News Desk

Anti-government protesters in Albania hurled petrol bombs and fireworks at police, who responded with tear gas and water cannons during demonstrations in the capital Tirana.

Emerald Fennell’s adaptation of “Wuthering Heights” could only have been created by a true fan. The British filmmaker wanted to evoke her youthful experience reading Emily Brontë’s 1847 novel when she was 14, which she describes as “the most physical emotional connection I’ve ever had to anything.” Her bodice-ripping, visually sumptuous version, in theaters Friday, incorporates some essential literary elements, but also imagines what’s in between the lines of Brontë’s writing, including sultry moments between the protagonists.

“I’m fanatical about the book,” Fennell says. She’s speaking over Zoom alongside Margot Robbie, who stars as Catherine Earnshaw (and who also produced the film), and Jacob Elordi, who plays Heathcliff. “I’m as obsessive about Emily Brontë as everyone else. She gets inside you.”

The director, 40, recalls going to the Brontë Festival of Women’s Writing in West Yorkshire, England, in 2025 and feeling completely at home. “I was like, ‘These are my chicks,’” Fennell says. “We all want to sleep in a coffin.” Robbie laughs, despite likely having heard the story before.

“We are, all of us, breathless, up against a rock,” Fennell continues, referencing a particularly evocative scene she imagined for her film. “I care so deeply about this that I couldn’t hope to ever make a perfect adaptation because I know my own limits.”

Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi in the movie “Wuthering Heights.”

(Warner Bros. Pictures)

What she could do is make a film that recalled the visceral feeling of reading the novel as a teen. “That would mean it had a certain amount of wish fulfillment,” she admits. The novel is famously austere, with mere glimmers of physical intimacy. “The Gothic, to me, is emotional and it’s about the world reflecting everyone’s interior landscape. This is my personal fan tribute to this work.”

“Wuthering Heights” marks the third collaboration between Robbie’s production company, LuckyChap Entertainment, and Fennell. Robbie, 35, produced Fennell’s 2020 feature debut “Promising Young Woman,” which earned Fennell the Oscar for original screenplay, and 2023’s class-envy thriller “Saltburn.” Her style is confrontational and seemingly fearless, often provoking hugely divergent reactions from critics and fans. She’s a filmmaker who goes full-on.

Despite their history, however, Robbie had never acted in one of Fennell’s films.

“When I read this script, I did find I was putting myself in Cathy’s shoes and reading the lines and thinking, ‘How would I play it?’” Robbie says. “I do that often when reading scripts, but my heart sank when thinking about the casting. So I threw my hat in the ring.”

Margot Robbie in the movie “Wuthering Heights.”

(Warner Bros. Pictures)

“It’s a bit like asking your friend to date you,” Fennell chimes in. “It’s taking something a step in a different direction. You don’t want to be the person who blows up the thing that you have that works so well. But I was desperate for Margot to play Cathy. I was so relieved that it was her who made the first move.”

Fennell did make the first move with Elordi, 28, recently Oscar-nominated for his monster in Guillermo del Toro’s “Frankenstein.”

“Emerald texted me and said, ‘Do you want to be Heathcliff?’” Elordi recalls. “That was it. I said, ‘Yeah.’ And then when she gave the screenplay, I read it and wept. That’s how you dream of making movies.”

Not only did Elordi look like the version of Heathcliff on the cover of Fennell’s edition of the novel, but she had witnessed his potential for the role while making “Saltburn.”

Jacob Elordi in the movie “Wuthering Heights.”

(Warner Bros. Pictures)

“Felix is a character who does something awful in every scene,” Fennell explains of Elordi’s charismatic rich boy in “Saltburn.” “But it needed somebody who could make everyone in the audience forget that. And Jacob was the only person who came in and did that. Heathcliff is an extreme antihero. He’s cruel and he’s violent and he’s relentless and he’s vengeful and he’s spiteful. Jacob has a sensitivity and tenderness and groundedness that makes us forgive all that.”

Fennell knew the film hinged on the casting of Cathy and Heathcliff, two iconic literary characters who have been portrayed by a multitude of actors over the years, including Laurence Olivier, Juliette Binoche and Ralph Fiennes. It’s been broadly debated whether the novel actually is a love story between the snobbish Cathy and the glowering Heathcliff. For some, it’s a tale of toxic fixation, for others a revenge plot or a tragedy. But Fennell’s version is undeniably a big-screen romance.

“We were looking for outsized charisma and outsized talent, people like Burton and Taylor,” director Emerald Fennell says. “A combination of actors who are explosively brilliant. And it’s these two.”

(Shayan Asgharnia / For The Times)

“We were looking for outsized charisma and outsized talent, people like Burton and Taylor,” Fennell says of the classic onscreen pairing of Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor, famously tumultuous. “A combination of actors who are explosively brilliant. And it’s these two.”

“That’s the coolest thing to say,” Elordi says, covering his face with his hands. “This after years of hearing nothing,” he quips. (Fennell says she is sparing with praise.)

“Wuthering Heights” reunites several of Fennell’s repeat collaborators. Actor Alison Oliver, who appeared in “Saltburn,” plays Isabella Linton, Edgar’s ward who becomes a problematic fixation for Heathcliff, and the filmmaker reteamed with cinematographer Linus Sandgren, production designer Suzie Davies and editor Victoria Boydell. Fennell also brought in new faces, including Hong Chau as Nelly Dean, Cathy’s companion, and Shazad Latif as wealthy businessman Edgar Linton. She and Robbie aimed to create a creatively safe set.

“It’s very exposing, especially for the actors,” Fennell says of making an audacious film like this. “You need to be able to forget that and feel that you have the ability to make mistakes and try something different.”

Fennell’s direction was often unexpected.

“I remember she prepped us for the long table scene and said, ‘It needs to come to life,’” Elordi says. “Heathcliff was brooding but she said, ‘What if he wasn’t brooding?’ All of a sudden there was this electricity at the table. As an actor, that pushes me out of my comfort zone. And every time it works.”

“What I like about working with Emerald is: I like going too far,” Robbie agrees. “My instinct is to go really hard and then have someone tell me to pull it back. She rarely tells me to pull it back. She wants the maximalist version and I relish that. She would say, ‘Now you’re in a sensible period film.’ And then she’d say ‘Now do it like you’re Ursula the sea witch.’”

That was the take that made the final cut. “Part of it is there,” Fennell confirms. “Usually I use only a little moment of something but that’s the crucial one. Because we’re all so crazy in life, aren’t we?”

“And Cathy so is Ursula the sea witch,” Robbie says.

“She’s such a little sea witch,” Fennell agrees.

Fennell’s reimagining of “Wuthering Heights” amps up the existing emotions in the novel. She abridges its plot, removing the second-generation narrative that bookends Brontë’s writing. The torment of Cathy’s abusive brother shifts to the hands of her father, played by Martin Clunes.

Meanwhile, the longing between Cathy and Heathcliff, who can’t be together due to his lowly station and her spiteful decision to marry the wealthy Linton, accelerates dramatically into fervid sex scenes. The doomed couple erotically embrace on the Yorkshire Moors, in the back of a carriage and even inside her bedroom at Thrushcross Grange — all moments that are not part of the book.

Margot Robbie in the movie “Wuthering Heights.”

(Warner Bros. Pictures)

“They’re part of the book of my head,” Fennell says, adamantly. “I think they’re part of the book of all of our heads. With all the love and respect and adoration I have for the book, I also wanted to make my own version that I needed to see.”

“It is totally that wish fulfillment,” Robbie says. “And if you can’t have the wish fulfillment in movies, where are you going to get it?”

Fennell imbued the film with tactile visuals that evoke the sexual tension between Cathy and Heathcliff. There are close-ups of hands kneading dough, a snail sliming its way up a window and Cathy prodding a jellied fish with her finger. The director tested numerous fish before selecting the one that is seen onscreen.

“Why I love working with these guys so much is we’re all detail perverts,” Fennell says. “I am obsessed with every single thing. That fish that Margot fingered — I fingered about 50 different fish before then. Tiny fish, big fish, fake fish, jelly that was wet, jelly that was soft, jelly that was firm.”

“You think she’s joking but she’s not,” Robbie says.

“My finger smelled so bad the whole time that we were making this movie,” Fennell adds.

Ultimately, though, it was the best possible fish. “We did the takes with a couple of fish, but we all knew the right one when it happened,” Robbie says of the scene, which mirrors the sexual disappointment in Cathy’s marriage. “We all felt it in the same moment. Everyone went, ‘That’s it.’”

Jacob Elordi and Margot Robbie in the movie “Wuthering Heights.”

(Warner Bros. Pictures)

The film’s aesthetic is bold and brash, featuring brilliantly hued red floors and walls designed to look like Cathy’s freckled skin. It lands somewhere between Disney fairy tale, ’80s romance paperback art and old Hollywood glamour. Atmospheric mist pours across every scene. The estate of Wuthering Heights is foreboding and dark, with rocks splintering through the walls, while Linton’s Thrushcross Grange bears a Victorian aesthetic, containing the outside world. “It’s nature coming in and nature being kept out,” Fennell says. “And it’s about what that means emotionally and metaphorically for the story and for these characters.”

There is purposefully no adherence to historical accuracy, particularly in the costumes. Designed by Jacqueline Durran, the wardrobe was elaborately wild to underscore emotional truths rather than period relevancy.

“You couldn’t not scream,” Robbie says about trying on each piece. “And then Emerald would come up with a platter of jewels and start decorating me like a Christmas tree.”

“There was so much screaming every day,” Fennell says. “I always want people to have permission to go too far, to do something that’s in bad taste, that’s not subtle. I’m really interested in pushing until that squeaking point where you’re like, ‘OK, that’s too far.’ It takes a lot of bravery to do that.”

Even Elordi joined in the excitement. “I was screaming at all the dresses,” he says. “Margot and Alison’s dressing rooms flanked me so I’d often get caught in the hallway.”

Although the world of the movie is heightened and beautifully garish, the romance is more grounded. You can feel how desperate Cathy and Heathcliff are for each other in their own twisted way, and despite their horrible machinations you want them to be together. The film ends differently from the novel, but it shares with it a sad inevitability.

Fennell inherently understood what makes these characters so desirable.

“I was led by my own feelings,” she says. “On set, we were all trying to find that thing that made us get goosebumps. One of the earliest scenes we shot was where Heathcliff breaks the chair to build Cathy a fire.”

To help a shivering Cathy, Heathcliff rises from his wooden seat, smashes it on the floor and tosses the pieces into the fireplace. It’s a moment of devotion from Heathcliff, but triggers a lustful response in Cathy.

“I looked around and all of these professionals, women and men, were agape. Everyone felt the same way as Cathy. That’s what I was looking for every day.”

“He actually broke the chair,” Robbie says. “Cathy’s reaction is my genuine reaction.”

Elordi understood the challenge of embodying such an iconic character, who has existed both on the page and on the screen for generations. He also didn’t want to let Fennell down.

“I knew how personal the story was to Emerald and I knew the screenplay that she had written was extremely good, but I was like ‘What makes you think I can do this?’” Elordi remembers. “I had a lot of nerves but I jumped into it. This is a director you’re really able to give everything to. The images that come from her head are so unique and singular. The first time I watched ‘Saltburn’ with her, I sat back and I realized I was in the presence of something truly great and original. To be able to investigate with her two times is a gift.”

Says Robbie, “My hope is always: There’s got to be one person that watches this movie and thinks ‘That’s my favorite of all time.’ I want to make a movie that is someone’s favorite movie of all time and I’ll know how much that means to them. That it might save them in whatever ways movies can save you.”

Fennell’s “Wuthering Heights” shudders with feeling. And however audiences perceive it, its maker has done exactly what she intended.

Feb. 11 (UPI) — Authorities in Arizona have detained a person in the investigation of missing Nancy Guthrie, mother of Today show host Savannah Guthrie.

The unidentified person was detained by deputies of the Pima County Sheriff’s Department on Tuesday, the department said.

“The subject is currently being questioned in connection to the Nancy Guthrie investigation,” the sheriff’s department said in a statement.

No other information was made immediately public, and the sheriff’s department later added that “no press conference would be scheduled at this time.”

DoorDash, the on-demand delivery platform, said it was “urgently investigating” to see if the detained individual was one of its drivers.

“We have reached out to law enforcement and are ready to support their critical investigation in any way we can,” the technology company said in a social media statement early Wednesday.

“Like tens of millions around the world, our hearts are with the Guthrie family during this heart-wrenching time.”

The development comes as the search for the 84-year-old woman enters its 11th day on Wednesday.

Authorities believe she was kidnapped from her Tucson, Ariz., home on the night of Jan. 31. She was last seen at about 9:45 p.m. MST that night and was reported missing the following day after she failed to arrive at a friend’s house to watch a church livestream. It was previously reported that she was to attend church in person.

Before the unidentified individual was detained on Tuesday, the FBI released images taken from doorbell footage at Guthrie’s front door the morning she disappeared that show a person tampering with the camera.

A $50,000 reward is being offered by the FBI for information leading to Guthrie’s recovery.

The federal law enforcement agency said there has been no contact between Guthrie’s family and the suspected kidnappers, despite a 5 p.m. Monday ransom deadline for them to pay $6 million in Bitcoin having elapsed.

The ransom was reportedly demanded in messages sent to several news outlets and has yet to be authenticated by law enforcement.

David Miller’s batting heroics in the second super over got South Africa over the line against Afghanistan in Ahmedabad.

South Africa edged Afghanistan in a second super over following a dramatic Group D game on Wednesday that was tied after regulation at cricket’s T20 World Cup.

Fazalhaq Farooqi’s runout ended Afghanistan’s chance to win it in regulation with a ball to spare, leaving both teams tied on 187.

Afghanistan posted 17 in the first super over, and Farooqi was in position to win it again, restricting South Africa to 11 runs with one ball remaining, until Tristan Stubbs plundered a six to level the scores again.

South Africa batted first in the second tiebreaker, posting 23 with David Miller and Stubbs combining for three sixes.

Keshav Maharaj gave South Africa control with a wicket and two dot balls to start the second super over, leaving Afghanistan needing 24 from four balls – or four sixes.

Enter Rahmanullah Gurbaz. With nothing to lose, the big-hitting opener – who earlier blazed 84 from 42 as Afghanistan chased South Africa’s target of 187-6 – hit three consecutive sixes to get the required runs down to six off one delivery.

A wide from Maharaj lowered the target to 5 from one delivery and raised the prospect of yet another tiebreaker, but the South Africa spinner rebounded by having Gurbaz caught at backward point on the next delivery. It was game over.

Lungi Ngidi, who took 3-26 during the match and then bowled the first of the super overs, was voted player of the match.

“I’ve lost so much weight today. I’ve never been that stressed in my life in a cricket game,” he said. “Being able to win two super overs with our hitters hitting like that … very happy.”

South Africa earlier beat Canada in their opening match. Afghanistan have lost both their group matches after an opening loss to New Zealand and are unlikely to progress to the Super Eights from a group containing three highly-ranked teams. Only the top two teams in each of the four groups will advance.

BROOKLYN Beckham has shown that he still has his tattoo tributes to his brothers despite covering up his inking to his mum and dad.

The 26-year-old is yet to remove his inking to his brothers despite them losing touch amid the bitter family feud.

In new snaps, Brooklyn can still be seen sporting his famous “Brotherhood” inking on his leg which he got in honour of both Cruz and Romeo.

When he was pictured out and about in LA with wife Nicola, the tattoo was on full display – proving he is yet to make any permanent alteration to the inking.

It could spell a slight sense of hope of a potential reconciliation between the brothers despite Brooklyn claiming he did not want to reunite with his family members.

One telling sign is that Brooklyn has already opted to cover up the tributes to David and Victoria in his clearest sign yet that he is not letting the feud go.

THE BANISHER

Inside Brooklyn’s Traitors-style cull of inner circle as pal left ‘blindsided’

TATT’S YOUR LOT!

Brooklyn beams leaving party as his tattoo tributes to siblings have gone

Earlier this month, we told how he had hidden the word “Dad” on his anchor tattoo with three nondescript shapes.

A source said at the time: “Brooklyn’s had laser treatment on the writing.

“He wanted it gone.”

Brooklyn has said he has no wish to reconcile with them, accusing them of leaking negative stories about him and Nicola, 31.

The source added: “There is so much hurt and pain on his side, it would not be genuine to keep such a tribute on his body.”

Brooklyn, nicknamed Buster by 50-year-old David has kept the words “Love you Bust” on his arm — although they have faded.

He has also had a tattoo on his chest dedicated to mum Victoria covered up.

tattoos appear to be of huge significance within the Beckham clan with Romeo also opting to get a poignant inking over the weekend.

Sending a defiant message, he opted to have the word “family” tattooed onto his neck despite the blistering feud.

He already has a tattoo of a cross with angel wings on the back of his neck in honour of his dad’s famous body art in the same place.

But now penned above the cross in cursive lettering is one distinct word: ‘family’.

His inking comes days after it was first revealed that Brooklyn had covered up his own tribute to his parents.

The unification ministry on Wednesday rejected media criticism that it maintains a “submissive” stance toward North Korea after Unification Minister Chung Dong-young made back-to-back remarks expressing regrets over actions that strained ties with the regime.

“Some are portraying the government’s peace efforts as a submissive stance toward the North … but the government is seeking to create conditions for inter-Korean trust in pursuit of peaceful coexistence,” the ministry said in a press release.

The media criticism came after Chung expressed regret the previous day over the alleged privately led drone dispatch to North Korea in recent months and Seoul’s 2016 shutdown of the Kaesong Industrial Complex, a symbol of inter-Korean cooperation.

“We need the courage to acknowledge the wrongs we have committed, and in that perspective, the drone dispatch was a clear wrongdoing,” the ministry said, adding that such past missteps must be overcome.

The Lee Jae Myung administration has repeatedly extended overtures for dialogue to Pyongyang since taking office last June, although Pyongyang has remained unresponsive.

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’s President Masoud Pezeshkian spoke out against intervention by ‘alien Westerners’ during a rally to mark the anniversary of the Islamic revolution. Celebrations have been taking place after weeks of US threats of military action.

“Frankenstein” star Jacob Elordi, at 6 feet 5 easy to spot from across the ballroom, leaned down to hug Teyana Taylor, a supporting actress Oscar nominee for “One Battle After Another.” Nearby, her co-star Leonardo DiCaprio caught up with Steven Spielberg, who directed him 24 years ago in “Catch Me If You Can,” while “Sentimental Value” filmmaker Joachim Trier huddled with “One Battle’s” Paul Thomas Anderson, a fellow directing nominee. In the middle of it all, songwriter Diane Warren paused to take a selfie, still evidently enjoying the giddy thrill of being in a room full of fellow hopefuls even after 17 times.

In all, 203 of this year’s 230 Academy Award nominees gathered Tuesday at the Beverly Hilton Hotel for the annual nominees luncheon, a brief moment of campaign-free conviviality amid the churn of awards season. As flashbulbs followed the most famous faces, major stars like Timothée Chalamet, Emma Stone and Kate Hudson rubbed elbows and shared champagne toasts with lesser-known nominees from categories like animation, sound and live-action short before lining up for the annual class photo.

With the Oscars just weeks away on March 15, the long-running gathering — a ritual dating to 1982 and returning this year after being canceled in 2025 because of the Los Angeles County wildfires — offered the nominees a welcome stretch of easygoing mingling, largely free of competition. The reprieve is short-lived: Voting begins on Feb. 26, when the brutal math of awards season will reassert itself, meaning roughly 80% of them will head home on Oscar night empty-handed.

Kate Hudson, a lead actress nominee for “Song Sung Blue,” at the 2026 Oscar nominees luncheon at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.

(Kayla Bartkowski / Los Angeles Times)

For first-time contenders, the luncheon carried a particular rush. Christalyn Hampton, a co-director of the documentary short “The Devil Is Busy,” which follows a day at an abortion clinic in Atlanta, said she was excited to meet “Sinners” director Ryan Coogler, whose period vampire thriller leads the field with a record 16 nominations.

“We’re two African American directors nominated this year — I think that’s pretty historic,” said Hampton, a former professional dancer whose first directing credit has landed her an Oscar nod. “Flying back and forth from Atlanta has been a bit exhausting, but to be in this moment with all these incredible filmmakers — you can’t complain.”

Jacob Elordi, left, and “Sirāt” film director Oliver Laxe — two extremely tall nominees — at the 2026 Oscar nominees luncheon at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.

(Kayla Bartkowski / Los Angeles Times)

Still, even inside the awards-season bubble, the turmoil surrounding the movie business, the country and the world beyond it was hard to ignore. As attendees tucked into their chicken, more than a few discussions drifted to whether Netflix or Paramount would prevail in their attempts to acquire Warner Bros. and what either scenario might portend for the future of movies.

In her remarks, academy President Lynette Howell Taylor acknowledged the questions many nominees have been asking themselves amid industry contraction, political volatility and global conflict. “The art you create is vital,” Howell Taylor told the crowd. “I know many of us ask ourselves, ‘Should we be doing something else? Should we be doing something differently? Should we be doing more?’ The answer to that is personal. But what I do know is this: What you are doing is not easy and it is so needed.”

Teyana Taylor, nominated for supporting actress for “One Battle After Another,” at the 2026 Oscar nominees luncheon at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.

(Kayla Bartkowski / Los Angeles Times)

She praised the resilience of filmmakers who have endured strikes, dangerous political environments and even war zones. “To not make your films, to not tell your stories, is to give in,” she said. “And there is not one of you in this room who has been willing to do that.”

That tension was felt especially sharply by Sara Khaki, co-director (with Mohammadreza Eyni) of the documentary feature nominee “Cutting Through Rocks,” which follows the first Iranian woman elected as a councilwoman in a rural village. The weeks since the nomination, Khaki said, have been both “terrible and wonderful,” as her home country has been rocked by protests against the Iranian government.

Elle Fanning, nominated for “Sentimental Value,” at the 2026 Oscar nominees luncheon at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.

(Kayla Bartkowski / Los Angeles Times)

“What’s terrible is what we’re experiencing back home — the internet shut down, worrying about our loved ones,” she said. “What’s wonderful is what’s happening here. So it’s a mix of emotions, really.”

Another Iranian nominee was absent altogether. Mehdi Mahmoudian, nominated as a co-writer of director Jafar Panahi’s drama “It Was Just an Accident,” was arrested this month in Iran after signing a statement condemning the government’s deadly crackdown on protesters.

Actor Wagner Moura, nominated for “The Secret Agent,” and former AMPAS President Janet Yang at the 2026 Oscar nominees luncheon at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.

(Kayla Bartkowski / Los Angeles Times)

At each table, nominees were asked to fill out a card with a simple question: “What movie made you want to be part of this world?” After pondering for a moment, “Nomadland” Oscar winner Chloé Zhao, nominated in the directing category for the second time for the wrenching drama “Hamnet,” wrote down Hirokazu Kore-eda’s 1998 film, “After Life,” a quietly humane meditation on memory and meaning that felt closely aligned with her own filmmaking sensibility. The answers, Howell Taylor explained, would be used for “a special moment” during the Oscar telecast.

As in years past, the luncheon also came with a bit of gentle coaching about what to do — and not to do — should one’s name be called on Oscar night, including moving briskly to the stage, keeping remarks to no more than 45 seconds and not leaning into the microphone.

Directors Steven Spielberg, left, and Paul Thomas Anderson at the 2026 Oscar nominees luncheon at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.

(Kayla Bartkowski / Los Angeles Times)

Above all, Howell Taylor urged nominees to resist the temptation to thank everyone they’ve ever worked with. “You’ll forget someone and you’ll feel terrible,” she said.

Better, she suggested, to focus on what the moment actually means. “You are the show,” Howell Taylor reminded them. “It’s your speeches. This is an entertainment show millions of people will be watching, so let’s make the most of it.”

Senior Iranian official Ali Larijani has said Tehran is ready to engage in ‘realistic’ nuclear talks with the United States. Speaking in Muscat during a visit to mediator nation Oman, he said issues must be resolved through dialogue and not the ‘language of force’.

JJ Slater appeared to take a swipe at his ex Katie Price and her new relationship with Lee Andrews with a very telling holiday snap.

The former MAFS star, 33, jetted to Florida after his split from Katie at the beginning of the year.

His latest Instagram post saw him basking in the sun beside a pool with the aptly titled Mark Manson bestselling book, The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F**k.

JJ has dropped a number of posts alluding to his ex including a snap of him sitting in a hot tub and writing the word “recovery”.

In his only interview about the split, JJ told us that he wished Katie the best but was purposely avoiding her fledgling relationship with Lee.

And he admitted he was blindsided by the split having spent a happy Christmas with Katie and their families.

PRICED UP

Katie Price puts deposit on Dubai home despite fears over serial liar husband

CLEAN SLATE

MAFS’ JJ Slater reveals cold & cruel way Katie Price ended 2 year relationship

He said: “Everything seemed good, to be honest, and then it was probably three or four days into the new year that the conversation kind of just happened where all of a sudden Kate said that she doesn’t love me or is not in love with me anymore.

“Obviously when someone says that to you you have no choice but to pack up and leave, and that’s exactly what I did.”

This week we revealed Katie has put down a deposit on a property in Dubai just weeks after tying the knot.

The former glamour model flew back to the emirate over the weekend to visit her “Walter Mitty” husband.

Katie, 47, said it would be a short trip for a honeymoon following their quickie wedding.

But pals fear she is planning to relocate to Dubai for good.

A source said: “Katie said she had found a property in Dubai and has put down money.

“The contract is signed and she’s forging ahead.

“She is really excited and thinks she is going to have her happy ending with Lee.

“But those close to Katie fear this could be the start of a potential scam.

“She was only supposed to be in Dubai for two days but she’s still not returned home.

“Katie says she is busy planning her new life with Lee and has splashed the cash on this property – but it’s making her closest friends and family anxious.

“They’re concerned about his motives and that is only natural given what some of his ex partners have said.”

The Sun reported last month how two of Lee’s former partners, Alana Percival and Crystal Janke, had issued stark warnings to the mum-of-five.

Katie Price’s money worries

REALITY star Katie Price has faced multiple bankruptcy hearings.

She initially avoided it in 2018 with an IVA.

But she was then declared bankrupt for the first time in November 2019 and blew her £45million fortune.

Katie was then declared bankrupt again in March 2024 for over £750,000 in unpaid tax.

In August 2024, a warrant was issued for her arrest for failing to attend a hearing.

She later had a private interview and a public exam for the second bankruptcy which was set for April 2025.

As per reports, Katie remains under strict income payment orders until 2027.

Alana, who was engaged to Lee, told Katie to “run to the hills” and branded Lee a “liar” and a “narcissist”.

Crystal echoed her sentiment and warned Katie not to give Lee money.
It comes after The Sun revealed how businessman Lee lives a Walter Mitty style existence in Dubai.

Lee was accused of using artificial intelligence to fake images of himself with tech billionaire Elon Musk and reality TV star Kim Kardashian.

He was also claimed to be speaking to multiple women at the same time, with single mum Tina Prodromou alleging Lee was sending her mucky messages in December saying what he would do to her “when we are married”.

Lee calls himself Dr Lee Andrews and says he founded Aura Sustainable Vehicles on Linkedin.

He also claims he is the founder of Blue Diamond Resorts, now Royalton Hotels and Resorts.

But in a statement to The Sun, they denied this and said: “We can confirm that Dr Wes Lee Andrews (also known as Lee Andrews) is not the founder of Blue Diamond Resorts.

“Based on our corporate records, he has not been affiliated with the company in any professional capacity.”

Andrews lists himself as a Director of Philanthropy at the Prince’s Trust — now the King’s Trust.

But they denied his involvement and said  Lee does not hold the role of Director of Philanthropy, and it has no record of him as a volunteer, or under the moniker Weslee Andrews, which he uses online.

Another claim by Lee was that he had been a Member of the Board of Advisors to the Labour Party since 2015.

A Labour insider denied his claim to The Sun and said: “We don’t have a board of advisors and he doesn’t work with us.”

Lee’s former fiancee Alana warned: “Lee doesn’t know what’s fact and what’s fiction.

“It’s worrying because I think he believes his own lies.”

For NASA astronauts, experiencing zero-gravity conditions prior to mission launch is a necessary, if absurdly fun and enviable, part of training and familiarization. The ability to provide a microgravity environment here on Earth is also important for a number of scientific research reasons, and especially for spaceflight applications. For the better part of a century, access into this environment has been provided by specialized fixed-wing aircraft that fly parabolic arcs – collectively, and evocatively, dubbed “The Vomit Comet” for the physical side effect of weightlessness they tend to induce. While a single private company has handled these zero-G flights for NASA for years, a new contract solicitation shows the agency is once again inviting competitors to bid for the work, with the possibility of providing new solutions for a decades-old requirement.

What It Feels Like to Fly in NASA’s Crazy Zero-Gravity Plane

The solicitation, posted by NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in support of the Flight Opportunities Program, seeks information from industry on a variety of capabilities to deliver reduced-gravity and microgravity environments, specifically for testing new technologies and conducting research. The document emphasizes that the method of achieving the effect of weightlessness can look different than it has in the past.

“Respondents are encouraged to submit capabilities statements with innovative approaches to delivering Parabolic Flight Services,” the solicitation states. “This may include the use of aircraft platforms not traditionally used for parabolic flight services (e.g., business jets, experimental aircraft, supersonics, autonomous systems). NASA is interested in flexible, scalable, and novel operational concepts with the potential to help NASA expand access to reduced-gravity environments and accelerate space technology readiness.”

Starting in the late 2000s, NASA has used the same commercial provider for both human zero-gravity familiarization training and technological experiments. That’s the Florida-based Zero-G corporation, which offers parabolic flights on a retrofitted Boeing 727-200 dubbed ‘G-Force One.’ On the standard 90-minute flight the company offers, the aircraft will hit an altitude of 24,000 feet before beginning a steep climb at a 45-degree angle into a parabola that peaks around 32,000 feet. During the maneuver, passengers pull 1.8 Gs, according to the company; near the crest of the arc, the low-gravity phase begins, creating roughly half a minute of weightlessness. 

G-Force One completes 15 parabola maneuvers in a single flight. 

Total Weightless! What Happened on my Zero Gravity Flight?

While Zero-G offers separate rates for research flights, individuals ages eight and up can have the full experience for $8,900 per person, or $295,000 for the full 28-seat plane, plus a dedicated photographer. This option also allows for television and movie filming opportunities; Zero-G has a staff production director to support film production.

NASA granted Zero-G a five-year Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite-Quantity contract worth $7.5 million in 2021, marking a continuing partnership between the two entities.

“From 2008 to 2015, NASA and Zero-G had a previous contract under which the company flew microgravity missions in Texas,” Space.com noted at the time. “Though, unlike this new contract, those flights were conducted under ‘public use’ government regulations rather than under FAA regulations.”

Zero-G says it remains the only FAA-approved provider of parabolic flights in the United States.

Vomit Comet history began with a Convair C-131 Samaritan, a militarized version of a twin-engine passenger aircraft originally used by the Air Force for VIP transport and medical evacuation (MEDEVAC) missions. The service began using the planes to simulate zero gravity in 1957, and NASA took over the work in 1973.

ZERO “G”

Eventually, a Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker, a type that first went into USAF service in 1957 and variants of which are still used for aerial refueling today, became the new Vomit Comet. One of the KC-135As that served in this role reportedly executed more than 58,000 parabolas and played a key role in filming for the blockbuster “Apollo 13.”

“Then-lead test director John Yaniec said KC-135A was still going strong when it was retired in 2004, but its unique role made it ‘increasingly difficult and expensive to maintain,’” Space.com reported in 2017.

Zero G in Airplane

A C-9B (DC-9) that NASA acquired subsequently took over the role for about a decade before it too was put out to pasture. Vomit Comet duties were then fully turned over to the private sector.

While Zero-G had flown more than 2,300 research parabola flights for NASA as of 2025 – and offered a taste of the final frontier to ground-based Space Force Guardians, among others – the benefits of expanding the pool of providers are self-evident. Zero-G temporarily shuttered operations in 2020 during the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic and, in 2022, had to take G-Force One out of service for a period due to unspecified equipment issues. (Air Force Academy cadets who were expecting to experience weightlessness at the conclusion of a summer program went SCUBA diving instead). With commercial 727s increasingly rare, it’s likely that maintaining G-Force One and sourcing replacement parts is becoming more costly and difficult. 

It’s not certain, though, what competitors exist for Zero-G’s offering. While the solicitation mentions autonomous systems as one possibility for research flights, it also notes that “NASA expects some (if not most) payloads to have a human-tended requirement.”

Eligible contractors must be capable of providing two or more parabolic maneuver types per flight to simulate a range of gravity conditions, including microgravity, and Lunar and Martian gravity, among others. Their platforms need to be capable of sustaining each gravity level for at least 10 seconds, though 30 seconds or better is preferred.

“In some cases, the objective may be to maximize the duration of low gravity exposure with less emphasis on accuracy and stability. This would be most likely with a non-critical payload where the objective is to give the flight participant a microgravity experience,” the solicitation notes. “In other cases, the accuracy and stability of the gravity level may be critical and duration less important.”

While Zero-G appears to have cornered the U.S. parabolic flight market for now, Europe has several different options. The French Space Agency’s Novespace research subsidiary operates parabolic flights using the Airbus A310 for researchers and private enthusiasts. In the United Kingdom, the startup Blue Abyss offers zero-G flights with a modified Boeing 757.

This is how zero-g flights actually work

Blue Abyss now appears to be positioning itself as a competitor in the space. Last year, it broke ground on an ambitious space training facility in Brook Park, Ohio, partnering with NASA on a project it says will ultimately offer parabolic flight capabilities.

Using disparate performing aircraft and even unmanned systems for tailored low-gravity missions could open new frontiers in providing these environments here on Earth. For instance, higher-performing aircraft could potentially offer longer sustained zero-G intervals, while unmanned systems could take this even further, especially for non-human payloads. Different platforms offering different services could also allow for cheaper and faster access to low-gravity within Earth’s atmosphere.

Case in point, drone-based microgravity experiments are also underway in Europe. In 2023, the British company Gravitilab used a specially adapted quadcopter to simulate weightlessness conditions for its payload in a 2,000-foot drop.

The achievement will “open the world of microgravity research to a new market,” the company announced at the time.

NASA’s market research solicitation will remain open until March 2.

Contact the editor: Tyler@twz.com

Jon Kay and Sally Nugent delivered sad news as they opened the instalment of BBC Breakfast

BBC Breakfast opened with breaking news after nine people were killed in a school shooting in Canada.

The incident took place in the small town of Tumbler Ridge in British Columbia. The police have said that the suspected shooter was found dead at a school in the town.

Opening the show on Wednesday (February 11), host Jon Kay said: “Here are our headlines today and some breaking news. Nine people have been shot dead at a school in Canada. The attacker has also died.”

Co-host Sally Nugent went on: “At least nine people have been shot dead, 25 injured at a school and at a nearby home in British Columbia in what Canadian officials have described as one of the worst mass shootings in the country’s history.”

Jon continued: “According to Canadian media, an alert said during that attack described the suspect as a female in a dress with brown hair.”

The show then moved to a North America correspondent, who explained: “A total of 10 people are dead. This happened just after lunchtime yesterday.

“The Royal Canadian Mounted Police said it received a report of an active shooter at a school in the small town of Tumbler Ridge, a tiny place, a population of about 2,400 people.

“It lies in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains.

“There was a search of a school. They found six people dead. A seventh died on the way to hospital. More than two dozen people we’re told, were injured.

“Now, the authorities say another person believed to be the attacker was also found dead at the school with what appeared to be self-inflicted injuries.

“Officials say the shooting at the school and at a nearby home where two additional bodies were found are believed to be linked. The authorities say they don’t know yet what the attacker’s connection is to the school.”

The British Columbia Premier David Eby has said: “This is a devastating and unimaginable tragedy. We can’t imagine what the community is going through, but I know it’s causing us all to hug our kids a little bit tighter tonight.”

BBC Breakfast airs on BBC One

Feb. 10 (Asia Today) — South Korea’s military-police joint investigation task force has conducted search-and-seizure operations at the National Intelligence Service and the Army Intelligence Command as part of a widening probe into allegations that drones were sent into North Korea with possible involvement by intelligence officials.

The task force said it executed warrants at 18 locations, including intelligence agencies, as well as the homes and offices of civilian suspects. Investigators are examining whether intelligence personnel contacted the alleged main perpetrator and provided cash payments related to the drone activities.

The NIS has denied any institutional involvement, saying there was no government-level direction. However, critics argue that the scale and nature of the alleged operation make it difficult to believe it occurred without awareness within the intelligence community.

According to the task force, three active-duty officers – a major and a captain from the Army Intelligence Command and a captain from a separate military unit – have been booked on suspicion of violating the Aviation Safety Act and other charges. Three civilians accused of launching drones toward North Korea from border areas have also been additionally charged under the Criminal Act with general offenses against the state.

Earlier, investigators booked three civilians, including the head of a drone manufacturing company, a company executive responsible for North Korea-related operations and a graduate student who claimed to have flown drones into the North. During the investigation, authorities identified evidence suggesting that one NIS employee and three active-duty military personnel contacted the graduate student and provided several million won in cash described as activity expenses.

The Army Intelligence Command said the civilian was recruited as a collaborator to assist intelligence-gathering activities, not to carry out drone operations. The NIS said the employee involved had never held a position allowing access to agency funds and had not used intelligence budgets.

Investigators and analysts, however, question whether a civilian could independently carry out drone infiltration activities targeting North Korea. Given the suspect’s repeated contact with intelligence officers, some observers say it is likely the incident was at least known within intelligence circles.

A source familiar with intelligence operations said it was premature to draw firm conclusions but noted that, given the nature of the alleged activity, it is difficult to rule out prior awareness or information sharing within the intelligence system. The NIS holds authority over budget oversight and operational audits of domestic intelligence bodies, raising further questions about internal controls.

The case has also reignited criticism of South Korea’s intelligence agencies as highly closed organizations, with tightly compartmentalized budgets and operations. Some analysts argue that such structures could allow activities inconsistent with the government’s stated North Korea policy to be carried out without effective civilian oversight.

“Operations of this scale are structurally difficult for a single agency to carry out alone,” another source said. “Given the command and budgetary framework, it is hard to understand how this could have proceeded without passing through the NIS.”

— 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=20260210010003810

The YFQ-42 has been selected by the USMC “for evaluation in the Marine Air-Ground Task Force Uncrewed Expeditionary Tactical Aircraft (MUX TACAIR) Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) program,” according to a release from the manufacturer of the drone, General Atomics. The aircraft is one of two Collaborative Combat Aircraft (uncrewed ‘fighters’) that the USAF has selected to enter flight testing, which is ongoing now. Under the new deal, General Atomics will use its “expertise in autonomy and uncrewed aircraft systems with a government-provided mission package, using the YFQ-42A platform as a surrogate to evaluate integration with crewed fighters.”

This sounds like a significant step for the USMC and the YFQ-42, but what does it actually mean? We reached out to General Atomics for some answers.

Before we get to that, what we know is that the YFQ-42 will have a USMC-provided ‘digital brain’ installed in it, after which it will work as a surrogate for CCAs, in general, to help the Marines explore how they actually integrate with them on a MAGTF (Marine Air Ground Task Force) level alongside crewed fighters. The CCA trials, which sound more complex than anything the USMC has disclosed before in regard to their CCA program, will help pave the way for future manned-unmanned teaming capabilities within the service.

Up until now, the Marines have primarily used the XQ-58 Valkyrie, a low-cost stealth drone built by Kratos that is quite different in its original form than the YFQ-42, for CCA autonomy testing. The USMC is moving forward with that platform, evolving it relatively dramatically into the MQ-58 in the process, which you can read about here. So, bringing in General Atomics’ CCA product for this kind of testing is certainly a new development. It’s worth noting that the YFQ-42 is only a USAF program inside the Pentagon.

YFQ-42A CCA: The Future of Airpower. Ready today.

As for the ‘mission package’ that will be installed aboard the YFQ-42, General Atomics describes it in a release as such:

“The USMC contract includes the rapid development of autonomy for the government-supplied mission kit — a cost-effective, sensor-rich, software-defined suite capable of delivering kinetic and non-kinetic effects — positioning the solution for use in expeditionary operations. This work will support evaluations of future MUX TACAIR capabilities.”

MUX TACAIR (Marine Air-Ground Task Force Uncrewed Expeditionary Tactical Aircraft) is the umbrella under which the USMC is currently pursuing CCA-type drones. The service is currently planning at least three incremental development phases. Increment 1 is the MQ-58, which the service has said in past budget documents is focused primarily on the “rapid and relevant capability delivery of a Minimum Viable Product (MVP).” A new USMC Aviation Plan released today shows the goal now is to field Increment 2 and Increment 3 capabilities in the 2030-2035 and 2035-2040 timeframes, respectively. These increments are unrelated to the ones the USAF has planned for its CCA program. However, the two services, as well as the Navy, are actively cooperating on the development of relevant capabilities, including common command and control architectures.

YFQ-42 leverages General Atomics’ previous work on an experimental drone called the XQ-67A Off-Board Sensing Station (OBSS), developed for the USAF, and the company’s Gambit family. Gambit is an ecosystem of different designs that all use the same central ‘chassis’ equipped with mission systems and the aircraft’s ‘brains,’ as well as its undercarriage. The airframes installed on top can be radically disparate in design. This, in theory, would lead to greater efficiency and adaptability across a wide range of mission sets, while keeping costs low. Gambit is paired with an open architecture digital backbone that also allows for rapid iteration and integration of new capabilities, such as software, sensors, and weapons.

Gambit Series: The Future of Air Dominance

Still, after reading the official release, we had questions. So we reached out to General Atomics, and here is what C. Mark Brinkley, the senior spokesman for the firm’s Aeronautical Systems, Inc., division, told us:

Q: What kinds of tests are intended for this mission package/MAGTF integration with the YFQ-42?

A: The Marine Corps will be looking at datalink integration and various sensor modalities, which are certainly sweet spots for General Atomics. Our three uncrewed jets are generating a lot of flight hours in these areas, and many others, so we have a strong history of performance. The YFQ-42A is a fantastic aircraft, and we’re excited for the Marine Corps to see what it can do.

Q: Who will own the YFQ-42 used for these tests?

A: This aircraft will be a General Atomics capital asset. GA-ASI is betting on our people and our products, which is how we have operated for more than three decades. So the aircraft is in full-rate production now, at our own forecast and expense, to speed the acquisition process for our customers. We are building unmanned fighters on our own investment because we believe the demand is high and the need is immediate. Our owners reinvest about 35 percent of revenue back into the company every year, including internal research and development, capital assets, facility upgrades and expansion, and more. We invested a billion dollars of our own money to bring the MQ-9B to market and now we have 14 customers worldwide. We recently broke ground on our new hangar in the desert to meet demand across all products. And we’re building a fleet of fighter jets at risk, specifically to answer these types of requests.

Q: How challenging is it for YFQ-42 (and I am assuming the Gambit family) to integrate a new ‘brain?’

A: It’s not challenging for us at all. I’ve lost count of how many different AI pilots we have integrated into our three jet types at this point. Between the work we’ve done with MQ-20 Avenger, XQ-67A OBSS and YFQ-42A CCA, we have flown at least a half dozen different AI pilots over time. Last year, during a company-funded demo, Avenger switched between the GA-ASI TacACE pilot and the Shield AI Hivemind pilot mid-flight. As new customers select a Gambit Series aircraft, we know that the autonomy software will change, and it will evolve over time. So we designed the aircraft to support that, and we’re putting in a lot of work to support that.

Q: Is YFQ-42 being evaluated by the USMC for procurement, beyond being used as a test surrogate?

A: Currently, the role is as a CCA test surrogate. However, we see potential for it to be considered for Increment 2, absolutely. It’s a great fighter.

Q: Can you give us an update on the YFQ-42 flight test program?

A: There’s not much new I can say about the Air Force program that hasn’t been said already. Our work there is ongoing, and we’re very pleased with the results so far. Specific updates should come from the Air Force, but General Atomics sees a bright future for the aircraft. GA-ASI is the most advanced, most lethal, unmanned aircraft manufacturer in the world, and our aircraft are unlike anything else in the global market. We’ve been building combat jets since 2008. We have more than 500,000 autonomous takeoffs and landings. We’ve been advancing airborne autonomy for about a decade at this point. This is what we do.

So there you have it, while these tests will be broad in scope, well above evaluating the platform being used, it certainly will give the USMC a close-up look at the YFQ-42, which is becoming increasingly similar to Kratos’ XQ-58 as that drone becomes larger, more complex, and capable of runway operations.

In the end, if the CCA concept truly pans out as promised — which remains a glaring question — it is very unlikely to be ‘owned’ by a single company and a small handful of their designs. The iterative nature of the services’ competitions for CCAs alone makes such a circumstance a farce. Services will more likely than not procure a variety of airframes, all with different attributes, from different vendors over time, and their brains, along with the software that is installed in them, could be equally as varied, if not more so.

Regardless, the YFQ-42 has just officially been selected to be put to work for the Marines, which marks a significant vote of confidence in General Atomics’ design.

Contact the author: Tyler@twz.com

HARRY STYLES appears to have chosen the fashion designer he’ll be championing on his new tour.

I’m told the Aperture singer’s love affair with Gucci is over, after his pal and the brand’s lead designer Alessandro Michele left.

He has turned to Jonathan Anderson, the creative director of Dior.

A source said: “Harry wore a £3,800 jacket from Dior at the Grammys.

“He absolutely loves Jonathan’s designs and will be wearing them on the tour.

“Before, he was all about Gucci because of Alessandro, and wore so many of his looks during his Love On Tour shows. But now it’s all about Dior.

MECKING IT WORK

How Lucy Meck sparked fury in Essex after dropping pals for Ryan Thomas

FILL US IN

All of Danniella Westbrook’s surgeries from lipo to screws instead of teeth

“Fans can expect Harry to be wearing their clobber when he kicks off his run of shows on the Together, Together tour.”

Harry and Jonathan previously teamed up for a capsule clothing line in 2024.

I’ve no doubt Harry will be pulling out all the stops.

And given the name of his new album, Kiss All The Time. Disco, Occasionally, I’m expecting sequins and flares galore.

JACK ON OFFENSIVE AT BRITS

JACK WHITEHALL will be disappointed if celebs don’t get offended by his jokes at the Brit Awards.

He is returning to host the ceremony for a sixth time and has promised to have a good laugh at celebs’ expense.

Jack said: “ I used to think more about upsetting people, or people taking issue with some of the jokes.

“Now, I’d be disappointed if they didn’t take any offence and if everyone went, ‘Oh yeah, your hosting was great. We loved all of it’.

“If that happened, I would think, ‘Oh, I failed’.”

As for his pre-show routine ahead of the ceremony at Manchester’s Co-op Live on February 28, he said: “I lock myself in a toilet, and try to hide from all of the people banging down the dressing room door trying to get me to change lines from my monologue, or tweak introductions.”

CARDI B sparked speculation that she has split from American footballer Stefon Diggs – after they unfollowed each other on Instagram.

And it could be a double heartbreak for Stefon, who Cardi had a baby with last year.

His team the New England Patriots lost the Super Bowl against Seattle Seahawks on Sunday night.

MARGOT GETS FINE WUTHER

MARGOT ROBBIE dodged the notorious wild and windy moorland weather when shooting Wuthering Heights in Yorkshire.

In fact, she found quite the opposite – and got a tan.

The Aussie actress, who appears opposite Jacob Elordi, said she was peeved that the weather was too pleasant while filming there last spring.

Margot admitted: “It was very sunny and warm, which is exactly what we didn’t need.

“We went out there for the mist and the rain and the blustery weather.

“But it was unseasonably warm – blue skies every day for two weeks straight.

“We were like, ‘We came here for misery’.

“Instead, we had a summer holiday.

“I honestly went and got a tan.

“We had to lighten my make-up because I was looking more tanned than I had for the rest of the movie.”

But she still soaked up the local culture, and told Greg James on his Radio 1 show they headed to the pub after filming each day.

Scary’s top of the spots

MEL B proves she’s still Scary at heart – by dressing head to toe in leopard print.

Alongside this photo on Instagram, she wrote: “Trying to figure out if I can fit any more leopard print in my outfit.”

Showing her support for the look, Spice Girls bandmate Emma Bunton said: “Gorgeous.”

Mel missed a Spice Girls reunion at Emma’s birthday last month, and wasn’t there for the video which Cruz Beckham shared last week of the other four members singing together.

Despite missing the previous meet-ups, I’m told Mel is keen to get back together with Emma, Mel C, Victoria Beckham and Geri Halliwell-Horner.

But with their 30th anniversary in June rapidly approaching, they had better pull their fingers out.

Maura on show in States

LOVE Island’s Maura Higgins is a sheer delight as she attends a Sports Illustrated party in the US.

Keen to impress her new fans in the States, the outspoken presenter wowed in a semi see-through dress.

Lucky Maura was flown out to California by Primark to attend the Super Bowl.

But one event she might not be in a hurry to attend is this year’s Brit Awards.

After one too many last year, she found herself locking lips with married McFly musician Danny Jones.

Best behaviour this year then Maura?

It only takes three decades, girl

ROBBIE WILLIAMS invited a Take That superfan on stage at his latest gig – after she went viral in the band’s new Netflix series.

A clip features then 14-year-old Jemma Williamson who screamed her phone number out to cameras in the hope it would be passed to Robbie, after she failed to get into a signing event by the It Only Takes A Minute band.

Three decades on, teacher Jemma got her wish to meet him when she was invited on stage in Wolverhampton on Monday.

Who said dreams don’t come true?

Israeli raids and attacks across Gaza and the occupied West Bank have continued as Trump and Netanyahu prepare to meet.

HIT girl group The Pussycat Dolls are reuniting – but without three original members.

The Sun can reveal that frontwoman Nicole Scherzinger is returning to lead the group for a world tour later this year.

She will be joined by British-based members Kimberly Wyatt and Ashley Roberts.

However, Carmit Bachar, Jessica Sutta and Melody Thornton will not be returning.

Those close to the remaining Dolls have insisted it will go ahead this time, after they cancelled their 2020 tour, and subsequently split up.

That reunion featured Carmit and Jessica, although they are not involved this time.

Read more on Pussycat Dolls

BAWL FACE

I was in the Pussycat Dolls – I was never given a chance, it was painful

GREEN GODDESS

Ashley Roberts, 44, reveals stunning figure in bikini dancing in Mauritius

They were due to play arenas across the UK and Australia in 2020, with the tour delayed to 2021 due to Covid.

However, a disagreement between Nicole and the band’s founder Robin Antin meant it was cancelled.

But The Sun has been told they are finally moving forward after reaching an out of court settlement last year.

A source said: “Nicole and the girls have been talking about getting Pussycat Dolls back together for months now.

“Covid scuppered the original plan and then disagreements behind the scenes meant it all fell apart.

“But Nicole, Ashley and Kimberly are a solid unit and they’re raring to go.

“They are due to meet up in London tonight to iron out the finer details and toast the deal for the tour, which is set to be announced in the coming weeks.

“It feels like the perfect time.”

They quietly signed to top touring agency CAA in December to help guide the massive comeback.

Then Nicole hinted at plans for 2026 in a post in December when she shared an old video of the group.

She wrote: “For the PCD fans. For the memories. For what’s to come.”

It comes 21 years after they burst onto the music scene with their hit single Don’t Cha.

They had a subsequent seven Top Ten tunes including Stickwitu, Beep, Buttons, When I Grow Up and Jai Ho, followed by another Top 40 hit with React in 2019.

In the last five years, mum-of-three Kimberly has become a presenter on Hits Radio, while Ashley has remained a stalwart on Heart Breakfast.

But former X Factor judge Nicole has cemented herself as a musical theatre star and last year won the Tony for Best Actress thanks to her turn in the Broadway show Sunset Boulevard.

Feb. 10 (Asia Today) — Jeong Cheong-rae, leader of South Korea’s Democratic Party, said Monday he has suspended merger talks with the Jo Kuk Innovation Party less than three weeks after publicly proposing the idea, citing internal unity ahead of upcoming local elections.

Jeong told reporters after a party leadership meeting that discussions will be put on hold until after the local elections.

“Until the local elections, we will stop the merger talks,” Jeong said. “Whether people supported or opposed the merger, we all share the spirit of putting the party first. We respect the will of party members. I believe harmony is more urgent than controversy over integration.”

Jeong said the party will form a preparatory committee focused on “solidarity and integration” and will revisit the merger after the local vote.

The Democratic Party’s move comes 19 days after Jeong publicly raised the possibility of merging with the Innovation Party, a smaller liberal party associated with former Justice Minister Cho Kuk.

Jeong also apologized for friction stirred by the discussions.

“Everything that happened during this process was due to my shortcomings,” he said. “I apologize to the public, our party members and members of the Jo Kuk Innovation Party.”

— Reported by Asia Today; translated by UPI

© Asia Today. Unauthorized reproduction or redistribution prohibited.

Original Korean report: https://www.asiatoday.co.kr/kn/view.php?key=20260210010003885

Israeli government moves to change rules around land registration in the West Bank, making it easier for Israeli Jews to buy property in the illegally occupied territory, are raising alarm among Palestinians, fearful that the new rules will establish defacto Israeli annexation.

The Israeli cabinet announced the decisions on Sunday. In addition to allowing Jews to buy property in the West Bank – a Palestinian territory that Israel has occupied since 1967 in defiance of international law – the Israeli government has also ordered that land registries in the West Bank be opened up to the public.

That means that it will be easier for Israelis looking to take territory in the West Bank to find out who the owner of the land is, opening them up to harassment and pressure.

The cabinet also decreed that authority over building permits for illegal Jewish settlements in Hebron, and the Ibrahimi Mosque compound, would pass to Israel from the Palestinian Hebron municipality.

Moataz Abu Sneina has seen Israel’s efforts to seize Palestinian land first hand. He is the director of the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron, a Palestinian national symbol and an important Islamic holy site due to its connection to the Prophet Ibrahim, also known as Abraham.

Abu Sneina said that the latest Israeli decisions reflect a clear intention to increase Israeli control over Hebron’s Old City, and the Ibrahimi Mosque compound.

“What is happening today is the most serious development since 1967,” Abu Sneina said. “We view it with grave concern for the Old City and the Ibrahimi Mosque, which is the symbol and beating heart of Hebron, and the shrine of the patriarchs and prophets.”

The Ibrahimi Mosque site is also revered by Jews, who refer to it as the Tomb of the Patriarchs.

An Israeli Jewish settler killed 29 Palestinians after opening fire on Muslims praying at the mosque in 1994. Shortly afterwards, Israeli authorities divided the site into Jewish and Muslim prayer areas, and far-right Israeli settlers continue to strengthen their control over areas of Hebron.

Despite only numbering a few hundred, the settlers have taken over large areas of the city centre, protected by the Israeli military.

Abu Sneina explained that Israel has repeatedly attempted to strengthen its foothold inside Hebron and the mosque, and that the latest government moves are a continuation of Israeli policy that has only increased since the October 2023 start of Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza.

“This has taken the form of increased settler incursions, restrictions on worshippers, control over entry and exit, and bans on the call to prayer – all part of a systematic policy aimed at complete control over the holy site,” Abu Sneina said.

“[Israel] continues to violate all agreements, foremost the Hebron Protocol, closing most entrances to the mosque and leaving only one fully controlled access point,” he added. “This paves the way for a new division or an even harsher reality than the temporal and spatial division imposed since the 1994 massacre.”

Taking over Hebron

Mohannad al-Jaabari, the director of the Hebron Rehabilitation Committee, a Palestinian organisation focused on the restoration of Hebron’s Old City, said that the Israeli government was already increasing its presence on the ground, in an effort to take control of the city.

He pointed to the confiscation of shops belonging to the Hebron Municipality in the Old City, the construction of dozens of illegal settlement units, and the reconfiguration of water pipes by connecting them to an Israeli water company’s network, creating what he described as “a massive apartheid system”.

Al-Jaabari warned that the ultimate goal is to establish a Jewish quarter linking settlements to the Ibrahimi Mosque by emptying Palestinian neighbourhoods of their residents.

“All Hebron institutions are preparing for a difficult phase,” he said. “We are bracing for a fierce attack on Palestinian institutions, foremost the Rehabilitation Committee.”

The Israeli government’s latest decisions open the door for what has happened in Hebron to happen elsewhere, with Israeli settlers establishing a presence in other Palestinian cities, forcing locals out, experts say.

Nabil Faraj, a Palestinian journalist and political analyst, called the Israeli government’s moves “dangerous” and added that they “have driven the final nail into the coffin of the peace process”.

He explained that Israel is reengineering the geographic landscape of the West Bank, expanding infrastructure to serve settlements, and seeking to strip the Palestinian Authority of administrative and security control.

The Hebron model

Palestinians in Bethlehem are now worried that they will get a taste of what Hebron has already experienced.

One of the Israeli cabinet’s decisions on Sunday stipulated that the Bilal bin Rabah Mosque in the city, known to Jews as Rachel’s Tomb, would be placed under Israeli administration for cleaning and maintenance, after previously being under the jurisdiction of the Bethlehem municipality. The mosque’s cemetery has also been affected.

“It will affect the living and the dead,” said Bassam Abu Srour, who lives in Bethlehem’s Aida refugee camp. “Annexing the area would prevent burials and visits to the Islamic cemetery. This is extremely serious and completely unacceptable to us.”

In Bethlehem, Hebron, and the rest of the West Bank, Palestinians feel powerless to stop what they view as a creeping annexation.

Mamdouh al-Natsheh, a shop owner in Hebron, said he now has a growing sense that what is unfolding is an attempt to impose a permanent reality.

“The city is being taken from its people step by step,” he said. “Daily restrictions are turning it into a fixed policy that suffocates every detail of life.”

He added that the deepest impact is on children and young people, growing up in a city that is “divided and constantly monitored”, stripping them of a natural sense of the future.

“I fear the day will come when we are told this area has been officially annexed, and that our presence depends on permits,” al-Natsheh said. “In Hebron, a house is not just walls – it is history and identity. Any annexation means the loss of security and stability.”