Election day is here, which means it’s the final chance to cast your ballot for the midterm election.

Early voting options have allowed more than 5.5 million Californians to cast their ballot ahead of election day, according to Political Data Intelligence, voter data analysis software.

However, with more than 23 million registered voters in the state, there are still nearly 18 million people who potentially could head to the polls, which could translate to long lines at polling places and voting centers.

You can avoid long wait times. Here’s how to do that, plus a few other helpful tips on election day.

How to avoid long lines at the polls

On election day, voting and polling centers are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

The Los Angeles County registrar-recorder/county clerk’s website has a vote center locator online.

By entering your address, the locator will create a list of voting centers that are less than a mile away or as far as 10 miles.

Included with the vote center address is how long the current wait time is at that specific location.

The wait times are color coded as follows:

• Dark green: 15 minutes or less
• Light green: 16 to 30 minutes
• Yellow: 31 to 45 minutes
• Orange: 46 to 60 minutes
• Red: More than 1 hour
• Blue: Wait time unavailable

I’m at a vote center but left my ballot at home

You can request a provisional ballot at any polling place in the county in which you are registered to vote.

A provisional ballot is a regular ballot that is placed in a special envelope prior to being put in the ballot box.

It’s counted once election officials verify that you are a registered voter in that county and haven’t already voted in the election.

How to participate in ‘curbside voting’ for registered voters with disabilities

All polling places and voting centers are required to be accessible to voters with disabilities and will have accessible voting machines.

Any voter who cannot reach the voting area at the center because of architectural barriers or physical limitations may request to vote curbside — whether the voter is physically on the curb or in their car.

There is a sign posted outside of every vote center with a phone number to call an election worker who will bring a ballot to the voter, according to the Los Angeles County registrar-recorder/county clerk.

I forgot my check-in code for in-person voting

Los Angeles County election officials say you can check in at a voting center by scanning your “quick check-in code” — a number that verifies your voter registration.

Your unique code can be found on your mailed sample ballot and vote center postcard. Take either of those hard copies to the vote center.

If you forgot the hard copies, you can find the code online. You retrieve it by verifying your voter registration here. You’ll need to input your last name, birth date, the house number of your residential address and your ZIP Code.

For assistance call, (800) 815-2666, Option 2.

How late is too late to vote at the polls on election night?

In California, any voter who is in line at 8 p.m. when the polls are scheduled to close is allowed to vote, according to the secretary of state.

If there is a line when the polls close, a poll worker stands at the back of the line to let people who arrive after 8 p.m. know that the polls have closed.

Any voter who arrives after the polls have closed may not be allowed to vote, even if voters who were in line to vote before the polls closed are in the process of voting.

More election news

Nov. 3, 2026 6:46 AM PT

HIGH SCHOOL GIRLS VOLLEYBALL

SOUTHERN SECTION FINALS

THURSDAY

At Rio Mesa

DIVISION 8

San Gabriel Academy (21-7) vs. Rio Mesa (16-16), 6 p.m.

At Tarbut V’Torah

DIVISION 11

Arroyo (12-11) vs. Tarbut V’Torah (10-7), 6 p.m.

FRIDAY

At Cerritos College

DIVISION 5

El Toro (22-10) vs. Westridge (21-7-5), 7 p.m.

DIVISION 6

Villa Park (16-12) vs. Lakewood (21-12), 4 p.m.

SATURDAY

At Cerritos College

DIVISION 1

Sierra Canyon (32-1) vs. Mater Dei (38-1), 6:30 p.m.

DIVISION 2

Redondo Union (21-11) vs. Long Beach Poly (28-7), 3 p.m.

DIVISION 3

Newbury Park (32-9) vs. Corona del Mar (25-9), 12 p.m.

At Vista Murrieta

DIVISION 4

Glendora (19-12) vs. Vista Murrieta (17-16), 2 p.m.

At Fullerton

DIVISION 7

Placentia Valencia (17-13) vs. Fullerton (20-14), 6 p.m.

At Rancho Mirage

DIVISION 9

Desert Christian Academy (16-7) vs. Rancho Mirage (21-9), 6 p.m.

At Orange

DIVISION 10

La Quinta (15-16) vs. Orange (18-16), 6 p.m.

Supermarket refrigerators and freezers across Europe have been targeted by a cyberattack that raised the temperature of internet-linked units, destroying and damaging large quantities of food.

On Monday, fridges and freezers at more than 100 shops in several European countries ran hot. Cyberattacks on supermarkets began last month, when hundreds of French supermarkets were left with spoiled food and damage to units which had overheated, costing millions of euros.

So far, it remains unclear why hackers targeted the supermarkets, but attacks have spread across the continent and even to the United States.

Here’s what we know:

Which countries in Europe have been targeted?

On Monday, several supermarkets in Europe were affected, including the following:

• Dutch supermarket operator Delhaize said dozens of its shops in Belgium and Luxembourg were hit by an “IT incident”.
• French retailer Carrefour said about 15 of its 700 Belgian locations were hit by refrigeration problems.
• The Colruyt group, which runs Spar stores in Belgium as franchises, said five of its shops were affected.
• Swedish Coop said cooling systems at seven of its 800 stores were affected, with disruptions ranging from complete shutdowns to partial operation.
• Swedish furniture retailer IKEA, which also operates restaurants at its stores, said one site in Mons, Belgium, had been affected by a cyberattack.
• De Laet & Van Haver, the Belgian butchery chain, said the temperature in its fridges at its store in Hove, south of Antwerp, was raised as high as 18 degrees Celsius, ruining meat worth about 15,000 euros ($16,764).
• The food wholesaler Musgrave said a cyber-incident affected refrigeration systems in 13 of its SuperValu stores in Ireland.
• In October, hundreds of French supermarkets suffered cyberattacks, spoiling tonnes of food, causing fires and melting parts of refrigeration units.

What has happened in the US?

In August, freezers at a market in Fort Huachuca, an Army base in Arizona, went into defrost mode, spoiling all the frozen food they contained, according to a post on Facebook by the base.

The same month, the naval station in Newport, Rhode Island, reported on Facebook that its refrigeration system was affected, leaving only dry goods were available for purchase.

The Pentagon considered the freezer malfunctions on the military bases to be a suspected hack, the Reuters news agency reported late last month, citing four officials close to the matter.

One official said Pentagon investigators were communicating with the French authorities about the issue.

How are cyberattackers targeting fridges and freezers?

Hackers can access the controls of fridges and freezers which use internet software and raise their temperature in order to spoil frozen food.

In some cases, hackers have increased the temperature of appliances to as high as 50C (122F) in European supermarkets, causing them to melt or even catch fire.

Awais Rashid, a professor of cybersecurity at the University of Bristol in the UK, explained that many supermarket refrigeration systems which are remotely managed and, often by third parties, have not been given necessary software updates to prevent hackers.

“In line with established cyber security practices, these systems should be managed via secure networks. However, this is not the case in these incidents and they are accessible on the Internet,” Rashid told Al Jazeera.

“A remote managing party can access a web server on the controller to configure the system including temperature changes and maintenance. There are known vulnerabilities in several controllers (many of which are past their end of life),” he said.

Rashid added that vulnerabilities include “easily guessable” passwords, which would mean anyone could gain access.

Why are hackers doing this?

The motive behind the attacks is unclear, but authorities believe it may be a deliberate attempt to disrupt food supplies.

On Monday, the European Commissioner for Agriculture and Food, Christophe Hansen, said the attacks on fridges were a “deliberate attempt to disrupt” the bloc’s food supply and to undermine consumer confidence.

He added that while “food security is not currently at risk … the food waste and impact on businesses are real”.

Rashid said that while there are few details about who may be behind the attacks or what their motives are, it is likely that these are “the motive here is likely disruption”.

“This has financial impacts on the supermarkets but also societal impacts in terms of security of the food supply chain. Critically, this risks undermining trust in infrastructures on which people rely daily,” he said.

Who is behind the attacks?

On Monday, Belgium’s prosecutor’s office announced that it had opened a criminal investigation into the latest fridge cyberattacks. But so far, no one has taken responsibility.

Theories have emerged linking state actors to cyberattacks generally, with North Korea most recently accused of being behind last week’s $6.3bn Binance cryptocurrency heist, which forced the crypto group to freeze accounts.

European intelligence officials have also warned that Russia is escalating its shadow war on the continent amid the ongoing conflict with Ukraine, with cyberattacks among the methods it uses.

On Tuesday, the UK’s National Cyber Security Centre warned that Britain needs to be prepared for an artificial intelligence (AI)-powered cyberattack on its critical national infrastructure within the next two years.

“By 2028, it is highly likely that Russia, China and other nation states will routinely use AI-cyber to achieve their geopolitical goals, with the UK facing an increase in scale and speed of sophisticated cyberattacks,” the NCSC said in a report.

The report comes shortly after the UK launched its “Be Ready” campaign, calling on citizens to stockpile enough tinned food, bottled water and cash to last three days in the event of a cyberattack or national emergency.

Rashid said that as our infrastructure becomes increasingly digitised, the risk of disruption from cyberattacks, especially “cyber-physical infrastructures such as refrigeration systems”, has risen.

“However, we should also note that a lot of our digital infrastructures operate safely everyday because good security practices enable that. The world works because cyber security works effectively. So it is important that all businesses follow good cyber security practices,” he said.

There are many metrics by which to measure the success of “Oh, Mary!,” the Tony Award-winning play that has taken the stage by storm. And here’s a new one: Effusive hype and high ticket demand has resulted in Center Theatre Group booking the show for its 2028 60th anniversary season even before its national touring production hits the Ahmanson Theatre on Nov. 10.

As evidenced by Tuesday’s announcement, the current tour, starring drag queen Alaska Thunderf— is set to arrive in L.A. next week with sky-high expectations. Ironically, director Sam Pinkleton originally resisted the idea of a tour, feeling the show might lose some of its charm on the road.

“I was convinced it was a bad idea,” Pinkleton said with a laugh during a recent interview. “But when we went to Broadway, I also thought that was a terrible idea, and I was absolutely wrong.” The director was originally concerned the scrappy little show with a cast of five wouldn’t play as well in larger houses. “But seeing how well it works on Broadway, I think it’s actually better than in the small room. It’s not a play I would call subtle; it really fills a room. So that gave me a lot of confidence about a national tour.”

Written by and originally starring Cole Escola, “Oh, Mary!” is a revisionist take on former First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln’s life in the days leading to Abraham Lincoln’s assassination. Historical accuracy be damned, the show presents Mary as a wannabe star repressed by her closeted husband. Premiering off-Broadway in February 2024 and set to run six weeks, the show was given multiple extensions before transferring to Broadway, where it won Tony Awards for Escola’s performance and Pinkleton’s directing. Escola was also a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in drama that same year.

Cole Escola and James Scully in “Oh, Mary!” on Broadway. Many actors have since taken on the role of Mary Todd Lincoln.

(Emilio Madrid)

But “Oh, Mary!” has achieved much more than gold statues and box office receipts — it’s a genuine pop-culture phenomenon, a familiar meme and a show beloved by seemingly all demographics.

“I think a turning point was early in the run when Steven Spielberg, Tony Kushner and Sally Field all came together,” Pinkleton said. “We were all like, ‘What is happening?’”

Other notable audience members, including Madonna and Michelle Obama, followed, while actors such as Maya Rudolph, Bowen Yang and Tituss Burgess signed up to don Mary’s ringlet wig as the Broadway run stretched on. “It’s wild to think that tonight, you can see it in three different places,” says Pinkleton, referring to the productions in New York, London and the national tour.

If the tour’s leading lady is feeling any pressure, she’s not showing it. Alaska admits that even she was skeptical of the show’s advance hype. “I kept hearing, ‘Oh, you have to see this play, this play is so good,’” she recalled during a Zoom interview from the show’s San Francisco stop. “And I thought, ‘How good can a play be? What is everyone talking about?’”

But the moment she saw it, she understood. “I was immediately enamored, I was hooked.”

“Oh, Mary!” star Alaska says the show feels written for her, even thought she knows it’s not.

(Gabriela Hasbun / For The Times)

When it came time to cast the tour, Pinkleton immediately thought of Alaska, known to most audiences as the winner of the second season of “RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars.” Pinkleton had worked with her before, most notably in the 2021 production of the Go-Go’s musical “Head Over Heels” at the Pasadena Playhouse. “I knew for a fact that Alaska could do this in her sleep,” he said. “As the kids say, I have receipts. She’s the real thing and she was made for this.”

Following an early Zoom work session, Alaska was on board. “I feel like it was written for me, but I know it wasn’t,” she said. “And that’s a testament to Cole writing something very true and anchored in real emotion. I think anyone who has ever felt underestimated or misunderstood or overlooked can really identify with this role.”

In many ways, the joy of playing Mary is that different actors bring different aspects and personality nuances to the role. “It’s a big, juicy part that works in the hands of radically different people,” Pinkleton said.

Asked what she feels she brings to the role, Alaska said she didn’t go in thinking about how to make it her own. “I really just approached it truthfully,” she said, noting that while the show is a comedy, the circumstances Mary finds herself in are genuinely tragic, and she wanted to be true to that. “This isn’t jokey to me — it’s really serious, intense and high-stakes. I wanted to do it like an Ibsen play or Shakespeare.”

The show doesn’t play like a tragedy, however. It’s a roller coaster ride from the start, and Pinkleton said he always wants the audience to have a great time.

“Oh, Mary!” star Alaska puts on makeup backstage at the Curran Theatre during the San Francisco stop of the show’s national tour.

(Gabriela Hasbun / For The Times)

“I know there’s a lot of amazing theater being made about various traumas, but I can only control my corner of things and I just feel that most of us have had a bad day in one way or another,” he said. “And it would be awesome if our time at the theater was joyous. And I take that really, really seriously.”

Both director and star are well aware of the expectations that come with a show so beloved and discussed. “I try not to think about it,” said Alaska. “I just trust in the show being so beautifully constructed and it truly has something for everyone, whoever you are.”

For his part, Pinkleton said with a laugh, “There’s definitely some element for me of, ‘Like, it’s just a play, calm down.’” But part of maintaining its heart and charm is remembering that at its core, “it’s kind of a small operation.”

“It was made with a really hands-on approach by a very small group of people who cared a lot and that spirit has remained even as we’ve scaled it up,” Pinkleton said. It hasn’t been easy work; Pinkleton credits several people for their contributions, particularly the tour’s associate director Sunny Min-Sook Hitt, who occupied the same role during the original production. “It’s taken a lot of worthwhile work to keep it what it is. There’s just not a world where ‘Oh, Mary!’ can turn into ‘Jersey Boys,’” Pinkleton said. The national tour is already selling out houses across the country and receiving a rapturous response. “Every night has a different energy and the audience is definitely a part of the show,” Alaska said. “In San Diego, we were in a 3,000-person theater, we’ve never played one that size. It felt like the stadium version of ‘Oh, Mary!’”

Pinkleton said he makes “a lot of big, gay shows” and people have asked him how he thinks “Oh, Mary!” will play in smaller cities. “Honestly, I was a weird, loud, gay kid in Richmond, Virginia, and I’m excited to bring it to places that might not get this kind of thing,” he noted. And sometimes silly comedies can be the most meaningful, particularly to marginalized communities. “It’s meaningful that there will be some people for whom ‘Oh, Mary!’ is also a kind of a life raft.”

As Election Day arrives, Seeking Alpha analysts looking at the political landscape largely agree that the bigger market drivers are likely to remain interest rates, inflation, AI spending and geopolitics.

A specific post-midterms trade remains predictably elusive.

But beneath that

As a criminal investigation into Southern California Edison’s actions before last year’s deadly Eaton fire continues, the state’s for-profit utilities are lobbying for legislation that would protect their shareholders from paying for future catastrophic fires they cause.

According to slides recently presented by a Pacific Gas & Electric executive to a group of state senators, the utilities are asking for a permanent cap to limit their corporate liability for a fire where they are found to have acted negligently or imprudently. The slides were reviewed by The Times.

“If ratepayers are forced to pay the lion share for fires utilities cause, there is no imperative for the for-profit utilities to take safety and fire mitigation seriously,” said Jamie Court, president of Consumer Watchdog.

The utilities say their shareholders must be shielded from wildfire costs because the risk of future fires has damaged their credit ratings. Lower credit ratings mean the companies must pay higher interest rates on borrowing, an increased cost that gets passed on to electricity customers.

“It is in our customers’ interest to have action in 2026,” Pedro Pizarro, chief executive of Edison International, told Wall Street analysts last week when asked about the utilities’ push in Sacramento for a liability cap.

Caroline Choi, Edison’s executive vice president of public policy and corporate affairs, told The Times that the proposal would not change the utilities’ focus on preventing fires. “Safety is our number one priority,” she said.

Executives at Edison and PG&E also recently told their investors that without the liability protection they may cut what they are spending on capital improvements, including to connect new housing developments and green energy projects.

PG&E recently sent letters to thousands of its customers, saying their projects could be delayed next year as it defers $2 billion in spending.

Those comments and PG&E’s letter have angered consumer advocates, wildfire survivors and some lawmakers.

On Sunday, state Sen. Sasha Renée Pérez (D-Pasadena), whose district includes Altadena, sent a letter to the California Public Utilities Commission, pointing out that both companies continue to pay millions of dollars in dividends to their shareholders, while complaining that the wildfire risk had financially weakened them.

“Their decisions to delay or reduce investments in critical projects are particularly troubling given the billions of dollars in profits reported by their parent companies in recent years,” Perez wrote. “The Legislature must not be pressured to roll back utilities’ financial accountability for wildfires through threats to withhold the investments needed to serve our communities.”

The state’s three biggest for-profit utilities, which also include San Diego Gas & Electric, have been lobbying for protection from wildfire costs since early 2025. That’s when videos emerged showing two bright flashes coming from Edison’s transmission lines, just before the Eaton fire ignited.

A government investigation released in August concluded that the devastating fire ignited when an out-of-service transmission line that Edison had not used since 1971 was briefly reenergized in the high winds, causing sparks that landed in dried brush below.

The fire killed 19 people and destroyed a wide swath of Altadena, leaving thousands of families homeless.

Last week, Pizarro told investors that executives believed the utility acted prudently before the fire. If the utilities commission agrees that the company acted prudently, Edison’s liabilities for the fire would be fully covered by a $21-billion state wildfire fund.

If the commission instead determines that Edison acted imprudently — a California regulatory standard that is similar to negligence — the company’s shareholders would still pay no more than $4.3 billion for the Eaton fire under a 2019 law known as Assembly Bill 1054.

The law was passed by Gov. Gavin Newsom and lawmakers to protect utilities from bankruptcy if their power lines spark a catastrophic fire. Since then, utility equipment has continued to spark major wildfires, even though the companies have charged customers tens of billions of dollars to prevent them.

The slides presented to state senators propose that the cap on damages — when a utility is found to have acted imprudently — be made permanent. Under current law, the cap will end when the state wildfire fund, as well as an additional $18-billion reserve created last year, are depleted, leaving shareholders exposed to greater costs of future fires.

The proposed limit on shareholder liability would be equal to 20% of each utility’s transmission and distribution equity rate base, which differs based on the size of the grid maintained by each company. This number for Edison is now $4.3 billion. For PG&E, it is $5.1 billion, according to the slides, while it is $1.5 billion for SDG&E.

The companies’ customers would have to shoulder the rest of a fire’s costs, which would be added to monthly electricity bills.

Mark Toney, executive director of the Utilities Reform Network, called the idea of permanently capping shareholders’ liabilities for fires “completely unacceptable.”

“There needs to be a cap on ratepayers’ liability,” he said.

Earlier this year, the utilities’ stock prices began to rise as executives told investors that Newsom was working on legislation to reduce the companies’ financial risks from fires.

But wildfire survivors were angered when details emerged that Newsom’s proposal would limit payments to victims for pain and suffering and cap attorney fees. Another proposed measure would have increased property insurance premiums across the state by reducing the amounts that insurers could collect after a utility-caused fire.

The utilities’ stock prices then fell when legislators agreed to a much smaller legislative package that did not have the protections the companies wanted. That bill died after the Assembly declined to vote on it.

The utilities are now asking Newsom to call a special session in which lawmakers would debate how to reduce the utilities’ fire risks, including the possible limit on what shareholders would pay.

“A predictable limitation would enable utilities to maintain investment grade credit ratings to better access capital at lower borrowing costs for customers,” Lynsey Paulo, a PG&E spokesperson, said in an e-mail.

In February, Edison disclosed that the Los Angeles County district attorney was investigating whether Edison should be criminally charged for its actions leading to the Eaton fire. And last month, an investment firm published a report claiming that there was evidence that Edison “acted with conscious and willful disregard for the rights and safety of others,” which would make its shareholders liable for all Eaton fire costs. The costs have been estimated to be tens of billions of dollars.

Pizarro told investors last week that he believed there was no evidence that Edison acted criminally before the fire. And he similarly dismissed the investment firm’s report.

“Just to be very crystal clear on this, not only do we not see any basis for felony liability, we certainly don’t see any basis for allegations of conscious or willful disregard,” Pizarro said on the conference call. “I think I said this to all of you before — that is not something I lose sleep over.”

The new head of English rugby league has backed a call for Prime Minister Andy Burnham to approve a £30m five-year community funding plan for the sport.

Former England international Jon Wilkin has appealed directly to Burnham and Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy, both rugby league fans, to pledge government money to a rugby league-based social impact project.

Ian Nolan, the new chief executive of the Rugby Football League, has supported Wilkin’s plea, issued on BBC Radio 5 Live’s Rugby League show on Monday.

Wilkin wants Burnham and Nandy to follow the lead of Australia’s government, which in July announced it was committing A$250m (£130m), external over 10 years to the Pacific Rugby League Partnership.

That initiative is designed to help create sporting, educational and employment opportunities in Papua New Guinea, Tonga, Samoa and Fiji, and is being led by the Australian Rugby League Commission – the country’s rugby league governing body.

Wilkin has argued that a similar plan for the north of England would benefit deprived communities.

He said: “Australia has recognised rugby league’s potential as a vehicle for social change, committing hundreds of millions to developing communities, especially across the Pacific. Why shouldn’t Britain show the same ambition for the north?

“The infrastructure already exists, the clubs, the foundations, the school and community relationships are already well established. What’s missing is a coordinated strategy and meaningful government investment.

“The ask would be simple: For the government to establish a £30m five-year Northern Rugby League social impact partnership, bringing together the RFL, professional clubs, community foundations, local authorities and government departments.

“The programme would target disadvantaged northern communities.”

Nolan, a former Manchester United executive who took up his role with the RFL on 1 October, suggested the social benefits of such an initiative would be felt more quickly because rugby league clubs are already established in their communities.

“When the government normally invest in community hubs and new things to generate something, they tend to be brand new,” he said. “And it’s really difficult then to attract people to go there because it’s a new habit, it’s a new place.

“But rugby clubs are already established in the most deprived towns in the UK. And that’s the difference. People already go there. Families already rely on them for even just moving around.”

BBC Sport has contacted the Department for Culture, Media and Sport for comment.

The chief of staff of Iran’s armed forces has laid out five conditions for what he calls a roadmap to lasting security, as Qatar said it was “hopeful” that Tehran and Washington could reach a deal paving the way for future negotiations, despite overnight US strikes on Qeshm Island.

Major-General Ali Abdollahi’s plan calls for an end to hostilities on all fronts, including Lebanon and the Gaza Strip, the complete lifting of sanctions and the unfreezing of Iranian assets and war reparations, Iran’s Tasnim news agency reported on Tuesday.

The plan also calls for recognition of Iran’s sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz, and a guarantee against future aggression under a regional security framework for West Asia.

The plan comes as Qatar steps up mediation efforts amid fears the US-Israel war on Iran, launched in late February, could escalate after the midterm elections in the United States on Tuesday.

Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Majed al-Ansari said in his weekly briefing in Doha on Tuesday that a Qatari delegation held a meeting with Iranian officials in Tehran for more than three hours on Monday, before returning to Doha that evening. Both sides are now reviewing Qatar’s proposal, he said, with mediators exchanging proposals between them in real time.

“If there were no glimmer of hope, there would be no negotiations,” al-Ansari said, adding that Qatar would not speculate on whether an agreement or a military escalation was more likely.

He warned that any escalation, whether attacks on Iranian territory or on shipping, “will have an impact on the negotiations”, and said continuing the Qatari-Pakistani mediation remained a priority. He reiterated that freedom of navigation in Hormuz was nonnegotiable, referring to Doha’s condemnation of the targeting of the Qatari tanker Al-Mayda.

Reporting from Tehran, Al Jazeera’s Resul Serdar Atas said mediators were aiming to avert a new round of fighting.

He said a Qatari delegation visited Iran on Friday in response to a letter to Iran from US Vice President JD Vance, and an Iranian delegation travelled to Qatar the following day.

“The Qataris are trying to mediate with Iran, not on a peace deal, but on a framework to restart the negotiations,” he said. Of Monday’s brief visit, he added: “The reading is that the Qataris carried a message to Tehran and immediately left after that.”

“The main issue is the mistrust between the two parties,” Atas said. “The Iranians say that twice previously the US attacked them when they were engaged in diplomacy. That’s why they’re asking for concrete steps, such as lifting sanctions, removing the naval blockade, returning frozen Iranian assets and letting Iran sell oil on the global market.”

US officials reportedly said the military carried out limited strikes on Qeshm Island on Monday that did not amount to a resumption of major combat operations, saying Iran had tried to target a US aircraft and the attack took out the launcher.

One official called it “a defensive measure for Iranians using surface-to-air missiles against US assets”. IRNA reported five explosions on the island, with more blasts heard in Bandar Lengeh. President Donald Trump had said on October 8 that the US would not attack Iran before the midterm elections.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said on Tuesday it downed two US MQM-170 reconnaissance drones south of Qeshm and destroyed an MQ-9 drone east of the strait.

Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Iran’s lead negotiator, said, “The ball is in America’s court to prevent war.”

Tehran’s Hamshahri newspaper reported that Iran had updated its target bank to include US bases and infrastructure in Europe.

Zeidon Alkinani, the founding director of the Arab Perceptions Institute, said both sides remained open to diplomacy.

“Diplomacy and force are running in parallel,” Alkinani told Al Jazeera. “The diplomatic channel is alive – it has always been since March, but there hasn’t unfortunately been a fundamental breakthrough.”

Vance had said on Monday he was optimistic about reaching a negotiated settlement.

However, Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said on Tuesday Iran was neither waiting for the outcome of US midterm elections nor shaping its policies around them.

US President ⁠Donald ⁠Trump says he made a deal with ⁠Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that ⁠Washington would no longer be providing funding to Israel after the end of this ‌year.

“Now, as far as paying Israel, Bibi Netanyahu and I have made a deal that we give Israel $4bn ⁠a year, and ⁠we made a deal months ago that we’re stopping,” Trump told ⁠Fox News’ Fox and Friends after voting in the midterm elections began.

“We’ve ⁠already agreed that ⁠by the end of this year we won’t be paying Israel. ‌Now we’ll help Israel if they need it.”

It was not immediately clear what form of aid Trump was discussing.

Military aid to Israel, and US political campaign contributions from Israel’s backers to candidates, have been a flashpoint for both Democrats and Republicans this year.

Harsh public criticism of Israel by US political leaders in recent years marks a dramatic shift from decades of staunch bipartisan backing.

The US House of Representatives defeated an amendment to cut off aid to Israel in July, despite nearly half of Democrats supporting it, reflecting a growing rupture between US progressives and Israel over its genocidal war in Gaza.

The House voted 314 to ‌104 to defeat the measure, offered as an amendment to a State Department spending bill by outgoing Representative Thomas Massie of Kentucky, an outspoken Republican critic of US policy in the Middle East.

EMMERDALE star Matthew Wolfenden has marked his third anniversary with rarely-seen girlfriend Heather Scott-Martin as he moves from the collapse of his marriage to former co-star Charley Webb.

The actor confirmed his relationship with Heather after meeting the trained choreographer and dance teacher while starring in a West End production of Elf: The Musical in December 2023.

Just weeks earlier, Matthew, 46, announced the end of his five-year marriage to Charley in a joint statement – and later claimed he’d been dumped by his wife while she was touring UK theatres in playwright James Graham’s Quiz.

But he appeared to be back on his feet while celebrating his third anniversary with Heather in a new social media post on Sunday.

Sharing a handful of photos – among them a backstage shot of the pair at London’s Dominion Theatre as they prepared for Elf – he wrote: “Three years of you.”

Speaking exclusively to The Sun shortly after announcing their relationship, Matthew said they bonded over their respective splits.

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He said: “I met Heather doing Elf. Me and Charley had been separated for a few months and then Heather was the dance captain on Elf, she’s a choreographer and a dancer.

“She’d also recently separated from her long-term partner roughly the same time me and Charley had separated so we kind of had this common bond.

“All the cast used to go out for drinks and stuff and we’d end up sitting together and chatting about relationships and things that had happened, and that’s how we started chatting.

“We’d be the last ones in the pub still chatting, it was almost like it was meant to be, that we found each other.”

The actor – best known for his former role as David Metcalfe in Emmerdale – shares sons Buster, 14, Bowie, nine and five-year-old Ace, five, with ex-wife Charley.

Addressing their painful split during an appearance on the Lewis Nicholls Podcast in May 2025, Matthew claimed his former wife left him as he prepared for a new role on the West End stage.

He said: “It was Charley’s decision. Charley decided she wanted to separate. 

“It was hard, it was a hard time for me. By this point I’d decided to leave Emmerdale. Charley was on tour with a play called Quiz so I was leaving a job I’d been in for 18 years, I’d just been offered a job in the West End, so it was a big change for me. 

“I had the kids full time at that time because Charley was out on tour and then out of the blue I got this news that she wanted to separate. 

“It was a tough time for me, it was a time of big changes and then this on top of things wasn’t the best news in the world. But things happen for a reason.  

“It was the fact that the kids were quite young and it wasn’t only a couple of years ago. That was a concern to me. We had to move onwards.”

He added: “I didn’t expect it at all, it was a big shock. Separation is very difficult when you’ve spent 15 years together, your lives together and everything you own is together – just sorting out. 

“Especially when the separation happened when Charley was on tour and I was moving to London after leaving Emmerdale.”

Despite the abrupt split, Matthew claimed the former couple put their differences aside and found a way forward.

He added: “Everything was a bit up in the air for the first few months but we’re very very amicable, we’re still friends and we’ve got kids together so you have to be.

“We’re always going to have a relationship.”

Nearly two-thirds of California voters are worried that the Trump administration may try to halt the vote count early, stoking disquieting levels of election anxiety on the eve of the midterms, a new poll shows.

Those fears arise as the Justice Department continues its aggressive efforts to challenge or wrest control over state voting processes, including threatening to prosecute uncooperative elections officials in California, after years of baseless claims of widespread election fraud by the Republican president.

Among California voters, 63% worry that the federal government may attempt to stop the counting of votes in California and other states in the days following Tuesday’s election, according to the poll from the UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies, co-sponsored by The Times. Around half of voters — 49% — are not confident that the state’s election will be free of federal interference, the survey found.

“Both of the items, together, I think should raise alarms for threats against democracy in California,” said Matt Barreto, director of the UCLA Voting Rights Project.

California voters also have grievances with the state’s ballot propositions, a slate of 14 measures that include new taxes on billionaires and funding for cancer research. More than 8 in 10 of the state’s likely voters said that this year’s propositions were worded in a way that made them hard to understand and that special interests groups have too much influence over which propositions appear on the ballot.

Those concerns were shared across partisan lines, unlike how Californians felt about the threats posed to integrity of elections by the Trump administration. The high level of fear in the state reflects the fact that registered Democrats outnumber registered Republicans by nearly 2 to 1 in California.

While 58% of Democrats are not confident the election will be free of federal interference, 27% of Republicans feel the same way, according to the poll. Similarly, 85% of Democrats are worried about the vote count being halted, compared with 22% of Republicans. A majority of California voters not affiliated with either party also expressed fears of interference by the Trump administration.

“I think voters are reflecting the reality,” Barreto said. “For the past month, the president and the Department of Justice have been attempting to directly interfere and take over California elections and voters are aware of that.”

The Department of Justice has sued California requesting the state set aside some 20,000 ballots the federal government has flagged as being potentially from noncitizens. Federal prosecutors have threatened criminal actions against election officials who refuse to comply. On Monday, the Trump administration escalated its effort to discount the flagged California ballots to the Supreme Court, which rejected its request to set aside the ballots.

Over the weekend, Newsom sent a letter to U.S. District Court judges across California sharing his “grave concerns federal agents will seek search warrants to seize ballots and ballot materials before the election results are certified” and urging judges not to comply.

Newsom wrote that President Trump’s history of weaponizing the Department of Justice to carry out his partisan agenda supports “legitimate concerns about further attempts to disenfranchise voters and undermine election integrity.” Newsom said this could include an attempt to prevent the certification of California’s election.

Concerns have also been raised about the presence of immigration agents around voting centers and performing door knocks and street stops to try to identify voter fraud.

Court rulings have recently dealt a series of blows to the Trump administrations efforts to intervene in the state’s voting process. Nonetheless, distress over election integrity remains extremely high, according to the poll.

Fears of federal meddling in the election are slightly higher among voters of color; 64% of Black voters and 54% of Latino voters said they are not confident the election will be free of interference, compared with 44% of white non-Hispanic voters, according to the poll.

Voters of color tend to lean more liberal, but the historic and ongoing efforts to disenfranchise minorities probably also contribute to this disparity, Barreto said.

Black voters have been a target of voter suppression efforts from the post-Civil War Reconstruction era through the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, he said. More recently, the Trump administration has singled out Latino Californians, accusing them of being noncitizens and voting illegally.

Professor Eric Schickler, co-director of the UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies, described the level of alarm over election integrity in California and across the nation as without precedent.

He noted that both parties are distrustful about different things, with Republicans focused on allegations of fraudulent voting and Democrats fearful that the federal government may attempt to overturn results.

The last time America saw extreme political polarization paired with widespread claims of illegitimacy over election outcomes was during the Reconstruction era in the late 19th century, when there were widespread accusations of voter suppression in the South and of people voting illegally in the North, he said.

“That hasn’t happened really in the United States for well over a century now,” Schickler said, “so what we’re seeing now is really unusual, especially for a modern and long-lived democracy.”

Schickler said his highest level of concern with possible federal efforts to halt California’s vote count would be with congressional races. A handful of California races could play a pivotal role in deciding which party takes control of the U.S. House of Representatives. However, he said current polling data do not indicate that a Democratic path to victory in the lower house will rely on Golden State voters.

Trump in the past has criticized California for being one of the slowest states in the nation to finish tabulating its election results due to its large population and high number of voters who mail in their ballots. He’s also complained about late arriving ballots. Votes processed after election day in California typically contain a higher proportion of Democratic ballots than those processed on election night.

In addition, to highlight the unprecedented anxiety many California voters are feeling, the poll also shines a light on frustrations voters have with the state’s ballot propositions. Among likely voters, 82% agree that the wording of this year’s propositions made them hard to understand and 82% also agree that special interest groups have largely taken over which initiatives qualify.

In addition, 62% of likely voters feel that there are too many propositions on this year’s ballot. There are 14 statewide propositions, with many voters also seeing additional initiatives at a county and city level.

“The initiative is meant to be an outlet for voters when special interest groups lead legislators to fail to respond to their concerns,” Schickler said. “But now most voters believe the initiative process is itself too beholden to special interests.”

In the last 20 years, California’s ballot initiative campaigns have become increasingly controlled by large corporations or union groups. Part of this is due to the fact that it takes at least $50 million to run an effective campaign capable of reaching the state’s 23 million registered voters, making it challenging, but not impossible, to run a grassroots campaign, Barreto said.

The poll surveyed 2,787 registered voters in California from Oct. 19 to 25 in English and Spanish and has an overall estimated margin of error of plus or minus 2.5 percentage points. Among likely voters, the estimated margin of error is about 3 percentage points in either direction.

Times staff writer Kevin Rector contributed to this report.

DREAMING of a white Christmas?

With grotto visits selling out fast, it’s time to get your yuletide crackers in a row.

You don’t want to be left with the crumbs from the mince pie tray.

From train rides to cosy cottage stays, we’ve rounded up our pick of festive experiences and staycations to lock in right now.

BLENHEIM PALACE

This grand Oxfordshire country pile puts on a magical sparkling light show.

This year’s highlights include a 10metre ‘butterfly tree’ to mark the start of the light trail, hot air balloons that release bursts of fire and a cheery festive choir.

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The gardens will light up from November 13 to January 3. Tickets cost from £25 per adult, £19 per child and £1 for under twos – book here.

SANTA EXPRESS TRAIN

The Santa Steam Express is a really charming Christmas experience for all ages.

The 90-minute journey on a steam locomotive departs on a loop from London Victoria, with vintage carriages covered in decorations and a snack and activity box for each family and a very cute mock-version of a Lapland newspaper.

These days, it’s really exciting to see an old-fashioned steam train on Britain’s railways – even the jaded London commuters stop to take pictures as it waits to board passengers.

Once everyone is seated, Santa and his cheeky elves make their way through the train, handing out gifts, engaging in conversation and roping guests into games and songs.

What’s particularly lovely about this festive experience is that it’s not hard work on the legs, so there were plenty of grandparents who came along with their families.

Tickets from £45pp for Saturday journeys in December.

POLAR EXPRESS TRAIN

If you haven’t seen the film that inspired this heart-warming night-time railway experience, make sure you watch before you visit.

This spectacularly recreates scenes from the film on a moving train.

Pyjama-clad visitors hand over their golden tickets to board (at stations around the UK).

On board there will be dancing chefs delivering hot chocolate and cookies, story time and visits from Santa and his entourage of elves.

Tickets from £35.95. Click the ‘other locations’ tab to book at londonthepolarexpressride.com.

KEW GARDENS

A highly popular London lights trail so expect tickets to sell like hot cakes.

Details are yet to be revealed but visitors can expect glittering installations and sparkling tunnels that make great photo backdrops.

There will also be a traditional fairground, festive street food and mulled wine and hot chocolate.

Tickets cost from £25.50pp and the experience runs from November 13 to January 3 – book here.

SKATING AT SOMERSET HOUSE

Tickets go on sale this Friday and popular slots will likely be gone by Monday. For good reason, too.

The experience is not only in one of London’s grandest locations, but it is jam-packed with the finest seasonal fun.

A giant Christmas tree stands at the centre, while wooden chalets serving themed street food line the outside of the rink.

There’s an Aperol spritz van plus a cosy clubhouse with live music sponsored by Virgin Atlantic.

It opens on November 11 and runs until January 10, with tickets from £11 – book here.

AWAY STAYS ‘THE HOLIDAY’ COTTAGE, DEVON

This dainty, thatched-roofed cottage is the spitting image of the one in The Holiday although don’t expect Jude Law to come knocking on your door.

Set in rural Hartland, Devon, Philham Water Cottage sleeps up to four and is dog-friendly.

Hunker down in front of the roaring fire and work through the collection of board games.

Seven nights’ self-catering is from £595 (or £1,225 over Christmas). See coolstays.com.

TEATIME AT TYLNEY, HAMPSHIRE

If Christmas for you is all about the sweet treats, you’ll love Tylney Hall Hotel near Hook, where the festive afternoon tea will ensure you’re as stuffed as a turkey.

Finger sandwiches have Crimbo-inspired fillings plus classics.

After the scones, come gingerbread choux buns, mince pies and a mousse reindeer.

The afternoon tea costs from £45pp (Mon-Thurs) and £58pp (Friday-Sat). Bookable from Nov 30.

A pre-Christmas overnight stay costs from £380 for a family of four sharing a Junior Suite and including breakfast – book here.

A CAMP CHRISTMAS

The Caravan and Motorhome Club says sites are already filling up for Christmas.

The three-day Thursford & Sandringham Festive Delight Tour gives travellers access to the Thursford Christmas Spectacular plus tickets to the Sandringham Estate Christmas Craft, Food & Gift Fair.

Included in the tour price is three nights at The Sandringham Estate Club Campsite and entry to Sandringham’s glittering light trail.

Tour is from £399pp departing on November 24 – book here.

Thursford Christmas Spectacular

Known for being the largest Christmas show in Europe, Thursford Christmas Spectacular in Norfolk features a cast of 130 performers backed by a 30 piece live orchestra.

The three-hour show mixes carols, show tunes, comedy and variety acts.

Visitors can also separately book Santa’s Magical Journey, which is an interactive world for visitors to explore and the Enchanted Journey of Light with an illuminated outdoor light trail.

Tickets cost from £46 per person – book here.

Carols at the Royal Albert Hall

Christmas isn’t complete without Christmas carols and could they be even more special when performed at the Royal Albert Hall?

Across six days there are 15 carol performances in the Hall with festive favourites and more modern tunes.

Tickets cost as little as £22 per person and you can book here, but many of the favourable dates and times already have tickets for this price sold out.

You will also have to opt for a more expensive ticket if you wish to have a seat and not stand.

Tulleys Christmas Santa Experience

Tulleys Farm in Surrey is known for its ‘all out’ Halloween and Christmas events and this year there will be an outdoor ice rink, gingerbread decorating, circus performances and of course, a Santa’s Grotto.

Visitors can head on the North Pole Adventure as well, where they can step into Elf Town and meet the townsfolk before carrying out festive tasks.

Several dates already have low availability so you will need to book quick.

Kids tickets cost between £46.95 to £69.95 and adults tickets (age 14+) cost £29.95 to £39.95 – book here.

Chatsworth House at Christmas

Christmas at Chatsworth is an annual festive celebration at Chatsworth House in Derbyshire and this year takes place between November 7 and January 3, 2027.

Inside the house, the theme this year will be The 12 Days of Christmas with sculptures, large installations and a garden light and sound trail.

Admission also includes access to the Farmyard and Adventure Playground, where there will be decorated animal areas and festive kids’ craft sessions.

Adult tickets cost from £36.36 each and children’s tickets cost from £10.90 each – book here.

Train of Lights

What happens when you mix a light trail with a festive train journey? You get a steam train entirely covered in neon Christmas lights.

And that is exactly what the Train of Lights is in Dartmouth, Devon – where you go on a railway journey in the dark, with cosy interiors and the exterior completely covered in lights.

You can also add on a visit to Santa, but this comes at an extra cost.

Tickets cost from £31.50 per adult and £24 per child – book here.

NOTHING screams Christmas like the smell of roasted chestnuts, sizzling sausages, and hot mulled wine floating through the air.

Europe’s legendary Christmas markets are preparing for the festive season – and now is the best time to lock in a cheap getaway.

Whether you want to eat gooey Raclette cheese under the Eiffel Tower, gorge on cheap chimney cakes in Prague, or visit a quiet, snowy Venice, we’ve found the very best package deals to get you there for less.

Here is our ultimate guide to Europe’s best festive city breaks, with flights and hotels from just £84pp.

Paris – from £124

Paris is magical enough in winter, with the Eiffel Tower twinkling, cosy bakeries with warm bread and pastries, and plenty of chic cafes for a tasty hot chocolate.

But if you visit from November 12, you can go rooftop skating at Galeries Lafayette, or browse the near-350 Swiss-style chalet stalls at La Defense Christmas Market.

This is the largest Christmas market in the region, offering massive food tents packed with oozing Raclette cheese, mulled wine and chocolatey crepes, plus plenty of handmade souvenirs and even regular DJ sets.

This £124pp Wowcher offer puts you up in a stylish Parisian hotel for two nights, just a 15-minute walk from La Defense, and bundles in return flights from London, Birmingham, Bristol, Manchester or Edinburgh.

Budapest – from £84

If you want a fairytale festive break, book in a trip to Budapest from mid-November onwards.

The Hungarian capital doesn’t just do one Christmas market – it practically turns the entire downtown area into a glowing winter wonderland.

The two heavy hitters you have to visit are Vorosmarty Square market, packed with around 100 stalls selling handmade Hungarian gifts, and the Advent Bazilika market, with a skating rink, 3D lights show and more right beneath the basilica.

This £84 Wowcher deal includes a stay at your pick of two four-star hotels (the Carlton Hotel Buda Castle or Gold Hotel Budapest) plus return flights from London, Birmingham, Newcastle, Manchester or Edinburgh.

Brussels – from £140

On the Beach doesn’t only offer fly and flop hols – you can actually get cheap Christmas Market deals on there too, like this Brussels break.

The popular Winter Wonders event takes place in the city centre, with over 200 glowing wooden chalets serving melted chocolate and mulled wine, plus a massive Ferris wheel and ice rink.

Wrap up the chilly nights by thawing out in a cosy local tavern with a Trappist beer, local beers brewed under the supervision of monks.

On the Beach offer a two-night break at the Jam Hotel, a swanky spot that blends industrial decor with warm rugs and cosy fires, from £140pp with return flights.

Riga – from £129

Underrated Riga in Latvia sees a maze of cobbled Old Town streets light up at Christmas, overlooked by towering Gothic churches and pastel-coloured buildings that look magical under a thick blanket of snow.

The main event, Riga Christmas Market, takes place in the Dome Square under Riga Cathedral. To warm up, chow down on hot smoked sausages or sip on a steaming cup of hot cranberry juice.

Unlike the mass-produced, samey bits you find at some popular markets, the stalls here are packed with genuine Latvian crafts, like thick woollen mittens, carved wooden sculptures and beeswax candles.

This £129pp Loveholidays offer includes your return flights plus a two-night stay at the gorgeous Rixwell Old Riga Palace Hotel, a homely spot with cosy sloping ceilings, exposed brick and wooden beams.

Prague – from £114

With its towering, needle-like spires and busy market squares, the Czech capital is breathtaking in the winter.

Under the Prague Astronomical Clock in the Old Town Square, you’ll find wooden huts selling pretty glass ornaments, handmade wooden toys and more, all surrounding a gigantic Christmas tree.

With food famously cheaper than spots in Western Europe, you can fill up on spit-roasted meats, sugary chimney cakes and dirt-cheap mugs of hot honey wine.

This £114pp Wowcher offer includes a two-night stay at the four-star Deminka Palace, plus return flights from London, Bristol, Manchester or Edinburgh.

Krakow – from £110

Krakow is a popular winter city break for good reason, with magical horse-drawn carriages, medieval architecture and an epic Christmas market.

Browse stalls with amber jewellery and hand-painted ornaments, and enjoy mulled wine poured straight from giant wooden barrels.

As for food, go for some sizzling-hot dumplings and some crispy oscypek, which is smoked cheese with cranberry formed into a diamond that looks more like a pretty bauble than something you can eat.

This £110 On the Beach deal includes your flights plus a two-night stay at modern hotel and bar Metropolo By Golden Tulip.

Venice – from £84

Christmas may just be one of the best times to visit Venice, with peaceful gondola rides and smaller Christmas markets where you won’t get caught up in crowds.

St Mark’s Square glows with twinkling lights, while the main Christmas market in Campo Santo Stefano sells unique Carnival masks, jewellery, ceramics and more.

Of course, you cant’ leave without gorging on a tall slice of fluffy Panettone – make sure to wash it down with a rich Italian hot chocolate.

This £84pp Wowcher deal includes a two-night stay at Hotel Al Vivit, plus return flights from London, Manchester, Bristol and Edinburgh.

Christmas Market Mystery Holiday – from £94

If you just can’t pick where to go, try a Christmas Market Mystery Holiday. For £94, you could land anywhere from Vienna all the way to New York.

Some stays even come with special experiences, like Santa Village visits in Lapland, glass igloo stays in Finland and a Northern Lights-themed stay in Iceland.

Other destinations you could land include Helsinki, Toronto, Nice, Amsterdam and Chicago.

The Christmas Market Mystery Holiday ticket currently costs £94, saving £5 on full price.

Prices correct at the time of publication.

Bill Bedgood, who coached Giancarlo Stanton of the New York Yankees when he was an All-CIF basketball player at Sherman Oaks Notre Dame in 2007, supposedly retired from coaching after the 2023-24 season at Valencia.

So what in the name of short retirements is Bedgood back as head coach at Valencia for this season?

“I think I’m in for life,” he said.

Valencia coach Bill Bedgood wipes away a tear while discussing his decision to step down from coaching duties to be only a dad to his son, Bryce, left, in 2023.

(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)

Valencia players couldn’t be happier. Bedgood guided the Vikings to section, regional and state titles in 2023. He’s also on everybody’s list for favorite geometry teacher.

Three Valencia basketball players at Saturday’s Foothill League basketball media day raised their hand when asked if they had taken “Mr. Bedgood” for geometry. All got A’s too.

“Probably my favorite class in high school,” point guard Ali Eldein said.

Eldein insisted he wasn’t saying that to gain more playing time.

Valencia has so much depth this season that the practices are more than competitive. The best player in the Foothill League could be 6-foot-7 senior Steven Irons.

In 2023, after winning the state title with his son, Bryce, on the team, Bedgood wiped away tears after announcing he was going to step down after years of coaching at Bishop Alemany, Notre Dame, Saugus and Valencia.

Now it’s clear he has so much loyalty to Valencia and its students that Bedgood might not be retiring again any time soon.

This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email eric.sondheimer@latimes.com.

Saab is taking its well-established CB90 combat boat in a notably more ambitious direction, introducing a larger, optionally crewed version that’s intended to do much more than ferry troops and conduct raids. The new Combat Boat 90 Capability X (CB90 CX) is being developed as a multi-mission combat platform capable of carrying sensors and weapons for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR), anti-surface warfare, and short-range air defense (SHORAD).

The new boat represents a significant evolution of a design that has been adopted by naval forces around the world for littoral operations. Compared to the original design, however, the CX adds greater payload capacity, updated onboard systems, and the ability to operate with or without a crew.

Saab says the CB90 CX is currently in production for Sweden, which will be the launch customer, with 36 craft under contract for the Swedish Amphibious Battalion. With the Swedish Armed Forces, the new boat will operate alongside the existing, smaller CB90 NG rather than immediately replacing it.

The development reflects several broader shifts in naval warfare, including the use of smaller combatants to contribute directly to the fight rather than simply transport personnel or support larger ships. At the same time, the ability of the CB90 CX to operate without personnel on board is indicative of the rapid advances being made in the uncrewed surface vessel (USV) space.

“The future of naval operations is not just about having more platforms; it is about distributing greater combat capability across the force,” Anders Hellman, head of Saab’s Docksta business unit, said in the announcement.

Hellman also pointed to recent operations in the Baltic Sea, the Black Sea, and the Red Sea to highlight the kinds of areas and missions the CB90 CX has been designed to face. In the Baltic, this includes protection of critical infrastructure as the threat from Russia continues to grow. In the Black Sea, Russia and Ukraine have been engaged in extensive naval warfare, increasingly using USVs to undertake missions including attacks on shipping and against ground targets, as well as SHORAD. Finally, the Red Sea has seen USVs, aerial drones, and cruise missiles attack commercial shipping, with the sheer volume of these strikes putting traditional naval air defenses under extreme pressure.

The baseline CB90 has already established its reputation through a combination of speed, maneuverability, and the ability to operate in confined coastal waters. While developed specifically with Swedish naval operations in mind, it has also been adopted by close to a dozen navies around the world. Among its operators, U.S. Navy examples are designated as the Riverine Command Boat. More unusually, Russia has fielded a locally developed clone of the CB90 design, known as the Raptor class.

The CB90 CX keeps those features but combines them with a larger hull and increased payload capacity, meaning it can accommodate a wider range of mission systems and weapons.

The ability for the CX to operate as an optionally crewed boat is derived from Saab’s proprietary Autonomous Ocean Core system. The company has not yet disclosed the full details of the autonomous operating modes but says that human supervision will be required as part of the decision-making process. Saab also says that every CB90 CX will come with the option of autonomous operations, with the decision falling upon the operator, based on the particular mission requirements.

Clearly, the combination of a larger platform and autonomous operation opens up a range of possibilities for employing the boat in situations where putting a crew at risk may be undesirable. The CX is also designed to operate across a wider range of sea states.

In terms of specifications, the CB90 CX has an overall length of 59 feet, compared to 54.5 feet for the CB90 NG variant. It is powered by a pair of 1,100-horsepower engines driving waterjets, giving a maximum speed of over 40 knots, at which it can travel for more than 300 nautical miles. In crewed configuration, it can carry up to 10 personnel.

The ISR variant is designed to provide enhanced situational awareness across multiple domains. It incorporates Saab’s Giraffe 1X X-band 3D surveillance radar, which can detect and track threats in the air and on the surface, out to a range of over 62 miles against aerial targets. The radar is mounted on a 36-foot extending mast to increase its range over the horizon and in littoral zones.

The anti-ship warfare configuration is intended to provide over-the-horizon strike capability against surface vessels. Saab has shown a rendering of this version armed with a pair of MBDA’s Marte ER anti-ship missiles in angled canisters.

Marte ER is a lightweight, long-range missile designed to be deployed from a wide range of platforms, including aircraft, coastal batteries, and smaller naval vessels. It has a range of over 62 miles and operates on a sea-skimming ‘fire-and-forget’ principle, guided by an active radar seeker. The missile can also be employed against land targets, a capability that Saab doesn’t explicitly mention.

Successful first launch for Marte ER missile

However, Marte ER is just one option for the CB90 CX, and Saab has confirmed that Sweden will arm the boats with a different, undisclosed missile.

Furthermore, both the ISR and anti-ship versions are armed with a 12.7mm or 30mm Trackfire Remote Weapon Station for self-defense.

The SHORAD configuration, meanwhile, is designed to address the growing threat posed by drones. It will employ Rheinmetall’s Seasnake 30mm autocannon, giving the boat a dedicated close-range air defense role. As well as drones, the gun, which has a nominal maximum rate of fire of 1,100 rounds per minute, can be used to engage helicopters, and it has a secondary role against surface targets, including USVs.

The latter capability is particularly notable as navies increasingly face the challenge of defending themselves against relatively inexpensive drones that can threaten even sophisticated warships.

Beyond these three initial mission variants, Saab says it is developing an option to launch drones from the CB90 CX. Both tube-launched drones and quadcopters are being examined. Torpedo armament is also planned as an option.

The broader concept behind the CB90 CX involves the distribution of sensors and weapons across a larger number of smaller, more flexible platforms, which may or may not be crewed.

Operators could employ multiple CB90 CX boats in complementary roles. ISR-equipped boats could help detect and track threats, while anti-ship variants provide additional strike options, and SHORAD-equipped boats help protect the force against aerial threats.

Operating together, the different configurations could create a more distributed and more resilient combat fleet, particularly in coastal environments where geography, island chains, and confined waterways complicate operations.

Furthermore, the optionally crewed version would allow the boats to operate in higher-risk areas or undertake missions that would otherwise expose personnel to unacceptable danger.

The ISR variant, in particular, could be of use in a scenario like the current crisis with Iran, for instance. Vessels equipped with the Sea Giraffe radar could form a picket line across the Persian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz, and Gulf of Oman to detect incoming drones and cruise missiles, and also provide data on surface movements. A counter-drone variants could be used for force protection. The idea that these could even be uncrewed makes such an application even more attractive considering the threats posed to vessels in this region and especially in or near the strait.

For Sweden, the introduction of the CX alongside the CB90 NG means that a more capable combat boat can be introduced alongside the smaller platform, which remains useful for more traditional troop transport and raiding party missions.

The CB90 CX also represents an effort to expand the utility of the basic design out of its traditional littoral environment and into a more demanding and increasingly complex operational environment.

At the same time, broad commonality with the CB90 NG should make the new design more attractive to established customers.

The company has not yet disclosed a timeline for deliveries but says the first boat for Sweden is now undergoing final acceptance trials. Saab has also confirmed it aims to produce the CB90 CX alongside the previous CB90 NG, making use of a new production site to handle expected demand.

While the original CB90 made its name moving troops around the littorals, the CX is an altogether more ambitious development. At the same time, Saab will face competition from a growing number of USVs and optionally crewed boats, as these vessels continue to proliferate and be adapted for more roles.

Contact the author: thomas@thewarzone.com

Emmerdale fans think Steve Marchant’s return will confirm he’s targeting his ex Kim Tate in a revenge storyline on the ITV soap, and that another resident could be helping him

Steve Marchant’s Emmerdale return could see a revenge plot in play, according to fans of the ITV soap.

Fans are wondering if a recent scene with Graham Foster could suggest the pair are in cahoots, and plotting to take down Kim Tate. Steve’s return to the show, nearly 30 years after his exit, comes about after he finds out from Thea Ramsden that she is his daughter.

As Steve wants answers, he heads back to the village – but given his history with Kim, fans think he will want payback. Amid his actual crimes, she framed him for her own and he was sent to prison.

Then there’s Graham who is currently on good terms with his ex Kim. But it was only a matter of months ago that he was out to get her, and even tried to kill her.

Graham phoned someone to tell them their plan had not worked. He seemingly parked the plan to kill her, but fans are confused over why this was never revisited or explained.

So is Steve the person in cahoots with Graham and the person who was on the phone? Some viewers are starting to think this is the case, ahead of actor Paul Opacic is reprising the role after almost 30 years.

Taking to X, one fan said: “To anyone who remembers Graham’s poisoning of Kim and his reference to ‘we’re going to have to find another way to get rid of this pain in the neck’. Could his contact be Steve?”

Another fan replied: “Yeah that plot line went quiet very quickly. Hope they don’t ignore it.” A third added: “I know Graham tried to kill Kim now their best friends makes no sense.”

A final post suggested though: “Is Graham someone who would work with Steve though? Steve always seemed slightly out of his depth, and not someone Graham would trust, even for revenge.

“Could it be Ramsden? There was also a scene when she was introduced where Graham seemed to recognised her.” Teasing his comeback after almost three decades away, Steve actor Paul shared: “Things were left rather bitter between Kim and Steve, so he’s very surprised when a solicitor contacts him out of the blue. He guesses something is afoot when Kim starts brandishing notes to keep him away.

“With the sniff of more cash to be made, Steve wonders what is going on. And soon Thea leaves him a jaw-dropping voicemail.” Emmerdale Producer Laura Shaw also teased what is ahead for the returning character, as well as Thea and Kim.

Laura commented: “Determined to uncover the truth about her father, Thea devises a clever ruse to lure him into a meeting under false pretences. But will Steve fall for her deception, and does he even realise he has a child – or could he know secrets that even Kim isn’t aware of?”

This obviously teases more twists and turns ahead. So are there yet more bombshells to be revealed with the storyline, and could it risk Thea and Kim’s relationship?

Emmerdale airs weeknights at 8pm on ITV1 and ITVX. * Follow Mirror Celebs and TV on TikTok , Snapchat , Instagram , Twitter , Facebook , YouTube and Threads .

Homeless encampments line the streets. Buying a home — or even finding an affordable place to rent — is increasingly out of reach. Roads are riddled with potholes, tens of thousands of streetlights are out, and water and power bills are surging.

For many Angelenos, morale is poor and quality of life in the city is slipping.

This is the challenge for whoever becomes Los Angeles mayor — and it is one that has left some longtime political experts wondering how much one person can control in this vast city of 3.8 million.

“The expectations, given the powers that the mayor actually has, are probably too high,” said Tom Hogen-Esch, a professor of political science at Cal State Northridge. “You have all of these wicked problems that are difficult to solve in a perfect scenario, and [even more] in a governmental system as tangled and confused as L.A.”

The next mayor will have to deal with enduring problems of deteriorating infrastructure, police reform and budget woes. But there is also the unprecedented task of rebuilding Pacific Palisades after catastrophic firestorms and trying to help the city’s ailing film industry — all while preparing the city for the global spotlight of hosting the 2028 Olympics.

A recent UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies poll of likely L.A. voters, co-sponsored by The Times. found that the top priority for the next mayor to address was reducing the number of homeless encampments, followed by ensuring public safety and building more affordable housing. Protecting immigrant communities was the next most cited concern, followed by balancing the city budget.

After studying L.A. politics for more than three decades, Hogen-Esch said the city feels stuck.

“We’re talking about the same issues over and over and over … and a general underlying frustration with city government,” he said. “It’s almost like you could wake up 30 years later in a Rip Van Winkle dream, and you’re in the same spot.“

Homelessness

When Karen Bass launched her 2021 mayoral campaign, she proclaimed homelessness was her “overwhelming top priority.”

After nearly four years of her leadership, homelessness has gone up. This year, the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority announced that more than 45,194 people in the city were homeless — up from 41,980 homeless people in 2022 — an increase the agency attributed to external funding cuts and rising economic pressures.

After spending more than $391 million on Inside Safe, Bass’ flagship program to clean up homeless encampments and house homeless people, the city moved about 6,500 people into interim housing. But about 42% of the program’s participants have returned to homelessness.

Bass insists Inside Safe has made progress, clearing 140 encampments across the city. But the difference is not visible to many residents as more encampments continue to block city sidewalks.

Over the last four years, L.A. budgeted about $4 billion to address the homeless crisis — about $100,000 for every homeless person in the city, according to Lee Ohanian, a professor of economics at UCLA.

But the city has not spent all that money. L.A. underspent its homelessness budget by at least $473 million in the 2025-26 fiscal year, L.A. City Controller Kenneth Mejia said, because of its decentralized approach to homelessness, budget structure, staffing shortages and long approval delays for affordable housing.

Part of the challenge in addressing homelessness is that L.A. adopts a fragmented approach, sharing responsibility with the county and spreading programs among different nonprofits, said Fernando Guerra, founding director of the Center for the Study of Los Angeles at Loyola Marymount University. Unlike in New York, the L.A. mayor does not oversee the health department, mental health and drug recovery programs, and jails.

“The challenge for the mayor has always been that she or he is only given basically half of the arsenal to fight homelessness,” Guerra said.

Poor oversight is also a problem. Federal prosecutors have charged multiple nonprofit leaders with defrauding taxpayer funds meant to support the homeless. Last month, a nonprofit chief executive pleaded guilty to wire fraud and embezzling $23 million in homeless funds to pay for a $7-million Westwood home and vacation property in Greece.

But perhaps the biggest challenge is the staggering cost of building housing for homeless people in L.A.. Because of complex government financing, prevailing wage requirements, environmental rules, and the integration of medical and social services, a single unit in L.A. can cost as much as $600,000.

Housing affordability

Nearly 6 out of 10 renters in L.A. are cost-burdened, and polls show a majority of L.A. voters have considered leaving the city because housing is so expensive.

Bass has taken steps to accelerate the building of affordable housing. Her signature program, Executive Directive One, succeeded in cutting the time it takes to review 100% affordable projects and led to a flurry of development proposals. But after tenant advocates warned that rent-controlled apartments would be demolished and homeowners complained that density threatened historic neighborhoods, Bass restricted the locations eligible for the program.

Nearly four years after Bass took office, developers are not exactly seeing a building boom. Last month, the mayor’s office said more than 47,000 units of affordable housing are in the pipeline, but only 7,728 are under construction.

As with homelessness, the mayor has limited power to improve affordability.

A big test for the new mayor will be the state’s push to pass laws that spur more housing, such as state Senate Bill 79, designed to accelerate development around transportation hubs. With new buildings likely to face opposition in many parts of the city, Bass has opposed SB 79, arguing that it will erode local control.

Whoever the next mayor is, they will have to balance the need to build significantly more housing with homeowner opposition to new development, said Christian Grose, a professor of political science and public policy at USC.

“Voters probably are somewhere in the middle,” Grose said, “and there doesn’t seem to be a policy agenda that reaches those voters.”

Ailing infrastructure

When Chief Deputy City Controller Rick Cole retired from City Hall last year, he complained that “mind-numbing bureaucracy” had made the city ungovernable. Los Angeles was paying for city leaders’ decision long ago to organize the city to disperse authority, he said, citing deteriorating city infrastructure as a key example.

“Beneath the broken sidewalks,” Cole said, “is a broken system.”

More than 5,000 requests for sidewalk repairs are pending. Tens of thousands of streetlights are out. Last year, the city stopped repaving streets for eight months as officials struggled with staffing shortages to meet federal requirements to construct curb ramps for wheelchairs and new city rules that mandate bike, bus and pedestrian enhancements.

“The city can’t seem to manage the basics,” Bass’ challenger, City Councilwoman Nithya Raman, said when she announced her campaign in February.

Guerra said it was astounding that such a large city government — with a $14.8-billion budget and more than 5,500 public works employees — was so behind on fixing streetlights and resurfacing roads.

“How could that be?” Guerra said. “You cannot tell us that you need more people and more money to do this. What is happening?”

To speed up infrastructure repairs, some public officials are urging voters to pass Measure LA, which would require the city to develop a long-term capital infrastructure plan and distribute more power to the director of public works. Supporters say the measure would cut systemic bureaucracy and fragmentation. Critics, however, say it would lead to one person holding too much authority.

Balancing an unstable city budget

Last year, the City Council and mayor declared a fiscal state of emergency as they faced a $1-billion deficit due to revenue shortfalls as well as increased liabilities from the Palisades fire. Rating agencies, including S&P and Kroll, downgraded the city to a “negative” outlook.

Mejia cited ongoing revenue shortfalls, liability payouts and departmental overspending as the key reasons for the ballooning budget, which has grown by about 25% over the last four years.

The Bass administration has increased pay and benefits to thousands of city employees and police officers. It has also had to hand out record liability settlement payments due to LAPD excessive force claims and dangerous street and transport conditions.

Raman, a democratic socialist, has frequently voted against high city spending, opposing pay raises negotiated by Bass for Los Angeles Police Department officers and the $2.6-billion expansion of the Los Angeles Convention Center.

“She’s the one that says, ‘We cannot afford that. How are you going to pay for that?’ ” Guerra said of Raman. “It’s very, very strange that the socialist is the fiscal hawk.”

Police reform

Violent crime in L.A. has plummeted. Last month, Bass announced a 47% drop in homicides since she took office, and she has also touted a decline in property crime such as burglaries.

But police reform and police pay remain issues. While Raman has reversed her past stance on defunding the police, she has stated she would replace LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell, who she says has “lost the confidence” of Angelenos on the issue of immigration. The city, she says, needs a police chief who ensures officers do not cooperate with federal immigration officers. She has vowed to conduct an audit of the department to determine whehter there are gaps between Los Angeles’ “sanctuary city” policies and police practices.

Bass has publicly backed McDonnell, supporting his efforts to stem officer attrition and rebuild the department’s ranks. The department would be significantly disrupted, she has argued, if the chief is removed before the 2028 Olympic Games.

City Hall credibility

The new mayor will also face a challenge that is harder to qualify: making residents believe City Hall can fix Los Angeles’ many problems.

“I think we’re beyond pessimism in some places,” Hogen-Esch said, noting that for the first time in a quarter of a century he has spotted no mayoral campaign signs in his El Sereno neighborhood.

When it comes to homelessness, Angelenos would be happy to spend money if it actually solved the problem, said Jim Newton, a veteran journalist and editor of UCLA Blueprint magazine. Most want encampments gone for good, and not by locking people up or punishing them for being poor, but by genuinely helping them to be better.

“Is that possible?” he said. “I don’t know.”

Others say it will take new ideas and big swings that can be challenging in a city where the mayor has only limited powers.

“When they first took power, they were incredibly innovative and incredibly creative,” Guerra said. “Now they not only lack creativity and innovation in Los Angeles, but compared to other city governments, they’re laggard in implementing new ideas.”

Angel City and “Ted Lasso” both came to life in the summer of 2020 when the rest of the world was preoccupied with something far more serious, the global COVID-19 pandemic.

In those dark times, the series about kindness, grace, optimism — and soccer — became the show we didn’t know we needed, but suddenly couldn’t do without.

Angel City, meanwhile, would play its first NWSL game two years later, by which time “Lasso” and Jason Sudeikis, the title character of the Apple TV series about a fictional Premier League team and its manager, had already won multiple Emmys.

Hollywood is a small town, so it wasn’t long before Sudeikis reached out to Kara Nortman, a venture capitalist who co-founded Angel City in 2020, and asked to talk about women’s soccer.

Angel City co-founders Natalie Portman, left, Kara Nortman and Julie Uhrman speak during the team’s equity summit in Australia during the 2023 Women’s World Cup.

(Hanna Lassen / Getty Images)

“And I was like, ‘You had me at hello,’” Nortman said.

What was supposed to be an hour-long phone call turned into four-hour meeting in person, Nortman said.

“The most fun conversation I’ve had in a long time,” she remembered last month. “It really started as a shared passion and interest in women’s sports and building communities and new leadership models and all the things that ‘Ted Lasso’ is about that are far beyond football.”

What the conversation led to was the foundation for the just-completed fourth season of “Ted Lasso,” which focused on the unique challenges faced by women’s soccer teams and players — challenges Nortman knows only too well as the co-owner of a team. That’s why she was credited as a consultant on the series.

And the collaboration comes at a time when the soccer team and the soccer TV series are both at the top of their game, with “Lasso” drawing record audience numbers this summer and Angel City advancing to this weekend’s NWSL playoff quarterfinals after the most successful season in its history.

“They could have continued writing about the men’s team,” Nortman said. “They chose to write about women’s football.

“I’m super proud that we were part of what helped them really understand how to write a beautiful script that was really representative of a lot of challenges we went through.”

The challenges go beyond just salaries, media attention and funding to things as serious as child care and the rash of ACL injuries in the women’s game and as frustrating as hand-me-down uniforms and locker rooms. In “Ted Lasso,” the women’s team Sudeikis coaches — a man coaching women? That topic is addressed, too — uses a dressing room abandoned by a men’s team, one with urinals but without enough working showers.

Angel City captain Sarah Gorden dribbles the ball in front of Boston Legacy’s Sarah Schupansky at Dignity Health Sports Park on Sunday.

(Katelyn Mulcahy / Getty Images)

One player nearly misses a game because she can’t find a babysitter, something that really happened to Angel City captain Sarah Gorden. Another player is recognized by a fan while working for a food-delivery company to supplement her tiny soccer salary, something that really happened to English star Lucy Bronze in her early playing days.

For many viewers, the “Ted Lasso” plot lines were their introduction to those real-life issues.

“The vibe of authenticity,” Nortman calls it.

“They got right the ACLs, they got right the locker-room dynamic, they got right the training facility,” she said. “I think they got all those things right.”

Sudeikis and Brendan Hunt, the creative geniuses behind “Ted Lasso,” declined to be interviewed for this story, as did everyone involved with the series. But Sudeikis has long denied the show is about soccer.

“This show is as much about soccer as ‘Rocky’ is about boxing,” said Sudeikis, who described the eponymous title character as a cross between John Wooden and Mister Rogers.

Actors Jason Sudeikis, center, and Tanya Reynolds, right, lead a professional women’s soccer team through authentic challenges during the fourth season of “Ted Lasso.”

(Colin Hutton / Apple TV)

But the series has always had soccer in it. So it was natural that Sudeikis and Hunt, who both have long supported women’s sports, would turn their massive spotlight on women’s soccer and bring attention to the glaring inequalities that had slowed the development of the game.

And Nortman wasn’t the only one from NWSL to join that cause. The “Lasso” season opener, shot largely in Kansas City, Mo., was a paean to that city’s women’s soccer team, the Current, and its stadium, where the team has sold out every game over the last three seasons and is unbeaten in its last 32 matches there. (Angel City opens the playoffs in Kansas City on Saturday.)

The synergy helped both sides, with “Lasso” shattering viewership records, trailing only Amazon Prime Video’s “Reacher” as the most-streamed series overall in September, while NWSL’s viewership numbers through the first half of the season jumped 61% on ABC and ESPN. The average season attendance of 11,032 was the second-highest in history.

“Once we knew that Jason and the cast were going to feature a season about women’s soccer and start that season at one of our stadiums with one of our teams, the authenticity with that just lent itself to doing an integration,” said Jennifer Levine, the league’s vice president for public relations and communications.

Kansas City Current fans cheer during the team’s first match at CPKC Stadium in 2024. It is the first stadium built solely for a pro women’s soccer team and was featured in the latest season of “Ted Lasso.”

(Jamie Squire / Getty Images)

“There was a lot of crossover between what they were doing and what we’re doing. So it kind of created a perfect storm for us. Being a part of the cultural conversation as part of ‘Ted Lasso’ will only add to the excitement around the NWSL.”

But will it solve the problems and level the inequities that continue to plague women’s soccer?

“I like to hope it helps,” Levine said. “They have been honest. … I think the writing team and the cast did an incredible job portraying what it’s like to be a women’s footballer.

“Everything that we’re doing at the league with investing in infrastructure and building more purpose-built stadiums and building training facilities, it’s all to improve the experience that viewers are seeing in ‘Ted Lasso.’”

Or as Sudeikis’ character once put it, “doing the right thing is never the wrong thing.”

⚽ You have read the latest installment of On Soccer with Kevin Baxter. The weekly column takes you behind the scenes and shines a spotlight on unique stories. Listen to Baxter on this week’s episode of the “Corner of the Galaxy” podcast.

Bengaluru, India — India lifted nearly 500 million out of poverty between 2011 and 2023, with extreme poverty dropping from 27.1 percent to 2.6 percent in the world’s most populous nation during the same period, according to a new report by the World Bank.

The only other parallel in poverty reduction on this scale is China, which lifted more than 800 million people out of extreme poverty — though that was over a period of 40 years.

Yet despite the substantial fall in poverty in India — home to 1.4 billion people — the income and wealth inequality gap has widened significantly since it opened up its economy in the early 1990s.

According to the 2026 World Inequality Report, inequality in India remains among the highest in the world.

We take a look at how India managed to almost eradicate extreme poverty, and at the contrast between that accomplishment and the deep economic inequality that remains in the world’s most populous nation:

What does the World Bank data say?

Based on an extreme poverty threshold of $3 a day, the World Bank said extreme poverty in India declined from 27.1 percent to 2.6 percent between 2011 and 2023.

Extreme poverty is defined as the minimum amount of money needed to afford basic essentials such as food, water, shelter and clothing.

Estimating poverty metrics based on three official household surveys, the Bank also said that an estimated 496 million people have been lifted out of poverty as the share of India’s population living below the lower middle-income poverty threshold of $4.20 a day fell from 57.7 percent to 16.1 percent.

The authors of the report, led by World Bank’s South Asia poverty economist Ayago Wambile, wrote that poverty in India is “projected to continue declining, albeit more gradually with the poverty rate at the $4.20/day line expected to fall from 14.2 percent in 2026 to 12.1 percent by 2028.”

“This progress was mainly driven by strong consumption growth, rising employment, especially among women, and expanded social transfers, including food subsidies,” they added.

How significant is India’s poverty reduction?

India lifting nearly 500 million out of poverty in 12 years has been lauded as “remarkable progress” by the World Bank. It added that the downward trend represents “one of the fastest poverty declines in the world.”

To determine India’s poverty rates, the World Bank used Household Consumption Expenditure Surveys (HCES) which were conducted by the National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO), an Indian government body.

A 2022 report, jointly produced by the World Bank and the Chinese Finance Ministry, said that China had lifted 800 million people out of poverty, but it took 40 years to achieve.

Last month, the World Bank also raised its economic growth forecast for India to 7.1 percent.

In a post on Instagram on Sunday, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi lauded the country’s progress in tackling poverty. “A historic fall in poverty. A generational rise in opportunity,” he said.

Last November, the southern state of Kerala, which has been ruled either by the centrist Congress party or a coalition of communist parties since independence, became the first in the country to officially declare itself free from extreme poverty. Kerala has the best education and health statistics of major Indian states.

Santosh Mehrotra, a development economist formerly in India’s planning commission, and currently a visiting professor at the Higher School of Economics in Moscow, noted that India is the only low-middle-income country among G20 nations, which are otherwise upper-middle- or high-income nations.

“The absolute number of the poor in our country is still the highest in the world for sheer size of population. So therefore, if we are going to genuinely reduce the incidence of poverty and more importantly, the absolute number of the poor, then it makes a huge difference globally,” he told Al Jazeera.

Coming from the World Bank, the credibility of the analysis that has concluded India’s success in reducing poverty so majorly is also above question, said Surjit Bhalla, economist an a former executive director at the International Monetary Fund. Any data that comes from the World Bank, he said, is the “gold standard”.

He said the institution carries out a poverty analysis for every country using a per capita consumption level that is normalised globally by invoking purchasing power parity.

How did India dramatically cut poverty?

There are no easy answers.

But economists point to a series of factors and programmes that might have contributed to India’s success in pulling record numbers of people out of poverty.

Overall, poverty in India has, however, been declining since the country opened its economy in the early 1990s, when the Congress party was in power, setting the stage for more than three decades of fast economic growth. Successive governments have launched, continued or reworked a series of social welfare schemes that economists say have helped combat poverty.

Prime Minister Modi’s predecessor Manmohan Singh, for example, launched an employment scheme that guaranteed rural jobs for a minimum of 100 days per year.

Since coming to power in 2014, Modi has launched several other welfare schemes, including direct cash transfers, free rations and housing, to tackle poverty. While the Modi government has significantly diluted the rural job guarantee scheme that Singh had launched, the current administration now provides free food grains to about 800 million Indians.

Under Modi, the government has also significantly expanded the construction of toilets, especially in rural India, where open defecation has historically been common in many villages. Access to piped drinking water has risen from 17 percent of rural homes in August 2019 to more than 80 percent, according to government statistics.

“The reduced sickness from accessing safe water may have helped families earn more income,” economists Surjit Bhalla and Karan Bhasin wrote in a research paper on India’s poverty alleviation efforts for the Brookings Institution in March 2024.

Before the latest World Bank report, Bhalla — a former executive director at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) — and Bhasin had used Indian consumption data in early 2025 to also conclude that the country was making major gains in ending extreme poverty.

Why some economists are concerned

Despite the decline in poverty, Bhalla and Bhasin pointed in their 2025 paper that free food grains supplied by the Indian government to 800 million people only fulfilled their calorific needs. “More balanced food subsidies that are better targeted to the genuine poor will improve nutritional outcomes and would represent a better approach to food insecurity,” they wrote.

It is also unclear whether continuing to provide free food supplies indefinitely to more than half of the country’s population is sustainable for the government — and whether that programme points to deep economic distress mitigated only by state assistance.

Some economists, like Mehrotra, question why the Indian government no longer determines its own poverty level and its own estimates of the numbers of those below it.

Mehrotra said that since 2014 — when Modi came to power — the Indian government has stopped calculating its own poverty levels, instead relying entirely on World Bank estimates.

“We are a strange country in having adopted an international organisation’s poverty line as our own,” he said.

For a country as large, diverse and complex as India, he argued, a standard set by an international agency alone is not enough to capture shifting economic and consumer patterns. “For example, 10 years back everyone didn’t have phones; today even in rural areas people do. So consumption baskets [used to determine price indices and poverty levels] change over time and hence India should have done its own poverty line,” Mehrotra said.

But Bhalla pushed back against criticism of India’s use of World Bank data.

“The methodology that the World Bank uses and the estimates it comes up with are vetted by every country before the final data is published,” he told Al Jazeera. “So in this case India’s poverty analysis has been gone through by Indian scholars and the government of India. So there is no ideological basis for questioning this data.”

Jayati Ghosh, an economist and professor at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, however said that India’s healthcare and nutrition indices also remained major causes for concern. The country spends just over 1 percent of its gross domestic product (GDP) on public healthcare, ranking far behind global peers in per capita health investment and leaving public hospitals chronically underfunded and overburdened. Citizens also end up bearing the brunt of total health expenditures, a financial burden that pushes millions of Indians into poverty or debt every year.

Ghosh pointed out that real wages have stagnated in India. According to the World Bank report, while poverty has declined in India, wage disparities remain. “Median earnings among the top 10 percent of workers were about 13 times those of the bottom 10 percent in 2023,” the report said.

“These are not signs of a dynamic economy with falling poverty,” Ghosh said.

Nitin Kumar Bharti, a lecturer at the University of Western Australia, said that the World Bank’s report is encouraging. But he added that the drop in extreme poverty should not be seen as a mission accomplished, as “233 million people still live below” the $4.20 per day poverty line.

Bharti, who co-authored a study by the World Inequality Lab (WIL) on India’s income and wealth disparities published in 2024, also pointed to uneven growth within the country as a major challenge.

“Even if extreme poverty has declined, the extent of improvement in people’s overall wellbeing remains an important question,” he said.

Why is income inequality growing in India?

Bharti said that inequality is growing because gains from economic growth are distributed unevenly, with those at the top capturing a growing share of national income.

According to the 2026 World Inequality Report, India is among the world’s most unequal countries, with the top 10 percent of earners capturing about 58 percent of national income, while the bottom 50 percent receives only 15 percent.

“This is reinforced by longstanding structural inequalities — the historical caste system, unequal ownership of assets, and decades of inadequate attention to primary education have limited opportunities for disadvantaged groups,” he said.

“Insufficient public investment in quality education and healthcare — both important equalisers — means that family resources continue to shape access to skills, good jobs and economic security.”

Growing income inequality and a lack of job opportunities have triggered discontent among India’s youth, who have staged a series of nationwide protests in recent months.

According to government data released earlier this year, youth unemployment in the country stood at 13.8 percent in April 2025 and rose to 15.2 percent in March 2026.

The State of Working India 2026 report, from the Bengaluru-based Azim Premji University, noted that nearly 40 percent of young graduates aged 15–25 and roughly 20 percent of those aged 25–29 are unemployed. Among those who have a diploma or postgraduate degrees, the unemployment rate has climbed to 29.4 percent.

Does inequality matter if poverty is falling?

Yes, say economists.

“One reason is that the distribution of growth influences how effectively growth improves ordinary households’ lives. For a given level of average income, a more equal distribution generally leaves fewer people below a poverty line,” Bharti said.

“A second concern is inequality of opportunity. With rising inequality, families differ enormously in their ability to pay for education, healthcare, housing, capital to start a business or searching for a better job,” he added.

“A third concern is the concentration of economic and political influence. Large concentrations of wealth can create opportunities for a small group to shape policies and institutions in their favour.”

How can India tackle poverty and income inequality at the same time?

Dipa Sinha, a development economist at Azim Premji University, said that in order to tackle poverty and widespread inequality, India would need to prioritise some redistribution of wealth.

“India talks about poverty eradication only. But government policies need to implement a more progressive taxation policy that actually tackles inequality head-on,” she said.

“The second thing I think is very important is that the government should begin investing in universal public services like health and education. This can reduce both poverty and inequality,” she added.

Bharti said that one strong lesson for India is that sustained poverty reduction requires several policies working together.

He said China offers important lessons in economic transformation and rural income growth, pointing to its success in improving agricultural productivity, accelerating industrialisation, facilitating rural-to-urban migration, and investing heavily in both physical and human capital.

“In contrast, India’s current policy focus is more heavily tilted towards physical infrastructure, often addressing the needs of the top 10 percent rather than the bottom 90 percent,” Bharti said.

“Roads, transport, and basic infrastructure matter because they connect people to economic opportunities. But equally important are good government schools and hospitals that enable people to benefit from these opportunities.”

Bharti suggested that India’s government should pursue poverty reduction and broader economic inclusion together.

“Progressive taxation can help finance these investments while ensuring that the costs are distributed according to the ability to pay,” he added.