News Desk

I was driving on the B653 – a well-used country road – when the pothole loomed. The road was too narrow to swerve, and we heard a nasty clunk. I put on the hazard lights – as did the driver in front, and the two vehicles behind. Four cars with busted tyres, thanks to a pothole.

BROOKLYN Beckham has promised to “forever protect” his wife Nicola Peltz in a gushing post amid the ongoing family feud.

It comes after Brooklyn made a bombshell statement where he accused his parents, Sir David Beckham and Victoria Beckham, of trying endlessly to ruin his relationship in a social media post in January.

Brooklyn took to Instagram and posted a black and white image which showed the couple sharing a tender kiss.

Brooklyn was seen shirtless which showed off his tattoos and Nicola was dressed in a crop top and jeans.

He captioned the sweet snap: “Happy Valentine’s Day baby, I am the luckiest person in the world to be able to call you my Valentine’s every year.

“I love you more than you know and I will forever protect and love you.”

THE BANISHER

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

HARP TO HEART

Caring Harper sends heartfelt message to Brooklyn in bid to heal bitter feud

Brooklyn sent a clear message to Gordon Ramsay this weekend after the chef publicly urged him to “remember where he came from” amid his ongoing family row with his mum and dad. 

In an exclusive interview with The Sun this week, Gordon revealed that, despite being close mates with David Beckham, he had maintained contact with Brooklyn after his family fallout alongside wife, Nicola Peltz.

Gordon praised his “incredible heart” but warned that his eagerness to “forge his own path” had him in danger of forgetting “where he came from”. 

However, within hours of the interview being published, Brooklyn added his former mentor to the list of people he’s now unfollowed on Instagram. 

At the time of writing, Gordon is still following Brooklyn, meaning that he’s not been blocked by the 26-year-old. 

During our interview with Gordon, he opened up about what was going on inside the Beckham household, and his belief that things at some point will smooth over.

“It’s a very difficult situation,” he explained. “Victoria is upset, and I know 24/7, seven days a week, just how much David loves Brooklyn.

“Brooklyn and I have messaged a little bit, our relationship is solid. I love him – his heart is incredible – but it’s hard, isn’t it, when you’re infatuated? 

“Love is blind. It’s easy to get up on that rollercoaster, and get carried away. But it will come back.” 

In his bombshell statement, Brooklyn claimed his mum danced “inappropriately” on him at his lavish wedding in 2022.

He has also blocked his parents and siblings, Romeo, 23, Cruz, 20, and Harper, 14, on social media.

The Beckham family have continued to make small gestures in a bid to reach out to Brooklyn – despite his public six-page statement cutting all ties from the family.

His little sister Harper made a post sending a “Happy Valentines to the best big brothers in the world”, sharing a throwback snap of her as a young child with Brooklyn, as well as brothers Romeo and Cruz.

Victoria later reposted the photograph on her own Instagram Stories, but Brooklyn has not publicly responded.

Earlier this week Cruz also reached out to Brooklyn, with a throwback of the three brothers as children, something he also ignored.

However, Gordon Ramsay has insisted that his good friend David will end the ongoing feud with his son Brooklyn.

Hasan Piker has built one of the largest online political audiences, reaching millions without newsroom oversight or traditional editorial constraints. In this episode of Talk to Al Jazeera, the influential streamer reflects on bias, accountability, wealth, bans and the blurred line between journalism and digital influence. As algorithms replace editors and engagement supplants verification, we examine who shapes political narratives in the age of streaming and what responsibilities accompany that power.

Looking like a scene in a sci-fi movie, and in what is clearly a unique mission, dubbed Operation Windlord, USAF C-17s have been tasked with transporting a micro nuclear reactor. The U.S. military’s role is to transport the elements of the Ward250 reactor, made by Valar Atomics, from March Air Reserve Base in Southern California to Hill Air Force Base in Utah. Once on the ground in Utah, it will be moved to Utah San Rafael Energy Lab (USREL) in Orangeville for extensive testing. Beyond its direct utility, this operation may very well serve as a glimpse of what’s to come as the Department of Defense looks to integrate micro nuclear reactors into the power grids of critical installations.

A total of three C-17s will bring the components of the Ward250, eight modules in total, to Utah. This is said to be the first time a nuclear reactor has been moved via Globemaster III. The delivery of the Ward250 to USREL is part of the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Nuclear Reactor Pilot Program, established in response to President Donald Trump’s Executive Order 14301 last year.

DOE’s pilot program is looking to advance developments that could have commercial and military applications. The U.S. military has been pursuing its own micro-reactor efforts in recent years to help bring a resilient, safe, and scalable supply of electricity that is independent from local power grids to its bases. The vulnerability of America’s grid is palpable, and many military facilities are largely reliant on it. The use of micro reactors could also help remote installations that are dependent on their own power plants and future austere bases overseas that may have no direct access to a power grid at all.

You can read all about the Pentagon’s micro-reactor initiatives in our recent feature linked here.

The commercial aspects of micro reactors are also what Valar Atomics, and the associated scalable nuclear energy concepts it is perusing, seeks to address under executive order 14301, which jumpstarts a ‘nuclear renaissance’ of sorts for U.S. energy, including powering commercial industries. This could be especially relevant for helping to quench what is becoming an insatiable thirst for electricity from data centers spurred on by the artificial intelligence (AI) boom.

Valar Atomics’ Ward250 is a next-generation reactor design that uses helium coolant and graphite moderators. At its core is so-called tri-structural isotropic (TRISO) fuel that consists of “uranium kernels encased in ceramic layers,” according to a previous press release from USREL.

Using TRISO nuclear fuels is often described as a way to produce higher performance than would be offered by comparable amounts of traditional fissile material used in power plants today. It is also said to be safer to use and handle. Past reports have said that Valar is aiming for Ward250 to be capable of reaching a 100-kWt (kilowatts of thermal energy) power rating.

The combination of TRISO fuel, helium-cooling, and graphite moderation “enable safer operations over past nuclear technologies and offer the ability to operate at higher temperatures than traditional plants,” according to USREL.

The Most Ambitious Energy Project on Earth – Valar Atomics

The Modular Citadel | Valar Atomics

Isaiah Taylor, the founder of Valar Atomics, also stated the following about the company’s vision and its very aggressive timelines:

“For four decades, the United States has underinvested in domestic energy production while exporting energy-intensive industries overseas. This strategic error has left us vulnerable precisely when energy demand is accelerating at unprecedented rates. Now, as we work to reshore critical manufacturing and compete in the energy-demanding field of artificial intelligence, we face power requirements that dwarf anything in our industrial history.

The scale of this challenge cannot be overstated. Training a single large language model can consume as much electricity as a small city. Advanced manufacturing requires constant, reliable power measured in gigawatts. The industrial processes needed to compete with China in critical materials and manufacturing are extraordinarily energy-intensive. Meanwhile, our existing grid infrastructure, much of it built decades ago, strains even under current demands.

Renewable sources cannot meet these baseload demands with the reliability and density required. While extremely valuable assets which also should be allowed to grow, natural gas and coal lack the speed and fundamental economics needed to counter China. Only nuclear power offers the combination of low cost, rapid timeline, and operational reliability necessary to power America’s technological and industrial renaissance.

For the first time in decades, nuclear energy is being treated as what it truly is: a strategic national asset essential to our prosperity, security, and global influence.

…

We are honored to announce that Valar Atomics has been selected by the U.S. Department of Energy to achieve criticality on American soil by July 4th, 2026.”

It appears that this airlift mission is crucial to realizing that goal.

We first got wind of the air transport mission when Taylor started posting from the flightline at March ARB yesterday. The images he posted show the sci-fi-looking reactor being rolled onto the C-17, along with other containers and support equipment.

The Pentagon has since posted about the operation:

A Pentagon release on Operation Windlord reads, in part:

“This groundbreaking collaboration with Valar Atomics is directly aligned with President Trump’s Executive Order to reshape and modernize America’s nuclear energy landscape.

On Sunday, February 15, 2026, a next-generation nuclear reactor will be transported via C-17 from March Air Reserve Base in California to Hill Air Force Base in Utah. The reactor will then be transported to Utah San Rafael Energy Lab (USREL) in Orangeville, Utah, for testing and evaluation.

The successful delivery and installation of this reactor will unlock significant possibilities for the future of energy resilience and strategic independence for our nation’s defense, showcasing an agile, innovative, and commercial-first approach to solving critical infrastructure challenges. By harnessing the power of advanced nuclear technology, we are not only enhancing our national security but championing a future of American energy dominance.”

As to why the reactor was not transported to Utah on the ground, that is not clear. Security is a glaring issue with anything nuclear, so that was likely a factor. Then there is the Pentagon’s push for nuclear reactors, which could see movements like this become commonplace. As an aside, the USAF unit involved in the transport, the 62nd Airlift Wing, is the only one currently known to be certified to ferry routine nuclear weapons shipments. As a result, the 62nd is often involved in the movement of other kinds of nuclear material in cooperation with DOE.

On top of being part of an important effort to advance new nuclear power technologies, Operation Windlord would be a great proof of concept that will inform future micro reactor airlift operations.

Contact the author: Tyler@twz.com

Michael Silverblatt, the longtime host of the KCRW radio show “Bookworm” — known for interviews of authors so in depth that they sometimes left his subjects astounded at his breadth of knowledge of their work — has died. He was 73.

Silverblatt died Saturday at home after a protracted illness, a close friend confirmed.

Although Silverblatt’s 30-minute show, which ran from 1989 to 2022 and was nationally syndicated, included interviews with celebrated authors including Gore Vidal, Kazuo Ishiguro, David Foster Wallace, Susan Orlean, Joan Didion and Zadie Smith, the real star of the show was the host himself, the nasal-voiced radio personality who more than once in life was told he did not have a voice for his medium.

His show represents one of the most significant archives of conversations with major literary powerhouses from the late 20th and early 21st centuries.

But Silverblatt knew that he was as much a character as the people he interviewed.

“I’m as fantastical a creature as anything in Oz or in Wonderland,” he said during a talk in front of the Cornell University English department in 2010. “I like it if people can say, ‘I never met anyone like him,’ and by that they should mean that it wasn’t an unpleasant experience.”

Born in 1952, the Brooklyn native learned to love reading as a child when he was introduced to “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.” Neighbors would see him walking the streets of Brooklyn with his head in a book and would sometimes call his parents out of fear he might get hurt.

But until he left home for the University at Buffalo, State University of New York, at the age of 16, Silverblatt has said, he had never met an author.

His college, however, was filled with such famous authors as Michel Foucault, John Barth, Donald Barthelme and J.M. Coetzee, who were all working as professors.

Silverblatt was shy and too embarrassed to speak during class because of his inability to clearly pronounce the letter “L,” which appears three times in his own name. Yet he considered the authors to be his friends, even if they did not know it yet, he said during the Cornell talk.

He would approach them after class to speak about their work.

Despite his interest in literature, Silverblatt’s parents wanted him to become a mail carrier, he said. The summer after his freshman year, Silverblatt worked a New York City mail route, delivering letters to the mayor’s mansion on an Upper East Side route that took him past numerous old bookstores and used-books shops. During that job, he said in the Cornell talk, he purchased the complete works of Charles Dickens.

Silverblatt moved to Los Angeles after college in the mid-1970s and worked in Hollywood in public relations and script development.

Like many young writers in Los Angeles, he wrote a script that never got made.

It was in Los Angeles that Silverblatt met Ruth Seymour, the longtime head of KCRW.

Seymour had just returned to the United States from Russia and was at a dinner party where everyone was discussing Hollywood. There, she and Silverblatt became immersed in a one-on-one discussion of Russian poetry.

“He’s a great raconteur and so the rest of the world just vanished,” Seymour told Times columnist Lynell George in 1997. “Afterward I just turned and asked him: ‘Have you ever thought about doing radio?’”

For the next 33 years, that’s exactly what he thought about.

“Michael was a genius. He could be mesmerizing and always, always, always brilliant,” said Alan Howard, who edited “Bookworm” for 31 years.

“It’s an extraordinary archive that exists, and I don’t think anyone else has ever created such an archive of intelligent, interesting people being asked about their work,” Howard said. “Michael was very proud of the show. He devoted his life to the show.”

Silverblatt once dreamed of being on the other side of the microphone, as a writer in his own right, Howard said. But he faced bouts of writer’s block through his 20s and gave up writing.

“Eventually, he came to find peace with the reality of that,” Howard said.

Instead of writing, he became an accumulator of a vast amount of other writers’ work — in his library as well as the repository in his head. He had an incredible memory for the books he read.

Silverblatt converted the apartment next to his Fairfax apartment into a library where he kept thousands of books, Howard said.

“It was heaven,” he said. “It was a fabulous library.”

“He was such a singular person,” said Jennifer Ferro, now the president of KCRW. “He had a voice you would never expect would be on radio.”

Alan Felsenthal, a poet who considered Silverblatt a mentor, called Silverblatt’s voice “sensitive and tender.”

Felsenthal said the show was about creating a space of “infinite compassion,” where writers could share things they might not share in everyday conversation.

“Michael was one of a kind, truly singular. And his voice is too,” Felsenthal said.

One of the most important tenets of Silverblatt’s approach was that he not only read the book he was discussing on his show that day, but also read the entire oeuvre of the authors he interviewed.

“A significant writer would come in and be bowled over by Michael’s depth of vision of the work at hand,” Howard said.

David Foster Wallace, in one interview, said he wanted Silverblatt to adopt him.

Silverblatt said he strove to read an author’s entire body of work, but he never claimed to have read it all if he hadn’t.

“In general I try to read the author’s complete work. … That’s not always true, and I never say it if it isn’t true. But more often than not, I have, at least, read the majority of the work. And sometimes it’s a superhuman challenge,” he said in the 1997 Times column.

The voracious reader said that the best books, those that brought him happiness, were not the ones that ease our way in this strange and difficult world.

“The books I love the most made it harder for me to live,” he said.

Silverblatt is survived by his sister, Joan Bykofsky.

These are the key developments from day 1,453 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.

Here is where things stand on Monday, February 16:

Fighting

• Russian forces launched attacks across Ukraine on Sunday, wounding six people in the central-eastern Dnipropetrovsk region, three in the northeastern Sumy region, and two in the southeastern city of Zaporizhzhia, the Ukrinform news outlet reported, citing local officials.
• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia has launched about 1,300 drones, 1,200 guided aerial bombs and dozens of ballistic missiles at Ukraine over the past week alone.
• About 1,600 buildings in the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, remained without heat on Sunday following recent Russian attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, officials said.
• Deputy Prime Minister Oleksii Kuleba said Russian strikes overnight on Sunday had damaged railroad infrastructure in the southern region of Odesa and the Dnipropetrovsk region.
• The Ukrainian military said in a statement that it hit a key oil terminal in southern Russia, near the Moscow-annexed Crimean Peninsula, on Sunday. The attack was on the Tamanneftegaz oil terminal near the village of Volna in the Krasnodar region.
• Ukrainian forces also launched a drone attack on the Russian Black Sea port of Taman, which handles oil products, grain, coal and commodities, causing damage and triggering several fires, according to Veniamin Kondratyev, the governor of Russia’s Krasnodar region. He said more than 100 people were working to put out the fires.
• Kondratyev said there were more Ukrainian attacks on the Russian resort city of Sochi and the village of Yurovka, close to the seaside town of Anapa. They caused less significant damage, he added.

• Russian air defences downed five drones approaching the Russian capital, Moscow, according to Mayor Sergei Sobyanin.
• A Ukrainian attack also left five municipalities in the Russian border region of Bryansk and parts of its capital without heat and electricity, Governor Alexander Bogomaz said.
• Russia’s Ministry of Defence said on Sunday that its troops had taken the village of Tsvitkove in the southeastern Zaporizhia region, according to the TASS news agency. Russia controls about 75 percent of the Zaporizhia region, but battle lines had been largely static since 2022 until recent Russian advances.
• Russia’s army chief, Valery Gerasimov, said on Sunday that Russian troops had seized a dozen villages in eastern Ukraine in February. He made the announcement while visiting Russian troops in Ukraine, the AFP news agency reported.

Politics and diplomacy

• Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau arrested the country’s former energy minister, German Galushchenko, who resigned in November amid a huge corruption scandal, as he tried to cross Ukraine’s border.
• Zelenskyy said in a statement that Ukraine has agreed to new energy and military support packages with European allies.
• The European Union’s foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, said she felt that the bloc’s governments were not ready to give Ukraine a date for membership into the EU, despite demands from Zelenskyy.
• Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics echoed Kallas’s comments, saying that “there is no readiness to accept a date” for Ukrainian membership. He added that he has little hope of an imminent peace deal between Russia and Ukraine.
• Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has accused Ukraine of delaying the restart of a pipeline carrying Russian oil to Eastern Europe via Ukraine to “blackmail” Hungary to drop its opposition to Ukraine’s future EU membership.
• North Korean leader Kim Jong Un presided over the completion ceremony of a new housing district in Pyongyang for families of troops who died in overseas military operations, state media KCNA reported. It is believed that more than 6,000 North Korean soldiers were killed while fighting alongside Russian troops in Ukraine.
• Russia will not end the militarisation of its economy after fighting in Ukraine ends, the head of Latvia’s intelligence agency, Egils Zviedris, told the AFP news agency on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference, which ended on Sunday.

Caracas, February 15, 2026 (venezuelanalysis.com) – US President Donald Trump is considering a visit to Venezuela, though he did not specify when the trip might take place or what agenda it would entail.

“I’m going to make a visit to Venezuela,” Trump told reporters outside the White House on Friday. 

The US President addressed the press ahead of a trip to Fort Bragg, North Carolina, to meet soldiers who participated in the January 3 military attacks against Venezuela and the kidnapping of President Nicolás Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores.

Questioned by a journalist, Trump stated that Washington recognizes the Venezuelan government led by Acting President Delcy Rodríguez as the country’s legitimate authority.

“We are dealing with them, and they have done a great job,” he stated. The White House refused comment on whether the recognition was the administration’s official stance.

In 2019, the first Trump administration recognized the self-proclaimed “interim government” headed by Juan Guaidó as the country’s legitimate authority, prompting the Maduro government to sever diplomatic ties. The US later transferred its recognition to the defunct opposition-controlled National Assembly whose term expired in January 2021.

Since the January 3 attacks, Caracas and Washington have fast-tracked a diplomatic rapprochement, with US Chargé d’Affaires Laura Dogu arriving in the Caribbean nation in early February. An official recognition of the Rodríguez acting government could pave the way for the restructuring of Venezuela’s sizable foreign debt.

In his Friday press remarks, Trump further described relations with Venezuelan leaders as being “as good as one could hope for,” and added that “the relationship with Venezuela today is a 10.”

Trump additionally highlighted progress in Venezuela’s oil sector.

“Oil is flowing, and other nations are paying a lot of money for it, and we are handling it. We are refining it,” he said. Since January, the White House has imposed control of Venezuelan oil exports, with proceeds deposited in bank accounts in Qatar before being partly rerouted to Caracas under US-set conditions.

Earlier last week, Venezuelan Acting President Delcy Rodríguez emphasized in an NBC interview that Maduro remains the country’s legitimate president. She also disclosed that she has spoken twice with Trump and has had “more frequent” contact with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and expressed “gratitude” for the “respectful and courteous” nature of the talks.

Venezuela’s acting president went on to announce that she has likewise been invited to visit the US. “We are considering going once we establish cooperation and can move forward with everything,” she said.

The invitation reportedly arose during a recent visit to Caracas by US Energy Secretary Chris Wright, who was hosted by Rodríguez at Miraflores Palace on Wednesday. 

Wright and Rodríguez later toured the Petroindependencia crude upgrader, a mixed venture between Venezuela’s state-owned PDVSA and Chevron, in the Orinoco Oil Belt.

The Trump administration official announced that Chevron would invest US $100 million to modernize operational facilities, with the goal of “doubling [Petroindependencia’s] productive capacity within 12 to 18 months and quintupling it within five years.” Petroindependencia has a current output of 40,000 barrels per day (bpd).

US issues new oil licenses

Following Wright’s Venezuela visit, the US Treasury Department issued two general licenses, 49 and 50, aimed at boosting conditions for Western multinational corporations to operate in Venezuela’s energy sector.

The first license allows for the negotiation and signing of future investment contracts, contingent upon the potential issuance of a specific license. The second waiver authorizes Chevron, BP, Eni, Shell, and Repsol to conduct transactions and operations related to hydrocarbon projects with PDVSA or any other Venezuelan public entity.

Repsol (Spain) and Eni (Italy), like Chevron, participate in oil and gas joint ventures in the South American country, whereas the UK-headquartered Shell and BP are set to lead offshore natural gas projects alongside Trinidad and Tobago’s National Gas Company (NGC) in Venezuelan waters. 

However, GL50 requires that any contracts fall under US jurisdiction and mandates that all payments to “blocked” entities—as sanctions against PDVSA and Venezuela’s banking system remain in place—be made to accounts designated by the US Treasury.

It also explicitly prohibits transactions involving any person or entity linked to Russia, Iran, North Korea, Cuba, or China, as well as vessels sanctioned by Washington.

The Trump administration has loosened restrictions against the Venezuelan energy sector, including allowing the import of US diluents, inputs and technology, following a recent pro-business overhaul of the country’s Hydrocarbon Law. The reform granted expanded benefits for private corporations, including reduced fiscal responsibilities and expanded control over operations and sales.

Upon leaving Caracas, Energy Secretary Wright claimed that “structural reforms” would continue in Venezuela, with changes to “labor laws, the court system and the banking system.”

Edited and with additional reporting by Ricardo Vaz from Caracas.

DUA Lipa shows she’s a real catch as she wears a netted dress to fiancé ­Callum Turner’s film premiere.

The singer, 30, shone in the mesh gown alongside Callum at the Berlin launch of Rosebush Pruning.

Callum, 36 yesterday, stars in the satirical thriller — and he’s also being talked up as the next James Bond.

Dua has fronted campaigns for Versace, Yves Saint Laurent Beauty, Pepe Jeans and Puma.

The lucrative deals have helped boost her fortune into the tens of millions and firmly cement her status as one of pop’s highest earners.

Fresh from her sold-out Radical Optimism stadium tour, the music star showed off a £25,000 engagement ring.

BIRTHDAY BOMBSHELL

Dua Lipa sizzles in bikini as she shares birthday tribute to fiancé

STAR PRANK

Dua Lipa & I were naked – mortifying text comic sent to star from KSI’s phone

Callum and Dua first sparked dating rumours in January 2024 after they were spotted looking close at a Los Angeles afterparty.

By that December, she set tongues wagging when she posted festive snaps wearing a sparkling diamond ring.

Following a whirlwind romance, they finally confirmed their engagement in June 2025.

The Fantastic Beasts actor has previously shared the story of their first meeting.

Describing his superstar fiancée as “the most beautiful woman in the world”, he revealed they met at a mutual friend’s birthday party in LA in 2024.

The pair bonded after discovering they were reading the same book.

“We sat next to each other and realized we were reading the same book, which is crazy,” Callum told The Sunday Times in October.

“It’s called ‘Trust’ and I had just finished the first chapter and I told her and she looked at me and said ‘I just finished the first chapter too’. I said, ‘So we’re on the same page.’”

The book Trust is a 2022 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Hernán Díaz exploring themes of money and ambition.

Since going public, the couple have been spotted together at awards ceremonies and film premieres on both sides of the Atlantic.

They are expected to marry later this year.

Feb. 15 (UPI) — The International Space Station is once again fully staffed with the arrival of astronauts from NASA, the European Space Agency and Roscosmos on Saturday afternoon.

A SpaceX Dragon carried the four Crew-12 members docked to the Harmony module on the ISS at 3:15 p.m. EST and, after leak checks and pressurization between the craft and the station, the hatch was opened about two hours later.

NASA astronauts Jessica Meir and Jack Hathaway, ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev entered the ISS at 5:14 p.m. EST Saturday afternoon, joining NASA astronaut Chris Williams and Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and Sergei Mikaev who are already about the orbiting outpost.

“We say welcome to Crew-12 today and we are happy they all arrived safe and sound, Kud-Sverchkov, ISS Expedition 74 commander, said during an arrival event after the hatch opening. “We have been waiting for this moment for a very long time. So we are very happy and proud to work as a team here.”

Meir said she was excited to be back on ISS and that the crew is “excited to be here and get to work with Expedition 74.”

Adenot, who is a first time crew member on the ISS, said that seeing the Earth was space was “mind-blowing,” calling it “a very big moment.”

Crew-12 launched from Kennedy Space Center’s Space Launch Complex 40 in Cape Canaveral, Fla., on Feb. 13 for the 34 hour ride to reach ISS and bring the station back to full staffing levels.

Crew-11 returned to Earth early on Jan. 15 because of an undisclosed medical issue with one of the astronauts in the first-ever evacuation of a space crew from the ISS.

During Crew-12’s eight-month-long mission on ISS, the crew will conduct studies on how penumonia-causing bacteria can lead to long-term heart damage, improve on-demand IV fluid generation to verify a system that uses potable water to make saline and will investigate automated plant health monitoring to help develop methods to grow food during space missions, according to NASA.

The crew also has several spacewalks planned during their mission, the agency said.

The F-35’s ‘computer brain,’ including its cloud-based components, could be cracked to accept third-party software updates, just like ‘jailbreaking‘ a cellphone, according to the Dutch Defense Minister. The statement comes as foreign operators of the jets continue to be pressed on what could happen if the United States were ever to cut off support. President Donald Trump’s administration has pursued a number of policies that have resulted in new diplomatic strains with some long-time allies, especially in Europe.

“If, despite everything, you still want to upgrade, I’m going to say something I should never say, but I will anyway: you can jailbreak an F-35 just like an iPhone,” Gijs Tuinman said during an episode of BNR Nieuwsradio‘s “Boekestijn en de Wijk” podcast posted online yesterday, according to a machine translation.

Tuinman, who has been State Secretary for Defense in the Netherlands since 2024, does not appear to have offered any further details about what the jailbreaking process might entail. What, if any, cyber vulnerabilities this might indicate is also unclear. It is possible that he may have been speaking more notionally or figuratively about action that could be taken in the future, if necessary.

TWZ has reached out to the F-35 Joint Program Office and manufacturer Lockheed Martin for responses to Tuinman’s remarks.

As we have explored in detail in the past, the F-35 program imposes unique limits on the ability of operators to make changes to the jet’s software, as well as to associated systems on the ground. Virtually all F-35s in service today see software updates come through a cloud-based network, the original version of which is known as the Autonomic Logistics Information System (ALIS). Persistent issues with ALIS have led to the development of a follow-on Operational Data Integrated Network (ODIN), the transition to which is still ongoing.

The ALIS/ODIN network is designed to handle much more than just software updates and logistical data. It is also the port used to upload mission data packages containing highly sensitive planning information, including details about enemy air defenses and other intelligence, onto F-35s before missions and to download intelligence and other data after a sortie.

Though now dated, the video below still offers a useful explanation of ALIS’ functions.

ALIS: Keeping the F-35 Mission Ready

To date, Israel is the only country known to have successfully negotiated a deal giving it the right to install domestically-developed software onto its F-35Is, as well as otherwise operate its jets outside of the ALIS/ODIN network. The Israelis also have the ability to conduct entirely independent depot-level maintenance, something we will come back to later.

Issues with ALIS, as well as concerns about the transfer of nationally sensitive information within the network, have led certain operators, including the Netherlands, to firewall off aspects of their software reprogramming activities in the past. However, the work still occurs in the United States under the auspices of the U.S. military and Lockheed Martin.

As TWZ has written in the past:

“It’s this mission planning data package that is a major factor to the F-35’s survivability. The ‘blue line’ (the aircraft’s route into an enemy area) that is projected by the system is based on the fusion of a huge number of factors, from enemy air defense bubbles to the stealth and electronic warfare capabilities of the aircraft, as well as onboard sensor and weapons employment envelopes and integrated tactics between F-35s and other assets. To say the least, it is one of the F-35’s most potent weapons. Without it, the aircraft and its pilot are far less capable of maximizing their potential and, as a result, are more vulnerable to detection and being shot down.“

So, while jailbreaking F-35’s onboard computers, as well as other aspects of the ALIS/ODIN network, may technically be feasible, there are immediate questions about the ability to independently recreate the critical mission planning and other support it provides. This is also just one aspect of what is necessary to keep the jets flying, let alone operationally relevant.

TWZ previously explored many of these same issues in detail last year, amid a flurry of reports about the possibility that F-35s have some type of discreet ‘kill switch’ built in that U.S. authorities could use to remotely disable the jets. Rumors of this capability are not new and remain completely unsubstantiated.

At that time, we stressed that a ‘kill switch’ would not even be necessary to hobble F-35s in foreign service. At present, the jets are heavily dependent on U.S.-centric maintenance and logistics chains that are subject to American export controls and agreements with manufacturer Lockheed Martin. Just reliably sourcing spare parts has been a huge challenge for the U.S. military itself, as you can learn more about in this past in-depthTWZ feature. F-35s would be quickly grounded without this sustainment support.

Altogether, any kind of jailbreaking of the F-35’s systems would come with a serious risk of legal action by Lockheed Martin and additional friction with the U.S. government. What would have to happen for a country like the Netherlands to pursue that course of action would also likely be just one symptom of a much more serious breakdown in relations with Washington. Doing this could easily prompt a cutoff in spare parts and other support, if that had not already occurred, which would leave jailbroken jets quickly bricked on the ground. To be clear, cracking the software would do nothing to mitigate the downstream impacts of being shut out from critical sustainment pipelines.

Spats between President Donald Trump’s administration and certain U.S. allies have already created a degree of additional turbulence for the F-35 program, as evidenced by the ‘kill switch’ reporting last year. Most recently, trade disputes and other recent rifts in relations between Ottawa and Washington have led Canadian authorities to launch a review of their F-35 acquisition plans. There are broader questions now about the future of U.S. defense exports, especially in Europe, in light of other diplomatic rifts with Washington.

At the same time, despite his comments about the possibility of needing to crack the jet’s computer systems, Dutch Defense Minister Tuinman remained broadly supportive of the F-35 during the BNR Nieuwsradio podcast.

“Even if this mutual dependency doesn’t result in software updates, the F-35, in its current state, is still a better aircraft than other types of fighter jets,” Tuinman stressed, according to a machine translation of an accompanying story about the podcast from BNR.

Altgoether, questions very much remain about just what ‘jailbreaking an F-35’ might look like in practical terms, and how that might impact the operational utility of the jets in the absence of support from the U.S. government and Lockheed Martin. At the same time, Tuinman’s comments do underscore larger issues surrounding the F-35 program, especially for foreign operators, many of which are not new.

Contact the author: joe@twz.com

Alesha Dixon and Simon Cowell both returned to the judging panel of Britain’s Got Talent, alongside Amanda Holden and YouTuber KSI, while Ant and Dec returned as the show’s hosts

Britain’s Got Talent is back, and the nation is ready to watch along as the search for the next big thing gets underway. But for Alesha Dixon, filming the show resulted in a horror injury.

Speaking to the press at a launch event for the show, which kicks off its 19th series on Saturday, 21 February, Alesha revealed how a fight against Simon Cowell left her physically hurt. “I injured myself trying to stop Simon pressing the Golden Buzzer,” she said.

During the audition phase of the series, the judges – Alesha, Simon, Amanda Holden and KSI – can press the Golden Buzzer to send an act straight through to the live semi-finals. Simon shared that he and the other judges were “fighting over the Golden Buzzer a lot” this year.

READ MORE: Alesha Dixon’s emotional journey to father’s homeland unearths shocking secretsREAD MORE: ITV star addresses ‘personal beef’ with Britain’s Got Talent ‘I’m fuming about it’

In one case, this meant Alesha hurt herself. “There was an act where we were quite competitive for the Golden Buzzer. And I could sense Simon getting up, so I literally dived across the desk.

“I’ve never done that before, I dived onto the desk. And then they wanted me to recreate this dive. So how can I recreate this? Because I injured myself just to stop him getting his way.”

Alesha has been a judge on Britain’s Got Talent since 2012. Two of her fellow judges, Amanda and Simon, have been on the show since it began in 2007, but YouTuber KSI is a newcomer. Having made a few guest judging appearances last year, he took over for Bruno Tonioli this year.

Speaking on the series as a whole, Alesha said: “It was so funny. For me, overall, this season felt like we were back to the chaos that we love on our show. More than ever, it just felt bonkers.”

This comes just weeks after the Mirror reported that Alesha’s band Mis-Teeq were in talks to reunite for their 25th anniversary and were eying up a potential Britain’s Got Talent performance.

A reunion had previously seemed unlikely, as Sabrina Washington had launched legal proceedings against Alesha and their prior label, Universal, for royalties six years ago, but she and the BGT judge now seem to be on talking terms again.

Sabrina had claimed that Alesha had “wrongfully claimed” credits for writing their first two singles. At the time, a spokesperson for Ms Dixon said: “Alesha wrote the raps on both Why? and All I Want and that is why she gets a split. The rest of the song was written by a production team. Sabrina has no reason to sue Alesha.”

This now appears to be water under the bridge for the stars, though. Speaking to the Mirror, a source said: “There’s always talk of a reunion and projects on the table, but it’s a matter of trying to get everyone together. Alesha and Su both have children; Su’s in Australia permanently, and Sabrina has been doing a lot of solo gigs across the UK and Europe.

“Sabrina and Su participated in the Girlbands documentary, albeit separately, but it raised more questions than answers, with Sabrina being visibly upset when asked about how the group split, following their UK label’s collapse. Su mentioned there was a potential new record deal for the group at the time, which then became an Alesha solo deal. Nobody’s sure if Sabrina was aware of that, or if the first time she found out was watching the documentary. “

Our source added: “They will want to do something that’s meaningful, but they haven’t been in a room as a trio, together, since their split in 2005. They’ve seen each other individually and speak to each other, but some are most closer than others. They haven’t physically been together yet, and it seems there’s a lot to discuss before they’re in a place to do a reunion.”

A source also told The Sun : “One thing that has come up is the idea of a one-off show. It could be an intimate gig for their die-hard fans or a performance on a big TV programme such as Britain’s Got Talent.”

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

Feb. 15 (UPI) — The Department of Justice said in a letter to Congress that it has released all the files related to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

The letter, sent to lawmakers on Saturday night, also included the names of more than 300 “politically exposed persons” who are mentioned in the overall Epstein files, which includes former presidents, politicians, business people and artists.

Attorney General Pam Bondi and Deputy Attorney General sent the letter to inform the leaders of the House and Senate judiciary committees — Sens. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Dick Durbin, D-Ill., and Reps. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, and Jamie Raskin, D-Md. — that it has completed its review and release of the appropriate records related to Epstein.

The six-page letter is meant to confirm that the department has “released all ‘records, documents, communications and investigative materials'” in its possession, and includes lists of categories of records that have been released and withheld, a summary and basis for redactions, and a list of all government officials and politically exposed people in the documents that DOJ has released.

Congress in December passed the Epstein Files Transparency Act to require the Justice Department to release all unclassified records in a searchable and downloadable format.

While its deadline was Dec. 19, the department did not release the records until January, and when it did so, it was in a single release of a database that, while searchable, was not well-organized and or carefully redacted — including with the publication of the names of Epstein’s victims.

Congress has also been permitted to review unredacted versions of the documents.

The letter comes days after Bondi was grilled by members of both parties in a Congressional hearing that included shouting matches between the attorney general and some members of the committee holding the hearing.

Among the several hundred names included in Saturday’s letter are “all persons” whose names appear at least once in the released Epstein documents, Bondi and Blanche wrote.

“Names appear in the files released under the Act in a wide variety of contexts,” they wrote. “For example, some individuals had extensive direct email contact with Epstein or [Ghislaine] Maxwell while other individuals are mentioned only in a portion of a document, including press reporting, that on its face is unrelated to the Epstein and Maxwell matters.”

Among the names are Beyonce, Bill Cosby, Fidel Castro, Bruce Springsteen, Alyssa Milano and Diana Ross, Ben Shapiro and a host of other politicians, artists and business people and their spouses.

At least 32 people were killed when terrorists invaded villages of the Borgu Local Government Area (LGA) in Niger State,  North Central Nigeria. The attack occurred around 7:30 a.m. on Saturday, Feb. 14, lasting for about three hours.

Umar Abdulkarim, the village chief of Konkoso in the Borgu LGA, was identified as one of the victims of the terrorist attack. The attackers set homes ablaze, leaving people displaced and fearful of further raids. 

“We ran with nothing,” a resident who asked not to be named for security reasons, said. “Our houses and police station were burnt, including the houses of Sarkin Samari and his brother.”

Another resident, who is also related to the Konkoso village chief, revealed that the assailants had hung around the community until around 1 a.m. before carrying out the attack, which lasted till about 10 a.m.

“Before the attack, I spoke with him, and he confirmed that the terrorists were approaching the community. After about thirty minutes, they started shooting. As for yesterday, we were able to retrieve 30 dead bodies, which were shot and slaughtered. This morning, we recovered two more,” the local said, noting that the assailants kidnapped an unspecified number of women and children, while some ran away for safety. 

Although residents insisted there has been no assistance from security agencies since the onset of the attack, Wasiu Abiodun, the Niger State police spokesperson, claimed military forces were being deployed to the area.

This incident is part of an escalating wave of violence linked to terrorists who have taken control of the Kainji Forest Reserve, instilling fear in rural communities across the region. The terror group, led by the notorious leader Mallam Sadiqu, engages in merciless killings and kidnaps individuals for ransom, often for mass executions. 

The film has landed on streaming, with fans comparing the sci-fi thriller to E.T. and The Sixth Sense.

An epic science fiction thriller has arrived on streaming platforms, and enthusiasts are already drawing comparisons between the film and classics such as E. T. and M. Night Shyamalan’s The Sixth Sense.

The “suspenseful” film brimming with nail-biting action and “insane” twists dropped on Paramount Plus today, February 15.

The film, helmed by Jess Varley, features Kate Mara, Laurence Fishburne and Gabriel Luna.

“This movie kept me on the edge of my seat- it’s thrilling and tense but also heartwarming at the same time” one fan posted on Rotten Tomatoes.

Another concurred: “I found the suspense of the story gripping from start to finish. It truly kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time. The twist at the end was both surprising and a fresh take on the sci-fi genre.”

The Astronaut was released last year in 2025 and, despite securing just a 42% critics score and 59% audience score, has been passionately championed by supporters on the review aggregator site, reports the Express.

Numerous viewers lauded the film for its ‘thrilling’ and ‘captivating’ narrative, with one posting: “Great storyline that kept me engaged. Awesome cinematography. Very well written and directed!”

“Genuinely one of the most captivating movies I’ve seen in years,” a second concurred, whilst a third posted: “Am I missing something? This was hands down my favorite movie of the year. Thrilling and unexpectedly heartfelt.”

The synopsis states: “After returning from her first space mission, astronaut Sam Walker is placed under NASA’s care at a high security house for rehabilitation and medical testing.

“However, when disturbing occurrences begin happening around the property, she fears that something extraterrestrial has followed her back to Earth.”

Viewers claim they were “hooked almost immediately” by the film, with many specifically lauding the unexpected plot twists. One fan shared: “I was impressed and surprised by the twist and turns of the movie, especially the ending.”

“Sixth Sense level twist that I did not see coming at all,” another viewer confessed, whilst someone else penned: “One of the most original twists of the past decade with a slightly short run time but packed with crazy visuals and strong performances.”

Get Paramount+ free for a week

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

£7.99

£0

Amazon/Paramount+

Get Paramount+ here

Telly fans can get seven days of free access to Paramount+ shows like Tulsa King and Dexter: Original Sin by signing up for a free trial via Amazon Prime’s Paramount+ channel.

Some viewers also remarked that the film had left them “sobbing”, with one admitting: “I was not prepared to cry my eyes out at the end! ! ! This made me feel all the feels.”

Another enthused: “I LOVED THIS MOVIE! ! ! ! ! ! I don’t like horror movies but this wasn’t really one in a lot of ways. It was scary at times, but the family drama pulled on my heart strings. I actually cried at the end!”

However, not everyone was enamoured, with one critic stating: “It had potential, but ultimately ended up really flat and very rushed towards a conclusion. A lil more effort would have actually made it watchable.”

“After what was a promising start, unfortunately this film descends into utter nonsense, climaxing into comedy,” one viewer wrote, whilst another remarked: “This movie went from being really boring in the first two acts to really stupid in the last act. I was expecting it to be better.”

However, the feedback from fans was predominantly positive, with some even likening The Astronaut to iconic sci-fi films such as E. T. and Close Encounters of the Third Kind.

“E.T. vibes for sure,” one simply put it, whilst another observed: “Suspenseful from beginning to end! Reminiscent of the classic SciFi series, Close Encounters, but with a unique twist at the end that I did not expect! Fantastic cinematography and a soundtrack that magnifies the suspense.”

Another person added: “I liked this a lot more than I expected to! It reminded me of old movies like Signs and ET and thankfully wasn’t 2.5 hrs long. Felt like maybe it got trimmed down a touch too much but it was short enough that it kept me engaged the whole time. The twist was insane and in a world of spoilers I’m glad I didn’t know what was coming.”

The Astronaut is available to stream now on Paramount Plus.

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

Defending champions India have thumped Pakistan by 61 runs in a grudge Group A match at the Twenty20 World Cup in Colombo, Sri Lanka, to secure their place in the Super Eight stage of the cricket tournament.

Suryakumar Yadav’s side made 175-7 after a flying start from Ishan Kishan’s superb 77, before bowling Pakistan out for 114 in 18 overs.

The defeat on Sunday extended Pakistan’s dismal record against India in World Cups.

India have now won eight of the sides’ nine meetings at T20 World Cups, as well as all eight of their encounters at ODI World Cups.

The cricket teams of the nuclear-armed, contentious neighbours only face each other in multi-nation tournaments at neutral venues under a longstanding compromise arrangement.

It has been more than 18 years since India and Pakistan last met in a Test match, and 13 years since either side crossed the border to play a bilateral series.

African nations must have permanent seats on the United Nations Security Council, the head of the world body has told the African Union.

Latin American countries and most of those in Asia do not have a permanent presence either, despite their huge populations.

Can the UN be reformed?

Presenter: Rishaad Salamat

Guests:

Olukayode Bakare – visiting scholar in international relations and African politics at the University of Colorado Denver

Mukesh Kapila – former UN humanitarian coordinator in Sudan

Tim Murithi – senior adviser at the Institute for Justice and Reconciliation

SHE’S got her showbiz career nailed, but will it be boom or bust for Sydney Sweeney as she takes on Kim Kardashian in the lingerie business?

It is the big question in Hollywood following Syd’s very ambitious move to rival Kim’s Skims brand with her own label, Syrn.

Last month, Sydney finally launched her highly anticipated range of undies with $1billion of support from a fund backed by Amazon ­billionaire Jeff Bezos.

And this week, she upped the ante with a cheeky promo video, which sees her raiding a local store with a gang of pals flashing their bras.

It is a ballsy scheme for a relative rookie who, despite cementing herself as a leading lady in the acting world, has yet to prove she has the business acumen to “do a Kim” and turn her sex symbol status into a corporate, billion-dollar brand.

Since co-launching her shapewear company Skims in 2019, Kim, 45, has defied the odds, making it a global lifestyle behemoth worth $5billion.

read more on Sydney Sweeney

MIDNIGHT SNACK

Sydney Sweeney shimmies and shakes in just a bra and underwear for Syrn ad

SMASHER SYD

Sydney Sweeney shows off curves in figure-hugging dress as she receives gong

She’s also launched a new partnership with sportswear giant Nike to create the NikeSkims label.

From where we are sitting, Kim’s a tough act to beat.

‘CALCULATED PLOT’

But evidently, Sydney, 28, isn’t one to be deterred — and why should she be when she’s got the world’s fourth-richest man on her side, injecting big bucks into her new venture?

Syrn, pronounced “siren”, is a ­lingerie line that promises to offer inclusive sizing, up to a 42DDD.

So far, the inventory is limited, with a handful of sexy bras, corsets, thongs and knickers offered on its online store, mostly priced at around $100 (£73) or under.

But sales have already been sky- high, with the “Seductress” collection going out of stock almost immediately.

Like Kim, Sydney has chosen a platform to stand on.

While Skims’ remit focuses on inclusivity — with shapewear sold in nine skin colours and in a large range of sizes — Syrn includes bigger-breasted women, who might not otherwise be catered for by traditional retailers.

It is a clever move, positioning the actress and her own famously ample chest front and centre, with the underlying message that she has something innovative to offer.

According to sources close to Sydney, the Euphoria star’s new business isn’t a half-baked move.It is a ­calculated plot to elevate her to the big leagues and prove she can more than keep up with the Kardashians.

Sydney wants to dethrone Kim — she knows she has the potential to make enormous money and turn Syrn into a multi- billion-dollar company, like Skims

Sweeney insider

“Sydney is extremely competitive and knows she has the potential to reach the very top of the fashion industry,” an insider exclusively tells The Sun.

“That’s exactly why she launched her lingerie brand.

“Syrn is one of her biggest dreams, and she is fully committed to doing whatever it takes to turn it into a major success and compete with top brands like Skims.

“She isn’t afraid of anything.

“She’s aware that Kim Kardashian and her team aren’t happy about her entering the lingerie space, and she was warned by several people not to do it, including friends close to Kim.

“But she never cared about Kim’s opinion, and she never lets others influence her business ideas.”

The insider adds: “Sydney wants to dethrone Kim — she knows she has the potential to make enormous money and turn Syrn into a multi- billion-dollar company, like Skims.

“She sees this as a competition and she loves that challenge.”

Sydney showed her rebellious streak — and got her brand some extra publicity — with a video in which she and her production crew scaled the Hollywood sign in Los Angeles, before hanging Syrn bras across the famous letters.

Some hailed her a cheeky rabble-rouser.

Others dismissed it as a PR stunt.

Either way, it got Sydney noticed and made her brand a ­talking point — especially after the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, which owns and licenses the sign, slammed the actress, saying she did not have prior authority.

So could Sydney go to jail thanks to her zest and zeal for selling big-sized bras to the world?

No. But for an actress who knows the power of a good performance, she put on one hell of a show.

According to brand and culture expert Nick Ede, the stunt was in keeping with Sydney’s bold approach, which hinges on her unapologetically selling her biggest asset: herself.

She is not afraid to stick two ­fingers up to propriety to make her mark — and money.

‘STUNT MAVERICK’

Nick says: “While Kim is all about being wanted and admired, and always making sure everyone loves her, Sydney doesn’t care.

“She knows that people want to buy into the brand, and she is being maverick with her stunts.

“We didn’t know much about the lingerie line until a few weeks ago, but she’s stepped it up in a strategic way to cut through other celebs with huge brands and endorsement deals.

“Look at Meghan Markle — she had so much around her when she launched her brand.

“She had her TV show and her status, but Sydney has cut through all that in a punky way.

“In Euphoria, she’s a little bit messy as her character Cassie, and she’s a little bit messy as an actual celebrity.

“She’s sticking with her persona, which works well as a brand.”

Fans and critics will remember the chaos last year over Sydney‘s American Eagle ads, which boasted that she “has great jeans”.

Critics suggested the line was racist, claiming it ­promoted white supremacy.

But ­Sydney proved that sex plus controversy sells.

The clothing brand duly reported a massive spike in sales, plus a stock surge of 25 per cent.

Initially, Sydney refused to discuss the controversy.

However, in December, she said: “I’m against hate and divisiveness.

“In the past, my stance has been to never respond to negative or positive press, but I have come to realise that my silence regarding this issue has only widened the divide, not closed it.”

That said, she didn’t regret the ads, nor the impact they made.

And she’s not about to moderate her behaviour . . . not when she’s got her own brand to promote.

As Nick explains, the actress knows what her assets are, with curves that match her confidence, and she’s putting both on display.

“Sydney’s selling and creating a fantasy,” he explains.

‘SULTRY SELFIE’

It’s very ‘old Hollywood’ in many ways, but it’s gritty, too, and that’s why there is such huge appeal.

“She will become a mega-brand in the future.”

As for Kim, it is no surprise her nose has apparently been put out of joint over the Sydney uprising.

While she often gets models and celeb brand ambassadors to model her Skims wear, the week of the Syrn launch in January saw Kim post her own sultry selfie to Instagram, posing in her brand’s lacy lingerie.

Fans could not help but notice the timing of her decision to model a sexy Skims set, hot on the heels of Sydney’s own saucy ­campaign, also on social media.

As one follower said: “Kim said, not today, Sydney Sweeney,” while another weighed in: “Is this the Sweeney fight back?”

Ramping it up, Kim this week called in little sister Kylie Jenner to model a bra and knicker set from her “Everyday Cotton” Skims range in a bid to reel in younger fans.

Obviously, when it comes to the Hollywood pool of superficial friendships, Kim and Sydney are on decent terms, having rubbed ­shoulders last year at Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez’s wedding.

Needless to say, having a mutual pal like Jeff will keep them civil — on the surface at least — as they have too much to lose if they fall out and put him in the middle.

But, according to insiders, Kim feels particularly irked by Sydney’s apparent bid to claim some of her global spotlight.

The Kardashian beauty is used to being the most talked-about woman in any room, but — since Sydney became a pop culture phenomenon — she’s been pulling eyes away.

The fact that she is now launching this lingerie line feels a little too close to home for Kim, especially since it has been reported that Sydney has also filed to trademark the Syrn name for cosmetics and beauty care products.

Coincidentally — or maybe not so — Kim has also spoken about expanding into the beauty space with Skims.

Now, she has ­reportedly been complaining to friends that Sydney is nothing more than a “copycat”.

Still, as Nick tells us, the pair actually have more to gain from this rivalry than meets the eye, as “it’s all about the amount of column inches and publicity they can get”.

‘REBELLIOUS STREAK’

Kim is hardly naive when it comes to the art of publicity.

This is the woman who “broke the internet” in 2014 after exposing her very famous bum to the world on the cover of Paper magazine.

She is hardly going to blush at the thought of engaging now in some performative bra wars with Sydney, as she knows full well that the oxygen for any successful brand is attention and visibility.

So who will ultimately triumph?

Well, Kim’s obviously got a tremendous head start.

She steered her brand to global domination, proving that — despite her internet-breaking derriere — she does nothing half-arsed.

But, like Kim, Sydney understands the power of harnessing one’s sex symbol status to achieve fame and fortune, combining that with business-minded savvy and sizeable investments to create a brand with real selling power.

Add to that her rebellious streak and she could be on to a winner with Syrn.

Whether she overshadows Kim remains to be seen, but one thing remains clear.

In the big, bad world of bra- selling celebs, this storm in a D cup will run and run.

SYD’S GEAR

SYDNEY SWEENEY

AGE: 28.

WEALTH: £30million.

FAMOUS FOR: Starring in The White Lotus, Euphoria and 2025 film The Housemaid.

CONTROVERSIAL MOMENTS: Her American Eagle clothing ad, with the tagline “Sydney Sweeney has great jeans”, which saw her accused of promoting genetic supremacy.

Plus having her bath water used to make a soap range in 2025.

RELATIONSHIPS: Dated businessman Jonathan Davino from 2018 to 2025.

Began dating controversial music executive Scooter Braun in 2025.

BRANDS: As well as Syrn, ­Sydney has her own production company, Fifty-Fifty Films.

She has also collaborated with Armani Beauty, Kerastase haircare, Laneige skincare, Ford motors and Miu Miu fashion.

KIM’S GEAR

KIM KARDASHIAN

AGE: 45.

WEALTH: £1.4billion.

FAMOUS FOR: Reality shows including Keeping Up With The Kardashians.

CONTROVERSIAL MOMENTS: Leaking of a sex tape starring Kim and Ray J in 2007, “breaking the internet” with her 2014 cover of Paper magazine, and a 72-day marriage to Kris Humphries.

RELATIONSHIPS: Married music producer Damon Thomas at 19 and split after three years; Kris Humphries, married and split after 72 days, 2011; Kanye West, married 2014, split 2021.

She is now dating Lewis Hamilton.

BRANDS: KKW Beauty (2017-2021), SKKN By Kim – skincare brand from 2022, Kardashian Kloset – resale site for TV family’s clothes.

Skims has also launched collaborations with Nike, Dolce & Gabbana and Fendi.

Feb. 15 (UPI) — The U.S. military intercepted an oil tanker overnight that was linked to Venezuela after tracking it from the Caribbean into the Indian Ocean.

The tanker, the Veronica III, was boarded without incident late Saturday night in the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command area of responsibility after it attempted to outrun the Trump administration’s naval blockade in the Caribbean, the Department of Defense announced early Sunday.

The United States has now intercepted or seized nine oil tankers associated with Venezuela since Dec. 10 when the administration started enforcing a blockade on oil tankers leaving the South American nation to pressure it’s president, Nicolas Maduro, to leave power.

After the U.S. military captured Maduro in a clandestine early morning mission in January, several tankers scattered from the country, according to reports.

“The vessel tried to defy President Trump’s quarantine — hoping to slip away,” the Pentagon said in a post on X. “We tracked it from the Caribbean to the Indian Ocean, closed the distance and shut it down. No other nation has the reach, endurance or will to do this.”

The Veronica III, flagged in Panama, has previously been linked with transporting sanctioned Iranian oil and working with a sanctioned Chinese ship-management company, Fox News reported.

The tanker was sanctioned by the U.S. Department of the Treasury for shipping Iranian oil to other markets and has since used different names and flags in order to evade capture.

At least 16 tankers docked in Venezuelan ports tried to escape the U.S. naval blockade in the days after Maduro’s capture, the New York Times reported, with at least 12 of them turning off their transmission signals in the effort.

US President Donald Trump says that the first meeting of his newly created ‘Board of Peace’ will take place on Thursday.

At least 11 Palestinians have been killed in the Gaza Strip in the latest Israeli attacks that continue in violation of the “ceasefire”, hospital sources have said.

Israeli forces targeted tents sheltering people in the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza on Sunday, killing at least five Palestinians, hospital sources told Al Jazeera.

At least five others were killed in Israeli attacks west of Khan Younis in the south of the Strip, according to hospital sources.

Separately, Sami al-Dahdouh, a commander of the armed wing of Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), was killed in an Israeli attack in the Tal al-Hawa neighbourhood east of Gaza City.

Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qassem condemned the Israeli attacks as a “new massacre” and a “criminal escalation”.

He said they were a “clear attempt to impose a bloody reality on the ground and send a message that all efforts and bodies concerned with establishing calm in Gaza are meaningless, and that the occupation is continuing its aggression despite all parties speaking of the necessity of adhering to the ceasefire agreement”.

Israeli attacks have killed more than 600 Palestinians and wounded more than 1,600 others since the United States- and Qatar-mediated “ceasefire” between Israel and Hamas came into effect on 10 October, part of US President Donald Trump’s plan to end Israel’s two-year genocidal war against Palestinians in Gaza.

Israel has violated the “ceasefire” at least 1,620 times from October 10, 2025 to February 10, 2026, the Government Media Office in Gaza reports. Israel also accuses Hamas of violating the agreement. It says four soldiers have been killed.

Board of Peace

The latest attacks come as Trump announced that the first meeting of his newly created “Board of Peace” will take place on Thursday in Washington, DC.

Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social on Sunday that members have pledged more than $5bn towards rebuilding war-shattered Gaza, and committed “thousands of personnel to the International Stabilization Force and Local Police to maintain Security and Peace for Gazans.”

The US has asked countries to pay $1bn to join the Board of Peace, suggesting five countries may have already pledged to do so.

“There are reports that the United Arab Emirates has been the first to step forward with this billion-dollar pledge. There are also reports that Kuwait may be coming on board. That leaves three other countries, ostensibly, that have not been made public yet,” Al Jazeera’s Rosiland Jordan said.

It was not clear how many of the board’s 20 members would be in attendance at the meeting.

Initially envisaged as a mechanism for ending the Gaza war, Trump’s board has taken shape with his ambition for a much broader mandate of resolving conflicts around the world, in what appears to be a US attempt to bypass the United Nations.

Several key US allies have declined to join the board.

Trump also said in the post that “Hamas must uphold its commitment to Full and Immediate Demilitarization”.

Hamas’s Qassem called on the Board of Peace to pressure Israel to stop violating the ceasefire and “compel it to implement what was agreed upon without delay or manipulation”.

It looks as though BBC viewers will be saying farewell to one beloved character on Call the Midwife.

Emotions were at an all-time high on Sunday night as BBC viewers learnt the fate of Sister Monica Joan (Judy Parfitt).

Recently, Call the Midwife viewers learnt that the beloved character had kidney failure, as Dr. Patrick Turner (Stephen McGann) noted that additional tests would provide further information.

Tragically, those results were revealed during the latest instalment of the show.

As Dr Turner, Sister Julienne (Jenny Agutter) and Nurse Phyllis Crane (Linda Bassett) sat down to go over the results, Dr Turner said: “I was hoping it was something that could be treated, but chronic kidney disease is just-“

Cutting in, Sister Julienne commented: “Something that takes old people gently, but kindly.”

As Dr Turner emphasised that regardless of the matter, the disease still ‘takes’ people, Nurse Phyllis questioned how long Sister Monica Joan had been ill with the disease.

He replied: “I suspect not long.”

When asked how long she has left to live, he confessed: “The same, unless we can persuade her to accept what treatment there is, she’ll progress to end-stage renal failure fairly quickly.”

Although all seemed heartbroken by the severity of her illness, nurse Phyllis replied: “Till that day comes, we’ll just have to love her as we always have, but a bit more carefully.”

It wasn’t long before people took to X to share their thoughts on the imminent death of Sister Monica Joan as one person said: “Are they actually going to kill of sister Monica Joan? Just end Call The Midwife there!”

Someone else commented: “No, Sister Monica Joan is immortal…she can’t die.” While another added: “SISTER MONICA JOAN. Sobbing.”

Another viewer wrote: “Absolutely devastated hearing the news that Sister Monica Joan has kidney failure and may not have long left, if we lose her, it will be like losing a much-loved family member. I’d be completely heartbroken.”

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

One person shared: “Don’t you dare let anything happen to Sister Monica Joan.” While another said: “#callthemidwife Oh no, surely it can’t be the demise,of Sister Monica Joan? On the other hand could it be the end on Nonnatus? What a fantastic drama this is @CallTheMidwife1 #SundayMood.”

Sister Monica Joan has been part of the beloved period drama since it began back in 2012. However, as the show marks its 15th series, it’s been reported that the final will see birth, a wedding and a funeral.

Call the Midwife continues Sundays on BBC One from 8pm

The Republican Party currently controls the White House and both houses of Congress in the United States. But will that change in November?

Among Republican voters, US President Donald Trump is still wildly popular, despite criticism over uneven economic conditions and brutal anti-immigration tactics. And within the Democratic Party establishment, there is no sign of a desire to shift towards a more progressive, less centrist platform – even as left-leaning Democratic Socialists make gains.

Host Steve Clemons asks Republican strategist John Feehery and Amy Dacey, former chair of the Democratic National Committee, about Trumpism and the election prospects of both parties.

German Galushchenko was detained by Ukraine’s anti-corruption bureau while trying to leave the country.

Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) says it has arrested the country’s former energy minister, German Galushchenko, who resigned in November amid a massive corruption scandal, as he tried to cross Ukraine’s border.

“Today, while crossing the state border, NABU detectives have detained the former Minister of Energy as part of the ‘Midas’ case,” the NABU said in a statement.

It did not name Galushchenko in its statement, but he served as the country’s energy minister last year and resigned in November.

“Initial investigative proceedings are ongoing, carried out in accordance with the requirements of the law and court sanctions. Details to follow,” the NABU added.

Galushchenko was one of several ministers who resigned in 2025 as the NABU unveiled an alleged money-laundering conspiracy in the country’s energy sector that investigators believe was orchestrated by an ally of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

According to Ukraine’s Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO), the alleged $100m scheme was orchestrated by businessman Timur Mindich.

SAPO’s investigators say Galushchenko helped Mindich manage illicit financial flows in the energy sector, while contractors working with Energoatom were forced to pay bribes of 10 to 15 percent to avoid losing contracts or facing payment delays.

Ukraine’s previous two energy ministers had resigned amid the fallout from the scandal, which ⁠also claimed the job of Zelenskyy’s chief of staff.

The two ministers ⁠and the chief of staff ⁠have all denied wrongdoing.

Battling corruption is a key priority in Ukraine’s reform effort as it eyes membership in the European Union, ‌which requires the country to shake off a decades-old scourge of graft.

Authorities in recent weeks have targeted lawmakers, ‌former Prime ‌Minister Yulia Tymoshenko and a former presidential adviser over various charges.