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  • Brazil’s Joelinton sidelined for World Cup qualifiers after Newcastle injury

    Brazil’s Joelinton sidelined for World Cup qualifiers after Newcastle injury

    Midfielder Joelinton will miss Brazil’s remaining World Cup qualifiers due to an injury sustained during Newcastle United’s 3-2 defeat to Liverpool in the Premier League, the Brazilian Football Confederation said on Wednesday.

    The 29-year-old left the pitch visibly upset during the second half of Monday’s game and manager Eddie Howe confirmed afterwards that the injury was serious, saying: “Joey, it doesn’t look great, to be honest.”

    Brazil coach Carlo Ancelotti called up Bahia’s Jean Lucas on Wednesday for the remaining qualifiers. Flamengo left-back Alex Sandro has also been withdrawn due to injury.

     

    Read More: West Ham, Leeds and Sunderland knocked out of League Cup

    Brazil face Chile at the Maracana stadium on September 4, before travelling to Bolivia for their final qualifier five days later.

    The team are third in the CONMEBOL qualifying standings with 25 points.

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • Stars and geopolitics share the spotlight at Venice Film Festival

    Stars and geopolitics share the spotlight at Venice Film Festival

    VENICE: The Venice Film Festival opens on Wednesday, drawing Hollywood royalty, European auteurs and Asian masters, plus a strong dose of political tension as Israel’s war in Gaza casts a shadow over the Lido.

    The 11-day event fires the starting gun for the awards season, with films premiering here over the past four years collecting more than 90 Oscar nominations and winning almost 20, making it top draw for actors, producers and directors alike.

    Among the A-listers expected on the red carpet are Julia Roberts, Emma Stone, George Clooney, Dwayne Johnson, Emily Blunt, Andrew Garfield, Oscar Isaac and Amanda Seyfried, while the programme spans psychological thrillers, art house dramas, documentaries and splashy studio-backed productions.

    The celebration of cinema is also colliding with geopolitics.

    A collective of film industry figures, Venice4Palestine, has urged the festival to take a robust stand over the war in Gaza, calling on the organisers to promote Palestinian voices and denounce Israeli actions in Gaza.

    The appeal was signed by more than 1,500 people, including directors such as Ken Loach and Matteo Garrone, and actors Toni Servillo, Charles Dance and Alba Rohrwacher.

    Festival director Alberto Barbera told Reuters on Tuesday that Venice welcomed open debate, but dismissed calls for Israeli filmmakers and actors to be barred from the Lido, the thin barrier island a short boat trip from the main city that hosts the festival.

    “We don’t boycott anyone, of course, and we’re open to all the possible speeches about the contemporary situation, which is the way of better understanding how to solve this huge mass of problems that we have to face every day,” he said.

    PALESTINIAN GIRL

    One of the films in the main competition tackles the war in Gaza head on.

    “The Voice of Hind Rajab”, directed by Tunisia’s Kaouther Ben Hania, tells the true story of a 5-year-old Palestinian girl who was killed in the territory in 2024 after being trapped for hours in a vehicle targeted by Israeli forces.

    “I think it is one of the films that will make the greatest impression,” Barbera predicted last month.

    International politics and global intrigue feature strongly in the 82nd edition of the world’s oldest film festival.

    Director Kathryn Bigelow will premiere her nuclear thriller “A House of Dynamite” on the Lido, while Olivier Assayas will present “The Wizard of the Kremlin”, which looks at the rise of Vladimir Putin, with Jude Law playing the Russian leader.

    “It’s the comeback of a cinema of reality, the sensibility of the filmmakers, invested a lot in reflecting on the major problems of our contemporary world,” said Barbera.

    Streaming giant Netflix, which skipped Venice last year, returns in force with not just the Bigelow movie, but also Guillermo del Toro’s re-telling of “Frankenstein” and Noah Baumbach’s comedy-drama “Jay Kelly” competing for the coveted Golden Lion award.

    Other highlights include Italian director Paolo Sorrentino’s “La Grazia”, which will open the festival, Yorgos Lanthimos’s satire “Bugonia”, Jim Jarmusch’s family triptych “Father Mother Sister Brother”, and Benny Safdie’s fighter biopic “The Smashing Machine”.

    A very different biopic is “The Testament of Ann Lee” – a musical take on the life of the radical 18th-century Shaker leader, which is directed by Norway’s Mona Fastvold.

    Read More: Venice jury chief says films don’t change the world, but document it

    A trio of films from Asia are also in the main competition – “Girl” by Taiwan’s Shu Qi, “No Other Choice” by South Korea’s Park Chan-wook and “The Sun Rises on Us All” by China’s Cai Shangjun.

    Out of competition, but still very much in the limelight, Luca Guadagnino presents his #MeToo-themed “After The Hunt” with Julia Roberts, who will be making her Venice red carpet debut.

    The main jury is chaired by U.S. director Alexander Payne, joined by fellow filmmakers Stéphane Brizé, Maura Delpero, Cristian Mungiu and Mohammad Rasoulof, alongside actresses Fernanda Torres and Zhao Tao.

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • Venice jury chief says films don’t change the world, but document it

    Venice jury chief says films don’t change the world, but document it

    VENICE: U.S. director Alexander Payne, president of the jury at this year’s Venice Film Festival, said on Wednesday that while movies rarely alter the course of society, they serve as vital documents of their times and shape memory.

    “Can a film really change society or culture? I don’t know. Doubtful,” Payne said, recalling that films such as Charlie Chaplin’s “The Great Dictator” did not stop World War Two, but rather showed that people were aware of what was going on.

    “We have those as documents and, as such, we can try to learn from them,” he said ahead of the formal opening of the 11-day festival later on Wednesday.

    Payne, whose credits include the Oscar-winning comedies “Sideways” and “The Holdovers”, lamented the shrinking space for theatrical releases in the age of streaming, saying movies that were only seen online struggled to make a broad impact on society.

    “It’s typically films which have theatrical release, which become a part of a cinema conversation, of a cultural conversation, and then have some kind of impact,” he said.

    Big streamers such as Netflix and Amazon regularly showcase their films at Venice but then offer little or no exposure for those movies in cinemas, reserving them instead for their subscribers.

    In the run-up to the 2025 event, some 1,500 film industry figures signed a petition urging the festival to take a robust stand over the war in Gaza, calling on the organisers to promote Palestinian voices and denounce Israeli actions.

    Payne declined to say if he supported their call, while the head of the festival, Alberto Barbera, said he welcomed open debate but rejected suggestions that Israeli filmmakers or actors should be banned.

     

    Read More: When is Venice Film Festival 2025 and what can we expect?

    “We reject outright the demand to disinvite artists who wish to take part in the festival. At the same time, we have never hesitated to express our enormous anguish at what is happening in Gaza,” he told reporters.

    The Venice festival opens on Wednesday night with the world premiere of Italian director Paolo Sorretino’s “La Grazia.”

    The event ends on September 6 when Payne and his fellow jury members announce who has won the top Golden Lion award.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • Judge extends block on Trump administration’s efforts to deport migrant Abrego

    Judge extends block on Trump administration’s efforts to deport migrant Abrego

    WASHINGTON: Kilmar Abrego, the migrant whose wrongful deportation to his native El Salvador made him a symbol of President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown, must remain in the United States through at least October, a judge said during a court hearing on Wednesday.

    The hearing before U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis in Maryland signaled that Abrego’s legal battle is far from over, with his attorneys vowing to pursue multiple avenues to block the Trump administration’s latest plan to deport him to Uganda.

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    During the hearing, Xinis extended an earlier order from Monday that temporarily prohibited Abrego’s removal from the continental United States while she considers a petition he filed seeking to block his deportation.

    Xinis also said Abrego, currently being held at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center in Virginia, should remain within 200 miles of her courthouse in Greenbelt, Maryland.

    The judge said she intends to rule within 30 days of the Oct. 6 hearing.

    The Trump administration’s push to deport Abrego, 30, to an African country where he has no ties is the latest twist in a saga that began in March, when U.S. authorities accused him of being a gang member and sent him to an El Salvadoran prison despite an order from a U.S. immigration judge prohibiting his deportation to that country .

    Abrego was brought back in June to face criminal charges of transporting migrants living in the United States illegally.

    He has pleaded not guilty and his lawyers have accused the administration of vindictive prosecution. He also has denied the administration’s claims that he is a gang member.

    Abrego, a sheet metal worker who entered the United States illegally, had been living in Maryland with his wife, their child and two of her children – all of whom are American citizens – when he was arrested and sent to El Salvador.

    Abrego’s lawyer said during Wednesday’s hearing that he will seek asylum in the United States through a separate proceeding before an immigration judge.

    His lawyers have said that the administration’s handling of the case is indicative of the Republican president’s push to expand executive power in immigration matters at the expense of due process mandated by the U.S. Constitution.

  • Sweden call up Isak despite his standoff with Newcastle

    Sweden call up Isak despite his standoff with Newcastle

    Sweden have called up for next month’s World Cup qualifiers despite the striker’s standoff with his Premier League club Newcastle United.

    Alexander Isak missed Newcastle’s pre-season tour and was left to train alone after he tried to force a transfer, a situation his manager Eddie Howe described as “lose-lose”.

    “First and foremost, it is not an ideal situation. Ideally, the player should have been training and playing with the club team,” Sweden coach Jon Dahl Tomasson said on Wednesday.

    Arsenal striker Viktor Gyokeres has also been called up, but Tottenham Hotspur’s Dejan Kulusevski will miss out through injury and captain Victor Lindelof is unavailable after leaving Manchester United and not having joined another club.

    Read More: Liverpool to make one last attempt to sign Isak: report

    “Victor (Lindelof) is an important player for us, but right now he doesn’t have a club and hasn’t trained collectively,” Tomasson said.

    Sweden play away games against Slovenia on September 5 and Kosovo three days later.

    Earlier, As the transfer window deadline day is fast approaching, it looks like Liverpool are reportedly making a one last attempt to sign Alexander Isak this summer for Newcastle United.

    The development of the most discussed transfer this summer was confirmed by renowned football journalist Fabrizio Romano.

    The 25-year-old fears that  Newcastle will not be able to match his trophy-winning ambitions as he tries to move away from the club this summer.

    Isak has also accused Newcastle of ‘broken promises’ and ‘misleading fans’.

    Liverpool had offered a six-year deal to Isak, which was reportedly worth £110million plus add-ons, but this was swiftly rejected by Newcastle.

     

  • Europeans likely to initiate UN sanctions process on Iran on Thursday, sources say

    Europeans likely to initiate UN sanctions process on Iran on Thursday, sources say

    PARIS/DUBAI: Britain, France and Germany are likely to begin the process of reimposing U.N. sanctions on Iran on Thursday, but hope Tehran will provide commitments over its nuclear programme within 30 days that will convince them to defer concrete action, four diplomats said.

    The trio, known as the E3, met Iran on Tuesday to try to revive diplomacy over the nuclear programme before they lose the ability in mid-October to restore sanctions on Tehran that were lifted under a 2015 nuclear accord with world powers.

    Three European diplomats and a Western diplomat said Tuesday’s talks did not yield sufficiently tangible commitments from Iran, although they believed there was scope for further diplomacy in the coming weeks.

    They said the E3 had decided to start triggering the so-called snapback of U.N. sanctions, possibly as early as Thursday, over accusations that Iran has violated the 2015 deal with world powers that aimed to prevent Tehran from developing a nuclear weapon.

    The West says the advancement of Iran’s nuclear programme goes beyond civilian needs, while Tehran denies it is seeking nuclear weapons.

    The U.N process takes 30 days before sanctions that would cover Iran’s financial, banking, hydrocarbons and defence sectors were restored.

    “The real negotiations will start once the letter (to the U.N. Security Council) is submitted,” the Western diplomat said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

    A German foreign ministry spokesperson said triggering the snapback remained an option for the E3. The British and French foreign ministries did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

    Tehran has warned of a “harsh response” if sanctions are reinstated.

    NUCLEAR INSPECTORS

    U.N. nuclear inspectors have returned to Iran for the first time since it suspended cooperation with them in the wake of Israel and the United States’ attacks on its nuclear sites in June, Iranian state media reported on Wednesday.

    International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi said on Tuesday they had been allowed into the country, although there was no agreement on what they would actually be allowed to do there or whether they would have access to nuclear facilities.

    Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi also told lawmakers Tehran had not reached an agreement on how it would resume full work with the watchdog, parliament news agency ICANA reported.

    The E3 have offered to delay the snapback for as much as six months to enable serious negotiations if Iran resumes full U.N. inspections – which would also seek to account for Iran’s large stock of enriched uranium that has not been verified since the attacks – and engages in talks with the United States.

    Iran has been enriching uranium to up to 60% fissile purity, a short step from the roughly 90% of weapons-grade, and had enough material enriched to that level, if refined further, for six nuclear weapons, before the strikes by Israel started on June 13, according the IAEA.

    Read More: UN nuclear watchdog chief says inspectors ‘back in Iran’

    Actually producing a weapon would take more time, however, and the IAEA has said that while it cannot guarantee Tehran’s nuclear programme is entirely peaceful, it has no credible indication of a coordinated weapons project in the Islamic Republic.

    Iran and the United States had held several rounds of talks before June.

    One diplomat said Iran had shown signs of readiness to resume negotiations with the U.S. in Tuesday’s meeting with the E3. An Iranian source said it would only do so “if Washington guarantees there will be no (military) strikes during the talks”.

     

     

  • Italy’s Meloni condemns killing of journalists in Gaza by Israeli fire

    Italy’s Meloni condemns killing of journalists in Gaza by Israeli fire

    ROME: Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said in a speech on Wednesday that her government condemned the “unjustifiable” killing of journalists in Gaza.

    Israel struck Nasser Hospital in the south of the Gaza Strip on Monday, killing at least 20 people, including five journalists who worked for Reuters, the Associated Press, Al Jazeera and others.

    “It is an unacceptable attack on press freedom and on all those who courageously risk their lives to report on the tragedy of war,” she said during a political conference in the beach town of Rimini.

    Meloni is one of the last Western leaders to condemn Monday’s strike, which has drawn wide international criticism.

    Israel has said the journalists were not the target of its Nasser Hospital strike.

    Israel is preparing to launch a new offensive in Gaza City, which it describes as Hamas’ last bastion. Around half of the enclave’s two million people are currently living there and Israel has said they will be told to evacuate.

    Read More: Four journalists among 20 killed in Israeli strikes on Gaza hospital

    “We did not hesitate to defend Israel, but at the same time we cannot remain silent now in the face of a reaction that has gone far beyond the principle of proportionality, killing innocent victims and threatening Christian communities, jeopardising the historic (two-state) solution,” she said.

    Meloni also called on Israel to end its military occupation of Gaza, to allow aid into the Palestinian enclave and halt the expansion of settlements in the West Bank.

     

     

  • West Ham, Leeds and Sunderland knocked out of League Cup

    West Ham, Leeds and Sunderland knocked out of League Cup

    WOLVERHAMPTON: Substitute Jorgen Strand Larsen scored twice in two minutes as Wolverhampton Wanderers beat fellow Premier League strugglers West Ham United 3-2 to reach the third round of the League Cup.

    Promoted Leeds United and Sunderland followed West Ham out of the competition, losing on penalties to Championship side Sheffield Wednesday and third tier Huddersfield Town respectively.

    Strand Larsen came on in the 73rd minute and made an immediate impact, the Norwegian striking in the 82nd and 84th to turn around the match at Molineux after Lucas Paqueta had headed West Ham in front in the 63rd.

    Rodrigo Gomes had scored Wolves’ first goal of the season two minutes before halftime, after Hwang Hee-chan’s penalty rebounded off the post, but Tomas Soucek headed an equaliser in the 50th.

    The battle between the top flight’s bottom two teams provided no respite for West Ham manager Graham Potter, whose side have been thrashed 5-1 by Chelsea and 3-0 by Sunderland in the league.

    Leeds went out 3-0 on penalties after fulltime at Hillsborough ended 1-1, a shock result watched from afar by many Wednesday fans who boycotted the match in protest at the financially-troubled second-tier club’s Thai owner.

    U.S. international goalkeeper Ethan Horvath was the home hero, the man of the match mobbed by his teammates after saving twice and keeping a clean sheet in the shootout on his debut after joining on loan.

    “I have been in the door four or five days. I had to learn 10 new names in the first match I played and in this game I had to learn another 10 new names,” Horvath told Sky Sports television.

    League One Huddersfield won their shootout 6-5 after regulation time at the Stadium of Light ended 1-1.

    Brentford beat Bournemouth 2-0 on the South Coast in the night’s other all-Premier League match, with Fabio Carvalho and Igor Thiago scoring either side of the break and against the run of play.

    Brentford’s record signing Dango Ouattara, who scored on his league debut on Saturday, came on as a substitute against his old club.

    Burnley, one of seven Premier League sides fielding much changed lineups from last weekend’s games, beat second tier Derby County 2-1 with Oliver Sonne scoring a stoppage-time winner at Turf Moor.

    Read More: Liverpool to make one last attempt to sign Isak: report

    Wrexham’s Hollywood owners had plenty to smile about after their side won 3-2 at Preston North End thanks to a stoppage-time Kieffer Moore goal after the hosts had twice taken the lead in the second tier clash.

    League Two (fourth tier) Cambridge United beat Championship side Charlton Athletic 3-1.

    The third round draw will take place after Wednesday’s matches.

     

     

     

     

  • OpenAI, Altman sued over ChatGPT’s role in California teen’s suicide

    OpenAI, Altman sued over ChatGPT’s role in California teen’s suicide

    The parents of a teen who died by suicide after ChatGPT coached him on methods of self harm sued OpenAI and CEO Sam Altman on Tuesday, saying the company knowingly put profit above safety when it launched the GPT-4o version of its artificial intelligence chatbot last year.

    Adam Raine, 16, died on April 11 after discussing suicide with ChatGPT for months, according to the lawsuit that Raine’s parents filed in San Francisco state court.

    The chatbot validated Raine’s suicidal thoughts, gave detailed information on lethal methods of self-harm, and instructed him on how to sneak alcohol from his parents’ liquor cabinet and hide evidence of a failed suicide attempt, they allege. ChatGPT even offered to draft a suicide note, the parents, Matthew and Maria Raine, said in the lawsuit.

    The lawsuit seeks to hold OpenAI liable for wrongful death and violations of product safety laws, and seeks unspecified monetary damages.

    An OpenAI spokesperson said the company is saddened by Raine’s passing and that ChatGPT includes safeguards such as directing people to crisis helplines.

    “While these safeguards work best in common, short exchanges, we’ve learned over time that they can sometimes become less reliable in long interactions where parts of the model’s safety training may degrade,” the spokesperson said, adding that OpenAI will continually improve on its safeguards.

    OpenAI did not specifically address the lawsuit’s allegations.

    Read more: xAI sues Apple and ChatGPT maker OpenAI

    As AI chatbots become more lifelike, companies have touted their ability to serve as confidants and users have begun to rely on them for emotional support. But experts warn that relying on automation for mental health advice carries dangers, and families whose loved ones died after chatbot interactions have criticized a lack of safeguards.

    OpenAI said in a blog post that it is planning to add parental controls and exploring ways to connect users in crisis with real-world resources, including by potentially building a network of licensed professionals who can respond through ChatGPT itself.

    OpenAI launched GPT-4o in May 2024 in a bid to stay ahead in the AI race. OpenAI knew that features that remembered past interactions, mimicked human empathy and displayed a sycophantic level of validation would endanger vulnerable users without safeguards but launched anyway, the Raines said in their lawsuit.

    “This decision had two results: OpenAI’s valuation catapulted from $86 billion to $300 billion, and Adam Raine died by suicide,” they said.
    The Raines’ lawsuit also seeks an order requiring OpenAI to verify the ages of ChatGPT users, refuse inquiries for self-harm methods, and warn users about the risk of psychological dependency.

  • Norway wealth fund divest Caterpillar and five Israeli banks over Gaza

    Norway wealth fund divest Caterpillar and five Israeli banks over Gaza

    OSLO: Norway’s $2 trillion wealth fund, the world’s largest, said it has divested from U.S. construction equipment group Caterpillar and from five Israeli banking groups on ethics grounds.

    The five banks are Hapoalim, Bank Leumi, Mizrahi Tefahot Bank , First International Bank of Israel and FIBI Holdings, the fund said in a statement.

    The six groups were excluded “due to an unacceptable risk that the companies contribute to serious violations of the rights of individuals in situations of war and conflict,” said the fund, which is operated by Norway’s central bank.

    The companies did not immediately reply to requests for comment. The Israeli embassy in Oslo declined to comment.

    Prior to its divestment, the fund held a 1.17% stake in Caterpillar valued at $2.1 billion as of June 30, its records showed.

    The stakes in the five Israeli banks were valued at a combined $661 million, also as of June 30, according to fund data.

    The news was announced when the Tel Aviv and New York stock exchanges were closed.

    Shares in Caterpillar were down 0.4% in pre-market trading at $430.61 per share on Tuesday.

    FIBI Holdings shares were up 4%, putting them on course for their best day since early 2024. Hapoalim’s stock was up 3.3% and Bank Leumi, Mizrahi Tefahot Bank, and First International Bank of Israel were between 1.8% and 2.8% better off.

    Israeli shares have soared since Hamas’ attacks in October 2023. Bank Leumi has risen 120% since then, while the rest of the banks the wealth fund has divested from have climbed between 48% and 70%.

    CATERPILLAR

    The fund’s ethics watchdog, called the Council on Ethics, said that “in the council’s assessment, there is no doubt that Caterpillar’s products are being used to commit extensive and systematic violations of international humanitarian law”.

    Bulldozers manufactured by Caterpillar “were being used by Israeli authorities in the widespread unlawful destruction of Palestinian property,” it said.

    The violations were taking place both in Gaza and the West Bank, the council said, adding that “the company has also not implemented any measures to pre­vent such use”.

    “As deliveries of the relevant machinery to Israel are now set to resume, the council considers there to be an unacceptable risk that Caterpillar is con­tributing to serious violations of individuals’ rights in war or conflict situations.”

    The council, a public body set up by the Ministry of Finance, checks that firms in the portfolio of the fund meet ethical guidelines set by Norway’s parliament. The fund is invested in some 8,400 companies worldwide.

    It makes recommendations to the board of the central bank, which has the final say. The board agreed with the council’s recommendation.

    The Norwegian fund said on August 18 that it would divest from six companies as part of an ongoing ethics review over the war in Gaza and developments in the West Bank, but declined at the time to name any groups until the stakes were sold.

    BANKS

    On the banks, the ethics watchdog initially scrutinised the Israeli banks’ practice of underwriting Israeli settlers’ housebuilding commitments in the region.

    On Monday, the council said that all the banks excluded had, “by providing financial services that are a necessary prerequisite for construction activity in Israeli settlements in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem … contributed to the maintenance of Israeli settlements”.

    Around 700,000 Israeli settlers live among 2.7 million Palestinians in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
    Many settlements are adjacent to Palestinian areas and some Israeli firms serve both Israelis and Palestinians.

    The United Nations’ top court last year found that Israeli settlements built on territory seized in 1967 were illegal, a ruling that Israel called “fundamentally wrong”, citing historical and biblical ties to the land.