Three years of violent conflict have robbed nearly an entire generation of Palestinian children in Gaza of consistent, formal education — but for 13-year-old Akram Helles, the first day of the 2026 school year marked a long-awaited return to learning. On a sweltering September morning, the seventh-grader squeezed onto a thin foam mattress alongside dozens of classmates inside a white makeshift tent, the new campus of Gaza Municipality Preparatory School in Gaza City’s western Rimal neighborhood. At the front of the canvas structure, a single large whiteboard leans against the tent pole, with one small wooden chair set aside for their teacher. Temperatures inside climb to oppressive heights, and all students sit directly on the packed dirt ground, but none of that dims Helles’ excitement to be back in a classroom after years of interrupted schooling.\n\nAkram’s father, 38-year-old Mohammad Helles, told Middle East Eye that the family still can barely believe their son has finally accessed structured in-person learning after everything they have survived. Since the outbreak of full-scale conflict in 20023, Akram and his two siblings spent extended periods completely out of school, he explained. Remote online learning was unworkable for most families, and private schooling was completely out of reach, leaving the children trapped in educational limbo for years.\n\nAkram’s story is far from unique. According to the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF), roughly 700,000 Gaza students have been locked out of formal education since the conflict began. When the 2026 school year launched last Sunday, approximately 500,000 children were able to return to in-person learning for the first time in three years: 350,000 enrolled in public school programs, and another 150,000 joined facilities run by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA).\n\nBut the learning environments these children have returned to bear almost no resemblance to the schools they attended before the war. UNICEF data confirms that 98 percent of all schools across the Gaza Strip have sustained damage from Israeli military operations, with 80 percent hit directly by strikes. Most of the few surviving school buildings have been converted into emergency shelters for the hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians, leaving no space for regular classes.\n\nWorking in partnership with UNICEF, UNRWA and other international organizations, Gaza’s Ministry of Education has established a limited number of temporary learning spaces in displacement shelters and plastic tent campuses across the territory. Nearly all of these makeshift facilities lack basic necessities: there are almost no desks, chairs, or core infrastructure to support normal school operations.\n\nEven with these temporary spaces set up, access remains out of reach for thousands of children. The Helles family endured a long, frustrating process before they were able to secure enrollment for Akram and his siblings at a learning site near their displacement camp. Mohammad Helles explained that the family prioritized a local campus for a devastating reason: with the constant threat of sudden bombardment, they refuse to send children to schools far from home, and widespread transport collapse means even if they wanted to travel, distant schools are inaccessible.\n\nSecuring a spot is only the first hurdle. Helles, who lost his permanent job when the war began and now earns a meager income helping his brother run a small street stall, says he cannot afford even basic school supplies for his three children. Market prices for essential goods have skyrocketed amid the ongoing humanitarian crisis, and he has only been able to purchase the absolute bare minimum, forgoing extra clothing and non-essential supplies that most students take for granted.\n\nThe fragmented, under-resourced nature of Gaza’s 2026 school year extends far beyond a lack of supplies. To stretch limited classroom space as far as possible, the Ministry of Education introduced a rotational attendance system: boys attend classes three days a week (Saturdays, Mondays, Wednesdays), while girls attend on alternate days (Sundays, Tuesdays, Thursdays). Each school day is split into three separate shifts to cram as many students as possible into the limited available space.\n\nWhile the Helles children secured spots in free public education, hundreds of other families remain locked out entirely. Forty-three-year-old Osama Ayta has spent weeks searching for placements for his 8-year-old daughter Maria and 11-year-old son Thaer, with no luck. There is no free public school within safe distance of his current home, and sending the children long distances is unthinkable: roads are unsafe, social conditions remain unstable, and he lives in constant fear of harm coming to his children far from his side. Private schools, which have begun to reopen in limited numbers since the January 2025 ceasefire, charge tuition fees that Ayta, who has no steady source of income, cannot possibly pay. He has temporarily placed his children in a free informal learning center, but conditions there are dire, with no functional facilities, and he continues to search for a safer, more stable option.\n\nThe struggles of families like the Aytas lay bare the full scale of Gaza’s unfolding education crisis as the territory launches its first full formal school year since 2023. Wafa Maqat, 57-year-old principal of Gaza Municipality Preparatory School, told Middle East Eye that demand for placement far outstrips available capacity, and the daily challenges of running classes are almost overwhelming. \n\n“ We have very large numbers of students and overcrowded classrooms, while there is barely any school furniture. At our school, for example, there are no tables, chairs or cupboards,” Maqat said.\n\nOfficial Ministry of Education data confirms that only 208 government schools have been able to reopen for the 2026 year — less than a third of the 624 schools that would be required to accommodate all enrolled students. The ministry says it is working with international partners to build more temporary learning spaces to ease the shortage, but progress has been slow amid ongoing resource constraints.\n\nMaqat’s own school offers a stark snapshot of the systemic strain. The campus accommodates more than 350 students per shift, for a total enrollment of more than 2,100 children — and it only has four working bathrooms. “The sanitation situation is extremely difficult. There are too many students for four bathrooms, and there is not enough water. We are constantly facing water shortages,” Maqat explained. The school also lacks a dedicated drinking water tank, exacerbating the broader water crisis that has left displaced Gaza families in desperate straits.\n\nBeyond the current challenges of sweltering heat and overcrowding, schools operating out of tents are already bracing for the coming winter season. “In winter, we face major problems, whether it is the darkness inside the tents because there is no electricity, or rainwater flooding the floors. This forces students to get up from their mattresses and attend lessons standing,” Maqat said.\n\nThese harsh conditions make it far harder for educators to address the massive learning gap that has opened up after three years of missed school. “We are expected at this stage to make up for lost educational skills and bridge the gap. But the reality forces us to deal with basic survival problems on many levels simultaneously,” Maqat added. The Ministry of Education also cites widespread shortages of stationery and whiteboards, plus drastically low compensation for teachers, as additional barriers to rebuilding Gaza’s shattered education system.\n\nAs education officials struggle to address the crisis, families like the Aytas continue their daily fight to secure safe, consistent learning for their children. “After everything my children have lost in skills over the past years, we simply cannot afford to let them lose any more,” Ayta said. “I will keep searching until I ensure my children receive an education.”
作者： admin
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Trump reveals millions of dollars’ worth of share deals in big tech and AI
Newly released public financial filings have revealed that former and current U.S. President Donald Trump carried out millions of dollars in stock market transactions across July 2025, with positions in high-profile companies ranging from Elon Musk-led aerospace and technology firm SpaceX to major artificial intelligence leaders including Microsoft and Nvidia.
Per the official disclosure documents, third-party managers overseeing Trump’s investment portfolio executed sales of Microsoft stock valued between $6.5 million and $31 million during the month, while also purchasing additional Microsoft shares worth between $165,000 and $400,000. In total, more than 1,000 separate trades were recorded across the month, encompassing buy and sell orders for Nvidia, the global leading AI chip manufacturer, and Palantir Technologies, a private software contractor that holds major government contracts with the U.S. Department of Defense and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
The filings also confirm that Trump’s portfolio carried out transactions for two of Musk’s highest-profile public companies: SpaceX, which listed its shares on the Nasdaq stock exchange in June 2025, and Tesla, Musk’s electric vehicle and clean energy firm. Since its public debut, SpaceX has seen volatile share performance: the stock dropped sharply through July and August, but as of the latest trading data, it holds a 14% gain over its initial IPO offering price.
A spokesperson for the White House pushed back against potential ethics concerns, emphasizing that all of Trump’s stock and bond holdings are managed independently by external third-party investment professionals. Speaking to BBC, the spokesperson stated: “Neither President Trump nor any member of his family has any ability to direct, influence or provide input regarding how the portfolio is invested or when investments are bought or sold. There are no conflicts of interest.”
This round of disclosures marks the latest in a series of public trade reports from Trump, who has published regular details of his portfolio activity since returning to the White House in January 2025.
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Azerbaijan pardons Frenchman after EU lifts sanctions on Russian billionaire
In a connected sequence of diplomatic moves that have roiled European geopolitics, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has issued a presidential pardon for French national Martin Ryan, ordering his immediate release from prison just months after Ryan was convicted on espionage charges that both he and the French government have repeatedly rejected.
Ryan’s release came just hours after the European Union reached a controversial agreement to remove sanctions from two high-profile Russian billionaires, a decision that has drawn sharp condemnation from Ukraine and exposed deep divisions among EU member states. The case has also cast new light on shifting diplomatic negotiations between France, Azerbaijan, and EU powers amid ongoing fallout from Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Ryan, a French citizen detained in Baku in December 2023, was sentenced to 10 years in prison this past March after prosecutors accused him of collaborating with French intelligence service operatives in the Azerbaijani capital to collect sensitive information on Azerbaijan’s diplomatic ties with Turkey, Iran, and Pakistan, as well as on domestic companies linked to Russia and China. Throughout his trial, Ryan maintained his innocence, telling the court, “I did not spy. I am not a spy, and during the court case I tried to prove this.” The French government has also uniformly denied the espionage charges against him.
He is one of 20 individuals, including Azerbaijani and Turkish citizens, granted clemency under Aliyev’s pardon decree issued Wednesday. Notably, Azad Mamedli, a second defendant who stood trial alongside Ryan and received a 12-year prison sentence, was not included in the pardon. A second French national, Anass Derraz, also remains in Azerbaijani custody on separate charges of accepting a Russian bribe, with no indication of impending release.
The timing of Ryan’s pardon immediately followed the EU’s landmark decision to roll back sanctions on Russian-Uzbek billionaire Alisher Usmanov and Russian-Israeli oligarch Mikhail Fridman. Both tycoons had been placed under EU sanctions in 2022, shortly after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, alongside more than 3,000 other individuals and entities accused of supporting the Kremlin’s aggression. While the two oligarchs were removed from the EU sanctions list, the latest agreement extends sanctions on all other listed individuals and entities for an unprecedented three years, replacing the previous six-month renewal requirement.
At the time of his 2022 listing, the EU cited Usmanov’s “particularly close ties” to Russian President Vladimir Putin, noting he had “supported materially or financially and benefited from Russian decision-makers responsible for the annexation of Crimea and the destabilisation of Ukraine.” Usmanov has consistently denied these accusations, and he remains under separate sanctions imposed by the United Kingdom and United States. Diplomatic sources confirm Slovakia first proposed removing Usmanov’s sanctions designation, and France subsequently backed the move, citing its own national security concerns to justify the position. Latvia, which initially opposed the delisting, ultimately abstained from the vote but announced it would impose its own independent sanctions on both oligarchs, warning the decision carried major risks. “It is dangerous and sends completely the wrong signal at a time when Russia’s behaviour is becoming more aggressive,” Latvian Foreign Minister Baiba Braže said of the move. In a surprising twist tied to the negotiations, Latvian Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs confirmed French President Emmanuel Macron has agreed to launch accession talks for Latvia to join France’s nuclear deterrence initiative, a concession that helped ease Latvian objections to the sanctions rollback.
Ukrainian officials have issued scathing criticism of the EU’s decision. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha called out the bloc, arguing the Kremlin is already celebrating the outcome. “Moscow is celebrating, because it got what it wanted: a sense of impunity, the humiliation of the EU, and division among Europeans,” Sybiha said.
The pardon of Ryan comes as France works to reset its strained relations with Azerbaijan. For years, ties between Paris and Baku have been frosty due to France’s close diplomatic relationship with Azerbaijan’s regional rival Armenia. But in May of this year, Macron held talks with Aliyev focused on expanding bilateral cooperation, with Aliyev subsequently describing the opening of a “new era” in relations between the two countries. Political analysts have suggested Ryan’s release is likely a reciprocal gesture following France’s support for lifting Usmanov’s sanctions, though no official confirmation of any quid pro quo has emerged from either government.
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White House rolling out red carpet for historic Xi Jinping visit
As diplomatic preparations wrap up in Washington D.C., U.S. President Donald Trump is set to host Chinese President Xi Jinping for a landmark three-day state visit this week, a gathering that carries global implications as the world’s two largest powers negotiate critical agreements and longstanding points of tension. This trip marks Xi’s first formal state visit to the United States since 2015, and his third in-person meeting with Trump over the past 12 months, underscoring the urgency of the talks on the agenda.
The visit will open with a rare ceremonial greeting: Trump will personally welcome Xi at Andrews Air Force Base, followed by a military flyover and an official state dinner at the White House, a level of pageantry that foreign policy experts have described as unprecedented. Xi will be joined by First Lady Peng Liyuan, who is scheduled to tour the Smithsonian National Museum of Asian Art alongside U.S. First Lady Melania Trump on Thursday, alongside attending official social events during the summit.
The most pressing topic on the agenda is the upcoming expiration of the 2025 U.S.-China trade truce, set to end in November. The agreement, reached when the two leaders met in South Korea in October 2025, paused a planned round of steep U.S. tariffs on Chinese imports, while China rolled back restrictions on rare earth exports—materials critical to advanced U.S. manufacturing. Analysts and trade observers widely expect the two leaders to make an announcement regarding an extension of the truce during the summit, though preliminary talks held on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly last Tuesday failed to produce meaningful progress, multiple anonymous sources confirmed to the BBC. U.S. negotiators resumed bilateral talks with their Chinese counterparts in Washington on Wednesday, immediately following Xi’s arrival, with talks focused on non-tariff barriers and agricultural export access. The U.S. still carries a $91 billion trade deficit with China, per latest U.S. Census Bureau data, and Chinese rare earth exports to the U.S. have fallen despite the 2025 truce, creating lingering frictions ahead of the summit.
Artificial intelligence has also rapidly climbed the priority list for the meeting, according to China policy experts. The U.S. and China are locked in a widely documented global AI race, but growing bipartisan and public pressure has mounted on the Trump administration to agree to guardrails for AI development, following a string of high-profile AI-related security incidents. Senator Bernie Sanders publicly called this week on X (formerly Twitter) for Trump and Xi to immediately negotiate a treaty to pause advanced AI development and ban superintelligent systems, a call echoed by former White House senior adviser Steve Bannon and multiple congressional Republicans. However, President Trump has thus far resisted strict regulation, framing AI as a core driver of U.S. economic growth and a critical battleground in great power competition. “Whoever wins AI, wins,” Trump has repeatedly stated, prioritizing outpacing China’s AI development over sweeping restrictions. Still, experts including David Firestein of the Bush China Foundation say the two leaders are expected to explore limited avenues for collaborative governance of the emerging technology. Ahead of the summit, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent held what he called “very successful” preliminary talks with his Chinese counterpart He Lifeng on both trade and AI issues. In a sign of AI’s centrality to the summit, leading tech industry figures including OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, and X CEO Elon Musk are all confirmed guests at Thursday’s White House state dinner.
The third core sticking point on the agenda is Taiwan, a longstanding flashpoint in U.S.-China relations. The U.S. Congress has already approved a multibillion-dollar arms sales package to self-governing Taiwan, which is currently awaiting Trump’s signature. The president has delayed signing the measure to date, framing it as a bargaining chip in negotiations with Beijing. China has long maintained that Taiwan is part of its territory and has not ruled out the use of force to achieve reunification, and Firestein says Beijing will push for Trump to extend the delay or cancel the arms sale entirely.
Both leaders face domestic economic pressures heading into the meeting: Xi is navigating slowing growth at home, and is eager to discuss deepening bilateral trade ties to support Chinese economic activity. For Trump, any move toward closer trade relations carries political risks, as hardline factions within his own administration and base hold deep suspicions of Chinese economic and geopolitical goals. Just last month, U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy issued a public letter to Ford Motor Company urging the automaker to cut all commercial ties with China, citing national security risks and the protection of U.S. manufacturing jobs.
Despite widespread expectations that major breakthroughs on any of the core issues are unlikely this week, Trump has repeatedly framed personal, high-level engagement with Xi as a critical step toward reducing bilateral confrontation. “Trump has made a decision that no matter what, we need to not have a confrontational relationship with China,” explained Stephen Orlins, president of the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations. “He believes that the more he and President Xi meet, the less confrontational that relationship will be, and he is right,” Orlins added.
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The moment Antonelli knew he had been transformed as an F1 driver
As the Formula 1 grid prepares for the upcoming Azerbaijan Grand Prix, 20-year-old Italian rising star Kimi Antonelli holds an extraordinary 81-point lead over his Mercedes teammate George Russell in the drivers’ championship standings — a gap that has all but secured the title barring a catastrophic string of misfortunes. In an exclusive interview with BBC Sport, Antonelli opened up about the dramatic mental shift and years of behind-the-scenes work that turned a rocky debut season into a historic breakout campaign in just his second year on the F1 grid.
Expectations for Antonelli were muted heading into the 2026 season. A difficult 2025 rookie campaign, where he was thoroughly outperformed by Russell and struggled to unlock his full potential behind the wheel, left many tipping the experienced Briton as Mercedes’ leading contender for the championship as the sport entered a new regulatory era. But Antonelli sensed a turning point as soon as he took the 2026 Mercedes out for its first test laps on a cold, wet January day at Silverstone.
“After just a few laps in the wet, I immediately felt better in the car than I ever did last year,” Antonelli recalled. “The car was solid, but the biggest difference was here in my head. I was less tense, more relaxed, and far more mature — everything just clicked.” Looking back on 2025, he described the season as defined by constant tension: “I was never able to pull the full potential out of myself, that year was just not great. This year is completely different, and the mindset change is the biggest reason why.”
That first test session wasn’t the only moment that revealed how far Antonelli had come. At the opening round of the season in Australia, a heavy crash in third practice left his car heavily damaged, requiring a miracle effort from the Mercedes mechanics to rebuild it in time for qualifying and the race. Though the crash compromised the car’s setup and left him starting further back than expected, Antonelli charged through the field to finish less than three seconds behind race winner Russell. “After that, I knew this season would be a different story,” he said. “If that crash had happened last year, I never would have been able to bounce back from it.”
A big part of Antonelli’s newfound mental calm came from finally leaving a defining early incident behind him. Ahead of his 2025 rookie debut, Mercedes gave him a surprise first practice outing at the 2024 Italian Grand Prix at Monza, to replace Lewis Hamilton who was departing for Ferrari. He set a blistering fast time on his first flying lap — then crashed heavily on his second. The incident stayed with him for more than a year, haunting his entire rookie season.
“Monza stayed in my head for all of last year, it was holding me back,” Antonelli said. “I was so afraid of making a mistake, especially when I was already going through a tough stretch. Every time I got in the car, that memory was there, and I was worried that another mistake would make everything worse. This year, I was finally able to put that behind me.”
That shift didn’t happen by accident. Antonelli put in months of intense pre-season preparation, including extensive work with a mental skills coach to reframe his approach to racing. “The main goal going into this season was to unlock more of my potential, and first of all just be better than I was last year,” he explained. “A lot of the work was about getting my head right, understanding what my goal really is, and learning to stay present in the moment. I don’t waste energy thinking about the final championship result or what would happen if I fail. I just focus on doing the best I can right now.”
Even with all that preparation, Antonelli admits he is surprised by just how dominant his form has been. He has claimed eight wins from 14 races so far, with blistering pace at every track on the calendar, seamless recovery drives when he drops back, and decisive, clean overtakes that have left fans and pundits stunned. Russell, by contrast, has openly struggled this season, saying his driving style is a poor match for the new generation of F1 cars, even as he praises his teammate’s breakthrough.
When asked how much of his lead comes from his own improvement versus Russell’s struggles, Antonelli was clear: he has stepped his game up to a whole new level. “I’ve definitely elevated my performance this year,” he said. “Everything about the cars is new this season, it requires a completely different approach, and adapting hasn’t been easy. But I’ve found a good rhythm, stuck to my routines for every race weekend, and that’s what’s kept me consistent.”
He’s still human, though, and has made small missteps along the way. After a career-defining dominant win in Monaco, he arrived in Barcelona overexcited, overdrove qualifying, and ended up starting well down the grid. He learned the lesson quickly: after a spectacular victory from 19th on the grid at Monza — a win Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff said “closed the cycle” on his 2024 crash — Antonelli reminded himself not to repeat the Monaco mistake, and went on to win the Spanish Grand Prix just seven days later.
His historic success has brought inevitable fame and increased public attention, something the young driver says he is still adjusting to. “Life has changed a lot, that’s no lie,” he said. “It’s amazing to see so much support from fans all over the world, that’s the nice side of it. But you have to be careful, you’re way more exposed now, so you have to protect your space a little more.”
For most of the season, Antonelli has stuck to his philosophy of focusing on the process, one race at a time, rather than looking ahead to the championship. Now, for the first time, he acknowledges he’s thought about what it would mean to win the title — a result that would make him the youngest world champion in F1 history. “Yeah, I’ve thought about it,” he admitted. “But every time I do, I come back to the same conclusion: the sooner I keep pushing and get this done, the better. I just have to keep doing my best at every race, until it’s all over. It’s not done until it’s done.”
With eight to nine races remaining on the 2026 calendar (the final schedule remains impacted by ongoing conflict in the Middle East), all eyes will be on Antonelli as he heads to Baku this weekend, looking to extend his already unassailable lead and close in on a historic first world title.
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Watch: Why is the UK reviewing its Chagos Islands deal?
In a surprise announcement that has reignited debate over the future of the disputed Indian Ocean archipelago, the United Kingdom’s top defense official has confirmed that the British government is conducting a full review of the agreement to transfer sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius. The confirmation of the review comes after months of mounting political pressure from opposition groups and some backbench lawmakers in the ruling party, who have raised questions over the strategic and legal implications of the 2024 preliminary deal that was struck between London and Port Louis.
The Chagos Islands have been a source of diplomatic tension between the UK and Mauritius for more than half a century. The UK separated the archipelago from Mauritius ahead of Mauritius’s independence in 1968 to allow the United States to build a major military base on the largest island, Diego Garcia. For decades, Mauritius has challenged the UK’s control of the territory, with the International Court of Justice issuing an advisory ruling in 2019 that demanded the UK end its occupation of the islands and return them to Mauritian control.
The original deal, announced earlier this year, was billed as a resolution to the long-running dispute, with the UK agreeing to transfer full sovereignty over the archipelago in exchange for Mauritius granting the US continued access to the Diego Garcia military base, a critical logistics and intelligence hub for Western operations in the Middle East and Indo-Pacific. However, critics in the UK have argued that the agreement undermines British national security interests and sets a dangerous precedent for territorial concessions. The defense secretary’s confirmation of the review indicates the current British administration is pausing to re-evaluate the terms of the agreement before moving forward with ratification, leaving the final outcome of the decades-long sovereignty dispute uncertain once again.
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Angry Anderson, rock star who soundtracked Kylie’s wedding in Neighbours, dies aged 79
Beloved Australian rock icon Angry Anderson, best known to global audiences for his hit single that soundtracked one of the most iconic television weddings in pop culture history, has passed away at the age of 79. Born Gary Anderson in 1947 in Melbourne, he carved out a decades-long, influential career in rock music that left an enduring mark both in his home country and across the world.
Anderson first stepped into the spotlight in 1976 as the founding frontman of Rose Tattoo, a hard rock outfit that quickly earned a reputation as one of Australia’s most revered and respected bands. The group made its official recording debut in 1978 with their self-titled first album, and went on to release four more full-length records before an initial split in 1987, when Anderson shifted his focus to a solo career.
It was that same year that Anderson’s most famous work, *Suddenly*, co-written and released by the singer in summer 1987, became a global phenomenon. Kylie Minogue, who starred as Charlene Mitchell on the hit Australian soap opera *Neighbours*, insisted the track be used for Charlene’s 1988 wedding to Jason Donovan’s character Scott Robinson. Anderson would later say that *Suddenly* was the finest song he ever wrote, and the exposure from the wedding scene — which drew 20 million viewers in the United Kingdom alone — catapulted the track to the top 3 of the singles charts in both the UK and Australia, only blocked from the number one spot in Australia by Minogue’s own debut solo hit *The Loco-Motion*.
After releasing two solo albums, Anderson reunited with Rose Tattoo in 1993 to open for legendary rock band Guns N’ Roses on their Australian tour. The band reformed permanently for headline touring in 1998, and capped their legacy with induction into the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) Hall of Fame in 2006. Beyond his rock career, Anderson stretched into theater, playing the role of Herod in an Australian stage production of *Jesus Christ Superstar*, and earned widespread recognition for his community work: he was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia in 1993 for his advocacy for young people and extensive charitable service.
Just one month before his death, Anderson suffered a cardiac arrest while Rose Tattoo was on a farewell tour across Europe. He received immediate medical care overseas before returning to Australia to recover, and the band canceled nine scheduled tour dates in the wake of the medical incident.
Tributes have poured in from across the entertainment industry following news of his passing. Jason Donovan shared a heartfelt tribute on Instagram, writing: “Legend! What a great guy. Another great Australian. Thank you Angry for all the wonderful music and memories. Condolences to all friends and family.”
In a joint statement released by Anderson’s family and Rose Tattoo, the singer was remembered as a “devoted father, and much-loved bandmate.” The statement added: “His loss will be deeply felt by all those who knew and loved him both here in Australia and overseas. We thank everyone for their prayers and messages of love and continued support.”
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Trump to CNN: ‘You shouldn’t be here’
A tense public confrontation unfolded between former President Donald Trump and CNN correspondent Kaitlan Collins on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, marking a new escalation in the longtime tensions between the Trump administration and the major cable news network. The clash came after CNN was officially stripped of its press access to the White House grounds, a move that had already drawn sharp criticism from press freedom advocates across the political spectrum. As Collins approached Trump to ask questions during the high-profile international gathering, the former president directly addressed her, stating forcefully that the outlet did not belong at the event. The exchange immediately drew global media attention, reigniting debates about the relationship between sitting U.S. executive branch leadership and independent press, as well as the implications for journalistic access in political spaces. The confrontation underscored the deep divisions between the Trump White House and major mainstream media outlets, which had frequently clashed over coverage of the administration’s policies and actions throughout its tenure.
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UK to review Chagos Islands deal over lack of US support, Streeting tells BBC
The United Kingdom has launched an informal review of its 2025 sovereignty agreement that would cede control of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, UK Defence Secretary Wes Streeting has confirmed, following renewed public criticism of the pact from US President Donald Trump at the United Nations General Assembly this week.
The original deal, negotiated and signed under former UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer in May 2025, was designed to resolve a decades-long sovereignty dispute over the Indian Ocean archipelago. Under its terms, the UK would transfer full sovereignty of the islands to Mauritius in exchange for a 99-year lease on the strategic UK-US military base located on Diego Garcia, the archipelago’s largest island. The UK government initially projected the total net cost of the agreement at £3.4 billion, or roughly £101 million ($136 million) in annual payments to Mauritius, though political opponents have argued inflation-adjusted costs could reach as high as £35 billion, with additional risks of expanded Chinese influence in the region.
The agreement hit a deadlock in April of this year when Trump withdrew US support, forcing the Starmer administration to pause the deal indefinitely ahead of its parliamentary ratification. Streeting made clear in comments to BBC Breakfast on Wednesday that the review is a direct response to Washington’s opposition, noting that Trump’s recent public criticism clarified his unchanged stance on the unamended draft. “What President Trump said yesterday wasn’t new but I think it does provide absolute clarity that his position on this Chagos deal as currently drafted is not changing,” Streeting told reporters. “So we have to do more work with our American allies, with President Trump and his administration, to get the deal to a place where he can support it.”
The Diego Garcia base has long been viewed as one of the West’s most critical strategic assets in the Indian Ocean, giving UK and US military forces unmatched access to a region that has grown in geopolitical importance in recent decades. Successive UK prime ministers have held that the ongoing unresolved sovereignty dispute, which has backing from international courts, puts the long-term security of the base at risk. Streeting emphasized that the core priority of the ongoing review is to secure long-term stability and certainty for the base’s operations.
The renewed public scrutiny of the deal came during Trump’s first in-person meeting with current UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York, where Trump publicly called the agreement “terrible” and stated the UK would revisit the terms. Burnham simply replied “Yep” during the exchange, and later clarified to reporters that his government inherited the negotiations and is committed to finding a workable resolution that protects the base’s future. “It’s critical to safeguard the future of the base, and that matters to us for security reasons, but also clearly to the United States as well,” Burnham said. “What I said in the meeting is that we will work to find that resolution between the different sides, and we’ll work hard to find it.”
Ahead of his UN trip, Burnham spoke with Mauritian Prime Minister Navin Ramgoolam, and an official readout of the conversation confirmed Burnham “reiterated his commitment to continue doing everything possible” alongside the US to advance the deal toward ratification. Downing Street sources have stressed that the current review does not represent a major policy shift from the previous position, which has always required US backing to move forward, though Streeting’s comments marked the first explicit public confirmation that the unamended draft cannot gain Trump’s support. Officials added that the review is not a formal, time-bound process, and no public funds will be transferred to Mauritius while the assessment is underway.
Political opposition figures have seized on the review to call for the entire deal to be scrapped. Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch urged Burnham to abandon the agreement entirely, calling it a “terrible deal” that serves no UK national interest. Reform UK leader Nigel Farage went further, declaring “The Chagos deal is dead. Thank God.”
The dispute over the Chagos Islands dates back to 1965, when the UK separated the archipelago from Mauritius ahead of granting Mauritius independence, a move Mauritius has long argued was illegal. In 2019, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) issued a non-binding advisory opinion confirming the separation was unlawful and calling on the UK to end its administration of the islands as quickly as possible. The UN General Assembly endorsed the opinion, strengthening Mauritius’ sovereignty claims and pushing the UK to open formal negotiations in 2022.
Streeting told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that the goal of the current process is to find a compromise that can be accepted by all stakeholders. “Describing the Diego Garcia base as “one of the most sensitive and valuable national security assets”, he said work was underway to find a deal “that maybe not everyone loves, but everyone can live with.”
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Trump again threatens to ‘annihilate’ Iran in genocidal UN speech
During a Tuesday address to global leaders assembled at the United Nations General Assembly in New York City, former U.S. President Donald Trump delivered a rambling, factually contested speech that included open genocidal threats against the Islamic Republic of Iran, drawing sharp condemnation from policy experts, activists, and legal scholars across the international community.
In the speech, Trump, who launched an illegal offensive against Iran nearly seven months prior, issued an ultimatum to Iranian leadership, threatening to completely “annihilate” the nation if they refused to accept a U.S.-drafted peace deal. “I have a big decision to make,” Trump told the assembled assembly. “Will a deal be made with Iran that lets them rebuild and create a far greater country than it ever was, maybe one of the greatest in the Middle East or even the world? Or do I annihilate the Islamic Republic and do it quickly, never giving them a chance to kill and destroy people and countries again?”
Continuing his provocative remarks, Trump added, “Do I drive them into hell with no chance of survival and no hope of future greatness or generations?” He went on to predict a deal would be struck after the upcoming U.S. midterm elections, claiming Iranian leaders were waiting to see the election’s outcome while incorrectly noting that he was not on the ballot, having already won the presidency in a landslide. This threat of national annihilation marks a continuation of hostile rhetoric Trump has employed against Iran since his first term in office, but the open brazenness of the threat delivered from the UN podium sparked widespread shock among observers.
Maryam Jamshidi, an associate professor at the University of Colorado Law School, highlighted the unprecedented severity of the moment in a post on X. “It’s one thing to make genocidal threats against a nation on social media. It’s another thing to do it from the podium of the UN. That’s what Donald Trump just did. He used his speech at the UN to threaten Iran with annihilation.” Jamshidi called on UN Secretary-General António Guterres and all UN member states to formally condemn Trump’s threat.
Independent journalist Taylor Noakes echoed criticism of global inaction, arguing that the most troubling aspect of the incident was the silence from other Western democratic leaders. “What’s particularly sad about this (aside from the fact he’ll likely never be prosecuted for war crimes) is how so many leaders of other liberal democracies have stood by and done nothing while the Americans make a mockery of the UN as an instrument for global order,” Noakes said.
VoteVets, a Democratic-aligned veterans advocacy organization, accused Trump of openly contemplating war crimes on the global stage, labeling his threat “deranged and dangerous.” Award-winning journalist Mehdi Hasan called the incident a new low for global governance, noting, “For shame. The president of the United States goes to the United Nations and threatens genocide against a UN member state in front of the world. This is where we’re at.”
Matt Duss, executive vice president at the Center for International Policy and a former senior advisor to independent U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders, described the remarks as “dangerously unhinged.” “Such rhetoric is not merely reckless, it is a criminal threat of genocide against an entire nation,” Duss said. “US lawmakers and US partners around the world should condemn Trump’s remarks and take all due steps to bring an end to the war on Iran.”
Beyond the threats against Iran, Trump’s speech was filled with multiple verifiably false claims and unsubstantiated assertions, including a baseless boast that the U.S. had destroyed 97% of illicit drug shipments traveling across international oceans via a campaign of strikes on suspected cartel vessels. Reporting from *The New York Times*, which draws on data from U.S. Southern Command and current Trump administration officials, confirms that at least 234 people have been killed in no fewer than 70 strikes on suspected smuggling boats in the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean. To date, the Trump administration has not released credible evidence to back its claims that all targeted vessels were engaged in drug trafficking.
Regional leaders and family members of those killed in the strikes argue that many of the victims were civilian fishermen with no ties to organized narcotrafficking. Legal experts have further concluded that the strikes violate core tenets of international law, regardless of the status of the vessels targeted.
Other false claims included the unsubstantiated assertion that the Iranian government had killed 72,000 people in 2026, a false claim that a U.S. invasion of Venezuela and abduction of sitting President Nicolas Maduro left the U.S. in control of more than 60% of global oil reserves, a false statement that his administration had ended the ongoing war in Gaza, and an inaccurate claim that he had successfully negotiated an end to eight separate global conflicts during his prior tenure.
Craig Mokhiber, a former senior United Nations official who resigned in protest of the world body’s failure to stop Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, called the speech a wake-up call for global leaders. “Donald Trump’s maniacal rant before the UN General Assembly today, complete with ridiculous braggadocio, narcissistic puffery, an almost unbroken line of absurd, demonstrable lies, open criminality, and deranged, murderous threats, should awaken even the most cowardly and complicit among world leaders that their attempts at appeasement of Trump and the tyrannical axis that he leads can only result in further aggression, economic terrorism, murder, and genocide,” Mokhiber said.
He added, “The world must unite to counter the threat and to defend peace, human rights, and the rule of law, which are, after all, declared purposes of the UN.”