You’ll have to just imagine the casino pop-up ads in the middle of a naked bootleg play now. The Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE) announced yesterday that the largest illegal sports streaming platform, Streameast, is dead…just in time for the NFL 2025 season kickoff today.
It garnered over 1.6 billion visits in the last year and averaged roughly 136 million monthly visits, according to ACE. The coalition said it worked with Egyptian authorities to shut down Streameast and its 80 associated domains:
The network illegally streamed a huge range of matches and games from Europe’s Premier League and Champions League, as well as those from the NFL, NBA, and MLB.
Streameast also showed pirated F1 races, MMA fights, and boxing matches.
Authorities raided Streameast’s offices and took three laptops, four smartphones, $123,000 in Visa cards, and roughly $200,000 in crypto wallets.
Maybe you would steal a car. It’s hard to slap a number on just how much digital piracy costs broadcast companies, but one 2025 survey from Brand Finance found that 43% of 14,000 people in 13 countries considered using an unofficial streaming service to watch games. A 2023 study from YouGov found that 11% of adults did actually pirate content in the last year, with about half of them saying they’d done so because the cost was otherwise too high.—MM
Fortune Global Forum returns Oct. 26–27, 2025 in Riyadh. CEOs and global leaders will gather for a dynamic, invitation-only event shaping the future of business. Apply for an invitation.
Emily Atkinson, Malu Cursino & Patrick JacksonBBC News
Watch: Emergency crews surround derailed Portugal funicular
A carriage on one of Lisbon’s most iconic tourist attractions, the Glória funicular railway derailed and crashed on Wednesday. The popular tram-like form of transport is designed to travel up and down steep slopes.
Portuguese authorities have confirmed 16 people were killed, revising an earlier figure which put the death toll at 17.
It is not yet clear what caused the carriage to derail, but local media reports say a cable fault is suspected.
An investigation into the cause of the accident is under way.
Here is everything we know so far.
What happened?
The carriage derailed at around 18:15 (17:15 GMT) on Wednesday 3 September, near the city’s Avenida da Liberdade boulevard.
More than 60 rescue personnel and 22 vehicles were deployed to the scene.
Officials say it is too early to determine what caused the crash, but Portuguese newspaper Observador reports that a cable came loose along the railway’s route, causing it to lose control and collide with a building.
As smoke engulfed the area, people could be seen running away from the scene.
Images and footage show an overturned, crumpled yellow carriage lying on the cobblestone street, surrounded by emergency responders.
Some people were trapped in the wreckage, and had to be freed by emergency workers.
Tour guide Marianna Figueiredo witnessed the crash and was amongst those who tried to rescue people.
“People started to jump from the windows inside the funicular at the bottom of the hill,” she told the BBC.
“Then I saw another one [further up] that was already crushed. I started to climb the hill to help the people but when I got there the only thing I could hear was silence.”
She said what she witnessed yesterday evening was “very difficult to describe”. “It was very bad. A big tragedy.”
Who are the casualties?
Emergency services gave a death toll of 17 on Thursday but Prime Minister Luís Montenegro later said 16 were dead.
Reports in Portugal have attributed the mistake in the death toll to a duplicate registration of a victim at one hospital.
Exact information on who was riding the funicular at the time – and who may have been injured on the street – remains unclear but at least 20 people have been injured.
Those taken to hospital include four Portuguese, two Germans, two Spaniards, one Cape Verdean, one Canadian, one Italian, one French person, one Swiss, one Moroccan and one Korean, the city’s Municipal Civil Protection Service was quoted as saying by Portugal’s Lusa news agency.
André Jorge Gonçalves Marques, an employee of the city’s public transport operator, Carris, is among the dead.
“In his 15 years with Carris, he performed his duties with excellency,” the company said.
Portuguese media is reporting that a three-year-old child is being treated in one of Lisbon’s hospitals, while the child’s mother, who is pregnant, has been transferred to a maternity unit.
The Glória funicular can carry about 40 passengers and is extremely popular with tourists but it is also crucial for the city’s residents, to help them travel up and down Lisbon’s hilly streets.
It is not known how many people were onboard at the time of the crash, however.
What is the Glória funicular and how does it work?
A funicular is a type of railway system that allows travel up and down steep slopes, and in Lisbon, they are a crucial means of navigating the city’s steep, cobbled streets.
The city’s funicular railways – Glória, Lavra, Bica and Graça – are a popular tourist attraction, as the bright yellow tram-like vehicles snake through the often-narrow, hilly streets.
Glória was opened in 1885 and electrified three decades later.
It travels some 275m (900ft) from Restauradores, a central city square, up to the picturesque streets of Bairro Alto. The journey takes just three minutes.
The two carriages on the Glória route are attached to opposite ends of a haulage cable which is pulled by electric motors.
As one carriage travels downhill, its weight lifts the other, allowing them to ascend and descend simultaneously, reducing the energy need.
The second, intact carriage could be seen just metres from the wreckage at the bottom of the hill.
Reuters
How safe are Lisbon’s funicular railways?
Expressing regret for the crash, Carris said it had opened an investigation “to determine the causes of this accident”.
The company said in a statement that it had complied with “all maintenance protocols”:
General maintenance took place every four years and was last carried out in 2022
Interim repairs were made every two years, the last of which took place in 2024
Monthly and weekly maintenance programmes and daily inspections were also “scrupulously complied with”
“Everything was scrupulously respected,” company head Pedro Bogas said separately, adding that maintenance of the funiculars had been carried out by a contractor for the past 14 years.
“We have strict protocols, excellent professionals for many years, and we need to get to the bottom of what happened,” he added.
How have people reacted to the crash?
The country was observing a national day of mourning on Thursday while Lisbon Mayor Carlos Moedas declared three days of mourning in the capital.
Posting on X, Moedas said: “I extend my heartfelt condolences to all the families and friends of the victims. Lisbon is in mourning.”
Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa said he “deeply” regretted the “fatalities and serious injuries” caused by the crash.
Pedro Sánchez, prime minster of neighbouring Spain, said he was “appalled by the terrible accident”.
“All our affection and solidarity with the families of the victims and with the Portuguese people in this difficult moment,” he wrote in a statement on X.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen sent her “condolences to the families of the victims”.
In an interview with BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Fabiana Pavel, who is president of a Lisbon residents’ association, said her community was shocked.
She said the funicular is an important means of public transportation for those who live in Bairro Alto, “especially for people with reduced mobility as it allows them to easily climb a steep hill”.
“At the time of the accident there may have been parents with children returning from school.”
Ms Pavel added that the cable car is used disproportionately by tourists, leaving locals unable to use the service as a means of transport “because it has become a tourist attraction”.
Flags outside the European Parliament in Brussels have been flying at half mast to mark Portugal’s day of mourning.
“The tragic accident on the Elevador da Gloria has shaken Europe deeply,” Roberta Metsola, president of the European Parliament, posted on X.
Indie distributor and music services company Symphonic Distribution is expanding its presence in Puerto Rico through a partnership with recently-formed indie label High Ground Music (HGM) and the appointment of Victor Roque as Senior Director, A&R and Client Development for Latin America.
The partnership with HGM will combine Symphonic’s distribution platform with HGM’s “creative vision, fast-release strategy, and artist-first development model,” Symphonic said in a statement on Thursday (September 4).
HGM is led by several former execs at Rimas Entertainment, the Puerto Rico-headquartered indie label best known for representing Bad Bunny. Among those execs is Kamil Jacob “KJ” Assad, HGM’s CEO and a producer and A&R known for helping discover artists such as Eladio Carrión, Mora, and ROA, as well as award-winning songwriter Dirty.
“High Ground’s vision is speed with intention: create, release, learn, repeat,” Assad said. “With Symphonic, we have the platform and scale to deliver that vision globally, while keeping artists at the center.”
Also on HGM’s leadership team is Federico Carmona, who serves Co-CEO and Managing Partner & Creative Director. Carmona spent a decade as Senior Label Manager, A&R and Label Relations for Rimas, where he led project management and creative direction for Eladio Carrión, Jowell & Randy, Ñengo Flow, Corina Smith, Cazzu, and Kiko El Crazy, among others.
“Our goal is simple, to give artists the high ground they need to elevate and break barriers,” Carmona said. “We see potential where others don’t, we take risks where others won’t, and we keep going when others won’t.”
HGM is launching with a fresh roster of artists including Fonta, Okayyy and the visionary Colombian producer-artist CUZ, whose credits include Bad Bunny’s Velda, multiple tracks on Eladio Carrión’s latest album DON KBRN, Quevedo, Feid, and more.
“All of us at Symphonic as well as High Ground strongly believe in putting artists first,” Symphonic CEO Jorge Brea added. “We have big plans for our growth in Puerto Rico and beyond that [are] already beginning to come to fruition.”
“High Ground’s vision is speed with intention: create, release, learn, repeat.”
KJ Assad, High Ground Music
Also as part of its effort to expand its presence in Puerto Rico and the broader Caribbean region, Symphonic has appointed business development expert Victor Roque to the role of Senior Director, A&R and Client Development, LATAM.
In this role, Roque will lead Symphonic’s efforts in artist acquisition and catalog growth across the Caribbean region. He will be based in Puerto Rico and will report to Symphonic’s VP of LATAM Business Development, Greg Vinas.
Roque brings with him a decade of experience leading the marketing team and the LaMusica app for the Spanish Broadcasting System (SBS), a US-based media company specializing in Spanish-speaking audiences.
As National Director of Marketing and Special Events at SBS, he oversaw the teams responsible for radio and events promotion, experiential marketing, and business development for the digital division. He also played a key role in developing and growing the LaMusica app.
Through his company Looking Pop, Roque oversees marketing for artists including Randy Nota Loca from the iconic duo Jowell & Randy, Lenny Tavárez, Rafa Pabón, Shadow Blow, DJ John Elle, and others.
“Throughout my career, my passion has always been to connect with and showcase the incredible talent of Latin American artists,” Roque said. “Symphonic shares this passion and is constantly on the pulse of the best and brightest new talent.”
“We have big plans for our growth in Puerto Rico and beyond that [are] already beginning to come to fruition.”
Jorge Brea, Symphonic
“Victor’s deep knowledge of the LATAM music ecosystem and impressive track record made him a natural fit to lead our growth efforts in the region,” Vinas added. “I look forward to welcoming the many new artists that will undoubtedly be joining the Symphonic family as a result of both of these exciting developments.”
Founded in 2006 in Tampa, Florida, by Jorge Brea, Symphonic has expanded its presence from the US to Latin America, Brazil, Canada, the Caribbean, Europe, Africa, and Asia.
Its roster of current and past artists include Imogen Heap, Tokischa, Doechii, Surf Mesa, DJ Muggs (Cypress Hill), Daddy Yankee, Nicky Jam, Ozuna, El Alfa, Juan Luis Guerra, Onyx, Pi’erre Bourne, Nick Murphy/Chet Faker, Rob Garza (Thievery Corporation), CloZee, Freddie Gibbs, and others.Music Business Worldwide
The vintage Lisbon funicular that crashed on Wednesday, killing at least 16 people, lost control when one of its two yellow-and-white carriages hurtled into a building.
The funicular, one of Lisbon’s most popular tourist attractions, transports passengers to and from thescenic Bairro Alto neighborhood.
The funicular has two interconnected carriages powered by overhead electric cables. The carriages run in opposite directions and are attached by an underground cable system that runs through a pulley at the top of the hill.
The weight of the carriage that travels downhill helps lift the other, and they pass each other midway along the route. Each of the two vehicles on the line can carry about 40 people.
At the site of the crash, the roof of the carriage lay sideways on Thursday beside a jumble of metal pieces and broken wooden seats.
Photo by Pedro Nunes/Reuters
The New York Times
The crash happened near Restauradores Square in the center of Lisbon, Portugal’s hilly capital. The street was cordoned off, but people who gathered at the site left bunches of flowers.
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George Raveling, a Hall of Fame basketball coach who played a critical role in Michael Jordan signing a landmark endorsement deal with Nike, died Monday at age 88.
Raveling’s family said Tuesday in a statement that he had “faced cancer with courage and grace.”
“There are no words to fully capture what George meant to his family, friends, colleagues, former players, and assistants — and to the world,” the family statement read.
“He will be profoundly missed, yet his aura, energy, divine presence, and timeless wisdom live on in all those he touched and transformed.”
It is with deep sadness and unimaginable pain that we share the passing of our beloved “Coach,” George Henry Raveling. pic.twitter.com/LGWQubvI3V
Raveling had a career record of 335-293 (.533) from 1972-94 at Washington State, Iowa, and USC. He had a losing record in his first season at each school before making multiple trips to the NCAA Tournament.
He was named NABC Coach of the Year in 1992 and Pac-10 Coach of the Year in 1976, 1983, and 1992.
In addition, Raveling became the first African American coach in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) in 1969, when he was hired as the head coach at Maryland.
His success at those programs opened the door for Raveling to join the U.S. Olympic basketball staffs in 1984 and 1988. Jordan was on the 1984 team that won gold at the Olympic Games in Los Angeles.
George Raveling Convinced Michael Jordan To Sign With Nike
At the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, Raveling persuaded Jordan to sign with Nike during a brief conversation while he served as an assistant coach for the U.S. men’s basketball team under Bobby Knight.
Raveling then introduced Jordan to Sonny Vaccaro at Nike, which helped lead to a contract that gave Jordan his own brand, made him millions of dollars, and revolutionized the athletic apparel industry.
Ben Affleck and Matt Damon also produced a 2023 film titled Air about Nike’s signing of Michael Jordan and the Air Jordan brand. Marlon Wayans played Raveling in the film.
“For more than 40 years, he blessed my life with wisdom, encouragement, and friendship,” Jordan said in a statement. “He was a mentor in every sense and I’ll always carry deep gratitude for his guidance. I signed with Nike because of George, and without him, there would be no Air Jordan.”
Jordan said during a 2015 interview with Kurt Helin of USA Today that “I never wore Nike shoes until I signed with Nike” and “I was a big Adidas, Converse guy coming out of college.”
Sportico’s Kurt Badenhausen reported last year that Nike’s Jordan Brand was worth $7 billion.
Raveling Turned Basketball Into An International Game
NBA commissioner Adam Silver called Raveling “a pioneering force” who helped transform the sport of basketball into an international game.
“During his long and impactful tenure at Nike, George traveled the world — mentoring multiple generations of players and coaches promoting the sport that defined his identity,” Silver said in a statement.
“He broke barriers as a college basketball coach and was a towering voice in our industry. I valued my friendship with George and admired how he led with poise, dignity, and respect.”
Raveling also played basketball at Villanova from 1957-60, averaging 12.3 points and 14.6 rebounds over his last two seasons. The Philadelphia Warriors selected Raveling in the eighth round of the 1960 draft, but he never appeared in an NBA game.
“The finest human being, inspiring mentor, most loyal alum and a thoughtful loving friend,” Jay Wright, who coached Villanova to national championships in 2016 and 2018, posted on X.
“Coach Raveling lived his life for others, His heart was restless and kind and now rests In the lord!”
Current Villanova head coach Kevin Willard said in a statement that he has “long appreciated the enormous impact Coach has made not just on our game, but on so many of us in it. I know Villanova held a special place in his heart and we are forever grateful for his contributions to this program.”
Raveling was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2015.
We are all used to catching sight of wind farms dotted across hilltops while driving through the countryside. Offshore turbines, rising like silent giants out at sea, are also a familiar sight. But what you’re unlikely to have spotted is a flying wind turbine. The reason is simple: the technology has had little traction so far. Yet its potential to transform electricity generation is significant. In this article, we look at the alternatives being trialled in this field, and how the latest prototype works.
Airborne wind power: a brief history
The idea of harvesting energy from the skies is far from new. In fact, it was first proposed back in 1833 by Johann Adolphus Etzler, an American engineer who dreamt of using giant kites to power agricultural machinery. His efforts never quite took off, but the logic behind them persisted.
Since then, engineers have experimented with various approaches, most of which fall into two broad categories:
Aerostat turbines: These use an airship filled with a light gas (helium or hydrogen) to stay aloft. Operating at higher altitudes allows them to capture stronger and more consistent winds. In these models, the generators are always integrated within the airship itself. This is the turbine type we will focus on in this article, one that has just achieved a record-breaking 1 MW output in China.
Kite-based turbines: Instead of balloons, these systems rely on enormous computer-guided kites or wings. Their movements pull cables attached to ground-based generators, or occasionally to on-board devices. Google’s Makani project was a high-profile example, though it was ultimately abandoned after more than a decade of testing.
These airborne solutions aim to overcome the limitations of traditional turbines by harnessing faster and more reliable high-altitude winds that are inaccessible to conventional onshore and offshore systems. For now, however, they have had mixed fortunes. For example, Google’s Makani Airborne Wind Turbine project was ultimately scrapped after thirteen years of research. Will this time be different?
China’s record-breaking prototype
Developed by a Chinese company in partnership with Tsinghua University and the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the newest airborne wind turbine combines aerostat technology with wind turbines and delivers power at unprecedented levels.
The S1500 prototype, according to its developers, generates up to thirty times more energy than existing airborne models. The unit weighs about one tonne and contains twelve carbon-fibre microgenerators set into the hollow body of the airship.
The concept is similar to earlier projects: the goal is to access higher, steadier and faster winds than those blowing across land or open sea, thereby significantly increasing generation efficiency. More specifically, the researchers note that at its operating altitude wind speeds are about three times stronger than on the ground.
Main features of the new high-altitude turbine:
Operating altitude: up to 1,500 metres
Rated power output: 1 MW per turbine
Generation system: 12 microgenerators
Support system: helium-filled airship ensuring buoyancy and mobility
This form of airborne generation could prove especially valuable in remote mountainous areas, coastal zones where installing floating turbines is complex, and regions where mobility allows the technology to follow variable wind patterns. It could also provide renewable energy in humanitarian settings or refugee camps, similar to how other projects use solar power.
The challenges ahead
Despite the promise it shows, this technology faces notable technical challenges. Stability must be maintained against sudden gusts and pressure changes. Energy production must be optimised through real-time adjustments to blade orientation and speed. Safety is also critical, requiring high-resistance mooring cables and advanced electronic control systems.
United States President Donald Trump bristled on Wednesday when a Polish reporter suggested that he hadn’t done enough to pressure Russian President Vladimir Putin into ending Russia’s war on Ukraine, at a time when Europe and Ukraine are trying to convince Trump to impose sanctions or other punitive measures against Russia, as Moscow continues its assault on Ukraine.
He then pushed back at the reporter, listing measures he’d taken against Russian and threatening consequences if Moscow did not agree to peace.
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The interaction came just a day before Trump spoke with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy after he met with European leaders on Thursday in a separate European summit in Paris to discuss security reassurances for Ukraine in the event of a peace deal. The details of Trump and Zelenskyy’s meeting have not been made public yet.
Here is what we know about the action Trump has taken so far during his second US presidency to end this war.
Didn’t Trump promise to end the Russia-Ukraine war in just a day?
Yes. Indeed, the president has been keen to resolve several global conflicts, and has insisted that he is deserving of the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts.
But, despite promising repeatedly during his election campaign last year that he would end the Russia-Ukraine warwithin 24 hours of resuming the US presidency, the war rages on.
Following several Trump-led meetings and calls with Putin and Zelenskyy, the two sides are still far apart from a truce as several disagreements remain over territory concessions.
Trump has pushed for a meeting between Putin and Zelenskyy, but that has not happened, with Ukraine accusing Russia of avoiding a two-way meeting in order to prolong the conflict.
At the end of his visit to China on Wednesday this week, however, Putin stated that while he was not against such a meeting, there might not be any point to it. He suggested that Zelenskyy visit him in Moscow, a proposal that Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha has firmly rejected.
What did Trump say about Putin this week?
President Trump made the comments about Putin following a meeting with Polish President Karol Nawrocki, who was in the US to seek more American troop presence in his country, which borders Ukraine, in case of a Russian incursion into its own territory.
Trump recounted his efforts to end the Ukraine war at the press conference that followed the meeting. However, the US president visibly bristled when a reporter suggested that he had not done enough to pressure Russia’s Putin to end the war in Ukraine.
He pushed back at the suggestion, saying he had done several things. Trump added that he would continue to pressure Putin into making a decision, and that there would be consequences if Moscow failed to toe the line.
“Whatever his decision is, we’ll either be happy about it or unhappy,” Trump said, referring to Putin. “And if we’re unhappy about it, you’ll see things happen,” he said, without gving details of potential consequences.
Trump also repeated his past claims of having ended seven wars – including between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo; Pakistan and India; Thailand and Cambodia; and Israel and Iran. He added that he’d initially believed pressuring Putin into ending the Ukraine war would be easier because of the warm relations both men enjoyed in the past.
“But you never know with war … I have no message to President Putin. He knows where I stand, and he’ll make a decision one way or the other,” Trump said when asked if he had any messages to pass on to the Russian leader.
What steps has Trump taken to pressure Russia?
Tariffs against India
At the press briefing on Wednesday, Trump cited the high trade tariffs he has levied on India for buying Russian oil as one way he has pressured Putin. The US initially slapped a 25 percent levy on India, the world’s fifth-largest economy and a close Russian ally, in July, as part of Trump’s ongoing tariff wars. That rate was then doubled as punishment for trading with Russia.
A woman works at a garment factory in Tiruppur, in the southern state of Tamil Nadu, India, April 21, 2025 [Francis Mascarenhas/Reuters]
The 50 percent tariffs, which took effect on August 27, have hit India hard. Experts say they will greatly reduce Indian exports to the US, its biggest trading partner, and potentially affect thousands of jobs. The cost to India’s economy could run to billions of dollars. India’s main exports to the US include pharmaceuticals, gemstones, carpets, apparel and jewellery. US levies on India are among the highest Trump has imposed.
India has not retaliated to Trump’s move. However, New Delhi has signalled its ire to Washington by deepening ties with Russia and China, both US adversaries. India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited China this week for a security forum. He also shared a limousine ride with Russia’s Putin in China.
However, on Wednesday of this week, Trump told a radio show that he was not worried about a Russia-China axis against the US. He did express disappointment in Putin, however, adding that the US wanted to “help people live” in Ukraine.
Secondary sanctions on Russia’s allies
Trump has suggested that more “secondary sanctions” – such as the higher tariffs imposed on India – are in the works for other Russian allies as well.
“You’re going to see a lot more. So this is a taste,” Trump said in the Oval Office on August 8, after the initial tariffs were placed on India. However, the White House has provided no further details.
Experts say China could be targeted next. The US and China have already engaged in one intense trade war this year, with both levying more-than-100-percent tariffs on each other at one point. Following talks, the US is currently levying an average of 57.6 percent import levies on all Chinese goods, while China has imposed an average of 32.6 percent tariff on US imports.
(Al Jazeera)
Additional sanctions on Russia
Trump has also threatened to pile more sanctions on Russia if Putin fails to agree to peace with Ukraine. He renewed that threat on August 22, a week after hosting Putin at talks in Alaska.
“I’m going to make a decision as to what we do, and it’s going to be, it’s going to be a very important decision, and that’s whether or not it’s massive sanctions or massive tariffs or both, or we do nothing and say ‘It’s your fight’,” Trump told reporters.
Since Trump took office this year, the US has not imposed more sanctions on Russia. There were extensive US sanctions in place on Russia already, however.
Some travel and business transaction bans on specific individuals, officials and entities go as far back as 2014, when Russia annexed the Ukrainian region of Crimea. Russia’s intelligence services, the Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU) and the Federal Security Service (FSB), as well as four unnamed individuals and three companies, were all sanctioned for their involvement in Russia’s interference in the 2016 US elections before President Barack Obama left office. Two “Russian compounds” in New York and Maryland, where some of the interference work was done, were also shut down.
In 2018, during Trump’s first term, the US sanctioned Russian hackers, officials and related organisations which were found to have been involved in the 2016 election interference and for other “malign” actions. High-profile names – such as Putin’s former son-in-law, Kirill Shamalov and a Russian state weapons company – were named.
In August 2019, Trump approved additional sanctions forbidding the granting of loans to Russian entities or other assistance from Western monetary bodies like the World Bank. Licensing restrictions were also introduced for chemical or biological weapons exported to Russia for fears of proliferation.
Following Moscow’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, the administration of former US President Joe Biden expanded sanctions to include bans on Russian oil sales, transactions with Russian banks and the confiscation of Russian-owned property overseas. Export controls were further imposed on US-made high-tech material being exported to Russia to reduce Moscow’s access to Western technology.
Weapons sales to NATO
In July, Trump struck a deal with European NATO countries to sell more US weapons, such as Patriot missile air defence systems, for Ukraine’s use. Trump said the weapons would be rapidly sent to the front lines of the war and that Ukraine’s European allies would pay for them.
On August 28, the US State Department confirmed that the US is set to send weapons worth $825m to Ukraine as part of that deal. Ukraine, the statement read, had requested 3,500 extended-range cruise missiles and 3,350 GPS navigation systems, and those would be delivered, in addition to other equipment such as batteries and training software.
“This proposed sale will improve Ukraine’s capability to meet current and future threats by further equipping it to conduct self-defense and regional security missions. Ukraine will have no difficulty absorbing these articles and services into its armed forces,” the US statement read.
The sale, which was paid for by Denmark, Norway, and the Netherlands, as well as in part by the US, was pending approval from Congress, the statement added.
What happens next?
On Thursday, Zelenskyy spoke with Trump by phone following his meeting with European leaders in Paris.
The Paris summit aimed to gather consensus about security guarantees for Ukraine once a peace deal is reached. The so-called coalition of the willing discussed measures like deploying a peace force to Ukraine, but no concrete announcements were made after the meeting. US envoy Steve Witkoff was also present in Paris and met with Zelenskyy.
The Ukrainian leader earlier said he would push Trump for more sanctions on Russia. He also said there were “signals” that the US would act as a “backstop”, suggesting that the US may be willing to provide some form of protective support for Ukraine in the future. Zelenskyy made those comments earlier this week at a press briefing in Copenhagen where European ministers met to discuss security.
Reporting from the White House in Washington, DC, on Wednesday, Al Jazeera correspondent Alan Fisher said there was no confirmation of the sequence of events yet, but that it is likely that following Zelensky’s chat with Trump, the US president will then have a call with Putin to further push for a concrete peace package.
Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness, 53, has won a rare third term in office after his Labour Party sailed to victory in Monday’s election.
The Caribbean nation’s electoral commission said the Labour Party had won 34 seats, beating the opposition People’s National Party (PNP), which secured 29 seats, according to preliminary figures.
The candidate for the PNP, Mark Golding, has conceded defeat.
Holness campaigned on a promise to lower the income tax rate from 25% to 15%, while Golding had said he would raise the income tax threshold.
The incumbent was also credited by many voters for bringing down the number of homicides in the country after the murder rate fell to its lowest in 25 years in the first quarter of 2025, according to official figures.
While there was some criticism of the measures used to bring about the drop in crime – such as states of emergency being declared in some regions – the increased sense of safety seems to have helped propel Holness to another term.
But the economy was at the centre of the election campaign with the Labour Party pointing to the low unemployment rate of 3.3% as one of its achievements in office.
The main opposition party, the PNP, accused the government of squandering money, citing the high cost of second-hand school buses it had purchased.
It also raised questions about the integrity of Prime Minister Holness, citing a report which had questioned his income and assets declaration.
Holness denied any wrongdoing and accused the PNP of using the report as a “distraction” because, he said, the government’s record was such that there was little the opposition could criticise.
While turnout was low at 39.5%, an observer mission sent by the Organization of American States (OAS) praised Jamaican voters for being “calm and orderly with a sense of civic maturity and pride”.
Holness thanked voters for “this historic third term” and for their “trust, your faith and your belief in the vision of a stronger, safer, more prosperous Jamaica”.
