Three days after the devastating structural collapse, Indonesian authorities have used powerful machinery to relocate large sections of a crumbling school, with 59 teenage students still missing.
Officials made the decision to move forward after talking with the families of the missing students’ families and discovering no longer any life beneath the rubble.
Coordinating Minister Pratikno remarked that “we will always be very careful when using the heavy machines,” adding that operations would continue with extreme caution despite the grim state of the situation.
In Sidoarjo, eastern Java, hundreds of people were buried in the collapsed prayer hall at the century-old al-Khoziny Islamic Boarding School on Monday, leading to a tragedy. Officials claim that the foundation of the two-story building had broken during concrete pouring, and that two unauthorised additional floors had been constructed above the two-story building.
More than 100 people have been confirmed dead, plus more than 20 have been taken to hospitals with serious injuries, including fractures and head trauma, at the moment. The victims ranged in age from seven to twelve, with the majority of them male students. In a different area of the building, female students were able to escape.
Nearly 220 workers continued their efforts at the site with ambulances on standby as the crucial 72-hour window, which significantly reduces survival chances, passed. However, the increasingly grim situation was revealed by the arrival of numerous body bags.
Suharyanto, the head of Indonesia’s National Disaster Mitigation Agency, stated that while there is still a lot of uncertainty regarding the precise number of missing people, “We are no longer considering the possibility of survivors remaining, but we will continue with caution.” We sincerely hope that these 59 people aren’t hiding beneath the rubble.
Since Monday, hundreds of family members have been observing a daily vigil in the classroom, sleeping in government-provided mattresses in hallways while receiving updates.
Muhammad Abdurrohman Nafis, 15, Muhammad’s ninth-grade son, is missing, according to Hafiah. She recalled how eagerly his favorite satay rice had been eaten during her visit just one day before the collapse, “I can’t give up, I have to believe that my son is still alive, he is hyperactive boy… he is very strong.” Nafis planned to study mechanical engineering in high school as his junior high graduation approached.
As tensions between Russia and Europe continue to grow, Moscow has tried to present its ground war in Ukraine as unstoppable.
The Kremlin claimed last week to be in control of two-thirds of the buildings in Kupiansk, a city in Ukraine’s northern Kharkiv region.
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“Russian troops have blocked a large group of the enemy from the northern and western sides, taking it in a half-ring,” said the Ministry of Defence in Moscow.
Russia has been trying to capture Kupiansk for most of this year, believing it will unlock a northern gateway for its forces to descend to the eastern region of Donetsk, whose complete capture Moscow has prioritised.
“Taking control over Kupiansk will allow the Russian troops to advance towards the Sloviansk-Kramatorsk agglomeration,” said the Defence Ministry, referring to Ukraine’s best-fortified towns in Donetsk.
People walk next to a damaged building and vehicles in a residential neighbourhood hit during a Russian drone and missile attack on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine, September 28, 2025 [Anatolii Stepanov/Reuters]
Russian officials have been saying they are on the cusp of seizing Kupiansk since March. Ukrainian military observer Konstantyn Mashovets estimated Russia needed another one to two more divisions to do so.
On September 25, Russia’s Defence Ministry also claimed to have seized 4,714 square kilometres (1,820 square miles) of Ukrainian territory this year. The Institute for the Study of War (ISW), a Washington-based think tank, independently assessed the real figure to be closer to 3,434sq km (1,325sq miles).
Russia “continues to artificially inflate its claims of advance in Ukraine to support the Kremlin’s false narrative that a Russian victory in Ukraine is inevitable”, said the ISW.
Moscow’s forces, between September 25 and 29, claimed to have captured Kalinovskoye and Stepovoye in Dnipropetrovsk, and Derilovo, Mayskoye, Sandrigolovo and Kirovsk in Donetsk.
Trump’s pivot to Ukraine
On the diplomatic front, United States President Donald Trump’s remarks in New York were seen as a reversal of policy to which he has held fast during the first eight months of office.
During his first address to European allies on February 12, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told them that “returning to Ukraine’s pre-2014 borders is an unrealistic objective”.
Later that month, Trump gave Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy a bruising reception at the White House. Trump has also blamed Russia’s war on Ukraine.
But on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on September 22, he praised Ukraine’s stout defence as “pretty amazing”.
He later suggested Ukraine could win a military victory.
“With time, patience, and the financial support of Europe and, in particular, NATO, the original Borders from where this War started, is very much an option,” Trump said on his Truth Social platform.
As recently as August 15, when he met with President Vladimir Putin in Alaska, Trump appeared to gamble on his personal diplomacy with the Russian leader to end the war.
Trump’s apparent change of heart came as Ukraine struck Russian refineries, causing fuel shortages – a weakness in Russia’s economy to which Trump alluded.
On September 24, Ukrainian drones struck the Salavat refinery and petrochemical complex in the Bashkortostan region, 1,200km (745 miles) southeast of Moscow, for the second time in less than a week. The drones reportedly hit a distillation unit that accounts for 60 percent of the plant’s 10-million-tonne annual processing capacity.
Two days later, they struck the Afipsky refinery in the Russian border region of Krasnodar Krai. Russia said falling debris from a drone had started a fire that was put out, without specifying the damage done.
On Monday, Ukraine hit the Tuapse oil offloading terminal on the Black Sea with surface drones, causing several explosions and a massive fire.
On October 1, Ukraine struck one of Russia’s largest refineries at Yaroslavl, 250km (155 miles) northeast of Moscow.
Sergei Aksyonov, the governor of Russian-occupied Crimea, confirmed last week that Russians were seeing fuel shortages.
In his Truth Social post, Trump had written, “It’s almost impossible for them to get Gasoline”.
A weapons ‘mega-deal’
Trump may also have been swayed by a weapons deal, reported to be worth $90bn – another reversal of an initial policy to cut the flow of US weapons to Kyiv’s forces.
Zelenskyy says he is working towards a “mega-deal” that involves “an agreement on modern drones for the United States”.
Zelenskyy first publicly raised the idea of buying weapons the US used to give it on April 9, after it became clear that the Trump administration was not willing to continue supporting Ukraine’s war effort as the Biden administration had done. He then reportedly communicated Kyiv’s readiness to spend $30-$50bn for Patriots.
But the latest Ukrainian proposal also involves purchasing US Tomahawk missiles, with a 1,600km (995-mile) range, reported Axios.
Trump’s special Ukraine envoy, Keith Kellogg, suggested on Sunday to Fox News that Trump was leaning towards providing them, after the Wall Street Journal reported Trump was also considering lifting restrictions on long-range strikes within Russia.
“Use the ability to hit deep. There are no such things as sanctuaries,” he told Fox News.
Ukraine’s longest-range weapon is currently the Flamingo cruise missile, with just over 1,000km (620-mile) range, but it has not yet entered active service at scale.
Russia reacted angrily to the reports.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia would be analysing whether US targeting assistance was involved. Andrei Kartapolov, head of the Russian parliament’s defence committee, said Russia would personally target US officials who helped Ukraine in such a mission.
In one key respect, Trump’s stance towards Ukraine has not changed: He will not contribute financially to Ukraine’s defence, forcing Europe to foot the bill, and seeks to extract $500bn of rare metals from Ukraine as compensation for military aid under his predecessor.
Europe ‘no longer at peace’ with Russia
On Friday, NATO command said two Hungarian Gripen fighters took off from their base in Lithuania’s Siaulai to intercept a Su-30, Su-35 and MiG-31 “flying close to Latvian airspace”.
On Saturday, Denmark said drones had been spotted over several military facilities, including the Skrydstrup airbase and an army base in Holstebro. On the same day, Lithuania reported that drones disrupted traffic over the Vilnius airport, and Finland said it spotted drones over Valajaskoski power plant.
These were the latest suspected Russian incursions of NATO airspace since September 10, when two dozen Russian drones had to be shot down in Polish airspace.
Estonia said three Russian MiGs violated its airspace on September 19, and a Russian Ilyushin 20-M reconnaissance aircraft allegedly entered German airspace on September 21.
Poland said it will shoot down Russian aircraft violating its airspace in future.
Reporters asked Trump at the UNGA if he believed NATO countries should shoot down Russian aircraft if they enter their airspace.
“Yes, I do,” Trump replied.
Asked if the US would help NATO allies in such an event, he said: “Depends on the circumstance, but you know, we’re very strong toward NATO.”
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte last week said, “I totally agree here with President Trump: if so necessary.”
“Let me put it in a sentence that may be a little shocking at first glance,” said German Chancellor Friedrich Merz at a Dusseldorf news conference on Sunday, when asked whether Europe was at war with Russia. “We are not at war, but we are no longer at peace either.”
Russia has dismissed Europe’s concerns as baseless.
Liverpool’s relative struggles, Mohamed Salah’s form and a tough trip to Chelsea make it easy to ignore their assets and stick with red-hot Erling Haaland as captain this week.
And if you haven’t already, this is your sign to load up on Arsenal players as they have the best run of any team over the next six gameweeks.
Here’s your FPL team of the week.
The team of the week is selected based on current FPL prices to fit within a £100m budget, as if you were playing a Free Hit.
How did last week’s team do?
FPL team of the week for gameweek seven
BBC Sport
Keeper and defence
Nick Pope, Newcastle, keeper, £5m – Nottingham Forest (h)
Newcastle have more clean sheets than any other team (4) while Forest have scored just one goal in their past four games.
FPL managers are losing faith in last season’s surprise team.
Although they did have the most shots (22) of any team last week, it is hard to trust them away to Newcastle’s solid defence – only Arsenal (3.9) have a lower expected goals conceded (xGC) than the Magpies’ 4.6.
Marcos Senesi, Bournemouth, £4.9m – Fulham (h)
There reasons to pick Senesi.
1 – Bournemouth’s defence has barely skipped a beat despite losing three key players in the summer. Consider them a good pick in general.
2 – You’ve probably noticed he has become the best pick for defensive contribution (defcon) points, with the two bonus points in five of six games.
3 – Fulham may be without an experienced striker, with Rodrigo Muniz and Raul Jimenez both potentially injured.
Gabriel (£6.2m) and Jurrien Timber (£5.8m), Arsenal – West Ham (h)
West Ham (h), Fulham (a), Crystal Palace (h), Sunderland (a), Burnley (a).
That’s a sweet run for Arsenal and it makes sense to invest in their defenders.
Gabriel adds his obvious goal threat to a strong clean sheet chance – he was taken off before the hour mark in midweek but that looks to have been a precaution.
Meanwhile, Timber – aside from his two-goal haul against Leeds – has made nine key passes and created two big chances. No Arsenal player has more.
Dan Burn, Newcastle, £5m – Nottingham Forest (h)
Pick Burn for the same reasons as keeper Pope.
Midfielders
Antoine Semenyo, Bournemouth, £7.8m – Fulham (h)
First name on the teamsheet at the moment. Semenyo has only failed to return in one game this season – set and forget.
Bryan Mbeumo, Man Utd, £8.1m – Sunderland (h)
Mbeumo is due, that’s a fact! More shots than any other midfielder and only Semenyo has had more efforts in the box.
Couple that with United’s league-high xG and you feel a haul coming.
Could that come against Sunderland? They have been superb defensively and kept Nottingham Forest out last week. But you still fancy United to score a couple at home – their attacking threat hasn’t really been the issue this season.
Bukayo Saka, Arsenal, £9.8m – West Ham (h)
Saka is a bit of a forgotten man in FPL after his early-season injury, but a juicy run of games for Arsenal, starting with struggling West Ham, means he could soon be a popular pick.
West Ham’s defence was not that impressive in their first game under Nuno Espirito Santo and certainly won’t scare the Gunners.
Will Saka take penalties back from Viktor Gyokeres now he is fit again? He’s a good pick without, an excellent choice with.
Ismaila Sarr, Crystal Palace, £6.4m – Everton (a)
Per start, Sarr has the highest xG among midfielders (he was seventh in that statistic last season).
Forwards
Erling Haaland (captain), Manchester City, £14.4m – Brentford (a)
It’s hard to leave Haaland out of your side at the moment regardless of the opponent, but this trip to Brentford is a favourable one.
The Bees have a bottom-four defence so far, for goals conceded and expected goals conceded. Only Burnley have allowed more shots.
Ollie Watkins, Aston Villa, £8.7m – Burnley (h)
Watkins is off the mark finally for the season and so are Villa – they surely will produce better football the rest of the way than in their first five games.
The England striker has not been great to be fair, with only nine shots this season.
Subs bench
Karl Darlow, Leeds, £4m, keeper – Spurs (h)
Moises Caicedo, Chelsea, £5.7m – Liverpool (h)
Omar Alderete, Sunderland, £4.1m, defender – Man Utd (a)
Lyle Foster, Burnley, £5m, striker – Aston Villa (a)
Here is how things stand on Wednesday, October 1, 2025:
Fighting
Russia’s military seized 447 square kilometres (172.6 square miles) of territory from Ukraine in September. Analysis by the United States-based Institute for the Study of War shows that it’s slowing down from a recent peak in July when it seized 634sq km (244.8 square miles).
Russian shelling near the town of Slavutych cut external power to the decommissioned Chornobyl power plant on Wednesday.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Russia of trying to orchestrate a nuclear incident, as external power is also needed for a new containment unit.
The shelling also led to more than 3,000 people losing power in the nearby Chernihiv region.
Politics and Diplomacy
Zelenskyy will meet 50 heads of state, government and European Union leaders in Copenhagen on Thursday.
Russian Defence Minister Andrei Belousov met his North Korean counterpart, No Kwang Chol, on Wednesday, according to Russian state media.
French navy personnel boarded an oil tanker linked to Russia’s shadow fleet and arrested two senior crew members. The vessel was previously linked to drone flights over Denmark.
The US will supply Ukraine with intelligence to hit long-range targets inside Russia, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal citing US officials. Washington has asked NATO allies to do the same.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said Europe is facing the greatest security challenge since the end of World War II, and it must step up its response to Russian hybrid warfare during a meeting with EU leaders.
A Polish court said a Ukrainian national arrested in connection with the Nord Stream gas pipeline explosion must stay in custody until a decision can be made about his transfer to Germany, where he is wanted for suspected sabotage.
Economy
European leaders on Wednesday discussed whether to use frozen Russian assets to fund a new 140 billion euros ($164bn) loan to Kyiv. Most of the assets are frozen in Belgium.
Russian regulators have again blocked the sale of Austria’s Raiffeisen Bank International, the largest lender still operating in Russia without sanctions, the Reuters news agency reported, citing two people familiar with the matter.
The Group of Seven says it will put pressure on countries that continue to buy Russian oil or help Moscow to circumvent restrictions.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said US President Donald Trump had not told him to stop buying Russian oil, as demanded by the latter from NATO members.
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Paul Battison
BBC Sport journalist
Dan Hardy saw something in Paul Hughes during the build-up to his epic first fight with Usman Nurmagomedov in January which he knew would define the fight.
Confidence.
Former British welterweight Hardy, who was on commentary duty for the PFL that night in Dubai, knew that would be key because he’d seen Hughes use it to his advantage before.
Just three months earlier the Northern Irishman had proved his doubters wrong by beating former Bellator featherweight champion AJ McKee, despite being the underdog.
“This won him 50% of the fight with McKee, he rattled him. And I saw it in Usman – he was trying to figure out why Paul was so confident and that can be very unnerving,” Hardy told BBC Sport.
“Usman probably isn’t used to that type of confidence. That was a defining factor for the whole fight week.”
Hughes, 28, was on the losing end of a unanimous decision in a back-and-forth bout Hardy described as “having everything”.
“There was so much drama. The atmosphere in the arena, it felt very much 50-50 in there for Usman and Paul,” he added.
“The corner teams were tense as well – you could see Khabib [Nurmagomedov] pretending to choke people out in the corner. We had the groin strikes and clash of heads that played into it as well, it gave you everything you want from a first fight.”
Now the stage is set for a rematch, with the 27-year-old Nurmagomedov defending his PFL lightweight title against Hughes in Dubai again on Friday.
“This feels like a legitimate world-class lightweight battle between two guys who can step seamlessly into the top 10 in the world right now,” said Hardy.
‘Hughes rises to the occasion every time’
Hughes, who is a former featherweight champion in UK-based promotion Cage Warriors, joined the PFL in 2024 and has looked at home in the promotion.
As well as the win over McKee, he has earned stoppage victories over Bobby King and Bruno Miranda in May.
Nurmagomedov, who was making the third defence of his belt, represented a step up in difficulty but Hughes impressed throughout as he embraced the underdog tag.
“His footwork and his striking were incredible, his takedown defence was outstanding and I think he surprised Usman,” said Hardy.
The first fight had some close rounds which could have gone either way, with the pair engaging in a number of exciting striking exchanges.
There were also three stoppages in the bout – two for accidental groin shots, which Nurmagomedov was deducted a point for, and one for a clash of heads which split Hughes’ forehead open.
Hardy said Hughes will need to be busier if he wants to be victorious in the rematch.
“I think Hughes’ volume will increase, he lost on volume in the rounds he lost,” added the 43-year-old.
“Even though Usman’s kicks weren’t as impactful, it’s racking up points on the scorecard and a smart team around Paul, which I know he has, will be thinking we have to do more on the scorecards this time around.”
Nurmagomedov’s team includes former UFC lightweight champion and cousin Khabib, who retired having won all 29 of his fights, and ex-UFC lightweight title holder Islam Makhachev.
Hardy is expecting a different narrative in the rematch, however.
“I don’t think Usman will have a choice. I think Khabib will have taken him back to the mountains in Dagestan after that first fight and absolutely put him through the ringer,” he said.
