Award-winning filmmaker, who was detained last month, released on bond with next hearing set for October 27, campaign says.

The Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency in the United States has released Kashmiri filmmaker Arfat Sheikh from custody after he was detained on September 24.

The award-winning filmmaker was released on Thursday, two days after he was granted bond, according to a statement by a campaign of his friends and relatives to free him.

However, ICE’s deportation case against Sheikh continues with the next hearing set for October 27, the campaign said.

Sheikh, whose work has explored conflict in his native India-administered Kashmir, was detained by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) as he disembarked from a plane at Dulles International Airport outside Washington, DC, after arriving from California.

The 42-year-old, who lives in Alexandria, Virginia, entered the US on a student visa in 2019 to pursue graduate studies in film at Georgia State University and filed for asylum in 2020.

The campaign said he had a pending asylum application and was authorised to work and live in the US.

The DHS confirmed on Wednesday that Sheikh had been arrested on September 24 and said he “legally entered the US on a temporary basis and illegally overstayed his lawful admittance”.

A pending application does not confer legal status in the US, the DHS said, adding he ⁠will receive due process.

Sheikh’s first feature film, Saffron Kingdom, garnered multiple honours, notably best feature film at the Chicago Filmmakers Awards, Los Angeles Film and Documentary Awards, Melbourne Independent Film Festival, Wake Forest Film Festival and Anatolian International Film Awards.

In 2025, Sheikh was also recognised with the emerging filmmaker activist award at the Teaneck International Film Festival.

His detention came amid a surge in the number of ICE arrests across the US, which hit record levels over the summer. About 50,000 arrests were recorded in July and August.

President Donald Trump’s administration said in August that it was ‌working “to identify ⁠and revoke the non-immigrant visas of foreigners who have come to the US claiming to be short-term visitors, but then file for asylum to stay here permanently”.

CELEBRITY Big Brother’s Chloe Khan has revealed that her designer clothes have been stolen.

The reality star, 35, is now begging fans for help to find her stolen possessions and has even offered a £10k reward.

Sharing snaps of the items that are now missing, Chloe made a plea to her fans and friends.

In the photos there were designer shoes from Dior, Dolce and Gabbana, Chanel jeans, Gucci miniskirts, Fendi outfits, Louis Vuitton bikinis and a selection of high end designer bags.

Over the top of the snaps, Chloe penned: “STOLEN. PLEASE SHARE. £10,000 reward for discreet valuable information.”

In the caption of her post she added: “EVERYTHING I OWN HAS BEEN STOLEN . PLEASE SHARE AND MAKE THEM TOO HOT TO HANDLE.

TUBE ATTACK

Chloe Khan claims gang tried to steal her dog and jewellery in Tube mugging

FUR REAL

Chloe Khan ‘traumatised’ after finding an animal’s HEAD attached to her coat

“In the early hours of 2nd of October. In Tring, Hertfordshire. I really didn’t want to post this and have been trying to deal with this for a week privately but I need the internets help.

“Will explain everything in a separate post. But someone must have been offered them by now. My boyfriend kindly put a £10,000.00 reward for someone who can give us valuable information/ been offered them / knows who did it.”

She continued: “And the information you give me will be discreet and undisclosed. If you see anyone in my stuff online please tag me / forward to me . It’s possible they bought and did not know it’s stolen.

“There is so so much more stuff then the photos but basically every designer item I have ever posted with has been taken.”

Fans flocked to the comment section to support Chloe in her hour of need.

One person wrote: “This is just absolutely awful and terrifying! I’m so sorry you’re going through this beautiful girl, sending you love and I hope you get your possessions back!”

“So awful you can’t have anything nice these days sad world we live in I hope you find out who did it and get your things back. Sending lots of love,” said a second.

“Posting expensive clothes and bags etc unfortunately makes people a target, I would be looking at your inner circle to be honest,” wrote a third.

Back in March, Chloe claimed a gang attempted to steal her dog and jewellery in a terrifying tube mugging as she said “I thought I’d get stabbed.”

Taking to social media in the spring, she told fans she was travelling back from Manchester to London.

When she arrived at Euston, she decided to jump on the tube instead of sitting in the back of an Uber for half an hour.

She explained in a TikTok video that a “gang” of men got on the tube a few stops after her.

The star told how the men were trying to touch her dog, Dior, and attempted to talk to her.

Chloe said: “I was trying to turn away from them [the men]even though they were sitting right opposite me.

“I’ve got her [the dog] in my arms, my LV case and LV bag and stuff because I’ve been travelling. I clung onto them because I felt like something weird was gonna happen.

“I felt like I was gonna get stabbed or something weird was gonna happen.”

Oct. 8, 2026 11:09 PM PT

HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL

THURSDAY’S RESULTS

SOUTHERN SECTION

Alpha League

Mission Viejo 27, Yorba Linda 26

Baseline League

Etiwanda 35, Damien 25

Rancho Cucamonga 21, Chino Hills 9

Boulder League

San Marino d. Pasadena

Delta League

El Modena 21, Laguna Beach 14

Desert Sky League

Silverado 49, Adelanto 28

Victor Valley 41, Granite Hills 17

Golden League

Highland 37, Eastside 0

Hacienda League

Baldwin Park 34, Covina 0

Los Altos 56, South Hills 14

Iota League

Cypress 38, La Palma Kennedy 0

Kappa League

Fullerton 28, Anaheim Canyon 27

Lambda League

Fountain Valley 45, Woodbridge 21

Manzanita League

Silver Valley 42, Nuview Bridge 16

Mid-Cities League

Bellflower 47, California 10

Mojave River League

Apple Valley 21, Oak Hills 7

Hesperia 38, Ridgecrest Burroughs 19

Serrano 48, Sultana 12

Rio Vista League

Artesia 42, Firebaugh 0

River Valley League

Patriot 48, Miller 0

Skyline League

Arroyo Valley 30, Bloomington 8

Carter 40, Indian Springs 0

Fontana 45, San Gorgonio 21

Tango League

Bolsa Grande 37, Garden Grove Santiago 6

Santa Ana Valley 10, Westminster La Quinta 7

Nonleague

Eisenhower 29, Rim of the World 28

Jurupa Hills 60, Kaiser 40

Rialto 21, Grand Terrace 15

Summit 28, Colton 7

8-MAN

CITY SECTION

City League

Stella 44, USC Hybrid at Stella 22

SOUTHERN SECTION

Nonleague

United Christian Academy 56, Milken 52

Afghan miners endure harsh conditions, relying on basic tools to extract precious emeralds in Panjshir’s steep valleys.

Panjshir, Afghanistan — At a packed hall in the offices of the Panjshir provincial government, an auction is under way and the bidding is brisk.

The buyers, many from Kabul and some from overseas, have already closely examined the small piles of roughly cut green stones, shining their phone flashlights through them to check their quality.

Bidding for the best stones is competitive.

“Panjshir emeralds have many buyers around the world because of their very high quality,” gem merchant Ghulam Mustafa Habibi told Al Jazeera. “This is why their price is higher compared with other emeralds around the world.”

By the end of the auction, nearly 3,000 carats of the precious stones were sold – the 23rd sale of its kind so far this year. The value of emeralds sold to date in Afghanistan is estimated to be nearly 400m Afghanis ($6.12m), a steep rise compared with last year.

For a country impoverished by years of war and burdened by international sanctions, the trade in precious minerals is a valuable resource, especially in the remote corner of northeastern Afghanistan.

“Thankfully, more than 15,000 people are currently employed in Panjshir’s mining sector,” says Muhammad Aman Rezaii, a mining official responsible for overseeing the operation of many small artisanal mining operations dotting the Panjshir valley.

On the valley’s steep hillsides, miners toil for hours underground to make a living. In the otherwise barren and rocky landscape, which yields little, the precious stones are a lifeline.

“There are hardly any companies or manufacturing factories here. The main source of employment is the mining sector,” said Rezaii, adding that they have identified more than 2,000 other mining sites which could be developed.

Since taking power in 2021, the Taliban say they have signed deals with dozens of investors, mainly Chinese, Russian and Iranian, to mine gemstones and other valuable minerals.

According to the World Bank, state revenues rose 22 percent year-on-year in April and May, boosted by the auction of mines and other resources such as oil and precious minerals.

But Afghanistan’s gemstone mining sector is still lacking in international investment and expertise.

“There have been various proposals to establish an international market for Afghanistan’s precious minerals, particularly in Kabul,” Hafiz Muhammad Agha Hakim, the Governor of Panjshir province, told Al Jazeera.

“Processing machinery could be brought in so that these minerals can be processed and standardised here before being exported to markets around the world. At the moment, there is no standardised centre or proper processing facility.”

Back in the dusty confines of his mine, working in near-total darkness, miner Mahdi wields a crowbar while his friend beside him hits the surface with a hammer. He bemoans their lack of modern equipment.

“There are many challenges because we don’t have advanced equipment,” he says, taking a break from the digging. “We work only with basic tools such as shovels, pickaxes, drills and similar equipment.”

Rezaii said the miners need proper equipment that can make their work easier and safer, while also allowing the minerals to be extracted in a more professional manner. This would benefit the people of Afghanistan and particularly the miners,” he said.

“The area is vulnerable to landslides, avalanches, flooding and falling rocks. People here are working under extremely difficult and demanding conditions.”

VIRGIN has revealed a first look at their new trains that will take on Eurostar.

The new routes will connect the UK to Europe, with trains to Paris, Amsterdam and Brussels.

They hope to launch by 2030, with 20 daily return services – working out to as many as 7.5million seats a year.

The fleet will be made up of 12 trains, with top speeds of 300km/h.

And the new image show the new look, with the famous black and red Virgin designs.

A hint at what to expect onboard has also been revealed.

TRACKING AHEAD

First look at the new Virgin Trains that will take Brits from UK to Europe

TRACKING AHEAD

Virgin given go-ahead to take on Eurostar with trains to Europe

The menu will be influenced by the food and drink offered on Virgin Voyages, while seating will be inspired by Virgin Hotels.

Before and after boarding will also have spaces inspired by Virgin Atlantic Clubhouses.

Josh Bayliss, CEO of Virgin Group, said: “Virgin has a proud history in UK rail.  With our latest venture we are drawing on more than four decades of experience across travel and hospitality to create something genuinely new.  

“This time, we’ll be connecting London with some of Europe’s greatest cities and giving passengers a distinctive new choice in cross-Channel travel. 

“We’re confident that more journeys between the UK and Europe will be made by train.

“We’re adding capacity for millions more international rail journeys each year, growing the market as a whole. We’re looking forward to seeing our distinctive red and black trains travelling across Europe.” 

Virgin has signed an agreement with Eurostar to maintain its trains at the Temple Mills International depot in east London with access until at least 2040.  

More details are to be revealed later this year.

Virgin previously ran Virgin Trains for more than 20 years, before they ended in 2019.

And once they launch, they will be the first competitor to take on Eurostar since they launched in 1992.

And Eurostar has announced some exciting new changes too, including double decker trains.

New routes will launch too, to Switzerland and Germany.

One of Israel’s top ultra-Orthodox rabbis, Dov Lando, has become the centre of controversy in Israel after comments emerged in which he denigrated Zionism.

In a recently released video recording, the 96-year-old rabbi is heard saying the ideology of Zionism caused the Jewish people to suffer “disasters”, and that Jewish Israelis may have been better off without a state.

The remarks have drawn rebukes from Israeli politicians weeks before landmark legislative elections, in which the role of the country’s growing ultra-Orthodox community – particularly over military service – is a major issue. The political alignment of ultra-Orthodox parties could also prove crucial to the formation of the next government.

So, who is Lando and why are his comments significant?

Who is Dov Lando?

Dov Lando is a 96-year-old rabbi regarded as the leader of Israel’s Lithuanian ultra-Orthodox community. Born in Poland and raised in the Lithuanian-style ultra-Orthodox tradition, Lando heads a yeshiva – a traditional Jewish academy – in the Israeli city of Bnei Brak.

He is a member of Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah, a council of senior ultra-Orthodox rabbis that offer religious guidance to the community, as well as the spiritual leader of Israel’s Degel HaTorah party. That party is part of the United Torah Judaism (UTJ) alliance, which is a member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition.

What has Lando said about Zionism?

Earlier this week, Israeli media released a video of Lando making year-old comments that harshly criticise Zionism, military service and secular Israelis.

Lando, who has made similarly critical remarks before, is heard in the video saying that Zionism “caused the Arabs to hate us” and brought physical as well as spiritual “disasters” on the Jewish people.

“It is possible to live well with the Arabs without a state,” Lando said, adding that international or Palestinian rule would have been “the best situation” for Jews.

Lando went on to castigate soldiers who adhere to Religious Zionism – a strand of Orthodox Judaism that upholds Zionism – saying “they are killed because their rabbis teach them a distorted Torah.” Many military operations, he said, are carried out “not for saving lives, but for the honour of the state”.

The veteran rabbi also had harsh words for secular Israelis, who he said have “no connection to Judaism at all”. He described them as having built “a state of apostasy and heresy”.

What has been the reaction in Israel?

Lando’s remarks have drawn fierce criticism from numerous Israeli politicians, including all major figures that have joined an opposition alliance challenging Netanyahu.

Gadi Eisenkot, head of the Yashar party who is viewed as the opposition bloc’s most likely candidate for prime minister, said Lando’s “outrageous statements” were “the embodiment of anti-Zionism”.

Yair Lapid, the head of Israel’s opposition in the Knesset, called the comments “a disgrace to every Jew”.

Former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, who leads the Together alliance co-founded with Lapid, said Lando’s remarks are “anti-Semitic, anti-Zionist” and against the Israeli military.

Netanyahu has not commented on Lando’s latest reported remarks, but he publicly condemned earlier statements by the rabbi in July, when Lando accused the Religious Zionism movement of “incitement to murder” for its support for drafting religious seminary students into the military.

Could the controversy impact Israel’s upcoming elections?

Potentially.

Members of the anti-Netanyahu opposition bloc have called for the UTJ, which Lando’s party is part of, to be cast out of any future government, and criticised Netanyahu for staying aligned with the group.

Yair Golan, head of the Democrats party, said Netanyahu is “silent because without Rabbi Lando and his emissaries, he has no government”.

Netanyahu’s “political survival is more important to him than Zionism, more than equality in service, and more than the blood of our soldiers”, Golan said.

But breaking with the UTJ would come at a huge political cost to Netanyahu, whose coalition is already in for a tough election battle on October 27 and is polling well below the 61-seat threshold needed for a majority.

UTJ is projected to win 8 seats in parliament, according to an October 5 poll by Israel’s Channel 12.

“If Netanyahu attacks Lando forcefully, he pays a price with the Haredim (ultra-Orthodox) he needs to form a government,” said Ehab Jabareen, a researcher on Israeli affairs. “If he stays silent, he hands his rivals material to tell right-wing voters that the man who speaks of Zionism and security depends on a religious leadership that doubts Zionism itself.”

NEW DELHI — Nana Patekar, an acclaimed Indian actor and filmmaker, died Thursday at his home in the western state of Goa. He was 75.

Patekar died of a suspected cardiac arrest, the Press Trust of India news agency reported, citing a doctor at the hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Born in 1951 in India’s western state of Maharashtra, Patekar built a career spanning nearly five decades in Hindi- and Marathi-language cinema. He was known for intense performances and roles that often portrayed complex or unconventional characters.

Patekar made his film debut in the 1978 Hindi film “Gaman” and later earned acclaim for “Parinda” and “Krantiveer.” Patekar became popular in mainstream Bollywood films, while also working in India’s “parallel cinema” movement, known for its focus on realism and social issues. He gained wider international recognition with filmmaker Mira Nair’s Oscar-nominated “Salaam Bombay!”

He won three National Film Awards, India’s highest film honors, and received the Padma Shri, one of the country’s highest civilian honors.

In 2018, during India’s #MeToo movement, a Bollywood actress accused Patekar of sexual harassment on a film set. Patekar denied the allegation. The case was among several that drew attention as women publicly spoke about sexual misconduct in India’s film industry.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi mourned Patekar’s death, praising his “intensity, individuality and unmistakable presence” as an actor.

“He brought remarkable versatility and creativity to every role and gave us characters that will be remembered for generations,” Modi wrote on X.

Patekar is survived by his wife and son.

WEDNESDAY’S RESULTS

City Section

Cleveland 24, Chatsworth 0

El Camino Real 27, Taft 6

Narbonne 27, Wilmington Banning 18

South Gate 38, Marquez 0

Southern Section

Anaheim Canyon 6, Santa Ana Foothill 0

Arlington 32, Lakeside 0

Arroyo 6, Rosemead 0

Artesia 6, La Mirada 0

Baldwin Park 20, Nogales 18

Bishop Amat 19, Gardena Serra 7

Bishop Montgomery 14, St. Paul 7

Bolsa Grande 57, Magnolia 18

Brentwood 39, YULA 0

Cantwell-Sacred Heart 52, Sacred Heart of Jesus 0

Century 12, Western 0

Chino 28, Chaffey 7

Costa Mesa 20, Ocean View 6

Covina 26, Charter Oak 20

Dominguez 6, Compton Early College 0

Downey 46, Warren 19

Eastside 13, Highland 6

Edison 33, Fountain Valley 18

El Rancho 38, Keppel 0

El Toro 25, Mission Viejo 6

Esperanza 6, Crean Lutheran 0

Etiwanda 37, Eastvale Roosevelt 0

Fillmore 36, Cate 6

Fullerton 13, Westminster 12

Gahr 28, Bellflower 0

Garden Grove Pacifica 48, Troy 0

Garden Grove Santiago 6, Los Amigos 0

Glenn 26, Oxford Academy 6

Godinez 16, Katella 0

Hacienda Heights Wilson 15, Northview 0

Huntington Beach 68, Marina 0

La Canada 20, Burbank Burroughs 13

Laguna Beach 7, Newport Beach Pacifica Christian 6

La Habra 40, Brea Olinda 0

Lakewood St. Joseph 45, St. Mary’s Academy 6

La Serna 42, Mayfair 7

Lawndale 37, Beverly Hills 7

Long Beach Cabrillo 34, Compton Centennial 6

Long Beach Poly 19, Lakewood 0

Long Beach Wilson 34, Long Beach Jordan 12

Louisville 18, Flintridge Sacred Heart 14

Montclair 6, Don Lugo 0

Montebello 14, Mountain View 2

Newport Harbor 38, Corona del Mar 7

Norwalk 25, Whitney 13

Orange 19, Estancia 6

Palm Springs 6, Cathedral City 0

Pasadena Poly 45, Chadwick 0

Placentia Valencia 27, La Palma Kennedy 13

Rancho Alamitos 20, Loara 19

Rancho Christian 27, Orange Vista 26

Redlands 20, Loma Linda Academy 0

Redlands Adventist Academy 33, Yucaipa 7

Redlands Adventist Academy 19, San Jacinto Valley Academy 6

Rowland 6, West Covina 0

Saddleback 12, Savanna 0

Sage Hill 13, Portola 8

San Marino 18, Monrovia 0

Santa Fe 6, Paramount 0

Schurr 19, San Gabriel 6

Segerstrom 32, Laguna Hills 0

South El Monte 19, Bell Gardens 0

St. Bernard 27, Mary Star of the Sea 0

St. Margaret’s 26, Rosary 6

St. Monica 31, Ramona Convent 14

Temecula Prep 13, California Military Institute 6

Tustin 14, Buena Park 6

Upland 19, St. Lucy’s 18

Villa Park 14, Sunny Hills 6

Western Christian 58, Capistrano Valley Christian 6

Woodbridge 44, Irvine University 13

Workman 6, La Puente 0

Yorba Linda 38, Cypress 0

Yucaipa 33, San Jacinto Valley Academy 6

Intersectional

Birmingham 12, Vasquez 0

THURSDAY’S RESULTS

City Section

Carson 14, King/Drew 0

GALA 6, Fremont 0

Garfield 27, South East 6

Hawkins 14, Fremont 6

Los Angeles Hamilton 13, Fairfax 6

Los Angeles Roosevelt 18, Huntington Park 13

Palisades 26, LACES 12

San Pedro 60, Gardena 0

Sotomayor 19, Elizabeth 0

Venice 37, Los Angeles University 0

West Adams 13, Diego Rivera 0

Westchester 20, WISH Academy 6

Southern Section

Agoura 13, Thousand Oaks 6

Antelope Valley 30, Palmdale 0

Brentwood 26, Shalhevet 18

Camarillo 33, Oak Park 0

Canyon Country Canyon 18, West Ranch 13

Capistrano Valley 26, Dana Hills 6

Hart 14, Saugus 0

Mater Dei 34, La Serna 31

Oaks Christian 55, Calabasas 0

Ontario Christian 26, Fairmont Prep 6

Oxnard 26, Ventura 14

Palos Verdes 13, Torrance 0

Peninsula 13, West Torrance 0

Quartz Hill 14, Knight 0

Redondo Union 27, Mira Costa 14

Santa Barbara 46, Del Sol 0

Santa Monica 7, Inglewood 6

Santa Paula 53, Cate 6

Simi Valley 6, Moorpark 0

South Torrance 39, North Torrance 0

Tesoro 37, San Clemente 26

Valencia 40, Golden Valley 0

Valley View 14, Arlington 13

Westridge 14, Windward 13

Westlake 46, Newbury Park 26

Whittier 46, Pioneer 6

Intersectional

Castaic 12, Granada Hills Kennedy 12

Oil prices drop as Trump dismisses speculation of pre-midterm military action against Iran.

United States President Donald Trump has said the US will not attack Iran before the November 3 midterm elections.

The US president said late on Thursday: “we are having productive discussions with the Islamic Republic of Iran,” in a post on Truth Social. “We will not be attacking Iran at any time prior to the midterm elections to be held in the United States on November 3rd.”

Oil prices fell early on Friday as Middle East supply concerns eased somewhat after tensions in the energy-rich Gulf region had mounted in recent weeks.

The possibility of renewed fighting had appeared to drive up oil prices in trading on Thursday. Some analysts believe Trump’s comments were an attempt to try and bring prices back down.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tehran is reviewing the US response to its seven-day plan to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, and that Iran will respond within the “next few days”.

He added that negotiations are continuing through mediators, Iran’s Tasnim news agency reported.

Hormuz explosions

Iranian media reported “massive explosions” in the southern Strait of Hormuz on Friday, with Fars citing unnamed military sources as saying tankers using “unauthorised” routes may have struck sea mines.

On Tuesday, US Vice President JD Vance said Iran must make a “meaningful” reduction in its uranium enrichment capacity as part of an agreement to end the war. Experts say this demand may signal a softening of Washington’s earlier insistence that Tehran abandon enrichment altogether.

On Monday, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said negotiations with Washington were “futile”, accusing the US of using negotiations to attack Iran.

Russian President Vladimir Putin told Pezeshkian that Russia will “do everything” to help end the US-led war on Iran, Russian news agencies reported on Thursday.

Sanaa, Aden and Marib, Yemen – As fighting intensifies across Yemen between the government and the Houthis, millions of people are confronting another battle far from the front lines: the deteriorating living and economic conditions in the country.

With salaries for large segments of the workforce either unpaid or irregularly disbursed – and the prices of goods and services rising – Yemen’s economic struggles have been compounded by a divided banking system that has made moving money between different parts of the country increasingly complicated.

From Aden’s struggling shoppers to displaced families in Marib and unpaid public-sector workers in Sanaa, Yemenis are being forced to make difficult choices about what they can afford, and what they must go without.

Aden: Food costs swallow salaries

In Aden, the internationally recognised Yemeni government’s interim capital in the south, the problem is not so much a shortage of goods in markets as people’s inability to afford them.

Salaries have failed to keep pace with the rising costs of food, rent, healthcare and transport, leaving workers with little money left over at the end of the month.

The consequences are evident in the smaller quantities and cheaper products that now make up shoppers’ baskets, and the decisions they are forced to make about what to cut back on.

Bushra Abdullah Abdulwarith is a government employee in Aden. She earns 78,000 Yemeni riyals ($50) a month at the black market exchange rate while typical household food costs in government-held areas run about 130,366 riyals ($83), according to estimates by the Yemen Economic Tracking Initiative. And that’s before she factors in the cost of rent, transport, healthcare and other household expenses.

The economic difficulties facing Yemenis like Bushra illustrate how more than a decade of war has devastated the economy. According to the World Bank, real GDP per capita has fallen by approximately 58 percent since 2015.

The fragmentation of Yemen’s monetary institutions between the government and the Houthis – who have operated their own institutions since seizing the capital, Sanaa, in 2014 – along with the disruption of oil exports, and declining international assistance have all contributed to the economic decline.

Bushra told Al Jazeera that rising prices have forced many households to give up almost all non-essential purchases and cut back on some expensive basics, particularly meat. Other families, she said, have resorted to buying food in smaller quantities, sometimes on credit or loans.

Reduced demand

The impact of rising prices is reflected not only in economic figures but also in the way people shop.

Ayman al-Maqtari, who works at a shopping centre in Aden’s Mansoura district, said that his customers now rarely buy non-essential items.

When it comes to the essentials such as rice, sugar, flour, and cooking oil, he has noticed that customers size up the price of each item before putting it in their baskets. They are also buying smaller quantities, for example, opting for a 5kg (11 pound) over a 40kg (90 pound) bag of rice.

“Many people have come to live day by day, or week by week,” Ayman told Al Jazeera, adding that more families are buying on credit when they run out of money before the end of the month.

The decline in purchasing power is also affecting commercial activity.

Across several streets and shopping centres in Aden, advertisements for discounts and special offers have become increasingly visible in shop windows and on retailers’ social media pages, as businesses attempt to attract customers and boost sales.

Weak demand, retailers say, is particularly evident for items that households can put off buying, such as clothing and household goods. A growing share of family income is spent on food, rent, healthcare and transport.

Limited pay increase

The Yemeni government approved a 20 percent cost-of-living allowance in May for public-sector employees in an attempt to ease the pressure of rising prices. But the amount is calculated based on each employee’s base salary, rather than their total pay, meaning the actual increase is relatively small for many workers.

Bushra, the government employee in Aden, said the increase has done little to improve her family’s financial circumstances. She described the allowance as “a temporary painkiller that does not reflect the scale of the actual pressure on people’s living standards”.

Her experience is far from isolated. In early October, the World Food Programme said its latest monitoring in accessible government-controlled areas showed that 74 percent of households were unable to meet their basic food needs.

One of the places where the crisis is evident is Marib, a government-controlled city east of Sanaa that is home to hundreds of thousands of displaced people. The sharp increase in the population over the war years, in what was previously a provincial backwater, has led to pressure on the city’s housing, employment and public services.

Government employees in Marib see their salaries disappear within the first few days after being paid, labourers struggle to find more than a few days of work and displaced families are forced to choose between buying water and milk.

Salah al-Zuhaifi works for a government institution in Marib. He said the war has separated him from his parents, who live in Houthi-controlled territory.

Alone in Marib, al-Zuhaifi said that inflation had eroded much of his salary’s purchasing power.

“No matter how much you earn, it will not be enough to meet your needs,” he said.

Abu Mohammed Nasser al-Asbahi, another government employee, described a similar struggle.

He told Al Jazeera that he earns 400,000 riyals ($250) a month, but more than half of that goes towards his rent, leaving little for his other expenses.

“We don’t even get to the first one-third of the month before the salary is gone,” he said, explaining that his family spends the rest of the month relying on loans and credit from local shops.

The healthcare sector in Marib has also been affected by widespread household spending cuts.

Pharmacist Khaled Mohsen told Al Jazeera that the rising price of medicines has prompted many patients to decline parts of their prescribed treatment and purchase only what they consider most essential.

People with chronic illnesses, meanwhile, have increasingly begun reducing their medication doses to make their supplies last longer before having to buy more, which creates serious health risks.

Houthi areas

Residents of Sanaa and other areas of Yemen’s populous northwest, controlled by the Houthis – an armed group also known as Ansar Allah (Arabic for Supporters of God) – since 2014, are also facing a worsening economic and cost-of-living crisis similar to that affecting Yemenis elsewhere in the country.

Several factors are driving the crisis, particularly unpaid public-sector salaries, declining purchasing power, rising prices for goods and services, and the continuing consequences of the division of Yemen’s currency and banking systems in the early years of the war.

Many public-sector employees in Houthi-controlled areas have gone years without receiving regular salaries, with some sectors only receiving limited payments or half-salaries at irregular intervals.

Even when payments are made, they cannot cover families’ basic needs amid the rising cost of living.

Meanwhile, private-sector workers and business owners face growing pressures as a result of declining economic activity, multiple fees and levies, and a shortage of employment opportunities. The conditions have undermined incomes and job security.

The Yemeni riyal’s exchange rate in Houthi-controlled Sanaa is more stable than in areas controlled by the government. The Houthis have imposed strict monetary controls, banning the circulation of newer banknotes printed by the Yemeni government, and have also enforced a largely fixed exchange rate.

However, that does not necessarily translate into stronger purchasing power. Markets face difficulties caused by cash shortages and the division between monetary and banking systems operating in different parts of the country, including increased costs for moving funds.

That directly affects the many households relying on domestic and international remittances.

For residents in Houthi-controlled areas, the result is an economy in which the currency may be relatively stable, but livelihoods are precarious. Years of unpaid salaries and limited employment opportunities have left many families struggling to afford basic necessities, with few options beyond borrowing, cutting spending or relying on support from relatives.

Michael Kearns, a trailblazing AIDS activist and author credited as the first out gay actor, has died. He was 76.

Filmmaker and professor Roland Palencia confirmed the actor’s death on social media, writing that Kearns had died Monday evening after feeling unwell and calling the paramedics on Sunday. Palencia said that the actor had been in and out of emergency rooms more than five times in the last few months.

“Michael Kearns was a friend, mentor, neighbor, and my movie buddy,” Palencia wrote. “For the past year, we watched an average of a movie a month. Our favorite theater was the Vista Theater in Los Feliz, with a larger-than-life screen and within walking distance of where we both lived. Our favorite film this year was ‘The History of Sound.’

“It is a strange feeling to know we will not see the living Michael again, who spoke in hyperbolic, superlative tones. For him, nothing in life was small enough; everything had magnified significance. He himself and his legacy are larger than life,” he continued. “I will miss him deeply. Our next movie was going to be ‘La Bola Negra,’ a film based on Federico García Lorca’s first openly gay play, the Spanish playwright [was] killed in 1936 by the fascist Francisco Franco army. Michael was our Los Angeles García Lorca.”

Born Jan. 8, 1950, and raised in St. Louis, Kearns felt odd from an early age.

“I couldn’t throw a ball particularly well. I didn’t excel in sports,” he told talk show host Sheila Kuehl during a 1998 appearance on “Get Used to It.”

“But one day I was put in the school play, and I excelled. Suddenly I realized I could entertain, and from that moment on it was just like this realization, ‘Oh my God, here is something that I can do, I have found it,’ and I was only 8 years old. From that moment on, to this very moment, I’ve never ever veered from that path.”

Kearns realized along the way that his path to stardom wouldn’t be so simple. He had initially been drawn to the theater as a means to escape his home life, and himself, but he ultimately found the craft inspired the opposite: “As I got into my 20s, coinciding with an awakening of other areas of my life — spiritual, sexuality — I found that the theater and being an actor was more of a way to truly connect with who I was as a person,” he told Kuehl.

Around this time, Kearns made his way to Chicago, where he studied acting at the original Goodman School of Drama, which became the Theatre School at DePaul University, and graduated in 1972. It was here that Kearns got his first taste of casting bias, and realized that he was facing a real dilemma: Did he want to be gay or did he want to become a commercially successful actor?

“In spite of the fact that most of the teachers were gay or lesbian, they had that Hollywood philosophy that if they knew you to be a homosexual, you were not as eligible to play heterosexuals,” he continued. “By that point I was out, out, out. I mean, there was no way I was going to alter my offstage behavior to please anyone.”

Kearns acted across film and television from the 1970s through the aughts, including roles in “Body Double,” “Nine Lives,” “Street Asylum” and “Beverly Hills, 90210.” During an era when it could be dangerous to be queer, the actor was out, and in 1991, he made television history when he shared that he was HIV positive on NBC’s “A Closer Look,” and the next day, “Entertainment Tonight.” The following year, he appeared on a segment of ABC’s dramedy series “Life Goes On” and played a character with HIV.

In 1975, Kearns used his acting chops to pull off a literary stunt in which he posed, both in nude photographs and in extensive interviews, as author Grant Tracy Saxon, a pen name for TV writer Thom Racina who penned “The Happy Hustler,” a faux memoir (it was actually fictionalized erotica) about a high-priced male sex worker. Years later, Kearns became an author himself and published five theater books including “T-Cells & Sympathy” and “Acting = Life,” which were nominated for Lambda Literary Awards.

The actor’s first major theater role in Los Angeles was in Tom Eyen’s comedy “The Dirtiest Show in Town” in 1972. Perhaps his most celebrated performance was playing the title role in Charles Ludlam’s “Camille” at Highways Performance Space in 1993. He also acted in James Carroll Pickett’s “Dream Man,” in 1985 and toured with the production internationally.

Kearns, who considered himself “a political creature as well as an actor,” also garnered acclaim for his solo theater works, which were inspired by the AIDS epidemic and his grief surrounding the too-frequent death of his friends. “Intimacies” and “More Intimacies,” in which he played a dozen diverse characters with AIDS, as well as solo pieces “Rock” and “Going In: Once Upon a Time in South Africa,” made Kearns feel that he had found new purpose and depth in his work.

“Somewhere in that time, I became an artist,” Kearns told The Times in 1994. “Whatever that pain, that loss, that tragedy was, I managed to spin it like an alchemist into something passionate. And it’s been increasingly so since.”

In 1992, he married his husband, Philip Juwig, who died the same year. Bereft, Kearns spent three years thinking, “What now?” and kept coming back to the same thing: He wanted to be a dad. In 1995 he adopted a baby girl, Tia Katherine Kearns, whom he named after his grandmother.

In 2017, he interviewed his daughter for the summer issue of Honeysuckle Magazine about her identity as a Black woman, her work as an artist and her unique upbringing. She said that she attended a progressive school and didn’t feel judged, noting, “they doted on my dad because he had a skill set that other dads didn’t; for school fundraisers; he could climb a ladder and decorate with panache.”

Later in the interview, she revealed that she had her dad’s passion for political activism.

“I think my political consciousness was formed early on,” she said. “I think it would have been impossible for me not to have an awareness of the world and political climate with a dad who is an openly gay actor and activist. Your openness and courage forced me to be honest with myself and the world I live in.”

Kearns gushed in a 2015 interview that his dream creative collaboration would be directing a project written by his daughter that explored race.

In the last couple of decades, the social justice crusader worked with Angelenos to develop their own voices through writing workshops. He also served as an artistic associate at the Skylight Theatre in Los Angeles, artist-in-residence at Housing Works, and artistic director of QueerWise, a Spoken Word collective he founded in 2012.

Kearns was widely recognized for his work, including the Robert Chesley Playwrighting Award (2005), honoring lifetime achievement in LGBTQ+ theater, and a COLA Fellowship (2005) from the city of Los Angeles Cultural Affairs Department to fund major new creative works. His acting career was highlighted by a Drama-Logue Award and a Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award nomination for his lead role in “Camille.” Additionally, his national advocacy earned him the Victory Award (1999) from the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund, alongside honors from the ACLU of Southern California (1987).

Kearns is survived by his daughter.

Guess the footballer in as few attempts as possible.

After each wrong guess you unlock a new clue. The fewer clues you need to get the right answer, the more points you score.

Once you’re done keep scrolling to beat all three of BBC Sport’s daily quizzes.

An art nouveau spa in Stockholm

Tucked away off a pretty shopping street in a beautiful art nouveau building is one of Stockholm’s oldest spas, Centralbadet where a day ticket costs from £23. As winter darkness descends, candles are lit around the pool and a quiet calm envelops you. Swimming by candlelight is a treat. Next a sauna followed by an ice-cold plunge. Afterwards a nightcap is in order so it’s a brisk walk in the cold crisp air to Fotografiska restaurant. It’s a great spot to savour one of Stockholm’s best views; the old town Gamla Stan and the twinkling lights on Lake Mälaren.
Sarah Rochfort

‘Completely timeless and immersive’: birdwatching in Norfolk

Birdwatching at the Cley and Salthouse marshes in Cley-next-the-sea, Norfolk. The two bird hides are meditative and relaxed spaces. The windows open directly on to the pools of saltwater where many different species of birds obliviously wander around. It’s a place that is completely timeless and immersive. Your only job is to gaze out at the birds. It’s a very popular spot for birdwatching but the atmosphere is friendly and quiet. Someone even let us have a go with their binoculars. We particularly enjoyed watching a nest of baby swallows huddled in the corner of the hide. The marshes cover a wide area and are so important for biodiversity, providing an essential resting place for resident and migratory birds. You might even spot a spoonbill, which have returned to the UK from 2010 after being absent for hundreds of years. Well worth a wellness visit, even if you don’t really know anything about birds (like me).
Petra

Hampshire’s Scandi sauna huts

A fresh ginger concoction, orange slices and a friendly sauna master greeted us at the Hello Outdoors shepherd’s hut sauna, which has a picture window overlooking the historic Lymington Sea Water Baths. The deep blue of the sky and water, Swedish sauna hats, the calming scent of our chosen essential oil, a soothing soundtrack and the option to ease the sauna heat with an exhilarating plunge in an ice-cold tub or more genial dip in the sun-warmed sea baths made for a very enjoyable and restorative couple of hours away from real life. We didn’t want to leave.
Claire Edwards

Forest bathing in Croatia

For five days in Radoboj, northern Croatia, we forest-bathed beneath the trees, walked slowly, practised breathing and meditation and ate simple local food. No luxury spa, no expensive treatments – just nature and time. I wore an Oura smart ring throughout. My resting heart rate fell markedly and, by day four, the ring recorded four and a half hours of restorative time. More importantly, I felt profoundly different. It completely overturned what I thought wellness travel was. Sometimes the most restorative place isn’t a spa. It’s a forest.
Bex Hamilton

Bath time near Sofia, Bulgaria

The natural mineral springs in Sofia mean bathhouses are a way of life. Bankya is on the outskirts of the city, so I travelled by bus to visit the Central Mineral Bath Bankya. This opulent bathhouse is owned by the Sofia municipality, meaning the atmosphere is a mix of the everyday council baths and extraordinary architecture from the early 20th century. You can visit from under €10 and, as well as the promised health benefits of the natural spring water, there is a thermal zone, a salt room, aromatherapy, saunas and steam rooms with an array of massages too.
Sarah Collings

The perfect spa and skiing combo in Poland

While skiing in Zakopane, Poland, we made a lot of use of Terma Bania, an incredible pool and spa centre right in the heart of the ski resort. There is something magical about watching the sun go down in blissfully warm water and surrounded by snow. There is an astonishing array of saunas, pools and steam rooms, surrounded by mountain views. We discovered there are also several thermal pool and spa complexes in the surrounding area, and ended up spending as much of our holiday in the spas as we did on the slopes!
Frances

Simmer by the loch in Argyll

The Lochside Sauna at West Coast Wellness (£17 for 2.5 hours) in Evanachan sits on the shore of Loch Fyne. Hidden away from the single track road, a 10-minute walk takes you to one of the most peaceful saunas in the UK. From the giant window, sit back and watch the water of the loch (keep an eye out for dolphins), slowly preparing yourself to make the short walk down and take a dip in between the heat. Alternatively there is a cold water plunge which if anything is colder than the loch! The centre also offers yoga and pilates sessions and there’s the delicious Inver restaurant just around the corner.
Lewis

Wild swimming and wildlife in North Yorkshire

Wild swimming at Pool Bridge Farm guarantees a wholesome retreat from the vibrant bustle of neighbouring York. Transformed from old fishing ponds, the sprawling site comprises four lakes and ample space for lounging and lunching. A revitalising dip is best paired with a stop in the sauna (£16.50), priming those brave enough for the raw, heady thrill of the next plunge. To top it off, head to nearby Wheldrake Ings nature reserve, one of North Yorkshire’s top wildlife destinations, especially for waterfowl. As the flood waters rise from autumn, so does the abundance of migratory birds. A serene natural scene to soothe the soul.
Fin

Sensory walk in the Black Forest, Germany

My two teenagers and I stumbled on a wellness experience for the mind, body and soul while we were wandering around the Black Forest near our holiday base of Freiburg last summer. A friendly German walker with a tree branch for a stick and a large husky for a companion told us to try a barefoot sensory trail at Park mit Allen Sinnen (park of all the senses) as we walked along together through the forest. So we followed his advice. It involved walking barefoot over grass, sand, woodchips, stone, mud and more while trying to tune into our five senses. We began by putting our hands into hollowed-out trees with our eyes closed to guess what objects were placed there. There were bright, colourful flowers, natural scents to imagine and huts to relax and sit in full of sounds and smells to immerse ourselves in with eyes closed. We repeated these walks for three days, heightening our contact with our own senses – and treating ourselves to rye bread and cheese sandwiches with forest fruits berry juice from simple forest cafe cabins as a reward.
Helen

Winning tip: County Donegal’s peerless sauna on the pier

If you find yourself on the wild coast of south County Donegal, head to the Sliabh Liag Sauna at Teelin pier. After a day of hiking (and maybe one or two pints of porter the evening before), the small wood-fired sauna right on the pier was the perfect unwind. We followed it up by taking a sea dip in the bay just steps away. If you have plenty of time, combine the sauna with a nearby boat trip to the unforgettable Sliabh Liag sea cliffs towering 601 metres (1,972ft) above the sea.
Peter Henry

Gaza City – More than 80 percent of Gaza’s buildings have been damaged or destroyed since Israel launched its war on the besieged enclave in October 2023, according to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, turning whole neighbourhoods into rubble and wiping out much of its infrastructure.

For generations, Gaza’s streets, markets, schools, hospitals and public spaces formed the backdrop to everyday life. They were places where people worked, studied, shopped, met friends and family, and built memories.

Many of the city’s familiar landmarks also carried a much longer history, reflecting Gaza’s thousands of years as a crossroads of different civilisations.

The war has also changed the face of Gaza by damaging or destroying many of those historic and recognisable landmarks.

UNESCO has verified damage to 164 cultural sites since October 2023, including 128 buildings of historical or artistic interest, 14 religious sites, nine monuments, eight archaeological sites, two museums and three depositories of movable cultural property.

Among them are the Great Omari Mosque, Gaza’s oldest mosque, Qasr al-Basha, the ancient Samaritan Bathhouse, al-Qissariya Market and the Church of Saint Porphyrius complex.

Some of these places have been reduced to ruins, while others remain standing but heavily damaged. The destruction has altered not only individual buildings but the streets and neighbourhoods around them, removing landmarks that once helped people recognise and navigate their city.

This photo series contrasts archive images of some of Gaza’s most recognisable streets, markets and public buildings with new photographs taken three years into the war, showing how these familiar places have changed after years of bombardment and destruction.

Anne Carson, the Canadian poet, essayist, professor of classics and translator, has won the 2026 Nobel Prize in literature.

The prize, announced at the Swedish Academy in Stockholm on Thursday, awarded Carson “for her bold and inventive oeuvre that, in playful dialogue with the classical tradition, has created new forms for contemporary literature.” Carson is the 19th woman to win.

Among Carson’s myriad acclaimed works are her novel in verse “Autobiography of Red” and its sequel, “Red Doc>”; her seminal book of literary criticism, “Eros the Bittersweet”; poetry collections such as “Glass, Irony, and God” — which contains “The Glass Essay” — and the T.S. Eliot Prize-winning collection of narrative poetry “The Beauty of the Husband: A Fictional Essay in 29 Tangos”; her haunting accordion-fold elegy, “Nox”; and her widely praised translation of Sappho’s surviving fragments, “If Not, Winter.”

“In 1981, she published her doctoral thesis in classics, and has throughout her entire career, combined poetry writing with translation work and teaching at various universities,” said Anders Olsson, who serves as the chair of the Nobel Committee for Literature at the Swedish Academy, and presented the laureate. “Almost all her literary production has centered upon the intersection between the philologist’s obsession with words and the poet’s desire for new meaning.

“Throughout her entire authorship, Carson, with a light touch, explores the possibilities of writing, a process by which the literary sketch has become of particular value for her. In her collaborations with visual artists and choreographers, and with opera and theater directors, she has crossed over into various artistic fields, which has lent her writing a strongly performative aspect,” Olsson continued. “This demonstrates the freedom with which she relates to literary expectations and rule systems, which in turn lies behind the outstanding importance her work since the 1990s has had for the international art and literature scene.”

Nobel committee member Steve Sem-Sandberg said Carson is “an author for our time,” unique in her skill at connecting contemporary ways of living through antiquity. Sem-Sandberg marveled at Carson’s use of the myths, characters, stories and fables from that time, and the way she puts them into a modern context. “The mixture between those two gives an enormous energy to her writing,” he said. “Nobody writes like her, and nobody would even, I think, dare to do this in this way.”

Carson was sipping tea and eating crackers at her seaside home in Iceland — she also resides in Ann Arbor, Mich., where she teaches — after she got the big news. She said she was thinking of ways to give the 12 million Swedish kronor ($1.2 million) award away. “We have a friend who needs a house, and we always give a lot to Doctors Without Borders,” she said. She also planned to celebrate by taking a walk through the woods and turning off the phone.

Carson’s initial reaction was surprise. “Who would expect it? For heaven’s sake!”

The five Buss siblings who voted to sell the family’s shares of the Lakers filed their formal opposition to team governor Jeanie Buss’ attempts to block the sale on Wednesday, calling Jeanie’s petition “legally and factually baseless” in a statement provided to The Times.

“While discussions among the siblings continue, their focus remains on facilitating the proposed transaction and the Trust’s participation in it, while ensuring that all beneficiaries, including Jeanie, are treated equally,” Jimmy, Johnny, Janie, Joey and Jesse Buss said in the statement.

“Today’s filing is a necessary step to protect those interests and ensure the transaction proceeds on schedule.”

The five siblings voted in August to include the family’s 17.82% of the team in the sale from Dodgers controlling owner Mark Walter to Joshua Kushner and Bob Iger. Jeanie immediately opposed her siblings’ vote, saying that the transaction would breach the family trust that states she and her co-trustees Janie and Joey must take reasonably available actions to maintain Jeanie’s role as the controlling governor of the team “on an annual basis during [her] lifetime.”

If the Buss Family Trust sells its remaining shares, Jeanie would be ineligible to serve on the board of governors because the NBA requires governors to own at least 15% of the franchise. Although the Buss family ended its more than 40 years of majority ownership of the team in 2025 by selling to Walter at a then-record $10-billion valuation, Jeanie was to remain the controlling governor for at least five years.

Jeanie and her attorneys filed a petition in L.A. Superior Court about two weeks after her siblings’ vote in which she argued their plan was void.

The siblings’ formal opposition claims Jeanie is attempting to prevent the sale “in order to protect her own personal interests” and her actions “constitute a breach of her fiduciary duties as a trustee.” The siblings believe that with five votes to sell, they have the right to proceed with their plan to sell the shares and distribute the proceeds because they have a two-thirds majority of the living children, as outlined in the trust.

With the latest sale from Walter to Kushner and Iger valued at $12.5 billion, a 17.82% share would be worth approximately $2.2 billion for the Buss siblings.

Nine inmates and one visitor killed in Sinaloa prison riot, local authorities say.

Ten people have been killed and 16 others injured in a fight at the El Castillo Penitentiary Centre in the city of Mazatlan, in Mexico’s northwestern state of Sinaloa, state authorities said.

The Sinaloa Public Security Secretariat said on Thursday that a fight inside the prison had left nine inmates and a family visitor dead.

Sinaloa’s Secretary of Public Security, Sinuhe Tellez, said in a video posted on social media that the visitor was a minor.

The 16 injured inmates were transferred for medical attention, the secretariat said.

An inter-institutional group of security forces moved in, and the prison is now “under control”, with authorities remaining at the site, the secretariat added.

Social work staff are contacting the families of the dead, Tellez said, noting that visits to the prison had been suspended as a precaution and the rest of the prison population was safe.

Sinaloa is a battleground for warring factions of the Sinaloa drug cartel and is one of six Mexican states the US State Department advises Americans not to visit over security concerns.

Officials have not said whether the violence at the prison was linked to that conflict.

Opposition unionists call for the prosecution of Sinn Fein lawmakers who participated in the protest.

Northern Irish police have contacted representatives of Sinn Fein in an investigation into a protest that blocked a Protestant parade from marching through a Catholic area, the party said.

The Sinn Fein party leads Northern Ireland’s power-sharing government alongside its main pro-British rival, the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), which has called for Sinn Fein lawmakers to be prosecuted.

In a statement posted to Facebook on Thursday, Sinn Fein confirmed “that a number of its representatives and party members received correspondence” from police.

“Sinn Fein will continue to stand with the Garvaghy Road residents who should be allowed to live in peace and free from sectarian intimidation,” the party said in the statement.

It added they have “stood with residents of the Garvaghy Road for the last two weeks in the face of provocation and the threat of an unwanted Orange march through their community”.

March permitted

Northern Ireland’s High Court permitted the Protestant Orange Order to march on the Catholic Garvaghy Road for the first time in 28 years.

Police opened an investigation into what they called the unlawful protest of the march, and said people reasonably suspected of committing offences will receive letters for interviews.

Sinn Fein First Minister Michelle O’Neill and Sinn Fein President Mary Lou McDonald participated in the protests.

The DUP called for O’Neill and other lawmakers to be prosecuted.

“A political title is not a shield, and no one is above the law,” the party said in a statement on Thursday.

Before the Good Friday Agreement was signed, annual attempts by the Orange Order to march through the area triggered unrest across the British-run region until the route was banned in 1998.

The standoff has become a political crisis in Northern Ireland, affecting the region’s power-sharing government.

The latest episode of the ITV2 programme featured an error that viewers couldn’t ignore

Big Brother viewers have spotted the same error just minutes into the latest episode of the ITV2 programme.

The reality competition returned to screens on Thursday night (October 8), with the housemates still residing in the House of Revelations. The twist is all about exposing secrets in the house, including housemates’ true feelings about each other.

Viewers were ready to tune into the next revealing challenge in tonight’s episode, but they were left distracted by Rochelle’s comment just minutes in. During a conversation with newcomer Twinks, the housewife earnestly asked: “Who was the feminist that ran in the streets, Betty Boop, or something?”

Rochelle went on to add: “She ran on the race course, didn’t she? And got run over.” The other housemates within earshot quickly jumped in to correct her but their replies weren’t especially helpful.

Twinks responded: “Betty Boop’s a cartoon with the big head,” before adding that “Emily Pankhurst” was the feminist who tragically died after being hit by King George V’s horse in 1913.

While Emmeline Pankhurst was the woman who fronted the British suffragette movement, she wasn’t the person who walked onto the race course. That was actually fellow suffragette Emily Davison.

Viewers quickly spotted Twinks’ error and gathered on social media correct her. One X user posted: “for the record, neither Betty Boop nor Emeline Pankhurst ran in front of the horse, it was Emily Davison #bbuk.” A second rightfully questioned: “Wasn’t it Emily Davidson, not Pankhurst who threw herself under the horse? #bbuk.”

Someone else said: “Eye is twitching at Emily Davison being referred to as both Betty Boop and Emmeline Pankhurst. Bless Twinks for incorrectly correcting Rochelle, Pankhurst was closer but they are different people my love #BBUK

While a third eagle-eyed fan chimed in with: “Slight ding for Twinks there. It was Emily Davison who ran in front of the race track horse at the Derby. Emmeline Pankhurst was the leader of the suffragettes. Know your history if you plan to educate! #BBUK”

But this small mishap is unlikely to sway public opinion on Twinks, who is currently the frontrunner to win the show according to recent odds.

Try ITVX Premium free for a week

This article contains affiliate links, we will receive a commission on any sales we generate from it. Learn more

£59.99

£0

ITVX

Get ITVX Premium here

ITVX Premium offers exclusive ad-free content that can be streamed on-demand and on the go, with everything from Hollywood blockbusters to bingeable British box sets.

An annual plan costs £59.99 – equal to £4.99 per month – after a seven-day free trial.

It comes just hours before the house is set to face its next live eviction following brutal face-to-face nominations earlier this week.

Pauline is up for elimination after receiving five nominations from Lynx, Philip, Rhianna, Rochelle and Catrin. And Rob will join her, having received six nominations from Frankie, Lynx, Omar, Philip, Rhianna and Yasmin.

Viewers are being asked to vote for the housemate they wish to evict. Friday night (October 9) will see the next eviction and the evictee’s first live interview with hosts AJ Odudu and Will Best.

Big Brother continues tomorrow at 9pm on ITV2 and ITVX