News Desk

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.

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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.”

MOLLY-MAE Hague has opened up about her second pregnancy as she revealed the “irritating” symptoms she’s experiencing.

The influencer, 26, announced that she and Tommy Fury are expecting their second child together – and she is already six months pregnant.

Molly returned to her YouTube vlogs to share an update for the first time since the big reveal, but admitted that it was the “worst kept secret”.

She said: “I don’t really know how we got here, but I’m pregnant, legitimately the worst kept secret.

“But that’s honestly my own fault because towards the end, I got really lazy trying to hide it. We weren’t even trying to hide it. We were at a spa over the weekend and I was openly saying to people that ‘I’m pregnant’, to the staff.

“I wasn’t even trying to hide it.”

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Before filming her sweet black and white pregnancy announcement clip with Tommy and daughter Bambi, Molly said she was tempted to just put out a simple statement to confirm the pregnancy news.

She continued: “We still in this current moment, we don’t have anything filmed, I felt like posting a black statement on my Instagram saying ‘Yes, I am pregnant’, we don’t even have anything to post.

“But I am pregnant, but plot twist I’m five and a half months.

“I haven’t really been documenting anything, it’s been so different this time, it’s just feels really chilled and I feel really at peace weirdly.

“I feel very content, I don’t feel like I’m trying to capture stuff for content.

“I just feel like this is happening and it’s really special and nice.”

Molly-Mae then reveled her pregnancy symptoms – including irritated skin, snoring and and shortness of breathe.

She said: “One of my symptoms is my skin, my eczema, my skin is so so irritated and flared.

“It was the same in my last pregnancy, I’m just struggling with little things to hide it.

“I’m constantly out of breathe as you guys have noticed in my videos. I’ve got quite a full on bump which you guys have seen in my last video in all the reflections.

“What I will say, I absolutely love you sticking up for me saying ‘stop talking about her body’, luckily for me I don’t get affected by stuff like that.

“I am pregnant and yeah my body is changing and there are differences visibly emotionally, mentally, physically.

“There are so many changes in me, you guys know me so well and you know that something has not been clicking.”

Molly continued: “It sounds like I’ve got a rotten cold and one of my symptoms has been congestion.

“I woke up this morning to an empty bed and Tommy wasn’t there and I came into the spare room and said I was snoring so loudly.”

Molly added: “I’m so lucky to say that I’ve had a really amazing pregnancy, I’m so beyond blessed that I’ve had a very smooth experience.

“I don’t get sick, I’ve not had symptoms that are debilitating, I can kind of pretty much crack on as usual, which is amazing for me because I’m not one of those women, you amazing women out there that have horrendous morning sickness and still get up and get your things done.

“Best believe if I felt like that, I’d be done for, the whole world would hear about it.”

BABY REVEAL

Molly-Mae confirmed last week that she’s actually six months pregnant already.

Taking to Instagram on Friday, she shared a snap from her L’Oreal catwalk in late September and wrote above it: “Little baby with me in this moment…and I didn’t even know.”

She also reshared her pregnancy announcement video and wrote below it: Nearly 6 months on and it still hasn’t sunk in.”

Molly-Mae then shared a video from last weekend showing her growing bump in a black top and jogger bottoms as partner Tommy bent down to kiss her stomach.

The Influencer, who also has three-year-old daughter Bambi with Tommy, had filmed her pregnancy reveal video on January 23, and captioned it: “Soon to be four.”

However, some fans had guessed she was pregnant the week before, when they spotted her reflection in the window of one of her videos.

Molly dropped various clues about her pregnancy before announcing the news, which is said to have strengthened her relationship with Tommy after they got back together early last year.

A source told The Sun: “Finding out Molly is pregnant has really helped bring them close together again.

“Tommy is determined to do things right this time he has cancelled all of his summer trips with his friends, as he wants to stand by Molly every step of the way.

“Their new home is in a better place for both of them and has more than enough space for two children.”

The couple quietly broke the news to family and close pals months ago, but shared the surprise video with their fans last week.

Molly posted a sweet black and white clip on Instagram filmed on January 23, captioning it: “Soon to be four.”

It included their three-year-old daughter Bambi together, who they welcomed in 2023, excitedly wearing a “big sister” jumper.

Molly-Mae spoke candidly about hopes to expand her family with boxer Tommy during the first instalment of her Amazon Prime documentary, Molly-Mae: Behind It All, which aired to viewers last year.

Opening up about the future, she revealed: “All I want in this life is to be with him, and to have another baby with him, and to grow old as a family. And to live in a nice house together and have a nice life together. That’s all I want.”

Feb. 10 (UPI) — A grand jury rejected the Justice Department’s effort to indict congressional Democrats for their recent online video telling military members they don’t have to obey illegal orders.

The grand jury in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on Tuesday evening declined to indict the lawmakers, all of whom either are veterans or served in the national intelligence community, The New York Times reported.

The lawmakers are Sens. Mark Kelly of Arizona and Elissa Slotkin of Michigan, along with Reps. Jason Crow of Colorado, Maggie Goodlander of New Hampshire, and Chrissy Houlahan and Chris Deluzio of Pennsylvania.

Slotkin, a former CIA analyst, organized the video, which did not cite any specific orders or provide context. The video was published online after the Trump administration began carrying out deadly aerial strikes on alleged drug-running vessels in the Caribbean Sea in September.

It’s unclear if all or only some of the lawmakers were subject to the grand jury proceedings, according to NBC News.

The news outlet said the effort by U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro is an example of the Justice Department targeting the president’s political enemies.

Slotkin described the grand jury that declined to indict her and her Democratic colleagues as “anonymous American citizens who upheld the rule of law.”

“Today wasn’t just an embarrassing day for the Administration. It was another sad day for our country,” she said in a social media statement Tuesday night.

“Because whether or not Pirro succeeded is not the point. It’s that President [Donald] Trump continues to weaponize our justice system against his perceived enemies. It’s the kind of thing you see in a foreign country, not the United States we know and love.”

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said the effort to indict them was “a despicable, vindictive abuse of power” targeting lawmakers and veterans “because the administration didn’t like the content of their speech.”

In the video published online in mid-November, the six lawmakers all said military members can refuse to carry out illegal orders, and some said that “threats to our Constitution aren’t just coming from abroad, but right here at home.”

Trump called the video “seditious behavior” and suggested George Washington would have had all six hanged for treason.

The six lawmakers later said the FBI had contacted the respective House and Senate sergeants-at-arms to arrange interviews as part of a criminal investigation.

The four House members issued a joint statement in which they accused Trump of using the FBI to “intimidate and harass members of Congress.”

They said that “no amount of intimidation or harassment will ever stop us from doing our jobs and honoring our Constitution.”

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth also tried to censure Kelly and seek to demote, the senator said in a lawsuit.

Caracas, February 10, 2026 (venezuelanalysis.com) – National Assembly President Jorge Rodríguez said Venezuela has enjoyed a “very good understanding and relationship” with the Trump White House in the period since the January 3 US attacks.

In an interview with Newsmax’s Rob Schmitt aired on Monday, Rodríguez stated that Caracas and Washington have a “golden opportunity” to build a “win-win” relationship.

“Right now, we have opportunities for mutual respect, for cooperation, to build a win-win situation for both countries, for both peoples,” he said.

Rodríguez confirmed regular contact with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in dialogue “based on mutual respect.” He added that US Secretary of Energy Chris Wright is expected in Venezuela in the coming days.

The two governments have fast-tracked a diplomatic rapprochement in recent weeks, with US Chargé d’Affaires Laura Dogu arriving in Caracas and meeting Venezuelan leaders on February 2.

Rodríguez, the older brother of Acting President Delcy Rodríguez, also defended recent legislation  pushed through by the executive and parliament, including an overhaul of Venezuela’s Hydrocarbon Law. On January 29, the National Assembly approved a pro-business reform that lowers taxes and royalties for private corporations while granting them expanded control over operations and sales.

“What we are doing is adapting laws so that it can promote investment especially from the USA,” Rodríguez told Schmitt. “We have an oil industry that needs developing, and if we [the US and Venezuela] can stay on the path of mutual respect and cooperation, we have a bright future ahead of us.”

The parliamentary leader emphasized that the Venezuelan government’s priority is to turn oil revenues into social welfare and promote education and healthcare in a “free market economy.”

The Trump administration’s January 3 military strikes also saw special operations forces kidnap Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores. Rodríguez made one mention of Maduro and Flores in the interview, responding when asked by Schmitt that both should be released “immediately” in accordance with international law.

The Venezuelan president and first lady pleaded not guilty to charges including drug trafficking conspiracy in their January 5 arraignment. The next hearing is scheduled for March 26. 

Despite reiterated accusations of “narcoterrorism,” US officials have never provided evidence tying Maduro and high-ranking Venezuelan officials to drug trafficking activities, while specialized agency reports have found the South American nation to play a marginal role in the global narcotics trade.

In his interview with the pro-Trump news channel, National Assembly President Rodríguez additionally ruled out Venezuela holding elections in the near future.

“There will not be an election in this immediate period of time where the stabilization of the country has to be achieved,” he explained. “In Venezuela we have a very clear calendar for elections established in the Constitution.”

Maduro had begun his third six-year term in January 2025, while a new legislature took office on January 5, 2026, for a five-year period. Regional and municipal officials likewise started new four-year terms in the second half of 2025.

Rodríguez mentioned US Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s statements that, according to the Trump administration, the priority is stability in Venezuela. Rubio has claimed that the White House has a three-phase plan of “stabilization, economic recovery and reconciliation, and transition.”

A SAUCY Valentine’s Day strip model Abbey Clancy had planned for her hubby Peter Crouch was dashed when he invited a chef to their home to cook for them.

The 40-year-old dressed in skimpy underwear and covered up with a mac, intending to make a big reveal.

But she was forced to swelter under the coat when the former Liverpool, Spurs and England striker arrived with the chef.

Abbey said: “That was the worst surprise ever because I got a gorgeous outfit from Agent Provocateur and just put it on with a coat on top.

“And Pete was like ‘Surprise! We’ve got a chef’.

“So I had to just wear my coat for the whole dinner — at home.

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“I had to wear my coat for the whole meal in my own house.

“And I was literally sweating because I was so worried.”

Asked if she was in a Burberry Mac, Abbey said: “Yeah, I was.

“That was highly embarrassing.

“And he kept asking ‘Aren’t you hot in that coat?’”

Peter, 45, eventually cottoned on to why Abbey would not remove her coat but by then was helpless to ask the chef to leave because it would have appeared rude.

He said: “He wouldn’t go away as well.

“You know when they come over and they want to explain the meal.

“It’s like ‘p*** off mate, will you’.”

Mum-of-four Abbey said Valentine’s nights indoors can be romantic too and couples should not feel pressure to always have a great meal out on February 14.

She added on their Therapy Crouch podcast: “That is nice, to stay in.”

It was not the first time Abbey had tried to woo Peter using the same tactic — although last time she was a bit more successful.

In November 2003 she told The Sun how she lured Peter home from training by picking him up in a car while wearing only a Burberry mac.

He said her teasing tactic “worked very well” — but that he is also very easily pleased.

Peter said: “It’s easy to surprise me.

“If I came home and you had no clothes on, it’d be the best surprise ever.

“It’s so simple and I’ll be so happy.

“I’m just being honest.”

Feb. 10 (UPI) — Ten people are dead, including the suspect gunman, and dozens are injured following a shooting at a high school and a residence in rural British Columbia on Tuesday, Canadian authorities said.

Six people were found dead at the high school in Tumbler Ridge, a town of about 2,400 people located in northeastern British Columbia near the Alberta border, while a seventh victim died while being transported to a hospital, Ken Floyd, chief superintendent of the RCMP’s North District, said in a press conference.

Authorities said the suspected shooter was among those found dead at the scene. Floyd said the unidentified gunman died from a suspected self-inflicted wound.

Two victims who discovered wounded at the school were airlifted to hospitals with serious or life-threatening injuries, Floyd said. Another roughly 25 others were being treated for non-life threatening injuries.

Amid the investigation, officers located a second crime scene, a residence where two additional bodies were found, he said, adding that additional searches were ongoing to locate additional potential victims.

This is a breaking story.

The administration of United States President Donald Trump has sanctioned two leaders of Pacific island nations for alleged corruption, accusing them both of creating openings for China to increase its influence in the region.

On Tuesday, the US Department of State issued a notice alleging that the president of Palau’s Senate, Hokkons Baules, and a former mayor in the Marshall Islands, Anderson Jibas, had engaged in “significant corruption”.

Neither they nor their families will henceforth be allowed to enter the US, according to the statement.

“The Trump Administration will not allow foreign public officials to steal from U.S. taxpayers or threaten U.S. interests,” State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott wrote on social media.

The State Department’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement (INL) also posted its support for the sanctions.

“Corruption that hurts U.S. interests will be met with significant consequences,” it said.

In both cases, the US credited the politicians’ actions with allowing the expansion of Chinese interests in the Pacific region.

The State Department alleged that Baules took bribes in exchange for supporting Chinese interests in Palau, an island in Micronesia that is the 16th smallest country in the world.

“His actions constituted significant corruption and adversely affected U.S. interests in Palau,” the US said in its statement.

Jibas, meanwhile, stands accused of “orchestrating and financially benefitting from” schemes to misuse the Bikini Resettlement Trust, a US-backed fund designed to compensate those negatively affected by nuclear bomb testing on the Bikini Atoll, part of the Marshall Islands.

The trust was worth nearly $59m in 2017, when the first Trump administration decided to hand control of the main resettlement fund to local authorities and relinquish its authority to audit.

Since then, the fund has emptied precipitously. As of February 2023, the trust had plummeted to a mere $100,000, and payments to Bikini Atoll survivors and descendants have ceased.

Critics have blamed Jibas, who was elected in 2016 to lead the Kili, Bikini and Ejit islands as mayor. He campaigned on having more local autonomy over the fund.

But reports in The Wall Street Journal and other news outlets accused him of misappropriating the funds for purchases including vacations, travel and a new pick-up truck.

In Tuesday’s announcement, the State Department connected Jibas’s alleged abuse to the spread of Chinese power in the Pacific and an increase in immigration to the US, two key issues in Trump’s platform.

“The theft, misuse, and abuse of the U.S.-provided money for the fund wasted U.S. taxpayer money and contributed to a loss of jobs, food insecurity, migration to the United States,” the department wrote.

“The lack of accountability for Jibas’ acts of corruption has eroded public trust in the government of the Marshall Islands, creating an opportunity for malign foreign influence from China and others.”

Both Palau and the Marshall Islands were US territories, occupied during World War II and granted independence in the late 20th century.

They both continue to be part of a Compact of Free Association with the US, which allows the North American superpower to continue military operations in the area and control the region’s defence.

They are also part of a dwindling list of countries that maintain diplomatic relations with Taiwan’s government, much to the ire of the People’s Republic of China.

Only about a dozen remain, and they are largely concentrated in Central America, the Caribbean or the Pacific islands.

But China has sought to pressure those smaller countries into rupturing their ties with Taiwan and recognising its government in Beijing instead.

The Asian superpower – often seen as a rival to the US – has also attempted to expand its sphere of influence to the southern Pacific, by building trade relations and countering US military authority in the area.

Baules, for example, is among the local politicians who have advocated for recognising Beijing’s government over Taipei’s, and he is a vocal proponent for increased ties with China.

Those shifting views have placed island nations like Palau and the Marshall Islands in the midst of a geopolitical tug-of-war, as the US struggles with China to maintain dominance in the region.

In other parts of the world, the US has also used sanctions to dissuade local officials from seeking closer ties with China.

Panamanian President Jose Raul Mulino, for instance, has accused the US embassy in his country of threatening to strip local officials of their visas, as the US and China jockey for influence over the Panama Canal.

Similar reports have emerged in neighbouring Costa Rica, where officials like lawmaker Vanessa Castro and former President Oscar Arias have accused the US of revoking their visas over ties to China.

But there have been other points of tension between the Pacific Islands and the US in recent years.

The Trump administration has withdrawn from accords designed to limit climate change and quashed international efforts to reduce emissions, straining ties with the islands, which are vulnerable to rising sea levels.

Still, the US State Department framed the sanctions on Tuesday as an effort to ensure local accountability and defend US interests in the region.

“The United States will continue to promote accountability for those who abuse public power for personal gain and steal from our citizens to enrich themselves,” it said.

“These designations reaffirm the United States’ commitment to countering global corruption affecting U.S. interests.”

BBC Morning Live viewers said instead of £700 they will get £420 payout – and be ‘bombarded with calls and texts’

A BBC expert has given a warning to anyone who bought a car between 6th April 2007 and 1st November 2024. Finance expert Iona Bain told BBC Morning Live viewers that they face losing out by £280 on average if they make the wrong decision.

Ms Bain told hosts Helen Skelton and Rav Wilding that the car finance compensation scheme final details will be released in March – but people could miss out by appointing a claims company.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is hoping to compensate motorists who were unfairly sold a car loan between 2007 and 2024 because they were not properly informed about the commission paid to brokers, including car dealers.

Under the current proposals, about 14 million car finance deals could be eligible for compensation, with people estimated to get an average of £700 per agreement.

Ms Bain said: “So, if you took out car finance with a vehicle that was bought between 6th April 2007 and 1st November 2024, and if the car finance deal you got was Personal Contract Purchase (PCP), then you could be eligible for a share of this compensation bill, which is £8 billion.

“Essentially, we’re talking about the commission that was paid behind the scenes by car finance lenders to brokers whenever they sold one of these deals. Customers weren’t always aware of the level and scale of this commission, and that meant, in many cases, customers ended up with car finance deals that were more expensive and less competitive than they should have been.

“And that’s certainly what the Supreme Court ultimately ruled, and it decided that compensation was due to all those customers that were potentially in that situation. So look, it’s taken a while to get to this point, but now the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)—which is Britain’s regulator in this area—it’s said it’s going to be publishing the system for how people can apply for compensation in the next month or so.”

She said that the system being created will be straightforward and most importantly free to use. She said: “You can make a claim yourself; you don’t have to rely on a third party like a claims company. It should be completely straightforward for you to do yourself.”

She warned about claims management companies bombarding people – and explained they are making unfair claims and then will take large fees. She said: “If you see these adverts online, they are very enticing. They make claims like, “We’ll handle your claim for you,” “No win, no fee,” or “You could get thousands. But this is the reality: if you use one of these claims companies—whilst it’s perfectly legal to do so—they can take 20% to 40% of your compensation.”

Someone getting a payout of £700 would end up paying £280 to the company. Ms Bain added: “It is a lot. It means you won’t keep all the money that you’re ultimately owed. The fees can be buried in the small print, and you may not be aware of them until you’ve signed on the dotted line.

“So, one example is: let’s say you’ve signed up for a claims company, but then you change your mind—and that’s your right to do so. Some of these claims companies are charging termination fees for the work that’s been done, and those termination fees can be spurious and disproportionate for the work that’s actually been done.”

She said one prominent advert claimed the average car finance compensation that’s being paid out is going to be over £1,800. Ms Bain added: “I’m just going to say it: that’s not true. It’s not true, and the reason for that is that the FCA has not confirmed what compensation people are going to be getting. So, it has said that the average amount that will be paid out will be £700. Some people will get more, some people will get less, but it’s impossible to say at this stage what individuals will be getting until we know more about that FCA process.

“And also, I’m hearing these reports of people seeing these adverts, then giving their contact details to these claims companies, and then being bombarded by texts and calls trying to persuade them to sign up. I personally think that’s unacceptable.”

Other things to watch out for are:

• Upfront fees
• Unexplained charges
• A company promising guaranteed payouts or huge sums of money.

Ms Bain explained: “These are all big red flags. Just a reminder: you don’t need to use one of these companies. You can do this yourself and you get to keep all the compensation.”

Morning Live has provided a template for this on their website here.

Leqaa Kordia’s family say they were left in the dark when the 33-year-old was rushed from an immigration detention centre in Texas to a nearby hospital late last week.

For more than 12 hours, Kordia’s family and legal representation said they were given no information about her whereabouts and condition. Her cousin, Hamzah Abushaban, said the family was “stonewalled, like hardcore”, as they searched for answers.

“Full transparency: Many people in her family thought she might have died, especially with the secrecy of her condition,” Abushaban told Al Jazeera. “Sometimes, silence speaks for itself.”

Her family and legal team confirmed on Tuesday that she has been released from the hospital. Kordia had suffered a seizure, but her family has only had fleeting contact with her since the medical emergency.

The ordeal is the latest turn in Kordia’s nearly yearlong detention, which began when she was among several protesters targeted by immigration officials for taking part in pro-Palestine demonstrations at Columbia University in 2024.

Kordia remains the only person targeted in connection with the demonstration who is still in immigration detention.

Personal losses helped inspire her protest: Nearly 200 members of her family have been killed in Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza.

Her recent medical emergency underscores the dangers she faces from her continued detention, not to mention the urgent need for her release, according to Abushaban.

“She’s a fighter, but she’s not fooling anyone,” he said. “She’s still very sick”

‘Arbitrarily detained’

On Monday, Amnesty International joined calls for Kordia’s release, echoing her family’s assertion that she is being unfairly targeted for her pro-Palestine advocacy.

“She has been arbitrarily detained for over ten months for exercising her rights to free speech and protest,” Justin Mazzola, the deputy director of research at Amnesty International USA, said in a statement.

“The Trump administration must stop playing cruel political games with Leqaa’s life. Leqaa Kordia must be immediately released, and there must be accountability for the flagrant violation of her human rights.”

Kordia’s lawyers have also alleged unjust treatment, noting that federal judges had twice ruled she was eligible to be released on bond.

Each time, her release has been blocked after immigration officials filed “discretionary stay” requests to keep her in custody while the government appealed.

Since March 2025, the administration of President Donald Trump has targeted a range of student activists for deportation. They include Mahmoud Khalil and Mohsen Mahdawi, both of Columbia University, and Rumeysa Ozturk, who attended Tufts University in Massachusetts.

But those pro-Palestinian student activists have all successfully petitioned for their release as their cases continue in immigration court, though courts have signalled that they could be taken back into custody.

Kordia, however, has not had that same success.

Kordia came to the US in 2016 from the town of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank. Initially, she arrived using a visitor’s visa, later transitioning to a student visa.

Eventually, she applied for permanent residency through her mother, a US citizen residing in New Jersey.

But her legal team has said she was wrongly advised by a trusted mentor that the initial approval of her application meant she had legal status. She subsequently allowed her student visa to lapse.

Immigration officials have, in turn, maintained that Kordia was detained for overstaying her student visa, not for her pro-Palestine advocacy.

However, in an initial news release announcing Kordia’s arrest in March 2025, the Department of Homeland Security suggested that she and a second protester – who allegedly “self-deported” – were targeted for their advocacy.

“It is a privilege to be granted a visa to live and study in the United States of America,” Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said in the release.

“When you advocate for violence and terrorism, that privilege should be revoked, and you should not be in this country.”

‘Intentionally dehumanising’

In his statement on Monday, Mazzola accused immigration officials of showing “blatant disregard” for Kordia’s human rights in detention, pointing to the deterioration of her health.

Kordia has been held at the Prairieland Detention Facility, some 2,400km (1,500 miles) away from her family in New Jersey.

Laila El-Haddad, an author and advocate, said she visited Kordia in December, finding her “very thin, very gaunt” as she complained about unsanitary conditions and a lack of nutritious food at the crowded facility.

“She talked about this being a place that is intentionally dehumanising; that aims to strip her and others of their dignity and their humanity,” she told Al Jazeera.

Kordia’s lawyers and family, meanwhile, said she regularly suffers dizzy spells, fainting and other signs of subpar nutrition.

Still, El-Haddad found that Kordia remained upbeat, and she described the 33-year-old as a pillar of support for other detainees.

“She’s very humble. She kept talking about how ‘I’m not a leader or an activist,’” El-Haddad remembered.

El-Hadded added that Kordia’s case has not gotten as much attention as those of other student protesters, but her story is just as powerful.

“She wasn’t a public-facing activist or speaker in the way some of the other [targeted protesters] were,” El-Hadded explained.

“But she found herself in a position and felt compelled [to protest] because of her own humanity and because she was a person with a deep moral compass and consciousness to act and to speak out.”

Abushaban said he has felt Kordia’s absence acutely at family events. It has been a year of missed birthdays, holidays and other gatherings.

He called for US officials, regardless of political affiliation, to have empathy for her plight.

“I was born and raised here, and the rest of my family were all born and raised here,” he said. “And just because we are Palestinians, we still have to feel suppressed in this country.”

These are the key developments from day 1,448 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.

Here is where things stand on Wednesday, February 11:

Fighting

• A Russian attack killed four people, including three small children, in the Ukrainian city of Bohodukhiv, west of Kharkiv, regional governor Oleh Syniehubov said on the Telegram messaging app early on Wednesday.

• “Two one-year-old boys and a two-year-old girl died as a result of an enemy strike,” as well as a 34-year-old man, Syniehubov said. A 74-year-old woman was also injured, he added.
• Russian attacks on energy infrastructure left the Lozova community in the Kharkiv region without electricity, local official Serhii Zelenskyy said. Syniehubov later declared an energy emergency, citing “constant enemy fire” across the region.
• A Russian missile attack killed a mother and her 11-year-old daughter, and injured 16 people, the Donetsk Regional Prosecutor’s Office said in a post on Facebook.
• Five people were killed in a Ukrainian attack on Vasylivka, in a Russian-occupied area of Ukraine’s Zaporizhia region, Moscow-appointed local official Natalya Romanichenko told Russia’s TASS state news agency.
• A priest was killed in a Ukrainian attack on a funeral procession in Skelki, also in Russian-occupied Zaporizhia, according to TASS, citing Russian officials who widely condemned the attack.
• Ukrainian attacks caused power outages in Russian-occupied areas of Zaporizhia and heating outages in Enerhodar, also in Russian-occupied Zaporizhia, Russian-appointed officials said, according to TASS.
• One of two external power lines supplying the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, occupied by Russia, has been cut as a result of a Ukrainian attack, the Russian-installed management of the power station said on Tuesday.
• A man was killed in a Ukrainian drone attack on a van in the Shebekinsky district of Russia’s Belgorod region, Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said.
• Russian air defence systems shot down three guided aerial bombs and 72 Ukrainian drones in one day, TASS reported.

Military aid

• The US ambassador to NATO, Matthew Whitaker, said in an online briefing that 21 NATO allies and two partners have pledged to buy more than $4.5bn in US weapons through the Prioritised Ukraine Requirements List (PURL) initiative. Whitaker said he expects more announcements of pledges to buy weapons for Kyiv when defence ministers meet in Brussels on Thursday.
• Ukrainian forces received an additional injection of 4.5 billion Ukrainian hryvnias ($104.5m) to order drones and electronic warfare systems over the past month, Ukraine’s Ministry of Defence said in a statement.

Politics and diplomacy

• South African President Cyril Ramaphosa expressed his country’s support for efforts to end Russia’s war on Ukraine in a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday, the president’s office said. The Kremlin also confirmed that the two leaders discussed the war.
• Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that France has not officially re-established relations with Russia, but that Moscow had “noted Mr Macron’s statement on the need to restore relations with Russia”, referring to French President Emmanuel Macron. “We are impressed by such statements,” Peskov added.
• Moscow’s communications watchdog Roskomnadzor said it would further restrict the Telegram platform in Russia, saying the messaging app was not “observing” Russian law, that “personal data is not protected”, and that the app has “no effective measures to counter fraud and the use of the messaging app for criminal and terrorist purposes”.
• Telegram’s Russian-born founder, Pavel Durov, defended the app, which is used widely in Ukraine and Russia, saying Telegram would remain committed to protecting freedom of speech and user privacy, “no matter the pressure”.

Sanctions

• The management of the PCK Schwedt refinery in Germany, controlled by Russia’s Rosneft energy company, made an “urgent appeal” to German Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy Katherina Reiche, saying the threat of US sanctions could harm fuel supply to Berlin and the region. Berlin had secured a sanctions exception for the refinery, but it is set to expire on April 29.

Love Island All Stars bombshell Jessy Potts has addressed her split from Joey Essex after making a dramatic entrance into the ITV2 villa

Love Island All Stars bombshell Jessy Potts has lifted the lid on her romance with reality television personality Joey Essex following her explosive villa debut.

The 27-year-old caused quite a stir when she strutted into the ITV2 villa during last night’s heart rate challenge (February 9), planting kisses on Tommy and Scott’s lips whilst giving the remaining boys neck kisses. Tonight’s episode revealed her sultry black lace outfit had sent several boys’ heart rates soaring, much to the annoyance of some of the female contestants.

As the new arrival began mingling with her fellow Islanders, Love Island USA’s Zac was first on her agenda for a private conversation. She whisked the reality star away to the terrace whilst his partner Millie looked on, confessing: “I love an American.”

During their chat, she discussed her past romance with The Only Way Is Essex favourite Joey, who became Love Island’s inaugural celebrity bombshell when he joined the show’s eleventh series.

Jessy arrived in the villa later that season with the power to couple up with any boy she fancied. She chose Joey and the duo remained together until their fellow Islanders voted them both off the programme, reports OK!

However, just two months after their stint on the 2024 summer series, the pair decided to go their separate ways. At the time, they each released a statement, with Jessy saying: “I appreciate the Love Island experience I had with Joey, we tried to make it work but it wasn’t to be. I’m so grateful to everyone who supported us and look forward to all of the exciting opportunities ahead.”

Joey, on the other hand, stated: “Unfortunately, we have decided to call an end to the relationship but I hope we can continue to be friends. I truly wish Jessy the very best with whatever she does in the future.”

Now, Jessy has shed more light on what led to their break-up, revealing to Zac that they were simply “different people”.

After Zac apologised for not having watched her season, Jessy clarified: “Mine was a couple of years ago but I had quite an easy journey. I basically got in there, got in one couple and stayed in it the whole time.”

When Zac asked: “Why did it end?”, Jessy confessed: “It only lasted about a couple of months afterwards. It was just we’re definitely different people. So then you leave here and it’s like ‘Oh s***’. It’s a lot.”

She added: “He’d done TV before so he already had a lot of people that had opinions about him anyway. It just wasn’t for me but that’s ok.”

Love Island All Stars airs Sunday to Fridays at 9pm on ITV2 and ITVX. For the latest showbiz, TV, movie and streaming news, go to the new ** Everything Gossip ** website.

Feb. 10 (UPI) — The National Park Service removed a Pride flag from the Stonewall National Monument in New York City.

The monument is in Greenwich Village, and it commemorates the Stonewall Inn, a Manhattan gay bar that was the epicenter of the 1969 Stonewall riots. The Stonewall uprising kicked off a new battle for gay rights.

Former President Barack Obama made Christopher Park, across the street from the bar, a national monument in 2016. The NPS has flown Pride flags since it became a monument.

A spokesperson for the parks service cited new rules requiring that “only the U.S. flag and other congressionally or departmentally authorized flags are flown on NPS-managed flagpoles, with limited exceptions,” the spokesperson told NBC News. “Any changes to flag displays are made to ensure consistency with that guidance. Stonewall National Monument continues to preserve and interpret the site’s historic significance through exhibits and programs.”

Gay City News first reported the removal, which took place Monday.

New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani said he was outraged by the removal and vowed to protect the LGBTQ+ community in the city.

“New York is the birthplace of the modern LGBTQ+ rights movement, and no act of erasure will ever change, or silence, that history,” Mamdani said in a post on X.

“Our city has a duty not just to honor this legacy, but to live up to it,” he said. “I will always fight for a New York City that invests in our LGBTQ+ community, defends their dignity, and protects every one of our neighbors — without exception.”

State Sen. Erik Bottcher emphasized the importance of the flag.

“The flag is more than just a flag, it represents the rich history of our community; it represents our struggle, it represents the rainbow of people within our community.”

In February 2025, the Trump administration removed mentions of “queer” and “transgender” from the website of the monument.

Venezuela’s National Assembly President Jorge Rodriguez has said that the country will not hold presidential elections in the immediate future, emphasising that the government’s current focus is on national stability.

His comments came late on Monday in an interview published with the conservative outlet Newsmax in the United States.

Presidential terms run for six years in Venezuela, and the last election was controversially held in 2024. Newsmax host Rob Schmitt asked if that meant another election would not happen for another five years.

“The only thing I could say is that there will not be an election in this immediate period of time where the stabilisation has to be achieved,” Rodriguez replied.

He explained that the decision is tied to a wider effort to rebuild and strengthen Venezuela’s state institutions.

“What we’re working on at the moment is what we call the re-institutionalisation of the country, so that every single institution of the country can again be brought to full power and full recognition by everybody,” he said.

Rodriguez, who has led the National Assembly since 2021, added that Venezuelans are seeking a return to normalcy following the abduction of President Nicolas Maduro.

“The government of Delcy Rodriguez is actually looking for that, to stabilise the country completely and to make it all good and reconcile everybody, all the population of Venezuela,” he said.

The US abducted Maduro in a military action on January 3. In the weeks since, the Venezuelan Supreme Court has appointed Vice President Delcy Rodriguez, the National Assembly leader’s sister, as acting president.

She was formally sworn in on January 5, with support from both Venezuela’s military and the governing party, as well as the US.

Jorge Rodriguez told Newsmax that the current government would need to “reach an agreement with all sectors of the opposition” to create a “timetable” for new elections.

Amnesty law

Maduro’s abduction had initially inspired hope that a new election would be carried out after the controversy that accompanied the 2024 presidential race.

In that election, Maduro controversially claimed victory for a third straight term, despite the opposition publishing voter tallies that appeared to show its candidate won.

Protests broke out, and Maduro’s government responded with a violent crackdown. An estimated 25 people were killed, according to the US State Department.

In Monday’s interview, Rodriguez rejected the assertion that the 2024 race was not legitimate. Instead, he emphasised his push for national unity, saying, “We have been divided for a very long time.”

He highlighted the legislature’s efforts to pass a mass amnesty law, which would result in the release of all political prisoners and forgive any crimes related to political dissent since 1999.

The bill was approved unanimously in the first of two votes on Thursday and is expected to pass this week.

Still, questions have surrounded the bill. Critics fear that political repression could take other forms after the prisoners’ release.

Schmitt asked whether opposition leader Maria Corina Machado would be able to return to Venezuela and campaign freely in a future election, following the bill’s passage.

“So, allow me not to speak about only one single name, because there are many, many actors abroad that have to be included in this discussion,” Rodriguez responded.

“There is an amnesty law that is being done at the moment that contemplates working with people, but there are sectors of the opposition abroad which have promoted violence.”

He then indicated that the amnesty bill would not apply to the opposition leaders accused of violent crimes.

“Through this amnesty law, we are promoting for all the sections of the opposition who are abroad to comply with the law, so they can come back to the country,” Rodriguez said.

Opposition leaders, however, have long alleged that the government has peddled false accusations of violent crime to arrest and jail them.

Machado herself was accused of conspiring to assassinate Maduro in 2014, leading to her expulsion from the National Assembly.

Rodriguez’s comments also come amid developments in the case of former lawmaker Juan Pablo Guanipa.

The leader was released on Sunday after spending more than eight months in pretrial detention, but he was rearrested less than 12 hours later, after speaking with the media and supporters.

According to his family, he was detained by armed men without identification or a court order. His son, Ramon Guanipa, described the incident as an “abduction”.

Officials later stated that they had requested the revocation of his release order, citing his alleged failure to comply with the conditions imposed upon his release.

In the early hours of Tuesday, Guanipa was transferred to his residence in Maracaibo, where he remains under house arrest.

Machado condemned the actions, stating that Guanipa’s case demonstrates that the releases announced by the government do not guarantee the full exercise of political and civil rights.

“What was Juan Pablo’s crime? Telling the truth. So are these releases, or what are they?” Machado said on Monday.

She proceeded to question whether the released prisoners were truly free from what she described as the repressive machinery of the Venezuelan government.

“Can’t we talk in Venezuela about those who have been in prison? Can’t we recount what they have experienced? Can’t we describe the horror of what is happening in our country today?”

Love Island stars will come to blows as tensions explode over the latest drama in South Africa villa

ITV has revealed that sparks will fly as chaos erupts amongst the Love Island contestants in the villa.

Emotions have been running high in the ITV dating show’s spin-off series, with bombshell arrivals and complicated love triangles developing in South Africa. Last night’s episode featured the much-anticipated heart rate challenge, whilst two fresh bombshells made quite the impression upon their entrance.

Tonight’s instalment (February 10) will showcase the challenge results and the drama that follows. This includes Belle continuing to express her attraction to Scott after discovering they elevated each other’s heart rates the most.

Elsewhere, Leanne drops hints that she’s keen to reignite things with her ex-partner. Scott confesses his bewilderment as bombshell Jessy appears to fancy him as well.

When Scott acknowledges he still harbours feelings for Leanne, she responds: “Not gonna lie, after that performance I was like the door is open.”, reports OK!.

Yet he’s then whisked away by Belle for intimate chats in the Secret Garden and on the Terrace the following day, where she reveals her own emotions.

Their deliberate retreat for a private discussion hasn’t escaped the attention of their fellow Islanders. Particularly Lucinda, who believes she was unfairly criticised for swooping in on Sean, taking him away from Belle to couple up with him.

In a tantalising preview clip aired at the close of the latest episode, viewers caught a fleeting glimpse of the explosive scenes awaiting them in tomorrow’s instalment. It appears that tensions will boil over between at least two Islanders, with others being drawn into the fray.

Lucinda is seen confronting Belle head-on about the unfolding drama, stating: “You’ve done the exact same to Leanne” before Belle fires back: “This ain’t about you.”

The action then shifts to the dressing room, where heated exchanges continue to unfold. Newcomer Jessy challenges Lucinda, saying: “You feel vindicated because you feel like Belle did what you did.”

Amid the pandemonium, one Islander attempts to intervene and restore order, though their voice is barely audible over the commotion. Belle is later heard muttering to Scott: “Welcome to the f****** hurricane.”

Viewers wasted no time sharing their reactions on social media. One fan posted: “Tomorrow night’s clip: That was bold of Lucinda and I rate it! Pay back!” whilst another declared: “This is TV! Give whoever casted these lot a raise!”

A third viewer predicted: “Tomorrow is going be hell.” as someone else enthused: “This villa drama never misses.”

Love Island All Stars continues tomorrow at 9pm on ITV2 and ITVX.

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

Feb. 10 (UPI) — The Food and Drug Administration announced Tuesday it’s undertaking a review of the chemical preservative butylated hydroxyanisole to determine if the potentially carcinogenic substance is safe for continued use.

Health officials have aired concerns about BHA since its use was approved, and the National Institute of Health’s National Toxicology Program describes it as “reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen” based on studies using animals, according to the FDA.

The preservative, commonly referred to as BHA, is used to preserve food and as a food contact substance to prevent contamination for food packaging materials.

“BHA has remained in the food supply for decades despite being identified by the National Toxicology Program as ‘reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen’ based on animal studies,” Health and Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr. said Tuesday.

“This reassessment marks the end of the ‘trust us’ era in food safety,” Kennedy continued.

“If BHA cannot meet today’s gold-standard science for its current uses, we will remove it from the food supply and continue cleaning up food chemicals — starting where children face the greatest exposure,” he added.

The FDA has prioritized the study of BHA while the federal agency assesses various chemicals that are contained within the nation’s food supply.

It previously recognized BHA as safe in 1958 and approved its use as a food additive in 1961 to help preserve the oils and fats that commonly are found in many food products.

Such foods include frozen meals, breakfast cereals, meat products and many types of snacks.

The use of BHA has declined in recent years, but its use continues, including in food products that are marketed to children.

“The FDA is committed to ensuring the safety of chemicals in our food supply through rigorous, science-based evaluation,” said Kyle Diamantas, deputy commissioner for the FDA’s Human Foods Program.

“This comprehensive post-market assessment of BHA reflects our proactive approach to food safety and our dedication to protecting public health by continuously reviewing the latest scientific evidence,” he said.

The review is part of Kennedy’s Make America Healthy Again effort, which seeks to remove potentially harmful chemicals and other substances from the nation’s food supply.

On 15 different occasions, terrorists trailing Amiru Bala failed to capture him. They succeeded on their 16th attempt in the Tsafe area of Zamfara State, northwestern Nigeria. 

Amiru, whose locality is boiling with rural terrorists turning towns and villages into hell, is revered for providing effective, yet affordable medical care to residents of the Bakin Manya village in Tsafe and is praised for compassionately treating his patients.

In his village, criminal actors have metamorphosed into killing, kidnapping, and maiming residents at will. For more than a decade, security forces have tried but failed to rein in attacks on civilians, causing distrust between locals and state authorities. 

Life in Bakin Manya is hard, residents said. Nobody trusts anybody; many young people within the local community have joined the bandwagon of terrorists killing for fun and kidnapping for ransom. Amid this devastating development, the health system in the rural villages is debilitating, with clinics and hospitals running out of drugs, staff, and patients.

“Our life is threatened, our peace is lost, and our homes are broken,” Amiru cried, as he spoke to HumAngle after regaining his freedom. “Our neighbours turned into sworn enemies. Many among them do not understand why they were subconsciously lured into rural terrorism by their kinsmen, harrowing as their enslaved masters.” 

Amiru said he grew up in an indigent family. At 10, he was inspired to go to school after seeing a team of health workers conducting house-to-house vaccination. It took him over a year to appeal to his father to enrol him in the village primary school. He finally gained admission into the Chediya Primary School when he was 11. After completing his primary education, he proceeded to the Government Science Secondary School in Tsafe, where his interest in science and health grew rapidly.

He later secured admission into College of Health Science and Technology, Tsafe, and graduated as a Senior Community Health Extension Worker after two years of study. Amiru returned to Bakin Manya to focus on providing medical care for villagers and organising campaigns against seasonal diseases.

As medical needs grew within the community, more villagers knocked on his door. He would soon become popular within and outside his community.

Amiru said he advised the village leadership to sponsor the medical needs of some of the community members, but his hope was thwarted when terrorists took over the governance of the village. Rural terrorism has taken a toll on the people, with criminals operating without hindrance.

“Today, as I speak, there are no vehicle movements; not even a bicycle would dare or try passing through the entire northern parts of Chediya Ward, which is just 5-6 kilometres away from the Tsafe local government headquarters,” he lamented.

Life became even harder when terror groups in Tsafe decided to take total control of Chediya, including Amiru’s village. They divided the ward into two: The Chediya North and South. One terrorist leader, Kachalla Musa, first tried to subjugate 14 communities in Chediya North but failed, calling the locals “irredeemably bad people” because they refused to be submissive or negotiate with him. Kabiru Adamu, the Chediya district head, said life has been miserable for his people since they refused to adhere to the demands of the terrorists. For at least five years, they have been under incessant attacks.

“Two different gangs loyal to Ado Aleru and his kinsmen, Hassan Nabamamu and Kachalla Saidu, came together recently to launch a weeklong attack on our communities. Their mission was to displace all of us. In that attack, there were 35 people killed, 29 abducted; they ransacked houses and shops where they looted,” Kabiru recounted. 

Amid escalating chaos, the community faced a difficult predicament beyond their resilience. As state authorities failed to offer assistance against the terrorists, they were left with no choice but to negotiate. About 300 individuals were forced into manual labour on the terrorists’ farms, as part of the so-called peace deal. The community paid millions of naira to gang leader Ado through his agent, Musa Kwamanda, but locals still live in fear. 

In Chediya South, locals have totally succumbed to the antics of terrorists, allowing them to operate freely in exchange for their freedom. Since they entered into the peace deal with Ado’s gang in February 2025, they said they had not experienced any major attack or abduction.

“We eat together and spend most of the night with the terrorists at our homes. Our farmlands are free for us, travel to Gusau and Tsafe towns and safely return at any time,” said Mamman Dirmi, the village monarch of Chediya South. “Our matrimonial beds are shared with the armed terrorists, especially the young boys among them. Although we reported to Ado, asking for his intervention, nothing seems to have changed for the better.” 

Despite adhering to the terrorists’ rules and regulations, however, residents in the Chediya North told HumAngle that things became even tougher. The terrorists have taken over the main road to the community, extorting travellers and raping women and girls indiscriminately.

Abducted to treat terrorists

When they fall ill or are wounded by gunshots, terrorists are usually wary of visiting health facilities within the Tsafe area. The criminal gang came up with a plan to abduct a health worker to treat their injured fighters. Amiru was the prime target, being the most popular health worker in the axis.

After multiple attempts, a gang of five terrorists invaded Amiru’s house in November 2025. Among them, two were armed with guns that slung over their shoulders. They called out his name from outside the door, demanding that he come out peacefully; they threatened that if he refused, they would shoot him and his wife. Faced with the frightening threat, he reluctantly opened the door and stepped outside. 

One of the invaders locked eyes with him and declared that their mission was a simple abduction: he would be taken to their camp for a few days before ultimately being released.

Amiru quickly realised the terrorists were possibly abducting him because they needed medical treatment for either their wounded members or sick ones, or both. “They chained, placed a gun at my wife’s head and smuggled me out at gunpoint,”  he recalled. 

He was overpowered and placed on a motorcycle, leaving his wife and relatives panicking. Later, one of the motorcycles, which carried three terrorists with guns, went far ahead of Amiru and his captors. Amiru sat tightly chained in the centre of the motorcycle, his heart racing as he assessed his precarious situation. In front of him, the motorcycle’s rider leaned forward, oblivious to the tension mounting behind them. At Amiru’s back, another terrorist gripped a gun against his spine. 

Despite the daunting presence of his captor, Amiru’s resolve hardened. He realised he could shake the moving motorcycle free from their control. With iron chains cutting painfully into his skin, he felt the limited but crucial freedom offered by the loose straps across his lap. The rail track whizzed by, a blur of danger and opportunity. Amiru knew that if he could just muster his strength, he might fight back, even in chains, to reclaim his freedom and thwart the terrorists’ plans. The stakes were high, but so was his determination.

“We all fell down, the rider could not move an inch as he kissed the ground with the vehicle’s headlight cover marching his chest. The other terrorist ran away after I knocked his head with the chain and was bleeding helplessly,” Amiru said, describing how he escaped about two hours after he was abducted. “I returned home, and there was huge jubilation across the community, breaking the news of my narrow escape. My father insisted that my wife and I flee our village. The news of my abduction jittered many informants, and the terrorists will likely return again.” 

Fearing reprisal attacks on his people, Amiru said he did not inform any local or state authority about the issue. In the past, those who reported such incidents later regretted it– the terrorists often imposed severe penalties on villagers after security operatives had withdrawn.

Struggling to rebuild life

Amiru fled his home, abandoned his work, and resettled in another town. His life transformed from that of a village health worker to that of a beggar. “As an IDP, my wife and I suffered from insufficient food, hardly getting three square meals a day. I left my father in the village, and he needs my help, but we are all helpless,” he complained.

The few residents who remained in the village were nearly subdued by the relentless attacks. Silence became their daily refuge in an unsettled peace. Whenever community protection guards or soldiers arrived to secure the area, terrorists would accuse the residents of inviting them. At one point, they no longer wanted to see government security forces visiting their communities, as these visits only brought unending humiliation and infringed upon their freedom of movement.

“I am declared wanted and hunted by the terrorists loyal to Ado Aleru’s faction, led by Hassan. He orchestrated an operation with his armed men – Dankaura, Ofisa, Aljan, and Dankabiru – that resulted in the death of 36 innocent farmers. I was not present during the attack, so I escaped and fled my home,” Amiru recounted.

“There came another group of targeted attackers to my home, led by the kingpins Dan-Najeriya and Na-Bello. They ransacked many houses searching for me, but they had no idea I was hiding inside the silos they passed by. It felt like hell that day. I still feel inexplicably nervous and shattered, with the sounds of gunfire echoing in my mind like thunder. Their desperation is such that they want me to go to their camp to treat their terrorists.” 

Amiru vowed never to provide medical treatment to terrorists, insisting that he did not go to school to treat killers. 

Britney Spears scored the early 2000s with hits from “Oops!… I Did It Again” to “Toxic.”

Now, the rights to those songs will belong to music publishing company Primary Wave after Spears reportedly signed a major new deal, according to NBC News. The outlet approximated the deal was for $200 million, and details of the sale were not disclosed.

Primary Wave, which was founded 20 years ago with the acquisition of 50% interest and partnership in Kurt Cobain’s music publishing catalog, also owns songs from the catalogs of music legends Bob Marley, Stevie Nicks and Whitney Houston, among others.

Representatives for Primary Wave and Spears did not immediately respond to The Times’ requests for comment.

Music rights acquisitions have become increasingly popular investments in recent years as the recorded music industry has boomed with the advent of streaming. With access to sprawling libraries on Spotify and Apple Music, consumers are listening to albums and artist catalogs at higher rates, and older artists are more prone to popping back into the zeitgeist. Licensing for movies and TV is also booming, and with Y2K nostalgia permeating today’s media, Spears may be selling at an opportune time.

Trade publication Music Business Worldwide estimated that more than $5 billion changed hands through music rights acquisitions in 2021, The Times previously reported. Additionally, songwriting catalogs at that time were being valued at twice the average price than in the 25 years prior.

Notable sellers include Bruce Springsteen, who in 2021 made a deal with Sony Music Entertainment to relinquish his master recordings and songs for $500 million. Shortly thereafter, David Bowie‘s estate sold his songwriting catalog to Warner Chappell Music for $250 million. ZZ Top, Tina Turner and Paul Simon all made similar deals around the same time.

Spears in 2023 released her memoir, “The Woman in Me,” which recounted her rise to fame and yearslong battle to escape a conservatorship she was placed under in 2008 for alleged mental health concerns. Music writer Jeff Weiss’ 2025 book, “Waiting for Britney Spears: A True Story, Allegedly,” included details — some true, some fabricated — from that highly publicized time in the singer’s life.

Spears’ ex-husband Kevin Federline followed the “Gimme More” singer’s memoir with last year’s “You Thought You Knew,” in which he accused Spears of consuming cocaine while she was still breastfeeding their second son, among other alleged concerning behaviors. Spears denied the allegations on social media.

Former Times staff writer Ryan Faughnder contributed to this report.

WASHINGTON, Feb. 10 (UPI) — Some seven months after a Supreme Court Case gave parents sweeping rights to remove their children from lessons that violate religious beliefs, Republicans expresses concern Tuesday about school districts ignoring the ruling, while Democrats voiced fears that the ruling condoned discrimination.

​”In a world where new and controversial types of content are finding their way into classrooms, it is essential that parents maintain control over their child’s education,” Rep. Kevin Kiley, R-Calif., said in a congressional hearing of the Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary and Secondary Education, which he chairs.

​In Mahmoud vs. Taylor, the high court ruled in June that Maryland parents had a First Amendment right to opt out their children from public school lessons involving LGBTQ+ themed storybooks that conflict with their religion. Tuesday’s hearing provided a venue for House members to reflect on how the ruling has changed classrooms.

Democrats, for example, voiced worries about the dangerous precedent it sets for censorship and exclusion.

​”Inclusion is not indoctrination,” said the committee’s top Democrat, Rep. Suzanne Bonamici, D-Ore. “Differences exist in the world around us. and part of a good education includes teaching students about tolerance and understanding.”

Bonamici said Republicans are using parental rights as another means to undermine public education.

One witness, Yeshiva University Assistant Professor of Law Zalman Rothschild, said he fears the decision could have broad implications and could be disruptive for education.

​”I have no idea how in any sense this can be bounded,” Rothschild said.

“For example, say a teacher tries to teach the value of nondiscrimination against religion and specifies its wrong to discriminate against Jews or against Muslims, and some parents have a problem with that because of their sincerely held religious beliefs, because Chapter 16 of Mark says that those who are not baptized are condemned,” he said.

Rep. Adelita Grijalva, D-Ariz., urged her Republican colleagues not take the ruling as permission to turn public schools into the “latest front in a culture war.”​

Grijalva said Republicans were hypocritical to encourage federal involvement in education when they call themselves “the party that wants things to go back to the local level.”​

“I want us to continue to support our duly locally elected school districts to make decisions about school curriculum,” Grijalva said.

Rep. Summer Lee, D-Pa., held up a children’s picture book from the Montgomery Area School District curriculum, “Uncle Bobby’s Wedding,” while she questioned witnesses. The story follows a young girl as she learns that her favorite uncle is getting married to his male partner, Jamie.

Lee said providing holistic education to American children became harder after the ruling.

“It’s about exploiting religious exemptions to shield children from the reality of queer people existing,” he said.

​Conservative education groups, however, applauded the power shift in schools after the ruling.

“Two of the story books, not only “Uncle Bobby’s Wedding” but “Pride Puppy!” addressed non-binary individuals, drag queens and pride parades. These are individuals who don’t have a clear sense of their identity regarding whether they want to be a firefighter or a fairy when they grow up. What we’re dealing with is a designed attempt to change minds on perspectives,” said Sarah Perry, vice president of Defending Education, a national advocacy group that supports more parental involvement in schools.

​Throughout the hearing, Bonamici tried to steer the conversation to “hearing topics that actually matter,” including ICE allegedly inflicting trauma in schools and the effects of the dismantling of the Department of Education.

She pointed out that the committee had yet to hold a hearing on gun violence in schools and that just Monday, a 16-year-old was shot at a Montgomery County Public School.

​”No one is arguing that parents should not be involved in their children’s education. We all agree on that,” Bonamici said. “Banning books or preventing students from learning about differences only serves to perpetuate a culture of hatred and fear.”

One man and a much-anticipated trim.

But it started to feel, for Manchester United, Ilett’s long wait for the club to win five games in a row had become an unwanted irritation.

There was a time when it seemed as though United were prepared to play along with the gag. They did, after all, include a barbers’ room in their £50m training ground upgrade at Carrington. What better way to have a bit of fun?

Now though, in public and private, they are having nothing to do with it.

Skipper Bruno Fernandes and manager Michael Carrick were dismissive when asked about it after victory number four, against Tottenham – although Carrick’s admission he had been told of the saga by his kids hints at the wider attraction.

Ilett’s daily social media updates and the before and now pictures scattered across the digital sphere were initially quite amusing but serve as a reminder of how bad the team’s form has been.

Ilett plans to donate his hair to the Little Princess Trust and set up a JustGiving page for the children’s cancer charity, for those who wanted to offer financial support.

His initial fundraising target of £500 for the the Little Princess Trust has been exceeded significantly and by Tuesday afternoon stood at £6,132.

As attention-grabbing initiatives go, his pledge didn’t seem especially outrageous when he made it.

United had completed five-in-a-row eight months earlier, the 11th time it had happened – including the end of the 2015-16 season and start of 2016-17 – in just under 11 years following Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement.

The longest gap was from 25 January 2019, when United won the last of their eight successive wins following Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s arrival and the end of five victories in a row under the Norwegian in April 2021.

It says a lot for United’s chronic form since Ilett made his vow that they had only won three in a row twice until Carrick arrived, changed the formation and turned his old club into winners once more.

To put that into context, United’s fellow ‘big six’ clubs have all won five times on the bounce in recent memory. Arsenal, Manchester City and Liverpool have done it this season – Chelsea have done it already this year.

Even Tottenham, whose form has been atrocious for 18 months now, managed it early last season, when United were one of the teams they beat.

Some fans have come to the conclusion they do not appreciate Illet’s humour.

One supporter was given an indefinite ban from Old Trafford by United for attacking Ilett on a concourse at the home game with Chelsea in September 2025.

Others have taken exception to him taking part in an advert for a major gambling company and monetising what was meant to be a charitable gesture. Ilett has denied making the kinds of sums being mentioned.

However, many have defended Ilett and most responses to his appearance on the leading Stretford Paddock podcast were positive.

The vast majority though, for and against, just want to see an end to it.

SHE once had a love affair with Britain – and now it seems Madonna is back in Blighty with a vengeance.

Over the past week, the 67-year-old superstar has taken to the stands at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in North London for two days running.

Before that, she was visiting — and waxing lyrical — about the seaside town of Margate in Kent.

So is the Queen of Pop, who has changed her image more in the last four decades than most of us change our bed sheets, back to rule Britannia and play the English lady again?

On Saturday, the self-declared “soccer mom” was at the Spurs ground to cheer on her 13-year-old twins Stella and Estere, who were playing in a Tottenham under-14s academy match.

Taking to Instagram, she told her 20.3million followers: “I will pay G*D for some sunshine! Go Estella and Estere, Hotspurs win!!! 5-0.”

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Complaining about the weather and yelling about footie . . . what could be more British than that?

The following day, she was back for more, telling fans she was taking her “second Uber ever” to watch the Tottenham Hotspur women’s team play Chelsea in the Women’s Super League.

Her boyfriend, Akeem Morris, 29, is also throwing himself into the UK way of life, VIP style, of course.

The Chelsea fan is regularly spotted at men’s home games with Madge in the directors’ box.

The couple turn up together with no security in tow.

Madonna last month visited close pal Tracey Emin and the artist’s latest exhibition in her hometown of Margate.

I will pay G*D for some sunshine! Go Estella and Estere, Hotspurs win!!! 5-0

Madonna

While there, she wrote on Instagram: “Tracey Emin is a Pearl.

“A precious necklace that has been draped around a seaside town in England called Margate.”

She added: “Whenever I go there, I feel like I’ve entered a dream.

“On top of all that, I get to eat at my favourite Italian restaurant which I’m not giving anyone the name of because then everyone’s going to go there and it only has one table!”

Margate might be a long way from the singer’s own hometown of Michigan, but she clearly felt very at home there.

And presumably the locals were delighted to have her.

Meanwhile, it is not just the singer’s social calendar that is packed with British outings.

She also seems to be making professional moves here, too.

Tracey Emin is a Pearl. A precious necklace that has been draped around a seaside town in England called Margate

Madonna

It was revealed last year that she had been secretly working with British music producer Stuart Price, who she collaborated with for 2005 album Confessions On A Dance Floor.

It is believed the pair are working on a new album, following Stuart’s role as musical director on her 2023 Celebration Tour.

Confessions On A Dance Floor might have been all disco glitter and electro pop, but it was a time when Madonna was at her most British.

Having married director Guy Ritchie in 2000 at Skibo Castle in the Scottish Highlands, the Material Girl had fully clothed herself in the trappings of a plummy country life.

Gone were the risqué red carpet outfits, replaced with a Home Counties wardrobe of tweed, riding jackets and tea dresses.

Fully embodying her Mrs Ritchie persona, Madonna went riding, took walks in the rolling fields of Wiltshire and hobnobbed around Marylebone.

She then doubled down on the act with her 2003 children’s book The English Roses.

And then, of course, there was the accent.

Having seemingly forgotten she was an Italian-American who had her first taste of adult life on the mean streets of New York City, the singer hit the headlines when she started speaking with the lilt of a posh (but slightly inebriated) Englishwoman.

It was Michigan meets Mayfair, with the added confusion of someone who thought Austin Powers was a real person.

Fans scratched their heads, but also could not help but love the campy creation of a world-class chameleon.

The singer had gone full method acting with her transatlantic marriage, becoming Madonn-rah in the process.

Whenever I go there, I feel like I’ve entered a dream. On top of all that, I get to eat at my favourite Italian restaurant which I’m not giving anyone the name of because then everyone’s going to go there and it only has one table

Madonna

Madonna kept the pretence up until she and Guy split in 2008 and she moved back to the US.

Years later, in 2020, she demonstrated some very British self-mockery when she joked about her adopted accent — and the reaction to it — while performing on her Madame X tour in London.

“I didn’t know what anyone was talking about until I heard old interviews of myself,” she told the crowd.

‘Lucky to be alive’

“And then I was horrified and flabbergasted. Why did you let me do that to myself? I’m from Michigan!”

She added: “It’s all Guy Ritchie’s fault. He made me do it.”

Meanwhile, having continued to grow her property portfolio across the world, Madonna relocated to Portugal in 2017.

That year she adopted twins Estere and Stella from Malawi (she was already mum to Lourdes, now 29, Rocco, 25, David Banda, 20, and Mercy James, 20).

The move to a £6million 18th-century mansion just outside Portuguese capital Lisbon was to help David pursue a career in football after he joined Benfica’s youth team.

Once again, the queen of reinvention did what she does best and embraced the local culture, soon debuting her Madame X persona to the world.

Her new image — and accompanying album — were heavily influenced by Portuguese life.

She later said she had been inspired by the local Fado and samba music.

The family moved back to the US in 2020, but since then Madonna has continued to prove herself a citizen of the world.

Lucky to be alive

Madonna

She splits her time between her palatial pads in New York, Los Angeles, Portugal and London, where she kept her Georgian townhouse in Marylebone after splitting from Guy.

She has also had several more reinventions along the way — which gave her plenty of material for her Celebration Tour three years ago, which took fans on a nostalgic trip over her 40-year pop career.

It was a poignant time for the singer, who had been forced to re­schedule early dates after a bacterial infection in June 2023 left her in intensive care.

She later said she felt “lucky to be alive”.

When she did finally take to the stage, she clearly relished the chance to time-hop through the years to resurrect some of her biggest songs and look back at her former personas.

After so much self-reflection, why does she now seem to be laying her hat down once again in the UK? The answer, first and foremost, seems to be her kids.

So the fact that Stella and Estere seem to be following in older brother David’s footsteps as football prodigies might just keep their proud mum back on British turf for a while.

Aga-loving lady

Added to that, eldest son Rocco is permanently based in London, where he owns his own art studio in Chelsea.

In December, Madonna played proud mum again as she attended one of his art shows in the capital.

She even posed alongside her ex-husband and Rocco’s dad Guy, suggesting the pair’s many years of animosity are now water under the bridge.

Posting the family picture, Rocco wrote: “It’s obvious why some people might hold judgment against me. I don’t blame them.

“However, I am proud to be who I am, but I’m even prouder to have both of my parents together in one room supporting me.”

She might not be sitting down for a Sunday roast with Guy and his new wife Jacqui any time soon, but the family snap was a pivotal moment.

It suggests Madonna is not fully ready to wash her hands of the years she spent winking at the world as Mrs Ritchie.

As she recently said, family means everything, describing her role as a mum of six as her­ ­“biggest medal”.

So, what is next for the woman who never stands still?

With new music in store — which is believed to be a follow-up to her British era Confessions On A Dance Floor output — there is every possibility we will see the Queen of Pop reclaim her crown as a cosplaying Brit.

Whether that will come with the lilt and wardrobe of an Aga-loving country lady remains to be seen, but one thing we do know is that she does not do things by halves.

So keep your eyes peeled, because you never know if a certain international megastar is sitting beside you at that football match, or walking just behind you on your weekend break at the seaside.

Then again, considering her former plummy accent, you will be sure to know when you hear her.