Month: May 2026

Football’s world governing body, FIFA, has framed the 2026 World Cup’s expansion from 32 to 48 teams as a watershed moment for inclusivity, opening the door for nations that have never qualified before.

Indeed, four teams will be playing at their first World Cup in North America this summer: Cape Verde, Curacao, Jordan, and Uzbekistan.

Here is Al Jazeera’s short guide to the debutants at this year’s competition.

Cape Verde

• FIFA world ranking: 69
• World Cup fixtures (Group H): Spain (June 15, Atlanta), Uruguay (June 21, Miami, US), Saudi Arabia (June 26, Houston, US)
• Player to watch: Garry Rodrigues

With a population of about 525,000, the small archipelago off the coast of Senegal will become the third-least populous country to participate in a World Cup after Curacao and Iceland.

Ryan Mendes is not even a household name in Turkiye, where he plays for second-tier Igdir, but Cape Verde’s 35-year-old captain was at the heart of their 3-0 win over Eswatini in October, which booked their place at the World Cup.

This was no freak occurrence as Cape Verde topped their group at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, which included Ghana, reaching the quarterfinals where they lost on penalties to South Africa.

Although they failed to reach AFCON 2025, they again topped their group in 2026 World Cup qualifying – this time finishing ahead of the once-mighty Cameroon.

“We have taken part in four African Cup of Nations tournaments, and we were also very close to qualifying for the 2014 World Cup,” Mendes told the AFP news agency.

“A lot has been achieved over the years. And today, we can say that this is the logical outcome.”

Cape Verde rely heavily on their Portuguese colonial past for a supply of diaspora talent, and also have several Dutch-born players, as well as one from Ireland – the Shamrock Rovers defender Roberto Lopes. The Dublin-born 33-year-old has a Cape Verdean father and Irish mother and was reportedly recruited for Cape Verde via LinkedIn.

The team’s best-known player, however, is probably 35-year-old winger Garry Rodrigues; now at Cypriot club Apollon Limassol, he has had stints at the likes of Galatasaray and Olympiacos.

But even without mega-star names, Mendes is certain that the Blue Sharks can make a mark at the tournament.

“One thing’s for sure: we’re not going there just to play three games and come home,” he said.

Curacao

• FIFA world ranking: 82
• World Cup fixtures (Group E): Germany (June 14, Houston, US), Ecuador (June 20, Kansas City, US), Ivory Coast (June 25, Philadelphia, US)
• Player to watch: Tahith Chong

“Small island, big dreams” reads a poster for the football team of the Caribbean island of Curacao – the smallest country ever, by population, to qualify for football’s World Cup.

Since Curacao clinched qualification with a hard-fought 0-0 draw against Steven McClaren’s Jamaica in November, the 160,000 inhabitants of the Dutch island famed for its eponymous sapphire liqueur are riding the crest of the Blue Wave, as the national side is dubbed.

The most famous person around the squad is Curacao’s boss Dick Advocaat, the 78-year-old former Netherlands, PSV and Rangers manager who guided the Curacaoans to qualification. He is set to become the oldest manager ever at a World Cup.

Meanwhile, as a self-governing entity within the Netherlands, the island owes its World Cup squad entirely to its Dutch-based diaspora, the president of Curacao’s football federation, Gilbert Martina, admitted.

“All the players on the national team play in foreign leagues,” he told AFP.

Perhaps the best-known player is former Dutch youth international Tahith Chong, now at Championship side Sheffield United. The only team member born on Curacao, Chong moved to the Netherlands at the age of 13.

The 26-year-old winger or attacking midfielder is known for his pace, dribbling and a wicked left foot.

The most famous Curacaoan is probably former Ajax and Barcelona star Patrick Kluivert, who was born to a Surinamese father and a mother from Curacao.

“It’s fantastic that the island is in the World Cup,” Kluivert, who coached the Curacaoan side between 2015 and 2016, told AFP.

“In my day, [football] was not that big on the island, but the players have given Curacao visibility. It’s important for the future, for the next generation.”

Jordan

• FIFA world ranking: 63
• World Cup fixtures (Group J): Austria (June 16, San Francisco, US), Algeria (June 22, San Francisco, US), Argentina (June 27, Dallas, US)
• Player to watch: Musa Al-Taamari

Jordan head coach Jamal Sellami has called on ⁠his players to emulate ⁠Morocco’s shock run to the last four of the World Cup in 2022 as they prepare for their first appearance at the tournament.

“In big competitions, many teams can surprise. My country, Morocco, ‌reached the semifinals in the last World Cup,” Reuters quoted him as saying during a training camp in Antalya, Turkiye in late March. “That gives us belief.”

Despite their underdog status, the players say they are not going to the World Cup just to make up the numbers.

“For us, we are not going just for participation,” midfielder Noor Al-Rawabdeh added. “We are aiming to go as far ⁠as we can in the tournament.

“To be honest, sometimes we don’t sleep when we think about it,” he added. “It’s a dream come true for us.”

The Rennes winger Musa Al-Taamari is probably the team’s standout player – he was the key creative force as Jordan ⁠secured an automatic berth at the World Cup after finishing ⁠second behind South Korea in their Asian qualifying group.

Sellami said the camp in Antalya, which involved games against Costa Rica and Nigeria, was a key stage in building experience before facing elite opposition.

“We ‌are ‌preparing step by step. We’ve played against different football cultures,” he said.

“We are collecting experience and, Inshallah [God willing], we will surprise many people.”

Uzbekistan

• FIFA world ranking: 50
• World Cup fixtures (Group K): Colombia (June 17, Mexico City, Mexico), Portugal (June 23, Houston, US), DR Congo (June 27, Atlanta, US)
• Player to watch: Abdukodir Khusanov

Uzbekistan FA Vice President Ravshan Irmatov is no stranger to the World Cup, having refereed at three finals, but believes the Central Asian country’s long-awaited qualification is merely the latest step in its football development.

“Qualifying for the World Cup has been a dream for 38 million people for 34 years,” Irmatov said. “You can understand how important it was for the Uzbek nation, we waited so long.”

Uzbekistan’s first qualification comes after seven attempts to secure a finals spot since the country was granted FIFA membership in 1994 following the break-up of the Soviet Union.

Slovenian coach Srecko Katanec guided a team built primarily on home-based talent to the cusp of the finals before health issues forced him to stand down, leaving Olympic team coach Timur Kapadze to secure the ticket for the 2026 tournament.

Captain Eldor Shomurodov, on loan at Istanbul Basaksehir from Roma, is the country’s top scorer with 44 goals in 90 games and scored 21 Turkish Super League goals this season.

But the team’s best-known player is probably Manchester City’s Abdukodir Khusanov. The 22-year-old centre back has become a key part of the defence this season, well-regarded for his positional play, pace, strength and quiet leadership.

Uzbekistan confirmed their place at the finals with a 0-0 draw against the United Arab Emirates in June, and since then, former Italian World Cup winner Fabio Cannavaro has taken over as coach.

“I’ll tell you what I always repeat to my players: for the first time you will play in a World Cup, you have nothing to lose,” Cannavaro was quoted as saying by The Mirror newspaper in March.

“Approach every match with maximum calm, enjoy yourselves as much as possible, and if you feel anxiety, let it be positive anxiety.”

DZYNE Technologies has shared new details about its recently unveiled lower-cost Blitz drone and the accompanying containerized BlitzBox launch system. BlitzBox, the largest version of which can launch a wave of up to 100 drones, is perhaps the more interesting development. There have been two separate calls for proposals from the Pentagon for exactly this kind of capability in the past four months.

Our Howard Altman talked with DZYNE’s Connor Toler, the project manager for Blitz, on the show floor at the annual SOF Week conference today. Blitz and BlitzBox were first unveiled last week.

DZYNE Blitz drone and BlitzBox container launcher

“It’s fitting that gap between multi-rotors [quadcopter-type drones] and then longer – a little bit larger Group 2s. So you’re really fitting that mid-range range [sic] and endurance, while keeping an operationally relevant payload,” Toler explained. “What really makes it special is its modularity. So, the ability to be able to swap out payloads at a time of need, not having pre-configured systems, and also allowing the end user to adapt those payloads and those modules themselves.”

In U.S. military parlance, Group 2 drones have maximum total weights between 21 and 55 pounds, can fly up to an altitude of 3,500 feet, and have top speeds of 250 knots or less. Group 1 covers everything below Group 2, capability-wise, including Blitz and the even smaller multi-rotor drones, Toler mentioned.

The Blitz drone itself is a small, highly modular fixed-wing design. It is propelled via a pair of electrically powered propellers, one in each wing. It can cruise at speeds between 40 and 75 Knots Equivalent Air Speed (KEAS).

There are two battery options for Blitz. The standard one offers a maximum range of 50 miles (80 kilometers) and total endurance up to one hour. The extended range type allows the drone to fly out to 93 miles (150 kilometers) and boosts its endurance to two hours. The drone is designed so that the choice of battery does not otherwise impact the total payload capacity, which does have additional impacts on range and endurance.

Blitz has a stated maximum payload capacity of five pounds. It has two payload bays in the main body, as well as nose and tail sections that can be readily swapped out. None of this requires special tools. The tail is notably where the drone’s communications package sits, making it easier to fit different specific radios to meet customer requirements.

One of the payload options is a two-pound fragmentation warhead from MMS Products based on that company’s Mjolnir design. Mjolnir was originally designed to be dropped from small drones.

In the press release it put out last week, DZYNE had also highlighted Blitz’s ability to be configured for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) and electronic warfare (EW) missions, as well as for “deception, and other mission effects.” Deception in this case could mean acting as a decoy.

“Blitz offers a lot of flexibility in the electronic warfare space, [and] some of the deception space, as well,” Toler, the Blitz project manager, reiterated today. “We’re able to run antennas out to the wing tips. So, there’s channels on the wings and mounting points on the wing tips.”

“One of the benefits is that it’s not tube-launched, and why is that a benefit is that you’re actually able to put things that are volumetrically unoptimized, per se, and you’re not constrained to a tube,” he also noted. “So you’re really allowed flexibility and creativity when it comes to what you can solve.”

In terms of guidance, currently, Blitz’s main means of getting to the designated target or target area is via satellite navigation using pre-set coordinates.

“We also do have a visual-based navigation module that basically allows you to navigate in a [GPS-]denied environment, which is optional,” according to Toler. This allows the drone to navigate by comparing imagery of the terrain below against an internal database preprogrammed in advance.

Using pre-set coordinates for targeting alone would preclude attacking anything on the move. Whether some degree of automated targeting capability is already available for Blitz, or on the horizon, is unclear. DZYNE says that Blitz can also be employed in an operator-in-the-loop mode, which would require an active control link to the drone during flight. Advances continue to be made in automated target recognition and engagement capabilities, driven by parallel developments in artificial intelligence and machine learning, as you can read more about in this past TWZ feature. This, in turn, could reduce the importance of having a mode of operation involving direct, if any, operator control. For its part, the U.S. military says it sees humans continuing to be involved, at least to some degree, in the operation of drones for the foreseeable future.

Whether the operator remains in the loop or not after launch, mission planning and control of Blitz drones can be done via handheld tablet-like devices. A software “plugin” to support the drones has already been integrated into the Android Tactical Assault Kit (ATAK) suite in service across the U.S. military, as well as with foreign armed forces.

However, right now, “typically, how they work is you predetermine what area you’re going to fly, that gets loaded onto the aircraft before you launch, and then we’re off to the races,” according to Toler. “Within the plugin itself, when you’re operating Blitz, you’re not flying an aircraft. What you’re doing is you’re planning effects over some area, and then you’re assigning aircraft to that mission.”

In its current form, Blitz is also designed to be lower-cost and, by extension, expandable, though a specific cost target has not yet been provided. Toler said today that there is a “path” to making the drone more recoverable and potentially reusable, but primarily for training rather than operational purposes.

“What’s really unique about Blitz is that, regardless of any of those different scenarios, it’s actually the exact same thing. You’re not modifying the aircraft to fit into any of those employment options,” Toler added. “So not only is it incredibly flexible from a payload perspective, but it’s also incredibly flexible from an employment perspective.”

Blitz takes off under its own power and is small enough to be hand-launched. It can also be deployed via four-rail launchers, which can be carried by small teams on the ground, as well as installed on ships and boats. Individual Blitz drones can be carried inside a container that provides an integrated charging station, as well.

And then there is the containerized BlitzBox launch system. As part of its announcement last week, DZYNE showed one example utilizing what outwardly looked like any other 10-foot shipping container. Up to 16 Blitz drones on four separate rail launchers can fit inside. Toler confirmed today that DZYNE has also been working on a 40-foot type, which can hold up to 100 of the drones.

BlitzBox opens up significant additional operational possibilities for Blitz. Containerized systems present inherent benefits for expeditionary or distributed operations as they can be readily deployed and redeployed via truck, as well as by cargo aircraft and ships. Groups of container launchers could be positioned far forward, or even behind enemy lines, and operated remotely. Since they look like any other shipping container from the outside, this also creates targeting challenges for opponents.

The containerized launch system “can be configured to be as autonomous as you liked [sic] it to be,” according to Toler. He said DZYNE has already demonstrated the ability to operate BlitzBox remotely at extended ranges via satellite communication. He specifically highlighted SpaceX Starlink and its government-focused cousin Starshield as examples of networks that could be used to manage the containers and the drones inside.

BlitzBox launchers could be loaded with dozens of drones in different configurations to perform various tasks as coordinated by a single user. Currently, there is no fully-autonomous swarming or cooperative capability, though DZYNE’s software can help deconflict operational plans prior to launch.

Toler described a notional scenario in which “Let’s say, if you’re operating a BlitzBox, I want to assign 30 aircraft for that mission. And the software will deconflict those aircraft and launch them in a sequence to make sure that you know there’s no mid-air collisions, and they time the effects appropriately.”

“Right now, what Blitz uses is basically pre-coordinated cooperation, and what I mean by that is the vehicles, once they launch, they’re not talking to each other,” he added. “One of the benefits of that is, that when you’re in [a] denied environment, you can’t ensure that the vehicles are going to be able to talk to each other. So our current implementation allows you to still have coordinated effects without relying on that.”

The way BlitzBox is designed, each one of the containers can also just be used to store drones, either for reloading other launchers or for use in other modes.

“So, you can imagine having a BlitzBox with aircraft in a ready-to-launch state, as you see them there, and perhaps a separate container with aircraft in their box state as this reloads,” Toler explained. “But now that container not only allows you to grab reloads from the BlitzBox itself, but let’s say your CONOP [concept of operations] changes and now you want to just throw a handful in the back of a Razor [Polaris MRZR] or in [the] back of a vehicle, and operate from somewhere else. You can just go grab those reloads and take them.”

Toler said DYZNE has already “worked with several customers across the DOW [Department of War]” in regard to Blitz and BlitzBox. However, it is unknown whether or not any branch of the U.S. military has moved to acquire these drones and launchers, or may have already begun fielding them.

That being said, as mentioned right at the start, this kind of containerized drone launch capability is something the U.S. military is very actively pursuing. In February, the Pentagon’s Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) put out a call for proposals for a Containerized Autonomous Drone Delivery System (CADDS). Last month, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) put out a separate contracting notice seeking concepts for drones with a high degree of autonomous operation, as well as containerized launch systems to go with them. DARPA also outlined a notional concept of operations involving a largely self-sustaining “autonomous constellation” able to support networked swarms consisting of as many as 500 drones at once.

TWZ has previously called particular attention to the threat that unassuming containerized drone launchers can pose, given their ability to hide in plain sight. Ukraine has already demonstrated the effectiveness of this kind of drone attack with its Operation Spiderweb last year, which succeeded in destroying prized bombers and other aircraft at several Russian airbases. Israel’s near-field attacks from within Iran during the opening phases of the 12 Day War are another example of how this kind of capability could be employed deep within enemy territory. DZYNE says Blitz and BlitzBox have been in development since before Operation Spiderweb, but there are clear similarities in the company’s proposed concepts of operations.

As we also previously wrote after DIU’s CADDS announcement:

“Even in an overt operational context, readily deployable containerized systems capable of acting as hubs for drone operations across a broad area with limited manpower requirements could offer a major boost in capability and capacity. Ships, trucks, and aircraft, which could themselves be uncrewed, could be used to bring them to and from forward locations, even in remote areas. If they can support a ‘heterogeneous mix’ of uncrewed aerial systems, a single container could be used to support a wide array of mission requirements, including intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance, electronic warfare, kinetic strikes, and/or communications signal relay.”

…

“Drone swarms are only set to become more capable as advancements in autonomy, especially automated target recognition, continue to progress, driven by parallel developments in artificial intelligence and machine learning, as you can read more about here. Future highly autonomous swarms will be able to execute various mission sets even more efficiently and in ways that compound challenges for defenders. Massed drone attacks with limited autonomy already have an inherent capacity to just overwhelm enemy defenses. In turn, electronic warfare systems and high-power microwave directed energy weapons have steadily emerged as some of the most capable options available to tackle swarms, but have their own limitations. Even powerful microwave systems have very short ranges and are directional in nature, and electronic warfare systems may simply not work at all against autonomous drones.”

It should be noted that a number of other companies in the United States and elsewhere globally have already put forward other concepts for containerized drone launchers. Many countries around the world have fielded containerized or container-like drone launchers, especially mounted on trucks, or are in the process of doing so. China has been particularly active in this regard. Israel has also long been a pioneer in developing these kinds of capabilities as part of its work on long-range kamikaze drones. As seen in the video below, Iran is now another major actor in this domain.

Баражуючий іранський боєприпас «Shahed 136»

DZYNE’s BlitzBox, coupled with its new Blitz drone, could still be reflective of a larger trend set to emerge now, especially in response to the clearly growing demand from the U.S. military.

Contact the author: joe@twz.com

Few would contend that Lerner and Loewe’s “Brigadoon” and Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “Flower Drum Song” represent the best work of these legendary duos.

Unlike Lerner and Loewe’s eternally popular “My Fair Lady,” “Brigadoon” hasn’t had a Broadway revival since 1980. “Flower Drum Song,” relegated to the shadows of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “Oklahoma!” and “South Pacific,” didn’t last long when it received its first and only Broadway revival in 2002.

I assumed nostalgia was fueling the desire to give these Golden Age musicals a makeover. But when I sat in the audience for these shows and fell immediately under the spell of their scores, I had a different answer.

The music makes a case for why “Brigadoon,” now in a soaring revival at Pasadena Playhouse, and “Flower Drum Song,” making a less assured reemergence at the Aratani Theatre in Little Tokyo, should live again. I was particularly skeptical of “Brigadoon,” with its airy-fairy book and heavy dose of romantic hokum, but the Broadway-level production at Pasadena Playhouse may be the best local staging of a musical I’ve seen in my 20 years covering the scene for The Times.

Kylie Victoria Edwards and Daniel Yearwood in “Brigadoon” at Pasadena Playhouse.

(Jeff Lorch)

I knew both musicals principally from their film adaptations. I missed David Henry Hwang‘s original rewrite of “Flower Drum Song,” which was a storied success at the Mark Taper Forum in 2001 but fared less favorably when it moved to New York the following year. I suppose I first saw “Brigadoon” as a kid at my grandmother’s house, amused at the way she goofily sang along. When I recently watched both movies again, it was like falling into a musical comedy time warp.

The enduring love for these Broadway shows isn’t just about the standards they have bequeathed to the American songbook. It’s also about the yearning for a more optimistic era of musical storytelling, when goodness could be counted on to prevail and a happy ending might be delayed but only rarely denied.

“Brigadoon,” a romantic fantasy about two Americans who stumble upon a mystical Scottish village that magically comes to life for a single day once every 100 years, might seem to be irredeemably old-fashioned. The show, which premiered on Broadway in 1947, was Lerner and Loewe’s first hit after a string of flops and fizzles. Without the success of “Brigadoon,” “My Fair Lady,” “Camelot” and the movie musical “Gigi” might never have happened.

Betsy Morgan and Max von Essen in “Brigadoon” at Pasadena Playhouse.

(Jeff Lorch)

But how do you solve a problem like Alan Jay Lerner’s book, written for a sensibility markedly more wholesome than our own? Enter playwright Alexandra Silber, whose fresh adaptation works for the most part remarkably well. There are a few lumpy patches, moments when the revision over-explains itself or belabors a point. But the way Tommy Albright (Max Von Essen) and Jeff Douglas (Happy Anderson), the accidental American intruders, have been modernized is a fizzy delight.

Imagine if Vincente Minnelli’s screen version of “Brigadoon,” starring Gene Kelly and Van Johnson, was remade with Paul Rudd and John Goodman, and you’ll have some idea of the comic chemistry here. But I should preface this thought exercise by first extolling the musical theater prowess of Von Essen, who received a Tony nomination for his work in “An American in Paris” and has a voice that could make the angels swoon. Less is required of Anderson’s jaded, booze-sodden Jeff, but this smart-alecky sidekick is re-imagined with crackling comic vitality.

The production, directed and choreographed by Katie Spelman, saves its most assertive interventions for its female characters. Fiona MacLaren (Betsy Morgan), the unmarried heroine who catches Tommy’s amorous eye, still falls heedlessly in love but not before correcting some of her American suitor’s chauvinistic assumptions. Morgan might overdo Fiona’s fiery streak when she sings “Waitin’ For My Dearie,” but the driving impulse is to bring the musical’s out-of-time female characters into the 21st century.

“Brigadoon” ensemble at Pasadena Playhouse.

(Jeff Lorch)

Meg Brockie (Donna Vivino), no longer the town floozie single-mindedly out to bed Jeff, is now the proprietor of Brockie’s Pub and the keeper of Brigadoon’s traditional language and culture. She’s still a sensual wrecking ball, but she’s too formidable to be treated as comic relief.

Silber has transformed Mr. Lundie, Brigadoon’s schoolmaster and moral guide, into Widow Lundie. The casting of the great Tyne Daly in the role is reason enough to make the gender switch, but it’s all part of a recalibration of the values of this theatrical world.

The dynamism of the singing and dancing smooths out some of the adaptation’s rough edges. Spelman puts her own stamp on Agnes DeMille’s original choreography, which was as integral to the storytelling as the book, lyrics and music.

When Charlie (a phenomenal Daniel Yearwood), a genial groom readying himself for the big wedding day, performs with his buddies “I’ll Go Home With Bonnie Jean,” Pasadena Playhouse erupts in a stomping frenzy of Celtic ecstasy. And Yearwood’s gorgeous rendition of “Come to Me, Bend to Me” is so seductive, it’s no wonder that Jean (Kylie Victoria Edwards), Fiona’s sister, has chosen to marry him.

“Brigadoon” ensemble at Pasadena Playhouse.

(Jeff Lorch)

All, however, is not idyllic in time-forgotten Brigadoon. Casting a pall over the nuptials, Harry Beaton (Spencer Davis Milford), hopelessly in love with Jean, threatens to destroy Brigadoon’s miracle by leaving the town for good.

Silber deepens Harry’s character and gives his story more emotional weight. (Milford manages to be both convincingly menacing and pitiably heartbroken.) The movie tweaked Harry’s fatal ending, but the adaptation does something even more striking with his desperation. The change is absorbed naturally by the musical, even if the funeral dance that Maggie (Jessica Lee Keller) elaborately performs might be more moving on a reduced scale.

The adaptation doesn’t always get the dramatic proportions right. When Jeff bares his soul to Tommy after the two are back on barstools in New York, the revelation that he is a heartsick widower complicates our understanding of a character originally conceived as a cynical bachelor. But Silber tries to extract too much sympathy from the exchange and stops the action when it should be moving rapidly toward its big finish.

Marc Oka, foreground, and Esther Lee, from left, Gemma Pedersen, Ai Toyoshima, Sally Hong, Hillary Tang and Emma Park in Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “Flower Drum Song,” produced by East West Players and the Japanese American Cultural and Community Center.

(Mike Palma)

But nothing can derail the success of this extraordinary production, the high watermark so far of Pasadena Playhouse producing artistic director Danny Feldman’s ongoing reexamination of the American musical canon. Jason Sherwood’s ravishing scenic design, full of eye-catching texture and lush density, makes it impossible not to dream along with the characters. Even the stage curtain, graced with Brigadoon’s floral insignia, is a work of art.

A 22-piece orchestra, under the music supervision of Darryl Archibald, draws out the all the sublime color of Frederick Loewe’s music. Most spectacularly, the blend of Von Essen’s lyric baritone and Morgan’s assertive soprano gives eternal life to Tommy and Fiona’s numbers. Hearing “The Heather on the Hill,” “Almost Like Being in Love” and “From This Day On” in the majestic intimacy of Pasadena Playhouse is a memory that will last at least a lifetime.

It’s a bit harder to judge this update of “Flower Drum Song,” which is Hwang’s second crack at revising the book, originally written by Oscar Hammerstein II and Joseph Fields. A co-production between East West Players and the Japanese American Cultural and Community Center, the revival doesn’t have the resources of Pasadena Playhouse’s “Brigadoon” and likely doesn’t have the same goals.

Ai Toyoshima, from left, Brian Shimasaki Liebson, Grace Yoo and Scott Keiji Takeda in Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “Flower Drum Song,” produced by East West Players and the Japanese American Cultural and Community Center.

(Mike Palma)

The musical, which premiered on Broadway in 1958, was groundbreaking for the way it provided a showcase for Asian American performers. Henry Koster’s 1961 studio film adaptation followed suit with an even greater reach. The intention was to create musical theater entertainment built around generational conflict — a longstanding device of romantic comedy. But here the clash involves immigrants in San Francisco trying to reconcile traditional Chinese culture and modern American life.

Stereotypes, however, prevailed, leaving a community at once grateful for representation and uncomfortable with the reinforcement of old tropes. Hwang (author of the Tony Award-winning “M. Butterfly”) set out to re-imagine the characters from the perspective of a contemporary Asian American dramatist nearly 25 years ago. But times continue to change along with cultural sensitivities, and he wanted to revisit his work for East West Players’ 60th anniversary season.

Directed by EWP artistic director Lily Tung Crystal, who is of Chinese heritage, the production is on a quest for a deeper authenticity. This mission is to provide a more genuine reflection of Asian American experience — community members speaking directly to fellow community members.

Grace Yoo, left, and Scott Keiji Takeda in Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “Flower Drum Song,” produced by East West Players and the Japanese American Cultural and Community Center.

(Mike Palma)

The production is most effective when the actors are singing, especially Grace Yoo, who plays Mei-Li and had me entranced the moment she started singing “A Hundred Million Miracles.” Don’t let the traditional flower drum she totes around fool you. She’s no longer the quietly obedient daughter of authority. Having fled communism, she has arrived in the U.S. without papers and (unlike the original) her father, and isn’t too keen on anyone dictating to her what she can and cannot do.

Scott Keiji Takeda, who plays Ta, Mei-Li’s reluctant inamorato, has a sumptuous voice that captures the hues of Richard Rodgers’ music. But unfortunately his wooden characterization raises questions about what exactly Mei-Li sees in him.

There’s a tension between the update’s good intentions and the tendency of musical comedy to traffic in amusing caricatures. (Exaggeration and simplification are par for the course.) In trying to root out offensive Asian American stereotypes, Hwang imports swishing stereotypes for laughs in his creation of a new character, Harvard (Kenton Chen), who works at the theater owned by Ta’s father and seems a throwback to the campy, wisecracking gay characters that were a staple of 1980s big-budget movie comedies. Harvard may get a more empowering storyline than his florist-hairdresser-retail-clerk predecessors, but the humor is redolent of the same punishing cliches.

Krista Marie Yu in Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “Flower Drum Song,” produced by East West Players and the Japanese American Cultural and Community Center.

(Mike Palma)

Emily Kuroda as take-charge producer Madame Liang and Marc Oka as Wang, Ta’s old-school father, throw themselves into the revival with full farcical force. Crystal’s fluid staging, full of agile and vibrant design choices, smoothly maneuvers the action. But earnestness is the enemy of hilarity. Hwang can be very witty, but how can the production let itself go when it’s so often being called upon to make an important point?

Linda Low (Krista Marie Yu), no longer Mei-Li’s rival for Ta’s hand in marriage, is now her ally. When she sings a middling version of “I Enjoy Being a Girl,” the joke isn’t on her but a society that leaves women so few options. The problem is that for Hwang to rebuild Mei-Li and Linda into characters of credible modern-day complexity, he would have to start from scratch, not just retooling the book but commissioning a new score to flesh out his more complicated vision. In other words, leaving Rodgers and Hammerstein’s musical behind.

“Brigadoon” manages to transcend time, but this take on “Flower Drum Song” falters between eras.

Current events are causing all sorts of problems, according to a currency exchange expert

Brits heading abroad this summer are being given a new warning.

Towards the close of last week, Sterling dropped to a three-week low against the Euro and a five-week low against the US Dollar, spelling trouble for Britons travelling overseas. The decline, according to a foreign exchange expert, stems from two key factors.

Tony Redondo, founder of Newquay-based Cosmos Currency Exchange, explained: “Firstly, markets are worried that Britain is heading towards a period of political instability. Secondly, they are worried about how the UK economy will cope with an expected rise in inflation.

“Though inflation fell to 2.8% today, it is expected to rise, potentially sharply, in the months ahead as the impact of rising oil prices due to the conflict in the Middle East hits the UK economy in full. If markets believe higher inflation makes UK gilts a not–so-safe bet, that will apply further downward pressure on Sterling.”

Tony noted the weakened Pound was hammering holidaymakers venturing abroad, as their money was now “plummeting” in value against currencies like the Euro and Dollar – a situation that “could get worse in the weeks and months ahead”.

However, he highlighted that a struggling domestic economy and Sterling’s persistent fragility was prompting an increasing number of businesses to fundamentally reconsider how and where they sell their services.

Tony added: “If they’re anything, the UK’s businesses are resilient and proving they can adapt. During 2026 to date, we’ve seen a sharp rise in UK businesses moving away from difficult domestic conditions and looking for customers overseas.

“Rather than having all their eggs in one UK economic basket, a growing percentage of UK firms are now marketing and selling their products and services online to customers in Europe, America, Canada, Australia and even Singapore and Hong Kong.

“If there’s one silver lining to the weak UK economy, it’s that many traditionally domestic UK small businesses have become international ones, as they cast their nets ever wider in search of customers and profit.

“The ability to ply your trade internationally has never been easier and it can massively boost a company’s bottom line.”

SACRAMENTO — Human rights advocates on Tuesday rallied outside the state Capitol to push back on Gov. Gavin Newsom’s proposed budget plan to reduce state-sponsored healthcare coverage for undocumented immigrants.

“We are here to demand a budget that protects California’s values,” said Kiran Savage-Sangwan, executive director of California Pan-Ethnic Health Network. “We are fighting for a budget that rejects Medi-Cal cuts, seeks new revenues and strengthens our safety net reserve to keep families whole.”

Newsom last week unveiled his revised budget proposal, which would further move away from his previous policy to provide free healthcare coverage to all low-income undocumented immigrants.

His proposal would require monthly premiums for undocumented immigrants receiving coverage from Medi-Cal, the state’s version of the federal Medicaid program. It would also continue to block new adult applications, a cutback imposed last year.

The governor has explained that his original policy was more costly than expected and that difficult decisions must be made as the state could soon face an economic downturn.

Speakers at Tuesday’s rally argued this was unacceptable.

The cuts would force many immigrants to choose between putting food on the table or visiting a doctor, said Savage-Sangwan. She said certain groups, including refugees, older adults and those with disabilities, would be left especially vulnerable.

“These are the kinds of actions we would expect from a federal government that scapegoats immigrants and sends violent ICE forces to terrorize our community,” she said. “Instead, these proposals were made by our own governor in a state that claims to value immigrant communities. We know California is better than this.”

The governor’s office did not respond to a request for comment about the rally.

The event drew about 100 attendees, including Anahi Araiza, a policy researcher with Imperial Valley Equity and Justice. She told The Times that many immigrants in their community struggle to afford medical care and subsequently put off doctor visits.

“They wait until it’s an absolute emergency,” she said. “We’ve heard stories where people delay care and then get diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer.”

The event was supported by several organizations, including California Pan-Ethnic Health Network, Survivors of Torture International, Communities Organized for Relational Power in Action, Health4All Coalition, and Organizing Rooted in Abolition, Liberation and Empowerment.

One man carried a large sign with an image of the Virgin Mary that read “Safety Net For All.” Other marchers donned flowing monarch butterfly wings. The orange-and-black insect became a symbol for the pro-migrant movement years ago because it travels long distances between Mexico and the United States.

Meanwhile, another group gathered outside the Capitol for a news conference to raise awareness about the instability caused by federal healthcare cuts.

Assemblymembers Patrick Ahrens (D-Sunnyvale), Robert Garcia (D-Rancho Cucamonga) and Tina S. McKinnor (D-Hawthorne) joined several doctors and nurses to call for a $500-million state investment into public hospitals.

“Public hospitals are the backbone of our healthcare system,” Ahrens said. “It is estimated that federal cuts will strip over $3 billion a year from the California public hospital system — we cannot balance our budget on the backs of the most vulnerable Californians.”

The Republican-backed “Big Beautiful Bill” signed by President Trump last year shifted federal funding away from safety-net programs and toward tax cuts and immigration enforcement. During a legislative hearing this year, healthcare professionals warned state lawmakers the cuts would harm all patients, including those with private insurance.

Arsenal have ended a 22-year wait to be crowned Premier League champions after Manchester City were held 1-1 by Bournemouth.

Mikel Arteta’s men held off the challenge of Pep Guardiola’s second-place City on Tuesday night to seal a long-awaited triumph with one game to spare.

Here are the key factors that helped the Gunners finally get over the line after three seasons as runners-up:

Back to basics

Arsenal’s title-winning campaign has been ugly at times. For a couple of seasons, Arteta’s Arsenal have been the emblem of a more back-to-basics approach in English football.

The era of pretty passing under Guardiola and heavy-metal football under Jurgen Klopp has given way to set pieces, long throw-ins and long balls from the back.

It is a world Arsenal have mastered with Gabriel Magalhaes a menace at corners, Declan Rice key with his pinpoint throws and dead-ball deliveries, and Victor Gyokeres a more robust out-and-out striker.

Often derided by rival fans as “Set Piece FC” for a lack of creativity, specialist coach Nicolas Jover has devised a series of inventive schemes to give Arsenal an edge.

More than 40 percent of the Gunners’ Premier League goals this season have come from dead ball situations. Of their 28 goals from set pieces, 18 have come from corners, a new single-season Premier League record.

Meanwhile, the Gunners easily have the best defensive record in the league, conceding just 26 goals in 37 games this season, and it is that solidity and sturdiness that will define this title-winning team.

Rice’s leadership, Raya’s saves, Gyokeres’s goals

Rice and goalkeeper David Raya have stood out for Arsenal this season, putting them among the favourites for English football’s Player of the Year award.

Rice’s leadership, energy in midfield and set-piece delivery have made him an integral member of the team and one of England’s key players heading into the World Cup.

Raya has helped Arsenal keep 19 clean sheets, earning him the Golden Glove award for the third straight year.

“David Raya, for me, has to be the player of the season,” former Arsenal captain Patrick Vieira told Sky Sports. “I think he was outstanding from the first game until the end of the season. I think he was really impressive.”

Throw in Gyokeres scoring 21 goals in all competitions in his first season at the club and it is clear that Arteta has built the most well-rounded team of his tenure.

Strength in depth

Injuries played a ruinous role in Arsenal’s failed pursuit of Liverpool last season.

The decision to invest heavily in bulking out Arteta’s squad paid off this season despite injuries to Saka, Magalhaes, Martin Odegaard, Kai Havertz and Jurrien Timber.

New signings Gyokeres, Eberechi Eze, Martin Zubimendi, Noni Madueke, Piero Hincapie and Cristhian Mosquera have all made significant contributions to get Arsenal over the line in the Premier League and within one game of winning the Champions League for the first time.

Unorthodox methods

Finishing as runners-up in the Premier League for the past three years saw Arsenal’s players and Arteta derided as “nearly men”, even chokers, by many football pundits.

An alternative view is that it built up the prerequisite experience and resolve to finally launch a successful tilt at the title.

Arteta kept believing in his squad – and kept coming up with unorthodox, ridicule-inviting methods to inspire his players. A professional pickpocket was reportedly hired for a preseason dinner and took items from players, highlighting the need for them to be alert at all times.

Arteta brought a lightbulb into the locker room before one game, linking that to his demand for the team to shine and light up Emirates Stadium. Just a few weeks ago, TikTok videos featuring fan chants were played on big screens during practice sessions.

Arsenal have been mentally tougher this season, holding on after yet another strong start to the campaign and seeing it through to the end despite City’s trademark late-season rally.

Faltering rivals

Arsenal accumulated more points two years ago when they were pipped to the title by City despite winning 16 of their final 18 games.

Over the past decade, City and Liverpool have often set the bar high, winning the league with more than 90 points.

This time, 82 was enough to see Arsenal over the line.

Despite taking the title race into the final week of the campaign, City lacked the same consistency and relentlessness of Guardiola’s best sides while Liverpool’s title defence imploded.

On Tuesday night, fans gathered outside the stadium and nearby pubs while rivals Manchester City played Bournemouth, needing a win to keep the title race alive.

In the end, Pep Guardiola’s side could only draw – confirming Arsenal as champions for the first time in 22 years.

As the full-time whistle went on the south coast, there was an explosion of cheer in pubs across north London as Arsenal fans celebrated a moment they felt, after recent title near misses, might never come.

Arsenal legend Ian Wright, who scored 185 times for the club and won the title in 1998, was mobbed by fans as he celebrated outside the Emirates.

There were celebrations also at the Gunners’ training ground.

That is where the Arsenal squad had gathered for the evening and, much as in the pubs, the final whistle was greeted by huge celebrations. Players and staff danced and hugged while chanting: “Campeones, Campeones, Ole Ole Ole!”

Last month, Arsenal captain Declan Rice was seen insisting “it’s not done” after the Gunners lost to Manchester City. But on Tuesday, with the title race decided, he posted a picture on social media of players celebrating, captioned: “It’s done.”

The title win came in Mikel Arteta’s seventh year in charge, and underlined just what can be achieved if a manager is given time.

“Mikel Arteta’s been there a long period of time. The best gift you can give a good manager is time,” former Premier League goalkeeper Paul Robinson told BBC Radio 5 Live.

“Yes you can give them hundreds of millions of pounds but you have to mould that money into a team, into a dressing room, a winning side.

“You give a good manager time? There’s the proof.”

SUSPICIOUS Katy Price fans claim to have spotted her missing hubby “active” on social media, despite him being AWOL for nearly a week.

Lee Andrews lost contact with his distraught wife last week, after sending her a late night text claiming he’d been arrested and taken to a hostile “black site”.

But minutes later, he backtracked, alleging he’d in fact been “kidnapped”, bundled into the back of a van and taken to an ominous detention facility.

Katie shared the couple’s bewildering WhatsApp exchange with The Sun in a frantic bid to track down the Dubai-based businessman.

The Criminal Investigation Department confirmed that no one by Lee’s name had been detained.

The sketchy self-proclaimed millionaire is reportedly banned from leaving the country, after serving time at Dubai’s Al-Awir Prison for alleged financial fraud last October. 

Read more Showbiz

TRUTH ABOUT LEE

Katie Price’s conman hubby EXPOSED as Sun’s Clemmie catches him red-handed

‘I’M IN A VAN!’

Katie Price reveals final texts sent by conman hubby as he was ‘arrested’

With fans already suspicious of Lee’s whereabouts and a dodgy track record, what should the star believe?

Have your say in our exclusive poll.

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ALL aboard for a summer of family fun at Drayton Manor Resort, where Sun readers can grab up to four tickets to the UK’s best-value theme park and zoo.

There are 10,000 FREE tickets up for grabs, plus another 90,000 tickets for just £20 — that is the lowest price you will anywhere, and that’s guaranteed!

With over 50 thrilling rides and attractions, plus a 15-acre zoo all in one destination. It is the perfect place for unforgettable family adventures and shared experiences. 

Join Sun Club for just £1.99 a month — don’t miss out.

From adrenaline-filled rollercoasters to family rides designed for all ages, there’s excitement around every corner, including guests under 90cm tall.

Younger guests can explore the magical world of Thomas Land™, Europe’s only Thomas & Friends™ themed area, featuring 25 rides and attractions inspired by the beloved characters from the Island of Sodor.

Families can also explore Drayton Manor’s zoo, home to animals from around the world, where they can swap rollercoasters for unforgettable animal experiences without ever leaving the park, making it both fun and educational.

Whether you are planning a big family day out, celebrating a special occasion or simply looking for a memorable adventure, Drayton Manor Theme Park & Zoo offers epic family fun.

How to get four tickets to Drayton Manor Resort

To secure your seats, follow the steps below:

Step 1: Download the Sun Savers app or sign up at sunsavers.co.uk

Step 2: Go to the Offers section on the app or website and click Start Collecting on the Drayton Manor Resort page.

Step 3: Once you have FOUR out of 12 Sun Savers codes. We will print one daily from Saturday, May 23 to Wednesday, June 3.

Step 4: Once you have collected FOUR Sun Savers codes, enter them on Sun Savers to unclock booking from 11am Tuesday, May 26. Click the Redeem code button and get your unique code, then book tickets on the Drayton Manor website by midnight Tuesday, June 23.

Or join Sun Club at thesun.co.uk/club for just £1.99 a month. Head to the Drayton Manor Resort page on Sun Club hub. Click the Redeem code button and get your unique code, then book tickets on the Drayton Manor Resort website by midnight Tuesday, July 21.

Tickets are available from the start of June until the end of September, excluding August.

18+ UK only (exc. IoM & CI). Sun Savers multiple code collect 23/05/26-03/06/26 or subscription to Sun Club or Digital Newspaper required. Booking closes 23/06/26 (Sun Savers/Digital Newspaper) and 21/07/26 (Sun Club). Tickets available from 01/06/23 – 30/09/26 excluding August, 2026. Non-transferable & non-refundable. Subject to availability, daily allocation limits apply. Limit of 4 tickets per person (maximum 2 free tickets). New customer offer: £1.99 per month or £12 per year unless you cancel at least seven days before your next billing date. Full T&Cs apply, see sunsavers.co.uk or club.thesun.co.uk/sun-club.

Join Sun Club for just £1.99 a month — don’t miss out.

Nearly three months after the United States and Israel launched their large-scale bombing campaign against Iran and about six weeks since the April 8 ceasefire took effect, President Trump faces an inflection point. Does he return to war? Maintain the ceasefire and U.S. blockade on Iranian ports in the hope of cutting a deal on American terms? Or drop his maximalist negotiating stance?

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), an informal foreign policy advisor for the White House, continues to press for more aggressive U.S. military action. Trump’s political advisors would prefer that the war end as soon as possible to minimize political repercussions against the Republican Party in a midterm election year.

Trump seems conflicted. Despite weeks of U.S. bombardment and an ongoing naval blockade, Tehran is as protective of its nuclear program today as it was before the war began. “For Iran, the Clock is Ticking, and they better get moving, FAST, or there won’t be anything left of them,” Trump wrote on Truth Social over the weekend. A day later, Trump took to the social media platform again to announce he suspended planned U.S. attacks on Iran to give talks more time.

Unfortunately for Trump, he’s proved to be his own worst enemy on this subject. Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium and Tehran’s effective control of the Strait of Hormuz, the regime’s two biggest cards, are a byproduct of Trump’s own policy decisions.

The first is a clear indictment of Trump’s first-term order to withdraw the United States from the Obama-era Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, a highly technical accord that put Iran’s nuclear work in a box by restricting the number and quality of centrifuges it could use, capped the amount of enriched uranium it could produce and compelled Tehran to ship 97% of its stockpile out of the country. When the Trump administration scrapped that hard-won deal, Iran responded by enriching more nuclear material at a faster pace and accumulating the very stockpile the Trump administration is now seeking to neutralize.

The Strait of Hormuz, Iran’s second card, would not even be an issue today if the Trump administration had refrained from going to war in the first place. On Feb. 27, the day before the conflict began, more than 150 tankers and vessels traveled through the strait. The international waterway was open for business.

Not so today. On Thursday, a grand total of three crossings were registered in the waterway. This collapse of commerce is a consequence of Iran’s ability to harass civilian tankers so much that shipping companies no longer view the journey as worth the cost. As Adm. Brad Cooper, the top U.S. commander in the Middle East, testified to the Senate Armed Services Committee on Thursday: “The Iranian capability to stop commerce has been dramatically depleted through the strait, but their voice is very loud. And those threats are clearly heard by the merchant industry and insurance industry.”

By virtue of his own actions, Trump is now left with a series of policy options that range from least bad to terrible. None of them are ideal, and all of them carry some risk.

For starters, Trump could resume the war. Any renewed U.S. bombing campaign would probably expand the U.S. military’s original set of targets to include a portion of Iran’s energy infrastructure, which Trump has threatened repeatedly to hit. A U.S. invasion of Kharg Island, where 90% of Iran’s oil processing takes place, might also be up for discussion. The aim would be to destroy Iran’s remaining military capabilities and further squeeze its oil revenue until Tehran’s strategic calculus on the war shifts to Washington’s liking.

Yet there are no guarantees that doubling down on military force will work. Trump’s entire strategy has relied on a baseline assumption: The more punitive the United States is, the more likely Tehran will be to cave. Yet that simply hasn’t occurred. If anything, Iran is more dug in now than it was in the opening days of the conflict. For the regime, capitulating to Trump is as dangerous as losing the war. Why would more bombing succeed where previous bombing failed?

The risks of additional U.S. military action are considerable as well. Before the ceasefire, Iran was launching ballistic missiles and attack drones across multiple gulf Arab states, hitting Qatar’s largest natural gas processing facility, Saudi Arabia’s east-west oil pipeline and Dubai’s luxurious high-rises. As the Iranians have stated, such attacks will not only resume if Trump orders a resumption of the war but will expand to new targets, including desalination facilities and nuclear power plants. Such strikes would raise global oil and gas prices to even more absurd levels, adding to the extra $40 billion the American people are already paying for fuel since the war began.

What about continuing the status quo? While this contingency would be less costly than another round of bombing or a U.S. ground invasion, it’s unclear whether it would help or hurt negotiations toward a settlement. There’s a possibility that extending the U.S. blockade of Iranian ports could merely reaffirm the regime’s earlier decision to preserve its own shutdown of the strait. Iran is now urging Washington to end its blockade before talks on the nuclear file can be held. And it’s a mystery whether Trump’s blockade is working anyway; the U.S. intelligence community assesses that Iran could withstand this pressure point for three to four more months, which may be too long for Trump to sustain given the oil disruptions that are bound to get worse.

Striking an agreement to end the war, return the strait to open traffic and restrict Iran’s nuclear program would be the most beneficial policy for the United States with the least amount of cost attached — not quite undoing the harm from Trump’s first-term decision to scrap the nuclear deal and his second-term decision to start a war. U.S. and Iranian negotiators are passing proposals back and forth as we speak. But as of now, Trump can’t stomach agreeing to a deal that covers some of Iran’s terms, including but not limited to a shorter suspension of enriched uranium and some kind of Iranian role in the management of the strait. Even if Trump did reassess his position, he would be forced to confront the hawks in his political coalition who would consider anything short of Iran’s total surrender a failure.

In short, Trump is in an unenviable position. He’s got nobody to blame but himself.

Daniel R. DePetris is a fellow at Defense Priorities and a syndicated foreign affairs columnist.

Petr Vlachovsky, ⁠a Czech women’s football club coach who filmed players in changing rooms, has been banned for life.

European football’s governing body says it has issued a lifetime ban ⁠to Petr Vlachovsky, ⁠a Czech women’s football coach who secretly filmed his players.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, UEFA’s Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Body (CEDB) said it had decided to ban Vlachovsky “from exercising any football-related activity for life” following an investigation into allegations of potential misconduct.

“The CEDB further decided to request FIFA to extend the abovementioned ban on a worldwide level and to order the Football Association of the Czech Republic to revoke Mr Petr Vlachovsky’s coaching licence,” the statement added.

Czech media reported that the coach was convicted in ⁠May 2025 and initially received a suspended one-year prison sentence and a five-year domestic coaching ban for filming FC Slovacko’s players in changing rooms, the youngest of ⁠whom was 17. According to the indictment cited by the Czech media, Vlachovsky confessed and expressed regret.

Vlachovsky had also previously served as coach of the Czech women’s Under-19 team.

“This is a deeply serious and distressing matter which came to light ⁠in 2023 and had a significant impact on our club, ⁠and above all on the players affected,” a spokesperson for FC Slovacko told the Reuters news agency.

“From the moment we became aware of the allegations, the club acted immediately, terminated its cooperation with the former coach, and ⁠cooperated with the relevant authorities.

“Throughout this process, the club has regarded itself as an injured party and has treated the ⁠matter with the utmost seriousness, sensitivity and respect for ⁠those affected.”

Football players’ union FIFPRO welcomed the ban as well as UEFA’s request for world football governing body FIFA to impose an international ban on Vlachovsky.

“This outcome sends a strong and necessary message that abusive and inappropriate behaviour has no place in football and ‌that ‌safeguarding the wellbeing of players must remain a priority at every level of the game,” FIFPRO added in a statement.

A nationwide transport strike in Kenya over surging fuel prices, blamed on the United States-Israeli war on Iran, has been suspended for a week after four people were killed in mass protests against the increases.

Kenya, one of many African countries heavily reliant on fuel imports from the Gulf, has raised petrol prices by 20 percent and diesel by almost 40 percent since Iran in effect blocked traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a key chokepoint that normally handles about a fifth of the world’s oil.

The strike was launched on Monday by transport operators, particularly the “matatu” bus operators who provide most of Kenya’s public transport, in response to the latest sharp fuel price hike.

“The strike that is going on is suspended for a period of one week to provide an avenue for consultations and negotiations between the government and stakeholders,” interior minister Kipchumba Murkomen told reporters on Tuesday.

Albert Karakacha, the president of Matatu Owners Association, confirmed the suspension.

Authorities said four people were killed and more than 30 were injured nationwide on Monday. Police said on Tuesday that more than 700 people had been arrested in connection with the protests over fuel price increases.

Rights groups condemned the use of lethal force by security forces, with Amnesty International calling for “maximum restraint”.

The unrest also disrupted Kenya’s main trade corridor, with local media reporting that truck drivers had refused to move cargo amid fears their vehicles could be attacked and set alight by demonstrators.

The national energy regulator said last week the government had spent $38.5m to cushion consumers from rising diesel and kerosene costs.

In a further emergency measure, Kenyan authorities last month temporarily suspended fuel quality standards in a bid to maintain supplies amid growing shortages.

Despite being one of East Africa’s most dynamic economies, Kenya still has deep structural inequalities: about a third of its roughly 50 million people live in poverty and unemployment remains high.

A British tourist has praised a hotel for taking action against guests who try and hog empty sunbeds by reserving them with towels. She said she witnessed something that was worth highlighting

Many of us relish a holiday abroad, but one issue that never fails to cause a headache is the notorious sunbed wars. One woman recently claimed she witnessed the drama firsthand, reportedly in Greece, and couldn’t speak highly enough of the way the hotel handled it.

The British tourist, known as WelshTaiTai on TikTok, shared footage of what unfolded during her sun-soaked holiday. While most of us cherish the chance to travel, the age-old habit of reserving sunbeds can quickly spiral into chaos, rows and wholly unnecessary stress when you’re supposed to be unwinding.

It’s hardly a new debate either. In previous years, images have surfaced of holidaymakers literally camped out to stake their claim on a sunbed.

In the video, she described some guests as being “naughty”, claiming there’s a sign at her hotel clearly stating that sunbeds must not be reserved. It politely requests that guests refrain from leaving towels on the beds to stop others from using them.

Yet some guests chose to ignore the rule, prompting the hotel to reportedly take matters into its own hands. Staff are said to have gathered up all the offending towels and draped them over a wall, freeing up the sunbeds for other guests to enjoy.

Alongside the clip, she wrote: “POV: You wake up early for the perfect pool day only to find every sunbed ‘reserved’ with a random towel and nobody in sight. Then the hotel staff start removing the abandoned towels and suddenly people appear from nowhere acting shocked.

“If you’re not actually using the sunbed… you don’t own it. Simple.”

The clip has racked up hundreds of views, with many viewers quick to share their thoughts in the comments section, offering a wide range of opinions.

One wrote: “Wish every hotel would do this.” Another added: “Needs to be carried out in every hotel. I look for reviews and if this happens, I won’t book.”

A third chimed in: “Give those staff a raise. Just back from Majorca, where people were out at 5.30am reserving beds. Their towels were in the pool by 6.30am when the cleaners arrived to sort the beds etc. These guys are heroes.”

Meanwhile, a fourth remarked: “I would book a hotel purely on this rule.” Yet another observer noted: “Need more of this. You work 52 weeks and spend three weeks trying to get a sunbed.”

Others described it as “excellent” that the hotel had taken action to put a stop to “sunbed wars”, with many agreeing the policy should be adopted far more widely.

What you need to know

If this is news to you, hotels are well within their rights to prevent guests from reserving sunbeds, and many already have policies in place to tackle the problem.

Various methods are employed by hotels to address the issue. Some instruct staff to remove unattended towels, while others encourage guests to use booking apps to ensure fair access.

Such measures exist to stop guests from “hogging” beds — an all-too-familiar frustration that nobody wants to deal with while on holiday.

A visitor has filed a $5-million lawsuit against Disneyland for allegedly failing to properly disclose the use of facial-recognition technology at park and collecting sensitive data on guests.

Summer Christine Duffield of Riverside County filed the lawsuit after a May 10 visit to Disneyland and sister park California Adventure, alleging that the resort violates privacy and consumer protection laws collecting biometric data of visitors, without adequate consent.

“Disney does not adequately disclose the use of their biometric collection, so consumers — which almost always include children — have no idea that Disney is collecting this highly sensitive data,” the plaintiff noted in the lawsuit. “Guests should be able to expressly opt in to this type of sensitive facial recognition technology with written consent — the onus of privacy rights should not be on the victim.”

The suit was filed on May 15 in U.S. District Court in New York. The lawsuit cites an article from The Times on consumer reaction to Disney’s use of facial recognition.

The Walt Disney Company didn’t respond to a request for comment.

“People are getting fed up with being force-fed new tech, new AI, new tracking tools,” said Ari Waldman, Professor of Law at the UC Irvine.

Walt Disney Co. rolled out its facial recognition technology in late April across Disneyland Resort to verify tickets. The way it works is guests’ faces are scanned, converted into a numerical identifier and matched with ticket data.

Disney’s privacy policy notes that the identifiers created for identification are deleted within 30 days unless they need to be kept for legal or fraud prevention purposes.

Guests who don’t want to use the technology can enter through a separate entrance marked with a silhouette of a head and shoulders with a slash through it. However, of the dozens of lines to enter Disneyland and California Adventure, there were only four that didn’t use facial recognition, during an April visit.

The sign saying “Use of this technology is optional,” adorn the security checkpoint entrances.

“This technology facilitates ease of reentry into our parks and helps prevent fraud,” the company noted in its website.

Use of facial recognition technology for crowd management and ticketing has become increasingly commonplace.

Dodger Stadium deploys facial recognition for guests using the “Go Ahead Entry” at certain gates without producing a physical or digital ticket to enter the stadium. At Intuit Dome in Inglewood, visitors can use “GameFaceID” to quickly move through a separate lane with their face as their ID.

The lawsuit comes at a time when there is increasing concern of surveillance in public places, and privacy advocates have rallied against the normalization of surveillance. More recently, concerns of the potentially abusive use of artificial intelligence by government to analyze large quantities of data — from texts to facial scans — to surveil U.S citizens resulted in a high-profile showdown between the Pentagon and Anthropic.

FOR cheap all-inclusive holidays, one destination in Europe has just been revealed as most affordable spot for summer this year.

TravelSupermarket has found that one spot along the Bulgarian coastline that’s the ideal for spot families with pretty beaches and hotels with aqua parks.

Follow The Sun’s award-winning travel team on Instagram and Tiktok for top holiday tips and inspiration @thesuntravel.

Making a change for 2026, TravelSupermarket has totted up the prices and found that Bulgaria has knocked Tunisia off its perch for cheapest destinations this summer.

A week in the Bourgas Area averages out at just £553per person.

The Bourgas Area is along the Black Sea coast in southeastern Bulgaria – and a few places might be familiar to Brits.

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Our travel experts’ best-kept-secret UK holiday spots for summer – from £37 a night

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FREE and cheap family days out and activities across the UK for May half term

The major city of the region is Burgas, but most will recognise the name Sunny Beach.

It’s Bulgaria’s largest holiday resort with almost five miles of golden sandy coast and plenty of nightlife.

On TravelSupermarket, all-inclusive holidays to Sunny Beach in the week beginning June 15 cost as little as £249pp.

In July during the summer holidays, all-inclusive breaks increase to around £529pp.

One favourite spotted by Sun Travel is to the DIT Evrika Beach Club Hotel which is perfect for families with young children.

The hotel has multiple swimming pools and even an aqua park with flumes.

It has six bars, five restaurants and plenty of entertainment throughout the day and during the evening.

A seven-night all-inclusive break for a family of four departing on June 22 costs £562per person.

Other popular spots in the area include the historic town of Sozopol and Nessebar.

Nessebar is known for its history, seaside and charming cobblestone streets.

On the approach is The Windmill of Nessebar, which was built in the 19th century and is a symbol of the town’s rich maritime history.

Here, the average price of an ice cream is £1.20, a family meal is priced around £28, and a three course dinner for two costs just £22.

In a surprise change of events, Tunisia, which was last year’s number one cheapest destination has dropped out of the top 10 entirely.

Meanwhile Rhodes, Majorca and Dalaman are all cheaper than they were last summer, with savings of up to £91 per person.

The pretty island of Menorca takes second place at an average of £588 per person, with Turkey‘s Bodrum Area close behind in third at £591.

Turkey‘s Antalya Area follows in fourth at £604, and Greek favourite Rhodes rounds out the top five at £608 per person.

Chris Webber, Head of Holidays and Deals at TravelSupermarket, said: “Bulgaria taking the crown this year is a real moment. The Bourgas Area — home to Sunny Beach and Burgas — has long been one of the most affordable spots on the Black Sea, but seeing it leapfrog Tunisia to top the all-inclusive rankings shows just how much value it’s offering British holidaymakers right now.

“It’s also striking that Tunisia, which held the top two spots last summer, doesn’t make the top 10 this year — a reminder that the cheapest destinations can shift year on year.

“The good news for anyone heading back to old favourites is that Rhodes, Majorca and Dalaman are all still in the top ten, and are noticeably cheaper than they were last summer.”

TravelSupermarket analysed all-inclusive holidays between 1–20 April 2026 for trips departing May–September 2026, across all star ratings, durations and traveller groups.

The Bob Baker Marionette Theater was about to debut its first new production in 45 years, and it was uncertain whether one of the show’s signature new puppets would even work. A pelican, with an oversized bucket-like beak, was in need of last-minute maintenance.

This gangly bird, designed to hop, skip, soar and sing to Clarence Henry’s mid-’50s rhythm and blues hit “Ain’t Got No Home,” was supposed to surprise the audience, as its elongated bill is actually hiding a frog. Getting the pelican-frog duo to perform in unison was a feat of mechanical artistry for the team, not to mention the choreography needed by the puppeteer.

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And in the minutes before showtime, director Alex Evans was trying to stay calm. In such moments, he would say later, he only need remind himself of an old adage in the puppet arts.

“Puppets,” he says, “break all the time.”

With that, he was ready to embrace the unknown.

“I always say I love the chaos of live theater,” Evans says. “We got to believe in this thing.”

“Choo Choo Revue,” the latest in a long line of song-and-dance productions, is arriving at a momentous time for the Bob Baker Marionette Theater. Just last month the troupe announced its intent to purchase its venue on Highland Park’s York Boulevard for $5 million, doing so as it was gearing up for performances at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. The latter went viral, a fact Evans attributes to many of the first week shows of “Choo Choo Revue” selling out.

An organist plays while people file into the premiere of “Choo Choo Revue” at the Bob Baker Marionette Theater.

In many ways, “Choo Choo Revue” is a statement piece. Evans, who also serves as co-executive director with Mary Fagot, wants to place the spotlight on the theater’s current crop of artists, fabricators and collaborators. While the show pays tribute in many ways to the theater’s legendary namesake founder, perhaps most notably in its use of his vintage record collection, it’s time, Evans says, for the Bob Baker Marionette Theater’s next generation to shine.

Evans was instrumental in the decision to shift the team away from the previously announced production of “Arabian Nights,” a project once spearheaded by Baker, who died in 2014. Just ahead of the arrival of the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, the theater had gone so far as to print an “Arabian Nights” program, and had finished sets and puppets ready to go.

“Choo Choo Revue” is the first new Bob Baker Marionette show since 1981’s “Hooray LA!”

During the forced closure, however, the team began to rethink its future. “It was a deep-breath time to do some internal thinking about who we are and what we want to prioritize,” says Evans, who joined the company in 2007 as a volunteer and became a staffer in 2009.

“The first new show in 40 years — us finishing one of Bob’s shows would have been deeply personal and meaningful, but it would have kept the narrative, internally and externally, that this was one person’s vision,” Evans says. “‘Choo Choo’ is the culmination of so many different ideas and people. It was purposefully about opening the floodgates, that Bob Baker could be more than just the person of Bob Baker.”

It wasn’t a sure thing the Bob Baker Marionette Theater would even reach this milestone. For much of the past decade — since about the death of the theater’s patriarch — the narrative surrounding the theater was one of survival.

In 2019, the Bob Baker Marionette Theater needed a lifeline. Forced out of its edge-of-downtown home of more than 55 years, the beloved troupe with its thousands of handcrafted puppets — a saucy black cat in heels, a fish out of water that can’t help but wiggle — ultimately found a new location in a Highland Park theater, where it signed a 10-year lease.

Then came the pandemic, when the theater relied heavily on community fundraising to cover its rent. California, and Hollywood in particular, has a rich puppetry tradition. Bob Baker Marionette Theater likes to refer to itself as the largest ongoing puppet theater in the U.S. The oldest puppet space in the country resides up north in Oakland at amusement park Children’s Fairyland. And in 2020, Bob Baker found it had many fans, asking at one point to raise $365,000 over the course of a year. It did so in four weeks.

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1. L Castro twirls a marionette. 2. The audience gives a round of applause after the premiere of “Choo Choo Revue.” 3. People stand in line for the premiere of “Choo Choo Revue” at the Bob Baker Marionette Theatre. (Carlin Stiehl/For The Times)

Old favorites, including the theater’s famed black cat marionette, make appearances in “Choo Choo Revue.”

But it was the long process of buying its home, namely the belief that it would be in Highland Park to stay, that gave the company the confidence that it could go forward with a new show. The obvious question, of course, is why it took 40 years for a completely fresh Bob Baker experience. Evans gives a long answer, pointing to numerous hurdles, be it the shift in locations, the cost of preserving its historic puppets and collection, as well as just managing priorities.

“It’s not necessarily a financial hurdle,” Evans says, noting “Choo Choo Revue” cost $300,000, with about half of that sum dedicated to the creation of new puppets and scenery.

“I think it was more about priorities,” Evans says. “Like, do we get the staff healthcare first, or do we do a new show first? So we got the staff healthcare. Or do we give the stage better lighting.”

As for how and why the team settled on “Choo Choo Revue” as its first production since 1981’s “Hooray LA!,” Evans says not to overthink it.

“It made me giggle,” he says. “It was a jumping off point to imagination. ‘Choo Choo Revue,’ by name itself, I thought to giggle.”

The show is a fantastical representation of a cross-country train trip, filled with adorable puppet trains.

A meticulously detailed log with windows, for instance, or a car that seems to balance natural, mountainous wonders on its back. They’re colorful playthings, at least until the background scenery starts depicting various locomotive styles. Puppeteers will whisk train cars out into the open, each often housing a fantastical creature — a moose, for instance, who takes a break from knitting to prance around to a rendition of the on-theme traditional blues ditty “Midnight Special.”

Behind it all are tens of thousands of hours of handcrafted proficiency. Each new puppet is a work of art. Take, for instance, a swarm of bats that seemed to glow in the dark (the creatures, created for “Choo Choo Revue,” made their debut during last year’s Halloween season).

The Bob Baker Marionette Theater created more than 100 new puppets for “Choo Choo Revue,” including a pelican hiding a frog in its beak.

Or an intricately detailed cicada band. They’re each playing tiny instruments — one a half-open sardine can, another a stringed matchbook. Their wings deserve a close inspection, as the translucent curved fixtures are inspired by stained glass windows. There are trees that ski, and train whistles with big lips and high heels, modeled after harmony group the Andrews Sisters. Wait till the latter toot off their tops, as each of the 100 new puppets is full of surprises.

“We get a bunch of different artists together, and we all brainstorm,” Evans says of the creation process. “Like, ‘Let’s all think for a second about anthropomorphizing trains.’ We did a series of sketches and showed them to each other. I honestly probably have a thousand different fascinating ideas for train movement.”

On opening night, the crowd claps along to the numbers, cheering with delight at each new piece of whimsy that rolls or soars onto the floor-level stage. And as for the showstopping pelican, the frog erupts out of its beak right on cue, a moment that indeed inspires a round of laughter and childlike awe.

As the imaginary train whisks the puppets around the country, the show manages to build anticipation just by making the crowd wonder what comes next. Say, for instance, a fluffy Sasquatch, or a crooner of a moon in pajamas singing an old-timey lullaby to all the little ones seated cross-legged on the floor.

Puppeteer Ginger Duncan twirls a marionette named Comedy.

Much of “Choo Choo Revue,” like the yawning, serenading moon, is rooted in the music of the past. That was a decision made to ensure the show feels in line with earlier Bob Baker works. Yet Evans says the team is emboldend after Coachella to start tackling more contemporary songs at its Highland Park headquarters. The crowd at the Indio festival, for instance, went wild for the puppets swooning to Ben Platt’s cover of Addison Rae’s hit tune “Diet Pepsi.”

“Honestly, if we had done Coachella last year, it would have pushed ‘Choo Choo’ further,” he says, noting he initially feared pop music could distract. “I didn’t think it could work in a way that wouldn’t throw you out of the show.”

And yet Evans doesn’t want to get ahead of himself. He nearly teared up at the end of the “Choo Choo Revue” premiere, saying the following afternoon that seeing this show come together after multiple years was second only to his 2025 wedding in terms of creating an “overwhelming feeling of pride, love and care.”

“Choo Choo Revue” culminates in a look toward the future. That’s when a sleek, silver, oversized high-speed bullet train arrives on the scene.

It can be read as a metaphor.

While the nonprofit is still seeking donor help — at the premiere, Fagot said the company now has secured $4.7 million toward its $5 million goal of buying the theater and it also hopes to raise an additional $2 million for building upgrades — its future is more secure than it has been at any time over the past decade.

At long last, the Bob Baker Marionette Theater can relax and look toward new horizons.

Evans, for instance, can’t help himself excitedly tease a potential next Bob Baker show. He says twice in the interview that the Olympics are on the troupe’s mind.

“We’ve got two years,” he says. And now the permanent home to house it.

The AHLA said hotels spent years preparing and have made “significant investments” based upon official projections.

A study commissioned by Fifa,, external released last year, predicted that in the US the World Cup could create 185,000 jobs, adding $17.2bn (£12.7bn) in gross domestic product.

The hotels were planning for an influx of international travellers, who book longer stays with a higher spend.

But the AHLA said fewer overseas fans “threatens the broader economic impact” with just over three weeks until the opening game on 11 June.

The AHLA said the large-scale bookings made by Fifa in all cities “shaped revenue forecasts, staffing plans and preparations”.

It said this booking policy “manufactured artificial demand” and masked the fact that tourist flow is going to be lower than predicted.

Up to 70% of rooms reserved by Fifa in Boston, Dallas, Los Angeles, Philadelphia and Seattle have been cancelled, the AHLA said.

In a statement Fifa rejected the AHLA’s claims and said it had followed agreements made with hotel chains.

“All room releases were conducted in line with contractually agreed timelines with hotel partners – a standard practice for an event of this scale,” a Fifa spokesperson said.

“In many cases, room releases were made ahead of established deadlines to further accommodate requests from hotels.

“Throughout the planning process, Fifa’s accommodations team maintained consistent discussions with hotel stakeholders, including room block adjustments, agreeing to rates, confirming room types and regular reporting, supported by townhall and ongoing communication.”

Prices spiked after the draw was made, as soon as fans knew which cities their teams would be in.

There has been a gradual fall since then, reportedly by a further 20% in recent weeks.

But this could be too late to entice fans back.

Hotel prices in cities like Boston are still more than $300 (£224) a night, and most fans are working to a lower budget.

Chris Hancock, an England fan who has been to four World Cups, told BBC Sport that his group of five are travelling on an accommodation budget of $75 (£56) per person per night.

They will hire a car in each city and book a mix of hotels and Airbnb accommodation between 45 minutes to an hour away.

“We always tend to stay out of town a little bit and cut the cost that way, so we’re not in the middle of Dallas, Boston or New York,” Hancock said.

“If you’re out of the city centres where everything’s happening, you can get some cheaper deals.

“We’re working within that budget. And at the minute we should be well under that.”

The AHLA told BBC Sport it “expects occupancy to strengthen in June and July”.

“We know that many fans are still waiting on tickets and schedules to become clearer before finalising plans,” a spokesperson said.

“We believe bookings will pick up in the weeks ahead. Hotels are ready to welcome guests and ensure that they have the best possible experience.”

Airbnb says the World Cup is on course to be the “biggest hosting event in Airbnb’s history”, overtaking the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Paris.

Hotels might need to rely on making gains in the knockout rounds, when fans have to make bookings at short notice.

But the World Cup seems unlikely to bring in the revenue that was being predicted.

May 20 (UPI) — In its eighth war powers resolution vote since the United States went to war with Iran, the U.S. Senate has advanced legislation seeking to curb President Donald Trump‘s ability to engage in conflict with Tehran.

Senate Democrats have repeatedly used War Power Resolution privileges to force votes on ending Trump’s use of military force in the Middle Eastern country without congressional approval and have vowed to continue to do so for as long as necessary.

In its eighth vote on the resolution Tuesday, Democrats were able to court enough Republican votes to advanced the measure in a 50-47 result, with three lawmakers not voting.

The Democratic victory is largely procedural, as it discharges the resolution from committee for floor consideration, limited debate and a final vote on whether to send it to the House for consideration.

The Democrats have slowly cobbled together a handful of Republican votes as the war and its effects on the economy drag on.

Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana cast the deciding vote to push the legislation over the threshold on Tuesday, days after thee 15-year-veteran lost the Republican primary to Rep. Julia Letlow, whom Trump endorsed in turning against Cassidy for voting to convict him during his second impeachment trial in 2021.

“While I support the administration’s efforts to dismantle Iran’s nuclear program, the White House and Pentagon have left Congress in the dark on Operation Epic Fury,” he said in a social media statement, referring to the Defense Department name for its military operation against Iran.

“In Louisiana, I’ve heard from people, including President Trump’s supporters, who are concerned about this war. Until the administration provides clarity, no congressional authorization or extension can be justified.”

Since the war began on Feb. 28 with the joint U.S.-Israeli attacks on Iran, Democrats have been accusing the Trump administration of waging an unlawful war, stating the Constitution mandates that only Congress can authorize such military force.

The president is required to end the use of U.S. forces after 60 days unless Congress authorizes the action or extends the deadline, which was May 1.

Trump argues the resolution effort is moot, stating the conflict is over, and pointing to the fragile cease-fire announced in April.

The cease-fire “gives you additional time,” he told reporters earlier this month, describing the Democrats behind the legislative effort as “not patriotic people.”

Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., the sponsor of Tuesday’s bill, said he was grateful that “enough of my colleagues stood up for the Constitution and listened to their constituents.”

“President Trump’s deeply unpopular war of choice in Iran has imposed a tremendous cost on the American people — including deaths and injuries of our service members and soaring gas prices,” he said in a statement.

The vote, he continued, sends “a strong message” to the Trump administration “that the American people aren’t interested in more war in the Middle East.”

The other three Republicans to vote in favor of the resolution were Sens. Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Rand Paul of Kentucky.

Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania has been the lone Democrat to consistently vote with the Republicans on this war powers measure.