Dismissed in Taiwan as simply propaganda, the Long Watch, or Jiaofeng, has proved a sensation across the strait with its references to real-life crises

After shaking off the people trailing her through a crowded market and emerging from a bathroom in disguise, the double agent appears to have escaped. But a sip of water on a plane eventually gets her. She is poisoned after Taiwan’s military intelligence service discovers that she has been working secretly for China.

The plot comes from a new Chinese spy drama co-produced by the Ministry of State Security. Since its premiere on 6 September, it has become a TV hit, with a fictionalised take on a subject rarely treated so directly: the modern history of tensions with Taiwan.

The Emmys are here – and tonight’s ceremony is likely to be dominated by The Pitt, Pluribus, Hacks and Widow’s Bay. Follow live updates

• Emmys 2026: red carpet looks and outfits at TV’s biggest night – in pictures

• Emmy winners 2026: the full list

With a little under an hour till showtime, the stars are starting to trickle in, including a very glam Detective Olivia Benson AKA first-time host Mariska Hargitay:

Well, it wouldn’t be a red carpet without Hacks’s Meg Stalter and Paul W Downs stunting with a coordinated costume … and for the show’s final Emmys go-around, Stalter is going as Miss Emmy Trophy herself, gold overhead globe and angel wings and all. Which is making for some amazing cutaways from the more serious folk posing for photos nearby.

Comprised of smelly soya beans held together by strands of mucus, the ancient dish is appearing in health food shops across the world

It is smelly, slimy and contains bacteria – and a sizeable number of Japanese wouldn’t touch it with a pair of barge pole-length chopsticks. But after centuries as a breakfast food for Japanese diners with nerves of steel, natto is emerging as a global superfood to rival kimchi, kombucha and kefir.

Its exact origins are unknown. Some believe it was introduced to Japan from China by Buddhist monks during the Yayoi period (300BC-AD300), before becoming a staple among rural communities during the Edo period (1603-1868).

Trump administration undermining rule of law at home and worldwide, according to intergovernmental report

Key indicators of democracy in the US have fallen to their lowest levels in 50 years, with the global rule of law significantly undermined by the Trump administration’s “threats and actions”, data from a leading thinktank shows.

Around the world, judicial independence, credible elections and freedom of expression, press freedom and access to justice are all at their lowest levels for at least 30 years, according to the Stockholm-based International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International Idea).

US president’s eldest child married Palm Beach socialite Bettina Anderson in three-day celebration across two exclusive private islands

• US politics live – latest updates

Donald Trump Jr and his wife, Bettina, confirmed on Monday that a Russian oligarch close to Vladimir Putin partially paid for the couple’s wedding celebrations in May, following a ProPublica report revealing Umar Kremlev spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on the events.

Trump Jr, the US president’s eldest child, married the Palm Beach socialite in a lavish three-day celebration across two exclusive private islands in May.

Donald Trump dismisses attempts to increase controls on artificial intelligence as ‘sick conspiracy’

AI-linked stocks tumbled on Monday after the bosses of Anthropic, OpenAI and SpaceX called for a slowdown in AI “reckless” development, citing fears the technology could soon run out of control.

Shares in the semiconductor designer Nvidia – the world’s most valuable company – were down 3.3% by market closing in New York City, while Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) slid 4% and Micron Technology and Sandisk shares slumped by 5%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq index fund was down 0.5% by the end of the day.

• Inter and Roma lead Serie A, Como move up to third

• Real Betis beat struggling Villarreal in La Liga

Inter fought back ⁠from two goals down ​to beat Udinese 5-3 on Monday, maintaining their perfect Serie A start alongside Roma, who won 2-0 at Torino before Saturday’s match between ⁠the joint leaders. Both sides have 12 points from four matches and share top spot before their encounter at the Stadio Olimpico, while Como are third on 10 points ⁠after beating Parma 2-1.

Udinese stunned Inter with two goals in the opening 16 minutes, as James Abankwah headed home ​unmarked after nine minutes before Jurgen Ekkelenkamp doubled ‌the visitors’ lead with a ‌close-range finish seven minutes later. Inter hit back through Carlos Augusto, whose long-range effort flew into the bottom corner, ‌before Nicolò Barella levelled 10 minutes before half-time.

Toronto film festival: the actor gives his greatest screen performance to date as the Chariots of Fire star who spends his final months playing Hamlet on stage

It was an endlessly parodied cliche that any queer film released during a certain period would be about one thing and one thing only: Aids. In 1993, Philadelphia showed a wider audience a mostly clean and palatable version of the crisis, and won Oscars for doing so, and for a time, when gay men weren’t acting as sassy friends to women in need, they were coughing up blood in lonely hospital beds.

The inevitable and understandable pushback, allowing for a wider breadth of stories, brought us more “queer joy” and “chosen family” but it also allowed some to forget just what a time of unimaginable annihilation it was. It also reframed the period as an onslaught of Aids movies when the majority of them existed on the outskirts still, films such as Buddies, Longtime Companion and Jeffrey seen by mostly queer arthouse audiences. If anything, I’d argue that something so relatively recent and horrifying has been rather under-explored on screen especially in comparison with other, even fresher tragedies (Aids has killed more than 44 million people worldwide compared with just more than 7 million for Covid).

Trump’s EPA strips itself of regulation ability, gutting Clean Air Act in what experts say is a gift to planet polluters

On the heels of the hottest summer ever recorded in the US, the Trump administration has said it will erase any limits on emissions from coal and gas plants that are dangerously heating up our planet.

The US Environmental Protection Agency said it will strip itself of its ability to regulate greenhouse gas emissions coming from power plants under the Clean Air Act, removing a key tool to address the climate crisis.

At what stage does a good start become something more significant? Perhaps we are not quite there yet; maybe we are. But as the goals flew in on a chaotic night at Elland Road, it was difficult not to think the boundaries of expectation for Leeds were potentially being redrawn.

Ask those close to the action over the summer at Leeds and the feeling was that there was a possibility of something special materialising this season. Having found their feet in the Premier League in the last campaign, the platform had been set and a very good summer transfer window seemed like the catalyst for even brighter days to return to West Yorkshire.

Energy Transfer, whose CEO is a major Trump donor, named as biggest single methane producer in new rankings

Down a short gravel track in a largely nondescript corner of Louisiana sits a gas processing facility, operated by a company whose chief executive is a major donor to Donald Trump. It may be the largest emitter of methane in the US.

The Energy Transfer site, located near the city of Shreveport, is named as the biggest single “super-emitter” in new rankings of US oil and gas operations for the largest releases of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas that is rapidly overheating our planet, according to a new UCLA study, which is based on satellite data.

Plans to strengthen legislation already going through parliament might mean donors having to meet stricter UK residence requirements

Andy Burnham’s government could thwart Reform’s unprecedented £72m donations with retrospective restrictions on political donors that will include tough new residency requirements, ministers have announced.

In a move that is likely to set off furious complaints from Nigel Farage’s party, the government will table amendments to legislation going through the House of Lords within weeks that puts the legality of Reform’s latest donations in doubt.

Despite the drama on the court, the poor condition of Arthur Ashe Stadium was just one problem among many

At the end of another comically late night and early morning in Flushing Meadows, when the remaining spectators were departing, a familiar scene was unfolding on the US Open tournament grounds. A handful of workers had congregated directly beneath a hole in the ceiling inside one of the tournament shops as they tried to stop water from flowing out of a broken pipe and ruining thousands of pounds worth of merchandise below.

This was not a surprising sight. Upon entering Arthur Ashe Stadium this year, fans were greeted by some ominous signs: “Pardon our appearance while we write the next chapter of Arthur Ashe Stadium.” The tournament’s appearance, it must be said, was hideous. Inside the corridors and rooms at one of the biggest sporting events in the world, it felt like its main building was falling apart.

• Former England batter starts role with white-ball teams

• Fleming also ‘right person’ to take Test team forward

Brendon McCullum has revealed that he was the driving force behind the recruitment of Kevin Pietersen as a specialist mentor to England’s white-ball teams and said the new arrival had specific orders to “look across the environment and challenge me”.

Pietersen spent his first day in the role monitoring training at the Utilita Bowl after delivering an address that had the players “buzzing”, according to McCullum, England’s white-ball coach.

• American actor accused of sexualising women’s sports

• British sprinter Amy Hunt leads storm of protest

The US actor Sydney Sweeney is facing a backlash from female Olympians and other athletes, who have accused her of demeaning and sexualising women’s sports by appearing in a controversial advert for a sports prediction company.

In the viral commercial for Novig, which was viewed more than 22 million times in the first two days of its release, Sweeney’s nude body is covered by footballs, basketballs, and other sports equipment, as she tells users they can bet on “just sports”. After saying “sports” nine times, she appears topless on a pool table, before saying: “You can’t trade this, I just look good here.”

Famous for his flamboyant outfits, he helped celebrities including Cher, Tina Turner and Elton John cause a stir

Bob Mackie, the costume designer behind some of the most sexy and glamorous outfits worn by celebrities in the past 50 years, has died at the age of 87.

“He lived his 87 years to the fullest, fulfilling his dream of being a fashion and costume designer, which is all he ever wanted to do,” read a statement posted on his Instagram account. “His genius and extraordinary designs will live on forever, continuing to bring beauty into this world.”

The vast sums given to Nigel Farage’s party in recent days must lead to action on political funding

The staggering sums gifted to Reform UK over the weekend have transformed the context for the representation of the people bill making its way through parliament. The announcement of two £36m donations from Ben Delo and Christopher Harborne, both crypto billionaires who have lived abroad, makes Andy Burnham’s decision not to impose a limit on political donations – a move he supported before becoming prime minister – look even more misguided. Fortunately the House of Lords still has the chance to amend the bill. It should take it by imposing meaningful limits on both political donations and party spending.

It is unclear whether either man meets the criteria set out in the Rycroft review into foreign influence in politics. It set a maximum of £100,000 per annum for people who have not been in the UK for at least a year. Mr Delo previously lived in Hong Kong while Mr Harborne is based partly in Thailand; Nigel Farage said on Monday that he does not know the details of their movements. While ministers will view the prospect of a legal fight over eligibility with trepidation, they must do what it takes to ensure rules are met.

Donald Trump’s blithe comments at the weekend were characteristically unhelpful. A careful and considered discussion on the subject has yet to begin

A decade ago, the Democratic Unionist party (DUP) viewed Brexit as a potential gamechanger in the struggle to resist future pressure for a united Ireland. As the author and journalist Fintan O’Toole wrote in an essay published last year, the DUP hoped that the 2016 referendum would deliver “a double exit. Brexit would not simply mean the UK’s departure from the EU. It would also be an act of separation from the Republic. It would reverse the slow drift towards integration.” That proved to be, to put it mildly, a deeply flawed judgment.

The direction of travel since 2016 has instead been the opposite. Rather than leading to a hard border between Northern Ireland and Ireland, which would have disastrously undermined the Good Friday agreement, the UK’s divorce agreement from Brussels eventually placed one in the Irish Sea. The logic of further economic integration between north and south within the EU’s single market was reinforced.

Man, who cannot be named to protect anonymity of his victim, admits scores of criminal offences

A man has pleaded guilty to drugging and sexually assaulting his wife over a period of 20 years as he admitted 60 criminal offences.

The man, who cannot be named in order to protect the anonymity of his victim, is in his 60s and before his arrest lived in Stockport, Greater Manchester.

Teen was swimming at a popular spot at the time of the attack, the latest in a string that have occurred in the state

A 13-year-old Maryland boy is reported to be recovering from multiple surgeries and nerve damage after being attacked by a rabid beaver.

The teen, Dominick Cebula, was swimming at a popular spot in Cunningham Falls state park in Thurmont, Maryland, on 26 July when a beaver attacked his chest underwater, a relatively rare kind of encounter that more recently has been recurring, according to reporting from local news outlets.