Month: June 2026

AN English busway, hailed as the longest in the world, is on track to get a £150million upgrade.

Building work on the busway is set to begin in January 2027, with construction hoping to improve travel times and reliability for commuters.

Cambourne and Cambridge are set to become connected by the busway, as Cambridgeshire County Council announces they are searching for contractors.

Named the Cambourne to Cambridge busway, or the C2C, the service will span the 13.6km distance between the locations.

The journey becomes part of the Cambridgeshire Guided Busway, a rapid transit service that connects Cambridge, Huntingdon and St Ives.

It is currently the longest busway in the world at 25km long, beating the O-Bahn Busway in Adelaide, South Australia.

Plans will see a segregated guided busway with adjoining emergency and maintenance access tracks, including public transport stops between Cambourne and Cambridge.

A brand new Travel Hub, with a park and ride service, will also be constructed, providing spaces 2,000 spaces for cars, bikes, and coaches as part of the “turn up and go” scheme.

Constructing this busway aims to improve journey times and reliability of public transport, also creating jobs and more housing in the area.

The council estimates work to complete this upgrade will cost around £180million including VAT, and £150million without.

Now, interested contractors have until noon on July 2, 2026, to submit requests to participate in the construction, with the award decision date set for December.

It is hoped that construction will begin as early as January 4, 2027, and be completed in December 2030.

A GuruWalk study found the world’s most walkable destination for travellers fascinated by ancient history

The old adage that the best things in life are free rings particularly true when it comes to travel. Exploring a city on foot, rather than wrestling with bewildering public transport networks or splashing out on car hire, is one of the finest ways to immerse yourself in unfamiliar surroundings — and it won’t cost you a penny.

Free walking tours are a firm favourite amongst seasoned travellers as a brilliant way to get acquainted with a new city while soaking up a bit of local history.

Europe is brimming with historic cities where you can stroll between landmarks in just a few minutes, including Cordoba in Spain, whose magnificent Old Town has even earned UNESCO World Heritage status.

The ability to simply wander up to a World Heritage Site is a remarkable privilege that’s easy to overlook, yet far from an everyday occurrence. But when it comes to exploring your surroundings on foot, one European city — dubbed an “open-air museum” — stands head and shoulders above the rest as the ultimate walkable destination.

A study by GuruWalk, the world’s largest platform for free walking tours, has crowned Rome the most walkable destination on the planet for “travellers fascinated by ancient history”, drawing on the preferences of more than four million users of the platform.

The city’s historic centre is packed with unmissable sights, while its surrounding streets and winding cobblestone alleyways are frequently too narrow for traffic to navigate, making it an absolute must for exploring on foot.

Many of Rome’s most iconic attractions, including The Colosseum, the Pantheon and the Trevi Fountain are within a mere 20-minute stroll of one another, with countless stunning Baroque piazzas to pause at along the way.

The oldest surviving structure in Rome, the present-day Pantheon — which originally functioned as a temple dedicated to Roman deities — was finished in 126 AD and sits encircled by three of the city’s most cherished squares: Piazza Navona, Piazza di Spagna, and Campo de Fiori, reports the Express.

Reflecting on the awe-inspiring monument, one Tripadvisor reviewer remarked: “We didn’t get to go in so this review is only in regards to the outside. I thought it was so cool to see. You’re walking through a city and suddenly walk right next to this beautiful ancient structure. There’s so much history to it!”

Indeed, there’s no finer method of immersing yourself in Ancient Rome than by meandering through its storied streets. A visit to the Vatican — the heart of the Roman Catholic Church and location of one of the world’s grandest churches, St Peter’s Basilica — wouldn’t be complete without popping into the nearby Pizzarium.

This beloved Roman establishment, famed for its pizza al taglio (by the slice), is adored by both residents and tourists, and there’s an abundance more to discover while exploring — from velvety gelato and piping hot bowls of pasta to a crisp Aperol Spritz to round things off.

If you find yourself worn out from all that strolling, there’s plenty of coffee bars to choose from, but be aware that milky coffees are only deemed acceptable before 11am, with tradition suggesting it’s wise to order an espresso after that time.

According to GuruWalk’s 2026 top ranking for Rome, it stated: “Rome has captivated travellers for over 2,700 years thanks to its unparalleled historical legacy. Walking through its cobblestone alleyways reveals one treasure after another: the Colosseum, where gladiators battled before 50,000 spectators, the Pantheon with its unreinforced concrete dome that remains the largest in the world, and the baroque fountains that spring up at every corner. Every step transports you through empires, popes, and renaissances.”

GuruWalk’s top 10 walkable cities in 2026:

1. Rome, Italy
2. Madrid, Spain
3. Budapest, Hungary
4. Prague, Czech Republic
5. Lisbon, Portugal
6. Amsterdam, Netherlands
7. Porto, Portugal
8. Barcelona, Spain
9. London, United Kingdom
10. Berlin, Germany

The TWZ Newsletter

Weekly insights and analysis on the latest developments in military technology, strategy, and foreign policy.

The most recent flare-up of hostilities between the U.S. and Iran yet again highlights that while the future of Tehran’s nuclear ambitions remains at the heart of peace negotiations, the status of the Strait of Hormuz is the key flashpoint. On Tuesday, Tehran vowed retaliation a day after U.S. forces struck several targets in southern Iran on and near the Strait. Exacerbating the problems, another vessel was reportedly attacked near the mouth of the vital waterway on Tuesday.

These incidents are complicating work toward a peace deal amid an increasingly fragile ceasefire. After the start of the war on Feb. 28, the strategic chokepoint was closed to most traffic by Iran, which is now letting some vessels through under a new fee system that the U.S. vehemently rejects. The closure is having global economic impacts.

“Undoubtedly, the Islamic Republic of Iran will not leave any act of mischief unanswered and will not hesitate in defending the country’s integrity,” the Iranian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on X in which it labeled the U.S. strikes on Monday “a gross violation of the ceasefire enacted on April 8. 

The ministry offered no specifics about what actions it could take.

🔴 وزارت خارجه: نقض آتش‌بس توسط آمریکا بی‌پاسخ نمی‌ماند. pic.twitter.com/XBuQsw8jLa

— خبرگزاری فارس (@FarsNews_Agency) May 26, 2026

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei issued a threat against U.S. allies in the region. Countries like Israel, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Jordan, Qatar, Oman and Iraq all house U.S. facilities, many of which have already come under attack during Epic Fury and even after the April 8 ceasefire.

“The hand of time does not turn back, and the nations and lands of the region will no longer serve as shields for American bases,” he stated on X. “America will no longer have a safe haven for mischief and the establishment of military bases in the region.”

عقربه‌ی زمان به عقب برنمی‌گردد و ملّت‌ها و سرزمین‌های منطقه، دیگر سپر پایگاه‌های امریکایی نخواهند بود. امریکا دیگر نقطه‌ی امنی برای شرارت و استقرار پایگاه نظامی در منطقه نخواهد داشت.

— رسانه رهبر انقلاب اسلامی (@Rahbarenghelab_) May 26, 2026

The statements were among many from Iran decrying the latest kinetic exchange with America. On Monday, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) told us it hit targets being used to endanger its personnel.

U.S. forces “conducted self-defense strikes in southern Iran… to protect our troops from threats posed by Iranian forces,” Navy Capt. Tim Hawkins, CENTCOM’s chief spokesman told TWZ Monday evening. “Targets included missile launch sites and Iranian boats attempting to emplace mines. U.S. Central Command continues to defend our forces while using restraint during the ongoing ceasefire.”

CENTCOM carried out the strikes after Iran deployed mine-laying boats in the Strait of Hormuz and flew attack drones near American ships, The New York Times reported on Tuesday.

The U.S. “observed Iranian forces taking several actions, including launching the drones and activity at missile launch sites,” the newspaper noted.

CENTCOM spox tells me U.S. forces conducted self-defense strikes in southern Iran today to protect our troops from threats posed by Iranian forces. Targets included missile launch sites and Iranian boats attempting to emplace mines….

— Howard Altman (@haltman) May 25, 2026

CENTCOM’s statement followed reports of explosions in the key southern Iranian city of Bandar Abbas, the epicenter of Iranian naval operations around the Strait of Hormuz. It was attacked repeatedly during Operation Epic Fury and again earlier this month after the ceasefire was in place.

🔴 Several explosions were heard in Bandar Abbas, Iran’s main southern port city near the Strait of Hormuz, the state-linked Fars news agency reports

🔴 The origin of the explosions remains unclear, according to the agency

🔴 Similar sounds were also reported near the coastal… pic.twitter.com/qXMronEPrc

— Al Arabiya English (@AlArabiya_Eng) May 25, 2026

Meanwhile, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) organization reported that the Olympic Life, a Marshal Islands-registered oil tanker, was attacked 60 nautical miles east of Muscat, Oman on Tuesday.

The maritime security firm Ambrey told us the ship was struck by an unknown projectile, which resulted in an explosion on the vessel’s port side along the waterline, creating a discharge of bunker fuel. There were no injuries reported and neither UKMTO nor Ambrey said who launched the projectile.

Amid these incidents, The Wall Street Journal, citing U.S. military officials, reported that the “U.S. Navy is quietly assisting vessel crossings through the Strait of Hormuz.”

The officials told the newspaper that a Greek supertanker laden with two million barrels of crude was guided by the U.S. Navy, as it crossed the waterway off the Omani coast. The ship was stuck in the Middle East Gulf since early March and is now heading to India to deliver its cargo.

However, CENTCOM denied the report, or that it was resuming Project Freedom, the short-lived effort to protect ships stuck in the Strait.

🚫CLAIM: Recent media reporting claims that the U.S. Navy has restarted escorting or assisting commercial vessels during transits through the Strait of Hormuz. FALSE.

✅TRUTH: Project Freedom has not resumed, and U.S. forces are not currently escorting commercial vessels through… pic.twitter.com/JD9cY5FUNN

— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) May 26, 2026

Prior to yesterday’s actions by CENTCOM, both sides had indicated progress on a memorandum of understanding that could halt the war and restart shipping through the blockaded Strait of Hormuz, while giving negotiators 60 days to negotiate more complex issues. These include Iran’s nuclear program, its ballistic missile arsenal and support for proxies like Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen and several groups in Iraq.

On Tuesday, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he remains hopeful that ongoing peace talks won’t be derailed. However, he also said that the matter of Iran charging fees for ships transiting the Strait was unacceptable.

“There were some talks going on in Qatar today, so we’ll see if we can make progress on – I think it’s a lot of talking back and forth going on about specific language in the initial document,” Rubio told reporters on Tuesday. “So it’ll take a few days.”

Pressed on whether yesterday’s U.S. strikes will affect the peace talks, the secretary said the status of the Strait is non-negotiable.

“Well, the Straits have to be open,” he explained. “They’re going to be open one way or the other. So they need to be open. What’s happening there is unlawful; it’s illegal. It’s unsustainable for the world; it’s unacceptable. I don’t know of any country in the world that doesn’t – the Russians are not in favor of a tolling system; the Chinese are not in favor of a tolling system. I mean, there’s no country in the world that’s in favor of a tolling system except the regime in Iran. So that’s not acceptable; that cannot happen. The Straits need to be open, unimpeded, without tolls. And obviously that needs to happen immediately as soon as anything’s agreed to.”

SECRETARY RUBIO: The straits have to be open. What’s happening there is illegal. It’s unsustainable for the world and it’s unacceptable. pic.twitter.com/5lQHIxjnNK

— Department of State (@StateDept) May 26, 2026

As we previously reported, Iran claims it is not imposing a toll, but instead a fee for environmental and other services. 

“A tolling system that simply charges ships to pass through the waterway would be illegal under international law, but charging fees for actual services rendered to vessels, such as waste disposal at a port, is allowed under certain circumstances,” The New  York Times recently noted.

Regardless, Rubio’s comments about the pace of negotiations pours cold water on any hopes of a quick resolution to the crisis. The renewed hostilities do nothing to move the needle forward either.

UPDATES

Though Iran has made ending the Israel-Hezbollah fight part of its negotiation stance, Israel’s military said its ground forces are moving further into Lebanon.

“As per the directive of myself, the Defense Minister and the IDF Chief of Staff, we are deepening our operation in Lebanon,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced. “The IDF is operating with large forces on the ground and seizing dominant terrain. We are fortifying the security zone to protect the communities of the north. Concurrently, we are leading a massive national effort to advance creative and innovative solutions against explosive drones. We back and praise our heroic commanders and soldiers. They are deep in the field. We are counting on you!”

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, today, at the start of the Security Cabinet meeting:
“As per the directive of myself, the Defense Minister and the IDF Chief of Staff, we are deepening our operation in Lebanon. The IDF is operating with large forces on the ground and seizing… pic.twitter.com/GBLuWgEbyl

— Prime Minister of Israel (@IsraeliPM) May 26, 2026

The Israeli Air Force on Tuesday released video it says shows attacks on Hezbollah infrastructure in Lebanon.

חיל-האוויר ממשיך לתקוף תשתיות של ארגון הטרור חיזבאללה בדרום לבנון: חוסלו מחבלים שקידמו מתווי טרור נגד כוחותינו והותקפו תשתיות מהן פעלו לשיגור רקטות pic.twitter.com/RhKLx3ojnC

— Israeli Air Force (@IAFsite) May 26, 2026

Netanyahu’s announcement about the increased push deeper into Lebanon comes a day after Trump demanded Arab nations seek peace with the Jewish state.

In a lengthy post on his social media platform on Monday, Trump demanded that Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkey, Egypt and Pakistan join Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates as members of the Abraham Accords, the 2020 peace and economic trade treaty with Israel created by Trump in his first term.

The American leader also said that while negotiations with Iran are “proceeding nicely,” he will resume attacking should no deal be reached. 

“During my discussions on Saturday with President Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud, of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, of The United Arab Emirates, Emir Tamim bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani, and Minister Ali al-Thawadi, of Qatar, Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir Ahmed Shah, of Pakistan, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, of Türkiye, President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, of Egypt, King Abdullah II, of Jordan, and King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, of Bahrain, I stated that, after all the work done by the United States to try and pull this very complex puzzle together, it should be mandatory that all of these Countries, at a minimum, simultaneously, sign onto the Abraham Accords,” Trump proclaimed on Truth Social. “Those Countries discussed are Saudi Arabia, The United Arab Emirates (already a Member!), Qatar, Pakistan, Türkiye, Egypt, Jordan, and Bahrain (already a Member!). It may be possible that one or two have a reason for not doing so, and that will be accepted, but most should be ready, willing, and able to make this Settlement with Iran a far more Historic Event than it would, otherwise, be. The Abraham Accords have proven to be, for the Countries involved (The United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco, Sudan, and Kazakhstan), a Financial, Economic, and Social BOOM, even during this time of Conflict and War, with the current Members never even suggesting leaving, or taking so much as even a pause.”

Trump also suggested Tehran would be invited to join if a U.S.-Iran peace deal is inked.

“… Iran signs its Agreement with me, as President of the United States of America, it would be an Honor to have them also be part of this unparalleled World Coalition,” Trump posited. “The Middle East would be United, Powerful, and Economically Strong, like perhaps no other area, anywhere in the World! By copy of this TRUTH, I am asking my Representatives to begin, and successfully complete, the process of signing these Countries into the already Historic Abraham Accords.”

U.S. President Donald J. Trump posted a lengthy statement on his Truth Social app earlier on the ongoing negotiations. This most recent statement was centered around President Trump’s proposition to Arab leaders on the Abraham Accords. Per the president’s statement, negotiations… pic.twitter.com/Cj4nKWv8vE

— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) May 25, 2026

Trump’s Truth Social post follows a phone call he had on Saturday with these leaders announcing that peace talks with Iran had resumed.

“Trump told the leaders that after the war with Iran ends he expects all of them who are still not part of the Abraham Accords or don’t have peace agreements with Israel to join and normalize relations with the Jewish state,” Axios reported, citing two U.S. officials. “The leaders, especially those of Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Pakistan who don’t have formal diplomatic relations with Israel, were surprised by Trump’s request.” 

“There was silence on the line, and Trump joked and asked if they are still there,” the outlet claimed one of the sources told it.

Given the long-standing enmity between Israel and countries like Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan, the likelihood of them joining the Abraham Accords is questionable. Even though Egypt and Jordan have peace treaties with Israel, the chances either of them sign on are unlikely as well. A major sticking point for all these countries is the ongoing situation in Gaza and the overall unresolved Palestinian-Israeli relations.

The idea that Iran would join the Abraham Accords seems even more far-fetched for obvious reasons.

Contact the author: howard@twz.com

MISBEHAVING Brits could be slapped with a permanent flight ban under new Labour rules.

Labour Ministers are currently looking at establishing a blacklist to stop abusive behaviour towards cabin crew and disruption to travel.

This includes considering how information about drunk and abusive passengers could be shared between airlines.

Currently, if you misbehave on a flight you can be banned by the airline you are travelling with – but other airlines would not know this.

If the new rules were to go ahead, it would mean that public officials could keep information about passengers, including a history of any bad behaviour during flights.

In an airport setting, public officials would likely include police, border force officers and immigration officers.

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The official would then warn an airline if the passenger was trying to check in with them.

Then, the airline could decide whether or not they want the passenger travelling with them.

The new system would be compliant with data protection rules, so no new legislation would need to be created for the rules to be introduced.

Having said this, data protection rules don’t allow airlines to share information about travellers, hence the need for a public official.

It comes as the number of drunken and violent incidents on planes has risen in recent years.

Earlier this month, a drunk woman believed to be British lunged at another passenger, causing chaos on an easyJet flight.

A government source said: “Everyone should be able to enjoy a pint at the airport, but anti-social behaviour on flights is totally unacceptable.

“It threatens the safety of passengers and crew, and disrupts hard-earned holidays.

“There are already tough laws in place to deal with offences committed on flights, but we are exploring with industry how we can better address this issue, ensuring we crack down on people who persistently cause chaos.

“Everyone should be able to fly without fuss.”

Tim Alderslade, Chief Executive of industry body Airlines UK, said: “UK airlines have a zero-tolerance approach to disruptive behaviour.

“Additional measures for the most serious cases of disruption, including the creation of a national ban list, are an important next step in ensuring a tiny minority of passengers cannot disrupt air travel for the majority.

“We welcome the government’s support for further action and will work closely with ministers on delivering the right solutions.”

According to LBC, Phil Ward, Chief Operations Officer of Jet2, also said the airline would support new rules of sharing passenger information between airlines.

He said: “The creation of a national database will mean that, as well as being banned from flying with us, disruptive passengers can also be banned from flying with other UK airlines.”

In a recent YouGov survey of 5,000 adults, 37 per cent said they supported the proposal for new rules, with 38 per cent saying they somewhat supported it.

Only 11 per cent opposed.

Being drunk on a flight is a criminal offence and can lead to a fine of up to £5,000 and two years in prison.

A meeting will be held later this month where industry leaders will discuss the plans.

The Sun’s Head of Travel shares her thoughts

LISA Minot, The Sun’s Head of Travel, shares her thoughts:

Plans to blacklist drunk and abusive passengers on a nationwide database can’t come soon enough.

Onboard incidents have skyrocketed in recent years and a full ban on those found guilty across all airlines would be the kind of punishment that would have real consequences.

At the moment, while one airline can ban a passenger for life, data protection means other airlines are not alerted.

Having seen the chaos a drunken passenger can wreak myself on a flight from Cape Verde back to the UK anything that will show disruptive passengers there are real consequences is a good move.

Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary has repeatedly called for a ban on passengers drinking in departure lounges but why should the vast, innocent majority pay for the sins of a tiny minority?

This proposal is a much more sensible way of ensuring planes are not turned into battlegrounds without punishing the law-abiding passengers.

FANS of Molly-Mae Hague are convinced that she has already secretly given birth to her second child.

The star and her partner Tommy Fury are expected to welcome the little one any day now.

In Molly-Mae’s latest YouTube vlog she said it was likely going to be the “second to last” video she posts ahead of giving birth.

However, eagle-eyed viewers have spotted a major clue that hints that she’s already welcomed the baby into the world.

Discussing the theory on TikTok, a fan pondered: “You know what girls, I’ve just had this epiphany.

“Molly-Mae posts religiously every single Sunday night at 7pm.

“It’s now 9:45 and I’ve just gone onto her Instagram and she’s not posted which means…

“She’s in labour. You’ve heard it here first.”

Fans have also noticed from the location of Molly-Mae’s latest content that she’s been in London, which is where she’s openly said that she plans to have her baby.

Adding this theory into the TikTok thread, another user shared: “Also Zoe [her sister] said she is heading to somewhere for a couple of days which I believe is London where Molly is having her baby.”

A third fan chimed in with: “She’s been in London since Friday [and] her sister got there yesterday, but she has been online all day so she’s either in labour or [has] had the baby.”

The fan excitement comes a few weeks after Molly-Mae teased the gender of baby number two.

Fans noticed a book called ‘Peppa’s new baby sister’ in the background of one of Molly-Mae’s vlogs, leaving viewers convinced that she’s having another girl.

Opening up recently about deciding not to share the gender, Molly-Mae confessed she’d been enjoying seeing her fans guess what she is having. 

She said: “A baby is coming in a few weeks, so I really need to sort out my hospital bag… 

“I thought I would just show you a couple of bits that I’ve started packing for me.

“Because everything for baby is quite gender obvious and we’ve kind of kept it to ourselves up till I’m basically giving birth so we might as well keep it until the end now.”

Molly continued: “It happened so accidentally. We’ve actually got a full-blown gender reveal video. We did a balloon with Bambi.

“I was planning to post it but we just never did. And then I don’t know, seeing everyone guess has just kind of been funny.”

Molly-Mae and Tommy welcomed their daughter Bambi, 3, in 2023.

One more day and it’ll all be over. I’m referring to the primary election, of course, and the unremitting campaign ads that have infiltrated every aspect of our being as Californians.

Authentic or paid influencers promoting candidates on TikTok and Instagram. Facebook ads vilifying or praising various measures. Incessant, repetitive TV campaigns that get nastier with every election, yet still manage to feel like an analogue remnant from 1982. The worst? Those sponsored leaflets and postcard mailers that end up as makeshift coasters, mosquito swatters or unread refuse that goes straight from the mailbox into the blue recycle bin.

The king of ad spending is Democratic gubernatorial candidate Tom Steyer. He’s behind the most expensive political advertising campaign in the country this year. A former hedge fund manager, Steyer has reportedly spent more than $200 million on his campaign, with a major chunk of that for broadcast TV, cable and radio — 20 times the amount spent by fellow Democrat, former U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services and California Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra. And Steyer is still polling behind Becerra.

I never thought I’d write this but it’s not always about the money.

Voters have more resources than ever should they choose to actually research and learn about who and what is poised to shape the future of their city, county and state.

There’s no shortage of broadcast, cable, digital and print reporting about former reality TV personality turned mayoral candidate Spencer Pratt. He uses AI!

The battle between incumbent Karen Bass and her closest Democratic competition, Los Angeles city council member Nithya Raman, dominates local newscasts. And there’s pundits from both sides arguing for and against these choices on every available platform.

Given the amount of information now at voter’s fingertips, we should be the most informed voting populace in the history of ballot casting. But are we?

A new poll by UC Berkeley’s Institute of Governmental Studies that was co-sponsored by the Los Angeles Times asked 8,578 registered voters across California what sources they rely on to get news and information about election-related issues. The poll, which was conducted online May 19-24 in English and Spanish, found that nearly half of the state’s electorate (47%) said they refer to the official voter information guide that is mailed to voters in advance of each election.

Discovering that a nonpartisan, non-sponsored source of data topped the list is a welcome surprise. Today’s media-verse is so fractured and bifurcated along political lines, I just assumed that confirmation bias would drive most folks toward friendly sources, i.e. what they want to hear.

Not as surprising is that 44% of those polled said they use Google or other search engines to seek out election-related information, and greater than 3 in 10 obtain election-related information from social media (39%). Traditional means of information weren’t far behind search engines. Those polled said they still rely on national or cable TV news (39%), newspapers, online or in print (37%), and local TV news (35%). One in three (33%) get information word-of-mouth from family, friends, neighbors or co-workers.

“The substantial differences in news sources across generation, education and partisanship suggest that we are a considerable distance from the information environment that dominated most of the 20th century, where local newspapers, network news and local television stations dominated,” said Professor Eric Schickler, co-director of the Institute of Governmental Studies. “This fragmentation means that voters may no longer share a common frame of reference when evaluating candidates and election issues.”

The increasingly splintered ways in which voters seek information, fueled by the rapid changes in technology and media, has kept political campaign strategists on their toes.

“Getting attention is the first barrier, and then once you have that attention, how do you convert that into support?” says Democratic campaign consultant and strategist Brian Brokaw. “You have to create a surround-sound effect in order to persuade the voter to go for your candidate or your issue, and they have to hear from multiple avenues. Voters are innately skeptical of advertising, especially when it’s a very direct sale from a candidate. That’s why you’re seeing the use of more influencers in campaigns, particularly paid influencers, who may or may not be disclosing that they are being paid. That’s been a prominent issue in the governor’s race.”

Age, or generational differences, are another deciding factor in where voters look for more intelligence on issues and candidates. The poll found that two-thirds of voters under the age of 30 (67%) and a majority of those ages 30-39 (52%) use social media such as Facebook, X, Instagram, or TikTok to get their information.

Getting to know a candidate, particularly via social media, isn’t necessarily part of a rigorous, fact finding mission. Laughing at Pratt’s Batman-themed video or Gov. Gavin Newsom’s satirical X posts are more about bonding with the person than unpacking their policies. Real or perceived, discovering a candidate via one’s Instagram feels more organic than seeing them on billboard or TV ad.

“One way that politics has changed is that people are craving authenticity. Someone like [Zohran] Mamdani, was very successful and promoted himself from the back of the pack to mayor of New York City. But what people are seeing doesn’t mean that’s the truth,” warns Republican consultant and campaign strategist Kevin Spillane. “I’ve been involved in politics for 40 years. A lot of people are not how they present themselves. But we still crave authenticity, we want to believe [in someone], we want that connection.”

We’ll soon see who Californians choose to represent them and their concerns — or which candidate waged the best campaign warfare, substantive political arguments be damned. But it may take a minute to count all the votes. California reached a record number of registered voters ahead of Tuesday’s primary election, according to the Secretary of State’s office. Officials say more than 23.1 million Californians are now registered to vote statewide.

West Coasters who want to understand what they’re voting for have infinite resources to turn to, some more useful than others. Sponsored mailers (the aforementioned mosquito swatters) only appealed to 9% of those polled as a useful source of information. But did you really need a poll to tell you that?

Saint Mary’s has achieved the seemingly unthinkable — the Gaels have eliminated UCLA, the nation’s top-ranked team, from the NCAA tournament.

With two outs in the 10th inning, Makoa Sniffen drove in Cody Kashimoto on a walk-off single off UCLA reliever Easton Hawk to lift Saint Mary’s to a 6-5 comeback win Sunday in a Los Angeles Regional elimination game at Jackie Robinson Stadium.

The Gaels (36-26), who also stunned the Bruins (52-8) in the regional opener on Friday, made the Big Ten champions just the second NCAA No. 1 overall seed — after Vanderbilt in 2025 — to be eliminated from the regional round since the current format was established in 1999.

“Obviously, this weekend, we just did not play up to our standards,” UCLA coach John Savage said. “I really felt it was a struggle, for whatever reason — all three games, really. But it’s nothing to take away from this team. You win 52 games [and are] preseason [No.1], and you never leave that spot; it’s really remarkable and a lot of credit to our captains, to our seniors, to the entire program … I just can’t say enough about the people that I’m around and that I’ve coached.”

Against all odds, Saint Mary’s is still alive and playing Cal Poly in the regional final on Sunday night.

“Felt like 12 rounds with the heavyweight champ,” Saint Mary’s coach Eric Valenzuela said of the Gaels’ wins over UCLA. “So proud of our group, the fight.”

Favored to win their first national title since 2013, the Bruins led the Gaels 5-4 entering the ninth and needed just three outs to continue what had been the program’s best season ever.

But Tanner Griffith led with a base hit off UCLA reliever Cal Randall and — after being moved to second following a sacrifice bunt from Diego Castellanos — catcher Ian Armstrong brought Griffith home with an RBI single to right field off Hawk.

Saint Mary’s reliever David Roberts retired the Bruins in order in the 10th. Hawk then struck out Brayden Gutierrez before Kashimoto hit an infield single. Griffith advanced Kashimoto to second on a groundout to first. Two batters later, Sniffen’s hit to left field gave Kashimoto just enough time to beat a throw to the plate, sealing the Gaels’ win.

Randall and Hawk pitched in all three of UCLA’s regional games. Savage saluted the entire pitching staff — highlighting Angel Cervantes’ development as a freshman — but added that Logan Reddemann’s absence had a “major effect” on the staff. The ace right-hander hadn’t pitched since April 17 because of arm soreness.

“It had a ripple effect on the starters, had a ripple effect on the bullpen,” Savage said of Reddemann’s absence. “The effect it had on roles, the effect it had on usage [was a] major deal. No excuses, because [we] still won. But at the same time, it looked a little different and it felt a little different, and at the end, I think it really hurt losing a potential first-rounder the last six weeks.”

The Big Ten coach of the year took the time to acknowledge the Bruins’ junior class for sticking with the program throughout its ascent, admiring the “all kinds of players” he expects to be selected in July’s MLB draft.

Savage, though, was particularly emotional when discussing the eventual departure of shortstop and back-to-back Big Ten player of the year Roch Cholowsky, who is widely expected to be a first-round pick.

“Cholowsky just meant so much to the program,” Savage said. “He just had such an impact on the program. He had such an impact on people. Had impact on a fan base. Had impact on the community. Just such a winning, winning player. It’s hard to watch a guy like that leave … but it’s what he’s all about. He’s all about the right things.

“He’s a Bruin through and through. And at the end of the day, you couldn’t ask for a better player or a better person than Roch.”

Led by Cholowsky and eight other All-Big Ten selections, with the best team ERA (3.27) throughout the regular season, the Bruins had lost merely six times before the regional and had won every series.

But after losing two games to Saint Mary’s, as regional hosts for a second consecutive year, UCLA has no choice but to go back to the drawing board in preparation for 2027.

“I feel for them,” Savage said of his clubhouse. “It’s the college game … anything can happen. We didn’t play well enough this weekend.”

A special counsel team has determined former President Yoon Suk Yeol had prepared to declare martial law since late 2023, about a year before his failed bid in December 2024, officials said Monday.

Assistant special counsel Kim Ji-mi said in a briefing that the team has determined that Yoon had made preparations for martial law since November 2023 after questioning former Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Kim Myung-soo.

The now-retired admiral is said to have told the team last month that Yoon asked him whether he would do anything he would order when they met on Nov. 29, 2023.

Yoon allegedly flew into a rage when he said he would follow them if they were just orders.

The team, led by special counsel Kwon Chang-young, has left open the possibility that Yoon’s alleged remarks may have been part of preliminary efforts to recruit top military officials for his martial law bid.

Kwon’s team earlier said Yoon appeared to be preparing for martial law since the first half of 2024, citing the outcome of its questioning of a military counterintelligence official.

Meanwhile, a separate special counsel team that ended its mandate late last year after a probe into Yoon had determined that martial law preparations took place before October 2023. The team cited a notebook belonging to a retired general convicted in connection with Yoon’s martial law bid.

A Seoul court, however, did not recognize the notebook as evidence during Yoon’s insurrection trial, where he was sentenced to life imprisonment over his failed martial law bid.

Copyright (c) Yonhap News Agency prohibits its content from being redistributed or reprinted without consent, and forbids the content from being learned and used by artificial intelligence systems.

Daniel Patterson, the chef behind San Francisco’s Coi, who once helmed Alta Adams alongside chef Keith Corbin, has opened a new tasting restaurant in Hollywood, alongside his wife and former music journalist and producer Sarah Lewitinn. Jacaranda challenges stereotypes of stuffy or restrained fine dining restaurants with a Gen X playlist, casual service and lively conversations among guests. This approach, as Patterson told reporter Stephanie Breijo, better reflects the ethos of Los Angeles, where your next great meal is just as likely to come from a street vendor as it is from a 10-course dinner. The restaurant holds only one seating per night, to allow diners the opportunity to linger as you would at a friend’s dinner party, as well as a multi-course lunch on Sunday.

Egg tarts are the only food obsession I held as a child that never waned in adulthood. They served as a primary motivator as a toddler. Clean my room? Finish my homework? Dan tat, the egg tarts found on dim sum carts, were always the answer.

I grew up eating Hong Kong-style egg tarts, with pale, glossy tops and nests of either crumbly, cookie-adjacent shortcrust or flaky pastry. They were usually cold, and the filling more like firm Jell-O than custard. Still, I was hooked. When someone brought a box of warm Macau tarts to a mahjong gathering at my grandmother’s house in the early ‘90s, I crushed out on the palm-sized pastry like it was the latest single from Boyz II Men.

While the Hong Kong tarts can be traced to custard tarts from the United Kingdom, Macau tarts are descendants of Portuguese pastéis de nata (until 1999, Macau was a Portuguese colony). Dozens of layers of crisp pastry cradle a crème brûlée-adjacent filling with a glistening top blistered in a scorching hot oven. The shell crackles and the custard trembles, for a confluence of textures that’s addictive and almost maddening. If I’m going to eat a tart, it might as well be three.

When Nata’s Pastries opened in a Sherman Oaks strip mall more than 20 years ago, it was the only Portuguese bakery in the city. Now, you can find Macau tarts and pastéis de nata at restaurants and bakeries all over Los Angeles. The following are seven places that should jump-start your own egg tart obsession.

I live in Santa Barbara and I’m interested in photography. Where are some historical places to take pictures in Los Angeles? I’m interested in old movie palaces, movie and TV show locations, historic homes and buildings, World War II–related sites and airplane museums. — William Lemons

Here’s what we suggest:

It’s cool to hear that you’re interested in capturing the beauty and history of Los Angeles through your camera lens, William. Given that you’ll be traveling from out of town, I am recommending spots that you can visit in a single day, if you’d like. They’re mostly in and around Downtown L.A.

First off, if you don’t feel like driving and paying for parking all over town, I’d suggest taking Amtrak from Santa Barbara to L.A. You can take take photos of the gorgeous view along the way and once you step off the train, you’ll already be at the first historic site on the list: the true stunner that is Union Station.

Open since 1939, it’s one of the country’s last great train stations and considered to be the largest railroad passenger terminal on the West Coast. Designed by father-and-son architect team John and Donald Parkinson, it blends Art Deco, Spanish Colonial and Streamline Moderne styles. Travel writer Christopher Reynolds, a.k.a. the person in the newsroom that everyone goes to for trip advice, tells me, “With its clock tower, big arches and high ceilings, Union Station feels like a secular church.” He notes that security guards will often shoo you off if you use a tripod without advance approval, so it’s best to bring a handheld camera instead.

Next, walk across the road to Olvera Street, one of the oldest streets in L.A. It’s part of El Pueblo de Los Angeles Historic Monument that’s been fighting to stay open since the pandemic. As you stroll through the area and take pictures, check out the Mexican marketplace, capturing the pottery, clothing and art along the way, and grab some authentic cuisine. Times food editor Daniel Hernandez swears by Cielito Lindo, a taquería that’s been around since the 1934, and still makes the most “perfectly rolled taquitos.” (The family-owned restaurant is currently raising funds to stay open due to economic hardship.)

Next, hop on an e-scooter or take a quick bus ride to the Historic Broadway Theater District, which has 12 stunning movie theaters — all of which were built between 1910 and 1931. The Los Angeles Conservancy even hosts walking tours of the famous district. You can register online for the next ones on June 6, 13, 20 and 27.

You’ll probably be hungry after the tour, so you might as well visit Grand Central Market, the city’s largest and oldest public market. Open since 1917, the market has more than 40 food stalls including China Cafe (open since 1959), Villa’s Tacos, Egg Slut and more. Afterward, take a brisk walk to L.A.’s most beautiful library, the L.A. Central Library, which turns 100 this year. Grab your camera and marvel at the exterior of the Art Deco-style building, which draws inspiration from Egyptian and Mediterranean Revival architecture. Then head inside on the second floor rotunda to see the marvelous California history mural and the breathtaking globe chandelier.

Now for some rapid-fire suggestions across L.A.: There’s Frank Lloyd Wright’s 1920s-era Hollyhock House at Barnsdall Art Park in East Hollywood. (If you go here, I suggest stopping by nearby Ululani’s Hawaiian Shave Ice for a delicious sweet treat.) Or check out any one of L.A.’s most iconic TV houses including “The Brady Bunch” home in Studio City, “The Golden Girls” residence in Brentwood and the “Seinfield” Koreatown apartment building. (These are private residencies, so you won’t be able to go inside but you can snap a photo of the exterior.) If it’s architecture you’re into, peruse this guide to L.A.’s iconic homes that you can tour IRL, including the Adamson House in Malibu, the Eames House in Pacific Palisades and the Lummis Home (El Alisal) near Mount Washington. Finally, if you’re open to joining a group of fellow photographers, I suggest following Instagram pages for collectives like L.A. Photo Club and the 85 Mil Photo Walk Series, which host meetups and walking tours regularly.

L.A. is filled with so many beautiful historical sites, so I hope that these suggestions help get you started, and most importantly, that you continue taking awesome pictures. Have a great time!

NewsFeed

Ultra-Orthodox Jewish demonstrators stormed a police station in Beit Shemesh, Israel, to protest the arrest of a man who abandoned military service. Israeli police used sound bombs and tear gas to disperse the crowd.

Rachel Nickell’s horrific death sent shockwaves across the UK, but it took the police more than 15 years to solve her murder. As the case is explored in a new Netflix documentary, we speak to the expert who found a breakthrough clue after years of investigation failures

Rachel Nickell had her whole life ahead of her when it was cruelly stolen in a sickening attack – leaving her toddler son as the sole witness.

In July 1992, the 23-year-old mum was strolling through Wimbledon Common with her two-year-old son Alex Hanscombe, and their dog Molly. In a quiet, wooded area, she was ambushed, sexually assaulted and stabbed dozens of times.

Alex was later found by a passerby, desperately clinging to his mother’s body. In a heartbreaking attempt to help, the toddler had placed a piece of paper on her forehead as a makeshift bandage after pleading with her to wake up. Even at that tender age, Alex later revealed, he knew instantly that his mother was never coming back.

The brutal murder shattered the life of Alex and his father André Hanscombe. Yet, it would be 16 years for anyone to face justice. The haunting case is now the subject of a new three-part series for Netflix dramatisation, The Witness, alongside an accompanying documentary featuring never before seen archive footage, and deeply personal accounts from those who lived through the tragedy.

Among those interviewed is legendary forensic scientist Angela Gallop, whose work has helped solve many of the UK’s most high-profile murders, including the killings of Stephen Lawrence and Damilola Taylor.

Her team was handed the case in 2002, a decade after the murder, when the investigation had gone completely cold. They had agonisingly little to work with: a microscopic trace of male DNA recovered from the crime scene. To make matters even more difficult, forensic technology at the time was ill-equipped to handle such a minute sample. In order to find the killer, they had to pioneer an entirely new methodology to examine the sample.

Reinvestigating the decade-old DNA required immense precision. Describing the pressure and the patience required to manipulate the tiny shred of evidence, Angela said: “The technique that had been used at the time was a very new, sensitive method, but we had never particularly liked it in my laboratory.

“For Rachel’s case, we got hints of male DNA using our standard test, but we wanted to see if we could squeeze out some more information. By concentrating and purifying the DNA, we managed to achieve it, but it took two years to develop the technique properly.”

After a painstaking process, the team eventually got a strong enough DNA profile to add to their database – and it matched with a man named Robert Napper, a paranoid schizophrenic and serial rapist.

To ensure the case was ironclad, they raced back to the crime scene and analysed all the sample items that had been collected. Angela and her colleagues then went on to uncover footwear marks and forensic paint evidence linking Napper directly to Wimbledon Common.

His footwear was matched directly to the mud profiles taken from the area, and microscopic paint flakes matching Napper’s toolbox were discovered trapped in the hair of two-year-old Alex. The box, found in Napper’s flat, contained knives and other weapons.

The new DNA breakthrough was enough to convict Napper and exonerate Colin Stagg, the innocent man wrongfully targeted by a flawed police honey-trap operation. A new Netflix documentary will examine the botched investigation, which led to Stagg – a local resident who walked his dog on the common – spending 13 months behind bars in custody, and facing rampant speculation that he killed Rachel.

He was freed by an Old Bailey judge in 1994, who criticised officers for using a ‘honeytrap’ undercover policewoman to try to make him confess to the murder, branding the entrapment evidence as “reprehensible”

Mr Justice Ognall, who halted the trial, described officers actions as “deceptive conduct of the grossest kind” after undercover officer “Lizzie James” tried to seduce Stagg, promising a relationship in the hope of getting a confession. Stagg later received £700,000 compensation from the Home Office.

In 2008, Napper admitted manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility and was detained indefinitely at Broadmoor. He was already incarcerated at the psychiatric unit, having been convicted in 1995 for the equally depraved double killing of single mother Samantha Bisset, 27, and her four-year-old daughter Jazmine.

Discovering the match provided a profound sense of justice for Angela’s team, particularly regarding the human toll of the investigation. “We had a DNA result that hit a match on the National DNA database, so the police have got something to investigate,” she said.

“There was an added level of satisfaction because Colin Stagg had been professing his innocence for all those years. We were able to show that he was telling the truth,” she said.

The new documentary about the 1992 murder features Alex describing the moment that he knew his mother had died after being stabbed 49 times.

A home video video captures him describing the moment his mother was killed on Wimbledon Common to his dad André, who gently discusses what his son saw on the day.

Now 36, Alex describes seeing Napper, telling his dad: “I saw him first,” he says, telling Andre that the man was carrying a bag which he opened. Asked what he took out, he replies simply: “A knife.”

He then tells his dad that the man “knocked me over” and that he witnessed his mum being stabbed. “There’s his knife,” the little boy tells his dad, indicating the picture he is drawing of his mother. “I saw the knife. I saw it, Yeah, I saw it all.”

Speaking in the trailer for the film, André explains: “My son saw his mother’s murder but nobody could have possibly known how long it was gonna take to find the person who did this.”

Ahead of the Netflix show, Angela is keen to emphasise that DNA evidence is rarely a simple “magic bullet.” Television would make people think that experts can simply swab a crime scene and receive a clear-cut result just 30 minutes later, Angela said, adding: “If it was going to be really straightforward, the original scientists would have discovered the truth a long time ago.

“You have to be much more clever. Sometimes you have to look for one type of evidence to find another. In the Stephen Lawrence and the Pembrokeshire Coastal Path murders, it was analysing textile fibres that led us to finding blood traces and therefore DNA.”

As well as the archive footage, the documentary will explore how Angela’s work led to justice for Stagg after her breakthrough solved the case.

The three part drama, The Witness, will follow Alex and André as they deal with the devastating impact of losing Rachel. Jordan Bolger plays André, while Max Fincham is the teenage Alex. Both men acted as consultants on the series.

The story aims to show how a father and son “moved through the aftermath of unimaginable tragedy, from darkness into light.”

The other cast include Kevin Eldon as DCI Mick Wickerson, Neil Maskell as DI Keith Pedder, Mark Stanley as DS Ivan Agnew, Jon Pointing as DC Nick Sparshatt, James Dryden as DC Paul Miller, Kerry Godliman as André’s mother June, James Bradshaw as DCI Tony Nash and Claire Rushbrook as Dr. Jean Harris-Hendriks.

In a joint statement released last month, André and Alex Hanscombe said: “Our life has been a battle. We can never express how indebted we are to everyone that’s been a part of this, for the kindness and generosity they’ve extended to us, for the chance they took with us in bringing our story to the screen, and for the care they have taken.

“Our journey has all been by the grace of God and a promise to go on together, and we feel incredibly blessed to be able to share our story in this way.

“We hope that audiences will be left with a testament to the tough battle of life we all face and to the power of faith, hope, love – and never giving up.”

• Documentary The Murder of Rachel Nickell has been made to accompany the new drama about what happened that day, called The Witness. Both will be released on Netflix on June 4.

Nigel Wood, chair of the RFL, said that after his 10-year playing career at Cas, Kear had “found his passion for coaching”.

“John was also an excellent broadcast summariser with a great turn of phrase and an undiluted love and positivity for the sport,” he said.

“On behalf of the whole sport, our thoughts and condolences are with John’s wife Dawn, his family, and with those who played or worked alongside him over the last 50 years.”

Commentator Dave Woods, who worked with Kear at the BBC and became a close friend added: “He was a great rugby league man, the most passionate and eloquent of evangelists for the sport, who relished the opportunity to do that on radio and television for the BBC.

“But I’ll remember him as simply the best of blokes, humble, friendly, cheerful, always smiling, always happy to talk to anyone, especially about rugby league.”

SEOUL, June 1 (UPI) — Five workers were killed and two others injured Monday after an explosion and fire at a Hanwha Aerospace defense facility in the central South Korean city of Daejeon, officials said.

The blast occurred around 10:59 a.m. at Hanwha’s plant in Yuseong District, fire authorities told reporters. Some 100 personnel were dispatched and extinguished the blaze shortly after 1 p.m.

All five fatalities were found inside the work area, while two injured workers were rescued and taken to nearby hospitals, officials said. One suffered burns over his entire body and remained in critical condition, while the other sustained relatively minor burns to the neck.

Authorities said the bodies of the victims were severely damaged, making identification difficult.

Hanwha officials said the explosion occurred during a cleaning operation involving tools and equipment used in the rocket-propellant manufacturing process. The company said the exact cause of the blast remains under investigation.

A company official said the cleaning process had not previously been regarded as particularly hazardous because it involved washing equipment with water. The seven people involved in the accident were site workers rather than researchers, he added.

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung ordered authorities to mobilize all available resources for emergency response efforts and conduct a thorough investigation into the cause of the accident, according to his office.

Prime Minister Kim Min-seok issued similar instructions, calling for all available personnel and equipment to be deployed for firefighting and rescue operations and to prevent additional casualties.

Hanwha Aerospace Chief Executive Officer Son Jae-il apologized to the victims and their families following the deadly incident.

“We failed to protect the lives of those who were working at what should have been a safe workplace,” Son said. “As the company’s chief executive, I feel a heavy responsibility for this accident.”

Son pledged full cooperation with authorities investigating the cause of the explosion and said the company would conduct a comprehensive review of its safety systems to prevent a recurrence.

The company said it had established an emergency response headquarters at the site and was working with fire, police and other authorities on response and recovery efforts.

The Daejeon facility is one of Hanwha Aerospace’s key defense production sites and develops propulsion systems and tactical weapon technologies.

The accident was the latest in a series of deadly incidents at the complex. Explosions at the facility killed five workers in 2018 and three more in 2019.

A passenger revealed that the tip ‘really helped’ when they encountered a common travel problem

Passengers have been advised to pack an extra item in their hold luggage before travelling. The ‘helpful’ travel tip was shared by an airline passenger who swears by the method. The recommendation was shared on Reddit’s r/airport forum. Sharing a question for social media users, a travel fan asked: “What are the best airport tips?”

The post read: “My trick is to always carry an empty bottle. After passing through security at every airport, I look for a drinking fountain. Most airports have a couple of them. I discovered a nice website called Water at Airport. If I can’t find one, I just do a quick search on the website.

“This is just a recommendation. Let me know if you have any other trips to the airport. I’m planning some new trips and will definitely need them!” In response, passengers shared several recommendations, including a tip that could be useful for anyone flying with hold luggage.

A traveller wrote: “I might be old school, but I not only tag my bag on the outside but I also put my name and address identification on the inside.” They explained: “This really became helpful when my bag was delayed and then the exterior luggage tag somehow got ripped off.

“I was able to describe the bag, its contents, as well as the additional tag information in the bag – it really helped! This can be as simple as writing your name, address and phone number on a piece of paper and then putting it inside a Ziploc bag and then putting it somewhere inside your checked luggage.”

Most airlines recommend that passengers include a label inside and outside their luggage. While the inner label is not often needed, it could be helpful if the exterior label falls off.

For instance, easyJet advises customers to add a luggage label to their bags and leave contact information inside the luggage. Recommending the idea to passengers, easyJet’s website says: “Make sure your bags stand out from the crowd on the carousel!

“We advise attaching something noticeable and unique to your luggage like a colourful ribbon, eye-catching sticker or personalised tag. This will make it easier for you to spot your luggage on the carousel at arrivals and avoid any confusion with similar bags.

“We also recommend adding a label to your luggage with your name and contact details such as address, email and phone number and put a copy of these details inside your bag too! This would really help us reunite you with your bag in the unlikely event of the exterior tags falling off.”

British Airways offers similar advice. The airline’s website says: “Label your bags inside and out with your name, destination address, email address and mobile number.”

Muhammed Kaumi had just stepped out of the mosque when his phone rang on the evening of Friday, May 29. He had recently returned from Dikwa, a town in Borno State, northeastern Nigeria, and assumed the call was from a relative checking on his journey home. Instead, the voice on the other end delivered news that left him numb.

“Bulama has been killed,” the caller said. “They have killed Bulama.” Muhammed felt his chest tighten. “I instantly felt a sharp pain in my heart,” he recalled.

Bulama Ali was his cousin, a farmer, a father of five, and one of thousands, like him, who have been displaced by the Boko Haram insurgency that has scarred the region for more than a decade.

Within minutes, Muhammed was on his way to the Custom House Internally Displaced Persons’ Camp in Muna, on the outskirts of Maiduguri, where Bulama had lived with his family for nearly a decade.

As he rushed there, questions flooded his mind: “What had happened? Who had killed him? Why?”

When he arrived, residents told him that Bulama had allegedly been beaten by men they identified as “repentant Boko Haram fighters”, locally known as “Hybrids”.

For many residents of Maiduguri, the allegation struck a painful nerve.

For years, former insurgents who surrendered to authorities have passed through government rehabilitation and reintegration programmes such as Operation Safe Corridor and the Borno Model, before returning to civilian communities. However, some have bypassed both interventions completely. 

The Nigerian authorities have involved some of these deserters in security operations, where they help troops with intelligence gathering, their knowledge of terrorist-held terrain, and even operational activities. The arrangement has remained controversial among many survivors of the conflict and among security analysts. 

Now, residents in these communities say their fears have been justified. 

They brought him back dead

Bulama’s final hours began shortly before the Friday Muslim congregational prayers.

Muhammed was told by relatives and eyewitnesses that “[Bulama] was on his way to the mosque on his bicycle when he received a phone call. He stopped by the roadside [close to Muna, on the Maiduguri-Gamboru highway] to answer it.” Behind him was a vehicle carrying armed men dressed in black uniforms. “They honked at him to move,” Muhammed said. “But he was speaking on the phone and did not hear them.”

Abbas Shettima, who witnessed the incident, said the confrontation, which occurred between 1:15 p.m. and 1:30 p.m., quickly escalated. 

“We were all heading to the mosque when we saw them beating him,” Abbas recounted. According to him, the group consisted of about ten men carrying guns and sticks. “They said he was blocking their way,” he said.

Bulama tried to explain. He apologised repeatedly, but his pleas fell on deaf ears. 

“He kept begging them to spare him,” Abbas said. “He crouched down and covered his head with his hands while they beat him.” When bystanders attempted to intervene, the armed men threatened them. Residents watched helplessly. Eventually, the men forced Bulama into their vehicle and drove away.

No one knew where he had been taken.

At the time, witnesses said they believed the group were members of the Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF) because of their uniforms.

Hours later, shortly after 3 p.m., the vehicle returned. “They brought him back severely wounded,” Abbas recounted. “He could barely move.”

Residents rushed toward him to help, but within ten minutes, he died.

The incident was immediately reported to the soldiers stationed at the camp’s entrance. According to Muhammed, the soldiers said they had seen the vehicle dropping Bulama but did not know what had transpired. “They were the ones who told us the men were Hybrids and that they had come from the Maiwa axis,” he said.

Residents later learned that Bulama had allegedly been taken to Maiwa Kura, a remote village in Mafa Local Government Area, Borno State, where the group was reportedly stationed. 

Although “Hybrids” are often perceived as operating independently, they are typically attached to military formations and work alongside security forces, according to a member of a local volunteer security outfit involved in counterterrorism operations who spoke to HumAngle.

“The commanding officer of the military base gives instructions to the ‘Hybrid’ commander attached to that formation, who then relays orders to his men,” the source explained. “During broader operations involving multiple locations, they also have a state commander from whom they receive directives.”

However, this does not necessarily imply military involvement in the attack that claimed Bulama’s life, as Hybrid patrols sometimes operate independently.

Bulama’s family subsequently reported the matter to the police. 

Muhammed said that soldiers, police officers, and members of the CJTF later travelled to Maiwa, where they arrested three suspects, including a commander. “They told us the others had travelled to Mafa for an operation,” he said.

The suspects were taken into custody and transferred to the Borno State Criminal Investigation Department for further investigation.

According to family members, the suspects claimed Bulama died after jumping from the back of a moving Hilux vehicle. But the relatives remain unconvinced. “The doctors told us he had been severely beaten,” Muhammed said. “His hands were tied, and he had internal bleeding.”

The family retrieved the body on Saturday morning and buried him later that afternoon. When the body was prepared for burial, he said, blood continued to seep from his eyes, ears, and nose. “It stained the white shroud.”

When HumAngle contacted the Borno State Police Public Relations Officer, Nahum Kenneth Daso, he said he was not aware of the case and would make inquiries. As of publication, no official update had been provided.

The men known as ‘Hybrids’

In many communities across Borno State, the word “Hybrid” carries different meanings depending on who defines it. 

To security officials, they are a practical asset in a war that has stretched for more than 15 years. For many residents, they are former terrorists trying to rebuild their lives. To others, especially those who lost relatives, homes, farms, and livelihoods during the conflict, they are a constant reminder of wounds that have never fully healed.

The term is commonly used to describe some former Boko Haram members who surrendered and passed through official rehabilitation and deradicalisation programmes, and later became attached to security operations in various capacities.

Since they possess intimate knowledge of terrorist operations and hierarchy, security agencies have increasingly relied on some of them to help in identifying former colleagues, navigating difficult terrain, and providing information that security forces may otherwise struggle to obtain.

For authorities, the arrangement is often viewed as a necessary component of the counterterrorism campaign. However, many civilians find it deeply unsettling.

That is why, for some residents, the sight of former terrorists carrying weapons or working alongside security forces can be difficult to accept.

Bulama’s death has reopened those anxieties. Yet, the resentment many residents express today did not begin with his killing. It has been building for years.

In August 2021, as thousands of terrorist deserters began surrendering from the Sambisa Forest and the Lake Chad region, the Borno State Government convened a high-level stakeholders’ meeting at the Government House in Maiduguri. Government officials, security agencies, traditional rulers, religious leaders, civil society organisations, journalists, and community representatives gathered to discuss the reintegration of former insurgents into society.

At the end of the meeting, participants agreed in principle to forgive and accept these deserters back into their communities. Their acceptance, however, was not unconditional. The stakeholders insisted that surrendered terrorists must be thoroughly screened before reintegration. They also warned against the release of hardened extremists into the communities. They further called for meaningful reconciliation between victims and former terrorists.

The gathering was widely presented as a collective endorsement of reconciliation.

But beyond the conference hall, acceptance has proved far more complicated.

Many residents who had survived the violence felt they had not been part of that conversation. Some had lost parents, spouses, siblings, and/or children. Others had spent years moving between displacement camps, uncertain whether they would ever return home. For them, forgiveness was not a policy decision that could be reached through consensus among stakeholders. It was an intensely personal choice shaped by trauma, memory, and loss.

“The people making these decisions are not always the people who suffered directly,” Abba Gana told HumAngle.

Over the years, some residents have complained of harassment and intimidation by former terrorists and their families. Others say they simply feel the reintegration process has moved faster than community healing.

The debate became even more sensitive as some former terrorists began assisting security operations. To many survivors, the transformation can be difficult to reconcile: people who once arrived as attackers returning as neighbours and protectors, and in some cases, as men carrying authority.

Some government officials have repeatedly defended the reintegration policy. Recently, General Olufemi Oluyede, the Chief of Defence Staff and chairperson of the Operation Safe Corridor National Steering Committee, likened terrorist deserters to the biblical Prodigal Son, arguing that they deserve rehabilitation because they remain Nigerian citizens. 

Those concerns were further amplified by reports that not all former terrorists were passing through official rehabilitation channels. In 2025, a HumAngle investigation documented allegations that some defectors were quietly leaving the forest and reintegrating into communities without participating in formal deradicalisation programmes, raising questions about screening, accountability, and oversight.

Over the years, several incidents involving terrorist deserters have also contributed to public unease. In April, a former Boko Haram member allegedly shot and killed a CJTF member during an argument in the Mafa LGA. According to reports, the victim was rushed to the hospital but was confirmed dead on arrival, while the suspect was later arrested and handed over to the police.

Two years earlier, some deserters reportedly stormed a police station in Maiduguri in an attempt to secure the release of their colleagues arrested over alleged drug-related offences. In another case that generated public outrage in 2023, a deserter was accused of killing his wife at the outskirts of Maiduguri.

Concerns about the reintegration programme are not new. As far back as 2020, Ali Ndume, the senator representing Borno South Senatorial District, publicly criticised aspects of the government’s amnesty efforts, recounting the case of a deserter whom he alleged killed his father and later absconded with his property. The senator argued that the victims and survivors’ concerns were not receiving the same level of attention as the rehabilitation of the deserters.

Taken individually, the circumstances surrounding these incidents differ significantly from Bulama’s case. Collectively, however, they have helped shape public perceptions of the reintegration programmes and deepened anxieties among some residents about the monitoring, supervision, and accountability of deserters, particularly those involved in security-related activities.

For many survivors of the conflict, such incidents reinforce a lingering fear that rehabilitation alone may not be enough. Bulama’s death has now brought those long-simmering concerns into sharper focus. 

“The community is deciding on an action,” Abbas said.

Residents gathered after Bulama’s burial to discuss possible legal steps. Some suggested pooling money to hire a lawyer. Others proposed approaching human rights organisations.

“We are thinking of contributing money and hiring a lawyer,” Abbas said.

Justice and unfinished wounds

For Muhammed, grief and anger now coexist. His cousin survived displacement and years of uncertainty. He, however, did not survive a short journey to the mosque.

When asked what justice would look like for his family and the displaced community, Muhammed replied, “The law does not play by sentiments; it follows laid-down rules. I hope they will do what is right. If it is by my sentiments, I would not want them to be free. I would want them imprisoned for life.”

He paused.

“I don’t care about compensation. I don’t care about apologies. Justice for me is their imprisonment.”

A family left devastated 

Bulama was only 30 years old. He left behind two wives and five children.

He earned a living as a farmer. And before displacement forced the family from Boboshe in 2016, his father was killed. His elderly mother remains alive and still lives with them at the displacement camp.

The survival of his family, which was Bulama’s responsibility as the breadwinner, hangs uncertainly over relatives, who are also struggling to survive. “We are not rich people,” Muhammed said. “Caring for five children in addition to our own children will be difficult.”

Around the camp where he lived for over a decade, residents gather beneath makeshift shelters to rest, but the conversations about Bulama’s death remain on their lips. 

What remains immediate is his nuclear family, and the space left by a man who left home for Friday prayers and never returned.

Not every summer movie needs to be a mystery that unfolds hallway after hallway, with a creature hiding around every corner ready to pop out. But maybe the best one is: “Backrooms,” opening May 29 and directed by 20-year-old phenom Kane Parsons. We chatted with him about how he got to make his big debut for A24. Apart from that inspiring story, what can we hope for at the multiplex? We asked our staffers for their dreamiest expectations and they didn’t hold back: space epics, Matt Damon in a helmet and, yes, a “Jackass” movie. Read on and let this be your guide.

‘The Mandalorian and Grogu’

(May 22)

TV’s “The Mandalorian” premiered in 2019 and was the first live-action series in “Star Wars” history. Now, the next adventure of the fierce bounty hunter and his adorable young charge will be the franchise’s first big-screen installment since the sequel trilogy wrapped with “Episode IX — The Rise of Skywalker.” I, for one, am excited that Grogu, with all his snackish charm, has been promoted to title-character status along with Pedro Pascal’s more stoic Din Djarin. The movie will also introduce Sigourney Weaver as Col. Ward, a former Rebellion pilot turned New Republic leader, and Jeremy Allen White as grown-up Rotta the Hutt, Jabba’s son, who debuted as an infant in the animated “Star Wars: The Clone Wars.” — Tracy Brown

‘Masters of the Universe’

(June 5)

Our opinions of Hollywood’s dip into the nostalgia well may vary, but it’s easy to want to feel the kind of joy that a game or toy brought us when the world felt less complicated. He-Man’s best stories so far may have been on animated TV, but I have enough childhood memories of smashing the character’s action figure against others that I’m curious about how he’ll play in the big-screen sandbox. Starring Nicholas Galitzine as a wayward Prince Adam trapped on Earth, “Masters of the Universe” adds a contemporary twist and some modern sensibilities to the lore. With Laika Studios vet and “Bumblebee” director Travis Knight at the helm, I’m expecting a sweet balance of humor and heart. — Tracy Brown

‘Disclosure Day’

(June 12)

Nearly half a century after “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” and decades on from “E.T.” and “War of the Worlds,” Steven Spielberg is still looking to the skies — and we still want to know whether to be excited or terrified by what he sees. His latest brings extraterrestrial life into the realm of ’70s conspiracy thrillers. (Screenwriter David Koepp has compared it to paranoia pieces like “Three Days of the Condor.”) Emily Blunt plays a Kansas City meteorologist who begins receiving a signal from beyond Earth, while Josh O’Connor is a government employee on the run with information that powerful people are trying to keep hidden. If Spielberg’s earlier UFO movies gave us awe, comfort and catastrophe, this one feels like an encounter of a fourth kind: What happens when the cover story breaks? — Josh Rottenberg

‘The Death of Robin Hood’

(June 19)

Go to the beginnings of Hollywood and there are Robin Hood movies: Douglas Fairbanks, Errol Flynn, some shorts from even earlier. And it’s a safe bet that, as long as there’s pull to the idea of stealing from the rich and giving to the poor, there will be more to come. Quietly, writer-director Michael Sarnoski has made a niche for himself as a storyteller of regrets, of roads not taken. His 2021 restaurant memory drama “Pig” gave Nicolas Cage his subtlest dialogue in years, while “A Quiet Place: Day One” had no business being as believably haunted as it was. Sarnoski is the perfect person to do a retelling tilted toward the end of a rampager’s life. Hugh Jackman embodies the role with a rough dignity. — Joshua Rothkopf

‘Leviticus’

(June 19)

Unlike many tales of demonic possession, Adrian Chiarella’s feature debut lingers in the mind for being so recognizably close to home; it doesn’t need to crab-walk into the room, spin its head 360 degrees and announce itself as evil. In a small, backwards Australian community, coming of age and coming out evince fear in the Christian townsfolk. Two teenage boys (Stacy Clausen and “Talk to Me’s” writhing standout Joe Bird) keep their attraction to themselves. Even so, a violent curse bedevils them, a sophisticated feat of careful writing and directorial sensitivity that sets Chiarella apart from the gorehounds. Let’s also cheer the return of Mia Wasikowska, stepping back confidently. — Joshua Rothkopf

‘Maddie’s Secret’

(June 19)

An affectionate throwback to overly earnest TV movies (and a knowing send-up of over-the-top bad-girl flicks), this film marks the feature debut as writer-director for comedian John Early, who also stars. With a cast drawn from comedy-scene friends such as Kate Berlant and Conner O’Malley all tuned into a very specific wavelength, the movie somehow surpasses conventional notions of camp and irony to exist in a genuinely unique space all its own. As Maddie, an aspiring L.A. food influencer battling a secret eating disorder, Early’s performance will undoubtedly remain one of the most distinctive and original of the year, by equal turns outrageously funny and tenderly vulnerable, often in the same moment. — Mark Olsen

‘The Invite’

June 26

Olivia Wilde’s dinner-party dramedy made good on its considerable promise when it premiered at Sundance in January, earning a standing ovation and tears (of relief? joy?) from Wilde as she took the stage. Wilde and Seth Rogen play longtime marrieds harboring a laundry list of resentments who host their upstairs neighbors (Penélope Cruz, Edward Norton) for an evening of fun. At least it starts off that way, but of course, the gathering quickly sours, leaving us rubbernecking the damage. Wilde navigates the tonal shifts with authority, delivering surprises along the way, including an ending that somehow delivers hope for the institution of wedlock. Am I overselling it? Would I cry Woolf to you? — Glenn Whipp

‘Jackass: Best and Last’

(June 26)

Johnny Knoxville and his band of professional bad decision-makers are calling this one their final hurrah and, really, can you blame them? The original “Jackass” crew are now in their 50s, long past the point when being shot out of cannons and zapped with tasers seems like a sensible career plan. Knoxville himself was hospitalized with a brain injury after being flipped by a bull during the filming of 2022’s “Jackass Forever” and has said he can’t risk another concussion. This send-off mixes new stunts with archival footage, promising the usual outlandish pranks and blunt-force impacts to sensitive bodily regions. If this really is the end for the franchise, it’s hard to argue they didn’t push it as far as it would go. — Josh Rottenberg

‘Supergirl’

(June 26)

No diss to last summer’s charmingly square “Superman,” but the funniest scene in the movie was Milly Alcock’s 45-second cameo as Kal-El’s cousin Kara, who stumbled into his Fortress of Solitude to collect her dog Krypto still hungover from an outer-space bender. (“This is why he has behavioral issues,” Superman said with a sigh.) Now, she and the mutt have their own movie and zero pressure to represent truth, justice and a better tomorrow. Ana Nogueira’s script appears to be a riff on the 2021 comic-book miniseries “Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow,” in which the blond‘s birthday bacchanal takes a U-turn after Kara aligns with an alien child (young Eve Ridley from “3 Body Problem”). It’s basically an intergalactic “True Grit.” My one concern is that director Craig Gillespie made the too-squishy “Cruella.” Here’s hoping “Supergirl’s” tone is more sour than sweet. — Amy Nicholson

‘The Odyssey’

(July 17)

As the follow-up to his “Oppenheimer” — which won Oscars and made nearly $1 billion — Christopher Nolan has gone from an ambitious story about the creation of the nuclear bomb to an even more ambitious story rooted in the origins of literature. Adapting Homer’s ancient Greek saga, Nolan has created an epic to end all epics: the tale of a king struggling to return home after years away at war. With an absolutely stacked cast and told at a massive scale, “The Odyssey” indicates that Nolan seems to trust that modern audiences will respond to a 3,000-year-old tale, and that some aspects of the human experience truly are eternal. — Mark Olsen

‘I Want Your Sex’

(July 31)

A new Gregg Araki movie loaded with sex and bad choices? What a rare and wonderful summer treat. (It’s the indie provocateur’s first feature in more than a decade.) An unhinged Olivia Wilde as the ultimate bad boss — an art star hoping to recapture some edge — gets you in the door. But Araki has shaded in the margins masterfully, with vivid supporting turns by Chase Sui Wonders, Daveed Diggs and the now-ubiquitous Charli XCX. And it’s Cooper Hoffman, in a performance as flustered as his impresario in “Licorice Pizza” was confident, who commands the movie, topping from the bottom. Araki’s sensibility is, if anything, wiser now, though he’d probably flinch at the word. Brace for inappropriateness. — Joshua Rothkopf

‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’

(July 31)

It’s been five years since our friendly neighborhood webslinger’s last big-screen adventure and a lot has changed in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But it appears things have pretty much stayed the same for Peter Parker (Tom Holland). His last adventure involved him staving off a multiversal crisis by making everyone in the world forget him, including his best friends MJ (Zendaya) and Ned (Jacob Batalon). “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” picks up a few years later, with Peter still protecting the streets of New York as a masked superhero while his friends continue to live their lives unaware of what he once meant to them. Can some mutating DNA be the catalyst for a happy reunion? I hope so. — Tracy Brown

‘One Night Only’

(Aug. 7)

“The Purge”… but hot? That’s the pitch behind Will Gluck’s high-concept romantic comedy in which singles are eager to hook up on the one night a year when premarital sex is legal. The original story by Travis Braun was ranked No. 1 on the 2024 Black List of the best unproduced screenplays. While “that Gluck magic” doesn’t have quite the flow of the “Lubitsch touch,” he’s already directed one of the best modern rom-coms (“Easy A”) and one of the most lucrative (“Anyone but You”). Those films crowned Emma Stone and Sydney Sweeney as official movie stars. I’d love to see this film’s ingenue, Monica Barbaro, ascend to their ranks. Barbaro excelled in the Bob Dylan biopic “A Complete Unknown,” where her hard-to-impress Joan Baez earned her an Oscar nod for supporting actress. This is her chance to seduce the audience as well as her onscreen co-star Callum Turner. I’m eager to commit. — Amy Nicholson

‘Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma’

(Aug. 7)

Jane Schoenbrun has become one of the freshest new voices in American independent filmmaking with 2021’s “We’re All Going to the World’s Fair” and 2024’s “I Saw the TV Glow,” transforming pop-culture obsessions into emotional explorations of identity and self-discovery. Promising to turn the summer camp slasher movie inside-out, their latest effort is about an up-and-coming director (“Hacks” star Hannah Einbinder) who entreats a faded scream queen (Gillian Anderson) to return to the horror franchise that once made her a star. Einbinder and Anderson locked into a psychosexual transference story already feels plenty potent. Put that setup in the anything-goes hands of Schoenbrun and it should make for a combustible combination of genre, persona, desire and fun. — Mark Olsen

‘The End of Oak Street’

(Aug. 14)

Do you ever look out your window and, tired of the same old view, long that you could just pick up and live somewhere else? I don’t know if Anne Hathaway’s character in David Robert Mitchell’s “The End of Oak Street” has ached for that kind of change, but it sure seems to have found her and her family in this tale of a suburbia transported to … prehistoric times? To another dimension, a dimension of sound, a dimension of sight, a dimension of mind? I do not know. I do not want to know. I do know that there is a dinosaur giving chase. And Ewan McGregor looks alarmed. And Mitchell is the weirdo writer-director behind “It Follows” and “Under the Silver Lake.” That’s all I need. — Glenn Whipp

‘The Dog Stars’

(Aug. 28)

Director Ridley Scott long ago secured his place in film history with “Alien,” “Blade Runner” and “Gladiator.” The fact that he’s still at it at 88 makes each new film feel like an event. His latest adapts Peter Heller’s 2012 novel set in the aftermath of a pandemic that’s nearly wiped out humanity. Jacob Elordi, hot off “Frankenstein,” plays Hig, one of the few immune survivors, a pilot living at an abandoned airfield with his dog and a heavily armed survivalist (Josh Brolin). Hig’s days are spent flying perimeter patrols, scanning for signs of life — or trouble — until he encounters Margaret Qualley’s Cima, a medic guarding her own small foothold in the ruined world. Scott has called the film hopeful, which may be the most intriguing part: a post-apocalyptic story about why anyone bothers to keep going. — Josh Rottenberg

Manaka Matsukubo finished with a goal and an assist to lead the North Carolina Courage to a 2-1 win over Angel City at BMO Stadium on Sunday.

Matsukubo slipped a ball through to Evelyn Ijeh, who calmly finished to give the Courage a 1-0 lead in the 48th minute. With the goal, Ijeh has landed on the scoresheet in three straight matches.

Three minutes later, Evelyn Shores’ pinpoint cross into the box found the head of Maiara Niehues for the equalizer.

North Carolina retook the lead for good in the 79th with Riley Jackson’s perfectly weighted pass to Matsukubo, who scored her fifth goal of the season.

EXPLAINER

While a peace deal between the US and Iran remains elusive, Israel has deepened its offensive into southern Lebanon.

The United States military says it has struck Iranian military sites, and Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) says it has targeted a US base in response, the latest in a series of exchanges as negotiations to end the three-month US-Israel war on Iran are conducted.

US President Donald Trump also on Monday described Iran as eager to reach an agreement.

“Iran really wants to make a deal, and it will be a good one for the USA and those that are with us,” he posted on his Truth Social platform.

Here is the latest on the US-Iran negotiations as both sides announced on day 94 of the war on Iran that they traded attacks:

In Iran

• Production restored at South Pars: Iran has restored gas production at three offshore platforms in the South Pars gasfield after Israel attacked them in March.
• US says it attacks Iranian military sites: The US military’s Central Command (CENTCOM) said it conducted “self-defense strikes” on Iranian radar and drone sites in the city of Goruk and on Qeshm Island at the weekend.
• Iran executes two men over January protests: Iran executed two men convicted over their role in antigovernment protests in January, according to the Mizan news agency. The men were found guilty of setting fire to a mosque in Tehran, damaging public property and clashing with security forces, Mizan reported.

War diplomacy

• Iran says messages being sent to US: Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tehran is continuing to exchange messages with the US on a deal to end the war.

• Trump’s stance: Araghchi’s comments came after US media reported that Trump has called for tougher terms in the preliminary agreement.

In the Gulf

• Kuwait intercepts missiles and drones: The General Staff of the Kuwaiti army said its air defences were “confronting hostile missile and drone attacks”. If sounds of explosions are heard, they are the result of air defences intercepting the projectiles, the army added.

In Lebanon

• Israel pushes farther into Lebanon: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered Israel’s military to push farther into Lebanon after Israeli forces made their deepest incursion into the country in more than 25 years.
• Hezbollah says it downs Israeli drone: The Lebanese armed group said it shot down an Israeli Hermes 450 drone over the western sector of southern Lebanon using a surface-to-air missile on Sunday evening. It said in a statement on Telegram that the strike was in response to Israeli violations of a ceasefire that went into effect on April 8.
• Hezbollah strikes Israeli forces in southern Lebanon: Hezbollah also said its fighters fired a large number of rockets and artillery shells at Israeli forces on the eastern outskirts of the town of Yohmor al-Shaqif in southern Lebanon early on Monday.
• US proposes new plan: The US has put forward a proposal to de-escalate hostilities in Lebanon, a US official told Al Jazeera, adding that Secretary of State Marco Rubio held separate talks with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Netanyahu.

In Israel

• Israel said rocket fired from Lebanon intercepted: The Israeli military said it intercepted a rocket that set off sirens in northern Israel and destroyed the launcher from which Hezbollah fired the projectile. Earlier, Israel’s Ynet News website reported that air raid sirens had been heard in Western Galilee, the town of Kiryat Shmona and surrounding areas.

In the US

• The IRGC says it strikes US airbase: The IRGC said it struck an airbase that was used for an attack on a telecommunications tower on Sirik Island, located in the southern province of Hormozgan, Iran’s Fars news agency reported. The IRGC did not specify the location of the facility.
• Trump says Iran wants to make a deal: In a new Truth Social post, Trump claimed Tehran “really wants to make a deal” and whatever deal is reached will “be a good one” for the US “and those that are with us”.

BRITAIN’S best staycations for 2026 have been revealed, with Cornwall’s St Ives once again taking the top spot and the Northumberland village of Bamburgh in second place as a new entrant.

The annual staycation report, based on a survey of 2,000 adults, revealed Bourton-on-the-Water and Salcombe have risen in popularity while other seaside destinations also saw shifts in the rankings.

Brighton overtook Lyme Regis after climbing to sixth place, ahead of the Dorset town, which has moved from fifth last year to seventh.

Almost a third of adults (28 per cent) are more likely to take a holiday on home soil this year than in 2025.

The research, commissioned by Sykes Holiday Cottages, also found 38 per cent plan to take their main holiday in the UK this year, rising to 53 per cent among Gen Z.

This compares with 34 per cent of adults who said the same last year, while Gen Z’s interest in UK holidays has risen from 45 per cent in 2025.

James Shaw, chief commercial officer at the holiday brand which launched the annual Staycation Index Report, said: “The continued popularity of UK breaks demonstrates that staycations remain a key part of how Brits holiday.

“More people are choosing to stay at home and prioritising value, flexibility and reassurance when planning time away, particularly amid ongoing uncertainty around overseas travel.

“What’s especially notable this year is the growing influence of younger travellers, Gen Z is increasingly embracing UK holidays, with more people opting for experience-led trips that combine scenery, food, culture and the chance to explore multiple destinations in one break.

“From seaside towns and national parks to countryside retreats, the UK continues to offer an enormous variety of holiday experiences, and that’s reflected in the strength and diversity of destinations featured in this year’s rankings.”

The research also found when it comes to budgeting, staycation goers expect to spend an average of £1,171 in total on accommodation, food, travel and spending money.

It also emerged 64 per cent are planning to – or have considered – a multi-destination road trip, stopping off at an average of three locations.

Coastal spots (65 per cent) are the most sought after, followed by rural areas (56 per cent) and national parks (38 per cent).

Tourist attractions (48 per cent) were big influences when deciding where to visit, alongside locations with fond memories (38 per cent) and good reviews and ratings (35 per cent).

Of the 78 per cent hoping for a UK break this year, 67 per cent say they enjoy the country’s scenery and nature, while 48 per cent claim it’s simply the time they have to switch off and relax.

The research, carried out via OnePoll, found 14 per cent have been influenced by a film or TV show, with Peaky Blinders the most influential following its film release this year (11 per cent), set in Birmingham.

Similarly, Northern Island, home of the Game of Thrones prequel, and Northumberland, which was a location for Jurassic World, were also popular (both 10 per cent).

James Shaw, added: “For many people, holidays remain one of the most important opportunities in the year to properly switch off and spend quality time together, even as budgets remain under pressure.

“What this research highlights is that UK travel continues to appeal because it offers both convenience and variety – whether that’s a coastal escape, a countryside road trip or revisiting places that hold personal memories.

“We’re also seeing more travellers embrace flexible, multi-stop breaks, with people increasingly keen to experience more of what the UK has to offer in a single trip.”

The TWZ Newsletter

Weekly insights and analysis on the latest developments in military technology, strategy, and foreign policy.

The cost to connect each of the U.S. military’s Low-Cost Uncrewed Combat Attack System (LUCAS) one-way attack drones to space-based networks has risen from $5,000 to $25,000 a month, according to a new report. This is said to be the result of a switch from using the commercial Starlink network to its more secure government-focused cousin Starshield, which SpaceX demanded after extensive use of LUCAS drones in the latest conflict with Iran. The Pentagon has pushed back on the story, but it still highlights how critical SpaceX’s networks and other space services have become across the U.S. government, which TWZ has previously explored in detail.

Reuters first reported on the price increase to connect the datalinks on LUCAS drones to SpaceX’s space-based networks earlier today. The story cites anonymous sources, as well as Pentagon documents the outlet says it reviewed. This follows the recent announcement that the Pentagon is working to make LUCAS more autonomous with new artificial intelligence (AI) driven swarming capabilities, which could impact future connectivity demands.

Produced by SpektreWorks, LUCAS was developed in close cooperation with the U.S. military. It is a reverse-engineered clone of the Iranian-designed Shahed-136 and has a unit cost of around $35,000. The American drone already comes in multiple variations, and there is a related target drone design for use in training and test and evaluation activities. Versions fitted with miniature beyond-line-of-sight satellite datalinks, allowing for dynamic control and for their progress to be otherwise monitored after launch, have been a fixture in official pictures of LUCAS drones in the Middle East.

In the video in the social media post below, the satellite communications terminal can be seen hanging from a cord on a LUCAS drone said to have been recovered largely intact in Iraq.

Local Iraqi residents are taking the newly deployed, nearly intact American LUCAS drone for themselves. pic.twitter.com/fbx411iAYU

— Special Kherson Cat 🐈🇺🇦 (@bayraktar_1love) March 2, 2026

The U.S. military announced it had begun fielding LUCAS drones operationally last December with a special operations-led task force in the Middle East. LUCAS’s official combat debut came in the opening wave of strikes on Iran on February 28. U.S. Navy Adm. Brad Cooper, head of U.S. Central Command, subsequently described the one-way attackers as an “indispensable” component of that operation, dubbed Epic Fury.

What we know about SpaceX’s reported upcharge for LUCAS

“Within weeks of the United States launching its bombing campaign, SpaceX executives met Pentagon officials and argued ​the military had been paying about $5,000 for connection per terminal while effectively using a higher tier of service worth closer to $25,000,” according to Reuters. “SpaceX argued the ⁠LUCAS drones were operating under conditions that aligned more closely with its aviation tier subscription rather than a lower priced land or mobility service. Pentagon officials argued that the $25,000 price tag – a monthly fee – was designed for aircraft, not kamikaze drones that used Starlink connection for a matter of minutes ​or hours.”

“The Pentagon, which was ramping up strikes on Iran, ultimately agreed to pay SpaceX’s proposed price increase,” Reuters‘ report added.

The story also said this reflected broader “tensions” between the Pentagon and SpaceX that have been growing recently over Starlink fees.

“The Fake News media has the story wrong, again,” top Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell subsequently wrote in a post on X. “The claims in this article are simply not based in reality and do not reflect the close, effective collaboration between our teams.”

The Fake News media has the story wrong, again. @SpaceX remains a strong and valued partner to the Department of War.

The claims in this article are simply not based in reality and do not reflect the close, effective collaboration between our teams. https://t.co/872Maa5FX2

— Sean Parnell (@SeanParnellASW) May 26, 2026

When reached for comment by TWZ earlier today before Parnell’s post, the Pentagon did not directly address Reuters‘ report.

“The Department of War is committed to fostering a competitive environment for commercial satellite communications and is conducting comprehensive market research to continuously monitor commercial offerings that align with government requirements,” a Pentagon official told us. “We are actively engaging with industry to identify innovative solutions and new entrants, ensuring acquisitions are inclusive of a diverse range of capable vendors.”

“The Commercial Satellite Communications Office is working on additional options with other proliferated low earth orbit partners as part of its strategy to leverage the unprecedented capabilities provided by the commercial SATCOM industry,” that same official added. “The U.S. Space Force is operating in accordance with the terms and conditions of its contracts.”

TWZ has also reached out to SpaceX for more information.

“It is a violation of commercial Starlink terms of service to use the terminal for weapon systems. This applies to all users and is shut down when discovered,” Elon Musk, who is the founder and CEO of SpaceX among his other endeavors, had written on X on March 1 in response to a post about LUCAS making use of Starlink. “There is a separate network called Starshield, which is operated by the US government. This is not under SpaceX control.”

It is a violation of commercial Starlink terms of service to use the terminal for weapon systems. This applies to all users and is shut down when discovered.

There is a separate network called Starshield, which is operated by the US government. This is not under SpaceX control.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 2, 2026

SpaceX’s networks and the LUCAS cost equation

Though described as a “monthly fee,” Reuters‘ report indicates that the U.S. military pays the $25,000 only once to employ a LUCAS drone. As the piece points out, the Pentagon reportedly argued that it should get to pay the lower $5,000 rate because it was only using the network to support LUCAS in timeframes measured in “minutes ​or hours.” This is also in line with Reuters describing the added cost as effectively approaching doubling the LUCAS drone’s $35,000 unit price.

The entire point of these one-way-attack drones is to offer a lower-cost complement to traditional exquisite long-range strike munitions. The Tomahawk cruise missile, the unit cost of a current-generation version of which is generally said to be in the $2 to $2.5 million range, is often used as a point of comparison, although they are far from equal in many ways. The underlying argument for LUCAS also relies on the drone being relatively cheap and easy to produce, as well as employ in large volumes. TWZ laid all of this out in a detailed case for the Pentagon acquiring exactly these kinds of drones in mass, which we published just three months before LUCAS was confirmed to be in operational service.

A combined price tag of some $60,000 (the unit cost plus one month’s fee to connect to Starshield, as reported by Reuters) would still be far less expensive than the cost of a single Tomahawk. Using Starlink/Starshield terminals to begin with, beyond their connectivity advantages, offers the benefit of miniaturized high-bandwidth hardware that is being produced at a commercial scale.

Plans to make LUCAS more autonomous through the addition of new swarming capabilities could affect future network connectivity requirements for the drones. This will be enabled by the integration of Shield AI’s Hivemind autonomy software, as you can read more about here.

Shield AI flies Hivemind AI Pilot on 6th Aircraft

As TWZ recently wrote:

“For the time being, the U.S. military demands a human operator is ‘in or on the loop’ for kinetic or otherwise potentially deadly actions, as opposed to letting autonomous weapons choose what targets to attack on their own without any extra authorization. While less controversial morally, this can also be a tactical hindrance, slowing the swarm’s potential and adding complexity and vulnerabilities to its operations. The debate around this choice will only get more heated as adversaries bypass this elected restriction in order to get an upper hand in future combat scenarios.”

“As we pointed out in our initial reporting on LUCAS’s emergence, the fact that some of the LUCAS drones already include miniature SATCOM terminals is very noteworthy. After all, ‘human in the loop’ swarming would not be possible without this form of communications at the beyond line-of-sight ranges these drones fly. At the same time, an entire swarm can be controlled in this manner, even if just a handful are equipped with SATCOM terminals. While a swarm can be mesh networked within line-of-sight, it has to relay all the important information back to an operator. By using some of the drones as SATCOM relay nodes, the entire swarm can be controlled remotely from most places on the planet.”

“Regardless, the Hivemind AI pilot will allow appropriately equipped LUCAS drones to perceive their environment, make decisions, and act autonomously without continuous human input. Unlike conventional autopilots tied to fixed flight paths, Hivemind is designed to dynamically adjust mission plans, react to unforeseen conditions, avoid obstacles, and carry out complex tasks with minimal operator oversight.”

An increase in fees to connect individual SATCOM terminals to SpaceX’s networks, as well as cost savings on hardware, might further push the Pentagon toward a hub-and-spoke mesh-like networking arrangement like the one described above. LUCAS drones could also be employed in other contexts where satellite connectivity throughout the course of a mission might not be required, including if used essentially as fire-and-forget missiles aimed at fixed target coordinates. A SATCOM terminal would not be necessary at all for this kind of mission set, although it would be beneficial.

There is also a question about the total bandwidth that might be required to support swarms of LUCAS drones. From Reuters‘ reporting today, the increased load on its networks was a central factor in SpaceX’s demands for higher fees after strikes on Iran began. That being said, as already mentioned, Starlink/Starshield terminals are already designed with relatively high bandwidth use in mind.

These same considerations will apply to current and future programs that rely heavily on SpaceX’s satellite communications networks.

Dependence on SpaceX and U.S. national security

Specific cost figures aside, the LUCAS drone’s reliance on Starlink/Starshield underscores SpaceX’s dominance in the satellite communications market globally. It also highlights how essential the company’s space-based networks have already become for the U.S. military. TWZ explored this reality in detail amid open feuding between President Donald Trump and Elon Musk last year. The relationship between Trump and Musk has since rebounded, with the latter accompanying the President on his recent state visit to China.

Reuters reported today that there are some 10,000 satellites in SpaceX’s constellation supporting Starlink and Starshield, and that this represents more than 60 percent of all satellites currently in orbit. The company’s space-based networks, far and away, dominate the commercial satellite communications space globally. Offerings from competitors like OneWeb and Amazon Leo are more limited in scale and scope.

Watch SpaceX deploy Starlink satellites into space

This is reflected in the U.S. government’s ever-growing use of Starlink/Starshield on aircraft, ships, and in settings on land. This includes integration on some very high-value assets, including the U.S. Marine Corps’ VH-92 Patriot presidential helicopters and U.S. Navy aircraft carriers. There has also been a steadily growing push to use these networks to support tactical operations, as now highlighted by the link to LUCAS. The U.S. military had first demonstrated the ability to use Starlink to transmit targeting data years ago.

The U.S. government’s increasing use of Starlink/Starshield has already prompted operational security questions, even just in the context of supporting day-to-day peacetime operations, as you can read more about here. Starshield is designed to be more secure to help address these concerns for government customers.

At the same time, heavy use of Starlink on both sides of the conflict in Ukraine, including as a means of guiding one-way attackers in the air and at sea, has further underscored potential risks associated with the use of the networks in tactical scenarios. SpaceX and CEO Musk have faced particularly significant criticism in the past over limiting some Ukrainian use of the network. Actions SpaceX took earlier this year to block unregistered Starlink terminals also had major consequences for Russian forces, which were sent scrambling to find alternatives to fill the massive resulting communications gaps.

What SpaceX might have been prepared to do if the Pentagon did not agree to pay increased fees to support LUCAS is unknown. We also do not know what kind of protections are currently baked into U.S. contracts with SpaceX to prevent government users from being suddenly disconnected without warning. Regardless, as noted earlier, the Pentagon could deploy LUCAS swarms with just a handful of drones equipped with terminals to relay the critical info needed to control the rest of the formation, and LUCAS can still be used as a fire-and-forget weapon without any beyond line-of-sight connectivity, although this would greatly curtail its flexibility and, in some cases, its efficacy.

As the Pentagon official noted to TWZ today, there is a push to explore commercial alternatives to Starlink/Starshield and promote further competition in this space. At the same time, part of the attractiveness of Starlink/Starshield for the U.S. government has been the relatively low costs and other benefits associated with leveraging such well-established networks, as well as the knowledge base that comes along with that pedigree. Just today, the U.S. Space Force announced it had finalized a new Other Transaction Authority (OTA) agreement with SpaceX, valued at $2.29 billion, for work on the Space Data Network (SDN) Backbone program. The SDN is tied to work on new space-based sensing and targeting capabilities, particularly for missile defense, which could now feed into the Golden Dome initiative.

Beyond satellite communications, SpaceX is reportedly also now a critical player in U.S. military efforts to increasingly move air and ground moving target indicator (AMTI/GMTI) tasks into orbit.

On top of all this, SpaceX is also by far the top provider of space launch services globally, as well as other space-related services, including for the U.S. government. The core elements of Golden Dome, including the sustainment of planned batteries of space-based interceptors, require reliable, routine access to space at a frequency that only SpaceX can provide within budget constraints.

SpaceX looks set to remain a dominant force in this market space worldwide for the foreseeable future, and it continues to expand its presence, driven heavily by commercial demand. The company’s government contracts, though substantial, only account for around a fifth of its annual revenue, according to Reuters.

Despite the Pentagon’s response to the particulars of Reuters’ story today, being so heavily reliant on one provider for critical technologies still raises important questions not just for LUCAS, but for other efforts across the U.S. military that rely on robust and secure satellite communications connectivity.

Contact the author: joe@twz.com