News Desk

The 98th Academy Awards, known as the Oscars, will celebrate some of the top films released in 2025 on Sunday.

The ceremony will take place in Los Angeles with actors, directors and filmmakers from around the world competing for Hollywood’s most prestigious prizes.

But this year’s ceremony comes at a time of global tension, with the ongoing war in Iran serving as a sombre backdrop to Hollywood’s annual celebration.

“My job is always to try to walk a very thin line between entertaining people and also acknowledging some of the realities,” host Conan O’Brien said during a Wednesday news conference with the Oscars creative team.

Here is what we know about the upcoming ceremony:

Where will the Oscars be held?

The 98th Academy Awards will take place at the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood in Los Angeles on March 15.

The ceremony will start at 4pm West Coast time in the United States (23:00 GMT), with official red carpet coverage beginning at 3:30pm (22:30 GMT).

Where can I watch the ceremony?

The 2026 Oscars will be broadcast in the US on the TV channel ABC. Viewers with a cable subscription can also watch online by signing in through the ABC app or ABC.com.

The ceremony will also be streamed live on the video platform Hulu.

Those without traditional cable can access the broadcast through live TV streaming services that carry ABC, including Hulu + Live TV, YouTube TV, AT&T TV and FuboTV.

But the Oscars’ ties with ABC may soon be at an end. Last year, the Academy announced that, beginning in 2029, the Oscars will sever its decades-long relationship with ABC and stream exclusively on YouTube.

The shift to an online-only platform is a big shake-up for the Academy Awards, ending a tradition more than half a century old.

ABC began broadcasting the Oscars in 1976, and before that, it aired on a rival channel, NBC, starting in 1953.

Who is hosting the Academy Awards?

O’Brien is hosting the 98th Academy Awards, marking his second consecutive year emceeing the ceremony.

“This year, I know where the doughnuts are. I know my way around a little bit, and so, I think that’s going to be fun,” Conan said.

In remarks this week, the comedian explained he believes the key to success on the Oscar stage is having a good time and staying in the moment.

He added that he and his writing team are still refining the material ahead of the show, to keep it as current as possible.

“What’s happening in the world will be reflected in the show,” he said.

How can I watch the red carpet?

The Oscars red carpet is broadcast several hours before the ceremony, as filmmakers and other celebrities arrive for the ceremony.

The red carpet has long served as a stage for Hollywood’s best fashions, and actors often pause for interviews with social media and television hosts to discuss the awards and what they’re wearing.

Several shows will broadcast from the red carpet:

• The official Oscars red carpet (“On the Red Carpet at the Oscars”): 20:30 GMT, hosted by Tamron Hall and Jesse Palmer
  • Streaming services: Viewers without cable can watch through platforms that carry ABC, including Hulu + Live TV, YouTube TV, fuboTV and Sling TV.
• E! Live from the Red Carpet: 21:00 GMT
  • Streaming services: The E! network will carry the live coverage, as will the streaming platform Peacock and live TV service providers like Roku, Hulu + Live TV, YouTube TV and more.

British comedian Amelia Dimoldenberg also returns for the third year as the official Oscars social media correspondent.

Who is presenting?

As is tradition, last year’s acting winners will return to present awards at the ceremony. They include Adrien Brody (The Brutalist), Kieran Culkin (A Real Pain), Mikey Madison (Anora) and Zoe Saldana (Emilia Perez).

They will be joined by a wide range of actors and filmmakers presenting throughout the night, including Javier Bardem, Chris Evans, Chase Infiniti, Demi Moore, Kumail Nanjiani, Maya Rudolph, Will Arnett, Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Robert Downey Jr, Anne Hathaway, Paul Mescal, Gwyneth Paltrow, Rose Byrne, Nicole Kidman, Jimmy Kimmel, Delroy Lindo, Ewan McGregor, Wagner Moura, Pedro Pascal, Bill Pullman, Lewis Pullman, Channing Tatum and Sigourney Weaver.

Who is performing at the Oscars?

This year’s show will feature two musical performances tied to the Best Original Song nominees.

Rei Ami, EJAE and Audrey Nuna are set to perform the hit single Golden from the animated film KPop Demon Hunters, and actor Miles Caton will reprise the song he sang in the movie Sinners, called I Lied to You, alongside songwriter Raphael Saadiq.

Like the film itself, the Sinners musical performance at the Oscars will serve as a tribute to Black artistry across generations and genres.

As such, it will include an array of artists, from ballerina Misty Copeland to rocker Brittany Howard to blues and jazz musicians like Eric Gales, Bobby Rush and Alice Smith, among others.

What movies have the most nominations?

Sinners is the most-nominated film in Academy Award history with 16 nominations.

That tally broke the previous record of 14 nominations, which was held by three films: All About Eve (1950), Titanic (1997) and La La Land (2016).

Ryan Coogler’s feature mixes supernatural horror, romance and blues culture. Set in 1932 Clarksdale, Mississippi, the story centres on a community opening a juke joint that soon finds itself under siege by vampires.

“I wrote this script for my uncle who passed away 11 years ago,” Ryan Coogler said in an interview with The Associated Press. “I got to imagine that he’s listening to some blues music right now to celebrate.”

One Battle After Another follows with 13 nods at this year’s Oscars, while Frankenstein, Marty Supreme and Sentimental Value each secured nine nominations.

The Academy also continued its tilt towards international films with this year’s lineup of nominees. Every major acting category, for instance, included at least one international nominee.

Is there any Arab representation at this year’s Oscars?

Arab cinema had a strong presence during the awards season. Several films from the region were shortlisted for Best International Feature Film, including:

• The Voice of Hind Rajab (Tunisia)
• Palestine 36 (Palestine)
• All That’s Left of You (Jordan)
• The President’s Cake (Iraq)

One of them, The Voice of Hind Rajab, ultimately secured an Oscar nomination, marking a significant moment for Arab cinema.

What is the Voice of Hind Rajab?

The Voice of Hind Rajab is a 2025 docudrama directed by Kaouther Ben Hania.

It dramatises the final hours in the life of five-year-old Palestinian girl Hind Rajab, who was killed by Israeli forces in Gaza in 2024. But the film weaves in real-life recordings of Rajab’s desperate phone calls to emergency personnel from the Red Crescent group.

“The arrival of Hind Rajab’s voice to these platforms — and its ability to break through the indifference that exists there — is in itself something extremely valuable,” Gaza-based filmmaker Mohammed al-Sawwaf told Al Jazeera’s journalist Maram Humaid.

To al-Sawwaf, the film’s Oscar nomination means that Rajab’s death is no longer a passing news item or a single tally in a growing death toll. It is a cultural event, a memorial that forces viewers to confront the horrors facing Gaza’s young children.

“A story of a human being from Gaza has been presented as the story of a person with a life and meaning, rather than the image of a Palestinian appearing as a number on news screens,” he said.

“Palestinians have tried for many years to tell their stories and to be visible, but they were often met with rejection, doubt, or barriers placed in front of them.”

Al-Sawwaf believes Hind Rajab’s story can help illuminate the humanitarian crisis facing thousands of other Palestinians suffering in Gaza.

“A story like Hind Rajab’s represents a symbol of thousands of other stories,” he said. “There are thousands of women and men who had full lives, details, and dreams that are no less human than hers.”

Why was an Iranian film submitted by France?

It Was Just an Accident, directed by Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi, is also among the nominees on Sunday night, competing in two categories: Best International Film and Best Original Screenplay.

Though It Was Just an Accident was a co-production from several countries, France ultimately submitted the film as its entry in the Best International Feature competition.

Panahi’s work is often critical of the Iranian government, and in the past, he faced prison time and a ban on his filmmaking as a result. It was not considered as Iran’s entry.

France instead has championed the film as evidence that the country is a safe haven for “singular and courageous cinema”.

But Panahi said his thoughts remain focused on those back home in Iran.

“I am constantly thinking about them,” he told Bloomberg from New York, four days after the US and Israel launched their offensive against Iran.

Panahi shot the film clandestinely in Iran without government approval.

What are the best picture nominees?

Ten films are in competition in the Best Picture category:

• • Bugonia: A science-fiction story about two men who kidnap a powerful executive, believing she is an alien threatening Earth.
  • F1: A sports drama starring Brad Pitt as a veteran Formula One driver who returns to racing to mentor a promising young teammate.
  • Frankenstein: Guillermo del Toro’s adaptation of Mary Shelley’s novel, following scientist Victor Frankenstein and the tragic creature he brings to life.
  • Hamnet: A historical drama focusing on the grief of Agnes and William Shakespeare following the death of their 11-year-old son, Hamnet.
  • Marty Supreme: A sports drama starring Timothee Chalamet as an ambitious table tennis player determined to prove he is the greatest at his sport.
  • One Battle After Another: A dark action-comedy directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, following a father and daughter on the run from a racist military leader intent on tracking them down.
  • The Secret Agent: A political thriller about a widowed college professor on the run from a vengeful government minister during Brazil’s dictatorship in the 1970s.
  • Sentimental Value: A drama exploring grief, memory and complicated relationships in a family of artists in modern-day Oslo.
  • Sinners: A supernatural thriller about twin brothers who return to their hometown to found a juke joint, only to be confronted by past relationships, racism and a gang of vampires.

Who are the nominees for the Best Director category?

• Chloe Zhao for Hamnet
• Josh Safdie for Marty Supreme
• Paul Thomas Anderson for One Battle After Another
• Joachim Trier for Sentimental Value
• Ryan Coogler for Sinners

Who are the nominees for best actor?

• Timothee Chalamet for Marty Supreme
• Leonardo DiCaprio for One Battle After Another
• Ethan Hawke for Blue Moon
• Michael B Jordan for Sinners
• Wagner Moura for The Secret Agent

Who are the nominees for Best Actress?

• Jessie Buckley for Hamnet
• Rose Byrne for If I Had Legs I’d Kick You
• Kate Hudson for Song Sung Blue
• Renate Reinsve for Sentimental Value
• Emma Stone for Bugonia

What are the biggest surprises and snubs?

This year’s nominations included several unexpected picks and notable omissions.

Among the biggest surprises was Delroy Lindo’s first-ever Oscar nomination for his supporting role in Sinners, a recognition many felt was long overdue.

“The best part of this process has been that people are so genuinely happy for me,” Lindo, 73, told The New York Times.

“It’s not an ego thing. It’s nothing to do with that. It has everything to do with affirmation.”

Another unexpected nod came in the Best Picture category for the racing drama F1, an action-packed summer blockbuster.

In an interview with the racing tournament Formula 1, director Joseph Kosinski explained that the team created an entirely new filming system to capture the kind of visuals he had imagined.

“We had to develop a new camera system, taking everything we learned on Top Gun: Maverick and pushing it much further,” Kosinski said.

Actress Kate Hudson was also a surprise in the highly competitive Best Actress category, earning her first Oscar nod in 25 years for the musical drama Song Sung Blue.

She said the film offered a rare opportunity to portray a mature female character with depth and ambition. Her role is based on the real-life story of Claire Sardina, who performed as part of a Neil Diamond cover band.

“I got to play the comedy, some sense of humour. I got to play the love story, the desire. I got to play being a mother, and then I got to go into a place of where my life force is taken out of me,” Hudson said in an interview with NPR’s Fresh Air with Terry Gross.

Among the most notable snubs was the sequel Wicked: For Good, which received no nominations amid mixed reviews. The first Wicked film earned a whopping 10 nominations last year, winning two Oscars, for Best Costumes and Best Production Design.

Actor Paul Mescal also missed out on a nomination for his performance as William Shakespeare in Hamnet, while director Guillermo del Toro was overlooked in the Best Director category for Frankenstein.

Other notable omissions included Chase Infiniti (One Battle After Another) and Jesse Plemons (Bugonia).

What are the predictions for the winners?

For months, One Battle After Another was considered the clear favourite for Best Picture and Best Director. But in the final stretch of the awards season, the competition has tightened, with Sinners gaining momentum.

Jessie Buckley is widely expected to win Best Actress for Hamnet. Michael B Jordan, meanwhile, is predicted to win Best Actor for Sinners, overtaking stiff competition from Timothee Chalamet, star of the film Marty Supreme.

In the supporting actor categories, Teyana Taylor (One Battle After Another) is considered a strong contender for Best Supporting Actress, and Sean Penn (One Battle After Another) is favoured for Best Supporting Actor.

Harry Styles is no stranger to “Saturday Night Live,” having performed multiple times with his former boy band One Direction and more recently as a solo artist. But this isn’t his first time as host either.

This week, the pop star returned to the Studio 8H to host for a second time, more than six years after his debut. That’s a long time in between, during which Styles has starred in a couple of films, “Don’t Worry Darling” and “My Policeman,” and released a trio of albums, including his latest, “Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally.,” which he was there to promote.

Styles has a knack for radiating charm, honed after years in the spotlight as a musician, and now with some notable acting roles under his belt, he’s more than primed for the stage. And the timing is perfect, considering many actors are in Hollywood this weekend for the Oscars.

He delivered again with a variety sketches, including one about a prosecutor distracted by the famous comedian/lawyer appointed to defend an alleged thief, a pretaped sketch that riffed on HBO Max’s hit medical drama “The Pitt,” and a closing sketch where he played himself promoting a line of clothing modeled after some of his most famous outfits for Target.

He also excelled in parts where he could show off his vocals and dancing, like in “Sparkle of the Sea,” an infomercial about a German cruise line, and another pretaped sketch, “She’s an Irish Dancer,” where guys find out just how Irish their dates are in a nod to St. Patrick’s Day on Tuesday. Flatter, though, were sketches about a pair of Best Buy workers, and one where Styles played a drive-thru worker at a White Castle, but that’s because Jane Wickline and Veronika Slowikowska stole the skit as a pair of nerdy girls trying to ask him out to the school dance.

Styles performed his new single, “Dance No More,” after last week’s host Ryan Gosling introduced him, a fitting appearance since Styles crashed his monologue. And Paul Simon also stopped by to introduce Styles before his second song, “Coming Up Roses.”

This week’s cold open touched on the ongoing war in Iran. The patriarch (Mikey Day) of a family at a gas station says he needs to fill up their car. As a piano begins to play, his wife (Ashley Padilla) says, “Fill up? Not all the way, right?” “We have to,” Day replies emphatically. “But it’s $5 dollars,” she says before turning to her two children (Marcello Hernández and Sarah Sherman) to say they have to leave one of them behind because gas is too expensive. Why? “The Epstein files,” exclaims President Trump (James Austin Johnson), who jumps into the scene. “It’s called butterfly effect. Epstein was the first domino,” he says, miming dominoes falling. Trump goes on to introduce himself by saying we might remember him from campaign promises such as “lower gas prices” and “no more wars” (“Psych!”). “We love to make promises because a promise is a lie that just hasn’t happened yet.” As for the stock market, he puts it in a way that Harry Styles fans might understand — it’s going in one direction, garnering loud cheers and applause. He jokes about Iran’s age, saying it is old and nobody likes them, “Iran is like ballet and opera and weird Timothée Chalamet,” referring to the actor’s comments that have caused an uproar.

But Trump says he has everything under control, meeting with top minds including influencer and boxer Jake Paul, who he says was booed “very badly” at his fight against Mike Tyson. “Did someone say booze?” Department of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth (Colin Jost) says as he emerges from the family’s car and dozens of cans fall to the ground. (“It was just a couple of road sodas, chill.”) He then thanks Trump for the “beautiful, size 16 Florsheim shoes,” a reference to the Wall Street Journal report that they are the president’s gift of choice to close friends and advisors. Hegseth goes on to say that they are “hashtag winning” the war with Iran, and as for the Strait of Hormuz, he advises that the tankers moving oil should just do what he does at a DUI checkpoint: “Close your eyes and gun it.”

In his monologue, Styles, dressed in a grey pinstripe suit and bright blue tie, said he couldn’t resist hosting when he heard they booked his favorite-ever musical guest. After his tour ended in 2023, he took a lot of time off, realizing he’d spent much of his life on the road and “making songs about fruit that people think were about sex.” He just really likes fruit — and sex. He also said a lot of people pay attention to the clothes he wears (true, see above), with some people accusing him of “queerbaiting,” to which he responded, “Maybe you don’t know everything about me, dad.” But as far as what he did in his time off, he took up boring things, like jogging (his sub-three hour marathon in Berlin was the buzz of the running world). It’s better than the alternative, he says, as the screen flashed to an image of the former Prince Andrew. But now he’s promoting his new album, “Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally.”, because what’s better than kissing? He actually doesn’t want to kiss all the time, leading to a brief appearance and disappearance of cast members Chloe Fineman and Sherman, unless its Ben Marshall. He complimented Marshall’s backside, and gave him a smooch on the lips: “Now that’s queerbaiting.”

Best sketch of the night: I don’t know if your dad did this, but my dad used to pop it twice

The first sketch of the night took us into a courtroom, where a New Jersey prosecutor (Styles) rose to present his case against the defendant, Mr. Donovan (Tommy Brennan), who didn’t have an attorney. So the judge (Kenan Thompson) appointed one: comedian Sebastian Maniscalco (Hernández). It’s the second time Hernández has played the comedian, whose caricature of Maniscalco in a red blazer and black turtleneck is at turns spot on, exaggerated and completely hilarious. He chimed with retorts as the prosecutor explained the charges of stealing $5,000 in merchandise, including a belt. “Let me tell you something about a belt. When I was a kid, the belt wasn’t to keep the pants up, it was to keep the volume down,” Maniscalco says, motioning to his waist and explaining how his dad would use it. Maniscalco’s manic energy was too much for the courtroom sketch artist, though, who complains to the judge about having to draw him, showing a sketch of a blurred, multi-limbed man. Kudos to Styles who managed to mostly keep his composure as Hernández glided around him. But Styles had the last laugh with his own impression of Maniscalco, before a final sketch of him was revealed. Put it in the Lourve!

Also good: Why get real healthcare when you’ve got ‘Mahaspital’

“The Pitt,” one of the buzziest TV shows in America, has been lauded for its realistic portrayal of emergency rooms and the stresses that medical workers endure on a regular basis. So when the opening scenes of this pretape began playing, the crowd went wild. But this isn’t “The Pitt,” it’s “Mahaspital,” brought to you by producer Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and the team behind Make America Healthy Again. Styles channels Noah Wyle’s Dr. Robby, marching toward an incoming patient on a gurney as she’s pushed through the ER hallway. “What she needs is a steak,” he says. “Give me beef tallow and six raw eggs, too.” The sketch touches on many of the hallmarks of the MAHA movement: healing crystals, vaccine skepticism, raw milk and lots and lots of protein. And we can’t forget that Central Park bear.

‘Weekend Update’ winner: Battle of the heart (emojis)

“Update” anchors Michael Che and Jost focused most of their attention on the Iran war this week, but they also touched on another event happening this weekend: the Oscars. They brought in Tucker Carlson (Jeremy Culhane) to talk about the best picture nominees. Culhane’s impression of the conservative pundit was pretty impressive, capturing his cadence and habit of using rhetorical questions — I hope we see it again.

But it was Day and Hernández who stole the segment as emojis aerial tramway and heart, respectively, who joined to comment on Apple’s addition of eight new emojis. Heart emoji on the new additions: “All I know is they’re all going to be more popular than this loser,” pointing to Day. “I’m No. 1 because I’m useful. People use me for everything.” But you can’t put an aerial tramway down, who tried to explain other ways to use the emoji somewhat unsuccessfully. At least he has a solid crew of bangers: orange square, division sign, snorkel and “my boy, the goat” building with a horn on it. Day was dedicated to the bit, making Hernandez crack with muffled laughter. Don’t be surprised if you see a lot more of aerial tramway (and his girlfriend, on with two arrows) in your texts.

The 19-year-old converts his pole position into a historic win to consolidate Mercedes’s hold early in the F1 season.

An emotional Kimi Antonelli has won a Formula One grand prix for the first time in China ahead of Mercedes teammate George Russell and Lewis Hamilton, who made his maiden podium for Ferrari.

The 19-year-old Antonelli converted being the youngest pole-sitter in Formula One history into victory on Sunday after both McLarens dramatically failed to start the Shanghai race.

“Thank you, everyone. Thank you so much. You made me achieve one of my dreams,” Antonelli said over the radio after taking the chequered flag.

“I’m speechless. I’m about to cry to be honest,” he said in his first interview as a winner in ⁠front of the Shanghai circuit crowd before doing just that.

It was ⁠a nervous finish for the Italian, who locked up and went wide with three laps to go, cutting his lead over Russell to 7.4 seconds and finishing 5.515 clear.

It was Mercedes’s second successive one-two after Russell led Antonelli in the Australian opener last weekend.

“I gave myself a little bit of a heart attack ⁠towards the end with the flat spot [on his tyres],” ⁠said the first Italian winner since Giancarlo Fisichella for Renault in Malaysia in 2006. “It was a good race.”

Formula One Chief Executive Stefano Domenicali, also Italian, congratulated Antonelli before the podium celebrations and the playing of the Italian ‌national anthem.

Antonelli briefly lost the lead at the start, but once he got back in front, the teenager controlled the pace to cruise home to the chequered flag. Charles Leclerc was fourth in the second Ferrari.

Hamilton, as he had done in Saturday’s sprint, got a great start and had taken the lead by the time the teams emerged from the first complex of turns.

Leclerc also launched brilliantly and managed to get past Russell, who started second on the grid.

The top four swapped places multiple times before a safety car on lap 11 brought them all into the pits.

Once the dust settled and they were racing again, Antonelli led Hamilton with Leclerc third and Russell fourth.

By lap 29, Russell had got past both Ferraris and up to second and set off trying to catch his young teammate, who was by that time more than seven seconds up the road.

Four-time world champion Max Verstappen continued Red Bull’s poor start to the new season when he was told to retire his car on lap 46.

McLaren’s reigning world champion, Lando Norris, and teammate Oscar Piastri both failed to start due to problems with their cars.

Oliver Bearman was fifth for Haas ahead of Alpine’s Pierre Gasly and Racing Bulls’ Liam Lawson.

Isack Hadjar took eighth for Red Bull after teammate Verstappen retired. Carlos Sainz was ninth for Williams, and Franco Colapinto was finally back in the points for Alpine in 10th after failing to score last year.

Thousands in Paris protest military operations in the Middle East. One of more than 85 coordinated protests across France. The rally opposed US and Israeli military operations in Iran, Lebanon, and Palestine.

The Crown star James Murray started off his acting career on ITV soap Coronation Street but the experience left him terrified

James Murray has revealed why he won’t return to Coronation Street after just three episodes.

The actor shared that he featured in three episodes of the ITV soap when speaking to Alan Titchmarsh on Love Your Weekend on Sunday (March 15).

When asked to share who he played in the long-running serial drama, James told the ITV host he was Sandy the barman many years ago.

He commented: “I was Jack and Vera’s barman for about three episodes, it was a frightening experience.

“No good at the job! Thankfully, I think I was contracted for three episodes, so I was in and out, but it was so frightening because Bill Tarmey, who played Jack, was a wonderful man.

“You know how those things are filmed, it’s very quick. It’s like a sausage factory! There’s not much time for creative input from the actors, shall we say. You just stand on your mark, say your line, and we move on.

“That was my first introduction into the world of acting, screen acting. I walked into the Rovers, and I was absolutely petrified!

“The bright lights, I overlearned my lines, and I was just a mess. I was shaking and sweating.”

James recalled how Bill was polishing some glass during their scene together and noticed how nervous he was.

The actor added: “He [Bill] went, ‘You’re shaking like a leaf, son, either stop shaking or think of doing something else’.

“After that stint on Corrie, I said I don’t want to be an actor, or I don’t want to be an actor like this, because it was so frightening to me!

“Being thrown into the lion’s den, first off. I then went and did theatre and other things, but yeah, never again. My hat goes off to the way they act in those shows because it’s so quick.”

Luckily, it wasn’t enough to turn him off of acting completely as James has gone on to star in many well known shows. Recently, he appeared as Raef Lonsdale in the 2025 BBC drama series Wild Cherry, one of the more villainous characters in the show.

While speaking to Alan Titchmarsh he joked he ‘can’t remember’ the last time he didn’t play an evil character, admitting it may have something to do with his eyebrows.

Love Your Weekend with Alan Titchmarsh is available to watch on Saturdays on ITV from 9:30am

For the latest showbiz, TV, movie and streaming news, go to the new **Everything Gossip** website.

Activists gathered outside the White House to protest the war with Iran, reenacting the Minab school strike, a deadly missile attack on a girl’s school in southern Iran that killed more than 170 people during early US-Israeli operations.

The Pentagon said the airmen on board the KC-135 plane were: John Klinner, 33, from Alabama; Ariana Savino, 31, from Washington; Ashley Pruitt, 34, from Kentucky; Seth Koval, 38, from Indiana; Curtis Angst, 30, from Ohio; and Tyler Simmons, 28, also from Ohio.

KATIE Price’s new husband Lee Andrews has “ran up a HUGE bill” at the luxury hotel where they got married.

The self-confessed ‘millionaire’, 41, and the former glamour model, 47, tied the knot just two weeks after meeting each other, leaving her family in shock.

The Sun revealed that the pair had married in a very intimate ceremony at The One&Only Royal Mirage, a 5-star luxury beachfront resort.

Our exclusive photos showed Katie in a white cut-out gown saying ‘I do’ in a private gardens as they exchanged their vows while holding hands.

But now it has been claimed that Lee has not coughed up a penny, which is believed to run into the thousands of pounds.

Despite promising to return and pay the outstanding cost, he still hasn’t paid and it has reportedly left staff “frustrated”.

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“Lee Andrews has not yet paid the One&Only Royal Mirage hotel where he and Katie Price got married. He promised to settle the outstanding bills but still hasn’t, and it’s been over six weeks,” an insider told the Mail.

When the publication approached Lee for comment and he insisted it was “fully paid”, adding: “It was an SMS on my HSBC locally. I will ping it to you so you can see it.”

But they have still not been provided any proof of payment.

The Sun has reached out to Lee for comment.

It comes just The Sun revealed that Lee had been begging women for money just a week before be proposed to Katie.

Self-proclaimed millionaire Lee whinged about surviving on 20p ready meals weeks before he married Katie.

He even begged a former friend for $4,000 just mere days before proposing to the former glamour model.

Lee popped the question to Katie on January 23, and the couple tied the knot in Dubai just 48 hours later.

He recently boasted about his love for his new wife the The Sun, and Katie even showed us  “proof” he owned a £36million property in Dubai.

Katie also claimed Lee had paid for every single one of her first-class flights to and from Dubai.

She also said he had forked out for all the romantic dates they had been on since January, with her not spending a penny.

Katie recently gushed to The Sun: “I can reassure everyone at home that I haven’t gone for a con man.

“I haven’t gone for a scammer.

“There was no love bombing.

“I’ve gone for a beautiful human being who genuinely makes me happy, who I’m so in love with,” she gushed.

The Qatar GP, scheduled for April 10-12, has been rescheduled for November 8 amid the ongoing US-Israeli war on Iran.

The Qatar Grand ⁠Prix ⁠that was scheduled to be held next month has ⁠been postponed due to the ongoing conflict ⁠in the Middle East, the sport’s governing body announced.

“MotoGP confirms that the Qatar Grand Prix, originally ⁠scheduled for April, has been ⁠postponed to November ⁠8 due to the ongoing geopolitical situation in the Middle East,” ‌MotoGP said on Sunday.

The Lusail International Circuit was set ‌to host the fourth round of the 2026 championship from April 10-12 but it has now been rescheduled for ⁠November 8, organisers said ⁠in a statement.

“Following extensive ⁠scenario planning and calendar analysis, the ⁠revised date has been chosen to ensure minimal disruption to the wider MotoGP schedule.”

The Portuguese Grand Prix will now take place on November ⁠22 and the season finale in Valencia will move to November 29, ⁠organisers added.

Aprilia’s Marco Bezzecchi leads the ⁠championship after the first round in Thailand. The next two races will be held in Brazil (March 20-22) and the United States (March 27-29).

Earlier on Sunday, Formula One and its governing body, FIA, said the Grands Prix races in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia will not happen in April due to safety concerns related to the Iran war.

Both countries have been hit during Iran’s retaliatory attacks after the United States and Israel launched a wave of strikes on Iran.

The announcement was made in Shanghai ahead of the Chinese Grand Prix.

“Due to the ongoing situation in the Middle East region, the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grands Prix will not take place in April,” F1 said. “While several alternatives were considered, it was ultimately decided that no substitutions will be made in April.”

F1 was due to race in Bahrain on April 12 and in the Saudi Arabian city of Jeddah on April 19.

“While this was a difficult decision to take, it is unfortunately the right one at this stage considering the current situation in the Middle East,” said Stefano Domenicali, president and CEO of F1.

“The FIA will always place the safety and well being of our community and colleagues first. After careful consideration, we have taken this decision with that responsibility firmly in mind,” FIA’s president, Mohammed Ben Sulayem, said.

The FIA did not explicitly rule out rescheduling the races and, along with F1, did not use the words “cancel” or “postpone” in announcing that the series would not be in Bahrain or Saudi Arabia next month.

Demonstrators gathered in Toronto for Al-Quds Day, denouncing US-Israeli attacks on Iran and Lebanon.

THE OSCARS is back for another year, and will see the crème de la crème of Hollywood clamouring to snatch one of those famous golden statues.

But despite the prestigious nature of the Academy Awards, they don’t always guarantee an A-list life forever in Tinseltown – as these past winners have found out…

Mo’Nique

Let’s kick off our look at forgotten Oscar winners with Mo’Nique, who claimed she was “blacklisted” after her win at the Academy Awards.

When she won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress in 2010 for her performance in Precious it was her acceptance speech that got people talking, which began: “First, I would like to thank the Academy for showing that it can be about the performance and not the politics.”

Mo’Nique was referring to a fallout which started long before the Oscars.

It came when she refused to travel the world to promote the film – against the advisement of director Lee Daniels and producers Tyler Perry and Oprah Winfrey – despite the movie having “Oscar buzz”.

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Following this fallout, Mo’Nique declined to thank filmmaker Lee during her acceptance speech, leading to a HUGE Hollywood feud – during which the actress alleged that he had “blackballed” her from the industry.

And shortly after winning the coveted statue she practically vanished from Tinseltown.

The star has since reflected on being a victim of so-called “Oscarscurse” – where stars suffer bad luck in their career after winning an Academy Award.

Speaking to CNN in 2020, Mo’Nique said: “I believe winning that Oscar award, just as Hattie McDaniel, she said, ‘I felt like I was cursed instead of winning something that should be congratulated’.

“That award was something that I did not ask for, but because I didn’t respond the way people thought that I should have responded, as Lee Daniels said, I was blackballed.”

Mercedes Ruehl

At the 1992 Oscars, Mercedes Ruehl was having the time of her life after scooping the Best Supporting Actress gong.

Despite her movie The Fisher King being led by Hollywood heavyweights Robin Williams and Jeff Bridges, Mercedes was the one who took home that coveted gold statue.

But even though she won such a huge award, the movie roles failed to pour in after her night of glory and the actress “vanished” from Hollywood.

Reflecting on the “curse” of winning such a top prize, she told the HuffPost: “It’s hard to get a job after that.

“People think you want more money.”

Instead, Mercedes returned to the stage and went on to win a Tony award the same year as her Oscar – she has remained a fixture of Broadway ever since.

Harold Russell

Harold Russell’s Oscars tale is very different to the others.

The late star lost both his hands in World War II and had them replaced by hooks.

Harold had never acted before when he played the role of Homer Parrish in The Best Years of Our Lives in 1946.

He was cast after the director of the film saw him in Diary of a Sergeant, an Army film about rehabilitating war veterans.

Despite his lack of acting experience, Harold proved to be a huge hit in The Best of Our Lives, and he won not one, but TWO Oscars for his role.

At the 1947 Academy Awards he was awarded the Best Supporting Actor and a special Honorary Academy Award for bringing hope and courage to fellow veterans.

Harold was also the first non-professional actor to ever win an Oscar.

But despite all this glory, he took a step back from acting and didn’t appear in another film until 1980.

Instead, he decided to get a business degree and devoted his life to charity.

Speaking about why he didn’t continue his Hollywood career, he told the Los Angeles Times in 1996: “Wyler (the director) told me I should go back to college because there wasn’t much call for a guy with no hands in the motion picture industry.

“I figured he was right. [In the handful of roles I’ve taken since then,] I always play a disabled veteran.

“And this is what Wyler said, ‘After a while they’re going to run out of ideas’—and he was absolutely right. How many times can you play the same role?”

Harold died in 2002 at the age of 88.

Roberto Benigni

Next up we have Italian actor Roberto Benigni, whose double Oscar win in 1999 caused quite a reaction.

The star won two gongs for the foreign film La Vita è Bella (Life is Beautiful), taking home the statues for Best Actor and Best International Feature Film – as he directed the movie too.

The film was the first non-English speaking picture to win the Best Actor award.

But Roberto, who was up against Tom Hanks, Ian McKellen, Nick Nolte and Ed Norton for the award, faced a huge backlash for his “over the top” reaction to winning the coveted gong.

He was seen climbing over audience seats to accept the award, which was slammed as being “chaotic”.

Roberto was also criticised for his “disingenuous” acceptance speech, where he appeared to make light of winning such a huge award.

“This is a terrible mistake. I used up all my English!” he joked, upon being handed the award.

Despite his big win, the actor retreated back to his native-Italy to make films instead of in Hollywood.

Speaking about life as a two-time Oscar winner, Roberto once told The Guardian: “The most important thing is to continue to be yourself.

“The day after the Oscars, you have to get on with your life. To be honest and true to yourself. I could have made a small film and kept all the money from Life is Beautiful. Instead, I spent more money than I had on Pinocchio, a very risky film.”

The actor is referring to his 2002 movie Pinocchio, which was only released in Italy and received mixed reviews from critics, with one calling it “the worst movie ever made”.

Marcia Gay Harden

Marcia Gay Harden beat the odds to scoop the Best Supporting Actress award for Pollack in 2000.

The actress was up against massive stars including Judi Dench, Kate Hudson, Frances McDormand and Julie Walters, so her win was the HUGE surprise of the night that everyone was talking about.

Critics were also shocked that Marcia won the Oscar as she hadn’t been nominated for any other major award in the run-up to the ceremony.

Despite the actress’s huge win, her movie career stalled and she headed back to the small screen.

Reflecting on being a victim of the “Oscar curse”, Marcia once told the LA Times: “It’s disastrous on a professional level.

“Suddenly the parts you’re offered and the money become smaller. There’s no logic to it.”

Mira Sorvino

Mira Sorvino

Fans of the quirky movie Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion may be surprised to know that the film’s co-leading actress, Mira Sorvino, actually won an Oscar before starring in the cult classic movie.

A few years before, the actress won a huge amount of praise when she played a prostitute in Woody Allen’s Mighty Aphrodite.

She wowed so much, she scooped the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in 1996 for the role.

Despite going on to star in Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion the following year, the movie roles after that failed to pour in and she has switched her focus to TV.

Marisa Tomei

Last but not least, we have Marisa Tomei.

It may come as a surprise to film fans to find out that the actress won an Oscar in 1993 – but that is nothing compared to what happened on the actual night.

Shockwaves went through the prestigious ceremony when the relatively-unknown actress at the time scooped the gong for Best Supporting Actress, beating veteran stars like Joan Plowright and Vanessa Redgrave.

But it didn’t stop there, as poor Marisa, who won the award for her role in My Cousin Vinny, faced rumours that she had been given the Oscar “by mistake”.

Vicious gossip began to circulate that suggested that presenter Jack Palance had misread the envelope and mistakenly given the Oscar to Marisa instead of “its rightful owner”, Vanessa.

However, the Academy addressed the conspiracy theory and denied that she had been given it by “mistake.”

Speaking about the cruel rumour, Marisa once said: “That was really hurtful at first.”

Despite the fall out from her Oscar three decades ago, she has been nominated for two more since.

These days Marisa is best known for playing Spider-Man‘s mum in the famous franchise.

Vietnamese elect members of parliament from a list of candidates ⁠almost exclusively fielded by the governing party.

Voters in Vietnam are casting their ballots for members of the National Assembly, the country’s top legislative body, which serves mainly to ratify decisions by the governing Communist Party.

Nearly 93 percent of the 864 parliamentary candidates in Sunday’s election are Communist Party members, while 7.5 percent are independents, according to the national election council, down from 8.5 percent in 2021.

The five-yearly elections in the tightly controlled one-party state will see more than 73 million voters elect 500 members of the National Assembly and representatives for local councils.

The Communist Party, which has ruled the Southeast Asian nation of 100 million people unopposed for decades, holds 97 percent of the parliamentary seats.

Voters expressed hope their representatives would continue modernising Vietnam, whose booming economy is undergoing major reforms introduced by top leader To Lam.

Red-and-yellow banners fluttered from lampposts and traffic lights in the capital, Hanoi, where well-dressed senior citizens were some of the first to vote.

“I do expect top leaders after this election will make major changes to make our country better,” Nguyen Thi Kim, 73, told the AFP news agency at a polling station set up in a community room of a high-rise residential block in Hanoi.

But in a country where major policies and projects are decided by senior cadres, many citizens feel lukewarm about elections. “I don’t think who wins will have any impact on my life,” said a woman, who gave her name as Huyen, in Hanoi.

Most polling stations are scheduled to close at 7pm (12:00 GMT), with results expected on March 23, parliament Chairman Tran Thanh Man told local media.

The opening plenary session of the National Assembly is scheduled for early April, when ⁠lawmakers are expected to approve the state’s top leaders previously nominated by the party, including the president and the prime minister.

The party confirmed Lam as its general secretary, Vietnam’s most powerful position, during ⁠its five-yearly congress in January, when it also selected the 19 members of ⁠the Politburo, its top decision-making body.

After voting on Sunday morning in Hanoi, Lam said on live television that the election aimed “to choose the most prestigious people to continue leading the country to more development”.

First-time voter Nguyen Kim Chi, 18, said she cast her ballot in the capital for “all the young” candidates.

“I know top positions are already set,” she added, “but I still hope my votes count.”

Medvedev, who arrived in the US after leaving the UAE via Oman amid Iranian attacks, ends world number one’s 16-match run.

Daniil Medvedev has handed top-seeded Carlos Alcaraz his first loss of the year and advanced to the final at the Indian Wells Open after arriving at the tournament from the midst of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.

The 11th-seeded Medvedev advanced with a 6-3, 7-6 (3) victory on Saturday and will face second-seeded Jannik Sinner, who beat Alexander Zverev 6-2, 6-4 in the California-based tournament.

Alcaraz had won 16 straight matches this year, including titles at the Australian Open and Qatar Open, but Medvedev ended the possibility of an Alcaraz versus Sinner final.

Medvedev had dropped his last four meetings against Alcaraz, including a loss in the Indian Wells final in 2024. This was Medvedev’s first victory over him since the US Open semifinals in 2023.

The Russian player was stuck in the United Arab Emirates for three days following his title win at the Dubai Tennis Championship on February 28, the day the United States and Israel attacked Iran to launch a region-wide conflict.

Medvedev’s participation in the premier US West Coast-based tournament looked doubtful after he was unable to leave Dubai for two days due to airspace closure.

The 30-year-old was able to exit on the third day by crossing over into Oman by land after a six-hour drive along with fellow players Andrey Rublev and Karen Khachanov.

From Oman, the players boarded a flight to Istanbul before leaving the Turkish city to arrive in the US two days before their opening matches at Indian Wells.

“You feel like you’re in a Hollywood movie,” Medvedev told the Russian media outlet Bolshe of his multi-leg journey to arrive at the tournament that he seemed likely to miss.

Medvedev had been scheduled to play in the Eisenhower Cup, a one-night Tie Break Tens doubles event alongside fellow Russian Mirra Andreeva on March 3, but missed the exhibition event.

Meanwhile, Sinner made quick work of Zverev in the second semifinal, beating the German in one hour, 23 minutes. Sinner notched six aces against the fourth-seeded Zverev.

Zverev won his first eight points on serve. But Sinner broke Zverev in the fifth and seventh games to secure the first set. Sinner now leads the head-to-head series against Zverev 7-4.

Neither Medvedev nor Sinner has dropped a set yet in this tournament. Sinner has won his last three matches against Medvedev, including the US Open quarterfinals in 2024.

In the women’s doubles final, Taylor Townsend and Katerina Siniakova beat Anna Danilina and Aleksandra Krunic 7-6 (4), 6-4. The victory marked Townsend’s first at Indian Wells and Siniakova’s second. Siniakova also won in 2023 alongside longtime partner Barbora Krejcikova.

In the men’s doubles final, Guido Andreozzi and Manuel Guinard topped Arthur Rinderknech and Valentin Vacherot 7-6 (3), 6-3. In mixed doubles, Belinda Bencic and Flavio Cobolli beat top-seeded Gabriela Dabrowski and Lloyd Glasspool 6-3, 2-6, 10-7.

Period dramas are more popular than ever thanks to the likes of Bridgerton and Emerald Fennell’s Wuthering Heights.

Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice universe is far from just Elizabeth Bennet and Mr Darcy as a new BBC adaptation is ready to air.

Netflix fans are curious to see how the iconic novel written by author Dolly Alderton will take shape this year but there’s an alternative with a twist on BBC One in the meantime.

Based on the best-selling 2020 novel of the same name, The Other Bennet Sister by Janice Hadlow is finally being brought to life in the shape of a 10-episode period drama.

But rather than telling the love story of Elizabeth and Mr Darcy, the BBC series will be told from the perspective of Mary Bennet, the “seemingly unremarkable” middle sister of the Bennet family.

She may be considered the “overlooked middle sister” of Pride and Prejudice but, in this series, Mary Bennet will stand in the spotlight for the first time.

For the latest showbiz, TV, movie and streaming news, go to the new **Everything Gossip** website.

Debuting with a double bill tonight, Sunday, March 15, at 8pm on BBC One, The Other Bennet Sister “follows Mary as she steps out of her sisters’ shadows in search of her own identity and purpose, finding herself in the middle of an epic love story along the way.

“Her journey will see her leave her family home in Meryton for the soirées of Regency London and the peaks and vales of the Lake District, all in search of independence, self-love, and reinvention.”

Bringing the 19th Century Regency drama to life are an abundance of familiar faces, led by none other than Call the Midwife actress Ella Bruccoleri as Mary Bennet.

She is joined by stars including Gavin and Stacey’s Ruth Jones as Mrs Bennet, The Capture actress Indira Varma as Mrs Gardiner and Saltburn actor Richard E Grant as Mr Bennet, just to name a few.

Despite not yet airing on BBC One and BBC iPlayer, The Other Bennet has already won itself a legion of fans thanks to Hadlow’s hit book.

Taking to Goodreads, a fan described it as “Beautifully written, moving and plausible, and very much in the spirit of Austen.”

Another echoed: “I would think that Austen herself wrote this book if I didn’t know better.

“Hadlow completely nails Austen’s witty, sharp sense of humor and elegant turns of phrase.”

“I absolutely love this – it’s a lovely, powerful and sweet book and I just adored it”, a third said.

While fourth added: “This is a fantastic re-telling of a classic novel and its characters, reforming our view of Mary Bennet, and elevating her into a heroine in her own right.”

The Other Bennet Sister premieres tonight, Sunday, March 15, at 8pm on BBC One.

Cars were seen burned and one overturned in a town in Tel Aviv district caused by shrapnel after a wave of Iranian missiles struck central Israel. According to local police, three people were wounded.

The stand-off between Ten Hag and Sancho lasted four months, before Sancho joined Dortmund on loan for the remainder of the season and helped them reach the Champions League final.

But they could not afford to keep him and, although United sporting director Dan Ashworth was credited with brokering the truce that allowed Sancho to join up with United in the pre-season of 2024, it was a temporary situation, which Chelsea seemed to solve by agreeing a loan that committed them to a permanent transfer at the end of the season.

Yet, after five goals in 41 appearances, Chelsea preferred to pay a £5m penalty to send Sancho back to Old Trafford.

This time, there was no olive branch. Sancho was placed in Ruben Amorim’s ‘bomb squad’ and had to train away from the first team until he joined Villa on 1 September.

United have an option to trigger an additional year on Sancho’s contract, which otherwise expires in the summer. In public, they are reserving their position on that. No-one expects it to happen.

At 25, Sancho still has a lot to offer. There have been glimpses of quality during his time at Villa, but it is by no means certain he will stay there beyond the end of the season.

“Seeing Jadon close up, technically, he’s got an awful lot of ability,” said current United interim head coach Michael Carrick, who worked with Sancho as part of Solskjaer’s backroom team and managed him for three games during his short stint in charge after the Norwegian’s dismissal.

“In and around the box; his ball carrying; his little plays; the connections; his creativity; the way he handles the ball – he’s got natural ability.

“He’s always had it all the way coming through. That’s one part of football.

“But – and I’m not talking about Jadon individually on this – it is just how it is and how it should be.

“You can’t just assume it’s all going to be smooth. It’s proven that it’s not always like that.

“You’ve got to find a way through it. If you are playing in a good team with good players and a good squad and depth, that’s part of the challenge to stay at the top.”

POUTING actress Sydney Sweeney does more than just pay lip service to her undies brand by modelling the range.

The 28-year-old was marking SYRN’s role as lingerie partner of US music festival Stagecoach.

Sydney said: “We’re making the festival even better.”

Sydney recently revealed her true bra size, admitting her curves made her insecure until her star rose in Hollywood.

Her role in Euphoria helped her embrace her body exactly how it is, according to the star.

“I grew up with boobs. I was wearing a 32DD in sixth grade, and I never felt confident,” she told the magazine.

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“I never had anything I felt good in, and I just wanted to hide. It wasn’t until [I played] Cassie in Euphoria that I started realizing it’s actually powerful to be confident; our bodies are incredible.

“We should embrace [them] and feel really good in our skin.”

Sydney said that while playing Cassie, she was forced to wear things she typically wouldn’t – revealing pieces that highlighted her ample chest.

“I’d always be like, ‘Oh, this fit doesn’t work’,” she said.

“‘I don’t have the support I want. The straps are digging into my shoulders or it’s kind of itchy and riding up.’

“I started a whole Pinterest board of thousands of photos of inspiration, and I [thought], ‘I should actually do this.’ And we put it together.”

March 13 (UPI) — Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro was hospitalized Friday in Brasilia after doctors diagnosed a bacterial lung infection, authorities said, marking the latest health episode for the 70-year-old who is currently serving a prison sentence.

Bolsonaro was admitted to the DF Star hospital with fever, vomiting and low oxygen levels. Doctors later confirmed a case of bacterial pneumonia and began treatment with intravenous antibiotics while keeping him under medical observation.

The former president was transferred to the hospital from detention. Since January, he has been held in the officers’ wing of the 19th Military Police Battalion, known as “Papudinha,” in Brasilia, where he is serving a sentence of 27 years, three months in prison for an attempted coup.

Health issues have been a recurring concern for Bolsonaro since a 2018 assassination attempt during a campaign rally in the southeastern city of Juiz de Fora, where he was stabbed in the abdomen.

The attack caused severe internal injuries and required emergency surgery, forcing him to spend weeks recovering in hospital while continuing his presidential campaign.

Since then, Bolsonaro has undergone several abdominal procedures and has been hospitalized numerous times for intestinal obstructions, infections, hernia repairs and other chronic health problems. Doctors said Friday his condition is stable and that doctors continue to monitor the infection.

Caracas, March 14, 2026 (venezuelanalysis.com) – Venezuelan workers, activists, and trade union organizers held marches in several cities on Thursday to demand wage increases and respect for labor rights.

A coalition of labor organizations staged protests in Caracas and over 25 other cities across the country. In the Venezuelan capital, around 1,000 demonstrators marched from Plaza Morelos and broke through a police cordon to reach the National Assembly in the city center.

“Mobilizations like the one we had today will continue and grow until the government changes its salary policies,” José Gregorio Afonso, president of the Central University of Venezuela (UCV) professors’ association, stated. “We believe the economic conditions allow for the establishment of a minimum wage as determined by the Constitution and the Labor Law.”

Afonso added that the Constitution mandates the government adjust the minimum wage at least once a year to keep up with inflation, but the last increase was in 2022. He likewise pointed to recent official figures of economic growth and prospects of increased oil revenues.

Thursday’s rally consisted largely of education sector trade unions, as well as public sector retirees. A commission met with a group of legislators at the end of the march to deliver a list of 17 demands signed by over 200 trade unions. 

A similar document was delivered to the Labor Ministry following prior nationwide rallies on February 26. The labor organizations’ demands include raising the minimum wage in accordance with the Constitution and labor legislation, the release of workers and trade unionists allegedly arrested for defending labor rights, and the repeal of statutes such as the 2792 Memorandum that suspended several collective bargaining rights.

Activists have also voiced opposition to plans to implement a pro-business reform of the country’s Organic Law of Labor and Workers (LOTTT) that would cut benefits, social security contributions, and other employer responsibilities. 

The historic 2012 law, approved by former President Hugo Chávez, prohibits unfair dismissal and outsourcing, enshrines the world’s third-longest maternity leave, guarantees the right to work for both women and people with disabilities, and extends retirement pensions to all workers, including full-time mothers and the self-employed.

Later on Thursday, the ruling Socialist Party (PSUV) held its own march in Caracas along the same route, with spokespeople urging the defense of the country’s peace and sovereignty, as well as calling for the release of kidnapped President Nicolás Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores.

Labor Minister Eduardo Piñate told reporters that the rally was in “firm backing” of the Maduro and Rodríguez government’s labor policies.

Gov’t increases bonus amid salary debates

On Friday, unofficial channels reported that the acting Rodríguez administration had raised the monthly “economic war bonus” by 25 percent, from US $120 to $150. Coupled with a $40 food bonus, the move brings the monthly income floor for public sector workers to $190. The amount is paid in bolívars at the official exchange rate.

Venezuelan government officials have not commented on the increase. It is not presently known whether public sector retirees and pensioners, who receive $70 and $50 economic war bonuses, respectively, will benefit from similar hikes.

Venezuela’s monthly minimum wage was set at 130 bolívars (BsD) in March 2022 and has not been adjusted since. At the time, 130 BsD amounted to around US $30, but with the Venezuelan currency’s devaluation, it is now equivalent to $0.29. With the Venezuelan economy heavily battered by US sanctions, the Nicolás Maduro government prioritized non-wage bonuses as the main income source for workers and pensioners.

Trade unions and leftist organizations have criticized the policy for violating the country’s labor laws and favoring business sector interests by reducing labor costs and making dismissals more flexible.

In recent weeks, trade union coalitions have put forward proposals for a minimum wage adjustment. Center-right and right-wing alliances such as the Independent Union Alliance (ASI) and the Confederation of Venezuelan Workers (CTV) have urged authorities to set the monthly minimum salary at $200 before pegging it to a cost-of-living index.

For its part, the government-aligned Bolivarian Socialist Union of Workers (CBST) proposed that the minimum wage be raised by $50 each quarter, though it did not specify a time frame. The CBST added that, should the government deem the salary increase unfeasible, it should implement a similar increase in non-wage bonuses.

Liberal economists, including Asdrúbal Oliveros and José Guerra, have argued that minimum wage increases beyond $100 and $150 a month, respectively, might place too high a burden on the state’s budget. At the same time, business sector representatives have called for a flexibilization of labor protections and benefits.

Leftist economists, including former PSUV congressman Tony Boza, Pasqualina Curcio, and Juan Carlos Valdez, have proposed raising wages and pegging them to inflation as is currently done by private banks with interest rates.

Edited by Lucas Koerner in Fusagasugá, Colombia.

The brutal episode will plunge viewers into another chilling investigation

A chilling new episode of a harrowing true crime documentary will be released tonight.

Viewers are once again plunged into a race against time as Forensics: The Real CSI’s brand new series continues, giving fans an unprecedented insight into a local police force. Focusing on the forensic evidence gathered in the search for justice, the documentary, now in its sixth series, has been branded the perfect watch for fans of true crime.

Plunging viewers into complex investigations and searches within the West Midlands Police Force, another brand new episode is set to air tonight (March 15) at 9pm on BBC2 with yet another chilling case.

Tonight’s instalment will investigate a harrowing phone call where one teenage girl calls 999 to say her friend has been attacked as his life hangs in the balance.

A BBC synopsis reads: “It’s the early hours of the morning when a frantic teenage girl calls 999 to say that her friend has been attacked and stabbed in a car park. Police rush to the scene, where they find a 16-year-old boy with a life-threatening stab wound to his stomach.

“While his life hangs in the balance, the case is escalated to West Midlands Police’s homicide team, and forensic investigators get to work. They discover two discarded weapons at the scene – a kitchen knife and a machete.”

The episode will also be available to stream on BBC iPlayer shortly after broadcast, with other instalments also available to stream online.

Titled Ambush in the Car Park, the upcoming episode marks the third instalment within the new series, with viewers having to wait every week for new episodes to be released.

Previously, viewers have witnessed a brutal attack in a public phone box with investigators searching for evidence, as well as a young boy who was fatally stabbed on his way home from school with police suspecting a 14 year old, but needing forensic proof.

Viewers claimed the new series has broadcast the “worst” episodes yet, with one saying last week’s instalment was “absolutely shocking”.

Another described the latest series as “unbelievable” as a third said they were “speechless”. A fourth added: “Made me feel sick.”

Spanning across six seasons, the BBC documentary has been branded as the “best ever”, becoming a firm favourite amongst true crime fans.

Taking to TikTok, one true crime fan said the upcoming series was a must watch, adding: “I love this show… they’re really interesting. Some of them are quite brutal what you see.”

One person commented: “Real CSI is my most favourite programme I’ve watched every single series.” Another wrote: “Been waiting so long for a new series.” A third added: “Forensics is one of the best documentaries.”

Forensics: The Real CSI airs tonight at 9pm on BBC Two. For the latest showbiz, TV, movie and streaming news, go to the new **Everything Gossip** website.

March 13 (UPI) — An Australian businessman was found guilty Friday of selling information to two people believed to be Chinese spies.

Alexander Csergo, 59, was convicted of reckless foreign interference in a Sydney court after compiling reports for two people he knew as Ken and Evelyn in Shanghai between 2021 and 2023. He faces up to 15 years in prison.

The prosecution alleged that Csergo believed they worked for Chinese intelligence agency the Ministry of State Security and acted recklessly about knowing if it would support Chinese intelligence.

His defense team argued he had only given them information that was publicly available and he included made-up quotes from people he pretended to have interviewed, including former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd.

Csergo ran a business in Shanghai and was first approached by a woman on LinkedIn who said she was working for a think tank. She introduced him to Ken and Evelyn and said they had businesses in Australia, New Zealand and Canada.

Their meetings, in which he exchanged reports for cash, happened in empty cafes and restaurants, prosecutors said.

Ken and Evelyn gave Csergo a “shopping list” of subjects they wanted reports on. After he returned to Australia in 2023, officials searched his Bondi home and found the list, but Csergo said he never used that list.

Ken and Evelyn asked for reports about lithium mining, the German government, the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue and AUKUS, a trilateral security partnership between Australia, Britain and the United States. The Quad alliance is a non-military partnership between the United States, India, Japan and Australia.

Csergo’s defense attorney, Iain Todd, argued that there is no evidence he provided anyone with any national secrets.

The prosecution said the biggest value to Ken and Evelyn were Csergo’s contacts, but Todd said Csergo had no real contacts.

“He never spoke to interviewees. He lied about that,” Todd said. “He never gave access to anyone because there was no one to give access to.”

Some of the information in the report on lithium mining was labeled “gibberish” by experts.

Prosecutors said he exchanged about 2,800 WeChat messages with Ken and developed a collegial relationship with him.

Iran has held a funeral for the country’s most influential defence figure, Ali Shamkhani, who was killed in Israeli-US strikes on February 28. Shamkhani was a key figure in Iran nuclear talks, chief of the country’s Defence Council and advisor to the late Supreme Leader. He lost a leg in an Israeli assassination attempt last June.