Month: April 2026

Famine was confirmed in two places in 2025 – areas of the Gaza Strip and Sudan – the first such dual confirmation since formal famine reporting began, according to the Global Report on Food Crises (GRFC) 2026.

The annual report, produced by a coalition of 18 humanitarian and development partners, found that acute food insecurity remained widespread in 2025.

Across 47 countries and territories experiencing food crises, 22.9 percent of their populations – or about 266 million people – experienced acute food insecurity last year, a marginal rise from 22.7 percent in 2024 but nearly double the 11.3 percent recorded in 2016.

The proportion of analysed populations facing acute hunger has now stayed above 20 percent every year since 2020. In absolute terms, the number of people affected has grown from 108 million in 2016 to 265.7 million in 2025, having peaked at 281.6 million in 2023.

The GRFC cautioned that the slightly lower headline figure compared with 2024 mainly reflects a reduction in the number of countries covered – from 53 to 47 – rather than any real decline in needs.

Famine, catastrophe and emergency

Famine – the most extreme classification under the hunger-monitoring Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) system – was confirmed in parts of the Gaza Strip and Sudan in 2025. The risk of famine remained in other areas of Gaza, Sudan and South Sudan, and those projections extended into 2026.

According to the IPC, famine is when:

• At least 20 percent of households face extreme food shortages.
• Acute malnutrition affects more than 30 percent of the population.
• The death rate due to starvation or hunger-related causes exceeds two deaths per 10,000 people per day.

Six countries and territories had populations facing “catastrophic conditions”, or Phase 5, the highest level in the IPC’s classification of food insecurity. They numbered 1.4 million people, a more-than ninefold increase since 2016.

The Gaza Strip was the worst affected, with 640,700 people facing famine conditions, equivalent to 32 percent of its population, the highest share recorded globally. Sudan followed with 637,200 people, or 1 percent of its population.

Four other countries recorded catastrophic food shortages among specific groups of people: South Sudan – 83,500 (1 percent of the population), Yemen – 41,200 (0.1 percent), Haiti – 8,400 (0.1 percent) and Mali – 2,600 (0.01 percent).

Additionally, more than 39 million people in 32 countries were in Phase 4, or emergency conditions, representing 3.8 percent of the population analysed, a marginal increase from 2024.

Conflict remains the main driver of hunger

Conflict and violence were the primary drivers of acute food insecurity in 19 countries where 147.4 million people were affected. They represented more than half of those facing acute hunger globally.

Weather extremes were the primary driver in 16 countries, affecting 87.5 million people, while economic shocks led in 12 countries, with 29.8 million people affected.

Against that backdrop, humanitarian and development financing for areas facing food crises declined in 2025, falling back to levels last seen in 2016-2017, the report said.

As for 2026, the report said that based on a partial picture as of March, severity levels remain critical in multiple contexts. It added that the escalation of conflict in the Middle East exposes food-crisis countries to direct and indirect risks of global agricultural and food market disruptions.

A generation of malnourished children

An estimated 35.5 million children were acutely malnourished in 2025 across 23 countries experiencing nutrition crises, including just under 10 million with severe acute malnutrition, the most life-threatening form.

A further 25.7 million children suffered from moderate acute malnutrition. About 9.2 million pregnant and breastfeeding women were also acutely malnourished across 21 countries with available data.

Displacement is concentrated in food-crisis countries

The number of forcibly displaced people in the 46 countries covered fell slightly in 2025 to 85.1 million.

About 62.6 million of them were internally displaced across 34 countries, and 22.5 million were refugees and asylum seekers in 44 countries.

Without a sustained push to address the structural drivers of hunger, the world’s most fragile countries will continue to bear a disproportionate share of the global hunger burden well into 2026, the report concluded.

Russell Brand, the British comedian and actor who has been accused by multiple women of rape and sexual assault, said his sexual flings amid the height of his fame in the early aughts included sleeping with a 16-year-old girl.

Brand confirmed the relationship to Megyn Kelly on the the latest episode of her eponymous podcast and YouTube show published Wednesday. “I did sleep with a 16-year-old when I was 30,” he said, “but when I was 30 I was a different person. I was a lot younger and I was an immature 30-year-old.”

The “Get Him to the Greek” actor, 50, emphasized that the age of consent in the United Kingdom is 16 and reflected on his behavior at the time, adding that he thinks having consensual sex as a famous person “involved exploitation.” He said he felt fame and addiction paved the way for “opportunity for endless consent which led me to be a hedonist and a fool and exploiter of women.”

“That is wrong and that is something that needs to be redeemed and addressed and atoned for,” he added.

Brand’s relationship with a 16-year-old girl became public in 2023 when the Times of London and Britain’s Channel 4 published a joint investigation detailing allegations of rape, sexual assault and other abusive behavior against the once-in-demand actor. One of the women who raised allegations against Brand said she became involved with the former actor when she was 16 and he was 31, and that he referred to her as “the child” in their relationship. According to the woman, Brand reportedly forced his penis down her throat, making it difficult to breathe, and she fought him off by punching him in the stomach. Brand denied the claims at the time.

The investigation centered on alleged incidents that occurred between 2006 and 2013 — the peak of Brand’s Hollywood fame — and laid the groundwork for additional complaints against the raunchy comedian to come to light.

In April 2025, the Metropolitan Police Service charged Brand with single counts of rape, indecent assault, oral rape and two counts of sexual assault connected to alleged attacks on multiple women between 1999 and 2005. U.K. authorities pressed additional rape and sexual assault charges against the “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” actor in December. He will stand trail in October.

Brand, ex-husband to pop star Katy Perry (who is facing her own sexual assault scandal),fell mostly out of public favor within the past decade and pivoted his focus to religious and “free-thinking” content. Last year he appeared at Turning Point USA’s AmericaFest 2025.

At the beginning of the podcast episode, Kelly said that after learning about allegations against Brand she “felt anger for a couple years” toward the actor. However, Kelly said she grew open to speaking with him after some time and an “enormous amount of open-mindedness to [Brand] being railroaded and attacked by people.”

Notably, Kelly in November offered a flimsy definition of pedophilia when it came to late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Citing “somebody very close” to Epstein’s case, Kelly said Epstein “ was into the barely legal type, like, he liked 15-year-old girls,” Kelly continued.

“I’m not trying to make an excuse for this, I’m just giving you facts — that he wasn’t into, like, 8-year-olds,” she added at the time. “But he liked the very young teen types that could pass for even younger than they were, but would look legal to a passer-by.”

Times staff writer Meredith Blake contributed to this report.

BASEBALL

CITY SECTION

Bell 3, Garfield 1

Community Charter 15, Bert Corona 7

Diego Rivera 21, Los Angeles 11

Downtown Magnets 26, Central City Value 1

El Camino Real 5, Chatsworth 1

Franklin 8, Bravo 1

Fremont 7, King/Drew 1

Fulton 9, Chavez 8

LA Wilson 5, LA Marshall 3

Legacy 21, Huntington Park 0

Maywood CES 28, Maywood Academy 0

North Hollywood 5, Granada Hills Kennedy 3

Palisades 10, Westchester 0

Rancho Dominguez 6, Gardena 5

Santee 13, Angelou 5

Sotomayor d. Elizabeth, forfeit

Sylmar 10, Sun Valley Poly 0

Torres 3, Marquez 2

Triumph Charter 21, Valor Academy 1

Verdugo Hills 10, San Fernando 4

Wilmington Banning 17, Narbonne 3

WISH Academy 18, University Prep Value 3

SOUTHERN SECTION

Aliso Niguel 3, San Clemente 1

Alta Loma 2, South Hills 0

Ambassador 11, Animo Leadership 0

Bishop Montgomery 12, Bosco Tech 1

Bloomington 4, Carter 3

Burbank Providence 10, Buckley 0

Cajon 19, Redlands 0

Calabasas 7, Newbury Park 3

Citrus Valley 2, Beaumont 1

Crossroads 4, Brentwood 3

Desert Christian 13, St. Monica Academy 2

Elsinore 1, Tahquitz 0

Estancia 15, Garden Grove 1

Firebaugh 15, Dominguez 11

Fontana 10, Riverside Notre Dame 6

Grace 6, Thacher 1

Grand Terrace 3, Rialto 2

Great Oak 7, Murrieta Mesa 6

Heritage Christian 6, Cerritos Valley Christian 4

Indian Springs 18, Entrepreneur 2

Irvine 21, St. Margaret’s 4

Kaiser 12, Arroyo Valley 0

La Quinta 10, Xavier Prep 0

Lawndale 11, Lennox Academy 5

Los Altos 10, Colony 6

Mary Star of the Sea 18, Salesian 1

Mayfair 17, Segerstrom 7

Milken 12, YULA 7

Millikan 5, Long Beach Wilson 4

Muir 15, Glendale 0

New Roads 22, Vistamar 0

Oaks Christian 6, Agoura 5

Palm Desert 15, Palm Springs 2

Paraclete 20, St. Monica 1

Pasadena 4, Hoover 2

Pasadena Poly 6, Flintridge Prep 2

Quartz Hill 10, Vasquez 0

San Jacinto Valley Academy 12, Desert Christian Academy 0

Santa Rosa Academy 11, California Military 1

Sequoyah 24, Hillcrest Christian 14

Shadow Hills 4, Rancho Mirage 0

Shalhevet 11, Santa Monica Pacifica Christian 0

Sherman Oaks Notre Dame 8, Sierra Canyon 5

Silverado 6, Barstow 1

South El Monte 3, Gabrielino 0

St. Bonaventure 10, Nordhoff 3

St. Pius X-St. Matthias Academy 2, LA Jordan 1

Summit 4, Jurupa Hills 3

Temecula Valley 8, Murrieta Valley 3

Temescal Canyon 8, Cornerstone Christian 2

Tesoro 2, Dana Hills 1

Thousand Oaks 4, Westlake 3

United Christian Academy 11, Anza Hamilton 3

Valley Christian Academy 5, SLOCA 4

Victor Valley 8, Adelanto 5

Villa Park 4, La Serna 0

Vista Murrieta 7, Chaparral 5

West Valley 8, San Jacinto 7

Whittier Christian 5, Village Christian 0

Windward 7, Viewpoint 2

Yorba Linda 12, Esperanza 1

Yucaipa 7, Redlands East Valley 2

INTERSECTIONAL

Caruthers 5, Coastal Christian 2

SOFTBALL

CITY SECTION

Alliance Levine 27, Esperanza College Prep 5

Bernstein 10, Mendez 6

Bravo 6, Eagle Rock 5

Carson 4, San Pedro 3

East College Prep 22, CALS Early College 14

Garfield 19, Bell 0

Harbor Teacher d. Dorsey, forfeit

Hollywood 22, Contreras 9

Jefferson 21, Santee 14

King/Drew 17, Locke 1

LACES 4, Westchester 3

LA Roosevelt 11. South East 9

LA University 17, Fairfax 4

Legacy 13, Huntington Park 0

Maywood CES d. Elizabeth, forfeit

Orthopaedic 23, Downtown Magnets 13

Panorama 18, East Valley 14

Rancho Dominguez 15, Gardena 0

SOCES 12, Northridge Academy 3

Triumph Charter 26, Valor Academy 1

USC-MAE 17, Central City Value 4

Venice 10, Palisades 0

West Adams 12, Angelou 4

Wilmington Banning 9, Narbonne 0

SOUTHERN SECTION

Alemany 18, Marymount 0

Aliso Niguel 9, Tesoro 8

Anaheim Canyon 4, Garden Grove Pacifica 1

Aquinas 13, Linfield Christian 6

Arcadia 13, Muir 6

Anza Hamilton 3, United Christian Academy 0

Beckman 9, Dana Hills 3

Big Bear 10, ACE 0

Bishop Amat 21, Bishop Montgomery 1

Bloomington 14, Fontana 10

Burbank 14, Glendale 0

Downey 13, Mayfair 4

Cajon 4, Beaumont 1

California 4, La Serna 3

Calvary Baptist 23, Crossroads Christian 0

Camarillo 4, Simi Valley 1

Carter 15, Eisenhower 0

Cerritos Valley Christian 11, Heritage Christian 1

Chaminade 7, Sierra Canyon 4

Chino 10, Don Lugo 0

Chino Hills 7, Upland 6

Claremont 7, Bonita 6

Crean Lutheran 10, Sunny Hills 9

Crescenta Valley 4, Burbank Burroughs 2

Crossroads 22, Archer 20

Desert Christian Academy 15, San Jacinto Valley Academy 3

Diamond Ranch 3, Chaffey 2

Edison 15, Corona del Mar 0

El Modena 6, La Habra 4

El Rancho 11, Whittier 5

Etiwanda 28, Los Osos 1

Firebaugh 11, Lynwood 6

Flintridge Sacred Heart 21, Immaculate Heart 0

Grace 17, Bishop Diego 0

Hart 12, Golden Valley 0

Highland 10, Antelope Valley 0

Hueneme 24, Nordhoff 11

Huntington Beach 5, Fountain Valley 0

Irvine 6, Irvine University 3

Jurupa Hills 19, Arroyo Valley 1

La Canada 13, South Pasadena 1

Lancaster 6, Knight 5

La Salle 15, Mary Star of the Sea 4

Lennox Academy 14, HMSA 8

Los Alamitos 15, Newport Harbor 1

Los Altos 10, San Dimas 2

Murrieta Valley 25, Chaparral 7

Newbury Park 18, Calabasas 0

Norwalk 22, Dominguez 0

Oaks Christian 14, Agoura 0

Ontario 11, Montclair 2

Ontario Christian 12, Woodcrest Christian 5

Palos Verdes 10, Redondo Union 0

Paraclete 13, St. Paul 2

Paramount 18, Bellflower 0

Pasadena Poly 7, Mayfield 0

Redlands East Valley 10, Redlands 4

Rialto 6, San Gorgonio 0

Rosary 13, Woodbridge 2

Quartz Hill 9, Eastside 0

Riverside Notre Dame 6, Rim of the World 1

San Clemente 8, Capistrano Valley 1

San Jacinto 15, West Valley 10

San Marino 14, Ramona Convent 2

Santa Ana Foothill 14, Esperanza 0

Santa Clarita Christian 14, Desert Christin 4

Santa Fe 6, Lakewood St. Joseph 5

Santa Paula 12, Fillmore 1

Saugus 9, West Ranch 5

Schurr 13, Alhambra 1

Silverado 11, Barstow 0

South Hills 2, Colony 0

St. Bonaventure 3, Santa Clara 0

St. Monica 14, St. Anthony 4

St. Pius X-St. Matthias Academy 26, Gardena Serra 8

Summit 15, Kaiser 3

Thousand Oaks 6, Westlake 5

Trabuco Hills 5, El Toro 2

Twentynine Palms 7, Yucca Valley 6

Valencia 7, Castaic 5

Vasquez 20, Trinity Classical Academy 2

Ventura 17, Canyon Country Canyon 1

Victor Valley 14, Adelanto 5

Viewpoint 11, Windward 2

Warren 3, Gahr 2

Whittier Christian 15, Village Christian 5

Wiseburn-Da Vinci 9, Hawthorne 1

Yorba Linda 11, Sonora 1

Yucaipa 7, Citrus Valley 0

INTERSECTIONAL

Burbank Providence 6, San Fernando 5

Victor Christian Academy d. Bostonia Global, forfeit

FORGET going off the grid next time you board a flight, with new designs suggesting entire phone booths could soon be on planes.

Phone booths are quickly becoming a thing of the past across the UK, seeing as most of the population has a mobile phone now.

But Boeing wants to bring them back, this time in plane cabins.

The new designs were revealed in the Aircraft Interiors Expo earlier this month.

The compact booths would be found in economy, with space for a single person to stand or sit.

There would be privacy doors, as well as sound dampeners to avoid you disturbing the other passengers.

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There would even be standing desks so people could work in there too, along with power sockets and coat hooks etc.

The airline manufacturer said it would make the most of unused space in the cabin, and make it easier to stay connected especially on long haul flights.

Boeing chief designer Tom Eaton said it could become more like a “mini office”.

He explained: “A space like this can offer so much versatility to help people communicate and remain connected.

“And it is nice to be in a space where you don’t feel like you’re disrupting people.”

It comes as a number of airlines have started rolling out superfast Starlink onboard.

Virgin Atlantic was the first UK airline to launch Starlink WiFi onboard, followed by British Airways.

Emirates confirmed last year that they were rolling out the Starlink WiFi this year, along with Qatar Airways.

The Sun’s Assistant Travel Editor Sophie Swietochowski recently tried it out for herself.

She said: “I didn’t need to pay a penny extra to use it on board my British Airways plane – nor will any other customers.

“The new WiFi model operates differently to its current one. On its typical internet-enabled aircrafts, passengers currently have to create a British Airways account in order to gain access to free messaging services, but that’s not the case for its Starlink aircrafts – a simple click of a button will get you online in seconds.

“Downloading your Netflix shows ahead of travel will become a thing of the past, with high speed streaming enabled, and pre-ordering your Uber ahead of landing will make the overall process of travelling much smoother.

“Personally, I’m most pleased that I could catch up on boring home and work admin, so that it didn’t eat into time in my holiday destination.”

The Aircrafts Interior Expo also had a number of other interesting cabin designs.

There is the newest iteration of the double decker economy seats, which were first revealed back in 2020.

A unique business class seat was also revealed, which had a wraparound TV more like a surround sound cinema.

India’s Foreign Ministry says comments by US radio host Michael Savage, circulated by Trump, are ‘uninformed’.

Comments shared by United States President Donald Trump referring to India as a “hellhole” were “in poor taste” and at odds with the countries’ relationship, an Indian official has said.

Trump did not make the remark himself, but reposted it without comment on his Truth Social account on Thursday. The statement came from conservative radio host Michael Savage.

Criticising US birthright citizenship – which Trump has sought to restrict – Savage said, “A baby here becomes an instant citizen, and then they bring the entire family in from China or India or some other hellhole on the planet.”

Reacting late on Thursday, India’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said the remark was “obviously uninformed, inappropriate and in poor taste”.

The comments “certainly do not ⁠reflect the reality of the India-US relationship, which has long been based on mutual respect and shared interests”, Jaiswal added.

The US Embassy in New Delhi said, “The president has said ‘India is a great country with a very good friend of mine at the top’.”

China’s Foreign Ministry did not immediately comment on the matter.

‘Hurts every Indian’

India’s main opposition Congress party called the “hellhole” remark “extremely insulting and anti-India. It hurts every Indian”.

“Prime Minister ⁠Narendra Modi should take up this matter with the US President ⁠and register a strong objection,” the party said on X.

Indian government data shows nearly 5.5 million people of Indian origin live in the US. Indian Americans and Chinese Americans are the biggest groups of Asian origin in the US.

Savage’s comment, shared by Trump, continued: “There’s almost no loyalty to this country amongst the immigrant class coming in today, ‌which was not always the case. No, they’re not like the European Americans of today and their ancestors.”

Trump and Modi enjoyed ‌warm ties during Trump’s first term, but relations cooled after India was hit last year with some of the highest US tariffs, many of which were rolled back this year.

India and the US are ‌now ‌working on a trade deal aimed at preventing any renewed tariff increases and boosting sales to each other.

Trump has repeatedly used insulting language to refer to foreign nations and immigrant communities, including recently calling Somali immigrants “garbage”.

In 2018, Trump made global headlines for referring to El Salvador, Haiti and African nations as “s**thole countries”.

A collaboration between relative military newcomer Saildrone and defense contracting giants Lockheed Martin and Fincantieri has resulted in Spectre, a 170-foot drone boat capable of traveling nearly 35 miles per hour and optimized for anti-submarine warfare.

Spectre can also come loaded for bear for a multitude of missions, with space for an optional payload of two Lockheed Mk 70 vertical launching system (VLS) containers. These are capable of slinging everything from Tomahawk cruise missiles to long-range SM-6s air defense and surface strike missiles. Other potential payloads, according to Saildrone, include twin-line towed sonar arrays like the TB-29 and Lockheed’s Joint Air-to-Ground Missile (JAGM) Quad Launcher (JQL, pronounced jackal), which is in the process of being integrated on Saildrone’s smaller Surveyor platform. Total payload is two 40-foot containers, five 20-foot containers, or a configurable mixture of both.

Saildrone Spectre: A new class of unmanned surface vessel

The Navy’s work with far smaller Saildrone platforms dates to 2021. In the Middle East, the 33-foot Voyager, specializing in persistent surveillance, has been at the heart of testing and experimentation by the service’s Task Group 59, focused on unmanned capabilities and teaming.

In the U.S. 4th Fleet area of responsibility, which includes the Caribbean and Central and South America, solar-powered Voyagers have been the USV of choice for Operation Windward Stack. This is an effort to integrate uncrewed systems into the work of apprehending drug trafficking and illegal fishing.

The Spectre design, which was unveiled Monday at the Sea-Air-Space Exposition near Washington, D.C., at which TWZ was in attendance, is the result of two years of work. It precedes the Navy’s current competition for a family of Medium Unmanned Surface Vessels, which formally launched last month. However, company executives said they now plan to enter Spectre.

“We didn’t fit to that. We didn’t change our course,” Saildrone founder and CEO Richard Jenkins said. “Now it’s changed, MUSV … it actually fits perfectly. We meet 100% of all the specs.”

Spectre comes in two variants. One is the Silent Endurance variant with the trademark sail, or “wing.” The other is the Stealth Strike variant that relies totally on its more powerful internal propulsion. While the sail-equipped variant is more focused on anti-submarine warfare and surveillance, it too can be equipped with modular VLS cells or other “concealed payloads.” The Stealth Strike variant possesses “higher-speed” and is capable of “low observable missions,” according to the company.

Powered by a 5,000-horsepower Caterpillar diesel engine, the Stealth Strike variant is designed to cruise at around 25 knots, or just under 29 miles per hour. The 30 knot, or around 35-mile-per-hour, speed that the company cites as the maximum for Spectre is likely reserved for brief “sprints” that the Stealth Strike variant may execute during operations.

The Silent Endurance variant is optimized for “infinite endurance,” Jenkins said, with an electric engine that can maintain speeds of 12 knots, or about 14 miles per hour, or the signature wing, a 43-meter composite structure made by yacht racing team American Magic Services that can harness the wind for propulsion “without any engine at all.”

Tony Lengerich, vice president of Naval Programs at the United Kingdom-based Thales Defense and Security, which made the active sonar for Spectre, described the drones as a forward lookout presence for conventional Navy ships. 

“We’re looking forward to bringing that capability in active sonar … to the Navy fleet, particularly in the theater ASW context, where you really need a vessel that can take a sensor far out ahead of the battle group, if you will, loiter there, deploy the sensor and then move again,” he said. “That’s exactly what Saildrone brings to the table, and it’s exactly what we think the Navy needs.”

Paul Lemmo, vice president and general manager for sensors, effectors & mission systems (SEMS) at Lockheed Martin, called the drones a cost-effective way of “putting more players on the field.”

“The Chief of Naval Operations [Navy Adm. Daryl Caudle] has said it’s an important thing, so you’ve got more shooters on a fairly inexpensive platform instead of a multi-billion dollar destroyer,” he said.

From an ASW perspective, Lengerich said, the platform works for clearing and assessing “broad ocean areas” before moving a manned battle force in.  

“This provides that capability to take an active sonar source forward – ping, if you will, and then your shooters … pick up the ping and identify where you have an adversary in an area that you eventually want to move the force to. So we think of this as a theater asset, one that means far ahead of the force, both in time and space, and then advances the ability for the battle force to move in and be certain of what’s waiting for them.”

The unit price of Spectre is around $40 million, Jenkins said. That’s compared to about $7.5 million for the unarmed, much smaller 20-foot Surveyor.

The Navy has struggled to get its arms around what it wants out of its drone ships and how exactly they will integrate with the manned fleet. One of its earliest unmanned surface vessel test articles, Sea Hunter, was christened a decade ago. Navy officials announced earlier this year that Sea Hunter, a medium-sized USV, and its sister ship, Seahawk, would finally leave experimental status in 2026. One of these vessels, reportedly Seahawk, is expected to deploy this year with a carrier strike group. 

Last year, the Navy unveiled plans for a family of uncrewed Modular Surface Attack Craft (MASC), emphasizing containerized missile launchers and highly configurable payloads. The service replaced this strategy last month, however, with what it called a “marketplace” for MUSVs, giving would-be competitors a matter of weeks to submit proposals for mature vessels that could be fielded in Fiscal Year 2027. Core requirements were laid out for seakeeping, long range and endurance, and cargo capabilities, as you can read more about here. The need to be able to carry two forty-foot equivalent unit (FEU) containerized payloads is a key demand, though the Navy has not yet specified publicly what might go in them.

“Honestly, inside you could have a sensor, you could have repair equipment for ships,” Rebecca Gassler, the Navy’s Portfolio Acquisition Executive for Robotic and Autonomous Systems (PAE RAS), told TWZ and other outlets during a press call in March. “You could have any number of payloads inside those, and you basically are able to just swap them on.”

Navy officials have said they want 11 operational MUSVs by next year, and have projected that half the surface fleet will be uncrewed by 2045.

Saildrone has plans to demonstrate the ability of Surveyor to carry a JAGM launcher at the joint Rim of the Pacific exercise in July. Lemmo said the team plans to demonstrate the same capability on Spectre soon. The company says construction on Spectre is about to begin shortly, with sea trials for the first vessel set for early next year.

Contact the editor: Tyler@twz.com

Ciara Miller and Maura Higgins will be among the stars competing for the Mirrorball Trophy.

“Summer House’s” Miller and “The Traitors” contestant Higgins — both publicly betrayed by men they trusted on their shows — are the first celebrities joining Season 35 of “Dancing With the Stars.” Disney announced the new season Wednesday during Hulu’s Get Real House event in Los Angeles.

Miller joins the cast less than a month after it was revealed that her “Summer House” castmate and ex-boyfriend, West Wilson, was dating her friend on the show, Amanda Batula. She teased her “DWTS” news with an Instagram video in which she wrote out her “Next Chapter 2026” to-do list, which included “prioritizing” herself, “taking risks” and “Dancing With the Stars.”

Higgins, who lost Season 4 of “The Traitors” in the finale after being blindsided by her friend and co-star Rob Rausch, rose to prominence on “Love Island” in 2019. Higgins shared her excitement in a video on Instagram, saying, “Please pray for me.”

“Get me on that dance floor. I want to win the trophy,” Higgins said. “I’ve manifested this.”

Higgins told reporters at the Get Real House event that Mark Ballas is her dream partner.

The announcement comes after a landmark season of “DWTS,” which saw a record-breaking number of fan votes. In November, The Times spoke with “DWTS” showrunner Conrad Green, who attributed the ratings spike to reviving “communal viewing experiences.”

“It’s been largely a question of keeping our existing audience and then finding a new audience of 18- to 30-year-olds. That’s partly fed by social media. It’s partly fed by a desire to have communal TV viewing experiences,” Green said. “That was something everyone had with ‘American Idol’ and ‘Dancing With the Stars’ 20 years ago, but TV doesn’t lend itself to that so much anymore.”

During the event, Disney also announced a new spinoff series, “Dancing With the Stars: The Next Pro.” “DWTS” Season 34 winner Robert Irwin will host the show. According to the synopsis, it “features 12 exceptional up-and-coming dancers who move into one house and compete in a grueling audition process, all vying for a coveted spot as a pro dancer on Season 35 of ‘Dancing with the Stars.’”

“DWTS” pro and three-time Mirrorball champion Ballas will host the show alongside his mother, former ballroom dancer Shirley Ballas. The series will premiere July 13 on ABC.

Samit Patel, who has announced his retirement from domestic cricket, says he “probably wouldn’t have played” in a disapproved T20 league earlier this year had he known it would result in a ban.

Former England all-rounder Patel, 41, and Australian bowler Peter Siddle are both unable to play in the T20 Blast this summer after competing in the World Legends Pro T20 League in Goa.

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) says players cannot play domestic cricket for 12 months if they have participated in a “disapproved” league such as this.

As a result, Patel has retired from domestic cricket in England but says he will still be playing franchise cricket elsewhere in the world.

“I probably wouldn’t have played it [the World Legends League],” Patel told BBC Sport’s Strategic Timeout programme.

“There was a lot of uncertainty about whether we could play or not but we can’t get past that now. It just brought this stuff forward for me.”

Patel played 60 times for England between 2008 and 2015 and made 629 appearances for Nottinghamshire over 22 years.

He then joined Derbyshire on a two-year white-ball deal in 2024 and was out of contract when he left the club at the end of last year’s T20 Blast, but said he would have liked “one more year” of domestic cricket if he had not been dealt the ban.

“I would have played this summer,” he said. “I had some chats with some counties, we weren’t quite at a contract signing but we were in talks, so probably would’ve got a last-minute deal somewhere.”

Patel and Ravi Bopara, who also retired earlier this year, are the only two players to have featured in every year of the Blast since it began in 2003.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio says the US has not told the Iranian national team that it cannot play.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington has no objections to Iranian players participating in the 2026 FIFA World Cup, but he added the players will not be allowed to bring people with ties to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) with them.

Since the United States-Israeli war on Iran began on February 28, Iran’s participation in this summer’s edition of FIFA’s global showpiece has been in doubt because all of the country’s group-stage matches are scheduled to be played in the United States.

“Nothing from the US has told them they can’t come,” Rubio told reporters.

“The problem with Iran would be not their athletes. It would be some of the other people they would want to bring with them, some of whom have ties to the IRGC. We may not be able to let them in, but not the athletes themselves,” Rubio said.

“They can’t bring a bunch of IRGC terrorists into our country and pretend that they are journalists and athletic trainers,” Rubio added.

Washington has designated the IRGC as a “foreign terrorist organisation”.

US President Donald Trump, speaking alongside Rubio, added that his administration “would not want to affect the athletes”.

The World Cup is set to begin on June 11 across the US, Mexico and Canada.

Speculation about Iran’s participation has been rife, with officials from both Iran and the US weighing in.

In a statement on Wednesday, however, Iran’s government spokesperson Fatemeh Mohajerani said all necessary arrangements for the team’s participation in the tournament have been ensured by the Ministry of Sports and Youth.

An envoy for Trump, though, has been quoted as suggesting that Italy, who failed to qualify for the World Cup for a third straight edition, should replace Iran at this year’s World Cup.

Paolo Zampolli, an Italian-American who is ⁠a US envoy for global relations, told The Financial Times that he made the suggestion to both Trump and FIFA President Gianni Infantino.

“I’m an Italian native, and it would be a dream to see the Azzurri at a US-hosted tournament. With four titles, they have the pedigree to justify inclusion,” Zampolli, who has no official connection with the World Cup ⁠or Italian football, said earlier this week.

Italian Sports Minister Andrea Abodi has rebuked the idea, saying “it ‌is not appropriate … You qualify on the pitch,” while Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti described the concept as “shameful”.

Iran qualified for a fourth successive World Cup last year but, after the start of the war, requested that FIFA move the team’s three group matches from the US to Mexico – a suggestion that was rejected.

Iran is now seemingly ⁠proceeding as planned.

“We are preparing and making arrangements for the World Cup, but we are obedient to the ⁠decisions of the authorities,” Iranian football federation President Mehdi Taj told reporters at a pro-government rally in Tehran on Wednesday.

Home Bargains is selling a £5 travel organiser for ‘hassle-free holidays’

Travel fans can keep their holiday essentials organised with a £5 Home Bargains storage item. Most high street stores are stocking new lines in time for summer, and Home Bargains could have just the thing for holidaymakers.

The discount retailer has updated its travel range ahead of the summer holidays – and there’s a ‘compact’ travel organiser that could impress jet-setters. Whether customers are travelling solo or with family, the product could help shoppers to ‘stay organised on the go’.

Home Bargains says the £4.99 Travel Hanging Organiser is ‘compact and practical’ for holidays. The product description explains: “Stay organised on the go with the Travel Hanging Organiser from the Simple family, featuring 24 mesh pockets and four hooks for versatile, compact storage wherever your holiday takes you.” The description says the design is “compact and practical for hassle-free holidays.”

Alternatively, travel lovers could shop the store’s selection of travel pouches and laundry bags if they prefer a different way to keep their items organised. For shoppers looking for bags, the retailer sells a set of three Travel Mesh Pouch Organisers for £1.99.

There are several colour options available. The product description for the blue pack says: “Keep your travel essentials neat with this lightweight three-pack of blue mesh pouches in small, medium, and large sizes—ideal for effortless packing on the go.”

For shoppers looking to simplify their packing for the return trip, there’s also a £1.99 Travel Laundry Bag, which could be ideal for separating clean and dirty clothing. Home Bargains says: “Keep your dirty laundry organised on the go with this simple, roomy Travel Laundry Bag featuring a handy drawstring design for easy packing and unpacking. Perfect for stress-free travel.”

Elsewhere, Dunelm also offers a travel range, including items that could be considered rivals to Home Bargains products. For £10, Dunelm shoppers can get a set of seven Travel Storage Packing Cubes to keep their belongings organised.

The product description says: “Organise your travels with our Seven Piece Travel Storage Bag – its stylish grey colourway and sleek design make packing a breeze. Lightweight and easy to carry, this set is water repellent and boasts a large capacity to accommodate all your essentials. Plus, for your convenience, it’s machine washable, ensuring a hassle-free journey from start to finish.”

Rating their purchase, a Dunelm shopper wrote: “I have just got back from a trip where I used these travel bags for the first time and am really happy with them. There is a good variety of styles and sizes and they are better made than I expected for the very reasonable price.

“They definitely helped me keep my suitcase organised over a two week holiday. The only thing I will do next time is attach tags to the zips to remind me what is in which bag.”

Another reviewer said: “On my last holiday, my case was a mess and my friend had these bags and everything was organised and stress free! I can’t wait to go on holiday and try them out!”

What should I wear today?

Do I want to choose between my comfort or someone else’s comfort? If I buy this shirt, it will be a bargain for me, but it risks someone else’s life. Is that worth it? Those workers need work, so I am helping by creating demand for their products. Right?

As a college student, I want to fit in: same styles, same jewelry, same colors, same brands. However, I am also in search of a job and living off savings from my high school job. I have bought clothes from Shein as well as other questionable fast fashion brands. I justified my purchase for my bank account’s comfort and to make me feel like I fit in. I pretended to know about the environmental harm and the treatment of garment workers, but it was a selfish decision.

Fast fashion is not new.

It started in the late 1970s and rose to popularity in the 1990s as companies tried to keep up with trends (Kelleher, 2026). Companies started offering lower prices to encourage consumers to continue buying more clothes. The lower prices often came at the cost of garment workers as well as the toll on the environment. Companies like Shein, Amazon, Forever 21, H&M, Primark, Uniqlo, Fashion Nova, and many other brands worldwide are accused of working with suppliers who violate international human rights.

Gender in the garment industry.

The garment industry consists of almost 100 million people, with 75% of the workforce being employed in Asia. However, with high levels of informal employment, a true number is hard to estimate, but around 60 to 80% of the workforce is female (Amnesty International, 2025). For women, the garment industry is seen as a way to enter the workforce (Tahir, 2024). These women are predominantly young women who are internal migrants without family and support networks, making them more vulnerable to abuse and exploitation by companies (Amnesty International, 2025). Common violations are wage theft, harassment, inhumane working hours and conditions, and restrictions on speaking out (Business and Human Rights Centre, 2023).

They also face discrimination from male management, reporting a lack of access to childcare, maternity pay, and other benefits. Pregnant women are also a target because they are considered “unproductive.” When workers unionize, they face threats and retaliation from management and hostility from the government, making negotiating better conditions impossible (Amnesty International, 2025).

Who is responsible?

Big-name brands are the ones who are profiting, because they get cheap labor and fast production time, and they get to blame the suppliers for the inhumane conditions. Brands demand that suppliers respect human rights in the workplace but incentivize them to do the

opposite. In Pakistan, they force suppliers to use price-bidding systems to undercut other factories to win contracts, which leads to cutting corners in terms of safety conditions for workers (Kashyap, 2023). After brands foster these conditions, they avoid responsibility by citing lack of control over international suppliers.

While the International Labor Organization (ILO) sets out freedoms for workers, it is up to member countries to supervise, enforce, and report on the implementation of standards. Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Myanmar, and Pakistan are all member states of the ILO and should be backing up workers’ rights, but these governments often lack capacity to address these issues (Helm, 2025). This is often seen as the government overlooking the abuses as the industry benefits economic development and growth (Amnesty International, 2025).

What can I do?

Not all consumers might have bought from companies like Shein, but you probably have bought from Amazon, Gap, Walmart, Target, IKEA, and other “higher quality” brands. You should not go to your closet and throw out all brands that are unethical; that would contribute to the environmental damage from the garment sector. Students can focus on creating a wardrobe of capsule essentials rather than today’s trendy clothes. By using articles like the Fashion Transparency Index and other credible sources to inform your consumption choices, you can support ethical practices and treatment of women in the garment industry. On an international level, you can follow and sign the accord by the Clean Clothes Campaign to ensure safety in the workplace and empower workers to speak up without fear (Clean Clothes Campaign, 2026).

Now, I stare at my closet, wondering what I should wear. My clothes help express my personality, keep me comfortable, and help my confidence, but is that really worth the cost of other women suffering? These trends will be over by the time my Amazon package arrives. The women making my clothes are more than just workers and should be treated first as humans. I know I vote with my dollars, so I will vote for the protection of workers’ rights over my own comfort.

Jonnie Park has always gone by many names. The most Google-able is his hip-hop moniker “Dumbfoundead,” which he’s gone by for decades as a seasoned battle rapper and an artist who’s put out a jaw-dropping 13 albums while becoming one of the kings of legendary Leimert Park hip-hop crew, record label and open mic Project Blowed. As a resident of L.A.’s Koreatown since childhood, he’s still known as “The Mayor of K-town.” To his friends, he’s just “Dumb.” Of all the aliases and titles he’s fought for, “author” might seem to be the most unlikely. But as a professional when it comes to producing scathing hot bars in battle raps, it felt only right to put his journey down the warpath of rhymes on paper in his debut memoir “Spit: A Life in Battles,” released April 14 on Third State Books.

The memoir (which includes a foreword by Park’s longtime friend, R&B star Anderson .Paak) recounts razor-sharp memories starting from childhood, including the harrowing story of his family’s immigration from Argentina to L.A. when he was 3. He talks frankly about the perils and prejudice of growing up Korean American in Southern California and thrusting himself into the hip-hop scene, where, after stumbling in as an outsider to Black culture, he ultimately found his voice on stage. It speaks to the foundation that later served him well as an actor, podcaster, comedian and recently TV writer for season 2 of the hit show “Beef.” But he says his reputation as a battle rapper is the one that will always matter most.

Recently Park spoke to the Times about the hardest parts of writing his new memoir, the importance of Project Blowed and taking his underground rap mentality with him from the gutter to the stars.

For your memoir you purposely take the parts of your life from childhood until about age of 30, the peak of your hip-hop career. What was it like to go back and take that journey again?

To me, it’s always kind of the core of who I am. Even as a multi-hyphenate, I always say I’m first and foremost a battle rapper. It was such a pivotal moment at a time in my life and I take that label with me wherever I go, so it doesn’t feel too distant. But to actually be in that arena feels very distant. I look back and I just think about the audacity of a young Asian kid in that world. I’m just like “Wow, I really had the balls to do this at one point.” And I still love the subculture of battle rap. It’s something I’m a part of and a story that I want to tell in all these other mediums — whether it’s screenwriting or developing a TV show, I still feel like there’s a lot to be done with that subculture.

Why was it important for you to help your readers learn about the technical aspect of battle rap and what it takes to be a battle rapper?

There’s a lot more layers to it than people know. Obviously we know Eminem’s “Eight Mile” was the height of the story of where battle rap got to, and it did a great job of that. Obviously it’s been many years since then. But I also wanted to let people know that the people involved in this subculture aren’t just in poverty trying to make it out and get on a record label. This is a real subculture that people obsess over and I just wanted to find an excuse to nerd about it and also teach people this kind of new era of battle rap. I also highlight some of my peers really deserved it, and including the open mic I went through called Project Blowed. That’s the one thing I love about this book is that I can immortalize some of my personal heroes and places that I hold dear to my heart.

But mechanics of how our brains work when freestyling is something I find interesting. People always ask me “How do you guys freestyle or battle?” And I was really nervous about explaining it. I just didn’t know how I would do that. I had the help of my co-author, Donnie Kwak, who I’ve known for many years. He’s never written a book either, but he’s just kind of like a big brother to me and we’ve had many conversations about this. So being able to break that down was really cool for me. And I still really love that chapter about freestyling and battling for dummies.

Dumbfoundead’s memoir “Spit” chronicles his rise through underground battle rap, offering deeper insight into the subculture.

(Lenne Chai)

What was it like for you as you were discovering your voice through open mics at Project Blowed?

Project Blowed freed such a big part of me. I think when I saw the other rappers there, and they were taking [rapping] to heights I never imagined, the styles of raps that I would see here, from there, were so unorthodox. At that point, I was listening to everything on the radio along with mix tapes and stuff. But this was not even that. This wasn’t even like the underground mix tapes. It was the most raw and purest form of rap. It was so weird and abstract, even for me, just the young Korean kid at the age of 14 that hadn’t gone south of Pico Boulevard, growing up on Third Street, and all of a sudden I’m on 43rd. It was like another world for me. Next thing I know, I’m immersed in this world where there’s black kids that are into anime, punk rock and rapping their a— off. And I’m like, “This is insane!” So it did a lot for my perception of everything, more than just hip-hop.

Why was it so important for you to kind of showcase your Korean from not only the standpoint of a rapper but also as a writer?

Definitely the Korean American part was very important to me, because we see Korean culture, Korea especially being this global powerhouse, and what we know of it is the “Squid Games,” and the K-Pop of it all. And so I did want to share this more in the perspective of a Korean American. Even more specifically, in Southern California, in Los Angeles, there is a different vibe of Asian American life than the rest of the country. I’m the epitome of that. A lot of our parents have these wholesale businesses downtown or dry cleaners or liquor stores. Growing up in K-town, a lot of Korean families have a dad who’s an alcoholic, and there’s a lot of domestic violence situations. I think through my story, a lot of people will see themselves in these situations.

Jonnie Park, a.k.a. Dumbfoundead, writes in his memoir about growing up in Koreatown.

(Third State Books)

I think it also just speaks to all the different layers of struggle, battles that you and your family have gone through. Were there any aspects of this book that were really challenging for you?

The hardest part was definitely writing about my father, and knowing that this book is going to be out in the public because it’s so revealing. There’s affairs, there’s businesses that he worked at that are named. These families do exist — I grew up with that family that my dad had an affair with. I don’t talk to them or anything, but it’s all in the book. And I did want to be honest, I just felt like this is a place to do it if I’m going to do it. I don’t know if my dad will read it, but if it ever got translated into Korean, he’s definitely reading it. I still don’t have a great relationship with my father and I just feel like there wasn’t, there’s not much of a closure to that still. And maybe the book will help open up some new conversations between him and I. So that part was a little difficult, and also talking about some of the domestic violence in my house. Growing up with my dad and my mom, it made me feel for my mom a lot.

The beginning and the end is the most difficult part, because the end really discusses kind of like that insecurity as an artist, and where I’m at in my life as an artist, seeing a lot of my friends becoming extremely successful. I really wanted to be honest about that. The book doesn’t necessarily end with me being triumphant and feeling at ease.I still feel that as an artist, and I think that’s why it’s just an ongoing battle.

Describe what that’s like having come out of that underground rap scene and showing your skills to the world in TV and film while holding on to that underground mentality.

Even being in a writer’s room for “Beef” Season 2 — that was my first writer’s room — felt like a cypher. Knowing when to jump into the conversation at the right time, and knowing when to fall back. That just tells you that the skills that I acquired from freestyling and battle rap, I was able to take into the real world and apply it in so many different places.

I think it’s so interesting that I got that “Beef” Season 2 gig because the showrunner and the creator of the show really loves my perspective on Asian American culture on my podcast [“Fun With Dumb”], just based off of that. I got to a place in my life where I just felt very comfortable being vulnerable and self-deprecating through all the things I’ve done in battle rap. I was able to apply it to podcasting, too. And to have that humor and wit and that vulnerability, that comedic sense that I’ve acquired from battling and freestyling, one thing just led to the other. I still have the same kind of slate of stories and ideas that I’ve been trying to get made for many years. That includes stories on battle rap, K-town and being Korean, American. Those are always kind of the things I take with me to whatever I’m trying to make right now, and maybe once I make those, I can move on, but I’m still working on that.

President Obama is planning to speak in the “near future” on U.S. policy in the Mideast, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said Wednesday.

“It’s a speech to a broader audience than just the Arab world,” Carney said at his televised briefing. He didn’t specify when or where the president will speak, but said it will be in “the relatively near future.”

Obama is scheduled to begin a five-day European trip May 23.

The speech will come as the United States faces a slew of issues in the Middle East, including pro-democracy uprisings in several countries, a stalled Mideast peace process between Israel and the Palestinians, and the ongoing issue of nuclear proliferation and Iran.

The speech also will come within weeks of the U.S. raid in Pakistan during which terrorist leader Osama bin Laden was killed. The raid has raised questions from some about the future of U.S. efforts in Afghanistan, which the West invaded seeking to end the Taliban state that was sheltering terrorists after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on New York and the Pentagon. The raid has also raised questions about what Pakistan leaders knew about Bin Laden and whether the founder of Al Qaeda was being protected by elements of the Pakistani intelligence community.

Obama is scheduled to meet next week with Jordan’s King Abdullah II, a strong U.S. ally, and with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has been invited to address Congress. Efforts to bring peace between Netanyahu’s government and the Palestinians have bogged down despite early U.S. efforts. Complicating that issue is the apparent reconciliation between Mahmoud Abbas, head of the Palestinian National Authority, and Hamas, which controls Gaza, the other part of the Palestinian entity. Israel and the United States view Hamas as a terrorist group.

In 2009, Obama visited Cairo in what was billed as an overture to the Islamic world, still smarting from the Bush years and the invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan. Obama mainly spoke of the positive power of Islam as a world force.

Since then, much of the Arab world has been shattered by ongoing pro-democracy revolutions and, in some cases, civil wars and extensive state repression.

In some countries, notably Syria and Libya, where the United States has had long-term questions about the rulers, the United States strongly condemned the use of force against citizens and took even more severe actions. The Obama administration helped engineer a United Nations resolution that has imposed a no-fly zone on Libya, which is being enforced by NATO. The Obama administration has also spoken out forcefully against Syria’s violence against its citizens.

Though it has condemned state violence, the Obama administration has been less forceful with some nations with friendlier governments, such as Yemen and Bahrain, and it was slow to condemn Egypt’s Hosni Mubarak, who was eventually deposed by the military after extensive demonstrations.

Michael.muskal@latimes.com

Twitter.com/LATimesmuskal

Head coach Scott Bemand says Ireland are “ready” for the pressure of facing France in Clermont on Saturday after learning from a string of big-game experiences.

Ireland began their Women’s Six Nations campaign with a 33-12 loss to England in front of a record 77,120 at Twickenham’s Allianz Stadium.

Bemand’s side also faced New Zealand and France in front of near-capacity crowds at the World Cup last year – and the coach feels those days will stand to his squad as they bid for a first win on French soil.

“We’ve got the benefit now with our group having come through the World Cup piece where we had full stadiums, a lot of noise and a lot of expectation, internal expectation,” said Bemand.

“Going away to France is a class experience. We were away in England two weeks ago so we’ve had a recent opportunity of stepping into that sort of arena.

“I saw a completely different group to two years ago walking into that space, so as we continue to evolve, continue to get more confident in ourselves and our performances, I think we’re ready for this one.”

Bemand, who has made one change from last week’s nine-try win over Italy, added the team feel “excitement and anticipation rather than nerves”.

“We’re ready for this, we’ve trained well this week,” he added.

“We’re now recovering, we’ll travel, we’re going to enjoy it. The weather looks good over there and we’ll be absolutely gunning to start and get out of the blocks when the whistle goes on Saturday night.”

April 23 (UPI) — A U.S. Army special forces soldier who participated in capturing Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro has been charged with using classified information about the operation to make bets on Polymarket, a decentralized prediction platform, federal prosecutors said Thursday.

Gannon Ken Van Dyke, stationed at Fort Bragg in Fayetteville, N.C., is alleged to have profited by more than $400,000 through wagers he made on Polymarket concerning the future of Venezuela, Maduro and U.S. military intervention.

“Our men and women in uniform are trusted with classified information in order to accomplish their mission as safely and effectively as possible, and are prohibited from using this highly sensitive information for personal financial gain,” Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a statement.

Polymarket is one of several crypto-based prediction markets that grew in popularity during the 2024 general election, allowing users to make wagers on seemingly anything, from who will be drafted first overall in the NFL Draft to when President Donald Trump will announce the war in Iran is over.

In the indictment unsealed Thursday, federal prosecutors alleged that starting from around Dec. 8, Van Dyke participated in the planning and execution of Operation Absolute Resolve.

On Dec. 26, Van Dyke allegedly created a Polymarket account, which he used to make 13 bets from Dec. 27, wagering a combined $33,034 on contracts concerning U.S. military involvement in Venezuela.

Before dawn on Jan. 3, U.S. military forces conducted a clandestine operation in Venezuela, resulting in the capture of Maduro and his wife, who were brought back to the United States to face narco-trafficking charges.

After Trump announced the operation that night, Van Dyke allegedly made $409,881 off his bets, which he withdrew to a foreign cryptocurrency vault before depositing them into a newly created online brokerage account, federal prosecutors said.

After the operation, news broke that one user had wagered $32,000 that Maduro would be ousted by the end of January, netting the multi-hundred-thousand-dollar payout.

Prosecutors alleged that as reports of the unusual wager spread, Van Dyke asked the platform on Jan. 6 to delete his account and he allegedly changed the email address registered to his cryptocurrency exchange account.

The indictment charges him with use of confidential government information for personal gain, theft of nonpublic government information, commodities fraud, wire fraud and making an unlawful monetary transaction.

If convicted, Van Dyke faces up to 10 years in prison for each of the three Commodity Exchange Act counts, 20 years for the one wire fraud count and 10 years for the unlawful monetary transaction charge.

The charges come amid concern about such decentralized markets that allow for betting on real-world events and calls for them to be regulated

In late March, dozens of lawmakers called on the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the Office of Government Ethics to address illegal insider trading on these platforms by federal employees following the Polymarket payout on the capture of Maduro and other suspicious trades.

Asked about the development and if he is concerned about bets being placed on the Iran war, Trump told reporters at the White House that he will look into it.

“The whole world, unfortunately, has become somewhat of a casino. And you look at what’s going on all over the world, in Europe and every place, they’re doing these betting things,” he said.

“I was never much in favor of it. I don’t like it, conceptually, but it is what it is.”

Passengers, especially from Britain, have been facing waits of up to three hours at border control, missing flights after new system was introduced

Spanish airports are taking steps to tackle border control chaos affecting British travellers, according to reports from the popular holiday destination. The European Union’s new Entry/Exit System became fully operational on April 10, 2026, and within hours, airports throughout the Schengen zone were plunged into turmoil. Passengers endured waits of up to three hours at border control, missed flights, and were left spending thousands arranging their own journeys home.

Several countries have already responded, with Greece temporarily suspending the new EES entry/exit border control system after non-EU passengers, particularly those from the United Kingdom, encountered lengthy queues. Now the Majorca Daily Bulletin reports that airport authority AENA has apparently directed staff to take whatever measures possible to streamline the process and cut waiting times.

According to VisaHQ, while officials at Madrid-Barajas, Barcelona-El Prat, Málaga, Alicante and Palma airports have confirmed the technology is functioning properly, they have admitted that passenger numbers during peak periods rapidly overwhelmed checkpoint capacity throughout Easter week. Based on guidance issued to frontline personnel on Tuesday evening, airports may temporarily redirect families and travellers with reduced mobility to conventional stamping queues when biometric queue waiting times surpass 25 minutes. They may also stagger flight arrivals through coordination with Aena’s slot management team, a measure already trialled in Málaga. These steps are reportedly “adjustments, not a suspension”, with biometric capture remaining compulsory for first-time registrants.

READ MORE: Spanish airport shuts for five weeks from tomorrow – Ryanair flights cancelled

The new EES system, which was initially introduced back in October, has faced substantial criticism from the travel industry and airlines, and several countries are said to be weighing up whether to follow Greece’s lead with the summer season mere weeks away and the travel sector having to contend with the Middle East crisis alongside threats of fuel shortages and rising airfares, which are doing little to bolster consumer confidence.

AENA airports

• A Coruña (LCG)
• Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas (MAD)
• Albacete (ABC)
• Algeciras (AEI)
• Alicante-Elche Miguel Hernández (ALC)
• Almería (LEI)
• Asturias (OVD)
• Badajoz (BJZ)
• Bilbao (BIO)
• Burgos (RGS)
• Ceuta (JCU)
• César Manrique-Lanzarote (ACE)
• Córdoba (ODB)
• El Hierro (VDE)
• Federico García Lorca Granada-Jaén (GRX)
• Fuerteventura (FUE)
• Girona-Costa Brava (GRO)
• Gran Canaria (LPA)
• Huesca-Pirineos (HSK)
• Ibiza (IBZ)
• Jerez (XRY)
• Josep Tarradellas Barcelona-El Prat (BCN)
• La Gomera (GMZ)
• La Palma (SPC)

Budget carrier Ryanair this week announced that passengers requiring its airport check-in or bag-drop services will need to complete the process 20 minutes earlier. The airline confirmed it will close these services an hour before a flight’s scheduled departure – compared with 40 minutes at present – to allow passengers additional time to navigate security and passport checks. This will cut down on the “very small number of passengers” who miss their flight while caught in queues, the airline added. Ryanair’s website states that passengers who fail to check in on time “may be denied boarding without refund”.

The new policy will take effect from November 10 and follows the introduction of the EES.

The British travel association ABTA has said that alongside implementing the contingency measures, destinations and border authorities must do more to prepare for peak travel periods. This should include deploying additional border guards during the busiest times. Mark Tanzer, Chief Executive of ABTA – The Travel Association said: “The ambition of a project like EES means it was never going to go completely smoothly, and we were prepared for that.

“However, what is frustrating is that border authorities have it within their power to ease queues and deal with issues as they arise – but that doesn’t seem to be happening across the board. As we head towards peak travel periods, we’re urging border authorities to plan for busy periods and use the contingency measure available. It’s critical the Commission keeps a close eye on this.”

Ryanair chief marketing officer Dara Brady said the “small 20-minute change” will “allow these 20% of our customers who check in a bag more time to clear through airport security and passport queues, and get to their departure gate on time”. He added that this will be particularly important “during busy travel periods when some of these airport queues can be longer”. Numerous UK travellers are experiencing hold-ups at airports across continental Europe due to the introduction of new border regulations.

The EU’s Entry/Exit System (EES) requires visitors from non-member countries such as the UK to have their fingerprints recorded and photograph captured to enter the Schengen Area, which comprises 29 European countries, predominantly within the EU.

Earlier this month, over 100 easyJet passengers caught up in lengthy waits at passport control at Milan Linate airport missed their flight to Manchester. Ryanair has announced it is rolling out additional self-service bag drop kiosks throughout its network.

By October, more than 95% of the airports it operates from will be equipped with these facilities.

Chinese startup says DeepSeek-V4-Pro beats all rival open models for maths and coding.

China’s DeepSeek has unveiled the latest versions of its signature artificial intelligence-powered chatbot, a year after its flagship model sent shockwaves through the global tech scene.

The Chinese startup launched preview versions of DeepSeek-V4-Pro and DeepSeek-V4-Flash on Friday as it touted its ability to go toe-to-toe with US rivals such as OpenAI and Google.

Like DeepSeek’s previous chatbots, V4-Pro and V4-Flash follow an open-source model, meaning developers are free to use and modify the source code at will.

DeepSeek-V4-Pro beats all rival open models for maths and coding, and trails only Google’s Gemini 3.1-Pro, a closed model, for world knowledge, DeepSeek said in an announcement on social media.

The “pro” version’s performance falls only “marginally short” of OpenAI’s GPT‑5.4 and Gemini 3.1-Pro, “suggesting a developmental trajectory that trails state-of-the-art frontier models by approximately 3 to 6 months,” the Hangzhou-based startup said.

The “flash” model has similar reasoning abilities to the “pro” version, while offering faster response times and “highly cost-effective” usage pricing, the firm said.

The release comes after DeepSeek-R1 stunned the tech sector upon its launch in January last year with capabilities broadly comparable with those of ChatGPT and Gemini.

Marc Andreessen, a prominent Silicon Valley venture capitalist with close ties to United States President Donald Trump, hailed the model’s release at the time as “AI’s Sputnik moment”.

The performance of the Chinese-developed model attracted particular attention as its developers claimed to have spent less than $6m on computing costs – a fraction of the multibillion-dollar budgets that are usual in Silicon Valley.

Some tech analysts challenged DeepSeek’s account of working with such scant resources, arguing that the startup most likely had access to greater funding and more advanced chips than acknowledged.

DeepSeek’s arrival on the scene prompted blowback in some countries amid concerns about data protection and Chinese government censorship.

Multiple US states, Australia, Taiwan, South Korea, Denmark and Italy introduced bans or other restrictions on DeepSeek-R1 shortly after its release, citing privacy and national security concerns.

PRINCESS Andre, Towie’s Ella Rae Wise and Gemma Arterton were among the glamorous big-name celebs at tonight’s ITV Showcase.

The great and the good of the channel’s talent descended on London’s Design Museum to champion its 2026 schedule.

Ant and Dec, Michelle Keegan and Olivia Attwood also attended as did pregnant Scarlett Moffatt with her fiancé Scott.

Reality star Princess went all out in a satin dress befitting of her royal name, while Ella Rae gave a glimpse of her bra in a fitted white suit and carried a pink Chanel bag.

Bond Girl Gemma showed off her legs in a black mini skirt and heels, which she teamed with a black vest top and white tee.

She joined Tom Bradby on the black carpet and the pair looked to be having a good laugh in between posing for pictures.

JIM’S MOMENT

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Michelle Keegan also opted for a power suit and cut a happy and relaxed figure beside actor Douglas Booth.

Olivia Attwood wore a baby blue corset with a suit jacket hanging off her shoulders and loose-fitting smart trousers.

Love Island‘s Whitney Adebayo looked stylish in a plunging striped dress, while Marcel Somerville rocked a patterned shirt and pristine white trousers.

Glam Gabby Allen curled the front of her blonde ‘do and dressed in a slinky nude number.

Emma Willis was typically cool in a beige suit and crop top, while Joey Essex gave European Bachelor in a buttoned-down white shirt and trousers, accessorising with a necktie and shades.

Influencer Perrie Sian went hell for leather in a chocolate brown jacket and matching skirt

Sir Mo Farah was full of energy, striking fun poses in his blue blazer and stone-coloured trousers.

Graham Norton attended in a black blazer emblazoned with a colourful flower motif, while Natalie Simpson was a vision in red.

Among the programmes coming to screens are new entertainment show The Neighbourhood, fronted by Norton, and gameshows The Box, hosted by Gary Lineker, and Nobody’s Fool, hosted by Danny Dyer and Emily Atack.

Then there are the familiar favourites such as Love Island, I’m A Celeb and Britain’s Got Talent as well as new dramas Secret Service, with Arterton in the lead role, The Blame, featuring Booth and Keegan, and The Party, with Luke Evans and Elizabeth Day.

HOUSTON — A Houston city ordinance that limited police officers’ cooperation with federal immigration agents was amended on Wednesday after Texas’ governor threatened to take away millions of dollars in public safety grants.

Houston, Austin and Dallas — three of the state’s biggest cities and Democratic strongholds — are being confronted by GOP Gov. Greg Abbott with threats of losing public safety dollars over policies that dictate how law enforcement interacts with federal immigration authorities. The three cities are being threatened with the loss of about $200 million in public safety funding, including tens of millions expected to cover security at World Cup matches this summer in Dallas and Houston.

Two weeks ago, the Houston City Council passed the ordinance, which eliminated a requirement that Houston police officers wait 30 minutes for agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to pick up someone with a nonjudicial administrative warrant. If ICE agents didn’t show up in time, police officers took a detained person’s information and then released them.

But Abbott warned city officials that the new ordinance and its limitation on cooperating with ICE agents violated the terms of $110 million in state grants Houston had received for police and security during the World Cup games the city is hosting in June.

Texas Atty. Gen. Ken Paxton had also filed a lawsuit against Mayor John Whitmire and members of the City Council over the ordinance, accusing them of violating a 2017 state law that prevents cities from adopting policies that limit the enforcement of immigration laws and that also banned “sanctuary city” policies in the state. There is no strict definition for sanctuary policies or sanctuary cities, but the terms generally describe limited cooperation with ICE.

After more than two hours of discussion during its weekly meeting, the Houston City Council voted 13 to 4 to make changes to the ordinance. Whitmire said he had consulted with Abbott’s office about making changes that would prevent Houston from losing its funding.

The amended ordinance deletes language that highlighted that administrative warrants — versus warrants signed by a judge — that ICE agents use to take individuals into custody are not enough for officers to arrest or detain an individual.

Houston Mayor John Whitmire speaks during a City Council meeting on Wednesday.

(Raquel Natalicchio/AP)

“We have no alternative for Houston to survive, prepare for [the World Cup], patrol these neighborhoods,” Whitmire said. “We’ve got to have today the restoration of the $114 million.”

Andrew Mahaleris, a spokesperson for Abbott, said the governor expects any policy Houston police adopt has to comply with the city’s certification that it will fully cooperate with the Department of Homeland Security.

“This vote is a step in the right direction after Houston leaders put public safety at risk with reckless policies that undermined law enforcement,” Mahaleris said in a statement.

Councilmember Abbie Kamin, one of three members who had pushed for the ordinance, voted against amending it, saying that doing so was giving in to bullying tactics from state leaders.

“If we roll over now to a bully, what will he come for next?” Kamin said.

Councilmembers Edward Pollard and Alejandra Salinas, who also pushed for the ordinance, said they remained hopeful the changes approved Wednesday would not violate individuals’ constitutional rights and wouldn’t result in people being held on nonjudicial warrants.

Nikki Luellen, an advocate for criminal justice reform for the ACLU of Texas, called the amended ordinance “a green light for deeper collaboration between ICE and the Houston Police Department.”

Martha Castex-Tatum was one of several council members who had supported the ordinance but voted in favor of amending it in order to protect the city’s finances.

“For some people, this may feel like surrender. It’s not. It’s real stewardship,” Castex-Tatum said.

Dallas officials have said they are committed to ensuring public safety.

Austin Mayor Kirk Watson, a moderate Democrat, said the local policy complies with state law. He said Abbott’s threat to cut nearly $3 million in Austin would cut trauma aid for police officers and sexual assault victims.

“We don’t have the time and will not play into this political theater,” Watson said.

Austin officials have since indicated they could try to negotiate with Abbott.

The debate in Houston and other Texas cities comes during fraught times. Whitmire and other local leaders in many of Texas’ left-leaning urban areas have tried not to draw the federal government’s attention amid the aggressive immigration crackdown by President Trump’s administration.

Lozano writes for the Associated Press. AP writer Jim Vertuno in Austin contributed to this report.

The Colorado Avalanche rode swagger, poise and the league’s stingiest goaltender to the best record in the NHL this season. And nothing about that formula has changed in the postseason, with goals from Gabriel Landeskog, Cale Makar, Artturi Lehkonen and Brock Nelson giving Colorado a 4-2 win Thursday over the Kings and a commanding 3-0 lead in their best-of-seven first-round playoff series.

The Kings, who have lost their last six first-round playoff series, need a victory at home Sunday to extend their season. Their goals in Game 3 came from Trevor Moore in the second period and Adrian Kempe on a third-period power play.

“They’re best team in the league for a reason. But we’re right there,” forward Quinton Byfield said. “We’re a confident group.”

“One game at home. Must-win game,” defenseman Drew Doughty added. “Everyone’s going to give everything they’ve got. We’ve got to win that one, and then hopefully get to go back to Denver.”

Colorado Avalanche defenseman Devon Toews celebrates a goal by defenseman Cale Makar on Kings goaltender Anton Forsberg during the second period of Game 3 Thursday at Crypto.com Arena.

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

The difference in the series has been Avalanche goalie Scott Wedgewood, who was nearly perfect again, making 24 saves to place the Kings 60 minutes away from the offseason.

Anton Forsberg, playing in the postseason for the first time, has been almost as good in goal for the Kings, though he was victimized by two fluke goals and an empty-netter.

“Both goalies in the series have been unbelievable,” Kings coach D.J. Smith said. “Give Wedgewood credit. This guy looks like he’s putting his name on the circuit as a big-time goalie.”

The Avalanche, who certainly haven’t needed many lucky breaks in this series, got one early in the first period when Landeskog spun and launched a wild wrister from the blue line that went well wide of the net, only to have the puck carom off the end boards and into the net off Forsberg’s right skate blade.

The goal was the second in as many games for the Colorado captain.

The Kings then got their own break six minutes into the second period when Alex Laferriere jumped Brett Kulak’s clearing pass in the neutral jump and fed Byfield, whose pass into the crease struck Moore’s leg and ricocheted past Wedgewood to tie the score.

Colorado defenseman Devon Toews reaches for the puck against Kings right wing Quinton Byfield in the first period.

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

Colorado needed less than seven minutes to get the lead back, with Makar getting the puck along the boards on the left wing, skating into space at the point, then zipping a wrist shot through heavy traffic and just under the crossbar.

The Avalanche then increased the advantage 7:39 in the final period after Kempe fanned a shot from the point. Lehkonen collected the loose puck and took it the length of the ice before deflecting a centering pass off Kempe’s skate and by Forsberg for a short-handed goal, his second score of the series.

That appeared to put the game away, but after the Kings pulled Forsberg for an extra attacker, Kempe halved the deficit on a tip-in with 4:02 to play. But then Nelson forced a turnover and scored into the empty net with 2:18 left.

The six goals combined matched the total number from the first two games in Colorado.

“We’ve got to keep doing a lot of the things that we are doing,” Doughty said. “Obviously, we got to clean up giving up some of these chances that we’re giving up.”

Kings goalie Anton Forsberg covers the puck as Colorado left wing Gabriel Landeskog battles for it in the second period.

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

The Kings’ penalty kill, which ranked 30th in the 32-team league during the regular season, has been brilliant against the Avalanche, turning back all nine Colorado power plays. That, plus stellar play for Forsberg in goal, has frustrated the NHL’s top-scoring team.

But against Wedgewood, the Kings have mustered little offense, scoring just four goals in the series — three times on the power play and once off Moore’s leg.

“We’d like to get more than two goals. Against this team, I don’t think it’s enough,” Doughty said. “I don’t think we’re creating enough grade-A chances on Wedgewood. He has played well, so for us to beat them, we’ve got to wear them down in the D-zone, make them tired and score goals that way. And we haven’t done that enough.”

They’re guaranteed just one more chance to turn that around.

“There’s no quit in there,” Smith said of the Kings’ locker room. “And I think you’ll see our best game. To a man, we want to give them a real good outing and push this series back to Colorado.”

In the battle of propaganda, fake videos and images of female victims of Iran’s government are going viral, with even the US president sharing them. Al Jazeera’s Soraya Lennie explains how Iranian women, real or fake, are often used to sell foreign intervention.

Padua – the perfect base for visiting Venice

When we visited Venice, we stayed in Padua. It’s half an hour to Venezia Mestre (Venice’s mainland suburb), trains are frequent and cheap, as long as you avoid expresses, and easy to book if you have the Trenitalia app. You’ll find accommodation and restaurants significantly cheaper if you are based in Padua and day trip into Venice, and Padua is worth exploring in its own right. There are also trains to Vicenza, Verona, Bologna and Bassano del Grappa – we found it the perfect base for a public transport trip in north-east Italy.
Fergal O’Shea

History in the mountains near Turin

On a recent break in Turin, we made the short hop to the mountain town of Susa. Situated in a stunning valley on the old Roman road to Gaul, Susa’s historic centre is a charming mix of medieval and Roman architecture set against classic alpine loveliness. We were astounded by the jaw-droppingly well preserved Arch of Augustus, built in the 1st century BC to demonstrate the loyalty of the local tribes to Rome. In typical Italian fashion, the modern road runs right underneath. Heading back to Turin, look out for the dramatic mountaintop abbey, the Sacra di San Michele, which was among the inspirations for Umberto Eco’s The Name of the Rose.
Peter

Escaping the Colosseum crowds in Rome

In Rome, take Metro Line C to the Colosseo/Fori Imperiali station, which doubles as a subterranean museum, showcasing ancient lead pipes and original Roman saunas for just a €1.50 fare. Afterwards, escape the Colosseum frenzy at the nearby Casina del Salvi. This hidden gem on the edge of Parco archeologico del Celio offers a stunning and tranquil sun terrace overlooking the Colosseum. It’s the perfect spot for an espresso or a sandwich, providing a peaceful, panoramic sanctuary just steps from the tourist trail. A true local secret for the price of a coffee.
Alice

Exploring the Cinque Terre by bicycle

The villages of the Cinque Terre are very popular – perhaps too popular? I suggest a stay in Levanto. You can easily do a train trip to the famous five towns, but I recommend hiring bikes in Levanto. Then you can cycle along resurfaced old train routes, called the Maremonti path, for about two miles, delightfully shaded from the sun, to Bonnasola. You can stop en route at beaches only accessible by foot or bike. Then cycle on to Framura and have a gorgeous lunch at the tiny harbour, where it’s also OK to swim. The joy is that it’s not only beautiful but quiet too. A real treat. I’ve cycled this path with a baby and a teen.
Kate

Sea kayaking off Sicily

The island of Vulcano lies in the Aeolian archipelago off the coast of Sicily. We were there for a kayak trip in the safe hands of our friendly guide Eugenio. He knows every little stone of the sea stacks, arches, coves and caves along the rugged coast. We played in the swells on the cobalt sea and dipped our toes in the fumaroles rising up on a volcanic black sand beach. One highlight was Eugenio’s abundant home-cooked lunch, which he had stowed on his kayak, including biscotti dipped in local malvasia wine – a well-deserved reward after a morning’s paddle. We went with Sicily in Kayak, which operates excursions from half a day to six days, some including hiking and snorkelling.
Phil Davis

Riviera vibes on the Adriatic

On Italy’s Adriatic coast in the Marche region, Grottammare has beaches that stretch the length of the town and beyond. The palm-lined lungomare promenade, dotted with bars and restaurants, has a classic Riviera vibe. In Grottammare Alta old town, the honey-coloured stone and medieval alleys packed with colourful plant pots explain why the place is listed as one of the borghi più belli d’Italia – the most beautiful villages in the country. From the Piazza Peretti’s loggia, there are incredible views across the town to the sea. Hop on a train to explore larger towns like Ascoli, Piceno and Pesaro, or simply enjoy Grottammare’s relaxed atmosphere.
Deborah

A peaceful archaeological park in Sicily

Syracuse has an amazing amphitheatre. However, the highlight of our trip to the area was Akrai archaeological park about 45 minutes inland. It is on a smaller scale, but has an amphitheatre and catacombs around which we could wander freely. As it’s off the beaten track, it has few visitors, making it a beautifully calm place away from the larger crowds in the city. The nearby village of Palazzolo Acreide is also worth a wander and has delicious lunch options.
Dawn

Another side to Florence

There’s a different side to Florence in the summer, if you know where to look. Follow the banks of the River Arno east beyond the centre and you’ll come across a real slice of local life. Nestled among the trees, pop-up bars and food stalls appear, often with live music. This is where the city’s residents come to socialise at the end of the day. It’s relaxed, informal and a mix of generations. Start near the Ponte San Niccolò, then walk east towards Lungarno del Tempio. Grab a drink, stop for a pizza and hang out like a local. After a day’s sightseeing, it’s the best area of the city to unwind in.
Paul

A fascinating 1930s villa in Milan

Italy is mostly associated with ancient architecture, but the high point of our recent trip to Milan was the 1930s Villa Necchi Campiglio. The Italian rationalist villa is a fascinating mix of elegant, spacious modernism and more elaborate 18th-century styled rooms – two radically different architects were employed at separate stages. The villa also boasts Milan’s first private swimming pool. Film buffs may recognise the house from Luca Guadagnino’s I Am Love or Ridley Scott’s House of Gucci, yet it remains under the radar – my wife’s Milan-born cousin had never heard of it. What a pleasure then to introduce him to one of the city’s most striking hidden gems.
David M

Winning tip: a brutalist masterpiece in Trieste

On a walking tour of Trieste, I spotted a curious building high up in the distance – the Temple of Monte Grisa, a brutalist masterpiece of a cathedral on the edge of the Karst plateau. It is accessible via a steep hike (or bus) through the village of Prosecco, during which you are treated to a magnificent view of the Gulf of Trieste. Inside, the architecture is breathtaking – a repeating M-shaped pattern of concrete and gigantic modernist representations of the Virgin Mary and baby Jesus. Go on a sunny day to make the most of the shadows and light.
Richard