News Desk

April 29 (Asia Today) — Instability in South Korea’s fertilizer supply is growing in the aftermath of the war involving Iran, as the prolonged closure of the Strait of Hormuz disrupts routes for importing raw materials used in fertilizer production.

The Korea Pork Producers Association said Wednesday the price of urea, the largest component among chemical fertilizers, has surpassed $700 per ton, the highest level since October 2022.

“South Korea has a structural limitation because it depends heavily on imports for fertilizer raw materials,” an association official said. “Rising chemical fertilizer prices and supply instability caused by uncertainty in international affairs are directly increasing the burden on crop farmers.”

Amid the pressure, compost and liquid fertilizer made from livestock manure are emerging as alternatives.

The association said resource recycling of livestock manure into compost and liquid fertilizer could gradually reduce dependence on chemical fertilizers while helping stabilize food security.

According to an association survey, the potential fertilizer value of livestock manure is high enough to meet 46% of the nitrogen needs and 100% of the phosphate needs of farmland.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs has pursued measures to improve the quality of compost and liquid fertilizer and change perceptions among crop farmers since the Cabinet decided in 2006 to ban ocean dumping of livestock manure. A key measure was the July 2006 plan to promote natural circulation agriculture using livestock manure compost and liquid fertilizer.

A decade after the plan was implemented, production facilities and technology for livestock manure recycling have improved significantly. Liquid fertilizer made from livestock manure is now being used as a substitute for chemical fertilizer at greenhouse farms.

Compost quality has also steadily improved, leading to a sharp increase in exports to Southeast Asian countries.

Livestock manure compost and liquid fertilizer have shown strong effects in reducing fertilizer costs and greenhouse gas emissions. In an experiment by Sangji University, the use of filtered liquid fertilizer instead of chemical fertilizer at a greenhouse farm reduced fertilizer costs by 600,000 won ($406) per hectare and cut greenhouse gas emissions by 382.6 kilograms of carbon dioxide.

Most greenhouse farms using the fertilizer also showed major improvements in soil electrical conductivity, indicating the role of livestock manure compost and liquid fertilizer in soil improvement.

The alternatives also contributed to higher crop output and income. A spinach greenhouse farm using liquid fertilizer produced by the Pocheon Livestock Cooperative’s natural circulation agriculture team saw early harvest output rise 53%, while income per 10 ares reached 7.56 million won ($5,118), up 247% from an average year.

Despite those benefits, livestock manure compost and liquid fertilizer remain less convenient than chemical fertilizer in terms of labor and usability. Experts say policies are needed to develop products that crop farmers can use more easily.

“To promote the recycling and use of livestock manure, we will prepare and pursue policies to remove institutional and structural barriers, including restrictions on spreading and the burden of transport costs,” said Park Jung-hoon, head of the ministry’s food policy office.

Livestock farmers also plan to work with crop farmers to help establish a circular farming system linking livestock and crop production.

— 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=20260429010009418

Caracas, April 29, 2026 (venezuelanalysis.com) – The Venezuelan government signed new energy agreements with energy conglomerates British Petroleum (BP) and Eni in separate ceremonies at Miraflores Presidential Palace.

On Wednesday, Acting President Delcy Rodríguez signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to develop the Cocuina-Manakin field, an offshore natural gas project shared between Venezuela and Trinidad and Tobago.

“The return of BP [to Venezuela] is a ⁠clear sign of the future we want to chart for Venezuela and for ​international energy relations,” she said during a live broadcast. “May we have cooperation grounded in a win-win approach and ​shared benefits.”

BP was represented by its Trinidad and Tobago director David Campbell. The Cocuina-Manakin field holds an estimated 1 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) of natural gas, split 34-66 between Caracas and Port of Spain.

Following Wednesday’s agreement, the London-based multinational will additionally explore opportunities in the 7.3 Tcf Loran field, which is also part of a cross-border reserve shared with Trinidad. Both Cocuina and Loran are part of Venezuela’s Deltana Platform, a largely unexplored gas deposit on the country’s eastern maritime border.

Venezuela had suspended all energy projects involving Trinidad and Tobago over its neighbor’s support for the US military escalation in the Caribbean. Following January 3, the acting Rodríguez administration reengaged with Port of Spain, while extending overtures to BP and Shell in an effort to reopen the projects.

The BP agreement came on the heels of another high-profile ceremony at Miraflores on Tuesday that saw Rodríguez extend a “special welcome” to Eni CEO Claudio Descalzi and other executives. In what she called a “milestone in the relations” between Venezuela and the Italian corporation, Rodríguez announced that Eni is planning “one of the largest investments” in the Venezuelan oil sector. 

The contract establishes conditions to relaunch the exploration of the 425 square-kilometer Junín-5 block of Venezuela’s Orinoco Oil Belt. The Junín-5 is estimated to contain 35 billion barrels of extra-heavy oil in place, though only a fraction will be recoverable.

For his part, Descalzi indicated that the signed deal created conditions to “accelerate development” of Junín-5 activities and that the company would finalize its investment plan by the end of the year.

The Junín-5 block was assigned in the late 2000s to Petrojunín, a joint venture where Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA and Eni held 60 and 40 percent of shares, respectively. Crude extraction began in 2013 but did not hit the established targets, hovering around 10,000 barrels per day (bpd) by the end of the 2010s.

The BP and Eni agreements were crafted under Venezuela’s recently overhauled Hydrocarbon Law, which introduces a series of pro-business incentives while curtailing state control over the energy sector.

Under the new law, minority partners can directly manage oilfield operations and sales, whereas in the prior framework that was PDVSA’s exclusive prerogative. Additionally, private companies can have royalties, income tax, and other fiscal contributions slashed at the government’s discretion as well as bring eventual disputes to international arbitration bodies.

In March, Eni, alongside Spain’s Repsol, inked a contract to further development of the Cardón IV offshore natural gas project. The European companies each own 50 percent stakes in the venture and recently announced plans to increase output by roughly 10 percent in the short term.

Eni, which has around 30 percent of its shares owned by the Italian state, is also a minority stakeholder in Petrosucre, a joint venture that operates the Corocoro offshore oilfield. In 2025, the ventures with Eni participation produced an average of 64,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day.

Alongside BP, Eni, and Repsol, Chevron and Shell have likewise struck new deals in recent weeks under the favorable conditions of the hydrocarbon reform. Chevron increased its stake in the Petroindependencia joint venture, while its Petropiar project with PDVSA was assigned a new drilling block in the Orinoco Belt. For its part, Shell will take over light and medium crude projects in Eastern Venezuela and several offshore natural gas initiatives. The company had also expressed interest in the Loran field.

The acting Rodríguez administration has actively courted foreign investment into the South American country’s energy and mining sectors, with leaders openly acknowledging the incorporation of “suggestions” and “recommendations” from Western conglomerates into the recent reform.

Alongside multiple delegations of corporate executives, Rodríguez has also hosted Trump officials, including Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, ahead of the recent hydrocarbon and mining reforms.

Last week, newly appointed US Chargé d’Affaires John Barrett stated that Washington’s goal is to “place the private sector at the center of Venezuela’s transformation” during a meeting with the Venezuelan-American Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VENAMCHAM).

Since the January 3 military strikes and kidnapping of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, the Trump administration has issued multiple licenses to facilitate the return of Western conglomerates to the Venezuelan energy and mining sectors.

The licenses mandate that all royalty, tax, and dividend payments be made into accounts run by the US Treasury. Caracas and Washington recently announced the hiring of external auditors to oversee the flow of the US-controlled Venezuelan resources.

Edited by Lucas Koerner in Fusagasugá, Colombia.

Note: The report was amended on Wednesday night to incorporate the BP agreement.

The Other Bennet Sister proved to be a massive hit with period drama fans last month.

A star of The Other Bennet Sister already has two major new projects lined up.

BBC audiences were captivated by the Pride and Prejudice-inspired period drama The Other Bennet Sister, which retells the classic story from the viewpoint of Mary Bennet (portrayed by Ella Bruccoleri).

While the series predominantly centres on Mary’s individual journey, it does track some of the Jane Austen novel’s more central characters, including snobbish social climber Miss Bingley.

In this BBC adaptation, she is portrayed by none other than Sex Education star Tanya Reynolds, who now has two exciting productions on the horizon.

The first of these ventures is dark comedy Dog Person, a film which the 34 year old is not only appearing in but marks her directorial debut.

She will assume the role of Sally, a dental receptionist who is “overwhelmed by life’s pressures and develops a desire to relinquish control, leading to a dark, unsettling fantasy”.

Reynolds won’t be the sole recognisable face to appear in Dog Person either, as she will be accompanied by the likes of Happy Valley villain and Grantchester legend James Norton.

Completing the principal cast is ITV Downton Abbey and Twenty Twenty Six star Hugh Bonneville.

Dog Person isn’t Reynolds’ sole forthcoming project, with Ted Lasso enthusiasts thrilled to learn that she will feature in the highly anticipated fourth season.

Three years have passed since fans last caught a glimpse of the award-winning Apple TV comedy-drama, and a handful of fresh faces are set to join everyone’s beloved football coach.

Little has been revealed about Reynolds’ character, though she is set to play a new assistant coach for a women’s football team.

Fortunately, the wait is almost at an end, with Ted Lasso season four due to make its debut on Wednesday, August 5, on Apple TV, with episodes dropping on a weekly basis.

The Other Bennet Sister is available to watch on BBC iPlayer.

April 29 (Asia Today) — China expressed opposition Wednesday to Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s “free and open Indo-Pacific” initiative, calling it an attempt to promote bloc confrontation.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian made the remarks at a regular briefing in response to reports that Takaichi may present a revised Indo-Pacific strategy during a visit to Vietnam this weekend.

“Exchanges between countries should not target a third party or harm the interests of a third party,” Lin said. “Japan uses the slogan of being ‘free and open,’ but in reality it is stirring up confrontation between camps and creating a small, exclusive group.”

Lin said such actions run counter to the shared desire of regional countries and the international community for peace, development and cooperation.

“They will be difficult to win support,” he said.

According to Japan’s Foreign Ministry, Takaichi is scheduled to visit Hanoi on Friday and meet with To Lam, general secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam, and Prime Minister Le Minh Hung.

Diplomatic sources in Beijing said the talks are expected to focus on strengthening the two countries’ comprehensive strategic partnership, including in economic security fields such as energy, critical minerals and science and technology.

Takaichi is also expected to deliver a speech outlining Japan’s foreign policy direction, including its Indo-Pacific strategy, around the time of the meetings.

— 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=20260429010009593

Hundreds of Iranians have rallied in Tehran to demand an end to US threats and the ongoing blockade of Iranian ports. The blockade is causing Iran’s already devalued currency to sink further.

IT’S one-kneel to supermodel Heidi Klum as she scores a bikini shoot for brand Calzedonia.

The mum of four, 52, still loves posing and said: “I’ve been photographed nude or in lingerie since 1992, way before Instagram.”

Heidi is married to musician Tom Kaulitz, 36.

Kaulitz is a German musician who has been dating Heidi since March 2018.

The pair were first spotted together on 14 March leaving Delilah in West Hollywood.

The Sun recently told how Heidi and fellow model Stella Maxwell took a pet dog for walkies on the catwalk.

HEI-FASHION

Heidi Klum goes braless and flashes side-boob at Devil Wears Prada 2 premiere

KLUM’S BUM

Heidi Klum bares all with mold-style dress showing off body at Grammys

The pair were both glammed up in silver while strutting with Stella’s pet Trip, a chihuahua terrier mix.

They were on set filming for Germany’s Next Topmodel series in LA.

Heidi wore a plunging gown with a see-through skirt, while Stella, 35, was in a slashed minidress.

Stella calls Trip her “most treasured possession”.

A week previously, Heidi changed tack and joined forces with Robbie Williams at the World Cup 2026 draw in Washington DC.

She donned two different dresses, switching up from a red sparkling number to a black blouse and diamante skirt.

Israeli forces have intercepted around a dozen Gaza-bound aid boats from the Global Sumud Flotilla in international waters near the Greek island of Crete, more than 1,000km from Israel. Organisers call it an illegal attack on civilians in international waters.

Over the course of a nearly two-month old war with Israel, Hezbollah has been increasing its use of fiber-optic controlled first-person view (FPV) drones against Israeli troops and vehicles, something we were among the first to note. Now, it appears that Israel is resorting to the use of anti-drone netting on its vehicles to help protect them from the one-way attack drones. These attacks are occurring even amid an ongoing, though extremely fragile, ceasefire.

A video emerged Wednesday on social media showing an Israeli vehicle festooned with the netting, draped like a soccer goal from metal arms extending out and above. The idea, as we have reported in the past, is that drones will get caught up in the nylon or mesh metal nets and become disabled, or the nets will help keep the drones far enough from the occupants before exploding to keep them from being killed. The latter is a far more limited scenario and depends on the vehicle type and the warhead on the drone. Based on the video we are seeing, the level of protection netting can provide passengers in the open-top Israeli vehicle if a trapped drone’s warhead were to detonate is likely very little.

The video began to circulate amid growing controversy in Israel over what is perceived as the IDF’s inability to counter the Hezbollah FPV drone threat. The frustration reached a new level over the weekend, after an Israeli soldier was killed and six were wounded by a Hezbollah drone. A followup attack was launched while the IDF was medevacing the wounded, narrowly missing the helicopter.

You can see the drone narrowly miss the helicopter in the following video. 

“The attack laid bare a growing vulnerability: the Israel Defense Forces’ lack of preparedness for first-person view (FPV) drones in Lebanon, which have been an increasingly prominent weapon in Hezbollah’s arsenal during the current fighting,” the Times of Israel reported on Monday. “The Israel Defense Forces has reported dozens of drone-related injuries in recent weeks, though most were minor. Sunday’s attack marked the first fatal FPV drone strike on Israeli forces.”

“Yet the emergence of fiber optic-guided drones should not have come as a surprise,” the paper highlighted. The reason is what we noted in our previous story about this issue. The militant Lebanese group has used FPV drones against Israel since 2024 and they have been widely used by both sides in the Ukraine war for several years, as well as in other conflicts zones around the globe.

These strikes have become more prevalent the deeper Israel went into southern Lebanon. Videos of these recent attacks have been showing up on social media.

Hezbollah conducted more fiber-optic FPV strikes on Israeli vehicles in Lebanon, including two ‘Merkava’ Mk.4 tanks, a D9 Caterpillar armored bulldozer, and what appears to be a rare ‘Namer’ heavy IFV equipped with a turret mounting a 30 mm Bushmaster Mk 2 cannon.
1/ https://t.co/ms2nagNHrD pic.twitter.com/WDs6M3SpwW

— Roy🇨🇦 (@GrandpaRoy2) April 5, 2026

Moreover, Israeli Merkava tanks began sporting metal additions on top of vehicles meant to deflect top-down attacks from drones during the conflict in Gaza two years ago, which you can read more about here. Some of those tanks that have come under attack recently have been observed with them as well. So Israel has been working to deal with the evolving FPV drone threat, on some level, for some time and it is not alone in struggling with it. Most militaries in the world face the possibility of this same vexing threat with no clear blanket countermeasure to deal with it.

Israeli military officials acknowledge that the IDF still lacks an effective counter to fiber-optic-guided drones, the Times of Israel noted, for reasons we have frequently reported. Fiber optic cables mitigate the effect of electronic warfare efforts to jam radio signals as well as some of the limitations imposed by geographical features that can impede the line-of-sight radio connection between drone and operator.

“The IDF initially assessed that Hezbollah’s fiber optic drones could only operate over a few kilometers,” the outlet stated. “Later, the military discovered launches occurring from distances of up to 15 kilometers (nine miles).”

“The gap was underscored on April 11, when the Defense Ministry’s Directorate of Defense Research and Development issued a public call for solutions to the threat — nearly two years after such systems first surfaced in Ukraine, and weeks into the current conflict with Hezbollah,” according to the Times of Israel. “The Defense Ministry is seeking additional capabilities to address this threat. The purpose of this request is to identify innovative and mature technologies.”

⚡️🇮🇱🇱🇧Times of Israel: Sunday’s Hezbollah drone attack in Taybeh, which killed Sgt. Idan Fooks and wounded six others, has exposed the IDF’s lack of preparedness for first‑person view (FPV) drones, particularly those guided by fibre‑optic cables which are immune to electronic…

— War Monitor (@monitor11616) April 28, 2026

It’s unclear how widespread the use of netting is currently by the IDF in southern Lebanon.

“The issue of drones carrying fiber-optic cables is currently a threat without a clear solution,” a high-ranking IDF official, who just returned from Lebanon, told us. “What’s been shown in the video seems more like an experimental concept rather than something that is already operational in the field.”

“In practice, forces are using various improvised solutions—fishing nets, camouflage nets, even soccer nets, along with drills involving small-arms fire at drones,” he added. “However, I personally haven’t seen the specific net system mentioned being used on the ground yet.”

The official said someone from the IDF’s ground forces research and development team told him that the conclusion in the military is that “this solution is highly problematic. It allows the lower parts of the vehicle to remain exposed, areas that the net doesn’t cover. The likely next step for the adversary would be to detonate the drone at a distance from the net, causing shrapnel to disperse toward the forces.”

In a post on X Tuesday, Israeli military journalist Doron Kadosh said the issue of how to deal with Hezbollah FPV drones “took up significant volume in [Monday]’s discussion at the IDF’s senior command forum at Ramat David. The commander of the 282nd Artillery Brigade, which is currently fighting in Lebanon, Col. G., told the commanders: ‘The drone threat is a significant operational challenge that we’re dealing with. We need to think about how to organize better against this threat.’”

IDF combat unit commanders fighting in Lebanon “now express great frustration with the drone threat and the few tools the IDF has to counter them,” Kadosh added. “‘There’s not much you can do about it,’ says a commander currently fighting in Lebanon. The briefing the forces receive boils down to— ‘Stay alert, and if you spot a drone—shoot at it.’”

Some IDF units “have already begun developing independent responses to the threat—for example, nets deployed over positions, houses, and windows—so that the drone gets caught in the net and doesn’t hit its target,” Kadosh continued. “This is an improvised response; we’ve started deploying it with some of the forces, but it’s far from sufficient,” an officer currently fighting in Lebanon told the reporter. This would follow exactly what we saw in Ukraine, as both sides looked to improvised forms of protection from incoming drones, leading to rapid experimentation and many dead ends.

הבוקר אצל @efitriger:

איום רחפני הנפץ שמאתגר את כוחות צה״ל בדרום לבנון בשורת התקפות יומיומיות של חזבאללה:

הסוגיה תפסה נפח משמעותי גם בדיון פורום הפיקוד הבכיר של צה״ל אתמול ברמת דוד. מפקד חטיבת התותחנים 282 שנלחמת כעת בלבנון, אל״ם ע׳, אמר למפקדים: ״איום הרחפנים הוא אתגר מבצעי… pic.twitter.com/jiSGrSEBGH

— דורון קדוש | Doron Kadosh (@Doron_Kadosh) April 28, 2026

Despite the limitations, this netting has become fairly common in Ukraine, with both sides using netting over vehicles, buildings and miles and miles of roadway to provide safer corridors of travel.

About anti-FPV road net tunnels:

“Thousands of kilometers of equipped anti-drone corridors block the main logistical routes all the way to the forward positions
The goal is to ensure security up to a depth of 100 km from the contact line.”
6/ https://t.co/Avipifv6Fr pic.twitter.com/ES7gq20lln

— Roy🇨🇦 (@GrandpaRoy2) April 29, 2026

As we noted in our last piece on the growing FPV threat to Israeli forces, active protection systems (APS) on armored vehicles are being adapted to provide hard-kill counter-drone protection. These systems use sensors to detect incoming rocket-propelled grenades, missiles, and other projectiles, and fire projectiles to hit them before they strike the vehicle. Israel is a major pioneer in the APS space, with systems being deployed for decades, but just how soon it can upgrade existing systems, such as Iron Fist, for this application isn’t clear. Also, this doesn’t help many lighter vehicles that do not have APS capabilities. Still, it is one bright spot of hope of creating a defense against fiber optic FPVs, at least for lower volume attacks, although these are also very costly systems.

Iron Fist APS | Active Protection System for Armored Vehicles

Regardless, we are likely to see more Israeli vehicles equipped with nets and other forms of passive protection in the coming days, and likely more advanced countermeasures if the war grinds on for a prolonged period.

Contact the author: howard@thewarzone.com

Adam Thomas has claimed David Haye lied to him while they were in I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! South Africa camp, leaving the actor at a complete loss for words

Adam Thomas has claimed David Haye lied during their time on I’m A Celeb. The Waterloo Road star was crowned the winner of I’m A Celebrity… South Africa last week during a tense live final.

Throughout the series, former boxer Haye came under fire for comments he made, including branding his girlfriend, Sian, an “ugly duckling”. He said: “She’s like tall, blue eyes. She’s lovely. She’s got the personality of a proper ugly bird.” He added that “ugly girls” need to have “a personality and banter,” to overlook “the fact that they’re not aesthetically amazing”.

Elsewhere, when Adam, who suffers from psoriatic arthritis, stated he didn’t feel physically able to take part in a trial, Haye branded him “useless,” adding he didn’t “give a s**t”. While the pre-recorded show was airing, Adam explained that he felt “broken” in the camp and considered leaving.

Adam has now spoken out on his podcast, claiming that David lied to him in an attempt to rile him up. Despite his struggles in the camp, Adam never spoke to anybody about his feelings. “I didn’t talk about it to anyone,” he told his brothers, Scott and Ryan on At Home With The Thomas Bros.

He went on to say: “It wasn’t until I was with David, and I came back from this trial, and he was goading me about fainting, that’s when I finally had the courage to go, ‘Listen, shut up now, enough is enough’.

“He got pulled to the Bush Telegraph, and then he came out and he sat me down and said, ‘They’re worried about your mental health. They’ve told me to stop now. Have you been crying about me in there?’

“So that was when I realised, I was like, ‘So, they know, they know what’s been going on’, and that upset me more. Because it’s the fact that I’ve never once talked about [David] or mentioned what [David’s] done to me in here to them.”

Adam later confronted the producers of the show to ask why they would disclose such information to David, who confirmed that there had been no conversation about Adam’s mental health. “I asked David when I got out and he said ‘Yeah, I just made it all up,'” Adam said.

He fumed: “I was like, ‘Wow, you really fu***ng manipulated the s*** out of me!'” Following the dramatic final, Ant and Dec broke their silence tonight, branding it “weird”.

In the preview to their podcast Hanging Out with Ant & Dec, the duo joked about the chaos from the event, with Ant joking, “If you didn’t see it, I bet you read about it!”

“It was quite the night!” said Dec, promising to explain the “ins and outs” of the event. Ant replied: “It was a weird night of TV,” adding that there were “walk-outs” Highlighting the main topics of the upcoming podcast episode, the pair promised to discuss Jimmy Bullard as Dec said: “The first question was to Jimmy about why did you call I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here.”

Ant added in response: “On the night I said I disagreed with him,” likely speaking about Jimmy Bullard, whom Ant publicly disagreed with when Jimmy asked him to confirm that Adam was aggressive on the show.

Like this story? For more of the latest showbiz news and gossip, follow Mirror Celebs on TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Threads.

WASHINGTON. April 29 (UPI) — Fritz Emmanuel Lesly Miot left Haiti in 2010 after a deadly earthquake hit the island nation. As hundreds of thousands of Haitians died in the catastrophe, Miot fled to the United States, where he was granted temporary protected status, a short-term visa program.

Miot, 33, has lived in the States ever since and now researches Alzheimer’s disease in California as a doctoral candidate.

But last year, the Trump administration attempted to revoke his status and send him back to Haiti, along with all other Haitians who had been granted temporary protected status.

On Wednesday, the Supreme Court heard arguments in Miot’s case, along with a similar case that affects Syrian nationals living under temporary protected status. These legal battles, Trump vs. Miot and Mullin vs. Doe, could decide the future of some 350,000 Haitians and 6,000 Syrians living in the United States.

What is TPS?

Temporary protected status began in 1990, enacted as a way to provide foreign nationals relief from war, natural disaster or other “extraordinary and temporary conditions.”

Those with temporary protected status are granted legal status for up to 18 month periods, which can be extended based on an evaluation of the safety conditions in the countries they have left behind.

Currently 1.3 million people in the United States — from 17 countries — rely on temporary protected status. The Trump administration has attempted to terminate that status for those from 13 of those nations in the last year, including Afghanistan, Venezuela, South Sudan and Nicaragua.

Lower courts have blocked many of these terminations, deeming them unlawful, and immigrants under temporary protected status have remained in a state of limbo since. The results of these cases could set a legal precedent that would allow the termination of temporary protected status for citizens from these countries, with minimal oversight.

Two questions

Central to Wednesday’s debate were two questions: First, did then Secretary of Department of Homeland Security Kristi Noem follow correct procedure when deciding it would be safe to send people back to Haiti and Syria? Second, did the judicial branch have the legal right to interfere in the secretary’s decisions on temporary protected status?

Noem was criticized for not sufficiently consulting other state agencies when evaluating Haiti and Syria’s safety conditions. She was accused of violating the Administrative Procedures Act. Some Democratic-appointed Justices highlighted brief email exchanges Noem made with the State Department that led her to terminate Haiti and Syria’s status.

In the case of Haiti, she wrote last September to the State Department in an email, “Can you advise on State’s views on the matter?” The State Department simply replied, “State believes there would be no foreign policy concerns with respect to a change in the TPS status of Haiti.”

Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson on Wednesday questioned whether a “meaningful exchange” of information was made and whether Noem made any effort to actually evaluate the nation’s safety conditions, which is the basis of how temporary protected status is granted.

The government’s attorney, Solicitor General John Sauer, argued that minimal oversight was required of the DHS secretary in these decisions. But Jackson took issue with that, saying it would mean that Noem “can basically do whatever she wants.”

Sauer also vehemently argued that the DHS secretary’s actions should not even be open to judicial review, citing a law that states judges cannot interfere in “any determination with respect to the designation, or termination or extension,” of temporary protected status.

However, Justice Sonia Sotomayor responded that while the courts can’t challenge the secretary’s ultimate decision, they can question whether the procedures taken to come to those decisions fall within the law.

The immigrants’ attorney, Sotomayor and Jackson all later grilled Sauer on whether the Trump administration’s terminations were racially discriminatory.

Sotomayor and Jackson referenced Trump’s previous hostile rhetoric toward both communities. The justices repeatedly referenced one particular post on Truth Social in which Trump said that immigrants are “poisoning the blood of our country.”

Sotomayor said Trump’s statement showed that “discriminatory purpose may have played a part in this decision.”

Immigrant advocates watched the case closely.

“Certainly the goal of this Trump administration is to make people… immediately vulnerable,” Lucas Guttentag, a Stanford law professor who started the ACLU’s Immigrants’ Rights Project, said in an interview.

He said this was part of a much larger campaign to “de-legalize” lawful immigrants and potentially “eviscerate the immigration and asylum protection system covered in this country for decades and generations.”

However, Ira Mehlman, the media director for the Federation for American Immigration Reform, said that many of the immigrants living under temporary protected status had been here far too long.

He said many Haitians arrived 16 years ago. “By no reasonable assessment of the law or English language could you consider that time frame temporary,” he said in an interview.

He added that refugees from many countries, including Haiti and Syria, received temporary protected status because of natural disasters or civil wars that have already ended. So the reason to keep them in the United States has also ended.

“None of them were the Garden of Eden before the earthquake or hurricane … and they’re probably never going to be,” he added.

Kavanaugh echoed this sentiment, saying “The whole thing was the Assad regime was 53 years of brutal treatment and repression. It’s gone.”

Return to literally nothing

Liana Zogbi, a spokesperson from the non-profit Syrian Forum USA, painted a different picture. She said that Syrians would be “returning to literally nothing” should the Supreme Court rule in the government’s favor and Syrians be sent home.

“The majority of the country has been destroyed physically,” she said, explaining that schools, hospitals and even roads are still being rebuilt.

The State Department currently advises U.S. citizens not to travel to Syria “for any reason due to the risk of terrorism, unrest, kidnapping, hostage-taking, crime and armed conflict.”

Haiti is under a similar travel advisory from the State Department, which cites “crime, terrorism, unrest and limited healthcare.” Zogbi said the government would be contradicting itself were it to rule these countries safe for its nationals’ return but not safe enough for U.S. citizens to visit.

Hundreds of thousands of immigrants await a decision by the court, which is expected before July.

“Not only does it bring back up … the kind of trauma around instability and destabilizing their lives,” Zogbi said. “They [TPS holders] never know what can happen and how fast they have to leave. They constantly have to make plan A, B, C and D to just kind of prepare for any outcome of a situation.”

Chile’s military police force has cracked down on student protesters after hundreds demonstrated against the government’s proposals to limit access to free higher education. The proposal includes cutting a government scholarship programme and increasing student loans, as part of wider austerity measures.

Jacqueline Falk, daughter of the late “Columbo” star Peter Falk, died Monday by suicide, according to the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner. She was 60.

Jackie Falk died at her Los Angeles residence, the department’s website said. The case is still listed as open.

The Times was unable to obtain further information about Jackie Falk’s death Wednesday as the medical examiner’s public information office was closed because of staffing issues.

Peter Falk was 83 when he died at his Beverly Hills home in June 2011.

He and first wife Alyce Mayo married in 1960 and later adopted sisters Jackie and Catherine. The college sweethearts divorced in 1976, but according to Catherine — who was around 5 when her parents split — they remained “best friends.”

“I remember watching my mom and dad laugh and tell stories about their college years,” she told Closer magazine in 2023. “It was nice as a teenager to experience that.”

Peter Falk would bring both her and her older sister Jackie to movie premieres and set visits, and loved to take them ice skating, Catherine Falk said.

In 1977, he married actor Shera Danese, who he met while making the 1976 movie “Mikey and Nicky.”

“He saw me walking down the street, and that was it,” Danese told The Times in 1991. She said with a giggle that at 15 years or so into their marriage, “I tell him what to do.” Danese has not acted in film or TV since the year before Peter Falk’s death, according to IMDb.

The family story grew complicated when Catherine Falk alleged that Danese hindered access to their father.

After what she said was an expensive legal battle to gain visitation late in her father’s life, Catherine Falk has a website dedicated to the passage of laws to guarantee a new spouse can’t prevent children from a previous marriage from visiting an incapacitated parent. She said on the site that her dad maintained a 30-year loving relationship with her and Jackie despite alleged interference from his new wife.

In 2009, after petitioning the court to have her ailing father placed under a conservatorship, Catherine was permitted to visit Peter Falk, who was suffering from dementia. Danese was named the “Columbo” actor’s conservator. Jackie, who did not join the court fight to have access to her father, was not able to visit him during the three years before his death, the Catherine Falk Foundation website said.

The women found out about their father’s death via media accounts, the website said.

Standoff in the Strait of Hormuz is pushing global oil prices above $120 per barrel, with average gas prices in the US hitting a four-year high.

US Attorney for the Southern District of New York Jay Clayton said in the statement: “As the indictment lays bare, the Sinaloa cartel, and other drug trafficking organisations like it, would not operate as freely or successfully without corrupt politicians and law enforcement officials on their payroll”.

GAIL Porter has slammed Katie Price online for all to see, claiming she cruelly mocked her hair loss.

The 90s pin-up, 55, lost her hair as a result of alopecia, which she developed in 2005.

Now Gail has claimed that Katie made a horrible remark about her in the past when introducing her to one of her boyfriends.

Taking to the comments section of an Instagram post by Sky TV showing the trailer for Katie’s upcoming tell-all documentary, Katie: Nothing to Hide, Gail made a direct comment about the star.

Referring to Katie, Gail claimed: “The person who introduced me to one of her boyfriends and said ‘this is Gail. She used to be pretty when she had hair… Google her. Thanks.’”

The comment has amassed nearly 100 likes to date as well as a flood of replies from other Instagram users.

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One response said: “Whhhhhat?!,” in clear shock.

A second reads: “That must have been awful for you. I hope you’re okay x.”

A third person added: “So sorry she said that! You are beautiful.”

Gail was a model in the late 90s, most known for her pin-up content in “lad-mags” such as FHM.

This was the same decade when Katie launched her glamour modelling career under the pseudonym of Jordan.

She regularly starred in the pages of magazines and newspapers including The Sun, The Daily Star, FHM, Loaded, and Playboy.

Katie’s tell-all documentary is in the process of production, and is being made by Louis Theroux.

The four-part docu-series promises it will have “intimate access” to the model and the mini series will go “beyond the headlines”, with Sky already promising that it will be absolutely “jaw-dropping”.

Speaking about the production Arron Fellows, co-founder and creative director at Mindhouse, said: “Katie’s 30 years in the spotlight have been truly extraordinary.

“This series doesn’t shy away from – in Katie’s own words – ’the good, the bad and the ugly’; and this is an unexpected re-appraisal of a woman many people feel they have already figured out.

“The team have spoken to a range of contributors who have crossed paths with Katie at different junctures of her life – through the ups, the downs and everything in between.

“In doing so have crafted a series that is as jaw-dropping and unpredictable as it is tender and surprising. I can’t wait for people to see it.”

The series is set to air on Sky and streaming service NOW sometime this summer.

Organisers of a Gaza-bound aid mission say their vessels are being intercepted by Israeli military speedboats in Greek waters west of Crete, more than 1,000km from Israel. Crew members of the Global Sumud Flotilla say communications have been jammed and an SOS issued.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney took office last year amid a flurry of aggressive actions by his country’s southern neighbour. A recently sworn-in United States president, Donald Trump, slapped tariffs on Canadian exports and threatened to make the US neighbour the 51st state.

The actions were particularly damning as Canada had deep trade and security ties with the US, not only sending nearly 80 percent of its exports to that market, but also often following lockstep on geopolitical policy and strategic moves.

All that was thrown aside when Trump took office, and Canada, under former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, was one of the first countries he slapped with tariffs.

After a year of dealing with a mercurial and unpredictable US president, experts applaud Carney as “standing strong and resolute”, not just in the face of Trump’s threats, but also against internal critics.

“The most notable aspect of the last year was both a bullet dodged and a savvy bit of statecraft to avoid a rush to do a deal on trade and invest with the US the way many other countries did,” said Brett House, a senior fellow at the University of Toronto’s Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy.

“Commitments from this president are absolutely worthless, and the biggest accomplishment of the first year has been standing strong and resolute in the face of internal critics,” House told Al Jazeera.

Indeed, Carney has used Trump’s attacks on allies and others to refocus Canada’s foreign policy and place in the world.

With the US no longer the anchor of a rules-based order, and with there now being a “deep rupture” caused by changes in Washington, “Carney has aimed to build at home and diversify abroad, as Ottawa’s dependence and long ties have now become a source of weakness,” said Vina Nadjibulla, the vice president of the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada.

“And he’s doing this at a speed, scale and ambition that we haven’t seen in recent years” in Ottawa, Nadjibulla said.

‘Rupture’ in global order

Some of that stance was evident in January, when Carney, in a speech in Davos, said there was a “rupture” in the global rules-based order and that Middle Powers like Canada and others had to rise strategically to address geopolitical tensions.

But it was visible in his actions even before Davos, when he had reached out to countries that had historically been important trade partners but where relations had been frozen due to political tensions under his predecessor, Trudeau.

For instance, Carney invited Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the G7 meeting in Canada to initiate a reset of ties with New Delhi that had been in a deep freeze since Trudeau alleged in 2023 that India was involved in the killing of a Sikh separatist activist on Canadian soil.

Carney also recalibrated Canada’s relations with China, which had been tense since Canadian authorities arrested a key official of Chinese telecommunications firm Huawei as she was transitioning through the Vancouver international airport in December 2018. China retaliated against the arrest of Meng Wanzhou, which was carried out at the request of US authorities, by detaining two Canadians.

Carney has also deepened relations with Japan, South Korea, Australia, and others, making sure to align on security and economic issues, and has drawn Canada closer to Europe, Nadjibulla pointed out.

Domestic push

In the lead-up to elections last year, Carney “positioned himself as a centrist, a moderate, and went to great lengths to distance himself from the image of Justin Trudeau,” said Sanjay Jeram, the chair of the political science department at Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, Canada.

“He hasn’t shown much interest in discussing things outside the economy, international relations and trade, and even when asked, has avoided those questions and steered the conversation back to what he believes is his true purpose. Or that could be his political strategy, or a bit of both.”

Under that pragmatist persona, “Carney takes the world and the economy as it is, rather than what we hope it to be”, which allows him to be judged on pragmatist metrics, Jeram said, referring to criticisms that Carney is overlooking concerns related to political interference or human rights in his dealings with foreign partners.

“Canadians have bought that [stance] so far,” Jeram added.

Indeed, Carney’s approval ratings are up. According to a March Ipsos poll for Global News, 58 percent of Canadians approve of him, up 10 percent from a year before, while 33 percent do not.

While there has also been significant movement on paper to remove federal barriers to facilitate business and trade within the country, there have also been concerns about certain policy pushes. A major projects bill, for instance, is meant to fast-track big infrastructure projects, but critics are concerned that it undermines the importance of consultation, especially with the Indigenous communities whose land these projects could go through.

“Carney recognises we need more of infrastructure to be able to diversify trade,” the Asia Pacific Foundation’s Nadjibulla said.

As he settles into his second year, Carney’s main challenge will be to see if he can deliver on his first-year announcements.

One of his biggest challenges this year will be a successful conclusion of the review of the trade pact between the US, Canada and Mexico, known as the USMCA, which starts on July 1 and which has helped shield Canadian exports from US tariffs.

The “US has signalled that a successful review could hinge on Canada lining its external tariffs in line with US tariffs, but that’s at cross purposes with Canada’s efforts”, said the University of Toronto’s House, especially as Canada has lined up deals with China on electric cars and agriculture.

Nadjibulla added that “2026 will be harder, because it will be about implementation and delivery, especially against the US-Canada dynamics.”

The BBC are to air a lost episode of The Morecambe and Wise Show, almost six decades after the initial broadcast, to coincide with Eric Morecambe’s 100th birthday

A long-lost episode of The Morecambe and Wise Show, first broadcast on the BBC in 1968, has been rediscovered and will be shown next month.

The episode, which first aired on September 16, 1968, will be re-shown decades later to coincide with when Eric Morecambe would have turned 100. BBC Four will also show a collection of sketches called The Perfect Morecambe and Wise to mark this moment.

The episode, which was thought to be lost forever, was discovered by Film Is Fabulous! – a charitable trust run by film collectors and television enthusiasts. It was found in the estate of a former television industry professional and has now been returned to the BBC.

This ‘lost’ programme is the third episode from Morecambe and Wise’s first series after returning to the BBC, following a period working with commercial television.

Noreen Adams, Director of BBC Archives, said: “Morecambe and Wise are one of the UK’s most loved comedy duos. Thanks to Film Is Fabulous! – We’re delighted to share this comedy gold that we thought was lost forever with viewers across the UK.”

The episode features sketches written by Sid Green and Dick Hills. Ann Hamilton appears as Pauline in a sketch set in a nudist colony, while Jenny Lee-Wright plays Eric’s niece, a balloon dancer. It also includes a musical performance from The Paper Dolls, who enjoyed hits in the 1960s.

Eric Morecambe’s daughter, Gail Morecambe, said: “What a lovely surprise this is, and I’m really looking forward to seeing it on a screen once again after so many years.

“It’s excellent to hear that skilled people are actively going through the Archives and discovering ‘lost’ programmes. Not just Morecambe and Wise, of course. I am especially thrilled that it coincides with my father’s centenary year. Really wonderful.”

Eric Morecambe’s son, Gary Morecambe added: “I’m so thrilled and surprised by the discovery of a Morecambe and Wise show that hasn’t been seen since 1968. I honestly didn’t think there was anything out there left to find, and when something like this comes out of nowhere, it’s really quite wonderful.

“Hats off to Professor Justin Smith and his team, whose dedication and hard work brought this gem back to us. I’m very excited about seeing it for the first time since I was twelve years of age.”

The Morecambe and Wise Show ran for nine series and became a regular fixture at Christmas on the BBC with a festive special, before moving to ITV for four series.

* The lost episode of The Morecambe and Wise Show will air on BBC Four and BBC iPlayer on Thursday May 14 from 8pm.

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April 29 (UPI) — Britain’s King Charles III and Queen Camilla laid flowers at the Sept. 11 memorial and met with victims’ families and first responders in New York City on the third day of their state visit to the United States.

It was the first visit by a reigning British monarch since Queen Elizabeth II visited in 2010.

The terrorist attacks at the World Trade Center in 2001 killed nearly 2,800 people, 67 of them British. During the queen’s trip, she officially opened what is now called the Queen Elizabeth II September 11th Garden. The lower Manhattan space honors the British citizens who died in the attacks.

The royal couple laid flowers beside the reflecting pool, which has the names of victims etched into the side. Standing beside them were firefighters and officers from the New York Police Department, the Port Authority Police Department and the New York Fire Department, in dress uniforms, The New York Times reported.

Charles spoke to both houses of Congress on Tuesday, and he mentioned that 9/11 was the first time that NATO invoked Article 5, which declares that an attack on any members is an attack on all.

Charles referenced the attacks during the speech.

“We stood with you then,” he said. “And we stand with you now in solemn remembrance of a day that shall never be forgotten.”

Trump has repeatedly claimed that NATO has never come to the aid of the United States.

Charles also emphasized his country’s involvement in the war in Afghanistan. Trump said earlier this year that British troops “held back” in the war, which caused some Brits to demand the state visit be canceled.

After the visit to the memorial, the king went to Harlem to meet with young people who run an urban farm. He fed lettuce to the chickens, The Times reported.

Camilla visited the New York Public Library and gave a speech about the power of literature. She gave the library a replica of Roo, the character in Winnie the Pooh, a British children’s classic.

The library has the original stuffed animals that inspired A.A. Milne to write the Pooh series, but the Roo animal was lost.

Wednesday evening, the king and queen will attend a reception with “celebrated creative and cultural figures from both sides of the Atlantic,” the British Embassy said. They will then head back to Washington.

The pair will attend a block party for the United States’ 250th anniversary in Virginia Thursday and say good-bye to Trump, ending their state visit.

After watching Manchester City slip to a 3-2 defeat by Brighton on Saturday, Arsenal fans started to believe they had a chance.

And Slegers’ team made sure to capitalise on the opportunity with seven unanswered goals against Leicester, improving their goal difference to 33 – six behind City.

Leah Williamson’s glancing header – the Gunners’ seventh against Leicester – also took their tally to 103 goals under Slegers. No WSL team has scored more since she was appointed – initially as interim boss – in October 2024.

“Clean sheet, seven goals scored, different scorers – it was a great night for us,” Slegers said to Sky Sports.

“You saw so many players playing the Arsenal way, we played attractive football and we were very brave in everything we did.”

What will also boost Arsenal’s belief is their squad’s strength in depth.

With the second leg of their Women’s Champions League semi-final against Lyon awaiting on Saturday, Slegers rested Williamson, Lotte Wubben-Moy, Mariona Caldentey, Caitlin Foord and Alessia Russo against the Foxes.

Their replacements did the job.

On her 100th WSL appearance, Maanum scored the opening goal and assisted two more, while Smilla Holmberg bagged her first two goals in an Arsenal shirt.

Stina Blackstenius has often had to play second fiddle to Russo, but the Swede, who scored the winning goal in last season’s Champions League final, showed her quality with two goals in the space of nine minutes.

“Everyone knows their role and brings their strengths. There are such high levels of communication and trust within the team, on the pitch, off the pitch,” Slegers added.

Evidence in the murder case against the singer D4vd — who is charged with the brutal killing of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez — will not become public until at least late next month, after his defense attorneys pumped the brakes on a preliminary hearing that was scheduled to take place this Friday.

David Anthony Burke, 21, was charged with murder, continuous sex abuse of a minor and mutilating a corpse earlier this month after Los Angeles police stormed a Hollywood Hills home and arrested him. He pleaded not guilty last week.

The singer has long been linked to Hernandez’s disappearance and death, after her badly decomposed body was found in the trunk of a Tesla he owned at a Hollywood tow yard last September. Authorities said Hernandez was last seen at Burke’s Hollywood residence on April 23, 2025.

Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. Nathan Hochman said last week that Burke killed the 14-year-old because she threatened to expose the fact that he’d been sexually abusing her for nearly a year. An autopsy report made public last week revealed Hernandez died from a pair of stab wounds. Her body was dismembered when police found it in the trunk and two of her fingers had been amputated, the report said.

Burke’s lead defense attorney, Blair Berk, said she does not believe the prosecution’s case can hold up to scrutiny and pushed for an immediate preliminary hearing during his initial court appearance. Defendants have a right to a preliminary hearing, in which a judge determines whether prosecutors have enough evidence to bring a case to trial, within 10 business days. In Burke’s case, that would have put the preliminary hearing on track for May 1.

But on Wednesday afternoon, attorney Marilyn Bednarski asked that the hearing be pushed back to May 26, citing the voluminous amount of discovery in the case. Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Charlaine Olmedo agreed there was “good cause” to delay the hearing a few weeks.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Beth Silverman expressed some annoyance at Bednarski and Berk’s change of heart, noting she’d already warned the defense team that prosecutors had a trove of evidence to turn over.

Silverman said last week that discovery materials would include the results of a wiretap and searches of Burke’s cellphone and iCloud accounts, which prosecutors allege turned up “a significant amount of child pornography.” Law enforcement executed 54 search warrants in the case, according to court records.

The medical examiner’s report detailing how Hernandez died was not available to the defense until last week. Prosecutors also convened three secret grand juries between November 2025 and February 2026 to collect evidence against Burke, according to Silverman. Transcripts from those hearings were under seal as of last week.

Bednarski said Wednesday she needed “additional time to review the discovery we either just got, or are about to get, in order to have a full and free preliminary hearing.”

“We told them that this was what was going to be coming,” Silverman argued in reply. “As I said in my brief, we sent out subpoenas, we’ve been preparing, we’ve been telling witnesses to cancel planned vacations.”

Berk also sought to have Olmedo seal a filing that Silverman submitted early Wednesday that laid out evidence she plans to present at a preliminary hearing.

“The prosecution has appeared to file a rather unusual pre-preliminary hearing brief that appears to be a very one-sided view of what is anticipated as the evidence in this case. But no evidence has been presented by the prosecution in a courtroom. Certainly there has been no adjudication of the admissibility of that evidence,” Berk said, expressing worry that the publication of such materials would taint future jury pools.

Prosecutors normally file such briefs ahead of trial, which include a list of witnesses they plan to call and a summary of arguments they will make. Olmedo rejected Berk’s request to seal the motion. A copy of the document was not immediately available for review at the downtown Los Angeles courthouse.

April 29 (UPI) — The Florida legislature approved a new congressional map proposed by Gov. Ron DeSantis on Wednesday, sending the redistricting plan back to the governor’s office for a signature.

The new congressional map would allow the Republican Party to pick up an expected four more seats in Congress, Politico reported. In total, the party would have 24 seats to four that would lean Democrat. Currently, Florida Republicans hold 20 seats in Congress and Democrats have seven.

DeSantis submitted his proposal Monday as the state legislature convened a special session.

“Our new map for 2026 makes good on my promise to conduct mid-decade redistricting and it more fairly represents the makeup of Florida today,” DeSantis told Fox News earlier in the week.

Florida lawmakers fast-tracked the proposal ahead of Novembers midterms, The Hill reported. Committees in both the House and Senate advanced the map within hours of the start of the special session.

Lawmakers approved the map mostly along party lines, with some Republican senators voting against it.

Dave Wasserman with Cook Political Report said Reps. Kath Castor, Darren Soto, Jared Moskowitz and Debbie Wasserman Schultz, all Democrats, are now in danger of losing their seats come November.