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In the midst of the highly-anticipated release of 'Aquaman 2', the film is engulfed in a storm of controversy with new docs revealing drama on sets

Russia’s desperate bid to rejoin the UN’s top human rights body with a charm offensive involving stolen Ukrainian grain and arms was defeated by a significant majority in a General Assembly vote on Tuesday. Russia received 83 votes from the 193-member UN, significantly more than the 24 countries who supported Moscow when it was booted out of the Human Rights Council in another vote more than one year ago. Russia was competing against Albania and Bulgaria for two seats on the Geneva-based UNHRC, representing the East European regional group. Bulgaria secured 160 votes, Albania received 123, while the Vladimir Putin-led nation managed only 83. In the run up to the voting, Russia made efforts to lure African allies and other friendly nations with stolen Ukrainian grain and arms in exchange for their votes – a charm offensive that experts said could work on some nations in need of the bartered goods. Moscow had claimed it had support from a silent majority at the UN, something which Tuesday’s vote shows was not the case. But experts said even its ability to win over 83 countries shows it maintains a surprisingly high level of support on the international arena. “I think the Russians will be pleased that they persuaded a sizable minority of UN members to back them (which) suggests that Moscow is not a total pariah in the UN system, despite repeated Western criticism,” Richard Gowan, UN director of the International Crisis Group, said. That said, the US and Ukraine’s allies were still able to ensure that Albania and Bulgaria swept the contest for the two seats, he said. “So, Kyiv’s friends still have a solid majority in the assembly,” Mr Gowan said.Yousuf Syed Khan, senior lawyer at Global Rights Compliance, said that declining to accept Russia’s bid for HRC membership “means that vulnerable member states were not assuaged by Russia’s bid to provide arms and grain in exchange for votes”. “Today, Ukrainians and the world community alike can welcome this glaring diplomatic success,” he told The Independent. The US and its allies had discouraged many of the UN General Assembly’s members and asked them to vote against Russia, the diplomats aware of Moscow’s attempts to woo nations with grains said. US deputy ambassador Robert Wood told the Security Council that Russia’s re-election “while it openly continues to commit war crimes and other atrocities would be an ugly stain that would undermine the credibility of the institution and the United Nations”. Russian envoy to the UN, Vassily Nebenzia, accused the US of preventing Russia’s return to the council with its campaign. “The main phobia of our American colleagues today is electing Russia to the Human Rights Council,” he told a Security Council meeting called by Ukraine on last week’s strike by a Russian missile on a Ukrainian soldier’s wake in a small village that killed 52 people. Experts have called it a near-unprecedented event where the UN body has acted consistently for 18 months to suspend a member nation. “It is close to unprecedented that the UN Human Rights Council acted as it did 18 months ago, it being only the second time in the Council’s history that a member has been suspended for committing ‘gross and systematic violations of human rights’,” Catriona Murdoch, partner at NGO Global Rights Compliance said. She added that the impact of this war on civilians and “the apocalyptic devastation it is leaving meant the stakes were higher with this vote”. The other closely watched race was in the Asia group where four countries – China, Japan, Kuwait and Indonesia – were candidates for four seats. While all were expected to reach the majority of votes needed and therefore gain a seat each, some rights groups campaigned hard against Beijing and the size of the vote was closely watched. Indonesia topped the ballot with 186 votes followed by Kuwait with 183 votes and Japan with 175. China was last with 154 votes. Additional reporting by agencies Read More UN set to decide on Russia’s Human Rights Council membership as Putin ‘uses Ukrainian grain to buy votes’ Putin’s shameless UN charm offensive - with stolen grain from Ukraine Russia tries to rejoin UN Human Rights Council Ukraine-Russia war – live: Moscow fails in bid to return to UN’s top human rights body

Referees’ chief Howard Webb expressed his disappointment that VAR was unable to “rectify a clear error” following Luis Diaz’s disallowed goal for Liverpool against Tottenham. Miscommunication between video assistant referee Darren England and referee Simon Hooper led to the winger’s goal being wrongly ruled out for offside in a 2-1 Premier League defeat for the Reds on September 30. Audio of the incident was released in the aftermath and, speaking on an episode of ‘Match Officials Mic’d Up’ on Sky Sports on Tuesday, Professional Game Match Officials Limited technical director Webb admitted the situation was frustrating. Of course we’re all disappointed the VAR system didn’t step in and rectify a clear error PGMOL technical director Howard Webb “We took the unusual step of releasing the audio from this situation not long after it happened,” he said. “We wanted to show everybody what was very quickly pretty apparent to us, a human error and loss of concentration. “Of course we’re all disappointed the VAR system didn’t step in and rectify a clear error that we’d seen on the field with the disallowing of the goal. “Nobody’s more disappointed than the officials themselves, they take pride in their work and want to be a positive influence on the game, but of course in this situation it wasn’t the case.” Referees’ body PGMOL confirmed that new VAR communication guidelines would be applied. “One of the things we have to do is put things in place so that, should we have human error, it doesn’t have the damage or the impact that we saw on this occasion,” Webb added when asked about the language officials use. “One of the things that this has brought into sharp focus is the need to reiterate some of those communication protocols that are really valuable in VAR to prevent this kind of thing happening.” One of the talking points from the latest round of fixtures at the weekend was the decision not to send off Manchester City’s Mateo Kovacic for a challenge on Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard. The City midfielder was shown a yellow card before avoiding another shortly afterwards and Webb admitted Kovacic was “fortunate” to stay on the pitch. “I do (think he was),” he said. “I mean obviously the VAR can’t get involved, second yellows are something that the VAR is not able to get involved in, but I think he was an extremely fortunate player to stay on the field of play. “The referee – one of our best referees, one of the best referees in the world – Michael Oliver, will no doubt review that.” Read More David Beckham’s support ‘meant everything’ to Harry Maguire in testing times Harry Maguire cannot wait for Euro 2028 and is ‘hopeful’ to be in the squad On this day in 2019: England lose long unbeaten qualifying record in Prague LIV Golf fails in bid to be eligible for world ranking points Harry Kane dreaming of leading England to Euro 2028 glory on home soil I am a Tottenham fan – Harry Kane wants Spurs to win Premier League

With all the access teenagers today have to the internet and social media, they may see more distressing news stories than even their parents. Palestinian militant group Hamas – deemed a terrorist group by the UK Government – invaded Israel on Saturday from Gaza, with rocket attacks by air as well as military in boats. Since then, Israel has sealed the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip off from food, fuel, medicine and other supplies, while launching retaliatory air strikes on the territory, which is home to 2.3 million people. The most recent numbers suggest 900 people have been killed in Israel, 700 in the Gaza territory and the West Bank, and many hostages have been taken. Hamas has pledged to kill captured Israeli hostages if attacks target civilians in Gaza. The conflict has sparked protests by pro-Palastine and pro-Israel groups in the UK and prompted political division on social media. Teenagers are likely to be exposed to a lot of the news, internet discussion and perhaps distressing images of conflict. So how should parents approach this? Talk about it at home Dr Jeri Tikare, clinical psychologist at Kooth, a digital mental health platform, believes parents should be as truthful as they can with their teenagers. “This means that it is important for us to not to hide things away from them. It is better for them to hear it from us (their people of safety) as opposed to reading it or hearing it from others,” he says. “Also bearing in mind the curious nature of the mind. It is inevitable that for things that they do not understand, they might research and look for answers. “It can be helpful if they get their information from a reliable source which can feel contained and reassuring. But share information at a level that is developmentally right and just enough to help the young person feel contained and safe.” Check yourself As the parent, learn the basics of what is going in the conflict yourself from reputable sources so you can have balanced, informed conversations with your child. “It can also be useful to be aware of our own reactions as parents or primary caregivers,” he says. “One of the ways young people learn and develop is via observing and then modelling adult behaviour. Hence, they can pick up anxieties or worries displayed by parents.” Validate and normalise expressing emotion If your teen is particularly affected by distressing news stories about war and conflict, Tikare encourages parents to give their teenagers the opportunity to express how they are feeling in different ways – such as writing, drawing, stories, songs, and things that feel helpful for the young person. “Some find a feelings box helpful,” he adds. “It might also be helpful to introduce them to some simple relaxation techniques such as taking three deep, slow breaths, breathing in for a count of three and out for three.” Be there for them Giving your teenager the space, time and encouragement to open up about how they feel on any subject – world news or otherwise – is key. “I know that life can be hard, busy and sometimes young people are aware of this and might not want to disturb you,” Tikare says. “Therefore, it might be helpful to make a conscious effort to let them know that you are mindful of how difficult it can be and reassure them that you are available to talk about things. “Giving them extra love and attention at this time can be helpful, especially at difficult times like this.” Discuss social media Tikare acknowledges that television, social media and other platforms “can be very distressing and exacerbating” for teenagers. But you may not be able to prise your child away from posting on their social media accounts altogether. “It would depend on the motivation behind posting and where they are posting,” Tikare says. “Posting about the feelings experienced around the conflict in a supportive and possibly moderated space, with people sharing similar feelings associated with the conflict, can help normalise the experience and leave them feeling less alone. “On the other hand, it could also expose them to content and comments that could potentially trigger distress.” So be sure to make them aware of the content they may come across online. Read More How to support someone coming out in their 30s and beyond Autumn décor ideas for a seasonal refresh Why you shouldn’t tidy your garden too much in autumn World Mental Health Day: 5 ways to beat anxiety and change your life Alternative veg to grow for next season How to spot if your child is struggling with their mental health – and what to do next

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A top EU official has asked X/Twitter owner Elon Musk to “walk the talk” when it comes to curbing fake content and the glorification of violence following the terror attack against Israel by Hamas. EU commissioner Thierry Breton wrote in an open letter shared on X that illegal content and disinformation were being shared via the social media platform about the Hamas incursion into Israel, which began on Saturday. He warned the EU could punish X for failure to comply with its obligations to moderate content under the Digital Services Act, and gave Mr Musk 24 hours to give a “prompt, accurate and complete response”. “You need to be very transparent and clear on what content is permitted under your terms and consistently and dingently enforce your own policies,” Mr Berton said, adding that the social media company “must be timely, diligent and objective” in taking action and removing relevant content when it receives warranted notices of illegal content in the EU. “I therefore invite you to urgently ensure that your systems are effective, and report on the crisis measures taken to my team,” the EU commissioner said, calling for Mr Musk to respond within 24 hours. Replying to the statement, the Tesla chief called on the commissioner to “list the violations”. “Our policy is that everything is open source and transparent, an approach that I know the EU supports. Please list the violations you allude to on X, so that that the public can see them,” the multibillionaire posted on X. “You are well aware of your users’ – and authorities’ – reports on fake content and glorification of violence. Up to you to demonstrate that you walk the talk,” Mr Breton said in response to Mr Musk’s tweet. While X has claimed it was treating the ongoing crisis in Israel with its highest level of response, watchdog groups and the EU said misinformation and harmful content continue to flourish on the microblogging platform. X’s own safety team acknowledged there had been an increase in daily active users on X in the conflict area in the past couple of days, saying that there have been more than 50 million posts globally focusing on the weekend attack. “As the events continue to unfold rapidly, a cross-company leadership group has assessed this moment as a crisis requiring the highest level of response,” the team said. The struggle to find reliable news on the platform was exacerbated when Mr Musk himself flagged two accounts as “good” for “following the war”. Journalists, however, pointed out that these accounts had previously shared a fake AI-generated image of an explosion at the US Pentagon, and that one of them had also posted antisemitic comments. Mr Musk’s posts recommending them have now been deleted. Users on the platform also pointed out that old videos are being repackaged and circulated on X as if they are from the most recent attack. One widely shared video falsely claimed to show a Hamas militant shooting down an Israeli helicopter, but was later found to be a clip from a video game. “Public media and civil society organisations widely report instances of fake and manipulated images and facts circulating on your platform in the EU, such as repurposed old images of unrelated armed conflicts or military footage that actually originated from video games,” the Eu commissioner said in his letter addressing Mr Musk. X has not immediately responded to The Independent’s request for comment. Read More X promises 'highest level' response on posts about Israel-Hamas war. Misinformation still flourishes Holocaust survivor among hostages and ‘several Americans’ may have been killed or kidnapped, says Blinken Musk begs Twitter users to stay ‘as close to the truth as possible’ as fake news about Gaza war proliferates

An estimated $1.73 billion Powerball jackpot is up for grabs during Wednesday night's drawing, setting the stage for a lucky player to potentially win what would be the second largest prize in the game's history.