How many actors does it take to make the movies and shows produced by studios and streaming services? SAG-AFTRA, the actors union that has had 160,000 members on strike since last week, is afraid that artificial intelligence will lead to far fewer employed actors in the future.

A crucial deflection, and maybe a diversion in the fortune of many of those involved in this growing fixture. Arsenal claimed their first Premier League victory over Manchester City since December 2015, and the first points for Mikel Arteta against his old employers. The Gunners came into the match facing the prospect of 13 losses in a row against the champions, but it was instead Arsenal that enjoyed the luck as the numbers finally changed. City themselves have lost two successive league games for the first time since December 2018, after Gabriel Martinelli’s opportunistic effort cannoned off the head of Nathan Ake and past Ederson for a win that may yet prove significant in the burgeoning title race. That shouldn’t just be dismissed as fortune, though, since Arteta’s side forced it. He had quite a telling intervention himself. At a key moment, the Basque introduced Kai Havertz, who offered a moment that may well prove a turning point in his early Arsenal career. It was the midfielder’s presence of mind and spatial awareness that set up Martinelli. It was also precisely the area that Rodri usually patrols, which ensured that these two league defeats in a row also made it three defeats from three without the defensive midfielder commonly seen as the best in the world now. That in turn made City look less than the European and English champions they are. They can admittedly point to other absences, but Arsenal were themselves missing Bukayo Saka to go with lesser depth. This will give the north Londoners much more substance, certainly from a psychological perspective. They won’t feel inferior any more. That could be seen in Declan Rice’s raucous reaction after the match, having put in a superb individual performance. It was more than deserved. City had never really been at it. Erling Haaland again went without scoring. One of City’s most productive periods of attacking was actually in the opening few minutes, only to be shut down by Rice. That was to become a theme. This moment was much more box-office than all the steadier work he did, as the midfielder headed a bouncing Josko Gvardiol strike off the line. It was in this period that City were closest to the Arsenal goal – if not necessarily any closer to a goal than that – as Julian Alvarez had evidently been instructed to hound David Raya for every touch. One quickfire interception was so close that it seemed like it rippled the inside of the net rather than the side. It felt like something that could end up proving influential, as did Michael Oliver’s first big refereeing decision. Rice and Jorginho did an awful lot to steady the general element of chaos about the Arsenal defending and get their side much higher up the pitch, and that evidently frustrated Mateo Kovacic. The Croatian went in wildly with two challenges. If Kovacic was fortunate the first wasn’t given as a red, it was simply remarkable it wasn’t two bookings. That just summed up how something wasn’t quite right about City. They weren’t always the only team like that, too. For a long time, it felt like it could be destined for a 0-0, amid that sense it was a game between the top two that came that bit too early in the season. There was a lot of frantic action but not that much focus or purpose. It was as if there was initially a subconscious awareness there was so much more football to come, lessening the stakes as well as the intensity. Neither of the managers felt like that, mind. They were watching in increasing agitation, looking to affect something. Arteta did so first. Arsenal did admittedly recover from their erratic start to assert themselves but most of their attacks were Gabriel Jesus or Martin Odegaard trying to dribble through. It was really as if Arsenal were missing Saka’s intensity. With a quarter of the match remaining, Alvarez was taken off for Jeremy Doku but City persisted with getting on Raya any time he got on the ball. Arsenal responded by introducing Havertz. It was to prove inspired, in a subtle way, which was a bit like how to describe the onfield product of that change. On 86 minutes, with the game looking like it was going to peter out in a stalemate but with Arsenal still pushing, the German found a bit of space around the area to also find Martinelli. The Brazilian forward took his chance and the shot, to claim the reward. He got some luck, but he had made that luck. It now completely changes Arsenal’s outlook for the season, as well as the very profile of the title race. Just nine days ago, after all, City had a 100 per cent record and looked like they could just roll to a record four titles in a row. They are now back in third, two behind both Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur, and one ahead of Liverpool. It is enticingly tight, even if it is still early. Arsenal’s late winner brought that feeling, as well as so much more emotion around the stadium. The significance of this was all too palpable, for the team, as well as so many individuals involved. This time, after that shot, it fell for them. Read More Brighton’s new midfield gem Carlos Baleba stays calm in the chaos of Liverpool draw Gary O’Neil plays down tension after Unai Emery walks away before handshake Substitute Mohammed Kudus earns West Ham a point with late equaliser against Newcastle How did the VAR system fare after a week under the spotlight? Gabriel Martinelli snatches last-gasp victory for Arsenal against Man City Arsenal deal blow to Manchester City, but the significance will only be felt in May

In the celebratory aftermath of England’s qualification for Euro 2024, Jude Bellingham was in little mood to qualify his opinion. The Real Madrid midfielder just went out and said how Gareth Southgate’s side deserved the win over Italy because they were the “much better” team. There was no diplomacy there, just a striking stridency. It created a very different mood to the last time a match between the two teams led to a tournament qualification, amid scenes that received a new prominence recently due to the David Beckham documentary. That was the 1997 0-0 draw in Rome, which saw England qualify automatically for the 1998 World Cup. The suffocating tension of that match bore so little resemblance to the stroll of Tuesday’s game, at least for Gareth Southgate’s side. Then, Christian Vieri’s late header caused audible gasps within the Stadio Olimpico, no doubt to match those around the country. The ball went just wide, though, to bring huge emotional release and Paul Gascoigne dancing. The sense of achievement was profound. It was admittedly a different football and a very different Italy, with some of the intensity influenced by England’s failure to reach USA 94, but it was still just qualification - and that for a newly expanded 32-team event. It was also a hugely talented squad, filled by some of the most relentless winners the English game has known in so many of Sir Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United stars. And yet this England now has something more, as well as much more than just the expectation of qualification. It is more than the experience of reaching the latter stages of tournaments and so many other psychological milestones like beating Italy away. It is that assuredness, personified by Bellingham. There is something genuinely different in the midfielder, a potential missing ingredient for a team that last came within a penalty shoot-out of victory in this very competition. It is personality as much as performance. It points to an England that can be defined by “winners” at international level, that is able to rise to any given day because they are completely devoid of all the old baggage. This is something that Bellingham’s very youth represents, as well as his admirable willingness to just go straight to Real Madrid rather than feel he has to go to the Premier League. It’s similarly difficult not to think that the mood that fosters also fortifies the confidence of other players with England. That was maybe most visible in Marcus Rashford’s finish, as well as a level of display we haven’t seen so much with his club of late. None of this is to say it’s all down to Bellingham, of course. It’s rather what his mindset represents and rounds off. “He has been a catalyst,” Southgate said after the 3-1 win. “The way he carries himself and plays on the field and shows that, and he has had that since he walked through the door. Plus the power in his play, that gives us something when you are in tight situations and he can suddenly wriggle out of things… That belief, that willingness to engage with the crowd, they are rare traits in a player so young.” They are especially rare in historic England squads, right up to the recent successes. Southgate has navigated his sides through all that from fine man-management of a brilliant generation, where the Football Association have essentially become the latest wealthy western European football nation to industrialise talent production. Bellingham is the sort of player that eventually comes out of that, a final product if you like, but one that often requires a lot of patience. Putting all the pieces in place just gives you the best chance, rather than giving you a certainty of having the best player. These are of course the terms that are already framing the discussion around Bellingham. That isn’t English media exaggeration, either. It was the first question put to Southgate by Italian media. It dominated the late-night football discussion in Spain. The world is talking about Bellingham. It might yet see England dominate these Euros, in the same way they did to Italy to get there. Read More Jude Bellingham once again proves he is the key for England’s Euro 2024 hopes England have qualified for Euro 2024 — now it’s about winning it Gareth Southgate savours win and says England are ‘capable of winning’ Euro 2024 Jude Bellingham once again proves he is the key for England’s Euro 2024 hopes England have qualified for Euro 2024 — now it’s about winning it

Tristan Tate asked his fans what questions they would like answered publicly, in response to which a fan asked about David Goggins

A significant Ukrainian force has launched an assault on Russian lines in the southern Zaporizhzhia region – with a surge in attacks that points towards its counteroffensive shifting into high gear. A number of US and Ukrainian officials suggested this was the start in earnest of Kyiv's bid to reclaim territory lost to Russian occupation during Moscow's invasion. Ukraine's commanders and government have always said there would be no official announcement of the start of the counteroffensive and there has already been an increase in military activity all week. The combat against Russian positions – including intense fighting outside of the town of Tokmak, a Russian logistical hub – is said to involve Western-supplied tanks, armoured vehicles and infantry backed by artillery. The Kremlin has repeatedly claimed to have repelled Ukrainian attacks – that it calls the counteroffensive – across various points of the war's frontlines for a number of days, but Russian military bloggers noted an increase in clashes overnight Wednesday and into Thursday. One said: “Wave after wave of the enemy is trying to break through our defence." Appearing to confirm an operation was underway, the Ukrainian deputy defence minister, Hanna Maliar, said Russia was “actively on the defensive” in the Orihiv area of Zaporizhzhia region. Citing two unnamed Ukrainian officials, including a source close to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, ABC News reported that the offensive was truly beginning. Reports from other US outlets citing both Ukrainian and US officials, all speaking anonymously, said similar things. But when asked about these reports, a spokesperson for the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces told Reuters: "We have no such information." Video footage appearing on social media appeared to suggest that that German-made Leopard 2 tanks were involved in the battle. Russian Colonel General Alexander Romanchuk claimed, without providing evidence, that Moscow's forces had destroyed three Leopard tanks. The officer also said that the general in charge of Russia’s troops in Ukraine, chief of the general staff Valery Gerasimov, briefed President Vladimir Putin on the battles in Zaporizhzhia. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu also claimed that country's forces had driven back Ukrainian troops trying to punch through defensive lines in the Zaporizhzhia region – after a two-hour battle involving what he said was up to 1,500 Ukrainian soldiers and 150 armored vehicles. The Kremlin has a habit of inflating such numbers and the fog of war obscures a significant proportion of what happens on the frontlines. Zaporizhzhia – one of four partly occupied regions illegally annexed by the Kremlin – has long been seen as a likely point of a main Ukrainian strike, but Kyiv has worked to mask its plans by launching attacks on multiple points across the vast frontlines. Zaporizhzhia is part of the land corridor that Moscow has sought to create between Ukrainian's industrial heartland and the Crimean Peninsula, which the Kremlin annexed in 2014. For Ukraine, breaking or disrupting that land bridge will likely be one of the main aims of the offensive. The Institute for the Study of War, a US-based thinktank that tracks the war in daily updates, said it had concluded on Thursday that the Ukrainian counteroffensive "has begun". “Activity throughout Ukraine is consistent with a variety of indicators that Ukrainian counteroffensive operations are under way across the theatre,” the organisation tweeted. Reuters and Associated Press contributed to this report Read More The Body in the Woods | An Independent TV Original Documentary The harrowing discovery at centre of The Independent’s new documentary Rishi Sunak and Joe Biden stress ‘unwavering support’ for Ukraine Renowned human rights campaigner Oleg Orlov on trial for “discrediting” Russian military Ukraine tells ‘clown’ Tucker Carlson to check his facts after pro-Kremlin rant

BERLIN Germany's wholesale prices fell in May compared with the same month last year, according to data released

Israel coach Alon Hazan wants his team to beat Kosovo in their delayed European Championship qualifying game on Sunday to bring “some happiness to our people.”

The National Toy Hall of Fame is celebrating its 25th anniversary with more public participation in the induction process

Over the last 14 months, the Federal Reserve has taken a deliberate and economically painful approach to combating elevated inflation rates through interest rate hikes. The regional banking crisis and a possible debt-ceiling induced default on US debt could change all of that.

Even before the newly elected justice who gave liberals a one-seat majority on the Wisconsin Supreme Court has heard a case, Republican lawmakers are talking about taking the unprecedented step of impeaching and removing her from office

'The Jazz Singer' is included in the National Film Registry’s collection of motion pictures and deemed 'culturally significant'

The issue of abortion had, for years, been key to generating enthusiasm among conservatives. But since the overturning of Roe v. Wade, it now energizes Democrats and affects the outcome of elections, including potentially the 2024 race.