News Desk

Little is known about Kim’s daughter, Ju Ae, who made her first public appearance in 2022 but appears set to be her father’s successor.

South Korea’s spy agency believes that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is preparing to designate his daughter, Kim Ju Ae, as his successor, increasing the agency’s earlier assessment of the teenager being the “most likely successor”.

The National Intelligence Service in Seoul informed legislators of the news during a closed-door briefing on Thursday, according to South Korea’s official Yonhap News Agency. Their intelligence agency’s findings were later shared with the media by South Korean politicians Park Seon-won and Lee Seong-gwon.

“Kim Ju Ae’s presence continues to be highlighted at events such as the recent Armed Forces Day ceremony and her visit to the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun, and there are even signs that she is expressing opinions on some policies,” Lee told reporters, according to Yonhap.

“We believe that she has now entered the succession selection stage,” Lee said.

Kumsusan Palace of the Sun is considered one of the most important places in North Korea as the final resting place of the country’s Great Leader Kim Il Sung and his son Dear Leader Kim Jong Il – the current Kim’s grandfather and father, and Ju Ae’s great-grandfather and grandfather.

Yonhap reports that if Ju Ae attends or receives a title at the ruling Workers’ Party congress later this month, a key political event that analysts believe will see major policy goals unveiled, speculation about her path to succession will “gain traction”.

Very little is known about Kim’s daughter, including her official age, though she is believed to still be in her teens.

Her first public appearance was in 2022 at the test launch of a North Korean intercontinental ballistic missile, and she has been photographed alongside her father at numerous events across the country since then.

In January, she was photographed by Pyongyang’s Korean Central News Agency attending the test launch of a large-calibre multiple-rocket launch system alongside her father.

She also travelled by armour-plated train with her father to Beijing in September to attend a military parade marking 80 years since Japan’s surrender at the end of World War II, where she would have mixed with both Chinese and Russian leaders.

Seoul’s spy agency also said that Kim is currently directing the development of a large submarine ‌that is likely capable of carrying up to 10 submarine-launched ballistic missiles and which may be designed to be powered by a ‌nuclear ‌reactor, according to the politicians Park and Lee.

The Arctic is increasingly recognized as being of critical strategic importance, with the U.S., as well as NATO members, eager to swiftly implement measures to stamp authority on and preserve security in the region. This will need a multi-layered approach that includes a host of airborne capabilities, especially those pertaining to the surveillance of huge areas. These requirements are complicated by the austere conditions of the frigid high north. General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI) believes its MQ-9B SeaGuardian® remotely piloted aircraft is ideally suited for Arctic ops and is ready to answer the call for duty at the top of the world.

The continuing retreat of the polar ice cap is opening up opportunities for new shipping routes as well as access to previously untapped natural resources. Together, this has spurred a rush for increased Western presence in the region to ensure access to help stabilize a potential flashpoint that’s of global interest and importance. Even so, the Arctic remains one of the most inhospitable zones on the planet.

Russia has been making moves to extend its already robust military presence in the Arctic. This includes the reactivation of dormant northern air bases and seaports that could be utilized to help deny access to the high north. China too is recognizing the strategic potential of the area, underscored by an expanding presence there. This helped spur the Pentagon to identify the Arctic as “an increasingly competitive domain,” warning Congress of China’s interest in the region.

Braced for the cold

The MQ-9B SeaGuardian is designed for medium-altitude, long-endurance missions, and it incorporates more than three decades’ worth of GA-ASI’s experience in uncrewed air systems. The company has honed its expertise through programs such as the MQ-1 Predator and MQ-9 Reaper. The MQ-9B family includes the baseline SkyGuardian and the maritime-optimized SeaGuardian, as well as the United Kingdom’s Protector version.

The SeaGuardian is physically larger than its predecessors, with a longer wingspan, giving it more range than anything else in this category, as well as better endurance – as much as 40 hours in some configurations. The SeaGuardian’s longer wings mean it can generate sufficient lift to enable it to operate from a wide variety of airfields with runways of limited length, thus affording greater operational flexibility.

GA-ASI is also developing a short takeoff and landing-optimized version of the MQ-9B, which could be employed from aircraft carriers and big deck amphibious assault ships. This capability could also be employed for accessing even smaller airfields.

Introducing MQ-9B STOL

When it comes to cold-weather operations, such as those in the Arctic, the aircraft features electro-expulsive de-icing and a field-proven cold-start capability. In one demonstration, an MQ-9B was cold-soaked and then de-iced, and it started its engine in ambient temperatures below -21 degrees Centigrade (about -5 degrees Fahrenheit), then took off without incident. GA-ASI has proved that the aircraft can roll out from a climate-controlled hangar into subzero ambient conditions, start up, and fly.

“With respect to iced runways, we can operate at airports with runways the same as a conventional aircraft – so it’s cold, there’s ice, but the airport ops crew goes out and clears and salts, and that enables normal flight ops at their field,” commented a GA-ASI spokesperson. “We can do that as far north as there are airports that support those kinds of conditions at the field.”

Important aircraft operators have selected the MQ-9B specifically for these features.

“Nobody knows the hardships associated with operating in the cold better than the Royal Canadian Air Force [RCAF], which is why they needed to be confident this aircraft would work in some of the least hospitable fields in the world,” says Michel Lalumiere, a former RCAF general officer who today leads Canadian business strategy for GA-ASI. “We’ve been working closely with them to ensure that it will become normal operations.” 

Canada is purchasing 11 MQ-9Bs for Arctic operations to provide persistent intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR).

An uncrewed vehicle like the MQ-9B can be controlled remotely from nearly anywhere on the planet. It can operate from an existing air base or at a remote forward location without the need for extensive supporting manpower deployments. Automated takeoff and landing means any support crews that are needed to launch, recover, and maintain operational SeaGuardians can be minimal and more easily sustained.

“You don’t need to bed down a squadron somewhere cold and remote if you don’t want to,” Lalumiere says. “You could send up a small team that catches an MQ-9B at a forward post, refuels, turns the aircraft, and sends it on its way, enabled by the automatic takeoff and landing capabilities. Sustaining these operations becomes about the missions and not the deployments, as we might have thought about them once.”

There is a linked benefit to operating uncrewed air assets in the vast and inhospitable Arctic. Crewed patrol aircraft necessitate search-and-rescue assets standing by in case of emergency. The uncrewed MQ-9B doesn’t need those, so that kind of resource-intensive contingency support can be tasked elsewhere.

Time on task is another consideration. An airborne, on-mission SeaGuardian can change out operating crews over regular shift patterns at the ground control station while the air asset continues its work. With sufficient aircraft and aircrews, an air arm can maintain sufficient orbits to keep watch on a large area of ocean around the clock, indefinitely.

“Imagine an air ops plan like this. A detachment of MQ-9Bs is working heel-to-toe, providing 24/7 overwatch above a patch of important waters,” says Lalumiere. “Aircraft one might have taken off carrying a 360-degree surface search radar to establish the highest-quality domain awareness – and it detects a specific ship of interest. As that aircraft stays with that target, commanders decide to prepare aircraft two in a clean configuration, with no payloads, in order to maximize its endurance. Aircraft two launches and relieves aircraft one, staying with the vessel of interest for many hours. The coast guard decides to interdict the vessel. The aircraft with communications relay equipment coordinates that operation while the other aircraft remain ready to launch, take over, and hold custody of the area, 24/7, until the mission is completed.” 

Multi-mission capability

The modular payload and open architecture MQ-9B is designed to carry a range of systems that enable it to sense and observe anything that comes or goes on the surface of land and sea, in the air, and even beneath the waves. The aircraft can also collect signals intelligence or take on a number of other roles by using many specialized payloads. This is in addition to the aircraft’s ability to strike targets of many kinds.

The MQ-9B has the ability to deploy sonobuoys to listen for submarines – a highly valuable feature considering what lurks below the surface in the Arctic. GA-ASI has flight-tested sonobuoy dispensing system (SDS) pods as part of a broader demonstration of anti-submarine warfare (ASW) capabilities for the SeaGuardian. This initially involved an MQ-9A carrying one of the 10-tube dispensers and other ASW-related systems as a surrogate for a SeaGuardian.

GA-ASI and the U.S. Navy continued to expand the ASW capability of the MQ-9B with testing in December 2025 that featured dual sonobuoy pods, thereby doubling the number of sonobuoys available. “Expanding sonobuoy capacity, including Multi-static Active Coherent (MAC) technology for SeaGuardian, has been an integral part of our advanced ASW strategy to broaden and enhance search areas,” said GA-ASI President David Alexander.

While the SDS pods are initially used to release sonobuoys, the company has said that they will also be able to launch smaller unmanned aircraft, the latter of which could then potentially operate as an autonomous swarm. This can drastically increase the size of a single MQ-9B’s collection area and provides tactical flexibility for a single platform that was previously impossible to obtain.

The MQ-9B is already being prepared to be able to release a small unmanned craft of its own, such as GA-ASI’s Sparrowhawk drone and other launched effects.  

In addition to providing ISR over a large geographical area, small drones like the Sparrowhawk could provide other capabilities, such as stand-in electronic warfare jamming, or even act as decoys to confuse an enemy, further improving the survivability of the host aircraft. U.S. Special Operations Command has already experimented with the use of MQ-9Bs as launch platforms for small expendable drones.

The SeaGuardian is also being prepared as an airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) variant, which would present a readily deployable, long-endurance solution for this important role, which would carry obvious benefits in the Arctic to keep an eye on the airspace, including spotting unexpected air traffic.

Operational relevance

The SeaGuardian’s multi-mission flexibility is seen by GA-ASI as being highly relevant to Arctic multi-domain awareness. A regular pattern of patrol flights would enable authorities to maintain a comprehensive picture of who and what is present in the far north, and therefore how best to respond.

A detachment of uncrewed MQ-9Bs presents a far smaller footprint than crewed patrol aircraft, which are often costly and have their own risk factors when operating in such austere conditions. It’s worth noting that some satellite coverage in the high latitudes is spotty, irregular, and operationally unresponsive. However, the SeaGuardian is equipped with satellite communications equipment that can take advantage of both new and emerging spacecraft constellations for operations anywhere.

The MQ-9B has been ordered by the United Kingdom, Belgium, Poland, Japan, Canada, India, Qatar, and several other nations. SeaGuardians have already proved their worth. In 2024, MQ-9B supported the Indian Navy in a rescue mission to save crew members aboard a merchant ship captured by pirates as well as helping to locate vessels in distress. They have even aided mariners in the Pacific Ocean to avoid the hazards represented by newly formed volcanic islands.

The latest customers include a group of northern powers, namely Canada, Denmark and, most recently, Germany. The U.S. Navy has also included the MQ-9B in fleet exercises, including Northern Edge, Integrated Battle Problem, RIMPAC, and Group Sail, in which it has escorted warships, coordinated communications, and tracked simulated submarines, amongst other tasks. The Navy is now expected to give GA-ASI deployment flight clearance for distributed ASW operations using the SeaGuardian.

So, while many in Washington, D.C., and in European capitals are preparing for a disputatious Arctic, GA-ASI believes that the SeaGuardian is ready for the challenges that lie ahead at the top of the world.

Contact the editor: Tyler@twz.com

When “Dawson’s Creek” premiered on Jan. 20, 1998, I was 11 years old. I had never been in a love triangle or gotten drunk at a house party. Yet, like so many other millennials, I religiously set the VHS player to record “Dawson’s Creek” every week on the WB.

My parents didn’t approve of their impressionable child devouring the semi-debaucherous teen melodrama, so I labeled the VHS tapes “The Brady Bunch,” then routinely snuck out of bed late at night to quietly watch Dawson, Joey, Pacey and Jen navigate their hormonal angst via unbelievably erudite dialogue.

On Wednesday, “Dawson’s Creek” star James Van Der Beek died at 48 after being diagnosed with colorectal cancer. He left behind six kids, a wife and decades of work across film and television.

But for many millennials, he will always be Dawson Leery.

Van Der Beek’s health was already in decline when I profiled “Dawson’s Creek” creator Kevin Williamson for The Times last year. Still, the actor kindly agreed to answer questions for the piece via email. His commentary went beyond what was expected, graciously detailing his time on the show and praising his co-stars and collaborators.

In the “Dawson’s” audition room, for example, Van Der Beek said his soon-to-be co-star Joshua Jackson “stood out because while other actors nervously went over their sides (myself included), he had the energy of a guy who was ready for a prize fight. I remember thinking, ‘THAT GUY is really interesting. If they cast him as Pacey, this is going to be really good.’”

James Van Der Beek, left, and Joshua Jackson in “Dawson’s Creek,” which would launch them to stardom.

(Fred Norris/The WB)

Van Der Beek likewise effused that, as a showrunner, Williamson “felt like a friend who was excited to go make a movie in his backyard. Even the way he ‘pitched’ storylines — it was never a pitch. It was a campfire story about people he cared about that he’d unfold in such a simple, compelling way that you couldn’t help but care about them too.”

Millennial viewers did care. A lot.

“Dawson’s Creek,” a simple drama about four friends growing up in a small, coastal town, quickly became a defining touchstone of Y2K culture, a major hit for the WB network — the series finale drew more than 7 million viewers — and a star-making machine for its four leads: Van Der Beek, Jackson, Katie Holmes and Michelle Williams.

The floppy-haired, often flannel-clad Van Der Beek wasn’t the show’s breakout heartthrob. (That honorific belonged to Jackson, who played Pacey, Dawson’s charming best friend and Joey’s end-game paramour.)

But as the title character and a partial avatar for Williamson — who had similarly spent his own teen years dreamily pining and aspiring to be a filmmaker — Dawson was the boy-next-door pillar around which the show orbited.

Yes, Dawson was whiny and moody and extremely self-centered, but so are a lot of teenagers. Through Van Der Beek’s wistful performance, viewers were given a window through which to grapple with betrayal, death, heartbreak and a litany of bad decisions.

For better or worse, Dawson served as an emotional, often cautionary, proxy for millennials’ own coming-of-age messiness.

In the years since the series ended in 2003, Dawson has largely been reduced to the “Dawson crying” meme: a Season 3 screenshot of Van Der Beek, face contorted in pain and on the verge of crying messy, heaving tears as Dawson tells Joey she should choose Pacey over him.

The emotional relationship between Joey and Dawson was core to the series.

(Fred Norris/The WB)

Van Der Beek later revealed that the tears weren’t scripted. So attuned had he become to his character’s sensitivity by that point that the emotions flowed naturally.

“I think at the heart of [Williamson’s] projects are characters that he himself cares about deeply — flaws and all,” Van Der Beek said in his email last year. “They’re authentic to their background, sincere according to their world view… and vulnerable.”

Van Der Beek was vulnerable, too. As his cancer progressed, he was open with fans about his health struggles and the early warning signs. He appeared via video at a “Dawson’s Creek” reunion event in New York City last September, the proceeds of which raised money for cancer awareness.

In Van Der Beek’s death, there is no real-world instrumental score or innate montage of his best moments to soften the blow, as would have happened with a character on “Dawson’s Creek” (though the internet will surely be awash in such fan-made edits).

But through his work on “Dawson’s,” a generation can take comfort in a starry-eyed boy on a dock in Capeside who once invited us into his messy, emotional world.

Feb. 12 (UPI) — In a rare rebuke of the Trump administration, the Republican-led House on Wednesday moved to block sweeping tariffs imposed on Canada by President Donald Trump.

In a 219-211 vote on Wednesday evening, House lawmakers approved legislation terminating a national emergency Trump declared early in his administration to slap tariffs on the United States’ northern neighbor.

Six Republicans joined their Democratic colleagues to pass the legislation into an uncertain future in the Senate. One Democrat, Rep. Jared Golden of Maine, voted against terminating the emergency.

The legislation, however, could end up being only symbolic. Even if the GOP-led majority approves it, President Donald Trump would be expected to veto it.

Even as the resolution faces an uncertain future, Rep. Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y., the ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and sponsor of H.J.Res.72, said Democrats, joined by several GOP lawmakers, forced the measure to the floor to put Republicans on record.

“The question was simple: stand with working families and lower costs, or keep prices high out of loyalty to Donald Trump?” Meeks, who has argued the tariffs have increased household costs, said in a statement following the vote.

“House Democrats will continue fighting to lower costs, even if most Republicans won’t.”

Tariffs have been a mechanism central to Trump’s trade and foreign policy, using economic measures to right what he sees as improper trade relations and to penalize nations he feels are doing him and the United States wrong.

On Feb. 1, Trump declared a national emergency with respect to Canada over drugs entering the United States across their shared border, alleging Ottawa was “failing to devote sufficient attention and resources or meaningfully coordinate with the United States law enforcement partners to effectively stem the tide of illicit drugs.”

Under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, Trump imposed a sweeping 25% tariff on most Canadian goods and a 10% duty on Canadian energy products.

The tariffs have kicked off a trade war with Canada and have begun fraying the United States’ relations with Ottawa, which, in the months since, has sought to lessen its dependency on Washington.

Premier Doug Ford of Ontario, Canada’s most populous province, on Wednesday night thanked the members of Congress who voted to terminate the emergency declaration, saying they “stood up in support of free trade and economic growth between our two great countries.”

“An important victory with more work ahead,” he said in a social media statement.

“Let’s end the tariffs and together build a more prosperous and secure future.”

Trump lashed out against House and Senate Republicans on Wednesday, warning that those who vote against his tariffs “will suffer the consequences come Election time,” suggesting that he could interfere with their chances of winning their next primary.

The president argued in a post on his Truth Social platform that tariffs improve the United States’ economic and national security “because the mere mention of the word has Countries agreeing to our strongest wishes.”

“Tariffs have given us Economic and National Security, and no Republican should be responsible for destroying this privilege,” he said. In a second post, Trump said Canada was taking advantage of the United States without providing proof, calling Ottawa “the worst in the World to deal with.”

“TARIFFS make a WIN for us, EASY,” he said. “Republicans must keep it that way!”

Democrats have criticized Trump’s tariffs since they were announced, and now point to economists’ estimates that say the measures — including those imposed against Canada — have increased household costs.

According to the Budget Lab at Yale University, income loss due to Trump’s tariffs, including those imposed on Canada, amounted to about $1,700 per American household last year. The nonpartisan Tax Foundation said the tariffs amount to an average tax increase per U.S. household of $1,000 in 2025 and $1,300 this year.

Though estimates vary, economists generally agree that the tariffs have raised costs for American households.

The U.S.-Canada relationship has greatly degraded during Trump’s second term. Threats to make Canada the United States’ 51st state, his imposition of tariffs and the shifting right of Washington’s foreign and domestic policies have prompted officials in Ottawa to look elsewhere for stable economic partnerships.

Last month, Trump threatened to impose a 100% tariff on Canadian imports in response to Canada seeking to forge a new trade deal with China.

Last October, the U.S. Senate passed a similar resolution to end the emergency declaration related to Canada, but the GOP-led House did not take it up before the end of the congressional session.

In the courts, the legality of Trump’s tariffs is being challenged by multiple lawsuits, with opponents, including states and companies, arguing that the president exceeded his authority in imposing the taxes, which historically are Congress’ responsibility as holder of the purse.

Jeffrey Epstein used a former Russian official with links to Moscow’s FSB intelligence services to collect information on a woman he claimed was attempting to blackmail his business associates, according to documents released by the United States Department of Justice.

Epstein reached out to Sergei Belyakov, a former deputy minister of economic development, for advice in 2015 about what he described as an attempt to blackmail a group of “powerful” businessmen in New York, the documents contained in the latest tranche of the so-called Epstein files show.

“I need a favor,” Epstein wrote to Belyakov in a July 2015 email, describing an extortion attempt by a Russian woman who had arrived at the Four Seasons Hotel in New York the previous week.

Epstein said the situation was “bad for business for everyone involved” and asked for “suggestions”.

Belyakov, a graduate of the FSB Academy, Moscow’s institute for training intelligence personnel, wrote back that he needed some time to “get information about her” and that he would meet a man who knew the woman the next day.

Several days later, Belyakov sent Epstein a roughly 100-word description of the woman’s background and what the ex-official described as her “sex and escort” business.

“She has nobody behind her,” Belyakov said, adding that she was believed to have “no patronage”.

Belyakov said “business problems” may have led the woman to resort to blackmail, and suggested that denying her entry to the US would be a “real threat” to her business.

Epstein, the FSB Academy graduate and US billionaires

Belyakov, who took up the position of board chairman at the St Petersburg International Economic Forum after leaving the Kremlin in 2014, relied on Epstein for access to high-profile figures in the financier’s orbit, according to the documents.

After a meeting with Epstein in May 2014, Belyakov told the convicted sex offender that he did not know many people who could offer “new horizons and prospects”.

“And I’m looking forward for next meeting with you,” he told Epstein.

In July 2015, Belyakov sought Epstein’s help to organise meetings with American venture capitalist Peter Thiel and the billionaire heir and businessman Thomas Pritzker.

“Sergey – let me know when you are in SF and it would be good to find a time to meet,” Thiel wrote to Belyakov in an email in July 2015, following an introduction by Epstein.

A little over a week later, Belyakov told Epstein that Thiel and Pritzker had shared their views on Russia’s economy and other topics, calling the meetings “very helpful”.

“By the way I was surprised that they had a lot of information about Russian economy and their view about our society,” Belyakov wrote, adding he hoped to see both businessmen again in Moscow.

In 2016, Belyakov sought Epstein’s feedback on proposals he wished to discuss with business leaders in the US.

Epstein told Belyakov he liked the idea, which was not specified in the emails, but that he should get a “good English speaking editor” before sharing business proposals, and there were “pretty women” who could fill the role.

Efforts by Al Jazeera to contact Belyakov, including through the St Petersburg International Economic Forum and the e-commerce company Ozon, where he served as managing director from 2021 to 2024, were unsuccessful.

Thiel’s foundation did not respond to a request for comment. Pritzker declined to comment through a spokesperson for his foundation.

Epstein also sought to arrange meetings with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, according to the documents, though there is no indication he was successful.

“I think you might suggest to putin, that lavrov, can get insight on talking to me,” Epstein wrote in an email to former Norwegian Prime Minister Thorbjorn Jagland in June 2018.

Jagland, who is under investigation in Norway on suspicion of corruption in his dealings with Epstein, wrote back that he would “suggest” the idea to Lavrov’s assistant.

Epstein, who died in 2019 while in prison awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges, has long been the focus of speculation that he worked for or with intelligence agencies on behalf of various countries, including Israel.

He had close ties with former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak during his lifetime, with the two men exploring numerous business ventures and regularly exchanging correspondence on personal matters.

Barak’s former aide Yoni Koren, an ex-Israeli military intelligence officer who died in 2023, also stayed at residences belonging to Epstein for long stretches while receiving cancer treatment in the US in the late 2010s.

GAUNT and thin after a long cancer battle, the trademark smile still shone through.

Actor James Van Der Beek was supposed to be there as the cast of Dawson’s Creek reunited for the first time in 22 years.

But his illness meant he could only appear in a short video for the assembled fans.

Yet for those there, and around the world, it meant everything.

The 48-year-old actor, who died yesterday after being diagnosed with stage three colorectal cancer in 2023, said the emotional reunion, which his wife Kimberly and their six children attended in his place, had been something he had been looking forward to during his gruelling treatment.

He told the audience at the Richard Rodgers Theatre in New York: “I have been looking forward to this night for months and months ever since my angel Michelle Williams said she was putting it together.

LAST WORDS

James Van Der Beek left heartbreaking final message to fans before shock death

‘COURAGE AND GRACE’

James Van Der Beek statement in full after Dawson’s Creek star dies

“I can’t believe I’m not there. I can’t believe I don’t get to see my cast mates, my beautiful cast in person.

“I wanted to stand on that stage and thank every single person in the theatre for being here tonight.

“From the cast to the crew to everybody who’s doing anything and has been so generous, and especially every single last one of you – you are the best fans in the world.”

Van Der Beek was the all American teenager long before he became the object of teenage desire in adolescent drama Dawson’s Creek.

The son of mobile phone executive James Van Der Beek and former dancer Melinda, he was a promising American footballer in Cheshire, Connecticut.

But a concussion at the age of 13 kept him off the playing field so he took up acting.

He landed the lead role in his school’s production of Grease playing Danny Zuko.

He never looked back.

By the time he was 15 he was begging his mother to get him an agent and they travelled to New York to secure a deal.

While studying at private boarding school The Cheshire Academy he started appearing in Broadway productions.

A brief stint at university in New Jersey quickly fell by the wayside as he started landing major roles and then, at the age of 20, the lead in the teen drama.

As Dawson Leery, a budding filmmaker with an on-off relationship with Joey played by Katie Holmes, he became a teen heart-throb and the spawn of countless memes.

In 122 episodes of the show he grew from a confused 15-year-old to a confused adult.

The show’s theme tune I Don’t Want To Wait followed him throughout his life and triggered memories of the teen frenzy that surrounded him.

He said: “If I was at karaoke and it started playing there’s a part of me – and I’m a f*****g grown-ass man with four kids – that still wants to go hide under the table.

“I was at a pharmacy in Philadelphia and it came on and I immediately went into a weird panic.

“I think it’s tied to the pandemonium that accompanied that, for which there was no off button.

“Walking around at that time was very tricky because one autograph could turn into a mob scene. So I walked around in fear of teenage girls.

“When I was first very famous and people were passing out and all that, I remember watching a Beatles documentary and George saying how people were looking for any excuse to go mad.”

Dawson, like James, grew up on the show and when it came to an end he struggled to find work.

His big TV comeback show, NBC medical drama Mercy, was cancelled.

Sitcom Friends With Better Lives, made by the people behind Friends and Frazier, was pulled off air after eight episodes.

“I was 33, I had my first kid, and I thought: OK, what doors are open right now?” he said. “And I was thinking, I’m having more fun doing comedy than I would crying every day!

“I look back and I’m grateful. But it was an exhausting six-year marathon.

“I was shooting movies or doing photo shoots when the show was on hiatus.

“I felt burnt out when it ended. I needed time to duck away and disappear, figure things out and grow up a bit.

“When I was 24 the character I played on TV was a teenager losing his virginity.”

James met the love of his life Kimberly in 2009 and married the following year.

Together they had six children: Olivia, 15, Joshua, 13, Annabel Leah, 11, Emilia, nine, Gwendolyn, seven, and four-year-old Jeremiah, known as Remi.

He said: “When I was younger, I used to define myself as an actor, which was never all that fulfilling, and then I became a husband… it was much better and then I became a father… that was the ultimate.

“It just happened. We had one planned child – one out of six.

“One was 100% on purpose. The one thing we really sucked at was not getting pregnant. But thank God, honestly, because it’s such a struggle for people, and we really don’t take it for granted.

“I joke, and I laugh, but like, yeah, we really just kind of got lucky that way.”

He was always devoted to the show that made him a poster boy to girls around the world.

But, closer to home, he was reluctant at showing it to his own children for one very good reason.

He said: “It’s a great show, I love the show, I think other kids can watch it.

“I don’t think my kids need to watch their dad pretend to go through puberty. That’s my stance on it.

“It was a very well-intentioned show, people really trying to do the right thing and speaking incredibly eloquently about how they were trying to do the right thing.

“I think that seed of good intentions comes through.”

In November 2024, he revealed he had been diagnosed with stage 3 colorectal cancer.

Last March he spoke about his fight with the disease on his 48th birthday, saying it had been the hardest year of his life.

He said: “I had to come nose to nose with death and all those definitions that I cared so deeply about were stripped from me.

“I was away for treatment, so I could no longer be a husband who was helpful to my wife. I could no longer be a father who could pick up his kids and put them to bed and be there for them.

“I could not be a provider because I wasn’t working.”

The reunion with his fellow cast members, in a charity gig for cancer research, was a beacon of hope in his darkest days.

Illness forced him to stay home but his message to fans was clear.

He said: “Everyone please enjoy all the love in that room. Shine some on my family.

“I will be beaming and receiving from afar in a bed in Austin.”

The Sudan Doctors Network said the deadly strike was carried out by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.

A drone attack on a mosque in central Sudan has killed two children and injured 13 more, according to a Sudanese doctor’s association, amid a rise in similar attacks across the region. 

The Sudan Doctors Network said the attack was carried out at dawn on Wednesday by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a paramilitary group engaged in a three-year civil war with the Sudanese Armed Forces.

The children were reportedly studying the Quran at the Sheikh Ahmed al-Badawi Mosque in North Kordofan State when the building was hit by a drone in a “blatant violation of international humanitarian law and a grave assault on places of worship”, the doctors’ group said in a Facebook post.

“Targeting children inside mosques is a fully constituted crime that cannot be justified under any pretext and represents a dangerous escalation in the pattern of repeated violations against civilians,” the doctors said.

The Sudan Doctors Network said the RSF has previously targeted other religious buildings for attack, including a church in Khartoum and another mosque in el-Fasher, reflecting a “systematic pattern that shows clear disregard for the sanctity of life and religious sites”.

“The network calls on the international community, the United Nations, and human rights and humanitarian organizations to take urgent action to pressure for the end to the targeting of civilians, ensure their protection, open safe corridors for the delivery of medical and humanitarian aid, and work to document these violations and hold those responsible accountable,” it said.

The UN separately said on Wednesday that a recent series of drone attacks have been reported on civilian infrastructure in Sudan’s South Kordofan, North Kordofan and West Kordofan states.

A World Food Programme (WFP) warehouse in Kadugli was also hit by a suspected rocket attack on Tuesday night, according to UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric. He did not say which group was responsible for the attack.

“The fact that we have to reiterate almost every day that civilians and civilian infrastructure, places of worship, schools and hospitals cannot and should not be targeted is a tragedy in itself,” Dujarric told reporters.

The UN has warned that Sudan’s civil war is expanding from western Darfur into the Kordofan region.

It has documented more than 90 civilian deaths and 142 injuries caused by drone strikes between the end of January and February 6, which were carried out by the RSF and Sudanese Armed Forces.

Targets included a WFP convoy, markets, health facilities and residential neighbourhoods in southern and northern Kordofan, the UN said.

U.S. Air Force Global Strike Command says it is prepared to load more warheads onto Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM) and restore nuclear weapons capability to the entire B-52 bomber fleet, if called upon to do so. Limitations had been imposed on both of those capabilities by the New START arms control treaty between the United States and Russia, which recently expired without a follow-on agreement in place, as you can read more about here.

There are currently 400 Minuteman IIIs, also designated LGM-30Gs, loaded in silos spread across five states. Each one is topped with a single W78 or W87 warhead. Of the Air Force’s 76 B-52H bombers, 30 are currently only capable of employing conventional munitions. This posture had helped the United States meet its obligations under New START. The treaty had put hard caps on the total number of deployed strategic missiles and bombers, strategic nuclear warheads, and relevant deployed and non-deployed launchers that the United States and Russia could have at any one time.

“The conclusion of New START allows us to streamline our focus and dedicate more resources to our core mission: ensuring a safe, secure, and effective nuclear deterrent,” an AFGSC spokesperson told TWZ. “This managed transition enhances our operational readiness and our ability to respond to the nation’s call.”

Air Force Global Strike Command: Our Nation’s Shield

“Although we will not comment on the posturing of our forces, Air Force Global Strike Command both maintains the capability and training to MIRV the Minuteman III ICBM force and convert its entire B-52 fleet into dual capable long range strike platforms if directed by the President,” the spokesperson added.

MIRV here stands for multiple independently targetable reentry vehicle. ICBMs and other ballistic missiles with MIRV configurations are designed to carry and release multiple warheads on different targets in the course of their flight. When the Air Force first began fielding the LGM-30G in 1970, the missiles had a MIRV configuration with three W78 warheads. Each one of those warheads has a reported yield of around 335 kilotons.

The Minuteman IIIs had already been downloaded to just one warhead in line with other strategic arms control treaties with Russia prior to New START. Those agreements had also led to the early retirement of the Air Force’s LGM-118A Peacemaker ICBM force in 2005. The LGM-118A was also a MIRVed missile capable of carrying up to 11 W87 warheads at once. Newer W87s from decommissioned Peacemakers were subsequently refitted on Minuteman IIIs. The W87’s reported yield is at least 300 kilotons, but its second stage is understood to be modifiable to increase that to 475 kilotons.

The time that would be required, as well as what it would cost, to ‘upload’ more warheads onto any portion of the Minuteman III force is unclear. At least some of those missiles would also need to be refitted with MIRV-capable payload buses. Whether there are any additional limitations on how many W87s can be loaded onto a single LGM-30G at once is also not clear. The ready availability of appropriate warheads is another open question.

“I do believe that we need to take serious consideration in seeing what uploading and re-MIRVing the ICBM looks like, and what does it take to potentially do that,” now-retired U.S. Air Force Gen. Anthony Cotton, then head of U.S. Strategic Command (STRATCOM), had said during a hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee back in 2024.

All of this could also impact the future configuration of the LGM-35A Sentinel ICBM now in development to replace the Minuteman III. In line with the New START limits, the Air Force’s stated plan to date has been to top each LGM-35A with a single warhead. The entire Sentinel program is currently in the process of being restructured as a result of severe delays and ballooning costs. The blame for those issues has been placed largely on requirements for new ground-based infrastructure rather than the missiles themselves, as you can read more about here.

Re-nuclearizing the 30 B-52s is at least a somewhat less complex proposition. The process of converting those bombers into a conventional-only configuration involved “removing the nuclear code enabling switch and interconnection box, mounting a code enabling switch inhibitor plate, removing applicable cable connectors, [and] capping applicable wire bundles,” according to a letter Russian authorities sent a letter to their U.S. counterparts in 2018, which The Wall Street Journal obtained and then published.

Officials in Moscow had sent the missive to lodge official complaints about what they described as potentially readily reversible steps the U.S. military had taken to meet its New START obligations. What additional steps the U.S. military may have taken with regard to the B-52 fleet to address those concerns are not entirely clear. Today, nuclear-capable B-52Hs are easy to distinguish by the presence of a pair of prominent antennas, one on either side of the rear fuselage.

There has been some disagreement in the past about what it might cost to restore nuclear capability to the entire B-52 fleet.

“The restoration could probably be done without much difficulty. The necessary wiring is probably still in place… and physical components that had been removed could be re-installed,” Defense News reported in 2024, citing Mark Gunzinger, Director of Future Concepts and Capability Assessments at the Air & Space Association’s Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies think tank. Gunzinger is also an Air Force veteran who flew B-52s.

“This would cost a great deal of money,” Representative Adam Smith, a Democrat from Washington State and the ranking member of his party on the House Armed Services Committee, also said at that time, per the same Defense News story. “Also, they’re currently trying to extend the life of a number of B-52s out to 2050, which they think they can do. This would be another added expense to that.”

In the annual defense policy bill, or National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), for the 2025 Fiscal Year, Congress did give the Air Force authority to convert conventional-only B-52Hs back to a dual-capable configuration following the expiration of New START. However, the provisions did not compel the service to do so, and did not provide any hints as to the time or funds that would be needed.

As it stands now, there is also only one nuclear weapon authorized for use on the B-52, which is the AGM-86B Air-Launched Cruise Missile (ALCM). A replacement for the AGM-86B, the AGM-181A Long Range Stand-Off (LRSO) missile, is now in development. The AGM-181A is also set to be part of the nuclear arsenal for the forthcoming B-21 Raider stealth bomber.

The B-52 fleet is otherwise in the process of recieving a host of major upgrades, including new engines and radars. At the end of the upgrade process, which has been beset by delays, the bombers will be redesignated as B-52Js. They are expected to keep flying into the 2050s. The end of New START could have further impacts on the Air Force’s future bomber fleets, as there are currently no constraints on how many nuclear-capable B-21s the service can now order.

B-52 Future Stratofortress: The Upgrades That Will Transform The B-52H Into The B-52J

In the wake of New START’s expiration, U.S. officials have said that they are committed to pursuing new strategic arms control agreements, but also that they want any future deal to include China, as well as Russia. These Chinese are currently in the midst of a major nuclear modernization effort, as well as a huge expansion in their total stockpile, though their arsenal continues to be dwarfed by that of the United States and Russia. Officials in Beijing have repeatedly rebuffed calls to join in new strategic arms control negotiations. U.S. authorities have also now openly alleged that the Chinese government has engaged in secret critical-level nuclear testing, which could further complicate future diplomatic efforts.

So far, the U.S. government has not laid out any specific plans to increase the size of America’s nuclear arsenal or otherwise alter its nuclear force posture. However, AFGSC has now said that it is at least prepared to move out on returning the Minuteman IIIs to a MIRVed configuration and/or restoring nuclear capability to the entire B-52 fleet if that decision is made.

Contact the author: joe@twz.com

Crime drama fans are being urged to watch the show if they haven’t already

Crime drama fans have highly recommended a “disturbing series” that made them feel physically sick, and it is available to stream.

Spanning across four seasons, True Detective has become a firm favourite amongst fans of police drama, with many branding it the “best show ever” and a binge worthy instalment.

Season 4 was released back in 2024, first premiering in the US on HBO and Sky Atlantic in the UK, with the series bringing in its highest viewing since it first debuted.

And it is streaming on Now TV and Sky as fans of crime drama are being urged to add it to their watch list if they haven’t already. Each season follows new detectives as they get to grips with a disturbing investigation.

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TV lovers can now get Sky TV, Netflix and Discovery+ for £15 per month with the new Essential TV bundle.

This delivers live and on-demand TV without a satellite dish or aerial and includes hit shows like The Last of Us and Squid Game.

Now TV teased: “The lives of police detectives as they chase criminals, using unconventional methods. The officers struggle to gain control of their own personal demons as they attack different cases.”

Despite news of a fifth season being given the green light by HBO, some viewers are only just tuning in to the show for the first time.

In a TikTok video, one fan had not realised a previous season had been released as they said Night Country was worth a watch, adding: “Honestly you need to watch it.”

They continued: “They are all really good, and i mean they are good.”

Admitting they were now “glued” to their televisions screen, the TV fan added: “I’m glued now that’s me for the day, I’ll be on this all day now.

“If you’ve not seen it and you’re looking for something good to watch, I’d highly recommend this because it really is good..”

One person replied: “The first ever true detective is the best by far.” Another wrote: “It’s brilliant but disturbing, it takes a lot to churn my stomach but this did.”

A third added: “First series totally unbelievably good.” A fourth commented: “The first series is unbelievable, one of my most favourite shows ever.”

With an impressive score on 93% on Rotten Tomatoes, audiences praised the “masterpiece” anthology series. One person wrote: “Outstanding. Really love Jodi and hope she keeps coming back to give us more. Rare talent!£

Another said: “I thought this season was possibly the best one yet, very spooky but also plenty of mystery and suspense and big coverups and murders to uncover.”

A third echoed: “It’s crime-horror-supernatural, but grounded in the realities and particular social circumstances of this small Alaskan mining town. Probably my favourite crime drama I’ve seen in a long time.”

A fourth penned: “One of the few things shows hooked me to the point where I “binge watched” the whole thing.”

The True Detective is available to stream on Now TV in the UK.

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

Feb. 11 (UPI) — The House of Representatives narrowly passed the SAVE America Act on Wednesday, but it faces a tough sell in the Senate.

The House approved the measure on Wednesday by a vote of 218-213, with one Democrat voting in favor of the proposed law that would require voters to provide a birth certificate or passport to prove their citizenship status when registering to vote and produce a valid photo ID to vote.

“It’s just common sense. Americans need an ID to drive, to open a bank account, to buy cold medicine [and] to file for government assistance,” House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., told media. “So, why would voting be any different than that?”

Democrats oppose the measure, which Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., called “Jim Crow 2.0.”

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., called the proposed voting law a “desperate effort by Republicans to distract” without saying from what.

“The so-called SAVE Act is not about voter identification,” Jeffries continued. “It is about voter suppression, and they have zero credibility on this issue.”

Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, was the lone Democrat to vote in favor of the measure, which now goes to the Senate for consideration. Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, sponsored the bill.

Although Senate Republicans have a simple majority in the upper chamber, they likely lack the 60 votes needed to overcome the Senate’s filibuster rule.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., on Tuesday said he supports the proposed act but does not have the votes needed to change the filibuster rule to pass it with a simple majority.

The GOP controls 53 Senate seats, while Democrats control 47, including two held by independents who sit with the Senate Democratic Party’s caucus.

Some Republicans have suggested requiring a standing filibuster, which would require those opposing proposed legislation to physically engage in a non-stop filibuster instead of just announcing their intent to do so.

As he mulls over a decision about whether to attack Iran, President Donald Trump has reportedly ordered a second aircraft carrier strike group (CSG) to prepare for a Middle East deployment. However, even if that is authorized, it would take weeks for the vessels to arrive in the region.

The Wall Street Journal reported that in addition to being told to get ready to head to the Middle East, the ships could soon be ordered to deploy. If that happens, the CSG would join the USS Abraham Lincoln CSG already in the region.

“The order to deploy could be issued in a matter of hours,” the Journal posited, citing anonymous officials. However, the order hasn’t been given and plans can change, it added.

“One of the officials said the Pentagon was readying a carrier to deploy in two weeks, likely from the U.S. East Coast,” the newspaper noted. “The aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush is completing a series of training exercises off the coast of Virginia, and it could potentially expedite those exercises.”

We reached out to the Navy, which declined comment.

If a deployment order were issued today, it would still probably be mid-March before an East Coast-based CSG could arrive on station. Even with truncated pre-deployment workups, the ships would have to travel across the Atlantic to the Mediterranean Sea or even further through the Suez Canal to the Red Sea.

Another CSG, with its embarked tactical aircraft and Aegis-equipped escorts, would certainly bolster the forces massing in the region for a potential conflict with Iran. As we have frequently pointed out, there is not enough tactical airpower there now for a major sustained operation. A second CSG would be provide a significant help.

While no decision has yet to be made about a second CSG, the journey of F-35A stealth fighters from the Vermont Air National Guard (VANG) has apparently continued toward the Middle East. There are indications that six of the jets, which online flight tracking data shows took off from Lakenheath Air Base in the U.K. on Wednesday morning, were headed to Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan on Wednesday. 

A MYSTERIOUS black glove has been found near Nancy Guthrie’s home as investigations into her suspected kidnapping continues.

FBI agents discovered the potentially major clue during a wide-scale search around the home where TV star Savannah Guthrie‘s mom is believed to have been snatched.

Detectives found the single glove along a roadside about one and a half miles away from Nancy’s home in Tucson.

Online sleuths were quick to point out the glove resembles the pair worn by a masked man caught on video approaching Nancy’s home before she vanished.

The FBI Evidence Response team pulled the glove from low, desert shrubbery.

Savannah‘s mother, Nancy, 84, was taken from her home sometime in the early morning hours of February 1 and has been missing ever since.

ABDUCTION UPDATE

Nancy Guthrie letter sent to TMZ demands Bitcoin for info on kidnappers

FULL OF HOLES

Have cops bungled the Nancy Guthrie case with 5 crucial missteps in search?

What we know about Nancy Guthrie’s disappearance…

TMZ founder Harvey Levin has revealed the disturbing details of a third letter he received related to Nancy Guthrie’s disappearance.

He said the author demanded Bitcoin in exchange for the identity of the kidnapper.

Speaking with Fox News on Wednesday morning, Levin said, “We got, kind of a bizarre letter, an email from somebody who says they know who the kidnapper is and that they have tried reaching Savannah’s sister Annie and Savannah’s brother, to no avail.

“And they said they want one Bitcoin sent to a Bitcoin address that we have confirmed is active.

“It’s a real Bitcoin address, and as they put it, time is more than relevant.

“So we have no idea whether this is real or not. But they are making a demand.”

Chilling surveillance captured a masked and armed intruder tampering with a camera outside Nancy’s home the night she was kidnapped.

The videos show the individual ripping plants from the property and using it to block the camera just hours before the 84-year-old mother was taken from her bed.

The individual was cloaked in a ski mask and dressed in a jacket and pants, along with black gloves and a backpack.

In the first video shared by authorities, the subject was seen walking slowly toward the front door, with a hunched-over back, covering the camera while appearing to look around.

The individual then stepped back, searched the ground, stepped off the front porch, and pulled a plant from the lawn.

In a second clip, the plant appears to be shoved in front of the camera, obscuring the view as the individual holds what appears to be a flashlight inside their mouth.

Investigators have made it clear they haven’t identified a person of interest or suspect, and called the individual a subject.

In a statement shared along with the footage, the Pima County Sheriff’s and the FBI begged for tip and asked anyone with information to contact 1-800-CALL-FBI or visit http://tips.fbi.gov.

Hours after the footage was released, a delivery driver was detained and questioned about Nancy, but he was ultimately released.

The man, Carlos Palazuelos, spoke with reporters at his home in Rio Rico and insisted he was innocent, claiming to have no clue who the Guthries were.

RANSOM NOTES

Nancy was last seen on January 31 after she was dropped off by her son in law following a family dinner.

Authorities have stressed that every moment she’s missing is crucial, as she suffers from heart issues that require daily medication.

Several newsrooms have reported getting apparent ransom notes demanding millions from the Guthrie family for Nancy’s safe return.

Two deadlines details in the notes have passed, and the mom is still nowhere to be found, despite Savannah agreeing publicly to pay.

The dead ends have prompted Savannah to beg the public for help keeping an eye out for anything suspicious.

“We are at an hour of desperation,” she said in a video on Monday.

Timeline of Nancy Guthrie’s disappearance

Nancy Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of Today show co-anchor Savannah Guthrie, disappeared from her home on February 1, 2026.

Timeline:

• January 31: Nancy is last seen by her family
  • 5:32pm: Nancy travels to her daughter’s home for dinner, about 11 minutes from her own house.
  • 9:48pm: Family members drop off Nancy Guthrie at her home in Tucson. Her garage door closes two minutes later.
• February 1: Nancy is reported missing and a search begins
  • 1:47am: Nancy’s doorbell camera disconnects
  • 2:12am: Camera software detects a person moving in range of the camera. There is no video, and Nancy does not have a storage description.
  • 2:28am: Nancy’s pacemaker app disconnects from her phone, which is later found still at her house.
  • Around 11am: A parishioner at Nancy’s church calls the mom’s children and says she failed to show up for service.
  • 11:56am: Family members arrive at Nancy’s house to check on her.
  • 12:03pm: The family calls 911 to report Nancy missing.
  • 8:55pm: The Pima County Sheriff’s Office gives its first press conference and reveals some clues found at Nancy’s home caused “grave concern.” Sheriff Chris Nanos says helicopters, drones, and infrared cameras are all being utilized in the search.
• February 2: Search crews pull back. Nancy’s home is considered a crime scene. Savannah releases a statement thanking supporters for their prayers, which her co-hosts read on Today.
• February 3: A trail of blood is pictured outside Nancy’s home, where there were reportedly signs of forced entry. Nanos admits they have no suspects, no leads, and no videos that could lead to Nancy’s recovery. He and the FBI beg for more tips and accounts.
• February 4, 8pm: Savannah and her siblings release a heartbreaking video directed at their mother’s abductors asking for proof she is alive and saying they’re willing to work with them to get her back.
• February 5: FBI offers $50,000 reward for information on the case.
  • 5pm: First ransom demand deadline for millions in Bitcoin passes. Guthrie family releases demand to speak “directly” to the kidnappers, saying, “We want to talk to you and we are waiting for contact.”
• February 9, 5pm: Second ransom demand deadline, reportedly with “much more serious” conditions.

Russia will operate only return flights from Cuba as ‘evacuation’ of Russian citizens visiting the Caribbean island gets under way.

Russia is preparing to evacuate its citizens who are visiting Cuba, Moscow’s aviation authorities said, after a United States-imposed oil blockade on the island nation has choked off supplies of jet fuel.

“Due to the difficulties with refuelling aircraft in Cuba, Rossiya Airlines and Nordwind Airlines have been forced to adjust their flight schedules to airports in the country,” Russia’s federal aviation regulator Rosaviatsia said in a statement on Wednesday.

“Rossiya Airlines will operate a number of return flights only – from Havana and Varadero to Moscow – to ensure the evacuation of Russian tourists currently in Cuba,” the regulator said.

About 5,000 Russian tourists may be on the island, Russia’s Association of Tour Operators said earlier this week.

Russia’s Ministry of Economic Development separately called on citizens not to travel to Cuba amid its worst fuel crisis in years, caused by the US choking off supplies of oil from Venezuela following the US military’s abduction of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in early January.

Russia’s TASS news agency said the Russian embassy in Havana is in contact with national carrier Aeroflot and Cuban aviation authorities to “ensure our citizens return home safely”.

Aeroflot has announced repatriation flights for Russians, TASS said, reporting also that the embassy in Havana told Russian media outlet Izvestia that Moscow plans to send humanitarian aid shipments of oil and petroleum products to Cuba.

Humanitarian ‘collapse’ in Cuba

A traditional ally of Havana, Moscow has accused Washington of attempting to “suffocate” the Caribbean island nation.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday that Moscow was discussing “possible solutions” to provide Havana with “whatever assistance” it needs.

More than 130,000 Russians visited Cuba in 2025, according to reports, the third-largest group of visitors to the island after Canadians and Cubans living abroad.

Air Canada and the Canadian airlines Air Transat and WestJet have also cut flights to Cuba due to the fuel shortages.

While Cuba has been in a severe economic crisis for years, largely caused by longstanding US sanctions due to Washington’s antipathy towards Havana’s socialist leadership, the situation has become dire since the return of President Donald Trump to the White House.

Trump has directly threatened Cuba’s government and passed a recent executive order allowing for the imposition of trade tariffs on countries that supply oil to Cuba.

Cuba, which can produce just a third of its total fuel requirements, has seen widespread power outages due to the lack of fuel. Bus and train services have been cut, some hotels have closed, schools and universities have been restricted, and public sector workers are on a four-day work week.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned last week of a humanitarian “collapse” in Cuba if its energy needs go unmet.

The contestant spoke out in a video after tensions brewed amongst the contestants.

ITV’s The Summit contestant Tom Gray has spoken out following his elimination as the first participant to exit the reality show.

The London-based tour guide was competing in the high-octane challenge, presented by This Morning’s Ben Shephard. The programme tracks 14 challengers as they attempt to conquer a mountain summit in New Zealand’s South Island Alps, with £200,000 up for grabs.

The line-up includes ex-Gladiator Ace and Gillian McKeith’s daughter, and within a single episode, friction has already emerged, particularly when a savage twist was unveiled.

Whilst not everyone will reach the finale, the participants weren’t prepared to be told they must vote off one player whilst suspended on ropes above a steep drop.

Tom was the initial contestant to depart the competition, and was left dangling from the mountainside as his fellow players continued their journey without him, reports Wales Online.

He’s now spoken about his departure, which was championed by military man Dockers and sparked heated debates amongst the group.

In footage posted online, Tom remarked: “I think I was targeted because there was an insecure little child on the other side of the bridge and he didn’t like the fact that people seemed to respect the judgement calls that I was making. I wasn’t trying to be loud, I was just trying to me quietly confident.

“Given the chance, I wouldn’t do a single goddamn thing differently. I enjoyed the fact that I was at the front and I really enjoyed helping other people and I felt that I actually gave something to the team.”

He continued: “The one bit of advice I would give to myself if I was going to do this again, don’t treat everybody as if they have the same characteristics and personality as you do. Don’t trust them. You’re going to get stabbed in the back.”

He proceeded to brand Dockers a “petulant little child”, declaring: “He’s not going to serve anybody in the group. He’s just going to cause divides, rifts, and I want people to be happy whilst they make their way up to The Summit.”

Fans rallied behind Tom with messages of support, with one posting: “Well said Tom! And so sorry to see you 1st out! Brilliant attitude though!” Another commented: “You was so likeable,” whilst a third added: “so gutted you were first to go.”

During his brief stint on the programme, Tom disclosed a moment from his history that prompted viewers to hail him a hero, revealing he was amongst the members of the public who stepped in during the 2019 London Bridge terror attack.

He had been nearby when a man fatally stabbed two people, and was one of the multiple bystanders that attempted to stop the attacker. Tom had stamped on the terrorist’s wrist in an effort to force him to drop one of his knives.

Speaking on The Summit, he recalled: “I was driving over the London Bridge. Seemed like a standard day at work for me. I realised that I’d stumbled onto a terrorist attack. Three chaps had chased the terrorist out of the Fishmongers’ Hall and pinned him to the ground.

“And so I tried to be as useful as I possibly could. Kicked one of the knives out of the terrorist’s hands. Armed police turned up. And we then were told that he had a bomb vest on. Turns out it was a hoax.”

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

“That was something that really made me think life can change in an instant,” he went on to reflect.

“Don’t always try and plan for the future because the future might not actually come for you. So when this opportunity landed in front of me, I’ve got to take it with my hands.”

The Summit continues on Tuesday at 9pm on ITV1 and ITVX.

Feb. 11 (Asia Today) — South Korea’s National Police Agency is moving to dismantle a metropolitan-level intelligence structure created under the previous administration and restore intelligence units at local police stations, prompting renewed concerns about broad surveillance of civilians and “dragnet” information gathering.

Critics said the plan clashes with the broader push to reform powerful state institutions, particularly after South Korea abolished the National Intelligence Service’s domestic intelligence functions. Civic groups urged stronger outside oversight and called for curbs on police intelligence work.

Concerns intensified after the police agency said Monday it plans to replace the bottom 15% of officers in performance evaluations for intelligence police. Some officers said the policy could encourage quantity-driven reporting rather than careful, limited collection.

“If the volume of intelligence becomes the basis for evaluation, there will be pressure to put even wide-ranging trends into reports,” an intelligence officer said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Police station intelligence units have historically tracked local “trends” across political and social fields, with some critics alleging they expanded monitoring to civic groups and individuals. Past controversies over civilian surveillance helped drive efforts to reduce the size and role of intelligence police, with many station-level units later disbanded or scaled back and reorganized into a metropolitan system.

The National Police Agency has argued that strengthening foreign affairs and intelligence functions is needed to combat transnational crime, citing incidents such as the “Cambodia case” last year. Late last year, the National Police Commission approved a plan to revert metropolitan intelligence teams back to police station intelligence units.

Officers said the change could also strengthen the influence of station chiefs, who under the metropolitan system did not directly oversee intelligence officers assigned to provincial police agencies. With station-level units returning, officers said some chiefs could effectively regain their own internal intelligence teams.

The Police Reform Network, a coalition that includes the People’s Solidarity for Participatory Democracy, said in a statement Tuesday that authorities must clearly explain how standards, reporting and management systems would change if station-level intelligence units are restored.

A National Police Agency official said safeguards are already in place following a 2021 reform, including rules defining the scope of intelligence activities under presidential decree and potential criminal penalties for violating political neutrality obligations.

The official said compliance officers conduct routine inspections and training and described the performance-based personnel pool as a measure aimed at screening out individuals deemed problematic in the past.

— 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=20260211010004272

Social Media Murders is an anthology docu-series that looks into the shocking murders of young people.

Social Media Murders returns to screens this evening, examining the tragic killing of 19-year-old Bianca Devins.

The documentary series Social Media Murders first broadcast in 2021, and now the 10-part programme is being reshown, with its third episode airing tonight, Wednesday, February 11, at 11.40pm on ITV.

Titled The Murder of Bianca Devins, this episode explores the teenager’s death in July 2019. She was killed by Brandon Clark, 21, an acquaintance she’d connected with on Instagram.

The pair were travelling home from a gig in Queens, New York City, when he fatally attacked her with a knife before sharing disturbing photographs of her body online.

Clark then tried to end his own life after murdering Bianca but survived. Following his arrest, authorities discovered he had also recorded footage of her final moments.

Where is Brandon Clark now?

Brandon Clark admitted to the second-degree murder of Bianca Devins in February 2020 and is presently incarcerated at Attica Correctional Facility in New York, serving a 25-year sentence.

According to Distractify, during his sentencing hearing, Clark stated: “I hate myself for what I did to her.

“I don’t understand how I could do something like that. It disgusts me.”

That wasn’t his only public statement. Three years ago, he participated in a contentious interview with Yinka Bokinni for Channel 4‘s Interview With A Killer.

At the time, Bianca’s mother Kim penned a letter to Channel 4 and Plum Productions pleading with them not to broadcast the documentary, expressing her concern that it would inflict “immense emotional distress” on Bianca’s family and friends.

In the wake of her daughter’s tragic passing, Kim has been campaigning for reform in the realm of social media as images of Bianca’s body continued to circulate online.

Bianca’s Law was introduced in 2020, criminalising the posting of offensive images of crime victims within New York State.

Social Media Murders is available to watch on ITV and ITVX.

Feb. 11 (Asia Today) — South Korea’s National Fire Agency warned that choking incidents involving rice cakes and other foods tend to spike around major holidays, with older adults accounting for most victims.

A Seoul resident in his 60s recalled nearly choking while eating tteokguk, a traditional Lunar New Year soup, after a piece of rice cake lodged in his throat. He said he now cuts rice cakes into smaller pieces and eats more slowly.

The fire agency said an analysis of rescue statistics from 2021 through 2025 found an annual average of 239 people were transported to hospitals for airway obstruction caused by rice cakes or other foods.

During the same period, authorities recorded 1,487 related emergency responses and 1,196 hospital transports. Of those taken to hospitals, 455 people, or 38.1%, were in cardiac arrest, the agency said. Another 741 people, or 61.9%, were reported as injured, underscoring that choking can become life-threatening.

During the Lunar New Year holiday period over the past five years, 31 people were transported for choking incidents involving rice cakes or food, averaging 1.3 people per day.

Older adults made up nearly all of those cases. Among the 31 patients transported during the holiday period, 29 were ages 60 or older, or 96.7%, the agency said, citing factors such as increased meal frequency and faster eating during holiday gatherings.

Officials also pointed to age-related declines in chewing strength and swallowing function, warning that tough or sticky foods such as rice cakes can more easily block the airway when eaten quickly.

The agency urged families to watch elderly relatives during meals, particularly when they are eating alone, and encouraged the public to learn the Heimlich maneuver and use it immediately if someone shows signs of choking or breathing difficulty.

A fire official in Gyeonggi Province said most holiday choking transports involve seniors and can quickly lead to cardiac arrest if breathing is blocked.

Acting Fire Service Commissioner Kim Seung-ryong urged people not to eat too quickly or overeat during the holiday period and asked family members to closely monitor elderly relatives while they eat.

— 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=20260202010000583

Measures would let authorities impose a 30-day blockade on sea arrivals if there is a ‘serious threat to public order”.

Italy’s government has signed off on a new bill to curb undocumented immigration, including using the navy to block incoming migrant ships in “exceptional” cases.

The cabinet of Italy’s conservative Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni greenlighted the migration bill on Wednesday. It also calls for stricter border surveillance and expands the list of convictions for which a foreigner can be expelled.

Before going into effect, the bill must be approved by both chambers of parliament.

One of the most controversial elements allows authorities to impose a 30-day naval blockade on sea arrivals if there is a “serious threat to public order or national security”.

Such a threat could include “exceptional migratory pressure that could compromise the secure management of borders”, says the bill. It also cites the “concrete risk” of terrorist acts or infiltration in Italy, global health emergencies and high-level international events.

Those violating the rules would face fines of up to 50,000 euros ($59,400) and would see their boats confiscated in the case of repeated violations, a measure that seems to target humanitarian rescue ships.

If approved by parliament, the bill could help revive Italy’s beleaguered “return hub” migrants centre in Albania, which has failed to take off due to a series of legal challenges and has been roundly condemned by rights groups.

Migrant boat arrivals to Italy down

The draft legislation comes a day after the European Parliament adopted two flagship texts tightening European Union migration policy, which Italy had pushed for. That EU legislation allows member states to deny asylum and deport migrants to designated “safe” countries outside the bloc, provided there is an agreement with the receiving country.

Meron Ameha Knikman, senior adviser for the International Rescue Committee, said those measures are “likely to force people to countries they may never have set foot in – places where they have no community, do not speak the language, and face a very real risk of abuse and exploitation.”

Meloni, the head of the far-right Brothers of Italy party, was elected in 2022 on a promise to stop the tens of thousands of migrants who land in small boats on Italy’s shores each year.

Her government has signed accords with North African countries to limit departures, while also restricting the activities of the charities that operate rescue boats in the Central Mediterranean.

The number of migrants arriving in Italy by sea this year has fallen to 2,000 compared with 4,400 during the same period last year, according to government figures.

Still, large numbers of migrants continue to die crossing the Central Mediterranean, with nearly 490 people reported missing this year, according to the UN’s International Organization for Migration (IOM).

Pete Finney, a steel guitarist who toured with Patty Loveless for more than 20 years and recorded with Reba McEntire, the Chicks, Vince Gill, the Judds and more, has died. He was 70.

Confirmation came via a statement earlier this week from Nashville’s Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, which said Finney died Saturday. No cause of death was provided.

Calling him “a widely admired Nashville musician,” the museum said Finney “exemplified how top instrumentalists can adapt to a remarkable range of styles and settings, whether in a recording studio, a concert stage, or the corner of a small nightclub.”

Finney was born in Maryland in September 1955 and played his first gigs in Washington, D.C., with singer-songwriter Liz Meyer before Meyer moved to the Netherlands in the mid-1980s. He relocated to Austin, Texas, in the late 1970s and then moved to Nashville in the mid-1980s.

Upon his arrival in Tennessee, Finney toured with Foster & Lloyd and later contributed to the solo careers of Radney Foster and Bill Lloyd. His career would take him in diverse directions: He recorded with Beck, Jon Byrd, Shemekia Copeland, Justin Townes Earle, Jon Langford, Jim Lauderdale, Allison Moorer, Ron Sexsmith, Candi Staton and scores of other artists.

“RIP old friend!” wrote Asleep at the Wheel frontman Ray Benson in a comment on a Facebook post announcing Finney’s death. His was one of hundreds of comments, many left by those who had known Finney. “Pete came to a concert in 1970 and saw Asleep at the Wheel he told me that was when he decided to play pedal steel… and play he did with style grace and total command of that instrument! Hard to lose a great friend who was there at the beginning of it all for me and so many in those early Wash DC days.”

Finney was something of a music historian as well, co-curating the Hall of Fame museum’s 2015-2018 exhibition “Dylan, Cash, and the Nashville Cats: A New Music City” and co-writing the exhibit’s accompanying book, which won the 2016 Chet Flippo Award for excellence in country music journalism from the International Country Music Conference.

“The idea for the exhibit came from Finney’s research on the many non-country artists from North America and England who came to Nashville in the 1960s and 1970s to record with the city’s talented and fast-working studio musicians,” the museum said.

Finney hosted programs at the Hall of Fame museum and participated in panel discussions frequently over the years.

The musician married singer Carol Tully on Oct. 15, 2017.

He was touring with Reba McEntire in 1991 when one of the tour’s planes crashed into a mountain near San Diego, claiming the lives of eight band members on their way to a show in Fort Wayne, Ind. Finney was traveling in the second plane to take off from a municipal airport that night; the first was the one that went down. McEntire was not on either plane.

“The planes took off three minutes apart,” a spokeswoman for McEntire told The Times after the March 1991 crash. “The plane that crashed took off first. The pilot of the second plane didn’t see anything. They just knew that they had lost radio contact with the other. They continued flying and were diverted to Nashville.”

Years later, when he was recruited by Mike Nesmith in 2017 to join the revival of the Monkees singer-songwriter’s country-rock group the First National Band, Finney stepped up to replace founding member Red Rhodes, who died in 1995.

“Finney often used Rhodes’ innovative parts from the recordings as his starting point, but frequently added dimensions of his own to prevent the set from simply replicating the original versions,” detailed former Times music writer Randy Lewis in a feature on a 2018 show by the reconstituted group. “Rhodes — and Finney — employ the steel guitar inventively, not just to evoke notes of melancholy often found in country music, but to bring an orchestra’s worth of color, texture and shading to the arrangements.”

In 2021, Finney joined the final Monkees tour, which included Mickey Dolenz as well as Nesmith and wrapped before Nesmith’s death that December.

The Hall of Fame said Finney “frequently performed in pickup bands in small Nashville clubs, where he might be seen with top-flight players such as Mac Gayden, Jen Gunderman, Jimmy Lester, Chris Scruggs, Kenny Vaughan, and others.”

Singer-songwriter and podcaster Otis Gibbs, who had Finney on his show several times, remembered frequently seeing the steel guitarist out on the Nashville music scene.

“I’d sometimes run into him 4, or 5 nights a week at shows,” Gibbs wrote Tuesday on his website. “If there were 9 people in attendance, Pete would usually be one of them. He’d joke that he liked seeing me at shows because he’d know it must be the place to be.”

Gibbs said he saw Finney just three weeks ago at a Jon Byrd show in East Nashville.

“I snuck up next to him and whispered, ‘I must be at the right show because Pete Finney’s here,’” he wrote. “That was the last time I saw him.”

Finney is survived by his wife. Friends and family are invited to a remembrance gathering Sunday at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum’s Ford Theater in Nashville.

The vote is a direct contest between frontrunner Tarique Rahman’s BNP and a Jamaat-e-Islami-led coalition of 11 parties.