “because they are Jews.”

I am appalled by the murderous attack near the Heaton Park Synagogue in Manchester on the morning of the holiest day for the Jewish people: Yom Kippur.
My deepest condolences go to the families who have lost their loved ones,and I wish a swift and full recovery to the injured.…

— Gideon Sa’ar | גדעון סער (@gidonsaar) October 2, 2025

One of the young men gathered near the police cordon, 23-year-old Akiva, who asked neither to be recorded or have notes taken during his interview out of respect for the holiday, was sure the English far right would seize upon the attack. He said the attack has shaken Jewish residents and would likely sow divisions in the otherwise quiet and well integrated community.

Akiva had come to the synagogue to check on his brother, who normally took a route past the synagogue on his way to worship. He said his mother collapsed when she first heard of the attack so close to their home in Manchester.

Other members of the district’s Jewish community gathered nearby spoke of feeling targeted for their identity, of having been attacked on their holiest day of the year.

Jane Goodall, the British conservationist and primatologist renowned for her groundbreaking research on chimpanzees, has died at age 91. Goodall revolutionised the study of humans’ nearest animal relatives and became a global advocate for wildlife and the planet.

Second order this year focuses on UK users; earlier attempt included US user data, but was withdrawn under US pressure.

The British government has ordered Apple to hand over personal data uploaded by its customers to the cloud for the second time this year in an ongoing privacy row that has raised concerns among civil liberties campaigners.

The Home Office issued a demand in early September for the tech behemoth to create a so-called back door that would allow the authorities access to private data uploaded by United Kingdom Apple customers after a previous attempt that included customers in the United States failed, according to a report published on Wednesday by The Financial Times.

A previous technical capability notice (TCN) issued early this year led to a major backlash from the US, which frowns upon foreign entities seeking to regulate Silicon Valley. The administration of US President Donald Trump eventually forced the UK to back down.

US intelligence chief Tulsi Gabbard said in August that the administration had wanted to “ensure Americans’ private data remains private and our constitutional rights and civil liberties are protected”.

Civil liberties campaigners in the UK reacted with alarm to the latest order for access to encrypted data. “If this new order isn’t stopped, the UK Government will likely issue similar orders to other companies, too,” said London-based group Privacy International.

It said the UK government, which would be deploying the measure to protect national security, risked “everyone’s security, while claiming to ‘protect’ people”.

If this new order isn’t stopped, the UK Government will likely issue similar orders to other companies, too.

— Privacy International (@privacyint) October 1, 2025

The Home Office was cited by the FT as saying: “We do not comment on operational matters, including, for example, confirming or denying the existence of any such notices.”

Privacy through encryption is a major selling point for tech platforms, which have long seen providing access to law enforcement as a red line.

On Wednesday, Apple said it had “never built a backdoor or master key to any of our products or services and we never will”. The company had appealed against the earlier TCN at the UK’s Investigatory Powers Tribunal, the body confirmed in April.

However, it withdrew full end-to-end encryption, known as Advanced Data Protection, for UK users in February. The feature allows iPhone and Mac users to ensure that only they – and not even Apple – can unlock data stored on its cloud.

“Apple is still unable to offer Advanced Data Protection in the United Kingdom to new users, and current UK users will eventually need to disable this security feature,” the California-based company said on Wednesday.

The company said it was committed to offering users the highest level of security, and it was hopeful it would be able to do so in Britain in the future.

The controversy over official attempts to snoop on Apple users comes amid a growing furore over government plans to issue digital identity cards to curb undocumented immigration and ward off threats from the right-wing Reform UK party.

The move raised hackles among civil liberties groups and citizens in the UK, where the concept of national identity cards has traditionally been unpopular.

A court in Manchester in the United Kingdom has sentenced seven men to prison terms ranging from 12 to 35 years for the systematic sexual abuse of two teenage girls in Rochdale, in the north of England, between 2001 and 2006.

Mohammed Zahid, a 65-year-old market trader and the group’s ringleader, received the longest sentence on Wednesday after being convicted of multiple counts of rape and other sexual offences against both victims.

Six other men, aged between 39 and 67, were also convicted following a four-month trial that concluded in June.

They formed part of what would later be referred to as “grooming gangs” by UK media and be used in toxic public discourse by the far right as a means to demonise British Asians and Muslims.

The girls, who did not know each other, were both 13 years old when the abuse began.

Prosecutors presented evidence that the victims, both from troubled family backgrounds, were initially offered gifts, money, and places to stay. The abuse escalated as they were taken to various locations across the town, where they were given alcohol and drugs before being sexually assaulted by the members of the group.

Both victims provided impact statements during the three-day sentencing hearing. One described how the abuse had affected every aspect of her life, from her physical and mental health to her ability to form relationships. The other said that, at the time, she believed all men would expect sex from her and urged other victims to come forward regardless of how much time had passed.

The case represents part of ongoing legal proceedings addressing historical child sexual exploitation in Rochdale, which first came to public attention in the early 2010s. Local authorities and the Greater Manchester Police (GMP) have acknowledged failures in their duty to protect the victims.

Stephen Watson, the chief constable of GMP, issued an apology in April 2022, admitting that the force had been “borderline incompetent” in the way it managed the issue. The force, along with other local institutions, had failed to act despite warnings, according to a 2022 government-commissioned report, which led to an impression that the local council and police were downplaying “the ethnic dimensions of child sexual exploitation”.

Estimates from a 2014 report suggested the number of victims who may have been exploited by men primarily of Pakistani heritage in such cases is at least 1,400.

However, the vast majority of sexual cases in the UK continue to be perpetrated by white men.

The issue was raised again in the UK earlier this year when US tech billionaire Elon Musk began using his X account to accuse Prime Minister Keir Starmer of being complicit due to his role as head of the Crown Prosecution Service at the time. The government rejected the allegations.

Other figures later seized on the issue, explicitly linking the perpetrators’ ethnicity to their crimes and blaming a culture of permissiveness towards minorities for blocking investigations, despite evidence to the contrary.

Far-right agitator Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, known widely as Tommy Robinson, frequently campaigned on the issue, blaming the UK’s Muslim community and accusing the government of a cover-up, and got Musk’s backing due to his belief that Robinson, who has been repeatedly convicted of other crimes, was blowing the whistle on the issue.

Musk called for a new national inquiry into the rape gangs, as did some politicians. Starmer initially said an inquiry had taken place and the recommendations needed to be implemented, but later changed his position and backed the calls.

Starmer told the BBC that another transparent inquiry would help improve public confidence in authorities. “That, to me, is a practical, common-sense way of doing politics,” he said.

A preliminary report released in June by Baroness Louise Casey said data on the issue was poor and in many cases non-existent, which made determining whether any ethnic group was overrepresented very difficult.

“If you look at the data on child exploitation, suspects and offenders, it is disproportionately Asian heritage,” Casey said. “If you look at the data for child abuse, it is not disproportionate, and it is white men.”

Following Casey’s report, then-Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said the government had accepted the report’s recommendations, including the strengthening of rape law and protection for children.

Speaking in the House of Commons in June, Cooper added: “While much more robust national data is needed, we cannot and must not shy away from these findings, because, as Baroness Casey says, ignoring the issues, not examining and exposing them to the light, allows the criminality and depravity of a minority of men to be used to marginalise whole communities.”

Jane Goodall Institute says primatologist dies in California during US speaking tour.

Jane Goodall, the British conservationist and primatologist renowned for her groundbreaking research on chimpanzees, has died aged 91.

The Jane Goodall Institute announced in a Facebook post on Wednesday that Goodall died of natural causes in California during a speaking tour in the United States.

“Dr Goodall’s discoveries as an ethologist transformed science, and she was a tireless advocate for the protection and restoration of the natural world,” the institute said.

Born in London in 1934, Goodall began researching free-living chimpanzees in Tanzania in 1960.

She observed a chimpanzee named David Greybeard make a tool from twigs and use it to fish termites from a nest, a ground-breaking observation that challenged the definition of humans as the single species capable of making tools.

In 1977, she founded the Jane Goodall Institute, which works to protect great apes and their habitat and supports youth projects aimed at benefitting animals and the environment.

Goodall devoted her later decades to education and advocacy on humanitarian causes and protecting the natural world. She was known for balancing the grim realities of the climate crisis with a sincere message of hope for the future.

From her base in the British coastal town of Bournemouth, she travelled nearly 300 days a year, even after she turned 90, to speak to packed auditoriums around the world. Between more serious messages, her speeches often featured her whooping like a chimpanzee or lamenting that Tarzan chose the wrong Jane.

In 2002 she took up a prominent United Nations role when she became a Messenger of Peace.

“Today, the UN family mourns the loss of Dr Jane Goodall. The scientist, conservationist and UN Messenger of Peace worked tirelessly for our planet and all its inhabitants, leaving an extraordinary legacy for humanity and nature,” the UN wrote in a post on X.

A year after his huge election win, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Wednesday faced the daunting task of trying to rally his party amid dismal ratings.

His most serious challenge comes from the right-wing Reform UK Party, helmed by Nigel Farage. Its hardline stance on immigration is adding pressure for more border security from Labour.

Starmer’s address at the Labour Party conference showed energy and passion — things he’s been criticized for lacking in recent months.

But will it be enough to help Starmer overcome his challenges, or are his days in office numbered?

Presenter: Nick Clark

Guests:

Patrick Diamond – Professor in public policy at Queen Mary University of London, former policy adviser to Labour governments led by Tony Blair and Gordon Brown

Jennifer Nadel – Political communications strategist and co-founder of Compassion in Politics, a cross-party think tank that works towards legislative change and ethical governance

Michael Walker – Contributing editor at Novara Media, an independent outlet, a former Labour Party member who left in 2020

Despite Western sanctions, Russia’s military spending has fuelled its war economy. Three years into the war in Ukraine, growth is stalling, energy revenues are plunging, and the budget deficit is widening.

To shore up state coffers, Russia is raising the value-added tax from 20 percent to 22 percent, among other measures. The Ministry of Finance says funds will mainly cover defence and security spending.

The plan came a day after United States President Donald Trump said Russia was in “big economic trouble”, but is it?

Can the United Kingdom’s Labour Party deliver on its economic promises?

Plus, will the Africa-US trade pact, AGOA, be renewed?

Just when you thought prospects for the future of the Gaza Strip could not get any bleaker, United States President Donald Trump has unveiled his 20-point “peace plan” for the Palestinian territory, starring himself as the chair of a “Board of Peace” that will serve as a transitional government in the enclave. This from the man who has been actively aiding and abetting Israel’s genocide of Palestinians since January, when he took over the US presidency from former honorary genocidaire Joe Biden.

But that is not all. Also on board for the “Board of Peace” is former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who will reportedly play a significant governing role in Gaza’s proposed makeover. To be sure, importing a Sir Tony Blair from the United Kingdom to oversee an enclave of Palestinians smacks rather hard of colonialism in a region that is already quite familiar with the phenomenon.

And yet the region is also already quite familiar with Blair himself, owing in particular to his notorious performance during the 2003 war on Iraq, led by his buddy and then-chief of the so-called war on terror, George W Bush. Swearing by the false allegations of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction, Blair steered the UK into a war that ultimately killed hundreds of thousands of Iraqis, earning him a most deserved reputation as a war criminal.

In other words, he is not a guy who should under any circumstances turn up on a “Board of Peace”.

And while Bush would subsequently retire to a quiet life of painting dogs and portraits of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Blair continued to make a name for himself as the man the Middle East just cannot get rid of – and to make a pretty penny while at it.

After resigning as prime minister in 2007, Blair was immediately reincarnated as Middle East envoy for the “Quartet” of international powers – representing the US, the European Union, Russia, and the United Nations – that is ostensibly forever striving to resolve the Israel-Palestine issue.

But in this case, too, the appointment of an envoy with close relations to Israel – the unquestionable aggressor to the “conflict” – pretty much obviated any advancement in the direction of “peace”.

Furthermore, Blair’s diplomatic activity conveniently overlapped with an array of highly lucrative business dealings in the region, from providing paid advice to Arab governments to signing on as a part-time senior adviser in 2008 with the US investment bank JP Morgan. For the latter post, Blair was said to be compensated in excess of $1m per year.

As Francis Beckett, coauthor of Blair Inc: The Man Behind the Mask, told Al Jazeera in 2016 – the year after Blair stepped down as Quartet envoy – “the difficulty was that when he went to meetings in the Middle East, nobody knew which Tony Blair they were seeing – whether it was Tony Blair the Quartet envoy or Tony Blair the patron of the Tony Blair Faith Foundation or Tony Blair the principal of the consultancy firm Tony Blair Associates”.

But, hey, the point of conflicts of interest is that they pay off.

In a 2013 article for the Journal of Palestine Studies, award-winning journalist Jonathan Cook noted that, while Blair had little to show in terms of “achievements” as Quartet representative, he liked to “trumpet one in particular: his success in 2009 in securing radio frequencies from Israel to allow the creation of a second Palestinian cell phone operator, Wataniya Mobile, in the West Bank”.

There was a catch, however. As Cook details, Israel released the frequencies in exchange for an agreement from the Palestinian leadership to drop the issue at the UN of Israeli war crimes committed during Operation Cast Lead in Gaza, which was launched in December 2008 and killed some 1,400 Palestinians in a matter of 22 days.

And what do you know? “Blair had private business interests in negotiating the deal,” and it so happened that “not only Wataniya but also JP Morgan stood to profit massively from the opening up of the West Bank’s airwaves.”

Now, it is hardly an exaggeration to assume that Blair will seek to capitalise on his impending governorship of Gaza, as well, as there are no doubt plenty of opportunities for the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change in, you know, changing the world to definitively screw over the Palestinians.

One focus of Trump’s 20-point plan, incidentally, is the “many thoughtful investment proposals and exciting development ideas … crafted by well-meaning international groups” that will magically produce “hope for future Gaza”. After all, why should Palestinians care about having a state and not being perennially massacred by Israel when they can have capitalism and the tyranny of foreign investors instead?

And the face of that tyranny may well be Blair, whose synonymousness with the slaughter of civilians in the Middle East has not prevented him from being once again tapped as a regional peacemaker.

This is not to say that Blair has no fans aside from Trump and the Israelis. For example, New York Times foreign affairs columnist Thomas Friedman, a fellow Orientalist and Iraq war cheerleader, once praised Blair as “one of the most important British prime ministers ever” for having decided to “throw in Britain’s lot with President Bush on the Iraq war”, thereby not only defying “the overwhelming antiwar sentiment of his own party, but public opinion in Britain generally”.

There was, it seemed, no end to Friedman’s admiration for Blair’s antidemocratic stoicism: “He had no real support group to fall back on. I’m not even sure his wife supported him on the Iraq war. (I know the feeling!)”

Now, as Gaza’s fate continues to hang at the mercy of Blair and other international war criminals, perhaps his wife should suggest that he take up painting instead.

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

Victor Osimhen scored an early penalty as Galatasaray beat an error-prone Liverpool, who lost goalkeeper Alisson and striker Hugo Ekitike to injury, 1-0 in a raucous Champions League clash in Istanbul.

The masked Nigerian striker blasted the ball past a diving Alisson when he stepped up in the 16th minute of the match on Tuesday, after Baris Alper Yilmaz went down following a swipe in the face by Dominik Szoboszlai.

Liverpool made three changes to the lineup that suffered a first-league defeat of the season by Crystal Palace at the weekend, with Mohamed Salah on the bench along with record signing Alexander Isak.

Both came on in the 62nd minute when Liverpool made a triple substitution, with Salah replacing starter Jeremie Frimpong on the right wing, after Alisson had gone off injured and was replaced by Giorgi Mamardashvili in the 56th.

Ekitike, in the starting lineup on his return from a domestic suspension, went off injured in the 68th on a bruising night for the visitors who had their chances but looked alarmingly vulnerable in defence.

The win was a first in seven years at home in the Champions League for the Turkish side and a notable one against opponents unbeaten in all competitions until last weekend and now dealt two losses in a row.

Galatasaray could have been in front already in the second minute when Yilmaz caught the defence napping and went one on one with Alisson, who stood firm and shut out the danger.

Liverpool then missed a golden chance of their own in the 13th minute when Ekitike miscued the ball after getting into a scoring position and Cody Gakpo had a shot cleared off the line on the rebound.

From almost taking the lead, Liverpool found themselves behind seconds later when Osimhen stepped up and lifted the already volcanic crowd to the point of eruption.

The visitors had the chance to equalise in the 32nd minute, with another Ekitike shot blocked and Ibrahima Konate missing from close range, but continued to look vulnerable and gave away a free kick on the edge of the area on the stroke of half-time.

The second half brought a raft of substitutions but no change on the pitch and Liverpool still looking nervous in defence, with loose passing as Galatasaray worked constantly to keep up the pressure.

Alisson limped off after saving from Osimhen and Ekitike then pulled up after stretching for the ball.

Liverpool sniffed an equaliser in the 88th when referee Clement Turpin pointed to the spot but the decision was overturned by a VAR review deciding that Wilfried Singo had played the ball ahead of Ibrahima Konate.

Galatasaray fans displayed banners protesting the war in Gaza at both ends of the pitch, and there was a tribute to the late Diogo Jota and his brother Andre Silva before the kickoff.

Liverpool’s coach Arne Slot said he was “disappointed” with the result and claimed Szoboszlai “did nothing wrong” in conceding the penalty.

“[Yilmaz] felt a little flick in his face and he fell down. We are sometimes a bit outsmarted in situations like this,” he told Amazon Prime. “I cannot blame Dom in a situation like this.”

Liverpool captain Virgil Van Dijk said there was no need for his side to panic, but that they needed to cut out the errors.

“I hate losing, but there shouldn’t be panic and there is improvement needed,” he told Amazon Prime.

“There was a big step up tonight from the willingness and the hard work that we put in compared to the weekend.

“Now we have to convert chances and not make stupid mistakes at times. It is a process and we have to keep going.”

Madrid shrugged off any travel weariness in a 5-0 win at Kairat Almaty in Kazakhstan, and Bayern cruised to a 5-1 win at Pafos in Cyprus.

Tottenham Hotspur needed an 89th-minute own goal to salvage a point at Bodo/Glimt as they battled back from two goals down to draw 2-2 on Tuesday in the first Champions League game ever played inside the Arctic Circle.

Atletico Madrid romped to a 5-1 win over Eintracht Frankfurt with coach Diego Simeone watching from the stands following his suspension for an altercation with a Liverpool fan in the team’s previous Champions League game.

Jose Mourinho blew a kiss to Chelsea supporters on his return to Stamford Bridge with his Benfica team.

A Benfica player scored, but it was an own goal from Richard Rios that decided the result, a 1-0 win for Chelsea, who had Joao Pedro sent off late.

Marseille beat visiting Ajax 4-0, and Lautaro Martinez scored twice to lead Inter Milan to a 3-0 win at home over Slavia Prague.

The UK government plans to introduce digital ID cards to curb illegal immigration, requiring employers to verify workers’ status. The scheme has faced strong opposition over its effectiveness and privacy concerns. Al Jazeera’s Ruby Zaman tells us more.

The move adds pressure on the UK government, led by Prime Minister Keir Starmer, which has been slammed over its stance on the Gaza war.

Members of the United Kingdom’s Labour Party have voted to recognise that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, in a move that increases pressure on the UK government to adopt the same position.

Delegates at Labour’s party conference approved an emergency motion backing the findings of the United Nations Commission of Inquiry, which earlier this month concluded that Israel “has committed genocide”. The vote was strongly supported by trade unions.

The decision contrasts with Labour leader and Prime Minister Keir Starmer, as well as senior ministers, who have argued that the question of genocide should be determined by international courts rather than politicians.

Israel is facing a case at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague in which it is accused of committing genocide.

Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy reaffirmed that stance following the conference vote.

“That means that it must be for the ICJ with their judges and judiciary, and for the ICC, to determine the issue of genocide in relation to the convention. It is not for politicians like me to do that,” he said, adding that he believed in “the rules-based order”.

A pro-Palestine activist has interrupted the United Kingdom’s Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves’ speech during the annual Labour Party conference in Liverpool to call out the country’s ongoing complicity in Israel’s genocidal war in Gaza.

The protester, later named as Sam P, stood up less than 10 minutes into the finance minister’s speech, holding a large Palestinian flag and asking, “Why is Britain still arming Israel?”

“Labour is complicit in the mass starvation of Palestinians,” he added.

In response to the protest, Reeves told delegates, “We understand your cause and we are recognising a Palestinian state.

“But we are now a party in government, not a party of protest,” Reeves added, receiving a standing ovation from those in the audience.

But in a statement from the Palestinian Youth Movement (PYM), which planned the disruption for London for a Free Palestine, the group called on the ruling Labour Party to impose a “full two-way arms embargo on Israel”.

“The end of RAF surveillance flights over Gaza that gather intelligence for Israel … The immediate resignation of Labour Party leadership for lying to the public about Britain’s complicity in enabling Israel’s genocide … [and] an end to Britain’s diplomatic ties with Israel,” the statement read.

In May, PYM released a report that found that the British government had continued to send military exports to Israel despite the UK announcing that it had cut arms export licences to Israel that could be used during the war.

Nihal, an organiser with PYM, said the action was taken because the “horror in Gaza is only growing as Palestinian people are experiencing the most violent bombardment since the beginning of the genocide.

“Tens of thousands of Palestinians have already been starved, bombed, and killed while the Labour Party approves weapons licences, shares intelligence, and offers diplomatic cover for these crimes,” they added.

Leila, an organiser with London for a Free Palestine, added that they were “watching the end of the Labour Party”, traditionally once a party of the left which has veered centre-right on many issues.

“Despite the UN Commission of Inquiry declaring Israel is enacting genocide, the Labour government still continues to deny the genocide and offer diplomatic support for Israel’s crimes,” Leila said.

Earlier in September, the UK officially recognised Palestinian statehood in a landmark decision, 108 years after the Balfour Declaration in 1917, which supported the establishment of a home for Jews in Palestine, and 77 years after the creation of Israel in the British Mandate of Palestine.

While the recognition was welcomed by Palestinian officials, for those suffering Israeli atrocities in Gaza, the announcement had no material effect to ease their daily horrors.

In nearly two years of intense Israeli bombardment, and now a ground invasion of Gaza City, the destroyed enclave’s largest urban centre, at least 66,055 people have been killed and 168,346 wounded, Gaza’s Ministry of Health reported on Monday.

Hundreds of thousands of people in the UK have protested, often weekly, against Israel’s war in the last two years and feel their voices have not been heard by the government.

There have also been a series of largely peaceful rallies denouncing the UK government’s decision in July to ban the Palestine Action group under the Terrorism Act 2000, which have been met by a heavy-handed police response and mass arrests.

Iran is facing new pressure due to its nuclear programme.

European powers have re-imposed sanctions that were lifted as part of a landmark 2015 nuclear agreement.

They target Iran’s banking, oil, and other crucial sectors. There is also an embargo on arms imports.

Western allies say Iran has not been cooperating with the United Nations nuclear watchdog, and that its nuclear programme poses a threat to international security.

Tehran has always maintained that its nuclear programme is for civilian use, and says it is ready to weather the storm.

So, is there still room for diplomacy?

Presenter: Nick Clark

Guests:

Ellie Geranmayeh – senior policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations, and a specialist in Europe-Iran relations

Mark Fitzpatrick – former US diplomat, and associate fellow at the International Institute for Strategic Studies

Marzie Khalilian – Iranian political analyst and researcher at Carleton University, focusing on US-Middle East relations.

The scheme, which government says will curb undocumented immigration, has drawn criticism from across the political spectrum.

The United Kingdom has announced plans to introduce a digital ID scheme in a bid to curb undocumented immigration.

Announced by the government on Friday, the scheme will see the digital ID of British citizens and residents held on phones. The government said there will be no requirement for individuals to carry their ID or be asked to produce it, but that it will be “mandatory” for workers.

The UK has long resisted the idea of Identity cards, which were abolished after World War II, but Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Labour government is under pressure to tackle immigration that populist forces claim is uncontrolled.

The free digital ID would include a person’s name, date of birth, and photo, as well as information on their nationality and residency status.

It will be “mandatory as a means of proving your right to work”, a government statement said.

“This will stop those with no right to be here from being able to find work, curbing their prospect of earning money, one of the key ‘pull factors’ for people who come to the UK illegally,” it added.

The digital ID will also make it simpler to apply for services like driving licences, childcare and welfare, while streamlining access to tax records, the statement said.

“Digital ID is an enormous opportunity for the UK… It will also offer ordinary citizens countless benefits,” Starmer said. “It will make it tougher to work illegally in this country, making our borders more secure.”

‘Digitally excluded’

The plans, which the government had previously said it was considering, drew criticism from across the political spectrum.

The centrist Liberal Democrats said they would not support mandatory digital ID where people are “forced to turn over their private data just to go about their daily lives”.

Liberal Democrats cannot support mandatory digital IDs. People shouldn’t be criminalised just because they don’t want to hand over their private data. pic.twitter.com/mEzV7s9vUf

— Liberal Democrats (@LibDems) September 25, 2025

Kemi Badenoch, leader of the opposition Conservative Party, wrote on X that her party “will oppose any push by this organisation or the government to impose mandatory ID cards on law-abiding citizens”.

“We will not support any system that is mandatory for British people or excludes those of us who choose not to use it from any of the rights of our citizenship,” she added.

The far-right Reform UK party called the plans a “cynical ploy” designed to “fool” voters into thinking something is being done about immigration.

It also sought to tap into longstanding British suspicions regarding national ID schemes, which are common in most of Europe.

“It will make no difference to illegal immigration, but it will be used to control and penalise the rest of us,” said Reform leader Nigel Farage.

I am firmly opposed to @Keir_Starmer’s digital ID cards.

It will make no difference to illegal immigration, but it will be used to control and penalise the rest of us.

The state should never have this much power.

— Nigel Farage MP (@Nigel_Farage) September 25, 2025

In the 2000s, the Labour Party, then led by Tony Blair, attempted to introduce an identity card, but the plan was eventually dropped by Blair’s successor, Gordon Brown, after opposition called it an infringement of civil liberties.

However, with populist narratives regarding immigration now rife, the government appears to be betting that such concerns will override the longstanding opposition.

The timing of the announcement appears no coincidence, coming as Labour prepares to hold its annual conference.

A petition demanding that ID cards not be introduced had collected 575,000 signatures by early Friday, but recent polling suggests majority support for the move.

At least 15 flights have been diverted as the airport remains closed until the situation is resolved, officials in Denmark say.

Authorities in Denmark have closed Copenhagen airport after unidentified drones were sighted nearby, causing about 15 flights to be diverted, police and airport officials told the AFP news agency.

“The airspace over Copenhagen airport has been closed since 8:30pm (18:30 GMT) due to two to three unidentified drones. No aircraft can take off or land,” airport spokeswoman Lise Agerley Kurstein said.

She said about 15 flights had been diverted to other airports.

Copenhagen police, meanwhile, said that “three or four big drones” had been observed flying over the airport.

“They are still flying back and forth, coming and going,” duty officer Anette Ostenfeldt told the AFP at 10:45pm (20:45 GMT), adding that police were at the airport investigating.

She could not say if the drones were military or civilian.

“But they are bigger than what you as a private individual can buy,” Ostenfeldt said.

Airport officials said the airport would remain closed until the situation was resolved. “We currently have no timeline for reopening,” Kurstein, the airport spokeswoman, said.

The incident comes as several European countries have reported violations of their airspace by Russia. Estonia said on Friday that three Russian MiG-31 fighter jets had entered Estonian airspace without permission.

During a Russian air strike on Ukraine the week before, Poland said about 19 drones flew into its airspace. The Polish Air Force and NATO allies shot down some of the unmanned vehicles, marking the first time Russian drones were downed over NATO territory since Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Romania also registered a Russian drone in its airspace.

The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) convened on Monday to address the issue of airspace violations.

Russia’s ambassador to the UN, Dmitry Polyansky, denied the allegations that Moscow’s fighter jets had violated the airspace of neighbouring Estonia, saying that last Friday’s flight of three of its MiG-31 aircraft was done “strictly in accordance with international airspace regulations”.

The Russian Ministry of Defence echoed his remarks, saying that “objective monitoring” confirmed that the MiGs did not breach Estonian borders.

NATO allies at the UNSC meeting condemned Russia for violating the alliance’s airspace.

“Your reckless actions risk direct armed confrontation between NATO and Russia. Our alliance is defensive, but be under no illusion we stand ready to defend NATO’s skies and NATO’s territory,” the United Kingdom foreign secretary, Yvette Cooper, said.

NATO’s North Atlantic Council will meet to discuss the issue on Tuesday.

Several Western nations, including the UK, Australia, and Canada, have formally recognised Palestine, drawing praise from Palestinians and outrage from the Israeli government, which insists it will never allow a Palestinian state.