News Desk

Al Jazeera’s Tareq Abu Azzoum reports from Al-Shati Refugee Camp, where families search through the rubble after overnight Israeli airstrikes despite a ceasefire. Residents described the attacks as a breach of the truce, saying they lost shelter, belongings and the only places they had left to stay.

To describe a movie as including a ski mask, a camcorder and $50,000 in cash would certainly lead one to imagine a specific type of story. Add two men and sex work and the brain might roll around more pointed scenarios.

But none of that can prepare you for what micro-indie “Blue Film” has in store. The nexus of perversion, pain and sexual purpose driving writer-director Elliot Tuttle’s dark, discursive chamber drama is of a stripe rarely attempted in even the most self-consciously daring movies. Should you need a self-imposed break afterward from intimate two-handers, even Tuttle might understand, then wink in the general direction of his Pasolini posters. (I’m guessing at this provocateur’s wall art.)

Is it clear yet that “Blue Film,” set primarily in a house in Los Angeles over the course of a revelatory night, isn’t for everybody? Some of that “everybody,” incidentally, includes the festivals and distributors who rejected the queer filmmaker’s debut feature, despite having critical buzz, Tony-winning actor Reed Birney as one of its stars and indie guru Mark Duplass as a mentoring producer.

But certain subjects (spoilers ahead) are bound to trigger a different kind of scrutiny. Initially, our attention is on macho-posturing tattooed camboy Aaron (“Boots” star Kieron Moore), graphically boasting to his followers online of the big payday he’ll receive that evening from a submissive client. What he later encounters, however, at the door of a Craftsman on a quiet street is a masked, polite, older host (Birney) with a camera and, once it’s turned on, a lot of personal questions, the kind that begin to crack the facade of a young man used to being in control of his transactional life.

Then his client’s face is revealed and Aaron recognizes it’s his middle school teacher Hank, a convicted pedophile who once coveted him. Hank, who completed prison time for the attempted assault of a different boy, has made a cross-country trip to seek out the adult version of someone who could have been his first victim. He is still processing what he is, wondering if desire, even love, is available to him anymore.

The question is, will you care? Even viewed through Aaron’s cautious, clear-eyed empathy, it’s a steep ask. But you should. Tuttle’s fearless inquisition won’t insult your intelligence, ask your mercy or hogtie your feelings. Honestly, it’s refreshing to be repulsed and intrigued by a movie willing to plumb these psychological depths when Hollywood won’t. In its commitment to unvarnished talk — even if that leads to a clunky staginess — “Blue Film” has thoughts about identity, choice, sin and salvation. There’s a sincere engagement with humanity’s more difficult realities.

Needless to say, this type of graphically articulated exchange wouldn’t work if the performances didn’t land. Thankfully, Moore’s affecting portrayal of jumbled masculinity mixed with situational curiosity is well-calibrated, while Birney, a pro with a challenge, eases us into Hank’s weary self-possession (if not always the nauseating facts of it) before coloring outside the lines with a believably interesting philosophy about reckoning.

But “Blue Film” is tough, make no mistake. Awkward and searching, it exists in a filmic space that you could argue was opened up by last year’s courageous documentary “Predators.” And sometimes that gaze is just discomfiting, full stop. Tuttle wants that. He has room to improve but he’s someone to watch, plumbing the hard-to-fathom.

In the occupied West Bank, a marathon is a political statement. Palestinians ran alongside the separation wall today, a structure that cuts them off from their land, their families, and even the sea. Al Jazeera’s @leila.shw reports from Bethlehem.

Niger’s military government has banned many local and foreign reporters since seizing power in 2023.

Media watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has condemned Niger’s suspension of nine French media publications as the military government continues to crack down on journalists.

Niger announced the suspension on Friday, citing “repeated dissemination of content likely to seriously jeopardise public order, national unity, social cohesion, and the stability of the institutions of the Republic”.

The suspended organisations are France 24, RFI (Radio France Internationale), France Afrique Media, LSI Africa, AFP (Agence France-Presse), TV5 Monde, TF1 Info, Jeune Afrique and Mediapart, according to a TV statement from the National Communication Observatory (ONC).

It added that the decision was “immediate” and it included “satellite packages, cable networks, digital platforms, websites and mobile applications”.

RSF described the decision as “abusive”.

“RSF condemns a coordinated strategy to repress press freedom within the AES [Alliance of Sahel States] and calls for the immediate reversal of this abusive decision,” said a statement posted on X, referring to Niger and allies Mali and Burkina Faso, all ruled by military governments.

Niger’s military seized power in July 2023, toppling the democratically elected government of President Mohamed Bazoum and detaining him.

The government has since targeted local and foreign media outlets, particularly those critical of its policies, by issuing bans or suspensions.

RFI and France 24 were suspended a few days after the coup, and the BBC from Britain was suspended in December 2024.

The targeting of French and other foreign media comes as Niger’s military government has largely severed ties with its former colonial power, France, and turned away from Western allies.

In late 2023, Niger asked leaders in Paris to withdraw thousands of troops involved in missions against armed groups operating in Niger, neighbouring Mali and Burkina Faso.

The three AES states have since secured defence partnerships with other countries, notably Russia.

All three have regularly denounced France’s “imperialism”, saying they want to assert their “sovereignty”. French media and other foreign outlets have similarly been suspended or banned by the governments in Bamako and Ouagadougou.

Local journalists have also been affected. Two Nigerien journalists, Gazali Abdou, a correspondent for German broadcaster Deutsche Welle, and Hassane Zada, a regional newspaper editor, were released this week after being detained for months.

In 2024, leaders in the capital Niamey strengthened a law that criminalises the digital dissemination of “data likely to disturb public order”.

The United Nations said in November that 13 journalists were arrested in Niger and urged the government to release them. Local media organisations say six journalists are detained for allegedly “undermining national defence” and for “conspiracy against the authority of the state”.

According to AFP, Niger suspended nearly 3,000 local and foreign NGOs in 2025, accusing them of lacking transparency and supporting “terrorists” and armed groups.

Niger dropped 37 places in this year’s RSF World Press Freedom Index and now ranks 120th out of 180 countries. RSF and Amnesty International have repeatedly voiced concerns about the “decline” in press freedom in Niger.

If, god forbid, there’s a natural disaster in L.A. in the near future, Jena Malone might be one of your first responders.

“I’ve been studying Community Emergency Response Team training,” the actor-musician, 41, said, drinking coffee in the living room of her home overlooking pomegranate trees and a canyon in northeast L.A. “Whether it’s fire management or building a neighborhood tool shed, it’s less important for me to hit career milestones now than to transform how I live on this planet. Let’s build something where we’re all taking care of each other’s needs through mutual aid.”

Those are galvanizing priorities from Malone, who’s led generationally beloved films like the sci-fi noir “Donnie Darko,” played the axe-chucking Johanna Mason in two “Hunger Games” tentpoles and recently co-starred in the lesbian bodybuilding revenge flick “Love Lies Bleeding.” For almost as long, she’s also made experimental folk and electronic records that toy with avant-garde noise and quietly poignant songwriting.

This is a wild time in L.A. for anyone concerned about the city and its culture industries, and Malone is deeply invested in both. Just before the release of her new Netflix series, the Duffer Brothers-produced “The Boroughs,” she’s released her first album in nearly a decade. “Flowers For Men” is an effects-shredded, future-primitive record, written after the birth of her son upended her obligations — and expectations — toward the men in her life and the world they’ll inherit.

“It changed everything,” Malone said, about raising a son. “I grew up learning to thrive and mask in masculine spaces. Grind culture is a masculine toxicity that I inherited and indoctrinated myself in. But parenthood offers you this opportunity to burn your entire life down in sacrifice to finding out what’s real. I had no idea what it was to be a man. All of my ideas burned down and not much was being raised back up.”

For millennial film fans, Malone’s been a consistently compelling, trust-anything-she’s-in actor since her child-star turn in 1997’s “Contact.” Few embody a tortured, beguiling Americana quite like her.

“The Boroughs” — a high-profile follow-up to “Stranger Things” from the masters of unreality, created by Jeffrey Addiss and Will Matthews — has a stacked cast that includes Alfred Molina, Geena Davis and Bill Pullman, set amid a bucolic retirement community under supernatural threat. A ragtag group of Duffer Brothers misfits teaming up to fight off eldritch horror might be the last safe bet in television.

Yet that’s also how Malone feels about the current climate of Hollywood — a once-stable neighborhood fending off malign forces. Institutional consolidation and retreat, spiraling costs, technological upheaval — they all add to a creeping sense that an era is over, and worse is coming.

“Film is in such a delicate transition. I think that where music was 20 years ago, film is now,” she said. “It’s like being on an elevator where every floor is on fire. A lot of the things that I loved about it no longer exist, even if what I love about it is still wildly potent. My stress levels go down and my creativity goes up when I’m building a world that does not rely on the film industry, even though it’s my main love.”

That feeling called her back to music on “Flowers For Men,” arriving nine years after her last LP. The ego-shattering experience of giving birth in 2016 and raising a son prompted reflections about what men’s inner lives were really like, and she wanted to write about them.

“I was raised by two moms, and I had this strange aspiration to become the dad,” Malone said, laughing. “I was the breadwinner of my family then. But being a parent was all brand-new to me. I kept seeing my father in him, my grandfather, these older relationships with men. It was asking me to look at him with curious, childlike eyes.”

“Flowers For Men” was written from a sincere curiosity about mens’ strictures, bad influences and better aspirations. To inhabit someone else’s life, she had to sound different, too.

“Film is in such a delicate transition. I think that where music was 20 years ago, film is now,” Malone said. “It’s like being on an elevator where every floor is on fire. A lot of the things that I loved about it no longer exist, even if what I love about it is still wildly potent.

(Evan Mulling/For The Times)

The most prominent instrument on the album is its layers of vocal treatments. Malone has a lovely natural voice — intimately whispered, with hints of ‘70s country rock. But here she douses it in pitch-shifted digital acid, like a late 2000s R&B record dropped in the pool at the Joshua Tree Inn.

It’s an uncanny combo, but its lends modern melancholy to “Barstow,” which has the narrative structure of a Townes Van Zandt banger but is corroded with bleary effects. “Create In Your Name” has a Billie Eilish-worthy late-night murk, with lyrics so devotional they almost sound consumptive. “Disaster Zones” is all blown-out ambience, and the LP closes on a showstopping cover of John Prine’s classic “Angel From Montgomery.”

“I just love that a man wrote a song where the first line is ‘I’m an old woman,’” Malone said. “As a female songwriter, it gives me so much permission. Now all the doors are open. If I was to give flowers to all of the different men that have touched or changed things that deserve celebration, John Prine would be one of them.”

That idea — celebrating men for the good they’re capable of — felt transgressive enough today that it cohered the album for her. But it also came with questions about how romantic partnership fit into her life. Settling into motherhood, she read up on relationship anarchy — which she sees as not abiding by tiers of connection. She bought books on ethical nonmonogamy (“Sex at Dawn” was a big one) to learn how other lives were not just possible, but maybe even more fulfilling.

(Perhaps this was not a stretch from an actor who played the wild child Lydia Bennet in “Pride and Prejudice.”)

“I had been under this societal understanding that hierarchical love, placing one partner above everything else, was the ultimate romantic expression. I could name hundreds of movies that brought that up,” she said. “But while I’m learning to take care of this child, I’m realizing that self-love is one of the most important parts of this equation. I need to have expression, some work in life that felt like another love. And then my family, and how important friends were. And all of a sudden there’s no world where I would just have one love, not even just romantic love.”

“I had been under this societal understanding that hierarchical love, placing one partner above everything else, was the ultimate romantic expression. I could name hundreds of movies that brought that up,” Malone said. “But while I’m learning to take care of this child, I’m realizing that self-love is one of the most important parts of this equation. I need to have expression, some work in life that felt like another love.

(Evan Mulling/For The Times)

“Flowers For Men” is, in her way, a bargain with that contradiction — to love men deeply, but never put them above all else, even as she got engaged to her partner, actor Jack Buckley, earlier this year.

She’s still sorting out how to present this album live. She said she’s a fan of the Dead City Punx model of renegade shows in forgotten corners of L.A. Maybe as the city seems to fall apart, she’ll find a leafy park or the back of a dingy bar that’s the right home for these strange, lonely yet hopeful songs.

“I want someone to walk into the bathroom and be like, ‘Whoa, why is there a woman singing to me?’” Malone said. “I like the idea that art makes you a little uncomfortable and you don’t have the previously held expectations to know how to hold it.”

May 8 (Asia Today) — A new political group supporting Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is set to launch within the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, raising questions about the return of faction-style politics less than two years after the party formally moved to dismantle its traditional factions.

The Yomiuri Shimbun reported Thursday that the new group, called the National Power Research Association, will hold its first meeting on May 21 with participation from senior ruling party figures including former Prime Minister Taro Aso and former Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi.

The organization is being positioned as a policy study group, but analysts say it could effectively serve as a new political base for Takaichi inside the party.

The group’s abbreviated name, “JiB,” is derived from Takaichi’s campaign slogan, “Japan is Back,” used during the Liberal Democratic Party leadership race last year.

Founding documents distributed to lawmakers this week state that the government and ruling party “will work as one” to implement policy, with a focus on security, energy and resource issues.

George Glass, the U.S. ambassador to Japan, has reportedly been invited to speak at the inaugural meeting on U.S.-Japan relations and related topics.

Although Takaichi herself is not expected to attend the first gathering, the decision to feature the American ambassador highlights the group’s emphasis on the U.S.-Japan alliance, economic security and defense cooperation.

The organization was reportedly spearheaded by Hiroshi Yamada, a lawmaker close to Takaichi, along with senior party officials including Koichi Hagiuda.

Other participants include prominent ruling party lawmakers and potential future leadership contenders such as Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi and policy chief Takayuki Kobayashi.

The group is encouraging participation across current and former factions, both chambers of parliament and newly elected lawmakers.

Still, questions remain over whether the organization will be accepted as a legitimate policy forum or criticized as a de facto revival of faction politics under a different name.

The Liberal Democratic Party pledged reforms after political funding scandals triggered public backlash and accelerated efforts to dissolve traditional factions.

Critics argue that reorganizing lawmakers through policy groups risks recreating the same power structures the party had promised to dismantle.

The development is also being closely watched in South Korea because of its potential implications for regional security and economic policy.

If Takaichi strengthens her position inside the ruling party, analysts expect Japan to pursue more consistent policies on military expansion, the U.S.-Japan alliance, trilateral cooperation with the United States and South Korea, and energy and supply chain security.

At the same time, observers warn that a stronger conservative political base inside the ruling party could also affect disputes involving history, defense policy and constitutional revision.

Analysts say the launch of the new group signals that the Takaichi administration is beginning to build a longer-term organizational foundation for its security and economic agenda inside the ruling party.

— Reported by Asia Today; translated by UPI

© Asia Today. Unauthorized reproduction or redistribution prohibited.

Original Korean report: https://www.asiatoday.co.kr/kn/view.php?key=20260508010001815

Russia held a scaled-back Victory Day parade on May 9 due to concerns over potential attacks from Ukraine. This parade, which celebrates the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany and honors the 27 million Soviet citizens who died, saw no military equipment displayed, unlike in previous years. Instead, images of advanced military weapons, such as intercontinental ballistic missiles and fighter jets, were shown on giant screens.

President Vladimir Putin attended the event, seated next to veterans, and gave a speech claiming that Russian soldiers are inspired by the past victories against aggressive forces, despite the support Ukraine receives from NATO. He declared his belief in eventual victory in the ongoing conflict, referred to by the Kremlin as a “special military operation. “

In the backdrop of the parade, U. S. President Donald Trump announced a three-day ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine, aiming to reduce hostilities. Both sides had earlier accused each other of violating ceasefires. Trump expressed a desire for a lengthy ceasefire, noting the severe loss of life since the conflict began, which he described as significant since World War Two. During this period, both Russia and Ukraine agreed to exchange 1,000 prisoners.

Prior to the parade, Russia had warned of severe retaliation if Ukraine tried to disrupt the event, leading to heightened security in Moscow. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy humorously acknowledged the parade but stated that Ukrainian forces would not target Red Square.

The atmosphere in Moscow during the parade was marked by anxiety about the ongoing war in Ukraine, which has resulted in catastrophic loss of life, widespread destruction in Ukraine, and significant impacts on the Russian economy. Critics within Russia, including pro-war nationalists, expressed concerns about the government’s handling of the war and the possibility of economic collapse.

Reports also suggested increased security measures around Putin due to fears of a coup or assassination, although Kremlin officials dismissed these claims. Amidst the celebration, the shadow of the war loomed large, reflecting the deepening crisis within Russia as it struggles with the outcomes of its military actions in Ukraine.

With information from Reuters

AN EERIE silence hangs over the sleepy Majorcan town where Towie star Jake Hall tragically died this week. 

The picturesque streets of Santa Margalida, a peaceful holiday retreat, appear unusually subdued following the 35-year-old’s death in a rented villa.

Investigators believe Jake died from a chest injury caused by a shard of glass.

Initial reports suggested that the reality TV star suffered devastating head injuries after he reportedly “turned aggressive,” police sources claimed. 

Now, the £200-a-night luxury villa where he was staying sits sealed off behind police tape, casting a chilling presence over the rustic neighbourhood.

The Sun visited the scene to find a noticeably quiet atmosphere – with empty restaurants, hushed streets and locals speaking in low tones.

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Staff at nearby eateries appeared muted, some barely present, as news of the Brit’s death rippled through the community.

A neighbour living right next door to the property appeared visibly shaken.

He glanced nervously towards the cordoned-off home before abruptly refusing to say a word.

One of the few locals out on the streets said: “It definitely feels quieter. I’m not sure if it’s because of his death but it could be.” 

May 8 (UPI) — President Donald Trump intends to fire Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Marty Makary because he is frustrated with the agency.

Trump signed off on the decision to replace Makary as he has clashed with Trump, officials in the Department of Health and Human Services and other officials in the administration, multiple reports said on Friday.

The reports — from NBC News, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post — all were attributed to Trump administration sources who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to comment on the issue.

Makary, a former surgeon at Johns Hopkins, was confirmed to run the FDA in March 2025 on a vote the included two Democratic members of the Senate voting yes.

His nomination carried some controversy because, like several other Trump cabinet members and nominees, is a former Fox News contributor who preferred that society develop natural immunity to the virus that causes COVID-19 instead of the CDC’s preferred method of using vaccine-induced immunity during the pandemic.

The reports suggest that Makary has struggled to run the FDA as long-time staff have left the agency and a range of healthcare, pharmaceutical and advocacy groups have been highly critical of its actions.

The Department of Health and Human Services and Makary have not commented on the reports, and sources for all four news organizations noted that the plan could change if Trump changes his mind.

Iran’s presence at the tournament has been shrouded in uncertainty since the US and Israel launched a war on the country in February.

Iran’s football federation has said the men’s national team will take part in the 2026 World Cup that begins in June, but demanded that joint hosts the United States, Mexico and Canada agree to its conditions amid the Middle East war.

The call on Saturday comes after Canada refused entry to the federation’s chief last month before the FIFA Congress because of his alleged links to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the ideological arm of Iran’s military, which it designated as a “terrorist group” in 2024.

Iran’s presence at the tournament, which will take place between June 11 and July 19, has been shrouded in uncertainty since the US and Israel launched a war on the Middle East country in February.

“We will definitely participate in the 2026 World Cup, but the hosts must take our concerns into account,” the Iranian federation said on its official website.

“We will participate in the World Cup tournament, but without any retreat from our beliefs, culture, and convictions.”

The Iranian football federation (FFIRI) President Mehdi Taj told state TV on Friday that Tehran has 10 conditions for attending the global spectacle, seeking assurances over the country’s treatment.

The conditions include visas being granted and respect for the national team staff, the team’s flag and its national anthem during the tournament, as well as demands for high security at airports, hotels and routes to the stadiums where they will play.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has insisted that Iran’s footballers would be welcome at the tournament.

But he warned that the US may yet bar entry to members of the Iranian delegation with ties to the IRGC, which it also designates as a terrorist organisation.

“All players and technical staff, especially those who have served their military service in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps or IRGC, such as Mehdi Taremi and Ehsan Hajsafi, should be granted visas without any problems,” said Iranian football chief Taj.

FIFA chief Gianni Infantino has reiterated that Iran will play their World Cup games in the US as scheduled.

Iran, who are due to be based in Tucson, Arizona, during the World Cup, face New Zealand, Belgium and Egypt in Group G.

The Iranians open their World Cup campaign against New Zealand in Los Angeles on June 15.

“No external power can deprive Iran of its participation in a cup to which it has qualified with merit,” the Iranian federation said on Saturday.

KATIE Price has touched down on home turf from her Dubai visit to see husband Lee Andrews.

Though it wasn’t the happiest of trips for the former glamour model, 47, who has been accused of refusing to stump up for her cosmetic surgery bills while in the UAE.

The Sun exclusively revealed she hasn’t settled her debts – despite hubby Lee claiming to be a billionaire.

The mum of five flashed a smile as she arrived in the UK’s Gatwick Airport, wearing a tight-fit grey crop top which clung to her curves and black joggers.

She pulled on a trendy pair of sunglasses and styled her hair poker straight, looking fresh from the long-haul trip.

Katie – who flashed her huge wedding ring in the Arrivals terminal – was accompanied by an assistant who wheeled three bags of luggage alongside her.

PRICE’S PROMISE

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NO PRICE

Katie Price accused of refusing to pay surgery bills and blocking Dubai business

There is ongoing speculation that her husband Lee, 43, is unable to leave the United Arab Emirates city after allegedly forging his ex-girlfriend Dina Taji’s signature to secure a £200,000 loan – something he’s strongly denied.

Back in April, Katie appeared to confirm he is subject to a travel ban

As such, she is the one doing the graft with the long haul flights.

Though this time around, Katie’s spouse has been slammed by a popular UAE-based aesthetic clinician for failing to cough up the money for the cosmetic work they’ve had in recent months.

Katie Price surgery boxout

KATIE Price’s love for surgery is no secret – here’s the details

1998 – Katie underwent her first breast augmentation taking her from a natural B cup to a C cup. She also had her first liposuction

1999 – Katie had two more boob jobs in the same year, one taking her from a C cup to a D cup, and then up to an F cup

2006 – Katie went under the knife to take her breasts up to a G cup

2007 – Katie had a rhinoplasty and veneers on her teeth

2008 – Katie stunned fans by reducing her breasts from an F cup to a C cup

2011 – Going back to an F cup, Katie also underwent body-contouring treatment and cheek and lip fillers

2014/5 – Following a nasty infection, Katie had her breast implants removed

2016 – Opting for bigger breasts yet again, Katie had another set of implants, along with implants, Botox and lip fillers

2017 – After a disastrous ‘threading’ facelift, Katie also had her veneers replaced. She also had her eighth boob job taking her to a GG cup

2018 – Katie went under the knife yet again for a facelift

2019 – After jetting to Turkey, Katie had a face, eye and eyelid lift, Brazilian bum lift and a tummy tuck

2020 – Katie has her 12th boob job in Belgium to correct botched surgery and a new set of veneers

2021 –  In a complete body overhaul, she opts for eye and lip lifts, liposuction under her chin, fat injected into her bum and full body liposuction

2022 – Katie undergoes another brow and eye lift-and undergoes ‘biggest ever’ boob job in Belgium, her 16th in total

2023 – Opting for a second rhinoplasty, Katie also gets a lip lift at the same time as well as new lip filler throughout the year

2024 – Katie has her 17th boob job in Brussels after revealing she wanted to downsize. She performed at Dublin Pride just days later and surgeons warned the lack of recovery posed a risk of infection

Lee allegedly refused to pay the bill, however he insists the work was ‘complementary’.

The clinic specialises in facial contouring and liquid rhinoplasty among other surgical and non-surgical treatments.

In response to a recent Sun post about Lee using fake money to scam women, the clinician has shared his own experience with the couple.

Just days ago, the beauty clinic owner claimed that he had not received any money and was still chasing the couple.

But in a surprise move, he alleged that he had been blocked, without any explanation for their failure to pay.

He said: “This is expected as they both left without paying for their treatment and after multiple sent invoices, I was blocked.

“Although no mention of being unhappy with the results was ever brou- ght to my attention.

“What Katie is experiencing with her treatment is perfectly normal.”

But Lee has denied these claims when the The Sun reached out to him.

He has insisted that Katie was left “unable to move her mouth” following the procedure and disputes the charges.

Football has gained a foothold in the United States, and the country seems ready to host the World Cup this summer – which was not clear in 1994.

Back then, when the US last hosted the World Cup, the country had no professional league and the national team was cobbled together with ex-collegians, journeymen, and semi-professionals.

“Leading into ’94, we were at risk on the ticket side,” former US Soccer President Sunil Gulati told Al Jazeera in a recent interview. “For the US Organizing Committee, it was a big concern if we could sell all the tickets.’’

In the end, the 1994 tournament was successful. A record 3.5 million (68,991 per game) attended matches; the US advanced from the group stage for the first time since 1930, losing 1-0 to eventual champions Brazil in the last 16; and seeds were planted for a professional league, Major League Soccer.

Football has since moved from the margins to the mainstream in the US.

MLS is thriving, the national team is ranked a creditable 16th in the world by FIFA, and as the World Cup returns this summer, ticket demand far outpaces supply.

“If you said in 1994 MLS would be a 30-team league, with [22] soccer-specific stadiums and averaging 20,000 crowds – not in our wildest dreams,” Gulati said.

“The landscape is completely different. The most visible thing is the development of professional leagues, MLS and the women’s league [NWSL]. We had no first division league. And now there is [also] USL Division 2 and 3. The number of teams has increased dramatically.”

Today, the US Soccer Federation, commonly referred to as US Soccer, sanctions 127 professional teams – 102 men’s and 25 women’s.

“Eighteen of the top 50 [valued] teams in the world are in MLS,” Gulati said. “That’s an extraordinary statistic. The women’s team in Columbus just sold for $205m. Commercial interest in soccer and soccer leagues is at an all-time high.”

Credit Joao Havelange for seeing the future. During his reign as FIFA president, Havelange usually got what he wanted, and he wanted the 1994 World Cup in the US, along with a professional league.

Easier said than done, though. Organised football has been played in the US since the late 19th century, with the American Cup inaugurated in 1884. But over the following decades, several professional leagues collapsed, and after the North American Soccer League (NASL) folded in 1984, there appeared to be little future for the game. Enter Havelange and FIFA.

“FIFA recognised a long time ago that, for the sport to grow internationally, it had to be successful in the US,” Farrukh Quraishi, a Tampa, Florida-based administrator who played in the NASL, told Al Jazeera.

“For me, it was purely a matter of time. This is a huge and wealthy market. Now, you look at who is buying clubs in MLS, and it’s a who’s who of NFL owners.”

Looking back, it’s remarkable that the US actually competed in World Cups and played host to one at all, without a nationwide professional league.

For years, football’s foundation in the country was built on amateur and youth participation. By the early 1990s, the numbers were high, with an estimated 18 million people playing the sport at some level in the US. But the pyramid lacked a top tier, leaving a dead end for aspiring players, little media coverage, and scattered fan interest.

The 1994 World Cup came and went, and, in 1996, MLS finally kicked off.

Havelange duly arrived to commemorate the inaugural game, sitting in the rickety stands of Spartan Stadium in San Jose, California.

The San Jose Clash edged DC United 1-0, as Eric Wynalda scored an 88th-minute goal – just in time to avoid the game going to a “shootout”, in which draws were decided by players going one-on-one with goalkeepers from 32 metres (35 yards) out. This novel method of deciding games ended in 2000.

Football-specific stadiums started springing up in 1999. Lamar Hunt’s Columbus Crew Stadium became the country’s first major purpose-built football venue since Mark’s Stadium in Fall River, Massachusetts, in 1922. Now, Columbus are on their second stadium, the ScottsMiracle-Gro Field, and a total of 22 MLS teams compete at their own venues.

Football finally became part of the American sporting scene.

“Is it in the same way as the NFL, with [average figures of more than 18 million] watching it, or the American Pastime that baseball is? No,” Gulati said.

“It’s not at that viewership level, [but] there is worldwide coverage of games. Look at everyone wearing jerseys on the street, Lionel Messi playing in Miami. It is part of the mainstream.”

‘Soccer still isn’t king in the US’

Not that the picture is not flawed. Wynalda, who went on to score 34 goals in 106 games for the US national team, sees the current system as a recipe for mediocrity, registering millions of youngsters but limiting their ambition as few US players take up prominent roles on MLS teams.

Most are offered the league’s minimum annual salary ($80,622) and only two US players were listed last year among the top 40 highest-paid, according to the MLS Players Association – Austin FC forward Brandon Vazquez (24th at $3.55m) and Nashville SC defender Walker Zimmerman (27th at $3.45m).

“Look at the growth of [MLS] and you can say soccer looks professional, looks like a big deal, looks major league. And a lot of people look at the sport with a different lens now because it’s a legitimate sport,” Wynalda, now a coach and commentator, told Al Jazeera.

“[But] facilities do not create ability. We need more focus on a competitive environment to develop players. We tell them winning doesn’t matter and then wonder why they can’t win. We’ve lost that competitive mentality.”

He favours introducing promotion/relegation as a solution.

“If you’re going to a team that is never going to be relegated, because it’s got enough money, you never learn how to fight relegation, how to beat 11 angry men with their livelihood on the line,” Wynalda said.

And while the MLS franchise model has created riches, with teams valued as high as Los Angeles FC at $1.25bn (thanks to owning the 22,000-seat BMO Stadium) by Forbes Magazine, the quality of play does not always correspond.

MLS teams have tended to struggle in CONCACAF competitions, although in 2022 the Seattle Sounders ended a 22-year drought for an MLS side to win the federation’s elite competition, which was previously won by DC United in 1998 and LA Galaxy in 2000.

“There are things we agree with and disagree with, on and off the field, but [MLS] is successful,” Fox Sports commentator Alexi Lalas, a central defender for the US in 1994, told Al Jazeera. “I don’t think you can argue against that.”

Thanks to the 1994 WC and MLS, football in the US became “a very different world, to finally be even recognised for what you did, let alone respected”, Lalas said. “You know, soccer still isn’t king in the US, but, let’s be honest, it’s part of the palate and certainly part of the landscape when it comes to this generation.”

Lalas predicts the US will harness the “magic” of being hosts to reach the quarterfinals, while Gulati expects the sport to continue to grow in the US after the World Cup.

“That is what the legacy of the tournament is about and why we bid,” Gulati said.

A Labour MP said: “Not sure voters in Wigan, Wandsworth, Salford or Sunderland voted Reform because they thought we needed more advisers from a different era of Labour politics. I think this shows that Keir doesn’t even understand the problem, never mind the solution.”

Coronation Street fans had a lot to say after Abi Webster actress Sally Carman celebrated her birthday.

Coronation Street fans have been left floored after learning the real age of Abi Webster actress Sally Carman.

Abi made her debut on the long-running ITV soap back in 2017 – and it’s fair to say she has quickly become a firm favourite with fans. The character has also played a part in several big storylines during her stint on the soap.

From her drug addiction, the tragic death of her son Seb (Harry Visinoni), and, more recently, her affair with Carl Webster (Jonathan Howard) behind her husband Kevin’s (Michael Le Vell) back, her time in Weatherfield has not been short of drama.

Away from the cobbles though, on Saturday (May 9) Abi actress Sally celebrated her birthday – and fans couldn’t believe her real age.

On a Coronation Street Facebook fan page, one person paid a sweet tribute to Sally and said: “Sally Carman is 51 today. Happy Birthday Sally.” And rushing to the comments section, fans were left gobsmacked by her age.

One person wrote: “51?! She looks in her 40s!” Another added: “She doesn’t look a day over 30.” A third chimed in: “I’d have guessed she was in her 40s.” Someone else wrote: “She doesn’t look that age! Gorgeous lady.”

Last year, Sally revealed the secrets behind her remarkably youthful looks. In an interview with The Sun, Sally confessed: “Oh, it’s no secret – I have fillers, I have Botox, facials…. I do all of it.”

Sally continued: “I’m really open about it. I don’t think there’s anything worse than someone promoting a cream saying: ‘Buy this mega-bucks cream and your face will be as smooth as mine.’ I’m like: ‘Yeah, whatever.’ So there’s no cream – well, there is, but there are other things on top.”

Meanwhile earlier this year, Sally confirmed that fans will be seeing her playing Abi until at least 2027 as she signed another year-long contract. Speaking exclusively to Radio Times at the TV Choice Awards, she confirmed: “Just signed for another year, which is great. My goodness, I love it. It’s my favourite job I’ve ever done.”

The soap star also shared that she would be honoured to follow in the footsteps and have the same screen longevity as Corrie royalty Sally Dynevor, who recently marked the milestone of playing Sally Metcalfe for 40 years. “If they’ll have me, yeah!” Sally joked.

In addition to her success on Coronation Street, Sally has also found love on the show. She met her co-star Joe Duttine, who plays Tim Metcalfe, on set in 2017, and the couple got engaged in 2020 before tying the knot two years later.

Discussing their unique engagement tale on Kate Thornton’s podcast, White Wine Question Time, Sally shared: “It was while we were in lockdown and we were staying in the Dales with his sister, who has a lot of space, with, his kids” she said.

She added: “We were walking around this big field on this walk and he went: ‘Kids, have a look in between the dry stone walling because you know, they used to put coins and precious things to hide them in the walls.”

Sally continued: “So I’m having a look and there’s this box. And I opened it. I’m like: ‘No way.’ And then there was another box inside. And I turned around and he was on one knee.”

Coronation Street airs Monday to Friday at 8:30pm on ITV1 and ITVX

Russia has held one of its most scaled-back Victory Day parades in years, citing the threat of attack from Ukraine, where a decisive victory for Moscow’s forces has remained elusive more than four years into the deadliest conflict in Europe since World War II.

The May 9 parade on Moscow’s Red Square is Russia’s most revered national holiday, a moment to celebrate the Soviet Union’s defeat of Nazi Germany and to commemorate the 27 million Soviet citizens, including many from what is now Ukraine, who were killed during the war.

Once used to showcase Russia’s military might, including its nuclear-capable intercontinental ballistic missiles, this year’s parade featured no tanks or other heavy military hardware rolling across the cobblestones of Red Square.

Instead, weapons including a Yars intercontinental ballistic missile, the new Arkhangelsk nuclear submarine, the Peresvet laser weapon, the Sukhoi Su-57 fighter jet, the S-500 surface-to-air missile system and a range of drones and artillery were displayed on giant screens on the square and broadcast on state television.

Soldiers and sailors, some of whom have served in Ukraine, marched and chanted as President Vladimir Putin looked on, seated alongside Russian veterans in the shadow of Vladimir Lenin’s Mausoleum. North Korean troops, who have fought against Ukrainian forces in Russia’s Kursk region, also took part in the march.

Fighter jets flew above the Kremlin’s towers and Putin delivered an eight-minute address, promising victory in the war in Ukraine, which the Kremlin refers to as a “special military operation”.

“The great feat of the victorious generation inspires the soldiers carrying out the tasks of the special military operation today,” Putin said. “They are confronting an aggressive force armed and supported by the entire NATO bloc. And in spite of that, our heroes march forward.”

I am a journalist; storytelling is my craft.

Words are the tools I turn to, again and again, to make sense of events and shape them into narratives that do them justice. And yet, when it comes to the genocide in Gaza, my birthplace, language feels wholly inadequate.

There is a limit to what words can say. At a certain point, the instinct to describe, to explain and to make sense of what has unfolded begins to break down under the sheer scale of devastation and pain.

One scene from the start of the war has lingered in my mind: A bulldozer burying 111 unidentified bodies, wrapped in bright blue bags, in a mass grave. It appeared briefly in the endless scroll of social media before it disappeared again, replaced by yet another shocking scene. And another.

A hundred and eleven souls about whom we knew nothing; not their names, not their dreams or what their final moments were. A New York Times headline read: More Than 100 Bodies Are Delivered to a Mass Grave in Southern Gaza. Omission of the perpetrator aside, could that possibly capture the magnitude of such an event?

Every attempt to describe in words what Israel has inflicted on Gaza and its people has felt reductive, compressing something vast, ongoing and staggeringly lethal into language that cannot possibly hold it. What remains is a tension at the heart of the act of telling itself; knowing no account will ever be enough, how do you tell stories of such unspeakable horrors?

This tension lies at the heart of the Gaza Genocide Tapestry, which I am co-curating and which will be displayed at this year’s Venice Biennale. It is an art project that brings together Palestinian women in occupied Palestine and refugee camps in Lebanon and Jordan to document Gaza’s destruction in real time. They tell these stories in the way they know best: Needle and thread.

Through 100 embroidered panels, each composed of 55,000 stitches, these women have created a testimonial that refuses to let the world forget what has been done and to whom.

Each panel tells a fragment of what has happened: A journalist weeping over his child’s dead body; young girls with empty pots being crushed at a soup kitchen; a child crying as her world crumbles around her.

Some of these images forced themselves into the public consciousness, if only for a moment; Khalid Nabhan hugging his dead granddaughter, the “soul of his soul”, for the last time before joining her a year later, or Dr Hussam Abu Safia walking towards a tank on the orders of Israeli soldiers, to then never be seen again.

But most images from Gaza are not granted that pause. They pass without names, context or farewell.

The tapestry defies this. To embroider is to decide something is worth the effort – hours, days and weeks of labour. This is to insist it is not lost to the sheer volume of images that pass briefly before our eyes.

A national archive in thread

The Gaza Genocide Tapestry is a new chapter of the award-winning Palestine History Tapestry Project, which I co-chair alongside Gaza-born designer Ibrahim Muhtadi. Following in the tradition of the famous Bayeux Tapestry and the Great Tapestry of Scotland, it is the largest body of Palestinian embroidery narrating the history of Palestine and its people.

The tapestry was started in 2011 in Oxford by Jan Chalmers, a British nurse who lived and worked in Gaza for two years in the 1960s. An avid embroiderer, Jan was previously involved with the Keiskamma History Tapestry, which chronicles the history of South Africa’s Xhosa people and now hangs in the South African parliament.

Recognising the centuries-old embroidery tradition of Palestinians, tatreez, Jan believed a Palestinian history tapestry was in order. I met Jan in 2013 in Oxford during my postgraduate studies. That is when I first joined this invaluable effort.

Tatreez, recognised by UNESCO in 2021, has long expressed Palestinian heritage and belonging. Its motifs encoded identity, place and social status. After the 1948 Nakba, it became a means of preserving Palestinian culture in the face of attempted erasure. Today it is something else again: Testimony.

Not long after Israel unleashed its devastating military assault on Gaza in 2023, the tapestry found new momentum by merging with the Palestine Museum US, an independent institution founded and led by Palestinian American entrepreneur Faisal Saleh. The tapestry is now housed at the museum in Woodbridge, Connecticut, and travels from there for exhibits worldwide.

It was within this expanded framework that the Gaza Genocide Tapestry took shape. Jan, Ibrahim, Faisal, and I came together to discuss how best to document the genocide. We initially created two panels to mark this dark moment in Palestinian history – Gaza on Fire and The Palestinian Phoenix. Faisal then proposed we do 100 panels focused solely on Gaza.

The challenge of producing in a single year what had previously taken a decade was formidable, but it was an urgency dictated by an unfolding genocide and made possible by the scale, visibility and global reach the museum provided.

United in pain

Women in Gaza were initially among the most active contributors to the Palestine History Tapestry. Their work was vibrant and meticulous, and offered them a means of support. But as bombardment intensified, most became unreachable, often displaced multiple times. Materials could not enter Gaza, and finished panels could not leave.

Gaza’s women became the subjects of the story, rather than its narrators.

But the tapestry, at its core, is a kind of “lam shamel” (Arabic for family reunion), as one embroiderer put it. Despite borders and forced displacement, the labour of Palestinian women everywhere converges into a single visual record of the Palestinian experience.

For Iman Shehabi, Basma Natour and the dozen women in Ein el-Hilweh refugee camp, embroidery is how they make a living. But the tapestry project, they said, “restored” a part of their “dignity”.

“It was a space where heritage pulsed, and where our needles stitched both our pains and our hopes,” they wrote to us in a letter upon completion of their panels.

And it is not only the embroiderers who contributed. One of the panels in the Gaza Genocide Tapestry, embroidered by Shahla Mahareeq in Ramallah, was based on an image of Hind Rajab illustrated by London-based artist Khadija Said.

A panel of blindfolded men, arbitrarily detained by Israeli soldiers in Gaza, was painted by Haifa-based lawyer and rights activist Janan Abdu, a Palestinian citizen of Israel. It was embroidered by Bothaina Youssef in Lebanon’s Ein el-Hilweh refugee camp.

Another artwork by Gaza-based artist Mohammed Alhaj, depicting displacement in Gaza, was also embroidered in Lebanon by Kifah Kurdieh, before a million people in southern Lebanon were themselves displaced.

The process of putting together the Gaza Genocide Tapestry has been painstaking. For more than a year, Faisal, Jan, Ibrahim and I held weekly meetings to research and select representative panels across various themes and coordinate the work. Each panel had to be translated by Ibrahim into a format that could be embroidered, then sent to a woman to stitch through field coordinators in each location.

There were constant questions, both ethical and practical. What do we choose to include, and what is left out? What does it mean to translate suffering into a stitched pattern?

At the Venice Biennale

Starting May 9, the Gaza Genocide Tapestry will be exhibited publicly at Palazzo Mora under the title:
“- – – – – – – – – – -” *
*Gaza – No Words – See The Exhibit

It will be available for viewing through November.

When we were informed in November last year that our biennale submission was selected, I felt a complicated kind of recognition. On one hand, it is an honour and a chance for this work, and the women behind it, to be seen on one of the world’s most prominent cultural stages.

On the other hand, it captured the paradox of a world increasingly willing to name what is happening in Gaza, to look it in the eye, call it a genocide, and yet remain unable or unwilling to stop it. What does it say about humanity when art becomes a primary site of real-time testimony because political systems have failed?

I have no simple answer. What I know is this: Palestinian women continue to tell these stories and demand accountability. Theirs is a collective response to my late mentor Refaat Alareer’s final instruction before he was killed: “If I must die, you must live to tell my story.”

ELIZABETH Hurley really is the gift that keeps on giving and today the sexy star gave fans another treat.

The stunning actress, 60, thrilled her followers when she shared her latest bikini selfie which showed off her enviable figure and also gave them her secret body hack.

In Liz‘s latest sizzling post, she was seen modelling a stunning white striped bikini.

The pictures saw the model languishing by a swimming pool, while showing off her timeless body.

In one photo the stunning actress threw her head back to soak up the sun, with her washboard abs on full display.

Taking to Instagram to share the slew of sexy snaps, Liz penned a body positivity message to fans.

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“Being photographed in a bikini can be scary so here’s my number one tip: LIE DOWN!!” she wrote.

It comes as the actress continues to enjoy a sizzling romance with country music icon Billy Ray Cyrus.

The smitten couple took the world by surprise, when they revealed they were dating.

The pair went public on Easter Sunday last year with a loved-up picture in a field.

Since then they have continued to thrill fans with their romance, and can’t seem to keep their hands off each other.

Billy and Liz were recently spotted snogging at a country and music festival.

The Sun previously revealed the pair reconnected in 2024 after his third marriage to singer Firerose crumbled.

Confirming this, Billy revealed how Liz got in touch with him to make sure he “was doing ok” during his last divorce.

“Suddenly, I get a text from a number I don’t recognise. It says, ‘The vultures are circling, but I’m in your corner,’ the singer revealed.

“The thing is, I didn’t know who sent it. It turned out to be from someone I least expected.

“This girl was just as beautiful as her words. We went out for a date, and our chemistry was real. We’ve been together ever since.”

The hacker group, ShinyHunters, threatened to leak student data after breaching the educational platform Canvas.

An educational platform used by thousands of schools and universities has been partially restored following an international cyberattack that caused major chaos as students prepare for end-of-year exams.

ShinyHunters, a hacking group, claimed responsibility for crashing the web-based educational platform Canvas, created by tech firm Instructure.

The group said it had stolen 3.5 terabytes of data, including names, email addresses, student ID numbers and private messages, and threatened to release this if ransoms were not paid by May 12.

Instructure’s website said on Saturday that Canvas is now “available for most users” and no incidents were reported on Saturday. It is not clear if a ransom was paid.

The University of Sydney reported on Saturday that Canvas had been restored but was not yet “accessible to staff or students, as we need to complete checks”.

Canada’s University of Alberta said Canvas was partially restored with “reduced functionality”.

The countries that have been affected include the United States, the Netherlands, Sweden, Australia and the United Kingdom.

According to Canvas, about 30 million people across the globe use its system. The breach reportedly targeted close to 9,000 institutions across the globe.

Breach came at ‘worst time’

The Federal Bureau of Investigation said it was “aware of a service disruption” impacting a learning system, although it did not name Canvas, in a statement Friday.

“This disruption has impacted schools, educational institutions, and students across the country,” it said.

Al Jazeera’s correspondent in Florida, Phil Lavelle, said the hack could not have “come at a worse time” as many US schools are in the middle of exam season.

Institutions like Penn State, Harvard, Illinois, Columbia and Georgetown are all “scrambling” to extend or change exam deadlines, said Lavelle.

The Harvard Crimson, a student newspaper, said it could not access the platform since Thursday, with the University of Cambridge also saying it had “temporarily suspended access” to Canvas on Friday.

The Reuters news agency reported that, on May 5, the group posted a message saying Instructure had “not even bothered speaking to us” to prevent a data leak, and that their demand “was not even as high as you might think it is”.

Who are ShinyHunters?

The group is a global cybercrime syndicate that was established in 2019.

Over the years, they have claimed responsibility for cyberattacks, with the most recent data breach being Rockstar Games, a gaming giant that owns Grand Theft Auto.

“This goes to show how vulnerable schools are, how vulnerable other institutions are by individuals who seek to exploit or extort at the worst possible time – armed with just a keyboard and a mouse,” said Lavelle.

BBC Breakfast has been hit with complaints by angry viewers following a major shake-up

BBC Breakfast viewers have been left rather unimpressed following a segment shake-up.

The morning show returned to screens on Saturday (May 9) for another instalment. Naga Munchetty and Charlie Stayt were back at the helm, to discuss some of the biggest stories hitting the headlines.

However, normally on the programme, the hosts pass over to Newswatch host Samira Ahmed, who delves into viewers’ thoughts on recent BBC News coverage.

BBC Newswatch is a weekly show offering viewers and listeners the opportunity to respond to BBC News. The segment sees Samira presenting viewer feedback on the BBC’s reporting of major stories, with audiences either praising or critiquing the coverage.

But fans hoping to watch the latest Newswatch were left disappointed as the segment was conspicuously missing from BBC Breakfast. As the clock approached the typical Newswatch time, Naga and Charlie continued their interview with Labour’s deputy leader Lucy Powell.

And when the interview stopped and the hosts moved onto the next topic, angry fans soon took to X to fume over there being no Newswatch. One person wrote: “Hope newswatch hasn’t been binned for repeats of the same political news.” A second added: “Never thought I’d be desperate for news watch.”

A third comment read: “Fuming it’s dropped.” Another person penned: “Mean buggers binning newswatch, it’s only 10min long sods.” Someone else said: “Saturday viewing fun completely in tatters lol.”

This is not the first time Newswatch has taken a break from screens. In March, Samira announced the segment would be off air for several weeks – but reassured viewers that it would return to screens.

“We are off air next weekend over Easter but we will be back to hear more of your thoughts about how the BBC covers the news, in a fortnight,” Samira told viewers.

Meanwhile, journalist and broadcaster Samira has 20 years’ experience in print and broadcast and has hosted Newswatch since 2012. In 2020, Samira was named British Broadcasting Press Guild audio presenter of the year.

She has presented many news and arts programmes over the years for BBC TV and radio, including The World Tonight, PM, Sunday Morning Live on BBC One, Night Waves on Radio 3 and The Proms on BBC Four.

BBC Breakfast airs Monday to Sunday from 6am on BBC One.