Jessica Chastain has criticised Apple’s decision to delay the release of political thriller series The Savant after the killing of Charlie Kirk.

The actress, who is also executive producer of the show for the tech giant’s TV+ streaming service, said she was “not aligned on the decision to pause the release”.

In a post on Instagram, she said the programme, in which she plays a woman who tries to draw out potential terrorists online, is “so relevant” and she has never “shied away from difficult subjects”.

Chastain portrays a military veteran who works at the Anti-Hate Alliance, where she secretly visits 4Chan-like message boards and poses as a white nationalist to identify possible terrorists.

“‘The Savant’ is about the heroes who work every day to stop violence before it happens, and honouring their courage feels more urgent than ever,” Chastain said.

“I remain hopeful the show will reach audiences soon. Until then, I’m wishing safety and strength for everyone.”

She listed several acts of political violence in the US in recent years, including a plot to kidnap Michigan’s governor Gretchen Whitmer, the attempted assassinations of Donald Trump last year and also the killing of controversial influencer Kirk.

Read more:
The string of bloody political violence in the MAGA era

Apple said it chose to postpone the show after “careful consideration” but did not give a reason why.

Kimmel’s comeback show brings in record ratings

Meanwhile, millions of people tuned in to watch Jimmy Kimmel on Tuesday after he returned to TV after Disney suspended him for nearly a week after he made comments about Kirk.

ABC said 6.26 million people watched Kimmel as he said it was “never my intention to make light of” Kirk’s death. It was the late-night show’s highest-rated regularly scheduled episode.

Read more:
Explained: Why Jimmy Kimmel was taken off air

“I don’t think there’s anything funny about it,” he said as he choked up.

“Nor was it my intention to blame any specific group for the actions of what was obviously a deeply disturbed individual. That was really the opposite of the point I was trying to make”.

Kimmel had been accused of being “offensive and insensitive” after using his programme, Jimmy Kimmel Live, to accuse Donald Trump and his allies of capitalising on the killing.

Inside a dimly-lit storeroom in Tine’s central market, near the border of North Darfur and Chad, we are shown a haunting video.

Young men crouched on the ground and covered in sand stare up at a phone camera helplessly.

A loud male voice interrogates them and demands to know what they are smuggling into Al Fashir, the regional capital besieged by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

One responds with “rice” and another says “pasta”.

“I will swat all of you like flies,” the man says from behind the camera, before pointing his gun at each of their heads and feigning lethal headshots in a mock execution.

We are shown the clip by Ahmed* and Hassan*, who are using pseudonyms for their protection.

The young men in the video are just one of the many teams they coordinate to smuggle food and lifesaving supplies into Sudan‘s Al Fashir, where around 900,000 people are being forced into famine by an RSF blockade while being bombarded by deadly drone strikes and shelling.

The dangers of this work are extreme as smuggling routes rapidly open and close, and battles for control rage inside the city.

Some of the teams they send make it to Al Fashir, but many do not. The three men in the video are still missing and are feared dead.

“The situation in Al Fashir is catastrophic – you cannot afford to watch and do nothing,” says Ahmed in front of a stack of flour sacks piled up to the ceiling.

“We have no option but to offer what we can for people to eat and survive the shelling.”

Read more: Inside the epicentre of Sudan’s war

As we drive to the storeroom, their phones constantly ping with messages, voice notes and phone calls.

As Ahmed fires back a voice note requesting costings on bulk food items, Hassan brings his phone to his ear and listens.

He sighs with frustration and says: “We just received a message from HQ that one of our guys smuggling in insulin hasn’t arrived and was likely killed.

“He has been missing for three days. We have to count him among the dead.”

Hassan tells us they are being targeted by the RSF, adamant to uphold their siege.

“It happens a lot. Three days ago, we had a group of 12 people break up into three teams of four. Two of the teams arrived, but one group never surfaced.”

The number of dead is mounting and uncountable. They tell us they have lost 30 volunteers in the first week of September alone.

Their network of fearless first responders was born out of the resistance committees created to organise and assist targeted protesters during Sudan’s 2019 revolution.

Now, they carry the burden of feeding and treating war-impacted civilians across the country through the Nobel Peace Prize nominated Emergency Response Rooms.

The RSF are not just targeting these civilian volunteers but also aid convoys attempting to deliver food.

On 3 June, a World Food Programme (WFP)-UNICEF aid convoy approaching Al Fashir was attacked, with five convoy personnel being killed and several food trucks destroyed.

Last month, another WFP convoy approaching an RSF-held town, Mellit, was attacked, and three trucks were set on fire.

Near a makeshift displacement shelter in Tine, 24 WFP trucks full of food are parked at a transshipment point under the sun.

The trucks will set off to towns in North Darfur that are controlled by the RSF: Mellit, Kutum and Korma.

Korma is only 43 miles from Al Fashir, but aid trucks will not brave facing the RSF by approaching the besieged capital.

WFP Sudan’s country director Laurent Bukera says: “For months, the UN has been trying to secure guarantees for a humanitarian pause allowing safe delivery to the city.

“We received clearances from the government of Sudan’s humanitarian aid commission to deliver aid into Al Fashir and are renewing these, but the RSF has yet to communicate support for a humanitarian pause.”

Volunteers call for aid airdrops

Hassan, Ahmed and other volunteers we met are calling for food air drops, similar to those in Gaza and South Sudan.

“We need safe humanitarian passage for the delivery of aid – by road or by air drop,” says Hassan. “That is the responsibility of the international community as a neutral entity that can navigate the belligerents.”

But navigating these belligerents has proven difficult for mediators and the United Nations.

Read more from Sky News:
Catastrophic malnutrition in Sudan’s besieged city
War crimes are taking place in Sudan, ICC believes

Since the start of the war in April 2023, there has not been a single humanitarian pause or ceasefire that would allow for the guaranteed safe passage of aid.

“We are exploring every option to get aid into Al Fashir,” says Mr Bukera. “Airdrops are up to 10 times more expensive and extremely risky due to high risk of drone strikes, anti-aircraft weapons and shelling in and around Al Fashir.

“Also with the absence of humanitarian pause, to date, no aircraft and pilot have been willing to take the risk.”

Follow The World

Listen to The World with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim every Wednesday

Tap to follow

Until a safe corridor for aid is established, Al Fashir’s young volunteers will continue to face death to get food to their besieged and bombarded relatives in friends inside the city.

“If we don’t do it – it’ll be a slow genocide. So, better to die trying,” says Hassan.

“We have no other option but to take these risks.”

Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s moment in the United Nations General Assembly chamber came a day after he told Sky News that Donald Trump’s language represented a “big shift” in America’s stance on Ukraine. 

The dust is settling on US President Trump’s social media post on Tuesday.

While it unquestionably represents a shift in position – now claiming Ukraine can take back all of the land lost – big questions remain about Mr Trump‘s personal and material commitment to a Ukrainian victory.

Mr Zelenskyy is taking the win that the language represents, but he, more than anyone, knows that Mr Trump can turn on a dime.

And so his speech was a warning, a message and a continued plea for help.

The Ukrainian leader cited history in warning that Russia won’t stop unless it is defeated.

Mr Zelenskyy said: “We have already lost Georgia in Europe. Human rights and the European nature of the state system are only shrinking there.

“Georgia is dependent on Russia and for many, many years, Belarus has also been moving towards dependence on Russia.”

“Putin will keep driving the war forward, wider and deeper… Ukraine is only the first. Russian drones are already flying across Europe.”

“Europe cannot afford to lose Moldova too,” he said.

UN latest: Zelenskyy tells UN ‘God saved’ Trump from assassination

Drawing on the experience of his country, he warned of what he said was a uniquely dangerous proliferation of weapons.

“We are living through the most destructive arms race in human history,” he said, warning specifically of the dangers of drones which will soon be controlled by artificial intelligence (AI).

But he also warned of the proliferation of the use of violence, whether it be from nation states or from political activists.

He cited the assassination attempts on Mr Trump and the assassination of Charlie Kirk.

He included these moments not just because he believes they represent a dangerous and tragic shift but because he knows he needs to keep President Trump and his base of support on side. Showing empathy with them is important.

👉 Follow Trump100 on your podcast app 👈

He spoke in perfect English. Not long ago, he struggled with the language. He knows that now, more than ever, he needs to communicate in the language of those who hold the key to his country’s future.

“Of course, we are doing everything to make sure Europe truly helps, and we count on the United States,” he said.

He closed with a plea to the nations of the world, gathered in the chamber.

“Don’t stay silent while Russia keeps dragging this war on… Please join us in defending life, international law and order,” he said.

“People are waiting for action.”