A Forever War is a potent investigation into the Gaza war, which raises questions about Israel’s response to the Hamas-led bombings of October 2023.
Around the UN, where many states continued to refer to Israel’s occupation of Gaza as “genocide,” recently a global outcry was heard. Israel has largely ignored international opinion, even American pressure.
This movie examines what Australian journalist John Lyons describes as “one of the most brutal wars of modern times,” with a ceasefire now on the table just days before the second anniversary of the Hamas-led attacks on October 7, 2023. Lyons questions Israeli officials’ motivations and questions whether there was no other way to kill more than 66, 000 Palestinians, including over 20 000 children. Israel’s actions are seen as self-defense, according to a current cabinet member, a former foreign minister, and former prime minister Ehud Barak.
The Palestinian perspective is defended by Abdaljawad Omar of Birzeit University, Yehuda Shaul of Breaking the Silence, and Amira Hass of Haaretz.
More than 100 years after German colonial powers robbed them, a Tanzanian family tries to reclaim the remains of their ancestors.
John Mbano, an attorney, has a mission. In 1906, Songea Mbano, a leader of the Ngoni people in southern Tanzania, was executed by the German colonial army. His head was then transported to Germany for racist scientific analysis.
This trauma has remained a constant throughout generations of the family. In search of their ancestor’s skull, John and his wife Cesilia, a history teacher, hope to have it buried with dignity in their native country of Berlin.
Ella Toone, Millie Turner, Phallon Tullis-Joyce, and Gabby George, among other Manchester United players, confess their feelings for their teammates in Confession Cam.
Russo, McCabe, and Kelly from Arsenal discuss football knicks.
Barry Andrews, the European Union’s chief observer and a member of the European Parliament, paid Professor Mahmood Yakubu, the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) Chairman, an official visit.  ,  ,
Following the last general election, the follow-up mission will be able to provide updates on how well their recommendations have been implemented.
23 recommendations, with eight specifically directed to INEC, were made by the Mission in July 2023, while the rest were directed at the Executive and the National Assembly.
READ ALSO: A Court Rejects a Tinubu Suit Due to the Emergency Rule in Rivers.
The final report on the 25 February and 18 March 2023 federal and state elections was released by the European Election Observation Mission (EU EOM) on June 27.
The Chief Observer, Barry Andrews, a member of the European Parliament, stated that “Nigerians demonstrated a steadfast commitment to the democratic process in the run-up to the 2023 general elections.” However, the election exposed persistent systemic flaws and calls for more legal and operational reforms to improve accountability, inclusion, and transparency.
The EU EOM made its findings and recommendations following a three-month observation across Nigeria, revealing that inaccuracies in the electoral administration hampered the running of fair and impartial elections and hampered INEC’s trust.
According to Barry Andrews, the Mission is particularly concerned about the priority recommendations for reform in six areas.
The six top recommendations address the need to address: (1) clarify the law; (2) set up a public scrutiny selection process for INEC members; (3) ensure real-time publication and access to election results; (3) increase media protection; address (5) discrimination against women in political life; and (6) impunity regarding electoral crimes.
According to Chief Observer Barry Andrews, political will is necessary to improve Nigerian democracy. It is still important to engage in comprehensive discussion among all parties involved in electoral reform. In implementing these recommendations, the European Union is prepared to support Nigerian stakeholders.
The EU EOM claimed to have completed its work between January 11 and April 11th, 2023, at INEC’s invitation. The EU EOM gathered with a delegation from the European Parliament to observe the presidential and legislative elections.
110 observers from 25 EU member states, as well as Norway, Switzerland, and Canada, were accreditated by the mission.
The Mission made the following 23 recommendations:
1. By removing errors and ambiguities from electoral law and regulations to prevent potential conflicting interpretations, and ensuring that the revision processes are inclusive, protect the interests of voters through certainty of law for all stages and aspects of electoral processes.
2. Implement timely, inclusive consultation to ensure institutional accountability. publication and dissemination of all election-related laws, regulations, and guidelines, and enactment of consolidated official legislation that is available in hard copy and online through the INEC website.
3. Establish a robust operational framework to ensure electoral administration’s independence, integrity, and effectiveness through a transparent and open-door selection process for REC candidates based on rigorous evaluation criteria for merit, qualifications, and verified non-partisanship.
4. Improve the capacity of the electoral staff by updating the electoral staff’s procedures and providing training for the election supervisors, collation officers, and ad-hoc polling staff, focusing on the use of technology, counting, and completing polling unit results and collation forms.
5. By requiring in law the timely release of test and audit results, along with protocols, guidelines, implementation methodology, procurement, and functionality details, to ensure transparency and permit public scrutiny of election technology,
6. Protect the right to free speech and the integrity of elections. by creating a results processing system that is robust, transparent, and quickly vérifiable a clear system of regulations. These include uploading polling unit results directly from the polling unit, and in real time, at each level of collation results. to be published in a database format that is both easily accessible and scrappable, and all forms to be uploaded in real time.
7. Give citizens the opportunity to register during the previous registration period if they are 18 years old before the elections.
8. Establish a trustworthy foundation for an accurate and inclusive voter register by conducting an immediate external independent audit, including in person, to establish a reliable foundation. data quality assessment, sample analysis, and biometric data quality assessment. The . implementation of a clear protocol and guidelines for the process to be followed The register should be kept up and held accountable in the public.
9. By limiting charging, remove unreasonable limitations on the right to stand. of excessive fees when a candidate is asked to run in party primary elections.
10. By creating a robust and effective campaign organization, enforce INEC’s campaign regulations. monitoring and a sanctioning system to stop state-level authorities from obstructing and interfering with their use of incumbency.
11. By establishing strict accounting standards, reporting, and public disclosure requirements for political parties, candidates, and third parties, the campaign finance industry is required to operate pre-agreed dedicated bank accounts for donations, revenues, and spending, with strong sanctions for noncompliance.
12. By creating a comprehensive operational framework that is supported by the tools and resources to prompt investigation and prosecution of all forms of attacks against media practitioners, ensure adequate protection of the right to freedom of expression.
13. Protect the National Broadcasting Commission’s legal and practical independence by upholding its right to freedom of expression and transparency. This could be accomplished by introducing a cross-party approval mechanism, industry professionals’ participation, and/or establishing strict institutional standards for transparency and accountability. This could also be accomplished by introducing an open, inclusive, and competitive system.
14. Transforming the NTA and FRCN into reputable public service broadcasters will help protect pluralism and freedom of expression. This includes provisions for editorial independence, financial autonomy, clear separation from any government institution, and a transparent and competitive management selection process with cross-party review and/or industry professionals’ participation.
15. Amendment overly restrictive legislative provisions that limit this right in the media and online, including the ambiguous definitions of “cyberstalking” in the 2015 Cybercrimes Act and of “classified matters” in the Official Secrets Act, to keep things up with international and regional standards for freedom of expression.
16. To identify, assess, and reduce harmful content while protecting freedom of expression, promote the independent formation of voters’ opinions and reduce manipulative interference through legislative or regulatory measures developed in an inclusive process involving all key stakeholders, including civil society experts.
17. Take urgent and robust affirmative steps to ensure meaningful representation of women through special measures in accordance with the Beijing Declaration. principles and the National Gender Policy to increase women’s representation in elected office and as candidates, which are further supported by cross-sectoral, increased, and sustained capacity building and awareness of discrimination.
18. Ensure that people with disabilities and the vulnerable have a legitimate opportunity to cast ballots in all election categories, including those who have disabilities and are vulnerable, through a conducive voting environment that allows for independent voting and respect for voter privacy, as well as having sufficient assistive devices.
19. Improve voter access to the right to vote in internally displaced voters by establishing a precise, timely operation plan that includes detailed data on important voter data, specified temporary special measures, polling location, and security. arrangements, targeted voter education, and early postelection evaluation publication.
20. By ensuring electoral authorities’ public accountability, law gives reporters and observers full access to all election-related stages. electoral data, supported by prompt, transparent accreditation procedures, and targeted sanctions for obstructing, intimidating, or using violence.
21. By modifying legal procedures, providing additional resources for adjudication, and consistently and concisely detailing and publishing decisions in a timely manner, including online, to improve voter and candidate certainty, by completing pre-election disputes well in advance of election day, and by advancing election day.
22. By effective interagency coordination that is governed by strict non-partisanship, the use of best resources, effective investigation and sanctioning, and regular public access to consolidated information on outcomes, it can be reduced.
In 2013, then-businessman and reality TV star Donald Trump shared his vision on Fox News about the role a United States president should play in a government shutdown: “You have to be nice and be angry and be wild and cajole and do all sorts of things, but you have to get a deal.”
Now, as president, Trump has taken a different approach. After failing to reach a bipartisan agreement, he mocked Democrats by posting an expletive-laced video generated by artificial intelligence and set to mariachi music, falsely showing US Representative Hakeem Jeffries wearing a sombrero and US Senator Chuck Schumer saying that “nobody likes Democrats any more”, so the party is seeking favour with “illegal aliens”.
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Welcome to the 2025 US government shutdown.
At PolitiFact, we have fact-checked lawmakers’ and pundits’ statements about government shutdowns for more than a decade. When Congress can’t reach a funding agreement, both sides of the political aisle whip up talking points about what a shutdown means for the economy, immigration, worker paycheques, disaster response and services for low-income families. The blame is nearly always placed on the other party.
A reminder: Republicans control the presidency and both chambers of Congress. But passing legislation to extend government funding at current levels would require, under longstanding rules, more than half a dozen Democrats to side with Republicans in order to reach the 60-vote threshold to advance to a vote. This gives Democrats some negotiating leverage, which they are seeking to use in the spending fight.
Social services
Women, Infants, and Children programme will ‘not be funded’
House Speaker Mike Johnson, in September 29 remarks to reporters.
Johnson omits that enrollees will still likely get services, at least initially. But much depends on how long the shutdown lasts.
The Agriculture Department’s shutdown plan said its Women, Infants and Children nutrition programme, which provides food to low-income families, shall continue operations “subject to the availability of funding”. The WIC has 6.9 million participants.
WIC should be able to continue for at least one week, said Alison Hard, National WIC Association policy director. After that, operations will vary by state, depending on their funds.
During a shutdown, state WIC programmes have options to temporarily fill the funding gap, including various USDA sources, state money and requesting early rebate payments from their contracted infant formula manufacturers.
Past shutdowns
‘Back in 2013, Trump said it was the President’s job to negotiate and avoid a shutdown’
Senator Jeff Merkley, in a September 29 X post
That’s an accurate paraphrase of Trump’s remarks.
In an October 7, 2013, interview with then-Fox News host Greta Van Susteren, Trump criticised then-President Barack Obama for not being a dealmaker during the shutdown. In full, he said: “You have to get everybody in a room. You have to be a leader. The president has to lead. He has to get [the Speaker of the House] and everybody else in a room, and they have to make a deal. You have to be nice and be angry and be wild and cajole and do all sorts of things, but you have to get a deal.”
Trump made similar remarks in a September 2013 Fox & Friends phone interview: “Problems start from the top, and they have to get solved from the top, and the president’s the leader, and he’s got to get everybody in a room, and he’s got to lead.”
A tourist photographs a sign announcing that the Library of Congress is closed, on the first day of a partial government shutdown, on Wednesday, October 1, 2025, in Washington [AP]
Healthcare
Republicans are spiking health insurance premiums by 75 percent for everyday Americans if they don’t extend enhanced ACA subsidies
Representative Katherine Clark, in a September 12 X post.
This is mostly true.
If the Republican-controlled Congress does not extend Affordable Care Act enhanced subsidies before they expire at the end of this year, enrollees will have to pay more.
A KFF analysis of federal data found that the average increase in out-of-pocket coverage cost for enrollees would be 79 percent, with state-by-state average increases ranging from 49 percent to 195 percent.
This cost increase would come from a combination of insurance premium increases and the disappearance of subsidies, rather than from “spiking health insurance premiums” alone.
More than two weeks after Clark’s statement – and after we published the fact check – KFF produced a revised figure for average increases based on new data: 114 percent.
‘Democrats so-called proposal is a partisan wish list with a $1.5 trillion spending increase tacked onto a four-week funding bill’
House Speaker Mike Johnson, in a September 29 news release.
The Republican talking point misses the context of the Democrats’ proposal.
The September 17 Democratic proposal latches government funding up until October 31, known as a “continuing resolution”, to some Democratic priorities, including healthcare assistance and limiting Trump’s ability to claw back funds previously approved by Congress.
The bill calls for permanently extending enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies that were passed in 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic and extended in 2022. Those are set to expire on December 31 this year. The Democratic bill would also reverse cuts to Medicaid and other health programmes that Republicans enacted in their signature tax and spending legislation.
The Democrats’ measure would restore funding for public broadcasting that Republicans nixed in July and includes at least $320m for security for lawmakers, the executive branch and the Supreme Court. (Republicans have proposed $88m in security funding in their resolution bill.)
The bill also contains mandates for how the Trump administration can spend money and would hinder the White House’s recent attempt to cancel almost $5bn in foreign aid.
The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, a group that’s hawkish on the deficit, said in a September 18 news release that Democrats’ proposal in its entirety would add $1.5 trillion to the national debt over the next decade.
“The [continuing resolution] itself – the part that funds the government – would not add $1.5 trillion to the debt, but the bill that Democrats have proposed includes other provisions that would,” Chris Towner, the group’s policy director, wrote in an email. “The bill repeals the health spending cuts that were included in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which would cost about $1.1 trillion over a decade to repeal.”
Towner also said the Democrats’ provision to make the enhanced ACA subsidies permanent would cost about $350bn over a decade.
People take photos with a sign announcing that the Library of Congress is closed, on the first day of a partial government shutdown, on October 1, 2025, in Washington [AP]
If enhanced subsidies are not extended, people with insurance through the Affordable Care Act will see their premiums rise ‘twice as much in the rural areas’
Senator Amy Klobuchar, in a September 28 interview on CBS’s Face the Nation
This is mostly true.
There are at least two ways to interpret Klobuchar’s statement: that she was comparing rural enrollees’ costs with people living elsewhere, or comparing their costs with what they paid before.
Klobuchar’s office told PolitiFact that the senator was referring to rural enrollees seeing increases that were double what they had paid before, and that interpretation aligns with what Klobuchar has said in other settings.
An analysis by the Century Foundation, a progressive think tank, found that out-of-pocket insurance costs would increase on average in rural counties from $713 to $1,473 – a 107 percent increase, or slightly more than a doubling.
Comparing rural enrollees’ cost increases with people elsewhere, it amounts to a disproportionately large increase for rural areas, but it’s not twice as much.
Enrollees in rural counties would see average out-of-pocket losses of $760 from expiring enhanced subsidies, compared with $624 for all counties and $593 for urban counties. That’s 22 percent more for rural enrollees compared with all others, and 28 percent more compared with urban enrollees.
Government workers
‘If the government shuts down, members of Congress still get paid. The janitors never get paid’
Daniel Koh, on The People’s Cabinet podcast episode, September 29.
This is mostly true.
Members of the House and Senate continue to get paid during a shutdown. Federal law says federal employees get back pay, but the law does not extend to contractors, a group that includes many janitors. Some private employers with federal contracts may find ways to pay their employees, but there is nothing in federal law that requires it.
The US Capitol dome and a traffic turn signal are seen from Pennsylvania Avenue, on October 1, 2025, in Washington [AP]
‘FEMA won’t be funded’ during hurricane season because of the shutdown
House Speaker Mike Johnson, in September 29 remarks to reporters
Johnson was correct that Congress had not agreed on Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) funding, but a Department of Homeland Security shutdown procedures plan estimates that 84 percent of FEMA employees will continue working. (The DHS oversees FEMA.)
“Bottom line: hurricanes don’t care about politics. FEMA will still respond. But recovery will stall if Congress can’t do its job,” said Craig Fugate, who led FEMA during President Barack Obama’s administration after leading Florida’s emergency management under then-Republican Governor Jeb Bush. “This isn’t new – both parties own the blame.”
The agency’s recovery efforts are most at risk, Fugate said, because they depend on how much money remains in the Disaster Relief Fund. “Those dollars aren’t tied to the shutdown, but they usually run low this time of year. Normally, Congress passes a continuing resolution to add money. A shutdown means that doesn’t happen. That slows recovery projects, not the immediate response.”
Things should be looking forward for Chelsea’s ownership and supporters, who are just two wins away from winning the Club World Cup, a win in the Conference League, a return to Champions League football, and unprecedented investment in the squad.
However, after a month into the season, relations between the club’s leadership and the fan base have deteriorated.
The main concerns are with the sale of tickets, particularly the resale of tickets and the promotion of in-demand games.
Champions League tickets
Chelsea’s decision to raise the price of Champions League tickets is a source of annoyance.
The Chelsea Supporters’ Trust (CST) noted that the Benfica game’s ticket prices increased by 77.5% from the previous year’s Conference League semi-final against Djurgarden.
It expressed concern over reduced concessions for seniors and children and criticized the club’s lack of transparency when it announced price increases so soon.
The CST expressed “deep concern” with the club’s approach to upcoming Champions League games.
Recent decisions have been characterized by poor communication, unreasonable price increases, and supporter silence. Stop tarnishing our loyalty, we are told.
concerns about the atmosphere and tickets sold on the black market
Many people have raised concerns about the Stamford Bridge atmosphere, including former manager Enzo Maresca, who frequently made comments about it last season.
Maresca shares Jose Mourinho’s provocative 2014 statement that playing at Stamford Bridge was “like playing inside an empty stadium.”
Fans will soon be able to enjoy a 500-person singing section at Champions League games this year to help them revive the atmosphere.
Multiple fans told BBC Sport that the high prices, limited ticket sales, and touting continue to detract from the matchday experience when questioned about their opinions.
Young supporters have trouble getting tickets, with Chelsea’s fanbase reaching 59 years old, which is the oldest in the Premier League.
I understand the disconnect between supply and demand, according to CST chair Mark Meehan. A Chelsea ticket has never been more difficult to obtain. Something is obviously not working.
The issue of touting is a Premier League wide issue, but Chelsea’s position on it is actually one that is significant. Last season, out-of-town gangs snared the ticket market.
Up to 2, 000 tickets are said to be sold at Chelsea each game. That frees up tickets for young members if you make a dent in that.
For their Champions League four-game bundle, Chelsea recently discovered 2, 000 tickets that had been purchased in violation of the rules and have since been canceled.
For the first game of the season, the Blues also received 350, 000 attempted bot purchases.
On policies that address touts, the club and CST are in general agreement.
If a touted fan enters the stadium with the exact seat number, Meehan added, “We need supporters in the stadium to email the club rather than complain on social media.” In this area, we must collaborate with the club.
Images courtesy of Getty
What are Chelsea’s performance levels in relation to other teams?
Members and non-members were the only ones who purchased the cheapest adult tickets for this week’s Benfica Champions League game, which cost $ 66. For Category A games, Arsenal must charge a minimum of £78, while Tottenham must charge £71.
Sources at Chelsea said their price increases reflected English football trends, according to BBC Sport.
The elected fan advisory board, which includes supporters’ group members, was consulted before the ticketing policy was made public, and fans can get a cheaper rate by purchasing a bundle for all four home games against Benfica, Ajax, Barcelona, and Pafos.
In addition to expanding their 40, 000-seat stadium, Chelsea are special because they have a particularly high demand for matches under the Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital ownership.
The dugout club, which charges (possibly a Premier League record) £12, 500 for a single seat behind the home and away benches for big games last year, has about 28 000 season ticket holders, of which between 4 000 and 5 000 are available to members and about 3 000 are available for away supporters.
In 2024 and 2025, there were reportedly 90,000 members, but it’s not known how many of those were touts.
We are all fighting the same battle over ticket prices, according to Duncan Drasdo, CEO of Manchester United Supporters’ Trust, in a report on the overall cost of playing football last season. Fans are united in saying enough is enough, and clubs are exploiting loyalty.
Before the 2024-2019 season, 19 of the 20 Premier League clubs raised ticket prices, which prompted the Football Supporters’ Association (FSA) to launch a campaign called “Stop Exploiting Loyalty.”
The most serious security breach in recent memory was “the stadium.”
Images courtesy of Getty
Safety had been “repeatedly compromised” at the Conference League semi-final second leg against Djurgarden last year, according to a report from the CST that was released this week.
It discovered that thousands of Swedish national team supporters purchased tickets from resale websites or touts, creating issues with overcrowding and inadequate police and stewards.
Fans speculated that more tickets on the black market were going to be available because Chelsea had won the first leg 4-1, resulting in lower interest among home fans.
The night’s events were described as “the most serious security lapse in recent memory” according to the report.
In order to explain how this happened, Chelsea issued a statement in the matchday program that read, “The club committed to and has conducted a full and independent review of all ticketing processes.
The fan advisory board received the findings, and we got in touch with the affected people on the night directly.
The events that occurred had a number of contributing factors that had an impact on our standard procedures for ticketing, security, and matchday operations.
