Gemma Collins says she will prove she is ‘strong woman’ in I’m A Celebrity camp second time around.
07:00, 07 Apr 2026Updated 07:02, 07 Apr 2026
Gemma Collins is back on I’m A Celeb and vowing to stay for longer this time(Image: ITV/Shutterstock)
Former TOWIE star Gemma Collins has insisted she is committed to I’m A Celebrity second time around.
The reality TV star lasted just 72 hours first time around before quitting in 2014, but has been given a second chance in South Africa. Gemma, who went in as a late entry alongside Craig Charles, said: “Going on All Stars is a real moment for me in my career – it’s redemption. To be able to do this again is the greatest honour ever. I am going to be the best campmate and get those stars. None of us will be starving under my watch.”
The 45-year old also revealed she will be walking into the South African jungle as ‘Gemma Collins’ and not her dive persona ‘The GC’.
She said: “I am dreading the whole lot, I don’t think anyone goes into the jungle going ‘woohoo’. It’s not normal to be faced with animals, but I am going in as Gemma Collins. Gemma Collins is a self-made woman. I have been to hell and back to get to where I am today. I am just looking forward to proving to people I can do it.
“There is no way I am going to be leaving after 72 hours. I am in it to win it. I am going through to the end. Last time, there were no highlights for me. But I wasn’t the strong, assertive woman I am today and I’ve got a totally different mindset.”
She says if she were lucky enough to win the series, it would be the ultimate pinnacle in her career.
Gemma said: “If I could get crowned the ‘Legend’, I would just feel complete in my life. Me quitting has been a shadow hanging over me. It would be my real redemption moment of my career that I had done this and nobody could take it away from me.”
Ahead of filming the show last year, Gemma also said she was looking forward to chatting with Ant & Dec again in the jungle.
She added: “It has been embarrassing whenever I have been to ITV parties knowing their first thought might be, ‘oh no, there is that girl who left the jungle’. They are fabulous. I want to show them what I am made of and get that new-found respect.”
As well as Gemma other returning stars include Olympian Sir Mo Farah, former Gogglebox star Scarlett Moffatt, Pussycat Dolls singer Ashley Roberts, actor Adam Thomas, singer Sinitta and comedian Seann Walsh.
Gemma and fellow latecomer Craig Charles will be competing in a trial before they arrive in camp tonight.
Asked if the show changed her first time around, she added: “No but now with hindsight, I realise I wasn’t wholesome or grounded when I went in. I was this girl from Essex who was all about Range Rovers, fancy jewellery and fancy coats. I am going to South Africa with a very different mindset.”
The race report from Suzuka actually mentioned that more than half Aston Martin’s deficit to the front was caused by the chassis.
That information came from a very senior and knowledgeable figure over the course of the Japanese Grand Prix weekend.
It also tallies with what other teams are seeing on the GPS data to which all have access, in terms of the cars’ speed on different parts of the track.
The exact split in terms of the losses that can be attributed to car and engine at Aston Martin-Honda is not known, and it’s probably not possible to know, as of course the behaviour of the engine can also have an impact on the cornering performance of the car.
It’s worth adding that, while it’s true that much of the public focus has been on the Honda engine, and especially the severe vibrations that have been causing reliability problems, team principal Adrian Newey has been clear that the car is also lacking.
It’s also the case that it’s not clear where the vibrations are coming from – are they intrinsic to the engine, or is there something about the way the engine is mounted to the chassis that exacerbates them?
In Australia, Newey said that on the chassis side “we’re maybe the fifth best team, so sort of potential Q3 qualifiers on the chassis side, but with the potential to be up front at some point in the season”.
On average over the four qualifying sessions of the first three races, including for the sprint in China, the Aston Martin is 3.6 seconds off the pace.
The fifth fastest team on average are Alpine, at 1.268secs off the pace, followed by Haas at 1.567secs.
So Aston Martin are about 2.3secs off qualifying in the top 10, with the majority down to the chassis and the rest the engine.
In other words, put a Mercedes engine in the car, and it would be about where Alpine or Haas are. Exactly as Newey suggested.
Given the Aston Martin’s troubled birth – effectively starting again when Newey arrived in March last year, a delayed entry into the wind tunnel until April, and a consequent compressed development programme – that sounds entirely feasible.
The car is overweight, and is especially poor in high-speed corners.
The fundamental point, though, is that it doesn’t really matter where exactly the deficit lies between car and engine. Both Aston Martin and Honda are a long way from being competitive, both know that’s the case, and both have a lot of work to do.
A cosy eatery has been crowned best pizzeria at the Italian Awards 2026, with diners praising its ‘quality hand-picked ingredients with generous toppings and a perfectly oven-fired base’
They also serve salads and sides(Image: Stable Hearth Neapolitan Pizzeria & Enoteca/Facebook)
Italian cuisine is a firm favourite for most families when dining out, and a delicious pizza never fails to please – so you might be astonished to discover some of the finest examples are right on your doorstep.
In what has evolved into something of an Oscars for the Italian hospitality industry, the Italian Awards 2026 took place, celebrating the very best establishments showcasing the cuisine throughout the UK.
From traditional cafes, restaurants, pizzerias and exceptional dishes – everything received its well-earned recognition at the highly prestigious ceremony.
Emerging victorious as the winner for best pizzeria in a category featuring five rival establishments was a charming eatery nestled in the town of Darlington in the North East.
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Housed within an old Victorian-style building with dark brickwork, in a softly lit environment, it creates an intimate atmosphere, perfect for enjoying authentic pizza.
It’s an unexpected location to discover delicious, genuine Italian pasta, hidden away in a market town, but it’s absolutely worth the detour during your travels around the Peak District.
The restaurant in New Mills, High Peak, roughly eight miles south-east of Stockport, and merely 13 miles from Manchester.
While it sits somewhat away from your typical culinary hotspots, it impressed Italian food experts sufficiently that it warranted acknowledgement for bringing genuine flavour to the town.
A recent customer raved on TripAdvisor: “Without a doubt the best pizza we have ever had. Quality hand-picked ingredients with generous toppings and a perfectly oven-fired base. I like the pepperoni lover the best.
“Simple but a full slice of quality pepperoni in every bite; you don’t run out halfway through as so often I find at other restaurants. Nick and his friendly relaxed team make this a dining experience to savour. P.S. The arancini are not to miss.”
Another delighted diner shared: “Fabulous pizza restaurant! Stable Hearth has such a lovely atmosphere. Really smart and classy decor, incredibly friendly staff and owners (so wonderful with our young children) and amazing pizzas.
“The chips are incredible with a fab choice of seasonings. The pizza menu offers great choices too. A really wonderful restaurant.”
The establishment clearly takes pride in serving authentic Neapolitan wood-fired pizza, featuring both traditional and contemporary styles.
According to TripAdvisor, this isn’t their sole achievement either; the compact yet impressive restaurant has secured the Best Pizzeria English Italian Awards in 2018, 2019 and 2022.
You’ll discover this delicious gem tucked away at 33-35 Duke Street, Darlington DL3 7RX. While there’s no dedicated car park on site, street parking is readily available, and it’s just a brief stroll from both Winston Street West Car Park and Abbott’s Yard Car Park.
Awards Director Warren Paul, discussing the launch of Italian Awards for 2026, expressed his delight in showcasing the efforts of “passionate people”.
He continued: “That’s why we do what we do. It’s to make sure the hard-working inspirational people and businesses get the recognition they deserve.
“Everyone jumps to criticise and leave a negative review or complaint over the tiniest thing, but very few rush to praise good service, food and experiences. That’s where we come in. So congratulations to our winners.”
Highly Recommended Pizzerias in the same category included:
Best Pizzeria Amico Mio (Clitheroe)
Best Pizzeria Osteria V2.0 (Shrewsbury)
Best Pizzeria Primavista Bury St Edmunds (Bury St Edmunds)
In the churchyard next to Wilmington Priory in East Sussex, I found a yew so ancient and stooped that its trunk had eaten half a gravestone. Its boughs were supported by long poles, a creepy sight that made me shudder. I had come here to see something just as strange, but more benign than this folk-horror vision – the figure of the Long Man of Wilmington on the hillside opposite, on the steep scarp of the South Downs. He treks over the hill, a stave clasped in each hand. Climbing Windover Hill, just beneath the South Downs Way, I saw that while he was once a chalk giant, his lines are now marked with concrete blocks.
The Long Man may be Anglo-Saxon in origin – the shape is similar to the design on a buckle discovered in Kent in 1964 by the archaeologist Sonia Chadwick Hawkes, which probably represents the god Odin (or Woden); but he may be a much later adornment for the hillside, made to be viewed from the priory. His form entranced the photographer Lee Miller and her husband, the artist Roland Penrose, who lived close to the Long Man. Penrose painted a surrealist representation of the Long Man on the inglenook fireplace at Farleys, their home – for them the figure was a protective spirit. It also inspired the Black composer Avril Coleridge-Taylor, the folk collective the Memory Band, and Benjamin Britten picnicked at its feet.
The Long Man of Wilmington in East Sussex. Photograph: Oliver Hlavaty/Alamy
The Long Man of Wilmington is one of the more famous chalk figures, the mysterious carvings that decorate the hills in England (and almost uniquely in England), numbering 40 or so. They have always been a part of my life. Familiar and simultaneously fantastic, they have fascinated me and many others: film-makers, writers, musicians and artists. They have drawn the attention of historians, archaeologists, antiquarians, all sorts of fellow travellers. Their appearance enlivens walks and invites conjecture.
Many hill figures – most famously horses, but also crosses, crowns, regimental symbols, giants and buried gods – are located close to ancient trackways that have taken pilgrims, traders, warriors and now Gore-Tex missionaries over the rounded chalky hills. By tracing these routes for my book The Tattooed Hills, I was able to get under the skin of these mysterious shapes.
My planned walk of a few miles from the Long Man to the figure of the Litlington White Horse was cut short by a thunderstorm – you don’t want to be in the hills under lightning – so I visited the next day. This small, lonely animal peeks over the hill towards the English Channel near Cuckmere Haven, and was cut secretly, by local people, in a single night in 1924, the successor to an earlier lost figure.
Also close to the coast, in Dorset, I climbed the hill to the huge figure of George III on his horse, Adonis, overlooking his favourite seaside resort of Weymouth. It was carved in 1808 as a tribute to the king and a huge advertisement for the town, although he’s rather faded now. Walking farther north, along the Wessex Ridgeway, I was menaced and fascinated by the huge, priapic figure of the Cerne Giant, on the opposite hillside, dominating the secluded valley with his club held aloft. His date has been hotly contested – he has been believed to be a Romano-British figure, or a 17th-century marauding Oliver Cromwell. Some have thought he was Helith, a pagan god. He is more likely to be a Saxon image of Hercules, or a local saint, Eadwold. This giant is an unreliable shapeshifter, a joker.
Part of the elongated Uffington White Horse in Oxfordshire. Photograph: David Chapman/Alamy
Taking the Ridgeway across Wiltshire’s chalk hills will plunge you into the county of white horses, of which eight remain. A midsummer walk from the slim form of the Alton Barnes White Horse took me along the Wansdyke, a great defensive ditch and bank stretching for miles through empty countryside with views of the ancient Silbury Hill, to a similar horse at Cherhill, scampering over the deep-sided coomb, carved in the shadow of a hillfort and signposted by the Lansdowne Monument, which dominates the hillscape and makes it unsettling.
Both horses come with music: the Alton Barnes horse appeared briefly in a video for the Britpop band Dodgy, for their single Staying Out for the Summer. The song mashes together many nostalgic cliches of the time (VW camper vans, space hoppers, crop circles, football tops), summoning up a specific idea of the countryside as a place for raves, and selling it back to us, without its rebellion. In their earlier incarnation as the Timelords, the KLF came to Cherhill to film the video for Doctorin’ the Tardis – not a good song, but one which introduced us to their art-terrorist antics. The KLF make the horse part of a dustier landscape in keeping with this corner of Wiltshire’s weirdness.
Further along the Ridgeway, I came to the greatest and most mysterious figure – the commanding presence of the elongated Uffington White Horse, also sited beneath a hillfort. Archaeology has dated this figure to the late bronze age – 3,000 years ago, give or take – and it’s an extraordinary survival. Generation after generation have cared for this racing animal, somehow keeping it bounded to its wind-blown hill. It too has been an inspiration for musicians: Kate Bush’s Cloudbusting video was filmed here and XTC’s album English Settlement has the horse on its cover. Andy Partridge from XTC told me that the landscape surrounding his native Swindon was an important inspiration: “It marked me like an Avebury stone or the ripples across a hillfort. It made me.”
The white horse at Cherhill, in Wiltshire, dates from the late 18th century. Photograph: Anthony Brown/Alamy
The Ridgeway gets tangled up with the Icknield Way, which runs over the country’s chalk spine to East Anglia and through the leafy Chiltern Hills, home to a cluster of some of the stranger chalk figures, which include two crosses, one on top of a massive chalk pyramid – the Whiteleaf Cross. Another figure, the Watlington White Mark, has been interpreted as an ancient fertility symbol, but is actually an 18th-century trompe l’oeil of the landscape. Stand in a particular place, it is said, and the chalk obelisk gives the church a spire. Walking east along the Icknield Way took me to Ivinghoe Beacon; from here I could see the prime ministerial retreat of Chequers in the valley below, but what drew my eye was the magnificent chalk figure of the Whipsnade White Lion, cut in 1931-33 to celebrate the opening of the zoo and now occasionally nibbled by wallabies, who help keep it in good shape.
At the far end of the Icknield Way I visited Wandlebury, in the Gog Magog Hills, named for the giants who, in folklore, once ruled Britain. One archaeologist, TC Lethbridge, thought he had found hill figures beneath the turf here; his findings were speculative and nothing remains of them, but the iron age hillfort above, the beechwoods and the nearby ancient track are the chalklands condensed into one country park. What struck me most about the Gog Magog story was something Lethbridge wrote in his book describing the dig, something that I found too as I travelled in search of the stories of the chalk. “There is no need,” he wrote, “to go to the ends of the earth for interesting quests and excitement. It is here, in prosaic old England, at one’s back door.”
The Tattooed Hills: Journeys to Chalk Figuresby Jon Woolcott is published by Aurum (£17.99). To support the Guardian, order your copy at guardianbookshop.com. Follow Jon on Instagram at dorsetjonw
April 6 (UPI) — Two Democratic lawmakers concluded a trip to Cuba on Monday by calling for the United States and Cuba to begin “real negotiations” and denouncing the Trump administration’s “economic bombing” of Havana.
Democratic Reps. Pramila Jayapal, of Washington, and Jonathan Jackson, of Illinois, returned to the United States following a five-day visit to Cuba. They said they spoke with officials and witnessed the effects of President Donald Trump‘s monthslong de facto oil blockade of the island nation.
The lawmakers said they saw premature babies in incubators put at risk due to Cuba’s energy crisis, children out of school because teachers have no fuel to travel to school and cancer patients being denied treatment because of a lack of medicine.
“This is cruel collective punishment — effectively an economic bombing of the infrastructure of the country — that has produced permanent damage,” the lawmakers said in a joint statement.
“It must stop immediately.”
The Trump administration has been enforcing a monthslong policy of choking off oil supplies to Cuba, plunging the socialist nation into a worsening energy and humanitarian crisis. On Jan. 29, President Donald Trump declared a national emergency with respect to Cuba and created a process to penalize countries that provide it with oil. According to a recent U.N. system action plan, citing Cuban authorities, no fuel imports have been recorded since Dec. 13.
“This disruption has triggered a severe energy shock, characterized by a critical fuel shortage affecting electricity generation, transportation and essential logistics across the country,” the U.N. report published last week said.
Widespread blackouts, fuel rationing and electricity shortages have been reported, it said.
The two Democratic lawmakers said they met with Cuba leaders in religion, civi society and the government, as well as dissidents, and all agreed that the blockade — which they called illegal — must end.
“We do not believe that the majority of Americans would want this kind of cruelty and inhumanity to continue in our name,” they said.
The pair met with President Miguel Diaz-Canel Bermudez, who said in a statement that he denounced to them the “energy siege decreed by the current U.S. government” and reiterated “the willingness of our Government to sustain a serious and responsible dialogue and to find solutions to the existing differences.”
Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez of Cuba said in a statement that he also told the lawmakers about the situation facing his country and their “willingness for serious and responsible dialogue to try to find solutions to bilateral problems.”
The Democrats said the Cuba government has sent signals that the country is ready for reform, pointing to its pardoning last week of more than 2,000 prisoners and efforts to liberalize its economy, while arguing the remaining obstacles to its progress is U.S. policy, which they called “outdated” from the Cold War-era.
“True reform will only come from charting a new course,” they said.
Trump has turned his attention to Cuba after detaining Venezuela’s authoritarian leader, Nicolas Maduro, in early January in a clandestine military operation.
He has said it is “a failing nation” and described it as on the precipice of collapse.
“As we achieve a historic transformation in Venezuela, we’re also looking forward to the great change that will soon be coming to Cuba,” he said on March 7 during the Shield of the Americas Summit.
US President Donald Trump said ‘Tuesday will be power plant day’ in a vulgar post on social media. He says the US plans to start bombing electricity infrastructure unless Iran opens the Strait of Hormuz. Al Jazeera’s Hala Al Shami looks at Iran’s power plants and the dangers of potential attacks.
Offset was shot near the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Fla., on Monday evening and is currently listed as stable, a spokesperson for the rapper told The Times.
“We can confirm Offset was shot and is currently at the hospital receiving medical care,” the spokesperson said in a statement. “He is stable and being closely monitored.”
The Seminole Police Department said in a statement that officers responded to an incident in the valet area of the hotel and casino shortly after 7 p.m. One person was transported to Memorial Regional Hospital in Hollywood with non-life-threatening injuries.
Police detained two people in connection with the incident, and an investigation remains ongoing. The scene has been secured and operations at the Hard Rock are continuing as normal, police said.
The circumstances around the shooting remain unclear.
The 34-year-old rapper, whose real name is Kiari Cephus, gained prominence as a member of the Atlanta rap trio Migos, which was founded in 2008 and rose to hip-hop fame in 2013 with the breakout hit “Versace.” The group, whose members included rappers Quavo, Takeoff and Offset, achieved major mainstream stardom in 2016 through “Bad and Boujee,” which shot to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.
The three members grew up together in the Atlanta area. Takeoff was Quavo’s nephew, while Offset is a close family friend.
In 2022, the group split up due to differences between Offset and Quavo. In November of that year, Takeoff, whose real name is Kirsnick Khari Ball, was fatally shot outside of a bowling alley in Houston. He was 28 years old.
Patrick Xavier Clark was indicted by a grand jury in the murder of Takeoff in May 2023. He has pleaded not guilty and the case is awaiting trial.
Since the breakup of Migos, Offset has focused on his solo career, releasing his album “Set It Off” in 2023, which features artists including Travis Scott, Don Toliver, Future and Cardi B. He released his latest album, “Kiari,” in August.
Times staff writer Emily St. Martin contributed to this report.
“The Cowleys were different as after years of bargain basement managers we actually went out and did the research and found them,” said Whiley.
“The excitement was there and I remember the event where they first met the fans they were cheered into the room.
“We can look at this season and see promotion to the Championship as the best thing the club has done, but those three seasons, two promotions, FA Cup quarter-final, winning a trophy at Wembley. That changed it all.
“They brought a buzz back that we hadn’t seen since Keith, and they were like Keith in that they would find players on the way up, scour non-league and find the future stars.
“The fact is, that even after the Cowleys left to join Huddersfield, the energy stayed.
“It sticks with me that Danny said to me he didn’t want to see kids in Lincoln wearing the shirts of Premier League clubs, he wanted to see them kicking a ball in the park wearing a Lincoln City shirt.
“The success, the work that was done means that is a reality. I see it all the time when I go round the city, people wear their colours with pride.”
While Mark, Leigh and myself have covered parts of Lincoln’s recent history, one man who has been the stalwart has been BBC Radio Lincolnshire’s Michael Hortin.
His first game was in 1999, and he was there in the commentary box as Lincoln gained promotion to the Championship.
“This promotion is the culmination of a long-term plan,” said Hortin. “This is about a chairman and board who have been thoughtful with their investment.
“Lincoln’s FA Cup run earned them a lot of money and they did not spend it on players, they spent it on a whole new training set-up.
“The Cowleys were the start of a transition from the old way of doing things, to a set-up that is very much part of the modern game.
“Under them a sporting director was brought in to support recruitment and player development and now we really do have a true ‘head coach’ in Michael Skubala.
“It is about finding those raw players, developing them, selling them, and it is paying off as it has allowed them to secure players on better deals.”
Lincoln have, as Hortin describes, recruited ‘experience’ to the squad. Their head coach, though, is a man who had limited time in the professional game, but Hortin said Skubala’s ability to learn and adapt has been impressive.
“I remember the first game Skubala took was against Stevenage, and it was a bit of a shock, but he was quite cool and his reaction was more ‘huh, this is what it is about’, and he learned,” said Hortin.
“The way the team has adapted and what Skubala has done is create a team that is hard to beat.”
A team that is hard to beat. A club that has been learning, developing, recruiting, all building up to where Lincoln are now. But what next?
Hortin is confident that the club will remain realistic. “The first goal will be survival, but the thing is they had a plan to become an established League One club, and now they will be working on another plan for what comes next.
“The one thing is that new owner Ron Fowler will likely go about it the same as Clive Nates. It will be done in a quiet, steady, thoughtful way. That has become the Lincoln way.”
United States Vice President JD Vance is travelling to Budapest to bolster support for Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, whose Fidesz Party faces its most difficult election in over a decade.
The White House announced last week that Vance would arrive in Hungary on Tuesday and hold two days of bilateral meetings.
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In February, US President Donald Trump endorsed right-wing leader Orban ahead of Hungary’s April 12 parliamentary elections, while US Secretary of State Marco Rubio visited the country that month to show support.
Kim Lane Scheppele, a professor of sociology at Princeton University in the US who has spent years as an analyst and critic of Orban’s government, says that the trip is meant to underscore the close relationship between Trump and his Hungarian counterpart.
“Orban will make a big deal out of the fact that he’s got Trump’s support. And that’s why Vance is coming,” she said, adding that she is sceptical that Vance’s trip will have a large impact on the outcome of the election.
“If you look at the polls in Hungary, they show the opposition with an 8 to 12 percent lead, in some recent polls up to a 20 percent lead. One visit by a relatively low-profile American vice president is not going to change that.”
Fidesz party voter Gergo Farkas takes part in Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s election campaign rally with his friends in Szombathely, Hungary, April 2, 2026 [Marton Monus/Reuters]
Robust opposition
Orban’s 16-year tenure has been marked by the erosion of the independence of institutions such as the judiciary and the media, as well as reforms that critics say have slanted the electoral system in favour of Orban and his Fidesz party.
But despite what the opposition has described as a deeply imbalanced electoral environment, most polls show the 62-year-old Orban trailing the 45-year-old opposition leader, Peter Magyar, and his Tisza Party.
Magyar is a former high-ranking Fidesz official who broke with the party two years ago and has emerged as a popular voice railing against Orban’s rule.
His campaign has focused on corruption, deteriorating social services, economic conditions, and Orban’s combative relationship with the European Union, which has often centred on immigration and support for Ukraine.
The European Union suspended billions of euros in funding for Hungary in 2022 over what it characterised as democratic backsliding and declining judicial independence.
Magyar has pledged a more cordial relationship with the European bloc, as well as reforms that could lead to the restoration of suspended funds.
While Orban has depicted the opposition as a destabilising force that will sell out the country’s national interests on behalf of Ukraine and the EU, Magyar’s right-leaning politics mean that policies on issues such as immigration would see little change.
“Magyar is centre-right; he’s basically a believer in much of what Orban has done, minus the corruption. In EU terms, he’s slightly eurosceptical but wants to get the money back,” said Scheppele.
Peter Magyar, Hungarian opposition leader of the ‘Tisza’ (Respect and Freedom) Party, delivers a speech at a demonstration during commemorations of the 178th anniversary of the 1948-49 Hungarian Revolution on March 15, 2026 in Budapest, Hungary [Janos Kummer/Getty Images]
Blueprint for the US right
While Orban’s approach to consolidating power and his embrace of far-right politics have mired his relationships in Europe, they have made him a source of inspiration for the US far right and prominent members of the Trump administration, such as JD Vance.
Hungary has previously hosted the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), an annual summit where individuals and groups from across the US right and allies from other countries gather to discuss the future of the conservative movement.
When CPAC convened in Budapest in 2024, Trump sent a video praising Orban for “proudly fighting on the front lines of the battle to rescue Western civilisation”.
Shared ire for Muslims, immigrants, and centres of liberal politics such as universities has helped cement that bond, and Vance himself has enjoyed especially close relations with Orban’s government.
When he was selected as Trump’s running mate in July 2024, Orban’s political director shared a photo of himself posing with Vance, captioned: “A Trump-Vance administration sounds just right.”
Orban’s Hungary has been at the centre of the Trump administration’s shifting policy towards Europe, firmly aligning itself with far-right parties and immigration restrictionists in countries such as France and Germany.
Scheppele says that Orban’s relationship with the Trump administration and status as an icon of the global far right may be of limited use in an election that is mostly focused on domestic issues.
But she noted that more tangible steps, such as a pledge of US financial support from the Trump administration if Orban wins, could buoy his chances in the closing days of the race.
“The big thing to watch is that, when Orban came to the US recently, Trump appeared to promise a fiscal safety net if Orban wins,” said Scheppele, adding that the US took similar steps before the 2025 midterm elections in Argentina in order to bolster right-wing ally Javier Milei, now the country’s president.
“Trump hasn’t made that kind of formal promise, and he’s now denied that he made any specific promise. But the Orban people think that Trump is going to backstop them if they win the election,” Scheppele added. “If Vance makes that kind of announcement, it could be a real game-changer.”
Political analyst Trita Parsi says no one should be surprised that Iran has rejected the idea of a ceasefire deal with the US and Israel, given their history of violating previous agreements.
White is the latest festival alum added to the bill for a surprise slot in recent years, joining the likes of Weezer and Ed Sheeran in 2025, Blink-182 in 2023 and Arcade Fire in 2022.
The sold-out festival is topped by Sabrina Carpenter on Friday, Justin Bieber on Saturday and Karol G on Sunday. Carpenter has the earliest headlining spot of the three, with a set scheduled for 9:05 to 10:35 p.m. Following Carpenter on opening night is electronic artist Anyma, who is debuting a production called “Æden” at midnight on the Coachella stage.
It’s free to see, but there’s a reservation system for a time slot. People who can’t make a reservation will be admitted on a first-come, first-served basis.
On the Coachella website, it describes the Bunker as being located near the Sahara Tent.
Wrexham came agonisingly close to earning a shock win over the Saints on the opening day of the campaign.
Josh Windass opened the scoring from the penalty spot for the visitors at St Mary’s Stadium but last-gasp goals from Ryan Manning and Jack Stephens earned the hosts victory.
Despite that triumph, the Saints struggled under Will Still and parted company with the head coach in early November.
They have drastically improved under German boss Eckert, winning nine of their past 12 league fixtures.
But Lewis O’Brien, who netted his side’s second goal at West Brom last time out, feels Wrexham’s improvement since the first fixture between the sides is evident.
“We were a pretty new team. There were a lot of signings and we were trying to understand how everyone played,” the midfielder said of the August contest.
“We’ve now got three games at home and three away and hopefully we can pick up as many points as we can.”
National Intelligence Service chief Lee Jong-seok (C) attends a plenary session of the intelligence committee at the National Assembly in Seoul, South Korea, File. Photo by YONHAP / EPA
April 6 (Asia Today) — South Korea’s National Intelligence Service said Monday the conflict between the United States and Iran could enter a lull by the end of this month, while also assessing that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is solidifying a succession plan centered on his daughter.
The assessment was delivered during a closed-door briefing to the National Assembly’s intelligence committee.
The agency said the conflict, which began in February, remains a war of attrition with relatively low likelihood of major escalation, despite continued military pressure.
It said the United States and Israel maintain battlefield superiority, while Iran is leveraging its geopolitical position, including control over energy routes, to sustain its position.
The agency said both sides may pursue limited negotiations, including a potential arrangement in which Iran reopens the Strait of Hormuz and the United States releases frozen Iranian assets.
Officials said the possibility of the United States escalating the conflict with ground troop deployment remains low for now.
The agency added that the trajectory of the conflict over the coming days, particularly the impact of U.S. airstrikes, will likely determine whether tensions ease toward the end of April.
On North Korea, the intelligence service said Kim Jong Un’s daughter Ju-ae can now be regarded as a likely successor, based on recent intelligence.
It said Ju-ae has increasingly appeared in military-related settings, suggesting efforts to build her leadership profile and normalize the idea of a female successor.
The agency also said recent imagery and public appearances appear designed to highlight her military credentials, including staged scenes reminiscent of Kim Jong Un’s own rise to power.
In contrast, the agency assessed that Kim Yo Jong, Kim’s sister, does not hold substantial independent power, and will likely continue serving as a senior aide and public spokesperson.
‘It’s a historic day… but don’t forget to enjoy the view.’
Four astronauts from NASA’s Artemis II mission have broken the record for the farthest human travel from Earth. The record of 400,171km was set by Apollo 13 in April 1970.
CARDI B’s ex, Offset, has been hospitalized after getting shot near a popular Florida casino.
The 34-year-old rapper was involved in a shooting on Monday.
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Cardi B’s ex Offset has been shot near a Florida casinoCredit: GettyOffset was hospitalized and receiving medical treatment, spokesperson for the rapper told The U.S. Sun in a statementCredit: Getty
“We can confirm he was shot and is currently at the hospital receiving medical care.
“He is stable and being closely monitored,” a spokesperson for the rap star told The U.S. Sun in a statement.
TMZ first broke the news about the incident, which occurred near the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood.
A rep for the Seminole County Police told the outlet that “two individuals have been detained” and “there is no threat to the public.”
Further details about the shooting are unknown at this time.
It comes nearly four years after Offset’s Migos bandmate Takeoff was fatally shot after an argument erupted outside of a Houston Bowling alley.
Hours before the latest shooting involving the Bad and Boujee rapper, Cardi, 33, shared videos on Instagram of their kids jumping for joy as they hunted for Easter eggs at her home.
The estranged pair share three children: a daughter, Kulture Kiari Cephus, born in 2018; a son, Wave Set Cephus, born in 2021; and a daughter, Blossom, born in September 2024.
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Offset – real name Kiari Kendrell Cephus – is also a father to three other children from other relationships.
Cardi – birth name Belcalis Marlenis Almánzar – filed for divorce from Offset in August after seven years of marriage and is reportedly seeking primary custody of their kids.
The Bodak Yellow rapper had previously accused her ex of cheating, though insiders claimed to Page Six that the reason for their split was they’d “grown apart.”
Aside from their children, the former couple appeared to have abandoned all other connections they’d had to one another.
The U.S. Sun exclusively reported in November that half a Georgia street the duo owns has been left rundown, with rotted homes and no signs of being fixed up.
Offset is also said to be facing financial troubles with more than $2.3 million in tax liens, according to documents obtained by The U.S. Sun.
Cardi was most recently linked to NFL star Stefon Diggs, with whom she welcomed a baby in November.
Days before the New England Patriots’ wide receiver played in the Super Bowl, and Cardi B appeared in the halftime show, rumors circulated that the couple had parted ways.
A week later, Cardi confirmed their split when she appeared to shade the football star during a performance on her Little Miss Drama Tour.
The incident occurred near the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in HollywoodCredit: GettyA spokesperson told The U.S. Sun that the rap star is in ‘stable’ conditionCredit: GettyCardi B filed for divorce from Offset in August 2024, though it has not yet been finalizedCredit: Getty
WASHINGTON — The United States relied on dozens of aircraft, hundreds of personnel, secret CIA technology and a dose of subterfuge to rescue a two-man F-15E fighter jet crew downed deep inside Iran, a risky mission that President Trump and his top defense aides detailed Monday.
U.S. forces rescued the pilot within hours of the jet going down late Thursday, surging helicopters, midair refuelers and fighter aircraft deep into Iran after confirming his location, Trump said in a valedictory news conference at the White House, describing the military operation in an unusual level of detail.
The second aviator aboard the aircraft — the weapons systems officer — was rescued nearly two days later.
An A-10 Warthog, which was the attack aircraft primarily responsible for keeping in contact with the downed pilot on the ground, was hit by enemy fire while engaging Iranian forces, said Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
The A-10 was “not landable,” Caine told reporters, but the pilot continued fighting before flying to a friendly country and ejecting. He was quickly rescued and is doing fine, Caine said.
The rescue of the F-15 pilot occurred before the Iranians could marshal a comprehensive search of their own, but finding and bringing home the weapon systems officer was an even more complicated endeavor.
The officer, who rode in the backseat of the F-15 flying under the call sign Dude-44 Bravo, was injured but followed his training to get as far from the crash site as possible. He managed to climb mountainous terrain and hide inside a cave or crevice. He contacted U.S. forces Saturday.
When a plane crashes in hostile territory, “they all head right to that site, you want to be as far away as you can,” Trump said.
CIA Director John Ratcliffe said the spy agency used “exquisite technologies that no other intelligence service” possesses to locate the aviator. At the same time, the CIA mounted a deception operation to mislead Iranians who also were trying to find him.
Ratcliffe said the search and rescue operation was “comparable to hunting for a single grain of sand in the middle of a desert.”
The CIA declined to respond to questions Monday about the kind of technology used to locate the airman.
Protected by an “air armada” of drones, strike aircraft and more, rescuers moved in on Sunday to pick up the weapons officer and bring him home.
Many of the dozens of aircraft that were part of the operation were there for deception, Trump said.
“We were bringing them all over, and a lot of it was subterfuge,” Trump said. “We wanted to have them think he was in a different location.”
Back in Washington, national security officials coordinated on a call, keeping the phone line open for nearly two days straight.
“From the moment our pilots went down, our mission was unblinking,” Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said. “The call never dropped. The meeting never stopped, the planning never ceased.”
Cooper, Toropin and Amiri write for the Associated Press. Cooper reported from Phoenix and Amiri from New York. AP writer Josh Boak contributed to this report.
Although delighted to be part of the field, McKibbin is eager to make his mark and acknowledges the famous course is challenging.
Long fairways and “pristine” greens are what he will encounter but he wants to leave on Sunday happy with his week’s work.
Whether that means playing through the weekend or making a charge at the leaderboard remains to be seen, but making the most of this opportunity is his primary motivation.
“Some of the holes are very long, especially around 10 and 11, you’re hitting a lot of long irons into the greens which look pretty small from there, but the golf course is just incredible,” he noted.
“I’ve played it a few times now and it’s everything you could imagine, so to play more over the week is pretty cool.
“The greens are absolutely perfect, so pristine, quick and once you get out onto the course, there are some pretty crazy slopes on them you can really play around with.
“The golf course changes so much over the week, I don’t know what to expect, but I would just like to have a nice week, play well and see where that is. Your first one there aren’t a lot of expectations, but I want to have a good week.”
The ski resort of Riksgränsen is the most northerly in the world, sitting way into the Arctic Circle. It is treated to regularly displays of the Northern Lights and delivers midnight skiing at middsummer
‘I found an odd European ski resort where you can ski at midnight in the sunshine’
If you think that you’ve missed your chance to go skiing in Europe this year, then you’d be wrong.
There is a resort where the slopes remain open not just through April and into May, but in the high summer days of June.
Riksgränsen, a small ski resort in Arctic Sweden, is the most northerly in the world. It’s 94 miles further up the road from the famous ICEHOTEL, which has melted away into the river by this time of the year.
By June 21, the snow farmers of Riksgränsen have been hard at work for weeks, making sure there’s enough coverage on the 909m tall mountain for the Midsommar downhill jamboree. They’ve dug, they’ve blanketed and they’ve cornered off sections of the mountain.
The reward is three hours of skiing, unlike anything you’ll find elsewhere in the world. From 10pm to 1am, T-shirt-clad skiers whizz down Riksgränsen’s 21km of pistes, basking in the strange phenomenon of bright sun and blue skies throughout the night. At 68.4266°N, the sun won’t disappear again for another month.
When I visited the Swedish resort, it wasn’t nighttime and the sun was nowhere to be seen. Instead, a heavy cloud hung over the mountain, the wind whipping my face as I sat shivering on the ski lift. Skiing in Sweden in March hits a little differently.
Unlike the Alpine ski season, where the temperature hangs around the 0 °C mark and there’s a 10 euro hot chocolate to warm your cockles at the bottom of every piste, Sweden’s resorts get really, really cold. -20C cold. Cold enough that after a few trips down Riksgränsen’s jump-littered slopes, you need to retreat to one of two food huts for a finger-thawing plate of meatballs or a veggie hot dog loaded with crispy onions.
The resort also stands out from others I’ve been to in terms of vibe. Gone are the Dior all-in-one après-skiers of the French Alps, replaced with gnarly 20-something youth hostellers who all seem to know how to backflip.
Riksgränsen is known as a paradise of off-piste skiing, and it does not disappoint. Either side of every piste is acres of mazy terrain, perfect for exploring and throwing yourself down. The resort also specialises in heli-skiing and snowmobile tours. You can even book yourself a caving tour at the nearby Kåppasjåkkagrottan, the largest cave in Sweden.
Riksgränsen translates as national border. Its area extends into Norway, meaning when you ski down the “Gränsleden” (border run), you swing into a different country at every corner.
This boundary-hopping continues with the Arctic ski pass required to access Riksgränsen’s slopes. Starting from about £140, it also gets you onto the lifts of Björkliden, Fjällby and Narvikfjellet.
The two other resorts offer very different skiing experiences.
Björkliden is perfect for families, with a gentle mountain criss-crossed with runs through the pine trees ideally suited to beginners. Hotell Fjället sits metres from its bottom ski lift and is an excellent place to stay. Comfy, staffed by friendly ski enthusiasts from across Sweden, and boasting a dramatic view of Lapporten from its breakfast room. The U-shaped valley is known as ‘the gateway of Lapland’ and for providing a framing of the Northern Lights, which I was lucky enough to witness twice during a three-day trip. The 11-year solar cycle recently peaked, meaning the Arctic was doused in glorious streaks of green on a near-nightly basis.
A little further north is Narvik, where the mountains are higher and the slopes more intense. The resort is currently undergoing a major upgrade ahead of the FIS Alpine World Ski Championship arriving in 2029.
The warming effect of the Gulf Stream means the port does not freeze. The view along the deep blue Ofotfjorden that treats skiers as they descend down the biggest drop in northern Europe is simply breathtaking.
Data from the National Data Agency and the Ministry of Economy and Finance illustrate South Korea’s national debt and fiscal trends. Graphic by Asia Today and translated by UPI
April 6 (Asia Today) — South Korea’s national debt exceeded 1,300 trillion won ($864.0 billion) for the first time in 2025, while the government posted a managed fiscal deficit above 100 trillion won ($66.3 billion) for a second straight year, according to official data released Monday.
The government’s annual settlement report showed total national debt reached 1,304.5 trillion won ($864.0 billion), up 129.4 trillion won ($85.8 billion) from a year earlier.
The debt-to-GDP ratio rose to 49.0%, up 3.0 percentage points from 46.0% the previous year.
Government debt has risen sharply since the COVID-19 pandemic, increasing by nearly 500 trillion won ($331.5 billion) over the past five years as authorities expanded borrowing to support economic stimulus and welfare spending.
Per capita national debt climbed to about 25.2 million won ($16,700), an increase of about 2.8 million won ($1,900) from a year earlier.
Officials attributed the rise largely to increased government borrowing as tax revenue fell short of spending needs, leading to expanded issuance of treasury bonds.
Central government debt accounted for 1,268.1 trillion won ($840.0 billion) of the total, with most of the increase driven by additional bond issuance. Foreign exchange stabilization bonds also rose as authorities sought to manage currency volatility.
Total revenue and spending were 637.4 trillion won ($422.6 billion) and 684.1 trillion won ($453.6 billion), respectively, resulting in a consolidated fiscal deficit of 46.7 trillion won ($31.0 billion).
The managed fiscal balance, which excludes social security funds and is a key indicator of fiscal health, recorded a deficit of 104.2 trillion won ($69.1 billion). Although slightly lower than the previous year, the deficit remained above the government’s fiscal rule target of 3% of GDP, coming in at 3.9%.
Officials warned that continued fiscal deficits, combined with rising spending pressures linked to global uncertainties including the Middle East conflict, are adding to concerns over the country’s fiscal sustainability.
Weekly insights and analysis on the latest developments in military technology, strategy, and foreign policy.
Bleeding from injuries incurred ejecting from his F-15E Strike Eagle fighter and climbing a craggy mountain to escape, the U.S. Air Force Weapon Systems Officer (WSO) hid out in a crevice as both rescuers and Iranians frantically searched for him. Monday afternoon, President Donald Trump and Air Force Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, offered new details about the complex and dangerous missions to rescue the WSO and pilot – call signs DUDE44 Bravo and DUDE44 Alpha – whose Strike Eagle had been shot down April 3, the first loss of crewed aircraft to enemy fire during Epic Fury. While they offered the government’s take on events, other details emerged that we will address later in this story.
These rescue missions involved hundreds of troops, scores of aircraft and diversion operations over more than a half dozen different parts of Iran. It required risking the lives of many of those personnel to recover the two airmen.
President Trump News Conference After U.S. Airmen Rescue in Iran
The WSO’s recovery occurred on Easter Sunday some 50 hours after being shot down. It all began in the early morning hours of April 3 in Iran. After the F-15E was shot down, officials at U.S. Central Command received a message that would kick start the operation.
“A U.S. Air Force F-15E Strike Eagle, call sign DUDE44… was down in hostile Iranian territory, the pilot and weapon systems officer had both safely ejected and were isolated behind enemy lines,” Caine told reporters during a White House briefing. “Following confirmation of active rescue beacons, and on the direction of the Secretary [of War Pete Hegseth] and by order of the President, a rescue operation was launched with the stated purpose of bringing both Americans home safely.”
The downing of an F-15E Strike Eagle, like the one pictured, set off missions to recover its crew. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Jackson Manske) (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Jackson Manske)
A US Air Force combat search and rescue (CSAR) task force was quickly spun up, Caine explained. It included 10 A-10C Thunderbolt II close support jets, HC-130J Combat King CSAR planes, HH-60W Jolly Green II CSAR helicopters and Air Force special operations airmen.
“A package comprised of combat rescue officers and pararescuemen operators audaciously penetrated enemy territory in broad daylight to find, fix and recover DUDE44 Alpha from behind enemy lines,” Caine proffered.
As the CSAR package, protected by a fighter strike package, crossed into Iran, “A-10s and …drones and other tactical aircraft were violently suppressing and engaging the enemy in a close in gunfight to keep them away from the front seater and allow the pickup force to get into the objective area,” Caine noted. During this engagement, one of the A-10s – “the one primarily responsible for communicating with the downed pilot, was hit by enemy fire,” said Caine. “This pilot continued to fight, continued the mission, and then upon exit, flew his aircraft into another country and determined that the airplane was not landable… The pilot then made the decision to eject over friendly territory, and was quickly and safely recovered and is doing fine.”
A strike package of 10 A-10 Thunderbolt II close support jets protected the mission to rescue the pilot of the F-15E Strike Eagle downed over Iran. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Jamal D. Sutter/Released) Tech. Sgt. Jamal Sutter
After picking up the F-15E pilot, the HH 60W Jolly Green “was engaged by every single person in Iran who had a small arms weapon, and one of the aircraft, the trailing aircraft, took several hits,” Caine told reporters. “The crew sustained minor injury, and they are going to be fine.”
“The A-10 force and the rescue force did a fantastic job rescuing DUDE44 Alpha,” Caine continued. “He was recovered Friday afternoon, as I said, and the nation needs to know this. This was an incredibly brave and courageous mission, and a testament to the courage, skill and tenacity of the joint force and our leaders, and especially a daylight option.”
Rescuing the pilot was only the first step. The WSO was still out there, alone and being hunted by the military and civilians. Officials in Tehran put out a large bounty for his recovery. If was captured or killed, it would have been a tremendous propaganda coup for Iran and a huge problem for America.
“Meanwhile, the second crew member, the weapon system officer, a highly respected colonel, had landed a significant distance away from the pilot,” Trump explained. “When you’re going at those speeds, even if you go out two or three seconds later, it’s miles and miles away, because you’re going fast.”
The Death-Defying Mechanics of Fighter Jet Ejections | Cars Insider
The WSO “was injured quite badly and stranded in an area teeming with terrorists from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, a rough group, as well as the Basij militia and local authorities,” recounted Trump, who was watching it all unfold in real time. “Despite the peril, the officer followed his training and climbed into the treacherous mountain terrain and started climbing toward a higher altitude, something they were trained to do in order to evade capture.”
“He scaled cliff faces bleeding rather profusely, treated his own wounds and contacted American forces to transmit his location,” the president continued. “They have a very sophisticated beeper type apparatus that is on them at all times.”
The WSO was located thanks in large measure to help from the CIA.
“As an agency, the CIA possesses unique capabilities that only the president can deploy,” said its director, John Ratcliffe, who also spoke at the presser. “Some of these capabilities fall under covert action authorities, and because covert means exactly that I’m not going to be able to tell you everything that you want to know. At the President’s direction, we deployed both human assets and exquisite technologies that no other intelligence service in the world possesses to a daunting challenge, comparable to hunting for a single grain of sand in the middle of a desert.”
Trump praised Ratcliffe and the agency.
“And John Ratcliffe was incredible,” the president proffered. “It was actually their genius that called us from – he was 40 miles away – and he said, ‘you know, we’re seeing something moving up in a mountain.’ It’s at night And they kept the camera on for 45 minutes. He wasn’t moving. And they said, ‘you know, probably wrong, but we’re seeing something moving.’ This a man, vast mountain, vast thick with bushes, trees. He said, ‘We see something moving 40 miles away…I’m telling you, it’s moving.’ And then all of a sudden, 45 minutes later, he moved a lot, stood up, and they said, ‘we have him.’”
“And that was really the beginning of something incredible,” Trump added. “We had an idea where he was, but not specifically. That’s big mountain. So I want to thank the CIA too. I don’t think they get enough credit for the great job they’ve done.”
Donald Trump personally takes credit for finding still captured WSO. Trump claims CIA was using camera technology looking at side of entire mountain, and barely noticed a head move. He found him.
Once the WSO was located, “[w]e immediately mobilized a massive operation to retrieve him from the mountain,” Trump continued. “He kept going higher and higher. The mountain kept getting rougher and rougher, and was really, very, very hard to find. The second rescue mission involved 155 aircraft, including four bombers, 64 fighters, 48 refueling tankers, 13 rescue aircraft and more.”
U.S. Dropped 100 Massive Bombs During Rescue Mission. The U.S. focused on destroying roads near the rescue site to prevent Iranians from closing in on American forces and aircraft. Some of the craters in the roads can be seen from satellite imagery. https://t.co/xakYNDresc
All these assets, however, weren’t just for the spot where the WSO was located. Many of these aircraft were taking part in diversion efforts to throw Iranians off the trail.
“We were bringing them all over, and a lot of it was subterfuge,” Trump stated. “We wanted to have them think he was in a different location, because they had a vast military force out there, thousands and thousands of people were looking. So we wanted them to look in different areas. So we were scattered all over, like we were right on top of them. We had seven different locations where they thought, and they were very confused. They said, ‘Well, wait a minute, they’ve got groups here. They’ve got groups there.’”
As the WSO hid, the military had created a forward arming and refueling point on a farm, Trump noted. You can read more about how the Air Force would set up and defend such a location in our interview with a former Air Force Special Tactics Squadron airman here.
Airmen from the 17th Special Operations Squadron and 18th Logistics Readiness Squadron forward area refueling point team members prepare an MC-130J Commando II to deliver fuel during nighttime training Aug. 17, 2017, at Kadena Air Base, Japan. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Omari Bernard) Staff Sgt. Omari Bernard
That location, the president proffered, was less than ideal for such operations, which involved landing two heavily loaded MC-130J Commando II special operations cargo planes that included several H-6 Little Bird special operations helicopters among other equipment in their holds.
“This was not much of a runway,” the president stated, adding that the ground was wet and sandy, making landing, and especially takeoff, a challenge. “This was a farm, not a runway. It’s a farm. But it did the trick.”
After the wounded WSO was found, he was whisked back to the FARP, but getting him and the aircraft brought in to help find him was a tremendous challenge.
Trump said that with the MC-130s stuck in the wet, sandy soil, “we blew them up to smithereens.” The Little Birds were also blown up in place as well, because the aircraft that replaced the Commando IIs weren’t capable of exfilling them.
The wreckage of an MC-130J Commando II and a H-6 Litter Bird after it reportedly got stuck during the operation to rescue the downed F-15E weapons system operator and later blown up by the U.S. so it would not fall into Iranian hands. (Iranian media)
To replace the C-130s, “lighter, faster aircraft came in, and they took them out,” Trump said about the personnel and equipment. He was almost certainly referring to the CASA C-295W, a short take off and landing (STOL) twin turboprop that are modified for the special operations role.
A video has previously emerged said to show a C-295W flying at extremely low altitude in the general vicinity of the crash site. The U.S. Air Force operates a handful of these aircraft, likely assigned to the secretive 427th Special Operations Squadron. This unit is known to specialize in covert and clandestine infiltration and exfiltration missions, among other duties.
You can see that video below.
Casa C-295W Perssauder from the USAF’s 427th SOS from Ft. Bragg, North Carolina low level over Iran today. 😎💪
About a month ago, these guys were practicing low-level flying around 200ft AGL around North Carolina and one person thought it was a plane crashing, called 911 and… pic.twitter.com/rvSKvPHRMq
During the press conference, Trump pointed out not everyone in the military was in agreement that the U.S. should commit so many resources, human and equipment, to such a dangerous effort to rescue two men.
“There was military people, very professional, that preferred not doing it,” explained the president. “There were military people that said, ‘you just don’t do this. You don’t go into the heart of a very powerful military.’”
Trump of course listened instead to Caine and Hegseth, each of whom implored him to green light the missions.
🚨WOW! President Trump just revealed that there were military officials who OPPOSED the CSAR operation for the F-15 pilot downed over Iran:
Thank God Gen. Dan Caine and SecWar Pete Hegseth were there!
Now with the official account of the mission behind us, here are some additional details about the rescue that were reported elsewhere.
The communication device the airmen used was the CSEL, or Combat Survivor Evader Locator, according to Ynet. The manufacturer, Boeing, describes it as being “like a global 911 emergency call system for downed personnel, providing U.S. forces with a tactical advantage.”
The CSEL system uses a flexible, modular communications architecture over multiple satellite links for secure communications and sends simple messages in bursts, with a low probability of intercept (LPI). These messages can include basic information about the status of the downed airman. It can then switch to less stealthy line-of-sight radio when extraction forces are nearby.
Approximately 14 hours after the jet was hit, “U.S. officials got a lock on the weapons officer’s location via a beacon he was carrying.” According to The New York Times, in addition to the CSEL, the CIA “used a special piece of technology unique to the agency to locate the airman hiding in the mountain crevice and confirm his identity.”
Intelligence gathered by U.S. and Israeli officials was put together to determine if the airman was alone, surrounded by Iranians, or whether they had been captured, and this was an attempt to dupe them, The New York Times noted.
Prime Minister Netanyahu confirmed that Israel had assisted the U.S. military in the rescue, according to the Times of Israel. Netanyahu said he had spoken to President Trump and “congratulated him on his bold decision and a perfectly executed American mission.”
“The president expressed his appreciation for Israel’s help,” Netanyahu added. “I am deeply proud that our cooperation on and off the battlefield is unprecedented, and that Israel could contribute to saving a brave American warrior.”
Unconfirmed reports identify two particular Israel Defense Forces (IDF) commando units, which, it is claimed, helped in the CSAR mission. These are Sayeret Matkal and Unit 5101 “Shaldag.”
Sayeret Matkal is an elite special reconnaissance unit of the IDF. As well as conducting deep reconnaissance behind enemy lines, the unit can be tasked with a wide variety of special operations, including CSAR and hostage rescue.
Shaldag is an Israeli Air Force special forces unit, based at Palmachim Air Base. It specializes in clandestine operations, and as well as CSAR and hostage rescue, it is proficient at commando-style raids and long-range penetration within enemy territory.
🚨 BREAKING : Two Israeli commando units — Sayeret Matkal and Unit 5101 “Shaldag” — participated in the rescue of the American pilot near Isfahan, according to the latest reports.
•Sayeret Matkal is the IDF’s elite general‑purpose commando unit with deep‑penetration and… pic.twitter.com/aJuCxqizqr
To try and buy more time, the CIA put together a deception plan, throwing the Iranians off the scent by making it look as if the airman had been found and was being moved out of the country in a ground convoy, which would take them to the coast for a maritime exfiltration.
U.S. DECEPTION CAMPAIGN: The CIA leaked through multiple sources that they were trying to move a valuable package out of the country through a maritime exfil, I’m told by a senior U.S. official.
This was meant to draw the Iranians away from the area where the U.S. crew member…
Meanwhile, one of several Iranian search parties had assembled at the base of the mountain where the WSO was hiding.
Details about the rescue op for the U.S. Weapon Systems Officer, via a U.S. military official:
“The mountain top area on the left is where the WSO was hiding (he ejected 5ish miles northwest of there). The right area is the makeshift landing strip where they landed 2 C-130s… pic.twitter.com/iYJkzd5eTP
Forces deployed to the remote airstrip provided suppressive fire but did not engage in an actual firefight with the enemy. But the U.S. military took additional steps, “jamming electronics and bombing key roads around the location to prevent people from getting close,” in an area denial operation, Reuters reported, citing a U.S. source familiar with the planning said. Satellite imagery shows roads approaching the landing area were cratered in a uniform fashion with precision munitions.
NEW on CNN: Satellite imagery shows cratered roads in area where US staged airman rescue in Esfahan province.
Satellite images from Airbus taken on Sunday show dozens of craters along several roads in central Esfahan province, around 20 kilometers from a remote airstrip where US… pic.twitter.com/MJy7g5gdvA
There are reports from Fox News, citing high-ranking U.S. sources, that B-2 bombers were using Massive Ordnance Penetrators to strike an IRGC underground headquarters outside of the Iranian capital, Tehran, while the rescue was ongoing.
EXCLUSIVE: While the airman rescue was going on, CENTCOM commander Admiral Brad Cooper directed a strike on an IRGC headquarters in an underground facility near Tehran. It was done with B2 bombers, using MOPs, the same weapon used in Midnight Hammer, high-level U.S. sources told… pic.twitter.com/jcEI9HMOSA
This rescue operation was certainly a bright spot for a White House and Pentagon beleaguered by global criticism of an unpopular war that has dragged on for more than a month with no clear end in sight. It also highlights that, no matter how much damage the U.S. and Israel have done to the Islamic Republic’s air defense infrastructure through a devastating aerial campaign, Iran still presents a danger to the aircrews flying in its airspace. Above all else, it is a reminder of just how far the U.S. will go and what it is willing to sacrifice in terms of lives and material in order to get their people back.
TWZ deputy editor Joe Trevithick contributed to this report.
In March, Bad Bunny performed his first-ever concert in Asia when he played in from of 2,300 fans in Tokyo as part of Spotify’s Billions Club Live series.
Starting April 8, a filmed version of that performance will be available on Spotify for the “Nuevayol” artist’s millions and millions of fans not in attendance.
The show, officially titled “Billions Club Live With Bad Bunny: A Concert Film,” was billed as a special stop in the Grammy-winning performer’s “Debí Tirar Más Fotos World Tour” — which kicked off with a November concert in the Dominican Republic and has since sold out stadiums across Latin America and Australia. He notably didn’t include dates in the United States as part of the tour.
Footage of the Japan concert swept social media, as it showed Bad Bunny doing a never-before-seen salsa rendition of his 2018 collaboration with Drake. He also notably sang his 2021 single “Yonaguni,” which features lyrics in Japanese.
Bad Bunny’s generational run looks to have no immediate end in sight, as he will kick off the European leg of his world tour with a May performance in Portugal before making stops in Spain, England, Sweden, France, Poland and Italy.
But the “Dakiti” artist’s newsworthy year hasn’t been limited to the music world.
In February, it was announced that Bad Bunny will star — alongside Academy Award-winning actor Javier Bardem and multiple-time nominees Edward Norton and Viggo Mortensen — in Puerto Rican rapper Residente’s directorial debut, “Porto Rico.” The film, which has yet to announce a release date, will explore the complicated colonial history of Puerto Rico through Western/historical drama storytelling devices.
TAMPA, Fla. — Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a measure into law Monday that gives him along with other Florida leaders the ability to label groups as domestic or foreign terrorist organizations and expel state university students who support them.
The law, criticized by free speech advocates, allows a top official at the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to designate a group as a domestic or foreign terrorist organization, with the governor and three other members of the Florida Cabinet approving or rejecting the designation. Besides the governor, the Cabinet is made up of the attorney general, the chief financial officer and the agriculture commissioner, all of whom are elected separately.
Once designated a terrorist organization, a group can be dissolved and it can no longer receive any state funding through school districts or state agencies. Universities also would have to report the status of expelled students attending on visas to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
“So this will help the state of Florida protect you. It’ll help us protect your tax dollars,” DeSantis said at a news conference in Tampa. “It’ll help us protect things that should not be happening in the United States of America, but certainly shouldn’t be happening in the free state of Florida.”
DeSantis in December designated the Council on American-Islamic Relations and the Muslim Brotherhoods as foreign terrorist organizations. A federal judge last month temporarily blocked the enforcement of DeSantis’ executive order.
PEN America, a free speech advocacy group, said the new law has vague language that could restrict education programs deemed to be “promoting” terrorism and that it could target student protesters who criticize Florida officials.
The new law “could chill education at every level,” said William Johnson, PEN America’s Florida director. “The implications are fraught.”
