News Desk

LEONARDO DiCaprio is facing business woes as the trendy vegan shoe brand he backed continues to haemorrhage millions.

The star’s favoured label has been left relying on cash injections from wealthy investors to keep it afloat.

British shoemaker LØCI, in which Leo is a key investor, makes 100% cruelty-free trainers using recycled bamboo, foam and rubber.

Each £160 pair reuses up to 20 plastic bottles recovered from the Mediterranean and the east coast of Africa.

The brand has proved popular with celebrities including Ben Affleck, Mila Kunis and Eva Longoria, while fellow investor Nicki Minaj has her own range.

But following Leo’s investment, the firm’s finances took a nosedive and it now has just £7,355 listed as “cash at bank and in hand”.

More on Leonardo DiCaprio

Leo’s Love

Vittoria Ceretti: About Leonardo DiCaprio’s girlfriend & when they got together

CHANGING STYLES

From dating Victoria’s Secret models to taking on gritty film roles, here’s why Harry Styles is morphing into Leonardo di Caprio

Newly released accounts for Wild Loci Ltd also show accumulated losses of £2,904,888, while the company owes £931,130 to creditors.

The figures, filed this week, reveal the business is being propped up by investment totalling £5,170,947.

That leaves it with equity of £2,280,760 despite the significant losses.

The company also risks being struck off by Companies House after filing its accounts late for two consecutive years.

It has also been late submitting its annual “confirmation statement”, a legal requirement.

The government website warns: “Not filing your confirmation statements, annual returns or accounts is a criminal offence – and directors or LLP designated members could be personally fined in the criminal courts.”

Currently, the brand is offering dozens of shoes at half price, including the “Origins” trainer, which features a “natural cork and recycled foam insole”.

All of Nicki Minaj’s range is also heavily discounted, including the “Barbie Dangerous” and “Itty Bitty Piggy” sneakers.

At the time of Leonardo DiCaprio’s investment, founder Emmanuel Eribo said: “He’s an absolute star and sees the world the same way we see it. It’s been an absolute blessing having him on the team. You can’t ignore it’s a British brand and he’s betting on it.

“He didn’t need to do this, there’s definitely something in there that is tugging on him.

“If I could say things about Leo, I’d probably use two words: genuine and kind. You can care about the world and still want good things.”

At the time, Leo said he was “proud” to be an investor, adding: “I am proud to be an investor in LØCI, a brand dedicated to minimising its environmental impact, and centred around creating cruelty-free, ethical footwear.”

LØCI have been approached for comment.

May 1 (UPI) — A student stabbed four students, a security guard and themselves at a Tacoma, Wash., high school.

The four students at Foss High School are in critical but stable condition, and the suspect and security guard suffered minor injuries after the incident on Thursday. The school canceled classes and after-school activities for Friday.

The suspect was arrested and taken to Pierce County Jail on five counts of first-degree assault. Police have not released the suspect’s name or age.

A student at the school, Imonie, told Fox 13 Seattle a video was sent to some students at the school.

“In class we hear, ‘This is a lockdown,’ and everybody’s like, ‘What is going on?’ And then all of a sudden I see the video Air Dropped to my friend’s phone, and we see the whole video happen — the whole fight and stuff — and it was just crazy. It was so bad, there was blood everywhere. And then I heard that, basically, the person who had the knife was — I don’t even know. They said it was some older kid that had already been to jail and stuff, so they came in with a knife. They only fought because, over a puff,” said Imonie, also in the 9th grade.s

She said she doesn’t feel safe at the school.

The school said counselors would be made available to students when classes resumed on Monday.

Richard Manville has lived in the UK all his life – but now he’s leaving Salford for Israel, because he says the antisemitism in Britain is intolerable.

A self-described proud secular Jew, he told the BBC’s Judith Moritz that making the move was a traumatic experience, as he never thought he’d leave his home.

But Richard’s mind is made up, reinforced by hundreds of abusive messages he received online after speaking publicly about his decision to leave.

Most British Jews say they have no intention of going anywhere, but Richard isn’t alone. A recent survey suggests that one in five are thinking about leaving for Israel in the next five years.

RIHANNA looked sensational as she stripped to a racy cherry bra for a sizzling new shoot. 

The pop superstar, 38, was the perfect model for the newest release from her Savage X Fenty lingerie brand, the Cherry Nouveau collection. 

Umbrella hitmaker Rihanna, who shares three children with her rapper partner A$AP Rocky, expertly worked the camera while posing for the sexy snaps. 

One showed her gazing off camera while seductively poking her tongue out, teaming the bra with a pink gingham shirt worn off the shoulders and some chunky gold necklaces. 

In another image, Rihanna turned things up a notch by perching on the edge of a cabinet with her legs parted. 

She finished the sizzling look with a pair of strappy red heels, proving that sometimes less is definitely more. 

RI’S A BEAUTY

Rihanna steps out in mustard look in India to promote new beauty range

BOOM & BUSTS

Top earning celeb lingerie lines revealed as stars could boost market by $50BN

Rihanna and Rocky, 37, are parents to sons RZA, four, and Riot, two, and seven-month-old daughter Rocki. 

And the singer recently teased that she’s already thinking about baby number four. 

She chatted to British Love Island star Montana Brown, 30, who shot to fame in 2017 on the UK version of the show, underneath an Instagram video she posted.

Montana, who shares two children with her fiancé, said in the clip, “Deciding to get hot and sexy or get pregnant in 2026.

Rihanna took to the comment section and added: ‘Wait! So I’m not crazy then? Bet!”

Fans of Rihanna’s quickly responded to her comment.

Loyal supporters are desperate for Rihanna to finally release the follow-up to her 2016 album Anti rather than welcome a fourth baby.

One person replied: “Girl the only thing you need to be popping out is that album PLZZZZZZ.”

Warning follows Jewish man’s arrest over brutal attack in which a nun was pushed and kicked in Jerusalem this week.

The head of a Greek Orthodox Church in Jerusalem has condemned a brutal attack on a nun in the city earlier in the week and warned of growing concerns over the future for Christians living in the Holy Land.

Archbishop Atallah Hanna said on Facebook that “the attack on a nun in the city of Jerusalem comes amid escalating violations against Christian institutions in the city”.

He added that “this reflects increasing concerns about the future of the historic Christian presence in the Holy Land”.

In his post, which was accompanied by a video, he warned that such attacks “are no longer isolated incidents, but part of a recurring pattern that threatens the Christian presence,” calling for international action to stop them.

On Thursday, Israeli police released a video showing what witnesses said was an attack by a Jewish man on a French nun in Jerusalem on Tuesday.

Video footage showed the man following the nun, forcibly pushing her to the ground, causing an injury to her head, then briefly walking away before returning to kick her as she lay on the ground, before bystanders intervened.

According to The Times of Israel, police said they had arrested a Jewish man suspected of assaulting the nun in Jerusalem.

“The suspect, a 36-year-old male, was identified and subsequently arrested by police,” the police said in a statement on Wednesday, adding it viewed with “utmost severity” any violent act “driven by potentially racist motives and directed toward members of the clergy”.

Father Olivier Poquillon, director of Jerusalem’s French School of Biblical and Archaeological Research, told the AFP news agency the 48-year-old nun is a researcher at the institution and did not wish to speak publicly.

Rising attacks on Christians

Attacks on Christian communities in occupied East Jerusalem and Israel have risen in recent years, according to the Rossing Center for Education and Dialogue, which tracks such incidents.

Churches in Jerusalem have repeatedly called on Israeli authorities to act decisively to put a stop to them.

On Tuesday, Israel’s Foreign Ministry called the incident a “shameful act” in a statement on X.

“In a city sacred to Jews, Christians, and Muslims alike, we remain committed to protecting all communities and ensuring those responsible for violence are held accountable,” the ministry added.

Last month, a viral photograph showing an Israeli soldier smashing a statue of Jesus Christ in southern Lebanon with a sledgehammer caused outrage.

The military said an investigation had been opened and that “appropriate measures will be taken against those involved in accordance with the findings”.

Israel later said the soldier had been jailed for 30 days, along with another soldier who had been filming him. Six other soldiers have been summoned for questioning.

Despite efforts to rebuild ties with Western nations, Syria remains heavily dependent on Russia for its oil supply. Since the fall of Bashar al Assad in late 2024, shipments from Russia have surged, making Moscow the primary supplier of crude to Syria.

This shift comes even as the new government in Damascus seeks closer alignment with Europe and the United States. The contradiction highlights the economic constraints facing a country still recovering from years of war and isolation.

Rising Dependence on Russian Oil
Russian oil exports to Syria have increased significantly, now covering a large portion of the country’s energy needs. Domestic production remains far below demand, leaving Syria reliant on imports to sustain basic economic activity.

Before 2025, Iran had been Syria’s main supplier, but that relationship ended following political changes in Damascus. Russia quickly stepped in, becoming the first to resume large scale shipments after the leadership transition.

Limited Alternatives and Structural Weakness
Syria’s options remain extremely limited. Years of conflict have weakened its economy, reduced purchasing power, and restricted access to global financial systems. Even after the easing of Western sanctions, integration into international markets remains slow and incomplete.

Efforts to secure alternative suppliers, including potential deals with regional partners such as Turkey, have so far failed. This leaves Russian supply networks as the most accessible and reliable option in the short term.

Sanctions Risk and Diplomatic Tension
Reliance on Russian oil poses significant risks for Syria’s foreign relations. Continued trade with Moscow could strain ties with Western governments and expose Syria to renewed sanctions, particularly if geopolitical tensions escalate.

The situation is further complicated by Russia’s ongoing military presence in Syria, including key naval and air bases. These assets give Moscow continued influence over the country’s strategic direction.

Opaque Supply Chains and Sanctioned Networks
Much of the oil trade is conducted through complex and opaque shipping networks. Tankers linked to sanctioned entities frequently deliver crude to Syrian ports, often using ship to ship transfers to obscure the origin of cargo.

These methods reflect both necessity and constraint. Syria’s exclusion from conventional shipping and financial systems has pushed it toward alternative networks that carry reputational and legal risks.

Supply Gap and Energy Reality
Syria’s domestic oil production remains a fraction of pre war levels, while demand continues to exceed supply. Russian shipments now fill a significant portion of this gap, alongside smaller volumes obtained through informal or regional channels.

This dependency underscores the difficulty of rebuilding an energy sector after prolonged conflict, particularly without strong international investment or infrastructure support.

Analysis
Syria’s reliance on Russian oil reveals the limits of political realignment when economic realities remain unchanged. While Damascus may seek closer ties with the West, its immediate survival depends on securing energy supplies, and Russia is currently the only actor able and willing to meet that need at scale.

For Moscow, the relationship offers continued leverage in Syria despite the fall of its former ally. Energy supply becomes a tool of influence, allowing Russia to maintain a strategic foothold even as political dynamics shift.

At the same time, the arrangement creates long term risks for Syria. Dependence on sanctioned networks could undermine efforts to rebuild credibility with international partners and attract investment. It also leaves the country vulnerable to external pressure, particularly if Western governments decide to enforce stricter controls on Russian energy flows.

Ultimately, Syria is caught between geopolitical ambition and economic necessity. Until it diversifies its energy sources and strengthens its economic foundations, its foreign policy choices will remain constrained by the basic need to keep fuel flowing.

With information from Reuters.

SHE went from a little known model to posing for Fendi almost overnight when she started dating Brooklyn Beckham.

Stunning Hana Cross, now 28, dated the nepo baby for just eight months but almost seven years on the Beckham family name still haunts her – and as insiders tell us she’s gained a reputation for being difficult to work with, the famous connection is doing more and more of the heavy lifting.

An industry source explained: “Hana can be hard work behind the scenes, especially when things don’t go her way, and that’s started to follow her.

“Brands are becoming more hesitant, not because of one specific issue, but because of a general unpredictability around how things might be received with her.

“Brands have mentioned how difficult she is to work with. She’s a stunning girl with so much potential but there’s a sense some partnerships have cooled as companies weigh up whether the attention she brings is the right kind.

“There’s a growing feeling in the industry that a lot of the attention around her still ties back to her past with Brooklyn, whether she likes it or not.”

We’re told she recently hired a new press team to help restore her reputation and shed the family name once and for all.

It became apparent just how far off that dream was earlier this year as she found herself dragged into the Beckham family drama surrounding Brooklyn falling out with his parents.

Our source continued: “The recent Beckham drama has definitely rattled her more than she’s letting on, she’s trying to stay composed but it’s clearly unsettled things behind the scenes

“She’s more cautious than ever now, particularly when it comes to anything linked to that circle

“She’s brought in a new PR team in an attempt to reset the narrative and give herself a fresh angle. There’s a sense that without her Brooklyn ties, there’s not much cutting through in terms of her own identity.”

The Leeds-born model started dating the eldest of the Beckham brood, 27, back in 2018, but it was a tumultuous time, overshadowed by a series of very public rows.

Hana was thrown into the spotlight – compared to Brooklyn she’s had a very modest upbringing, living in Huddersfield and then Chipping Campden, where she attended the local state school. 

From Leeds to LA

Born Hana Mahmood, her mum Sarah was working in a shop when she married Khalid Mahmood in November 1994. 

When she was 18 she was scouted while out shopping with her mum in Cotswolds. She had been planning to go to university to study business with equine studies, but her career took off pretty quickly.

Hana has worked for everyone from high street brands Topshop and New Look to designers Valentino and Missoni.

She was 21 when she first met Brooklyn, who was 19 at the time. It’s thought that Brooklyn’s cousin Libby Adams introduced them and they soon became inseparable.

The couple appeared to have their struggles at the time and they were pictured seemingly having a heated discussion outside a Los Angeles restaurant.

And not long after, another confrontation at the Agent Provocateur party, at Annabel’s members club in London in September 2019, left Hanna running to the bathroom in tears.

A fellow partygoer at the time told The Sun Online: “They were chatting together and it was very tense. By the end of it I could hear Brooklyn say, ‘it is what it is.’

“He walked off and she went back to her friends looking dejected, but she held it together while her pals comforted her”.

Brooklyn’s parents Victoria and David were said to be “seriously frustrated” by the negative attention the rows were creating and warned him to spend more time with the family.

Looking back at that time in a rare interview Hana admitted that dating the budding chef and being part of the famous family sparked her “anxiety” .

She told Hello! Magazine: “My time with the family caused me a lot of anxiety, in all honesty.

“There were a lot of warning signs and things that happened during the relationship that, in hindsight, should have made me think and maybe end the relationship or walk away a lot sooner than it did”.

In recent months Brooklyn’s current relationship – his marriage to Nicola Peltz – has come under scrutiny due to his very public family feud.

The famous family’s spat exploded when he launched a nuclear attack on his famous parents – blasting his Spice Girls star mother, 51, in a damning message posted on social media.

Hana admitted: “It’s hard not to be mentally drawn back into that part of my life, especially with all this feud stuff coming out. 

“It’s hard because I don’t look back on that as a fond time, on reflection.”

The couple finally called it quits in the summer of 2019, which was said to be a huge relief to Brooklyn’s parents. Little did they know Nicola Peltz was just around the corner. 

Hana had a brief foray into music and released a track that seemed to hint at Brooklyn. 

She sang: “I wish that someone told me you had a habit for dishonesty – though you break my heart, I want to stay.”

She went on to date Jude Law‘s son Rafferty, Jack Whitehall and Scott Disick. She’s now living in LA and was last linked to aristocrat Peregrine Pearson, following his split from Sophie Turner. 

Our insider added: “It’s a bit of a catch 22 situation because she knows that without Brooklyn she wouldn’t be where she is now and it’s still the thing people are most interested about with her.

“But she’s determined to push forward and prove she can stand on her own.”

May 1 (UPI) — U.S. First Lady Melania Trump was instrumental in securing the return of at least 26 Ukrainian children abducted by Russia over the past several months, Ukraine‘s top human rights official said.

Speaking at a Bring Kids Back event in Kyiv on Thursday, Dmytro Lubinets, the Ukraine Parliament’s Human Rights Commissioner, said Trump had become an important ally in negotiating with Moscow to return children to their families from Russia and regions under Russian control.

“She helps us a lot… It is clear that the involvement of the first lady of the United States makes it [negotiating with Russia] easier for me in some sense,” said Lubinets, who added that Moscow “can’t avoid” responding to Ukrainian requests when they were routed via the White House.

He said that his office held weekly discussions with Trump regarding the issue.

According to Ukraine Government data, 20,570 children had been deported or forcibly displaced from Ukraine by Russia, as of May 1, of whom only 2,126 have been returned.

At least two are alleged to have been taken from their homes in Crimea and sent to a North Korean “summer camp” where they underwent indoctrination.

The latest return in which Trump was involved was of seven children on April 2 following on from three other groups of children since she wrote a personal appeal to Russian President Vladimir Putin in August personally asking for Ukrainian children deported to Russia to be returned.

The letter was hand-delivered to Putin by U.S. President Donald Trump when the pair met in Alaska for a summit on ending the Ukraine war on Aug. 15.

While Trump’s letter avoids directly accusing Moscow of carrying out deportations, she makes her intent clear, telling Putin he had the power “restore the melodic laughter” of children whose innocence “stands above geography, government, and ideology” with a stroke of his pen “today.”

Following the return of the most recent batch of children, the first lady said she was heartened by the commitment of both sides to the effort.

“Reunifying children with their loved ones in this region of the world remains one of the most important global issues today. I am encouraged that both sides remain committed to ongoing cooperation, raising the safety and well-being of children above this abhorrent war,” she said in a statement.

The initiative has also seen some Russian children displaced by the war return to their families in Russia.

Both Lubinets’ Russian counterpart, children’s commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova, and Putin are wanted by the International Criminal Court in The Hague in connection with illegal transfers of children from Ukraine to Russia.

The ICC issued arrest warrants for Lvova-Belova and Putin in March 2023. The warrants were sealed to protect the children affected.

Neither Russia nor the United States is a party to the 1998 Rome Statute that established the court and neither recognizes its jurisdiction.

The United States, along with Britain and other countries, has however, sanctioned Lvova-Belova for her role in removing children from Ukraine and forced adoptions.

Israel’s military reportedly seized 22 vessels sailing among the Global Sumud Flotilla.

More than ‌160 activists on board aid ships forming a flotilla bound for Gaza have been taken to the Greek ⁠island of Crete ⁠after Israeli forces seized their vessels in international waters near Greece earlier this week, Freedom Flotilla organisers have said.

The organisers told the Reuters news agency on Friday that 168 members of the flotilla crew had been taken to Crete while two activists remained with Israeli authorities.

According to the group’s tracker, 22 boats have been intercepted so far by Israel, while 47 others are still sailing.

On Wednesday, Israeli military forces intercepted the boats travelling with the Global Sumud Flotilla from Barcelona in Spain, using drones, communications jamming technology, and armed raiding parties to halt the humanitarian fleet in the middle of the Mediterranean as it headed to Gaza, according to organisers and Israeli media.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said the activists on the intercepted boats would be taken to Greece.

On Friday, an Israeli army ship transferred 168 members of the flotilla crew to Greek boats, which then took them to Crete, where buses and an ambulance car waited for them, organisers said and Reuters footage showed.

A source who asked not to be identified also told Reuters that the remaining 47 boats at sea were still sailing off southern Crete and planned to anchor there at some point before continuing onwards to Gaza.

Each ship is carrying about a tonne of food, medical supplies and other equipment, the source added.

‘A straight-up attack’

In an interview with Al Jazeera on Wednesday, Gur Tsabar, a spokesperson for the Global Sumud Flotilla, described Israel’s boarding of its vessels as “a straight-up attack on unarmed civilian boats in international waters”.

“This is illegal under international law. Israel has no jurisdiction in these waters. Boarding these boats amounts to illegal detention, potentially kidnapping on the high seas,” Tsabar added.

Officials around the globe have condemned the interception of the boats bound for Gaza as a violation of international law, with Turkiye calling it an “act of piracy”.

“By targeting the Global Sumud Flotilla, whose mission is to draw attention to the humanitarian catastrophe faced by the innocent people of Gaza, Israel has also violated humanitarian principles and international law,” Turkiye’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.

Spain called the interception “illegal”, while Germany and Italy expressed “great concern” and called for the release of detainees.

But in a statement on Thursday, the US Department of State threatened “to impose consequences” against those who support the flotilla, which it cast as “pro-Hamas”.

Pro-Palestinian activists say Israel and the United States wrongly conflate their advocacy for Palestinian rights with support for Hamas fighters.

Last October, Israel’s military intercepted about 40 boats from the first Global Sumud Flotilla as they tried to carry aid to besieged Gaza, arresting more than 450 participants, including the grandson of South African leader Nelson Mandela, Swedish campaigner Greta Thunberg and Member of European Parliament Rima Hassan.

Detained and taken to Israel, several of the flotilla activists claimed they were subjected to physical and psychological abuse while in Israeli custody.

Israel later expelled the arrested crew members and activists.

Each of us has a shortlist of movies we find ourselves rewatching, movies we will finish even if they’re half-over when we tune in. Even if it’s being streamed with commercials. Even if it’s playing on a 19-inch black-and-white television with no sound in a crowded dive bar.

For the past 20 years, “The Devil Wears Prada” has been one of those films for me and other Americans who entered the workforce just in time to say goodbye to pensions and hello to increases in student loan debt. Generation X had the highest homeownership rate relative to their age, so when the housing bubble popped in 2008, it hit Gen X the hardest. And yet this same group of workers is also shouldering the care of aging parents and adult children. According to Pew Research, more than half of 40-year-olds (“elder millennials”) and more than a third of 50-year-olds fall into this category, doing so with shrinking financial margins because wages have lagged behind the cost of living our entire adult lives.

While the current No. 1 movie at the box office — the biopic chronicling Michael Jackson’s rise from Gary, Ind., in 1966 to headlining stadiums in 1988 — may evoke a sense of nostalgia for Gen X, the sequel to “Devil” (which opens in theaters Friday) feels more like a peer review.

Twenty years ago, when we last saw our protagonist, Andrea Sachs, she had decided to leave her big corporate job because success in that environment required her to be someone she didn’t like or respect. As young professionals, seeing a fictional character like Sachs leave a toxic work environment felt like a satisfying conclusion in 2006. However, over the decades, you learn work/life balance is an oxymoron and characteristics such as integrity and loyalty are often valued but rarely useful on a spreadsheet.

Don’t get me wrong — I love the campy humor, the fashion and soundtrack of the first “Devil.” However, the thing that elevated the Oscar-nominated film to its cultlike status is the same thing that lifted similarly edgy coming-of-age stories such as “The Graduate” in 1967, “American Graffiti” in 1973 and “Fast Times at Ridgemont High” in 1982: truth. Despite the fantasy elements of beautiful and talented people dressed in clothing designed by the upper echelon of the fashion industry, “Devil” has a sequel because what Sachs was experiencing felt real. Many of us have been there — behind on rent, desperately trying to build a career, navigating friends and romance.

The line the character Nigel told an overwhelmed Sachs in the original — “let me know when your whole life goes up in smoke … means it’s time for a promotion” — was more than a humorous quip. It was also foreshadowing for the young professionals in the audience who had not yet learned that being good at your job, or even great, wasn’t enough to keep it.

We know that all too well now. Just this week, the Wall Street Journal reported corporate layoffs in the first quarter of 2026 surpassed 200,000. Of course, it wasn’t always like this.

According to the Economic Policy Institute, in the immediate three decades after World War II, workers saw their hourly compensation in line with the country’s productivity growth. That’s because during the height of the Cold War — when employers offered employees pensions and union participation was at its peak — corporate America was incentivized to offer labor a larger share of the profits as a way to counteract communism. However, when the Soviet Union fell in the early 1990s, so did the motivation from domestic CEOs to share profits with workers. The split between capital and labor began measurably in 1970, and the gap has only increased since.

Twenty years ago — before the 2008 recession, the pandemic and the nearly $1-trillion price tag stemming from the Afghanistan war — it was believable a young professional like Sachs would walk away from a good corporate job for the sake of her integrity. However, given how fraught the current work environment feels, with the shadow of artificial intelligence looming over entry-level positions across multiple disciplines, would we find Sachs’ actions believable today? Or laudable? Or would we demand that she compromise her principles because it’s pragmatic to let go of the idealism of youth? Time has forced many of us to begrudgingly accept that possibility. Our younger selves might not approve, but our older selves know that’s how most people survive long enough in their careers to have a sequel.

YouTube: @LZGrandersonShow

A majority of South Koreans support raising the country’s senior age threshold to 70 from the current 65, a survey by Gallup Korea showed Friday.

The survey, conducted from Tuesday to Thursday on 1,002 adults aged 18 and older, found that 59 percent of respondents favored raising the eligibility age for senior benefits.

Opposition stood at 30 percent, while 12 percent either declined to answer or said they were unsure.

In similar surveys conducted in 2015 and 2023, 46 percent and 60 percent of respondents, respectively, backed raising the threshold.

The poll also found 60 percent of respondents believe individuals should be primarily responsible for their own livelihood in old age.

By contrast, 29 percent said the government and society should take responsibility, while 4 percent said such responsibility fell on their offspring and 3 percent chose other options.

Across all age groups, more than half said individuals should take primary responsibility for their retirement.

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

The U.S. Marine Corps is working toward adding an active protection system (APS) capability to its fleet of 8×8 wheeled Amphibious Combat Vehicles (ACV). APSs on the market today are generally designed to defeat incoming anti-tank guided missiles and other infantry anti-armor weapons. However, many of them also have the inherent ability to down incoming drones or are being modified to address this ever-growing threat, something TWZ previously explored in a detailed feature. The Marines are already exploring additional options to improve the ACV’s defenses against uncrewed aerial attackers, as well as other upgrades to the vehicles.

Chris Melkonian, the Marine Corps’ current Program Manager for Advanced Amphibious Assault (PM AAA), talked today about APS for the ACV fleet and other plans for those vehicles at the annual Modern Day Marine exposition, at which TWZ is in attendance.

The Marines currently field two ACV variants, the baseline personnel carrier type (ACV-P) and a version optimized for command and control tasks (ACV-C). The service is in the process of acquiring two more variants, one armed with a turreted 30mm cannon (ACV-30) and a recovery vehicle version fitted with a crane and other specialized features (ACV-R). The Corps is presently targeting 2028 for reaching initial operational capability with the ACV-30 and the ACV-R.

The Marines view the entire ACV family as central to its ability to conduct amphibious operations, as well as for providing additional lethality and other support to forces once ashore. At present, the service is planning to acquire a total fleet of 608 ACVs, consisting of 389 ACV-Ps, 33 ACV-Cs, 152 ACV-30s, and 34 ACV-Rs. Prime contractor BAE Systems has also proposed additional variants, including ones configured for electronic warfare or dedicated to the counter-drone role.

In 2018, the Corps announced it had selected the ACV as the replacement for its Cold War-era tracked Assault Amphibious Vehicle (AAV) family. The service announced the formal retirement of the AAV last fall.

There are already “things that we’re doing today to make the ACV family vehicles even more capable,” Melkonian said at Modern Day Marine. “The analogy I use is the ACV that Marines are using today is not the ACV that they’re going to use in the future.”

This includes an “active protection system,” he added. “We’re working with the vendor to mature that capability. We’re going to move that right into production.”

Recently released budget documents also say that the Marines are asking for $28.35 million in Fiscal Year 2027 for “Ancillary Equipment” for the ACV fleet, which “is primarily attributed to the procurement of Special Mission Kits for the Active Protective System (APS).” Those same documents further note that the “funding provides APS production kits, integration kits, installation labor, countermeasures, and spares for 21 ACV-P vehicles and will add a new defensive capability to existing vehicles.”

However, neither Melkonian nor the budget documents have said what specific type of APS the ACVs are now in line to get, or when. TWZ has reached out to the service for more information.

This is certainly not the U.S. military’s first foray into APSs for armored vehicles. The U.S. Army previously integrated the Israeli-designed and combat-proven Trophy APS onto a portion of its M1 Abrams tanks.

TROPHY is the world’s ONLY operational APS (Previous Version – Updated Video Available)

That service is also now in the process of adding another Israeli-developed APS, Iron Fist, onto at least some of its Bradley Fighting Vehicles. The Army’s version of Iron Fist, now designated as the XM251, is also set to be fitted to next-generation M1E3 tanks and a planned replacement for the Bradley family, tentatively designated the XM30.

There are other APS designs on the market today that the Marines could have chosen for integration onto the ACV, as well.

As noted, APSs available today are generally designed to neutralize anti-tank guided missiles and other infantry anti-armor weapons. They typically achieve this through the use of ‘hard-kill’ projectiles designed to destroy targets either using an explosive warhead or via the sheer force of impact. Hard-kill APSs use a mixture of sensors, which can include small-form-factor radars and electro-optical/infrared cameras, to cue those interceptors to engage incoming threats.

From when the Marines first announced the selection of BAE’s ACV back in 2018, TWZ has noted that an APS could provide the vehicles with a valuable extra layer of defense against anti-armor missiles and rockets. More capable infantry anti-armor weapons continue to be developed and proliferate globally. Those threats present additional challenges in beach landing scenarios for amphibious vehicles like the ACV, which move much more slowly in the water than they do on land.

The threat that drones pose, and to armored vehicles in particular, which TWZ has been sounding the alarm on for years, has also now been fully rammed into the public consciousness. This is thanks largely to the stark visuals of tanks and other vehicles being attacked by uncrewed aerial systems (UAS) that emerge on a daily basis now from the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.

A Ukrainian drone from the 79th Air Assault Brigade drops a 40mm HEDP grenade on a Russian UR-77 Meteorit, causing a catastrophic payload explosion. pic.twitter.com/SsaQCKXsNL

— OSINTtechnical (@Osinttechnical) August 14, 2023

Drones are an ever-more common and still evolving threat across a growing number of conflict zones worldwide. First-person view (FPV) type kamikaze drones controlled via fiber optic cable have become a particular point of concern, since they are impervious to radio frequency jamming. In turn, this has already prompted the development of a variety of active and passive countermeasures for armored and unarmored vehicles. We will come back to this in a moment.

TWZ has previously laid out a detailed case specifically for using hard-kill APSs to provide added counter-drone defense for armored vehicles. The Israeli firms behind Trophy and Iron Fist have both now notably demonstrated the ability of their respective systems to defeat uncrewed aerial threats in certain envelopes, as can be seen in the videos below. It should be noted that Trophy, Iron Fist, and other hard-kill APSs have a limited number of engagement opportunities and are not really intended to defeat large volumes of threats simultaneously, such as drones attacking in swarms.

Trophy® APS – The land maneuver enabler

Iron Fist APS | Active Protection System for Armored Vehicles

When it comes to the APS capability now planned for Marine ACVs, “that is not going to be the end-all, be-all,” Melkonian, the Marine Corps’ Program Manager, said today. “We’re constantly looking at what the next generation of APS is and how we can get that onto the platform in a lightweight form factor.”

Melkonian also highlighted other potential counter-drone and more general survivability upgrades that could be on the horizon for ACV. This could include the integration of directed energy weapons and some form of added overhead protection. Top-down attacks on vehicles where the armor is typically thinnest can be very threatening, in general.

As an aside, the Army has already been working to acquire hundreds of Top Attack Protection (TAP) add-on armor systems for installation on its M1 Abrams tanks and other armored vehicles. This reflects an expanding global trend in the integration of so-called ‘cope cage’ type armor around the turrets and other areas of armored and unarmored vehicles, primarily to protect against drone attacks. The first cope cages appeared on Russian tanks in the lead-up to the all-out invasion of Ukraine in 2022. This kind of armor does present tradeoffs, including the potential to interfere with other capabilities, such as APSs.

Improved “situational awareness, that’s kind of a gateway to counter-UAS, in terms of the ability to sense your environment,” Melkonian also noted today while talking about other possible upgrades for the ACV. “Take all that video on board and then be able to feed that into [a] counter-UAS system.”

Melkonian highlighted several other areas of interest where the Marines are looking to improve the ACV’s capabilities. His list included things like reducing the vehicle’s signatures to make it harder for enemies to spot, improving its mobility while in the water, and upgrades to just help keep everything inside dry.

“Marines operate in very humid, very difficult environments,” he explained. “The ability to dehumidify the vehicles is a critical enabler, being able to improve the maintenance strategy and keeping [sic] those components running for as long as they need to.”

Broadly speaking, the Marines are interested in new “lightweight solutions, advanced technology, and anything that’s going to be marinized. It must be marinized,” he added. “I can’t tell you how many solutions have been picked, and that’s one of the first questions we ask, and sometimes the solutions are designed for a marinized environment, sometimes they’re not. Marines go where no one else goes, and we’ve got to be able to make sure that our capabilities can support their needs.”

The core marinization requirement will apply to the APS integration just like any other upgrades for Marine ACVs.

Altogether, the addition of active protection systems looks to be just one important upgrade for the Marine Corps’ ACV fleet now on the horizon.

Eric Tegler contributed to this story.

Contact the author: joe@twz.com

Crime thriller fans are heaping praise on a gripping new BBC series starring Sheridan Smith, as people say it’s the ‘show of the year’ and has some ‘unexpectedly’ funny moments

A new BBC crime thriller series could be your next obsession. If you’re looking for a new series to sink your teeth into, then forget about Netflix and Amazon Prime Video – as a new series now available to watch on BBC One and BBC iPlayer has already been touted as one of the best shows of 2026.

The five-part series stars Sheridan Smith and Michael Socha, and according to people on social media, it is both gripping and “unexpectedly funny”. With only five episodes, it’s the perfect thing to binge this weekend – especially if you’re looking for a “high-stakes” show with tension and laughter.

TV and film reviewer Emily posted a video on TikTok in which she heaped praise on the new series, called The Cage, stating that fans of crime dramas should “get this one on your watch list” immediately.

She said: “We have a brand-new high-stakes crime thriller that the BBC have just dropped, starring Sheridan Smith and Michael Socha. So if you love a good crime thriller, then definitely get this one on your watch list.”

The Cage is set in a casino in Liverpool, where two casino workers named Leanne (Smith) and Matty (Socha) realise they have both plotted to steal from the same safe.

Emily explained: “It’s all about two employees who are both secretly stealing from the same safe without knowing that the other exists. What starts off as a quick way to make extra money turns into something far more dangerous when their lives collide, pulling them into a situation involving crime, pressure, and people that they really do not want to be involved with. From then on, everything just keeps spiralling.”

The TV reviewer said she hasn’t yet finished the series herself, but she’s already “hooked” after just two episodes.

She continued: “I have watched the first two episodes so far, and I am hooked. It’s really tense, gritty, unpredictable, and you have this constant sense that something could go wrong at any moment, which really raises the stakes. It also really leans into desperation and bad decisions, and how quickly things can spiral, even if you think you have a plan.”

The Cage was created by Tony Schumacher, who also created the BBC police drama The Responder, which starred Martin Freeman as a police officer who has been demoted from his position as an inspector and takes on a series of night shifts in Liverpool city centre.

Alongside Sheridan Smith and Michael Socha, The Cage also stars Barry Sloane, Geraldine James, and Sue Jenkins. The show was directed by Al Mackay and was filmed in Liverpool and Merseyside in early 2025.

Commenters on Emily’s video were split over the series. Some said they had already seen it and found it to be “slow”, while others said it was “unexpectedly” good.

One person said: “Watched it all over the past two nights, really, really good. Would recommend it.”

Someone else posted: “This is really good. Unexpectedly, it was quite funny in parts.”

But another wasn’t convinced, writing: “I’ve watched the first episode, [and] it needs to get better. I will try one more, but if it hasn’t grabbed me, that will be me done.”

A fourth shared: “Watching it now. [It’s] a bit slow.”

May 1 (UPI) — Federal prosecutors are suing New Jersey for offering qualifying noncitizen residents in-state college tuition and state-funded benefits, the latest state the Trump administration has accused of discriminating against out-of-state Americans in its anti-immigration crackdown.

The Justice Department has brought nine lawsuits challenging states’ laws often called Dream Acts, which generally offer noncitizens who have lived in and attended high school in the state for several years the same college tuition that citizen residents are charged.

The Justice Department filed its lawsuit Thursday, asking the court to block New Jersey from enforcing two laws: one passed in 2013 that offers in-state tuition to eligible noncitizen residents, and another passed in 2018 that extends their eligibility to state financial aid programs and scholarships.

Federal prosecutors alleged in the lawsuit that the laws “blatantly discriminate in favor of illegal aliens over U.S. citizens from other states” and violate federal law, which bars states from offering postsecondary education benefits based on residency to people unlawfully present in the country unless U.S. citizens are eligible for the same benefits.

“Imagine being denied the opportunity of education in our own country. By granting illegal aliens in-state tuition, the state of New Jersey is doing just that,” Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward said in a statement.

The lawsuit comes as the Trump administration carries out an aggressive anti-immigration policy that has included mass round-ups of noncitizens to revoking deportation protections for those from war- or catastrophe-torn nations.

Almost exactly a year ago, President Donald Trump signed the “Protecting American Communities from Criminal Aliens” executive order, which directed the attorney general to identify laws “favoring aliens over any groups of American citizens,” including state laws “that provide in-state higher education tuition to aliens but not to out-of-state American citizens.”

Of the nine lawsuits challenging these Dream Act laws to date, Texas, Kentucky and Oklahoma have resolved their cases either through agreements, consent decrees or joint motions.

Lawsuits are still pending in Illinois, Minnesota, Virginia, Nebraska, California and now New Jersey.

According to the Higher Ed Immigration Portal, 21 states and Washington, D.C., provide in-state tuition to undocumented students, while 18 and D.C. also provide access to state financial aid.

Workers are gathering in cities around the world to mark International Labour Day, with some demonstrations, such as those in Istanbul, Turkiye, turning to scuffles with police.

Trade Unions are calling for solidarity and the protection of workers’ rights as the United States-Israeli war on Iran and rising energy costs raise concerns about the global economy.

“Working people refuse to pay the price for Donald Trump’s war in the Middle East,” the European Trade Union Confederation, which represents 93 trade union organisations in 41 European countries, told the media. “Today’s rallies show working people will not stand by and see their jobs and living standards destroyed.”

Josua Mata, leader of the SENTRO umbrella group of workers’ groups in the Philippines, said: “Every Filipino worker now is aware that the situation here is deeply connected to the global crisis.”

Renato Reyes, a leader of the left-wing political group Bayan in the Philippines, told The Associated Press: “There will be a louder call for higher wages and economic relief because of the unprecedented spikes in fuel prices.”

In Indonesia, Said Iqbal, president of the Indonesian Trade Union Confederation, told reporters: “Workers are already living pay cheque to pay cheque.”

Some of the largest demonstrations are being held in South America, including in Chile, Bolivia and Venezuela. In Argentina, angry workers protested on Thursday in the capital of Buenos Aires over President Javier Milei’s recent overhaul of long-held labour protections.

In Cuba, the foreign ministry held a gathering on Thursday in defiance of what it called the US’s “aggressions, threats, intensified blockade, and energy siege”.

On Friday, Cubans are expected to mark International Labour Day with a mass rally and a march in Havana.

In many countries, Labour Day rallies attract large crowds because May 1 is a public holiday. In the Turkish city of Istanbul, roads around Taksim Square were closed to make way for marches during the day. Later on Friday, demonstrators clashed with police, international media reported.

In France, where most people have the day off for May Day, workers’ unions using the slogan “bread, peace and freedom” called for protests in Paris and other cities.

Global recession fears

Fears of a global recession are looming over Labour Day rallies at a time when income inequality is growing.

In Gaza, Palestinian workers have cancelled May Day events because of the economic crisis caused by Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza and poor conditions on the ground.

The Palestinian General Federation of Trade Unions said that about 550,000 workers across Gaza and the West Bank have no income and that the situation is unprecedented.

The International Trade Union Confederation has reported that at least four CEOs of major corporations each pocketed more than $100m in pay and bonuses last year, while many workers are facing potential job cuts.

Workers’ rights coalitions are calling for urgent action to curb extreme wealth. They want governments to impose higher, fairer taxes on the wealthiest and limit excessive executive pay.

While Labour Day began in the US, when workers protested for an eight-hour workday in the 1880s, the US does not count May Day as a public holiday.

However, an umbrella group of activist and workers’ groups known as May Day Strong has called for protests under the slogan, “workers over billionaires”. Hundreds of demonstrations and marches have been planned across the US.

PRINCESS Andre looked just like model mum Katie Price as she glammed up for an event with brother Junior. 

The 18-year-old proved she was a chip off the old block while posing up a storm at a Superdrug bash in London on Thursday evening. 

Princess, who was also filming scenes for her ITV reality show The Princess Diaries, could’ve been mistaken for Katie, 47, in her heyday as she expertly worked the cameras. 

The rising star cut a stylish figure in a sand-coloured sleeveless top and matching skirt and wore her blonde hair down in loose curls. 

Meanwhile Junior, 20, was joined by girlfriend Jasmine Orr at the event. 

He dressed down in a white sweater and black jeans while Jasmine, 25, opted for a lace-trimmed camisole and figure-hugging black trousers. 

TV CREW

Princess Andre & Ella Rae Wise lead the glam at star-studded ITV Showcase

roar-mazing

Princess Andre poses in fitted dress after Paris Fury tried to play matchmaker

While mum Katie is in Dubai with husband Lee Andrews, Princess and Junior this week enjoyed a day at the seaside with older brother Harvey, 23.

Pop star Junior shared some sweet snaps of the trio on social media and wrote: “Lovely day out with my siblings.”

Katie shares Junior and Princess with ex-husband Peter Andre, who recently opened up to The Sun about being horrified at the messages his daughter receives from sick pervs on Instagram. 

He said: “You know what people are like. You know what the world is like. But it still hits differently when it’s your daughter. 

“I just don’t understand at what point men think it’s ok to send photos of their genitalia; the guy doing it, what’s he thinking?

“I guess if you’re flirting and a guy sends you a picture of him topless in the gym, you might go, ‘oh, ok’. 

“But if a woman sent a picture of her, you know… most guys are going to go, ‘what the hell?!’”

Pete, 53, is now calling both for a ban on social media for under 16s, and asking schools to step up and offer greater support to parents.

Ukraine used its latest technology to deepen strikes against Russian oil storage, ports and refineries in the past week, bombing targets in the Urals 1,600 kilometres (990 miles) from its borders and prompting protests about “terrorist attacks” from the Kremlin spokesman.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Wednesday announced “a new stage in the use of Ukrainian weapons to limit the potential of Russia’s war”.

The Ukraine Security Service (SBU) later clarified it had struck Transneft’s oil pumping and distribution facility in the city of Perm that day, from where oil was pumped to the Perm refinery and via pipeline in four directions across Russia.

The facility is “a strategically important hub of the main oil transportation system”, said the SBU, and preliminary information suggested that “almost all oil storage tanks are on fire”.

Russia’s Ministry of Defence confirmed the strike and said it had downed 98 Ukrainian UAVs across various regions.

“The Urals are now within reach, be vigilant,” wrote Russia’s presidential envoy to the region, Artem Zhoga.

Ukraine’s campaign has begun to elicit reactions from the Russian government.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called the attacks on oil facilities “terrorist attacks”.

A Russian Defence Ministry announcement – that military cadets and a column of equipment would not take part in this year’s Victory Day parade commemorating the end of World War II “due to the current operational situation” – was also widely interpreted as a precaution against potential Ukrainian drone strikes.

Ukraine’s strikes are part of a strategy of depriving Russia of windfall profits from soaring oil prices due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

Zelenskyy said Russian internal documents seen by his foreign intelligence service admitted that Ukraine had deprived oil offloading ports of much of their capacity.

Primorsk and Ust-Luga on the Baltic Sea had lost 13 percent and 43 percent of capacity, respectively, and the Black Sea port of Novorossiysk 38 percent.

“We believe that such internal Russian data may be underestimated,” Zelenskyy said.

The internal figures roughly agree with a Reuters March estimate that Russia had lost approximately 40 percent of its export capacity.

That translated into revenue losses of $2.3bn in March, Zelenskyy estimated.

The Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based think tank, said that Ukraine had likely conducted at least 18 strikes against Russian oil infrastructure in April.

Kyiv’s attacks have been “steadily increasing the range, volume, and intensity” with “outsized impacts on Russian oil exports”.

Ukraine struck other oil and military targets during the past week.

On April 23, it damaged three storage tanks at the Gorky oil pumping station in Nizhny Novgorod and struck the Novokuibyshevsk petrochemical plant in Samara.

The next day, it destroyed two production facilities at the Atlant-Aero factory in Taganrog, Rostov, which builds the Molniya drones used to attack Ukrainian cities.

On Sunday, Ukraine struck the Yaroslavl oil refinery, and on Tuesday, they struck the Tuapse oil refinery on the Black Sea for the third time this month. Even before this latest strike, at least 24 oil storage tanks at the site had been destroyed, said Ukraine’s head of the Center for Countering Disinformation, Andriy Kovalenko.

Russian President Vladimir Putin dispatched his Civil Defence, Emergencies, and Disaster Relief minister, Alexander Kurenkov, to oversee the response personally.

An emerging air power

Ukraine has been developing its own long-range strike capabilities and devotes 20 percent of its defence resources to new technologies, said Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov.

One of its leading drone manufacturers, Wild Hornets, recently said a drone operator had used its remote piloting system to fly a Sting interceptor drone at a distance of 2,000km (1,240 miles).

On April 23, Fedorov said Ukraine had successfully tested remote control technology that enabled pilots to operate from the relative safety of Kyiv or Lviv, “at distances of hundreds and thousands of kilometres”.

Ukraine is now touting its battlefield innovations in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates in the wake of Iran’s attack on the Gulf nations.

Zelenskyy met Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman in Riyadh on April 24 to discuss “the export of our Ukrainian security expertise and capabilities in air defence”.

Days later, he said Kyiv produces as many as twice the number of certain types of weapons as the military needed, and that “Ukrainian companies will get a real opportunity to enter the markets of partner countries, provided that our military have the right to take the necessary amount of weapons first”.

The burgeoning relationship with the Gulf, he said, had invoked Moscow’s concern.

“Russia is particularly irritated by our contacts in the Middle East and the Gulf region,” he told Ukrainians on Wednesday.

More surprisingly, he said some allies, too, were irritated by the competition.

“We are also aware of the complex attitude of some of our other partners towards this – partners who would prefer to limit our state’s independence,” Zelenskyy said in an evening video address. “We consider this their mistake.

More commercial flights have been departing from Iran’s largest airport following its reopening last week.

Iranian authorities announced the resumption of flights at Imam Khomeini international airport after approximately 58 days of suspension since the launch of the US-Israel war on Iran. Flight information boards also went offline after the closure of Iran’s airspace.

For weeks, the suspension of flights stranded many travellers, disrupted businesses, and separated families.

Air traffic gradually resumed from April 25 with flights to 15 destinations operated by eight domestic airlines, covering regional and international destinations such as Medina, Istanbul, Muscat, China and Russia. Yet the number of flights is a fraction of what it was before the war.

Maryam, a passenger who planned to go to Toronto to see her daughters, told Al Jazeera: “After a lot of stress and problems, now I’ve found a ticket with an Iranian airline — flying first to Armenia with a long layover, and then on to Canada.”

Before the war, the airport was bustling with travellers and would witness 150 flights on a typical day. Now, terminals that were packed, then empty, are slowly filling up again as flights resume.

Ramin Kashef Azar, CEO of Imam Khomeini Airport City, told Al Jazeera that the return of foreign carriers, many of which have operated in the country for years, “will depend on political stability and their own risk assessments.” According to the Iranian Civil Aviation Organization, 20 aircraft have been destroyed and are no longer operational. However, the airport infrastructure has not been damaged and is approximately 95 percent ready.

These developments come after Iran’s gradual reopening of its airspace from April 19, in four phases. It encompasses transit flights followed by domestic flights, culminating in the full resumption of operations at international airports, as stated by the Iranian aviation regulator.

Foreign companies are apprehensive about returning to operate at Iranian airports amid the uncertainty surrounding the political and negotiating landscape between Tehran and Washington.

Targeting of airports

Iran’s civil aviation sector has suffered damage as a result of the war. More than 3,300 people have been killed in Iran, and thousands have been injured, in addition to widespread destruction of civilian infrastructure.

Another airport that was subject to US-Israel attacks several times was Mehrabad airport, also in Tehran. The airport mainly handles domestic flights. Located in the west of the capital, it was the official airport for international and domestic flights before the construction of Imam Khomeini airport in 2009.

In addition to Mehrabad, airports in Kashan, Tabriz, Ahvaz, Mashhad, Khoy and Urmia were also targeted. Several civilian aircraft have been damaged.

It is not the first time Mehrabad Airport has been attacked. In June 2025, it was reported that Israel targeted Mehrabad airport during the 12-day war. Iranian authorities, however, said the airport and its runways escaped damage.

The impact of the war goes beyond airports. It has affected other businesses, causing revenue losses, layoffs and operational disruptions.

Babak, a tour guide, said he and many of his colleagues lost their jobs “because there were no incoming or outgoing tours, as flights were suspended and the war was ongoing”.

Nowruz, the Persian New Year, which comes with a peak aviation season for Iranian airports, also witnessed flight suspensions and caused major disruption. According to Bijan, a travel agent, this affected tours, charter flights, and hotel bookings. He added that they are processing refunds and had to cut staffing from 20 to just two.

Airports are coming back to life, and passengers are returning, hinting at a fragile normalcy after weeks of silence. Each departure signals renewed connection with the world, even as uncertainty on the ground endures.

In a hearing about competing protective order filings from reality TV star Taylor Frankie Paul and her ex-boyfriend Dakota Mortensen, a Utah judge granted Thursday that both orders go into effect, though he delayed making a decision on a custody arrangement.

The orders, which were issued by third district court commissioner Russell Minas, are in place for three years and require Paul and Mortensen to stay at least 100 feet away from each other. He also warned that they both could be subjected to criminal charges if there’s a violation of the orders.

“I do think it’s important that there be mutual orders,” Minas said. “I am just concerned that if I don’t order both of them to stay away from each other, there’s going to be some additional problems.”

Addressing Paul and Mortensen, Minas said: “I’m hoping that you’re not people who just thrive on the drama and the conflict … I do want to work with both of you to try to restore some sense of normalcy. I just think right now, you two need to stay away from each other and there needs to be orders that will result in consequences if you attempt to try to engage each other because I still think you have this attraction to each other, physical or otherwise.”

“The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” star, 31, and Mortensen, 33, both appeared in Utah court for the hearing, which was livestreamed, the first time they’ve been seen in the same room together since news broke last month that they were involved in domestic violence investigations involving multiple allegations.

In the weeks leading up to the ruling, the judge had granted Mortensen custody of their son, with up to eight hours per week of supervised visitation for Paul, known as one of the stars of Hulu’s “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives.” That arrangement will stay in place until the judge offers his recommendation on parent time on or before May 11.

Dakota Mortensen in the courtroom on Thursday.

(Bethany Baker / Associated Press)

A review hearing is set for June, once mental health and domestic violence assessments of Paul and Mortensen ordered as part of the safety plan by child protective services have been completed and processed.

Paul’s attorney, Eric M. Swinyard, described the hearing as a “significant step forward.”

“Taylor was incredibly candid with the Court that she is not perfect and owned her faults,” read part of his statement. “She looks forward to continuing to cooperate with the Court to make progress in the custody case.”

The Times also reached out to Mortensen for comment.

Paul and Mortensen had been under investigation by both the Draper City Police Department and West Jordan Police Department regarding a series of allegations each made that the other had acted violently during altercations in February, as well as an incident that took place in 2024. After the February allegations made headlines, a video of Paul in 2023 that led to her arrest was leaked; it showed the reality star throwing bar stools at Mortensen while her daughter was present. (Paul pleaded guilty in abeyance to aggravated assault following that incident and her probation in that case will be up in August.) Amid the investigation, Mortensen and Paul filed competing protective orders against each other.

The Salt Lake County district attorney’s office and the Draper City prosecutor both declined to file charges against Paul in April, citing insufficient evidence to prove allegations beyond a reasonable doubt.

The situation between the embattled exes also resulted in the pausing of filming of “Mormon Wives” Season 5. The show has documented the pair’s tumultuous relationship since it’s launch in 2024. It also led to the shelving of Season 22 of ABC’s “The Bachelorette,” which featured Paul as its heroine.

But Thursday’s ruling on the orders comes a week after reports surfaced that “Mormon Wives” has resumed production on its fifth season, without Paul and Mortensen’s involvement — though, Paul reportedly has the option to return. The fate of the unaired season of “The Bachelorette” remains unclear.

Alexandra Del Rosario contributed reporting.

President Lee Jae Myung on Friday pledged unwavering commitment to workplace safety in his address to mark Labor Day at Cheong Wa Dae.

“I will neither compromise nor make concessions on workplace safety,” he said, vowing to build a “normal” country where no worker ever has to risk their life at work.

“Safeguarding workers is the most basic responsibility of any nation and any business,” he said.

The president also pushed back against the notion that worker welfare and business growth are incompatible, stressing the two are mutually dependent.

“We can only move forward by breaking free from the outdated thinking that being pro-business means being anti-worker,” he said. “Growth has a future only when labor stands behind it” he said.

Amid growing concerns that artificial intelligence (AI) threatens jobs, the president sought to reassure the public that the government prioritizes people over productivity.

“As technologies advance, the prevailing view is that machines powered by artificial intelligence will largely replace human labor,” he said. “But it is not right to ask workers to sacrifice themselves in the name of productivity,” he said, adding that growth that leaves workers behind is not growth at all.

Lee called workers “the backbone of our economy,” who keep things running on the ground and drive the spending that fuels growth.

It marked the first time a Labor Day event has been held at Cheong Wa Dae. The event brought together some 130 participants, including key figures from labor, management and government, as well as workers from diverse occupations, to mark the occasion.

It also marked the first time two major umbrella labor unions — the Federation of Korean Trade Unions and the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions — that are said to hold different political views both took part in such an event.

South Korea had initially observed Labor Day on May 1 before it was renamed “Workers’ Day” in 1963. The government restored the name to Labor Day last year and designated it as a national holiday earlier this year, allowing all workers to take the day off.

In celebration of Labor Day, a variety of events took place across the country, highlighting the value of work and its role in improving quality of life and driving economic growth.

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

Iran says it will respond with “long and painful strikes” on US positions across the Gulf region if Washington renews attacks, and has restated its claim to the Strait of Hormuz, complicating the plans of the United States for a coalition to reopen the waterway.

Two months into the US-Israel war on Iran, the strait remains closed, choking off 20 percent of the world’s oil and gas supplies. That has sent global energy prices surging and heightened concerns about the risks of an economic downturn.

Pakistan-led efforts to resolve the conflict have hit an impasse. Despite a ceasefire in place since April 8, Iran continues to block the strait in response to a US naval blockade of its ports, preventing oil exports – Tehran’s economic lifeline.

Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei defended the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. “This is because of the war and the defence of our right – that is, according to international law, it is legitimate, legal, and accepted,” he said on Thursday night, Iran’s official news agency IRNA reported.

He accused the US of “exploiting a waterway” of which Iran is the coastal state. “In such circumstances, you cannot allow this waterway to be misused,” he said.

Baghaei also justified attacks on US assets in Gulf countries.

“Unfortunately, the regional countries also truly acted unjustly; during the holy month of Ramadan, they cooperated with a foreign party in attacking an Islamic country, and this is something that will remain a permanent demand.”

On Thursday, the United Arab Emirates said it had banned its citizens from travelling to Iran, Lebanon and Iraq, and urged those currently in those countries to leave immediately and return home.

Then, on Friday, in response to Iran’s threat to hit targets in the Gulf, the adviser to the UAE’s president, Anwar Gargash, said: “No unilateral Iranian arrangements can be trusted or relied upon, following its treacherous aggression against all its neighbours.”

Bahraini King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa also condemned what he described as Iranian aggression against Manama and accused Tehran of threatening its security and stability and exposing internal collaborators.

In a statement, the king expressed anger at individuals and some legislators accused of siding with the attackers, warning that traitors could face imprisonment, loss of citizenship and expulsion. He stressed that loyalty to the nation is “paramount”, urging unity and accountability, and said parliament must be “cleansed” of those who support enemies.

New US strikes?

It is unclear whether the US is planning to renew its attacks on Iran.

Friday is the deadline for Congress to approve the war. Without that – or a 30-day extension, which the Trump administration must also justify by the day – the US will have to scale back its offensive significantly under the 1973 War Powers Resolution.

A senior administration official said late on Thursday that, for the resolution, hostilities had ceased with the start of the April ceasefire between Tehran and Washington, effectively resetting the clock.

President Donald Trump received a briefing from officials on Thursday on plans for a series of further military strikes to pressure Iran to negotiate an end to the conflict, US publication Axios reported, quoting sources.

US Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal told CNN on Thursday that he had the “impression from some of the briefings”, as well as from other sources, that “an imminent military strike is very much on the table”.

He added that this prospect was “deeply disturbing” because it could “well involve American sons and daughters in harm’s way” and lead to “potential massive casualties”.

Bracing for attack

Meanwhile, Iran has been bracing itself for likely attacks. Air defence activity was heard in some areas of the capital, Tehran, late on Thursday, Iran’s semi-official Mehr news agency reported, and the Tasnim news agency said air defences were engaging small drones and unmanned surveillance aerial vehicles.

A senior official of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said any new US attack on Iran, even if limited, would usher in “long and painful strikes” on its regional positions. Iranian media reports, quoting the aerospace force commander, Majid Mousavi, said: “We’ve seen what happened to your regional bases, we will see the same thing happen to your warships.”

Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei said in a written message to Iranians that “the enemies’ abuses of the waterway” would be eliminated under the new management of the strait, indicating that Tehran intended to maintain its hold over it.

“Foreigners who come from thousands of kilometres away … have no place there except at the bottom of its waters,” he said.

Multiple scenarios

Reporting from the White House, in Washington, DC, Al Jazeera’s Mike Hanna said: “There’s no doubt that there have been various scenarios laid out for him [Trump] by his military advisers and by his intelligence advisers as to what to do should the ceasefire no longer be extended.”

“Obviously, that would involve some form of armed action, some form of intensified economic action.”

“There’s absolutely no doubt that President Trump has all sorts of scenarios that have been laid out in front of him, but very clearly as well, it’s going to be him and him alone who will choose what to do next,” Hanna added.

A new hit Netflix series is returning for its second season just over a year after its stunning debut last year

The hit show has been called “cowboy Virgin River” by fans.

Netflix’s Ransom Canyon has officially announced a release date for its eagerly awaited second season, and fans won’t have to wait much longer.

The popular Western drama launched last April and brought viewers an epic family saga unfolding on a Texas ranch, with the powerful romance between Staten Kirkland (portrayed by Josh Duhamel) and Quinn O’Grady (Minka Kelly) taking centre stage.

The first season exposed the shocking truth surrounding the death of Staten’s son while the stoic rancher slowly grows closer to Quinn, his long-time family friend and proprietor of the local dancehall.

At the same time, charming and mysterious drifter Yancy (Jack Schumacher) arrives in town to reconnect with his long-lost grandfather and embarks on a romance of his own, only to unveil a startling secret in the jaw-dropping finale.

The programme has drawn favourable comparisons to Netflix’s other hit small-town romance, Virgin River, with some Redditors even declaring the new series is “so much better”, reports the Express.

Netflix Tudum has this week announced that the gripping drama will return on Thursday, 23rd July, with all eight episodes dropping.

Creator April Blair has disclosed that the much-anticipated follow-up will resume six months after Quinn’s decision to leave home to chase a dream job in New York.

“In that time, she didn’t speak to Staten at all,” actress Kelly disclosed. And Duhamel confirms: “He missed her. Staten has been masking that with his behaviour.

“So when he finds out Quinn is back, Staten realises that he’s made some mistakes, and he wants to make it right.”

Season two will also follow the blossoming teenage romance between high schoolers Lauren (Lizzy Greene) and Lucas (Garrett Wareing), while Yancy is likely in hot water with bartender Ellie (Marianly Tejada) following the arrival of a woman claiming to be his wife in the season finale.

“We’ve also built out the world even more this season,” showrunner Blair reveals. “Quinn’s mother, Claire – played by Patricia Clarkson, who’s an icon – comes to town, and she’s a little Postcards from the Edge meets The Notebook.

“What did she do to mess up? We find out there’s some secrets from the past.”

Alongside Clarkson, several fresh faces join the cast, including High Potential’s Steve Howey as Staten’s half-brother Levi, a rugged outdoorsman who lives off the land.

Watch Unchosen on Sky for free

This article contains affiliate links, we will receive a commission on any sales we generate from it. Learn more

from £15

Sky

Buy Now on Sky

Sky is giving away a free Netflix subscription with its new Sky Stream TV bundles, including the £15 Essential TV plan.

This lets members watch live and on-demand TV content without a satellite dish or aerial and includes hit shows.

This includes the brand new UK drama Unchosen, starring Asa Butterfield and Christopher Eccleston.

Ben Robson (Vikings) and Heidi Engerman (Chicago Fire) have also signed on, with familiar faces returning including Casey W. Johnson, Tatanka Means, Justin Johnson Cortez, Kenny Miller, Philip Winchester, Jennifer Ens, Brett Cullen, Lauren Glazier, and Niko Guardado.

Netflix’s synopsis for season two states: “Season two begins six months after the events of the first season, with rancher Staten fighting to reclaim his legacy after being unseated as trustee of his family’s Double K Ranch.

“Meanwhile, musician Quinn must decide if her heart truly belongs in the small town she once tried to outrun or in the fast-paced world of New York City. Are the pair star-crossed lovers, or fated to be together? In Ransom Canyon, true love stories are messy, complicated, and always worth the wait.”

Ransom Canyon season 2 premieres Thursday, 23rd July on Netflix.