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LONDON: British artist Brian Eno and company delivered a profoundly moving, and perhaps historic, night of music and solidarity for Palestine on Wednesday at London’s Wembley Arena.

The star-studded lineup of 20 artists for “Together for Palestine” achieved what many have failed to do: reignite a sense of humanity that has seemed dim after nearly two years of the Israeli regime’s arguably genocidal war on Gaza.

International talents including Jamie XX, Faraj Suleiman, James Blake, Gorillaz, Saint Levante, the London Arab Orchestra and Damon Albarn accompanied by the Juzour Dance Collective, shared the stage with Hollywood stars, poets, activists, journalists, athletes, and medics.

The performances were accompanied by paintings by Palestinian artists in the background.

Over the course of the five-hour show, they created an unforgettable evening where emotions ran high and tears were shed with nearly every act.

There were inevitable comparisons with landmark events including the 1992 “A Concert for AIDS Awareness,” and the 1988 “Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute,” which took place while the South African leader was still imprisoned and branded a terrorist by several Western governments.

Eno himself said he hopes the event would have the same galvanizing effect.

The concert was a powerful testament to the strength of non-violent resistance in an era where brute force is deployed in the name of the few and language is increasingly weaponized to sow division and discord.

The concert closed with a poignant performance by Palestinian-Chilean artist Elyanna. Accompanied by her brother on the piano, she sang a song composed by their mother, encapsulating the sense of unity and resilience that few events in recent memory have managed to convey.

At a time when silence can be a sign of complicity with oppression and subjugation, “Together for Palestine” symbolized humanity’s civic duty and moral imperative to speak out.

Ultimately, the show was far more than a fundraiser — it was a resounding call for unity and dignity in the face of injustice.

The takeaway from the night was clear: world leaders should take heed that the world is watching, and solidarity is louder than silence.

As the curtain fell, one truth remained evident: Palestinians are not alone, and their voices echo stronger than ever.

SUNDANCE, United States: Cinema legend Robert Redford, a screen great in front of and behind the camera whose career spanned six decades, died early Tuesday morning at his home in Utah, his publicist said. He was 89.
Redford died in his sleep, and a specific cause was not given, according to a statement by Cindi Berger, the chief executive of publicity firm Rogers & Cowan PMK.
“Robert Redford passed away on September 16, 2025, at his home at Sundance in the mountains of Utah — the place he loved, surrounded by those he loved,” Berger said.
The tousle-haired and freckled heartthrob made his breakthrough alongside Paul Newman as the affable outlaw in the Western “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” in 1969.
After 20 years as an actor, he moved behind the camera, becoming an Oscar-winning director and co-founding the flagship Sundance festival for aspiring independent filmmakers.
A committed environmental activist, Redford also fought to preserve the natural landscape and resources of Utah, where he lived.
Born Charles Robert Redford Jr. on August 18, 1936, in Santa Monica, California, he was the son of an accountant.
Redford had four children with his first wife, Lola Van Wagenen, one of whom died as an infant.
He married German artist and longtime girlfriend Sibylle Szaggars in 2009.

‘Intellectual, artist, cowboy’

A household name in English-language cinema around the world, Redford won a directing Oscar for his 1980 film “Ordinary People,” as well as an honorary Oscar for lifetime achievement in 2002.
“Robert Redford’s work as an actor, director and producer always represents the man himself: the intellectual, the artist, the cowboy,” Barbra Streisand said in 2002 when presenting him with the special award.
Tributes began to pour in Tuesday for the screen great.
“One of the lions has passed. Rest in peace my lovely friend,” said Meryl Streep, in a brief emailed statement.
Jane Fonda mourned Redford, a fellow activist, as “a beautiful person in every way.”
“It hit me hard this morning when I read that Bob was gone. I can’t stop crying. He meant a lot to me and was a beautiful person in every way. He stood for an America we have to keep fighting for,” she said.
President Donald Trump hailed the actor as “great.”
“Robert Redford had a series of years where there was nobody better,” Trump told reporters after a journalist told him that Redford had died.
One of Redford’s most beloved roles was in the classic American political thriller “All the President’s Men” (1976), which tells the story of how two journalists exposed the Watergate scandal that brought down US president Richard Nixon.
Redford earned his only nomination for the best actor Oscar when playing a 1930s con artist in “The Sting” (1973) — but he did not win.

‘Redefined cinema’

In the snowy mountains of Utah that he called home, fans on Tuesday paid tribute to Redford’s conservation work as well as his movie legacy.
“I’ll remember him for his commitment to protect nature, Native Americans and animals,” 59-year-old Swiss pastry chef Monika Suter told AFP, weeping outside a conference building named after the actor.
One of Redford’s greatest achievements was the launch here in 1985 of the Sundance Film Festival.
Created to discover new filmmakers and as an antidote to Hollywood’s commercialism and lack of diversity, it has fostered leading directors such as Jim Jarmusch, Quentin Tarantino and Steven Soderbergh.
“We are deeply saddened by the loss of our founder and friend Robert Redford,” the Sundance Institute said in a statement.
“Bob’s vision of a space and a platform for independent voices launched a movement that, over four decades later, has inspired generations of artists and redefined cinema in the US and around the world.”