Protesters have clashed with riot police in Serbia’s capital, Belgrade, and other cities, on the fifth consecutive night of demonstrations against the government of right-wing President Aleksandar Vucic.
Clashes also broke out in Belgrade late on Saturday after police stopped demonstrators heading for the governing Serbian Progressive Party’s (SNS) headquarters.
Late on Saturday, thousands gathered in the central city of Valjevo to show their growing anger against the government, while a small group of masked young men attacked the empty offices of the governing SNS party, setting them alight.
They subsequently clashed with riot police, with protesters throwing fireworks and rocks as the officers responded with stun grenades and tear gas.
Some clashes were also reported in the northern city of Novi Sad, the country’s second largest.
Almost daily protests have gripped Serbia since November, following the collapse of a railway station roof that killed 16 people.
The tragedy became a symbol of deep-rooted corruption in the Balkan nation, with demands for a transparent investigation growing into calls for early elections.
At their height, the protests drew hundreds of thousands onto the streets.
However, the mostly peaceful demonstrations deteriorated earlier this week when large groups of pro-government supporters – many masked and some armed with batons and fireworks – attacked protesters.
That has led to violent clashes for several nights, leaving many injured on both sides.
Protests were further heightened after several videos shared online showed police striking unarmed demonstrators with batons.
Police have denied allegations of brutality, accusing demonstrators of attacking officers.
While the protests have so far led to the resignation of the prime minister and the collapse of the government, President Vucic has remained defiant.
He has repeatedly rejected calls for early elections and denounced the demonstrations as part of a foreign plot to overthrow him.
Khamzat Chimaev overpowers title holder Dricus Du Plessis in a lopsided UFC title bout in the Octagon.
Khamzat Chimaev is the new undisputed UFC middleweight champion after a dominant display against title holder Dricus Du Plessis at the United Center in Chicago.
Billed as a battle between the undefeated UFC middleweights, Du Plessis put his belt on the line for the third time on Saturday against Chimaev, the No 3-ranked contender and considered one of the most feared pound-for-pound fighters on the UFC roster.
But Chimaev was in control of the bout from the beginning until the end in one of the most one-sided title fights in UFC history; all three judges scored the bout 50-44 for the Chechen fighter, who holds dual Russian and United Arab Emirates citizenship.
“I am happy, always,” Chimaev said post-fight. “I never have a game plan, just go in and work like I do in the gym. That guy [Du Plessis] is strong. I couldn’t finish. I respect that guy. He is the only champion that would say my name. This guy has big heart.”
The victory extends Chimaev’s unbeaten UFC win streak to 15. Du Plessis experienced his first UFC loss and drops to 23-3 for his mixed martial arts (MMA) career.
Chimaev, who first entered UFC in 2020 and has previously defeated former champions Kamaru Usman and Robert Whittaker, was rarely threatened against Du Plessis, and despite being denied a finish by the South African he relentlessly took down the defending champion in the opening minute of every round.
The 31-year-old converted 12 of 17 takedown attempts in the bout and spent 84% of the 25-minute fight in control of Du Plessis, according to official UFC match data.
Du Plessis’s only moment to stage a come-from-behind victory came in the final round when he spun his way on top of his tiring opponent and executed a guillotine. Unfortunately for the reigning champion, the choke only lasted a couple of seconds as Chimaev methodically fought his way out and again resumed his control of the fight until the final bell.
“The man has incredible control on top,” Du Plessis said. “It wasn’t a matter of strength; it wasn’t physical; it was almost like he knew what your next move was. I could almost taste that victory [with the guillotine choke hold], but he beat me fair and square. He was the better man tonight. I’ll be coming to get my belt back, but for now, it’s his. He deserves it.”
Khamzat Chimaev (top) grapples with Dricus du Plessis during their middleweight title bout at UFC 319 [Geoff Stellfox/Getty Images via AFP]
Baker is also a prolific note-maker, something he puts down to his education.
At the time of his first stress fracture he was targeting a place to study biology at the University of Oxford and now he records analysis on opposition batters in a little book, along with plans and hopes for the future.
“I’ve just found it keeps me involved in the analysis stuff and then really remember it,” Baker says.
“It would be an absolute nightmare if you’re not really sure whether you’re meant to bowl wide or straight and then you pick the wrong one.
“You can’t really justify that to yourself at the end of the game.”
The Hundred means there is already a page in Baker’s notebook titled with the name of an Australian great.
Of the 12 balls Baker bowled to Steve Smith when Welsh Fire hosted Manchester Originals last Monday, three were hit for four and another three resulted in a false shot.
“It has been surreal, writing notes on Steve Smith thinking ‘am I actually going to be opening the bowling at him?'” Baker says.
This is the company Baker now keeps, however and, having rehabbed in Sydney after his most recent back injury, he has spent the past two winters in Australia.
Another will likely come this year with the young quick expected to be part of the Lions squad shadowing the Test team around the Ashes series.
From there anything can happen.
Far more unlikely names have been plucked by England to make a Test debut down under.
“I mean, that would be good fun, wouldn’t it?” Baker says.
“I’ll refer back to notes on any matters and Steve Smith is one of the red-ball GOATs [greatest of all-time] so I’d definitely be coming back to that analysis if I end up needing it.
“But let’s just worry about the next few games first. Let’s not get too far out of ourselves.
“We’ve got a Hundred to try and win and then South Africa series to try and win and then Ireland series try and win way before we think about any of all of that stuff.”
Colombian winger scores on his competitive debut for Bayern Munich in a victory over Stuttgart in the German Supercup.
Luis Diaz, making his Bayern Munich debut, and Harry Kane scored for the reigning Bundesliga champions in a 2-1 away victory against Stuttgart in the German Supercup.
The match, which opens the German season with the league and cup winners facing off, was held for the first time since it was renamed for football legend Franz Beckenbauer, who died in 2024.
A year into their attacking partnership, Michael Olise and Kane were again Bayern’s most dangerous pairing, combining for the opener with 18 minutes played.
Off balance and falling, Kane collected Olise’s pass and hit a low shot across the grass and into the bottom corner for his 86th goal in his 97th Bayern appearance.
Pushed on by a 60,000-strong home crowd, Stuttgart went looking for an equaliser late in the second half, but Bayern broke through on the counter, with Diaz heading in from close range in the 77th minute.
Diaz – who joined Bayern from Liverpool last month and remains the club’s biggest deal of the offseason – ran to the corner post and sat on the grass, mimicking former Liverpool teammate Diogo Jota’s video-game celebration.
It was the latest tribute for Portugal winger Jota, who died in a car accident in July.
Stuttgart pulled a goal back through Jamie Leweling in stoppage time.
The win netted Kane a second team trophy of his career after the 32-year-old broke his duck to win the Bundesliga last season.
Praising his charges for a “deserved win”, Bayern captain Joshua Kimmich said the victory would set the tone for the season.
“We wanted to show everyone that we’re here. Wins and titles are not a given – we have to appreciate them,” Kimmich told Germany’s Sat 1 network.
Bayern open the Bundesliga season on Friday at home against Leipzig, while Stuttgart face Union Berlin in the German capital a day later.
Diaz celebrates scoring his first goal for Bayern Munich by mimicking former Liverpool teammate Diogo Jota’s video-game celebration [Heiko Becker/Reuters]
Here are the key events on day 1,270 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.
Here is how things stand on Sunday, August 17:
Politics and diplomacy
Russian President Vladimir Putin offered to freeze the front lines in Ukraine’s Kherson and Zaporizhia regions if Kyiv ceded full control of Ukraine’s Donetsk and Luhansk regions, during his meeting with United States President Donald Trump on Friday, according to several media outlets, including The New York Times and the AFP and Reuters news agencies.
Trump informed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of the offer during a phone call, but Zelenskyy rejected the demand, Reuters reported
Trump described the meeting with Putin as “a great and very successful day in Alaska!” and told Fox News that Ukraine should make a deal to end the war with Russia because “Russia is a very big power, and they’re not”.
The US president also said he agreed with Putin that a peace agreement should be sought without a prior ceasefire, marking a change in his position before the summit.
“The best way to end the horrific war between Russia and Ukraine is to go directly to a Peace Agreement… and not a mere Ceasefire Agreement, which often times do not hold up,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.
Zelenskyy, who was not invited to the summit in Alaska, said in a post on X that Russia’s unwillingness to pause the fighting would complicate efforts to forge a lasting peace.
Nevertheless, he said he will meet with Trump in Washington, DC, on Monday. “I am grateful for the invitation,” Zelenskyy said in a post on X.
A number of European leaders have also been invited to attend, a European Union source told the AFP news agency.
European leaders, including from France, Germany and the United Kingdom, promised to maintain the pressure on Russia through sanctions and called for “ironclad” security guarantees for Ukraine. They also said they were ready to work towards a three-way summit between Trump, Putin and Zelenskyy.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz told German media that the US was willing to be part of security guarantees for Ukraine and that he and other European leaders will be speaking with Zelenskyy on Sunday to prepare him for the White House meeting with Trump.
The EU’s top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, said that while “Trump’s resolve to get a peace deal is vital… the harsh reality is that Russia has no intention of ending this war anytime soon”, in a post on X.
The Leaders of the Nordic Baltic Eight group of countries issued a joint statement, reiterating support for Ukraine and saying that “a just and lasting peace requires a ceasefire” and that “experience has shown that Putin cannot be trusted”.
Fighting
Meanwhile, the fighting continued to rage in Ukraine, with the country’s Air Force saying it shot down 61 of 85 Russian drones overnight, while Russian missiles and drones hit 12 locations across the country.
The Ukrainian General Staff said its forces had pushed Russian forces back by about 2km (1.2 miles) on part of the Sumy front in northern Ukraine.
The Ukrainian military also said that Russian forces had seized Popiv Yar, southwest of Dobropillia, and Ivano-Darivka, northeast of Sloviansk in Ukraine’s Donetsk region, according to the Kyiv Independent.
Russian attacks injured 13 people, including medical workers and a police officer, in Ukraine’s Kherson region, Ukraine’s military said in a post on Telegram early on Saturday.
In Russia, a Ukrainian drone attack killed a 52-year-old man and his 13-year-old son, in the Rylsky district of the Russian Kursk region, Governor Alexander Khinshtein said in a post on Telegram on Saturday.
Russian forces also shot down five Ukrainian guided aerial bombs and 169 drones in one day, Russia’s state news agency TASS reported on Saturday.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer will join a video call with European allies on Sunday ahead of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s visit to the White House next week.
French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz will join Sir Keir in hosting the “coalition of the willing”, after Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin failed to reach a ceasefire deal at a summit in Alaska.
On Saturday, the prime minister praised Trump for having brought an end to the war in Ukraine “closer than ever before”, but warned that the “path to peace” could not be decided without Zelensky.
It comes after the US president said he wanted to bypass a ceasefire to move directly to a permanent peace deal.
On Saturday, the US president said on his Truth Social platform that it was “determined by all that the best way to end the horrific war between Russia and Ukraine is to go directly to a peace agreement”, in a major shift in position.
On Monday, the Ukrainian leader will travel to Washington DC, where US President Trump has said he will urge Zelensky to agree to a peace deal.
In the wake of the Anchorage summit, Sir Keir spent Saturday morning speaking to Western allies.
Following the calls, he said in a statement: “I welcome the openness of the United States, alongside Europe, to provide robust security guarantees to Ukraine as part of any deal.
“President Trump’s efforts have brought us closer than ever before to ending Russia’s illegal war in Ukraine.
“His leadership in pursuit of an end to the killing should be commended,” Sir Keir said.
Until Putin stops his “barbaric assault”, allies would “keep tightening the screws on his war machine with even more sanctions”, he added.
A Downing Street source told the BBC that any peace deal needed security agreements and “US involvement is a key part of that”.
Following a call with Trump on Saturday, Zelensky called for a lasting peace, “not just another pause between Russian invasions”.
He stressed Kyiv should be included in future discussions, and said he expected Russia to “increase pressure and strikes” in the coming days to “create more favourable circumstances for talks with global actors”.
Watch: How the Trump-Putin summit unfolded… in under 2 minutes
Yvette Cooper previously said that some supporters of Palestine Action “don’t know the full nature” of the group
The home secretary has again defended the proscription of Palestine Action as a terrorist group, saying it is more than “a regular protest group known for occasional stunts”.
Writing in the Observer, Yvette Cooper said the group had claimed responsibility for incidents that saw those allegedly involved subsequently charged with a range of crimes, including violent disorder and aggravated burglary.
She added that the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) had assessed these charges have a “terrorism connection”.
Her comments come after the Metropolitan Police said on Friday that a further 60 people would be prosecuted for showing support for Palestine Action.
More than 700 people have been arrested since the group was banned by the government on 5 July – including more than 500 at a demonstration in central London last week.
The Met added that more prosecutions were expected in the coming weeks and that arrangements had been put in place “that will enable us to investigate and prosecute significant numbers each week if necessary”.
Palestine Action has engaged in activities that have predominantly targeted arms companies since the start of the current war in Gaza.
Cooper moved to ban the group after activists from the group caused an estimated £7m of damage to jets at RAF Brize Norton in June.
The home secretary said while many were aware of that incident, fewer would be aware of other incidents for which the group had claimed responsibility.
Cooper also referenced a so-called “Underground Manual” from the group, which she said “encourages the creation of cells, provides practical guidance on how to identify targets to attack and how to evade law enforcement”.
“These are not the actions of a legitimate protest group,” Cooper said.
She also reiterated a comment made to the BBC earlier this week that some people who were supporting Palestine Action out of concern for the humanitarian situation in Gaza were not aware of the true nature of the group.
“No-one should allow desperate calls for peace in the Middle East to be derailed into a campaign to support one narrow group involved in violence here in the UK,” Cooper said.
The government’s banning of Palestine Action means membership of or support for the group became a criminal offence, carrying a sentence of up to 14 years.
Last month, the group won permission to challenge the ban and its case will be heard in the High Court in November. It argues that the ban breaches the right to free speech and has acted as a gag on legitimate protest.
Rights groups have also been critical both of the proscribing of Palestine Action as a terrorist group and of the subsequent arrest of hundreds of people.
Amnesty International’s chief executive, Sacha Deshmukh, earlier this week suggested the response to last weekend’s protest was disproportionate.
“We have long criticised UK terrorism law for being excessively broad and vaguely worded and a threat to freedom of expression. These arrests demonstrate that our concerns were justified,” he said.
The UK is not one of Israel’s main suppliers of arms but does provide some parts for the F-35 jet – state-of-the-art multi-role fighter that has been used extensively by Israel to strike Gaza.
The Royal Air Force (RAF) has also flown hundreds of surveillance flights over Gaza since December 2023, reportedly using Shadow R1 spy planes based at an RAF base in Akrotiri in nearby Cyprus.
But the foreign secretary has insisted that the flights have not led to the sharing of any military intelligence with the Israeli military.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said that Russia’s refusal to agree to a ceasefire is complicating efforts to end the war.
“We see that Russia rebuffs numerous calls for a ceasefire and has not yet determined when it will stop the killing. This complicates the situation,” he said in a statement on ‘X’.
On Monday, the Ukrainian leader travel to Washington DC, where US President Donald Trump has said he will urge Zelensky to agree to a peace deal.
Trump has said he wants to bypass a ceasefire in Ukraine to move directly to a permanent peace agreement after his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
In a major shift of position, the US president said on Truth Social following Friday’s summit that this would be “the best way to end the horrific war between Russia and Ukraine”, adding ceasefires often “do not hold up”.
Following a phone call with Trump after the summit, Zelensky called for a real, lasting peace, while adding that “the fire must cease” and killings stop.
In his later statement on social media Zelensky outlined his requirements for “a truly sustainable and reliable peace” with Moscow, including a “credible security guarantee” and the return of children he says were “abducted from occupied territories” by the Kremlin.
Watch: How the Trump-Putin summit unfolded… in under 2 minutes
Trump’s comments indicate a dramatic shift in his position on how to end the war, having said only on Friday ahead of the summit that he wanted a ceasefire “rapidly”.
Ukraine’s main demand has been a quick ceasefire before talks about a longer-term settlement, and Trump reportedly told European leaders beforehand that his goal for the summit was to obtain a ceasefire deal.
Meanwhile, Putin reportedly presented Trump a peace offer that would require Ukraine to withdraw from the Donetsk region of the Donbas, in return for Russia freezing the front lines in Zaporizhzhia and Kherson.
Russia illegally annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014, then launched a full-scale invasion of the country eight years later. It claims the Donbas as Russian territory and controls most of Luhansk and about 70% of Donetsk.
The US president, who has previously said any peace deal would involve “some swapping of territories”, is said to have relayed the offer to Zelensky in the call following the summit.
Just days ago, Ukraine’s president ruled out ceding control of the Donbas – made up the regions of Luhansk and Donetsk – saying it could be used as a springboard for future Russian attacks.
The BBC’s US partner CBS has reported, citing diplomatic sources, that European diplomats were concerned Trump may try to pressure Zelensky on Monday into agreeing to deal terms he and Putin may have discussed at the summit.
CBS quotes sources as saying that Trump told European leaders in a call after the summit that Putin would make “some concessions”, but failed to specify what they were.
In an interview with Fox News following Friday’s summit, Trump was asked what advice he has for the Ukrainian leader, to which he responded by saying “make a deal”.
“Russia’s a very big power and they’re not,” he added.
Getty Images
Ahead of Friday’s summit, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz hosted a virtual meeting with Zelensky, other European leaders and Trump
Trump had previously threatened “very severe consequences” if Putin did not agree to end the war, last month setting a deadline for Moscow to reach a ceasefire or face tough new sanctions, including secondary tariffs.
Little was announced by way of an agreement by either president following Friday’s summit, but Trump insisted progress had been made.
On Saturday, Putin described the summit as “very useful” and said he had been able “set out our position” to Trump.
“We had the opportunity, which we did, to talk about the genesis, about the causes of this crisis. It is the elimination of these root causes that should be the basis for settlement,” the Russian president said.
Later, a senior Russian diplomat told BBC Newshour that the summit in Alaska was “a very important building block for further efforts” to end the war.
Russia’s First Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Dmitry Polyanskiy, said that everybody who wants peace “should be satisfied by the outcome”. He wouldn’t say if Putin should now meet with Zelensky.
Meanwhile, the “coalition of the willing” – a group of countries that have pledged to strengthen support for Ukraine that includes the UK, France, and Germany – will hold a call on Sunday afternoon before Zelensky’s visit to the White House on Monday.
Getty Images
Starmer hosted Zelensky at Downing Street ahead of the US-Russia summit in Alaska, with the pair agreeing there was “a powerful sense of unity and a strong resolve to achieve a just and lasting peace in Ukraine”
A group of European leaders, including French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, said “the next step must now be further talks including President Zelensky”.
The leaders said they were “ready to work” towards a trilateral summit with European support.
“We stand ready to uphold the pressure on Russia,” they said, adding: “It will be up to Ukraine to make decisions on its territory. International borders must not be changed by force.”
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer praised Trump’s efforts to end the war, saying they had “brought us closer than ever before”.
“While progress has been made, the next step must be further talks involving President Zelenskyy. The path to peace in Ukraine cannot be decided without him,” he said.
And in Kyiv, Ukrainians have described feeling “crushed” by the scenes from Alaska.
“I understand that for negotiations you shake hands, you can’t just slap Putin in the face when he arrives. But this spectacle with the red carpet and the kneeling soldiers, it’s terrible, it makes no sense,” Serhii Orlyk, a 50-year-old veteran from the eastern Donetsk region said.
The school summer holidays means many parents face the task of cooking up lunches and snacks for children eating most of their meals at home for six weeks.
It can prove costly especially as food prices are rising faster now than at any point in the last year. School dinners are often subsidised so doing it yourself can get pricey.
Some parents have shared how meticulous planning and creative cooking has been helping them keep their shopping bill down.
Fill your freezer with yellow-sticker food
Evelyn stocks up her freezer with discounted food
For mum-of-two Evelyn buying reduced items is key. “I’m not afraid of a yellow sticker, especially for my meat, that’s what your freezer is for,” she says.
At home in Gorton, in East Manchester, she’s been preparing for the summer holidays for months, buying reduced items to pop in the freezer and use when there are more mouths in the house to feed.
She has a 12-year-old daughter who gets free school meals during term time and a 19-year-old son who’s back home from university for the holidays.
“The snacking is immense,” she says.
But like Colette, she’s determined not to waste anything. “When you’ve got things going off, try and make something else out of them. Dip fruit into yoghurts, bang them in the freezer and you’ve got nice little frozen berry yoghurt snacks.”
Evelyn receives a £50 voucher to help with the cost of summer holiday food from Manchester City Council issued by her daughter’s school. She says they are a “big help”, particularly as they are not tied to one supermarket, so she can shop around for the best deals.
Food prices increased by 4.5% compared to June last year, and it’s expected the next set of official figures will show a further rise in July and August.
Benefit payments went up in April and after taking inflation into account, average wages grew by 1.5% between April and June.
But rent and mortgages rises, as well as increases in the cost of summer holiday clubs or childcare means many families say they aren’t feeling any better off.
Put food for each day in a seperate bag
Laura Maggs plans her meals and puts each one in a seperate bag
Laura is out of work at the moment and has three children who she describes as “eating machines” who receive free school meals during term time.
But in the school holidays “sometimes we’ve got plenty of food, and sometimes we don’t, so you have to get creative,” she says.
Her tactic is to see what food she has, and put it into separate bags for each day, to help make sure the food lasts all week.
She says putting food in high kitchen cupboards – out of reach of the children – means the snacks don’t all disappear in one go.
“It can be really really hard when you’re having to scrimp and save and spend so much time thinking and organising and figuring out where the food is going to come from,” she says.
Laura says her local pantry the Bread And Butter Thing in South Manchester has been “a lifeline”.
She pays £8.50 for three bags of surplus food from supermarkets, farms and wholesalers. What’s inside is pot-luck but there is always fresh fruit and veg.
“It means I can put something on the table that they are going to want to eat and that’s financially viable,” she said.
The UK’s biggest food distribution network Fareshare says it has already supplied ingredients for 400,000 more meals this school holiday compared to last summer.
Child Poverty Action Group is among charities warning the current funding is not enough to help all the households that are struggling.
Order your fridge by use by date
Colette Todd says she and children Henry and Mary don’t waste any food – even crusts
Colette is mum to seven-year old Mary and 14-year-old Henry as has previously spoken to us about high prices in supermarkets.
She lives in south Manchester and juggles three part-time jobs as a music teacher and carer. She gets paid for her school-based work at the start of each term and says making the money last over the summer holidays is always difficult.
“We have to be clever and careful about how we use the food,” she says. “Which is no different to normal it’s just there’s more meals to make out of what we’ve got”.
There’s one basic rule she sticks by: “We don’t waste anything,” she says. “Even crusts.”
“It sounds really silly but it’s having a system in the fridge of making sure the stuff that’s at the front is the stuff that needs using first,” she says.
“The kids are not going to rummage around and look at use by dates, but if it’s at the front I know that’s the one that needs using first.”
The family try and batch cook too. Henry joined in to make a bolognaise this week, and now there’s an extra portion in the freezer for another day.
Some councils also give food vouchers directly over the holidays through a government pot called the Household Support Fund.
In Scotland some councils are also offering extra free school meal payments to low-income families over the school holidays. However, in Northern Ireland there is currently no funding in place, as “holiday hunger” payments were stopped in 2023 as a cost cutting measure.
Food banks provide emergency help for those in dire straights, but an increasing number of Food Pantries, or Food Clubs now exist across the UK. Here members pay a small fee, and are given a fixed number of bags of food each week.
Some apps like Olio and TooGoodToGo allow you to get cheap or free food from cafes and shops that would otherwise go to waste at the end of the day.
Who: Manchester United vs Arsenal What: English Premier League Where: Old Trafford, Manchester, United Kingdom When: Sunday, August 16 at 4:30pm (15:30 GMT)
How to follow: We’ll have all the build-up on Al Jazeera Sport from 4:30pm (15:30 GMT) in advance of our live text commentary stream.
Mikel Arteta has challenged Arsenal to keep digging for gold.
The Gunners have finished as Premier League runners-up for the last three seasons, sparking criticism of their failure to get over the line in the title race.
Arsenal blew significant leads when Manchester City pipped them to the trophy in 2023 and 2024, before Liverpool left the injury-plagued north Londoners trailing in their wake last season.
Arsenal’s title frustrations are mounting, with fans questioning whether Arteta is the right man to end their drought after winning only the 2020 FA Cup since he took charge in December 2019.
But the Gunners showed their potential last season, with a run to the Champions League semifinals that ended with a narrow defeat against eventual winners Paris Saint-Germain.
And, buoyed by a host of new signings worth more than 180 million pounds ($244 million) in total, Arteta is convinced they can finally get their hands on the Premier League silverware this season.
“You keep digging, digging, digging, and you have to be digging because one day the gold is going to be there,” he told reporters on Friday.
“For three seasons, we’ve had more points than [nearly] any other team in this league, which is incredible.
“You have the consistency, but now we have to do it in a season, to end with more points than any other team.
“That’s the objective. When I’ve been taught, when I’ve been educated, that’s it.”
Hampered by injuries to Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard, Gabriel Jesus and Kai Havertz at various stages last season, Arsenal lacked a cutting edge and were held to 14 draws compared with Liverpool’s nine.
That was a crucial edge as Arsenal finished 10 points behind the champions.
Arsenal’s Viktor Gyokeres heads at goal during a preseason friendly against Athletic Bilbao [Matthew Childs/Reuters]
After bemoaning Arsenal’s failure to sign Aston Villa striker Ollie Watkins as Liverpool pulled away during the January window, the Spaniard is a far more upbeat figure on the eve of the new season.
“I think we have great versatility, very different qualities in relation to the opposition, so we are very happy with that,” he said.
Arteta said that “too many” teams have a legitimate shot at winning the Premier League for his liking, some he even suspects will “surprise everybody”.
Whether that was a hint that United, who suffered their worst season since 1973-74 last term, could emerge as contenders after their summer spending spree remains to be seen.
Arsenal were linked with a move for United’s new striker Benjamin Sesko before deciding to bet on Gyokeres for a fee that could rise to 66 million pounds ($89.5m).
The Swede netted 97 times in 102 games in two years at Sporting, much of which came under United’s current manager, Ruben Amorim.
Manchester United’s Bryan Mbeumo moved from Brentford in the summer transfer window [Andrew Boyers/Reuters]
How is the season shaping up for Man Utd?
Instead of being reunited with Gyokeres, Amorim overhauled his attack with the signings of Leipzig’s Sesko, Brentford winger Bryan Mbeumo and Wolves forward Matheus Cunha at a combined cost of more than 200 million pounds ($271m).
United, who have not won the title since 2013, had to spend big to erase the stench of their putrid campaign.
Amorim’s team finished a dismal 15th in the top-flight, and squandered a chance to qualify for the Champions League with a toothless 1-0 defeat against fellow underachievers Tottenham in the Europa League final.
The pressure is on Amorim, who replaced the sacked Erik ten Hag in November, to deliver major improvements in his second season.
Amorim knows Sesko will be key to that target and believes the 22-year-old Slovenian is ready to rise to the challenge.
“I don’t need to tell Ben, ‘Ben, this is Manchester United, a lot of pressure. Every game is like do or die’,” Amorim said.
“He is always thinking about football. He’s really obsessed about that.”
Head-to-head
This is the 244th meeting between the clubs, with United winning 99 of those games and Arsenal winning 89.
The last two meetings ended in 1-1 draws, although one of those was in the FA Cup with United advancing on penalties.
The Red Devils have not beaten the Gunners since December 2022, a 3-1 home win lead by a Marcus Rashford double.
The Gunners have won four of the six following meetings.
Manchester United team news
Defenders Lisandro Martinez (knee) and Noussair Mazraoui (hamstring) are both injury absentees for United.
Joshua Zirkzee and Andre Onana have, however, both recovered from knocks and are available for selection.
Arsenal team news
Arteta has said that the new signings, Gyokeres and Zubimendi, are both “fit to play”.
Leandro Trossard has had a groin problem but is expected to recover in time for selection. Gabriel Jesus remains a long-term absentee with an ACL injury, but otherwise, Arteta has a full squad to choose from.
Israel has announced preparations to forcibly evacuate Palestinians from “combat zones” to southern Gaza from Sunday, days after it announced a new offensive to seize control of Gaza City, the enclave’s largest urban centre.
The army’s Arabic-language spokesperson Avichay Adraee said on Saturday that residents would be provided with tents and other shelter equipment transported through the Karem Abu Salem, or Kerem Shalom, crossing by the United Nations and international relief organisations.
The UN has not commented on the plan or on its alleged role in providing humanitarian assistance.
The statement comes less than a week since Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu announced that the military had been given the green light to “dismantle” what he described as two remaining Hamas strongholds: Gaza City in the north and al-Mawasi further to the south.
The army has not specified whether the shelter equipment was intended for Gaza City’s population, estimated at around one million people presently, and whether the site to which they will be relocated in southern Gaza would be the area of Rafah, near the border with Egypt.
The UN did not immediately comment on the Israeli announcement, however, it warned on Thursday that thousands of families already enduring appalling humanitarian conditions could be pushed over the edge if the Gaza City plan moves ahead.
The Palestinian group Islamic Jihad, an ally of Hamas, described the military’s announcement as “part of its brutal attack to occupy Gaza City” and “a blatant and brazen mockery of international conventions.”
“Forcing people to flee amidst starvation, massacres, and displacement is an ongoing crime against humanity. Criminal behaviour in Gaza is inseparable from the daily crimes committed by the occupation in the occupied West Bank,” the group said in a statement.
Israeli forces have increased operations on the outskirts of Gaza City over the past week. Residents in the neighbourhoods of Zeitoun and Shujayea have reported heavy Israeli aerial and tank fire.
An Israeli drone targeted a group of people in the Asqaula area of the Zeitoun neighbourhood in eastern Gaza City, killing two and wounding several others, the Wafa news agency said.
Another person was killed and three were injured when a house near the al-Alami Mosque on az-Zarqa Street, also in eastern Gaza City, was hit.
The tented encampment of al-Mawasi, in southern Gaza, also came under attack on Saturday. An Israeli air raid killed Motasem al-Batta, his wife and their baby daughter in their tent. The area was designated a so-called “humanitarian”, or “safe”, zone early in the war, but it has nonetheless repeatedly come under attack.
A neighbour of the family, Fathi Shubeir, told The Associated Press that displaced civilians were living in the densely populated al-Mawasi area. Speaking of the baby girl, he said, “Two and a half months, what has she done?”
Israel’s war on Gaza has killed at least 61,827 people since October 2023. Malnutrition has killed 251 people so far, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.
Eleven people, including a child, have starved to death in the past 24 hours, the ministry said on Saturday.
At Gaza City’s al-Shifa Hospital, the lives of more than 200 patients were hanging by a thread, due to acute shortages of medicine and malnutrition.
Director Mohammed Abu Salmiya said the hospital was overcrowded with wounded patients amid relentless Israeli bombardments and doctors were performing an increasing number of amputations as they were unable to combat the infection of wounds.
According to the World Health Organisation, more than 14,800 patients need lifesaving medical care that is not available in Gaza. Yet, leaving the Strip is not always enough to save a life.
Twenty-year-old Marah Abu Zuhri arrived in Pisa on an Italian government humanitarian flight overnight on Wednesday while severely emaciated. The University Hospital of Pisa said she had a “very complex clinical picture” and serious wasting, before she was reported dead on Friday.
Director-General of Gaza’s Health Ministry Munir al-Bursh told Al Jazeera that 40,000 infants in the territory were suffering from severe malnutrition amid critical food shortages caused by Israel’s restrictions on aid into Gaza.
Al Jazeera correspondent Hind Khoudary said the reality of hunger in Gaza was “devastating.”
“Palestinians have no choice but to see their children die of malnutrition and starvation,” she said. “The latest to have died from hunger were siblings, aged 16 and 25, who died on the same day.”
According to Amjad Shawa, director of the Palestinian NGOs Network, “only 10 percent” of the daily food supplies needed are entering the territory, “while the health system is collapsing day by day and our capacity is very limited”.
He said Israel’s war in Gaza destroyed its socioeconomic structure, leaving Palestinians in the territory “totally dependent on humanitarian aid”.
What is making it into the country is “a very limited amount, which is only to keep the people alive [at a] minimum level,” he added.
The United Nations has warned that levels of starvation and malnutrition in Gaza are at their highest since the war began.
The families of 50 Israeli captives still held in Gaza were shaken by the recent release of videos showing their emaciated relatives pleading for help and food.
A group representing the families urged Israelis into the streets on Sunday. “Across the country, hundreds of citizen-led initiatives will pause daily life and join the most just and moral struggle: the struggle to bring all 50 hostages home,” it said in a statement.
Netanyahu has rejected criticism that his plan to widen the military offensive would endanger the lives of the remaining captives. The mobilisation of forces is expected to take weeks, and the Israeli prime minister has defended his decision, saying he had “no choice” but to attack Hamas in Gaza.
Lamine Yamal and Raphinha both find the net in Barcelona’s 3-0 La Liga win at Mallorca, who had two players sent off.
Barcelona began the defence of its La Liga title with a comfortable 3-0 win at Mallorca, scoring early and taking advantage of two first-half red cards for the hosts.
Raphinha and Lamine Yamal, who led Barcelona’s prolific attack last season, needed only seven minutes to impress again on Saturday. Yamal’s curling cross found Raphinha by the far post, and the Brazil forward headed in from close range.
Ferran Torres’s shot from outside the area in the 23rd was a goal that drew complaints from Mallorca because one of its players was on the ground after being hit by the ball in the head in the buildup.
Some Mallorca players stopped playing after their teammate went down, but the referee allowed play to continue. Mallorca immediately complained after Ferran scored.
The host went a man down 10 minutes later when Manu Morlanes was sent off for a second yellow card for fouling Yamal on the run. His first yellow was for protesting Barcelona’s second goal.
The second red card in the 39th came from Mallorca striker Vedat Muriqi hitting the head of Barcelona goalkeeper Joan García with his left foot while reaching up for a high ball. The referee changed the card from yellow to red after a video review.
Barcelona’s Brazilian forward Raphinha heads the ball to score the opening goal at Mallorca [Jamie Reina/AFP]
Yamal made it 3-0 in second-half stoppage time by hitting the top corner.
Barcelona, which won the league last season after scoring 102 goals, was without veteran striker Robert Lewandowski because of an injury. Newly signed forward Marcus Rashford went in as a substitute in the 69th.
New Barcelona goalkeeper García did not have to work much in his Barcelona debut after being signed in the offseason in a transfer from city rival Espanyol.
Regular starting goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen is out after undergoing lower back surgery, and García started ahead of Wojciech Szczesny and Iñaki Peña, who replaced Ter Stegen last season.
Later Saturday, Valencia hosted Real Sociedad and promoted Levante visited Alaves.
On Friday, Rayo Vallecano won at Girona 3-1, and Villarreal defeated promoted Oviedo 2-0.
As Air Canada suspended “all operations” due to a flight attendant’s strike that began Saturday, the federal government has stepped in to force both parties to the bargaining table.
The attendants gave a 72-hour strike notice earlier this week, after contract talks reached an impasse.
Their union said the company was not addressing key issues such as wages and unpaid work, and the strike took effect shortly after midnight on Saturday.
Soon afterwards, the carrier began delaying and cancelling some flights. On Friday, it expected to scrap 500 flights, affecting 100,000 passengers.
With the strike in effect, the airline announced it would halt flights on its Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge service.
As the cancellations mounted, Canadian officials used their powers to force the airline and the union into binding arbitration, in an effort to minimise disruptions for travel and the economy.
Here’s what you need to know about the strike.
Why is Air Canada cancelling flights?
The airline, which operates in 64 countries and has a fleet of 259 aircraft, warned that a “complete cessation of flying” would begin on Saturday, if the labour issues aren’t resolved. Air Canada Express flights, which carry about 20% of Air Canada’s daily customers, will not be affected.
Still, a shutdown could affect 130,000 daily customers, including 25,000 Canadians.
Upon receiving the strike notice, Air Canada issued its own 72-hour lock-out notice and began winding down operations, delaying and cancelling flights over those three days.
Chief Operations Officer Mark Nasr explained the airline’s system was complex and not something “we can start or stop at the push of a button”.
Watch: Moment Air Canada ends news conference after union activists disrupt event
What led to the strike?
The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), representing 10,000 Air Canada attendants, has asserted that it bargained in good faith with the airline for more than eight months.
The airline said it recently offered flight attendants a 38% increase in total compensation over four years, with a 25% raise in the first year.
But the union said the offer was “below inflation, below market value, below minimum wage” and would leave flight attendants unpaid for some hours of work, including waiting at airports ahead of flights or guiding the boarding process.
They said that wages had not kept up with inflation, so that Air Canada’s suggested pay increase was “in effect, a pay cut”.
Almost all of the attendants – 99.7% – voted to strike earlier this month. The company, meanwhile, has asked the government to intervene.
Government representatives had facilitated some of the negotiations already, but the carrier went further and asked Canada’s jobs minister, Patty Hajdu, to refer the matter for binding arbitration.
How has the government responded?
On Saturday, Hajdu ordered Air Canada and CUPE into binding arbitration by invoking Section 107 of the Canada Labour Code.
“Despite significant supports from the government, these parties have been unable to resolve their differences in a timely manner,” Hadju said.
“I am exercising this authority because it is critical to maintaining and securing industrial peace, protecting Canadians and promoting conditions to resolve the dispute,” she said.
CUPE has responded by accusing the of Liberal Party of “violating our charter rights.” They allege that forcing a bargain to end the strike will “ensure unresolved issues will continue to worsen by kicking them down the road.”
Earlier this week, Air Canada proposed having a third party step in to develop an agreement through what is called “binding arbitration”, but the union rejected that.
It then asked the government to force the parties into binding arbitration, pointing to recent government interventions in rail, port and other negotiations.
In binding arbitration, an independent third party sets the terms of a contract in an agreement that is legally enforceable.
The union said in a statement on Friday that it had requested that Hajdu not intervene and, instead, allow “the parties to reach a resolution through free and fair negotiations, without undue interference”.
For the flight attendants, the only answer is for both sides to come back to the table.
There was growing pressure from other parts of Canada, as well. The Board of Trade for the Toronto region had calledfor a government intervention, while the province of Newfoundland and Labrador released a statement describing the impact of a strike as “catastrophic” for the tourism industry during the summer season.
How long will the strike last?
That’s unclear.
When Air Canada pilots went on strike in September 1998 for 13 days, all of the carrier’s more than 600 daily flights were grounded, stranding passengers and costing the airline C$133m ($96m; £71m) before a negotiated deal was reached.
In recent years, the federal government has stepped in during labour disputes by Air Canada workers by blocking strikes and imposing agreements.
Hadju’s intervention may alter the timeline for the two parties reaching an agreement.
The union said imposing arbitration would stop the first strike by the carrier’s flight attendants since 1985.
What to do if your flight is cancelled?
Air Canada has said it will notify passengers if there is a change to the flight’s scheduled departure time.
As of Saturday, Air Canada was “strongly advising” passengers not to go to the airport unless they had tickets on other airlines.
Customers whose flights are cancelled will be notified and receive a full refund, the airline said. The company has also made arrangements with other Canadian and foreign carriers to provide customers alternative travel options.
If it’s a round trip, return flights are not automatically cancelled in case the passengers reaches the destination.
Arrest of Yann Vezilier, accused of trying to destabilise Mali, marks new low in relations between Paris and Bamako.
France’s Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs has said that a French man recently arrested in Mali on “unfounded” charges of plotting a coup was a French embassy employee.
The Foreign Ministry said on Saturday that it was in talks with Bamako to “clear up any misunderstanding” and obtain the “immediate release” of Yann Vezilier, who had been arrested in recent weeks alongside two generals and other military personnel.
It added that the arrest of the French national was in violation of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.
Mali’s security minister, General Daoud Aly Mohammedine, had announced Vezilier’s arrest on Thursday, alleging that he had been working for the French intelligence services, mobilising “political leaders, civil society actors, and military personnel” to destabilise the country.
Mohammedine said that a full investigation into the alleged plot, which he said had been launched on August 1, was under way and that “the situation is completely under control”.
The arrests followed a crackdown on dissent following a pro-democracy rally in May, the first since the military government came to power after back-to-back coups in 2020 and 2021.
France’s once close relationship with its former colony in West Africa’s Sahel region has soured since soldiers seized power nearly four years ago.
The military government, led by President Assimi Goita, has turned away from Western partners, notably former colonial power France, expelling its troops and turning to Russia for security assistance.
The country has since been gripped by a security crisis since 2012, fuelled notably by violence from groups affiliated with al-Qaeda and the ISIL (ISIS) group, as well as local criminal gangs.
In June, Goita was granted an additional five years in power, despite the military government’s earlier promises of a return to civilian rule by March 2024. The move followed the military’s dissolution of political parties in May.
In April 2025, the Human Rights Court in Kenya issued an unprecedented ruling that it has the jurisdiction to hear a case about harmful content on one of Meta’s platforms. The lawsuit was filed in 2022 by Abraham Meareg, the son of an Ethiopian academic who was murdered after he was doxxed and threatened on Facebook, Fisseha Tekle, an Ethiopian human rights activist, who was also doxxed and threatened on Facebook, and Katiba Institute, a Kenyan non-profit that defends constitutionalism. They maintain that Facebook’s algorithm design and its content moderation decisions made in Kenya resulted in harm done to two of the claimants, fuelled the conflict in Ethiopia and led to widespread human rights violations within and outside Kenya.
The content in question falls outside the protected categories of speech under Article 33 of the Constitution of Kenya and includes propaganda for war, incitement to violence, hate speech and advocacy of hatred that constitutes ethnic incitement, vilification of others, incitement to cause harm and discrimination.
Key to the Kenyan case is the question whether Meta, a US-based corporation, can financially benefit from unconstitutional content and whether there is a positive duty on the corporation to take down unconstitutional content that also violates its Community Standards.
In affirming the Kenyan court’s jurisdiction in the case, the judge was emphatic that the Constitution of Kenya allows a Kenyan court to adjudicate over Meta’s acts or omissions regarding content posted on the Facebook platform that may impact the observance of human rights within and outside Kenya.
The Kenyan decision signals a paradigm shift towards platform liability where judges determine liability by solely asking the question: Do platform decisions observe and uphold human rights?
The ultimate goal of the Bill of Rights, a common feature in African constitutions, is to uphold and protect the inherent dignity of all people. Kenya’s Bill of Rights, for example, has as its sole mission to preserve the dignity of individuals and communities and to promote social justice and the realisation of the potential of all human beings. The supremacy of the Constitution also guarantees that, should there be safe harbour provisions in the laws of that country, they would not be a sufficient liability shield for platforms if their business decisions do not ultimately uphold human rights.
That a case on algorithm amplification has passed the jurisdiction hearing stage in Kenya is a testament that human rights law and constitutionality offer an opportunity for those who have suffered harm as a result of social media content to seek redress.
Up to this point, the idea that a social media platform can be held accountable for content on its platform has been dissuaded by the blanket immunity offered under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act in the US, and to a lesser extent, the principle of non-liability in the European Union, with the necessary exceptions detailed in various laws.
For example, Section 230 was one of the reasons a district judge in California cited in her ruling to dismiss a case filed by Myanmar refugees in a similar claim that Meta had failed to curb hate speech that fuelled the Rohingya genocide.
The aspiration for platform accountability was further dampened by the US Supreme Court decision in Twitter v Taamneh, in which it ruled against plaintiffs who sought to establish that social media platforms carry responsibility for content posted on them.
The immunity offered to platforms has come at a high cost, especially for victims of harm in places where platforms do not have physical offices.
This is why a decision like the one by the Kenyan courts is a welcome development; it restores hope that victims of platform harm have an alternative route to recourse, one that refocuses human rights into the core of the discussion on platform accountability.
The justification for safe harbour provisions like Section 230 has always been to protect “nascent” technologies from being smothered by the multiplicity of suits. However, by now, the dominant social media platforms are neither nascent nor in need of protection. They have both the monetary and technical wherewithal to prioritise people over profits, but choose not to.
As the Kenyan cases cascade through the judicial process, there is cautious optimism that constitutional and human rights law that has taken root in African countries can offer a necessary reprieve for platform arrogance.
Mercy Mutemi represents Fisseha Tekle in the case outlined in the article.
The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera’s editorial stance.
State Department move comes as Israel’s war and induced-famine in Gaza reach new extremes, with 61,827 killed so far.
The United States has announced that it is halting all visitor visas for people from Gaza pending a “a full and thorough” review, a day after social media posts about Palestinian refugees sparked furious reactions from right-wingers.
The Department of State’s move on Saturday came a day after far-right activist and Trump ally Laura Loomer posted on X that Palestinians “who claim to be refugees from Gaza” entered the US via San Francisco and Houston this month.
“How is allowing for Islamic immigrants to come into the US America First policy?” she said on X in a later post, going on to report further Palestinian arrivals in Missouri and claiming that “several US Senators and members of Congress” had texted her to express their fury.
Republican lawmakers speaking publicly about the matter included Chip Roy of Texas, who said he would inquire about the matter, and Randy Fine of Florida, who described the alleged arrivals as a “national security risk”.
By Saturday, the State Department announced it was stopping visas for “individuals from Gaza” while it conducted “a full and thorough review of the process and procedures used to issue a small number of temporary medical-humanitarian visas in recent days”. It did not provide a figure.
All visitor visas for individuals from Gaza are being stopped while we conduct a full and thorough review of the process and procedures used to issue a small number of temporary medical-humanitarian visas in recent days.
The US issued 640 visas to holders of the Palestinian Authority travel document in May, according to the Reuters news agency. B1/B2 visitor visas permit Palestinians to seek medical treatment in the US.
Loomer greeted Saturday’s State Department announcement with glee.
“It’s amazing how fast we can get results from the Trump administration,” she said on Saturday, though she later posted that more needed to be done to “highlight the crisis of the invasion happening in our country”.
While I appreciate the State Department and @marcorubio issuing this statement, I want to press even harder to highlight the crisis of the invasion happening in our country.
The visas and arrivals of GAZANS to US airports isn’t new. This has been drastically increasing in speed… https://t.co/mI5APTairz
The decision to cut visas comes as Israel intensifies its attacks on Gaza, where at least 61,827 people have been killed in the past 22 months, with the United Nations warning that “widespread starvation, malnutrition and disease” are driving a rise in famine-related deaths.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been pushing to seize Gaza City as part of a takeover of the Strip, forcibly displacing hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to concentration zones.
William and Kate are moving into Forest Lodge in Windsor
The Prince and Princess of Wales are set to move into a new home in Windsor.
William and Catherine will move to the eight-bedroom Forest Lodge in Windsor Great Park, with their children George, Charlotte and Louis.
The family have been living in Adelaide Cottage in the castle grounds since August 2022 but after a challenging 18 months that has seen the princess deal with a cancer diagnosis and treatment they have now decided to make a change.
“Windsor has become their home. However, over the last few years while they have lived at Adelaide Cottage there have been some really difficult times,” a royal source told the BBC.
“Moving gives them an opportunity for a fresh start and a new chapter.
“It’s an opportunity to leave some of the more unhappy memories behind,” the source said.
The royal couple see this as a move for the long-term and view Forest Lodge as their forever home.
It will be where they plan to live as a family when the Prince and Princess of Wales becomes King and Queen.
As with their four-bedroom Adelaide Cottage, it is understood they will not have any live-in staff as they focus on creating as private a family home as is possible.
William and Catherine announced they were moving from Kensington Palace in London to Windsor in August 2022.
They also have homes at Anmer Hall in Norfolk where they spend much of the school holidays and their offices remain at Kensington Palace.
The move to Windsor two years has been a successful one and afforded them the privacy and freedom that was more difficult to find in London.
It is understood the family are settled and the children are happy at Lambrook school where all three currently attend.
Any work carried out on Forest Lodge will not come from the Sovereign Grant which provides state funding for the monarchy.
The Prince and Princess of Wales are funding the move privately and they will pay market rent on the property.
Alberto Pezzali/PA Wire
The Prince and Princess of Wales currently live in Adelaide Cottage
In 2001, Forest Lodge underwent £1.5m restoration works and was put on the rental market for £15,000 a month.
Images inside the home taken at the time showed original stonework, elaborate plaster cornices and ceiling decoration, plus a half-barrel vaulted hallway ceiling.
Redacted planning applications lodged with the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead show permission for minor internal and external alterations was granted earlier this month.
The council’s decision notice refers to the removal of a window and works to a fireplace.
Forest Lodge is nestled in the heart of the 4,800-acre Windsor Great Park.
Kate has spoken of her belief in the healing power of the natural world and described nature as her “sanctuary”, while opening up about her “life-changing” cancer treatment.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Monday will meet US President Donald Trump in Washington to discuss an end to the more than three-year war in Ukraine, hours after Trump’s talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska ended without a concrete deal.
In a post on his Truth Social platform after holding phone conversations with European Union and NATO leaders, Trump said the talks with Putin “went very well”.
“It was determined by all that the best way to end the horrific war between Russia and Ukraine is to go directly to a Peace Agreement, which would end the war, and not a mere Ceasefire Agreement, which often times do not hold up.”
Trump’s pitch for the peace agreement, analysts say, came after no deal was announced in the Alaska talks. Prior to the meeting, Trump had threatened Moscow to agree to a ceasefire.
Al Jazeera’s Osama Bin Javaid, reporting from Moscow, said there has been an atmosphere of success in Moscow.
“Trump’s remarks on the need for a larger peace agreement fall in line with what Putin has been saying for the last few months,” he said.
The Ukrainian leader and his European allies, who have been seeking a ceasefire, welcomed the Trump-Putin talks on Saturday but emphasised the need for a security guarantee for Kyiv.
Zelenskyy, who was publicly berated by Trump and his officials during his last Oval Office meeting, said, “I am grateful for the invitation.” The Ukrainian leader said he had a “long and substantive conversation with Trump”.
“In my conversation with President Trump, I said that sanctions should be tightened if there is no trilateral meeting or if Russia evades an honest end to the war,” the Ukrainian leader said.
He said that Ukraine needed a real, long-lasting peace and not “just another pause” between Russian invasions.
“Security must be guaranteed reliably and in the long term, with the involvement of both Europe and the US,” he said on X following his call with the European leaders.
Zelenskiy stressed that territorial issues can only be decided with Ukraine.
Trilateral meeting
In his first public comment after the Alaska talks, Zelenskyy said he supported Trump’s proposal for a trilateral meeting between Ukraine, the US, and Russia, adding that Kyiv is “ready for constructive cooperation”.
“Ukraine reaffirms its readiness to work with maximum effort to achieve peace,” the Ukrainian president posted on X.
But Putin’s foreign affairs adviser, Yuri Ushakov, said on Russian state television on Saturday that a potential trilateral meeting between Trump, Putin and Zelenskyy has not been raised during the US-Russia discussions.
“The topic has not been touched upon yet,” Ushakov said, according to the Russian state news agency RIA Novosti.
Trump rolled out the red carpet on Friday for Putin, who was in the US for the first time in a decade, but he gave little concrete detail afterwards of what was discussed.
Trump said in Alaska that “there’s no deal until there’s a deal,” after Putin claimed the two leaders had hammered out an “understanding” on Ukraine and warned Europe not to “torpedo the nascent progress.”
Al Jazeera’s Charles Stratford, reporting from Kyiv, said Trump has been heavily criticised by the US media over the meeting in Alaska.
“They are concerned about what has been described as far more of a conciliatory tone by Trump towards Putin, without coming out of that meeting with even a ceasefire,” he said.
Stratford said that the eyes are now on the meeting in Washington as Zelenskyy and Trump try to set up a trilateral meeting with Putin.
“If all works out, we will then schedule a meeting with President Putin,” the US president said.
During an interview with Fox News Channel after the talks, Trump insisted that the onus going forward might be on Zelenskyy “to get it done,” but said there would also be some involvement from European nations.
Meanwhile, several European leaders on Saturday jointly pledged to continue support for Ukraine and maintain pressure on Russia until the war in Ukraine ends.
Europe’s stance
In a statement, EU leaders, including the French president and German chancellor, outlined key points in stopping the conflict.
They said: “Ukraine must have ironclad security guarantees to effectively defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity”.
Russia cannot have a veto against Ukraine‘s pathway to the EU and NATO, the statement said. “It will be up to Ukraine to make decisions on its territory. International borders must not be changed by force.”
Al Jazeera’s Hashem Ahelbarra, reporting from Brussels, said reaching a ceasefire in Ukraine is the priority of European leaders.
“They believe that there needs to be an immediate ceasefire before reaching a comprehensive deal on the future of Ukraine,” he said.
“Then they seek to provide security guarantees by deploying their own forces to make sure Russians will not violate the terms of that agreement,” our correspondent stressed, adding that European countries reject the notion of changing the borders by force.
Hind Hassan examines the prospect of a new nuclear arms race, the companies helping to fuel it, and the dangers it poses.
Eighty years after the first and only time nuclear weapons have been used – the US bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945 – the risk of the unthinkable happening again has never been greater.
The world’s largest nuclear powers – Russia and the United States – are as close as they’ve been to conflict since the height of the Cold War.
As they upgrade their nuclear capabilities, even talking openly about using them, all signs point to the beginnings of a second nuclear arms race.
Only this time, there aren’t just two players, but three: China, once a junior member of the nuclear club, is expanding its arsenal faster than any other nation.
A statement issued by the countries says the Israeli prime minister’s comments constitutes a direct threat to Arab national security and peace.
A coalition of Arab and Muslim nations has condemned “in the strongest terms” statements made by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu regarding his vision for a “Greater Israel”.
When interviewer Sharon Gal with the Israeli i24NEWS channel asked Netanyahu if he subscribed to a “vision” for a “Greater Israel”, Netanyahu said “absolutely”. Asked during the interview aired on Tuesday if he felt connected to the “Greater Israel” vision, Netanyahu said: “Very much.”
The “Greater Israel” concept supported by ultranationalist Israelis is understood to refer to an expansionist vision that lays claim to the occupied West Bank, Gaza, parts of Lebanon, Syria, Egypt and Jordan.
“These statements represent a grave disregard for, and a blatant and dangerous violation of, the rules of international law and the foundations of stable international relations,” said a joint statement by a coalition of 31 Arab and Islamic countries and the Arab League.
“They also constitute a direct threat to Arab national security, to the sovereignty of states, and to regional and international peace and security,” the statement released on Friday said.
The signatories of the statement included the secretaries-general of the League of Arab States, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation and the Gulf Cooperation Council.
The Arab and Islamic nations also condemned Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich’s announcement on Thursday to push ahead with settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank.
The statement said the move is “a blatant violation of international law and a flagrant assault on the inalienable right of the Palestinian people to realise their independent, sovereign state on the lines of June 4, 1967, with Occupied Jerusalem as its capital”.
The statement added that Israel has no sovereignty over occupied Palestinian territory.
Smotrich said he would approve thousands of housing units in a long-delayed illegal settlement project in the West Bank, saying the move “buries the idea of a Palestinian state”.
Last September, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) overwhelmingly adopted a resolution calling on Israel to end its illegal occupation of the Palestinian territories within 12 months.
Netanyahu and Smotrich made the remarks during Israel’s devastating 22-month war on Gaza, which has killed at least 61,827 people and wounded 155,275 people in the enclave.
Last week, Israel’s Security Cabinet approved Netanyahu’s plan to fully occupy Gaza City, and in Tuesday’s interview, Netanyahu also revived calls to “allow” Palestinians to leave Gaza, telling i24NEWS: “We are not pushing them out, but we are allowing them to leave.”
Campaigners said Netanyahu’s use of the word “leave” was a euphemism for the ethnic cleansing of Gaza – home to 2.1 million people, most of whom are refugees and their descendants from the 1948 Nakba when more than 700,000 Palestinians were forced to flee from what became the state of Israel.
Past calls to resettle people from Gaza outside the war-battered territory, including from United States President Donald Trump, have sparked fears of forced displacement among Palestinians and condemnation from the international community.
In their statement on Saturday, the Islamic countries reiterated their “rejection and condemnation of Israel’s crimes of aggression, genocide, and ethnic cleansing” in Gaza and highlighted the need for a ceasefire in the enclave while “ensuring unconditional access to humanitarian aid to halt the systematic starvation policy used by Israel as a weapon of genocide”.
They also reaffirmed their “complete and absolute rejection of the displacement of the Palestinian people in any form and under any pretext” and called on the international community to pressure Israel to halt its aggression and fully withdraw from the Gaza Strip.
