Senior EU official cancels Serbia trip over planned tribute to Mladic

The European Union’s enlargement chief Marta Kos has cancelled her upcoming visit to Serbia over what she called the “glorification” of convicted war criminal Ratko Mladic following his death.

Kos took to X on Friday to condemn the “glorification surrounding his death”, saying it “is incompatible with the values on which the EU path is built”.

Mladic’s body was flown from The Hague to Belgrade, where it was received with a guard of honour on Thursday, days before his scheduled burial.

“In this context, I have decided not to proceed with my planned visit to Serbia at this time,” Kos added.

Known as the “Butcher of Bosnia”, Mladic died at the age of 84 on August 27 while serving a life sentence in The Hague for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes committed during the Bosnian War.

Despite a UN court conviction in 2017, Mladic is considered a hero by sections of the Serbian public and political establishment. Supporters were seen cheering as his body was driven through Belgrade on Thursday.

Regional N1 television quoted Serbian populist President Aleksandar Vucic as saying that Kos’s explanation was “very short but stupid”.

According to the Serbian government, Mladic will be buried with state and military honours.
A woman walks by a mural that shows former Bosnian Serb wartime general Ratko Mladic in Belgrade. [Darko Vojinovic/AP Photo]
A woman walks by a mural that shows former Bosnian Serb wartime general Ratko Mladic in Belgrade on September 2, 2026 [Darko Vojinovic/AP]

Vucic also said that the government would provide “every kind of logistical and transport support” and that he expected tens of thousands to attend the funeral.

Serbia has been negotiating EU accession since 2014, but the process has stalled in recent years under Vucic.

Mladic was one of the most notorious military commanders of the Bosnian War, which left more than 100,000 people dead. His legacy is closely linked to the Srebrenica genocide, in which his forces killed more than 8,000 Bosniak Muslim men and boys in July 1995.

‘Small potatoes’: US President Trump downplays war on Iran

As the United States and Israel’s war on Iran enters its seventh month with no clear end in sight, President Donald Trump has become the latest US official to downplay the conflict.

On Friday, Trump said the conflict, which has resulted in the deaths of 18 US service members and a spike in global energy prices, is “small potatoes”.

“It’s not a big thing,” Trump said, comparing strikes on Iran with other US military campaigns, including the January 3 operation to abduct Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

“We did Venezuela, and we did this. In Venezuela, we lost nobody. In this, we lost 18 people.”

His remarks came at an Oval Office signing event, where reporters asked him to weigh in on remarks from Vice President JD Vance.

A day earlier, at a White House news briefing, Vance appeared to suggest the conflict had cooled, despite a recent exchange of intense fire between US and Iranian forces.

“I wouldn’t call it a war. Right now, there is no active shooting,” Vance said, arguing that major combat operations only lasted six weeks. He then added, “I recognise there have been places where this has flared up.”

Trump on Friday told reporters there was “a lot of truth” to what Vance said. He opted to brand the fighting as a “military conflict”.

“We do intermittent strikes,” Trump said, adding: “We’re not fighting right now. There’s no fighting. We’re taking out a lot of oil. We control the Hormuz Strait. We control it very strongly.”

Since the war began on February 28, Trump has used various phrases to avoid calling the conflict a war.

In the past, he has called the fighting with Iran a “little skirmish”, a “little detour” and a “little excursion, a couple of weeks, few weeks of excursion”.

“It’s an excursion that will keep us out of a war,” Trump said in March.

Experts say such terminology is likely strategic. The Trump administration has faced pushback for not seeking congressional approval before launching its strikes on Iran.

The US Constitution grants Congress the exclusive power to declare war, though successive presidencies have taken unilateral military actions without the legislature’s approval. Legal scholars have repeatedly questioned the legality of those manoeuvres.

In June, both chambers of Congress passed a war powers resolution, calling on Trump to either stop his military campaign against Iran or seek congressional authorisation for it.

The resolution was largely symbolic, though it did signal growing bipartisan opposition to Trump’s war on Iran.

As the conflict enters its seventh month, it remains widely unpopular in the US.

A poll released on Monday by the Reuters news agency and the research firm Ipsos found that nearly six in 10 US adults disapproved of the military strikes on Iran.

As the midterm elections approach in November, and peace talks remain deadlocked, the president’s remarks appear designed to minimise the conflict’s impact across the world.

The war has led to attacks across the Middle East, and fuel prices remain high. In the US, the American Automobile Association (AAA) says the average fuel price is $4.15 per gallon (3.8 litres), up nearly a dollar from last year.

The Trump administration, however, has long argued the war and its effects would be short-term.

It has also signalled that it intends to double down on its economic pressure campaign against Iran, which has long faced US sanctions.

In August, Trump pledged on Truth Social to pursue the “MOST CRUSHING ECONOMIC OPERATION EVER TAKEN AGAINST ANY COUNTRY”.

This week, his administration announced new sanctions aimed at cutting off the country’s access to the international financial system.

On Friday, Trump also did not rule out further attacks, suggesting the US may “very soon” strike Iran’s Pickaxe Mountain, a military site near the Natanz uranium enrichment facility. Natanz was bombed in June 2025 and again during the current war.

A recent exchange of strikes this month resulted in Iran firing on US military bases across the Middle East. The US, meanwhile, was accused by the Iranian government of bombing a wedding celebration in the coastal city of Sirik, killing at least four people.

While the future of the conflict is uncertain, Trump said he was pleased with its progress.

“I don’t think it matters what you call it,” Trump said. “What matters is you’ve had tremendous success.”

Tunisia arrests journalist Mohamed Yousfi amid crackdown on critics

Tunisian police have arrested prominent journalist Mohamed Yousfi, a vocal critic of President Kais Saied’s rule, the head of the National Syndicate of Tunisian Journalists told Reuters.

According to local journalists, police said that Yousfi, the editor-in-chief of the investigative news website Al-Qatiba, was brought in on Friday for questioning. The focus of the investigation is unknown.

Tunisian authorities have not yet commented on the arrest, which is the latest in a string of prosecutions of media figures and activists in Tunisia this year.

Khaoula Boukrim, founder of the news website TUMEDIA, who fled to France last year, was sentenced in June to four years in absentia.

Prominent journalist Zied el-Heni was sentenced in May to one year in prison, while broadcaster Mourad Zeghidi and political commentator Borhen Bsaies were sentenced in January to three and a half years.


Rights groups have warned of a widening crackdown on independent voices in Tunisia under Saied, whose rule has dismantled democratic safeguards, enabling authorities to pursue journalists and critics more aggressively.

On Thursday, Tunisia’s Court of Cassation upheld a mass trial against 40 figures, including opposition leaders, lawyers and human rights defenders convicted of conspiring to overthrow Saied.

“The ruling confirms that the judiciary is not independent,” said Haifa Chebbi, a lawyer whose father, opposition leader Najib Chebbi, was among those sentenced to 12 years.

Tunisia’s Minister of Justice Leila Jaffel said the defendants sought to destabilise the country.

Mock Republican convention website tops Google, redirects to Epstein files

A mock website that directs users to the Epstein Files appears to be the primary search result on Google for the Republican Party’s upcoming midterm convention in Dallas, Texas.

For hours on Friday, the website gopdallas2026.com soared to the top of the search results, with preview text that offered viewers the chance to “discover details about the 2026 RNC [Republican National Committee] Midterm Convention”.

But users who clicked on the website were immediately taken to the Department of Justice’s website for the files about notorious sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

The Republican Party quickly denounced the website on social media, pointing visitors instead to GOPConvention.com for the official site.

“FAKE NEWS!” the party wrote of the reports circulating on social media that the fake website was the real one.

Democratic lawmakers used the prank to revive discussion of the Epstein Files, which has been a long-running source of criticism for the administration of President Donald Trump, a speaker at the two-day convention.

Trump officials have been accused of mishandling the files’ release, which was mandated within 30 days under November’s Epstein Files Transparency Act.

Some critics have pointed out that certain records published by the Justice Department appear unnecessarily redacted, while others reveal the identities of victims.

Trump has also faced scrutiny for his personal relationship with Epstein, which he says ended decades ago.

There has long been speculation, however, that powerful figures in Epstein’s orbit turned a blind eye to his crimes. He was convicted in 2008 of soliciting a minor, and he faced sex-trafficking charges at the time of his death in 2019. His victims are thought to number in the hundreds.


Democratic lawmakers like Representative Ted Lieu of California seized on reports of the purported convention website. He shared a message from reporter Jake Lahut saying that “something funky is going on”.

“I just tried the website and the below description, as of right now, is accurate,” Lieu said in response to Lahut. “Sort of awesome.”

According to documentation from the Internet Archive, which captures snapshots of past websites, gopdallas2026.com used to include a background photo displaying the American Airlines Center in Dallas, the site of the upcoming midterm convention.

The centre of the website prompted users to input their contact information to “get exclusive updates”.

But, in small text at the bottom, the website included a caveat that it was not the official source for information related to the midterm convention.

“This website is an independent informational resource and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or operated by the Republican National Committee (RNC), the 2026 RNC Midterm Convention, the American Airlines Center, or any official convention entity,” it said.

“For official convention information, please visit the appropriate official websites.”


This month’s event is the first-ever midterm convention hosted by the Republican Party.

It is slated to take place from September 9 to 10. A press release from the Republican National Committee indicates that the event is expected to be the party’s largest convention since 2016.

Trump is reportedly slated to speak on both nights, as he tries to rouse enthusiasm for his party ahead of the November midterm elections.

Republicans hope to hold onto their majorities in the House of Representatives and Senate as Trump’s popularity slides to new lows amid continued fallout from the war on Iran.

“Never before in history has any major party held a midterm convention, and President Trump wants to focus in on that and open this up to the American people, because all of his work has been about improving their lives,” RNC spokesperson Zach Kraft said in an interview with CBS Texas.

Democrats, however, held national midterm party conferences in 1974, 1978 and 1982.

“So, he wants them to be able to have an opportunity to attend this event and hear from him directly.”

Israeli police kill Palestinian in Jerusalem as army blocks aid for Qusra

Israeli police have killed a Palestinian man in Jerusalem and the Israeli army has blocked humanitarian assistance from reaching an occupied West Bank village besieged by settlers for weeks.

Officers opened fire on a 33-year-old Palestinian near Damascus gate in Jerusalem on Friday. Israeli police said its border guard “neutralised” the man, claiming he was attempting to stab one of them.

The Palestinian Wafa news agency identified the man as Ibrahim al-Hendi from East Jerusalem’s Beit Hanina neighbourhood. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Following the incident, Israeli forces deployed around Damascus Gate and the surrounding area of Jerusalem’s Old City, Palestinian sources told Al Jazeera.

Separately, the Israeli army said that it arrested Palestinians in the town of Qabatiya in the West Bank, alleging they were “planning to carry out an attack” against Israelis and security forces.

Ten other Palestinians were arrested during a 48-hour Israeli army operation in Nablus in the West Bank. The Israeli army said it seized more than “30 weapon production machines used to manufacture weapons” during the operation.

Meanwhile, Israeli settlers and soldiers carried out attacks across the occupied West Bank on Friday, Wafa reported. Settlers stormed the Khirbet al-Hamra community in the northern Jordan Valley and assaulted one resident.

Israeli settlers, accompanied by soldiers, also attacked Khalet a-Nahlah in southern Bethlehem. Israeli forces also fired tear gas and concussion grenades at a crowd of Palestinians who gathered to resist the attacks.

Israeli forces block peace activists carrying food and water from reaching Palestinian families whose homes have been cut off supplies by Israeli settlers in the village of Qusra, south of the city of Nablus in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, on September 4, 2026.
Israeli forces block peace activists carrying food and water from reaching Palestinian families whose homes have been cut off from supplies by Israeli settlers in the village of Qusra on September 4, 2026 [Jaafar Ashtiyeh/AFP]

Blocking access to Qusra

As violence and harassment of Palestinians continues across the occupied territory, the Israeli army on Friday also prevented around 100 peace activists from delivering food and medicine to Palestinians who have been under siege in the town of Qusra for 28 days.

Since August 9, Israeli settlers have besieged three Palestinian homes in the northern occupied West Bank village, while the Israeli army has also prevented the families from entering or leaving them, claiming the area is a “closed military zone”.

“Day 28 of the blockade on Qusra. About 100 activists arrived to deliver supplies to the besieged families,” the Israeli Peace Now movement said in a post on X.

“The army blocked us at first, claiming Qusra was a ‘closed military zone.’ Then let us in but on the way back detained us for ‘violating a closed military zone’,” it added.

Qusra Mayor Abdel Azim Wadi also told the state-run Turkish Anadolu news agency that the Israeli army has been “preventing the delivery of basic necessities to three families trapped on Mount Ras al-Ain”.

US ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee told Israeli public broadcaster Kan on Friday that settler violence against Palestinians is “damaging the image of Israel as a nation and a people, warning that Israel “needs all the friends it can get” and “doesn’t need more enemies”.

Around 750,000 Israeli settlers live in 156 illegal settlements and 360 settlement outposts in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and carry out attacks aimed at forcibly displacing Palestinians, according to Palestinian figures.


Costa Rican president signals openness to domestic US military operations

Costa Rican President Laura Fernandez has suggested that United States military operations in the country’s territory could bring national security benefits.

But she added caveats. In an interview published on Friday, Fernandez emphasised to the news service Reuters that such measures would require approval from the national legislature.

She also added there were no plans in the works for US forces to operate in the country.

“It would obviously be very good for national security if it were about pursuing a common objective against transnational crime, transnational drug trafficking, transnational terrorism,” said Fernandez, a right-wing populist who took office in May.

Fernandez succeeded her mentor, former President Rodrigo Chaves, after a February election in which concerns about security and rising violence in the Central American country played a prominent role.


Though she ran on a tough-on-crime platform, Fernandez has said that she is not currently considering a state of emergency to address the problem.

Such emergency declarations typically suspend key constitutional rights, in favour of giving police or the military added powers to crack down on violence.

That model has been popularised under the right-wing president of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele.

But critics point out that the states of emergency are meant to be short-term measures, not permanent ones. El Salvador has been under an emergency declaration since 2022, with the government extending it dozens of times.

Crime has become a top voter concern in Costa Rica. The Central American country’s homicide rate has doubled in the last decade, reaching 17.2 per 100,000 inhabitants in 2023.

That figure still places the country’s average well below many others in the region, but the change, partly attributed to increased drug trafficking activity, has startled many residents.


Fernandez’s remarks also reflect growing pressure from the US to reduce crime across the Western Hemisphere.

Since returning to office for a second term, US President Donald Trump has pushed to expand his country’s influence across Latin America, notably through military engagements.

Earlier this year, he launched the “Shield of the Americas”, also known as the Americas Counter Cartel Coalition (ACCC), to bring together right-wing leaders across the region to address drug trafficking.

Trump used the inaugural meeting to encourage Latin American governments to embrace a military-driven approach to crime, despite concerns about human rights.

He has also carried out and threatened military operations in sovereign countries, on the premise of combatting crime.

Some countries, such as Mexico, have baulked at the prospect of US military forces carrying out operations on their territory. Critics point to Washington’s long record of interventions and rights abuses in the region.

But other countries have been more receptive. US forces, for instance, have recently carried out military operations with the right-wing government of Ecuador, in an effort to lower crime rates.

Ecuador’s armed forces, however, have been accused of crimes such as torture and enforced disappearance, abuses that experts warn could be worsened by support from the US.

A July report from Human Rights Watch warns that the military collaboration between Ecuador and the US has already had dire consequences.

Ecuadorian fishermen have reported facing attacks at sea, and in one case, Ecuadorian soldiers allegedly detained and tortured four Colombian farm workers, using methods such as mock executions, beatings and electric shocks.

That incident reportedly took place during a raid near the border carried out with US support.

“The two countries’ security relationship is deepening at a moment when both governments have engaged in serious human rights violations fueled by their insistence on framing their confrontations with organised crime groups as a kind of war,” the report says.

Those raids come after Ecuadorian voters rejected a referendum last year that would have allowed foreign countries to set up military bases in the country.

Betis beat Real Madrid as Mbappe misses penalty in first La Liga defeat

Kylian Mbappe missed a late penalty as Troy Parrott scored his first goal for Real Betis in a 1-0 win over Real Madrid, ending manager Jose Mourinho’s side’s perfect start to the La Liga season.

Madrid had won each of their first three matches under Mourinho in his second spell in charge, but Betis goalkeeper Alvaro Valles denied Mbappe from the spot deep into stoppage time on Friday to seal a memorable victory at La Cartuja.

Vinicius Junior hit the post in the first half from Arda Guler’s pass across the face of goal, with Mbappe foiled twice by heroic blocks from Natan Bernardo de Souza and Marc Bartra.

As Madrid struggled to break Betis down, the hosts took a surprise lead nine minutes from time when Parrott fired home the rebound after Thibaut Courtois had produced a fine save to deny Nelson Deossa’s header.

Carlos Espi thought he had equalised with a superb acrobatic finish from a Vinicius cross, but the goal was ruled out for offside in the build-up.

Mbappe then clipped the crossbar with a delicate effort before being handed a glorious chance to level from the penalty spot after Natan’s crunching late challenge on Vinicius.

However, Valles saved his kick to secure a victory that lifted Betis level with Madrid on nine points from four matches ahead of just their second Champions League campaign next week.

Witkoff and Kushner will travel to ‘end’ Russia’s war in Ukraine: Trump

United States President Donald Trump said that US special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are travelling this weekend in an attempt to revive peace talks between Ukraine and Russia.

On Friday, while speaking at the White House, Trump said Witkoff and his son-in-law Kushner, who are preparing to travel to Kyiv and Moscow this weekend, are bringing a proposal to “end the war”.

“I sent Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner … to see whether or not we can get something done,” Trump said. “And there may be a good chance that we’ll do it.”

“We have an idea for peace,” Trump added without mentioning any specifics about his administration’s plan.

According to Russian state news agency TASS, Witkoff and Kushner will be in Moscow on Saturday and Sunday, their first visit since January.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also said the duo would be in Ukraine on Sunday, marking their first visit to the country since Trump returned to power.

Russian President Vladimir Putin recently said negotiations were “frozen”. But this weekend’s expected talks come as both sides continue to ramp up air attacks, with Russia hitting the headquarters of Ukraine’s SBU security services on Friday.

At least 12 people were injured in the strike, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said.

Al Jazeera’s Audrey MacAlpine, reporting from Kyiv, said that while people weren’t shocked the SBU building was hit, it has made them wonder what target might be next.

“It’s not so much that people never expected the SBU to be hit, but it really raises the question of if Russia can hit this, what else can it hit?” she said. “Some people here are wondering whether this attack, for example, could be aimed at possibly dissuading” the US envoys’ trips to Ukraine.

Trump told reporters Friday that a peace deal in the more than four-year conflict has remained elusive due to what he described as a “personality problem” between both sides.

“President Zelenskyy and President Putin truly hate each other,” Trump said. “They have serious hate, and it’s getting in the way.”

While exact figures are unknown, a study released in July by the Center for Strategic and International Studies says the war has cost Russia some 450,000 lives. Ukraine is estimated to have endured between 125,000 and 150,000 fatalities.

Sabalenka interrupts US Open match against Rakhimova over cannabis smell

World number one Aryna Sabalenka had an unusual interruption during ⁠her US Open third-round ⁠match, stopping play to alert the umpire to a strong smell of cannabis drifting onto the Louis Armstrong Stadium court.

Sabalenka, who ⁠had made a fast start to go 3-0 ahead before securing a straight-sets win against Uzbekistan’s Kamilla Rakhimova, raised the issue during her second service game on Friday, pointing ⁠out the smell before play resumed.

“Someone is smoking weed,” top seed Sabalenka told umpire Eva Asderaki-Moore as she was serving 30-0 up. “Would you mind to… because it’s so strong.”

Sabalenka later told reporters she was not objecting to anyone enjoying themselves, but asked for the smoking ‌to be kept away from the court.

“I was like, Guys, you can do whatever, you can smoke whatever, you can relax as much as you can, but please to not do it around the tennis courts,” a smiling Sabalenka said. “It’s a bit tricky to handle that smell while you’re trying to compete at your best.”

The odour of cannabis has become a familiar — if unwelcome — feature at ⁠Flushing Meadows, with players complaining about the distraction in the ⁠past.

While smoking is not permitted inside the grounds, recreational cannabis is legal for adults 21 and older in New York, and smoke from people in the surrounding Flushing Meadows-Corona Park can drift into the tennis ⁠complex and onto the courts.

Sabalenka said she had smelled cannabis before during the tournament but never so strongly during a ⁠match, with Friday’s wind apparently carrying the odour into ⁠the stadium.

“That strong, yeah. Also, because it was a bit windy,” she said. “I don’t know if it was coming from the crowd or was from the outside because the wind blows it into the stadium.

“I ‌just hope they are a bit more aware of that stuff,” she added, before laughing when the questions returned to the subject. “Come on, guys. I think there is ‌nothing ‌else to say about weed. I’m just asking people not to smoke it next to the tennis court.”

Liverpool beat Ipswich as Isak goals hand Iraola first Premier League win

Alexander Isak scored twice for Liverpool in their 2-0 Premier League win at Ipswich Town, handing Reds manager Andoni Iraola his first win since taking over in the summer.

Sweden international Isak pounced in the sixth and ninth minutes of Friday’s match at Portman Road to ease Liverpool nerves that a third successive winless match may be in the offing.

With his side in cruise control in the second period, Iraola was able to look to the bench to hand a 64th-minute debut to Bradley Barcola, who became the club’s record signing with his summer move from Paris Saint-Germain.

“We needed this win,” Iraola told Sky Sports. “It was also nice to get a clean sheet and control the match.

“The second half was not as good as the first, but we didn’t concede any chances.”

Isak’s first came courtesy of a drilled finish from within the area, having been picked out by Cody Gakpo, that even the glove of Kjell Scherpen in the Ipswich goal could not stop.

The Reds, who drew their first two games of the season, sliced through the home side’s defence with an outside-of-the-foot through-ball from Gakpo that set Isak on his way to dribble past Jacob Greaves before slotting home.

“We were talking about starting the game well. It was perfect for us to get those two quick goals,” Isak told Sky Sports.

“We are starting to get to the way we want to play. We want to be offensive. We could have scored more.”

Iraola replaced Arne Slot, who was sacked after one season in charge as the Reds’ title defence fell apart in the last campaign. The former Bournemouth manager saw his side stumble in their opening games at Newcastle United and at home to Nottingham Forest.

Ipswich, therefore, represented a serious trip hazard as a promoted side that won their first league game and took the lead in a bright start to their defeat at Old Trafford last week.

It was a dominant display from the Reds throughout, though, with a deserved clean sheet kept at the other end.

“We were more direct, which we wanted, in the start and we scored two great goals,” Liverpool captain and central defender Virgil van Dijk told Sky Sports.

Isak had a goal that would have marked his hat-trick ruled out in the first half, while Dominik Szoboszlai thought he had won a penalty to increase the lead in the second period – following a challenge from Leif Davis – but the Liverpool midfielder was ruled offside by VAR.