News Desk

Four days after a KC-46 Pegasus aerial refueling tanker made an aborted takeoff at Moron Air Base in southern Spain, the runway at the installation remain closed and will be for several more days, according to a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Notice To Airman (NOTAM). The base is a key logistics hub for military aircraft, equipment and personnel heading east from the U.S. to Europe and the Middle East. The incident came as the U.S. is building up its forces in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility amid growing tensions with Iran.

We were the first to report about the mishap at Moron and related problems.

The jet, callsign GOLD71, is still blocking the runway, according to online flight trackers. According to a firsthand account provided to The War Zone, the incident started after the KC-46 experienced an engine failure on Saturday while taking off. That resulted in rejected takeoff with hard braking that reportedly blew out eight tires. What damage was done to the runway remains unclear. We have reached out to U.S. Air Forces Central-U.S. Air Force Africa (USAFE) and Air Mobility Command for more details.

The following video shows the aftermath of the aborted takeoff as the jet came to a halt.

“It was a routine takeoff of a Pegasus KC46 with an RTO (rejected takeoff) due to engine failure, emergency braking sequence and everything that involves braking a loaded tanker,” Pepe Jimenez, the aircraft spotter who took the video, told The War Zone on Tuesday morning. “AB Morón result blocked for days.”

Additional images taken by Jimenez after the mishap show damaged landing gear and base emergency crews responding.

Jimenez also shared images showing personnel near the KC-46A’s starboard engine.

After the mishap, the FAA issued an initial NOTAM on Jan. 31 notifying pilots that there was a disabled jet on the runway. That NOTAM expires Feb. 7.

“AERODROME CAUTION: DISABLED AIRCRAFT LOCATED ON THE RUNWAY 1935 FT FROM RWY 02 THRESHOLD (SOUTH END),” it read. 

On Monday, the FAA issued two more NOTAMs, notifying pilots that both the military and civilian runways at the facility would be closed until Feb. 6.

Jimenez told us that the incident left several aircraft at the base unable to take off. The list includes one KC-135 Stratotanker, another KC-46, one C-17 Globemaster III cargo jet, “and the entire 11th Wing with Eurofighters from the Spanish Air Force,” Jimenez told us.

Another image Jimenez shared with us shows the Globemaster III and another Pegasus at the base. The War Zone cannot verify the current status of the aircraft at Moron.

It is unclear at the moment how badly U.S. logistics are affected by Moron’s closure. At the time of the incident, GOLD71 was part of an effort to take Air Force F-35A stealth fighters to the Middle East, according to online flight trackers. The F-35As, from the Vermont National Guard, were moving east from the Caribbean after taking part in the operation to capture Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro. The fighters were diverted to Rota Air Base in Spain after the KC-46 mishap, and it remains unclear when the flight will resume to its ultimate destination. We were the first to report that they landed in Lajes, Portugal, and were possibly slated to head to Jordan.

Further highlighting the importance of Moron, a F/A-18G Growler electronic warfare (EW) jet left Moron and landed at Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan on Jan 31. Just like the F-35As, these aircraft departed from their assignment to the Caribbean before crossing the Atlantic. It is unclear if the Growlers took off before or after the KC-46 incident. Jimenez also captured an image of a Growler at Moron.

“Morón Air Base is a vital link in any operation moving east from the United States due to its strategic location close to the Mediterranean and the Middle East, its massive flight line, long runaway, aircraft refueling systems and excellent weather,” according to the 465 Air Refueling Squadron, the facility’s host unit.

In addition to serving as a transit hub, Moron also hosts temporary deployments of strategic aviation, like the B-52J Stratotankers from Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana. The B-52s arrived in November in support of Bomber Task Force Europe 26-1.

B1-B Lancer bombers have also flown BTF missions to Moron from Dyess Air Force Base in Texas.

While the U.S. has other bases in the region, like Rota some 50 miles to the southwest, the KC-46 incident at Moron highlights the complexities of large-scale logistic maneuvers like the one taking place now. The U.S. is flowing forces to the Middle East as U.S. President Donald Trump continues to pressure Iran to end its nuclear ambitions. This has required many cargo flights to move materiel and personnel, as well as tankers to keep them refueled along the way. The situation at Moron shows how one incident can slow a global operation for days.

Yesterday, we reported that U.S. and Iranian officials were scheduled to meet on Friday for negotiations. Tuesday morning, Axios reported that Iran wants to change the venue from Istanbul to Oman.

The Iranians “also now want to hold them in a bilateral format, only with the U.S., rather than with several Arab and Muslim countries attending as observers,” Axios added.

Should the negotiations not happen or breakdown, Trump has options in the region for carrying through on his threat to attack Iran, even if there are not yet enough tactical aircraft in the region for a sustained military operation. We will keep an eye out to see when Moron reopens to continue assisting U.S. military logistics.

Update: 8:11 AM Feb. 4 –

The KC-46 has been moved to a taxiway, and the runway at Moron has reopened, according to the FAA’s latest NOTAM. However, Taxiway Alpha, where the jet was moved to, remains closed. It is unclear at the moment whether flights have resumed. The NOTAM is in effect through April 30.

Morón’s RWY02/20 is open again (with limitations). Personally I see a problem with the #KC46 just outside the runway strip penetrating obstacle limitation surfaces, but who am I… 😉🤷‍♂️ pic.twitter.com/1C1THXCUL4

— Sir Listenalot (@SirListenalot) February 4, 2026

Contact the author: howard@thewarzone.com

The shocking true crime series is guaranteed to make viewers emotional

True crime fans are only just realising there is a harrowing true crime series that is not to be missed, and it is available for free streaming now.

Murder in the Family is a brutal true crime documentary series spanning across three episodes, each delving into its own shocking murder investigation.

Using police evidence and harrowing real life footage, the series shows the police investigation from start to finish in heart-breaking investigations that rocked a community.

Despite being first released back in 2023, true crime fanatics are tuning in to the “shocking” series that can be streamed on ITVX in full.

Telling the story of seemingly ordinary relationships that result in tragic consequences, the documentary explores the most burning questions of “how and why”.

ITV teases: “Explore three shocking British murders in this haunting crime doc. Told by those closest to the tragic events, discover the killers’ motives behind their fatal acts.”

The first episode plunges viewers into the shocking case of Cheryl Hooper as ITV penned: “Cheryl Hooper is shot dead by her husband – using shocking police evidence and intimate family footage, this documentary explores how and why.”

Many viewers have dubbed the series as a must watch. Previously taking to TikTok, one true crime fan said: “Guys, if you’re looking for something good to watch then watch Murder in the Family, it’s on ITVX, there’s three episodes and it’s absolutely brilliant. Very sad, but brilliant.”

In a separate video, another said recently they have discovered a whole host of true crime content available to stream on ITVX. They added: “I don’t know why I’ve never really looked through it properly before, but there’s actually loads and loads of true crime documentaries and I watched one of them this weekend.

“It was genuinely one of the most heartbreaking but I felt like I was watching it through the eyes of the victims. And I would highly recommend giving it a go.

“It’s called Murder in the Family, I think it was maybe released in 2022 so you might have seen it but I don’t remember watching it.”

They later continued: “I would check trigger warnings on this because it’s really, really sad and quite detailed and in some parts graphic I suppose you could say, but it’s such a focus on the victims, the victims families…”

In another video, one person commented: “The third one is shocking, really bad”, as another wrote: “This was wild.”

One IMDB reviewer echoed: “This is the human side of the effects of horrific crimes, and it’s extremely well presented. Of course, that makes it gut wrenching to watch.”

Murder in the Family is available to stream on ITVX.

Feb. 4 (UPI) — The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed a federal lawsuit seeking information regarding allegations of discrimination against athletic shoemaker Nike Inc.

The EEOC has received complaints of systemic race discrimination against white workers via Nike’s diversity, equity and inclusion programs and other mechanisms, the federal agency said in a news release on Wednesday.

The EEOC filed its request for a court order for information on the matter in the U.S. District Court for Eastern Missouri, which is located in St. Louis.

“When there are compelling indications, including corporate admissions in extensive public materials, that an employer’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion-related programs may violate federal prohibitions against race discrimination or other forms of unlawful discrimination, the EEOC will take all necessary steps — including subpoena enforcement actions — to ensure the opportunity to fully and comprehensively investigate,” said EEOC Chairwoman Andrea Lucas.

“Title VII’s prohibition of race-based employment discrimination is colorblind and requires the EEOC to protect employees of all races from unlawful employment practices,” Lucas said.

The federal agency is investigating claims that accuse Nike of engaging in a “pattern or practice of disparate treatment against white employees, applicants and training program participants in hiring, promotion, demotion or separation decisions,” the EEOC said in a news release.

The alleged discrimination includes selections for layoffs, internship programs and mentoring, leadership development and other career development programs, according to the EEOC.

The agency’s investigation and subsequent subpoena seek information involving allegations dating back to 2018, including the criteria used when choosing which workers would be laid off and the company’s tracking and use of worker race and ethnicity data.

The EEOC wants information on 16 Nike programs that are said to have provided race-restricted mentoring, leadership and career development opportunities.

Agency officials initially sought voluntary cooperation from Nike while undertaking the investigation.

Lacking cooperation, the EEOC filed the legal action seeking a federal court subpoena that compels Nike officials to provide the sought-after information.

An F-35C Joint Strike Fighter flying from the supercarrier USS Abraham Lincoln has shot down an Iranian drone said to have “aggressively approached” the ship. Separately, American officials say that small boats and a drone belonging to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) harassed a U.S.-flagged merchant ship transiting the Strait of Hormuz. All of this comes amid a major ongoing U.S. military build-up in the region aimed squarely at Iran, as well as reports that American officials could be set to meet with their Iranian counterparts later in the week.

Reuters was first to report on the F-35C downing the Iranian drone, which was reportedly a Shahed-139. The Shahed-139 is a design roughly in the same class as the U.S. MQ-1 Predator, which could potentially carry small munitions. The Nimitz class USS Abraham Lincoln and elements of its strike group arrived in the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) area of responsibility last month after being ordered to head to the region from the Pacific.

“An F-35C fighter jet from Abraham Lincoln shot down the Iranian drone in self-defense and to protect the aircraft carrier and personnel on board. No American service members were harmed during the incident, and no U.S. equipment was damaged,” U.S. Navy Capt. Tim Hawkins, a spokesperson for U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), said in a statement to TWZ. “The unmanned aircraft aggressively approached a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier with unclear intent.”

“USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) was transiting the Arabian Sea approximately 500 miles from Iran’s southern coast when an Iranian Shahed-139 drone unnecessarily maneuvered toward the ship,” Hawkins added. “The Iranian drone continued to fly toward the ship despite de-escalatory measures taken by U.S. forces operating in international waters.”

What weapon the F-35C used to down the Iranian drone is unknown. The carrier-based version of the Joint Strike Fighter can be armed with AIM-9X Sidewinders and AIM-120 Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missiles (AMRAAM), and a 25mm gun pod, as well as various air-to-surface munitions. F-35Cs have been employed in the counter-drone role in the region in the past, downing uncrewed aerial threats launched by Iranian-backed Houthi militants in Yemen last year.

U.S. Marines also notably used a counter-drone vehicle lashed to the deck of the Wasp class amphibious assault ship USS Boxer to knock down an Iranian drone as the ship transited the Strait of Hormuz back in 2019. In that instance, the uncrewed aircraft was described as having come within a “threatening range” of the Boxer.

As a general aside, drones inherently present a lower risk of escalation because there is no danger of crew on board being harmed. This also has impacts on the risk calculus for employing uncrewed aerial systems more provocatively, as well as shooting them down.

At the same time, U.S. operations in and around the Red Sea in recent years have underscored the very real threat that drones, and specifically ones of Iranian origin, present to American carriers and other warships. The Houthis in Yemen have actively targeted American naval vessels with kamikaze drones, as well as anti-ship ballistic and cruise missiles, in the past.

“During a separate incident hours later in the Strait of Hormuz, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) forces harassed a U.S.-flagged, U.S.-crewed merchant vessel lawfully transiting the international sea passage. Two IRGC boats and an Iranian Mohajer drone approached M/V Stena Imperative at high speeds and threatened to board and seize the tanker,” Hawkins, the CENTCOM spokesperson, also said in his statement to TWZ. “Guided-missile destroyer USS McFaul (DDG 74) was operating in the area and immediately responded to the scene to escort M/V Stena Imperative with defensive air support from the U.S. Air Force.”

“The situation de-escalated as a result, and the U.S.-flagged tanker is proceeding safely. CENTCOM forces are operating at the highest levels of professionalism and ensuring the safety of U.S. personnel, ships, and aircraft in the Middle East,” Hawkins added. “Continued Iranian harassment and threats in international waters and airspace will not be tolerated. Iran’s unnecessary aggression near U.S. forces, regional partners and commercial vessels increases risks of collision, miscalculation, and regional destabilization.”

The Joint Maritime Information Center of the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) office has also issued a notice regarding what appears to be the same incident, which also does not name the ship that was harassed. Iran has a long history of harassing (and even seizing) foreign commercial and naval vessels in and around the Persian Gulf, especially at times of increased geopolitical friction with the United States.

As already noted, this all comes as U.S. military forces continue to flow into the Middle East. There have been reports for weeks now about the prospect of new American strikes on Iran, at least in part in retaliation for the country’s violent crackdown on recent nationwide protests. More recently, U.S. President Donald Trump has voiced interest in reaching some kind of deal with authorities in Iran, including over the future of that country’s nuclear program. There are reports that U.S. and Iranian officials could meet as soon as Friday in Turkey.

“We have ships heading to Iran right now, big ones — the biggest and the best — and we have talks going on with Iran and we’ll see how it all works out,” Trump said just yesterday while speaking to members of the press at the White House. “If we can work something out, that would be great and if we can’t, probably bad things would happen.”

How today’s events will impact U.S. decision-making going forward remains to be seen.

Update: 2:52 PM Eastern –

Despite the incident, Trump still prefers a diplomatic solution to the tensions with Iran, according to the White House.

Trump “remains committed to always pursuing diplomacy first,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News. “But in order for diplomacy to work, of course, it takes two to tango. You need a willing partner to engage. And so that’s something the president and Special Envoy Witkoff are exploring and discussing right now.”

Witkoff, she added, “is set to have conversations with the Iranians later this week. Those are still scheduled as of right now, but of course, the president has always a range of options on the table, and that includes the use of military force. The Iranians know that better than anyone. Just look no further than the highly successful Operation Midnight Hammer, which took not just Iran but the entire world by surprise and completely obliterated their nuclear capabilities earlier last year.”

Speaking earlier on Fox News, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirms the shoot down of an Iranian drone that was “acting aggressively” towards the USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) today over the Arabian Sea, though states that President Trump remains committed to… pic.twitter.com/sVPzPjZIy8

— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) February 3, 2026

Update: 3:35 PM Eastern –

The official Iranian Tasnim news outlet reported that the drone in question was actually a Shahed-129. As we have previously reported, it is similar to an MQ-9 Predator drone.

“The Shahed 129 drone was on its usual and legal mission in international waters, engaged in reconnaissance, monitoring, and filming, which is considered a normal and lawful action,” Tasnim posited. “This drone successfully sent its reconnaissance and identification images to the center but then lost communication. However, the reason for this communication loss is being investigated, and details will be provided once confirmed.”

The War Zone cannot independently verify Tasnim’s claims. 

Iranian state media says the drone (that the US shot down) successfully carried out its reconnaissance mission before it abruptly “lost contact”

“The reason for this communication cut is under investigation”, according to Tasnim News Agencyhttps://t.co/JDmehOv9Uz pic.twitter.com/MqUSGqnlBi

— Faytuks News (@Faytuks) February 3, 2026

Contact the author: joe@twz.com

The TV Licence fee rose to £174.50 in April 2025, but some people may need to pay twice

Many households faced a rise in the TV Licence fee last year, with the Government pushing the price up to £174.50 in April 2025. This yearly payment is generally required for homes and businesses watching live television, including broadcasts on services such as Netflix and YouTube, as well as BBC iPlayer content.

Whilst just one licence covers each household, the situation is different for people with a second home or a caravan. Sometimes, you might need to get another TV Licence for that property, which could see the total bill jump to £349.

Additional TV Licences are particularly necessary if you intend to view TV channels on any service, live broadcasts on streaming services, and BBC iPlayer from a second property. According to official TV Licensing online guidance, this covers any device in a house, flat, bungalow, or cottage.

The only exception is if you exclusively use devices running on their own batteries, so they’re not linked to an aerial or connected to the mains electricity. In those circumstances, your main residence’s TV Licence will suffice.

Yet completely separate rules apply to those living in a touring caravan, static caravan, boat, mobile home, or moveable chalet. Official guidance confirms that your main home’s TV Licence should cover you, provided nobody is watching live programmes or accessing BBC iPlayer at the same time at your main licensed address.

In this case, you’ll be required to complete a declaration form, which ought to take just a few minutes. The forms can be accessed in both English and Welsh.

Official TV licensing guidance adds: “You could be prosecuted if we find that you have been watching, recording or downloading programmes illegally. The maximum penalty is a £1,000 fine plus any legal costs and/or compensation you may be ordered to pay.

“A standard TV Licence costs £174.50 and a black and white licence costs £58.50.” For more information, click here.

Why has the licence fee gone up?

The Secretary of State approved a 2.9% hike in the licence fee for 2024, coming into force from April 1, 2025, aligned with annual CPI inflation. This represents a daily increase of just over 1p and is only the second fee rise since April 1, 2021.

The adjustment has raised the annual colour licence fee to £174.50, while the black-and-white licence now costs £58.50 annually. Moving forward, licence fee rises will track CPI inflation for the following four years, ending in 2027.

What does a TV Licence include?

Your payment encompasses four main elements. According to the Express, these include:

• All TV channels – like BBC, ITV, Channel 4, U&Dave and international channels
• Pay TV services – like Sky, Virgin Media and EE TV
• Live TV on streaming services – like YouTube, Netflix, and Amazon Prime Video
• Everything on BBC iPlayer

This covers watching, recording, and downloading on any device.

Feb. 4 (Asia Today) — Canada’s minister responsible for defense procurement toured major South Korean defense companies this week, praising their technology and production capabilities as Ottawa moves ahead with large-scale land and naval modernization plans.

Stephen Fuhr, Canada’s minister of state for defense procurement, visited facilities operated by HD Hyundai and Hanwha during a three-day trip to South Korea, industry officials said Tuesday.

Canada is preparing to procure new submarines valued at up to 60 trillion won ($44.9 billion) and self-propelled howitzers worth about 8 trillion won ($6.0 billion). Korean firms used the visit to highlight their submarine construction, artificial intelligence applications and plans for local production in Canada.

HD Hyundai said Fuhr and his delegation toured its research and development center in Pangyo, south of Seoul, where they reviewed models of destroyers, frigates and submarines built by its shipbuilding arm, HD Hyundai Heavy Industries. The delegation also examined progress on autonomous ship technologies incorporating AI.

Earlier, Fuhr visited Hanwha Ocean’s Geoje shipyard and boarded the Jang Young-sil, a next-generation Korean submarine proposed for Canada’s Canadian Patrol Submarine Project. The project, with bids due in early March, is expected to reach up to 60 trillion won and has attracted competition from Germany’s TKMS.

Industry officials said Fuhr’s tight schedule, traveling from South Gyeongsang Province to Gyeonggi Province, reflected Ottawa’s intent to closely assess Korea’s special-purpose shipbuilding capacity. Analysts say Korean firms have emerged as strong contenders in the final stage of the bidding.

“It is meaningful that Korea, with less than 50 years of submarine development experience, is competing head-to-head with Germany,” said Jang Won-jun, a professor of advanced defense technology at Jeonbuk National University. He added that Korean submarine construction has reached roughly 90% to 95% of Germany’s technical level, with an edge in price competitiveness.

Industry sources said Fuhr spoke favorably of the technology on display, describing the facilities as “feeling like the future has already arrived,” remarks viewed as an implicit endorsement of Korea’s capabilities.

Beyond submarines, Canada is also advancing its Indirect Fire Modernization program, which emphasizes land-based systems and involves investments of more than $6 billion to acquire new self-propelled howitzers and long-range rocket systems.

Fuhr visited Hanwha Aerospace’s Changwon plant, where he toured production lines for the K9 self-propelled howitzer, K10 ammunition resupply vehicle and Cheonmu multiple rocket launcher, and observed live maneuver demonstrations. The company proposed an integrated firepower and mobility package and pledged to establish manufacturing operations in Canada to support local jobs and technology transfer.

Hanwha Aerospace CEO Son Jae-il said the company aims to become a key partner in Canada’s military modernization based on its track record in delivery and accumulated technological expertise.

— 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=20260205010001719

Kremlin spokesperson says Russian forces would continue fighting until Kyiv makes necessary ‘decisions’ to end the war.

The number of Ukrainian soldiers killed on the battlefield as a result of the country’s war with Russia is estimated to be 55,000, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, adding that a “large number” were also missing.

President Zelenskyy’s remarks on Wednesday came in the run-up to the fourth anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and amid crucial ceasefire talks in Abu Dhabi, where negotiators are trying to end Europe’s largest conflict since World War II.

“In Ukraine, officially the number of soldiers killed on the battlefield – either professionals or those conscripted – is 55,000,” said Zelenskyy, in a prerecorded interview with France 2 TV.

Zelenskyy, whose comments were translated into French, added that on top of that casualty figure was a “large number of people” considered officially missing.

The Ukrainian leader did not give an exact figure for those who are still missing.

Zelenskyy had previously cited a figure for Ukrainian war dead in an interview with the United States television network NBC in February 2025, saying that more than 46,000 Ukrainian service members had been killed on the battlefield.

In the middle of 2025, the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, DC, estimated that close to 400,000 Ukrainian troops have been killed or wounded since the war began.

Last month, the United Nations Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine reported that Russian attacks had killed 2,514 civilians and injured 12,142 in Ukraine in 2025, almost a third higher than the number of casualties in 2024.

Russia has also incurred heavy losses in the ongoing war.

In January, Ukraine’s military commander, Oleksandr Syrskii, was quoted as saying that in 2025 alone, almost 420,000 Russian soldiers were killed and wounded while fighting against Ukrainian forces.

An October 2025 estimate by British defence intelligence put the overall number of Russian soldiers killed or wounded in the war at 1.1 million.

Both Ukraine and Russia rarely disclose their own casualty figures in the war, though they actively report enemy losses on the battlefield.

Analysts say both Kyiv and Moscow are likely underreporting their own deaths while inflating those of the other side.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday that Russia would keep fighting until Kyiv made the “decisions” that could bring the war to an end, while in Abu Dhabi, Ukrainian and Russian officials wrapped up a “productive” first day of new US-brokered talks, Kyiv’s lead negotiator Rustem Umerov said.

US President Donald Trump’s administration has been pushing both Kyiv and Moscow to find a compromise to end the fighting, although the two sides remain far apart on key points despite several rounds of talks.

The most sensitive issues are Moscow’s demands that Kyiv give up land it still controls and the fate of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, Europe’s largest, which now sits in a Russian-occupied area of Ukraine.

Moscow has demanded that Kyiv pull its troops out of all the Donbas region, including heavily fortified cities regarded as one of Ukraine’s strongest defences against Russian aggression, as a condition for any deal to end the fighting.

Ukraine said the conflict should be frozen along current front lines and rejects any unilateral pullback of its forces from territory it still controls.

Russian forces occupy about 20 percent of Ukraine’s territory, including Crimea and parts of the eastern Donbas region seized before the 2022 invasion.

Floyd Mayweather Jr., one of history’s most successful professional boxers, is suing Showtime and a former executive at the company for $340 million, accusing them of depriving him of a “significant portion of his career earnings.”

The 48-year-old retired athlete alleges in the complaint that Showtime “through a complex web of hidden accounts, unauthorized transactions, and deliberate concealment of financial records,” wrongly paid some of his earnings to his former manager, Al Haymon.

The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in Los Angeles County Superior Court, is aimed at the Paramount-owned network and its former president of Showtime Sports, Stephen Espinoza. The complaint alleges that Mayweather’s inquiries about his pay were met with conflicting responses from Showtime, including that “critical financial records for Mayweather’s biggest fights were ‘lost’ or inaccessible.”

Haymon is not named as a defendant in the lawsuit.

A spokesperson for Paramount wrote in a statement to The Times that “these baseless claims lack legal or factual merit. We strongly reject them and will respond accordingly through the court process.”

A spokesperson for Haymon Boxing declined to comment on the lawsuit.

Over Mayweather’s 21-year career, the boxer has reportedly earned $1.2 billion. He first met his former manager, Haymon, in 2004. The boxer soon entered a verbal agreement with Haymon, allowing him to be Mayweather’s manager for a 10% fee. According to the suit, Mayweather considered Haymon to be a “father figure and relied on him to manage virtually all aspects of his finances and contracts.” Haymon worked in this role for about 20 years, and over time, the suit alleges, he became the “mastermind of the financial scheme,” engaging in “financial manipulation and self-dealing behind Mayweather’s back.”

In 2013, Mayweather exited a long-term contract with HBO to ink a new exclusive multi-fight deal with Showtime. The complaint states that Haymon’s “scheme” consisted of “diverting portions” of Mayweather’s earnings “under false pretenses that Haymon then kept or controlled,” putting fight revenues into “secret accounts that Mayweather did not know about or have access to,” paying himself large sums of money without Mayweather‘s knowledge and allegedly altering documents to cover up these actions.

Mayweather’s new team reached out to Showtime in 2024 for documentation of fight revenues and expenses. According to the lawsuit, his team was told the documents were “‘lost in a flood’ or stored off-site and not readily accessible.”

Mayweather also alleges Showtime still owes him $20 million from his 2015 fight against Andre Berto. The payout was originally meant to come from the proceeds of the Manny Pacquiao fight that year.

The lawsuit contends that by wiring Mayweather’s earnings to accounts inaccessible tothe boxer and saying that key documents are missing, both “Showtime and Espinoza enabled Haymon’s scheme and stymied Mayweather’s efforts to uncover the truth.”

Feb. 4 (UPI) — Savannah Guthrie, a Today show co-host, and her two siblings said Wednesday night that they are “willing to talk” to the person who may have taken their 84-year-old mother, as authorities search for a suspect.

In a video posted on Instagram, Savannah, reading a prepared statement flanked by her two siblings, Annie and Camron, said they are aware of a ransom letter sent to media outlets, but they need proof that the person has their mother, Nancy.

“We need to know without a doubt that she is alive and that you have her. We want to hear from you, and we are ready to listen,” she said. “Please reach out to us.”

Savannah thanked the public for its support and prayers, describing her mother as “a kind, faithful, loyal and fiercely loving woman of goodness and light” who has “grandchildren who adore her and cover her in kisses.”

She said her mother’s “health, her heart, is fragile” and she lives in “constant pain,” requiring medicine that she now doesn’t have.

Speaking directly to Nancy, Savannah said that people are looking for her and will not rest until “we are together again.”

“We love you, Mom,” she said.

President Donald Trump, in a statement published after the video from the Guthries went public, said on his Truth Social platform that he spoke with Savannah and told her “I am directing ALL Federal Law Enforcement to be at the family’s, and Local Law Enforcement’s, complete disposal IMMEDIATELY.”

“We are deploying all resources to get her mother home safely,” the president said. “The prayers of our Nation are with her and her family.”

Law enforcement officials in Arizona said earlier Wednesday that they have not identified a suspect as they enter the fourth day of the search for Nancy.

In a statement posted to X, Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos said investigators also haven’t identified any people of interest in the case. Officials believe Nancy was kidnapped from her Tucson-area home in the early hours of Sunday. She was last seen around 9:45 p.m. MST Saturday and was reported missing after she failed to attend church the next day.

“Detectives continue to speak with anyone who may have had contact with Mrs. Guthrie,” Nanos said in the statement.

“Detectives are working closely with the Guthrie family. While we appreciate the public’s concern, the sharing of unverified accusations or false information is irresponsible and does not assist the investigation.”

NBC News reported that the FBI joined about 100 detectives from the Pima County Sheriff’s Office in the search for Nancy. Trump earlier committed to sending additional federal agents to participate in the investigation.

Federal officials were assisting by analyzing cellphone data and cell towers in the area. Investigators said there was a technical problem with the surveillance cameras at Nancy’s home and they were trying to determine if neighbors had any footage of her abduction on their cameras.

Three media outlets reported they received ransom notes asking for millions of dollars in cryptocurrency for Nancy’s safe return. TMZ said the note it received mentioned a specific item damaged at the woman’s home. KOLD-TV in Tucson said it forwarded the email it received to the sheriff’s office and KGUN-TV, also in Tucson, said the note it received threatened to kill Nancy.

The sheriff’s department said it was aware of the alleged ransom notes and that it’s investigating their validity.

Nanos said that while Nancy does have difficulties with mobility — making it unlikely she wandered off by herself — she does not have any mental or memory issues that may explain her disappearance.

Investigators said Nancy has a pacemaker that last connected to her iPhone around 2 a.m. Sunday. The phone was left behind at her home, CNN reported.

Savannah issued a statement thanking supporters.

“Thank you for lifting your prayers with ours for our beloved mom, our dearest Nancy, a woman of deep conviction, a good and faithful servant,” she said. “Raise your prayers with us and believe with us that she will be lifted by them in this very moment.”

Last week, a prominent Saudi Sheikh, Mohammed Al-Issa, visited the Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland to commemorate the 75th anniversary of its liberation, which signalled the end of the Nazi Holocaust. Although dozens of Muslim scholars have visited the site, where about one million Jews were killed during World War Two, according to the Auschwitz Memorial Centre’s press office, Al-Issa is the most senior Muslim religious leader to do so.

Visiting Auschwitz is not a problem for a Muslim; Islam orders Muslims to reject unjustified killing of any human being, no matter what their faith is. Al-Issa is a senior ally of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman (MBS), who apparently cares little for the sanctity of human life, though, and the visit to Auschwitz has very definite political connotations beyond any Islamic context.

By sending Al-Issa to the camp, Bin Salman wanted to show his support for Israel, which exploits the Holocaust for geopolitical colonial purposes. “The Israeli government decided that it alone was permitted to mark the 75th anniversary of the Allied liberation of Auschwitz [in modern day Poland] in 1945,” wrote journalist Richard Silverstein recently when he commented on the gathering of world leaders in Jerusalem for Benjamin Netanyahu’s Holocaust event.

READ: Next up, a Saudi embassy in Jerusalem 

Bin Salman uses Al Issa for such purposes, as if to demonstrate his own Zionist credentials. For example, the head of the Makkah-based Muslim World League is leading rapprochement efforts with Evangelical Christians who are, in the US at least, firm Zionists in their backing for the state of Israel. Al-Issa has called for a Muslim-Christian-Jewish interfaith delegation to travel to Jerusalem in what would, in effect, be a Zionist troika.

Zionism is not a religion, and there are many non-Jewish Zionists who desire or support the establishment of a Jewish state in occupied Palestine. The definition of Zionism does not mention the religion of its supporters, and Israeli writer Sheri Oz, is just one author who insists that non-Jews can be Zionists.

Mohammad Bin Salman and Netanyahu – Cartoon [Tasnimnews.com/Wikipedia]

We should not be shocked, therefore, to see a Zionist Muslim leader in these trying times. It is reasonable to say that Bin Salman’s grandfather and father were Zionists, as close friends of Zionist leaders. Logic suggests that Bin Salman comes from a Zionist dynasty.

This has been evident from his close relationship with Zionists and positive approaches to the Israeli occupation and establishment of a Jewish state in Palestine, calling it “[the Jews’] ancestral homeland”. This means that he has no issue with the ethnic cleansing of almost 800,000 Palestinians in 1948, during which thousands were killed and their homes demolished in order to establish the Zionist state of Israel.

“The ‘Jewish state’ claim is how Zionism has tried to mask its intrinsic Apartheid, under the veil of a supposed ‘self-determination of the Jewish people’,” wrote Israeli blogger Jonathan Ofir in Mondoweiss in 2018, “and for the Palestinians it has meant their dispossession.”

As the de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia, Crown Prince Bin Salman has imprisoned dozens of Palestinians, including representatives of Hamas. In doing so he is serving Israel’s interests. Moreover, he has blamed the Palestinians for not making peace with the occupation state. Bin Salman “excoriated the Palestinians for missing key opportunities,” wrote Danial Benjamin in Moment magazine. He pointed out that the prince’s father, King Salman, has played the role of counterweight by saying that Saudi Arabia “permanently stands by Palestine and its people’s right to an independent state with occupied East Jerusalem as its capital.”

UN expert: Saudi crown prince behind hack on Amazon CEO 

Israeli journalist Barak Ravid of Israel’s Channel 13 News reported Bin Salman as saying: “In the last several decades the Palestinian leadership has missed one opportunity after the other and rejected all the peace proposals it was given. It is about time the Palestinians take the proposals and agree to come to the negotiations table or shut up and stop complaining.” This is reminiscent of the words of the late Israeli Foreign Minister Abba Eban, one of the Zionist founders of Israel, that the Palestinians “never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity.”

Bin Salman’s Zionism is also very clear in his bold support for US President Donald Trump’s deal of the century, which achieves Zionist goals in Palestine at the expense of Palestinian rights. He participated in the Bahrain conference, the forum where the economic side of the US deal was announced, where he gave “cover to several other Arab countries to attend the event and infuriated the Palestinians.”

US President Donald Trump looks over at Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammad bin Salman al-Saud as they line up for the family photo during the opening day of Argentina G20 Leaders’ Summit 2018 at Costa Salguero on 30 November 2018 in Buenos Aires, Argentina [Daniel Jayo/Getty Images]

While discussing the issue of the current Saudi support for Israeli policies and practices in Palestine with a credible Palestinian official last week, he told me that the Palestinians had contacted the Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro to ask him not to relocate his country’s embassy to Jerusalem. “The Saudis have been putting pressure on us in order to relocate our embassy to Jerusalem,” replied the Brazilian leader. What more evidence of Mohammad Bin Salman’s Zionism do we need?

The founder of Friends of Zion Museum is American Evangelical Christian Mike Evans. He said, after visiting a number of the Gulf States, that, “The leaders [there] are more pro-Israel than a lot of Jews.” This was a specific reference to Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince, and his counterpart in the UAE, Mohammed Bin Zayed.

“All versions of Zionism lead to the same reactionary end of unbridled expansionism and continued settler colonial genocide of [the] Palestinian people,” Israeli-American writer and photographer Yoav Litvin wrote for Al Jazeera. We may well see an Israeli Embassy opened in Riyadh in the near future, and a Saudi Embassy in Tel Aviv or, more likely, Jerusalem. Is Mohammad Bin Salman a Zionist? There’s no doubt about it.

The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Monitor.

Jacob Elordi and Cailee Spaeny star in the biographical drama which fans have a limited time to watch for free

A period drama viewers have called “absorbing” and “intoxicating” is currently available for free streaming – but fans keen to watch it only have a limited time to do so.

Director Sofia Coppola’s biopic Priscilla was made available on BBC iPlayer nearly a year ago, and there is now just one month left to watch it before it exits the platform.

The film is based on Priscilla Presley’s memoir, Elvis and Me, and charts her life with legendary rock star Elvis Presley behind closed doors, from their initial meeting to their turbulent marriage. Their relationship has long been a hotly-debated topic given Priscilla was just 14 when she met a then-24-year-old Elvis.

It stars Cailee Spaeny as Priscilla, who earned a Best Actress nod at the Golden Globes for the role, while Jacob Elordi portrays Elvis. BBC iPlayer’s synopsis reads: “Fourteen-year-old schoolgirl Priscilla Beaulieu is accustomed to the unsettled life of an army family.

“Invited to a party at Elvis Presley’s house as he carries out his military service in Germany, the shy teenager catches his eye and is gradually drawn into a strange and unhealthy co-dependent life.”

At time of writing, the film – released back in 2023 – enjoys an impressive 84 per cent critics’ score on Rotten Tomatoes. Meanwhile audiences awarded it a lower 64 per cent score on average.

One reviewer gushed: “A tender, poignant drama and an excellent continuation of her muted but no less intoxicating style. It shows [Sofia] Coppola at her most understanding as she presents a complex, multi-faceted love story where two lovers drift apart.”

Another viewer said: “This was probably the most visually stunning movie I’ve seen,” as a third shared: “Great movie! Very engrossing – felt like I was right there with her every step of the way. The chemistry between the lead actors was mesmerizing.”

A fourth added: “A really we done biopic about Priscilla. Truly shows how even in a house full of people she was still lonely. Cailee Spaeny and Jacob Elordi work really we as Elvis and Priscilla, especially with the height difference.”

However one more critical viewer said: “Truth be told, this film is little more than the story of a relationship between child and the childish. A rather tedious, and in parts, even a queasy watch, even for the Elvis fan.”

Priscilla is now streaming for free on BBC iPlayer. For the latest showbiz, TV, movie and streaming news, go to the new **Everything Gossip** website.

Feb. 4 (Asia Today) — Samsung Electronics’ common shares became the first single stock in South Korea to reach a market capitalization of 1,000 trillion won ($690.7 billion) as the benchmark KOSPI hovered near the 5,300 level.

The milestone came about two weeks after Samsung’s combined common and preferred shares exceeded 1,000 trillion won in market value.

The Korea Exchange said Samsung Electronics closed Wednesday at 169,100 won ($116.80), up 0.96% from the previous session. The shares have gained 31.6% from their closing level on Jan. 2 of 128,500 won.

Samsung opened lower, then turned higher late in the morning. After moving into positive territory in early afternoon trading, the stock set an intraday record of 169,400 won.

Individual investors bought a net 135.1 billion won ($93.3 million) of Samsung shares and institutional investors bought a net 650.2 billion won ($449.1 million), helping push the stock to the 1,000 trillion won threshold.

Analysts have linked the rally to rising memory prices amid expanding global investment in artificial intelligence infrastructure. Samsung posted 20 trillion won ($13.8 billion) in operating profit in the fourth quarter of last year, setting a quarterly record, and brokerages have forecast annual operating profit exceeding 130 trillion won ($89.8 billion) this year.

Samsung Chairman Lee Jae-yong attended a corporate roundtable on youth employment and regional investment expansion at the Blue House on Wednesday. The meeting included leaders from South Korea’s top conglomerates and marked President Lee Jae-myung’s first major gathering this year with business chiefs.

— 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=20260204010001675

US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s probe seen as latest effort by Trump administration to roll back diversity and inclusion policies.

Nike is being investigated in the United States over claims that it discriminated against white workers through its diversity and inclusion policies.

The US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) said on Wednesday that it had filed a court motion to compel Nike to produce information related to allegations of “intentional race discrimination” against white employees.

The allegations relate to a suspected pattern of discrimination in “hiring, promotion, demotion, or separation decisions, including selection for layoffs; internship programs; and mentoring, leadership development and other career development programs”, the US government agency said.

The agency said it took the action after Nike had failed to respond to a subpoena for various information, including the criteria used in selecting employees for redundancies and setting executives’ pay.

EEOC chair, Andrea Lucas, an ardent critic of racial diversity initiatives who was appointed last year by President Donald Trump, said US anti-discrimination law is “colour-blind” and protects employees of “all races”.

“Thanks to President Trump’s commitment to enforcing our nation’s civil rights laws, the EEOC has renewed its focus on even-handed enforcement of Title VII,” Lucas said in a statement, referring to a section of the 1964 Civil Rights Act that prohibits employment discrimination based on race, colour, religion or sex.

Nike, based in Beaverton, Oregon, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The EEOC’s action is seen as the latest move by the Trump administration to roll back policies promoting diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) in the workplace.

In one of his first acts upon returning to the White House, Trump signed an executive order to abolish “radical” and “wasteful” DEI initiatives introduced under his predecessor, Joe Biden.

Like many corporate giants in the US, Nike publicly backed social justice causes such as Black Lives Matter prior to Trump’s re-election in 2024.

Between 2020 and 2021, Nike’s share of non-white employees rose more than four percentage points, the most among firms apart from healthcare provider Danaher, according to a Bloomberg analysis of company data reported to the EEOC.

OLIVIA ATTWOOD has shared a cryptic post about the ‘price of staying where you are’ after her shock split from her husband Bradley Dack.

It was revealed two weeks ago that the husband and wife had split following a “breach of trust” on his part.

She’s since moved out of their marital home and moved into her own apartment.

The Loose Women star took to her Instagram stories this evening to repost a cryptic message from a quotes account.

It read: “If you’re worried about the cost of going for it you should see the price of staying exactly where you are.”

She’s been sharing a lot of quotes recently as she deals with the breakdown of her marriage to the footballer.

READ MORE ON OLIVIA ATTWOOD

liv’s tears

Olivia Attwood in tears & says she wants to be ‘dead inside’ amid split

ISLE SAY

Olivia Attwood reveals surprising Love Islander she’d date after Bradley split

The Love Island icon was left devastated after discovering her other half had broken her trust.

She’d been on a high after a “blissful” trip to the City of Love in the first week of January and felt surer than ever the marriage was back on track.

A source close to Olivia said: “Olivia’s been so open about their marriage struggles and everything she said on This Morning this month, and on her podcast, is true.

“She thought things were genuinely back on track and that Paris was a perfect break, it was blissful.

“She and Brad had proper, quality time together and they laughed and enjoyed each other like before.

“So to get back and discover he had breached her trust was a bolt from the blue.”

Olivia posted about moving house in December, and fans have speculated the couple actually secretly split months ago.

They had in fact sold their home in Cheshire to relocate closer to footballer Bradley’s club Gillingham FC and Oliva’s work in London.

But now they’ll look to sell up again as Olivia prepares to tackle life alone.

The source added: “Olivia, as always, has an incredibly busy time ahead with work, with Getting Filthy Rich series four on air and the launch of her new ITV2 show The Heat coming soon.”

Olivia has unfollowed her husband on social media after news of their split was revealed by The Sun.

Olivia and Bradley weathered a rocky 2025 during which they faced constant divorce rumours.

“There are ups and downs, there are things on his side which haven’t been great, there’s a mix of things,” she said in an interview last year.

“I have f***ed up and done stuff, Brad has f***ed up.”

Olivia also recalled the past year on her podcast Olivia’s House.

She said: “At the end of the day marriage is really f***ing hard. The rumour mill was in full swing. We really weren’t getting on very well.”

The pair first met and dated prior to her Love Island stint and ended up reconnecting after her split with Chris Hughes.

They got engaged in 2019 and after having to cancel their wedding plans due to coronavirus, they finally tied the knot in a ceremony at the Bulgari Hotel in June 2023.

Feb. 4 (Asia Today) — Kakao Bank posted record earnings last year as growth in non-interest income offset pressure on lending revenue caused by tighter household loan regulations, the company said Tuesday.

The internet-only bank said net profit for 2025 reached 480.3 billion won ($348.6 million), up 9.1% from a year earlier. Fourth-quarter net profit rose 24.5% year over year to 105.2 billion won ($76.3 million), marking the first time quarterly earnings topped 100 billion won.

The results exceeded market expectations despite stricter government oversight of household lending in the second half of the year, which forced Kakao Bank to cut its loan growth target by half.

Interest income, still the bank’s largest revenue source, fell under regulatory pressure. Loan interest income declined 2.9% to 1.99 trillion won ($1.45 billion) from 2.05 trillion won ($1.49 billion) in 2024.

By contrast, non-interest income – including fees, platform revenue and fund management gains – jumped 22.5% to 1.08 trillion won ($790.6 million), surpassing 1 trillion won for the first time. Non-interest income accounted for 35.3% of total operating income, up about 5 percentage points from a year earlier.

Fund management performance was a major contributor. Kakao Bank said profits from the segment climbed about 28% to 670.8 billion won ($487.2 million), aided by expanded bond purchases in a high-interest-rate environment and a more diversified investment strategy.

Fee and platform revenue also continued to rise. Despite lower merchant fees for check cards, advertising revenue and loan comparison service income increased 54% and 37%, respectively. Total fee and platform revenue reached 310.5 billion won ($225.5 million), up 2.9% from a year earlier.

Looking ahead, Kakao Bank said it plans to further strengthen non-interest income this year by expanding products and services and by seeking growth opportunities in global and artificial intelligence-related businesses. The bank also signaled interest in mergers and acquisitions involving payment and capital companies to broaden its business scope into areas such as infrastructure and equipment finance.

An industry source said sustaining growth in non-interest income will be critical as lending expansion remains constrained, adding that the success of new business lines will play a key role in shaping future performance.

— 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=20260205010001717

The Netflix period drama is based on a beloved classic Gothic novel of the same name.

Enthusiasts of period dramas might be missing out on a Netflix treasure that’s adapted from one of literature’s most cherished classics.

This thriller, praised as “gripping from beginning to end”, features a beloved Downton Abbey star alongside a celebrated actress from Slow Horses.

Rebecca, which debuted on Netflix in 2020, draws from Daphne Du Maurier’s renowned thriller bearing the same title.

The 1938 Gothic masterpiece remains a timeless favourite due to its compelling themes and jaw-dropping plot twists, proving the tale continues to mesmerise audiences nearly a century on.

This bestselling novel has seen numerous adaptations throughout the decades, with Alfred Hitchcock’s Rebecca claiming the Academy Award for Best Picture in 1940.

The latest interpretation comes from director Ben Wheatley’s Netflix production, showcasing performances from Call me by Your Name’s Armie Hammer, Lily James and Kristin Scott Thomas.

James gained recognition portraying Rose in Downton Abbey, Young Donna in Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again and Pamela Anderson in Pam and Tommy.

Meanwhile, British theatrical icon Kristin Scott Thomas is renowned for her roles as Diana Taverner in Slow Horses, Fiona in Four Weddings and a Funeral and Sylvia McCordle in Gosford Park.

The IMDb synopsis for Rebecca states: “A young newlywed arrives at her husband’s imposing family estate on a windswept English coast and finds herself battling the shadow of his first wife, Rebecca, whose legacy lives on in the house long after her death.”

Rebecca holds a disappointing 37% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, though based on viewer feedback, many believe the film deserves far greater recognition, reports the Express.

Enthusiasts flocked to the comments section to voice their opinions, with one declaring: “This movie gripped me from beginning to end. I couldn’t look away, and I didn’t see anything coming. You think you know what the movie is about, then there is a twist, and the whole thing takes a left turn you didn’t see coming.”

Get Netflix free with Sky

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

from £15

Sky

Get the deal here

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

This lets members watch live and on-demand TV content without a satellite dish or aerial and includes hit shows like Stranger Things and The Last of Us.

Another viewer exclaimed: “ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT! ! !” before adding: “Nothing can touch the original masterpiece however this film, in many ways, is faithful Du Mauriers cunning flip of stereotypes.”

A third fan wrote: “Loved the thrill, love story, period views, so well made I would watch it again,” whilst another concurred: “Loved the book and this version of it in film. Have watched I many times. Great cast and acting.”

Additional supporters praised how the timeless novel had been transformed for Netflix, with one suggesting: “If you’ve read Rebecca and it’s a beloved novel to you, this movie is amazing. A great rendition.”

Another viewer expressed bafflement at the film’s critical mauling, writing: “I don’t understand all the bad reviews for Rebecca. I loved the new adaptation. I especially loved the costumes and filming locations. Lily James does a wonderful job.”

One supporter declared: “Excellent twist on a classic thriller! I am not sure why this doesn’t have better reviews but it is well worth your time,” whilst another concurred: “This movie is a stunningly faithful adaptation of Daphne du Maurier’s classic novel.”

A further enthusiast gushed: “What a ride! ! ! This genre bending thriller will take you on the wildest roller coaster of your life. The next time someone asks me what my favorite movie is, I’m saying Rebecca.”

They added: “This movie surpassed my every expectation. Here I was, sitting on the couch expecting some lame romance but nope! ! I am going to pass this movie down through generations of my family.”

Yet not everyone shared the enthusiasm, with one viewer noting: “Bland to the point of boring.”

Another complained: “What was an interesting, suspenseful book with hints of psychological thriller in it became a vapid, rushed, and bland movie that sapped two hours of my life. If you like your movies to stick to the plot of your books, avoid this.”

A third grumbled: “As much as I love the actors and actresses in this movie, nothing about it really had me enjoying the film. The clichés were handed out like appetizers and the plot of the film was all over the place. Wasn’t a fan.”

Nevertheless, considering all the glowing feedback from fans despite the film’s disappointing Rotten Tomatoes rating, Rebecca might well be regarded as an undervalued gem.

Rebecca is available to stream now on Netflix.

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

The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), a United Nations agency, has issued a new report warning of an uptick in measles cases throughout the region.

On Wednesday, the organisation issued an epidemiological alert that called for member states to strengthen “routine surveillance and vaccination activities” in order to combat the spread of the disease.

“The sharp increase in measles cases in the Americas Region during 2025 and early 2026 is a warning sign that requires immediate and coordinated action by Member States,” PAHO said in a statement.

Overall, in the first three weeks of 2026 alone, PAHO documented 1,031 cases of measles in the Americas. Throughout 2025, a total of 14,891 cases were confirmed.

Some of the biggest outbreaks the PAHO highlighted were unfolding in North America, with countries like the United States, Mexico and Canada facing high numbers of cases.

What is measles?

Measles is a highly contagious airborne virus capable of infecting nine out of every 10 people exposed to it, if they are unvaccinated.

In most cases, symptoms of the disease clear up within several weeks. However, measles can be deadly or cause life-altering health complications, particularly among young children.

Some sufferers find themselves with ear infections and lung inflammation. Others experience pneumonia or encephalitis, a swelling of the brain that can cause lasting damage, including seizures and memory loss.

The only way to prevent measles and halt its spread is by taking a vaccine. That care is often administered through a combination vaccine known by the acronym MMR, for measles, mumps and rubella.

Doctors typically advise patients to get vaccinated early. For healthy children, the general guidance is to receive the first MMR dose before 15 months of age. The second and final dose is recommended before age six.

The MMR vaccine is widely considered safe. But in countries like the US, vaccination rates have fallen in recent years, in part due to conspiracy theories and misleading statements.

The country’s Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr, for instance, has previously asserted that the vaccine “wanes very quickly”, despite the fact that it offers lifelong protection.

Kennedy has also claimed there were health risks associated with the vaccine. But experts, including at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), have repeatedly maintained that most people encounter no serious problems – and that the vaccine is far safer than exposure to measles itself.

“There have been no deaths shown to be related to the MMR vaccine in healthy people,” the Infectious Diseases Society of America says on its website.

High numbers in North America

According to PAHO’s report on Wednesday, the US has seen 171 new cases of measles in the first three weeks of 2026. The country experienced a total of 2,242 cases in 2025.

One of the ongoing outbreaks has been in South Carolina, where 876 incidents of measles have been reported in recent months. Of that total, 800 sufferers were unvaccinated, 16 had only received a partial vaccination, and 38 had an unknown vaccination status.

Meanwhile, in Texas, an outbreak resulted in 762 cases of measles between January and August. Two unvaccinated children died in that outbreak, and there were 99 hospitalisations.

In 2000, measles had been declared eliminated from the US, a sign that cases were no longer spreading domestically, though some cases did occur after exposure to the virus abroad.

Mexico, too, had achieved its measles elimination status in 1996, after an extensive vaccination campaign. The entire Americas region was declared measles-free in 2016.

But both the US and Mexico risk seeing their measles elimination status revoked, as outbreaks continue.

In Mexico, for instance, there were 6,428 cases of measles in 2025, the highest of any country in the Americas. For the first three weeks of 2026, there have been 740 more cases.

PAHO typically determines which countries have elimination status, and the organisation has indicated that it will review the situation in the US and Mexico during a virtual meeting on April 13.

Canada, meanwhile, already saw its measles elimination status rescinded in November. It has seen several measles outbreaks since October 2024.

PAHO found that there were 5,436 cases of measles last year, and 67 in the first three weeks of 2026.

The country can win back its elimination status only if it stops measles transmissions resulting from its outbreaks for more than one year.

The U.S. Navy has shown no signs of reversing course on major changes to its pipeline for new naval aviators in its latest draft requirements for a replacement for its T-45 Goshawk jet trainers. The Navy has already axed carrier qualifications from the syllabus for prospective tactical jet pilots and has plans to significantly alter how other training is done at bases ashore. These decisions have prompted concerns and criticism, but the service argues that advances in virtualized training and automated carrier landing capabilities have fundamentally changed the training ecosystem.

Aviation Week was first to report on the recent release of the latest draft requirements for what the Navy is currently calling the Undergraduate Jet Training System (UJTS). The service is looking to acquire 216 new jet trainers to replace the just under 200 T-45s it has in inventory today. The Navy has been pursuing a successor to the T-45 Goshawk for years now, and the UJTS effort has been delayed multiple times. The goal now is to kick off a formal competition relatively soon, ahead of a final contract award in mid-2027.

A number of companies have already lined up to compete for UJTS. This includes Boeing with a navalized version of its T-7 Red Hawk, the TF-50N from Lockheed Martin and Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI), the M-346N offered by Textron and Leonardo (and now branded as a Beechcraft product), and the Sierra Nevada Corporation’s (SNC) Freedom jet.

The newest UJTS draft request for proposals reinforces the aforementioned changes to the carrier qualification and so-called Field Carrier Landing Practice (FCLP) training requirements. Though conducted at bases on land, FCLP landings have historically been structured in a way that “simulates, as near as practicable, the conditions encountered during carrier landing operations,” according to the Navy.

The Navy’s plan now is to eliminate the actual touch-and-go component of FCLP training, also known as FCLP to touchdown, at least for students flying in the future UJTS jet trainer. Instead, the syllabus will include what is described as FCLP to wave off, where student pilots in those aircraft will fly a profile in line with being waved off from a landing attempt on an actual carrier prior to touchdown.

F-18 Field Carrier Landing Practice (FCLP). Touch-and-Go Landing.

“The Naval Aviation Enterprise has determined that the UJTS air vehicle will conduct FCLP [field carrier landing practice] to wave off,” a Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) spokesperson explained to Aviation Week. “However, FCLP to touchdown will be trained via other means in the UJTS system of systems.”

TWZ has reached out to NAVAIR for more information about the other elements of the planned “UJTS system of systems” that will be used to support continued FCLP to touchdown training requirements.

As noted, the Navy has already cut the carrier landing qualification requirement from the pipeline for individuals training to fly F/A-18E/F Super Hornet and F-35C fighters, as well as EA-18G Growler electronic warfare aircraft. At least as of last August, carrier qualifications were still part of the syllabus for student aviators in line to fly E-2 Hawkeye airborne early warning and control aircraft, as well as for all international students.

“Field Carrier Landing Practice (FCLP) landings ashore are still required for graduation,” a Navy spokesperson also told TWZ in August 2025, but did not specify whether or not this meant “to touchdown.”

TWZ has reached out to the office of the Chief of Naval Air Training (CNATRA) for more information on current and future planned naval aviation training requirements.

All of this has major ramifications for the forthcoming UJTS jet trainer competition. Not even having to perform FLCPs to touchdown, let alone actual carrier qualifications, fundamentally changes the aircraft designs that can be considered to replace the carrier-capable T-45s. Carrier landings and takeoffs stress airframes, especially landing gear, in completely different ways compared to typical operations from airbases on land.

US Navy T-45 Goshawk carrier qualifications on USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78)

As it stands now, only SNC’s clean sheet Freedom offering is explicitly designed for touch-and-goes on carriers and FCLP-to-touchdown landings ashore, and the company has been putting heavy emphasis on the continued importance of those capabilities. The other competitors that have emerged so far have presented variations on existing land-based jet trainer designs.

Freedom Family of Training Systems (FoTS)

“The strategic decision of moving carrier qualifications from the training syllabus to their fleet replacement squadrons was driven by increased technological capabilities in the fleet, as well as the need to reduce training pipeline times, enabling the fleet to receive qualified pilots faster,” the aforementioned Navy spokesperson also told TWZ last August. “After earning their initial qualifications after graduation, naval aviators in the strike pipeline are required to complete touch-and-goes and carrier landings at sea during their assignment at the Fleet Replacement Squadrons (FRS).”

FRSs provide initial training on specific types of aircraft before individuals move on to operational units. What this all means, in functional terms, is that the Navy is planning for a future where tactical jet pilots will not make a full FCLP landing, let alone touch down on a carrier, until after they are winged and flying a front-line aircraft.

Though not explicitly mentioned, the “increased technological capabilities” referred to here include the Navy’s substantial investments in virtualized training and automated carrier landing capabilities, such as Magic Carpet, in recent years.

Flight Ready: Magic Carpet

Flight Ready: Live, Virtual, Constructive

There is also a cost benefit arguement to be made. Eliminating the need for features required for carrier-based operations could help keep down the price tag of any future T-45 replacement, as well as reduce developmental risk. The overall changes to the training syllabus will have their own cost impacts with the cut down in time and resources required for a student pilot to get their wings.

At the same time, concerns and criticism have been voiced about the possible downstream impacts of cutting elements long considered critical to naval aviation training. What can be done in virtualized aviation training environments, in particular, has become very impressive in recent years, but they still cannot fully recreate the experience of live training events.

“Carrier qualification is more than catching the wire. It is the exposure to the carrier environment and how an individual deals with it,” an experienced U.S. Navy strike fighter pilot told TWZ back in 2020. “The pattern, the communications, the nuance, the stress. The ability to master this is one of our competitive advantages.”

The Navy does still has yet to issue a final set of requirements for the UJTS jet trainer. However, signs only continue to grow that the service is committed to its new vision for training future naval aviators.

Contact the author: joe@twz.com

Two figures will always haunt the human imagination: the woman in ecstasy, and the woman in madness. This enduring fascination may stem as much from the paper-thin line that separates the two states as it does from our deep-seated fear of both. If the devoted nun resembles the raving patient, does that not justify locking them away, protecting ourselves from their unsettling power?

Two recent novels go behind the walls of anchorite and lunatic cells in different centuries and for different purposes, yet wind up demonstrating how women forced by circumstance behind walls influence the lives of others into the future. In “Canticle,” a debut from Janet Rich Edwards, a young woman named Aleys enters religious life in 13th-century Bruges, Belgium, after a Franciscan, Brother Lukas, witnesses her fervor. A series of unfortunate events ultimately lead to her permanent cloister, a tiny cell built into the wall of a cathedral. Paula McLain’s new book, “Skylark,” spans several centuries in Paris, beginning in the 17th when Alouette Voland is sentenced to the Salpetrière asylum after protesting the arrest of her father, an expert fabric dyer, from prison, for the brilliant blue hue he has concocted — actually his daughter’s recipe, which contains dangerous arsenic. Alouette’s attempts to reclaim her work as her own instead of her father’s result in her consignment to Salpêtrière.

While both novels feature terrific and authentic detail about the rough confines Aleys and Alouette endure, the message beneath the descriptions is far more terrifying and authentic: for centuries, the fear of female agency and non-male approaches to power has led to deep trauma, not just for individual women, but for Western civilization itself. For instance, Aleys’s late mother cherished books, even though common people rarely knew how to read and write, let alone owned books. Aleys cherishes the tiny, exquisite psalter her mother inherited from an abbess aunt. Although Aleys’s mother cannot read, she knows the stories of the saints and relishes embroidering them with “goriest” details to keep her children interested. Yet, even as Aleys’s world begins to change with the rise of lay literacy, those lay people are almost entirely men. Women, whether secular or religious, remain forbidden to read, write or tell stories.

“Canticle” author Janet Rich Edwards.

(Laura Rich)

Aleys, at first, seems to be on a path toward personal enlightenment. Brother Lukas declares her a Franciscan, convincing his superior, Bishop of Tournai Jaan Metz, that the young woman possesses special spiritual gifts. The Bishop agrees, but insists that since no other Franciscans are female, Aleys must be sent to the nearby Beguines—laywomen who take no vows, live in community, and work to support the church. While Aleys initially finds the Beguines “wanton” due to their “strange rites,” including casual dress and meetings, their charismatic leader, Grand Mistress Sophia Vermeulen, convinces Aleys of the group’s higher purpose.

Aleys later discovers that a beguine named Katrijn Janssens has been secretly translating Latin scripture into Dutch. In the evenings, the women often perform ecstatic dances while someone reads from the “Canticle of Canticles” (also known as the “Song of Songs”). Aleys already has a strong mystical bent, and after some time in the Begijnhof, she supposedly cures a young boy’s illness. Unfortunately, she’s unable to do the same when Sophia becomes sick. Her subsequent eviction from the Beguines leads to her accepting the Bishop’s offer of sanctuary—as an anchorite, destined to live out her days in a tiny stone outcropping. Her only contact with other humans is a slit through which she can hear daily mass, save for Marte, the low-ranking Beguine assigned to deliver her meals and empty her slop bucket.

Meanwhile, Alouette has become an adept of dye recipes. Even though she and other women are able to read, write, and keep ledgerbooks by this date, the complicated and often secret tinctures concocted for fabrics remain the province of men.

Like Aleys, Alouette forms alliances with other women, Sylvine and Marguerite, the latter of whom carefully documents the guards’ abuses in a ledger. These abuses include the murder of inmates’ infants, a fact that galvanizes the pregnant Alouette (the father of her child, Étienne, is a quarryman) into joining a plan for escape through the Paris sewers. The women find refuge in a convent and, ultimately, in a seaside town where some measure of peace awaits them.

It’s a far happier ending than Aleys’s, who is met with a darker fate. That is partly because McLain’s novel doesn’t end with Alouette’s relatively soft landing; “Skylark” continues in 1939 through the perspective of Kristof Larsen, a Dutch psychiatrist in Paris. His relationship with his Jewish neighbors, the Brodskys, grows closer as Nazi power corrupts France. Despite his ties to the resistance, Kristof cannot save the entire family during the 1942 Vélodrome d’Hiver roundup, but he takes responsibility for their 15-year-old daughter Sasha. Along with his compatriot Ursula, they are guided to safety through the same Paris tunnels that sheltered Alouette centuries earlier.

“Skylark” author Paula McLain.

(Simon & Schuster)

The fragile tie between Alouette and Sasha rests in a tiny piece of glass found during the restoration of Notre Dame de Paris after the 2019 fire. A conservator uncovers the shard, which bears an intense blue figure of a skylark — evidence, at least to the reader, that Alouette’s recipe endured, and a symbol of how both she and Sasha escaped. Female creation and resistance, the novel suggests, endure, too.

At first, that seems at odds with Aleys’s tragic fate. “As the crowd parts before her, Aleys sees the path of gray cobblestones receding to the stake. Parchment is piled high at its base. Smaller fires have already been lit, dotting the plaza. They’re burning her words, too. . . ” Yet, it’s no spoiler to reveal that during her long weeks and months as an anchorite, Aleys found the means to slowly and secretly teach Marte, lowliest of the Beguines, how to read and write. “They write words on the sill between them and wipe them off, their palms and feet dark with dust.” Just as Aleys’s mother passed on her passion for books and Alouette pursued her passion for beauty, Marte will carry on a passion for stories.

More important, however, and something that ties “Skylark” to “Canticle,” is that Aleys and Alouette, Marte and Sasha, live on through work done by and with women. Whether it’s a recipe for dye, a hunger for divine knowledge, or the means to freedom, the main characters in both novels believe deeply in women’s full humanity. Aleys acknowledges the contentment of the Beguines, understanding that their communal labors knit their “hopes, their labor, even their disagreements” as “strands in a single weave. Kristof says of Ursula that she “charts her course in full light with eyes wide open, and still she chooses danger. Chooses–over and over–not to surrender.”

It’s true that the authors of these novels live in 21st-century North America, where many people believe in equality even if the full humanity of others is under attack, but neither Edwards nor McLain indulges in anachronisms. Aleys yearns for divine ecstasy but does not come across as a would-be influencer, let alone as a Mother Ann Lee fomenting spiritual revolution; she believes in the church, even if not fully in its leadership, until her end. Alouette and her comrades pursue a different life but do not seek it for everyone, which feels right not just for their era but for their experience of trauma. Even Ursula and Sasha rely on men for their escape, accepting that whoever has the correct experience and expertise should lead the way.

What “Canticle” and “Skylark” get right about their very different heroines and time periods is that change doesn’t happen overnight, nor does it benefit everyone. Aleys teaches Marte to read, but Aleys will suffer for her ideas. Sasha will escape Vichy France, but her family will still die in the concentration camps. Switch the clauses in those sentences around, however, and you’ll be reminded that change can and does happen, one determined woman at a time.

Patrick is a freelance critic and author of the memoir “Life B.”

Zelenskyy expects talks to soon lead to another prisoner exchange.

Ukrainian and Russian officials have wrapped up their first day of United States-mediated peace talks and are set to reconvene Thursday, according to Kyiv’s chief negotiator.

Rustem Umerov, the head of Ukraine’s National Security and Defence Council, described Wednesday’s negotiations in Abu Dhabi as “substantive and productive”. Talks are due to continue into a second day, his spokesperson Diana Davityan said, though no major advance towards ending the nearly four-year war was announced.

The positive outlook came despite fears the talks would be marred by a new wave of Russian attacks on Ukraine. Ukrainian authorities said the latest strikes included one that killed seven people at a crowded market, while others further damaged Kyiv’s power infrastructure amid freezing temperatures.

Nevertheless, the talks “focused on concrete steps and practical solutions”, said Umerov.

Negotiations must ‘genuinely move towards peace’

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in an evening address, said it was imperative the talks yield concrete results and that he anticipated a prisoner exchange “in the near future”.

“People in Ukraine must feel that the situation is genuinely moving toward peace and the end of the war, not toward Russia using everything to its advantage and continuing attacks,” Zelenskyy said.

The Kremlin said that the “doors for a peaceful settlement are open,” but that Moscow will continue its military assault until Kyiv agrees to its demands.

The central hurdle in ending the war is the status of embattled eastern Ukraine, where Russia continues to make slow, painstaking advances.

Moscow is demanding that Kyiv withdraw its forces from large parts of the Donbas, including heavily fortified cities atop vast natural resources, as a precondition to any deal.

It also wants the world to recognise Russian sovereignty over territory it has seized in the war.

Kyiv is instead pushing for the front lines to be frozen at their current positions and rejects any unilateral troop withdrawal. Polls show that the majority of Ukrainians oppose a deal that hands Moscow more land.

“I think that Ukraine doesn’t have any moral right to give up our occupied territories … because my friends were fighting for that and they died for that,” Sofiia, a resident of Ukraine’s Poltava region, told Al Jazeera.

Unresolved issues ‘diminishing’

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said it would likely take time to achieve a diplomatic breakthrough but claimed the administration of President Donald Trump had helped “substantially diminish” the number of unresolved issues between the warring parties.

“That’s the good news,” Rubio told reporters Wednesday. “The bad news is that the items that remain are the most difficult ones. And meanwhile the war continues.”

Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi said Kyiv was “interested in finding out what the Russians and Americans really want”.

He added that the talks – only the second direct engagement between Ukrainian and Russian officials in more than three years – focused on “military and military-political issues”.

Russia occupies about 20 percent of Ukraine’s national territory, including Crimea and ⁠parts of the eastern Donbas region seized before the 2022 invasion.

Zelenskyy on Wednesday said that the number of Ukrainian troops killed since the start of the war stood at about 55,000, with a “great number” also missing in action.

Total wartime casualties, including both killed and wounded, are estimated to extend into the hundreds of thousands for both sides.

Caracas, February 4, 2026 (venezuelanalysis.com) – Chavista supporters filled the streets of Caracas on Tuesday to demand the release of President Nicolás Maduro and First Lady and Deputy Cilia Flores.

The rally marked one month from their kidnapping on January 3 as part of a US military attack against Venezuela.

“We, as an organized people, are making a call to the international community. We work every day to build a country with sovereignty and we will maintain our demand. We will continue protesting,” activist Jonas Reyes told reporters. He also paid tribute to the Venezuelan and Cuban civilians and military personnel killed during the bombing.

Venezuelan government leaders also announced plans to mobilize on February 14, Valentine’s Day, to celebrate what they described as “the profound love of Maduro and Cilia,” as well as on February 27 and 28 to commemorate the 1989 popular uprising known as El Caracazo.

On Tuesday evening, Venezuela’s acting president, Delcy Rodríguez, said that over the past 30 days Venezuela has “transformed and matured” the impact of US aggression into “tranquility,” while promoting national dialogue.

“It is a great victory for the people that there is stability,” Rodríguez told media, adding that “there is a national outcry” for the freedom of Maduro and Flores. She spoke from the Miraflores Palace alongside National Assembly President Jorge Rodríguez and Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello.

The pair’s kidnapping took place amid a US attack involving 150 aircraft, including electronic warfare jets, bombers, assault helicopters, and drones invading Venezuelan airspace.

On January 5, Maduro and Flores were arraigned in New York on charges including drug trafficking conspiracy. Both pleaded not guilty, and Maduro stated before judge Alvin Hellerstein that he is “a prisoner of war.”

The next court hearing, originally scheduled for March 17, was postponed until March 26 following a request from the US Justice Department.

US prosecutors argued that the extension would allow “the ends of justice to outweigh the interests of the public and the defendants in a speedy trial.”

February 3 also saw US-bases solidarity gather outside the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) in Brooklyn where Maduro and Flores are being held.

In slogans and posters, activists described the Venezuelan president and first lady as “victims of kidnapping” and demanded that the US government cease its “political persecution.”

“They are innocent of all charges. The guilty parties are the same ones who have been violating the sovereignty of Venezuela and so many countries of Our America,” activist and academic Danny Shaw told reporters. “This has nothing to do with a war on drugs. We have suffered from fentanyl and heroin, and that has nothing to do with Venezuela, much less with its president.”

Shaw vowed that solidarity movements would continue to rally and expressed confidence in the legal efforts of Maduro and Flores’ defense teams.

A separate demonstration in solidarity with the Venezuelan people and denouncing US aggression also took place in New York’s Times Square and some 60 cities around the world.

For her part, Acting President Delcy Rodríguez said she has held direct phone conversations with US President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, which she said were guided by “interpersonal respect.”

Rodríguez has defended a fast diplomatic rapprochement with the Trump administration, arguing that the two nations can solve “differences” through diplomacy.

Washington’s new chargé d’affaires, Laura Dogu, is already in Venezuela and visited the presidential palace on Monday, February 2.

Edited by Ricardo Vaz in Caracas.