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Asked on Friday whether the US Department of Energy got ahead of him when it announced the deal without the Israel condition earlier this week, Trump said: “No, nobody got out ahead.”

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“I just say that in order to do it, they have to be a member of the Abraham Accords, which have been very successful,” the US president added. “But it’s time now that they do it.”

Washington and Riyadh had signed a nuclear cooperation deal to establish a civilian nuclear programme in the kingdom on Wednesday.

But a day later, Trump announced a new condition on social media, saying that Saudi Arabia must first normalise relations with Israel.

He reiterated that position on Friday.

Trump said he did not talk about the accords with Energy Secretary Chris Wright ⁠before the deal was signed, “but it ⁠was always understood, and Chris knew, and Saudi Arabia knew”.

Saudi Arabia has yet to respond to Trump’s latest statement tying the nuclear deal to normalisation.

But Riyadh has long insisted it will not establish formal relations with Israel until there is a clear path for Palestinian statehood, which Israel’s current government staunchly opposes.

The Trump administration initially framed the nuclear cooperation deal as beneficial to the US and Saudi Arabia without mentioning Israel.

“These agreements reflect our two nations’ shared commitment to strengthening US-Saudi commercial relations, delivering prosperity at home and security to our allies abroad,” Wright said in a statement on Wednesday.

The Trump administration had called the agreement a “decades-long, multibillion-dollar partnership” and said it will now be submitted to Congress for review.

While its full text has not been released, some US media reports have suggested that the deal will allow Saudi Arabia to enrich uranium domestically rather than import nuclear fuel from the US. But Trump later said that there “will be no enrichment of material”.

The new nuclear deal is expected to last 30 years, transferring US technology and expertise to the kingdom.

Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Energy said the agreement bolsters “efforts to diversify energy sources, advance cutting-edge technologies, and expand opportunities for cooperation and investment in ways that serve the mutual interests of the two friendly countries”.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio insisted on Thursday that the deal would not lead to nuclear proliferation, as US contractors would handle the project, allowing Washington to monitor it. US nuclear reactor designer Westinghouse is believed to be a major contractor. %!s()

In a few weeks’ time, attention will turn towards the resumption of club football across Europe’s biggest leagues, with news of player signings and manager appointments doing the rounds immediately after the World Cup.

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Besides league and continental fixtures, national teams will resume their preparations to qualify for the next cycle of international tournaments. Spots will be up for grabs for several regional and international tournaments.

Al Jazeera looks at how football fans can fill the void left by the World Cup:

What’s the first football tournament after the World Cup?

A week after the World Cup final, African nations will return to action at the Women’s AFCON (WAFCON) 2026, with hosts Morocco taking on Kenya on the opening day.

The Atlas Lionesses will look to emulate the form and success of their male counterparts, who reached the World Cup quarterfinals and won the AFCON 2025, albeit contentiously.

Nigeria will look to defend the title they won a year ago, while Ghana, Zambia and Malawi are also among the pre-tournament favourites.

Here’s Al Jazeera’s complete guide to WAFCON 2026.

When is PSG and Aston Villa’s UEFA Super Cup showdown?

The UEFA Super Cup 2026, which pits the 2025-26 UEFA Champions League and Europa League champions against each other, will see Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) and Aston Villa face off prior to the resumption of European leagues.

It promises to be a fascinating encounter, with Aston Villa aiming to add another European trophy under Unai Emery, while PSG will be looking to retain the Super Cup after winning the 2025 edition.

Here’s what you need to know about the high-profile match:

When: Wednesday, August 12, 2026
Kick-off: 9pm local time (19:00 GMT)
Venue: Stadion Salzburg, Salzburg, Austria

When will UEFA Champions League start?

The most elite inter-league club competition, where the top teams from across the continent fight to be crowned champions at the end of the season, will get under way in the second week of September and conclude in May 2027.

Clubs and their supporters will know their fate on Thursday, August 27 when the draw for the league stage will be held in Nyon, Switzerland.

Of the 36 teams in the competition, 29 booked their spots at the end of last season, while seven will be confirmed after a qualifying round.

When does the Premier League start?

In great news for football fans, the English Premier League – arguably the most widely followed league competition across the world – is less than a month away.

Champions Arsenal open their title defence by hosting Coventry City at the Emirates Stadium on Friday, August 21, at 8pm (19:00 GMT).

A few other key fixtures on the opening weekend include:

• Hull City vs Manchester United on Saturday, August 22, at 12:30pm (11:30 GMT)
• Manchester City vs Bournemouth on Sunday, August 23, at 2pm (13:00 GMT)
• Newcastle United vs Liverpool on Sunday, August 23, at 4:30pm (15:30 GMT)
• Fulham vs Chelsea on Monday, August 24, at 8pm (19:00 GMT)

When does La Liga start?

Several stars from world champions Spain will resume their club football at the start of La Liga, when holders Barcelona, their archrival Real Madrid and other league teams return to action.

Record 36-time champions Madrid will welcome back their World Cup stars, including Kylian Mbappe, Jude Bellingham and Thibaut Courtois, in their bid to win another Spanish league title. But in their way will stand world champions led by Lamine Yamal, Pau Cubarsi, Gavi, Pedri and title-winning goalscorer Ferran Torres.

The season begins on August 15 as Alaves host Getafe at 17:30 GMT.

Atletico Madrid host Malaga on August 19 at 18:00 GMT.

When do Real Madrid and Barcelona play their first La Liga games?

La Liga holders Barcelona will start their season at Elche on August 23, with their original opener against Athletic Bilbao delayed until August 27.

Real Madrid were due to host Real Sociedad on the opening weekend, but the league has moved that game to August 26.

That means manager Jose Mourinho’s first La Liga game in charge of Madrid in his second spell at the club will be away at Espanyol on August 22 .

When is the first Serie A game of the season?

Italian football fans did not have much to cheer for at the World Cup, with the Azzurri failing to qualify for the tournament for the third successive global showpiece. However, league football in the country will act as a balm when the 2026-27 season of Serie A opens on August 22.

Here’s a pick of the fixtures on the opening weekend:

Saturday, August 22:

• Inter Milan vs Monza at 16:30 GMT
• Genoa vs Napoli at 18:45 GMT

Sunday, August 23:

• Frosinone vs Juventus at 16:30 GMT
• Atalanta vs Sassuolo at 18:45 GMT
• Torino vs AC Milan at 18:45 GMT

Monday, August 24:

• AS Roma vs Fiorentina at 18:45 GMT

When are the next UEFA World Cup qualifiers?

The World Cup qualification process for European teams will be different from previous tournaments, as it will use a two-tier league system rather than the traditional small qualifying groups.

The 36 highest-ranked UEFA nations will compete in League A, using a Swiss-system format similar to the UEFA Champions League.

The remaining 19 UEFA nations will compete in League B.

Teams will play six qualifying matches in the initial phase, with promotion, relegation and play-offs determining the European qualifiers.

When does the UEFA Nations League begin?

European and world champions Spain will lead the charge when the continental sides return to competitive football in the UEFA Nations League, which also acts as a qualifying platform for the World Cup and Euro 2028 championship.

Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal will open the next matchday with their fixture against Wales on Thursday, 24 September, at 18:45 GMT.

World Cup semifinalists England will host champions Spain on Saturday, September 26 at 18:45 GMT.

When does African qualifying for World Cup 2026 begin?

After a historic run for Africa at the World Cup, with 10 teams representing the continent for the first time and nine progressing to the knockouts, fans in the region will be eager to see which nations will make it to the next edition.

Based on FIFA’s international match calendar and previous qualification cycles, the expectation is for the process to start in September 2027 and for the qualification process to run until 2029.

With Morocco being one of the 2030 tournament cohosts, they will automatically qualify, and the remaining African places will be contested by the other CAF nations.

Africa is expected to have nine direct qualification places, with the possibility of an additional place through the inter-confederation playoffs if FIFA keeps the same allocation.

When does Asian qualifying for World Cup 2030 begin?

Asian teams had a disappointing showing at the recent tournament, with only Australia qualifying past the group stage, only to be knocked out by Egypt in the round of 32.

The Asian (AFC) qualification for the 2030 FIFA World Cup is expected to begin in late 2027, with the first matches likely taking place in October or November 2027. The AFC has not yet released the official match schedule, but its international calendar and planning documents point to that timeframe.

The likely timeline for qualification to begin is from late 2027 and run for nearly two years. %!s()

The deputy store manager at Lidl, who'd told his bosses he'd been diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), was called to a disciplinary meeting after breaking company rules by using equipment he hadn't been trained to use. After that meeting, Ryan was dismissed for gross misconduct.

He successfully appealed the decision and was offered a lower-paid role. He rejected it and took his case to a tribunal. Eventually, he was awarded more than £45,000 when the judge found his former employer hadn't fully taken his ADHD diagnosis into account during the disciplinary process.

The judgement found reasonable adjustments during the process hadn't been offered to him, such as additional breaks.

He'd been described by a manager as showing "a lack of remorse," something the tribunal found was clearly linked with his communication differences associated with having ADHD.

"I don't show a lot of emotions," Ryan explains. "I could be incredibly happy, angry, upset, or remorseful, and my facial expressions and tone of voice would essentially remain the same."

The tribunal upheld part of his claims for unfair dismissal, wrongful dismissal and a failure to make reasonable adjustments. Lidl says it's "committed to ensuring that everyone receives the reasonable adjustments, clear communication and support they need to thrive."

Campaigners, lawyers and HR teams say cases like this highlight a shift that businesses should be paying attention to.

Thousands of people have been diagnosed as neurodivergent in the last few years, an umbrella term that covers autism, ADHD and other conditions such as dyslexia and Tourette's syndrome.

Since the pandemic in particular, diagnosis rates for ADHD and autism have been rising, and they're featuring more regularly in disputes in employment tribunals.

Similarly, research by King's College London last year suggested that around 90% of autistic people over 40 remain undiagnosed.

Diagnosis levels aside, there has been a huge increase in awareness of the challenges neurodivergent people can face - whether it's in communication preferences, personal organisation, or sensory needs. In workplaces, many describe "masking," a term which means trying to hide their traits in order to fit in - something which can put a huge strain on the person's wellbeing.

"Society is playing catch-up," says Ben Branson, an entrepreneur who runs a charity called The Hidden 20%, which campaigns for better understanding of neurodivergence. He was diagnosed with autism in 2022.

"The recognition of adult neurodivergence has exploded," he says. "But we have always been here, we are just not hiding anymore, and there are millions of people finally understanding why they kept moving jobs, why they didn't fit, why they kept burning out and why they felt so exhausted, who are no longer willing to struggle in silence."

This year's City and Guilds Foundation's Neurodiversity Index found that while employers think they're "doing better" when it comes to inclusion, neurodivergent employees say they are seeing only small improvements.

This disconnect between managers and staff is something employment lawyer Jodie Hill is familiar with. Her firm, Thrive Law, specialises in workplace wellbeing and works with both employees and businesses. She set it up in 2018 after getting her own ADHD diagnosis at the age of 35.

"In the last three months, I've seen more than I've ever seen before in terms of enquiries," she says.

So, what are some employers doing that leads to successful action being taken against them? Hill says one thing that comes up a lot is bosses asking for proof of a formal diagnosis, when this isn't the legal test. Another issue can be an employer looking to dismiss someone over performance before considering a possible disability. Both of which could leave them exposed to claims of discrimination.

In the training sessions she carries out for businesses, she says she hears from the employer's perspective that it can feel like "every other conversation is about people wanting support".

Fears over cost, and concern that doing something for one member of staff means they have to do it for all of them, can lead to what Hill describes as an "initial dismissiveness" from some employers. But that, she says, comes from a lack of understanding over what can be an "internal and invisible" struggle.

"There's a mindset from employers that it's very linear… and that all the symptoms are the same every day," she says.

Another challenge can be determining what constitutes a "reasonable adjustment," a sticking point which can be what ends up being decided in a tribunal.

Hill says some employers "don't know where to start" and wrongly assume that making reasonable adjustments means doing whatever the employee asks.

Some tribunals have shown the limits of what's "reasonable." In one case, an autistic claimant had requested extensive changes to the recruitment process at the Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC), including simplified questions and advance access to test questions. The JAC had already offered extra time and assistance from a friend and denied the extra requests. When it went to tribunal, the judge found the adjustments the person had asked for were "clearly going beyond what was necessary or reasonable".

While there isn't a check list for employers, lawyers stress that they have to be able to justify why they're saying no to something, and show they've looked at alternative options.

Jo Moseley from law firm Irwin Mitchell explains that when it comes to judging what is "reasonable", a tribunal would take into account factors like the person's role, and the size of the business.

"Big employers will certainly be expected to do more than small employers," she says, stressing that many adjustments can cost nothing or very little, such as looking at how meetings are structured, offering regular breaks, or somewhere quiet to work.

In one tribunal last year, the pub chain Greene King was found to have failed to make reasonable adjustments for a chef who was dyslexic and struggled with reading orders.

He'd asked for a Bluetooth headset. The tribunal found that the company's failure to provide this adjustment had led to his employment ending. He was awarded £24,000. A spokesperson for Greene King said it respected the tribunal's decision and that it was committed to upholding the highest standards of employee welfare.

"Ultimately, the purpose of an adjustment is to facilitate good performance, not to lower the standard of performance," says Prof Nancy Doyle, an occupational psychologist.

"Employers are anxious of challenge, anxious about saying or doing the wrong thing," she adds.

She explains that employers are not expected to keep someone in a job where they're risking safety or delivering less than their peers, but that in some workplaces, managers end up "covering for neurodivergent staff," leaving them in a situation where they are "dependent on kindness, which may ebb away over time."

Daniel Rickman, who runs glazing business Structura, decided not to wait for individuals to ask for adjustments - but instead offer them to all staff.

The company introduced flexible working, fidget toys in meeting rooms, and red or green "busy lights" on desks, that allow staff to indicate whether they're happy to be disturbed.

He says it means the business is "getting the best out of everybody" and he is retaining skilled staff. However, showing the polarisation around the topic, he says he has also been criticised for being "woke."

As awareness of neurodiversity has grown, some businesses such as Microsoft and BAE Systems have created targeted hiring programmes to attract neurodivergent candidates, aware of the skills they can bring to their organisations.

Making neurodiversity a part of how workplaces are designed is what Prof Amanda Kirby believes is needed.

She's heading up the government's expert panel, set up to look at improving the job chances of neurodivergent people, and says a "medical" model of providing adjustments is inadequate.

"Nobody fits into neat boxes", she says, adding that training focused on doing x for dyslexia or y for ADHD is "never going to work."

"It's not neurodiversity over here, mental health over here, unemployment over there," she says, pointing out that those who are not in employment, education or training, and those moving through the justice system are less likely to have a diagnosis and more likely to be neurodivergent.

Kirby's report is yet to be published, but it's part of the government's wider plans to tackle stubborn levels of economic inactivity that remain higher than before the pandemic.

A Government report in 2024 found autistic graduates are twice as likely to be unemployed after 15 months as non-disabled graduates, and last year, the government's ADHD Taskforce estimated that "unsupported" ADHD was costing the economy £17bn a year.

The latest official figures show the number of people receiving Personal Independent Payments topping 4 million, the number of those with ADHD as their main condition was around 100,000 in April, up by 30,000 in the last two years. Just over half of these were aged 16 to 24.

The government is investing £3.5bn into personalised employment support for disabled people and those with health conditions in order to address problems with employment levels.

A Department for Work and Pensions spokesperson told the BBC: "For too long disabled people and those with a neurodiversity condition have been left behind, ignored, and not given the support they need to get into work."

As well as costly, these tribunal claims are becoming increasingly drawn out as the UK's tribunal system creaks.

Figures from the Ministry of Justice put the number of open claims at a record high of 531,000.

Jenna Ide, a partner and employment law specialist at Thomas Mansfield Solicitors, says that the backlog adds pressure on employers.

"It can take several years for a case to reach a final hearing," she says. "In the meantime, employers are often required to make difficult judgement calls without knowing where a tribunal would ultimately draw the line," she adds.

Law firms say some tribunals are now being listed for 2030 and the backlog is expected to grow with the Employment Rights Act. From January 2027, this will give workers protection against unfair dismissal after six months instead of only after two years.

"Most people, even conservatively, think that there's going to be a huge explosion just in unfair dismissal claims," says Irwin Mitchell's Jo Moseley. %!s()

Hugging Face - a kind of app store for artificial intelligence tools - announced on 16 July it had been hacked by a cyber criminal wielding enormously powerful AI.

The bombshell announcement was full of scary, highly technical terms: "a swarm of sandboxes", "agentic attacker", and "self-migrating command and control".

Hugging Face said the hack was different from anything it had handled before because it was done at superhuman speed by an AI with little or no human guidance.

The AI performed 17,000 actions in less than two days, successfully breaching the large wealthy tech company to steal secrets.

It left the tech world in shock. But who was responsible for this attack?

Hugging Face researchers guessed the mysterious attackers had used one of the big AI models but they had no idea who or where the criminals were.

The perplexed company contacted the police and investigations commenced.

Who did it?

Commentators and analysts took to their podcasts and social media accounts to guess which cyber crime group or nation state hacker might be behind it.

Then on Wednesday, nearly a week after Hugging Face raised the alarm, the true culprit was unmasked.

It was ChatGPT.

The Scooby-Doo-style reveal was made even more bizarre - and worrying - because OpenAI said its bot did the whole thing on its own, without permission.

The firm said it all went down during a test of its tech's hacking skills.

Two new versions of ChatGPT, designed to be master hackers, broke out of a supposedly secure test environment and gained access to the internet.

They then attacked Hugging Face to get access to the information to help them ace their exam.

OpenAI issued a press release explaining what had happened and said it was "partnering with Hugging Face" to address the security incident and share lessons learned.

Conspiracy drama

Since then, there has been fierce debate about the incident.

Was it truly a stark warning about the future of AI? Or was it a publicity stunt by OpenAI to show off how powerful their models are?

It's the kind of scare marketing AI companies have been accused of for years and, since the much discussed launch of Anthropic's Mythos model, cyber-security prowess has been a focal point.

One of the top comments on OpenAI boss Sam Altman's X post about the incident summarises this scepticism: "If y'all can't understand that this was written to purely brag about the model then I don't know what to tell you."

Cyber-security consultant Daniel Card said sarcastically on LinkedIn: "Isn't it lucky [that] out of the millions of sites that got pwn3d [hacked], OpenAI managed to pwn someone who also could benefit from the marketing exposure…"

For some, the story is more conspiracy drama than sci-fi thriller.

The message is: "Aren't my AI tools really powerful? Buy them so you can protect yourself from other people's AI attacks."

We can't know the truth, but the opposing point of view posed by other commentators is just as dramatic. Is this a sign that OpenAI made a potentially dangerous error in judgement and planning?

Comedy of errors

I've covered lots of AI stories, including the fears around Anthropic's Mythos model.

My inbox is now chock full of cyber-security companies and experts criticising OpenAI for not building a stronger container to test its AI, known as a sandbox.

After all, these AI agents had been trained specifically to hack into and out of places with no restrictions at all.

"The OpenAI and Hugging Face incident is a real-world example of a broader issue we've been highlighting for months," said Dor Sarig from Pillar Security. "Sandboxes alone are not a sufficient security boundary for agentic AI."

Cyber security Professor Alan Woodward from Surrey University told reporters OpenAI had "egg on it's face", and Katie Moussouris from Luta Security went further, suggesting the AI industry is failing to control its dangerous inventions.

"We are working on cutting edge technology without the knowledge to contain it," she said.

"Just because we have the smartest people developing AI does not mean we have the ability to do so safely."

According to these views, if the hacking incident was a publicity stunt then it appears as though it backfired.

Whatever led to the hack, it's clear this is a major moment for the AI industry and the cyber security world, which collided this year in ways people had been fearing for a long time.

Addressing this fierce debate, AI and cyber security advisor Francesca Bosco said: "Two simplistic narratives are equally unhelpful: that this was a Hollywood-style escape, or that it was merely a publicity exercise.

"A more serious interpretation is that a stress test exposed weaknesses in containment and evaluation architecture."

Disaster movie

This event is the latest in a string of worrying and weird examples of AI agents going rogue.

In recent research, the UK's AI Security Institute (AISI) found frontier AI models are so fixated on completing tasks they "cheated" in tests to achieve their goals.

The research from AISI came with this worrying warning: "A model that pursues a goal through unintended or unauthorised means may cause harm, particularly in high-stakes use cases."

Inevitably, this OpenAI hack has further fuelled fears of what could happen if AI agents are let loose. Could they go rogue on a larger scale and cause some sort of disaster?

This is particularly concerning with AI being used increasingly in warfare as seen in Iran and Ukraine.

Ciaran Martin, former head of the UK's National Cyber Security Centre, offered a calmer view.

"It is a bit of a leap to go from this incident to saying that AI agents are going to take over drones and start killing people," he said.

But for Martin, and many others, the story is undoubtedly another vivid example of something that 2026 is teaching us fast:

AI agents are now very good hackers - and that is something we have to prepare for, urgently.

At AC/DC's first gig, the club owner cut the power because they were too noisy. Sam Smith started at barn dances, singing on top of a haystack. At Robert Smith's first concert, he got so drunk that he sang David Bowie's Suffragette City while the rest of the band played Jimi Hendrix's Foxy Lady.

But LA pop trio Muna can top them all.

At the start of their career, the band got a call from their record label. We know you've just flown overnight from London, they said, but you have to get to Las Vegas.

Why? Because they'd been booked to play Pet-A-Palooza, a dog adoption festival sponsored by the local radio station. If they turned up, the station would support their new single.

"We were all sick, so it was doomed from the start," recalls guitarist Josette Maskin.

"It was an acoustic set, but we didn't have a sound guy, and the guitar started feeding back."

The noise, according to singer Katie Gavin, was like an unholy screech.

"The dogs were getting upset," says Maskin, wincing at the memory. "They just howled the whole time.

"We were mortified, but looking back, it is so funny. And I've gotten to share those experiences with some of my best friends, and that's what life is really about."

Nowadays, that canine catastrophe is a dot in Muna's rear-view mirror.

Over the past decade, they've become one of the most compelling live bands around – a little bit punk, a little bit electronic, a little bit 80s, eminently watchable and endlessly impressive.

Fans include Harry Styles and Taylor Swift, who handpicked the trio (completed by guitarist/producer Naomi McPherson) to support them on tour.

They were won over by sing-along anthems like I Know A Place, a great big exuberant hug for the LGBTQ community; and the more introspective Stayaway, where Gavin locks herself in her bedroom to avoid anything - friends, music, drink - that could tempt her back into the arms of an ex.

In 2020, all their momentum nearly came to a crashing halt when RCA Records dropped the band, citing pandemic-era cost-cutting.

"That's obviously one where we had to put our heads together and be like, 'OK, we want to continue doing this. Let's just make an album and we'll figure it out'," says McPherson.

'We need movement'

That album, simply titled Muna, was eventually released by indie star Phoebe Bridgers, who swooped in to sign the band to her Saddest Factory label in 2021.

"Phoebe's manager had made it very clear that if we were ever single, she'd be interested in working with us," Gavin told the BBC at the time.

Bridgers also provided guest vocals on Silk Chiffon, a freewheeling sapphic love song that became Muna's breakthrough single.

It pegged the band, in its members' own words, as "the queer joy mini-skirt rollerblade, external" crew - but their music has always dug deeper than that.

I Know A Place, for example, was written as a response to the 2016 Pulse nightclub shooting, acknowledging the fragility of the communal LGBTQ spaces it celebrated.

Their fourth album, Dancing On The Wall, is their most powerful yet.

The music is darker. The lyrics hit harder. Ostensibly anchored to the dancefloor, it's a record that uses dance music to shake the listener out of complacency.

"I think it was a response to a feeling of helplessness in this moment in time that can lead to paralysis," says Gavin.

"Movement is what we need right now, and we also need to feel powerful and to connect to our sources of energy. The tempo of this album helps with that."

The standout, lyrically speaking, is Big Stick. A critique of American imperialism, it's written from the perspective of Big Brother, who "can make you want anything that I want you to" – from war in Gaza to the militarisation of US police forces.

"And If you've got a problem with it, you could end up in jail," Gavin seethes as militaristic synths patrol the beat.

"I think sometimes people want to go to concerts to feel a brief reprieve from the horrors of the world around them, but right now the horrors are so pervasive that what I found myself wanting was a container to express my anger together with other people," says the singer.

"It's an emotional release that I think we are often denied because we have to read tragedies in the news every day and then keep our heads down and work."

Given the polarised state of political discourse in the US, did they have any misgivings about releasing the song?

"Maybe this is actually stupid, but I don't think it was a big decision for us," says Maskin.

"We have always been a political band, and we've always been super open with what we believe in, so it really wasn't a question."

Elsewhere, the album transports the listener to sweaty, laser-lit nightclubs, where unyielding rhythms fuel feelings of "horniness and heartache".

The title track is full of thwarted desire, as Gavin tries and fails to get the attention of a girl who constantly leaves her dangling. Wannabeher, meanwhile, is a sticky, sleazy track about being so completely besotted with someone that you start to blur the boundaries between where your personality ends and theirs begins.

"I think that's a canon gay experience, where you don't know whether you want to be with someone or you actually want to be them," laughs Maskin.

Eastside Girls, meanwhile, is a tender depiction of Muna's neighbourhood, lovingly lampooning the staples of LA hipster culture – astrology, polyamory, roommate dramas and "negronis with the nice gin".

"It's a city that's run by sunshine," says McPherson, who moved to LA from her native San Diego.

"It's bohemian but it's also populated by some of the richest people in the world. It's a strange dichotomy."

The song's chorus is a masterclass in melody and, in Maskin's words, "smacks you in the face". It takes its place among Muna's most irresistible hooks (see also, Number One Fan, Stayaway, What I Want) – which all stem from Gavin's love of classic pop.

"She's been writing songs since she was eight years old, so it's a well-honed skill," says McPherson.

"I think it's a benefit of my obsessive personality, honestly," says Gavin.

"I am constantly searching for the next big chorus, and will probably always be. Also, once I have a seed in my head for a song that feels promising, it really has a hold on me and won't let me go until I feel I've done it justice." (Wannabeher, McPherson reveals, is the final version of a song that began 11 years ago.)

"I will say," Gavin adds, "one random tip is writing in motion - walking, driving, rollerblading, anything like that."

That explains why Muna's music always feels propulsive. "If you're not sweating after the first song, come on," laughs McPherson.

With an ever-growing fanbase, they'll play their biggest ever tour this autumn, titled the Gets So Hot Tour after the album's opening track – although the band previously joked it would be called "The Midwest Princess, Midnight Sun and the Eras Tour as Well", before abandoning the idea for copyright reasons.

A decade into their career, they're playing to "crowds we could never have imagined", while witnessing the genre labelled as "queer pop" expand into the mainstream, with artists like Chappell Roan, Renée Rapp, Lil Nas X and Troye Sivan all achieving crossover success.

"I do feel we were at the cusp of the reclamation of the word 'queer'," says Maskin.

"To us, it's actually a celebratory term, because it's inclusive, it includes everybody in the LGBTQI+ community.

"It came from academia first, the idea of queer theory," says McPherson, who admits the band were initially divided on whether to be open about their sexuality.

"We were reticent to come out of the closet in the hipster Pitchfork era of 2010 and 2011. We wanted to be mysterious and be closeted, and Katie was the one who encouraged us not to, and to just be ourselves. And we've only become more ourselves."

Even so, the label can be restrictive. Muna want their music to be universal.

"The subject matter we write about is queer in its essence, and so are our life experiences," says McPherson.

"The issue that we struggle with is wanting that to also be accepted as just a human experience, as well – especially in these times of great repression."

If anyone can do it, Muna can. Just don't let them play for your pets. %!s()